Ohio Media Watch

Plain Dealer sports/media columnist Roger Brown does some more musing today on the prospect of cable's Ohio News Network (ONN) picking up the Indians TV deal this season.This time, Roger speculates that ONN is hoping to ride the Indians' success on the field to prominence on Ohio's cable television lineups. Presumably, this would come in some parts of the state at the expense of the Cincinnati Reds, a team which we suppose Roger believes would lose long-time fans because the Reds stink and the … [Read more...]

It's been an on-and-off topic in the writings of Cleveland Plain Dealer sports media columnist Roger Brown, but now the Akron Beacon Journal's Sheldon Ocker weighs in on the status of the Cleveland Indians TV contract talks.Ocker says "word off the street" is that long-time rightsholder FSN Ohio is no longer in the running for the full-season (155 game) package, and that the bidding is between Dispatch's Ohio News Network and local NBC affiliate WKYC/3. (Unlike Brown, Ocker doesn't attribute … [Read more...]

OMW would be remiss if we didn't pass along a link to this article by the Plain Dealer's Michael Heaton. It's the first in an occasional series of visits with WTAM/1100 morning co-host and sportscaster Casey Coleman, who's got a very hard road ahead of him...battling pancreatic cancer.And it's only fitting that this article shows up on Thanksgiving Day. For despite being told he has about a 12 percent chance of surviving five years, Coleman still believes he's...the luckiest guy in the … [Read more...]

This was originally conceived as a segment called "What We Like"...to provide some positive balance to the occasionally not-so-positive points highlighted here and in other online venues. But since Thanksgiving is upon us...it's "What We're Thankful For". And some local media outlets who take some constructive criticism by us will lead the list...WOIO/19 - WUAB/43's "19 Action News": Perhaps the most frequent recipient of our barbs, but we don't dislike everything at the local CBS/UPN affiliate … [Read more...]

It's that time of year again...where somewhere around the ingestion of turkey and stuffing, radio stations start changing to that tride-and-true once a year fix, Christmas music.Locally, Salem CCM WFHM/95.5 "The Fish" Cleveland was the first this season to start replacing its regular music mix with holiday music. And sometime over the past few days or so, Infinity AC WDOK/102.1 Cleveland also turned on the ho-ho-ho music machine.Feel free to use the comments section below this item to let us … [Read more...]

Radio and Records Online, and other trade sites, report that Cleveland Infinity alt-rock WXTM/92.3 morning dog "Rover" has nabbed another current Howard Stern affiliate for the post-Stern era... and it's not an Infinity-owned station.Rover will premiere January 3rd on current Stern affiliate KPNT/St. Louis, which is owned by Emmis. It's his second non-Infinity station...Clear Channel owned WMAD/Madison WI was one of the first two affiliates for his syndicated effort out of WXTM.As reported here … [Read more...]

Cleveland FOX O&O WJW/8 has announced the impending retirement of Tim Taylor, the station's long-time evening anchor. WJW reports that Taylor will step down shortly before Christmas.Taylor's WJW bio says he came to the station, then a CBS affiliate, some 29 years ago after a brief stint as a reporter and weekend anchor at ABC affiliate WEWS/5. His 40-plus year broadcast news career started in radio in Ashtabula - we'd have to assume at WFUN/970, based on when - and moved to TV after Taylor … [Read more...]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Cleveland CBS affiliate WOIO/19 has hired a replacement for news director Steven Doerr, who left to join a television audience research firm.The new man at the helm of "19 Action News" is Dan Salamone, who was most recently general manager of Portland OR's CBS affiliate, KOIN/6. And as speculated right here on OMW when Doerr left, Salamone tells the PD's Julie Washington that he has no intent on changing the splash-and-dash "Action News" format, calling it … [Read more...]

AllAccess reports that Salem Christian contemporary WFHM/95.5 Cleveland ("The Fish") is picking up the syndicated John Tesh radio show. It'll air on "The Fish" from 7 PM to midnight Sunday through Friday.The local Salem CCM outlet isn't the only "Fish" picking up the show, as sister Fish KFSH/Los Angeles is also adding Tesh to their lineup.And an apology...OMW is once again out of the Northeast Ohio area, as we travel with some friends and contemplate our future. (Navel Gazing R Us, we guess.) … [Read more...]

UPDATE - Monday, 11/14/05, 11:30 PM ET: We're told by folks in the Toledo market that now-former WSPD/1370 morning host Bob Frantz will reappear in the station's lineup in a couple of weeks...with a new 6-7 PM weekday show following afternoon driver/program director Brian Wilson. And we hear he'll have short-form features/commentary ("Frantz Rantz") in both morning and afternoon drive...And a footnote to the earlier rumors of Michael Graham's involvement with WSPD - the former WMAL/Washington … [Read more...]