Ohio Media Watch

When OMW posted the item below about WQIO/93.7 Mount Vernon stunting, we'd forgotten that we can pick up the station - at least enough to confirm its stunting - right here down the street from OMW's northwest Akron World Headquarters. And indeed, now that we've heard it with our own ears...it's a Bobby McFerrin "Don't Worry, Be Happy" marathon on the station formerly known as "93Q".The changes are listed in a bit more detail by Dylan McCament in Friday's Mount Vernon News. (Thanks to Radio-Info … [Read more...]

OMW has long complained about penny-pinching local sports TV network Fox Sports Net Ohio. The local operation has no studio, and produces little local programming outside of actual game coverage. And we've heard that they declined to air a recent crucial Indians game for fear of A) getting clobbered by football coverage and B) since they didn't have time to make any money off of it.But hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen. FSN Ohio will air a one-hour Indians special Sunday night at 7 PM - … [Read more...]

A listener in range of the signal of Mount Vernon's AC WQIO/93.7 "93Q" reports that the station is stunting with Bobby McFerrin's novelty hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy", with a similarly-voiced announcer telling listeners that they shouldn't worry, and be happy, because they're building a new radio station.The change would appear to coincide with the purchase of the station from Clear Channel by Fremont's BAS Broadcasting, which also owns WFRO/99.1 Fremont and WOHF/92.1 Bellevue. The purchase - … [Read more...]

For a few weeks this spring, the Akron market had two liberal talk stations. (Oh, OK, maybe one and a half.)MediaCom's WJMP/1520 Kent(/Akron/Cleveland/Mars/Jupiter), which has had just about every format under the sun including TV audio, had been running the Air America liberal talk network. Then, the 600 pound gorilla known as Clear Channel showed up in the middle of the market, announcing a change from sports to liberal talk for the station now known as WARF/1350 Akron. The announcement … [Read more...]

Though we can't prove it, OMW believes this site is widely read in local broadcast clusters throughout Northeast Ohio. And in the past, our musings on various message boards have even been printed in newspapers.But this is the first time one of our reports has been quoted directly in a newspaper, as a piece of news.It's a bit old - as it had to do with the recent flip of Clear Channel's WYBL/98.3 Ashtabula to country "98.3 The Bull" a month and a half ago. But OMW is quoted in the Ashtabula … [Read more...]

It's been a heck of a year for Premiere's Glenn Beck in Northeast Ohio. After getting unceremoniously dumped by Clear Channel talker WTAM/1100 in Cleveland after a long run, the midday host made a soft landing at sister talk WHLO/640 in Akron. And now, he's making a landing in Akron in person.OMW hears that Beck's "Christmas Tour" will have Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall on it, on December 13th. Tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster, and will be available starting October 24th. Beck's set to … [Read more...]

Just a couple of 'em this time around:Short Take 1: Someone mentioned this to us some time ago, but we heard it for the first time this week. Dix country/sports WQKT/104.5 Wooster has been airing a local late afternoon drive show called "Best of the Best", weeknights from 5-7 PM. The host is station vet Dave Dial (seen on this WQKT staff page), and the show mixes country music and local news and sports features. Dial was with the station part-time in the 1990's, and returned a few years ago.For … [Read more...]

Radio and Records Online reports that it's decision time for Stop 26 Riverbend, which owns 5 Ohio stations, including WRBP/101.9 Hubbard, WGFT/1330 Campbell and WASN/1500 Youngstown, in the Youngstown/Warren market.The report says that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Ohio has ordered Stop 26 Riverbend to either refinance the stations (including Columbus' WVKO-AM/FM) or sell them. To that end, the company is reportedly retaining two firms to look into those options...though it's widely believed that … [Read more...]

When the OMWMobile car radio dropped in on Clear Channel Cleveland talker WTAM/1100 this afternoon, we heard the Gang of Triv doing his afternoon show...without afternoon motormouth Mike Trivisonno present.So, we figured it was yet another Triv Vacation. After all, the guy has long since passed the late Johnny Carson in the amount of vacation time he gets, so it wasn't a surprise to hear only co-host Kim Mahalik and producers Paul Rado and Marty Allen doing the show without him. And then... we … [Read more...]

If it's Sunday night, it must be time to have some fun with our friends at Reserve Square, home of "Cleveland's CBS 19", "UPN 43" and "19 Action News".OMW stayed up late enough tonight to catch the station's Sunday Browns wrap show, still in progress as of this writing. And we're definitely expecting a sponsor credit for a local furniture store. Week 3 of "McDonald's Browns Tonight" comes to you from a new set, with a giant brown leather couch (get it, "brown"?) that threatens to eat Brian … [Read more...]