Ohio Media Watch

Picked off the Net News section, and the Jobs section, of AllAccess.com...* Do you like WAKS/96.5 "KISS FM"'s "Valentine in the Morning" show so much you'd love to get paid to run it locally? OK, so maybe that's not the approach WAKS PD Dan Mason is using:"CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 WAKS/CLEVELAND local 'VALENTINE IN THE MORNING' show producer KATIE HUTCH exits for her hometown, BOSTON, to join CLEAR CHANNEL TOTAL TRAFFIC. If you have the goods to write and execute hourly news and weather reports, … [Read more...]

The Cleveland Plain Dealer confirms the earlier reports of a local TV "roadblock", designed to raise money for Hurricane Katrina."Hurricane Katrina: Northern Ohio Responds" will indeed air on "most" local TV stations Friday from 7 to 8 PM. "Most" definitely includes all four major network affiliates (3/5/8/19), 19's UPN sister 43 and WBNX/55 "Cleveland's WB"...along with PBS affiliate WNEO/WEAO 45/49 out of the Akron area. Cleveland PBS affiliate WVIZ/25 will produce (and also air) the special, … [Read more...]

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH! OMW now takes this opportunity to say something nice about WTAM afternoon motormouth Mike Trivisonno. (By the way, don't blame us for that title... we are pretty sure it's an Ohio law that we have to call him that.)Who knows how much of it is staged, but Triv badgered Cleveland Indians public relations chief Bob DiBiasio to get the team to sell $5 discount tickets to Sunday night's big nationally televised tilt (ESPN2) with the Minnesota Twins. The plan came to fruition … [Read more...]

It's been a while since we've spent a lot of time watching the moves of Beacon Broadcasting, the Youngstown/Warren-market based mini-chain coming under the control of Warren steel supply magnate Harold Glunt...but there are some changes to talk about in Glunt Land.As first tipped on OMW, Beacon's three current AM stations are now simulcasting a locally-originated oldies format, which comes out of the company's WANR/1570 Warren. In fact, it's the very same format, and personalities, that WANR ran … [Read more...]

(The above banner will appear above every OMW news item about Hurricane Katrina relief. It's clickable, and will take you to an online donation form at the American Red Cross.)Radio One's Cleveland cluster - WZAK/93.1, WENZ/107.9, WJMO/1490 and WERE/1300 - has held its own Katrina relief radiothon...a 16 hour effort that started Tuesday morning at 6 AM. Radio and Records Online reports that "at the Randall Park Mall lot in North Randall, OH, station staffers (accepted) donations of items … [Read more...]

OMW happened to be watching WKYC's midday magazine program "Studio 3", which is hosted by Cleveland TV veteran Fred Griffith and WKYC morning weather anchor Hollie Strano.They noted on the air today that this is the last week for "Studio 3", and that starting next week, a new midday show called "Good Company" will air from 10 AM to 11 AM. From the description, it sounded like an expanded version of "Studio 3", and we'll assume that Griffith will host it as well... as he pointed to himself while … [Read more...]

OMW's hearing a LOT of rumblings about various local air personalities moving up and down Interstate 77.Our first tidbit - the Local Rumor Mill(tm) tells us that oldies WMJI/105.7 "Majic 105.7" Cleveland's now-former midday personality Mike Ivers could land in the same time slot down in Akron, taking the opening at WAKR/1590 - recently posted right here on OMW - for a midday personality and music director. Along those lines, the move could very well mean that WAKR moves away from standards, and … [Read more...]

A reminder - it's easy to donate without even listening to the radio or watching TV. Don't wait for later this week. Click this very easy link above, and you can donate to the American Red Cross' Katrina Relief fund without even leaving your computer. It's that easy.We can't find a lot of details on it - among other places, on the TV stations' own websites - but OMW hears that the Cleveland market's TV stations will do an hour fundraising special for Hurricane Katrina relief called "Northeast … [Read more...]

OMW hasn't heard this on the air yet on the Big One, but this one IS a Big One.The Cleveland Indians are the driving force in this effort to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, starting this Thursday morning at Jacobs Field. WTAM's involvement includes morning team "Wills and Coleman", who broadcast their show live from Gateway Plaza there Thursday and Friday, and will be collecting money for the American Red Cross' Katrina relief fund.The team itself will also be collecting money … [Read more...]

Clearing out the files on this early Saturday morning:* North American Broadcasting rocker WBZX/99.7 "Blitz" Columbus has dropped the syndicated Howard Stern show, citing an FCC investigation of the station due to things aired on Stern's show. Click here for an MP3 of the station's audio explanation of the situation. A locally-produced morning show will replace Stern. As far as how it affects Northeast Ohio, it means we won't have the fall ratings book to see how Cleveland's "Rover" (based at … [Read more...]