Ohio Media Watch

File this one under "Widely Spread Rumor".OMW hears that Kent State University's classical/NPR WKSU/89.7 Kent is getting antsy to expand, and wants to do so by buying another local non-commercial FM station.The two most named suspects are Akron University's student-run rocker WZIP/88.1 Akron ("Z88"), and the Akron Public Schools' AAA-formatted WAPS/91.3 Akron ("91.3 The Summit"). If OMW were a betting window, we'd offer even money odds on WKSU picking up WZIP.What would WKSU do with a second … [Read more...]

Regarding upcoming changes to ABC Radio newscasts in the Cleveland/Akron/Canton area:We understand that Akron liberal talker WARF/1350 "Radio Free Ohio" is hanging onto ABC, even after conservative talk sister WHLO/640 drops the network for FOX News Radio...like many Clear Channel talk stations, including WTAM/1100 Cleveland.Unlike what it ran at the start of the liberal talk format, WARF is now running the ABC "Entertainment" newscast, which is a slightly different newscast that is, if memory … [Read more...]

* As far as we can tell, Friday 5 PM came and went without a "JACK FM" flip within (or outside) Infinity's Cleveland cluster.* Harold Glunt's latest Youngstown/Warren market radio acquisition, WRTK/1540 Niles, is still pumping out urban AC music, and was even heard soliciting for advertisers, with a 216 area code number being given. Of course, we wonder if those advertisers will be told that the format's likely going away soon...* And another Side Effect of Glunt: OMW already reported that the … [Read more...]

(Those of you with Beacon Fatigue, please scroll down the blog to the next action-packed update, posted just a little earlier this evening. There's not a single mention of the word "Glunt" in it!)----------As first reported by OMW, Beacon Broadcasting's Harold Glunt is buying yet another station in the Youngstown/Warren market. The FCC website shows an application for assignment of license of WRTK/1540 Niles from D & E Communications (Dale Edwards) to Harold Glunt. The price listed in the … [Read more...]

ITEM 1: We guess that we don't listen to WTAM/1100 afternoon motormouth Mike Trivisonno as much as we used to, as we missed a recent controversy centering around him. This column from the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Connie Schultz explains it - Triv apparently made quite a few insensitive remarks about HIV-positive people.We felt the need to include the mention here, but didn't really feel the need to talk about it. Reporting that Mike Trivisonno makes insensitive and stupid comments is roughly … [Read more...]

Maybe WARF/1350 Akron "Radio Free Ohio"'s Keith Kennedy can answer some of these questions.From Brian Maloney's "Radio Equalizer" blog, in his mailbag:-----------From Ed Christian, President, Saga Communications:Brian: Any further info on the Bill Press show? Amazingly enough I have three radio stations where I want to place his show and we, for the life of it, can't get (a) return calls or (b) promises of a package or information on the show from his people.I have never seen such ineptness … [Read more...]

After posting about various changes in the Youngstown and Ashtabula areas, hearing about them from tipsters because OMW was camped out far to the south, we decided we had to hear them for ourselves.* We did hear former oldies WEXC/107.1 Greenville PA as Christian rocker "Freq 107". And unlike its previous incarnation as oldies "Wexy 107", the station is very clearly targetting Youngstown. Live and local when we heard it in early afternoon, with cut-ins from the "Morning Freq" hosts at the … [Read more...]

There are two Northeast Ohio nominations for the NAB's annual Marconi Awards this time around.WMJI "Majic 105.7" morning legend John Lanigan and long-time partner Jimmy Malone are up for "Large Market Personality of the Year" for their morning program on the Cleveland Clear Channel oldies station.Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting's Cleveland market smooth jazz WNWV/107.3 "The Wave" Elyria is up for "NAC/Jazz Station of the Year".There's one other nomination in Ohio, outside of our usual coverage … [Read more...]

No, no JACK FM flip in Cleveland yet, on 104.1, 102.1, 92.3 or 98.5, but it seems every time I leave the Akron area, things happen:* A package received at the Clear Channel World Domination HQ in Independence forced the evacuation of the building, for a while this afternoon. Here's the story from WEWS Channel 5's website. The package was, according to NewsChannel 5, found soaked in chemicals and actually was sent to a mortgage company which is housed in the building on Oak Tree Boulevard.* … [Read more...]

Those "JACK FM" rumors are flying again.This time, it's Radio Business Report weighing in on the matter. In RBR's morning newsletter, they hear Infinity will "soon flip" one of its Cleveland FMs to the eclectic format otherwise known as "Variety Hits" or "Adult Hits".RBR believes the "iPod on shuffle" format will land at either WQAL or WDOK, though it's tough to say whether they're getting this information from their sources, or are just guessing based on the format composition of Infinity's … [Read more...]