UPDATE 4/23/11 1:07 PM: WEAO/49 is still off the air as of this writing - though is still airing on Time Warner Cable, with earlier volume problems long ago fixed. From the station's update on Friday: Work continues on the WEAO/Channel 49 transmission problem. Please know that restoring WEAO transmission is Western Reserve Public Media's number-one priority. We don't know what progress was made on Thursday, but the weather is once again not cooperating, with more rain pelting the area. Good … [Read more...]
WEAO/49 Outage
UPDATE 4/16/11 10:45 AM: Here's the update from Western Reserve PBS' Facebook page: WEAO outage update: Work on the technical problem is delayed until Monday morning due to high winds and rain. Most cable subscribers are getting Western Reserve PBS now, thanks to cable systems switching over to our WNEO signal. And as the station explains it, there's a very good reason that the weather is delaying plans to fix the problem: The problem appears to involve an 800-ft. transmission line that … [Read more...]
Our Next Pile Of Items
Now that Joe Tait has said "have a good life, everybody!" and retired to his southern Medina County farm, let's get to the other items piling up in the OMW Topics List... ...SOON ON FM?: You may be hearing Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 in Cleveland branding itself as "NewsRadio 1100, now on 99.1 FM", and soon. That's because it appears Cleveland is about to become the latest Clear Channel market where a powerhouse AM talk station takes up residence at an additional spot on the FM dial, and a … [Read more...]
TRANSCRIPT: Joe Tait’s Last Cavs Radio Words
The following is a transcript of Joe Tait's last moments as the Voice of the Cavaliers...first, his final exchange with Mike Snyder, and then, his sign off - slightly altered from his usual version. We'd like to thank Fox Sports Ohio for replaying the Cavaliers Radio Network call, so we could properly transcribe these segments: ---------- MIKE SNYDER: Joe, we've reached that time, and I'll tell ya, I must say, it's really been a privilege for me to work with you, doing this over the last 20 … [Read more...]
Have A Good Night Everybody
A big "thank you" to our Secondary Editorial Voice(tm), for handling things in what ended up being over a one month long hiatus. We'll have a much larger item with other news nuggets a little later today, but this one's for Joe Tait. We've gotten a small taste of what Cleveland Cavaliers basketball on the radio sounds like without Tait, but unfortunately, that'll become a permanent meal after tonight. Yes, Joe Tait...who has been the NBA team's radio voice almost continuously since a few … [Read more...]
WOIO Gets “Me”
Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19 pulls out another pronoun in the digital TV subchannel universe, which will make this a very challenging post to write. That's because WOIO recently signed up to air "Me-TV," as in "Memorable Entertainment Television," operated by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting in a joint venture with movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. (You know, the same MGM whose very existence was in total limbo all of last year.) It joins the ranks of other subchannel "retro networks" … [Read more...]
Those “Block”-heads at WUAB Return
It's baaaaack. Raycom My Network TV affiliate WUAB/43 Lorain has apparently decided to revive their former "43 The Block" branding - nearly six years after dropping the name the first time. The new "My 43 The Block" logo is not shown on WUAB's website yet - a new www.wuab.com URL redirects to the current my43.net site - but all promos and station IDs have been redone to feature the new-old logo (shown in a screen capture to the right below the original "Block" logo). For those who don't … [Read more...]
Jim Mantel Heads to the Tar Heel State
Former Clear Channel country WGAR/99.5 morning fixture Jim Mantel is now waking people up in North Carolina. As of this morning, Mantel took the morning gig for NextMedia country outlet WRNS 96.1/960 Kinston for "Mantel in the Morning" joined by station veteran Heather Davis. (Yes, WRNS AM/FM is owned by the same NextMedia that owns Canton stations talk WHBC/1480 Canton and Hot AC WHBC/94.1.) Interestingly enough, Mantel himself is also replacing a longtime personality in the market - Wayne … [Read more...]
WKYC Cuts A.J. Colby, Jeff Maynor
Budget cutbacks have also come once again to another television outlet. This time, Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 announced that they would be parting ways with weekend meterologist A.J. Colby and newscaster Jeff Maynor. The Plain Dealer's Mark Dawidziak elaborates more on Colby's dismissal. Maynor joined the NBC affiliate in the early 90s after lengthy stays as anchor/reporters for both WJW-turned-WJKW/8 (early to late 1970s) and for WEWS/5 (late 1970s to mid 1980s). For most of his stay at … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: It’s Curtains For WCER
UPDATE (03-31-2011 at 5:29PM): Or is it? We've heard from different sources that WCER may have changed their minds about signing off today or tonight. More on this as details emerge... The original post as follows: ---------------------------------------------------- **This is a developing story... please keep checking back for the latest developments! ** We've also received word that another AM radio station in Canton has decided to throw in the towel and go silent. This time, it's … [Read more...]