Throughout the media circus surrounding Ted Williams, the 53 year-old homeless Columbus man whose "golden voice" has made him a worldwide celebrity, we thought there was an "untold story" behind him. Sure, he admitted to recovering from a drug and alcohol problem...in the initial video from the Columbus Dispatch, even, the same video which became viral on YouTube and garnered millions of hits. (Some 12 million, at last check.) After appearing on the "Dave and Jimmy" show based at Clear … [Read more...]
The Year Starter
Posted on January 5, 2011 · 6 Comments
UPDATE 1/5/11 11:13 AM: An update on "The Homeless Radio Voice Guy": With Ted Williams' story going national, he's appeared on national morning TV (NBC's "Today" and CBS' "Early Show", among others), and has gotten job offers from diverse places like MTV and the Cleveland Cavaliers. (They want him for voice work, not to play power forward.) RTDNA's website cites a "Mail Online" report that Williams once "worked overnight shifts" for WVKO/1580 Columbus, in its days as an urban music station. … [Read more...]
The Lake In Audio
Posted on January 4, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Courtesy of long-time OMW contributor Nathan Obral, here's audio of the format change of WMVX/106.5, which flipped from hot AC "Mix 106.5" to a four day stunt, then adult hits as "106.5 The Lake". The audio below is "scoped"...you'll only hear parts of songs, generally the beginning and end, and various parts of spots, commercials and imaging, starting at 39 minutes before Monday's 7:30 AM format change. We're using YouTube since the free version of WordPress doesn't do audio hosting. The … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: Dipping In The Lake
Posted on January 3, 2011 · 7 Comments
UPDATE 1/3/11 8:54 AM: Plenty of updates below, including the official press release on "The Lake", and we're adding audio courtesy of long-time OMW contributor Nathan Obral...that audio will be coming later... ------------ As it turns out, we were on target in our skepticism that Clear Channel's WMVX/106.5 Cleveland would exit its four day long stunt as 90s music-focused "GenX Radio" this morning. Well, at least so far. At 7:30, WMVX slowed down the format stunt wheel, declaring that … [Read more...]
Playing The Game At 106.5
Posted on January 2, 2011 · Leave a Comment
So, we're less than a day from the launch of 90s music station "GenX 106.5" in Cleveland. Or, are we? We've been considering the possibilities, conferring with other radio industry watchers, and thinking about it. And for us this Sunday, all the chatter we're hearing about a new "GenX" music format on the former "Mix 106.5" seems...well...almost staged. Planted. It's TOO perfect. Maybe folks connected to Oak Tree are "playing the game" with us. (And no, we're not suggesting that 106.5 … [Read more...]
Figuring Out 106.5’s Next Move
Posted on December 30, 2010 · 4 Comments
As Clear Channel Cleveland gets some attention for a wide-ranging musical stunt on the now-former "Mix 106.5", just about everyone short of the proverbial dog catcher is trying to guess what the station does next on the still-currently-named WMVX/106.5. We'll preface this as being a piece, entirely, of speculation, based on no fact or even rumor about 106.5's direction after 7:30 on Monday morning. We've heard, well, nothing out of Oak Tree that would give us any hints. However, "nature … [Read more...]
There Goes Mix 106.5
Posted on December 29, 2010 · 19 Comments
There had been some speculation that Clear Channel Cleveland hot AC mainstay WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106.5" would change formats after the "Mixmas" Christmas music ended. When "Mixmas" yielded to "Mix" again on the day after Christmas, many of us were taking our money away from the Format Change Betting Window. We should have kept it there. Starting at 10 this morning, WMVX has blown up the long-standing hot AC format, and is stunting by playing, well, everything. No, we don't mean a "Jack FM" style … [Read more...]
The Best Calendar Ever
Posted on December 24, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Our apologies to long-time personal friend and professional colleague Scott Fybush ("NorthEast Radio Watch", 100000watts.com, The Radio Journal) for not putting this up in time for Christmas, but there's still another week to get it before the New Year. It, of course, is Scott's world-famous Tower Site Calendar. For those of you unfamiliar with the Tower Site Calendar, it's really the only calendar a radio/TV enthusiast or engineering type will ever need. We'll let Scott describe it himself, … [Read more...]
Closing Out The Week And Year
Posted on December 17, 2010 · 3 Comments
After this, OMW will go on official Holiday Hiatus, with a return scheduled for January 3, 2011. As per usual, we'll try to get any major media news mentioned here, either on the blog itself or via our Twitter feed. You can see our Twitter feed on the right hand side of the blog, even if you don't "do" Twitter...and the items will also appear on our Facebook page... 4:30 NEWS: The trend of early TV news getting earlier isn't going away with the new year. Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 enters … [Read more...]
The Big Central Ohio Switch
Posted on December 15, 2010 · Leave a Comment
A big Columbus radio switch has taken place. This morning at 6 AM, The Ohio State University officially launched "Classical 101", putting 24/7 classical music on the former WWCD/101.1 Grove City...now known under new call letters WOSA. The "Classical 101" format also airs on WOSB/91.1 Marion, and according to an earlier announcement by the station, WOSP/91.5 Portsmouth and WOSE/91.1 Coshocton...not to mention taking the HD2 spot on WOSU-FM/89.7. (That side channel has been running the existing … [Read more...]
