Random Stuff Out of Nowhere

…and for no particular reason than it’s time for an update:

WJER ANNOUNCEMENT?: We haven’t verified it, so we won’t run all of it, but an anonymous comment to one of our earlier items says WJER/Dover-New Philadelphia operator Gary Petricola has announced – on air, officially, on his own station – the impending departure of the FM 101.7 signal later this month, and his impending (re-)purchase of WJER(AM) 1450 with other investors, which will remain in Dover.

None of the above is any surprise to anyone who reads this blog, of course, or for that matter, anyone who’s been reading the recent channeling of OMW through the Times-Reporter newspaper. But it is news that it’s apparently been told to listeners on the air.

The anonymous contributor says the announcement happened during the station’s 5 PM news report this evening…

ZANESVILLE MOVE?: While we’re talking about radio stations moving, OMW readers already know that WHIZ-FM/102.5 Zanesville is heading for a new license city of Baltimore, a small spot on the map just southeast of Columbus. It’ll be a Columbus move-in for someone, and probably not the WHIZ Media Group.

Instead, it looks like they could have their eyes on one of the rumored possibilities for a WHIZ-FM replacement.

OMW reader Kyle McPeck, on his “King of Zanesville” blog, says he’s heard employees of CCM WCVZ/92.7 “92.7 The River” South Zanesville, the sister of Columbus-based WCVO/104.9, have been given their walking papers.

While he isn’t saying for sure, Kyle speculates that the WHIZ Media Group will take over 92.7 as the replacement for the departing 102.5, and that WCVZ is rumored to be looking at putting up a new non-commercial outlet in Licking County.

It makes sense to us, too. The WHIZ folks aren’t the kind of operation to either A) run a Columbus-based FM or B) vacate the FM dial in their home city, and taking over 92.7 would be a good solution for them.

WHIZ/1240 and WHIZ-TV/18 (NBC affiliate) remain no matter how this pans out…

BORDER FORMAT CHANGE: Back in the day, we’d have done a whole item on this.

Long-time readers know our particular obsession with Beacon Broadcasting, the Warren-based chain of five outlets stradding the Ohio/Pennsylvania border owned by steel supply magnate Harold Glunt.

Beacon has split up the three-station simulcast of oldies music based at Warren’s WANR/1570.

AllAccess reports that simulcasters WLOA/1470 Farrell PA and WGRP/940 Greenville PA have flipped to sports, using Sporting News Radio, and continuing as the area affiliates of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. Even in the WANR simulcast, WLOA and WGRP split away for baseball.

“Family Friendly Oldies” continue at WANR, presumably without the wordy three-station liners…

Beacon also owns Christian rocker WEXC/107.1 Greenville PA, a Youngstown-market rimshot known as “Freq 107”, and gospel daytimer WRTK/1540 Niles, which runs the satellite format “Rejoice – Musical Soul Food”…

SPEAKING OF 1540: As if we haven’t enough these days, another (original) item on Good Karma’s original sports outlet in Cleveland, WWGK/1540 “Cleveland’s ESPN Radio 1540”. You know, that Good Karma sports station that is NOT WKNR/850…

When he dropped us a note after reading our last item, Good Karma boss Craig Karmazin let us know that the station was airing a James Brown interview with Jim Brown…the former, the FOX Sports TV star, the latter, the iconic Hall of Fame running back who set the standard in a Cleveland Browns uniform.

It airs at 11:30 on Sunday, right before WWGK carries Westwood One’s NFL coverage – the Indianapolis Colts play the Jacksonville Jaguars. That’s right, it’s another network sports package the station adds to its WW1 college football coverage.

Mr. Karmazin tells OMW that the Browns/Steelers clash on Thursday Night Football tomorrow allows the 1 PM game to air on his station. NFL rules normally prohibit such contests from airing in that slot.

And a tip of the OMW hat to Cleveland Plain Dealer media writer Julie Washington, who has an excellent article on the whole Good Karma/WKNR situation in Wednesday’s PD. It may be the only media-related newspaper article we’ve ever seen with not a single error…