Heading Into A Grab Bag

As we head into June, which has the potential to be a very busy month for us (both good and bad), let’s let out some more items.

We may be a bit scarce for a while, again, due to Life Intervening(tm), but we’ll be around from time to time…

WHAT COMES UP, EVENTUALLY COMES DOWN: We spent a lot of time with the digital TV transition back in 2009, both here and on our other blog, Ohio Digital TV.

One major change on the TV landscape in Northeast Ohio was the occupant of RF channel 17.

Channel 17 had long been occupied, analog style, by the Canton-licensed facility that ended up becoming religious outlet WDLI, owned and operated by religious broadcasting giant Trinity Broadcasting Network out of Santa Ana CA…and operating out of a large studio building along U.S. Route 62 in the eastern Canton suburb of Louisville.

But WDLI built its digital facility closer to the center of the market, in the Akron FM/TV antenna farm near Rolling Acres Mall. First, a pre-transition facility on RF channel 39, then taking over RF channel 49 when Western Reserve PBS’ WEAO/49 (just down the road) stayed on pre-transition 50 and took analog 49 dark.

Since the 2009 digital transition, that old WDLI analog tower has been sitting out there on U.S. 62…until recently.

OMW readers were there when the former WDLI tower met the ground in a controlled drop last week.

Friend of OMW Geoff Mears, afternoon news anchor at D.A. Peterson soft AC WDPN/1310 Alliance, sent along this picture, and tells us the former WDLI/WJAN studios next to the felled tower in Louisville are tabbed for a major remodel as an expanded audio/TV production house.

Those who grew up within range of the analog 17 signal remember it first as local independent station WJAN-TV aimed at Canton, before its time as a religious outlet under PTL’s Jim Bakker, David Livingstone (where the current calls come from), and the current ownership of TBN.

Digital TV being what it is, the station still appears on digital tuners as channel 17. The original RF channel 17 gave Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 in Cleveland an opening for a much more robust digital signal…and of course, digital tuners still show WKYC as channel 3, WEAO as channel 49, etc., but you know the drill if you read OMW at all…

STUDIO 0: We’ve been getting tips that it looks like Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8′s “Fox 8 News” has abandoned its “Studio 8″ Akron bureau space in the food court of Fairlawn’s Summit Mall.

We don’t know why yet, but OMW hears that “Studio 8″ is indeed being abandoned by the folks on Dick Goddard Way.

“Fox 8 News” will obviously continue to cover Akron/Canton news, but we don’t know yet if they’re looking for new space in the Akron area, or if they’ll do the I-77 Shuffle between Cleveland and Akron/Canton.

Of the four local news operations in the Cleveland TV market, only Raycom CBS affiliate WOIO/19-MyNet affiliate WUAB/43′s “19 Action News” doesn’t have Akron area space. WKYC/3 is based out of the United Building on the corner of Main and Market in Akron (former home of “Akron/Canton News”, now shared with Western Reserve PBS and Kent State University’s WKSU/89.7), and WEWS/5 has its Akron bureau in the Akron Beacon Journal building…

99X THOUGHTS: Radio listeners are discovering that if you’re far from Parma, especially to the east or west, picking up Clear Channel alt-rock “99X” on 250 watt translator W256BT/99.1 Cleveland is quite a challenge.

We surely expected complaints from folks in Westlake, Mentor and Fairlawn, where the signal disappeared for us in the heart of the Montrose commercial area. And one listener has trouble picking up “99X” in Strongsville.

To the west, especially, perhaps its tropospheric propagation (“trop”) carrying on-channel BAS Broadcasting AC WFRO/99.1 Fremont “Eagle 99″ a bit further afield to the east.

But it looks like those 250 watts are also having some trouble getting into downtown Cleveland, perhaps due to those big buildings.

It reminds us of the signal problems Clear Channel sister hot AC WKDD had in the 2001 frequency swap, when it moved from its long-time home at 96.5/Akron to the former WTOF-FM/98.1 Canton stick in eastern Stark County.

At the time, WKDD promoted 98.1 as “the most powerful signal in Ohio!” or something like that.

But the former WTOF-FM’s reach was primarily due to its antenna height, not its base power, and anyone who knows FM signals will tell you that the signal for such a station is “a mile wide, but a foot deep”.

That prompted Clear Channel to quickly move 98.1 to Hartville – closer to Akron. It eventually landed at the former tower site of its original frequency, 96.5, in the former Northampton Township, after a city of license change to the Akron suburb of Munroe Falls.

For the record, long-time personal and professional friend Scott Fybush of NorthEast Radio Watch (go, subscribe, it’s worth every penny!) caught a recent Cleveland Indians game at Progressive Field, and reports that he had mixed “99X” reception results in section 555 with two radios – one, a CCrane “Witness”, showed no sign of picking up 99.1, and the other, an Insignia HD Radio portable, picked it up with a listenable signal. (Of course, that second receiver can also get the “99X” feed on WMMS/100.7′s HD2 sidechannel.)

It should be noted that section 555 is actually blocked from Parma by…the structure of Progressive Field.

It is no surprise that the signal “is what it is”, as a station rep has said on Facebook, and that the station heavily promotes 99X’s feed on iHeartRadio.

But smartphone-wise, at least in the Android version of iHeartRadio, “99X” is buried at the bottom of the listings, well under all of its on-air siblings, and all of the other “Featured” iHeartRadio feeds, including “The Alternative Project”…with an identical playlist to the local alt-rock outlet.

We assume it’s the same on the iOS/iPhone/etc. version of iHeartRadio, as we believe the platforms have feature parity now…

RATINGS TALK: Long-time OMW readers know that we basically don’t report either radio or TV ratings.

The reasons are many: among them, there are only certain numbers we can even report, and they may or may not reflect reality – like the Arbitron “beauty pageant” radio numbers of all listeners 6-plus (12-plus in diary markets).

Thanks to a change at the leading radio ratings service, even that “beauty pageant” is now missing some contestants.

Beginning with the most recent ratings released to the media and the public, Arbitron is only listing stations that subscribe to its service. The stations that aren’t subscribers? They’ve vanished from the reports like they were not even on the air.

Perhaps the best example of the vagaries of the new system comes with the recent Akron ratings. We’ll quote the excellent “Taylor on Radio-Info” E-mail newsletter put out by Radio-Info.com columnist Tom Taylor:

Of the two major local owners, Rubber City Radio is subscribing to the trends, and Media-Com’s not. Rubber City Radio’s country WQMX goes 8.3-7.7. Its rock WONE-FM dips 4.3-3.8. But we’re not able to see Media-Com’s talk WNIR, a 5.6 share in the Winter book. Clear Channel’s hot AC WKDD is a consistent 3.8-3.6. But we’re not seeing any of the normally high-scoring Clear Channel stations from Cleveland like classic hits WMJI (a 6.5 last Fall).

It could be worse…Taylor reports that the entire Knoxville market has no public ratings.

This makes figuring out ratings winners and losers, at least in the “beauty contest”, difficult. And yes, we’ve been given private numbers by various people in the industry, but won’t publish those.

We can’t afford the legal bill from Dewey, Cheatum and Howe, after all. Frankly, we’re not even sure we’re allowed to reprint the numbers we did here. And generally, sources will give us a slice of the numbers that make their own station or cluster look good.

We CAN determine something that is also evident – Arbiton’s “subscriber only” policy means that only stations that subscribe to THAT MARKET’S REPORT are listed.

For example, the stations based at Oak Tree, in Clear Channel’s big Cleveland cluster, have no need to separately subscribe to Arbitron’s Akron market report…since the numbers are already available within the company at Freedom Avenue’s Akron/Canton operation.

Ditto, if Freedom Avenue wants to see how their stations are doing in Cleveland.

But…the clusters generally only sell based on local numbers, anyway. Ask talk WTAM/1100 afternoon mouth Mike Trivisonno about “not getting credit” for his Akron market numbers…he’ll go on about it for an hour.

We also don’t know if some stations are subscribing only to certain Arbitron reports, or if they’ll show up in the reports where they subscribe.

We’re also not surprised to see that the thrifty Media-Com doesn’t subscribe in the Akron market.

TV-wise, at least one station has sent us an official release on improved ratings, but we’re not sure we’ll print it unless we get similar releases from the other three major local stations with news operations…

Alt Rock “99X” For Cleveland Translator?

UPDATE 5/23/12 12:02 PM: As expected, alt-rock “99X” has launched on the 99.1 translator known legally now as W256BT (due to the move from 99.7 to 99.1).

Debut song: “Gold on the Ceiling” by Akron’s Black Keys.

UPDATE 5/23/12 11:15 AM: There’s word out of Oak Tree that this may launch on 99.1 FM as soon as 12 noon today.

We noticed what we think is a dead carrier on 99.1 a little earlier, replacing a distant, scratchy pickup of what we believe was BAS Broadcasting’s WFRO/99.1 “Eagle 99.1″ Fremont. The (for-now) OMW World Headquarters is on the fringe of the 99.1 air signal…

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It looks like it might be alternative rock, not talk, for that Clear Channel Cleveland FM translator we’ve been tracking ever since it was licensed to Lorain.

Clear Channel has launched a website – 99XCleveland.com – and an iHeartRadio feed of what’s currently being heard on the HD2 sidechannel of rock/talk WMMS/100.7. (It’s the Premium Choice “Alt Project” feed with WMMS HD2 liners and no mentions of “99X”, yet.)

The website promises you can listen to “99X” on the aforementioned 99.1 FM, the 250 watt translator mounted on the tower of classic hits WMJI/105.7 in the Parma antenna farm, and calls the station “Cleveland’s New Rock Alternative”.

As of this writing, W259BI/99.1 doesn’t appear to be on the air, though Clear Channel filed Monday for a license to cover its construction permit.

Long-time readers know that when we are wrong, we nearly put up a billboard telling everyone.

Yes, we’ve been speculating that 99.1 would end up as an FM repeater of talk WTAM/1100.

We did make it clear, however, that our thoughts were educated guesses based upon Clear Channel’s moves in other markets in similar situations.

The company attached FM translators to powerful AM news/talkers in Portland OR (50 kW KEX/1190) and Miami (5 kW low-band WIOD/610) among others, in markets where it had no flagging full-power FMs to spare.

In other markets, like Sacramento (50 kW KFBK/1530) and Albany (50 kW WGY/810), Clear Channel sacrificed full-power FMs for the AM news/talk simulcast.

Add to that that, off the top of our head, at least, we can only name one Clear Channel HD-fed FM translator used to mount a new music format – “103.1 The Vulcan” in Birmingham AL – and the circumstantial evidence was very much in favor of a talk simulcast on Cleveland’s 99.1. (Even the Birmingham effort took over – for a time – an AM that was the long-time home of talk WERC, which itself moved to a full-power FM frequency.)

Note that we carefully pointed out each time that we’d heard exactly nothing about the fate of 99.1, format-wise, out of Oak Tree. We haven’t yet heard anything about “99X”, either.

But…we’re not ready to close the books on this one, yet.

Clear Channel has, after all, pulled a “fake” on us before.

Remember when Dover-New Philadelphia’s WJER-FM/101.7 was in the process of moving north to Canton, and someone at Freedom Avenue messed with our heads by creating a full-fledged country format website claiming to be for “101.7 The Bull”?

The station, of course, is today’s AC WHOF/101.7 “My 101.7″, and aside for perhaps a crossover tune or two, not a note of country music ever aired on that frequency.

OK, so this is a bit more elaborate, complete with the iHeartRadio feed and public website.

Maybe we’re just gunshy…

Press Release Theatre, Act 1

From time to time, we will directly put up press releases from area broadcasters, shows or other media related entities… mostly of items we don’t intend to “cover” in any depth.

Many of these will be put up in a group of more than one, like we’re doing with this entry. Some of these are a few days old, since we just started this feature.

We reserve the right to not post releases sent to us, especially if they don’t meet the criteria we’re looking for. We also reserve the right to put releases in our regular run of items in main blog entries. We do have “corners” with friends in them to visit, after all.

In the future, some releases will be put up separately in a “Press Release Little Theatre”, if you will. Our goal is to get the information up without a lot of heavy lifting on our part…increasing the value of this blog while we still deal with Life Intervening(tm).

Now, round 1:

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(From CBS Radio hot AC WQAL/104.1 “Q104″)

CLEVELAND, OH (May 14, 2011) Q104′s Fee’s Kompany Pledge for Pets Radiothon, held over the past two days , raised $120,936 for the Cleveland Animal Protective League, an organization which helps end animal suffering by rescuing abused and homeless pets and finding loving homes for them.

Q104′s morning team of Katherine Boyd and Allan Fee, who can be heard weekdays from 5-10am on-air 104.1 FM, streaming online at www.Q104.com and through the Radio.com app on mobile devices, hosted the radiothon Friday from 6a-6p and Saturday from 10-4pm. During the 18 hours the pair broadcasted, they not only took phone pledges, but brought about awareness for the cause and helped many animals get adopted throughout the two day radiothon.

“Thank you Cleveland for caring about Animals,” states Q104 program director Dave Popovich. “We have the best and most caring listeners around!”

In addition, Q104 recruited over 200 “Cash Captains” and “Q Cash Kids” who were out in the community over the past two months collecting spare change and donations to help the cause.

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(From Time Warner Cable, Northeast Ohio)

Akron, OH (MAY 11, 2012) – Ten local students will be featured May 14 – June 25 on Time Warner Cable as part of the Coolest Creations contest on Local On Demand channel 411. The winning student will receive a $500 scholarship.

To vote with your remote, Digital Cable customers can tune into channel 411, select the Coolest Creations category and then watch the clip of the inventor you wish to support. Each view counts as a vote. The contest runs May 14 – June 25. The winner will be announced June 29.

The Coolest Creations contest is part of Time Warner Cable’s philanthropic initiative Connect a Million Minds, which promotes education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math and recognizes the creative efforts of students who show innovation, creativity, problem solving and perseverance.

The 10 finalists were selected from the Just Think, Inc. Invention Convention held on April 28 at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.

2012 Coolest Creations Finalists:
(student name, school, invention)

Maura Ingraham, Menlo Park Academy, The Fashion Jump
Cora Gill, Copopa Columbia Station, MagniSweep Accessory 5000
Sarah Bennett, Maple Elementary (Chardon), Miracle Sprout
Shawn Zavodney, Nolley Elementary (Akron), The Cap-It
Madison Gauder, Nolley Elementary (Akron), Light-Up Slippers
Lauren Hailey, Boulevard Elementary (Cleveland Hts.), Closet Board Game Organizer
Alex Hauptman, Kirtland Elementary School, E-Z Rise
Lilly Kelemen, Kirtland Elementary, Where’s the Bulb?
Maggie Keller, Cuyahoga Hts. Elementary, Space Saving Seat
Yuke Zheng, Beachwood Middle School, The Room Method

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(From Time Warner Cable, Northeast Ohio)

Akron, Ohio (May 10, 2012) – This month, Time Warner Cable is bringing Digital TV customers comic book heroes from the big screen On Demand. From The Incredible Hulk to X-Men and Fantastic Four, the must-see, action-packed movies are only a click away. Enjoy heroes better and watch your favorite super heroes save the world again and again. In addition, get exclusive extras for Marvel’s The Avengers on Time Warner Cable’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/twc/) and on Movies On Demand. The Comic Book Heroes movie collection On Demand is available now through June 4 and includes the following films plus exclusive extras:

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (2010)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Fantastic Four (2005)
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
X-Men (2000)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Blade (1998)
Blade 2 (2002)

Exclusive interviews from The Avengers:
Joss Whedon — Director
Scarlett Johansson & Mark Ruffalo
Chris Hemsworth & Chris Evans
Samuel Jackson
Cobie Smulders & Clark Gregg
Tom Hiddleston

These films are available in SD and HD. Customers can watch them by tuning to the Movies On Demand channel 500 and selecting the “Comic Book Heroes” option.

The Train Goes On

Here we go…it’s time to distribute what we have as of late, and even some stuff we missed…

MORE PRAYERS: It is a scene unlike anything we’ve seen in local media. A popular personality not as a polished TV host, but a crying wife just praying for her husband to be brought back to her.

Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 “Fox 8 News in the Morning” co-host Stefani Schaefer wasn’t smiling about the latest news or Hollywood gossip in her return to the show on Wednesday morning.

No, she was Roger’s wife, giving an update – the first she’s given on TV – on her husband’s medical condition. He fell in a construction accident on April 27th and has been hospitalized ever since.

Surrounded on a long couch by pretty much the entire “Fox 8 News in the Morning” on-air crew, in a very emotional appearance, Stefani thanked viewers for their prayers, which she said were “working”:

“I see your notes on my Facebook page and the emails that you send and the calls to the station. That’s what carried us through. That literally carried us through this,” Stefani said in a message to the multitude of caring viewers. “I can’t thank you enough for your prayers because they have gotten us to this point. I have my husband, and he is alive.”

Stefani Schaefer returns to “Fox 8 News in the Morning” tomorrow…hoping to save her off time so she can spend time with Roger in his recovery, a recovery which she said doctors have told her will have its “ups and downs”.

For those who missed Schaefer’s appearance on Wednesday, the Fox8.com article linked above has video links…

PASSING ON: Sadly, one former local TV personality did not survive the weekend.

In our last update, we told you that Brian McIntyre – the former Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 and Ohio News Network Cleveland bureau reporter – was in hospice care.

And NewsNet5′s Mike Waterhouse reports that facility…the Hospice of the Western Reserve…is where McIntyre passed away Sunday after a battle with cancer:

Two qualities many people most likely recall about McIntyre are probably his smile and ability to make others laugh.

After his stint as ONN’s Cleveland bureau chief, which ended up with McIntyre working out of 3001 Euclid, he became a community relations specialist for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

He leaves Megan, his wife, and Gavin, his son, who will no doubt have help and support from his “family” of co-workers both past and recent…

INCOMING: Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 afternoon mouth Mike Trivisonno has brought aboard another producer.

After Ryan Gohmann left the “Big One’s” afternoon drive funfest – of his own accord, as we earlier reported – it’s night news anchor Glenn Forbes taking on a role that Triv quipped “only seems to last about six weeks, I don’t know why”.

We’ll decline that open opportunity, and note that on Wednesday afternoon’s program, new producer Forbes (“no relation to former Cleveland NAACP chairman George Forbes”) got the usual first day run-through of “Get To Know the Producer”…

OUTGOING: We briefly mentioned the apparent announcement from Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 “Good Company” co-host Andrea Vecchio that she was leaving the program, and sure enough, she is…with no apparent TV destination, yet.

Cleveland Plain Dealer writer Chuck Yarborough weighs in about what was indeed a surprise announcement – to both viewers and co-workers – with a quote Vecchio put up on her Facebook page shortly after our most recent update:

“Well, my immediate plan is to enjoy some time off first,” Vecchio wrote. “My work schedule often included working weekends with movie junket travel and other events around town. I’m definitely in need of some R & R, so I’ll likely visit my family in Florida to unwind. When I get back, I’ll finally have a chance to take in an afternoon baseball game to see the #1 Cleveland Indians! As for work, I love working in Cleveland television. We’ll see what the future holds. I did hear they’re casting for “Iron Man 3″ (wink wink).”

Vecchio is winking, of course, to her “blink or you’ll miss it” turn as a reporter in “The Avengers”, the mega-hit movie that did partial filming in downtown Cleveland. (Hey, didn’t someone open a casino down there recently? We think we saw something about that on TV.)

We have no word on any immediate future gig for Vecchio, either in film or local TV, though it sure sounds like she’s angling for some sort of role on another station…and she’s promising Facebook “friends” she’ll keep them updated on “what’s next”.

WKYC GM Brooke Spectorsky tells Yarborough that “for now”, “Good Company” would continue with remaining co-hosts Michael Cardamone and Joe Cronauer.

We saw CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ afternoon driver Desiray McCray joining them the other day…we don’t know if that falls under the “let’s get a radio personality to fill-in” rule of local mid-morning talk TV, or if they are actively searching for a third host to replace Vecchio.

Note, of course, that Cronauer had a long radio background (“Brian and Joe”) before becoming a regular “Good Company” fixture…

AVERAGE JOE: Cardamone came to “Good Company” (and its predecessor, “Studio 3″) after gaining a measure of fame as a contestant on the reality show “Average Joe”.

“Average Joe” is coming to Cleveland radio, and we’re not talking about either Cardamone or his former TV show.

This “Average Joe” is one Joe McGuire, who All Access reports has been the APD/imaging director/PM driver at Green Bay WI’s WIXX radio, and takes the 7 PM to midnight slot weekdays at CBS Radio hot AC WQAL/104.1 “Q104″.

McGuire takes the Q104 night slot vacated by Kory, who moved to middays on sister AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ in the continuing Reshuffle Of The Blocks In CBS Radio’s Wall Of Women (Audiences).

He does indeed go by the air name “Average Joe” in Green Bay, and his bio on the WIXX site is rather, uh, interesting.

“Average Joe” apparently got programmer Dave Popovich’s attention by sending a poster for a resume, and vows to All Access that he’ll attend Browns games…wearing “Green and Gold”. We assume he’s aware that if that “green” looks more like “black”, he’s taking his life into his own hands…

FRANKEN FM SOON?: We were notified by about a half-dozen readers that Cleveland’s assumed-soon-to-be “Franken FM” had taken rather interesting new call letters.

Low-power TV outlet WXOX-LP, which has a construction permit to move to analog channel 6, is now WLFM-LP. The station’s owner, Venture Technologies, moved those calls over from its similar outlet it owns in Chicago.

And of course, it’s not the ability to broadcast an analog TV signal on channel 6 that is in play for any of this.

WLFM-LP (in Chicago) was leased from Venture by former executives of former Clear Channel Chicago smooth jazz outlet WNUA/95.5. When Clear Channel dumped smooth jazz on WNUA for Spanish-language contemporary music, the executives relaunched it on WLFM-LP…which, since the audio of analog channel 6 lands it on the FM band, gave Chicago a new smooth jazz “radio station” at the top of the band at 87.7 FM.

That lasted until just recently, when the group running “The L” shuttered the smooth jazz “radio station”…citing the FCC’s recently imposed 2015 deadline, which will shut down all of the so-called “Franken FMs” by requiring the TV side to go all digital. The audio of digital channel 6 doesn’t show up on the FM band, due to the different technologies.

The move of the WLFM-LP calls to Cleveland’s would-be “Franken FM” (think “Frankenstein”, not Senator and former Air America host and “Saturday Night Live” alum Al Franken) has opened up speculation.

Those doing the speculation are looking at the obvious format holes in Cleveland…let’s see if any of them have legs:

* Of course, with Rubber City Radio flipping WNWV/107.3 back to smooth jazz(/AC) as “107.3 The Wave”, it would be rather unlikely that the WLFM calls get reunited with the former Chicago format. Besides, the calls were more associated with the iconic Chicago train system than any musical play.

* Several wonder if the outlet would become a Spanish-language station, with much more coverage than stations like WNZN/89.1 Lorain and WHWN/88.3 Painesville (both non-commercial). WLFM owner Venture has a history of leasing the “Franken FM” audio signals to ethnic/foreign language operators, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Though the “87.7 FM” audio is on top of the non-commercial band, the license belonging to a commercial TV station means the outlets can sell regular advertising…not just non-comm “underwriting”.

* Alternative rock is another “format hole” in Cleveland, with the flipping of CBS Radio’s WKRK/92.3 from “Radio 92.3″ to sports “92.3 The Fan” last August. Of note here: The Chicago station that carried the WLFM-LP calls is now alt-rocker WKQX-LP “Q87.7″, leased from Venture by Merlin Media to replace the original alt-rock WKQX/101.1, which Merlin flipped to all-news as “FM News 101.1″.

Close observers will note here that Merlin Media is the current Randy Michaels Radio Empire, and that Michaels – who used to be Clear Channel’s radio boss – traipsed all over Ohio buying stations for that company. The suburban Cincinnati resident is no stranger to radio in this state.

It wouldn’t take much to create a “Q87.7″ clone in Cleveland. But we have no idea if Merlin, as a company, or Randy, as its leader, are interested in such a business opportunity here…

We’re Back

Whew. That was a long hiatus, wasn’t it?

As explained in the previous items, various issues affecting your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) are not done yet. But we missed this blog, frankly.

We will not “be back” on a daily basis, and life off-blog may still intervene from time to time. But, overall, we have returned.

We’ll start with some newer stuff, and recap some other things that happened in our absence…most of it in a “Twitter Recap” of items we’ve posted before on our social media accounts.

So, let’s get this going…and if we missed anything, we’ll put it up later…

DON’T DARE DIETER: The last time that rock/talk WMMS/100.7 “Rover’s Morning Glory” cast member Dominic Dieter was making national news, it was because he was injured in a stunt that brought the show’s “Dare Dieter” segment to an end.

This time, it was Dieter’s mouth that did it.

We’ll let the Plain Dealer’s Chuck Yarborough do the heavy lifting:

Dominic Dieter, a member of the “Rover’s Morning Glory” team on WMMS-FM/100.7, has been disciplined by station owner Clear Channel for an off-color suggestion to a father worried about his daughter’s possible homosexuality.

In response to an email from the father, Dieter advised the father to have a friend “screw [her] straight.”

To say there was an outcry from the gay and lesbian community is, well, an understatement.

A sample, from the website LGBTQNation, in a post by GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Senior Media Field Strategist Justin Ward:

This is not okay. Not on any level, and not in any context. We trust that the majority of fair-minded Americans will agree. Make no mistake, if this young woman is, in fact, gay – or if she’s simply not interested in having sex with any of her father’s friends, then what Dieter is suggesting is rape.

Fast forward to Monday, after the GLAAD folks talked with Clear Channel Cleveland market manager Keith Abrams. Dieter offered up a recorded apology on Monday’s “RMG”, but wasn’t otherwise on the show. From a transcript:

I regret what I did say. My comments were inappropriate. They were inexcusable, and just downright stupid. And I want to make it clear; there was absolutely no intention to promote physical or sexual violence.

Abrams has his own response to the PD’s Yarborough:

“We take matters of this nature very seriously; his comment was thoughtless and unacceptable, and we apologize to those who were offended. We can assure you the appropriate disciplinary action has been taken, and Dieter has since apologized on air and is fully aware that what he said was unacceptable.

Abrams notes that immediately after Dieter’s Friday remarks, other “RMG” cast members called him to task for it, and that the show (we didn’t hear it) moved into a “productive” on-air discussion about “the acceptance of all lifestyles”, complete with calls from members of the gay community.

There’s no word on the length of Dieter’s suspension. We haven’t listened to the show this week to see if he’s back on…

NOT AT WTAM ANYMORE, THAT’S WHERE: When a cast member of a highly-rated afternoon drive AM radio talk show goes missing…well, that’s by far our most asked question of the hiatus: “Where’s Gohmann?”

That’s Ryan Gohmann, who returned to Oak Tree to join the fun on talk WTAM/1100′s Mike Trivisonno Show…and has now left the program, and left the station once again.

Gohmann left WTAM before back in 2007, segueing from his role as Bob Frantz’s producer to Florida, to become the assistant program director/morning drive producer at Clear Channel sister talk WFLA/970 Tampa.

In 2012, OMW only hears that the answer to the Most Asked Question of Our Hiatus is “Ryan’s decision to leave WTAM was his own decision”. This time, we have no word of an impending or already nabbed new gig for Gohmann, but we’ll let you know if such word pops up…

LEFT SWITCH: Aside from a shoestring effort by LMA operator Gary Richards at Painesville’s WABQ/1460, liberal talk radio has otherwise pretty much been left for dead in Northeast Ohio.

There’s at least a pulse, somewhere.

In a time slot that has seen conservatives Glenn Beck and most recently, Laura Ingraham, Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting talk WEOL/930 Elyria has returned Dial Global syndicated liberal host Stephanie Miller to airwaves on much of Cleveland’s west side.

Richards runs Miller on WABQ as well, but WEOL does a much better job of rimshotting Cleveland’s western suburbs (and places like Medina) than 1460 does of rimshotting Cleveland’s eastern suburbs. Both boast 1000 watt signals during the day, but WEOL has the considerable advantage of being lower on the AM dial.

Thus, even some Akron area fans of Miller’s show during its run on then-liberal talk WARF/1350 “Radio Free Ohio” have a shot at listening to her on WEOL…through some static. (This is by far not the Radio Battle of the Titans, signal wise.)

WARF, of course, is today’s “Fox Sports 1350″.

Why did WEOL make the change? It’s right on the station’s website:

We made this programming change because we needed to balance our programming in order to better serve both sides—both conversations. We were hearing too often that listeners perceived the station had swayed to the extreme right since two of our daytime talk shows were conservative.

Though it has carried Beck, Ingraham and continues to carry Premiere afternoon driver Sean Hannity, WEOL has been far from defined as “a conservative talk station”.

The noon-3 time slot is filled by another Dial Global talker, consumer advocate Clark Howard. We assume Cumulus Media is pitching the station on its new show with former Arkansas governor, Republican presidential candidate and Fox News Channel weekend host Mike Huckabee, but we don’t expect WEOL to pick it up for the reasons cited above.

Remember, WEOL used to feature news blocks from AP Radio Network News in many of these same time slots…and still airs a news/service non-politically polarized local morning drive show.

Across town, Laura Ingraham is still listed 10 AM to noon weekdays on the schedule of Spirit Media variety WELW/1330 Willoughby, but very few people who can pick up WEOL would have a shot at that east side station.

As far as we know, no Northeast Ohio station has yet picked up Mike Huckabee’s show…though we wouldn’t be surprised to see Cumulus Youngstown market talkers WSOM/600 Salem and WPIC/790 Sharon PA find a place for the in-house program.

MILLER, ON THE CONSERVATIVE SIDE: Another Miller, this one a conservative host, is now being heard in Cleveland.

Dennis Miller’s Dial Global show gains a Cleveland clearance, delayed 9 PM-midnight weekdays on Salem talk WHK/1420. The move bumps Cumulus’ Mark Levin and the local show “Kelly and Company” hosted by Tom Kelly.

Kelly is still on the WHK schedule in his original Sunday 4-6 PM time slot…he added late weekday evenings after WHK sent Michael Savage packing and replaced him with the then-two hour Levin show…

MANSFIELD CHANGES: Just a few months ago, Clear Channel’s Ashland/Mansfield cluster bumped classic hits “My 100.1 and 98.3″, adding the cluster’s 100.1 Shelby and 98.3 Fredericktown as FM simulcasters of talk WMAN/1400.

The 100.1 frequency, a northern rimshot into Mansfield, became the primary promoted signal. 98.3 rimshots Mansfield from the south, from a transmitter site in southern Richland County.

Not anymore.

It’s been officially announced on the WMAN web site…100.1 is going off in a different direction, leaving 1400 and 98.3 as the only WMAN signals.

The announcement on the main WMAN page reads, in big white on black letters:

ALERT: WMAN IS LEAVING 100.1 FM, TUNE TO 98.3 FM OR 1400 AM

The change is reflected on the station’s new logo, which now “leads” with FM 98.3, with 1400 AM below.

Where is 100.1 going?

An OMW reader alerted us to an E-mail from Clear Channel, directing to a new Facebook page:

There, this is one of the messages posted:

A radio station in Mid-Ohio under construction. We will sign on Friday May 4th at Noon.

Though we don’t know if this feed is on the air (we are, after all, well within WNIR’s signal range), a brand new feed for “My 100.1″, listed in the “Oldies” category, is stunting:

Amid the usual “construction” noises of a pounding hammer, liners promise “there’s a new radio station being built right now at 100.1 FM…you’d better listen when it debuts Friday at noon”.

“Pardon the dust,” indeed.

Another liner tells listeners they can still find WMAN on 98.3 FM or 1400 AM (yes, voiced by Clear Channel regional operations director and OMW reader Keith Kennedy), and we’ve heard an odd music mix from Michael Stanley to Frank Sinatra in the stunting.

Again, since we hear Howie Chizek instead of a Mansfield-area station on 100.1, we don’t know if this is being broadcast on 100.1 yet.

We assume Clear Channel will scoot the WMAN-FM calls over to 98.3, as they reside right now on 100.1 Shelby…

MOVING ON: After being synonymous with Cleveland radio and TV traffic reporting for a long time, Terry Groden has moved to fill some big broadcasting shoes.

At the peak of his time with Metro Traffic/Metro Networks, Groden was the local director of operations in Cleveland, even after Westwood One bought Metro.

He survived the closure of Metro’s Independence Media Gulch office and continued to do news and traffic embedded at Salem’s nearby facility.

TV viewers knew Groden as the primary fill-in for Metro’s traffic reporters at WOIO/19′s “19 Action News”…first for Rick Abell, and more recently for ground-based Joy Redmond.

He apparently survived the merger of Metro into Clear Channel’s Total Traffic…but Groden has moved on.

OMW hears that he’s filled the big shoes of the late Bruce Ryan as the new education director at the Ohio Center for Broadcasting.

Our best wishes to Terry…

THE TWITTER RECAP

Most of the following has been already shared in brief on our social media presence on Twitter and Facebook. And we’re sure we’ll miss something. But here’s what we’ve noted…with some new information…

CC CUTS: We briefly noted the usual Clear Channel seasonal job cuts, but here is some interesting detail we haven’t shared yet with you.

We told you that we hear a total of 8 employees at Clear Channel’s Oak Tree facility in Cleveland were involuntarily separated from their jobs (now, that’s a way to put it).

On air talent no longer toiling at Oak Tree include long-time WTAM Saturday morning host Bob Becker and classic hits WMJI/105.7-country WGAR/99.5 air personality Jim Hart.

Also out the Oak Tree door: WGAR morning producer Sean Lowery, 40-year veteran administrative assistant Kathy Seman, marketing/promo director Jen Black, and two associated with sports coverage at Oak Tree: Indians radio network senior producer Stephanie Hagele and WTAM “Bob Frantz Show” producer/Browns producer Brian Motsay.

Both Hagele and Motsay got on air references after their dismissals…with Indians Radio play-by-play voice Tom Hamilton giving Hagele a strong on-air job reference in the middle of the Tribe’s opening regular season contest.

Frantz, from what we heard, wasn’t as specific about losing Motsay, but he sounded rather ticked in veiled references to Motsay’s exit in a segment we heard shortly after the job cuts.

And now, the untold story.

Among his duties during WTAM’s evening shift, Motsay ran the local control board for WTAM’s broadcasts of Indians baseball, since Frantz’s show is not on the air during that time. (Hagele, of course, was at the network level.)

OMW hears from a very reliable source that when it came time to relieve Motsay of his duties at WTAM, he was shown the door IN THE MIDDLE OF A WTAM INDIANS BROADCAST.

Now, we realize that he’s just “the local board op” in the case of WTAM, flagship of the network, but a station which gets the network feed (being produced in another studio) like all other affiliates do.

But…couldn’t they wait until the game was over? For continuity’s sake, if nothing else? The concept of sending the guy to the exits mid-game seems a bit odd to us.

Oddly enough, OMW hears that aboard behind the board for the Indians broadcasts this year is the man who once held the job Sean Lowery lost in the most recent Oak Tree budget cuts…former WGAR morning producer Tony McGinty, who lost that job when WGAR didn’t renew the contract of host Jim Mantel (still in North Carolina, we trust). He’s returned to Cleveland after a stint at a station in Maine.

But Tony had nothing to do with any of the activity above – and may be learning of some of it by reading this item. He’s a good guy, and we’re very much glad to see him back in Cleveland…

BROWNS PRE-SEASON GAME ON WOIO: Disgusted with how Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19′s “19 Action News” aired 911 tapes of a family tragedy back in 2006, Cleveland Browns owner Randy Lerner moved with swift speed to end the station’s contract as the Browns’ local over-air partner…a deal which included broadcasting the Browns pre-season games on “Cleveland’s CBS 19″.

Shortly after coming to a settlement with WOIO, the games landed on Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, which has been the Browns pre-season partner ever since.

So, why is the team’s August 10th pre-season game slated to air on “CBS 19″?

Blame London…the London 2012 Olympics, that is. The games will take over the airwaves of NBC from July 27th through August 12th, and that includes the airwaves of WKYC.

Good Karma sports WKNR/850 “ESPN Cleveland”‘s newest addition, now-former Cleveland Plain Dealer sportswriter Tony Grossi, explains:

The home team controls the date and time of preseason games, but the Lions were locked into Aug. 11 because of their own logistical issues and declined to move the start time to the afternoon to accommodate WKYC.

The Browns declined to have the game aired on a delayed basis. WKYC, which is contractually obligated to produce the broadcast, had to offer the game to a competing station. It worked out an agreement to air it on WOIO Channel 19.

Note the date: it had originally been thought that the Browns/Lions pre-season tilt would be on August 11, but the final NFL pre-season schedule puts it on the 10th. That doesn’t do away with the Olympic conflict, of course, so we’ll assume WOIO will still air the game and the Lions are still unwilling to move the time.

“CBS 19″, of course, still airs nearly all of the Browns’ regular season games due to its CBS affiliation.

But if the team visiting Cleveland Browns Stadium on Any Given Sunday is in the NFC (the Browns and most of their opponents are in the AFC), the game will be seen on Fox – locally, Local TV LLC Fox affilate WJW/8.

That applies this year to the opening game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the December 16th contest with the Washington Redskins, if it’s not “flexed” into Sunday Night Football on NBC. (Stop, we can hear you laughing from here!)

The other non-standard game is the Thursday Night Football game on September 27th, when the Browns play at Baltimore on NFL Network. All of the cable/satellite games are sold to local affiliates in the two teams’ market, and we don’t know who will buy the rights to that game yet…

TONY: And yes, after being kicked off the Plain Dealer’s Browns beat due to a controversial tweet about Browns owner Lerner, veteran sportswriter Tony Grossi moved over to become a columnist for ESPNCleveland.com, the website of Good Karma sports WKNR/850-WWGK/1540.

Grossi does not have a show of his own on WKNR, but spent a lot of time on the station as a guest in the run-up to the recent NFL Draft…

SPEAKING OF GROSSI’S LONG-TIME HOME: The Plain Dealer and its Cleveland.com have entered a “partnership” with WKNR’s new competitor, CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”.

We can’t find any online references to the deal from either organization’s website…we found out about it because midday co-host Andy Baskin (“Cleveland’s Baskin and Talking Phelps Heads” or whatever they call the show now) mention it briefly.

At very least, it appears to involve regular appearances by Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com sports staffers on the 92.3 airwaves…

SPEAKING OF 92.3: New voices on “92.3 The Fan”‘s weekend schedule include Baskin’s co-worker in Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5′s sports department, Mike Cairns.

“19 Action News” sports anchor/reporter and former WTAM/1100 sports staffer Mark Schwab has been heard on the “Fan” weekend schedule often as well.

And WKRK has lured a name from…Erie PA.

Mike “Chico” Bormann was most recently heard on now-Cumulus sports WRIE/1260 “The Score” in that Northwest Pennsylvania market…and signed up for what appears to be a weekend-only gig at “92.3 The Fan”.

Though “Chico” has 10-plus years in the Erie market, he’s a native Clevelander, so it’s a homecoming for him.

And we’re wondering, based on past experience in other markets, if when Cumulus took over the Erie cluster from former owner Citadel, they kindly offered Bormann an opportunity to keep his afternoon drive gig…at minimum wage.

It’s just a guess on our part…we don’t know if that actually happened in Erie. But it did happen at Cumulus Toledo, where such an offer was made to former WTOD/1560 morning host Tom Watkins…

ANOTHER QUICK 92.3 ITEM: The CBS FM sports talker has returned to a popular smartphone app.

TuneIn, which has versions for all the major mobile platforms, used to carry CBS Radio stations as a part of its aggregation directory – which also appears at TuneIn.com.

CBS recently asked TuneIn to remove its stations, but the two sides apparently didn’t stop talking… CBS and TuneIn recently came to a deal adding all the company’s spoken word stations (news/talk/sports) to the TuneIn directory.

That brought “92.3 The Fan” back to TuneIn within hours of the announcement.

But those looking to listen to WKRK’s sister stations (WDOK/102.1, WQAL/104.1 and WNCX/98.5) on a smart phone still need to turn to CBS’ Radio.com app (iOS and Android) or the CBS Cleveland app (ditto).

We are a big fan of TuneIn on the official OMW Smartphone, an Android device. Not only can you pick up just about all the non-Clear Channel stations (they’re on iHeartRadio), and record those stations on the Pro version of TuneIn…you can also change the kind of stream, picking whatever the station offers.

We often switch to the AAC feed, which is brighter and more “open” to our ears than MP3 streaming…

THIS IS NOT THIS: An apparent contract end bumped the MGM-owned movie digital subchannel This TV off of WUAB/43.2, a subchannel of Raycom Media’s MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 “My 43 The Block”.

The network made a quick landing on WBNX/55.3, a subchannel of Winston Broadcasting’s CW affiliate WBNX/55.

But don’t expect it to return to Time Warner Cable anytime soon. A TWC spokesman says there are “no plans” to bring This TV back to TWC. We’re guessing because subchannel carriage is tied to the host channel, since WUAB quickly got “Bounce TV” (43.2 now) added to cable carriage…

Y-TOWN FLIPS: There are some recent format changes we haven’t tracked in the Youngstown radio market.

Whiplash talk WYCL/1540 Niles moved back to a full simulcast of sister standards WHTX/1570 Warren “Fabulous 1570″. But in the process, WYCL midday talker Louie b. Free’s show survived (his checks, after all, do clear), and is now heard 10 AM-2 PM on the newly combined “Fabulous 1570/1540″.

Jim Davison and Laurel Taylor, under the JL Communications banner, are still LMAing both stations from Whiplash owner Chris Lash. (And all are OMW readers, well, at least Jim and Chris are.)

Bernard Radio talk WGFT/1330 Campbell quit yakking at some point. It’s now “Oldies 1330″…

AND SINCE WE PROMISED: The latest voiceover clients for long-time OMW reader Chuck Matthews:

Alaska Integrated Media sports KUDO-AM/1080 The Ticket Anchorage/AK

Appaloosa Broadcasting sports (ESPN) KRKI-FM/Rapid City SD

Cookeville Communications sports (FSN) WPTN-FM/The Eagle Cookeville TN

Great Plains Media sports (FSN) WZIM-FM/The Ticket Bloomington/Normal IL

El Dorado Broadcasters’ rocker KXFM/San Luis Obispo

Chuck says he’s doing VO work for all the stations, and producing his work for KXFM. “Radio imaging available on retainer or barter via Benztown Branding/Cumulus Media Networks,” Chuck tells us…

THIS JUST IN: Romona Robinson to “19 Action News”

There’s a TV news bombshell this time…out of Reserve Square.

Raycom Media’s WOIO/19-WUAB/43 “19 Action News” announced just moments ago the hiring of former Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 “Channel 3 News” primary anchor Romona Robinson, who will start at “19 Action News” on February 2nd.

The untold story here…apparently at least one person at Reserve Square is not happy with the hiring, and “not happy” is perhaps an understatement.

The hiring, oddly enough, also returns Robinson to her original Cleveland TV home, WUAB/43. WUAB is now WOIO’s MyNetwork TV sister station, and Romona first made her mark in Cleveland on the station, as the co-anchor of then-independent WUAB’s “The 10 O’Clock News”.

Here’s the official “19 Action News” release, hot off the virtual press and delivered directly into our E-mail box…

———–

ROMONA ROBINSON COMING HOME TO 19 ACTION NEWS

Respected news anchor will anchor afternoon and evening newscasts for Cleveland’s most talked about television station

CLEVELAND, OH January 24, 2012 – Seven time Emmy Award winner Romona Robinson has found a new broadcast home. Ms. Robinson is joining 19 Action News where she will be anchoring afternoon and evening newscasts.

One of the most respected journalists in Northeast Ohio, Romona began her career as an award winning anchor of the 10pm news on WUAB. Her first day on air will be February 2nd.

“Romona Robinson is a perfect fit for 19 Action News.” comments WOIO/WUAB CBS 19 Vice President and General Manager Bill Applegate. “She’s a dynamic personality. Her years of community involvement have earned a special place in the hearts of Clevelanders. We welcome her with open arms.”

Romona adds, “I love this city and what I’ve come to realize, particularly over the last few weeks, is that the people of Northeast Ohio have truly become my family. I can’t put into words how excited I am to join 19 Action News.

They have embraced my journalistic values and my commitment to the community and I can’t wait to get started on this new adventure. There’s no place like home!”

“Romona Robinson is an accomplished journalist that has earned the trust of Clevelanders”, 19 Action News Director Dan Salamone comments. “19 Action News always has the viewer in its best interest, through an ongoing commitment to breaking news and weather, as well as investigative reporting. It’s a perfect format for Romona to continue to do what she does best.”

Weekend Cleanup

With such a busy week, even the weekend provides us with the opportunity to clean up news from the remainder of the week…

NOLAN RADIO AND THEN SOME: We were mostly playing around last week when we were speculating about the radio future of now-former Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 morning news co-anchor Mark Nolan.

Though that speculation intersected with changes at CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1, now known as “New 102″, it turns out Mark’s return to radio will take place at a different location – not at One Radio Lane, but at 6200 Oak Tree Boulevard.

News started getting out Friday when Clear Channel Cleveland staffers openly congratulated Nolan on Twitter for an unspecified gig in that Independence building… and it didn’t take long for us to uncover what that gig will be.

Mark Nolan takes over the midday shift (10 AM-2 PM) at Clear Channel classic hits WMJI/105.7 “Majic 105.7″, starting February 6th.

Though the outside press release wasn’t due until next week, our friends at Oak Tree recognized the Cat Was Out Of The Bag (between us and a note from the folks at Cleveland Magazine), and issued that release on Friday.

And it reminds readers that despite a long tenure as a weather forecaster and news anchor at WKYC, Nolan has not at all been a stranger to radio:

He has been guest hosting on the station since 1995 and for nearly seven years Nolan’s weather forecasts were broadcasted during the Lanigan & Malone Morning Show. He has worked in a variety of positions, both on-air and in production, with roles throughout Ohio at WNIR and WKDD in Akron and WZKL in Canton. Nolan also spent 18 years on-air at NBC Affiliate WKYC TV. He is a Cleveland native and a graduate of Kent State University.

Nolan will replace Chuck Collier, Cleveland radio legend, who unexpectedly passed away on September 22, 2011. Collier spent nearly 40 years on-air in Cleveland as part of sister station, WGAR, and WMJI since 2005.

“I’m looking forward to sharing ‘Cleveland’s Greatest Hits’ with Northeast Ohio on a daily basis,” said Nolan. “I have a passion for radio and I am honored to join such a great heritage station in my hometown.”

Of course, that part about replacing Chuck Collier needs an asterisk, as the midday shift on WMJI was actually a second voicetracking job to Chuck’s main role as afternoon driver at country WGAR/99.5.

And in that role, Oak Tree has also announced that fill-in Shotgun Taylor will take WGAR’s afternoon drive slot, and will be permanently heard 2-7 PM weekdays.

Another asterisk here, of course, as “Shotgun Taylor” (as even readers of the Cleveland Plain Dealer now know) is the on-air persona of WGAR program director Charley Connolly…who started voicetracking the station’s evening show in April 2010.

The station says long-time WGAR voice Kat Jackson will be now be heard 7 PM to midnight, though it doesn’t say where she’ll be based.

Kat actually worked at WGAR for a number of years, before heading to sister Washington DC market country station WMZQ as its assistant program director/night personality. She left that station in August…

PUPPET JOURNALISM: When we heard that the folks at Reserve Square have been using puppets to re-enact portions of the corruption trial of former Cuyahoga County commissioner Jimmy Dimora, the item almost started writing itself.

Yes, Raycom Media’s Cleveland TV news circus, WOIO/19-WUAB/43′s “19 Action News”, had its newest act. And we’re no stranger to chronicling those acts right here in your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm).

But it’s not quite as simple as that, and “19 Action News” actually has some admirers in the journalistic community for “The Puppet’s Court”…and that’s saying something.

Oh, sure, not everyone’s on board…like associate professor Randy Reeves of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, who tells the Plain Dealer’s John Caniglia:

“It’s entertaining … it’s professionally done, but it’s not news…This is a line I wouldn’t cross. The visual distracts from some pretty serious stuff. Even at the end of the newscast, it’s puppets. I can’t get past that.”

But others make the broader point: in 2012, the federal justice system does not allow cameras or microphones into the courtroom, long after most local jurisdictions have routinely allowed them.

Rubber City Radio VP/information media and long-time OMW reader Ed Esposito makes the point on the website of the Radio-Television Digital News Association:

We should consider the irony that much of the government’s case against Mr. Dimora was built on the same type of technology citizens are denied in seeing justice at work; recorded telephone conversation, video surveillance, the use of computer programs to track transactions and contracts are tools the people’s government (and the defense) have available to present their case. But the tool of the people — the media, through its reporters — cannot use the recordings or actual testimony of those involved because it’s in federal court.

Or as Ed says later:

No free and open society should tolerate someone else pulling the strings otherwise when it comes to the public’s justice system. That is, unless we’re comfortable with the image of Big Bird sending folks to the Big House.

As a local newsie, Esposito is certainly no stranger to the antics at Reserve Square over the years, noting the station’s “aggressive style” in the RTDNA piece.

But he says he has “great respect for the creative vision that uses one of the oldest forms of entertainment (and satire) to not only portray details surrounding one of the biggest public corruption cases to hit Ohio but also make a statement on the federal judiciary’s long-outdated insistence that public understanding of justice is still rooted in the time of Johannes Gutenberg and now the technology employed a thousand years ago by storytellers: puppetry.”

Since it is “19 Action News” we’re talking about here, we’re only surprised that the Puppet Prostitute portrayed in one of the “Puppet Court” segments kept her shirt on…

SPEAKING OF ED: …who’s about to get “Ed’s Corner”, much in the style of another long-time Friend of OMW, WKSU public relations/marketing guru Ann VerWiebe…

Esposito, a veteran Northeast Ohio broadcast journalist, has long had ties with the aforementioned Radio-Television Digital News Association and its educational arm, the Radio-Television Digital News Foundation.

After serving as chairman of both RTDNA and RTDNF, Ed stepped down from direct involvement with the organization…for a while. But he’s back as secretary/treasurer of the RTDNF.

Not that Ed isn’t busy enough, of course, overseeing all news operations for Akron-based Rubber City Radio Group, which owns news/oldies WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5 and country WQMX/94.9 in Akron, the news website AkronNewsNow.com, and its latest addition, Cleveland market smooth AC WNWV/107.3 “The Wave”.

The RCRG West Market Street newsroom provides Cleveland news and traffic to “The Wave”, and has recently added its weekly public affairs program “Spectrum” – with a regionally-expanded focus – to the WNWV airwaves.

WNWV itself is temporarily broadcasting from a West Market Street production studio, until making the physical move to a new Independence studio sometime in the spring…

TV CAROUSEL: No, the Carousel of TV Changes hasn’t stopped going around this week.

The latest news on the TV side of things is a word of a new 12 noon co-anchor at Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8′s “Fox 8 News”.

She’s Jennifer Jordan, a New York City TV market veteran most recently seen on CW network affiliate WPIX/11, who’s also been seen on nearly all the other major New York City news operations over the past 10 years.

The New York Daily News had first word of Jordan’s move to Cleveland, and says she’ll start at “Fox 8 News” on January 30th…

TRY, TRY AGAIN: Clear Channel in Cleveland now has a second construction permit for its attempt to mount an FM translator at 99.1.

Long-time OMW readers know that the translator was given the approval to make the move…first from its Lorain-licensed site (W262BN/100.3) to a temporary turn-it-on-for-one-day location in North Ridgeville (W259BI/99.7), to the eventual permanent home for what will apparently become W256BT, the 250 watt 99.1 faciility on the tower of Clear Channel sister station WMJI.

“Not so fast”, the FCC said after issuing the 99.1 construction permit the first time.

That CP was rescinded with a request for more technical documentation, and last week, the newly revised application got another FCC approval.

Though absolutely no information has even been rumored locally, it appears somewhat likely that Clear Channel intends to add 99.1 as a presence on the FM dial for talk WTAM/1100 (“Newsradio WTAM 1100…now on 99.1 FM!”).

Clear Channel has made a number of similar moves recently in other markets, using FM translators to get heritage AM talkers on the FM band with a second signal.

In other markets, the company has blown up underperforming full-power FM stations to provide new FM homes for AM talk formats (Sacramento’s KFBK is the most recent example)… but that’s not an option in Cleveland…

BYE, BYE, MCFLY: A veteran weekend personality at a local country station is heading south.

But it’s not another radio job that has Rubber City Radio country WQMX/94.9 personality George McFly heading for new vistas in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

George’s wife has accepted a new position there with her company, so Saturday, the WQMX personality said “farewell” to his audience, as he’s heading to Arkansas with his family next week.

McFly has certainly had a high profile at the Akron market country powerhouse, and not just on weekends.

George was a regular fill-in for WQMX’s “Wynn & Wilson in the Morning”, and was often called on to work middays, afternoons and nights during the week.

He also served as the videographer and photographer for station events and concerts, and helped the station launch its social media presence.

George McFly tells OMW:

“I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Rubber City Radio Group. To have an owner who supports live and local radio is so awesome.

I need to thank Ken Steel for hiring me and Program Director Sue Wilson for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the success of WQMX.

I will miss my WQMX family and the great listeners who have made me a part of their lives for many years.

Our listeners are one-of-a-kind.. it’s great getting calls from listeners to see how my kids are doing, share things about their life or just to say Hi.

I leave here with so many great memories and hope to one day return to the area. Keep it Real & Keep it Country!”

George can be reached via E-mail, Facebook and Twitter. And in his new Arkansas home market of Fort Smith, McFly hopes to continue his career in country music radio…

The Local Media Scorecard

Yes, as a reader asked, this has indeed been one of the busiest periods of change in Northeast Ohio media…and we’ve been covering that particular topic for some six years and change.

“You can’t tell the players without a scorecard,” so the saying goes, so let’s update the Local Media Scorecard as we write this late on Sunday night…

YES, THERE IS A RUSS: Heading off our scorecard is the debut of Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3′s new evening anchor and managing editor Russ Mitchell, whom you might recognize, possibly, from his 20 year tenure at a little operation known as CBS News.

And it was hard for us not to make the direct comparison between Mitchell’s most recent role – as anchor of the weekend editions of “The CBS Evening News” – to his Sunday night debut on “Channel 3 News”.

As we’ve noted before, Sunday nights are important to local TV stations, and you’ll often see the “weekday” anchor team…especially after ratings grabbing events like NBC’s “Golden Globes” coverage this weekend.

There was some national and international news in Russ Mitchell’s Sunday night mix.

After news of a local apartment building fire, the newscast turned to an update on that grounded Italian cruise ship, and late word that Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman is expected to announce his departure from the race on Monday.

That provided the perfect segue to a live, on set exchange between Mitchell, a veteran of covering national political news, and WKYC’s Tom Beres, a veteran of covering local political news.

What could be the greater role for Mitchell at 13th and Lakeside is that of managing editor, with direct input at very least into the shape of his own newscasts (6 and 11 PM weeknights), and providing journalistic direction to the entire operation.

With that in mind, here’s audio of an interview with Mitchell – conducted last week by Ed Esposito, VP/information media for Akron’s Rubber City Radio Group…home of oldies/news WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5, country WQMX/94.9, and recent Cleveland market addition smooth AC WNWV/107.3 “The Wave”.

Oh, and of course, Ed is a long time reader of your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm).

Esposito’s interview with Mitchell was conducted immediately following his appearance on the WAKR “Ray Horner Morning Show”.

And yes, as seen in this picture provided by Esposito, the newly minted WKYC anchor knows the way to Akron now, as he was there in person.

Here’s Mitchell in WAKR’s West Market Street studio, with “Ray Horner Morning Show” news anchor Lindsay McCoy, and Ed…

OTHER CHANGES: It’s hard to escape some of the other changes in Cleveland TV news this coming week. Some of them were even referenced during Mitchell’s first WKYC newscast on Sunday night.

Take, for example, a story by Erin Kennedy, the station’s new morning co-anchor.

Noting that she’d have more Monday on “Channel 3 News Today”, a promo for the newly revamped morning show appeared not long after…featuring Kennedy, new morning co-anchor Chris Tye, and the rest of the morning show crew.

And then, when WKYC sports director Jim Donovan was finished with his sportscast, it was noted that he begins his new tour of duty as “Channel 3 News at 7″ news co-anchor on Monday. Donovan joked that “I’ll change my first name to James” as a news anchor. As noted earlier, Donovan will also remain as WKYC’s sports director.

With all the changes in January alone, is it any wonder viewers may actually be looking for a Cleveland TV news scorecard?

In addition to all the noted changes at WKYC, Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5′s “NewsChannel 5″ has brought on two new morning co-anchors and an 11 PM co-anchor.

Local TV LLC’s Fox affiliate, WJW/8 “Fox 8 News”, lost its long-time evening co-anchor to a family move, replacing her with its long-time morning co-anchor, and replacing her with the morning show’s traffic reporter/midday show co-host.

And stations have brought on new reporters…er…multimedia journalists.

Isn’t it amazing that Raycom Media’s “19 Action News” (CBS affiliate WOIO/19-MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43) is the model of on-air stability in 2012?

And even Reserve Square has added a new morning traffic reporter.

Ashley Johncola’s the former “Face of Fox Toledo” at WUPW/36 in that market, and her old Toledo station is undergoing changes itself, as LIN TV announced its sale to American Spirit Media recently…an operator that is, according to FCC filings, mounting a “Shared Services Agreement” that will end up turning over news operations to Raycom CBS affiliate WTOL/11.

The Toledo Blade has more.

We generally don’t cover Toledo these days, but it sounds a lot to us like what Youngstown ABC affiliate WYTV/33 went through when it was sold to Parkin Broadcasting, with operations ending up at the Sunset Boulevard studios of New Vision CBS affiliate WKBN/27-Fox affiliate WYFX-now-LD/now-19.

If we have readers at “Fox Toledo”, a quick search on “Parkin” in our archives will give you an idea of the likely future. It’s not a pretty picture, and shows a lot of job losses and consolidation…

YOUNGSTOWN DISH DEAL REACHED: Speaking of the New Vision stations, a last minute deal avoided the removal of WKBN, WYTV and WYFX from Dish Network late Sunday night.

Quoting a story on WKBN.com:

New Vision Television (NVT) and the Dish Network have reached an agreement in principle, averting the removal of WKBN-TV, WYTV, and FOX Youngstown, from the satellite provider’s channel lineup starting Monday.

The item says it’ll be a three year deal.

Of course, with New Vision owning or controlling three out of Youngstown’s four commercial TV stations, the only commercial station left on Dish Network without a deal would have been Vindicator NBC affiliate WFMJ/21… alongside Western Reserve PBS’ Youngstown market outlet, WNEO/45…

AND ONE RADIO NOTE: In Sunday night’s news mix at WKYC was a story by anchor and Akron bureau chief Eric Mansfield.

It’s a story we really should have noted earlier, but it ends up with a happy ending for one Akron radio personality who has literally been unable to do her job after a battle with bronchitis.

That’s because Clear Channel hot AC WKDD/98.1 morning co-host Jenn Ryan has basically had no voice the past few weeks…certainly no voice suited for someone who makes her living talking in front of a microphone.

Eric Mansfield’s story notes that Ryan got vocal cord treatment at the Cleveland Clinic…in effect, literally moving her vocal cords back into place. Coughing during Ryan’s bout with bronchitis apparently dislodged what is very vital for a radio personality.

Mansfield – who recently guest co-hosted on the WKDD morning show with Keith Kennedy – notes that Ryan is expected to be back on the air later this week, assuming she gets the OK from her doctor.

And a note to the headline writer on WKYC.com – we’re pretty sure the Clear Channel facilities on Freedom Avenue aren’t in “Cleveland”…and we know that Eric Mansfield himself very much knows the difference.

In the interview with Ed Esposito, Mitchell notes Mansfield as a good example of the kind of anchor who brings reporting skills to the TV news anchor desk…

A Week of Bombshells

There are so many new media news items this week, you’d think your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) was on vacation in a far off land. (That’s our standard statement and rule here at OMW – if we leave town, all heck breaks loose.)

We have more big news from the local TV and radio scenes. We’ll start with radio, since it’s the most recent item…

YOUNGING UP: It would appear that the major changes at CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ are nearly complete.

So, if you’re an AC warhorse like WDOK, and you’re tasked with “younging up” the aging station…and you’ve already started tweaking the music mix…what would be a good move in that direction?

Say, why not move the morning co-host at your younger-skewing sister station, Hot AC WQAL/104.1 “Q104″, over to the 102 side?

That’s exactly what they’ve done at WDOK, as Jen Toohey – until now the co-host of Q104′s “Toohey and Fee” – moves to the other studio at One Radio Lane, paired up with incumbent WDOK, er, “New 102″ host Trapper Jack Elliot and “infoman” Jim McIntyre.

Quoting a station press release:

“A great adventure lies ahead for our new show. To work with Trapper and Jim and be part of the New 102 is so exciting – I can’t wait to get started,” states Toohey.

Toohey comes from sister station Q104 where she co-hosted the “Toohey and Fee Show”. Trapper & Toohey will hit the airwaves from 5:00-10:00AM weekdays, beginning Monday, January 16 and will be heard on-air, streaming online at www.new102.com and through the Radio.com app on mobile devices.

Toohey has been on maternity leave from Q104. When she returns to One Radio Lane, let’s hope she walks in the right studio door.

The timing of the announcement is quite, umm, interesting, considering that it was only Monday that co-host Terry Moir announced her departure from the seat across from Trapper Jack, stating that it was due to the desire to cut down her two-job workload and to spend more time with her family.

As far as the business of “New 102″‘s music tweaking, here’s more from the station’s release:

WDOK 102.1 FM is now “The New 102,” Cleveland’s station for AC hits.

“The New 102 means Better Music and more of it. Artists you love like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Adele and Taylor Swift can now be heard along with the best songs from the 80s, 90s and 2000s,” explains Program Director Dave Popovich. “More music means 20 songs in a row during the work day.”

But they aren’t done at One Radio Lane.

First of all, who replaces Toohey alongside Allan Fee on Q104?

Fee announced on his own show on Wednesday morning Toohey’s departure to the other half of CBS Radio Female Audience division, noting that “their show is shorter” and “more attuned to her new baby lifestyle”.

There’s no word of “(Whoever) & Fee” for now. Katherine Boyd has been filling in for Toohey on Q104, but there’s no word if she’s up for the permanent gig. Fee said Wednesday that they’ll have more information next week.

Second, how long is “The New 102″ going to last as a station name?

We still expect the station to install a national CBS brand, perhaps the much rumored “Fresh 102″, at some point in the near future.

And third, what “live and local” show will replace the syndicated “Delilah” in evenings?

We happen to know one of “Delilah”‘s biggest Northeast Ohio fans…and we’re shocked that this woman hasn’t called out the Ohio State Highway Patrol looking for the missing Seattle-based host…

THE TV BOMBSHELLS: The anchor chairs continue to spin at Cleveland TV stations.

As expected, morning “SkyFox” traffic reporter Kristi Capel is indeed coming out of the helicopter at Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8 “Fox 8″ and onto the news set, as the new morning co-anchor at “Fox 8 News in the Morning”.

She replaces Tracey McCool, who moved to the evening editions of “Fox 8 News”, replacing Stacey Bell, who moved to New Jersey to be with her professional football coach husband.

Quoting WJW’s release:

“Kristi has been a part of the winning team in the morning with SkyFox traffic and now her role is expanding,” said WJW President and General Manager Greg Easterly. “Her engaging personality adds to and compliments our six-plus hours of local programming in the morning.”

The “Fox 8″ news item also clarifies that Kristi Capel will continue to be seen on the 10 AM show “New Day Cleveland”, where she’ll maintain an as-of-yet unspecified role.

There had been rumors of another traffic anchor coming over to Dick Goddard Way, but those rumors don’t seem to have much to support them for now. For the time being, at least, Rob Tabor is filling in doing “SkyFox Traffic”, though we have no idea if he’s in the helicopter or on the phone from Detroit…

The other existing “Fox 8 News in the Morning” players are unchanged: anchors Wayne Dawson and Stefani Schaefer, “Kickin’ It With Kenny” field reporter Kenny Crumpton, reporter Todd Meany and weather anchor Scott Sabol…

TV BOMBSHELL TWO: With Chris Tye heading to mornings as the new co-anchor of Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3′s morning news program, the question was asked: What about the 7 PM show he’s been co-anchoring with Robin Swoboda?

And we didn’t see the answer coming.

“Channel 3 News” sports director Jim Donovan joins Swoboda, as a news co-anchor, starting next week. And no, he’s not giving up the sports desk.

From our blogging colleague Frank Macek’s “Director’s Cut” blog”:

“Jimmy is more than sports, he’s a great storyteller and an astute interviewer,” stated Brooke Spectorsky, President and General Manager of WKYC. “Channel 3 viewers across the region love his quick wit and passion for his work.”

“Now it’s time for Jim to bring all that energy to a wider range of subjects,” remarked News Director Rita Andolsen. “Jim has always been a news junkie, now he’ll have the chance to expound on that knowledge and cover a lot of big issues facing Northeast Ohio.”

“I’m happy to take on a new challenge,” added Donovan. “We’re going to do some interesting and different things with the 7pm show, and I look forward to working on some very special projects.”

As noted, Donovan will continue to anchor sports at 6 and 11 PM.

And, as far as we know, continue his role as the radio voice of the Cleveland Browns…a job he won’t have to do again until late summer, since the local NFL team stinks on ice and is not in the playoffs, again…

Two TV Notes

And from the world of local TV on this Tuesday…

MORNING GLITCH: The world of morning TV news has quickly become a hotly competitive landscape.

From the days where congenial “Today in Cleveland” hosts Tom Haley and Del Donahoo held forth on a folksy kitchen set on Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, the playing field has turned morning news into a multi-hour, multi-anchor extravaganza at all four local TV news operations.

To say “the stakes are high” in local TV morning news would be an understatement. Two local stations are in the process of retooling those shows, which we reported below.

Today, Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8 came to that battle…with the syndicated gossip show “TMZ”?

No, the substitution of “TMZ” for the last part of the highly-rated 8 AM hour of “Fox 8 News in the Morning” – an act that’s pretty much the definition of TV station insanity – was not deliberate.

The “Fox 8″ computer systems that run the production of “Fox 8 News in the Morning” failed, and in 2012, you can’t run a complex TV news show without computers in most cases.

While rebooting the ailing system, WJW kept viewers informed about the tech glitch with a prominent, red-colored crawl over “TMZ”, and via Facebook and Twitter from the station’s account and from its morning anchors, notably weather anchor Scott Sabol and news reporter Todd Meany.

That’s a far cry from “WKRP in Cincinnati” news director Les Nessman confidently informing program director Andy Travis that he’d made the station’s off-air status the top story on a newscast no one heard.

We imagine the decision to keep the station on the air with “TMZ” was made at the very last minute, though we’d have gone with a less controversial choice like repeats of “New Day Cleveland” (with co-host Kristi Capel from “Fox 8 News in the Morning”), if possible.

Assured that the computer systems would likely behave, “Fox 8 News in the Morning” resumed at 9 AM. After a glitch or two…the rest of the show went off without a hitch.

Why is this worthy of such treatment here on the Mighty Blog(tm) this morning?

See our opening lines here.

There is a LOT of money attached to morning TV news these days. There’s a reason shows extend from 4:30 AM to as late as 10 AM (for “Fox 8 News”) these days.

As a noted bank robber supposedly said when asked why he robbed banks…”that’s where the money is”.

And while the folks at Dick Goddard Way were crossing their fingers and hoping the computer systems would return to normal, they were hoping that folks wouldn’t find the other morning news options on the TV dial…though channels 3, 5 and 19 were limited in local news updates due to the presence of the network morning shows…

NEOTROPOLIS: Western Reserve PBS’ business-oriented show, “NEOtropolis”, is getting another overhaul.

The show is getting the third host in its three year history, Luke Frazier, and a new time slot, Tuesday nights at 9 PM on the main Western Reserve PBS stations, WNEO/45.1 Alliance and WEAO/49.1 Akron. It’s generally been seen in some combination with the local public affairs roundtable “NewsNite” (nee’ “NewsNight Akron”) on Friday evenings.

According to a Western Reserve PBS press release helpfully provided to us by station OMW Handler Diane Steinert (we’re sure she has a better title than that):

The third season of NEOtropolis has been re-envisioned with a broader content scope, focused on helping Northeast Ohioans make sense of the forces of change that impact our lives. The series will continue to explore the region, but the net is widened.

The show’s focus will be on changes including technology, globalization and diversity.

Host Luke Frazier is, according to the station release, “an award-winning public radio reporter and producer who currently produces and co-hosts Civic Commons Radio, a weekly public affairs program.”

Social media expert Kathleen Colan, who we’re pretty sure is a follower of the OMW Twitter presence, will report on “social media feedback and trends” as part of an expanded social media presence on “NEOtropolis”, which will stream live at not only the show’s website, but on Facebook.

“NEOtropolis” will get an early Saturday repeat at 3:30 PM on 45.1/49.1, and will also air on the Western Reserve Public Media “Fusion” subchannel 45.2/49.2 Thursdays at 10:30 PM. and Saturdays at 5 PM….