Quick Hits For May

Some quick hits before we focus on Cleveland’s media obsession this past week…which will be in a separate item as soon as we get a Round Tuit(tm)…

SUNNY FORECAST: Congratulations to former Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 “NewsChannel 5″ morning weather forecaster Christine Ferreira.

As predicted, she’s landed at a TV station in her new/returned to hometown area of Central Pennsylvania, Hearst NBC affiliate WGAL/8 in Lancaster PA…where she’s that station’s midday and weekend forecaster…

FRIENDLY GHOST – IN NORTHEAST OHIO, AT LEAST: OMW reader Kasper has returned to the Northeast Ohio airwaves, via the magic of Clear Channel’s voicetracking.

He’s now heard in afternoon drive at the company’s Akron market now-CHR WKDD/98.1…and three hours after his show ends, the other radio member of his household, wife Krissy Taylor, does a nighttime show for the station.

Kasper always went first-name-less before, but has adopted the name “Adam” at his new home base, Clear Channel top 40 powerhouse WRVQ “Q94″ in Richmond VA.

He told Twitter followers that “Adam” is actually his middle name, and tells us that he made the switch just to change things up at this point in his career.

Back in Northeast Ohio, on a signal that doesn’t do a bad job at all of reaching his hometown of Youngstown, or much of former home base WAKS/96.5 “Kiss FM”‘s territory, he’s just Kasper, as per usual…

MOVE MADE: OMW hears that Cleveland’s Radio One cluster is in new digs at 6555 Carnegie Avenue.

Urban AC WZAK/93.1, hip hop WENZ/107.9 “Z107.9″, gospel WJMO/1300 “Praise 1300″ and brokered/talk WERE/1490 “NewsTalk 1490″ had long been based at 2510 St. Clair Avenue.

The CBS Radio cluster nearby had already left, with AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ and hot AC WQAL/104.1 “Q104″ exiting “One Radio Lane” a couple of blocks away…and camping out with clustermates sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan” and classic rock WNCX/98.5 in cramped space at the Halle Building…

EGG AND FORMAT FLIPS: A pair of Youngstown market stations that are no stranger to format flips have done so again.

Apparently no longer headed for former Cleveland City Council member and WHWN/88.3 Painesville principal Nelson Cintron’s ownership, WYCL/1540 Niles is once again classic country “The Farm”, and WHTX/1570 Warren has returned to standards as “The Fabulous 1570″.

Cintron’s Sagittarius Communications had planned to buy the stations last fall from OMW reader Chris Lash’s Whiplash Radio, and the formats had already changed – Spanish-language “La Nueva Mia” on 1540, and urban AC using Cumulus’ “The Touch” 24/7 satellite format on 1570.

More on this one as we hear how things unraveled and returned to the past…and the composition of the “Group Radio LLC” company listed on the stations’ websites, but not in FCC records (at least that we can find)…

Welcome To A Busy 2013

And as usual when we start a new year, or return from a hiatus, there’s stuff waiting to land like so many airplanes.

We are probably missing a topic or three, so don’t be surprised if there’s a crash…we’ll pick up where we left off in a future update…

UPDATE 1:35 AM 1/5/13: Cox and Raycom have reached an agreement, and OMW social media followers tell us that the local stations, WOIO/19 and WUAB/43, are back in the Cox lineup.

Here’s part of what we originally wrote before Friday evening’s agreement…

THIS IS NOT CBS: A reported 65,000 subscribers to Cox Cable in 11 Cleveland suburbs went without CBS and MyNetwork TV programming since the start of 2013.

You read about them often, these programming cost disputes between TV station operators and cable systems…but they usually get solved, even at past-the-last-minute like two recent disputes involving Gannett, owner of Cleveland market NBC affiliate WKYC/3.

This one, involving Raycom’s stations including Cleveland market CBS affiliate WOIO/19 “CBS 19″ and MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 “My 43 The Block”, took the local stations off Cox’s Cleveland suburban lineup immediately after the ball dropped in Times Square…

TEMPORARY WEWS GM: We generally don’t get into personal medical details here, but it says something that Scripps, owner of local ABC affiliate WEWS/5, is bringing in an interim general manager to push the station into 2013.

That’s sister WCPO/9 Cincinnati VP/general manager Steve Thaxton, who heads to Cleveland as a temporary detour from his planned exit from Scripps to pursue a graduate degree.

Cincinnati Enquirer media guru John Kiesewetter writes:

Scripps executives asked if he “would remain with the company and serve as the interim General Manager at WEWS in Cleveland on a temporary basis as Sam Rosenwasser remains out on a medical leave of absence. I have agreed to do so and will use that time as a transition period for both the company and myself. I have committed to be in Cleveland next Monday as they have been without a General Manager for several weeks.”

By all accounts we’ve heard, Rosenwasser is well-liked at 3001 Euclid, and is missed in the building.

We give our sincere wishes that his medical situation turns into a full recovery, and that he’ll be welcomed back into that building soon…a wish shared by high-level Scripps executives.

As noted above, Thaxton starts his temporary role at WEWS on Monday…

CBS…SPORTS RADIO!: OK, so that’s not a good textual imitation of the new sports network’s jingle, but it’s all over the place after CBS launched its full-time schedule this week.

At midnight on Tuesday night-into-Wednesday morning locally, CBS sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan” made the switch from Fox Sports Radio to its company’s own network, bringing a taste of mid-1990′s sports talk with Scott Ferrall’s “Ferrall on the Bench”. (He’s even using the same show name that he did in his first run with Westwood One.)

But at the same time, “92.3 The Fan” put the old “Radio 92.3″ alt-rock format to rest on its HD2 channel, supplanting the music kicked off the main channel by sports talk with…sports talk.

WKRK/92.3 HD2 is now the 24/7 home of the national CBS Sports Radio feed, the “Radio 92.3″ format announcing its exit on Twitter:

Tonight we say goodbye to our home on 92.3 HD2 and welcome CBS Sports Radio. Thanks for listening and have a prosperous 2013. Rock On!

And unlike many HD2 formats, “Radio 92.3″ never added an Internet stream as a companion service, so it’s gone…presumably ceding the alt-rock battle to Clear Channel’s W256BT/99.1-WMMS/100.7 HD2, known better as “99X”, with a side to Murray Hill Broadcasting’s AAA/alt-rock WLFM-LP/6 87.7 “Cleveland’s Sound”.

That isn’t even the biggest news about CBS Sports Radio from the Halle Building in downtown Cleveland.

One of “92.3 The Fan”‘s biggest stars will have his own place on the network’s national lineup, as “Fan” afternoon drive co-host Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber will host on CBS Sports Radio nationwide from 10 PM-2 AM (ET) on Saturday nights.

Despite numerous questions posted by Adam’s Twitter followers, no, Adam “The Bull” is not leaving either Cleveland or WKRK, where he is paired with former Ohio State Buckeyes player and Canton native Dustin Fox on “Bull & Fox”.

The CBS Sports Radio show will be a sixth day in the host’s workweek, and will even be heard on the local “Fan” as well – give or take play-by-play sports runover, like Saturday’s coverage of the NFL playoffs that bumps Adam “The Bull”‘s national debut on 92.3 until about 11 PM.

As noted, the 24/7 network feed is not only on 92.3′s HD2 sidechannel now, but also online and via the CBS “Radio.com” app…

AND MORE SPORTS RADIO: The recent moves by CBS and others have shaken up the sports talk radio landscape in Northeast Ohio.

* CBS Sports Radio has displaced ESPN Radio on a number of Cumulus-owned stations, including Youngstown’s WBBW/1240 (extending that station’s local afternoon drive show ” “Ryan, Christian & Ellis” to a 3-6 PM time slot) and across-border WLLF/96.7 Mercer PA.

* It’s also played heck with sports talk host Jim Rome’s affiliate list, as “Romey” signed up with CBS Sports Radio after years with Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks.

In Cleveland, Rome stays (for now, at least) on Good Karma Broadcasting’s two sports talk stations – on WWGK/1540 “ESPN 1540 KNR 2″ from noon to 1 PM (where he’ll be heard on parts of Euclid Avenue), then on WKNR/850 from 1 to 3 PM.

In Youngstown, Rome moves from Clear Channel sports WNIO/1390 “The Sports Animal” to WBBW, and will also be heard on WLLF.

In Akron, Rome loses his clearance on Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 “Fox Sports 1350″, and Rome fans in Cleveland lose a backup signal for the first hour of the show.

The Clear Channel-owned Fox Sports Radio affiliates are pretty much moving en masse to the network’s “replacement” for the Rome show – a new FSR show hosted by comedian and frequent Rome sub Jay Mohr.

Rome’s Premiere program was separately syndicated, and even full-time FSR affiliates didn’t automatically get “The Jungle”…so FSR filled its own satellite feed from noon-3 (ET) with a repeat of the network’s morning drive show.

As a practical matter, nearly all FSR affiliates also carried Rome. But with his departure, FSR is now programming the new Mohr show down the network line.

And yes, in Youngstown, Mohr was subbing for Rome the day that “The Sports Animal” debuted, wasting no time ripping Mahoning Valley native son Bernie Kosar, Mohr not knowing (or caring) that he was being heard for the first time on the radio in Bernie’s hometown of Boardman.

We don’t generally cover Columbus these days, but a brief note: the CBS Sports Radio Jim Rome affiliate list put out before the switch listed Wilks country WNKK/107.1 Circleville – a Columbus rimshot which ran Cleveland’s “Rover’s Morning Glory” in its days as CBS-owned alt-rock WAZU “The Big Wazoo”.

WNKK was later removed from the list, leading us to wonder if someone at CBS jumped the gun on a format change there that may, or may not, happen.

One other side note about CBS Sports Radio: it has taken one former Northeast Ohio radio personality off the air, at least for now.

Cumulus is heavily invested in the joint venture with CBS, and in Fort Smith AR, it decided to flip rocker KLSZ/100.7 “Rock 100.7″ to CBS Sports Radio as “The Ticket”…and that flipped former Rubber City Radio country WQMX/94.9 personality George McFly off the air. He recently started doing afternoon drive for the station.

We believe George is “still employed”, judging from his social network updates, so we hope he lands safely in Arkansas soon…

THE COUGAR/MIX MYSTERY: Some of our own social network followers have been asking us about two signs visible at a shopping strip center across the street from the Kmart in Mentor.

The signs, pictured here in a photo sent by one of our Twitter followers, proclaim a presence for two radio stations – “Cougar 93.7″ and “Mix 97.1″.

We think we’ve solved some of the mystery.

93.7, as reported here earlier, is the new FM frequency licensed to North Madison…won in a 2010 auction by South Shore Broadcasting, owned by Leslie and Chris Kidner. The station took the call letters WQGR (which would certainly be a good match for a radio station with the name “Cougar”) and has a construction permit now.

97.1 is owned by Ashtabula’s Media One Group (nee’ Sweet Home Ashtabula), and – when its full 50,000 watt signal is in operation, makes no secret of its desire to cover Lake County, which happens to be where Mentor is located. 97.1 is currently still using the name “Star 97.1″, but various websites indicate it’ll become “Mix 97.1″ soon…like this site hosted on a page of the current “Star” site.

Where’s the connection?

Consider the Family Maduri.

Chris Maduri is a long-time Cleveland radio executive best known for his stint running CBS Radio’s Cleveland cluster. He’s now in a similar management role at the aforementioned WLFM-LP 6/87.7, which operates as a AAA/alt-rock radio station under the name “87.7 Cleveland’s Sound”.

Maduri’s wife Valerie is president of X-Factor Media, Chris Maduri is “managing partner” and both X-Factor and Valerie (with her first name misspelled) are listed on the WQGR FCC application. Both are listed as having no ownership stake in WQGR licensee South Shore.

And of course, Media One Group provides that final connection, as both Media One and WLFM have members of the Embrescia family present.

Others might take this further, speculating that 97.1 is being prepped for a move west towards Cleveland as an eventual radio replacement for WLFM-LP when, or before, it loses its analog TV license in 2015.

We have no evidence that this is about to happen…so we’re not moving the chess pieces around. We’ve also been told numerous times that the 97.1 signal can’t really get close enough to Cleveland to be a credible rimshot.

Last time we did this sort of FCC sleuthing with the Ashtabula group, we got a nastygram from someone there, and no help to correct whatever they think we got wrong.

Our gut tells us that South Shore intends to superserve Lake County with its new “Cougar 93.7″, something Media One has tried to do for years with that big 97.1 signal out of Ashtabula…and that shopping center across from the Mentor Kmart is a good place to place a Lake County presence for both stations, no matter what their formal or official relationship…

NEW STATUS: As we reported here earlier, it’s finally happened…with the new year, now-Ideastream owned classical outlet WCLV/104.9 has moved to non-commercial status.

Long-time WCLV president, co-founder and regular OMW reader Robert Conrad explains the change for listeners on the station’s website, after mentioning the success of many non-commercial classical outlets elsewhere:

And given the volatility in all media these days, it has become apparent that WCLV’s future also lies in the land of listener and community support. So on January 1, 2013, WCLV became the nation’s newsst public radio station. This completes the transition of WCLV into the ideastream
family and now gives listeners who appreciate classical music on the radio as well as businesses, foundations and other organizations, the opportunity to support this institution which has become so much a part of the quality of life in the greater Cleveland area.

Yes, commercial free doesn’t mean “free”, so the station moves into asking for donations and support…you’ll find a link to do so on that page.

When the move to non-commercial status under Ideastream was first announced, we speculated openly that the change would allow WCLV’s signal to be heard on Ideastream NPR outlet WCPN/90.3′s HD2 channel, and sure enough…Robert Conrad tells OMW that it has happened with the New Year:

One big piece of news, WCLV’s programming is now being carried on 90.3WCPN’s HD 2 channel, making it possible for listeners in Geauga and Lake Counties who lost WCLV’s singal when it went to 104.9 to receive it once again with an HD radio.

Of course, with WCLV in commercial mode before 2013, putting its signal on non-commercial WCPN’s HD2 channel would not be possible…

A QUICK VISIT: Electronically, that is, with Rubber City Radio Group owner/general manager Thom Mandel, who talked about his Cleveland market station with Plain Dealer columnist/”The Minister of Culture”/brother of a famous actress Michael Heaton.

Mandel goes into the process which led the Akron-based company to change back to “The Wave” identity from Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting’s last format on the station, AAA “V107.3″:

And we found that most of the folks we identified as being listeners of Adult Alternative thought they were getting it from other stations. No one told us they thought they could find it on 107.3. What we also found was that, even though it had been off the air for two years, “The Wave” was still Cleveland’s third-best-known radio brand name, after “Majic” and “The Buzzard.” Whatever we did, we knew we had to bring back the name.

Mandel also offers up an opinion about what happened to “V” (“advertisers couldn’t figure out who or what they are. The ratings sucked.”) and notes that everything that could go wrong for the station did, including the economic crash.

He also explains the differences between the current “Wave” and the ELB-launched smooth jazz format which preceded “V107.3″ for decades, saying the current incarnation of WNWV is “a lot more multidimensional (than) it was”.

The “Wave” owner gives props to his staff, including middayer Mark Ribbins, a “Wave” veteran recently named operations manager for the station since it moved to Independence as the Cleveland arm of Rubber City Radio.

The article doesn’t mention Mandel’s Akron cluster, which includes oldies/news WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5, country WQMX/94.9 and online operations including the news site AkronNewsNow.com. Heaton only notes that Bath Township resident Mandel “has been in the radio business for more than 35 years, virtually all of it in Northeast Ohio”…

*** BREAK! BREAK! *** This is a long item, and the remainder of it is primarily about the Youngstown market, though there is a Cleveland connection to the next item. Time to rest your eyes, and if you have no interest in the Mahoning Valley, we’ll see you next time…

HE’S RETIRING, NOT DICK: As a long-time viewer of Cleveland TV news, your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) remembers Mark Koontz as the weekend/backup meterologist to Cleveland TV legend Dick Goddard on WJW/8 (now Local TV’s “Fox 8″).

It was said more than once that Koontz was waiting around South Marginal Road, perhaps hoping to take over the top spot at WJW when Goddard retired, which of course, he hasn’t, even now after 50-plus years on local TV and over 80 years on the planet.

That presumably led Mark to a job to the southeast of Cleveland, where he joined Vindicator NBC affiliate WFMJ/21 Youngstown as a weekend meteorolgist in 2002 and took over the station’s top weather spot in 2007.

He’s now retired, before Goddard, even.

Koontz’s last day at WFMJ was Friday, and he’ll be replaced by former AccuWeather senior meteorologist Mark Wilhelm…a New Philadelphia native and a graduate of tOSU (The Ohio State University).

WFMJ is also announcing that Jess Briganti officially takes the morning weather spot on the station’s “WFMJ Today” morning show…she’s been there on a fill-in basis after the departure of Mark Monstrola…

NOT K-LOVE OR AIR 1, YET: California-based Christian radio mega-operator Educational Media Foundation was supposed to take over control of Bernard Radio’s urban WRBP/101.9 Hubbard, and change the Valley station’s format to one of its satellite formats…but that hasn’t happened yet.

Since the first of the year, numerous listeners tell us that 101.9 has been playing not “K-Love” or “Air 1″, or the previous “Jamz” urban format, but…the Sounds of Silence, and we’re not talking about the Simon & Garfunkel hit.

What happened?

It’s been pointed out to us that FCC records show that EMF’s applications to take over 101.9 and to change it to non-commercial status are still in the pending “ACCEPTED FOR FILING” mode. For that matter, the station’s May 2012 license renewal filing shows the same status.

Now, the EMF folks could well work up a programming agreement to put one of their formats on WRBP until the sale closed, but they apparently haven’t done so. EMF programmed “K-Love” on then-Beacon Broadcasting’s WEXC/107.1 (now WLVX) Greenville PA while awaiting their purchase of that station to close.

We’ve heard that the original intent was to launch one of the EMF formats on 101.9 right after the calendar changed to 2013.

So, we don’t know why they haven’t done so with 101.9, and we still don’t know for sure if the current WRBP will relaunch with “K-Love” (still heard on 107.1) or “Air 1″ as a complimentary format to that PA rimshot signal.

We do know that Bernard’s urban talk/AC WASN/1500 Youngstown is noting its last day on the air on its website, January 31st. (We aren’t nearly close enough to the signal to know if it’s still on the air at this writing.)

The rumor mill says either WASN, classic hits WGFT/1330 Campbell “Oldies 1330″ or both will end up in new ownership hands, and that one of the stations will be paired with FM translator W233AI/94.3 Niles.

That translator is in the process of being sold to Helen Bednarcyk, who is (as far as we know) the wife of Bernard’s general manager in Youngstown, Skip Bednarcyk.

The 94.3 translator would certainly be upgraded from the current 2 watt licensed power level at 2 meters (!) to a much more powerful signal, up to the translator limit of 250 watts. Such a signal could cover much of the populated area of the Mahoning Valley.

What happens to the 1500-or-1330/94.3 combo when all the pieces are in place?

Well, there’s certainly an urban hole in the market with the move of Bernard’s 101.9 to Christian format operator EMF…a hole that Sagittarius Broadcasting’s WHTX/1570 Warren is going to try to fill to some degree, if only on AM.

If it hasn’t happened already, the standards outlet now owned by Nelson Cintron plans to flip to the urban AC format “The Touch”, which was heard in Akron on then-WTOU/1350 back right after Jaybird Drennan and the “Whistler” country format went away. (The station is now, of course, Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 “Fox Sports 1350″, see above item about Jay Mohr.)

“The Touch” is a satellite 24/7 format offering from Cumulus Media, and 1350′s use of the format was so long ago that ABC Radio/SMN ran the format then…

You Need This Calendar

You ask, “why do I need a calendar in 2013 at all, when there’s one right on my smartphone?”

Does your smartphone, even your tablet, include in its calendar full color, full size glossy pictures of some of the most interesting radio and television tower and transmitter sites, and broadcast facilities in North America and beyond?

Does it note famous dates in broadcast history, anniversaries and other dates of interest?

And you just try putting a nail through your smartphone or tablet’s screen to hang it on your favorite office or home wall.

Yep, it’s that time of year again… long-time personal and professional Friend of OMW Scott Fybush (“NorthEast Radio Watch”) has come out with another Tower Site Calendar.

We’ll let Scott and his wife Lisa do the honors with all the details on the 2013 Tower Site Calendar, which hangs in some of the best engineering shops, studios and homes in America.

And this picture is familiar to many locals, particularly those who endured frequent visits of the OMW Mobile while the facility was under construction in Parma…it’s a shot of the WKYC/3 transmitter site.

We’re pretty sure we were alongside Scott at the time.

Anyway, if you’re convinced by now, order one…and if you remember, tell Scott you heard about it from OMW…

—–

POPULAR CALENDAR SHOWCASES BEAUTY OF BROADCAST TOWERS

Twelve years later, what started as a lark is still going strong

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – To some, they’re eyesores on the landscape. But to one man, radio and television towers are landscapes, and beautiful ones, too. For a dozen years now, journalist/photographer/broadcaster Scott Fybush has created an annual wall calendar featuring artistic photos of important and historic broadcast tower sites from coast to coast, and he’s just released the 2013 edition.

“Some people may think all radio towers look alike, but the Tower Site Calendar shows every year that that’s not the case,” says Fybush, who has worked in radio and television news for more than two decades. The calendar began in 2002 as an outgrowth of his weekly industry news column, NorthEast Radio Watch, and its offshoot, “Tower Site of the Week,” a weekly feature at his fybush.com website.

“It has developed a passionate following in the broadcast engineering community,” Fybush says. “Engineers are notoriously underappreciated for the hard work they do, and the calendar is one little way I can help show some recognition for the infrastructure that engineers design and maintain to make sure all of us have easy access to radio, TV and our cellphones, too.”

The 2013 edition, now shipping from the Fybush Media store (store.fybush.com/store) features a fresh new page design, a spiral binding, and 13 new pictures taken from Fybush’s travels all over North America and beyond. Some of the highlights this year:

* The Sandia Peak TV/FM antenna farm high above Albuquerque, New Mexico. At more than 10,000 feet above sea level, this is the highest-elevation site ever featured in the calendar.

* WFXJ (formerly WJAX), Jacksonville, Florida. This historic site, built in the 1930s, sits amidst the greens of a golf course.

* KWAL, Wallace, Idaho. This unique site features two towers split down the middle by a busy coast-to-coast highway, Interstate 90, as it threads through a narrow valley.

* WVJS, Owensboro, Kentucky. A reminder of the impermanence of broadcast infrastructure, this calendar photo features three towers that were dismantled in 2011 after 65 years at the same site.

* WXXI-TV, Rochester, New York. A dramatic night photo showing a massive crane in action, removing an analog TV antenna from its 400-foot-high perch after the digital television transition made it obsolete.

In addition to tower photos, the calendar’s monthly pages include significant dates in radio and television history, as well as civil and religious holidays.

The 2013 calendars cost $18.50 each ($19.98 including sales tax for New York State residents) and can be purchased by check (payable to “Fybush Media”) or money order to 92 Bonnie Brae Avenue, Rochester NY 14618. Orders can also be placed with major credit cards, or online at www.fybush.com.

“Engineers email me all the time to ask if their towers can be a featured site or a calendar page,” says Fybush, who also anchors newscasts for NPR member station WXXI in Rochester.

Letting Some Out

This may be one of our final blog updates of 2012, though we will continue to update our social media presence with breaking media-related news.

No, not actual breaking news, as some of our E-mailers (not readers) haven’t figured out…

CLEVELAND RADIO HISTORY INTO HISTORY: As we write this, early Sunday morning, the storied Cleveland media address “One Radio Lane” is no longer occupied by, well, any radio stations.

CBS Radio’s local operations in Cleveland have been split between two locations for some time.

At the Halle Building in Playhouse Square, it’s been “the wall of men” – male audience grabbers…classic rock WNCX/98.5 and sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”.

At One Radio Lane, on a sketchy part of St. Clair Avenue near 26th Street, it’s been the “wall of women” – female audience stalwarts…AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ and hot AC WQAL/104.1 “Q104″.

Here comes some co-ed housing.

Tuesday after “New 102′s” morning show with Trapper Jack and Jen Toohey, WDOK(shhh) went live from its new studios at the Halle Building.

“Q104″ followed suit later in the week, bringing all of CBS Radio’s Cleveland properties under the same former legendary department store roof.

There’s a lot of radio history at One Radio Lane, and “New 102″ midday personality Kory (the first WDOK voice from the Halle), evening personality Jaci Fox and “Infoman” Jim McIntyre weigh in with their observations and memories on the station’s website.

Though CBS Radio has only been using the building since the mid-1990s, McIntyre points out that One Radio Lane’s radio history goes clear back to 1969, when WABQ and WXEN broadcast from the St. Clair Avenue building.

OMW hears that CBS has repurposed two existing production studios at the Halle Building to bring the four stations under the same roof, and we’re told it’s a tight fit.

The move is actually a return to the Halle Building for “New 102″‘s Jaci Fox, who worked for 92.3 in its alt-rock “Radio 92.3″ days…then segued to on-air control room producer for “92.3 The Fan’s” afternoon drive “Bull and Fox”…

STOPPING THREE DAYS: We’ve talked about the speculation both here and on our social media presence, but it looks like rumors could be turning into reality, and soon.

Could Cleveland become the largest American city without a daily newspaper?

Readers here are well aware that the parent company of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Advance Publications, has converted local newspapers to three-day-a-week publication schedules in places like New Orleans.

We always thought it was a matter of time before that sort of move would come to Cleveland…and the “time” may be early next year.

Unlike Advance’s other projects, one of the Plain Dealer’s unions got out ahead of the news…and is urging people, and area leaders, to show their support for a seven-day newspaper.

Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3′s “Channel 3 News” ran a story by Tom Beres on the union’s effort (Gannett, of course, owns many newspapers elsewhere, including the national USA Today)…and the Plain Dealer itself then picked up the story about itself.

Ombudsman Ted Diadiun weighs in on the paper’s coverage of itself, and the union’s campaign, here.

The Newspaper Guild Local 1 effort also expands to a Facebook page.

What’s a good timeline if you’re trying to guess when Advance has in mind to make possible changes? This, from the WKYC story:

Members of the Newspaper Guild at the Plain Dealer say they have been told changes and layoffs are coming but have not been told specifics.

The Guild has an agreement preventing any layoffs until January 31, 2013.

To many people under a Certain Age, used to getting information at light speed online, the very notion of printing news on newsprint and distributing it to the front door may seem quaint.

But though Cleveland is an older market than some, we aren’t putting any bets on Advance keeping the Plain Dealer Dead Trees Edition around seven days a week…

TOM PASSES ON: There aren’t many radio stations in America whose web pages have two hosts listed under “In Memoriam”.

But the rough year continues for the folks at Broadcast Park, the Akron area home of Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 “The Talk of Akron”.

Evening host Tom Erickson, after a long hospitalization, died November 3rd.

The station, already recovering from the death of iconic midday host Howie Chizek, mourned the loss of one of its hosts for the second time this year.

On Tom’s “In Memoriam” page, a nod to his affection for space, science and otherworldly issues:

We’ll miss listening to T.E. “til eleven” but we can still tune into Tom on any starry night…just look up!

After initially saying no event would be held to mark Tom’s passage, his family has set up a remembrance.

We’ll let daughter Heather Nagel describe this weekend’s event:

To celebrate Tom’s life, his children Heather and Erik Nagel will be hosting a Celebration of Life gathering to honor a man who loved this community and the people in it. The gathering will be held on Sunday November 18, 2012 from 3-6pm at Roses Run, 2636 North River Rd, in Stow.

This gathering will be a chance to celebrate Tom with great memories and smiles for all family, friends, and listeners. The gathering will be held thanks to support from Roses Run and Ripper Owens Tap House, two places that Tom enjoyed very much.

Let us all remember Tom together with the zest for life that he enjoyed the last 40 years as a member of our local media and community.

For now, it appears frequent station fill-in Jim Isabella is handling the bulk of Tom’s schedule, except perhaps for Friday evenings…Isabella is a sports correspondent for the Akron Beacon Journal.

As he has been before, AAA WAPS/91.3 “The Summit” host and former WNIR fill-in Bill Hall has been handling Friday evenings, and at least one Saturday afternoon.

We don’t know what WNIR will do to permanently fill the 7-11 PM weeknight/4-7 PM Saturday shift.

Of course, WNIR hired long-time Howie Chizek regular caller John “Couch Burner” Denning to replace the late Mr. Chizek. And no, we’re not doing any reviews…

MORE ALAN: It turns out that, without much surprise, Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 afternoon drive host Alan Cox has signed a contract renewal.

Cox addressed the issue on the air on his show…noting that the company basically split the contract length difference with him – Clear Channel wanted three years, Cox said, and he wanted a one year deal, so it ended up being two years.

In addition to WMMS’ “Alan Cox Show”, he’ll end up doing morning drive on a Clear Channel FM station in Detroit.

We believe the station is rock WDTW/106.7 “The D”, and Cox said his Detroit show will be a regular, music-oriented program as opposed to his talk show in Cleveland.

Alan Cox has ties to the Detroit area…and though he told listeners that he’ll generally be doing that show from Cleveland, he’ll occasionally be in Detroit and do his WMMS show from there – with the rest of the “ACS” cast, including Chad Zumock and Erika Lauren, back at Oak Tree, talking to a chair.

As OMW readers know, Alan Cox is no stranger to a “side gig” within the Clear Channel universe…having been featured on a St. Louis rock station for some time…

COPPER THIEVES: Hoping to make a killing selling stolen copper, thieves often target radio station transmitter sites…where if they’re not careful, the killing they make could be suicide.

This U.S. Attorney’s office news release out of Cleveland says two people, Thomas M. Carbone and Katie M. Stanton were charged with “the malicious destruction of federally-licensed communications lines” in a federal indictment.

The facility hit in August is Radio One gospel WJMO/1300′s North Royalton site, and after the damage and theft, the release says:

This unlawful removal of copper depleted the signal strength of the supported radio station, thereby impeding the station’s ability to broadcast emergency messages, according to the indictment.

Emergency repairs cost nearly $11,000 while permanent repairs will cost an estimated $125,000, according to the indictment.

Those doing such mischief often don’t realize that as a broadcast station is a federally-licensed facility, their misdeeds escalate rather quickly into a literal “federal case”…

YOUR 92.3 THE FAN LATE NIGHT LINEUP: When word came out that CBS Radio was launching its own 24/7 sports radio network, we quickly sounded the death knell for Fox Sports Radio in the overnight hours at CBS’ local jock talker, WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”.

Not that it took a crystal ball to realize that, of course, but it’s now official.

The network has its full late night lineup, with Boston’s Damon Amendolara’s “D.A. Show” going national from 2-6 AM (ET).

The CBS press release for the new show specifically mentioned a number of large market affiliates, including “92.3 The Fan”.

D.A. will be preceded on CBS Sports Radio by none other than Scott Ferrall and his “Ferrall on the Bench”, presumably to be picked up locally by WKRK at midnight weekdays following Ken Carman’s local show.

Ferrall had a previous syndication run, and is currently heard on Sirius XM’s Howard Stern channels.

Again, don’t expect CBS Sports Radio long-form shows, even the show hosted by the soon-to-move-from-Premiere Jim Rome, to replace local shows on the company’s large market sports talkers (including WKRK).

In fact, we hear that Nanci “The Fabulous Sports Babe” Donnellan, a former syndicated host once rumored to be going national out of Tampa, will maintain her live-and-local 2-6 AM show on that city’s “Fan” sports talker…and won’t be bumped by “The D.A. Show”…

FREE PUBLICITY: We’re reminded of an early “WKRP in Cincinnati” episode.

“Big Guy” Arthur Carlson was reluctant to spend any money to promote the lagging station which had just flipped from elevator music to rock.

When program director Andy Travis suggested some sort of publicity stunt (“a free one, right?” said Carlson), they eventually got media coverage over protesting senior citizens upset that their easy listening music went away.

Well, no one’s protesting in the lobby of the Agora, where Murray Hill Broadcasting AAA/alt-rock WLFM-LP/87.7 (6) is operating as “Cleveland’s Sound”.

But they are getting some free publicity.

Placing himself next to Shena Hardin on the second day of her court imposed sentence for driving around a school bus, WLFM morning man Archie Berwick got himself on at least two TV stations and in the Plain Dealer.

Quoting the PD:

And a radio station personality stood beside her with a sign that read, “If she’s an idiot, so am I.” Archie Berwick, who said he is with WLFM FM/87.7, said everyone has made mistakes, and it’s insulting to call someone an idiot.

The original court ordered sign held by Hardin said: “Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.”

As for Archie’s presense…it was a media circus, why not a court jester?

Though Archie did not wear a station T-shirt and his only sign with the (handwritten) station name was a smaller piece of paper he held in his hand, the station (at least, if not Archie) had publicity in mind.

A few hours after his appearance, the “Cleveland’s Sound” website had an article written by Archie, with a picture presumably taken by a station staffer.

(Note: As of this writing, the article and picture have been removed.)

The upstart, top-of-the-dial rocker also got some free local publicity on “The List”, the Scripps-produced evening show airing on 6 of the company’s stations, including WEWS/5 locally.

Local “List” reporter Mike Brookbank featured WLFM on a recent “Around Town” segment, the local insert to the otherwise national show.

As we said on social media, it’s after the porcupines. Or at least the mention of same…

HO HO EARLY: The leader in the Northeast Ohio Christmas Music On The Radio Parade is no surprise.

After all, Clear Channel AC WHOF/101.7 “My 101.7″ in the Canton market is traditionally one of the earliest Christmas Flippers (as opposed to Christmas Slippers).

And now, Cleveland has joined the fun.

CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ took the holiday music turn and the holiday name “Christmas 102″ on Friday afternoon, and hours later, Clear Channel classic hits WMJI/105.7 “Majic 105.7″ joined in…proclaiming itself “Cleveland’s Christmas Music Station”.

Down the Ohio Turnpike a few dozen miles east-southeast, we hear that WMJI’s-sister-joined-at-the-hip classic hits WBBG/106.1 “Big 106.1″ in the Youngstown market is also in Sleigh Bells mode, which they’ve done around the holidays for at least 10 years…

IF A STATION GOES OFF THE AIR, AND NO ONE HEARS IT…: Melodynamic Broadcasting’s WCER/900 Canton has been silent for some time, and now it’s added the scarlet FCC letter “D” (deleted) to its call sign.

A tip of the hat to Cleveland Classic Media’s Tim Lones for noticing that sometime last month, the FCC issued the radio license death penalty to the Canton station.

You can read the FCC’s letter to Melodynamic here (PDF).

After dumping its talk format, WCER lit up briefly as “Joy 900″, the new home of Curtis A. Perry III’s gospel format (in a presumed LMA).

But at some point, it went off the air again…Perry resurfacing on his old station, Pinebrook Corporation’s WINW/1520, with a revival of “Joy 1520″.

Like WCER, there was a “D” in front of WINW’s call letters for some time…but Pinebrook owner Patrick Barb was able to convince the FCC to reinstate the signal after various issues with mail and correspondance.

FCC records show that WINW is running 250 watts from a temporary long-wire antenna, just north of the heart of downtown Canton on Cleveland Avenue…

All Over The Map

UPDATE 12:10 AM 10/11/12: Jim Davison tells OMW that he will continue as operations manager of WHTX/1570 Warren, which will continue in its current standards format as “The Fabulous 1570″ and retain its current staff and features.

Jim also confirms that WYCL/1540 Niles has changed from classic country to a Spanish-language format as of Tuesday afternoon…

—–

We’re catching up again with a wide variety of media items, both in kind and location…

DISH DEAL: Viewers to Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, and visitors to the station’s WKYC.com, were warned…if the broadcast chain didn’t reach a deal with the folks at Dish Network, Channel 3 could disappear from that satellite service by October 8th…that was this past Monday (early morning).

When midnight came and went with WKYC still available to Dish Network subscribers, we wondered what was going on.

As it turns out, the parties extended their negotiations into Monday morning, and finally announced a deal had been reached…meaning WKYC and other Gannett stations were never removed from the Dish lineup.

Beyond the brief press releases from each side, there’s a story.

Yes, it’s the Hopper DVR, a Dish Network box that can zap commercials automatically from network prime-time programming (“AutoHop”), the same feature CBS honcho Les Moonves recently said “cannot exist”.

We’ll let Variety’s Jill Goldsmith explain:

Gannett’s retransmission deal with Dish expired at midnight Sunday, and the disagreement was resolved by Monday morning with no blackouts but a significant rate increase to cover Dish’s controversial Hopper DVR feature, which lets viewers watch network primetime shows commercial free the day after they air. Broadcasters have sued for copyright infringement, and a judge in Los Angeles is considering a request for a preliminary injunction.

Dish had said that Gannett was looking for a “300 percent” increase in retransmission fees, the extra fees presumably to make up for the Hopper’s “AutoHop” feature serving up shows without commercials.

As the court case and Mr. Moonves’ statement would indicate, this will probably not be the last such fight.

But for now, Dish Network customers in the Cleveland TV market won’t lose WKYC and NBC programming…

THE SHARON HAS LANDED: You knew that when controversial anchor Sharon Reed left Reserve Square, she’d land somewhere else…eventually.

That “somewhere else” is St. Louis.

The former Raycom CBS/MyNet WOIO/19-WUAB/43 “19 Action News” anchor has nabbed a prime gig in the Gateway City…5, 6 and 10 PM co-anchor at Belo CBS affiliate KMOV/4. The station itself announces her impending arrival, with an October 30th start, here.

What KMOV does not mention is something local viewers and OMW readers know all too well…her nationwide notoriety for removing her clothes on camera in WOIO’s now-infamous “Body of Art” series.

That’s covered by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Hollerman:

Reed made national headlines in 2004 when she agreed to be recorded disrobing for artist Spencer Tunick’s nude group photo shoot in Cleveland. Reed was covering Tunick’s shoot for WOIO Channel 19. The segment reportedly sent ratings through the roof and earned Reed an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Yes, Sharon Reed will always be known as “The Naked Anchorwoman”.

And with that, we’re done poking fun at Ms. Reed, a capable journalist who has made some questionable career choices in her past.

You won’t see us talking about her again unless she makes more such choices in Missouri…or if she gains positive national attention for her journalistic skills…

STO AND FRANCONA: Unless you’ve been under a rock the past few days, you know that former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has been hired to manage the Cleveland Indians.

All of Cleveland’s sports-oriented radio stations, Clear Channel talk and Indians flagship WTAM/1100, Good Karma sports WKNR/850 and CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”, covered Francona’s introductory press conference on Monday live.

TV stations kept to regular programming for the most part (many streaming the press conference online), but SportsTime Ohio also carried the Francona press conference live.

That’s no surprise, considering that STO is owned by the Dolan family, owners of the Indians.

What was a surprise to us is how the local regional sports network (RSN) handled the press conference.

At the scheduled 11 AM start of Francona’s press conference, it hadn’t begun yet…so STO dutifully played the scheduled “Zumba Fitness” infomercial.

A few minutes later, just before Francona and Indians general manager Chris Antonetti took to the stage, STO broke in with a very brief introduction by the network’s Ashley Collins…and then a live shot of the empty stage (with reporters seated in front of it).

When the press conference was finished, Collins came on again, and basically just said goodbye. STO cut back immediately to the infomercial then in progress.

Is this any way to run a sports network connected to the team itself?

Our social media suggestion was for STO to go on at 11 straight up with one of its primary hosts, with discussion and walk-up to the press conference, and a recap afterwards.

If Bruce Drennan, Chuck Galeti or Al Pawlowski weren’t around, maybe they could have borrowed whichever sports anchor was elsewhere in the WKYC building…WKYC is, after all, the Indians over-air TV home.

It wasn’t Ashley Collins’ fault.

And there was clearly some preparation by the SportsTime Ohio folks…the network put numerous explainer graphics onscreen during the press conference itself. (And they could have even printed out that material shown onscreen and given Ms. Collins something to talk about.)

No, if you tuned into STO at 11 AM expecting the Francona press conference, you’d have learned of a remarkable way to firm up your abs. (We don’t know if Zumba Fitness is any good, we’re just making an offhand comment…)

BACK IN THE JUNGLE: You read it here on OMW…when Good Karma sports WKNR/850 “ESPN 850″ scooted the first hour of Premiere’s “Jim Rome Show” over to its half-lung sister, er, brother station, WWGK/1540 “KNR2″ (we call it “Puny 1540″), WKNR “The Really Big Show” midday ringmaster Tony Rizzo was taken out of the fill-in rotation for Rome.

He’s baaaack.

In what sounded like a very last minute decision, Rizzo and co-host Aaron Goldhammer filled in for Rome…today, Wednesday, October 10th.

Rizzo was open about the situation to his once-again national audience, explaining that management’s decision to expand “The Really Big Show” to 1 PM bounced Rome’s show off of 850 AM…and bounced Rizzo off the fill-in list.

The move had one odd effect: With its own Tony Rizzo hosting the Rome show, the show’s first hour returned to 850 for one day. (It was also airing in its usual place on “KNR2″.)

Rizzo even joked about how many people Rome’s producers had to call for the emergency fill-in before finally turning to him.

Of course, as we’ve already reported, “The Jim Rome Show” moves to the CBS Sports Radio network next January…

WREO UPDATE: An OMW reader tells us that Media One hot AC WREO/97.1 Ashtabula “Star 97.1″ has indeed returned to the airwaves outside Ashtabula County.

As we mentioned earlier, massive antenna destruction by a storm has meant that WREO wasn’t being heard much past Geneva or Conneaut…and now, presumably, it’s back on the air for listeners in Lake County and in Erie PA.

Just don’t get used to that familiar “Star” handle.

Domain supersnoop Lance Venta at RadioInsight tells us that the domain mix971fm.com has been registered by Media One’s Roger McCoy, program director of two sister stations – country WYBL/98.3 “The Bull” and classic hits WZOO/102.5 “Magic Oldies”.

Further snooping by Lance revealed a starter Facebook page for “Mix 97.1″, complete with a logo…shown here.

(We don’t know for sure that it’s connected with the Ashtabula stations, though the page says “A community page for WREO-FM” – usually marked on non-official sites compiled by Facebook itself.)

The “Mix” handle would certainly fit with WREO’s existing hot AC format, and it’s not even being used in Cleveland anymore…the old WMVX/106.5 “Mix 106.5″ having transformed into adult hits WHLK/106.5 “The Lake”…

CHRIS SELLS OFF: Long-time OMW reader Chris Lash is no longer a radio station owner in the OMW coverage area.

Chris’ Whiplash Radio is selling its two Mahoning Valley stations, classic country WYCL/1540 Niles “The Farm”, and standards WHTX/1570 Warren “The Fabulous 1570″. FCC filings indicate that Whiplash sold the stations to Nelson Cintron Jr.’s Sagittarius Communications LLC for $150.000.

The sale means that another OMW reader – Jim Davison – will no longer be operating the Youngstown market AM pair for Whiplash. Jim and his partner Laurel Taylor started off LMAing 1540, and later added 1570 to their oversight.

Chris gave OMW the following statement:

“For the first time in 13 years, my company doesn’t own a radio station. My family and doctors are hoping to keep it that way. I want to wish Nelson and his company all the best with our former Youngstown stations.

And I want to thank Jim Davison and his staff for doing such a great job with the stations during their LMA period. Jim has become a great friend, and besides being one of the foremost authorities on Cleveland radio history, he proved that he can be a very good operator of a radio station.

I’ve retired to Florida, and we’ll see what the future holds with the radio business. I will always have the passion for it.”

We can’t check from here, but OMW hears that WYCL/1540 may have already flipped to a Spanish-language format.

And that’s no surprise, considering that former Cleveland City Council member Cintron has been involved in the Cleveland market’s newest Spanish-language radio station, non-commercial WHWN/88.3 Painesville.

(The FCC application indicates that he has 33% of WHWN’s ownership…we presume he divested the rest so he could buy two commercial radio stations…) A quick check of the FCC ownership records for WHWN shows that Cintron has always had 33% ownership of the station, the rest split with two family members…

HD ACTION AT FREEDOM AVENUE: There are two new additions to the family among HD Radio sidechannels at Freedom Avenue, otherwise known to new readers as the Clear Channel Media+Entertainment+Ice Cream Akron/Canton cluster. (Yes, we’re just kidding about the frozen dessert part.)

Both are specialty channels, but only one is new.

That’s Golden Flashes Radio, a 24/7 stream heard on rock WRQK/106.9′s HD2 sidechannel, dedicated to Kent State University sports.

In addition to both replay and live Golden Flashes sports contests – and not just football and basketball – Golden Flashes Radio will feature a daily Kent State sports show and other university related content.

In between the Kent State content, Golden Flashes Radio is playing AAA music…presumably from Clear Channel’s Premium Choice/IHeartRadio channel dedicated to the format…at least at launch.

If you’re not among the handful of people with an HD radio set, Golden Flashes Radio is available via IHeartRadio here, and in the various IHeartRadio mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. The station’s on-air ID is prominently featuring the IHeartRadio feed.

The second new HD sidechannel at Freedom Avenue is something we knew was coming.

EMF, the California-based parent of the Christian contemporary “K-Love” and Christian pop “Air1″ formats, will indeed use hot AC WKDD/98.1′s HD3 channel to feed its translators.

We don’t know yet which service will use WKDD HD3 to feed the translators. Our guess is that it’ll be Air1, which counts translators including W273BL/102.5 Akron.

But we don’t know which translators will be fed by WKDD HD3. And we don’t know if the newly restarted W291BV/Solon, another Air1 outlet recently heard repeating Clear Channel country WGAR/99.5, will be fed from there, or via a new HD sidechannel of WGAR itself.

And we also don’t know if either “Air1″ or “K-Love” has made it to WKDD HD3 yet. Our HD radio set is currently not working.

Of course, the analog/HD1 formats of all of the above stations aren’t changing at all. You’ll still hear hot AC music on WKDD, rock on WRQK and country on WGAR.

And the placement of an EMF format on WKDD’s HD3 sidechannel means that the station is keeping the HD2 simulcast of talk WHLO/640 Akron on WKDD’s HD2 channel…but we don’t know if Golden Flashes Radio bumps the WHLO simulcast that had been heard on WRQK HD2…

From Sports To TV To New Radio

The title says it all. And as usual as of late, some of these are brand new, and some are catching up over the past few days…

INDIANS STAYING ON WTAM: So, we hinted about this both on our social media presence and earlier this week right here on the blog, on an item we posted last week:

“Before we dive into this item, one note: Don’t print those “92.3 The Fan/Indians” bumper stickers just yet…”

We got a little “back patting” flack pointing back to this on Twitter, but really, we were far from alone in hearing the very loud rumors that Clear Channel would sign a new deal to keep Cleveland Indians baseball on its talk WTAM/1100.

We mean loud. We’re nearly surprised it wasn’t put on the scoreboard at Progressive Field.

Indians beat reporter Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram was first to actually break the silence on this, compiling enough sources to run with the story in Sunday’s paper:

According to multiple sources, WTAM 1100-AM will continue to serve as the Indians’ flagship station. An announcement is expected in the coming days.

Now that it’s “out there”, we checked our own sources, and indeed, the about-to-be-signed Clear Channel renewal will be for five years. Assenheimer reports that CBS Radio offered a two year deal to move the Indians to sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”.

There’s no word or confirmation of the role of WTAM “brother” station rock WMMS/100.7 in the new deal.

This year, WMMS started picking up regular Friday night Indians games, and the station is the conflict home for the Indians if they’re nudged off WTAM (like due to a Cavaliers game, especially if the local NBA team is in the playoffs).

We have heard that as reported elsewhere (take a bow, Crain’s Cleveland Business!), CBS Radio put up quite a bid to move the games to WKRK, but it looks like Clear Channel and WTAM have come out on top…keeping the games they’ve had since the mid-1990s, when then-WTAM parent Jacor bought then-WKNR/1220.

Though there was certainly an attempt, in Jacor’s brief ownership of WKNR, to turn it into a sports flanker to WTAM (we distinctly remember hearing Mike Trivisonno on 1220 more than once after Jacor took it over, though 1100 was and is still his home base), Jacor moved the Indians over to WTAM pretty much the day they took over 1220.

Of course, Jacor was bought by Clear Channel, today’s Clear Channel Media+Entertainment or whatever they’re calling it in 2012.

We hear very strong rumblings out of Clear Channel’s Oak Tree facility that the company expects an even tougher fight to keep the NFL’s Cleveland Browns on WMMS(/WTAM).

For now, though, it appears all of our earlier speculation about filling 92.3′s signal holes that are reached easily by WTAM is off the board.

And note to Chris Assenheimer: in an otherwise excellent article, one small correction.

WKRK does indeed have a “weaker signal” than the flamethrower that is WTAM…but you can’t directly compare AM wattage to FM wattage. They are two very different animals.

“92.3 The Fan” can’t ever hope to reach WTAM’s coverage of “38 states and half of Canada” (a bit of hyperbole) even if it were somehow able to increase power to 50,000 watts, or if “The Fan” moved to another CBS Radio frequency in Cleveland.

FM signals are local, and even the most powerful FM signals, like the 100,000 watt-plus monsters elsewhere in the U.S., don’t go past two or three states in reach…unless atmospheric conditions pick up the signal and deliver it in an unpredictable pattern far from its home base…

JOHN’S COMING HOME: Remember Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3′s former anchor John Anderson? You won’t have to tap into the long term memory banks anymore.

The folks at 13th and Lakeside have brought Anderson back from Philadelphia. Courtesy of blogging colleague Frank Macek, senior director for “Channel 3 News”, quoting the returned anchor in a station release:

“We are really happy to be moving back to Cleveland,” said John. “Kristin and I loved our time there, and I’m looking forward to jumping back into the news and sports world of Northeast Ohio.” John will join Lynna Lai weekend nights at 6 & 11pm as News and Sports anchor, and will also report during the week. His first day will be October 24th.

John’s return to “Channel 3 News” is part of a growing trend in local TV news…stations are beefing up staffing for newscasts that formerly had just one anchor.

Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8 “Fox 8 News” brought in Elisa Amigo to co-anchor the weekend morning newscasts with OMW reader Mark Zinni, and well-traveled-among-the-stations weather anchor A.J. Colby. (The show was expanded to a 7-10 AM time slot on Saturday and Sunday as well.)

“Fox 8 News” also hired former Sinclair ABC/Fox Columbus combo WSYX/6-WTTE/28 anchor and Akron native Gabe Spiegel to sit alongside Jennifer Jordan at noon weekdays.

And then, there’s Anderson’s pairing on weekend evenings with Lynna Lai, the former Raycom CBS/MyNet WOIO/19-WUAB/43 “19 Action News” anchor who’s been soloing anchor-wise after the departure of Eric Mansfield to Kent State University.

Of course, weekend anchoring being what it is, Amigo, Spiegel and Anderson (as noted above) will also report for weekday newscasts…

SPEAKING OF NEW WKYC ADDITIONS: No, he’s not coaching the station football team.

But the most noted (now-former) college football coach at The Ohio State University since Woody Hayes will join the “Channel 3 News” team in a unique role.

We turn again to Frank Macek’s “WKYC Director’s Cut” blog with Jim Tressel’s new role, quoting WKYC president/GM Brooke Spectorsky:

“Jim’s national championships as head football coach at Ohio State and Youngstown State universities are well-known to all, but his motivational speeches and best- selling books will be the basis of our “A Moment with Jim Tressel.”

“Jim motivates with passion but leads with compassion,” added interim News Director Virgil Dominic. “We envision a weekly segment that takes daily news stories and makes them teachable moments.”

“A Moment with Jim Tressel” will air each Wednesday night during Channel 3’s 7pm newscast.

Tressel still has a pretty high profile in Northeast Ohio these days. He came to the region as Vice President of Strategic Engagement at the University of Akron…

NEW RADIO STATION, WELL, SORT OF: The frequency of 106.1 in Cleveland’s eastern suburbs is not new.

It’s been a low-power translator, and when last we visited it, it was being used by California-based owner Educational Media Foundation to serve small parts of Cuyahoga County with EMF’s Christian pop music format “Air 1″ from a cell phone tower a few furlongs from the Thistledown race track.

Fast forward to Tuesday evening, when an alert OMW reader let us know that the I-271 corridor near Warrensville Heights – and well beyond – was being treated to a simulcast of Clear Channel country WGAR/99.5 on 106.1. Huh?

WGAR certainly doesn’t need the signal help along I-271, being a full-power, full-market 50,000 watt class B station coming out of the Parma antenna farm.

Readers tell us the upgraded 106.1 signal has been making it to Lakewood and downtown Cleveland, at least to some degree.

Since we don’t yet know the final disposition of 106.1, we’ll throw out some possibilities.

1) Clear Channel will launch another station on 106.1, much like the 99.1 translator which became alt-rocker “99X”, which will be fed by WGAR’s HD2 channel.

This is not as automatic as you’d think, despite the 99X launch.

For that matter, we’d say the same about something we thought would happen with 99.1, a WTAM simulcast.

The 106.1 construction permit calls for 39 watts on the tower shared by Salem CCM WFHM/95.5 “The Fish” and CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan” alongside I-271. (Of course, the tower was long home to WCLV in its 95.5 days, before the Great Cleveland Frequency Swap landed the local classical outlet on 104.9/Lorain.)

There’s already been a lot of speculation on the message boards about possible Clear Channel uses for 106.1 – keeping in mind that the company does use EMF-owned translators to add stations in places like Minneapolis.

Would it be an east side repeater for 99X? An east side FM outlet for WTAM? Some other format?

Ah, but we go to our second possibility.

2) EMF will once again program “Air 1″ on the upgraded 106.1, using WGAR’s HD2 channel (or that of another Clear Channel station like hot AC WKDD/98.1 Munroe Falls in the Akron market, listed in the CP) to send the Christian pop music format to commercial band translators in the Cleveland area, the Akron area and beyond.

EMF and Clear Channel currently have just such an arrangement in place in Detroit, where EMF leases the HD2 sidechannel of Clear Channel urban AC WMXD/92.3 “Mix 92.3″.

From the excellent Michigan media site Michiguide:

8/2010: Clear Channel and Education Media Foundation reach an agreement that puts EMF’s Contemporary Christian K-Love format on WMXD’s HD2 stream. 4 metro area translators (W252BX 98.3 Detroit, W272CA 102.3 Detroit, W288BK 105.5 Rochester Hills, W292DK 106.3 Westland) begin simulcasting WMXD-2.

Note that the four translators in Detroit are all on the commercial band. FCC rules say that EMF can’t directly translate a noncommercial signal onto the commercial band via satellite, but you can certainly run a noncommercial format on a commercial station (HD sidechannel or otherwise).

Until it went off the air a few months ago, W291BV/106.1 Solon had been picking up the off-air signal from EMF-owned WCVJ/90.9 Jefferson, in Ashtabula County. We even saw the FM yagi antenna pointed northeast on that old cell tower.

EMF has a number of commercial band translator permits in Northeast Ohio, including:

* W220DM/Parma, which has a construction permit to move from 91.9 to 92.7 from West 3rd Street on the edge of downtown Cleveland, a few homeruns south of Progressive Field
* W279BT/103.7 Cleveland, which is on the same WFHM/WXRK tower off I-271 as the new 106.1 location
* W273BL/102.5 Akron, in the Akron FM/TV antenna farm…it’s currently on the air running Air 1.

All four stations list Clear Channel’s WKDD as primary…but changing a primary station for a translator is easy, especially when the same company owns the different choices.

Though, for example, the 92.7 translator is perfectly positioned to send a WTAM simulcast into the seats at Progressive Field and into downtown (see above about WTAM’s coming Indians contract renewal), our gut is telling us that EMF is lining up a Detroit-like deal to feed its own translators from the HD2 sidechannel of a powerful Clear Channel station.

We could be wrong. Or, the translators could be split between the two companies.

We banged the drum for months about the potential of a 99.1 simulcast of WTAM, but we were wrong. We were going on the company’s similar moves in other markets.

And we haven’t yet found anyone at Oak Tree/Chuck Collier Blvd., or at Clear Channel’s Akron/Canton compound on Freedom Avenue, that knows a thing about this. That’s not a surprise, since this appears to be a corporate deal between that company and the California-based religious broadcasting giant…

CAPTAIN TONY: There’s a second new recent hire on West Market Street, with a familiar name landing at the Akron Radio Center.

Tony McGinty, the former Clear Channel country WGAR/99.5 morning producer who lost his job when veteran host Jim Mantel was shown the contract-won’t-be-renewed door, is now doing similar duties for Rubber City Radio oldies/news WAKR/1590′s “Ray Horner Morning Show” news and talk show.

Between being let go from WGAR and his new gig in Akron, “Captain Tony” did some part time board/producer work back at Oak Tree, for WTAM and Indians Radio. That’s a very good case of “not burning your bridges”.

McGinty joins the first new face on West Market that we already told you about: former NextMedia talk WHBC/1480 Canton afternoon news anchor Scott Jennings…

INNER ROCCO SANCTUM: If you had to guess where the long-running local rock music show “Inner Sanctum” would go next, which station would you guess?

Why, Murray Hill Broadcasting alt-rock/AAA WLFM-LP 87.7 “Cleveland’s Sound”, of course. (That wasn’t even that difficult!)

The show is a natural fit for the locally-run rocker, as the “Inner Sanctum” folks announced themselves on Facebook:

The Inner Sanctum returns to the CLE airwaves on Sunday, October 14th at 9pm on 87.7 Cleveland’s Sound! We are thrilled to team up with a station built by Clevelanders for Clevelanders & employing Clevelanders!! Not to mention PLAYING Clevelanders!!!

“Inner Sanctum” has been on just about every Cleveland station that once tried an alt-rock or AAA format, including: WENZ/107.9 “The End”, WKRK-etc./92.3 “Radio 92.3/Xtreme Radio/[et al.]“, and WNWV/107.3 in its days as AAA-formatted V107.3.

In order, those stations are now Radio One hip hop “Z107.9″, CBS Radio sports “92.3 The Fan”, and Rubber City Radio smooth AC “107.3 The Wave”.

Speaking of WNWV’s former incarnation, former “V” program director Ric “Rocco” Bennett showed off a “87.7 Cleveland’s Sound” logo and E-mail address on his Facebook account recently.

We don’t know what Rocco (ex-WMMS/WENZ/et al.) is doing at the Agora, but we’d probably be safe to say it’s a combination of engineering and at least one on-air shift (as posted on one of the message boards)…

ROME IS MOVING: In a deal everyone expected to happen, syndicated sports talk giant Jim Rome is moving his radio operations from Clear Channel’s Premiere to CBS Radio, as announced last week.

It was expected because Rome had already signed an extensive TV deal with CBS Sports, and his contract with Premiere will expire at the end of 2012. Add together CBS’ hunger for sports content, the start of the new CBS Sports Radio network (Rome’s show will be the 12-3 PM Eastern component), and it fits together pretty well.

But…don’t put any bets on Rome’s show moving locally from Good Karma sports WKNR/850 “ESPN 850″ to CBS’ WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”.

Simply put, CBS Radio’s sports game plan (so to speak) involves all day local sports talk in its larger markets.

Cleveland is certainly in that category with “The Fan”, with a live and local schedule weekdays 5 AM to midnight, and much of the weekend as well.

No, CBS is likely just as happy cashing Craig Karmazin’s checks to clear Jim Rome on his only-ever Cleveland home, WKNR (give or take an hour on “Puny 1540, KNR Mini”, er…”ESPN 1540 KNR 2″).

What would CBS do if Good Karma dropped Rome on 850? After all, Mr. Karmazin has already trimmed “The Jungle” down to two hours on his main, People Can Actually Hear It Far From Euclid Avenue signal.

We don’t know, but we still have trouble thinking about Jim Rome on 92.3 in pretty much any form.

We do expect Rome to eventually end up on the smaller market CBS Sports Radio affiliates (startup January 2013) that don’t have significant programming.

We don’t know, for example, how long Clear Channel sports WNIO/1390 Youngstown “The Sports Animal” has left with the show, until next year syndicated by Premiere…and we assume that Cumulus sports WBBW/1240 in the same market will eventually replace ESPN programming with a hefty dose of the new CBS Sports Radio network…

MONSTERS ON RADIO: It’s about time to drop the puck at Quicken Loans Arena…at least when Dan Gilbert’s main team isn’t shooting hoops.

The American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters announced a two-to-four station radio schedule, splitting 38 games a piece evenly between the aforementioned WKNR/850 (with some daytime games on WWGK “KNR2″), and Salem Christian talk WHKW/1220 “The Word” (with some games on talk WHK/1420).

The WHKW end of the deal also puts the Monsters on mostly simulcast WHKZ/1440 Warren, which may be the official sign that Salem has given up on trying to sell the Mahoning Valley station.

Quoting a team press release:

Handling the calls once again on both the radio and television sides will be Doug Plagens, who enters his second season as the Voice of the Monsters. He serves in the same capacity for the Cleveland Gladiators, Quicken Loans Arena’s Arena Football League team.

Plagens will be joined on television broadcasts by Cleveland hockey legend and Monsters assistant coach/Director of Hockey Operations & Team Services, Jock Callander, who will provide color commentary. Veteran Cleveland sports broadcaster Kenny Roda will return for his fifth season as rinkside reporter and intermission host on all telecasts in 2012-13.

Roda is, of course, co-host of “ESPN 850′s” “Cleveland Sports Night” evening show with another long-time local sportscaster, Michael Reghi and joined by occasional OMW reader Dave DeNatale.

And as noted above, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert owns the Monsters, and now also the Arena League’s Cleveland Gladiators, which air on “92.3 The Fan”…

Major League Catchup

No, that’s not something the Cleveland Indians are about to try, based on their dismal play as of late.

It’s something we’re going to try now, after an unplanned Life Intervenes(tm) hiatus for about two weeks. (Note: We’ll have a planned hiatus for personal reasons, right after the Labor Day holiday. Or, maybe we’ll be more active…)

Anyway, on with the show…

OTHER SHOE DROPS: We already told you that now-former Ohio News Network Cleveland bureau reporter Cristin Severance had found a new gig…just days before the Columbus-based cable news outfit leaves the airwaves at the end of this week.

We also told you that she’d have some Cleveland company at Scripps ABC affiliate KGTV/10 in sunny San Diego, and now, it’s official.

KGTV is also hiring Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 reporter Dan Haggerty, and making him the second happy Clevelander to be able to treat snow shovels as a thing of the past.

It’s no accident.

It’s no secret in the Cleveland TV news community that Severance and Haggerty are together as a couple, and they’ll move their happy homestead to Southern California while sharing a workspace.

And though they leave a lot of friends behind in the Cleveland market, we wish both Cris and Dan the best in a beautiful city, San Diego…

THE NAKED MOVE: We’re sorry, former Raycom CBS affiliate WOIO/19-WUAB/43 “19 Action News” anchor Sharon Reed…this stuff writes itself.

After being out of the TV rumor mill for a while, Reed’s name is surfacing in St. Louis, as a potential anchor replacement in that market.

And there should be no surprise in the headline by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Holleman, “Once-nude anchor in the mix for KMOV job”.

Vickie’s Newton’s KMOV Channel 4 anchor chair is still warm from her final show Thursday night. But the rumors already are heating up about possible replacements — including Sharon Reed, a former high-profile anchor at Cleveland’s CBS affiliate.

Reed made national headlines in 2004 when she agreed to be recorded disrobing for artist Spencer Tunick’s nude group photo shoot in Cleveland, which Reed was covering for WOIO Channel 19. The segment sent ratings through the roof and earned Reed an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Jokes are flowing freely to our keyboard…(“Maybe they’re trying to save on the clothing allowance”)… but despite the Nude Stunt, Reed is a capable news anchor and reporter, when she plays it straight.

We do wonder if we should give a heads up to team members of the St. Louis Rams, the St. Louis Cardinals and the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, though…but if she isn’t dating pro athletes, or trying to date them, she does a decent job in the sports arena as well…

THE OTHER NUDE 19 ACTION NEWS ANCHOR: The operation at Reserve Square had one distinction no other newsroom in the country could claim: it employed two female anchors you could see without clothing just by searching the Internet.

But unlike her former “Action News” colleague Sharon Reed, Catherine Bosley’s situation was more sympathetic.

Celebrating great medical news, Bosley and her husband visited a Florida bar in Key West, where she eventually got into a “wet T-shirt contest”. The photos in question were supposed to stay in the bar, but someone unleashed them on the Internet, and the then-WKBN/27 Youngstown “First News” anchor and her husband were mortified.

Bosley left “27 First News” and was hired at WOIO/WUAB, and she’s done a fine job since coming to Cleveland.

But when such pictures land on the Internet, and with questionable outlets like the skin magazine Hustler, they’re hard to eradicate.

The Plain Dealer’s Rachel Dissell reports that Bosley’s legal team won a battle with the Cincinnati-based skin magazine, and its notorious publisher Larry Flynt, last week.

Local news anchor Catherine Bosley triumphed this week over Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt in the latest round of a years-long battle over a revealing photo of her his publication ran without permission.

This week, a federal appeals court rejected an appeal by Flynt’s company to overturn a 2010 jury verdict that had awarded her $135,000 in damages.

The Bosleys had the copyrights to the pictures, Dissell writes, because, according to court documents, they negotiated for those rights with the amateur photographer who took the Key West bar shots.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Sharon Reed asked for the attention, and Catherine Bosley did not.

It’s incredibly difficult to “unring the bell” when it comes to Internet content, particularly pictures of unclothed, attractive females. But we wish Catherine Bosley all the best in similar efforts…

WLFM TESTING, AGAIN: Cleveland’s newest “radio station”, the 87.7 FM signal powered by Murray Hill Broadcasting’s WLFM-LP analog TV channel 6, has changed up its testing.

The past few days, the station has aired a long, continuous tape of 3-5 second snippets of popular songs of the past few decades.

YouTube user dannykewl, whom we believe is also an OMW reader, shared a sample on the popular video sharing website:

From Danny’s description on the YouTube video:

They are playing a pre-recorded cassette tape loop of the Billboard Time-sweep which has a snippet of every Billboard magazine Hot 100 song from 1955 till 1992, in order. This 4+ minute video clip has the timesweep somewhere in the 1978 – 1980 range. They have a Western Digital logo screensaver on the channel 6 video, with no station ID seen. I have heard occasional audio ID’s, “This is WLFM Cleveland”

Some quick Google searching tells us that the station has apparently dumped the cassette tape’s audio onto a Western Digital brand consumer media player resulting in the screensaver logo noted above.

In the early testing using this loop, the audio had massive dropouts, leading us to wonder if WLFM was testing a studio-transmitter link over the Internet from the station’s apparent home (the Cleveland Agora) to the transmitter site (in Parma). That was just a guess on our part, though. Presumably, if they were doing that, they were using the Internet serving capabilities of the WD device.

As far as the station’s debut, unless you count this continuous loop, we doubt very much that they’ll make the second deadline of August 31st…this Friday.

The station now identifies itself as “87.7 Cleveland” on its placeholder website, though “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” is still in the title. (We’ll be that sounds familiar to AAA format fans…remember “107.3 Cleveland”?)

As of yet, we have no news on a debut. But if the WLFM folks have a rabbit to pull out of the audio side of a TV transmitter on 87.7 FM, we’ll let you know…

CAVS TV CHANGES: The Cleveland Cavaliers will, as earlier announced, air 81 games this season on Fox Sports Ohio…but there’ll be a change or two around the games.

Fred McLeod will continue to call Cavaliers action on FSOhio, with ex-Cavs star Austin Carr returning alongside him.

But with the exit of Dionne Miller, the network has made some changes elsewhere on the broadcast team.

Jeff Phelps gives up the role of sideline reporter, to become the full-time pre-game and post-game “Cavaliers Live” host.

He’ll add duties for road games this year, doing those shows from the FSOhio studios in Independence…and will continue doing shows for home games from Quicken Loans Arena. He’ll be joined for all shows by former Cavalier and FSOhio veteran Campy Russell.

FSOhio adds Allyson Clifton for sideline work. She’s a University of Toledo grad who’s worked for ABC affilate WTVG/13 and the Buckeye Cable Sports Network in that city, as well as with the AAA Toledo Mud Hens of minor league baseball’s International League.

Phelps, of course, remains behind the microphone at the Halle Building with WEWS sports director Andy Baskin as co-host of “Baskin and Phelps”, otherwise known as “Cleveland’s Talking Heads”, middays on CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 “The Fan”…

“NEWSNITE”, DEAD OR ALIVE: The word out of Western Reserve PBS, home of WNEO/45 Alliance and WEAO/49 Akron, is that the long-running news discussion program “NewsNite” returns this fall…with a new format.

But the back and forth discussion of weekly local news events, particularly in the Akron area, will not return.

From a station release:

Previously composed of a news panel discussing the week’s top regional stories, the program now features one-on-one interviews that address noteworthy news events about Northeast Ohio.

Long-time “NewsNite” panelist Jody Miller will preside over an interview program similar what she did with the show’s “NewsMaker” specials, which aired mostly during the holidays.

The new season’s debut is September 7th at its usual time, 8:30 PM on Fridays. It also repeats on Mondays at 6:30 PM.

The season’s opening show will feature interviews with John Green, PhD, distinguished professor at the University of Akron and director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics; Dan Moulthrop, curator of conversation at the Civic Commons; and Diana Swoope, PhD, senior pastor of Arlington Church of God. They will discuss the Civility Project, a year-long study addressing the impacts of civil discourse, particularly as it relates to politics. Topics planned for upcoming episodes include the work of University Park Alliance and the 10th anniversary of the Akron Marathon.

Quoting Western Reserve Public Media president/CEO Trina Cutter:

“Using the ‘NewsMaker’ format provides a way for Western Reserve Public Media to continue its long-standing commitment to keep NewsNite on the air,” said TrinaCutter, Western Reserve Public Media president and CEO. “We will continue to offer timely, in-depth coverage of regional news topics while at the same time broaden the discussion to include community leaders and news makers.”

Though Trina Cutter doesn’t quite finish that thought, “a way to continue its long-standing commitment to keep NewsNite on the air” sounds to us like, well, that it’s cheaper to pay one interview panelist.

“NewsNite” host Eric Mansfield is out of broadcasting now, as a senior media relations executive at Kent State University. (His predecessor at the old “NewsNight Akron”, Vince Duffy, is a public radio executive in Michigan these days.)

But we bet regular “NewsNite” panelists like Rubber City Radio VP/Information Media and OMW reader Ed Esposito, and regulars from the Akron Beacon Journal and Kent State University’s WKSU/89.7 would have welcomed the opportunity to bounce Northeast Ohio’s issues off each other in front of the camera…

IN TAMPA: The slightly rain delayed Republican National Convention has quite a Northeast Ohio media presence.

This is an incomplete list, so we’ll add any we missed.

WKYC “Channel 3 News” has sent primary anchor and former network news anchor Russ Mitchell to Tampa, and he’ll repeat the assignment with the Democrats in Charlotte.

We’ve seen WEWS “NewsChannel 5″ reporter John Kosich doing live shots from Tampa.

Radio-wise, WKSU/89.7 news director M.L. Schultze gets Tampa duties, with senior reporter Mark Urycki covering the Democrats in Charlotte. (It’s a mini “Ann’s Corner”, if you will…though we don’t think personal and professional Friend of OMW Ann VerWiebe, WKSU’s marketing guru, is driving the “Folk Alley” bus down to Tampa or Charlotte…)

We heard alternate Republican convention delegate Bryan Williams, the veteran Summit County politician, on Rubber City Radio oldies/news WAKR/1590 during the “Ray Horner Morning Show”…and he’ll continue to share his insights from Tampa, with another delegate doing so for the Democratic National Convention…

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS INSIDER: SportsTime Ohio’s “High School Sports Insider” is back on the air, as OMW reader Bill Castrovince continues his recovery from having a brain tumor removed.

The show airs Mondays at 6:30 PM on STO…and it’s produced by Twinsburg’s Classic Teleproductions with Bill Boronkay aboard alongside Castrovince…

SPEAKING OF RECOVERY: Medical rehab appears to be going well for a long-time Akron and Canton radio sports personality.

Joe Jastrzemski has most recently been heard on NextMedia talk WHBC/1480 Canton, but is best known for his 17 year stint doing sports and news in Akron for Rubber City Radio’s WAKR.

Joe has been moved from Akron General Medical Center to the ManorCare center on West Market Street, a short drive from his former Akron radio home.

Joe would like to pass along his sincere thanks for all who have checked in with him during this time, and provided support and comfort.

We know you’ll hear him calling a game or doing a newscast or sportscast, somewhere on the radio, as soon as humanly possible.

And for now, we certainly hope he’s able to go home, soon…

RADIO PARENTS: At this rate, they’ll be able to staff a children’s radio station.

Our sincere congratulations to Kasper, assistant program director/music director/afternoon drive host at Clear Channel Cleveland top 40 WAKS/96.5 “Kiss FM”, and his wife, Clear Channel Akron hot AC WKDD/98.1′s Krissy Taylor, for their latest, uh, co-production. From Kasper via AllAccess:

NATALIE IRENE was born WEDNESDAY morning (8/22) at 11:58, weighing 7lbs exactly,” KASPER told ALL ACCESS. “Mom and big sister KATIE are doing great. Yep, two daughters. We’re in trouble!”

We’re wondering what Clear Channel markets will hear voicetracks one day from Katie and Natalie. Dad is already heard in his former home market of Youngstown on WAKZ/95.9 “Kiss FM”, and in Dallas on that market’s “Kiss FM”. Mom voicetracks into Grand Rapids in addition to her work on WKDD…

A VOID: Those of us who do this whole online media coverage thing are a small group.

You already know about our long-time personal and professional friend Scott Fybush (“NorthEast Radio Watch”), and we’ve also mentioned long-time friend Blaine Thompson (“Indiana RadioWatch”).

Many of us look up to those considered the best at what they do, like Tom Taylor.

The radio and media coverage veteran spent the past five years writing what he called a “slightly addictive” daily radio newsletter called “Taylor on Radio-Info”, brought to you by the Chicago-based Radio-Info.com, run until recently by the parents of the late Doug Fleming.

That’s changed, as “Talkers” magazine publisher Michael Harrison has taken over the editorial operations of the site that grew out of Doug’s cherished message boards….and with the change, there’s no more “Taylor on Radio-Info”. (The Flemings held onto the message boards, under the new URL RadioDiscussions.com.)

Tom told his readers last week that he was taking a break, for now, and we wish him much success in whatever his next endeavor will be.

And speaking for OMW, we will eventually stop twitching early Monday mornings, when we’ve read the latest “NorthEast Radio Watch” and then have nowhere else to go to get our fix…at very least until the AllAccess folks start updating for the day…

A Pile Of Items, Released

UPDATE 8/16/12 10:05 AM: If you read this before 10 AM, scroll down for an additional item…

——–

As per usual, important items pile up in a clump of anywhere from three to a half-dozen. This update doesn’t cover everything in that pile, but we’ll get close enough to doing so.

And coming ’round the bend sometime in the next few days – “Couch Burner, The Followup”.

Yes, as reported here and by the Akron Beacon Journal, John Denning has taken over the 10 AM-3 PM time slot on WNIR/100.1 “The Talk of Akron”…after 25 years of listener calls to nearly 40 year Akron talk radio icon Howie Chizek under that flaming furniture nickname.

We’ll go back to that topic later. But first…

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A MURRAY HILL: We expressed some skepticism when WLFM-LP 6/87.7 “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” honcho Tom Wilson told local media that a company named Murray Hill Broadcasting owned the station that was owned, according to the FCC, by Venture Technologies Group.

We should have waited a while longer.

Murray Hill, with Wilson named as “managing partner”, has filed to buy WLFM-LP outright from Venture, a company Wilson has worked with frequently in the past.

Price tag, according to documents filed with the FCC? $25,000.

Not bad for a “Franken FM”, riding the analog audio airwaves of TV channel 6 at 87.75 mHz FM, at least for another three years, playing the role of a radio station in America’s 30th largest market. (More on that three year thing in a bit.)

When the station actually launches playing more than sports fight songs and a hit by a local band whose frontman is actually working at another station, is anyone’s guess.

WLFM staffers have been telling friends of the station’s Facebook page that they’re planning on launching by the end of this month (two weeks away!), presumably from studios in the Cleveland Agora building at 50th and Euclid.

We’ve heard no more about staffing decisions, aside from the presence of former CBS Radio promotions staffer Archie Berwick in morning drive, and former CBS Radio alt-rock (now sports) WKRK/92.3 personality Rachel Steele in afternoon drive…

We have heard rumors of some more off-air staffers heading for the Agora, and perhaps a veteran programmer from another market potentially in the mix at 87.7, but we haven’t yet confirmed those rumblings yet…

AND ABOUT THAT WLFM “THREE YEAR” THING”: In two of its other markets, Venture has been trying to convince the FCC to let it inject an analog audio carrier alongside a digital channel 6 signal…the audio carrier, of course, to show up on FM radios at 87.7.

The FCC came back and basically said, well, no.

From Tom Taylor’s excellent Taylor on Radio-Info column – a column we hope continues somewhere, somehow after the sale of Radio-Info.com to “Talkers” trade magazine publisher Michael Harrison:

The gear from Axcera would let Venture’s Pittsburgh and Lubbock TV stations continue transmitting an analog radio signal at 87.7 after the required conversion to digital TV in 2015. In other words, they could continue to be heard on most FM radios in analog. That would require more transmitter power, however, and the FCC doesn’t fancy that idea.

Tom helpfully provides a link to the FCC decision regarding Venture’s WBPA-LP Pittsburgh and KFMP-LP Lubbock TX.

At this writing, WLFM-LP in Cleveland has not filed an application for a digital channel 6 facility.

But it sure sounds like this potential “out” for it and the other so-called “Franken FMs” isn’t passing muster with the FCC.

Without such a change, the radio station created by WLFM-LP’s presence on the analog FM dial will have to find some other home on September 1, 2015…

SCRIPPS HIRED HER, HOWEVER…: Cristin Severance, a fixture at Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5′s “NewsChannel 5″, has been a fixture in doubt…since her employer, the Columbus-based Ohio News Network, announced it would end operations on August 31st.

No network, no Cleveland bureau…but as it turns out, Scripps has hired Cristin Severance.

Just not in Cleveland.

Starting next month, Severance will be working for another Scripps ABC affiliate, KGTV/10 in San Diego, as a “consumer investigative reporter”.

Though she’ll certainly miss her friends in Ohio, Cristin tells OMW that she’s very much looking forward to the trek west.

“I’ve really enjoyed living and working in Cleveland, but this is a dream position for me in a city (where) I’ve always wanted to live. It is the Scripps station, so I’ll still be apart of the WEWS family,” Severance told us as she works out her final days at 3001 Euclid.

OMW hears that she’ll have inbound Cleveland company in San Diego and at KGTV, though we’ll share that piece of news with you later…

TO TV, AND BACK TO RADIO: Rubber City Radio Group oldies/news WAKR/1590 Akron morning news anchor Lindsay McCoy, who has been alongside morning host Ray Horner since her return to the Akron station, is leaving again.

This time, Lindsay moves into television, taking a multimedia journalist role at Vindicator NBC affiliate WFMJ/21 in Youngstown.

And now alongside Horner as WAKR’s new morning news anchor, at least for the next while, is someone who’s no stranger to the station or its former TV sister station.

Mark Williamson was most recently the long-running spokesman for Akron mayor Don Plusquellic.

But thousands of Akronites still remember him as the anchor and news director on “23 Newsday” at Akron’s former ABC affiliate, WAKC/23…now ION network O&O WVPX/23, serving the entire Cleveland market.

He also has an early stint at WAKR itself on his resume, back when the radio stations (WAKR and then-WAEZ/97.5, now rock WONE) were co-owned with the TV station.

Rubber City Radio VP/Information Media and long-time OMW Reader Ed Esposito talks about his new anchor.

“I think Mark’s experience on both sides of the fence provides him with a unique view of how the system works,” Esposito tells us. “He’s an intelligent person who was the spokesman for the mayor, but now he’s an intelligent person using that experience to help our listeners understand the story behind the story.”

Esposito says that Williamson will be in the role part-time “while we post the position of anchor/reporter as required.”

And just what requirements are attached to the job of morning anchor on WAKR?

“We’ve posted the news anchor/reporter position and are looking for someone with electronic journalism experience; we are a digital news operation producing news for broadcast, online, mobile and social media platforms with text, audio, video and short-form (Twitter, mobile) presentation,” Esposito tells OMW. “Looking for someone with natural curiosity and the confidence to ask questions that get to the heart of the story.”

Esposito also tells OMW that a producer will be added to the Ray Horner Morning Show, though that job description is still in the works…

LOW POWER: Media One Group hot AC WREO/97.1 “Star 97.1″ in Ashtabula is proud of that station’s signal…often invoking its reach from Cleveland’s eastern suburbs all the way to Erie PA (“Mentor, Cleveland, Erie and you”).

That signal isn’t what it should be.

WREO explains on its web page:

We are having some work done on our star 97.1 radio towers. We hope to have it done soon so that we can get back to providing you with the regional coverage and fun tunes you love from Cleveland to Erie. We have a very low signal going out to Ashtabula and Geneva right now. We miss you all as well.
Be back soon from your Star 97.1 family

Listeners in the region are definitely noticing the difference. An OMW reader in Lake County asked us about 97.1′s signal problems, which prompted us to check.

And you can bet Media One Group is working as hard as possible to get things back to normal at WREO. The station, especially in its current incarnation, spends a lot of time paying attention to affluent Lake County suburbs of Cleveland.

And unlike most stations, WREO can’t instruct its far flung listeners to stream its audio. “Star 97.1″ offers no stream.

The low-power signal means the voice of a regular OMW reader isn’t going as far as it normally does.

Chuck Matthews tells us he’s now entering “year 3″ as the station voice for “Star 97.1″…

COURTRIGHT, THE NEXT GENERATION: Could there be a new generation of the Courtright family in Cleveland radio news?

OMW hears that Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 news anchor/reporter Julie Courtright could make that possible.

Julie is going to be away from the WTAM airwaves for a few weeks in the next month or so for good reason: she and her husband are expecting their first baby, a baby girl, due date September 21st.

OMW readers are well aware of the Courtright family’s history in local radio news.

Julie’s father, the late Ken Courtright, spent decades doing radio news in Cleveland, including (twice) on the 1100 facility where his daughter now works.

Like her father, Julie worked her way up in radio news, being heard in Dover/New Philadelphia and in Oberlin before taking the WTAM job.

And Courtright’s son, Alan, has his own voiceover business in Medina, and was also heard doing radio news at Rubber City Radio’s WAKR a ways back.

We hear Julie “is sure (the new arrival in the family) will carry on the Courtright broadcasting tradition”, though we don’t know if she’ll take a page from the folks in Massillon.

Newborn babies in that high school football-mad community are presented with small footballs in the crib… we wonder if Julie and her husband will put a small microphone in their infant daughter’s crib…

Late July Mixed Bag

In which we update some stuff, bring on new items and more…

87.7 BUILDING BLOCKS, BUT WHEN?: We’re hearing some details surrounding the launch of Venture Technologies/Murray Hill Broadcasting’s WLFM-LP 6/87.7, which will operate as a radio station under the name “87.7 Clevelanders Rock”.

First, an appearance by station operators Tom Wilson and Tom Embrescia on the soon-to-be-extinguished “Good Company Today” on NBC affiliate WKYC/3 shed at least some light on what shape the soon-to-launch radio station will take.

Embrescia told hosts Hollie Strano and Michael Cardamone that the music format for “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” will be Adult Album Alternative rock, otherwise known as “AAA” or “Triple-A”.

It’s a format last tried in the market by Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting’s WNWV/107.3, and the format was changed (semi-)back to smooth AC when Akron’s Rubber City Radio Group bought the now-former “V107.3″ and brought it back to its former identity as “The Wave”.

OMW hears from multiple sources that “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” has found a morning drive host, and yes, our own reaction was, “who?”

He’s…drumroll, please!…Archie Berwick.

Again, who?

Berwick is a former CBS Radio Cleveland promotions staffer, who we’re told has been doing similar work with the New York Mets. As far as we know, though we could be wrong, Archie has no significant on-air experience.

The Used To Work For CBS Radio Cleveland vibe continues, as we hear former alt-rock WKRK/92.3 air personality Rachel Steele – already linked with the new station – is expected to handle afternoon drive for 87.7.

OMW hears that various other former Northeast Ohio personalities and radio staffers showed up at Saturday’s audition, but we don’t know if any of them has an inside track at the new station.

We also hear, as we’ve reported before, that “87.7 Clevelanders Rock”‘s search process continues outside of Saturday’s public audition.

Where will WLFM-LP hang its studio hat?

Though the audio on the video from “Good Company Today” deteriorates by that point, we heard Tom Embrescia mention the Cleveland Agora…and we now hear that the famed location at 5000 Euclid Avenue will indeed be the home of 87.7.

We don’t know, however, if the new station will use the space formerly occupied by WHK/1420 and WMMS/100.7. We’re told that a recording studio using the Agora building is no longer there.

We hear from more than one source that there’s no word if the station will make its debut before the end of this month, as previously promised…but we’d consider that unlikely at this point…

LIVE ON LAKESIDE: We hinted that WKYC’s “Good Company Today” was “soon-to-be-extinguished”, and well, it is, sort of.

After the schedule-gulping NBC coverage of the Olympics in London ends in mid-August, WKYC will basically combine elements of “Good Company Today” with the noon edition of Channel 3 News, and the result will be “Live on Lakeside”.

Quoting an item on blogging colleague Frank Macek’s “WKYC Director’s Cut” blog:

Hosted by Hollie Strano and Michael Cardamone, the new show will be a mix of news, weather, entertainment, lifestyle and advertiser friendly segments.

Airing from 11a.m. – 12:30p.m., the show will also feature News Anchor Amanda Barren, Meteorologists Bruce Kalinowski and Marcus Walter, Arts, Culture and Entertainment Reporter Karina Mitchell, Lifestyle and Features Reporters Joe Cronauer and Desiray McCray, “Ways To Save” Anchor Matt Granite and a host of other contributors.

Whew! It’s almost easier to list who WON’T be on the new show.

And yes, Karina Mitchell is the wife of new “Channel 3 News” anchor Russ Mitchell, a broadcaster in her own right. Karina was most recently doing entertainment reporting for CBS News – where her husband was weekend anchor of “The CBS Evening News” for years.

And the new show apparently adds CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 “New 102″ afternoon driver Desiray McCray on a permanent basis.

We’ve seen McCray join Caradmone on the set of “Good Company Today”, as that program comes to its end.

“GCT” has been a half-hour show this week in order to accomodate various E/I “NBC Kids” preemption reschedules…and on Friday, those shows will preempt what would have been the last “Good Company Today”, according to TV listings.

We’re assuming that weekend sports events forced the moves.

The show occupying the 11 AM to 12:30 PM time slot obviously moves it out of the way of direct competitor “New Day Cleveland” on Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8 “Fox 8″, and presumably moves the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today” show with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford to a 10 AM live clearance, next to the rest of “Today”.

“Live on Lakeside” premieres on August 13th…

LANIGAN TO THE RESCUE: Listeners to Clear Channel classic hits WMJI/105.7 “Majic 105.7″ morning icon John Lanigan got some “inside” news related to the horrific mass murder at a Colorado movie theater early Friday.

Lanigan’s son is Lt. Jad Lanigan with the Aurora (CO) Police Department, and among other duties, he was tasked with dealing with the media late Thursday and early Friday.

But John Lanigan’s wife heard the younger Lanigan’s voice from the scene, and the WMJI morning host asked if his son was indeed involved in the arrest of the shooting suspect.

Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5′s NewsNet5.com and WJW/8′s Fox8.com have more.

Lt. Lanigan didn’t have much time to talk to his father, but briefly confirmed via text message that he was indeed a part of the arrest team.

There was at least one other radio connection to the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado…Denver sports radio intern and blogger Jessica Ghawi, known professionally as Jessica Redfield, was one of the earliest identified among the 12 dead…

MANSFIELD DOINGS: A new radio station has sprouted up in Mansfield, and it’s another FM translator.

Christian contemporary “99.3 The Light” has been on the air since earlier this month.

It’s yet another arm of the Gunther Meisse Broadcast Empire in mid-Ohio, with its analog home being W256BG/99.3 Butler. 99.3 is rebroadcasting the “home” feed for “The Light”, on WVNO/106.1′s HD2 sidechannel.

The Mid-State folks moved the station’s location north from near Bellville to the company’s complex in the Mansfield suburb of Ontario, and off the former frequency of 99.1.

In its previous incarnation, 99.1 Butler was a translator in the network rebroadcasting Mansfield Christian School CCM outlet WVMC/90.7, and now, it’s a commercial competitor to WVMC.

Sister WVNO “Mix 106.1″ programmer and morning co-host Tony Mitchell tells the Mansfield News Journal that some local content will be added to the Salem Radio Network “Today’s Christian Music” feed:

Mitchell said positive local news and weather forecasts will be featured, along with area pastors.

“We’ll have local pastors giving half-hour sermons on Sunday mornings and every day we’ll have a ‘Pastor’s Minute’ where we’ll have local pastors taking a minute to give a quick word of encouragement,” he said.

Christian radio is a crowded field in the Mansfield area.

Not only is local stalwart WVMC in the format, but Educational Media Foundation’s “K-Love” airs on owned station WYKL/98.7 Crestline.

And back to the Gunther Meisse Mid-State Multimedia Empire, which includes not only WVNO and ESPN Radio affiliate WRGM/1440-W247BL/97.3, but TV operations WMFD/68 and WOHZ-CA/41.

OMW apparently missed WMFD’s conversion to local HD studio programming, which we believe started back in March.

The move means WMFD’s “NewsWatch” local newscasts are now in HD, and that means every newscast in the Cleveland TV market is in HD.

The main local newscasts in Cleveland converted long ago, but Mansfield is actually on the far southwest fringe of the Cleveland/Akron (Canton) TV market…

87.7 Clevelanders…Audition?

The off-air buzz in the Cleveland radio community is about the curious way new quasi-radio station WLFM-LP “87.7″ is going about its upcoming launch.

We have heard that the station, operated by Cleveland radio veteran Tom Wilson with help from his old ownership partners, has been working behind the scenes to staff up.

In fact, OMW hears that at least one key staffer has already left the operation, before it even has hit the airwaves.

But simultaneously, the station now calling itself “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” is borrowing a page from the “American Idol” playbook, with open auditions for air talent set for Saturday, July 21st from 10 AM to 2 PM, at Beachland Ballroom and Tavern on Waterloo Road in Cleveland.

Here, we’ll show you a poster about the audition session, which has been at very least seen online, if not elsewhere:

And in case you need it in text form, you can also read it right here:

Sooo… do you ‘wanna be Cleveland’s next Radio Star? Bigger than Trivisonno? Edgier than Rover? More caustic than Lannigan?

Here’s your chance… cause we’re looking for kick ass talent, funky writers, and comedians who will make us pee our pants laughing…

Were kicking off a brand-spanking new radio station, 87.7 Clevelanders Rock!, and we’re looking for your beautiful self!

If you think this could be your thing… and you believe you are star material… here’s what you do:

Just show up LIVE… & Yes, you can bring some of your peeps… Bring your “A” game and show us your stuff in 3 minutes or less. WOW us and you could be a star on 87.7 Clevelanders Rock!

And yes, the last name of Clear Channel classic hits WMJI/105.7 “Majic 105.7″ morning star John Lanigan is spelled with the extra “n” on the flyer itself. (You’d think a local radio vet like Tom Wilson would be able to spell Lanigan’s last name, or would be able to correct it.)

The station also has an early Facebook page.

We’re not the only ones scratching our head at what appears to be a radio stunt.

(Again, remember, we know the station is searching outside this process for radio pros.)

After going through the saga of the former “V107.3″”s return to “wallpaper” music as smooth AC “The Wave”, and the “generic alternative hits” of low-wattage alt-rock translator “99X”, Cleveland Scene alt-weekly music writer Anastasia Pantsios catches readers up with 87.7:

Now “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” is set to become the latest station promising to shake things up with a hyper-local format that will “work to sound like Cleveland,” driven by a team of local personalities tuned into what’s happening on the streets. It’s handicapped by a signal so far down the dial it’s staring at the asses of local college radio stations (don’t confuse it with WJCU 88.7 FM, John Carroll’s respected campus station) and the fact that the analog signal is scheduled by the FCC for obsolescence in three years.

Just after that, Pantsios herself makes the “88.7″ error in her piece, but she’s not alone – the above linked Beachland Ballroom calendar initally made the same mistake (it’s since been corrected).

And Pantsios outdoes even us with the snark:

“Yes, you can bring some of your peeps,” they advertise, because every lame routine sounds great when a bunch of your friends are cheering madly.

“You could be the next Howard,” they promise.

Just don’t expect a paycheck like Howard’s.

The Scene writer is clued in at least a bit to some of this – she helpfully provides a link to one of our previous stories in the Scene item online.

She correctly notes the FCC is scheduled to extinguish the “87.7″ “radio” signal in three years…which we told you numerous times will happen because the low-power analog Channel 6 TV station that provides the audio carrier will be forced to go digital, ending the “FM simulcast”.

We’ve done some more digging, and had a lot of help from readers, and some more names are being attached to the effort to create “87.7 Clevelanders Rock”.

The flyer apparently came out of “Black Tie Studio”, run by former CBS Radio Cleveland graphic designer Sandy Harsanyi Murphy. (Remember, ex-CBS Radio suit Chris Maduri is helping run the new station.)

Rachel Steele, another former CBS Radio Cleveland type – is also involved…she was an air personality on former alt-rock outlet WKRK/92.3 (now sports “92.3 The Fan”).

The invite is also posted to Facebook as an event.

Again, keep in mind with all this “audition” stuff floating around…that the station has actively been corralling actual radio types behind the scenes.

But if you’re holding an audition for the public on July 21st, can you make the “end of July” air date you promised earlier this month?

We doubt it. We have also heard no names bandied about as potential on-air personalities for the new station. (We don’t know if Steele will have an on-air role or not.)

Down I-77, I-480 and Ohio 14, Ohio 43 and Ohio 59, the audition process continues on air at Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 “The Talk of Akron” – hoping to find a new host in the wake of the untimely death of station and Akron radio icon Howie Chizek.

After former WMMS’er Jeff Kinzbach and regular caller John “Couch Burner” Denning, former WAKC/23 anchor/news director and former Akron city spokesman Mark Williamson tried his hand at the craft of talk radio on Monday.

(We don’t believe Mark has ever done talk before, even while working at then-WAKC/WAKR-TV sister station WAKR/1590…which only had a brief run at talk long after the two stations split ownership-wise.)

Maybe the Klaus brothers, owners of WNIR, should try an open audition at “The Funny Stop”, the Cuyahoga Falls comedy club that’s both a regular station advertiser and second home for morning driver Stan Piatt.

Nah…nevermind.

Back to 87.7, where there’s finally an E-mail address attached to this thing:

clevelandstalentsearch(at)gmail.com

Even if you’re not going to show up Saturday, we presume that address would put you in touch with the folks behind “87.7 Clevelanders Rock”…