We’re Still Here

A combination of Other Stuff and Life Intervening, along with some Unscheduled Turbulence, has kept us away from the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm) for longer than we’d expected.

Not all of that has gone away, but for now, we’re back…

THE ALL HD CAVALIERS: It wasn’t that long ago that viewers hoping to see HDTV broadcasts of local sports teams had to sift through a small list of selected games.

And the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers were showing as few as 7 games in HD format via Fox Sports Ohio as recently as a couple of years ago.

Not anymore.

The RSN (that’s TV speak for “Regional Sports Network”) unveiled its new schedule of TV games for the Only Cleveland Team That Can Aim For A Championship Without Invoking Gales of Laughter, and every single locally-telecast Cavaliers game will be in HD this season. (We’ll presume all the national games will be in HD as well.)

Quoting an FSOhio release recently received here at OMW World Headquarters:

FOX Sports Ohio announced today the 2009-10 Cavaliers telecast schedule including 70 regular season games all in high definition.

FOX Sports Ohio will telecast 34 home games and 36 games from the road during the season. The network’s Emmy-award-winning coverage of the Cavs will begin Wednesday, October 28 at 7pm when the Cavs visit Toronto to take on the Raptors.

Nothing else changes at FSOhio this year. Fred McLeod, Austin Carr and sideline reporter Jeff Phelps are back, and the network continues its usual pre-game and post-game coverage.

What’s being called “a select number” of games will once again be simulcast over-air by Raycom MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43. That “select number” has been somewhere in the single digits as of late.

Of course, FSOhio and the Cavaliers are late to the “all HD games” party, with SportsTime Ohio pumping out all of its Indians games in HD the past couple of years…154 of them each year.

The difference?

The Indians are a few days away from packing up the clubhouse, with no shot at a World Series title…and the Cavaliers are expected, rather strongly, to contend for Cleveland’s first major pro sports championship since 1964…

PROMOTION: A long-time OMW reader will be officially be even busier than he has been, which, if you’re Clear Channel Akron/Canton programming operations director Keith Kennedy, is saying something.

Since now-former market manager Dan Lankford added the company’s Ashland/Mansfield cluster to his oversight, Kennedy has helped out with issues related to programming and operations at the Mid-Ohio stations.

New market manager Bill Clark wasted very little time in making it official: Keith Kennedy has been promoted to regional operations director over both the Akron/Canton and Ashland/Mansfield market clusters, giving him oversight of all programming and operations issues not only at Freedom Avenue, but at…wait, let’s get out the map and see what road CC’s Ashland/Mansfield cluster is on…U.S. 42.

Keith continues, of course, as hands-on program director at hot AC WKDD/98.1 Munroe Falls/Akron/almost-back-on-Bellaire Lane, as afternoon on-air personality on WKDD, and with his six or seven other jobs.

The new duties in Ashland/Mansfield bring a number of stations under his watch, including talk WMAN/1400 Mansfield, talk WNCO/1340 Ashland, country WNCO-FM/101.3 Ashland, top 40 WYHT/105.3 “Y105” Mansfield, the “Fox” rock simulcast based at WFXN/102.3 Galion (-WXXR/98.3 Fredericktown-WXXF/107.7 Loudonville), and classic hits WSWR/100.1 “Cruisin’ 100” Shelby.

Whew. Add those logos to the stations out of Akron/Canton – talk WHLO/640 Akron, sports WARF/1350 Akron, the aforementioned WKDD, AC WHOF/101.7 North Canton and rock WRQK/106.9 Canton – and Keith’s business card would be pretty big, or the logos really tiny, if they were all on the card…

A JIMBO SURPRISE: Making our run through the local late TV newscasts on Friday, we found out that a frequent OMW Target made a guest talk radio appearance on Friday.

It took WKYC/3’s Romona Robinson to tell us, after the fact, that former Mahoning Valley congressman/released convicted felon Jim Traficant filled in for Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Cleveland afternoon drive host Mike Trivisonno on Friday. (Really, to our sources at Oak Tree…a siren, a bat signal over the building, anything! Tell us when Jimbo’s in the building!)

It was Traficant’s first WTAM sub-host appearance since getting out of a federal medical prison in Minnesota. Of course, he’s subbed there in the past, and filled in for sister Clear Channel talk WKBN/570’s Dan Rivers not long after becoming a free man.

We got a chuckle or two out of Traficant’s comments about soon-to-be-former East Cleveland mayor Eric Brewer, who was embroiled in a controversy over photos purporting to show the mayor in…women’s lingerie.

That controversy was blown sky high by a report from Channel 3 News investigative reporter Tom Meyer, by the way, prompting the mayor to walk the “I’m not confirming this is me, but it was wrong to put these out!” line while excoriating Meyer and WKYC in a press conference.

Traficant joked that he was probably the last person who should be calling out a politician on his photographic appearance, given that he “uses a weed whacker to do (his) hair” (well, maybe his toupee).

And we say “soon-to-be-former East Cleveland mayor”, since Brewer was overwhelmingly defeated in Tuesday’s primary election.

Youngstown’s Business Journal notes that Traficant was on the show of an old TV friend on Tuesday night, Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity. Quoting:

“It sounds like you’re a kook,” he said in response to Traficant’s assertions that Israel “controls much of our foreign policy.” Attempting to pin him down, Hannity called Traficant’s claims “conspiratorial nut-job stuff.”

It’s quite a different response compared to past appearances on the show…

STREAMING PHONE AUDIO: It’s one problem we wish would be solved – radio stations and groups are starting to recognize the viability of streaming audio to mobile devices.

But often, they turn to solutions that require a certain brand of smartphone…most notably, Apple’s iPhone, and occasionally, the Blackberry platform. As cool as it is, the iPhone is not even an option for those who do not wish to become subscribers of AT&T, which would definitely include us here at the OMW World Headquarters.

That’s why we like a solution being offered up by a Northeast Ohio college station.

Mount Union College’s WRMU/91.1 Alliance has hooked up with the folks at AudioNow for it. Quoting a press release:

Mobile phone listeners can now listen live simply calling 330.445.7900 . No smart phones, downloads, or data plans are required. Any cell phone will work.

Now, we recognize some of the advantages of taking to the various smartphone platforms. But when you’re just trying to push audio out there, this is a pretty simple solution – and we’ll assume that WRMU’s potential streaming audience is small enough not to max out outgoing phone lines. This sort of solution would never work for a mass appeal station like, say, a WTAM.

But as we recall, WRMU proudly broadcasts the football games of one of America’s most successful small college programs, the Mount Union Purple Raiders…which would easily be the station’s most popular programming…

CVNP Gets The TV Treatment

One of Northeast Ohio’s most vital natural resources is getting the full TV treatment in a new documentary premiering this weekend on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO/45 Alliance – WEAO/49 Akron)…called “Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park”.

A description of the show from its website:

Discover the story of Ohio’s only national park when Western Reserve PBS presents its new one-hour documentary, Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Generations tells the story of the park’s natural wonders and the people whose lives have crossed its many paths. High definition cameras capture the beauty of the park — its crooked river, layers of ledges, waterfalls and centuries-old forests.

The one-hour program premieres Sunday at 8 PM, with a repeat at 11 PM, on the local public TV outlet, then repeats on this schedule through the following week: Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 10 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m.

From a Western Reserve PBS press release:

Generations is the first full-length broadcast documentary about 34-year-old Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It showcases the park’s 33,000 acres through a variety of methods, including archival video footage, recent interviews, oral histories and memorabilia provided by park visitors.

Integral to the production are the stories provided by more than 40 people who answered the station’s invitation to share their park memories and experiences. Anecdotes about valley farming, weekend hikes and wedding proposals enrich the concept of generations in the production, according to (Western Reserve Public Media production manager Duilio) Mariola.

Community members and business leaders also talk about the difficulties experienced during the park’s formative years as a new National Park Service entity.

“Generations” will combine the archival footage with video culled from hours of newly-shot high-definition video.

Producer/director Mariola is the producer of Western Reserve PBS’ weekly news roundtable show “NewsNight Akron”, and regular NNA panelist Jody Miller is listed as a researcher and interviewer for “Generations”.

Narration and interviewing is done by veteran Cleveland radio voice and OMW reader Mike Olszewski, who recently won a local Emmy award for his “Radio Daze” documentary – also aired by Western Reserve PBS.

Under the overall umbrella of Western Reserve Public Media, there’s an interactive Web site along with the documentary, which will also allow free on-demand viewing of the program after October 1st. From the release:

The site also features background video on demand, including full-length interviews, oral histories, videography and photography. There are options for people to post their own video and photos, plus downloadable podcasts that will direct people to great places to visit within CVNP.

“Generations” will combine the archival footage with video culled from hours of newly-shot high-definition video.

It’s meant as a local companion to Ken Burns’ national six-part PBS documentary series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”, which also airs on Western Reserve PBS over the coming week.

There are also a number of educational components to “Generations”…which are detailed in the Western Reserve PBS press release reprinted in full below…

————–

New Western Reserve Public Media Production Tells Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Story

Premiere on Western Reserve PBS to accompany national premiere of The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

Through high-definition video and the voices of people from all walks of life, Western Reserve Public Media presents its new one-hour documentary that tells the story of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park will premiere on Western Reserve PBS on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. and again at 11 p.m. It is a companion production to Ken Burns’ six-part documentary series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Additional airdates for Generations are Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 10 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m.

“We knew that chances were good that Ken Burns would focus on the iconic national parks, so we chose to focus on the Cuyahoga Valley story ourselves,” said Duilio Mariola, Western Reserve Public Media production manager. “Over the course of this past year, we shot more than 50 hours of high-definition footage so that we could accurately represent the park during every season.” He added that the concept of “generations” applies to all aspects of CVNP. “Obviously, it is a story of people who have benefited from the park’s resources, but we also acknowledge the evolution of the park’s geology and the generations of animals that have called the valley home.”

Generations is the first full-length broadcast documentary about 34-year-old Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It showcases the park’s 33,000 acres through a variety of methods, including archival video footage, recent interviews, oral histories and memorabilia provided by park visitors.

Integral to the production are the stories provided by more than 40 people who answered the station’s invitation to share their park memories and experiences. Anecdotes about valley farming, weekend hikes and wedding proposals enrich the concept of generations in the production, according to Mariola. Community members and business leaders also talk about the difficulties experienced during the park’s formative years as a new National Park Service entity.

Funding for Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park is provided by The Cleveland Foundation, FirstEnergy Foundation, George and Susan Klein and Family, The Harry K. Fox and Emma R. Fox Charitable Foundation, The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, The John P. Murphy Foundation, National Park Service, NEOEA, PPG Industries Foundation and The S. Livingston Mather Charitable Trust. Additional support is provided by The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.

Local underwriting for Ken Burns’ The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is provided by Appalachian Outfitters, Benjamin Rose Institute, Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association and Old Trail School. It will premiere on Western Reserve PBS following Generations at 9 p.m. The series will continue from Monday to Wednesday, Sept. 28 to Sept. 30, at 8 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 1, at 9 p.m.; and Friday, Oct. 2, at 8 p.m.

Western Reserve Public Media has also produced an interactive Web site for Generations at http://www.generationscvnp.org, where the entire Generations program will be available for free viewing on demand after Oct. 1. The site also features background video on demand, including full-length interviews, oral histories, videography and photography. There are options for people to post their own video and photos, plus downloadable podcasts that will direct people to great places to visit within CVNP.

Educational resources on the Web site include an interdisciplinary teacher guide for middle school classrooms with a theme of “preserve and protect.” It offers lessons in mathematics, language arts, science, social studies and art. Additional features include a board game, a virtual tour of the park and podcasts created for the project. Western Reserve Educational Services will present professional development workshops this fall to help educators integrate the multimedia materials into their lesson plans. For more information, call Ria Mastromatteo at 1-800-554-4549.

Serving on the educational resources team were project leader Ria Mastromatteo, education content producer with Western Reserve Public Media; Cathy Adler, language arts teacher, Brown Middle School, Ravenna; Amy Franks, visual art teacher, Bath Elementary; Darren Saylor, science teacher, North Olmsted Middle School; Melanie Stuthhard, social studies teacher, Revere Middle School; and Arrye Rosser, interpretive and education specialist, Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Grab A Snack, It’s A Big Stack

When we “come back” from a hiatus, even if it’s only a brief one lasting just a couple of days, we find out what anyone coming back from vacation learns. The work continues to pile up, and doesn’t go away because you’re not minding the inbox.

So, with that in mind…here we go….

“THE BSK” RECOVERING: Our sincere, best wishes for a speedy recovery for a long-time Cleveland sports media personality.

OMW hears that Kendall Lewis, the former WKNR sports talker also known as “The Big Sports Kahuna” or “The BSK”, reportedly suffered a stroke a few days ago.

Recently, Lewis has been program director at Paul Belfi’s Internet sports talk outlet SportsTalkCleveland.com, hosting the 4-6 PM show “The BSK on STC”, and Belfi tells OMW:

I spoke with Kendall several times since then, and he is preparing for aggressive rehab…and is in good spirits.

We’re looking forward to having him back on staff ASAP.

Again, our most sincere wishes and prayers for Lewis’ full recovery…and we’ll keep you up to date on his progress and return…

SPEAKING OF ‘KNR: OMW hears there are some off-air moves afoot at Good Karma sports WKNR/850 “ESPN 850”.

Without much further explanation, we hear that ‘KNR has moved promotions director Jason Gibbs into the role of assistant program director.

The station’s Aaron Goldhammer, who has held the APD title until now, continues as producer/sidekick on ‘KNR’s “Really Big Show” with Tony Rizzo, and as host of the station’s “Friday Night Hysteria” high school football wraparound show.

We’ll also assume he’ll continue to host various weekend shows as the sports play-by-play schedule and pre/post-game schedule permits…

SPEAKING OF RIZZO AND CREW: As far as we know, the “Really Big Show” one-day takeover of Premiere syndicated sports radio icon Jim Rome’s national show is still set for tomorrow from noon to 3 PM.

WKNR still lists the substitution on its updated program schedule, with station veterans Greg Brinda and Kenny Roda teaming up in the “RBS” late-morning 9-noon slot locally on WKNR itself….freeing up Rizzo, Goldhammer and Josh Sabo for the national fill-in.

An OMW reader reminded us that Romey has a full-power local affiliate now in Akron – Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 “Fox Sports 1350”. We’re trying to wrap our heads around that station airing a three hour quasi-commercial for the highest profile local show on its only major in-format competitor in Northeast Ohio…

TWC HD CHANNELS: It looks like Northeast Ohio’s Time Warner Cable operation is turning the HDTV channel spigot back to “on”.

Though we have few details beyond what’s appeared on the TWC legal “Programming Notices” page, here’s the list of channels that page promises “on or after October 15th”:

The following channels will be added to standard HD: Cartoon HD, TCM HD, HLN HD, E! HD;

The following channels will be added to HD for customers with the Digital Basic Tier: Biography HD, Disney SX HD, Outdoor HD, Fox Business News HD, Style HD, Hallmark Movies HD

That’s all give or take local availability…for example, in the former Comcast areas. Subscribers in the Elyria-based former Comcast system are in the long process of swapping out equipment, planned by area, and won’t get any of these channels until their “swap” has been completed.

OMW does hear that for whatever reason, former Comcasters on the other side of Greater Cleveland may have better luck…we’re told that 15 HDTV channels have been added there, with more to come.

We’re told the ex-Comcast subscribers in the Mentor area have a lineup fairly close to the rest of the Time Warner Cable Northeast Ohio empire, without the addition – yet – of SDV or “Switched Digital Video”…the electronic magic that has fueled HD channel additions in the rest of the region. No, we don’t know how.

We also hear that TWC has quietly added the HD feed of Tri-State Christian Television’s WRLM/47 Canton (the former WOAC/67) to its “legacy” systems in the Akron/Canton area – on cable channel 413. It’s the same feed which appears over-air on WRLM’s 47.2 subchannel.

WRLM HD does not appear in the former Adelphia/Cleveland-based TWC lineup, but for whatever reason, has been added to the former Comcast system in Elyria. WRLM does appear in SD in all the areas covered by FCC “must carry” guidelines…

SPEAKING OF TWC SPORTS: The local cable company’s “Northeast Ohio Nework” (NEON) programming channel will carry coverage of this weekend’s Seventh Annual Road Runner Marathon through Akron.

The marathon takes place starting at 7 AM this Saturday. It won’t be aired live, but will appear on “NEON” (cable channel 23) at the following replay times:

Wednesday, September 30, and October 7, 7 p.m.
Thursday, October 1 and 8, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 3 and 10, 1 p.m.
Sunday, October 4 and 11, 8 p.m.

TWC also notes that the RRM will be available on the company’s “Local on Demand” channel, on channel 1 or 501 depending on which part of the TWC NEO universe serves you.

Of course, you’d be able to tell by the name alone that Time Warner has been a long-time sponsor of the race bearing the name of its high speed Internet service.

We also hear that Rubber City Radio news/oldies WAKR/1590 Akron will have live reports from the marathon course, with veteran sports anchor Joe Jastrzemski, during its regular news and on-air programming on Saturday – starting at 7 AM…

SPEAKING OF TWC MUSIC: The cabler also tells us that the locally produced “Random Acts of Music”, a staple on NEON, starts its sixth season this fall.

The show, created and produced by Canton’s Henry J. Konczak, features independent musicians from Northeast Ohio and beyond, and has a new contest this year…says a TWC release:

This season, artists have the chance to enter a songwriting contest. The winner will star in their own music video, provided by Henry J. Productions, with a private video release party at the 356th Fighter Group Restaurant in North Canton.

Other prizes include recording studio time and an acoustic guitar provided by Darrell Wiles of Canton Music Center.

More details are at the NEON website, the on-demand home for NEON on channel 501, or on the Random Acts of Music site…

EXIT TO NEWSPAPER: OMW hears that former Envision Radio Networks VP/general manager Tim Kelly has left the world of broadcasting – for the world of print. Well, we think it’ll be print.

Kelly joins Sandusky Midwest Newspapers as vice-president of sales. He says his new role will be to “direct all sales development at the northern Ohio and Michigan media companies”…we assume including newspapers like the Sandusky Register, the chain’s flagship paper.

Before joining Envision, the Beachwood-based syndicated radio firm, Kelly had worked in various management capacities at Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting.

Before leaving that company, Kelly was operations director, and market manager for ELB’s Sandusky-area properties – country WKFM/96.1 Huron “K96”, AAA WLKR/95.3 Norwalk, and sports WLKR-AM/1510 “ESPN 1510” Norwalk.

Sandusky Newspapers, by the way, is no stranger to radio, assuming it’s the same firm which just hired Kelly. The locally-based company has long held stations in markets like Seattle and Phoenix. From the announcement, it doesn’t sound (for now) as if Kelly is heading in that direction.

We don’t believe Sandusky Newspapers has any electronic media operations in Northern Ohio, though we believe they actually still own low-power TV outlet W41AP/41 Sandusky, which now serves as an informational outlet for the Sandusky City Schools…

RADO AND CORNHOLE FUNDRAISING: Yes, we were correct when we stated earlier that charity cornhole fundraising tournaments were keeping a former Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 producer/host busy these days.

Former WTAM afternoon drive producer/sports talk host Paul Rado is announcing one of those tournaments coming up, in a note which somehow made it into our inbox:

Garfield Heights residents will hold a memorial cornhole tournament three nights this weekend… honoring US Army SPC Brad Davis, who was killed in Iraq on April 22, 2009.

The proceeds of the tournament benefit the USO of Northern Ohio.

A flyer for the tournament says it will be held “this weekend, September 25th, 26th, & 27th behind the Maple Leaf Intermediate School located at 5764 Turney Road in Garfield Heights. The events will be held under the lights of the softball field behind the school.”

More information can be found at the USO of Cleveland’s website…

Mini Hiatus

Yes, we have some items to put up, but not enough time with a busy schedule.

Thus, OMW will be on a hiatus at least until Tuesday, and maybe a day or two more. Hang in there!

Si, V-me

No, you’re not imagining it if you’re an over-air digital TV viewer…the folks at Kent-based public TV outlet Western Reserve PBS have grown another digital subchannel. For now, at least.

Now airing on WEAO/49.4 Akron (and we assume WNEO/45.4 Alliance) is “V-me”, a Spanish-language channel. We’ll let the “V-me” folks explain it in English:

V-me (pronounced veh-meh), is the first national Spanish-language television network presented by public television stations. V-me, a 24-hour digital broadcast service carried on basic digital cable in major markets across the country and nationally via satellite, represents a new network and media community for US Latinos.

V-me (from the Spanish veme, meaning see me) entertains, educates and inspires families in Spanish with a youthful, contemporary mix of original productions, exclusive premieres and acquisitions, and popular public television programs specially adapted for American Latinos.

Our friends at Western Reserve PBS tell us that the actual debut of “V-me” is scheduled for mid-October.

We assume that its presence now is an early preview/test…much like the pubcaster did before it added MHz Worldview to 45.3/49.3…

Still Have DTV Problems? Talk To The AP

If you’re still struggling trying to pick up Northeast Ohio’s two VHF-based digital TV outlets – Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 and/or Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19 – an Associated Press writer would like to hear from you.

The AP’s Peter Svensson says you can E-mail him with your experiences at this address:

psvensson-at-ap.org

That’s been slightly munged to try to battle the evil spammers, of course.

He’s hoping to hear from you before noon Friday, so please feel free to send him a note as soon as you see this.

Thanks!

Emmy Fallout

Earlier on OMW, we dutifully posted a link to the list of this year’s local Emmy Awards winners, with little comment – aside from a brief mention of the win for “Best Nostalgia Program” involving local radio personality and OMW reader Mike Olszewski (“Radio Daze”).

That’s our normal procedure with awards lists.

We don’t go through the list, tab “winners and losers”, make any further comment about the stations or groups involved, etc. Awards are very subjective, and we usually don’t insert comments about who won, who lost or who should have won or lost.

But we should go a little further here.

For one, though we mentioned the presence of Indiana stations – the Lower Great Lakes NATAS chapter goes all the way to Indianapolis – we didn’t note how broad their presence was on the list this year.

And aside from “Radio Daze’s” Harvard 131 Films, we didn’t note anything else about independent producers not directly associated with local TV stations.

That’s where producer/director Mark Wade Stone of Storytellers Media Group comes in.
Quoting his blog, where he’s not upset with us, but with the local newspaper:

In (Julie Washington’s) Plain Dealer report on the event she emphasized the nostalgic nature of the chapter’s 40th anniversary. But, typical of the PeeDee, they missed the actual lede: smaller market Indianapolis arrived here yesterday to crush, in merciless fashion, the larger market Cleveland stations in virtually every category.

Not sure if ‘creamed’ or ’slaughtered’ are better words, so I’ll stick with ‘crushed.’ Either way it wasn’t pretty.

Mark’s group won two Emmys in the recent competition, and this may be the first time anyone who didn’t sort through the list – or who wasn’t there at this past weekend’s event – has heard of it.

Quoting Mark’s blog again:

And, as is also typical of Cleveland’s paper of record, the story focused on only the commercial and public stations. Our own ensemble – Storytellers Media Group – garnered two Emmys: one for best Arts/Entertainment Program (Doris O’Donnell’s Cleveland – Rosie the Reporter), and another for Music Composition by the inimitable Carl Michel (which the presenters pronounced as “Mitchell.” Feh.) But this rather exemplary performance by a small company like Storytellers is deemed unworthy of mention.

Of the large media outlets logrolled in the article, WOIO earned no more than we did, while Fox Sports Ohio and our ol’ alma mater station, WVIZ, earned only half (and that one by my former cutter and all ’round buddy, Nancy Tatulinski). WKYC, a Cleveland flagship station if there ever was one, earned a mere four awards to our two. The article failed to mention the truckloads of awards schlepped home to Indy and other points west.

As we did privately with Mark, we’ll defend Ms. Washington a little, here.

Her main beat in regards to local media puts her mostly in the realm of local TV stations. It’s pretty easy – when your regular work mostly involves the big over-air commercial and public stations – to focus upon those stations. She talks about local film production, but not necessarily connected to over-air media.

It’s the same problem we have here, though we’re not the largest newspaper of record in Northeast Ohio. We spend most of our time covering the broadcast media (very, very occasionally we foray into print), and that’s our chosen beat – and has been since August 2005.

We spent time talking about “Radio Daze” for a number of reasons. First, its subject is core to what we talk about here – radio, in particular, the heady days of Cleveland FM radio competition. Second, book author and documentary writer/producer Mike Olszewski is a long-time local radio personality – and a regular reader here.

But we salute the “Storytellers” Emmy wins, and others by independent producers…and think SOMEONE should at least mention them.

And Mark (a regular OMW reader himself, by the way) makes a very good point about what we called the “Indiana Invasion”.

Cleveland is a much larger TV market than Indianapolis, even with its recent fall to 18th place. Are they producing “better TV” over there, or is it just a side effect of the process?

We only note that when local stations do earn Emmy Awards, they relentlessly promote them both on air and off air, so the stations at very least consider the awards somewhat important to crow about.

Here are links to awards publicity by NBC affiliate WKYC/3, courtesy of our blogging counterpart Frank Macek’s Director’s Cut blog, and by ABC affiliate WEWS/5.

The WKYC list includes three awards won by SportsTime Ohio, which is operated out of the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center at 13th and Lakeside. The WEWS list includes awards by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists.

We’ll link to any other lists provided by stations or production companies, if we find them.

Here at your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), we salute ALL the winners, from everywhere…

Two Assorted Items

We’ve just been hanging onto these for a while…

ACCIDENTAL, BUT GOOD, EXPOSURE: We spent part of Tuesday evening catching the Monday return of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”, faithfully recorded by our TiVo.

We didn’t know until we went into the recording that Jon’s guest for his first show back from a three week vacation was Akron’s own mega sports superstar, the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers’ own LeBron James.

LeBron’s been on with Stewart before, but something caught our eye in his second “Daily Show” appearance…the show showed the cover of his new book, “Shooting Stars”. Look at the cover image on Amazon, and you’ll see what we saw:

Yep, that’s a banner for Clear Channel talk WHLO/640 Akron, taken at the championship game site pictured. And we’ll assume just to the left, that’s the edge of a banner for Dix country/sports WQKT/104.5 “SportsCountry” Wooster.

We haven’t met the man, but we’ll assume the man in the blue shirt is long-time local high school radio play-by-play voice Rudy Piekarski.

WHLO/CC Akron/Canton operations director/OMW reader Keith Kennedy tells us that the banner was Rudy’s. (We presume any station-made banner would have the official WHLO logo on it.)

All of this, on bookshelves everywhere, and on the popular “Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on Monday night…though viewers and readers could be forgiven for calling the station “WHL”…

DAZED: An OMW reader passes along a link to a Cleveland Scene post about “Radio Daze: Cleveland’s FM Air Wars”, the book-turned-TV-documentary which just won a local Emmy award for “Best Nostalgia Program”. An hour-long version of the documentary aired on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO/45 Alliance-WEAO/49 Akron).

The “Scene” blog post (“When AOR Ruled The Earth” by Frank Lewis) also has more about producers Tom Cummings and Dave Rogant:

“Historically, from a Cleveland perspective, I think [Radio Daze] is important,” says Tom Cummings, whose Harvard 131 Films company produced the program. “It’s a document of Cleveland’s history and the city’s place in music history.”

It also details the relationship between Cummings, Rogant, and long-time Cleveland media personality/OMW reader Mike Olszewski, who wrote the original book…and talks about how “Radio Daze”‘s video version came together.

And it notes that a 2 1/2 hour long version of “Radio Daze” is now available online on DVD ($20), at “RadioDazeMovie.com”.

But one note from the article:

“The documentary didn’t air in Cleveland,” writes Scene’s Frank Lewis.

Well, sort of…yes, it did not air on Ideastream PBS affiliate WVIZ/25.

But the signal of Western Reserve PBS’ WEAO/49, broadcasting from a tower off Cleveland-Massillon Road in Copley Township not far from the massive Montrose shopping area, reaches a pretty decent chunk of the Cleveland market.

Not all of it, by far, but enough to garner “must carry” cable coverage that puts the Kent-based public TV outlet on all the local cable systems, not to mention satellite TV “local-into-local” carriage in the entire Cleveland TV market….

CHUCK PLUG: We like to give free plugs for positive radio/TV news, particularly for Friends of OMW like Chuck Matthews.

We’ve been remiss in listing some of the new voiceover and imaging clients Matthews has piled up in the past month or so, so we asked him for a list:

WREO/Ashtabula
KGSO/Wichita KS “Sports Radio 1410 ESPN”
KAPC/Salt Lake City UT (formerly KNRS-AM) – just imaging
WDOX/Raleigh NC
WCTN/Potomac-Cabin John MD-Washington DC (standards)

And in his “day job” as production director for Rubber City Radio in Akron, Chuck’s also heard frequently voicing both spots and on-air station production – including for the company’s oldies/news WAKR/1590. In one recent drive, we heard Chuck’s voice on both WREO “Star 97.1” and WAKR within a 2 minute time period, bouncing back and forth between the FM dial and AM dial.

Chuck tells us that he’s hoping to add imaging for an in-market station or two in DC, soon.

Many of his new pickups are due to his relationship with Benztown Branding, which offers voiceover and imaging services to stations for barter. Check out Chuck’s own site here for more.

Best of luck to Mr. Matthews, and here’s hoping the OMW Reader Karma continues to work well!

Brian And Joe Back – Sort Of – And So’s Marty

Some local radio veterans now on “the beach” are plotting their next move.

Local morning drive radio mainstays Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer were unceremoniously dumped from their long-time spot on Clear Channel Cleveland hot AC WMVX/106.5 “Mix 106.5” in late April, part of a nationwide job purge by the San Antonio-based radio giant.

The duo had to ride out a Clear Channel non-compete, which expired September 1st.

“Brian and Joe” aren’t back on the radio just yet, but they’ve found a microphone. And they aren’t the only victims of the April Clear Channel job massacre to do so.

“The Brian and Joe Show” has launched in podcast form on the pair’s new website, conveniently called BrianAndJoeShow.com, which also has blogs, pictures from the duo’s long career, and information about personal appearances.

Don’t expect a full 4 hour radio-like show, of course. The “showcast” segments are just a few minutes long, but enough to keep the voices of the former “Mix” morning team in your head while they’re looking for their next opportunity.

Quoting the site:

We’ve been working together in radio for 21 years and back at the end of April – we were told “see ya!” Due to legal mumbo jumbo we weren’t allowed to do any radio or broadcast for the last four months. Now we’re finally allowed to do our thing again! Are we going to show up on radio? Time will tell – but we can’t wait any longer to do our show for you,

In the opening “showcast”, Brian and Joe make it clear that they are hoping to return to radio, somehow, though they’re obviously aware of the economic conditions facing the business both here and elsewhere.

Those conditions are somewhat muted compared to even the spring of 2008, when former WXTM/92.3 “Xtreme Radio” morning man Shane “Rover” French was able to bounce over to Clear Channel’s WMMS/100.7 in a lucrative new deal.

“Rover’s Morning Glory” landed on WMMS on April Fools’ Day 2008 – just 13 months before “Brian and Joe” became WMVX’s former morning show.

Then…the worldwide economy collapsed.

(Since then, of course, WMVX imported Los Angeles-based Sean Valentine – formerly heard on sister top 40 WAKS/96.5 “Kiss FM” – for its morning drive slot. Oh, and WXTM became jock-free WKRK “Radio 92.3”.)

We’ll be watching to see if “Brian and Joe” find a microphone with a radio transmitter attached to it, somehow. For now, they’ve managed to get some big name sponsors for their website (like Cleveland banking giant KeyBank, which has them doing an appearance this weekend at one branch). Bringing sponsor money with you is not exactly a bad thing, of course.

The “showcast” is being produced at the downtown Cleveland studio of Broadcast Media Ideas, the agency run by former Cleveland TV veteran Michael Settoni. BMI is headquartered at the Galleria in downtown Cleveland, a short elevator ride from the studios of Good Karma sports WKNR/850 “ESPN 850” in that same complex.

We’ll also be watching the radio fate of another former Clear Channel employee let loose by the company in the April job bloodbath, who’s also launched his online radio presence.

Former talk WTAM/1100 afternoon drive producer Marty “Big Daddy” Allen is now doing regular live Internet radio broadcasts at his own website.

The current schedule for the live Internet version of “The Marty Allen Show” is listed as Monday-Wednesday and Fridays at 9 PM (Eastern, of course). It looks like Marty is using the services of popular live video streamer UStream.

Based on some of Marty’s previously recorded efforts, it’s probably not a “G-rated” show…with no FCC guidelines on the Internet and the late evening time slot.

Allen has made no secret of his desire to “strike out on his own” after a long stint as a studio producer/on-air sidekick for WTAM afternoon driver Mike Trivisonno.

We wish him well, but he also faces the same hurdles as “Brian and Joe” – it’s not exactly a seller’s market when it comes to radio personalities in 2009, even those with recognized names and local broadcast history.

As always, we’re rooting for people to overcome the current radio environment, land in new gigs, and prosper.

As of yet, we’ve heard nothing about the media plans of the other WTAM afternoon drive producer let go in the April Clear Channel purge – Paul Rado. We believe he’s been promoting game tournaments for charity in the Cleveland area, and Trivisonno even mentioned that in response to a caller recently.

And that’s a hint to displaced Northeast Ohio radio personalities doing new ventures, no matter what.

We’re more than happy to give you the publicity and the links.

While much of OMW’s readership lies within local media operations, we’re also the first place many regular listeners reach when looking for their favorite now-former personalities.

Back in April, we reported extensively about both “Brian and Joe” and Marty Allen’s departures from Oak Tree. Those posts get indexed by Google (which owns Blogger, by the way, our blogging platform), and if people do a search for “where is (personality)”, it often brings them right to OMW.

Thus, we get E-mail from folks asking us “Whatever happened to Brian and Joe?”, “Where’s Marty Allen now”, etc.

(We believe we still get an E-mail every couple of months asking about the whereabouts of now-split-up now-out-of-Cincinnati country morning radio team “Ken and Kitty”.)

We had to find out about both of these new Internet ventures through third parties.

So, add us to your list…it’ll help you…

An Unusual Auction Fundraiser

One of the more, well, odd efforts to raise money for a worthy cause is going on this morning on Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 “The Talk of Akron”.

If you’ll forgive us, we’re a little, uh, behind in posting this…but without further cheeky comment:

———————

Second Annual WNIR 100.1FM Auction
Benefit for Golden Treasures Golden Retriever Rescue

We are auctioning off advertising space on the back of our running shorts in our Akron Marathon 5-person Relay team

The Akron Marathon date? September 26th, 2009

Wednesday September 16th on WNIR 100.1 FM
listen online at WNIR.com

How to win your ad on our rear-ends?

Call 330-673-2323 and place your bid

If you win, make check payable to Golden Treasures Golden Retriever Rescue. Mail to:

WNIR 100.1 FM c/o Maggie
PO BOX 2170
Akron Ohio 44309

7:00-7:30 Keeley McNamara of the Stark YMCA
7:30-8:00 Jenn Abate of Kent State ROTC
8:00-8:30 Cecilia Robart, wife of the Mayor of Cuyahoga Falls
8:30-9:00 Eric Ludwig, WNIR producer
9:00-9:30 Maggie Fuller, WNIR morning show co-host