Dr. Laura's Fall From Grace In Northern Ohio Is Complete

500 watt Canton religious/talk WCER/900 is now syndicated advice talk host Dr. Laura Schlessinger's only Northern Ohio affiliate.

OMW doesn't know when it happened, but Dr. Laura's last Clear Channel affiliate in the region, talk WMAN/1400 Mansfield, replaced her with a delayed airing of her affiliation nemesis, Glenn Beck. WMAN's website schedule now shows Beck running 3-5 PM and 6-7 PM, with an hour local news block filling the gap. Dr. Laura has been pushed off the WMAN schedule entirely, and doesn't even air in nights or weekends.

We know it must have been a recent change, as Dr. Laura's own Ohio affiliate list, which does list WCER, also still lists WMAN carrying the show 3-6 PM weekdays. The list also has another glaring inaccuracy - Clear Channel's WKRC/550 Cincinnati no longer carries the show. And WMAN's carriage of the Glenn Beck show is in their affiliate list, in smaller, recently added print.

In 2000, Dr. Laura was riding high in Northeast Ohio. Her show aired weekdays 9-11:30 AM on Clear Channel talk powerhouse WTAM/1100 Cleveland, and many other Clear Channel stations in Ohio and beyond.

In late 2001, Dr. Laura was pushed off the WTAM lineup for a fellow Premiere syndicated host, Glenn Beck...who himself was replaced on WTAM recently.

She rebounded, landing on new Clear Channel talker WHLO/640 Akron in its midday slot. WHLO recently dumped her, first for TRN's Laura Ingraham, then to pick up Beck when WTAM dropped him. CC's WKBN/Youngstown also no longer carries Dr. Laura.

Our only surprise at OMW - why Salem's secular talkers, like WHK/1420 Cleveland, haven't made room for Dr. Laura on their schedules. Salem does run her in Pittsburgh and New York City, but on otherwise religious stations. Perhaps there'd be room for her on Salem religious WKHW/1220?

Her departure from many Clear Channel stations, first fueled by Glenn Beck's then-new national show, has been set on fire now that Clear Channel doesn't own the show anymore. Premiere still markets it on behalf of new owner "Take On The Day Productions". Her new Ohio affiliate list - once WMAN and WKRC are removed - has her on a small handful of very small non-Clear Channel owned stations. On the list, Canton is now her largest market in Ohio by far...not hard when the list is populated by places like Findlay, Bellfontaine and Chillicothe.