Rover's Chicago Dream

Like some others, OMW speculated that the move of WXTM/92.3 Cleveland morning dog Rover to Chicago - to mount his new syndication in place of Howard Stern in some markets - was prompted by Infinity wanting to base him in one of the top 3 markets in the country.

Well, as it turns out, not so much.

A number of observers in the business report that it's Shane "Rover" French's dream to go on the air from his original hometown market. Mr. French, 30, was born in the Chicago area, and lived there as a youngster. French reportedly told crowds at the recent Conclave "TalenTrak" convention in Cleveland that he'd basically move heaven and earth to be on the air in Chicago. He's never been on there, despite the fact he's worked in larger markets than Cleveland.

Well, that earth and heaven may have already been moving at the time, as we've known for some time that Rover was in the "Stern replacements" mix, certainly before this recent conference on the North Coast. In fact, WXTM's morning doberman was the very FIRST name mentioned officially by Infinity, when he was signed to his new multi-year deal with the local station now formerly known as "Xtreme Radio". The announcement hinted - correctly, as it turned out - that Rover would replace Stern on stations in Midwestern markets.

So, we apologize for believing that Infinity couldn't possibly want Rover in Cleveland, syndicating out to Chicago instead of syndicating IN to Chicago from the hinterlands...

(Oh, and Rover, if you're reading this - if you don't like being called a "doberman", feel free to let us know which breed you'd like to be. Use the "View my complete profile" link at the left to E-Mail OMW. We're running out of dog puns, frankly!)