Some Odds and Ends, And The Future of OMW

Updating again:

* Thanks to a podcast archive service, we got to hear Kevin Metheny - Clear Channel's top Cleveland programmer - filling in for liberal host Jerry Springer on Friday. Springer's show airs on WTAM/1100 middays, and on other Clear Channel stations, along with most of Air America's affiliates.

Color us impressed. Metheny hasn't had a regular on-air gig since the late 70's, and by his own admission, it was his very first stab at talk radio. To our ears, he reminded us a lot of his Cincinnati CC cluster programming counterpart, Darryl Parks, who does a weekly show on Saturday on WLW/700.

Metheny opened each hour letting listeners know that he was a regular Howard Stern target while programming WNBC in New York City, and repeated nicknames for him (from Stern and morning man Don Imus) in good humor - "Pig Virus" and "Kevin Metheny, the programming weenie". It turns out that the local programmer is - by his own admission - a card carrying liberal Democrat, and was a teenage delegate for former presidential candidate George McGovern. (Talk about your "liberal credentials"!)

But he was also honest about his role in being the cluster programmer at a station which is this area's primary outlet for conservative giant Rush Limbaugh. We wonder how that went over with the Rush-hating liberal radio audience. Metheny asked callers to tell him what they wanted out of liberal radio, and many callers said they felt Springer apologized for criticizing the right too much.

Metheny, more than once, referred to himself as Springer's "talent coach".

All in all, better than we expected. Though, we could have done without the bits and constant references to Springer's reason for being absent - a colonoscopy. (No, we're not making that up.)

* We're not sure what to make of it, but WTAM/1100 afternoon motormouth Mike Trivisonno is off this afternoon. Triv taking time off is not exactly a surprise - he's basically got Johnny Carson's vacation schedule. But WTAM sportscaster Mark Schwab is filling in, in what sounds like a last-minute move, because show technical producer Marty "Big Daddy" Allen is doing sports in Schwabbie's place. Or, having fun with doing sports, that is. If it was last minute enough to not be able to bring in someone like a Chad Krispinski to do updates, we're not sure what's going on. And Triv co-host Kim Mihalik is also gone...make of that what you will, for now.

* We're expecting to make a major announcement in the next few weeks that will drastically affect the future of OMW, or even if we continue with this effort. No, it doesn't involve asking you for donations. We're not sure what it involves, at this point.