WERE Urban Talk Start Date?

It's sometime soon, but we're still not sure when the new African-American-oriented talk format will start in WERE/1300 Cleveland...though it's likely to be soon.

The Radio One brokered talker was reportedly scheduled to flip to the new mainly networked format next Monday, January 16, according to station officials quoted last month by Plain Dealer media columnist Julie Washington. But we haven't heard any news or rumblings about that date actually happening.

For one, Radio One hasn't announced who will fill the national midday hole between a show hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, and Atlanta sports talk duo "The Two Live Stews". And WERE hasn't announced who will front a local morning drive show the station will air before Rev. Sharpton's 10 AM-1 PM program...though former WOIO/WUAB/WKNR sports voice Ronnie Duncan did a live audition for a show a ways back.

To this end, a Miami station has announced that it'll pick up the new format, and set a date. The Miami Herald reports that Radio One's WVCG/1080 will drop Spanish brokered religion for the company's "urban talk" format on January 30. Like WERE, the Miami station will have a local morning show.