Weekend Cleanup

Some items that have either fallen through the cracks, or whatnot, at least some catching up from items printed from your Cleveland Plain Dealer...

JULIE'S WORLD: Plain Dealer radio/TV columnist Julie Washington has been busy writing about stuff other than local moviemaking. Like many people who cover local radio and TV for newspapers, Washington also covers other entertainment related news.

Washington weighed in the unveiling of WNCX/98.5's new morning show - "Mud, Mihalik and Mike" - in a Friday article.

"Mud" - who won't give either his legal name or his other known air names (a la Wynn Richards) - said he lost his Seattle radio gig in a merger in 2000, and noted - as we reported - that he's been in the cell phone industry until this return to radio.

The middle "M" in the trio, co-host Kim Mihalik, tells Washington that the show is meant to be "the morning zoo that matured", and that she was "pleasantly surprised" at the new gig... her first full-time radio job since budget cuts forced her out of the seat next to WTAM/1100 afternoon drive host Mike Trivisonno last fall. In recent weeks, Mihalik has been doing weekends at WNCX's AC sister station, WDOK/102.1.

And if you think it was a parade of fill-ins that took over the WNCX morning slot since David Lee Roth's radio mercy killing...

WNCX APD Dave Jockers tells Washington that there were "about 60" people heard on the station in that time period, and says about 20 percent may have actually been considered candidates for the opening...

Washington also reports that John Carroll University's WJCU/88.7 will do this fall what The University of Akron's WZIP/88.1 and other college stations have done - and is banishing its eclectic weekday programming schedule from weekday daytime hours.

WJCU will run an alternative/new rock format from 6 AM to 7 PM during the week, and the diverse programming that may have thrown off listeners will air during nights and weekends...

ANOTHER REGHI RANT: PD sports columnist Bill Livingston declares that now-former Cavaliers TV voice Michael Reghi was "kicked aside in a classless manner".

Livingston says the move is one of many made by local professional sports franchises to "control the discourse":

The Indians are allowed to put a team PR man on a show WKYC Channel 3 describes as a no-holds-barred look at the Tribe. A mediocre Cavs coach agitates to dump an incisive analyst. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert seems to aim for the so-soft-it-squishes Pistons programming by canning a solid pro like Reghi.

Again, we were never really big fans of Reghi's style and affectations. But he seems to have really thrown himself into his work with the team, and seems well-regarded by many - including his colleagues in the media. And we find it hard to defend the way the Cavs handled this change...but...again, we're pretty much talked out about this...

JIM AND CASEY: An OMW reader tells us that though Jim Mueller did not get a slot on the Browns pre-season TV broadcasts, he was heard last night at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

And joining Mueller on the public address system for the team's open practice "Family Fun Night" was none other than the Browns Radio Network's sideline reporter, WTAM/1100's Casey Coleman.

It's another good sign for Casey. It appears he intends on not just "showing up" for his Browns-related work. He's really throwing himself into it just as if, well, you know...we would assume that getting fully involved in his regular work is good therapy for Casey...

STILL WAITING: That "big radio news" we promised a week ago from Canton has still not happened - yet. It will still happen, we just don't know when.

We will stop giving regular "it hasn't happened yet" updates, and the next you'll hear will be the actual item in question. You'll understand the nature of our updates when you read the item, and you'll know why we have made a big deal out of it...