A Smorgasbord of Items

And no, it's not food themed...because we just had a snack:

LIVING ON THE AIR IN CINCINNATI: No, we haven't become based in Southwest Ohio...it just seems like the Cincinnati market has become as topsy-turvy as one of those cup rides at the local carnival.

As far as OMW knows from our perch up here in Northeast Ohio, Cumulus WYGY-er-WPRV-er-whatever/96.5 hasn't officially flipped to an FM talk format yet.

But we hear that the station's already shut off the stereo pilot light in anticipation. And there may be a good reason that a planned Thursday launch apparently did not become a reality, at least as of this writing.

Andy Furman.

That's right, not only are the stations moving around with all deliberate speed, so are the personalities. At least if you believe sources talking to the Cincinnati Post's Rick Bird, who reports that the deposed WLW/700 sports talker "may be negotiating" to land on the new Cumulus FM talk outlet.

Think about it...if you getting ready to start a new station and a name personality were suddenly dropped in your lap, wouldn't you wait a few days (or whatever it takes) and launch with him, instead of without him? It makes sense to us, at any rate. They'd certainly want to strike while the iron is hot - and Furman's name is still on everyone's lips radio-listener wise.

Furman and his attorneys apparently believe that he's an instant free agent, because what they call his "without cause" dismissal from "The Big One" invalidates the non-compete provision in his contract with Clear Channel.

We'll see how the company's lawyers feel about that...

UPDATE 10:13 PM 11/2/06: A listener we believe to be in the Cincinnati market tells us that 96.5 there has indeed flipped to talk, with few details beyond that.

Assuming they're keeping with the most recent publicized schedule, which includes Nashville-based syndicated host Phil Valentine in afternoon drive (4-7 PM), does that mean Sporting News Radio is just keeping that 7-9 PM slot warm for the return of one Mr. Furman to sports talk radio?

It'd certainly fit with Cumulus' usual "SuperTalk" formats in other markets, where they slot a local sports show in early evenings. It's basically the same time slot Furman had on WLW, give or take an hour.

And the presence of the sports talk network always looked a bit odd to us on the draft schedule.

We're also now not sure what time Valentine's show airs in syndication. Flagship WWTN in Nashville lists him from 4-8 PM weekdays...Central time, that is, an hour behind Cincinnati.

We're not sure if he does an hour that WWTN does not air, starting at 3 PM CT/4 PM ET, or if the draft schedules circulating for the new Cincinnati FM talk station are wrong.

We'll be watching... and anyone in Cincinnati who can give us any more details on the station's debut, please let us know.

Y-TOWN MAKES GOOD: We've been reminded that the new program director of Austin TX top 40/rhythmic outlet KDHT "Hot 93.3", who will also take the FM operations manager reins at the Emmis complex in Austin, has local ties.

"Chase" comes to the Austin outlets from his job as director of programming for Clear Channel's Tulsa OK stations.

But some Ohio listeners may recognize him as a former personality at Clear Channel's Youngstown "KISS FM" outlet, WAKZ/95.9. Chase left "95-9 KISS FM" to take the job in Tulsa.

We're told Chase is a young guy..."couldn't be more than 25 or 26", as we're told. Congratulations to him!

ENGINEER NEEDED: And speaking of congratulations, OMW hears that long-time Rubber City Radio/Akron assistant engineer George Seifert is leaving town, heading for a new job as a chief engineer in Tucson AZ. (Like outgoing WTAM/1100 news director R.C. Bauer, Seifert can apparently read a weather forecast, and leave Ohio at the right time of year.)

Rubber City Radio, which operates standards/news WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5 and country WQMX/94.9, has posted the opening for the job Seifert is leaving at this link on Monster.com.

Chief Engineer Al Hruska will be bringing on the new hire...