Just following up on some stuff from earlier:
ELECTION POST-OP: We didn't realize, when we wrote our earlier item on local election coverage, that the Cleveland Cavaliers would get in the way.
No, literally, as the local NBA team's game with the Atlanta Hawks forced a number of stations that would normally have had election coverage as early as 8 PM to start much later, after 10 PM in many cases.
That affected not only Cavaliers "mothership" WTAM/1100, but Akron's WAKR/1590 and other Cavs radio affiliates. Our long-time friend and colleague Scott Fybush from NorthEast Radio Watch checks in that Cincinnati powerhouse WLW/700 was also running sports of some sort last night.
(NOTE: We get word from Hillcrest Avenue that they did actually blow out the Cavaliers game on WQKT/104.5 in Wooster, for complete election coverage with station veteran [and OMW reader] Dave Dial anchoring. We apologize for the oversight.)
Though a last minute court decision pushed results back to about 9 PM, there was still some early news missed by the sports-running stations - give or take any in-game bulletins, which we're sure were there, but did not hear in our dial scanning. A wire service called the Ohio governors' race at 7:30 PM, at the close of polling...despite some Cleveland-area voters still being able to cast ballots, delaying official returns out of Columbus.
Stations heard by us doing coverage include Clear Channel talk WHLO/640, with wall-to-wall coverage starting at 8. Clear Channel sister liberal talk WARF/1350 had local break-ins and live speeches, but used Air America's live evening election special as their "glue".
As expected, MediaCom talk WNIR/100.1's Tom Erickson weaved the results into his existing local show on the Akron market talker. And we heard the aforementioned WAKR going full-tilt with local election news coverage after the Cavaliers game.
As for that Time Warner Cable special we talked about - on the Cleveland-based former Adelphia channel 15 - apparently it's been going on for about five years now, with "In the Spotlight" host Bob Conklin...
MORE CINCINNATI FOLO: That Cincinnati game of musical chairs continues, with word that now-former country outlet WYGY/94.9 - which was only in the format for a while - is marking a countdown to a new format of some sort...according to Cincinnati Enquirer radio/TV guru John Kiesewetter's blog.
Market rumor would suggest that Entercom, which picked up the station in a swap with Cumulus and promptly prepared to move the country format to a new home, is putting some sort of rock outlet on 94.9.
Meanwhile, back at the former home of alt-rock WAQZ, 97.3 is preparing to become country "The Wolf".
While we're electronically in the Queen City, we belatedly note the arrival of new program director Mark Anderson at Clear Channel top 40 outlet WKFS "Kiss FM" and hot AC WVMX "Mix". Anderson comes in from a Las Vegas consultancy, and is the former programmer of "Kiss" sister WKST in Pittsburgh.
And Kiesewetter notes that "Angry Guy" sports host Tom Gamble is apparently only one possible candidate to take over WLW/700's "Sports Talk" after the dismissal of long-time host Andy Furman. Gamble is better known as one of the "Two Angry Guys" on sister sports WCKY/1530 "Homer", a pairing with Richard Skinner which also extends to a WLW weekend slot...
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
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6 comments:
COMMERCIAL-FREE non-stop, non-network coverage from FM 88-9 went beyond midnight with 37 year election veteran Bob Long and his experienced adult co-anchor team. Local political folks dropping in for live interviews and some live phone interviews mixed it up for some outstanding Portage County radio election returns. Nice job Bob & the whole WSTB volunteer team!
With the alt-rocker going away it looks like one less affiliate for Rover. At the rate he's losing them, he'll be back to Cleveland only very soon.
John M
St. Louis may be the one market where Rover stays, as I doubt Emmis would pony up the dollars necessary to get Opie and Anthony, or a similar replacement..Bob and Tom is already taken in the market..
I'm a proponent of starting radio election coverage at 9..unless you catch real breaks with the counting of ballots, starting at 7 is almost useless..its a lesson broadcast TV learned this year..besides, unless you had a hot local race, the Governor and Senate races in Ohio were called by the networks before 7-30 EST..only your hard core political junkies were likely to stick around..
We here at WQKT in Wooster actually gave money back to NOT carry that night's Cavs game and had election coverage the entire evening.
The coverage was anchored by Dave Dial, who goes back as far as Ronald Reagan being voted out of office as the anchor of WQKT's 52,000 watt coverage.
So, a small correction there. All you had to do was listen. It was easily confirmed.
Our apologies to Mr. Dial and the mighty 104.5 in Wooster. We've corrected the original item.
-The Management
Pfff ..
Yeah, I had a lot of "election" coverage. I had reporters at Ashland, Holmes and Medina County Board of Elections but our main county .. well, they blew the goat.
10 o'clock rolls around and I got nothin'. NOTHIN'. Zero.
So, whoever posted this .. yeah .. award winning election coverage.
It was truly not worth mentioning.
It was just dam straight bad.
-DD
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