Yeah, we know...we're as excited as you are. But at least the weather may be nice...
PD #1 (RADIO): Nearly all of our items this Monday are follow-ups on articles in the Cleveland Plain Dealer over the weekend, as the area's largest newspaper seems to have rediscovered local media for some reason.
Well, OK, PD entertainment columnist Julie Washington always has the media on her beat here in Northeast Ohio, but Saturday's column was a bit more extensive than usual.
We'll start with an item we have not already carried here at your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm). Washington reports that Mark Uyrcki, a former WKSU/89.7 reporter, is returning to the Kent State University-based NPR outlet as program director.
Uyrcki is back at 89.7 to replace Vincent Duffy, who left the station to join the public radio outlets of the University of Michigan.
And a sub-item we have, and that's not in the Julie Washington piece - it's WKYC/3 Akron Bureau chief and "Akron/Canton News" anchor Eric Mansfield replacing Duffy on the TV side, as moderator of WNEO/45-WEAO/49's weekly news panel discussion "NewsNight Akron".
Back to the PD, where Ms. Washington's article tells us that former WDOK/102.1 afternoon driver Chris Fox departed the CBS Radio AC station in Cleveland because he "wanted to be a morning host," something that's just not happening - at least at WDOK - with Trapper Jack cemented into the shift.
That's according to a quote from WDOK program director and OMW reader Scott Miller.
PD #2 (TV): Ms. Washington also brings a small tidbit we knew about, but hadn't posted yet.
With what she accurately calls the "abrupt" departure of WKYC/3 news director Mike McCormick, assistant news director Rita Andolsen steps in as interim news director.
We don't know if she has the job yet, but OMW hears from a few people at 13th and Lakeside that Ms. Andolsen is a popular choice, morale-wise, in the local NBC affiliate's newsroom.
The bulk of Julie Washington's Saturday media article is something that's been covered here extensively, the chess-piece-moving done on-air by a number of local stations.
Particularly, the morning show changes done by both WKYC and WEWS.
Addressing a question oft-asked here, including by readers, WKYC general manager Brooke Spectorsky says now-former morning anchor Kim Wheeler's placement on the show "didn't work out", and as reported here, she's back to education reporting and weekend anchoring.
Spectorsky tells Washington that they haven't made a decision on who takes over weekday mornings for Wheeler.
Ditto across town at "NewsChannel 5", where it appears it's - for now - Paul Kiska, Lorna Barrett and weather anchor Susanne Horgan handling "Good Morning Cleveland", with assistance from ex-WKYC'er Joy Benedict in the field and Jack "Air" Marschall above it all.
Like Wheeler, a lot of viewers wonder (to us, for one) about Barrett and her placement on the station she has temporarily rejoined after filling in for anchor Tracy Carloss during her maternity leave.
Quoting the PD article:
But you may not see this lineup for long. Barrett does not have a permanent hold on that fifth slot, but she is a candidate for the job, Butte said.
Something that Butte and WEWS already know - when it comes to local TV news, "change is not good". OMW readers tell us, constantly, that the frequent experimentation with anchors on "Good Morning Cleveland" is not making them happy.
The viewers, of course, don't understand the Every Ratings Point battle between WEWS, WKYC and FOX O&O (and dominant local morning station) WJW/8...
And on the John Chandler situation - where Washington reports what we hinted at here from our own sources at 3001 Euclid... the now-former WEWS/5 sports anchor "thought he detected signals" that he wouldn't get the weekday sports anchor job vacated by Chris Miller, who went to Washington DC's Comcast SportsNet.
"There were no signals," claims WEWS's Butte, who told Washington what we'd already reported as well - the station would not make its decision on the main sports job until after the May sweeps, currently in progress...
AND TWO PD QUICKIES: Different articles this time...
The PD's John Petkovic does an excellent, extensive profile of iconic Cleveland Cavaliers radio voice Joe Tait in Sunday's editions.
And updating another story we brought you before almost anyone, anywhere, the PD's Tom Feran reports on the movement of the effective date of the new, incredibly expensive Internet radio copyright rates from May 15th to June 15th.
The interesting note here: WKSU/89.7's Bob Burford tells Feran that the station's "Folk Alley" folk music stream would cost upwards of (and we mean upwards of) $66,000 a year under the new rate.
Even for a pubradio outlet doing as well as WKSU, that's a large chunk of change to stream folk music on the Internet...
10 comments:
Good luck to Mark Urycki. Vincent Duffy did a fantastic job (both on radio and TV) and will be missed by all of Northeast Ohio, but Urycki's return is good news and he should do well. Didn't he just go to WCPN about a year ago? Are things there still so bad that people bolt for WKSU at their first opportunity?
I don't think u can make the leap that because Urycki left after a year at WCPN to return to KSU, that things are bad at 90.3. He is leaving to take over as a program director. Big jump in $ and a chance to move up the ladder are probably the main factors for his departure.
I think the more relevant question is why is so much talent leaving WKSU--Jablonski, Duffy and soon, Pignanelli? Ten years ago, Duffy was named news director, beating Uryicki out for that job. 2 years ago, Duffy was named program director, again beating Uryicki out of a job. It's like Uryicki was just lying in wait for Duffy to leave this market so he could finally get a promotion?
Your "relevant" question is a good one. Much is been made about people leaving CPN, but rarely is it mentioned that a similar exodus has been taking place at WKSU, especially in the last year. For many years, they were a very stable station w/ regard to personnel.
In the case of CPN, the waters are a bit more murky. Pign and Jablonski's departures were lateral, which raise questions. Babin left for a better job. Baer for new surroundings. Losses of Newman and Ruiz...who knows, or really cares. Not great talents.
KSU-I'd guess Duffy (w/ no facts to back me) for the $. Jablonski, better job. Hadn't heard Pig was leaving. That would be a shocker.
with Mark, i think he saw a rare opening at Kent and grabbed it.
That webstreaming royalty rate article seems very scary. How on earth can anyone be expected to pay such an exorbitant fee? I'm not one of those people who thinks music should be entirely free... artists are entitled to make money on their creations I believe. But why do they need to extract so much from people who are in many senses helping them? Things like internet, satellite, and terrestrial radio help people discover new music and artists and encourage those same people to maybe buy an album or attend a concert.
Heard Pign is definitely leaving because he's being forced out and that Duffy took pay cut just to get out of there.
Get out of KSU? Does anyone know what's going on at that station lately?
Is this the same Rita Andolsen who, while working as a Producer at Fox-8 made an impassioned plea to her co-workers against unionizing? At the time of that urgent plea, she had all ready accepted a position at Channel 3.
Is that Channel 3's News Director?
To the anon at 4:02 save your liberal ranting for Air America would ya?
To answer the question left on the table by anonymous as to what is going on at KSU, rumor has it that the station is ready to implode and financially going down, hundreds of thousands in the red with no way of making it up. People on the inside are hoping now that the station is running in the red, someone at the university will notice and finally hold the GM accountable. In the meantime, its talent keeps leaving. What a shame.
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