Odds and Ends: Friday Leftovers

Some stuff that's still sitting up there on our plate, either stuff we haven't touched yet, or stuff that's left over:

* Congratulations to WEWS/5 general manager Ric Harris, who's leaving the local ABC affiliate to head up the "digital media" section of NBC Universal. He'll help NBC forge ahead in Internet initiatives and other "new media" projects. Harris has been with "NewsChannel 5" for five years.

* The Cleveland Browns start their pre-season schedule against the New York Giants on Saturday night (WOIO/19, 8 PM). Two voices which should be very familiar to Browns fans and radio listeners handle the call - Akron market talker WNIR/100.1 afternoon host Bob Golic, a popular former Brown, does play-by-play. Will Kaiser Bill give him Saturday afternoon off of his radio show? Hmmm. Former Brown Brian Brennan, who's done on-air work for Browns AM flagship WTAM/1100, does color. The game will also be seen in Youngstown (WYTV/33), along with affiliates in Columbus and Toledo. And in case you missed it and have the NFL Network on cable or satellite, it'll rerun the game Sunday night at 11 PM ET, along with a high-definition feed (presumably from the Giants' home station, WNBC) at the same time. Adelphia cable carries NFL Network on digital channel 178, and NFL Network HD on channel 778.

* Speaking of Golic's radio home, it still hasn't happened yet - as the long-time CBS Radio News affiliate hasn't switched to ABC Information Network. OMW's sources have told us that WNIR was slated to pick up the affiliation after WTAM/1100 Cleveland dumped ABC. As we mentioned earlier, though WTAM and other Clear Channel talkers in Ohio have gone to FOX News Radio, there's no way to tell when WTAM's contract with ABC Information Network expires. We're pretty sure WTAM's continued carriage of ABC's Paul Harvey is not tied into this.

* Speaking of things that haven't happened yet - we're still in a holding pattern re: "JACK FM" in the Cleveland market, as Infinity's WQAL/104.1 and WDOK/102.1 (along with other Infinity Cleveland market stations) haven't budged from their current formats, despite rumors to the contrary. A suggestion: look to the start of the Fall book for ANY changes in the local Infinity cluster, and some of it may depend on how long Infinity hangs on to one-foot-out-the-door Howard Stern.

* Our usual listener/tipster in the area reports that Beacon Broadcasting's WGRP/940 Greenville PA, which had returned to the air simulcasting WLOA/1470's "Wexy 107" oldies format, is once again silent. There's no word if this is due to technical problems, or perhaps recent bad weather. When OMW visited the area recently, the 940 signal wasn't quite what it was last time the station was on the air, so maybe they're fixing it.

* Meanwhile, also in the Land of Glunt, we heard "Michael Angel" (aka soon-to-be-former majority owner Michael Arch) on Beacon's WANR/1570 Warren last Sunday, playing secular oldies music, and trying his best to turn the names or lyrics in the songs into religious messages. Yes, secular oldies, religious disk jockey. Our favorite was when "Mr. Angel" spun off the line "Jesus loves you more than you will know" from the Simon and Garfunkel hit "Mrs. Robinson" - without mentioning that whole Married Mother Seduces Young Student thing in the movie "The Graduate", by the character of the same name.

* OMW is once again on the road starting Sunday night, with a week long jaunt through much of the Upper Midwest. As usual, we're laptop equipped, and our stopping places are all reputed to have high-speed Internet access, so we won't stray TOO far from The Mighty Blog of Fun(tm). We also have full electronic access to most of our usual local radio and TV stations, thanks to modern technology, though we'll be occupied most of the day all week. But, if there's a big change, we'll be able to hear or see it.

The Edwards Thing Again

Now that we've finally figured out if the Cleveland Browns' top draft pick, Braylon Edwards, is signed or not (he is), we have some Brownie Points to make. For one, we spotted WEWS/5's "Chevy Network Dealers Sports Wrap Brought To You By Pepsi And In Part By Cintas" (OK, so we're kidding about everything after "Wrap", though we're pretty sure Cintas sponsors the Browns training camp this year.). And before WEWS sports director Chris Miller told us that Braylon Edwards had officially signed, a graphic told us that Channel 5 was, in big letters, "THE INDEPENDENT HOME OF BROWNS FANS". Shades of, say, WKNR/850, "The Voice of the Fan"!

The "OFFICIAL HOME OF THE BROWNS", WOIO/19, did manage to get the Edwards news conference on the air, live. For whatever reason, the OTHER "official" Browns broadcast partner, WTAM/1100 ("The AM Home of the Browns"), did NOT have the news conference on the air, though it's traditionally an event they would carry. On afternoon motormouth Mike Trivisonno's show, sports director Mike Snyder noted that they were "technically unable" to carry the news conference.

OMW observes that perhaps WTAM was down some equipment, given their assistance to their sister cluster in North Canton, which was hit by a lightning strike a few days ago. And they were doing one of those "Triv in Your Backyard" remotes...though OMW wonders why they don't have a dedicated line to Browns HQ in Berea. Or, perhaps, they could have an agreement with WOIO/19 to simply air 19's audio? Or, perhaps, Browns beat reporter Andre Knott could have held a cell phone up to Braylon? It worked for a Philadelphia sports radio reporter, who used the same technique to feed live audio of Terrell Owens' bizarre outside-his-house press conference the other day...

We didn't hear WKNR running the press conference, either. But we don't expect much from a station that used to air phone-line-fed sound bites from Berea two days after a Butch Davis press conference.

And oh, if you were a Browns fan trying to find out the latest on their high-profile holdout, being near a radio wasn't the place to be in general. With WTAM's Trivisonno wrapped up in his remote, and a long discussion on police chases (something we'd normally encourage from the station!), it was tough to find out the latest until the signing was actually imminent. WKNR was no better, with afternoon driver Kenny Roda spending a long amount of time talking about some odd basketball tournament at Gund Arena this weekend. It took a snippet in one of Ryan McNaughton's sports updates - delayed by an interminable amount of commercials until about 4 minutes after the hour - to learn that Edwards' agent was stuck in bad weather in Chicago, which caused the delay in the actual signing.

By the way, for all the complaining about WTAM's huge commercial load in PM drive, WKNR is not any better. It sounded like they were trying to match their larger competitor spot for spot!

Oh, and when Triv did get around to talking about it, he verbally sparred (playfully) with his foil, Mike Snyder, about whether there was an agreement or not, repeatedly, on and on... then complained that we wouldn't BE in the dark if Carmen Policy was still around. Oh, brother.

We would have much appreciated Triv, Roda, Snyder or someone mentioning the status of the situation once every so often, like, maybe, coming out of a break? We know we ask a lot here at OMW...but our standards are high.

Being "Official Home of the Browns" Means You Should Get It Right

UPDATE: As of 11:30 tonight, both WOIO/19 and WKYC/3 are reporting that the tide has turned AGAIN, and that there is a deal between Braylon Edwards and the Browns. The below was written before that news came out, and still stands on its own... -- OMW

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Watch out, Reserve Square...this one is for you.

So, OMW caught all but the very beginning of tonight's "19 Action News", the 10 PM edition on WOIO/19 sister station WUAB/43. We saw lead sports anchor Chuck Galeti reporting live, "breaking news" from Berea, where Cleveland Browns first round draft pick Braylon Edwards had apparently bolted for his home in Detroit, just hours after his contract negotiations with the team had gone sour.

It's not Galeti's reporting we're calling into question here.

No, just a few minutes after Galeti correctly brought "19 Action News at 10" viewers up to date on the contract situation suddenly falling apart between the talented wide receiver and the team, the station's crawl let us know that Edwards was in Berea and was close to signing a contract, and could be in uniform as soon as tomorrow! Yes, stay tuned to "19 Action News" - The Official Home of the Browns - for details.

Huh?

We've checked the wires (see this AP story via Cleveland.com), and as near as we can tell, someone at Reserve Square neglected to update the crawl to reflect the most recent information. It wouldn't be so funny if WOIO didn't spend hours breathlessly proclaiming itself the Official Home of the Browns....a phrase that was repeated again in the crawl.

Oops.

It's not the first time the 19 crawl has been behind reality. One Sunday night recently, it proclaimed that a local freeway would be shut down until early Monday morning for construction work...a project which actually wrapped up three hours before we saw the crawl. We knew that, because we saw competitor WEWS/5 air live video of the re-opened freeway.

Someone at Reserve Square has to shout out - "HEY! THE CRAWL! UPDATE IT!" - when something changes in a major news story. And as OMW enters this update, the "Braylon could be in uniform as soon as tomorrow" line has repeated itself on the crawl.

That Ashtabula Bull Ride Has Begun

Our good friend Scott Fybush at NorthEast Radio Watch happened to be within listening range of new Clear Channel country station WYBL/98.3 Ashtabula on its first day Tuesday, and reports that the station has indeed launched as advertised.

Scott tells OMW that "98.3 The Bull" charged out of the gate (too bad we don't get paid for our pithy prose!) with a live and local airstaff, and spent much of its first day with a live remote from the Ashtabula County Fair.

"The Bull's" website is up and running. It's using the new Clear Channel music station template, and for example, looks nearly identical in style to Cleveland CC hot AC WMVX "Mix 106.5"'s site.

The air staff:

Morning Drive: Roger McCoy (PD)
Middays: Jake Andrews
Afternoon Drive: Kristie Lee
Nights: Paul West

OMW has no idea how many of those personalities are live and not voice tracked, though it appears both drive time shifts are live. Ms. Lee's afternoon drive show is certainly live from the Ashtabula County Fair this week. (And what a way for a country station to launch - live from the county fair!)

According to Clear Channel sister news/talker WFUN/970's website, morning driver/program director Roger McCoy has been doing morning drive for that station. And we'll assume Ms. Lee is no relation to the Bob & Tom Show regular of the same name...

"Mix's" New Midday Mix

Local listeners have noticed a regular new midday host on WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106.5" - by the name of Lori Bradley. The Clear Channel Cleveland Hot AC station is still looking for an afternoon personality, as OMW noted a while back.

Lori's been saying the word "Mix" into a microphone for a long time. She worked at "Mix" stations in Austin and Houston, and has been voicetracking for the "Mix" station in Rochester, all of them owned by Clear Channel. She replaces other voices heard in middays on 106.5, including Kat Jackson (who's at CC sister WGAR/99.5) and Cindy Spicer. Her voicetracking studio must be busy, as we spotted her on the air personality list for contemporary Christian network "Air 1", the younger skewing side of satellite-driven "K-Love". "Air 1", of course, is not owned by Clear Channel.

Ms. Spicer has some career moves herself, according to our friends at SDRadio.net in San Diego. She has been doing middays at Clear Channel's "My 94.1" in that market (itself, you guessed it, once known as "Mix 94.1"), but moves to CC sister country KUSS "US 95.7" as midday host and music director, next week. No, they're not changing the name of the country station to "Mix 95.7".

OMW doesn't know for sure, but we're pretty confident when we say it's likely neither woman is anywhere near the Clear Channel World Domination HQ on Oak Tree Boulevard. But, the afternoon drive "Mix" opening is indeed in-house.

Ashtabula - The Small Market Radio Capital of Northeast Ohio?

While waiting for WYBL/98.3 Ashtabula to unleash its country "Bull" tomorrow...

It turns out that there's yet ANOTHER possible FM station in Ashtabula's future. OMW stumbled upon this allocation from the FCC earlier this year...granting a move by long-time broadcast engineer Dana Puopolo to add a class A allocation on 96.1 FM in Ashtabula. According to our good friends at NorthEast Radio Watch, Puopolo originally tried for an allocation on 95.9 just up I-90 in Erie a couple of years ago. Unlike the Erie attempt, the Ashtabula allocation for 96.1 FM is officially on the books, though Puopolo hasn't yet applied to put a station on there.

As NERW's Scott Fybush pointed out, putting an FM on in that section of the band along the Lake Erie coastline is quite a squeeze, considering the monster signal pushing across the lake from rocker "FM 96", otherwise known as CFPL-FM/95.9 London, Ontario, Canada. In fact, on our trip into Ashtabula over the weekend, OMW heard 95.9 out of Canada along the lake just east of Cleveland, with a signal that was nearly as strong as Northeast Ohio's locals.

If you read the allocation, you'll note that Puopolo's request reportedly works out interference issues with CFPL-FM as a "specially negotiated, short-spaced allotment", and got the approval of Canada's version of the FCC for the allocation. Maybe it was the nudge one channel over to 96.1, and the move to Ashtabula, that sealed it for Puopolo.

The Ashtabula market has seen two new FM signons in recent years. In addition to the new WYBL/98.3, Clear Channel also added WFXJ/107.5 North Kingsville, now running classic rock as "107.5 The Fox". Puopolo appears to have no connection with Clear Channel, being a broadcast engineer who's worked in markets such as Boston and Los Angeles. He's most recently been listed as chief engineer for MultiCultural Radio's Los Angeles operations.

With two new FMs in a couple of years, and a third on the way sometime in the next couple of years or so, will Ashtabula...an economically depressed area...become over-radioed?

No, "19 Action News", You Don't Own The Browns

Cleveland CBS affiliate WOIO/19 has made a big deal about their new deal with the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Along with broadcasting the team's pre-season games, and producing other programs, 19 proudly proclaims itself "The Official Home of the Browns" on the air.

Someone might want to send a note down to Reserve Square to remind them that WOIO only bought the rights to AIR the Browns, not to run the training camp in Berea.

OMW hears that WOIO's staffers spent much of the first week of training camp acting like they were an extension of the team. The "last straw", as we're told, involved a 19 producer clearing out a refrigerator full of bottled water to deliver to the "Action News" team at the camp. (That whole thing about having water for the TEAM, in 90-degree weather, must have gotten past the producer.)

And as a result, from what we've been told, WOIO's staffers no longer have unfettered reign in Berea. They're still allowed in the building, of course, but with a Browns escort. Outside work at the practice field is unaffected.

Though it's quite easy to poke fun at the folks at Reserve Square, we'll end this missive with a positive note. Though he acts like a hyperactive high school basketball coach on camera, especially when there's severe weather, we're hearing nothing but nice things about 19 weathercaster Jeff Tanchak. Especially considering the above, he's a great ambassador for the station, and his presence may smooth over at least some of the ruffled feathers from the station's "we own this place" attitude at training camp...

Robin Swoboda Stops "Fishing" August 19th

A confirmation on our earlier report... as OMW hears the news from WFHM/95.5 Cleveland "The Fish" morning co-host Robin Swoboda.

Robin tells OMW that her last day at the Salem contemporary Christian station will be August 19th. And as we indicated in the earlier report, Mrs. Swoboda-Wagner tells us that it's indeed for family reasons. Her husband, former Cleveland Browns punter Bryan Wagner, now has a teaching job which starts at 7:45, and her three children have a new school with a new starting time of 9 AM...and mom's going to take them to school herself. After all, "the thought of hiring a stranger to do it just seems...well, strange!!", says the former local TV news anchor, whom we remember very well from her days at WJW's "NewsCenter 8".

Robin adds in her note to OMW, "Look for me to pop up here or there every once in awhile...just not at the expense of the children!"

Once again, in our opinion, it's good to see someone putting "family first" in their real life, and not just using it as a slogan. (Robin, or anyone, by the way, if you want to contact us directly via E-Mail, feel free to write "OhioMediaWatch" [at] gmail [dot] com, our new address. Or find the E-Mail link under our profile link, at the top left hand side of this page.)

Yes, Our Report Was No...Uh...Bull

When stations are in the throes of format changes, and are stunting, OMW can't resist.

We piled into the newly-tagged OMW Mobile this afternoon and headed for Ashtabula, where we confirmed our earlier listener report of WYBL/98.3's stunting. The station abandoned its temporary oldies format, and is now running a continuous loop of country songs with the word "country" in them. (We're no country music experts at OMW, but it sounds like they're all from the same artist.)

And new since our last report - the station is actually using "The Bull" on air to refer to its upcoming format, and proclaims that "The Bull ride starts Tuesday morning at 6".

From the song clips they've been using, it sounds like "The Bull" is going to be a modern/hot country station, perhaps somewhat more so than the other country outlet in the region, Geneva's WKKY/104.7. As noted here in OMW before, WKKY spends a lot of time serving Lake County, even to the point of running Lake County Captains baseball games on Saturday evenings.

A full-bore effort at a contemporary country format by Clear Channel Ashtabula may ensure that WKKY spends even less time paying attention to areas east of Geneva. Of course, anyone who knows the area will tell you that there's more money in Lake County, anyway...but WYBL's signal doesn't serve much of Lake County, which they'd assuredly leave to Clear Channel Cleveland big sister station WGAR/99.5.

By the way, OMW has recorded some clips of this stunting. At some point, as soon as we can figure out where to put it, we'll start linking audio we've recorded on the road...

The Bull's About To Launch

Update on the story of new Clear Channel oldies WYBL/98.3 Ashtabula:

A listener in the region tells us that they've dumped the temporary oldies format entirely, and are now stunting with such songs as "Gone Country", "Rock My World, Little Country Girl" and other songs with the word "country" in them, in a continuous loop.

OMW reported earlier that WYBL was slipping country songs into the oldies format, and was hinting at a format change with "bull noises". It's expected that WYBL will adopt a typical country station name, "98.3 The Bull", and eagle eyed web surfers would do well to keep checking "www.983thebull.com"...which is currently dead, but does have a server attached to it.

If this were a larger market, we'd wonder if this stunting was a little TOO perfect, and wonder if CC Ashtabula had a different format up its sleeve...

Lightning Strikes...And Not The Lou Christie Song

At OMW World Headquarters overnight Thursday into Friday morning, we rode through some lines of heavy thunderstorms safely, and didn't lose power or have any problems once. The folks at Clear Channel Akron/Canton wish they could say the same.

OMW hears that lightning directly struck the tall tower behind the CC Akron/Canton building on Freedom Avenue in North Canton, in heavy thunderstorm weather early Friday morning. It's believed the tower was struck at least twice.

The damage was so severe that the mighty WKDD/98.1, the cluster's hot AC station, is now operating off of a $300 Mackie mixer the station bought at a music store. Talker WHLO/640 is operating out of a news booth at the station. Liberal talk WARF/1350 "Radio Free Ohio" is mostly unaffected, though OMW thought we heard some STL noise while sitting in line at the Ohio eCheck station literally in the shadow of 1350's towers off State Road in Cuyahoga Falls. (Yes, it's that time of year for the OMW Mobile.)

Other equipment was also fried, including production gear, ISDN units and the like. The estimated total damage that needs to be repaired or replaced is over $50,000.

And the GOOD news? There was no fire, and very thankfully, there were no injuries. All three stations recovered by afternoon as far as their on-air presence - due to the temporary setup described above.

But if you happen to run into someone in North Canton who smells like they've been in a fire, ask them where they work...

Telegraphing A New Format In Ashtabula

It's not like Clear Channel's Ashtabula cluster wants to hide its intentions with new signon WYBL/98.3.

More than once here in OMW, we've pointed to market rumors and other signs that the new station, which hit the air running automated oldies with no production other than a brief legal ID, would go country as "The Bull"...a name even suggested by the "WYBL" calls.

A listener in the region now tells OMW that WYBL has "now added some country into its oldies mix, and they are now running teasers that say 'More country, better country, coming soon'". Our tipster also notifies us that they're throwing in sounds of a "bull whip cracking".

You think they're gonna change formats, soon?

As noted earlier here in OMW, there's already a country station serving the Ashtabula region: Geneva's WKKY/104.7, otherwise known as "One Reason Classical WCLV/104.9 Lorain Can't Move East". WKKY has a local morning show and a local afternoon drive show, and otherwise, last we heard it, was running ABC's satellite-delivered "Country Coast to Coast" format, usually positioned as "America's Best Country" or "The Best Country Around". (NOTE: We've edited this to indicate WKKY's broader local programming.) It's the same format Wooster's WQKT/104.5 ran until switching to Westwood One's similar full-time satellite country format.

WKKY makes a pretty concerted effort at serving areas to their west along the I-90 corridor, such as much of Lake County (Mentor, Painesville, etc.). 104.7's stick is actually west of Geneva, on the eastern edge of Lake County. There could very well be enough room for WKKY to focus there, and WYBL to focus on Ashtabula and its nearby areas. One thing's for sure...the Bull is about to be unleashed.

Another Cleveland "Where Are They Now" Entry: Jaz McKay

You might remember Jaz McKay from his stint as a talk show host at the station then known as
"3WE", today's WTAM/1100 Cleveland. He was one in a very long line of what could be called "talk radio experiments" on the station, before Jacor bought it and transformed it into today's Clear Channel-owned news/talk powerhouse.

Jaz has, until recently, done evenings at Infinity talk KMJ/580 in Fresno, California. As of August 22nd, according to AllAccess, he'll be working just down California Highway 99 in middays at Buckley talk KNZR/1560 Bakersfield CA.

It's a direct market trade, if not a direct station trade. KMJ's new evening host is Inga Barks, who starts today, and is midday host at Bakersfield's OTHER (and more popular) talk station, KERN/1410. (NOTE: We're told that Barks will continue doing her KERN show, in addition to doing the KMJ evening slot.)

Both Fresno and Bakersfield are a LONG way from Cleveland.

The Harold Glunt Wexy Oldies Empire Expands

From the department of "One of Our Favorite Obsessions": A listener along the Ohio/PA border reports that once-silent WGRP/940 Greenville PA has returned to the air.

Take a guess what format it's running! Go on, we'll wait.

We'll give you a hint - what format does Beacon Broadcasting's Harold Glunt run on the AM dial? You guessed it...the "Wexy 107" oldies format once heard on WGRP sister station WEXC/107.1 in that same city. 107.1 has been Youngstown-targetting Christian rocker "Freq 107" for a few weeks now. "Wexy 107" has also been running the past few weeks on new Beacon acquisition WLOA/1470 Farrell PA.

And actually, it's no surprise, since along with listing the now-off-in-other-format 107.1 in its legal IDs, the new "Wexy 107" incarnation has also ID'ed the until-now-silent WGRP, even when it was not actually on the air! So, you have two small AM stations running the unchanged oldies format that used to run on the FM in Greenville, complete with its frequency number, and no acknowledgement of the AM stations except at legal ID time. Yep, that makes sense to US.

We're still waiting to hear if Beacon's WANR/1570 Warren or new acquisition WRTK/1540 Niles will join in the Wexy party at some point, as rumored earlier right here in OMW...

Job Listing: WQAL/Cleveland Looking For Part-Time Air Talent

From AllAccess:

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WQAL - Cleveland’s Q104 “90’s & Now” needs part-time air talent. Work with a new digital facility this summer and with a team who wins. Duties include weekend on-air shifts. At least 2 years on-air experience preferred. Send your CD and resume to WQAL, Attn: Allan Fee, 1 Radio Lane, Cleveland, OH 44114. Please, no calls.

Infinity Broadcasting is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The Stick Has Landed In Florida

AllAccess reports that former Clear Channel Cleveland WAKS/96.5 "Kiss FM" jock "Stick on the Radio" is taking nights at CC's CHR "XL 106.7" in Orlando. He's scheduled to start in late August.

"Stick" left Cleveland's Kiss FM after it was announced that former Kiss APD/MD Kasper, a regular reader of This Space, was returning to his old job in Cleveland...from his current gig at CC sister CHR "Q102" in Philadelphia.

Oh, one housekeeping issue: We have a new E-Mail address. It's linked in the profile link at the very left of this blog. Feel free to drop us a line and let us know you're reading OMW! And if you'd like to share some news you know about, or have heard, please also drop us a line. We hear from people in many of the local broadcast outlets, and anyone who's fed us stuff in the past will tell you that we keep our sources confidential. (Of course, since we do, we can't tell you who's fed us stuff. Just thinking about that circular thought is baffling. ;) )

Why September 22nd Could Be A Big Day at Infinity/Cleveland

This little nugget, from dependable Chicago Sun-Times media columnist Robert Feder, caught the eye of OMW:

Mancow, Johnny B. could be on the move

The upshot in the column is that Infinity and Emmis are reportedly negotiating over a game of musical chairs among three of the Chicago market's bigger stations. If it all falls into place, it'd land WKQX/101.1/TRN FM morning host Erich "Mancow" Muller onto Infinity's hot talk WCKG/105.9, as the replacement for Howard Stern, who'd be pulled off WCKG and other Infinity stations on September 22nd (start of the Fall ratings period).

This move - the end of Stern's terrestrial radio run over three months before Stern joins Sirius Satellite Radio - has been speculated repeatedly by none other than the King of All Media himself. The theory, of course, is that Stern's affiliates would not be able to use his Fall 2005 ratings to sell spot time in January 2006, after he's gone. Feder's column also mentions another Chicago legendary host, Jonathan Brandmeier, but that part doesn't affect Cleveland.

No, what affects us here in Northeast Ohio is Infinity's reported willingness to shut down the Stern Machine at the start of the Fall 2005 ratings book, which puts a whole OTHER set of things into motion among Infinity's Cleveland market stations.

You might recall that WXTM/92.3 "Xtreme Radio" morning star "Rover" recently signed a new contract with Infinity. In that contract, it was actually spelled out that Infinity would syndicate his show, and he was expected to pick up many of the markets being vacated by Howard Stern. Infinity appears to have settled on a regional strategy to fill the Stern hole, with Rover, former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and "Loveline" host Adam Carolla being mentioned in that mix.

Enter Mancow. According to the Feder column, if this all happens, the Cow would get "at least" 6 former Stern stations on his affiliate list.

You'll only need to look at a map to see how this spells trouble for Rover. Roth would likely get, in addition to Stern's flagship WKRK/New York, stations in markets like Philadelphia and Boston. Carolla would do a live west coast show out of KLSX/Los Angeles for markets like San Diego and Sacramento. And with Mancow in this mix now, he gets new home base WCKG/Chicago, and a half-dozen other Midwest markets.

Does the Cow push Rover out of markets like Detroit, Cincinnati and other major Midwest cities? Rover already airs, at last check, on two non-Stern stations...in Columbus and in Madison, Wisconsin. If Mancow makes this move, Rover can likely axe any hopes of being on in Chicago, and maybe other markets he thought he was ticketed for, when Stern ceases being heard on terrestrial radio.

Meanwhile, back at Infinity/Cleveland, is this speculation the reason we haven't heard JACK... er...JACK FM, that is...out of any of their local stations yet, despite industry rumors? Are they waiting to do it all at once if Stern's being pushed out of the Infinity fold a few months early? Is September 22nd the date to watch?

You make the call. We're just throwing stuff up against the OMW Wall again, seeing if any of it sticks. At least we're open about the speculation...

Job Listing: CC Akron/Canton Looking for NTR/Marketing Director

Posted in various places by Clear Channel's Keith Kennedy:

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NTR/Marketing Director Akron, Ohio

At Clear Channel Akron/Canton (Hot AC WKDD/Newstalk 640 WHLO and Progressive talk 1350am Radio Free Ohio) we are losing one of the best in the business! If you can conceive, plan, and manage both large and small events; hire, train and manage a staff; conceive, and design effective marketing pieces; and have a background in graphic design; we need to talk Email resumes to: (danlankford at clearchannel dot com) or via mail to 7755 Freedom Avenue, North Canton, Ohio 44720.

That Confusing ABC/FOX Shuffle, Part Five

Continuing in our quest to keep track of what network radio newscasts are being run at various Northeast Ohio radio stations:

* It turns out that OMW was mistaken, and a well-informed source at the Akron Radio Center tells us that WAKR/1590 Akron runs the ABC Entertainment hourly news feed. As we noted to the source, it's difficult to tell the difference between the ABC Entertainment, Direction, and other feeds that aren't the Information network. The primary difference between the non-Info network casts is length and the top-of-cast sounder.

* A listener has already heard Clear Channel talker WHLO/640 Akron running the FOX News Radio hourly news product, as of tonight. OMW will verify this, but not before going to sleep. :)

* If they haven't made the switch from ABC Information already, we presume it'll be the ABC Direction news feed that will air on Clear Channel liberal talker WARF/1350 Akron in the next while. (See above about WAKR's Entertainment feed.)

* We did hear Clear Channel talker WTAM/1100 Cleveland's new Fox News Radio-based ID/top of the hour news sounder. We're still getting used to it. It's not bad, considering, but OMW loved the "boom-boom-BOOM" of the old ABC-based sounder.

* Still undetermined - when ABC Information Network will start on MediaCom Akron market talker WNIR/100.1 Kent. We'll pull something out of the air, and guess it'll be before August 8th. We'll make the logical assumption that the ABC-I product will also grace the 1000 watt directional daytime signal of WNIR sister station WJMP/1520 Kent(/Akron/Cleveland/Mars/Jupiter), now the area's Fox Sports Radio affiliate.

* Could CBS Radio News try selling their product to WAKR/1590? They could, but WAKR is a long-time Paul Harvey affiliate. ABC may be willing to let WTAM/1100 let go of the ABC-I designation (and inventory) to save Harvey's clearance on a 50,000 watt top-30 market flamethrower, but likely wouldn't be as flexible for an Akron market station.

Mini Update: Re: WCER/Canton's New Local Show

Talk/religious WCER/900 Canton's new early evening local talk show apparently won't start until the third week in August, according to station OM John Amrhein. AllAccess.com had reported the show, with host Jason Burnette, would begin Monday at 6 PM.

And a question for John, if he's reading: Why 6-7 PM? That time slot will be brutal for Jason when WCER is forced to go to its anemic night power (75 watts!) before 6, in the late fall and winter...