Embargoed Until Wednesday Morning

We're just picking up random items here in midweek, with mostly a TV theme...

THE CLEVELAND (NON-)EMBARGO: As it turned out, in the end, nothing apparently happened.

But there was a lot of behind the scenes intrigue in the past couple of days about a story "you saw first on 19 Action News at 10 on My43 WUAB" on Monday night's show.

We hear that the 10 PM show that night on the MyNetwork TV outlet told viewers that the Cleveland Clinic's face transplant patient would make an appearance in front of the cameras, and talk about her operation and its aftermath.

The Tuesday event came through with powerful, moving video from the Steubenville-area woman who was a shooting victim, according to this item on WEWS/5's NewsNet5.com:

Connie Culp, of Hopedale, was disfigured and blind after getting shot in an attempted murder-suicide in September 2004. The shot shattered her jaw, cheek and nose.

It's video you almost didn't see...on 19 Action News.

OMW hears that the Monday WOIO/WUAB broadcast foreshadowing the press conference Tuesday broke an embargo - we don't know if it was on purpose or if it was an honest error - on the story set by the Cleveland Clinic, a major public institution with a very savvy media department.

A very savvy media department, we hear, that then quickly disinvited the folks at Reserve Square from the Tuesday press conference. For a while, it looked like if they wanted to be "everywhere" on this story, they'd have to do it from outside.

Ah, but WOIO is part of a shared news video pact with Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, which would be at the press conference with Ms. Culp. Would the Clinic lean on WKYC to not provide its news video to "19 Action News"?

As it turned out, cooler heads prevailed.

As you can see from this video screen shot, WOIO's Harry Boomer was indeed present at the Clinic news conference, in person.

We don't know why the Clinic changed its mind about allowing WOIO back into the news conference.

We hear it's possible that the Clinic's media staffers figured "19 Action News" would get the video anyway, either via the WKYC arrangement, or via CBS News - which we're told had a crew covering the event.

And we're guessing that after thinking about it for a while, the Clinic's media staff cooled down, and realized that the positive, uplifting story should air on all stations...spotlighting the work of the medical facility's well-regarded staff..."everywhere" on the airwaves. Even on "19 Action News".

OMW hears that WOIO ended up being late to the party, anyway.

We're told that anchor David Wittman actually noted on air - during Tuesday night's 10 PM newscast - that the station respected a 6 PM embargo by waiting until that newscast to run the story pictured above (note the time on the graphic at lower right - 6:15 PM).

But the story ran an hour earlier on all the other local TV stations, after the Clinic cleared them to "go early". Oddly enough, we hear that the Clinic media department didn't dial up Reserve Square in that round of calls before the 5 PM newscasts.

We have no idea why Wittman felt the need to mention the embargo - which as far as we know, was unknown outside of local media circles, this blog (WE respected the embargo, and we're not even a news operation!) and the Clinic's news/media department.

Even if viewers didn't know that the other newsrooms had been cleared to run the story an hour earlier, at 5 PM, viewers in general had no idea of the embargo.

Well, unless they happened to follow the Twitter account of WJW/8's "Fox 8 News":

Cleve Clinic face transplant patient talks http://tinyurl.com/c7anwr Story not on WOIO till 6, weird

Though WOIO wasn't banned from the press conference, we still have a general question.

What if WOIO weren't allowed back into the news conference in another similar situation?

It's far from the first time that the local CBS affiliate's newsroom has ticked off a source. It may not be the first time they've done so this MONTH.

For better or worse, if "19 Action News"' on-air (or off-air) antics result in denied access to an important source location - and just to pull examples out of the air, say, Cleveland City Hall or the Cleveland Browns' practice facility in Berea - does the news sharing pact with WKYC get it "back in", video wise? That may or may not have been the case here, since as we noted, WOIO could have gotten video from its network.

OK, so we're not making these two examples up, as any regular OMW reader knows.

The WOIO newsroom was once actually barred from Cleveland City Hall ("19 Action News...BARRED FROM CITY HALL! TONIGHT!") when former mayor Jane Campbell got upset with the station's reporting on her family's use of city-provided cars.

And behind the scenes a couple of seasons or so ago, "19 Action News"' staffers' behavior inside the Browns facility while covering training camp got the station a stern reminder that it wasn't a direct arm of the team, with full run of the building - and at the time, WOIO was the team's local TV partner.

That's a role they'd lose later, after airing 9-1-1 call tapes from the family of Browns owner Randy Lerner...

AND SPEAKING OF AIRING 9-1-1 CALLS: A state senator from Northeast Ohio is hoping to prohibit broadcasters from airing 9-1-1 calls...but he has no problem talking about it on a broadcast TV news show.

Our hat tip here is to WKYC "Director's Cut" blogger and senior director Frank Macek's item on a "Channel 3 News" interview with State Senator Thomas Patton (R-Strongsville) on his bill:

The bill would allow for the transcriptions of 9-1-1 calls to be read by broadcasters, but the audio portion would not be allowed to be aired under Patton's proposal.

Broadcasters would be fined $10,000 for a violation.

Macek notes an interview with Patton in the Columbus Dispatch, where he says "people may not call 9-1-1 to report a crime if they fear their identities could be revealed or identified by their voice."

We're wondering, since Patton is a Northeast Ohioan...did the WOIO play of the aforementioned dramatic 9-1-1 call made by a relative of Browns owner Randy Lerner give him the idea for this bill? Or is there another story involved?

We'll have to side with the Ohio Association of Broadcasters, which vows to fight the bill (as they have similar efforts).

Newsrooms like Reserve Square make it hard to stand up for this.

Just about every TV market has an "edgy" station that likes to dial up the drama. It's usually the market's last place newsroom, trying to climb out from the basement, ratings-wise.

In our humble opinion, this is an area where broadcasters have to police themselves - and since WOIO did not do so back then, it lost a large chunk of money by having the Cleveland Browns' local TV contract pulled out from under it.

It shouldn't take the loss of a multi-million dollar deal with the market's most popular professional sports team to force a station to air responsible reporting.

9-1-1 calls are, in many cases, vital storytelling tools that provide an insight into the story you can't get from interviews... and MOST TV and radio stations are responsible with the use of audio from those calls.

Patton's interview with WKYC's Eric Mansfield on the station's 7 PM news "Focus" segment can be watched at the link above.

MORE BRANDING: The link to ABC affiliate WEWS/5's "NewsNet5.com" story above was for one reason - to point out something one of our readers noted.

The station's new "WEWS 5" branding has made the leap to the station's website.

As we pointed out to our reader...though the Scripps station continues to use the "NewsChannel 5" branding for its news product, NewsNet5.com also serves as the website for the entire TV station...

TOWERING OVER PARMA: It's funny, how we've become the focal point of information about the under construction tower that'll hold the digital TV antennas for WKYC and ideastream PBS affiliate WVIZ/25.

And for that matter, it's amusing how many people are deeply interested in the project. We get about a half-dozen E-mails about that tower each week.

We haven't visited our friends along the Parma street next to the WKYC transmitter site for a while now...but readers tell us the tower "is about half done".

One of our readers says it doesn't look like the tower will be completed by "mid-May", the date WVIZ gave in an FCC filing as the time they expect to be able to mount an antenna and start testing.

The other excitedly told us - "it's about half done!". Different perspectives, we guess.

And of course, June 12th is the "big" day...when both WKYC's analog channel 3 and WVIZ's analog channel 25 are gone, and the digital signals from the new tower are expected to start.

Later on our Ohio Digital TV blog, we'll share our pictures from a few weeks ago...which show one important aspect of the tower construction that should clear up the timeline. The item will be linked here as well...

NO ENTRY: What nationally syndicated radio show host, heard recently on local radio, couldn't get into the United Kingdom if he wanted to do so?

Why, it's Talk Radio Networks host Michael Savage, who's now officially banned by the U.K.'s Home Office (similar to the U.S.' Homeland Security Department) from entering the country.

In a dramatic list, the government agency listed 16 of 23 people banned from entering the U.K. in a list of, and we quote, "promoters of hate" which were "named and shamed" for "stirring-up hatred and promoting their extreme views."

(By the way, we were unaware that "The Savage Nation" had any British affiliates, but maybe we were wrong.)

From the Home Office's press release:

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Michael Alan Weiner (also known as Michael Savage)

Controversial daily radio host. Considered to be engaging in unacceptable behaviour by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence.

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And yes, that is Michael Savage's real name.

A San Francisco Bay Area media writer enjoys calling Savage "The Savage Weiner" for that reason. And the host's legal name isn't exactly unknown - he sells a number of his pre-radio herbal/nutrition books, written under that name, on his website.

Savage is joined on the list by such U.S., uh, notables as Rev. Fred Phelps, the infamous head of Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church, and his daughter, church spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper. You know, the funeral picketers.

While we're not exactly fans of "The Savage Nation", we're scratching our heads at U.K. officials putting him on the list. He's presumably basically unknown across the pond, aside from the handful of people who may stream his show via the Internet.

And we're told the host himself has no desire to return to London, which he's talked about in not-so-glowing terms on the air.

Savage was heard on Clear Channel talk WHLO/640 Akron and Salem talk WHK/1420 until recently, and was most recently heard in a "fill-in" appearance on Media-Com Akron market talker WNIR/100.1...an event we wrote about here...

Regrouping On Monday

We're back for a Monday morning update, with some new stuff, and not one direct mention of Something Else that's been kicking around the local media world recently. But this update appears to be All About Clear Channel...like most of last week...

A CLEVELAND VALENTINE: OMW reported last week that Los Angeles-based Sean Valentine, he of the one-named "Valentine in the Morning", would be once again expanding his empire to Cleveland.

The hot AC KBIG/104.3 "My 104.3" host's syndicated offering was once heard on Clear Channel top 40 WAKS/96.5 "Kiss FM" in the market...a long run that wrapped up recently when WAKS became one of the earliest affiliates of New York-based Elvis Duran's morning show - now syndicated by CC's Premiere Radio.

It's official: Valentine starts his return to Cleveland radio this morning at hot AC WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106.5", taking the place occupied for many years by now-deposed local morning drivers "Brian and Joe".

Quoting a Clear Channel press release:

“Kicking mornings off with an amazing talent like Valentine gives this station a strong foundation for success,” said Chris Miller, Program Director for Mix 106.5. He continued, “I guarantee listeners are going to love what they hear on Cleveland’s Best Mix, Mix 106.5.”

“I know every song they play on Mix 106.5 and you're going to sing along with me…even though you're probably a better singer,” said Valentine. He continued, “It is great to back on the air in Cleveland!”

Of course, when Valentine's voicetracked show was on WAKS, "every song they play" was different. But, nevermind on that...with the Valentine show, it's not about the music they play around all the "Hollywood interviews" and other such content.

The station release confirmed who's left, locally, at "Mix":

Cleveland’s Best Mix, Mix 106.5 continues to be home for Cleveland broadcasting veterans Daune Robinson and Jay Hudson.

Now, it can be told. During the heat of the Clear Channel layoff crunch on Tuesday, there were very loud, very strong rumors that Jay Hudson was on the Involuntary Exit list.

If you go back and read our items from that day, you'll note that we talked about two unconfirmed names being rumored as being out at Oak Tree, that we were not ready to report.

Our reliable sources in the building indicated that the on-air cut list ended at four - WMVX's "Brian and Joe", along with WTAM producer/co-hosts Marty Allen and Paul Rado...information which turned out to be accurate.

Unlike some who post online, we don't just throw up stuff here to see if it sticks. We're not perfect, we don't know everything, but there IS a filter here...

WRAPPING UP CC DEPARTURES, WE THINK: We're still missing some names from Clear Channel's Purge of People last week, but someone did pass along some names we haven't printed.

This blog deals mostly with on-air or programming employees at radio stations, and we don't usually talk about office staff...but one of our sources passed along the off-air casualties of Clear Channel's 590 employee layoff a week ago. (Or is that 900 employees? Some trade reports suggest that's close to the final staff reduction numbers...)

One of our sources at the Clear Channel World Domination HQ on Oak Tree in suburban Cleveland gives us a list of the off-air exits there last week:

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Suzanne Holley, long-time human resources director

Adria Dudzinski (Redmon), administrative assistant (and former producer of classic hits WMJI/105.7's "Lanigan and Malone", though we suspect former co-host John Webster was still in the mix at that time as well...and the station didn't shy away from the "o" word back then, either)

Jim Brusse, traffic director

Two others, including a full-time IT assistant and a part-time assistant in national sales

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In Clear Channel's Ashland/Mansfield cluster, an Alert OMW Reader passes along this story from the Mansfield News Journal over the weekend:

Veteran reporter and news anchor Dave Pennell of WMAN-1400 AM is a victim of Clear Channel Communications Inc.'s recent round of job cuts.

Clear Channel, the largest owner of U.S. radio stations, announced almost 600 job cuts Tuesday that included some on-air personalities. It was the company's second round of layoffs this year

Market Manager Dan Lankford wouldn't release the positions or names of Mansfield and Ashland station employees who lost their jobs, but said he doesn't foresee further cuts.

We don't know who is left, if anyone, in the newsroom at talk WMAN/1400.

You might recall from our earlier report on the expanding Clear Channel "news hub" system that Ashland/Mansfield was a market tabbed to receive remote-anchored reports from the company's Columbus newsroom at talk WTVN/610.

In some areas, so far at least, the remote reports haven't fully taken over - even if they've forced other news employees into job changes. For now, talk WIMA/1150 Lima still has two news employees, and newscasts out of WTVN occupy middays there - along with FM morning drive casts.

We heard talk WKBN/570 Youngstown's Jim Michaels last week in a role he filled last time the station's news anchoring came from Oak Tree - doing a report from the field. How long will that last? We don't know.

But it would appear that WTAM/1100's Darren Toms, Ken Robinson and others are doing the regular anchor work on WKBN now...after the exit of veteran WKBN news director John Nagy in the Clear Channel cuts last week...

SPEAKING OF CLEAR CHANNEL NEWS EXITS: The wave of Clear Channel-related news this past week has been so strong and furious, even your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm) can't directly track news items from the company in Ohio.

So, we quote this item from Friday's AllAccess Net News scroll - a Clear Channel departure not caused directly by last's weeks round of job cuts, but affected by it:

CLEAR CHANNEL TOLEDO Director of News Operations CASSIE WILSON has announced her resignation, effective MAY 19th. WILSON tells ALL ACCESS that she is "really proud of my work here, and that I was able to use my major-market experience from BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, DC and ATLANTA and create an award-winning news department at WSPD" and is looking for new opportunities in light of CLEAR CHANNEL's news "hub" outsourcing.

OMW reported earlier that Toledo was on the receiving end of that "news hub" list, with non-drivetime newscasts being fed out of the company's Cincinnati newsroom at talk WLW/700.

It's actually the second time around for WSPD/1370 as far as being a receiver of remote anchoring from another Clear Channel station...when the "news hub" system first started here in Ohio, WSPD received newscasts from Columbus' WTVN.

As far as we know, Cassie Wilson's departure doesn't affect her husband's presence at the Toledo news/talker....he's WSPD program director and afternoon drive host Brian Wilson, who continues both as PD and 3-6 PM host on the station.

As far as the "news hub" story is concerned, the same AllAccess scroll links to an article out of Denver-based weekly newspaper Westword, with more on the process from Colorado...

SPEAKING FRENCH: We thought it was a joke at first.

An OMW reader told us last week that WTAM Saturday afternoon host Simon Badinter and his "Simon Rendezvous" were coming to Chicago, where the French advertising executive would be heard on Tribune talk powerhouse WGN/720.

Ummm...it's no joke.

Quoting Lewis Lazare in the Chicago Sun-Times last week:

Perhaps the most intriguing hire is Simon Badinter, a native Parisian and the son of French Sen. Robert Badinter and Elisabeth Badinter, a feminist writer. Described as a highly opinionated advertising executive who loves life, Badinter will host a show called "Simon Rendezvous," which (WGN program director Kevin) Metheny indicated would be unlike any other WGN program or anything on Chicago radio.

Yeah, no kidding.

Sure enough, "Simon Rendezvous" now airs 6-9 PM Sunday on the Chicago talker. (And Badinter must be rich enough to live in both Cleveland and Chicago, as his WGN bio says he's been "proudly living and working in Chicago, IL for many years", much like his WTAM bio said for Cleveland.)

When Badinter's show began its run on WTAM in late 2007, we briefly mentioned it, but declined to spend a lot of time talking about it. It was our impression that the heavily-accented ad executive broke out the checkbook and paid for the two hour weekly show as a vanity project in Cleveland.

(We don't know the actual financial status of "Simon Rendezvous". They could well be paying him the standard going rate for non-employee weekend hosts.)

But, who knows this time around?

The connection, of course, is obvious. WGN programmer Metheny is the former programming vice president at Clear Channel's Cleveland cluster on Oak Tree, before heading into the Land of Former Jacor People at Tribune under the company's COO - ex-Jacor/Clear Channel Radio head Randy Michaels.

We're pretty sure there's at least one former Jacor employee who hasn't followed suburban Cincinnati resident Michaels to Tribune. Maybe two.

We're not sure if Badinter's show is technically still on the WTAM schedule. It's effectively pre-empted for much of the next few months due to Cleveland Indians baseball. Simon still shows up on the master WTAM Saturday schedule on non-Indians game days, but isn't found on the "Other Personalities" page at WTAM.com.

Neither the Sun-Times article, nor a brief item by Radio-Info.com columnist Tom Taylor in his E-mail newsletter this morning, mention Simon's run at WTAM.

Maybe "Simon Rendezvous" is more fit for Chicago, a "world city", than for Cleveland, a "desparately wants to be a world city"...and maybe we're missing a trend here. We never claimed to be news/talk programmers...

Time Warner Cable HD Express Unscheduled Stop

In a well-planned and deliberate effort to add 30 new HDTV channels for its Northeast Ohio customers, Time Warner Cable's HDTV Express has to make an unscheduled stop.

The next group of seven new HD channels to be offered in the TWC NEO footprint did not meet an intended April 29th launch on Wednesday, and we don't have any indication when that group of channels will launch.

But OMW hears that the company is still working on the second wave of new HD channels, and will let us know when the new launch date will be.

We also hear that they expect the other groups of new HDTV channels to be added on schedule.

No, we don't know why there's a delay.

Some of our readers are suggesting problems with the "Switched Digital Video" system that allows the cable operator to make room for large numbers of new channels - a system that has been implemented in at least some limited areas of the TWC Northeast Ohio footprint.

Basically, "SDV" moves groups of channels out of the main bandwidth, and those channels are only transmitted directly to a home when a cable box (or other SDV-compatible device like a TiVo HD/S3's tuning adapter) requests the channel. This "quasi-on-demand" system means there is room for a lot more channels than without it.

But we don't know if that technology is responsible for the current "pause" in the HDTV channel additions.

As it turns out, some of the information we're relaying here is already showing up on TWC NEO's official "programming notices" page on its website, which has just been updated.

About the current "waiting" channels, it says:

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The launch of the following HD channels in all areas is postponed with no new date available: Bravo, CNBC, The Learning Channel, Animal Plant, ABC Family, ESPNews and MLB.

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But the notices are still listed with "on or after" dates for upcoming, planned channels:

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On or after May 26, 2009, the following services will be added to standard HD in some areas: Golf Channel, CNN, FX, Fox News Network, Science Channel

On or after May 26, 2009, the following services will be added to HD in some areas for customers with the Digital Basic Tier: National Geographic.

On or after May 27, 2009 the following services will be added to HD Tier in some areas: Smithsonian & Mav TV.

On or after June 15, 2009, the following services will be added to standard HD in some areas: Lifetime Moves, Travel, AMC.

On or after June 15, 2009, the following services will be added to HD for customers with the Digital Basic Tier in some areas: Versus, Speed and ESPNU.

On or after June 15, 2009, the following services will be added to HD for customers with MLB Extra Innings Package in some areas: Game HD.

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(For that matter, we have no idea what "Mav TV" is.)

The programming notices page also reveals that the recently launched WUAB subchannel "This TV" (WUAB-DT 43.2 over air) will come to Time Warner Cable's "digital access" tier "on or after" May 15th.

Also listed are minor channel moves for stations like WIVM-LP/52 Canton and its simulcaster, WIVN-LP/29 Newcomerstown, the addition of WVIZ'/25's "Create" subchannel to areas without it (and a similiar addition of WGTE/30 Toledo's version of "Create" in its part of the TWC NEO service area), and other changes we've already mentioned here...

Picking Up Some Pieces

...pieces involving more fallout from Clear Channel's latest doings, cable TV and more...but we have to get the umbrella first...

MORE LAYOFF FALLOUT: OMW hears that in the wake of the involuntary departure of long-time Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 producer/sidekicks Marty Allen and Paul Rado, the station has officially announced changes in staff involving afternoon host Mike Trivisonno's show.

Long-time WTAM board operator Kurt McLaughlin ("Dirty Kurt") has been named full-time technical producer for Triv's show. And overnight traffic producer Steve Douglas moves into the role of "show producer" for the WTAM afternoon drive talk fest.

Seth Williams takes Douglas' place on overnights. That job also involves building oversight for the Oak Tree cluster.

And yes, we're aware of The Rumor circling with fury and force around not only the Internet, but also on the air at Oak Tree - it's being spread by other hosts in the building (Rover, COME ON DOWN!) on their shows - about the departure of Allen and Rado...and Triv's alleged role in their exits.

That's as far as we're going to go.

We have no facts to report regarding The Rumor.

But one fact is now clear - this has played out on the air, and listeners are now asking us about it after hearing those broadcasts.

On Triv's show Wednesday, we heard the WTAM afternoon drive mouth tell a caller asking about the rumor that he "didn't know what he was talking about", and with Triv saying his "hands were tied" re: replying to the other hosts' accusations - means this has gotten into public circulation even without our help.

After the call, Trivisonno made it quite clear that he felt there was "one constant" (or did he say "consistent"?) in the success of the WTAM afternoon drive show in recent years...of course, he was talking about the name on the show, the host himself.

We have no solid information about The Rumor, though we've heard it from roughly 20 people just in our E-mail box the past two days. And as such, we're not going to detail it.

If you want to hear more, just listen to the radio, say, to WMMS/100.7 in morning drive...or maybe Rover's podcasts...

MORE CLEAR CHANNEL CHANGES: OMW is aware that this week's Clear Channel layoffs have not spared the company's Ashland/Mansfield cluster, but we don't have any names to pass along as of yet.

We can tell you that two of the company's Mid-Ohio cluster stations have installed syndicated morning drive programs.

At top 40 WYHT/105.3 Mansfield "Y105", WNCI/97.9 Columbus-based morning team "Dave and Jimmy" have gained another affiliate just 70 miles up Interstate 71.

At classic rock trimulcast WFXN/102.3 Galion-WXXR/98.3 Fredericktown-WXXF/107.7 Loudonville (whew!) "The Fox Rock Network", it's syndicated morning drive show "Lex and Terry" now joining the station's lineup.

UPDATE 4/30/09 3:50 PM: We JUST remembered that Dallas-based "Lex and Terry" are syndicated right out of Northeast Ohio, via Beachwood's Envision Radio Networks...

TIME WARNER CABLE HDTV UPDATE LATER: Yes, we're aware that Wednesday was the scheduled day for the long-promised latest wave of new HDTV channels in Time Warner Cable's Northeast Ohio system.

Based on TWC NEO's channel notices, and our own earlier reports, the HD channels scheduled to be available for viewers "on or after" April 29th are the HD versions of ESPNNews, MLB Network, TLC, Animal Planet, ABC Family, Bravo and CNBC.

Here at the OMW World Headquarters, we don't have the new channels...and we believe they're not "live" yet anywhere in the TWC NEO empire - at least as of this writing.

We've invoked a local TWC spokesperson, and hope to get an update from the cable company sometime later today or tomorrow.

But remember, the official notices for these channels, as noted above, do say they will appear "on or after" April 29th.

TWC has been pretty close to the promised date for the earlier HD channel additions in this wave, and we don't expect that to change this time around...but it certainly makes sense to add "or after" to the promised dates...

Time Warner Cable Gets The Flu

With growing worldwide attention to the swine flu situation, Time Warner Cable's "Northeast Ohio Network" (NEON) is offering up a special local program on the topic this week.

And OMW readers may be interested in who's hosting it.

From a TWC press release:

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Medical Special About Swine Flu to Air on Time Warner Cable’s Northeast Ohio Network (NEON)

Cleveland Clinic Expert Dr. Thomas Tallman to Discuss Local and National Aspects of the Disease

Akron, OH (APRIL 2009) – With the swine flu outbreak making headlines across the country, many Northeast Ohio residents are seeking a local perspective on the issue. This Wednesday and Thursday, Time Warner Cable’s Northeast Ohio Network (NEON) will air a 30-minute special with an expert from the Cleveland Clinic to address the current health crisis.

Titled “Swine Flu: Crisis or Concern, a Time Warner Cable Special,” Dr. Thomas Tallman, Chairman for Emergency Preparedness at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic, and host Mark Williamson, City of Akron Director of Communications, will put the situation into perspective, focusing on what local, state and national health officials are doing about the problem, and how we as individuals can reduce our risk to the disease.

“Despite all the news coverage, many people still want answers to how this flu outbreak affects them in Ohio,” said Bill Jasso, Time Warner Cable Northeast Ohio Vice President of Communications. “With this 30-minute special, we hope to inform people about what swine flu is, what to look for and how to avoid it, all with a local perspective in mind.”

The show will air on NEON, channel 23, Wednesday and Thursday, April 29 and 30, at 7:30 p.m. NEON is a primetime, local network only available to Time Warner Cable customers in the Northeast Ohio footprint. The network offers 24 hours per week of locally produced programs.

The special will also be available in free, “On Demand” format with Time Warner’s Digital Cable service on Local On Demand, channel 501 or 1.

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Yes, the host will be Mark Williamson, communications director for the city of Akron, in what may well be his first "TV gig" since then-WAKC/23's local news department was shuttered by Pax TV those many years ago.

And of course, the local newscast which became "23 Newsday's" successor in local news, the WKYC/3-produced "Akron/Canton News", ended its own run on that very same Time Warner Cable "NEON" channel...after a run on broadcast 23 after Pax TV agreed to air the renewed cast.

Anyway, media geek excitement aside, it sounds like the special will be informative, not hyped... and sounds like it's well worth a view...

Local News And Premium Choice

Isn't branding a wonderful thing?

"Local news" is a brand, really. Radio stations that still offer news on a local basis hammer that into listeners' brains. "DEPEND on us for LOCAL news!" "We're your LOCAL NEWS SOURCE!"

The reality is somewhat different in 2009.

For many stations which once had a, well, "local" newsroom...the "source" is often an anchor in a newsroom anywhere from 25 to a few hundred miles away, trying to sound like they know the area they're serving via computer file upload.

None of this is new to Clear Channel, which has been "remote anchoring" stations as far away as Milwaukee from a certain newsroom on Oak Tree Boulevard in the Cleveland suburb of Independence for years.

But...it's back with a vengeance.

Clear Channel's latest operations plan will, in effect, accelerate the feeding of news from one market to another.

Here's a list of Ohio markets that will be feeding other markets in Ohio and beyond. Much of this was already being done before this week, and some of it is new:

CLEVELAND:
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Milwaukee
Pittsburgh
Akron
Youngstown

CINCINNATI:
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Boston
Toledo
Memphis
Nashville

COLUMBUS:
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Lima
Defiance
Marion
Ashland/Mansfield
Chillicothe

We already have evidence of some of the new arrangements taking place today.

For example, Clear Channel Cleveland has officially returned to providing remote anchoring to its Youngstown sister cluster.

We heard WTAM/1100 news director Darren Toms this morning on talk WKBN/570...filling the news hole once filled by now-former WKBN news director John Nagy.

We heard WKBN news anchor Jim Michaels doing traffic, though we don't know if that was recorded (it's construction information and the like).

We assume Jim is still at South Avenue, and don't know what role he'll play in the new Clear Channel News Universe. When the anchors in Cleveland fed Youngstown before, he contributed and voiced reports for them, and occasionally did some afternoon anchoring himself.

Eerily, we heard a pre-recorded news feature voiced by Nagy, during the fill on the WKBN streaming audio feed.

Over in Lima, we hear that the cluster's FM stations are now getting the newscasts fed out of Columbus' WTVN/610, which are also being heard in middays on talk WIMA/1150. WIMA still has local news staffers, but it appears it and other markets being fed from elsewhere that still have news staff will get midday newscasts from the remote newsroom. Again, for now.

Here's what Clear Channel lays out for its staffers about remote news anchoring... and we're guessing that they're writing it just as much for federal lawmakers and regulators as much as they are for their own staff:

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Improved Commitment to Local Communities

* Our goal is to utilize technology along with our very best and experienced news reporters to enhance our local commitment to news

* We will match up these regional resources with our local teams in the market to deliver superior local news coverage

* We will train and redirect local staff members to help give us more depth when it comes to the number of people in a local market assisting with news coverage and community connection

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No, that last line doesn't read "we will train and redirect FM program directors, disc jockeys, sales people, and anyone who can speak into a phone clearly to help us try to resemble a real local news operation". That's just our own interpretation.

In the "we're pretty sure they wrote this for the FCC and Congress" department, the plan gives examples of the company using remote news anchors and resources to serve markets otherwise without local news operations.

Among the situations specifically noted was the effort by the company's Syracuse newsroom to cover the recent multiple fatal shooting incident in Binghamton NY, where Clear Channel has no newsroom. It also highlighted the Binghamton cluster's role, which was basically providing studio space and "local hits" for Syracuse from the Binghamton program director.

The plan also highlights the company's recently announced expanded commitment to localized PSAs.

When a Clear Channel station without a dedicated, local newsroom - or a decimated one - runs liners saying "DEPEND on us for local news" or "Your LOCAL NEWS SOURCE", are they lying?

We don't at all fault the existing Clear Channel news anchors and reporters, in places like Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati or the other markets that will feed "local newscasts" out to other stations.

This isn't something they begged for, it's not their choice, and we presume they aren't getting any significant extra money for this...if they're getting any extra money at all. (Our guess: they aren't getting an extra dime, or even penny.)

We don't at all fault managers like CC/Youngstown veteran market manager Bill Kelly. We have absolutely no evidence that Mr. Kelly wanted to send 40-plus year WKBN veteran newsman John Nagy packing on Tuesday.

In fact, we have evidence of Mr. Kelly's commitment to a locally-staffed newsroom just months ago, when he originally nudged aside the Cleveland-fed newscasts. We presume he hasn't changed his mind in that short time.

Our guess - and it's only a guess, since we haven't heard from Kelly, who's written us before - is that he actively lobbied to hold off as many of Tuesday's changes as he could.

And WKBN has managed to hold onto three local weekday full-time hosts - morning driver Robert Mangino, program director Dan Rivers (middays), and afternoon driver Ron Verb - despite presumed pressure from corporate masters we imagine are just itching to put Glenn Beck into middays and Sean Hannity into afternoons.

But...it's a different world at Clear Channel, even from before when it was owned by two large private equity funds.

Yes, we know other newsrooms have shrunken, even those not owned by Clear Channel. The once-full newsroom at NextMedia's WHBC/1480 Canton is now basically news/program director Pam Cook and anchor Geoff Mears.

But at least Pam and Geoff are still there, physically, on Market Avenue South on the southern edge of downtown Canton. Who'll be left if Clear Channel corporate decides that it doesn't need Jim Michaels in Youngstown? How can a company claim a devotion to local news if you force your local cluster to dump a 40 year veteran newsman still at the top of his game?

In 2009, you can count fully-staffed local radio newsrooms in Ohio concentrating only on their home market (i.e. Akron's Rubber City Radio, Cox's WHIO in Dayton) on one hand and still have room to twiddle a few fingers around.

The second part of our discourse is about "Premium Choice", Clear Channel's clever name for its canned music programming.

The names that first surfaced included existing syndicated hosts Ryan Seacrest and Cleveland's Steve Harvey.

Now, thanks to AllAccess, here's Clear Channel's list of (some) local hosts that will contribute to the "Premium Choice" menu for stations needing inexpensive, national fill on-air personalities:

WAXQ/NEW YORK middayer MARIA MILTO
WBBG/MIAMI afternooner DOC RENO
WXTB/TAMPA middayer BIG RIG
WFBQ/INDIANAPOLIS afternooner LAURA STEELE
WTUE/DAYTON afternooner JOHN "THE B-MAN" BEAULIEU
WHTZ/NEW YORK night dude BILLY THE KIDD
KIIS/LOS ANGELES middayer SISANIE
WDCG/RALEIGH PD/afternooner RANDI WEST

From what we're hearing, all of these personalities are currently voicetracking non-local-specific generic national shows for their format. And we hear that at least one Clear Channel Cleveland personality is also involved in this effort...and we suspect a couple of others at Oak Tree will join that personality.

Randi West is a name familiar to many in Ohio. She once voicetracked a number of stations during her live shift at a Cincinnati Clear Channel outlet, an effort described in a newspaper article.

But these "shows" will be different. We don't believe any of the personalities will provide ANY specific, local content in this effort. Ms. West will sound the same in one market as she will in her other markets outside Raleigh, for example. If Clear Channel wants to add local content, they'll apparently rely on those expanded local PSAs and other community announcements.

Doesn't it just excite the heck out of you? Aren't you just dying to hear this programming?

Uh, OK.

Our final comment in this very long item: To us, "Premium Choice" sounds like the name for the house brand at Wal-Mart.

Oh, wait, that's "President's Choice". Target, maybe?

CC Cuts: Lima

OMW has now confirmed Clear Channel's job cuts in its Lima cluster:

"DJ OL SKOOL", program director, rhythmic top 40 WLWD/93.9 "Wild 93-9"
Eric Michaels, program director, rock WZRX/107.5 "X-107.5"
John Bell, business manager
Ed Douglas, operations manager
Russ Ryder, imaging director/music director, country WIMT/102.1-rhythmic top 40 WLWD/93.9-country WCKY/103.7, nights, WCKY
Frank Barber, news anchor, talk WIMA/1150

Clear Channel Cuts Aftermath, Second Time Around

As with the last time radio giant Clear Channel cut large numbers of employees in a one day sweep, we're still dealing with the aftermath in day two.

First, the big picture, courtesy of our friends at AllAccess:

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CLEAR CHANNEL has announced another major wave of staff reductions resulting in the loss of 590 positions, just over 3% of the company, focusing on positions in programming, on-air, engineering, information technology and business office posts such as accounting and customer service.

While on-air programming is part of this reduction, it's not the majority of it, even though they are the majority of names we have that are out. Those positions will be filled with a combination of syndication and premium choice programming.

-----

(More on that last part, later in this item. But first, more from AllAccess:)

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CLEAR CHANNEL is indicating that this downsizing should be it, but adds the caveat that it can't predict the future. Based on analysis, and if the economy and market conditions hold and CLEAR CHANNEL keeps outperforming the rest of the industry, any further large reductions in force are not anticipated.

A company-wide change announced in parallel is that after APRIL 30th, 401k matching would be suspended for this year. It will, however, be retroactively restored if 90% of the 2009 budget goals are met for employees who continue to contribute to the 401k plan, and are eligible.

-----

This latest job reduction wave has been rumored since January, when Clear Channel cleared their employee rosters of some 1,850 workers - many in sales and marketing, with cuts in the dozens at big operations like the company's Cleveland cluster on Oak Tree Boulevard in Independence.

Locally, let's run through some of the reporting about cuts in Northeast Ohio, and other effects.

Now-former WTAM staffers Paul Rado and Marty Allen showed up on WEWS/5's "NewsChannel 5" Tuesday, keeping their sense of humor intact by holding up these signs pictured: "WILL WORK FOR FOOD"/"WE MEAN A LOT OF FOOD". (Photo courtesy: NewsNet5.com)

Quoting:

-----

Allen and Rado lost their jobs Monday afternoon, just hours after their show grabbed another No. 1 spot in the ratings book.

"They said, 'You're No, 1, congratulations,' at 11 a.m. At 5:15, they said, 'Your services are no longer needed. Have a nice day. There's the elevator,'" said Allen.

The two are longtime producers and sidekicks of radio host Mike Trivisonno, whom they said they've not heard from since the firings.

-----

We're not sure why Clear Channel felt the need to dump Rado and Allen in mid-show one day before just about anyone else nationwide in the company was let go, though we have our guesses. We have no solid information, so we'll pass on elaborating on this, for now. The timing seems very, very odd to us.

UPDATE 4/29/09 9:35 AM: Rereading this item, we see below that WMVX's "Brian and Joe" were called on Monday afternoon and told "not to report for their show Tuesday", according to the PD's Julie Washington. We hear from our sources at Oak Tree that the official firings of the WMVX pair took place at about 7:30 on Tuesday morning, though they certainly could have guessed something was coming down after the Monday call.

WTAM's Allen and Rado were the first to actually get their proverbial (and real) walking papers at Oak Tree, as reported, in the middle of Triv's Monday show.

We're also not surprised they haven't heard from Trivisonno.

The WTAM afternoon driver did not mention the dismissal of his two long-time colleagues - Marty Allen has been with Triv since literally his start at 1100, and before (at WERE/WNCX). Rado has been there in TrivLand a long chunk of that time as well.

Through other job cuts, through other show cast members, uh, being shown the door one way or the other...(yeah, that's it, "shown the door")...Allen and Rado remained at Triv's side. Until this week, when they were removed.

The only on-air sign of their exit - that we heard - came in the first half hour of Triv's Tuesday show...when a caller asked about it.

Triv tried to deflect the caller, shouting out that he hadn't smoked in a year and a half, and finally...in a VERY quick reply, confirmed Allen and Rado were no longer with the show ("they're both gone", in a low voice).

The terse reply was only a couple of words longer than "no comment", and when the caller tried to invoke the name of President Obama, Triv quickly replied that "the president had nothing to do with this", and moved on. Quickly.

In the first day of Triv Without Rado And Big Daddy, he pulled others onto the air, including board operator "Dirty Kurt", and WTAM Browns beat reporter Andre Knott. We're not sure if that'll be a regular strategy, as Triv was no stranger to putting non-show members/other WTAM staffers on the air even when his now-former producers were in the mix.

The "NewsChannel 5" piece quotes an unnamed Clear Channel executive as confirming the departures, including those of WMVX/106.5 morning drivers Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer.

Over at the Plain Dealer, our search team found this item on Cleveland.com by PD media columnist Julie Washington:

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Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer, the longtime morning duo at Clear Channel's "Mix" WMVX FM/106.5, were contacted Monday afternoon and told not to report for their show Tuesday, Cronauer said.

Instead, the team attended a meeting where they were told they were being laid off.

-----

And of the other pair no longer working at Oak Tree:

-----

(Marty) Allen said he and Rado were pulled out of Monday afternoon's show on WTAM AM/ 1100 and told that they were being let go. Trivisonno finished the show alone, Allen said.

Trivisonno briefly acknowledged that Allen and Rado were off the show in response to callers' questions during Tuesday's show, which is heard from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays.

"No, they're both gone," was all he said to the first caller about 3:25 p.m. A little after 4 p.m. a woman called and asked if he was allowed to talk about it. He replied it was an internal business matter.

Trivisonno did not return calls from The Plain Dealer asking for comment.

-----

Again, no surprise here.

All of the former Clear Channel personalities are itching to get back on the air, according to the article:

-----

After years spent producing shows by most of Cleveland's prominent broadcasters, Allen said he's ready to develop his own radio show.

Cronauer said he and Fowler hope to be back on Cleveland's airwaves.

-----

Moving onto other updates and clarifications:

CLEVELAND: OMW hears, and Radio & Records confirms in their list of cuts, that Brian and Joe will be replaced on WMVX by a show hosted by one (Sean) Valentine, being fed from Clear Channel sister hot AC KBIG/104.3 "My 104.3" in Los Angeles.

Yes, that Valentine, who, using only his last name as "Valentine in the Morning", was the original morning drive voicetracked show on WMVX top 40 sister station WAKS/96.5 "Kiss FM" - going back to "Kiss"'s days at 104.9 (now classical WCLV).

Valentine lasted at "Kiss" in Cleveland until very recently, when he was replaced by the live syndicated show headed up by WHTZ/100.3 "Z100" morning star Elvis Duran out of New York City...

TOLEDO: To amend our list, OMW hears that top 40 WVKS/92.5 "Kiss FM"'s "Boomer" will retain his music director duties when he moves to afternoon drive, but won't be programming the station in the wake of the departure of PD Nathan Reed.

And Radio & Records has this as well, in their list:

-----

MD/night jock Boomer moves to afternoons (and retains his MD duties), and his former night shift will now be voice-tracked Pyke, afternoon jock on rock sister WIOT. Reed can be reached at 810-444-2571 or nathansr328@gmail.com. FYI: director of programming ops Bill Michaels will retake the reins of his former longtime station, WVKS TFN.

-----

UPDATE 4/29/09 9:45 AM: OMW hears that Boomer had indeed been announced within the Superior Street building as the new "Kiss" PD earlier Tuesday, but that apparently was adjusted later...

YOUNGSTOWN: It's now "out there" - a name rumored on the cut list at South Avenue is being reported in the local TV news world. And it's a "wow" moment.

How about a 40 year station veteran, a man almost singularly identified with your news department, being shown the door?

From NBC affiliate WFMJ/21's website:

-----

Another round of job cuts at Clear Channel radio stations including an on-air personality who has been a voice at 570 WKBN Radio for 40 years.

John Nagy was cut after four decades of service, along with Dan Gonder who has 19-years on the job. Sean Stevens and Lorraine Hall were also told it was their last day. A total of five people were let go.

General Manager Bill Kelly tells 21 News it is part of a corporate wide reduction in force due to the state of the economy

-----

We hear that Clear Channel Youngstown TV news partner (and former sister station) WKBN/27 is also reporting the cuts, though we can't find the item on its website.

One reason for Nagy's exit may be apparent: Newsrooms at Clear Channel clusters in some Ohio markets will expand their duties providing remote newscasts for other markets, under a wide ranging nationwide Clear Channel plan that's being implemented starting this week.

OMW hears that among the expansions and changes, Clear Channel's Cleveland newsroom will once again return to providing news updates for Clear Channel's Youngstown stations - an arrangement which was pushed aside a while back.

We'll have more on the news end of these Clear Channel changes later, including a list of which markets get fed from where...

The CC Ohio Cut List, As We Know It

UPDATE: This list will be updated as new names come in...

-----------

The following is a list of all the Clear Channel employees we know to have been cut this week in Ohio.

There are some new names on the list, that we haven't yet reported, and still some unconfirmed names.

For the most part, this list contains names on-air or programming department employees laid off at the company's stations starting Monday.

It's our belief that each cluster lost at least one or two off-air employees. If we know that information, we'll pass it along. If we don't, assume there are others not listed.

There are some markets here where we're hearing rumblings (Lima, Ashland/Mansfield, etc.) that haven't been confirmed yet.

And as such, rather unfortunately, even late at night, we can't guarantee that this approaches a final list. Last time Clear Channel went on a Mad Layoff Spree in January, we were getting updates well into the next day...

CLEVELAND:

Marty Allen, producer/co-host, talk WTAM/1100's "Mike Trivisonno Show"
Paul Rado, producer/co-host, talk WTAM/1100's "Mike Trivisonno Show"
Brian Fowler, co-host, hot AC WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106-5"'s "Brian and Joe"
Joe Cronauer, co-host, hot AC WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106-5"'s "Brian and Joe"

AKRON/CANTON:

Amy Malone, co-host, AC WHOF/101.7 "My 101.7"' morning show
Megan, nights, rock WRQK/106.9 "Rock 106-9"/afternoon traffic reporter
Chad Jensen, production
Bruce Rogers, engineering

YOUNGSTOWN:

Dan Gonder, afternoon drive, hot AC WMXY/98.9 "Mix 98-9"/morning drive, standards WNIO/1390
Sean Stevens, program director, top 40 WAKZ/95.9 "Kiss FM"
John Nagy, news director, news/talk WKBN/570
Lorraine Hall, news, news/talk WKBN/570

COLUMBUS:

Chuck Gillespie, afternoon drive, AC WLZT/93.3
Maxwell, nights/music director, top 40 WNCI/97.9
Marty Scott, part-time, top 40 WNCI/97.9
Dan Van Duesen, promotions director, talk WTVN/610
Two other WNCI part-time staff, two business office staffers
(WNCI's Maxwell, of course, is no relation to WMMS/100.7 Cleveland afternoon host Maxwell, who is not on the cut list)

TOLEDO:

Nathan Reed, program director, top 40 WVKS/92.5 "Kiss FM"
Mookie, assistant program director/afternoon drive, top 40 WVKS/92.5 "Kiss FM"
K.C. Palmer, afternoon drive, AC WRVF/101.5 "The River"
Two part-time news/programming staffers, one full-time office staffer

CINCINNATI:

Paul Daugherty, "Sportsline" host, talk WLW/700
Alan Cutler, sports talk host, talk WLW/700 and Bengals Radio Network
C. Trent Rosencrans, blogger, sports talk WCKY/1530
Travis Holmes, producer, sports talk WCKY/1530
Mark Chalifoux, producer, sports talk WCKY/1530
Matt Steinmann, producer (Bill Cunningham, Mike McConnell shows), talk WLW/700
(Our thanks to the updated item by Cincinnati Enquirer radio/TV writer John Kiesewetter for these names.)

LIMA/FINDLAY:

"DJ OL SKOOL", program director, rhythmic top 40 WLWD/93.9 "Wild 93-9"
Eric Michaels, program director, rock WZRX/107.5 "X-107.5"
John Bell, business manager
Ed Douglas, operations manager
Russ Ryder, imaging director/music director, country WIMT/102.1-rhythmic top 40 WLWD/93.9-country WCKY/103.7, nights, WCKY
Frank Barber, news anchor, talk WIMA/1150
(Note: Though WCKY/103.7 is now licensed to the Wood County town of Pemberville, in the Toledo market, it still falls under the oversight of Clear Channel's Lima cluster.)

CC Cuts: Akron/Canton and Youngstown Updates

Even our short hiatuses go interrupted! Heh.

But we have come up with some more information regarding Clear Channel markets we hadn't heard about yet, and felt the need to put these items up...

AKRON/CANTON: OMW hears that Clear Channel's Akron/Canton cluster on Freedom Avenue has lost four staffers:

Amy Malone, morning co-host at AC WHOF/101.7 "My 101.7"
Megan, 7-midnight personality on rock WRQK/106.9 "Rock 106-9"/afternoon traffic reporter
Production staffer Chad Jensen
Engineer Bruce Rogers

YOUNGSTOWN: We're still confirming some rumored names, but we can now confirm two of the names we've heard.

Exiting are:

Sean Stevens, program director at top 40 WAKZ/95.9 "Kiss FM"
Dan Gonder, afternoon drive at hot AC WMXY/98.9 "Mix 98-9"

We're not sure if he was still doing it, but we believe Gonder was also heard in morning drive at standards WNIO/1390.

We are hearing at least one other major on-air name rumored to be on the South Avenue cut list, but we have yet to confirm that person's departure.

National reports say that 590 people, or some 3 percent of the remaining Clear Channel work force, were let go in today's round of cuts...spread among programming departments, engineering and IT departments, and business office staffers.

More on the national angle of it, later...and our comments...

Taking An Afternoon Break

We're going on our very first "just a few hours long" hiatus.

We'll continue to compile items out of the second wave of Clear Channel layoffs off blog (feel free to continue to E-mail and otherwise contact us), and we'll regroup a little later this afternoon or evening with a new update.

But dealing with the crush of news on this topic has us looking for our favorite headache medicine, in "extra strength" dosage.

That's sure better than being a victim of the cuts.

And as such, our thoughts and sympathies out to those talented radio pros who fell to the budget axe, either directly or indirectly, at Ohio's Clear Channel clusters.

Our updates automatically post to our Twitter account, so feel free to just watch that for word on when we'll be rested and ready for more later today...

Your Hourly Clear Channel Job Cuts Update

At this rate, we should do this at the top of every hour, and sell a sponsor billboard...with the proceeds going to fired Clear Channel employees...

B&J PURGED: OMW confirmed it earlier this morning, and now the Soviet Style Purge has happened.

Clear Channel hot AC WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106-5" has now removed long-time morning drive team "Brian and Joe" from its website's schedule pull-down menu, and from its front page.

We clicked the link we posted earlier to the "Brian and Joe" section of the site, and it's still up...you just can't get there from the front page anymore.

The "Brian and Joe" menu item is gone from the main WMVX page, and the "On-Air" schedule pull-down menu list now starts with midday/afternoon/all day voicetracker Daune Robinson.

While the now-former WMVX morning pair still has an accessible web page, albeit off the beaten web track, let's copy some of the text there:

Brian and Joe are as "hometown" as hometown gets. Born and raised in Northeast Ohio and now in their 22th year on the air - Brian and Joe mix it up early weekday mornings on Cleveland's Mix 106.5!

Yes, it says "22th". No, there's no point in correcting it, as the page is likely to disappear not long after this item is posted.

Oh, wait. We see it's not a Full Soviet Style Purge, as a banner for a series of Brian and Joe promotions is still atop the site! Quoting the linked page:

Join Brian and Joe and MGD 64 for '"The Little Game." The Little Game is a 'lighter' version of Brian and Joe's "The Big Game" where you compete against other contestants for a chance to win prizes!

We're wondering if the no-longer-employed-by-WMVX duo will be at the following locations anyway, even if they presumably would no longer be giving away a six month gym membership and a chance at a Wii Fit:

4/30 - 6:8 pm The Garage Bar 1859 West 25th Street in Cleveland
5/7 - 6-8 pm Around The Corner 18616 Detroit Ave in Lakewood

UPDATE 4/28/09 2:14 PM: We just stumbled onto this WJW/8 "Fox 8 News" story on Brian and Joe's exit:

CLEVELAND--After more than 20 years on the radio in Cleveland, Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer's mics have been silenced.

The popular morning duo at WMVX/106.5 were called to a meeting with station management Monday and told not to report for the "The Brian and Joe Show."

The radio shows usually airs from 5 to 10 a.m Monday-Friday.

Clear Channel is said to have laid many other employees, including other notable names in Cleveland.

Brian and Joe have been heard on Mix 106.5 for the past 10 years.

Yes, that fourth line is probably Fox 8 newsies referring to our items, though we're pretty sure we've used the term "laid off", not "laid"...

MORE HEARD FROM: We've managed to cobble together a decent list of the cuts at Clear Channel's Toledo cluster.

We already passed along word, thanks to FMQB.com, of the exit of top 40 WVKS/92.5 "Kiss FM" program director Nathan Reed. We also have confirmed that "Kiss" staffer "Mookie" is also out in the cuts.

We do hear that "Kiss" morning driver "Andrew Z"'s show is still intact (as far as we know, as is), and that "Boomer" will be program director of WVKS from now on.

(We're running out of quotation marks! Send more!)

Also out at CC/Toledo: AC WRVF/101.5 "The River" afternoon driver K.C. Palmer, along with two part-timers in news and programming, and one full-time office staffer...

YOUNGSTOWN: We're still processing Youngstown, though one other significant potential cut has been rumored in our comments again.

We're not able to confirm or dispell any of those rumors at this point, so take what you see in the comments with a grain of salt...

Clear Channel's Running Job Loss Total

The national radio trade websites have mostly been eerily silent about the latest round of Clear Channel job cuts today, but we've been pointed to one running list...courtesy of the folks at FMQB.com.

This list contains one other Ohio name we have not yet listed:

Nathan Reed has exited as PD of Top 40 WVKS/Toledo.

This may be the tip of the iceberg. We have unconfirmed rumblings that a host of "Kiss FM" Toledo staffers are being pushed out the door along with their program director.

And though it's not in the OMW coverage area, we hear similar stories out of Clear Channel top 40 "Kiss" outlets in Albany NY and Jacksonville FL, leading us (and our readers) to wonder if the company is planning on supplanting local talent there with the rumored "national format" - voicetracked generically by other Clear Channel personalities in larger markets.

At this point, we have no indication that any of this has spread to either of Northeast Ohio's "Kiss FM" outlets - WAKS/96.5 in the Cleveland market (we'd suspect WAKS would be a feed source, more than a receiver), and WAKZ/95.9 in the Youngstown market.

Speaking of Youngstown, we hear unconfirmed rumblings that three on-air staffers are out at Clear Channel's Youngstown cluster.

We have not nailed down the names, which are offered up by an anonymous commenter to one of our earlier items today. (We're hearing the number of 3 on-air layoffs at South Avenue from another source not connected to the commenter.)

And on the fringe of the OMW coverage area, in Tri-State Media Watch territory in Cincinnati, there's word of layoffs at Clear Channel's big news/talker there, WLW/700 "The Big One"...from Cincinnati Enquirer TV/radio guru John Kiesewetter's blog on Cincinnati.com:

"SportsTalk" host Paul Daugherty has been laid off. He's apparently being replaced by Lance McAlister from sister station Homer WCKY-AM.

In fact, the WLW-AM Forum page lists "SportsTalk with Lance McAlister" already.

Sports blogger C Trent Rosecrans also could be out. He just sent out a Twitter message saying: "What does one wear to get laid off? Decisions, decisions?"

We're still tracking more moves...

Another Clear Channel Update

OMW hears that at least one on-air staffer has left the building at Clear Channel's Columbus cluster.

We're told that AC WLZT/93.3's Chuck Gillespie is apparently out in today's job cut rounds.

Gillespie is also well known in the market for his earlier nine-year stint at Sinclair ABC affiliate WSYX/6 and FOX affiliate WTTE/28, as anchor and meteorologist on the stations' "Good Day Columbus" show. He also has done fill-in for WTVN/610 morning icon Bob Conners.

We're hearing from our Clear Channel Columbus sources that two office staffers were also apparently shown the door...and that those remaining may have to slog through much more work as Clear Channel implements the aforementioned "hub and spoke" system for its office operations.

As for Clear Channel's Cleveland market cluster on Oak Tree - we've noted "as many as" four high-profile FM staffers could be out.

But we're also hearing that two personalities burning up the rumor mill may not be on today's cut list. That's one reason we have yet to print the names in question. We'll try to nail this down more later today.

For the moment, we've only confirmed four on-air staff departures at Oak Tree, the ones we've already reported - WTAM's Marty Allen and Paul Rado, and WMVX morning team Brian and Joe...

Clear Channel Cleveland's Second Job Cut Wave

UPDATE 9:26 AM 4/28/09: Reliable OMW sources at Oak Tree confirm that WMVX's Brian and Joe have indeed left the building, and were let go earlier this morning...

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On Inauguration Day this past January 20th, radio giant Clear Channel cut some 1,800 employees nationwide...part of its effort to pay less money to less people, due to its financial situation, the economy, advertising revenue falling through the proverbial floor, a heavy debt load, and so forth.

Among those shown through the We Can't Afford You Door at Clear Channel's Cleveland cluster on Oak Tree Boulevard in January - a reported number well over 50 employees, many of them in the sales and promotions areas.

Among other staffers, it looks to be job cut time for on-air personalities in this second wave.

And it appears more evident by the hour that the layoffs of talk WTAM/1100 afternoon producer/sidekicks and station veterans Paul Rado and Marty "Big Daddy" Allen on Monday are apparently only just the first ones we've learned about at Oak Tree.

We hear rumblings of as many as four high-profile air personalities on the FM side of Oak Tree's operation. And though we haven't confirmed any of them, yet...we have heard evidence that could lean in that direction on the air.

Hot AC WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106-5" morning team Brian and Joe are nowhere to be found on the station this morning.

As of this writing, WMVX is running an automated, er, "mix" of music, complete with the station's trademark recorded female back announce voice, and non-introduced recorded traffic and weather...joined by other generic station liners.

There are no station liners announcing "Brian and Joe", and there's no other air personality "filling in" for the 22 year local broadcast veterans.

We're hearing rumblings of the departures of at least two other full-time air personalities from Oak Tree's FM stations, though as we said, we're not able to confirm it right now. For that matter, we can't confirm the employment status of WMVX's "Brian and Joe", though it sure sounds like they're gone from listening to the station.

As of this writing, it's before 9 AM, and WMVX has not - yet, we guess - performed the Soviet Style Purge of Brian and Joe from the "Mix 106-5" website.

OMW is also hearing that the cuts in this second wave won't be limited to on-air types, with (again, unconfirmed) rumblings that office staff and engineering employees could be hit with layoffs as well.

This one will develop all day, so keep looking in...as a number of members of Northeast Ohio's broadcasting community are in shock at this latest Clear Channel layoff wave.

And we don't yet have word of cuts at other Clear Channel operations, though we leave you with this from Radio-Info.com news columnist Tom Taylor's update this morning:

Clear Channel’s “Second Wave” of cuts may strike today.

In programming. And in back-office functions like traffic, continuity and the business office. (The hub-and-spoke principle can apply to more than just programming, you know.) If today’s the day for Second Wave (my name, not San Antonio’s) it would follow the formula of First Wave. That happened on a Tuesday, two weeks after the January 6 managers meetings in Dallas. Fast-forward to this month, and CC managers were in Dallas again, exactly two weeks ago.

We don't want to unnecessarily worry Clear Channel employees who haven't heard anything about this in their own clusters yet.

But based on what we're hearing out of Oak Tree...it does sound like something's happening...at least there, at any rate...

THIS JUST IN: Triv Loses Two At WTAM

OMW hears that Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Cleveland afternoon drive host Mike Trivisonno has lost the services of two long-time show staffers.

Out the door at Oak Tree, presumably due to budget cuts, are producer/sidekicks Paul Rado and Marty Allen.

Rado joined the Triv show staff, if we're remembering right, when he offered up his impression of former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell to the show. He's also hosted some of the station's weekend sports talk shows.

"Big Daddy" Marty Allen has been with Trivisonno since their days at then-talk WERE/1300 (now Radio One talk/brokered WERE/1490).

Triv broke into the professional end of the radio business reading sports on the old WNCX/98.5 morning drive show - the one right before WNCX became Cleveland's Howard Stern affiliate. WNCX and WERE were sister stations at the time.

OMW is also hearing, at least at "rumbling" level, that more layoffs are expected at Oak Tree tomorrow.

We've actually expected such moves, which we were told a week ago were expected to involve both on-air and off-air employees...but we don't have any handle on how many may be let go at Oak Tree - or elsewhere within Clear Channel - tomorrow...

Toledo Radio And TV Changes

There's one change on the radio side in Toledo, and one change coming related to TV in that market.

OMW readers tell us that Matrix talk WNWT/1520 Rossford has indeed abandoned the talk format in favor of a simulcast of co-owned WNKL/96.9 Wauseon's "K-Love" Christian contemporary music format.

The two stations are in the process of being sold by Matrix, the broadcast arm of Toledo's Cornerstone Church, to "K-Love" owner Educational Media Foundation. WNKL has been running the "K-Love" format under an LMA between Matrix/Cornerstone and EMF for some time.

We're also reminded that WNKL has something of a nominal in-market FM presence in Toledo to complement the western 96.9 rimshot signal, with one of K-Love's thousands of translators on 104.1 appearing on the WNKL legal ID.

That'd be W281AL Harbor View, with a 19 watt translator on Toledo's north side. There are other K-Love translators in the market, but only 104.1 earns a place on the local legal ID - with just a mention, not an actual legal ID for the translator.

Anyway, we're wondering if W281AL is enough of a fill, combined with the main 96.9 signal, that EMF considers 1520 unnecessary as a K-Love repeater...and if the format is on the current WNWT to stay, or just to run something until it gets disposed to someone else.

1520 in the Toledo market has a recent history playing religious formats. It was "Dominion 1520" under Cornerstone Church until the group decided to flip to talk recently.

On the TV side, a new HDTV subchannel is scheduled to debut soon.

RabbitEars.info's Trip Ericson, who watches such developments, tells us that the home/lifestyle channel "Live Well HD" is about to plant itself on the 13.2 subchannel of ABC/Disney O&O WTVG/13, currently occupied by a channel dedicated to repeats of WTVG's local newscasts.

Quoting:

Live Well HD Network, a fully high definition and digital broadcast, online and wireless network, is being launched by the 10 ABC-owned television stations reaching about 24-percent of America's TV homes.
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The network's initial series include "Home with Lisa Quinn" on interior design, "Let's Dish" on healthy cooking, "Mirror/Mirror" on beauty and fashion, "Say Ahh..." on health and medicine, "Motion" on outdoor activities, and "Advice for Life" on personal growth.
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The 10 ABC-owned television stations launching Live Well HD Network today are WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTRK-TV in Houston, WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, KFSN-TV in Fresno, WJRT-TV in Flint and WTVG-TV in Toledo.

The debut of the new subchannel network is set for Monday.

But 13.2's existing programming won't entirely go away, apparently...as the Live Well HD programming will (from what we can gather) share time with the local news repeats.

Here's a schedule for the Toledo version of Live Well HD. The schedule says in addition to appearing over-air on digital 13.2, it's slated for Buckeye Cablevision channel 614. (That's where WTVG's "Plus" 13.2 subchannel already airs.)

Sure enough, there are schedule holes there that would presumably be filled by the WTVG local news repeats, or similar programming already airing on the other ABC O&O's secondary digital channels.

Though the local news repeats are presumably in SD format, we hear that Live Well HD will be chomping up WTVG-DT's bandwidth in 720p HDTV format.

We're wondering if they'll see some of the occasional glitches seen over in Youngstown, where New Vision's WKBN-DT is airing both CBS and Fox (WYFX "Fox Youngstown") programming in 720p HD...

Ted Henry Retires: His Letter To Co-Workers

Here's retiring anchor Ted Henry's letter to his colleagues at WEWS:

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Dear Friends,

After lengthy consideration, I have come to the major decision that this is the right moment of my life to retire. My last day will be May 20th.

I leave with feelings of satisfaction, fulfillment and with expectations for an enjoyable retirement of continued learning. I also leave with nostalgia for all my friends and experiences during my 44 years in the broadcasting industry in Northeastern Ohio, especially the last 38 years with the E. W. Scripps Company at TV5. While we still have the energy to do so, my wife Jody and I would like to spend more time traveling the world in order to pursue our most absorbing interest, which has long been our hobby. We seek, meet, and interview reputed wise or 'holy" people of all cultures and wisdom traditions.

In a way this is continuing my urge to explore, discover and share, which always prompted me in my profession. We look forward to this as a never ending adventure into unknown and exciting realms which are especially relevant to us at this stage in our lives.

This is the work I now want to continue and expand, the way in which I'd like to use my journalistic skills for upliftment. It is our hope that in time, this wisdom trove might be helpful to all who are interested.

I do expect retirement to be an adjustment, especially since I will miss seeing all of you every day. The friends and mentors I have benefited from are irreplaceable, and I appreciate every laugh and discovery we have shared together. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every day of my work, especially due to the wonderful folks I have been blessed to know.

The Northeastern Ohio audience has graced me enormously in allowing me the career I began daydreaming about at the age of seven when I saw Dorothy Fuldheim commenting on the news on TV5 when my family bought our first television set.

My nearly four decades with E. W. Scripps at TV5, have granted me first hand experiences of history and notable personalities both here and around the world. These have been life changing and rewarding experiences I would not have had otherwise and will never forget. I consider myself most fortunate as each year has been an expansion in growth and realization far beyond my childhood dreams.

I am exceedingly grateful to E. W. Scripps, to all of my WEWS-TV mentors over the years, to all friends and colleagues and to the Northeastern Ohio viewing public. It's been an incalculable privilege and lots of fun!

With warmest regards to all,
Ted.

Ted Henry Retires: WEWS Press Release

Veteran NewsChannel 5 Anchor Ted Henry Retires

Cleveland – After nearly 38 years at WEWS-TV, anchor Ted Henry will retire effective May 20, 2009. In an announcement to station colleagues today, Ted says he “will leave with feelings of satisfaction, fulfillment and with expectations for an enjoyable retirement of continued learning.” Ted plans to spend more time traveling around the world with his wife, Jody.

Ted began his broadcasting career in 1964 at a radio station in his home town of Canton. He then worked as a news reporter at WAKR-TV23 in Akron. In 1968, Ted traveled to Paraguay to work for the Peace Corps on community health, agriculture and education issues. When Ted returned to Ohio, he worked at WKBN-TV in Youngstown.

Ted joined the WEWS staff in 1972, working first as a news producer, then as weekend anchor. Ted was named weekday anchor of the 6 and 11pm news in 1975 and has held that position ever since. Currently Ted co-anchors NewsChannel 5 at 6 and 11pm with Danita Harris.

“Ted set the standard for excellence at this station in this market, and will be sorely missed,” said Vice President and General Manager of WEWS-TV, Viki Regan.

In addition to reporting on issues of importance to residents in Northeast Ohio, Ted has traveled extensively to bring significant stories of interest home to WEWS viewers. Ted has covered nearly every political convention since 1972. Ted went to Israel six times to cover the war crimes trial of John Demjanjuk, documented the Berlin Wall’s fall and reported live from Rome after the death of Pope John Paul II.

Ted’s story on political turmoil in Peru made Cleveland television history because it was the first time a live international feed was broadcast in this market.

In 1995, Ted won numerous national awards for the documentary “Finding Aliza.” Ted reported and executive produced this story about the reunion of two holocaust survivors who met at Auschwitz in 1944 but lost track of one another until the International Red Cross came to their aid. Ted accompanied University Heights resident Agnes Greenfeld on her journey to Israel to find Aliza Grunwald. Ted has also won five local TV Emmys during his career.

Henry says “it's been a tremendous privilege to have been invited into the homes of two generations of Clevelanders to report the news of the region and the world.” Ted credits Northeastern Ohio viewers for “allowing me the career I began daydreaming about at the age of seven when I saw Dorothy Fuldheim commenting on the news on TV5 when my family bought our first television set.”

“Ted has served as a strong leader and mentor in our newsroom. The NewsChannel 5 staff will continue Ted’s legacy of serving viewers with extensive relevant local news coverage. However, there is only one Ted Henry,” Regan notes.

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Ted Henry's Retirement

So much for that hiatus thing...but we had no idea THIS would be announced.

As linked over to the left on our Twitter account, nearly 38 year veteran WEWS/5 news anchor Ted Henry is retiring this May 20th.

We have some more related items we won't be able to put up here for another couple of hours or so, but keep watching...they will be added.

Until then, you can read WEWS' announcement at the link on our Twitter feed..again, to the left side of this very Mighty Blog...