Where do you guys see radio, television and the web going in 2023? What do you think would and could happen?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Cleveland and NE Ohio Media in 2023
- Thread starter MediaLover
- Start date
More radio programming for "Older" folks would be nice. (A 1950's / 60's / 70's type Majic station? or something like WDOK was in the early 1990's) -- Yes, I know I'm dreaming. 
For television. Just ONE, real 30 minute local newscast that isn't hyperbole, "Coming up later(s)", or Anchors Opinions/Slanted.
For television. Just ONE, real 30 minute local newscast that isn't hyperbole, "Coming up later(s)", or Anchors Opinions/Slanted.
And ACTUAL news, not about 3 minutes of it and the rest of all "fluff" lifestyle bullshit or some "feel good" story. And actual newscasts on each channel that is distinctly different. Switching back and forth between WOIO & WEWS and they both did a story on disappearing AM stations from electric car radios due to interference from all the electronics. EXACT same video roll and an almost EXACT same copy read. Did a double take and had to check to see if I hadn't accidentally switched back to 19 or vice-versa.
I'm afraid 2023 will bring even more fluff and evergreen stories to our local TV as the growing chains are implementing the Iheart "spokes in the wheel" concept to their local news, where co-owned stations produce packages of soft stories they share with their fellow stations to fill the time and enable fewer employees to look like a larger staff.
With fewer reporters we'll see more identical stories as stations take the publicity packages businesses and others send them and use them virtually unchanged.
It's all in the name of having as few and as inexpensive employees as possible and still put something on the air.
And when digital imaging gets cheap and realistic enough, say goodbye to human beings on TV altogether. Don't laugh, that's a lot closer than you might think.
With fewer reporters we'll see more identical stories as stations take the publicity packages businesses and others send them and use them virtually unchanged.
It's all in the name of having as few and as inexpensive employees as possible and still put something on the air.
And when digital imaging gets cheap and realistic enough, say goodbye to human beings on TV altogether. Don't laugh, that's a lot closer than you might think.
I do remember WUAB doing "newscasts" with Marty Sullivan when he wasn't doing his Superhost gig and he always did them alone. Of course, their news budget would have only been able to buy you a 6-pack of Coke and three bags of off-brand chips if you had to live with it. I wonder if anyone thought that he was like "Clark Kent".....no one would recognize he's also Superhost because he didn't have his red nose on.
Marty would fill in for Gary Short, who usually did the news breaks during their primetime Star Movie.
I remember a couple of stories regarding Sullivan and the news breaks.
1. Marty would tape Superhost on Friday evenings, and occasionally he also had to do the live news breaks the same night to fill in for Short, so Sullivan would quickly wash off the red paint on his nose and put on a jacket, shirt, and tie to do the news, but under the desk he was still wearing his "Supe" outfit.
2. When WUAB first announced their 10 O'Clock News, Marty quipped "It took a staff of over 30 to replace me".
With every station having 3 to 6 hour morning local news blocks (yes, 1 station does go 6, that being WJW), and 3 to 4 hour afternoon/early evening local news blocks, the 2-anchor team still has legs to it.
Fair being fair, since CBS/Entercom/Audacy's WKRK 92.3 went to their Fan sports format in August 2011 (11+ years...who thought it would last that long when it first started?) they've always been local from 6a-midnight every weekday.
Given the cast of characters wearing brown and orange that has passed through Berea and (no free plugs) Stadium, there has been no shortage of material to talk about
Just to do some inventory, here are the local weekday talk shows on Cleveland radio
News/politics
Bill Wills and Mike Snyder - WTAM
Jimmy Malone - WTAM
David "Bloomdaddy" Blomquist - WTAM
Bob Frantz - WHK
Hot talk
Rover's Morning Glory - WMMS
Alan Cox - WMMS
Sports/"Mancave"
Dennis Manaloff - WTAM
Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer - WKNR
Emmitt Golden and Je'Rod Cherry - WKNR
Matt Fontana and Danny Cunningham - WKNR
Ken Carman and Anthony Lima - WKRK
Andy Baskin and Jeff Phelps - WKRK
Dustin Fox and Nick Wilson - WKRK
Jonathan Peterlin - WKRK
Specialty
Ed "Flash" Ferenc - been doing his pro union "America's Workforce" show on WERE (started when the station was on 1300 and then moving to 1490) since 1998.
And for the music stations:
WCLV 90.3 (classical) - Jackie Gerber morning drive, Mark Satola late mornings, Rob Grier middays, Bill O'Connell afternoons, John Simna evenings, Dan Potella with the overnight jazz show
WZAK 93.1 (urban AC) - Sam Sylk and Bijou Starr middays
WFHM 95.5 (Christian AC) - Len Howser and Sara Carnes mornings, Joe Cronauer afternoons
WAKS 96.5 (CHR/Top 40) - Krystle Elyse 10a-noon, Jerimiah Widmer afternoons
WNCX 98.5 (classic rock) - Slats mornings, Nard middays, Paula Balish afternoons, Joe Czejak evenings
WGAR 99.5 (country) - Steve Wazz and Carleta Blake mornings, LeeAnn Sommers afternoons
WMMS 100.7 (rock/talk/sports) - Dan Stansbury (1/2 credit - VT from sister WRQK Canton), Cory Rotic evenings (when there is no Guards/Cavs game)
WDOK 102.1 (AC) - Tim Richards and Jen Toohey mornings, Liz Campbell middays, Glenn Anderson afternoons, Jim Hart evenings
WQAL 104.1 (CHR/Top 40) - Bill Ryan and Morgan Wright mornings, Chelsea Lyons middays, Kelly McMann afternoons
WMJI 105.7 (classic hits) - Mark Nolan, Jen Picciano, and Krystle Elyse mornings (1/2 credit to Keith Kennedy. who VTs the overnight shift from iHeart Akron/Canton's WKDD 98.1)
WNWV 107.3 (alternative) - Brady Marks mornings, Jaci Fox afternoons, Carrie Danger evenings
WENZ 107.9 (hip hop/rap) - Micah Dixon middays, Ro Digga afternoons,
WCLV 90.3 (classical) - Jackie Gerber morning drive, Mark Satola late mornings, Rob Grier middays, Bill O'Connell afternoons, John Simna evenings, Dan Potella with the overnight jazz show
WZAK 93.1 (urban AC) - Sam Sylk and Bijou Starr middays
WFHM 95.5 (Christian AC) - Len Howser and Sara Carnes mornings, Joe Cronauer afternoons
WAKS 96.5 (CHR/Top 40) - Krystle Elyse 10a-noon, Jerimiah Widmer afternoons
WNCX 98.5 (classic rock) - Slats mornings, Nard middays, Paula Balish afternoons, Joe Czejak evenings
WGAR 99.5 (country) - Steve Wazz and Carleta Blake mornings, LeeAnn Sommers afternoons
WMMS 100.7 (rock/talk/sports) - Dan Stansbury (1/2 credit - VT from sister WRQK Canton), Cory Rotic evenings (when there is no Guards/Cavs game)
WDOK 102.1 (AC) - Tim Richards and Jen Toohey mornings, Liz Campbell middays, Glenn Anderson afternoons, Jim Hart evenings
WQAL 104.1 (CHR/Top 40) - Bill Ryan and Morgan Wright mornings, Chelsea Lyons middays, Kelly McMann afternoons
WMJI 105.7 (classic hits) - Mark Nolan, Jen Picciano, and Krystle Elyse mornings (1/2 credit to Keith Kennedy. who VTs the overnight shift from iHeart Akron/Canton's WKDD 98.1)
WNWV 107.3 (alternative) - Brady Marks mornings, Jaci Fox afternoons, Carrie Danger evenings
WENZ 107.9 (hip hop/rap) - Micah Dixon middays, Ro Digga afternoons,
Lost in the roster of news outlets is WKSU. Morning host Amy Eddings (inherited from WCPN) was at WNYC for 15 years. Midday anchor Jeff St. Clair and afternoon anchor Amanda Rabinowitz had been mainstays at the station prior to the Ideastream takeover. The news department is still with equal focuses on Akron and Cleveland and they still have the internship program with Kent State. The mix of local and national content is honestly better assembled than most Cleveland stations.
Coupled with WCLV, maybe the future of local media is listener-supported.
Coupled with WCLV, maybe the future of local media is listener-supported.
Last edited:
I would love to see a major station format shakeup that created a domino effect across multiple stations in town. For far too long, the stations and formats have been more stagnant than what the Cuyahoga River was 50 years ago.
It seems that most of the conglomerate-owned stations in this town aren't doing too much to push their brands or formats anymore -- or at least the way they did back in the 70s and 80s. As long as "Owner A's" 5 stations have a better combined rating that "Owner B's" combined 5 station ratings, they are happy.
I miss the days when WMMS intentionally poked fun at WGCL, and when Howard Stern later traded barbs with The Buzzard and vice-versa. But unfortunately, the national ownership of most stations have killed that off with limited playlists and even more limited local staff to even attempt an even modest imaging campaign.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Cleveland/Akron markets have more current stations that more or less have stayed with their music formats the longest, compared to other markets around the country.
Or at least change some call letters, for Pete's sake. The "WMMS" of 2023 is nowhere close to the "WMMS" of the 70s, nor is WMJI anywhere near it's Majic AC format of the 80s or their Oldies format thereafter. Let go of the legendary call letters if you obviously don't respect nor acknowledge their origins anymore.
It seems that most of the conglomerate-owned stations in this town aren't doing too much to push their brands or formats anymore -- or at least the way they did back in the 70s and 80s. As long as "Owner A's" 5 stations have a better combined rating that "Owner B's" combined 5 station ratings, they are happy.
I miss the days when WMMS intentionally poked fun at WGCL, and when Howard Stern later traded barbs with The Buzzard and vice-versa. But unfortunately, the national ownership of most stations have killed that off with limited playlists and even more limited local staff to even attempt an even modest imaging campaign.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Cleveland/Akron markets have more current stations that more or less have stayed with their music formats the longest, compared to other markets around the country.
Or at least change some call letters, for Pete's sake. The "WMMS" of 2023 is nowhere close to the "WMMS" of the 70s, nor is WMJI anywhere near it's Majic AC format of the 80s or their Oldies format thereafter. Let go of the legendary call letters if you obviously don't respect nor acknowledge their origins anymore.
Here’s the thing: format changes are less and less likely as ownership groups don’t see a need to change what works for them. And for many stations, they are set up to do well in target demos and to flank their co-owned properties: WMMS and The Fan are perfect examples of this. Welcome to economy of scale.
The days of rivalries between stations a la G98 vs. WMMS are pretty much extinct. Audacy isn’t going to flip one of their stations to country and iHeart isn’t going to flip one of their stations to mainstream AC, and Salem won’t flip any of their AMs to anything that could draw an audience (as tiny and old as it would be).
The only true oddball station in the market is WNWV. It’s changed format twice since 2019 and hasn’t really made any impact. Mostly because it’s a stand-alone rimshot that can’t compete with the other chains. Aside from #whoisjeny, they don’t have the resources to front a marketing budget of any sort. I don’t know how long they’ll last.
The days of rivalries between stations a la G98 vs. WMMS are pretty much extinct. Audacy isn’t going to flip one of their stations to country and iHeart isn’t going to flip one of their stations to mainstream AC, and Salem won’t flip any of their AMs to anything that could draw an audience (as tiny and old as it would be).
The only true oddball station in the market is WNWV. It’s changed format twice since 2019 and hasn’t really made any impact. Mostly because it’s a stand-alone rimshot that can’t compete with the other chains. Aside from #whoisjeny, they don’t have the resources to front a marketing budget of any sort. I don’t know how long they’ll last.
- Status