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An alphabet soup at WTAM, WHLO, WNIR and WARF (maybe even WAKR?)

N

nate81

Guest
WTAM/1100's flip to a Fox News Radio affil is taking shape. Two big changes took place today: first, a new TOH ID for ol' 1100 (marketing FNR's "fair and balanced" news coverage) using the FNR sounder, was unveiled at midnight. Also, a "Fox News Alert" aired on a WTAM newscast eariler today, in place of the normal one-minute ABC status report.

WHLO/640, from what I heard at 11:00AM, still aired an ABC (either ABC-I or ABC-E, certainally not ABC-C :) TOH newscast. Wasn't able to hear at 12:00PM; they may have switched to FNR.

Not a surprise at all.

But there's one little interesting tidbit, noted by OA in his blog: "Radio Free Ohio" WARF/1350 will still hold on to an ABC newscast, in spite of both WHLO's FNR switch, and WNIR's switch from CBS to ABC-I (taking the affil from WTAM). It will be only a different ABC cast that will land on WARF.

Only one problem.

There are only three discrenable ABC newscasts: the familiar five-minute ABC-I; the four minute ABC-D (heard on WAKR, WEOL and WFUN); and the three minute ABC-FM, sans a sounder, that's used on their 24/7 sattelite formats (the closest such affil is WNCO/1340)

If WARF picks up a different ABC newscast, they'd HAVE to snatch the ABC-D one from WAKR. Having the sounder-less ABC-FM wouldn't make sense on WARF.

But if that were the case, what would WAKR do? Take CNN Radio? Or pick up CBS from WNIR?

Alphabet soup, indeed...

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative
Student Senate
Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio

LCCC Radio - The Duck</P>
 
> There are only three discrenable ABC newscasts: the familiar
> five-minute ABC-I; the four minute ABC-D (heard on WAKR,
> WEOL and WFUN); and the three minute ABC-FM, sans a sounder,
> that's used on their 24/7 sattelite formats (the closest
> such affil is WNCO/1340)
>
> If WARF picks up a different ABC newscast, they'd HAVE to
> snatch the ABC-D one from WAKR. Having the sounder-less
> ABC-FM wouldn't make sense on WARF.

There's another one you're not listing here: ABC-E (Entertainment), which is not currently being run in the market now. It's sort of a stepchild of ABC-D. I can't remember how long it is. I want to say 3 minutes. (And the "FM" is actually a separate, new one minute product from the newscast which runs on the 24/7 satellite networks.)

WHLO has been running (along with WTAM) the ABC-I cast.

ABC-E is, from what I understand, what WARF still start running when it drops ABC-I, which will probably happen whenever WHLO drops ABC. WAKR keeps ABC-D. WNIR (and presumably, puny sister WJMP/1520) picks up ABC-I. I believe the timetable for all of this is basically a week from today. WTAM is apparently going "primary" with Fox starting today, though they ran an ABC piece in one of their weekend casts on Sunday.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
WAKR should pick up the CBS on-the-hour newscast. It would mesh nicely with their Classic Pop format, and Charles Osgood would be right at home in the folksy atmosphere of that format.
 
> WAKR should pick up the CBS on-the-hour newscast. It would
> mesh nicely with their Classic Pop format, and Charles
> Osgood would be right at home in the folksy atmosphere of
> that format.

Not to mention their "News Authority" imaging.

I would not be surprised if this happened. At very least, I'm sure whoever sells CBS in this region has already paid a visit to the Akron Radio Center...

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> > WAKR should pick up the CBS on-the-hour newscast. It
> would
> > mesh nicely with their Classic Pop format, and Charles
> > Osgood would be right at home in the folksy atmosphere of
> > that format.
>
> Not to mention their "News Authority" imaging.

And soon-to-be expanded local programming. And the continued presence of ABC's Paul Harvey. This would be a solid move by ol' 1590.

> I would not be surprised if this happened. At very least,
> I'm sure whoever sells CBS in this region has already paid a
> visit to the Akron Radio Center...

They already deal with CBS's sister property, WW1, for the Nostalgia sattelite channel...

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative
Student Senate
Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio

LCCC Radio - The Duck</P>
 
On the opposite side of the state, WLW continues running the ABC sounder, but mixing in both ABC and Fox News cuts. Presumably, they'll keep running ABC Status Reports and long-form coverage for breaking news. Is 'TAM keeping Paul Harvey? WTVN has a new logo and is officially a Fox News affiliate, which actually gives many Central Ohioans a choice (WLW or WTVN) for breaking news.<P ID="signature">______________
Soon to set the world record for recieving Nigerian scam and phising e-mails!</P>
 
A Correction...

> They already deal with CBS's sister property, WW1, for the
> Nostalgia sattelite channel...

Westwood One's "Adult Standards" to be specific, featuring at least one former WAKR staffer in the lineup...

BTW, I've been corrected - WAKR actually runs the ABC Entertainment feed. That'd presumably mean WARF/1350 will pick up ABC Direction when it loses ABC Info in the next week or so.

As far as the prospect of CBS knocking on WAKR's door... you just reminded me of something. They may not have a chance, since WAKR carries Paul Harvey, and that's usually tied to an ABC News feed of some sort.

(WTAM may yet duck that tie and keep Harvey, even after dropping ABC Information's feeds completely.)

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
I was listening to the 10am news on WLW this morning, when Bolton was appointed, and they ran Fox News Audio and the newsguy said they were joining Fox News Radio's coverage of Bolton's appointment. I have heard a majority of there newscasts use all Fox News Audio. Its coming to all the stations.

> On the opposite side of the state, WLW continues running the
> ABC sounder, but mixing in both ABC and Fox News cuts.
> Presumably, they'll keep running ABC Status Reports and
> long-form coverage for breaking news. Is 'TAM keeping Paul
> Harvey? WTVN has a new logo and is officially a Fox News
> affiliate, which actually gives many Central Ohioans a
> choice (WLW or WTVN) for breaking news.
>
 
WHLO

> WHLO/640, from what I heard at 11:00AM, still aired an ABC
> (either ABC-I or ABC-E, certainally not ABC-C :) TOH
> newscast. Wasn't able to hear at 12:00PM; they may have
> switched to FNR.


I heard Fox News on WHLO tonight during Savage.
 
Re: A Correction...

> > They already deal with CBS's sister property, WW1, for the
> > Nostalgia sattelite channel...
>
> Westwood One's "Adult Standards" to be specific, featuring
> at least one former WAKR staffer in the lineup...

Chick Watkins - who was also at the old WGAR/1220 - and may be replaced by a local staffer if that's what I'm lead to believe with their recent air personality search.

> BTW, I've been corrected - WAKR actually runs the ABC
> Entertainment feed. That'd presumably mean WARF/1350 will
> pick up ABC Direction when it loses ABC Info in the next
> week or so.

The switch apparently was made at WARF. Now, 1350 and 1590 have the IDENTICAL ABC newscast.

> As far as the prospect of CBS knocking on WAKR's door... you
> just reminded me of something. They may not have a chance,
> since WAKR carries Paul Harvey, and that's usually tied to
> an ABC News feed of some sort.

Ah, yes. But I don't think they are happy with what 1350 just did, either.

IIRC, until this recent CC/Fox flip, the only two Paul Harvey stations that DIDN'T have an ABC feed as their primary affil were both WHAM/1180 (they had both CBS and ABC; now it's Fox and CBS) and WBZ-Boston (which had ABC until the Group W/CBS merger)...

But that makes FOUR stations in Akron - WNIR, WJMP, WARF and WAKR - (WHLO still has the occasional BOH ABC status report) that carry some ABC newscast. Granted, there are stations that can affiliate with ABC for the spotload, but this new configuration is a bit too much.

As far as I can tell, the WNIR/WJMP switch was completely unwarrented. They could have kept CBS, and WAKR could have gone to ABC-I instead. Or WARF could have flipped to CNN Radio.

> (WTAM may yet duck that tie and keep Harvey, even after
> dropping ABC Information's feeds completely.)

It reminds me of the old WTAM promo aired after they picked up Glenn Beck. A caller to a WTAM feedback phoneline wanted Paul bumped for the final :30 min of Glenn's show. But at the end, Jim Cutler proclaimed, "Sorry: we like Paul Harvey. The old man stays!"

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative
Student Senate
Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio

LCCC Radio - The Duck</P>
 
> I was listening to the 10am news on WLW this morning, when
> Bolton was appointed, and they ran Fox News Audio and the
> newsguy said they were joining Fox News Radio's coverage of
> Bolton's appointment. I have heard a majority of there
> newscasts use all Fox News Audio. Its coming to all the
> stations.
>
> > On the opposite side of the state, WLW continues running the
> > ABC sounder, but mixing in both ABC and Fox News cuts.

DX'ing WLW here in Avon, I have heard the same mix. But WLW is a rare station indeed, with almost all their programming being locally-based. (The Truckin' Bozo's show originates at WLW...) Obviously the ABC affil is now at "The Revolution" WCKY/1530.

The only CC-Cincy station I can't DX is WLW's 2nd-tier talker, WKRC/550. Are they flipping from CBS to Fox?

Note that WTAM and WLW didn't actually air the real ABC-I sounder; but it was damn good production audio. Wish I could have some way to download it, it real ABC-I sounder is on my hard drive.

> > Presumably, they'll keep running ABC Status Reports and
> > long-form coverage for breaking news. Is 'TAM keeping Paul
> > Harvey? WTVN has a new logo and is officially a Fox News
> > affiliate, which actually gives many Central Ohioans a
> > choice (WLW or WTVN) for breaking news.

WTAM will stay with Paul Harvey, as far as I know. He really doesn't have anywhere else to go, as WKNR, WHK, and WERE (yes, they still have a license ;) will never be remotely competitive in anything at all. And that's the NICE way of putting it.

Plus, WTAM has no sister AM station in the Cleveland market, so where would Paul go? WGAR?

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative
Student Senate
Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio

LCCC Radio - The Duck</P>
 
Re: A Correction...

>> Westwood One's "Adult Standards" to be specific, featuring
>> at least one former WAKR staffer in the lineup...
>
> Chick Watkins - who was also at the old WGAR/1220 - and may
> be replaced by a local staffer if that's what I'm lead to
> believe with their recent air personality search.

Not to mention Jerry Healey, who still does weekends at WW1's Adult Standards (and on WAKR, when he's not pre-empted by sports). I wasn't really old enough to catch Chick Watkins locally, but I did hear Jerry Healey in his last days at WAKR (locally).

> But that makes FOUR stations in Akron - WNIR, WJMP, WARF and
> WAKR - (WHLO still has the occasional BOH ABC status report)
> that carry some ABC newscast. Granted, there are stations
> that can affiliate with ABC for the spotload, but this new
> configuration is a bit too much.

I haven't heard WHLO carrying the ABC BOH :)30:30) casts in the past couple of days, but I haven't been listening specifically for it. They did officially switch the TOH to Fox News Radio.

Aside from WARF now carrying the *exact same* cast as WAKR, there isn't much change, really. WHLO's had ABC-I since it launched as a CC-owned talker a few years ago...only now, instead of WHLO, the cast will eventually land on WNIR. WARF had ABC-I until switching. WJMP really doesn't count, unless you're in Kent or Ravenna. ;)

> As far as I can tell, the WNIR/WJMP switch was completely
> unwarrented. They could have kept CBS, and WAKR could have
> gone to ABC-I instead. Or WARF could have flipped to CNN
> Radio.

Some thoughts:

* CC likely wanted to just hang onto ABC for WARF, but moved to the D-cast because of lower spotloads. Since WHLO wasn't hanging onto ABC-I, they would have to clear all that extra crap WHLO carried for ABC-I. The spot load attached to ABC-I is pretty overwhelming. They require clearance for spots attached to stuff like the hourly network sports cast, business reports, and even "ABC News Reporter's Notebook", the feature that used to be known as "Peter Jennings' Journal".

* I'm surprised WAKR either didn't pick up ABC-I when learning WHLO was dumping it. It fits with their news image. Maybe it was a timing concern (re: having enough space for local news), or maybe they didn't wanna pick up that spotload, either.

> It reminds me of the old WTAM promo aired after they picked
> up Glenn Beck. A caller to a WTAM feedback phoneline wanted
> Paul bumped for the final :30 min of Glenn's show. But at
> the end, Jim Cutler proclaimed, "Sorry: we like Paul Harvey.
> The old man stays!"

WTAM has a lot of humor at Harvey's expense. It's a way to try to sell him to younger audiences. I don't know if they ever ran that "Paul Harvey Rap" promo that I've heard elsewhere, tho.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
>
> WTAM will stay with Paul Harvey, as far as I know. He really
> doesn't have anywhere else to go, as WKNR, WHK, and WERE
> (yes, they still have a license ;) will never be remotely
> competitive in anything at all. And that's the NICE way of
> putting it.
>
> Plus, WTAM has no sister AM station in the Cleveland market,
> so where would Paul go? WGAR?
>
> - nate81

I remember listening to Paul Harvey on WGAR in the early 1990's.
 
> I remember listening to Paul Harvey on WGAR in the early
> 1990's.

At 1220 AM, no? I can't remember when WGAR/1220 made way for the sports format of WKNR.

I'm pretty sure WGAR-FM has never carried Paul Harvey, though I could well be wrong...

-OA <P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> > I remember listening to Paul Harvey on WGAR in the early
> > 1990's.
>
> At 1220 AM, no? I can't remember when WGAR/1220 made way
> for the sports format of WKNR.
>
> I'm pretty sure WGAR-FM has never carried Paul Harvey,
> though I could well be wrong...
>
> -OA
>


I think WGAR 1220 changed to WKNR around 1990...
But I definitely remember Paul Harvey on WGAR-FM, somewhere around 1991 or 1992.
 
> But I definitely remember Paul Harvey on WGAR-FM, somewhere
> around 1991 or 1992.

That might make sense, if you couch it in the WGAR country format moving to FM with the WKNR sports format going on AM. They may have taken Harvey along for the ride for the first year or two.

Then, maybe somewhere in there, when Jacor took over 99.5, they scooted Harvey (rights coming from WGAR) to WTAM?

I was out of the market for much of the 90's, so someone else is going to have to fill this one in for me.

-OA <P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> > But I definitely remember Paul Harvey on WGAR-FM,
> somewhere
> > around 1991 or 1992.
>
> That might make sense, if you couch it in the WGAR country
> format moving to FM with the WKNR sports format going on AM.
> They may have taken Harvey along for the ride for the first
> year or two.
>
> Then, maybe somewhere in there, when Jacor took over 99.5,
> they scooted Harvey (rights coming from WGAR) to WTAM?
>
> I was out of the market for much of the 90's, so someone
> else is going to have to fill this one in for me.

I do remember hearing Paul Harvey on 1100 before the call switch from WWWE to WTAM - and was the centerpiece of the old "Newshour at Noon." He may have come in around '92 or '94. The latter date would make sense, as Chuch Meyer, Jeff and Flash, Triv, and Jaz McCay all wound up on WWWE as part of a lineup overhaul.

WWWE was owned by Booth from 1989 until 1994. A buyout took Booth public, and a name change to Secret. Secret kept WWWE/WTAM until 1997, when Jacor came in.

WGAR was sold to Jacor in 1998, along with WMJI and WMMS as part of the Nationwide selloff.

- nate81<P ID="signature">______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative
Student Senate
Lorain County Community College, Elyria, Ohio

LCCC Radio - The Duck</P>
 
> I do remember hearing Paul Harvey on 1100 before the call
> switch from WWWE to WTAM - and was the centerpiece of the
> old "Newshour at Noon." He may have come in around '92 or
> '94. The latter date would make sense, as Chuch Meyer, Jeff
> and Flash, Triv, and Jaz McCay all wound up on WWWE as part
> of a lineup overhaul.

OK, again, you're talking about times that I wasn't in town...

BTW, Jaz McKay just made another job move, from Fresno to Bakersfield in Central California:

<a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com/2005/08/another-cleveland-where-are-they-now.html>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com/2005/08/another-cleveland-where-are-they-now.html</a>

(exit shameless plug mode)

> WWWE was owned by Booth from 1989 until 1994. A buyout took
> Booth public, and a name change to Secret. Secret kept
> WWWE/WTAM until 1997, when Jacor came in.
>
> WGAR was sold to Jacor in 1998, along with WMJI and WMMS as
> part of the Nationwide selloff.

Oh, OK. So Harvey could well have come to 1100 (pre-WTAM) with no connection involving Jacor and 99.5. They just all ended up being owned by the same company, much later.

Still, the move of Harvey from 1220 AM (if he was on there!) to 99.5 FM in the country format's move makes sense. Did Harvey air on 1220 at all before 99.5 and then 1100?

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> I do remember hearing Paul Harvey on 1100 before the call
> switch from WWWE to WTAM - and was the centerpiece of the
> old "Newshour at Noon." He may have come in around '92 or
> '94. The latter date would make sense, as Chuch Meyer, Jeff
> and Flash, Triv, and Jaz McCay all wound up on WWWE as part
> of a lineup overhaul.
>

Not that early. Jeff and Flash would come right out of news into a Christopher Duffy ("Mr. Duffy") promo at 3.06pm--no "Rest of the Story".

And the News Hour at Noon, with Craig Edwards (where's he at now?) didn't start until summer 1996--just about the time Jeff and Flash were being toned down and primed for AM drive (after Chuck Meyer departed). But, you're correct, Paul Harvey was in that news block.

I know WWWE was an ABC-I affiliate as far back as 1993--Bob Henderson's PM drive show (with Ed Coury on news) featured ABC sounders and many times a partial cast with Doug Limerick before Ed's news.
 
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