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Jeff Kinzbach on WNIR

They can't replace Howie... just like WGAR couldn't replace the late great Chuck Collier. The best they can do is move forward. Jeff is a true pro, and I'm sure it will go well. They are "auditioning" several people over the next few weeks so look for some other cameos from some familar names.
 
Jeff is at a point in his life where he regards radio as a hobby. He has set himself up well in business and can make the occasional appearance behind the mike. And he also knows his legacy wouldn't be what it is without the fans and he treats them well.
 
It will be interesting to see who else auditions. Not sure who this caller is named "Couch burner" Not sure I would go that direction if I was WNIR, because as we all know there is another caller turned host (Trivisonno) who I could definitely live without on the radio. I wonder if the usual fill ins Jim Isabella and Bob Earley are in the running for the slot.
 
Am not a Triv fan myself either, personally.

But, believe me, MANY, MANY talk radio stations would love to have even half the ratings WTAM has with Triv. His numbers are excellent. A bad book is when he occassionally slips to #3 or #4. He's usually #1 or #2.

Triv for WTAM is similar to Lannigan on WMJI: basically "the franchise".
 
"Couch Burner" is a regular caller whose voice, at least via telephone, is well known to the WNIR audience. His real name is John Denning, according to a Phil Trexler article on Howie's funeral in the Beacon.

He seems to have at least some occasional off-air contact with WNIR staffers.

Can he be a show host instead of just a caller? Who knows? Probably not.

I also don't know what Jeff Kinzbach's interest is, aside from next Tuesday's "audition". Don't know anything about it aside from the announcement airing on the station.

I do know that not everyone you hear in the next few weeks is necessarily going to be going for the job. But I know that Jeff Kinzbach will not be the only radio pro in the fill-in rotation.

The on-air "audition" announcement makes clear that Jim Isabella and Bob Earley "are also candidates" for the position.
 
Lanigan is the "franchise" for the entire cluster. When he retires (end of 2012?) there'll be a big sucking sound in the revenue stream for CC Cleveland. Worse, CLE radio will become even more boring and homogenized without John in AM drive.
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
The on-air "audition" announcement makes clear that Jim Isabella and Bob Earley "are also candidates" for the position.
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I like Bob Earley a lot, but I think he belongs on the weekends, where he doesn't talk politics and the show is just him goofing around with the station announcer and the callers. He does a great job keeping it light.
 
almaniac27 said:
I like Bob Earley a lot, but I think he belongs on the weekends, where he doesn't talk politics and the show is just him goofing around with the station announcer and the callers. He does a great job keeping it light.
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He frequently mentions, when he does the weekday fill-in, that he has to do "a different kind of show" than he does on his own weekend show.

Earley and Isabella are only serious candidates for the job if WNIR wants a familiar voice for its core audence. But neither one of them would get Howie-sized ratings...not even close. (Then again, who would?)
 
CleveRadioInsider said:
Jeff Kinzbach would pull in good ratings because of the nostalgia factor but does he want the job permanently is the question?
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Good question.

As noted, Jeff doesn't "need the money", whatever they offer him on Route 59. He also doesn't have any ties (as far as I know) to the Akron area, but neither does Bob Golic and neither did Joe Finan before he started there.

Jeff being first up on the audition list signals to me that they'll at least TRY to bring in some people with actual radio background. I don't remember if they EVER did for the "Akron Idol" run to replace Finan.

(Remember, Golic fell into their laps, basically, and did his perfunctory "I auditioned for the contest, honest, I did" show during Tom Erickson's time slot one night.)
 
Still convinced that Bob Golic moves to Howie's time slot and whomever is hired takes over the 3:00pm to 7:00pm hosting duties.
 
Bob Golic has mentioned on air he would like to move to 10am-3pm because he wants to see his kids games. Jeff Kinzbach would be good for the drive home. I think WNIR is going to offer it to him. Now the other question is does WNIR have to replace Tom Erickson as well because he is not in great health.
 
Oh, that would be great. Now all they'd have to do is find Matt The Cat for a time slot. Too bad Boom Goldberg's not with us any more, or they could get him, too!

Maybe The Ghoul's available also.
 
CleveRadioInsider said:
Jeff Kinzbach would pull in good ratings because of the nostalgia factor .....
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Same ratings he got when Howard Stern blew him out of the business in less than a year. ;D
 
Don't forget...Jeff has talk radio experience, as part of "Rock n' Roll Talk Radio" in afternoon drive on WTAM/1100 with Flash.

Of course, that didn't catch on at all...nothing 1100 tried caught on until they moved Triv up into PM drive.

I could see the Golic-to-midday move. It keeps some stabliity with one of their name hosts, and then it's afternoon drive they have to fill. Golic in Howie's slot would certainly work better than putting either Bob Earley or Jim Isabella in there.
 
One thing I think is pretty safe to say: no matter who WNIR finally settles on...that person will be very different than Howie Chizek.

Whether you liked his act or not...Howie truly was one-of-a-kind...and choosing the person to follow in his footsteps is not an easy thing to do. I wish Bill, Bob, and the folks at WNIR the best in these difficult times.
 
The reason Jeff/Flash were blown out of the water by Stern is because they were not allowed to mention him on air and compete against him. Thank the braintrust that ran WMMS at that time.
 
CleveRadioInsider said:
The reason Jeff/Flash were blown out of the water by Stern is because they were not allowed to mention him on air and compete against him. Thank the braintrust that ran WMMS at that time.
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With all due respect to Jeff and Flash, I don't think them being able to talk about Stern would have done much to stop the off-the-charts compelling early-90s Stern show from hitting #1 in the ratings here. Lanigan WAS allowed to mention Stern, and did, and Stern beat him in the ratings too (although I guess there's a point to be made that Lanigan's show did just fine during the 13 years Stern was on 'NCX, and if I'm not mistaken Lanigan did take the #1 spot more than once during Stern's tenure).
 
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