Robin Swoboda Returns...Again!

[OhioMediaWatch]

vjm makes some very good points.

Cleveland's very much a "one of our own" market. In fact, Robin Swoboda had used the air name Robin Cole in Miami (IIRC), and was asked to change back to her real, ethnic name when she came here.

Triv? He'd never work in any other market. That includes other Midwest "lunch bucket" industrial towns.

Gary Dee fell flat on his face when he went to Washington DC, where he got a gig at a country station that ended inside of 6 months.

Pete Franklin lasted longer outside Cleveland, but bombed as one of the debut hosts on WFAN, and basically "hung in there" in San Francisco. He never had the same success there that he had here, where he owned (and basically invented) sports talk radio in this market.

And we all know what happened to Rover, a huge success here, in Chicago.

Meanwhile, WJW "Fox 8", Robin's former-again-frequent-past home, still uses the "Cleveland's own" slogan. Robin's new home, WKYC/3, plays up the fact that weather forecaster Betsy Kling grew up in Copley...etc.

As far as "right wing talk" goes, the only nearly pure practictioner of that in the WTAM local weekday lineup is Bob Frantz. Triv occasionally does political rants, mostly against the local Democratic machine, and occasionally against President Obama, but it's not what you hear on "conservative talk stations".

And even Frantz veers into sports from time to time, depending on if A) his show is adjacent to the PBP or B) if there's something newsworthy sports-wise these days. But neither Triv nor Frantz gets into the basic "who should play second base" discussion on a regular basis.

 

[vjm]

vjm makes some very good points.

Cleveland's very much a "one of our own" market. In fact, Robin Swoboda had used the air name Robin Cole in Miami (IIRC), and was asked to change back to her real, ethnic name when she came here.

Triv? He'd never work in any other market. That includes other Midwest "lunch bucket" industrial towns.

Gary Dee fell flat on his face when he went to Washington DC, where he got a gig at a country station that ended inside of 6 months.

Pete Franklin lasted longer outside Cleveland, but bombed as one of the debut hosts on WFAN, and basically "hung in there" in San Francisco. He never had the same success there that he had here, where he owned (and basically invented) sports talk radio in this market.

And we all know what happened to Rover, a huge success here, in Chicago.

Meanwhile, WJW "Fox 8", Robin's former-again-frequent-past home, still uses the "Cleveland's own" slogan. Robin's new home, WKYC/3, plays up the fact that weather forecaster Betsy Kling grew up in Copley...etc.

As far as "right wing talk" goes, the only nearly pure practictioner of that in the WTAM local weekday lineup is Bob Frantz. Triv occasionally does political rants, mostly against the local Democratic machine, and occasionally against President Obama, but it's not what you hear on "conservative talk stations".

And even Frantz veers into sports from time to time, depending on if A) his show is adjacent to the PBP or B) if there's something newsworthy sports-wise these days. But neither Triv nor Frantz gets into the basic "who should play second base" discussion on a regular basis.

Thanks OMW for the kudos.

Robin did go by Robin Cole in Miami, before coming here. Going by Swoboda made 100% more beloved in C-Town than the generic Cole would have. Just as Big Chuck Schodowski wouldn't have been an icon if he went by Chuck Smith to make a comparison...makes them more approachable and appear as "regular folks" than if they had an "assembly line" TV name.

And in the same vein as Triv and Frantz now being general talkers who only talk sports on a "need-to" basis, Rizz and the bratty bunch on KNR kind of veer that way too.

Although they talk sports a bit more, and talk more pop culture/personal stuff than politics/issues/world affairs.

Wikipedia lists them as "Sports Talk/Hot Talk", which I think is about right.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

The KNR topic selection is the direct descendent of a number of large market successful "sports radio" stations, the most notable of which - for this station's purpose - is WIP.

Good Karma's own Craig Karmazin got his radio start there as an intern...and it colored a lot of his early radio upbringing. (And I assume his father was running CBS/Infinity/whatever WIP's owner was then.)

Now, I am not at all saying that WKNR pulls it off nearly as well as WIP does, but that's the influence. When he first bought 'KNR, Craig talked about his time at WIP a LOT.

 

[Capulet]

K is for klueless! ;D

You would think being Mel's kid the station would sound professional.

 

[Jimme]

Can you Robin Swoboda fans tell me what makes her great. I look at professionals such as Christianne Amanpour, Mona Charen, Candy Crowley, or Greta Van Sustren - people with education, contacts, and a grasp of world events. And Cleveland is enamored with Robin Swoboda who never discusses more than what she did at the mall. Similar to the morning show post where local shows are seen as better, while other markets have Imus, the Wall Street Journal report, or The Grandy Group talking news, politics, and world events, we have WTAM guys who rarely discuss more than the local sports teams. Are Clevelanders that stupid they don't care about the world around them? Forget Egypt, gas prices, Obamacare, or the Grammys - turn on WTAM and let's talk about that big trade which will make the Tribe #1.

People like Robin because she's viewed as "one of us"...a midwestern girl with an ethnic name who done good and married a Browns punter (since retired).

You obviously weren't around during the mid 80s-early 90s when WJW had the absolute dominate evening news team of Tim Taylor and Robin Swoboda as anchors, Dick Goddard on weather and the late Casey Coleman on sports.

She's a throwback to that time, and people think of that when she comes along.

And WTAM really doesn't talk sports during the week unless something big goes down.

Wills, Beck, and Rush are all about poltics/issues/current events (though Wills does interviews with local sports stars because TAM has "All the balls") and Triv and Frantz are all over the board...they started as pure sports guys who have since branched out, but will talk sports when something big goes down.

Other than that, they talk about politics/local issues/current events (or whatever else pops into Triv's mind).

And of course, George Noory talks about aliens.

I was around more in the 80's than I am now. I never thought too much of Tim Taylor or Mr. Wooly Bear either, compared to Judd Hambrick or Pat Minarcin. Either of those two seemed better able to find other states on the map compared to Taylor. Also, with all due respect to Casey Coleman, he was way too laid back folksy for my tastes. The last good sportscaster, IMHO was John Fitzgerald. And don't even get me started about the black guy on channel 3 who used to say "a little travelin' music please" or Shane Hollet on weather who didn't know those things which dispense gas are called gas pumps.

It's interesting. I live in WAshington D.C. now. Doreen Gentzler from WKYC is a veteran anchor here. The advertisements don't seem to blab over and over "she's been here years and years and she really really cares about you." The ads stress her years of experience to get the story. Maybe it is because Cleveland is a smaller market? She never caught on in Cleveland, but found success in a bigger pond. One way Cleveland was bigger than D.C. was with respect to Gary Dee. He was doomed from day one when they took his racial humor too seriously. On his first DC show, he said Marion Berry's wife could "pass for white". In Cleveland, that might have gotten a smirk or a "whatever". In DC. it nearly got him hung. Run ins with the producer thereafter over how far he could go with humor doomed his stint in DC. Same thing for Chicago.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

And don't even get me started about the black guy on channel 3 who used to say "a little travelin' music please" or Shane Hollet on weather who didn't know those things which dispense gas are called gas pumps.

The sportscaster you're thinking of was Wayland Boot...who fit the "sports guy with a little different shtick" hole in the market that comes up every few years.

You were one of the few watching WKYC in the 80s. Everyone else was watching 8 or 5. WKYC couldn't get news viewers by giving away free gold until the affiliate shakeup of the mid-90s, when they finally got sampling due to stability.

But generally, in the 80s, most either watched Tim and Robin on 8, or Ted and Wilma on 5. We were very much a "Newscenter 8" family, but as I grew older, I ended up with "Newschannel 5" more.

It's interesting. I live in WAshington D.C. now. Doreen Gentzler from WKYC is a veteran anchor here. The advertisements don't seem to blab over and over "she's been here years and years and she really really cares about you." The ads stress her years of experience to get the story. Maybe it is because Cleveland is a smaller market? She never caught on in Cleveland, but found success in a bigger pond.

I was thinking of Doreen after my last post here. She and co-anchor Jim Vance are fixtures on the NBC O&O there, no? (And I assume it was an in-company transfer with WKYC and WRC both being NBC O&Os at the time she came to DC...)

One way Cleveland was bigger than D.C. was with respect to Gary Dee. He was doomed from day one when they took his racial humor too seriously. On his first DC show, he said Marion Berry's wife could "pass for white". In Cleveland, that might have gotten a smirk or a "whatever". In DC. it nearly got him hung. Run ins with the producer thereafter over how far he could go with humor doomed his stint in DC. Same thing for Chicago.

'
An excellent summary of How Gary Dee Bombed in DC...and a great example of why Cleveland is a unique market.

Pete Franklin's bombastic on-air style fit his 3WE evening time slot and the market like a glove, but sounded way over the top on WFAN. He basically had to tone down his act a little by the time he hit SF, though by that point, there were dozens of Pete Franklin clones all around the sports radio dial.

Cleveland got him and loved him, and the other markets? Not so much. He had years to build his personality and his audience here.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Well, lookie here.

Wayland Boot apparently returned to Portland OR after being on WKYC, where he became a sports TV fixture on KOIN/6 under the name Ed Whelan (a Portland radio station had asked him to change his name in his first stint in the market). He was let go in 2007 after 26 years:

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=118850550315981000

It was during his time at KYXI (radio in the 1970s) that he was asked to change his name from Wayland Boot.

“The station played easy listening music, and they thought Wayland sounded rock ’n’ roll,” he says.

In 1975, Whelan moved to TV with KOIN. He left for Cleveland in 1983 but returned six years later and became a fixture on the small screen, using humor, witticisms and metaphors to make his sportscasts fun.

And a recent update, as he's basically (forced) retired:

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=128639642590182300

From the Cleveland side, an August 2004 "where are they now" update from Cleveland Magazine on Wayland (and many other Cleveland names, including the aforementioned Gary Dee's ex-wife, "Morning Exchange" star Liz Richards):

http://www.clevelandmagazine.com/ME...19&tier=4&id=BB05CD5A636B4B93971A6EB7350E9ACB

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Oddly enough, I visited KOIN in 2006 with Scott Fybush (on the 2006 "Big Trip" through the Pacific Northwest), and had no idea Wayland Boot worked there. I don't remember meeting him, even as Ed Whelan.

 

[74WIXYGrad]

I guess you didn't hear the word "bodacious" used enough to make any connection ;D

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

I think I would have made the connection if he used the "a little traveling music" phrase...then, I'd have said to myself, "where have I heard that before?"



Being a 5/8 viewer in the 80s, I don't have a lot of memory of specific people at WKYC in that time frame. There are main anchors I still can't name today - not names like Leon Bibb, of course, but I still don't actually remember watching Doreen Gentzler.

 

[vjm]

I think I would have made the connection if he used the "a little traveling music" phrase...then, I'd have said to myself, "where have I heard that before?"



Being a 5/8 viewer in the 80s, I don't have a lot of memory of specific people at WKYC in that time frame. There are main anchors I still can't name today - not names like Leon Bibb, of course, but I still don't actually remember watching Doreen Gentzler.

Doreen was there for a cup of coffee around '84-85.

The anchor desk at 3 in the 80's was a revolving door because WKYC was an NBC O&O up until 1990.

The network was essentially using TV 3 almost as a proving ground for up and coming news anchors to see if they could go on to bigger and better things (example - Al Roker).

Channel 3 never really had anchor stability until 1999, when the Tim White/Romona Robinson team first formed, and lasted until Dec 2008 when Romona went solo.

Here's a scary thought:

Cleveland's current longest running anchor team is...David Wittman/Denise Dufala on WOIO (2002-present)

 

[CleveFan]

I think I would have made the connection if he used the "a little traveling music" phrase...then, I'd have said to myself, "where have I heard that before?"



Being a 5/8 viewer in the 80s, I don't have a lot of memory of specific people at WKYC in that time frame. There are main anchors I still can't name today - not names like Leon Bibb, of course, but I still don't actually remember watching Doreen Gentzler.

Doreen was there for a cup of coffee around '84-85.

The anchor desk at 3 in the 80's was a revolving door because WKYC was an NBC O&O up until 1990.

The network was essentially using TV 3 almost as a proving ground for up and coming news anchors to see if they could go on to bigger and better things (example - Al Roker).

Channel 3 never really had anchor stability until 1999, when the Tim White/Romona Robinson team first formed, and lasted until Dec 2008 when Romona went solo.

Here's a scary thought:

Cleveland's current longest running anchor team is...David Wittman/Denise Dufala on WOIO (2002-present)

Doreen was at Channel 3 from 1983 until 1987. She was paired with Judd Hambrick, Leon Bibb, Dale Solly, and Bob McBride. She left after the station downplayed her role as an anchor, and left for Philadelphia at WCAU. She would soon leave that station for WRC, taking the anchor position that Robin Swoboda actually turned down.

Before she arrived, Doug Adair, Mona Scott and Dave Patterson were the weeknight anchors. Judd Hambrick came to the picture probably after Patterson left. Both Hambrick and Patterson came from 8 and 5 repectively. Neither made an impact on 3. A lot of people went from the competition to 3 and failed to help with their ratings in the 80's. After she left, it was Leon Bibb and Bob McBride until Jill Beach took over after McBride retired. It seemed like almost every year, 3 had a new anchor team.

I think Wittman and Dufala are the second current longest running anchor team in Cleveland. Bill Martin and Stacey Bell on WJW (2000-present) are the longest. They've been together for almost 11 years.

I will say that Wittman and Dufala are the longest running anchor team on WOIO since that station went through a lot of anchor changes very frequently since its newscasts' launch in 1995. Dufala went through four co-anchors (Emmett Miller, Gretchen Carlson, Kevin Coakley, and Jack Marshall) before being paired with Wittman.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

Oh, yes, I did forget (briefly) Doug and Mona. And of course, Al Roker. And I vaguely remember Dave Patterson and do remember Judd Hambrick.

But the others? I couldn't pick out Bob McBride and Jill Beach out of a lineup.

I do think Bill and Stacey get the nod as longest-serving anchor team.

 

[74WIXYGrad]

In those days, when I thought of credible sports anchors, the names Nev Chandler, Gib Shanley, and Jim Mueller came to mind before the Boot. Wayland was no more than comic relief and that would be a major step up for him. And if I remember the news articles correctly, he wasn't much of a model husband either.

 

[vjm]

To be fair, Jim Meuller was the weeknight guy on 3, with Wayland Boot doing weekends in the early 80's.

Then after some comings and goings, Jim Donovan finally took the reigns in '88-'89. and has been there ever since, and is now the undisputed dean of Cleveland TV sportscasters.

Before anybody says anything, I know John Telich has been at 8 for 30 years, but 95% of that time was spent as being the weekend guy/backup for first Casey Coleman and then Tony Rizzo.

 

[CleveFan]

To be fair, Jim Meuller was the weeknight guy on 3, with Wayland Boot doing weekends in the early 80's.

Then after some comings and goings, Jim Donovan finally took the reigns in '88-'89. and has been there ever since, and is now the undisputed dean of Cleveland TV sportscasters.

Before anybody says anything, I know John Telich has been at 8 for 30 years, but 95% of that time was spent as being the weekend guy/backup for first Casey Coleman and then Tony Rizzo.

Not to mention that John was also backup for Vince Celini when he was weekend anchor at WJW. In the early 80's, John and Casey shared weeknight sports duties until Casey became sole weeknight sports anchor in '84 or '85, while Vince stayed on weekends. It wasn't until '89 when Vince left for CNN and John became weekend sports anchor. Then in either the late 90's or early 2000's, John became part of "Tag Team Sports" with Tony Rizzo. That lasted until '04 or '05 when Tony became sole weeknight sports anchor and John, once again, became weekend sports anchor. Now, John is the only sports anchor period at WJW.

 

[Rusty Muck]

I think I would have made the connection if he used the "a little traveling music" phrase...then, I'd have said to myself, "where have I heard that before?"



Being a 5/8 viewer in the 80s, I don't have a lot of memory of specific people at WKYC in that time frame. There are main anchors I still can't name today - not names like Leon Bibb, of course, but I still don't actually remember watching Doreen Gentzler.

Doreen was there for a cup of coffee around '84-85.

The anchor desk at 3 in the 80's was a revolving door because WKYC was an NBC O&O up until 1990.

The network was essentially using TV 3 almost as a proving ground for up and coming news anchors to see if they could go on to bigger and better things (example - Al Roker).

Channel 3 never really had anchor stability until 1999, when the Tim White/Romona Robinson team first formed, and lasted until Dec 2008 when Romona went solo.

Here's a scary thought:

Cleveland's current longest running anchor team is...David Wittman/Denise Dufala on WOIO (2002-present)

Doreen was at Channel 3 from 1983 until 1987. She was paired with Judd Hambrick, Leon Bibb, Dale Solly, and Bob McBride. She left after the station downplayed her role as an anchor, and left for Philadelphia at WCAU. She would soon leave that station for WRC, taking the anchor position that Robin Swoboda actually turned down.

Before she arrived, Doug Adair, Mona Scott and Dave Patterson were the weeknight anchors. Judd Hambrick came to the picture probably after Patterson left. Both Hambrick and Patterson came from 8 and 5 repectively. Neither made an impact on 3. A lot of people went from the competition to 3 and failed to help with their ratings in the 80's. After she left, it was Leon Bibb and Bob McBride until Jill Beach took over after McBride retired. It seemed like almost every year, 3 had a new anchor team.

I think Wittman and Dufala are the second current longest running anchor team in Cleveland. Bill Martin and Stacey Bell on WJW (2000-present) are the longest. They've been together for almost 11 years.

I will say that Wittman and Dufala are the longest running anchor team on WOIO since that station went through a lot of anchor changes very frequently since its newscasts' launch in 1995. Dufala went through four co-anchors (Emmett Miller, Gretchen Carlson, Kevin Coakley, and Jack Marshall) before being paired with Wittman.

IMHO, either team can take credit.

Bill and Stacey have been teamed up since 2000, when Stacey succeeded Macie (McGinnis) Jepson, but originally did the 12noon and 5pm newscasts. They weren't promoted to the 10pm news until 2004 or so when the anchor lineups were rearranged, and Tim Taylor and Wilma Smith were assigned to only anchor the 6pm news (with Lou Maglio succeeding Tim upon his retirement).

Denise and David have anchored the 6pm and 11pm on Action 19 since late 2002.

 

[Rusty Muck]

To be fair, Jim Meuller was the weeknight guy on 3, with Wayland Boot doing weekends in the early 80's.

Then after some comings and goings, Jim Donovan finally took the reigns in '88-'89. and has been there ever since, and is now the undisputed dean of Cleveland TV sportscasters.

Before anybody says anything, I know John Telich has been at 8 for 30 years, but 95% of that time was spent as being the weekend guy/backup for first Casey Coleman and then Tony Rizzo.

Not to mention that John was also backup for Vince Celini when he was weekend anchor at WJW. In the early 80's, John and Casey shared weeknight sports duties until Casey became sole weeknight sports anchor in '84 or '85, while Vince stayed on weekends. It wasn't until '89 when Vince left for CNN and John became weekend sports anchor. Then in either the late 90's or early 2000's, John became part of "Tag Team Sports" with Tony Rizzo. That lasted until '04 or '05 when Tony became sole weeknight sports anchor and John, once again, became weekend sports anchor. Now, John is the only sports anchor period at WJW.

Wasn't J.T. even behind Mark Schoreder at one point?

For those who don't know, Mark was tapped by Virgil Dominic's successor, Bob Rowe, to replace Casey in weeknights in an infamous move back in 1996 (right after the station took the "Fox 8 News" brand). Eventually, Mark was demoted to weekends (and shortly thereafter left TV8) and Casey returned to the weeknight slot - in effect reuniting the Tim-Robin-Casey-Dick team for one last time - before Casey's contract wasn't renewed. That prompted Robin to leave (the second time), with Wilma Smith taking over for her in the 6pm slot.

 

[vjm]

To be fair, Jim Meuller was the weeknight guy on 3, with Wayland Boot doing weekends in the early 80's.

Then after some comings and goings, Jim Donovan finally took the reigns in '88-'89. and has been there ever since, and is now the undisputed dean of Cleveland TV sportscasters.

Before anybody says anything, I know John Telich has been at 8 for 30 years, but 95% of that time was spent as being the weekend guy/backup for first Casey Coleman and then Tony Rizzo.

Not to mention that John was also backup for Vince Celini when he was weekend anchor at WJW. In the early 80's, John and Casey shared weeknight sports duties until Casey became sole weeknight sports anchor in '84 or '85, while Vince stayed on weekends. It wasn't until '89 when Vince left for CNN and John became weekend sports anchor. Then in either the late 90's or early 2000's, John became part of "Tag Team Sports" with Tony Rizzo. That lasted until '04 or '05 when Tony became sole weeknight sports anchor and John, once again, became weekend sports anchor. Now, John is the only sports anchor period at WJW.

WJW's sports staff:

Sports Director/Weeknight Anchor - John Telich

If Telich is off during the week, Lou Maglio slides over to the sports anchor chair (he did the same thing at TV 5, where he was a utility man).

On weekends, news anchor Bill Sheil does the sports himself.

Web/tech guy Dan Jovic helps out on sports for high school football, and when something big goes down.

And semi-retired Dan Coughlin helps out with high school football (Rizz has even hinted he'll pop up on "Friday Night Touchdown" next season).

 

[Dave Sarnoff]

For those who don't know, Mark was tapped by Virgil Dominic's successor, Bob Rowe, to replace Casey in weeknights in an infamous move back in 1996 (right after the station took the "Fox 8 News" brand). Eventually, Mark was demoted to weekends (and shortly thereafter left TV8) and Casey returned to the weeknight slot - in effect reuniting the Tim-Robin-Casey-Dick team for one last time - before Casey's contract wasn't renewed. That prompted Robin to leave (the second time), with Wilma Smith taking over for her in the 6pm slot.

Sounds like a soap opera.