N
nate81
Guest
The PD finally ran a story today on WERE AM-1300's impending switch from brokered programming to urban talk, written by Julie E. Washington.
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainm...ase/entertainment/1133515841142760.xml&coll=2
Here it is (buried under, among other things, the ouster of Jim Meltzer from CC):
================================
New year, new format
WERE AM/1300 switches from paid programming to an "Urban Talk" format on Monday, Jan. 16.
The "Urban Talk" format will be heard from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and is geared toward black audiences, said David Bevins, general manager of Radio One Cleveland.
Radio One, the corporate parent of WERE, is still deciding on the schedule of shows that will be heard on Radio One stations carrying the "Urban Talk" format, he said.
The format switch includes a locally based morning show offering news, traffic, sports and weather to WERE listeners. The station is auditioning candidates, who can choose to host an hourlong practice session as part of their tryouts.
================================
Oddly, there is no mention of future hosts Rev. Al Sharpton (1p-4p) and Doug and Ryan Stewart (4p-7p) - aka the "2 Live Stews" - in the article. Only the 10a-1p slot is TBA.
But here's where it gets interesting...
I was scanning the dial shortly after reading the article, and ***just*** caught the last two minutes of an audition by Ronnie Duncan on WERE. Apparently, he hosted the 10:00AM hour, as WERE seems to be completely clearing out their schedule now.
Personally, I'd give Ronnie the edge. He has past on-air experience in the market on WOIO/WUAB and WKNR AM-1220 (the latter in late 1997, just before Jacor took over and installed Kendall Lewis in that same late morning slot).
(Oh, and the Howie Chizek comparison? Well, in the 1980's, Howie was once both a talk show host at WNIR FM-100.1 and PA announcer for the Cavaliers. The latter Ronnie took over starting this season...)
The thing I like is that WERE will actually have a LOCAL show in the morning. Even though the news, sports traffic and weather may come from Metro, this is a sign of confidence that Salem will never give to either WHK or WKNR...
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainm...ase/entertainment/1133515841142760.xml&coll=2
Here it is (buried under, among other things, the ouster of Jim Meltzer from CC):
================================
New year, new format
WERE AM/1300 switches from paid programming to an "Urban Talk" format on Monday, Jan. 16.
The "Urban Talk" format will be heard from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and is geared toward black audiences, said David Bevins, general manager of Radio One Cleveland.
Radio One, the corporate parent of WERE, is still deciding on the schedule of shows that will be heard on Radio One stations carrying the "Urban Talk" format, he said.
The format switch includes a locally based morning show offering news, traffic, sports and weather to WERE listeners. The station is auditioning candidates, who can choose to host an hourlong practice session as part of their tryouts.
================================
Oddly, there is no mention of future hosts Rev. Al Sharpton (1p-4p) and Doug and Ryan Stewart (4p-7p) - aka the "2 Live Stews" - in the article. Only the 10a-1p slot is TBA.
But here's where it gets interesting...
I was scanning the dial shortly after reading the article, and ***just*** caught the last two minutes of an audition by Ronnie Duncan on WERE. Apparently, he hosted the 10:00AM hour, as WERE seems to be completely clearing out their schedule now.
Personally, I'd give Ronnie the edge. He has past on-air experience in the market on WOIO/WUAB and WKNR AM-1220 (the latter in late 1997, just before Jacor took over and installed Kendall Lewis in that same late morning slot).
(Oh, and the Howie Chizek comparison? Well, in the 1980's, Howie was once both a talk show host at WNIR FM-100.1 and PA announcer for the Cavaliers. The latter Ronnie took over starting this season...)
The thing I like is that WERE will actually have a LOCAL show in the morning. Even though the news, sports traffic and weather may come from Metro, this is a sign of confidence that Salem will never give to either WHK or WKNR...