Every time someone comes along promising to provide Clevelanders with a fresh new radio voice geared to this area, things seem to go awry. 107.3 had an uneven two-year run before new owners pulled the adult alternative format off the air and reverted to “smooth” (e.g. wallpaper) music late last year. In May, Clear Channel debuted “99 X,” touted “Cleveland’s New Rock Alternative.” It’s stuck on an in-between frequency that’s hard to pull in and plays generic “alternative” hits.
Now “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” is set to become the latest station promising to shake things up with a hyper-local format that will “work to sound like Cleveland,” driven by a team of local personalities tuned into what’s happening on the streets. It’s handicapped by a signal so far down the dial it’s staring at the asses of local college radio stations (don’t confuse it with WJCU 88.7 FM, John Carroll’s respected campus station) and the fact that the analog signal is scheduled by the FCC for obsolescence in three years. But 88.7 Clevelanders Rock is forging ahead to launch later this summer.
There’s lots more to scratch your head over at Ohio Media Watch.
http://ohiomediawatch.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/the-87-7-bombshell/
The station is taking an irregular approach to finding its air talent team. Perhaps influenced by shows like American Idol and other reality TV shows, it’s holding a casting call for talent. “We’re looking for kick-ass, funky writers and comedians who will make us pee our pants laughing,” their promotional flyer says.
Anyone who thinks they’re something special is invited to show up at the Beachland Ballroom this Saturday, July 21, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and, in less than three minutes, convince them you’re “bigger than Trivisonno, edgier than Rover, more caustic than Lannigan [sic].” You don’t need to sign up or register — just show up.
“Yes, you can bring some of your peeps,” they advertise, because every lame routine sounds great when a bunch of your friends are cheering madly.
“You could be the next Howard,” they promise.
Just don’t expect a paycheck like Howard’s.
This article appears in Jul 11-17, 2012.
How about someone that can program GOOD radio with a local hook…Or is THAT too much to ask??
Play some decent music for ‘effs sake…Thats all we ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually a great idea…I only wish I were forty years younger! Raw talent can be a good thing – isn’t that the way Mike Trivisano broke into broadcasting? As for myself, along with my production and newsroom duties, I wrote radio spots for WERE NewsRadio 1300 and WGCL 98.5 FM back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Before that I did radio news documentaries on such diverse topics such as Child Abuse, Stress and History of Christmas to name a few. We really need fresh humor in Northeast Ohio – and young minds will provide it…glad to see the new FM station is looking for talent with a sense of humor – the crazier the better!-) Oh, and if you like humor, check out the comic panels I do on Mall 727!-)
Meh, shock jockeying just produces more people with anger-management issues. Have someone who is knowledgeable about music and can educate plus have a good repartee with the audience. Why does everything has to be bombastic to be deemed sell-able?
I got excited when I thought you were looking for actual DJs, not talkers. The reason no one listens to commercial radio any more is because the few stations that actually play music have thirty-song playlists. If you go the same route, you are doomed to fail.
how about you proof read your article first:
Now “87.7 Clevelanders Rock” is set to become the latest station promising to shake things up with a hyper-local format that will “work to sound like Cleveland,” driven by a team of local personalities tuned into what’s happening on the streets. It’s handicapped by a signal so far down the dial it’s staring at the asses of local college radio stations (don’t confuse it with WJCU 88.7 FM, John Carroll’s respected campus station) and the fact that the analog signal is scheduled by the FCC for obsolescence in three years. But 88.7 Clevelanders Rock is forging ahead to launch later this summer.
and using sterns picture in this article is way too funny..nobody is kidding anybody here.there will NEVER EVER be anybody as successful as stern has and still is in radio..EVER…
So you want something Cleveland by copying everything that is already in place… Thats so Cleveland
Chicagoland has so many stations that you can’t move two clicks without hitting the next one. I am always shocked when I come home. Hope is the beginning of something good.
ohhhhh…how i wish 107.9 THE END was still alive and kickin
I’m sure that the late night talk show slot will go to an attractive girl that coincidentally slept with each member of the interviewing panel.
That NO ONE within the station’s brain trust is able to spell John Lanigan’s name correctly really should tell you a lot. Good grief.
I feel for those who are going to the audition thinking that this sorry stunt is their shot at ‘the big time.’ Add to that the crappy economy and downward trajectory of the broadcasting industry as a whole, and it’s an even more cruel scam.
Actually that does bring up an interesting story. While I was an overnight board operator at WERE NewsRadio 1300 (among my other duties in the newsroom), we had an overnight female board operator who naturally kept things going at WGCL 98.5 FM – I forget her name (that’s okay, the story is not meant to embarrass her anyway), but she was a nice young lady nevertheless. I got a call from her on the inside phone lines where she was crying and asking for help! Huh, what??? Seems she went out on a date with Gary Dee and they went drinking at the Silver Fox in Lakewood. It was sort of a nightclub – and from what she told me, gambling went on in a back room at the night spot. In any case, Gary Dee Gilbert was pretty well plowed by the time he dropped the young overnight board operator at WGCL 98.5 studios. First, Gary Dee was a mean drunk! Hey, even when he wasn’t drinking he could get nasty! At the time he wasn’t quite divorced yet from Liz Richards of Morning Exchange. Trust me, Gary Dee was as nasty off the air as he was on! In any case, she was frightened and scared and crying as she was talking to me asking for help! To be honest, I already had my hands full running board on the Larry King Show and editing tape for morning drive then deal with her problems…however I’m generally a soft-hearted guy and here was a damsel in distress. Seems Gary Dee has passed out cold on the sofa outside GCC Communications owner George Oliva II’s office. The date with Gary Dee had gone bad and she was scared that if Program Director or George Oliva himself saw Gary Dee passed out dead drunk on the sofa, she’d have hell to pay – including losing her job. I tried to explain to her that Gary Dee and I were not on good terms with each other at that moment so things might get a little worse. However she just cried louder and I figured I might as well ’bite the bullet’ and help her out. Sure enough when I got down there Gary Dee was passed out smelling like a distillery! I told her before to play along with me in the element of surprise. I shook Gary awake and told him he’d better get out of here – PD Travis was coming in early and he’d better not be found passed-out! Thankfully in his state he got freaked and ran out the door putting his pants on and jumping into his gold ’Ed Mullinax’ Ford LTD driving like a bat out of hell from the East 15th side street. I told the WGCL board operator this was a ’one-time’ deal and if she ever had problems getting rid of Gary Dee again, she was on her own! A few weeks prior, Gary Dee issued his epitaphs at me for what he called, talking Liz Richards into buying a Mercedes Benz!-) I didn’t talk Liz into nothing, she asked me what kind of car she should buy at a station Christmas Party and I said Mercedes Benz might be worth a look! Geez, what was I supposed to say, that Liz would look good in a Ford Pinto? Yeah, right! In any case, Liz asked me to go down to the Mercedes Benz dealership in Lakewood to pick-up some brochures for her…I did, and a few weeks later Liz told me she got the Mercedes! That’s what pissed Gary Dee off – and why he ripped me a new one in the newsroom a few days later!-) Hey, how was I to know he was stuck with a sponsor’s Ford LTD while his wife was driving a Benz!-)
So theyre trying to get lucky and find the next big radio person, but of course they want to sign them on the cheap.
Let’s hope this means no generic rock like Nickelback or Limp Bizkit on our alternative stations.
After an extensive search, the radio station decided to go with silence. Listeners quickly rewarded the station by giving it the best ratings in Cleveland.