The Dispatch sale is now official: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/15/columbus-dispatch-sale-finalized-sold-for-1m-more.html

 

GateHouse Media LLC, closed the deal that was announced June 3 to acquire the newspaper, its magazines, weekly newspapers and three buildings for $47 million.  This sale price was only $1 million more than what New Media - the GateHouse parent company - spent on its Providence Journal purchase last year.  That paper has a Sunday circulation of 96,248, while the Dispatch's Sunday circulation is 221,548.

 

Which is why many analysts are saying that the Wolfe family likely left millions on table in waiting to sell the Dispatch:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/06/dispatch-sale-wolfes-likely-left-millions-on-table.html

 

Newspaper industry analysts quoted in the above linked article estimate the Dispatch may have been worth $500 million at the industry's peak valuation in the late 1990's.  Plus the story of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is indicative of the plunge in newspaper value.  In 2000, the Star Tribune sold for $1.2 billion - it sold again in 2006 for $520 million - and sold again in 2014 for $100 million!

The new owners of the Dispatch have said they will wait al least 90 days before announcing any layoffs.  But one big departure was announced less than a week after the change of ownership.  The paper's editor since 1999, Ben Marrison, announced he was leaving the Dispatch.  Marrison said he was leaving by his own choice and not being forced out by the new owners.  His final day as editor was last Friday.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/17/columbus-dispatch-editor-ben-marrison-resigns.html

Local independently owned radio station WWCD 102.5 has started a crowdfunding campaign to purchase its signal tower or finance a future lease.  More information about this at http://cd1025.com/invest

 

According to http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/07/07/station-survival.html - WWCD is offering donors various perks in exchange for their cash.  At the low end, a donor who pledges $75 will get to select a set of three songs to play on the air.  At the high end, donors who pledge $5,000 will own a “founders box” in the “Big Room Bar” at the station’s headquarters in the old Swiss Chalet Party Haus, 1036 S. Front St., where “you’ll always have seats.”

 

Also according to the above linked Dispatch article, in the first two hours of the campaign, the station raised more than $20,000.  If the campaign is successful, it would be the largest crowdfunding campaign in Ohio and the largest nationally for an intangible product, according to Indiegogo.  The WWCD crowdfunding campaign will run until Sept. 3.

More from Business First about the WWCD crowdfunding campaign:

 

Columbus radio station to launch crowdfunding campaign to buy tower

By Nick Ramsey, Columbus Business First

June 15, 2015, 5:24pm EDT

 

After 25 years of playing “music you won’t hear on any other station,” locally owned and operated CD102.5 is asking for the help of its listeners.  The alternative station on July 6 will launch a crowdfunding campaign on the website Indiegogo so it can either buy the radio tower that beams out its signal or finance a future lease.

 

The station for years was known as CD 101.  But in 2010 it sold the 101.1 signal and tower to WOSU Public Media.  It then migrated to the stronger 102.5 signal in a lease with Southeastern Ohio Broadcasting System Inc.  That lease, which expires next year, required the station to pay $1.04 million from 2011 to 2016.  However, because of the way the lease was structured, monthly payments have increased each year.  In 2011, it paid $12,000 a month.  That figure jumps to $25,000 a month in 2016.

 

The crowdfunding campaign, which is targeted for $1 million initially and has a longer-term goal of $5 million, would give the station funding try to buy the radio tower.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/15/columbus-radio-station-to-launch-crowdfunding.html

Support CD 102.5 -- it's a local, independent asset in a conglomerate world, and a welcome and reliable presence at all sorts of community events. And the ice cream freebies it dishes out at many events also is local: Velvet Ice Cream of Utica, Ohio. The folks at WWCD are truly local-minded!

GateHouse offers buyouts at The Columbus Dispatch. My advice: Run for the door if you can. http://t.co/yitiq48EOp

 

@ChrisCinciBiz: Dispatch Interim Editor "Miller began the meeting by admonishing employees for talking to competing newspapers about changes at the paper."

 

@ChrisCinciBiz: Guess what, dude. Youre the news now. People are going to hold you accountable for the gutting thats about to happen.

 

@ChrisCinciBiz: If the Dispatch wants to get out in front of its staff members' leaking, maybe write a story about what's happening.

Columbus Dispatch offers employee buyouts, sets January move to Broad Street

By Tom Knox, Reporter

Columbus Business First - July 31, 2015, 1:02pm EDT

 

Columbus Dispatch leaders asked staff contemplating retirement or other jobs to consider taking buyouts as its new owner prepares to reduce costs at the newspaper.  During an hour-long meeting Thursday, executives also touched on the newsroom's upcoming move, the fate of the landmark Dispatch sign downtown and other issues, sources have told Columbus Business First.

 

Interim Editor Alan Miller and interim Publisher Jim Hopson gave employees the severance option during the afternoon gathering in a second-floor conference room.  They encouraged workers thinking about leaving the paper – through retirement or otherwise – to talk to managers about accepting a buyout to save others' jobs.  Severance packages would be based on years spent working at the newspaper.

 

Cutbacks, if needed, would begin in September, the executives said, which is consistent with the three-month window that New Media Investment Group Inc. had said would be needed to evaluate staffing needs.  The executives did not give staff an idea of how many jobs are at stake.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/07/31/columbus-dispatch-offers-employee-buyouts-sets.html

New Dispatch owners have named interim editor Alan Miller as their new editor:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/11/columbus-dispatch-names-alan-miller-editor.html

Business First keeps getting behind-the-scenes details of the changing Columbus Dispatch (with the assistance from some of the Dispatch employees).  Next up is the employee severance package being offered:

 

Here's what the Columbus Dispatch is offering employees who take buyouts

By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: Aug. 12, 2015, 1:52pm EDT

 

The Columbus Dispatch is detailing terms of the severance package it's offering newsroom employees who take buyouts, and has scheduled a meeting to discuss it Wednesday afternoon.  Full-time workers – except those on the copy desk and in the art department – can get three days' worth of base pay for each year employed at the newspaper, capped at 26 weeks, according to an email Editor Alan Miller sent to employees Tuesday evening and obtained by Columbus Business First.

(. . . )

Miller did not say why copy desk and art employees are not included in the offer, but GateHouse Media, the publishing arm of New Media, has a large, centralized art and editing complex in Austin, Texas, that handles much of that work for its vast portfolio of newspapers.  It's one of the ways the chain saves money.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/12/columbus-dispatch-sets-severance-offer-for.html

The new owners of the Dispatch are bringing back a veteran journalist from Columbus Monthly's past to run its magazines.  Ray Paprocki was named publisher and general manager of Dispatch magazines - which include Columbus Monthly and Columbus CEO magazines plus the weekly Alive! free tabloid paper.  Paprocki worked at Columbus Monthly from 1985 to 2012 and was its editor for seven years.  Since leaving in 2012, Paprocki has been in Florida publishing multiple magazines for Open Sky Media.

 

Paprocki is an interesting selection because he comes from an era when Columbus Monthly was a competitor to the Wolfe-owned Dispatch.  Back then Columbus Monthly would occasionally offer critical stories on Wolfe interests and started a ranking of the city's "Titans".  Personally, I hope he brings that back - as well as the year-in-review issue that featured both "gone-but-not-forgotten" listings and "forgotten-but-not-gone" listings.

 

More about this:

 

- MORNING ROUNDUP: RAY PAPROCKI TO LEAD DISPATCH MAGAZINES:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2015/08/morning-roundup-ray-paprocki-to-lead-dispatch.html

 

- DISPATCH MEDIA GROUP NAMES RAY PAPROCKI MAGAZINE DIVISION PUBLISHER:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/columbus-dispatch-print-publications-sold/page/5/#post-1088913

Columbus Monthly was indeed really cool when it wasn't just restaurants and home improvement. They were one of the few ways at the time to learn our city's many secrets.

A reporter friend at the Dispatch says there have been many buy-outs happening at the Dispatch and they expect a round of lay-offs to come. Lots of the editing staff have disappeared. Their staff may be cut in half when it is all said and done.

 

This happened at my former employer (Sun Newspapers in Cleveland) when a billionaire/media conglomerate bought us out. All that was left were cub reporters fresh out of J-school who lacked the experience or balls to write hard-hitting journalistic news stories. All they did was re-write press releases. Very sad and scary -- part of the mission to make America more of a corpocracy.

 

More about the job cuts at the Dispatch from Business First (excerpt below).  The Dispatch also posted an announcement on its website about the job cuts: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2015/dispatch-news.html

 

Columbus Dispatch cutting 63 jobs, with more on the way

By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: Sept. 17, 2015, 2:25pm EDT

 

The Columbus Dispatch is cutting 63 jobs, three months after the newspaper and related holdings became part of GateHouse Media.  The paper posted an announcement on its website Thursday about changes at the newspaper, its magazines and its Capitol Square offices.  It did not provide details, but acknowledged that some employees were losing their jobs.

 

Sources inside the Dispatch put the number at 63 staffers affected.  Those subject to "job reduction notices," as the newspaper called them, will receive severance pay and job-search assistance.  The company has about 1,100 employees.

 

The job cuts are hitting at several Dispatch departments, including its ThisWeek community newspaper group, circulation and magazines, sources said.  The Dispatch said no newsroom employees were immediately losing their jobs.  Several senior Dispatch newsroom staffers, though, accepted a buyout offer GateHouse proposed last month.  Those employees will work into the beginning of October, newsroom sources said.  Some other newsroom positions have remained unfilled or reporters have left for other jobs.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/09/17/columbus-dispatch-cutting-63-jobs-with-more-on-the.html

 

Another causality of the Dispatch sale is Capital Style Magazine:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/09/16/dispatch-owner-shuts-down-capital-style-magazine.html

 

CU posted an email that was sent to Capital Style subscribers a week ago:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/dispatch-kills-off-capital-style-magainze  --  That email is worth a quick read.  If only for this sentence: "We are excited to inform you that the very best elements of Capital Style will soon be moving into Columbus Monthly magazine – the city’s premier magazine for more than four decades."

 

Bad for Capital Style subscribers, but (maybe) good for Columbus Monthly subscribers?  Although, CS subscribers with issues remaining will apparently get an equivalent numbers of CM issues credited to their account.  Luckily, I'm a CM subscriber and don't subscribe to CS.

CD102.5 seeks other options for buying tower as crowdfunding campaign winds down

By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

Aug. 27, 2015, 2:08pm EDT

 

CD102.5 still has a year and a half to find a way to buy the broadcasting license for the independent radio station's frequency, unless it gets a final-week surge in its crowdfunding campaign.  The Columbus station has raised about $157,000 from more than 1,900 donors on the website Indiegogo, or 16 percent of its $1 million goal with nine days left.  Unlike other crowdfunding sites, Indiegogo allows campaigns to keep pledges even if they don't make goal, after taking out a 5 percent cut and any expenses for fulfilling perks to donors.

 

“We’ll fall a wee bit short,” said an upbeat Randy Malloy, owner and general manager. “The Indiegogo campaign, the minute we did it, was a success – because we did it,” he told me. “We’ve had 2,000 people donate and that’s a pretty substantial amount of people. It’s given us a lot of insight.”

 

Under previous ownership, the former CD101 sold the 101.1 signal and tower in 2010 to WOSU Public Media.  Since then it has leased rights to the stronger signal on the 102.5 frequency from Southeastern Ohio Broadcasting System Inc.  Lease payments started at $12,000 monthly and escalate, so next year they hit an unsustainable $25,000.  The station is trying to raise $1 million to $5 million to buy outright the Federal Communications Commission license to 102.5.  Malloy said he's exploring multiple options, including turning to investors.

( . . . )

Since moving to the former Swiss Club in the Brewery District four years ago, the station has also supported itself with an independent events business, hosting weddings and parties in its Big Room above the studio (which the station uses for live broadcasts of intimate concerts).  On Aug. 21, the station's 25th anniversary, Malloy opened the Big Room Bar inside the space, finally fully utilizing the building's restaurant kitchen. (More on that in a separate story.) If the operation is profitable, that too can support the station.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/08/27/cd102-5-seeks-other-options-for-buying-tower.html

 

More about CD102.5's Big Room Bar that opened at their Brewery District location, along with a photo-tour:

 

Here's why CD102.5 has opened the Big Room Bar – PHOTOS

By Carrie Ghose, Staff Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: Aug. 30, 2015, 5:44pm EDT

 

They call it a "bar with a radio problem."  Columbus-based CD102.5 opened Big Room Bar and restaurant inside its Brewery District headquarters one week ago on the independent radio station's 25th anniversary.  Lunch crowds have been pretty steady, station owner and general manager Randy Malloy told me.

( . . .)

The station has hosted and broadcast concerts from the Big Room and rented the space for weddings and events since moving four years ago to the former Columbus Swiss Club, 1036 S. Front Street.  “It sat empty most of the time,” Malloy said. “It had a giant kitchen that was fully functional. We said, let’s utilize it properly.”

 

Planning for a full kitchen and bar took a year, he said.  Malloy did not use station proceeds to fund the opening, instead cashing out his personal retirement accounts.  The cooks, and one of the bar's investors, come to Big Room from the former Betty's Fine Food & Spirits and Surly Girl Saloon, which had been Short North stalwarts of restaurateur Liz Lessner's Columbus Food League before closing over the past two years.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/08/heres-why-cd102-5-has-opened-the-big-room-bar.html

It was reported earlier that Ray Paprocki, Columbus Monthly veteran who left in 2012, was returning to lead that Dispatch-owned magazine under the new Dispatch ownership.  Now Business First is reporting that other Columbus Monthly veterans, as well as some veterans of The Other Paper, will be given leadership positions at Columbus Monthly.  Among others (noted in the full article at the link below) are the following:

• Eric Lyttle named editor of Columbus Monthly - he was a former editor of The Other Paper and most recently a reporter for the Dispatch.

• Dave Ghose named senior editor of Columbus Monthly.  Ghose is husband of Business First reporter Carrie Ghose and was a staff writer and editor of Business First from 2002 to 2012.

• Current editor of Columbus Monthly, Kristen Schmidt will become editor of Columbus Alive.

---

Former Columbus Monthly, Other Paper staffers taking lead at Dispatch magazines

By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: Sept. 23, 2015, 7:48am EDT

 

The Columbus Dispatch has named new leaders and staffers for its magazines as more changes come under new ownership.

 

The magazine division's new leadership includes several former staffers of CM Media Inc., the company founded by Max Brown, long-time owner of Columbus Monthly, the Other Paper, Columbus CEO and other specialty titles.  The Dispatch bought the group in 2011 from American Community Newspapers, which acquired it from the Brown family in 2007.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/09/former-columbus-monthly-other-paper-staffers.html

And much more about the changes to the Columbus Dispatch from Business First's reporting on the new Dispatch publisher and editor sitting down with the Columbus Metropolitan Club forum earlier this week:

 

What's next at the Columbus Dispatch: 20+ newsroom job cuts, new publisher, changing editorial page, less philanthropy

By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: Sept. 24, 2015, 9:32pm EDT

 

The Columbus Dispatch will be getting a new publisher within a month, while losing more than 20 newsroom staffers in January, Dispatch management said Thursday during a wide-ranging Columbus Metropolitan Club forum.

 

What's not changing?  The newspaper will continue to be published and delivered to subscribers' homes every day of the week for at least a decade, interim Publisher Jim Hopson said.

 

The gathering was the first time Hopson and Dispatch Editor Alan Miller have talked publicly about the ongoing changes and those set to come at the newspaper.  Hopson has led the Dispatch since newspaper holding company New Media Investment Group bought the paper and related assets in June for $47 million.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/09/24/whats-next-at-the-columbus-dispatch-20-newsroom.html

And the full Columbus Metropolitan Club forum video posted at YouTube:

 

The Dispatch gets its new publisher:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/10/15/columbus-dispatch-gets-new-publisher.html

Long-time NBC4 anchor Cabot Rea is retiring in December after 30 years with the station.  Here's the announcement from the man himself and brief video of his early years at NBC4:  http://nbc4i.com/2015/10/14/30-years-with-cabot-rea/

 

Business First reports in their morning roundup:  "A long-time anchor at NBC4 is calling it quits. WCMH-TV reports Cabot Rea is retiring in December after 30 years with the station. “The station took a chance on a music teacher from Newark and the years have been wonderful,” he said. "I have been blessed to be able to raise my family here in this great city while getting out an about and meeting so many friends.” His last broadcast will be Dec. 18.

 

More from The Dispatch: Longtime WCMH anchor Cabot Rea says he'll retire in December

Local radio station WLVQ-FM to be sold

WSNY-FM owner Saga Communications is buyer

By Tim Feran, The Columbus Dispatch

Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - 12:28 PM

 

WSNY (94.7 FM) owner Saga Communications plans to buy WLVQ (96.3 FM) from Wilks Broadcast Group, subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission.  Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

 

WLVQ’s classic rock format will not change, said Edward K. Christian, Saga’s president and CEO, in a statement.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2015/11/04/radio-station-sold.html

Dispatch prints last issue of Columbus Crave

 

The Columbus Dispatch's food magazine is no more.  With the demise of Columbus Crave, dining coverage will be included in the pages of Columbus Monthly, Editor Beth Stallings said in a note to readers in the final issue.

 

Crave's demise follows the end of sister publication Capital Style.  Both were among niche magazines published by the Columbus Dispatch group.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/10/dispatch-prints-last-issue-of-columbus-crave.html

Mike Jackson to take over evening anchor duties at WCMH

By Ken Gordon, The Columbus Dispatch

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 - 5:28 PM

 

Starting Monday, WCMH-TV (Channel 4) morning anchor Mike Jackson will move to the evening anchor position alongside Colleen Marshall, station officials announced Tuesday.  Jackson replaces Cabot Rea, who retired in December after 30 years at the station, including 23 as co-anchor with Marshall.

 

Also, Matt Barnes will move from his weekend sports anchor role into Jackson’s previous spot on the weekday morning and mid-day shows.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2016/01/05/0105-mike-jackson-channel-4.html

The Dispatch editor (and former writer of The Old House Handyman column) writes about their office move to 62 E. Broad Street:

 

-- http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/insight/2016/01/10/01-dispatch-ready-to-write-new-chapters.html

 

-- http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2016/01/10/1-dispatch-on-the-move-to-historic-quarters.html

 

Slideshow review of the five downtown locations the Dispatch has called home over its 145-year history:  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/insight/2016/01/17/01-on-the-move.html

NBC4 parent Media General bought for $4.6B:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/01/27/nbc4-parent-media-general-bought-for-4-6b.html

 

WCMH owner Media General being bought by rival TV station operator Nexstar:  http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2016/01/27/0127-ch-4-parent-sold.html

Columbus Metropolitan Club moving forums to the Boat House at Confluence Park

By Doug Buchanan, Managing editor-digital

Columbus Business First - March 2, 2016, 12:26pm EST

 

The Columbus Metropolitan Club is taking its weekly public policy forums to a new gathering place.  The organization is leaving its long-time home at the Athletic Club of Columbus downtown in favor of the Boat House at Confluence Park beginning in April.  “We’re very pleased with our new home and its panoramic view of the Columbus skyline as well as the vibrant new life being built along the downtown riverfront,” CEO Jane Scott said in a press release.

 

As regular attendees can attest, it's sometimes difficult to fit everyone in at the Athletic Club for popular forums.  CMC said average attendance has grown from 110 in 2003 to 175 this year, with several bringing in crowds of 350 or more.

 

"We’ve outgrown the space at the Athletic Club when we go over 200 for a forum presentation.”  Scott said in the release.  Scott said that the CMC has been at the Athletic Club for about 20 years, but has moved some of its larger forums to downtown hotels over the years.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/03/02/columbus-metropolitan-club-moving-forums-to.html

CU is turning 15!

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/editorial-a-reintroduction-to-columbus-underground

CU is turning 15!

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/editorial-a-reintroduction-to-columbus-underground

 

And closing down their messageboard:  http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums-closed

 

I can understand their reasons for closing down the CU Messageboard - and discussion will still continue in their article comments section and at their Facebook and Twitter sites.  But this is still kind of a bummer!  The CU Messageboard has been a lively source of entertainment and information for Columbus issues.

That's a shame.  It was a wonderful messageboard.

The reasoning given in the announcement didn't seem convincing.  If it truly was slowing down the performance of the rest of their server or costing them more than 10-20$ a month to hold on to archives then they were doing it wrong.  There are so many options to deal with a situation like that.  Maybe they don't know their options as far as services they can utilize or maybe there are other motivations, but taking away the mainstay of interaction on that site seems shortsighted.  Granted, I don't see their metrics so hopefully they know better. 

Even though message boards aren't as active as say, 10 years ago, I don't quite understand the decision.  It shouldn't be that expensive for them and if it was an issue, just delete all posts from 5+ years ago.  For website that wants to "connect" Columbus residents and visitors to the best Cbus has to offer, it seems like they are eliminating their best platform to do just that.

 

Perhaps like the messageboards, CU has outlived its useful life.  They aren't really doing anything unique from a local journalism perspective (mostly just puff pieces on local projects, restaurants, etc.) and with facebook events and other social media, their event calendar isn't entirely unique anymore.  I'm not sure what I'm getting from CU now that I can't just get elsewhere.  The messageboard had been a place I could discuss and interact with other people about all things Columbus.  That's why I decided to register here :)

Welcome!

Columbus Dispatch employees again offered job buyouts

By Tom Knox, Reporter - Columbus Business First

Updated: August 16, 2016, 5:47pm EDT

 

Columbus Dispatch employees are again facing decisions about their futures with the newspaper as its parent company embarks on another round of job cuts.  GateHouse Media, which bought the Dispatch in June 2015 and owns hundreds of newspapers nationwide, sent employees a letter Tuesday giving them until Aug. 29 to voluntarily accept a severance offer.  If not enough employees leave companywide, GateHouse said, dismissals could be next.

( . . . )

It’s been a tumultuous 14 months at the Dispatch after years of relative stability in a publishing industry that's been ravaged in recent years by declining readership and advertising revenue.  The Wolfe family of Columbus sold the paper, real estate and niche publications for $47 million to GateHouse’s holding company, New Media Investment Corp.

 

Shortly afterward Editor Ben Marrison departed the Dispatch, much of the paper's copy and design work was outsourced to Texas, and the paper was hit with a round of buyouts.  This winter the Dispatch moved from its home at 34 S. Third St. to smaller offices at 62 E. Broad Street.  Former publisher John F. Wolfe died in June.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/08/16/columbus-dispatch-employees-again-offered-job.html

Columbus Business First did a feature about a number of OSU sports websites and how their rise is starting to cut into the Dispatch's market dominance.  Plus Eleven Warriors did a nice tweak of the iconic Dispatch sign for to celebrate their 10th anniversary:

 

Business First:  Eleven Warriors, Land-Grant and other websites shaking up Buckeyes football coverage

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/09/12/dispatch-wont-face-layoffs-as-enough-take-buyouts.html

An interesting look at the former owner of The Columbus Dispatch and what his recent death might mean for his influential family, the City of Columbus and the Central Ohio region.  Or as Columbus Monthly puts it: "The June death of John F. Wolfe closes a chapter, and maybe the book, on the most powerful family in Columbus history. What happens next?"

 

Columbus Monthly:  Life after John F. Wolfe

 

CU celebrates 15 years on the web:

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/editorial-columbus-underground-celebrates-15-years

^I'm so happy to see the success of ColumbusUnderground.  It shows that city-life IS appealing to many folks.

Reminds me of the old days of the site when it was dance music oriented and my one buddy called it Columbus Digital Underground.

The owner of several of the most popular radio stations in Central Ohio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday as part of a deal with creditors to restructure its debt.  The filing by iHeartMedia, which owns WCOL, WNCI, WTVN and four other stations in the market, was not unexpected.  The largest owner of U.S. radio stations, iHeart has struggled to pay its $20 billion debt.

 

The company’s seven radio stations in Columbus are WTVN (610 AM), WCOL (92.3 FM), WODC (93.3 FM), WNCI (97.9 FM), WYTS (105.3 FM), WXZX (105.7 FM) and WZCB (106.7 FM):

 

http://www.dispatch.com/business/20180315/wcol-wnci-owner-iheart-files-for-bankruptcy

http://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20180524/wcbe-fundraiser-to-address-budget-shortfall

 

National Public Radio affiliate WCBE (90.5 FM) just finished a 24-hour fundraiser to make up a funding shortfall for the station.  WCBE’s annual spring fundraiser came up $275,000 short of its goal - a shortfall that represents about 20 percent of WCBE’s annual budget almost $1.3 million — enough that the station described it as a “monumental and serious challenge” in a news release.

 

WCBE began airing in 1956 and is owned by Columbus City Schools (its call letters stand for Columbus Board of Education).  In the above linked article, the Dispatch reports that WCBE gets about 10 percent of its funding from government sources - about $100,000 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $30,000 from the state - while the rest must come from grants and listeners.

 

Columbus has two NPR affiliate radio stations.  The other is WOSU (89.7 FM) which began airing in 1920 on the AM dial and moved to 89.7 FM in 2010.  It is owned by Ohio State University.  The article stated that the two radio stations owned by the university - WOSU 89.7 and Classical 101 at 101.1 FM - plus WOSU-TV (Channel 34) have a combined budget of about $14 million. 

 

OSU provides about 12 percent of that $14 million budget, while grants, corporate sponsors and planned giving make up a sizable portion of the remainder.  The article didn't break out the funding solely for the NPR-affiliate 89.7 station - but the station's general manager did state “we’re in very good financial shape”.

Chris Bradley has been the chief meteorologist for WBNS-TV (Channel 10) since 2006.  He has also been battling acute myeloid leukemia since March 2017.  On Sunday night he announced that his leukemia treatment has reached its end and he will enter hospice care:

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20181118/chris-bradley-ending-treatment-entering-hospice-care

 

https://www.columbusnavigator.com/chris-bradley-not-seeking-treatment-cancer/

https://marketshare.tvnewscheck.com/2018/12/07/columbus-3-tv-stations-unite-honor-chris-bradley/

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/10tv-nbc4-abc6-come-together-in-honor-of-chris-bradley/1642008847

https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/10tv-nbc4-abc6-come-together-in-honor-of-chris-bradley

https://www.10tv.com/article/remembering-chris-bradley-leave-your-condolences-family

 

10TV (WBNS) and NBC4 (WCMH) and ABC6 (WSYX) are coming together to honor the life of Chris Bradley.  All 3 broadcasters are partnering with Be The Match to air a special raising awareness for bone marrow donation and remembering friend and colleague Chris Bradley.  On Monday, December 10 - from 5PM to 7:30PM - 10TV, NBC4, and ABC6 will air “Standing with Chris” an evening of programming promoting the importance of bone marrow donation and show Central Ohio viewers how they can help save lives.  Each station’s viewers will be able to call in to speak with Be The Match volunteers.

This might be slightly off topic but does anyone know where to get back issues/archives of The Other Paper, Columbus Monthly, Alive! et cetera. Looking up anything historical online has actually turned in to a maddening process. Maybe it's true that "everything" is online...but if so, that's just the problem - everything's online! If you can't find something then it may as well not exist. I was trying to look up an address for an old club tonight (Not Al's Rockers, if you must know) and can find out absolutely nothing about that place. Although it did lead me here, so I suppose that's something. Anyway...any information about old magazines, newspapers, and other resources would be appreciated. I will pay for them if necessary.

it was the first address on the north sode of E9th if memory serves me correctly, before the scourge of Campus Partners urban renewal

 

EDIT:  That was Not Al’s pub.  Rockers was on High Street.  Now I want to know

Edited December 15, 20186 yr by punch

On 1/8/2016 at 11:13 AM, Columbo said:

Mike Jackson to take over evening anchor duties at WCMH

By Ken Gordon, The Columbus Dispatch

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 - 5:28 PM

 

Starting Monday, WCMH-TV (Channel 4) morning anchor Mike Jackson will move to the evening anchor position alongside Colleen Marshall, station officials announced Tuesday.  Jackson replaces Cabot Rea, who retired in December after 30 years at the station, including 23 as co-anchor with Marshall.

 

Also, Matt Barnes will move from his weekend sports anchor role into Jackson’s previous spot on the weekday morning and mid-day shows.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2016/01/05/0105-mike-jackson-channel-4.html

 

 

https://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20190118/nbc4-anchor-mike-jackson-recovering-from-stroke

 

https://www.nbc4i.com/get-well-mike

 

Mike Jackson suffered a stroke last week, but is on the road to recovery according to the local NBC station.  I was surprised to hear that Jackson is 62 (he doesn't look that old).  Although he is said to be recovering, we haven't heard from him yet and NBC4 did not indicate when Jackson plans to return to work.  Which is too bad, he's one of the best anchors on the local news.

Not sure if any of the Central Ohio posters have noticed, but WCBE 90.5 is in big trouble. Their program director has been suspended, with pay, and told to keep out of Ft. Hayes. The Columbus City School Board (who owns the radio licence to 'CBE) was notified last week that the station owes National Public Radio over $800,000 in back fees. Considering that 'CBE's fundraising came up $275,000 short (IOW their revenue didn't match their costs) and that Columbus City Schools don't really fund the station anymore (and haven't in 20 years). Things could be bleak for the station.

Columbus Business Journal article on the situation: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/01/wcbe-struggling-with-large-debt-to-npr-stations-gm.html?fbclid=IwAR1QvlnFKepqLTMCgFcsJzRiyjtUR9V0uiNGMoVBy9nYAEJTdvZlvpdrs4c
Columbus Dispatch chiming in after the fact: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190204/nonprofit-offers-to-pay-off-wcbe-debt-take-over-npr-stations-operations

On 2/5/2019 at 10:46 AM, Magyar said:

Not sure if any of the Central Ohio posters have noticed, but WCBE 90.5 is in big trouble. Their program director has been suspended, with pay, and told to keep out of Ft. Hayes. The Columbus City School Board (who owns the radio licence to 'CBE) was notified last week that the station owes National Public Radio over $800,000 in back fees. Considering that 'CBE's fundraising came up $275,000 short (IOW their revenue didn't match their costs) and that Columbus City Schools don't really fund the station anymore (and haven't in 20 years). Things could be bleak for the station.

Columbus Business Journal article on the situation: https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/01/wcbe-struggling-with-large-debt-to-npr-stations-gm.html?fbclid=IwAR1QvlnFKepqLTMCgFcsJzRiyjtUR9V0uiNGMoVBy9nYAEJTdvZlvpdrs4c
Columbus Dispatch chiming in after the fact: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190204/nonprofit-offers-to-pay-off-wcbe-debt-take-over-npr-stations-operations

 

Yes, this sounds like a big mess for WCBE.  Here's a few more updates about their current situation from Columbus Business First:

• Columbus City Schools was in the dark about WCBE debt, former school board member says -- https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/05/columbus-city-schools-was-in-the-dark-about-wcbe.html

• WCBE advisory board calls for spinning off from Columbus school district -- https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/02/08/wcbe-advisory-board-calls-for-spinning-off-from.html

I hope WCBE 90.5 can survive and move forward in some capacity - NPR affiliated or not.  I say "NPR affiliated or not" because Columbus has another NPR affiliate station in WOSU 89.7 FM.  Although both stations have distinct programming throughout most of the day - there is some duplication in the NPR programming - with both stations broadcasting the exact same NPR program at the same time(!).  The history of why Columbus has two NPR affiliated stations is somewhat interesting.

 

WCBE (W-Columbus Board of Education) began broadcasting in 1956.  Initially, the station carried only locally produced education programs.  But it was the first station in Columbus to affiliate with National Public Radio and began carrying NPR programs in the 1970's.  Meanwhile, WOSU-AM (820) - Columbus's oldest radio station - which dates to 1920 with an experimental license and 1922 as an official broadcast license - also became an NPR-affiliate in the 1970's, shortly after WCBE-FM.

 

Up until recently, WCBE was the FM NPR station and WOSU-AM was the AM NPR station.  WOSU also operated an 89.7 FM station since 1949, which until recently had only classical music programming.  But in 2010, Ohio State announced it was buying the WWCD 101.1 FM frequency and moving WOSU-FM's longtime classical music format from 89.7 FM to WWCD's frequency at 101.1 FM.  (At the same time WWCD's programming moved to a more powerful 102.5 FM frequency.)  WOSU's 820-AM frequency was then sold off to St. Gabriel Radio Inc in 2011 - which moved their Catholic programming format from another AM station to 820-AM.

 

The reason to move WOSU's NPR-affiliate from 820-AM to 89.7-FM was for the stronger 40,000-watt signal.  820-AM had only 5,000-watts during the day, which dropped to a miniscule 790 watts at night.  WOSU's 40,000-watt 89.7 signal is also more powerful than WCBE's 1,000-watt 90.5-FM signal.  Now, WOSU's NPR station has a strong FM signal and the resources of the Ohio State University plus the fundraising leverage of WOSU-TV behind it.  While WCBE has less reach, less fundraising ability and an affiliation with Columbus City Schools and its school board that seem to have no need for a radio station.  Given all that, maybe it should be no surprise that WCBE is in financial trouble.  (Although, it appears that the suspended WCBE station manager should have been much more upfront about its ballooning debt to NPR!)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCBE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOSU_(AM)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOSU-FM