CLEVELAND RADIO MUSEUM READY TO GO ON LINE - Cleveland Plain Dealer 10/05/2002

Looking for volunteers.

We all know stars like Jack Paar, Alan Freed, and Don Imus got big breaks in Cleveland. But did you know that McLean Stevenson and Morton Downey Jr. both worked at WERE? So did Charlie Steiner... and Casey Kasem worked at WJW! What about the early days of FM rock radio? It started on ethnic stations WXEN and WZAK with brokered shows (like "Doc Nemo's Nook") and on classical station WCLV, with Martin Perlich's after hours "Perlich Project". That's the kind of history the CLEVELAND BROADCAST ARCHIVE is hard at work compiling for its on-line radio museum. It's the brain child of some dedicated broadcast professionals here in Northeast Ohio, who not only know about that history, but in many cases, were there when it happened.

"A lot of good people are involved", according to radio historian Mike Olszewski (who's also part of the "Mornings with Bruce Drennan" show on WKNR). "Bill Barrow at Cleveland State's Special Collections library hosted the first meetings, and folks like Jim Mehrling (WCLV), Matt Lapczynski (WMMS), Ted Alexander (WELW), and Frank Foti (Telos Systems) have all offered their input, but we were getting ahead of ourselves. First we had to get a site designed to make that information available. That's when we heard about WebMasters. They're one of the best web hosting, e-commerce, and design companies in the Midwest, and they shared our vision for an on-line broadcast museum."

The CSU collection houses the old Cleveland Press archives of photos and clippings, which are an invaluable source of media history. WebMasters, and the folks at SofTrends, designed a way to get that information out on the web, and there are hundreds of hours of memorable radio moments from Northeast Ohio in the archives as well. For example, WABQ staying on the air trying to calm the audience during the 1968 riots that tore apart Cleveland neighborhoods, Alan Freed's tearful apology the day after the infamous "Moondog Coronation Ball", WGAR's Bob Kozlowski breaking the story worldwide that Kruschev had been replaced, and the ambitious cooperative effort by college stations across Northeast Ohio joining to air coverage following the Kent State shootings. The audio footage goes back to the early 40's, and photos to the very start of Cleveland radio in the 1920s. The Archive is also looking for additional audio, and radio memorabilia and artifacts. But the museum needs the public's help for a giant leap forward.

The Cleveland Broadcast Archive is looking for volunteers to help scan and sort the hundreds of articles and photos about the personalities, stations, and events it's trying to preserve. The Archive can supply the information, but needs the manpower to get it in the proper form to be put on the world wide web. It's a non-profit venture, and every volunteer will be recognized on the site. Computer classes, or individual folks at home with their scanners, are encouraged to give the Archive a ring to get the history of Cleveland radio on line to the world.

Call WebMasters at (216) 289 - 2323 for more information.

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Press Contact Only:

MIKE OLSZEWSKI at WKNR (440) 838 - 8585
WEBMASTERS (216) 289 - 2323