Newsmaker: Chris Quinn, Vice-president of Content, Northeast Ohio Media Group
We get an update on changes at The Plain Dealer, where the newspaper is home-delivered four days-a-week and operating in concert with its website, Cleveland.com.
Roundtable: Ed Esposito, news director, WAKR/AkronNewsNow.com; Bill Livingston, sports columnist, The Plain Dealer.
Marking a Dark Time in Cleveland History
Ten years ago this week, a power line brushed against a tree limb in northern Summit County sparking the widest-spread blackout in U.S. history. The power cut affected Northeast Ohio and parts of eight states and Canada. Akron-based FirstEnergy says it’s made significant improvements to its grid management over the last decade and is more aggressively cutting back trees and vegetation around power lines.
Scorn for a Cleveland Icon
Former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar took heat this week when Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher took umbrage at Kosar’s harsh criticism of Rams players. Kosar’s off-the-cuff remarks during the Browns pre-season game with the Rams rankled both the LA coach and Browns management which later reprimanded Kosar. He was expected to be back in the broadcast booth for the Thursday exhibition game with the Detroit Lions.
Republicans Restore Heartbeat Bill
Two Ohio House Republicans indicate they’re prepared to reintroduce legislation banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The House passed a similar measure in 2011, but it failed to win passage in the Senate. A handful of abortion-related measures were passed earlier this year when they were included in the state budget signed by Governor Kasich.
Special Guest: Amir Soas, associate professor, Near East Studies and Arabic, Tiffin University
Egyptian forces killed more than five hundred people in the course of a new round of protests over the ouster of former president Mohammed Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood, the main source of Morsi support, called for nationwide protests and interim vice-president Mohamed ElBaradei resigned. President Obama condemned the violence and called off a joint US-Egyptian military exercise scheduled for next month.