Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - March 1 to March 7, 2008 Latest messages listed first..... \/ March 7 Messages \/ ("I understand your apparent need for revenge... but radio stations and successful broadcasters and managers in Boston, Philly, Los Angeles and DC know differently. RockusPadahkus - Delaware") Ok I'll play. Take a look at the ratings dive Wyatt's stations took in Boston, Philly and then DC. If you ever worked in the Biz you would know that everywhere Wyatt worked the folks left behind had to do damage repair. And, after working in the industry for over 20 years I'm still in top 10 market radio. Can Wyatt say the same? IMO he is one of the worst PD's to enter radio. Not an original thought in his head. And this guy is going to help brainstorm in a marketing firm? Hahahahaha Ok I don't like Pugh or Kapugi either but Dave's right. They did clean up Wyatt and Zier's mess. (3/7/08) It's interesting how 105.9 is following the same pattern that WDMV and WMET did. The both had a morning show that had nothing to do with the rest of the format. It made no sense, and I would assume that neither one made any money. It makes no sense to have Imus followed by oldies. It also makes no sense to have one local talent when everything else is satellite. I can't believe that Citadel would pay someone a big fat juicy salary for doing an afternoon air shift. At WGOW in Tennessee, and WSBA in Pennsylvania all local talent is part time. They are also owned by Citadel. The program directors do no air shifts because most of the shows are live and local. I have a funny feeling that the PD at 105.9 will be demoted to part time if he hasn't been already. It must have been a shock to be hired by ABC and end up at Citdel. Talk about a ghoulish joke. (3/7/08) (At least, recently, with Pugh running things, WASH, WIHT, and WMZQ are regularly in the top 10.....) Sorry should have been clear. At what expense? Everywhere Pugh goes, so do the jobs. In the end run he costs the company more than he saves or earns. And cost realization is only achieved later when he is gone. Just like politics and the economy it can then be blamed on someone else. Remember Dave. This is the same guy that blocked DCRTV from 1801 Rockville. (3/7/08) Dave's response: Getting blocked is actually a great honor. It's an acknowledgement of DCRTV's power and influence. Thank you, Mr. Pugh..... ["Dave's response: With Zier at the helm a few years back, there were ratings books when none of Clear Channel's five DC FMers were in the top 10 (full day, age 12+). At least, recently, with Pugh running things, WASH, WIHT, and WMZQ are regularly in the top 10....."] that's just not true about Bennett Zier's work or leadership Dave... but stir the pot irresponsibly if you feel good about simply tryin' to drive hits on your site without ethics. you're a weird dude though and your wife left you for it (that and dippin her tooth brush in the toilet). take a hint. your karma's suffered enough. ["Non-radio business and development for Zier and Wyatt? I can understand Zier (people will always buy into his showmanship), but how can an 80's has been who couldn't program a radio station to save his job tell people how to do business development?"] and whoever you are, you don't know anything about Jeff Wyatt to say that about him... sorry he must have had to let you go for some reason - i understand your apparent need for revenge... but radio stations and successful broadcasters and managers in Boston, Philly, Los Angeles and DC know differently. RockusPadahkus - Delaware (3/7/08) Dave's response: Wife, what wife? Yes, Cindy McGuire was the only on-air victim of the blood bath at Mix last week. They are auditioning for a new night timer. (3/7/08) hey there, I checked mix1073 website's list of jocks and Cindy Mcguire is no longer shown. No OAPs announced her departure. And, I was just wondering if you'd heard any word. I know she's been at the station many years. Charlie G (3/7/08) Dave's response: Yeah, I have heard rumblings that she was let go in last Friday's Citadel DC bloodbath..... Non-radio business and development for Zier and Wyatt? I can understand Zier (people will always buy into his showmanship), but how can an 80's has been who couldn't program a radio station to save his job tell people how to do business development? What will he consult? How to tank your business in five easy steps? BTW for those of you in San Francisco Clear Channel. Get your resumes polished Puke only shows up for a reason. Hack n' Slash. Now that he has decimated Rockville it's time for him to disappear before he has to accept responsibility for what he's done. (3/7/08) Dave's response: With Zier at the helm a few years back, there were ratings books when none of Clear Channel's five DC FMers were in the top 10 (full day, age 12+). At least, recently, with Pugh running things, WASH, WIHT, and WMZQ are regularly in the top 10..... Phil Chenier and Steve Buckhantz are hands down the greatest broadcasting team not only in DC but in sports today. I mean the repoire these guys have is great and not to mention that they are the ultimate homer announcers and always make me laugh (on purpose). The NBA can be unwatchable at times and I still watch almost every game the wizards play because of these guys. I mean can you imagine Jim Nantz and Phil Simms kissing and making a funny moment out of it? dont think so. Gilligan, Chantilly (3/7/09) Dave's response: I love Steve Buckhantz. Go JMU! I echo Jim Williams observation: it’s great to see the Nats acknowledge that dumping Bob Carpenter would have been a huge mistake – IF that’s what happened. I wonder. I suspect the real reason that Bob was retained is because the person Stan had in mind for the gig turned out not to be available. At any rate, it’ll be awesome to have Bob back. He is one of the best in the game and he and Don make a great team. Let’s hope they’re both around for many seasons to come. –Brian (3/7/08) This statement - "what WTOP accomplished was to block a format competitor starting an all news product on the FM dial" - implies that ANY broadcast company right now is willing to spend the money on all-news radio. Highly doubtful. All-news is one of the most expensive formats to program and operate 24/7. Syndicated programming is much less costly for any station or group. And with the current economic climate, it's highly unlikely any station will devote that much money and manpower to any radio station that's generating little revenue. If the honchos in Salt Lake City could find syndicated programming that would make the money TOP does, all-news would be gone in a flash from DC. (3/7/08) Another Citadel station has followed suit on the Scott Shannon Ego project--I mean True Oldies. WYAY in Atlanta-now sports the same crap we hear in DC--including Imus in the Morning. The entires staff, except for Dallas McKaid were let go. (3/7/08) Don and Mike back the air today, WITH AN APOLOGY FROM MANAGEMENT. Naa Naa! I still don't believe this "hitting the button too much fries the delay unit" nonsense nor do I think that WJFK has the in-house expertise to repair that piece of machinery, so did they get a new one over-nighted, or did it just take forever to hook up the backup unit? Caller X (3/7/08) While it's hard to understand how repeated dumping could actually break the machine (and they're going to FIX it overnight?) since they have run out of dump on other occasions, the conversation Don and Mike were having with m'Lady was far from "hot"... although it was funny. It was mainly about how neither she nor her husband have ever gone south with the mouth. I have heard Donny Osmond say the same thing, but when he says it it's oddly hot. And to the writer who said "It's called fiction", uh, okay, like that episode of The Wire where Frodo got John Waters to guide him to the Bromo-Seltzer Tower in Towson? I've never read his books, but every review I've read praises George Pelecanos for his detailed and ACCURATE portrayal of the DC physical and human landscape. en.wikipedia.org... Caller X (3/7/08) To confirm the news about Brian Wood getting the axe, I noticed on www.abc2news.com that his bio has been removed. I liked Brian Wood, but it was unnecessary for ABC2 to get rid of Stan Stovall in 2000. At least Stan was able to get a gig relatively quickly at his old stomping grounds on WBAL-TV, albeit enduring a rough split shift of 5am and 5pm! Maybe ABC2 will cut back on their evening news and have Mary-Beth Marsden as sole anchor? They could air ABC2 News at 5pm, bring back "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", which has been missing from Baltimore for a couple of seasons, at 5:30pm, and ABC2 News at 6pm. I guess they could keep The Latest at 11 as well. Try it, ABC2... Try it! ;) -Greg in Perry Hall (3/7/08) 50,000 watts maybe, but one need not travel far into Northern Virginia before the wattage seemingly is near-zero. I get better nighttime reception of 1500 when visiting family in New Jersey than I do in Burke. As others have indicated, 1500 is only viable when paired with a Virginia FM like 107.7. Simply put, more and more folks live further south and west of DC than 1500 covers. (3/7/08) (So this acknowledges that WTOP's abandonment of 1500 is a failure, since the ratings have stayed about the same) Not so fast Columbo. Assuming the ratings are about the same, then what WTOP accomplished was to block a format competitor starting an all news product on the FM dial. there have been 2 or 3 format changes on FM full market signals since WTOP went to 103.5. any of those could have tried to go after WTOP. Not now. I give the suits at Bonneville credit. the move took balls...and it wasn't without some speed bumps...but at the end of the day, their ratings are similar, and from what I hear, their billing keeps going up each year...by millions. AM just isn't what it used to be and Bonneville made a proactive move to protect WTOP. their other products haven't had much success since the move, but at the end of the day, the move(s) don't seem to be about anything other than protecting their greatest asset. (3/7/08) I'm really going to miss seeing Brian Wood on ABC 2. I thought he was a solid news anchor. AND YES HE DID DESERVE BETTER. Maybe this is a blessing in diguise for him. (3/7/08) (Good business practice suggests that you put your strongest horse in the race: All-news format, on a 50,000 watt AM, that once was respected throughout the Eastern Seaboard, including within its primary coverage audience) The operative words in this posting? "50,000 watt", "Once" and "Primary". Yes, "once" the "50,000 watt" signal on 1500 was respected throughout the region...just the same as "once" there was ONLY AM radio. Besides that, "50,000 watt" doesn't mean anything. what is important is WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THE SIGNAL. "primary" coverage audience?since when is the Washington DC metro (forget the TSA) made up of only DC, the Maryland suburbs and the northern most part of Virgnia? Why do you think WTOP bought 107.7 about 10 years ago? they bought it because 1500 couldn't deliver the same audience size that a BIGGER signal could. WTOP's owners admitted they needed help...and thus the simulcast on 107.7 for the past decade. Get with the times and stop living in the past...AM isn't what it used to be. (3/7/08) Yep, WAGE is 50 years old, but it's just a shell of a station. No local programming of any kind and nothing about it to connect it to the community. Loudoun is still one of the fastest growing areas in the country, but it's losing local media at an even quicker pace. WAGE and two of the local papers -- Leesburg Today and the Loudoun Easterner -- are now owned by out of state conglomerates; the Loudoun Times-Mirror is part of the vanilla and amateurish Times-Mirror chain and the Loudoun Independent recently declared bankruptcy. The Post's coverage of Loudoun issues has been biased in the extreme and often factually challenged. The county's cable franchise discontinued its local news programming three or four years ago. You would think an area where the population explosion has made national news for a decade would warrant at least ONE decent local media outlet....but apparently you'd be wrong. (3/7/08) Is the NPR guy the one who got rid of Bawb Edwards, that guy who mumbled in the mornings? Good move. I can actually hear Steve Inskeep, who talks in the range of voice he's been given. Is the NPR guy the one who kept the robot who reads the commercials? Bad move. Don't let the door hit you. (3/7/08) Like the poster said "if there isn't a ratings benefit, then there isn't a revenue/profit benefit! " So this acknowledges that WTOP's abandonment of 1500 is a failure, since the ratings have stayed about the same. Now, about the sale of a license. Which do the experts think would sell for the most $$, an FM or an AM? Goob business practice suggests that you put your strongest horse in the race: All-news format, on a 50,000 watt AM, that once was respected throughout the Eastern Seaboard, including within its primary coverage audience. (3/7/08) "With the Nationals and Capitals as linchpins, 1500/107.7 would be best suited as a sports-talk station...especially if Dan Snyder buys Clear Channel's AMs. Position yourself as an independent alternative, especially as the Washington market diversifies for sports." Inasmuch as the station's current lineup of syndicated political shows is apparently tanking, that may not be entirely out of the realm of possibility. Tony Kornheiser's already there doing a show at least partly about sports - perhaps Andy Pollin could rejoin him as sidekick should he leave WTEM when (and if) Snyder takes over. I understand that Byron Kerr and Marc Sterne will be taking turns hosting the Nats postgame call-in show on 3WT this season, with Kerr doing it more often and player interviews added to the mix. Maybe the station could give a regular talk show gig to Gary from Gainesville, the guy who called into the Nats postgame show after just about every game last season and is also a fixture on the station's Caps postgame programming. Over at 980, Jerry Coleman's now serving as the station's beat reporter for every team in town (not just the Redskins) and has been dispatched to Florida to cover the Nats and Orioles in spring training. Doc Walker deserves some credit for going out of his way to try and pump up Alex Ovechkin and the Caps, especially considering that the typical caller to his show would probably have difficulty naming five players on the team. At Red Zebra, it appears that Larry Michael will continue to host the midday Redskins show throughout the offseason. Last year, his co-host Bram Weinstein had his own program in that timeslot between February and the start of training camp. Mike, Fairfax (3/7/08) Here at the glass-enclosed nerve center of Extreme Mortman, we’ve always been proud of our glass-enclosed brethren, like the glass-enclosed nerve center of WTOP. From our glass-enclosed childhood until now, in our glass-enclosed older years, we’ve always tuned our glass-enclosed car radio into WTOP. So imagine our excitement when a fellow WTOP enthusiast sent us this survey WTOP is sending out to trusted listeners. We proudly display the text of the survey here, in our humble glass-enclosed blog: www.extrememortman.com (3/7/08) Funny is 105.9 FM! Last night, Thursday mid-evening, an ad for Columbia School of Broadcasting airs. Funny that a company/station that fires DJs/announcers around the country is running a spot for learning how to be a DJ. Where are the students going to get a job? Of course the company/station makes money running the ad. We know that. But the students are left high and dry. Oh well and so goes radio. (3/7/08) 3WT is running ads that the woman that comes on after Tony K is doing some appearance Wednesday at some tavern in Bethesda. Over/under for attendance is 200 people... and I'm taking the wayyyy-under. Hell, there's a Capitals game that same night that will probably draw 20,000. (3/7/08) For those who want smooth jazz, there's a station in San Diego similar to 105.9. Go to www.KIFM.com. They have a smooth jazz brunch on Sunday's. Carol (3/7/08) So what happened to longtime personality Linda West at WFRE in Frederick, MD? (3/7/08) Does anyone have any heads up as to the plans for Baltimore TV stations transitioning local news to High Definition. It would be nice to see WBAL TV 11HD. A few other Hearst Argle stations have upgraded sets and cameras and are already operating HD. BAL being one of the leading stations in Hearst Argle's line up. Will they follow suit soon???? (3/7/08) I see a lot of posts re the loss of smooth jazz. By “jazz,” do you mean serving up Luther Vandross, Phil Collins, Marvin Gaye, and Roberta Flack in heavy rotation? Fully a third of their playlist wasn’t even jazz, and it only further served to confuse the genre for people. 105.9 started out as a promising replacement for two jazz stations, but gradually drifted into safe franchise status with ZERO innovation. I did like the hosts a lot, especially Santos. At least there is still drivetime jazz on WPFW 89.3, and Watercolors on XM, which are both superior replacements. If I were Al Santos, I’d lobby the boys on New York Ave. for an afternoon or weekend show. Chris in Alexandria (3/7/08) That is total BS about Don and Mike going off the air early yesterday. I'm sure Don was just too upset about seeing Brett Favre cry at his retirement press conference, that he just couldn't do his show. Just go away now Don and stop all these silly games you keep playing on the 3 or 4 fans you have left. Patrick in Columbia (3/7/08) Today is a joyous day for many of us at NPR. Ken Stern has spent years on a crusade that has done much damage to our network. While there is no doubt that our presence in the digital media realm needed to be expanded to be brought in line with other media organizations, Ken dramatically overshot the mark. Under his direction, the Digital Media division underwent enormous expansion, to the detriment of the radio product. So much money was diverted from radio to build this huge online staff, and as a result, show budgets and staffs were trimmed and audio engineering was marginalized, making NPR sound more like WTOP, like a sausage factory (sorry, TOP- I still do love you), and less like the place listeners could come to hear something different, something special and unique. I'm sure I speak for many NPR staffers when I say thank you to the Board of Directors for finally taking a stand. We hope that you will see that the road to restoring member station admiration and confidence in us starts with a reversal of course- giving our shows the full resources they need and utilizing our amazing audio engineers to capture the sound that made NPR so special and different. We are here, ready and willing to serve, and we want NPR to be something special once again- something worthy of the dollars of listeners and member stations alike. If that needs to come through the thinning of the Digital Media division, so be it. Digital Media's unreasonably vast expansion over the past few years at the expense of our product has gone on long enough. It's time to turn this ship around. We look forward to once again producing RADIO that we can all be proud of. And we can do that and still maintain the proper web presence. And we urge the Board to start taking us back on the right path- today. We firmly believe that the results will speak for themselves. Even though it's cloudy this morning, it's a bright, sunny day at NPR. (3/7/08) (Let bonneville put all-news back on 1500, simulcasting 103.5 and call it a day) I'm confused. Why would they do this??? contrary to what you read in this mailbag, the ratings for WTOP over the past couple books have been as good as they were before the move to 103.5 (around the low to mid 5 shares). So what you, and others, are suggesting, is that WTOP simulcasts on 1500 jsut becuase that is where they used to be??? it has been more than 2 years on 103.5...and their current signal covers the ENTIRE market...unlike 1500. 3WT or Post Radio may not be the answer to great ratings on 1500, but you would sell the frequency before simulcasting WTOP on 1500. remember, if there isn't a ratings benefit, then there isn't a revenue/profit benefit! many of the postings in the mailbag don't take revenue/profit into account...and they are just a pipe dream and/or a waste of space. Their decisions may not always work out, but at the end of the day the owners/operators of these radio stations/companies aren't operating them for charity...if they were, they would all be located below 91.9 on the dial. (3/7/08) Bonneville was in a rush to get all-news on FM without buying WAVA etc. Imagine if they had waited and now would be reaping some rating benefits of Smooth-Jazz on WGMS from listeners who just don't want "da funk". I heard the smallest amount of controversy with a listener saying he had fathered a child out of wedlock on Imus this morning and 105.9 dumping. Imus STILL has to be Imus. And will those oldies listeners sit through it all till 10 a.m. or will Citadel put him on WMAL instead. Ken/Bethesda (3/7/08) Dave's response: My neighbor Sandy always had Smooth Jazz 105.9 on her clock radio, for the morning wake-up. She could even take the oldies. But Imus was too much for her. She's re-set the radio to 97.1, she tells me..... "Don Geronimo may not agree with the FCC's silly and vague indecency rules, but he's a longtime radio veteran and has got to know what he can and can't say/allow on the air....." of course he does. This is just another temper tantrum or him looking for a way to make an early exit. AMF I say. (3/7/08) “Zier is just about ready to announce his new radio venture”…I hear that Zier and Wyatt have two soup cans and 50 feet of string that make up the new radio cluster. At least if they talk to each other on the cans they will have two listeners, which is more than they had at Redskin Radio. (3/7/08) When the digital conversion comes in February 2009 are tv stations required for some time to keep broadcasting over the air? Or can go to cable and satellite only? Anyone seen one of them digital conversion boxes? I feel pain of fellow mail bagger concerning Verizon. Saw a hard to believe rate for DSL on the tv and went to store and signed up but when got e-mail confirming order it was at regular rate. I called 800 number which sent me to South Asia and a person who told me two different times they were doing security scans on their system and leave a number and they'd call back. Well you guessed it. Then went to store I had placed order(this was after someone in that store had told me over phone to go to Fair Oaks store cause they would have more info on my order, which they did not) and really couldn't tell me what I had signed up for and for what time period . They made big deal over some local office that problem solves and the store clerk punched away my info to this local back room and told me they'd call right away. Well yes you guessed it again. No return call. So today I tried to get the DSL hooked up but I'm finding it isn't a going to work in my apartment even though at store they'd told me it was available. So I guess return to store fall on floor and start having a temper tantrum till I get some satisfaction is the answer. On top of that, found out my medication is being phased out in lieu of medicine that costs twice as much. I tried discussing this situation with the pharmacist but I got feeling he didn't really understand what I was saying. He appeared to be an Asian gentleman but I do need new glasses. And driving this evening I killed Bambi. I was driving west on Route 7. I'd been told Moore Cadillac had closed and wanted to see that. As I was looking for the next turn to head back east suddenly a deer jumped over the guardrail and BAM. I'm sorry deer! Car still runs okay but several $1000 in body damage and no collision. Oh yeah you try living under a dark cloud! Then again I'm not Patrick Swayze. Didn't he play a soldier on MASH in which he was diagnosed with leukemia? (3/7/08) Letting Brian Wood go is criminal. He was an excellent anchor and newsroom leader. He inspired all of us and worked hard every day to make WMAR better. His loss is sending shudders through the station, "If they'll let Brian go, my God what's next?". WMAR and Scripps management don't know the good from the bad. We all smell fear and panic. We hope Brian shows up on TV Hill. He deserves better than this. (3/7/08) Geez, WMAR 2 and Scripps Howard are like the gang that can't shoot straight! They get rid of always solid Brian Wood and keep Mary Beth HASBEEN again!?!?!? Previously they got rid of the always solid Stan Stovall and kept her that time too while WBAL ratings with Stan Stovall have soared! What a mess of a company. It's hard to imagine another station in the country where every single move has resulted in lower and lower news ratings over a period of what, now, 30 YEARS?!?!? Meanwhile, Scripps is spending the big dollars in Tampa for local news in HD but just keeps screwing up in Baltimore year after year after year! What is wrong with this picture? Does anyone at Scripps have a clue? (3/7/08) /\ March 7 Messages /\ \/ March 6 Messages \/ Been visiting Tampa/St. Pete and noticed that all 3 network stations are doing their news in HD, yet in the Washington/Baltimore markets, there is STILL ONLY 1 HD News station, WUSA 9! Unbelievable. When looking up Tampa Nielsen market rankings, I also noticed a glaring Nielsen market ranking mistake. How could the Baltimore market lose TV Homes when its population increased? Something seems rotten or fixed with the Nielsen market rankings. It doesn't seem to be a true designation of market size, too many glaring mistakes and numbers that disagree with actual population statistics. (3/6/08) Dave's response: Flipped by SciFi-HD this evening to find them running a widescreen movie in standard-def, with black bars at the top and bottom (and sides) of the screen. Huh? Why not show the damn thing in HD? Duh..... Dave, I have to agree with your comment about Don knowing what he can and cannot say on the air. Seems to me that Don is just ready to leave. His last day is in May, right?. I doubt if he makes it that long. (3/6/08) If I'm reading WDMV's PSRA/PSSA correspondence properly, there is a helluva difference between a 500W signal and one at ONE WATT. Just how much juice are they sending up those sticks anyway during critical hours? That station is loaded with nothing but creeps... (3/6/08) Here's a brain blast,folks. Let bonneville put all-news back on 1500, simulcasting 103.5 and call it a day. Jim, are you listening? Cory (3/6/08) “What about TV shows that misportray the DC area?” This drives me crazy, too, and it also happens a lot in BOOKS, which there is absolutely no reason for, if the author does his or her homework. I recently read a novel in which you can look out across the Potomac and see the Washington Monument…from Reston. Huh? (3/6/08) Hi Dave, On behalf of Mark Bishop and Michael Butscher I'd like to invite any former employee of 100 GRX in Baltimore to a reunion this Saturday night. Details here at 100grx.com. Anyone who's ever worked at 100.7 is welcome. Hope to see you all there. BTW Sorry this is so last minute, I thought someone woul have done this before me. Mark Williams, WPOC (3/6/08) Robbay's official announcement of "over-zealous dumping issues" as cause for the demise of the D&M show this afternoon is classic. Wouldn't "over-zealous dumping" be a plumbing problem instead of engineering? They are, after all, "fat, white, and Catholic". I love Robbay's cell-phone breaks explaining the situation as well...give me a break...quit explaining, shut up, and just give me some classic Major Bill in the meantime! (3/6/08) Dave's response: Don Geronimo may not agree with the FCC's silly and vague indecency rules, but he's a longtime radio veteran and has got to know what he can and can't say/allow on the air..... Where's the smooth jazz in Washington D.C.? One would only have to drive down the GWP on a weeknight, void of any traffic, just a pleasant drive, with the lights of D.C. twinlking in the starlight and understand: smooth jazz belongs in the DMV. I hope someone who has the capital to construct will build a new smooth jazz station for those of us who are devout listeners. God knows I would be on it if I had the cash. Come baaack George and Marvin, and Ramsey and Grover and Gerald and David and... Vernell Cherry (3/6/08) Has D&M been in best-of's all day? I think the stream on JFK is also acting screwy again... Chris (3/6/08) Chris Core was on Newschannel 8 this afternoon. I was changing channels and tuned in at 4:35 p.m. He was talking to a host of what I believe is the "Newstalk" call-in show (?) Anyway, he looked great, happy, and had a lot of anecdotes. The show was titled "Saying Goodbye". Many of callers were fans who said their "goodbye's". (3/6/08) Caller X: It's called "fiction." (3/6/08) 3:39pm...D&M in a hot discussion with an "older" lady about her sex life and the questions were getting more & more explicit when the "technical difficulties" tape was played then straight into commercials. Very interesting.. (3/6/08) While this is a local topic, it's not strictly local media related. What about TV shows that misportray the DC area? The West Wing and the District did it, with non-existent streets, and a white police chief (oh, wait a minute, nevermind, and am I the only one who thinks Chief Lanier is a MILF?) and just recently NCIS did it with DC taxicabs already having meters and the only route from Reston to DC being the Dulles Toll Road. Also, I caught Absolute Power with Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman last weekend, and they sho' nuff was a mighty heap o' white polices on the DC police force in that film. Caller X (3/6/08) Congrats to NPR on the new diggs. Hey Dave, I have some magic beans that will grow a really tall tree. It could be really useful and I was thinking of selling the beans to Maryland but wanted to know if the District was interested first. Do you know who I should contact? Thanks. (3/6/08) Re:"HD2 105.9 unfortunately means nothing to me. How does one get it? With an new radio/stereo? Where on the dial is HD2?" Yes, you would need a new "HD" radio. Figure at least $200 for that. Then you would need to place the radio practically within sight of the transmitting tower, because the digital signals have almost no reach. Then you'd find out that the HD2 and other "subchannels" sound about like internet radio, so you'd be better off surfing the 'net for stations that have streams with the kind of music you like. A little $3 patch cord from the laptop to the stereo and you'll have plenty of stations to choose from; that $200 HD radio _will_ disappoint you. I speak from experience. ~~CA in BC (3/6/08) TV stations have had to recently file transition plans for the analog shut-down next year. Go to the CDBS application search page at the FCC's site and search using BDTRCT in the first part of the file number field to find them. The only piece of news I found was WPXW's plan to take over WUSA's current DTV operation on channel 34 when WUSA flips their DTV to channel 9. Yes, that means they will be transmitting from DC instead of southern Fairfax County. Regards, Dave Loudin (3/6/08) Re: WDMV AM station PSRA/PSSA letters are visible on the FCC website at fjallfoss.fcc.gov letters, click for details, then click "view correspondence folder" For WDMV it is fjallfoss.fcc.gov (3/6/08) (Olbermann Goes Over The TOP - 3/6 - Guess which all-news radio station MSNBC's "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann listens to when he's in DC?) did TOP suddenly switch to a moonbat format full of conspiracy theories? i guess air america's signal is crappy in DC. (3/6/08) Speaking of Dan Snyder, one thing that struck me during Brett Favre’s retirement press conference today was the static background, which contained only the Packer logo. Very appropriate for the occasion and tastefully done. If that had been at Redskin Park, you could bet the farm that Snyder would have had rotating corporate logos flashing behind the player every 20 seconds. Classy vs. classless. (3/6/08) With the Nationals and Capitals as linchpins, 1500/107.7 would be best suited as a sports-talk station...especially if Dan Snyder buys Clear Channel's AMs. Position yourself as an independent alternative, especially as the Washington market diversifies for sports. -- Vincent in Triangle (3/6/08) My two cents worth on the Bonneville situation. The only serious “local” station in town after WMAL died was WTOP on 1500. Bonneville should put WTOP News back on its legacy blowtorch and then figure out what to do with the FMs. Then, leave everything alone so the audience can find them. Tom Gauger (3/6/08) Dave, what do you think of 3WT's ratings? Certainly no better than Post Radio. Yet another failed effort? Or is too early to say? Let's see: Z104, WGMS, George, WTWP and WWWT. They're running out of ideas - and letters. (3/6/08) Dave's response: All-news WTOP worked on the 1500/107.7 AM/FM combo. And, a few years ago, Bonneville also had classical WGMS on 103.5, and contemporary hit Z104 on 104.1/103.9. Three viable stations. Since then, Bonneville has blown up GMS and moved TOP to 103.5. OK. But, now it's discovering that nothing else will work on the 1500/107.7 combo. Not WaPo Radio. Not 3WT. And, with the 104.1 signal leased to Radio One, Bonneville is pretty much out of viable signals and format options. Yeah, Bonneville still has top-rated WTOP, but it's unable to channel the ratings synergy to build (build back) its DC radio cluster. In my humble opinion, Bonneville should spin off WTOP to CBS, which still has a viable radio cluster here in DC, and go focus on its other markets, like SLC, Chicago, Phoenix, Cincinnati, and Seattle..... Hey, I just got the opportunity to listen for the first time to "True Oldies", what a bag of garbage. Such "hip" personalities????? Current jock, 12:55pm...sounds constipated. It really blends with the music,(sure) I just can't believe the selection of, of, everything. As hard as it may seem to realize,it needs some real ROCK JOCKS...young or..old,but knowing how to fill in the gaps between the songs. Maybe David Burd could do comed-----nah, never mind...sorry, just suffered a flashback. LOL (3/6/08) RE: WDMV PSRA and PSSA... From Subpart A_AM Broadcast Stations, Sec. 73.99: (e) Procedural Matters. (1) Applications for PSRA and PSSA operation are not required. Instead, the FCC will calculate the periods of such operation and the power to be used pursuant to the provisions of this section and the protection requirements contained in applicable international agreements. Licensees will be notified of permissible power and times of operation. Presunrise and Postsunset service authority permits operation on a secondary basis and does not confer license rights. No request for such authority need be filed. However, stations intending to operate PSRA or PSSA shall submit by letter, signed as specified in Sec. 73.3513, the following information: (i) Licensee name, station call letters and station location, (ii) Indication as to whether PSRA operation, PSSA operation, or both, is intended by the station, (iii) A description of the method whereby any necessary power reduction will be achieved. (2) Upon submission of the required information, such operation may begin without further authority. (3/6/08) I would not like to see Snyder get WTEM because then there would be no independent sportstalk in town. However, I have to admit it would be very interesting. WTEM has positioned itself as the station that gives you the real scoop, as opposed to RedskinsRadio, the Skin's house station. Hosts like Czaban, Pollin and Mitchell have been scathing in their criticism of Snyder, Cerrato and the team generally. In fact, Czaban and Pollin on Sports Reporters regularly mock everything from Danny to Redskins One to FedEx Field to the season ticket waiting list. One wonders whether Snyder would continue to keep guys like that in the mix, in the interest of superior ratings to what he has on RedskinsRadio, or would strictly move RedskinsRadio's programming over to WTEM. (3/6/08) With the re-emergence of Imus in D.C., I find myself pondering why all the "big news" in radio involves guys that were finding big audiences on the radio when I was in high school during the mid 1980s. Rush, Howard Stern, Don Imus (who never pulled the same kind of numbers but always got lots o publicity). Who's come along in the last decade to take the place of these guys? Nothing against them. They're all quite good and know how to use the medium brilliantly. But I'm asking myself: Is this IT? Is this all we'll have for another 10 or 20 years? No wonder radio has such a dim future. Christian (3/6/08) WDMV: Where do you see in the FCC info that they are authorized for pre-rise/post-set operation? (3/6/08) The music and announcers on 105.9 are the worst I have ever heard. Where did the guy on at 12 noon come from? You have to be kidding me. WXTR was much better than this. This is a horrible mistake. What does Citadel hope to accomplish? (3/6/08) Let's see now: $23,000,000 for Cathy Hughes' Radio One to move from Prince George's County to DC and $40,000,000 for NPR not to pay taxes. That's $63,000,000. Oh! Don't forget $611,000,000 for a professional playground that owners and MLB should have paid for. My goodness...I wonder what I could get for opening, say, a dry cleaning shop? Probably just a lawsuit from some jerk pantless lawyer wanting millions. What a city this Washington, DC. On the other side of the studio, wishing all the smooth jazz and 'MAL folks who are gone the best for your future. (3/6/08) Dear Radio Fan, I am dismayed at the loss of Smooth Jazz, 105.9. We don't need another oldies station. I'm 58 yrs old and I cn't listen to that music all day anymore. Saying that the format has been moved to HD2 105.9 unfortunately means nothing to me. How does one get it? With an new radio/stereo? Where on the dial is HD2? I sure hope Al Santos and his fellow colleagues find a new home soon on the regular FM dial! Best wishes, Heather Bernabo (3/6/08) It's not enough that NPR uses taxpayer money to spout left wing propoganda? Now they need to have their property subsidized too? And you know your taxes are too high when people consider moving to Maryland because theirs are lower. (3/6/08) Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Since the format change years ago, I have listened to 105.9 and depended on the "smooth jazz" to relax. It was great hearing all the familiar voices every week... didn't like the Ramsey Lewis morning show as much as the one it replaced, but it was ok. Al Santos' Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch was a favorite... Jay Lang's words of wisdom and his whole show style was also a favorite... in the wee hours of the morning, Thomas Groomes was a calm reassuring voice... Citadel made a grave error releasing this talent. Yeah, they played a lot of the same stuff over and over... I've got Sirius in the car and XM on my DirecTV and their "smooth jazz" station do about the same thing... One thing about the format that relaxed me is, I'm a musician... listening to any other format, I tend to analyze/arrange tunes in my head... since I don't play that sort of music it was relaxing to just listen. I guess I'll have to switch to my XM Watercolors channel to fill the void... I know 105.9 will never be on any of my radios until it goes back like it was... (3/6/08) (RE: Tax Break Deal Keeps NPR In DC) I love it when left wingers demonstrate the benefits of tax cuts. And Dave, I'm amazed that you said NPR will "save" $40 million. Isn't it really the truth that this will "cost" DC $40 million? After all, when President Bush cut taxes, taxpayers didn't "save" billions of dollars -- it "cost" the government billions, didn't it? (3/6/08) Dave's response: Hmmm. So, if NPR moved out of DC, it wouldn't be around to pay the $40 million in tax "costs" DC taxpayers are "losing" in the sweetheart deal to keep NPR here. So, either way, DC taxpayers would "lose." Right? Dave, Tony just likes to complain, period. It’s the sad truth about talk radio these days. If you don’t whine and complain and putdown people, you don’t get on the air. (3/6/08) Could anyone send Imus some oxygen and Chloraseptic? (3/6/08) Dave's response: The new "Imus In The Morning Studios" are in the ICU of NYC's Lenox Hill Hospital..... WDMV is operating under PSRA and PSSA at 500 Watts. (3/6/08) Dave, In tuning around the AM band I noted WDMV was still on the air after 7:00 p.m. FCC data base shows a 6:15 p.m. sign off and no nighttime authorization. I have heard WDMV on other occasions on the air well after sign off time. (3/6/08) To Montgomery reader below..Comcast never seems to have the channel lineup av. Try this tho'.. At Comcast.com..click on tv programming, then what's on. In the left margin channels are listed. Regards Biff. PS As I once mentioned here, fees seem to be negotiable. When you talk to a csr put on the proper heat and talk about fios and you may get a cheaper rate on all your comcast services. (3/6/08) I have a feeling the people who are responsible for this "groundswell" of support for Andy Barth as news director are the same people who started a "groundswell" for Bill Hooper as GM. And that hasn't worked out too well. The sentiment is that if Silverstein hadn't taken the fall for the abysmal performance at 2, it would have been Hooper. Hooper is a nice guy, but he was a sentimental choice because he'd been with the station for a long time. And he's done about as well as GM as Silverstein did as ND. It's a bad, bad situation. Expect to see HUGE turnover there, voluntary and otherwise, in the next several months. (3/6/08) With Imus returning Warner Wolfe is back on DC airwaves with sports in the Morning ! 6 AM- 9 AM on True Oldies 105.9. John Henneman (3/6/08) Trivia Question! What does a station in Frederick, two daytime Spanish stations, and three other suburban stations all have in common? Answer…They all trounced billionaire Danny’s Redskin Radio Network. Any minute now the “dog ate my homework” excuses will begin from the Snyder apologists who work at the station. Maybe Danny can turn Triple X Radio into a new ride at Six Flags. After all, the whole thing does make you want to throw up. (3/6/08) Tom Gavin really launched forth with a great joke on Wed. edition of Don and Mike. The one about 3 nuns and a blind guy. Hope Tom will have more of a presence on the Mike O'Meara show! Talk about Don Geronimo's OCD, running that Larry King stuff into the ground,boy! Bring back Elvis to Elvis! Will Donnie G. , that crazy cat, be taking that pong sound, or the sound of the phone ringing on "24", with him when he leaves? See OCD reference above. Geez, boy, saw last week's edition of the local Fairfax Times newspaper,has shrunk considerably. And rarely see the Washington Examiner anymore. Signs of local economy in the dumper? Watched "Baywatch" on ion tv Monday. forgot that Herr Hasslehoff had such chicken legs and Pam Anderson before she turned so freakish looking. The first episode has new recruits for lifeguard running on the beach and as they pass some dude he drops his trunks and hangs a moon. I guess got by the editor. ah the good old days . Did I hear Scott Shannon asking for folks to call in with requests Wed. evening? How about some Billy Stewart? (3/6/08) In Montgomery County, I noticed Comcast recently added a digital tier channel dedicated to TCM, which has been on the analog tier for many years. Since some interest has been expressed here about what Comcast has added recently, I took a gander at Comcast's website, specifically to find the channel lineup in my area. No luck. Comcast is busy serving other customers. Our little hamlet (Silver Spring/Takoma Park) doesn't rate attention. The web page reads, to wit: "We are currently working to provide channel lineup information for your area." Lawsy. How I do wish to dump Comcast. (3/6/08) Wonder how many doctor’s, dentist’s offices will finally make the switch to WASH-FM when they find Don Imus on 105.9 this morning. Wonder if anyone in the Merrifield post office has even noticed that station playing over their intercom system has switched to oldies. ### Looks like Arbitron forgot to post John Riggin’s station(s) results again. WTNT reappeared though – I suppose for Ingraham and Savage. -David (3/6/08) Dave--I noticed on the Clear Channel HD 2 webstreaming that CC has consolidated the music & formats and now every oldies station in every market runs the same selections for instance. Now this may just be for the on-line streaming, I am not sure, but it seems like a cost cutting effort. Its dissapointing because some of the markets did a real good job with the selections like Birmingham, AL 'Real Oldies' station. So I am pretty sure WASH-HD2 will be running whatever the other CC jazz stations are running on HD2, not locally programmed...It also seems some of really niche formats have been cut out like the Love AC Song format...Hope Andy Barth gets the ABC 2 gig, I saw him recently at the annual Calvert Hall Alumni Homecoming the night before Thanksgiving. -Michael Popovec (3/6/08) /\ March 6 Messages /\ \/ March 5 Messages \/ WURA-AM Quantico will be sharing transmission facilities with WPWC? Google Maps' satellite view shows the location as being the four-tower field of WPWC (which only uses 3 towers itself?). (3/5/08) Sounds like 105.9 is flipping on the bird 24/7. Last night they ran the ABC True Oldies Channel satellite feed from about 9 to 11 before flipping back to their own automation. Tonght, the satellite feed was back around 7:00. The satellite feed has Scott Shannon voice tracks and slightly different production - and a few loose cold segs where affiliates can break away to run commercials - instead of the same 5 Scott Shannon sweepers and two music promos they've been running after every song. I wouldn't expect any local talent on that station anytime soon... sounds more like this station is going to be run like a small town in Nebraska. (3/5/08) PLB-Thanks...I am having a blast...You know one of my jobs is remote engineering and the other morning I engineered the morning show which was live on location at a nearby McDonalds. Here it is 5am and I am pulling up to set-up and I couldn't be happier. I can't tell you how much fun I had meeting listeners to the station and their diverse make-up. (You would be shocked at our Hot A/C audiance, totally non-traditional like this market.) We also met new clients who stopped by, it was really neat and local. I continue to be overwhelmed at the e-mails and calls from people who love having me back on the air and appreciate my work. The Baltimore transplants love the occasional references to the old stations and landmarks too...Not sure what part of Delaware you drove through but I will say that the Adult format (A/C, Hot A/C, Rock A/C, Adult Hits and Country) competition is numerous but it all makes us better and has really brought out even more variety to the Salisbury/OC market. I love the challenge!- Michael Popovec (a.k.a-Mike Bradley) (3/5/08) Anyone know what happened to Salisbury University's low power student run radio station? WXSU-LP has been off the air for weeks, but the live stream is there. The station appears to be off the air more than it is on. Maybe another area college could make better use of 96.3, like maybe UMES or Wor-Wic. (3/5/08) Say ! That's no high school yearbook photo of Steve Alan, that's GOT to be a current shot. Just after U of Md he looked more like Mick Fleetwood. 6'4" full beard, ponytail. His best show was the "Oatmeal for Brains Club" on WLMD. Ask Rich Hodge or Tim Scott for an old snapshot, he rooled ! (3/5/08) I predict that with Matt Anderson now programming Praise, I almost guarentee you they will have a 3 share consistently in the market! Remember Matt programmed Heaven before Cheryl Jackson. If you remember while Matt was programming heaven in the late 90s He beat WAVA 3 years worth of ratings books. Radio One finally made a good decision! (3/5/08) To the poster who asked "Where did that picture of Steve Allan come from?", the answer is obvious. The photo was taken while he was starring on "Leave It To Beaver." (And don't you remember? Alice Cooper played Eddie Haskell.) (3/5/08) Hey DC! Say hello to your new AM RADIO station WURA AM 920, just approved for 7000 watts by the FCC from Quantico, VA, and hopefully on the air soon, just in time for nobody to listen to it (unless you're an avid kayaker on the lower Potomac 9 to 5, in which case you won't be able to miss it as you'll be irradiated). :-) (3/5/08) So now do we have to wait for the next next trend to see the miracle that is 3WT? (3/5/08) "Religious 1580 Drops Music For Talk." I thought something funny was going on, because just several nights ago I heard WPGC-AM from I-270 north blasting in well past 7 PM with full power, and they were airing a talk show about nutrition. Now the truth comes out. KOF (3/5/08) A Bitter, Angry, Hate Filled, Racist, Has Been all morning and old, tired ''oldies'' no one wants to hear the rest of the day. That's some formula for success there at 105.9. Sounds painful. Paul (3/5/08) Dave's response: When I first read your post, I thought you were writing about 94.7. Sorry, Weasel, just a joooooke..... Now that Dave Pugh is moving to San Francisco does this mean that his brother, Dan Patrick, will loose his time-slot on WTEM? (3/5/08) Dave's response: I guess that'll be up to Dan Snyder, right? (Unkie Dave sez): We'd heard that Zier had left Birach or Twin Star or whatever it's called these days.....(end) Hahaha! I think I gave him and fellow CC'ers six months before they ran screaming into the night from Twin Star's HQ. Looks like I was being optimistic. So what's left? Goodwill? (3/5/08) Zier back to CC? But what about that rockin' great job he's got working for Birach? (3/5/08) Dave's response: We'd heard that Zier had left Birach or Twin Star or whatever it's called these days..... Chris Core had "just lunch" with Jim Farley? I think that's great. Those five minute dating schemes don't allow people to really get to know each other. (3/5/08) To the less than articulate BIMBO that posted the (radio is dead rant) below. I was in the industry for over 25 years and enjoyed a spectacular career. Good friends with all of the legends, DARK, HOLLIDAY, MOORE,CORE,(I too love CORE, INGRAHAM,jHARDEN, even know BURD. I stand by the statement "grass drying" He's never in his entire career got a belly laugh out of anyone with a sense of humor. If your definition of great radio is TODAY'S RADIO, my guess is your one of the "flip card cowboys". DROP DEAD like radio of today has. PS: Don't audition because I wouldn't have to. (3/5/08) Nah, Chris Core looks much more like Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch. (3/5/08) DAVE !!!! Long time - all is well here in SoFla. 82 and sunny of course. God bless Chris Core - loved him since my junior year @ T.C. Williams. Market longevity is an endangered species indeed. BTW......on a lighter note re: Mr. Core.......anyone else notice the similarity between Chris and Peter Billingsley from " A Christmas Story ?" Attached is a A/B comparision. Bruce Kelly - Mornings - MAJIC102.7 Miami/Ft.Lauderdale (3/5/08) Dave's response: Somebody else pointed out the resemblence between Core and that kid (right)..... The other day you posted that you just noticed that Comcast had added a number of additional HD channels...including CNN. I live in Montgomery, thus have Comcast, but can't find any of these additions. Are you in Montgomery? Are you still receiving these channels? I can't seem to find that particular post any more...did you remove it? Just wondering, because I'd love to see a lot more HD. Coincidentally, since Monday my Comcast internet and email service has gotten worse and worse...now I have none at all. And I can't get through to Comcast on the phone at all. I wonder if they're making some new changes and it's messing everything else up? Thanks. Bill (3/5/08) Dave's response: Yeah, Comcast added eight HD channels, including CNN-HD, on Tuesday here in Reston. It was in a Rant, which gets moved to my Rant page after one day on the Front Page. I don't know when Comcast will add those channels in Montgomery. If I hear anything I'll let you know..... *** David Burd????????? He’s about as exciting as watching grass dry out after a storm. *** Whoever wrote this is my hero!!! And, if Imus made a (skid)mark by naming Bennett Zier, "The Pantload," just recall when it's time to signify... it was I, Your Mangrove Mama's Mangrove Papa, who named him "Bennett Zero!" Clear Channel would not be stupid enough to re-hire "Zero" when the guy from the back of the Waste Management truck is available, would they? And, a shout-out to Thomas Grooms... the man will be the last one to kill a cockroach at 4400 Jenifer Street before the wrecking ball comes. HAHAHAHAHA.... Imus is a done deal and don't count the 980 business against him either. Washington became an FM town in the early 1970's, mah brudders and sistas... (3/5/08) Where did that picture of Steve Allan come from? His high school year book? (3/5/08) Dear Radio is Dead, Radio is not dead, just douche bags like you. Your posts are pretty transparent. You'd like to be in radio, you just can't get the time off from your "Johnny on the Spot" gig to do an air check. Love Core and Burd, they ought to put them together and if listening to Burd is like dead grass---then we need some more dead grass. However, I do love to read non talented harpies whine about people who put it out everyday on the radio. Keep up the good work douche bag. (3/5/08) Methinks the “corporate suit” is not. After the last post, all is see is a dreamer. Core and Farley have been friends for years. David Burd????????? He’s about as exciting as watching grass dry out after a storm. C’mon. WMAL is DEAD, Radio is DEAD. (3/5/08) Imus doesn’t play in Washington. Forget about the weak signaled WTNT, when he was on 980 AM he couldn’t move the needle. Imus was only good for one thing in Washington radio history. He named Bennett Zier the “pant load”. (3/5/08) Dave, I agree if Imus shows up it will be in the morning for Andy and Grandy. Imus is a talk show and will bring his own newsman. He would not be right for "True Oldies".It is only a few days of that station, so who knows what the future will bring, but it will be someone fun who can compliment the music. With the election year, a great time to have Imus and his big name guests back on the air. He would compete better against Mr. Tony. Ken/Bethesda (3/5/08) Regarding: "Dave's response: Most cable companies won't charge you for a service call relating to a line or system problem.....".......... That's only partially true. Both the cable and phone companies always interrogate you over the phone and assume the problem is WITHIN YOUR HOUSE or on your computer or TV on purpose because that generates money for the companies. True with Comcast, Verizon, all of them. They all shift blame on purpose to generate extra profits. The average consumer has no idea what is wrong with their cable TV or internet so these companies can get away with virtually anything currently. I've caught their customer service reps in so many lies I could write a book. (3/5/08) "Radio is not a commodity, and successful broadcast leaders like Mel Karmazin, Jimmy de Castro and John Hare understood the need to create new formats and hire and build new talent." "They" are not "Great" broadcasters. "They" are the scum of the earth that ruined radio to make themselves MEGA-RICH. "They" killed radio. Think about it stupid. (3/5/08) /\ March 5 Messages /\ \/ March 4 Messages \/ The end. The last great station in Washington is totally gone. I started listening to WMAL before I was 10. It was my parent's station, both in the house and in the car. Then it started to become my station as I tuned in to listen to Maryland games with guys like Len Hathaway and Steve Gilmartin as well as the Redskins with Frank, Sam, and Sonny. Everyone in DC tuned into Harden and Weaver, especially if you were in school and it was snowing. As I got older it was the Caps on the radio and Ron Weber. Then came nights with Ken Beatrice and mornings and Terps games with Tim Brant. Because of Tim, I got to experience this great station from the inside. He brought me on as his intern in the fall of 1980, just before he went to TV. I never really got to work at the station with Tim, but he arranged for me to stay on with Ken and Johnny Holliday, who came in to replace Tim. I have been fortunate enough to have the great Mr. Holliday as a mentor and friend, and even to this day if I run into Ken somewhere, he always has a pleasant hello. But when you interned at WMAL you didn't just intern for a couple of people. You worked with everyone. Harden and Weaver, the great Tom Gauger, and the wonderful John Lyon. The news folks were second to none. Bud Steele and Ed Meyer, Pat Anastasi and Robin Veerbukon (sorry if I butchered the name) led by the terrific Len Deibert. Engineers like Bert Cohen and Steve Steffani were also terrific, as were all the behind the scenes staff that interns had to do a weekly shift with. And I will never forget the intern lunch with Andy Ockershausen. Impressive for a 21 year-old to say the least. But with Chris Core leaving, I recall some fond memories of the Trumbull and Core show. Chris used to always announce my entrance into the news room where he had a desk by saying, "Matt Noble, Cub Reporter." He was friendly, gracious and always had the time for me, and even sprung for more than one lunch at Booeymongers. My internship, which was the best experience of my college education, is not what is important here. What is important are all the names above that in turn made WMAL one of the great stations of all time. What a truly great station. DC is my home town. WMAL was OUR home town station. Chris was the last link to that great station, and now he is gone, hopefully from just WMAL and not DC radio. With perhaps three exceptions, none of the names I listed above will remember me and my semester stint on Jenifer Street. But I remember every one of you. At least WMAL can live on in our great memories. Thanks for the chance to reminisce. Matt Noble (3/4/08) Recipe for putting WMAL out of its increasing misery: AM Drive -David Burd; Late Morning -Paul Harris; Noontime -Rush Limbaugh; PM Drive -Chris Core; Evening -Chris Plante; Late Evening -A live & local "Sportscall" with Frank Herzog; and "Coast-to-Coast AM doing the All-Night trick. Add in Nationals baseball, Caps hockey, and Wizards basketball. Now, create a news department that would be second only to that of WTOP. Put it on...3WT, and you'd have something for the remaining Citadel suits to truly fear. Could it happen? You never know. Don'r forget that Bonneville has a new "CEO". Anything could happen. That Jim Farley had lunch with Chris Core proves that there's a loving God. Jim and Chris are two of the brightest professionals in this business. Any broadcaster worthy of being called that would love to have either working for them. Have them both on the same team, and ! you'd sow the seeds of doom for any would-be competitor. Final thought about 107.3 looking for interns from overseas. That could be a good thing. Local radio in most European countries is far better than what we now have in the U.S. OTOH, I recently read that there are now schools teaching "American" accents to the folks who do the out-sourced "tech support" or "customer service" calls overseas. Is it too far-fetched that a company which longs for the days of hiring enthusiastic, ambitious first ticket holders for $2.25 per hour would pass on the chance to outsource their voice talent overseas? With satellite time being so dirt-cheap, and the wages being a tiny fraction of what they are in the U.S., I can imagine at least one chain drooling at the thought. After all, you "don't really need a local airstaff", do you? I can easily imagine the first question now, "What about legalities?" There are numerous businesses that figure fines and other fina! ncial penalties into their cost of doing business. The fuel tank des ign of a certain early seventies car might have been the first example of that way of thinking. But, it's still current today. So you ignore the law. Or, you lobby Congress to force a change in any interfering FCC rules and regulations. All you have to do is tell the Representatives and Senators is that their voters back home will lose their "free" local entertainment if these "economic survival measures" aren't immediately enacted. No, we don't do business that way. But, unfortunately, there are those who do. Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/4/08) While DCRTV Mailbag posters bitch about today's lack of variety in nighttime AM-radio listening, let's reach back 84 years to one night when all of DC radio went silent... "to permit free transmission of distress calls from a stranded ship off the Virginia capes." DCMemories.com... Curse you, silent night agitators! (Now, admittedly, there had been only a single DC station on the air that night.) (3/4/08) Dave...it was just lunch. Nothing more. Don't ready anything more into it. Jim and I go way back. Chris Core www.chriscoretalks.com (3/4/08) Quote: "I have regular cable and about 35 channels, half of them, are paused. All of them are between chs 35 and 79." Same thing happened today here in Charles Co. I was trying to get CNN (31), MSNBC (32) or FNC (34) this afternoon & they were all paused. CNN got fixed within 2 minutes, while I was on hold with a Comcast rep. When the lady came on the line, I told her that CNN had "de-paused" but I was still told that they would need to send a service technician to my home to check out my line. I said that was ridiculous, as CNN was already fixed and hung up. It's amazing how they try to make a service rep come to the house, so that they can then charge you for the visit on the next bill! Do they think we're dumb? -Silvie- (3/4/08) Dave's response: Most cable companies won't charge you for a service call relating to a line or system problem..... (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Time for a change in Washington & the change we need is you! Promotion Producer/Web Supervisor - Exciting opportunity for a creative, high-energy promotion producer and web designer. Responsibilities include promotion of syndicated product, CW image script writing, production and editing; sales/marketing. Web design includes designing and posting contests, banners, streaming video. Minimum of two years experience in television production required. Strong writing skills, and experience with Final Cut, Avid Media Composer, Photoshop, After Effects. Excellent working conditions. EOE. Please send resume and demo reel to: Candice Stankus, Promotion Manager, WDCW-TV, Tribune Broadcasting Company, 2121 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC, 20007, Or cstankus@tribune.com (Email resume with link to your site) (3/4/08) ("Is it me, or does it seem that Bonneville/WTOP has a way of hiring talent who has recently been fired?") Hey, maybe they can hire two folks who recently got fired: Diane Kepley and Ira Melman. Oops, never mind. (3/4/08) Imus' D.C. area fanbase does not justify, can not justify, a position on the FM dial. While predictable, this latest development is still absolutely ridiculous. Everett W. (3/4/08) Hey Amigo ... Thanks for all you do there on the website! Excellent job ... I was saddened to read about my ex-fellow co-jocks at Smooth Jazz 105.9 on Friday and Chris Core at WMAL. I have been blessed here in Orlando with my voiceover and production company for the last 7 years and I pray that everyone that was let go over at Citadel has a bright and wonderful future! Should you hear from any of them, please give them my best and I wish them great success in thier next endeavour. The world is filled with dissappointment ... but we can all learn and grow from it or choose to let it defeat us. Here's to personal growth, health, and happiness! My best to everyone in the DCRTV marketplace!! :) *JT* (3/4/08) Um, Dave, you reported on Monday that Imus might be on in the mornings on some country station in Atlanta (which might flip to talk), not that Imus was coming to 105.9. You are pretty full of yourself. Mr. Tony was right. (3/4/08) Dave's response: Read my 3/1 Rant. Oh, Tony this morning said he wanted a bus with his ad on the back to back over me. He's funny..... Citadel is returning Don Imus to Washington, DC - a key market for the morning drive talk host. He'll air on the newly-launched "True Oldies 105.9" starting Thursday morning. Imus has always had a big Washington audience, but this is his first time on the FM dial. (3/4/08) Dave's response: Correction. While many DC politicos and media figures guested on Imus's show, he never generated much ratings traction via Clear Channel AMer WTNT. With the I-Man on an FMer, and with the right promotional campaign, he might just become a factor on the Nation's Capital's radio dial..... Some out of towners might be interested to know that True Oldies 105.9 is streaming online. As I type this, there is no link to listen live on the website; however, I pulled up the player via WABC's page and used the select a station link near the bottom of the player to navigate to the up and running 105.9 stream. It is a better music mix compared to most other oldies stations. I assume that you can get the player from any of the other Citadel stations. Jeff (3/4/08) Citadel is putting Imus on 105.9.....disaster. Political junkies on the right are listening to Grandy & Grandpa, and political junkies in the middle and on the left are listening to our Washington treasure, "Washington Journal." Please note; THEY WONT LEAVE EITHER FOR IMUS. Prediction, Chris Core 3-7 PM, 3WT, after, and certainly not before, Donni "retires" in May. For Chris's first show he should talk about what really happened with/between radio's "dumb and dumber" stars Michael Graham and Randal Bloomquist-now, that would be entertaining radio! Good luck Donni, you will be missed. (3/4/08) Comcast may be good to you Dave, but it sucks for me right now. I have regular cable and about 35 channels, half of them, are paused. All of them are between chs 35 and 79. Anything below 35 (like the local channels, except for WETA 26, it's a mess) are fine. It is 4pm now and based on the fact that I see Zack Braff have a cheesy grin on his face with the opening credits on the bottom of the screen, this happened at either 3pm or 3:30pm. I have called comcast in the past about this problem (once lasting 12 hours) and they said that they were looking into it. I love how they knock "the dish" and how if the moon isn't in the proper alignment you won't get your TV. I have cable and I still don't get it. I was at a buddies place 3 houses down my road and we got TV fine on his dish during hail. My cable broadband has slowed down so much that I wish I had DSL. We keep losing channels every few months and at the end of the month, we're losing the Cartoon Network. The irony of my situation is ESPN2 is paused on a screen that says "SEARCHLIGHT Demand more from your TV" That's exactly what I intend to do when I move to DirecTV. I have been comparing prices and even though I have a 1080p HDTV (which is used mostly for gaming) I do not have digital cable from comcast. I didn't want to get locked into a contract or something while I mull over prices. Verizon (which refuses to mail me my bill in my name and not the previous owner's name after repeated phone calls) wants about $30 more a month for the tv/broadband service/DVR setup vs comcast if I upgraded. DirecTV is a bit cheaper (with their HD setup) and I will be fine on DSL. -Mike in Silver Spring (3/4/08) Mix 1073 advertises on UK Media Site for interns,,, So, let's fire all the staff, then advertise for interns on the cheap on a UK media site. www.mediauk.com :-)(3/4/08) I can’t believe I’m actually reading the post that compares Brett Favre to Geronimo. Whomever posted that has been the Wild Turkey too long. LMAO! (3/4/08) It's official, the end is near... The FCC today approved "God's Final Call & Warning" fjallfoss.fcc.gov :-) (3/4/08) (Re: Chris Core talks to Bonneville) Is it me, or does it seem that Bonneville/WTOP has a way of hiring talent who has recently been fired? Frank Herzog comes to mind. Even though there are others they have hired, he is the only name I can pull right now. Maybe this demonstrates that Bonneville/WTOP isn't the big bad wolf people make them out to be...or maybe it is that they get caught up with big local names and make emotional hires. (3/4/08) Brett Favre and Don Geronimo both retiring in 2008...coincidence?...I don't think so! (3/4/08) “This is as silly and unrealistic as someone who believes the famed '57 Chevy was the end all and be all of automobiles and that the newer models will never quite measure up.” Don’t know who wrote this, but I would trade in my current car for a ’57 Chevy in a New York Minute. The truth is, everything they build now IS crap compared to that fabulous ride. (3/4/08) For the last 40 years, whenever there has been a radio station ownership change - with the usual format switch and airstaff shakeup - sooner or later, everybody starts yearning for the good old days, back when radio was better. They foolishly buy in to the notion that radio should somehow continue to be now, as it once used to be. This is as silly and unrealistic as someone who believes the famed '57 Chevy was the end all and be all of automobiles and that the newer models will never quite measure up. In the world of cars (and radio), different styles roll off the line, year after year. Some are great, some are merely okay and still others are a piece of crap. Radio, as it once was, is as dead as the '57 Chevy and it is quite unlikely that either will be back in vogue any time soon. (3/4/08) Don Geronimo has sunk into a deep depression. Not sure if he'll be doing his show today. www.washingtonpost.com (3/4/08) What happened to Don and Mike yesterday afternoon? I was listening over the internet and they were abruptly cut off, followed by 25 minutes of commercials. Seem like it was the best of after that. Tantrum? Amy (3/4/08) Dave's response: Didn't listen to the whole show yesterday. Did D&M bug out before the end? [SNIP}Me and my 12 buddies? I listed many distinct genres of music. How can that be narrowcasting ? I doubt WHFS and WRNR have only 13 listeners. [endSNIP] It's narrowcasting if a narrow segment of the audience is interested in hearing it. People always SAY they want really broad variety on the radio... the old "there are millions of songs out there why don't you play..." argument... but the reality is what people often, and in large numbers, respond to is familiarity. Novelty songs are just that novelty... relevant to the time and era from which they came, and for a limited time, at that. I'm not saying you can't enjoy hearing the genres you mentioned frequently, I'm just pointing out that the audiences for those genres are proven time and time again, not just by "research" but by actual measurement of audience behavior to be of very narrow appeal to the larger, mainstream audience, thus in the radio business, not a viable mass market target. And for the record, I agree... oldies radio is tired... and a carefully chosen mix of music from those eras, blended with the long-rotating "wow" record, could possibly succeed... but its certainly going to take research and a PD who knows how to use the knowledge obtained from such a study to make the magic happen. The "All Things To All People" approach seldom works... I've worked for stations where they played an eclectic mix of pop but AC friendly music and were perpetually in the bottom 3rd of the ratings... and people would STILL complain we "play the same songs over and over!" The reality was, we were playing so many of the wrong songs (from the audience perspective) that they weren't hearing enough of the familiar songs they loved. When the station tightened it's playlist (from about 1400 songs at one point, to about 500) the ratings shot through the roof! Happy Day! -djmr (3/4/08) I hope Line 3 is a typo... washingtondc.craigslist.org: "A MAJOR CABLE NETWORK IS CASTING ACTORS AND ACTRESSES TO STAR IN UPCOMING TV SHOW. WE ARE LOOKING TO CAST FOR 2 DIFFERENT SCENE. ONE SCENE REQUIRES A MALE AND FEMALE TO LAY A HUSBAND AND WIFE. THE OTHER WILL REQUIRE 2 MALES OR 2 FEMALES FOR A JOGGING SCENE. PLEASE ATTACH YOUR HEADSHOT TO YOUR EMAIL. THIS IS A NON PAYING GIG. THANKS, JAY" (3/4/08) "Go up and down the dial during the daytime and there’s Rush and other syndicated talkers. Local? Forget it." Try leaving the big city, and you'll find local radio alive and well in the hinderlands. WSVA-AM 550 is "live and local" virtually all day long, and they are the number station in Harrisonburg. AM1400 WINC just brought local talk back to Winchester by dumping Bill Bennett for a local morning talk show. Travel up I-81 another 30 miles, and you will find TWO local radio stations going head-to-head with live, local talk shows - "Panhandle Live" on WEPM (AM 1340) and "Eastern Panhandle Talk" on WRNR-AM 740. WRNR produces 14 live newscasts daily (each are six minutes long from 6am to 9am; a 30 minute newscast at noon and another 30 minutes at 5pm. WRNR also produces live newscasts on Saturday and Sunday morning. Al McGilvray (3/4/08) Well, Leap Day Horror has come and gone. “Gone” is the key word. What a mess. Why are radio sales down? Listen. Nothing interesting any more. Key to radio: owners should do something to make listeners listen and advertisers advertise. Radio should relate to their communities, not unrelate with automation/voice-tracking/jockless programming. No one cares when it’s just a record player playing tunes. People thrive for information whether it be news, entertainment, even wanting to know what's on sale in their community's stores. But no one cares nor listens when NO ONE COMMUNICATES. Radio as we know it is just about gone now. Very few properties do what was done for so many years: COMMUNICATE. Go up and down the dial during the daytime and there’s Rush and other syndicated talkers. Local? Forget it. At night, it’s spaceships and martians with G. Norry or a couple of other syndicators. Local? Forget it.Sad. Very sad. And where will up and coming DJs, talk hosts, etc. learn their trade? The Internet maybe? But they're on their own without professional mentors. Too bad. (3/4/08) Me and my 12 buddies? I listed many distinct genres of music. How can that be narrowcasting ? I doubt WHFS and WRNR have only 13 listeners. My point is that an oldies station should be something than a bunch of overplayed tired songs. WBIG and WJZW programmers should use their imagination. People wouldn't change stations if they had the reaction "Wow I haven't heard that in awhile" instead of "How many times is that guy gonna drive his chevy to levy?" Don't lecture me about mass market broadcasting. If a business doesn't make money they close their doors. I have an ipod like devices and hundreds of cds. DCRTV Dave is right about well-worn oldies. What I am looking for is a hybrid of some past radio stations. Les in Adelphi (3/4/08) Westwood Mics up Billy Bush www.mediaweek.com (3/4/08) Let me put in my two cents about John Matthews. As someone who worked with him for 4+ years (or under him as one poster said), I must take issue with any suggestion he had little respect for co-workers. My experience was quite the opposite. One thing I really liked about John was that he encouraged people to run with their ideas, sometimes pretty crazy ones, at least on my part. It often made for some really outside-the-box radio, which is what we all complain is lacking. Sad also is that John’s exit marks the end of a once super news department’s long dismantling. The folks still there are very good, but you can hardly call it a department anymore. Washington has a great newser in WTOP, and we ought to be thankful, because that’s basically all we’ve got now. Andrew O’Day (3/4/08) To John Matthews. John, I don't know how to reach you and I don't know if you read the mailbag but I wanted to let you know how sorry I was to hear WMAL cut you loose. Having lost radio jobs in the past I know how lonely it can feel. If there is anything I can do for you don't hesitate to reach out. From our days working the early morning beat I have fond memories of dodging the dangers on the mean streets. Best, Paul Wagner, paul.wagner@foxtv.com (3/4/08) (snipped from various locations around DCRTV) ... the XM weather broadcast for the DC area was being done by an automated voice ... WMMJ had several minutes of silence, but the transmitter was on ... True Oldies 105.9 playing the sounds of silence, literally for about 10 minutes now ... unadventurous playlist, no jocks, just a nice, safe, bland broadcast version of a jukebox ... Doobie Brothers "Listen to the Music" twice in 50 minutes. --- OH YEAH, COMPUTERS ARE THE FUTURE OF RADIO! (3/4/08) I have been listening to 105.9 for the past two days and absolutely love the music they are playing. The only thing they can add is a dab more pre 1964 music. I can’t believe they actually say OLDIES 105.9. I thought that word as taboo on the FM dial. Hey, us baby boomers are still alive and kicking and a lot of us are still working for a living. We have saved and have some disposable income which is a lot to say in a slowing economy. Our homes are paid off or close to it, we drive new cars, we travel and we go out to eat. All oldies 105.9 has to do is to find an advertisement department for that target audience. As far as DJ’s go, maybe Johnny Dark will return to the FM dial, who knows? Maybe Cathy Whiteside for the evening ride home? A female voice is easy listing for a stressful ride home. Anyway, 105.9 can have a niche if they play their cards right. What do you think? (3/4/08) Dave's response: I do occasionally hear a "wow oldie" on 105.9, one that I haven't heard played on the radio in a while. If they play more of those, instead of the more well-worn oldies, I would listen more. Johnny Dark on 105.9 would be magnificent..... Fire the CEO’s. When do we reach the point where shareholders realize that the CEO’s are the problem in the broadcast business? Citadel CEO Farid Suleman must be fired. The Citadel stock was over $10 a share about a year back and today it is close to being delisted, trading at a little over a dollar. Farid states that “Talk is over Time to walk”. The only thing a bean counter understands is how to slice and dice the numbers, so they divest themselves of talent and assets. Mr. Suleman earned 17 million last year. How is that possible? Maybe he shouldn’t have purchased ABC. Everyone else backed out. All of the people who created the great media stock values are out of the business and we are left with the Suleman’s and Hogan’s who don’t understand that we are in the programming and marketing content business. Radio is not a commodity, and successful broadcast leaders like Mel Karmazin, Jimmy de Castro and John Hare understood the need to create new formats and hire and build new talent. Growth companies invest in their product. Farid needs to take his own advice…’Talk is over Time to walk” (3/4/08) (Re: Chris Core on Andy Pollin's WTEM show Monday:) Some nice reminiscing about Bill Trumbull and Ken Beatrice. Nice to hear Andy and Czabe fawning over him; they were most gracious. Chris was the consummate professional. Funny to hear Chris and Andy singing old jingles from back when radio was, well, radio. I'm a soft touch for this kind of thing. Wonder what Mr. Core was doing at 1801? (3/4/08) I don't know what Reuters is smoking but the "60 Minutes" blackout controversy in Huntsville, Alabama had nothing to do with civil rights footage. The blacked out story explored the question of whether Republican political operative Karl Rove orchestrated the criminal prosecution of former Alabama Democratic governor Don Siegelman. Broadcasting & Cable has a much better account. Everett W. www.broadcastingcable.com (3/4/08) Dave it's great you can get CNN on HD. Maybe you saw MMJ's Tom Joynor live with John Roberts talking about the campaign. If you didn't, their newsman Matt Davis had parts from it. Cool, local became national and then back to local. The magic, excuse the expression of radio and tv. Ken/Bethesda (3/4/08) Dave's response: I did happen to flip by CNN-HD when Joyner was on..... Sad about Chris Core, the jury still out about Smooth Jazz to Oldies. But, the poster on John Matthews, yes he was dedicated, but he had little respect for co-workers and those below him. He thought he was the end all of news, just what another station needs. As they say in Disney World John, "it's a small world afterall". Ken/Bethesda (3/4/08) -snip-....done by music programmer with a sense of music history. How about a station that does roots rock such as 50's and 60's novelty rock, blues, crossover country and folk music?-snip- Um... yeah... a multi-million-dollar operation is going to cater to you and your 12 buddies. Come on people! Radio is in the mass market entertainment business... the keywords here are "mass", "market", and "business". Just how long do you think a radio station would last if it narrowcasted to such a small audience? The facts are these... Broadcast radio is there to serve the greater population of people who simply want familiar music they like, and most are happy with the narrow playlists because they get to hear songs they know and like/love frequently. THAT is why radio sounds like it does, and why it will continue to sound as such. For those who want something more tailored to their personal tastes there are options: buy your own CDs, iPod, or subscribe to satellite radio (although, on that last one, many of the same people complain that satellite radio doesn't meet their needs and "why did I bother subscribing if its the same as regular radio?" In the case of satellite radio, simple thing... they can narrowcast, but still the channels have to appeal to enough people to make the efforts worthwhile.) Oh, and there's the internet too. Happy Day! -djmr (3/4/08) re: with the same believeability as the ROTC guy in "Animal House" who was shouting "All is well! All is calm!"... " That was Kevin Bacon (3/4/08) Hi Dave. Love your site. Just wanted you to know that I spoke with someone (at HFS)... The station's committment to the Orioles will likely mean the station will cut away from the May 30 Don & Mike show early to start the baseball pre-game. May 30th starts a home stand against the Red Sox, game time at 7:05. Isn't that just a perfectly fitting way for HFS to act, particularly in light of their recent history of screwing their listeners at every turn?!?! (3/4/08) The following was forwarded to DCRTV..... I’m happy to say I’ll be back on the air this week, if only for a couple of days. Legendary Chicago radio station WLS has invited me to fill in while their morning team, Don & Roma, is on vacation. I’ll be on this Thursday and Friday (March 6-7) from 5-9am CT. If you’re in the area, please listen on WLS 890 AM. Everywhere else, you can hear the streaming audio via www.wlsam.com. Thanks for your continued support. I’ll keep you posted on other developments soon. …Paul Harris... Always on www.HarrisOnline.com... P.S. Have you subscribed to my free Knuckleheads In The News® podcast yet? (3/4/08) O.K..Let me go into paranoid mode and mention that when NBC4's 11pm news came on, Doreen was on there by herself with no comment as to where Jim Vance was. Usually if she's by herself, she'll say something like Jim Vance is off tonight. Nothing was said..HMMM.. (3/4/08) Jan Fox was on 9 News in the 6:30 half-hour Monday morning to say farewell. (3/4/08) Not a huge deal, but today the XM weather broadcast for the DC area was being done by an automated voice, as opposed to the XM human broadcasters. Voice was pretty good, but it claimed that the temp in Frederick MD this afternoon was 0 degrees and fair. Fair it probably was, but everyone else had temps in the 60s or even 70. I suppose it is another cost cutting move. Sure hope they keep the humans giving the traffic on XM, which is the biggest reason I purchased XM in the first place. Bill Jensen (3/4/08) i was probably the only viewer this morning that watched jan fox say goodbye on channel 9's morning news. it was nice that gannett had the balls to let her sit there and say goodbye, since she has been at the station almost 20 years. she was an awesome reporter and a sweetheart to work with. she will be sorely missed. there are only a few decent reporters left there...happy trails, jan, thanks for the memories!!!!! (3/4/08) DCRTV, It is sad that good quality music has been silenced. I tried to embrace the new format, but couldn’t. Many of us who grew up in the “Sixties” have evolved beyond that era’s genre of music (frankly, we’re sick of it, -we’ve heard it much too often). The new “true oldies” sounds “hyped-up, impersonal” and out of touch (ask anyone on the street). Smooth Jazz 105.9 you will live in our hearts forever. One Loyal Listener, Mark Stevens (3/4/08) I vote for AL (for hottie). He is Mr. Radio par excellence... Mark Stevens Waldorf, MD I was a loyal smooth jazz listener until the music died on 105.9. Very Tragic :-( (3/4/08) /\ March 4 Messages /\ \/ March 3 Messages \/ WMMJ had several minutes of silence, but the transmitter was on (stereo lite on radio) this morning. It was a fairly long time, possibly 5 mins or more. Does anybody know why? Also noted, driving through the district, a mono music signal on 98.1 any idea who this is,,pirate? (3/3/08) Now theres only one station left that i like listening to!!!! That African American Gospel 104. Me and my Father now miss Smooth Jazz!!! I heard a rumor the Baltimore one is off air now too!!! (3/3/08) A previous poster wrote, "What made BIG so great in their heyday, was the airstaff. Jim & Mary, Goldie, Kathy, Tom and Bonnie." But, wait! Wasn't there a guy on at night who did the "10 at 10" (before Johnny Dark did it) What was his name... Adler? No... (although he too was part of the 1st team) Uh... Sanders? no, I think it was Santos... Yeah, SANTOS!!!! AL SANTOS!!!! Ironic, isn't it? About 15 years ago, I was part of the first Oldies 100 airstaff which, upon it's arrival, displaced Jazzy-100. Here's another irony... It was Steve Allan, who in 1987 hired me at W-LITE (94.7) to fill in for his night time show (which included, from 9pm - Mid, "Night Lite Jazz") while he assumed acting-PD duties of the station. Steve did the Sunday Brunch, as well, until his departure in late Summer of '87 upon the arrival of the newly hired PD. Upon Steve's exit, and being that I was the only person on the station who'd been doing anything with jazz, I inherited the Sunday Brunch where, to this date, it's been so closely associated with me. When WJZW's previous PD (Carl Anderson) left and I found out Steve Allan was going to be the new PD, I immediately thought, "The circle is complete". Pardon my ramblings but, I've got lots of time on my hands these days... Lemmie tell you about the thing Jack Alex told me before he fired me from XTRA-104.... so, he calls me into his office... (fade to black) (3/3/08) Hey Dave....Question....AM radio DXing ain't what it used to be. Only two really good music stations: WSM 650 out of Nashville, if you like Country and Grand Old Opry and CHWO 740 from Toronto. Hmmmm..... now give that station a listen overnight. A VARIETY OF OLDIES from the 1940's through the 1970's. Thank goodness we don't need a passport. You can also pick them up www.am740.ca AND IT DOES NOT COST A PENNY! As for talk radio, you've still got WBZ 1030 out of Boston and, my favorite WGN 720 out of Chicago. All the other frequencies carry George Norry and his looney, UFO Space Cadet show. I pity those who are his regular listeners, they have no life....that includes WMAL. You could have kept Chris Core overnight and replaced that kooky Norry. BTW, how many stations does is goofy show carried on? Appears overnight radio is now the United States of Norry. Orson Wells; PLEASE MAKE CONTACT. Dave K. in Waldorf (3/3/08) "Dave's response: Don't forget that 3WT's Nationals coverage will be carried by the Frederick area's 820 AM, which does cover a good chunk of Loudoun....." Unfortunately the reception on 820AM at night is horrible in NW Montgomery. That is why I asked about WAGE which has an excellent signal in my area. (3/3/08) Just found out that if Verizon has FIOS Internet in your area your unable to get DSL only dial up. I moved and signed up for FIOS but they said it will take 30 days before I'm connected so I asked if I can get DSL until FIOS is connected. The answer was no only dial up. (3/3/08) “Don't forget that 3WT's Nationals coverage will be carried by the Frederick area's 820 AM, which does cover a good chunk of Loudoun.....” Not to mention the 3WT translator on 104.3 in Leesburg. –Brian (3/3/08) Nothing like innovative programming on the new 105.9. WARX was an Oldies station in Hagerstown, MD with no less than Imus in the Morining starting the day. In 2005 they dumped the Oldies format and Imus for a Classic Hits format and are now the Eagle WWEG. So now here we are back with the same old format and Imus which was dumped in 2005. Looks like Citadel is really trying hard to bring us something new, and exciting. (3/3/08) Anyone know if WAGE is going to carry the Nats games this year? As always they ignore emails and their "Sports" section on their website alerts listeners to the upcoming Super Bowl. (3/3/08) Dave's response: Don't forget that 3WT's Nationals coverage will be carried by the Frederick area's 820 AM, which does cover a good chunk of Loudoun..... This just in: The new lineup on Oldies 105.9. Imus In The Morning, Voicetracked Mid-day, PM Drive........... STEVE ALLAN!!!! Yes, to save money, Citadel is making Steve do a shift!!! He was a pretty good jock on W-LITE 100 years ago. Can't wait to see what he has left in the tank on Oldies! (3/3/08) Michael Popovec, You go man. It's really nice to hear from someone that's young and contemporary havin a ball on the radio. You really don't hear that on many stations. I was coming back from Delaware Saturday and did some "dial surfing". Ain't much out there. So glad you're having a good time..Pull out "Little Old Man" by Bill Cosby if you want to play a forgotten classic. PLB (3/3/08) Chris Core? You're kidding, right? Didn't he retire about 25 years ago? (3/3/08) This week's Knave of the Week is Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post, for obstinately refusing to discuss the heaving bosoms and marijuana brownie subplot in the current arc of the Judge Parker comic strip during his weekly online discussion of comic strips. KNAVE! Noble of the Week is Chad "Crybaby" Dukes for pulling off a fantastic interview with the guy who plays John Connor on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a show C.C.D. has only watched for twenty minutes spread over two episodes in spite of saying he will check it out on more than one occasion and his professed loyalty to the Terminator franchise. Crybaby NOBLE! Caller X (3/3/08) I heard "American Pie". TruOldies officially sucks. Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Bob Dylan are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You won't find Don McLean there. I absolutely detest that American Pie song. Truoldies only original idea is to be a clone of Oldies 100. Classic Rock and Oldies radio stations could work if it is done by music programmer with a sense of music history. How about a station that does roots rock such as 50's and 60's novelty rock, blues, crossover country and folk music? What about a full time station programmed with garage or progressive rock? There are some many alternatives to stations that play "American Pie", "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" or lame Billy Joel or Elton John songs. Les in Adelphi (3/3/08) The staff you mentioned that used to be on WBIG was totally flip card, boring, clone oriented, shadows of the really great jocks. Believe it or not, the guys that you refer to as (They're all 80 years old).-are for the most part in their 60's. They are also in great shape physically and mentally. And for your information, could still rock the house. The "big" staff was most definitely un-funny-not relevant to the day to day lifestyle of DC and couldn't hold a candle to the "legends". You mentioned Goldie...NY accent, hyper beyond words and irritating as hell. That's my two cents worth. (3/3/08) Joyce... Thanks for your kind words... I truly have had a blast back here on the Shore spinning music. I just got finished playing Shaun Cassidy's Da Doo Ron Ron (I know...originally done by the Crystals) to wrap up my 12 O'Clock Whatever hour. What other Hot A/C do you know of, even during a speciality hour, that plays that one, huh? I even get to play a few 60s hits from time to time. That hour is my "oldies hour" and man do I love it and I think the listeners can really tell the passion I have for it. Re: radio and jocks and personality... Why radio got away from personality driven radio I'll never know, isn't that part of the fun of radio, yeah it may be a lot of the same songs but talked up and presented a different way each time. If people don't want to hear jocks, guess what?... Their not listening now! Why become an IPod, MP3 player, etc when they are already out there--personality, local info, entertainment is what differentiates us...I do my very best to be informative, entertaining and LOCAL as best I can because as jocks if were not doing those three things than we might as well not be around. I am fortunate to have a PD and MD who don't want me to just be a liner card reader and I refuse to be because they can get the v/o guy to read promos. I want to actually be doing something and connect with the listeners. -Michael Popovec (3/3/08) Jack Diamond is on vacation all this week. It was on the internal calandars at the station. Carson and Chili are still there...as of now. (3/3/08) Dave's response: Jack and Mike on JFK? With Chili, Buzz, Joe, and Robbay? Oh, nevermind..... If Fred Grandy thinks that getting caught up in the "malestrom" is a trip, he ought to try taking a ride on the femalestrom. (Yes, I know: it's the transcriber, not Fred...) That being said, I shall always treasure my memories of WMAL, from Harden & Weaver to Tom Gauger to Trumbull and Core, "You're next!", to Felix and Bill Mayhugh. And John Lyon, playing the Meters and Justin Wilson, as the quintessential bullpen reliever. When I had my appendix out at GWU, I discovered that if I put my Walkman next to the bed remote, I could listen to Bill M. overnight. The nurses at the nursing stations could, alas for them, get only static on AM. The only station that came close for me was KNBR in San Francisco during the time that Frank Dill and Mike Clary were the morning talent. I got to listen to them when I visited the in-laws, and they were as much fun as my home team. But I guess I'm old and the world is moving on, and the offspring are getting ready to put AM radio, like me, into a home. (3/3/08) I know Core is the big name out at WMAL, but I just want to put in for John Matthews. I worked briefly at 630 in the 90s and there is no one more dedicated to that station than John. It was literally his life. I hope he lands on his feet. Maybe WTOP? (3/3/08) Dave's response: Don't get me wrong, Chris Core is a great guy and deserves all the press he's getting. But what can you say about Citadel cutback stories from Paul Farhi and Marc Fisher that mention no one else but Core. What about John Matthews, who'd been with MAL two-plus decades? Or the entire airstaff at JZW, including Charlie Maxx, Al Santos, Van Niece Johnson, Jay Lang, and Tom Grooms. The Post's coverage of local radio - if they do bother to cover anything in the first place - remains sloppy and inept..... I think it's time to put the Hits Of Yesteryear on the new True Oldies 105.9. You can check out what a show for REAL oldies lovers sounds like www.hitsofyesteryear.com. Thanks Dave! Cheers, Glenn Sauter, Producer and Host Of The Hits Of Yesteryear (3/3/08) Is it just me, or is Dan Snyder dumb as a bag of hammers? (3/3/08) Regarding MIX - look at this link: www.mix1073fm.com... Cindy McGuire is not on it and it appears Rod Hendrix is subbing an awful lot this week. I believe John Martin was off on Friday as well. Mike in Waldorf (3/3/08) For all these posters talking about bringing the legends of yesteryear back to the new Oldies station, give me a break!! They're all 80 years old. I love 60's & 70's music, but I don't want to hear a guy that sounds like my grandpa in between the records. What made BIG so great in their heyday, was the airstaff. Jim & Mary, Goldie, Kathy, Tom and Bonnie. They may have been playing old records, but they were young and contemporary. It's still great to hear Kathy in Baltimore and since I drive through North Carolina a lot, I hear Goldie's morning show a few times a month. You would think that his energy and exuberance would be a little much in the morning, but he does a very entertaining, fun morning show. I love listening to him when I'm rolling down 95. Bring him back and let him do mornings. That would be a nice fit. No offense to the Johnny Darks of the world, but you had a good long run. Thanks for the memories! (3/3/08) Around 11:40AM today (Monday), Chris Plante announced that Bob Grant--a very well known NYC radio icon--would be in the 8PM-10PM WMAL timeslot this week. Grant, is currently heard on WABC, a WMAL-Citadel sister station. Also, both at the beginning (very emotionally) and the end of his show today, Chris Plante spoke eloquently about Chris Core's departure & gave out Chris' website, email address, and made mention of Core's final posting on the WMAL website. Highly unusual--and appropriate!--Mike from Silver Spring (3/3/08) Dave's response: Is Grant still alive? He must be 110..... I heard “Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes” at 9:17 this morning. I almost drove off the road. Of all the “true” oldies to play… (3/3/08) Dave's response: Edison Lighthouse. Has 105.9 played "Beach Baby" by First Class yet? Actually, it's the same singer on both songs - Tony Burrows..... Mailbaggers today have got it right--radio is in a suicidal spiral. The people in charge somehow think radio is a money machine; that's why they think they don't need respected on-air personalities with good track records. Just fill up the spaces between the commercials with the cheapest, pre-tested crap and the money will continue to flow in, right? Wrong, obviously, but for some reason it's not obvious to the folks calling the shots. They take away the reasons for listening and can't figure out why no one listens. A format flip may create a ratings bump, but only because people will be curious about whether there will be something worth listening to. Radio has turned the word "oldies" into something that makes me retch, simply because it's always the S.O.S. on every last bleedin' station. If you actually did TRUE oldies, you'd have hundreds upon hundreds of great songs that never get played anymore, answer records, and comedy records --lots of great stuff from all sorts of genres (after all, micro formats are a newer invention). But all of this will continue to fall on deaf ears, because the ivory tower dwellers only know one tactic: cut back on the expenses that go into the "money machine". They have totally forgotten that they are supposed to attract listeners. If these same people ever tried to do a real-life activity like fishing, they'd probably figure bait was an unnecessary expense and cast bare hooks. (3/3/08) (Anyone hear Nigel doing a DirecTV ad on 3WT completely without his fake British accent. Amazing. What a fraud you are, Mr. Sterne) this is a crazy posting by an obvious radio moron...or someone with an axe to grind with Sterne/Nigel or 3WT. I don't listen to TK that much, but when I have, I find that "Nigel" is entertaining. He has created a funny radio character much like thousands of others in this business over the years. the fact he uses an accent to pull this character off meaningless! they aren't trying to fool anyone...he is on the show for comedy, not credibility (he produces the show if I'm not mistaken). So, why would a commercial recorded as a no name radio voice be any different than someone else over there recording a commercial as a no name radio voice? where is the "fraud" in that? to me he seems to be the opposite of a "fraud"...he seems just plain talented. Think before you speak. (3/3/08) The NEW True Oldies 105.9 and been playing the sounds of silence, literally for about 10 minutes now. It's 10:40 a.m. and where's your IT guy? Charlie / Springfield (3/3/08) As an WMAL alumna, I want to express my condolences to all the long-time employees who were dismissed last week. It is sad to witness the demise of a truly great radio station that I was proud to be a part of. When I moved on to WABC in the late 1980's and was given the task of making Rush Limbuaugh palatable to New Yorkers, I stopped enjoying my job. I never liked the pompous, insulting style of the right-wing talkers and was dismayed to see that format take over AM radio. I haven't listened to WMAL much in the 18 years since I've been back in DC because of the format, but I respect Chris Core, John Matthews (he started as an intern, I think) and the other professionals that continued to pour their heart and soul into the station. Good luck guys and remember, there is life after radio. Pat Ryan Garcia (WMAL Promotion 1982-87) (3/3/08) Could somebody please explain... with all of this discussion about Chris Core's sudden dismissal, why do I get this sudden hankering for an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle? (3/3/08) (snippet) You guys just don't get it ... Any talk of hiring new air talent is wishful thinking and not reality (teppins) Ackshuly, we *do* get it. It's a foregone conclusion that Oldies 105.9 is what it is and likely will not change. Our position all along has been that Oldies as it exists today is a walking rotting corpse without a soul, and the decision to go jockless and plug in the PC is not helping anything. Turn on your TV and watch "Lost"; you're not watching computers. Go to a theatrical production; you're not watching computers. Look at the nut on Constitution Ave playing a drum solo on inverted buckets. He's not a computer. In theory, voicetracking and leaving the show up to a computer was not a bad idea (back in 1997). But it has not played out the way it was intended, and the payoff is a dwindling audience griping about how much radio sucks. Imitating an iPod is not the way to win: A key element in making radio - in general - viable again is to put live performers back in place. Certainly not in every daypart, true, but why make the sun go down on your station at 10:01AM? (3/3/08) Here's why Imus will not surface at all on 105.9 (IMO). The Grandy & Andy show will be the next one to go at WMAL, and Citidel will probably replace it with Imus. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Core will ultimately be replaced with a syndicated show. Who will it be? Perhaps Mark Levin? We'll see. But isn't it great that no matter where you are in the U.S., your local radio programming is decided by a bunch of geeky bean counters and pencil pushers in some Ivory tower in New York. The mass acquisitions of local radio stations by large corporate holding companies like Infinity (CBS), Clear Channel, and Citidel have absolutely RUINED local radio in just about every market in the country. But as long as the corporate execs are making millions, who really gives a damn, right? At least WCBM in Baltimore has remained a locally owned enterprise. Surely the last of a breed. I wonder if there are any others in the DC/Balt region? (3/3/08) After you check out the "Al Santos Racing Team" you might enjoy this sexy British commercial: media.putfile.com ;-) --RB (3/3/08) I'm loving the nitwits who are attacking Mark Sterne for the "Nigel" character/accent, like he's REALLY trying to pass himself off as a Brit. Uh, there's a little thing called a "joke". You might want to look it up. The Nigel thing started a couple of years ago on the Kornheiser show, and TK eventually demanded that Sterne keep the accent -- and the semi-character -- on the show. Nobody's being misleading; nobody's trying to fool anybody. Sheesh. Sincerely, TMU (3/3/08) Man, I took a day off for some medical appointments and missed the blood bath because (wait for it…wait for it..) I WAS LISTENING TO XM ALL DAY!!! How's that for bloody ironic? Seriously though, Chris Core and the Jazz folks will be missed, although their playlist was shrinking by the hour (except on overnight and Sunday am). Just another reason to avoid local radio, as it becomes increasingly homogenized and blanded into obscurity. Even DX'ing is becoming boring; it's pretty much "how many stations can you get carrying George Noory on the overnight?" The answer, Alex, is "stories about black helicopters from 600 miles away, 450 miles away, 300 miles away, or just down the road from WMAL"….Now, I'm pretty conservative and remember Bob Grant from when I was a kid and he was about as far down the left hand of the AM dial in the NYC market that you could go, but putting him on in DC is just a bad idea. DC is basically a government town, and that means bureaucrats. Bureaucrats are mostly bland, because that's how you survive in a risk averse hierarchical environment. And with that survival comes smugness and arrogance, because that's just the way the highly educated but still bland are. And Bob Grant will be dismissed by those self-same bland arrogant bureaucrats because he is unabashadly passionate about his positions and a decades-long bombthrower, the kind of person who is routinely missed down here as "too loud and bossy, too New York".. Genghis Cohen (3/3/08) Dave, Does the vacationing Jack Diamond Morning show have to do with any of the big Citadel cuts on 2/29? I did not hear that they were all off on a “vacation” until this morning? Are any other personalities gone? Carson or Chili? Thanks, Kevin (3/3/08) Dave's response: Hmmm, indeed..... You guys just don't get it! Citadel didn't change format and fire tons of people to turn around and hire new employees. Those folks will be replaced with automation! Citadel is Clear Channel Lite. Any talk of hiring new air talent is wishful thinking and not reality. If you are a jock your days in the biz are numbered. Better go back to school and find a skill that can carry you through the rest of your working life. A few stations will have live/local morning shows but other than that ALL dayparts will be via computer. Radio has taken a shotgun and mortally wounded itself. Suicide is never a pretty thing... (3/3/08) Anyone hear Nigel doing a DirecTV ad on 3WT completely without his fake British accent. Amazing. What a fraud you are, Mr. Sterne. (3/3/08) I just heard Fred Grandy say "fark" on WMAL. OK, it was that Columbian rebel group. But, close enough to the real "f-word" for an FCC fine, me thinks. (3/3/08) 105.9: oldies... 630: grandy and andy... 570: wall street journal report... 1160: some louie armstrong record... if imus is here, i can't find him (3/3/08) Dave's response: Yup, no Imus in DC. Yet. I really thought today might be the day..... Me thinks there's a very good reason why WMAL has "allowed" Chris Core to post a "farewell" on the station website. It's very simple. Audience participation. At WMAL, it runs higher than at many major market AM talkers. Remember what happened a few years ago when the mid-morning host made remarks that upset some people? They called the sponsors. And, they in turn called the station. No matter how reprehensible the guy's remarks were, WMAL management bought a rep they could never buy when they canned the guy. Now, we again have an announcer who was canned. Not because of anything he did on (or off) the air. But, simply because of an economic decision. However, what the bean counters at Citadel didn't think about (at least initially) is that Chris Core built up not only a loyal audience over several decades, he also brought on more than a few accounts that stations like 3WT would kill to have. What we're seeing here is nothing more than an effort at dam! age control. After thinking about it over the past day or so, no doubt WMAL has been contacted by some of their accounts regarding what happened to Chris. I'm sure that if WMAL hasn't already been served notice that it's losing some of their accounts, they've no doubt had to give away big bucks in air time already to keep some of them. What WMAL no doubt fears in all this is not just the "Joe and Jane Public" contacting Chris Core's former sponsors and asking them to pull their flihgts, it's the "Washington Representatives", "Government Relations Representatives", etc., for not just Chris Core's sponsors, but for those who bought time in other WMAL dayparts as well from putting pressure on their employers to pull their spotloads. Finally, when it comes to :Washington Representatives", I'm sure WMAL is also thinking about those elected to two-year and six-year terms, many of whom also listened to Chris Core over the years. Why else would Chris Core's remarks includ! e a request for no ill will to be held towards WMAL? Then again, I w onder how many FCC folks were loyal listeners of "The Chris Core Show"? I wouldn't want to be the one having to work up a response to a "Show Cause" inquiry regarding the financial or management ability to be jusdged fit to be a licensee of the FCC for a chain of stations the size of what Citadel has, never mind just thinking about WMAL! You see, another thing that Citadel didn't consider with canning Chris Core is in a still largely government town like Washington, an "economic decision" like Chris Core's layoff could reverberate around this town like when Oldsmobile left Lansing or if Buick fully exited Flint. It also could serious regiona;/local questioning of those announcing "There is no recession" with the same believeability as the ROTC guy in "Animal House" who was shouting "All is well! All is calm!"... That is until he got run over by a mob!!! Face it folks, whether Citadel realized it or not (They probably didn't really think it through as they really do! n't know how things work in Washington!), Chris Core's layoff announced that the Washington area (if not the nation) is in a recession louder and clearer than if it had come from a politician, bureaucrat, or policymaker. Only thing is, in the process, they run the risk of pissing-off the folks shouting :"There's no recession!" Some of those folks you don't want to piss-off when your business operates with the blessing of those same folks. It will be interesting to see what happens not just for Chris Core, but also to WMAL, and perhaps the rest of the Citadel chain. There are some things an FCC licensee can do to get their attention. This could bring the kind of attention you really don't want. Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/3/08) I never quite understood WHY the music "oldies" stations play is getting younger and younger... I'm 63 years old and while I'm familiar with all the "newer oldies", I, personally, miss hearing some of the tunes of the 50s and 60s which very few "oldies" stations play anymore. Oh sure, you'll hear a couple Chuck Berry songs or something from Buddy Holley or Fats Domino but, how long has it been since you heard, "Broken Hearted Melody" by Sara Vaughn or "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Sounds Orchestral or even, "Stranger On The Shore" by Aker Bilk... It's as if these songs never existed but, they were all part of the soundtrack of MY life and probably YOURS too (if you're of a certain demographic... yes, you're no longer a person, you're a DEMO) and it was for THAT reason, those songs and many like them, were regularly played on the WJZW Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch. By the way, OLD is just a state of mind. We still buy a ton of "stuff" and up until this past Friday I had quite a bit of disposable income. To see where this 63 year OLD person spent some of his, look here: media.putfile.com. I'm the car in the far lane! Al Santos (3/3/08) "Question for the tower geeks: A little bit north of the Bethesda Metro, a bit off Old Georgetown Road , there is a fairly tall building with a steel tower on top, painted in the standard safety colors of a broadcast stick. Anyone know who this is?" I haven't seen the tower, but I understand that the very old WHFS 102.3 tower in still on the Triangle Towers apartment building, roughly where you describe. The station moved away a LONG time ago. (3/3/08) Dave's response: Yeah, I pay homage to the old 102.3 HFS tower at least once a year. I can just sense Root Boy Slim's ghost whenever I walk down Cordell Avenue in Bethesda. I get this strange urge to put a quarter in the juke, and boogie 'till I puke..... To Chris Core, Al Santos and Jay Lang- You guys will be missed. Al and Jay and the rest of the WJZW air staff really put a good radio station on the air. As to the music mix at 94.7, whoever hasn't heard some cool new music over there hasn't been listening- they went commercial free for a few hours on Sunday and played some really cool tunes that any AAA station would play, but that wouldn't get airplay at DC101, including a new tune from a band fronted by Mick Jones, late of the Clash and Big Audio Dynamite. The Globe sounds exactly like KFOG and the dearly departed 93.7 the Coast (Norfolk/Virginia Beach) and WVGO (Richmond). To Shawn Anderson- I have an aircheck from WDVE Pittsburgh (August 2001) with a classic Myron Cope preseason Steelers promo referencing said "Minny Vikes". I heard him via Sirius in 2005 calling a Steelers playoff game- He was great then, just fun to listen to. Stephen (3/3/08) Sad news from way down South-D.C., that is. I'm shocked to hear of all of the stellar talent that has been let go as of late. Best wishes to all of you. I, too, would love to hear Chris Core on 'BAL. -Tom Soul (3/3/08) Dave's response: DC's (actually Woodbridge VA's) 105.9 is a tough catch in Baltimore because your 105.7 (actually Catonsville MD) kind of blows it away north of the Patuxent..... /\ March 3 Messages /\ \/ March 2 Messages \/ Reserving my right to revise my earlier remarks I’d like to apologize to the WMAL engineers who were as much a part of the team as were we. There are at least two from the WMAL team still there following Chris Core’s departure. Burt Cohen, who got me through my first night on the air in October of 1968 and David Sproul who engineered all of my Kennedy Center Christmas Shows. My omission of these great guys was my mistake. Also cheers and shoutouts to Janet Wessells (now with ABC-TV), Gail “Bubble Pot” Grenada (of the Danker millions), Mike McKay and the late Bob Omond and Herb Springer. These two guys had the fastest minds and fingers of any studio engineer… you had to hang on to keep up. Two other engineers who kept Harden and Weaver rolling along were Red Daniels and Bob McKissick. The late J.B. McPherson was largely responsible for ‘MAL’s incredible sound over most of the Washington area. Herb Yates and others came before and also contributed. Tom Gauger (3/2/08) Question for the tower geeks: A little bit north of the Bethesda Metro, a bit off Old Georgetown Road , there is a fairly tall building with a steel tower on top, painted in the standard safety colors of a broadcast stick. Anyone know who this is? (3/2/08) I heard perhaps the cleanest sounding FM in quite some time. WROZ FM out of Lancaster, PA. Clean highs, intelligble lyrics, solid bass, drums sounded especially clean and the mix of music was good. Anybody know anything about the station? (3/2/08) Dave's response: Check out roseradio.com. At 101.3, I imagine you can hear it just north of Baltimore..... Joyce-thank you for those great words of encouragement regarding our tenure at WAMD. The Oldies format was my first exposure to commercial radio-and even though the music that I spun were hits well before my parents were married, I still presented the format with true passion for the genre! As Joyce stated, I later became Program Director and Operations Manager at WAMD before moving on to greener pastures. While I am intimate with the latest slashings at Citadel-knowing the causes and the route taken, I truly believe that Citadel will not hire well-known, established talent in the close future-but I hope to be proven wrong. Joyce, what are you up to these days? Steve Mann (3/2/08) Did the people at Citadel who thought up the merger with ABC radio get fired? Does Citadel own the former ABC Radio network or have a controlling interest? The mass firings didn't come solely because of the truly breathtaking losses but seemed to have been worked out even before the announcement of the losses? Even with all the firings did it make a big dent in the losses? Can Citadel survive future losses like the last quarter or might go belly up? Curious what was revenue like at Smooth Jazz 105.9? Was it that bad or smooth jazz has just fallen out of favor? Listened to a few minutes of the True Oldies, Doors "Light My Fire" came on I threw up and turned radio off. Was surfing cable tv and came upon Faux News channel and saw Mark Halprin talking to underbite woman E.D. Hill. Is Halprin no longer on ABC? Hey boy that E.D. Hill has some nice gams!. Has anyone ever seen one of the lovely lady's on Faux News channel in a pant suit? And say the low angle shot they use all the time, someone hoping for a Sharon Stone moment? (3/2/08) Hey PLB: On no, hon, you got me started especially when discussing the "oldies" format. Your point is well taken along with others on the Mailbag. It is still a thrill to hear a Johnny Dark or Ken Merson because they know and love the music without sounding forced. It would be fun to hear a mix of veterans and new talent who share that same affinity for the artists and the music. During my stint at WAMD, I had the pleasure of working with a fresh young talent by the name of Steve Mann. Although Steve was a gleam in his mom's eye during the 60's, he executed the "oldies" format with authority and fun. Steve eventually became PD for a short period before the sale. Michael Popovec is another example of fresh talent who does a great job with the format. The "oldies" format doesn't have to be associated with death, but one must respect the history and legacy of a performer. When Gene Pitney passed, there was barely a mention from my recollection and this is true of other artists. Dave, thanks for letting me express. Just an opinion my friends. Blessings "Sister" Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (3/2/08) Some thoughts about the changes to 105.9 and the effects on other stations. First, Steve Allan should consider Phlash Phelps of XM's 60's on 6 for mornings. He is great at connecting with listeners, and is severely restricted to almost no on-air listenr contact by the current XM managers who have brought their FM "hits only" mentality to XM. Second, with 105.9 oldies, MIX 107.3 now needs to skew slightly younger. The best way would be to add some urban hits (i.e., Fergie, Chris Brown). It seems to work on Hot AC stations with guts, such as WBMX in Boston. Third, WBIG is dead. The listenership, already anemic, will drop even further, as it loses the listeners that hated it but listened because there was nowhere else to go for oldies. They might as well go all sports, since Classic Rock appears dead in this town. Finally, the Globe either needs to become a real AAA station, and have patience, since it would be a slow audience build. Since we know they won't do that, they might as well go "Fresh" AC, positioned between MIX and WASH. That has worked well in NYC as WPLJ as really been hurt by the arrival of Fresh. Andy in Reston (3/2/08) Here it is Sunday morning and I am going through my first Sunday Jazz Brunch withdrawal. I have XM's Watercolors on now (via DirecTV). They are playing Basia; nice, but as one of the previous posters pointed out; there is no personality; no Al Santos! It makes all the difference in the world. Al you are missed. (3/2/08) I think the whole ''story'' involving Dave Statter and ''rescuing'' a boy from a crawlspace and other stations covering it and others not mentioning names just a little odd. SOMEone's not telling the truth... I'm not pointing fingers but I could drive a truck through the holes in the whole story. Paul (3/2/08) I am very much missing my smooth jazz 105.9 radio station. Don't we have enough of these stations playing "oldies" tunes? Can you tell me where I can listen to the smooth jazz music again. I appreciate your help. Mrs. Carolyn Hatter, Bowie, Maryland (3/2/08) Dave's response: Over there in Bowie, you might be able to pick up Baltimore's smooth jazz outlet, WSMJ 104.3..... Dark, Dreppard, Grease, Imus... Why does an Oldies station require "old" talent? DC radio already has a stagnant tradition of bringing back one name or another after a hiatus or a trip out of market. Don't believe me? Then why such a stink abut Imus? Why do we always hear the same names moving from station to station in the same market? Instead, how about a search for fresh *intermediate* talent; folks who proved themselves in other markets and for one reason or another did not try to hit the air here? I know jocks you never heard of who could admirably pull off an Oldies show and make it sound like a million bucks. I know people with such encyclopaedic minds and such great battle stories about the groups, the music and the times that you would swear Nixon was still in the White House (eww-ww...). These are the guys AND gals that would make the Oldies experience exciting and interesting; not a foreboding that Death lurks right around the corner. Just tell us where to send CDs and resumes, and I'll see to it that my 'posse' gets that mail basket on Jenifer Street overflowing. (3/2/08) The interesting evolution of DC radio. Back in the 70's, Chris Core was, to a significant extent, the last popular of MAL's personalities. He was viewed as a young kid whose liberal opinions upset a lot of traditional WMAL listeners and many felt that it should be the Bill Trumbull show. Now, he's a "moderate conservative" voice. Anyway, he won't be off the air long. The perfect solution and fit is for WTOP to have him become Kornheiser's replacement. If it wasn't for the dollars, probably guaranteed upfront to TK Stack Money, I'd pull him off Monday and put Core on right away…..and I like Kornheiser but since he's going back to MNF and TOP is left holding the bag, they should just make the move now. Let Snyder pay TK 3.0 and Tony can finally leave the Post due to the restrictions of working for Snyder. Bob from College Park (3/2/08) I wait with anticipation to see just what Steve Allan does with his new toy. Oldies is DEAD..get rid of the ID..it identifies with the “Old Folks”. Keep in mind we aren’t that old..we may be in years but in mind, body and spirit many of us are still up and running daily. The trick to a successful format is not the music, it’s what goes between it. I personally don’t think hiring the greats of the past is the key. Sure it would be great to hear Johnny Holliday, Johnny Dark, Harve Moore etc, but as mentioned these legends don’t work for free. Even though they love the adrenaline rush when opening the mic. Most could “rock” and “rock” just like we did before. Also, most of us doubt it will be successful. Oldies=OLD=, how about “retro rock n’ roll…or some other ID? Steve, I pray that you bring success back into the format..I for one, am rooting for you all the way! PLB:0) (3/2/08) As of Monday March 3. WMAR-TV Channel 2 in Baltimore will cut its local noon news show from an hour to a half-hour followed by "Extra". Cost cutting (less overtime)is the reason given. More cutting in the works? (3/2/08) I urge any listeners of 94.7 The Globe who have been waiting for a year for them to play an Adult Album Alternative song to turn to 103.1 WRNR, and,or 105.5 WTMD's Great Falls relay instead. It's on 103.1,and 105.5 where they actually play AAA. Even DC 101 sounds better than The Globe ! (3/2/08) Dave's response: Sad to say, but DC101 frequently plays better stuff than the Globe does..... With the demise of WMAL, I'll no longer listen to local AM radio. There's no reason to. It'll either be XM or FM from now no, except while traveling. That is, unless Joel and Jim do some very smart things with 3WT... (3/2/08) It's Sunday. Where is Al Santos' Sunday Jazz Brunch? We need a new JAZZ station in DC metro. NO voice tracking, NO satellite, we want local jocks with local opinions. Listeners can tell the difference! We want quality radio, not computerized air fill. WJZW had great personality and was part of the DC culture. BTW, stop assuming that people 40+ want to hear oldies. We want jazz, we want innovation (Duh! What's that? Innovation in radio?), we want a variety of NEW music! Bring back a quality jazz station with a strong signal. Al Santos, Jay, VanNiece, Thomas: We miss you and your kind spirits. Your listeners await your return. May jazzy airwaves once again rise out of the WJZW ashes. -JG (3/2/08) Dave's response: If Bonneville wanted to make some money with and get some ratings for 3WT, it would put smooth jazz on 107.7 and 104.1/103.9, and put Federal News Radio on 1500. Then use 1050 for WTOP's traffic and weather service from 103.5 HD3..... Hey Dave, just returned from a quick trip to Maryland. Had a chance to catch part of Johnny Dark's appearance on the Tom Marr show last Thursday. I was able to pull in WCBM once I hit Winchester. Through the static, it sounded like Tommy Vann called in. Way to go Rock and Tom Marr for making this happen. Judging from the response, this should be evidence enough that in order for an "oldies" format to be successful, proven personality is a must. If you are going to present an "oldies" format in the usual, stale and homogenized way, it's not going to work. Simple. Again, it's the definition of insanity re-visited over and over. Also, wanted to mention the passing of Mike Smith who was the lead singer of the Dave Clark Five. It's been rough going for Mike the past few years. He's battled paralysis and various complications that go with it. Mike, you will be missed. Blessings. "Sister" Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (3/2/08) Let me see if I understand this. Citadel lets go a bunch of older star talent, in part because of their cost which does not always translate into receivable sales. And the masses here are suggesting that Citadel should replace them with what? Another bunch of older talent, who will also be expensive because of who they used to be. You pontificators don't get it. The idea is to reduce cost and retain revenue. True Oldies is a syndicated format and will most likely be hiring board operators, not name talent. Having name talent does not necessarily translate into sales dollars anymore. Why do you think Howard Stern left and Sirius is preparing to not keep him. (3/2/08) If Steve Allen wants to make an instant impact with "True Oldies105.9", it might not be a bad idea to see if Johnny Holliday might be interested in doing morning's or afternoon's. The "Voice of the Terrapins" gave Harden and Weaver a run for there money, plus he was voted America's number One Top 40 Air Personality back in the 60's. Holliday, Johnny Dark, and Bob Duckman are Three big time voices I'd listen to any day. Great broadcasters and off the air, even nicer guys!! Shawn, Bethesda (3/2/08) Memo: To the decision-makers at Citadel (D.C.): Regarding an earlier posting@dcrtv... "On the subject of "True Oldies 105.9 "IT'S A START-UP. Of course it's going to be bland. Of course there's no DJ's. What do you expect?" EXXCUSE ME!!! What the general public expects is an "oh-wow" first impression -- not-a-work in progress. Give us "local-lengendary jocks" (even if they are voice tracked), great D.C.-metro content-rap, the hits, plus two-or-three lost classics (deep cuts) per hour -- and guess what -- YOU HAVE WON US OVER AS LOYAL LISTENERS! What a concept. HELLO!!! The point we trying to make -- you have only one chance to make a great first impression. IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE -- only radio. Can you take hint!?!? (3/2/08) While the wife & I were doing errands yesterday evening and today, I punched-up "true oldies" on her radio. Her comments? "WTF is a true oldie?" She well remembers one of Steve Allan's best promo's, the one that showcased the difference between an "old song" and a "BIG oldie", from his days at WBIG. She also commented that 105.9 has all the personality of an ATM. And, that the audio sounded "tinny". I'll reserve judgement... for now. Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/2/08) I couldn't agree more that any attempt to flip a format to Oldies will be a miserable failure without personalities. True oldies radio was great music and greater personalities presenting them. Throw away the format clock and market research and let the pro's take over. And for God's sake don't voice track. Real talent shouldn't be limited to a null file. I don't intend to be pessimistic but I think genuine Oldies on terrestrial radio is dead. I hope I'm wrong. (3/2/08) Voice track nights and weekends? Good God man, I thought you wanted a FUN station to listen to! Put some high-energy contest-crazy talent on all weekend long - jocks who keep you in your car 5 minutes longer just to hear the payoff, love giving crap away, can interact with listeners and turn on a dime; not just play back a call they took three weeks ago like Delilah does. And nights? God, what I wouldn't give to hear a friendly voice coming out of the dark for a change, instead of a fluff liner at :15 and :45. Hey all you folks who said how talented Bill Hamlin was on his overnight show? How come you aren't clamoring for more? MORE real live voices, more real life experiences, more of what makes staying up late worthwhile? Lawyers coming back on red-eye flights, third shifters calling it a day, CIA spies, floor polishers, night clerks --- THERE'S your audience! You said it yourself, m' man: PERSONALITY makes OLDIES, not the music. Don't shave off those precious dayparts and feed them to the computer just because "that's the way we do business these days." Because you may have noticed: business sucks right now, and the absence of viable talent that can breathe life in between moldy oldies is the reason. (3/2/08) My (hottie) vote goes to Al Santos - This is the second time some "Oldies" station has closed out my jazz. Not that I don't like oldies, I do, I'm an oldie myself, but I love my jazz, and now in the Washington DC area, there is no "jazz" station, which is a saddness, and not be be able to hear the rare music that Al plays, is just not right.. So - AL, you have my vote... (3/2/08) /\ March 2 Messages /\ \/ March 1 Messages \/ On the subject of "True Oldies 105.9". IT'S A START-UP. Of course it's going to be bland. Of course there's no DJ's. What do you expect? Granted the presentation is horrible. First thing I would do is hire Steve Dreppard at CBS in Baltimore. Nobody can image an Oldies Station like Steve. Ask anyone, he's the best. Second, hire Johnny Dark and Bob Duckman, respectively for Morning and Afternoons. Hire Ken Merson to voice track Middays - See Ken's ad on DCRTV. Voice track or automate station the rest of the day/night/weekends. True Oldies will not be successfull until you get a Steve Dreppard running, Johnny Dark Morning, Duckman afternoon on the station. PERSONALITY makes OLDIES. Not the music. I can listen to my CD's for music, give me a fun station to listen to. (3/1/08) True Oldies..... My question, what does it take to make a false oldie, 100.3? I'm confused. Is Imus, Jack Diamond, Greaseman, Chris Core, or Paul Harris the Truest Oldie? Maybe Johnny Dark, Harv Moore, Dave Adler even....sheesh! It's no longer about format, it's about who will perform the most for the least. Steve Allan will, rest assured, stick to his restricted playlist. Before you know it, the rating might be a solid 2 share. At the end of the day, XM figured it out years ago- just play ALL the music from the 50's, 60's and 70's with a few feature shows sprinkled in. I'm thrilled to pay for my music radio. By the way, if FM is dying, is HD dead yet? Sure looks like it. Surprised Big Band Conservative Talk Radio hasn't found a place there.....hehehe! Dave K. in Waldorf (3/1/08) Al, we hope you go to XM Watercolors so we can listen to you in Atlanta. Maybe a Sunday Brunch channel? Bill in Atlanta (3/1/08) Jay, thanks for a lovely post. You are a class act and it certainly shows. All the best! (3/1/08) It is with subtle shock and sadness that I say farewell to my Smooth Jazz audience and friends. I hold no hard feelings about the change. It's been a great ride. But having been in Program Management with Clear Channel over the years I understand business and have had the task of letting staff go myself by corporate mandate (a tasteless job) due to a format change. After the Disney sale I knew some sort of restructuring was inevitable. Right decision or wrong, it is what it is. The joy I've experienced each night from 7pm to Midnight as Host of Lights Out Washington will forever live in memory. I'll truly miss giving you those Romantic Recipes and Words Of Wisdom each night from my heart to yours. I truly felt something magical my last night on the air. A strangely indescribable joy of having executed the perfect show. Little did I know Thursday Night (2/29) would be my last night on the air at WJZW. To all who tuned in a 8pm poured their favorite beverage and lit a candle as we relaxed the night away until Midnight, I say Thank You. Now I embark on a new journey as GOD opens a new door this stage of my life & career. To Kenny King, Jeff Boden, Steve Allan, Al Santos, Vanniece Johnson, Charlie Maxx, Tom Grooms and my many co-workers whom I consider family, you all were a great joy to work with. Thank You for the opportunity and freedom to build on my vision of Lights Out Washington. the faithful's were joining me each night by the thousands to relax and forget about the world. Keep listening out for me on the Time Life Music and various other national commercials. I'll continue writing songs, booking concerts, finish my upcoming book, working with my church, further the growth of my production company and being a great Dad. I'll be around. I truly believe it's just a matter of time before someone adopts the Smooth Jazz format or something similar. There's too much of an audience and revenue out there not to. In the event it does happen, we will meet again. I'm momentarily unemployed in one sense but far from being out of options in the larger scheme of things. For now there is more life to live and more roads to travel. I'm going to take a minute to enjoy life and smell the roses. I can be contacted at JazzmanDC@aol.com. Until we meet again, Be Kind To Your Friends Because You Never Know When You'll Need That Friend Again, Keep Your Head To The Sky, Your Mind In Heavenly Places. Dance Like No One's Watching And Love Like It Will Never Ever Hurt You, On That Note Here's More Red Roses On Your Pillow. Unfortunately there will be no more Smooth Jazz On Your Radio. Sincerely, Jay Lang (3/1/08) Citadel did a slash-and-burn at all the former ABC Radio O&Os, not just those in D.C. Up in NYC John R. Gambling is out of late mornings at 77 WABC, replaced by Curtis Sliwa -- whom Citadel plans to syndicate a la Imus. Hot AC stalwart 95.5 PLJ sacked PM drive DJ Rocky Allen and his show's staff. As for those of you in D.C.? Don't expect local oldies or a lot of local DJs on 105.9. True Oldies Channel is a satellite network and the only local presence will likely be in the morning show. (3/1/08) Chris Core vs the suits at Citadel? Chris gets last laugh. (3/1/08) Er, who's Chris Core? (3/1/08) Also with the cutbacks at Citadel-Cindy Macguire, who did nights on MIX 107.3 was let go. (3/1/08) Imus on the FM dial is like having your grandfather fronting a punk band. No thank you. (3/1/08) Dave's response: An old radio talker on an oldies radio station. Perfect. I heard WOLD in Marion VA just sold. Maybe Citadel could get the WOLD calls for 105.9..... If any of the D&M fans who frequent DCRTV, recorded Don's comments yesterday regarding the 105.9 staff "downsizing", I'd love an mp3 copy of it for my personal radio archives... Please email it to: jazzbrunch@comcast.net. This has been one heck of a week... I'm almost afraid to run my car at tomorrow's opening day at Capitol Raceway. By the way, please vote for me in this week's "Battle of the (unemployed radio personality) Hotties"... I don't think MY ego could take another HIT... Just kidding Chris Core!) Al Santos (3/1/08) Not allowing Chris Core to say goodbye on-air after more than three decades at the same station, says it all.. (3/1/08) If WBAL in Baltimore is smart, they would try to make a run at Chris Core immediately. Sheri Ellicker just isn't cut out for it, and Core is a proven talent in AM talk radio who can address national politics as well as Maryland politics. (3/1/08) Chris Core is the last of our team. As a former shop steward I’m aware of WMAL’s AFTRA contract and Chris walks away with a substantial separation check. As he says, he has quite a few broadcasts left in him and he’ll be back in front of a microphone when he’s ready. Best of luck, Chris! Hope you turned off the lights on the way out the door. Tom Gauger (3/1/08) I want to praise Dave Statter's heroic rescue of that teenager in the crawlspace. But it seemed self-serving the way WUSA covered the incident. Peggy Fox's liveshots from the scene could have described and shown footage of Statter in action, without an aggrandizing interview. This would have preserved the sense of humility and priority I know that he has. (3/1/08) To Chris Core: Thank you for being such a kind and considerate person over the years. I will miss listening to WMAL. There's no reason for me to do it anymore. I hope you appear soon (WWWT?) To Bill Trumbill: How about you and Chris doing some podcasts? I miss Jackie Bill, Dennis Clayton, the movie reviews by the TITLE ALONE... I would listen and I'd even listen to commercials on them!--GAB in the Airless Cubicle (3/1/08) Dave's response: If Bonneville's 3WT wants to be a ratings factor in the DC market, it needs a live and local afternoon drive show. How about pairing Chris Core with "angry black woman" and former WOLer Sunny James, who has guested on 3WT's morning show? Or maybe a Chris Core and Paul Harris show? He just got canned from KMOX in St. Louis. Hmmm..... Just before 6:00 PM Donni G did his "recap" of the Citadel situation and extended his sympathies to the air staff of 105.9. Then he stated clear as mud a HUGE, I mean GIGANTIC, skeleton in Chris Core's closet. Donni likes to dance on people's graves, doesn't he? This time it wasn't a little cha-cha, it was a full ballroom tango. (3/1/08) Dave's response: Geronimo's late wife, Freda, had dated Chris Core before she met Don, from what I hear. So, there's some kind of personal relationship between the two veteran DC radio personalities..... Steve Allan would never put Imus on in the mornings at True Oldies 105.9. Imus is a Talk radio program. Oldies will be music intensive. Do you hear anyone in the business talking about Imus since his return to radio? He was on a downhill slide to retirement before the “Ho” incident, and he’s back where he started. Moving Jack Diamond to Oldies would be a brilliant move since Diamond is well out of the Mix demo. This is the music he loves and is familiar with. Plus, if Allan wants to make a splash and achieve a comfort level with the listeners, this would certainly do it. Carson could move to mornings on Mix, and they could put a music jock in afternoons there. It would certainly help Mix’s bottom line. I think the two stations will really compliment one another. Mix can focus on 25-34’s and 25-44’s, while 105.9 could real in the 35-64’s and adults. As far as WMAL, it’s a tragedy to let Chris Core go. I hope and pray he get’s picked up by someone soon. I hear he’d like to work for the Nats. I hope they could find a spot for him. I’d love to hear his voice over the PA at the new ballpark. (3/1/08) Dave's response: My sources tell me that Steve Allan was one of the last the Jenifer Street suits to learn of 105.9's flip to oldies. Look, if Citadel's thugs want to put Imus on 105.9's morning slot - not a bad idea, by the way - Steve won't be able to stop them..... Turned on the NBC morning news and it appears that Eun Yang is preggers again. YIPPEE.. (3/1/08) Fine news about the flip of 105.9 to True Oldies. For a good clue as to what the station will sound like once the format settles in, go to the live stream of Citadel sister station WZZN Chicago at www.947trueoldies.com. Nothing earthshaking, but certainly preferable to WJZW’s glorified elevator music. The commitment to an expanded playlist is encouraging, and if they follow the WZZN mold there will be at least one or two live local heritage jocks on the station soon (a la Dick Biondi and Greg Brown in Chicago) . It’s great to have the Oldies format back in DC !! Mark O. (3/1/08) Chris Core should be singing" do you know the way to TV Hill" . He should be on BAL Weekday mid-mornings ASAP. Change is good .Jeff are you listening. John T. Henneman (3/1/08) For Al Santos: Thanks for posting Al. I (and I'm sure many others) are saddened by the turn of events; particularly as related to you and "Sunday Brunch". 105.9's playlist wasn't anything to stir the soul in recent times but your weekly offering on Sunday was a breath of fresh air. It was evident that you enjoyed putting it together as much as we enjoyed listening to it. I also fondly remember the birthday phone call you made to me a few years ago and the extended conversation we had. How unique and unexpected that was. You're a class act Al and I hope we will hear you on the air in the very near future. Till then, keep those rpm's up on that Tercel. All the best, Gary in Calvert County (3/1/08) Boring is the word for 105.9 FM covering Washington, DC. Who's not surprised? I would blame PD Steve Allan totally but it's more corporate that's driving this garbage. Same ole', same ole' on the alleged oldies station. I guess more and more of us will go to XM or Sirius to hear TRUE OLDIES from the 50s and 60s including doo wops. Who needs a merger of the two services. Competition is good; makes each side work a little harder. Goodbye, already, to 105.9 FM. (3/1/08) It’s almost comical, in a way… I was to be off this coming Sunday from my beloved Sunday Brunch on Smooth Jazz, 105.9 to attend opening day at Capitol Raceway in Crofton, MD where I was going to resume racing my tiny Toyota Tercel down the ¼ mile…. At the end of last year, I’d run a 14.034 @ 97.59 MPH! Gawd, I love doing that! Charlie Donovan was to fill in for me so, I reminded Steve Allan (Program Director), when I left the station Thursday, I’d need to take with me, Sunday’s log so I could schedule the ‘brunch’ songs, burn them all onto 4 CDs and return the material with me Friday. Well, I guess that’ll be one less vacation day I’ll have to take because at around 12:50 this afternoon, my 13 year journey with WJZW came to and end as I was ushered into General Manager Jeff Boden’s office to be given the news. (Which, by the way, I’d suspected since around 10:30 this morning when a listener emailed me with something he’d read on DCRTV about an impending format change.) In retrospect it’s sort of ironic, the final 2 hours of my stay on the station that played music for “the stress free workday”, did nothing to ease the stress I felt I echo Chris Core’s feelings about not having any bitter feelings toward Steve Allan, Jeff Boden or even Farid Suleman, the head of Citadel Broadcasting and wish them well. I just wanted to take this time to thank those of you who greeted me with a smile and a handshake along the crowded slopes at Merriweather Post Pavillion during the many Capitol Jazz Fests we attended and those of you who may have at one time or another tuned in WJZW while I was on the air (especially during the Sunday Brunch) and stayed a while, perhaps telephoning a radio station (for the first time, ever) because of what you heard. To all of you, I say, thanks for making me feel appreciated. I'm going to miss you and hope we have a chance to do it again… In closing, I’d just like to say, the 4 CDs and music logs for this coming Sunday’s ‘brunch’, which, obviously, won't be aired, will be on eBay in a few hours… NOT! Al Santos (3/1/08) Re Oldies on 105.9... I'll give them a chance and try to listen with a neutral ear; but I'm gone the moment they play "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes." Look back at Mailbag archives of March-May 07 to see why. (3/1/08) Will the new oldies 105.9 do the right thing and hire Greaseman for morning drive? (3/1/08) For all you HARV MOORE fans. Starting next week he will be co-hosting a morning talk show with Tom Donahue, formally of KB 1520 and SNARP. He'll be on the new WECK 1230 AM in the Buffalo area. Happy to hear that WJZW is True Oldies. Now Baltimore, wake up and get Oldies FM on 105.7. Dave from Buffalo (3/1/08) At some point Washington goes PPM. Classic Hits stations seem to do well overall in PPM. From the few minutes I listened to 105.9 it sounded more like True Oldies. Which really there is nothing wrong with. overall it's a switch that had a huge void in Maryland due to WBIG wanting to be WARW for some reason, and the best local oldies station WQSR going Jack. More than likely 105.9 needs local on air talent maybe some former WBIG'ers to suceed. To me oldies only died off because of the CC's, CBS's of the world cutting the playlists down to maybe a 100 songs. Clear Channel runs the same 20 songs over and over on all of their stations big market or small market, though 92.1 on the Eastern shore seemed not to. WQSR in 2005 within about 6 months before the flip to Jack had an extremely predictable playlist and was only the shell of it's former self. Blame it on everything but, but WQSR didn't suceed due to CBS Baltimore's management poorly running the station and nothing more. I'm betting that WBIG is still carrying some of the listeners of when it was oldies, but with an Oldies station in town will WBIG make the full transition to WARW and start only pulling 1.5 to 1.8 numbers? With as much talk that's on DC's FM dial, could there be a possiblity that Citadel will flip WRQX to WMAL-FM? With Imus in the mornings there? After all wouldn't running WMAL on AM & FM save some money for Citadel? It's good that there is a full time oldies station again in Maryland even if it's some canned satelite delivered stuff. (3/1/08) In theory, I should love having an oldies station back in Washington. In practice, I don't: unadventurous playlist, no jocks, just a nice, safe, bland broadcast version of a jukebox. Why should anyone listen? I guess for Citadel, it's easier (and, more importantly, cheaper) than actually thinking and putting genuine effort into this endeavor. Sorry, but for my oldies (soul variety), I'll stick with the Andrea Bray show on WPFW every Saturday at 4. Oh, and to Bob Marburg at WTOP, a suggestion: On your traffic reports, when you're referring to something happening near Nationals Park, please refer to it as "the ballpark" instead of "the stadium," a phrase that connotes RFK further up the Anacostia and can confuse listeners. -- Vincent in Triangle (3/1/08) What's up with the website for O'Meara's? Has Mike not sold enough Lil' Mikey burgers to pay the bill? Last month it said the site was temporarily down for maintenance...now it re-directs to the website for Shadow, LLC, a website design company. Very strange.... (3/1/08) I'm sure Chris Core is humming the tune to the "B Side" Dionne Warwick oldie you won't hear on 105.9: "(Do You Know) The Way to Idaho Avenue?" In all probability, WMAL will be a full repeater of WABC within 12 months. Andy Parks will probably be the next to go, followed by Fred Grandy, and then Chris Plante. Don't be surprised if Chris Core doesn't appear on 3WT come September. Why September? That's when the "standard" six-month "no compete" clause will expire. That's why they got rid of Chris after his show today. If Chris hasn't already lunched with Joel and Jim, I'm sure he will soon. Bonneville would be idiotic not to make him an offer he can't refuse. Otherwise, he'll end up on CNN, MSNBC, or perhaps Fox. There are air personalities who can bring an audience over from a former station (Just ask the Albrittons. WJLA has WUSA's former anchors and weathercaster and they also have WUSA's former audience!), Chris Core would bring two strengths few can: A strong and active ro! ster of proven "Tiffany" clients and Chris honestly and truly cares about this community. His record of charitable work on behalf of WMAL would be much desired by Bonneville with their "core" (Yes, I know, very bad pun!) values. So, right after Labor Day, I'd be surprised if Chris Core isn't back to doing PM Drive, albeit on 3WT. What happened at WMAL today is only the beginning. "Coast-to-Coast AM" could be next to go, followed by Chris Plante. Citadel not only bit off more than they can chew when they bought ABC Radio, they're learning that while major-market network radio may look attractive, it's like caviar... it's not for everybody. Within five years, you can probably expect Citadel to sell major properties that do not fit their culture. Expect stations to be sold outright, or for their real estate with the license being turned back to the FCC with the station taken silent or even deleted. Imagine 630 in Washington being "deleted" by the FCC! It could happen folks. Th! at land on Greentree Road will be valuable when housing rebounds. And, there are few places where you could build on cheaper land or diplex with another broadcaster as 630 has probably the best DA pattern in town. Citadel will soon realize (if they haven't already) that what works in Stockton, CA or Reno, NV won't work in New York, D.C., Chicago, etc. You can expect more syndie talkers on 630 but not better ones like on 3WT. Don't be amazed when a syndie talker on 630 (Expect the WMAL calls to go away soon, folks. Citadel is quick to ditch "history" if it doesn't produce an immediate cash payoff.) sounds like the 1965-vintage "Rob Roberts" on WVWA, Pound Ridge, NY as depicted on the famous "Nine" tape. I think the final Coup de Grace for 630 wil be when (Note, I said "when" not "if") Rush Limbaugh lands on 3WT instead of 630. As for the rest of the Citadel cluster in D.C., watch Mix take the next hit. The vunerable talent there know who they are and are already looking for landing spots. Now, as for 105.9, I am amazed Citadel kept it jazz this! long. Sorry to say this Paul, but you were smart to take your love and expertise in jazz to the Dog Pound. Wish you'd gone to XM instead, though. Jazz is like classical in that it is no longer a commercially viable radio format. In this case, there's nobody in the 88.1-91.9 range to pickup the format like WETA-FM did when Bonneville put WGMS out of its increasingly painful misery. I feel sorry for Steve Allan in that he's doing the best he can with a really shitty hand. I have to wonder which Citadel station's imaging package he was likely forced to use to become "the true oldies channel"? What a small market slug! There are Class IV AM's with satellite delivered oldies that have more personality. And, I'm surprised Citadel didn't go that route, given their small-market outlook on the business. Having said that, I hope Steve has the freedom to tweak the playlist. And, stop playing those damn CD or album cuts of oldies! That's not what was played on Top-40 stations! While t! he playlist has been a bit strange, I was pleasantly surprised to hear "96 Tears" this evening. However, unless Citadel gives you the budget for a quality personality airstaff (Good luck hiring a Johnny Dark, Dave Randall, or Flash Phelps! Citadel gained so much B.O. today, unwashed camels take pity on the people still working there.) you'll have to work hard to have something more than a "George" on 105.9. Right now, it sounds like an iPod with bumpers and spots. Not to mention the "Smooth Jazz" contest disclaimer I heard. Now, some have bashed Citadel about their actions of today, saying that they (Citadel) "doesn't care". Well, let me tell you that Citadel doesn't care for a very good reason: They don't care because they don't have to care! We're not talking Bonneville here. Many years ago, there was a small station in Wyoming that always advertised in Broadcasting magazine in which it basically offered to hire wanna-be jocks, newscasters, and engineers on the basis of you (the employee) paying the station for the "opportunity" to work there and gain experience. While Citadel is not exactly like that, I'm sure they long for the "good old days" in their view when the minimum wage was $2.25 an hour and you could pay that to someone with a first ticket "who wanted to be on the radio". For now at least, Citadel isn't (yet) as bad as a station in Santa Cruz, CA that I happened across while vacationing in California recently. Ever hear of a commercial AM soliciting "donations" from its audienc! e to help keep it on the air? I'm serious! I looked at their website when I got back (the laptop was here to keep the wife happy), and it was on their website, too! Oh yes, one final thought: Expect the "ABC Radio Network" to go the way of the "NBC Radio Network" because of the unjustified expense. Unless you're a dedicated all news station like a WTOP, WCBS, WINS, WBBM, KNX, KFWB, etc., radio news is nothing more than another drag on profitability for a company like Citadel. Public Service? Forget it! Unless it directy results in immediate profitable revenue, it won't be on a Citadel station. However, there is one kind thing I can say about Citadel: For all their faults, Citadel is the first broadcaster I've come across that makes the United Broadcasting of Richard and Pierre Eaton look like a tribute to the industry. Sorry for the long rant. Today isn't just a sad day for D.C. area radio, it's a sad day for the community. Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/1/08) Before BIG 103 we had WJZE 100.3 Jazzy 100. Before the less than stellar BIG the light Jazz station was doing well. What happened to the general management and staff? Seems 105.9 after doing a shitty job of jazz is now doing an even less talented job of presenting old tired r/r. (3/1/08) In view of Friday's bloodbath, watch Bill Trumbull, partner of Chris Core on WMAL for two decades, talk about the good ol' days at Radio 63, (as well as his *entire* broadcast career... including a disastrous trial-by-fire experience as TV sports announcer) at www.veoh.com. It is a VERY entertaining half hour. (3/1/08) Chris Core represents what this industry ought to be all about. We are all diminished by his departure. Jim Bohannon, Westwood One. (3/1/08) Dave's response: Too much "talk" on "talk radio" these days is really "entertainment." Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly are all more performers/carnival barkers than they are communicators/thinkers. Chris Core was smart, inquiring, and open-minded. It is sad to see him silenced..... /\ March 1 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....