Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - August 30 to September 5, 2008 Latest messages listed first..... \/ September 5 Messages \/ Question about Heart's "Barracuda" - There’s nothing the Wilson sisters can do as long as the McCain campaign pays the ASCAP fees, right? ASCAP covers public broadcast for an event, just as they cannot tell a nightclub or sports event not to play their song, I thought. -Silvie- (9/5/08) Your RANT dredges up some really unfortunate memories and the old adage that history repeats itself. Where was 950 AM circa 1971? Go here www.wqmrwgaymemories.org... Yes, it was WXLN, a showbiz/broadway/hollywood/live music/comedy station that was the dream come true of the late Doug Bailey. I think the stockholders backed him all of about 8 weeks before ushering it away to it's religious calling (!)::: So here we go again. The community tells the current "stakeholders" they like what they are hearing and naah, the little station that doesn't have power OR coverage, is going to Korean brokered programming ANYWAY?::: Since you mentioned 1050 do people who have been around for awhile really not remember that it was once the pioneer anti-rock mood music station WQMR that was so successful that it was imitated by syndicators and syndicated outlets in WQMR/WGAY's own market (WJMD, WKYS, WWDC (for awhile, but they carried Muzak's SCA signal I believe) and WEZR? There were few stations providing adults with "escape" music in 1960, but WQMR did so with it's not-so-bad 1,000 watt daytime signal, and in 1962 a 20,000 watt FM simulcast was added so that the music didn't stop after sunset. Bonneville was in the "beautiful music business" big-time and maybe they'd like to wrest some more use from their custom music tapes.::: People used to write lots of letters to WQMR of appreciation and asking them never to change." Now people are asking for a format. Gee, I wonder how this will turn out. I can predict the outcome won't be for nostalgic music as it might require some work, some preparation, and brokered Korean programming might be perceived as a sure thing for the bottom line. Nostalgia a gamble? I wouldn't think so if people are ASKING for it - crikey!::: No longer from your area (midwest now, where it's either preachers screaming or country tunes - at least there's SOME music, and we have a Motorola scheme AM stereo station that plays classical music. It's wonderful. No room for such a thing on the FM band, of course.::: Bill from KCK (9/5/08) "Here's an idea (for Clear Channel): rather than trying to sell a low-value asset at a discount, why not donate (WBIG) to the University of Maryland and get a tax deduction for the full book value? The U of Md could make big bucks running the station, a la WHUR, plus it could become the flagship station for U of Md sports broadcasts. Student-run WMUC-FM could move onto a HD sub-channel. Comments?" I like the idea, too...especially since you have a radio professional on hand in College Park in Johnny Holliday, who could gather a first-class staff based on his expertise in the industry. But the big question would be what kind of programming would complement Terrapin sports. If it's a commercial station a la WHUR, NPR and other public stuff is out of the question, and I don't think the university would want to be associated with syndicated blowhard talk from either the left or the right, or sports talk for that matter. There are probably many talented people on the College Park faculty, but that doesn't translate into scintillating programming, as Washington Post Radio proved. And while it made sense for WHUR to target the black community, what demographic would WBIG or WUMD, or whatever, serve? Intriguing question, but you would have a few years to settle things...and the College Park administration could make up for its mistake in 1970. -- Vincent in Triangle (9/5/08) Re: "Heart" and the McCain campaign and "Barracuda"...it reminds me of when Chrissie Hynde got upset when she learned that the opening of her "My City Was Gone" is used as the opening theme of Rush Limbaugh's show. She fought it, but as it ended up, she acceded to the use in an agreement with Rush - and I think he had to make a royalty-based donation to PETA or something. (9/5/08) I'm glad it's not only myself who thinks Larry Michael is a self-fullfilling and egotiscal as they come. I really tried to carefully listen to last night's game and couldn't last one-quarter without switching to the NBC telecast. Seriously, Larry never acknowledges anything Sonny and Sam say and is very careful not to slam his employer. I've always emjoyed listening to Sonny and Sam but I'm done for the season. (9/5/08) Regarding the rant: Easy listening music on 1050? Isn't this where I came in about 40 years ago? That's WGAY!--GAB in the Airless Cubicle (let me out!) (9/5/08) Gotta love the litigious liberal legal eagles all posting in the mailbag defending the character of the band HEART. There's no legal infringement here, only in your ambulance chasing legal team dream minds. Yeah, you try that fair use infringement case. Good luck! This will go nowhere and you idiots know it. It's all about publicity both against the candidate, but more importantly, a SECOND DAY of publicity engineered by sleazy record execs via a media generated NON-EVENT for a band no one cares about anymore to generate SALES! If you've seen a pic lately, its more likely CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE is a bigger problem for Ann Wilson than unauthorized use of her music! But, say HELLO to increased HEART CD & iTunes sales! LOL (9/5/08) We all know the Nats have the worst TV ratings in MLB, but how bad were their ratings going against the ‘skins last night? Or where could I find that information? (9/5/08) Dave's response: Dammit. The Nationals were awful, the Redskins are gonna suck this season, and DC has crappy rock radio. I'm movin'..... What are Ann and Nancy Wilson bitching about? They still got a royalty payment out of it. Sheeesh. Hey Nancy? Hey Anne? Take a Midol, fire up a joint and chill. JA (9/5/08) The Board of Reagents (chemistry joke) at College Park gave up on radio 20+ years ago when they dismantled the Radio TV Film department. They said it was not an academic pursuit, these fields, but more of a trade-school function. These days, they're spending lots of money on the non-academic pursuit of real estate development, hoping to generate revenue off a school "town center." I can only imagine this means fast food, video game parlors, and chain clothing stores. No time to be running a radio station. (9/5/08) "[A] CC source tells DCRTV....'Despite (WBIG) having a really strong signal, the company sees no value in it...'" Here's an idea: rather than trying to sell a low-value asset at a discount, why not donate it to the University of Maryland and get a tax deduction for the full book value? The U of Md could make big bucks running the station, a la WHUR, plus it could become the flagship station for U of Md sports broadcasts. Student-run WMUC-FM could move onto a HD sub-channel. Comments? (9//5/08) Dave's response: I like it..... The reason Heart doesn’t sue McCain now is because in the copyright law there is a “limited fair use” clause. The (non Canadian) Heart, Van Halen, John Mellencamp, and Jackson Browne have all stood up and said NO MORE USE to McCain; meaning, “we recognize you are going beyond "fair use," now, so, stop it or we will consider your 'use' beyond fair, and against the law.” Now that the McCain/Palin camp knows the copyright holder does not want this property associated with McCain/Palin anymore, and the copyright holder does not want McCain/Palin to “use” their copyrighted property in association with McCain/Palin public appearances without permission, there can be no more “fair use” claim for the McCain/Palin camp if they decide to keep using the copyrighted property without permission. Got it? It is a warning letter, and a legal "drawing a line in the sand." (9/5/08) So, the Wilson sisters have proven themselves to be DOUBLE FRAUDS! Back in the 70's, when it was "hip" to be Canadian, that kind of drivel was all over their press-releases, etc. Now, that everyone realizes how nerdly Canada, and our people, really are, they all want to be Americans. And, yes, other poster... the Wilson sisters' given names are actually "Loma" and Prieta!" Now, back to this format designed for 45 year olds and older... Are the 20 year old ad buyers and program directorlings trying to say that, because music was written, recorded and hit before they were born, that no one will ever want to hear it again? Gimme a break, I could spot a great Gershwin or Jerome Kern tune when I was 15. And, I'm not even gay. What if... just what IF... one little voice... one one thousand watt daytimer (or, a station with low light bulb power at night) tried playing some bona fie hits... really, most of what WCTN is playing now. Not a sermon, just a thought, with thanks to Lon! - Marshall McLuhan (yes... I WAS a Canadian. We don't have nationalities here...) (9/5/08) Sorry, just heard the Van Halen song yesterday AND TODAY! NEXT nutjob excuse... And if anyone is a sexist pig, it's CNN's Jack Cafferty or MSNBC's Keith Olbermann! Even the Hillary supporters hate them! Oh, the question begs, if Ann Wilson and David Crosby got on an elevator together, would there be an earthquake in SoCal ??? LOL (9/5/08) Gawd, that Nell Fenwick is one Canadian woman I'd abuse MYSELF to.....Signed, Snidely Whiplash (9/5/08) Ann and Nancy Wilson sent a notice Thursday afternoon to ask the RNC not to use the song “Barracuda,” anymore. The RNC ignored the women’s request, and played it again Thursday night. That is SEXISM, and I will have no part of it! The RNC didn’t ignore the requests from men, like, Van Halen, Mike Meyers, John Mellancamp, and Jackson Browne. I am so disgusted I am flying home and not taking any questions. (9/5/08) You would think with Mitt Romney speaking, the radio news station in DC would want to serve its corporate flag with exclusive material from Denver. And they're about to miss a new campaign angle, as Grandma Palin rolls out a new, demographically-correct approach. (9/5/08) About :::: "You are right if you completely ignore the US Supreme Court. Since the candidate was seen as the intellectual property was used without permission, it can easily be concluded that the artist or songwriter endorsed the candidate." :::: It could easily be concluded that you're a complete idiot if you follow that train of thought! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW FULL OF IT YOU SOUND? C'mon, if they paid the ASCAP fee, they have the right to use it. Maybe if they continue to use the song after the artist complains, then maybe HEART would have a case. However, if what you say is true, why don't they sue? Exactly, because you're flat wrong and they have no case. Do some of you whiners even have lives? Pathetic scared liberals because the polls are now TIED & the full bounce #s aren't even in yet! LOL (9/5/08) Old Olympic sports coverage AND the Tour De Steriod ALL in HD?? Oh heavely joy!!!! Another completely useless channel BUT it's in HD to make it boring YET clear! Aint technology grand? Paul (9/5/08) So Baltimore will have 3 Fox Sports Radio stations, and DC will have how many ESPN Stations? And broadcasters sit back and seriously wonder why their business is going down the tubes. It's truly amazing. FYI, WBAL is Fox 9:00 pm - 1:00 am weeknights and seemingly wherever they need to fill time on the weekends. WNST has not been a Sporting News affiliate for years. I like Nestor's comment in The Sun, "The radio station is going to act as a billboard for the Web site." What the h%*l does that mean? Considering you haven't made an Arbitron book for 2 of the last 4 periods, that can't be much of a billboard, but more like a postage stamp. Does this mean that your "hosts" will be no more than glorified pimps directing traffic to the website? Gawd, currently in morning drive, if you have about 18 minutes per hour of actual program content, you're lucky. Looking forward to that getting worse. While on WNST, you now have both ESPN and FOX in the morning. Both are relatively structured with breaks at :00, :20, :40. Why don't you try something innovative, and not schedule your breaks. traffic, and chatter with the traffic guy at the same time? You might actually grab some listeners, and hold on to them. I guess that's a concept that's simply to far out of the box. Regarding the post about WJFK and real coverage of the Redskins, WJFK-AM is doing basically the same thing with their "Ravens Gameday Uncensored" promos. Gee, they don't have an "Orioles Gameday Uncensored", but they do own the O's broadcast rights, so draw your own conclusions. (9/5/08) Couple of random thoughts.....having Larry Michael shoved down our throats on the Redskins marathon pre game show has to be an inspiration to any young person looking to get into broadcasting. Anyone catch his interview with VinnyCerrato? Hilarious. Doc Walker gets it done with his sideline reporting, but he sure could do without the other guy on his regular week day show. Jerry Coleman, go get em, nowhere to go but up with that station.Should be interesting how that 3 station sports battle plays out in Baltimore. Bryan Kerr looks like a fish out of water when he fills in for Johnny Holiday on MASN. He's better off sticking to radio. Enjoy Phil Wood and Tom Davis on Radio, don't they go way back in Baltimore radio? Is that not Tony Roberts, former long time voice of Notre Dame doing commercials on Redskins Radio. Tony should be doing the play by play with Sam and Sonny!!! Shawn, Bethesda (9/5/08) The DC area has a pair of REALLY talented people able to program a nostalgia station. They run XM's 40s channel XM-4. Marlin Taylor is program director of that channel (and two other XM channels), and Bob Moke does the detail music selection and creates the various musical featurettes. Moke also does a special on XM's 50s channel. I understand that Taylor writes the "Ed Baxter" newscasts from the date in the 30s and 40s. I will be very displeased if XM-4 goes away due to the Sirius takeover. (9/5/08) “If so, isn't an artist such as HEART complaining about the use of their song at either convention just a phony NON-CONTROVERSY that shouldn't even be covered by legitimate news media anyway?” You are right if you completely ignore the US Supreme Court. Since the candidate was seen as the intellectual property was used without permission, it can easily be concluded that the artist or songwriter endorsed the candidate. The artist or songwriters or copyright holder has every right to restrict use. Now, for the Wilson sisters being Canadian-FALSE! Their father was in the US Army, and they grew up in Southern California and Taiwan. They did briefly move to BC for the male members to avoid the Vietnam draft. (9/5/08) Umm, I thought that the Wilson sisters grew up in SoCal and then went to Washington state. Didn't they move to Canada during the anti-war days to be with their beaus? Shawn in DC (9/5/08) Dave, you recently had a back-and-forth about a couple of females in TV ads, and the effect they had on you and other Mailbaggers. I won't go into the same territory, but I wanted to say that in terms of radio ads, where it's always easy to be annoyed, I find myself becoming obsessed with that woman's voice on the Iceland Health ads -- the ones promoting a "gift" of Omega 3 fish oil, etc. I just heard another ad on Rush's show. Same female voice, I think. What's that accent? Is it ... Icelandic? Christian (9/5/08) re; "Statement by Ann and Nancy Wilson released this morning; “Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women."...it's sadly discouraging that Ann and Nancy have set their own bar so low and are proud of it! Weird! (9/5/08) "CORRECTION: WBAL is running FOX Sports in the evenings/overnights and isn't WNST a Sporting News Radio affiliate?" Actually, WNST switched to FSR a couple of years ago. So, we'll have three stations playing the same programming at night and on weekends. Howie (9/5/08) Don't conventions and all public events airing music on TV or in public or on the radio or even on a computer have to pay licensing fees to use the music in the first place? If so, isn't an artist such as HEART complaining about the use of their song at either convention just a phony NON-CONTROVERSY that shouldn't even be covered by legitimate news media anyway? I think most people in general, whether Repub or Dem, are just so tired of these media-STAGED controversies and scandals that have nothing to do with important issues that face this country. Who the hell cares what the lead singer of HEART has to say about anything? How does HEART affect the future of our country? Thank you! (9/5/08) What's REALLY funny about the wrinkled, haggard old dried up Wilson sisters, who were Heart sometime in whatever... the 60's or 70's... is that they are NOT IN ANY WAY, shape or form, "American women." They are as Canadian as I am unless they took the naturalization route through their American husbands. Jackson Browne... a 5' tall, 110 pound weakling of a woman abuser, shouldn't even be allowed to speak in public. He's been "Running On Empty" for years. And, Mike Meyers? For crying our loud. Shut up and sing "Oh Canada" already, Shrek! More importantly, how ethnic time can be brokered on all of the starving little AM stations out there? You're right! Some signal could make money with this format, but it has to be done with quality and knowledge of the music. And, non-current formats are ALL about the music AND the environment... not just the music, done jukebox style... eh? Dudley Do-right, RCMP (9/5/08) Dave's response: "Dried up" Wilson sisters? I thought one had kind of blimped up..... Seems to me that the band Heart ought to be happy if ANYONE is playing their music at this point. They haven't been relevant for decades. (9/5/08) Dave's response: Shhhhhhh. You'll give the Globe another bad idea..... WMAL is not the only DC station covering the political conventions. WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi has been broadcasting live from St. Paul every day this week. Kojo also did his show live last week from the Democratic convention in Denver. WAMU also had reporters from Capitol News Connection covering the Dem delegates from Va. MD and DC in Denver and are doing the same in St. Paul. (9/5/08) Re: Today's Rant: "You mean that one smallish AM station out of about 50 stations in a major market like DC can't program to seniors? That says something really sad about the radio biz." I agree completely. But it's not just the radio biz. The "gotta be mainstream or nothing" effect is even more obvious with cable TV. All the channels that started out as niche channels --and got accepted because they *were* niche channels-- morph into exactly the same mainstream mush that's on all the other mainstream channels. On radio, I don't care what label they put on the format du jour, the commercial stations are more alike than not. I'd say it's because the people in charge have no idea about any of their programming, and they don't care. If you could ever get someone who really knew and cared about older music, you'd have a great niche station with a loyal audience. (9/5/08) 2 things. First, has anyone heard the promo that WJFK is airing about how the most hated man in DC is Dan Snyder and how he now owns the sports radio station also. And then goes on to say, "what a fuc*ing (bleeped out) dick!" and then something about how you should listen to real coverage of the Redskins from us. I'm sure people will think it goes too far or is offensive in some way, but I like it. it is nice to see radio people still being cutting edge in this FCC scared radio world. secondly, for the past month I have been reading these posts about WTOP not sending their people to the conventions, instead relying on the resources they already partner with. I was wondering how many of those posts may be from from people who work in the WTOP newsroom that are pissed that they couldn't go themselves, or that their peers were denied a chance to cover something that is probably a big deal to most journalists? Maybe not, but just wondering... (9/5/08) Dave, this is getting fun! The band Heart immediately sent McCain/Palin a Cease and Desist order on playing the song "Barracuda." Part of the song was played when Sarah Palin joined McCain after he finished his speech at the Republican Convention last night. Jackson Browne and Mike Meyers also recently sent notices to McCain demanding his campaign stop using/associating their intellectual copyrighted property without permission. Statement by Ann and Nancy Wilson released this morning; “Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there." (9/5/08) Dave - RE: "Despite (WBIG) having a really strong signal, the company sees no value in it... and I'm not sure that the strength of the signal even factors into the company's decision of whether or not to sell". Man, I'll never understand Clear Channel as long as I live. They ought to just give the thing to the "Committee to Save Jazzy 100.3". Remember them? They formed after the station was sold to.....Clear Channel (or Capstar or AM/FM...whatever they were calling themselves at the time.) At least if they gave the signal away they'd have the tax write off! Tom in Frederick (9/5/08) Kinky neo-con now knows how the rest of us feel whenever Fox News is on. Sorry, pal, that knife cuts both ways. Also, in the Sun Jerry Coleman tells Ray Frager that "there's a void in quality sports talk in Baltimore..." HE's going to fill it? C'mon, Jerry, all of the other Fox Sports hosts have already been heard in Charm City - you're the only one no one's heard host a show. (9/5/08) Looks like the lady who does the Post's television column is eating some big time crow. Last week, she joined the media onslaught on Sarah Palin by taking a cheap shot in her gushing column about the ratings for Obama's convention speech. Something about McCain having to do more than pick "Tina Fey" for his running mate to match Obama's ratings. Totally inappropriate for a column of that nature and just another example of why the Post is hemorraging subscribers. Anyway, today, the same writer had to do a column indicating that Palin's speech was viewed by almost as many people as Obama's, and her speech was televised on several fewer outlets than Obama. And Palin beat Obama on the number of people who watched on the major networks. What's the old saying about he who laughs last, laughs best? (9/5/08) CORRECTION: WBAL is running FOX Sports in the evenings/overnights and isn't WNST a Sporting News Radio affiliate? Tried to check the WNST website, but that website is more cluttered up than the house of a shut-in with 27 cats! Must be over 100 ad placements on the front page ALONE! Has the look of someone putting down newspaper inserts by the back door for pets to piss on. Advertising suckers. Like anyone's gonna see your ad there? HAha! Fat chance! (9/5/08) Dave's response: I'll forward your correction to Ray Frager..... WRC’s HD channel was missing video on Comcast in Alexandria during the game last night, audio seemed fine. Did anyone else have this problem? Not sure the game would have looked any better in HD with the way the Skins played. Ed (9/5/08) Just another indication of the dumbing down and forced homogenization of America. The New York Sun about to fold, and Keith "Asshat" O. and Chrissy Matthews going orgasmic hour after hour over the empty suit. All NBC entities, David Sarnoff would be ashamed of you! I wave my naked genitalia in your general direction!! Genghis Cohen (9/5/08) It would be nice to see some local AMer resurrect Buddy Rizer's Vegas Radio format. It was a good entertaining mix. (9/5/08) Dave: Your 9/5 rant is right on. My dad who is in his 70's probably hasn't used the radio in his car since AM1260 stopped playing music a few years ago. Growing up in the 70's & 80's we had WGAY AM and eventually WGAY FM on in my parents' car almost exclusively. Both carried an "Easy Listening" format which I think would be a favorite among seniors. Maybe someone will latch on to this idea again. (9/5/08) Dave's response: It's funny. It's often easier to find nostalgic music stations in small markets. In large markets, many marginal AMers find they can make more money by doing brokered ethnic or religious programming. Heck, here in the DC area about half the AM stations are running Spanish programming..... Some thoughts on the digital TV "challenges". 1) As much as those in the TV world would not like to admit it, some sort of outdoor antenna (on the roof, in the attic, etc.) is the best way to reliably receive DTV. You can try indoor or amplified antennas, but you need favorable placement in many areas, and antenna aiming, and hope terrain isn't in your way. 2) Along those same lines, digital TV's biggest problem is its biggest strength. You either have it or you don't (the "cliff effect"). Those watching analog TV through a small amount of snow or noise on the screen could lose some digital TV entirely...the snow means the signal won't be strong enough to decode, and the noise will interfere with it. If the signal does get above the level that it'll decode, and stay that way, it'll be perfect. 3) Not all DTV receivers are created equal. If you have an ATSC tuner in your 2-3 year old set, you'll have a tougher time. The ATSC tuning technology has improved drastically in the past year or so ("5th generation"). I have a Zenith DTV converter box, one of those covered by the government coupons, and it's night and day vs. an older ATSC tuner I have. It'll pick up stuff nowhere near a window, where the older one will not. Nearly all of the above is "fixable", but the problem is that we're running out of time, and who will help people? The TV stations are overwhelmed, and some of them still have to "maximize" their signals next February. BTW, the "early" voluntary transition in Wilmington NC is still on for Monday, though the FCC could postpone it if the storm Hanna becomes a big problem... (9/5/08) Prisons aren't the only place where over-the-air DTV doesn't work. At my apartment in Gaithersburg, an indoor antenna gets very few DC channels and no Baltimore ones. Even on my balcony, which faces DC, there doesn't seem to an antenna location which will receive _ALL_ DC stations. IMO, this DTV move will be a disaster for over-the-air reception - so the DTV subchannels will have zero viewers since they aren't on cable AFAIK. (9/5/08) Dave's response: Exactly. I can get most DC TVers on my antenna-powered digital set, BUT often have to re-adjust the antenna when flipping channels. And some local channels, like 14, 32, and 66, are a real pain to get at my location in Fairfax County. And 66 has its transmitter in Fairfax County..... Okay, here's a radical idea...the Kirk, Mark and Doni Show! You're right, it would never work, Don Geronimo would insist on top billing. The problem with the Kirk & Mark Show was 105.7 itself. Too many CNN (laughingly calling itself "the most trusted name in news....PPPPLLLLLEEEEAAASSSE!) broadcasts, too many traffic reports, TOO MANY COMMERCIALS!!!! It is obvious that Lopez was an essential part of that trio. Just like Freda's death was a terrible blow to the Don & Mike Show, so too was Lopez's passing for K&M. Oh and by the way Dave, yes there were Black people at the Republican Convention, you seem to forget that WE were the party that actually freed the slaves. Oh, and we're the ones who actually managed to get a woman on the ticket...you guys couldn't quite seem to get that done. G.K. in Timonium (9/5/08) This is the perfect time for Baltimore's WHFS to dump the unentertaining, unfunny Kirk and Mark and bring back the Junkies in the mornings. (9/5/08) YES DAVE, CC cleaned house today (Thursday) at the salisbury cluster. A lot of good people were let go including Frank Hamilton,Ed Fennesey,Terry Ayres and a few other people. It's typical corporate Bullshit just like any other CC production. Some dickhead suit comes in and Figures that it's easier to just dick everyone out of their jobs/occupation's that they have done for years on end. Not sure what the reasons are behind it but it's a shock to all of the Radio people here on the Eastern shore. I Guess we'll see what happens next but since most of their stations are automated anyway I doubt it will affect the sound of their cluster at least in the meantime anyway... (9/5/08) Bonneville’s interested in 100.3, huh? Why? Do they need ANOTHER station to jam traffic and weather down our throats? If this rumor is true, I hope that they try a format similar to what they had with Z-104 before they killed it off. 100.3 is a much better frequency and I bet they could give Harvey and company at Mix a run for their money. 107.3 is a semi-decent station (but why the hell did they give John Martin the midday slot – he’s so dull, it’s like I’m listening to my dad on the radio), but they’re the only game in town with a Hot AC format and a little competition would be good. (9/5/08) Dave, I noticed 4.3, the Universal Sports Channel was on tonight. Unfortunately, there were issues. I have 3 ATSC receivers. I tried to watch the game tonight on 4.1. It came in fine on 2 of the receivers but not the 42 inch plasma in the family room. The receiver saw the signal as 4:3 but it is actually 16:9 so there may have been some issues with decoding it. The audio was there, though. On a different receiver, the audio was missing from 4.3. Picture was typical pixilated Standard Definition. Somebody needs to get back into the encoder and do some 'tweekin', I'm thinkin'. Considering how bad the multicast channels look, someone should come up with a channel that features simple pictures with not very much motion... some kind of "Low Bit Rate Theatre." John (9/5/08) Saw an interesting story this (Thursday) evening on WTOP’s ‘site about the debacle DTV is proving to be for prisons. Specifically, the need for a DTV converter box for each set and that prisons and inmates are ineligible the coupon program. Some prison systems have almost 400 TV sets. At $40 per converter, that’s at least $16K (I’m not including taxes as governments are usually exempt from such “nuisances”…) to continue to provide TV to inmates. However, shame on WTOP for ignoring another salient point: What about DTV reception quality in prisons? Between prisons typically being located in the middle of f---in’ nowhere (Prisons are often a great local “political pork” employer in an otherwise impoverished rural area…) where DTV reception is an open question at best and the probability of an MATV system going through God-only-knows how many splitters and amplifiers, who knows if there would be reception at all? Given the location and cost situations, I can see where both cable and satellite could be cost prohibitive, making over-the-air TV the only cost-effective option. Then again, if cable or satellite were available in prisons, I can see wardens having a new “weapon” to ensure good behavior: Threaten to tune all the TV’s to C-SPAN, and I bet that prison would be the most polite imaginable. That is, until the ACLU sued complaining of “cruel and unusual punishment”! Wilmington, NC may be “DTV ready”, but I seriously doubt if the rest of the country is. Locally, it’ll be interesting to see what happens now that WNVC has gone dark on both channels over the air, while feeding the cable people with a signal via fiber-optic cable. What scares the hell out of us all is what if nobody calls WNVC to complain. Does it mean that cable is that all they need to serve their audience? Or, does it mean that they didn’t have an audience in the first place? Think of it as television’s analogy to the old “If a tree falls and no-one’s in the forest to hear it, does it make a noise?" Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/5/08) Dave, I too am trying to watch the Skins and only getting 4:3 on my over the air DTV. But, unlike you, I have sound. Odd, I was beginning to think something had gone wrong with my set, but the problem is only on WRC. (9/5/08) Dave's response: I had no problem with the Skins game on the main WRC channel. I was referring to the new Universal Sports channel on 4.3..... I must agree with "kinky neo con" after just watching Olberrman 'bitching' about MSNBC showing the Republican 9-11-01 tribute video. GIVE ME A BREAK! I AM GETTING SO FEED UP WITH 'keith' ON MSNBC AND HIS SNIDE, BITTER, UPPITY REMARKS DURING RNC 08. CAN WE FINALLY CALL OUT Keith Olberrman FOR BEING THE ARROGANT LIBERAL 'PRICK' HE IS! (we already know Chris Mathews 'hates' women so I cant wait for him to rip into Sarah Palin) 'TRIAD_SPOOK' (9/5/08) /\ September 5 Messages /\ \/ September 4 Messages \/ I KNOW NO ONE @ MSNBC READS VIEWER EMAILS, BUT I MUST SAY 'keith olbermann' & 'chris mathews' HAVE BEEN TRULY AWFUL AND BIASED AND STUCK-UP DURING RNC 08... -MEDIA PROFESSIONALISM? -MY ASS... THOSE TWO PRICKS AND MOST OF THE NBC/MSNBC LINE UP. YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OR YOUR SELVES -I GO TO CATHOLIC MASS EVERY WEEK AND ONLY WISH THE WORST AGAINST 'olbermann' & 'mathews' AND MSNBC.... (then again, you people screwed IMUS :-) ~'kinky-neo-con' (9/4/08) (re: the recent Hume and Steele comments) Unbelievable!!! I thought this site was above "crap" like this, especially your management of the mailbag! 1st, You owe Brit Hume a huge apology for reprinting that unnecessary trash. 2nd, an apology is owed to Michael Steele and other African-American's for those racist remarks. (9/4/08) So sue me for going off-topic, but the crack about "TTDSRN (Teeny-Tiny Danny Snyder Radio Network)" reminded me of a film comedy released on DVD this week concerning a group of radical feminists: "Itty Bitty Titty Committee". The movie's not a certified blockbuster, but keep your eye on the female lead, Melonie Diaz. She first got my attention in the bizarre "Be Kind Rewind" playing against Danny Glover, Mos Def and Jack Black. (9/4/08) I just noticed this evening that WRC/NBC4 added the Universal Sports TV network on their digital subchannel (4.3). (9/4/08) Dave's response: Using my over-the-air DTV, I'm getting a picture on 4.3 but no audio..... 'what's the deal..?' (old seinfeld reference) Why does 'keith olbermann' & 'chris mathews' HATE America and 'conservative', 'everyday politics' So Much??? I get the point; 'olbermann & mathews' are Arrogant-Stuck Up-I'm Better Than you-Elite-Liberals, BUT COME ON! Could MSNBC show some respect or fair & balanced reporting? -ugggh, I watch those two blow-hards just to remind me what is Wrong with the 'main stream media' ~"kinky-neo-con" (9/4/08) So, the "TTDSRN (Teeny-Tiny Danny Snyder Radio Network)" is not running the game tonight on two big stations many fans depended on in 2007, WBIG and WFRE, eh? We'll see just how well the 980-to-92.7-to-94.3-throw-in-570-and-1260 combo works when the sun goes down...you almost need a scorecard to keep track of where to catch the game on the radio at night! (9/4/08) Tonight, Fox News's Brit Hume said he wondered if McCain could "top her" - wondering if McCain could get a bigger audience than Palin. Or it could have been a crude sexual reference. You never know with Hume. (9/4/08) (Dave's response: Heck, Ronald Reagan was sexier! Oh, I thought I saw a black person at the GOP convention last night. Can anyone confirm?) Hey Dave,You mean the guy holding the food tray......and are we counting Michael Steele? (9/4/08) Wow, this Skins pre-game show on the TTDSRN (Teeny-Tiny Danny Snyder Radio Network) is suckalicious -- now, it's Larry "House Man" Michael interviewing Vinny Cerrato. Next week, Vinny will be interviewed by his mother, presumably. Sheesh. Sincerely, TMU (9/4/08) Ok Baltimoreans, here's the unofficial DCRTV Pick Your Baltimore SportsTalk Station Reception Guide! (see pic). If you're in the red zone, most likely you'll be able to receive 1 of these 3 Baltimore Sports Talk stations! Maybe Brian Billick should have checked this out before investing money, hehe. As you can see, the new FOX Sports 1370 will have a MONSTER day time signal from Harford county to past DC and a competitive signal with WJFK 1300 at night, but not quite as good. Finally, WNST Nasty 1570 has both daytime and nighttime signal issues that are irreparable. I sure hope that check from Brian Billick has been cashed. :-) (9/4/08) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) The new FOX1370 Sports radio is seeking an enthusiastic and passionate Account Executive to represent our talk radio station. Sales experience required. Media sales preferred but not mandatory. Excellent compensation package and benefits. Great work atmosphere and sales team to help you earn $$$. Fax resume to Marc Beaven at 410-580-6861, or email to mbeaven680@yahoo.com. WCBM/WVIE is an EEO employer. (9/4/08) Hey, just curious, who organized radio - row at the RNC? Was it the Talk Radio News Service, or some other organization sub contracted by the RNC? Did the RNC personally invite stations? I'm happy that WMAL showed up. Who else is broadcasting from there, and who else decided to stay home because of Gustav and the other tropical storms? Rita (9/4/08) Re: Does anyone have any information on the Winchester Star purchasing Arcom publishing (Times Community papers)?" -- Here's the poop as I know it. Times Community Newspapers sold its Clark Times-Courier to the Winchester Star (which is, in turn, a Byrd Newspaper publication) in July. The Arundels have quietly been trying to unload some of their pubs for a while, because they all lose money. The elder Arundel, Nicky, has an ocean full of money and too much pride to relinquish any of his papers. He's still chairman and publisher but has been handing over control for some time to Peter Arundel, who has no interest in the papers as anything other than investments. The so-called flagship of the Arundel publishing empire is the Loudoun Times-Mirror, which is (somewhat) related to newspapers that have been in operation in Leesburg since the 1700s -- insiders tell me the younger Arundel will put it on the market once he's the top banana. A few years ago they sold their in-house presses and in the last couple of years went from a subscription paper to a thrown-in-the-driveway rag. All of the papers in Loudoun -- including the Times-Mirror, the Easterner, the Independent, the Middleburg Eccentric and the Purcellville Gazette -- are a joke, with one exception: Leesburg Today, which has been owned by some out-of-town conglomerate for a couple of years. It's a pretty decent newspaper, though its political bias (it's a NIMBY newspaper written for the foxhunting crowd) is way too overt. The Easterner was bought by an out-of-town syndicate about the same time as Leesburg Today and all of its original staff quit; some of them started the Independent but within about a year their editor died, their only hard news reporter quit and the newspaper went into bankruptcy. With all of the papers in collapse and local news/programming eliminated from WAGE radio, there really is no local news outlet in the area except Leesburg Today. And you can't really trust a monopoly. Probably more information than you were looking for. (9/4/08) I listened to D&M for umpteen years -- not every day was a gem, of course, and I'd quickly switch away when it was Larry-to-Larry, or Tom Gavin, or Dennis Murphy, but the show held my attention for a REAL long time. Reluctantly, I'm forced to conclude that the MOMS (Mike O'Meara Show) isn't working for me. I find myself tuning away, or heading to the iPod, generally before the end of the first hour. Considering how long the cast has known each other, I'm surprised at how strained they sound. The heavy hand of B.A. McBride is producing too many DULL interviews. The Buzz Babes? Wow, how sad is that? Right now, the show gets a gentleman's C from me -- it's closer to Jack Diamond (with a lot more sex talk) than any of them would admit. Sincerely, TMU (9/4/08) Hey Dave, So instead of sending a rebuttal to my workplace in regards to issues their, i figure i just vent off to some points on the site. Feel free to edit the fluff out accordingly..... Billick to NST: I have always liked coach Billick, though i am not much of a Ravens fan i did think it was his time to go, and i am glad to see him stay in the area. Good move by the station, they fly under the radar a lot, now only if they could do something with that signal..... HFS Dumping K&M?: Ok so i wish i could say that i think this is a surprise, but i am not surprised. At one time i though this was a great move on the part of HFS, and for the love of god i wish they drop those calls, it just does not seem right for those calls to be on a talk FM station, but the show to me seems to be really tired, old and dragging every time i listen to it. I almost get the impression that the 2 don't enjoy doing it any more. Personally i don't think it has been the same since Lopez passed. As for the junks coming back, they don't do anything for me. Maybe Ed Norris to the mornings and Mike O'Mera back in drive time..... DC Man Gets Examiner To Stop Delivery: All i have to say about that is "cool"..... Baltimore's 1370 To Go Sports Next Monday: Well we will see how long this one lasts, the female directed political talk didn't last all that long. Now question now has to asked, and i am guessing you might already have an answer, so have they inked any pro or local college to the station as their affiliate, IDK the Redskins Baltimore affiliate (not a Skins fan either BTW), Caps , Wizards, they get one of the major syndicated game packages, like a Westwood One. I mean it's really hard to see them bing a big player if you going to do all fox sports, have no local show (at least not mentioned), or some team affiliation. Also what now happens to WBAL at nights, being that they currently run FSN radio..... Under Armour Does Deal With UMD: Nice..... Just one more thing, didn't catch any of your thoughts on the revamped Sun paper. As for my self, not impressed. I really don't see this as an improvement, and it will show in the numbers eventually. I was thinking they were going to go in the direction of a Berliner format or something. It's a shame though that papers are dying a slow and painful death, compared to Europe were they seem to have been thriving or doing a significant amount better..... Alright, so i bored you enough, enjoy. (9/4/08) In light of today's essay on radio journalists "going live in '60s", how about this image of "going live in the '40s" from the hallowed halls (or hallowed steps, at least) of our own U.S. Capitol?(Courtesy of those daring young men of the National Biscuit Company.) DCMemories.com (9/4/08) Mr. Santos, do us all a favor. You have much too much time on your hands. COUNTING your posts?? Gee whiz...Burger King, Dominoes, Wal-Mart? DIP DIP BOOM BOOM BOOM, GET A JOB. PULEEZE! (9/4/08) OMG I knew this day would come. Sweet Blessed Mother of Loving God. Bye Kirk, Bye Mark, Bye Lop……OOOPPPSS Shamrock. Let the entertainment begin. Dancing like a naked fool. See YA Boys. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Don’t go away angry Just go the hell away. WOOO WHOOOO. I hear a radio station in OC is looking for CBS cast offs. But then again they want talented people. Oh well you guys will get a gig somewhere.. HA HA NOT!!!! Elkridge Steve (9/4/08) A headline in the NY Times 'DealBook' blog in the Business section asks: "Does Sirius XM Need a Total Makeover?". Peter Fader, a marketing professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania thinks so ... dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com (9/4/08) I know getting "into it" with internet site posters isn't very productive but, because today is sort of a slow day (no weddings, races or new thoughts on Smooth Jazz), "attention starved" ME did a little research and here's what I came up with: Since the time Citadel Broadcasting pulled the plug on Smooth Jazz, about 188 days ago, my DCRTV post count has been EIGHTEEN posts! Looking into that number I discovered, of those 18 posts, seven occurred within the first 17 days of termination (most, thanking listeners for their well-wishes etc.) Over the next 154 days, my DCRTV post count was a whooping SEVEN posts (of which, one was about the Bill Hamlin slide show I'd put together for his tribute) Surprisingly (to me anyway), my DCRTV post count in the last THIRTY days, leading up to yesterday's post about my "starvation", was a mere THREE posts of which, one dealt with 45 rpm "cue burn". If the poster "calling me out" had signed his/her post, I might have been able to research how "attention starved" they were! Al Santos (9/4/08) Interesting bit of trivia on a broadcast engineering board regarding the way music is stored at radio stations today: "[A local computer store] is advertising a Hitachi 500 GB drive for a little under $60. This drive has the capacity for nearly 11,800 4-minute stereo songs. If that library were still on CD, $60 wouldn't even pay for the Ikea shelf to hold all those discs." (9/4/08) In Denver, Obama picks Joe Biden for VP, over Tim Kaine. Mark Warner keynotes. Obama's speech in Denver has a bigger audience than watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, the American Idol finale or the Academy Awards. McCain stuns the political world by picking Sarah Palin. Her speech draws a gigantic audience. And WTOP (the self-proclaimed "Washington's news station") thinks no news is made at the conventions? Compared to 2004, when they bragged endlessly about going to the conventions -- where there really WAS no news - they don't want to spend a nickel this year, when there really was news? Wow. (9/4/08) Dave's response: Look, WTOP knows that about 95 percent of its audience wants traffic and weather on the 8s. And that's who it caters to..... ESPN980 used at least five hours of recorded content to help fill the overnight and early morning portions of its 24 hour Redskins pregame show, including a replay of yesterday's Sports Reporters (which wasn't just about the Skins). Interestingly, Tony Kornheiser appeared as a guest with Andy Pollin and John Riggins this morning - perhaps his first live appearance on the station since signing on with short lived Washington Post Radio two years ago. Could that be a sign that Red Zebra's looking to hire him for a daily show once football season's over? If so, there may be a conflict of interest obstacle they'd need to circumvent. On the other hand, it's an ESPN station and Kornheiser's one of the rock stars at the four letter network due to his MNF and PTI gigs. The most logical timeslot for Mr. Tony would probably be 10 AM to noon, provided Colin Cowherd's show isn't considered a sacred female bovine by the suits at RZ. I caught a few minutes of Cowherd's act last week and heard him refer to DC as "a Redskin town that never wanted baseball". I'm sorry - that remark's a pile of cow dung as evidenced by the phenomenal attendance figures at rickety old RFK Stadium three years ago for the Nationals' first season there after relocating from Montreal. What's even more annoying is when local hosts like Kevin Sheehan come on the air and calls Nats fans 'Capital Hill posers' (in other words, nattily attired 20 and 30-somethings from other parts of the country who show up at the ballpark after a hard day's work at the Dirksen Building because it's 'the chic thing to do' but don't really know much about the team). While that element may account for part of your typical crowd at Nationals Park, it hardly represents local baseball fandom in general. Mike, Fairfax (9/4/08) The Washington Post's listing of Redskins radio carriers is not reliable. The Frederick area affiliate is now WWEG-FM/106.9, not WFRE. WBIG is NOT listed as an official affiliate by the Redskins. Everett W. www.redskins.com (9/4/08) Dave's response: Oh come on! The Post can't be wrong. If they say the Skins will be on WBIG and WFRE tonight, they'll be there! Ha ha ha..... Dave, I thought you might like to see this shot of the WMAL booth at the Republican convention. Plante and Newt Gingrich. WMAL is the only Washington news station to devote resources to covering the conventions in person. Lucas Kellerman (9/4/08) 100.7 The Bay have several local Baltimore jocks on the air now that are full of personality. Why don't they just team a few of them up and bring a new fresh show to their morning slot? Seriously, Baltimore has always been a city that wants to know and likes to talk about local issues. Bringing Bob and Tom to their mornings is a dumb ass mistake!!!! (9/4/08) Take a look at the sponsor page of the Hoops for the Homeless (www.hoopsforthehomeless.org). It has the very old WJFK "Free FM" logo. The print ad in the WaPost yesterday had the same logo. Someone screwed up. Frank (9/4/08) "I can only listen to him (Chris Plante) for five minutes or so without needing to take a shower". That was not my quote. It was Dave's quote. Read, friend, read! -Silvie- (9/4/08) I just noticed on your HD station listings that WFLS HD-2 indicates “Classic Country”. That changed in January 2008 to an urban format. Thanks, Chris Wilk, Chief Engineer, WFLS\WWUZ\WWVB Radio (9/4/08) Does anyone have any information on the Winchester Star purchasing Arcom publishing (Times Community papers)? Has this alreay happened, in the process, or just a rumor? (9/4/08) Dave's response: I have heard that Arthur Arundel's Northern Virginia weeklies are on the market. Anyone know more? so a 27 hour pregame show consists of rerunning the Sports Reporters from the past week at 6am? are you kidding me??? (9/4/08) The telephone company actually had three ways of going live in 60s. 1. In many major markets, the telephone company had 'loops' that could be fed or tapped, such as WASH-1 and 2 here in DC, that any broadcaster could either feed onto, or listen to, for content sharing. It was not unusual for major events to be fed to the nearest point in the loop for use by all. 2. If audio quality wasn't a concern, Non-EQ circuits could be gotten pretty quickly. In some cases these were dry pairs point to point that were connected to a switch at each end, allowing the circuit to be used for both content and talkback. It was not usual for one of these to be ordered to a point as near to an event as possible for the same reason of allowing quick origination of content. 3. And there were many ways to tap a phone, including the acoustic coupler, alligator clips (if you could open a case) or, for the really techically inclined, poke a hole in the cable jacket, strip a bit back,,,or go to the phone closet and find that pair, and clip on. 4. And stations had their own ability to go live. If you had enough beer, you could get some guys to help you lug along remote pickup units (RPU). Some folks were still using the vacuum tube version in the 60s. Think of it as a wireless mic with a big transmitter on the end. These wireless links operated in the 150-455 MHz range, often with receive antennas at station studios or broadcast sites (tall tower for receiving antenna). It was not uncommon for major event sites such as court houses, stadiums, arenas etc to have an RPU antenna on the roof and coax coming down to somewhere such as the loading dock. A broadcaster could pull up, connect and be live in no time at all. It is ironic, but the changes in telecom and public policy of the airwaves after divestiture made such live abilities much much harder and much more expensive until ISDN came along. Now as ISDN becomes harder to get, with IP still very immature for reliable connection and the proliferation of uncoordinated use and unlicensced devices in RF spectrum, we are having to rethink what needs to be live, how do we do it, if at all, and even what it means to be live. (9/4/08) RE: CBS unloading it's Brawl-more "cluster-eff" - in my opinion there's almost nothing but bright sides to all of the stations going to other owner(s). 1- WHFS , er, FM-Talk 1057 can be tweaked to be a "cool" FM Talk station, with funnier shows like Big O and Dukes and Opie and Anthony instead of the almost humor-less conglomerate of un-inspired political talk, sports talk, weekend info-mercials for mortgage companies and Orioles. Didn't WHFS lead CBS's profitable station list a year ago? What happened? 2- WQSR - can keep a Jack style format (may have to lose the "Jack" name due to CBS ownership(?) - but instead of being as random of a channel, can have some more focused shows or hours (hour of classic rock, hour of classic "jams", hour of 80's new wave, hour of 70's, etc.). Not all the time, but just throw in a musical genre that'll be covered "this hour". Make sure WQSR HD-2 is a good "classic / true oldies" station with the huge playlist that a good oldies station deserves. No more "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lions sleep tonight", and more "Judy's turn to cry" and other hits from the 50's and early 60's. 3- WLIF - lose the 100 song playlist and oldies only on the weekend and become a good "soft explosion" style station. I don't know how many "cool" soft rock songs I don't hear on WLIF that SHOULD be totally great on the playlist. Acoustic music weekends, more "Starbucks" style programming, that'd be a huge draw, look at Starbucks Records! 4- Sell the WHFS calls to a more deserving station and change the name of WHFS to WJZ-FM. Ditto for WJFK-AM into WJZ-AM. 5 - Tweak WMMX to be a totally CHR station, in fact, LOSE THE WMMX CALLS AND the "Mix 106.5" name and give that to the newly named WQSR. Maybe the old "Mix 106.5" can turn into the new "Baltimore Hitz 106.5". You know what, Dave, you probably came up with all of these ideas at one point, I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm actually excited about the idea of CBS's stations getting sold to other owners. This could help signal the end of such the large scale mega-media-giant owned mega-radio-clusters and could signal the start of better programming coming soon on these stations. I really think that the technology behind HD-Radio is going to help bring radio back to people, but nothing is going to change unless the owners change themselves. KeninGlenBurnie (9/4/08) Dave's response: Great ideas. I've always said CBS would be smart to brand 105.7 FM and 1300 AM with the WJZ identity from CBS sister Channel 13. But if CBS is selling the radioers, that plan kind of goes out the window. And, yes, it would be great to see the legendary WHFS calls return to the DC market and stand for something again. But, alas, I don't think CBS has the balls for that after the 94.7 fiasco..... Re: "Old 90.9 probably misses having listeners who are under 60." I've been listening to classical music on the radio since I was 16, and I'm still well under 60. I still have the set of Beethoven symphonies my grandmother gave me when I was 5, too. Maybe this points up what's wrong in the radio biz--too much stereotyping. ~~CA in BC (9/4/08) Dave's response: I'm way under 60, too, and listen a lot to 90.9. Particularly while I'm in the car and dealing with the VDOT's highway insanity. I was just joking, but 90.9 does skew old. As most classical stations do..... I think Bonneville needs to stay the heck away from Baltimore. Everything they touch turns into WTOP or some terrible idea they think is brilliant and then it ends up as a WTOP relay. Hopefully some other companies that are not Bonneville, or Cheap Channel buy those Baltimore stations. (9/4/08) How the mighty have fallen! Just 4 short years ago, the then "Live 105.7" in Baltimore had Howard Stern in the Morning, "Out to Lunch" with Miles and Thrill at middays and the Don & Mike Show in the afternoons. Howard went on to satellite radio (much better than anything on the "terrestrial" airwaves by the way). Miles and Thrill are now very successful in afternoon drive (evenings here) at KISW in Seattle. Don Geronimo retired and Mike O'Meara wasn't even given an opportunity in Baltimore after Don's departure. In fact, 105.7 even cut Don's last show off 90 minutes before it ended to cover the hopelessly horrible Orioles. Now we have a defunct Kirk & Mark show, Troy Johnson?, Brian Wilson? and Ed Norris....uh who are those guys again? I used to listen to this station from 7 am - 7 pm every weekday in 2004, now, you couldn't get me to listen for 7 minutes! Greg in Reisterstown (9/4/08) Dave's response: Instant ratings jolt for 105.7? Flip it back to urban WXYV, X105.7..... "Fred Grandy and Bryan Nehman talking up last night's heavily-hyped Sarah Palin speech on Citadel righty talker WMAL this morning. They did a fine job, but they sounded like they were reading the 'Prompter. Nice words of praise - but no fire in their bellies. Perhaps it's because neither is a true conservative." Yeah, especially the part where Fred said that Sara Palin is the next Ronald Reagan. That was pretty milquetoasty. Admittedly, a Bryan Nehman fap-haze could make that sort of remark easy to overlook, even though it was said several times. To restate: Fred Grandy said Sara Palin is the next Ronald Reagan. Learn to listen, listen to learn. (9/4/08) Dave's response: Heck, Ronald Reagan was sexier! Oh, I thought I saw a black person at the GOP convention last night. Can anyone confirm? Too bad Bonneville didn't buy 100.3 and put WTOP there rather than throwing away WGMS and using 103.5 for WTOP. I wonder whether they could buy back the classical format from WETA-FM for a moderate price. (9/4/08) Dave's response: You know, I bet WETA would give Bonneville back the classical format that was formerly known as WGMS for free. Old 90.9 probably misses having listeners who are under 60. Even if Bonneville does buy 100.3, I don't think you'll hear classical on it. They'd probably fire a missle at WASH and go adult contemporary..... And the poster said "There was no technology allowing radio to instantly go live in 1962." When was the telephone invented? Ever hear about the Harding election results that were carried live? Yes, before you were born, son, there were pay phones in many areas that radio reporters could use for live narratives. I haven't been by the walkway to the pokey where Oswald took his fateful Perp Walk, but Plain Old Telephone Service was around in Those Olde Days. (9/4/08) I bet Greg Tantum won't be "riding the zebra" for long. It's got to be the money. No doubt an un-Godly sum of money. I don't blame him for doing as others have done before him. (9/4/08) Seriously - 100.7 The Bay, who has been trying forever to be a real Baltimore station going with those two lamo Indy clowns in the morning?!?!? Nothing slaps B'more in the face more than doing that. Whoever is the pea-brain that decided to put that aweful small-time morning show on in place of anything local should be banned from working in radio - any radio, not even allowed to press the morse code button on my kids walkie-talkie! Ugh! (9/4/08) (Dave's response: Gawd, we can only hope. 100.3 and now 94.7 have got to be two of the most unimaginative and dull stations of their respective classic hits and classic rock formats anywhere in the country. Hey, we DC radio listeners are nice people. Why do we deserve such awful crap from the big corporations? Sheesh.....) Dave's response is right on the money. On the weekends, WBIG plays things that it wouldn't play during the week. However, if they expanded their playlist, they wouldn't get the negative posts they receive on this site, but then again, it's about the bottom line, and we know what that is. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (9/4/08) Clear Channel chips in $22 million (!!!) as part of a settlement in The Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island five years ago: my.earthlink.net (9/4/08) "I can only listen to him (Chris Plante) for five minutes or so without needing to take a shower". If that's so Silvie in Waldorf, why did you call the Chris Plante show yesterday and go on-air? (9/4/08) /\ September 4 Messages /\ \/ September 3 Messages \/ It's about time K & M might be shown the door. I just don't think K&M are nearly what they used to be. K&M were successful with 98 Rock because of what KML was. Would have 98 Rock just let them walk on over to 105.7 if they were so good? But another question is who would replace K&M? O&A? Flunkies? I'm not too sure if the rest of 105.7's line up matches either one. Why not just flip formats on 105.7 all together? Just about everything about and on the station stinks anyway! 100.7 has plenty of alternatives to putting some syndicated guys named Bob & Tom on in the morning. They need to keep it local. Exspecially coming off one of their best ratings in a long time. Should they be trying to make the ratings grow more instead of killing them? FM radio is total trash these days when compared to even just 5 years ago. (9/3/08) Chris Plante ranting about Sally Quinn is only because he is jealous of how much more successful and relevant than he is. Chris Plante simply lacks the talent that Ms. Quinn has. He doesn't have the ability to conduct a decent interview and hosts a show that can be moved around from timeslot to timeslot without any uproar. If his show were cancelled, nobody would really be upset and the few advertisers would simply move on to the next voice. He just simply takes up space, and inexpensive space at that. I doubt Sally Quinn spends any of her time worrying about Chris Plante as I'm sure she has NO IDEA who he is. (9/3/08) Dave's response: I love it when righties complain that the left issues "marching orders" to its media-types. Yet, I couldn't help but notice today that everyone from Chris Plante to Rush Limbaugh to Fox News to Sean Hannity were all on exactly the same page - blaming "the media" for asking too many questions of Sarah Palin. Coincidence? Hmmm..... Does anybody have any idea when WMAL is going to restore full power transmission? This is getting ridiculous. I've got a pretty good receiver (a soon-to-be lamented SuperRadio 3, sold by GE to phony RCA Thomson Electronics who promptly discontinued the line) and the null in my part of hot and muggy Prince William County (North o' Dumfries and west off I-95) is worse than ever! I've got adjacent stations over and under all bloody night long, and it's beginning to annoy the hell out of me! I keep hearing a 30 second time-delayed broadcast of Noory that keeps cutting into WMAL's version, and it's so hashed up I can't make out the sender, and it's enough of a devil's cacaphony to make me seriously consider either going straight to all XM or CBC overnight. (Of course, I could wander across the room and look them up in the World Radio/TV Handbook, but that would require work on my part and reduce the pleasurable bitching I get out of it…..) Are they purposefully trying to get rid of their last loyal audience members so they can go all brokered Spanish or religious? What the hell is the matter with these people? And this is all happening without the introduction of AM IBOC or BPL. What's a DX-er to do? It's all becoming a nightmare; night-time DX reduced to charting how far and from how many stations you can hear AM Coast to Coast. Genghis Cohen, holding off on that Grundig 750 until I get a better idea if it's gonna help any out here in the Confederate landsmanschaft . (9/3/08) 100.7 The Bay has always been a lost cause, run by people out of southern PA who have no clue about Baltimore, so it would not surprise me that they would make yet ANOTHER programming mistake without even so much as a clue. Sure, Chris Emry has waned in popularity since I was in college back when he was on 98ROCK, but I'd still prefer him to these schmucks from INDY! I mean, seriously what are they thinking? The typical demographic individual who listens to classic rock is more than likely someone of the age that remembers these INDY idiots & the COLTS LEAVING! Expect poor 100.7 to drop in the ratings once again from another bad Times Shamrock decision. They're like the gang that can't shoot straight or always shoots themselves in the foot. LOL (9/3/08) (regarding a previous post) "Ike Pappas did not report the Oswald shooting live on the air. He was talking into a tape recorder owned by his employer, WNEW radio." The poster is correct. And here's an interesting bit of trivia about the tape itself, that Pappas disclosed while in a panel discussion of journalists recalling that weekend, that was aired on CSPAN, in the 1990s. The "holy mackerel" that was heard, early in his reporting, was actually snipped from somewhere else in the tape by an engineer, and placed where it is currently heard. Pappas said that the edit was done because the engineer thought it was more dramatic. I don't know if the panel discussion is part of the CSPAN online archives, but I have it on video. (9/3/08) Al, congrats on your daughters marriage; we miss you and the Brunch! Armando (9/3/08) Back when the Colts moved to Indy no one in broadcasting went after Baltimore and Mayor Schaefer like Bob and Tom. They would rant how bad Baltimore reactions was to losing the Colts ....on and on every day. They were even involved with the Indy Orioles tee shirts that were going around (1988) right before Bennet Williams signed the Camden yards agreement with the Maryland Stadium authority .I was living in Indy During that Horrible time in Baltimore History..I was schocked when WOCT Hired them and very glad when they flopped. I can't believe that they are getting yet another chance in the city they love to hate. John T. Henneman (9/3/08) I'm truly sorry, but I've never heard of WFHS. Is it a HEAD station. The person who posted that is one of the most disoriented posters of current time! ( I do agree with the Brian Wilson evaluation) Mr. Santos, you've posted more times on this board about Smooth Jazz than any other person on the site. You have also posted about your Capitol Raceway draggins..KEEP LOOKIN! Oh, congrats on your daughters wedding, hope it's more successful than mine were. (9/3/08) Ike Pappas did not report the Oswald shooting live on the air. He was talking into a tape recorder owned by his employer, WNEW radio. There was no technology allowing radio to instantly go live in 1962. Live remotes were done in those days via telephone company landlines. Cell phones did not exist, either. If you can find a good wide shot of the shooting, you will see that Ike's microphone is attached to a bulky recorder he was carrying in his left hand. The AP and Washington Post also got this story wrong. (I did not see other stories, so the error may be even more widespread.) Nobody does fact-checking anymore. I knew Ike quite well, and he never claimed to have been on the air live. His reports did not air until some time after the fact. Please correct your report. MT (9/3/08) OMFG!... but is WFHS :-( "baltimore") is just another abortion of Radio time. Radio 'shows' & all of a sudden? BALTIMORE vs BOSTON??? NO ONE TOLD 'whfs' this fact??? 'kms' = useless... a pot head & drunk white guy 'troy johnson' = Uppity, arrogant racist who never reads news.... 'brian wilson' = HE AINT EVEN/CARES ABOUT 'maryland' When I go on my lonely post-traumatic stress syndrome 'drinking binges' { US ARMY GREEN BERET ALL THE WAY! -18B!!} I listen to WFHS just to hear 'human voices' (even it they are arrogant/useless/out of touch :-( (9/3/08) Join The SportsGroove Radio Program on NewsTalk 1450 WOL-AM For The Burgundy & Gold Outta Control NFL Kickoff Party at the fabulous My Place Sports Bar & Grill 12150 Central Ave. in Bowie, MD from 7-10 PM. We'll have great food, big fun, and the hottest football fans in the world. Not to mention the "Groove Girls" will be in full effect. Play Your Cards Right and you might make the radio or SportsGroove TV. Unlike most sports talk shows we encourage ladies to join us for Football 101. Don't Forget the live broadcast of The Burgundy & Gold Outta Control NFL Kickoff Party Thursday from My Place Sports Bar & Grill Thursday 7-10 PM. If you can't make it tune in to NewsTalk 1450 WOL-AM and www.wolam.com. Holla Back, Mark Gray (9/3/08) Is Kelli Johnson of Comcast smoking crack out at Redskins Park? Yesterday, when she was talking about her ''exclusive'' interview with lil Danny she said ''no subject was off limits''. RIIIIIIIIIGHT! As long as those ''subjects'' were pre approved long in advance. And doesn't Danny get off his high chair, put down his strained carrots and give an ''exclusive'' interview once every season? Paul (9/3/08) WZBA is running Bob & Tom in the mornings? I don't see anything about it on their website, so lets hope not. That show plays well in small markets and some mediums in the south, but the last time that it in Baltimore it tanked right away. I can't believe that WZBA would be that stupid as to bring back a show that did so poorly and was one of the final nails in the coffin of the old WOCT. If it is the case and Bob & Tom are on WZBA, it will fail and it will drag their ratings into the basement, just like they did once before in Baltimore. You shouldn't replace a stale ratings challenged local morning show with an out of market / out of touch proven ratings failure bad morning show. Hopefully they will bring in a good local show or just stick with music in the morning. Anything would do better than Bob & Tom, and that's proven. (9/3/08) [**God, drag racing, weddings, observations on Smooth Jazz. What's up with Santos? Is he that starved for attention? Love a promoter, but he's worse than the WCBM guy that wrote his show promos and was a "barter" Al, please get a job!!!!!**] Oops! My bad... I should have told Dave that email was NOT for the mailbag... Again, SORRY!! ...and as far as "starved for attention"... NOPE! Just starving (hahaha)... come on, give an old alter boy a freakin' break (what do you mean by, "God" and "observations on Smooth Jazz" anyway?) PS: I'M LOOKIN'!!!, I'M LOOKIN"!!! (9/3/08) I thought you’d want to know that Karl Rove will be joining us as a panelist for tomorrow morning’s Convention Conversation. He’ll be discussing how the GOP can compete in an era of rising diversity along with political commentator Armstrong Williams, The Washington Times’ Tara Wall, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and former Florida GOP chair Al Cardenas - Mike Allen will be moderating. Space is limited, so reserve your seat soon at www.politico.com. You can watch video highlights from earlier in the week at www.politico.com (9/3/08) (WVIE head) Bob Petit is a class A [deleted]! I know for a fact! He had the chance to make gold with Oldies. He blew that. Hey, ok, Variety Talk...well, blew that. Now, sports talk. He's going to blow that. I guess they'll continue to run the brokered shows at 6pm nightly and all weekend.....WHOA!! (9/3/08) Dave's response: Now, now, keep the talk civil..... So--WZBA wants to sound like every other sorry excuse for a Classic Rock station in the country and run Bob and Tom. Yeah, thats good for small market stations, but they didn't work on WOCT. Baltimore has never faired well with out to town syndicated morning shows....Come on folks, show some fucking originality! (9/3/08) "I can only listen to him (Chris Plante) for five minutes or so without needing to take a shower". Sharing a shower with Plante in the future is one of the items on my "must do" agenda! ;-) But enough of the 'sex talk' on this 'family site'. Anyway, the way the Dems are in full attack mode (USWeekly disgusting cover of Palin; Obama on O'Reilly tomorrow night -on the same night that McCain accepts the nomination; releasing Palin's SSN; retracting the story that she was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, and more) their internal polling numbers must be simply devastating! -Silvie- (9/3/08) Dave's response: What about sharing a shower with Bryan Nehman? Oh, nevermind..... Typical Rush. Blame the "mainstream media" trying to "destroy" McCain's horrible VP pick. Tired old Rush - just marching to GOP Central's orders, along with Chris Plante. (9/3/08) So you hear the Stones on all of the time on The Globe HD & now, it seems to me, that you hear Chris Emry all of the time on the "regular" Globe. I think that he's been on everyday since last Friday or Sat. Ham Boy (9/3/08) Dave's response: We've reported that Emry's been heard on the Globe..... "She's a real mother, not a Georgetown mother." WMAL's Chris Plante. Try as hard as they like to spin this mess, I have not found one person that supports Governor Palin on abstinence only teaching, and allowing (or forcing) her 17 year old daughter to get married. Both are disasters and every thinking parent out there sees right through the BS the Republicans are spewing. (9/3/08) Dave's response: I miss Chris Core. He could have an intelligent discission without demeaning callers. Chris Plante trashes callers for being stupid if they disagree with him. I can only listen to him for five minutes or so without needing to take a shower..... 100.7 The Bay had decided to go with The Tom & Bob Morning Show starting Monday September 8th as it's new morning show. It didn't work at 104.3 The Colt and it won't work on The Bay. NON LOCAL!!! And they wonder why 98 Rock's Morning Show has always been on top. They dropped the ball with a great opportunity since they just had a great book! (9/3/08) God, drag racing, weddings, observations on Smooth Jazz. What's up with Santos? Is he that starved for attention? Love a promoter, but he's worse than the WCBM guy that wrote his show promos and was a "barter" Al, please get a job!!!!! (9/3/08) It's fascinating, really, to look at message boards - not just this one, pretty much all of them (and this one is a tiny notch above the rest) - and see how many folks really don't know the difference between a news article and a column or commentary. Print pieces that are so obviously opinion/commentary - and frequently labeled as such - are railed about ad nauseum as if the writer is reporting facts. On talk radio - news or sports - you hear callers refer to "that article" when in fact they're talking about someone's column. I guess that's what makes America stand out in the world - the freedom to be a total dope and still eke out some kind of existence. Chris (9/3/08) You gotta question wing nuts like Chris Plante who attack people because they're "Georgetown mothers." It seems to be an mantra of the right to go after American citizens because they live in Northern California and thus have "San Francisco values" or if they live in Boston they have to be discounted because they're a "Massachusets liberal" or if they reside in Manhattan they have to be called an "upper west side radical." The point is that all these millions of people are just as much Americans as Plante and it's a cheap shot to use ad hominem phrasing to pigeon hole them. All of these people are Americans and to quote Barack Obama, "there is not a liberal America or a conservative America. There is only the United States of America." ACH (9/3/08) Al Santos here in the depths of Maryland... Was just up in Mystic, Connecticut for a very quick stay for my lovely daughter Samantha's wedding... Stayed in New Haven with one of my dearest friends from my days at WPLR-FM, Paula! My imagination has been busy at work putting together a slide show of my daughter's memorable event... (Here's the link: www.photodex.com ) If you've viewed one of my Photodex slideshows, you know the drill... if not, simply click on the link and allow a piece of SAFE 'viewer' software to be uploaded to your computer. Once that's done, navigate to the menu of thumbnails, click on, "39=Jim & Sam", sit back and enjoy... By the way, once into the system, you'll be able to view any and all of my creations by simply going back to the main menu after watching any of the numerous presentations! Hope your summer t'weren't a bummer! Al Santos (9/3/08) Jerry did not opt to host PM drive--he was told to. See, with syndicated programming, that station would have a vacancy for PM drive anyway. Even with 50,000 watts, the station is still going to fail. They have no strong teams to feature, such as Orioles or Ravens. They those teams will never break away from the marketing gems that they run with, such as Ravens co-branding on WBAL-AM/TV; 98 Rock; and the Orioles co-branded on all CBS Radio Stations. (9/3/08) ("She's a real mother, not a Georgetown mother." WMAL's Chris Plante this morning on GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin.....) OK Chris...let's line up vaginas and uteruses. Which one lives in 20001 or 99503? Please. (9/3/08) Just what we need...a third sports talk station in Baltimore on 1370 WVIE. Especially when DC stations get higher ratings in most books. On the format change from what they called "oldies" to women's talk and whatever it is now and into sports talk next week, all those decisions are made of course by Mr. Pettit. It's like the flavor of the month, what format should we be doing this month? Embarrassing for a major market 50K station...I once suggested a nice big simulcast with WCBM 680 and was told that was not a possibility! I've also heard that with all the confusion, the station makes money. But then again, I've read that it doesn't. Maybe all interested parties should submit a list of possible future formats in a contest of some sort. (9/3/08) Congratulations to Greg Tantum. Greg is very talented and a nice guy….Unfortunately, Dan Snyder is not very talented and a jerk! (9/3/08) Dave's response: After a couple months with Dan, Greg can hang out with Bennett's boys. I hope he's a cigar lover..... I never thought I'd ever agree with Steve Czaban but I do regarding one point, "Mike and Mike" can be a tough listen. However, just when you want to give Czaban a chance, he shows you why he doesn't get-it and more reason why Fox Radio should pull the plug. Why would anyone spend 25-minutes talking about HD TV's and plugging some geek-tech-guy's website...answer: Czaban. I don't think Fox Sports Radio listeners are looking to hear about HD sets but rather talk about the current bar-room chatter like Big Ben Maller accomplishes during the overnight hours. At least Red Zebra noticed why 980 wasn't getting-off to the right start for the 6a-10a time slot...the "First Team" was actually the last team. (9/3/08) I heard the Zorn interview yesterday. He did not apologize but Andy Pollin being the radio pro that he is apologized by saying his intention was not to get Zorn to say something bad about Campbell. The question was a fair question but Pollin could have phrased it a different way. He was trying to ask Zorn in a back-door kind of way..."are you seeing what we're seeing as fans in the last two games of the pre-season? Is the offense with Campbell going to be as bad during the regular season as it has been the last 2 pre-season games?". It seems to me that Zorn has been hanging around Snyder and Cerrato too long already because he's become thin-skinned as those guys. It rubbed off on Gibbs too. Remember when he did a weekly appearance on 980 (pre-Redskins Radio) a few years ago and got agitated at the tough but fair questions being asked by Pollin and Czaban and stopped doing the show. The coach has nowhere to go because Snyder owns all the stations. I guess they'll have to get Larry Michael to ask all the 'tough' questions of the coach (if he can stand to take his lips off of Snyder's behind long enough). (9/3/08) So WVIE is now a Fox Sports affiliate. According to reports, that means Fox will no longer be heard on WBAL. So what is WBAL going to put on between 9:00 pm and 1:00 am?. Will Fox still be heard on WNST? To the poster commenting on nighttime signal strength, I'm crushed. That means there are now 2 local signals that I won't be able to hear "J.T., The Brick and Looney" on. What a shame. One local program, with an unproven "talent" and the rest of the day, syndicated Fox mess. Does anyone seriously think this is going to be a ratings success? And if they plan on acquiring more "local talent", wouldn't you think it just might be a good business decision to get things lined up BEFORE A FORMAT CHANGE? I know....that's a radical concept for radio these days. (9/3/08) [Dave inquisitonated] Our 950 WCTN just flipped to nostalgic oldies. Is anyone listening? [end] There's nostalgic oldies ("Shine little glow worm, glimmer-glimmer..."), and then there's cruisin' oldies ("A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop A-lop-bam-boom!")! It don't take no Columbia School grad-joo-wit to figure out who has the winning formula. (9/3/08) Good for 94.7's HD2. I came across the all Stones music the other day and have been listenening ever since. At least it's a fresh approach. And I've heard some songs I haven't heard for YEARS. Of course, there aren't many bands with a catalog as rich and deep as the Stones. On another subject, it is a fact that, historically, black candidates poll HIGHER than they perform rather than the reverse. Could Obama break that mold? Possibly. On the other hand, I would be real worried if I was an Obama supporter and he wasn't more than five percent ahead in the polls in the swing states on the day prior to election day. (9/3/08) Inside Radio is reporting that KKFN Denver moved to the FM dial, and that its old spot on the AM band is now "Cruisin' Oldies 950" KRWZ, with hits from the 1950s and 1960s. Its first stunt? 9,500 commercial-free songs. Now THIS is the kind of brainpower we need herein DC, instead of making every AM'er on the dial a sports outlet! (9/3/08) Dave's response: Well, our 950, WCTN, just flipped to nostalgic oldies. Is anyone listening? WHUT showing the Democrats but not the Republicans. That's called racism. It may also be called censorship, electioneering, bias, yellow journalism, disgusting and probably in violation of FCC policy and the reuqirement to serve the public as stated in their licensce. The following is from the publication "The Public and Broadcasting" which is required to be availabe in the public file, and accessible to the public, at every station. --- News Distortion. ..the Commission generally will not intervene ... However, as public trustees, broadcast licensees may not intentionally distort the news: the FCC has stated that “rigging or slanting the news is a most heinous act against the public interest.” The Commission will investigate a station for news distortion if it receives documented evidence of such rigging or slanting, such as testimony or other documentation, from individuals with direct personal knowledge that a licensee or its management engaged in the intentional falsification of the news. Of particular concern would be evidence of the direction to employees from station management to falsify the news. However, absent such a compelling showing, the Commission will not intervene. For additional information about news distortion, see www.fcc.gov. Political Broadcasting: Candidates for Public Office. · Reasonable Access. The Communications Act requires that broadcast stations provide “reasonable access” to candidates for federal elective office. Such access must be made available during all of a station’s normal broadcast schedule, including television prime time and radio drive time. In addition, federal candidates are entitled to purchase all classes of time offered by stations to commercial advertisers, such as preemptible and non-preemptible time. The only exception to the access requirement is for bona fide news programming (as defined below), · Equal Opportunities. The Communications Act requires that, when a station provides airtime to a legally qualified candidate for any public office (federal, state, or local), the station must “afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for that office.” The equal opportunities provision of the Communications Act also provides that the station “shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast” by the candidate. The law exempts from the equal opportunities requirement appearances by candidates during bona fide news programming, defined as an appearance by a legally qualified candidate on a bona fide newscast, interview, or documentary (if the appearance of the candidate is incidental to the presentation of the subject covered by the documentary) or on–the–spot coverage of a bona fide news event (including debates, political conventions and related incidental activities). In addition, a station must sell political advertising time to certain candidates during specified periods before a primary or general election at the lowest rate charged for the station’s most favored commercial advertiser. Stations must maintain and make available for public inspection, in their public inspection files, a political file containing certain documents and information, discussed at page 28 of this Manual. For additional information about the political rules, see www.fcc.gov. --- As can be seen by the above, WHUT is clearly in violation of the Equal Opportunities clause. Let's see the FCC do their job as well on this indecent act of bigotry. Revoke the licensce of both WHUR and WHUT and give them to an organization that will provide balanced programming. (9/3/08) RE: [ " Dave's response: The one at Canton Crossing, 1501 S. Clinton Street " ]........... I think they chose the wrong Della Rose's. Kinda funny as you cannot really receive WNST 1570 at night at Canton Crossing very well! HAha! (9/3/08) WVIE has a number of things going against it. First, while its daytime signal is great, its nighttime signal is horrible. The skywave interference is so bad that its possible to hear the signal 'drop out' even around Owings Mills. I've noticed reception problems around Reisterstown, and if you get significantly away from OM in almost any direction, reception problems abound, even in Baltimore! In northern PG county it's still possible to get WXXI out of Rochester. I'm thinking it would've been better for the station to do a 'split' broadcast keeeping the 50,000-watt daytime signal at 1370 but switching to perhaps a 2,500-watt signal at 1360 at night. IIRC the old nighttime ropogation seemed to have less interference problems, so maybe they should consider bring it back! The second thing is that it seems no matter what Mangione & company have done to try to improve the station's programming, it has failed. The only way I see things changing around is if they're able to pick up the Ravens and/or the Orioles! But with the quality of the signals that currently carry those teams, I can't see this happening! (9/3/08) It's 10:20PM at the RNC...A marquee speaker, Fred Thompson is delivering quite a speech. It's being shown live be Fox, CNN, and picked up a third of the way in by NBC. Meanwhile broadcast-networks ABC and CBS are not. They're "Live" at the RNC with their little old anchor/analyst round-tables discussing the down-side of Palin (with Fred Thompsons' voice occasionally heard in the background). Pathetic. Didn't quite see that approach at the DNC last week. Yeah, it's not slanted is it??? (9/3/08) I wish Jerry Coleman well in his new gig at 1370, but am puzzled as to why he'd opt to host afternoon drive. He's a decent reporter but he's no talk show host. That's not really a post for a novice host, especially for an all-sports start-up. Who made that decision? (9/3/08) Did anyone hear the Sports Reporter's interview with Jim Zorn this afternoon? Very bizarre. Andy Pollin asked a couple questions about Jason Campbell and Zorn got all freaked out and chastized Andy. He accused him of trying to trick him into saying something bad about Campbell. Zorn was very antagonistic about it which seems out of character. I wonder if the strain of head coaching is getting to him already. Anyway, it was very uncomfortable listening for a few minutes. I didn't get to hear the end of the segment so I was wondering if Zorn apologized at the end. He should have. Tom in Springfield (9/3/08) I am not sure that WUSA should try to put Angie Goff ina bikini for her AM traffic report but I have to admit that she is a strikingly attractive lady. (9/3/08) Good to see that Jeff Kapugi is now out of radio. What a HACK! (9/3/08) /\ September 3 Messages /\ \/ September 2 Messages \/ Do you know why DC's PBS channel, Howard University-run WHUT-TV 32, isn't carrying the Republican national convention like all its area sister PBS channels? It carried the Democrat convention. (9/2/08) Dave: You have the best web site in the D.C. area. I hope to contribute some money soon. I think the Nat's radio belongs on 1500 am and 107.70 FM for many years to come. Those two stations provide the best coverage in the mid Atlantic area. Over the weekend, I visited Berkley Springs, West Virginia. 1500 came in great. A new combination of 1500 am and 106.7 FM would be great. Let's not go back to 1968 when the Senators were on 1260 am and no one could hear them. After that they left town. Look at Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago baseball is on strong AM stations like 1500. Also, nice to hear Nat's highlights on WTOP 103.5 FM. Patrick Peartree (9/2/08) I'm assuming the Billick-NST announcement is at the Della Rose's in Canton (downtown) or is it at the one at The Avenue in White Marsh? Thanks in advance if you know, Jeff (9/2/08) Dave's response: The one at Canton Crossing, 1501 S. Clinton Street..... Scoop???!! Hey I thought I broke it about 5 pm today.... Brenda www.examiner.com (9/2/08) Dave's response: Ha ha ha! We actually broke the story last week..... Damn...there goes another one. Guitar picker Jerry Reed and actor ("Smokey & the Bandit") dies at age 71. Watch him in action here: www.youtube.com (9/2/08) How can channel 4 conduct a fair poll of anything when they insist in using text messaging as a way of collecting data? Has it ever occurred to them that text messaging is used mostly by people under 30 and that any poll that they conduct is hopelessly flawed? (9/2/08) Mark Levin made a complete ass out of himself tonight. Yesterday and today, I have had many discussions with family, coworkers, and friends, over the Bristol Palin issue. Not one person bought up abortion as an option even though most people I talked with are well educated Democrats. The issues bought up included difficulties with teen marriage and teen motherhood, is Levi Johnston mature enough to get married and be a good father, should Governor Palin with a son going off to war, a pregnant 17 year old daughter, and a special needs baby at home even be in this race in the first place, what are the parental responsibilities in teaching teenagers about birth control, and why did Governor Palin accept this offer knowing her 17 year old daughter would be jettisoned toward the limelight. Mark Levin, by focusing only on abortion and damning liberals by awkwardly painting a false picture of what "the liberals'" views are, displayed for me he is a complete jackass that will reach a mile for any crumb, whether it is there or not, to slam liberals, and at the same time, will ignore controversy or flaws in the Republican stance on abstinence teaching. After listening to him tonight, I vowed NEVER to listen to him again. Shame on you Mr. Levin for ignoring how to help or educate girls like her, and using a family crises to slam liberals who did nothing wrong here. (9/2/08) Very sorry to read this evening of the passing of Ed Buterbaugh. What I’ve yet to see, but needs to be mentioned is how Ed encouraged teenagers in high school to not only pursue careers in the business, but to accept nothing less than being the best they could be. In short, to abhor mediocrity wherever they may find it. Ed, may God make His face shine upon you and grant you His Peace, which is beyond any human understanding. Godspeed and may only your ham station in Heaven have a Heathkit SM-10 station monitor! John Pinckney (8/2/08) RE: [ " Dave's response: I think the pollsters are rather fucked this year. " ]........... I think pollsters are also f'd in a far different way Dave than you could even imagine. Having traveled quite a bit down south, I can attest to the fact that many white Americans are most likely lying to pollsters saying they'll vote for an African American when in fact they probably wouldn't ever in their lifetime. Face it, racism still exists. I personally won't vote for Obama, but I could think of several other African Americans I would vote for President with far more experience than Obama or Palin. But, unfortunately, they wouldn't have his "star power". And I still believe the Cell Phone Generation will largely talk the talk, but not walk the WALK when it comes time to show up at the polls. They'll be so busy texting, chatting, protesting, Myspacing, and googling about the election, that they'll probably never even show up to vote! Recent election history has proven this correct. We shall see if history repeats or is made, should definitely be interesting. I just pray to god that Keith Olbermann doesn't have a seizure and die on-air if McCain wins. :-) (9/2/08) On the Washington Post web site, you'll find the following audio clip in today's obit section. It's Ike dramatically describing the moment that Jack Ruby gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald and the confusion that followed. voices.washingtonpost.com (9/2/08) The Broads from Broadminded were hired by Starz to host The Telluride film festival over the weekend and a friend of mine saw Christine Eads(one of the hosts) spending a lot of time with Jeff Goldblum. They were overheard talking about seeing each other in New York when he starts filming Law and Order. Just thought you would like the gossip! (9/2/08) The new CE at Red Zebra walked out. There was no "Due Diligence" prior to the buy. And to bring the two systems together is a nightmare. More than ten local engineers have turned down the position at RZ. Shoot even us Geeks know this is a failing enterprise. (9/2/08) Ya know, everyone sort of accepts Olbermann as the MSNBC clown that he is just like O'Reilly is to FOX, so he hardly has much impact on public opinion, he's sort of a known quantity. The people that like him LOVE him, the people that know him or hate him, well, I won't even go there. Anyway, what scares me so much more is people like Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn, who today went on CNN and basically stated its ok to attack Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and make an issue of it in media coverage because Palin is running for the highest office in the land. She then went on to explain that comment by then stating that obviously McCain, if elected, would probably die in office! No lie. You cannot make this shit up. And I've seen other media reports stating the need to expose hypocrisy, yet I fail to see any hypocrisy here except within the media elites themselves! These are the kind of nutjob but respected journalists that people should be far more wary of, NOT Keith Olbermann or Chris Matthews, because there are a LOT MORE people like Sally Quinn out there that have a DAILY IMPACT on public opinion both locally and nationally! And did anyone catch the CNN Palin color family photo that zooms into a B & W mug shot of the daughter? Scary, isn't it? When even Anderson Cooper is questioning his network's coverage of Governor Palin, you really have to wonder. If Obama had gone through the media vetting process that Governor Sarah Palin is now going through, face it, we'd be dealing with a Hillary Vs. McCain race and the race probably wouldn't even be tied. Hillary would be FAR AHEAD! So true. :-( (9/2/08) Dave's response: I think the pollsters are rather fucked this year. How can you poll the nation when you can't include folks with cell phones (just about everyone under 35) and landlines with caller ID (who don't answer junk calls from pollsters)? I think Obama's farther ahead than the polls suggest, which is why Dole, er, McCain was forced to throw a "hail Mary" with the Palin pick. And as much as he hates Fox, Olbermann is exactly the kind of carnival barker personality that Fox so relies upon..... Dave- Just wanted to add that Don LaFontaine was more than just "The Voice of God." He was also the longtime voice of America's Most Wanted, which as you know is produced here in DC. This is an excerpt from a memo I sent to our staff: So much has been said about Don and his legendary career. Our own Larry Contrati very eloquently said- "Rarely does one man alone comprise the standard for his craft. He will be missed." It almost sounds like something Don would say, and make it sound even better. In many ways, Don created a genre, perfected it, dominated it, and changed the way we as a society expect things to be. There's a reason that you anticipate every movie trailer to start with "In a world..." Not only did he speak those words, he's the guy that wrote those words. Beyond being the consummate professional, Don did what people like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps do on a daily basis- they make perfection seem effortless and simple. As if everyone should be able to do it with ease. Over my eight years with AMW, I never lost the sense of awe I had in working with Don. Early on, I knew I was working with a legend. Don never made me feel uncomfortable, in fact, we became good friends. I made it no secret that he was like a big brother to me, and that I would gladly handle the paperwork for him to adopt me. Each week, I truly looked forward to the moments I would spend working and communicating with him. We've lost more than just an employee, a voice for hire. We've lost a devoted fan and friend of the show. Don believed in the mission and the honorable work we were doing, the lives we changed and the commitment we all had to do what was right. Don didn't do our show for the paycheck. He shared the belief that a group of caring and dedicated people could and should work together to re-assure everyone that we can- and do make a difference. That there are still compassionate people who care about others and will fight for justice. That television was about more than just creating idols and celebrating or exploiting ignorance. I still have no idea how much it will hurt to do my next session without Don, but the horrible ache I have in my heart, and the tears that I am looking through as I type this right now show me the impact Don had on my life. I know that our lives are little more than the people we've known and loved during our stay. My stay was better because a man named Don LaFontaine was a part of it. I hope you'll join me in a moment of reflection and a thank you to our friend, Don LaFontaine. (For more information on Don, click here.) en.wikipedia.org... Bill Scot Glasser, Fox Television, America's Most Wanted (9/2/08) 'You better put a leash on that puppy...' FINALLY! MSNBC did something to reign in that Blowhard, Liberal, Arrogant Prick Keith Olbermann... they told him stay out of RNC! -HA!!! "kinky-neo-con" (9/2/08) Channel 9: I implore you to please find any way you can to have Angie Goff do her traffic report from any beach in a bikini!!! That woman is absolutely stunning. Anyone hear Doocy actually say that VP candidate Palin has ''experience'' in ''international'' affairs because she's the Gov. of Alaska and ''Alaska is close to Russia!'' What a MORON! I saw the clip. He ACTUALLY said that. Paul (9/2/08) Seriously.... Brian Billick hosting a once-a-month show on WNST, a station so bad that doesn't even appear in the Baltimore Arbitron ratings, is a "major announcement"???? Give me a break. (9/2/08) Re: "Smooth Jazz is a specialist format, not mainstream" -- Maybe, by a strict definition of the term (I know I'd like to beat Kenny G about the head and shoulders with that thing he calls a saxophone), but using the loose definition they had at 104.3, they were on a par (at least) with 101.9 for popularity in stores. And I don't think you could get more mainstream than 101.9. (I never could receive WJZW up here in Balto County, so I don't know what definition they used.) But what would be wrong with a specialist format? Doesn't anybody want to hear anything different? ~~CA in BC (9/2/08) You can say what you want and make all kinds of legal excuses and quote FCC policy and such, but the fact of the matter is most people don't assume those ads refer to just Over-the-Air local TV stations since the point of the ads is that they are referring to Cable-TV! DUH! Can't wait for the mess in Feb '09! LOL (9/2/08) What's all the fuss with digital vs.analog? I get all the reception I need with my aluminium foil hat. And I know who you are! Stop sending me special super secret messages through the radio! It's gotten to be so bad I can't even drive by the Temple on the beltway. I'm going to go line my bathtub with a lead sheet now so I can get some sleep. Wait! Incoming message! "Y e s M r O l b e r m a n n, I c a n h e a r y o u" (9/2/08) insane political rants by the flock, I have to say that "Smooth Jazz" is a stupid name for the format. As much as I like Al Santos, and the format, the name really blows. It's "Smooth," but it's not "Jazz." Some of us like Jazz and that name is really dumb. I go to the library and in the Jazz section, I find Kenny G and Celine Dion. There are lots of niche formats that would work on some of the smaller signals, and that is one of them - - but please find a better name. It would be like calling Country, "Southern Opera." Ed Graham (9/2/08) An aside to my earlier response to the ALL-CAPS RANTING GUY who was upset about the cable TV digital transition ads: Cable systems ARE allowed, with FCC clearance, to go "all digital" and dump analog entirely. But a tiny handful of small systems have planned to do this, mostly by distributing low-cost/free low-end converter boxes that aren't meant to pick up the existing digital cable programs, just the converted signals that are now on analog. 99.9% of cable systems will keep the analog local OTA channels pumping down the cable lines without a box - i.e. if a system offers analog at all, it is required to offer the local OTA stations via analog. Competitive pressure from satellite and other multi-channel providers means they won't be able to force analog subscribers to all-digital at the current digital cable pricing, which is why those cheap less-capable boxes are being made and offered to cable systems who may want to make that conversion. (9/2/08) Re: "We hooked the rabbit ears back up and watched our program through a little static -- an option that won't be available come next February." Just curious...how far are you from the TV stations? And have you looked into other antenna options that won't cost you $250 to install? I'd assume a relatively inexpensive outdoor antenna up in an attic would be much less... (9/2/08) RE: "CC & CBS both lack creativity or knowledge. 94.7 would have been better off going to a Jack or Smooth Jazz format. Were WJZW's or 104.3's ratings that bad really?" Truthly, its all about PPM baby! Urbans fair poor with the new PPM, and you won't see too many formats make a flip to a urban based format any time soon. Plus, Smooth Jazz is a specalist format, not mainstream, thus creates a harder sell. When, as a listener, it would make more sense, as a GM that has to make money (when remember, profits are the only things that matter these days), Smooth Jazz makes no sense. Although, Jack would have, even Fresh would have made sense. (9/2/08) With big boss Farid Suleman in town, WMAL is sounding mighty sloppy today. Airing by mistake those Rush Limbaugh parody ads, and then tacking real ads onto the end of the ad break, which cut into Rush's show. Amazing huh! (9/2/08) In a world full of advertising voiced by nasal, whiny youngsters, it was always a pleasure to hear Don LaFontaine's voice. There have been stories about how in demand and hard working he was. But, I find it hard to believe the assertion of the ET online story that said that in 25 years he voiced hundreds of thousands of spots and trailers. Just to make 100,000 in 25 years, he would have had to record almost 11 spots per day, every day of every year. His voice wasn't ubiquitous. (9/2/08) Last night we threw in the towel on our digital converter box. We might still shell out the approximately $250 we were quoted to get a rooftop antenna installed before the Februrary 2009 full conversion, but we're going to wait and see. Trying to watch a program with video that keeps breaking up, or, when it's coming in, features mouths that move out of synch with sound, is quietly infuriating. We hooked the rabbit ears back up and watched our program through a little static -- an option that won't be available come next February. Christian (9/2/08) Re: "What if, gentle reader, the whole Hurricane Gustav thing was intentionally blown out of proportion...What if the pro- global warming crowd in the federal weather centers got together with the anti- Republicans in the media, and decided to seize the moment of an Act of God (which they dont believe in) and then overblow the data on Gustav just to cause a massive distraction from the convention?" What if you get back on your meds? What if we go back to discussion of radio and TV? (9/2/08) So I was listening to 980 this morning and they said they are doing a 24 pre-game show on Thursday for the Redskins game starting at 4pm Wed afternoon. But isnt it a 27 hour pregame show since the game starts at 7pm on Thursday? love the way they do the math! (9/2/08) I am devastated at the passing of Don LaFontaine. He was one of my heros. Just spending time in California with Joe Cipriano and discussing Don and his GREAT talent was an experience I'll never forget. He was an ominious figure in the VO business, respected by all of his peers. He'll be sorely missed.PLB:0) (9/2/08) "What is the deal with this 'media orgy' over Hurricane Gustav?". I think it had everything to do with the fact that New Orleans was in the projected path - the reporters fully expected to be covering the second coming of Katrina. It's unlikely that a storm of similar strength bearing down on southern Florida would have gotten nearly the same hype from CNN, NBC, Fox, etc. When it became clear that Gustav wasn't going to produce anything close to the devastation of three years ago, network and cable TV outlets were reduced to showing footage of the Crescent City underwater back then. What's also interesting is the fact that more than 80 hurricane related deaths in the Carribean last week were essentially glossed over with little or no onsite coverage provided. In dealing with crime and natural disasters, the mainstream media have this disturbing tendency to pick and choose which set of victims 'matters' and which doesn't. Mike, Fairfax (9/2/08) Dave - Such a shame about Don LaFontaine... the voice known by, literally, everyone yet nobody knows who he is. Great YouTube video at www.youtube.com... Tom in Frederick (9/2/08) CC & CBS both lack creativity or knowledge. 94.7 would have been better off going to a Jack or Smooth Jazz format. Were WJZW's or 104.3's ratings that bad really? Or if they took it to a Jack format, they would get the same numbers at a much cheaper cost plus the playlist would be 1000 times better than the Adult Alternative/Classic Rock playlist not to mention very cheap. WBIG just needs a new owner, nothing like the CC crap of the same 10 songs all the time with 8 of the 10 being John Fogerty/CCR and the other 2 being Elton John! 100.3 is really a terrible station, IMO. It's not good Classic Rock, or Classic Hit's, IMO. All they need now is to have nationally voice tracked DJ's all day long! (9/2/08) On Page B7 of the today's Washington Post (the obituary section), there is a death notice for a Mr. "ICARUS N. PAPPAS "IKE", and the gentleman looks an awfully like former CBS correspondent Ike Pappas. (9/2/08) 94.7 HD2 station has seemed to be playing only Rolling Stones tunes for the past few days. Any word if its permanent? Now that 94.7 is a fulltime classic rock station I was hoping the HD2 station would take a more alternative feel. (9/2/08) Re: "THE POINT OF THESE ADS IS TO SAY THAT NOTHING WILL CHANGE FOR YOU IF YOU HAVE CABLE IN FEB '09. THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE." You're wrong, in the universe of "what happens to the local over-air channel I'm watching now" for cable subscribers. You're horribly wrong. FCC rules require cable companies to continue offering local OTA stations in analog format after the transition. If you've got a cable without a digital box feeding you the local stations, they'll stay there. It's the law. The issue about moving OTHER analog cable channels up into digital box-land is entirely separate. The ads I've seen would appear to solely apply to the status of CURRENT OVER-AIR CHANNELS (there, I included some caps for you), not where they put Game Show Network and C-SPAN 3 on the lineup. "Nothing will change" applies to the digital transition issue only. You are mixing apples and oranges, and you are making quite a mess. (9/2/08) "Hookers & Blow" for some at G.O.P. shindig in Minnesota! Don't believe it? Check out the news video ... www.youtube.com (9/2/08) What if, gentle reader, the whole Hurricane Gustav thing was intentionally blown out of proportion? Do we not find it bizarre how unnecesssary was the media blitz for a Category 1 storm? What if the pro- global warming crowd in the federal weather centers got together with the anti- Republicans in the media, and decided to seize the moment of an Act of God (which they dont believe in) and then overblow the data on Gustav just to cause a massive distraction from the convention? How can sophisticated hurricane models that caused the evacuation of 2MIL people be so far off, unless, the data was intentionally misrepresented? What if McCain got wind of this and did rush his pick of VP just to be sure there was some reason the convention got some attention. One has to notice how off guard the media was, it is clear there were not paying any attention to the affairs of the McCain camp, as though they expected to be able to ignore the convention for a week. It took the media nearly three days to regroup, refocus and begin to look for info on Palin. Oh, by the way, sorry metrosexuals, her husband is a real Man. McCain sent the media on a hurried chase, literally to the opposite end of the country, our most Northern Coast and AWAY from our Southern coast where the media expected to be planted in storm recovery mode for a week. As crazy as the liberal idiotocracy is with their conspiracy theories, what makes my scenario any less plausible? Have a good day. (9/2/08) Re WBIG: What would be the purpose of selling the station when it's just the content that sux dux? I think CC should take a tip from the Disney people: when it came time to catch up with the rest of the real world and make movies that had cleavage and potty words in it, they created the "Touchstone" subsidiary. Off they went to do their gritty thing, while Disney proper sat on its hill, remaining pure & pristine, grinding out that family-value fluff and collecting nice big checks from Touchstone. CC should create a small sub-corporation that, on the surface, has no creative or administrative connection to the parent; hire renegade PDs and airstaffs that don't need to tow the company line and instead focuses on crafting a quality marketable product. Let a GM answer to some corporate fink somewhere and leave the PD to do his/her job based on gut and local research without some programming strategies coming down from a regional suit. Start with WBIG -- hand it off to the "Touchstone" division, let go of all that centralized mechanized clone/drone BS, get creative, get back to proven formulas and see what shakes loose. Or just sell it now to some maverick who will probably do what I just outlined here. (9/2/08) Movie trailer and TV promo voice over legend Don LaFontaine died yesterday.... www.etonline.com (9/2/08) In answer to your question about whether the McCain campaign is concerned about all the talk about Palin, check out this column in the NYTimes - www.nytimes.com... Anything right now that keeps the media from talking about Obama and the Dems is good news for the GOP. News of a woman candidate dealing with family problems and still getting the job done professionally - now that's something a lot of families can relate to. And attacks on her because of the problems will backfire on anyone who launches the attack, includng the media. (9/2/08) Dave's response: Well, you'd expect that the media wouldn't be focused on "Obama and the Dems" during the Republican convention. You'd also expect McCain to be the focus of the media at the Republican convention, and not his VP pick..... RE: [ " but you will probably need to pay extra " ]........... With just those few words Dave Hughes@DCRTV.com, you have proven that the DTVtransition.org defender has done nothing but make a fool and an ass of himself at the same time. Sure, everyone knows they're going to need a Digital Cable box for Digital Cable, DUH! But THAT IS NOT THE POINT OF THESE FRAUDULENT ADS! THE POINT OF THESE ADS IS TO SAY THAT NOTHING WILL CHANGE FOR YOU IF YOU HAVE CABLE IN FEB '09. THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE, CAPS or no caps, period. More people than you think DON'T have a digital cable box in their bedrooms and other rooms in their houses and the shit will officially hit the fan soon. Mark my words. Oh, please mark that in Kitchen #2/TV#9 in your McMansion using Remote #3. Thank you. :-) (9/2/08) "Dave's response: The fact that the media, and much of America, is still talking about Sarah Heath/Palin four days after her pick (pro and con), at the expense of John McCain at the top of the ticket, has got to have his campaign a little worried, doncha think?" Heh. That's because the media has nothing damaging about Gov. Palin herself. When CNN sends Kyra Phillips to Wasilla to, as admitted by her, "find information on the family" - Todd's Palin 1986 DUI charge, Bristol's OB-GYN paperwork (and I assume she's digging deep to find if there have been any STDs transmitted) then that's what the viewer has to work with, Dave. If they had only gone after Obama's shady background and interviewed Ayers, Rezko, childhood friends, high school friends, college friends, law school friends, community organizer friends - anyone who will 'vouch' for him. So far I've seen nothing of the sort. Only the tabloid rag "Inside Edition" flew to Jakarta and spent some time trying to find someone who would talk about "Barry Soetoro". Two men came forward. The only thing of interest that they said was that he was a "quiet person". That makes me feel better about him (sarc) -Silvie- (9/2/08) For Katie Leahan....don't let the nay-sayers get your feathers ruffled. Your true fans know that you left WJZ-13 for a better position. Another question...are you single? I'm a professional chef and would love to cook for you sometime! (9/2/08) Here's a legal question. When Sean Hannity plays a political ad on his program as an example of what a candidate is doing does it count as a commercial and should it be paid for. It seems running an extreme right wing attack ad that probably would have been heard by a only hundred thousand persons on local stations, gives that ad much more importance when heard nationwide on Hannity's show. Is this legal or just a way to spread extreme hate messages to a wider audience under the guise of "information". (9/2/08) Since Gustav is gone with a relatively good outcome (much to the chagrin of the various media outlets hoping for widespread carnage), is it in bad taste to say that I would bang Sarah Palin like a screen door in a hurricane? (9/2/08) My parents have 1 TV connected to a digital cable box and 2 cable ready TVs directly connected to the Cable-TV line and they've said to me already (as if I'm somehow the repair guy in the family), "Why did we lose a channel? What's going to happen next year? Are we going to lose more channels?" The ads say no, that won't happen, but channels have already been yanked. So, yes the cable TV companies are really lying to people. But don't worry, I'm sure it won't affect THE McMANSIONS w/ 7 TVs + 4 remotes per room! LOL (9/2/08) Dave's response: Cable companies are removing analog channels to make room for digital ones. I'm told that cable companies can fit up to eight digital ones (non HD) in bandwidth occupied by one analog one. Yeah, if you have your cable directly connected to your TV, you'll be losing some channels. If you pay extra for a digital box, you'll just see the old analog channel moved to a digital tier. Already, in parts of Northern Virginia, Comcast has moved channels like Game Show Network, Discovery Health, American Movie Classics, and TV One from the analog "expanded basic" tier to digital-only. Yeah, your old TV set will continue to work with cable after the February 2009 digital deadline, but you will probably need to pay extra for a digital box if you want to get all the channels you had been getting..... Re: "Dave, IIRC from my days in Anchorage, 'Sarah Heath' was the maiden name of now-Governor Sarah Palin, as opposed to being a 'screen name' when she was with K2,,, Perhaps someone with more free time than I havecan verify this?" A very quick Google search on "Sarah Heath" would appear to verify it. (9/2/08) Dave's response: The fact that the media, and much of America, is still talking about Sarah Heath/Palin four days after her pick (pro and con), at the expense of John McCain at the top of the ticket, has got to have his campaign a little worried, doncha think? I have a feeling that we're going to be hearing a lot more about Palin and a lot less about McCain as we move into the last two months of the campaign. And that's not the way it's supposed to be. You don't want your VP candidate to dominate the media spotlight..... What, "Classick Hits" WBIG is possibly going up for sale? Very interesting. If the sale goes through, I wonder if there will be a change of formats? Hmmmmm. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (9/2/08) Dave's response: Gawd, we can only hope. 100.3 and now 94.7 have got to be two of the most unimaginative and dull stations of their respective classic hits and classic rock formats anywhere in the country. Hey, we DC radio listeners are nice people. Why do we deserve such awful crap from the big corporations? Sheesh..... /\ September 2 Messages /\ \/ September 1 Messages \/ Dave's right about nominating Lindsay Czarniak for Demo VP. Didn't I read somewhere in the Constitution that the VP must have their own bobblehead? (9/1/08) Dave, IIRC from my days in Anchorage, "Sarah Heath" was the maiden name of now-Governor Sarah Palin, as opposed to being a "screen name" when she was with K2,,, Perhaps someone with more free time than I havecan verify this? Also, I wonder if the KTUU studio is still co-located with a "Hooters"? One of the stranger broadcast/business co-locations I've ever seen. -John Pinckney (9/1/08) Dave's response: With John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin/Heath for VP, I motion that Barack Obama dump boring old political vet Joe Biden and pick sportscaster Lindsay Czarniak as VP. I think she's smarter and quite a bit better-looking than Sarah Palin. Can someone second my nomination? Re: the ALL CAPS rant about dtvtransition.org - Wow, what a nutjob – what idiot doesn’t know they mean you if are hooked up to cable WITH a convertor box. Who’s left using just analog only cable anyway these days. If you hate cabletv so much, why not just cancel the service? Or use a convertor box, or get directv or dish network? Or just go over the air with a DTV tuner? If you really want to stick it to the man, then buy a FTA satellite dish and never pay a monthly fee again. J Come on now, my 80 something grandmother (RIP) bought a DTV tuner box well over 3 years ago. My 60 something mother has been using directv, dvd player, etc for years without a problem. That’s 3 or 4 remotes easily, and she’s legally blind. Give me a break! You know tv just isn’t that important to get upset about. My tv’s power supply blew up about 9 weeks ago, it took me 3 weeks to get around to bringing into work to replace the blown caps in it, another week to carry it home and it’s been sitting back at home for 5 weeks, never even plugged it back in. SHRUG, I could care less when I plug it back in, guess someday I have some dvds to catchup on, but I’m making out just fine. (9/1/08) RE: Katie Leahan and www.tvtrainwrecks.com: To the genius who recognized the irony of my website URL...you're quite the junior detective. As Dave reported more than four years ago, I was not "let go" by WJZ, but rather was recruited and accepted more lucrative employment. As far as the rest of the story...trust me...you will never know. (9/1/08) www.youtube.com - Tim Davis from WNRN should move back to the area. We need stupid insane radio like this on the DC airwaves. (9/1/08) SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THE FCC IS ALLOWING THE DTV TRANSITION COALITION, www.dtvtransition.org (a cable industry group?), TO LIE & DECEIVE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IN TV ADS MAKING FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT TV COMPATIBILITY AFTER FEB 2009 ??? The claims made by DTVTransition.Org in various TV ads are clearly proven false on almost a daily basis and are nothing but industry fed FEAR, SPIN and DECEIT to keep cable customers from leaving cable TV for any reason. The major claim in these TV ads is that if you have CABLE TV, NOTHING WILL CHANGE FOR YOU on FEB 2009. Well, ummmm, THAT'S JUST SIMPLY NOT TRUE! How can the FCC allow this false advertising to continue? It's so bad that I think a very good class action lawyer could file a monster of a lawsuit against this organization as so much of the seemingly official DTV transition info is so blatantly FALSE! THE FACT IS that if you have cable TV right now connected to a Cable-Ready TV set, you are ALREADY EXPERIENCING DTV SWITCH ISSUES that are aggravating and a LOSS OF CHANNELS! A good example locally.... Verizon has announced all customers will need a DTV converter box, Comcast is dumping analog channels like there is no tomorrow, AMC, CMTV, ION, and several others in various communities and replacing them with DIGITAL-ONLY channels that ONLY their HIGHER TIER CUSTOMERS will RECEIVE by PAYING EXTRA MONEY! That means come Feb 2009, you WILL NOT GET THE SAME CHANNELS on YOUR BEDROOM TV THAT YOU GOT IN 2007 or 2008! It also means this is clear FALSE ADVERTISING BY THE CABLE & FIBER OPTIC TV industry! And the FCC should be putting its foot down NOW BEFORE the CHAOS happens in Feb '09. Seriously, who the hell wants to spend $500-$1000 on a brand new TV set for each room in their house, then find out they're gonna need converter boxes in EACH ROOM and 3-4 REMOTES per ROOM?!?!?!?! HELLO FCC!!!!!!! ARE YOU THERE????? THIS IS NOT WHAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WANTS!!!!! The FCC has officially lost its way allowing these false advertisements. :-( (9/1/08) (snip) Where the hell is Jerry Lewis? I've been watching WGN for almost two hours now and there's been no sign of the goofy guy. (snip) Jerry's hanging out with Dick Clark. (9/1/08) Dave's response: I did flip by 50 and caught a few seconds of the telethon and Jerry was there. Actually looks better (not as bloated) as previous years..... Let me be the very first hateful uncaring Republican to respond to the Hurricane Gustav coverage...... EARTH TO TV ANCHORS (ALL NETWORKS)........ Stop mentioning that the Levee system isn't done yet and won't be until 2010. America is tired of both bridges to nowhere and billion dollar levee projects to protect people who have mostly moved away from a dangerous area or still need to just frikkin MOVE THEIR ASSES SOMEWHERE ELSE! And that goes for ALL the networks. I'm officially tired of the New Orleans and pretty much every "Cause Celeb" story. Thank you. -- The RNC (9/1/08) Dave: About your Bryan Nehman rant, let me just say that thorughout the years that I've listened to him on WMAL, I've noticed that he is someone who is "evolving" as a person, as a parent and as a news anchor and radio personality. Nehman's views and outlook in life have changed somewhat since he became a husband and a parent. He is certainly not the same UMD sportscaster Nehman of a decade ago. Let's not forget that Chris Plante was a die-hard liberal (coming from a very liberal family) in his younger years and that it wasn't until the Reagan administration that he "saw the light" and became a libertarian. Contrary to what is said of him, Chris is a libertarian because I find myself not agreeing with him at times, and I'm a conservative. Now if only WMAL's "Pet Liberal" Jerry Klein could "evolve" and "see the light". That's still a work in progress! -Silvie- (9/1/08) I would laugh my ass off if AM 1370 gets the WFBR call letters from AM1590 and does live Orioles & Ravens call-in shows right after games. Also, If Stan Charles was involved. it would be almost exactly like the old days back in the 1980s when the O's were a good team & Stan The Fan was on after every O's game. And once again the CBS suits, Labrozzi and Philips, would look like total fools w/ their WJFK 1300! HAha! :-) (9/1/08) Where the hell is Jerry Lewis? I've been watching WGN for almost two hours now and there's been no sign of the goofy guy. Is he sitting it out this year? (9/1/08) FOX's Sheppard Smith seems very happy camper today. With the hurricane hitting, once again, he's holed up in the French Quarter prob in a New Orleans' gay bar. Ooops, did I say "holed up?" My bad. LOL (9/1/08) O.K..Now, I do understand that this hurricane Gustav is big news. However, what I don't understand is how the networks have no regard whatsoever for the anchors and weather people's safety by requiring that they stand out in the rain and 100 mile/hr winds to report what's going on. Is there no way they can do the report from inside somewhere and just point the camera towards the storm?..Doesn't seem like rocket science, but I guess that doesn't meet their sensational standards. (9/1/08) Here's a link to the local tv stations in New Orleans hurricane coverage. www.maroonspoon.com.. Jim from Baltimore (9/1/08) As long as they get a couple of days of their convention in, I don't see that the GOP is hurt all that much my Gustav. The cancellation of a currenly unpopular prez and vice Prez's speeches is a plus. McCain looks presidential in exercising leadership and doing the responsible thing (in contrast to Obama's over the top Temple of Doom spectacle which was anything but presidential). And assuming the disaster operations are handled better, the entire GOP looks better this time around. The only down side is that they have less time to tell Palin's story, which is engaging. But you can't spend all four nights doing that anyway. (9/1/08) Dave's response: Just another reminder, I'm getting a lot of purely political posts about Obama/McCain/Palin/etc. Political-related posts will only be run in the DCRTV Mailbag if they in some way deal with the media, especially local media..... Latest HD (local news) updates... Currently in high-def are... KYW-TV/Ch. 3 & WPSG-TV/Ch. 57 (CBS/CW Philly)... WABC-TV/Ch. 7 (ABC New York)... WBFF-TV/Ch. 45 (FOX Baltimore)... WCBS-TV/Ch. 2 (CBS New York)... WCVB-TV/Ch. 5 (ABC Boston)... WHDH-TV/Ch. 7 & WLVI-TV/Ch. 56 (NBC/CW Boston)... WNBC-TV/Ch. 4 (NBC New York)... WPIX-TV/Ch. 11 (CW New York)... WPVI-TV/Ch. 6 (ABC Philly)... WTXF-TV/Ch. 29 (FOX Philly)... WUSA-TV/Ch. 9 (CBS DC). Other HD rumors and predictions... CBS is reportedly slated to convert Baltimore (WJZ-TV/Ch. 13) to HD by Spring, 2009. CBS has yet to formally announce plans to convert Boston (WBZ-TV/Ch. 4 & WWSB-TV/Ch. 38) to HD. FOX was rumored to be converting DC (WTTG-TV/Ch. 5) to HD sometime this year... rumors suggesting as early as May, 2008. DC's conversion to HD has yet to take place, and maybe leading to speculation on whether or not FOX has any interests in converting local newscasts to HD. FOX also has yet to formally announce plans to convert New York (WNYW-TV/Ch. 5 & WWOR-TV/Ch. 9) and Boston (WFXT-TV/Ch. 25) to HD. NBC is rumored to be converting Philly (WCAU-TV/Ch. 10) to HD by late Summer/early Fall. Viewers seeing a new HD set, and the new NBC O&O graphics. No word on if the WPHL-TV/Ch. 17 newscast will be included in the HD overhaul or not. NBC still has yet to convert DC (WRC-TV/Ch. 4) to HD. WBAL-TV/Ch. 11 (NBC Baltimore)... Their HD debut is reportedly slated for February, 2009. I would assume Hearst may be waiting until right after Super Bowl XLIII to debut HD, in hopes of getting strong lead-ins. WJAR-TV/Ch. 10 (NBC Providence)... I'm still predicting the possibility of the Rhode Island television station converting to HD, before WLNE-TV/Ch. 6 and WPRI-TV/Ch. 12 do. WJLA-TV/Ch. 7 (ABC DC)... Their HD debut is reportedly slated for late Summer/early Fall of this year. No word on if viewers will be seeing new HD set and graphics. WVIT-TV/Ch. 30 (NBC Hartford-New Haven)... Despite NBC's effort to sell the station to an interested buyer, a new broadcast facility is currently being constructed, and is slated to open by Spring, 2009. I'm now predicting the possibilty of the Connecticut television station converting to HD when their new broadcast facility opens, and whom the stations new owner may be. (9/1/08) /\ September 1 Messages /\ \/ August 31 Messages \/ re: "Anita Marks' grasp of anything other than fantasy football is non-existent."......and THAT makes her perfect for washington racialslurs fans! (8/31/08) This is why Mccain picked PALIN!!!! First Daddy Yankee..now this! deadspin.com (8/31/08) A previous poster mention about an am radio station in Winchester that had gone through multiple format changes over a brief time. That would be WVAI-AM 610 or should I say Winchester's AM 610 since the calls have changed A LOT over the years.. What started out as a station playing big band music and standards ( April 1982 after the "death" of WHPL ) switched to 70's Gold in the Fall of 1983, then soon 610 went to top 40 rock format ( with Q102's coutnry music airing in the mornings ), then to very light rock then back to top 40 rock. Then AM 610 went to a full time simulcast of Q102 then "US 61" classic country. Then 610 went back to a simulcast of Q102 other than sporting events . Then came "610 CNN" ( Headline News 24/7 on AM 610 ) and then WNTW with its mix of local national news and talk,. 610 then tried a "Hot Talk" format with Tom Leykus. Not long after that, it was "wall to wall Christmas" for AM 610. Then came a full time religious format for 610, that failed so they went sports which it remains today. On top of all those formats for one station someome tiod me that AM 610 actually had Z-Rock ( that heavy metal satellite format ) at one time back in the late 80's early 90's. Thats 10+ different formats for one station within a span of just over 20 years. Wonder if thats a record? And some old timers to this day believe AM 610 should have stayed being WHPL. I wonder why? Duh !!! (8/31/08) What is the deal with this 'media orgy' over Hurricane Gustav? I am just imagining those arrogant MSNBC blow-hards Chris Mathews & Keith Olbermann having a toast in their liberal ivory tower to 'celebrate' Gustav hitting during the Republican National Convention. As for FOX"News" I am just waiting for their metro sexual tools & wanna be porn star 'news readers' to say something REALLY stupid (above their normal stupid things...) As for McCain and Obama; No offense but do we REALLY need those two and their campaigns showing up in 'disaster zone' and mucking it all up just to some campaign pics and to say "they care about peasants/voters" -LOL (Senators from AZ & IL have nothing to do with the region last time I checked ?!?!) 'its what i do' "triad_spook" (8/31/08) Dave's response: I predict that Sarah Palin will rush down to New Orleans and singlehandedly save the city by personally holding back a failing levee with her "hockey mom" hands. And Carl Cameron will be there to report it live for Fox "News"..... "Finally, I know she's in the Baltimore market, however, people {Red Zebra} should start taking notice of Anita Marks {ESPN-1300}. She could run circles around Czaban and Andy and put Sheehan and Linn to shame. What an idea? Brett-DC" - Brett, you're kidding, right? Anita Marks' grasp of anything other than fantasy football is non-existent. I agree she could run circles around Czaban and Pollin, but only in a foot race. Talk to the people she works with at 1300. There's a reason they call her "The Princess" behind her back, and it has nothing to do with royalty. If you want a woman to do the job, get Liz Drabek who's done updates for 1300 and 980 and seems to get it. As for 1370 going sports, hopefully they'd use Ted Patterson and Jerry Coleman to their best abilities, and do a better job in morning drive than 1570, whose hosts are strictly small market. They need to hire someone to program it who has some legitimate experience in that role, not one of the yahoos who are there now. (8/31/08) Despite some comments about politics seeping into the mailbag, it is pleasing that there are many more center right voices popping up in the mailbag. Sure makes for more interesting reading than the regurgitating of the Daily Kos kook fringe bilge. Who knows maybe I'll start dropping a few bucks again to keep the lights on in Dave's condo. Porter Jervis (8/31/08) Dave's response: Our traffic and related bandwidth "draw" is up so much that I'll probably have to splurge for a more expensive plan from our server provider, pair.com, come September. And your donation will greatly help with that added cost! Just click here to support DCRTV. Thanks..... The only clowns on this board are those whose noses is so firmly planted on Obama's rear end that they can't recognize the weirdness, even scariness, of a stadium full of people chanting the guy's name. That's way over the top and is, in fact, eerily reminicent of the Nazis. No one expects Obama to suddenly come out adocating extermination of a race or religion or anything. But Ingraham's comment was right on in terms of the dangers of personality cults. (8/31/08) I honestly don't understand Clear Channel Baltimore. Does CC just not believe in running sports talk stations as a company policy? WCAO 600 has a booming signal that blankets from southern PA all the way down to the eastern shore of Maryland (see pic), yet runs a mostly inside the Beltway urban format that could easily generate the same revenue or ratings on practically any other Baltimore AM frequency. Why not SPORTSTALK 600? It is arguably Baltimore's 2nd or 3rd strongest AM signal and certainly better than AM 1300, 1570, or even 1370. (8/31/08) Dave, re: your "news" story titled "Media Questions McCain VP Choice" I thought you said this wasn't a political site (I know, except when you chose to make it so). If you read the article, Kurtz's point was not what your headline reflects. While he does start by quoting the usual liberal media types questioning her experience being a heartbeat away, so to speak (at the same time they ignore Obama's total lack of experience - 140 days in the Senate - which will BE the heartbeat), he goes on to spend most of the article talking about the cat and mouse game between the McCain campaign and the media during his selection process. Dave, PLEASE, don't bring the politics of the Mailbag into your Frontpage. I definitely lament the fact that DCRTV doesn't get the respect it so often deserves from other outlets, as you ntoe in your DCRTV@11 rant/blurb. But the mixing of your personal politics into your news is probably part of the reason your good work is not taken as seriously as it could be. It's really difficult to see you rant on WMAL or Murdoch or whomever for slanting their stories, or providing misleading leads when you do PRECISELY the same thing. I know, I know...it's your site and all that. Bob in Forest Hill (8/31/08) Dave's response: DCRTV is a media site and that article did deal with the media. I guess your comments about me could also apply to the lack of popularity of Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. Look, I'm honest. I tell you my media biases up-front. And then let you display yours. I could pretend to be "fair and balanced" like the NY Times, the DC Post, CNN, and Fox News. Ha ha ha. Oh, just think, next year at this time we could have a currently unknown 44-year-old "hockey mom" as the head of the free world. How cool is that? They didn't waste any time, the MSNBC Breaking News shot is already on YOUTUBE in its original form from MSNBC www.youtube.com... And to add insult to injury, Keith Obermann recently referred to Hurricane Gustav interrupting the Republican Convention as "divine providence" So who exactly is out of their freekin minds? If any Repub said such a thing on practically any network during the DEM convention, they'd have been fired already. MSNBC and NBC News are officially the Joke News Source of '08. If Tom Brokaw had any regard for his legacy as one of America's great news anchors, he'd have quit by now. By the time this election is over, I expect Charlie Gibson and ABC World News Tonight to be #1 in the evening national news ratings and I wouldn't even be surprised if Katie Couric rises a bit as Brian Williams continues to destroy his credibility around these bitter hateful partisan pundit clowns at MSNBC. Oh, and Palin is under investigation for FIRING CROOKS, NOT being one, big difference. Finally, as for Obama/Biden vs. Osama Bin Laden, I predicted over a year and a half ago that Obama had no chance of being elected president simply because of his name, not because I think its an important issue, nor should it even be being discussed, but simply because the average voter in this country is dumb as a rock and does not even follow 10% of the political things that get discussed on this or any website or really any news source. Jay Leno proves that in every single "Jay Walking" skit! (8/31/08) "The lack of imagination in radio-land continues with yet more sports talk coming to WVIE".......... HUH ? Have you heard the SO CALLED "sports " stations in Baltimore? - they ALL STINK! ...1570 - NO SIGNAL AND A SERIOUS VOID OF TALENT - 1300-LOL?- WEAK SIGNAL/ LESS TALENT than 1570 ( btw- neither does LIVE, AM, LOCAL updates- PRETTY WEAK ) neither has any ratings or solid advertising backing . ...So why wouldn't someone try and COMPETE ? ( WBAL does have a good signal and some NON- sports talent — but their worries should be focused on declining ratings- and another yr of poor, offense challeneged, Ravens football.).-IMHO-Sportstalk 980 was the only place in the region doing it right - until Snyder destroyed it. PLEASE , SOMEONE-Bring on something BETTER IN b-more ( 1370 WVIE?, 600?, 1050? )-anything would be an upgrade over the GARBAGE Nestor, Anita, etc put out! It's small market material. (And very sorry, Tom in denton - who cares if u cannot hear it on eastern shore? - it's a Baltimore station that ALSO happens to reach into, dc & Va . .. jeff colleston, catonsville (8/31/08) A question to Washington Post tech guru Rob Pegoraro in Sunday's paper: "I have a Sony alarm clock with a TV tuner that lets it play the audio of local broadcasts. Next year's change to digital transmission will eliminate this capability. Do you have any ideas about what to do about that?..... Correct, this clock radio will stop receiving local TV stations on Feb. 17, 2009, when almost all of them will end analog broadcasts. And there's nothing you can do to fix that. The crazy thing is, you can still find "AM/FM/TV" radios on sale, even when analog TV has less than six months left to live. And in some cases -- for instance, a Sony alarm clock listed for $49.97 at Sears' Web site -- customers don't even get a warning that a radio's TV feature will stop working next year. What are these manufacturers and retailers thinking?" (8/31/08) Sorry to hear that the lack of imagination in radioland continues with yet more sports talk coming to WVIE. But ever since they moved from 1360 to 1370 their signal has been worthless to me here in SW Balto County anyway, with very obtrusive constant whistles and other noises even on the best radios. ~~CA in BC (8/31/08) RE: "I think it just might be time to update this 1968 political ad which questioned the relative merits of Richard Nixon's choice for his Vice-Presidential running mate ... www.youtube.com... " Remember that Agnew was a crook who resigned in disgrace and Palin is currently under investigation. (8/31/08) Where's the goof who posted this......"If you didn't already think that the folks over at Fox News were out of their freakin' minds, this photo should give you all the proof you need! Here's an idea for their new slogan: "Fox News - We Distort, You Deride". Got an idea for MSNBC's new slogan after they did this (photo of MSNBC captured on Fox News) or are you pathetically selective in your critisisms? (8/31/08) In the history of DC and Baltimore radio was was the shortest lived format? My guess would be George !! Bonneville's attempt at doing a Jack format. How long did that last? 3 months? What about the other stations in the region? Wasn't there an AM station In Winchester who went through FIVE different formats within a 2 years period back in the 80's? Boyd (8/31/08) I have a feeling that Fox showed the Phillies-Cubs game less out of National League loyalty than because of the popularity of the Cubs. In the past, Fox has passed over showing Phils games in Washington (even intradivision games) when teams like the Yankees or Red Sox were available, and the Cubs are the only other MLB team with widespread appeal. (It's unfortunate, as the Rays are arguably baseball's best story in 2008 and deserve more national exposure.) Also, keep in mind that Fox has the NLCS this year in addition to the World Series (TBS will have the ALCS). Regarding WBIG, I sincerely hope Bonneville purchases it rather than Snyder, then converts it into the sports-talk alternative D.C. desperately needs. Its signal is far superior to 107.7's, particularly to the west; I've been able to pick up WBIG along long stretches of I-81 through Winchester, Strasburg and further south in Shenandoah County. WBIG would be a much stronger flagship for the Nationals and Capitals (although I would keep sports play-by-play on 1500 AM because it can still be heard at night along much of the eastern seaboard). -- Vincent in Triangle (8/31/08) /\ August 31 Messages /\ \/ August 30 Messages \/ Well..if 1370 goes "sports-talk"..really wouldn't do anything for listeners here on the eastern shore as it really doesn't put out a good signal down here; maybe that doesn't matter..if they're only interested in serving the Baltimore-Washington area! As for Stan Charles: I thought he still did a show on ESPN1300, either early Saturday or Sunday morning; have never heard it there..but do remember him..think it may have been on WCBM in the late 80s..around 10 P.M.? Tom in Denton, MD (8/30/08) Some clown in the mailbag recently brought up Hitler's pre-war rallies as a comparison to Obama's current popularity. I won't bother to castrate this pathetic analogy, but it goes without saying that it has always been very important, even in our democracy, how people *feel* about any given candidate. That goes for both Obama and McCain. There is a tremendous amount of psychology and factors that aren't easily measured why we might like one candidate over another. All one has to do is look at the ad campaigns from both candidates, which in essence tell us very little, but work on our emotions and use visuals to propagate large virtually meaningless themes and promises. Millions of people cast aside logic and don't bother to investigate how a candidate's positions might effect them personally, and vote based on likeability, or other banal considerations. Certainly, the current inhabitant of the White House is a testament to such factors. A cult of personality in a sense is a necessity to reach the highest office. We simply don't elect people with the best ideas. Intellectuals with bad hairlines, sporting paunchs who throw statistics at us, or use charts,graphs, and Power Point presentations don't get elected President. As to experience being a red herring, that again is more bunk from the same poster. Experience or lack therof is simply a consideration that any informed voter should factor in when assessing Obama or Palin. (8/30/08) Dave's response: Also, we don't vote for vice president. It'll be Obama (not Biden) versus McCain (not Palin)..... Somebody please promise me the new Baltimore sports talk station doesn't mean the return of Stan "The Fan" Charles to Baltimore sports talk. He used to be on AM1360/1370 and had like the same drunken callers each night calling in ad nauseam. I know he's rested and back from Florida & running the PRESS BOX paper, but that man was cranky way back in the 1990s! And he also holds the distinction of almost breaking the Browns Moving to Baltimore story days before Mark Viviano ultimately broke the story. Stan called the caller a crackpot and hung up on him! What a difference a few days made. LOL (8/30/08) Its WVIE AM 1370 going sports. The owner/management has a hard on with anything talk on that format. They could have had a success with Oldies, if it was done right and let programmers run it, not sales management. It didn't work, so they are going to try another talk format. But, with the Ravens, Orioles and Terps tied up elsewhere, there may be issues at grabbing large amounts of listeners and revenues. Plus, sports talk needs to be local, which means they need a staff, which I know for a fact Petit will not dish out the paychecks for that to happen. This too will be a short lived venture!!! (8/30/08) I just finished watching the debut of Chris Core's new TV show and must say that it was Phenomenal! First of all, he wasted no time in going in deep to analyze both the Reps and the Dems and their choices for VP, conventions, issue topics etc. and he then interviewed Bob Ehrlich and a pollster. Chris' questions were tough and he analyzed every answer that came from these guests and threw back a few harder questions if he thought that the original answer wasn't sufficient. In intellect and class, he surpassed even the most "seasoned" TV talk show hosts/analysts from the cable newschannels. Always balanced & fair. Even WMAL's "Pet Liberal" Jerry Klein made a cameo! Great job, Chris - I'll be watching every week! Signed, Your Favorite Puerto Rican, -Silvie in Waldorf- (8/30/08) Hey Dave, I'm sure your in box is already filled up with folks wondering how the Phillies-Cubs ended up on FOX5 instead of the Birds. I only noticed because I turned over from 7 at the end of the first quarter of the U.Va. debacle. Since the Phils are in the same division as the Nats, this makes some sense (more if the Nats still had a shot at the playoffs, of course) but I'm sure people who are used to seeing the O's are livid. I really though we'd get the O's and Rays, so I'm surprised. Charles in Winchester (8/30/08) Dave's response: With the O's in last place at 63-71, can you really blame Fox? Can any of you repubs answer me on McCain's "ENDORSEMENT/Photo-OP" with DADDY YANKEE??? Are conservatives into REGGAETON now?Wayne Newton not available??? Cant wait to hear DY's music on bumpers for Hannity and Limbaugh? And while were on the radio subject...is it me or does Laura Ingraham's voice sound like Jane Hathaway form The Beverly Hillbillies. And Chris Plante....sloowww down fella you're gonna a pop a gasket..OBAMA's got you and Hannity so wound up it's obvious you dont like the guy. Somebody wake me when the G.O.P.convo is over. (8/30/08) The new Baltimore sportstalk station is going to be WVIE AM 1370 I bet. Mangione has been losing money on the station for years since the expensive 50,000 watt upgrade and nothing has worked, not TALK, not Women's Talk, nothing has had any ratings traction. They've got the monster signal that goes all the way to DC. Makes sense. Seriously, how could they get worse ratings than currently? :-) (8/30/08) What's up with AM 1260? I know I'm one of the few, but dedicated, listeners, but on Friday and today there was no signal from the station. 980 was still broadcasting. (8/30/08) Dean Wormer should have thought twice before he insulted me or I wouldn't have tossed my lunch all over him. Sincerely, Kent Dorfman (PS: I still feel bad about the poor horse.) (8/30/08) Don't think you'll see that Agnew political spot redone for either side in this election for 1 simple reason: Agnew had as much experience as both Obama AND Palin! LOL (8/30/08) The media rants about the Palin pick are understandable since anything that makes them nervous that their guy Obama might not get elected causes such things. And the experience thing is a red herring. Hardly something the Democrats can exploit given Obama's less than stellar resume. By the way, I heard Laura Ingraham say yesterday that the Obama Temple of Doom spectacle reminded her of some of those grainy old films of huge stadiums filled with Nazis chanting "Heil Hitler. As far as a cult of personality comparison goes, she's right. And it is a bit creepy. (8/30/08) Dave's response: OK, I'll run your political posting as long as you have a media reference in it. Purely political posts are off-topic..... Please tell me Dave its Clear Channel and they're gonna turn WCAO 600 to SPORTS TALK! That would be frikkin AWESOME! Both WNST and ESPN1300 have signal issues, particularly AM1570, unlike in DC where Snyder has the entire market now covered & monopolized. Even AM1370 would be an improvement over AM1570. Can't think of any other possibilities as WBAL & WCBM are the only other strong Baltimore AM signals and I can't imagine either of them changing. (8/30/08) Dave's response: Not CAO..... Talk about a strange coincidence. I just read an article online that was pulled from the Associated Press regarding DNA evidence linking a guy by the name of Michael Gargiulo to the stabbing deaths of 3 women. Of course it's not the same Michael Gargiulo who was a former anchor at FOX5, but what an eerie coincidence..On a lighter note, I did see a video piece from the NBC NY affiliate where the REAL Michael Gargiulo did a day of Olympic "training" which included the high jump, pole vault and hurdles..Here's the link for anyone interested. video.wnbc.com (8/30/08) In recent weeks, I've seen ads on the DCRTV website for an upcoming Mutual Radio Reunion. I'm curious about a former news reporter at Mutual named Charles Warren. He was one of the panelists in Chicago for the first Nixon-Kennedy debate in 1960. I Googled around to find out more about him, but there isn't much to see. Did he later do local news for WWDC, in the late 60s or early 70s? I know there was a Charlie Warren who was on WMAL more recently, but I'm sure that's not the same guy. Can some of the Mutual Radio vets help fill in some of the blanks for me? (8/30/08) we will miss Marci Wiser on KROCK- wxrk, in NY! Enjoy her Washington, she's awesome! duke brodsky (8/30/08) I think it just might be time to update this 1968 political ad which questioned the relative merits of Richard Nixon's choice for his Vice-Presidential running mate ... www.youtube.com... (8/30/08) Dear DCRTV, You posted that a person was " was fatally struck by an SUV in NYC" I did not know that NYC had SUVs that could move around by themselves without a human driver in it. the person in question was struck by a man/woman driving a SUV, not a rogue SUV roaming on its own as a horse or cow or dog does. Frank in Ft. Washington (8/30/08) Dave's response: That was taken straight from the Post. Well, when someone gets struck by a bus or a truck, the media also doesn't inform us that they're also being driven by a human being. It is obvious, huh..... And the poster said "CRINGE STATEMENT OF THE DAY" one of the runners-up has to be Kay Bailey Hutchison, when asked for reaction to Palin's pick, said "she went and had it anyway" regarding the newborn with Down's Syndrome. She probably meant it as a compliment to the anti-abortion thing, but uh, it didn't sound quite right. (8/30/08) Since I wasn't able to watch the last two Redskins' preseason games, I spent the week listening to the various sportstalk shows in Baltimore and Washington and must say, even the Baltimore radio talent beats what's on-the-air here in the DC area. Now that Al Galdi has slowed down his updates and we can understand which team walked-off whom etc..., someone needs to remind Scott Linn what the definition of a number two or support person means. Specifically, whether it's on the Fox show or local 980, I've never heard someone step-over more people than Scott and now it's to the point of annoying the listener. Second, I hope Bruce Gilbert and the Red Zebra people know their "Locker Room" Show is terrible and people miss John Riggins. I'm sure listeners will agree the past week was quite painful hearing Kevin Sheehan and Scott Linn come-off like they work at ESPN. Kevin tries but Scott is too cute for me. Finally, I know she's in the Baltimore market, however, people {Red Zebra} should start taking notice of Anita Marks {ESPN-1300}. She could run circles around Czaban and Andy and put Sheehan and Linn to shame. What an idea? Brett-DC (8/30/08) Tina Fey is no longer on the SNL cast, so I hope that the lovely Kristen Wiig can play Palin. The better question is: who will play Andrea Mitchell or Dana Bash or John King having totally insane 'meltdowns' today after the announcement of Palin as VP was made public? I'd pay to see that. (8/30/08) Good news Terp fans. The Del vs. MD game was scheduled to be on espnu will now be simucast on espn. (8/30/08) Regarding a previous post which said, “One thing I'm looking forward to is the season debut of Saturday Night Live on Sept 13. I can just see it now. Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton and Tina Fey (love those trademark glasses) as Sarah Palin. I can just see those cat fights right up until election day.” Aren’t both Amy and Tina now off SNL? (8/30/08) Regarding a previous post, I believe in “Animal House” Dean Wormer told Kent 'Flounder' Dorfman (not John 'Bluto' Blutarsky )... “lazy, fat and stupid is no way to go through life, son!" (8/30/08) /\ August 30 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....