Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - September 28 to October 5, 2008 Latest messages listed first..... \/ October 5 Messages \/ " ... and I think there is some rule that when the local team is at home, they dont show a game against it. ... " That's usually the case. But for some reason next week, Ch. 9 WILL be showing a Ravens 1:00 road game opposite a Redskins 1:00 home game on Ch. 5. I've read some of the forum at the506.com and WUSA has responded by saying it's because of DC being a secondary market for the Ravens and there being exceptions to the "local team at home" rule. Still doesn't explain why Ch. 45 doesn't show Redskins 1:00 road games opposite Ravens 1:00 home games on Ch. 13 in a city that's supposedly a secondary market for the Redskins. Steve in Lanham (10/5/08) to the poster who asked about why the redskins werent on channel 45, Im pretty sure its simply because the Ravens were the home team today and I think there is some rule that when the local team is at home, they dont show a game against it. id bet 45 has a 4pm game right now. (10/5/08) Regarding the "scouting " of Harden and Weaver by WNBC ---I seem to recall reading a similar story in their "autobiography" "on the radio." haven't seen the book in years, or I'd leaf through it. I picked up a signed copy at yard sale a couple of houses away from Frank's eons ago for the princely sum of 78 cents. (10/5/08) Dee Finch was Gene Klavan's professional other half. As for Frank and Jack; they knew where their bread was buttered. True; they went to NYC and lunched with NBC people, but the offer--and the threat of instability--plus their uniqueness to DC...made the offer a no-brainer to say no to. It wasn't much more money than they were making. Harden and Weaver made very nice money at WMAL, don't get me wrong. But their real perks, like so many morning shows back in the day, came with the side stuff; vacations, restaurants, home improvements, etc. And what would happen if Frank and Jack left WMAL to go to WNBC and it flopped...which it probably would have--or, worse, had the format change on them and they'd be gone, anyway? H and W were unique to DC; their likes will never be seen or heard again. It was a different time. (10/5/08) Anyone curious enough to hear what the mailbag poster meant about the WTOP Politics Hour theme music, here's a kinescope clip of the Hondells from the SHINDIG! show of Wednesday, October 14, 1964. www.youtube.com... Back then, at age 12, I had a secret crush on the SHINDIG! girl who wore the black heavy-rim glasses, but seems she had a bit of a balance problem standing on the back of Dick Burns' bike. Thankfully she didn't fall on her sweet little tush. (10/5/08) OH MY GOD, A NEW LOW IN MEDIA BIAS: ESPN? SAY IT ISN'T SO! Sorry, but true, 2 PRO-OBAMA stories on this morning's ESPN NFL pre-game coverage, one featuring Paul Begala using the metaphor that running to the LEFT is a winning play this year in a Redskins story, the 2nd one even more disgusting during The Sports Reporters, with John Saunders (formerly of Baltimore's Channel 2) comparing Barack Obama to Tiger Woods! Excuse my language, but ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT! I already turn off Olbermann on Sunday Night Football and now I'll start turning off ESPN too if necessary. You would think these people would learn. Ratings are so bad at MSNBC its almost certain Olbermann's gonna be fired soon so what the hell is ESPN thinking? Do they want MSNBC ratings?? LOL I won't even go into former Skins guy Charlie Casserly defending senile old Al Davis on CBS as if it was a mandated statement from the NFL league office as that would be off topic, but apparently dottering old FOOLS think alike. (10/5/08) Anyone know why The Redskins game is NOT on WBFF FOX 45 in Baltimore? I'm not a Skins fan, but couldn't help noticing the Skins game is on from South Carolina to Philly to Ohio and down to West Virginia, but NOT IN BALTIMORE (see map www.the506.com ) ! HAha! Is Sinclair trying to make a statement or is this per NFL rules? (10/5/08) I'd heard vague rumblings about WNBC's interest in Harden & Weaver. For years and years, WNBC tried to compete in the morning drive time race among "general interest," or middle-of-the-road, "music and news" stations (a term coined by the perennial leader in New York morning radio, WNEW). Understand that WABC, first with Herb Oscar Anderson, then with Harry Harrison, dominated the younger audience and was virtually bullet-proof. WNEW's Gene Klavan (from WWDC) replaced Gene Rayburn, before he became so preoccupied with television and NBC Radio's "Monitor." Both worked with a partner named Finch (who's first name I've NEVER been able to remember) then, Klavan ran solo for the better part of twenty years. WNBC tried different combinations of Ted Brown, Big Wilson (the original, NOT the guy who was on WPGC) and none seemed to gain a foothold. WNBC was "okay," but was up against the heritage and talents of Klavan in the MOR music arena and John Gambling, the perennial talk radio winner on WOR. By 1971, NBC was bringing Jack Thayer on board to modernize and bolster WNBC and the NBC Radio Network. Thayer had been the General Manager of Nationwide Communications' wildly successful WGAR in Cleveland. He had taken WGAR from sounding like a relic of 1948 radio to a modern, upbeat adult/contemporary station that featured oldies and a morning man who specialized in shocking the audience with his satire and stunts. It stands to reason that WNBC, the perennial also-ran, was weighing EVERY approach and option at building their morning audience. Harden & Weaver, Imus and Jess Cain of WHDH in Boston were pretty much the most successful morning shows in East Coast adult radio outside New York at the time... as different in approach as all three were. WNBC could have gone older and more conservative (H&W) right down the middle (Cain or Ken Garland from WIP in Philadelphia) or younger and hipper (Imus). They wound up with Imus and he did begin a pattern of improved fortunes for Radio 66! - er (10/5/08) Dave- I agree with you about AN AMERICAN CAROL. I saw it Friday night, and was really looking forward to it (the prevues and commericals looked really funny). But it was basically just a rehash of the gags from the AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN movies. They were funny 25 years ago, but have since lost their sting. Yahoo users have given it an A- rating as of this writing, but the audience I saw it with barely snickered during the 90 minutes. (10/5/08) /\ October 5 Messages /\ \/ October 4 Messages \/ Somebody posted a link Friday, to a video interview with Frank Harden. It was interesting to hear him talk about the glory days at WMAL, but near the end of the piece, he said something that seems too incredible to actually be true. He related a story about WNBC wanting to hire Harden & Weaver to do mornings in New York City. NBC even had them up for a lunch meeting to discuss the program they had in mind. Frank says he and Weaver immediately knew that the move just wasn't for them and he claims that WNBC then hired Imus instead. I find it hard to believe that when NBC wasn't able to get Harden & Weaver, that their next logical choice would be The I-Man. I mean, the vast differences between the talents' styles and approaches to morning drive, are so striking! I think the guy who Imus replaced was Big Wilson, who later turned up on Monitor. He was mellow and unoffensive, as H&W were, so WNBC might have looked for someone along those lines. Harden said the NBC suit who made the offer was Perry Bascomb. Until I watched the interview, I had never heard this tale. Does anyone else know anything more about it? (10/4/08) Another sign of the decline of the Post. I've been subscribing to the paper since I moved out of my parents house which has been a long time. I've always paid monthly. When I lived on a farm the carrier would have the paper at the end of the lane every morning, in snowstorms, and several times we found several copies when the snow melted proving that he had made it down an impassible country road. In fact during all of those years I do not recall the paper ever failing to be delivered. About three months ago I switched to the automatic six week credit card billing plan and my paper has failed to have been delivered at least three times including this morning. (10/4/08) Would the idiot savant who keeps calling radio stations to complain about the Washington Post's incorrect listings please enjoy a steaming hot cup of STFU & call the WaPo Ombudsman instead? Here's Deborah Howell's number - 202-334-7582, and here is a link to all the staff e-mails: projects.washingtonpost.com. We're all tired of your 2-3-4 x a day calls. Or better yet, have your MetroAccess driver drop you off at 1150 15th St NW and you can apply for the position of TV/Radio Listings Editor. Yamsack. (10/4/08) Dave's response: Ha ha ha! I seriously doubt it will do any good..... Dave wrote: "I realize that many don't like the lefty lean of CNN, MSNBC, CBS, etc., but righty Fox should be a bit more concerned about its credibility." Is that because it is well-known and perfectly acceptable to you Communists to lie and conduct yourselves dishonestly in order to overthrow the Federal government? There hasn't been a real Democrat running for the top office since George McGovern. And, even he was pretty far to the left of Hubert Humphrey and Bobby Kennedy! In fact, Humphrey was actually to the right of Czechoslovakia's Aleksandr Dubcek. Look it up. Joe Pyne (10/4/08) The original story from Fox News said that "Analysts declare Palin the winner." As for American Carol, Bill O'Reilly played a somber, eloquent, and logical, version of himself. Propaganda on both counts. (10/4/08) Funny to see people trying to make the Post into a sympathetic figure due to the attacks by big bad Dan Snyder and the Redskins. Please. I'm not fan of Danny Boy's but the Post HAS gone overboard. One example, that story on the cutting of the trees should have been reported, somewhere in the METRO section. Instead the Post put it on the FRONT PAGE and blew it up into something that it really wasn't. Another example, LaCanfora DOES appear to have an agenda and his call to the NFL about Cerrato's show was clearly out of line. The Post doesn't like it that Snyder has the resources and the brass to fight back. They're used to using freedom of the press to steamroll people. I like seeing the Post get a dose of its own medicine. (10/4/08) Let's see Dave. You often take Paul Farhi to task, but now, you expect us to believe his negative review of "An American Carol"? Come on Dave. Now either Paul is wrong again, and this movie is a hit,,,or, more likely it is unfunny to him and causes liberals severe abdominal pain. That pain is not from laughter but rather a gut punch called 'the truth hurts". I havent been to a movie in years, but this is one I wil go see, today. (10/4/08) Dave's response: For me, movies have got to be entertaining. I don't go to see Michael Moore movies. And I won't go to see that new Bill Maher film. Documentaries belong on television, not on the "silver screen." I waited for Al Gore's global warming doc to come on television. Also, I find many of those anti-war drama films rather cringe-inducing, even though I tend to agree with their positions. Many years ago, David Zucker made some of the funniest films ever made - the two "Airplane" comedies, and the three "Naked Gun" farces. However, since then, he's made literally dozens of tired and unfunny flicks, many with Leslie Nielsen, who I've always liked. And "An American Carol" looks to continue that trend, despite its political bent. If you're going to go see it, try smuggling in a mini-bottle of vodka so that, at least, the 90-ish minutes won't be a complete waste..... Dave, re: "Farhi: Righty "Carol" Is Unfunny." Seriously, you're now noting political MOVIE REVIEWS as front page news? That the liberal post and Farhi would find a conservative comedy unfunny is not surprising. And the lame attempt to make it local (and thus explain why you posted it) by tying it to WMAL isn't fooling anyone. This movie is being advertised pretty widely, and is being covered because it is so unusual. Unusual, heck, Hollywood almost never puts out wide-release fair aimed toward conservatives. What they typically isn't aimed toward liberals, but it is liberal simply because they assume everyone thinks as they do. Can we expect you to post the Washingtion Times review of the hasn't-been-funny-since-going-totally-bitter-10-years-ago Bill Maher's anti-origanized religion flick because it's advertised heavily on 1260? Oh, wait. No one would hear those ads anyway. Bob in Forest Hill (10/4/08) Dave's response: I think it's a valid media-related story since the movie is being marketed as a righty response to the "mainstream media"..... "Post Takes A Pounding"? That's news? I've been pounding MY post ever since my last breakup. (10/4/08) Dave's response: All I get is a sexual image. I must be a perv, too..... "Post's Stock Takes A Pounding" Isn't karma a bitch! George Allen (10/4/08) To the person stating FOX News surveys are un-scientific vs. CBS & CNN being scientific, I'll just say this... Define "scientific." While I'll admit that 1 FOX survey was totally unscientific (many others are scientific), these CBS & CNN quick very small sample surveys like that are hardly truly scientific either. They just make an effort to get what "THEY BELIEVE" is a representative sample of the electorate in a VERY SMALL # of people & extremely quickly & sometimes haphazardly. Not to mention polling today is getting more and more politicized just like everything else in this country. You can just as easily craft a so called "scientific" survey to get a desired result as you can run an unscientific one with similar bad or biased results. Obviously CBS & CNN have more lliberal viewers compared to FOX's conservative viewers. Any person with a brain realizes that Republicans probably flooded the Fox News poll with multiple votes. However, I fail to see how that is any more dishonest than CNN, NBC, or CBS "cooking" their polls to their taste and there's been plenty of evidence of that going back for decades. (10/4/08) Dave's response: Basically, if you have an online or phone "poll" where anyone can vote as many times as they want, such as the Fox and Drudge debate surveys on the Biden-Palin debate, they're completely meaningless. Other than for propaganda purposes. Republican party bosses were obviously worried that Palin would tank in the "real post-debate" polls, so they got their media sympathizers to set up sympathetic surveys. How many times yesterday did you hear righty talkers like Grandy and Andy make reference to Palin's "win" in the "Fox poll" or the "Drudge poll." Come on, that's complete BS. I realize that many don't like the lefty lean of CNN, MSNBC, CBS, etc., but righty Fox should be a bit more concerned about its credibility. I guess we can forgive Drudge, who's pretty much under the spell of Rush Limbaugh's "witchcraft"..... Dave: I was in Boston last week and caught a few days of programming from New England Sports Network {NESN} and it made me realize how bad our regional sports coverage is with Comcast- Sportsnet. The night I came back from Boston, I saw a promo for "Sportsnight" and Sorenson was talking over Wizards video... but she kept calling the Wizards, the Redskins! The promo ran all night long. NESN has a great look and their sportsdesk show had some good talent. I know the Red Sox own NESN but don't we {DC-Balt area sports fans} deserve some qualified talent on our regional sports tv outlet? Also, Snyder needs to pay-off Larry Michael and we need a new Redskins' voice, NOW. I think it's quite insulting to Sonny and Sam...and even Vinny to have such a arrogant and phony person represent the Redskins. Gee, I guess I'm justifying Snyder's hiring of Larry. Oh well, fans will just have to turn the volume down. (10/4/08) I attended a seance last night and, on behalf of the citizens of the City and County of San Francisco, Mayor Alioto asked me to convey his thanks for the KGO jingle, in addition to yesterday's KCBS nugget. I also listened to the mixes of Hugh Heller's jingles on Bill Halvorsen's page. My only regret is that someone does not have the "Potomac in the Sunset" theme with the male lead floating around. What great music! And, for what purpose, class? To SELL our radio stations! - Ed. Rodriguez (Hey Dave, do you think I'll piss off a few people by posting here? I can only hope to keep my rep intact! lol) (10/4/08) /\ October 4 Messages /\ \/ October 3 Messages \/ dear Red Zebra, any reason that with all your stations you cant air a playoff baseball game from the start and have to join in it progress after the sports reporters?? I mean do we really need to hear the results of another pointless "count and amount" poll just because its friday? (10/3/08) As George Alioto alluded, the Hellers were the stars of many a memorable jingle package back in the day at WMAL AM 63, (before the adoption in the '90s of the "630 WMAL" 24/7/365 hate-fest, when crass quickly replaced class). Thanks to Bill Halvorsen's excellent www.WQMRWGAYMemories.org site, two of the longest running "We Like To Be... in Washington, D.C." anthems can still be heard on his Sounds page: www.wqmrwgaymemories.org... You'll need to scroll down to the section on Tom Gauger who shared those MP3 files. And while we're at it, let's share one more example of a later AM 63 campaign which requires no scrolling (MP3 file): DCMemories.com... This last one is a "throw-away" just for you George: DCMemories.com... (10/3/08) re: "Is Metrotalk with Jerry Phillips still on the air since 3WT went out of business?" - Jerry's program airs at 12 Noon Saturdays on 1500 / 820 AM WFED. - Max in Mild West Arlington. (10/3/08) RE: Slumping Washington Post stock. At a recent investment conference, I suggested to Donald Graham, the chairman of the board of the Washington Post Company, that WPO be broken up into separate companies, with Post investors receiving shares in Kaplan. Doing so would unlock value in Kaplan, which is a fast growing business throwing off excellent levels of free cash - enough to support a healthy dividend for shareholders. Meantime, stock in the Post, trading as a pure newspaper company, would then sink to levels similar, say, to that of the New York Tmes Company, which currently trades at 15.7 times earnings (prior 12 months). This would imply a Post stock of about $310 a share, not the $509 it closed at Friday. Graham dismissed my idea, saying "Warren Buffett likes the business model." In fact, Buffett no longer likes the business model, because newspapers no longer meet two of his principal qualifications for a good investment: a sustainable business with a "moat" keeping rivals away, and two, a "margin of safety" meaning the business is priced well beneath its intrinsic value. Neither is the case today. In fact, Buffett is currently offering buyouts to 10% of employees at his Buffalo News. Buffett says "The fundamentals are definitely eroding in the newspaper industry...the skid will almost certainly continue." Donald Graham and Katherine Weymouth: break up the Washington Post Company. -- Paul Brandus (10/3/08) Dave's response: Just checked my IRA, and it's down "only" 17 percent this year, so far. Glad is wasn't all in Post stock..... Wow! Many thanks to the poster who graced us with the KCBS "74 in San Francisco" jingle! Hugh Heller was not only the producer, writer and creator of some of the greatest radio jingles in the medium's history (think most of what WMAL used in the 1960's and 70's) he was also the legendary Bay Area General Manager who put the KSFO "dream teams" together that featured the talents of: Don Sherwood, Jack Carney, Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins and many other Golden Gate Greats. The station also featured Giants baseball for years. The only other SF General Manager that comes even close, in my opinion, is the late Pat Norman of KFRC. Sorry to take the post off-topic with a visit to the Left Coast, Dave, but hearing that KCBS/ Heller mix brought back a flood of memories from Baghdad by the Bay! - George Alioto (10/3/08) Yes it’s another Sarah Palin video on the internet, gosh darnit. Harry Shearer’s (The Simpsons, Spinal Tap) wife Judith Owen impersonates Sarah Palin by singing “Bridge To Nowhere”. Check out the music video: www.mydamnchannel.com (10/3/08) "Frank Harden Signs Off At WMAL; After 50 Years, Radio Voice Leaves With Little Fanfare; [by Marc Fisher. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Jan 7, 1998. pg. C.01] Harden, 75, vanished from the airwaves Friday without announcement or fanfare, just one week after he celebrated a half-century of broadcasting. With his on-air partner of 33 years, the late Jackson Weaver, and then with his younger co-hosts, Tim Brant and Andy Parks, Harden achieved No. 1 status in morning drive time in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s -- by all accounts, a national radio record. ... Station executives sought to emphasize that Harden is not completely gone; in a new, three-year pact with the Disney-owned outlet, Harden will be back on the air about 30 mornings a year. And WMAL President Tom Bresnahan said the morning show on 630-AM will still be called 'Harden, Brant and Parks' 'at least for a period. At a certain time, Tim and Andy will take center stage.' An official send-off for Harden will be broadcast tomorrow (1/8/1998) at 7:30 a.m." See a laidback 2007 interview with Frank Harden at: www.truveo.com (10/3/08) I've seen some really painful, cringe worthy Redskin TV shows but ''Redskins Weekly'' on channel 50 is nearly as bad as a train wreck can be. It's both of the hosts. They both look like deers caught in the headlights. Especially the woman, Rebecca something. I've never seen a more vacant, empty headed smile as she throws out. She makes Alison Starling look like a member of Mensa. Was everyone in DC with even a hint of ANY journalistic talent suddenly busy? Do the Redskins have any clue HOW to put on a TV show? These 2...ummm...people [for lack of a better word] make Larry Michael look like a genius. Paul (10/3/08) OK, is it just me (an oldies fan) or does anyone else hear the music WTOP plays during the Politics Hour and think they're starting to roll the song "Little Honda"? First gear...it's alright! (10/3/08) Hey Dave---I still miss Paul Tsongas. I'll never forget his glib comment about other democrats being "pander bears." (10/3/08) Speaking of WTOP being on a delay, has anyone noticed the delay on 103.5 vs. 107.7? It sounds like 107.7 is at least seven seconds ahead of 103.5. Strange… (10/3/08) Is Metrotalk with Jerry Phillips still on the air since 3WT went out of business? (10/3/08) Dave's response: I'm told it now runs on WFED, 1500 and 820 AM..... Hey, Dave...here's how you can remember: R = Republican & Red. Also, on your front page story about the viewers of the Eagles-Cowboys vs. viewers of the Ravens-Steelers, the figure for the Eagles-Cowboys should be 13 million, not 3 million as you have it...the way you have it, the story doesn't make sense...I had to go to the Sun's article to figure it out. -- Bobbie (10/3/08) Dave's response: I copied that wording directly from the Sun's site, so blame them..... To the mailbagger who sincerely believed that WTOP Radio would forbid all mention of "63" degrees, let me distract you for a second with the following shiny object. In 1968, KCBS Radio in the Bay Area commissioned this softly hip theme by jinglers Hugh Heller and Dick Hamilton which made a play both on the temperature and their assigned AM frequency: (MP3 file) DCMemories.com... And, yes, it's okay to wear those flowers in your hair. (10/3/08) Grandmaw Palin !! Grandmaw Palin !! Biden had a chance to reach across the aisle there and discuss grandchildren and America's future for them, especially now that GRANDMA PALIN will be the next title she gets. (10/3/08) Dave- regarding your comment about being distracted by Fox's revolving graphic box at the lower corner of the tv screen and missing "the GOP propaganda of Carl Cameron." I could not agree more after watching him turn reports into GOP spins whenever possible. Cameron is a shill for the GOP, but course so is most of Fox. I can only stomach Shep Smith. David in Hyattsville (10/3/08) Dave's response: Didn't I once read somewhere that Carl's wife is a local Republican party organizer? Dave, blue states are the states Democrats win. Red states are Republican states. (10/3/08) Dave's response: You're right. I always get that mixed up. Red is traditionally a "Commie" color. And I think that blue is for GOP "blue bloods"..... "WRC needs to bring back Marian Burros" Heck, why not bring back Julius Boros, too? Yeah, he's dead but so what? (10/3/08) Another thing about time and WMAL and WTOP. Both stations are really not live; they are on delay, so even when the network tone sounds, it's not really the top of the hour. How 'bout either going live for the network news or giving a disclaimer that the station is on a 7 second, 10 second, 23 second delay or whatever? One's guess is as good as another. (10/3/08) Hey all, biased and unbiased the site is getting way too political. Everyone has opinions,they're just like ass****s...everyone has one. Biden won??? OK...Palin won???? OK...Back to broadcasting already!!!! (10/3/08) Regarding Allison Seymour not showing up for two days after getting vaccinated; She probably can't even hold a microphone and raise her arm because of muscle pain. You see, one common mistake made by patients getting a 'shot' is that they tense their arm muscles in anticipation of the 'stick.' That actually makes the 'stick' and post-vaccine muscle pain worse. A tip from your friendly physician at no charge to DCRTV readers: When you get a vaccine, relax your arm. Let it rest or 'hang' straight down beside you. Don't cause the muscle to spasm or get tense and hard before or during the stick. And after the 'stick,' massage the area immediately and for the next 60 seconds. The less time the serum stays in that muscle, the less painful the stick will be, and you won't have post-stick muscle pain typically associated with intramuscular vaccines such as tetanus shots, for example. Best Regards, Marcus Welby, M.D. (10/3/08) Don't know if WTOP doesn't use "63" for a temperature but I do know that WTOP and WMAL and other stations "lie" about what time it is. If they're running late in the format, they'll tell you it's, for example, "6:30 a.m." when it really is "6:31 a.m." and I've noticed even an occasional difference of two minutes. That's so ridiculous. So many people rushing around trying to get ready for school and work and here are radio stations NOT GIVING the actual time. I wonder if the FCC really cares about that? Probably not. "Local" and "honesty" is not on the FCC's agenda. (10/3/08) Since others have weighed in, here's my $.02 on last night's debate (coming from an impartial small "l" libertarian). I think Biden (whom I'm not a fan of) won on substance and Palin (whom I don't know enough about) won on style. Biden's foreign policy experience does help counteract Obama's perceived weakness and Palin really sounded in way over her head during the foreign policy part of the debate. On the other hand, Palin is an intriguing candidate because she's so different from the norm (although different from Palin, Obama is also different from the norm in interesting ways). I have a gut feeling that with some seasoning that Sarah Palin may just be a national political player in the future and a possible future Obama vs. Palin race could really be interesting. I can certainly see why they like her up in Alaska because she really does know how to connect with certain people on a personal level. I think her biggest handicap right now is her running mate since her vocal support of McCain's policies sounds hollow largely because of McCain's inability to maintain a consistant message. As for Gwen Ifill...I think she did a good job asking pertinant questions without going for the cheap "gotchas". I would have liked to have seen her rein in Palin's penchant for getting out her talking points rather than answering the questions that were actually asked. Finally Dave, I'm %100 in agreement with you that our national leaders need to learn that the word is pronounced "nu-clee-er" not "nuke-you-lur". This is now my second most annoying verbal pet peeve now, just behind the term "very unique". Keith (10/3/08) Hey Silvie in Waldorf... caught you this morning on that horrid Plante show. Cleaned his clock out? Lady, you have no clue. Palin basically regurgitated Sean Hannity talking points from Tuesday - no original thought from her whatsoever. Just like a robot... push Button A - 'maverick! maverick! maverick!'. Button B - 'also', 'ramp up', 'privileged', etc. You get the point. Now get THIS point: she is utterly STOOOPID and she and the womanizing Gramppaw are gonna LOSE and lose badly. Better hit the booze, babe, cuz you're gonna need it come the morning of Nov. 5. Might wanna save some for your 'heroes' on 630 while you're at it. Mike in Manassas (10/3/08) Dave, rare that I post on the political agenda but. You've always liked BIDEN??? He looks like Ted Baxter, and is just as skilled as Ted was at inserting his foot in his mouth. I'm no hawk, but in my opinion he's just another Senator taking advantage of the "system". He's spent the better part of his life as a Senator, he could have made CHANGES during his time in office, but he just ran with the "gang". I don't think there's a single person in the upper echelon of Government that really cares what happens to us. They only worry about themselves.PLB:0) (10/3/08) Dave's response: After Paul Wellstone got killed in that plane crash, Joe Biden rose to the top of my "favorite Senator" list..... I listened to the VP debate on the radio, and from an audio-only standpoint it was a clear Joe Biden victory. Gov. Palin's voice is tough to take for long periods of time, and her insistence on pronouncing "you" as "ya" is reminiscent of high school girls signing yearbooks. Radio is a far better medium to make an objective decision, I think. Apparently the Governor winked a few times during the debate? Didn't see it, but sounds a little inappropriate. When she said she might not answer the questions the moderator was actually asking, she told the truth - she rarely did. By the way, I'm a registered independent and rarely follow a strict party line. But for the Governor to make a point of saying that Sen. Biden was somehow living in the past by frequently bringing up the failures of the Bush administration, seemed like pointless rhetoric. That's what presidential candidates, do, Governor. One last thing: if you have to tell people over and over again you're a maverick, you're probably not one. It's like those places that advertise the world's greatest cup of coffee - it never is. (10/3/08) This is from WTOP's Hillary Howard. She and her husband Dave Statter of Channel 9 are co-hosting this. Dave, himself formerly a volunteer firefighter, started his career as a traffic reporter on WTOP. In fact, the three traffic reporters (that all you needed back then!) were Dave Statter, Channel 5's Paul Wagner, and the man the Washington Post dubbed "the Dean of Washington traffic reporters" and STILL working for and on WTOP after all these years, Bob Marbourg! This weekend Dave and I play a pretty big role in the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. weekend.firehero.org... We will anchor/host the coverage of a candlelight ceremony Saturday night and the actual memorial service Sunday. This year three local firefighters will be remembered as their names become a part of the wall in Emmitsburg. They were from Prince William County, DC and Baltimore. The Law Enforcement Memorial always gets a lot of play because it's in DC. This does not and should. There will be a live feed available if you guys are interested in running a link on our website. If you are - contact Dave and he can set you up. dstatter@wusa9.com. Thanks, Hillary (10/3/08) I watched Allison Seymour receive a flu shot on the air the other day, showed up the next day and then has been out the past two days. I sure hope she didn't have some sort of reaction to the shot. If so, that wouldn't be a great endorsement for getting a flu shot, huh? (10/3/08) I think it's funny to see people getting bent about the "Obama channel" on Dish Network. If you have a favorite channels list set up (my receiver has room for 4 such lists) the Obama channel is *not* automatically added to it, so you'd never even know it's there unless you're surfing on the "all channels" or "all subscribed channels" lists (which really would be a waste of time IMO). Besides, there's already an Al Gore channel masquerading as programming. And all those shopping channels pay for carriage, just like Obama did. I am curious about what it costs to buy a channel on Dish, but I think it's good that they have the room and flexibility to do temporary channels. ~~CA in BC (10/3/08) WMAL reported this morning that polls on evil lefty nets CBS and CNN show Biden winning the debate, but polls on wonderful righty net Fox and on GOP-friendly Drudge's site show Palin winning. The difference is that the CBS and CNN polls were scientific surveys, while the "polls" on Fox and Drudge were unscientific, in than anyone could "vote" as many times as they want. A "fine point" not mentioned by WMAL. (10/3/08) Dave's response: I just can't explain it. I've always liked Joe Biden. I'd rather go out on a date with him than Palin.....OK - but what's up with his eyes? - especially the outer corners...He is starting to look like Kirk in those old Star Trek episodes where Kirk wanted to be a klingon...or was it a vulcan? Biden's eyes looked a bit S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D :)... (10/3/08) Dave's response: Yes, Biden looks like he's had a facelift. A scary facelift. Imagine how "scary mean" he'd look when meeting with the Iranians or the North Koreans. That's a good thing..... Bad economic times are on the horizon - big time! WRC needs to bring back Marian Burros with some 21st Century Recession Recipes to stretch that family food budget, like she used to give in the inflationary 70s. (10/3/08) The new graphics package on WUSA is a total distraction. We have all told management the colors are nice, but way too much movement! They need to slow it down, it is making me sick with all the spinning! (10/3/08) Dave's response: I realize that all stations put graphics at the bottom of the screen, including their station's logo. But, when those logos are animated, like the one 9's now using on its newscasts, it too often draws one's eyes away from the programming. When tuned to Fox News, I too often find myself watching that little "turning box" in the left corner - missing the GOP propaganda of Carl Cameron! Why distract viewers away from your "news" programming? Re: “But Biden looked presidential.”...Oh really? Looking at him I can only see evil. The lies that man has told, pure evil! (10/3/08) Dave's response: Look, we finally need a president who can properly pronounce the word "nu-cle-ar." Like Bush, Palin says "nuc-u-ler." Sheesh..... Regardless of Gwen Ifill's book deal for Obama, she did awful trying to moderate the VP debate. She grasped that neither candidate answered most questions, but failed to pin them down or interrupt the inevitable Palin strategy "I want to talk about this instead" as she plugged in her prepared answers and gave us her "wink" to show she's just one of us. (10/3/08) I contacted Dish Network customer service to inquire as to why I should be paying for an "Obama" channel when I don't support him and don't intend to. They gave me the usual "The opinions and proposals expressed on Mr. Obama's channel are not necessary those of Dish Network or its employees. The channel was paid advertising space by Senator Obama." Really? well Dish could have refused to accept the money under the realization that having a dedicated channel for one particular candidate DOES give the impression of a bias, even if that may not be the case. Now, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that if John McCain did the same thing they would air his channel as well. But if Obama is willing to spend this kind of money on Dish Network to promote his campaign...imagine how much money he will spend if he gets in office as President. Doesn't matter really, we're screwed no matter who wins this ridiculous election. I'm going to vote because too many good men and women have died to give me that freedom, but my choices this year are pretty pathetic when you break everything down. We've gone from George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama or John McCain???? To quote Lewis Black, 'pretty soon, we'll be voting for plants." GK in Timonium (10/3/08) Come ON, Dave! The day Joe Biden looks Presidential will be a cold day in Hell! He's BARELY looked Senatorial during his entire tenure. Ronald Reagan, Jack Kennedy... even Bill Clinton... looked Presidential. But, Joe Biden? The greatest thing, IMHO about last night's debate is that it was forensically correct and very, very even! There was no air of acrimony and, in fact, I sensed two people presenting very divergent points in a literate, positive manner. Gwen Ifill, for the first time, came across as HUMAN, instead of her usual cold, aloof persona. I'm sorry, the earlier anonymous (scared and unconvicted) poster is just plain wrong about the evening. To the "youngster" who asked about WMAL, I believe it was around 1986 or '87 that WMAL phased out the last of it's music programming. And, no... WTOP, nor any other station in the market, ever avoided saying a temperature with another station's frequency. We were smarter than that. WTOP was also a ratings non-entity back in those days! That station really stayed in the middle of the pack until Jim Farley took over the programming. WMAL's closest competition in the 1970's and 80's was WASH-FM, whose adult/contemporary format, engaged personalities and fully-staffed news department was the closest thing to an FM version of WMAL. Both stations had walls of AP, Major Armstrong, Marconi and RTNDA awards. And, they really took "scooping" each other seriously! WASH-FM was just more upbeat musically and in the personality presentation. With the exception of Tom Gauger, who could've transitioned to WASH-FM in a heartbeat, WMAL tended to be a bit more "old school," but always a "winner!" ER (10/3/08) Dave's response: I just can't explain it. I've always liked Joe Biden. I'd rather go out on a date with him than Palin..... Some DC radio questions about days gone by: When did WMAL stop playing music? How long was Frank Harden on WMAL after Jackson Weaver passed away? Did WTOP ever avoid giving the temperature on-air as "63" and instead said "62" or "64", so as not to plug WMAL? (10/3/08) Here's my take on the V.P. Debate. The people who liked Sarah Palin before the debate, will still like her and the people who didn't, won't. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of the proceedings is that most viewers will not grasp the significance of or the distinction between actually answering a question versus merely responding to a question - which is exactly how Palin played it. Based on her previous performance in recent interviews, where she utterly botched her answers, I'm sure that viewers came away from this debate wondering just who the hell the woman onstage tonight was?!? A few times tonight, I had to look closely at the TV just to be sure they hadn't somehow snuck Tina Fey into the hall and put her behind Palin's podium! What we witnessed this evening was the performance of a perky, photogenic candidate whose head was stuffed full with tepid rice pudding, mixed with standard G.O.P. boilerplate and canned talking points. Moderator, Gwen Ifill, must've been on some Limbaugh-quality painkillers, after breaking her ankle the other day because I've never seen her less sharp and more off her game, as a journalist. It's too bad that this was the sole vice-presidential debate in this election cycle, since Palin's handlers will likely keep her tightly under wraps, between now and November 4th. At the very least, we can expect them to limit access to her to just a reliable few, in the right-wing media. So, who won this thing? A group of nearly 500 uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight, scored it this way: Biden 46%, Palin 21%, Tied 33%. Those numbers seem to accurately reflect the ability of viewers to recognize "shine" versus "substance". (10/3/08) Dave's response: Both performed well. Palin looked like a sweetheart mom. Very personable. But Biden looked presidential. That's what I thought..... YO DAVE, 1st off that you -tube w/grandma and the cable switch was funny as shit like you said. 2nd. Not sure which hand to use but The pix of sarah palin on msn makin' an "O" works. Finally did anyone else see MS. Martucci this week in her full figured outfit." HFS" and I don't mean the old radio station.. Last but not least Here's to NINO GREASEMANALI and Al SANTOS for getting back to business... I should do the same. Put down the bottle and pick up the MIC...... A.M.F. From DELMARVA....... (10/3/08) Hey, Just wanted to let you know that 9 has new graphics now, with more blue now. Big changes to the weather too... www.wusa9.com.... Red is gone. The live doppler channel has the new graphic too. Just wanted to let you know and thanks for all you do. Chase, Luray (10/3/08) Dave's response: Is the switch from red to blue a message that 9's going to a more "blue state" (Republican) stance with its news? Hmmm..... So..if the rumors are true and Brian Wilson is indeed gone from HFS, why was there still the Brian Wilson theme song played today? I would think if you knew a host was leaving you would get the sounds of the show changed to reflect the new host. Are they really that stupid or is the management just that ignorant of what is being played on their own station. Sounds like a stunt to me. (10/3/08) Dave's response: It's not a rumor. It's pretty much confirmed..... (Can you even hear 980 after sunset at the Redskins compound in Ashburn?) No you can’t. Which brings up a question. Why does Bonneville-WTOP still need with the 104.3 FM repeater (of 107.7) in Leesburg since 103.5 comes in loud in clear into Loudoun County? You’d think they could sell it to Red Zebra, or WMAL (if that’s allowable for an AM station) since the Bonneville station is no longer in talk radio. (10/3/08) Comcast decided to trigger a test of the Emergency Broadcast System just as Joe Biden is giving his final answer during the debate? What in the world??? (10/3/08) /\ October 3 Messages /\ \/ October 2 Messages \/ Is anyone having any problems with the XM On Line Player? I received a couple of emails from a friend of mine, saying she was unable to access the player (that the "quick-tune" feature wasn't working! I tried it myself about a half an hour ago; the player window does come up..but no channels! Have an idea they're revamping that thing; I just hope they don't make it inaccessible to those of us who rely on screenreading software! Tom in Denton, MD (10/2/08) Ah yes, those were the days - when Oprah was not biased. But then the 'race card' came to town, trumping all. In the 2000 election she had both Bush & Gore on. She allowed both to come on and let her viewers decide who they would vote for. Bush pecked her on the cheek and a whole lotta women went "Awwwww!!!" & it really helped Bush in the polls. At that time Gore was ahead by, I believe, 10 points. After her show, Bush went up 8 points. She interviewed both Bush and Kerry in 2004. She knows that Palin would do extremely well and it could make a difference in the voting booth. Oprah’s afraid to have another woman on the show who might actually trump her. -Silvie- (10/2/08) Oprah is STILL doing the "People are Talking" show with Richie Sher... at least on YouTube! www.youtube.com (10/2/08) Dave's response: OK, an Afro on Oprah. But an Afro on Richard Sher? That's just strange..... The facts are Winfrey has not hosted Obama on her show since he began his presidential campaign. Last year, Winfrey said she decided when she endorsed Obama, not to use her show, in her words, "as a platform for any of the candidates." Oprah has kept that pledge, and has kept off Hillary, Obama, Biden, Romney, McCain, etc while they were running for President. This Oprah dissing Palin fight thing was a made up story sent to Drudge for publicity and Chris Plante was all over it, ignoring the Oprah pledge, and ignoring the fact that Oprah kept Obama off her program after he started his Presidential campaign. Oprah once did the news or something in Baltimore. (10/2/08) Dave's response: Didn't Oprah once co-host the "People Are Talking" talk show with Richard Sher on Channel 13/WJZ? New graphics start today at 5PM on Channel 9! (10/2/08) It appears that WUSA9 is ditching their current graphics/music for new ones. It appears the launch will happen at 5pm today. Gone is the enforcer and in with the new! Eric, Annandale (10/2/08) RE: "If I read your post correctly, and you assume that conservative women are dumbasses, then that's when producers like Barbara Walters should put them up front & center in order to show America what 'complete dumbasses' these 'unintelligent conservative women' really are. " - I wasn't saying that all conservative women were dumbasses but just the ones that you mentioned. Truly conservative women who just went out and sanely debated the issues should have no problem attracting an audience at least I wouldn't think. Coulter, Malkin and the like all at a round table. NO WAY. I think you would agree that wouldn't work. That's why Rosie is so unappealing (ok, one of several reasons why) is because of her extreme shock value viewpoints. The best part of the debate the other night and why I'm so looking forward to the one tonight is just hearing what the candidates have to say without all of the talking heads. (10/2/08) great commercial on WTOP this AM - Something about "all the great things in life, and do you know what makes them possible?" "Fertilizer." Probably for the Fertilizer Board or some such group, but that was certainly enough to make me drop my toothbrush. (10/2/08) I'm wondering how many XM subscribers who get the ''best of'' Howard Stern are going to be deeply disappointed in how bad he's become. I'm sure there will be those who like constant bodily fluid jokes and even entire contests about bodily fluids but it's getting to the point where it's kinda sad to see a guy who used to be so relevant and topically funny reduced to sounding like a awful parody of himself. I bought Sirius for him and he WAS great for a while but it's easy to see him waiting to ride off into the sunset on top of his giant sacks of money. Paul (10/2/08) (Obama Channel On Dish Network - 10/2 - The Politico tells us that channel 73 on Dish Network is now all-Obama all-the-time. The Democrat's presidential campaign has bought the channel space and is running a two-minute ad over-and-over.....) why waste money on something like this when literally 90% of the MSM is all-messiah, all-the-time? (10/2/08) Dave said “Interesting how that new ESPN 980 TV ad campaign makes no mention of 92.7 or 94.3. If you're listening from much of Northern Virginia or western Montgomery, you ain't gonna hear 980 too well at night. Can you even hear 980 after sunset at the Redskins compound in Ashburn?” I live in Leesburg, and can’t reliably get any of the 3 frequencies. 94.3 seems to compete with some classic rock-ish station, and the mix of stations seems to change depending on how high up I am. The top of a hill gives me Red Zebra, bottom of the hill gives me classic rock, and in between it’s an ugly mess of the two. (10/2/08) Dave's response: Yeah, the 94.3 signal is from Warrenton, and starts to fade out as you go north into central and northern Loudoun..... "Katie, a woman and a UVA grad, already showed us Sarah is a dumbass. As for Sarah not being allowed on Oprah, no Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate will appear on Oprah this season; Oprah mad that decision long ago. The controversy over Sara "not being allowed" was manufactured by the RNC." Hmmm. I believe its "Oprah made" and "The controversy over Sarah". Spell check is so simple, even a dumbass can use it. (10/2/08) "The Politico tells us that channel 73 on Dish Network is now all-Obama all-the-time." DIRECTV has the same thing on channel 356 (MSNBC). (10/2/08) "Katie, a woman and a UVA grad, already showed us Sarah is a dumbass." Is that the same UVA where all the smart Obama students go? (10/2/08) Au contraire, mon frère. Oprah made the decision not to have Palin on as a guest on Aug. 29th - the day that Palin was chosen VP by McCain. She then decided against having anyone on either ticket on her show this season after being severely criticized by some in her own staff and by the rest of the country. As far as the Canada-Coulter comment: Whatever, Eh? I've been to the maritime provinces several times as well as Montreal and I consider them extensions of Maine and New Hampshire anyway.... -Silvie- (10/2/08) not sure what everyone's talking about with this, but it's only if you want the "higher quality" listening that you have to pay. there's a "launch player" button right to the left of the dude sitting there on the left of the page. john (10/2/08) Getting ready for that ol' analog-to-digital TV conversion...maybe not... (10/2/08) Dave's response: Fucking funny! Katie, a woman and a UVA grad, already showed us Sarah is a dumbass. As for Sarah not being allowed on Oprah, no Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate will appear on Oprah this season; Oprah mad that decision long ago. The controversy over Sara "not being allowed" was manufactured by the RNC. An example of why Coulter is toxic is when she declared “There is also something called, when you're allowed to exist on the same continent of the United States of America, protecting you with a nuclear shield around you, you're polite and you support us when we've been attacked on our own soil. They [Canada] violated that protocol.” She was referring to Canada refusing to help in the invasion of Iraq. The fact was, at the time Coulter was slamming Canada concerning their questioning Bush’s WMD claims, the Canadians had almost 5,000 troops helping in Afghanistan. The Canadian government simply refused to provide Canadian troops for the Iraq debacle. Does any TV executive want to sign off on a daily broadcast of this misinformation and crap? (10/2/08) I just saw a rundown on allaccess.com of who's taking over some of the management at Sirius XM, and then I looked at the corporate leadership, and they're all MEN. What the heck? (10/2/08) Dave's response: Hey, don't recent studies show that something like 90 percent of American radio station management jobs are held by men. By the way, will the man who runs WBIG please kick the audio processor. Your station sounds like mush today..... To "The View" anonymous poster: Then why, if Coulter, Ingraham, Malkin and the others are such an 'embarrassment' to women and to the Republican Party -- then why is it that they are not invited to these shows, like The View and Oprah, in order to make complete "fools" of themselves on national TV? Ingraham co-hosted The View last year, clashed with Behar and Whoopi, and has not been invited back. Sarah Palin has not and will not be invited on either The View or Oprah. If I read your post correctly, and you assume that conservative women are dumbasses, then that's when producers like Barbara Walters should put them up front & center in order to show America what 'complete dumbasses' these 'unintelligent conservative women' really are. -Silvie- (10/2/08) OK, just curious...when 94.3FM goes off the air for no particular reason -- as it did from about midnight last night until some time after 8am this morning, and as it seems to do for shorter periods on a pretty regular basis -- do advertisers actually pay their bills to the station? And, if so, what the hell for? How does a station that goes dark for EIGHT SOLID HOURS stay in business? Little Danny Snyder needs to crack the frickin' whip! (10/2/08) Dave's response: Interesting how that new ESPN 980 TV ad campaign makes no mention of 92.7 or 94.3. If you're listening from much of Northern Virginia or western Montgomery, you ain't gonna hear 980 too well at night. Can you even hear 980 after sunset at the Redskins compound in Ashburn? apparently change in the guard at the post has dan snyder freaking out about redskins coverage: www.washingtonian.com (10/2/08) Shocked and Surprised......... I'm really starting to like WBFF FOX 45's HD News presentation, even their Morning News. It's already a better show than what WMAR 2 is doing on the cheap in the morning and I have to admit, once you watch something in HD, you tend to get annoyed by the, ummmm, BLURRY NEWS on the OTHER stations. And maybe I heard it wrong, but I could have sworn I saw WBFF FOX 45 advertise HD Chopper video coming soon. Has Sinclair signed a deal with WUSA 9 ? Does WUSA 9 have an HD camera on their chopper? I find it hard to believe that Sinclair's FOX 45 has purchased or even rented part-time use of a helicopter. But then again stranger things have happened.... WMAR 2 once had a chopper in the 1980s if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, no one saw it over head, on-air, or would have probably noticed if it had even crashed! HAha! :-) (10/2/08) On 10/1, a concerned John wrote: "It's too bad that Orpheus is closing its doors. Is there any hope that the store might find a new location instead of going out of business? JOHN IN STAFFORD" To which DCRTV Dave responded: "Well, maybe Orpheus could move into one of the former Olsson's storefronts. Like the one down the road, at Arlington's Courthouse....." Orpheus is history. Rick wants to retire and he does not wish to relocate again. If the owner's of the building had been willing to let him stay there another year or so, he would have remained open (they re-let his unit and the two adjacent units last week to an Irish pub chain). Heck, at least he got to stay 7 months later than the original exit date - and that resulted in us only having to move 60,000 records instead of 140,000 records (800 fewer boxes). Thanks for your concern, regardless. Orpheus' last day is still scheduled for October 12th! Carl at Orpheus (10/2/08) Dave's response: That Olsson's crack was just a joke..... Billy Bush AND Michael Phelps? WOW. I'm...I'm.....wondering what else I can listen to besides THAT! Paul (10/2/08) Veteran DC broadcaster Jim London (WMZQ, WBIG) underwent four hours of dangerous, emergency surgery Saturday morning at INOVA Mount Vernon Hospital. London's appendectomy was compounded by an infection in the adjacent cecum. Access to the inflamed appendix was obstructed by surgical mesh from a 1992 hernia operation. The mesh had broken loose and bunched in a ball "the size of a consultant's head" according to London. Jim has the highest praise for surgeon Dr. Mary Helen Hill and the dedicated staff at Mount Vernon plus words of cauition for anyone with outdated surgical mesh in their gut. "If your mesh has shifted", says London, "don't ignore it. An appendix on the verge of bursting is frightening enough but when the surgeon can't get to it, your time could run out." According to Dr. Hill, the use of permanent surgical mesh has been eliminated in favor of a safer, biodegradable mesh. Thirteen months of unemployment had given Jim plenty of time to get back in the gym. He had lost a considerable amouint of weight and built lots of new muscle when he was hospitalized. He believes this foundation of strength, coupled with the love and support of his wife, Mary and kids Mike and Laura, is an enormous aid to his recovery. Jim has been looking for work outside of radio but nothing would please him more than getting back on the air and reuniting with his many fans. His resume and aircheck are available at wingraphics.com (10/2/08) DOH!! Jeff in New Freedom - thanks for the information! You saved me an embarrassing phone call to Sirius. The advice from Jeff is correct - they moved the free service towards the bottom of the page. Listening rightnow to DJ Magic Matt on Totally 70's. JohnInEssex (10/2/08) GoodTV was ok when I first bought my HD in late 2006, but the lineup got worse and worse. RTN is much better. I hope WBFF puts up something else since I already receive RTN from WJLA. Howie (10/2/08) jefe moves to atlanta - This time from Jefe himself: www.hideoutheretics.net (10/2/08) (We have determined that the charges are for those who listen via the online service...) Only if you want the "CD Quality Sound" - the standard sound is still available for free to subscribers at the link and sign in on the left. I'm listening just fine without paying anything extra. (10/2/08) Some help to the poster who says you have to pay to listen to Sirius online, even if you are a subscriber, not true. I am a Sirius radio subscriber & I am listening right now online w/ no problems. Maybe the confusion is they have changed the listen online page. Scroll down & look on the left above the picture of the guy w/ the laptop & headphones. The orange "Launch Player" button is there. Push it & connect……..Also, I think Greg said a "plummeting" Kirk & Mark show. How can it be plummeting when it has never had any ratings @ 105.7? Those dudes are done, what a waste of time & money by CBS radio to bring the 2 of them over & pay them big $$$. I guess they will be following Brian Wilson out the door next. Have a good day. Jeff - New Freedom, PA (10/2/08) Dave's response: We have determined that the charges are for those who listen via the online service. See the post below..... It used to be that there was an option for Sirius subscribers to receive most of the channels (50's-80's, The Pulse, Classic Rewind and Vinyl, etc.) for free online, using a logon id and password provided by Sirius. Now all long term access online has to be paid for, according to the website www.sirius.com... Thanks, John (10/2/08) Former DC radio guy, now national TV show Access Hollywood host, & relative of the Pres., Billy Bush is coming to Baltimore to host the Michael Phelps Welcome Home Celebration at Baltimore's Fort McHenry which will be televised live by WBAL TV at 7pm on Saturday. A parade for all of Maryland's Olympians in Towson will preceed the televised event, not sure if any local TV is taping the parade, but I imagine parts of it will be shown during the WBAL TV show hosted by Billy Bush. Should be more info in The Sun in the coming days but Billy Bush is confirmed as host of the event so sort of a big deal by Baltimore standards hon. :-) (10/2/08) Hear that sound? That's another wheel falling off the 105.7 WHFS cart. Four years ago we had Howard Stern, Out to Lunch with Bill and Thrill (then Miles and Thrill), and The Don & Mike Show. Now we have a plummeting Kirk & Mark show (which for some reason is always talking politics every minute now), Troy Johnson...who?, Brian Wilson....oh wait, not Brian Wilson anymore, Ed Norris...criminal, and the Baltimore Orioles...the new Tampa Bay "Devil Rays" of the AL East cellar. Wow, what a stellar lineup! Where's my iPod? Greg in Reisterstown (10/2/08) Long time reader, first time mailbagger...When attempting to listen to my Sirius sattelite radio online this morning, I was outraged to find out that I will now have to pay for this service that previously was "free" as part of the subscription package. This is the thanks I get for paying upfront for service through August of 2010. JohnInEssex (10/2/08) Dave's response: What specific channel(s) do you now have to pay extra for? A poster writes "I thought it was hysterical seeing a post re: Don Geronimo. I mean, who cares?" It is a long standing unwritten rule of the DCRTV Mailbag that the "Radio God" must have his name somewhere on the current mailbag page. Why mess with tradition? (10/2/08) The “View “is an entertainment program designed to appeal to women. The show is built around a timeless successful concept. Find opinionated, loud mouth people with completely different views, and discuss the issues of the day. It is a modern day “point counter point” for women. If you listen very close you will see that most of the show is well scripted. There is no way you can tell me that Joy Behar and Elizabeth Hasselback are that ignorant. One is left, and one is right, but the rest is entertainment. These people get paid a lot of money to be lighting rods on the air. That is why Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly make millions. They are entertainers. They may lean one way or another politically, but they know the key to success in the shock jock world is to “shock”. (10/2/08) Dave's response: Did anyone see "Johnny Drama" do "The View" on "Entourage"? Damn, "Entourage" and "Californication." Great new seasons, so far. "Dexter," too. Oh, Joy Behar was in a Woody Allen movie. "Husbands And Wives," I think..... Re: Pirates or skip? They're playing easy listening? Traditional jazz? Nostalgia--on FM? They must be pirates! Commercial stations are too busy repeating the same few consultant-approved songs to venture into formats like that. I wish those stations would set up repeaters in Baltimore. ~~CA in BC (10/2/08) RE: [ " Dave's response: Well, Neil Cavuto has admitted giving dough to the GOP, and he still gets to interview Bush on Fox News " ]......... IT'S THE ONLY VP DEBATE DAVE, NOT AN INTERVIEW, BIG DIFFERENCE. DUH! Please wake up. Sorry, but that comment is just plain dumb and irrelevant. And the huge outrage over Palin being sequestered away from mainstream media...... Where was the outrage from the MSM when Obama was dodging debate requests all summer long?!?!?! Can you say hypocrisy? Thank you. I rest my case. :-) (10/2/08) RE: "I can’t understand why, for the life of me, a few conservative women like Malkin, M. Kelly, Ingraham, Coulter, M. Morgan etc. don’t produce a similar show and pitch it to another network. Show people what intelligent, informed women really act and sound like." - Well, Plante Poster (the talk radio host that only you seem to care about) the reason that idea has never been pitched is because none of those women are informed or intelligent. Coulter makes for great TV for a few minutes on the Today show or other outlet but her "views" are too over the top and downright offensive for her to have her own show. Coulter, Malkin and the like are giant attention whores who play the conservative point to feed their egos and to make true conservatives look like dipshits by association. Those women should be an embarrassment to the Republican party and probably are which is why not even the dumbest TV executive would ever sit them all down together for a TV show. (10/2/08) I have found four to five possible pirate stations that can be heard easily at my home in Arlington. There is a station at 104.7 that has been on for years playing easy listening music. I've also heard a station at 97.5 that plays uncensored hip hop and go-go. Now I have discovered two new pirates that come in so strong, they are interfering with other local stations. One is 101.7, which plays traditional jazz. This station kills B101.5 and Lite 102 for me. The next one is 102.9, which plays nostalgia music, which kills Jack FM and WRNR for me. I'm also getting a totally blank signal at 102.1, which have something to do with harmonics, but it's causing interference to Magic 102.3. Finally there's a station I've never heard before at 92.9. At 10 PM this evening, they were playing a talk radio show called the Mike Malloy Show. Checking his website, he seems to have no affiliates here. Another pirate perhaps? Anyway if anyone is out in Arlington or in NW DC, so if you can catch these stations. While I think it's a little bit cool to have so many pirates, it's not cool that I can't listen to Jack or WRNR because of them. (10/2/08) Dave's response: Yesterday, when I tried to tune in the WTMD 105.5 relay from Great Falls I, instead, got a station from southern Virginia. You know, there was a weather front draped over the area yesterday. Heck, we even got 10 minutes of hail here at the DCRTV World HQ at about 1 PM. With strange weather like that, you can get FM skip, or tropo ducting, or whatever they call it. Which brings in distant stations from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Are you still getting those signals today? /\ October 2 Messages /\ \/ October 1 Messages \/ To the poster about The View, Sherri Shepherd is probably closer to Elizabeth Hasselbeck in terms of point of view than anybody else on the show. I watched it yesterday for the first time in years to see Bill Maher interviewed and the lines were clearly defined. Perhaps it seems like the show is much more liberal because the liberal voices are the loudest, Joy Behar and Whoopi and Rosie before that. (10/1/08) So I was at Harmony Hut the other day and they've shrunk the CD bins down to just a couple in the back corner, marked "clearance" with slots cut in the jewel box cases with a hot knife. Does this mean anything? Meantime their LP stock has just about taken over the store, and they've got a huge rack of blank open-reel tapes to make educational recordings. (10/1/08) Dave, I wanted to ask your opinion as well as to 'pitch' something to TV executives, either locally in DC or in network news. After watching a portion of "The View" today, in which four liberal women (Whoopi, Joy, Sherri and Barba) 'gang up' on the one conservative (Elizabeth) -- I can’t understand why, for the life of me, a few conservative women like Malkin, M. Kelly, Ingraham, Coulter, M. Morgan etc. don’t produce a similar show and pitch it to another network. Show people what intelligent, informed women really act and sound like. Sheesh, is there only room for Oprah and The View in women’s tastes in television? Does it take 4 liberal women to counter 1 conservative one? Look at what Joy Behar called Sarah Palin today (in minute 1:14 in this video) and you'll see what I'm talking about: www.youtube.com... -Silvie- (10/1/08) Wasn't Elaine Stein also a regular on the old WJZ 13 SQUARE OFF local political debate show hosted by Richard Sher years back? Boy do I miss that show with this current piss poor <30% approval ratings Gov. RockBand and this Constellation Energy debacle and Maryland budget crisis and tax increases. I'd bet Elaine Stein would have ripped boyband wannabe Gov. Marty O'Malley a new one by now, that's for sure! Miss you Elaine. :-( (10/1/08) It's too bad that Orpheus is closing its doors. Is there any hope that the store might find a new location instead of going out of business? JOHN IN STAFFORD (10/1/08) Dave's response: Well, maybe Orpheus could move into one of the former Olsson's storefronts. Like the one down the road, at Arlington's Courthouse..... To the poster that said Sportstalk 980's Kevin Sheehan talks to much and has a lisp? I've listened to that show and while I agree there is no chemistry between Sheehan and Doc Walker, he doesn't have a lisp. He is one of the only clear speaking people on that station and his insight is runner up to Steve Czaban's. Agree that he is a bad match for Walker. He was much better with Riggins who in fairness, is a better intellectual match than Walker. The biggest nonsense talker on the station is still Andy Pollin who really knows very little about sports. The best match for Walker should be someone less combative while Sheehan should replace Pollin. (10/1/08) Dave- 105.9 has been announcing and giving away tickets for the Imus show for over 2 weeks. Can’t claim a scoop on that one. See Shannon or web page for details. So how is Lobel doing at WODS Boston? How are listeners reacting to the revival of Bob the sports legend on the radio? How is Dorman holding up in his new weekend gig? Thanks , DJ Gordon from Maryland (10/1/08) Dave's response: It is a "first" for us. We are the first media organization to report it. Ha ha ha! Don't know how Lobel is doing on WODS. Any New Englanders want to chime in? I thought it was hysterical seeing a post re: Don Geronimo. I mean, who cares? Not seeing his name in print is like an early morning constitutional. Relief, happiness and a warm feeling all over. (10/1/08) Here is What 94.7 The Globe should be like… www.981theriver.com... Also, I just read on the mailbag a reference to Joe Sanchez from his Winchester, VA radio days, he has been the morning guy on 97.7 The Rocket down here for close to a year now. They are at www.977therocket.com and play a great variety of Active Rock. It has much more variety than the average rock station these days. Smokin’ Joe replaced Mojo who went back to Fargo, ND and has done an awesome job with The Rocket. Dean in Southern MD (10/1/08) This isn't really speculation anymore, but El Jefe is leaving his Tampa Bay PD and on-air gig for Atlanta's rock station Project 961 where he'll join the Giant Show with former R&F producer Giant Brian and old Michigan friend Shafee. El Jefe had done a test show on that station earlier last year with J-Dubs. No word yet on when he starts. More here: hideoutheretics.net (10/1/08) Geez Geromino, you could of at least said hi. *LAUGH* (10/1/08) Dave's response: That post has been removed at the request of the sender..... Rush also detailed “Ifillgate” on today’s program. It is kind of amazing – she has a financial stake in the outcome of the election (the book is subtitled “Politics and Race in the Age of Obama” and comes out on Inauguration Day), and they are letting her moderate one of the debates. Do you think if Brit Hume put out a book called “(Anything) in the Age of McCain” they would let him moderate one of the debates? (Didn’t think so…) The double-standard for liberals in this country is truly astounding. (10/1/08) Dave's response: Well, Neil Cavuto has admitted giving dough to the GOP, and he still gets to interview Bush on Fox News..... I have a suggestion - while watching or listening to the debate between Biden and Palin, take a drink everytime one of them makes a gaffe. If we do that, maybe we'll be too drunk to notice that neither of them has the chops to be president. Gawd what a choice - either the crazy uncle who says goofy things at the drop of the hat, or the "hockey mom" who thinks foreign policy amounts to being able to see Russia from her home state. (10/1/08) Where can I download the application-try out/'soft-core porn' Videos of the FOX'News' female news readers? :-) (10/1/08) Dave's response: Try www.rogerailesangels.com..... (Regarding today's Rant:) I would surmise that this occurred due to a “double fade” in their Ku-band satellite signal reception from PBS. Since their receive site is not very far from the PBS origination uplink, a storm such as last night will simultaneously cover that whole area with heavy rain. In that case, the uplink from PBS to the satellite suffers a rain fade and the downlink from the satellite to WETA suffers a rain fade. Hence a “double fade” that can easily cause loss of the satellite signal. Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC do not originate their satellite uplinks in the DC area to my knowledge, so their local stations probably very rarely experience a double fade on Ku-band feeds. (10/1/08) Last minute addition to the 94.7 playlist: The Bee Gees with "the Lorena Bobbit Song": technorati.com (10/1/08) To Silvie, Re: "...I think that Gov. Palin will be able to handle herself quite well in front of Ms. Ifill." I can't wait to see that. If she actually handels herself during the debate, her rating will go up. George Carlin (10/1/08) A portion of a previous post. “NBC also uses ku, (satellite band) but, last time I checked, WRC had a reciprocal arrangement with WBAL in Baltimore to share downlink signals by way of a terrestrial circuit- it's VERY unlikely that there would be severe weather that would take out BOTH Baltimore and Washington downlinks.” Isn’t WRC’s master control switching done from New York? (10/1/08) Dave- To some who visit this site, 40 years in radio is still a rookie, but my friend Charlie Cole (WINX-FM evenings) is celebrating his 40th anniversary in radio today. Al in Annapolis (10/1/08) Dave, I think that Gov. Palin will be able to handle herself quite well in front of Ms. Ifill (with or without bias), and actually, will handle herself better than Sen. Obama would even dream of handling himself in front of the likes of Hannity, Hume, John Gibson - even Greta. We already witnessed the disastrous interview he did with O'Reilly. Gettin' my Smirnoff Light Ice bottles ready for a great debate tomorrow night! -Silvie- (10/1/08) Re: Andy Parks yadda yadda. Excuse me for not giving much of a damn when an admittedly biased propagandist criticizes an actual journalist. Weird how he assumes her race will determine her bias, huh? Parks should go back to fanning the flames of mindless xenophobia -- he was pretty good at that. Dave in Sterling (10/1/08) Here's a photo of the card announcing the demise of Sinclair's "Good TV": it's been "retired to make way for an exciting new channel". Is this any way to run a TV station? Pull the plug before having replacement programming lined up? Not that Sinclair ever showed any real interest in programming the subchannel: most of the time it was either informercials or a simulcast of WNUV. And considering that Sinclair pulled the plug on The Tube when the FCC's E/I rule went into effect for subchannels (rather than making the effort of inserting E/I programming), I expect they're looking for some completely canned service they can hook into and forget about. Exciting? New? I'm not betting on it. I am betting that they'll be showing that card for a long time. (10/1/08) According to Radio & Records (9/29/2008) re The Greaseman's return to Jacksonville radio this (Wednesday, October 1) afternoon: "He also currently hosts a Saturday morning show on Clear Channel alternative WWDC (DC101)/Washington." Sounds like he WILL "manage to continue" his DC101 Saturday show! From the Palatial Potomac Studios! I gotta go now and wipe the Grease off my knobs! (Yes, I still listen to analog radio! ;-) --RB (10/1/08) Dave's response: Yeah, my sources tell me that the Grease will do his Jacksonville radio show via ISDN phone line from his Potomac MD home, and will continue to do his Saturday morning show on DC101..... This just in... In the umpteenth attempt to find a winning format for their 94.7mHz outlet in DC, the suits from CBS have commissioned new recordings of vintage hits by the original artists to accommodate aging baby boomers. For example... +++ Herman's Hermits--- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker +++ Ringo Starr--- I Get By With a Little Help From Depends +++ The Bee Gees--- How Can You Mend a Broken Hip +++ The Commodores--- Once, Twice, Three Times to the Toilet +++ Leo Sayer--- You Make Me Feel Like Napping +++ Helen Reddy--- I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore +++ Marvin Gaye--- Heard It Through the Grape Nuts +++ and a crossover favorite from Willie Nelson--- On the Commode Again. Effective immediately, the station will drop "94-7 The Globe" in favor of a new brand: "94-7 The Grave". (10/1/08) Dave's response: I hear that CBS is pitching advertisers that 94.7 is the top-rated rock station in area nursing homes and at assisted living facilities. Even those four guys who listened to Schelby's show are gone, I'm told..... To the unsigned poster who claims that there are plenty of criticisms of Bush in Bob Schiefffer's America. Examples, please. In the meantime, let me quote from the book which expresses a pretty pro-Republican point of view: "I believed that President Bush had no choice but to disarm Saddam Hussein and that going to Iraq would bring America together. That didn't happen, and I came to believe we went to the wrong place with the wrong plan to fight the war on terrorism. But I also came to believe that once there a rapid withdrawal of our forces would lead to an even worse situation as we headed towards the 2008 elections . . . " Pretty scathing words--enough to make Bush cry, right? Not. ACH (10/1/08) (Labrozzi didn't MAKE him unplug. CBS couldn't come up with the bucks to KEEP him!) Good riddance. There are just so many uh’s and um’s a person can stand in one listen. May he be “Reasonable” elsewhere. Besides, this Mike (whatever his last name is) is a lot more informative. (10/1/08) Any chance the Junkies will come bact to HFS when the inevitable happens with the K & M show? I guess it all hinges on the pending auctions at CBS, huh? (10/1/08) Dave's response: My CBS Radio sources say that's highly unlikely. Plus, with 105.7 up for sale, it's highly likely that there'll be a new format with the new owner, who ever that might be..... To the poster who wrote: "...what midday talker did figurehead & stuffed suit Dave Labrozzi make unplug his isdn line?" Get your facts straight, dude! It's the other way around! Labrozzi didn't MAKE him unplug. CBS couldn't come up with the bucks to KEEP him! (10/1/08) In case you didn't know... The reason that WETA "loses" feeds from PBS on occasion is due the the frequency band that PBS uses to transmit programs to stations. PBS uses ku-band, which is in the 14 GHz range (much like DIRECTV and DISH), while ABC, FOX, and CBS use the more robust C-band frequencies (4-6 GHz). NBC also uses ku, but, last time I checked, WRC had a reciprocal arrangement with WBAL in Baltimore to share downlink signals by way of a terrestrial circuit- it's VERY unlikely that there would be severe weather that would take out BOTH Baltimore and Washington downlinks. PBS also has a "diversity" UPLINK site that allows them to re-route their signals in case of severe weather, as that can affect TRANSMISSION of signals as well as RECEPTION. NPR uses C-band, so we are far less susceptible to weather outages. The size of the downlink antenna also figures into this, which explains why DIRECTV and DISH network subscribers lose signal more often than the TV stations, who use much larger antennae. (10/1/08) Hey Dave – After reading your last rant regarding your mailman, what has happened to the Radio God since he was let go at the OC station? I was never a huge fan of the Don & Mike show but for some odd reason missed it when it was gone. Can’t get the Mike show as I’m in the Baltimore market, but really love the Ed Norris show anyway, so all is good with the world. (except mornings *&^$%&). And btw, great site. I stumbled across it when the rumors regarding Geronimo started last year. (10/1/08) Dave's response: Thanks! Very quiet from Geronimo of late. He's said he wants to go to Sirius XM, but CBSers tell me that he's still under contract to them until 2010. The rumblings I'm hearing from 106.7 are that there are more "happy campers" now that he's gone. Mike O'Meara has moved the afternoon show back to JFK's Fairfax studios, and is interacting heavily with the station's other shows - the Junks and BO&D. You'll recall that Geronimo moved the show to Rockville, to get away from many of the other JFKers..... RE: Winchester Radio... it’s been like that forever! Winchester gets its real radio from DC. “Don’t f*** with Barry Lee”, David Lewis’ final words to Centennial before he sold out. Not much substance, but let there be a wreck on Rt. 81! (10/1/08) Name one Schieffer criticism of Bush? Dozens (along with criticism of many democrats) in his new book, "Bob Schieffer's America". As for Ifell, she's the ultimate journalistic straight arrow. As we speak, she's bending over backwards to come up with tough questions for Obama, just to drive home the point. In fact, this whole "in the tank" syndrome has gone beyond dumb to just plain comical. I'd bet you could add up the time those folks have spent in an actual newsroom in minutes. What these reporters are in the tank for, are accolades of their peers and that means objectivity. This whole "hidden agenda" of reporters comes mainly from hacks who wouldn't recognize fairness and lack of bias if it bit them on their hyper-partisan asses. (10/1/08) Gwen Ifill is the most articulate and fair political moderator out there, IMHO. By articulate, I mean she speaks precisely, with as few words as possible, and then gets out of the way. Andy is a blow hard and can’t finish the day without saying “I mean” dozens of times. As for the Democrats boycotting a Fox News debate, if you watched the Fox Republican debate, you saw Chris Wallace ask hypothetical question after hypothetical question including a question about would you torture a person to get information if you knew NYC was going to be attacked in 30 minutes. After Chris interviewed Hillary Clinton, she and all those running for the Democratic ticket agreed to not answer hypothetical questions for anyone. This ban on answers appeared to be a result of Chris Wallace’s biased and tactical wording of questions. (10/1/08) Hey Dave, I saw your news blurb about Fox45 replacing Good TV with RTN. If I'm the DCRTVer from whom you're getting this info, and you reread my message, you'll see that I was only wondering if Ch.45.2 would flip over to RTN. I haven't heard or found any information online about what Fox45 plans to do with the channel. Sorry for any confusion. However, the title card with the message is correct, and it is still being shown, as of this morning. -Greg in Perry Hall (10/1/08) (regarding a previous post) "Are we forgetting that the Democrats totally boycotted Fox News from conducting a Democrat Presidential debate during this election cycle?" Well, I guess the Democrats just didn't want to get any of it on their shoes! By the way, this has nothing to do with whether Biden or Palin are brave enough and confident enough to show up on Thursday. (Well, Palin, maybe.) They'll both be there. The question here is: "How will Gwen Ifill do as the moderator?" and "How will Biden and Palin do as candidates responding to questions. That's really all there is to it. I'll be very curious to see if there are any examples of bias in Thursday night's debate that you will be posting about on Friday morning. (10/1/08) "Dave's response: Probably in this morning's "talking points." What do you bet we'll also hear the Ifill thingo from Chris Plant, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, too.....". How is this any different than the talking points that all liberal hosts get from organizations speaking about global warming, politically correct speech and other items that seem to suddenly blossom into the national dialogue without any warning? You can't possibly be that naive to think that all the liberal hosts, and for that matter the LAT, NYT, WP. NBC etc do their own research and come up with the same topic showing the same research at the same time. You are just annoyed that the tatics of the left are finally being volleyed back across the net at you. I suggest you duck. This game has gone to hardball. (10/1/08) Elaine Stein was a Baltimore radio icon for many years. Does anyone remember “the WCBM art gallery?” Roddy Freeman (10/1/08) Regarding the Gwen Ifill story. You liberals crack me up!!! Are we forgetting that the Democrats totally boycotted Fox News from conducting a Democrat Presidential debate during this election cycle???? You didn't seem to have a problem with that. The Republicans on the other hand were brave and confident enough in their beliefs to face the shills at MSDNC. The title of the book is called the Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. The book is a Big O and Dukes fapping for Obamaa nd not just a book on Black politicians. (10/1/08) Gwen Ifill in the tank for Obama? Must be because they're both black, right? Give me a frigging break! Yes, she's written a book about several black leaders of which Obama is one. And it comes out in January. Big deal. Grandy and Andy get their cues from whatever the morning headline on the Drudge Report says. Actually, you could disqualify any broadcast moderator as being in the tank for one party or another. For instance, let's start with Bob Schieffer of CBS who's scheduled to moderate a debate between Obama and McCain. He's best buds with Bush and has boasted about attending baseball games with Bush and playing poker with him. Bush named Schieffer's brother ambassador to Australia. And so on. Find me one criticism of Bush by Schieffer. There aren't any. Finally, Ifill's book has been publicly known about for months. So, get wise. This is just another last ditch attempt by the wing nuts to work the refs and lower expectations for the mooseburger gal. ACH (10/1/08) (regarding Andy Parks' notion that Gwen Ifill is "in the tank" for Obama) C’mon! Let’s get real here! Both campaigns freely gave their approval on all of the moderators, for all the debates this season. I know that McCain doesn't use a computer, but certainly someone in his organization at least "Googled" her name and knew that her book (about the new roles of Black politicians in today's world) had been in the works - for months. For years, surveys have reflected the public's opinion that PBS presents straight-ahead news programs. And, her panel show, "Washington Week" is a lively roundtable discussion of the week's political scene, that takes on all comers from all political parties, on all topics, with intelligent and reasoned dialogue. Even seeing the show a couple of times, would show the McCain folks that much. Parks is talking out of his fat ass! (10/1/08) So the NY Times and its MSNBC subsidiary think Palin is "confident but vague". Is that the opposite of Bill Clinton being confident and clear that he "did not have sex with that woman"? Where was the headline for that? The NYT and MSNBC really shows just how biased they are. Having practiced on Dan Quayle, no matter what she says, they will make a disparaging headline out of it. (10/1/08) Hi Dave, I never send mailbag messages to your site, although I've been a faithful reader for years. But this ridiculous news about Andy Parks & Gwen Ifill made me feel the need to comment. I find it absolutely ludicrous that Parks is calling for Gwen Ifill to be removed as moderator for the Vice Presidential debate on Thursday. Just because he and the absolutely delightful folks down at FOX News sometimes find it quite difficult to be fair & balanced, doesn't mean that other journalists have the same problem. I wonder, if Bill O'Reilly were going to be the moderator of this debate and it was revealed that he was writing a book about Vietnam War veterans who had transitioned into politics following the war, would good ol' Andy be as vocal in calling for a change in moderator? Oh that's right...the only person or thing Bill O'Reilly would ever write a book about is himself....never mind. To make my point, though. From her days with NBC and throughout her time with PBS, I've never known Gwen Ifill to be anything but fair. Granted, we don't exactly know her as well as so many of the other media talking heads we're subjected to on a constant basis. But just because Ifill is black and she's writing a book about black political leaders doesn't mean she's going to softball Biden on Thursday. To imply such a thing is not only an insult to Ifill and Joe Biden, but also a back-handed insult leveled at his own VP candidate, Sarah Palin. Is he so certain she's going to suck on Thursday night that he's grabbing at straws IN ADVANCE to explain why? Thanks! (10/1/08) I don't know if Andy Parks credited her or not but he clearly derived the "Ifill in the tank for Obama" talking points from Michelle Malkin. michellemalkin.com... Everett W. (10/1/08) Dave's response: Probably in this morning's "talking points." What do you bet we'll also hear the Ifill thingo from Chris Plante, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, too..... When the Lewis brothers decided to flip Winchester's Apple Country 104.9/105.5 to Real Classic Rock, they did so in the middle of the ratings "book." Despite that, Real Classic Rock, minus the country listeners, but gaining the classic rock crowd, still showed up in the book as the third-most-listened-to radio station in the Shenandoah Valley, behind sister station WINC-FM and CC's WUSQ-FM. Joe Sanchez was Classic Rock's morning drive personality, and soon earned statewide honors as "Best Morning Show" in Virginia. Some some strange reason, Joe was later moved to afternoon drive, and replaced by "The Bob and Tom Show." Ratings tanked. Joe is gone, and now...so are Bob and Tom. (10/1/08) Hi, Love your site. Here is some background on me before I make my point: I worked at the Record and Tape Exchange in College Park, Maryland, from 1987 to 1988, then at the University of Maryland Record Co-Op from 1988 until the store closed in mid-1990, and at a Kemp Mill store in College Park for a few months after that. I am not a shopper of Orpheus Records but I think it's safe to say that the vinyl market is definately NOT the reason he is closing. I frequently shop at the remaining Record and Tape Exchange in Fairfax and they are doing quite well with vinyl. I am always amazed at the amount of vinyl people are still buying and the amount of money they are paying -- I saw a kid pay $30 for one original Buzzcocks LP when you can have a Buzzcocks CD Box Set for the same price. I can't speak for the whole market but the Record and Tape Exchange in Fairfax is doing quite well -- better than that store did with the original owner. I usually go on Saturdays and there are always people buying vinyl in large quantities. If anything, vinyl is staging a resurgence -- how else can you explain kids under 20 buying vinyl in such numbers? When I worked at the Record and Tape Exchange in 1988, we used to call up Orpheus in Georgetown just to laugh at how high his prices were -- easily a good $10 to $20 more than what the then owner of the Record and Tape Exchange was charging for similar collectable vinyl titles. When we got in Zappa LPs, we'd find customers saying that Orpheus had the same titles in worse condition for a good $10 more a piece. We heard that kind of thing consistently. Record stores like this thrive or fail for a variety of reasons. Vinyl Ink had a lot of rare and cool stuff but not enough actual in store sales to make any money -- George tried hard to be hip at the expense of actually selling any product in the store as opposed of to collectors or on the internet; Yesterday and Today had a similar problem with even less reasonably priced merchandise in the store -- too many collectables, prices way too high; Joe's Record Paradise survives due to having a variety of products in the store despite sometimes high prices on vinyl -- I have been told that the owner has money so is not quite so dependent on the market; I'm sorry to see Olsson's go but the best store they had was in Georgetown and when that store went under, I stopped shopping at the chain. - Glenn (10/1/08) Thank you Jack Edwards for letting us know about the passing of Elaine Stein. I always enjoyed watching her with Richard Sher and the panel on "Square Off". I think the fun part was watching Richard's expressions whenever Elaine made one of her no holes barred comments. Bless her and will miss her. I had a chance to meet her one day while walking passed Danny's Restaurant in Mt. Vernon. She happened to be coming out at the same time I was passing by and it was great to finally shake hands with her. Regarding Nils Lofgren, I can remember watching him whip Howard Stern in a basketball game. These are the days when Howard's show was broadcast on WOR (on cable) "White Lies" is one of the best by GRIN. True WLPL song. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (10/1/08) Bob and Tom, yup. Dreadful in my opinion. They do well in the mid-west though for some reason. I can't see them lasting in Baltimore. The PPM - Am I wrong, but I thought that the PPMs were supposed to eliminate any racial anything and treat everyone as a number. The minority targeted stations have enjoyed a long ride with the inaccurate Arbiron diaries and if I'm not mistaken, the diaries are still "weighed" like the Census to count certain minorities more. When this practice was started it was to fill in for the people that weren't completing the diaries, but now they are being filled in and these folks are being double (not sure the actual count) counted. How else can you explain a station that targets a "minority' (under 25%) population, along with a bunch of competitors targeting that same group, being top rated. The PPM is reading it like it should be read (according to Arbitron) and now that those particular stations are dropping to the logical placement, the owners are screaming. I can't blame them for trying because it's a money thing, but for Obama to jump in? This isn't racism, it's reality and that's something that he should have a grip on. (10/1/08) I live in Arlington and got my Comcast bill yesterday. Included was a letter describing the cost increases effective November 1st. As you can guess the price of most everything goes up. (Please don’t get me started on Comcast’s billing, it only makes my blood boil.) The letter went on to say that ”Effective November 1, 2008, Digital Classic customers will receive 20 additional channels.” Because Comcast didn’t use the word “new” I’m guessing that these 20 additional digital channels will be just moving from the analog tier to digital. So I guess, the folks that subscribe to “standard service “will be paying more and getting fewer channels. Any explanation to the contrary is welcome. (10/1/08) Dave's response: I don't think Comcast is moving 20 channels from analog to digital. Instead, they are reconfiguring their existing "basic cable" digital offerings from two packages into one..... Both last night and again tonight, I noticed that WBFF-DT Ch.45.2 in Baltimore has had a title card saying "Good TV has retired to make room for an exciting new channel. Stay tuned!". I wonder if they are going to be a Retro Television Network (RTN) affiliate at some point. However, I looked at RTN's website www.rtnville.com, and there was no announcement or indication that RTN was going to be on the air in Baltimore. So, it may not be switching to that network anytime soon. -Greg in Perry Hall (10/1/08) We can only hope that Boneville gets CBS Baltimore. They could really do something with WHFS....IE making it Baltimore's WTOP, gutting the entire station, all talk hosts and replacing it with a wheel of news. Also, WQSR stays! It's got numbers and no overhead! (10/1/08) /\ October 1 Messages /\ \/ September 30 Messages \/ To Unsigned Corporate Suit: You are correct. Emmis got in over its head in the early 90’s and had to sell some stations. The one station that Emmis really did not want to sell but had to was WFAN in New York. Roddy Freeman (9/30/08) Now we have the Radio All Digital Channel Receiver Act in Congress. Another failed business wants to get artificially propped up by the gummint. Half-assed Digital radio not only doesn't work, it is a stupid concept. Did digital TV arrive crammed on top of analog TV? Did CDs arrive piggy-backed on LPs? Did email arrive on the back of a postcard? No! What is so brilliant about shoving a pitiful, puny digital signal into analog radio that people have to be forced to buy a receiver for it when they actually want to buy a receiver for something else? Instead of getting lawmakers to force this failure down our throats, the radio industry needs a whole new frequency band to hold proper, functional digital-only broadcasts and forget the miserable idiocy that is IBOC (aka HD Radio). ~~CA in BC (9/30/08) Long time Baltimore radio talk show/public service director, public tv show critic and much more. Elaine Stein passed away at the age of 85 at her retirement home in Santa Fe,New Mexico. Elaine worked most of her career at Baltimore's WCBM and retired at WBAL. She was a great interviewer with local and national celebrities, film and stage critic. Off the air, Elaine was famous for "telling it like it is" and would not hold back her thoughts on any subject or person. A nice lady that made the Baltimore airwaves sound very professional. Thanks, Jack Edwards (9/30/08) The Bob and Tom show? Am I the only one who thinks that is soooooo bad? -Mike (9/30/08) Dave, as per your front page, Steve Chenevey is offically the morning guy and will be on the 5-9am broadcast. I'd be curious as to whether this means that he and Allison will permanently anchor from 5-9. Or when Gurvir comes back, she will do the 5-7, Allison 7-9 and Steve the entire morning news from 5-9. Just wondering. (9/30/08) To Larry from Lewes, DL....I don't know where you get your information but there has never been a multi-million dollar morning show on any Baltimore radio station. Somebody has given you a lot of incorrect information...Anonymous because I have to be. (9/30/08) to the poster who wrote "People who live in glass houses: No...it is not "Ca-nett-i-kett Avenue"... it is "Conect-a-cut" Avenue... just as the name of the great Nutmeg/Constitution State is pronounced." you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. That si not the way that the Avenue, the state or the river is pronounced. (9/30/08) (Notable Quotable - 9/30 - "That bloated a-hole." A reference to a national midday talker on a "certain AM station" by WJFK-FM's Mike O'Meara this afternoon.) wow. project much mr. o'meara? and who forces you to listen to rush anyway? (9/30/08) IIRC, wasn't it an Emmis cash-flow crunch that Salem was able to take advantage of and buy WAVA from a number of years ago? Perhaps someone can confirm or correct this one? I was out of the area at the time that deal went down. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/30/08) Dave's response: I believe the sale of WAVA in the early 1990s had something to do with Emmis head Jeffrey Smulyan needing to raise quick cash to buy a baseball team. The Seattle Mariners? People who live in glass houses: No...it is not "Ca-nett-i-kett Avenue"... it is "Conect-a-cut" Avenue... just as the name of the great Nutmeg/Constitution State is pronounced. And, "cop" is an acronym for "Constable On Patrol," which dates back to the organization of the Metropolitan (London) Police Service by Sir Robert Peel in 1829. In fact, it Sir Robert's name the caused London "cops" to be called "Bobbies!" The use of the term "cop" is NOT pejorativeor insulting and a perfectly acceptable way to identify police officers. To those of us who hold little or no respect for those bloated, overpaid dullards, "flatfoot" is also acceptable! Now, start listening for the content they provide instead of whining about WTOP's tiniest peccadilloes. Sincerely, Mr. Know-it-All (9/30/08) Kinky neo con, The reason for the 2 days is for Rosh Hashnah, one the holiest days of the year for Jews. But, anti-semites like yourself are the only folks that would even think to broach the subject.Also, I know you don't care if 66 jews are not around to debate and vote, obviously the congress does! seig heil! (9/30/08) I must insist that the reports of Kemp Mill Music's demise are greatly exaggerated. They still have one DC store at 1309 F Street NW (2400 square ft at METRO CENTER), and one MD store at 3743 Branch Ave in Hillcrest Heights, (4100 square ft in a high-traffic strip center), for the time being anyway. www.kempmillonline.com (9/30/08) Guys.. enough already about WQSR returning to oldies. WQSR (JACK) was just # 3 for the month 25-54 behind ERQ and WWIN in the last trend. I doubt seriously they will take it back to oldies.. it wasn't even in the top 10 25-54 when they pulled the plug back in '05.. oh.. and it had a full time airstaff, including a multi-million dollar morning show! WQSR oldies sounds great right where it belongs.. on HD. Larry from Lewes, DL (9/30/08) Dave's response: QSR sounds a hell of a lot better than CBS's DC sister, the Globe. In fact, if Dan Mason had any brains, he'd do exactly what 102.7's doing on 94.7..... Thought I'd take a break from watching the American economy implode to ask if somebody at WTOP would PLEASE learn the meaning of the word "literally." Just because you want to add some emphasis to a sentence, that does NOT mean you drop in "literally." The word has an actual meaning. Saying Metro passengers "literally step on the platform" when getting off trains at the Minnesota Avenue station is just plain stupid. Saying "we're literally getting a lot of weather lately" doesn't make a damn bit of sense. And while you're at it, maybe you could brush up on proper titles/pronunciations for public officials and localities within your listening area -- they're police, NOT "cops;" it's pronounced Ca-nett-i-kett Avenue, NOT "Ganettigett;" it's a guberbatorial campaign, NOT "governatorial;" and Loudoun County is not only NOT the fastest growing county in the country, it hasn't been for several years. On the plus side, you guys are usually pretty accurate when it comes to telling time. (9/30/08) I heard Penguin Feather is going out of business. (9/30/08) Dave's response: Kemp Mill and Waxie Maxie's, too..... Now that 94.7 The Globe has gone back to a classic rock format, after a year and a half of the closest thing to AAA, any predictions of who will try AAA next in DC? (9/30/08) Dave's response: There is absolutely no hope for good rock radio in DC. None what-so-ever. By the way, I don't hate all radio companies. Just those that start with the letter "c"..... what midday talker did figurehead & stuffed suit Dave Labrozzi make unplug his isdn line? you got it first, more cuts than a rabbi briss training center soon to come. Oy Vey! (9/30/08) Not sure if it is up your alley, but it looks like all Olsson bookstores have closed. There’s a sign up at the one in Courthouse saying, “after 36 years…blah…blah.” Called 3 different stores and no answer. Website doesn’t say anything about closing. Still advertising events for October. Bummer. (9/30/08) It's been almost six months of Don & Mike Show withdrawal pains for me and I have to admit, I'm getting through them pretty well. I have downloaded a number of old podcasts and listen to them once in a while to remind me of the good times I had listening to D&M from 1993-2008. Since I live in the Baltimore area, I'm not permitted to hear the Mike O'Meara show (thank you useless-WHFS management) my only afternoon choices have been restricted to Ed Norris, Anita Marks, Sean Hannity, or Ron Smith...that's almost as bad as my only choices being Barack "Osama" Obama and John "Old Man" McCain. I've tried to listen to "The Mike O'Meara Show" online, but without Don, the show really sucks. Ah well, I'll just cling to my iPod, curl up in the corner of my sunroom, and wait for radio to get better...I'd better bring provisions. GK in Timonium (9/30/08) I a am a bit confused on what is or is not acceptable subject matter for the mailbag. the plain attacks and attempts to turn them around to attacks on Obama really don't see to have much to with the focus of the board. So are there general guidelines? Are political comments acceptable (9/30/08) Dave's response: The DCRTV Mailbag is a venue for comments about media, especially local media. Political comments are fine, as long as they're related in some manner to media. Every political season, we get a shitload of political rants, which is normal and to be expected. But they must feature a media context. Some folks try to "get around" this by making a quick media reference weaved into a lengthy political diatribe. I may let one or two slide, but if I get a lot I will start up the cyber shredder..... The problem with the unnamed poster's analysis of Palin is that it fails to recognize that Obama is just as lost when without a teleprompter or his memorized campaign slogans. I was dubvious of Palin's current level of knowledge from the start (as opposed to her political skill, which is clearly considerable) but the media elite's trashing her, while treating Jesus Obama with kid gloves, is mind-blowing. Faced with a choice of an empty suit presidential candidate and an empty suit vice presidential candidate, I'll take the latter's ticket every time. (9/30/08) Dave's response: Sorry, but I'll have to trash your post because it doesn't have a media-related reference in it..... Nassau's local GM, Rick Musselman, is known for bidding on every piece of spectrum space that goes on the market! But, after they vastly overpaid for for their Frederick and Hagerstown (now Myersville!) properties and have trimmed their payroll several times, they are somewhat of a laughingstock. Between last year's buyout of personnel that they overpaid for, relative to the market, and desperate attempts to re-negotiate the LMA that they overpaid for in Annapolis, their reputation as a serious player is irreparably tarnished. The ratings for both of the Western Maryland properties have since tanked and their sales department has seen close to 100% turnover, losing key (no pun intended) players along the way. Nassau's local programmers, past and present, have openly decried the company's failure to succeed in markets over 100,000. Nassau would do well to pack up their tent and retreat. They are not even doing well in many of the New England mini-markets, where they used to shine. It appears to be a company in a tailspin, largely due to Musselman's mismanagement and Chairman Lou Mercantante's cluelessness. - The Unsigned CEO (9/30/08) Dave, I read your “rant” and had to wonder just what Circuit City is thinking. Labor Day weekend, my wife and I were shopping for a 42” HD LCD or Plasma tv. We went to all the stores including Circuit City off of Waples Mill and they were having a “moving sale.” They did not have any 42” tvs in stock but said they did at the new store off of West Ox. I said “good, we’ll go there.” The guy responded with “Oh, that store won’t be open for another week”. We decided just to go to “Best Buy” and get the tv that day rather than screw around with waiting another week. Here is where Circuit City was really “out of touch.” First of all, we were shopping on Labor Day Weekend to take advantage of the extra time to shop as well as to take advantage of any sales. Why Circuit City would not have these stores overlap for a day or two or at least be open back to back confounded me. That stupidity made be go where I would normally go anyway, to Best Buy. Tom R. in Fairfax (9/30/08) Obama & Durban Address PPMs - did they dance around the "r" word trying to force arbitron to make ratings devices more available to minorities, even if they aren't qualified? that's what they did with mortgage loans from freddie/fannie that's helped get us into the mess we're in today. (9/30/08) Dave's response: The "r" word? Oh, "responsibility"..... I believe that I have solved the "Grease is dead" mystery!!!!! After Nino turned down the generous offer of $150 a week to do The Bay morning show, rent-a PD Cruze (the guy that brought Grease back to DC-101) went into a Taz like fury & vowed revenge. My investigation has lead me to believe that Cruze instigated this ruse in order to divert attention from his ill-fated Bob & Tom decision. Got a light ? Columbo. (9/30/08) Local guitar hero Nils Lofgren and E-Street Band member has hip replacement surgery; www.nilslofgren.com: "Due to a long, beautiful life on the road (40 years) that's included back flips with guitars, dive rolls, leaping off drum risers and trying to break stage floors with pounding legs due to the amazing energy I gratefully continue to get from you, the audience, in addition to thousands of hours playing aggressive basketball, (my favorite sport to play) on mostly cement, city courts, I have finally destroyed both of my hips and they are both bone on bone with no cartilage left. Thus , I am headed to NYC with my fabulous wife Amy to have bi-lateral hip relacement this Tuesday, Sept. 30th (both hips completely replaced). Although I am understandably nervous, it is a hugely successful surgery and I have a great surgeon in a great hospital so I should come through it fine. We certainly would welcome your prayers and positive thoughts and will keep you posted. Amy's offered to work with Linda in getting updates of progress to you as I go through this. God willing, it will all go well and I'll recover completely. I hope to be back home in AZ. to continue rehabbing by late October and start more guitar lessons and writing. If all goes well, I hope I can start doing my acoustic show touring by early Spring. Anyway, right now I'm just focusing on the immediate future and would welcome your kind thoughts and prayers." (9/30/08) I just wanted to let everyone know out there that Orpheus Records in Arlington, VA just announced that their absolute last day of retail sales is Sunday, October 12th. Yeah, they were supposed to close in March, but their landlord experienced several failed attempts at leasing the building. Thus, they kept getting monthly reprieves. A lease with an Irish brew pub was signed last week and Orpheus has to clear out by October 31st. Orpheus' owner, Rick Carlisle, says that most of the LP prices have hit rock bottom and that he is still entertaining offers on bulk LP, CD and fixture sales right up until October 31st. (9/30/08) The economy is about to become a Dagwood-sized s**t sandwich. The purchase of big-ticket electronic toys are going to be among the first cuts made by hurtin' families. That means no new TVs. THAT means no DIGITAL TVs. If I were the FCC, I might think about extending the drop-dead digital TV target date from February well into the late fall of 2009, in time for next Christmas. The American people are already plenty pissed about the banking and mortgage industries pulling the country down like a fat chick's bloomers -- you think they're gonna be skipping carefree down the street going la-la-la when they find their TVs have been cut off TOO??? Ya, right! (9/30/08) Circuit City just didn't open up a NEW store, they moved the one from Fairfax City to it's new location. And we don't need a discount shoe store in this area. (9/30/08) With all the computerized technology involved in digital transmissions, why can't our local DC TV outlets get the SOUND and VIDEO in sync?! I hate it when you watch a music concert and everything is grossly out of sync! I've seen this happening on 4,5,7,& 9 on a regular basis. The hell with digital! Give me back analog! Romney, WV. (9/30/08) Dave's response: Both your cable/satellite box and your digital TV set buffer the signal. This can sometimes cause the audio and video to become out-of-sync. It's not always a problem with the TV station. Although it sometimes is..... Hey Dave… In your rant you say “Blue Ray.” It’s “Blu-ray” or “Blu-ray Disc” J Bob/VARTV (9/30/08) Obama comes out against the PPM.....radio ratings become a campaign issue (9/30/08) Re: WMAL newsman Mark Weaver's pronunciation of "deputy" - DEP-A-DEE! - - You shouldn't criticize people unless you know what you are talking about, Mark was just doing his spot-on Bob Marley impression. | Re: Bonneville...is itching to build another sports talker and an Oldies powerhouse somewhere. - - Please don't come to Baltimore and do sports talk. You won't be happy with the results, and I'm not sure there is anyone in DC (or Baltimore) who knows how. If you want to do an Oldies powerhouse, remember to be happy with a 1.9 share. Or, you could actually create a real 2008 radio station. | Re: Washington Post 28% stock slide, and Newspapers in general. - - When Zell hired Lee Abrams as VP of Innovation for Tribune, I thought that was a great Idea and it probably was. Lee is one of the few Radio guys that really gets it. He knows what makes radio work, and what is crap. That should be easy, but it isn't. Just listen around. I waited to see what would be done with the Baltimore Sunpaper. There were lots of great changes that really made sense, and I liked what I saw. Now after several weeks, I realize that it didn't matter. It isn't the format, it is the medium. Newspapers are not important in my life. Everything that I need is available quicker and in more user friendly form somewhere else. Sorry Lee, nice try, but I know that by now, you get it. Why don't you help Bonneville understand that having a bunch of signals doesn't mean that you simulcast your best product on ALL of them. You are truly a VP of Innovation, but Radio needs you, newspapers are a quaint remembrance. | Glad to hear that Silvie is still stalking Chris Plante. Keep up the good work Silvie. Ed Graham (9/30/08) Wouldn't this be a cool story idea for Pentagon TV? www.ilovebacon.com... Where can I get ME some of that paint? (9/30/08) Dave notes - "At Least 4 Bid For CBS's 5 Balto Radioers - 9/30 - Emmis, Entercom, Bonneville, Nassau" - There is some good news in there. If Emmis comes to town, that would likely give us some quality programming, with any luck. Rick Cummings is a quality programmer, and they have a few innovative products out there. If Entercom picks up the cluster, that would be grand. Bill Pasha can't *wait* to get his hands on that cluster again...and, IMHO, Mr. Labrozzi would be out the door before I finish typing this email. Bonneville? All news would certainly surface somewhere. 105.7, probably. The rest of the cluster? Who knows...but throw out all of those "controversial" commercials, that's for sure. Beer? Strip Clubs? All gone. Nassau? I'd love to see their offer. They simply can't afford it. They couldn't afford me, and I'm cheaper than a two dollar whore... (9/30/08) After being on a 2 day media binge watching the US economy spiral downward and stocking up on soup, water, gold & ammo in the basement :-) I have a question that NO ONE in the so called 'main stream media' has the BALLS/BRAINS to ask? Why Is The US Government 'shutting down' For 2 Day Because of the Jewish Holy Days?? (by my count? the US Senate: 9 Jews; US House: 57 Jews) BECAUSE OF THEM THE US ECONOMY IS GOING TO HELL? -LOL Riddle me that dcrtv land... "kinky-neo-con" (9/30/08) Dave's response: I just heard Fred Grandy make the same (jestful) argument on WMAL. Is Fred "kinky"? Hmmm..... Dave, Exactly what local media angle is there to that political diatribe against VP candidate Palin? You should not have printed that post. I bet if someone sent in a 'comment' like that about Biden you would have tossed it. Toss that one dude, your credibility is higher than that. (9/30/08) Dave's response: I almost trashed that post for being off-topic, but the poster did mention Katie Couric, which made it media-related. Just barely..... It can now be told that the suspected Greaseman is Dead rumor may have been started by WFYV, his new home in Jacksonville. At least that's what Doug suspected last week. He said that they told him they were going to 'resurrect' the Grease. From there he put 2 and 2 together. FYI: At this point the show will be done live from Potomac and not voice tracked. (9/30/08) Bill O'Reilly is on WNAV (1430) from 12n-2p. It can be heard in PG county and east towards Annapolis. (9/30/08) With the spectacle of the VP debate on the horizon, it appears the Armor All shine is starting to fade from Sarah Palin's political jalopy. That well written and well delivered convention speech is all but history, as McCain's "bold" choice is floundering under the minimal scrutiny the political handlers are allowing. The Couric interview was a complete embarrassment, as it was clear that the coached script got more than a little muddled in the transalation. There was no nuance or explanation to her answers, just babble, and certainly not the skilled escapism we expect from most politicians at this level. I think we as the voting public should expect a cogent explanation of her views, whatever they maybe. If she can't articulate the reasoning behind her basic views and political stances, then why don't we just nominate the Ivory girl for VP, if all we want is a pretty face. Many have said that the VP and the VP debate don't matter, however, this year they are wrong. Palin is one supernatural gasp by John McCain away from the Presidency, and I prefer that the stand-in isn't some kooky religious rube, who will be operated like a marionette by god knows who. This VP debate looks like it may be more fun than when Gore and Quayle had to be careful not to knock over Admiral Stockdale's drool cup. Biden should be respectful, but use his full oratorical arsenal to skewer Palin wherever possible. This baloney of him been seen as a bully is a load of BS, and sexism of the worst kind. I know appearances matter, but we are talking about a position that is one heartbeat away from the Presidency, and it would be lunacy not to wonder how Palin would fare as President, if she can't go toe to toe with Joe Biden. I was still contemplating McCain as my choice before he chose Palin, and while I was impressed by her convention speech, she has been exposed as a dullard and out of her league. Can you imagine choosing a VP running mate and then instruct your political machinery do all they can to shield her from the public, and the questions we should all want her to answer! With all the difficulty we are in now as a country, I am certainly not willing to vote for the ticket where the presidential candidate would be the oldest ever elected and the VP candidate appears to look more comfortable answering questions from Jeff Foxworthy than during a serious interview. (9/30/08) " We're told that "1050 will simulcast WTOP . . . and on FMers 103.5, 107.7, and 103.9." So, let's see, how's that consolidation and deregulation of radio doing at bringing more formats and a greater variety of programming choices to the audience. Yummmm! Looks like this is working out about as well the deregulation of Wall Street . . (9/30/08) Let it be known, that I have been converted to the dark side. I can now be reached at only1chiller@gmail.com. Although this will remain my secondary email address, I now roll w/da "G"! Richard Graham III, (pka Ric Chill/Chiller), Air Talent/Production (9/30/08) "Syndication One News/Talk network’s host Rev. Al Sharpton speaks with Congressional Black Caucus President Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson about the financial fallout at the 38th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Convention last Friday in Washington DC." Hey, I wonder if they talked about Rep. Charles Rangel (NY) not paying his fair share of taxes? If you or I didn't pay, we'd be fined and go to prison. I guess Cong. Rangel will get away with this. (9/30/08) Gotta love that pic of Al and Jesse together. Ever wonder why they sit that way at almost any event where both speak? If you pay attention, you will see that Jesse may appear to casually slip his hand off the table from time to time while a question is being asked,,,and is then answered by Al, even if the question was asked of Jesse. Those two racist windbags have developed a system of toe and knee touches to signal each other as to whom will speak next. Most often the polished Jesse tells his pit bull when to speak (9/30/08) /\ September 30 Messages /\ \/ September 29 Messages \/ Dave, I guess that the chances of getting Bill O'Reilly back on the air in the Washington area ain't so good with WTNT's new lineup? (9/29/08) Dave's response: Bill O'Reilly has never been able to produce radio ratings here in DC. Not when he was on WJFK-FM and not when he was on 3WT. Maybe he could buy time for his show on WMET..... Advertising spending is at its worst levels since the downturn of 2000-02, and the dinosaurs of yesteryear, radio and newspapers, are bleeding the most. TNS Media Intelligence report says the dropoff in automotive, telecom amd retail spending are to blame for the worst spending decline since then. The report says radio ad spending declined 6.5% during the first half of the year, while newspapers did even worse, falling 7.4%. Even worse for radio and newspapers, the spending downturn began well before the recent turmoil on Wall Street, which analysts say is likely to depress ad buys on radio and in newspapers even more. (9/29/08) I could care less about Kevin Sheehan's lisp. What I do care about is the show that Kevin and Doc Walker do each day. It is painfully obvious that the show is not working! And why is that the case? There is absolutely no chemistry between the two. Who ever thought there would be has to be nuts. Sheehan may have some strong points, but I have yet to hear any. Although his reading of stats is quite entertaining, Doc apparantly does not share that feeling. There are plenty of other respected personality's in the DC market that would make a nice fit with Walker . Johnny Holliday would be one, Frank Herzog another, and how bout Steve Buchhantz... even a sports figure like Kevin Greevy might work. Any of the four would also give 980 some credability, something the station desperately needs... Shawn (9/29/08) Very sad to read of the passing of Bob Strickland. A class act in a market where we've alreeady lost so much. My prayers and thoughts this evening are with the Strickland family, and the many journalists whom he trained. Alas, we may never see his like again. We are the richer for what he shared with us. And, the poorer for his passing. A tearful Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/29/08) Dave's response: A memory of Bob (right) from the massive DCRTV Photo Gallery..... I really want to give the new weekend news guy on NBC4 a chance. However, watching him over enunciate words is somewhat painful. And was there ever any reason given why James Adams went from being the evening anchor to doing field reports? (9/29/08) Syndication One News/Talk network’s host Rev. Al Sharpton speaks with Congressional Black Caucus President Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson about the financial fallout at the 38th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Convention last Friday in Washington DC. (photo by Kirk Tanter) (9/29/08) Chris Matthews interviews daughter without information viewers of the relationship... www.breitbart.tv (9/29/08) All of you anti "Mr.. Tony" fans have a great opportunity tonight to listen to the game on radio via several outlets. Ravens Broadcast team on WBAL, the national Westwood One feed on various stations, which should include WFAN in NY (660), and the Steelers Broadcast on WWVA (1170), although that's not quite the same now that Myron Cope is no longer with us. (9/29/08) Regarding Claudia Coffey, she's still listed on their website. So, maybe she's on vacation. (9/29/08) Was watching the Time Life infomercial with Bozer plugging them oldies but goodies and the nfomercial has a very brief clip of the Kalin Twins. didn't someone mention the passing of the last Kalin twin here in the D.C. area in the old mailbag. Hey Grease for peace or piece? On my recent yearly visit to Joe's Record Paradise on East Gude drive in the wonderfully ugly Rockville I saw a sign hanging on exit door from I presume Barry Richards asking for video and such of the super groovy Barry Richards back in the day. Now i got that email somewhere in my old shirt pocket. got impression Mr. Richards resides in D.C. area these days? Oh yeah got impression that maybe Joe's days are numbered due to the economy sh8t and apparently Joe Lee is pretty much retired from the store and living next door to grease out in west virginny these days. Has WMAL replaced the Leo LaPorte show on weekends with some lame financial advisor with a religious slant on weekends? And finally the delay on the Dreadskin's radio broadcast didn't seem so bad for the Dallass game just picking up a station carrying the broadcast is till a big pain lil' danny Is shelby gone from The Glob? the dot dot dot guy those oldies but goodies remind me of you (9/29/08) I'm very saddened to hear about the passing of Bob Strickland. I remember him well. DC could use more real pros like him today instead of the cookie cutter morons that seem to be on every local channel. My sincerest condolences to the Strickland family. Paul (9/29/08) Joe Scarborough for "Meet the Press"??? Really??? He's opinionated, egotistical, arrogant and combative. All wrong for a show where you have to be balanced and neutral. I can't stand to watch him on a daily basis let alone on Sundays too....ecchhh. (9/29/08) We're discussing the failure of the bailout bill at WEAA 88.9 FM at 5 pm on today's Marc Steiner Show! Politicians were saying that the economic bailout plan was critical to keeping the nation from going into an economic tailspin. Today, that bill failed. What comes next? Will Washington be able to come up with another plan that can pass? Or will it be too late? Don't miss the show today as we try to figure out what this means for you and for America. (9/29/08) RE: "(If Bonneville were to buy some CBS stations in Baltimore, Ken Merson, Johnny Dark, Bob Worthington, and Steve Rouse could be the nucleus of a poor-man's WCBS-FM or KRTH-101." – My sincere thanks for the vote of confidence. It was my genuine honor and privilege to work with Bob Worthington, Steve Rouse, Johnny Dark and the other gifted WQSR on-air pros. While I respect the achievements and heritages of CBS-FM in NYC and K-EARTH in LA, the collective passions and drives Bob, Steve and JD would bring to any area radio table could never ever be typified as a "poor-man's" anything. Ken Merson/Merson Person Voice Tracks (9/29/08) It's my understanding that WBAL has its hands tied and cannot make the switch to 98ROCK. The reason is simple, 98Rock makes too much bread,it would severely damage income at both stations. The bottom line is what dictates in the marketplace. Too bad. Meanwhile WCBM is snapping at WBAL's ankles, slowly but surely taking the crown from the "KING" of the hill. Gee, that's too badl LOL (9/29/08) With regards to permanently taking over Meet The Press, I would actually love to see Joe Scarborough get the nod. While some still may only think back to him as one of Newt's Republicans from the 1990s, MSNBC's "Morning Joe" (6-9 am) has easily become the best place to get a well rounded look at the world of politics. Fair and tough with both Democrats and Republicans during the primaries and now the election, I think many "liberals" who might unfairly think of him as another GOP mouth piece would be very surprised if they put down their Cheetos and their poisonous soda pop and spent a week watching him, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist in the morning. Two weeks ago, when he slammed Mitt Romney with Mitt's own words from the primaries about how John McCain has a history of lies and distortion about records, was a work of art and something Tim Russert would have been proud of. I hope that there is something to be read between the lines, with regards to this, in that Joe has spent most of the last month doing his show from the D.C. studios. (9/29/08) Dear Dave: To the person who asked "Didn't "The Greaseman" work at 98 WRC late night before DC101", he sure did back in WRC's "Rock of the Capital" days. Also, sometime around 1994 or so, WXTR radio had a DJ reunion weekend featuring some of the old DC-area jocks. As part of it they played a recording called "The Late Great 98," a tribute piece to WRC, which included several Greaseman airchecks including one of him doing an intro for...a Carpenters song. More on the Greaseman's stint at WRC can be found at Skip McCloskey's terrific Great 98 (www.98wrc.com) web site. Again, Dave, a great site! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (9/29/08) Bonneville needs to stay away from the purchase of any more signals. They already have WTOP on about 100 signals and they have proven that they are not capable of managing any other format. They need to quit while they are behind! (9/29/08) Greaseman did 10PM-2AM at WRC after Mark Driscoll left in 1973. The Greaseman character was still pretty new and much tamer, much slower paced. He was replaced at WRC by Jim Elliott, who was moved up from the all-night show. From WRC, he went to Jacksonville's WAPE, where he developed the character into more of what you hear now. But, he only used the name, Greaseman... no Mr. Outrageous. (9/29/08) WMAL's Chris Plante is scheduled to be on the Fox News Channel's morning show at 7:40 a.m. tomorrow Tuesday, 9/30/08. Later that evening, at about 7:40 p.m., he's scheduled to be on Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN. Signed, "The Official Chris Plante Stalker" a.k.a. Silvie (9/30/08) Where is Claudia Coffey from Fox 5 has she left the station as well? She usually fills in when the anchors are off and I havent seen her doing any field reporting either? (9/29/08) Dave: I'd love to learn who your radio GURU is in Baltimore. As for CBS selling off only two stations to Boneville, why? That would lower the value by just selling off a piece of the pie. Second, any owner in thier right mind would leave well enough alone. WLIF bills rather well and they have strong numbers. Without a consultant and having someone local to call the shots, that station could go a little fresher and would be #1 (like WBEB in Philly) within a book or two. As for WQSR, they could model that after The Arch in STL, which is still doing rather well with the Adult Hits format. If I were Hearst, I would take 98 ROCK ALL SPORTS NOW!!! Do it before Boneville gets to town! (9/29/08) Dave's response: I'm told that CBS would get more dough by selling its five Baltimore stations to four or five different bidders, as opposed to selling the entire cluster to one entity. Something about a "volume discount"..... "What we'd like is a local, Washington DC sports radio station that IS NOT Redskins-centric." Couldn't agree more - while the Skins' win in Dallas is clearly the biggest local sports story right now, it's not the only one worth talking about. Here are some topics that will almost certainly get little or no play on ESPN980 over the next few days - the upset wins by Maryland and Navy, Nats and O's finishing up disappointing seasons, upcoming baseball playoffs, preseason for the Wizards and Capitals. I'm convinced that if the Nats had been able to put a contending team on the field by now, we wouldn't be in the current situation where there's only one 24 hour sports talk station and it's under the control of the Redskins owner. Baseball fits the sports radio format better than anything else due to its 162 game season, whereas with football you usually have to manufacture things to talk about in the middle of the week. Speaking of 980, Steve Czaban needs to be called out for his gratiuitous use of the Daily Czabe segment (on Sports Reporters) for partisan politicking. Three or four times over the past few weeks, he's gone out of his way to point out gaffes by the Obama ticket (such as Biden saying FDR was president during the stock market crash of '29). Hello - the other side's been guilty of just as many slipups (McCain thinking Iraq borders Afghanistan, for example) and NOT ONCE has Czaban mentioned any of them. On the TV side, I noticed that Comcast SportsNet totally ignored the previous day's baseball action on Sunday morning's SportsRise (a 30 minute program). That's inexcusable under any circumstances, but especially considering the fact that the Phillies had clinched the NL East title with their victory over the Nationals. Mike, Fairfax (9/29/08) Dave, Didn't "The Greaseman" work at 98 WRC late night before DC101. Maybe with the air name of Mr. Outrageous? If you don't know, maybe someone else does. Thanks (9/29/08) To quote Johnny Cash. “I can hear that train a comin, Its rolling round the bend”. Wait for it Wait WAIT WAIT!!! Elkridge Steve (9/29/08) "The Oversight And Investigations Subcommittee "just" wrapped up its investigation of the FCC, but "due to time constraints, we will be unable to hold a hearing," the source said.....". In other words, either they found nothing they could blame Bush for, or, they found problems in favor of Nancy Pelosi. Perehaps they found that the FCC and telecoms were telling the truth on many issues that the Democrats questioned. You can bet if there was ANYTHING they found that could smear the Republicans, they would make time for the hearings and make room for the press cavalcade. Perhaps Bush should now request hearings on the conduct of the OIS, complete with subpeona of all communications and documents. Let's see the FOIA request from the LA and NY Times. (9/29/08) As Bob Rosenthal's Asian doll pitching Hondas proves, the late '60s to early '70s were a great time to pick-up a teeney-tiny new auto for practically peanuts. If you were lucky enough to live on the left coast, you could turn on your tee-vee and see this long-legged, round-eyed Candy Bergen look-a-like demonstrating "the cheap-and-ugly little Sue-BARRR-eww" for $1297 with 66 miles-per-gallon. www.youtube.com... Sherman, direct me to the wayback machine NOW! (9/29/08) WMAL newsman Mark Weaver's pronounciation of "deputy" - DEP-A-DEE! (9/29/08) Baltimore is "ripe" for ANOTHER sports talk station?? Three's not enough?? (9/29/08) Dave – Have you heard anything regarding Shamrock since his ouster at HFS?? I was kind of hoping he would stay in Baltimore area radio, since he was by far the most talented part of that morning show. Kirk & Mark are truly showing how little they have left in their creative tanks. Here’s hoping something changes over there soon, as I can’t stomach Mickey, Amelia and Spiegel in the mornings. (9/29/08) Dave's response: Total silence from Shamrock..... A sensitive poster writes “David Letterman is much less funny when he's overly politically biased and that's probably why his ratings are tanking along with his new buddy Keith Olbermann.” Actually, it was pretty damn funny. And Palin (or Tina Fey) is downright hilarious. McCain and Palin have both become punchlines. Letterman and Leno & Stewart & Colbert & everyone else—are just taking the jokes where they come. (9/29/08) I’m happy to see that the Greaseman, one of the greatest talents ever IMHO, finally got a legitimate full-time job in radio. His exile of many years was an unfortunate overreaction of radio to what was a ridiculous but predictable reaction by those offended. Will he be doing his Jacksonville air shift from his home, or will the Grease actually move to Florida? Roddy Freeman (9/29/08) Dave's response: My wild guess is that the Jacksonville gig will be voice-tracked, supplemented by the occasional personal appearance. I think the Grease really likes his Potomac MD digs, where he has a full home studio..... I too saw Tony Perkins filling in for Chenevy and was wondering why. During the broadcast, Allison was talking about getting a flu shot because she didn't want to get sick and then so that she could come in. She then made some sort of comment regarding the staff decreasing. So, I don't know what that meant. Are there more people leaving? Or it's just that a number of people are out right now. (9/29/08) Brian in Fairfax stated that the Orioles had the second lowest TV ratings to the Nats. I don't have the end of season numbers, but the Post's rundown earlier this year stated that the Nats had the lowest number of total households and that the Royals, Orioles, and Pirates were next. All of the latter three pulled about 3 to 4 times the number of households despite being in much smaller markets. When breaking down the teams by actual ratings it was Nats, Angels, Rangers, Dodgers. Maybe he has later numbers than I, the Post article was two months ago, but the Orioles ratings would have had to collapse as badly as the on field product did the reach those depths. Howie (9/29/08) Baltimore's 102.7 is ripe for building a good oldies/classic hits format with the heritage calls and frequecy plus signal strength. There is also good Baltimore-local air talent to choose from out there to make it all work. Rouse, Merson, Emry, etc. Also 105.7 could be good spot for a sports format since they have the Orioles & UMD Sports and their current talk format is not very good at all. Then maybe K&M can walk over to The Bay to replace Indianapolis Bob & Tom. (9/29/08) For the past few week's, I really tried giving a listen to Doc Walker's show with Kevin Sheehan and one of the listings was right on!!! Kevin Sheehan thinks he knows-it all and you can tell Doc has no respect for Kevin as well. Dave, can you give us some reason {besides cheap talent} why Red Zebra continues to hire bad talent. Speaking of bad talent, can I remind you MASN viewers that the people who run MASN used to run Comcast Sportsnet. Don't complain about Debbie when these same execs. were responsible for giving us Chic and Michael Jenkins. Let's all stick to Directv. (9/29/08) Snippet from DCRTV to me: "PLB - great post about EdRod. Some people are just hatred filled assholes. I'd love to know when Mr "temperary" and "weeknds" had a major market gig, if any. Dick. (Whoops...that might make me a hatred filled asshole!)" - Hey DICK you are both…an asshole and a DICK-PLBJ (9/29/08) To all the people who bust on the Babs Harrison flubfest, she's got nothing on the Fox 5 Morning News train wreck I am witnessing this morning with Allison Seymour & Tony Perkins. (9/29/08) Without question Kevin Sheehan of ESPN SportsTalk 980 is a radio host who loves to hear himself talk. Note to Kevin: take more listener calls, we can only take so much of your lisp when you speak. (9/29/08) On Friday, I was really surprised to see Tony Perkins filling in for Steve Chenevy on FOX5's morning news. And then, even though I was sure that Tony said Steve would be back this morning, I turn on the news this morning and there's Tony again!!. I just found it odd that they would assign a weather person to fill in for a regular anchor...I can't believe that no other "real" reporter or anchor was available. On other occasions when anchors have been out, I've seen Wisdom Martin fill in, Sarah Simmons as well as others..Maybe with Bob Sellers gone, Gurvir on maternity leave and Holly Morris out last week (amybe she's still on vacation or doing her human interest stories out in the field), they had slim pickins and this was their last resort. But, not a good one. Sorry Tony, full time anchoring is not your forte'. (9/29/08) PLB - great post about EdRod. Some people are just hatred filled assholes. I'd love to know when Mr "temperary" and "weeknds" had a major market gig, if any. Dick. (Whoops...that might make me a hatred filled asshole!) (9/29/08) Well, as the old saying goes, "They hate you because they want to be you!" I don't understand who or why anyone would have an axe to grind with Ed Rodriguez, except Scott Lindy, who was mortified when Ed left WPOC for WMZQ and Scott took a huge corporate hit for losing him. Or, perhaps it's Steve Kingston, who begged Ed to take over his struggling Annapolis stations, then fired Ed without a reason when Steve couldn't or didn't want to pay him. Anyway, Ed was at WMZQ three books... and in that time, he elevated afternoons from eleventh place to fifth. The rest of the station was in eighth! He then went to Arrow, which is in the DC market. Not a major market gig? He also worked in satellite radio when it showed promise, before all of the "me toos" got there. He created two channels and several shows that are still running. Let's see, from there it was a prominent place on WTOP doing traffic. And, while you might scoff at it, isn't traffic the main reason people listen to the station? You ask how hard it is to get fired in the Keys? It's pretty easy, considering that four PD's were fired in the year before Ed arrived. I doubt if it's Lindy or Kingston taking jabs at Rodriguez. They know better and, hopefully, have more class. No... it's most likely a name that none of us are familiar with who, as I said, is crying and dying to BE Ed. You can't! In fact, you don't make half an Ed. And, like he recently said when some haters took swipes at Joy Pons, to get to Ed, you have to go through all of US... his FRIENDS... and, he has legions! (9/29/08) Are all Washington area sideline chicks required to start every interview with, "what does this victory mean to you" or "what did this game mean to you"? I swear that Debbie Taylor and whoever the Comcast Sportsnet chick is do that with every player that they stick a mike in front of. (9/29/08) (If Bonneville were to buy some CBS stations in Baltimore:) Ken Merson, Johnny Dark, Bob Worthington, and Steve Rouse could be the nucleus of a poor-man's WCBS-FM or KRTH-101. As for sports, a company like Bonneville would love to hire that guy who is re-assembling his life and also hire away some of Nestor's people. (9/29/08) /\ September 29 Messages /\ \/ September 28 Messages \/ I don’t know why this ass**le has a hard on for EDROD, but damn’ he does land on his feet. Who the hell knows why anyone loses a position? God knows I’ve lost a few, you get to realize in this subjective business it can even be the way you part your hair. And as far as losing in gig in the Keys….it’s a lot easier than you think. That operation Edrod was working with went through 4 PD’s in 13 months, so I guess at least at that operation it’s pretty easy. Suggestion to you. Stop thriving on hatred and think good thoughts. You must be one miserable individual.PLB:0) (9/28/08) why must it be front page newz every time ed rodriguez gets a new temperary on air position somewheres? so he worked for 6 months in the keys, great job blowing that gig ed. do you know how hard it is to get fired from a job in the KEYS? and just because he's back on air doing weeknds at a struggling station (which by the way he was previously fired from after one book 10 years ago, which by the way was his most recent major market gig) doesn't justify a front page headline. but then again it's not my website. (9/28/08) In the past, TV audio reception cost manufacturers almost nothing to add to a portable FM radio. Since old-fashioned TV audio was FM, all they had to do was design the front end to tune the "extra" frequencies--not all that far off from the FM band, really. (Portable radios never included UHF channels because those frequencies were too far out--extra circuitry would be required.) Receiving DTV audio, however, requires *computing* power--expensive, and hard on batteries. Plus you have the problem that DTV reception requires a *stable* signal, something you won't get with a monopole antenna. If someone made a DTV-audio radio, can you imagine the returns they'd get from people complaining of no sound, or the audio cutting out "for no apparent reason"? I suppose the radio makers could add a signal quality meter, for even more expense... The FCC is talking in terms of battery-powered DTV converter boxes: www.broadcastingcable.com. So, do you wait for a really expensive radio or do you kluge together your existing radio with a converter box? Might as well get a portable DTV, if you can find one. There's still the reception problem and the battery life problem, though... This one (www.lcddigital.tv) advertises the longest battery life I've seen on the very few portable DTVs out there, but I've never seen one of those units in person much less used one... ~~CA in BC (9/28/08) As a partial answer to the anon poster about a portable DTV: One is reviewed in the current issue of "Monitoring Times". I suggest reading the review before buying one of these things... (9/28/08) (re:"Dave's response: Politics in postings is fine, as long as it's in some way related to the media. Please don't forget that") Commander Bunny, the brains, the awesome financial power behind pirate radio station (media Dave) is still running for President! You can purchase a Commander Bunny for President t-shirt or bumper sticker by going to EBAY, typing in "Commander Bunny" in the search engine, which will bring up a menu of choices. Likewise, the entire Commander Bunny WBNY-Bunny Radio archives are available online for ape-humans (monkeys) who desire to expand their IQ's into double digits. And lets be honest, there ARE NOT MONKEYS (ape-humans) on DCRTV that have a "triple digit" IQ, so lets drop the idotic flame posts claiming such! You can see the WBNY studio's and the Commander Bunny Headquarters or a fabulous bumper sticker or listen to a mind altering Commander Bunny program by going to: shortwavepirate.info... Commander Bunny is running a non-stop broadcast on 6850khz AM (that's shortwave for you dull-witted monkeys) all day today, Sunday September 28th, where you can hear his platform and a candid discussion of the issues! VOTE COMMANDER BUNNY - PRESIDENT NOVEMBER 4TH its time America had a Hare transplant! (9/28/08) Dave, Rush does have his share of grunts, stutters, and oral gutterations, but he is not running for President of the United States. However, Obama is. I would think Obama would be a bit better polished than he sometimes appears. Having said that, McCain has his share of grunts, stutters, and oral gutterations too. I am sure Hillary is licking her lips praying Obama falls flat on his face in November, because though I do not agree with her positions, she is the most polished of the three. Scott in Alexandria (9/28/08) Bad news. Dave, if you're not in your BarcaLounger, now is the time. Pat Goss, longtime shill for BG Products (and BG most emphatically does not stand for "Bisexual Goss") is back on the air on WJFK as of Sunday 1 pm replacing the much missed Junkies Replay. Thank Yahweh for C-Span radio. What if Barney Frank guest hosted for Goss one week and it wasn't announced? Wouldn't that be a hoot? Dave, how about an Automative Shill Hottie Contest with Brian Nehman going head to head against Goss? I would LOL. Does anyone know what happened to the Kid McLovin from the HIdeout? His mom and I are worried. -- Biff from Burke (9/28/08) Rant, Explain to me how everything with you is a rant. A rant is (To speak or write in an angry or violent manner). Your rant today, as well as most others you have posted is not a rant, but a rave. (9/28/08) Dave's response: In my mind, a "rant" is merely my personal opinion. It can be either positive or negative..... Remember that '70s ad campaign where Bob Rosenthal gave away a free oriental bride with every new car... only $1695, delivered? www.youtube.com (Or am I just remembering an episode of M*A*S*H?) (9/28/08) To supplement Michael Hoffman's post, here's a 1982 article about the WHFS "Radio Deli": DCMemories.com... That's just a small portion of a larger collection of '70s and '80s articles about WHFS at: DCMemories.com... (9/28/08) Those comments about the tendency of certain speakers to use UMMMMM or UHHHHH reminded me of another successful individual who hasn't mastered an annoying verbal tick. I was, frankly, stunned the first time I heard Ted Turner interviewed. Whether or not you agree with his politics, you have to admit that he is a brilliant businessman and one heckuva sharp fellow, yet he can't talk for thirty seconds without uttering multiple NAAAAAHHHs and AAAHHHs. When I hear him speaking, I find myself unable to concentrate on his message as I find myself just waiting for his next NAAAAAHHHHHH. www.youtube.com (9/28/08) Dave sez: "...Let's give it a shot....." Poor choice of words, Dave, when you're talking about possible war in the Middle East! Brian/Reston (9/28/08) Dave's response: I never understood folks who didn't want to talk, at the very least, to our enemies. Hey, look at Cuba. We haven't talked to them, and they've remained a commie country and a Russian ally for the past 50 years. Brilliant policy, huh! OK, yeah, I talk politics without a media reference. But it's my site and I can do what I want..... Yes, Awake, Alive & Jewish is a brokered show. Yes, on Sunday, 10/5/08 it's switching to 50 kw (daytime) WMET AM 1160 from 10-11AM. But before the switch, these words: Thanks so much to Jim Farley, Jody Lish, Molly Welton & everyone at Bonneville. You run a great operation, and 1050 was really great for us (we're sorry to see it flip). AA&J has been on for 28+ years now, & here's a bit of trivia (although I won't often mention years because my chronology isn't great): We started in 1980 on WHFS (102.3), Jake Einstein days, & we followed him to 99.1. Not a great signal to DC--we ended up back on 1390 (Crimmins Lane!!)(not a great signal to DC). Eventually we went to AM 1050, WNTR, with Ed Enderle in the morning, & some young, unheard of guy named Limbaugh, at noon. At some point we made it back to 102.3--this time owned by the Hughes'--& it featured Tom Gauger in the morning! (A great guy!) Ultimately we went to Business Radio 730 WBZS, in beautiful Old Town Alexandria, where I met the awesome Al Santos! After that AM 570 was great--wonderful Bob Duckman (at sister station AM1260 WWDC, voiced our intro. Thanks, Bob!). Briefly at 980, then to 1050, then to Bonneville's 1050 & now to 1160 WMET, owned by IDT (reunited with Jim Cuddy from WBZS). Come to think of it--we were also on WMET AM 1150 when it was 5000 watts & owned by Sondra Linden (not a great signal to DC). Yes, we're brokered, but we're long running & part of radio history (as was the great Jewish radio pprogrammer Max Reznick, of blessed memory). To all of you Jewish radio dudes & dudettes--a happy, healthy, peaceful & prosperous New Year!--Michael Hoffman, AA&J's Producer. (9/28/08) We know how TV viewing will be affected by the big digital TV conversion in February 2009. Basically, if you don't have a digital TV converter box, a digital TV, or a cable or satelite provider to transmit digital TV to you, there will be just snow on your TV screen. But again, this is easily dealt with buy buying a digital TV or converter box, or by subscribing to cable or satelite TV. But what happens to those millions of security guards, nurses, convenience store clerks and other personnel who enjoy battery operated portable TVs or radios that offer TV band sound? I'm surprised to find that none of the consumer electronics manufacturers have come up with portable digital TV units or TV band radio units to address this need. I've checked all over the net for battery operated portable TVs and radios with TV band sound and have found none. Do any of the broadcast engineer types or consumer electronics types know of any portable gear on the market that might address this? In the radio department, even the C. Crane company, which is usually up to date with the latest radio gear--- had nothing for TV band audio consumers. I couldn't find anything. However, they did have the following consumer disclaimer notice posted for radios that now receive the analog TV Band. "What you should know before buying a radio with the TV audio band (2-13): Congress passed a law that prevents television stations from broadcasting regular analog TV signals after February 17, 2009. Unfortunately this means the TV audio band found on many consumer electronic radios will no longer receive any television broadcasts after that date or sooner. The other bands such as AM, FM, shortwave, etc will work normally and are unaffected." (9/28/08) Dave's response: I was in a Radio Shack yesterday, and they were advertising a "Red Cross" emergency radio with two analog (!) TV bands on it. Of course, there was no notification to the poor sucker who might be buying it that those TV bands won't work after February..... Anyone looking for an alternative to the Eagles vs. Bears match-up on NBC tonight, the National Geographic Channel has been heavily promoting their fascinating new special on the Neanderhal Code. "We may all be part Neanderthal." (9/28/08) As the endless campaigning for President is coming to a merciful end, it's interesting to recall the many hyperbolic squealings and warnings about socialism in this forum, generally aimed at impugning the various Democratic candidates or their plans. Now that the government as a whole, is going to ram through the biggest socialist program since the New Deal in attempts to save our brand of capitalism, I have to wonder where all the free marketeers and presumed proponents of pure capitalism are now ? The proposals and policy stances of some left-leaning politicians which ring of socialism, pale in comparison to this "bailout" program which is supposed to save our financial institutions and be for the presumed "greater good" Why not let the market place determine who survives and who sinks ? Isn't that what capitalism is all about ? Oh yeah, because it's too scary to risk huge market drop and worldwide economic collapse, or so some "experts" tell us, I get it. But where were the regulators and overseers when the greed merchants were collaborating in the thinly veiled ponzi scheme of giving people money who couldn't afford to pay it back? Now this recovery plan is going to get rammed through without a thorough examination, behind the theory that haste is one of the predominate issues. Right, the same fellows who only manage to deal with the issues after a crisis is in full swing, are now going to fix the problem fairly. Sure, I believe that. Only later will we find out that once again the scammers are going to figure out how to bilk the government into getting rewarded, while John Q Public foots the bill. Afraid of socialism ? It's alive and well, and already here, just in time save us from the greed and cancer of unregulated capitalism. Thanks and I will take my answers off the air..... (9/28/08) Dave's response: Politics in postings is fine, as long as it's in some way related to the media. Please don't forget that..... The picture of Big O and Dukes with Colt Brennan was added to thedirty.com. Nic Richie took a shot at Chad by calling him Fat Dukes. He must have seen Chad's Truffle Shuffle www.youtube.com (9/28/08) Re: The Nats’ low TV ratings. I think part of the problem can be blamed on the team’s poor performance this season. But considering that the O’s had the second-lowest ratings, maybe the problem is with the network that carries both of the teams: MASN (Mr. Angelos’ Shitty Network). They missed a prime opportunity to build a TV fanbase in the inaugural 2005 season because MASN didn’t appear on any area cable networks. They’re still missing in many areas. Also, some games are on MASN, some are on MASN2 and still others are on WDCA which I think creates a lot of confusion. I bet many people, even loyal baseball fans, don’t even know where to find MASN or MASN2 on their cable or satellite systems, because there is absolutely no reason to watch MASN other than baseball. They have very little in terms of other programming, so they do not have a core audience to market the games to. The lack of HD games is another problem. At least they’re finally getting half their games in HD next year, while almost every other team has had HD coverage in place already. The Nats got screwed in their TV deal and it shows. You suck, Peter Angelos. Brian in Fairfax (9/28/08) Well, today I tripped over the new version of 105.9 and I spent the rest of the day grinning ear-to-ear. Non-stop stuff from my junior high and high school days, no repetition, and no mindless babbling. Great stuff, I tell you. I had it cranked up out in the garage and had the shingles vibrating. It's hard to believe all this comes from the same piece of real estate as the Great Train Wreck that's WMAL, but at this point I'm not going to look the gift horse in the mouth. Now, if only my collection of classic cars had FM radios...those tunes would have sounded great at the last show we were at!!! Other stuff...if Ed Rodriguez is back in the neighborhood and on WMZQ, that's great news. He's a class act and a hell of a nice guy. Maybe somebody up there in the backwater on Rockville Pike has seen the light. In fact, I've been continually amazed at the people CC has cut loose or left because the place was unbearable...if you put them all together (except Murphy, who was a jerk of the first order) on a decent stick and left them alone you'd have a sure winner. Ed along with Jim London, Mary Ball, Scott Carpenter, Paula Young, Seth Warner, Katy Daily (might have spelled that wrong) just to name a few...it boggles the mind. (9/28/08) EdRod back on WMZQ? Nice to hear that you "can go home again", no matter what Thomas Wolfe may have said. And, it probably beats playing the hits at the Fairfax Ice Arena! (9/28/08) I'm waiting for some website or network or TV station to put up an "UMMM-COUNTER" on Sen. Obama. For someone so polished and prepared as described by every news report on this debate, ummmm, how many times did the man say, UMMMMM or UHHHHH ? Too many times. Overall it was a boring debate with both candidates reading their talking points line by line mostly & no clear winner. But one stuttered and stammered considerably more, that was obvious to anyone. Even though I agree with many of Obama's positions more, it made me think he's basically an empty suit without the teleprompter. QUESTION... Will they have to install a teleprompter in the Oval Office for him? (9/28/08) Dave's response: 1) George W. Bush is certainly no great orator (even with a teleprompter), and 2) Rush Limbaugh, who loves to make fun of Obama's "uhhhs," certainly has his share of grunts, stutters, and oral gutterations..... /\ September 28 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....