Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - February 25 to March 4, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ March 4 Messages \/ The team that produced HOKIE NATION in 2007 is looking for help from long time DC area residents who might remember some of the more unique TV shows that aired in the region over the last 50 years. Sean Kotz and Chris Valluzzo, executive producers at Horse Archer Productions, are putting together a documentary called “VIRGINIA CREEPERS” about Virginia’s horror hosts—characters who dressed in costume each weekend to present classic horror and sci-fi films while cutting up with local humor. Specifically, the crew is looking for people who remember Supernatural Theater on WDCA 20 in the late 1960s hosted by Bill Miller as “The Great Zucchini.” They would also like to speak with anyone who remembers Bob Dalton hosting “Tales of the Black Cat” on channel 9 back in the early 1950s. “Don’t’ think for a moment we have forgotten Creature Features. We have been working extensively with Count Gore, who still hosts his show online each week,” said Kotz, who grew up in Fredericksburg and watched Gore in his early teens. They are also working with Bill Bowman who had a show called Monsterpeice Theater in Fairfax in the early 1980s, though more on that show would be welcome. “And we’ve been working with current area hosts like Karlos Borloff of Monster Madhouse and Dr. Sarcofiguy of The Spooky Movie,” added Kotz, “but there is very little information available about Supernatural Theater.” The horror hosting tradition goes back at least 50 years in the Commonwealth, with Tidewater, Richmond and Washington DC having the most well known personalities. Bowman Body, Count Gore De Vol and Dr. Madblood are well documented figures. “However, as documentary film makers,” said Valluzzo who also grew up in Northern Virginia, “it is important for us to investigate every avenue and provide the full spectrum of shows if possible.” “We would hate to think either show would be left out of the film,” he added. Horse Archer Productions has already uncovered forgotten hosts around the state and has turned up audio and video footage thought lost for decades, so the producers believe a public outreach might lead to filling in the final gaps. “For many people, these shows were a staple of their weekend—not just because of the films, but because of the hosts,” said Kotz. “Viewers tuned in to see what crazy thing would be said or done next.” The first thirty years of television was a time when local stations had to produce much of its own programming. When movie packages like the 1957 Screen Gems “Shock” package were distributed, stations across the country produced a kind of regional twist on the national phenomenon of hosting horror movies. Horse Archer Productions would be interested in any information on any similar show around the state, especially in the western half of Virginia. To help with the project email info@horsearcherproductions.com or go to www.virginiacreepersmovie.com (3/4/09) Dear DCRTV, Watching channel 7 WJLA over the weekend and saw sports' reporter Greg Mace. Hadn't seen him in ages so thought he was gone long before they canned Greg Toland. Hasn't WJLA already hired new reporters to take place of Ms. McCarren and Ms. Parenti? And notice the traffic cams now have Geico as a sponsor. This seems new to me since they fired all them folks. Also it was the Belfort Furniture weather which seems new. Sometimes Qatar seems to be sponsor. Anyways they seem new. Was ther e something more to the firings at WJLA than saving money? Did anyone catch weathermun Adam Caskey other morn poured water on T-shirt and then demonstrated frozen t-shirt. Far Out! But the topper was the frozen banana and Mr. Caskey exclaiming he was squeezing it as hard as he could but couldn't break it. Hilarious! Who's the bigger HAM Lisa Baden or Kim Martucci? I find the scheduling on WETA digital over the air truly baffling, never seems to be any consistency on when a certain show airs! And all you oldster this weekend at Wheaton Yute Center a reunion of those days of yore in '60's on March 7. It's free. Be there or be squared. (3/4/09) Better late than never... For DCRTV mailbagger "rob" (and any others who may be curious), the full sad story of DC's "WCFM 99.5MC on your FM dial" can be read at: DCMemories.com (You'll need to scroll down, down, down...) (3/4/09) Hey, 45 & 54 are finally off the air! (WBFF and WNUV analog signals.) I thought they had to continue broadcasting the gospel about converter boxes for another couple of weeks, but they've shut down the analog xmitters. Anyone see the sky falling yet? ~~CA in BC (3/4/09) Just when you thought it couldn't get any more absurd, now comes word that Rush Limbaugh has challenged President Obama to a debate! If Limbaugh wants to debate him, he should just run for president in 2012. He won't, of course, since that would require him to actually do something other than sit on his fat ass, running his goddamn mouth! (3/4/09) Paul Harvey also aired on WJZ's noon news for years when I was kid. So many moons ago. (3/4/09) Dave's response: I remember taking a communications class at JMU in the late 1970s and the professor - who'd worked in Ohio radio - didn't know who Paul Harvey was. My conservative friend walked out of the class, shaking his head in disbelief..... Is anyone else annoyed that "The Mike O'Meara Show" has that chick Katie on so much lately? I was adjusting to the show without Don, and I like the chemistry of the three guys. But now they add a "hole" just like so many cheezy morning shows do. Not a good sign. (3/4/09) Quote: "Wow! If the 'baggers on DCRTV serve as an accurate barometer, all I can say is Rush Limbaugh must be in some really deep doo-doo over what he said if he can't even get SILVIE to jump in and take his side! You lose SILVIE and you lose ELECTIONS!" The problem lies within the first 10 words of your sentence. DCRTV 'baggers are not an "accurate baromoter", my friend. It is comprised of 99% leftist-leaning vs. 1% conservative-leaning [i.e. "me"]. Not worth an ounce of my oxygen to go on about Rush. *Yawn* P.S. I still love ya, Dave! -Silvie- (3/4/09) "Jeff in Bowie" hate to be picky and correct you, but it is KOWTOW, NOT "cow towing". Kowtow: the imperial Chinese practice of kneeling and bowing your head to the ground three times as an act of submission to authority (I learned it the 'hard way' from an Asian dominatrix, and I also have a M.A. in Modern Asian History :-) (3/4/09) Does anyone in PG know if The Comcast Network (formerly CN8) is now only on digital cable? It was on channel 21 but now that is just static. Yet another channel that mysteriously has disappeared over the last two years (see MTV2, Tru TV, GAC to name a few). Something seemed strange when the TV Guide Network would list it as CNPH the Philadelphia version. Also, according to them, Jewelry TV is supposed to be on channel 23. Maybe I'm missing something since I don't have a box (connected straight to TV). (3/4/09) Hey, question about Birach Broadcasting. A few weeks ago when WDMV went quiet, there was a posting that quoted Birach Sr. of being unaware of some less-than-savory moves being made here at the DC station, and that the local "Birach Broadcasting" is not affiliated with the home office in Detroit. Well if that's the case, why is WDMV noted on the main Birach page as being part of the organization (www.birach.com)? (3/4/09) Mike O'Meara opens the show talking about politics. Boy, pretty compelling stuff. It's not like anybody else in the country is talking about the Rush Limbaugh - Michael Steele flap. Am I being entertained? No. Amused? No. Informed? No. See ya. Sincerely, TMU. P.S. Has anyone figured out what they're TRYING to do with this show? It's not like you can say, "Here's the plan, and here's why it's not working." You can't even find the PLAN. (3/4/09) Nobody over 35 gives a good god damn about "Twitter" or "Facebook"? Hmmmm...I'm well over 35 and I use "Facebook" and so do many of my friends and associates who are well over 35. Maybe it's nobody over the age of 55 to 60 cares and that's about the target age of Channel 9 viewers. (2/27/09) Well, I fit that demographic and if that truly is the target age of Channel 9 viewers, then why are they telling me stories about something that I and my compatriots don’t care about? I’m as web-savvy as the next guy, but I’ve never sent a text message, have no FaceBook account, and Twitter is what birds do. No matter how many stories I see about surgeons Twittering while doing surgery, I still think it’s a waste of my time. And if I found out my surgeon was Twittering during my surgery, I think I’d contact my lawyer contact him, and not by FaceBook. Peter in Rockville (3/4/09) Jeff in Bowie- Two things regarding your post. First, I don't trust any poll conducted by NBC even if the Wall Street Journal is attached. Do you trust polls from Fox News? (I don't either) The second problem is polls themselves. I can say from that poll that nearly 40% of the population thinks the Democrats cannot handle the economy (20% say Republicans are better, 16% say neither party is better= 36%). All you have to do is look at the stock market and see that the economic stimulus and Obama's policies are not well liked. The dow has dropped nearly 3000 points since January 2nd. That is not from all bad economic news. Everytime Obama or someone from his cabinet speak on the economy the dow drops. Maybe we can blame Rush Limbaugh for that? (3/4/09) Mike Wise Meets Obama washingtonpost.com (3/4/09) With all the recent discussion of whether (or why) Rush Limbaugh might be considered the head/voice/image of the GOP, this quote by Edward R. Murrow comes to mind: "Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar." (3/4/09) Well I bet CBS is looking at WTEM's ratings trends and thanking their lucky stars that they haven't jumped the gun and flipped to sports yet. Their numbers are down by almost half in their key demos since the end of redskins season. (3/4/09) Re the Birach mention a few postings ago: is the Norfolk station owned by Birach the Elder, or Birach the Local? (3/4/09) Excuse me if I'm wrong here, but given the current situation of the Gee-Oh-Pee, isn't all this arguing over who is the most powerful Republican just about as brilliant a strategy as a room full of bald men arguing over which one has the silkiest HAIR? Flat out, the GOP currently has zero credibility - Just today, polls show Democrats have an amazing two-to-one advantage over Republicans on the question of who is better to lead the economy back on track. For the foreseeable future, the party has zero chance of recovery if they don't start to do the things necessary to broaden their appeal to voters across the board, rather than cow-towing once again to the far-rightie fringe occupying their lunatic talk-radio base. - Jeff in Bowie (3/4/09) Thanks for the information, Ed Graham. With all the stations that Paul Harvey was heard on over the years in Baltimore, does anyone know what station he was NOT heard on..lol. I know I speak for many other baby boomers in this general listening area, growing up listening to you Ed, Johnny Dark, Jack Edwards, Alan Field, Les Alexander, Paul Rogers, Kerby Scott, Louie and the Bear(Alan Berrier). Also I recall the newscaster Galen Fromme on 1090. He also was on a show calling the "Inquiring Reporter: with Rhea Fiken. Once they came to Easton and my mother was one of the people interviewed on the program. Of course nobody can forget Buddy Deane's show, as we all used to rush home from school to tune into the program. Another staple was the "Rotor Report' on WCBM, used to enjoy his reports on crime and the judicial process in Baltimore. Of course other names bring back memories, Johnny Walker, Lee Case, Joe Knight, Ken Merson and Jack Edwards, who did a terrific program on WCBM on the evening of Elvis' passing, as I end this trip down memory lane. Burt in Denton (3/4/09) "Dave's response: Rush spent every single day dissing Obama during the campaign... Reminds me of the lifespan of a sun. Towards the end, it flares up to a "red" giant and then shrinks back to a "blue" ember..." I guess I should "thank" you for a coffee-out-the-nose moment this morning. I shouldn't have been reading here so early :) Robert in Arlington (3/4/09) I'd have to say that Doreen, big hair and all, has always looked my-t-fine and hasn't aged noticeably in more than a quarter century before the hot lights and cameras. State's exhibit A from 1982: www.youtube.com... and exhibit B from 1985: www.youtube.com... Your honor, I rest my case. (3/4/09) Paul Harvey was also aired on WAMD in Aberdeen. I think it ran live at 8:30, pre-recorded at 12:40 and pre-recorded at 4:30pm and then moved to 5:06pm. Hey, is WAMD still on the air and doing Oldies? (3/4/09) Genghis Cohen, you sound like an old geezer with those NYC memories. Trouble is, I share the exact same memories so I must be in Geezerland, too. Jim (3/4/09) Hot Rod was always appreciative of Buddy Dean who brought Hot Rod to Baltimore from Memphis.I used to listen to Hot Rod on WITH in the mid 50's.So ahead of his time A rocket ship show before there was NASA. I was blessed to volunteer at WWIN on Saturdays in the 60's I learned more about life from Al, Rod ,Robin , Chop Chop, Kitty Larry and others then I ever learned in the class room..Ed Graham PS enjoyed the times you filled in for Chop Chop. John T. Henneman (3/4/09) I noticed Birach Broadcasting's Norfolk station has now gone dark too and apparently not for technical reasons either. It appears the company is unable to pay for any programming or even pay anyone to sell time on its stations anymore. Does anyone know if the Pittsburgh or other owned stations are still on the air? Is Birach Broadcasting going under? And how long exactly will the FCC allow a company to own so many dark stations without yanking the licenses? At any rate it seems like Birach's days are numbered. (3/4/09) All this liberal handwrining over Rush. I sense you guys are getting a little nervous. You’re beginning to see what many of us who looked at Obama with our heads and not our emotions saw. He’s a good orator but, he’s a leftist radical and his actions are putting the country into an even greater tailspin. This is not what made this country great. In four years many will be longing for Bush. I never thought I would see that happen. (3/4/09) I'm sorry, Doreen Gentzler "a housewife?" I must agree. Doreen is a knock-out, considering her age. I watched her in Philly. I’ve seen Wendy age over the years. ( not so well in my estimation). No Dorian Gray for sure! (3/4/09) ...and YOU maggots are worried about Rush Limburger or some anchorwoman's mams: news.yahoo.com (3/4/09) Notable Quotable: "(He) is a bully and he is never wrong..." said WJFK's Mike O'Meara yesterday. Wasn't sure whether he was refering to his old partner Don Geronimo or Rush Limbaugh, which was the topic of conversation. (3/4/09) Funny that among these Paul Harvey memories, no one seems to recall the couple of years he was on WPOC here in Baltimore. To be honest, I can't recall what years those were, but I do recall the change in audio fidelity was startling. Somehow, the "sound" of AM radio and his voice seemed to be meant to go together. ~~CA in BC (3/4/09) I'm sorry, Doreen Gentzler "a housewife?" Are you crazy? She's gorgeous, sexy and funny. Doesn't remind me of a hausfrau at all! Not that Wendy is bad at all, nor is Eun or Lindsay to name just a few of the beautiful women on NBC4. Skipper (3/4/09) Saw Jennifer Davis do a story from Capitol Hill and was wondering if she's now at the FOX network vs. the local FOX5 since she signed off as "Jennifer Davis, FOX news"..Also, I've noticed that she seems to have "spiffed up" her appearance maybe to be more appealing to a national audience. I went to the FOX5 website to see if she's still listed, but since they revamped their website, I was surprised that they've only listed ten on air personalities. No Wisdom Martin, Tucker Barnes or Karen Grey Houston, and she has been at the station forever.. (3/4/09) To: Burt in Denton. I haven't really been writing to the Mailbag much lately - - sort of waiting for the political posts to go away, but I have enjoyed the Paul Harvey posts. They even brought Alan Field out to play. I think that I played Paul Harvey on five or six different radio stations. He seemed to follow me and Alan around. You probably did hear me on WITH, I worked there four different times for about 15 years. John T. (stands for trouble) Henneman has a great memory, and I thank him for the Fat Daddy clip. It was a great honor to have worked with some of the great African-American radio giants. Fat Daddy, Al Jefferson, Hot Rod, Rockin Robin, Kelson Fisher, Larry Dean, Chuck Richards, and Jocko Henderson. Hot Rod copied a lot of Jocko's stuff, but added even more of his own. These personalities had no budget, no help from the owners, and were encouraged, by managers, to take money from record companies to add to their very low salaries. In spite of this, they created the most exciting radio of the 50s and 60s. While I was trying to copy Jim Lowe, Dan Ingram, and Long John Nebel, I could only look up and marvel at this talented group. History seems to be overlooking their contribution to the development of radio. Baltimore was one of the cities where there were African-Americans on "white" stations. When I worked in Korea for the American Forces Radio Network (Drafted in 1960) a black DJ finished his tour and for a few weeks, I filled in for him on the Saturday count down show. Most fun I ever had doing my impression of Hot Rod, and Larry Dean. I know it would not be PC today, but I got a lot of fan mail. Jack Edwards, eat your heart out. Ed Graham (3/4/09) Wouldn't you love to see Rachel Ray cook up a batch of THIS on her TV show? en.wikipedia.org... Your aorta would seize up just reading about it. (3/4/09) Anthony Oppermann is leaving the Potomac Nationals booth to become the new play-by-play voice for the Reading Phillies. Dan McGinn has been named the new play-by-play voice of the Potomac Nationals. P-Nats games will again air online via www.potomacnationals.com, R-Phils games on ESPN 1240 WIOV and www.readingphillies.com. Everett W. (3/4/09) As always the local press was very easy on Jim Bowden who resigned Sunday as the Washington Nationals General Manager. However such was not the case on Monday when Hall of Fame broadcaster and voice of the Cincinnati Reds Marty Brennaman blasted Bowden on Sirius-XM radio's The Inside Pitch with Jeff Joyce and Kevin Kennedy. Brennaman said what many Washington columnists felt but chose not say. www.dcexaminer.com (3/4/09) Paul Harvey a Unique Gentleman of Integrity. In Baltimore Paul Harvey News and Comments was featured at one time or another on most AM radio formats from. WWIN Top Fourty/R&B; WAYE easy listening; WISZ AM & FM Country ; WBAL News Talk ;WCBM Talk; to WWLG Standards.Rest in Peace Paul Harvey Good Day Good Life. John T. Henneman (3/4/09) Several things… The tag voice on the Hahn Shoe spot linked here doesn’t sound like Herb Davis. Speaking of linked stuff, www.tv-signoffs.com is currently showing on its front page the analog shutdown of the PBS station in Pensacola, Fla. It shows scenes from the station’s past while unwittingly closing with what so many Americans dependent upon off-air TV will see on June 13th. Finally, Andrea McCarren is right-on about what you go through in not just this business, but any other when layoffs hit. I’m reminded of JFK’s inaugural speech which had a phrase you could apply to the layoff-happy time we have today: “Who is to be more pitied? The ones who’ve lost their jobs? Or, the ones who remain, but now do the jobs of the laid-off employees in addition to their own? Who fear a sick child or come to work sick lest they take a sick day and increase their visibility in the seemingly inevitable “next round” of layoffs. Not to mention canceling vacations or major purchases, lest the vacation pay or savings be needed in the event of layoff. And, who face each day wondering if that day will be the one in which they too are laid-off?” -Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/4/09) Paul Harvey was on WWLG throughout its period as an adult standards station from at least 2000 to 2005 or 6, when it became a talk station and changed the call to WVIE. I had him on during my morning show at 9 AM. He was on again at Noon and then at 6 PM with The Rest Of the Story. Alan Field (3/4/09) “It remains to be seen if Arbitron's changes will minimize the differences between the new electronic PPMs and the old written diary method” But why should that be the goal? PPM has revealed the startling inaccuracies of the diary method, and now in the name of political correctness, the AGs of NY, NJ and MD have forced Arbitron to “tweak the methodology” (read: fudge the numbers) of PPM in order to obscure the truth again. It’s stupid, and shameful. -Brian (3/4/09) Wow! If the 'baggers on DCRTV serve as an accurate barometer, all I can say is Rush Limbaugh must be in some really deep doo-doo over what he said if he can't even get SILVIE to jump in and take his side! You lose SILVIE and you lose ELECTIONS! (3/4/09) Dave's response: Rush spent every single day dissing Obama during the campaign. He even did that fake campaign "for" Hillary. It didn't work. He obviously doesn't speak for the general electorate, and now he's losing his pull with his own party. Reminds me of the lifespan of a sun. Towards the end, it flares up to a "red" giant and then shrinks back to a "blue" ember..... Re: "Dave, you may have missed the typical bias of a print writer in the link to the magazine on your front page about the Chandra Levy story. The writer credits a "Pat Collins" and compliments him as the premier cop reporter, but we don't see that a.) he is a television journalist and b.) his station is WRC." From the article's second reference to Collins, about halfway down the page: "Collins, who has been the principal crime reporter for NBC’s WRC-TV for decades, confirmed the story with a second source." (3/4/09) I notice the chemistry change too. Vance is probably jealous at the charisma Wendy gives off. Doreen seems more like a housewife, so he looks more charming side-by-side. I watched Wendy at an event last week that we both were at, Women's Memorial honoring some elderly WW2 African-American women. She interviewed them with such kindness and respect that it told me a lot about her. (3/4/09) Oh, that Rush. He's got the media eating out of the palm of his hand. Now he's got his own music video! www.youtube.com (3/4/09) /\ March 4 Messages /\ \/ March 3 Messages \/ Of course Rush Limbaugh doesn't represent the whole GOP, but it's clear he is a talisman for many. Your political party is in disarray when you have your primary elected officials and leaders apologizing and begging forgiveness from a radio talk show host. The Republicans haven't come up with a face or faces wgich satisfy the Limbaugh crowd, and do what every Republican knows the party needs to do, expand the base. What every Republican strategist and pundit is wrestling with is, how to not piss off the conservative base currently represented by Limbaugh with what is needed to win elections in the future, which in many cases runs in direct opposition to views held by Limbaugh devotees. Democrats are exploiting this schism. (3/3/09) Thanks, John Henneman, for the Fat Daddy aircheck. As good as Fat Daddy sounded on WWIN, his talents had declined by that time. He sounded really incredible—like no jock I’ve heard before or since—when he was on WSID. Roddy Freeman (3/3/09) Don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but it appears to me that when someone other than Doreen Gentzler is on with Jim Vance, Vance seems to be none to happy. He's currently on with Wendy Rieger who's just being herself, trying to be light hearted and crack some jokes and Vance is pretty much ignoring her.What's up Vance??!!.Now, he WILL chat up Lindsey Czarniak though.. (3/3/09) Hey what ever happened with Kirk of 98Rock fame.....and well unfortunetly of Kirk and Mark on hfs, never could stand Mark but that is me. Anyway, did Kirk ever find work? He was a way cool dude. Thanks in advance, Chris (3/3/09) Dave, you may have missed the typical bias of a print writer in the link to the magazine on your front page about the Chandra Levy story. The writer credits a "Pat Collins" and compliments him as the premier cop reporter, but we don't see that a.) he is a television journalist and b.) his station is WRC. Yet, we see credit immediately given to a newspaper, named with its catchup coverage. Television news is where it's at, you print scribblers. Now if only we can keep the local stations committed to paying for broadcast journalism that their viewers want. (3/3/09) If Rush Limbaugh thwarts Steele's coup and becomes the de facto "King" of the Republican Party, wouldn't that, by default, make Sean Hannity the "Queen"? (3/3/09) Dave's response: Matt Drudge is the queen. Or "butt buddy." Gee, Rush learned some new words today..... Just another reminder of how far radio has deteriorated, with the death of Paul Harvey. Back in the day when I was just a wee bairn, listening on the old Radio Shack Tandy plug n' play breadboard radio I built from the 101 Electronic Projects set my folks got me for Xmas one year. Every evening after dinner listening to WABC from NYC, between Cousin Brucie and Dan Ingraham. That 6-6:30 1/2 hour with the news followed by "Paul Harvey News and Commentary", "On the Line with Bob Considine" and "Speaking of Sports with Howard Cosell". For a while Lowell Thomas may have even snuck in there. Of course, this was c. 1964-68; by the end of the decade, the WCBS and WINS all news format was beginning to crowd out the other stations, who converted to all music or local talk. By the mid '70's, Harvey had moved over to WOR. So did I. Now Harvey is gone. Considine is long gone. Cosell is gone. Thomas is gone. Palisades Amusement Park is a housing development. And I'm not feeling so hot myself. But I am determined to outlive that smarmy bastard Olberman. Okay, now you can all go back to worshipping Obama. Genghis ("Get Off My Lawn, You Damned Kids!") Cohen, feeling like it's early 1933 all over again in more ways than one…. (3/3/09) Dave: Can I take a moment to break-up the Paul Harvey talk and radio station critiques by commenting on some poor sports coverage in our area. I think it's a great public service you provide when the weekly PPM rankings are published. However, isn't it a crime that WTEM is consistently ranked 19th or 20th and people like Bruce Gilbert, Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban still have jobs? I've been forced to listen to WFAN in my car and that's not a good solution...in between the daytime static. Here's my question, If Snyder is able to pay 41-million dollars to one football player, why can't he put a fraction of that cost into a well-run, professional sounding sportstalk radio station? (3/3/09) Here is a look at WJFK in today's PPM numbers: 18-34: Junkies 12th, Big O And Dukes 16th, Mike O'Meara 14th... 25-54: Junkies 13th, Big O And Dukes 16th, Mike O'Meara 18th... Hurry up Amp Radio (3/3/09) Fat daddy aircheck WWIN from Summer of 1966. at the end Paul harvey news is introduced at very end, stepfatherofsoul.blogspot.com. John T. Henneman (3/3/09) Can anyone identify the VO announcer on the tag? Could it be Herb Davis? www.youtube.com (3/3/09) In all honesty, the DEM attempt to portray Limbaugh as the voice of the GOP is silly. The next election will be a referendum on Obama, nothing else. And one might suggest that he spend a little less time at Wizards games and a little more time with his economic advisers. The market apparently hasn't gotten the word that Obama is the messiah. (3/3/09) For a guy who says he listens to Rush, JP in Delaware seems to have missed his hero's biggest PR stunt in two decades. Here's what Limbaugh said about Obama five weeks before he took office: "I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, 'Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance.' Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed. If I wanted Obama to succeed, I'd be happy the Republicans have laid down. And I would be encouraging Republicans to lay down and support him. Look, what he's talking about is the absorption of as much of the private sector by the US government as possible, from the banking business, to the mortgage industry, the automobile business, to health care. I do not want the government in charge of all of these things. I don't want this to work. So I'm thinking of replying to the guy, 'Okay, I'll send you a response, but I don't need 400 words, I need four: I hope he fails.'" I know his sycophants go into hysterics when Rush is called "drug-addled," but I'm not sure what else could account for the layers of stupidity and downright weirdness in this tirade. Let's see...he believes supporting an incoming President is "laying down," he believes two wrongs DO make a right, he displays (as he has for more than a decade) obvious signs of paranoia; he includes at least one blatant lie (weeks into the primary season Rush claimed he'd "never heard of Senator Obama," now he claims he's been listening to him since mid-2007...it goes on and on. Rush is an embarrassing standard-holder for the once-proud GOP. And, by the way, there is no mention of wanting Obama to fail only if he is going to make American "more socialist." (3/3/09) I seem to recall that Paul Harvey was also on WCBM at one time about midday..and also WBAL for awhile. Someone can confirm that though...not sure if my memory is correct..lol. WWIN...used to listen to Fat Daddy in the mornings sometimes. You could hear it fairly well most mornings in Easton. I think Fat Daddy also worked at WSID a good part of his career. No problem with the signal in Easton from that station it came in loud and clear in Easton on 1010 AM. Ed Graham. i enjoy your posts, and listened to you on WITH for quite awhile, unless I have it confused with another station. Burt in Denton (3/3/09) To James in Centreville: The Republicans did not pick Limbaugh to be their leader, rather he has become a de-facto leader of the Conservative movement. Once again, you need to get your facts straight. Stop with the name calling, and research before you speak. (3/3/09) Mike O'Meara is right tho. . .this town is about the wimpiest when it comes to a little snow. And WTOP and the TV news stations hype each bit of snow like its freakin doomsday. Hell, Obama was right about that as well when he commented on it a few weeks back. The only thing I will say in defense of the weather weenies, is that when it does snow here, it does become apparent how many people moved NORTH to live hear and really have no idea how to drive in snow. (3/3/09) Anybody know where Stacy Drake of Light 97.5 in Martinsburg has been the last 2 mornings? I have been hearing someone on the air during the mornings that I have not heard before. I remember he was ill a couple of weeks ago. Loyal Light Listener (3/3/09) The Paul Harvey/WFQX story as I can remember goes like this....back in 1994/1995 WFQX ( then a HOT AC station ) had a jock on their staff named "Tad Pole" others said it was "Catfish Hunter" ( hey they were known as "Froggy 99" at the time what do you expect ). Somehow ( don't ask ) WFQX found out that the jock in question had HIV. Not hard to do at the time since this was BEFORE the health privacy act. Their sister station at the time ( it still is ) was WUSQ-FM Q102.5. WUSQ at the time had Paul Harvey. Anyway to make this story short, one of WUSQ's top sales chick at the time was Diane Greenfield. Diane felt ( at the time I hope ) that anyone with HIV should not be allowed to be on the radio no matter what since having such a person on the staff went against her morals and could put the listeners in jeopardy. Anyway Greenfield wrote a letter to everyone who was syndicated at either WFQX or WUSQ about the situation such as ABC News, Blair "After Midnight" Garner, Dr. Laura, Ollie North, Bruce Williams, Paul Harvey, MTV, Larry King..etc..( this was before email of course ). The only one who responded to her letter was Paul Harvey !! The others like ABC NEWS or Laura Schlessinger I assume could had cared less. Paul Harvey from what I was told actually agreed with Greenfield..if you have HIV..stay off the airwaves !! The joke around Front Royal back then was this.."how does 99.3 promote safe sex?..put a condom on your ears !!". Paul Harvey in his letter to WFQX management I have heard suggested that the jock be fired for having HIV. Now whether or not that actually happened, I don't know but it wasn't long after this incident that WFQX became "99.3 The Frog" and Diane had joined WZRV/WFTR in Front Royal. Have NO idea whatever became of Diane Greenfield. Let us hope she has since change her opinions of those who have HIV. (3/3/09) When I first started listening to WWIN Jon Jeppi did mornings and Dennis Hill had afternoons.Jack Gale, Ed Graham and Jerry Kearns came in the fall. In early 1961 WWIN was only 250 watts daytime .Late in the years WWIN went to 1000/250 so you could hear then on Route 50 to about Easton/Cambridge but if you went east 1400 was taken over by an Atlantic City on the board walk station.In the evening WWIN carried a news block that included Edward P Morgan and Alex Dryer .They also had Howard Cossel sports at 8:25AM and 5:25PM .John T. Henneman (3/3/09) I have to agree with a previous mailbagger about 9 trying to cram twitter, facebook and blogs down people's throats from 5-7AM. It's 6 in the morning and NO one gives a flying fuck about any of that crap. NO one is running to their computer to see the Angie Goff or WeatherKim blog. Most people are already turning the channel anyways because of all that nonsense you fill the screen with. And why even bother having Kim there anyways? You'd think that 9 would want a ''morning team'' that can actually function 5 days a week. Apparently ''WeatherKim'' doesn't grasp that concept because she's hardly ever there. Paul (3/3/09) To John in response to your post about Paul Harvey: Thanks for the info you provided; I was all of six years old in 1961 (am telling my age..that's okay)..at the time, I knew about WWIN; just didn't listen to it as much (and we couldn't really get the station that well here on the eastern shore)..so I probably wouldn't have known anything about Paul Harvey! Thanks again for the info! Tom in Denton, MD. (3/3/09) RE: the death of Paul Harvey....I seem to recall Harvey was involved in a situation with Front Royal's WFQX-FM 99.3 back in the mid 1990's even though Harvey's show never aired there over some rather strange incident involving a jock with HIV, what was the story? (3/3/09) JP in Delaware, you are right on target. This “change” is a spiral staircase” to a totally socialist regime. We as a country are on the brink of a total disaster. Look at the Medical, Health…Social Security…payments to those that are NOT citizens…the list goes on and on. I’m no fan of Limbaugh’s but he is on the money with the fears he is expressing. We have so many citizens that don’t know the first thing about our constitution, the Declaration Of Independence or any of the really relevant issues that the United States of America stands for. Thanks for your over-view. The “flat-foreheaded Liberals don’t study, they vote with no information to base their decisions on. “They have Obama, they’re going to get rich”. God Help the USA! (3/3/09) "They are the land of suck... A hype frenzy machine" Yeah, and they whip you in every demo. Today they were 1st men 25-54.....and you were 7th. Who sucks in the ratings now? (3/3/09) Dave's response: A "love letter" to Mike O'Meara? WPFW's an interesting case. They seem very committed to and passionate about their jazz format (and Democracy Now), but much as with WAMU's HD2 Bluegrass, it seems like such a tiny, tiny niche. You end up with these ultra-micro-formats, and then the blandness of commercial radio, but nothing in between (i.e. the various non-com AAAs that pretty much every other comparable city in the country and lots of smaller ones have). Very frustrating. (3/3/09) "However,what about the jerks like Al Franken, who is telling people to call him Senator Franken, who is trying to win the Minnesota senate race with questionable legal tactics. James in Centreville" Hey James, I know Al Franken, and he's not telling anyone to call him Senator Franken. As for 'questionable' legal tactics, please explain what you mean. They may be questionable in Norm Coleman's view, but the courts don't think so. You want questionable? Look no further than the 2000 Presidential election. (3/3/09) It amazes me how many people continue to push the lie that Limbaugh "wants Obama to fail". Unlike the majority of people who post in this mailbag, I actually listen to Limbaugh, so I'll enlighten you to exactly what he said. Limbaugh has said on numerous occasions that he supports his president. But if Obama's policies are going to usher in Socialism (or further Socialistic economic policies) and kill what's left of our free market economy, then Rush wants that policy to fail. Any intelligent American should be able to agree with that. See how easy it is to get your facts straight if you only go to the source? If you stop listening to Chicken Noodle News or MSNBC and getting your gossip from third-hand sources, then you people wouldn't be guilty of spreading slanders, lies and rumors. Rush has enough problems without some of you morons having to lie and distort. JP in Delaware (3/3/09) I've said it before...the only hope for decent music on FM in DC is for some of these commercial properties to become so devalued that non-coms with some culturally-inclined benefactors can swoop in and turn them into cultural hubs worth listening to. Like Microsoft's Paul Allen did for KEXP... (3/3/09) Dave's response: I doubt that'll happen. The only possibly available non-comm sigs in the DC area are C-SPAN's 90.1 and Columbia Union College's 91.9. C-SPAN seems committed to its DC frequency (although no one's listening according to the PPMs), and the sale of CUC's contemp Christian WGTS to Minnesota Public Radio went nowhere in 2007. Maybe Pacifica could broaden the musical scope of WPFW, 89.3, from jazz to include a few progressive rock shows? Hmmm..... What a gig if you can get it………….. Ed Norris Show 5:30am to 10am on 105.7THEFAN Today – ESPN AM canned show plays until 5:37am, then 6 minutes of commercials, then Ed comes back on with no intro. He does his usual groan says his good morning, then he and Maynard complain about how cold it is for the 34th straight day, then he says that “we have a lot to talk about” about 3 or 4 times, then they go to commercial break again about 3 minutes after they signed on….then I arrive at work and a total waste of a ½ of air space is over. Informative radio, CBS, very nice!! Maybe you SHOULD consider ALL sports. (3/3/09) Dave, to answer the question "Why So Few Women Covering WH?", it is because women belong at home, making sandwiches and ironing shirts. Sincerely, Billy Packer and Hootie Johnson (3/3/09) RE: "Dave's response: I personally think that the DC market has "format hole" for a good rocker aimed at adults. Something with a deep playlist that also isn't afraid to play bold, new stuff. Take elements of the BBC's Radio 6, Philly's WXPN, and Chicago's WXRT, with a healthy dose of our heritage WHFS." Dave...you make a great point, but looking at the reality of the business, this will never happen. Radio is not adventurous, it is vanilla, something for the masses. Setting up a format like that would segment the market. BBC Radio 6 is only available on DAB in the UK, WXPN is a great format, but it would never be implemented in DC. DC is a very boring, vanilla, play it safe format. Just listen to the blandness already out there..the HOT AC is sooo vanilla it is almost AC; the Rock station is still playing stuff from the 80s that should be abandoned; the Urbans don't do true Urban--Hip Hop/Dirty South, etc; and the Classic Rock stations are sticking with the same tired and tested 200 song rotations. As long as CBS, Clear Channel, Citadel are in this industry, don't hope for creativity--cause you ain't gonna get it! Steve (3/3/09) Dave's response: I think you're right. And especially in this recessionary era, local radio suits are going to, more than ever, play it safe with easily pigeon-holed formats that'll conform to the demands of advertisers. And not challenge them with something like an "out there" adult rocker..... A little out of your area but it may be of interest to some. It's an obit of an old time broadcaster www.racerap.com (3/3/09) Re: the WOOK post, Wow..that brought back memories..I was in junior high school when the guy climbed the t.v. tower..I remember my father and a group of us walking down to the station just to see this..And for those who remember, it's a real shame that there's no saved video of the teenage dance show Teenarama that was broadcast on WOOK.. (3/3/09) WCFM 99.5 was "Washington's Cooperative FM" station, owned by a coop, maybe the Greenbelt one - or related to it. They were on the air early and failed in the mid-1950s. Somewhere I have the inventory of their equipment. I think their engineer got title to it because of his claim for back pay. Was the engineer Ed Behre (sp?)? The transmitter was in northern Virginia. (3/3/09) Mailbaggers (and mailbagettes) who enjoyed the old articles about Richard Eaton may also enjoy a trip down memory lane for WINX from its' December 1940 inception: dcmemories.com... Understandably, there's some duplication with the Eaton articles from 1951 forward. (3/3/09) (Dave suggested) how about a rockish jazz show for Al Santos on the weekends? (end) I love the idea but that's a mighty fine line to tread. There's a lot of valid Steely Dan, Yes, DiMeola etc cuts that would succeed, but one must be very careful not to stray beyond some thready boundaries. Jazz + POP = "Feel So Good" by Chuck Mangione, Jazz + CHICK TUNE = "Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur and Jazz + SOUL = "Masquerade" as performed by George Benson. Talk about steering thru the icebergs with a handheld rudder... (3/3/09) how many remember WCFM FM radio 99.5?? What kind of radio was it?? rob (3/3/09) Rush Limbaugh is a genius and we all should watch these events in awe. I remember a scene from the movie Private Parts that epitomizes what is currently taking place between the media and Limbaugh. In the scene the managers of the station are reviewing Stern's ratings. The people who like Stern listened for an hour on average because they wanted to hear what he is going to say next. The people who hated Stern listened for two hours because....they wanted to hear what he is going to say next. The same is true for Limbaugh. Watch his ratings rise over the next few weeks. There's no such thing as bad publicity. - PT Barnum (3/3/09) Re: Would 94.7 WHFS be a ratings winner? Who knows if WHFS would be a ratings winner - However with the solid PPM numbers scored by modern rock stations all across the country coupled with the fact that WTGB numbers are very, very low at the moment - It could only go up from here (3/3/09) Why do so many on this board seem to think that if CBS flipped WTGB-FM to WHFS-FM it would miraculously be a ratings winner? WHFS-FM was big in the late 60s to early 70s. That was nearly 40 years ago!!!! It was a lifestyle driven format! Thing have moved on considerably (radio-wise) since that time! Perhaps you should too. (3/3/09) Dave's response: I personally think that the DC market has "format hole" for a good rocker aimed at adults. Something with a deep playlist that also isn't afraid to play bold, new stuff. Take elements of the BBC's Radio 6, Philly's WXPN, and Chicago's WXRT, with a healthy dose of our heritage WHFS. If done right, I think it would work here in DC. And, heck, how about a rockish jazz show for Al Santos on the weekends? Maybe call it "Sunday Morning Munch"..... Re: "By far the best is Gil Gross--intelligent, witty, laugh-out-loud funny much of the time; he knows how to select stories and how to deliver them. I'm glad that he did the tribute to Paul Harvey today." Gil Gross is one of the most underrated broadcasters in America. If ABC Radio was smart about the "who succeeds Paul Harvey" question a few years ago, it would have made sure Gil was in place to do it. Gil was one of the best Harvey substitutes. Then again, maybe Gil himself realized that it was foolish to try to step into those big shoes, and that "Paul Harvey News" basically shouldn't exist without its namesake. ABC is probably gonna start selling someone in place of Mr. Harvey starting next week (Huckabee?), but Paul Harvey News, along with Mr. Harvey, is now dead...ahd should be laid to rest. Gil Gross is now gainfully employed by Citadel's talk powerhouse KGO in San Francisco as a local host, assuming Citadel's mismanagement and crippling debt doesn't kill THAT radio institution as well. Unlike WMAL, KGO airs a nearly full 24/7 schedule of local programming, even weekend overnights... (3/3/09) RE-->"To the poster talking about the delay for O's games on 105.7, where ya' been? It's been going on, and discussed in the Mailbag, since last year. Try listening to a Terps game. Same thing. Never have gotten an explanation from the CBS Suits." ... I'm not a "CBS Suit", but I can answer your questions. The Orioles broadcast is heard on WJZ-FM with a 7 second HD Radio delay. I'm not an engineer, but as I understand it, the analog signal is delayed for 7 seconds, so that when a HD radio loses it digital signal, the radio automatically switches to the analog version seamlessly. Kinda like buffering. I believe that the delay you heard on the Orioles game yesterday was because WJZ-FM did not drop it's profanity delay because the game was not at Oriole Park and was not broadcast on Television. As for the Terps games of WJZ-FM, it also is subject to a 7 second HD delay. If you're listening to the Terps games on WJFK-FM in Washington, you should contact the station and ask them to turn off their profanity delay system during all Terps games. (3/3/09) Wow, poor Michael Steele, that man cannot win, hated by black people, ridiculed in racist comments by The Baltimore Sun ("The man offers nothing to the ticket but the color of his skin"), now hammered from the RIGHT by fat blowhard Rush Limbaugh! Who's next on the nutty Let's Kick Michael Steele train? Wackjob Chris Matthews or Keith Olberman ? I can't decide. I do know one thing though. MSNBC, along with The Baltimore Sun will probably go under in 2009! hehe :-) Even as a conservative, I can only hope Rush Limbaugh suffers the same fate since I hate partisan nutjob BS, but hate always seems to survive in troubled times unfortunately and I have a sneaking suspicion Rush will out-survive them all just for that ONE very reason. :-( (3/3/09) Dave's response: Now now now. We may not like Rush, but we don't want to wish him personal harm. By "go under" I'm assuming you mean in a career-wise, political sense. Not personal. Heaven forbid..... At the R&R Talk Radio Seminar a few years back, Rush was asked why he doesn’t issue clarifications or corrections when he is wrong. Rush said that his show "isn't news, it's entertainment," so he didn't have to. Example; remember when Rush said Obama was "of Arab descent"? That statement must be “entertainment,” because it was in no way "news," or even "commentary." Now, Rush, you can't have it both ways; if you can justify that your program is "entertainment, not news," why can't others? That being said, Chris Plante is a "Great American" for sticking to that Oreo pelting story, even though it was pure crap. Chris Plante's and Rush Limbaugh's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. (3/3/09) Dave's response: In the past, many liberals have had to do this dance - "I don't support the war, but I do support the troops." Because, as Americans, if we lost the war, a lot of our young men and women would get killed. Now, we have Rush. He doesn't support Obama, and by hoping Obama's "fails" is kinda like saying you don't "support the economic troops." Sometimes being a good American means working together even if you don't much like the leadership of the "other" party. That's kind of what politicians have to do - for their own survival. Hell, we Democrats have had to do it many times under Nixon, Reagan, and the Bushes. Like it or not, we're all Americans. And, like a real war, if this economy sinks we'll all be hurting - if we aren't already..... The Eaton articles are fabulous . . . thanks for posting them here, Dave. That 15 minute show of his -- The Messssssssaaggggggge of Hooooooope -- ran at 8:30am weekdays, on reel to reels that bicycled between WINX and WOOK. It was weird working at WINX while the license at WOOK was being denied for broadcasting the numbers as scripture readings. We wondered what would become of the WINX license as well. I wonder if anyone would show up at a reunion of WINXers . . . and what the hell has happened to Pierre? (3/3/09) To the NAMELESS COWARD that wrote the following: [RE: "Rush Limbaugh is a jerk: Well maybe it was wrong to wish failure on Obama by Limbaugh. However,what about the jerks like Al Franken, who is telling people to call him Senator Franken, who is trying to win the Minnesota senate race with questionable legal tactics. And the real jerk is Keith Obermann, who only has guests on his program that totally agree with him. The rest of the time he rails against Rush, Hannity and O'Reilly and others on the conservative talk outlets. Is it no wonder that MSNBC's ratings are always in the toilet. James in Centreville, come up with more facts and less name calling...] Why in the world would the Republican choose Rush Limbaugh to be the key note speaker at the Conservative Political Action Committee Conference. Do they not think we remember the legal problems Limbaugh has had in the past with prescription drugs. Or the hate he spews forth daily on his radio show. To me it seems like the Republicans are stuck on stupid and in case you if you are wondering I do not support either the Democrat or Republican. James in Centreville (3/3/09) WAIT, what's that smell!!??? No, it's not the News Director at WUSA 9....its RATS!! The dumb ass ND sent out an email to the employees claiming 2 rats are now out of the news room. NOOOOO, he didn't mean himself and the GM, he meant the fury critters living all over the news room. The newsroom reeks of dead vermin. What a dump! Heh, maybe the laptop camera bloggers can capture them live for the 9 people that watch what they do. (3/3/09) You're not breaking any new ground with Rush's DJ name (his real name is Rush Limbaugh) ... this was all covered by Don Geronimo (real name: well known) who always said if you steal from him you're stealing twice, because he stole from Steve Dahl. Dammit, I wish Rush could get his weight back to the point it was in that picture; on TV you're selling sizzle as well as steak. Never give your clean-cut straight-seeming college-type opponents love handles they can grab on to as they work out their gay teddy bear fantasies. --- ThePenIsMightier (3/3/09) Dave's response: "Jeff Christie" - "Jesus Christ." Oh, nevermind..... EXCLUSIVE my ass! I am soooo tired of news programs using the term Exclusive and then I see the same story somewhere else. What is with that shit? I know what they're doing, wanting me to tune in to see the story but I'm now turning away from those stations especially NBC4 because they do it the most. Let me first start by saying I'm a diehard Redskins fan. The news that Jason Taylor was cut by the team stunned me. I saw it on Comcast sportsnet in the afternoon. Kelly Johnson had the report saying that Taylor didn't want to workout at Redskins park just because the team wanted him to, so they let him go and the team gets to keep the eight million dollars they owed him. I don't really understand it all, but Kelly said she talked to Vinny Cerrato from the front office, and she even talked to Andre Carter one of the defensive ends. So I'm still stunned to think we just got this Hayneworth guy for 100-million dollars and our defense is really gonna cook now with him and Taylor working it. Enter channel 4 who says coming up Lindsay Zarniak has Exclusive behind the scenes details on why Taylor is gone from the Skins. I think great now I'll get to the bottom of what the hell happened. What does she have? The same exact shit Kelly had!! There was nothing new!! In fact she too talked to Andre Carter!! Shouldn't there be a no copy cat rule in journalism? How is that Exclusive!!! You know what it is, BULLSHIT! and I'm tired of them treating us viewers like we're idiots. Here is an EXCLUSIVE, I'm done with channel 4 news and their lies, and anything other station that doesn't deliver what they promise. signed, Exclusively yours (3/3/09) O and Dukes are in Arizona for an appearance/vacation. I think they'll be live from the land of the sun tomorrow... Seth in Centreville (3/3/09) Does our favorite little Napoleon (Daniel Snyder) still own Six Flags? The bond market is betting they will soon fall into default. Also Univision... www.marketwatch.com (3/3/09) Dave's response: We've reported that..... Coming back from a commercial break, Larry King was heard saying "Jesus Christ"! Trying to top Chris "Oh God" Matthews, are we? www.youtube.com (3/3/09) As one who once was an outspoken supporter of Limbaugh and campaigned for his presence on TV here in the mid-90s...all I can say to his comments of the last few days is,,,WTF?,,,Rush, please STFU and let Bobby Jindal speak. God help us if the GOP really is looking to you to be a voice and an leader of the party. You were correct about why Obama should fail,,,but you are way off on Northern Bank's 'party for customers' and some of your other recent comments. Get behind Jindal, his speech was very on point, you are not. (3/3/09) /\ March 3 Messages /\ \/ March 2 Messages \/ Imus: last Friday, 2/27, during the 6 to 7 am hour, 105.9 FM in DC area had some of Imus on along with tunes and commercials. Meanwhile, WABC, 770 AM, in New York, had Imus on with some different activity. At one point on WABC the Imus crew was chatting and on 105.9 there was a second tune and more commercials after a song and commericals had already aired. Later in the same hour, WABC had Imus live with Donald Trump while 105.9 had Imus interviewing Van Morrison. Strange but then Citadel is off the NY Stock Exchange so only the Shadow knows what's lurking. (3/2/09) Can someone please tell Chris Plante the Oreo pelting story about Michael Steele turned out to be questionable, I mean most likely-not true, and probably made up? You see, the story turned out to be crap because the original reporter that broke it has since backed off the story. Chris, were you aware, the only sources on of the incident reported to the press came from Ehrlich’s staff, the “eye witness accounts” were all over the board, no clean up of Oreo cookies was remembered by the custodial staff, John Kane doesn’t even mention it anymore, there were campus police at the event and no one was arrested for assault, which would have happened if cookies were thrown. To summerize, Chris Plante should not have used this piece of crap to justify his point of view this morning. (3/2/09) WTGB's signal isn't strong enough. Put WHFS on 95.5 and it will cover DC and Baltimore even better than it once did. Radio Locator's coverage maps show WTGB and WPGC coverage as about the same but it isn't so with 94.7 WDSD drowning out The Globe as far as Baltimore County. Or take a look at El Zol's ratings...looks alot like 99.1 HFS before the flip. My point is it was once WHFS: Annapolis,Baltimore,DC and thats what it should be again. No more part time,weekend,2nd channel on a full moon between basketball and used car salesmen and sometimes during low tide. Put it on a strong signal that its listeners can get.And if RNR goes belly up get Rob Timm and Bob Waugh back with Neci and Spam. Yes this sounds like a wishlist but even a mere listener can think up better ideas than CBS execs....like....what worked before corporate trashed it?!?!??? (3/2/09) Here's a truly frightening photo - circa 1972 at WIXZ Radio in Pittsburgh - Rush Limbaugh (aka: Jeff Christie), in his Top 40 days. That expression is priceless... It somehow fits that he's now the voice of the GOP. (3/2/09) Thanks to whoever posted all those newspaper clippings about Richard Eaton, WOOK-AM and Channel 14! About the only one that was left out was the one concerning the guy who climbed the TV tower (naked, I think). (3/2/09) Ref; "Okay, believe it or not, WUSA, as "hurting" as it is these days, definately has the hottest gals on the local news". They may have the hottest gals but they also have the biggest air heads. Why does every street reporter on their staff have the need to reach down and touch snow, rub their hands against trees to show how snow stuck to a tree, lay down on the ground and do snow angles, rub their feet around on a plowed street to indicate that there is no snow, and ten other moronic activities. Hello Channel 9? We know what snow feels like. (3/2/09) Mike, our weather pattern continued north and *BECAME* a New England storm. No difference. (3/2/09) WRNR in Annapolis has been off the air all day today, again. What is goimg on there? The website was down for a week and is now back, but no streaming, and last week they kept popping in and out in the morning one of the days, and now they are completely off the air. I prefer WRNR over WTMD for a variety of reasons, but lately I've been listening to WTMD more than ever, thanks to WRNR and their constant dead air and skipping/repeating music. Does anyone know what's going on at WRNR and why they seem to be drying up on the vine? (3/2/09) What happened to the Comcast Network (formerly CN8)? Channel 21 in Prince George's County is now just static. (3/2/09) When I first started listening to WWIN -AM in 1961 Paul Harvey was on at 8:30AM and 12:30PM . At some point He got moved to 8:55AM and there was a week hehe when the show at noon hour was condensed down to 5 minutes. After WWIN AM went r&B at some point Harvey was moved to WAYE I believe . Harvey ended up on WISZ after the ABC Network split around 1968. WISZ picked up the Entertainment network and got Harvey in the package.John T. Henneman (3/2/09) O'Meara's land of suck, Hey dickhead, I remember seeing snow on the ground when I woke up Saturday morning. I now see seven inches of snow outside my windows. I know that I was walking through 30mph winds last and this morning, with 60 mph winds being noted on the Bay. And if I wanted to drive about 30 minutes east, I would run into a foot of snow. Sounds like this area got exactly what you're bitching about is a "TRUE" storm. No wonder I don't listen to your fat ass anymore. (3/2/09) To UCS: The ghost of Richard Eaton may be found at DCMemories.com (3/2/09) Perhaps people will understand a little better from what I presume Rush meant about wanting Obama's radical socialist policies to fail by comparing some peoples encouraging us to buy American cars even though most of the cars they produce are substandard. I no more intend to by an American car under the guise of being patriotic than I will support the governments or Obama's plan to socialize everything it/he can get its/his hands on. Have any people considered what it will be like to have a socialized medical care? Been to the DMV lately, called the IRS for info? What makes you think the medical care will be any different? Wake up, change for the sake of change is just plain ignorant. Porter Jervis (3/2/09) Dave's response: Danger danger. Off-topic warning. Politics is OK as long as its radio/TV-related. Danger danger. By the way, Porter, for many medical care is already that way. Ever try to deal with an insurance company or medical billing office? Hmmm.... A "Paul Harvey" question: Does anybody know if Paul Harvey's "News And Commentary" ran in the Baltimore market before 1968? I first remember hearing Paul on WISZ, starting in 1968; I got the impression he had been around long before then..but had never heard of him! So was he ever on in Baltimore before WISZ started carrying his program? Tom in Denton, MD. (3/2/09) To the poster talking about the delay for O's games on 105.7, where ya' been? It's been going on, and discussed in the Mailbag, since last year. Try listening to a Terps game. Same thing. Never have gotten an explanation from the CBS Suits. Oh, that's right. They're not allowed to visit Dave's site. 7-second delay, somewhat understandable. 25 second delay; Ridiculous. Curious, but does anyone know if this same thing goes on in NY w/WFAN, another CBS property? They've got Mets, Devils and Nets. Wouldn't think NY fans would put up with this. (3/2/09) Has the ghost of Richard Eaton jinxed DTV? The way reliable stable reception areas of Washington’s analog giants shrinks down in DTV to what WOOK-TV/WFAN-TV once had makes me wonder. Any Baltimore vets able to do a comparison with the DTV’s there vs. the coverage of the old WMET-TV? DTV FCC-style is something of an equalizer in that it seems every station suffers with it, be it loss of reception area, loss of reception area population, etc. Are there any which actually gain in area or population with it? I’m dreading June 12th. I wish Feb 19th had stuck. At least we’d have something other than the economy to bitch about! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/2/09) "I would like to thank Rush Limbaugh for showing me what a drug addled, creepy douche bag he really is. There's your ''hope and future'' all you lucky, lucky Republicans! Paul" Thanks , Paul for the insightful comment on local DC area media, and kudos to Dave for letting it through. What you should have done, Paul, is said "on C-SPAN" you drug addled, creepy douche bag. But on a lighter note, why is Big O and Dukes in Best-Of today? Hmmm? --- ThePenIsMightier (3/2/09) I would like to thank Rush Limbaugh for showing me what a drug addled, creepy douche bag he really is. There's your ''hope and future'' all you lucky, lucky Republicans! Paul (3/2/09) WXRT Chicago has 50+ currents and dozens of recent recurrents on top of that, ranging from standard AAA to relatively adventurous indie rock. In its "AAA" days WTGB had maybe 10 currents, most of which were of the Sara Barrieles/Colbie Calliet/MIX 107.3 variety. WTGB was and is a failure, but not of AAA or WXRT-style programming, for sure. (3/2/09) I'm listening to the Orioles' game on 105.7 and XM. Amazingly enough,XM is about fifteen seconds ahead of the radio. That's quite a delay, since I expected XM to be quite behind (what with the way the signal has to travel to get back to my receiver.) If this is the case, it will make listening to the game on 105.7 while at Oriole Park quite useless. (3/2/09) For three years, I worked at WAZT-TV in Woodstock, Va. On the way home up I-81, I would listen to WSVA AM 550 out of Harrisonburg, Mike Shickman would take a break to air "The Rest of the Story." In the wintertime, however, as I got closer to home, I would lose the AM 550 signal. If "The Rest of the Story" really had my interest, I would have to pull over to the side of the road to listen to...the REST of the story. (3/2/09) Dave's response: I can easily hear Harrisonburg's WSVA on 550 AM here in Wild West Fairfax on my car radio. One helluva of a 5,000-watt signal..... Speaking of on-air Chemistry, wonder why Tom Marr no longer has any of his co-workers on the air with him anymore? At one time he had a producer and newswoman come on every Friday for the Mad Hour. Guess he is too Mad to have them on anymore? He seems very alone and bitter sounding most days. Today he appeared confused at the end of his show and could not quite understand the peoples names who were calling in to his show. Or even understand hat THEY WERE CALLING ABOUT!!!! He says he will have 50 yrs in the business soon. Will he retire to his Florida home soon does anyone know? (3/2/09) The big difference between Paul Harvey (conservative) and Rush Limbaugh (conservative) is dignity and class. Mr. Harvey would never wish failure upon the President of the United States during an economic crisis and war overseas. (3/2/09) Dave's response: Each day, Limbaugh becomes more like the Andy Griffith character in "A Face In The Crowd"..... I don't know whether Gil Gross' Paul Harvey tribute was hastily done over the weekend or was in the can for a while. Regardless--I thought it was one of the best things I've heard on radio in recent years. Paul Harvey's death is no surprise; some wondered how long he'd last after losing Lynne last year, health problems or not. All I know is when he was on, you listened. When someone filled in--you turned it off. For 60 years, Paul Harvey did every day what most of us strive to do in an entire career. He truly made it look easy. sean hall (3/2/09) Dave's response: Yeah, I heard it, too. I didn't know that Harvey asked Nixon to pull our troops out of Vietnam. Interesting..... [Dave says: Also, I'd get someone from CBS's AAAer WXRT in Chicago to program the new WHFS since nobody else at CBS seems to know how to run a cool rock station.....] Norm Winer, longtime PD of WXRT, was one of the architects of the launch of The Globe. Perhaps the failure of the station is the fault of former station manager and programming micromanager. Or maybe AAA just isn’t commercially-viable in Washington. (3/2/09) Dave's response: Winer was one of MANY architects of the Globe, which was never anything close to AAA or XRT. You know what they say about "too many cooks"..... The only reason non-subscribing stations like WBQB or WINC may show up in the published versions of DC Arbitron summaries is that someone at Arbitron isn’t paying attention. Whoever was assigned this task no doubt red-flagged the “home” markets—Fredericksburg & Winchester—but didn’t bother to do the same for Washington. It’s kind of funny when you think about it. An outfit that lives & dies with computers can’t figure out how to flag the call-letters instead of the market… (3/2/09) I listened to Paul Harvey every day since I was 12 years old. And yes, I remember his little inserts into the evening news--he was on 13 up here in Baltimore. Even though in recent years I grew frustrated with his slant on stories (and I'm not talking about politics), and yelled at the radio --at him-- for lying to me in his commercials, by then he was like family and you can do that with family. I knew something had to be going on with him because of his unexplained absence from the air this past week or so. I think most people who paid attention expected he would follow his Angel fairly quickly. So, what becomes of his radio show? He introduced us to many different radio voices as fill-ins over recent years. By far the best is Gil Gross--intelligent, witty, laugh-out-loud funny much of the time; he knows how to select stories and how to deliver them. I'm glad that he did the tribute to Paul Harvey today. I remember Chris Core handling the job extremely well, too--but that seems to me to be more recent than back in the 90s. I won't name the all the ones I thought were terrible at the job, but it appears Ron Chapman has been primed to take the job, and if that's the case my longtime mid-day tradition will be over. Paul Harvey Jr. took over his father's 4-minute morning spot a while back. Even though I disagree with his slant even more than his father's, he often brings up stories of interest to me, and so is a big help in writing my daily blog. It seems those 4 minutes may turn out to be my last reason to keep WMAL on a button in my car. If WMAL were still a class act, they would have re-recorded their bumpers over the weekend. After Gil Gross' tribute to Paul Harvey's writing skills, we heard "Paul Harvey returns tonight..." ~~CA in BC (3/2/09) I won't bother sending another Washington Times link, but Andrew Brietbart has a column in today's issue about Rush's CPAC speech, which you front-paged. Also, I'm home today listening to Laura Ingraham play clips of Chuck Todd saying "radio is dying" and it's a backward-looking medium associated with the 1990s. All this in reference to Limbaugh's speech and audience. Now Todd's actually appearing on Ingraham's show, partly taking back his comments, but not really. He's trying to be self-deprecating, saying the medium he now appears on, TV, is also a dying a medium. (3/2/09) Dave's response: "Broadcasting" is dying. People can now pick and choose from a vast variety of individual channels or streams or particular tunes from a wide array of sources, via satellites, the internet, cell phones, DVDs, and iPod-like devices. It's called "change." Get used to it, Chuck Todd..... Dave, you underestimated the coming snowstorm, which did amount to something substantial here in Central Fairfax, if not in "Wild West" Fairfax. But it wasn't up to the hype unless you live in La Plata. To their credit, the broadcasters pretty much pegged the storm as being more of an event south and east of the city, but the stations cover such a wide geographical swath that hundreds of thousands of people are bound to wonder what all the fuss was about. On a related note, neither the Washington Post nor Washington Times showed up in my driveway today. For once, there's a legitimate excuse, although back in the day when teenagers delivered our family paper, it always showed up. Now adults drive the paper routes as second jobs, and if the roads aren't in good shape, the paper doesn't show up. So here I am, logging on and reading my papers online. Christian (3/2/09) Dave's response: Most of the snow that fell in Wild West Fairfax fell after 6 AM. I woke up at 5 AM and there was only a inch or two on the ground. And since my Post gets delivered at that hour, it was waiting for me at the front door. Between 6 AM and 10 AM, we got another four or five inches, for a grand total of seven or eight..... Here's how I'd Fix CBS Washington: 94.7 (the lowest performer) - Bring WHFS call letters, either flip to alternative and compete against DC101 on a strong signal blanketing the DC area (something 99.1 never had)or open up the playlist playing some lesser known classic rock tunes, more live music, and a few bands from the 90s (Nirvana, Peal Jam, etc). If keeping the classic rock format, think about bringing in Omera mornings... 106.7 - Flip to El Zol... 99.1 - Flip to WJFK Washington and Baltimore's Sports and Talk Superstation (Omera mornings (if not on 94.7), Big O and Dukes Middays, Junks afternoons, new local evening show)... 95.5 - Keep as is... Thoughts, suggestions? (3/2/09) Dave's response: Good ideas, except putting sports talk on 99.1, which also covers the Balto metro. CBS already has a sports talker in Baltimore - 105.7 - and the CBS DC station would be competing against that. Not good. I'd put the sports talk on 94.7, and put the alt rock WHFS on 99.1, where it used to be. But take the station back to its greatness of the 1990s, not what it was doing the few years before its 2005 demise. Also, I'd get someone from CBS's AAAer WXRT in Chicago to program the new WHFS since nobody else at CBS seems to know how to run a cool rock station..... I've been watching the WJZ Morning Show coverage of the snow since 5:30am (before you jump and say I need a life, It is on in the background!)...and I have noticed that Marty and Don seem to be struggling these days to have chemistry and content. It may just be the circumstance of the show today. Also, they only have two live shots, in Glen Burnine and Canton. I remember when they used to have crews in various areas, usually 5 at a time. (3/2/09) Time for some "Weather Related Announcements": Sylvie's Chris Plante Fan Club Meeting for tonight has been cancelled. Unsigned Corporate Suits "Brevity in Writing Seminar" has been postponed. Don & Mike Anonymous Meeting, cancelled. The Chris Mathews "Effective Listening Forum" will be re-scheduled. The Balt/DC Weather Forecasters weekly "How to Make It Appear as if You Are Never Wrr...Wro....Wrong" will not take place this evening. God Bless ya', Paul Harvey..... Good Day. Now back to the regularly scheduled Mailbag. (3/2/09) So, Chris Plante got to play "Jack Bauer" at the Spy Museum Friday night? Good for him. Did he have to torture to save a city from being nuked in 15 minutes, as Chris Wallace hypothesized at a Republican debate last year? The reason I ask is at a talk at the Spy Museum a few weeks ago, a Spy Museum board member and veteran FBI interrogator opined on how awful the Bush administration's policies were regarding torture. "It sickened me," he said. Perhaps the next Chris Plante visit can include a debate between Chris and the veteran FBI investigator on the Bush torture policy? And speaking of non reality and manufactured news people on the radio, did anyone else notice on the DoD press conference call Friday how well they slapped down a Fox News Radio reporter? They called his question "hypothetical," "unrealistic," and "assumes facts not that don't exist." Wow! new administration, different tone. Don't forget, Sean Hannity's "Good Friends" ant Stanford Coin and Bullion are Great Americans. (3/2/09) (earlier message) Gene Rayburn's microphone is a Sony ECM-51 telescopic microphone (end). Wow, then count me as another one of the lucky owners. That's exactly the model mic I scored at the Vienna hamfest. I'll take Richard Dawson for the win... (3/2/09) Okay, believe it or not, WUSA, as "hurting" as it is these days, definately has the hottest gals on the local news.. Between Angie Goff and the cute weather babe with the blue hat & heavy eyeliner (who is damn sexy in the snow), the gals are carrying the laod this morning. Howard would be cute if I was so inclined, but I ain't. Gotta go shovel some snow: Bob Bowie, Bob Bowie!!! (3/2/09) Who is the clown doing the reporting for Baltimore Spectator? "Burnt down...completely down....very strange of course for a fire to occur on a night when it's snowing...without talking to anyone it definitely looks very, very suspicious...." If this is journalism, I can live without it! (3/2/09) RE: "Rush Limbaugh is a jerk: Well maybe it was wrong to wish failure on Obama by Limbaugh. However,what about the jerks like Al Franken, who is telling people to call him Senator Franken, who is trying to win the Minnesota senate race with questionable legal tactics. And the real jerk is Keith Obermann, who only has guests on his program that totally agree with him. The rest of the time he rails against Rush, Hannity and O'Reilly and others on the conservative talk outlets. Is it no wonder that MSNBC's ratings are always in the toilet. James in Centreville, come up with more facts and less name calling. (3/2/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Paul Walker. If you're looking for someone who can do it all then I'm your man! I can handle any daily airshift you need me to, I can help with programming, I can handle production and copywriting and I can help out around the front office. I can even help keep you FCC compliant and if needed, I'll even mow the lawn in the front yard or around the tower. In the old days, there were two types of people... radio people and everybody else. Ask ANYONE who knows me, they'll tell you I eat, sleep, live and breath the business. In addition, I have a good sense of technology, am good with computers and I can get along with ANYONE, no matter their age. If you have a job opening at your station or stations that you'd like to discuss completely confidentially, I have a resume, with references and Airchecks/Production Demos available upon request via email to WalkerBroadcasting@gmail.com (3/2/09) (Regarding Gene Rayburn's microphone) It's a Sony ECM-51 telescopic microphone, and Robb Spewak has one. (3/2/09) What a pleasure to see John Collins in the studio on WBAL this morning. Sandra Shaw was placed out in the field again this morning just like the good old days. I really hope they replace Neal Estano with somebody just as good as he was and keep Sandra out in the field. (3/2/09) Does the way Fox5 News lead into commercials piss anyone off besides me? They’ll have the anchor, complete with the over-the-shoulder graphic, start reading a story, and you think you’ll get the whole story right then and there, and then he/she says “we’ll have the story after the break.” For example, tonight, Maureen Umeh tells us that there’s a major shakeup in the Nationals front office and introduces Dave Feldman from the newsroom with the story. Dave starts by saying that today the Nats and Jim Bowden decided to part ways. Then…(start the music) he says the story is coming up after this. Go to commercial, come back, and Sue Palka is on with the weather. Next, there’s a story about the two NFL players missing off the coast. Wonder how long I’ll have to wait to hear about JimBo… (3/2/09) Rush Limbaugh is a jerk. Weather you are Republican or Democrat why in the world would you want the current President of the United States to fail. If he fails, we all fail. People are losing jobs. It is easy for someone like Rush Limbaugh to sit on his high horse. He is looking more and more like Fat Bastard in the Austin Power's Movies. James from Centreville (3/2/09) (regarding Gene Rayburn's microphone) It's a Sony ECM-51 telescopic microphone. /signed/ Old Mr. Periwinkle, Forest Lawn. (3/2/09) /\ March 2 Messages /\ \/ March 1 Messages \/ Here are my thoughts after getting to see the Jan. PPM data over the weekend. Citadel must be embarrassed at their performance. WJZW might be the worst radio station in D.C. history, both objectively, and subjectively, based on the ratings. Close second has to be 94.7... the end must be near. You have DC101 at #6 in Persons 25-54 and #2 in Men 25-54. What is taking CBS so long in flipping 94.7 to WHFS is beyond me. The combined numbers of WBIG, WTGB, and WJZW are barely bigger than DC101's numbers. I'd rather split those numbers 2 ways than go after the old guys and split it 3 ways. And watching WTEM fall off the face of the planet after Redskins season, you have to wonder if CBS is really going to pull the trigger on sports on WJFK? They're already beating WTEM, and they're only really programming 13 hours a day, 5 days a week. Imagine if they'd put a little pride into the product and program nights and weekends. It could actually be a juggarnaut of a talk station, like it used to be. You really want to split the sports audience, brainiacs? I don't think splitting a sub 2 share Persons 25-54 and a 13th ranking in Men 25-54 sounds like a good business decision, but that's just me. Hey, anyone want to take bets on WTEM's numbers in, say... June and July? This is a terrible sports town, and everyone knows it. And finally, the most interesting battle has to be between WPGC and WKYS. It's just as hot as it was during the diaries... only now neither is even close to the top of the heap. But they're neck and neck for the urban top 40 audience, just as close as they have been the last few years. Tie goes to WKYS because of their killer 18-34's. (3/1/09) TV tech question: I bought a used microphone from a dealer at a hamfest in Annandale two Sundays ago, and at a killer price. The mic very much resembles the classic "Gene Rayburn" Match Game telescoping microphone as seen in the pic. Isn't there a WJFK alumni who also owns one of these 'Match Game' mics, and would he (or anyone) know for sure what make and model it is? Thanx. (3/1/09) RE: "The press now seems to take the police handouts at face value, without questioning anything." The reason the press doesn't do this anymore is because the "press" is now comprised of kids who lack the experience and tenacity to do so. There is a correlation between age/experience and the end product. (3/1/09) An excellent piece in Sunday's "Outlook" section of the Post by David Simon on how the Baltimore press has gone belly up as far as holding the police accountable. Same could be said about the Washington press....they are like the seagulls outside the Thrashers fries stands at Ocean City waiting for people to through them freebies. The press now seems to take the police handouts at face value, without questioning anything. Must reading for anyone who reads DCRTV. www.washingtonpost.com (3/1/09) (However, the profound stupidity of the CBS Baltimore suits is very difficult to overstate! --) ...and seems to be a neck-and-neck race for the Stupidity Title winner with Times Shamrock and WZBA. It is impossible to listen to! That Bob and Tom Show is the most Gawd-awful thing on the air.............. and the same cuts, tracks, and songs, in between the l-o-o-o-ngest commercial breaks known to man. All voiced in-house like a high school station. Randy Rock Johnson removed from the evening shift. Terrible ratings to boot. Very sad to listen to a once-good station die a slow and painful death. PPMs will not save it, either. You have to wonder what qualifications the GM or Program Director have, 'cause you SURE can't tell over the air. And if I was a paying client, with my ad buried in the middle of one of those 6 minute breaks (are you listening, Carl Freedmont? Buddy Roogow? Provident Bank?), I would require some free air time where people could hear my commercials. -- Media Maven (3/1/09) RE: [Rush Limbaugh. Watching him speaking to a forum of the rabid right on CNN as he channeled the late Johnny Cash dressed entirely in black, one couldn't help but notice that Limbaugh appeared to now weigh more than 300 pounds.] Black on black has its reason in certain cultures. In Victorian England, that attire was known as "Mourning Clothes". Rusty is clearly still unconsciously grieving the death of "Permanent Republican Majority" that he and those like him helped to kill. And Dave, he didn't look anything like Tom Jones - he looked like Elvis. Not the "Blue Hawaii" Elvis, but the fat, bloated, sweating, drug-addled, just about to be found dead tits-down on the bathroom floor in Vegas Elvis. Want to know why conservatism is in exile? One need look no further than the bloated visage of Rush Limbaugh or the rousing worshipful welcome he received at CPAC to find the perfect metaphor. - Jeff in Bowie (3/1/09) I see no reason for bashing Ms. Gwen Tolbart right now - especially when not a single snowflake has fallen in the region as of yet. She might be wrong - or she might be right. We won't know until it's over. So many local TV meteorologists have gotten so many things wrong over the years -- from 'downplaying' Hurricane Isabel in Sept. '03 to 'downplaying' the rash of VA tornadoes in Sept. '04 to screwing up forecasts on other weather-related situations... it is a reminder to all of us that no matter how many NOAA predictors or high-tech gadgets one has, we'll never be able to predict what Mother Nature's final intentions will be. Keep safe & warm! -Silvie- (3/1/09) Dave's response: We've got a few wet snowflakes here in Wild West Fairfax, but only covering grassy areas. Maybe a slushy mess tonight, but it just doesn't "feel" like a big snow's-a-comin'. You get that "feeling" in your bones when a big snow approaches. Not this time..... Did DCRTV Dave show that he’s as capable of committing a typo as I am? (OK, so I had a few yesterday evening. Tough to type on a laptop w/arthritis!) Certainly he meant to type “ruining” as opposed to “running” in reference to Jeff Christie (Rush Limbaugh) and the Republican Party. In the end, perhaps Jeff should be more pitied than scorned. Yes, he’s outrageously rich. Financially, that is. But, in the end, is he really all that rich and powerful? Think about his recent travels to the Dominican Republic. The where and why are no secret. Especially after what was found in his luggage. His one effort at semi-legitimate journalism backfired when he failed to differentiate between audiences of his radio show and that of “MNF” and made that horrific comment about Donovan McNabb. In general, the only thing missing from his pomposity is a holier than thou self-righteousness. In fact, he has made no secret on-air about his own religions convictions. Or, lack thereof. Something so many conservatives seem to have ignored. Yes, his 300+ pound weight should concern him. And, those who love him. But, is there anyone who really loves and respects Rush Limbaugh? Even himself? He strikes me as someone who is becoming a very bitter old man, perhaps having allowed bitterness and disappointment from the past to fester and mestatize to where there’s a need to “spread the misery”, as it where. In that regard, Jeff is not alone. You hear the same from his rivals and wannabe’s. If the “conservative” talkers had any influence on the recent elections, it was to foster a climate of doom and gloom fear which only added to what voters were already fearing. Not one of them offered anything hopeful whatsoever. All they offered was fear of what they wanted people to believe an Obama administration could do to them. None of them offered (Nor did the Republicans, for that matter!) anything along the line of what the Republicans would do for them. Yes, there are limits on presidential power in the sense of tempering the most absurd. But, you weren’t hearing anything from the talkers about this. You also weren’t hearing from the talkers about the powers a President does have. And, in the case of the now-former President, not being exercised for the good of the people. Usually, I decry how this board has deviated from devotion to the art, science, and history of our beloved industry. However, given the demi-godhood Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, et al, have bestowed upon themselves, I feel it time to share some of my decades of experience in life –not just in Radio and Television- to take them down a few notches. Why? Because their pervasiveness is a part of what has ruined our industry. And continues to eat away at its core values. (My sincere apologies on that to the “Gentleman of Washington Broadcasting”, Chris Core…) –Unsigned Corporate Suit. (3/1/09) So at this point, it looks pretty certain that the DC area is looking at 6 to 10 inches of snow in the next 24 hours. Is it just me, or is FOX5’s Gwen Tolbart the worst weathercaster in DC? She basically blew this whole storm off on the late news last night, and even this morning she was only predicting 3-6 inches. Chuck Bell at NBC4 has been on top of this since the Saturday morning newscasts. Tony Pann at WUSA was on it last night too, but it’s too bad his station cancelled weekend morning news. There’s been some Gwen-bashing going on the Capital Weather Gang blog, and with good reason. Sue must be proud of you, Gwen. Oh yeah, as of 11:45am, the weather information on the front page of myfoxdc.com hasn’t been updated since 6pm yesterday! I know where NOT to get my weather information now. Sheesh… (3/1/09) Dave's response: Farley/TOP milking those "storm warning" PPMs. A couple inches of wet sloppy stuff for most of the DC area. Maybe more east of the bay. No big deal, unless you make it one..... RE: "However, the profound stupidity of the CBS Baltimore suits is very difficult to overstate! " Joe, you have hit the nail on the head there buddy! CBS has made some stupid moves in the past decade or so. Recently, they let a bunch of talented people go, such as Bob Kilpatrick, who has been at WLIF for 15 years, TJ Roberts, Kathy Whiteside, and the recent move of musical chairs which makes no sense...since, correct me if I'm wrong, both Mix 106.5 and 101.9 Lite had great ratings. I know for a fact that the sales crew over there is not happy, as they are having to pay back their own commissions due to clients not paying bills. In addition, they are being forced to sell more, with higher budgets and are being threatened when sales don't close becuase no one can afford the rates. They say the economy is hurting them. Nope, it is the stupid moves and lack of consideration for programming and talent that is hurting them. (3/1/09) Maybe this doesn't relate to this page, but didn't Dan Snyder let some employees in the front office go recently, and blamed it on the economy. However, signing expensive free agents seems to be no problem for the Redskins, who signed Haynesworth for $100 million and guaranteed at least $41 million of the contract. This seems to send the wrong message in a big way. (3/1/09) Dave, you surprised me with your handling of Paul Harvey's death. While your increasing habit over (especially) the last two years has been to indict nearly anyone in radio, TV or business who ever had a conservative thought as a "righty" or "right-winger," often with derogatory editorial statements following, you did NOT do that to Paul Harvey. I, and I bet many other folks on both sides of the aisle who enjoyed him over his long career, really appreciate that. Thank you. Bob in Forest Hill (3/1/09) Dave's response: Paul Harvey had class. Something that the Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannitys, and Glenn Becks seem to lack, these days. Even though I didn't agree with much of what Paul said, he was gentleman. And that - in this day and age - is something worthy of achieving..... For the first time yesterday, I actually began to feel sorry for the thrice-married and childless, drug and nicotine addicted, racist and misogynistic, and very, very obese, Rush Limbaugh. Watching him speaking to a forum of the rabid right on CNN as he channeled the late Johnny Cash dressed entirely in black, one couldn't help but notice that Limbaugh appeared to now weigh more than 300 pounds. At 58 years of age, that should be a warning to him that if no action is taken, it's unlikely he'll make it to 65. ACH (3/1/09) Dave's response: I did catch part of Rush's CPAC speech yesterday - and he does look rather fatter and even jowlish. And why didn't he wear a tie? A dark shirt unbuttoned to mid-chest? I almost expected him to pull "a Tom Jones" at the end, ripping off his jacket and breaking into "She's A Lady" as Sarah Palin made a surprise on-stage appearance. Now, that's entertainment..... anyone remember WJMD radio station?? Easy listening at its best. rob (3/1/09) Dave's response: Ahhh, DC's 94.7. Easy listening WJMD which became WLTT, "lite" adult contemporary. Which then became classic rock Arrow, WARW..... FYI - re: Channel 9 and Channel 5 news and viewing NewsChannel 8 at 10 - Some of us do not have Comcast, therefore we can not get NewsChannel 8. As a Directv subscriber, I wish we did as I also miss the local channels and NewsChannel 8. Anyone know how to convince Directv to add those channels? Thanks. (3/1/09) I've been the announcer for the Radio Hall of Fame for over a decade and I got to know Paul, Angel, and Paul Jr. a bit. Paul Harvey was a wonderful courtly old school gentleman who seemed genuinely amazed that so many people wanted to meet him. He always had a kind word and sincere inquiries about your life. Jim Bohannon, Westwood One. (3/1/09) I got into radio partly because of listening to two magical performers: Paul Harvey and Harry Carray. My greatest broadcast thrill was filling for Paul Harvey on his national newscasts in the 90's. One of my biggest personal thrills was meeting him in person about 5 years ago. He was even nicer in person than he seemed on radio. My medium will never be the same. Gratefully, Chris Core (3/1/09) Another section of the Post bit the dust on Saturday: the Apartment Living tabloid is being merged back into the Real Estate section. www.washingtonpost.com (3/1/09) Dave's response: It's kind of like the captain of the Titanic throwing off the deck chairs to lighten the load - as if that'll help. Do these newspaper people realize that it's the print customers that are absolutely vital to newspapers. It's because of them you can charge high rates for all those print ads. Nickel-and-dime your print customers with higher rates, give away your stuff - no, more stuff - for free on the web, and continue to shrink the print edition and they surely will leave. And you will sink. Newspapers should be thinking of ways to give the folks who pay for the paper MORE than those who don't. Granted, they can't charge for web content, because that will kill off the internet traffic. So maybe papers like the Post should start treating those print subscribers with a little respect, and I don't mean some gimmicky little program like "Post Points." Maybe put stuff in print that you can't get on the web. Maybe use the website to hype the print edition, and not the other way around. Stop telling us (yes, I am a Post print subsctiber) to go "fuck off" in so many ways, Mr. Brauchli and Ms. Weymouth. And start earning your overly-inflated salaries..... RE: [ " Dave's response: Baltimore's 1300 will always be WFBR to me... " ].......... Don't tempt me Dave! Hehe. WJZ-AM 1300 is just fine with me compared to WJFK AM which was a joke and an insult to Baltimoreans when WJFK carried the Redskins. However, the profound stupidity of the CBS Baltimore suits is very difficult to overstate! -- Joe in Essex :-) (3/1/09) "Good days for Paul Harvey". Here's a link to an excellent, in-depth article about Paul Harvey, from The Chicago Tribune in August 2002... www.chicagotribune.com (3/1/09) Very sad to hear of the passing of Paul Harvey, While I did not always agree with his politicas or social philosophy (Remember the story he did a couple of years ago claiming the U.S. Government had at one time gave Natinve Americans blankets infested with V.D.?) he was indeed an influential broadacster. But, he was far from being the "pioneer", as some have claimed. However, he was the last survivor of an era. I am not surprised at his passing, given how recently his beloved "Angel" had passed on. To have worked in an era that has seen the transition from crystal to digital is an accomplishment not to be overlooked. Three are few of us left who have done that. Godspeed, Paul Harvey. I'm sure Angel is glad to be cooking supper for you once afain tonight. And, I may be showing my age and experience here, but am I the only one left on DCRTV who remembers the filmed/taped commentaries Paul Harvery did nightly 40 or so years ago on WMAL-TV? -Unsigned Corporate Suit. P.S. Yes, "Harden and Weaver" was the top-rated radio program in D.C. radio history. Novody ever topped them. And, nobody ever will... (3/1/09) /\ March 1 Messages /\ \/ February 28 Messages \/ While I almost never agreed with Paul Harvey's politics, I think he stands alone as the most engaging and compelling commentator in the history of radio. And as a pitchman, he had no peer! Rather than being sad at his passing, I'll share this classic funny, from a true Radio Original -- the infamous "Poodle Blooper" ... www.earthstation1.com (2/28/09) Now we know the rest of the story: ABC is reporting tonight that Paul Harvey has died at age 90. -- Vincent in Triangle (2/28/09) ABC News is reporting that Paul Harvey died today. He was 90. (2/28/09) Rest in Peace, Paul Harvey. You will be missed. (2/28/09) I've been in DC radio for 38 of the past 41 years, and Harden and Weaver had by far the highest ratings of any show in that time period. They regularly pulled 20+ shares and almost always had more than double the second place program. (2/28/09) Arbitron. Maybe a better explanation. All stations that show minimum listening levels are listed in the 12+ numbers to subscribers - whether they subscribe or not. Meaning CC stations in Winchester can see the Centennial stations and how they score. But since Centennial does NOT subscribe to the Arbitron service, their numbers are "censored" from the publicly released 12+ numbers that the trades (allaccess, etc.) print. Why? If you don't pay, you can't see, although there are other ways of getting them. Rod was also correct in that if a company does not subscribe but acquires the information through an outside source, they can not use them in sales brochures and printings, etc. Or they will be subject to legal issus. This is a big item not only for ARB but for stations who pay dearly for the numbers... When I was in this, our stations were always on the look out for sales pieces printed by stations who did not subscribe...using this information, to be turned over to ARB. (2/28/09) What about Howard Stern's numbers when he was DC101 back in the day? (2/28/09) Would you say that the “Harden & Weaver” show was the highest-rated regularly scheduled radio program in Washington DC history? (2/28/09) Dave's response: Anybody know? Excerpted from the Post's Nationals Journal blog: washingtonpost.com: "Jon DeNunzio suggested I post something on NJ about our plans for this season, and now seems as good a time as any. I've tried to share such info with this crowd in the past, but I haven't addressed the Orioles. Simply put, we will not have a reporter covering the Orioles this season. We have a story-sharing arrangement with the Baltimore Sun, and we can use their coverage if we choose. We will continue to run separate game stories on the Orioles." (2/28/09) Roddy - you are incorrect, but correct. Stations do show up whether they are an Arbitron subscriber or not, but they do not show up necessarily show up in the 12+ publicly released numbers. In the "real" numbers, all of the stations do indeed show up. (2/28/09) As for Ch. 9 and comments, if you would not watch Ch. 9 news then you wouldn't be frustrated and upset and see all the dumb things they do. Haven't watched Ch. 9 news in years and have not watched Ch. 5 news for about two years. Don't miss either. 10 o'clock news? Check out NewsChannel 8 and get all you need. (2/28/09) (Dave said)You have WAY too much time on your hands.....(end) Hahaha, nope, just a long commute 2x a day, a memory for music and a critical ear. (2/28/09) I remember when we called them "Sucker City". (Too sad AND too funny) tech.yahoo.com (2/28/09) NY Times Article on Survival of Broadcast TV www.nytimes.com (2/28/09) Every station with at least the minimum listening levels shows up in Arbitron ratings even if its owner does not subscribe to Arbitron. However, stations that do not subscribe are prohibited from using Arbitron to sell time. Roddy Freeman (2/28/09) Dave's response: Then why aren't Centennial's stations showing up in Arbitron's diary ratings for Fredericksburg and Winchester? Hmf... Apparently it doesn't take long for 950 WCTN AM to blow through its core music library. In three days I heard Martin Denny's "Quiet Village" four times. Even Music Of Your Life has a deeper playlist than that. (2/28/09) Dave's response: You have WAY too much time on your hands..... Dave, How is it that WBQB beats WFLS in the DC PPM book but doesn’t even show up in Fredericksburg? In fact, Dave Adler’s WGRQ shows up in the DC PPM and not in Fred! Looks like someone is playing games with the numbers, is it Arbitron or WFLS that’s sending out false information? SP - Stafford (2/28/09) Dave's response: All of Centennial's radio stations, including Winchester's WINC and Fredericksburg's WBQB, don't show up in the Arbitron diary ratings for those Virginia cities because the firm doesn't subscribe to the local ratings. However, those stations do show up in the Arbitron PPM ratings for DC. Why? Hell if I know..... Someone needs to tell both the Maryland and Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse programs that their shared ESPN 1300 radio flagship is no longer called WJFK. Get with the now, guys. Everett W. umterps.cstv.com... hopkinssports.cstv.com (2/28/09) Dave's response: Baltimore's 1300 will always be WFBR to me..... Speaking of events in the Shenandoah Valley like the Patsy Cline "show," I helped coordinate a lingerie party at a bar in Harrisonburg in the 90's... it was put on by a guy in suburban Virginia who brought models who displayed "interesting attire" to sell. There were almost as many ABC, church and town officials as attendees. I think the bar was fined $1500 because the lingerie was "too revealing." Wonder if the officials were their to protect community standards to to "look"? (2/28/09) The news of the death of The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, caused me to think about DC's long-dead Scripps-Howard paper, The Washington Daily News. Can one of the old-timers here, tell me where the Daily News' offices and printing facilities were located? I know that the paper was combined with The Washington Star, whose offices/presses were, at that time, in SW DC, but before that, The News was somewhere in NW DC. I had an afternoon News paper route in '62/'63 and I even visited their downtown DC office once, but I have no memory of the actual location. (2/28/09) To Peter in Rockville: If Channel 9 bothers you so much, why watch it? Or maybe buy and operate your own TV station. Or write or call Channel 9 and let them know how you feel. (2/28/09) Dave, a group of about 150 fans of Chris Plante and WMAL had a blast Friday night at a reception at the Spy Museum. And to think that President Obama was right across the street from us at the Verizon Center, watching the Wizards vs. Bulls game! He could've joined us. -Silvie- (2/28/09) Dave's response: Cool. Are you going to head over to the CPAP convention today? I hear Rush Limbaugh will be demonstrating a new sleep mask for his apnea..... Dave, am I on Pot? (2/28/09) RE: ['Of Sam Donaldson I can say this. Of all the souls I've encountered in the DC media, his...was...the...most...human...'] WOW! You know, if we could only get Reverend Jim from Taxi to fight the kid from "Square Pegs" over the Genesis Thingie, then we could shove Sam's corpse into a big quaalude.....Damn...fresh out of Photon Torpedo cases! SORRY SAM. - Guess I should get out of Mom's basement more often! Sulu, warp factor three. (2/28/09) RE:-->"Saturday ESPNU will televise a major lacrosse tournament from Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. With Johns Hopkins and Maryland both part of the four team tournament. There is only one problem --- few in the mid Atlantic area will see it!" ESPN RADIO 1300 in Baltimore will carry the Hopkins game immediately followed by the Terps game. Hopkins Pre-Game at 11:45am, Maryland Pre-Game at 2:15pm. (2/28/09) Today's New York Times has an article entitled 'Broadcast TV Faces Struggle to Stay Viable'. In it, is this startling suggestion: "The future for the networks, it seems, is more low-cost reality shows, more news and talk, and a greater effort to find new revenue streams, whether they be from receiving subscriber fees as cable channels do, or becoming cable networks themselves, an idea that has gained currency." It's that last part - becoming cable networks themselves, an idea that has gained currency - that has me stumped! How, exactly, would/could the broadcast networks do that? Many stations have made the switch to digital service and the rest will do so in June. How can "subscriber fees" be obtained from an over-the-air signal? Would the stations scramble the signal and require viewers to add another set-top box, for dropping coins into, to unscramble the video? I seem to remember similar gizmos in motels/hotels decades ago, as well as at train stations, bus depots and airports. Here's the link to the article: www.nytimes.com (2/28/09) /\ February 28 Messages /\ \/ February 27 Messages \/ "It wasn't a cost issue. Jim Rome didn't cost them cash, it was a straight barter deal. But Jim Rome was pulling a 0 share, so they had to do SOMEthing"... Huh? Wasn't a cost issue? Of course it is a cost issue in regards to what they're replacing Rome with. The issue is whether CBS will let them spend money to go hire a new show for nights, which I'm sure they would like to do. Clearly, the CBS beancounters won't fork over the money. (2/27/09) Hello, I got a kick out of your ranting on DC being a one newspaper town, and that the Times and the Examiner wouldn't be here if the capitol was located somewhere else. What makes you think that the POST would be here if the capital were elsewhere and Washington would have a conservative newspaper (s)? Larry (2/27/09) The Jonathan Klein who heads CNN started in the News Division at CBS-TV and rose through the ranks. He then founded a company called “The Feed Room.” I’m almost 100% sure he is not the Jonathan Klein who at one time was GM of WJZ-TV. Roddy Freeman (2/27/09) If some of the performers at that drag show at a Winchester bar in '98 really did sound better than Patsy Cline, why were they doing drag shows a bar in Winchester?--Jim London --- Jim, Obviously you’ve never been to Winchester. --- Love, Patsy (2/27/09) I don't agree that "nobody over 35 gives a good god damn about Twitter or Facebook," but the stories about them just aren't news. They're not. Not in any way, shape or form. And the reporters that do those stories sound like complete idiots. (2/27/09) [RE: Emotions] 'Of Sam Donaldson I can say this. Of all the souls I've encountered in the DC media, his...was...the...most...human...' (2/27/09) Nobody over 35 gives a good god damn about "Twitter" or "Facebook"? Hmmmm...I'm well over 35 and I use "Facebook" and so do many of my friends and associates who are well over 35. Maybe it's nobody over the age of 55 to 60 cares and that's about the target age of Channel 9 viewers. (2/27/09) RE: [Sam Donaldson's Last Day... LIVE LONG AND PROSPER MY FRIEND (*weep* you see he's a Vulcan...)] But to weep would be illogical. Emotions are so.....human. (2/27/09) "Big O and Dukes are working on a top secret "Rate-A-Record" program right now. Hope nobody steals it." I just dreamed up a contest that'll make for killer radio. It's called "Secret Sound", where people have to guess the, er, secret sound. Anyone out there planning on stealing this? If so you'll be hearing from my crack legal team at the offices of Johhny Cochrane Esq. (2/27/09) I see that Silvie is mocking her mailbag imposed moniker as a "Crazed Radio Stalker." She doesn't even realize how close to the truth that is. Can you imagine her distress if her #1 is ever removed from the air? Quick, where's the Kool Aid? (2/27/09) RE: Jon Klein. Klein worked as a "60 Minutes" producer and then started up a company called "The Feed Room" down in Tribeca. Don't know if he worked in Baltimore earlier in his career. (2/27/09) I agree 100% with Peter in Rockville ("Could somebody please tell Channel 9’s news director for the 5-7AM news that his core audience isn’t 20somethings and that nobody over the age of about 35 gives a good god damn about Twitter and FaceBook and their terms of usage? Every morning this week some new, perky young “digital reporter” has wasted my time telling me about the controversy over who owns material uploaded to FaceBook.") That kind of thing is just lazy reporting. It's like the dimwits who think an unusual item being sold on Ebay is newsworthy. Also pointless are radio and TV stations (I know WTOP does this and NBC-4 did for a while) that waste time on "the link of the day." Guess what, morons? Everyone knows how to surf, all by themselves, without some 20-something intern giving us the 411. It's called NEWS, so try to focus on doing the damned NEWS for a change! (2/27/09) I was out in Denver for a week and one of the weather people on the local channels was Stacy Donaldson. Wasn't she a DC weather person for awile? (2/27/09) Dave's response: I think we did report that she left Channel 5 a while back..... Mike O'Meara in "Radio Talk Show Borrows Ideas From Other Radio Talk Shows SHOCKER". . .details at 11:00! Wow, such borrowing of ideas has NEVER occurred in entertainment before! I'm shocked. . .SHOCKED! Please. . .the MOM show has done beer and wine tastings, gross food bits and the like from the start. So they want to do ice cream, ice cream is fun to eat, good on them! Guests are guests typically on a radio circuit to promote something, or are local interest people, so you may hear the same guest from time to time. Expect that to happen from time to time, yet each show puts their own spin on something, who cares. Look on the bright side (or if you relish hating one or more of the shows, then don't), everyone on the three big WJFK shows appear to all like each other, get along, and mutually support each other. That's a good thing and is definitely not always the case at a radio station. I love it when BO&D appears on one of Mike's BYOB Friday's. Mike is always great fun when he drop's by on one of the other shows. There is some good chemistry between the shows, which I really like. But go on hating and trying to stir the pot if it makes you feel better about yourself. (2/27/09) Re: "Why did the MOM show blatantly steal from Big O and Dukes by having an ice cream taste challenge?" Yeh, it's hard to believe "Big O and Dukes" didn't copyright and patent that kind of groundbreaking programming. They must be some kind of Einsteins to have come up with that one. How dare MOM "steal" that intellectual property, huh? I understand "Big O and Dukes" are working on a top secret "Rate-A-Record" program right now. Hope nobody steals it. (2/27/09) Sam Donaldson's Last Day... LIVE LONG AND PROSPER MY FRIEND (*weep* you see he's a Vulcan...) (2/27/09) O'Meara also continues to recycle guests from the Junkies and Big O and Dukes shows. It's so repetitive and ponderous hearing a guest retelling the same stories again just a few days later. Someone making nearly a million dollars a year should be able to provide new content, not relying on the work of producers of other radio shows. Most segments on MOM are nothing more than boring time-fillers. And it's obvious that Mike and the rest of the crew can't wait to leave the studio at the end of each show. (2/27/09) Peter in Rockville’s spirited rant = “Hey you punks, get off my lawn.” On another note, I see that William Christopher has made a nice transition from playing Father Mulcahy on MASH to playing “Chris Core” on WTOP. (2/27/09) Some of thos LPTV FM signals are very strong - New York City Metro has one with the coverage of a 'Class A' FM called "Pulse 87.7". Here's there website: pulse87.com... It is funny how the NY station is blatently a commercial FM radio station - they don't even use the visual carrier from what I can tell. A smart way to get a station on the air in the largest radio market. (2/27/09) While we're on the subject of Channel 9, could someone also remind their weather team Tony Pann at noon today and Kim BOOM BOOM Martucci most of the time that the phrase "where we're at" is not correct when giving the current tepmerature and then stating it's blah blah blah in Winchester and 69 degree's "where we're at"... C'mon this is A major market area and most of the viewers aren't as dumb as we look... mark/bethesda (2/27/09) Looking to clear up something on someones' identity: Back in the '80s, maybe into early '90s, the VP/General Manager of WJZ-13 was named Jonathan Klein. Then he left and others came along. Is this the same Jonathan Klein who now runs CNN? And I use the term "runs" very loosely. The man is either a complete moron, a slimeball, or both. CNN's Klein told an interviewer back in October that the network was in remarkably good position considering the economy, and in fact would wind up needing more staff as opposed to getting rid of people. chickaboomer.blogspot.com... No sooner does December arrive, over a 4 week period, CNN demolishes its Science Dept., tosses numerous personnel to the curb, and cuts loose some of its most recognizable faces like Miles O'Brien, Linda Stouffer, Rusty Dornin, Jamie McIntyre, and Veronica De La Cruz. All gone by Christmas Day (there's some real class for ya). Then, when pressed, he comes up with this lame excuse for the sudden about-face: www.huffingtonpost.com (scroll down to where he's asked about the layoffs-- he doesn't even have the balls to call them layoffs)... So did this Scrooge Klein at CNN cut his teeth here in Baltimore, or am I wrong? (2/27/09) Why did the MOM show blatantly steal from Big O and Dukes by having an ice cream taste challenge? O&D have a long history of doing food-related shows and, in the last few months alone, have done mac and cheese, bacon and peanut butter challenges. Obviously, Mike cannot come up with new show ideas on his own but stealing from the day show seems a bit ridiculous. Did he think we wouldn't notice the similarities? He also said that he wants to do one again in the spring with more people. Not enough ideas for content is the only thing I can think of. (2/27/09) RE: Arlington's LP6. Did I miss something in the discussion of the 87.7 FM carrier power? What do you mean "To put a TV station on, reduce the visual carrier and increase the aural carrier." when the FCC says, "73.682 - TV transmission standards. (a)(15) The effective radiated power of the aural transmitter must not exceed 22% of the peak radiated power of the visual transmitter." W06CJ, located in Arlington but licensed to Fairfax, VA has 3kw visual, and therefore should have 660 watts FM ERP on the aural carrier. Did they get a waiver or what? (2/27/09) Is that "channel 6" TV station in Arlington even licensed? I'm not seeing anything on the FCC database: www.fcc.gov... How the hell are these clowns on the air? (2/27/09) If some of the performers at that drag show at a Winchester bar in '98 really did sound better than Patsy Cline, why were they doing drag shows a bar in Winchester?--Jim London (2/27/09) Radio story in today's paper, here: Sirius XM survives, but digital radio is gaining - washingtontimes.com (2/27/09) Dave's response: Writer Scott Galupo confuses the term "digital radio" for "internet radio" or "online streaming." The term "digital radio" is, at least among folks in the radio biz, meant to mean digitally-broadcast radio, a la "HD Radio." When I read the headline I expected to find a piece on "HD Radio," which is floundering. Poor editing at the Times..... Could somebody please tell Channel 9’s news director for the 5-7AM news that his core audience isn’t 20somethings and that nobody over the age of about 35 gives a good god damn about Twitter and FaceBook and their terms of usage? Every morning this week some new, perky young “digital reporter” has wasted my time telling me about the controversy over who owns material uploaded to FaceBook. I don’t give a shit about that! Give me more than 30 seconds on sports, tell me more about weather or let me look at Angie Goff more, but please STOP with the Twitter and FaceBook crap. Oh and also tell the news director to bring back Saturday and Sunday morning news.Peter in Rockville (2/27/09) 1) Yes. That spanish station you are hearing at 87.7 is the aural of a TV station. Note how they do not do a an FM legal ID but rather a TV ID. That was the intent of the owner and the consultant. To put a TV station on, reduce the visual carrier and increase the aural carrier. Then market the aural as an FM station. They tried selling the station to several entities around town. Until the FCC gets at least as smart as the lawyers that own the station, this legal pirate will remain on. At least one of the owners is well known by communications attorneys for his unethical practices. 2) The poster was correct, the Patsy Cline hysteria was mostly invented by her own family to make her larger than life. There are plenty of old farts in country music from Richmond to Baltimore who know of the antics. (2/27/09) RE: [Oh you mean the same Soros-funded, Obama-backing Media Matters - Silvie] Dear Mr. Plante...This notice is being sent as a reminder that our community ordinances require all individuals to keep their pets on a leash and under control at all times. We also ask that in the event your pet deficates in a public space, that you please "scoop" and dispose out of courtesy to others. Thank you in advance for your consideration. - The DCRTV Community Association (2/27/09) "I don't really understand the mini-uproar over the replays at night on WJFK. Is it the most ideal situation? Of course not. But, I don't know if anyone else has noticed... we're in a bit of a difficult economic time right now. I see talented, experienced colleagues and friends losing their jobs left and right. I can't imagine CBS is going to allow WJFK to add significant cost to their bottom line right now." It wasn't a cost issue. Jim Rome didn't cost them cash, it was a straight barter deal. But Jim Rome was pulling a 0 share, so they had to do SOMEthing. (2/27/09) I noticed in today’s WaPO that they are increasing the paper’s home delivered price from 41 cents to 49 cents beginning Monday. That is a 19.5% increase and probably will generate an additional $1 million this year. (2/27/09) (CBS Radio's DC suits are looking only at the men 25-54 numbers for the station, and in that respect, the station and its line-up are performing.) 11th place full week is performing in that demo? (2/27/09) The American Conservative magazine criticizes WMAL’s programming! www.amconmag.com (2/27/09) Why is the sexuality of adam may and derek valcourt of such interest to the anon poster? It seems that every so often something is anonomously posted here. Is somebody using the mailbag to grind an axe? I dont think its anybodys business unless those two make it that way. (2/27/09) Hi.. I've asked you this before ...you havce any information on a Spanish Station..87.7...northern Virginia or Maryland? Strong signal in Leesburg and even in DC...I can find nothing in any database. Interesting, this 'Pirate' has been broadcasting for nearly a year now. Thanks D (2/27/09) Dave's response: There is a licensed low-power Channel 6 TV operation in Arlington that airs the Unison Spanish language network. In places where there's a Channel 6 TV operation, like Richmond or Philadelphia, you can hear it on the FM frequency of 87.7, which is where the Channel 6 audio carrier is located. I'm assuming that's what "our" 87.7 is..... Dave, When and where do you think HFS2 will show up in the DC Market? Drew from Fairfax (2/27/09) Dave's response: Where? 94.7's HD2. When? The day that the combined weight of O'Meara, Big O, and Dukes drops below 1,000 pounds..... An interesting thing happened while listening to Hot 99.5's HD2 channel last night about 3:00 AM. I heard about 2 minutes of a classic rock song by Ozzy Osbourne playing, followed by a newer rock song. About 2 seconds into the rock song, the station's digital reception dropped. Meanwhile, a normal Hot 99.5 HD2 liner was heard between both rock songs. When I re-tuned in the HD1, the HD2 signal was off-air. The HD2 returned 3 minutes later with CHR music like usual. What gives--did someone at Clear Channel tap into the wrong music library (i.e. WWDC's) by accident? DLP in Woodbridge (2/27/09) I've been listening to talk radio all my life. I first remember Don & Mike on WAVA and it has been a strait run since then. Would you say that ever since Howard left talk radio has quickly receded? After Don leaving I really would be saddened to lose the Junkies and Big'O and Dukes. Would you say that the flip is inevitable? (2/27/09) Dave's response: No. I think there's a solid chance that the "guy talk" format in WJFK will remain - for now. The bottom line will be the station's ad revenue. CBS Radio's DC suits are looking only at the men 25-54 numbers for the station, and in that respect, the station and its line-up are performing. Even if the broader, "beauty content" age 12+ PPM numbers aren't so hot. If JFK can manage to attract advertisers, so far so good, and "perform" in the revenue department, then the current format will probably stay. But if the recession hits JFK's ad numbers hard, I'm afraid the CBS beancounters in NYC will overrule the DC suits and flip it to something more "cost effective," something without so much "relatively expensive" local talent. CBS has pulled the "guy talk" format everywhere else in the country. Corporate-wise, it's obvious that they don't much care for the format any longer. We'll see about DC. And don't forget - this is CBS Radio President Dan Mason's home market. So, he's probably a personal fan of JFK's talent. That helps..... RE: Patsy Cline & WINC...it needs to be said that most of the so-called "drama" surrounding the late country singer Patsy Cline over the years came from Patsy's own family. Actually a lot of those "Patsy" rumors that had been around for decades, many of them were actually traced back to her own mother and former husband, the late Hilda Hensley and Charlie Dick !!! The reason? Money & Control !! Isn't always ??? (2/27/09) Wow, a WJZ 13 THREE's COMPANY of a different sort, hehe. Derek Valcourt, Adam May, and who's the lucky, umm, lady? ( Halloween 2008 ) (2/27/09) /\ February 27 Messages /\ \/ February 26 Messages \/ Oh please, more alleged drama from our Winchester historian. If the Chuck Peterson in the story is the same one that manages Q102, there is probably nothing sinister in the story (it says he went on the competing station for pete's sake). As for the Neighbors story, ABC and not the city, governs liquor licenses. Just ask any of Virginia's finest wearing those fashionable blue wind-breakers with the big letters on the back. If the bar lost their license, it would not be for a drag show. It would be for underage consumption, breaking of other laws in the bar, etc. Licenses don't disappear in a week from the offense typically either...I am sure Winchester has its share of small town podunk politics, but you always make it sound like Peyton Place - now there's an old reference. Face it, one day in the not so distant future, Winchester will be absorbed into the greater NOVA/WASH DC urban sprawl monster...burp, (2/26/09) Dear DCRTV, Has Maureen Bunyan been on extended vacation? Was George Michael told he could keep doing Fast Break and Redskin's Report but at a reduced budget? So Mr. Michael's quit? Has Dan Hellie darkened his hair color? Say instead of canning folks over at WETA did they consider consolidating one of its Digital channels? I read that the Virginia legislature zeroed out money for public tv stations in the state. Will this have affect on the MHZ channels that went off the air back in the fall from returning to airwaves as had been planned for February? (2/26/09) It's only speculation, but Variety thinks Murdoch is pining for the NY Times, and now the LA Times as well. And with Peter Chernin out of the picture, it would be easier. How can this even be possible for consideration given he already owns the NY Post, the WSJ (Dow Jones), WNYW, WWOR in New York, and KTTV and KCOP in LA. www.variety.com (2/26/09) Dave's response: Rupert, baby, what's the fucking point? You're an old man and already rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams. "Rosebud"..... Dear Unsigned Corporate Suit: Thank you! My faith in Amy Simple McPhereson, Orson Wells, and Gary Owens has been fully restored. And I thought the "Cliff Effect" had something to do with the Cheers bar. (2/26/09) Earlier someone had brought up that Winchester recently had lost its only live and local AM call-in show. That being Michael Haman and his "Winchester Morning Magazine" that sired on WINC-AM 1400. Did a serach and found this.... www.winchesterstar.com... Now I am curious..wonder why WINC-AM cancelled this show? From the Star article it seems the show was very popular from the tshort amount of time it was on the air. Budget cuts? Ah one would think WINC/Centennial would have known that before they would launch such a show in the first place but we all know how radio is anyway. Then again I wonder ( this a guess ) that the Patsy Cline show could have been a reason? Afterway despite being their "hometown gal", Winchester/Frederick County has over the years been known to get.. .can we say "touchy" when it comes to Patsy Cline. Such as what happened to the Neighbors Bar & Grill that was located on South Loudoun Street in downtown Winchester. One night back in 1998 Neighbors decided to do a Patsy Cline tribute show..well actually it was a drag show with all the guys dressed like Patsy Cline.I was there that night and some of those guys actually sounded like Patsy Cline, a few sounded better than Patsy herself. Well to amke a long story short the city of Winchester wasn't happy with this and the next week "found a way " to take away Neighbors liquor license and of course that killed their business. Then there was that dj from the now defunct WAPP radio ( Paula Kelsey ) who was seen on a video clip stepping on Patsy's grave. The city of Winchester actually had the clip removed from You Tube. Over the years there have been stories similar to those so that makes me wonder if that Patsy Cline show that Haman did on WINC 1400 maybe was "too much" and that was the reason what the "Winchester Morning Magazine" is now defunct? (2/26/09) I've heard of people shooting their TV sets or cable boxes when they go "over the cliff" psycholgically. But, going "over the cliff" because of "cliff effect"? Check the link www.kare11.com -Unsigned Corporate Suit (2/26/09) Oh you mean the same Soros-funded, Obama-backing Media Matters that isn't too happy with Juan Williams, who is, btw, a black liberal? Is that the Media Matters you're talking about? I thought "telling truth to power" was what the media was supposed to do, according to the left. Oh, only if the authority figure is a Republican? I see. They can call-in any friggin' day of the week - the phone lines are open at WMAL, and it's a free call! Mmhhmmhh! -Silvie- (2/26/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Interactive Ad Specialist - Wtop.com is hiring! Are you creative, organized, and can juggle many projects at once? We are looking for an Interactive Ad Specialist who will help create/coordinate our online sales efforts. Strong graphical ability, willing to learn/expand. If you’d like a job that’s different every day, complete application at www.wtop.com link “inside wtop” follow instructions from there. NO RESUMES W/O AN APPLICATION. EOE (2/26/09) Ann Coulter and Chris Plante together on the Radio???? Are you kidding??? Really??? Let’s just hope this interview is as successful as the time he interviewed Governor Sarah Palin, and it made news around the world. Perhaps if Mr. Plante weren’t such a wuss, he could have a real radio show and invite someone from Media Matters to call in. There could then be some interesting debate on WMAL that could make for great radio. My guess, however, is Chris will treat her like he is trying to pick her up at a bar. Come to think about it, unless Ann says something really, really dumb, as Governor Palin did on the Chris Plante show right before the election, this interview will probably consist of pretty much the same WMAL crap we hear daily. (2/26/09) Joe Radio, while entertaining, has one major flaw. Joe Ardinger cannot talk. And it is talk radio after all. WJFK FTW (2/26/09) I don't really understand the mini-uproar over the replays at night on WJFK. Is it the most ideal situation? Of course not. But, I don't know if anyone else has noticed... we're in a bit of a difficult economic time right now. I see talented, experienced colleagues and friends losing their jobs left and right. I can't imagine CBS is going to allow WJFK to add significant cost to their bottom line right now. As far as the weekends go, as long as they are running hours and hours of infomercials, they can't expect to get ratings. If there's one thing everyone in the business is learning about PPM, it's that you better be playing your best content at all times. Joint pain shows... come on guys. If you let the bean counters whore out your station, this is what's going to happen. At least they're making an effort with Goss, the MMA show, Joe, and the movie kid. And they had the Hideout on for awhile, which was a good effort. Give the programming people credit for that, it's more than has been done since their "Sports Weekend" way back when, which by the way produced the Sports Junkies. But everyone that listens to WJFK knows that, chances are, when they turn it on every Saturday and Sunday, it's going to be some boring infomercial. It's been 15+ years of that crap, with the same results. Either man up and program the weekends, or keep enjoying 17th in 12+. (2/26/09) Dave, Any new announcement about budget cuts at NBC 4? You mentioned a while back that NBC was cutting costs so has 4 said anything further about this? Scott in Alexandria (2/26/09) Dave's response: Nothing new. Anybody hearing anything? Saturday ESPNU will televise a major lacrosse tournament from Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. With Johns Hopkins and Maryland both part of the four team tournament. There is only one problem --- few in the mid Atlantic area will see it! Comcast in the Washington-Baltimore area do not offer the channel and so lax in this region won't see this tournament nor will they see many games offered during the season offered by ESPNU. (WMAR -ABC2 will offer some of the ESPNU games later in the season due to a deal they have with the network) www.dcexaminer.com... Cheers, jim (2/26/09) (regarding Dave's response) "After a bong hit, I prefer potato chips. The sour cream and onion variety". Something that meets the 'sweet/salty/crunchy' criteria for stoners with the munchies, is a tasty mixture of peanut butter, pretzel sticks and either mini-M&Ms or mini chocolate chips. Swirl a pretzel stick (or two) through the peanut butter, then use the glob of peanut butter on the end of the pretzel stick(s) to pick up some of the M&Ms or chocolate chips. You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter. It's an Epicurean delight, Man! (2/26/09) "I didn't understand the Arbitrons and I don't understand the PPM ratings either. Why would someone like yourself learn secondhand about the WJFK rankings among men 23-54, instead of directly from the ratings company?" Arbitron charges radio stations and ad agencies a LOT of monbey for that data. They do not give it way for free, except for the 12+ full week numbers. (2/26/09) SatRad bundles, want it cheaper. Call and cancel, they'll offer $77 per year. (2/26/09) Republican Sen. Jim DeMint (South Carolina) is pushing for an amendment Thursday to outlaw the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," in a move that could prove more symbolic than fruitful. More here... www.foxnews.com (2/26/09) Dave, why would Andy Parks need a facelift or tummy tuck? He's on the radio (and has the perfect face for it!) Anyhoo, I wanted to inform you and your lovely mailbag readers that the Great Ann Coulter will be on Chris Plante's radio show live tomorrow Fri., 2/27 in the 11:00 a.m. hour on 630 WMAL. -Silvie- [a.k.a. Crazed Radio Stalker] (2/26/09) Dave's response: Oh Ann, who called Jews "failed Christians"...... How are Big O and Dukes doing on the ratings? (2/26/09) Dave's response: I think they were 8th in men 25-54. But they were 2nd in transvestites age 18-34..... What's with the criticism of WTOP's 40-year anniversary series? I think it's terrific. A nice mix of news events big and small, sports, culture and all the personalities, from presidents on down, who have passed our way. It's self-congratuatory, but so what? They SHOULD be congratulated for the job they do and the service they provide -- 24/7. (2/26/09) Dave, although I'm a radiophile, I didn't understand the Arbitrons and I don't understand the PPM ratings either. Why would someone like yourself learn secondhand about the WJFK rankings among men 23-54, instead of directly from the ratings company? Why wouldn't those figures for each station be part of the monthly book that you quoted today? (2/26/09) Dave's response: I can't get too specific about reporting the Arbitron ratings since they are proprietary info. So, that's why you see little more than the 12+ "beauty contest" rankings here and in other industry pubs..... To the people busting WJFK's balls (while there is plenty to bust on) this book's ratings isn't that bad. Gotta think, There were a lot of vacations that were taken during this book. (2/26/09) Re: ~WETA might find more support and members with music I like instead of music I don't like...~ Seems to me they are consistently Top 10 with classical, and moving up over the past few PPM weeks. The real problem behind monetary support being down is, nobody's parting with their cash right now, for anything. I'm not saying AAA has no place in DC, but it's one of the many "me too" stations that could stand to change, not one of the very few unique ones. ~~CA in BC (2/26/08) Just got the PPM breakouts. Here is a more in-depth look inside the demos and WJFK. 18-34 AM Drive: DC101, Hot, WMMJ, WPGC, WHUR. Junkies 12th... 18-34 Midday: WASH, WKYS, DC101, Hot, El Zol. Big O And Dukes 17th... 18-34 PM Drive: DC101, Hot, WKYS, El Zol, WASH. Mike O’Meara 13th... 25-54 AM Drive: WTOP, WAMU, WHUR, Mix, DC101. Junkies 12th... 25-54 Midday: WASH, WTOP, Mix, WHUR, DC101. Big O And Dukes 16th... 25-54 PM Drive: WTOP, WASH, Hot, WHUR, DC101. Mike O’Meara 15th... (2/26/09) Dave's response: My impression is that the January PPMs are not a disaster for JFK, but a long way from great "superstation" days of the Redskins, Stern, and Geronimo..... Yes on JFK 4th place, but overal station has anemic showing men 25-54. If you were buying a station to reach men 25-54, which would be your top 3 or 4 (because ad sales are usually only 3-deep) (2/26/09) Wow. The subject of Martinsburg, West Virginia radio really gets some folks worked up, doesn’t it? As an “alumni” of the market, let me (briefly, you’ll be glad to know) shed some light on several of the issues raised. First, 97.5/WLTF is a full Class B FM. The “50,000 watts” refers to equivalency, not ERP. Full Class Bs like ‘LTF are “equivalent” to 50KW @ 500 feet, HAAT. And in mountainous areas that tends to be the way radio folks casually refer to FM power, rather than try to draw comparisons between different stations according to effective radiated power & antenna “height above average terrain.” Too technical for the guy who owns the hardware store. Martinsburg’s home county (Berkeley) has never been part of either the Hagerstown metro or the Winchester metro, so WLTF’s real strength in its local market has never been accurately reflected in any 12+ Arbitron summary of the adjacent markets published in R&R or AllAccess. I haven’t seen a local breakout in quite awhile, but I’ll attest that WLTF has always been huge in Martinsburg & the Panhandle—as it was for many years as WKMZ in its rock & CHR days. Hey, it’s the ONLY local FM station, and you can pick it up through your toaster. As far as the two little AMs go, both WEPM & WRNR have continued to do an admirable job of full-service radio with solid efforts in local news, local sports & community event & public issue coverage. In a very real way, both stations are throw-backs to the kind of small-town radio prevalent 20 to 30 years ago, but nearly extinct today. As a standalone, WRNR has always lived closer to the edge than cluster-member WEPM, but the long-booming Panhandle economy and the relative lack of local competition allowed both stations to thrive well beyond most of their peers throughout the rest of the nation. Nice job, y’all. (2/26/09) WETA might find more support and members with a vital rock/AAA format that's connected closely to the community and its music and venues and committed to new music, a la The Current, WTMD, KEXP, KCRW, WFUV, WXPN. Rather than a moribund music format stuck in the public radio format thinking of the past, one that's rapidly dying off along with its listeners. (2/26/09) (DCRTV Dave scribed..."That boycott, joined by "pot activists," who insist they make up a large share of consumers of Kellogg products, has apparently resonated with Kellogg customers") Well, think about it...what do most pot smokers want to do after imbibing? EAT, of course! And not just any old thing. They want COMFORT FOOD! What better COMFORT FOOD is there than a heaping bowl of Kellogs' Frosted Flakes with seven spoonfuls of sugar and milk with an Apple Jacks chaser? Theyyyyyyy're Great! Thurl Ravenscroft (RIP). (2/26/09) Dave's response: After a bong hit, I prefer potato chips. The sour cream and onion variety..... RE: WLTF despite their 50,000 watts. When did they increase their power to 50,000 watts? Is this something new? The FCC data base still shows them at 11.5KW ERP. With their 4 bay antenna they would need to buy a new transmitter able to produce about 30KW to get an ERP of 50KW...plus I don't think their antenna and feed line will handle that amout of power. (2/26/09) ("Dave's response: I've said it before. Grandy and Nehman are both liberals. They just "play" conservatives on the radio. Yes, Andy is a real righty.....") Dave, after many a beer in the pit at DC Eagle, I can tell you Andy's just playing a right too. He's really a loveable teddy bear. --- ThePenIsMightier (2/26/09) Dave's response: I've always said that I don't think Limbaugh's a real conservative. It's just an "act" for his radio show. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised to find Rush at the DC Eagle with some bearish guys from the Heritage Foundation..... I agree; Doreen looked sexy last night on the 11:00. She sparkled! ! ! KOF (2/26/09) Corporate America is in an absolute anti-worker, anti-union frenzy about the prospects of the Employee Free Choice Act. And corporate front groups are spending millions- spewing lies and distortions to block workers' freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. With a pro-worker president, Congress and secretary of labor in place, big corporations are panicked that their stranglehold on workers who want to bargain for better benefits, fair wages and working conditions will be broken. They've likened the Employee Free Choice Act to "Armageddon," claimed it will lead to "the end of civilization as we know it" and even blamed the bill for declining sales of Girl Scouts cookies. (Isn't it obvious that those overworked, underpaid, child laborers want to form a union?). Sound desperate? They are. So desperate they're spending some $20 million to block the Employee Free Choice Act. To keep them from gaining the upper hand, we must get on the air and stay on the air in March. (2/26/09) For some 40-year-old perspective on how WTOP Radio's All-News format change was announced, and how it was received by competitor WAVA can be read at: DCMemories.com (2/26/09) Re: the comment about some on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" having some plastic surgery, I'm wondering if Doreen Gentzler has had some work done as well..She was out for a little while and came back looking exceptionally "refreshed". But, it may just be from a restful vacation. (2/26/09) "......The recent ruling requires Citadel to pay "thousands more" in severance to the affected former employees........" That can't be good news for the people who are still at 105.9. I would think that the station will have to figure out ways to cut more costs. (2/26/09) Dave's response: Not just at JZW, but at Citadel sisters MAL and RQX..... (am getting endless laughs listening to WTOP celebrate 40 years of time & temp reads: they're recalling old news stories by playing the recollections of their reporters, all of whom seem to have covered the events while working for other news outlets.) But obviously, you are listening! Since the series runs only a few times a day, you must be listening endlessly! (2/26/09) (Dave's response: Andy Parks has been missing from WMAL this week. Maybe a facelift? A tummy tuck? Hmmm.....) Breast reduction (2/26/09) Rumor around MSNBC's "Morning Joe"... Mika B. took a week off and had plastic surgery; just some minor work... If you've seen her around DC recently, you would kinda notice (2/26/09) Dave's response: Andy Parks has been missing from WMAL this week. Maybe a facelift? A tummy tuck? Hmmm..... "So many f-sticks there...richer, better looking...giving my Carla the eyeball" For starters, there are far hotter women than her at Caps games. But seriously, any bets she initiated some of the eye contact. You know she has to be looking at some of those guys and thinking what it would be like to be at the game with someone that doesn’t take up half of her seat too. (2/26/09) I am getting endless laughs listening to WTOP celebrate 40 years of time & temp reads: they're recalling old news stories by playing the recollections of their reporters, all of whom seem to have covered the events while working for other news outlets. I guess that's the way it goes when you're a glorified clock/thermometer that believes summarizing the morning's Washington Post stories is "breaking news." (2/26/09) First of all, Juan Williams is an employee of Fox News as well as NPR. Did Rush state his Fox News affiliation, or just NPR? Second, it has been a few days since WMAL was trashed here on DCRTV, and it took Rush to bring back the trashing. Fred Grandy should be ashamed of himself and for what he said while Andy was away. If Andy were there yesterday morning, he would have never let Fred speak an honest opinion that differs from the Republican Talking Points. BTW, Sean Hannity and his "good friends" at Stanford Coin and Bullion are "Great Americans." (2/26/09) Dave's response: I've said it before. Grandy and Nehman are both liberals. They just "play" conservatives on the radio. Yes, Andy is a real righty..... WINX's number was actually 424 -1600 for the studio. Who knows where that goes these days... The 424 -9292 number was the office line, and is still in use by Mr. Parris' firm in Silver Spring. (2/26/09) (WINX's number was 424-9292 which is still in use by Bill Parris.) For the 10 minutes or so that I worked at WINX in 1974, the request line was 424-1600 (2/26/09) I honestly cannot believe that I made a hypocrisy joke in the DCRTV mailbag about Kelloggs selling cereal and snacks to pot smokers in legal pot smoking countries in Europe and Kelloggs having no problem with that, yet finding Phelps behavior offensive in the US, then this 98ROCK stunt ends up having legs??? OMG! Too funny! Honestly, I think some of Phelps' corporate sponsors now are in more financial trouble them HIM, and are looking for ways to back out of all those expensive contracts and he basically gave them an easy out just like John Sanders did with WBAL-TV, so expect more Phelps endorsement deals to falter as the companies that made them can't pay their own bills, let alone the ridiculously expensive contracts they signed with Phelps. (2/26/09) /\ February 26 Messages /\ \/ February 25 Messages \/ Huffington Post reports? Really? They are no reporters, just posters. (2/25/09) Coming from someone who grew up in Martinsburg/Berkeley County, West Virginia and reading the comments about the local AM stations WRNR AM 740 and WEPM AM 1340, well all I can say is..thanks for the comedy !!!! With all due respect to the employees of both stations, neither stations has that much in terms of listeners. Comments like quote : "....Jay Young has them in the thousands." and this one "....Doesn't it speak well of Martinsburg that they can suppprt two stations with live, local call-in shows when larger cities have one or less?"..well its time for those who made those comments to face a reality check. Look at the local ratings for not only WEPM & WRNR but also for the two Martinsburg FM stations as well..WLTF and WICL. NONE of them do all that well in the ratings as it is usually Q102 ( Winchester ) or WAYZ ( Hagerstown ) that is at the top. Want more proof...walk up to someone on the streets of Martinsburg and mention to them "..what do you think of 97.5 FM?" Chances are they will STILL call them "KMZ-FM" even though WKMZ hasn't existed in Martinsburg on 97.5 since when? 2000? 2001? Most folks in Martinsburg can't tell you who is on WLTF today despite their 50,000 watts of power much less who is on WRNR or WEPM. Now for the comment made by a previous poster about how great it is for Martinsburg to be able to support two local live call in shows...while on the surface that may be true but if one really looks into that..the answer is..Martinsburg really doesn't support them. How? Listen to WEPM and WRNR when both stations are "live". Jay Young for starters does NOT take calls from listeners and neither does Tom Tucker for that matter outside Eastern Panhandle Talk not too mention that both guys really do seem bored to be on the air in Martinsburg. The talk shows..Panhandle Live and Eastern Panhandle Talk...yes they do get calls, well sometimes..but for the most part its the same people over the over. "..WEPM is lucky to get 8 calls a week for Panhandle Live" "..WRNR...we could be off the air for a week and nobody would notice". I heard both statements from actual employees who worked there !! WRNR's nighttime signal is so bad one can live within sight of their towers and still not be able to pick them up and before someone writes in and reminds me and others that WRNR is available on local Martinsburg Comcast channel 10, well that is nice but most people in the Panhandle don't bother with Comcast thanks to Direct TV and Dish Network so how does that help Martinsburg's WRNR? it doesn't..ask Winchester's TV3 Winchester what its like to not to be able to reach 60% of their local audience. Really the bottom line is that despite the growth in the area Martinsburg is really nothing more than a bedroom community for those who work in DC and Baltimore. In other words they only live in Martinsburg and Berkeley County for the cheap taxes and being able to buy/rent there..well so cheap and thats it. They really don't care about the radio stations there at all so as a result it really is those old timers who really support WEPM and WRNR and once they die off? So much for WEPM and WRNR. Actually I would be VERY surprised if either station is around say five years from now. (2/25/09) DEAR DCRTV, A Barry Richards interview can be heard in the wee small hours of the morn this coming Sunday at 6 am WJZW True Oldies 105.9. Apparently the gentleman who produced the "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" documentary a few years back are working on a project about an early Led Zepplin appearance in D.C. area hosted by Barry Richards. Forgot to mention couple Sundays back on Little Steven's Underground Show, on The Glob WTGB 94.7 Sunday nights 10 pm to 12 midnite, Lil' Steven told the tale of Carroll James and the appearance of The Beatles in the D.C. area. Last couple of listens to John Batchelor show ,Sunday nights on WMAL 630 am 7-10 pm, seems like he's not playing the foreboding music as much. One of my favorite elements of the show. And seems to be having a lot of co-hosts or guests in the studio. I prefer Mr. Batchelor by himself interviewing the guests. I must say he does attract some very informative guests. As for the Dave Ramsey show Saturday afternoons on WMAL, yuck! One of these self righteouw born agains dispensing general financial info while seeming to get off on talking down to folks. I much preferred the Leo LaPorte computer show, which is now on late night Saturday nights. Dern that Don Geronimo he latched on to BiteMea.com! Say is he hiring folks at the Gaithersburg based Geronimo Productions? While listening to ESPN 980 Sports Reporters show as dusk approaches a station playing bluegrass music seems to bleeding all over the station. And no not listening on fm side and it's not the WAMU Bluegrass Experience on 105.5. Still think it sucks that WJLA jettisoned Greg Toland, replaced by Horace Holmes. Isn't he older that Greg Toland and worked in Baltimore market for many years. They got him doing reporting on weekdays and sport's weekends. And are they working Cynee Simpson into the ground, geez louise! They still have a number of the old time reporters on website or they did seems to have dropped the page listing the reporters they don't seem to be getting much airtime anymore. Does Gordon Peterson own a piece of "Inside Washington"? An i scream headache GALA! (2/25/09) "Does anyone remember when Bush the Elder was president and one particular news story went out on the wire, sans a proper headline? The "fill" headline, written by the bureau reporter and meant for local newspapers to overwrite with their own, read "Mush From the Wimp"." -- I think that was Carter circa 1980, wasn't it? -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle. (2/25/09) Re: Martinsburg's WEPM/WRNR - if Tom Tucker and Matt Miller go to WEPM, who gets custody of Kelsey Reichard? Neither WEPM nor WRNR carries the same type of programming (local talk) after you get past the noon hour. WEPM is a sports talk station; WRNR carries Dennis Miller, G. Gordon Liddy, Dr. Joy, Dr. Laura, Lars Larson, and Jim Bohannon. Doesn't it speak well of Martinsburg that they can suppprt two stations with live, local call-in shows when larger cities have one or less? Winchester cancelled their one and only live and local talk show several months ago. Martinsburg has two (three if you count Peter Corum on WRNR). (2/25/09) Janessa Brazil has been selected as Miss Howard TV March 2009 for Howard Stern’s Howard TV On Demand service. Janessa emigrated to the U.S. from Brazil at 12 years old and was a straight A student at an all-girl Catholic school. During her interview with Stern, it became obvious that her strict upbringing actually had the opposite effect. She revealed intimate details about her hook-ups with several young ladies while she was a school girl. Her modeling career took a detour when the 5’8”, 120 pound beauty found she wasn’t tall enough and the porn business beckoned. Now 24, Janessa resides in Tampa, Florida and models full-time for her own adult website, JanessaBrazil.com. She gets a lot of strange requests from her members which she talks about in incredible detail during her interview, including something called “panty stuffing.” You’ll have to watch her appearance to learn more. Janessa also enjoyed the Stern shows favorite sex toy… the Sybian! The immediate feedback from fans is that was “the best Sybian ride ever!” This episode can only be seen on Howard TV On Demand, starting tonight, February 26th, 2009. Miss Howard TV spokes-models are interviewed on the Howard Stern Show and then featured on Howard TV On Demand, where they introduce and give an overview of the monthly programming on the channel. Janessa and previous spokes-models are also profiled on www.howard.tv/missHowardTV. Howard TV On Demand is a subscription video on demand channel available only on digital cable in the United States and Canada. (2/25/09) (WTOP did at one time devote a full 2 minutes to business at :25 and :55, but the second minute got cut in favor of more commercials a while back). When was this? I got to WTOP in 1996 and it had been 1-minute for quite some time. And it has been 1-minute ever since (although there are additonal business stories and market news done at times other than :25 and :55). Jim (2/25/09) PLB, that WPGC Requestomatic number was 7xx-1580. It's now assigned to a private citizen, so don't prank call her. WINX's number was 424-9292 which is still in use by Bill Parris. (2/25/09) Dave's response: If it now connects to a "private citizen," I'm not giving it out..... Mike O'Meara and the little lady attending the Caps vs. Flyers game last night (yet another chance to use that photo!). According to Mike: "So many f-sticks there...richer, better looking...giving my Carla the eyeball" Well, Mike, maybe they were looking at you having never seen a live Vulcan... (2/25/09) Not to be contrary, but in his home state of Wyoming, Dick and his alien being family's last name was and is pronounced CHEE-nee. It wasn't until he began his career of "public service," did his name get pronounced CHAY-nee by out-of-towners. Whatever the case, he's gone and that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a good thing. Chris Mathews? Apologize? For being a partisan? Doesn't everyone already know that? (2/25/09) "Who was the lady rubbing President Obama rather intimately as he was entering last night?" Oh, that was this woman: www.bhopal.net (2/25/09) That George Michael clip brings back memories. A few buddies of mine and I were HUGE wrestling fans growing up. We were hanging out at the 7-11 on River Road in Bethesda, having consumed some adult beverages. George Michael came in for some smokes after getting off the air. We started to talk to him about wrestling. He was kind enough to spend a few minutes chatting with us about it. I can't see in this day and age any sportscasters A) having "rasslin" on their broadcast or B) taking time to talk about it with a few drunk guys at a 7-11. Thanks for the clip and thanks George. (2/25/09) OK, the recent comments about Martinsburg's WRNR AM 740 and WEPM AM 1340, why doesn't WRNR do the RIGHT thing. Either sell to Bill Prettyman so that Prettyman Broadcasting can have total control of broadcasting in eastern West Virginia ( Berkeley and Jefferson counties ) and create perhaps a WEPM AM 740 and 1340 and have WRNR's Matt Miller and Tom Tucker join the staff at WEPM. Or maybe WRNR should sell to Pastor Jeff Owens of the Martinsburg Shenandoah Bible Baptist Chruch who actually wanted WRNR some years back to spread theirr message like for example their affilation with Exodus International. Either way WRNR Martinsburg would do a lot better than what what they are doing now. There is no need for some small town of about 16,000 people to have TWO AM talkers who more/less air exact the same damn thing when there are a number a much larger places that don't even have one. Sorry but no matter how one makes it, Martinsburg, West Virginia is NOT Baltimore or DC. (2/25/09) When is Chris Matthews going to be fired for his antics? Today he will explain, not apologize, why he uttered the words "oh, god" as Gov. Jindal approached the podium for last night's Republican response. What irritates me most about Matthews is him insisting that Dick Cheney's last name is pronounced Cheeny. Um Chris, it is his last name. Some people pronounce their last names differently. YOU BIG FAT IDIOT WITH A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT!!! (2/25/09) (Snip) WRNR's signal kept dropping all morning (end snip) Which WRNR? AM in Martinsburg or FM in Annapolis?..I think he meant Annapolis..Remember that in Martinsburg, West Virginia...when it comes to WRNR..Jay Young from WEPM 1340 has the listeners....Tom Tucker from WRNR does NOT. I would be VERY surpirsed that at any given time Martinsburg's WRNR has more than 5 listeners totally who actually listen to them while Jay Young has them in the thousands. Sad but ah so true. (2/25/09) Who was the lady rubbing President Obama’s back rather intimately as he was entering last night? CM (2/25/09) Oops, correcting my posting of a moment ago - it was Jimmy Carter, not GHWB. (2/25/09) This is in response to Paul’s question about stations listening to the audience. Once upon a time, long long ago stations did listen to the callers. I don’t know how many of you remember WPGC-Request-omatics. Hourly there would be an announcement that went something like “Time now for WPGC Requestomatics, call XXX-XXXX, our choice of callers, your choice of Songs”. The jock would then select a line and record the request, usually they would give the caller a choice of three different songs, not necessarily on the current playlist (and off air). The caller would then say something like ‘hi, this is XXXXXXXXX from XXXXXXX and I’d like to hear..XXXXXX, the jock would record this and playback into the song…sounded great, audience loved it, jock loved doing it. I think it would work today, but as mentioned, stations no longer care about you, just $$$$.. Such a shame! PLB (2/25/09) (Snip) WRNR's signal kept dropping all morning (end snip) Which WRNR? AM in Martinsburg or FM in Annapolis? (2/25/09) I'm sitting here listening to Big O and Dukes this AM, and within the first FIVE minutes, describing President Obama's address to Congress, Dukes is calling the first female Speaker of the House a bimbo! Now to their core audience (P1's, and I'm one of them), perhaps it's funny. But this is why WJFK loses! You CANNOT continue to do a show for the P1 audience. Where the fuck are they going to go anyways? Now if a P3, or a P4 LISTENER, not CALLER, punches in and hears that drivel, you've lost them. And you wonder why you're underperforming with the PPM's? It's radio at it's lowest common denominator, and a change to WJFK could come even quicker than it already is. Unprofessionalism at it's highest! -Shocked and Chagrined (2/25/09) Re the Charlie Smegma story: Does anyone remember when Bush the Elder was president and one particular news story went out on the wire, sans a proper headline? The "fill" headline, written by the bureau reporter and meant for local newspapers to overwrite with their own, read "Mush From the Wimp". Some papers ran it that way, including the one in Connecticut where I was living at the time. Also, doesn't "Bright Blue Scrotum" sound as if it should be the title of a PBS after-school TV series? (2/25/09) This John Sanders/John Gibson thing reminds me of way back when I worked for the AP Radio network in DC that accepted stories from stations around the country and fed them to its affiliates for their use. One morning, a reporter from a particular Dallas all-news station fed a "voicer," identifying himself at the end as "Charles Smegma in Dallas." We fed the story over the "line" to the affiliates. Maybe it was because the men working that day were circumcised or maybe it was our inattention or ignorance, but it wasn't until the calls started coming in from stations around the country that we learned that "smegma" is a cheesy substance that accumulates under the foreskin of a penis. We had to tell affiliates to kill the story. A very apologetic letter eventually followed from the reporter who said he thought it would be a funny thing to do. Bob A. in Pikesville, MD. (2/25/09) It seemed that WRNR's signal kept dropping all morning. You'd get maybe ten to fifteen minutes of signal, and then five minutes of static. Any idea what's going on? Jake (2/25/09) Accuweather's people aren't in anyone's studio when they read the forecast. They are in State College, Pa. I remember when Joe Bastardi did the morning weather for Accuweather on WMAL at 6:36 am. You could turn the dial and hear him doing a different forecast for a different city five minutes later. (2/25/09) It's going to be odd not to see George Michael hosting the Redskins's shows (as well as Full Court Press). Just can't picture Lindsay and Dan doing hosting duties..But, I'll give them a chance. (2/25/09) Separated at birth (or girth)? Numero Uno Talker Rush "Rusty" Limbaugh (2/25/09) Ken in Glen Burnie, HFS2 is not on air at the moment so you are not missing anything. and don't worry it will pop up in the DC market soon. just a matter of time. but i would say it will probably be on an HD2 sub channel so keep your HD radio. (2/25/09) This is in response to Paul's post..."DJ's NEVER listen to their audience. No one WORKING at radio stations listens to the listners. Stations may claim they listen but that's just another line of bullshit for you to swallow. That's why DC 101, 94.7 and all those stations play the same songs every single day at the same time. IF stations actually cared about what people actually wanted to hear, you wouldn't hear the same Aerosmith or Tom Petty or Greenday song every day. Radio stations think the listners are dopes and will continue to spoon feed their audience the same mind numbing drivel for years to come." Paul, it isn't that simple. The reason radio stations play the same songs over and over is because that's what their research tells them to do (and as someone who used to work in a corporate consultant-driven company, I've seen my share of music research). I'm sure that DC-101 or 94.7 constantly hear from listeners who ask them to widen their playlists, but those listeners comprise a minority of the station's listeners and if the station listens to them, their ratings will likely go down because only a few of those listeners actually get Arbitron diaries. Does that mean that most radio stations cater to the lowest common denominator? Yes, but that's only because their revenue is based on good ratings and bland mind-numbing drivel equals good ratings. An analogy relates to my band...we're a cover band and our main job is to play familiar music for the girls to dance to followed by the guys buying them drinks (and there's no greater joy for a male musician than seeing attractive women dancing to your music). We're not necessarily fans of many of the artists or songs that we play, but we play for the crowd and therefore the bars do good business and tend to invite us back. We've seen bands with singers and musicians far better than us, but many play for themselves and therefore they don't do near as much business for the bar. I'm thankful that my radio career has now taken me to a place where we don't have to rely on ratings for business and therefore we don't have to cater to the lowest common denominator. (2/25/09) I gave 950 WCTN a fair listen most of Tuesday afternoon and evening. It's hard for me to accept Sammy Davis' "Candyman" as being an Adult Standard now; to me, Brenda Lee, Pat Boone, Ed Ames ... basically the old Music of Your Life pre-1959 lineup ... qualifies as Adult Standards, but hey, its a 40-year-old song so I'll learn to live with it. The only stops I heard were for advertiser solicitations, and those messages carry nearly the same wording as the ones from 950's "Oldies" period did - there's no emotion, no urgency, no need to sell advertisers any benefits. Even a couple of generic voicetracks, a PSA or two, some local content and maybe an occasional one-minute syndicated feature would give the station something more than the sound of a Time-Life nostalgia cassette. Lastly, how many of those Cuban cuckoo-clock stations are out there? I dialed in last night around 9PM while going around the Beltway and when WCTN faded, I heard the same time-pips and the Morse code "R R" that I do on 570 AM. I want to see this incarnation of WCTN succeed, if for no other reason than to *really* bring the Standards format back to DC (not part-time like WMET). But it is going to take more thought and effort to do it than to retread the Gold Oldies format that withered a couple of years ago (is it really a "format" if there are no elements or framework other than a record collection and one announcement?). God forbid 700 WDMV should come roaring back to the air with a Nostalgia format -- how weird would it be that DC's only competitive radio battle would be between three AM's with music from a half-century ago? (2/25/09) Don’t you think if 94.7 was going to be the “Amp” that CBS would have reserved the domain name by now? I would assume there at least a couple people in the company charged with looking at underperforming stations and reserving domain names with a variety of format possibilities. (2/25/09) The whole, Doni G registering the domain name. Could it perhaps be a pretext to Don becoming the new on-air personality/PD at the new station? CBS always had more faith in him than was ever warranted. What if their entire plan for the WJFK line-up is to turn over the keys to the station to him in a Top 40 format? Allan (2/25/09) You want good local radio? Hit the AM button and see if you can pickup 1430 WNAV starting 3PM daily. Terry Alley. www.1430wnav.com (2/25/09) For no good reason I actually read some of the ESPN980 blogs today ... Andy Pollin is as good a writer as he is a personality -- big ZERO. "And now let's re-cap my son's lousy high school basketball game ... and then there was the time Czabe ate a whole steak at one sitting ... and my daughter is spoiled rotten so I'm going to go buy her some new computer..." The only thing worse would be if John Thompson had a blog. Ugh. -jm (2/25/09) So lemme get this straight: Don Geronimo, broadcasting legend, is now spending his time using his insider knowledge to squat on dumb domain names and try to nickel-and-dime his former employer? Is this really how he's choosing to spend his retirement years? (2/25/09) ("The only downside listening to WCBS was the compression on the CBS hourly. It sounded like the Audimax was set for WCBS-FM, with huge compression and EQ boosts at the top and bottom end. Made Harley Carnes sound like Cammie McCormick. YIKES!.... Dave's response: Whoo hooo! You've used our BG secret word of the day - "yikes." Give me your address and I'll send over Pat Goss with a can of BG motor oil.....") Only if Goss shows up in a thong, and with a camera crew! (2/25/09) WTOP still uses Accuweather for some forecasts. The Accuweather guys just say they're in the ABC 7 weather center when that happens. (2/25/09) Well, I was wrong about 1 thing for sure... Apparently, John Gibson doesn't have a sense of humor after all and the nutjob seems to think it was like a vast left wing conspiracy to get him fired from FOX. Geez. what a load he looks like with his response and comments. But I still stand by my other comments. I'm more likely to believe John Sanders when he said he annotated the video as a joke and sent to friends than to believe Huffington Post claiming the video was not annotated because this was more than a golden opportunity for that faux news/blog site to make a name and money for themselves. Sanders didn't really have anything to gain unless he was looking for a job with Huffington Post! hehe If anybody was trying to get Gibson fired, I seriously doubt it was John Sanders. But since his original video edit is no longer available, I guess we'll never know. Oh, one last thing... Sanders used WBAL-TV equipment to do the video editing, so that in and of itself I guess is grounds for his firing, misuse of company equipment. Maybe WBAL can use the saved money and just bring Neal Estano back. I actually liked him better than Tom Tasslemyer! There's more on the whole Sanders thing in today's Baltimore Sun... www.baltimoresun.com (2/25/09) /\ February 25 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....