Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - March 5 to March 12, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ March 12 Messages \/ Word is that Comcast may lost the NFL network effective May1. The contract runs out on April 30th... I guess NFL network is really pissed about Comcast refusing to allow NFL Network to be part of its basic service. Comcast insists that NFL Network be part of its sports package which of course has a nominal fee every month. (3/12/09) I have to chime in on the double dipper at WUSA. I personally know one of the people who recently chose to leave channel 9. This person was appalled and disgusted by a lot of what was happening at the station, not the least of which was the actions of the double dipper. I know this employee wasn't alone, and there were lots of whispers in the newsroom. Why? Because while others worked at their desks trying to write stories, or calling to chase down a story, the pr man would grab his cell phone and leave the newsroom to take calls from his clients. Everyone knew he would also be on the set with them on the 9 am show making sure they were comfortable. So while management demanded that the people in the newsroom do more, this guy was, but for his clients. He even pushed some reporters to get interviews with some of the clients for stories. The real journalists in that newsroom are so disgusted, but it's just another example of how this once fine proud news establishment has slipped into a deep morass. It was once known as Broadcast House, now it's the information center. In broadcast house this never would fly, in the information center it's okay. Maybe in addition to the digital correspondents they should have p.r. correspondents. But what do you expect from a station that cancels weekend news in favor of infomercials. (3/12/09) Recently, I've become addicted to the Adam Carolla podcasts which he started literally days after being fired. The allure in it for me is wondering if he will be able to keep up the pace of putting out an hour podcast 5 days a week. When will his rollodex of celebrity contacts dry out? Is he in the midst of a nervous breakdown or is this the ultimate in sticking it to da man . Now I see that his old station mates Frosty, Heidi, and Frank have started doing a podcasts as well. Is it a new trend that fired DJ's are now podcasting their own shows? Is there any hope that Donny G might consider doing a podcast? The mind ponders the possibilities....... (3/12/09) Awhile back someone sent a message asking about Martinsburg's WLTF Lite 97.5's Stacy Drake and what happened to him ( sick? ). Anyway I was checking out WLTF's website today and not only did I noticed that Stacy's name had been removed from WLTF's site but so were the other jocks as well such as Casey Brooks for example. The page for Ken Jay's Sunday 70's show, that is gone too. Actually the only name on the WLTF site is "Norm Slemenda" who ifrom what I read is WLTF's General Manager...OK I will correct myself, there is a pic of the two WLTF office ladies...but nobody else. Now before someone says "could be a new site in the works that is why the names are missing", well nothing on the website gives any indication of that is the case. I also checked out the site for WLTF's sister station, WEPM-AM 1340. WEPM's Program Director Jay Young...his name is gone too other than some rather old sport stories that are still up on the WEPM site. Come to think of it someone from the Martinsburg Journal newspaper had told me recently that Hans Fogle is now in charge of WEPM Radio. OK, if that is the case, what happened to Jay Young? (3/12/09) Where's Doreen Gentzler?..Not digging Vance and Wendy Reiger co-anchoring.. (3/12/09) Dave's response: She was auditioning today for a new morning show on WASH with Mike O'Meara - "97.1 Mornings With Doreen & Mike." Just jooooooking. Don't worry, Loo..... I am skeptical of anything having to do with O&A and April 1st, this being said of course JFK is flipping formats. CBS has fired everyone of there talk shows except the 3 on JFK. Out of the 3 shows on JFK only one is worth anything(you know which one that is). The Big O and Dukes show has become a mad lib: Hey Drab (Movie Reference), we love (name of food), I have a rod for (MMA Fighter). I don't know whats worse Chad's not caring for any topic Oscar brings up, Oscars inability to ask a question to an intelligent guest, or the awful David Caruso bit at the beginning of the show that was only funny 3 years ago before every other talk show in the country ran it into the ground. The Mike O'Meara show is terrible, Mike seems to be aware of the terrible interviews on his show, yet he continues to interview the awful guests. But in the end it's no wonder JFK is going to change formats, look at the lineup now and look at the lineups of 1999-2005 Howard Stern, Don and Mike, Opie and Anthony, The Sports Junkies, Ron and Fez, and The Hideout. (3/12/09) Any word on whether Verizon FIOS will carry the full-time MASN-HD channel? (3/12/09) Dave's response: I'm told that Verizon's Fios will definitely be carrying the fulltime MASN-HD channel. No word on the channel number yet..... Re: 9 Newser Double-Dipping In PR? It's true, and a good number of people in the newsroom know who this double-dipper is. The people in the know are both floored by the double-dipper's blatant double-dipping while at work in the newsroom, and management's apparent blind eye (or decision to look the other way) at this. Some also believe it plays a major role in distracting the double-dipper from their actual (Channel 9) job. It has definitely caused some strife and put a few people into opposite camps. Anonymous @ 9 (3/12/09) The best thing for 99.1 would be the return of WHFS. That would be the first intelligent move from CBS in years. El Zol may have been a hot item when it was new but it's lost its lustre not to mention most of its less than tax-paying listeners have gone back home. As for WTGB I'd say maybe increase the library and repeat songs about 80 percent less than they do now. There are ALOT of classic rock songs to add. I'll refrain giving my opinion of talk/sports radio,I don't want to offend anyone. I WILL say that putting the Junkies on HFS was the first dumb move on the road to HFS's flip. Music radio is music radio is music radio. Now: Let's say it together- Washington and Baltimore's number one alteeerrnatiiive rooock Niiiiiiiiiinetyyyyyy Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiine Ooooooooone hfs hfs hfs (3/12/09) Dave's response: Love it. Make the new HFS a "big mix" of classic rock, alt rock, progressive rock. Just something that doesn't sound "corporate" - like DC101..... Big O and Dukes will land on their feet somewhere. They are really a great, high-energy, funny team. It would be DC's loss if these two are forced to re-locate and do their show somewhere else. They ought to be syndicated really. (3/12/09) Dave's response: I'd like to see them make gay porno videos with Glenn Beck..... If WJFK flips to sports talk and becomes the regional powerhouse in that format, Danny Snyder is going to have to retaliate. I've got the perfect solution for 'lil Danny: If you call Fedex field and get put on hold, the phone system runs and endless loop of Frank Herzog screaming "TOUCHDOWN WASHINGTON REDSKINS!!". LiL' Danny can just transfer that technology to his collection of worthless 0.01-Watt AMers, and his programming issues are history. Now this solution isn't as sophisticated as an earlier suggestion on this board that he run actual game coverage 7x24, but my solution is more in keeping with the value of his broadcasting "empire", which is worth about as much as his stations wattage: $0.01. (3/12/09) Pretty sad but in no way shocking about WJFK. Honestly, flipping to sports talk doesn't do much for me, but maybe it'll work for them. I'm sure the Junks will be fine. Can't imagine Big O and Dukes are gonna make the cut. I guess there's a way to fit Mike O'Meara in there somewhere, but more importantly....does he even want to stay at this point? I wouldn't. As far as the rest of the MOM crew goes, I think there's certainly a place for Buzz in this mix, he's a talented guy. Rob Spewack, while I wish him no ill will is probably gonna get whacked in this deal unless he gets a off-air job. He's in no way suited for sports talk. B.A. might be fine too given what she does can easily be transitioned to another program with sports talk. As a long time listener of WJFK, it is sad to see this happen. But it's even more sad to see how JFK has fallen on so many different levels. Time to end it. My prediction though, give it a year or so and you'll see the Don & Mike Show back on a station in the D.C. area. (3/12/09) WJFK make go away 4/1, there are rumored changes at WPGC, and WTGB is rumored to go away soon. When is hell is that piece of crap WLZL going bye bye ?! (3/12/09) Dave's response: CBS has four major FMers in the market - and all four have ratings problems. PGC is in the best shape, but LZL, JFK, and TGB are disasters. In fact, there are many PPM weeks when none of them are in the top 10. Not good..... 7 gives Natasha Barrett a ''recession buster'' [raise] for that dreadful afternoon show on 8 and yet, they can't find money to hang onto REAL professional reporters like Andrea McCarren? I be ashamed to even be associated with that ''TalkBackLive'' or whatever it's called. It's really sniffing the bottom of the barrel as far as local tv goes and she's AWFUL. Pretty, but just not ''host'' material. And Doug McKelway looks like he'd hang himself right on the spot if someone handed him a noose. Paul (3/12/09) Re Michael Steele interview. Wow. After that fiasco, I predict he will be eased out of his current job by the end of the the month. By then, he'll be lucky if he can land a spot on the Subway Sandwich Artist crew. No chance of him making it on radio or tv, unless Fox Snooze or ABC Radio Networks gets extremely desperate. Or perhaps he can replace Mr. Plante if that godawful show sinks any lower on Archie Bunker 630. Speaking of which... the Not-So-Great One, aka Mark Levin, will come out of his Leesburg 'bunker' and make an appearance at the B&N in Tysons Corner on Sat. the 28th of March to pitch his current waste of ink and paper and dole out autographs for the brainwashed hoards. I'm sure Silvie will want to 'mark' that date as well so she can sit on his lap and go goo-goo-ga-ga. Plante might be jealous though! Bibs will not be provided - please bring your own. Thanks. Mike in Manassas (3/12/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Job Title: News Anchor/Reporter... Contact: WNAV Sajak Broadcasting Corp... Deadline: March 31, 2009... Job Description: Full service AM station in Maryland’s capital city has an immediate opening for a full time news anchor/reporter. You will be responsible for on-air newscasts, outside news reporting, remote assignments, generating and researching local news stories, interviews, and production. Applicant must be knowledgeable on topics of interest to our audience to include: politics, the environment, business, and local sports. Must be competent on digital equipment, computer use, and have flexible hours. Tapes/CD’s and résumé’s (NO CALLS) to: Herma Percy, News Director, WNAV Radio, PO Box 6726, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or a résumé and a short (2 minutes, max!!!) mp3 to jobs@wnav.com. (3/12/09) Do you already know about this, does this guy have real info on JFK? www.wackbag.com (3/12/09) Dave's response: It sure fits the shit I'm hearin' down here. I'm sure O&Aers are connected to top CBSers in NYC..... Uhhhh.....while I agree that WTEM has never had a clue what they're doing, "the intolerable and insufferable Mike & Mike" is far and away the most popular thing on the station---and the most popular thing on ESPN radio, also by a long shot. Still, I agree that Mike & Mike is in the wrong slot on WTEM. Why you think the station would start making good decisions after all these years of bad ones I don't know. Between WTEM, WJFK and 94.7FM you've got some fine examples of how NOT to run a radio station. On what level do execs think these businesses are succeeding? Tax write-offs? They certainly don't bill. (3/12/09) Looks like Michael Steele is a Finger-Popping Cool Daddy! During a recent interview with GQ, GOP Chairman, Michael Steele, was asked about which musical artists he likes. "I like Sinatra. I like old-school. You know, Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Dean Martin. Love Dean Martin. He was one of these guys who just didn’t give an F. He just didn’t. Life was a party, and you either want to party or you don’t. But yeah, I like those. I’m a big Pack Rat. I love the Pack Rats from the 1950s—Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, those guys." I guess if things don't work out for him, as head of the GOP, maybe Steele can become Program Director of a 'Music Of Your Life' station somewhere! Here's the full interview ... men.style.com (3/12/09) Dave, Just making sure that you saw this item from today's SportsBusiness Daily: Don't Turn The Dial: NFL To Keep Westwood One As Radio Partner By John Ourand, Staff Writer..... The NFL has decided to keep Westwood One as its radio partner, agreeing to a two-year deal worth more than $30M in guaranteed money, according to several sources. Westwood One, which has held the NFL's rights for 29 of the past 31 years, also agreed to give the NFL more than $10M per year in promotional inventory. In sticking with Westwood One, the NFL rejected bids from ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio. Westwood One was the only bidder to offer guaranteed money, sources said. On Monday, Westwood One shored up its financial position, restructuring its $241M outstanding debt and ceding control to The Gores Group, which now holds a 72.5% stake in the radio company. The next day, Westwood One officials met with the NFL to negotiate their deal. The league had dragged its feet in choosing a radio partner, scared off by Westwood One's tenuous financial situation, which led to its de-listing from the NYSE in November. The delay could hurt ad sales next year, in what is already a tough sales market. The NFL's upfront selling period for next season's radio broadcasts should have started in October and traditionally runs through March. (3/12/09) You can't make this stuff up! Social networking site Twitter (aka “hey everyone aren’t you interested in my every single thought”) has officially reached an all-time low. When a drunken hobo stumbled into his San Francisco studio, David Prager, an executive at Revision3, decided to transmit 140-character updates to his Twitter stream instead of dealing with the problem or calling the cops. www.businessinsider.com (3/12/09) A few odds and ends (culled from various sources) concerning the life and passing of Dr. Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. have been posted at DCMemories.com (3/12/09) in response to the poster who disputed the validity of the WUSA response on the new morning graphics I think we all agree. WUSA is simply unwilling to give up on this idea even if it does make it hard to see the improved graphics added when they went HD and pretty much eliminated the chance that someone with an SD set will be able to make out anything on the screen. (3/12/09) It boggles my mind that in 19 years, WTEM has never figured out how to do sports radio, even with two models to follow just to our north (WFAN in NY and WIP in Philly). My God, they don’t even offer a local show in AM drive (instead giving us the intolerable and insufferable Mike & Mike). Those stations in NY and Philly may not be consistently good but at least they have personalities who know their stuff and aren’t afraid to ruffle feathers. The only guy on WTEM who comes close to doing that is Czaban. On WTEM we get as hosts two former Redskins and one old college basketball coach who know a lot about one sport (I give Doc Walker a break by saying that about him) and have no use for discussion of any other sport. The worst of the lot is John “Lemme Ask You” Thompson. How this guy was ever seen as a host is beyond me. The Sports Reporters show from 5-7 pm is the best show they offer. But why do they waste the 4-5 pm hour on one inane topic (like lesbian spectators) or sports lists? Andy Pollin might as well preface that hour by saying “ok, we need to kill an hour; here’s today’s dumb topic.” Why can’t they just take random calls and talk about whichever sports topic is brought up (as shows on the NY and Philly stations do)? Is it that difficult to transition from a Redskins call to a Nats call? I guess their crack research dept. tells them that listeners don’t want that. They might want to check their ratings and reevaluate. Then again, if WJFK does things right with their sports programming, it’s the death knell for WTEM. (3/12/09) Dave, The "Digital Correspondent" changes at WUSA have been generating some recent blog traffic -- there's been enough that I launched my own blog "One Man's Band".... Write up on "Digital Correspondents" by StandupKid: localtvnews.wordpress.com..... Write up by Levick Strategic Communications "Bulletproof Blog"; www.bulletproofblog.com..... Mine: onemanband.wordpress.com... -- Scott Broom (3/12/09) Attached are three links of video taken in 1991 (around the time of the Gulf War) inside of WAVA. I was the original “Phone Jammer” who answered the calls for the Mazda Miata Giveaways in 1990. Enjoy this rare relic inside of the original POWER 105 WAVA! Includes the Don and Mike Morning Zoo offices. www.youtube.com... www.youtube.com... www.youtube.com... Greg Hudson (3/12/09) (Dave's response: He could put big band on 980. Get some ratings but little ad revenue. If 106.7 goes sports, Snyder's little radio outfit will be pretty much screwed.....) I agree....unless Snyder pumps more money in, which I doubt he'll do. But it may take a while. Sure, JFK is on FM which is damned important but they have signal problems (3/12/09) Dave's response: If CBS is going to do sports talk in DC, they really should put it on 94.7. Then put El Zol on 106.7, and a resurrected music-based WHFS on 99.1. And tweak 95.5 to compete more with 99.5 and less with 93.9..... Rush Limbaugh is missing today and tomorrow because he's in a clinic having an "industrial strength" colon cleansing performed. According to Dr. Ann Coulter: "This is going to be tough. We might need to use a plunger." (3/12/09) WTTG quotes PBRTV on the death of their founder. www.myfoxdc.com... How pathetic is THAT?! (3/12/09) WJFK’s impending flip to sports will kill WTEM-AM-FM-FM (or whatever they call it). It won’t cripple The Team. It will kill it. Wonder if The Danny has a Plan B? How about “Redskins Reruns?” Just roll repeats of every Skins game—from the first minute of pre-game to the last minute of post-game—in their complete 8-or-9 hour entirety, 24/7/365. Interrupted, of course, for the real games August through January. February? Well, they’re usually done by then… (3/12/09) Dave's response: He could put big band on 980. Get some ratings but little ad revenue. If 106.7 goes sports, Snyder's little radio outfit will be pretty much screwed..... Was driving through Jacksonville yesterday afternoon, flipping through stations when I heard non other than Nino Greasemanille (a.k.a Johnny Avocado) on 104.5. He was sounding bold & bulky as ever. (3/12/09) Is Henninger still in business? Since they were in chapter 11 in the early 2000's, late 90's, and basically writing off millions of dollars in debt, I was just wondering if they were still a viable business in the DC area. I had heard that they worked on the Obama Presidential election bid, earning quite a few more million dollars. I have also recently heard that they got rid of their very first employee from the 80's, a Mr. Steve Wiedemann, CTO/SVP. Could this be true? Could you please check this info out? And perhaps post a story on HMS on your site? I have quite a few clients that may or may not want to work with them. Thank you. (3/12/09) Just a quick note on the AOL layoffs. The Baltimore based Advertising.com also got hit and at least a dozen people were laid off. Mostly in the Finance, HR & Technology sections. I worked there until this past October... Keep up the great work at dcrtv.org. I read through the site all the time. (3/12/09) From the "Where are they now?" section, Mark Stultz, former on air reporter for WBAL is currently a VP for BP Oil in the natural gas division in Houston, TX... (3/12/09) Just saw this on Ken Merson's Facebook page: "Ken had a terrific day at XM DC! Major props to my host Phlash as well as Marty, Albie, JoJo, Wicky, Maggie, Mary & Kenny. We'll do it again soon!” - Is the Merson Person headed for the bird? Anyone know what's up? (3/12/09) Just curious as to what makes you think that WJFK going Sports is going to do anything to improve the Sports Talk programming in DC. In Baltimore, 105.7 switched, 1370 was switched, WNST is still around, 1300 is all ESPN, and they can't seem to figure out how to stop running local commercials/updates over the ESPN program, and routinely re-join it already in progress. All any of this has really done is shuffle the deck, with "talent" switching stations, and recycled "talent" coming back into the market, and a lot of Syndicated stuff. For the most part, it's all still bad, just spread out over more entities. Think DC will do much better? (3/12/09) Dave's response: CBS will be better able to sell ads as a "package" on its FM sports talkers around the country if DC's in the mix. Hey, here's an idea for Mike O'Meara, if he doesn't survive at JFK. How about Channel 9 yanking its low-rated evening news and replacing it with "Money Movie 9" from 5 PM to 7 PM, in which Mike would make "cash calls" during the ad breaks..... The message in Lincoln's watch really was... "Where's Jay?" (3/12/09) Dave, It's funny how readers are just noticing how bad ESPN980 really is along with the fact Czaban's a bad radio personality. I'm sorry, don't immediately call for Steve's head..we know he's a bitter individual who thinks the world owe's him. However, if Red Zebra was a true communications' company, they would get rid their high-priced executive staff and hire people who care about rating, people and radio excellence. Again, how long will it take for Snyder to realize working at ESPN doesn't mean you're a superstar {no names please: Gilbert and Shapiro}. Second, how about the fact that Doc Walker is talking about Dodger old-timers and incorrectly pronounces players' names...totally inexcusable! Finally, every week DCRTV publishes the PPM's and obviously being ranked 19th-21st place doesn't translate well for any radio station. There aren't many sportstalk station in the country with this amount of poor talent. Take some of Haynesworth's signing bonus and clean house, please! In the meantime, let's all enjoy WJFK's movement toward beating ESPN980...it won't take much. (3/12/09) Hello -- I admit to being strangely fascinated by almost everything about the nearly forgotten DuMont Network, but I think anyone concerned with the history of TV broadcasting in the U.S. would agree that the death of Dr. Thomas T. Goldsmith is notable. This just appeared in a daily Google news alert I maintain on DuMont-related items: tvinterviewsarchive.blogspot.com. Here's the only obituary I've been able to find on Dr. Goldsmith's death: www.legacy.com. He was right there with Allen DuMont from the start, serving as his chief engineer, and even had one of their two original network stations named after him -- Washington D.C.'s WTTG, which still bears his initials as part of the Fox network. No one has yet updated his Wikipedia entry to report his death: en.wikipedia.org. Regards, Rich Emery, Hamilton, OH (3/12/09) MSNBC host Chris Matthews, husband of former WJLA co-anchor Kathleen Matthews, got his ass handed to him by former White House spokesperson under George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer. www.huffingtonpost.com (3/12/09) Dave's response: I watched that and thought it was the other way around..... RE: [TO: Jeff in Bowie....... I owned an Apple ][e, so THERE! GAME OVER, I WIN THE BATTLE OF THE APPLE FANBOYS!] Geezuschrist on a pogo stick.....Help Dave, can you recommend a good "stalker" repellent? I hear some people have experienced moderate results with "Silvie-B-Gone", but it fizzles out of the really crazy ones. Hmmm....I wonder if I can get a JUDGE to ISSUE a RESTRAINING ORDER in ALL CAPS that would prohibit a CERTAIN SOMEBODY with a serious AOL MONKEY on his back from coming any closer than ten paragraphs away from me! - Jeff in (considering moving to an undisclosed location) Bowie (3/12/09) Dave, any clue on what the 03/16/09 stands for on WPGC's homepage? www.wpgc.com (3/12/09) Dave's response: Amp day? /\ March 12 Messages /\ \/ March 11 Messages \/ You seem to forget that WFED/WTOP also airs NAVY Football which is a much stronger draw than AU Hoops...Just ask folks at The Pentagon who have do spend money.... (3/11/09) A recent Baltimore Sun editorial, denounced the Baltimore Police Department policy of not releasing the names of police officers who shoot citizens. If this speaks for many of you, if you share the same view, if you truly have a mission to get out the truth, if truly you care for the citizens of Baltimore. If the City Council and Mayor Dixon won't do a damn thing about it. There's only one thing left to do. SUE THE BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT - Baltimore Reporters Need To Grow A Set! baltimorespectator.blogspot.com (3/11/09) I don't know if this is necessarily good news per se or how much it affects WAGE all that much, but WBDY AM 1190 in Bluefield, VA has apparently gone dark for good according to FCC filings (financial reasons). It's unclear to me how much impact that station had on WAGE's 50kw plan as far as interference, but it certainly can't hurt. Another 1190 bites the dust, less interference. I expect lots of AM radio stations to go under in 2009. Kinda sad really, but maybe it'll turn out to be a good thing with ultimately much less interference as all these fledgling AM daytimer stations that were barely surviving in the first place go under and the AM dial gets cleaned up the hard way. Clearly the FCC had no interest in taking decisive action on broadcast radio. Hopefully, Pres. Obam's new FCC chairman will take a different view on radio broadcasting's future. Let's all hope for change. (3/11/09) TO: Jeff in Bowie....... I owned an Apple ][e, so THERE! GAME OVER, I WIN THE BATTLE OF THE APPLE FANBOYS! :-) PS: Everything I said about AOL is true, they are blocking Chat room access to new AOL members and AOL profile access to millions of people via the switch to BEBO.com and have no clue what they are doing in Dulles (if there's really anybody left in Dulles that hasn't been laid off yet! LOL) It's quite clear this company is going down the drain fast. If it wasn't for Time/Warner's deep pockets, AOL would have folded years ago. The company has missed so many opportunities and pissed off its customers so many times. The only people left on AOL seem to be elderly people and people like me who've had it for more than 10 years and resist change. But even I've changed and use other services now. It's as if AOL is going out of its way to drive its members away. Even giving it away for FREE hasn't helped the subscriber base! GEEZ, if that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what does! (3/11/09) A Riggo-MOM show would be almost the most atrocious show immaginable. Riggo is a fool and has difficulty with the English language. The MOM show has neither creativty, orginality, nor humor. Together they would make an abortion. Garrafa (3/11/09) "Oh, Rusty Gibson tells me that Tom got suspended from Fairfax Public Radio's WEBR for repeatedly uttering the "f-word" on their "airwaves"....." -Dave, you have some sort of problem against WEBR? Not REAL enough of a radio station for you? As someone who does an hour long show on WEBR, I take offense to the fact that you would be so cras as to goof on the station. Gavin withstanding, many producers value that station and do a fine job with their finished product. The station gives producers like myself access to valuable equipment and airtime that the majority of us may not have access to under normal circumstances. Just because it is an unconventional radio station does not give you reason to look down upon it and its producers. -John Collings; The Other Guys Show; Friday nights11pm-Midnight (3/11/09) Dave's response: You read me wrong. I was not "goofing" on WEBR. I only put "airwaves" in parenthesis because the internet/cable station is not "broadcast." It doesn't use the "airwaves." That's all I meant. I like WEBR and have been on it many times via Rusty's old show..... Why do I continue to hear calls for Steve Czaban's awful show to come to Washington's daylight hours? The guy is a disaster. His "Sports Reporters" segments on 980 are unlistenable...just like his FOX broadcasts, he grumbles and gripes his way through a lot of worthless rants on topics he clearly doesn't understand. A total ignoramous. The few ratings estimates I've seen for his appearances are decidely flat and the Q-ratings I've seen over the past year or so would lead most people to believe the guy doesn't actually appear on air. Best part: in real life his on-air 'tough guy' image is exposed; he's a nerdy schmuck who regularly dodges those he bashes on air. Cowardly, ignorant and unpopular is no way to go through life, Mr. Blutarski. (3/11/09) “Well, from what I'm hearing about Channel 4's el cheapo health insurance plan, he may not be able to afford the surgery.....” I wonder if Dan’s on the Ch 4 health plan, or the AFTRA health plan? When I totaled up the bills from my shoulder surgery and recuperation (ER, X-rays, MRI, anesthesia, doctor, hospital, pain meds, physical therapy, post-op doctor visits, etc.), the pre-discount “off-the-shelf” price totaled almost $35K. Thanks to Bonneville’s excellent health plan, only a small fraction of that came from my pocket. (3/11/09) WJLA had a meeting today. In it, some employees got awards called Recession Busters of the Month. The RBOM for reporters was Natasha Barrett.. cause she's doing two gigs.. hosting the new talk show and reporting on ABC 7. Photogs and editors got awards as well for inauguration work. And, long time employees one has been there for 45 years!! (3/11/09) If WOL is going Gospel what is its twin WOLB 1010 doing in Baltimore.Can someone report in .Both stations should go 50 's R & B .Hey bring back the Hound dog Kingdom. John T. Henneman (3/11/09) Dave's response: That seems to be a false report. WOL is still urban talk..... The only way WJFK will be successful as a sports talk station is if they grab the rights to a few major teams. Here's an idea. A three way swap. The Wizards from WTEM to WJFK, Navy from WFED to WJFK, then Maryland to WFED. I can't see WFED airing two teams from the same league much longer & American Univ. is a much stronger draw for WFED than Navy basketball. The Caps & Nats want that crossover WTOP promotion, they'll never move from Bonneville so you can forget about that. WJFK can air that horrible Fox Sports the rest of the day and draw a .09 without paying for the Junkies, Mike O'Jablowme or any live local talent. There's still some putt putt golf tournaments and duckpin bowling is WJFK wants to go crazy with rights fees. (3/11/09) "Half Have "Very Very" Neg View Of Rush"- i'm glad once again that democrats are the ones obsessed over a talk show host. the white house doesn't have time to appoint qualified (or any) people to major economic positions, are too "overwhelmed" to show proper class to our top ally's leader (and later pile on by saying the UK isn't any more important than anyone else), can't take the time to get the right russian word for "reset" (and appropriately used "overcharge" instead), but yet they can explicitly authorize a pre-meditated hatchet job on rush limbaugh. oh, and dave, are you going to be making any comments about the recently released info that james carville (one of the hatchet men being used against rush) said minutes before 9/11 happened that he hoped bush would fail (even if it was said in the context of hoping bush would fail in implementing his policies, which is what rush actually said about dear leader)? and he only recanted later for political cover. the comments came 7 months into bush's tenure, and he meant it. (3/11/09) 3:25 on the MOMS -- and here comes Tom Gavin. The Wide World of Sports Talk on 106.7 can't come soon enough to keep Tom Gavin off the airwaves for the rest of time. Sincerely, TMU (3/11/09) Dave's response: Oh, Rusty Gibson tells me that Tom got suspended from Fairfax Public Radio's WEBR for repeatedly uttering the "f-word" on their "airwaves"..... "I think Mike O' and Riggo would be a great team...". Maybe so, but can struggling CBS Radio afford the post-show bar tabs those two will generate? (3/11/09) Dave's response: They could plug local pubs and bars and get free booze..... I'll preface this by saying I know full well that there is no chance in hell that this will ever occur: I'd like to see the powers that be completely dismantle WJFK, dump all on-air people, and start over from scratch as a locally-connected Oldies station. Ignore the playlists currently in use at other area Oldies and give good ol' Don Geronimo the keys to the car--let him put together the playlist, hire the jocks and give himself whatever shift he wants, if any -- including taking either AM or PM drivetime with MOM at his side, if that's what he thinks best. Let the jocks talk up records. Let them who take phonecalls on the air. And, maybe most important of all, DON'T BE SOME PRE-RECORDED BULLSHIT PIPED IN FROM 1,200 MILES AWAY. Make the whole thing sound like one great local summer party, and get involved in the community. Do those corny grocery store openings and "WJFK Nights" at the local bowling alley and all the other crap that made radio what we all wanted to do in the first place. Make the station sound like WEEL or WEAM or WPGC sounded back when you'd hear them cranking out of the speakers at your neighborhood pool when you were a kid. Yep, it would stand out like a sore thumb...which is exactly the point. STOP FILLING OUT THE FORM AND BE CREATIVE, GOD DAMNIT! Send that finder's fee check to Dave in Sterling, c/o DCRTV, please. (3/11/09) Re: Did you notice that the entire channel 4 regular morning news team was missing this morning, (Wednesday March 11th?)...perhaps mentally, but physically they were there in the 5a and 6a hours. JC. (3/11/09) I think Mike O' and Riggo would be a great team. Mike could do his "Mr. Snyder" impression for the whole show! Howie (3/11/09) The Post hiring community journalists is an insult to the hard-working reporters who now work for the Post-owned Gazette newspapers in the Maryland suburbs. These Gazette reporters will make less than the new ones hired by the Post, yet they have significantly more experience. The Gazette staff has had to endure delayed raises (most reporters barely make 30k) and layoffs with absolutely no coverage of their problems by the Post. If it was not for this site and local bloggers reporting on the lousy work conditions, the staff would have suffered even more. Why doesn't the Post just run more Gazette stories in the Extras and save money? (3/11/09) Still more from the WJFK Deathwatch Desk: Despite the fact the ESPN 980 is for want of a better word, an atrocious station, they do however, bill $10 million a year, (don't ask me how). Oh, you know what? I do know how. They've had the sports radio market cornered in the DMV, with a crappy signal, for the last 10-15 years! The local show, aside from the Sports Reporters (sometimes) are intolerable. If JFK does make that move, goodbye MOM show. Since JFK is now a Fox Sports Radio affiliate, run "The 1st Team w/Steve Czaban" . That saves $$$, then put the Junks on in the afternoon. You should get a better product, since they'll be rested, and in their wheelhouse (sports). As far as middays, Riggo? Chick Hernandez? Czarniak? Somebody local can earn some extra $$$ for a few hours. Then at night, I would put on a relatively young, experienced but mainly unheard of host, and really develop the show. There is someone who can potentially fill that role, and on the cheap. Now you've got a better signal than ESPN980, better coverage, and potentially better local shows. Watch that sports $$$ pie start to divide up! (3/11/09) "Or maybe it'll be O'Meara and Riggins in PM drive on SportsTalk 106.7. Or the other way around.....". Dave you are a glutton for punishment! Hasn't the local disaster called the "Mike O'Meara Show" been enough for you? What would MOM and Riggo talk about for 4 hours? Riggo: Redskins, blah, blah, blah. NFL, blah, blah, blah. MOM: Red Six, blah, blah. - Insert 3 hours and 57 minutes of crickets chirping - . MOM **could** introduce Riggo to his ground breaking, edgy, never been topped "Drinking Show" concept - maybe that's the format that would work for those "radio personalities". Ugh...BTW, I wonder if the MOMS, in it's combinded syndicated "national" markets, generates enough PPM energy to light a 25 watt bulb? (3/11/09) hey dave-- don't know if you heard of this yet. Comes from a friend of mine who works at the post....... "Metro News - Openings for New Community Journalists Positions - We are very pleased to announce that The Post has created a new position to help us expand and improve coverage of local and community news in the Washington region. Employees in the new posts, called Community Journalists, will focus on writing stories for the Extras, and on multimedia work on local and community topics. They will report directly to Extras Editors. While there may be occasions in which they work for the daily paper, they will seldom cover stories on larger regional and national issues. We are currently looking to hire several Community Journalists for suburban bureaus and possibly the District. We are looking for people with a strong interest and expertise in local affairs, a lot of energy and drive, and eagerness to learn. Some experience in journalistic reporting and writing is preferable but not required. It would also be a plus to live in the county or other jurisdiction that one covers. These positions would be a natural fit for some Editorial Aides who have already shown promise as writers. We plan to fill these positions internally. If you are interested, please contact Bob McCartney (ext.4-6849), Lynn Medford (4-6340), Mike Semel (4-4402), Phyllis Jordan (4-6518), Bill Miller (4-7401), or Peter Perl (4-6188) by March 25. Bob McCartney , Lynn Medford, March 11, 2009" (3/11/09) DAVE: ONE THING YOU SHOULD PLEASE ADD TO THE NICE PIECE ON ALAN PETERSON..."PETERSON IS A GRADUATE OF THE WHEATLEY SCHOOL IN OLD WESTBURY, NEW YORK." THANKS. (3/11/09) Did you notice that the entire channel 4 regular morning news team was missing this morning, (Wednesday March 11th?) (3/11/09) My bet is that O'Meara should and will end up on 1580 especially since he is nationally syndicated. The only way the sports will work on 106.7 is if they pick up several Washington sports broadcasting rights. (3/11/09) Dave's response: Or maybe it'll be O'Meara and Riggins in PM drive on SportsTalk 106.7. Or the other way around..... I, for one, could care less about shoes or a manicure. Signed, Larry Flynt. (3/11/09) Opie and Anthony fired up their old war with Howard Stern this morning after Howie bashed them for failing to keep jobs in major markets from Chicago to Cleveland to Philly, DC, Boston and New York (OnA do have a spectacular record of failure, but it's not their fault of course!!). OnA read transcripts of Howie and his crew bashing OnA and declaring "victory" since everyone, with the notable and completely surprising exception of our home-town Junkies (as reported by DCRTV!), failed after Howie went to Sirius. Don't know if Howie even mentioned the Junkies in his "victory speech", but it's not likely since they are too far down the radio food chain to warrent the great one's attention. Hell, give the recent PPM's, the Junkies aren't that high on DC's radio food chain! It will be interesting to see if Mel Karmazin allows OnA to continue to bash Howie, since they are now stablemantes @ XM/Sirius. I suspect Mel doesn't care much for OnA, Howie was always his guy, even when Howie's salary was killing the company. (3/11/09) "As far as women's hoops is concerned, the only way it can get any mention on ESPN980 appears to be through some off-the-wall issue such as whether the sport should market to lesbians. Turns out that Andy Pollin went out of his way to fish that topic out of some obscure North Carolina paper for yesterday's Sports Reporters show, and it only served to provide Steve Czaban with an opening to jam his neanderthal social views down everyone's throats (the absurd assumption that any lesbian attending a sports event must have gone there with an agenda to promote that lifestyle). Meanwhile, giving even the slightest nod to the accomplishments of Brenda Frese's program at Maryland is something they apparently can't find any time for. Mike, Fairfax." Jeez, what a mental dwarf (Steve, not Mike). Supposedly, Maryland basketball is the only thing other than the Redskins the "Sports Reporters" cares about; I suppose we should revise the qualifier to "Maryland men's basketball," and that the show now shares the same sophomoric "you suck" mentality with many of the clowns who pack Comcast Center to see Gary Williams and company. (And please note that I am a University of Maryland graduate and alumni association member.) Yet another reason I haven't listened to WTEM for more than a few minutes since Phil Wood's baseball show was taken off the air.-- Vincent in Triangle (3/11/09) More from the DCRTV's WJFK Deathwatch Desk I see. Riggo (by himself) was not that good really. I know many here won't mourn the passing of the MOM show, but I would. It would make little ratings sense to split the already tepid sports radio market in DC, by putting Riggo up against The Sports Reporters on WTEM. Riggo was decent paired with someone like Czaben, but IMO struggled driving a purist sportstalk format. If the idea is really "Sports +", then pairing MOM and Riggo may work given time to grow. Riggo may have more in him (personality wise) than to just do a pure sports show. Aside from Football, he really brought little great sports content to the table. But Riggo is an engaging personality and like MOM, needs someone to play off of. Don't know how well Robb and Buzz would blend. I rather keep the MOM show as is, perhaps add Riggo to the mix to give it more a sports and "macho" guy flavor. Adding Riggo to the MOM show could satisfy the "guy talk" format while leaning towards more sports. But a pure sports "Riggo show" by itself would compete against the Sports Reporters on WTEM and both stations drive times would suffer. If WJFK wants to go pure sportstalk, would not Steve Czaben's "The First Team" show offer better (and cheaper) sports content than the Junks? Or would the Junks be better because they would focus on local sports as opposed to a national perspective? Yuck. . .I'm too conservative, I hate changes to my little world's routine. I miss the D&M show but have grown to accept and like what the MOM show gives us. Could it use some tweaks and improvements, sure, but its still a unique gem of a show for the area. Does two competing sports talk stations, 1 owned by the Redskins and the other featuring a former Redskin, really improve the sportstalk picture in DC?!? I'll remain hopeful that this item is just another in a now long string of unfounded rumors about the demise of WJFK on this site. (3/11/09) No dave, the drop in ratings on WTEM has occurred with the same signal and same hosts. So those issues aren't the cause. It looks like sports radio is about as seasonally successful in DC as Xmas music. Outside of Redskins season, the demand simply drops. (3/11/09) Clear Channel is holding their quarterly One Day Sale next Tuesday. They don't like it when this information gets out to the market. (3/11/09) What man does not like a good pair of shoes and manicured feet? I do. (3/11/09) WOL certainly seems to be streaming urban talk. (3/11/09) Dave's response: I don't get WOL well here in Wild West Fairfax, but it sure sounds like talk and not gospel on 1450 at noon..... Something is going on over at Radio One. Their radio station WOL 1450 has been playing Gospel Music all day from it's other station WYCB 1340 AM. I called Radio One thinking that this may be an error. The person that answered the phone indicated that they don't know what preciptated the change but this is what will be playing. There streaming WYCB on their WOL website also. WOL's lineup includes Joe Madison, The Rev. Al Sharpton, Warren Bellentine, Bernie McCain... Could this be the end of WOL? (3/11/09) "WTEM is 18th in their core demo, Men 25-54. You read that right, EIGHTEENTH in Men 25-54. They're on pace to lose twelve rankings in that demo since the Holiday book, which tells you a lot about the sports appettite in D.C. There isn't much of one, outside of football season." I'm not sure sports talk radio ratings are an accurate barometer of overall sports interest in a particular market, especially when the station shares an owner with the local NFL team and has little interest in giving any non-Redskins topic its just due. Another factor may be that basketball (which usually dominates the DC sports conversation once football season's over) has been disappointing at both the pro and college levels this year, with the injury plagued Wizards sinking to the bottom of the NBA standings and the Terps and Hoyas not likely to make the NCAA tournament. The lone bright spots are the Capitals (although they've been slumping of late) and the Lady Terps who just won the ACC hoops title. But other than Al Koken (on John Thompson's show), no host on that station is capable of providing meaningful insights on the Caps and there still seems to be an attitude of denial regarding the recent upsurge in local hockey interest. As far as women's hoops is concerned, the only way it can get any mention on ESPN980 appears to be through some off-the-wall issue such as whether the sport should market to lesbians. Turns out that Andy Pollin went out of his way to fish that topic out of some obscure North Carolina paper for yesterday's Sports Reporters show, and it only served to provide Steve Czaban with an opening to jam his neanderthal social views down everyone's throats (the absurd assumption that any lesbian attending a sports event must have gone there with an agenda to promote that lifestyle). Meanwhile, giving even the slightest nod to the accomplishments of Brenda Frese's program at Maryland is something they apparently can't find any time for. Mike, Fairfax (3/11/09) I really like 94.7-HD2 and there's no commercials. Hope they keep it. (3/11/09) We have received no such e-mails indicating that the morning news format is a good idea at WUSA. A few of us spoke to the recipient of all the e-mails and correspondence about the morning show, not one of them encouraged us to remain with this format. (A couple were pretty mean, too!). This is merely something Gannett is shoving down our throats. Be warned, sister stations, if this gruesome format hasn't already arrived at your station, it is definitely on its way. I just wish corporate would be honest with us in regards to why we're cutting off our noses here. Then again, waiting for them to make a smart decision is like waiting at the dock for Titanic to arrive. It'll be a while... (3/11/09) When its convenient....Let me get this straight. We should pull out of Iraq and respect the soverignty of that country and allow it to return to its own rule. We should not interfere, we should not dictate, we should not expect that Islamic country to adhere to our idea of laws that govern society. We especially should not expect them to recognize the rule of law and we should recognize that Islamic law, while different, is not necessarily bad. That has been pretty much the tirade from the media against the Bush admin. Sooooooo,,,how come now, this administration of change and the media see fit to demand that Iran release a reporter? Is not the government of Iran entitled to operate their peice of Muslim utopia? How about respecting the soverignty of that nation and its governance under Islamic law? If I had a shoe that would fit the monsterous hypocrisy of the liberals, I would throw it at them, as permitted. (3/11/09) "If 94.7's ratings are somewhere south of the lowest point in the Marianas Trench, why do they have so many ads? Oodles of them!" The number of ads a station runs is meaningless. What matters is how much those ads cost. 94.7 is in the toilet and can't get out. (3/11/09) The new “SIMS” style Comcast commercials are really annoying and creepy… the mute on my remote is working overtime. (3/11/09) An insider tells me that 150 jobs will be cut from publicly-traded television company Belo Corp. by April 1st. The company owns 20 television stations (nine in the top 25 markets). More from the company issued press release. www.belo.com (3/11/09) I don't know about anyone else but I finally received a response from WUSA about the new graphics on the morning news that crowd trhe screen. The email insists taht while they have had complaints they have had an equal number of laudatory comments and have no intention of eliminating them... Oh well. (3/11/09) Jeff in (Bitch, please...I've Been a Mac user since long BEFORE Macs became "Kewl". I even own a LISA!) Bowie. Huh? (3/11/09) While I can't vouch for Bolter, but as a cameraman I rarely had the opportunity to take my photograph while on location. Therefore over 30 years I have amassed a fine collection of my feet and shoes on the road on Air Force One, Oval Office, roof of the US Capitol, Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower and a million other exotic destinations. Walt in Lewes (3/11/09) Dave you turbo-donkey, Joe's show was called "Joe Radio" not "The Joe Show" and Opie and Anthony did not replace Stern, David Lee Roth did and O&A replaced him. (3/11/09) Dave's response: In fact, DCRTV broke the news about CBS firing DLR..... Got another peek at the PPM weeklies for Feb., and I'm more convinced than ever that CBS won't be dumb enough to flip WJFK to sports. The numbers simply aren't there. So far in Feb., WTEM is 18th in their core demo, Men 25-54. You read that right, EIGHTEENTH in Men 25-54. They're on pace to lose twelve rankings in that demo since the Holiday book, which tells you a lot about the sports appettite in D.C. There isn't much of one, outside of football season. But they have to do something at night and on weekends, whether it's Alt Rock to take add some much needed cume and take TSL from DC101, or sports if they can get play by play from 2 or 3 of the big teams like the Caps or Wizards. The Terps are nice, but not enough to replace the Redskins loss. (3/11/09) Dave's response: If you put sports talk on a strong FMer in DC with solid, local AM and PM drive shows, with some decent marketing, the format can work here. WTEM's main signal is still an AMer with a crummy night pattern. Hell, the top-rated AMer in this market is WMAL, which placed 15th in the latest PPMs. WMAL must move to FM (105.9) if it wants to survive..... ...Apparently, FOX 5's Brian Bolter keeps posting pics of his FEET & SHOES on his webpage. I have no idea why. (I sent one previously to DCRTV) I know Brian Bolter's not gay, but does he have some sort of foot or shoe fetish or what? This is almost creepier than Adam May and Derek Valcourt's Halloween (wedding) pics! Too funny. LOL... in less the 3 months he has posted 4 different pairs of his shoes on his site...with different notes about them.. (3/11/09) Dave's response: What, only gay people have shoe fetishes? I'm pretty sure that straight people can have them, too. Hey, I once saw David Burd in a restaurant and the very first thing he noticed about me was what I was wearing on my feet. I'm only 5-6 but I wear size 13 shoes. Big feet - big "you know what." As they say..... /\ March 11 Messages /\ \/ March 10 Messages \/ Two questions both regarding 94.7: 1. What the heck is an "amp" or "new" format? A fancy term for a format that I listened to back in the 70s? 2. If 94.7's ratings are somewhere south of the lowest point in the Marianas Trench, why do they have so many ads? Oodles of them! Real maddening when I'm heading to/from work and I just want to hear some music. OK, a third question: what is this station's fascination with Rush? Not the talk show host but the rock band. Every time I tune into 94.7 they play Rush! I didn't hear this much Rush when the band was at its peak! Nothing against Getty Lee and the boys but enough is enough! Dawn (3/10/09) AOL is a joke and should be dissolved..sold or at least broken up. Their chat rooms are among the worst on any site. I was on it for a couple years when you still had to pay and the chatrooms are nothing but a bunch of lame people who spout venom and threaten others. The Maryland room was in particualar a haven for trouble, with a now deceased PI leading the charge. (3/10/09) Noticed lately that Doreen Gentzler is only working a few days a week or some weeks not at all..What's up?..Has NBC4 enforced furlough days without pay for their on-air staff like Gannett did with their employees?.. (3/10/09) Ref; Five listeners of 570 AM on Sunday afternoon. True story. In the mid-60's a friend worked the evening shift at WHMC on Watkins Mill Road in Gaithersburg. It became a tradition for some of us to visit him at the station armed with a cooler of beer. The station was supposed to go off the air at midnight but he often kept on going depending on how much beer was left. One night he began shouting on the air that he doubted if anyone was listening and offered a monetary prize if anyone called. No one did. (3/10/09) Regarding Tom Conroy's words about the media & the recession....I couldn't agree more !!!! It would not surprise me at all that a good chunk of the recession coverage ( at least 30% of it ) really is hype. Having just got back from a corss country road trip ( Frederick, MD to San Diego ), it really is amazing at some of the local TV new coverage I had witnessed. One Missouri TV station I watched actually interviewed people who were around during the 1930s only to have some some 20 somthing young female reporter asking them "...tell us..oh please tell us how we can survive our current great depression?" Meanwhile in Colorado Springs, one of their local newscasts "suggested" that the current recession is actually a religious experience, saying that we are in the "last days before the Rapture" and we are paying the price for our sins. San Diego, Denver, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Cincinatti, some of the reporters in those cities are turning your average stories of people going wrong and doing their best to tie that into the recession. Yes that make sense...that car accident that took place on I-70 yesterday..blame that on the recession. Unbelievable !!! Stories of layoffs? When Wal-Mart announced recently they were laying off 700 people ONLY at their main offices in Arkansas, I saw a news report abut this on a station in Indianapolis where the anchor added "..no word on how many employees at any of the Indiana locations of Wal-Mart will be laid off.." If that is not sending a scare to the public on purpose, I do not know what is. (3/10/09) RE: [Of course I'm a Mac, Jeff is probably a dumb PC of course.] Dude, one word: Decaffeinated. 'Nuff said. Now on to better topics - I already set my alarm to get up an hour early tomorrow morning just so I can listen to Fred "I-Sold-Off-All-My-Stocks-And-Converted-Everything-To-Gold-Last-Friday" Grandy whine like a nine-year-old girl when Neiman tells him the Dow surged 6 points, and Gold dropped to a five year low today. HOT STOCK TIP: Whenever a 'MAL jock gives market advice, do the exact frigging opposite of what they tell you to do. Hey Gopher, What kind of vegetarian cheese goes best with WHINE? I sure hope those "Nick At Nite" Love Boat residuals will be enough to keep you and Mrs. Fred afloat during your golden years! - Jeff in (Bitch, please...I've Been a Mac user since long BEFORE Macs became "Kewl". I even own a LISA!) Bowie. (3/10/09) I am one of the 5 listeners to 570 on Sunday afternoons. Regarding a previous post which said, “But I can't help but wonder why they re-run the previous Friday's newsbreaks on the half hours during ‘Handle on the Law?’ Is Red Zeb that cash-strapped/disinterested that they can't air current news or ads or something?” I feel this frustration. I believe that the station is totally automated (probably run out of a closet) , there is no program director that I know of and I think that Red Zeb management is just uninterested. All of these technical goofs don’t reflect well for a station in a top-10 market (AM or not). I guess that multi-millionaire Little Danny doesn’t give a shit about much other than his Redskins (which haven’t been all that successful since JKC). Dave, didn’t your report months ago that Red Zeb had hired a new chief engineer who was to take care of these type of problems? I wonder what happened to him. (3/10/09) Dave's response: Let's see. RZ has local transmitter sites in Mt. Vernon (730), Hyattsville (980), Silver Spring (1260), Germantown (570), Warrenton (94.3), and Prince Frederick (92.7). The new RZ CE is probably stuck in eternal traffic..... the last days of wava.. the pd let every jock use their favorite call letters www.youtube.com (3/10/09) RE: Jeff in Bowie........ AOL employee maybe??? hehe. If not, you're living in a dream world. AOL is in serious trouble. Even Wall Street has lambasted their purchase of BEBO.com and the blocking of AOL profiles has caused a firestorm of AOL complaints about the banning of access to user profiles, even people on your budlist, it's like they just have no clue what they are doing in Dulles. Online outrage continues while AOL has now blocked new AOL members from AOL Chat Rooms even, forcing them to AIM CHAT. Of course I'm a Mac, Jeff is probably a dumb PC of course. :-) (3/10/09) Dan Hellie – have the surgery! It’s the only way your arm will truly ever be back to “normal”. I had a severe shoulder injury a few years back and was told the same thing – that a couple months of physical therapy would fix it. NOT. Only after I bit the bullet and had the surgery did I get full use of my arm back. I wish I had undergone the surgery right away. (3/10/09) Dave's response: Well, from what I'm hearing about Channel 4's el cheapo health insurance plan, he may not be able to afford the surgery..... There is a format that would blow all competition away and it is nonexistant in the Baltimore/DC area as far as big broadcasting corporations go. It has been tested before and killed off in favor of something an executive can define in a few words and fit into his narrow little mind. Yes I'm talking about Free Form. And yes again I am talking about pre-Infinity HFS. Here's an idea: Play a song and see if listeners like it. Better yet let the DJ play it if THEY like it. It doesn't have to be this Tuesdays new release on the top 5 of a specific genre. It doesn't have to be what MTV9 is playing 3 times between the same 4 commercials. It can be bluesy or funky or heavy. It can be loud or mellow. As long as it isn't what was played 27 minutes ago. And maybe it can be in realtime by a real DJ,not clicked on a list 2 weeks in advance by a guy who is 4 states away and has never ever even driven past your area and has a fake local accent and an out-of-towner view of your world.And maybe it could be on a station that presently hosts a format that the suits want us to believe is doing well but is actually just more brainwashing by those who have no brains. Just a thought. I apologize if a thought is too much weight above the collar for suits but we have some down here on the planet sometimes. (3/10/09) I know there are probably about 5 total listeners to "Freedom" 570 on a given Sunday afternoon. But I can't help but wonder why they re-run the previous Friday's newsbreaks on the half hours during Handle on the Law? Is Red Zeb that cash-strapped/disinterested that they can't air current news or ads or something? Tom in Wheaton (3/10/09) If you visit Mexico, you can't drink the water. If you visit Boston, you can't eat. If you visit Utah, you can drink alcohol. If you're a woman and visit Saudi Arabia, you can't show your face, or legs. If you visit Washington DC, you can't listen to the radio. (3/10/09) RE:[4 Things..] Hey Dave, what gives with the "Unibomber Manifesto" post? ... Jeff in Bowie (3/10/09) "NPR Head Promises More Diversity - 3/10 - As DC-based National Public Radio winds down its daily newsmagazine targeting African Americans, "News And Notes," the network's new CEO says NPR needs to do a better job reflecting "the full spectrum of... our potential listenership" Too funny: the vast majority of Washington DC proper's radio "community" would be "African Americans" (would that include a Caucausian farmer from South Africa who became an American citiizen?) who already have numerous and popular radio stations that broadcast entertainment, community news, ethno-centric features, etc. on both AM & FM. Whomever from that community who wants to listen to radio with those demographics in mind, can do so easily and probably better that whatever NPR has to offer. If NPR really wants more "diversity", then they would add traditional, conservative, God fearing Americans to their desired demographics in order to be soliticing a more "diverse" audience. Otherwise, as said in the title of a great movie, only NPR's "The Usual Suspects" will be listening. (3/10/09) RE: 4 Things... #1: [ " AOL layoffs at Dulles are currently in progress. " ]..............NOTE TO AOL DULLES: You just blocked MILLIONS of people from viewing AOL user profiles and are starting to do the same thing with AOL CHAT ROOMS, blocking access. The result will be nothing short of complete failure for this company. They have no clue what they are doing. I'm an AOL beta tester so I know. Most AOL users are currently up in arms and canceling service as we speak. The shit will hit the fan a few months from now. These layoffs are just beginning. Time Warner will fold or sell AOL before 2010, trust me, unless some big sea change happens which is highly unlikely................#2: [ " WPXW is scheduled to cover Baltimore quite well " ]......... NOT TRUE, WRONG. WPXW will not cover the Baltimore market at all, only places to the south & southwest & certainly NOT Baltimore city, so the new Urban TV Network will not have access to nearly ANY of this #23 market if not carried on cable or FIOS and there is no legal FCC obligation for either to do so. I think my point about the Washington/Baltimore markets having a dearth of TV stations is quite valid in this case........... #3: [ " Chris Plante is either a deliberate liar or am extremely sloppy commentator and the good students of Morgan State did not deserve Chris Plante's lies about them. Stand up and apologize, Mr. Plante; what you said was shameful and race baiting. " ]............ I WATCHED THE DEBATE ON MPT LIVE! No, I did NOT see Oreo cookies thrown, but the shouting down of Michael Steele was audibly noticeable on TV and visibly noticeable that the students stood up and taunted him too and shouted him down while he tried to speak. The moderator warned the crowd several times as well to no avail and The Baltimore Sun reported that Republican vehicles were vandalized during the event the next day's edition. I realize I'm probably the ONLY person in this mailbag who ever watched this debate LIVE, but HEY that's YOUR FACTUAL PROBLEM, NOT MINE! I've yet to hear anyone in this mailbag say they were there nor any news person either comment on this that was there or have the guts to come forward and say so. The only people that seem to comment on this story are people who WEREN'T THERE OR DIDN'T WATCH THE DEBATE ON TV, ya know like The Sun's Laura Vozella! It amazes me how many people try to recite the "liberal urban legend theory" on this. Even I'm suspect Oreo cookies were actually thrown at this event, but you can bet the farm somebody called Michael Steele an "Uncle Tom" or "Oreo Cookie" during that very embarrassing debate, they were shouting all kinds of things at him. I honestly wish Maryland Public Television would release the tape of the debate to set the record straight, but don't hold your breath on that with a Democratic administration in power. The whole fiasco was an embarrassment to Morgan State University, African Americans, MPT, AND THE ENTIRE STATE OF MARYLAND! That's why you'll NEVER SEE THIS VIDEO EVER! And if I'm wrong, hey MPT, release the tape, c'mon, DO IT, PROVE ME WRONG. I'll bet a million dollars MPT WON'T EVER RELEASE IT!............ #4: [ " Note to Sunhater: Do you really think SHOUTING AT US convinces us of anything? " ]........... Did I touch a nerve Howie ? As usual, I guess the truth hurts. Yes, Michael Olesker got fired, sorry for your loss. Just be thankful David Nitkin fills in his shoes for the time being until he gets laid off later this year when Tribune files for bankruptcy and The Sun FOLDS! :-( (3/10/09) How pissed must O&A be that they're gone from all terresterial radio and the Junkies survive? I hope those two drama queens get pushed into the same studios with Howie at XM/Siri, that should finally make for some good radio. Why did O&A fail nationally, in DC and in their back yard of NYC? Inquiring minds want to know... (3/10/09) So 94.7 is the most likely candidate to go Amp, or Now,or whatever the latest incarnation of the the top 40 shit can format is? And 106.7 CAN get worse and more boring by picking up a god damn sports format? How about that low rated, crappy sounding trashy Latin mess that they have over on 99.1, will CBS find a way to fuck that up even more?! (3/10/09) If the Mike O’Meara Show has any hopes of emerging from the bowels of the PPM then major changes in format and personnel need to be made. It should begin with the firing of executive producer Beth Ann McBride today! As “manager” for this last place team, McBride wasn’t a good fit in the old show nor has she proven to be one under this format. Work ethic and her ultra-conservative views aside, it’s all about results and McBride has failed to “produce”. Whether the show survives because of its syndication is moot. The honeymoon is over, ratings stink and long-time listeners are bored. Keep it simple Mike. Make me laugh and hire a producer who knows how to. THE MOVEMENT HAS BEGUN! (3/10/09) Since 947now.com and 1067now.com point to dcrtv.com, I wonder if CBS’ers can use them to get by the restrictions. (3/10/09) Dave's response: Ha ha ha. You da man, Cam! Dave wrote: "Only the Junks, though, are still employed by CBS Radio as Stern's original replacements....." Oh, no question, there...and no question that the entire process of "replacing Howard Stern" was perhaps the most bungled such move in radio history. Of course, it's an open question what CBS Radio will do with 106.7, and if they'd keep the Junks if there is a change to a sports format... (3/10/09) Dave's response: I think it's a certainty that if CBS flips 106.7 to sports talk that it'll keep the Junks, as the Sports Junkies, in either AM or PM drive. In fact, as a sports show, it might be the way to get the Junks' some national syndication, via CBS's other FM sports talkers around the country..... About the Rant: At least one of the "Stern Replacements" is still around...Cleveland's "Rover". That was a failure as far as the CBS Radio syndication goes, but he's now very successful after moving to Clear Channel's rock station in Cleveland, WMMS. He's also still hanging on to two of his syndicated markets, Rochester and Memphis, both former CBS stations now sold to other owners...and he's now syndicating his show directly to those stations. The effort to push Rover as the midwest Stern replacement died a horrible death, primarily in Chicago, but he's doing pretty much the same show for Clear Channel now. If you count the local-only Junkies as a survivor, Rover is in the same boat - just without CBS Radio. (3/10/09) Dave's response: OK, and you could argue the same about Opie and Anthony, who remain heard on Sirius XM. Only the Junks, though, are still employed by CBS Radio as Stern's original replacements..... Interesting list compiled by 24/7 Wall Street, showing the 10 major daily newspapers that they believe will either go under or revert to online-only in the next 2 years. news.yahoo.com... The Baltimore Sun, however didn't make the list... so how accurate are all the dire predictions I hear about the Sun lately? Are they not in as much danger as these other publications are? I am also a part-time carrier with them. Should I be concerned? (3/10/09) Dave's response: If the Sun was an indie paper, like the Philly Inquirer, I'd be more worried. But the Sun is part of a large media company, Tribune, which does have a solid stable of TVers to bring in revenue even if the rags aren't doing so well. And it can shift the money around, and is more likely to obtain credit when smaller firms can't in this "tight" market..... (RE today's PPMs:) Men 25-54 JFK morning is 6th place, PM drive 8th place, full week they are 16th....nowhere... Total persons 12+ WAMU is down over 18% as listeners flee the begging... The Globe is up 14% for the week 12+ so maybe some progress if they can sustain it (3/10/09) Dave's response: Also, WBIG (9th) beats DC101 (11th) in the 12+s. Interesting..... "NPR Head Promises More Diversity" - this headline made me think taxpayer-subsidized NPR was going to bring in more opinions (or at least 1) that are to the right of ted kennedy. silly me. they want diversity based on a person's skin color, not what they believe. dr. king would be proud. (3/10/09) According to Alley Insider (www.businessinsider.com) AOL layoffs at Dulles are currently in progress. AOLers in Dulles, VA started receiving "the email" yesterday afternoon. The email asks them to attend an "important meeting" this morning--at which they will be fired. Today's cuts -- mostly in Dulles, but taking place in New York and California too -- are part of the layoffs announced in January. That plan was to fire about 700 people by the end of March. (3/10/09) CBS’s K-Rock Is Switching to Top 40 www.nytimes.com (3/10/09) The 10 most endangered newspapers in America - www.time.com (3/10/09) Note to Sunhater: Do you really think SHOUTING AT US convinces us of anything? Howie (3/10/09) WJFK should give Joe Radio a tryout on weeday evenings 7-10pm. Once basketball season is over, WJFK will be out of the live sports, unless they plan on doing college baseball or something. I rarely was around to hear his show on Saturday's, but what little I did hear it sounded like it had some esoteric charm to it. (3/10/09) FW: Taylor on Radio-Info : CBS challenges CC again... He's saying March 20th for next CC shoes to fall... "So it’s goodbye ”K-Rock” WXRK – almost two years after its re-birth in May 2007 – and hello to trench warfare against Clear Channel’s dominant CHR “Z100” WHTZ. The fight won’t be easy and CBS knows it. It’s already chosen to slog it out in Los Angeles, against Clear Channel’s KIIS-FM (102.7). Now, as it did in L.A. with “Amp 97.1”, CBS Radio is giving the market, the advertisers and its own jocks ample notice. It was on the street yesterday explaining why “Now” will replace 21st-ranked K-Rock. (WXRK moved 1.7-1.5-1.5 in the last three PPM monthlies.) The frequency was for many years home to Howard Stern and that was both a blessing and a curse, in terms of building its music image. It tried an all-talk strategy after Stern left in December 2005 and became one of Joel Hollander’s “Free FMs.” But David Lee Roth bombed and Opie & Anthony weren’t able to salvage the morning ratings after him. 92.3 returned to rock in May 2007, but it never really took, and it will be transformed into a CHR named “Now” tomorrow at 5pm. One thing doesn’t hurt, promotionally – CBS controls a ton of billboards in New York. Not to mention Channel 2... Opie & Anthony’s shrinking world seems to be headed toward all-satellite. T-R-I reported last week that they’ll get new satellite studios at the original Sirius facility inside Manhattan’s McGraw-Hill building – and speculated that they’ll likely get renewed later this year as an all-satellite act. The guys’ on-air paranoia about successive drops by CBS and other operators culminated in yesterday’s Twitter message from “TwitterBerry” (all punctuation original) - “It’s official KROCK has just informed us that our services are no longer needed.#2 M18-49,#3 M25-54. This is really bad for our show,PERIOD!” (3/10/09) WFED carries Newsweek On Air. It'sw been on 1500 for over a dozen years (it was on WTOP and then Wash Post Radio and then 3WT). (3/10/09) Here's a CBS contest right up your alley....literally: promotions.mardenkane.com (3/10/09) Even John Kane no longer brings up the Oreo pelting at Morgan State. Why? Because it didn't happen. Chris Plante is either a deliberate liar or am extremely sloppy commentator and the good students of Morgan State did not deserve Chris Plante's lies about them. Stand up and apologize, Mr. Plante; what you said was shameful and race baiting. Chris Plante's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. (3/10/09) I can't help but sit back and read of all the downsizing, furloughs, and job losses across the country, including the Baltimore/Washington radio and TV industry. We have to agree that network and cable television channels do a pretty good job of hyping the news, after all, it generates ratings. The use of overly expressive adjectives have only spread fear among the viewers, they make up 2/3's of the economy. People have basically begun stashing cash when they can, just in case they are next. I guess the big question for broadcasters is, how bad do you want it to be? Right now, more than ever, I really think the media has a responsibility to report the news, but don't do so with the extra hype. We have been thru recessions in the past, and no doubt, this one is more difficult. What a huge difference we'd see if everyone who is working would just spend an extra $10 a week on themselves, imaging the flow of money into the economy! We will get thru this weak economy just as we have in the past, but we need the media's help to make it happen sooner, and THEN they get their advertisers back. (By the way, I no longer watch TV news) Respectfully, Tom Conroy (3/10/09) "Dave's response: I can listen to Limbaugh ... Plante, on the other hand, is totally unlistenable. Usually, at about 9:07 I utter "what an idiot" and flip back to the Junks or Elliot. MAL should send him packing ... Plante's that bad ..." Oh, oh, Dave, look out ... now Silvie is going to be stalking YOU. (3/10/09) Dave's response: Ha ha ha..... RE: [Oh yeah, Silvie, thanks for letting us know about the interview last week with Ann Coulter....I definitely expected it to be a credibility tug of war between Plante and Coulter but instead Coulter just said what she had to say and Plante giggled like a little girl that was meeting Hannah Montana for the first time.] You are right. The entire interview did have a certain "Barney-Fife-On-The-Phone-With-Thelma-Lou" quality to it. Plante couldn't hide his giddiness at talking "mano-e-mano" with one of his "librul" hatin' heroes. He sounded so excited that his voice actually jumped an octave at times. The strange part is that Coulter actually sounded kinda creeped out at his fawning adoration. Silvie, thank you for the pre-alert. Listening to this shit was comic gold. (3/10/09) RE: "What's wrong with this picture?" (about Baltimore and Washington not having religious or ION TV stations)--I knew someone would have to complain about one of the BEST things about radio and TV in this area. In some parts of the country, just about the entire non-comm end of the FM dial is taken over by religious stations. What a waste. And who needs religious TV stations--there are way too many of them on satellite already, and they're utterly worthless. All they do is bilk people out of money. I feel very sorry for any youngsters whose parents make them watch the creepy stuff that's supposed to be for kids on those channels. As for ION (the almost-all-infomercial channel), WPXW is scheduled to cover Baltimore quite well, if the Feds ever allow the DTV transition to take place. (3/10/09) Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post Staff writer, wrote "Last night, it was Uncle Teddy's living room." Mary Jo Kopechne wrote "No, Uncle Teddy, bad touch! Glug, glug...." --- ThePenIsMightier (3/10/09) Dave's response: Oh, go watch your Jane Fonda movie boxed set on DVD. Sheesh..... "Oh, mama-san... those crazy round-eye chicks are at it again!" Could these engrossing 7 minutes and 39 seconds portend the future of reality TV? www.youtube.com (3/10/09) Re: 94.7 possibly becoming Now or Amp: I welcome the change. Hopefully 94.7 will have actual imaging on-air if they do flip formats. Hot 99.5 has gone downhill in the past few years to the point where I hear many dry segues between songs without any station identification, and even when they decide to ID, its usually a generic 2-second spoken ID by a DJ or a random caller. But, then again, I hear the same thing many times at WWDC, WBIG, and other Cheap Channel stations here. DLP in Woodbridge (3/10/09) Dave's response: If CBS did launch a contemporary hit format on 94.7, it would have to be careful not to hurt PGC, which does play a significant amount of what's become the format these days. Maybe CBS could launch Amp or Now on 94.7, which would skew to younger demos, and then take PGC and shift it into more of an adult urban sound, to put it more up against MMJ or HUR. Stay tuned..... The PPM's work well for CHRs primarilly because the 18-34 demo likes technology and use the PPMs as opposed to filling out diaries. DC already has Hot 99.5, and while it's not a great CHR, it's ok and does fairly well in their demo. Baltimore is ripe for a CHR though - DC's "Hot 99.5" has a lot of signal problems due to the Delaware's 99.5 coming across the Chesapeake, so the closest thing to a CHR there is "Mix 106-5" which is more Hot A.C. Their are two underperforming good signals in Baltimore - 104.3, and 100.7. The first one to jump on a CHR format will be the winner! 104.3 would be my bet since the current station is just a clone of DC101 and already just seems like a place holder. 100.7 from what I have heard is mostly canned now, and their syndicated morning show is a major dud, so a format change there could only be an improvement too. Either way, one of them will go CHR by the summer in my opinion. J.S. (3/10/09) Dave's response: Baltimore still uses the old diary radio ratings method..... Oh, I forgot to mention that the Baltimore Sun BLOG was posted by David "NITWIT" Nitkin of The Baltimore Sun, the SAME GUY who was banned from the Maryland State House press coverage scene by the then Maryland Gov. Bob Erhlich/Michael Steele administration, along with eventually FIRED Sun columnist Michael Olesker, who recently got let go AGAIN by the failed Baltimore Examiner newspaper! When will The Baltimore Sun STOP making these incendiary RACIAL comments about Michael Steele? C'mon, does that not make The Baltimore Sun look like a joke or what? Oh, and when is The Baltimore Sun going to PAY for an APPROVAL RATINGS poll on the current governor? When HELL freezes over? Everyone knows it's below 30% by now. It was below 40% and hanging with W pretty close the last time The Sun did such a poll. Is David Nitkin afraid of what he'll find out, like that it might be LESS than 30%? Uh oh. We can't have that........ MUST ATTACK FORMER LT. GOV. INSTEAD! Too funny really, when you think about it, but seriously sad what The Baltimore Sun has become since being a once great U.S. newspaper that had more international bureaus than even The Post at one time. I honestly wouldn't be surprised that if Tribune has to file for bankruptcy, that they might just fold the paper completely and cut their losses or just sell the name alone, assuming it's worth anything by then..... tick tock...... (3/10/09) I was on vacation last week and wasn't able to hear Chris Plante's crap on WMAL; did he do the right and honorable thing last week and apologize to the students of Morgan State University for claiming as fact they pelted Michael Steele with Oreos when they didn't? I think the Students of Morgan State did all of America a favor by just ignoring Chris Plante's false accusations of a hate crime. Chris Plante, heard locally on WMAL, should have done his homework before he pointed his finger at the students of Morgan State and falsely stating they were guilty of a hate crime. It was clear listening to Chris Plante's crap that he was trying to be a race baiter, and the students of Morgan State displayed dignity and class by not responding to Mr. Plante's false accusations. Chris Plante's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. (3/10/09) Dave's response: I can listen to Limbaugh. Even though I disagree with him, he does have a certain clownish quality that's entertaining. Plante, on the other hand, is totally unlistenable. Usually, at about 9:07 I utter "what an idiot" and flip back to the Junks or Elliot. MAL should send him packing and put Laura Ingraham on at 9, even though it would mean dumping a "local" show. Plante's that bad..... /\ March 10 Messages /\ \/ March 9 Messages \/ K-Rock goes CHR on Wednesday -- Opie & Anthony are out www.mediaweek.com (3/9/09) If RNC Chairman Michael Steele thinks RUSH Limbaugh is his worst enemy, think again. The Baltimore Sun's wacko writers' blogs have struck again with another hatchet job on Steele... weblogs.baltimoresun.com... My favorite line of The Sun story begins with "A black man, Steele raised eyebrows by using street lingo..." Of course, this all comes from a newspaper without a buyer that might fold soon who's editorial staff once stated "Michael Steele offers nothing to the ticket but the color of his skin." I think The Baltimore Sun writers have all come to the conclusion that they're all gonna lose their jobs anyway, so they might as well express their opinions and blow off all their ABOUT TO BE UNEMPLOYED STEAM based on their political bias, which of course is well-documented. Geez, this newspaper is sinking faster than the Titanic! I'm debating who's going to destroy The Baltimore Sun first, TRIBUNE, INC or the employees themselves! It's a crap shoot at this point. HAha! Ted Venetoulis, are you listening? Please, somebody? Isn't the A.S. Abel Foundation still around? Somebody please step in and save this once great newspaper from this kind of drivel, please, somebody? :-( (3/9/09) What's with the NOW/AMP possibly coming to DC? Another CHR format? Wow! That's new and original! There are what, 16 stations in the DC/Baltimore area with a CHR format? Is this the best format the CBS suits can come up with? No wonder FM radio is dying. JP in Delmarva (3/9/09) Actually it seems Opie and Anthony are not off terrestrial radio completely they still hold on to this Sinclair Powerhouse…. www.96x.fm Their show is Tape delayed and follows Mancow… (3/9/09) I'm surprised that the NY station CBS is flipping to Amp/Now is 92.3. I would've thought that Fresh 102.7 was more so dead in the water? Maybe I'm wrong but I thought I saw a recent ratings book that had very low ratings for Fresh 102.7. On to thew Baltimore ratings, Maybe CC should just scrap the Alt-rock on 104.3, DC101 is still beating it's near twin by a little bit. What's worse is that when EITM is on the advertize 104.3 WCHH-Baltimore as one of the affiliates yet people in Baltimore continue to listen to DC101. Could it be because DC101 has actual DJ's perhaps? 104.3 moved Ty to afternoons which was a decent move but it does seem as if she's Voice-tracked. If she was actually there live I think that would boost 104.3 a little bit. Maybe they should dump Klinger all together and bring in Neci from the old HFS. Then again it's cheap channel so Channel 104.3 will always be terrible with voicetracked DJ's. (3/9/09) Dave I am a little suprised you did not mention Opie and Anthony were fired today as part of the 92.3 switch that leaves them off real radio completely. More importantly do you have any idea the overall MORNING numbers were for that station? Thank you... (3/9/09) Dave's response: Right, Opie and Anthony. I kinda remember them. Yeah, right..... Are O&A done in NYC!? (3/9/09) Dave's response: My guess is yes. Look, Mel prefers exclusivity for his Sirius XM talent. And now O&A are exclusive to satrad, like Stern..... My god, what is it with these morons? truthaboutsimasenior.com... The whole goddamn family has rancid walnuts for brains! (3/9/09) With the addition of the News & Messenger, the Times-Dispatch plant will be printing at least three dailies. The Charlottesville Daily Progress has been printed in Richmond for maybe a year. Similarly, they spent millions on new presses in Lynchburg, and then Media General moved the Danville and Waynesboro papers’ printing to that site. They can have the most extensive transportation network in the world, but someone is going to have to get on the press earlier than they like to get their papers back to the home market, and that’s on a good day, when the weather is OK and the roads are clear. Charles in Winchester (3/9/09) RE: [ " As for Baltimore, it's a good thing that people of various backgrounds can watch and listen to the same things without needing programming on TV and radio to keep things separate. It's called the "melting pot" for a reason and assimilation is a big part of that. " ]............. Ummm, hate to inform you, but your Baltimore "melting pot" just broke. There is no FCC rule that will force Comcast or Verizon to carry this Urban TV Network since MUST-CARRY rules won't apply and many in poor areas of Baltimore will STILL NEVER EVER get this channel! And why must people insist on bringing up religion and politics in just simple technical discussions or discussion of the media? I wasn't even making a religious statement, just a statement of fact! There is no ION affiliate in Baltimore, nor Telemundo, you name it. Technically, Comcast and Verizon don't have to carry ANY of those networks in Baltimore. ION was already dropped from Comcast analog cable in Baltimore County and there was no out-cry (and not even for AMC either which surprised me). The lack of local TV stations in Baltimore is thus a problem for this upstart network. ION isn't even ON Baltimore County's COMCAST unless you have Digital Cable! Meanwhile, Comcast's TV GUIDE CHANNEL continues to show all analog channels (including the DELETED ION CHANNEL) exactly where they previously were. Unbelievable really. I'm surprised there hasn't been a class action lawsuit against Comcast yet honestly. (3/9/09) RE: "For those that were asking about the KHZTV website. It was our opinion that there was just too much mis-information. We are probably going to put it back up again, but we are in the midst of a total re-imaging at this time." About freeking time. The website looked like the intro to the Looney Tunes! (3/9/09) Wow I was hoping someone else saw Holly "annoying" Morris today. For all of the lame shit she's done over the last few years all is forgiven after her "workout" this morning. Finally news I understand.THANK YOU FAUX 5!!!! A.M.F/DELMARVA (3/9/09) RE: "What's up: Obambi's thugs jamming WMAL or what? Plante later said before a break that he will be back, "Hopefully without government" messing with WMAL's signal." - And this is exactly why Plante is only qualified to work at the broadcasting bottom feeder that is WMAL. I hope he realizes how lucky he is just to have that. Also, what's up with him giving everybody a really gay sounding nickname? For instance, calling George Stephanopolous, George Snuffleuppagus? Is Chris Plante gay or does he think speaking like a toddler is the only thing that adds credibility to a show otherwise grossly lacking in it. Oh yeah, Silvie, thanks for letting us know about the interview last week with Ann Coulter. I gotta tell you I was shocked. I downloaded the show on iTunes which I'm surprised you didn't mention but I guess you don't get a chance to listen to anything outside of WMAL's endless bullshit stream. Anyway, she actually sounded kinda human. Not as controversial as I've heard her before. I definitely expected it to be a credibility tug of war between Plante and Coulter but instead Coulter just said what she had to say and Plante giggled like a little girl that was meeting Hannah Montana for the first time. It was the first interview I had EVER seen where Coulter came across as the smarter, more intelligent one but then again she didn't have much to go up against. (3/9/09) So KHZ is still on the air but the website has been sidelined, huh? Makes more sense than WDMV-AM having an active webpage, but having been off the air for a month...(3/9/09) Confirmation from horse's mouth the Joe Ardinger Show on WJFK Saturdays is no more. I guess I'll stop thinking....BTWS, with the change at WJFK to Fox Sport's, in the wee small hours of the morn you can hear Steve Czaban's morning radio show again in bits and pieces. (3/9/09) "Very odd. Technically, the Washington/Baltimore combined market is #4 in the country, yet even Washington, DC doesn't even have a full power religious TV station! What's wrong with this picture?" - Absolutely nothing, it's nice to see that the snake charmers don't have a home here. As for Baltimore, it's a good thing that people of various backgrounds can watch and listen to the same things without needing programming on TV and radio to keep things separate. It's called the "melting pot" for a reason and assimilation is a big part of that. (3/9/09) Did anyone else see Lindsay Czarniak in her raspberry beret/aqua scarf at the Caps game? She was hugging some old guy, kind of looked like Mike O'Meara. Who was the website guy who called in to Big O and Dukes on Fri. 3.5.2009 and got his ass handed to him? Was it someone from radiogodsforum.com? (Hint: it's some guy who's a douche) -- ThePenisMightier (3/9/09) I Swear to God I'm Not Making This Up Dept.: The last four times I've clicked through 94.7FM, they've been playing either "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Freebird." So please take that silliness about them "expanding their playlist" elsewhere. Dave in Sterling (3/9/09) Can anyone name a Top 25 TV market that is also a Top 10 African American market (according to BNet.com) that does NOT EVEN HAVE an ION affiliate at ALL and as such will probably not even get this new Urban TV Network? I'll give ya a hint, it's real close by, like 45 miles. Yep, Baltimore. Baltimore also has no Spanish language TV station, not even low power, nor a religious TV station either. Of all the traveling I've done around the country, I've found few other Top 25 TV markets that have no full power ION, Hispanic, or religious TV stations as is the case in Baltimore. Very odd. Technically, the Washington/Baltimore combined market is #4 in the country, yet even Washington, DC doesn't even have a full power religious TV station! What's wrong with this picture? (3/9/09) For those that were asking about the KHZTV website. It was our opinion that there was just too much mis-information. We are probably going to put it back up again, but we are in the midst of a total re-imaging at this time. (3/9/09) RE:[What's up: Obambi's thugs jamming WMAL or what? Plante later said before a break that he will be back, "Hopefully without government" messing with WMAL's signal.] You know what the sad thing is? Elvis and Bigfoot co-piloting a black helicopter carrying the autopsied alien from Area 51 kamikazi-crashing into the Jennifer Street broadcast antenna on specific orders from President Obama to silence Chris Plante for five minutes sounds just about as plausable as the rest of Plante's "LIBRULS AND THE GUMMENT ARE OUT TO GET YOU" whack-job conspiracy theories. You know what's even sadder? Silvie and the rest of Plante's army of Flying Monkeys actually believes this nutty tripe. Before you dive back into the bunker Chris, would you mind passing me the Fruit Loops please? (3/9/09) Anyone know what's going on at WKHZ/WYRE? Their web site (khztv.com) has gone away; all it says is, "This domain has temporarily been disabled." (3/9/09) I would like to personally thank the news director at Fox 5 for sending Holly Morris out to ''work out'' with the Redskinettes. Any chance she could wear that same outfit every day?? Paul (3/9/09) "I watched Jennifer Ryan sign off last night for her last show on WUSA 9. Hard to believe they would allow her out the door. Hope this is not the last we see of her. First Class talent. Good luck." Couldn't have said this any better myself. Truly a class act, and one of the best in the business. Hope she stays in the region. As for WUSA, it seems like if you're trying to do the right thing for the station and the company, out the door you go. We recently got rid of our webmaster for asking to work on a project from home. Guess he learned his lesson. And so have we. (3/9/09) Thank you all for reading. Even you Jack Young before you asked to be removed from the mailing list. I love Baltimore, enjoyed living here all these years. Sadly though, this place is even more jacked up than I think anyone is truly willing to admit. There is no real solution in the works. Nothing on the horizon, and it's only getting worse. Let's see where this years homicide count ends up. UPDATED: The Spectator Shutting Down baltimorespectator.blogspot.com (3/9/09) I don't know why, but I found this funny besides true. "...if she only would have taken her shirt off once in a while, maybe she could have stayed.... Such is the state of info babes today." Does anyone remember the Fox upskirt show? Their babes were supposed to forget that there was a knee-high camera pointed at the anchor couch, you see... (3/9/09) Okay I read about MLB on XM/Sirus. How they are still negotiating. Well I am an XM subscriber, that is what was in my car. However, I can't listen to NFL football unless I pay additional money to XM/Sirus as part of the best of package. Why not do that for baseball. All channels should be allowed. I was hoping for that with the merger. However, I don't want to pay extra money for the best of package. Just my two cents. (3/9/09) Obama administration jamming WMAL? Monday morning around 9:45 AM the Chris Plante show went silent for at least a few moments just as he was telling a story about seeing Rahn Emanuel at a DC restaurant. What's up: Obambi's thugs jamming WMAL or what? Plante later said before a break that he will be back, "Hopefully without government" messing with WMAL's signal. (3/9/09) I watched Jennifer Ryan sign off last night for her last show on WUSA 9. Hard to believe they would allow her out the door. Hope this is not the last we see of her. First Class talent. Good luck. (3/9/09) Hey, Joe Kasell, if you think that RT28 "is a major artery into the District", then you are just as ignorant as Dr Gridlock. I live in Chantilly, I know Rt28. It was built to get traffic from Rt66 to Rt7, it has some DC traffic but IT IS NOT a major traffic artery. (3/9/09) No surprise here but the article does give some details of the structuring. 15% annual rate seems pretty stiff given current interest rates. BusinessWeek - ?Mar 6, 2009... Sirius closes $530 million Liberty investment deal... Sirius XM Radio Inc. on Friday said it has closed the $530 million investment deal with Liberty Media Corp. and extended the maturity of certain debt coming due in two months, to 2010. The completion of the deals gives Sirius XM about a year's breathing room. While the satellite radio's service is popular, it has been struggling under a heavy debt load. It faced a bankruptcy filing if it couldn't refinance or pay off debt coming due this year. (3/9/09) DCRTV Dave- Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I read your webpage religiously, and I understand your frustration when someone else writes a story and does not give dcrtv credit for breaking the story. I have to wonder: I see where you give the Baltimore Sun credit for confirming the Casey Willett story, but you did not give credit to Ray Frager, the actual individual who confirmed it. Considering that you copied and pasted the entry from his Medium Well blog directly into your web page, don't you think you ought to give credit where credit is due, and give it to Ray? Thank you. (3/9/09) Dave's response: Ray, is that you? Someone sent me the clip without the link and without credit to Frager. I then went to the most-wonderful baltimoresun.com this morning and searched and couldn't find a link. I searched for "Willett" and for "WNST." So, I put up the piece and credited it generically to the Sun. I have updated the blurb with credit to Frager and the link. By the way, Ray gives DCRTV no credit for breaking the story last week..... (Dave, the Dr. Gridlock article indicates that the WTOP traffic reports are about a minute long. That's not a lot of time to get in traffic information for our area.) Joe Kasell, next time you listen, glance at the second hand on your watch. Both Bob Marbourg and Lisa Baden take much longer than 60 seconds when traffic is bad. They are not limited to one minute despite what Dr. Gridlock reported. (3/9/09) This morning Lisa Baden spen over a minute talking about how some light cycles in the area were not set to DST. There was no mention of any traffic conditions. If the fact that the signals were not operating on a rush hour schedule, then let us know what problems they are causing. If there are no problems...then SHUT UP! No need to mention the situation. Whatever happened to the 5 W's in news reporting? Something that is lacking at WTOP not only in traffic reporting but many of there 'report it in 30 seconds or less' stories. (3/9/09) RE:[I find it funny that a political party (Democratic) is treating a radio talk show host (Rush Limbaugh) as a major threat to the nation.] You find it funny? Really? Then please tell me, how "funny" was it when a political party (Republican) treated a documentary producer (Michael Moore) as a major threat to the nation for daring to speak out in opposition to the policies of President Bush? Or for that matter, the disparaging treatment by Republicans against Sean Penn, Dan Rather, or for that matter, the treatment Katie Curic and Charlie Gibson received from elected republicans just for daring to ask Sarah Palin legitimate questions? Rush Limbaugh is not a "Private Citizen", people...he is an active critic of political policy making statements of opinion in a public forum. As such, any politician who rebuts his statements or questions his influence in a public forum is not launching an "attack" on his per son. Questioning Limbaugh's span of influence on political discourse is more than fair given the realm of his popularity. (3/9/09) Dear Dave: To the person who said "...RT 28 has damn near NOTHING to do with traffic into DC...", as a resident of Ashburn, Virginia, consider the following. Route 28, carries a significant amount of commuter traffic from the eastern Loudoun communities of Ashburn, Sterling, and Cascades to the Dulles Toll Road where those people take the various exits along the Toll Road to their jobs in Herndon, Reston, Tysons Corner, and...WASHINGTON DC! The workday doesn't go by where there isn't a large volume of traffic on that road, which I take daily to/from my job in Herndon, which is three lanes in each direction, and which is in the middle of a project to construct freeway interchanges in order to eliminate traffic lights and improve the flow of automobiles through that corridor. You may not use that road, but it's significance is not of the paltry level you would suggest. Look, I could say that from a Northern Virginia perspective, Routes 301 and 4 in Maryland have "damn near NOTHING to do with traffic into DC," but I know well enough such is not the case. Dave, the Dr. Gridlock article indicates that the WTOP traffic reports are about a minute long. That's not a lot of time to get in traffic information for our area. I know that a lot of people like Lisa Baden for her on-air personality and on-air approach, laughter, breaking into song, etc. I know I'm in the minority on this but my criticism of her in the past for her approach is that with a finite amount of time to work with, each second she spends entertaining is a second lost that could have been better spent telling a commuter about a road situation that would be helpful to that person. And you can't argue that "if there is no time to mention an issue in this report that the next report will have it" because 10 minutes later a commuter may have already committed him/herself to a route rather than take an alternate. That's happened to me several times in the morning over the years. Thinking about this more, it really makes me sad to see the demise of local programming on local radio stations. I'm thinking about WAGE in Leesburg. Prior to it's format change to syndicated fare, you could tune in to the morning program and get regular reports about any major issues with Loudoun and Western Fairfax County roads, especially during situations like last week's snow fall. I tuned in to WAGE this morning between 6 and 7 for traffic. The Wall Street Journal Report dominated the hour, with one traffic report at the bottom of the hour offering about 10 seconds for road conditions and another 10 seconds for MARC train service status. With that amount of dedicated time you wonder what's the point of having it at all. And with the demise of local content on local stations, this places more pressure on WTOP to be the source of information for a lot of people in the area. Again, Dave, a great site! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (3/9/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Travel’n On Radio Show, the number one travel radio program in the Mid-Atlantic, is seeking motivated, creative and experienced sales professionals to join our team. If you’re interested in earning unlimited income and travel perks then this is the opportunity for you. Candidate(s) must develop new business and grow existing accounts with successful marketing campaigns. The ideal candidate(s) will have at least 3 years sales experience with a proven ability to generate client marketing campaigns. Broadcast sales experience is preferred. Candidate(s) must possess strong sales skills, communication skills, organizational skills, and the ability to work in a competitive, diverse market. Join a family-owned company that offers an excellent commission, potential travel perks and personal development opportunities. Compensation is a generous commission-only structure but high performing team members with a proven ability can earn a base and travel perks. Qualified applicants should send cover letter, résumé, and a draft marketing campaign to radio@traveln-on.com. Prefer local candidates but virtual applicants will be considered. EOE. For additional information about the show visit www.Traveln-on.com. (3/9/09) "While this increased attention may bode well for Rush, it does not bode well for the future of the GOP." There is NOTHING at this point of time that bodes well for the Republican party. And if they think that Bobby Jindal will be their "savior" in 2012, they better think again. (3/9/09) I find it funny that a political party (Democratic) is treating a radio talk show host (Rush Limbaugh) as a major threat to the nation. He's not the head of the Republican Party, but he does reflect what a large segment of his audience thinks. I don't agree with him all the time, and he is entertaining, but it both amuses and worries me that political leaders are tagetting him by name. Who's next? People who write letters to the editor or post on DCRTV? Shades of the KGB and the Gestapo. (3/9/09) Bruce Johnson ("My work husband") gave a "fist bump" to Jennifer Ryan ("Best partner I ever had") and joked about her various hair styles over the years as she bid adieu to WUSA at "9 News Now" at 11PM on Sunday: if she only would have taken her shirt off once in a while, maybe she could have stayed. That leaves Anita Brikman as the last Hot Blonde there, and she looks like she's taken her shirt of for a few Swedish pornos in her younger life. Such is the state of info babes today. (3/9/09) Jennifer Ryan signed off for her last show on WUSA Channel 9 tonight. We sat there in shock as we realized she was really leaving. The weekend mornings, evenings, our weekends will never be the same. My new station will be Channel 4 as it is during the week. Thank you Jennifer, you have been a pleasure to watch!! (3/9/09) RE:[["...hat means you may end up with a local station that plays a mix of alt rock, classic rock, and soul oldies. Or adult contemporary, big band, and smooth jazz. Defying format boundaries..."]] Sorta like the Sunday Brunch used to be...? (3/9/09) Ready Kilowatt and I vote for Louie Allen!!! (3/9/09) Let me get this straight - CC switched WSMJ 104.3 to "alternative rock" because they wanted a younger audience. Therefore, a bigger share of the Baltimore pie. After how many books, alt schlock is still in the toilet - and WSMJ was ALWAYS in the top 10. You can say what you want about "Smooth Jazz" but this does not require rocket science. WSMJ was a better station. Period. And CC, once again, blew it. (3/9/09) /\ March 9 Messages /\ \/ March 8 Messages \/ RE: [The mindless speculation about Rush's ratings is stupid. And Dave, you're not helping. Let's PLEASE stick to the data.] I agree. Let's take a look at the data: A Newsweek poll released three days ago states that 46% of Americans hold a negative opinion of Limbaugh, and 2 in 5 Americans think Rush has too much influence over the Republican Party today. Gallup also just released a comparison of Limbaugh's favorability now compared to 2003. That data shows no measurable change in favorability among Republicans, but a telling 30% drop in his favorability among Independents and a 50% drop in favorability with Democrats. So, according to the data, if anything, Rush has become even MORE unpopular with Americans since he launched his attacks on President Obama. Dave is right, people might be tuning in for the time being to be entertained by the "Jerry Springer" style cat fights between Rush and Barack, or Rush and Michael, or Rush and whatever Republican elected official who dares to speak ill of him, they don't agree with Rush's tone or his message. While this increased attention may bode well for Rush, it does not bode well for the future of the GOP. - Jeff in Bowie (3/8/09) Let’s take a vote on DC’s best talented weather man. Your selection for the vote is … Lying Louie Allen... Gordon Barns... Doug Hill... Gordon Barns... Willard Scott... (3/8/09) Dave's response: Whoa..... Dr Girdlock and 270, This quote from Dr Dickhead is the reason for the problem. "I count two dozen routes that commuters consider major arteries into the District. There are many other major commuter routes, such as Route 28 in Virginia or Route 301 in Maryland, that don't cross the D.C. line." RT 28 has damn near NOTHING to do with traffic into DC. If he thinks so them he's a bigger idiot than I thought. I too use to drive home and wonder WHY THE HELL aren't they saying ANYTHING about the traffic I'm sitting in. That was Rt 301 to Rt4 to the Beltway to 66 West. They are so DAMN worried about getting paid to run that commercial, the worst is the afternoon guy on WTOP, Bob Marbrug, Thank God I have been working from home the last 4 yrs. But I still have to listen to him sometimes and he still sucks. (3/8/09) Of course Limbaugh's ratings are 14 million. Maybe 140 million! How else could a high school dropout who now masquerades as a champion of the common man pay off three ex-wives, drive a $450,000 Mercedes Maybach, live in a 24,000 square foot mansion, smoke $50 cigars, and eat $100 steaks? No wonder he's against his taxes being raised from 35 to 39 percent. He might have to smoke mere $10 cigars and start using caviar helper. In the world of this radio talk show host it's not "we're all in this together"(and by the way, thanks GWB) but rather every man for himself and by the way, give me a head start! ACH (3/8/09) I just want to rant and say I think it was a travesty that CBS left the MVC championship game with about a minute and a half left and only a 3 pt game to go to Duke/UNC. Yes, I know Dunke/UNC is the bigger game but the other game WAS a conference championship game -- and in OT! if it was about an 8 or 10 pt game, I would have understood, but I think they could have held off on the ACC game a little longer. Illinois St didnt even hold on to win! so it was a fantastic finish and we didnt see it. Isn't that what March is all about?? (3/8/09) The mindless speculation about Rush's ratings is stupid. And Dave, you're not helping. Let's PLEASE stick to the data. I believe Farhi's number - 167,700 weekly listeners - is wrong, because I've seen the PPM data, and Rush's 12+ AQH on WMAL (from 12-3p) was upwards of 228,000 in January -- which means his cume (weekly listeners) was certainly much higher. I would hope if Farhi's reporting is, indeed, inaccurate, WMAL will contact the Post and demand a correction. For the record ... it is a widely acknowledged fact in the radio industry that Arbitron ratings are an imperfect science. PPM is supposed to be an improvement, but as a poster noted, its methodology has been questioned - largely for political/racial reasons. The bottom line is, whether it's accurate or not, it's the only system we've got. And lives and fortunes depend on it, no matter what. As far as Rush's national audience is concerned -- as Farhi does correctly report -- no one has provided an accurate, credible accounting. But I'm apt to side more with Michael Harrison than anyone. (Who else has the access, the time or energy to gather the numbers and report them publicly?) In my view, it's safe to say Rush has at least 14 million unique listeners each week, making him the most popular talk show host in the country. Period. (3/8/09) I smell SEVERAL format flips and if CBS waits til summer to do it well then they're just being as stupid as they have all along. A new webpage isn't going to do a damn thing for the listeners who don't visit it. Ratings won't rise,playlist won't change. As for HFS the morons that be think the brand will still be worth a mint but they keep dragging it thru the mud until even the diehard listeners are finally fed up. People keep saying FM is a dead end but in this rough time no one is going to keep paying for satellite radio when it seems to be collapsing. Everyone is cutting corners,shedding burdens and not considering ANY income 'disposable'. Whats someone going to do when thier MP3 player dies?(and they die! they die horrible little programmed deaths) they may not bother spending another chunk of money on another player...what's there for free? FM!!! The suits have it all backwards! People who consistently listen to political/sports/talk radio usually have the money to pay for satellite. Those who prefer music will pay for non-radio media because there IS no music worth listening to on FM anymore but it did not start that way. Have you ever heard the expression "He was shot with shit then hung for stinking"? Thats what suits do to radio stations.....they fuck around with a good thing til its worthless then flip it to something equally worthless all the time exclaiming how proud they are to have invented it.As for ratings....ever notice that the movies shunned by critics are usually pretty good? And the ones they rave over suck?? Thats what I think of when I hear ratings.....some numbers that some number cruncher prints out that has nothing to do with the loyalty of listeners which is then used as leverage by someone who doesn't have a clue what genre a song is let alone if its good or not. Nothing sounds right when you're in a sterile office surrounded by drooling yes-men.EXECS: Pay Attention to what your listeners are saying. And PUT HFS BACK on a FM HD1 station that reaches ANNAPOLIS/DC/BALTIMORE like it SHOULD or just stick it all up your ass!!! (3/8/09) Dave's response: And radio needs to rethink the whole idea of "format," particularly on music stations. Look, adult contemporary WASH plays some of the same tunes heard on hot adult contemporary WRQX which plays some of the same tunes heard on contemporary hit WIHT which plays some of the same tunes heard on urban contemporary WPGC. Music playlists need to be "tailored" to what local radio music listeners want, without so much concern about what constitutes a "format." And that means you may end up with a local station that plays a mix of alt rock, classic rock, and soul oldies. Or adult contemporary, big band, and smooth jazz. Defying format boundries - if that's what the local audience wants. Tweaking your "format" via the new weekly PPMs can be used to create unique "formats" that "ultra-serve the niche" in particular localities. Can the cookie-cutter format mindset of corporate radio adapt? Maybe not..... RE: [According to Rush Limbaugh's web site, his show has an estimated audience of some 20-million weekly.] Unfortunately, that number Rush quotes is a little bit of a deceptive stretch. That "20 million" figure counts every single listener daily and totals the number of daily listeners for the five days in a broadcast week to reach the magical "20 million" number. Also, a listener is counted as a "whole" listener regardless of length of time he or she actually listened. If someone listens to his program for 10 minutes of the three hour broadcast during drive or commute, Rush still counts that person as a "whole" listener. Also, his audience is not 20 million INDEPENDENT listeners. If someone listens to Rush daily for all five days in a given week, Rush's figure counts that one listener as 5 independent "hits" out of his 20M weekly "hits". His actual "Loyal" listening audience, while still impressive, is actually estimated to be somewhere closer to between 2 and 3 million independent listeners per week nationally. (3/8/09) www.facebook.com: Casey Willett wrote23 hours ago: So a couple of people have emailed me or text me and asked me about "what happened" or "hey I heard"... Well I am not here to do any mudslinging or anything like that, but I was let go of by WNST this afternoon. I will not get into all of the details, but was told the company wanted to go in a different direction. It was 5 of the best years of my life. There are friendships, memories, events, and times, that I will remember for the rest of my life. I made some friends that I will remain friends with for ever and will be forever thankful for that. For the past 5 years I have lived a dream that a lot of people can only wish to have. I have enjoyed the interaction with players, coaches, listeners, readers, etc. Thank you to all of the people who have sent me some kind emails and IM's today. It really means a lot to me. I am not sure what the future holds right now.I will take some time and talk to my wife and kids and see what is best for my family ,who is really having a hard time today, but we will make it through. My wife has been awesome today, and I am truly blessed to have her. My kids have been there for me today when I needed them to be the most. I will still be on facebook, so feel free to email me or IM, I will now be using my aol account cdwill77@aol.com Please still check out Ray Bachman on Saturday's from 11am-1pm. Ray is truly one of my best friends I made while doing this. I owe 99.3 % of everything I got in this business to him, and am thankful to have crossed paths with the guy... (3/8/09) RE: 94.7, "If the station continues to under-perform in the new PPM radio ratings, look for a format flip by the end of the summer, a local radio guru tells us." I don't buy it! You smell that? I smell, I smell, I SMELL A FORMAT FLIP! Much like was done w/WHFS to El Zol. Remember that? One minute it was some crap 'HFS was playing, and right after the commercial break...SALSA! Just remember this, one thing that ALL suits do REALLY well, is LIE! (3/8/09) /\ March 8 Messages /\ \/ March 7 Messages \/ Great TVNewser ZINGER/FACT; '...kisses the royal arse of those empty-headed beautiful cable and broadcast news personalities who dont have a f--kin clue about whats going on...' TOO TRUE! Ive said that several times on that site and have been BANNED... (Banned just because I called Mika of 'morning joe' a loud mouth, stuck up, clueless, annoying, elite media snob and I called various FOX"News" newsreader babes 'soft core pornstars' -LOL) (3/7/09) Dave's response: That's all you ever hear on TVNewser - Mika and Joe, Mika and Joe, Mika and Joe. They get no audience via their MSNBC show, and even less on the radio. Sheesh...... Happy Birthday to former Joy Boy and Today Show weatherman, Willard Scott, who turns 75 today! (3/7/09) Another reason there will always be people not ready for the DTV transition, no matter how long it's delayed: At least one church is warning its members that DTV is the work of the "Antichrist": See lasttrumpetnewsletter.org and scroll way down to the section titled "Eye Contact With Big Brother". (BTW--The patent number they use to support their claims is actually for a hearing aid.) ~~CA in BC (3/7/09) (regarding Dave's response) "Making his average daily listenership somewhere between 2 and 5 million. And, if the US population is 300 million, that means that about 3-ish percent of the total US population is listening to Rush at any given moment. And 97-percent ain't. Still, not bad numbers for one radio personality." I think what galls me most about this pompous windbag is how he tries to make it sound as if his take on all things social and political is somehow representative of a large percentage of the American people. Earlier in the week, he even challenged President Obama to a debate - as if he and he alone is some kind of figurehead of great masses of people. 3 percent. Yeah, right! The reality is, that Rush has no real standing. It's an illusion. Just smoke and mirrors and clever number juggling, in an attempt to convey a bullshit leadership position of this drug-addled fathead and equally false following, of the easily fooled. 3 percent, indeed! (3/7/09) According to Rush Limbaugh's web site, his show has an estimated audience of some 20-million weekly. At first glance, this statistic seems rather impressive - until you stop and consider that given the total population of the United States, something like 280-million people are either tuned elsewhere on the dial or are not listening to anyone. His supposed "huge" ratings numbers are literally dwarfed by the vast numbers of people who are not listening to a single solitary syllable the rotund one utters. (3/7/09) Dave's response: OK, DC's number 9-ish in radio market size. And, let's say Rush's got about 200,000 listeners here on a typical day. And, since DC's in the middle of the top 20 markets, we'll call 200K his average for the top 20 markets. Obviously, cities like NYC and SF have much larger audiences for Rush and Baltimore and Denver less, simply due to their size. But the average for each of the top 20 markets is 200K. OK, that's 4 million. Even if you double that for the remainder of the "sub-20" smaller markets, that's 8 million listeners nationwide. OK, let's even round it up to 10 million. That's still way less than most estimates. And, of that total, probably something like 50-75 percent don't listen to the whole show - or don't listen everyday. Making his average daily listenership somewhere between 2 and 5 million. And, if the US population is 300 million, that means that about 2-ish percent of the total US population is listening to Rush at any given moment. And 98-percent ain't. Still, not bad numbers for one radio personality..... WOW. The spin is clear on Paul Farhi's article about Rush's audience. He clearly wants us to believe that the actual number of listeners is far lower than reported. He would have us believe that Rush is all hype and no measureable accountability. And that may very well be so. But Mr. Farhi, your arguement is somewhat incredulous. It has long been a holy grail of the liberal elites that Arbitron UNDER reports ratings. This is why we have the 5/1 ratio of weighting minority to white diaries. It is the reason Arbitron has been forced by the AGs in several states to doctor the results reported by its newer, and far more accurate PPM technology. So is it liberal bias that would have you tell us that Rush is over-reported, but minorities are under-reported? Or is it just politically correctness, stating a 'truth' that you think must be told? I would have expected this story from Al Sharpton, not you. Which is it you want us to believe? That minorities are too stupid to fill out diaries or plug in PPm units, and therefore need help being represented? Why else would there be a need for such a weighting? Or is that there is some vast right wing conspiracy that somehow over-reports one white male American host at the expense of all other programs. Your article makes it clear that the later is unlikely, "Arbitron, the radio industry's dominant audience-measurement company, has never publicly released a national estimate for Limbaugh, and it says, in effect, that the job is too complicated, expensive and time-consuming to bother with." So then where are the facts in this story to question the validity of the numbers reported by Rush and others? Either Arbitron's methods are systemically flawed, and it under-reports, as agreed by the AGs in many states,,,or it over-reports as you would have us believe. Either way, you present another glowing example of the liberal bias in the media and your attempt to spin what you don't like, to intentionally report as fact a question of your own disbelief that seeks to confuse the masses is disingenous. You also loose all credibility with such a blantant dispensation of any objectivity or accountability. Nice hack job, spin boy. I bet you get a stimulus check. (3/7/09) MSNBC seems to have missed this story,,,but ABC caught it. Seems Sec. State Clinton is a fellow liberal with Kennedy and Carter in the inability to understand that words means things,,,and the wrong words give the wrong meaning. She presented a 'Staples Easy"-like button to the the Russians meaning to show a reset in the relationship. But instead, the word used meant overcharge. Perhaps she was just channeling Obama's 'stimulus'. We are in Iraq now because a former state employee during the man-Clinton years told Osama that we would not interfere in his country if they interfered in other countries. Now how come this is not above the fold on the W-P? Had it been Sarah Palin, Dan Quayle etc,,who made such a gaffe, you bet it would have been the lead for three nights straight on MSNBC. Funny how the liberals keep having a problem talking to Europeans with whom they claim such kinship. Are they stumbling over the words of the other language, or just having a problem keeping a straight face talking about America when they don't believe in the values of this country? Ron Reagan had no problem using the correct words to get a point across that was clearly understood. The Wall came down. How is it that the other Clinton even spent some of his college years in the former SU, and the liberals champion Communism and Socialism, they speak eloquently about such governance, and anything but Capitalism and yet they can not seem to use the right words. When they speak to these countries, they always screw up. Perhaps their education is purely academic and they have no idea what the words, or the concepts, mean in reality. How they hell hard is it to proofread this stuff? It's one word! Take a walk over to USIA or VOA where you can find many ex-patriate Russians. Or perhaps they did and this was a joke played by the translator? THIS story, that the Sec. of State can't even get a token right in her first meeting with arguably the most important near-adversary, this should have been an MSNBC headline. But she got a pass. Instead we have a story questioning how many listeners does Rush really have. Certainly many Dems. (3/7/09) Not local, but funny nonetheless.... www.wtopnews.com... I can easily imagine a new-generation pirate FM on-air around here. Instead of giving info on where to buy drugs, it would give information on where to get a job. And, it would get shut down be the FCC just as fast... (3/7/09) I can't stands it, I can't stands NO MORE! Dave, I know this is not a political site, but some of these obviously "dittohead" posts I'm reading, have to be responded to. First of all "dittoheads" stop cryin', YOU LOST! Where am I, in a fuckin maternity ward! You voted, other people voted, I voted, you lost. And BTW, why call yourselves "dittoheads"? You can't think for yourself? I know you're going to hate this, becuse it comes from a United "NEGRO" (I know what you want to say) College Fund ad, but a mind IS a terrible thing to waste! Also, these "dittoheads" have summarily blasted President Obama's stimulus plan, which had to be done, since he INHERITED the worst economy in decades, but offer no plan of their own. Oh, I get it. Do nothing, let the country go to hell in a handbasket, and by 2012, the Republicans/Conservatives/New Confederates will be back in power! Damn the country! Give us power! Well, let me tell you something you infantile, pea-brained, insane rhetoric adopting idiots. Even if YOUR Dear Leader has 20 million listeners everyday, this country is about 320 million people deep. Yes, you're loud, you have your blogs, columns, and highly rated radio and television shows. Here's what you DON'T have, the pulse of America. The "real" America. Can you hear me up in Alaska Gov. Palin? -They Hate Me...and GOOD! (3/7/09) Dave, you lump Beck in with Rush and Drudge but I watch his show on Fox and I've never heard him say Obama is a failure. What he has said is that his plans (not enough time for policies yet) are leading us to socialism, as did the TARP plan under Bush. Socialism, Beck says, will lead us to ruin. Beck is the only one saying anything wise and that is to get out of the stock market. Unfortunately, too many people have bet the house, literally, on a rising stock market for the last ten years. Combine this with people not actively getting involved in their investments (mutual funds, financial managers) and you have a recipe for disaster. There is a philosophy that you shouldn't invest unless you understand how a company makes its money. Too bad very few listened. Paulie G (3/7/09) TO: [BOBBOWIE, BOBBOWIE...HORSETOOTHEDJACKASS] Calm down, have a seat and listen for a moment, Bob. While the "Obambi "WHITE" house" taunts and homophobic Barney Frank references might have all your pals rolling on the floor grasping their sides in laughter at the monthly Klan meeting, in polite society not-so-subtle racial and sexual slurs of this nature aren't considered to be humorous at all. They are considered crude, backwards and childish. Bob, I once watched a NatGeo documentary where they explained that certain primates tend to puff up their chest and display their blue ass whenever they feel frightened or threatened because the "fight or flight" instinct kicks in triggering a show of aggression that they have absolutely no control over. Most humans have evolved the ability to suppress that reaction. Here's hoping that one day, your descendants might acquire that vital evolutionary skill too. - Jeff in Bowie (3/7/09) Dave's response: Getting off-topic. Gonna have to get out the post shredder..... Let me see. Higher electric costs, penalties for large consumption, and 'green' requirements. Higher local real estate taxes to offset decreased federal and state funds, drastically increased broadband service. All not good things for radio, especially AM. And now we have the WH and its communications arm at MSNBC talking about how radio is dead. How funny is that,,,liberal talk helped elect the Dear Leader who sees your product as ancient and a least a decade behind. He intends to move the country forward. You should have done that HD Digital thing, because digital is all that Obama wants, and he is going to get what he wants. (3/7/09 Dave's response: On the other hand, we have a worldwide economic slump that's been brewing for half a decade, and Rush and Beck and Drudge are pronouncing Obama a failure because he hasn't solved it in the six weeks that he's been president. I do agree with you that MSNBC is run by complete idiots (and I'm a lib). Ditto with CNN and Fox News and CNBC. Just look at the way the PR-ish TVNewser kisses the royal arses of those empty-headed "beautiful" cable and broadcast celeb "news" personalities who, obviously, haven't got a fuckin' clue what's going on..... Curtis Sliwa ... I mean seriously ... who the f*ck cares? Other than stalker Silvie. (3/7/09) "Bob Bowie", I'm sorry, but people loke you who employ language like this are in no way "Great Americans" or "Patriots", Bob - you are "Hate-riots". WMAL - take notice: You are hurting America when you foment this crap. - Jeff in (There are times like this when I'm NOT so proud to admit it) Bowie"....As Dan Aykroyd might have said to Jane Curtain on SNL: "Jeff, you ignorant slut." I ain't from that Godforsaken Bowie like your hurting ass -- don't you get it: "BobBowie, BobBowie"...oh, never mind. As for your pathetic mimicking (Hate-riots) I match my patriotisim with your ankle grabbing liberalism any day of the week. " cruel and needless vomit"? How about Barney Butt Boy Frank took to the floor of Congress just today to slam Rush Limbaugh: for what, opposing Obambi's "success" at ruining this great nation with his trillions of dollars of "stimulus"? When this nation has Members of Congress and the administration singling out an American citizen -- albeit Rush Limbaugh -- or ANY citizen for their opposition to legislation and/or policy then things have gotten pretty damn backasswards. Grow up Jeff & get the hell out of Bowie while you still can. Your pal: BOBBOWIE, BOBBOWIE...HORSETOOTHEDJACKASS (3/7/09) how ironic. ever since dear leader told republicans to not listen to rush, democrats seem to be hanging on his every word. (3/7/09) CT School Of Bcstg founder vows to reopen Farmington CT branch www.courant.com (3/7/09) /\ March 7 Messages /\ \/ March 6 Messages \/ Hey Dave.....i have said some bad stuff about 94.7, (which is officially no longer called The Globe anymore)....but they actually have started to expand their playlist, finally. They are currently reworking their website at www.classicrock94.7.com. This station, to me at least, is sounding ALOT better now. I swear i hope to God that this "Amp Radio" or "Now Radio" or whatever that CHR bullshit is that might launch there, better NOT happen. HOT 99.5 is horrible enough. It is actually sounding like a true classic rocker now. They've also poked fun at 100.3's boring playlist to...haha. (3/6/09) Dave's response: Really? I've stopped listening to 94.7. I'll have to give it another shot. Oh, I can't access the new website. Just get an error message..... TiVo alert: Jayne Miller of WBAL will be on Rachel Maddow show tonight, 9 & 11 PM, MSNBC. (3/6/09) NASA TV is covering the launch of the Kepler space telescope tonight: www.nasa.gov... This is interesting. - GAB in the Airless Cubicle (3/6/09) It'll really be time to turn out the lights over at Channel 9 when Dave Statter gets the boot. What is the big deal with the HD broadcasts of the news doesn't do anything special for me...... Has MHZ tv cut the power on its over the air digital broadcasts? What was once a very strong signal on 30.1 to 30.5 has turned into a pixalated mess, even moving the rabbit ears doesn't seem to help much. ...... An surfing channels this morning on digital tv over the air when came upon channel 4 Universal Sports channel, love that alpine skiing, and Russia Today channel was going strong, huh, ain't that a MHZ carried channel and what was it doing on channel 4.3? Can Mike O'Meara dig up a job at KCJJ if the end comes for fierce talk on 'JFK. Does O'Meara really think his politico talk is informative and enlightening, ugh. I want some funny in my day some not some nimrod prattling on from the left or right. Someone previously posted in mailbag that maybe O'Meara is just not that bright Gawd help me but I find TMZ on channel 5 quite entertaining, whoever does the voiceovers and the edits of bits is quite a funnymun (3/6/09) According to the syndicated ratings sheet laid out before me, Silvie is the only person on planet earth listing to Curtis Sliwa. Perhaps her methods of promoting the show have something to do with that. (3/6/09) Can someone tell me what "amp radio" format is? I've looked and looked and have not found a clear answer on the web. Thanks! Robert in Arlington (3/6/09) Dave's response: It's contemporary hits. Pretty much the same as what you'll hear on Hot 99.5 locally..... That Mark Kaye/Flo 15 Minutes O' Fame Rida ''song'' was possibly a great alternative to pepto bismol. How dreadful does it get? Paul (3/6/09) Very sorry to hear about Brian James untimely death at 48. He was so good at doing the "hard" VO; he really had a knack for that and obviously did pretty well in the bank because of it. I always liked his stuff. sean hall (3/6/09) Props to Mike O'Meara! He made it to 3:18 today before he brought up Rush. See ya. Sincerely, TMU (3/6/09) Maybe this is a sign of WJFK’s lack of listeners since nobody has commented yet, but the CK incident that you say was first mentioned on Big O & Dukes today was actually alluded to by the Junkies yesterday morning. Am I the last one listening? Do I win a silly prize? (3/6/09) No "real" news stories on the front of the Washington Post?(keep the masses of peasants ignorant, therefore they are easier to control...GENIUS!) As the kids once said... "NO GNEWS IS GOOD GNEWS" ~Kinky-Neo-Con (3/6/09) Brian James was the voiceover guy on WBIG (before they flipped to classic rock) and WTNT (before Red Zebra bought it). He was also reportedly the voice of TV's "Extra", and on a whole passel of radio stations nationwide. (3/6/09) On Tuesday morning rapper FLO RIDA and his very large posse hung in-studio with former HOT 99.5 Morning Man Mark Kaye. Mark used the opportunity of having the world’s Number 1 rap artist in his studio to record a duet. The song, called “Floconomy,” outlines the struggles that major rap stars have in a down economy. Check it out for yourself at markkaye.com (3/6/09) Just a thought: if Channel 9 got rid of JC Hayward and her measly half-hour noontime drag show, they could have kept both Mike Walter and Jennifer Ryan. I am sure her salary is more than what was the combined salaries of Water and Ryan. (3/6/09) Dave's response: There are rumblings that JC will be leaving 9 when her current contract is up. Whenever that is..... shamrock is now working as a producer for sirius/xm's sports division. kirk and mark are still being paid out for their final year of the contract from CBS....so, presumably, they don't have to do much til '10. (3/6/09) Hey Dave...thought you'd want to know voiceover great Brian James passed away. (3/6/09) Dave's response: The name doesn't click with my memory circuits. What's he done? Curtis Sliwa said last night that his show is now heard on WQMR 101.1 FM in Ocean City/Sailsbury, MD, starting at 10 p.m. The show starts at 9 p.m. on 630 WMAL and is expanding throughout the country. -Silvie- (3/6/09) RE: [Demonrat "talking points"...Teddy "Chappie" Kennedy...Bill "BJ" & "Her Thighness" Hillary Clinton...Barney "What Gay Prostitution Ring In My Basement" Frank,....the Obambi "White" House. - Bob Bowie.] You know, After reading the refreshing story on the front page about the Ockershausen 80th borthday celegration that mentioned so many names that made 'MAL great "back in the day", people like Frank Harden, Bill Trumbull, Chris Core, Tom Gauger, and Bill Mayhugh,it provided a telling contrast to open the mailbag and find this cruel and needless vomit. "Bob Bowie, thank you for providing the perfect compare and contrast example of how far 'MAL has really fallen. All I can say is though these former 'MALers may be too classy to say it publicly, Ockershausen, Harden, Trumbull, Core, Gauger, and Mayhugh have to shed a tear when they witness what 'MAL has become. Take it from someone who listened to and loved 'MAL back then - Andy Parks, Chris Plante, and even the out of towners Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin and Sliwa could learn a thing or two about class from the old 'MAL crowd, and maybe those lessons would serve to temper and soften the bitterness and hatred that they dump into the minds of their "loyal" listeners every single day. "Bob Bowie", I'm sorry, but people loke you who employ language like this are in no way "Great Americans" or "Patriots", Bob - you are "Hate-riots". WMAL - take notice: You are hurting America when you foment this crap. - Jeff in (There are times like this when I'm NOT so proud to admit it) Bowie (3/6/09) I believe Wayne Gruehn’s first exposure on the Baltimore airwaves was doing a weekend shift on WFBR. Of course, he stayed at WFBR for years, and I believe in the 70’s, did a midday women’s sex-oriented talk show modeled after Bill Ballance’s “Feminine Forum” in L.A. And yes, later Gruehn worked at WBAL and then WWLG, and did VO work at WMAR-TV. Roddy Freeman (3/6/09) Dave, Saw your blurb about the Examiner closing their Charm City printing plant. The printing plant wasn't the Baltimore Examiner's, it was owned by Vertis & it was the plant where the Examiner was printed. When they started in April 2006, they contracted the work out to the American Color Graphics plant in Belcamp, MD (Harford County). We printed the Examiner from April 6, 2006 - February 15th, 2009. We printed other jobs, such as Sunday newspaper comics, grocery ads, retail ads, newpaper inserts. The plant opened in the summer of 1989 & was officially closed March 3, 2009. The Baltimore Examiner was our biggest customer & ultimately when they ceased publishing, put us to the top of the list for plant closings. In October 2008 American Color merged w/ Vertis Communications & we became Vertis. Vertis had 25 printing plants @ the time. In December they closed 4 & on Tuesday they closed 2 (Belcamp, MD & Chicago, IL), leaving them w/ 19 printing plants now. The HQ for Vertis is in downtown Baltimore, & there are other printing plants located in this area, in Manassas, VA & York, PA. I am 1 of the 105 who lost their jobs Tuesday & was also an original employee, hired @ startup & worked there before the presses printed the 1st time... (3/6/09) “The only good part of their show on HFS was Shamrock and I bet he's happy that nightmare is over.” You got that one right!!! Dave, have you heard ANYTHING regarding Jeff??? He must have a non-compete clause that’s keeping him mum. I see that his professional resume has been on linkedin.com for a while now but haven’t heard anything else. (3/6/09) Dave's response: Haven't heard anything..... "Rush Makes Post's Front Page Again - 3/6 - "There it is, above the fold, another Rush Limbaugh story." That's WMAL's Andy Parks this morning about the front page of the Washington Post, courtesy of Howie Kurtz" - But not "courtesy of Rush Limbaugh: obviously, Howie got the Demonrat "talking points" and polling (why are they "polling" about Rush other than to establish reasons to go after him as the "leader" of the GOP so as to suit their purposes?). Just as Teddy "Chappie" Kennedy, Bill "BJ" & "Her Thighness" Hillary Clinton, Barney "What Gay Prostitution Ring In My Basement" Frank, and countless others, there are "push" names/issues that fundraisers use in order to raise money and in turn, make profits for themselves. Other than a revival of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" -- no matter what title or form the Dems come up with -- Rush ain't going nowhere but up in ratings thanks to this foolhardy effort by the Obambi "White" House. So keep at it: the Dems might be making money from the fundraising, but they will lose votes & voteres in the end with this "bully pulpit" approach to disarming an American icon. Bob Bowie. (3/6/09) Wow, how sad to see Jennifer Ryan leaving. She was the best anchor they had, male or female. To even think the face of the station is with Anita and Derick is a bad joke. Anita came in to prop up the weekdays---the stupid ass station heads had the face of the station hiding out on the weekends. Jennifer and Bruce Johnson had chemistry, flow and credibility to every news cast. Hey Jennifer Ryan, if I ran a news room, my first call this morning would be to your agent. (3/6/09) Jennifer Ryan is leaving WUSA Channel 9? Jennifer, turn the lights off when you leave, you ARE the Mary Tyler Moore of the station. R.I.P. Channel 9, you are now dead without her... (3/6/09) I had the privilege of doing traffic for Wayne Gruehn on and off from '98 til '02 during his time at WLG. Of all the on air folks I worked with during that time, Mr. Gruehn was easily one of my favorites. A lot of fun on air and generous with his air time as he would give extra time to chat or for additional traffic information. He was just as nice off air when I would call to coordinate report times or tip him off to breaking traffic news. Aways quick with a joke or kind word. I will listen to the Jack Jones vesion of the "Love Boat" theme today in his honor. Jerry Booth (3/6/09) To the nimrod who can't remember that Obama's press secretary Gibbs went after Limbaugh, Santelli and Cramer by name, get the rose colored glasses off. It is becoming pretty clear that your emperor has no clothes. (3/6/09) Re: Dave's response: Maybe he could be paired with the late morning gal.....” or maybe not! He should stay right where he is and you should stop advocating he lose his job! Unbelievable!! He doesn’t deserve it and he earned his slot. The proposed change you endorse is only change, not change for the better! C4 is great and he’s perfect where he is. (3/6/09) Dave's response: Hey it was just a flip remark. I strongly doubt that BAL will put K&M in middays just because I said so. Maybe Laura Ingraham, but not K&M. Just joooooking..... Sorry to hear Citadel keeps spiraling into the ground. Many many good people worked or work there. I was one of them. However in these trying times it should be noted that WRQX is doing better than ever and with the new ppm ratings system they are getting credit for all their hard work. Maybe just maybe they will have to go back to being ABC/Disney owned on 06/12. It also should be noted that despite Citadel's financial self destructive nature the stations themselves are doing well with streaming audio and place in the top 5 of listened to stream networks. Just remember when you gloat over Suleman's misfortune, it is really a lot of people that are being hurt and people like him walk away unscathed. (3/6/09) Dave said “Gal”. Awesome! Let the politically correct grasp that one. Signed: The “broad” in the Cheap Seats. (3/6/09) 9's loss of Jennifer Ryan is saddening though expected. How demoralizing would it be for 9 newsers and viewers alike though if WUSA actually cancelled its 5 p.m. news for Dr. Oz? I may have to break my no curse words rule if that one ever happened. Everett W. (3/6/09) Dave, I'm pretty sure that Wayne Gruehn also did some substitute work for WBAL (mainly for Allan Prell) back in the late '80s or early '90s. I'm sorry to hear of his passing. Concerning Ray Frager's item on Jerry Coleman, Ed Norris (radio's real-life Vic Mackey) played "Turning Japanese" this week while interviewing Mark Viviano about Koji. It may be considered insensitive, but I don't think any great harm was meant or done. Howie (3/6/09) A penny.....breath-taking. It was over $17 a share when Farid bought ABC Radio wasn't it? (3/6/09) Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Perhaps there is a left wing conspiracy. Rush above the fold in the W-P? The WH singles out Rush for rebuke. Long a Holy Grail and ferverent expectation of the liberals, and yet the WH shoots down any talk of the Fairness Doctrine? Could it be that Rush is being used by the Dems to create so much noise 'above the fold' and in prime time that the electorate and the media do not have time or remaining patience to actually look at what is in the stimulus plan and its outcome? Some might remember that pizza commercial from the 1980s where "use noise to disorient your opponent" was the suggested method of taking the unguarded pie from an unsuspecting owner. Given how much the liberals have focused on Gitmo, maybe they learned something about psychological terrorism and are applying it now. There is a reason Rush is being allowed to speak and given affirmation by his opponents. Find it. (3/6/09) Re CSB: I am painfully sorry to see the schools closed down, but I always thought they weren't staying at all relevant with the contemporary radio scene. In recent years, the Arlington campus was teaching students how to use MiniDiscs and CDs, devoting only one studio to automated/digital operation. Fresh grads were fully prepared to jump into their DeLoreans, hit the flux capacitor and get a job at a station 12 years ago. CSB would still have locked its doors anyway, given the times; but for the tuition being charged, the school should have been emphasizing television performance, production and editing, and not been so wrapped up in the quaint notion of "you too can be a deejay". If they ever come back, I hope they realize that. (3/6/09) The news of Jennifer Ryan leaving Channel 9 is troubling and sad, yet not shocking. The obvious always seems out of focus for those who run WUSA. Johnson and Ryan should have been named the 6PM/11PM anchor team before the McDermott/Neale disaster. Horrible decisions over the years are coming to fruition; today's decisions will lead to the demise of the once mighty nine. Next one out: Leslie Foster (when we cancel the 5PM for Dr. Oz this fall). (3/6/09) If I remember correctly, Wayne Gruehn did lots of the classic old WMAR TV 2 sign-offs too but did he go back to the very beginning of WMAR or was that Jim McKay for the 1st few years? Anyone know? I never listened to him on WLG, but I can still hear his voice in my head as a child saying the phrase "Maryland's Pioneer TV station" I wonder if there are any clips of WMAR sign-offs on youtube. Anyways, thoughts and prayers to his family. (3/6/09) Ok Guys what was your Favorite Paul Harvey Moment. For me when he declared "Vietnam a no win War".John T. Henneman (3/6/09) Re: “If I ruled the airwaves, I'd give K&M the midday slot on WBAL. Yes, AM talker WBAL.”. Now that you’ve publicly endorsed that C4 lose his job at WBAL in favor of K & M, what do you suggest C4 do? He’s great where he is…imnsho!(3/6/09) Dave's response: Maybe he could be paired with the late morning gal..... ''You put Allison Starling & Natasha Barrett on at 5pm/6pm/11pm'' AND you'd have the most brain dead, drool inducing newscast in the history of local news. Why is it that 7 can't seem to find female anchors that are attractive WITH a pulse? Like Julie Parker. Paul (3/6/09) Jennifer Ryan, the pretty, talented co-anchor of the WUSA 9 weekends will be leaving the station as of this weekend. This is part of the self destruction of a once fine news room. Seems the station heads think the hack anchors they currently employ will carry the station. WRONG. This station is hanging by a thread. By losing Jennifer Ryan, the station is breaking up the longest running anchor team with her and Bruce Johnson, not too mention some of the best ratings come from the weekend shows. Not sure what it was, but the management never had the brain cells to move this team to the lead weeknight shows. Hell, they have tried everything else at the station. The Kim and Angie Comedy hour (they talk, we laugh AT them), Lesli, Derick and Anita musical chairs--this for sure will never succeed and who knows who is next to be shown the door due to the decline of the station. Hey Channel 9, we get that no one wants to advertise with you because your station sucks, but do you get that the few that do watch your news is because of the few anchors with any credibility---the likes of Jennifer Ryan and Bruce Johnson. That's all of them! It's gonna be a sad sad Sunday night when she signs off, no doubt with the professionalism, wittiness and beauty we have come to love. Good bye Jennifer---hope to see you at a winning station around town soon! God, you will be missed...Hey GM, hope you are next! Putz (3/6/09) The Incident was on a Sunday night .Champ was on the air doing the 7PM till Midnight shift.I was listening to station that night suddenly the station went off format and if memory is right classic or jazz music was played rest of evening.I have no definite details of what occured except it was in paper and at issue was whether shot was fired into studio or was fired inside the studio and went out the window.. I believe I was studying at home that evening so it had to be before June 1969 I Think.John T. Henneman. (3/6/09) Though I've regularly read dcrtv, I've had no reason to offer anything to the mailbag.....until recently. And, unfortunately, it's been to comment on an obituary. First, Paul Harvey...and now, Wayne Gruehn. I had the pleasure of working with Wayne at his last on air gig at WLG until he called it quits in 2003, I believe. Soft spoken with a quiet sense of humor, he added class to the station in afternoon drive for a number of years. My fondest memory of him was when we performed in The Sunshine Boys together at the Timonium Dinner Theater. My condolences to his family. He was special. Alan Field (3/6/09) Farley is right about NBC trying to kill radio. I took my family on the NBC tour in NYC, and they had some hip young thing leading about 30 people around the building. First stop: master control for TV. She said, "This used to be Howard Stern's studio when he was on the radio." Someone in the crowd asked, "Where is it now?" She said, "Oh, there's no radio anymore." And this was almost 10 years ago! (3/6/09) RE: [[Tomorrow, those who got canned a year ago at Citadel's three DC radioers will get their back severance checks, won via a recent union arbitration hearing.]] Now, I wish I'd have been a member of the union... oh well... Citadel stock down to a single cent... now I have a better understanding of the old saying, "PENNY wise and pound foolish"and if THAT weren't bad enough, I was seriously contemplating an income supplement by teaching some courses at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting... but, really folks, what is/was any broadcasting school teaching the up and coming radio broadcasters... I mean, seriously... radio is slowly being killed off... federAL SANTOS... PS: Almost forgot to mention, Capitol Raceway opens its 2009 drag racing season this coming Sunday, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!!! I'll be on hand flying new colors... VOA Gates open at 11 am. Come out and watch me run what I brung! (3/6/09) Enough with all this negativity in radio these days! WRNR gave away a trip to see U2 in Boston this morning. I wish I won that prize. I listen to WYRE 810AM on occasion while driving in to work in the morning. It's kind of fun to hear Top 40 radio on the AM band. I'm 32 years old. I've heard my Dad talk about listening to WCAO and WKBW when he was kid growing up in St. Mary's County, MD. (3/6/09) /\ March 6 Messages /\ \/ March 5 Messages \/ Nice to see that even Dave has been hoodwinked by the change in the phrase, an attempt to obscure the failed science. What am I talking about,,,the Great Global Warming Hoax. You have that nice front page headline about Bob Ryan's series on "Global Warming" as you called it. And that was the original name for this pseudo-science. But did you notice that the PR refers to this as 'global climate change'. Now how did that happen, when did we go from warming, to change? Could it be when we started having so much cold, wind and snow, you know, global cooling, in places that have not seen such weather since before the Industrial Revolution? Could it be that us doubters were correct,,,that science follows the laws of physics, and not the laws of politically correct legislators and protestors? Could it be that the law of entropy says that if there is warming in one place, then there must be cooling in another. Why, that must mean, if it warms in one place, and cools in another, then on average,, OMG...the temperature stays the same! That would mean that Mother Nature has it quite under control and there is no global warming nor global cooling. You got suckered like so many. The term GCC is a nice coverup to continue the fraud. There may very well be change, but there is no global warming. The first two laws of physics 'conservation' and 'entropy' show that it cannot be so. Do you recall 30 years ago when the 'hole in the ozone' over Antartica was causing that mass of ice to melt and was going to cause all sorts of global flooding and possibly climate change. Remember how there would be some cooling leading to weather imbalance? Remember the hole, caused by too much CO2. It was going to let in bad cosmic rays from the sun. So we banned areasol sprays and Freon. Interesting FACT is that ozone depletes FASTER as the temperature DROPS. Now we are told that because the hole over Antartica is closing, (which is what we wanted it to do when we banned areasols) it traps too much CO2 and is causing global warming which is going to melt the mass of ice and cause global flooding and climate change. Geez guys, get your stories straight. First you tell us to close the hole, which occured because of cooling and now you are unhappy that it is closing because of global warming. The backstory changed over 30 years from cooling to warming and is now changing again to simply reflect change. Wow, science discovered that the Earth changes daily. And how about that, TV has figured how to make this understandable to the masses. The change in the name while continuing the same game using new words, and ignoring the holy grails of yesterday, proves that the 'science' is lame. You can't fault conservatives for listening to one voice, such as Rush, when the eco-terrorists want us to only listen to AL Gore. You got suckered. Global Climate Change is indeed happening. But your parents and grandparents had one word for it,,,Nature. Let it takes its course, we can't change it with Kyoto. (3/5/09) I have a question for John Henneman and the other WWIN historians. Sometime around 1970, someone fired a shot at the Sunday evening disc jockey through the window of the WWIN studio in the National City Bank building. I’m thinking the jock might have been Champ Haggins. Or was it Swingin’ Sam Beasley? It apparently was determined that the shooter was a “friend” of the jock, and that was the jock’s last night on the air at WWIN. Roddy Freeman (3/5/09) Good news: The overdue $hitadel severance checks are in! Bad news: The payor reads "My Staff, Incorporated" and were signed by James S. Beattie... (3/5/09) To Chris in Baltimore RE: Kirk and Mark. Dude, either you're Kirk or you're Mark or a wife/friend. Let it go. Kirk is a great guy but is lazy and smokes too much weed. Mark is an control freak A-Hole who is dumber than hell. The chances of the "Team" ever doing a regular show on a major or medium market station is ZERO. The only good part of their show on HFS was Shamrock and I bet he's happy that nightmare is over. Tune in Bicknell on Wire or KHZ or do something for constructive for God's sake. (3/5/09) Citadel (CDL) is still overpriced. (3/5/09) so maureen bunyan is leaving the 11pm news on ABC and they don't automatically put Natasha Barrett in that slot?? She is a stone cold fox who is languishing on newschannel 8. You put Allison Starling & Natasha Barrett on at 5pm/6pm/11pm and you'll have the #1 rated news for the male demo within 2 months... Rollo T. (3/5/09) Bob Ryan is fabulous! I do question whether or not he is a natural blond! Only one way to find out! Who wants the honour? (3/5/09) Dave's response: That's number two on my list of "burning hair questions." Number one is: Is that Cerphe's real hair? Wow : Please send regards to Swinging Sam from the J & B B John & Bill otherwise known as Bob Laurence), John T. Henneman (3/5/09) Radio was dissed by the White House, General Electric and NBC all in one day. WTOP's Mark Segraves has been fine-tuning a response. www.wtop.com (3/5/09) Hello, great site, I know you know the answer... for years in Baltimore there were two guys Kirk and Mark that did a morning show, first on 98rock, WIYY, then to 105.7 the fan. what ever happened to those guys and do they still do a radio show in the Baltimore/DC area? Thanks you, Chris in Baltimore (3/5/09) Dave's response: I have no idea what Kirk and Mark are up to these days, other than they are not on the radio. If I ruled the airwaves, I'd give K&M the midday slot on WBAL. Yes, AM talker WBAL. Would Hearst take them back? I dunno..... While I can certainly sympathize with the students of CSB who were never told of the closing of their school, I am not suprised it happened. After spending thousands of dollars on tuition, etc., where the heck are they going to get their starts? All of the small stations where people used to pay their dues are now either gone, voice-tracked, or syndicated. Forget about overnight shifts anymore. However, those students learned the most important lesson of all: the instability of the business and being thrown out with little or no notice. I sure hope they get their due refunds or that compnay could face some serious litigation, if not already. (3/5/09) "the Connecticut School Of Broadcasting has closed its doors...". Geee, wonder if I can get in to Ted Baxter's Famous Broadcasters' School ? (3/5/09) Chuck Todd will be live on WTOP Radio Friday morning at 7:30. Listen live on wtop.com.... The full Plotkin/Gibbs exchange (video)… link.brightcove.com (3/5/09) Dave's response: I don't know. But I'm just so sick of these asshole "celeb journalists" like Chuck Todd making the news with stupid comments about the demise of radio, instead of doing what they should be doing - reporting news. Sheesh. Edward R. Murrow, you may now roll over in your grave. Good night and good luck..... Suze Orman on the MOMS? Welcome to hell . . . I understand that the next WJFK/MOMS promotion will be to issue hammers to all their remaining listeners, so you can hit yourself on the freakin' head during the show so that the show itself feels less painful in comparison. Sincerely, TMU. P.S. It's becoming increasingly apparent that Mike O'Meara is attempting to re-position the show as some kind of bizarre current events roundtable. Unfortunately, it's dreadful.(3/5/09) The official statement - Quincy, Massachusetts. March 5, 2009 - CSB School of Broadcasting announced late yesterday that it would be closing all 26 of its campuses immediately as it plans to cease operations and to file for bankruptcy protection. While CSB's operations have been dramatically impacted by recent changes in the private student loan market, the decisions taken yesterday are a result of recent actions taken by its lender, National City / PNC Bank, including the seizing of bank accounts held by CSB. CSB, which had been working to come up with alternatives to continue to fund the business, was surprised by the recent actions of its lender. Without access to cash, CSB has been forced to shut down operations. CSB will now promptly seek protection under applicable insolvency laws. David Banner, President of CSB, commented that "I am extremely disappointed that, after 44 years of operations, CSB will not be able to fulfill its mission of providing a quality education to students interested in working in the broadcast industry. I am also disappointed that the actions of our lender precipitated this sudden disruption in the lives and careers of our students and employees." (3/5/09) Dave sorry if this is getting too political, but Limbaugh's on radio. Robert Gibbs said this: "It would be charitable to say he doubled down on what he said in January in ... wishing and hoping for economic failure in this country." Limbaugh said "....what is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?" Limbaugh NEVER wished for economic failure for this country. Quite to the contrarty; if you actually listened to his CPAC speech, as opposed to being a fashion critic, he wants our country to succeed. He does NOT want failure in this country. I hope using their own words count as "facts" for the elitist poster. Many VERY successful people rose to the tops of their fields never having gone past high school, or in some cases even finishing it. (3/5/09) Dave, Concerning the article in the Moonie paper, I suspect the WH is just being gracious. Having Rush attack the RNC and having GOP leaders grovel to Rush has worked out just fine for them. BTW, I do find it interesting that some posters believe that changing the tone in DC meant that Obama would unilaterally disarm and let the right just walk all over him. Howie (3/5/09) Former “Rocker/Talker”Davy Jones debut on WYRE-810AM, Annapolis and WKHZ-Ocean City and KHZTV.com on the worldwide web was a bit on the shaky side on his first day, however with Jay Harrison engineering and Jones shaking off the rust after being off air for over a decade his presentation today was “right on”. Funny, controversial to some extent and full of “forty years of Top Forty. Some UNUSUAL Sports were presented and a lot of weird news is just part of the “new act”. Check it out 10AM to 1PM M-F. Thanks (3/5/09) "In all seriousness, the White House attacks on Limbaugh, Santelli, Cramer show that Obama's purported desire to "change" the level of discourse in Washington is a bunch of hooey. He's as slimy as any politician, perhaps more hypocritical than most." Could you remind us again when the White House 'attacked' these people? A fact or two from time to time would be great. Or are you anti-truth, as well as anti-intelligent? Rush Limbaugh: A high school graduate "talk-show" host whose ignorance is surpassed only by those who listen to him... (3/5/09) Umm, Dave I thought that you were admonishing posters that political comments are unacceptable unless there is a media nexus. I don't see the nexus in most of these comments. Much diatribe, little relevance to media. (Shawn in DC). (3/5/09) Dave's response: I probably should be more "heavy handed" in trashing some. But I'm in a "light handed" mood today..... The following exchange was forwarded to DCRTV..... (from Radio-info.com) Gee, tough day for radio in D.C. – “Radio is a dying medium”, and a White House press secretary who doesn’t own a radio. Well…radio’s usage isn’t a problem, is it? Its economic base is being eaten away by the general advertising slump, for sure. But Rush Limbaugh’s latest calling-out of Obama and the resulting headlines suggest that radio matters plenty. That’s despite what NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd told Joe Scarborough yesterday on MSNBC – that the Limbaugh-Obama thing is a bit strange, because after all, radio is a “backward looking technology…very 90s…” He says radio “is a dying medium, potentially.” Of course at that very moment, Joe and co-host Mika Brzezinski were about to sprint over to their radio studio to do a two-hour syndicated show. And later, the White House Press Secretary’s own dismissal of the Limbaugh comments was also disingenuous. He says he doesn’t even own a radio. But the medium of radio is what America’s been thinking about since Paul Harvey’s death last Saturday. And where else would Rush gather those 15 or 20 million listeners? Where else would his challenge to the president to come debate him on his show have such resonance? Below is my response to Chuck Todd at NBC News. And this afternoon, Mark Plokin will deliver an HD Radio to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at the 2:45 White House briefing...... From: Jim Farley to Chuck Todd: Dear Chuck, While it may be true that NBC tried to kill radio by selling the NBC Radio Network and the NBC owned stations, it failed miserably. Outside of NBC, radio is alive and well. 93% of Americans listen to radio every week. Radio added three million listeners last year. Does this sound like a dying medium? WTOP reaches people on FM Radio, AM Radio, HD Radio, worldwide on streaming audio, cellphones and podcasts. Radio and Radio News will migrate to all new platforms because it is versatile. Some wag predicted the end of radio when the first talking motion picture came out. Other wags predicted television would kill radio. Then others said cable would kill radio. Thirty years ago the Buggles sang "Video Killed the Radio Star." Other folks predicted satellite radio would kill free terrestrial radio. And yet 93% of all Americans listen to this "dying" medium every week. Check our pulse, Chuck! Thank goodness you are better at analyzing national politics than technology. We have enjoyed having you on WTOP Radio and look forward to interviewing you again. In the meantime, enjoy the HD Radio we couriered over to your office on Nebraska Avenue today. Remember, the lower level of that building is still haunted by the ghosts of Radio News People Past! Best, Jim Farley VP News & Programming, WTOP Radio, and the last-ever NBC News Vice President of Radio before Jack Welch sold it (3/5/09) In response to: (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.) Yes. Katie is the most annoying person on that show. And that says A LOT. When I heard they were going to play make me laugh last week I was so excited... Then I found out it was Make Katie Laugh and I turned off my radio. Do you think she can be in studio without making every story Mike or Robbaay is telling and not make it about her? And her laugh... Worse than Elliot's. (3/5/09) In all seriousness, the White House attacks on Limbaugh, Santelli, Cramer show that Obama's purported desire to "change" the level of discourse in Washington is a bunch of hooey. He's as slimy as any politician, perhaps more hypocritical than most. (3/5/09) Wow, WMAL and its Filth-Squad have hit a new low. Marky-Mark Levin whining last nite about how 'insulted' he was over the so-called 'attacks' on God, aka the Leader of the Republican Party, aka Rush Limbaugh levelled by David Frum. Well, Marky-Mark, you seem to engage in personal attacks every frigging nite with impunity on your lousy show but if God is 'insulted' - translation: truth revealed - by an intelligent conservative then all hell breaks loose. Yes, Rush Limbaugh is grossly fat. Yes, Rush Limbaugh is a druggie. Yes, Rush Limbaugh has a horrid marital record. All of those things are TRUE. Why is it that when it comes to Rush Limbaugh the truth somehow is now inconvenient? Why the double standard, righties? Oh, and this 'fiddling with the volume control'? That, and namecalling, are the ONLY 'weapons' rightwing talkers have in their debating arsenal. And Marky-Mark, you sure as hell are in no position to be lecturing anyone about how attacking people personally lowers your standing as you do it consistently. Project much? Hey WMAL, you should be proud. Mike in Manassas (3/5/09) Katie on the MO'M show isn't so bad but she's like the new girlfriend your buddy get's and starts bringing around more and more. Suddenly the boys can't be boys anymore. That what the MO'M show is, is a boys club! That's what I like about it. Also Katie's helium pitched voice is cute but just like helium at a party, the joke wears out after a few balloons. CG (3/5/09) Dave's response: So, what's Beth Ann? One of the boys? Woe be the Washington woman who has some sex appeal, and double woe if you happen to be First Lady. In the past several weeks there’s been an escalating debate in the nation’s capital (and beyond) about – of all things –Michelle Obama’s bare arms. This week it reached the shrieking level and, one hopes, in another week it will die out so we can move on to some other silly stuff to chew on.... www.nysocialdiary.com (3/5/09) With all the recent posts on WWIN from the 60's...folks may be interested to know that none other than Swingin' Sam Beasley has come down to join me in Dothan, Alabama in running the station I just purchased from Jack Gale...Oldies Radio 700 AM and 100.1 FM WEEL 'The Wheel'. The economy has us losing our shirt for the first few months but we're starting to get some advertisers and have some fun. With the help of the Good Lord we'll make this puppy successful. Never have I had so much fun going into debt and 'living the dream'. As soon as I get Sam into the 'Swing' (pardon the pun), we'll get him doing a show on www.oldies700.com and y'all can get yer recorders out and aircheck him. - Bob Mathers (3/5/09) Just when you thought the Baltimore Sun couldn't get any nuttier...... ROUND 3 of BALTIMORE SUN vs. MICHAEL STEELE! DING DING! www.baltimoresun.com... What does The Baltimore Sun have against this man? It's just plain crazy at this point. Geez, isn't there more important, ya know like, ummmm, NEWS to cover, ya know the kind that will make people WANT to buy a newspaper for a change instead of it going under??? Just unbelievable. (3/5/09) Don't people understand that Rush has a job to do? Don't people understand that the number one goal of any "shock jock" has always been to create controversy? Rush is on the tip of everyone's tongue because he is the most talented and powerful person in the media today. I think he is a four star putz, but I thought Howard Stern was a putz too. The only way to shut up a guy like Rush is to make him irrelevant. Howard Stern committed media suicide by grabbing the money, and moving to SAT radio. He is now irrelevant. Rush is on the front page of every major paper and mentioned every night on any of the prime time political shows. I hate him, but he wants me to hate him....PURE Genius! (3/5/09) Funny how the Washington Post and MSNBC seem to have missed the comments from many talk radio professionals who support Rush's freedom of speech, believe he is actually saying what many think and most importantly, feel compelled to print what he actually said on their pages, in his defense! Remember, accusations and lies by the GOP against Democrats are "mean". Accusations and lies by Democrats against the GOP are referred to as 'fairness'. There is a reason Obama does not want a doctrine of fairness because it would uncover his agenda. Even Newsweek, owned by the WP, never shy of its role as a tool of the liberals, is starting to sound the alarm about Obama policies (see article on the heartland implications of the tax plan)...so perhaps Rush just is ahead of the curve in noting that this 'stimulus' plan raises taxes on the middle class, as well as the rich. Only the truly needy comrades get help in this plan. (3/5/09) “Which in his case would be difficult since in order to do that he would have to find it. That might explain the three wives (and counting.) - 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!” I don’t get you Libs. You own the White House and Congress and can pretty much do whatever you want. Yet some radio talk show host, who should be irrelevant, gets under your skin to the point you are just as angry and bitter as ever. I listen to the White House spokesperson and even he seems agitated more often than not. What gives? Maybe Rush is right?? (3/5/09) So, I guess we call should get it by now that fifth grade girls write the screeds about Limbaughs appearance. What I find intellectually amusing is that is about all they can say. Based on his past performance, I expect he will have the last laugh. Porter Jervis (3/5/09) Dave's response: Uhhh, doesn't Limbaugh frequently poke fun at others' appearances? Paul Begala is "Mr. Forehead." It's "Little Dick Gephardt." Oh, nevermind..... Since there are a lot of posts of Rush Limbaugh, I'll put in my two cents. This post will not contain comments about his political views. When I lived in Kansas City, I listened to him on the radio when he used the name Jeff Christie back in the middle 70's. At the time he worked at KUDL FM, one of Kansas City's top 40 stations, which later changed to a disco format, which Rush was a part of. He was a talented DJ, and was very entertaining. He had the 10am to 2 pm shift, and during his show, he had a feature called "The Grip Line" where he allowed listeners to call in to speak what was on their minds. There were no specific topics, only people getting things off their chest. This was the beginning of his long talk radio career. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (3/5/09) From The Baltimore Sun's patented "Michael Steele adds nothing to the ticket but the color of his skin" files............ Amazingly, The Sun's Laura Vozella continues The Baltimore Sun's vendetta against former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele with even more obvious lies and bias......... www.baltimoresun.com... The amazing and shocking part of this nutty Laura Vozella hatchet job attack is that it defies and contradicts stories PREVIOUSLY printed in The Sun itself and of course the truth. To say that Laura Vozella should be fired for this wackjob story would be an understatement since it's so patently untruthful, it makes former Sun editorialist and now twice unemployed columnist Michael Olesker (who wrote an in depth story about Maryland's Governor from his home while pretending to be in Annapolis) look like a solid journalist! HAha! Ok, here are the facts........ I WATCHED the Michael Steele debate on Maryland Public Television, WMPB 67. No, I did NOT see Oreo cookies thrown, but I saw verbal shout outs of such racist language, harassment, and a total lack of respect for the candidate by the crowd that was ridiculously embarrassing for the Maryland Democratic Party, Morgan State University, and even MPT who had the indignity of taping this THUGLIFE atmosphere where basically a candidate was deliberately intimidated and shouted down to the point where it was impossible for him to even answer certain questions. Many times the moderator warned the crowd, but clearly this was a THUGLIFE atmosphere that was totally out of control and a total setup against Michael Steele. I watched it so I know what happened, so I don't need Lying Laura Vozella to tell me urban legend stories in The Sun. In addition, unbeknownst to Laura Vozella, The Baltimore Sun reported the Oreo cookie throwing incident the next day, although The Sun has since retracted that and pretended nothing ugly happened at the event at all. The Sun also reported vandalism of the cars of Republicans at the event as well the next day. These are stories I read in The SUN, not some urban legend and I watched the FUCKING DEBATE! Did The Sun's Laura Vozella, was she even there?!?!?!?! I think not, and for that reason, just like Michael Olesker, she should be fired for reporting on an event she didn't even cover and has no clue about! It's plainly obvious Laura Vozella is just spouting out the same urban legend dribble that the Maryland Democratic Party has been spewing for years about this event and getting away with it because Republicans have absolutely no power or influence in Maryland politics or in TV or print news. Anyone who watched this debate knows I'm telling the truth, it was THUGLIFE UGLY! The amazing part of all of this is how many esteemed people in the DCRTV mailbag and at The Post and The Sun constantly refer to this ugly event as an urban legend WHO NEVER EVEN FUCKING SAW THE DEBATE OR COVERED THE STORY! Michael Steele owes NO apologies to ANYONE, LEAST OF ALL LAURA VOZELLA, but The Sun's Laura Vozella does owe an apology for sure or she should be fired ASAP! And you wonder why The Baltimore Sun is going under ??? Geez, yes, lets turn news into urban legends, that'll sell papers, yeah, that's the ticket! NOT! :-( (3/5/09) Re: Mike O'Meara's new Portland ME affiliate pair - wrong 1400 and 1490 in Maine. The correct ones are WBAE/1490 Portland and WVAE/1400 Biddeford, which used to be standards "The Bay". Here's their new format web schedule, which lists the show 3-7 PM and has a big banner ad for Mike... www.ilovethebay.com (3/5/09) So, the corpulent Rush Limbaugh has challenged President Obama to a debate. Guess this proves the oxycontin addict's ego is larger and wider than his waistline. Here's hoping somebody at the White House tells him to go play with himself. Which in his case would be difficult since in order to do that he would have to find it. That might explain the three wives (and counting.) ACH (3/5/09) Re Greg Mace: I think he is the regular sportscaster on Albritton's ABC 27 up in Harrisburg, and fills in from time to time down here when they need him. They also used reporter Horace Holmes a few times while Tim Brant was out of late. I think Mace was off the air a few months last year due to health concerns. I ran into him at a Hershey Bears game last March and folks were asking how he was feeling and when he'd be back on the air... Charles in Winchester (3/5/09) /\ March 5 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....