Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - March 22 to March 29, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ March 29 Messages \/ Folks, Harden & Weaver, Tom Gauger, Bill Mayhue, Charlie Warren, Len Deibert, Bill Trumbull and others are not walking through the Jenifer Street door anytime soon. WMAL is history as it is. The morning show certainly isn't much local. The news isn't even a skeleton of what it was when Larry Krebs and then John Matthews were out on the streets covering real news. The only local thing about 630 AM in Washington, DC, is the station ID. Very sad. Thanks ABC and Citadel. (3/29/09) A Listeners Take on WHFS: I'm not a radio professional or a musician or a music expert I am simply someone who has been listening to radio since the mid 70s. The reason I scream about 99.1 hfs is because thats where I found it. I live too far north to have ever picked up the 102.3 signal but am sure if I had I would have listened. When FM was at its height, and I was young and naive, it seemed that it would last forever. Why should it change? I took for granted the hard-to-get signal and all the great music. And the DJs....these were people that knew music...and they were cool as hell,like someone you could actually talk to or have a beer with. Unlike the screeching howling idiots who played the same trash over and over and yelled at you to buy it,love it,worship it. No these were people with a sense of humor and taste. Even the commercials were something you could live with and maybe even cause you to try the product. I remember when things started getting a little screwy, a bit more mainstreamed,more narrowminded. I assumed things would eventually drift back to hfs's abormal 'norm' . I don't remember if it was before or after The Sports Junkies arrived to fuck up my mornings but I noticed a significant signal boost that made it alot easier to pick up hfs. I was very happy for a minute or two then paused to wonder if it WAS a good thing...who boosted it after all those years? And why? Not long after that for some insane reason hfs started playing stuff that better fit DC101 or 98Rock. Metallica for christ sake?!? Deep down I knew it was going to end badly but I refused to face the fall of hfs. The morning of January 12 2005 started badly for me to begin with and I'll just say that certain aspects of the job I started that day were compounded when I heard a local TV News break say " A Local Alternative station says ADIOS". I had heard something wierd on the radio on the way home but had thought it was just interference. Turns out I had missed the last hours of hfs while at work. I know the ratings were tanked. I know it wasn't the same station anymore anyway. But I thought it could be fixed. Why would anyone trash something so unique and successful? And take years doing it like nothing were wrong? I always mistakenly believed that if someone wore a suit and worked in upper levels of a company they had a brain. Wow....what was I thinking? (3/29/09) I have to laugh at all the bickering that is going on due to three issues that just won't die. To end this waste of space, I'm going to tell you folks exactly like it is. Emmis. 1) RUSH, HANNITY, OBAMA, DEMS, REPS, WMAL, etc......Cut out the uptight debate on this shit already. The fact is this: the right-wingers who have their shows everywhere ad nausem try their best to say things that will get lefties upset. Obama should have known better than to pick a fight with Rush. These guys are doing political shtick and this is the way they develop huge ratings so that they can get millions of dollars. Get it? It's an act. That's all it is, plain and simple. End of story. 2) WHFS is over. It was fun, it was great, we miss Weasel and Bob Here and the whole gamut. But come on already, you blubbering complainers! Listen to the music you yourself want to hear on your Ipod. Listen to WTMD Towson, a very good station that plays alternative and is probably the closest right now to HFS. Corporate culture has killed everything creative and fun....we all know it. So why keep on harping on it? Enough! Take a valium. 3) The final lowdown on the MOM show---this is it in a nutshell, so y'all listen: I've met Mike O'Meara. He's a nice guy, friendly and down to earth. Don Geronimo is not as social. He doesn't really want to deal with people. However, I said years ago that if Mike had to take over the show as a solo it would basically fail. This is not because Mike is not talented, which he is, but it's because Don had the charisma and was the leader. Who took all the calls? Who broke for commercial breaks? Don, not Mike. It's very simple. Don Geronimo carried the show because his PERSONALITY carried the show. OK? Now let's discuss something really important and figure out how I'm going to get on the air to show you people what REAL radio is all about. phew!....the things I have to do.... LEEBO (3/29/09) "Dave's response: I'm not saying that the NFL isn't the bad guy. But Comcast is stuck with a lose-lose scenario. Give in to the NFL's greed and keep NFL (and pass along the costs to its subscribers), or resist it and drop the channel and suffer a PR disaster....." Yup pass on that pricing to the consumer. This is just another scam by Comcast to hike prices. Just like that good ole' baseball coverage. Meanwhile I will watch all the coverage of double the channels I got from Comcast with great telephone and internet for $30 less than what Scamcast charged for their shitty service. My $60 PoS 13" basement TV looks like HD compared to what I once had. And the audio is all level I dont have to hit mute every time a national to local spot comes on. Or they could actually pay the fees and not wring more money out of their customers for sub-par service. (3/29/09) RE: The Mark Levin Book Signing - Amazing footage, Silvie! Last time I saw that many angry white people queued up in one line, Central Casting was holding an open call for extras for "Birth of a Nation"! Seriously...we could make a game out of that YouTube video...call it "Try-to-spot-the-token-Puerto-Rican-cuz-there-ain't-no-brothers-in-line". After all, everyone knows WMAL secretly stands for "White Misinformed Angry Loners". Thanks for the laugh. (3/29/09) RE: "The CBS suits have lost their minds!" Well, they never had one to lose. If they did, then they would recognize that what they're doing flat out isn't working. It's not like this is the old Arbitron formula with the diaries. PPM's are as accurate as you can get. The numbers are there in black and white, and yet the CBS suits seem to want to take a briefcase full of cash, throw gasoline on it, and light a match! It's a disgusting display of arrogance and stubbornness. What they are doing with ALL of their DC stations, DOES. NOT. WORK. AT. ALL! If you've ever heard the customer complaint over the smaller size Jimmy Dean sausages, let me quote that man: "Somebody needs their ass kicked!"-Billy Sparks (3/29/09) RE: Dave's response: If Comcast drops NFL, it will be a PR disaster for the cable giant..... I don't know why Comcast isn't putting up a bigger fight in this battle. The customers are under the false assumption that this battle is all Comcast's fault. If the NFL wasn't so greedy with charging Comcast more for the channel than what Comcast pays for like channels there would be no problem here. The NFL refuses to budge on what this channel is worth. Also, for as long as Comcast has had this on a pay only tier they haven't been swayed by the demand for the channel to put in the basic lineup. I'd imagine actual customer demand for this channel isn't all that high. Most of the time it's just documentaries and expedited replays of old games which is cool sometimes but its nothing that Comcast should have to pay above what they pay for other channels. That's the real problem here. The NFL wants too much damn money for it. They are obviously very concerned that Comcast hasn't budged. If I were Comcast in this I would make damn certain my customers knew what the real problem was. I think the compromise that Comcast came up with by allowing those who wanted to pay extra for the niche programming could do so, and those who could live without it didn't have to worry about it. I hope Comcast doesn't give in on this one. (3/29/09) Dave's response: I'm not saying that the NFL isn't the bad guy. But Comcast is stuck with a lose-lose scenario. Give in to the NFL's greed and keep NFL (and pass along the costs to its subscribers), or resist it and drop the channel and suffer a PR disaster..... Please inform Bill Sutcliffe that his display ad on dcrtv is confusing and ineffective. Putting dark blue lettering on a black background is about the worst possible design/layout choice that can be made. Not as bad as red lettering on a green background, of course, but it's pretty awful and it just shouldn't be done. (3/29/09) Dave's response: I designed that ad for Bill with both blue and orange lettering. And he picked the blue..... ohh god, this weekend i really began to miss 94.7 The Arrow..it was WAY better then that crappy as hell radio station it is now. yes, i know it plays classic rock, but do they seriously need to play 'what i like about you' and 'my sharona' every god damn hour? i miss hearing the eclectic lunch, the nightly box set, and the stevens&medley show. WARW also played some deeper tracks before their demise in early '07. plus, that station should be ranamed 'Commercials 94.7' because of how many breaks they take in one hour. The only thing good i can say about 94.7 is that they are the only station in town that plays as much Van Halen with David Lee Roth as much as they do....FUCK CBS Radio. (3/29/09) I strongly agree with the poster who said "As an aside, I just have to say that I’m a little disappointed in some of the posts that have passed thru this site. All the expletives seem a little out of place coming from a bunch of broadcasters and media professionals." I include the gratuitous gutter language from the Editor. (3/29/09) The person who wrote about WHFS and its downfall, certainly gave a good and yet sobering account of a radio station taken over by a bunch of corporate fools. I knew once the station was sold by Damien Einstein's it would soon cease to be the same. I really believe that when the FCC relaxed the rules some years ago letting companies own many stations in one market, radio really started to go downhill, since it lessened competition. I was especially upset to see 99.1 go downhill, having known the Einstein family for many years as I went to school with Damien. Damien made such a great comeback after that near fatal accident some years ago. So what do we have today, a bunch of stations that all sound alike, no real oldies stations in the Baltimore/DC area, one good oldies station here on the eastern shore, 92.1 the Wave. No wonder people are using Ipods or MP3 players in their cars, or satellite radio. Personally I refuse to switch to satellite radio, would rather invest in tunes on my MP3 player. Maybe there is someone out there to start a true oldies station in the area, and bring back some of the oldies DJs, such as Johnny Dark, Ken Merson, Jack Edwards and a forgotten oldies program (Alan Lee). Burt in Denton (3/29/09) Seems that Paul Farhi's gotten a bit lazy. Had he asked, he would have found that NPR is not planning a pledge drive: From an email NPR Vivian Schiller sent to stations -- "I wanted to flag this story in today’s Washington Post today (text pasted below): www.washingtonpost.com. We did not plant this story. We did not want this story. And we have no plans whatsoever to launch a national giving campaign on behalf of NPR. On the contrary, we recognize that many of you are suffering your own deep economic hardship which is why we’re working on several fronts to bring more money to YOU thru online fundraising on npr.org, a supplemental spending request to Congress and in other ways. A couple of stations have reached out to ask how they can help – via fundraising in their community or otherwise. While I’m deeply appreciative and welcome any support they choose to give us, I’m not expecting the station community to solve NPR’s deficit in this manner. The best thing you can do for NPR is to keep your station economy healthy so you can continue to run our programming alongside your own. NPR’s path to a balanced budget will come from renewed efforts and creativity in the areas of sponsorship, underwriting, major giving and grants, so I thank you in advance for your help with those efforts... Vivian" (3/29/09) In reference to the articles on dcmemories.com, one article (dcmemories.com) from April 1, 1949, states that WINX's "present transmitter building at 5232 Lee Highway, Arlington, went into operation January 1, 1948." Wasn't WAVA located at 5232 Lee Highway for a number of years? Another article (dcmemories.com) from January 18, 1949, states that WINX's "main transmitter is at Arlington, Va., with synchronous transmitters at 8th and I sts. nw., Washington, D. C., and the East-West HIghway, Bethesda, Md." How prevalent are synchronous transmitters today? How well did they work back in 1949? (3/29/09) Dave's response: I wasn't aware that synchronous AM transmitters (on the same frequency) were used in the USA. I know that they've been widely used in the UK with many of that nation's national radio networks..... Greetings. I thought I might chime in on all the ‘HFS discourse that seems to be floating around. I happened to be a part of ‘HFS during all the turmoil and change that brought the once great station to its knees in the ‘90’s. And most of the blame can be laid directly on the desks of one Phil Zachary and the fine folks at CBS Infinity. But a little history is in order, before I go pointing fingers. I joined “HFS after a pretty successful run at WBAL as a producer. I was looking for change, and since that was all WBAL was paying me, I reluctantly left the hallowed halls of news talk and journalism, and jumped on board the ‘HFS train. I was hired to put together a morning show that was to be different from all the rest, and yet still somewhat competitive in the DC/Baltimore market. And different it was. The whole station was different. The guy running the show, Alan Hay, was the perfect boss for such an eclectic place. Even though he was a “corporate suit” he understood that there is a line in the sand between the business and programming sides; and he left many if not all of the creative processes to the people he hired to perform these tasks. Think of it like the McDLT. The hot side stayed hot. The cold side stayed cold. There was a very neat little Styrofoam divider between the two; but when you put them together it all worked very nicely. Alan Hay and the sales team never made programming “suggestions” to the creative staff, and we never told them how to sell ads. Things ran smoothly, and creative people like Robert Benjamin, Bob Waugh, Pat Ferise, and Mary Kay Lemay, were able to shape and mold ‘HFS into what was at the time, one of the most important, alternative musical forces in the country. Through a combined effort, they were able to prove to the industry that the alternative format was both viable and profitable. Good music, good personalities, and good events, meant better ratings and thus better sales. Everyone was happy. And here’s where our little train runs off its tracks. When the ratings started to rise, around the time of corporate deregulation, a beast was looming on the horizon. The original owners of 99.1 sold the station to some group that I can’t remember. Alan Hay called us all upstairs to a conference room, introduced us to some guy in a suit, and informed us that this gentleman was the new sheriff in town. The funny thing is that we never saw this guy again. A couple of months passed, and we were sold yet again, this time to CBS/Infinity. CBS was buying up everything at this time, and this should have been a big red flag to anyone who happened to be caught in their clutches. I remember saying to Rob Timm, “How does CBS plan to manage all these properties?” And Rob replied, “They don’t. They’re just gonna milk this happy cow until dust comes out, and then send us all to the slaughter house.” No truer words were spoken. Alan Hay disappeared, there was some faceless interim guy, and then Phil Zachary stepped into the corner office. From day one, we all knew we were doomed. Phil was a greasy, corporate climber who saw ‘HFS as nothing more than an opportunity to advance his career. He cared very little for the format, and all that we had accomplished before his arrival; and he immediately went to work dismantling the inner structure of the station. He began sitting in on most, if not all creative meetings. He began making programming suggestions. After a short while, these suggestions became mandates. Around this time, the ‘HFS morning show (Tom Perry, Shari Elicker, Rob Timm) was starting to garner some pretty decent numbers for a station that couldn’t even broadcast into DC office buildings. They were smart, funny and tied into the market they called home. Phil made it clear to them to not get comfortable. He continually told them in morning show meetings that CBS was looking for a bigger and better “thing” that would take the station to the next level. Now I ask you, how are you supposed to perform when you’re new boss has just told you that you are more than likely on your way out? Phil hired very expensive consultants. These “experts” would fly in, listen to the show in their hotel room for a day, and then tell Phil exactly what he wanted to hear. You see, what most of the staff at ‘HFS didn’t realize, was that CBS was already in negotiations with Lou Brutus. Phil and CBS, in some strange and bizarre way, believed that what ‘HFS was lacking was a morning zoo type of guy with ripped off old vaudeville bits (the King of FA) and exploited listeners (19 year old girls in lingerie walking each other on dog leashes in front of the White House). Lou came to town, with a big contract and a blessing from CBS. Any class and respect we may have built within the market, just went out the window. The Lou Brutus Show failed miserably. It was the square peg being hammered into the round hole. It was the lowest moment in my broadcasting career and quite possibly in the history of ‘HFS. Lou didn’t want a producer. He wanted someone to get him breakfast sandwiches, line up half-naked girls, and stand still while he threw carts at my head. I was told that Lou could not fail; and that if he did, it would be solely my fault. I remember going to Phil and telling him that things just weren’t working. I explained that aside from the personality conflicts, Lou just didn’t fit in with the alternative format that he was now a part of. Phil told me to “stop being such a pussy.” Phil had a wonderful way with people. CBS had to finally admit defeat and jettison Lou Brutus. In their simple corporate minds it was not a failure on their part; it was a failure of the station and the people working there. This should tell you how out of touch CBS/Infinity and Phil Zachary really were. Sure, these corporate humps could shuffle money around with considerable acumen, but they knew nothing about the creative side of broadcasting. But thanks to their new found power of the CBS purchases, every red tie wearing fool thought he knew how to program a radio station. It was all about greed and power. And a lot of good and talented people got caught in the crossfire. I survived a few more years under the heavy hand of Phil Zachary. I watched sadly as he meddled in the music, the events, and with the air staff. I was given the WHFS Legend Award For Broadcast Excellence and Service, and three months later I was told to pack up my stuff and get out. I remember sitting in the PD’s office and thinking to myself, “Well, you knew this was coming.” Phil made me sign an exit contract that stated that I was not to talk to anyone about my firing, or I wouldn’t get the five thousand dollars severance that I was owed for my eight years of service. More people got the boot, ratings sharply declined, revenue declined, and everything that once made 99.1 WHFS so great, was lost. I’m not sure what happened to Phil Zachary, but I’m sure he was rewarded handsomely by CBS for all of his fine work. Or perhaps he found his true calling, and is a grave digger somewhere. So, we can all lament the passing of ‘HFS, and dream of a time where every Friday at four o’clock Weasel would play “It’s A Wild Weekend” by NRBQ. I grew up listening to ‘HFS, and had the wonderful opportunity to one day work there. But…it ain’t coming back. No way, no how. Remember, the same corporation that killed ‘HFS, still owns it; and still hasn’t figured out how to run it. –MikeG. PS. I’m sure I’ve ruffled a few feathers here by naming names and specific events. But were all grown-ups; and thanks to my skills as an award winning producer (insert joke here), I still have all the documentation to prove all this, in some dusty old boxes in the corner of my basement. PBR. Here’s one last funny story about the CBS days. We used to have a thrift store painting of a creepy clown in the morning show office. I cut the mouth out, and whenever we were stumped for ideas, or had been berated by Phil Zachary, I would hold the picture up to my face and we would play a game called, “Ask Mel Karmizan.” Someone would ask, “Hey Mel, why does Phil hate us so much?” And out of the clowns mouth would come words of media wisdom like, “Why can’t you be more like K-Rock?” PBJ. As an aside, I just have to say that I’m a little disappointed in some of the posts that have passed thru this site. All the expletives seem a little out of place coming from a bunch of broadcasters and media professionals. Would you open a mic and use these words on the air? I guess you would if you worked at XM/Sirius for Mel Karmizan. And I would also hope that you’ve got your resume together, because Mel’s running them about as well as he ran CBS/Infinity. (3/29/09) Dave's response: Wow! I do agree with you that CBS would have done better by flushing their dough down the toilet than paying it to consultants, who were not only totally fucking wrong about 99.1 WHFS then, but later with the Globe. Exactly. They make their money by stroking management with utterly useless bullshit. Oh, as for Phil Zachary, who was always very friendly to me, I believe that he went down to his native NC to run/own some radio stations there..... "So the NFL got smart too and went to FIOS? Comcast sucks. I hope they lose the NFL and more people go to FIOS. Since I switched I dont, have intermittent internet connections, crappy picture quality, and poor customer service. For those of you on the fence about FIOS----get it. I hve not had one issue as opposed to my weekly calls to Comcast moron patrol." Most people can't get FIOS in Washington. I know people in houses, apartments and condos, and most of them can not get FIOS. When Verizon gets their act together, then I would love to get it. Mike (3/29/09) Dave's response: If Comcast drops NFL, it will be a PR disaster for the cable giant..... "I'm truly amazed by what I read on this mailbag at times. WMAL had a great era, but it's over. We still have the memories. Instead of living in the past (and WMAL's rather disgraceful present), hopefully the new owners will assemble a staff to build new ones. -Billy Sparks (3/28/09)" -- You and I are mostly in agreement. However, sometimes the way to make progress is to recognize you've headed down the wrong path and reverse course. When WMAL was at its best, it had: 1) news; 2) a great morning team (Harden and Weaver) with family-friendly entertainment; 3) specialized evening programs (Felix Grant with jazz or Ken Beatrice with Sportscall). Obviously we cannot get the great personalities back - but we can get the idea of entertaining back into WMAL. --GAB in the Airless Cubicle (missed the IRS bullet again). (3/29/09) "Here are the WJFK numbers for the February monthly of PPM 18-34: Junkies 12th, Big O & Dukes 19th, Mike O’Meara 17th... Men 18-34: Junkies 7th, Big O & Dukes 17th, Mike O’Meara 13th... 25-54: Junkies 12th, Big O & Dukes 16th, Mike O’Meara 18th" - How in the hell are these numbers considered close to success? Even in the male demographics, they could only crack 7th place w/ the Junks and Big O and Dukes earned a stellar 17th place. Gimme a break. The CBS suits have lost their mind. (3/29/09) Dave's response: No. CBS is just a conservative company that doesn't have the guts to make the drastic moves needed to "fix" its DC cluster, like moving El Zol to 106.7, which would better serve the station's Hispanic audience. And ditto with guy talker JFK moving to 94.7 to better serve the Maryland suburbs, and a resurrected musically-intensive HFS on 99.1. Yeah, it might be a smart move to move 94.7 to hot AC, and go for a WASH's big audience of big gals. But that deals with just one of CBS's four DC FMers. Face it, Donnie Simpson is the nicest guy in DC broadcasting, but the audience for his PGC show is aging - and those evil advertisers just love young demos and they're gonna go to Hot 99.5 instead. You know, sometimes it's better to get a fleet of new cars than to keep jury-rigging the old ones over and over again. A lesson that CBS will have to learn here in DC sooner or later. Ahhh, it's "later" already..... so I was at the gym the morning and WUSA was on. Now, I thought they had dumped the weekend am news for informercials, but at 8:30, there was some show, with I guess their web expert? Anyone know? how long have they been doing this? (3/29/09) In terms of the songs played, how does 94.7 HD2 sound this weekend? (3/29/09) Dave's response The band Darkness right now. Followed by REM's "Can't Get There From Here" (one of their best tunes). Still sounds like alt rock HFS2. Very cool..... So the NFL got smart too and went to FIOS? Comcast sucks. I hope they lose the NFL and more people go to FIOS. Since I switched I dont, have intermittent internet connections, crappy picture quality, and poor customer service. For those of you on the fence about FIOS----get it. I hve not had one issue as opposed to my weekly calls to Comcast moron patrol. (3/29/09) A little sidebar to the contribution by mailbagger "UCS": As he noted, the first appearance of WTOP-FM call letters were at 96.3 mc on April 1, 1949... almost 60 years ago this week. dcmemories.com... That FM station had started as experimental W3X0 in 1938 (the first FM station in DC) before being purchased by the Washington Post on October 30, 1945 and rechristened WINX-FM on June 14, 1947. What's interesting is that WTOP was already constructing a FM station of their own in 1948 that apparently never went on-air: dcmemories.com... Instead, WTOP Inc. (the joint effort of the Post and CBS) bought WINX-FM which had been the sole property of the Post up until that time. dcmemories.com... More trivia: As early as May 1948, WTOP Inc. had petitioned the FCC to allow them to bring Channel 12 on-the-air as WTOP-TV, but they would be forced to wait until June 1950 to acquire WOIC-TV, Channel 9 from Bamberger Broadcasting. (3/29/09) At the end of Michelle Singletary's column "the color of money" the post lists where you can hear her. Day to Day has recently been cancelled by NPR. (3/29/09) Hi dave--just a thought, maybe highlight this to your readers in case they have questions for the Wash Post (Chat with Raju and Liz Spayd) www.washingtonpost.com (3/29/09) I appreciate the response ap. I guess I stand corrected then. I can see where, at the time, one would invision a huge webradio input. But now of course, there are so many options as far as internet radio goes, it's just mind boggling. Actually the WEBR call letters can be traced back to a station in Buffalo,NY earlier in the 20th century. Hey I'm glad you enjoyed Fitzgrass. I enjoy bringin' it to all who care to drop in. Mike Fitzgerald (3/29/09) "Video from the Mark Levin book signing today at the B&N in Tysons Corner: www.youtube.com... Happy Weekend! -Silvie-" Golly gee, did that ever make my weekend. Just can't get enough of those WMAL guys from the stalker. (3/29/09) /\ March 29 Messages /\ \/ March 28 Messages \/ Mr. Fitzgerald - Thanks for your input re FPA and station WEBR. I've heard your show and it's great fun. I'm afraid it is true about the origin of the WEBR calls: I was there in the late 90s when the old set of unpronounceable calls (W-X-something-something) were retired in favor of WEBR for "web radio", when it first became technically feasible to put a radio station on the web. Many jocks were very enthusiastic about suddenly having a global audience; almost to the point of excluding and nearly ignoring the local Fairfax community. This behavior was reeled in very quickly thanks to the efforts of the WEBR radio guild. The actual WEBR-FM calls were briefly adopted by WGAY management as "Bright FM" in the mid-90s (prior to FPA's use) when it tried to break out of "elevator" mode and go up against WASH - a strategy that didn't live long. As the FCC has no record of an actual [licensed] WEBR on the AM or FM band, the calls are indeed available; although there is a Class-A UHF TV station in New York City with those calls, so licensing an actual radio property is going to require permission. -ap (3/28/09) Video from the Mark Levin book signing today at the B&N in Tysons Corner: www.youtube.com... Happy Weekend! -Silvie- (3/28/09) What's the latest on this alleged WJFK format change? April 1st is around the corner and inquiring minds wanna know. (3/28/09) Dave's response: The latest I'm hearing is that WJFK won't be dropping guy talk in the near term, but that CBS's classic rock WTGB might be flipping to adult contemporary..... On WTOP's spectrum history, "Garage-man" got almost all of them. Except for the "original" FM: 96.3... Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/28/09) (Re 94.7: Its possible the WEBR "BrightFM" calls might still be up for grabs. WGAY changed ever-so-briefly to that call and that slogan sometime during the late 90s, then went back to WGAY again til its demise. Fairfax Public Access is using WEBR to identify its live cable radio operation (WEBR = "Web Radio"), but those calls are not licensed or trademarked by FPA per se and I believe can be had by anyone.) I dispute the posters claim that WEBR= WebRadio. I've been doing shows there since Oct. 2002 and the fact is most of our listeners are from cable TV, not the internet. Also, I've never heard of this "Bright FM" call either. As you know WEBR is not on terrestrial radio. FPA does have rights to the call letters WEBR. As far as 94.7 goes, that's out of my league. I'm just a bluegrass DJ. Mike Fitzgerald DJ/ Producer of Fitzgrass on WEBR in Fairfax,VA (3/28/09) Apologies if this is off topic, but anyone with any idea where Mike and Mike were this week? They were out all week and it seems like an odd time to miss for them. Matt in Olney (3/28/09) How is anyone not in the BIDNESS supposed to keep up with all the callsign changes for 1500-1050-820 AM? Talk about confusion for the listeners, let alone any attempt at providing listings. 820 AM recent callsign history is WWFD since 09/15/2008; WWWB from 09/20/2007; WTWT from 05/15/2007; WTOP from 01/11/2006 ..... 1050 AM recent callsigns WTOP since 09/15/2008; WFED from 12/13/2004; ..... 1500 AM callsign history WFED from 09/15/2008; WWWT from 09/20/2007; WTWP from 01/11/2006; WTOP beginning long ago. The WTOP callsign has surfaced on the following frequencies: 1050 kHz 820 kHz 1500 kHz 103.5 MHz 107.7 MHz 94.3 MHz TV-Ch 9. Garage-man sez: "whew!" (3/28/09) Twitter star Don Geronimo twittered today: "Tonite at 8:30 its EarthHour. All non-essential electric should be turned off (ala TimesSq) for 60 min. Will all terrestrial radio go dark?" (3/28/09) RE: "We don't need another sports-talk station in D.C. as much as we need the old WMAL back. I know we can't reassemble the old staff, but can't the new owners put in a news staff and have affable hosts like Tom Gauger and John Lyons back? How about Chris Core in the afternoons and Frank Herzog and Phil Wood in the evening? " It's a little early for April Fool's Day isn't it? You're telling me you want to recycle personalities from the 70's and 80's and TRY to make them relevant in 2009? You know, I'm truly amazed by what I read on this mailbag at times. WMAL had a great era, but it's over. We still have the memories. Instead of living in the past (and WMAL's rather disgraceful present), hopefully the new owners will assemble a staff to build new ones. -Billy Sparks (3/28/09) Here are the WJFK numbers for the February monthly of PPM 18-34: Junkies 12th, Big O & Dukes 19th, Mike O’Meara 17th... Men 18-34: Junkies 7th, Big O & Dukes 17th, Mike O’Meara 13th... 25-54: Junkies 12th, Big O & Dukes 16th, Mike O’Meara 18th... (3/28/09) "So where *does* an ex-radio salesperson go for that next job? Newspapers? Highly unlikely. TV? No, that gig is almost as thready as selling radio. What about selling stereos at Circuit Ci...no, wait... well damn, what's left?" ~~ Maryland Public Television. Fasten your seatbelts . . . it's gonna be a bumpy ride. - Inside Out (3/28/09) From a Gannett Blog contributor: "Good God man! Get a grip. You get paid, you take the money and you do the work. Just get on with it!" Spoken like so many "new Americans". SICKENING!!!! (3/28/09) Last full song heard on WGTB was “And when I die” by Blood, Sweat & Tears, although technically, Frank Tolan (RIP) did play another cut under his last commentary. As that last cut faded out, so to, did WGTB. Frank hit the transmitter off switch one last time… (3/28/09) To Porter Jervis: Comparing Rush Limbaugh to Stevie Wonder is an inaccurate comparison. Limbaugh is a niche entertainer who makes his living attacking others. Wonder makes his living by making music and entertaining a broad spectrum of people. You could accurately compare Limbaugh to Olbermann but not Limbaugh and Stevie Wonder. (3/28/09) To the poster who put up the link about cable news ratings: Cable news is mostly fluffy garbage regardless of what political flavor you prefer. CNN is in the gutter where it belongs because it tried to hard to imitate Fox as far as style and content goes. It's the same channel that gave D.L. Hughley a show and has Chris Plante on as a guest from time to time. That right there should tell you. The reason Fox might be gaining ground is because it is their style that is driving the other two. They are the leaders in that arena. Also, Fox isn't afraid to be outrageous or blatently incorrect. That will attract viewers. They also offer a voice to people who think that they aren't getting it elsewhere. MSDNC and CNN are considered weak links compared to Fox. However, all 3 of these channels are CONSTANTLY replacing news with opinion to the point where anything newsworthy is difficult to decipher. I beleive they could all be better and double or triple their ratings in some cases if they put more intelligent, hard hitting news on. Instead, it is mostly tabloid type stuff and commentary based programming and people seem to be eating it up. I think it's more of a blemish on the American public than anything else that the tabloidy cable garbage is drawing larger audiences. (3/28/09) We don't need another sports-talk station in D.C. as much as we need the old WMAL back. I know we can't reassemble the old staff, but can't the new owners put in a news staff and have affable hosts like Tom Gauger and John Lyons back? How about Chris Core in the afternoons and Frank Herzog and Phil Wood in the evening? WBAL works even with an older demographic. -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle (who will still be there after all) (3/28/09) D.C. United's own radio listing has 1500 & 820 as WTOP and 1050 as WFED, an error close to the one that the Post allegedly made. I'm not sure if D.C. United submitted bad info to the Post, derived bad info from the Post or erred independently of the Post. DCU's radio coverage was a lot simpler back on WMET. Everett W. www.dcunited.com (3/28/09) Dave, This story probably shows just how out of touch are the DC media community, and many who post here, as opposed to the rest of the country. Note which network, regularly vilified here, is on top nationwide for providing news. And which is now #3. You should be putting this on your front page, it is both local and national. I suspect it is the concerns about both the quality of reporting during the election, which may lead some to question their information leading to a vote, and the competence of the administration that was thus elected, that are driving these numbers. tv.msn.com (3/28/09) Oxymoron alert! Using "WUSA" and "management" not only in the same sentence but right next to each other! Geez! The only "management" currently at WUSA is mismanagement. As things stand now, if they were to go back to their former slug, they would be "The one, the only, the insipid" The only nice thing I can say about the place is that NC8 makes WUSA look good. (Even with the guy running his PR firm from the 9 newsroom...) The really sad part is I know the GM there is capable of better. However, I really must question whether Gannett will allow it. Sometimes, I wonder if Gannett is ytuly aware of what it takes to "play in the majors" over the long -haul, as opposed to the "minors" where they originated. I say that because they are not ony heavily involved in daily print (YUK! Talk about ancestor worship!!!), but they still have a heavy commerical ptint operation. There's bo doubt everybody is hurting right now. We're cringing at the infomercials we're having to run to make payroll. The "having to do more with less" (As Doreen Gentzler, so eloguently put it...) mentality which is now pervading this business. And then there's the salary cuts and salary freezes. Sometimes in combination with unpaid furloughs. Sometimes not. All in hopes of avoiding the layoffs that seemingly will happen anyway. The only good thing is, if there is someone out there with money and is willing to take risks, now is the time to do something truly monumental. Remember much of out basic TV technology was developed during the last major depression. RCA at the behest of David Sarnoff worked wonders with the primitive technology we had back then. Sarnoff had the bucks because of the verical integration RCA had back then with NBC. Unfortunately, you don't really have anything like that in broadcasting these days. The closest I can conceive to such would be a Microsoft buy of Yahoo. Or, Goofle... Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/28/09) Dave, It's about time someone spoke out about the Gannett organization. I spent 41yrs at WUSA(wtop) & at the end of my careerwas treated as a # not as a person. In May of 2004, I had a double by pass, followed in Oct. with prostate surgery. The following year (1/05) I had my performance review done by Chief Engineer & was told I wouldn't be getting a raise for the year of '05 because of being out sick to much the year before. Of couse, it wasn't in writing, so it was his word against mine. That's when I told him you have 6 months out of me & I'm out of here(retiring). I still enjoyed my job despite the fact that computers were taking over & enjoyed working with very professional people. The Broadcasting industry is going down hill despite the people who want to remain professionals. Jim C. (3/28/09) My wife and I were watching one of the network morning TV shows a little while ago, and are impressed by how the Dallas police department is handling the bad cop incident, especially compared to how our own PG County police continue to deny bad judgment used against the Mayor of Berwyn Heights. I wish local TV newsrooms here would have kept hammering on them to repair the damage, admit error, and hand out some punishment. They should use as an example the well-written apology from the officer who inappropriately detained and delayed that Houston Texans' ball player trying to get to the deathbed of his wife's mom, and see how the Dallas police first assistant chief acknowledged, without hesitation, that the officer was wrong. NO weasel words, no "if he offended somebody," and none of this "within police powers" that we get from the jack-booted thugs out of Upper Marlboro. (3/28/09) Can't understand the Post. Two stories in a week on NPR but nothing on WTOP's 40th anniversary. Didn't the Post own WTOP when it ent all-news? Do they consider WTOP competition? Or are they afraid of wtop.com? (3/28/09) Dave's response: Even more shocking - a four page WaPo Real Estate section today?!?! I mean, late March/early April is usually the start of the prime real estate sales season with a RE section of upwards of 100 pages. This year's stunning drop-off has got to hurt the Post big time..... This evening we observe Earth Hour, where, for a full hour, the planet switches off any and all "non-essential" uses of electrical power. Running back down the list of gripes here in the Mailbag regarding DC-area stations that suck ... well, you are now welcome to write your own punchline. (3/28/09) Dave: First regarding the sad situation at Channel 9 and two words can only describe why they are so bad, Brett Haber! There's not one person I've ever met that likes the guy and several month's ago, I met a WUSA news photographer who told me he can't stand being around Haber because "he's that bad of a person and unprofessional." What does it say about a company who hires people like Steve Davis and Haber? From a H-R point of view, it's someone's worst nightmare and it's a simple case of a "cancer" that spreads ill-will throughout the news- room. In Channel 9's case, blame Gannett or WUSA H-R...there are plenty of good, professional people out there who are willing to beat the likes of WRC and WJLA. Second and along the lines of bad hiring practices...Dan Snyder isn't/doesn't have the cash to buy any of the Citadel properties. Again, WTEM hasn't moved from being a 20th ranked station and as long as Snyder employs ego-maniacs like Bruce Gilbert and Steve Czaban, nothing's going to change. Like-it or not, the bad economy is temporarily going to save everyone's job over at WTEM and we're still looking at a one-sportstalk station city...unless Bonneville makes a bold move and converts 1500 or 107.7 to a sportstalk format. (3/28/09) I CAN'T WAIT for the format flip at JFK on 4/1!!!!!! Rome and Beth have little chemistry together, and the Junkies have not been the same since Ron left!!! Out with the old, in with the O'Meara/Drab/Leykis REGIME!!!! Oscar is straight and we are all BM eaters on JOE RADIO!!!!!!! With the new PD, some up and comer, Tom Gavone, JFK will beat all the BM meters! -Pete in Hyattsville (3/28/09) “I am placing myself on permanent furlough from the Gannett Corp. I will be mailing back my card later today. I am frustrated, as many of you are. Please don’t let that discourage you from staying in touch. As I said, you have been great, and I’ll miss working with you. Thanks for the great times. Alan Henney" - Oh Alan: Just go the crab house, have a beer in honor of The Ghost of Glenn Brenner and Gordon “I Don’t Drink Anymore “Cause I Can’t Handle My Booze” Peterson’s drinking days and cry a little. It’s a business, one that you don’t like these days (come up with your own business model, buy a station and see if it works). Meanwhile: I wish Angie Goff would come clean on whether her South Carolina husband is for real, as she purported on the MOM drinking show. More Angie: less weather from Lurch (please, just look at her – “That’s a man, baby”) (3/28/09) A colleague who is also involved in the business side of the 'biz tells me that Cox isn’t the only one trying to “buy itself back”. Seems Hearst Corp. offered Wednesday to buy the one-third piece of Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. that it doesn't already own. That of course includes WBAL-TV Baltimore, amongst others. Scuttlebutt has Hearst-Argyle Television saying that if Hearst submits a tender offer; they would advise stockholders of its position within 10 days of the offer. The Hearst offer is valued at $375 million, about 20% of the price it offered almost two years ago. This could end tension that Hearst has had with its broadcast TV operations and the shareholders which started back in 2007 when a $23.50 a share buy out was offered. The significant thing to read in this is that Hearst-Argyle’s net asset value on this one-third piece of the pie had lost 80% in just two years. This cannot be solely attributed to the current economic depression. What needs to be looked at long-term is the continuing viability of broadcast television as a content platform. While the Internet does indeed play a role, it is still a rather nascent one. (I say nascent compared to what it could be in another five years. That is, unless U.S. copyright laws (Already some of the most repressive in the world.) are further tightened.) More significant, is the timing with the latest deadline for the DTV transition. The fact that many stations (Including WBAL-DT) will experience reduced coverage areas (Compared to the “-TV” days.) after the switch. Whether the FCC will come up with an answer for reduced reliable reception areas or not will be a good question. This reminds me of what the industry experienced in the early days of TV when there were quite a number of stations interfering with each other. We only had 108 stations when the FCC froze construction –not thousands. In the end, several stations changed channels and some were actually deleted, going forever dark. (Perhaps the most famous was WDEL-TV, channel 7 in Wilmington, Del.) - Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/28/09) At the tribute afterglow to ex-WMAL GM Andy Ockershausen a few weeks ago, there were sad mutterings about how badly Citadel has blown its stewardship of the former AM 63 powerhouse. Once again there was talk about Dan Snyder. More than one person anyone within earshot that the Washington Redskins had not won a championship since the NFL contract left the station. Redskins owner Dan Snyder (who was conspicuously not there) was touted as the only person who might save ‘MAL by turning it into a sports power. Ex Redskins QB Sonny Jurgenson (and others) mentioned that money was the issue… Citadel was still way too high in valuing the three stations on Jenifer Street and Snyder can’t meet their price. The two sides ought to come together. Maybe Citadel should keep the two FM’s and let WMAL go. Put Sonny, Sam and Frank back on the air doing their legacy PBP, let the ‘Skins run the network, keep Limbaugh but find some local talker talents to do AM and PM drive and rebuild the news room. The other fly in the Vaseline is the WMAL transmitter site on Green Tree Road. As most people know the real estate there is worth a fortune. However, there is one person on Jenifer Street who knows where to move the transmitter to get off that expensive land and still preserve ‘MAL’s powerful 10Kw voice. From a fly on the wall. (3/28/09) /\ March 28 Messages /\ \/ March 27 Messages \/ Holly Morris; If anybody knows the scenes she will be in and that they require her to little clothes please respond. Thank You, I need to make plans to go if this is the case. (3/27/09) The resignation letter from the Ch. 9 assignment desk person has this line "We are doing less news gathering these days and more information posting." SO true, all over. I think certain television station administrators are afraid they'll be caught in the same slide that has doomed newspapers, so they're jumping at anything that looks like the next big thing. Problem is, as Alan points out, these managers then starve their station's core strengths. Let's hope they catch themselves before too many viewers catch on. (3/27/09) How does this strike you as a Class-A "Eff Up"? Clear Channel is gearing up for another round of personnel cuts, including folks in the sales office. Tonight during the Delilah Show, WASH FM ran an ad seeking a new AE. Only ONE new AE. What goes on in the minds of the people who are driving this clown car down the highway? (3/27/09) Long-time weekend desk guy at wusa won't be reporting to work this weekend. Here was the resignation note he sent to the entire staff. it's so sad to see this happen but morale continues to slide as Gannett implements the second round of furloughs for the year.... - "This message will come as a surprise. I worked on the assignment desk and I enjoyed the work I did with all of you. You are some great co-workers. But I am not receiving the support I feel is needed to continue to attempt a quality news product on the weekends. After receiving my master’s from GWU, I spent my life pursuing a career in journalism. Paul Irvin brought me on as a paid tipster in March of 2000. Then Tony Castrilli offered me the part-time weekend desk position in 2005. In addition to weekends, for the past three years I volunteered to work unfilled weekday shifts and major holidays, often neglecting my ailing mother. But I treasured every shift, and never once called out sick or missed a day of work. As we discussed in ethics class yesterday, the top-down decision-making approach is a flawed model. WUSA frequently lacks the discussion that is vital to the success of a vibrant news operation and falls into this model. Many of us are reluctant to say anything, and the suggestion box on the first floor is not enough. The consultants and out-of-touch corporate management have ruined the newscasts with repetitive Web clutter, endless sidebar packages, and their preoccupation with the Internet. You won’t find a blog anywhere that will generate enough revenue to support a news operation of this size, there are simply too many. We’ve heard regular speak of “Web Winners,” but what ever happened to the “News Winners?” A dying breed? IT IS TIME EVERYBODY WORK A DAY ON THE ASSIGNMENT DESK TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS LIKE. The next time you holler at one of my colleagues on the assignment desk, put yourself in their position. The WUSA assignment editors are conscientious, diehard news people who work extended shifts without union benefits, never had a meal buyout or OT, and hardly get a chance to eat lunch. The assignment desk is the WUSA switchboard, the help desk for all of WUSA and the rest of humanity. The assignment desk does pretty much everything nobody else does. TOO MUCH. How many of you call just to ask for another employee’s phone number you should have already gotten from Renee’s list? Please be thoughtful of assignment desk workers, and volunteer to work a shift to see what it is like. We are doing less news gathering these days and more information posting. Somebody needs to be driving the news machine at all times, actively pursuing news leads. We’ve lost our focus. Any corporation that allows employees to blog as an excuse for not reporting to work on time is not an organization with which I want to be associated. Effective immediately, I am placing myself on permanent furlough from the Gannett Corp. I will be mailing back my card later today. I am frustrated, as many of you are. Please don’t let that discourage you from staying in touch. As I said, you have been great, and I’ll miss working with you. Thanks for the great times. Alan Henney" (3/27/09) To ThePenIsMightier: Finally, a person who understands THA BIDNESS! (BTW, love your use of that word, I'm now Billy Sparks from Purple Rain) I don't know what's with these Smooth Young Boys, like I said I love the passion, hate the foolishness. The business changed a long time ago, and like I was told as a green jock, when you're on the air, FORWARD MOMENTUM! It's like a car with no reverse gear. That's how radio was, is, and will be. This is BIDNESS...and you ain't to far gone to see that!-Billy Sparks (3/27/09) Since its been sport here in this mailbag to poke fun at Rush's weight gain, I think its only fair to note the enormous Stevie Wonder I saw on American Idol last night. The guy is facing a vapor lock in the near future if he doesn't put the Chubby Hubby down. Porter Jervis (3/27/09) How come no matter what format 94.7FM claims to be running, they still play "Gimme Two Steps" about 40 times a day? (3/27/09) OMG FROM SACRAMENTO! I thought the MOM Show was the reason WJFK ratings sucked. That is until I listened VERY briefly to Big O & Dukes talking ad nauseam, about the Octo-Mom. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Talk about blowing a great national opportunity. Hell, give us Joe Ardinger! (3/27/09) Who IS this Penis Mightier person ?! (3/27/09) Wow--who'd'a thunk that waxing nostalgic would be such a piss-off for some people? Sure, radio is a business, and the people in charge have their MBAs and so they think they can run any business, from radio to groceries. Business is business, right? Shame on us listeners for remembering that radio can be unique and could be run better than just any old business. Radio used to involve the listeners, now we feel like we don't matter. So what should we do? Speak out, say the current state of the business sucks, and hope someone might actually care one day? Or shut up, switch off, and just let radio die of its own suckiness? I don't see the point of the "shut up" posts. There's way too much in our society that needs fixing that people don't speak out about. The fact that there are people willing to say that radio sucks and we know it could be done better should be a sign of hope for the radio industry--they haven't made _everybody_ not care... yet. Personally, I would like an alternative to "alternative" rock, but HFS is a symbol of when the on-air people had the chance to show what they knew about music and that they cared. You'll still find some of that at the non-comm end of the FM dial, but it is a very great shame, for us listener-schlubs _and_ for the radio business, that there's no room for it in commercial radio. ~~ CA in BC (not nostalgic for HFS as much as for the type of radio business that allowed Felix Grant, Tom Gauger, Robert Parish, Alan Field, Bill Cerri, etc. etc. to shine) (3/27/09) "WHFS IS a heritage you dumb fuck!!!!!!!!!! It was Infinity/Viacom/CBS who ruined it. Who put The Junkies on WHFS mornings...a sports talk show on a music station. IDIOTS! Who forced a closeminded,bland playlist on a Free Form station." --- I don't know who, but it happened in the 1980s. HFS was good in the 1970s. Now get off my lawn. --- "What 'heritage' station has kept the same format since 68??" -- You mean when WHFS was a classical and lite jazz station? "your hand... money...shmucks... dominatrix....fucking .... In any other business if the customers were treated this way you'd be flipping burgers by Friday. You're worse than politicians you deaf,dumb bastards." --- Since you don't sign your posts, and who could blame you, I will assign you a name. For Mailbag purposes, you are henceforth and ever after "Smooth Young Boy". So, Smooth Young Boy, it seems you don't understand a basic fact about the radio BIDNESS, as Fred "I bring the edgy" Grandy would say. The "customers" are the advertisers. Listeners are not customers. Stop stamping your tiny elfen feet. You tire us. --- ThePenIsMightier (3/27/09) I'm a big BigOAndDukes fan, but SnacksOfTheRoundTable in the second hour of their national debut was AN ENORMOUS MISTAKE.. --- ThePenIsMightier (3/27/09) Re:"Since we're waxing nostalgic what was the last song WGTB played before they went off the air? Paul" I don't know but what a great question. I was at work that day and only got an occasional chance to go outside to listen on the car radio. The last time I did there was only a dead air hiss :( Oh it pains me to this day to remember how I felt. Anyone here know what happened to Fred Creasy (sp?) who gave the station the name "We Got The Boogie"? I remember shortly after the station went silent, it was reported that Fred was busted by the FCC for operating a pirate transmitter. BTW I have read the good history of the station in DCTRV Plus. Robert in Arlington (3/27/09) Many thanks to Big O and Dukes for doing an 8 hour show today. Very nice to have something good to listen to on the way home instead of a repeat of Opie and Anthony from this morning! (3/27/09) Having lived in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, I have to say that WTOP is the best news station I've ever heard - run efficiently by forward-thinking (and inordinately decent) folks who are neither complacent nor lacking in marketing and technological savvy. But KFWB and KNX are better because of each other, as are 1010 WINS and WCBS in New York. Another all-newser in Washington (not that anyone would spend the money, alas) would make WTOP better too - I'm not sure how or where it could improve, though. I'm hanging on to my yellowing "Farley-grams" from the 1980s. Reading them was better than J-school. Paul (3/27/09) Hey you nostalgia maggots... as long as we're traipsing down memory lane, did anyone bother to mention "England Dan" Seals died from lymphoma on Wednesday? news-briefs.ew.com (3/27/09) The use of language on DCRTV has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors. "Fuck You," "Double dumb-ass on you" and so forth. Signed, Mr. Spock (3/27/09) What a surprise...CBS flipping its 94.7 outlet! I listened for about 10 mintues the other day and its a joke! I think they have a PD that is asleep at the wheel...and 'flipping' isn't going to get the numbers they're looking for! Funny JZW changed formats and dropped the long-running smooth Jazz format...and no one picked it up...lest JZW-HD and WASH-HD...but can't count them since the HD signal is so weak in the outer-limits of the market they are really no longer players...I've mentioned this before...NO ONE in this market reads the demographics! HOW can a powerhouse like WMAL have problems? CBM in Baltimore doesn't have problems, Philly's talkers...NYC talkers? Now with PPMs maybe the REAL listeners will start to show on the ratings....How could a KYS or PGC format be number one for so long? Really? does everyone in the market listen to Hip-Hop and News?? Doubt it! Off the soap box for awhile...the 87.7 Spanish I was hearing...the Channel 6 audio from the low power station in Virginia...someplace out near Front Royal...sorry bout that! Any word on the WAGE change from 1200 to 1190? Another sad tale...Long time HOMETOWN radio station becomes a money machine for local investors selling packaged JUNQUE...ie Dennis Miller and the rest of the sorry line-up...to think they'll go to 50KW full time on 1190 to peddle the same trash is a HUGE mistake! Hope you have a nice weekend...Oh, not working at ABC anymore..but my sources tell me that the Washington Bureau is very unhappy...what was once a vibrant operation is now doing ABC InterNet ..newscasts(?)..no one is really happy...check your sources, mine are more hearsay than fact. Have a nice weekend! D (3/27/09) A reason WaPo is in trouble? Over the past two weeks, two individuals have died in St Mary's County both of whom I felt would be very good subjects for A Local Life obit in the Post. Very nice stories were written about each individual in the WaPo-owned Enterprise newspaper in Lexington Park. The writer of both stories really wasn't interested in contacting the Post about the first death, saying the local operation had no synergy with the WaPo. I contacted the Post and had a very pleasant exchange with one of Obit team members. But he also had no knowledge of the Enterprise or other WaPo SoMd newspapers nor of the papers in the Gazette chain. Meanwhile, the Southern Maryland Extra is little more than PR releases. I realize that the Post in not alone in not maximizing its assets, after all it may need to sell these other companies to survive. But might there not be a little sharing/cooperation to make the 'Mother Rag' worth buying? (3/27/09) Hi Dave! On Friday April 3, the National Press Club will put the FUN back into fundraiser with Commedia dell Media, an evening of comedy hosted by WTOP's 'Man About Town' Bob Madigan and featuring performances by a roster of DC's most respected journalists. Pessimism and economic doom may dominate the headlines, but on April 3 these reporters will cast off that pall of gloom by voraciously scratching the comedic underbelly of their industry. Conde Nast's Matt Cooper, radio personality Jamila Bey, Bloomberg's Scott Lanman, UPI's Shaun Waterman, and David Corn of Mother Jones will exercise their notorious comedic chops; Newsweek's Mark Hosenball will sing an ode to the scoundrels of Wall Street; McClatchy's Nancy Youssef, Anna Mulrine of US News, long-time WUSA anchor Mike Walter, and the Washington Post's Delphine Schrank will premiere their comic stylings on the NPC stage. Proceeds from the event will help support the important work of Reporters Without Borders and NPC's Eric Friedheim Memorial Library. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door, and are available for purchase at www.press.org. A pre-show reception will open the doors at 7 pm, with the comedy beginning at 8. It will be a fun night for two good causes. I hope you can make it! (3/27/09) To the HFS ranter, spazzer, foul mouthed angry dick head. Buy yourself an Ipod and program your own “free form” and stop with the regurgitating on DCRTV. It’s nasty, it’s unnecessary and no one will listen to you. So, GET A LIFE! (3/27/09) Hi, I have a HD radio in my car and live in Columbia, Md. I can pick up 105.7 most of the time in HD. Your are right its HD-2 channel use to be alternative hits (the old HFS). I wanted to update you on their current line up. HD-1 the fan (Sports Talk), HD-2 ESPN Radio, HD-3 ESPN News. Enjoy your blog. Thanks. Scot (3/27/09) You heard anything regarding Elliot’s “Smell My Face Beltway Race” that happened yesterday? There was a CC Bigwig in from San Antonio yesterday on the way to the stations as he was passed by Kyle Busch doing a nearly a 100mph! haha wish I coulda seen it! But any screams about if they are getting in trouble over that? (3/27/09) Tom Gauger, thanks for the kind words. When I got here in 1996 (from ABC News in New York) Len Deibert was freelancing for WTOP helping us with award submissions (payback is a bitch). Len was a true clas act and a great news director. But Jim Gallant was still at WMAL, and it still dominated in the ratings. His retirement and some luck and a lot of hard work by folks in the newsroom here other than me set the path that would end up with WTOP on the top of the ratings heap. And despite what Dave Hughes wrote, I would love to have a news competitor back on radio. Competition is healthy. I was at WINS when WCBS went all-news. Folks back then predicted they would cut our audience in half. Just the opposite: the audiece for all-news doubled with two competitors going at it tooth and nail. Jim (3/27/09) Luisa & the Reverbs [ www.blinkies-karaoke.com ] makes its first appearance at Dad’s Neighborhood Pub [ www.dadspub.com ] in Rockville this Saturday, 28 March at 8 PM. Join us for some great 50s and 60s oldies, plus great food, drink and company! -Ken (underpaid roadie) (3/27/09) Since we're waxing nostalgic [except for 1 moron, probably listens to Oxycontin Rush] what was the last song WGTB played before they went off the air? Paul (3/27/09) Thought you folks might wanna know about XM's bait and switch on their "Premium" online service. They encouraged everyone to lock in their rates prior to March 11th for continued free access to a soon to be upgraded (128kbps) online experience. Once you locked in you would have access to premium online listening without the $2.99 fee. It seems anyone who did take advantage to lock in was greeted with a 32kbps stream. That's half of what we used to get. Mixed messages have come from XM with some CSR's saying the locked in folks are only supposed to get 32, while others insist it's a technical issue and 128kbps will soon be available. This was all set to take place on March 11th, it is now March 27th and the issue is still a big problem. I can direct you to this thread on xmfan (www.xmfan.com) where lots of people are having a problem. Hopefully some bad publicity will get XM jump started to addressing this issue. Rich Ottoson, Olney, MD (3/27/09) RE: To "please stop": WHFS IS a heritage you dumb fuck!!!!!!!!!! Let me correct you, WAS a heritage. WHFS is a memory of a radio station unless you listen online or HD2, so waste your money and buy an HD2 receiver, or get the podcast. Then you, and about 50 other people can wax nostalgic, except w/new shit that nobody wants to hear. Do you understand? It is NOT 1974! What are you going to do, bring your laptop in and just start playing random songs? OK. Don't you see in radio, there isn't art, there isn't people, there's just dollars! It is a business, and it's never going back to the way it used be. I feel your passion, but it's the 21st century...stop being fuckin' stupid! The old days are OVER! (3/27/09) RE: "Paid pieces...are clearly labeled as such, and done by freelancers or employees who don't work for the news department. And they don't air any place else." TOTAL WHORES AND CH. 7 AND CH. 8 JUST LOST THIS VIEWER. Your nuanced argument doesn't fly. You use your station to run "stories" that are paid for by others. But it's OK because they "don't work for the news department." You pay for their labor, so guess what? They're on your payroll. WHORES OF ROSLYN: THANKS FOR DENIGRATING THE CRAFT OF JOURNALISM EVEN FURTHER. (3/27/09) yet another totally slanted reader with a message to "please stop": It is NOT only ONE person writing about WHFS it is MANY. Do NOT try and put a "tired old" spin on what we are saying about HFS you will NOT convince ANY of us that there is no market for Free Form radio. You are simply kissing corporate ass. There was no need to drag HFS thru the hot hit fake fad that crippled the station but corporate had to fuck it up regardlessly.I have been,and will be,on an anti CBS rant until such time as WHFS returns to the airwaves. The suits don't seem to know thier ass from an Emo disc and the formats they pick SOUND like ass.Furthermore they don't know Grunge from PopGoth and fail miserably in sticking TO a format they choose.So BRING IT THE FUCK BACK and make it FREE FORM and GET YOUR TALENTLESS ASSES OUT OF THE BOOTH AND LET THE JOCKS PLAY THE MUSIC!!!!!!!!! You are Yes Men, Number Crunchers and Statistic Whores who have as much business in radio as a heroin dealer in a daycare.Now let me get back to watching/listening to ANYthing but CBS stations while you continue fucking your football you tie wearing monkey. (3/27/09) "Is it not the height of liberal elitism to think that you can champion green causes, broadband for the poor, save the earth, save the trees, save energy, cut the use of plastics and oil, cut metals in drinking water, save gas and champion other liberal causes..." - wait, let me get this straight. Are you really arguing that things like saving trees, reducing use of oil, cutting metals in drinking water, saving the earth, saving gas, etc. are "liberal causes"? So conservatives are AGAINST all those things? I know some conservative evangelicals, for a start, not to mention plenty of other conservatives who don't see liberal conspiracies everywhere who don't see those issues you mentioned in the frame of the liberal/conservative divide. (3/27/09) Re 94.7: Its possible the WEBR "BrightFM" calls might still be up for grabs. WGAY changed ever-so-briefly to that call and that slogan sometime during the late 90s, then went back to WGAY again til its demise. Fairfax Public Access is using WEBR to identify its live cable radio operation (WEBR = "Web Radio"), but those calls are not licensed or trademarked by FPA per se and I believe can be had by anyone. (3/27/09) Dave's response: If CBS flips 94.7 to AC, it's gonna be lots of Justin Timberlake and no Perry Como. Sorry..... To "please stop": WHFS IS a heritage you dumb fuck!!!!!!!!!! It was Infinity/Viacom/CBS who ruined it. Who put The Junkies on WHFS mornings...a sports talk show on a music station. IDIOTS! Who forced a closeminded,bland playlist on a Free Form station. What 'heritage' station has kept the same format since 68?? DC101 plays almost as much Metal as Alternative. 98Rock is a hair metal station. What fucking heritage do you speak of as fatal competition to a Free Form HFS?!?!? You showed your hand there Bub you said 'cheaper' and thats what its all about to you company shmucks. If money is the issue how about you go buy your clothes at the Dollar Store,trade in your Vette and stop tipping your dominatrix so much so you can afford to run a fucking business. In any other business if the customers were treated this way you'd be flipping burgers by Friday. You're worse than politicians you deaf,dumb bastards. (3/27/09) I've had it with the vulgarity of the "DC AM" ad. If you need the revenue so bad, please place it at the bottom of your page. (3/27/09) HFS sucked 15 years ago. It sucked 5 years ago. No one listened to it because it was a copy of "Alternative Nation" on MTV. The playlist began to overlap DC101 and that was the end. Maybe it was great in the 70's but those days are gone. If you want something new and original, listen to the internet or college radio or play Guitar Hero. Paulie G. (3/27/09) Larry Glick, who reinvented overnight talk radio on Boston's WMEX, WBZ and WHDH in career from 1965 to the early 1990's, passed away Thursday night (03/26), following 10 hours of open-heart surgery in Florida. Al McGilvray (3/27/09) Dave's response: I remember Larry on WBZ from my AM band scanning nights in the 1970s..... CBS Radio (in Keith Olbermann Worst Person In The World style) IS THE MOST STUPID RADIO OPERATION IN THE WORLD (echo)! This in reaction to the update on the DCRTV front page that CBS Radio may flip 94.7 to an Adult Contemporary format in light of a recent surge forward in the Portable People Meter numbers for WASH-FM. Didn't you in fact, Mr. CBS Radio President Dan Mason, have one of the greatest sounding Adult Contemporary stations in 94.7 Lite FM before you gutted it to create that savior of a format called the Arrow and Arrow 94.7? But now, if the reports are correct, you've perhaps realized that an adult contemporary format on 94.7 just might work? What is going on there at CBS Radio. There was so much intelligence, class and heritage there. It's seems CBS Radio has no clue. Is this a case of brain freeze? I don't get it. Didn't Dan Mason come from great radio programming and WPGC of the 70's? Unfortunately, what I have been seeing (for years now) in the programming decisions of CBS Radio just doesn't add up? All those stations and frequencies and they don't seem to know what to do with them. I think they should sell them. Can someone here explain what's been going on there at CBS Radio? (3/27/09) Dave's response: Again, I'm just reporting what I hear. I hope the rumor's wrong, too. But, WASH is #2. WRQX is gonna get sold soon and is in a bit of chaos. It might just be the time to launch Fresh 94.7, which would place itself musically midway between 97.1 and 99.5. See NYC's Fresh 102.7. Could be a smart move. And then tweak PGC over the summer to better compete with Hot 99.5 directly. Personally, I'd still like to see adult rock WHFS on 94.7 and have CBS go after DC101 directly..... Dave - Where the hell does Julie Wright do the morning traffic? She is always alluding to her and Tony being 'apart'. Does she not do traffic in the same studio where they do the morning news? And it seems if she is doing it elsewhere, it is in Silver Spring...And it so happens I have seen Julie in downtown Silver Spring a handful of times... (3/27/09) Dave's response: Julie actually works for Metro Traffic, which is based in Silver Spring. So, it wouldn't be surprising to see her galavanting around Silver Spring now and then, would it? By the way, Tony is happily married, er, not to Julie..... To the poster who wanted all of us wishing for the return of WHFS to "please stop", I am an radiophile, a radio person, someone who grew up in the DC area, and I could take the high road, but fuck it I won't. You are a boring, corporate scumfuck, a poor excuse of a human being, no imagination, no intellect, probably a moderate democrat or a republican, goes to sports bars, hunts, and monopolizes conversations, and brings his business home with him, and is too tired to fuck his wife You sir ( to quote Keith Olbermann) are the reason radio sucks in DC today. In every other fucking city in America, including Birmingham fucking Alabama there are cool AAA Freeform 60's like stations that don't get the top numbers in ratings, but have a small but loyal group of listeners who will buy products that advertise on those stations, and want to be challenged and introduced to new and obscure music. Those same people are not only on this site, but they are all over the DC area, and would celebrate the day that WHFS came back on FM, or a multichannel HD signal. ( It may already have, and may have a permanant home on WTGB HD2) Not only am I going to post more about the importance of having, or introducing a progressive, or true alternative station to the Dc area, but since I can't get the WTGB HD2 broadcast where I live, I'm going to request that same person you are tired of, please post a sample hour of each day's playlist from WTGB HD 2, AND I would urge WTGB to post a link to their multichannel station, and start webcasting it. And just in case, I didn't say it before, Fuck You (3/27/09) Dave, If 94.7 is switching back to Adult Contemporary, are the old WLTT calls still available? (3/27/09) Dave's response: They're being used by a talker in Shallotte NC..... So where *does* an ex-radio salesperson go for that next job? Newspapers? Highly unlikely. TV? No, that gig is almost as thready as selling radio. What about selling stereos at Circuit Ci...no, wait... well damn, what's left? (3/27/09) RE: [So....our young, technology savvy President has managed to screw up DTV and an Easter Egg Hunt] yeah...because everyone knows that the President of the United States is supposed to spend his entire morning personally overseeing distribution of tickets for the Easter Egg Roll, leaving his afternoon hours open for adjusting the rabbit ears on old Mrs. Turner's Philco. Seriously folks, with the multitude of things that are going on in the world today, is this level of niggling really the best you rightie talk radio listeners have to offer? Makes me harken back to the good old nineties when your accusations of scandal at least included a pizza delivery and silicious narratives involving oral sex and cigars. Hey, I got an idea! With all the free time you Plante-Limbaugh-Hannity-Levin-Sliwa "twelve-hour-a-day" listeners seem to have on your hands lately, why don't you whack-a-loons band together and hold one of your silly little "TEA-BAGGING" parties (not the gay kind...the other kind) and call for Dubbya-Emm-Ay-Yell to just drop the pretense and once and for all change their call letters to what they really are: Dubbya-Gee-Oh-Pee. - Jeff in Bowie (3/27/09) The people who continue to post on this mailbag about bringing back WHFS, please stop! The general listening audience does not want to hear it! They have not wanted to hear it for 20 years. The people who post to DCRTV are radiofiles. I know, I'm one of them. But that's an extremely short list, that can't possibly generate the ratings for the money these corporations want to generate. As far as 94.7 going AC, huge mistake. Why go into battle agaisnt (2!) established, heritage brands? It's the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life, and if these suits at CBS do that, they'll lose like this past year's Detroit Lions...everything! In what way does that make good business sense? There's no explanation. You'll come off cheaper doing amp/now radio. Low overhead, minimum expenditure. With an AC, you'd have to do busbacks, billboards, TV, it's not fiscally responsible for a format that has NO chance agaisnt TWO established, HERITAGE brands. As for WJFK and that rabid audience, what's the cume on that audience? It's just like Rush in DC. He may be #3 in his target demo, but it's only 144,000 people. I know no one at 'JFK is pulling down those #'s in their target demo. I swear, why don't they change the call letters of CBS to AIG! These people can't be this dumb...can they? (3/27/09) /\ March 27 Messages /\ \/ March 26 Messages \/ 94.7 to AC? I guess that would effectively kill HFS2 on 947 HD2 - - I knew it was too good to be true (3/26/09) Dave's response: Well, in NYC, CBS runs adult contemporary-ish "Fresh 102.7" on 102.7, and the frequency's old WNEW rock format on its HD2. So, maybe CBS could do something like that here. Fresh 94.7 on 94.7, and alt rock WHFS on 94.7 HD2. Who knows..... I liked 94.7's Classic Rock format for awhile, but it just got too dull for me by the time '09 came. I just listen to 94.7 occasionally now. I don't care if the station flips formats, but it shouldn't flip to adult contemporary! Thats what we already hear on WASH 97.1 and Mix 107.3. Why don't we resurrect WHFS (Progressive, or Alternative) on 94.7 hmm? we have the HFS2 playlist already on their HD2!..well an AC format definitely beats the Amp/Now BS as it is, anyway. For me, it will be all about WBIG and WJFK and the Mike O'Meara Show after this flip happens. Ahh the joys of terrestrial radio.... (3/26/09) Dave's response: Personally, I think the strongest format for 94.7 would be an adult alt rockish WHFS. Going up against WASH and WRQX might not be so smart..... Dave, Next time you write about Jim Farley or Lisa Baden here's a new pic to use. This is from radioandrecords.com story about WTOP's 40th. (3/26/09) Can I erase "FOOL" from my forehead now? What did I tell you a few weeks ago about 94.7HD2? It's gotten even better AND the text works now so I can see song and artist! Hope this note doesn't jinx it and it's off again tomorrow. (3/26/09) Another broadcast anniversary class act www.wgal.com... Wouldn't it have been ironic if WGAL-TV's "permanent" DTV assignment had ended up being channel 4, which is where they started out... -Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/26/09) So....our young, technology savvy President has managed to screw up DTV and an Easter Egg Hunt. And THIS is the Dear Leader you are going to allow to mess with the electrical infrastructure in the interest of going green? I suspect that on March 28th, some cities will experience the true end result of letting this White House touch anything with technology. (3/26/09) My bad, didn't realize O'Meara was on a 2 week vacation...again. I don't really listen like I used to, and judging from the latest (well basically all of his) PPM #'s, neither do a lot of people. How does he do it? Does anyone know how much WJFK is billing, especially in PM drive? That's the only way he can be surviving! (3/26/09) Threatened by WMAL? Please, don't flatter yourself whoever you are. WMAL is now basically a comedy show with one chief difference from all other comedy shows - instead of laughing WITH the performers we are laughing AT them. More like the other way around - WMAL is being threatened as more people are waking up and seeing (hearing) the reality that it IS a total embarrassment to the radio industry. Can't wait to see what sort of reception Levin and WMAL will get this Saturday at his book signing. Will 90% of the attendees be bussed in from the ancient parts of VA where this idiot is revered on par with God? I know he got a good reception on L.I. last Saturday but L.I. is full of wingnut scum, unlike Metro DC. Mike in Manassas (3/26/09) Christie Kane has been selected as Miss Howard TV April 2009 for Howard Stern’s Howard TV On Demand subscription video on demand channel. During her first appearance on the Howard Stern Show, Christie readily admitted to Howard that she is “a very sexual person” and says she was very “kinky when she was younger.” At first she was nervous but wound up being very uninhibited, saying it was the first time she ever got naked in public. The Brooklyn, NY native and former dental assistant told Howard how she left dentistry to model full-time. She did, however, take a moment to check out Gary Dell’Abate’s teeth. After starting her own MySpace page, the sexy 29 year old was asked to appear in their first ever calendar as Miss December and then was voted Miss January 2009 by fans. Nicknamed “Metal Barbie” because of her love for heavy metal music, she has made frequent appearances at heavy metal clubs. Sorry guys, but Christie is married. However she did tell some stories of swinging that had Howard, Artie Lange, Robin Quivers and the gang simply amazed. She loves masturbating and once got caught in the act in a tanning booth! After testing out the favorite studio ‘toy,’ The Sybian, Christie said “I love it so much I want to take it home with me.” Howard enjoyed her appearance on the show so much that he jokingly said, “let’s make her Miss Howard TV for May and June too!” (3/26/09) Dave, It seems that Comcast and the NFL Network ARE NOT TALKING and if they don't resolve their contract issues then Comcast will drop the channel as of May 1st... Here is the latest on the battle....If fans want the channel it seems like they will have to fight for it! www.washingtonexaminer.com... Cheers, Jim (3/26/09) Since the Obama's have decided to use technology to distribute tickets to the Easter Egg roll, I'd be curious if anyone on this board knows anyone who actually got any of the tickets. Everyone I talked to, including myself, who went to the website kept getting the message that there weren't any available at that time, but to try later. And no matter how much "later" we tried, still no tickets. (3/26/09) And another thing OMeara, Unless you plan on attending Toastmasters everyday, NO MORE phone interviews. Painful. In-studio interviews are at least tolerable. (3/26/09) Open Letter to Mike OMeara; Tool, time to re-tool - NOW! If you have any chance of remaining on the air, play to your strenghts, cover your weakness... 1. Change to 100% Make Us Laugh format [drop the politics and social interest crap. More skits, bits and voice work]... 2. Fire B.A. McBride [has always been the wrong fit]... 3. Add a hot & funny female co-host... 4. More Buzz, less Robb... 5. At least once, clear that dirty Don Geronimo laundry on the air. The truth will set you free and make great radio... 5. Move to Sacramento - it has always been your true supportive home... (3/26/09) Concerning the new Rant about WJFK, I’m not sure if this specifically is what you were suggesting, but such targeting might work if Northern Virginia became an embedded Arbitron market—like what Frederick is currently; that would make it both its own market and part of a larger market (i.e., D.C.). Besides Frederick and the many embedded metros around NYC, the only other current examples that I can think of are either near Providence (specifically, New Bedford/Fall River) or around San Francisco (specifically, San Jose and Santa Rosa). However, Stafford County could arguably also fall into this category, as it’s included in both the D.C. and Fredericksburg metros; similar examples involve Monmouth County (which is part of both the NYC metro and Monmouth/Ocean) and southern New Hampshire (where there’s some overlap between Manchester and Portsmouth/Dover/Rochester). That said, creating an embedded Northern Virginia metro, I would assume, would have to result from some lobbying of Arbitron by its clients (including subscribing stations)—and I really don’t see CBS investing the energy in doing so at this time. But, again, if it’s good for Frederick’s WFRE, WFMD, and WAFY, it may also good for WJFK. Another option, though, could involve one of Arbitron’s competitors (Eastlan or possibly Nielsen) being hired to measure only Northern Virginia. (Around here, Eastlan already does so for Fredericksburg, Winchester, and Hagerstown/Chambersburg/Waynesboro.) However, off hand, I’d see CBS pushing for something like that as even less likely. As always, thanks! EJM (3/26/09) Dave's response: I've always advocated the idea of something called "Northern Virginia Radio," which would target the Virginia suburbs of DC, out toward Winchester and down toward Fredericksburg. Perhaps a mix of talk and music. It would have to be on FM and there are only a few frequencies that would work - Fairfax/Manassas's 106.7, Fairfax/Woodbridge's 105.9, and Fauquier/Winchester's 92.5. And maybe Warrenton's 94.3 or 107.7. Ah, maybe someday..... "WMAL is not just a financial embarrassment, it is a total embarrassment. At the Kennedy Center Open House last year there was no one coming by WMAL’s tent booth to say “hi.”" If that's the case, then why do you sound so threated my them??? (3/26/09) RE: "You know, Big O & Dukes were live until their last segment. Now O'Meara's a rerun? Poor #'s again today? This is too much of a coincidence! Their must be a huge staff meeting in Fairfax...HUGE!" O&D had a 15 minute segment that they filled with a good interview from this morning, big deal, it was a throwaway couple of minutes and they couldn't exactly get into anotehr topic. Did you realize they will be on the air all day tomorrow for their show PLUS the O'Meara timeslot? Mike is on another 2 week vacation in this PPM world, maybe he should be more concerned than he appears to be. (3/26/09) "MOM show once again 21st in newest PPM numbers. Fans..." 21st! What fans??? Hell even Imus came in at 22 during the morning time slot and he isn't carried live anymore is he?? (3/26/09) Big O & Dukes have been airing reruns for the last half hour of their show every day for the last few weeks. There is no huge staff meeting today in Fairfax. O'Meara is on vacation in Florida watching Red Sox preseason games. Nothing will change at JFK unless Program Director Chris Kinard and/or CBS Radio DC's Dan Mason are let go by the suits in NYC. (3/26/09) Dave's response: Great job in DC, Dan Mason. Top station in the 12+s - PGC at 14th. You've earned your salary in your home market, sir! You know, Big O & Dukes were live until their last segment. Now O'Meara's a rerun? Poor #'s again today? This is too much of a coincidence! Their must be a huge staff meeting in Fairfax...HUGE! (3/26/09) Dave's response: I've heard BO&D do a rerun in the last hour on other days..... WMAL is not just a financial embarrassment, it is a total embarrassment. At the Kennedy Center Open House last year there was no one coming by WMAL’s tent booth to say “hi.” For a long time they have tried to build a station around Rush, but in reality, all we got was crap. You would think after Randal Bloomquist’s crap, they would have learned. But no, they allow dumbass Plante to go out there and insult Blacks, and call racism when no racism exists. That is crap. You would think after Rush Limbaugh/Michael J Foxx flap they would have learned. But no, they send Mark Levin out to call Tim Russert “Mr. Potato Head.” That is crap. You would think after the election, in which just about every Democrat within earshot won (even after Hannity, Levin, and Plante kept juxtaposing the name "Obama" with “Domestic Terrorist”), they would have realized perhaps people are getting sick of this Republican crap. But no, Hannity and Levin are still tying words like “socialist, and “Marxist” to Obama. You would think after the Michael Graham crap they would have learned. Well, no, they send Andrew Parks out to tell us that he is “firing up the bus,” to drive all those illegals back. With the ratings and revenue keep going down, should the the programmers wonder why? Face it, WMAL is the uneducated bully in town, and we just don’t want their crap. Remember, if you want to hear crap, listen to 630, WMAL. (3/26/09) Nothing will change the format/lineup at JFK until the Program Director, Chris Kinard, is fired. He is a very close friend of the Junkies, Big O and Dukes, and of course, O'Meara. Kinard will never terminate any of them--some of the people I just mentioned were instrumental in helping Kinard get the PD gig. Then there is Dan Mason. He oversees all the CBS DC-area radio stations and somehow, even with the terrible ratings for WJFK, he has been able to keep the bean counters in NYC from making any changes. Apparently, Mason has more power than the folks who were overseeing the station in LA where Adam Corolla and Tom Leykis were fired. I listen to Corolla's podcasts every day now, instead of O'Meara's show. And when O'Meara returns from vacation, the podcasts will take precedence. Corolla is so much funnier, creative and honest than O'Meara. Plus, Corolla gets much better guests. (3/26/09) Say what you want about the Mormons and their ideals, but sticking to the basics and their principles means that they really are the only possible buyer with cash in hand to solve Citadel's problem. Everyone else needs a loan and they won't get it without selling something else, for which no one can get a loan to buy. If Citadel sells it is likely to be to someone with cash and un-likely to be a multiparty deal. (3/26/09) MOM show once again 21st in newest PPM numbers. Fans demand format and personnel change. Petition drive to fire show producer Beth Ann McBride begins Monday March 30. (3/26/09) Dave's response: No. You're totally wrong. Robb is a secret agent for Don, and he's being remotely-controlled via satellite signal from Ocean City to make sure that Mike's show fails. Oh, it sounds like Thursday's show's another rerun. Hmmm..... Wouldn't it be great if Citadel sold the three stations to three separate people!!! Imagine the creativity...imagine the new jobs...imagine the competitive arena improving!!! Bonneville has done a great job with TOP but they have screwed up every other opportunity. They are not the answer. (3/26/09) Dave you mentioned the mass exodus of sales reps at Citadel; don't forget to mention the mass exodus taking place at CBS Radio Washington. How can CBS continue to retain such ineffective management in Washington? As you pointed out on the front page, not one CBS Radio Washington station in the top 10. If CBS wants to save a few dollars they can get almost anyone to do the job that the Washington suits are doing; they may even end up doing a better job! (3/26/09) President Obama's Online Town Hall meeting this morning was informative and interesting. Has anyone seen a transcript online anywhere? I've checked the newspaper websites the whitehouse.gov and even WTOP, but no luck in finding a transcript of the event. There were some 93-thousand questions submitted, but only a handful were actually used. Apparently the most popular question - the one about legalizing pot and using the revenues that would generate - was one that the folks out there in cyberspace liked and wanted an answer to. I'm not sure they liked Obama's response. (3/26/09) Hi Dave, I happened upon Hot 99.5 yesterday afternoon as the jock was back-announcing a song by, I think, the All-American Rejects. He raved about their entire new project, saying how much he's enjoying other songs on it. I thought that was cool, his talking up more than the current single. Then he asked his audience to 'por favor' go to I-Tunes and download those other songs. And I was left wondering--Was he sincerely enthusing about their music or was he pimpin' digital downloads with crass plug-ola? Robb in Capitol Heights (3/26/09) "......but didn't he have a fallout with Nester Aparicio?" Haven't about half of the people who have worked there had a fallout at some time or another?? (3/26/09) Dear Dave- I realize this is a bit off-topic, and I also realize I may be accused of rolling my poo in little balls, but I'm really pissed that the Washington Post is dropping my beloved Quote Acrostic from the Saturday comics page. This is one of the few remaining reasons I still get home delivery. Plus, my aging mom and I have made a point since way back in the '80s to get on the phone once a week and go over the QA. I'm not living in a van by the river, but I do enjoy some healthy compulsions, and the weekly Quote Acrostic in the Saturday Style section is one of them. Now I got to figure out another reason to call my mom. Crap. I encourage all those with mild OCD to write the Post at comics@washpost.com and uncork some poo rolling invective. Thanks for letting me share. Rick Flowe, Fredericksburg (3/26/09) What happened to Michael Byrd? He used to appear between 1 and 2pm on the Locker Room show on WTEM. He was funny and with a little changing of his routine I think that he could have been the co-host of a show somewhere. Gone from the show. Gone from the website. (3/26/09) Speaking on behalf of the overburdened World Wide Web, an Internet representative announced today that, as part of a new cost-cutting measure, all Wednesday e-mail service will be discontinued effective next week. "In order to serve our customers better, any correspondence sent after 11:59 p.m. on Tuesdays will now be delivered by noon on Thursdays," Internet spokeswoman Phyllis Gallows said. "Users should expect further delays during national holidays or on days affected by adverse weather conditions." Gallows added that starting March 31, all e-mail attachments will also be charged by weight. (3/26/09) At least 120 newspapers in the U.S. have shut down since January 2008, according to Paper Cuts, a Web site tracking the newspaper industry. With many newspapers shutting down and others cutting back on home delivery, Tributes.com is becoming the most reliable resource for obituary news, making sure no one is left in the dark about a passing. Founded by Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor, Tributes.com is a comprehensive resource for local and national obituary news and personal tributes. Tributes.com has over 82 million current and historical death records dating back to 1936. WSJ writer Jeffrey Zaslow reported recently that, starting this month, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press will be offering home delivery just three days a week. So, readers who've made a daily ritual of perusing obituaries in the morning -- and who won't go out to buy the paper or go online -- aren't necessarily going to learn about the deaths of their acquaintances. See article here: online.wsj.com. Tributes.com makes sure that consumers can stay informed 24/7 and connected with obit alerts for any town in the US, alumni, family name, or military unit. Users can set up alerts based on the zip code they currently reside in as well as previous locations they have lived in, and when someone has passed away in their community, an email will be sent to them with names of those who have passed. Readers won’t have to worry about missing the opportunity to leave a message of condolence or to attend a funeral because of missing the news in the paper. A few interesting facts surrounding this include: The obituary market as a $750M-$1B nearly untouched industry... Obituaries – major source of revenue for newspapers – every other classified section has gone online and made millions (Match.com, eHarmony.com, EBay, Craigslist, Monster.com, etc.) .... 2.5 million people die in the U.S. every year, and 12,000 of those people are turning 50 every day.... (3/26/09) From politics to pies: Hollywood Reporter is saying Sean Penn has been tapped to play "Larry" in an upcoming Three Stooges revival comedy. Jim Carrey might play Curly. Details at indiefilm.movies.com... Is anyone still playing Stooge shorts on television these days? (3/26/09) Dave's response: More movie news. Don Geronimo to star in "The Steve Dahl Story"..... Ahhhhh, I knew the liberal apologists would assume I was talking about Monicagate. How easily you are led without questioning the leadership. Yet, in another fine example of liberals believing only what they read, or do not in TWP. Let's forget the politics and focus on the media and its liberal bias. Just because only the tail end of Monicagate was reported by TWP et al of the democrat apologist media, and just because Hillary kept quiet due to her own political ambitions, that does not make mean Bill Clinton was not a rapist. However, testimony of his conquests as a rapist were reported in local media, such as here: www.capitolhillblue.com (3/26/09) That breeze you felt last night was Baltimore's Fox 45's News at Ten making what has to be another Hunt Valley-inspired sharp right turn. At 10:05 (!!) on a busy news day came an interview with the Editor of the Washington Times which was immediately followed by Joy Lepola and a graphic informing us what we will find in "tomorrow's Washington Times." This was immediately followed with an unfair,unbalanced and journalistically-embarrassing Jeff Barnd-voiced "story" on the country's purported move towards socialism. Clearly, these seem to be the moves of a television station with a larger agenda than serving the public good, enhancing its news credentials or even being watchable. Bob A. in Pikesville, MD (3/26/09) [Bill Clinton certainly wasn't a rapist. He only got a blow job.] Dude, you need to do some additional research. The BJ was but one consensual chapter in a long novel. (3/26/09) WNST is dropping hints about announcing a new baseball reporter (the position previously held by Casey Willet I assume?) and one of the on-air guys said it's someone with a familiar voice to WNST listeners. Any chance it's Terry Ford? I know he's been on with Fox1370 recently but didn't he have a fallout with Nester Aparicio? How about Pete Kertzel? Just wondering if anyone out there has heard any names. (3/26/09) Dave, I would be hesitant about breaking off NoVa as a separate broadcasting market, because that would formalize the racial divide between that area and the rest of the Washington region. It would more easily enable advertisers to treat NoVa as a castle town. Some of the nation's wealthiest majority-black communities are in PG County, yet their residents end up crossing town to Tyson's Corner just to find upscale shopping. The conventional wisdom seems to be that whites make up the vast majority of WJFK's listeners, and I would be interested to know if the ratings bear this out. As least as far as the Junkies are concerned, many of their callers identify themselves as brothers. If the conventional wisdom is correct, then WJFK's real problem may be that it's fighting WMAL and other conservative talkers for the white audience while being unable to attract a sizable portion of the black audience. What do you think of that theory? (3/26/09) Dave's response: Very interesting. Do the PPMs feature ethnic breakouts? So, how many sports folks in baltimore have left " lil " wnst for the new kid on the block : FOX 1370 am ? As I write, I am hearing Balt Sun writer David Steele on with Rob Long and his producer Phil ( all former nst'ers) there is also Dave Ginsburg, The Ungers , Terry Ford. Heck, even there are Orioles ads onn 1370 and they even rip the Birds from time to time , WOW !! what a turnaround ....is Casey next ? and now, you can win a talk show job from nestor? huh? LOL - just enter ?- what a JOKE they have become in a matter of months . Marcus Topka , loving 1370 in parkville! (3/26/09) Is anyone else having a good laugh at the misfortunes of the Washington Toast. Is it not the height of liberal elitism to think that you can champion green causes, broadband for the poor, save the earth, save the trees, save energy, cut the use of plastics and oil, cut metals in drinking water, save gas and champion other liberal causes, and not think that the benefit of these causes will come home to roost? The death of dead tree media, and especially TWP which long supported the policies that have lead to its extinction may be the only benefit of the Obami admin, but it is certainly a justified irony. You got what you wanted, and as usual, you dont want what you got. Ha Ha Ha. (3/26/09) Dave's response: The USPS punishes folks who still use snail mail with price increases. The Post punishes folks who still get the dead tree edition with price increases. Duh..... Re: Flipping FMs to Gospel because "every other format is taken"... Man, I have been missing out! Somebody tell me where the full-time jazz station is, and the nostalgia station, and the easy listening station, and how about a good solid pop station? Yes, there _are_ too many soundalike rock stations on the dial, but there are plenty of genres not represented at all. If we're going to lose another station to a religious format, at least give us something different on one of the current gospel stations on AM. Yes, I'll listen to music on AM. About all that's left on that dial these days is WYRE and WCTR (I'm burned out on WFBR, and can't get WCTN up here). ~~CA in BC (3/26/09) I haven't listened to WTOP since Jamie Bragg passed away, but I gave them a try this morning and there wasn't any news? Someone at the office tells me they left the band years ago. So why a "celebration" for a dead station? (3/26/09) Dave's response: I still think there's a huge opportunity for CBS to plop a staccato, headline-oriented news/traffic/weather newser on 94.7. DC is a huge news radio market. There's "room" for competition, me thinks. "News 24/7 On The Globe 94.7." As much as Farley would hate it, it would make TOP only better..... Bill Clinton certainly wasn't a rapist. He only got a blow job. (3/26/09) “Post To Lose "Substantial Money" In 2009” Anyone have a tissue? George Allen (3/26/09) Dave, I have Verizon FIOS cable, and MASN HD was on channel 577 as of last night. The Nats game wasn’t in HD, but the picture was much improved over the SD version. I can’t wait to watch those terrible Nats in HD this season! Dave (3/26/09) Dave's response: Cox has already added MASN-HD, too. Coming to Comcast on 4/1..... Chris Plante put down Black people for doing the same thing the Irish, Italians, Yiddish, Catholics, and Poles have historically done in this country? That is not only racist, it is just plain uniformed. My God! a person on WMAL being uniformed or misinformed; could this misinformed problem stretch out to other WMAL time slots? I am going to have to re-think this Obama is an Arab, Muslim, socialist, Marxist, fascist, illegal alien that I heard on the Mark Levin show all last year. Chris Plante is a dumbass, and he needs to apologize for his dumbass, hurtful comments directed at Blacks. Chris Plante's and Mark Levin's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. (3/26/09) If Cantor is a pervert for merely going to see Britney, does that make Bill Clinton a sexual predator, dare I say rapist, for what he did? You liberals don't get it. STFU. And for those who read something besides the TWP/NYT news.softpedia.com there have been stories for many years about Britney's discipline fetish. But wait, even the TWP, and of all places the Reliable Source, does have something on this www.washingtonpost.com. You see, as so often happens with hollyweird, what the stars advocate or protest against in public, be it politics, perversion or punishment, is not the same as what they do when alone at home. Brit likes to have her bum hit, get over it. Or get over my knee. Either way, spank Britney. (3/26/09) Dave, I wanted to say how effective your classified ads are. I have gotten several excellent responses from DCRTV readers to the "Help Wanted" ad I posted Tuesday. There are lots of good folks out there. And if anyone missed it: I need to hire a financial writer/broadcaster with expertise in corporate and municipal bonds. $70/hr -- steady contract work for a very well known Wall Street investment house. Thanks again. PBrandus@gmail.com (3/26/09) www.vimeo.com So many well wishes. So deeply appreciated by our little family. Thank you so much. Now seriously ... come change this diaper. (3/26/09) /\ March 26 Messages /\ \/ March 25 Messages \/ HFS2 is back on the air in DC on 94.7-2. YES!!!!!! No imaging but it is HFS. TUNE IN...if you have an HD Radio. (3/25/09) In WTOP’s 40 years as an all-news station, I can only recall two really nasty errors. The first was from the otherwise perfect John Lynker on the Daimler-Benz/Chrysler “marriage of equals” merger when he said that Chrysler had formerly been the importer of Mercedes-Benz cars into the U.S. It was actually Studebaker. And, on an otherwise flawless tribute. Dave McConnell commented that nobody had done all-news in Washington before. Sir, with all due respect, do you not recall WAVA? OK, so its daytime AM was about as powerful as a toaster, with an FM that not only few listened to because FM had yet to achieve competitiveness, let alone dominance but had only just shed its last C&W program when WTOP went all news. (WTOP also was all-news on FM at 96.3 when not simulcasting “The Young Sound”. Remember the ID? “WTOP with FM, Washington”?) However, WAVA was indeed the all-news pioneer in the D.C. market. Because WTOP was still owned by the Washington Post back then, Arthur Arundel tried getting the Antitrust Division of Justice Department involved in an effort to stop the format change. All that did was to get the Nixon Administration looking at “media ownership concentration”. Especially when the media involved was hostile to its interests! As for the commemorative video: A class act from a class act. Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/25/09) Re: "So, NBC4 did exactly what Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity and Mark Levin do everyday to appease their audience." Look, I agree that they Daily Greg piece was self-indulgent and his letter was - frankly - poorly written. But your anonymous comment that Sean and Rush do it, too, so it's okay, is off the mark. The point that is too often missed still to this day is that the liberal news media (and please...there is no controversy on that point anymore) does this under the guise of NEWS. Sean and Rush (and Rachel and Ed on the left) are entertainers. I don't give a hoot what opinionists say, and I agree that both sides slant everything to their favor. But when it's under the guise of "journalism" and "news," the standards and responsibilities change. This is a minor example from an operation at this hardly the pinnacle of jounralism, but it is very interesting. Do I think that NBC4's editing was driven by extremely liberal bias? No. It was probably them trying to be middle of the road, non-controversial (at least from a slightly left of center perspective). But the end result - what was presented to viewers and what wasn't - is the point. And it is interesting. Bob in Forest Hill (3/25/09) I’m sure all of us dinosaurs from the old WMAL salute WTOP on its 40th anniversary. I vividly remember the old WMAL newsroom, filled with reporters and writers… and another fleet of them on the street hunting down the news. WMAL had the ratings for more than 20 years, but it was WTOP’s vaunted news room that drove us. WMAL’s News Director Len Diebert would frequently stride through the newsroom on Jenifer street, literally screaming, “’TOP has had that story for 15 minutes! Why are we behind!!!” The WMAL newsroom is all but empty these days… something like a museum. My best to Jim Farley and all at 3400 Idaho Ave. You guys ROCK! Tom Gauger (3/25/09) Just heard two hfstival versions of songs on 947HD2: Fuel's Hemrige in my Hand and Papa Roach's Last Resort. Also, the playlist was exclusively alternative rock without the 80s and classic rock tunes mixed in - looks like HFS2 is coming to DC sooner then we thought. (3/25/09) So VA Congressman Eric Cantor went to the Britney Spears concert last night? Pervert. Wait, I get it. She was wearing a "bondage" outfit and he's the House Minority "Whip." You do the math. Wow, sometimes I can be pretty funny. (3/25/09) This is why I miss George Michael: www.youtube.com (3/25/09) "Another example of media bias – NBC 4 Washington caught in the act: www.youtube.com..." - That video was a self-indulgent piece of crap. So, NBC4 did exactly what Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity and Mark Levin do everyday to appease their audience. Take a story/comments out of context. Of course, you suck it up whilst polishing your 45 yet when it happens to you. Oh dear.... Makes me realize that a Democrat is a Republican who got caught! (3/25/09) Dave, I like your ideas about the CC stations, it's always fun to sit back and see what the plans are. As I recall, wasn't it 104.3 that played "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" over and over before they did a completely different format? Baltimore has a very solid and loyal country audience, there is nothing to directly support their growing 35-64 demos either. Why not take one of their Baltimore properties and do 80's and 90's country, and throw in a few 60's and 70's occasionally. After all, WPOC has been in the top 5 since the 70's playing just that kind of music. Such a change won't hurt WPOC with the 25-54 targeted demo, and selling the two stations as a combo might be wise. Down here at WZBB, we are surrounded by at least four 100kw modern country outlets, we chose to focus on 80's thru today, and despite a 50 mile service area, the station is well supported and different from the others. Offering alternative formats can't hurt. Tom Conroy (3/25/09) Great video from WTOP! (3/25/09) Dave's response: Frank Herzog with a goatee! Wow..... Got this from Jayski.com: Odd race in DC with Kyle Busch: The Smell My Face Beltway Race 2! Elliot of the Elliot In The Morning radio show in Washington DC announced a new EITM promotion, introducing The Smell My Face Beltway Race 2 with Flounder and #18-Kyle Busch. Flounder beat out Hélio Castroneves in the same race 3 years ago. This Thursday morning {March 26th], Flounder defends his title when he takes on NASCAR's Kyle Busch in a lap around the DC beltway. The first man back to the station wins the coveted Smell My Face Beltway Race trophy.(EITMfans) (3/25/09) Dave, If 102.7 flipped to a Gospel FM format, I think Baltimore would be one of the few markets to have two 50,000 watt religious stations in the market. That's pretty unique. If they do flip I am going to miss those Totally Awesome 80s weekends, I really enjoy those when I come to visit at home...I never really knew Jack Shannon aside from some e-mails that we sent each other from time to time. However he always wished me well in my radio endeavors. I pass on my thoughts and prayers to his family. Jack did have a classic radio voice and the news/talk format was right up his alley. -Michael Popovec (3/25/09) Dave's response: A lot of markets have two or more major FM religious outlets. Hell, er, heck, here in DC we have Salem's Christian talk WAVA, Radio One's gospel WPRS, and Columbia Union College's Christian contemporary WGTS. Yeah, I love the '80s tunes on QSR, too..... Dave wrote: "Since both are (or soon will be) Clear Channel properties, what would become of CC's WCAO and its AM gospel format? Another Baltimore sports talker?" What would that become, the 15th Baltimore sports talk station? I lost track at four... (3/25/09) Here's something that hasn't been noted: The Washington Post's Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon work for "PTI", which is produced by Atlantic Video. Atlantic Video is owend by the Unification Church, which not only is arguably a cult, but produces The Washington Times, Post competitor. Although I guess they are technically working for ESPN, Atlantic Video does make the show. (3/25/09) In all fairness, I think Chris Plante should spend 30 minutes tomorrow condemning Silvie for eating at an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant, or hiring any Puerto Rican for services from seamstress to tax accountant. There is no difference between this logic and Chris Plante’s logic this morning, and if Chris Plante sees any difference, then he has extreme negative feelings towards Black people as a whole, and that is racism. (3/25/09) I have a radio prediction! I think that 102.7 or 104.3 in Baltimore will flip to Urban Gospel by the end of 2009. Just about every other format is taken accept for CHR/ Top 40 (but we can hear 99.5 from DC) and Smooth Jazz which was taken off of 104.3 (What a stupid decision by Clear Channel... YES STUPID! You should be ashamed of yourself! PPM or No PPM!) Radio One is not the only company that knows how to program Gospel stations! There is way too much Rock on the radio! Yes I know that there is alot of religious stations in the area but Baltimore has no Full time FM gospel station. This is 20 years overdue! When it does happen I predict that station will be a top 10 station without trying and if you get the right sales people in place it could be one of the top billers in the market. Marcus Crockett (3/25/09) Dave's response: That's very possible. I would have to say that the commercial gospel format and contemporary hit format are both very likely on 102.7/104.3. Since both are (or soon will be) Clear Channel properties, what would become of CC's WCAO and its AM gospel format? Another Baltimore sports talker? Maybe Baltimore's first Spanish station? Hmmm..... Another example of media bias – NBC 4 Washington caught in the act: www.youtube.com... Greg (3/25/09) Is Bluegrass Country really charging people $2 to download their iPhone/iPod Touch application ? I suppose if they consider that $2 a pledge I understand but every other public broadcaster I've seen offers their applications for free (WTMD, XPN, MPR, KPCC, etc). That and many applications do Internet radio for FREE that one can listen to Bluegrass Country on. Sure you won't get the giant logo on the display but one can live without. Here's a wacky idea, if WAMU is serious about iPhone apps they should offer all the WAMU feeds in one application (WAMU 88.5, Bluegrass and HD3's hybrid talk/TMD format). Still wouldn't pay $2 for it but it's a little more incentive ... (3/25/09) is the other kids' show that you are thinking of Wonderama? I believe that was on WTTG too. no idea, how that popped into my mind! (3/25/09) Reading the New York Daily News story ( thanks to the link on DCRTV's main page ) about the arrest of the 16 year old boy who murdered WABC's George Weber had me wondering. Isn''t the act of putting an ad on Craigslist looking for sex illegal? For some reason I thought it was. Also I wonder if a broadcasting company like Citadel has a policy to montior "sexual" websites to see if any of their employees ( even freelancers ) have profiles on them? I know the Kroger Supermarket chain does this. Kroger having fake profiles on sex sites for the sole purpose of seeing if any of their employees have profiles on them and to fire them if they get caught even if they only access the sites from home. Of course we are talking about those stupid enough to post where they work at on such sites. But going back to media, I would be very surprised if any of the local radio & TV stations don't have a similar policy to what Kroger has. Gotta protect your product. (3/25/09) Dave's response: Soliciting sex between consenting adults on the internet isn't illegal. If money becomes involved, then it could be considered prostitution, which is illegal in many areas. Any type of internet sexual solicitation involving someone who is "under age," or even someone who is assumed to be "under age" (a la a cop pretending to be someone under 18) is illegal. Just ask Bill Kamal. Again, I am not an attorney. I just play one on this website..... Dave said: “Fold it four ways and shove it where the sun don't shine.....” OK Dave, I voted for her simply because of your creative phrasing (and for her support of DCRTV)! (3/25/09) Chris Plante’s show this morning proved he is a non-thinking, illogical, socially inept, sophomoric fool that likes to race bait. He should no longer be allowed to express such a dimwitted and race baiting opinion on the air. Minorities have the right, and also should accept responsibilities, to support themselves financially. It is not “racist” for minorities to help bolster their race financially. A lot of new immigrants who were white did just this throughout US History. Here is a lesson for you, dumbass Plante; if a majority financially favors its majority, it is racist. For a minority to financially favor its minority, it is not racist. Chris Plante, you idiot, your fellow ABC/Citadel brethren Mark Davis wrote several pieces for the FT. Worth Star Telegram on this exact subject, and he destroyed logic like yours in it. Perhaps you can call Mark and get an enlightened, educated and historical opinion on this matter, so you no longer will say such dumbass things. This is no longer “infotainment;” Chris Plante used the airwaves to condemn those minorities that are doing the right and honorable thing. Here’s a message for you, dumbass; your great grandparents probably participated in the same favoritism towards their fellow old world countrymen, and it helped them and others acquire wealth. You should start the show tomorrow with “I am a dumbass, and I did no historical or social research before I made dumbass comments, yesterday. And for that, I apologize.“ (3/25/09) It’s disturbing to see NPR involved in what is, essentially, “union-busting.” As an alum of the Mass Av plant, I’ll opine that NPR grew bloated over the past few decades and—worse yet—became dependent on the surge in underwriting (advertising) revenue to pad the paychecks at the top and overextend the organization’s dalliances in stuff unrelated to the core mission. So now instead of being a lean & mean efficient public radio network, NPR is full of fluff and overpaid executives. And rather than trim back the real fat, the union employees get their benefits slashed. What a great outfit they’ve grown into. Always looking out for “the public,” eh? (3/25/09) I am still trying to win a Pella door! Voting ends next week, March 27. Please bookmark the link/add to favorites and vote for me today and daily, please. Read important note below. (1) Open the link below, (2) click the circle underneath my plywood door photo, (3) scroll down to click “Submit your Vote” at bottom of voting screen. That’s it; less than 3 seconds to cast your vote. kc-pella.com/LoveYourUglyDoorContest... Important Note, In the spirit of the competition, you are allowed to vote for me one time per day, per IP address. If someone in your office is having problems voting, it’s likely because they are on the same IP address as you or others that have already voted for the day. I ask/encourage you to also vote from your home computer daily to help me win. I appreciate your kindness! Patricia (3/25/09) Dave's response: OK, she's a previous advertiser on DCRTV. She asked me for the favor. Got a problem with that? Fold it four ways and shove it where the sun don't shine..... I remember Vegetable Soup! In fact, the only thing I remember is that snake and some kid getting bit! (3/25/09) Spotted on whfs2.com while right clicking and highlighting: "KennyinGlenBurnie - Get a life." Hmmm... (3/25/09) Dave's response: Hmmm, indeed..... Very sad news at the passing of Jack Shannon (Steve Oreto). I had the pleasure of working with him at both WGMD and WKHZ. He was a true gentleman, a talented broadcaster with a great love of radio and "oldies", and a valued friend.---Richard Marcus (3/25/09) -Local TV Flashback- Does anyone remember a news show for kids that ran on Channel 5 WTTG in the mid to late 70s... it was called Newsbag... I remember one kid, his mane was Avi Alder, why I remember this, really disturbs me, but we all have our lot in life... another obscure kid's show was 'Vegetable Soup'... Bette Midler did the voice of Woody the spoon, there was a Kid called Nigel that had a sanke... but most memorable about Veg Soup was the bad acid trip of a puppet show called 'Outerscope 1". I have to go now, the memory is making feel like Tim Robbins in 'Jacob's Ladder'... anyone care to flashback with me? -matt in sterling (3/25/09) Re npr's indoctrinees who deny here its use of "confiscated taxpayer dollars" [e.g. because they are not all taxpayer bucks], if they really believe that, then JUST GIVE THEM UP - STOP FEEDING AT THE PUBLIC TROUGH ALTOGETHER, AND LET IT STAND ON ITS OWN. And that also means no tax dollars to its intimate 'public radio' partners, the local stations that fund it with TAX DOLLARS. And if they are really willing to play on a level field [no chance of that], tell congress that you want npr and public radio stations INCLUDED in any 'fairness doctrine' bill that they will apply to their competitors. (3/25/09) Look, I like Donnie G fine enough I guess, and think it is cool that he sort of "went back to his routes" out in OC. Heck, I was even at Seacrets one day when he was doing his show there. Pretty neat. But there are two undeniable facts: (1) the D & M show was basically dead long before he left; whether it was losing his wife, or just burnout, the show was just terrible and I think he knew it. (2) he has GOT to stop bitching about his CBS contract; he signed it, he got paid well from it, and now he has to live by it, just like any of the rest of us would. (3/25/09) Dear Ted and Tim: About that explosion, the line forms behind me, losers. --Signed, Crazy Harry, Muppet Central, NYC. (3/25/09) Monday March 23rd Broadcaster Jack J. Shannon (Steve Oreto) passed away due to complications of Cancer. He was residing in Eau Claire Wisconsin. He leaves his wife and daughter. Jack relocated to Eau Claire in June of 2007 and took the Programming Position at the Public Broadcasting Station. He became ill six months later and due to his illness had to resign. Jack J. Shannon started his career in one of the New England stations that launched a lot of well-known broadcasters, WFEA in Manchester, New Hampshire, as a young and dedicated rock jock, music director and air personality. In 1960, he got his first major market shot with WORL in Boston. Being a native of the area, he was an instant hit with legions of local listeners. A short stint in Worcester, Massachusetts was followed by a return to beantown and WBOS, where he was, once again, a "Boss" jock. For over two years he was among the top-rated rockers in the city. Management changes brought Jack back to Worcester and WORC before Providence, Rhode Island and WHIM. But Jack spent the better part of his career in the east coast resort towns of Rehoboth Beath, Delaware and Ocean City, Maryland. Since 2000, he has produced syndicated oldies shows under the name of MusicLine. Jack resides in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and this is just one example of his work. He will be missed. If you would like to communicate your sentiments please contact pbicknell@readstreetsound.com. He will be missed. (3/25/09) RE: "Dave, do you know if they need any help rigging that explosion on the Potomac? Signed, Ted Kaczynski." Fuck you, Unabomber. I got first dibs. Sincerely, Timothy McVeigh (wait - I was executed back in 2001) (3/25/09) Ben Cardin trying to save the newspaper business. When will the government stop trying to save dying industries such as newspapers, auto manufactures, and family farms. Maybe it is just my laissez faire, capitalist attitude but let the fuckers fail. This includes these banks that are allegedly so vital. If you can't compete, just die already. Government is there to protect the border, build roads, and punish fraud not make people feel good about themselves. Sounds cruel but that is capitalism if it still exists. Paulie G. (3/25/09) "Interesting. If NPR qualifies as taxpayer funded simply because their affiliates receive federal, state and local subsidies, then I guess by the same standard that means that Rush Limbaugh should be considered at least partially taxpayer funded because his show is aired on the Armed Forces Radio Network, who also relies on taxpayer subsidies. (3/25/09)" -- No. AFRTS doesn't pay for its programming; it is provided gratis by the networks for the use of American service members overseas. NPR affiliates pay NPR for services and NPR affiliates receive government funding; there is a difference. I've always thought that NPR wanted to be the CBC, while the CBC wanted to be the BBC, while the BBC wants to be... who knows? Do note that NPR's most-listened to programs are news. Too much of the other programming is filled with unlistenable announcers. -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle (3/25/09) Re: Barry Lee & WINC-FM,....I could be wrong but I am pretty sure Barry Lee is the only radio personality in the Winchester market who is actually under contract. The only other Winchester jock I can think of who was in the same boat as Barry Lee was as far as being "under contract" was Joe Pasquali who for many years ( since at least 1960 ) did mornings at WINC until he was replaced in 1985 by..Barry Lee. So with that being said Winchester's WINC has had only TWO main morning jocks for almost FIFTY YEARS, of course I am not counting the many co-hosts who did WINC's morning show along side Joe Pasquali or Barry Lee as there were many of those over the years nor am I counting WINC-AM's brief attempt last year at having their own live morning show. Anyway if WINC-FM would clean house tomorrow chances are Barry Lee would remain on the staff and besides it could be a PR nightmare for WINC-FM if they would cut Barry Lee since he is very much loved in the area. Its not hard to find those who hate WINC-FM but they do love Barry Lee. But then again a WINC-FM WITHOUT Barry Lee would be interesting and I am sure one will hear and/or read online those "..WINC-FM will DIE without Barry Lee" statements. To those people I would say "Q102 and Jenny Lynn". Hard to believe it has been that long but 15 years ago Jenny Lynn was by far the most popular jock in the Winchester market ( even bigger than Barry Lee ) and one back then would often hear about how Q102 would "die" and change formats if Jenny Lynn would leave Q102. Well Jenny did leave and as for Q102..still as popular as ever so with that being said WINC-FM would survive without Barry Lee even though I do have strong doubts that WINC-FM would ever drop him from their airstaff. (3/25/09) Dave, do you know if they need any help rigging that explosion on the Potomac? Signed, Ted Kaczynski (3/25/09) re: trying to see Maryland women on ESPN 2. When ESPN regionalizes its games and makes sure a local team is on in its home market, only the STANDARD DEFINITION channel is regionalized. ESPN2 HD will carry the national "whip-around" feed. For example, on my Comcast in Prince George's, ESPN2 SD (Ch. 12) would be the full Maryland game but ESPN2 HD (Ch. 253) would be the game of ESPN's choice. That's just what they do. But, it won't matter the rest of the way, since every women's game from here on is unopposed. Steve in Lanham (3/25/09) Interesting. If NPR qualifies as taxpayer funded simply because their affiliates receive federal, state and local subsidies, then I guess by the same standard that means that Rush Limbaugh should be considered at least partially taxpayer funded because his show is aired on the Armed Forces Radio Network, who also relies on taxpayer subsidies. (3/25/09) /\ March 25 Messages /\ \/ March 24 Messages \/ I live in Anne Arundel county and am trying to watch the Lady Terps on Comcast. Why, in god's name, are they showing another game? All the papers said the Terps game would be on ESPN 2??? (3/24/09) I was driving back to Fairfax tonight and I noticed around 7:15 or so that WINC-FM was airing the Billy Bush Show. I haven’t seen it mentioned on here, so I figured it must have just started. WINC was a really great example of a “local” station, but they’ve sure moved away from that over the last few years, especially with this move. I believe that until as recently as a couple of years ago, all of their shifts, even the overnight ones, were live. Not anymore. I wonder how long it is until Barry Lee is out… BG (3/24/09) [Re: Sorry to blow a hole in yet another rightie-radio myth, but NPR is not taxpayer-funded.] It sure as hell is. With its FY2008 congressional appropriation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting spent nearly $100 million to fund commercial radio's competitors. (Not to mention the program grants that came from the other federal entities you mentioned, and the substantially larger amounts of funding provided by state and local governments.) As a network organization, NPR -- after three decades -- has finally nearly removed itself from the government's teat. But its 860 member stations each require federal, state and local subsidies to stay on the air, and those stations send those government dollars right back to NPR in the form of dues. As the Kroc endowment investments have sunk and underwriters have cut back, the national organization's largesse has resulted in a modicum of layoffs. Clearly, the public radio system is unsustainable without the tax dollars that are unwittingly extracted each week from this commercial broadcaster's paycheck. Look for higher government subsidies to be handed out to our tremendously successful competitors in the future. (3/24/09) Dave— Don’t know if this is relevant to DCRTV or not… but all of us in the ABC family miss George terribly...... Statement from Family of George Weber - We are devastated by the loss of George (Jordy to us). He was a truly caring person who loved and was loved by all he met. The outpouring of support by his friends and neighbors is a blessing to us and a testimony to his character. Jordy loved New York and its people, particularly his Carroll Gardens neighborhood. His passion for radio journalism was evident from his early years and only grew the longer he worked. We deeply appreciate the tireless efforts by the New York police to find Jordy’s murderer and bring justice to our family, particularly the detectives on this case. We ask anyone with information to assist this effort by calling 1-800-577-TIPS. In this time of unimaginable personal grief, we request that our privacy be respected while we mourn our son, brother, and uncle. We are grateful for the inquires we have received regarding cards and flowers and ask that correspondence be addressed to George Weber c/o 125 West End Ave, NY, NY 10023. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of George’s preferred charities: The North Shore Animal League, 25 Davis Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050. Memorial services are pending. The family of George Weber (3/24/09) It's a blood bath here in Columbia today. So now we can expect that ratings accuracy will soar. well...kinda. (3/24/09) Was quite surprised to hear that Brian Bolter was married. He has always came off to me as a self-centered, metrosexual pretty boy. I just assumed that he was a single playboy. And once he got the solo anchoring gig for "The Edge", I thought he REALLY thought he was all that..And now with that guest spot (although very short) on "24", I just think he's really gotten a big head!!.. (3/24/09) Barrett Bolter?? Poor bastard ..... (3/24/09) wdmv am700 - Are they done? No update found on their website. no signal last i checked. It's too bad, they were the only station that had halfway descent coverage of the markets. (3/24/09) Dave's response: You can find biz news on WWRC, 1260 AM, but the signal ain't so great after dark..... RE: [Amazing what you can do with confiscated taxpayer dollars, and then use the airwaves to raise additional money for yourself] Well, given the alternative of the recent wave of Yakker commercial endorsements, I definately prefer the alternative of listener-supported radio. It used to give me a chuckle when Chris Core shamelessly plugged "Harry Helmet" five times a show, but come on...Do you REALLY want to wake up some night screaming to the image of a naked and sweaty Rush Limbaugh enjoying the soothing comfort of a pulsating shower spray warmed by his Rennai Tankless Hot Water Heater? Even worse....the thought of Rusty's "sleep partner" finding themself so relaxed by a night's sleep on Rush-bo's Sleep Number Bed that she (or he) gets up, gets dressed and leaves without even taking the money Rush left on the corner of the dresser? Let's not even get into the Sean Hannity's shameless pimping of fools gold on be half of his "good friend" Allen Stanford. No thanks, I'll take "listener-supported" NPR any day. (3/24/09) Hunky Mark Levin? Is that the same Mark Levin who had his first heart attack, followed by bypass surgery while still in his early forties. And shouldn't you have amended the news to read that he broadcasts from a gurney inside his Northern Virginia home? If you want to listen to a guy on the edge of death and consider an explosive rant about how President Obama is either a Marxist or a Muslim then this a radio ranter for you. ACH (3/24/09) Dave's response: On a scale of Republican hunkdom, which includes flabby tubbies like Limbaugh, Levin is a stud. Although, nowhere near the supreme hotness of Liddy (right). Hope I look that good when I'm that old..... ''WAAAAAH! DonnyG has a Twitter account and I'm very upset about it. I'm going to write DCRTV's mailbag and voice my displeasure about it. WAAAAH!'' Seriously, some of you people need to grow up. You're probably the same people who think Obama hates retards too! Paul (3/24/09) Clear Channel Chicago is bouncing Tom Joyner's syndicated morning show after 13 years on WVAZ-FM 102.7, moving "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" from WGCI-FM 107.5 to replace it beginning Tuesday. www.chicagotribune.com (3/24/09) I just caught the interview you all did with Doreen. She's such a gem, and so smart. Definitely my favorite. (3/24/09) So Don G.’s Twitter account rose to 1,000 after you posted info about it on this site. Well, gee, on Facebook, without your help, I have 1,000 “friends.” Whoop-dee-fucking-do. Don trying to pass along info-tainment to his minions via Twitter is lower on the media scale than having a cable access show. We don’t need it, Dave. Don’t waste the space with any more DG twits please.What's next? Updates from Joel A. Spivak's blog? Regarding the Junkies (who I do like and listen to) and their penchant for asking for freebies (and in some cases turning them around to make money) and generally abusing their privileges: the worst example of this was Lurch admitting last year that he went out to frivolous lunches and charged it to the fund set up for the Craig Walden Classic. They expect people to participate in this event and pay good money to do so, supposedly for a good cause to honor their friend, and Lurch admits he was taking some of that money to go out to lunch with his buddies (and it had nothing to do with the event). I like those guys but when they start talking -- hell, BRAGGING -- about shit like that, it’s sickening. Isn't that illegal anyway? (3/24/09) Inside Radio running an ad for a PD/AM drive personality at a "small market in the shadow of DC". Anything happening in Hagerstown, Frederick or Annapolis? (3/24/09) RE: [Re npr - if a dissenting opinion can be tolerated - Amazing what you can do with confiscated taxpayer dollars] Sorry to blow a hole in yet another rightie-radio myth, but NPR is not taxpayer-funded. According to their financial statements, only one to two percent of their annual budget comes through competitive grants sought by NPR from federally funded organizations, such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. I'd hardly say receipt of grant funding to cover less than one fiftieth of their operating costs gives them much of a leg up on the competition. Anyways, those funds are only used for educational and arts related funding, not current affairs or news. A swing and a miss. (3/24/09) Are NPRs ratings really "soaring" or are these more adjustments brought forth by the change to PPM? It seems odd because many other left-leaning news/talk outlets are waaaay down. Bob in Forest Hill (3/24/09) Was wondering what you all think of this: So, it is a safe assumption that WJFK's 'Junkies' make a good salary, most likely much higher than the median income for the DC area. Publicists and potential guests send books, CD's, DVDs, games and various hardware (bluetooth devices, etc) to aid in promotion. The other morning on The Junkies one of the hosts 'Cakes' and their producer 'Brett' admitted rather than properly distributing these goods to listeners, they actually take these things and post them on Ebay to sell for personal profit. Why would they admit to doing this on the air. It is essentially saying, I make good money, but it is not enough. They freely admitted this with CK, the program director right there. What is going on at that station? Isn't this stealing? Doesn't this make you sick? (3/24/09) ("Oh yeah, JenAnniston dumped JohnMayer cause of his Twitter dependency. Baby, I'll toss mine off a bridge if you'll be my wife, BigLove style." OK, it'a joke, but at its core it's downright MEAN. DB in DC) Did you even bother to get the Big Love style reference? And if you really think it is mean, you really don't get it. Tim, Gaithersburg (3/24/09) Dave's response: I think Don was saying that he wants to throw his Twitter device "off a bridge" - not his new wife - and then have "JenAnniston" and his new bride both be his wives, a la HBO's "Big Love," which is about a man who has three wives..... Re npr - if a dissenting opinion can be tolerated - Amazing what you can do with confiscated taxpayer dollars, and then use the airwaves to raise additional money for yourself [vs real charities, as the private stations often do]. Final secret: Make sure the congressional stooges in your pocket exempt you from the 'fairness doctrine' they will apply to your competitors. (3/24/09) After the fireball dies down on the Key Bridge, you'll see a tiny puff of smoke in Fairfax . . . that would be the immolation of what's left of Mike O'Meara's career. Incidentally, his opening monologue on last Friday's show about Donny G. and the show was as STRANGE as anything I've ever heard. If I had to guess, I think it's (a) Mike understands completely why Don did what he did; and (b) Mike realizes that Don's departure almost certainly meant that the long ride on the gravy train would be coming to an end; and (c) Mike resents (b), while accepting (a). As the Stones sang, "Mixed Emotions." Does anybody have any idea how long Don's non-compete IS, anyway? The MOMS is a baseball team with no clean-up hitter. Sincerely, TMU. (3/24/09) So, Geronimo just got married over the weekend, and then he posts this on his Twitter account this morning: "Oh yeah, JenAnniston dumped JohnMayer cause of his Twitter dependency. Baby, I'll toss mine off a bridge if you'll be my wife, BigLove style." OK, it'a joke, but at its core it's downright MEAN. DB in DC (3/24/09) Hey Dave, just read the article on newsbusters.com regarding Allyson Wilson and want to give you a congrats for being given credited with reporting the story..Way to go Dave!! (3/24/09) Dave's response: All I ask is a little credit, now and then. Is that too much to ask, Mr. Blart? And who's the dipshit at NPR PR who gave the Tuesday morning press release about the higher ratings to the Post before everyone else? That's not nice..... The Post ran a correction story on the "fireball story". www.washingtonpost.com (3/24/09) "That's a good 15 minutes of brain farts for this morning. Twit at u twatters later! Gots to check my noncompete to see what Q's I can answer." - Looks like the CBS legal eagles have told Don Geronimo, who is still under contract to CBS, not to talk about CBS stuff, like WJFK, in his Tweets. (3/24/09) So, what is ABC Radio doing with the slots left vacant by the late Paul Harvey? Yesterday I heard Mike Huckabee in the 8:30 am slot on WMAL. I thought, oh, gawd, another politician on the air. If I want that, I'll watch Leno. Didn't hear anything at 11:45 except some phone-in blather. If I want the great unwashed's opinions about things they don't know anything about, I'll go to Wikipedia. So I went to WCTR at 12:05. While apologizing for not turning the satellite receiver to the right channel to pick up the feed (I do appreciate honesty in broadcasting), the on-air guy said that in place of the daily 15-minute show there will be a 5-minute "Huckabee Report" at 12:05. (Actually, it's 3 minutes: www.abcradionetworks.com)... Has ABC simply given up all hope of finding someone to carry on with their most-listened-to program? (Radio stations' own web sites are no help whatsoever in trying to answer such questions; WMAL's site talks about Paul Harvey like he's still alive.) I will miss Gil Gross, and I will even miss Paul Harvey Jr.'s sometimes wacko morning show. But Huckabee? The famous saying by Charlie Brown comes to mind: "BLEAGH!" ~~CA in BC (3/24/09) Hey, Dave...a simulated explosion for the filming of a TV pilot will take place on Wednesday, March 25 between 9:30 a.m. and noon near Key Bridge in the District. The explosion will produce a 20 to 30' fireball that will last approximately 2 minutes. The explosion will take place on the Potomac River just north of the Key Bridge and Jack's Boathouse (K / Water Street, NW under the Whitehurst Freeway). Please be aware that this is NOT a real emergency situation. In the scene to be filmed, there will be six (6) sculling boats on the Potomac River and one of them blows up. CBS Paramount television is filming a pilot titled "Washington Field." This is a new television series about the elite Washington field office of the FBI and a team of agents with exceptional and diverse skills who are called together for only the most critical cases. On another local note regarding RNC talking points, Chris Plante's crap can be heard on WMAL between 9:00 AM and 11:45 AM. (3/24/09) Dave - Is it really so necessary to give up to the minute updates on Radio God Don Geronimo through your website? Do you think that by reposting some of his tweets you're scooping any of us? Furthermore, how forthcoming with information do you feel he will be in future if you continue reposting his own tweets on your homepage not even 24 hours later? If we want to know what he's up do, we'll follow him on twitter and we don't need DCRTV serving as a proxy. What's next...you're going to give us an update when as to when Imus has his monthly bowel movement or Liddy does anything of note?!? I think not. Your fanboy status for all things WJFK and Don and Mike related knows no bounds. Respectfully, Long-time West Coast JFK fan (3/24/09) Dave's response: Whenever I cover something Geronimo does, DCRTV's traffic goes up. The people want to know what the radio god is up to! Hey, at the start of last week, Don's Twitter account was at 100-ish followers. After linking to it on DCRTV, it's now approaching 1,000. OK, nowhere near Peter Rosenberg's 8,600-ish followers at twitter.com/rosenbergradio.com. By the way, Liddy did take a shit at precisely 6:43 this morning..... Dave, literally copied and pasted from the whfs2.com "black" website: a copy and paste of a hidden message; AN EASTER EGG if you will. It says: "What are you looking at?" That's it. Apparently there are some pranksters still working at least the website. All I'm saying: I'm mad that they pulled the HFS2 webstream. I really enjoyed taking showers and still listening to WHFS... the way it was a couple years back (and beyond). The last song I remember hearing was either a Cocteau Twins or a Sousie Soux song. Or was it Hippy Chick? Yeah, they were playing that kinda stuff from the 80's mixed in with newer stuff, and it was really great. I really do hope they ressurrect WHFS, except I hope they do it CORRECTLY and if CBS makes a move on WJFK, they should switch El Zol with WARW's (WTGB, sorry) to El Zol's transmitter too, and that way The Globe can serve the Baltimore market better and give WHFS2 it's 99.1 (HD-2) calls. The sports talk can go to WTGB, the (carribean?) El Zol can go to WJFK, and the rock of DC should be heard on the awesome signal of 99.1 . They may want to think about revamping WTGB to WHFS and move the format to a AAA that is heavy on the classic-classic rock from the 60's and 70's (and leave the 80's hair bands to maybe a WHFS3 format?) and really, truly, honestly (I mean lets be real here, a TRUE push for the HD Radio format from WHFS, as they should be touting themselves the pioneers, since WHFS2 has been going strong since HD radio's intoduction albeit without the webstream, which I think is JUST AS, IF NOT MORESO, important. Dave, you were right on the money with WJZ-FM, and I think secretly the media guys look to you for inspiration. I'm glad some of the biggest of the big in local media read this site, as they may be reading THIS VERY POST. Hi media guys! It's KennyinGlenBurnie! (3/24/09) I don't know what the exact format is on 947 HD2, but it certainly isn't WHFS2. From what I'm hearing, its free form rock ala Jack-fm, minus the pop tunes. Yesterday I heard Tom Petty, the Beatles, Steve Miller, XTC, Tears for Fears, Pendulum as well as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Beastie Boys, Bush, the Clash, Buzzcocks, etc. All in all its an interesting little rock station. Far better variety than DC101, 98 rock, Big, or classic rock 947. As far as no commercials, on HD2 channels, can't they get their programing sponsored? Over on 99.5 HD2, I hear commercials and sweepers from Verizon. (3/24/09) Dave's response: I did hear them call 94.7 HD2 "The Coolest Rock On The Planet." Hell, I'd love to hear that on 94.7's main signal..... Hey Dave, the whfs2.com website isn't completely blank. After doing a Ctrl-A to "Select All", the text "What are you looking at?" becomes visible in the upper-left hand corner. I chuckled. CBS has ressurected WBCN Freeform 104 in Boston HD2, and WNEW FM on WWFS HD2 in New York City. However, The CBS Washington/Baltimore Douche bags have no interest in giving DC progressive/freeform/alternative listeners in DC any of that programming on FM HD-1 or HD2, 3 etc. The DC metro radio listeners are thought of simple Douche Bags anyway..... Enjoy the sterility on the airwaves! (3/24/09) That "Truth About Sima Senior" website should be required reading for anyone in radio today, just to show the lengths of lunacy anyone will go in this business. Further, the FCC ought to have a peek at it as well. If even 1/50th of anything on there is true, the company should be compelled to answer for it. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to feel 100% sympathy for Ms. Canotti or Sima Jr. - the webpage has been "anonymized" through WHOISPROTECTOR.COM. Even as they expose their side of the story, they prefer to stay concealed in the shadows of the Web, unable to be totally honest with their public. When it comes to scruples and just plain old conscience, there really isn't much difference between Senior and the ex after all. (3/24/09) /\ March 24 Messages /\ \/ March 23 Messages \/ Hi, Dave. I've been going through this year's films at FilmFestDC. The site for the festival is still taking shape, but the list of movies is up, although many of the films are still missing descriptions. One that isn't missing a description is "Breaking News Breaking Down," which is described thusly: Breaking News Breaking Down, MIKE WALTER, USA, 2009, 36 minutes, Color, In Person: Director Mike Walter... You know Mike Walter as a broadcast journalist at WUSA from 2003 to 2009, where he was a reporter and weekday morning co-anchor. What you may not know about Mike Walter is how deeply he, as well as many other front-line print and television reporters, have been affected by their coverage of such catastrophic tragedies as the Kansas City bombing, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Walter didn’t know, either: "Trauma journalism can be dangerous and emotionally devastating," he says in the preamble to the eye-opening film Breaking News Breaking Down, which reveals a host of newspeople, most from New Orleans, who speak of their personal journeys of discovery and hope via the global outreach organization The Dart Center. "Journalists should believe they are the eyes and ears of society," Walter cautions in this revelatory work, "never imagining what that might do to their minds."—Eddie Cockrell.... No screening date or location yet, but that info should be forthcoming in a matter of days. Link here: filmfestdc.org... Christian (3/23/09) In typical CBS fashion it appears HFS2 will REMAIN HFS2 on an HD frequency recievable ONLY by those in DC with an HD radio!!!! How fucking stupid can they be?!??? If I'm not mistaken there are NO commercials on HD2 signals which means NO REVENUE. Isn't that the whole point? Don't they realize listeners would tune to WHFS FM ?? If I'm wrong about the commercials then thats only half the argument. 94.7 fights for reception with Delaware's Country 94.7. FUCK CBS fuck them ALL to HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!! (3/23/09) Dave's response: However, a local CBS Radio suit tells me that 94.7's HD2 isn't HFS2. They're just playing some tunes to keep me (!!!) amused. No joke..... XYZ Was watching WJLA channel 7 Monday morning and I think it's a bit much to be saying they'll have traffic and weather when they come back from commercial break when they just finished traffic and weather.....Is Kathy Park the replacement for Sarah Lee? She looks very young. Was Courtney Robinson on board very long at channel 7 when Alisa Parenti got fired?.....The traffic cams used by the local tv stations, aren't they put up by the various area Department of Transportation's and are funded by taxpayer money? I see channel 7 has GEICO as a sponsor of these cameras, is that right?(Also WUSA channel 9 traffic center is GEICO sponsored, and just wrong to shrink the screen at channel 9, less of Angie Goff to see with these failing eyes).....And has the end of an era taken place with Senate Insurance, (ha-ha-ha-ha-ha), dropping the "Kiss My Bumper" guy from it's tv commercials. Well at least we still have the Family Furniture commercials... I sure wish the Greenberg and Bedderman commercial would change the women they use in their commercials. They are just so breathtakingly beautiful that I find it hard to focus on the message of the commercial. yuk.yuk... I sure miss the George Michael "Fast Break" show on Saturday nights. With Mr. Michael's entirely out of the redskin's coverage at channel 4 does this mean the old redhead Sonny Jorgensen will also not be returning ? And any ponderings from redskin Park about the upcoming season's broadcast team? Will Sam "the short end of the stick" Huff be returning?...Don Juan Geronimo didn't get married in a Vegas chapel with the ceremony preformed by an Elvis impersonator, THAT'S NOT RIGHT! (3/23/09) “Washington Times Radio”??? What the fuck are they thinking? Didn’t they learn from Bonneville’s fiasco? The Moonies must’ve gotten hold of some of Jim Jones’ leftover “Flavour-Aid” and mixed it with Mad Dog 20/20 to have this kind of spiritual revelation. Makes you wonder just how much loot is really collected by those neatly dressed kids in the airports and on street corners. Maybe they think they’ll succeed because “God is on their side”,,,… Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/23/09) In your article about the new Washington Times Radio program you suggested near the end that they could buy time, on amongst other stations, WDMV Radio. That might work if WDMV had ever returned to the airwaves. Here's the link for an article posted to the web about Sima Birach Sr, the father of Sima Birach Jr - who was running WDMV, written by Lora Canotti - his mother and Sima Birach Sr's ex-wife: truthaboutsimasenior.com (3/23/09) Fred Grandy the stock sellin' fool finance.yahoo.com (3/23/09) The link form MoMshow.com works just fine as of 5:00 EDT… (3/23/09) DING, DING, DING! At an even 10, we have a new world record holder for how many WMAL talking points can be fit into a single paragraph: 1.) Obama is a president-in-training (Plante); 2.) Obama only looks good in media appearances (Hannity); 3.) Obama can't talk without a teleprompter (Limbaugh); 4.) Obama believes midwesterners cling to god and guns (Hannity); 5.) Reagan could do more than just give a good speech, he could govern (Hannity-Levin); 6.) FDR's programs made the economic problems worse (Hannity-Levin); 7.) World War II brought us out of the depression, not FDR (Plante-Limbaugh-Hannity trifecta) ; 8.) Obama believes he is the messiah (Limbaugh); 9.) Obama insists on being compared to past presidents (Grandy-Parks); 10.) Obama had his legacy written before he took office (Levin). Anyone want to shoot for a baker's dozen? (3/23/09) Dave's response: The second I hear the right wing talker mention the word "TelePrompTer" I realize that he's reading the RNC "talking points" and hit the pre-set for another station..... (regarding an item on the News Page) "The Washington Times will launch a syndicated radio show later this spring. The three-hour morning show will feature investigations by the Times, interviews with national newsmakers, and discussions with reporters from the Times newsroom." I know that Washington Times owner, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, has some pretty deep pockets, but this new venture just may be the thing that finally bankrupts him. Did we learn nothing from the Post's ill-fated plunge into radio? I guess this means that those poor, ragged Moonies are gonna need to sell a shitload of flowers, at off-ramps and intersections, to generate cash for this doomed project! Flower, Mister? ... (3/23/09) Dave, I had to write to give a "well done" to Tricia for her interview with Doreen Gentzler. Can we see more interviews please? Including the audio was a nice touch. Good job! --Chris in DC (3/23/09) Dave's response: More are on the way! Here is an indication of the biggest difference between Mike O'Meara and Don Geronimo. The Mike O'Meara Show is on vacation for 2 weeks (shocker) however, Big O and Dukes will be doing a marathon show on Friday and, in addition to their show, they will be doing their show during Mike O'Meara Show timeslot. Mike is allowing them to do their show (which of course helps him too) on WJFK but more importantly, allowing O&D to be on the syndicated stations as well. What great exposure for them. Kudos to Mike for being a decent guy. (3/23/09) Here's a radio idea: with all the newspapers cutting back and stopping the presses, how about radio stations hiring news women and men and have MORE news, not less (thank you Cheap Channel and Citadel). Radio has a golden opportunity to tell stories to listeners that they're not getting since listeners aren't reading the papers. Even music stations can have features that are interesting, not lengthy and tell a story. Come on radio. Make a comeback. Even AM stations telling stories could be interesting. (3/23/09) dave said: "We have a young Dem as prez who's darn good doing media appearances. Kinda Reaganesque. And if he does manage to pull us out of our economic mess, kinda Rooseveltish, too. That's a "political sea changer" and they know it....." we have a president-in-training who only looks good in media appearances when he has his teleprompter. when he doesn't, he's the wizard of uhh's and makes remarks like the special olympics crack and how midwesterners cling to god and guns. and reagan could do more than just give a good speech. he knew how to govern, since he actually had, you know, previous governing experience. and FDR's programs made the economic problems worse. it was world war 2 that brought us out of the depression. but either way, it's pretty sad when the messiah has to be compared to past presidents (and churchill) and have his legacy written before he took office to make himself look better instead of charting his own course. (3/23/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) FINANCIAL JOURNALISTS WANTED -- to write shareholder reports, web material and produce a weekly podcast with portfolio managers and investment analysts. Contract work with Wall Street firm. Salary $70/hour. Expertise on corporate and municipal bonds appreciated. Please send resume and sample of broadcast work to: Paul Brandus: pbrandus@gmail.com. (3/23/09) Re: "if you get people out of the habit of reading your print edition one day a week... maybe they'll find that having a daily print newspaper isn't all that worth paying for on the other days of the week, too." -- I said the same thing when I read about them cutting out the Monday edition. It seems especially stupid to dump Mondays-- If people start the work week without a paper, it seems more likely to break their habit than a Wednesday or a Saturday. But now, what is the Post doing? Slitting their own throats one millimeter at a time? What's being taught in Business classes these days? "If sales are down, take away the reasons your remaining customers are still your customers"-- It's an insanity that seems to be afflicting all businesses. ~~CA in BC (3/23/09) Not really surprised with the announcement that Allyson Wilson is leaving. I can't remember the last time I saw her do a report. I wouldn't be surprised if more of the field reporters start disappearing. I don't know how they make a living working one or two days (if that much) a month..Case in point: when was the last time you saw Stacy Cohan? (3/23/09) (Re: I'll be glad when this era of Republican Radio for the Rich is over. Maybe then we can get past the same 10 songs,the same 10 thoughts and the same 10 reasons the poor shouldn't be priviledged enough to listen to radio. Sarry Massah I jis coont hep HEERIN' it Ah SWAYAH i's pikkin fas' az ah CAYN. Orrr maybe that should be a Spanish accent?? BUT dey be GOOD massah's dey giv da werkers L Zol n da BEET so's we'all keeps WERKIN) …There you have it, your close-up look at one sad idiot’s racism. Prayers accepted!(for a brain & a clue)….We now return you to your regularly scheduled mailbag! (3/23/09) With AM and FM radio offering less all the time, other than news and talk, I have taken to loading my MP player with tons of oldies music, the occasional podcast from ESPN, 105.7 the fan, or WFAN. For some time there has been no real oldies station in this area, just the same oldies stations who play the same tired oldies again and again. It is sad, the state of radio these days. Bummed in Easton (3/23/09) Attached is an article from the Frederick (Md.) News Post with a comment about the broadcast media. It is noted that the News post will stop running a Monday edition starting in April. Apparently it is demise of the broadcast industry. www.fredericknewspost.com (3/23/09) Dave's response: We did already report that the Frederick News-Post is planning to drop its Monday edition come April. You know, if you get people out of the habit of reading your print edition one day a week, a la the discontinued Saturday edition by the Washington Times, maybe they'll find that having a daily print newspaper isn't all that worth paying for on the other days of the week, too. Hmmm..... TJ Roberts [Anthony Marzano] obitluary in The Morning Call in Allentown, PA. www.legacy.com (3/23/09) As of 9:48 pst Sunday night, the link to the mike omeara show through wjfk website is broken? disconnected? www.mikeomearashow.com (3/23/09) OTA i can't get wbal 11-1 and 11-2 or wusa 9-1 and 9-2 but every channel in the d.c./ baltimore area is coming in, any idea on whats goin on. Derek-Owings Mills (3/23/09) Just want to say how shocked I was to read about TJ Roberts' death. I wrote and sometimes produced commercials for CBS Radio for over 2 years and would sometimes hang out in TJ's little studio to watch him create his bumpers and other "magic". Being a creative individual, it was a thrill to be in a room with another who was creative in a different way. Watching him find wild sounds or soundbites and layering them together to produce a 60-second spot was quite amazing to me. He was a great guy and always willing to teach me how to use the Cool Edit to work on my own stuff. TJ worked his butt off, usually leaving the station way past dinnertime. But he knew his shit and was a consummate professional who helped out any way he could. I didn't know him well, but I was glad to have known him the time I worked with him. Death is so weird--the body is gone, but the name and soul live on. Leebo (3/23/09) I agree there are few local stations left. Most if not all are owned by out-of-towners who have no clue of the likes or dislikes of the locals. Everything has to be nationalized or globalized with no regard to anything unique. It's like Maryland crabcakes in Montana....the name is familiar but that's where it ends. As for "Republican Radio". Republican=Big Business=Cookie Cutter mentality=safe,bland,uniflavored content=waste of airwaves. But don't take my word for it,turn on your radio....anything worth listening to? (3/23/09) /\ March 23 Messages /\ \/ March 22 Messages \/ Shocked and saddened at the death of George Weber. I first became acquainted with George several years ago while in Seattle. First, he worked with several students of mine from New York. He mentored and trained them when he was doing mornings at WABC. Secondly, I interviewed him on-air a number of times last year at KOMO discussing the presidential race and the economy. Mr. Weber had a passion and a deep love for radio. A very engaging and down-to-earth guy. This is tragic. So sorry. - Bob Mathers (3/22/09) STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON THE DEATH OF ABC RADIO REPORTER GEORGE WEBER: "I was shocked and saddened to learn about the death of George Weber, who 77 WABC listeners and radio listeners from around the country knew as 'George Weber the news guy.' George was the kind of professional who could give you the news and his views without one getting in the way of the other, and he was an absolutely central part of my Friday WABC radio show with John Gambling and dozens of other programs. George called news events as he saw them with little regard to party politics or ideology. On or off the air, and especially during our commercial breaks, his views were incisive and insightful. He'll be deeply missed by millions of radio listeners, including me, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family in this difficult time." (3/22/09) A previous post had brought up the Colorado-based "Focus On the Family" and their recent layoffs. Interesting how James Dobson & Company not only had recently laid people off but last November the very same people claimed they didn't have the money to feed the needy for Thanksgiving YET at the same time Focus On The Family spent a TON of money fighting gay marriage in Calfiornia and Arizona. Nice to know how they really care about our fellow man..UGH !! Anyway, it is true that Focus On The Family is heard on a number of stations in DCRTVland and I do believe Hagerstown's NBC 25 still airs a segment from Focus during their 6am news broadcasts. Besides getting into politics, Focus On The Family is known for their "boycotts". Some years back a number of people assoicated with Focus actually had online a list of who to watch/avoid when it comes to local TV and radio in various markets around the country. I don't remember their Baltimore list but I do remember reading who was on their list when it came to Washington. On their list of "those to avoid because they show a lack of morals" ( well according to those people anyway ) were Don & Mike, The Sports Junkies, DC 101's Elliot, Jim Vance, Bob Ryan, Doug Hill, JC Hayward, Jack Diamond, Cindy McGuire, Jeff Gold "Goldie" from WBIG and Tony Pann. On their "we approve" list I can remember seeing the names of Gordon Peterson, George Michael, Maureen Bunyan, Tony Perkins and the entire airstaff at WASH-FM and of course WMAL radio. I went back today and did a search to find that list but came up no dice ( some of their members are known for putting up such lists/websites and then suddenly take them down, hardly a surprise ) Now exactly why they chose who would be on either list on their basis of "morals", well your guess is as good as mine.. I guess we may never find out unless they do a "new" list anyway. Well at least on a "positive" note at least Washington had some names on the "we approve" list considering that on their Denver list NOBODY managed to get that "honor". I think it was the Denver's classic rocker KRFX 103.5 The Fox morning team "Lewis & Floorwax" who once opened their show with "..the show Focus On The Family doesn't want you to listen too....now join us for our trip to HELL". Classic !!! (3/22/09) Normally, I don’t comment on the dead. But since the dinosaur that is daily print has been on a mix of denial and life-support for decades, I’ll have to defend the “Washington Post” this one time… As a private enterprise, which uses no public resources in the conduct of its business, the “Post” isn’t required to have “diversity” in any way, shape, or form. So, when entertainers like Hannity, Limbaugh, Levin, etc., complain about rumored efforts to revive the Fairness Doctrine not applying to the Post, New York Times, etc., they are only putting their biased ignorance on public view. Unlike electronic journalism, print has a specific constitutionally protected status. While it’s true that various judicial rulings have extended some print protections to EJ, these have all been very narrowly specific and are always subject to judicial “review”. An example of the power of “judicial review” would the subject of racial segregation. At one point, the U.S. Supreme Court said “separate but equal” was constitutional (Plessy v. Ferguson). But, decades later, said that it wasn’t (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas). Interesting to note that neither “liberal” nor “conservative” politicians have seen fit to update the Constitution to extend the print-specific guarantees to EJ. Perhaps it says something about how both want to have the option to readily regulate it in the future, should such suit their needs. Besides broadcast, such regulation of EJ could be extended to the Internet in terms of both content and access. The latter is already being done overseas. Including in “democracies” which are our “friends”. There are already some in Congress on both sides of the aisle who are expressing concern about the “unrestrained and unregulated” expression of “inflammatory and irresponsible” opinions on the Internet within the United States, and overseas which are accessible from the U.S. Have a nice day! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/22/09) Thought you might want to relay this to your readers. geaorge Weber, newsman at WABC radio in NYC for over 10 years, found dead this morning. www.nypost.com... Jim C, East Windsor, NJ (3/22/09) www.youtube.com... Here’s a link to a just found Warner Wolf profile from Channel 9’s PM Magazine in 1980, after Warner left DC for the Big Apple. (3/22/09) WABC NY radio anchor George Webber... was found stabbed to death in his Brooklyn apt. (NY Post)... (3/22/09) Seriously, though folks, is there a local media to talk about? Nearly all the radio stations are now owned by big corporations, large handfuls in every market. They've loaded up on debt and cut costs to the bone. Programming is done according to focus-group tested, consultant-recommended, proven money-making plans. Meanwhile, the Internet is succeeding at killing off revenue for newspapers and magazines. Spending on advertising is way down in all media because of a touch of trouble on Wall Street. A local radio station today is run by a computer in a closet and voice-tracked from home by a talent in some city a thousand miles away. Radio as a community resource? Huh? Wazzat? (3/22/09) Wow, tight playlists are the fault of the Republicans now? Classic. The owners of the media giants don't give a fuck about anything but green. No, not the Green Party, the green in their bank accounts. And if we have to lay some kind of party blame, you can start with the guy that signed the Telecommunications Act in 1996. Not that either party cared. The lobbyists got their way...again...and now we have an industry in tatters. So please take your ultra-bigoted Stepin Fetchit routine down to the rally and leave the discussion of the biz to those that can present it with a modicum of intelligence. (3/22/09) Gotta love it.... the guy who runs DCRTV says: Dave's response: Seriously folks, gotta have a local media focus in your postings or I'll have to start trashing stuff. Last warning..... And yet the very next post is: "I'll be glad when this era of Republican Radio for the Rich is over....blah..blah...blah....so's we'all keeps WERKIN"... So where's the LOCAL media focus? (3/22/09) Dave: I'm sure you already saw this........a WMAL listener named Ed Lawson purcahsed with his own money an advertisement in the Wash Times "thanking" WMAL Radio for what we do......he has since apologized to us for incorrectly listing Laura Ingraham as a WMAL host.....nonetheless, an impressive display from one individual listener, of his passion and love for his favorite radio station. (3/22/09) Dave's response: Brilliant! "Laura Ingram" isn't heard on WMAL. And why no mention of Andy Parks, Bryan Nehman, and Fred Grandy? Hmmm..... I agree with Vincent in Triangle, another banner year for Johnny Holiday and his broadcast of the Terps games! National's fan look forward to another season with Johnny and Ray Knight on MASN's "Nat's Extra". Now that MASN will do the shows from National's park for all 81 home games, fans will be able to watch the show up close and live.Go Terps and go Nat's. Shawn, Bethesda (3/22/09) Republican Radio for the Rich. I have heard it all now. Obama blah blah blah.....rush blah blah blah...politics blah blah blah.....lefty blah blah blah....righty blah blah blah.......Bob in sunny Tampa over and out. (3/22/09) I'll be glad when this era of Republican Radio for the Rich is over. Maybe then we can get past the same 10 songs,the same 10 thoughts and the same 10 reasons the poor shouldn't be priviledged enough to listen to radio. Sarry Massah I jis coont hep HEERIN' it Ah SWAYAH i's pikkin fas' az ah CAYN. Orrr maybe that should be a Spanish accent?? BUT dey be GOOD massah's dey giv da werkers L Zol n da BEET so's we'all keeps WERKIN (3/22/09) RE:[Bush took a lot of vacation, true. And a lot has also been written about how the mainstream media tended to conveniently count vacation a bit differently for GWB than they did for ol' Clinton. Kinda like the homeless...the media only finds them when a Republican is president. Funny...we're in an actual major recession now, but few/no homeless stories.] Ain't it amazing how those damn facts always seem to have a "liberal bias"? www.youtube.com (3/22/09) Dave's response: Seriously folks, gotta have a local media focus in your postings or I'll have to start trashing stuff. Last warning..... Not exactly local, but since his pseudo-psychobabble/political propaganda/pseudo-religious programs air on several stations around here (as well as nationally), James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" has recently canned 149 staffers says a source with NRB. Where the cuts have been made is strictly hush-hush. However, the same source says "Focus" has been cutting back on print media, recently shuttering a teen-oriented mag called "Brio"... Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/22/09) /\ March 22 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....