Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - April 6 to April 12, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ April 12 Messages \/ Right on the money with the rant, Dave...The "Oxy-queen" kicked off last Thursday's show with a sound bite of Obama declining to comment on the ongoing Somali pirate situation during a housing presser. Rush stated, "This is President Obama voting 'present'...This is Obama not wanting to address anything that is hard, because addressing things that are hard bring your approval numbers down." Rush went on to say that Hillary Clinton "warned" us all about this "3 a.m. phone call," and went on to claim both she and Obama have proven to be "inept" in their handling of this "3 A.M." situation. Limbaugh said they "don't know what they are doing...they don't know what to do." Well, Rush...it now appears they knew exactly what to do, and they handled it pretty aptly. Does anyone think poor Rusty will be man enough tomorrow to admit Obama's action plan on this situation was the right one? I seriously doubt it. In fact, my prediction is the opposite will likely occur: Rushbo will show his pompous baboon ass, attempting to take credit for the success by postulating that the President's decisions and actions were somehow a specific response to his criticisms. Any of you right-wing 'baggers dare to explain to the readers why ANY thinking person should take the petty musings of this fool seriously anymore? - Jeff in Bowie... (P.S. Dave, I created the attached photoshop parody last week. I believe it is apropos for the current right-wing talk radio attacks on Obama. You have my permission to use it if you like!) Dave's response: I love the pic! Oh, I have since transformed the Rant into a Tweet..... First of all Dave, your mini-rant on Obama, the captain and Rush has little media content and nothing local. But since you smacked the ball into the air, let me return it over the net. How is this drama a bad thing for Rush and conservative hosts. This drama shows how correct their criticism are. It proves Cheney, McCain and other conservatives correct as well. This drama did not end well because of any leadership from Obama. None what so ever. Obama kept quiet because he was smart enough to realize he is in way way way over his head as President. For more on that, see the Univ. of Arizona decision. Obama did the smart thing any child does when in trouble, shut your mouth, hope no one sees you peeing in your pants and let the adults handle it. The adults in this case were the DOD. Even Hillary had the good sense to STFU after a brief foray into the spotlight. This drama ended because we have a strong military. For that reason and no other. The very sort of military, well trained and well equipped, useful in peace time, useful in such non-war conflicts, the very sort of military that Obama and his idealist supporters want to disarm, discredit, disband and dissolve. No Dave, this is a good thing for Rush. It shows how truly wrong Obama and his party are. We need look no further than to their friends in France to see how well socialists train their military and mount such an operation. Go SEALS!!! (4/12/09) re: your rant. And to beat Rush to the punch...Its a good thing Obama had to approve the use of force in early 2009 as opposed to late 2011 - chances are by then Pres O will have cut the military down to the shell Carter left us with in the desert outside Tehran... (4/12/09) "DCRTV Dave, you're 'double-posting' this stuff over & over. I get it. Happy Easter, Silvie" Oh, oh, Dave ... sounds like you've pissed off Silvie. Better look out ... you're gonna wind up being her next stalker victim. Well, I guess you could always retreat to Essex, although I'm not too sure that would be conducive to your health. :-) [Wonder how long it took Silvie to find "repertoire"? And she even used it correctly in a sentence! Way to go, Silv!!] (4/12/09) Yep. The same Chris Telledira. I wonder if he still has that poster from Banghok (IIRC) that a lady wrote in blue sharpie. I worked with him at VOA Washington. Good guy. (4/12/09) All of Comcast's cable systems in Delaware, Virginia and the DC & Baltimore areas will have several of its channels changed this week. All of the channels in the Sports Entertainment Package will move to the 700s on Tuesday, April 14th. Most of the existing Music Choice channels will move to new positions & some will be discontinued. Detailed information on Comcast's channel changes are on comcastchannelchanges.com. (4/12/09) Dave's response: Yeah, Comcast will also put MPT-HD on 219, and yank MPT-SD from analog in the DC area on 4/14. You'll need a digital box to continue receiving either/both. Plus, Comcast will be adding MPT's two digital subchannels in the DC area, on 268 and 269. Also, the WNVT MHz subchannels will be moving, and adding the full range of foreign network, including Dutch and Chinese, to the 270 range..... I note on your past mailbag (about a year ago - 5/22/08) that Chris Telladira replied to remind some guys that engineers were the first broadcasters. Would this be the same Chris Telladira I worked with at VOA Belize? If it is I lost contact many many years ago. If it's the same person and you know how to contact him, please do me a big favor, pass my email address on to him. I haven't heard from him for years, last I heard he was at VOA Colombo, Sri Lanka. (4/12/09) Dave, Happy Easter!!! No one has said anything, so I figured to be the first. Anyway, I just re-subscribed to the Best of Sirius on XM because of the terrible sportstalk programming that exists in our market. Really, Bruce Gilbert needs to hire a grammer specialist for Doc, Sheehan, and Czaban...not to mention Al Galdi. Bonneville needs to step-up and start sportstalk on 107.7 and make this market a true sports city...otherwise, it's amateur-hour! Speaking of amateurs, how long will it take Gannett to realize Haber has no following and he's a miserable individual? Minus the fact Channel 9's news is plain awful, WRC isn't much better. A buddy of mine working at ABC in New York told me WRC's old news director is destroying a dynasty and industry benchmark for news excellence in WNBC. I know it's all about money but WRC doesn't deserve to be our news leader...they are nothing to write home about as well. (4/12/09) Here's a PERFECT example of what's wrong with the FCC... fjallfoss.fcc.gov... WXXY AM 1600 Dover, DE has not had a permanent transmitter for probably close to a DECADE, and in this current application to extend Special Temporary Authority (low power, meaning few people can even receive this station), the owners of WXXY make a false claim. They claim that they have a pending Construction Permit that the FCC has not yet approved, however a quick search of the FCC database shows only a Construction Permit filed in 2004! HAha! Now, obviously, even a government skeptic like myself would not believe that the FCC has THAT MUCH of a backlog going back to 2004 that they've not examined this Construction Permit! HAha! So obviously the FCC has refused to approve that permit and never will approve it without changes. However, this station WXXY doesn't care whether its approved or not. They are happy warehousing the frequency until they find a sucker to buy the station and make a profit. In the meantime, the FCC lets shenanigans like this go on for decades and even has given WXXY several translators for a station that doesn't even have a permanent transmitter site and might NEVER! What's wrong with this picture? You see if the FCC started yanking licenses from these types of derelict station owners, it would be so much easier to clean up the AM band and allow other nearby stations that can make money and operate a transmitter site properly to increase their power and community reach. BUT NO, the FCC just keeps rubber stamping these PHONY STA requests like parents giving out too much candy on Easter. :-( (4/12/09) Not only did the Post run the same opinion columns and the same letters to the editor on both Saturday and Sunday (although the three editorials are different on each day), the date at the top of the op-ed pages on Saturday reads "Sunday, April 12, 2009." The rest of the dates on Saturday are correct, however. Maybe these issues will be collectors' items...maybe the Post will become a collectors' item...seems to be on its way. -- Bobbie (4/12/09) Dave's response: I got a copy of the Saturday "A" section with the Sunday date. For a $50 donation it's yours..... Now that WTGB HD2 is back to playing "the Coolest Music In The World" what are some of the cool tunes that they are playing today? (4/12/09) Dave's response: At 3:53 PM it was Morrissey's "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get"..... Is it my imagination or does Brian Lamb look like the actor who played Mr. Kruger, George Costanza's last boss on "Seinfeld"? (4/12/09) Reading the tributes and accolades for Hal Deutsch and his leadership and personality skills as the leader of WCBM during the 70's and 80's has been interesting to say the least. A number of people have weighed in with touching thoughts of Mr. Deutsch, all well-deserved. I couldn't let this thread pass without writing down a few thoughts of my own about Metromedia 68. Warm memories have a tendency to do that. I started as a 12 year old kid in 1970 listening to Dennis Murray and others on WCBM. That's when I first noticed the stirrings of the station's change from an MOR to an Oldies-based sound. That's the key word here...'Sound'. WCBM continued through the 70's developing a great blend of personalities, music, the greatest jingles (as well as hits) of all time and news and community service. It was one tremendous chemistry of talents and format execution. And their coverage of Colts football was second to none. By the end of '72, WCBM was playing more Top 40 along with the Oldies and they were really starting to give WCAO a run for their money as a station which played the hits. I graduated from Baltimore's Southwestern High in early '74 and by the fall of the year I was working as a dishwasher at Rolling Road Golf Club. I listened every day and it was a joy to hear WCBM. Larry 'Old Dirty Shirt From Wolf City Montana' Walton's one-liners and comments helped me negotiate the seemingly endless parade of dirty dishes and utensils. Around that time I signed up for the WCBM March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon and walked the whole 26 miles on a Sunday morning in May. The girl who I walked with looked at the outing as a date. To me it was an endurance test that gave me charley horses for a week. That was 35 years ago and it seems like 'only yesterday'. Which considering that was the name of Jack Edwards' Saturday Dance Party from Bowman's Cellar...leads me to say I'm glad I got to know, work with, and receive over the years much mentoring and encouragement from a number of those notable WCBM personalities. They've related to me over the years, dozens of great stories and inside info about what it was like to work at 68 Radio Plaza in those days. Those story sessions were of more value to me than a weekly paycheck, which in this (or any) economy is saying a lot. The tens of thousands of us who were out there every day listening with our radios sensed even then we were witnesses to a very special station for such a time as this. We really felt beyond a shadow of a doubt that WCBM meant it when they said 'We care about Baltimore and you!' - Bob Mathers (4/12/09) Dave- Either the editorial staff at the WaPo is back on crack, or they had to get home before their mom and dad grounded them for missing bedtime. Either way, there's got to be a good reason why the Post published it's Sunday opinon page on Saturday. I didn't realize this until I read today's (Sunday, April 12, 2009) edition and realized they had re-run George Will's column. Then I realized the entire page was a re-run. So I grabbed the Saturday paper, and sure enough, they ran Sunday on Saturday. And again on Sunday. Another nail in the coffin. Plus, a little George Will goes a long way. Rick (4/12/09) To all of the people actively cheering for the death of the print edition of newspapers, I have a question. If the print editions were no more or grossly scaled back, would you pay for online access to the content? What features and requirements would you need before you would consider paying for the online content? (4/12/09) Dave's response: The "online problem" is balancing subscriber/access fees with ad revenue. If you hike fees you diminish traffic and harm ad revenue. Or, have low or no fees and more traffic and you can charge more for ads. Or have part of the site be free and part be subscription. And how do you balance the "local versus national" aspect of your site? Is a car dealer in Fairfax gonna want to pay for web traffic from Arizona or France? But, no matter what you do, some guy in his underwear doing a free blog or "niche site" will still manage to scoop you. And you'll never make as much money as you did at the height of the good old "print days." Today, anyone can be a "publisher." You don't need to have a "bureaucratic news organization" behind you..... "Post Puts Obama Dog Leak On Front Page"... Shouldn't that be "Dog Leak Put on Post Front Page?" -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle (Happy Easter) (4/12/09) It's time now for that time honored tradition, THE WORST and in utmost poor taste, Easter joke of all time! YAY!...... "Did you hear that Easter has been canceled this year? Yep, they found the body." -- Joe in Essex says HAPPY EASTER to everyone! [ & especially to my fans like Chris P., hehe :-) ] (4/12/09) Whether you agree with her or not, Silvie is entitled to her opinion, so knock it off some of you who have nothing to do but find fault with her. You sound like a bunch of whiny politicians. Bill in Easton (4/12/09) I've been called an imbecile, a long-term PMS sufferer and the female version of Joe from Essex a few times already on this mailbag. Would you like me to fax you any new material for your 'repertoire'? DCRTV Dave, you're 'double-posting' this stuff over & over. I get it. Happy Easter, Silvie (4/12/09) If you really want to listen to some good oldies music try "A Different Kind of Oldies Show". Most tunes are ones that you rarely hear on the radio anymore. Simply put the title into Google or any other search engine. I have downloaded a couple of programs to my MP3 Player. Happy Easter everyone! Burt in Denton (4/12/09) Dave, you need to have a "pick the date the print edition of the Post dies" contest. The person closet to the date (and there will be a date, the rate the rag is going) wins a free DCRTV Plus subscription for 5 years. My guess: April 11, 2013. (4/12/09) "Post Puts Obama Dog Leak On Front Page" Intentional or inadvertent, that's a pretty funny headline, Dave. With the way the WAPO is headed, catching "dog leak" (or perhaps bird cage liner) may be all it's good for. (4/12/09) Dave's response: I don't argue with the Post putting a "cutsie" story like that on its front page. But to take up one whole third of the FP's "news" space with it? Kinda stupid. You know, if the Post is gonna have a lot less print news space to work with, how about more short stories instead of fewer long, bloated pieces - like the dog piece is. As USA Today taught us 25 years ago, about 90 percent of readers don't go beyond the first few paragraphs of a story..... yeah the new dog makes page 1 of the Post, but the Somali pirates is on A9 or something like that. Um yeah... That makes perfect sense... (4/12/09) I live in Germantown and love talk radio. For the past couple of months I have been listening to the Blaine Young show on 930 WFMD from 3pm to 5pm. A really different live local call in show. Who is this guy? He has had on Ann Coulter, Juan Williams and other national people. The local politicians I really don't know but he keeps it interesting enough that I keep listening. Heck yesterday he had the local Sheriff on with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County AZ who is on Fox all the time talking illegal's. What is the scoop on this guy? Thanks, Karen (4/12/09) Silvie, you make a good point. I don't know why everybody on MSNBC is so concerned about what Fox is doing. It's really lame and makes the channel unwatchable because of it. Well, not just because of that but because they keep repeating the same stuff over and over again. On Friday, MSNBC kept talking about the Biden/Cheney war of words and they kept talking about respect for the seat of the current vice president and implying that whatever Cheney's argument could be it was invalid because it was him making it. This was at 2 in the afternoon. This wasn't even an Olbermann or Maddow making that kind biased implication. This was somebody that I'm supposed to trust to give me an unbiased view of the days top stories. It's what Fox does to democrats sometimes but regardless of who is doing it to who, it's pretty lame. (4/12/09) Jack Edwards' eloquent tribute to Harold Deutsch paints a marvelous picture of why WCBM was such a success; a station staffed with pros who kept their collective egos in check, and shared in the common goal of giving the listeners and the community the best radio station possible, regardless of whether they were managers, personalities, newscasters or support staff. Witness Jack's modest omission that the successful Saturday night dance party, broadcast from Bowman's, was hosted by none other than Jack Edwards. (4/12/09) /\ April 12 Messages /\ \/ April 11 Messages \/ After reading the posts in this mailbag for the past couple of weeks, I have come to two conclusions: Silvie is an absolute imbecile, and she suffers from permanent PMS. Just what we needed: a female clone of Joe in Essex. Geez. /s/ Chris P. (4/11/09) The postings concerning Hal Deutsch have been wonderful and well deserved. In this day and age it is unusual to find a GM who is equally concerned about programming and image as well as the bottom line. The Metromedia radio group had a number of GM's who fit that image and that is what made that radio group very special. Hal will be greatly missed, but even more so, what he stood for will continue to be missed in today's bottom line radio mentality. (4/11/09) Sorry..I meant WBNG in Binghamton..not WBMG. Boyd (4/11/09) I just read the post written by Jack Edwards. He is a class act just like all the other people he worked with at WCBM. For many years that station was my favorite as they truly had the best oldies of any station in the Baltimore/DC market. I remember the day of Elvis' death like it was yesterday. I had just gotten into my car leaving work when I heard the news about Elvis, on WCBM. Getting home and finding my wife near tears about Elvis' death only seemed to make it more surreal. After dinner, I began tuning around both the AM and FM dial looking for something to listen to. I soon settled on listening to Jack Edwards that night from my home in Ridgely, MD at the time. I even recorded the program on cassette tape which I think my wife took with her a few years later after we went our separate ways. Last year, Bob Mathers had the broadcast on a link on the Ultimate Oldies website. WCBM was my favorite station for a long time. I hated not being able to listen to it when I moved to Long Island in 1983. When I moved back to Maryland to Bowie I listened to it for a couple more years, including that awful morning to find out that the Colts had left town. Jack Edwards is truly a Baltimore icon, along with Johnny Dark. Best to you Jack! Burt in Denton (4/11/09) Dave, regarding your suggestion to forgo the converter box and go with cable, I have to agree with ya. Starting to believe that all this advertising that's going on telling people that without cable that all they'll need is a converter box is a bit misleading. Only recently have I seen the commercials say that even with the converter box, some may still need an outdoor antenna..Don't see the government offering any vouchers toward that outside antenna though... (4/11/09) In regards to the recent Binghamton, NY shootings and their local. TV coverage. I read the bit on Scott Fybush' site but reading some of the comments about this on the other sites ( not DCRTV BTW ), I get the idea that many felt had WBMG had their live truck up and running and the other Binghamton stations had full staffs then all ths cable news snetworks would pick up their feeds and their local anchors would be, at least temporary well known nationwide as what happened with the Denver, Colorado TV stations during Columbine when a good many of Denver's local TV anchors like Ward Lucas, Ron Zappolo and Ernie Bjorkman had their place in the national spotlight. Sadly chances are that would not have had happened. Even had WBMG had a state of the art working truck and even a chopper chances are very little of their coverage would have aired nationwide and the cable news nets still would have turned to other ( bigger market ) stations to provide the coverage. Why? Binghamton is a small market and from what I have heard over the years the networks tend to bypass the small stations ( regardless how good their gear is ) in favor of a bigger station when it comes to providing coverage. But then again maybe there is another reason behind this.. I have always wonder what exactly are the rules when it comes to whom the network picks for coverage? Some years back I seem to recall watching some news story that had taken place in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Yet the video and reporter was "courtesy" of WRTV channel 6..an Indianapolis TV station even though WRTV isn't available in Fort Wayne and Fort Wayne isn't really that small of a market to begin with. Wonder why CNN picked WRTV? Closer to home, during the Virginia Tech shootings, even though I do remember seeing their local WDBJ channel 7 on CNN (?) soon afterward I noticed a lot of video from Blacksburg that had the words "..from WTTG" and even " video courtesy of WUSA". flashing across the screen. Both stations of which are "unknown" down in that part of Virginia. The Virginia Beach riots of 1989...the only video taken of the riots that were seen to the nationwide auidence came from the DC stations..even though at the time WTKR, WVEC and WAVY all had live trucks, full staffs, top notch reports like Ed Hughes and Terry Zahn and at least two of those stations had their own choppers . One would think CNN would had went to the Norfolk stations for their coverage but they didn't. I never did understood that logic. (4/11/09) From 1974 thru 1977 Baltimore's WCBM-68 was the most popular radio station in the area. Most of the FM's were established and yet WCBM remained a dominate force as a full service AM radio station for over 5 years. The Greatest Hits of All Time format featured the widest array of oldies thru whatever was current during that time, outstanding 5 min. newscasts with a top notch news team, the most outstanding promotions including money giveaways, trips to Disneyland and the rest of our country, Colts football broadcasts, weeknight sports remotes and the most popular Saturday night oldies dance party remote in the history of Baltimore radio from a local restaurant/nighclub.You have never heard better jingles in your life. I have mentioned just a few of the outstanding parts of a Baltimore radio giant and let me make one thing perfectly clear: one, and only one person put it together and kept it togther. That person was BRUCE HOLBERG. We had a great team,like a family and Bruce made it ALL happen. Excellent news team and great jocks. During all my years in Baltimore radio, I learned more from Bruce Holberg than any other PD, jock or GM. Bruce left WCBM in 1977 to accept a position at a Metromedia station in Philadelphia. Need I mention, Bruce made that station another success. The late Lee Case, Joe Knight, Ken Merson, Terry T, Dexter B, a top notch engineering staff and a great weekend on air staff were a part of the super lineup at WCBM. Tom Clendenning, Sue Copin and John Rydell were just a few of the nicest news people to work with. God knows how I hated those damn transmitter readings while trying to do a show and that lovely pattern change. Oh well, that was 30 years ago. Our GM, Harold Deutsch passed away a few days ago at his home in Long Island. Harold hired Bruce and they worked togther closer then I have ever witnessed a general manager and his program director. Bruce had just left for Philadelphia when Elvis died. Harold called me at home and said " Maybe you should play a few Elvis songs tonight" I played EVERY Elvis hit from 1956 thru 1977 in order of release and flip side of the 45 if it was also aired in Baltimore. WCBM's news department kept feeding me actualities and voicers from Memphis that really added to that sad night in popular music. Harold, you will be missed. Thanks, Jack Edwards (4/11/09) It is really no wonder that newspapers are dying left and right in the U.S. and it will be no surprise that the Washington Post could be next on the list, given Karl Vick's slanted, shoddy article about California's medical marijuana program. Anyone who knew little or nothing about the validity of marijuana as an effective treatment for bona fide medical problems before reading this article, was certainly left with the wrong impression, after reading it. About the only thing that Vick didn't do was to include a recommendation, in his hit piece, for readers to watch the film "Reefer Madness", in order to gain useful insights on marijuana! We really will reading an obituary soon for the Washington Post, if it continues run shoddy work like this, that's being turned-in for publication by lazy, sensationalist reporters. Here's a link to the story -- but be sure to have your medical marijuana handy when you read it -- to fight off the overwhelming wave of nausea that will surely hit you! www.washingtonpost.com (4/11/09) I've been a subscriber to the Washington Post for over 20 years, and tomorrow is my last day for home delivery. When I received the last bill, the rate had gone up over $20 for an eight-week period, a 61% increase. I had home delivery because the subscription saved me money. Then, last year they started a surcharge of .12 a day for daily delivery, and .32 for Sunday delivery. I still was saving money so I didn't complain. With the new increase, it will now cost me MORE to have home delivery than picking up the paper locally, even with sales tax added. So I cancelled my subscription, and I'll pick up the paper if I happen to be somewhere that sells them. I told the distributor, at the rate it's going, I look for the paper to fold (no pun intended) within the next six - twelve months. At least whoever the mental giants are at the Post who have slashed the best features and retired the best columnists will also be looking for new employment when this happens. And it will. Sad. (4/11/09) "Yes, we all know that interns pitch in a bit in newsrooms. But my instincts as a veteran news exec tell me that WAMU's new practice goes beyond that into new territory and is using interns as unpaid labor instead of paid staff. If true, and I bet it is, this is possibly illegal at worst or at best, questionable and hypocritical for the great liberal voice of NW DC..." -- This "veteran news exec" is clearly not a Don and Mike or Mike O'Meara Show listener. Remember the recent inaugural coverage, using listeners, not interns? Remember intern Nick Cho, now troubled owner of Murky Coffee, telling on air about how he banged one of his high-school teachers when he was 19? Remember the unpaid airtime on Letterman? (Bob Dole! Don and Mike honor you! Don and Mike!) And who could forget intern DJ LTR, Louis the Retard, battling Jerry Seinfeld? This is not a new practice and it's not illegal. The veteran news exec poster clearly knows precisely dick about how to deploy interns. Unpaid airtime? What intern would want THAT? -- ThePenIsMIghtier (full-on robot chubbie) (4/11/09) Guy, my most recent posts have not been about Chris Plante; they've been about Paul Duckworth as I reply to other mailbaggers. Plante is gone & I've moved on - "been there; done that". Now let's see if others on this site can move on as well. Now that Chris is gone, they're posting stuff about Duckworth. I mean, really, is that all you've got? Kinda like Rachel Maddow talking crap about Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, etc. on a daily basis. Is there anything else going on in the news as of late to cover that is more important? Somali teenage pirates threatening Americans? Pizzas flown in to the WH from St. Louis? -Silvie- (4/11/09) Silvie, the few hundred people you claim are emailing whoever to get Plante back are more people than the guy had listeners. A couple of pissed off people who tell their friends on their niche message board to email whoever to get the guy they've never heard of back on the air isn't likely to have a big impact. Plante was weak and had no listeners besides you. Your support, although outstanding in it's own degree, doesn't yield the necessary numbers to keep a radio guy employed during prime time daytime hours. If Plante is talented (he isn't) he'll land on his feet again. It's that simple. Silvie, you are a great friend to Plante and that is commendible but there are far more talented people who have been shown the door that deserved it less than Plante. Some ended up on the air again and some went on to find new careers. I'm sorry your friend got fired and I hope he finds another job even though I can't picture him being on the air again. I hope these internet postings you make are more for fun and that you aren't that serious about this guy on the radio. There are other talk show hosts out there that will cater to the view point you are looking to hear. If Plante is your friend off the air, awesome. Keep in touch with him and wish him well. If not, let it go and still wish him well. I hope you are exaggerating about how serious of a loss this was for you. He wasn't talented enough to keep a timeslot on a political talker in DC of all places. He didn't have the listeners or advertisers to keep him here. Simple as that. (4/11/09) RE: [So then, these Plante listeners bombard those who are above Mr. Duckworth's 'pay grade' with e-mails telling them of their disgust with that decision, and may or may not attach Duckworth's e-mail reply - Silvie] Oh, what a brilliant idea! Use the same tactic that worked so well when WMAL showed Michael Graham the door! You conservative hate-inspired trolls are just so predictable...I love the irony in the fact that you Plante cheerleaders are doing everything you can to get Duckworth thrown out the door too! (4/11/09) When I was in high school and had my subscription to the Post I always thought that the Saturday edition was the weakest of the other six days. It wouldn't be bad if it went away or if it's scaled down in my opinion. The Baltimore Sun and The (Annapolis) Capital typically tend to run light on Mondays and Tuesdays. I think its become "fun" to gang up on newspapers these days. Truth is, they still break stories and are a key peice of our information diet either via print or online. I think the papers will find a way to survive in the future but right now they are wiggling around to find the perfect fit. (4/11/09) A few months back, the Richmond Times-Dispatch cut its Saturday TV listings section from 32 to 20 pages, cutting overnight listings, dropping the separate sports listings, and generally gutting the section… in a cost-cutting move. Today, the Times-Dispatch announced that the TV listings section is going back to 32 pages, and putting back everything that was taken out. The catch? If you’re a home subscriber, it’ll cost you 50 cents extra per week to get the expanded TV section. Since I get my TV listings from Windows Media Center, I won’t be paying. I wonder how many people will. Rob Hoffmann (4/11/09) Dave, I happen to agree that the Washington Post's print edition is ultimately doomed. Circulation, revenues and profits have all been falling for years; wave after wave of buyouts have left it a shell of its former self, and the glory days are gone, never to return. I love newspapers and lament their demise, but I am a realist. In the 21st century, printed newspapers are the media equivalent of a horse and buggy. I will post material as warranted and encourage DCRTV readers to submit material for possible inclusion to: WashPostMonitor@gmail.com. (4/11/09) Um yeah, I'm just a dumb pre-menopausal suburban mom with no knowledge of radio. Dude, Mr. Duckworth has answered hundreds of e-mails in the past week, and is still answering each one of them personally. The e-mails come from really pissed off listeners who then turn their anger towards the 'upper echelon' because they're the ones who took Chris Plante off the air. It's all over the Internet and in news blogs. So then, these Plante listeners bombard those who are above Mr. Duckworth's 'pay grade' with e-mails telling them of their disgust with that decision, and may or may not attach Duckworth's e-mail reply to them. So, to recap, Paul Duckworth is not an imbecile. Now back to wearing my apron and my prepping my Easter holiday ham... dumb housewife duties, y'know...! -Silvie- (4/11/09) The poster meant to say Derek Williams, who was let go from WTOP in 2007, not for "economic reasons" but for performance issues. WTOP is the best station in Washington for many reasons - first and foremost, they do a fabulous job and fill a need. No one comes close. I have criticized them in this forum on other matters. Bonneville has shown that is run by bottom line businessmen who wouldn't think twice about dumping an old, trusted friend at a moment's notice to save a few bucks (Melman, Kepley, Dolge, etc.). I have described this ruthlessness as "cutthroat" and "vicious" - but I also understand why it is necessary. The only complaint I have is that Bonnesville doesn't seem to think that they are like this - that they are like other businessmen trying to survive in a knife-fight of a marketplace. Their actions prove that they are and they need to be more honest with themselves. But when it comes to ethics and business acumen, no complaints. One can be ruthless and ethical at the same time; these are not mutually exclusive variables. But they really do need to stop pretending they are "special." It's just bidness, folks. (4/11/09) Dave, I have recently noticed hearing a lot of young and unfamiliar voices on WAMU doing local news reports. They are perfectly acceptable on the station but have an inexperienced sound. It dawned on me that WAMU must be using a horde of interns in lieu of staff reporters to cover news. Yes, we all know that interns pitch in a bit in newsrooms. But my instincts as a veteran news exec tell me that WAMU's new practice goes beyond that into new territory and is using interns as unpaid labor instead of paid staff. If true, and I bet it is, this is possibly illegal at worst or at best, questionable and hypocritical for the great liberal voice of NW DC... (4/11/09) I used to really enjoy getting up on Sunday morning, going out to the end of the driveway and retreiving the Wash Post. I gave up on the subscription about 2 years ago but the paper still shows up. I used to flip on the F1 race and read the paper while it was on. Now it takes about 20 minutes and I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth. Its become a major disappointment and I don't even go to the website anymore. There's no reason to. TV or CNN/Fox has already told me about the the local and major stories. All that is left is the personal opinions. (4/11/09) Fascinating to hear WTOP do stories last night on the WAMU reporter - without mentioning WAMU! I'd like to see the internal memo on that one. (4/11/09) Re: DCRTV Dave's Tweet: "Do you know that S&TB was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite film...?" Everyone knows Hitch was hot to get into Sally Fields' pants! (4/11/09) All of this bitching about WTOP comes from people who don't know what they are talking about. Steve Dolge didn't work for Farley. He worked for a guy named Meyer. New Media is a separate department at Bonneville, with it's own P&L. Radio revenue and web revenue are separate. Derrick Ward (you misspelled his name, Bozo) was not let go at WTOP. He took a job at a Buffalo TV station in a career move that paid off very nicely for him. Let's face it. WTOP wins big in ratings and sales. In DC radio, they are the Yankees. And lots of people love to hate the Yankees. (4/11/09) file under: "Remove Foot From Mouth" and "Timing Is Everything" WTOP managers say recent staff cuts were for "economic reasons." If so, how would they explain the fact that according to a story on RadioAndRecords.com today (4/10), WTOP is the sixth highest billing station in the U.S. at $51.75 million? Link to story: www.radioandrecords.com (4/11/09) RE: [What's the big deal? -Silvie] Nice attempt at a defense, Silvie...Spoken like someone who has never worked a single day of her life in corporate radio, or anywhere in the corporate world for that matter. I suggest you forward your thoughts to Duckworth (while he still has an e-mail address)... maybe you can even offer give him a hand crafting his resume'. After all, he'll need it next week when he's job hunting. Look at the bright side though - at least he'll have plenty of free time in his schedule now to meet you and Plante for lunch in Waldorf. (4/11/09) A message for Steve Dolge-- Yes, it's kind of you to speak highly of your bosses, and I used to feel the same way. However, now when I think of the decent, hardworking, TALENTED people they've let go, like Derek Ward, Mary Ann Jennings, Steve Eldridge and now you, I've changed my mind. WTOP has been a money making machine for Bonneville for years, and the corporation should have had the decency to hold out until this recession is over. I don't think keeping you and that other staffer would have brought Bonneville down on its knees. Good luck in the job hunt. (4/11/09) /\ April 11 Messages /\ \/ April 10 Messages \/ Watched the opening day Orioles opening day on MASN-HD Decided for the hell of it to switch to WJZ at 3:00 I couldn't believe the picture. Top left corner "LIVE" in a red box. Top right hand corner MASN letters. Bottom 1/4 of the picture WJZ LIVE ORIOLES COVERAGE. Somewhere on the screen were the players being introduced. Needless to say switched back to MASN where i had a complete view of everything. One last note the flyover happened about 5 minutes after the national anthem while they were introducing the Vice President for the opening pitch. Note to WJZ I am well aware I'm watching the "O"s live and I know I'm watching WJZ Give the people their full picture on T.V. (4/10/09) What if that Veteran began talking about the poor care that other Vets were receiving? What if he started naming people and their diagnosis? Would you trust your news organization to know about HIPAA laws, and remove the names/diagnosis of the people that a Veteran who by accounts was receiving poor care and thus probably a little outspoken of someone who did not want that published? How about if that 'guy' in the ER that you were next to when you had that unfortunate accident with the vacuum cleaner and bristle brush began telling the media "I thought I had it bad with my anal wart problem, but Bob Smith who works for WTOP was in the ER bed next to me and he had .......". This is a plausible scenario, and since this was a "Media Event" surely someone has a report on what actually happened. (4/10/09) Hey TV heads: read what happens when you cut costs just a little *too* far. Go to www.fybush.com and read about Binghamton NY's pitiful coverage of the mass shooting that happened right in their own front yard. Pitiful. (4/10/09) Bowie Blade is moving its headquarters to Annapolis due to the economy www.hometownbowie.com... I guess it's better than them closing. (4/10/09) Mailbagger Paul: Mr. Duckworth's comments WERE NOT posted by him on Freerepublic.com. They were posted by a "Freeper" who received an e-mail reply from Mr. Duckworth himself. There's nothing in that reply that is untrue. Mr. Duckworth is a grown man and not a 5-year-old who needs "Mommy" to tell him what to write and how to write it. It is no secret that the decision to get rid of Plante came from the 'upper echelon' and not Duckworth himself. What's the big deal? -Silvie- (4/10/09) Olbermann and Maddow views are that of liberal loons. Their ratings suck so they spew hatred towards O"Reilly, Hannity, Beck and others. Olbermann is the Anti-Christ..not Hannity. Bill (4/10/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Cox Media Account Executive – Fairfax. Join an elite group of professionals at Cox Media, one of the most-respected media teams in Northern Virginia. We are looking for a highly qualified Account Executives in Fairfax County to help achieve local advertising revenue objectives. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES: Sells local advertising on cable networks to produce revenues. Responsible for coordinating traffic orders. Assists in coordinating the production of commercials. Serves as PR Rep and image builder in the local community. Utilizes statistical information from Arbitron and Neilson. QUALIFICATIONS: 2 years of successful media sales or equivalent experience. Working knowledge of Power Point, Word, Excel, SalesSCAN, Neilsen, CableSCAN a plus. Cable advertising experience preferred. Knowledge of the local media market and local contacts preferred. High school degree required. We offer competitive salaries and outstanding benefits including medical/dental/vision benefits, 401K, pension plan, tuition reimbursement and free cable. Cox Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers. EEO/AA. MFVD. All candidates MUST apply online at www.cox.com/coxcareer. (4/10/09) The announcement that the MOM Show will be celebrating their one-year, 20th place anniversary next week shows they and CBS management still don't get it. Without major format change, including the firing of show producer Beth Ann McBride, this will be their last! Today, O'Meara's staff would be better served planning an Irish Wake rather than a party. (4/10/09) DC 50's coverage of the Nats begins at 1 on Sunday with Johnny Holliday and Ray Knight hosting Nats Extra at the stadium. Beautifully designed set located just inside the center field entrance, above the left field bull pen. Fans are invited to stop by and enjoy the show before and after every home game. (4/10/09) F. Y. I. - I Found this e-mail regarding last week's programming changes to the morning lineup at WMAL openly reproduced in the comments section on FreeRepublic.com: “Thanks for your email. First the headline: this was NOT a local decision. I am truly saddened to see Chris [Plante] go. He’s a great broadcaster and friend. As you may know, The Joe Scarborough Show is owned and distributed by Citadel Media/Broadcasting - the company that owns WMAL. This move was part of the company’s strategy to get programs that it owns on stations that it owns - something that’s not uncommon in the industry. I’ve made my share of decisions at WMAL, however this one was not one of them. Thanks again for your feedback. Best regards, Paul Duckworth Operations Director 630 WMAL” While I can and do appreciate Mr. Duckworth's personal displeasure with programming decisions made by Citadel, an affiliate Operations Director countermanding corporate decisions in a public forum seems both unprofessional and unwise. In fact, words like that can end up getting you fired (who knows...maybe Duckworth's departure could be a good thing to steer 'MAL back from the far-right fringes). All I can say is, good luck and I enjoy your next job, Paul. (4/10/09) The following was forwarded to DCRTV. It was sent to Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, among others..... Dear Secretary Shinseki: On behalf of more than 2,000 members of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, I am writing to protest in the strongest possible terms a Veterans Affairs public affairs employee’s treatment on Tuesday evening of David Schultz, a reporter for WAMU-FM, a public radio station here in Washington. According to Mr. Schultz and Mark Seagraves, a reporter at WTOP-FM in Washington, Mr. Schultz was interrupted by a Veterans Affairs public affairs employee while interviewing a veteran at a public meeting and ordered to turn over his recording equipment and the memory card containing the interview. Armed police officers were summoned and surrounded Mr. Schultz, who turned over the memory card after consulting with his news director. As of this writing, the memory card has not been returned and no apology has been made for this outrageous violation of press freedom. The government may not lawfully seize audio or videotape at the scene of an event or otherwise impose a prior restraint on the dissemination of news material without following judicial procedure and establishing the highest level of need for the restraint. In Channel 10, Inc. v. Gunnarson, 337 F. Supp. 634, 637 (D. Minn. 1972), the federal district court said, “If publication cannot be prevented indirectly by injunction after a hearing in a case involving the national security, a fortiori, the direct seizure and holding of a camera and film belonging to a newsman on any lesser ground is surely constitutionally invalid.” The seizure by the government of newsgathering equipment is the kind of thing we sometimes see in dictatorships, not in the United States. For a government official to take a reporter’s equipment away while he is conducting an interview amounts to the kind of prior restraint that has been repeatedly found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Likewise, the intimidation, threats and bullying that was engaged in by a Veterans Affairs employee are unacceptable. The reporter was covering a public event and interviewing a willing subject. There is simply no excuse for the way this incident was handled. Refusing to return the memory card has done harm that cannot be rectified. The memory card contained other newsgathering material that cannot be replaced. This information now cannot be disseminated to the public and they are poorly served. The Department of Veterans Affairs should take these steps immediately: 1. Return Mr. Schultz’s property immediately... 2. Issue an apology to Mr. Schultz, WAMU-FM and the American University to which the radio station is licensed... 3. Conduct thorough training in the First Amendment and the rights of a free press for all public affairs employees throughout the department... On his first day in office, President Obama declared “the beginning of a new era of openness in our country” and signed documents ordering all government agencies to pursue their activities openly. “Transparency and the rule of law will be touchstones of this presidency,” he declared. This incident is certainly not reflective of that policy. I urge you to take steps to rectify the situation. Sincerely yours, Barbara Cochran, President, Radio-Television News Directors Association (4/10/09) If Hannity is on the list, where does that leave Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow? Oh that's right, you agree with them so their views are OK...I keep forgetting that "its" only important if you believe it - or in this case NOT....geez (4/10/09) Instead of getting rid of Steve Dolge. Why didn't they get rid of the annoying Lisa Baden and Patricia Gwaduloooopee? LesinAdelphi (4/10/09) Sean Hannity is the Antichrist. Paul (4/10/09) Dave's response: No no no. That "Karen and Richard Carpenter" couple, the new editors of FishbowelDC. They share the title..... Sorry, Dave I cannot resist the urge to make this short rant. Maybe it's because I'm out of the office today so I cannot correct anyone's grammar. I'm 99 44/100% sure it's soundBITE. As in a bite of sound, a little piece of sound. Not sound BYTE. When the word was first used, the average computer was the size of my apartment. Thanks for your indulgence. Charles in Winchester (4/10/09) I see where you and your website made the Washington Business Journal’s front page ‘InnerLoop’ column today concerning your 4-1 “Source: Post May Kill Saturday Print Edition, Charge For Website - 4/1 - An April Fool's Day joke - or real? We report, you decide.“ (4/10/09) Dave, 94.7 HD2 playing old HFSTival tunes. Cool! (4/10/09) Its an outrage how 'institutions' such as the VA disregard not ONLY our First Amendment rights but the very men who served and FOUGHT for those rights!!! Veterans are treated poorly both in and out of the VA hospitals. How dare a soldier continue to live after they have served thier purpose?? That seems to be the common mentality especially among the Administration types. Untidy,uncategorical nuisances that can't be printed up neatly and filed in a drawer. Self important bureacrats live well due to the need to give care to the soldiers who gave years of thier lives and thier very limbs yet they act as if they should not be bothered with actually treating them. I think those who mistreat soldiers should be sent to face those who are still healthy. Maybe some shrapnel would convince them that they are mortal and insignificant,more so than thier victims are. (4/10/09) Is Mix 106.5 an Adult Contemporary station or a CHR/Top 40 station? I have found myself listening to the station more and more because its hard to pick up Hot 99.5 where I live, but the station seems to be a Top 40 station in a soccer mom wrapping with a name that doesn't fit and a morning show that belongs on that new "Fresh" station. Last night I got into the car and Boom Boom Pow was playing by the Black Eyed Peas and then you hear the station ID, Mix 1065. I wouldn't think a station called Mix would necessarilly play that song or have the evening countdown, etc. as a Top 40 station would. Don't get me wrong I really like the music but the station just doesn't seem to fit the music they seem to be playing. (4/10/09) ("Hey, Ed ever hear of WAMU." Actually, I have - - but I said, " Bal-Wash COMMERCIAL stations.) Ed, did you notice the excellent public radio station in Boston, WBUR, won ten Murrows? (4/10/09) Perhaps , Dolge should run through Mike McMearty on his way to the unemployment office, from all indications that guy is A GUTLESS PUNK ( so says everyone I know who works @ TOP) , he adds NOTHING (except saying yes to Farley) .... Keep surfing Mike! Mark in Dc (4/10/09) Very classy post by Steve Dolge. It seems like everybody who ever gets let go from that place STILL has good things to say about it. That's really amazing. (4/10/09) Please stop. Thank you for being angry on my behalf, but please stop. I have nothing but respect for Joel, Jim and everyone else at WTOP. I especially have respect for a General Manager who has the brass ones to make painful and unpopular decisions that he feels are ultimately in the best interest of the company. It's that leadership that took the station from where it was when I started to where it is now. I would run through a wall for those guys. Steve Dolge (4/10/09) Two Loudoun County weekly’s have taken on video daily updates. The Loudoun Independent and the Leesburg Today are posting daily video updates on their websites. My suggestion- if you are going to put so much effort into something, at least have someone around who knows what they are doing. One suggestion- add more video and sound-bytes. Why do I want to watch a person, who has no skills in front of a camera, read me the news? The b-roll will also help you cover those bad cut edits that seem all too frequent on some of the video updates. Also, get some better quality mics, cameras and editing software. You may say that is too expensive…ok, well then don’t get into video. Why not stay away from the visual medium and instead do more investigative articles. Just my thoughts. (4/10/09) Harold Deutsch's memorial service will be at noon on Saturday, April 18th at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Father Darwin Price and Hal were friends and Hal asked Darwin to perform the ceremony in the Church. The Church is in East Hampton – on the south side of Town Pond (Main Street). His family has asked in lieu of flowers to make donations to Kiwanis of East Hampton, and the East End Hospice (Westhampton, NY). Harold also made donations to the Broadcasters Fund for needy ex-broadcasters and Miami University, Oxford, Ohio if people would prefer those. (4/10/09) The reporter is told by his boss to hand over the card because the Veterans Affairs Public Affairs/media Affairs/Impressed with their title Affairs people want him to? I'm trying to figure out who is offending the First Amendment more--Jim Ascendio (the boss at WAMU) or the nitwits with their titles at veterans Affairs. Nobody won in this episode. (4/10/09) Farley drops another deuce - real class act over there at WTOP. Win an award, get s***canned the same day. I am sure the "suits" will be the last over there to take a cut in pay... I don't agree with Mr UC Suit this time. (4/10/09) Steve Dolge - Steve is a class act. I bet he thanked TOP as he was handed his walking papers. That's how nice a guy he is. But give this some thought. Both Farley and Oxley know Steve is the only bread winner in his family. Nice. How bout that for ethical firings. Good luck Steve. We'll miss you. (4/10/09) (Regarding WTOP's recent cuts:) FROM FARHI ONLIN DISCUSSION: "Washington, D.C.: How has this economy effected your advertising revenue?... Jim Farley: The DC radio market is down 30% so far this year (L.A. is down 41%). WTOP is doing much better than the market overall..." ("much better?") - actually, Dave, one of their biggest advertisers, Mattress Discounters, recently dropped WTOP..... WASH BIZ JOURNAL 3/25: "Radio, like television, newsprint and other media, is struggling amid a downturn in advertising revenue, but WTOP management insists it has not been hit as hard as its peers..." "The D.C. radio market’s [revenue] this last month was down 30 percent, but WTOP was down a fraction of that,” said WTOP vice president of news and programming Jim Farley. “We’re doing much better than the rest of the market..." (4/10/09) I wonder what the real reason was for Steve Dolge's departure? At WTOP, such moves are never about money, especially when it comes to long-time workers who were deep set in the newsroom clique. And whomever wrote about McMearty was right on. (4/10/09) The thing about Bonneville that has always amazed me is the bald-faced hypocrisy of pretending to be a "family-values" kind of organization - when in fact, they keep ruining families every so often to make their numbers. I don't question a business getting rid of people from time to time. It has the right to do whatever it wants. A business exists first and foremost to make a profit for its owners. (Oh, you thought it was to "serve the community?" Insert deep throated ominous laughter here) But why can't Bonneville drop all the "values" bullshit and admit they're just as cutthroat, nasty and vicious as everyone else? I'd actually respect them more for being intellectually honest. Bonneville's management isn't fooling anyone but themselves. The cowering, terrified employees still working there certainly are under no illusions about who they're working for, I can tell you that. Yes, Steve Dolge: You're a valued member of our family. Right up until the moment when we decide that you're not. Turn in your ID, keys and Joan, our intimidating HR person (so friendly and motherly just an hour ago) will have you sign some documents. Family values, my ass. (4/10/09) What "Suits" usually don't talk about is that we're usually affected first by compensation cuts. Not in every company. But, in many. And, we're not supposed to talk about how our compensation is reduced lest it ruin morale or even put quality-damaging fear into our people. If you see subtle changes in habits though, that's a sign of cuts. Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/10/09) AP and newspapers are fighting back www.nytimes.com It's about time we fight back. What a classless group over on Idaho Avenue. (4/10/09) Firing Steve Dolge should be a wakeup call to everyone at that station that management doesn't give a shit about them. Dolge created wtopnews.com and won award after award for doing so. And even when talking about firing one of the main players at the station Jim Farley still has to mention the Murrow awards. What a joke by the way that Chris "will shill for food" Core and Darci "I never will have a voice for radio" Marchese can win Murrows. At least nominating themselves for all those awards gives "News Director" Mike McMearty something to do during the day besides surfing the web for amusing . By the way, did anybody notice that WFED finished dead last in the latest PPMs? Targeted advertising buy or not; focused audience or not, dead last still blows bear. (4/10/09) Have you noticed that "Ailes'es Angels" have been ordered to tone down their conservative let alone anti-Obama rhetoric? Even Neil Cavuto has been reined-in as has Hannity by comparison w/his radio show. The old man is scared of the FCC taking away WWOR and WNYW or forcing him to give up the New York Post. Word is this will happen. The question is what action will "justify" it "legally". And, the Republicans are eqally anxious to see this happen. They blame Fox in part for what happened in 2008 by the Fox hype that the GOP was not being "conservative" enough. The only card Murdoch holds is shuttering the Post. Which he will do if his hand is forced. (4/10/09) Dolge's revenge? For the first time ever, I log on to the 'TOP site tonight and the logo's not there - on the same day they give the boot to the man who put them online in the first place. 15 years of hard work and what do you get? Bupkus. (4/10/09) Who is the genius at MASN that chose the ad agency that is producing these horrible ads? I thought that I had heard the worst radio ads in history until these things started showing up on WTEM. I have heard the one promoting Adam Dunn once too many times. Today they played it two times in ten minutes and I switched to WTRI and never went back to WTEM. The kids at the high school who read the morning announcements could do a better job. (4/10/09) I forgot to mention, Sean Hammity also received a Special Patriotic Rovey for his compassionate commentaries about "the Greatest Nation" every time an actress calls to tell him how "scared" she is about OBama's policies (heard daily, sometime between 5:18 PM. and 5:49 PM). Way to go, Sean! (4/10/09) TOP laying off 15-year veteran Steve Dolge -- man, he brought that station into the internet era and they ditch him. Klassy! And trying to bury the news late in the afternoon, under the shadow of a bunch of awards. How about Oxley taking a paycut? Another bone headed move. (4/10/09) /\ April 10 Messages /\ \/ April 9 Messages \/ Hi: Evidently "classic rock" isn't the only area where the Post's AM/FM listings are "off". The list continues to list WCTN-AM programming as "Christian". However, I've noticed that recently WCTN has been offering a mix of oldies rock and the type of "standards" prevalent during the 1960's and earlier, mixed with the occasional half-hour or hour long infomercial. The music is most typical of what we used to get on WGAY-AM, as well as rock and roll oldies from the Fifties and Sixties, a welcome relief from what we usually get on AM and FM these days. By the way I'm still smarting from WAMU's decision to move all the bluegrass and classic country to HD a couple of years ago. Now it looks as though Music Choice, which I get on Comcast digital cable, is eliminating or consolidating some of my favorite music channels next Wednesday. Then my only way to hear Tift Merritt sing may be to pay to attend her performance at the Birchmere on Apr. 21. John (4/9/09) Dave's response: Yes, MusicChoice is revamping its line-up on 4/15. By the way, you can hear WAMU's Bluegrass Country on regular radio - 105.5 FM. The Great Falls-based low-power signal is surprisingly well-received from Rockville to Reston, and eastward into McLean and even northwest DC..... "Hey, Ed ever hear of WAMU." Actually, I have - - but I said, " Bal-Wash COMMERCIAL stations. Ed Graham (4/9/09) Forget the Murrow Awards; WMAL has already racked up eight Karl Rove Awards for Excellence in Political Communications, sponsored by the Heritage Foundation. Hammity won two “Roveys;” For Best Political Prediction, Hammity’s series on “Obama will nominate Bill Ayers to be Secretary of Defense,” won hands down. The other, for Best Economic Reporting, was Hammity’s “European Bankers controlling US Salaries.” Mark Levin won two “Roveys;” the first, for Best Political Profile; “Major City Mayor, Sarah Palin-American Patriot,” and the other for Best Business Reporting for his series on “Global Cooling.” Chris Plante’s series on the “Obama trying to take away the First Ammendment,” won a Rovey for Best Political Projection. Of course, Grandy and Andy’s continual talk of the Fairness Doctrine won them a Rovey for Best Political Reporting on a Non Existent Piece of Legislation.” Congrats to all at WMAL (if you are still there)! (4/9/09) "Any chance the PPM numbers are not "real" and more people listen than the numbers reveal?: Theyt are not perfect, but damn near everybody who sees the numbers agrees PPM is way, way more accurate than the diaries were. Actual listening verus what people remembered and wrote down. (4/9/09) WTOP won more Murrows that another other radio or TV station in the country, 11. Next, with 10, was WBUR-FM, the very fine public radio station in Boston. Where was the public radio station in Washington, WAMU? 0. (4/9/09) Dave's response: Congrats to TOP for its 11 Murrows, but I can't imagine too many listeners deciding whether to listen to TOP or AMU based on the number of news awards they'd won..... My congratulations and best wishes to everyone at WTOP who won a Murrow. Great station. Great people. Great work. Well deserved. Paul B. (4/9/09) Chad Dukes said he got a phone call from Northern VA magazine and his blog (fukerton.com) was overwhelmingly voted #1. The station can't be doing that bad if things like this are happening, right? Any chance the PPM numbers are not "real" and more people listen than the numbers reveal? (4/9/09) Dave's response: And, DCRTV was just voted "number one blog" by the Northern Virginia Gay Latvian Digest. Oh, it's thefukerton.com. It's like going to joyboys.com instead of thejoyboys.com..... "So WTOP and WBAL won news awards - - no other Bal-Wash commercial stations DO news." Hello, Ed! WAMU. WMAL. WHUR. WPOC. (4/9/09) Dave's response: "If you don't submit entries, you can't win." That's the motto above the door to the Fox5 newsroom..... Ed Graham, ever hear of WAMU??? (4/9/09) So WTOP and WBAL won news awards - - no other Bal-Wash commercial stations DO news. I'm happy for them, but that's like graduating at the top of your class when you are the only one in the class. I know that they have some really great news people and they work hard. WMAL, on the other hand, gave up news for talk a long time ago. Now, the national (conservative) talk radio audience has an average age of 67. ** When you buy a station, you have to look at the market and decide what to do with it. You can either find a format that no one in the market is doing, and that will get good numbers you can sell (demographics). Or, you find a station that has good numbers and is vulnerable, and go after it. What I don't understand is why WBAL and WMAL are chasing a target audience with an average demo of 67 year old. WBAL has made a few changes (dumping Rush is the most important) but WMAL keeps adding programs to reinforce their attachment to the Obituary Page in the Post. They are also violating Tom Conroy's Law about connecting to the audience by using bad national shows and not local programming. Hey, Tom has to be right SOME of the time. ** Picking the right music and rotation for a music station is the easiest thing a PD does. Finding the right talent and helping them develop empathy is the hard part, but remember bad talent costs the same as good talent, Bad PDs cost the same as good ones. If you don't know how to fix your radio station, hire someone who does. Good radio is not really directly tied to budget. That's an excuse. Many people on this board argue about what stations in fringe markets like Hagerstown and Ocean City do, but the real problem with DC radio is what the big stations do. Fix the music, fix the content, the numbers will follow. The new PPMs require programming for TSL - - try that. Turning my MP3 player on at K ST. Ed Graham (4/9/09) When WRNR went up in power from 3KW to 6KW, they had to move their stick from Stevensville (you can see their old tower from the Bay Bridge – to your right as you cross to the Eastern Shore) to the current Grasonville location because the then owners of Baltimore’s 102.7 objected. On the books, by moving further east the signal didn’t improve any towards the 102.7 city grade signal, but because it’s mostly going over water, it did a tiny bit. (4/9/09) "Thanks ever so much, Lisa. That was Lisa's swan song with us. She goes now out on her own, as her own traffic star, soon to be heard in her own traffic reports, and I know you wish her Godspeed same as I do." If Ms. Baden--or anyone in her shoes--were to be fired on the air, you can bet it wouldn't be done anywhere near that 'politely.' We're a long way removed from 1953. Julius La Rosa (4/9/09) I could be wrong but I think control of WRNR has reverted to Empire Broadcasting, not Nassau. (4/9/09) Dave's response: Yeah, that did happen earlier this year..... The NYT article about HDRadio basically says, it's not offering any programming for listeners to get excited about. True enough, in general (I imagine some people are excited about WAMU's all-bluegrass channel)--there really isn't anything all that unique about the subchannels. And the NYT basically says that the stations don't put any resources into developing programming for the subchannels. So my question is, does ANYBODY (outside of iBiquity) really care whether HDRadio lives or dies? I have an HDRadio receiver (it was a gift), but I rarely use it. If HDRadio actually added to the good things about regular radio (like, I could receive distant stations at night with hi-fi sound) that would be good. But it doesn't. It's parasitic. And it's telling that WMAL, for one, dropped its HDRadio signal because the complaints outnumbered the compliments. The FCC needs to do what it's REALLY supposed to do, which is not worrying about ratings, but regulating the physical acts of broadcasting. Take a couple of abandoned TV channels and give us a new, REAL digital radio system--one that works; one that maybe somebody could get excited about. ~~CA in BC (4/9/09) (snip) WHEN you fire the traffic woman or the ditzy weather girl; do it ON air. Have one of those giant hooks like they used to have in old movies and vaudeville come out and drag them off. It'd be great. (end snip) AND the sound guy has to play THIS clip when it happens: www.wavsource.com (4/9/09) Mary In The Morning is Mary Tylaska(sp?) from the Today's Best Hits ABC Network. For anyone familiar with local radio about 15 years ago, this is the same satellite service that used to be on WGRQ in Colonial Beach. It used to be more of a CHR format when it was called "All Hit Radio", and then later "The Heat." It morphed into a hot a/c about 93 or so and then WGRQ switched to ABC's Pure Gold service with at the time Zippo In The Morning. I have often wondered how long it would take for Somar, owner's of 97.7, to replace their local jukebox automation systems with a 24/7 satellite provider. Who's next? WSMD or WKIK? (The poster formerly known as MLB4) (4/9/09) I believe both WUSA and WJLA have operated ATSC tests on their VHF channels. Late night tests to check the bandwidth and reactance (load) of the shared antenna and combiner network. Not sure if propagations tests were carried out. (4/9/09) 97.7's "Mary in the Morning" is definitely syndicated from an outlet called Today's Best Hits owned by Citadel. Everett W. (4/9/09) RE: [ " Dave's response: It would be cool if the 103.1s in Annapolis and Frederick could both be WRNR. Nassau could buy 103.9 from Bonneville and put Key 103 there..... " ]........ Or better yet, from the NeverNeverLand Engineering Dept...... Nassau darkens the Frederick 103.1 and puts out a Class B directional signal towards both DC and Baltimore from its current location or my Bay Bridge suggestion. Of course, none of this is going to happen for a variety of reasons, both technical and money, but it doesn't hurt to wish for the Easter Bunny, does it? :-) (4/9/09) Does anyone even know if EITHER area 103.1 is grandfathered in spacing with respect to WTOP 103.5 and WQSR 102.7? I suspect not, but you never know. Only one of them would have to be grandfathered for something to be possible with WRNR. I know darkening an FM signal is considered heresy within the FCC but face facts... the FM dial is heading in the direction of the AM dial and FAST. The Emperor NERO (the FCC) is sitting idly by while Rome burns, several radio companies will probably go under in 2009 and...... AM HD-RADIO is dead, FM HD-Radio is dead. When will the FCC take some action or propose something new to compete with Apple's iPOD??? It's amazing how far ahead of the U.S. that Europe and Asia are technology wise with regards to radio and cellular networks and even HDTV. Sadly, it makes the U.S. look like a 3rd world country in tech circles. The U.S. is like the last to get 3G networks, digital radio, and HDTV in the western world and ALL 3 have been delayed or FAILED! And it's shocking that our politicians have settled for tech mediocrity time and time again, witness ATSC and HD-Radio. Even President Obama was amazed at the LACK of TECH at The White House of all places. Definitely NOT a good thing in my opinion. Pathetic would be a better word. :-( (4/9/09) Saw a commercial on FOX5 regarding the digital conversion where they showed a graphic of the area in which the converter box will allow one to receive FOX5 and where it won't. And now I see they're talking more about the possibility of having to buy another house antenna if the converter box doesn't work correctly. So, initially the converter box was promoted as being THE option to installing cable. But the more I see these commercials, it appears that getting cable is going to be the only option.. (4/9/09) Dave's response: My advice is to forget over-the-air reception of digital TV signals. Their signal strength can vary greatly from room to room in your home, even in neighborhoods not from from a station's transmitter. You'll need a rooftop antenna, which is expensive and can blow down in a storm. Save yourself a lot of hassle and get basic digital cable, at the very least..... Do you know what's great about 9 News in the morning? It's so badly done it's now comical. All that BS they cram onto the screen from 5-7AM and all those dreadful interviews from 9-10AM are pure gold. Andrea Roane looks like she's knitting a noose under that news desk. Since everyone on that ''newscast'' is going to be canned hopefully sooner rather than later, 9 should have some fun with it. WHEN you fire the traffice woman or the ditzy weather girl; do it ON air. Have one of those giant hooks like they used to have in old movies and vaudeville come out and drag them off. It'd be great. Paul (4/9/09) Yeah, wouldn't it be great if WRNR's transmitter were like atop the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or something, no environmental hazard, no unsightlyness compared to where their current transmitter is, and better signals to both Baltimore and Washington? A win/win all around. That would be cool in a perfect world, but oh well. Obviously, the FCC would nix that quick due to interference with WTOP and WQSR. :-( (4/9/09) Dave's response: It would be cool if the 103.1s in Annapolis and Frederick could both be WRNR. Nassau could buy 103.9 from Bonneville and put Key 103 there..... HD Radio Crying Out to Be Heard www.nytimes.com (4/9/08) The replacement for Smokin' Joe on WMDM 97.7 is Mary in the Morning. Her show sounds very much like a syndicated product, such as lack of local references in the show and the prominent use of bumpers. (Often the latter are cut off, as if they were inaccurately timed.) The clincher was a phone interview with Sean William Scott, and it's a long shot that WMDM would be on Scott's media radar. Has anyone heard of this show being used elsewhere? (4/9/09) WRNR is so fucking cool. I'm listening to Donielle Flynn's show now via the net. If only the signal could reach a few miles further west, there wouldn't be any need to reminisce about WHFS, or stupid WTGB. (4/9/09) Since WJLA and WUSA are going to go with ATSC on their legacy VHF channels come June 12th, has anyone seen them test on these channels with ATSC? Is there a possibility that they would be kind enough to let DCRTV know in advance of any pending tests so we can get a "first look"? I say "pending tests" as they must;'ve surely gotten things ready for the 2/19 transition until that date was changed. -JFP (4/9/09) In Thursday's NY Times, tech writer David Pogue asks: Q: How do you make an HD radio executive bang his head against the wall? The answer - Ask him, “What’s HD radio?”. So begins his article 'HD Radio Crying Out to Be Heard'. He writes: "The HD radio alliance has spent millions of dollars on promotion, ads and educational efforts. Yet even after four years of this, most people still don’t have any idea what HD radio is." Here's a link to the article - www.nytimes.com (4/9/09) Dave's response: If local stations didn't have so much indifference and contempt for their HD Radio programming, it wouldn't be in the sorry state it is. Look at what market leader WTOP has for its HD Radio offerings - canned and sometimes out of date traffic and weather updates, and Indian programing. That's not going to cut it. Or CBS's WTGB's alt rock channel. Sometimes it's there. Sometimes it's not. And sometimes it's playing the wrong shit. Sheesh..... (regarding a previous post) "Thank God for liberals!! You guys just can't deal with facts that correct your fantasies. Poster stated that the breakup of AT&T happened under President Ford." It's apparent from your post that YOU just can't deal with facts. I DID NOT state that the breakup of AT&T happened under President Ford. What I DID state, was: "Republican Gerald Ford was president - not Jimmy Carter - on November 20, 1974, when the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit, charging anticompetitive behavior, seeking the breakup of Bell System." And speaking of facts, you posted - incorrectly - that the DOJ filed suit against AT&T in October 1974. The actual date is noted here - altlaw.org... Quoting: "On November 20, 1974, the United States filed its Section 2 Sherman Act suit against ATT in the District of Columbia. Three stays of this suit, one on motion of the United States of America, one on motion of ATT, and one on the Court's own motion interfered with the pace of discovery until November 28, 1978." Nothing in my post implied or stated outright whether I am a liberal, a conservative, or something in-between. My sole intent in posting was to correct the impression that was given by an earlier post, that the DOJ suit against AT&T was begun during Jimmy Carter's term in office. It began in 1974, when Ford was president. Also, for the record, I worked at C&P Telephone Company of Virginia from 1979 until 1982, when I transferred to Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Kansas City. When I was employed at both companies, they were part of AT&T, so I am in a better position than you, to know how the suit affected AT&T. I remained with Southwestern Bell for more than two years after the divestiture took place in 1984, leaving because I had an opportunity to resume my career in radio. (4/9/09) /\ April 9 Messages /\ \/ April 8 Messages \/ Thank God for liberals!! You guys just can't deal with facts that correct your fantasies. Poster stated that the breakup of AT&T happened under President Ford. Not so fast... While the lawsuit was filed during the Ford Admin, the reality is that www.ieee.org "the U.S. DOJ versus AT&T antitrust case was filed in October 1974 (barely 2 mos. into Ford's admin) by Attorney General William Saxbe, an aging former Senator from Ohio. Saxbe replaced Elliot Richardson who had just resigned in protest over the firing of Archibald Cox by President Nixon. Saxbe would last as the U.S. Attorney General for only one year having distanced himself from both the Nixon and Ford White House’s. The DOJ was still in shambles following the renowned Watergate investigations and Saxbe was looking for bold and decisive action to improve public opinion of the DOJ. Saxbe filed the case without even consulting with then-President Ford." Therefore you buggered ignorant of a liberal apologist, Republican Ford had nothing to do with the mean spirited legislation that was aimed only at the breakup of the world's largest corporation and the ceasation of its operations and profitabilty under the guise of improved customer service and lower costs. Without that profit, there were no resources necesssary for long term capital investment in the long view R&D and plant improvements necessary to the continued improvement of the national telecomm infrastructure. You may recall that Sprint had to cease their ION stategy because of insufficient capital and Bernie Ebbers of MCI/Worldcom went down in flames trying to capitalize line costs as operating expenses. Sprint and MCI both tried to build networks with a minimum of R&D and capital investment. They wanted money in their pockets, rather than buried in the ground, on wires overhead or hanging on the wall. The article above continues to note that the case was initially handed to another aging ideologue named William Baxter who had not tried a case in 20 years. Baxter stated, "I intend to litigate it to the eyeballs". Over the objections of many, including Reagan's advisors, the DOJ continued the case. The DOJ manipulation, misrepresentation and malpractice (as they would do again 35 years later with Sen. Stevens) continued until the case eventaully went to Judge Harold Greene. Greene, appointed to the federal judiciary by Jimmy Carter, was already well known to be an activist from the bench and defender of liberal ideologies, given his long tenure in the creation of civil rights legislation back to the early 1960s. Greene was in fact a green federal judge at the time. He took over this case ON HIS FIRST DAY ON THE BENCH! He set a trial date (Sept. 1, 1980) within three months of seeing the case and fast tracked it. He essentially refused to review the body of work in progress where DOJ and AT&T were trying to achieve a settlement. The Carter administration did nothing to stop this miscarriage of justice. He also refused to review AT&T's 500 page brief for dismissal. Greene continued where Baxter left off, making the case so public that Reagan could only let it continue for fear of seeming to side with big business. The settlement that was largely worked out under Carter was finalized fairly early in Ronald Reagan's first term. The question has been asked before, but never answered, "why did Judge Greene continue to ignore that GTE and its various business units comprised a national monopoly on rural telephone service" GTE at the time served not only rural customers but had exclusive agreements with communities in the same way that cable TV had municipal monopolies. At divestiture, GTE alone was an entity as large as any of the post-divestiture RBOCs, but with more nationwide network than any of the RBOCs. GTE made it possible for Sprint to think they could compete with AT&T without having to invest in last mile outside plant. The perverse irony of divestiture is that local dial rates increased substantially while long distance decreased. This lengthy rebuttal is necessary because I am so tired of hearing how wonderful Judge Greene's vision was. His vision was flawed, and the Obama adminstration has quite some nerve directing the FCC to investigate a problem that was created by an earlier liberal adminstration and given then to the FCC to administer. Seeing how DTV was handled, and the recent politically correct attacks on Arbitron PPM, we can expect no more from the Obama adminstration that what liberal ideology has done in the past and reaped in the present with our outmoded telecomm infrastructure. (4/8/09) “Moe the Union Guy” makes a lot of good points in his post. Unfortunately, it’s often the most “liberal” of media outlets that go out of their way to stifle union organizing. Why? Because they are often the ones which treat their employees worse (I remember a major market chain PD, when interviewed, saying that his “… jocks (are) pieces of meat”) than many “conservative” operations. While there are some non-union operations where employees are treated and compensated better or at least as well as union operations, they are few and far between. There’s also a big difference between “non-union” and “anti-union” operations. Both IBEW and NABET are top-flight unions who in addition to improving their members wages by improving their job skills via union training programs, look out for their members employers by offering to make sacrifices to preserve jobs when times get bad. And, they are unafraid to show their independence and prudent business savvy. In 1967, when AFTRA went on strike (Am I the only one on the board who remembers this?) against the networks (including their O&O’s), one of the key demands was that the radio stations establish separate announce staffs for AM and FM combos… thus predicting the evolution of FM stations into having identities separate from the AM station by how many years? Anyone here besides yours truly remember the AFTRA lawyer who successfully defended NBC before the FCC a number of years ago in an employee discrimination proceeding? What has changed in this business is the declining number of us “suits” who once carried a card for AFTRA, IBEW, NABET, etc. (There are also other unions who represent employee interests in broadcasting…) as a part of their “education” in the business as opposed to a “media specialist” who has an MBA (sometimes of questionable credibility) and suddenly becomes a PD, GSM, or such without ever having pulled an all-night air shift or worked for commission as an AE at a “for profit” dump of a station in a place like Beaver, Wyoming where an actual payroll had to be met. (“College/University” stations for the most part haven’t been training grounds for future broadcast talent for ages, so skip those.) An interesting question here would be, since CNN is a Time-Warner operation, how about HBO/Cinemax, which is also a TW operation? Is that a union shop? Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/8/09) Its true, babe... wait around long enough and everything you heard as a kid will eventually come to be. Take Donovan and his tune "Mellow Yellow" when he sings of the "Ee-lec-tri-cal banana, bound to be the very next phase". So now at long last comes this 8-string banana-shaped electric guitar on the U.K. eBay site. Oldies stations everywhere, be proud. You guys nailed it. Now, when do I get my flying car and robots that do my housework? (4/8/09) "Why does the new FRESH 94.7 take a shot at WASH in it's tv ads when it seems to have a format more like MIX 107.3?" Because the prime goal of 94.7 is to replace WASH as the station to listen to AT WORK -- targeting the women who make up the predominant part of the desired audience. It's unfortunate that so much music radio is now controlled by the bland whims of receptionists. -- Vincent in Triangle (4/8/09) (...from R&R Online... FCC, PPM Not Exactly BFF: FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein this morning called for a government inquiry into how Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) collects data and affects minority audiences and broadcast stations. "I'm hopeful that the Commission will soon launch an inquiry into PPM," said Adelstein during the Commission's monthly meeting at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. "Some have questioned whether we have the authority to conduct such an inquiry. Apparently they haven't read the Communications Act." Well, all righty then. Adelstein said he was concerned about reports from minority-owned and -targeted radio stations that their audience numbers had dramatically shrunk since implementation of the new measurement technology almost two years ago. He added that the FCC cannot allow PPM to "damage diversity.") Damage diversity? And I thought Arbitron was in the business of measuring actual radio listening. What a dumbass I am. Joe E, Salisbury (4/8/09) (regarding a previous post) Republican Gerald Ford was president - not Jimmy Carter - on November 20, 1974, when the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit, charging anticompetitive behavior, seeking the breakup of Bell System. (4/8/09) NOW THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! Today's MOM Show featuring Jolly Roger the Florida reptile keeper, man-eating alligators, frozen rabbits, phythons, and pirates! (4/8/09) Dave, Looking at the post re:Fresh FM Digital 2 stream. Why did a studio move result in a different HD2 stream? Doesn't it ride the STL from whever studios are located? Or is it just a computer at the transmitter site spitting out file after file of music? (4/8/09) Dave's response: I dunno. I'm not a radio engineer, even though I play one on this website..... Syndication One News-Talk Network broadcasted "Keepin' it real with Al Sharpton" live April 1st through the 3rd at the National Action Network Convention in New York. Keynote speaker was the Vice-President of the United States Joe Biden (pictured with Rev. Al Sharpton). Vice-President Biden spoke of the President's economic recovery plan. Kirk Tanter (4/8/09) Wow. This is great. Thanks for the chuckle in the NYT article on the FCC's plans for broadband. Love how it mentions the USA falling behind in telecomm. Let me see if I understand this correctly. Jimmy Carter listened to his elites, believed AT&T to be corrupt and overpriced on dial services, so he enforces legislation for divesiture. And, as predicted, 25 years later we are way behind the rest of the world in the use of high speed telecom. Just today I listened to a webinar about how Europe uses MPLS for broadcast. Next, Bill Clinton listens to the elites, believes everyone should own a home and enforces legislation to give a mortgage to everyone who wants one. Eight years later, we have the current economic crisis. And now,,, the elites have installed their own in both the executive and legislative branches of government. Do we really think that an FCC, led by a Dumocrat President and an even Dummercrat Congress is going to somehow advance the USA in broadband when it is their very own elite and ideology that set us behind in the first place? I champion the goal. But the record of liberal elites in understanding, deploying and paying for technology is poor, to be kind. Do we really expect that this Congress and President will be able to pay for this accelerated deployment when they fail to realize they bankrupted the country and caused our retarded deployment in the first place? IF this FCC, this President, this Congress want to advance broadband, the first thing that needs to be undone is diversiture. Put AT&T back in the capital seat. Divestiture was based on operating cost models that ignored the capital investment already spent, and continuing need to be spent, to advance our telecom infrastructure. Seeing what they did with DTV proves they lack the ability to do any better in the future than they have done in the past. (4/8/09) More cuts at WMAL? What's happening with WMAL "News?" Didn't hear Mark Weaver doing his usual local news at 1:02 p.m. today. Instead, 'MAL had Rachel (somebody) from Metro! Doesn't sound good (in so many ways)! --RB (4/8/09) (Was great to hear WTOP shilling for Denny's buy-one-get-one special this morning. It's great that all of the useful news in the world gets condensed into about eight minutes out of every hour (plus the traffic reports that keep WTOP in business), but now this is considered part of that "news?") Hell, yes! Lat week I got a fabulous free cheesebuger at Z-Burger in DC because WTOP told me the secret word to get it. And a few months ago I got a free ice cream cone because they told me about the give-away/ Anybody who's gonna tell me where to get free food is a great news radio station in my book. (4/8/09) Regulators opened a debate on Wednesday on how the United States, trailing many industrialized countries in access and adoption of high-speed Internet, can extend the technology to low-income and other under-served areas. The Federal Communications Commission, taking orders from Congress, has until February 2010 to draw up a strategy that will address controversial issues as Internet openness, definitions of affordability and what speeds are fast enough. Link to item - www.nytimes.com (4/8/09) Why does the new FRESH 94.7 take a shot at WASH in it's tv ads when it seems to have a format more like MIX 107.3? Did Weasal also exit with the change of format? Does anyone program the music at HD2 94.7 or a computer handles that? Hopefully Lil' Steven's Underground Garage program will show up there in the near future.I believe the word that pays with Mr. O'Meara is "disingenuous". Shirley, he knows? he sucks at interviewing but just can't hep talking over everybody. I kind a prefer the O'Mearaless show of last week, meself.The Washington Post is a very sad thing these days ain't it! And Mr. Tony ain't no John Feinstein in work habits is he! When does Cerphe start doing his weekend music show on WJFK? (4/8/09) RE: [Chris Plante didn’t win a Murrow for his interview with Sarah Palin that uncovered that she had no clue what the First Amendment was?] Hold on a sec there, Pal...If Chris Plante deserved to win a Murrow for anything, it clearly should have been for his hard-hitting and critical two-day expose' regarding the semantic differences between a document known as a "Birth Certificate" and a document known as a "Certificate of Live Birth"! Of course, his reporting on the topic was complete and utter BU!!$#!T (fabricated within the twisted folds of his own mind, and with absolutely no basis in reality as usual), but it was provocative and riviting BU!!$#!T just the same! The Chris Plante Show can currently be heard weekday mornings from 9 to noon on Silvie's kitchen telephone in Waldorf. - Jeff in Bowie (4/8/09) Mike O'Meara, it's HUMP DAY! Are you willing to put in the time to make your show top 10? (4/8/09) "on the moon"...Alan Christian's head is on the moon! (4/8/09) Here's a "bright" recycling idea for anyone with a storeroom full of old cart machines - www.shannonlamp.com (4/8/09) [snip] If not WFQX why not do such a format on crosstown Centennial's WWRT/WWRE 104.9 & 105.5 ? Considering that Winchester is not exactly a large market does it really make any sense to have two stations doing more/less the same format? [end snip] The WWRT signal on 104.9 is oriented to the southeast. The WWRE signal, 105.5, heads to the northwest. (4/8/09) Chris Plante didn’t win a Murrow for his interview with Sarah Palin that uncovered that she had no clue what the First Amendment was? How tragic! Mark Levin didn’t get a Murrow for his hard hitting diatribe on the 70 dollar an hour auto worker, or his investigation into Obama being a fascist? How awful! Rush Limbaugh didn’t get a Murrow award for his investigative journalism that revealed Obama is “of Arab discent?” Sean Hammity didn’t get a Murrow for his thorough coverage of the Bill Ayers/Obama connection story? Andy Parks’ exposure of Yo Yo Ma as "nothing more than Mili Vanili" wasn’t nominated? My God, what are journalism awards coming to? (4/8/09) Was great to hear WTOP shilling for Denny's buy-one-get-one special this morning. It's great that all of the useful news in the world gets condensed into about eight minutes out of every hour (plus the traffic reports that keep WTOP in business), but now this is considered part of that "news?" After five years of waking up to WTOP, I finally switched my clock radio today to the "buzzer" setting. There's nothing left worth listening to in AM Drive here. (4/8/09) I wouldn't call 947 HD2's format classic rock. It seems to be all 80s rock similar to the format it had on the weekends prior to HFS2 being implemented. As far as it being rebranded as the "Jam," I dont think so. "The Jam" was running on the text display with the station ID even with the HFS2 format, so I would read little into it. (4/8/09) Dave's response: A CBSer tells me that the 94.7 HD2 mistakenly tapped into an old database, and the cool alt rock will be back..... WCBM - What ever happened to Alan Christian, talk radio on WCBM AM and FM?? rob (4/8/09) ("The classic country format didn't seem to last too long on Warrenton's 1250. But, with country WFRE, WAYZ, and WUSQ so strong in the region, classic country may be the way to go.....") The Classic Country on 92.1 (WPPT) in the Hagerstown market seems to be doing well also... (4/8/09) (In ppm, the numbers don't lie) - With about 1/3 of the diary sample, and with the exact same families having their meters for nearly 2 years instead of different people having diaries each week - it is an entirely different ballgame. The numbers may not lie - and the meters might actually be an "accurate representation" (even though according to Arbitron, they are still "estimates" - and not "facts") - they do not have the same diversity as the old diary system, and cannot possibly have them under their current sampling criteria. (4/8/09) CNN, despite its reputation as relatively “progressive”, has long been very anti-union. It regularly has much lower working conditions than virtually any other comparative broadcasting operation in America that is covered by important union-negotiated collective bargaining agreements. One of the reasons CNN originally set up its main operations in Georgia was due to the weaker legal protections of workers and unions in so-called “right to work” states. Despite this fact, in the early 1980s when CNN’s Atlanta headquarters first opened, the vast majority of workers signed cards to join NABET, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians. The union lost the vote to become their bargaining agent in a controversial campaign in which CNN’s founder Ted Turner spent over a million dollars in anti-union efforts. Turner publicly suggested he would rather close CNN than recognize the union. In order to avoid having to deal directly with unions in CNN’s New York and Washington offices the company at first subcontracted all its technical services to Team Video Services (TVS) among others. Predictably, given the better labor protections in these places, the subcontracted workers in both New York and Washington early became union members by voting overwhelmingly in a secret ballot election to join NABET-CWA and were able to negotiate a series of labor agreements. However some three years ago CNN managed to get rid of most of its unionized members and escape the contract by dropping TVS and setting up something called the “Bureau Staffing Project” which hired the workers directly under worse conditions and without recognition of the union. Justice delayed is justice denied. After five years of investigation, charges filed, and exhaustive hearings, in December 2008 NLRB Judge Amchan declared CNN had engaged in, " ...widespread and egregious misconduct, demonstrating a flagrant and general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights." And yet, the issue is still not resolved. CNN is appealing the NLRB judge’s ruling, possibly for years, making the arrival of these workers’ day of justice uncertain. The union will not quit. CNN continues to tell its employees that the union is trying to force representation without another union election. What? Our NABET-CWA represented members have already spoken, twice. The NLRB judge has already spoken. Now CNN declares, “Employees should have a secret ballot.” But just like last time, today's law still allows these same union-busting lawyers and “persuaders” to lean on workers; so much for the secret ballot, free choice, and who's the "thug." It is likely that the Company’s intimidation campaign of the past would continue. Here is yet another example of why workers need real labor law reform to level the playing field and get real and meaningful representation. The lesson here is undeniable. Today's case makes it obvious that within current labor law, even with an unambiguous NLRB judge's ruling, companies know they can deny worker’s rights and frustrate the process through years of legal delays and argument. How long must union members wait to get justice? We need reform now. We need the Employee Free Choice Act passed and signed into law. nabet31.org..... Moe the Union Guy (4/8/09) (Follow RTNDA on Twitter and be the first to know the Murrow Award winners) We hear WAMU may have been shut out in this region.....that either WBAL or WTOP won all the awards. We think (don't know for sure) WMAL was too discouraged to even enter this year. (4/8/09) If you want a good ratings story, check out WTEM's huge audience drop since the Dec ppm. Their cume has dropped from 405,000 to 209,000 from Dec to Feb. In ppm, the numbers don't lie. (4/8/09) The Birachs are to broadcasting what urushiol is to beauty cream (You're on the web already; just look it up). (4/8/09) When Winchester's AM 610 was shut down and the sports talk format moved over to 1550, well the more I think about it, would it had made sense to move that format over to their sister station WFQX -FM 99.3 ( The Fox )? Keep John Boy & Billy in the morning of course but the other dayparts...sports such as Jim Rome and of course do the high school games and by being on FM, signal coverage should not be a problem. If not WFQX why not do such a format on crosstown Centennial's WWRT/WWRE 104.9 & 105.5 ? Considering that Winchester is not exactly a large market does it really make any sense to have two stations doing more/less the same format? (4/8/09) Thanks for the heads up about 97.1's HD stream switching to classic rock - just when you had me almost convinved to invest in an HD receiver, I can save the money. Do you know if 98 Rock's HD streams out of Baltimore are any good? Whenever I hear their alternative HD station take over for some hours on the weekend, I think maybe that might be worth it if it's programmed well...how about a report card of the local HD stations? (4/8/09) Dave's response: That's 94.7's stream that switched to classic schlock..... Harold Deutsch was a broadcasting innovator, a super salesman and an all-round nice guy. A unique individual, he was a friend and a mentor. With his support, the staff at WCBM created a product that likely won't ever be heard on the airwaves again. My sympathy to his family and many friends in the broadcasting/advertising community. Dave Humphrey, WCBM, 1968-1985 (4/8/09) As morning news editor of WCBM between 1982-85, I recall that things were so tough with both the loss of the Baltimore Colts franchise and the economic recession pummeling the station, that all Hal Deutsch could muster as a Christmas gift one year was a one-pound box of Wockenfuss candy from our sponsor, Wockenfuss. Twenty-five years later, I still remember how apologetic, sincere and decent he was when he called me into his office to present it. Finding that my boss was a sincere and decent person who cared about his employees was one of the best gifts I'd ever received before or since that time. -- Bob Anbinder (4/8/09) "After listening to FRESH for a few days, one thing is clear, it is an AC not a HOT AC...so much for being Fresh" - Fresh is exactally how an AC station should sound. It plays 90s through today, meaning it plays soft adult hits from the past 20 years. It's a re-Freshing change from the Clear Channel AC format that still plays the same 30 year old disco songs that we also hear on the oldies stations. I enjoy the variety of 90s AC featured on Fresh. It's great to hear the Gin Blossoms and Everything But The Girl on AC again. For those of us who were in high school in the 90s, We Are Family is not soft rock, but Til I Hear It From You is the soft rock of our generation. Fresh actually plays the songs I grew up with in the 90s. Jeff (4/8/09) "It looks like Tony Kornheiser (right) is lightening his workload even more, as he prepares this summer to return for a fourth season as the "color analyst" on ESPN's "Monday Night Football."" God NO! I wish this was a cruel April Fool's joke. I really can't take another year of him on MNF. (4/8/09) Heard Al Koken & Craig Laughlin during last night's game congratulate Caps radio play by play guy Steve Kolbe on his 900th game. (4/8/09) Dave, For weeks you have posted that there would be a big shakeup at WJFK. What ever happened to that? Scott (4/8/09) Dave's response: We reported that CBS was planning to flip 106.7 to sports talk, but after seeing WTEM's anemic sports talk radio ratings, it decided to continue to keep the "guy talk" format on JFK. For now, anyway..... Michael Hughes and Those other C u n T s at CBS need to be bitched slapped hard (4/8/09) Dave's response: I don't get it. It seems like such an easy solution. Put the WHFS calls on 94.7. They work perfectly well with the "Fresh" format. CBS has "FS" calls on its other "Fresh" stations. And then take 94.7's HD2 and make it alt rock "HFS2." And with Cerphe still under contract to CBS and nothing to do, have him program it and do a daily show on it. Get up a website and stream, and promote the hell out of it. Come on, CBS. It's a great idea..... Of interest to Engineers: I just saw on the Broadcast Net list server that Jack Jenkins had passed, he was one of the founders of ITC and helped invent the cart machine. He was 77. Obit link at www.broadcast.net in the radio tech list server (4/8/09) After listening to FRESH for a few days, one thing is clear, it is an AC not a HOT AC, it plays less than a handful of the newer songs that you can hear on mix 1073 or 1065...so much for being "Fresh" (4/8/09) I'm giving Fresh 94.7 a fair listen this week without passing any judgment yet, but I have to say the imaging is the kind of good ol'-fashioned in-yer-face callouts (where the competitor is being hammered) that I really enjoy hearing. "WASHed up", "WASHed out", "wishy WASHy" etc. I dare wonder what else they'd be saying if WGAY were still part of the DC landscape. HA! (4/8/09) Did anyone else hear that crap from Houston substituting for Mark Levin's crap last night on WMAL? Note to WMAL, Citadel, etc. Obama is not a closet Muslim. OK. OK? Can we move forward now? (4/8/09) WKYS 93.9's HD signal is incorrectly being identified by my Sony XDR-F1HD radio as "KHRS-FM" for the past 10 minutes. This reminds me of when FOX 5's HDTV signal IDed as "KWKT-HD" and mapped to channel 44 a while ago. DLP in Woodbridge (4/8/09) The problem with 'thetruthaboutsimasr' is an equally long diatribe could be posted about simajr and mama. Mama Birach does a pit bull proud job of defending her son and deflecting his consequences by not returning calls, faxes, emails or letters, unless they say 'order of the court'. The other poster is correct, that site exists NOT because momma is trying to protect her son, but rather because both are in collusion with Sr. and this is just another trick. Sima Sr. is very much aware of what Jr and Mama do or have done, and has been for at least ten years, because every creditor in the broadcast history has gone after Daddy after failing to get a response from momma and son. There is no way in hell that Jr. stole Sr's. identity or made him liable for contracts without his knowledge. Avoid the family and their scams at all costs. (4/8/09) soooooo grateful to everyone who came out 4 "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow" event 4 kids cancer research at Hudson Restaurant in Washington D.C. last night. Miss Virginia Tara Wheeler and her Beauty Queen colleagues from the Comm. of VA, including, Bethany Munt, Miss Greater Springfield, Kristena Wright, Miss Hampton Roads, Erika Thomas, Miss Alexandria, Shannon Beam, Miss Greater Richmond, Veronica Rohrmoser, Miss Piedmont Region, and OF COURSE!!!: Miss Thing herself: the gorgeous 9 y/o Breanna Rowell, her sis Savanannah, n her parents (Sgt.) Rick n Darlene... "The Bachelor" and all-around sweetie pie Dr. Andy Baldwin, Mr. Anchorman Leon Harris of DC's WJLA ABC TV station, and Mark Hyman and Morris Jones of Sinclair TV Station Group! Plus, DC's Metromix shutterbugs and WJLA's cutie-pie shooter Ben?!?!?! What a night!! Cap it off with a HUGE nod 2 Kimpton Hotel's Hotel Helix around the corner?!?!?!??!?!?!?!!! All I can say is Groovy man, THANK YOU!!!! (4/8/09) It seems 94.7's HD2 is back to classic rock/hits "94.7 The Jam," not the alt rock it has been recently. DLP in Woodbridge (4/8/09) Dave's response: Just heard Elton John's "Sad Songs." Whatever..... (snip )...Charles Town WV's 1550 ...(end snip) : the transmitter is in West Virginia, the "studio" is a computer under a table at Clear Channel's cluster at Winchester Airport. Sports was shifted to 1550 when CC pulled the plug on SportsTalk 610 last fall because the land under their sticks in Frederick County (Va.) was sold for a retirement community. Because 1550 cannot be heard in Winchester at night, there is speculation that WINC-AM 1400 will pick up high school football this fall. WINC-AM has decided not to do Washington Nationals baseball this summer. With sports on 1550, Eastern Panhandle sports fans can now get Jim Rome from SportsRadio 1340 in Martinsburg, and 1550 in Jefferson County, just a few miles down Route 9. (4/8/09) (snip) Birach Broadcasting now has at least THREE stations currently off the air... Is Birach going under? (end snip) I won't shed a tear if true -- the whole lot of them are as unfit a set of owners as I have ever seen. Although if THIS site proves true (truthaboutsimasenior.com), there's still a scam or two up their sleeves that will keep them on the air for a while to come. (4/8/09) Hal Deutsch was, without question, the most honest GM I'ver ever worked for in 36 years in the business. Maybe that was his weakness, but there was never a day in my time at NewsTalk 68 1982-85 that he ever made a promise he didn't keep or pretend he never made. He gave me raises and perks I never asked for, and did everything he could to keep the format afloat, frequently going against the will of Metromedia. A truly unique individual in this business. Phil Wood (4/8/09) Anchors for the mid-day news on FOX: Holly Morris and Tony Perkins..Thank goodness I was on my way out of the door. (4/8/09) Dave's response: To become "The Geronimo Show" next year? Hey, if he liked working for Michael Hughes, how about Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch? Hmmm..... Oh, God! Here we go again. Another "new format of the year" award being handed to Mr. Rizer & Co. So now they're going to play country music from the 50's through today ...a format that has failed at every station in America except one; WSM. However, since WFRE owns Frederick County Country (and most of the 4-state area surrounding it) Radio with a playlist of predominantly 21st century recordings, it would seem to make better sense just to try and make WTRI a Country Classic station and be done with it. Go after the older demographics and sell time to anything that caters to the over 35 crowd, which shouldn't be hard in that neck of the woods. Those 18-35 demos aren't going to hang around very long when they hear Toby Keith seque into a Kitty Wells ballad. (4/8/09) Dave's response: With Charles Town WV's 1550 dropping its "Memories" format for sports talk, I'd have thunk that a resurrection of the way cool Vegas Radio might have been the ticket. Maybe do a deal with Bill Parris and get it relayed on the DC area's WCTN, 950. The classic country format didn't seem to last too long on Warrenton's 1250. But, with country WFRE, WAYZ, and WUSQ so strong in the region, classic country may be the way to go..... The passing of Harold Deutsch reminds us of the best of an era that was so different from today. It is significant that he gave his employees such an opportunity to learn how to communicate via radio that many of them are still a well respected part of today's media in this area. The DCRTV front page called WCBM under his management "full-service middle-of-the-road," but that is somewhat misleading. Certainly it was full-service, with an emphasis on information from a great news department (including street reporters) and sports people like Tom Davis and Phil Wood. Music stations, of course, haven't invested so many resources in reporting the news for many years. But middle of the road? Yes, the programming did include some true MOR standards going back to the 1950s. But there was so much more in the huge playlist. WCBM was marketed as an oldies format, and we played everything. A very large air studio was covered floor to ceiling with cartridges. And we also played quite a few currents, which got as rocky as (honestly) Don't Fear the Reaper and Jet Airliner. Yeah, next to Floyd Cramer's San Antonio Rose. Now that was music variety. And don't get me started on the crazy contests and promotions. Put it together and, even as AM was starting to go downhill, WCBM peaked with an actual 10 share 12+. A lot of people were responsible for the success of that station, most notably Bruce Holberg. But the one at the helm was Hal Deutsch. He will be missed - as is the kind of radio we will never hear again! --Dave Arlington (4/8/09) Dear Dave: Following up on another poster's email, it does look like WAGE has dropped Nationals play-by-play. Yesterday and tonight the only thing you can hear is syndicated fare. Frederick's 820 might be fine for daytime listening, but forget about it at night. It's weak-to-unlistenable for most of Loudoun County, except for that part up near Brunswick, MD. I can pick up 820 in Ashburn, so long as I grab my radio's antenna with my left hand while holding up my right arm parallel to the floor and lift my left leg. There still is XM as an avenue, as well as MLB play-by-play available over the internet. As bad as the team is (at least so far this year) it still is sad/ridiculous/obscene that DC-area fans in this part of Northern Virginia have to jump through hoops to hear the hometown team (as well as the tremendous work of Charlie Slowes and Dave Jaegler), while it is all too easy to listen to the out-of-town Orioles on one of Danny Snyder's stations. Terrestrial radio in this area, in a word, stinks. Again, Dave, a great site! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (4/8/09) I got to know Hal Deutsch a little when I worked in advertising in Baltimore. He presided over WCBM at a highly successful time in that station’s history. He hired the right people, namely Bruce Holberg and an excellent sales team. He once told me about his days at WINS in New York, where he worked during the dawn of rock ‘n roll at the time of Alan Freed. Hal Deutsch’s son Bob became a salesman at WMAL and then oldies Xtra 104. When I left Baltimore in 1994 to come to Atlanta, Bob had moved to the ill-fated WEBR-FM (99.5) along with former WXTR GM Bob Longwood. Does anyone know what became of Bob? Roddy Freeman (4/8/09) /\ April 8 Messages /\ \/ April 7 Messages \/ Dave: Saddened to learn the news about Harold. Merse and Holberg are right. He was one of the good ones. Although you're correct about WCBM being full-service, no way it could be called middle-of-the-road during Harold's tenure. Oldies-based AC would be a much more accurate description (and that was largely a result of Holberg's programming). The station kicked ass in the adult demos. Be well. (4/7/09) 68-WCBM and The Greatest Hits of All Time were truly a family during the mid and late 70's. GM Hal Deutsch was our patriarch. God rest his soul. Jack Edwards (4/7/09) My Washington Post is finally dead. I have been subscribed to the paper since before I was born ( my parents got home delivery). I just sent my check to the delivery guy and told him to cancel the subscription at the end of the current paid cycle - April 14. I have endured loss after loss of features I have subscribed to the paper for, then they raised the price. I have tried to adapt to the bi-weekly announcements of what you will not be getting the following week. Sunday Source I enjoyed but now it's gone. Book World I enjoyed but adapted OK when it was folded into the Style section. Same with the Business section. When the TV guide went, I found I could do well with the grid section from the daily paper, which lasted until the next bi-weekly announcement that the TV grid would be gone (except for a useless, unsorted sample of a few "popular" channels printed in small unreadable format. Now the recent loss of all the comics - that was the proverbial straw. Or sure they still include postage stamp size samples of their comics on two pages verses the three full size pages of comics they used to include. And they dropped two of my appointment reading strips Zippy The Pinhead and Judge Parker. And they have kept so much execrable comics crap, which doesn't really matter, as none of the strips are appealing or readable anymore in their tiny, compressed size. They should have dropped Non Sequitur as well as its details are frustratingly lost in the tiny, postage stamp format. Anyways, I rant too much. Used to look forward to the paper in the morning. Get up, make coffee, feed the cat, and get the Post and pull out the Style and Metro sections. First thing see what the Sam and Abby and associates are up to in the Judge and enjoy a moment of art and wit with Zippy. Now they're gone and the rest of the comics are unreadable. I've been leaving the paper lay out in the yard now, my comics entrée now gone and indeed the rest of the rag getting so thin. I appreciated this piece by Pulitzer winner WaPo writer Gene Weingarten www.washingtonpost.com. Robert in Arlington (4/7/09) Junks Jump In Latest PPMs ." This is your headline from the weekly ratings?!? If the Post did that, you'd be the first one to (rightly) mock them. 16th to 11th is the top news headline??!!?? (4/7/09) Dave's response: We report. You decide..... OMG! WTRI's come full circle. That's how they started, back in the late '60s as a 250-watt C&W chicken coop. You could hardly pick it up in Rockville, with WTOP on one side and WDON on the other practically mashing it into oblivion. But whenever I visited my aunt's farm just off good ol' Route 9 in Loudoun County, it amazed me how good it always came in. Loud and clear, even at lightbulb power. Unless you're familiar with the area, it may be surprising that from that part of Virginia you're closer to some parts of Maryland than if you stayed in the Maryland suburbs of D.C. Now I wonder how many weeks Radio Earl will last before they flip 'TRI back to Spanish. Ho hum. KOF (4/7/09) The Nats games are no longer on WAGE - AM 1200. Tough one for folks in Loudoun who like night baseball on the radio. Does this mean the plan go to 50,000 and change formats is imminent? (4/7/09) Dave's response: You still may be able to hear the Nats on WFED's 820 signal out of Frederick..... When the PPM system comes to Baltimore Arbitron ratings, you can say goodbye to a lot of the those DC stations that show up in the Baltimore ratings, just as the few Baltimore stations that occasionally showed up in the DC ratings seem to have disappeared. Face it, the Baltimore ratings are so flawed its not funny. WJFK 106.7 cannot even be heard in 85% of the market yet used to routinely show up in the ratings. Hot 99.5 also cannot be easily picked up in downtown Baltimore and places north, northeast, and east. That has to be like 40% or more of the market, so its clear that those ratings numbers are flawed. When PPM is added, I predict at least half of the DC stations that show up now will magically disappear with only WTOP, DC 101, and maybe 1 other remaining. (4/7/09) Dave's response: It depends. If folks living in the Baltimore market's "south counties" of Howard and Anne Arundel are included in the PPM surveys, DC stations will still show up in the Baltimore radio ratings. Someone who lives in Columbia or Crofton will carry a PPM device into work in DC and it will register DC area stations..... Dave: Please post this sad news regarding the loss of Harold K. Deutsch the pioneering V.P. and General Manager of 68 WCBM Baltimore during the 70s/80s Metromedia Radio days. My friend and mentor Bruce Holberg who was WCBM’s Program Director from 1974 – 1977 passed the word late this afternoon. Hal gave many Baltimore broadcasters their first big breaks including me. He was 84. Thanks Dave. Ken Merson/Merson Person Voice Tracks..... “I am sorry to tell you this, but Harold Deutsch passed away yesterday morning. He suffered from liver cancer and was at home when he died. The funeral is going to be on April 18, a Saturday, at a church on Long Island. Harold was a mentor, a Certified Radio Professional, was great at running interference for us with Metromedia, and a had better insight into people than many of you know. In the pre-MBA age of radio, he made great things happen. It would be great if we could get together on the 18th, and I will be posting more specific information as it becomes available." Bruce Holberg/Philadelphia (4/7/09) Anybody know what's up with WJLA's HD signal. They have changed to 1080i from 720p but some of the programs are no longer in HD and picture resolution seems to jump up and down. Bob Fairfax (4/7/09) RE: ?An item from the NY Times website says that new CDs of Beatles music will be released in September. These new, sonically upgraded reissues of the group’s original British albums, will be offered in both stereo and mono boxed sets. Am I missing something here? Why would anyone want anything in MONO?!? "//// ... it's already been commented on, but the answer to your questions are contained within the NYT article YOU linked in the Mailbag. Most people don't care, but enough audiophiles and super-fans do, hence there is a market for these high quality mono recordings, for the reasons stated in the article, and others. I am always on the look out for U.S. mono pressings of Sgt Peppers and Axis Bold As Love on vinyl, which were released and sold in small numbers as the mono format was being phased out, making them valuable and collectible. (4/7/09) Hey Dave, I wanted to let you know that WMAL's "Pet Liberal", Jerry Klein, 'filled in' for Bill Press on his show this morning (Tuesday) and will also fill-in tomorrow Wednesday. Press' show can be heard LIVE through his web site at www.billpressshow.com (click on "Listen Live"), from 6-9 a.m., and also via Sirius and stations around the country (but with no DC air since AM 1260 dropped progressive talk 2 months ago). Jerry's show of today can be found there as well via podcast/archives. Also, Klein is leaving 630 WMAL as of the end of this week to pursue other career options. He decided to leave the station way before the whole Chris Plante matter 'went down' last week. His views, analysis and personality will be missed (and you know that I disagreed with him 99% of the time). He's a 'larger than life' figure in radio and broadcasting, Dave. I've met him a few times and have dealt with him as a listener, and I must say that there's none better. Good luck to you, Jerry! -Silvie- (4/7/09) According to FCC records, Birach Broadcasting now has at least THREE stations currently off the air for what appears to be non-technical reasons (AM 700 + Birach's 2 Norfolk AM stations now). Is Birach going under? (4/7/09) LOL. I want to know the age, education and political persuasion of the 'informed' person who spouted off about why 'Mono' in Beatles re-releases. You asked, and YES, you sure did miss something! Had you bothered to read the ENTIRE article, perhaps you would have seen the (count with me kids) THREE TIMES where the reason for Mono AND Stereo sets are described in some detail, however brief. I am sure you take the same care when being informed before casting your vote. (4/7/09) Where are all the Megadonks now? The Junkies latest PPMs are money! Awesome numbers for adult men and women, which is the exact market they are trying to reach. I can only imagine their numbers if they were on a stronger station. (4/7/09) Too bad they didn't bring back Vegas Radio on WTRI. (4/7/09) The only thing 'up' in Rush Limbaugh's universe is his weight. Eleventh place, down from third? Wonder what Marky-Mark Levin's ratings must be these days... if Rush is eleventh then Winchell's ratings must be deep in the sewer underneath all of Limbaugh's sludge. Time for a complete overhaul, WMAL. You got off to a good start by shitcanning that moron Plante now don't stop, keep going. My advice would be to shitcan next Levin - wouldn't that be a hoot, his local station no longer carrying his sewage. Mike in Manassas (4/7/09) Another Genius Media Blog - Another, meaning second to yours Dave : ) alltheexcess.blogspot.com (4/7/09) Bring back George104! LesinAdelphi (4/7/09) A few notes; no thirty foot high shoots of flames, but CBS is filming exteriors all around the White House today for the TV Pilot “Inside the Box.” Crews are not expected to bug out until 5:30 PM or so. I thought Talkers magazine said Rush’s ratings were “up?” God I hate Talkers magazine. WMAL is in 15th place? Is it because Mark Levin spews crap weeknights there? (4/7/09) An item from the NY Times website says that new CDs of Beatles music will be released in September. These new, sonically upgraded reissues of the group’s original British albums, will be offered in both stereo and mono boxed sets. Am I missing something here? Why would anyone want anything in MONO?!? Here's the link to the article - www.nytimes.com (4/7/09) Just remember what a 'blog' stands for. It's the Acronym for BULLSHIT Logs. Signed, Twitter the Twit (4/7/09) FAT! DID YOU SAY FAT? The similarities between Mike OMeara & Don Geronimo doesn't end with their ever-expanding waistlines; though it reflects a true lack of discipline. No, the difference between the two is Geronimo had a solid, passionate 24/7 work ethic and O'Meara doesn't. As incompetent as she is for the MOM Show, B.A. McBride shouldn't outwork O'Meara. Hell, his name is the one on the moniker! In the military, there are three things [we] can't teach you; heart, passion and effort. O'Meara has none of these traits in the scale that is required for him to back a show rartings winner week after week and month after month no less a restaurant. Too bad, O'Meara seems to be a good guy! (4/7/09) Don Geronimo vs. Mike O'Meara: Don't ask Mike to be like Don. As someone mentioned, Don put (what appeared to be) his entire life out onto the radio for everyone to listen to. And after awhile it drove him nuts and drove him off radio. Mike has consistently stated he can't and won't take it that far. Its not being lazy (although I suppose he is not quite the radio workaholic Don was) its because he saw what pushing the emotional/personal envelope on-the-air did to his partner of 20 years. In today's FCC environment, talk radio of this sort won't ever be as edgy as it was in years past. Stop expecting shock-jock radio and enjoy the yucks TMOS can and does provide. Mike is finding his own voice, its light and wide-ranging, including more interviews and some political yap. It's a good show, not ground breaking, but still fun. If you at least like the guys, let it grow and find its voice. But comparisons to the Don and Mike show are not fair to the crew that is carrying on as a new show. (4/7/09) Tested Joe Scarborough at 11:30 a.m. this morning by calling in to their 877 line and commenting on why President Obama has a 66 percent approval rating in the latest CNN and NY TImes approval poll. If you were listening I was the one who said it would be probably 86 percent except he has tackled several controversial subjects like stem cell research and Guantanamo and then adding that the Republicans who are forecasting unsustainable deficits should go back nine years and look at the Clinton/Gore regime which was projecting permanent surpluses and in fact, the complete erasing of the national debt by 2012. Neither have happened no will they. Of ourse Joe didn't like either comment and Mika was mute but that's not why I'm writing this to DCRTV. To my amazement I got through on two dials, which, considering, the show is in several markets is astounding. Conclusion: Either nobody's listening or nobody's calling. ACH (4/7/09) Mike O'Meara at 20th? Shocker. I TRY to listen to that show. I TRY, TRY, TRY. I have given it MANY chances trying to accept Mike and his direction of the show. But it just doesn't register. But it is what it is - That asshole Don Geronimo was the catalyst to the show. Mike and the crew just can't pull this off by themselves. (4/7/09) I have to agree regarding Don Geronimo. I use to love looking forward to Monday's show to listen to Don's recap of his weekend. I would hang on every word he said. I always looked forward to the first segment of the first day back from vacation. RADIO GOLD. MO'M while more "funny" than Don, he's just not as engaging a person. I personally now look forward to the stories woven by Chad and Oscar, EB and Cakes. Radio that is not only "funny" but interesting. West Coast JFK'er. (4/7/09) Is it just me, or does the new "Fresh" logo look like a douche package? Winston Cargill (4/7/09) Dave's response: Yes. CBS frequently uses subliminal sexual imagry in its radio station graphic designs. Look at this WJFK graphic (right). I see male masturbation..... True Dave, DCRTV should be on their list. I actually found out about the on-line version of their article through you and relayed it to the author of the blog that I follow. So in an irony of ironies, you were the leading source of information for that blogger. Because apparently Washingtonian does not inform at least that blogger of the publication. (4/7/09) www.myhumors99.com, for the next time you feel like griping about how annoying or distasteful most advertising is today. Number NINE is especially creepy. --ap (4/7/09) RE: Rant......As a friend of mine in Texas says"Fuck Um And Feed Um Oatmeal".........Ratso (4/7/09) I noticed on the front page of today's Washington Times a note that said "Society Coverage Returns to the Times," or something like that. I forgot to go to the particular page that was flagged, but thinking about it now and looking online, I believe the paper was referring to a new column, "Green and Glover Undercover." I know you're not a big fan of the Style section "gossip" section, although this column isn't exactly gossip. There's a TV item about Tom Brokaw and MSNBC, but the lead item is, I think, about the same subject that Lisa de Moraes attributed her entire column to today. Christian washingtontimes.com (4/7/09) Dave's response: We did about two or three lines on it yesterday on the Front Page, and that's was probably over-coverage..... Re: Your rant regarding the blog list from Washingtonian. While I agree to some extent, there are many good blogs put out there. A habit I've started in the past six months or so is reading various blogs. One of my daily reads is on that list. TL (4/7/09) Dave's response: There are some very cool "blogs" on the Washingtonian list. I love wtop.com, DC City Paper, Dan Steinberg's DC Sports Bog, and the Post's Capital Weather Blog. But why did they leave out DCRTV? Everyone in DC media reads it. You know, DCRTV has more visitors in two or three days than the DC City Paper's total print circulation..... On this date in history, AT&T broadcast the first city-to-city television broadcast from Washington, DC; to AT&T's Whippany, NJ lab and on to corporate headquarters in Manhattan. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was the guest of honor. Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone operator Edna Mae Horner was the hostess. (4/7/09) (RE: It only took 3 years for Z104 to come back as Fresh 94.7, and surely every radio re-tread who is unemployed in the market is applying. Let us pray CBS hires none of them and keeps it jockless.) Did somebody call me? Sean Sellers, President of the Sean Sellers Fan Club (4/7/09) (WashingTOONian - 4/6 - Rant. Another piece of pompously mindless crap from the lightweight dolts at Washingtonian. This time, we get an ass-kissy list of some of the "best blogs" in the DC area. Including WTOP's website. A "blog"? No other local radio and TVers included. And, oh yeah, piece co-author Garrett Graff includes FishbowelDC, a site he founded. An ethical "gold star" for Mr. Graff! Guess you thought that the idiots who read Washingtonian wouldn't catch that. Man! And where's DCRTV on your shitty little list? More Rants.....) The WashingTOONian wouldn't know a quality blog if it bit them on the ass. Thanks Dave to bringing all the latest media news to me conveniently each weekday, with a smart sense of humor. (4/7/09) Dave's response: Not to sound overblown, but I've been running DCRTV many years and have built it into the DC and Baltimore area's top media news site. Maybe the arrogant Washingtonian should spend a little less time penning a fluff piece to hype the blogs of the writers' friends and do a piece on who's really shaking things up in the local web world. I get the same shit from Baltimore magazine. Year after year, they avoid DCRTV in their "best of" lists. There is simply no one who covers more Baltimore media stuff than DCRTV. Not even the Baltimore Sun..... Thanks for the excellent archive photo of Steve DOOCY from DC channel 4. Shows him in a typical pose. I remember thinking he was a dick, I mean flamboyant, even back then. (4/7/09) " .... I've even resorted to listening to my son's Jonas Brothers CD collection over the weekend in order to 'get me through' my Chris Plante/Geoff Holtzman "fix") ..." Silvie, you've got even more of a problem than you realize. You're just unable to let it go, but most stalkers can't. Your continued fixation on Plante/Holtzman is nauseating and not amusing in the least bit. (4/7/09) Dave, WTF? "Fresh 94.7. Artists like Finger Eleven, Matchbox Twenty, Oasis, Nelly Furtado. Calls still WTGB." Ok, even though all those artist (minus Nelly Furtado) used to be on HFS's playlist when the original 1st hit was just starting to get play spins (Finger Eleven- "One Thing" sounds like acousitic Fred Durst BTW, Matchbox 20 "Push", Oasis "What's the story morning glory?" was a BIG SONG on HFS when I was just starting to go to HFStivals), I wouldn't call those songs "Fresh" by any means. Don't you guys have a "Mix" CHR and a "Hot" CHR? Why even get into the business... unless you're going to be truly innovative and cool with the playlist, which we all know CBS Radio just does NOT have it in them. It's kinda like Clear Channel getting into the active/alternative mix business in Baltimore: we don't need another 98 Rock mixed with songs that 98 Rock doesn't play but DC101 does. The whole point of WHFS, even in it's last decade, was that it played stuff before EITHER of those stations got their hands on them. In the words of Jimmy the crip on South Park: "I mean... Come....On." CYA-KeninGlenBurnie (4/7/09) What is on the radio in the DC market does NOT seem to please many listeners. But whatever it may be, it makes money for the owners of broadcast properties. That is what determines how radio stations are programmed. If I want bluegrass 24/7, I must turn to my own record collection. My predilection fails to tickle the fancy of broadcast property owners, who prefer all news, any warmed over variation of rock and or roll (familar hits only, please), and brokered religious programming in various foreign languages. It is hard to believe more people listen to the Reverend Moon-Sun-Kim in his native Korean than could be or would be attracted by the best in orchestral music from the 1950s through the 1970s. The thinking goes that only people who are in the market for cemetery plots and denture adhesive enjoy orchestral music. (4/7/09) Here's what's NOT the problem with the Mike O'Meara show: Mike, Buzz, and Rob. Here's what IS the problem: No Don. See, all of us radiofiles know what we're missing. People have said, and will say what they want about Don Geronimo, but the fact is, he's one of the most incredible radio talents in the history of the medium. He's the guy that MADE that show, and countless other careers because of it. I know a lot of posters on this mailbag want to hear the return of WHFS, but personaly, for me, I'd like to see the return of "The Don and Mike Show". Stranger things have happened...-Billy Sparks (4/7/09) Well, I tuned into my old Globe preset this morning for a whopping 3 songs, then changed it to something completely random as I surfed on by. Christina Agulera's "What A Girl Once" is the sound of "today's Fresh music?" Please. During work I flipped it to Big, and was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by their afternoon person, who was taking advantage of the "new listeners." Nice touch. Finally, on the way home I was thrilled to hear "M'OM"'s return - Robb, Mike, Buzz and Beth Ann - the gang had returned, and I couldn't have been happier as they made this gloomy day a lot easier to deal with. (4/7/09) Dave, your response to a post below is a poor excuse for DC having no triple A. Baltimore has the same situation, and has two triple A's, and other good college stations, too. DC just suffers from bad decisions, and the most conservative people owning and managing plenty of FM stations. Please! "(Dave's response: The audio processing on 94.7 isn't as "mushy" as 107.3. Face it. The DC area is a great place to live. It's a cosmopolitan, geographically beautiful place. And has a pretty nice climate. But the radio sucks. Again, we're "too close" to Baltimore, thereby limiting the number of FM stations the DC market should have. If Baltimore was, say, 100 miles away instead of 35, there would be the following FM frequencies that could be used in the DC market, in addition to what we already have: 92.3, 95.1, 97.9, 101.9, and 102.7. That's five more FMers (more or less) - and surely one of them would be AAA.....)" (4/7/09) Dave's response: In many respects, Baltimore is an "incomplete" radio market because of its close proximity to the DC market. Look at their radio ratings. In Baltimore's top 20 you'll often find DC's WTOP, WHUR, WKYS, WAMU, WPGC, and DC101. When DC-based WHFS was around, it was often in Baltimore's top 10. However, you rarely find a Baltimore station in DC's top 20. The fact that DC's college radio doesn't feature any "college formats" is a "luck of the draw." Howard has a commercial license. Georgetown sold its station to UDC which sold it to C-SPAN. UMD's has the power of a light bulb. American went the public talker route. Columbia Union College is as close a commercial Christian contemp outlet as you can legally get for the non-comm band. Many of the DC area's universities "matured" in the 1960s or later, after the non-comm band was already "full" - a la GMU and GWU. And, again, much of the "real estate" on the DC non-comm band is taken up by "too close" Baltimore stations - 88.1, 88.9, 89.7, 91.5 and their adjacents. My theory may not explain why DC's radio is so bad, but it's as good a lame excuse as anyone else's..... Re WMAL - I am going to partially violate the rule about "bringing someone back", because I've missed G Gordon Liddy since he went off the air on WJFK a few years back. I heard him recently on the web and sweet mother-of-pearl, what on earth happened? His voice sounds as creaky as Imus', and topics he's tackling are secondary and tertiary compared to what other talk hosts around the country are hitting. They are all over the economy, the bailouts, the recent spike in aviation disasters etc, while Liddy is discussing Israel! So no I wouldn't want Liddy on WMAL, and as Imus might say, "Come back to us, babe." (4/7/09) Tonight, Mark Levin said Obama is decimating our military, and nobody can point to anything Obama has done to help those in uniform. (BINGO! Friday, right here on DCRTV, I presented on Monday the talk radio Republican talking point would be Obama decimating the military; Hammity and Levin delivered, making my prediction a reality). So to answer Mark Levin's question, didn't Senator Obama vote for the expansion of the GI Bill, as well as 14 other pro military personnel/pro Veterans' benefits bills? Chris Plante's crap is off the air, but Mark Levin's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. (4/7/09) /\ April 7 Messages /\ \/ April 6 Messages \/ Re" I have to agree with the commentator about the Mike O'Meara show today. I remember in the past when it was the Don & Mike show..." //// I heard the opening to the MOM show for the first time in a month. The problem is, and always will be, that three second bananas are trying to fill the void left by the guy who actually drove the train and made the D&M show move, and it hasn't worked. For as much of a prick, hypocrite, liar, and embellisher of stories and facts Don was...he is what made D&M show work. He sold it. He pissed us off with his real or faux arrogance, and it worked. What you have now, are two periphial players who have been elevated to regulars, and a sidekick, who for all his talents doesn't have what it takes, and isn't committed to lay it on the line for ratings. In Don's case he pimped out his family, his extended family, and apparently many of the people he came in contact with during the course of his daily life. His fights and issues with his family and others, whether real or not, was a huge portion of the show. The current crew of the MOM show is so milquetoast and non-controversial....its just plain boring. Like that story Mike was telling about his vacation, which I hung with for about 3 minutes....like a prior poster alluded to: compare and contrast the stories after weekends or vacations as heard on the old D&M show, and what you hear now...... the problem becomes quite clear. It is, and for a long time has been satellite radio for me, which is where I am convinced much of the audience who likes this kind of "guy talk" format has gone. The PPM numbers don't surprise me, as the few times I check in with MOM...it's always just for a few minutes, before I switch to something else. The nostalgic feeling of hitting the dusty WJFK preset wanes evermore. (4/6/09) To: No Name ...who wrote You are the same person.. It was a joke you spud. Get a life. Porter Jervis (4/6/09) (regarding my earlier post) Oops! Make that: "The poster for the show featuring December's Children would've been in 1968. That's the only year in that era that featured a Friday the 13th in SEPTEMBER." Sorry for the typo. Bad acid, I guess! (4/6/09) The first thing I saw this morning on FOX morning news was the story of Holly Morris's "Chicago" appearance. And who was one of the anchors talking about it?..Gurvir..Talk about awkward..I just don't see how those two can work with each other..It's GOT to be quite uncomfortable. (4/6/09) I have my own ideas about WMAL, but I know they'd be impractical. And everyone who has something to say about the station usually just gripes about what is on it now. So let me toss this out to the DCRTV community: if you could retool WMAL *your* way, who and what would be on? Now I don't mean "What ex-WMAL'er from the past would we bring back?", because that's never going to happen and it never works. I mean, given the enormous amount of talent out there both syndicated and local, what kind of from-scratch lineup would make you listen to WMAL? (I am not associated with WMAL or Citadel, but just a guy wanting to see a great station not turn to mush) (4/6/09) Dave's response: I would start by putting it on FM, too, probably on 105.9. I'd keep Grandy and Andy in mornings, and develop a local afternoon drive show. Maybe Chris Core paired with Michael Steele, after he blows the GOP chairman gig. Keep Limbaugh in middays because he's such a powerhouse. Probably move Hannity to evenings. Get back a full news department. Maybe slap hourly newscasts at 6 AM, 11 AM, and 5 PM. And, with the FMer, try to land some sports. Maybe the Nationals. Gotta give it some more thought..... To Porter Jervis: You are the same person who tried to compare Rush Limbaugh and Stevie Wonder just a few weeks ago. You have no credibility. Also, you are not the moderator of this board. (4/6/09) The Washingtonian forgot about West Wing Report, on Twitter - a terrific way to follow doings at 1600 Pa. Ave... (4/6/09) Dave...Per your rant: Does ANYBODY read Washingtonian anymore? Its become totally irrelevant. Its just the same old blather of lists and "best of"... plus about 6 "Dining Out" editions per year. What a waste of paper! Average age of its readers must be 70 plus... time for it to go! (4/6/09) Dave's response: If it wasn't provided free to every area doctor and dentist's office, its circ would probably be about 423. When I was driving my ma from doctor to doctor from 2000 to 2004, I always found a copy of Washingtonian in the various waiting rooms. And usually it was several months old..... I have to agree with the commentator about the Mike O'Meara show today. I remember in the past when it was the Don & Mike show, whenever they went on hiatus, I made a point of listening to the new show upon their return. Don always had lots of stories about his vacation and his stories were always engaging and for the most part, funny. Then Mike would be next, to tell his stories about what happened to him on vacation, and the difference between the two as storytellers was a wide gulf. Today, Mike had a very uninteresting and weak story about his trip on the plane and a pair of elderly germophobes sitting next to him and Carla on their trip to Florida. Then Mike went into a tirade about political differences and how we all need to get along, blah blah blah. I turned off the radio at that point because, as was pointed out by the previous commentator, Mike is not, nor ever will be, an expert about politics. Plus, that's not why I listen to his show, I listen for fun and excitement. However, Mike's stories are ponderous and the endless "interviews" with people most of us care don't care about suck the life out of the show. Buzz is good at interviews - he understands the need to ask concise, pointed questions and then allow the other person to actually answer the questions. Mike's questions run on and on, and he starts/stops several times during the questions, and adds superflous commentary, so by the end, I'm amazed the interviewee even knows what the question was. Usually, by the time the interviewee is answering the rambling question, I've lost complete interest. And you can tell, so have they. If the format of the show continues to be back-to-back interviews, then Mike needs to get training on how to conduct an interesting and compelling interview. As for the producer, BethAnn McBride, as a woman, I'm completely and totally embarrassed by her masochism in accepting Mike and Robb's constant insults and beratements as justified facts. Her days are numbered unless she understands, and accepts, the need for her to grow a backbone and actually guide the show in a new direction. Mike has his talents, but he also has many limitations, most of which are caused by his laziness. The sooner he is told this by a strong producer, the better for his show to survive. (4/6/09) I found this large cardboard poster at a yard sale about 20 years ago. I guess it's circa 1970, or so... when a local psych band December's Children was make a few waves, and I think released one LP. Scarlet Onyx ? Never heard of them. In response to all the Barry Richards stuff of late, what I have seen of him on You Tube (before my time), & the Post story about the claimed Led Zep show in Wheaton....I pulled this poster out of the vault. I will let the radiophiles chime if anyone cares...." MC'ed by a WEAM D.J. ? ...and a Barry Rick Associates Production..is that Barry Richards ? Speaking of Bailey's Crossroads... Anyone remember Louie's Rock City? Some big bands played there on the way up..Judas Priest, Ramones, among others.. (4/6/09) So, I have been thinking about all the trash talking these brave guys behind a keyboard pen here and propose some new rules before submitting a post so other mailbag readers can give your post all the respect and attention it deserves. If you call someone fat and/or ugly you need to submit a recent photo of yourself to substantiate that 1: Your are beautiful and probably a snob too, we will expect that kind of talk from you, or 2: your are ugly and know what you are talking about. If you criticize someone who is now or had a substance abuse problem you need to submit a recent drug test to show you are clean. If you claim that someone is dumb, stupid, retarded or otherwise not as smart and enlightened as you, you need to submit recent transcripts of a higher education institute to prove it. Porter Jervis (4/6/09) For Scott Fybush, and anyone else who may be interested. I checked out WAMD in Aberdeen this afternoon on the drive home. It is still on the air, broadcasting what I'd call "Religous Talk". At around 5:25, they broke and went to "local" traffic, which turned out to be DC Area Traffic. At the end of the report, mentioned "traffic on WAVA". So I guess it;s safe to assume that WAMD is now a relay of WAVA. Doug in Bel Air. (4/6/09) (So, why is everyone in the "media" so scared of me?) Gee, Dave, maybe because you actually still give a sh*t about radio beyond ratings and sales…you don’t kiss ass and you really don’t play nice. Maybe because those of us who were in radio for years and years logged on to DCRTV.com to find out what was going on in our own companies—praying we still had a job. Maybe because management couldn’t figure out the “mole” in their respective cluster and they were furious you reported things before they could put out a memo. Hey, it’s always great to find out you’ve been relieved of your duties via DCRTV. (4/6/09) (from the May '09, 'Vanity Fair') In an ailing radio industry, with a graying audience and a pro-government landscape, Rush Limbaugh should be shuffling off into irrelevancy. Instead, his ever more outrageous attacks have everyone debating whether he’s the G.O.P.’s de facto leader, while the party shapes its ideology to fit his needs. Rush Limbaugh: The Man Who Ate the G.O.P. Here's the link to read the article - www.vanityfair.com (4/6/09) I never knew a man could talk out of his ass until I hear Mike OMeara discuss politics. Embarassing & Painful (4/6/09) Will the new 94.7 still carry Little Steven's Underground Garage syndicated Sunday night show? It doesn't exactly fit the new format. (4/6/09) Dave's response: Highly unlikely. Maybe they'll carry it on 94.7's alt rock HD2..... Dave, the Washingtonian sucks has been losing ad revenue and readers for years - they may go out of bidness if things don't turn around in two years or so. So fuck them. Feel better? (4/6/09) Dave's response: Yes, I do. Thanks..... RE: [Think of Plante as the rust around the nail.] Personally, I think of Plante as the tumorous lesion that destroyed the spleen, but Plante wasn't the killer....Plante was only a continuation of the cancer that arrived with Dr. Laura and officially took hold in the form of Michael Graham. Plante was just another tumor that mutated out of the initial infection. The addition of Levin and Sliwa to the daily lineup provided a telling confirmation that the cancer had now spread throughout the entire body and the mighty WMAL that once existed had officially entered its end-stage death throes. If you want to thank anyone for the demise, I suggest you send a Hallmark Card to Paul Duckworth. If the conservative "hate-filled" talk radio format in D.C. were porn, Paul would be our Larry Flint. The only thing certain about political talk radio that promotes such vicious "hate" is that no matter that you do, the hate will eventually consume itself. If WMAL dies, it will be of a death of a thousand cuts. Every single one of them was self-inflicted. Thanks Paul...you took a once-great local news and local talk radio station and allowed a single-sided hate-filled political philosophy to corkscrew it into the ground. Hope you got a good ride off the corpse. (4/6/09) Dave, Could you provide some perspective on something Parks and Grandy said this morning? They claimed there was no problem with Chris Plante's "numbers" because Plante was pulling in the "numbers." Aside from the consideration that he was most likely hired all along to fill the morning slot for a time post Core, how in any way could someone maintain that Plante was getting "numbers"? How do you define "numbers" in the first place? Was Astin Hill also pulling in "numbers" before he was dropped? Was Paul Harvey Jr. getting an audience in that five minute morning air slot he used up and could still claim while his father was living? (4/6/09) Dave's response: It's hard for me to tell what kind of ratings Plante got for his 9 AM to noon show because they were merged with the "midday" data I saw for Rush's noon to 3 PM show. WMAL has done very well in the midday numbers of late, largely because of Rush's feud with Obama. I can't say how much Plante contributed to that..... Evidently the hoepage for the once awesome Alt-Rock WHFS-2 has become a rainbow-ish plain black page with hidden one-liners in it. The latest - "Whatta Nuts?!!! Get some pants for God's sake!" It would appear that 102.7 HD-2 is now Smooth Jazz as there is a link at the bottom of their homepage for Smooth Jazz that takes you to an HD-Radio info page and on the topic of CC, they should steal HFS-2's playlist and throw it on Channel 104.3 since CBS has their heads stuck up O'Meara's & the Flunkies rears on board the great U.S.S. WJFK that rests at the bottom of the Potomac. Also congrats for formatting 94.7 to the Fresh-FM that DCRTV Dave called like a year ago!! Very original! (4/6/09) Let's see if Silvie's wild about Harry www.youtube.com (4/6/09) If my son were a teenager I'd be worried sick, but he's still in First Grade, for Chrissake..... -Silvie- (4/6/09) well, i listened to classic rock 94-7 sign off last night, followed by a brief moment of silence, going into a long Fresh FM ad, and then 'get this party started' by pink. Immediately after that, i deleated the station off ALL my presets. I switched to 100.3, and they seem to get a little better by the day. i am glad Mike O Meara has returned from his vacation, as well. Still, it is time to get Sirius satellite. (4/6/09) Chris Plante being fired from WMAL should not be seen as the nail in the coffin for WMAL. It's been there long before he was sent packing. Think of Plante as the rust around the nail. I hate the idea that he was the glue holding the place together. He was not. He was and still is weak. Despite his extensive resume he couldn't cut in Washington, DC of all places on a political talker!!!! His interviews whether with Bill Clinton or LOL Ann Coulter were outright comical. He is somebody who was just lucky enough to have the job that he did for as long as he did. I remember on the Ann Coulter show somebody called up and thought that he used to work at the White House but corrected the caller and said it was actually CNN but somedays it felt like the White House. He made no sense whatsoever and sounded cheap. His general lack of talent is what got him to WMAL. You don't go from CNN (even in its tabloidish state that it is in today) to working at WMAL. WMAL used to be a great station and a wonderful asset to the community but they slowly decided to back away from that YEARS ago. Plante was just a barnacle on a ship that has already sunk. WMAL has been dead for years now. (4/6/09) THE MIKE OMEARA SHOW HAS OFFICIALLY JUMPED THE SHARK! Damnit! On behalf of all fans, it is now more obvious than ever in listening to the first segment of today's show that Mike OMeara learned nothing on his vacation. Blame it on Florida heat stroke, but its the broken, lame-ass FORMAT that has always been the problem and is, aside from the wrong producer in McBride, responsible for your consistently low PPM numbers. OMG, your delusional rant about wanting to become a "national political unifer" is so not your radio audience demo. Your insistence that your show not be just "all fart jokes" is equally missing the point. Listen pal, you are the radio equivalent of the clown at the kids birthday party whose only job is to make those cute balloon animals. You will never be, as much as you aspire to be, anything more in radio other than a side-kick. Your ratings bear witness to that. Here are some ways you could save your WJFK/syndication radio ass. 1] Know your place in the radio world and your audience. Stick to the Make Us Laugh format and don't forget the FART JOKES and little people. 2] Fire Producer B.A. McBride. I know, she's a hard worker but as she admits, she has no appreciable skill sets including that as a producer. You need to bring in a seasoned pro 3.Fuck Geronimo, but you are a number 2. Bring in a hot & funny female co-host 4. More Buzz, less Robb. Is listener intervention too late? (4/6/09) Silvie, you have much more to worry about on the homefront than what dopey Chris Plante is doing (working at Burger King, BTW) if your son has Jonas Brothers CD's!!! (4/6/09) Boy, M O'M is back from vacation, and he's jabbering on about politics, another subject about which he knows very little. Perhaps we will have more Class D interviews, at which he is AWFUL. Worse yet, he's taking CALLS about politics. I'm sorry, does ANYBODY think he's good at this kind of thing? Over to the iPod. Sincerely, TMU (4/6/09) (regarding your Notable Quotable from Fred Grandy about Chris Plante's departure, on the DCRTV Front Page) "Maybe he got off the Titanic before it hit the iceberg." If the end is near for WMAL and she's really going down, what will the resultant aftermath look (sound) like? I doubt that it'll be anything like what WMAL offered in its 'glory days' - since some of the key players are either dead and the others are too old. And, I also doubt that the station would commit the bucks necessary for the kind of local news presence it was once known for. Was Grandy referring to 630's AM Drive no longer being local, with programming piped-in from afar? (4/6/09) Dave's response: Well, G&A is the last local show on the station. And if the cadaverous NYC-based Imus wasn't such a bomb on 105.9, he'd be doing 630's mornings in place of G&A..... Holly Morris - please ignore the sexist imbeciles making stupid comments about your breasts. And if any ladies are making negative comments about you and your assets, it's because they're jealous - plain & simple. Seriously folks, as depressing as it is nowadays for many people in the region and across the country (with job losses, bad economy, etc. - heck, I've even resorted to listening to my son's Jonas Brothers CD collection over the weekend in order to 'get me through' my Chris Plante/Geoff Holtzman "fix"), it's a breath of fresh air to be able to listen & see what Holly is up to in the mornings. Her attitude is always so positive, and she seems to be a very nice lady. Chill out, peeps! -Silvie- (4/6/09) Hi Dave, I listened to Fresh 94.7 in my car today (since I had a preset for The Globe). It doesn’t sound any different than MIX 107.3 to me…and we really did need another HOT AC station, right? I mean those of us who would like actual classic rock can tune in to 106.9 the Eagle…’cause that’s better than DC radio anyway. God forbid the market has a decent rock station ‘cause DC101 sure ain’t it. (4/6/09) Dave's response: The audio processing on 94.7 isn't as "mushy" as 107.3. Face it. The DC area is a great place to live. It's a cosmopolitan, geographically beautiful place. And has a pretty nice climate. But the radio sucks. Again, we're "too close" to Baltimore, thereby limiting the number of FM stations the DC market should have. If Baltimore was, say, 100 miles away instead of 35, there would be the following FM frequencies that could be used in the DC market, in addition to what we already have: 92.3, 95.1, 97.9, 101.9, and 102.7. That's five more FMers (more or less) - and surely one of them would be AAA..... After a weekend of reading and listening to business news, I would like to call to task “financial journalists” who cite the Labor Department’s unemployment rate of 8.5% as the “nation’s jobless rate.” Many “financial journalists” today have little or no real business or economics training and are therefore more gullible to accepting this number that the Bureau of Labor Statistics hands out on the first Friday of each month. Many economists, policymakers and investment managers consider – and rightly so – another Labor Department figure, “U6,” to be the more accurate barometer of unemployment. U6 takes everyone who is unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus everyone employed part-time and then calculates that total as a percentage of the entire labor force plus all marginally attached workers (someone who isn’t looking for a job but wants one). The current U6 rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is now 16.2%. In fact, if the government used the pre-Clinton administration way of calculating the unemployment rate, it would really be 21%, just 3% off the Great Depression's all-time high. Confused? You could, as Casey Stengel used to say, “Look it up.” Paul B. (4/6/09) Why does DC have to be the only place in the country with absolutely no adult alternative rock on the airwaves? Not even HD. Not only is there no adult alternative rock on the airwaves, but there are listeners who defend the mediocrity. (4/6/09) It only took 3 years for Z104 to come back as Fresh 94.7, and surely every radio re-tread who is unemployed in the market is applying. Let us pray CBS hires none of them and keeps it jockless. (4/6/09) Holly Morris IS Super Annoying. HOWEVER, she can show those breasts of hers off every single day and I'm THERE! Those are fantastic. Paul (4/6/09) If it's the first Monday in April, we must have our annual MASN whining. Actually, I'd be in favor of Dave's plan to localize the HD channel based on city, but there would still be people in each market and the outlying MASN territory upset with the team their area was assigned to watch in HD. The only real answer is that cable companies supply space for both MASN HD and MASN2 HD, but that won't happen anytime soon. As far as how the Orioles wound up being in HD today, the Orioles are home. I'm sure that if the Nats were home and the Orioles were on the road, the Nats would be the team broadcast live in HD. There's no conspiracy here; both teams will be live in HD the same number of times this year. Howie (4/6/09) Dave's response: OK. Here's the solution. Comcast can go ahead and drop NFL-HD from 246 and make it MASN/Washington-HD with all Nationals games in HD. Then, 247 will become MASN/Baltimore-HD, with all the Orioles games in HD. Both MASN HD networks will be available on all DC and Baltimore area cable systems. We won't worry about reinstating the NFL Network until this fall..... Dave, the Nats will be broadcasting most of their Sunday afternoon games on channel 50 WDCW this season, and it looks like 14 of those 20 games will be broadcast in HD. Now that MASN is producing all of the games in HD, even the ones that aren't going to air live on MASN HD, it's too bad more of those games aren't ending up on channel 50. Hopefully there's a MASN2 HD overflow channel in the works for next year. My cable provider RCN appears to have channels reserved for both MASN and Comcast Sportsnet HD overflow channels. -jason (4/6/09) Dave's response: MASN really ought to have two MASN-HD feeds - one for DC (with all the Nats games in HD) and one for Baltimore (with all the O's games in HD). That's the only way to handle two separate baseball markets. If MASN covered Philly and Baltimore (instead of DC and Baltimore), would MASN-HD "share" the Phillies and O's? No way, Peter Angelos..... Oh god, help me...Super-annoying Holly Morris was showing her tits off today on the news when showing clips of her in the play, Chicago. I don't know why I am commenting, but Holly is so goddamn annoying! (4/6/09) Heard the "new" "Fresh" 94.7 for first time this a.m. before work, there's nothing "new" or "fresh" about it. It sounds like a clone of Mix 107.3, the only thing missing is big, fat-mouth Jack Diamond. In fact I thought I was listening to 107.3 till noticed the preset was still on 94.7. The demographic that likes this type of thing will probably stick with what they're listening to now, I see no compelling reason to switch to "new" 94.7, with no live DJs, etc, except maybe to avoid having to listen to "Jack Diamond" in the morning. Ironically the "Globe" was playing a better selection of music in its last week, and it was cool to see the front-page story in Sat's Wash Post. For real "rock" music I guess it's DC 101 where 90s "grunge" music still thrives.... - Mark D, Arlington (4/6/09) Dave's response: Don't forget Baltimore's 98 Rock. An excellent analog signal into much of the DC metro. While you're thinking about it, go replace your 94.7 preset with 97.9 right now..... "If you want a crystal ball into the future of Fresh-FM in DC, all you need to do is take a look at how Fresh has been doing in...Chicago...and New York..." Actually, all you need to do is stay in DC and look back to the mid-90's and then Greater Media's WEBR-FM. The station tried to micro-niche its format in between WASH and Mix 107.3. From the beginning, it was a clusterf**k. It had already gone on the air as Star 99.5 (with jingles and logos), but had to be quickly changed to Bright 99.5 after it was discovered someone else owned the Star monicker. A bad omen, indeed. And, of course, the ratings never materialized. In fact, Greater Media was so "pleased" with the results that they sold the station a year later to Evergreen (now Clear Channel) who immediately flipped it to The New WGAY with easily listening faves from Streisand, Manilow, and Celine Dion. (4/6/09) Hey Dave--Regarding your rant about the Nats and HD coverage, remember that Peter Angelos owns MASN and the Nationals are just "the ugly stepsister". But with any luck, the Orioles will get rained out and then we'll get the Nats in HD. (4/6/09) Dave's response: Oh, MASN is rerunning the Nats afternoon game at 8 PM on the HD channel..... Regarding Nationals vs. Orioles opening day coverage: While I'm no fan of Cuban Pete and his minions, were I running MASN, I'd have done the same thing. The Orioles are playing the Yankees, who spent all sorts of offseason $ on free agents, while the Nats are in Florida against the always resilient, but largely anonymous, Marlins. Were the Orioles playing, say, Kansas City, and the Nats facing a high-profile team like the World Series champion Phillies, Dodgers, Mets or Cubs, it probably would be reversed. It will all even out over the season. -- Vincent in Triangle (4/6/09) Dave, Would someone let the award winning producer, writer, Jim Williams know how to spell Johnny Hollidays name! How about doing some homework Jim. (4/6/09) Opening Day, and it's been raining in Baltimore this morning. Wonder if the CBS folks told Joe Angel an Fred Manfra to just stay home?? (4/6/09) What’s up with WKGO/GO-106 out of Cumberland, MD? It comes in 5X5 west of the Blue Ridge (Winchester, Berryville…)! Did they boost power, or have they always been there and I just didn’t know it? (4/6/09) Dave's response: Strong cold front over region this morning. I imagine that's playin' with your FM radio reception..... With respect to Tom Conroy, who has great knowledge and experience in the industry, PD's don't decide when and what to flip a station's format to. PD's also don't have anywhere near the pull they used to. The reason radio is in the trouble it's in is because the big decisions are made by people with a sales background. It's all about hitting your monthly and generating cash flow. With that mentality, listeners are not your customer since they don't pay the stations they listen to. GM's and sales people could care less about a listener, it's all about their list and generating new business. PD's are then handcuffed with limited staff and a format that is bland and repetitive so the station can play the Arbitron game. If the cluster pulls decent ratings as whole because you have 5 bland stations somewhat blanketing the key demos, then you sell the cluster to advertisers. Radio is not what it was 20, or even 10 years ago for that matter. Cash is king and the listener be damned. (4/6/09) (Snip)...WYOU Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, is canceling their local news and adding Judge Joe Brown, Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight "to better meet the demands of Northeast Pennsylvania viewers." (end snip) You canx your local news, replace it with canned spam and that's meeting the demands of their viewers? (4/6/09) Dave's response: I still think that WUSA would get better ratings by running "Money Movie 9" from 5 PM to 7 PM, with Chris Plante doing "cash calls"..... If you want a crystal ball into the future of Fresh-FM in DC, all you need to do is take a look at how Fresh has been doing in the Chicago (19th,people 25-54) and New York (10th, people 25-54) markets. Wow.....a ratings tsunami is sure in store for CBS (4/6/09) Dave's response: Yeah, but Fresh helps CBS Radio/DC sell the cluster to advertisers seeking females. PGC's largely black, LZL's largely Hispanic, JFK's largely men, and the new Fresh will be largely women. A good "mix" from the sales point of view. Now, CBS needs to find a way to "build" its target demos on each frequency. That's gonna be harder..... “There is news to report everyday, so shouldn’t your paper be delivered everyday?” Remember that quote when The Washington Post drops its own everyday home delivery. It may not happen today or tomorrow but it will happen eventually, it's an inevitability. Everett W. (4/6/09) WRNR-AM 740 in Martinsburg, WV is broadcasting the Nat's opener this afternoon. The signal carries all the way to Harrisonburg in daylight hours. (4/6/09) Question of the day (or the next few weeks): Will Big 100.3 continue with the classic hits format that usually seems to rank them between 9th and 12th place or try to fill the void left by 94.7 and play more classic rock that usuallyranked them between 16h and 20th place?(I know those are approximate overall ratings that don't account for the demographics both stations are/were trying to reach) (4/6/09) Dave's response: BIG already plays a lot of "classic rock." I'd imagine they'll continue doing exactly what they've been doing..... You can always stream in WTMD 89.7 if you're in DC from wtmd.org to get alternative rock and a mix of music where the DJ's program their own music. Great stuff. It's on iTunes radio too. (4/6/09) Dave's response: I like a lot of what Fresh is playing - just heard Dave Matthews and Eagle Eye Cherry. It's what the Globe should have been playing more of, instead of Joe Cocker. And you can still hear some cool rock on 94.7 and DC101's HD2s if you have an HD Radio..... RE: [I find it very unfortunate that CBS is deciding to end the long-running soap opera series 'The Guiding Light'.] The Guiding Light cancelled! Could the Obama Administration have put pressure on CBS for the cancellation? Could this be the Administration's opening salvo to silence the Soap Opera Industry? (for those of you who don't get the sarcasm, read Saturdays mailbag) But seriously....Nobody yet has mentioned the police shootings that occurred in Pittsburgh this weekend, or the apparent impact of the confusing message that right-wing talk radio presents clearly had on the shooter, who claimed that he did what he did because "Obama was going to come in and try to take away his guns". During the Bush years, even the most extreme liberal talkers seemed to self-limit their "take back the country" rhetoric to discussions of electoral victories, non-violent protests and the occasional impeachment talk on the blogs. But with Obama in office now, it seems the wingnut talk from yakkers like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity Mark Levin, and until recently, Chris Plante has, intentionally or not, escalated the likelihood of setting off the armed nuts in the fringe element. Messages of there being a "conservative Underground" that has been "surrounded" by "Socialists", talk of the need to "Stop the Radical", stop the "Messiah", talk of the need to rise up and "Take Back" our country before "They" destroy "The Values and Principles our forefathers intended" - these messages scream for a outward reaction from Angry White Male American jingoists - The ignorant reactionary types with hair-triggers who look for any excuse to burn powder. The success of Glenn Beck on FOX News can only mean more and more of this crap is going to spew forth. I'd like to continue to think Beck's teary meltdowns are funny, but as they say: it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Is there anything we can do to urge those in control of right-wing talk radio to tone down the rhetoric a few notches before they "accidentally" provide any more fringe loons with incitement to pull the trigger? (4/6/09) Dave's response: If cry baby Glenn Beck is what they're running, I am now calling it Fox "News" (with the quote marks). He may be popular and entertaining, but Beck ain't "news." Not even close..... Dave, As you may know the Frederick News Post is not printing a Monday edition any longer due to a loss in advertising income. Today is the first of those “News less” Mondays. Ironically I found a free copy of the Washington Post in my drive way as I left for work. Inside the paper was a letter that said, “There is news to report everyday, so shouldn’t your paper be delivered everyday?” The letter goes on to offer discounted subscription prices. Looks like the old Post is taking advantage on some gaps in the news deliver system. I’d tell you to contact someone at the News Post Office but I don’t think anyone is there today. Robert (4/6/09) Listening since 5:40am and not once has Fresh94.7 given its calls simply the new branding. Working in Delaware today I won't know if TGB becomes HFS until I get home. When 'Closing Time' started playing I thought 'This is it,they'll be back with the new calls' but nope...not yet anyway....i got a bad feelin' about this.... (4/6/09) Dave's response: It's still WTGB. Frankly, it doesn't really matter what the calls are. They're simply shotgunned once, near the top of the hour, anyway. Listening to the new Fresh format, many of the more rocking songs being played, including Matchbox Twenty, Coldplay, and Oasis, could easily have fit the alt rock Globe's format. If they had programmed the Globe properly from its launch in 2007, CBS could have avoided "the 94.7 mess" of the past two years. Maaaaaaan..... The Arrow – the Globe ended at midnight with the playing of “Last Good-bye” (Jeff Buckley I think). This is the 3rd demised of station that I’ve listen to. KADE in Boulder back in the 80’s closed out with “The End” by the Doors (great for an AM station) and a classic rocker in Tulsa which I can’t remember the call letters ended with Elton John’s “Funeral for a Friend” –also a good choice…. I have an XM-radio in my car and at home which I listen to mostly now. My iphone plays web-radio. I listen to web-radio at work. I’m sorry to say there aren’t any local Washington stations I listen to any more. –David, Vienna (4/6/09) Dave's response: As of about 2 AM, it's Matchbox Twenty on 94.7. The alt rock continues on 94.7's HD2..... cerphe is 57? Oh, please, pull the other one! Well preserved, yes---but not 57. (4/6/09) Dave's response: If the Post reported it, it must be correct..... It’s not that Chris Plante was merely getting poor ratings for WMAL, it’s that he wasn’t getting any ratings! OK, so Silvie listened. And, a few others who knew that because there were so few listening, they could get air time for their views which they were unlikely to on any of the syndie talkers. Sorry, conspiracy theorists, the Obama Administration had nothing to do with it. It was truly an action of the free market. And, Hannity, Levin, and even Rush aren’t that far behind. What happened to Chris Plante is a microcosm of the changes happening not just to talk radio, or radio in general, but to American society. As a nation, we’re not as conservative as James Dobson, Sean Hannity, or Rush would have us be, and we’re conversely not as liberal as Air America, Chris Dodd, or Edward Markey would have us either. And, while we’re not as positive as we could be, we’ve also shown as a society and body politic the effects of excessive negativity. As Roma Downey once said at a CBS-TV affiliates meeting about the success of “Touched by an Angel”, she said that “We’re the flavor of the month”, and much the same could be said about conservative talk radio as we’ve come to know it. It will have to be like the rest of radio: Adapt or die. Just as we no longer have “making the mark of the merc street level degrees”, “tall time and temperature towers”, “million dollar weekends”, etc., conservative talk radio where the emphasis is on a demagogic agenda as opposed to what is really on the listener’s mind will soon see the same fate. I’ll use a “Hannity” show I listened to as an example. Hannity berated the Republican House leader for how could he allow so many House Republicans to vote for a “farm bill” which Hannity opposed. When the Congressman explained that those Representatives were from agricultural districts and they were voting the wishes of their constituents, Hannity went seemingly ballistic in asking why they would do “something” like that! That one singular remark illustrated that as much as Sean Hannity would wrap himself around the Constitution and the sacrifices made by this nation’s founding fathers, he is quick to show scorn and contempt for that document when it and the intents of our nation’s founders are inconvenient with his narrow agenda. Sorry this ran long, Dave. But, so little is said by those of us in the “middle-of the road” politically. Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/6/09) Dave, Re RANT: I love you Dave. m (4/6/09) /\ April 6 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....