dcrtv.com - Mailbag - April 20 to April 27, 2009

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DCRTV Mailbag - April 20 to April 27, 2009

Latest messages listed first.....
\/ April 27 Messages \/

If you read the Birach SILENT NOTIFICATION for WDMV AM 700, you'll notice it's supposed to be temporary and has an explanation for why and states an intent to get back on the air. The Citadel notification for Scranton's AM 590 makes no such explanation at all. That probably means Citadel is taking the station dark and selling the transmitter site for quick cash. I figure Birach is in trouble too and buying time to stay afloat but wants to hold onto the frequencies, while Citadel is holding a firesale including land, etc, and could find no buyers for WARM 590. If anyone has a better explanation, feel free to chime in. But, that's my take based on the FCC applications themselves. (4/27/09)

Yup. Bowman is as black as I am Puerto Rican. No worries, though. Once he "lawyers up" he'll claim his black roots & background, regardless of whether he's of mixed race or not. Have I mentioned 'race' in previous posts? Only when photos of the arrested individuals were posted, to distinguish the difference between the victims and the alleged perpetrators. If it had been MS-13, Bloods, Crips, Asian gangs, etc., I'd consider it a "hate crime" against Mr. Bennett and his wife as well. Gotta go... listening to Michael Savage's "Mexiflu" rant right now... -Silvie- (4/27/09)

Dave's response: This topic is officially finito.....

RE: [Bowman is black and Roberts is black. Please look into your crystal ball again and tell me -- who is the white one?? -Silvie] Silvie, Silvie, Silvie...when you find yourself deep in a hole of your own digging, which is the smarter course of action: putting down the shovel, or digging faster? Think about it before you answer. (4/27/09)

It wasn't that long ago in a post that Silvie introduced the "Rican" connection to herself which was unnecessary since it had nothing to do with the post itself. Now she's continuing to reference race in her recent posts. I'd say Silvie follows the leanings of Al Sharpton and Bobby Rush. She's a race baiter, folks. Race baiters are bigots, pure and simple. Easy to spot, and disgusting to witness. (4/27/09)

Looks like Birach *did* file with the FCC to turn off the lights at WDMV after all... fjallfoss.fcc.gov (4/27/09)

102.1 FM ( RED ZEBRA ) IS REPLACING THE FOX MORNING SHOW THAT STEVE CZABAN HOSTS - HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RED ZEBRA PROGRAMMING ( TIDEWATER - HAMPTON ROADS AREA ) HIS AFTERNOON SHOW THAT IS PRODUCED BY RED ZEBRA FROM 4PM TO 7PM WILL CONTINUE TO AIR ON THE GAME 102.1 FM IN VA BEACH (4/27/09)

This looks like a black man to you? media.loudounextra.com (This is one of the two people charged with the Loudon county murders...) from loudounextra.washingtonpost.com (4/27/09)

Scranton's WARM AM 590 might be back on the air, but I think that's only to prevent possible FCC fines. Citadel has filed a SILENT NOTIFICATION app with the FCC. See here... fjallfoss.fcc.gov... -- Joe in Essex (4/27/09)

Wow, Silvie just can't stop being wrong. Of the two mugshots I've seen in the Leesburg murder case (both posted on local television and newspaper web sites), only one shows an African American. But, as has already been stated over and over in the Mailbag....why has Silvie decided this was a race-based hate crime? There is nothing to indicate that. Anywhere. Except in Silvie's increasingly strange skull. (4/27/09)

Dave, I wanted to pass along my sympathies for the loss of your good, casual friend, Bill. I have formed a few friendships during the course of my life based on mutual love of music. May your memories of the discussions you had with him forever bring a smile to your heart. Paul (4/27/09)

Dave's response: Thanks Paul.....

Re: Loudoun Co. case. Bowman is black and Roberts is black. The other two arrested have not had their photos released by the authorities, so far I know. Please look into your crystal ball again and tell me -- who is the white one?? -Silvie- (4/27/09)

Are all the Hannity posts from the same person? Geez take a pill...He's loud and obnoxious and you are coming across the same way... (4/27/09)

A lot of VERIZON's loss of wireless customers is do to the soaring popularity of Apple's iPhone which is tied exclusively to AT&T. However, the Apple rumor sites have hinted that VERIZON is in talks with Apple to change all that when VERIZON switches over to 4G technology sometime in early 2011. At that time, BOTH AT&T and VERIZON will be using the SAME 4G technology unlike the incompatible 2G & 3G technologies currently being employed by both (Apple is very concerned about size and form factor and refuses to make 2 versions of the iPhone that don't look identical or have identical capabilities). The current iPhone exclusivity contract with AT&T is coincidently, believed to end in 2010, and that makes the timing about right for iPhone on VERIZON. Even the VERIZON CEO recently hinted at this IPhone 4G on VERIZON possibility. (4/27/09)

RE: [What they were doing at 5 a.m. in the sticks, riding in a white van, is, yes, beyond my comprehension. - Silvie] Trust me, Sil...as one of the few remaining faithful listeners of 630 Dubbya-Emmay-Yell, when it comes to drafting a comprehensive list of the multitude of things that appear to be beyond your comprehension, this little tid-bit rests somewhere deep in the bowels of Chapter 92 of "THE ANNOTATED GUIDE TO RIGHT-WING TALK RADIO MISINFORMATION: VOLUME MCMIX, JE through KO". Check for yourself - it's easy to find...most public libraries reserve an entire wing to house the complete collection. (4/27/09)

For a stalker who has appointed herself chief investigator of the Bennett murder case, Silvie appears to be doing virtually no reading on the topic. Now she claims "four of the five arrested...are juveniles." No again. According to every story I've been able to find on the topic, on local television, radio and newspaper web sites, only four people have been arrested, not five, and only one of them is a juvenile. Next, who cares if you can't comprehend what they were doing driving around? What does that have to do with anything? As was mentioned in three of the stories I saw, Loudoun County does have a gang unit and works with a regional gang unit as well. But most of all, what made you decide this has something to do with race? Learn to read and keep your racism to yourself...just my observation. (4/27/09)

Flash to Silvie: the fact that something is beyond your comprehension hardly means it doesn't make sense to mankind in general or has been overlooked by reporters. I do find it interesting that even as you admit you don't have a clue what this case is all about, you've decided it was a race-motivated attack. That's particularly telling since at least one of those arrested is the same race as the victims AND there's been no mention of race anywhere else. Also, the reports of the number of arrests came on Saturday, not Monday morning. So, other than exposing your own small-minded bigotry, what's the point of this thread? (4/27/09)

Is the young lady in the FRESH 94.7 tv ads suppose to be "in the Life"? How come so few Asian males in the tv newreader/reporting business? Is it a cultural thing? Doesn't Sara Walsh try too hard to try and look scrumptious? (4/27/09)

RE: [Okay, here's where I have a problem: would the person or persons committing this "robbery" beat the couple to a pulp - leaving the man dead and his wife presumed dead - just for a robbery? I mean, really, the couple was walking/exercising, presumably with little or no cash on hand, only a water bottle and a set of keys. Secondly, where are the accomplices?] ...Will Silvie catch the killer? Be sure to tune in for the exciting conclusion Wednesday night at nine on C.S.I.:WALDORF! Silvie can currently be heard weekday mornings from 9 to Noon exclusively on Chris Plante's cell phone. (4/27/09)

Hey Reporters! Here ya go! I'm throwing this "freebie" at y'all -- Loudoun Co. Sheriff's Office does have a Gang Unit. Call them up and ASK QUESTIONS!!! Basically the questions I've asked a few posts below this one. Do your job! www.loudoun.gov -Silvie- (4/27/09)

1) Four of the five arrested (this morning they only reported on one) are juveniles. 2) What they were doing at 5 a.m. in the sticks, riding in a white van, is, yes, beyond my comprehension. 3) The thugs didn't know or need to know that the couple had a military background. They were white; that's all they needed. 4) The Sheriff's office there might have disseminated their own information based on their own investigation, which is fine. (P.S. Do they have a gang unit??) That's why we have so-called "journalists" or "reporters" -- so that they can further investigate and ask questions as to the why, when, who, what, how. 5) If this had been a group of white juvi's carrying this same crime upon a black middle-aged couple, we'd have the Revs. Al and Jackson in town right now. That's all I have kiddies... just my observation. -Silvie- (4/27/09)

FYI, I heard today from a colleague with a source inside Calvert Street who said the "bloodletting" will be this week @ the Sun and the bylines will look very different come this time next week. (4/27/09)

weapon masters!!! come to the workshop. write a story, build something. www.chadfab.com (4/27/09)

Silvie, work on those reading comprehension skills: there hasn't been one arrest in the case, there have been four -- at least according to every single story I've seen or heard. And if you're going to try to figure out some logical explanation for random violent crime occurring out in the sticks at 5 am, you're not going to find one. Your attempt at creating a conspiracy theory is a flop. Too bad for you that responsible journalists aren't as quick to jump to conclusions as are the wingnuts and assorted lunatics over at Free Republic. Dave in Sterling (4/27/09)

Uh, Silvie... the media are given the information as released from the police department - in this case, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. So if you have a beef with the story the media are reporting then take it up with the boys and girls in blue who are disseminating the details... or, in this case, the boys and girls in brown. Let the REAL cops deal with it, k? Oh, and by the way, hate crime? Lemme guess... these thugs somehow knew that the couple were ex-military so this was a case of 'librul' Obama-lovin' gangsta thugs vs. 'real Americans' thingy... oh, yeah, got it. If so, then so typical of you to play yet another 'conservatives are ALWAYS the victim' crap card. If so, then nice going... you just made yourself even more laughable than the freaks on Fox with that one. Congratulations. Psst... might wanna phone that one into your fav station that is all garbage all the time - the station for White Males who are Angry Losers. Mike in Manassas (4/27/09)

Dave said, You must mean 630. 730's Spanish sports.....Right. I should have remembered because it really annoys me when they say 630 and it's really only 6:15. Ed G (4/27/09)

So let me get this straight: Local area news outlets have been reporting today on the arrest of the man who killed the Landsdowne couple as they were walking very early one morning (the Green Beret husband and his military wife) and they say that the arrested individual belongs to a gang, but that the motive for the killings was "robbery". Okay, here's where I have a problem: would the person or persons committing this "robbery" beat the couple to a pulp - leaving the man dead and his wife presumed dead - just for a robbery? I mean, really, the couple was walking/exercising, presumably with little or no cash on hand, only a water bottle and a set of keys. Secondly, where are the accomplices? We were told that there may have been up to 4 or 5 perpetrators. So, let's call this crime for what it is: a hate crime with possible gang initiation components. A "robbery"? Pffftttt! How stupid do you think your viewers are? -Silvie- (4/27/09)

Great Idea for WMAL - - stunting as "Bai Gui 730." Ed Graham (4/27/09)

Dave's response: You must mean 630. 730's Spanish sports.....

Re: "McLean-based USA Today was down 7.4 percent, due largely to getting dropped by some big hotel distributors" I use to travel to Groton CT frequently for work, and stayed at a hotel where USA Today was distributed to the rooms. Every morning, I would take mine to the front desk and trade it for a Hartford Courant www.courant.com from their news rack. Nice folks at that orange roofed hotel chain. Robert in Arlington (4/27/09)

Re: DCRTV twit "94.7 Fresh FM is sinking... Please take it off your car's pre-sets now" Well... you just noticed that? :) It's been off all my radios' presets for awhile now. I appreciated your recent rant about how (like me) you were listening to BIG, desperate for a good tune or two and how there is no more music on the radio in Washington. And I thought about the irony of my mailbag post sometime ago talking about shortwave station WCBQ www.wbcq.com as I try to find something to listen to on the radio. Shortwave, fer cryin out loud.... Robert in Arlington (4/27/09)

Mr. Asendio, I used to relish every trip to a major market. All the exciting things I would hear, I would try to transfer to my medium market station. And we had great success. A top 20 national ranking, local talent involved in every way. Now DC is a dead ass market. Full of GMs who would rather go home to their Fairfax McMansions and enjoy a hot bath than innovate radio. Bastards. I hate you. Even WAMU is getting the game, hiring WMAL reporters who were instructed to report the absolute opposite of what WAMU wants. Congrats, WAMU. There was a memo hanging at ABC for Matt, For Pat, on how you guys suck. And you hired them like you were getting a prize. Do you get that, Mr. Asendio? We had a memo telling us you sucked. It hanged on the newsroom floor. It told us DC did not like you. And now you've hired so many of them in "newsroom" coup.Even as they lost share, Jerry Matthews tried to convince reporters that WAMU was a dog. I worked with your reporters closely and enjoyed reporting the news in depth. But in the end you chose to go with ABC reporters who hate you. I never agreed. I always liked WAMU and have been a donor. But since you hired Matt and Pat, You can forget my donation. I trained under a former GM to WAMU and have always pursued the full story. You have an asshat in charge now, and I think you suck. Enjoy Matt, and Pat. This beast that hired you will spit you out. They no longer care about 20 seconds beyond the headline so maybe you'll do fine. They treasure credits over talent. (4/27/09)

When will Sean Hannity be waterboarded for charity? Also, I give Hammity’s third hour plant caller on Friday a 6 for acting, and a 0.5 for script. Teachers are very careful not to categorize their students by race, and her emphasis on this “African American” student displayed clearly she was not an educator, as she claimed. Sean Hannity needs to apologize to all educators for having an actress display teachers in such a bad light. Sean Hannity’s crap can be heard on WMAL. (4/27/09)

"SPECIAL EVENT STATION W3D... 25 April 2009 from 10 AM to 4 PM Local... Commemorating the special World War II History of Fort Miles, Delaware…" As a footnote, the grounds of this former fort is now Cape Henlopen State Park. It's a great place on many levels - historical, scenic, natural. The beach is one of the best beaches north of Oregon Inlet (NC). Very nice campsites (but no outboard generators permitted - we found out the hard way!) Radio relevance - great place to hear (or work) DX - AM, FM, TV (at least for now), ham, whatever - it's all good, especially now for the VHF/UHF bands, due to coastal tropo conditions. Not a sermon, just a plug! Mike from Frederick and the Dashboard DX Society, switching over to Coca Cola after the usual mandatory 2 cups of coffee (and a V8!). (4/27/09)

In light of these broad stats, the Washington Post actually looks to be in a relatively GOOD position in terms of circulation declines: www.editorandpublisher.com... Ouch! Some of those papers appear to have hit a tipping point in terms of circulation dropoff. I don't know that they can ever rebound. Christian (4/27/09)

Vartv is reporting that Red Zebra is replacing Steve Czaban's show with Mancow in Virginia Beach. Just wondering what's up with that, you know? (4/27/09)

Dave's response: Mancow is a mystery, for sure. He gets no ratings on DC's WTNT.....

WARM (AM)/Scranton returned to the air late last week. (4/27/09)

"At-will", which has already been discussed in this forum, and "right-to-work" are two entirely different concepts of labor law. "Right-to-work" states, primarily in the South and far West, do not permit "closed shops" where union membership is required in order to be employed where workers are covered by a collective bargaining agreement (contract). More recent court cases have created in new category of workers in non-"right-to-work" states, called "financial core", where employees who do not want to become full members of a union only have to pay dues equivalent to administrative costs incurred by the union. "Financial core" members are not allowed to vote in union elections and are denied certain other privileges of full members. Can we now get back to discussing local media?-John L. (Eyebrows) Lewis (4/27/09)

(Dave's response: Hey, maybe he could hop on the ferry and land a gig on the new "Wibbage" FMer in Wildwood.....) ????? Got more info on this station??? (4/27/09)

Dave's response: There's a blurb on DCRTV's Philly/NYC page. In case you don't know, the WIBG calls once graced Philly's 990 AM, one of the great "top 40" stations of the 1960s and 1970s. That station's long gone, and the legendary calls have resided on an Atlantic City area AMer for many years. Now someone's plopped "Wibbage" on 94.3 FM near Wildwood for an oldies format. Lots of "doo wop" (which is very big among Philly/Jersey oldsters) on the new WIBG-FM. So, what did the WIBG calls originally stand for? "I Believe in God." It started as a religious station.....

Loved the (WMAL) flashback, Dave... Especially the caricature. Want to know the easy way to tell that the cartoon had to be from the early nineties? Because it depicts a Dubbya-Emmay-Yeller holding some sort of an award, and receiving awards is something Dubbya-Emmay-Yell hasn't seemed to be able to achieve since the station took their nose-dive into the deep-end the far-right-wing festering lunatic cesspool in the mid nineties! - Jeff in Bowie (4/27/09)

Cubes has it figured out - a way to save the newspapers... blogmaverick.com (4/27/09)

If you live in northern VA, expect to hear more country music on FM 103.1 soon. According to FCC records, WJMA 103.1 Culpeper is going to move its transmitter from a mountain ridge a good ways south of Culpeper to just north of the city and increase power to 6000 watts from 600 watts. This is coincidently closer to, you guessed it, Washington, DC. While directional to protect Key 103.1 in Maryland, it looks like an increased signal to Warrenton and Manassas and some other parts of NoVA. If you were getting either of the other are 103.1's like WRNR, most likely you won't much anymore. Of course, I'm not an engineer, I just play one on DCRTV, your mileage may vary, taxes & batteries not included, and as always, PLEASE, no wagering. -- Joe in Essex :-) (4/27/09)

Well, Citadel did file for SILENT NOTIFICATION for its Scranton, PA station WARM 590 late last week according to FCC filings. The most interesting thing about this is that it's rare that a REGIONAL CLASS B 5000 watt day & night AM so low on the AM band goes dark in the densely signal-packed northeast. I'm sure there've been others, but the last one I remember locally was WCBM 680 and obviously it's back. WARM 590's signal goes from south central NY to Philly and even Newark (see pic)! That's a BIG footprint gone from the AM band with so few Class B AM 590s between Boston and the Carolinas. I wonder what stations, if any, might be able to take advantage of this or apply for the frequency, obviously NOT in Scranton. But maybe near Philly or central NJ near NYC or Atlantic City, or possibly even DC? Hmmm. Not to mention, Clear Channel's WCAO 600 in Baltimore has a distinct NULL towards Scranton that adversely affects its signal in northern Baltimore County. I would think somebody would take advantage of Citadel's woes, but I wonder who will it be? Hmmmm. (4/27/09)

/\ April 27 Messages /\

\/ April 26 Messages \/

For someone who appears to intensely dislike Phil Wood this guy Bob from College Park seems to have listened to Phil quite a bit. Phil Wood is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He always had time to talk to children, people with speech impediments, and older people that other hosts would hang up on. He is not some moron like Jim Rhome. He is a gentleman with a huge knowledge of baseball, sports memorabilia, and music and I really miss his show. (4/26/09)

Hey Michael Sorce Geronimo, George Hamilton wants his tan back! (4/26/09)

So, are Brian Bolter and Donnie G best buds now?..Isn't this at least the second time they've hooked up??...Oh, also, did anyone see George Michael on the FOX5 Redskins draft show?..I missed it..Wondered how it went..Did Doc Walker provide the ONLY expertise (in his own mind) regarding the draft.. (4/26/09)

Regarding the At Will threads, while I cannot speak directly on the prior comments, Virginia is a Right to Work state. My understanding of that is that in a union situation, no employee can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. In addition, I believe that employers that have both unionized and non-union employees, the non-union employees are entitled the the same benefits as union employees. (4/26/09)

"...Bea Arthur's...[brought] us the...Adrienne Barbeau." I met Adrienne when she was in town promoting her version of the movie "The Fog". I must say, French-Armenian was stunning. Yowza! She backed me against the wall with her 38s then pulled her guns. (4/26/09)

Driving home from church this beautiful Sunday morning (60 degrees on the lanai), we caught Melinda Lee's "Food News" on KNX and heard "The Pina Colafda Song" and Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" being used as bumpers. And, I have to say that they sounded really, really good, at least in terms of audio quality on the factory system in the Cadillac. My question here is, of the AM stations that still run Top-40 music in even an incidental way, how good does it ususlly sound? I remember when the "real" WTOP-AM on 1500 would use the occasional Top-40 bumper it sounded pretty good, even though I don't recall WTOP-AM ever having had much (if any) Top-40 history to it. Ditto WMAL. However, there is WABC which could be a prime candidate. Along with WLS, perhaps. So, how about it? How good does Top-40 sound these days on AM given the changes in rigs and receivers? Not to mention engineering/programming philosophies? I guess this could also spill over to discussion of current auto audio systems. Are the automakers still putting something of slightly better quality in their higher-end cars? Or, is it the same crap with a fancier label? -JFP in Pasadena (4/26/09)

RE: "To DLP in Woodbridge: I live in Arlington and I've been getting jazz on 101.7 for over a year. There's also a pirate playing oldies on 102.9, and another station that's been on for years at 104.7 playing easy listening." Thanks for letting me know! Do these pirates all operate 24/7 or do they go off at times? Sorry to hear they block your reception of those stations! If it wasn't for them, you'd probably get one hell of a signal from 101.9 and 102.7--at least I get them very strongly here in Woodbridge. Unfortunately, here, I get the 600-watt WJMA on 103.1 in leiu of WRNR except for during strong tropo. Isn't there another pirate downtown on 97.5 that has been in operation for a long time? I read about it here a while ago. The only pirates I heard at home in Woodbridge itself were two a few years ago: a 100.9 that was playing arabic music, and a 106.9 which was in an urban mixshow and IDed as "The Lockdown." DLP in Woodbridge (4/26/09)

Dave's response: Licensed corporate radio station's don't serve listeners. They serve advertisers and the firm's stockholders. They provide boring, bland, "safe" radio that people only listen to because there's nothing else on the dial. Maybe we'd get better, more creative radio if we had more "pirate" stations, stations programmed by radio and music lovers for radio and music lovers. Food for thought.....

Dave, I'm sorry to hear about the death of your friend Bill Eustace. May he Rest in Peace. -Silvie- (4/26/09)

Dave's response: I know not what was going through Bill's mind in his last days, but if his ending was suicide (and we still don't know for sure), he definitely made it as hard as possible on his family and friends. The "not knowing" for the past six months. At least they now have some sort of "closure".....

any idea what happened to ashley linder. used to enjoy hearing her do traffic on wtop. have not heard her in the last several weeks over night. chris (4/26/09)

In a digital age, vinyl albums are making a comeback. So says this article in today's Los Angeles Times: www.latimes.com (4/26/09)

That picture of Brian Bolter is hysterical…Don looks like Red Foxx….but, I will say this he looks the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time, hope he is. And Yes, I do know him. (4/26/09)

Are Red Zebra's stripes turning pink? Not that anyone would or should care, but can anyone even take a guess on the number of pink slips handed out in the short 3 years of Zebra's existence? Someone please count - from the highest position to the lowest peon position. Whether it be fired, terminated, let go, un-renewed contracts, budget cuts -- does the term used really matter? I always thought when a company continues to have a large turn over in employees, it is surely a sign of poor management. Or maybe, just maybe, could it just be possible that the likes of Bruce and Greg have bigger lips glued on Danny Boy's behind??? (4/26/09)

May God rest Bea Arthur's soul. If for nothing else than to bring us the breasts of Adrienne Barbeau. (4/26/09)

Saturday I was messing with an antenna and DTV converter box when I scanned for channels and picked up WVEC and WHRO out of Hampton Roads. They both stayed locked up with a 70-80% signal level for about one half hour. Signal ducting is the only explanation I can come up with. I find it amazing that 8VSB could carry so far with enough integrity to lock up. Especially since I live in a low area near 4-mile run in Arlington and 8VSB is supposed to be directional. BM (4/26/09)

i still cannot fucking believe that DC101 is still calling themselves a "rock" station. They are simply just an emberassing excuse for a rock station! cheap channel, just start calling it a "new rock alternative" or something....GEEZ! When will citidel either A: make MIX 107.3 live up to its name or B: change the station entirely into a real rock station, something like 99.3 the fox in winchester....that would be nice. Travis (4/26/09)

From Twitter: The always youthful Brian Bolter had dinner last night with some old man in Ocean City. (4/26/09)

regarding "Match Game 1500"- Wonder if Don is going to Twitter about that- that used to be a semi-regular Don and Mike segment that even featured some celebrities playing as panelists- wonder if Rob has his knickers in a wad over this idea. And as far as that country station in VA that blocks WMMR- WFLS has been 50,000 watts for as long as I can remember- at least 20 years or more. Stephen (4/26/09)

The comments about contracts & Virginia and employment being at will, very surprised this hasn't been brought up.... Even though one can fire for any reason and at anytime in Virginia it is still illegal ( to my knowledge ) to fire someone based "on faith". Not talking about one's religion ( of course to fire someone over that is illegal ) but also over one's faith based opinions. Several years ago when Virginia was going through the gay marriage debate, some factory worker in the Staunton area was using company time to get the other employees to fight gay marriage in the upcoming election. He was fired for that, using compnay time for unrelated business to the company, However the factory worker claimed the "I was fired due to my faith..my belief that marriage is one man and one woman". Anyway, the state of Virginia forced that factory to re-hire him or they will face lawsuits and such that they will LOSE. I guess this means that if I was hired to work as an annnouncer at an oldies station in Virginia and I refuse to play to Beatles, I can claim that due to John Lennon's 1966 remarks saying the Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ ( or whatever exactly he said ), then I can say to the PD or GM that "due to my faith I will not play the Beatles and you can not fire me". With laws like that ( if it still is ) on the books in Virginia, no wonder there is so much drama when it comes to business in the commonwealth and that includes media. (4/26/09)

Chris, aka Woody for Phil Wood, yeah Wood only appeals to seamheads. His probable real audience at any one time is likely to be 89 lonely, single guys who go to bed with the Encyclopedia of Baseball in their arms. We're talking about an audience for whom even Tom Boswell isn't serious enough when he writes a zzzzz column about baseball. I'm a fan but not one whose life is stat boy dependent such as Wood's fans (all 89 of them) and who care about the number of pitches thrown by lefthanded relief pitchers in the bottom half of the 5th inning when the temperature was 56 degrees. If you can't ever sleep, play a tape of a Phil Wood radio show. You could put the sleeping pill business, out of business, overnight. Bob from College Park (4/26/09)

Will Thomas's reporting on the death of Bea Arthur on tonight's 10:00 News on Channel 5 cracked me up. He somberly reported, "Her life was cut short because of cancer." The woman was 86 years old. Did he expect her to live to 200? -- Bobbie (4/26/09)

Dave's response: Wonder if Fred Grandy is sad? He had a part in several episodes of "Maude." Didn't he play the boyfriend of Maude's daughter, Carol?

Inadvertently hilarious sponsorship message on 94.7: "Broadcasting live from the (sponsor name) studios...." LIVE? (4/26/09)

Dave's response: Was driving around on a beautiful Saturday. I have 12 local music stations plugged into my car's presets and couldn't find one good song among all of 'em. Even after several scans. Had to settle for Billy Joel's "Only The Good Die Young" on WASH. Man, this is a terrible rock/music radio market. Absolutely awful. DC101 is sounding shittier now that the 94.7's gone menopausal. And we poor broadcast radio schmucks listen to WBIG not because it's any good, but because there's nothing else the fuck to listen to. Ponderous, man, ponderous. Cue up the Buggles' "CBS Killed The Radio Star." Or "Clear Channel Killed The Radio Star".....

Ah there is a bit of a difference between Cliff Maxwell and Don & Mike...Cliff Maxwell worked in small market radio. Don & Mike were part of a top ten major market. For the most part most small markets like Hagerstown/Chambersburg, Frederick, Winchester, Harrisonburg/Staunton, Cumberland, Martinsburg, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville..and the beat goes on...well I highly doubt anybody on the air in those places are under any kind of contract much less have them fall under "non-compete" if they would quit/get fired. Well maybe the "bigger" names like WINC's Barry Lee, WJEJ's Lou Scally or Linda West who was at WFRE years back. Those folks I can see being "under contract" but not that weekender who does the 92.5 WINC-FM 80s show on Saturday nights or some jock at 94.3 WQCM. What would be the purpose? Not like they pay all that much to begin with. (4/26/09)

/\ April 26 Messages /\

\/ April 25 Messages \/

The wannabe lawyer who contends that Michael Sorce has no obligations to honor his contract with CBS because Virgnia is an "employment-at-will" state doesn't know what he/she is talking about. "At-will" does NOT apply if an express (written) contract exists. Virginia is one of 13 states in the U-S that also does not recognize an implied (non-written) contract as an exception to "at-will." Perhaps the reason Cliff Maxwell went between stations so quickly is that he did not have a written contract with either of his former employers. So, Ms./Mr. 99% certain, time to scurry down to Books-A-Million to snatch up your very own copy of "Law For Dummies."-Thurgood Marshall (4/25/09)

Rocker WXMM-FM (100.5) is now Kung Pao 100.5 -- Chinese music 24/7 Hampton Roads Daily Press www.dailypress.com... www.kungpao1005.com... Kung Pao is right. This is the kind of schlocky stuff you play to mask kitchen noise in a small family-run eatery, Chinese pop from @20-30 years ago. Lots of stereotypical comments in the promos, often confusing Japan with China. Funny concept, though .. for about 2 minutes. Mike (4/25/09)

Reading all the messages in here about Don Geronimo and the others in regards to contracts, "non-competes" and whatnot, I have to wonder if anybody who works in radio or television in Virginia know that Virginia is an "employment-at-will" state. Usually when soneone brings up "at-will", it is usually about some silly reason why somebody gets the ax since the term does mean anybody can get fired at anytime and for any reason. But I have a feeling few keow the advantages of "at-will" when it comes to the employee. "Enployment-at-will" means than an employee can QUIT at anytime and for any reason and I am 99% sure than when and if that happens, all contracts between employee and their former employer will be void. In other words, since WJFK is a VIRGINA radio station, then WJFK of course falls under "employment at will" so if Don Geronimo really wanted too he could simply quit CBS/WJFK and go to another radio station rather quickly ( that is of course if they want Don Geronimo ) and I very much doubt CBS could do anything about it. Non-compete? I doubt that carries much, if any wieght in Virginia. Want a good example? CThe Shenandoah Valley's Cliff Maxwell. One day he was at Winchester's Q102, the next he was at WFQX ( before Q102 bought them ). Then after WFQX, within days he was at Martinsburg's then-WKMZ. years later one day he was at WKMZ and then two days later Cliff was at 92.5 WINC-FM. So much for than "non-compete" thing. (4/25/09)

Not sure if this is happening to other XM Subscribers, but they have started fraudulently charging my Mastercard. When I call up to have the charge removed, they can't find it on their system. I end up having to contact my credit card company to resolve the issue. Two months in a row. Talk about being strapped for cash. I encourage other Sirius XM'rs to check their credit card statement closely for bad charges. (4/25/09)

This whole Susan Boyle phenomenon is interesting to watch, on many levels. Who and how people are, when it comes to 'appearance' and 'expectations' of someone else, and should she (or shouldn't she) have a makeover done, etc. Since these are topics on local and national TV/Radio, I'd like to direct you to Tom Bergeron's take on Susan Boyle in an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times. www.nytimes.com... It's a wise and thoughtful assessment. (4/25/09)

Please get out the directional antenna and find the location of the offenders in the case of 101.7 is essential. It's been over 15 years since the FCC cared about technical issues. In Ohio, they farmed out station inspections to the state broadcasters association. My first job in broadcasting was as chief engineer of a Class A FM in Oxford, OH. We had to do transmitter readings every half hour. When a DJ would miss a reading or forget to do all the readings for the day at the end of his shift (yes, it happened... they tell me) I would totally freak and write a note on the log and sign and date it with a note in his personnel file. What a fool I was. Will the FCC take action if they have the location? Would they also like a name and address so they can issue a sternly worded missive. From looking at previous actions, it takes a high powered, long standing pirate to get their attention. But this one is so blatant and so close. They could hear it at their offices, if they cared. John (4/25/09)

Bob in College Park is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I'm pretty sure Phil Woods has done baseball, and only baseball, for the last 5-6 years or so, of course his appeal is going to be mostly to "seamheads." The shows he's done either on XM, or 980 or MASN have all been strictly baseball. So Bob, if you tuned in waiting for him change the subject, that was your mistake. Even in the old days when he would attempt to steer the conversation toward the NFL or something else, the callers would steer it back to baseball, since really, Bob, no one else on the air in DC seems to have any clue about the game, more so now with the departure of Al Koken. A guy I worked with selling cars who had worked as a radio "account executive," told me years ago that Wood's "Time Spent Listening" numbers were incredibly good, that people tended to tune in and listen to most of the show, and that made it easy to sell commrcial time. So, people either liked him a lot, or tuned out looking for someone to feed their football jones. I've listened to him since high school (early 80's) and I've heard him when he spoke to my sports boosters club banquet. I think his passion for the game is genuine, unlike many of the the talk hosts in town who clearly fudge it on the facts every day. So, if you don't like baseball, you should head elsewhere. Chris, near the district line (4/25/09)

Anonymous wrote "Re ' So you're saying that Don lied when he wrote: "Back from a nice lunch with DanGaffney from.........' /// No, I ... needs ... Penis ...especially when the .. Penis is obviously capable ..." Well, you enjoy saying "penis" and I enjoy commenting on and ideally being correct on, local media issues. You go your way I will continue to surpass you in every way, due to my superb private school education, and the Lovely Diana, yes indeed! --- ThePenIsMightier (4/25/09)

Comcast's SD broadcast of the Capitals game came into my Gaithersburg home minus sound last night, and in fact continues to broadcast that way today. I am sure CSN is overjoyed. Millrod (4/25/09)

"Jay Leno hospitalized. Doctors trying to replace worn out funny bone." So Twittered DC radio god Don Geronimo today..... Goddam that's good stuff! We need him back on the radio ASAP." I read Geronimo's quote, and thought "Ehh...is the comedy bar that low?"...many of you seem to be hanging on his "twat". This NOW IN, Geronimo has just given birth to baby Jesus! Oh wait, he only farted. ... His fans aren't so sure though. -CMG (4/25/09)

Idiot Mailbagger: I sent my original post about the TV Guide article to DCRTV's Dave's Hotmail account and not the Mailbag e-mail, so he took it upon himself to post it in the mailbag for all to read. He just can't live without me, right Dave? P.S. My nickname for him is "My Enchiladito".... ;-) -Silvie- (4/25/09)

Reading Sean Hall's note reminded me to echo him and sing Dave Garner's praises. Dave is top shelf any way you want to look at it. Dave's certifiable competence and pleasant demeanor is a rare combination. Having said that, Dave...a grass-green Pinto? Did you win it in a card game, maybe? Bill Worthington (4/25/09)

That tropo ducting seems to have begun already. Getting a Delaware FM fading in and out on 395 and on Lee Highway by George Mason Drive. (4/25/09)

Dave's response: Was Don Geronimo on it?

I'm sure Al Koken is a nice guy and he seems like a solid pro. But the fact is that the Thompson show is absolutely horrible and it has been from day one. It was horrible WITH Koken and it will be horrible without him. (4/25/09)

Hi Dave, We all relate to and cheer for the underdog and Susan Boyle is suddenly the face of, well, that doesn't sound right. And if beauty if within, she is a lovely lady, no question. But anyone arguing that she wouldn't benefit from a little work, or work out, must also be cat-calling bag ladies. I don't get it. She's gotten a bit of a make-over already and it is a nice improvement. Now, she should sign a big, fat contract with a weight-loss agency, drop a few pounds, make more than a few pounds, and be healthy. And she could sing the theme song: Don't worry, be healthy. Robb of Capitol Heights (4/25/09)

Please call WMAL and ask how to donate $5.00 to the families of our troops for every second Hannity is waterboarded. Speaking of BS. Hannity's late in the third hour call plant's script was not very good. I think she played a teacher. She had a African American student on his own look up the word "socialism" in the dictionary and come to the revelation Obama is a "socialist." Hannity's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. Hannity's waterbording will not be heard anywhere. (4/25/09)

"I always forget that being knowledgeable is a negative attribute in talk radio. Phil Wood must be barred from radio." - Phil Wood should be barred from radio, IMO, because he's a total bore who appeals only to total seamheads. Bob from College Park (4/25/09)

Dave Garner SHOULD be admired. He's one of the top engineers ANYWHERE in the past 35 years. I was going to A-U when he and Dave Hubley maintained WAMU-FM. Garner drove a grass-green Pinto. At least I THINK it was green. He was a great engineer in the 70s and, I'm sure, by now, legendary to many insiders. He's so unassuming--you wouldn't know what's in that head unless you knew him, personally. Memo to Dave: Turn it up and make it loud! sean hall (4/25/09)

Those holy rollers on 101.7 FM have one helluva signal, you betcha dere. I had them from Ballston to just south of Braddock Road and the Beltway. I did not hear an ID, however, for either a set of station calls or a translator. If they are still on the air by Monday, I'm going out with a portable directional to see if I can at least get a bearing. (4/25/09)

/\ April 25 Messages /\

\/ April 24 Messages \/

www.sfgate.com "A federal appeals court had some advice Friday for anyone whose reputation gets trashed on talk radio: Don't bother suing for slander, because no one reasonably expects objective facts from the typical talk show host." (4/24/09)

With all the talk of pirate stations I thought I'd mention legitimate stations that walk all over other signals. For instance how in the HELL can WXCY fertilizer spread all the way over onto 104.3 when I'm not close to the XCY tower? I can understand it if I were in Havre de Grace, down along the water it comes in on almost every frequency! Why does it seem like country stations can get away with blowing other stations out of the air but rock stations have to keep it toned down?!?? Let WRNR have a flamethrower too! And if HFS ever comes back let IT have a hot signal WITHOUT being a prep for a flip. WDSD is another example. And the country station in VA that blocks 93.3 WMMR as far north as Cecil county sometimes. (4/24/09)

Re " So you're saying that Don lied when he wrote: "Back from a nice lunch with DanGaffney from........" /// No, I think the gist was that no one really needs one Penis reporting the doings of another, especially when the first Penis is obviously capable and ably doing so already. (4/24/09)

Recommendation to all posters: stop responding to Silvie's pointless posts. If you keep stoking her ego she might come off her medication and start posting about you-know-who again. If you ignore her, maybe she'll just go away. On second thought ... hmm, that didn't work with Joe in Essex ... yea, let her continue to post. They're always good for a great laugh! /s/ CP in DC. (4/24/09)

"It wasn't Randi Rhodes who made that claim, it was another talk radio host, Jon Elliott." read the whole story of what happened. rhodes allowed the comments to be made and didn't set the record straight for days, allowing the charges to gain steam. (4/24/09)

(regarding a previous post) "if mzzzz rhodes shows up to work one day with bruises on her face, make sure you confirm what happened before openly accusing republicans of committing a 'hate crime'". It wasn't Randi Rhodes who made that claim, it was another talk radio host, Jon Elliott. Given Premiere's current line-up of talkers - Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Bill Cunningham, Jason Lewis, Dr. Laura, and their line of unreal, goofy shit - anything Randi Rhodes WILL say on her new program, will be a refreshing change of pace. (4/24/09)

Let's see... what made that TV Guide page jump at me.... hmmm... perhaps the fact that I'm a bored housewife looking for the latest 'dish' on my Colombian 'novelas'? Or maybe it's because the President already had a prime-time press conference during Feb. ratings sweeps week and now he's asking for another one in May while Robert Gibbs gives daily WH briefings on all cable news channels. Isn't that enough? (Although the one today was pre-empted by the CDC chief talking about the Mexican swine issue... just as Gibbs was being asked really tough questions about the torture/prison photos... he should thank the CDC boss for going on the air when he did.) When Bush tried to do this (get TV time), it was all called a PR stunt. I'd rather watch Susan Boyle in full dominatrix regalia, hosting a baseball game, before I watch another presidential prime-time conference. -Silvie- (4/24/09)

Silvie, conservatives whine and complain about everything everywhere all the time...what made the that TV Guide web page jump out at you? (4/24/09)

Silvie, The comments on the tvguide.com link you submitted are more about disgust that their favorite TV shows are being pre-empted than anything else. I didn't necessarily read that as a strike against Obama but more as a strike against anything interrupting the TV schedule. Nice try, though. (4/24/09)

As long as Danny S. is giving out pink slips, how about one for Vinny Cerrato. And on the radio front, John Thompson and Andy Pollin can go too since they are AWFUL. Bring back Al!!!! ~jm (4/24/09)

"Jay Leno hospitalized. Doctors trying to replace worn out funny bone." So Twittered DC radio god Don Geronimo today..... Goddam that's good stuff! We need him back on the radio ASAP. (4/24/09)

Dave: I came across something on TVGuide.com that you might find interesting -- www.tvguide.com... Read the comments towards the bottom from TV Guide readers... they are furious! Have a good weekend, Silvie (4/24/09)

Attention FM and analog TV freaks, get ready for some amazing DX listening. Broadcast-dot-net reports that the Southeast US will be experiencing a lot of ducting interference over the next 4 to 5 days. Tupelo MS is already being teased with some. (4/24/09)

Dave's response: It's springtime for DXers! I'd imagine that this weekend's heat wave will be followed by a big fat cold front draped down the North American continent, which could create some interesting long-distance FM and TV catches. Stay tuned.....

"I guess I don't get it. If Chuck Todd did publicly say, and I think it was quoted on this site, that radio has no future why would he be the guest speaker at a convention that is attended by mostly radio people?" He went on WTOP and apologized. Said he really is a big fan of radio. (4/24/09)

Randi Rhodes To Premiere- note to premiere management: if mzzzz rhodes shows up to work one day with bruises on her face, make sure you confirm what happened before openly accusing republicans of committing a "hate crime" against her. (4/24/09)

To DLP in Woodbridge: I live in Arlington and I've been getting jazz on 101.7 for over a year. There's also a pirate playing oldies on 102.9, and another station that's been on for years at 104.7 playing easy listening. The stations are so strong at my home in Courthouse, that they block my reception of B101.5, Lite 101.9, Jack FM, WRNR and Thunder 104, all stations that I used to be able to receive. The stations seem to be strongest in Rosslyn, and I almost suspect that it may be the same person running them since they all have crappy audio quality and sound like they are just playing songs off a computer. I'm surprised they've been around as long and I've made a complaint to the FCC about them (I want my WRNR dammit) but they are still around. It would be great if someone could solve the mystery of the Arlington pirate. Michael (4/24/09)

I always forget that being knowledgeable is a negative attribute in talk radio. Phil Wood must be barred from radio. Howie (4/24/09)

I guess I don't get it. If Chuck Todd did publicly say, and I think it was quoted on this site, that radio has no future why would he be the guest speaker at a convention that is attended by mostly radio people? (4/24/09)

Anonymous wrote:"Dear Penis, your breath is mightier than your pen. Don was there to talk about using their facilities for some production work. Nothing to do with lunch."-- So you're saying that Don lied when he wrote: "Back from a nice lunch with DanGaffney from 92.7fm.Good radio guy... in short supply these days"? Bite me. --- ThePenIsMightier (4/24/09)

You mentioned that WZBA is dumping Bob & Tom. Good! I want music in the mornings. My clock-radio had been set to 100.7 pretty much ever since they became "The Bay" but I had to change it to 94.7 because I like waking up to classic rock, not talk. And then 94.7 had to go and change formats...! Now it's set to 100.3 but it just ain't the same… sometimes I find myself waking up thinking "uh, what?" So you rhetorically asked who they'd be replacing B&T with… hopefully nobody! :-) Or a DJ. -Greg (4/24/09)

I certainly remember Koken, Wood and Smilovitz being together on WTOP when they had SportsTalk on from 7pm to midnight. I just remember two of the three working on any given night. There weren't many five-hour marathon shows, since the station was carrying Bullets, Capitals and Orioles games. Heck, on some nights, they let Bernie's brother Harvey on to talk pro wrestling. Steve in Lanham (4/24/09)

RE: Koken and WTOP/Phil Wood, thanks for clearing that up. My old noggin ain't what it used to be memory wise sometimes. Hopefully Al will be back on the air here locally soon. (4/24/09)

Actually, I don't think Al Koken worked with Bernie Smilovitz at WTOP in 1979. It was Phil Wood. IIRC, Wood actually got Al hired at WTOP when Al was a bartender. When the show started on WTOP, Bernie was there for the first 15 minutes or so and left to work at Channel 5. Bernie was gone completely from 1500 by the time Al started, and then Al later worked with Bernie at WTTG. WTOP was able to complete with WMAL since the bulk of their call-in show was on after 10 at night, following play-by-play, while Beatrice was on early, 7-9pm. (4/24/09)

Re: 101.7: I first logged it back in October. It's quite strong at my house in NE DC. There are also two similar oddball stations, 102.9 "Wonderful FM," and something on 104.7 playing classical. The former has been silent as of late, improving 102.7 in DC. 104.7 must be fairly strong, as I've heard them on a pocket radio inside a bus near downtown. It has covered up WAYZ from my roof antenna. -CL in DC (4/24/09)

Dave's response: We've found in the past that some of these "mysterious" stations have been the "leaking signals" of "in-house" music radio relays from adult assisted-living facilities, which often put nostalgic tunes or classical music on "unused" local FM frequencies for their residents. The signals aren't supposed to be going outside the facility's complex or grounds - but sometimes they do.....

I've never met Smokin' Al (Love that nickname btw) but liked what he brought to that radio show. He's a veteran in this area, I remember listening to him on WTOP with Bernie Smilovitz in '79 when WTOP tried to compete with (You'rrrrrreeeeeeee nexxxxxxxt!) Ken Beatrice's "Sports Call". A terrible move by Red Zebra because Koken knows a ton about the DC sports teams and history. He's pretty much covered the Caps every year they've been around and has suffered through their ups and downs. I put up with Thompson/Doc and their rambling because I knew Al was a voice of reason on that show. I hope there's a place for Smokin' Al somewhere here on the DC airwaves. (4/24/09)

DLP in Woodbridge - No shortage of churches up and down the stretch you're talking about. Think someone might be using a "parking lot" FM rig, like a Ramsey transmitter, to do a little short-range broadcasting? -KJ4IVD (4/24/09)

The single stupidest thing ever said by a human, at any time, on any topic: "What a joke to invite Chuck Todd to speak at the AP 'Convention' in Ocean City...It's sort of like inviting Joseph Mengele to appear before a gathering of B'nai B'rith." Please go back to the monkey cage and take another crack at evolution. (4/24/09)

To the jackass poster criticizing Jim Farley, Mike McMearty and Chuck Todd - and then saying something as completely idiotic, outrageous and insulting as "It's sort of like inviting Joseph Mengele to appear before a gathering of B'nai B'rith. Was this the best they could do or could the AP get no one else to show?" I feel compelled to respond by saying 1) Unlike you, all three of those guys are class acts 2) the jerk store called and said they're running out of you and 3) (4/24/09)

I completely understand the Don Geronimo situation and what he must be going through. Here's a guy who went through complete job burnout - with the loss of your wife who was an integral part of your show - the final straw. Too painful to continue. All you want is “out” at that point. You think you’ll never go back. Goodbye to radio and all your buddies in it. AMF, as Grease might say. Then you settle down, clear your mind, and lo-and-behold, the itch returns. You’re welcomed back to a small station in Ocean City. Things are much better now. You’re in your element. Sure, they know what they’re getting. You try to conform to their format and rules. But you can’t. You’re a one-of-a-kind jock … a maverick. You lose that gig, but the itch is still there. You keep searching. I know the feeling. Been there, although not in broadcasting, probably with lots of others. Good luck, Don. Hurry back to the airwaves. (4/24/09)

Re: "This horrible smooth jazz totally blots out the radio as I'm coming over the TR bridge and in western downtown. I can't find anything in the FCC database on that frequency that is licensed nearby in either state or the district? It's way too powerful for unlicensed operation." I heard this same smooth jazz station on 101.7 near Fairfax last Tuesday with a weak signal. Ironically, as I was passing George Mason University heading south, I heard another very strong and stable religious signal on 101.7 as I was trying to get an ID for the smooth jazz signal. The religious station was clear and strong until about the Fairfax County Parkway and 123 intersection. They were airing 'Catholic Answers Live', a religious program whose only 101.7 station is in NY. There was no tropo at the time, and the station was way too strong to be somebody's RF modulator. Neither station been heard by me for the past two days. Does anybody know who these (supposedly pirate) stations are? I'm just glad I'm not the only one who has heard one of them. DLP in Woodbridge (4/24/09)

Since Red Zebra and Clear Channel are having a tough time and drowning in red ink. shall I dare say they get a bailout from the Feds? (4/24/09)

I can't believe Mike Sorce is pissed off at CBS Radio for putting limitations on his corporate-sponsored podcasts. The bastard left his show on his own and knew what the consequences would be. He should have known that he was vulnerable once he left his 'day job'. He screwed up thinking his shit didn't stink and that he could come back on his own terms any time he wanted. What a jerk... Mike O'Meara has a great show without "Don Geronimo". Mike O and the gang get paychecks; Mike Sorce doesn't. Who is the smart one? (4/24/09)

Dave's response: I find it kinda hard to believe that Don, the radio vet that he is, even entertained the wild notion that he could do a podcast with CBS and they'd stay out of his hair. Even if it's not being broadcast and subject to FCC rules, he still would technically be an "agent for" and "employee of" CBS and CBS would ultimately be responsible for the "content" of that podcast. Duh! On the "plus" side for him, legally, if someone was to find fault with something he said in his "CBS authorized" podcast, he'd have some degree of legal "protection" via the firm. Once October 2010 comes around, and Don's contract with CBS ends, he's free to do whatever he wants - including his own, completely independent podcast.....

/\ April 24 Messages /\

\/ April 23 Messages \/

First, I was a little shocked (but, only a little) to see the "Stereo" icon light on the radio this morning when I tuned to WDCN. So, I apologize and must correct myself to say that "if a TV station broadcasting in Stereo is in compliance with the intent (if not the letter) of the rules and regs...!" I guess they figure, "What the hell? We're breaking so many FCC rules and regs as it is, what's a few more?" And, I really don't blame them. They know that the FCC knows it'll have a "bad cop" image if the commission busts WDCN. Never mind the harassment "real" (full power) TV stations on 6 have gotten from the FCC about promoting car radio reception of morning news shows and such. It'll be interesting to see (OK, hear) how much the station will get away with. And, for "Burt in Denton", I like your idea for Bonneville's 1500 AM. They won't do it. The Bonneville Board of Directors won't allow it. Not because they're against oldies or sports. It's just that the Council of Twelve Apostles has a great distaste for, and are uncomfortable with the merest image of taking advantage of an existing weak competitor. in this case WJZW. WJZW is at such a serious disadvantage thanks to $hitadel's seeming neglect of anything east of the Rockies. I feel so sorry for Steve Allan whenever I hear that thing. He really is deserving of better. Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/23/09)

Dear Penis, your breath is mightier than your pen. Don was there to talk about using their facilities for some production work. Nothing to do with lunch. (4/23/09)

I have a lot of respect for Al Koken. But to fire a man with such a beautiful head of hair is in my opinion, blasphemous! Perrynoid, Manassas (4/23/09)

Does anyone out there know what's going on with the staff from the old Rock 103 WXZL-the Underground? I remember Michael Lee, Karen Aylor, Alan Scott, Kevin Kash, Scott Burke and my favorite Mars Hall and Reelin In the Years...which deserves to still be on radio today. Just wondered if anyone knew their whereabouts, as this was the last time real rock radio was in Baltimore/Washington. Mike-Ocean City, MD (4/23/09)

I have a lot of respect for Al Koken. But to fire a man with such a beautiful head of hair is in my opinion, blasphemous! Perrynoid, Manassas (4/23/09)

Dear Nameless, I don't care if you take shots at me, but what's the point of picking on an 8 year old? An 8 year old, by the way, who was not anonymous! Howard "The Annoying" Bernstein (4/23/09)

Dave's response: Howard, please please please don't take your son on the Mike O'Meara show. He might end up with a tatoo.....

WTOP should go to an oldies format and carry sports as well on 1500. The lineup could look something like this: Steve Rouse 6-10, Johnny Dark 10-2, Goldie or Tom Kelly 2-6, Sports talk 6-10, Phil Wood,Al Koken,etc/Caps or Wizards or Maryland sports/ Weekends run a combination of oldies and sports, maybe bring back Alan Lee's forgotten oldies on Sunday evenings or the guy who did the Sunday evening oldies on the old 100.3. Burt in Denton (4/23/09)

What a joke to invite Chuck Todd to speak at the AP "Convention" in Ocean City. Most of the people that attend are from small and medium radio stations. It's also the place where Jim Farley and WTOP "news director" Mike McMearty go to outspend the less affluent at the auction and walk away with all the cases of beer, baseball tickets and vacation get-aways. Chuck Rod is the ass monkey who recently said that radio is a backwards medium and that it has no future. It's sort of like inviting Joseph Mengele to appear before a gathering of B'nai B'rith. Was this the best they could do or could the AP get no one else to show? (4/23/09)

"Don Geronimo was spotted lurking the halls of WGMD in Rehoboth Beach this morning. No details as to the reason for his visit." Everyone knows he was having lunch with Dan Gaffney. Let's all try to keep up, shall we? In other news, the Junkies are now following me on Twitter. Why, god only knows. Shake yer boobs! --- ThePenIsMightier (4/23/09)

There is no connection between Signal Above, Wray Fitch and Birach except that the FCC has been manipulated sucessfully by both. They are quite political opposites in fact. (4/23/09)

Re: " Bonneville wake up! FedNews back to 1050. Sports on 1500. Johnny Holliday 5:30a-9a, Al Koken 9-12n, Dave Jageler 12n-3p, Phil Wood 3p-6p, Nats/Caps/whatever you got at night and on off nights Craig Heist or George Wallace or Pete Medhurst or whomever isn't covering other games. Dump whatever you have to in order to get Maryland Football & Basketball. But do it NOW fer gawd's sake!" and "Dave's response: I shall repeat what I previously suggested - Don and Robb in mornings, Big O and Dukes in middays, Mike and Buzz and BA in afternoons, and the Sports Junkies in evenings....." Wasn't 4/20 on Monday? Do you have any left? PHIL WOOD IN PM DRIVE?!! Knowledgable, yes, but the least compelling personality since Dennis Miller on MNF. As far as the rest of that 1500 lineup? It sounds like instructions to a bomb making kit. And Dave, after what CBS just did to Don, he's never coming back. Since Big O & Dukes are working without contracts (and STFU about that already boys), they'll be the first to go. Mike's show is bleeding WJFK like an O.J. murder scene, so CBS may just have to eat that show's contract, and if CBS does the smart thing (which they're not inclined to do), they'll keep the SJ's...at a reduced price, and face it, they'll take it. Where else are they going to go? With a weakened ESPN 980 and no ratings/revenue growth at WJFK, look for a sports/talk lineup by the beginning of summer on WJFK. Or maybe not, that just makes too much sense! -Billy Sparks (4/23/09)

The conversation about Geronimo and CBS/106.7FM has gotten ridiculous ("Keep in mind that everyone on all three shows talk about how great the atmosphere is a WJFK now, how they all get along and promote each other these days. I think a lot of people at WJFK would hate to have Don G.. roaming the halls again.") Please, do a quick reality check: is CBS in business to have jocks "get along and promote each other," or is it in business to make money? Capitalism might suck, but it's what CBS is all about. Don Geronimo may or may not be a pain in the ass -- though I dare say nobody participating in this Mailbag conversation has any firsthand knowledge of that issue -- but the simple fact is that his show pulled in MUCH better numbers than MOM. I've said before and I'll continue to say: if the suits at CBS had any brains at all they'd swallow their pride and make a spot for Geronimo. And if that means they have to dump perennial ratings-losers that "get along," like the Junks, then so be it. Dave in Sterling (4/23/09)

Dave's response: I shall repeat what I previously suggested - Don and Robb in mornings, Big O and Dukes in middays, Mike and Buzz and BA in afternoons, and the Sports Junkies in evenings.....

The Winter Book is out today and here are some numbers inside the demos and then how WJFK did: 18-34 AM drive: DC101, Hot 99.5, WKYS, WMMJ, (tie) El Zol and WHUR (Junkies = 9)... 18-34 Middays: DC101, WKYS, Hot 99.5, WASH, WBIG (Big O & Dukes = 13)... 18-34 PM drive: DC101, Hot 99.5, WKYS, WASH, El Zol (Mike O’Meara = 15)... 25-54 AM drive: WAMU, WTOP, WHUR, MIX, DC101 (Junkies = 11)... 25-54 middays: WASH, WTOP, MIX, WHUR, DC101 (Big O & Dukes = 16)... 25-54 PM drive: WTOP, WASH, Hot 99.5, WHUR, DC101 (Mike O’Meara = 18)... (4/23/09)

Dave's response: PPM-wise, the "winter book" is just an average of the PPM monthlies for January, February, and March. We have the March monthly PPMs on the Front Page.....

So the only guy who can put together a remotely intelligible sentence on the 2PM show is fired? I don't know. Maybe its me. But the other two guys don't even speak the English language as far as I'm concerned. Obviously, the station wants nobody who can talk baseball or hockey. It's the Redskins/Bullets or bust. (4/23/09)

Does everyone realize that any contract that expires at Red Zebra will not be renewed? That Titanic hit the iceberg long ago. They have never seen anything but red ink. (4/23/09)

RE: [ " Keep in mind that everyone on all three shows talk about how great the atmosphere is a WJFK now, how they all get along and promote each other these days. " ]............. Sure, Don pissed off all the empty suits and producers & CBS et al, and maybe he's a dick too, who knows, I've never met him, so what do I know? But doesn't your statement just confirm that complete communal ratings misery loves company & nothing else? Where is WJFK since Don left? What markets is the show in now? Geez, I can't even hear the show in Baltimore or OC or anywhere ELSE anymore! Ummmm, DUH! Don may be bitter, angry, maybe even getting even to a degree, but he gets as much attention in this DCRTV mailbag as WJFK overall DOES as a STATION and he's not EVEN on the fucking air! HAha! Enjoy Don! -- Joe in Essex :-) PS: Still missing the Don & Mike Show in Baltimore :-( (4/23/09)

RE:how great the atmosphere is a WJFK now, how they all get along...too bad the employees getting along doesn't translate into a reason to listen to the station. (4/23/09)

To the poster about the beards on COMCAST Sportsnet, I'm glad to tell you that you can still have respect for Russ Thaler. ALL of the male hosts on that station are growing beards as part of the Capitals playoff beard fund raiser for charity. For the non-hockey fans out there, it is a tradition that many hockey players don't shave once the playoffs start until their team is eliminated. The Caps hooked on to that and are running a fund raiser where fans (and the guys on COMCAST) get sponsored to grow a beard during the playoffs. I suspect you will see the COMCAST Sportsnet guys all clean shaven again when the Caps get bounced which, sadly, looks like it may be all too soon. (4/23/09)

Chris Matthews/Jon Stewart: www.washingtonexaminer.com (4/23/09)

Best quote ever by Mike O'Meara "The afternoon show is soon to be heard in evening drive"...boy, do I ever wish that were true. (4/23/09)

Don Geronimo was spotted lurking the halls of WGMD in Rehoboth Beach this morning. No details as to the reason for his visit. (4/23/09)

Dave's response: Hey, maybe he could hop on the ferry and land a gig on the new "Wibbage" FMer in Wildwood.....

Not only has Don burned bridges with CBS and with the "suits" and Program Directors, he also alienated every past Producer (except BA who has her own issues), all the salespeople and the cast he used to work with. No, Mike and Don are not friends. If they were then Mike would have known his "pal" was getting married last month. Keep in mind that everyone on all three shows talk about how great the atmosphere is a WJFK now, how they all get along and promote each other these days. I think a lot of people at WJFK would hate to have Don G.. roaming the halls again. (4/23/09)

SPECIAL EVENT STATION W3D... 25 April 2009 from 10 AM to 4 PM Local... Commemorating the special World War II History of Fort Miles, Delaware... Fort Miles was a key part of the nation’s coastal defense during and after WW II. It guarded the mouth of the Delaware River and access to the giant financial centers of Wilmington, Philadelphia, and beyond. Three stations will operate from the fort, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay.... Frequencies 7.050 +/- CW; 7.200 +/- LSB; 14.050 +/- CW; 14.260 +/- USB; 28.050 +/- CW. QSL: Please enclose a SASE.... Send to N3ME Tony McClenny, 118 Ashwood St., Bethany Beach, DE 19930. (4/23/09)

Well Dave you got it right once again. My son works at the Baltimore Business Journal and they let two people go today. Sad. (4/23/09)

WTEM doesn’t renew koken, yet pollin still has a job? Koken can talk any sport, anytime and is very good with all of it. Pollin only wants to talk skins/terps and probably hates that he’s basically being forced to talk hockey instead of who the skins could take in the 6th round. Another good move WTEM, please could someone start another sports talk channel and blow all these guys out. (4/23/09)

"(20) WJFK [Junks 12th, O'Meara 21st]" ....Yeh, you wouldn't want to screw up that formula by reintroducing Geronimo to the mix, huh? (4/23/09)

I find it really quite amusing how many of you Geronimo worshippers grovel at his every move. Let’s face it, he got out of the industry for good reason. Overwhelming sadness, and understandable. Being out of the big picture for a few weeks he realized he needed the adulation and praise, and it was gone. But, he’s always been a dick and always will be. If you remember shortly after his departure he landed a SHORT LIVED gig in Ocean City. Do you remember why it ended? He was a dick..treated staff like a bunch of losers…they took it for about three weeks (GONE). Now, he finds himself craving the attention he had. So, Twitter…..etc. Let him live the life of the unknown. Maybe it will humble him, (though I doubt that). Then there’s O’Meara, lazy, fat, rich and insecure. Oh, and keep in mind, he too thrives on praise and he’s getting little or none now. What a pair, what a picture. Come on Don…..do some more squeeling..LOL (4/23/09)

"WTEM doesn't get it. Al Koken is one of the few bright spots on that station. He is clearly the only who knows anything about or even really cares about hockey. Why do you let him go in the midst of the playoffs?" Sadly the season will be over in another game or two. Signed a Caps ticket holder. (4/23/09)

The reality w/ ESPN 980 and Al Koken was, he didn't get fired, his contract wasn't renewed. EVERYBODY"S contract is up at ESPN 980, and there might be more surprises in these economic times. The station's got to get under budget...WHATEVER it takes. (Is that former WCW superstar Bill Goldberg I hear..."WHO'S NEXT?!) (4/23/09)

So Doc Walker's pissed at Koken being fired, huh..I would think that he'd be glad that there's one less person with whom he has to compete for credibility...I've always thought Doc was quite pompous and arrogant..He's always the expert on anything they talk about and tends to disagree just to disagree..If someone says the sky is blue, he says the sky is red..Very rarely do I hear him agree with anyone.. (4/23/09)

Bonneville wake up! FedNews back to 1050. Sports on 1500. Johnny Holliday 5:30a-9a, Al Koken 9-12n, Dave Jageler 12n-3p, Phil Wood 3p-6p, Nats/Caps/whatever you got at night and on off nights Craig Heist or George Wallace or Pete Medhurst or whomever isn't covering other games. Dump whatever you have to in order to get Maryland Football & Basketball. But do it NOW fer gawd's sake! (4/23/09)

Never mind the maniacal deceptiveness of WDCN-LP; ostensibly a TV station impersonating a radio station. The FCC ought to throw the book at THIS guy for broadcasting TV from his radio station! DCMemories.com (4/23/09)

Sorry to hear that WTEM has taken Al Koken off the air. Perhaps someone in the know will drop a note to this site with some background info. (4/23/09)

Not local....except for Hannity connection....check out this water boarding experiment by a Playboy journalist. Hope the water-boarder doesn't join a PG constabulary dept. www.huffingtonpost.com (4/23/09)

Wow - great stuff from MOM. Maybe this will help catapult his show into the Top 20! (4/23/09)

NO ONE @ MSNBC READS EMAILS..? I OFTEN ASK THIS, AND HAVE CONTACTED SEVERAL MEDIA SOURCES ABOUT THIS. (ESPECIALLY SINCE NBC"news"/MSNBC HAS BECOME THE semi-OFFICIAL PROPAGANDA OFFICE OF OBAMA) MAYBE, SOMEDAY... I'LL GET AN ANSWER (LMAO) WHY SHOULD I WATCH MSNBC/NBC "propaganda" IF NO ONE TALKS TO VIEWERS??? ~Arthur S. (4/23/09)

Dave: Gee, Why is Doc Walker mad? Could it mean that Doc will have to work harder or may be the writing's on the wall? Al Koken's a good guy who's politically correct nature didn't fool anyone. Doc's problem is and will always be that he thinks he's the greatest or only football expert in the area. People have told me that's why George Michael fired him in the late 80's on Channel 4 Sports, he just wanted the paycheck and didn't want to work. Speaking of another bad product, I watched three minutes of "SportsNite" last night and the bad sports talent in this market continues to amaze me. I did have respect for Russ Thaler, not anymore! Michael Jenkins is still too cool for this city as well. How could management let their talent grow beards and thinks that's professional. I was in Chicago last week and watched Sportsnet Chicago and it's too bad we don't get the same treatment. Their talent knows the names of the baseball players, let alone how they're pronounced. (4/23/09)

RE: [ " Dave's response: Another point missing from today's Post piece. You don't need a digital cable box to continue watching MPT if you already have a digital TV set.... " ]........ True, Comcast eventually added all the WETA channels to the QAM band in the Baltimore area also, probably due to complaints, but where's my ROBOT CHICKEN on CARTOON? Where's my AMC? The # of channels deleted from basic cable is getting kinda astounding. I'm surprised this hasn't been news previously. It's been going on for over a year now and COMCAST is setting itself up for a world of hurt on so many levels, they have no clue what they are doing. FIOS is FASTER, technically better, yes, you'll still need that nasty converter box, but guess what? COMCAST has ALREADY PISSED you OFF by deceiving all its customers and telling them they don't REQUIRE a converter box, and now all the analog channels are disappearing and not being replaced with QAM equivilents even for those with DIGITAL TVs. Just one bad decision after another for SUCKCAST. Oh, wow, the mail just came, my FIOS invitation is offficially here. BABYE SUCKCAST! :-) (4/23/09)

Interesting that WTEM would fire Koken, who is the only guy that gave them any credibility on hockey. And mid-week like that? This move would seem to indicate that the station is moving even further to all Redskins all the time. And Doc Walker getting pissed doesn't mean crap. The one that they are all afraid of is Thompson. (4/23/09)

Howard Bernstein brought his kid to work today. He is about as annoying as he is. (4/23/09)

WTEM doesn't get it. Al Koken is one of the few bright spots on that station. He is clearly the only who knows anything about or even really cares about hockey. Why do you let him go in the midst of the playoffs? That's like getting rid of Phil Wood during baseball season last year. Here's hoping that someone has enough moxie to put a second sports talker on in this market. If Baltimore can have multiple sports talkers, why can't Washington? Tom in Wheaton (4/23/09)

Dave, every year or so this complaint about WTMD and student staffing comes up. When I was there it was WCVT ("Community Voice of Towson") and I honestly don't know if it had more student positions or not. In any case, I thought Steve's answer was acceptable and that WTMD is probably like plenty of other "college" stations with that big a signal. Professionally run, campus licensed. BTW, is Ed Walker still taking classes at AU to "stay eligible" to host The Big Broadcast? LOL. Howie (4/23/09)

i'm not that sad to see (or hear) koken get canned from WTEM, unless he was calling hockey games for them (i haven't lived in the DC area for a few years, so i don't know). i just remember him with walker and john thompson putting on one of the most boring, contrived radio shows i've ever heard. i'd almost rather hear one of those "business of government" programs WJFK used to run on sunday mornings. (4/23/09)

To the person who wrote, "The EE is correct. WDCN-LP is broadcasting with a stereo pilot..." You sound as if you know more than you are revealing. What would a spectrum analyzer show? How are Signal Above LLC and A. Wray Fitch III linked to the Birach family? Also, Signal Above has a channel 6 translator in Salisbury. How long before they relicense it as a LPTV and start running dance music, just as they did in nearby VA? (4/23/09)

With the trend toward putting "radio" stations at the bottom of the FM dial (using TV channel 6), perhaps the FCC will see its way clear to expand the FM dial (or allocate a new, all-digital band) with a big ol' give back of the outmoded AM band. Existing corporate radio stations can continue to program dreck, whereas new broadcasters will be required to avoid formulaic and cheap, sensational and dishonest political, non-English, religious, and brokered program choices. Sham-Wow! anyone? (4/23/09)

RE: VPT off basic in cville. Doesn't Cville also have a PBS station? A lesser one any way - WHTJ - studios on the downtown mall. Is it be on basic? Out here in the 'burg on basic and in the lower tier of digital - we now get only one of each major net...so isn't this similar for the PBS sticks? - each area gets their "primary" PBS station? VPT has an affiliate (simulcast) full power station in Front Royal (it is full power isn't it? - I forget). Wonder why that wasn't used for Winchester? Not watching much PBS anymore - I had dropped off to just the home improvement and cooking stuff (yeah I know and I so basic!) but with HGTV and Food TV - I rarely go to PBS anymore...Everything else is so slanted its difficult to watch. I mean Bill Moyers and that schluppy side kick of his that does the interviews...Makes MSNBC look like FOX. On the single net affiliates for basic - and moving the others (Hburg its DC4, Richmond12 and Roanoke/Lynchburg10 to 200ish numbers), I had occasionally watched 4 news - since its moved - and especially with no George Michael - hardly ever any more...usually forget its "there" (4/23/09)

Dave's response: Charlottesville's PBS station is a relay of Richmond's PBS station, which is owned by the same people who own Northern Virginia's 56/MHz, Commonwealth Public Broadcasting. Harrisonburg's WVPT is a separate entity.....

When I spoke to the woman in Harrisonburg, she said they (WVPT) had been taken off basic cable in Charlottesville. I know they are gone from basic cable in Winchester, because I live there. Al McGilvray (4/23/09)

WTMD’s mission is to bring astounding contemporary music and public service music programming and events to the Central Maryland region. Our goal is provide music lovers across the state and around world with a station they want to listen to whenever they have the radio on. We are a community outreach program of Towson University. While we are not a student training program, we offer significant internship and student employment opportunities that often result in on air positions either here at WTMD or at other stations. Our mid-day host began as an-on air student, as have many folks on our air both past and present. We also train students for the business of radio behind the mic. If anyone has questions about our operations and our support of the academic mission of Towson University…give a call to 410 704 8938 or visit our web site wtmd.org . We’re happy to chat. Steve (4/23/09)

You know what really ticks me off about this horrible hydra headed miscreant on 87.7? That was the frequency I used to use for my Sirius radio. In this town, what with the plethora of fine radio stations, not to mention the channels that are taken up by the fantastic HD radio service, it is impossible to find an open channel. Since there isn't a channel 6 in the area, 87.7 was my "go to move." Fortunately, I have one of the original radios that puts out way too much Rf and I can drown out some of the low power religious crap at the bottom of the band. Finally I lucked on an open channel... 101.7. Clear in Chantilly, totally open on I 66. The problem comes as I go through Rosslyn. This horrible smooth jazz totally blots out the radio as I'm coming over the TR bridge and in western downtown. I can't find anything in the FCC database on that frequency that is licensed nearby in either state or the district? It's way too powerful for unlicensed operation. What the deuce? John (4/23/09)

Dave's response: If you're currently using 87.7 for your Sirius XM relay, keep doing so. The only thing that will change is that the LPTV operation on 87.7 will flip from Spanish to dance sometime soon. The signal is already there. Signal-wise, it's nothing "new".....

If people are calling the cops on MOM, does this mean I'm free to call them on Sean Hannity for abusing the airwaves with HIS bullshit? Paul (4/23/09)

Am I reading what I think I am reading in the lift below from your website? (Dave's response: Tricia Barba asked Shawn Yancy if, as some viewers have noted, Fox5's news tends to be somewhat "sensational," and Yancy gave an intellegent (sic) answer that, no, she didn't believe it was. That - believe it or not - is what WTTG's GM got all upset about. I didn't want to put Shawn in an awkward place, so I cut the quotes, as she politely asked. Her original answer actually made Fox5 look good. The GM's request that she ask us to cut what she said makes him and his station look bad. Channel 4 didn't ask us to cut what Doreen Gentzler said. Channel 7 didn't ask us to cut what Gordon Peterson said. And Channel 9 didn't ask us to cut what Lesli Foster said. But Channel 5 couldn't give us the same level of openness with our interview of Shawn Yancy. Hmmm.....) Did you really "cut the quotes, as she politely asked,"? That's absurd. Since when do subjects get to write the story so they don't look bad? Your action in complying with a GM's asinine request puts all your reporting under suspicion and serves no interest. Do you not have an independent backbone? I could agree to a quote change if your subject was merely trying to correct a factual error but not a change designed to take some heat off an institution. Did the GM know, pre-publication, what the objectionable (to him) quotes would be? If so, why do sources get a right of review? I love your forum, a mixed bag of news and varied opinion but if you do "cut the quotes" as a matter of practice, would you please return the balance of my subscription fee. I can't support that standard of reporting. Joel Albert (4/23/09)

Yesterday's MO"M Show was absolutely brilliant, and harkened back to some of the best radio traditions. It also disclosed some really,really deeply disturbing attitudes among the average 'JFK listener. I was especially galled at the caller who whined on and on about how wonderful parents will "bend over backwards to do anything to make their kids happy" (verbatim comments guaranteed). When Mike disclosed that it was a joke and then appropriately slapped people upside the head for their dumb-ass politically correct attitudes, it was perhaps the best homeward commute I've had in years. This is the kind of radio that makes me sit in the car after I've pulled into the driveway. It's far too rare these days. Apparently, so is common-sense parenting. One thing's for sure: yesterday's radio show proved that there are an awful lot of people out there who should not be allowed to breed, and more than a few lkisten to WJFK. Genghis Cohen, threatening to tattoo the little bastards with a .45 if they don't get off my damned lawn, in springtime Prince William County... (4/23/09)

You go Mike O'Meara. . .that was a funny gag yesterday. You totally had us going, with your defensive rave-outs at the outraged callers, Buzz's low-key sense of total disapproval of the act. The kid nailed it too, played like it hurt but was a kid trying to tough it out. Well staged. I was outraged at you for it, then relieved that it was a gag. (4/23/09)

Today is William Shakespeare's 445th birthday. Given the evolution of the English language since the 1600s, it's amusing to note that, if written today, the title of "Much Ado About Nothing" would likely instead be "Big Fucking Deal." (4/23/09)

Your response: 'Well, it involves the DHS, which is here in DC. I'd have thought that righties like you would like me publicizing a Fox News publicity move." Firstly, there is much in the news cycle that involves federal departments housed in DC. And there are FIA suits against CIA, the FBI and DOJ probably every day that involve news organizations, a number of which push press releases. Why chose this one? An opportunity to put "Fox News" and "Right-wing Extremist" in a headline on your front page? As for righties "like me" liking you publicizing a publicity move, no, I just sincerely wish you would keep your personal politics off of your NEWS page and leave it in the mailbag and your rants. I don't care whether it's right or left...your personal politics isn't news. It's the same issue the Fox Newses, NBCs, MSNBCs and NYTs have. You criticize all of them from time to time (though, let's be intellectually honest: you criticize Fox News and WMAL a helluva lot more often than any (and probably all) of the others), but you turn around and do the same thing on your site. It makes you....less believable. I know, I know, it's your site and you'll blah, blah, blah. Bob in Forest Hill (4/23/09)

Dave's response: Honestly. It's a kinda slow news day and I needed "new news" to plop on the Front Page. It's kinda DC-related, so there.....

According to DX Listening Digest #8-089, KSFV channel 6 goes one step further by transmitting RDS(!) on their standard FM stereo signal. So, there's quite a bit of precedent with these channel 6 LP's running as radio stations. It's sleazy, but there are bigger problems out there. -CL in DC (4/23/09)

RE: The Comcast/PBS digital issue also affects Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Winchester, Virginia; and Berkeley County, WV. Does this affect Hburg's cable system? Basic at the office here (in Hburg) shows VPT on 7 as always? VPT on digital 7 box at home too with their digital spawn up near 200. (4/23/09)

Dave's response: WVPT's studios are right there on JMU's campus. I know. I could see the WVPT building out my dorm window when I was there. So, I'd think the Harrisonburg cable system would consider it the region's primary PBSer - not WETA.....

Dave, your news blurb "Fox Wants "Right-Wing Extremist" Report." To quote Donnie G.: Please to be telling me how this is local media news? I understand that it is interesting POLITICAL news from your News Corp. hating perspective. News organizations - ones you like and ones you don't like - file FIA suits every single day. Why pick this one? Please keep the politics off the news page at least. Bob in Forest Hill (4/23/09)

Dave's response: Well, it involves the DHS, which is here in DC. I'd have thought that righties like you would like me publicizing a Fox News publicity move.....

Breaking news: This just in...despite Geronimo podcast cancellation, the sun did indeed make an appearance this morning. It appears the earth will continue to spin on its axis. At the top of the hour, don't miss our exclusive story about the dcrtv poster whose noggin explodes (ala Scanners) when told ALL talk shows manipulate phones. Unfortunately, political bias and reality met head-to-head with disasterous results. Stay tuned for updates. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming... (4/23/09)

Re MPT and Comcast--if you have a digital HD TV and no digital cable box, MPT-HD, MPT2 and V-Me are on channels 106.4302, 106.4303, and 106.4304 (or there abouts) through Comcast. They also carry all 10 of the MHz channels, all four of the WETA channels, and all broadcast HD and sub-channels. (4/23/09)

Dave's response: Another point missing from today's Post piece. You don't need a digital cable box to continue watching MPT if you already have a digital TV set.....

Yes, basic. You have to buy the digital box. A person I spoke to at the PBS station in Harrisonburg told me WETA was selected as the "primary" PBS station for the Shenandoah Valley, and everyone else was moved up to the upper tier. Al McGilvray (4/23/09)

The Comcast/PBS digital issue also affects Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Winchester, Virginia; and Berkeley County, WV. Comcast viewers in Winchester can only receive WETA. West Virginia viewers in the Eastern Panhandle have lost both West Virginia Public Broadcasting and Maryland Public Television. Al McGilvray (4/23/09)

Dave's response: You mean on basic analog cable. Those PBSers are still available with a digital box, right?

Hammity offers to be "Waterboarded" for "charity?" Will the waterboarding be fake, and scripted, as callers to his radio show are, or will he "equivocate," the waterboarding, like he equivocates on his TV show what democrats say? In order to be equivalent, Sean, we have to send you to Gitmo first, and have you sleep for a couple of weeks in those cells before the professional waterboarding. Now, during the waterboarding you will be asked questions you will have no idea of the answers (like "what are the political ties between Cambodia and Sri Lanka?"). Wait a minute, I am getting on board with Hammity's idea here! Hammity's crap can be heard locally on WMAL. (4/23/09)

MOM SHOW: CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE! Up until very recently [we] wondered if it really bothered O'Meara that the show that bears his name, was 20+ in the PPM. Did failure hurt enough? Was he willing to do what it takes to become a consistent ad and ratings winner? The staged 'Tats for Tots' bit was brilliant. Not because it was right or wrong but because it sparked controversy and discussion. CBS Radio PR, NOW DO YOUR FUCKIN' JOB and make sure this outrageous bit hits the national press and as a result, inspire new listener curiosity. Any press is GREAT press! You can only hope the FCC comes calling!!! O'Meara, to be proactive, hire a senior/grad Marketing intern or two just to keep your show constantly in the local, national and affiliate eye. And don't forget, SUPPORT DCRTV ADVERTISERS! (4/23/09)

Dave's response: It's kind of a shame that the Fairfax City Police didn't haul a verbally abusive and resistant Mike O'Meara off to the station for interrogation. Now that would have generated national press! Ha ha ha. Or, better yet, fake it with Chad Dukes and Oscar Santana in cop uniforms. Do they come that big?

If the Fairfax cops were called to WJFK for reported child abuse – which turned out to be as bogus as it was tasteless – then couldn’t they have at least arrested Mike, Rob, Beth Ann, Buzz and Joe for defrauding their listeners: it’s gotta be fraud to call the show “entertainment”. Meanwhile, here’s some REAL drama: www.hollywoodreporter.com: “Things got testy Wednesday at the GE shareholders meeting courtesy of several complaints about political bias at its media division, NBC Universal. Just don't expect to see the fireworks at the company's webcast of the event, which contains prepared remarks from CEO Jeff Immelt and CFO Keith Sherin but leaves out their interaction with shareholders. "The crowd was very upset with MSNBC because of its leftward tilt," one attendee said. "Some former employees said they were embarrassed by it." One specific complaint about MSNBC concerned Keith Olbermann's interview of actress Janeane Garofalo, who likened conservatives to racists and spoke of "the limbic brain inside a right-winger." "They were upset that Olbermann didn't bother to challenge her," one GE shareholder said.” (4/23/09)

Mr. Tony finally admitted that he cleaned out his desk a the Post yesterday on PTI…….looks like he really has cut ties now…. (4/23/09)

/\ April 23 Messages /\

\/ April 22 Messages \/

The EE is correct. WDCN-LP is broadcasting with a stereo pilot using a 2kW Armstrong FM transmitter and Orban 8500 FM (not TV) audio processor. The audio is not integrated with the video in any normal manner. A simple check with a spectrum analyzer will reveal other interesting bits of information. The FCC missed this during their inspections. But then again, they missed all the instances of the Birach family antics. (4/22/09)

Re:WUMD. Towson University has a radio station too, you know. They just don't let actual students on the air. Amazing. (4/22/09)

["I've told Tricia to stick to 4, 7, and 9 in the future, and avoid the oddball Murdochian management of 5. Sad..."] Unbelievable, Dave! You would think that FOX5 would be more open and/or engaging with the types of interviews that Tricia does, especially as she does a job akin to what they do on a daily basis - reporting back to the viewers (or in this case, readers of DCRTV). They have no problem sticking a microphone this morning up the face of a crying and hysterical neighbor of that Fannie Mae CFO who killed himself, yet they want to censor themselves. Unreal. And like I said, Shawn, Laura and Holly are very likable individuals. What's the problem, FOX5? -Silvie- (4/22/09)

So Dave, it's o.k. for FOX to censor parts of interviews when THEIR staff is being interviewed, but FOX is more than willing to broadcast word for word any interview they have with others..Interesting, very interesting. (4/22/09)

Dave's response: Tricia Barba asked Shawn Yancy if, as some viewers have noted, Fox5's news tends to be somewhat "sensational," and Yancy gave an intellegent answer that, no, she didn't believe it was. That - believe it or not - is what WTTG's GM got all upset about. I didn't want to put Shawn in an awkward place, so I cut the quotes, as she politely asked. Her original answer actually made Fox5 look good. The GM's request that she ask us to cut what she said makes him and his station look bad. Channel 4 didn't ask us to cut what Doreen Gentzler said. Channel 7 didn't ask us to cut what Gordon Peterson said. And Channel 9 didn't ask us to cut what Lesli Foster said. But Channel 5 couldn't give us the same level of openness with our interview of Shawn Yancy. Hmmm.....

Someone wrote, "Let me get this straight -- the Univ. of Md., with no campus radio station...." Huh? The University of Maryland College Park has had WMUC, a student-run campus radio station, in continuous operation since 1949 (and intermittently before that), first on carrier current AM and then, in 1979, on FM 88.1. If you are not within range of its broadcast signal, you can listen at www.wmucradio.com. Ed Jones, Columbia, MD (4/22/09)

Re: WDCN's audio - I understand the difference betweeen the 1984 BTSC "MTS Stereo" and 1961 GE/Zenith FM Stereo (I'm a EE) - but WDCN appears to be using the 19 KHz pilot signal because my car FM radio can decode the stereo signal just fine (at least the stereo light is on). I was also wondering how they could be getting away with that, technically (FCC-wise) and physically (what about TVs that are looking for the audio at a certain frequency?). According to W9WI.com, they're currently broadcasting with a zero offset (at least for the video) but I do wonder if they're transmitting audio at 87.75 MHz (ch 6 analog audio) or 87.70 MHz (FM radio)? Speaking of WDCN, I can sometimes hear them all the way down here in Fredericksburg. They currently compete with the audio for Richmond's WTVR (analog ch 6). But when WTVR shuts down ch 6 analog in a couple of months, I wonder how well we can receive the audio for WDCN down here? Shall be interesting. Sadly broadcast MTS will go away in June with the analog sunset. Analog DXing will be ending as well - used to do quite a bit of that back in the day when we had rooftop antennas. Don't think it will be the same with digital since there will be very few VHF-low band DTV stations (none in DC). Time marches on. Dave in Fredericksburg (4/22/09)

Re: WDCN-LP As I understand it, FCC rules do not specify the exact parameters of stereo transmission on the audio transmitter. They can use FM stereo, rather than BTSC TV stereo. I think they might have to keep the deviation lower than standard FM, about 6 db, which means they would not be able to be "competitively loud". Also, 22 percent aural carrier level would mean the 62 dBu contour on the FCC maps is actually the 56 dBu contour of the audio signal. Depending on interference, that is a reasonable estimate of service area. (4/22/09)

If Donny G is hungry to work, perhaps he should pull a Rosenberg and play MP3's at McDonald's in the middle of the night. JA (4/22/09)

Dave's response: I think CBS's suits would approve since it would draw foot traffic to a major sponsor.....

(Dave's response: Not real. It was a taped comedy bit. Beth Ann just revealed that the Fairfax City police even showed up at WJFK's studio today.....) Original poster response: To be precise, it may have been a taped bit, but was not a taped comedy bit. Even pretend child abuse isn't funny. (4/22/09)

I'm really shocked and disappointed at the MOM show for promoting the tattooing of an 8 year old little boy. It was really painful to hear, and it's just insane that management allowed it to happen. Also, Mike is passing the buck by saying "oh, mom said it was okay and legal said it was okay." Well, maybe, but shouldn't he have used just the smallest bit of independent judgment to realize that maybe there are things that are legal to do that just aren't right to do? The show had been going off the rails for a while but this is too much. I've listened to the old show since 1996 or so and was giving Mike a shot. This is just sad, though. I always enjoyed how he and Don would walk right up to the line and not cross it. But if exploiting an 8 year old boy isn't on the completely wrong side of the line, I don't know what is. I'm done with the Mike O'Meara Show. (4/22/09)

Dave's response: Not real. It was a taped comedy bit. Beth Ann just revealed that the Fairfax City police even showed up at WJFK's studio today.....

"The BTSC Stereo audio transmission standard used at TV stations in the U.S. is way different than the Zenith system used by FM radio ststions" It sure is, but WDCN has been running stereo that my radio can understand since I first found out about them sometime last summer. They were still W06CJ at the time, and broadcast Spanish religious stuff (which I believe they still do). My radio (Degen DE1103) decodes stereo and lights up the indicator on 87.75, but not on WTTG's audio. They also have an app with the FCC to go positive offset, which I guess could help it with reception on some stereos. Two Sony radios I have don't like either 87.7 or 87.8. (4/22/09)

Brilliant: hardly. For a follow-up to MOM Show’s cruel April Fools Hoax that had an 8 year old supposedly being tattooed on air and Beth Ann’s head shaving Rob has agreed to have his son take a Leukemia test live for Friday’s drinking show. Desperate days (this has been done before) at WJFK: not funny. (4/22/09)

Is Mike O'Meara really tattooing an 8-year-old on his show???? I pray this is a joke. Kenny (4/22/09)

The BTSC Stereo audio transmission standard used at TV stations in the U.S. is way different than the Zenith system used by FM radio ststions. Yes, both are "sum/difference" systems with sub-carriers, but the similarities end about there. For one thing, An FM Stereo receiver is looking for a 19KHz pilot signal to "turn on" the Stereo decoder in the receiver. If you don't have that, all you'll get is mono audio.. BTSC uses a 15.734.5 KHz (Same as the horizontal sweep (or line) frequency) pilot which your FM Stereo receiver will ignore. Now, WDCN-LP could put an FM Optimod or another stereo generator ahead of its aural transmitter iff all they're running is audio and they make any necessary mods to the transmitter to allow it to happen. Now, of course that would violate the FCC Type Acceptance on the rig. But, that doesn't really matter, now does it? After all, using an FM broadcast stereo generator on a TV station would bust the rules and regs in the first place! (Yes, the FCC would be looking...) Odds are, the only thing they won't consider doing to their audio is composite clipping. Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/22/09)

Here's the deal: Geronimo made CBS a mountain of money and the slot he vacated is now a losing proposition. If Michael Hughes and the rest at CBS had half the business savvy they claim, they'd suck it up, put up with some annoyances from Geronimo and use him to make money for their faltering company. Instead they let the failing MOM show go on failing at 106.7FM and turn 94.7FM into an ultra-light laughing stock. Just more proof that CBS is run by incompetents. Dave in Sterling (4/22/09)

Great interview of Shawn Yancy by Tricia. I love Shawn -- one of my favorites at FOX5, along with Laura Evans and Holly Morris. As anchorwomen, they are flawless, likable and they come off on TV as very natural and cool. -Silvie- (4/22/09)

Dave's response: The Soviet sensors at Fox didn't like parts of the interview - the best parts - so I had to cut 'em. And pull the audio clip. Shawn was really nice about it, and I didn't want to get her into any (more) trouble. I've told Tricia to stick to 4, 7, and 9 in the future, and avoid the oddball Murdochian management of 5. Sad.....

I'm going to say something stunning. Mike was always the funny one. Don was the straight man. Now he has Beth Ann and Robb as his straight men. They do it in different ways but they allow for Mike to be where he belongs, in the spotlight. The show is good. In fact, I'll say their worst show stands up to the best show produced the last five years of the Don and Mike show. Don had become a diva. Humility and talent has made Mike's show something D&M hadn't been for a long time. Fun. Sure, we all enjoyed listening to Don rant. But we were all iften the source of his ranting. He made sure he knew he thought of us all as bottom feeders. Mike's show is better. I don't feel stupid listening to it, as if the host were condescending to me. I hope that between now and October 2010 Don gets some serious help. I won't be listening to him, podcasts or otherwise. Allen (4/22/09)

Have any of the anchors interviewed by DCRTV's Tricia Barba ever said anything negative about their jobs or pretty much politically correct in order to keep their jobs? (4/22/09)

Dave, you may have reported this and I missed it, but the Radio Business Report dated yesterday (4-21-09) says, “NAB [National Association of Broadcasters] has unveiled a new advocacy campaign opposing the performance tax effort. The 60-second spot, dubbed "Don't Feed the Fat Cat," was purchased by NAB and began airing yesterday in DC in Citadel’s WMAL-AM and Bonneville’s WTOP-A/FM. The adv will also be available for radio stations to download through NAB's recently launched grassroots advocacy Web site, NoPerformanceTax.org... Full story from RBR at www.rbr.com. (4/22/09)

Lots of comments about WDCN-LP, some of which are incorrect. If you go to www.fcc.gov and page 24 of that document, you will see that a TV station using stereo audio can deviate their modulation by +/- 75kHz, just like an FM station. Further, the power of the stereo audio carrier can be up to 22 percent of the visual carrier. In the case of WDCN-LP with a 3 kW visual carrier, that would be 660 watts of audio, which can't be considered "low power" in the FM world. An FMLP is limited to 100 watts. To top it off, WDCN-LP is not broadcasting a visual carrier because it was interfering with WTTG on channel 5. Channel 6 got a waiver to discontinue the visual carrier until they can fix the problem. That fix can't be accomplished in the analog world but won't be a problem once WTTG converts to DTV. (The FCC never should have allowed assignment of channel 6 in the first place because of the possiblity of interfering with channel 5. Initially, this was a TV translator that was moved off of channel 42 to make way for DTV.) In case you were wondering, FCC rules section 73.653 allows different programs on the visual and audio carriers of a TV station. WDCN-LP could run a screen saver on the visual and dance music on the audio. (4/22/09)

Let me get this straight -- the Univ. of Md., with no campus radio station, wants to do a "broadcasting" presence on Maryland Day this coming weekend, through its Journalism school named after newspaperman Phillip Merrill, who killed himself just before his industry began to circle the drain. Maybe their Radio-TV-Film Department would be a better place for this? Wait, they got rid of that years ago since they considered it a "trade" school. (4/22/09)

(From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Centennial Broadcasting in Winchester, VA - WINC 92.5, NEWS TALK 1400, ROCK 104.9/105.5 - has an immediate opening for an EXPERIENCED RADIO SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCED AND IF YOU ARE A CLOSER. If you wish the company you work for didn’t have so much corporate paperwork and allowed you to be more creative, then we might have what you are looking for. If you have media sales experience and thrive on competition and creativity, we want to talk to you. WINC has a very unique opportunity for the right salesperson. Generous commissions, established clients and a sales environment that breeds success. Complete benefits package including 401k. EOE. Join a company that believes people make the difference! Send your resume and cover to vreynolds@winc.fm. (4/22/09)

Dave—in response to your advice to Don, I say—make all the waves with CBS Radio as you can! Don Geronimo was a cash cow for CBS DC and the fact that they made zero concessions for him only show the direction radio has gone. The difference between Carolla and Geronimo is that Donnie walked, Adam was taken off the air. However, a 30 month non-compete arrangement (whether he agreed to it or not) WITHOUT pay is completely unconscionable. Donnie needs to invest in some legal fees and get this non-compete shredded. CBS Radio is bullying him. No one is privy to this 28 page release Don speaks of, but bottom line, Don has a legal right to work in the only trade he knows. CBS should be ashamed of how they are treating a radio icon. I’d get Don on the air and have CBS pay his fees and costs. Josh in Harrisburg, PA (4/22/09)

"Happy liberal New Year's! Here's how everyone should be celebrating: www.youtube.com " - wow, very mature. I hope this isn't a newsflash to you, but environmentalism and conservation are not explicitly "liberal" values. There are plenty of groups that feel like not treating the planet as a giant dumpster is a good idea, and there are plenty of non-liberals included in that. I'd point out, for example, that a lot of Evangelical Christian groups, for example, see stewarship of the Earth as an important RELIGIOUS value. And seriously, the fact that someone finds humor in something like this, burning chemicals into the atmosphere. Who exactly are you STICKING it to? Do you really want to portray conservatives as a whole as somehow being against things like wanting to avoid pumping a bunch of crap into the atmosphere? It's one thing to make reasoned arguments (i.e. it just costs too much to do what is necessary), but you're not going to help conservatism or the GOP by trying to cling to this kind of crap. Oh yeah, and for good measure, the guy who did that video put in his description: "Happy Earth Day, faggots", because of course anti-environmentalism and bigotry against homosexuals go hand in hand for some reason. Conservatism doesn't have to be associated with such idiocy, just as there's no reason that tolerance for homosexuality (ask Steve Schmidt, Meghan McCain, etc.) or concern for the environment have to be exclusively liberal. - Justin in McLean (4/22/09)

Who cares about the suits at CBS Radio that Don Geronimo was hard on back in the day? I'm sure they cried all the way to the bank! Let me let you in on a little secret people, 85% of radio people AREN'T SMART! Of the remaining 15%, only 7%(insert Don), actually have talent! It's this talent that generates cash for the radio station. Giving of your time, show prepping, living the lifestyle of your target demo. Being professinal, ignoring the cockamamie nonsense that salespeople, promotion and program directors pass off as ideas. Watching the money you (sometimes singlehandedly), generate for the company being flat-out stolen by lazy, incestous sales weasels. "Vision" having, sociopathic program directors, and fast talking, jizz spitting, showtime GM's. In war, when you have a loaded cannon, you fire it! If CBS wants to be counterproductive, let's see how far that will take them, shall we? WPGC is a shell of it's former self, El Z(er)ol...nuff said. WJFK couldn't grow an audience if you gave them a garden, seeds, sunlight, water, or steroids, and "Fresh" is about as, a funky truckstop bathroom that Large Marge just exited! So if CBS wants to be this petty and vindictive with Mr. Sorce, GO AHEAD! Who's more vindictive and petty than he is? You think he won't just wait out his non-compete, cross the street and murder whoever his CBS competing station is? 2009 has been an embarassing year for CBS, who now remind me so much of the Republican Party!..CBS=Consistently Bullshitting, Stupidly -Billy Sparks (4/22/09)

You're the same people that said Don sucked and you liked Mike when he did it on his own. Mike's show is very entertaining and doesn't need the tantrums to entertain. (4/22/09)

I have to agree with Shawn Yancey; I don’t think Fox5 is sensational, either. In fact, they’re not even accurate or particularly newsworthy, for that matter. (4/22/09)

Happy liberal New Year's! Here's how everyone should be celebrating: www.youtube.com (4/22/09)

Confucius insider says former wjfk joc who burned more radio bridges than a serial arsonist gets no love or sympathy now. Stir crazy? tweet! tweet! (4/22/09)

Dave's response: Don is a brilliant, cutting-edge, one-of-a-kind radio talent. But he's also been very hard on the corporate suits at his radio stations. He's personally trashed countless PDs and GMs, including Michael Hughes, who programs CBS Radio's DC cluster and runs WJFK. That's what Don does and it's very very funny radio. But I think the powers that be at CBS just want to keep Don "sidelined" until his contract runs out late next year. And then let him be some other company's "headache." One thing you don't ever hear Mike do - slam the management of his station. My advice to Don - get up a website, do your Twittering, and don't make too many waves with CBS. Then, in October 2010, get up an independent podcast. Leave corporate broadcast radio behind. You don't need it any more to reach an audience.....

There is, of course, no room for Don Geronimo on the now "Mike O'Meara Show"...Don is a talented, funny, audiophile with a vast knowledge of how to entertain people...nope, no place for that on the Mike O'Meara Show. Then again, I haven't been able to listen to the show without the internet because I live in the Baltimore Area. 105.7 was smart enough to drop the show after Don left. I've tried listening via WJFK.com but without Don, the show is like listening to John Oates or Art Garfunkel by themselves in concert...yuck! Greg in Reisterstown, a new FIOS customer (goodbye Dish Network, you should have carried MASN-HD and the MLB Network, maybe you would still have me as a customer). (4/22/09)

I think the ghost of Freddie Mercury is living in my box of old computer junk... www.youtube.com (4/22/09)

Rumor has it that MOM would gladly welcome Don back, but only if agreed to have his head shaved. (4/22/09)

Why won't Don Geronimo do a podcast on his own (like Adam Corolla)? They both are getting paid a lot of money by CBS for not working. Corolla pays for everything himself to get his podcast up and running (about 5 grand a month). And since it is offered for free, there is nothing CBS can do to prevent Corolla from podcasting. Geronimo could do the same thing--but maybe he is too cheap to pay for his own podcast? With a much smaller following--and hence less need for bandwidth--it would cost Geronimo a lot less to podcast than Corolla. So what exactly is preventing Geronimo from doing his own podcast? (4/22/09)

Dave's response: From what I understand, in order for Don to leave his show "early" even though he's still under contract to CBS until late 2010, he's not getting paid. But he's still under contract to CBS, so he can't just "go and do" a podcast without their permission. As he's said, he could go and work in a radio market where CBS doesn't own stations. A la Ocean City or Richmond or London.....

Don twittered that it's up to CBS what happens with Don...So I guess CBS could put him on the MOM show if they wanted... (4/22/09)

Dave, Don says, "After deciding there was no current slot for me on their stations..." I wonder how this is related to the MOM show? Would he be welcomed back? Would he simply not want to return to do the show with Mike? Why would want to go solo? (4/22/09)

Dave's response: While Don and Mike remain "friends," I'm pretty sure that Mike believes that it's his show now.....

RE: [Before the end of his radio show, Sean Hannity's plant call was a Hispanic male upset about Obama's shaking hands with "thugs."] Missed that one, but I caught Hannity's end-of-the-second-hour plant call right on schedule yesterday. On-time and as expected, precicely at 4:52, Hannity received a call from a self-identified "African American Male" who claimed he was a "former democrat" who "recently became a conservative" because "the democrat party was destroying America". He claimed to have attended the teabag rally here in D.C., and was upset that there are people out there saying there were no "people of color" at the teabag gatherings. He went on to say that even though he is "Six foot seven inches tall and three hundred eighty pounds and sticks out in a crowd like a sore thumb", that "the media" ignored him. He even went on to claim that he sought out "the media" around "the stage area" (oopsie - there wasn't a stage in D.C.), but wh enever he approached "the media" to give them his perspective, they "kept running away from me". His words were they "avoided me like I was an iceberg and they were a bunch of ocean liners". He concluded by claiming that he was angry that other "people of color" call him a "sellout" for "following his values and speaking his mind.". Right on schedule, and right on script. If you listened closely, you could almost detect the faint sound of his pencil scraping paper in the background as he was checking off his assigned talking-point bullets. Local "Great Americans" can be spoon-fed Hannity's foul-smelling swill daily from 3 to 6 on 630 Dubbya-Emmay-Yell. (4/22/09)

No Don Podcast - dongeronimo.posterous.com (4/22/09)

"But come June 12th I was under the impression that nobody is going to get local channels over the air w/antenna?? ANYONE in Sussex county have the answer??? any help would be much appreciated....... A.M.F from DELMARVA...." Sussex county is currently served by the following "OTA" (over the air) digital channels. Salisbury WBOC (virtual 16 CBS and 21 FOX, actual rf 21), WMDT (virtual 47.1 ABC, 47.2 CW, actual rf 47), WCPB (virtual 28.1 MPT, 28.2 MPT2, 28.3 VMe, actual rf 28) WDPB (virtual 64.1 DPB, 64.2, actual rf 44). In addition, if you are near the Rehoboth area, you will receive WMGM out of Atlantic city (virtual 40 NBC, actual rf 36). There is a low power digital station in Rehoboth (WRDE-LD actual rf 31) which carries the RTN network and covers most of the coastal area of Sussex. I live in Bethany Beach and receive all of these via outside roof antenna (channel master 4 bay bowtie model 4221). Antenna is aimed at Atlantic city for WMGM, but receives the Salisbury stations off the backend. Try tvfool.com for your exact location. (4/22/09)

Re: WDCN-LP Keep in mind when looking at coverage maps that the curves may be for the video signal, not the audio signal. The audio signal heard by FM radios runs at much lower power. (4/22/09)

Dave's response: Here in Reston, I'm just outside the 87.7 contour, but I can get the audio just fine.....

Random thoughts.... The reason FRESH is going after WASH and not MIX is because WASH the only station it can differentiate itself with. FRESH sounds like a clone of MIX (other than being a bit more repetitive with less new music) so what would get people to switch over? MIX (19.1) billed over 4.5 million dollars more than WASH (14.5) last year, so eventually, after Fresh gains somewhat of an audience and tweaks their playlist...I assume MIX will be the target. Also what is up with MIX 1065 out of baltimore? They are sounding more and more like a CHR every day (www.yes.com). I wonder when they are finally going to make the plunge? (4/22/09)

Dave's response: I think WWMX owner CBS is worried that Clear Channel will flip 102.7 or 104.3 to a Hot 99.5 clone. So they're taking preventive tweaks on 106.5.....

I think the hub-bub over WDCN is two-fold... First, it's the first "new" FM signal around here in how long? I think the last "new" FM in the D.C. market was WPFW. And, second, there's something of a "pirate radio"-like mystique about them in turning a TV station into an FM broadcaster, sort of pushing the limits on the FCC's Rules & Regs. (Especially in the FCC's backyard.) Not to mention being a (hopefully) commercial FM adjacent to "non-commercial" spectrum. Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/22/09)

Dave's response: And, will the PPMs include a TV station's audio if it's being listened to as a radio station?

Before the end of his radio show, Sean Hannity's plant call was a Hispanic male upset about Obama's shaking hands with "thugs." He did a better job than yesterday's plant call that sped through her script. And speaking of BS, last night on TV Hammity had on Dick Cheney, with (in Hammity's words) "insightful analysis" by Karl Rove; they don't call it "Fixed News" for nothing. And if Cheney wants other memos released, have him release all his records for the public to see, and admit the office of the Vice President is part of the Executive Branch. Hannity's BS can be heard daily on WMAL. (4/22/09)

No, the better plea for the Somali pirate would have been "ayyy yer Honor....not guilty of the CHARRRRRRRRRGES" .... (4/22/09)

Where is that staunch Sinclair/FOX 45 apologist these days? YEP, both FOX 45 and CW 54's HD signals are skipping and out of sync once again last night. It's like a daily event. Are the Sinclair people really that inept? Do they even care? Since I get plenty of other HD channels just fine, obviously it's NOT MY TV's fault so let's not even go there, plus this issue normally happens during the programming, but NOT the commercials! Go figure. I imagine it could be a cable company transmission problem, but that seems like that would be way too coincidental that it only affects the 2 Sinclair run stations & only during programming and not commercials, don't ya think? And even if so, you'd think the Sinclair people would work to get that fixed too since multiple people have complained in the DCRTV mailbag. Right? Apparently not. Since neither station operates an analog signal, and this has been going on for months and months, isn't this a fineable FCC offense? And why on god's earth would ANY ADVERTISER advertise on stations who's programming skips and is out of sync nightly, virtually unwatchable? I'll give Sinclair a pass on the 24 technical flub since every station has equipment failure at some point or other, but I mean, seriously, for a Top 25 market station, this HD sync issue is beyond inexcusable. Maybe I'd be less critical if this were say Salisbury, MD and WMDT or WBOC, but c'mon, 2 Top 25 market TV stations that routinely don't have watchable prime time signals !?! Unbelievable really! (4/22/09)

WDCN-LP is on the American Tower owned site known as Garden City-Arlington. This is the self supporting tower that once held AT&T Arlington and which once shared property with the WAVA tower that was dropped a few years ago. The antenna ERP is actually 12kW. (4/22/09)

Dave, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary with FOX5 sending a truck and reporter to the Towson hotel where the family of 4 were found dead. In fact, that's what I've come to expect of news coverage, local & national, in this day and age. And more so after the Frederick Co., MD family of 5 were found dead over the weekend... it seems that two murder-suicide cases in as many days in the State of Maryland are juicy and gory enough to make these local guys & gals want to seek national exposure. No biggie. Also - about the Craiglist kller in Boston - I laugh every time one of his friends or fiance say that he "would not hurt a fly". Yeah, he wouldn't hurt a fly - but he could kill a person. Dumb people. -Silvie- (4/22/09)

Lest we forget, FOX 5's Brian Bolter used to be the weekend anchor at WBAL TV 11, so it's not surprising that he, as part of the editorial process, in deciding the lead story, might decide to run with that story first, especially considering it made national news. I'm sure he's been there too and probably thought he'd have a compelling lead story, knowing the place well. It's the kind of story that puts the other DC stations and even The Post at a competitive disadvantage. Sounds like sour grapes from Paul Farhi, but then again, isn't that his job description by nature? hehe. :-) Oh, and regarding this channel 6, my card radio does not even get 87.7! DOH! (4/22/09)

Just saw a commercial on FOX5 for a Redskins draft show this Friday with Dave Feldman, Vinny Cerrato, Doc Walker and GEORGE MICHAEL!!..Was quite surprised, but glad to see him back on t.v...Wonder if this is a one time thing for him or whether FOX5 has plans to do a show similar to Redskins Report that George hosted. . (4/22/09)

/\ April 22 Messages /\

\/ April 21 Messages \/

Dave, at least on Montgomery County Comcast, Fox 5 programming was not in HD on Channel 213 on Tuesday night. Idol and Fringe were not in HD. The program guide, for some reason, didn't list the programs in HD either. 24 was in HD Monday. Any idea what's up here? (4/21/09)

Dave's response: Ditto with Comcast here in Reston. A problem with Fox5?

Not sure if this has anything to do with TV or radio, but did you see that the Somali pirate was hauled before a federal judge in Manhattan today? The judge asked "How do you plead?" And the pirate answered "Aaaaarrrrrrrrgggghhhh." Heh heh heh. - "The Unknown Comic" (4/21/09)

Attached is the WDCN Coverage map... It's an American Towers stick... I dunno what other broadcasters (if any) are on it... Here are some WDCN (87.7 FM) vitals from the FCC… ERP is 3KW so audio ERP is on the order of (but not more than) 300 watts, using a zero offset. The antenna is seriously directional! The antenna stats are... RCAMSL: 198.4 m (651’)... RCAGL: 76.2 m (250’)... Latitude: N 38° 53 ' 45 "... Longitude: W -77° 8 ' 8 "... Which puts it in Arlington on Lee Hwy, south of the intersection w/Greenbrier. WETA-FM? Dave Loudin: Can you cross-reference whose stick it is? ... WDCN is at 5301 22nd Street in Arlington... - Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/21/09)

The judge has been watching Derek McGinty's show at 7pm on channel 9 and will analyze it in the very near future. It's actually pretty good in some ways (keep in mind that "pretty good" is a relative term, for the bar is set incredibly low for local TV news) and pretty bad in others. Preview: It is lively, attractive, innovative - but also a snarky, insulting insipid train wreck - all in one show. How do they do it? (4/21/09)

Hey, before everybody gets their panties in an uproar over the new station on 87.7... Don't forget there is a world of difference between regular FM radio and this audio on channel 6. The TV deviation is 25 kHz instead of FM at 75 kHz. In the real world, that means that the audio will be a lot lower. The useable distance from the transmitter will be very limited. They can compress the heck out of it to raise the apparent loudness but it won't be anywhere near the big boys. Also, there are Visual power to Aural power issues. It's all in the FCC rules. Here we are in Washington, home of the FCC. I know the Gomish et. al. only care about tower lights and EEO now but flaunting the rules in their backyard would take large cajones. J (4/21/09)

Re: "how can I find a coverage map for low-power Channel 6 TV operation?" Go here: www.fcc.gov... look for the info labeled "Licensed" and then click on "Service Contour Map". (4/21/09)

Here's what i found en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDCN-LP (4/21/09)

Dave how can I find a coverage map for 87.7 fm here in dc? (4/21/09)

Dave's response: Technically, it's a low-power Channel 6 TV operation. Anybody know?

The deaths of the family near Frederick and the family in the hotel in Towson, horrible news to hear..so much that while canvassing for the 2010 Census today, I stayed away from all the newscasts and listened mostly to 107.1 the Duck and later my mp3player (4/21/09)

The story of the 4 found dead at the Sheraton in Towson actually made the national news. I first saw it on CNN and then heard it on SRN (Salem) radio news later last night. It had a creepy effect on me since I’ve stayed at that hotel. Roddy Freeman (4/21/09)

The Events Committee of the National Press Club presents THE AGONY OF DAVID... By Anthony E. Gallo.... Directed by Roland Branford Gomez... April 29 8 PM... Murrow Room The National Press Club... 529 14th Street, NW Near Metro Center... A modern day play rooted in biblical history. This two-act tragedy of faith and transgression is based on the life of King David, an icon of the Davidic religions, Christianity and Judaism. Even his enemies admit that he is God’s chosen. However, this providentially endowed military and political genius, poet, spiritual, harpist, sportsman, and dancer is beset by tragedy. THE AGONY OF DAVID attempts to show how ultimately David must face the tragic consequences of his decisions, but in the end is sustained by a remarkable faith and strength of inner character. This inner struggle is reflected in the ageless, beloved fifty psalms of three thousand years ago... No charge. Reservations: agallo2368@verizon.net or 202 544 6973... Cast: King David - Marks Adams... Queen Michal - Rachel Hubbard... Queen Bathsheba - Mary Ayala Bush... Princess Tamar - Kacie Greenwood... Joab - John Shackelford... Nathan - James Howard... Absalom - Brandon DeGroat... Amnon - David Seemiller... Narrator - Eddie Page... (4/21/09)

Of course Obama is bare chest on the cover of a Washington mag, strutting like some celebrity rather than a dignified leader. He is as close to Hollywood as politics will ever get now that Bab's was banished by Hillary. Didn't you get the memo,,Barack's a SUPERSTAR, just look at him smiling with the queen, doing his best "I am the king of the world" and channeling DiCaprio. There is a song for Superstar and the words play something like this. "Yea, uh A fresh cool young Lu Trying to cash his microphone check 2, 1, 2 Want to believe my own hype but it's too untrue ...Un-strap him from the chair And put him back in his cage. The audience ain't fazed And they ain't gon' clap and they ain't gon' praise They want everything back that they paid Cuz they been waiting since ten to see the lights get dim...If you are what you say you are a superstar then have no fear the crowd is here and the lights are on and they want a show oh oh oh oh yeah. Not a bad show for a know no. (4/21/09)

So Sen. Cardin wants to reclassify newspapers as "non-profits." Gee, aren't they "non-profits" now? Hardee-har-har. Two shows nightly! "The Unknown Comic" (4/21/09)

YO' dave or anyone else who can help me in mailbagland. Last week I bitched @ MEDIACOM here in Sussex county Delaware getting rid of T.V. guide channel. Basically they suck as much as Comiecast does up your way. I wanna make the switch to FIOS. FIOS isn't offered in my zip code. DIERCTV is but no local channels. They are telling me I have to get a roof top antenna, hook it up to my tuner and then program my DIRECTV tuner to get over the air signals for local programming. WTF??? I'm not living under a rock here or a pile of sand. But come June 12th I was under the impression that nobody is going to get local channels over the air w/antenna?? ANYONE in Sussex county have the answer??? any help would be much appreciated....... A.M.F from DELMARVA.... (4/21/09)

Major props to Dave Hughes and DCRTV for allowing all of [us] a national platform for which to voice our concerns, frustrations, intervention and passion for radio and television. If Mike O'Meara had his way, he would support a bill to make anonymous posting online illegal and demand that the website operators [in this case Dave Hughes] have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. What do you say Mike, five-hundred dollars for a first offense? one-thousand dollars for each offense after that? I know Mike, you think that law would cut down on online bullying or in your case, warranted criticism from among others, people who really care about you and the show. However Mike, the bigger question remains , who is the real MOM Show bully? (4/21/09)

Dave's response: It would be nice if everyone identified themselves when they posted on DCRTV and on other internet forums. A post signed with one's real name certainly increases its credibility. But, the fact is, many people want to remain anonymous - and simply wouldn't post if their identity is made public. Particularly folks within the radio industry, who'd face the wrath of their employers. And, even if I required that all posts be "signed," there is no way to confirm that posters are signing their real names. I'd say that about 50 percent of DCRTV's Mailbag posters either work for or are somehow related to CBS, Clear Channel, Bonneville, Radio One, Red Zebra, Gannett, NBC, Allbritton, Fox, Tribune, Hearst, Citahell, Salem, the Washington Post, and the like. The lack of "free speech" at so many American companies creates the need for anon postings on sites like DCRTV. Mike O'Meara should not blame the internet, and instead focus his "wrath" on the suits who sign his paycheck. They're in the communications biz - and yet they want the flow of discourse to flow just one way, from them to you. Not the other way around. DCRTV - revolutionary and damn proud of it.....

MOM Show:: Mike's ramblings today about anonymous Internet postings further clarifies that even those professionally close to him cannot have an open and honest conversation with him without fear of retribution or screaming or yelling. Instead, O'Meara chooses to surround himself with as many ass-kissers as possible. That will be his ultimate professional downfall. Constructive criticism is a good thing especially when [we] all have a stake in the outcome! (4/21/09)

"Re: Wendy Reiger & HD - was just making a comment on HD, relax. Sounds like what you do when you watch TV is perverted, please keep your home activities to yourself. Peace." - If you want young, dumb, and pretty, go watch Channel 9, where they hire anybody with a pulse. If you want someone who knows her news, can speak intelligently on a variety of subjects, and contributes to the local area through charities and movements, watch Wendy Reiger. It's easy to take potshots from the peanut gallery. That you only bother to make a comment about someone's physical appearance instead of their actual job speaks volumes about you. -Chris in DC (and not a WRC employee) (4/21/09)

Dave, Just wanted to follow up on your note from yesterday…Baltimore Sun had no “You” section again today, so I’m guessing that content is in the A section for good. Editorials weren’t the last page of the section. It was very strange. The entire paper was only 28 pages. Sad. Thanks for your updates on all things media. Todd (4/21/09)

Apparently the low powered FM will turn into a simulcast of a dance radio station in NYC. megamediagroup.ir.stockpr.com (4/21/09)

Dave's response: We did run a newsblurb on 4/13 with the info that the Channel 6/87.7 low power TVer will be running dance music as WDCN. Anybody know what kind of power 87.7 runs? Even out here in Reston, I get a great radio signal of the current Spanish stuff on 87.7.....

What WTGB could have been: Emmis's WRXP, New York, "New York's Rock Experience." Check out what they play at www.1019rxp.com. (4/21/09)

Someone please tell The Sports Junkies to please stop talking about hockey. It's embarrassing how little they know about hockey and how little they know about the Capitals. But, they are pretending to care about hockey and the Caps. They have not supported the team nor the sport since getting on air. Sure, they suck Ted Leonsis' dick when they get him on the air but will then openly say that they'll only attend games if they get to sit in the owners box. EB didn't even know what night hte game was on the other day and it is on the same radio station he works on. The Sports Junkies are loke almost every other TV/radio show in town in that they have no idea what they are talking about and are trying to fake their way through it. Elliott on DC101 and Al Koken on 980 are the only ones on the radio that have any clue. Please Sports Junkies and the rest of you, go back to sucking off the Redskins and Wizards. You are embarrssing yourselves. (4/21/09)

I've been listening to Harry Shearer's LeShow public radio program www.harryshearer.com via podcasts as it's not carried here in DC. At the close of the show he lists credits and sources for the show including WBCQ The Planet on shortwave. I looked at their website www.wbcq.com and the is a lot of interesting stuff there. Any DCRTV'ers listen to this or any other popular shortwave programming? It's been a long time since I gave away my Hammarlund HQ-100 boat anchor. Should I be getting myself to Radio Snack to look at a new Grundig? BTW It's been interesting reading the speculation here about what could be programmed on old WTOP 1500 AM. I used to live a couple of miles from the towers. I had an old crystal set in my shop which was connected to a speaker instead of headphones. I tuned in the station with a voltmeter across the headphone posts! I also listened to the station during the daytime when I was working on a ship in Charleston SC. I am also interested in trying to listen to the Toronto AM'er discussed here as well. I listened to a Canadian station back in the days when we listened to WABC and WBZ on the car radio at night. Thanks for the great web site and community here. Cheers, Robert in Arlington (4/21/09)

Re: Wendy Reiger & HD - was just making a comment on HD, relax. Sounds like what you do when you watch TV is perverted, please keep your home activities to yourself. Peace. (4/21/09)

RE: [HDTV & Wendy Reiger - not a pretty picture.] You want to picture something even less pretty? Picture how much of a perverted loser someone would have to be to tune in to the local evening news with the express mission to load their "Spank-Bank". For heaven's sake, Dude - She's a news anchor. Her job is to give you the headlines, not a lap dance. Now do us all a favor - put down the Kleenex Box and pull up your Jockeys. (4/21/09)

FBDC posting forwarded to DCRTV:

If Washingtonian officials are wondering why their subscriptions, readership, relevance, circulation, ads, revenues and profits are all dropping--it's stupid covers like this. For literally about the last 10 years, at least, it seems that every cover, or every other cover, is a list--and a dumb, stupid, moronic list completely out of touch with reality at that. Literally, many covers have "GREAT" or "BEST" on them--to the point where no one really cares anymore. The magazine at one time used to have intelligent, well-researched, well-written, sort-of-like-real-journalism feature stories--once upon a time. But someone lost their mind along the way, and decided that the magazine should just be a bunch of lists, stories about bubble-world people that don't connect to about 99 percent of readers, glossy dog-and-pony public relations press releases, and ridiculous p.r. stories that don't have anything to do with real journalism. Meanwhile, ads, readership, interest, circulation, subscriptions, revenues and profits continue to fall. It's sad--this is not what the magazine's founders had in mind for this publication. The answer is simple: Smarten up, write real journalism, and for the love of journalism, stop publishing these inane lists. Please. (4/21/09)

Dave's response: Amen!

Dave, funny how you cover in detail your dislike of conservatives on WMAL and those commentators on FoxNews, but ignore major stories of blatant left wing media bias. CNN has been censoring the following video on YouTube because of their embarassment that their left wing bias was blatantly revealed instead of between the lines. The following one is still available for viewing but likely will be censored shortly. Whether you agree or disagree with those interviewed, or think those she interviewed are morons, is this the way an "unbiased" reporter should act? (4/21/09)

Dave's response: I didn't cover it because the original incident happened in Chicago, and I try to keep DCRTV focused on media stuff that happens in or directly affects the DC-Baltimore region.....

All the talk of the horrible shows this past weekend on Channel 9…they clearly lack the spirit and energy that Jennifer Ryan and Bruce Johnson had. It is crap to watch, and will continue its decline. Remember, Bruce Johnson is a seasoned anchor, he has at least 6-8 weeks of vacation. In the past it would be Jennifer Ryan solo anchor (which was fine by me!). Now they will put in whatever is walking past the news desk. It is the minor leagues of local television, get used to it. It sucks. (4/21/09)

re: "Could we be CBS insiders that care about CBS Radio and our jobs? Could we actually be one or more MOM show staff showing our frustration through a third party with what could be a top 10 show with multiple changes? Could we be a loyal affiliate who has had enough? Could we be....." etc etc etc. You can't decide who you are, which would seem to confirm the suspicion that you're just some guy sitting in his mom's basement, pants around your ankles, firing off angry emails about a show you have nothing to do with. And, as has already been pointed out, nobody listens to the MOM show anyway. So who cares? (4/21/09)

So NBC is struggling? Not the first time. ProudAsAPeacock.mp3 - "The Unknown Comic" (4/21/09)

HDTV & Wendy Reiger - not a pretty picture. (4/21/09)

Dave's response: But still damn good for a 50-ish-year-old chick.....

The Chesapeake AP Broadcasters Association is offering a $2500 scholarship to broadcast journalism students in Maryland, DC and Delaware. Deadline to apply is May 15. Rules and details at www.capba.org. (4/21/09)

Any information on CBS shortwave stations, years ago?? - If I recall correctly, both CBS and NBC (through the White Network) had several shortwave stations which relayed programs, starting in the 1930s, to Europe and Latin America. One of the CBS stations, WRUL then WNYW used to be at Scituate, Massachusetts towards the end of its life. I logged it as a boy in the early 1970s. The transmitters were sold to Family Radio and moved to Okechobee, Florida. -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle. (4/21/09)

Cardin’s plan to “save” newspapers as “non-profits” will never fly unless Congress simultaneously orders the IRS to classify a “non-profit” newspaper as a different kind of “non-profit” from that which so many of us are familiar with. Why? Because, under the current tax code a 501(c)3 (Your typical charity falls into this category.) is specifically forbidden from engaging in any sort of partisan political activity or advocacy. Thus, a “non-profit” newspaper would be banned from endorsing political candidates or such. See, political speech is already controlled at the Federal level. They just don’t call it censorship… -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/21/09)

As my late grandfather put it 35+ yeats ago, "There are three types of people who would make newspaper journalism a serious career. Fools, damn fools, and g-damn fools." (4/21/09)

What do the "insiders" say?: well, since I ain’t one, I dunno. Sure the show sounds both disorganized and over-organized and if they all hate each other, well, that can be interesting if funny since they’re basically stuck with each other (where are they going to go? WHUR?) But O’Meara still does a knee slapping Marion Barry & a decent Jack Kent Cooke: I do miss D & M doing their “God” skit. Oh, no, that was Howeird Stern. Don & Mike were the “Radio Gods” whereas Stern was just plain “God”. Is Anus In The Mourning dead yet? Either way, Washington’s shock talk radio died when both Stern and Source retired from being terrestrial aliens, and The Junkies are only amusing to someone trying to relive their college days. Which I do often. (4/21/09)

Dave, thanks for posting our McBride/CBS Radio posts to your mailbag. Here is a new and interesting Las Vegas Review Journal article your readers may find interesting as the NAB Convention opens www.lvrj.com (4/21/09)

Opinion: When in Doubt, Blame Mike O'Meara Who should ultimately bear more of the blame for the low ratings of the MOM Show: CBS Radio? Beth Ann McBride? or Mike O'Meara? Though there is plenty of blame to pass around, [we] believe that burden falls on O'Meara for one simple reason - HE is unwilling to modify, come hell or egotistical highwater, a broken show format that he pitched and CBS Radio approved post Geronimo. His personal loyalities like those to McBride, continues to cloud his professional objectivity and leaves him with NO respect amongst some of his staff and CBS managers. What happens if a radio show fails to live up to high expectations? In many cases, it's no big deal as shows come and go, but in a confluence of current bad recessionary events, a failure of this kind can assist in destroying a company division like CBS Radio. New technology challenges aside, the issues involved in fixing the MOM Show are actually quite simple. Ultimately, CBS Radio needs to pull the string. With concessions from O'Meara, including replacing McBride and bringing in a co-host, the fix should have been already implemented. Instead, both parties, especially O'Meara, have dragged their heels, and in doing so, the MOM Show prospects for survival dwindle with each passing day. Even a show format compromise would have been preferable to the purgatory state listeners and passionate show members are forced to endure while waiting and waiting and waiting - for McBride's hair to grow back. Can Mike O'Meara find, at 50 years old, a work ethic? Please! Will Mike O'Meara of The Mike O'Meara Show demand the drastic changes that are needed to give HIS show a chance? At this point, who gives a shit if Mike doesn't. (4/21/09)

Political blog Too Convservative discusses the dueling webcasts of three Loudoun County newspapers. tooconservative.com (4/21/09)

/\ April 21 Messages /\

\/ April 20 Messages \/

"Re; Dave in Sterling. Good boy pal, at least we are all in agreement that McBride is a bad producer. So the question of the day remains who are "we"? Could we be CBS insiders that care about CBS Radio and our jobs? Could we actually be one or more MOM show staff showing our frustration through a third party with what could be a top 10 show with multiple changes? Could we be a loyal affiliate who has had enough? Could we be an advertiser?" Since I'm not a radio insider, I'm getting a little lost with these messages concerning the WJFK MOM show and its producer, Beth Ann McBride, and the trolls who want her fired. I listen to the show, off and on, usually tuning out when Mike does his ponderous interviews, since he's not a good interviewer at all. He needs to allow the interviewees to freely speak without interruption once he asks a question, and somehow he hasn't caught on to this fact. I've never heard another person so in love with the sound of his own voice. This was also an issue when he partnered with Don, Don would be telling a great, involving story only to have Mike interrupt him with tedious questions and obvious statements until Don would lose steam and, IMO, just finish the story. Given this history, I don't understand the daily format of interviews. Is this really because of Beth Ann's direction, or it this a management mandate? Is it because Mike just wants to come into the studio every day, be spoon fed a list of interviewees and questions, and conduct the interviews without any research or effort on his part? Since it's his show, you would think he'd want to liven things up and be innovative with the format to keep the listeners he has, as well as entice new ones. Doing back to back interviews isn't the way to go to achieve this goal. If this is really the result of Beth Ann as the producer, then I can agree with Dave in Sterling. BUT, if she's been mandated to adhere to this tedious format by Mike, or CBS management, there's not much she can do to make the show more interesting or listenable. I listen for the Buzz news updates and that's it. So, is it a Beth Ann issue, a Mike O'Meara issue, or CBS management issue? What do the "insiders" say? (4/20/09)

Doreen Gentzler missing in action again..Wendy Reiger filling in.. (4/20/09)

(regarding a previous post) "I'm just getting tired of nations like Iran thinking they can bully the world." Try as I might, I can't find a connection between this topic and local broadcasting. Still, when it comes to being a 'bully nation', most countries lag far behind the U.S.! As for Iran and the U.S., anybody who would like to learn a little history about the major interference by the U.S. in the internal political affairs of Iran in 1953, would do well to read "All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror" by American journalist Stephen Kinzer. The U.S. and England orchestrated a coup to overthrow a duly elected prime minister and to put the Shah of Iran in power. www.amazon.com (4/20/09)

Dave's response: Getting off-topic here.....

(Company-Wide Salary Cuts at WBJ) Fools - anyone who stays in journalism biz is a danged fool (4/20/09)

Re; Dave in Sterling. Good boy pal, at least we are all in agreement that McBride is a bad producer. So the question of the day remains who are "we"? Could we be CBS insiders that care about CBS Radio and our jobs? Could we actually be one or more MOM show staff showing our frustration through a third party with what could be a top 10 show with multiple changes? Could we be a loyal affiliate who has had enough? Could we be an advertiser? Or, since 'Virginia is for lovers" and that includes you and your mom, could we be related? (4/20/09)

This just in : Fox 1370 am is NOW A BETTER listen than zebra and cbs! (4/20/09)

I have always wondered if Six Flags or Johnny Rockets has to pay for advertising time on Red Zeb's stations? Same question for when CBS TV advertises a show on a CBS Radio station. Tom in Wheaton (4/20/09)

Hiya, Dave... Actually, the WSVA calls stand for "Serving Virginia's Agriculture" Regards, Otto Pebworth (4/20/09)

"For weeks and as professionals, [you] having been" acting like a four-year-old. Pretending that calling for the firing of Beth Ann McBride is some kind of glorious crusade is about the silliest thing I've ever heard of. Is she an awful producer? Yeh, she is. But since nobody listens to MOM anyway, who gives a damn? Get a life already. Dave in Sterling (4/20/09)

Is it just me or is there something incredibly sexy about watching former Faux5 newsbabe Amy Robach eating chocolate pudding on the Today show? And is Faux News getting angrier and showing more contempt about the fact that Obama's president? I'm waiting for Sean [''I just made in my pants] Hannity to pop a blood vessel. Paul (4/20/09)

Re: "Has no skin whatsoever in the game - no family serving in the military in the current TWO wars, c) Has no plans to join the military to do his part in making sure we "blow that shithole into oblivion.", " I was in the military (1979-1984). Have you ever served, or do you say you support the troops only as an afterthought? OK, my remarks about blowing the "shithole into oblivion" were overblown. I get it. I'm just getting tired of nations like Iran thinking they can bully the world. The US shouldn't unilaterally do anything to Iran. The whole world should, but I'm not holding my breath. (4/20/09)

Oh, I forgot to mention the WXSH 106.5 move to 106.1 is at MORE THAN DOUBLE the station's current power at the same tower height and probably puts the station more firmly into Crisfield & Chincoteague areas or close at least, so it would increase station value somewhat with not much added cost. I think that explains Great Scott's motives here. I have to admit, all of the frequency changes on Delmarva are a bit interesting considering there are generally so few FM station moves in major metro areas, yet so many on Delmarva & nearby VA in the last couple years. I wonder if this move will open up another Class A frequency or some other move. Hmmm. :-) (4/20/09)

RE: [ RED ZEBRA ]........ I'm not certain, but Dunkirk, MD to Buckland, VA might just be <50 miles apart or pretty darn close and both locations are 10-15 miles closer to Washington, DC from their closer locations. New studios perhaps or exactly what the previous poster suggested, perceived increased VALUE? Sounds like a typical phony Danny Snyder plan to me, paper moves to increase station values with no added ACTUAL VALUE. LOL I have no clue what the grandfathered situation is with either station though, but I'm guessing this has nothing to do with that. But, if either of the stations were grandfathered on short-spacing, it's true, this would allow Red Zebra to move 1 or both of the stations closer into the DC market, but I don't think that's the case here. (4/20/09)

Dave's response: Just got this crazy image in my head - "ESPN 980 & 105.9." Don't know what it means.....

For weeks and as professionals, [we] having been calling for the firing of Beth Ann McBride. Last Friday's desperate hair-raising experience not only shows that she is the sad clown face of the MOM Show but more importantly, provides no evidence that she can direct her way, or that of the 23rd ranked show, out of a paper bag which at this point would be better served covering her bald head in shame. CBS Management, there is a reason last place teams fire their manager. In the case of the MOM show, the immediate firing of McBride and hiring of an experienced producer would 1] shake-up the stagnent show players and 2] chart a new direction and energy for the show. As morale sinks to an all time low, start there by showing [us] you care. (4/20/09)

Roddy Freeman asked in the mailbag a few weeks ago whatever happened to Bob Deutsch, the late Hal Deutsch’s son. He currently runs a company that puts together outdoor movie festivals; his website is www.outdoor-movies.com. (4/20/09)

There should be another category for Clear Channel if they file for bankruptcy. Stupid and Bankrupt or Brain dead and Bankrupt come to mind. As for Dan Snyder and his buffet of rim shot signals...he could own and operate every available signal in town and screw it up! (4/20/09)

(92.7 and 94.3 to move in closer) A local un-named Chief Engineer chimes in: This will not eliminate the need for a satellite studios because the new sites are more than 25 miles from Silver Spring. They are doing it because they perceive that it might increase the value of the properties. (4/20/09)

Don't read too much into the petitions to change the communities of license for WWXT and WWXX. Unless there is a mountain of grandfathered short-spacings to take advantage of, both stations are as close to DC as they can get. Instead, this is all about where the main studio will be, since FCC regulations require the studio to be within 25 miles of the COL. Bonneville's changing WWWT's COL from Warrenton to Manassas was done for the same reason. Regards, Dave Loudin (4/20/09)

(regarding an item on the DCRTV News Page) "Savage Files Suit Against Napolitano" - Hey, I thought that right-wingers were opposed to "frivolous lawsuits". (4/20/09)

For what it's worth - nabshowdaily.com - Manufacturers Prepare for HD Radio Portables... Like their television counterparts, radio broadcasters continue their digital transition amidst a challenging economy. While some stations are still converting to HD Radio, the pace has slowed as many radio groups, having completed their major-market build-outs, delay the rest in order to slash their capital expenditures for 2009. (4/20/09)

Seems like all Great Scott Broadcasting knows how to do anymore is make insignificant frequency moves and signal swaps and set up and meaningless simulcast shufflings. What exactly is the object of moving WXSH to 106.1? I would think that would actually SHRINK its local coverage area, putting it smack in the middle of WCEM and whatever 105.9's new call letters are. I realize neither station is exceptionally strong down in Pocomoke, but they can still be picked up well enough. Oh yeah, since nobody seemed to notice, the format on 107.7 (formerly 107.5) changed from the unlistened-to Joe FM to an unlistened-to "hot country" format. Blah! Doghouse Reilly (4/20/09)

FOX5 announced that they now have a Facebook page..And Allyson Seymour asked jokingly, (well I hope she was joking) that people only post kind comments..If serious, guess her comment was based on the blogsite FOX5 previously had where people were pretty vicious and mean with their comments.. (4/20/09)

Regarding the posts about 9 News Now this weekend. First of all, Bruce Johnson now anchors the weekend and you cannot get anymore credible then he. Give Surae Chinn (Anchor during the weekend) a break. She did a good job this weekend. I mean she is no Jennifer Ryan, but everyone has to get a shot and a chance. I see her do very good reports as a one man band during the week. Also, all because she is young does not mean she is not credible. You do not know her work ethic or how she is behind the scenes. (4/20/09)

It's been quite amusing to watch the local reporters and anchors trying to get straight answers to specific questions when interviewing Mayor Fenty. The latest being the non-story of those baseball tickets that he's somehow taken hostage..However, I am curious as to which channel will get the "scoop" on the release of the tickets..And I'm sure whichever channel it is, we will hear the usual "Breaking News, the National baseball tickets have been released!!!" (4/20/09)

Snyder’s an idiot. Just sell the damn things and buy a powerful FM station. Instead he blows a ton on weak AM’s, while having to fire 35+ employees claiming “economy problems” FUCKOFF snyder, you’re a piece of shit, simply put. (4/20/09)

"She's a great, talented lady and I'm sure she's adjusting to whatever life brings her just fine. I do not know her well, but I know she's a strong person who can handle her life just fine." What she apparently cannot handle is a radio producer's job because the MOM show is an abortion. (4/20/09)

Regarding “College Chicks for Hannity,” Interesting that there are no women with "pics" 18-25 registered on Hannidate 25 miles around New York City. But I am sure the callers were not plants, Hannity would NEVER try and deceive you. That being said, we all know the first “alleged” plant should go on the air between 3:50-3:55 PM, today (or an hour later if he has an exclusive early interview with Dick Morris or Ollie North or something). The game is simple; we know the caller most likely will be female, and will be fed up with the direction of this country. Try to guess, will the caller be A) Mother of young children upset about her kid’s future, B) College or grad student upset with the liberals around her, C) about to retire and is scared, or D) former military or government, upset over Obama decimating the armed forces or smiling at dictators. I’ll guess D. What are your guesses? (4/20/09)

I agree with everyone who posted about 9 news this weekend. I watched it for about 10 seconds and had to change. Didn't recognize anyone. The anchor (who is that). the sportscaster and the sports reporter. They let go Jennifer Ryan for this. Big mistake. I am sure that Jennifer Ryan will come out fine. (4/20/09)

In recent FCC filings, Danny Snyder's Red Zebra has proposed to change the community of license for WWXT 92.7 from Prince Frederick, MD to Dunkirk, MD, which is a move of about 15 miles north by northwest, slightly closer to DC. Hmmmm, is a transmitter move closer to DC the next step or is this just studio consolidation? Hmmm, one wonders. I guess we'll have to wait to see if another shoe drops. Oh, looky here... Red Zebra's WWXX 94.3 has ALSO applied for a COL move from Warrenton, VA to Buckland, VA, about 10 miles closer to DC too. Hehe. In other FCC news, Great Scott's WXSH 106.5 on the eastern shore of MD wants to move off of the 106.5 FM frequency to FM 106.1 from the same location. Not a significant move or impact to the DC or Baltimore markets, but could definitely expand slightly the signal reach on the shore of WWMX 106.5 and WJFK 106.7 by reducing interference on the summer drives to the beaches I imagine, assuming it's approved by the FCC. (4/20/09)

Finally, some good news from WJFK: while searching the dial in my car Saturday afternoon I wandered onto 106.7FM and heard nothing but dead air for the 10 minutes it took me to drive home. It was a major improvement over the crap they usually run on weekends. Way to go, WJFK! (4/20/09)

Dave's response: Maybe the silence was Geronimo buying 10 minutes during an O'Meara show weekend rerun. Just joooooking.....

"I have had the pleasure and privilege of meeting and spending time with Beth Ann in a one-on-one non-work/personal situation." Dude, it was "just lunch." --- ThePenIsMightier (4/20/09)

Gee wiz, Next time I go to the 9:30 club, or any of the bars in Balston, and I see a 21 year old chick wearing her Sorority colors, I now know what to do; go up to her and ask what she thought was the best part of Sean Hannity’s show earlier in the day. SCORE! (4/20/09)

It's been awhile since I watched channel 9 but I tuned in this weekend and saw why no one's watching them. They had some amateur anchor who sounded like a caricature of a news person and the reporter looked like she was fresh out of college. I don't want news from someone who's "cute". I want credible. (4/20/09)

You gosh-durn kids with yer hifalutin' emm-pee-three players! When I was yer age, WE had music players we could fit in the pockets of our dungarees, too! Take a look! www.youtube.com (4/20/09)

RE: [Re: Iran Sentences Saberi To 8 Years In Jail For "Espionage." Reason 5,372 to blow that shithole into oblivion.] Great...just great. Rainman here apparently has a notebook where he jots down his "reasons we should drop the bomb" in neat numbered columns. (Reason number five thousand three hundred seventy THREE: Charlie Babbet twisted my arm at 5:02 - caused a bruise.) I'd bet a paycheck that this clown is just another FOX/MAL jingoist who isn't satisfied that America is currently fighting TWO regional wars, but thinks we need a third one. Further, I'd bet our resident "armchair patriot": a) Believes himself to be a "Great American" because that feller on the radio sez he's one, b) Has no skin whatsoever in the game - no family serving in the military in the current TWO wars, c) Has no plans to join the military to do his part in making sure we "blow that shithole into oblivion.", d) Thinks John Bolton was a great pick for the U.N., and believes Bolton's contributions will one day be seen as "visionary". e) Took off last Wednesday to go tea-bagging and f) Has a autographed copy of Mark Levin's latest screed. Hey, Rainman...why dont you do us all a favor next time, Pal - post your "blow the shithole into oblivion" rant over on "stormfront". They really get off on that sort of talk over there. (4/20/09)

College Chicks for Hannity???""" As everyone knows, the most popular chicks in college are the really dumb ones. That being said, I guess if Hammity thinks if his audience is dumb enough to believe Obama was "required by law" to sign the authorization papers, and Hammity belives his audience will all create wealth by purchasing a $400.00 CD set, then Hammity most likely thinks his audience believes there is an uderground movement of college chicks blowing off classes, work, the library, and parties, as well as dumping their Ipods and cell phones, to listen to Hannity on AM radio. (4/20/09)

Re: Iran Sentences Saberi To 8 Years In Jail For "Espionage." Reason 5,372 to blow that shithole into oblivion. (4/20/09)

Dave's response: Brilliant. You'd not only kill the millions who oppose the current regime, but also Saberi. Go back to listening to WMAL.....

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