Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - November 9 to November 15, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ November 15 Messages \/ Here we go with more of Joe in Essex's moronic nonsense. Maryland paid for roads around Fed EX. Cooke paid for the stadium. THAT is a fact and was what was stated. Balamer on the other hand was a corporate welfare deal from beginning to end. Modell sucking the public teat. As for drunk driving, Joe in Essex can joke about it but maybe he wouldn't think it was so funny if one of his loved ones was killed or hurt by a drunk driver. (11/15/09) Re: "I guess the Evil Midget got his radio tower moved from Warrenton to Buckland. The radio bumper now says Buckland instead of Warrenton." WWXX 94.3 didn't apply to move the transmitter, only to change the City of License from Warrenton to Buckland. The transmitter is still in Warrenton. (11/15/09) (and you can see why taking that eyesore Lurch off makes sense (some people eat during the news). I'd love to see a photo of you, poster, on this site. But oops, I forgot, they don't allow cameras in jails or monkey cages. Dave, I'm surprised you continue to allow these comments about her to be published. This has been said enough. I don't know the woman,but this poster just continually crosses the line. (Shawn in DC) (11/15/09) My money’s on Kirk to surface somewhere in Baltimore soon, without Mark. (11/15/09) There is sad news that Long-time WRC-TV cameraman,Don Stumpo, died of a heart attack this past Saturday night.More info later.My heart goes out to the Stumpo family. CORY (11/15/09) Concerning Tom Shales goof about Patrick McGoohan's "The Prisoner"... On June 6th, 1968, Wash. Post TV critic Larry Laurent wrote (in part) "The new series is also to be recommended for the scenic beauty (especially in color)..." My guess is that Tom Shales is confusing that show with ITV's "Danger Man" which aired in the U.S. as "Secret Agent" and WAS photographed in starkest black and white. (11/15/09) Dave's response: Or maybe Shales is pontificating about a show that he's never actually watched. I mean, there's no way that someone who's watched "The Prisoner" could forget that it's in color. It was one of the very first British TV shows shot in color and color plays a very important role in the mythology behind the show..... I keep reading snippits about Kim Martucci and the Channel 9 weather line-up. Can someone please enlighten me as to what is happening? If Kim is not doing the mornings than who is? Furthermore can someone please post who of all their weather folks is doing what shows. I do not watch often, so have no clue. (11/15/09) www.observer.com... Here's a link to a piece in the New York Observer revealing that the Daily Connection on WRC is largely a rehash of NBC Universal content, put together in New York and only fronted by the local anchors. (11/15/09) If you click on Vincent in Triangle's Patriot's link, what you find is that RAIL service to FOXBORO costs $12 and no backpacks or coolers are allowed on the trains! HAHA! So what type of tailgater that would be drinking lots of alcohol do YOU think is using THAT method of transportation? EARTH TO VINCENT! HAHA! Thanks for the picayune grammatical correction though by the way. I'm sure that really helped prove your point better than mine! NOT! LOL (11/15/09) "If ever there was a poster child stadium to promote drunk driving, FOXBORO is IT sadly. There is no public transportation mentioned on their website that I could find." Joe, you didn't look hard enough -- you can find it at www.patriots.com (it's special commuter rail service from MBTA). Do I agree with you about the advantages of urban over suburban sports facilities? Yes. But you must make your arguments more valid (and you could start by editing yourself a bit better -- you used the redundant "$100 million dollars" not once, but twice). -- Vincent in Triangle (11/15/09) re:"was because Cooke was paying for it himself, unlike the corporate welfare deal in Balamer."...huh? Baltimore's stadium revenue was raised thru "specific" lottery games. If you didn't support it, you played other lottery games. No corporate welfare. Strictly "user & supporter" supported. Perfect. (11/15/09) Was the mailbagger who asked about the v.o. for a Dodge Ram truck spot referring to "The Father of Talk Radio" Barry Farber or the younger Barry J. Farber? The senior Farber still does a show that is streamed at www.crntalk.com. Tune in and compare voices. (11/15/09) Hey Dave: Not sure if you know it but yesterday as I was driving around Loudoun County, I tuned into "Evil Midget Radio" 94.3 and the signal was extremely clear. I guess the Evil Midget got his radio tower moved from Warrenton to Buckland. The radio bumper now says Buckland instead of Warrenton............. Happy Sunday (11/15/09) Dave's response: Yeah, I do listen to Tony K on 94.3 and have noticed the city of license change..... (RE No airstaff yet on 105.9) Ads were placed for all dayparts in All Access. It's a weird time in the business. The station by the way popped with men 18-34...also TSL is huge in some dayparts. (The station) just need to get the word out, and marketing is spensive. (11/15/09) RE:While FoxNews continues to pursue the details of the motives of the man who slaughtered 13 of our servicemen, I turned to MSNBC to keep tabs on what's up with the enemies in the state run media. And tonight on MSNBC, both Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow gave little or no airtime to the massacres at Ft. Hood. Their top stories were the protest (almost a week ago already) on Capitol Hill by anti-health care bill forces, Blackwater in Iraq, and more on conservative protesters. As more and more evidence arises that the gunman was a radical Muslim who attempted to contact Al-Qaeda, who prepared presentations that stated that Muslims will die for their cause, who bragged to coworkers about suicide bombings, and who yelled Allah Akbar as he opened fire, the leftists at MSNBC become more tight lipped about the story. Of course, if this was a devout Christian who did these cowardly acts, MSNBC would go nonstop with coverage of the event, blasting American Christians as intent on creating an American theocracy. But while radical Islam continues their pursuit of a worldwide Sheria theocracy, including here in the US, the loons at MSNBC are totally silent on the Ft Hood assailant, and his radical Islamic ties, instead providing cover for Islamic extremism which is in our midst right here in the US. Maddow and Olbermann's lack of follow up coverage of Ft. Hood reaffirms to America that their sympathies lie with the enemies of the United States which is certainly no surprise. MSNBC is the king of the state run media sources that has provided cover as Obama, whose first interview as President was to Al-Shazira, has spent much of his 10 months as President apologizing for America's greatness in foreign nations and doing his best politically correct tapdance to keep silent about the realities of radical Islam, whose intent is on destroying western civilization. (11/12/09) This is well said, could you imagine Truman or FDR apologizing for this country's greatness? And MSNBC is a joke, they are simply a puppet for the Obama administration, they might as well be called state run government TV. (11/15/09) There's a national commercial that's been running recently for Dodge Trucks. The key line is: "I am a RAM, My tank is full." The voiceover guy sounds a lot like radio talk host, Barry Farber. Does anyone know if it's him? (11/15/09) Let me REPEAT for the HEARNG IMPAIRED........ FEDEX FIELD GOT OVER $100 MILLION DOLLARS OF MARYLAND TAX PAYER MONEY. NOPE, COOKE DID NOT PAY FOR IT ALL HIMSELF! Without that money, Fedex Field would not be here today at all! It's a proven fact, written in all the area newspapers, PERIOD, END OF STORY! When will people stop with this BS? As for the drunk driving joke, some people are way too uptight and politically correct these days and should probably seek therapy to ever laugh again. Most people who read it got the point because it brings up a valid point... Why build stadiums in suburbs away from mass transit and urban centers such that people are forced into a situation where they might be drinking and driving to or from an NFL game? That's no joke. It's a very valid subject. If ever there was a poster child stadium to promote drunk driving, FOXBORO is IT sadly. There is no public transportation mentioned on their website that I could find. And btw, even Danny Snyder buries the public transportation option on the Redskins website since the stadium is not that close to a METRO stop. However, The Baltimore Ravens have public transportation at the top of their DIRECTIONS webpage and there is a light rail stop right at the stadium! Go figure. Don't get me wrong, I think Washington's METRO is a fantastic service. It's just the poorly planned & constructed stadium that cost Maryland tax payers over $100 million dollars that doesn't have a METRO stop right at it that's a problem. -- Joe in Essex (11/15/09) News Anchor Bob Woodruff has a message to DCRTV readers:: This past Veterans Day, as we honored those who defend our country, our thoughts are with the injured overseas and here, at Fort Hood. While the facts are still developing, this tragedy exposes the true toll of war's hidden injuries -- not only on our nation's service members, but on the families and caregivers who tend to them... www.huffingtonpost.com (11/15/09) FYI- Sirius/XM never went into bankruptcy. They averted it by doing the deal with liberty. (11/15/09) Did it ever occur to those who haven't heard back from Citadel about future employment that maybe they didn't get the job? (11/15/09) The old Bendix Joppa Road Towson plant, which is now Allied Electronics, is some of the best broadcast elevation in the region. That's why the U.S. War Department ( The Pentagon) selected it back in 1939 as the location for its U.S. Air Force radar and radio research and development activities. This tract of land was originally part of the Towson Mylander Family property before the U.S. Government purchased it for its war effort electronics research. It was later sold to the Bendix Corporation. Part of this original Bendix plant property is now a business park with restaurant and office space out front on Joppa Road. The business park situated next to the remaining Allied/Bendix plant is now called "Radio Park" by its developers. The back end of this location is "Luskin's Hill", which was the site of the old Luskin's (Jack Luskin "The Cheapest Guy In Town") electronics retail store. Today "Luskin's Hill" now has several retail buildings on it, including an empty 55,000 square foot former Syms clothing store, which would make a great radio or TV transmission site due to its excellent elevation. The winding Mylander Lane hill approach from Cromwell Bridge Road is reminiscent of TV Hill Baltimore for its winding road hill access and its elevation. (11/15/09) /\ November 15 Messages /\ \/ November 14 Messages \/ A recent on line search turned up a September 12, 1946 Baltimore Evening Sun article mentioning this country's early color television beginnings being in Towson Maryland at the Bendix Radio Division plant on Joppa Road. Here's the mention from the Baltimore Sun: FIRST COLOR TELEVISION BROADCAST TO BE FROM TOWSON. "The first color television broadcast under a Federal Communications Commission experimental license will be made from the Towson plant of the Bendix Radio Division next summer. The Bendix broadcasting station will feature full color television equipment of the latest design. The location will give a range of 10 to 15 miles for effective broadcast reception." (11/14/09) Dave...in response to a previous letter, Sirius-XM never went into bankruptcy. As for Citadel, they will have to convince a court that they can find profitability under Chapter 11, or they will have to go Chapter 7, and be sold off in pieces. (11/14/09) Perhaps the reason FedEx Field was built on cheap land was because Cooke was paying for it himself, unlike the corporate welfare deal in Balamer. And there is NOTHING funny about people driving drunk at any time. Joe in Essex and his buddy are nitwits. (11/14/09) Great “Rant” about “TWT”: too bad it’s true as Washington as well as all major cities (but especially Das Kapital) need more than one newspaper, just as they do tv and radio stations. So I missed this one yesterday and only now have read it: “And what exactly is the story of La “Lurch” Martucci leaving the morning show on channel 9 (11/13/09)” Well, that depends if you mean figuratively or literally. Figuratively – and oh, what a figure that guy has! – just look how much better other figures are available at WUSA (such as the very loverly & sexy Anita “The Mistress” Brikman and Angie “No Ring On Me Anymore” Goff) and you can see why taking that eyesore Lurch off makes sense (some people eat during the news). As a matter of fact, Lurch and her insipid “blog” are already gone from WUSA’s web site. Literally, there was a photo taken of La “Lurch” Martucci after leaving the morning show being transported to her home: www.pianomoversinc.com (11/14/09) Despite all the bankruptcy news about Citadel, Time Magazine in the Nov. 9 issue had a graphic showing the decline and growth of the big 4 radio companies. Citadel was the only broadcaster showing a sharp uptick. At any rate, bankruptcy does not mean that employees are about to encounter a mass layoff and the lights will be turned off. It means that the current financial and employee outlook will at least remain static, that it would actually be difficult to offload employees while a company is in receivership. In fact, XM/Sirius has been hiring while going through bankruptcy. It could just be that the alledged roster of unemployed and underemployed jocks haven't been contacted because they are not in the running for slots at WVRX. Just because a DC jock is out of work and may have accomplished a few things in the past doesn't mean they are automatically granted an airshift next time one opens up. (11/14/09) WZBA is consulted by the same hacks that consulted WTGB. And we know what happened at 94.7 (11/14/09) Hey Joe in Essex; As always your comments are right on. Too bad our Ravens don't play until Monday. Rusty Gibson WEBR/RadioFairfax (11/14/09) Re: your rant Moon Losing Interest In Washington. As a long time TWT reader, I don't think the paper's done itself any favors by a) not printing a Saturday edition, and b) not having the results of the Redskins night games in the next morning's paper, among other things. The advent of the internet has hurt newspaper readership considerably, but the Times and needs to focus on what it needs to do to compete and stay alive. (11/14/09) WZBA will not go urban I just asked a question not that serious(some other company)besides Cathy Hughes and her company needs to in Baltimore. Look at WWIN and there PPM ratings urban adult/urban oldies is STRONG in Baltimore #2nd ranked station . MAGIC 959 does not have a great signal(according to the Balto. Sun)5,000 watts on the FM dial and it has had strong ratings for a decade. (11/14/09) "How close are Boston and Providence? Don't the Patriots play in a city - Foxboro - that's as close to Providence as it is to Boston?" Yes, but Providence (as is most of New England) has long been aligned to Boston. The Bruins and Red Sox's top affiliates are both based in Rhode Island; there is also commuter rail service between Providence and Boston. -- Vincent in Triangle (11/14/09) RE: [ " Dave's response: How close are Boston and Providence? Don't the Patriots play in a city - Foxboro - that's as close to Providence as it is to Boston? " ]...... DC to Baltimore is 15 miles closer than Providence to Boston and of course Providence is a tiny market comparatively. The Patriots play in Foxboro because they couldn't get a deal with the city of Boston just like the Redskins couldn't get a deal with DC, and because just like FedEx Field, the land was CHEAP! Epic fail for both cities in my opinion, but since both teams are so hugely popular, they'll draw people from far away regardless of traffic and fees, etc. By the way, Foxboro is 10 miles closer to Providence, Rhode Island than it is to Boston! Go figure. Just imagine how much drunk driving occurs on that stretch of I-95 on game days! LOL (11/14/09) An urban format for WZBA 100.7 would be a complete flop on so many levels. #1, I don't think the management at Shamrock could stomach it or even think of the idea of programming it, let alone successfully do it. #2, The WZBA signal has always been a problem. Even as a Class B vs. WWIN 95.9's Class A signal, it STILL does not penetrate the urban parts of Baltimore well. People need to keep in mind that WZBA is a WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND station that had a transmitter in Hampstead, Maryland, north of Westminster, not a Baltimore station, and unlike DC where there are no tall buildings, Baltimore has VERY TALL buildings that impede signals from the outskirts of town to the inner city. This is essentially why Clear Channel moved FM 104.3 from Kingsville, MD to TV Hill's FOX 45 tower at some expense I might add and the same reason that Shamrock moved the 100.7 transmitter to the MPT tower in Owings Mills. It's not a coincidence that both Philadelphia and New York all concentrated their FM & TV transmitters to mostly one place as has Baltimore. DC is different. You cannot apply DC ideas to other markets. DC has no tall buildings by law. But, THANK GOD BOB & TOM ARE GONE from the Baltimore airwaves. That upcoming Colts/Ravens game next week certainly would have been an epic failure for 100.7 The Bay otherwise. Boy, did they dodge a bullet. I'd love to see 100.7 do an alternative format, but I'm not holding my breath. WBIG 100.3 has a poor signal to Baltimore. I think the management at Shamrock's goal is basically a boring/break even formula sadly because they have no competition. In markets where there's lots of competition, you get great radio formats. Unfortunately, neither Washington or Baltimore are those types of markets because both are limited in the number of AM/FM signals per city due to the extremely close proximity of the markets. The question begs... Is Washington/Baltimore the closest 2 SEPARATE radio/TV markets in the country? (11/14/09) Dave's response: How close are Boston and Providence? Don't the Patriots play in a city - Foxboro - that's as close to Providence as it is to Boston? Dave - your 'dirty little secret' is half right. most radio stations are not programmed to listeners - they are programmed to game the ratings system. Back in the day it meant working the diary method and winning the 'I remember' game. Now, its all about playing to PPM. Since most programmers are fearfully unwilling to take a chance they play to the least offensive. They eliminate anything that could be a be a negative in order to reach the widest possible group. The theory is offend no one, appeal to all. The reality is that it creates radio stations that few give a rat's ass about. This is why you have stations with no personality and playlists that bang the same 300 songs over and over, etc. And you know what - according to all available evidence - it works! Pick a bland station in DC and it has numbers. In many cases - decent numbers.And the programming gurus use that as justification for their means. Radio stations today get ratings because they are there, not because listeners care. But woe unto the program director who takes a chance and is wrong! In today's PPM ratings world they react on a wekly basis and if your numbers fluctuate then changes must be made. Here's the other part of that dirty little secret - in DC the PPM covers about 730 households! Do the math. (11/14/09) Stop the talk on 1500 AM. Put Real Oldies on a real AM signal. (11/14/09) Random thoughts: 1. Is it just a coincidence that WZBA yanks its Indianapolis-based syndicated morning show prior to the week the Colts are scheduled to face the Ravens in Baltimore? 2. By CBS putting Maryland men's basketball on 94.7 FM when there are Wizards conflicts on 106.7, it will be easier for Terrapin fans in Montgomery and Prince George's counties (where the bulk of them live in metro Washington) to hear those games than those aired on the regular Virginia-based flagship? 3. On WTOP's 11:15 p.m. sportscast Friday, it was announced that American lost its opener "to St. Francis." Yes, but which one? There are two St. Francises that are members of NCAA Division I -- one is located in Loretto, Pa., the other in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. (Moreover, both are members of the Northeast Conference.) Serious college basketball fans -- those whose interest goes beyond the several dozen teams frequently shown during the season on ESPN and the over-the-air networks -- know there is a "St. Francis of New York" and a "St. Francis of Pennsylvania." Then again, on WTOP traffic reports, I frequently hear references made to "Route 28," initially not knowing whether it's the one in Virginia or Maryland. -- Vincent in Triangle (11/14/09) My guess is that 100.7 The Bay will just play the same crappy stale songs in the morning and not allow the on-air guy to do anything else but read liner cards and do the time/temp. Classic case of a moron consultant or programmer who goes by b.s. "research" that isn't market specific, but general and encompasses Yakima WA, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Albany NY, all of which are completely different than Baltimore (no disrespect to those markets). People like that are what is wrong with radio and why local radio isn't 'local' anymore. Ratings will increase only because anything is better than what they had, but ultimately, the station will never be in the top ten with this mentality in this market. Come on guys, look at 98 Rock who is completely opposite of this pea-brain mentality and are doing pretty good with a mediocre radio station. A juke box of stale music will not work. "Rocket Man" is not something that should be played every day no matter what your consultant says. (11/14/09) Is Don Geronimo talking to satellite radio about work? Is the pope Catholic? (11/14/09) For all six of you with HD Radio, 105.9 just turned their HD exiter back on. You get smooth jazz on 105.9 HD-2 once more. -Chainsman (11/14/09) THIS QUOTE JUST IN FROM ABC NEWS's CHARLIE GIBSON.......... "Ft HOOD? OH! Yeah, I know it's raining out, I've got a jacket with a hood on it, don't worry. I have to go out and feed the squirrel an ACORN. But I can't remember, what time is BINGO at the community center again?" -- Joe in Essex :-) (11/14/09) Two possibilities exist in the WVRX non-hiring situation: (1) The Citadel “suit” they talked with is now “pursuing other professional opportunities” (with the possibility that the pursuit has already been successful), or (2) Citadel has perhaps imposed a hiring freeze, possibly not confined to merely one station or market. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/14/09) How about a merger of TWT and Citadel? It could be called "a marriage of equal losers" (11/14/09) /\ November 14 Messages /\ \/ November 13 Messages \/ NPR asks FCC for Unprotected Six! Is that a great line or what? That was from a Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth Law client memo about Channel Six protection from FM stations. Attorneys can be very clever and funny sometimes! (11/13/09) I knew that Huggy Lowdown had left Donnie Simpson's morning show to go to the Tom Joyner morning show, but heard Chris Paul do a bit on Tom Joyner's show as well. What's up with these guys leaving Donnie Simpson's show and going to Tom Joyner's show?..Coincidence?..HMMMM.. (11/13/09) (RE WZBA) Fwd: The MUSIC Is Back In The MORNING! "DCRTV hears.." So did the Bay Workforce list. They asked for feedback; there's mine: Okay, if our "pleas have finally been answered," does this also mean the playlist/library will be dramatically expanded? or will it merely mean that the current rotation will repeat that much more quickly? (11/13/09) Dave question for you i know that your MAILBAG people will flip out over this question but i will ask it anyway would WZBA be a candidate for flipping to urban oldies(25-54) a la MAGIC 95.9? I mean even with billing issues it would do better than the current format which is not doing well at all. Steve Harvey morning show,Marc Clarke, Randy Dennis(part timer 959)are all available. (11/13/09) Citadel not hiring for the edge because of the inevitable chap 11? That would certainly be a word to the wise for anyone who would want to work there. But, there could be another explanation. Perhaps your unnamed sources have not heard back from them because the person they talked to just doesn't return phone calls. The longer edge goes as a 'jukebox hero' radio station the more it ceases to be relevant. (11/13/09) How come OPRAH looks so much skinnier on the cover of the December O magazine, in the red dress, than she does on her talk show? I'm curious , like Larry from the inapppropriate corner, did lil' danny arrange for the exit of George Michael from channel 4 or maybe helped a little. I'm thinking this cause now channel 4 carries all the Dreadskins produced tv programming and I assumje that the pay channel 4 some cash for this? And ain't Riggo pissed cause lil' danny axed him after leading him on about a gig with ESPN 980. I heard riggo went to extent of buying a house down in these parts. Hasn't lil' black heart danny pulled this sh8t with lots of folks? But think if'en he'd succeeded in getting Jay Cutler here. Yuck, that guy is a tool and blood brothers, lil' danny? That female doctor on channel 9 show "The Doctors" doesn't she look like ET? And did channel 9 replaced the older Hispanic reporter Armando Trull with a younger prettier Rick Trevino? And what exactly is the story of La Martucci leaving the morning show on channel 9 (11/13/09) WIKZ MIX95.1 in Hagerstown/Chambersburg is now "The Christmas Station"! (11/13/09) Absolutely RIght. A "Deep Tracks" Classic Rock format would be terrific. To take the Stones example, everyone knows Jumping Jack Flash, Sympathy for the Devil, Satisfaction, Start Me Up and Brown Sugar. All truly magnificent rock songs. But most listeners are likely to already have them on a CD or MP3 player. What listeners may not have (except perhaps hard core Stones fans) are tracks like Silver Train, Rip This Joint, Dead Flowers, Hand of Fate, Parachute Woman, Child of the Moon, Worried About You, Sway, You Got the Silver, Sweet Virginia, If You Can't Rock Me, Monkey Man........ I could go on and on listing lesser known album tracks by the Stones that are really terrific. And you could do the same thing with bands like the Who, the Kinks, Dylan, Clapton, Rod Stewart, U2, the Doors, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac (ever listen to the original Fleetwood Mac (great blues rock), ACDC.........all the great album artists. The point is that listeners would be exposed to great songs that they either may not have heard or may not have heard for decades. I can't tell you how many CDs I've bought or songs I've downloaded after hearing a track on XM's Deep Tracks that I'd long since forgotten about. If there were such shows on local FM radio locally, I would listen all the time. Why is this concept so difficult for programmers? (11/13/09) Dave's response: The dirty little secret is that radio stations aren't programmed for listeners, they're programmed for advertisers. And advertisers are more willing to have their ads placed among songs that are more familiar. The main indicator of a station's success is not its ratings, but its revenue. Clearly, it's harder to get the latter without the former, but even with the former that doesn't guarantee "success" from a corporate point of view..... Got the following email from 100.7 this afternoon, it appears they have dropped Bob & Tom in the mornings. Could Kirk and Mark be coming??? "It may be Friday the 13th , but it's actually your lucky day ... at least that's the case if you're one of the billions of Bay listeners who've begged us to change our morning show. Yes, my friend, your pleas have finally been answered. The music is back in mornings. Every weekday morning from 6-10, Baltimore's own Michael Filippelli will crank out a ton of your favorite classic rock ... with just enough news, sports, traffic, and weather to make sure you've got the info you need to handle your busy day. Music in the morning. What a concept." (11/13/09) Dave's response: To be brutally honest, K&M didn't get great ratings when they were doing mornings on CBS's 105.7. Why would 100.7 want 'em? Still, if I was programming 100.7, I'd give 'em another chance. Perhaps doing afternoons, this time..... Our beloved FCC "Naive"? Perhaps. But, definitely incompetent! Always has been and always will be, alas... -Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/13/09) Dave's response: Proof - "HD Radio"..... Re 100.7 The Bay. What was old is now new again, except for the music because that’s still old. Yawn. (11/13/09) Dave's response: Classic rock can be a cool format if stations serve up plenty of "deep tracks." How many cool songs did the Rolling Stones do? At least several hundred. Why play the same three over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over? Ahhhh..... Hey Howie. I agreed with the original mailbag poster that Matthews quote shows the idiocy of him, MSNBC, and liberal thought in general. So I assume you agree with Matthews that it isn't a crime to contact Al-Qaeda, right Howie? (11/13/09) WPGC promotion of Rihanna and Chris Brown....Killer idea..... These promotions are intended to get the radio market talking and it has just done that. Big ups to Scorpio and his staff. (11/13/09) Couldn't agree MORE with Mike in Fairfax about Pollin and Czaban's utter hypocrisy yesterday in ripping John Riggins. At least Riggo made an effort to cover other sports on his show. And for Pollin to criticize Riggo's knowledge of sports other than football, when Pollin clearly has no in depth knowledge of and no particular interest in baseball, hockey, the NBA, etc. was downright laughable. Mike didn't mention that a caller, clearly sensing that Pollin and Czaban were covering for Danny Boy (who pays their salary) in their attack on Riggo,asked whether they would resign if they were directed not to talk about certain matters by higher ups at Danny's station. Czaban dodged the question but Pollin said that he would not resign but that the station would never do that. I found both answers damaging to what may be left of their respective credibility. On the other hand, I've long regarded Pollin in particular to be a curse on the Washington sports scene and felt that his time to leave town and take his sorry act elsewhere has long since passed. (11/13/09) LOL at people who feel the need to push the same quote twice in one day's mailbag. Howie (11/13/09) :LOL at that lunatic Chris Matthews asking on his ratings deprived program, "Is it a crime if you call Al-Qaeda?". No wonder MSNBC is a floundering ship. (11/13/09) In typical Internet horseshit fashion, Radio-Online.com (and DCRTV.com) fail to identify WHO is bringing the fire against WPGC. Is a reputable organization making the objections, two or three uptight PC assholes who have called the station, OR perhaps, a market competitor? How about naming names? (11/13/09) In my opinion, the fact that 30 million HD converters coupons have not been used is a great windfall for the Government. At this point, it must be that everyone who wanted a converter has gotten one. So at $40 per coupon, that is a saving of $1.2 Billion for us taxpayers. I will make no cheap generic political jokes here. -- Carl in Olney (11/13/09) "Riggo isn't backing down one iota from his comments on Danny Boy and good for him. I admire anyone who doesn't kneel at the altar of political correctness and that is one thing that Riggo never did." No question about that - and for Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban to rip Riggins on Sports Reporters yesterday showed a distinct lack of class or gratitude. They claimed that after Dan Snyder bought WTEM last year, he had the option of retaining the Redskins legend (previously heard on the Triple X stations) in the afternoon drive slot and buying out Pollin's and Czaban's contracts but chose to go the other way because Reporters was 'clearly the better show'. While the current hosts may have the edge in terms of experience with the sports radio format, there are serious topic selection issues with their show that they've consistently refused to acknowledge no less address. Pollin can talk all he wants about Riggins supposedly not being up to speed on sports other than football and relying on Kevin Sheehan to get him through interviews with the likes of Nats' president Stan Kasten, but he doesn't have a leg to stand on considering his own show's skimpy treatment of the recently completed World Series and inexplicable failure to go to the phones on it a single time until after it was over. Back in the spring of 2008, I recall Riggins doing remotes from Verizon Center and bringing on national hockey experts like ESPN's Barry Melrose to discuss the Capitals' improbable surge to the playoffs while Pollin and Czaban were completely ignoring the biggest sports story in town and apparently wishing it would go away. What they definitely can't deny is that Riggins gave their show some of its more entertaining moments when he was a weekly guest for a number of years - colorful anecdotes about his playing days and home life, off-the-wall ideas such as the 'defense-only football team', etc. On another topic, I'm all about honoring our troops but Fox NFL Sunday's remote broadcast from Afghanistan last Sunday came across as unabashed cheerleading for war. At a time when the future direction of the military efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq is a major point of contention in this country and more than a few people have strong ethical objections to war in general, perhaps the TV networks need to be a bit more careful about that type of thing (but then again, this is Fox we're talking about). Mike, Fairfax (11/13/09) Sorry about the unrest at the Wash Times. Its Sports section kicks the Wash Post's ass. And we certainly need a vibrant counterbalance to the lefty Post in this town. (11/13/09) Is there a phonetic way to pronounce "T-W-T" after first reference? Is it "twit" or "twat"? (11/13/09) "Who is the new owner of the CP in Quantico - WURA? I wonder what format they will put on this standalone AM'er. My bet is placed on yet another spanish language format, religious, or a repeater of WTOP. What SHOULD be done is a local full service format for the northern VA area. Local news and traffic during drive times, a wide variety of music in between, and perhaps national talk programming at night." Not bad ideas, but what might also make sense would be for Bonneville to make it a repeater for WFED, whose 1500 signal isn't heard well in much of eastern Prince William County due to 1480 AM in Dumfries. There are plenty of federal workers who live in this part of the county, plus Quantico will be a significant part of BRAC. And this would also help with Nationals and Capitals coverage until Bonneville finds an FM outlet for those teams that covers much of northern Virginia. -- Vincent in Triangle (11/13/09) RE:"...guess what? They totally NAILED this Ft. Hood story...:". It appears to me that the MSM wanted to wait and see before applying the "terrorism" label to the Ft Hood shootings. Fox News, and the right in general seemed hell bent on slapping the T label on the story. Since it is not time sensitive I would rather just get the facts (...which the msm did an excellent job on, with all of the Nets kicking Fox's ass on real reporting...)and then wait and see what the investigation(s) reveal before reaching a conclusion. What happened to "we report, YOU decide?" MW (11/13/09) The WTRI webstream is back up playing the classic country music again. I'd have to agree with the poster SD in that this station's operations are a little strange. But even before Tricasters were involved it was oddly programmed. Going back as far as the early 90s when there was a British accented lady on there who would interrupt a nationally programmed oldies feed to make it sound local. I think it was the Jones Good Time Oldies network at the time. Before the national jock could speak, she would cut in and start announcing. Sometimes it wouldn't work and you would hear the network jock talking at the same time. Also, don't forget, for a matter of time WTRI was owned by that Korean broadcasting group who played a continuous loop of organ grinding instrumental music for months before the station went dark, or went brokered ethnic programming - can't remember which. That owner faced some pretty hefty fines from the FCC for operating issues. And, sadly, the drawn curtains look is what you get at most small town radio stations studios anymore. There is a recently upgraded AM station in Grafton, WV about 150 miles + west on Rt. 50 from Washington DC selling for under $100K in case anyone here wants to buy a station. Which makes me wonder about another recent topic on DCRTV. Who is the new owner of the CP in Quantico - WURA? I wonder what format they will put on this standalone AM'er. My bet is placed on yet another spanish language format, religious, or a repeater of WTOP. What SHOULD be done is a local full service format for the northern VA area. Local news and traffic during drive times, a wide variety of music in between, and perhaps national talk programming at night. MLB4 (11/13/09) I think I've seen the most blatant piece of false advertising that I've ever seen in my entire life, but the beauty of it is that it's also even more funny than the SHAMWOW informercials! Has anyone seen this AMISH Heat Surge space heater informercial that's running on national cable channels (I saw it on FX Network, I guess that's FOX owned)? It's hysterical. They claim it's hand crafted by the Amish, all natural wood, looks like a real fireplace, only on WHEELS, but there's a disclaimer running at the bottom saying some parts are made in The People's Republic of China! LOL They even show the "hand crafted" space heater being delivered by horse and buggy! I wonder how long that takes to California from Lancaster, PA, anyone know? HAHA! And there's the part where they show video of all the Amish craftsman and interview one of them. Well, anyone who lives around here knows full well that the Amish people do NOT allow themselves to be videotaped or photographed generally or at least prefer not to be and many do not use electricity for heat, but use real fireplaces or stoves. I realize some Amish people do use electricity, but the ridiculous nature of this PLUG-IN ELECTRIC AMISH SPACE HEATER is just unbelievable! If you've ever actually been up to Lancaster, this infomercial will make you laugh for quite some time! LOL (11/13/09) Dave...when your budget allows, spring for a proofreader. What's wrong with this sentence? "...A Dozen Cuts At Newsweek - 11/12 - Jon Meacham, editor of the Washington Post-owned Newsweek, says that about a dozen positions will be eliminated do to the "economic climate in publishing." The Politico has more..." go for it...... Joel Albert (11/13/09) Dave's response: I due thank you! I am the king of typos. Honestly, I think much faster than I can type. And it tends to get words quite mangled via any type of keyboard..... I live in Brunswick, Maryland, not far away from the WTRI station. I've read some stuff here off and on about the place, and I just wanted to finally mention a few things. I don't know Buddy Rizer, so I can't speak as to him. But some of his associates are rather mean spirited people. More than once, back when the station first started as the Vegas Radio, his air time sales people would come to my place of business, and that of others, and just acted quite pushy and rude, even once the offers were declined multiple times. I also know that several local associates of mine would often stop by the station in it's early months under the Tricaster flag, and when there was anyone there at all, were treated very dimissivley. The same when local folks would call in, just to get to know them. It was pretty clear from those who answered the phone that if we were not calling to buy ad time, they had little use for us in the community. Which is something they continued to project. They claimed on air how community oriented they wanted to be, (and they did have the morning radio show that talked about local traffic sometimes.) But rarely was anyone from the station represented at community events. Even when invited. My cousin who worked for them for a very brief time before quitting summed up the office attitude like this... "if the bumpkins around here don't want to cough up their money, we'll find a group of people who will." Seems they didn't though, for as you all know, Vegas went bust. (Couldn't resist the pun there.) Even before that though, WTRI under Tricaster behaved very oddly. One driving by the station in the later years under Vegas would often find it an eeriely silent building. No cars. No staff. Curtains over all the windows. No indication at all that the place was anything but abandoned except for the fact that you could turn on your radio and hear the canned music. (usually.) When money started to get really dry, they published their own newspaper for a few months. Literally. It was mostly advertising and recipes that were mass mailed to the Brunswick and surrounding communities. Nobody I knew read it, but everyone was baffled as to why the radio station was putting out it's own tabloidish newspaper. I, and many in the town just thought the behavior was very weird. Not much has changed, except for the music, under Earl. The Tricaster folks came out of hiding briefly to do a local interview with the local paper when Earl launch. Like Wonka, few have seen them since, around here. Still the seemingly unmanned station most of the time. Still a total lack of flesh and blood presence in the community. And still black outs and dead air that would sometimes last for hours, as though nobody anywhere were monitoring the feed. Now of course, nothing for a while. And then the ad pulling from DCRTV that you mentioned. I'm not the mayor or anything, but speaking on behalf of the Brunswick I know, WTRI really is seen as quite an aberration. A strange entity that makes use of the town name but doesn't, and never has, felt like anything really connected with our lives and world. It really seems like they don't try. (Add to this the idea that old Vegas radio internet sites are still up, unaltered for years now, and you get the impression that they just don't know how, or don't want to, really invest in running a radio station. The keep leaving little bits of what they have tried to do all over the internet and Brunswick, but like a phantom, are never really seen in their entirety. Strange bunch of people up there. Thanks... S.D. (11/13/09) I know it's politically incorrect to say this as everyone in this mailbag thinks FOX NEWS is not even a credible news source and even I think they're too harshly biased against President Obama, but guess what? They totally NAILED this Ft. Hood story from the very beginning while all the other networks and news networks were making up excuses and refusing to use the word terrorism or saying it was post traumatic stress disorder or just a crazy multiple murder crime or serial killer. Technically, FOX could have had some serious egg on their face if they'd been wrong in jumping the gun on this story, but now that we know more about the guy and the crime, FOX NEWS ratings are going to go through the freaking ROOF because none of the other news organizations have any credibility on this story any longer and I'm sure a lot of people have taken notice. Who cares whether Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow are talking about this story or making excuses for the murderer anymore? They'll both soon be unemployed most likely as MSNBC either goes under or is sold off to Comcast. Does anyone think the conservative Roberts family will put up with MSNBC's liberal slant? I think NOT! Lastly, here's my favorite MSNBC quote of the last several weeks from MSNBC's Chris Matthews... "Since when is it against the law to contact suspected terrorists or Al Qaeda?" FOX NEWS is certainly biased, but statements like that are going to drive people in huge numbers to FOX NEWS without a doubt. What happened to unbiased news sources? (11/13/09) So I wonder what will really happen to the money represented by the $1.2 (B) in uncashed TV converter box coupons. From the outset I thought the box price rose to the value of the coupon, because the "qualified" boxes offered weren't worth more than $10-20, based on comparable consumer electronics. I cashed my two cards in with a 'free shipping' internet vendor, got the Artec model T3AP-LL after checking a year's worth of user reviews. Nice that it runs off 12V as does a camping TV I've got for when the house power goes out. (11/13/09) So Sorry to hear about Dwight Dingle's illness...I worked at WTTR in the early '80's, and while my stay there wasn't the happiest in my radio career, I can definitely say that knowing Dwight was one of the bright spots.. (11/13/09) /\ November 13 Messages /\ \/ November 12 Messages \/ Mailbag- What a mess! Who's going where? We won't know until we know. I DO KNOW that Tommy Griffits is part of someone's radio plans. A buddy of mine who works for a cable sports network saw Tommy dining with management of a local radio station that's in need of a show. Tommy's in need of a station. It's on his website too. www.imeem.com... I'm not counting him out- and not just because I'm a fan and I'm hopefull. I don't think it's Baltimore either. Love y'all- KELL (11/12/09) did you see this? Gary Parsons Exits Sirius XM as Board Chairman (11/12/09) Congrats goes out to WBAL-TV anchorman Rod Daniels on 25 years as the 6PM and 11PM news anchor. (11/12/09) Hmmm, in light of the last day or so of posts I'm looking pretty good right about now. Well, the eagle does not hunt flies, so ever forward. I second the kudo for Sally Jenkins' article on Riggo. This is the second piece of hers that I've seen that makes it clear that she's joined the rebel forces against the Emper... uh, King-Hell Douchebag Dan Snyder. Good on her. The Style section article about Karl "Dickweed" Swanson was pretty good too. And there's some using-oxygen-that-should-go-to-me menopausal bitch named Marge who wrote a vaguely threatening letter to the Metro section's John Kelly protesting the fact that the drawing of him appears twice in the paper. Mancow apparently no longer on WTNT. Too bad. Longing for the sweet release of Leykis --- ThePenIsMightier (11/12/09) Hey "JH"; thanks for the heads up on PLB's appearance on OTP 11/21. What time does the episode air? I couldn't fond the website on FPA's Main Page. Perhaps you could provide the link as I truly enjoy the program and guests when I stumble upon it. And I'm glad that Chuck is still working with "Lookout Lee". All the best, Rusty Gibson WEBR/RadioFairfax (11/12/09) At 5:20 pm on Thursday Wendy Reiger reported with a straight face that 22 million people have died from the swine flu. I wonder if she questions what is fed to her on the teleprompter. (11/12/09) I don't blame Lou Dobbs for leaving a network that hardly anyone watches. Even MSNBC beat them in the time period. And if he goes to Fox, so be it. At least he'll have comfort knowing somebody is watching him. JA (11/12/09) Don Geronimo:: Since this site is about news & entertainment, was that Mike Sorce's new wife Jan "Mary Poppins" Sorce anonymously standing up for her sugar daddy in the mailbag today? If it was & unlike your hubby, at least I've made time to see my adult son who also lives out of town in the last 16 months. Now go away until next October! (11/12/09) You are a stikin lib asshole! -- Glenn Carroll (11/12/09) "Wow, what a mindless, hate-filled screed that was!" -Aren't mindless and hate-filled the requisites for all Mailbag posts now? (11/12/09) Re: "Mike Sorce:: Who the fuck is Don Geronimo? Well lets see, he may have Narcissistic personality disorder...Stay tuned as the USS Trainwreck re-emerges in Oct 2010." Wow, what a mindless, hate-filled screed that was! Geronimo, as has been said here many times, got great ratings and made his stations a LOT of money for decades. The fact that some silly pantywaist is jealous of that and is obsessed with posting his angry scribblings in the Mailbag changes nothing. Once out from under the CBS noncompete, Sorce will have a stack of offers to go on the air if he wants to, while his crybaby critics will still be unemployed, still living in their parents' spare room, and still displaying their stupidity in the Mailbag. (11/12/09) Does Mayor Fenty pick Fox5 and 4 to go ''answer'' questions Thursday morning because both Alison Seymour and Babs Harrison are both horrible interviewers and dumb as boxes of rocks? I've never seen anyone make as many excuses and get more blank stares before in my life. It boggles the mind the ineptness at both stations. Paul (11/12/09) I have never been fortunate enough to meet Dwight Dingle, but his service to Carroll County through his running WTTR as a true community voice is legendary in our area. I am very saddened to hear of his illness. Howie (11/12/09) Paint you bald spot..? ...paint your BALD SPOT? www.youtube.com (11/12/09) FYI, on November 21st Davy Jones/Paul L. Bicknell will be interviewed on “Out of the Past” on the Fairfax Cable system and also posting on the OTP web site. The topic will be Top 40 Radio in DC. He’ll talk about his experiences in the Hey days of Top 40, and his observations about radio in general, and the current trends. Should be an interesting half hour. “Tune in and Turn On”. JH (11/12/09) Everytime we bring Robb here he brings in lots of people..about 100 outside our station today to meet him. I wish I could tell you about their new project..but I think it will be a great direction for them and Robb is also continuing his show here. (11/12/09) Mike Sorce:: Who the fuck is Don Geronimo? Well lets see, he may have Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) a personality disorder defined by the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the diagnostic classification system used in the United States, as "a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.[The narcissist is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, and prestige.Narcissistic personality disorder is closely linked to self-centeredness. Ironically, it is also referred to as "the God complex." - Radio God Complex? And don't forget about the fact that Sorce may never be able to move forward in his personal & professional life because he carries with him more stinky ass & baggage than Samsonite.[Good thing XM studios are large and spacious] And now it appears that Geronimo-Sorce finds inspiration through his new Mary Poppins wife. dongeronimo.posterous.com... Really Pal? Who is talented dj Geronimo-Sorce you ask? Stay tuned as the USS Trainwreck re-emerges in Oct 2010. (11/12/09) I am writing to let you know about our taping of the second Kalb Report show of the season, coming up on Monday night at 8pm at the National Press Club. Moderated by legendary journalist Marvin Kalb, this show will examine "What Makes 60 Minutes Tick?" featuring correspondent Lesley Stahl and Executive Producer Jeff Fager. Marvin will moderate a one-hour discussion with the panel followed by 15 minutes of questions from the audience. The program is presented before an audience of some 500 students and working journalists. Tickets are still available at www.kalb.gwu.edu. (11/12/09) Good article by Sally Jenkins on John Riggins in today's Washington Post. Riggo isn't backing down one iota from his comments on Danny Boy and good for him. I admire anyone who doesn't kneel at the altar of political correctness and that is one thing that Riggo never did. www.washingtonpost.com (11/12/09) From Randall’s website; Bloomquist’s biggest programming achievement was converting veteran WMAL personality Chris Core from a news interviewer into a true talk show host. That process, which took the better part of two years, saved Core’s radio career and resulted in higher ratings and revenue for the radio station.” In other words, Randall turned a news interview show into a monstrosity that asked questions like “why do we need a federal holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.?” Wow, so Randall is now admitting what everyone on DCRTV has been saying for years; WMAL was trying to dumb down their listeners. Now, look where that got us! (11/12/09) For Rusty... Here's the late Julian Barber in his usual wry form on "Television Nine" in the late '60s: And what may be the only surviving footage of Tony Sylvester anchoring on WTOP-TV 9. (Sylvester now lives along the Outer Banks and edits a blog at www.blogger.com) (11/12/09) The blurb about Dwight Dingle is consistent with what I have heard. Dwight gave me my first job while still in college in 1987. I went on to work for him for 7 years. Since then I have been fortunate to count him among my most treasured friends. He has been and will always be an inspiration to me both personally and professionally. (11/12/09) I've never writen to this blog before - but I thought this may be useful to some - I heard that WTTR- AM1470 in Westminster (sister station to WNAV - Sajak Broadcasting) main man Dwight Dingle is home now from the hospital after not being able to treat his conditions. Hospice has been called. bio from the website: Dwight started with WTTR in 1974 as a part-time announcer while teaching elementary school in Owings Mills. In 1982 he came to WTTR full-time as a mid-day announcer and since then has served in various capacities. He lists as his proudest accomplishments in radio the many community and professional awards that WTTR has achieved, including the prestigious Crystal Award from the National Association of Broadcasters, scores of journalistic honors and a first place radio award from the International Association of Fairs and Exhibits. Originally from Washington County, Maryland, Dwight has a bachelor's and a master's degree from Towson University. He and his wife Sue are the proud parents of one son, Ryan, and three wonderful granddaughters, Carlie, Kirsten, and Kayla. www.wttr.com (11/12/09) This "Mailbagger" recalls former "NewsNight" anchor Julian Barber (who passed away a while ago-and his brief stint on WRC). Does anyone remember another "NewsNight" anchor, Tony Sylvester? Rusty Gibson (11/12/09) Dave, Any word if the negotiations is for all the COX systems nation-wide or just the ones in the DC-area? My parents have COX up here in Connecticut and they would have a bird if they yanked HGTV and Food Network. Marc (11/12/09) Dave's response: Usually, deals like this affect all of a cable company's systems..... "Maddow and Olbermann's lack of follow up coverage of Ft. Hood reaffirms to America that their sympathies lie with the enemies of the United States which is certainly no surprise. MSNBC is the king of the state run media sources that has provided cover as Obama, whose first interview as President was to Al-Shazira, has spent much of his 10 months as President apologizing for America's greatness in foreign nations and doing his best politically correct tapdance to keep silent about the realities of radical Islam, whose intent is on destroying western civilization." Would you right-wing punks please shut up? -- Vincent in Triangle (11/12/09) The idea of MOM doing mornings on the dull edge is HIlarious. Klueless King cannot control the Diamond show and the rest of the lukewarm staff at the low rated mix and now they think he would have any type of control over mike? They should be looking for new PD's not a morning show. The edge has yet to make any waves and mix is tanking. How long will citadel let this go on? (11/12/09) Well, it's about time Lou Dobbs fell off the planet. He's been one of the main reasons CNN has become such a joke. His blathering, almost never backed up by relevant facts, was an embarrassment to the network and the industry. (11/12/09) Although the mainstream media will ignore it, there is a far darker explanation for the sudden resignation from CNN of Lou Dobbs; (f.k.a. "Luis Miguel Salvador Aguila Dominguez") www.theonion.com (11/12/09) Man, if somebody's really going to put on M'OM, Buzz, and Robb in the AM, possibly with that giggling nitwit Katie, that's pretty much Jack Diamond's act with a little more dirty talk and more booze. The show simply wasn't very good on WJFK. Will they be playing stacks of hot wax in between bits? I would see that as a decent idea, because the old MOM show often seemed to be straining to fill time, unless you think "Power of Five" (or whatever that was) was compelling radio. Really, you'd almost be reaching BACK to the old WAVA Morning Zoo days, and it actually might work. Sincerely, TMU (11/12/09) Someone who thinks they have a technical understanding of satellite TV reception had better study up on signal theory. It's the density, not the state of matter (solid/liquid/vapor), that attenuates satellite signals picked up by a rooftop dish. So yes, heavy snowfall, either underway or accumulated on the dish can reduce the signal, as can rain and ice. Every spring when the leaves would come out, they too would soak up the satellite signal and there went my reception until Autumn when the signal would again get through the bare trees. As for type of coax feedline, you can use the most gawd-awful cable, as long as the connection is good from end to end. This is because the satellite box in the house delivers strong voltage up to the pickup on the arm of the dish, powering it, and the pickup contains an amplifier that produces plenty of signal to get the downconverted satellite signal back to the set-top box. (11/12/09) Re: "Who the f__k is 'Don Geronimo'?" He's one of the most successful men in Washington area radio history. He's only been out of the area for about a year, so I assume you are new here. On the other hand, based on the wording of your question, I'm guessing you're that same stupid wad who likes to pretend Geronimo didn't get numbers. And, as always, you are wrong. (11/12/09) "As more and more evidence arises that the gunman was a radical Muslim who attempted to contact Al-Qaeda, who prepared presentations that stated that Muslims will die for their cause, who bragged to coworkers about suicide bombings, and who yelled Allah Akbar as he opened fire..." We knew all of these things within 48 hours of the event and the shooting is still being covered every day by cable news including MSNBC. Two hosts not rereporting the same things on one night does not make a conspiracy. The guy is alive and will be tried. We'll find out what happended in due course. Howie (11/12/09) The family feud at the Washington Times reminds me of the battle Herbert Haft and his sons were in many years ago at Dart Drug (Group). People with loads of money aren't immune to family spats but in these situations the damage is not confined to the family. If the Washington Times shuts down, a whole bunch of people and suppliers will loose too. It would be a shame as its a well produced paper I have enjoyed for many years. (11/12/09) Dave's response: I don't buy the DC Times, but I do often find it on the "pile of papers" at the Silver Diner. And, yes, it leans right, but it is a very well-designed, good looking, and easy-to-read paper. But with only 47,000-ish paid subscribers locally, there's just no way it can make it on its own with a heavy infusion of Moon money. Even when the paper had double that circulation a few years ago, it still needed the Moon money. It's up against the powerful WaPo, with 12 times (!) the local circulation - and the Post is still losing money, big time. Plus, the Times is up against another righty rag in town, Anschutz's freebie tab, the Examiner. Unless the Moon family keeps the money coming, I just don't see how the DC Times can survive. I wouldn't be surprised to be penning an obit for the DC Times in early 2010.... Okay, okay, “Robb”: it’s sad YOU have to do your own trolling with (“Robb (his real enough name, short for Robert) flew out to Iowa and KCJJ a few weeks ago, so yes, he's really "back"). Indeed, what you are saying is that pigs fly: www.k-state.edu (11/12/09) Dear Dave: Knock me over with a feather! A couple of weeks ago I noted on this forum my displeasure with the inability of the Washington Post to include the result of a Washington Capitals game that ended before 9:40 PM, part of a discussion regarding the inclusion or exclusion of game results for local Post subscribers. Lo and behold, the paper delivered to my doorstep in Ashburn this morning included not only the result of the Caps-Islanders game that finished around 10:00 PM, but also the line score of the University of North Carolina/NCCU game that ended at 11:00 PM. It seemed to me in all this that getting these late scores in for delivery to the suburbs outside the beltway is not all that hard to do. This shows it to be so. As for the comments regarding DirecTV and the effects of weather, a lot has to do with a properly aimed dish, no physical obstructions, using new coaxial cables without kinks in the cable run, and making sure that the equipment is maintained and replaced when necessary. I did my DirecTV dish installation myself, and have had no problems! Have I experienced weather issues? Sure, when I have a severe thunderstorm line pass over my neighborhood, but the signal drop lasts about 30 to 60 seconds. Other than that, no issues. I'd say that my total accumulative signal outage for a year is somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. And I've not experienced none of those silly allegations in ads for cable tv about the effects of rain, snow, clouds, flock of geese, etc. on satellite tv signals. All I remember from cable, especially Media General/Cox when I lived in Fairfax County was how snowy the signal would get when rain or a thunderstorm would appear, which was quite frequent. I made my switch some years back, and I'm happy with it. Happy belated Veteran's Day! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (11/12/09) A voice to be named later? Could we be looking forward to "Dobbs and O'Meara" in the near future? Lou could do his usual complaining and Mike could do a lot of politically incorrect ethnic characters. Brilliant! Howie (11/12/09) Dave's response: I really think O'Meara's tired of being a "second banana" - or at least perceived as such. We all know he was the brains behind Geronimo. Ha ha ha..... I wrote to WETA about this, hoping they'd have contacts, and they basically said they don't give a shit. So, does the FCC actually do anything about pirate radio stations these days? "Wild Out Radio" plopped themselves on 90.7, somewhere in Maryland, and they're splattering onto both WKHS and WETA. Ironically, I'm not opposed to pirate stations per se, but if they're too lazy to find an open spot on the dial... (Before anyone tries to tell me they don't hear anything on 90.7, the station operates nights and weekends.) (11/12/09) I see on Richard Prince's Journal-isms that CNN's Lou Dobbs has quit, and much, much more! mije.org... Rudy (11/12/09) For all you satellite TV subscribers with "weather" problems: you need to call your installer and fix your dish. The signals are only blocked by solid objects and liquid water. It is not blocked by snow or even ice. The liquid water bends the signal (refracts it like light) but ice and snow do not. Your dish is not installed properly and needs fixing. I have had both DirecTV and DiSH Network since they came out and I also service Ku-band satellite dishes. Only heavy rain will cause an outage on a properly tuned and peaked satellite dish. The signal will go out either just before the rain starts or shortly after it starts, depending on the direction the weather is moving. Your installer screwed up, or your dish was hit by something, or your LNB and receiver are going bad, or maybe your cable is pinched. You do know that coaxial cables shouldn't be pinched or kinked and you can't use old Cable TV cable for satellite? Stop spreading nonsensical crap about satellite TV. -Chainsman (11/12/09) You mentioned that a "Don Geronimo" might be talking to Sirius XM about a show after his contract with WJFK owner CBS ends next October. Who the f__k is "Don Geronimo"? (11/12/09) While FoxNews continues to pursue the details of the motives of the man who slaughtered 13 of our servicemen, I turned to MSNBC to keep tabs on what's up with the enemies in the state run media. And tonight on MSNBC, both Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow gave little or no airtime to the massacres at Ft. Hood. Their top stories were the protest (almost a week ago already) on Capitol Hill by anti-health care bill forces, Blackwater in Iraq, and more on conservative protesters. As more and more evidence arises that the gunman was a radical Muslim who attempted to contact Al-Qaeda, who prepared presentations that stated that Muslims will die for their cause, who bragged to coworkers about suicide bombings, and who yelled Allah Akbar as he opened fire, the leftists at MSNBC become more tight lipped about the story. Of course, if this was a devout Christian who did these cowardly acts, MSNBC would go nonstop with coverage of the event, blasting American Christians as intent on creating an American theocracy. But while radical Islam continues their pursuit of a worldwide Sheria theocracy, including here in the US, the loons at MSNBC are totally silent on the Ft Hood assailant, and his radical Islamic ties, instead providing cover for Islamic extremism which is in our midst right here in the US. Maddow and Olbermann's lack of follow up coverage of Ft. Hood reaffirms to America that their sympathies lie with the enemies of the United States which is certainly no surprise. MSNBC is the king of the state run media sources that has provided cover as Obama, whose first interview as President was to Al-Shazira, has spent much of his 10 months as President apologizing for America's greatness in foreign nations and doing his best politically correct tapdance to keep silent about the realities of radical Islam, whose intent is on destroying western civilization. (11/12/09) Great clip for TOP-TV in 1968. Amazingly rudimentary video production. Straight still shots of famous players, but only a few. The weather maps were on rotating placards, with the maps permanently stenciled on, and plastic letters that were hand mounted on the maps. Notice the promo for the Skins playing at Houston in a pre season game, with Sam Huff doing color. I didn't realize that he was already out of the game by 1968. That means he's been doing broadcasts for more than 40 years. Maybe time to hang up the cleats, Sam. Apparently WTOP-TV had a local newscast at 6 and at 7, with Uncle Walter on at 6:30. (Sound familiar?) The 6:00 anchor, who is identified in the last 10 seconds, is Warren Olney, now the host of "To the Point," produced by KCRW and aired on WAMU weeknights at 10p. The 7:00 anchor was the great (and, in this video unseen) Julian Barber. (11/12/09) RE: "Cable's signal reliability is for the Minors. Join the Big Leagues with DirectTV's 99.9 percent signal reliability," the ad touts....."----yeah, until it rains! (11/12/09) "Join the Big Leagues with DirectTV's 99.9 percent signal reliability." That reliability means there can be a total of 8 hours, 45 minutes, and 36 seconds of outage per year. Who's to say it won't happen during a big game? How about it, you folks with satellite? Do you have outages longer than this in total per year? (11/12/09) /\ November 12 Messages /\ \/ November 11 Messages \/ Attn DirecTV dish owner: Companies sell heating tape that's powered by wall voltage. It attaches to the back of the dish with an adhesive. When ice or snow come along, plug in. It generates just enough heat to cause the layers of ice and snow to slide right off. (11/11/09) Re: "Is “Robb” – if that is his real name – really “back in Iowa”? Has Robb ever really been to Iowa?" Robb (his real enough name, short for Robert) flew out to Iowa and KCJJ a few weeks ago, so yes, he's really "back". Any reader of this site should know that. "All this Iowa stuff is phony: Robb is a Virginia bred & edumacated boy who would not know Iowa if a fat pig from there farted on his or MOM’s fat face." Robb got off a very real plane and did in-person radio work for a very real Iowa station a few weeks ago, and he's doing it again this week. Why do I bother to respond to these trolls? Sigh. (11/11/09) With CBS Radio's local ratings stuck mostly in the toilet, I'm glad to hear that president/CEO Dan Mason has resigned. Sincerely, Emily Litella (11/11/09) “Mr. Collings” you should be charging WOW rent because it's quite obvious he/she/it is living in your head. (11/11/09) Mike O'Meara says on Facebook that "Robb, Buzz and I are busy preparing for December, along with a voice to be named later. I am truly jacked about the future. More to come!!!" Do you think it is possible that $hitadel would put Mike on WVRX's morning drive?? I think that would be cool, but, Shitadel is on the verge of a bankruptcy filing right? It would help 105.9's stink-low ratings. That station needs air talent ASAP. (11/11/09) Dave's response: That's what I do if I was running Citadel's DC cluster. WRQX, 107.3, is female-oriented and has Jack Diamond doing the morning show. WVRX, 105.9, is male-oriented and should have Mike O'Meara doing the morning show. I'd then tweak 105.9's current hard classic rock format and lighten it, add more deep cuts, and throw in some alt rock and classic alternative..... NEW YORK (AP) -- CNN host Lou Dobbs says he is leaving CNN effective immediately. The longtime host of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" said Wednesday on his show that it would be his last. He said CNN had allowed him to be released from his contact, which would enable him "to pursue new opportunities." He said he was considering a number of options. The longest-running anchor on CNN's air, Dobbs was one of the nation's leading financial journalists before turning his program in a more opinionated direction. His persistent advocacy against illegal immigration angered many. (11/11/09) Dave's response: Yawn. Heading to Fox? After learning of the death of TM Production's, Tom Merriman, I browsed around online, in search of some samples of his work. Along the way, I found some video of a Mutual Radio Reunion that featured Paul Anthony playing some radio bloopers he had gathered over the years. The audio wasn't particularly good, but the bloopers were quite enjoyable. I know that Mr. Anthony has advertised on the DCRTV site, so maybe he'll read this post. If he does, perhaps he'll find a way to get those bloopers (and any others he has) online somewhere. Maybe he could post them - along with some more stories about the humorous incidents from his many years on the air. P.S. - His story about the late WRC Staff Announcer, Herman "Lee" Dayton and the Di-Gel commercial tag, was great! (11/11/09) Satellite having a more reliable signal than Cable TV? That’s utter puerile bullshit! My original DirecTV installation died every time it rained –not just here but anywhere along the signal “path”! Hard rain in Charlottesville? No signal here! Heavy snowfall? No signal! And, all because the installer was too fuckin’ lazy to put up a ladder and put the dish on the roof. So, he put it on the railing of my deck. Yeah, he was trying to hit me up for extra bucks to do what should’ve been a basic home installation. He wanted $100.00 to put it on the roof! He tried getting me to fork out the cash by saying my “service won’t be as great with the deck installation”. Well, what if I didn’t have a deck? What the fuck would he have done? Stuck the thing on a windowsill? I bitched at DirecTV, but they took the “instaler is an independent contractor” cop-out in denying involvement. It took getting DirecTV’s HD service to finally get a dish on the roof without paying extra installation dollars. Only problem with this is, if we get a heavy snowstorm and the dish gets covered with snow, we’re fucked because at least with the dish on the deck, I could go out with a broom and clean it off. The only reason I have DirecTV is that Comcrap’s choices are poor and the service is very unreliable. (Last time I called w/an internet outage and hit that fuckin’ Ben Stein message, I first thought they’d changed the phone number and it had already been re-assigned since the last outage! Can’t Comcrap have the courage to answer their own phones?) I have friends in Fairfax County who have Cox and it seems to be first-rate. Cox’s Internet speed choices makes Comcrap’s “take it or leave it” look like something out of communism. If I lived in an area where I could get Cox Cable TV, I would. In a heartbeat! (11/11/09) I find it rather interesting that almost(?) no one has commented on the Dan Mason/CBS item. Perhaps it's because Mr. Mason is a really nice guy; and is well respected by his peers and collegues in the industry? Perhaps it's because he is so far up the CBS corporate ladder, that no none dares jest about his repeated good fortune while Rome burns around him? Well, I for one say "Huzzah" to you Dan! Congrats on buying another three years of success stapled-gunned to backs of unhappy employees and disgruntled listeners. Here's to milking the tired old cow for another tres anos! -MikeG. (11/11/09) Dave's response: Dan Mason still has his work cut out for him in his home market of DC. PGC, JFK, TGB, and LZL are ALL underpeforming. PGC needs to be Amped - and now. JFK needs serious work on PM drive. Automated TGB has dented RQX and WASH but will never overtake them unless it hires real on-air people, especially a morning show. LZL is on the wrong signal for its Hispanic target market. And 1580 is a joke. Great work, Dan. Keep it coming..... "Cable's signal reliability is for the Minors. Join the Big Leagues with DirectTV's 99.9 percent signal reliability." There are 8760 hours in a year. Direct TV is boasting that it's unreliable .1% of the time…meaning count on it being out of whack for nearly 9 hours a year. Hmmm, that's about as long as Cox was out of commission. (11/11/09) When WTOP announced at 3:45 that Ryan Zimmerman had won the NL Gold Glove for third base, Jonathan Warner mentioned Zim had led the league in several defensive categories, including one he said he'd never heard of before -- range factor. The news guy said he'd heard of it, and Warner replied it wasn't something you'd use in fantasy baseball or something to that effect. And didn't Warner host several post-game shows during the season on WFED? I'm not saying he should know everything about sabrmetrics, but in the past few years range factor has gained some renown even among some casual fans. Oh, and to ThePenIsMightier: The infamous George W. Bush 9/11 book was "My Pet Goat," not "My Little Goat." -- Vincent in Triangle (11/11/09) What happened to Biranna Keilar's story at noon today. She had sound bites from Bill Clinton and Dick Durbin, but only audio. Is she doing audio? Maybe one man banding and didn't shoot the video well enough and had to use only audio??? What happened? (11/11/09) Look for a signal on the Comcast/NBCU deal from Vivendi on Thursday when they do their Q3 earnings report. (Vivendi owns 20% of NBCU) -Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/11/09) Dave, Where do you get the weekly aribtron numbers for Baltimore and Washington? I'd just like to see the complete list. (11/11/09) Dave's response: Can't say. And I can't run the "complete list" because radio ratings firm Arbitron wouldn't like it. You can get a look at the monthly PPM numbers, age 6+, for many markets, including DC and Baltimore, at Radio-Info.com. Click on the "Ratings" tab..... The Consumer Electronics Association says a proposal by the California Energy Commission would ban the sale in California of 100 percent of plasma sets larger than 60 inches and 25 percent of all of today's large screen HDTVs. Could a California decision limit HDTV choices nationwide? yahoo.com (11/11/09) Legendary Jingle Producer Tom Merriman Passes Away - From Radio-Info.com: Tom’s death comes a little more than a year after his September 2008 tribute dinner in Dallas, which recognized the man who wrote and recorded the first radio station jingle ever made in Dallas, and went on to create literally thousands of jingles. In the 1950s, Merriman was a musical director for early radio genius Gordon McLendon, then started creating jingles and was a co-founder with Jim Long of TM Productions. Merriman’s musical chops were unexcelled – he graduated from the University of Indiana, studied at Juilliard, and wrote and produced music for Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, according to the bio on the Tom Merriman Tribute site. Radio-Info is told that Merriman died around 4am this morning. (11/11/09) Message to The Junkies, heard on local radio station WFAN “The Fan”: better either dust off or warm up your relationship with “The Gov” as he was rockin on WMAL this morning and promised to make any important announcements on THAT station. Even talked turkey about his MILF, First Fox Kendall’s cougar good looks! (11/11/09) Re: Today's DCRTV Plus image... From forty-one years ago, here's perhaps the last surviving footage of WTOP-TV 9's John Douglas and his ultra sm-o-o-o-th weather reporting; starting around the 3-minute, 30-second point. (11/11/09) Hi Dave, I'm contacting you with information about Borders Inc. Below are all of the stores in the states that you cover on DCRTV that are closing in January 2010. This was covered in the Baltimore Sun on Nov 6th. Though these stores are closing, this is not the info that I believe you will be interested. Since the current CEO, Ron Marshall has taken over it has been comparable to working at a labor camp. We are forced to engage in selling one or two "Make Books". If we do not, then we are fired. In short, the company makes a deal with the big publishers that it will take a no-name author and make them a bestseller. This parallels with the music industry's "Payola Scheme". We are threatened everyday with selling more of these titles. They have included "The Middle Place", "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", and others. If you want to read more, below I have posted the link for an employee message board that rants about the whole thing. Also, we have been forced into signing a non-disclosure form so that we cannot discuss this issue or labor problems, harassment, etc... that we experience.... -A daily reader of DCRTV... Borders Message Board: community.livejournal.com... Borders press release and Store list: www.borders.com... Baltimore Sun Article: weblogs.baltimoresun.com... Maryland - GAITHERSBURG WALDENBOOKS LAKEFOREST MALL 701 RUSSELL AVENUE... GLEN BURNIE BORDERS EXPRESS MARLEY STATION 7900 RITCHIE HWY... OWINGS MILLS BORDERS EXPRESS OWINGS MILLS 10300 MILL RUN CIRCLE TOWN CENTER... WHEATON BORDERS EXPRESS WHEATON PLAZA 11160 VIERS MILL ROAD... Virginia: CHARLOTTESVILLE WALDENBOOKS CHARLOTTESVILLE 1621 EAST RIO ROAD VILLE FASHION SQUARE... CHESAPEAKE WALDENBOOKS GREENBRIER PARKWAY 1401 GREENBRIER PARKWAY... CHESAPEAKE WALDENBOOKS CHESAPEAKE SQUARE 4200 PORTSMOUTH BLVD... DULLES BORDERS EXPRESS DULLES TOWN CENTER 21100 DULLES TOWN CIRCLE... GLEN ALLEN WALDENBOOKS VIRGINIA CENTER 10101 BROOK ROAD COMMONS... SPRINGFIELD BORDERS EXPRESS SPRINGFIELD MALL 6725 SPRINGFIELD MALL... (11/11/09) From the Politico: Last night, Jon Stewart caught Fox's Sean Hannity airing footage from the Beck-promoted 9/12 protest while discussing the smaller health care protest held last week in Washington. (The leaves having fallen from trees was a giveaway.) (11/11/09) The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis A new study by Cato adjunct scholar Robert Corn-Revere examines proposed FCC rules that give that agency unprecedented authority over the programming and editorial choices of local broadcasters: Civil libertarians feared that a change of administrations would herald a revived Fairness Doctrine, a policy that previously permitted the government to oversee broadcast news coverage for "balanced views." A return to the Fairness Doctrine, however, now seems unlikely. It is very likely, however, that politicians from both the left and the right will try to extend government control over the media beyond current policies. New rules adopted or proposed by the Federal Communications Commission suggest that the agency may be poised to enforce the most intensive government oversight of broadcast programming in decades—perhaps even in the history of the agency. The FCC voted last year to require each broadcast licensee to file quarterly "enhanced disclosure" reports—highly detailed information regarding its programming and editorial choices. This information will be used by organized groups to file complaints to pressure broadcasters to air programming that the complainants prefer. The FCC is also formulating programming guidelines based on the enhanced disclosure reports purporting to ensure that broadcasters meet local needs. This "broadcast localism" effort may also require broadcasters to appoint local boards to oversee their performance and their editorial decisions. As the FCC seeks to expand regulation of broadcast media, the traditional justification for its authority—spectrum scarcity—has lost credibility, and the agency's new efforts are likely to run afoul of the First Amendment. www.cato.org (11/11/09) Shawn, if you haven’t noticed WOW(whoever he/she is) has totally ingnored “Mr. Collings”. I would ask you to take note “Collings” continues to post his egotistical babble with no retorts from anyone but himself. I personally hope this is the end of his craving attention. Respectfully, Jay (11/11/09) The Mr.. Collings/WOW "debate" is now over. We now return to our regularly scheduled DC/Baltimore major league sports franchise attendance history discussion. (11/11/09) Wow, how low can a station go until the mo-rons running things get a clue? WZBA tied for 19th with a small AM religious station and topped by most DC stations, just wow. I think that people are sick of hearing: Hold on loosely, Bennie and the Jets, Tiny Dancer, Aqualung, Hurts so good, All right Now, Money, Old Time Rock & Roll, Hollywood Nights, Born in the USA, Let it Be, etc., every day like clockwork, plus the worst decision in recent Baltimore history to bring back "Bob & Tom", plus the obvious canned DJs that have nothing worthwhile to say and are barely alive make WZBA the worst station in Baltimore for all reasons. Time to spin the format wheel and Alternative is open! Alternative WCHH came in 11th with a sub-par product, and now they're gone. Time to dump the boring old classic rock that everyone is sick of and do an alternative station right! Live edgy morning show, jocks with personality and a tie to Baltimore, and real alternative rock like KROQ in LA. It can be done here and with a good personality driven station it would work. Classic rock is dead. Please bury it. -Scott (11/11/09) RE: WMAR-TV- I agree with you Dave. If Ch2 dropped news altogether it would not be missed. I think that local police and fire channels have more listeners than CH2 news has viewers. And the out of control panelists on Square Off are intolerable. WBAL-TV I don't understand why NBC affiliates don't demand that Leno be dropped or moved. To think that CH13 will win the news ratings by default is disgraceful. Isn't CH 11's GM on the affiliate board? (11/11/09) Mr. Collings/WOW: Your "debate" on the website is bringing discourse to a new low. To steal a line from Tracee Hamilton: this site is not your personal amuse-bouche. The last thing that I expect to see here is two adults b-slapping each other over whether a person with an apparent disability smells up a radio booth, and then compounding matters by touting their program and themselves. Just get each other's e-mail and go have at it somewhere else rather than taking up space here. I'm surprised Dave lets this excrement get posted. We have enough of this nonsense with the Penis. (Shawn in DC). (11/11/09) Kudos to Jim "Frames" Graham for coupling his lifelong fascination with trains and tunnels with his civic role and getting Metro to allow safety inspectors access to the tracks. On a more misanthropic note, why do WaPo bloggers constantly sip talentless hack Gene Wingarten's D? Serious articles he writes well, but as a humourist he's the most unfunny bag of mostly water the Post has ever strained to poop out. To quote "The Prez" (would it kill you to give the gentleman his proper title, Shawn in DC?), shoutout to Joe Medicine Crow! No, wait, that was his My Little Goat moment. To quote "The Prez', let me be clear. Gene Weingarten sucks. Somewhere someone is missing a dead donkey, because Gene Weingarten sucked it up. I sure miss Big O and Dukes. Is another station going to take over WJFK's frequency now that it's off the air? --- ThePenIsMightier (11/11/09) First, allow me to thank each and every service man and woman on this Veteran's Day. Their sacrifices have made it possible for people like "WOW" and "The Watcher/Listener" to spread their hate-filled rhetoric on this very forum. God speed! Now, I want to thank the aforementioned "Watcher/Listener" for tuning in last week to our show. Very much appreciated! But please, when plugging our show on here include the start time (11pm) and the call letters (WEBR)...Thanks again for listening! -Mr. Collings (11/11/09) Biography for Samantha Geimer (From www.imdb.com) Birth Name: Samantha Jane Gailey. Daughter of Susan Gailey; (TV commercials for Ourisman Chevrolet automobile dealerships in the Washington DC area.) In 1977, she was the 13-year-old girl at the center of a statutory rape case against director Roman Polanski. (11/11/09) A suggestion for "Mr. Collings", perhaps you should take immediate advantage of these Veteran's Day" sales and purchase a plunger to remove your head from your ass. BTW, The Other Guys" (is that really an actual "show" now?) are as lame as your posts! Signed, The Watcher/Listener (11/11/09) ("ROBB IS BACK IN IOWA") Is “Robb” – if that is his real name – really “back in Iowa”? Has Robb ever really been to Iowa? Do ankle grabbing liberals (other than during campaigns) even know how to get to Iowa? All this Iowa stuff is phony: Robb is a Virginia bred & edumacated boy who would not know Iowa if a fat pig from there farted on his or MOM’s fat face. And Iowa is too good for either of ‘em. Meanwhile: rope.zmle.fimc.net (11/11/09) "I use Dishnetwork to get WJLA. The sound for the news vs commercials is really off. I put the news on at every commercial break I have to quickly grab the remote to adjust the sound. Seems to be just on 7. Anyone else? Craig" Yes, same thing on my Dish receivers and ONLY 7. (11/11/09) We’ll be dining at Applebee’s in West Ocean City, Maryland tonight, my wife and three sons are taking pops out for a FREE dinner for VETS on Veterans Day. It’s not that they are cheap – they say it’s their way of saying thanks to Applebee’s for thinking of patriots on this day. Yep eatin’ good in the hood – Might be a shameless plug, but I think it’s great that a vet gets something for free instead of a freakin’ Veterans Day Sale !!!!! And to all the other vets out there, thanks for your service – God Bless you and God Bless America. JJ “Hitman” McKay (11/11/09) "ROBB IS BACK IN IOWA" -Prepare yourself for an obscene amount of calls by Tom Gavin and his 13 phone numbers! (11/11/09) ROBB IS BACK IN IOWA and will be on with us this Thursday morning..then do his show Thursday afternoon as we have a fundraiser this Friday..he will also be with us Monday morning as we finalize stuff. (11/11/09) On the AM KGO numbers and AM's in general. Radio World (that showed up yesterday) is full of operators screaming foul over people who say AM is dead. There are a RELATIVE handful of AM's doing well against the overwhelming majority on the senior band that are not. And stations like KGO show the trend...the listener numbers where they swell are north of 55+ for listening. Yes, people are living longer and someone will say that ad agencies "should" be going after these people - but they're NOT. How many AM's in the greater mid atlantic/DC area could you just shut off this minute and no one would notice they were gone?...now make a "Verizon-type" map of the country for the rest and you see where AM is now. Flatlining in general. And that is happening whether or not the AM in Delaware is on an STA... (11/11/09) I use Dishnetwork to get WJLA. The sound for the news vs commercials is really off. I put the news on at every commercial break I have to quickly grab the remote to adjust the sound. Seems to be just on 7. Anyone else? Craig (11/11/09) Veterans Day:: If you do two things today, aside from supporting DCRTV & it's advertisers, I hope that you take a moment & tell your local television stations about 'Who Will Stand', an honest PTSD Documentary that everyone should see - albeit public television or DVD. Please visit whowillstand4us.com. Secondly, I hope you educate yourself about Fisher House. Please visit fisherhouse.org. Consider them both very personal endorsements. (11/11/09) Dave's response: And let stores know that their Veterans Day advertised sales are tasteless. Our brave young men and women didn't give their lives so that you could buy a DVD player or a mattress at a discount today..... Hello, another little PSA here. This next upcoming month is Stool Sample Awareness Months, and the designated color is ... oh, nevermind. (11/11/09) Who is behind this brilliant plan? According to Radio Ink, "sixty members of the House have signed a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, requesting that their agencies 'explore the potential benefits for the American public of including FM radio tuners in mobile telephone handsets.' " Well, now, let's just think this through. We need to lock the radio receiver on the cell phone to the one station in the area that is the EBS primary. The rest of the stations in the area have, most likely, loaded up the voice tracks into the Prophet systems and locked the door for the weekend or went with the Premier Plus and only have a sales force in town. The cell phone guys can just key the phone to a flag of some kind in the RDS. The rf side will be tricky. The frequencies are far apart. It's doable. And, it's just what the broadcasters need...a hand and a handout from the cell phone industry. (11/11/09) No, Connie Francis was never blond (you're thinking of Connie Stevens), and yes, Susan Gayley (the Ourisman Chevrolet lady of the 70s commercials) is the mother of the girl raped by Roman Polanski. -- Bobbie (11/11/09) /\ November 11 Messages /\ \/ November 10 Messages \/ F.Y.I......The indicted mayor of Baltimore is Sheila Dixon. Not the same nor remotely related to the former Mayor Of D.C. Sharon Pratt Kelly. So I guess that’s why none of the Baltimore stations are picking up on it. Now lets get back to bashing Dan Snyder shall we????? A.M.F from Delmarva.... (11/10/09) It became clear yesterday Sean Hannity is deranged and immoral when he defended on the air a person who made and distributed child pornography. First, Sean Hannity had on his show for months a gay male prostitute pretending to be a Bush White House correspondent, and Sean called him "a terrific White House Bureau Chief." Then Sean talks about his "friend" who we should buy gold from, and Sean's "friend," just days later, is federally indicted for wire fraud. Now, Sean has on his show a maker and distributor of child porn, and he defends her! Three strikes, you're out! Where is the FCC? The Sean Hannity show can be heard locally on WMAL. (11/10/09) Allow me to respond to the questions Phillip posed earlier in this forum. My initial challenge to WOW to call into my show was, in fact, a shameless plug as well as an attempt to discuss the original debate about a less than fresh smelling WEBR on air talent (i use that last part VERY loosely might I add). But, as the debate with WOW went on it degenerated into nothing more than attempt on my part to expose the hypocrisy and lack of bravery exhibited by WOW. Claiming to be someone with a long list of accomplishments while refusing to admit who you actually are essentially nullifies any and all arguments one makes that are based on those accomplishments. Furthermore, I felt the need to defend myself, as well as other WEBR producers, from belittling comments made against us by use if the term "webbers" as well as the superiority complex shown by WOW against those same producers. As exhibited by WOW in a post made today, clearly she has begun the steady back track of her comments. Allow me to say that I respect your line of questioning, Phillip. I also respect your bravery in posting your name in connection to your post. Some in this mailbag could learn from you. -Mr. Collings (11/10/09) With less than an hour, according to LOCAL WASHINGTON RADIO STATION WTOP, until John Allen Muhammad’s (what’s with the three names & notorious killers?) execution, my only concern is this: will there will be any interference with radio or television signals in the Commonwealth of Virginia as his soul is sucked into hell? (11/10/09) No no no, you've confused the Ourisman lady with Connie Francis and the product of the hotel room attack. They're both blondes, I guess you are to be excused. (11/10/09) Is not the young girl whom Roman Polanski pleaded guilty to raping 30 years ago the daughter of the lady who did the Oursiman car commercials in the early 1970's? (11/10/09) And the poster said "clue-less, elitist, frigid bitch Mika has taken over." Strong women will do that. Let's she if she can hang on past Comcast's buyout. (11/10/09) You would think at least one of the Baltimore TV stations would pick up on the fact their indicted Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon had a rocky political time when she ran DC city government too. (11/10/09) Dave. i am probably a bit behind the curve here but I was in radio back when Z-104.3 was B-104 (and when AM meant "all Music" for that matter. You're right. The parade of formats on 104.3 is almost comical. Its like 104.1 in La Plata/DC. The issue is really a signal problem. You start getting interference on 104.1 as you hit 95 north to Balto and vice versa. Same for 105.7 and 105.9. Glad to see CHR back on 104.3. They should just accept what it is for what it is and just leave it there. BTW, Unless Mix 106.5 is really kicking ass (dont really know). I would have put the FAN on 106.5 and on 106.7 and moved mix to 105.7. Then try to purchase 105.9 from Citadel and do the same. Note: I think 106.5 and 105.7 are CBS. I could be wrong. Not as with it on current radio affairs as I used to be back in the day. Sir Soul aka Tom Robinson, SoulClassics247.com (11/10/09) It's not TG but HANK The Angry Drunken Dwarf. Hank was pure radio gold every time he was on Howard Stern's show. AND he knew exactly what he was doing and was ''in on the joke''. He was offered help many times and didn't want it. I met the Angry Drunken Dwarf at a appearance and he gave me some very profound words to live by. He told me to ''Go Fuck Myself!'' Words...to...the...wise. Paul (11/10/09) (Justin, Shawn, please try to work something about local media into your posts. Sheesh.) ROFLMAO. Like you throwing in a gratuitous comment about Big O and Dukes so Dave lets your cheap shot on the blog. Laughingstock Pal, you're not fooling anyone except yourself. (Shawn in DC). (11/10/09) "Dave's response: ...Half the stuff he says is just plain wrong....." Dave, you're plain wrong on this. Or, an optimist. Or, you haven't listened to Chris Plante "lately". Almost everything he says is wrong. Chris Plante is not a conservative. he's just plain flat-out wrong. On about 95% of what he says. And, he says a lot. Actually, far too much. He shuyt down callers (even those he "should" agree with) far too much. What boggles the mind are these people who call in to his show and say "Thank you for taking my call." It is Chris Plante who should be saying, "Thanks for listening and for calling-in :( (11/10/09) Someone mentioned stations with 2 transmitter sites which is something that is very difficult to do economically. The reason WVIE FOX Sports 1370 was able to pull off the 2 separate transmitter sites with multiple towers economically is that WCBM was moving from its site when it increased to 50,000 watts. Since the owners are developers and land owners more so than a radio operator chain, they already owned all the land. If it were not for the state of Delaware owning that tiny AM 1380 they use for traffic info in Delaware, most likely Mangione would have just used the old 'CBM nighttime site in Owings Mills for 1370. But, 50,000 watts on AM 1370 from that site would wipe that tiny 520 watt AM 1380 off the air completely, so they were forced to choose a directional signal from a completely different direction and angle. I'd be willing to bet Mangione tried to buy and darken AM 1380, but since it's owned by the state of Delaware, that would be quite impossible to do. Mangione was however successful at darkening AM 690 in Virginia in exchange for chump change and made a deal with Birach on AM 700's signal upgrade so that it would not interfere with the new WCBM signal. Otherwise, WCBM 680 would not be able to have the monster blowtorch daytime signal it has today that reaches Cape May, NJ as a local station www.radio-locator.com , nor would FOX Sports 1370 have local coverage almost to DC today! www.radio-locator.com. Mangione was looking for a daytime use for the WVIE site, but that plan with WBIS 1190 fell through when they bought WAGE 1200. The irony is that, except for Mangione's plans, all the other AM station upgrade plans, 700 730, 920, 1190, & 1200 all fell through it seems. Three are dark, and one is operating under low power STA. Oh, I forgot to mention, the FCC approved Birach's request to keep AM 700 dark, but still keep the license and allocation, go figure and WURA 920 Quantico, which no one has ever heard of has been sold and is still dark and I don't think ever went on the air. No need to discuss Danny Snyder's Red Zebra's ill-fated AM 730 signal upgrade, as that's a whole other can of Canadian worms & bad advice & decision making, so I won't go there. :-) (11/10/09) When did "Morning Joe" become the 'Joe & Mika show'? It seems & sounds like that obnoxious, stuck-up, annoying, clue-less, elitist, frigid bitch Mika has taken over (and ruined) the "Morning Joe" show... especially on MSNBC. Then again Joe Scarborogh is a hypocritical, shallow, left-leaning RINO, sell-out, blow-hard, gas-bag. Someone at MSNBC/WMAL really needs to tell Mika to 'shut-the-hell-up' and tell Joe to run a real talk show (11/10/09) I'm not really clear on what goes on at MAL after Plante - I'm working (maybe they have that UFO show on around midnight?). But Grandy, Nehman and That Fat Fuck are FAIRly entertaining overall. Grandy has real comedic talent and insight into the Congress, Nehman's got the regular guy's perspective and bozo throws in the Hannity wrench to -to - there must be a reason for it. And they seem to like each other - very old school Washington radio. It doesn't bite but then everyone doesn't have to be Stern. I could have dinner with any of these three and be comfortable - not something I could say about the other morning jocks. BTW - Plante is a stupid (literally) dick. (11/10/09) Dave's response: You're absolutely right about Chris Plante. Couldn't have said it better myself. Half the stuff he says is just plain wrong..... Dave, Is there a place where the full weekly PPM data is published? Edwin (11/10/09) Dave's response: Nope. It's proprietary information and Arbitron charges its subscribing stations mucho bucks for access to it..... Looking at those PPMs, boy WFED and WWRC sure look good! I think liberal talk and WaPo radio could beat that. On another topic, I don't believe the pen really is mightier. In a rumble I'll take the sword, thank you very much. Howie (11/10/09) "Did you even read what I said? I wasn't saying that it was accurate to refer to it because it is in the society's name. I was quoting the bit from the Society where they explicitly say it is commonly referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sheesh. - Justin in McLean" Yes, Justin, I got that, responded to it and expanded on it. And I was quite nice about it, because that's the way my sainted mother, Mrs. Mightier, raised me. Sheesh indeed. "Any reason, however petty, to attack the Prez. (Shawn in DC)" To be fair, Shawn President Obama is, as the Vice President once said, "articulate and bright and clean-cut and a nice-looking guy." By the way something, Dave, Scarborough's been on in the evenings since the day Chris Plante came back. Still, good of DCRTV to bring us that news. Justin, Shawn, please try to work something about local media into your posts. Sheesh. --- ThePenIsMightier (11/10/09) "Oh by the way something, Mr. President, it's "The Medal of Honor" not "The Congressional Medal of Honor". A Commander in Chief should know that, since he has to sign off on them." Ah, the windbag returns; clearly someone has got too much time on his hands; Any reason, however petty, to attack the Prez. (Shawn in DC). (11/10/09) " "Congressional" in the name of the Society refers to the Society, not the Medal." - Did you even read what I said? I wasn't saying that it was accurate to refer to it because it is in the society's name. I was quoting the bit from the Society where they explicitly say it is commonly referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor. Sheesh. - Justin in McLean (11/10/09) The WJZ 13 story on Byron Pitts is a little on the deceptive side. Pitts had a rather expensive Catholic education... www.archbishbopcurley.org... Does anyone really believe he'd be on CBS News or 60 Minutes if he'd gone through the Baltimore City school system in east Baltimore, now more famous for HBO's The Wire? I think NOT! (11/10/09) Last comment on this: I am not a friend of Rusty Gibson, an acquaintance that’s it. I have been to the studio. I have a place in my heart for anyone that is “challenged” I have personal reasons for this attitude and I assure you they are honorable. I have to admit I did not realize that Rusty had initiated the BO issues. No, there was no implications, I’m just offended with the ignorance that was demonstrated. If that is the case both of these individuals should be ashamed of themselves. The term “webber” is meant to be just that. Collings is a wanna be……..Rusty has a dedication all broadcasters should have. And yes, collings is looking for attention, I’M NOT. Again thanks Ed Graham for the intelligence and perception. Now, it’s nap time-WOW (11/10/09) "Citadel has a money maker KGO-AM .The consistent Number one Station in San Franscisco who even beats out WMAL clone sister station out there by a wide margin. Follow the KGO format of Morning and afternoon News and diversified local talk talent all other hours and WMAL can be returned to its former greatness. Citadel wants to make a poor political statement with WMAL rather then make money." - John you are right that KGO has always been a top station 12+. But those are NOT the numbers that ad buys are based on. That would be 25-54. And since PPM started, KGO has been doing very poorly 25-54, getting clobbered by all-news KCBS (now on both AM and FM) as well as public radio KQED. 12+ numbers are the only ones Arbitron will share for free. You have to pay to see the numbers that matter (adults 25-54). (11/10/09) Re: WMAR's axing of the Sunday newscast - Are ratings THAT bad that they have to keep canceling newscasts? If they want to cancel a newscast, they need to axe their 9am news..who SERIOUSLY watches the local news at 9am? If they want bring in some better revenue why not plug in "The Bonnie Hunt Show" at 9am. It currently airs at 1:35am, and would probably get better ratings than the news at 9am!!! (11/10/09) Dave's response: If Channel 2 ditched its news department completely, Baltimore would still have three TV news operations - 11, 13, and 45. Maybe that's enough. Sorry to see WMAR's news people lose their jobs, but maybe 2 could get better ratings by running syndicated reruns and talk shows at 5 PM, 6 PM, and 11 PM. Why not? OK, this Hs gone beyond absurd. Yes, it was me who coined the moniker "Wednesday's Child". I now apologize to the "Mailbag" Community. I plan on issuing an apology to Mr. Gavin either in person or at some point publicly on this Friday's episode of the "MHT" So gang, may I be forgiven? RustyGibson WEBR/Radio Fairfax (11/10/09) Dave: No offense, but that Anita Dunn item is shocking for what it leaves out of the story. I read the linked Post piece, which also leaves out any mention of Dunn's comments waging war with Fox News (I am very sorry to bring this up in the Mailbag, but it's relevant to this point; I do NOT want to see more Fox News pro/con posts in the Mailbag), or of her admiration of Mao Tse Tung as a favorite "political philosopher." This stuff was front-page Drudge Report, talk-radio fodder for days. Dismiss it as irrelevant to her departure, which was always planned, or so the Post story says. But the Post item reeks of administration spin. Isn't it at least possible that she got a little push, earlier than expected, thanks to her unhelpful comments and the way they blew up in the media? Christian (11/10/09) Dave's response: Just added the Fox News reference to the Front Page blurb..... "Actually, from the Official Website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society: "Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor." - Justin in McLean" Quite right, Justin, but just as Tom Gavin is often called The Monster even though that is not his name, and a Purple Heart is sometimes called an enemy marksmanship medal, or in the case of John "Flinger" Kerry, the "I got a boo-boo from a splinter" medal, its name is the Purple Heart and the military's highest award is offically called the Medal of Honor. "Congressional" in the name of the Society refers to the Society, not the Medal. Remember when WJFK was on the air? I sure did love that Big O & Dukes show. Wonder what they're up to these days. --- ThePenIsMightier (11/10/09) OMG! Last night on his radio and TV shows, Sean Hannity had on a social and political conservative, and Sean defended her for making and distributing child p@rn! Second note; can we all give guesses about how Sean Hannity will slam the First Lady for appearing on Sesame Street today? I will give the first guess; it will be center around “indoctrinating our children with liberal” something. Sean Hannity’s crap can be heard on WMAL, The First Lady lives in Washington, DC, and the Sesame Street cast will appear this Sunday at Lisner auditorium in DC. (11/10/09) I've been reading the train wreck of a "conversation" between "Mr. Collings" and "WOW" for about a week now. As such, I have a few questions for the two combatants. As I've read it, this all started by Rusty at WEBR calling Tom Gavin "Wednesday's Child". "Mr. Collings" responded with a comment about Tom having body odor. This is where "WOW" went off on "Mr. Collings". It seems to me that Rusty's comment was harsher than noting that Tom has B.O.. By saying that "Mr. Collings" comments are out of line is "WOW" saying that all mentally challenged people have body odor or that all people with such a stench are special needs people? Either way, I would disagree with the implication. In refuting comments from "Mr. Collings", "WOW" notes that she has been to the WEBR studios and is friends with Rusty. Is that friendship the reason why "Mr. Collings" got a public lashing but not Rusty? "WOW" also repeatedly turns her nose up at "Mr. Collings" and others of his ilk by derisively calling him a "webber". But, technically, is Rusty now a "webber" as well? Does "WOW" now think less of Rusty because his show isn't "on air"? And "Mr.Collings", how do we know that this isn't just you taking this as an opportunity for some guerrilla marketing? Have you been antagonistic with "WOW" just to keep getting responses and keep your show's name near the top of the mailbag? Is your vitriol merely self-serving? I'll await with scorecard in hand over this battle. I hope I can get some clarafications to my questions. I openly fear that it will be responded to with the same kind of petty anger that has been seen in this conflict. - Phillip (From reading, I realize I better leave my name, or incur someone's written wrath) (11/10/09) I turned on WMAL at 9:50 p.m. last night and was surprised to hear Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski (sp?) joking around. I thought their show got axed when Plante came back on the air, but the WMAL site has Scarborough's show on weeknights for an hour: wmal.com... Christian (11/10/09) Hello, This is a little PSA. Just about everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the designated color is pink. But did you know that November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and the designated color is purple? A number of people who have died from this awful disease have been mentioned on Dave's site in the past few years, including my dad. The five year survival rate is only about 4% and this is just not acceptable. Please take a few moments to visit www.pancan.com to educate yourself about symptoms, risk factors, etc. And, if you are so inclined, donate a few dollars. Then wear some purple this month! Thank you, Jennifer Ashley Durand (11/10/09) "Oh by the way something, Mr. President, it's "The Medal of Honor" not "The Congressional Medal of Honor". A Commander in Chief should know that, since he has to sign off on them." - Actually, from the Official Website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society: "Generally presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of America in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor." - Justin in McLean (11/10/09) Towson University’s WTMD(FM) seems to be doing fine in AAA, especially in nailing down up$cale 35-54 $uburban chick$, one of America’s severely underserved audiences. This is what public radio & college radio was intended for, and is a perfect match for the 21,000 TU students who wouldn’t be caught dead listening to their own school’s radio station. WTMD is their parent’s radio station. But, hey, it’s rolling in cash, and that trumps all other considerations. (11/10/09) Citadel has a money maker KGO-AM .The consistent Number one Station in San Franscisco who even beats out WMAL clone sister station out there by a wide margin. Follow the KGO format of Morning and afternoon News and diversified local talk talent all other hours and WMAL can be returned to its former greatness. Citadel wants to make a poor political statement with WMAL rather then make money.John T. Henneman. (11/10/09) Dave's response: If WMAL got relayed on FM, via 105.9, and focused on being a local news talker, with a fully-staffed local news department, and a mainly local talk line-up, including BOTH drivetimes, it could certainly cut into the massive ad revenue of all-newser rival WTOP. But Citadel is teetering on bankruptcy and is more focused these days on digging itself out of a gigantic credit crunch than in running its radio stations as they should be run. Makes me think that God might just be a Mormon..... "No one wants to listen to leftists' political correctness, their apologizing for America all day, their singing the praises of spending money we don't have, how capitalism and free enterprise are bad, and how Christians, not radical Islam, are the threat to America." I never had the chance to bathe in the warm waters of Schultz, but I DO want to listen to these folks. The problem isn't their views, it's that as broadcasters, liberals are largely unlistenable. For instance, Rachel Maddow is the poster-child for pressured speech, and no doubt Dr. Drew would have something to say about that. I could listen to Al Franken the senator all the livelong day, but Al Franken the radio host can go screw. He sucked at it. As does righty Chris Plante. Limbaugh IS an entertainer, because he is entertaining. If anyone on the left was half as good a broadcaster, I'd tune in, you betcha. Oh by the way something, Mr. President, it's "The Medal of Honor" not "The Congressional Medal of Honor". A Commander in Chief should know that, since he has to sign off on them. Shoutout to Joe Medicine Crow!!! Sadly, the only know extant copy of My Little Goat is in the G.W. Bush Presidential Library; it would have made Obama's debacle of engaging the terrorist attack on Ft. Hood perfect. And thank you to Nancy Sissy-Mary for the link to the lovely photo. Experience has taught me that phrases like "Discussion over" typically mean "be on the lookout for my next post on this topic." Your parents must be very proud, just like that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer had too much novocaine and ran into Mel Torme. --- ThePenIsMightier (11/10/09) Is Al Hurra the same as "Middle East Broadcast Networks"? Cuz those guys have been all over the Craigslist 'Jobs' page since mid-October, seeking master control, lighting, audio and other positions. Damned shame... (11/10/09) OK Gramma, what have you done with Steven Tyler? abcnews.com (11/10/09) Big technician layoff by Team Broadcasting. Team lost their contract with the Middle East Broadcast Network. Rumor is; senior techs and production will take a big hit. Supervisors and Master Control ops are next. (11/10/09) Anyone who actually thought Ed Schultz would remain on the air at 570AM for any length of time is the one who should be laughed at. The rest of the lineup is a bunch of Rush wannabes and camp followers. Keeping Schultz was just a PR move to assuage anyone upset that 1260 got dumped as soon as the election was over. BTW, Ed Schultz is no socialist-he's never at the meetings. Howie (11/10/09) Re: "Do you find the nickname of "Wednesday's Child" just as classless as the "assholes" you reference in your blurb?" Actually, I am referring to the people who put TG, the angry drunken dwarf, and others on their shows for laughs at the expense of the less gifted. That really sucks. I love the people who post, whatever their opinion. It gives me something to read. I mostly only comment on radio issues, but I read the rest. I commented on the "WOW" postings just to verify her resume. By the way isn't it great how Stuttering John's problem has cleared up? Wednesday's Child is full of woe, or a reference to an agency that takes care of homeless children. I don't think I have seen that in DCRTV because I mostly only skim the TG posts. I do like "Woe is Me" by the Cadillacs. Ed Graham (11/10/09) With Citadel teetering on the brink of bankruptcy what do you think the chances are that they will get a real, breathing, live air staff on 105.9? Speaking of which, how quickly did the bloom go off that rose?As Dave would say...ponderous, man, effin ponderous. (11/10/09) The Ed Walker Radio Hall of Fame picture #4 caption identifies Willard Scott as "Former NBC Weatherman." I know a few years back Willard reduced his work schedule on the Today Show to a day or two a week, or to fill in status, but I don't remember him leaving NBC. Nor do I remember a big sendoff or anything mentioning his completely leaving NBC or the Today Show. I'm sure Willard leaving NBC would have garnered coverage from NBC, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, local news or a mention on some outlet somewhere. Our good friend Dave Hughes would have also mentioned it here on DCRTV. Did I miss something? (11/10/09) When I worked at CBS News, Byron was one of the most stand up guys I knew. One of those above and beyond on every story. It was great working with him. Another was Jim Axelrod. I was sick on a presidential trip overseas and he offered me his first class seat and would not take it back when I had recovered. Charlie Wilson, BBC World News America (11/10/09) Death Of Harry Ockershausen at 100... Old FCC Lawyer Legendary Golfer and Yarn Teller and Brother of Andy Ockershausen and Daughter Jane (One Day books)Ockershausen. Good Guy and good grandfather and great grandfather... (11/10/09) No surprise Dave missed this one. It doesn't jive with his left wing political philosophy. Seems that WTNT has canned the ultra-left wing socialist Ed Schultz in favor of LOCAL talk hosted by conservative Jeff Kuhner. I turned on WTNT at noon to hear Schultz fallate over the Congress passing health care, and he was gone, kaput, outa here. The first thing I thought of were all the socialists that post on the mailbag complaining about the liberal talk all being relegated to the weak signaled 1260 several months ago instead of the strong signaled 570. So WTNT takes the Marxist Schultz and gives him airtime on the strong signaled 570. Yet after only a few months, Schultz is gone from the lineup. Yet another scathing indictment of how horrid liberal talk radio is. No one wants to listen to leftists' political correctness, their apologizing for America all day, their singing the praises of spending money we don't have, how capitalism and free enterprise are bad, and how Christians, not radical Islam, are the threat to America. Just LOL at you leftists who think it was the "signal" of the station that doomed socialist talk radio in Washington. Just LOL at you. (11/10/09) Dave's response: WTNT does a splendid job keeping all its programming changes a deep dark secret. And, as a result, it has almost no listeners. Great station, huh! What? 30th in the PPMs. The only reason it exists is to satisfy the egos of a batch of syndicated talkers who can claim that they're "on the air in the Nation's Capital." Keep up the good work, WTNT owner Dan Snyder. At least you get one or two people to listen, which is more than the cluckheads at CBS get for "The Big Talker 1580," which has yet to even show up in the PPMs. Sheesh..... According to the FCC website, WTRI was granted a STA for reduced power for repairs. Not sure why this disrupts the webstream. Perhaps they aren't even broadcasting regular programming at this time. Can anyone confirm in the grand city of Brunswick? - MLB4 (11/10/09) /\ November 10 Messages /\ \/ November 9 Messages \/ To CA in BC: I think that Chi-town's WNTD was one of the only (if not the only) AMs to operate with a higher nighttime power than daytime before de-regulation took place (now, there are several stations which do this). In addition, WNTD has separate night-time and daytime transmitter locations. If I'm correct, the daytime transmitter is located in the center of town with just one tower and the nighttime transmitters are on the southern end. That signal has six towers, is highly directional with most of the signal 'aimed' northward. I do not know how this came to be, however. (11/9/09) Dave's response: Baltimore's WVIE, Fox Sports 1370, also has different day and night transmitter sites..... Ed Graham....Do you find the nickname of "Wednesday's Child" just as classless as the "assholes" you reference in your blurb? That is the moniker a well known poster on this very site has for TG" (11/9/09) "I was running that website I'd fire his rude, brash ass!!!!!" Oh WOW, you silly goose you. Maybe in your old age you managed to forget that you couldn't fire me from that website, it's public access. Remember now? We're just lowly "webbers", right? As long as I don't break any FCC regulations there wouldn't be any thing you could do, except enjoy our show! And enjoy it you would. Say, it's almost 7pm...Isn't it almost bed time? -Mr. Collings (11/9/09) Mr Pen Is Mightier: www.forumspile.com. Discussion over. (11/9/09) I won't claim to know Snyder, but on the occasions I went to cover training camp and was in his vicinity he was, to be blunt, a prick. On one occasion two young kids asked him for autographs. Snyder pretended not to see the kids and instead turned to one of his attendants, telling them to tell the kids that he didn't sign autographs. It was the single most snobbish, arrogant thing I've ever seen in my life. Don't want to sign a football? Fair enough. But be man enough to just say so; don't relay the message through a flunky. I also notice his apology was worded in the Royal "we." So I tend to believe Riggins. Theismann is just kissing his radio boss's ass. What Strahan is doing injecting himself into this Washington story I don't know. (11/9/09) CIA says Iran is dangerously close to possessing voicetracking technology. (11/9/09) Well Read Street Sound and Video is at it again, another commercial that's going to go..National...check out: www.readstreetsound.com. Sure hope you enjoy..PLB/JH (11/9/09) Mr. Graham, thanks for your very kind comments. They were greatly appreciated. You are so right, I was commenting on the "classless" atttude that showed it's ugly self re: Tom Gavin. All that creep did was keep dishing out insults that were so far off target it was hysterical. He's a "webber" trying to go where you and people that we've both had the pleasure of working with such as Ed Walker, Johnny Holliday, Johnny Dark,Harve Moore, Joel Denver Sean Casey and others, just to name a few...It's nice to know we "old people" are so dis-respected by such ASS-HOLES!!If I was running that website I'd fire his rude, brash ass!!!!! (Off to the hairdressers now.) TA-TA-WOW (11/9/09) Channel 104.3's upward trend in it's final weeks were probably only a fluke. The station had only gotten worse over time since it's inception in May 2008. The playlist, the bad voice tracked DJ's, or anything else didn't change in those final weeks and if Channel 104.3 had any ratings potential it would've been there 3-6 months ago and that would've crossed over to the PPM's. Alt-rock does belong on the air in Baltimore and the format could be a winner even potentially beating 98Rock, but only flipping 99.1 back to Alt-rock HFS could make it happen. CBS could be sitting on a PPM gold mine for Baltimore w/ the 99.1 frequency but I think they're more worried about reaching the small Spanish communities of DC that won't give 99.1 any ratings on a signal that blankets DC, Baltimore, and as far north as the MD/PA state line. If CBS did take 99.1 back to Alt-rock they could possibly bury DC101 in the process since DC101 doesn't appear to be performing all that well in the PPM's unless 11th/12th is actually a good rating. With 99.1 having practically no ratings at all 4 years after El-Zol took over 99.1 seriously how much longer will the lack of ratings for 99.1 be acceptable to the CBS suits? (11/9/09) Michael Strahan couldn't spell "cat" if you spotted him the c and the a (to steal a quote from Hollywood Henderson). And one could argue that Riggins, having dealt with Snyder personally, is in a BETTER position to comment on his character than those that haven't (like most of those sticking up for Danny Boy now). Does Snyder have a "dark heart"? Depends upon how you define it. Has he done anything criminal or obscene? Not to my knowledge. So in that sense, he isn't a bad guy. Has he done some pretty nasty and reprehensible things to less powerful people in the name of "business", as well as abusing his position of power around the community? Based on what I've read and heard, my opinion is that it is very likely that he has. So in that sense, Riggins may be right. Again, it depends upon how you define it. (11/9/09) "It will be interesting to see how the PPMs treat all Christmas, all the time. I think the TSL will go up again." We already know. PPM started in DC last October. Arbitron now does an extra book they call the Holiday Book and WASH won it last year with higher TSL (now called AWTE in PPM for Average Weekly Time Exposed (to media). After the Holiday Book, WASH ratings came back to earth and WTOP returned to the top of the 12+ heap. So take it to the bank: WASH will win the Holiday Book again this year (unless a whole bunch of other radio stations go all-Christmas and split the pie). (11/9/09) Dave's response: If I was Citadel's Kenny King, I would flip 105.9 WVRX to Christmas tunes right now. And then debut a revised adult alt rock format on 12/26. Give 97.1 WASH a little healthy XMAS competition this year..... "100 years ago must be the last time you listened to Liddy. He hasn't done the paper thing in ages, not since getting off the CBS/Infinity train." The Lovely Diana checking in, yes indeed! It's still one of his bits, just like peeing in a Tupperware, banging his (.)(.) producer (allegedly), and giving out Mrs. Liddy's weight on the air (220 lbs; she's a sturdy woman who does crosswords in ink and has a talent for math). But thank you for your valuable unsigned contribution. Your parents must be very proud. Huzzah! ---ThePenIsMightier (11/9/09) Lets say that John Riggins went on this media crusade solely because he has a personal axe to grind with the Snyder. Lets say that Riggins is using his status as a Hall of Fame Redskin to influence public opinion. What is wrong with that? Dan Snyder is a "bad guy" and Dan Snyder has a "dark heart". Is it not well documented that Snyder sued old ladies during the biggest recession in the last 30 years for long term club seat contracts when he could have just sold the tickets to someone else? Didn't Snyder buy the worst radio signals in town and try and pass them off as a viable way to hear his games? Didn't Snyder hang the executives who started that company and refuse to pay off their employment contracts six months into the deal? Didn't Snyder get taken to court by his Nanny because he tried to stiff her? Didn't Snyder get sued for cutting down trees in his own backyard despite a warning not to do this? Didn't Snyder screw Arrington out of millions of dollars? Doesn't Snyder want to be addressed as "Mr" Snyder? Doesn't Snyder hide behind his group of henchmen and duck the media constantly? This sounds like a bad guy to me! (11/9/09) Is the 11/20 start date normal for WASH's Christmas programming, or has the station gradually pushed back the date each year? When I saw Lowes and Target bringing out the Christmas decorations the day after Halloween, I imagined jamming their Muzak signals with Nancy Grace until they surrendered and adopted a saner schedule. Is that all life is to a retailer or a radio conglomerate, just the down times between holidays? (11/9/09) Seems to be a repeating problem with DISH Network in NoVA. Every single game on FOX nowadays is getting audio skips on the HD channel, and every ten minutes or so the screen will go all Sprint-Yellow for about 3 seconds, and then the audio will stop before both audio & video return. I don't know if this is a FOX issue or WTTG, but it's happened all season now with the screens switching from Yellow to Purple. Of course, then there was the atrocity last weekend of no local channels for four and a half hours during the games. (11/9/09) A few things: It will be interesting to see how the PPMs treat all Christmas, all the time. I think the TSL will go up again. * * Who ever thinks that WOW is a fraud. WOW is everything she says she is. Has done it all, and shouldn't be attacked for saying that you shouldn't attack the less fortunate, especially the way you did. While I may, or may not agree with you, I do think that making fun of someone who can't change the way they are is classless. It isn't TG's fault that people put him on the air just to make fun of him. I would attack them for being assholes. Like Jerry Lewis making fun of the people he later raised money for. Don't think WOW hasn't been there, she has. * * I like the way Dave runs this site. The people who want to change it open their own site. Ed Graham (11/9/09) About WUST-FM and WJMD... 106.3 FM was then exclusively a "Class A" channel with maximum power originally 1 kW, later raised to 3 and then 6 kW. 94.7 is a Class B frequency with power then as high as 20 kW, now 50 kW. The move got them a lot more coverage. (11/9/09) (quote) Ron Evry ... who's taken G. Gordon Liddy's bit of reading from the newspaper one step further; he reads from papers that are over a hundred years old (end) 100 years ago must be the last time you listened to Liddy. He hasn't done the paper thing in ages, not since getting off the CBS/Infinity train. (11/9/09) RE: Kent and Citadel. Kent (I believe) just signed with them for sales and distribution. He owns the show. They sell the ads (again I believe) and he uses their sat carrier for distribution. He used dial global previously. Don't think Citadel's going bankrupt will affect his show or Beth Ann at all... (11/9/09) re: "Sun Myung Moon, who turns 90 in January, handed over power to his three sons." How come Steve Douglas never handed over power to his three sons, Robbie, Chip and Ernie or, for that matter, over to Bub? (11/9/09) Beth Ann McBride - And you thought Geronimo/Sorce had bad timing. Let's connect the radio dots. In March 2008,Tom Kent formed the Tom Kent Radio Network. In February 2009, Kent joins Citadel Media owned & operated by Citadel Broadcasting. Stay with us, this is where it gets good. Last week, McBride accepts a "mercy hire" from Kent and in a 10-Q filing this past Friday that disclosed disturbing Q3 financial data, Citadel Broadcasting revealed for the first time that bankruptcy may/will be on the horizon. As an affiliate relations contact, time for McBride to fire up that real estate career again - wait, like radio, no job security in that profession either. Hmmm, I got it. With those new boobs, time for McBride to take pole dancing classes. Ya, ya that's it. As a Cathotic, [what woman would ever be a member] she could dress in white and go by the stage name 'Purity.' Geronimo's got a year to wait, he could manage her. Happy Monday! (11/9/09) Baltimore and Washington could really use a true alternative station. Yes that was a play on words but also a cold hard fact. WRNR does well with its AAA format and almost replaces WHFS but not quite. A strong signal would help alot too but remember when a certain signal left Grasonville before? I do. Likewise with WTMD on both counts. Modern/Alternative has a fan base that is denied and ignored by media giants. Its listeners go to great lengths for music that is 'left of center' and when this happens CBS,CC and other corporate broadcasters point thier finger and try to make it the listeners fault. There was once a station in the area that brought us fresh music and unplayed tracks we may have missed without the labor of the DJs. The universe of music is more vast than ever these days and many artists avoid signing with the overbearing and unimaginative record labels since it tends to smother creativity when smiley gladhands get control. There is proof of the demand for the format just up I-95. WRFF Radio1045,the big brother of WCHH, is getting good rating despite competing with WMMR,WYSP and WMGK. They are guilty of being too mainstream also but manage to pull in the analog listeners anyway. The real strong point is Y Rock on XPN. They are listener supported. They are on an HD subchannel and online yet listeners actually PAY to keep the signal going. If you'd like a taste of what real Free Form(they dont call it that) sounds like you should check them out.I guarantee if Balt/DC had a station like it there would be no lack of ratings. But it has to be on a main FM signal here because we've been given everything and anything but the real thing for too long now and someone needs to step up and show they're serious. Incidentally the WDRE calls are unassigned at the moment. If we can't have the real HFS those calls carry a little legend themselves....and we bitter alternative fans could use a station.Donnie (11/9/09) Dave, This will be talked about all day on local sports talk radio! FOX analyst Michael Strahan shot back at former Redskins star John Riggins telling him to "Just shut up. His problem with Redskins owner Dan Snyder was personal and had more to do with him being fired from radio then it does about the Redskins fan." It was a really good comment and one that will really get people talking to day. www.washingtonexaminer.com (11/9/09) Many thanks to the eagle-eyed DCRTV Mailbaggers who pin-pointed the old WJMD studios location above 7807 Old Georgetown Road (and to Google Maps Street View). In the past forty years, the exterior was painted white; an awning was added; and a tree was planted out front, but the building features remain about the same. Now... can anyone explain why Julius and Marcus Diener, who bought WUST-AM & FM in 1959, took WUST-FM at 106.3mc off-the-air on Wednesday, May 11, 1960, only to replace it with WJMD-FM at 94.7mc beginning the next day? (It appears that the 106.3mc freq was subsequently assigned to Cambridge, MD.) (11/9/09) Jeez, I spend a little time in County and this place goes to H E Double Hockey Sticks. I'd love to be the meat in a Captain Janks-Major Ed Dames sandwich. Mmm. You're with me, aren't you Dave? And what about the article in today's Post about Ron Evry, who's taken G. Gordon Liddy's bit of reading from the newspaper one step further; he reads from papers that are over a hundred years old. Not the news, though, the humorous bits. Am I the only one who's skeeved out by Mark Trail, a photographer (you know what I'm sayin') repeatedly coming up with excuses for going camping with the prepubescent Rusty and his sissy dog Sassy? And what's up with the recent spate of naked teenagers in the Zits comic strip? I don't need to see that with my bacon and eggs. I'm gonna have to swing by The Eagle mos' rickytick to cleanse my palate with some adult action. -- ThePenIsMightier (11/9/09) Anon said: "If I were WTMD I’d give that [Alt Rock] a solid consideration since AAA isn’t working." I, for one, haven't heard anywhere that the TMD format is failing. The most recent PPM was only a tie for 35, but since it is a public station I wasn't concerned. Have there been rumors of discontent at TU? Howie (11/9/09) Dave's response: I wouldn't trash WTMD's AAA format, but a dose here and there of mainstream-ish alt rock on 89.7, a la what "killed-at-10th-place" WCHH was playing, certainly couldn't hurt..... How about a "Celebrity Death Match" with the cable guy vs. the Fios Guy? At the very least, a Vince McMahon/WWE parody somewhere down the line. Times must be tough in the radio ad sales biz. Heard back-to-back ads on Sportstalk 960 (Salisbury?) down the shore last week. A spot for a comedian coming to a Baptist Church, followed by one for an adult video/toy website. Anyone else notice the incessant shrill whistling on national sports broadcasts? Seemed like it used to e only on Westwood One Thur/Sun/Mon NFL broadcasts. Now it's everywhere. It sounds like the crowd mike is picking up noise from 300 yards away, and "The Whistler" is in the booth next door. Particularly noticed it during the World Series. It was on FOX-TV, the ESPN Radio Broadcast, but surprisingly missing from the WCBS Yankee broadcast. Seems forced & phony...I dunno. (11/9/09) About the Sun Sentinel item, Comcast buying NBC has nothing to do with this possibility, apparently there is a trigger in the NBC affiliates contracts which they have kept real quiet. If Jay's ratings get below a certain level, then affiliates would have the option to move their news to 10 and delay Leno. I'm told this by a very high up affiliate source. Jay is currently doing only a 1.5 which was the original guarantee, I would guess if he drops below a 1, this option might kick in. Similar to the much debated health public option, at this point its only an option, no one is locked into doing it. This was added in the contracts to calm affiliate fears of a complete Leno fiasco. (11/9/09) I agree on Baltimore’s 104.3 flipping prematurely. They were gaining listeners with a morning show that didn’t work and with really bad on-air people that sounded like a small market airstaff. The music wasn’t terrible, but still not done correctly in that it was just a clone of DC101 which is a pop-rock station and not really alternative. Given that 104.3 was trending up with all of that against it, that to me says that alt-rock can do well in Baltimore. If I were WTMD I’d give that a solid consideration since AAA isn’t working. Maybe even 100.7, but they’d probably do that half-assed too since that is their way of doing classic rock. Who else could benefit with an alt-rock format would be WRNR out in Annapolis. They cover about ¾ of the Baltimore market could get listeners outside of Annapolis with that. Somebody will jump on it though and that would be smart. (11/9/09) The thing with Sam and Sonny is that they offer a chemistry that is very difficult to replicate. Sam's lost the edge off his fastball, no doubt. But Sonny, in addition to being Mr. Redskin, still knows the NFL as well as any radio analyst I've ever heard. You keep someone like that for as long as possible and cherish every moment. As for Wilbon, I don't know if he's a racist but he is certainly a race baiter. He specializes in that, in my view. (11/9/09) Dave-- Got any news on what happened at WAMU last night? Around 9.30 Ed played "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and about halfway through it went to dead air, which lasted for several minutes. Then they played a music track, which started skipping. Then it went to the BBC feed. Crazy. Thanks! --Rich in Leesburg (11/9/09) Got a song stuck in your head that won't go away? Here is the ultimate ear douche to get rid of it permanently: The Dilly Sisters. www.youtube.com. You're welcome (11/9/09) Anyone know what happened to WAMU last night? I left work about 9:30 or so, flipped on "The Big Broadcast," and instead got "The Stars And Stripes Forever," then music on a CD that was skipping. WAMU then switched to English-language news from Germany -- intriguing given it's the 20th anniversary of the fall of East Germany, but frankly not what I was looking forward to hearing. I assume Ed Walker records the program in advance (particularly this weekend, with his getting his well-deserved Hall of Fame honor), so I assume something went awry. Unfortunate for the many here who are "Big Broadcast" fans. -- Vincent in Triangle (11/9/09) I get Fox thru Dish Network here in NoVA. The audio/video on Fox sports feeds have also been messed up for us. Its happened during the baseball playoffs and the last several Redskins games. (11/19/09) Dave, I'm getting sick and tired of losers who have no clue what the word 'racist' means, as they toss the word around like a football in the park on Sunday morning. And then this idiot wants to call Mike Wilbon 'racist' just because he didn't comment on a particular news event. Is this guy trying to say that Wilbon hates white people? I don't know who this moron is, but I'd be willing to bet all I have that the white people MW has done business with for years are laughing at this troll almost as much as I am. You may need to begin implementing an IQ test for people who post to the mailbag. Then, half this foolishness would be outta here...Neal (11/9/09) P.S. How often do NBA players get arrested, anyway? Not very often, at all, dude. Next time you toss around the word 'racist', make sure there's a mirror looking at you... (11/9/09) Is WTRI dead? I haven't heard a signal on 1520 for a couple of weeks now. The online stream has been either unavialable or stuck in a loop where it plays the first few bars of Patsy Cline's "Crazy." And, I notice their ad is gone from DCRTV too. Has Radio Earl gone the way of Vegas Radio? (11/9/09) Dave's response: Buddy Rizer, who owns WTRI, renewed his ad on DCRTV through the end of the year and paid up. And then, just a week or so into the new term, he told me to yank the ad. He's got a credit for the time remaining on the ad term. I don't know what's up other than to surmise that the tough economy is causing tough sledding for WTRI. It's a shame. It's such a cool little station and Buddy is such a great guy..... Why is Michael Wilbon a RACIST HYPOCRITE? Wilbon became all OBNOXIOUS and UPPITY when Rush Limbaugh was mentioned as a partial NFL owner... YET? Not a pep out of Wilbon about NBA owner Donald Sterling's racist discrimination settlement... Where's Wilbon's outrage about Sterling's racist business deals and comments in LA? Wilbon it seems will do or say anything to defend the NBA culture and its many tattoo thug/criminal/ignorant players and kiss the asses of wealthy NBA former stars/executives just so he can keep partying with them. When did Wilbon stop being a 'sports reporter'? (11/9/09) I see the "the fat red-headed cable guy" lobby has checked in. (11/9/09) Dear friends - If you are booked for this week's Q&A Cafe, featuring an interview with Simon van Kempen, please phone the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown to reconfirm or cancel. At the last Q&A we had 20 no-shows, empty seats which could have gone to people on the wait list. The phone number is: 202.912.4110. Simon is breaking away from the Bravo cameras in New York, where they are shooting the new season of "Real Housewives of NY" in which he is a featured cast member and probably the franchise's most visible husband. It will be a chance to talk about the reality TV boom. Again, the program is this Thursday, Nov. 12, the fee is $50 all inclusive of soft beverages, bottled water, full lunch, tax and tip. This time your checks will be brought to the table. Discounted valet parking is available with the hotel for $10. Seating begins at noon. Our next show is Thursday, Dec. 10, with the owners of Georgetown Cupcake, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, a chance to talk about the business of the cupcake business, which they made into a phenomenon that has swept the city. In a little more than a year they've gone from five employees to almost 60 (bucking the recession) and will soon move their flagship store to M Street and open another in Bethesda. Please reserve for that now, too. In my Monday column today on New York Social Diary it's the so-called "fall season" in Washington, with rich food, Cole Porter at lunch, cold champagne, snubbed cameras and late hours. At NYSD we go out so you don't have to! www.nysocialdiary.com. I hope to see at Thursday's likely amusing Q&A Cafe. All best, Carol (11/09/09) WTF is up with Fox during the Redskins broadcasts? Every week the audio and/or video freezes and it seems to happen most often during replays. I have FiOS in Fairfax - is this happening with Cox, Comcast or OTA? (11/9/09) Dave's response: I have Comcast and notice the same thing..... I'd guess that the WJMD studio in the photo was on Old Georgetown Rd. The building is still shown on Google Earth's Street View. It would be about 7807, above Sun Lighting and EFES Travel & Tours, etc. (11/9/09) That WJMD location is almost directly across Old G'town Rd from the back end of the building where WBCC's original studios were upstairs. The WBCC (2nd) floor is shown as a KARATE place. Street level is "GRAFFITI". WBCC's entrance was on Wilson Lane at about 5015. (11/9/09) I'm getting really sick of those Verizon Fios commercials that bust on the fat red-headed cable guy. They air way too often. The more they air, the less I would consider purchasing FIOS. I don't have enough time to watch all those channels. I know of several people ready to dump FIOS and go back to cable or using a satellite dish. Can't wait to hear what Riggo says on Ask Riggo on Wednesday. I hope he addresses the staged "news conference" with the shill from Channel 4. No disclaimer when they reran it during the Redskin's report that she's also on Snyder's payroll. And hopefully, Riggo will address more about Theismann being a Snyder shill. It was a thing of beauty watching Norv Turner's San Diego Chargers come back from behind to beat the New York Giants. Wherever Zorn goes from here, he will do much better there than he does for Snyder look all of his former coaches. (11/9/09) I would have to agree with the poster about the Redskins radio team. I have been listening to the games since before Frank Herzog and Sonny joined (he was still playing)...when it was Houff and that guy from WMAL that went on to ABC radio(?) - anyway...I like them - but I don't like listening any more even when the team is winning. Sam is too out of it - and makes no sense is correct.Larry is way over the top sitting on Dan's lap. I don't need someone who takes pot shots at the team - but at least someone who will call a pig a pig. And Sonny...I will always like Sonny...he is still the definition of "cool" but three fresh faces would help...Herzog could come back - but he's long in the tooth as well...Theisman and two more recent skins? ANY body but Doc Walker... (11/9/09) Here are some pics from Ed Walker's Radio Hall of Fame Induction in Chicago this weekend (from the RHOF Website): (Willard Scott shows his affection for his former radio partner Ed Walker, a 2009 Radio Hall of Fame inductee...); (Radio Hall of Famer Ed Walker with his Hall of Fame poster...); (Washington's Joy Boys Willard Scott and Ed Walker were all smiles at the recent Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Chicago...); (Washington, D.C.'s Joy Boys returned to the spotlight during the National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast Saturday night in Chicago. Ed Walker (L) was an inductee, and former NBC weatherman Willard Scott made the presentation...); (Famed NBC weatherman Willard Scott talked about his glory days with radio partner Ed Walker during Radio Hall of Fame ceremonies Saturday night in Chicago. Ken (Mellgren) of AP looks on.). --RB (11/9/09) Dave, I’m reliably informed that the ABC Radio News bureau in Washington is all but closed. ABC suit Andrew Kalb laid off all the editors and tape people. Pam Coulter is gone along with almost all of the once excellent team of reporters. In New York, all the editors are gone, half the newsroom, by one count. Two engineers are left to operate the Washington audio distribution (WAND). The defacto bureau chief Jim Kane is left with an empty bureau. The remaining correspondents will now file direct to New York and all the copy editing and tape processing will be done there, despite the fact that most actuality material was filed from Washington. Vic Ratner and Steve Portnoy (ex-WMAL) remain as reporters in Washington along with engineers Art Gauthier and Steve Stefany. Bill Greenwood and others left some time ago. Other layoffs at the management level in New York are expected. It’s really sad to see what was once the best newsroom in the country trashed. I feel honored to have been hired by (then) bureau chief Dick Rosenbaum to finish out my last eight years in radio at this bureau. Now, I’m glad to be retired. Tom Gauger (11/9/09) Hi Dave, You frequently, and correctly, point out conflicts of interest in the media, Mike Wise's radio/Post column being the most recent example. However, isn't there a big conflict for DCRTV to run ads for media outlets/shows/personalities that you cover? For example, you have been running for some time now an ad for Robb Spewak's show on KCJJ, while you've run several mentions of Robb's show and now speculation about Mike O'Meara relaunching with Robb et al on KCJJ. I enjoy the site, but I think there is at least the appearance of a conflict when you post about the same people and companies/outlets that are paying the site for adspace. (11/9/09) I was in the car earlier this evening, and I heard from a friend that was stuck on I-95 north of Baltimore. There was a serious accident there that closed the roadway for over two hours this evening. I turned to XM -214 which is Baltimore and Washington trafficand weather channel (XM had dedicated channels for each city prior to the merger with Sirius) to see if I could get an update to pass along to him (the accident was mentioned on WTOP’s reports). Anyway, when I turned it on, they did the Baltimore forecast from the Weather Channel, followed by the Washington traffic update, and then the Washington forecast from the Weather Channel. This was at approximately 6:40pm. Then, instead of the Baltimore traffic report, they played an audio clip of Ron Reilly’s forecast from WTOP! It started in the middle of his forecast, and he closed with “Weather updated around the clock on WTOP. I’m ABC7’s Ron Reilly.” Then Veronica Robinson said “WTOP newstime 6:11” and then teased the next story. Some commercial then played for few seconds, then the feed switched to the next segment, which was the Baltimore weather. Weird. It did the same thing during the next cycle. The third time around, I got a different clip in place of the Baltimore traffic. It started off in the middle of a Navy Federal commercial, then Veronica Robinson came on with “WTOP newstime 6:43,” and then there was a report about cancer from Rosemary Fressino-Tuohey. After about a total of about two minutes, back to the Baltimore weather again. Of course, I never got the information I was looking for, which was details about the accident in the Baltimore area. Way to screw up, SiriusXM. Seriously, how did they make the mistake of airing random audio clips from WTOP in place of a traffic report multiple times? Maybe it doesn’t matter, because I bet no one listens to those channels anyway. -BG (11/9/09) /\ November 9 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....