Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - November 30 to December 6, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ December 6 Messages \/ "Listening to him reading the list of closings this morning was just pure torture. Note to Farley: It's way past time for Dave Brown to ride off into the sunset." I'll second that. WTOP is absolutely unlistenable when Dave Brown is at the mike. When I find that he's on the air, I can't even force myself to listen... (12/6/09) I am not sure what to make of this headline and story on WUSA 9's website. Here is the headlne...Hundreds Defy Snow For Sarah Palin's "Rogue". Here is the first sentence... FAIRFAX, Va (WUSA) Nearly two thousand people of all ages defied the first snowstorm of the season.... Is the writer mistaken or do I detect some type of media bias? How did it go from hundreds to thousands? www.wusa9.com (12/6/09) Given the state of both the business and the economy, I think it’s a fair question to ask if local broadcast TV has reached a point where it’s not only uneconomic, but also unnecessary for more than three local evening newscasts to exist in any market? I say that because what we’re seeing in Baltimore, is an example of what has been happening in smaller markets over the past decade or so. While it can be said that WBFF built a newscast where none existed before, it can also be said that WMAR’s has deteriorated in spite of its former affiliation with Baltimore’s surviving newspaper. (OK, so it’s on life support, at best,) Because of what some like to call “new media”, we will likely see local TV newscasts eventually go the way of travel agencies, flea markets, etc. In other words, their existence will no longer be necessary. Except, that is for those who are unwilling to adapt to what one could call the “new marketplace”, as it’s no longer just media. The question is, will the U.S, take full advantage of this opportunity? Unfortunately, it cannot as long as our copyright laws continue to reflect the technology and culture of the 17th century and repress anything more innovative than moveable type. All one needs to do is look at the U.S. restrictions on internet radio and a quick listen will reveal few non-major broadcast stations have embraced the medium. This is largely due to congressionally mandated hikes (including retroactive payments) in royalty fees that only the “big guys” can afford. And, look at the sorry state of cable television, where the capability exists to bring in every broadcast station from anywhere in not just the U.S., but anywhere in the world. But, economic and regulatory restrictions largely shutout broadcasters more than 35 miles away or are not receivable on “equipment of the type ordinarily used for home reception”. If the latter were used equitably, WTTG, WUSA, WDCA, and WJLA would no longer be on the Comcast system where I live as their ATSC signals are unviewable on the receiver and antenna which worked fine for NTSC. A prudent broadcaster would be exploring the possibilities of IP delivery now and start lobbying the NAB to lobby Congress to take the shackles and blinders off this industry. Now… -Unsigned Corporate Suit (12/6/09) IM TYPE KEEBRD WTH NO GLVS ON JAY HARRYSAN -TOMGAVIN (12/6/09) Oh boy...look who decided to come out of the coffin. Welcome back, PLB. (12/6/09) Failure - noun - The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends. Here is it in a sentence you can understand. Jay and PLB own a business that is a failure. Never met you? Correct....Know nothing about you? Don't be so sure of that one....I know enough to know your business is sinking....By the way, PLB...I'm still waiting for you to tell me how the industry "shit" on me...It's been a week and you still haven't come up with anything yet? And I thought you knew me......Oh well...no one really takes you seriously anyhow...It's ok....Have a nice night, old timer. (12/6/09) There's a real good reason WASH isn't playing anything from Dylan's Christmas CD. It's....Fucking.....Awful! I get better noises throwing my cat against the wall. Paul (12/6/09) This item from the Los Angeles Times suggests that full Internet access on American TVs may one day be the norm for U.S. viewers. Works for me! www.latimes.com (12/6/09) To the viewer asking about Channel 4 freezing up: well there *is* snow on the ground. I'm not being glib - depending on how you are receiving at home, you may have a dish filled with snow or knocked a little out of line with the satellite; you might have a cable with a frayed jacket and the conductors are giving you grief; or if you are doing OTA digital, your antenna might be iced over or a little off-beam. Lots of possibilities. Without knowing how you are getting the channel, these are just educated guesses. (12/6/09) IAS. I've bean listening to WASH and all that Crismus music and I've yet to hear anything from the Bob Dylan christmas album, how come? I didn't think it was possible to get sick of Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown music but I think WASH and its crismus music all the time is doing it! It appears that channel 7 morning "news" has reverted back to only using 1 or 2 reporters during the "newscast" with the end of the November sweeps. They adopted this scheme back in September. For many a moon channel 7 had been using 3 reporters in the mornings and usually sent out in the field, although this mailbagger questioned the "news" validity of some of these reports. It appears Pamela Brown is the odd man out, or something like that with the dreamy Phillip Stewart being reassigned from evening newscasts to the mornings. Bummer! Any chance Lauren DeMarco could take over for Miss Baden on channel 7, preferably standing! Should Ms. Czarniak have a talk with J.C. about wigs? Drove by O'Mirror's old bar in Manassas, now called the Center St. Grille, not to crowded on a Saturday night , seems like more action at the bars closer to the train station in Devil Town. Did notice the city govenment offices that had been next door to O'Mirror's had vacated the site. Didn't O'Mirror allude that the Devil town government was sorta out to get his drining establishment. and say, no Joe Ardinger with the MOM podcast? Does Slo Joe still work at WJFK? I didn't realize that the syndication of John Batchelor was a weeknight thing, so that led to the canning of Curtis Sliwa at WABC. will miss his show. I'm not sure , as much as I enjoy Mr. Batchelor's show, it can sustain a 5 night a week thing. And when your bored with your tv viewing mith I suggest you venture over to subchannel WJLA 7.2 for the Accuweather.com broadcasts and look for Marie Molina. Merry christmas Steve Kingston, hope you enjoy some scrumptious creamed corn fresh from the Iowa farmlands (12/6/09) Jimmy T....Define Failure??????????? I would guess it's sarcasm directed at someone you've never met, know nothing about and waste time trying your best to provoke. Get a life-Jay Harrison. End of conversation. (12/6/09) Jay, I'm out of this one, I have nothing to prove. You know me, I know me, whomever is posting this hate needs a lot of help. I'm not volunteering. Mr. Hughes, it's up to you. PLB (12/6/09) "Saturday Night Live" opened with a Salahi spoof last night... (12/6/09) To the person who posted the RainbowHistory.org link, I think I might be the woman in that photo. Spent a lot of time there, and all but the coat make sense. (12/6/09) It's good insight from the poster(s) citing the land value as a price tag for WMAR. Joseph Della Ratta almost bought WRC from NBC back in the early 1980s. Land value was way higher than the few million the station eventually sold for. Della Ratta intended to plow the towers under and develop the property. He backed out, the story went, when the FCC indicated it was opposed to what would have been the loss of a community "voice" in the area, had the station gone off the air. In today's climate, land value isn't so strong, but neither is the mood to preserve a "voice" that WMAR may represent. (12/6/09) "Jimmy T in Timonium...What's the "T" stand for...Trauma!" -Fantastic retort, Jay....Is that what you and PLB do all day while your business sinks further into failure? (12/6/09) Jimmy T in Timonium...What's the "T" stand for...Trauma! OK, go see your mommy, she'll give you mittens so you can't play with the keyboard. As mentioned the PLB haters never cease to bore themselves and others on this site. Go get'em PLB. Jay Harrison (12/6/09) What's up with DC's Channel 4 this morning? About every other story the picture would freeze and the audio sounded like a CD skipping. It was also doing this during commercials. Did someone sneeze on the digital playback equipment? (12/6/09) Dave's response: I'm watching Chris Matthews on 4 at 10 AM and everything looks fine..... First let me wish Mary Beth Marsden all the best for her future, However, I was never a fan of hers and isn't it possible that she was one of the reasons for the lack of success of that news operation? I'm curious to see, if in the wake of her lack of ratings success, if some other station in Baltimore would take a chance on her. It would seem she comes with some baggage. There are some who think the new ABC news anchor replacing Charlie may not be a good move either. (12/6/09) Agree with previous poster that Ovechkin is the most dominant athlete in this market in some time..(maybe since Patrick Ewing?) but I did hear a 15-minute preview of the Caps-Flyers game with Joe Beninati of Comcast SportsNet on The Fan with "Parker & Parker" Saturday afternoon.. Actually remarkable considering all everyone talks about these days is Tiger, Tiger, Tiger.. Enough already! (12/6/09) "So I'm listening to some show on WJFK Saturday night called the Kevin and Rock show. Have no clue who these guys are but, in response to an email they received asking that they talk about the Caps, one of the geniuses says 'if we talk Caps we'll lose half our audience.'" I'm a Caps fan, and think their comment was stupid -- but I see where they come from. There is a perception that blacks, a major part of the D.C. broadcast market, neither like nor follow hockey. To me, that's a gross oversimplification, as I know more than a few black people who love hockey and the crowds at Verizon Center aren't all white by any means. However, it must be conceded that hockey isn't an inherent part of the black American culture, unlike baseball, football and basketball. If the Caps become consistent winners and capture a Cup or two, that might change, just as it has in a town like Detroit. -- Vincent in Triangle (12/6/09) So I'm listening to some show on WJFK Saturday night called the Kevin and Rock show. Have no clue who these guys are but, in response to an email they received asking that they talk about the Caps, one of the geniuses says "if we talk Caps we'll lose half our audience." Now, the Caps sell out every game. Cable television ratings way up. Radio ratings up. A buzz around the team like no local team since the early 90's Redskins. They have the biggest local superstar in their sport since Baugh and Walter Johnson. All indicators are that the Caps are the second most popular team in town right now, with a bullet. And, if they can win a Cup, Lord knows where things will go. Still, we have these sports talk clowns who can't recognize that their market is changing. By the way, Mike in Fairfax, your comments about WJFK being more receptive to hockey talk than ESPN 980 may be true, but it doesn't extend to these clowns. (12/6/09) Listening...to...W-T-Oh-Ppeee...Radio ...on...weekend...mornings...has... become...extremely...painful. YDB definitely isn't as Y as he used to be. Listening to him reading the list of closings this morning was just pure torture. Note to Farley: It's way past time for Dave Brown to ride off into the sunset. -BG (12/6/09) RE: [ " WHO would buy WMAR ABC 2?" The LAND / real estate, is worth more than the station. Sinclair would probably LOVE to move there. " ]...... Unlikely, Sinclair has much nicer facilities in nicer Hunt Valley. Many of the businesses and shopping areas around WMAR 2 have been troubled and failing for quite awhile, including recently, The Senator Theater. That area hasn't been thriving since Baltimore Colts QB Johnny Unitas owned a restaurant near WMAR 2 called The Golden Arm. And even that went under. Wells Liquors is probably worth more than WMAR! But that doesn't mean the land isn't still worth more than the TV station. You can make your own joke there! LOL (12/6/09) Earlier this week someone said that no one would buy WMAR from E.W.Scripps not true they could sell it on the cheap. There is someone who would buy it and they should do the Baltimore TV market a BIG favor and sell it. The station group Local,LLC would probably take it off of there hands for a cheap price they are one of the few companies who has purchased stations this year. They should really think about selling WMAR. (12/6/09) "To Steve from KCJJ: You have 'tuned in' to the Baltimore/Washington area......Baltimore/DC people are vicious but we don't broadcast that particular trait which is part of that viciousness...theres no 'Fair Warning' shots and no refs to call people on unnecessary roughness...we tell it like it is and make no apologies...our attack reflex is automatic. We hold grudges.We'll ... do... our own mother if we don't agree with her.Maybe we're conditioned by the bullshit we get from politicians but we don't go in for sunshiney scenarios and you'd better have your I's dotted and T's crossed when you make a statement or promise.Maybe KCJJ is in the 'heart' of America but here you're dealing with the teeth." And if you've ever had a bad beej you know you don't want to deal with the teeth, but just remember whose teeth are where. This un-named douche strikes me as one of the disenfranchised douches from radiogodsforum, bless their hearts. It's probably not Eilert Pilarm or Birdymama, but it could well be Hypes or Ajdury, the drunken accountant who called the old Don & Mike show and talked about taking the "tongue boat to Tuna Town" then showed up in the old WJFK studios and showed the boobies, which Vdubman quite properly distributed to all and sundry on the internet. Then she displayed her fandom by marrying a fat load named Mike. Remind you of any one? Or it could be any number of douchebags from that website. My money's on Hypes. All teeth, no balls. --- ThePenIsMightier (12/6/09) Re: "Why is WHUT Channel 32 on Channel 1.0?" It's been like that for a long time now. On my set, it's reported as "1-1", and I have to tune to 33-2 to get the set to find it (33 is WHUT's actual RF channel) since apparently my set is not programmed to remember channel 1. I assume this means that WHUT is not supplying any PSIP data at all for the SD channel. They have been rather slow in getting to each step of implementing digital service; they still don't have any program info available on their main HD channel. (12/6/09) /\ December 6 Messages /\ \/ December 5 Messages \/ Just when you thought it was safe to stay at home, drink some Jamison, have a smoke (or two) on a snowy night and watch Saturday Night Live, then you read this: “Salahis actually shy with press on "SNL" question: Will Tareq and Michaele Salahi do a walk-on, on this weekend's "Saturday Night Live"? Here's what we know: As of Thursday, the NBC late-night show was planning to open with a skit in which, with cast members playing all the parts, President Obama would give a speech with his cabinet behind him. Suddenly, he's interrupted by the Salahis, who have crashed the speech -- Michaele Salahi in a red,red sari, just like the one she wore when she and her husband allegedly crashed that White House state dinner last month. But word started getting out Friday that the Actual Salahis might also pop up in the bit.” God, oh might merciful God: make it stop! BTW: Fox’s Wanda The Dyke Syke’s Show is promoting a skit featuring The Faux Duo. washingtonpost.com (12/5/09) Dave's response: So, let's see, the Salahis will be on "Real Housewives Of Washington" on NBC-owned Bravo, they gave their big interview this week to NBC's "Today," and now they're being seen on NBC's "SNL." I hear that when Comcast buys NBC, it'll be replacing the Slowski turtles with the Salahis..... What is this? The fabled channel 1, over the air? Why is WHUT Channel 32 on Channel 1.0? (12/5/09) To the person who wondered "WHO would buy WMAR ABC 2?" The LAND / real estate, is worth more than the station. Sinclair would probably LOVE to move there.... (12/5/09) Hey "Jay H in Pasadena"...Taking humor lessons from old PLB, are ya? Sorry to hear that...He's about as funny as a car accident....Better luck next time. Jimmy T in Timonium (12/5/09) To Steve from KCJJ: You have 'tuned in' to the Baltimore/Washington area. The posters you refer to are of the more literate,outspoken crowd in the region.New Yorkers are known for,and boast about,thier rudeness. Here you won't get that warning.Baltimore/DC people are vicious but we don't broadcast that particular trait which is part of that viciousness...theres no 'Fair Warning' shots and no refs to call people on unnecessary roughness...we tell it like it is and make no apologies...we're somewhat friendly but always wary and our attack reflex is automatic. We hold grudges.We'll shout down our own mother if we don't agree with her.Maybe we're conditioned by the bullshit we get from politicians but we don't go in for sunshiney scenarios and you'd better have your I's dotted and T's crossed when you make a statement or promise.Maybe KCJJ is in the 'heart' of America but here you're dealing with the teeth. (12/5/09) If I'm not mistaken, didn't CBS Radio kill OLDIES on Baltimore's WQSR even when it was a Top 10 station or pretty damn close? I guess you could say the JACK-FM format is a success in Baltimore, but Oldies was never a failure either, but it was more expensive to program and that seems to be the major factor in many recent format changes. What can we get the same ratings with or close to at half the cost? DC doesn't even have a JACK-FM format, and 102.7 is probably very receivable all around the DC area mostly but it seems to get no ratings there, but I think the Oldies WQSR did get some ratings. In general though, almost no Baltimore radio stations get ratings in DC in fact with several having very strong signals to DC. Everyone always says lowly Baltimore has an inferiority complex, is thuggish, bucolic and/or provincial, but if you look at ratings, Baltimoreans are much more willing to listen to DC area stations than DC area residents are to listen to Baltimore stations. The ratings actually almost prove how snobby & elitist the Washington, DC market truly is and dispute the general thinking that "BaltiMORONS" don't like DC. And finally, I'm putting that divisive term in the Political Correctness Dictionary for city-related offensive terms! LOL (12/5/09) I see the PLB haters trying once again to start an issue. I guess they aren't allowed to play in the snow, your Moms probably don't let you handle scissors either. . Grow up you anal idiots: Jay H-Pasadena (12/5/09) Verizon FiOS has “solution for the ‘over flow’ games” mikeholden.wordpress.com (12/5/09) I hate to ask, but who is PLB?-Tim (Odenton) (12/5/09) 4PM This afternoon on Food Network - Dinner Impossible - Chef Robert has to prepare dishes for a party at The Newseum Museum. (12/5/09) Re: Your response to the Don Geronimo post about his "availability"; the CBS market manager is Sam ROGERS, not Roberts. (12/5/09) Dave's response: Well, I got five of the six letters of his last name right. Not bad, huh? Steve from KCJJ...you think alot of the posters are dicks? Wait until old PLB shows back up. (12/5/09) "DC radio greats like Bob Duckman and Johnny Dark and "Davy Jones" to flesh out some of the other air shifts." ---Dave....by Davy Jones, do you mean JUST Davy Jones? Or does that include any one of his DCRTV alter egos? (12/5/09) WMDM 97.7 changed on or about Thanksgiving Day. Other than 94.3, or maybe 107.7, I can't think of another regional frequency that has had this many format changes. Somar couldn't sell the CHR format and had no idea what to do with it - even though it was almost entirely satellite fed to them. MLB4 (12/5/09) Looking at these posts as an outsider..a lot of you are dicks! Steve, KCJJ (12/5/09) It's sad to see Lambda Rising leave the scene. I remember it when it was on 20th Street, just across the hall from Earthworks, a head shop that Deacon Maccubbin also owned. I bought my first bong there and who knows how many underground comix. That building was also the center of progressive and counter-culture activities in the early 70s. www.rainbowhistory.org (12/5/09) Rumor Central:: DJ Don Geronimo is now available for weddings, bar mitzvah's, sweet 16, retirement & holiday parties & quinceaneras's? (12/5/09) Dave's response: If I was stpuid Sam Roberts or dippy Dan Mason, I'd can the Fresh format from 94.7, and make it a REAL oldies station, with a big mix like CBS-FM in NYC or WOGL in Philly, 60s through 80s, and put Geronimo on it doing a music-based show, not a resurrection of its old JFK show. And then hire some DC radio greats like Bob Duckman and Johnny Dark and "Davy Jones" to flesh out some of the other air shifts. It would actually give CBS a top 10 station here in DC area once again with one of its four (count' em) major FMers. All of CBS's FMers in the DC market underperform. I guess since Mason's from here, he just doesn't mind letting his home market "slide," month after month, year after year. Whatever. PGC needs to be AMPed via urbanish contemp hits, 99.1 needs to be re-HFSed, and 106.7 need to go to a "Spanglish" hits format to replace El Zol..... Re: "Don Geronimo/Mike Sorce is doing what 99% of the unemployed jocks in the US would do if given the opportunity,he working the biggest market in the country and he's doing it because of his passion for the game." Sounds like he's taking a page out of Peter Rosenberg's playbook. Yeah, Dave, the hornet's nest needed a little stirring. Glad I could help! beetsnotbeats (12/5/09) The Sean Hannity Show got their scripts confused! Today, a woman with a small child called in to the Sean Hannity Show and said "I know why Obama 'Speak' at West Point." She went on fumbling to claim, in between a baby interrupting, that she was a graduate of West Point in 1981. Huh? They then repeated to bash Obama. If she graduated in 1981, she would be 50ish now. If she graduated from West Point, she would have been more verbally poised than she was. If she graduated from west Point in 1981, she would have been among the first women gradates, a fact she or Sean didn't mention. I bet she was sent the wrong script! Get your Freedom Concert tickets, in a nice gift box for Christmas, at Hannity.com a Lynard Skynard tribute band will be performing! (12/5/09) /\ December 5 Messages /\ \/ December 4 Messages \/ I've fantasized about doing some shifts at CBS-FM. Working at the premiere oldies outlet in the nation..now that's special. I'm happy for Donnie G. and am looking forward to hearing his show. Rock on...... (12/4/09) It's hard to believe Snyder can make a good deal, but swapping 105.1 for the AM Red Zebra frequencies is a smart move for both Salem and RZ. -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle (12/4/09) First forecast of a little snow. This is when Trumbull and Core would declare "ABANDON YOUR CARS NOW!" :) Robert, Arlington (12/4/09) Now THIS is funny: “Looks like Mike O'Meara got a part time job & even got a surprise visit from famed director John Waters! (well not really, hehe, bad joke)” But since it has been brought up, how about running that O’Meara Star Trek photo with Carla one more time: “It is a far better looking uniform than his Star Trek outfit though ya gotta admit, HAha!” (12/4/09) saw this thought you might be interested - www.courier-journal.com: Before you judge another beleaguered reporter, catch former USA Today and CBS journalist Mike Walter's short film “Breaking News, Breaking Down.” It's a documentary about what reporters go through when they cover traumatic events. We talked to Walter by phone from Washington, D.C., about the movie, which the Washington Times calls “inherently gripping” and the Sunday Times of London describes as “a compelling study of the toll telling the story can take on the storyteller.” (12/4/09) Has anyone thought that the reason Don G is doing some shifts at WCBS is that he wants to have fun? Despite all his bluster he remains - at heart - a Top 40 boss jock. Talking up ramps, playing the hits - he does that because he loves it. He is a radio guy. And, that station plays the stuff he loves. Why not do it in the number one market? Frankly, if you want to be a 'disc jockey' listen to Don when he does WCBS. You'll learn a few things. (I am no Geronimo apologist but I appreciate his talent in this realm) (12/4/09) Don Geronimo/Mike Sorce is doing what 99% of the unemployed jocks in the US would do if given the opportunity,he working the biggest market in the country and he's doing it because of his passion for the game. He's not the most likeable guy in the industry but, he's certainly earned his stripes. The ney-sayers and nasty shots are rooted in envy, I'm sure of that. Don, go for it, I hope you kick out the jams. If anything I would wish you happiness, you've certainly been through the mill. Who knows you might end up like Scrooge!!! JD (12/4/09) According to The Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik, JAY LENO is now deliberately tailoring his monologues to help WBAL TV 11's NEWS ratings! baltimoresun.com... I can understand NBC being concerned about their affiliates' dropping ratings, but I hardly think Leno tossed out a Baltimore mayor joke just for WBAL TV. Where did Zurawik get this info that Jay Leno is trying to help out WBAL's news ratings? I seriously doubt that. Leno's been making fun of Baltimore for years! (12/4/09) "Add Steve Yasko, WTMD General Manager to the list of mailBAGGERS who should buy a display ad from DCRTV."-Say Dave, when did you hire your own crew of sales people?? Don't forget....ABC....Always Be Closing! (12/4/09) Don Geronimo:: Good-God Man, where is your pride? So in the latest string of brief radio saga stints that is the life of Mike Sorce, he walked-out on Dan Gaffney at WGMD and previous to that, ran from Dave "Bulldog" Rothner at WOCM - allegedly. Now according to his latest Twitter post Sorce's "1st shifts on CBSfm will be after Xmas: Sat12/26* 3-7pm - Fri 1/1* 3-7pm - Sat 1/2* 10a-2pm." Even for Sorce, this fill-in work is embarrassing. Still under contract, this can't be the best CBS Radio had to offer. At what point of denial does Sorce [and his re-hired agent?] realize that he is being punked/punished/black-balled by management suits and out of principle, should turn down this gig, wait-out his non compete and begin to negotiate from strength? Sugar-coat it anyway you want, there is no professional upside to this move unless Sorce believes that crawling back to CBS on his hands & knees is a career move. For Sorce, even with sparkling new headphones, it appears Karma's still his bitch! Ahhhhhh! (12/4/09) LMAO!!! Off with thier nuts. That should apply to companies who waste airwaves too!!! As Everlast once said" I'll be crackin' ya nuts" LOL (12/4/09) Donny G Gets Back On The Radio (12/4/09) Does anyone know when WMDM 97.7 switched to easy listening? Or as the station calls the format, "relaxing, easy favorites"? This makes the third format change for the station this year. I didn't think there was a fanbase for the easy listening format anymore. Together with the bumpers and community announcements, the new format almost sounds like a deliberate recreation of the original WMJS. (12/4/09) (snip) Even the slightest forecast of snow (end snip) For more on snow, go to our web site; keyword: snow. Al McGilvray (12/4/09) Add Steve Yasko, WTMD General Manager to the list of mailBAGGERS who should buy a display ad from DCRTV. ("Hey Everyone… We need your help in choosing the music… It’s time to vote for the TOP 89 SONGS of 2009. www.surveygizmo.com... Vote Now and we will be counting them down later this month. And don’t forget our Holiday Helper Auction! wtmd.org... Steve Yasko, WTMD General Manager) (12/4/09) It would truly be ironic if Salem finally parted with 105.1. They have been fielding - and turning down - offers for that stick for years. At one time they could have grabbed close to $100 million for it. They must be in need of cash if they are willing to let it go for $25 million and some old transmitter tubes. (12/4/09) Greetings, Haven't seen Justin Berk on channel 2 in Baltimore for a while. Has he moved on? or fired? Just curious. (12/4/09) Even the slightest forecast of snow = Jim Farley's version of Viagra. Short of a war or natural disaster, the man lives for days like this. (12/4/09) In the spirit of today's DCRTV Plus photo, perhaps other mailbaggers would enjoy this 2007 interview that Frank Harden gave to Chuck Langdon... (12/4/09) Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com. "The FCC policy should be, FIX THE DAMN STATION OR STATIONS YOU OWN FIRST, THEN GET BACK TO US ON WANTING MORE FREQUENCIES!" Oh No! More STAs! End of the World, end of the world, I tell you! Cut off their nuts! Off with their nuts! Every station owner whose station is in STA, for whatever reason, should have their nuts removed immediately. (12/4/09) Looks like Mike O'Meara got a part time job & even got a surprise visit from famed director John Waters! (well not really, hehe, bad joke) It is a far better looking uniform than his Star Trek outfit though ya gotta admit, HAha! (12/4/09) Another WJLA fundraiser Friday (the Allbritton family must hate to air "SuperNanny") for smile train, which I am sure is paying them a nice sum of money to air the fundraiser. A worthy cause, but does station management really think most of the people who wanted to watch the reality show are staying tuned in? (12/4/09) Ahhh...I believe one of Dave's new site moderators banned plugging of radio shows...Violation...Spewak! (12/4/09) As a veteran of several station sales, I can tell you that talking to corporate and talking to the local station are two different sets of information, and often opposite. Salem could very well be shopping 105.1 while the execs at 105.1 say it isn't for sale. It has happened before. And there are some good reasons why it makes absolute sense right now. (12/4/09) Hey Everyone… We need your help in choosing the music… It’s time to vote for the TOP 89 SONGS of 2009. www.surveygizmo.com... Vote Now and we will be counting them down later this month. And don’t forget our Holiday Helper Auction! wtmd.org... Steve Yasko, WTMD General Manager (12/4/09) The the person bemoaning the stare of DTV due to antennaweb's predictions, that site's predictions are totally screwed up. Before you give up on over-the-air, please check with TVFool.com. For best results, use the "Start maps" option. With the Google map that appears is a marker showing the receive location. You can drag it to be precisely where you want it. Update the receive antenna height and you get the best reception prediction possible. Good luck! Regards, Dave Loudin (12/4/09) The Media Bistro article regarding Dallas print is nothing new. Such has been the case at more than a few broadcast (and probably print as well) newsrooms over the years. Even back when such were common, as opposed to today’s situation where you see them going away. In the past, as an example, it wasn’t uncommon for sales to be informed of an upcoming disturbing story involving a client and to either quash the story entirely or at least “sanitize” it. There also have been “newsrooms” where advance details about upcoming stories about non-clients have been used to “pursuade” them to become clients with the story being quashed as quid pro quo. And, finally, it’s always been common for sales to kill a story lest a lucrative client be lost. Yes, it’s obscene and unethical. But, the same can be argued about today’s unemployment rate in the media industry. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (12/4/09) Robb Spewak will give lots of information on the New Mike O'Meara show when he takes to the air at 3 eastern today for his show on 1630 KCJJ. He can be heard @ www.ustream.tv/channel/kcjj-raw (12/4/09) (regarding a previous post) "I know how much the libs love to trash anything that is said, thought or moved upon by conservatives, but…face it, the global warming hoax has been identified and it has nothing to do with the bible" I can appreciate that there is a reluctance on the part of many conservatives - on the air and off - to think in terms of spiritual concepts and contexts. So at the risk of scaring (or embarrassing) them, may I offer a well thought out and intelligently expressed Christian view of people, the planet and the issue of Global Climate Change. www.jri.org (12/4/09) Recently Ann Norris of Montgomery College's Rockville campus passed away. She deserves this info being passed along as I'll never be able to thank her. Please forward: A memorial service has been scheduled for Professor Ann Norris who passed away on November 18. She was a full-time faculty in the Communication Arts and Technology at the Rockville Campus for 20 years. Professor Norris earned a Bachelor's degree from Memphis University and a Masters from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She was a newspaper reporter and photographer in Virginia; a freelance magazine writer for four regional magazines in Michigan, an all news radio anchor, producer and assistant news director also in Michigan; and a news producer for television before beginning her college teaching career at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has written scripts for various radio and television programs and was the voice of the Tennessee Valley Authority for a year while working on her Master's degree. At MC, Professor Norris was responsible for graduates with exceptional writing skills who go on to work in the radio and TV industry. She will be remembered as the tough teacher who taught them to write well - always in an active voice. The memorial service is planned for Saturday, December 5 at 1 p.m. at the Witzke Funeral Homes, 5555 Twin Knolls Road, Columbia, MD 21045. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be sent to: ASPCA, PO Box 96929, Washington, DC, 20090-6929, 1-800-628-0028 or Donate on line at www.aspca.org and then click on "Memorial Giving." Please join us in expressing your sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of Professor Ann Norris. (12/4/09) In reference to El Zol being brought back to English and the potential political nightmare. As far as Politically Correct goes its a damn good thing I haven't hit the lotto. If I had the resources I'd flip it back to HFS and to hell with any so called racist repercussions. Why is it that it is perfectly fine to walk all over OUR traditions and institutions but any hint of a minority being dealt with on level ground is paramount to attempted genocide?!?? Why the kid gloves? Were WHFS fans given any fluffy treatment? No. WHFS has been crammed into every corner thats been convenient.Minority businesses want free enterprise? Fine. Put on your fucking helmet and get in the game like every other business. Enough of this pandering to outraged illegals who spit in the face of tax paying citizens while laughing at the destruction of our culture. Yes yes El Zol is legitimate but a large part of its fan base is not and I consider cowtowing to them just the same as catering to drug dealers and organized crime which also pay no taxes and follow no laws.If you wanna run with the big dogs don't cry because you're a chihuahua. Donnie in America (12/4/09) Re: potential WAVA sale. I still contend that WAVA should swap 105.1 with CBS's 106.7 and 1580. In Salem's favor: The coverage areas of 106.7 and 105.1 are relatively similar, and 1580 gives Salem more eastern coverage than they have today. For CBS: 1580's current programming would have to move to FM, and perhaps a two-market stick, to get good ratings, something for them to think about if El Zol isn't making enough. Additionally, CBS would have the opportunity to beat Bonneville and Citadel, among others, at owning the first FM news-talk station in DC and Baltimore. CBS would also be able to consolidate all of its studios into the Lanham building, saving money. Sincerely, Mike in Kensington (12/4/09) (RII-IINGG...) Hello, O.J.? ...Yeah, Tiger here...Not bad. How are you doing?...Good, good...Listen: you, uh, free this weekend? ... (12/4/09) Dave, I realize that it’s Dallas and far, far away… but this is scary. www.mediabistro.com... --Tom Gauger (12/4/09) /\ December 4 Messages /\ \/ December 3 Messages \/ I have to agree with a previous poster who said that Hagerstown's WHAG "NBC 25" exist in the first place to provide commercial TV service to Western Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia but I beg to differ about WHAG and Virginia. While it is true that many in Virginia can get WHAG and yes WHAG does promote themselves as being a "Four State" station, the fact is that WHAG really doesn't care THAT much about serving Virginia other than Lou Scally giving the weather for Virginia. For starters Hgaerstown/Washington County is a TRI-STATE market, many local businesses there simply do NOT serve Virginia ( Williamsport's Red Baron Furniture is a classic example of that ). Want more proof? Pick up a copy of the local Hagerstown Hearld-Mail newspaper and notice how often the word "tri-state" is used there. Even radio stations like WAYZ and 106.9 The Eagle whoses signals make it well into Virginia, not hard to hear their jocks and local commercials talk about "..the tri-state area". Now I do give both WHAG and even WJAL credit though as over the years they have served ( though somewaht ) Virginia but that has dropped quite a bit in recent years. (12/3/09) Check this out: www.eweek.com... Say goodbye to HD programming? Say goodbye to MHz-2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8, -9, and -10? No more ThisTV, Universal Sports, RTV, WETA Create, etc. etc. etc.? (12/3/09) As the “M & A” guru in our cluster, here are my thoughts on some recent posts: 99.1 and Salem? CBS will not let 99.1 go. “El Zol” has a positive OCF. Not impressive, but it’s still in positive territory. (Remember, broadcasters usually program for advertisers –not an “audience”. (OK, there was “The Hathaways” on ABC-TV, which only carried promos for other ABC-TV shows…)) Plus, Salem (or anybody) responsible for taking “El Zol” English at this time would face a P.R. and political nightmare; My speculation on the Comcast buy of control of NBCU will piss-off some people. But, hear me out. It’s all about content and control of that content. But, in a different way. The nascent examples of what’s going on are Ted Turner’s buy of MGM/UA (to get control of the film library) and the ABC buy of ESPN (to migrate the profitable ABC-TV sports properties over to a now more profitable ESPN platform)… Think of it this way: Comcast’s former “Outdoor Life” network is now “Versus”. Move NBC-TV’s sports line-up over to Versus, and you’ll have a potentially viable competitor to ESPN. Plus, you discontinue the blu-ray and DVD division of Universal and have archive and recent release distribution exclusively by Pay-Per-View on cable and you have a nice money-spinner and reduce competition from Red Box, Netflix, etc. Plus, with Versus already in a game of “Pay for Play Chicken” with DirecTV, the additional sports properties will not only improve the marketability of the network to the cable people, but raise the rate card. The only downside I see will be for the satellite and phone competitors, as they will have to pay higher rates to carry Versus than the cable companies. That is, if it’s offered to them at all. I say that because DirecTV has long had an exclusive deal for “NFL Sunday Ticket”. An “enhanced” Versus denied to competitors could make for marketing revenge. For that matter, denying the other NBC cable networks to competitors would either further emasculate them or force them to develop competing products. However, that would be horribly expensive and take a lot of time with existing contracts for sports being locked-in for years to come. What surprises me is that Rupert Murdoch didn’t do this deal with Comcast for NBC. It would’ve reduced Comcast’s cash outlay and regulatory exposure. I did see an interesting typo in the Post’s coverage today on this. They claim WRC is on channel 4. They haven’t been on channel 4 since they turned-off the “night light”! Unsigned Corporate Suit (12/3/09) My experience with OTA DTV adjacent channel interference has been non existent. I have a high gain roof top antenna pointed at DC and Baltimore. They are both the same direction from my house in Western Fairfax. Before the transition I had no trouble picking up WJZ operating on UHF CH. 38 at that time. WJZ's signal was about 60 out of 100. WJLA was operating on UHF CH. 39 at that time with 646KW. WJLA's signal was a rock solid 98. There was no interference to WJZ. Since the transition both CH.9 and CH. 7 VHF signals give me a rock solid 98 and never waver. I have no trouble picking up WMDO DTV operating on VHF CH. 8 with 198 Watts. WMDO's signal is 45 with no drop out. There is no interference to WMDO from 7 or 9 operating on each side of WMDO. Bob Fairfax (12/3/09) If I were CBS Radio, I'd put a bid in for WAVA 105.1 too in a swap + cash deal. It would do several things... #1: Drive the cost of sale up to Red Zebra or Bonneville for certain even if CBS is not serious. #2: Salem might just take 106.7's weaker signal + some cash as a lateral move or a CBS AM for even more cash & savings. Or Possibility #3: Offer up 99.1 for 105.1 to Salem, plus cash. CBS can't figure out how to use 99.1 to save it's life. Salem would love to have a 2 market DC/Baltimore signal and that signal is perfect, more bang for the buck. And a 105.1 THE FAN would just CRUSH Snyder's Red Zebra stations like a bug. Just some thoughts, as always people, please no wagering, hehe. (12/3/09) TO Eli in Frederick: I have cable TV, but I still do have an antenna on my roof. With analog TV back when I still had the antenna hooked up, I used to be able to get WGAL 8 in Lancaster PA as well as most of the DC stations and very clearly too. So I went to AntennaWeb after reading your post. www.antennaweb.org... I used the site before the DTV switch and got more than a dozen analog TV stations from both DC, Baltimore & WGAL 8 in Lancaster and I actually got those stations at my house back when I used the antenna. Now that I've checked the site after the DTV switch, I was quite shocked. I'm less than 10 miles from downtown Baltimore and yet AntennaWeb not only doesn't list any DC or PA DTV stations available to me, it doesn't even list WMPB 67, Baltimore's MPT/PBS station or WMPT 22 either as receivable! Maybe that's the fault of Maryland Public TV, I dunno, but clearly the FCC completely has screwed up the DTV switch and basically is abandoning free broadcast TV & radio in general (HD Radio?). There's just no sensible reason that being within just a few miles of the Baltimore city line, that the Baltimore PBS station would not show up as receivable from my house WITH A ROOFTOP ANTENNA! I personally think the FCC was in bed with the cable & satellite & phone companies from Day 1 on this DTV switch and deliberately sabotaged it from those companies' lobbying and influence to the benefit of those companies and not the general public. There's just no excuse for this situation. Does anyone know if the same problems are happening in Europe or Japan or elsewhere, or is this just another American tech screwup? (12/3/09) For “philosophical reasons”, I do not see Salem selling assets to either Bonneville or Dan Snyder. However, I can easily see them acquiring assets from either. But, Bonneville is not in a selling mood. If anything, they are looking to bulk-up their portfolio. And, Dan Snyder has a bunch of junk FM signals (rimshot is too charitable a term) and AM’s which vary from a decent day signal (980) to dilapidated crap (1260), with nothing having decent night coverage. Face it, the most regionally marketable night AM signal in D.C. is 630. (And, that may be on the market soon!) OK, so 1500 runs 50KW full-time. And, Hubbard let Bonneville loosen the DA a few years back. And, on most nights, it does have a great night signal at Hilton Head. In fact, a better night signal there than in Leesburg, VA! And, that’s why you may see Salem interested in 630 where Bonneville might not be as Bonneville is becoming rather FM-centric. Salem knows that 630 is the most viable AM in town. Only thing is, with their current liquidity, they’ll have to sell something to buy it. Which brings up another matter. If Citadel goes Chapter 7 (I think Chapter 11 is increasingly unlikely.), the deals are going to be all cash. Right now, Bonneville has liquidity which is the envy of American business. They are just being smart businessmen (I bet Bonneville’s Board is all-male…) and waiting for the prices to fall. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (12/3/09) I don't know if anyone is keeping track, but in the last year, Baltimore's WMAR ABC 2 has let go of all of its lead anchors, both weeknights 6 & 11PM and now weekends, plus all of its sportscasters, and now 15 more people in several departments? And there are rumors of more buyouts, Veteran meteorologist Norm Lewis next? I'm starting to wonder if Scripps Howard is either in serious financial trouble or they're planning on selling this TV station and if the later is true, WHO would buy WMAR ABC 2? Sinclair, Hearst, & CBS all can't, the later 2 because of their radio station holdings in the market. ABC will never be able to buy WJLA 7 it seems even though they want it bad and have for a decade or more. Would ABC want WMAR with its cable coverage in some parts of DC? Probably doubtful. FOX doesn't want WUTB 24 from all rumors so its doubtful they'd like a Baltimore duopoly, plus they are so beholden to Sinclair because of the large numbers of Sinclair FOX stations across the nation. I realize WMAR is cutting costs, but this is one hell of an unprecedented house cleaning in my opinion for a Top 30 Market station! (12/3/09) With the drastic cut backs at Wash Times does this mean the end of association with ESPN 980. Perhaps Tom Lavarro can join the Sports Reporters permanently,please?! Can't stand the political correctness and agenda driven nature of the WaPo sports section. Like last friday the story about rod Langway and his estranged daughter. why the h8ll was that a sports story? Stick in the Style section and columnist Tracee Hamiltons column about Coach Fridge simply mediocre. The only decent columnist they got left in the sports section is Wilbon, sorry I think boswell passed his peak about a decade back. Now it appears the WaTi sports section will go on suckdown with the cuts. And back to WaPo with them shuttering all their bureaus across the U.S. don't that mean that Lis De Mores is outta of their? a ray of sunshine between the thunderclaps. I say the Salahi should get a year or so in jail and check on immigration status! Hey Steve Kingston how much do you make a year with KCJJ, do you own that Tick Tock 432 liquor store? (12/3/09) What's the deal with Newschannel 8's cameras covering the National Christmas Tree Lighting? I can't see a thing or a person on stage? The cameras are either too far away or on the wrong people. I look forward to this each year but I'm turning it off because it's annoying. Paul (12/3/09) If your rumor of WAVA being up for sale is true that opens up an interesting possibility. 105.1 is one of THE best signals in DC. But, given the current marketplace the two likely players would be Red Zebra and Bonneville. They both have AM signals to spare and would love to put their flagship properties on the WAVA stick. (12/3/09) Dave's response: Great minds think alike. I addressed just that, at least from the Snyder/RZ perspective, in a response below. And, yeah, Salem could certainly use Bonneville's 50,000-watt 1500 AM..... Channel-5's experiment with night club comic Woody Woodbury as host of his own weekday talk show at 8:30 pm lasted only one season, from September '67 to the following August. By September '68, Donald O'Connor had assumed that time slot with a similar talk/variety program. By July 1969, the reins had been handed over to Group-W's David Frost, who continued until March of '72 when Merv Griffin, (having been dropped by CBS late nights), began his long successful run on Metromedia. (12/3/09) I doubt Salem really wants to or is desperate to sell/trade WAVA 105.1, but from a business sense, they could certainly get more bang for the buck with several AMers, not to mention, look at WAVA 780 AM's expanded signal now... www.radio-locator.com... If Salem was programming mostly music on 105.1, they would probably never consider selling the station, but it seems they're sort of backing off of music in some markets and talk radio could easily be done on several area AM frequencies with similar earnings but at significantly less cost. The people who listen to their formats will always seek them out no matter where they are as long as the signal is decent. I bet Salem would love to have AM 1500! And I seriously doubt Bonneville loves running a liberal format on WZAA 1050 either, which also got a recent 10,000 watt signal upgrade. And what about a wildcard scenario, the proposed 50,000 watt WAGE 1190 which is now in limbo? That new proposed WAGE signal would have a better daytime signal than even 105.1! They never filed a nighttime signal app, so that's still up in the air. (12/3/09) Dave's response: You know, Dan Snyder still has loads of dough, even in this recession, and he really really really wants an inside-the-Beltway FMer for his WTEM. And he could swap a whole batch of local AMers to Salem, including the 50,000-watt-by-day 980. It makes me wonder if something ain't comin' down the pike on a Salem/Snyder swap in DC. Salem currently does just fine with two AMers in NYC and two AMers in Philly. Why not two AMers in DC, too? If Salem gets 980 from Snyder and 630 from Citadel, plus their existing 780, they'd have quite a good DC radio combo, and a nice chunk-o-change from the sale of 105.1. Hmmm..... Chad Leykis and contorted bible-logic Lavar flamed out trying to pitchfork golfer Jesper Parvenik's public stand against Tiger Woods. Parvenik is from Sweden and Chad Leykis probably smelled an easy jingoistic target to jump the up some male ratings misogyny. Fail. This radio team is grasping and sliding sand trap downwards. (12/3/09) It's kinda strange that The Fan hasn't moved much in the overall ratings. I know that 12+ is the beaut contest and I'm sure the Fan is doing well in their target male demo, but still, they are so far behind TEM and SnyderCo., what's the point. I just don't get it... (12/3/09) Hi Dave, The Junks make 265,000 a year this year and next year, it raises to 275,000 (12/3/09) Dave's response: Collectively? Two thoughts: 1) The person in Frederick doesn't realize that Channel "25" in Hagerstown is a local station for Frederick, along with Channel "62", the MPT/PBS station. If there were any emergencies, WHAG-TV would cover them. Also AM radio does a pretty good job in that area too, what with stations at 930 and 820 right there in town. If your antenna-run TV stopped picking up anything, one could turn on a radio. (I'm trying not to be mean or sarcastic; I'm sorry if I am sounding that way.) Lots of people live in places where the nearest TV station is 25 miles away. I'm much closer in the Washington area (Olney) and my nearest TV station transmitter is on Wisconsin Avenue, about 17 miles away. In fact, that's why WHAG-TV exists in the first place: to provide a commercial TV service for Western Maryland and the neighboring parts of VA, West VA, and PA. If no one could see it, they wouldn't have their second office right there in Frederick. 2) It's a darn shame about WMAR-TV. It used to be that having a network affiliation + VHF channel meant being able to hire great program directors and talent because you had lots of income. Well, HDTV has leveled the field of that now symbolic VHF Channel number. And Cable TV in general and the availability of both Baltimore and Washington stations on cable in Howard and AA Counties + the lack of Baltimore stations on cable in PG County and some providers in Frederick County means someone loses out, and the poor staff at Channel 2 is the big loser, unfortunately. And truthfully, it goes back decades to when Stu Kerr had fake dials for showing the temperature, humidity, and barometer readings that looked like spinners on a game board. But back then he, Jack Dawson on sports, and the serious guy anchor (whose name I unfortunately can't remember) made it a worthy competitor. But if you have no management and technical support (read "money") long enough,the potential new talent will avoid the place; it's finally gotten to the tipping point. -- Carl in Olney (12/3/09) If there's anyone out there who hasn't had their fix of Woody Woodbury lately, here's a sparkling clear color clip from his 1967-68 show that aired locally on Channel-5. Johnny Mathis, Henny Youngman, Donna Jean Young and show announcer Bob Ridgely occupy the guest couch that looks like it was acquired from a Goodwill store. (There are a few seconds of black video at the head end, so be patient.) (12/3/09) Dave's response: Back in the late 1960s, my mom and dad were in line to see Woody Woodbury perform in Fort Lauderdale. Suddenly, one of the bouncers came up to mom and moved her and dad to the front of the long line to get in. When inside, she asked why. And they told her that they thought she was Judy Carne (google.com). Remember her from "Laugh In"? Back then, they looked a lot alike..... RE: Korny vs. Wise... still seems pretty early in the game to declare a winner. Tied in month one, Kornheiser a little ahead in month two. WTEM and Kornheiser have been on the air way longer than the Fan and Mike Wise. If they weren't winning at this point, they would definitely be in big trouble, wouldn't they? As it is, it looks like both stations are doing very well in their target demos. The bigger question is what happens to both after the Redskins season is "officially" over. (12/3/09) There was a 1pm all station meeting at WRC to discuss "what the sale means to us". I haven't heard what was said. (12/3/09) In FCC news today, I see that the proposed 50,000 watt daytime monster WHAN AM 650 has been scaled back. The planned signal would have stretched from the distant DC suburbs to Norfolk during the daytime... www.radio-locator.com... But it appears they've scaled back the project to a single pre-existing tower now at 23kw, most likely due to cost. Note to Pat Sajak though, if approved, this will remove another AM 1430 from interfering with WNAV. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of several AM 1430's that are either operating under STA, dark, or leaving AM 1430 altogether. Might be a good time to commission an engineering study to possibly improve WNAV's signal to DC. When the WHAN CP gets approved, since they are proposing using an existing tower, that will quicken the time it takes WHAN to leave AM 1430 substantially since no actual tower construction is involved now. Also noticed that another area AM 1230 has bit the dust down in Woodstock, VA. Although, I doubt you can you even operate anything other 1000 watts or less on the crowded AM 1230 frequency so no real effect to Baltimore's 1230. Al lot of AM station DARK or STA filings all over the country, I assume mostly due to financial reasons. Entercom takes the AM 910 in Scranton, PA dark. That might be good news for south central PA's WSBA 910 since they currently have to operate a null towards Scranton that affects reception towards east of Harrisburg near Lebanon. Oh, and those wacky Klepacs of Delaware, WXXY Broadcasting, are at it again, they filed for another translator construction permit modification. It's basically clear from their repeated FCC filings that they have no intent on putting Dover's WAMS 1600 back on the air as licensed. They are just filing for FM translators to cover WAMS's previous service area and they're not even getting all of them on the air either! That the FCC allows this is just unbelievable. If you can't run one station as licensed for almost 10 years, why should the FCC be giving you more licenses for FM translators? The FCC policy should be, FIX THE DAMN STATION OR STATIONS YOU OWN FIRST, THEN GET BACK TO US ON WANTING MORE FREQUENCIES! As always, tech guru and FCC apologist Dave Loudin will disagree with me most assuredly. Can't wait. :-) (12/3/09) WMAR-TV ABC2 laid off an additional 15 people yesterday. No traffic department, no art department, no ratings for the sales department. Will the last person left please turn out the lights? (12/3/09) Hi Dave, I am a longtime follower. I live approximately 30 miles outside of Washington, DC in downtown Frederick, about 3 blocks from the NBC 25 affiliate station. My wife and I recently came to the realization (thanks to the NAB) that Frederick does not receive ANY digital broadcast stations aside from MPT. According to the fellow I spoke with on the phone, we'd have to install an antennae on our roof and raise it about 100 feet in the air, and then we'd receive channel 7, and nothing else. Apparently it has to do with the curvature of the earth and the placement of the relay towers. Downtown Frederick, a metropolitan area not 30 miles from the nation's capital, has dead air, all the time. Dead air in emergencies, dead air in snow storms, dead air when the President addresses the nation. Is this not a travesty? I don't live in Montana, I live in the DC Metro area! -- Eli (12/3/09) Mr. Tony is surging, Mike Wise is sliding. I know Kornheiser is probably a bad guy, but he’s witty, erudite, insightful, and gets GREAT, national level guests that he obviously has a personal relationship with (Carville, Howard Fineman, Bob Ryan, Wilbon, Feinstein). Wise is definitely a better person (though he comes across as so sensitive it seems fake) , but his humor falls flat, he’s obvious, unoriginal and plodding on the radio. So it’s not really that surprising, is it? (12/3/09) WJLA 7 applies for a UHF translator for the District to attempt to solve its ATSC broadcast signal woes on VHF channel 7. The signal appears to specifically target the District itself more so than surrounding areas and would be on UHF 39. According to the application, the new channel 39 will however create additional interference to some viewers (roughly 6000+ people) of WMAR, WJAL, & WWTD. The FCC app was just filed today and has not yet been FCC approved... fcc.gov (12/3/09) It is not local, but still of radio interest: From Media UK: SECOND JACKfm TO BE LAUNCHED IN U.K FOLLOWING SUCCESS OF 106 JACKfm OXFORDSHIRE... Bristol is about to become the luckiest city in the country (well, outside of Oxfordshire), with the news Bristol radio station Original 106.5fm, is set to become the second JACKfm in the U.K. With its ground breaking music policy of ‘Playing What We Want’ JACKfm Oxfordshire has been recognized by the radio industry as the most successful new radio station launch in the United Kingdom in over two decades. It has also become the most awarded local radio station in the country, picking up seven industry awards in just two years for its clever and irreverent programming style. JACKfm’s format, which is unlike any other in the U.K, snubs its nose (and various other parts of its body) at the radio industry’s recent trend of spoon feeding its listeners homogenised, clinical and networked radio. Instead JACKfm plays music spanning four decades, from a library of over 10 000 songs alongside multi-award winning imaging (the bits between the songs). Ian Walker, General Manager of JACKfm Oxfordshire who will be assisting the roll out of this hugely, no make that massively, successful radio station format across the U.K, by brand owner SparkNet Communications, says “After two brilliant years working with JACKfm Oxfordshire we are looking forward to assisting 106 JACKfm in Bristol put the fun and creativity and back into radio in Bristol. The reaction to JACKfm can only be described as a phenomenon. People love these radio stations and look upon JACK as their friend, who not only provides them with music they haven’t heard in years, but also makes them laugh all day long”. The JACK format is now successfully operating in over sixty U.S and four European markets, and it is hoped to announce soon several more U.K radio stations alongside Bristol. (12/3/09) So Tony Kornheiser cited journalistic ethics as his rationale for not playing that Tiger Woods voice mail message on his ESPN 980 radio show yesterday. Sorry - when he chose to take Dan Snyder's money he relinquished a lot of that claim (and by the way, his propensity to rip any columnist or commentator who blames management for the Redskins' lack of success on the field doesn't exactly dispel the notion that he's become a lackey for Danny Boy). Not that it was an especially proud moment for the mainstream media (including network and cable news) to play that message all day long when it hasn't even been established that Woods was actually the one talking. We seem to have reached the point where it's harder and harder to recall a time when prying into people's private lives and shamelessly exploiting their anguish, pain or humiliation for the public entertainment wasn't universally accepted practice. Getting back to Kornheiser, on Tuesday's show he made no mention whatsoever of a play resulting in injury (and later a two game suspension) to the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin the previous night. With the whole DC area (or at least the portion that knows what a hockey puck's shaped like) holding its breath that it wouldn't turn out to be season ending for the superstar, any local sports radio host worth his salt would have found a way to devote at least some time to the story. Of course sports isn't often Mr. Tony's top priority (and we all know that most people tune in a sports station to hear about Obama's health care plan), but on that particular show he dealt with such topics as the Pats/Saints game, decision by the U. of Maryland to retain Ralph Friedgen as head football coach, retirement of Bobby Bowden at Florida State and NBA hoops. Even the Sports Reporters discussed Ovechkin that day and you know a hockey story's got to be huge for Andy Pollin to talk about it. But it's clear that Kornheiser (in his haughty arrogance) considers anything involving the Caps beneath his notice and it's further reason for fans of the team to give 106.7 The Fan a try (although that station's been beating the Tiger story to death even more than WTEM this week). As far as Brian Mitchell's concerned, I don't think his criticism of Snyder played a role in Red Zebra's decision not to renew his contract earlier this year because he was later inducted into the ring of honor at FedEx Field and came back on John Thompson's show to discuss it. WJFK should consider pairing him up with Al Koken (his old co-host from Thompson's program) for some sort of gig - why Koken hasn't been picked up by the station or at the very least used as a regular hockey guest on shows like Wise and Arrington/Dukes is beyond me. Mike, Fairfax (12/3/09) Re: What they should do is copy what the USA Today does with their around the nation page, except make it by county instead of state.... As much as I like McPaper, that's not a very good example. I remember a comedian (Seinfeld or Paul Reiser comes to mind) talking about Across the Nation being the scariest section of the paper because it would have these little, mysterious news blurbs and then NEVER revisit them, leaving a reader wondering what the heck happened. A good example from two decades ago was when a LURAY dateline finally made it in the paper. The blurb noted that farmers near Shenandoah National Park were seeking the assistance from the Page County Board of Supervisors in being able to shoot bears that came down from park and damaged their crops. I don't think the decision of the supervisors was ever reported in USA Today (not that I can remember what they said 20 years later...). Charles in Winchester (12/3/09) Dave-- Did you cover the multi-state Verizon outage. I called a rep and he said Verizon rec'd more than 500 calls re. the outage that spread across MD, DC and VA. Went out at 7 and back at 8:30. Michele (12/3/09) WTF is up with the online stream at ESPN980? The TK show keeps getting interrupted with commercials, first during the opening segment and then during a conversation with Gene Robinson. You also missed the beginning of the Gene Robinson segment when some commercials and promo spots ran long. This cannot be happening on the radio, so why is the stream so screwed up? (12/3/09) Dave's response: Also, WTEM's 94.3 was silent yet AGAIN in the 10 AM hour today. Guess it was the wind..... DCRTV Dave so accurately stated: “Dave's response: I seem to recall that the old Metromedia-owned Channel 5 ran the syndicated Merv Griffin show in the 8:30 PM to 10 PM block, before its 10 PM local newscast...” (with Alan Smith and John Willis) And before Merv came on the scene folks it was, at 8:30 on Channel 5…..drum roll please….The Woody Woodbury Show! (Gawd I’m old) (12/3/09) After reading about the WWRT/WWRE impending tweak here I went to the website. It says "The Beast must be fed.........evolve" Hmmmm interesting tagline. I wish a certain local 'substation' would have used that line again. Heres hoping "The Bone" really does rock!! Not that I'll be able to listen but FM radio needs a smart move. (12/3/09) Now, we’re talking bible on DCRTV…I know how much the libs love to trash anything that is said, thought or moved upon by conservatives, but…face it, the global warming hoax has been identified and it has nothing to do with the bible it has to do with cycles. Pull your heads (cumulative) out of the dark regions and face the facts: the Experts in the field, scientists, have now declared it to be a hoax. Mr Gore made his millions, the ABC nets are hiding the entire story and the lemmings are running for the cliff. JD (12/3/09) Another point of reality for Podcast Rick: Once upon a time, bands and halls didn't mind much when a radio station showed up with recording gear to grab a performance and air it the next weekend. Where I grew up in the mid-late 70s, WLIR-FM Hempstead NY was the champ. Zappa, Flo & Eddie, the Good Rats and a pile of other acts typically aired the weekend after a live show somewhere on Long Island; most often the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, My Father's Place in Roslyn NY, et al. Today, a locally-produced speciality live concert show would require reams of paperwork for clearances and future payment of royalties for repeat playback, a decent mix engineer with decent gear, enough time to cut and edit the thing together ... and all for a podcast program. Z-104, when it was in its old Court House facility, would have live concerts in the office building's atrium. Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLaughlin (sp?) - to name two - would play one day and be on the air the next. But that was 5 years ago. With all due respect, if high-power radio isn't doing it anymore, its a stretch to think a more compact operation has the resources to do so. [RVR] (12/3/09) (regarding Dave's response) "Yeah, I hear that the new righty version of the Bible will include references to the global warming 'hoax'....." Actually, if anything, the Bible would seem to support the notion of avoiding the possible catastrophic consequences of "global warming". In the Genesis account, after creating everything, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." (Genesis 2:15) And, by "taking care of it" God surely did not mean for Adam & Eve’s descendants to fill the air with exhaust from cars and coal burning plants, so that the polar ice caps would melt, raising the water levels and killing folks who live in coastal regions. Finally, here’s a link to a news item about the Conservative Bible Project www.google.com. (12/3/09) I'm hoping that Dave or someone in the mailbag can help me with some mid-80s memories of Channel 5 before it became Fox 5. As someone born in the late 70s I'm of an age to remember watching the daily movie (at noon?) on channel 5 weekdays as well as reruns of the Bionic Woman, etc... What I can't remember is what type of programming channel 5 showed during prime time. The earliest prime time memory I have of 5 is after it became Fox 5 and started showing shows like "21 Jump Street," "Married with Children," etc... That's probably around the time I was in middle school. So, what did they show in prime time prior to that. On a related note, I also remember watching reruns of classic shows like "I Love Lucy" and "The Andy Griffith" show on 5 in the mornings and reruns of slightly more contemporary sitcoms like "Family Ties" "Mamma's Family" and "Gimmie a Break" in the evenings (5 - 7 PM block). I would love to find a station that still shows those shows. Do we really need several hours of news in the mornings followed by several hours of news in the evening when we can get news coverage 24/7 on cable? I think a station would be wise to start showing the "classics" again... (12/3/09) Dave's response: I seem to recall that the old Metromedia-owned Channel 5 ran the syndicated Merv Griffin show in the 8:30 PM to 10 PM block, before its 10 PM local newscast. This was probably back in the 1970s/early 1980s. I have a TV guide from 1987 that shows 5 running a nightly movie from 8 PM to 10 PM. That's the same year that 5 got bought by Fox/Murdoch..... If WWRT/WWRE (now WXNB/WXBN) switched from Active Rock to CHR, it would surely cannibalize sister station WINC-FM's ratings as WINC has a Hot AC format and has been playing some more new hits mixed with the older to keep up with WKSI. I do believe they will switch back to Classic Rock. (12/3/09) I have some thoughts on the Washington Post's new Extra section. Get rid of it!! It is a waste of trees. What they should do is copy what the USA Today does with their around the nation page, except make it by county instead of state. Everyday you would have one page in the metro section with a small news blurb from each county in the extended DC area. Bigger stories would obviously get full write-ups in the Metro or A section; depending on the stories importance. (12/3/09) WMAL is getting slow in its old age. That item about a new translation of the Bible by conservatives (because they feel that existing translations show a liberal bias) was in the news, way back in early October! (12/3/09) Dave's response: Yeah, I hear that the new righty version of the Bible will include references to the global warming "hoax"..... 104.9/1055 is changing formats at noon. Bet you some bucks it'll be CHR....that will be the ultimate end of such a great rock station...... (12/3/09) Merry Christmas from Tiger and Elin... (12/3/09) If you bought Sarah Palin's book from Newsmax, as advertised on WMAL, for $4.97, she will not sign that copy at BJ's in Fairfax on Saturday. Only copies bought on site, with receipt as proof of purchase, will be signed by her. So, once again, the benefits of listening to WMAL are extremely limited. Did anyone else hear a caller on Hammity's show yesterday say he got Sarah to sign his back (not BOOK, his BACK), and then had a tattoo artist permanently etch the signature into his skin? WOW! Such class. From a book club site; Sarah Palin will only sign her book, which must be purchased at BJ's. A BJ's receipt must be provided to have a book signed. The book signing will be done on a first come first serve basis. Will she do an interview with Chris Plante on Friday, and talk about her civil rights? Will Mark Levin tape an interview with her and provide her the answers in advance? Listen to the crap on WMAL to find out! (12/3/09) Last I heard, ex-tv-9 weatherman Gordon Barnes had done some stints of weather on medium market florida tv, and wound up at an airline training school in Dallas (Gordon was once an airline pilot). The truly lovely Clarissa Douglas Barnes passed thru Dallas a few years ago as KRLD radio afternoon co-anchor, and was an anchor with ABC Radio in New York in recent years. Not sure if their layoffs affected her. (12/3/09) With all due respect to Dave Hughes because I love this website... If you do the math, THE TURKEY OF THE YEAR WINNER IS THE DCRTV MAILBAG. More people have complained either about the format, editing, or constant personal battles and insults in the DCRTV mailbag than any one other thing. Yes, it's sadly true, THE DCRTV MAILBAG IS THE CLEAR TURKEY OF THE YEAR WINNER! Sorry Dave, but you know it's true. I know you enjoy the humorous insults, especially when they are clever and inside jokes that hit hard and below the belt, but it appears that most people don't. If you look at the mailbag, the votes are in, the numbers don't lie. (12/3/09) Dave's response: I can't argue with that..... Regarding Dave's post concerning the Wash Times, which said in part, "The paper is also instituting controlled-market local circulation, with the local print edition free in certain areas of Washington with a premium price for home-delivery....." Now I don't know if I could do this today, but I do know that if within the past couple of weeks I bought a copy of the Wash Times at Harris-Teeter and got a coupon for a full year of home delivery for $26. So that is 50 cents a week, but what is more interesting is that the new Audit Bureau of Circulation rules (so I understand) state that a price of 1 cent paid per issue of a newspaper counts as paid circulation. (12/3/09) Dave, Brian Mitchell is one of the regular fill-in hosts there at 106-7. He was in one day before Thanksgiving when Bill Rohland was in Puerto Rico with the Mason hoops team. He'll also be in for some morning work during the week between Christmas and New Years when the Junkies are off. I have no clue what, if any, plans there are for Mitchell to do anything full time there. But it's not unusual for Mitchell to be there in Fairfax either, so I think you can chill out with that one. (12/3/09) Wanna chime in on the podcast debate. Rick, some solid ideas there, but I don't have any interest in knowing what an artist is up to, what his label is up to, or what his backup musicians are up to; unless they're rolling through town and playing the State Theater or the Birchmere. Because that's what I used to get on 94.7 The Arrow. If someone's going to crack the mic on an OTA or Web radio station, it has to be relevant to what my life is all about right now in the world I'm living in right now. And I don't mean warmed-over web reports of Tiger Woods or Jessica Alba, I mean something affecting me on a relevant and organic level. Listeners might not be tripping over their hard-ons, but they'll be all the better for the experience IMO. -ap (12/3/09) Don Geronimo:: Too little too late - again! So I see on DCRTV a new ad for 'I Used To Be In Radio' and I'm thinking ah, Mike Sorce has released his memoir.NAAAAAAAAAAAA. Instead, it's radio veteran Larry Matthews who pens his 30 years in radio & broadcasting to such a degree that it not only now makes Sorce's book moot, it's endorsed by legendary Johnny Holliday as a "must read.' First there were Howard Stern & 'Private Parts' & now this. Damn Sorce, not sure what stage your rough draft is in now but suffice to say, time to put down the crayon unless you were planning to have your memoir endorsed by your agent that convinced you to sign that obscene non-compete and then released as a coloring book. If you do decide to release your memoir in hard copy or paperback, can't wait to see your pathetic radio ass behind your card table at WalMart. "Pssst...didn't that use to be Mike O'Meara's partner? (12/3/09) Anyone remember years ago when Comcast was making a run for ABC/Disney, with the deal ultimately collapsing? And, if (a really big if) this deal goes through, there may be enough strings on it to make Comcast walk away. Obviously, the broadcast TV’s will have to go unless Ralph and Brian can convince the FCC to grant a “hardship and public service” waiver to allow a transfer to happen. Of course, this would be due to Comcast owning CATV’s in most (if not all) NBC O&O markets. (Current FCC Rules and Regs forbid a CATV to carry a co-owned broadcast TV.) That is, if the Roberts’ want to keep the broadcast outlets at all. The ATSC fiasco has proved that broadcast TV is an unnecessary anachronism. The market value of broadcast TV properties has crash-dived since the DTV “transition”. In fact, not only have there been no major broadcast TV deals since the transition, but the last big one before the switch ended-up being still-born. Then there’s the “little” matter of content control/concentration and availability of this content to competitors at a fair price. Between the public and political battles Comcast has been having with the NFL Network over carriage, and the ones its had with DirecTV over its terrestrially-fed RSN in Philly (and thus legislatively exempted from the must sell law) and yanking Versus (Versus is not an RSN, thus the law does not apply.) because of wanting a higher per subscriber fee than that charged incumbent CATV’s, there will likely be red flags on the FTC, FCC, DOJ, and Congressional horizons. Now add to this mix, Charlie Ergen’s published comments about the deal and the concerns of competitors Verizon and AT&T, and it starts getting unlikely that this deal will happen the way Comcast wants. Indeed, because of the increased visibility this deal will cause not just Comcast, but the CATV industry in general, both may receive government attention at multiple levels which would be not just unwanted, but potentially embarrassing (at best) or even devastating over such things as massive (but unpublicized) layoffs, contracting out of essential services (such as operations, system repair, service, and maintenance personnel), thus exposing customers to loss of essential telecommunications for longer periods of time than would otherwise occur (especially in case of a natural disaster or even a severe storm), and the closing and re-location of local offices (and dismissal of personnel) such as Comcast did when they bought the cremains of Adelphia. This could seriously (and adversely) affect the growing business telecommunications services, which the CATV’s are proving so successful at. There’s an old saying in business “Companies are known by the company they keep. In this case, if these actions call into question not just the quality of CATV service, but its reliability and availability, the consequences could be serious and jeopardize the image of the entire telecommunications industry. All one has to do is see where Comcast consistently lands in the Consumer Reports ratings of CATV’s and the whole industry should be nervous about the potential visibility from this deal. This is one deal which seriously begs the question, “Just because it can be done, should it be done?” In particular, those in the CATV business who have done those things mentioned above may come to regret what this “deal” may ultimately do to their chummy industry. (12/3/09) /\ December 3 Messages /\ \/ December 2 Messages \/ Listening to "The Kirkster" on the Edge this afternoon, and he gave an odd shout out to his old HFS newsguy/producer Shamrock - (could he be making his way back into the hallowed halls on Jenifer St?) -bob (12/2/09) Please no B. Mitch!! Regards Biff (12/2/09) Sad to see that tonight, if you go to WMAR's website, there's no video of Mary Beth's farewell. Hopefully there are enough lifeboats.... (12/2/09) In honor of Mary Beth Marsden's farewell from Channel 2/WMAR's newscasts tonight after 21 years at the station, here's a clip of M.B. cracking up on the set, (due to the unseen antics of Big Don O'Brien). (12/2/09) Hi Dave, Justin Timberlake, NPR fan? Here’s a goofy little diversion that might give you a chuckle. We spotted a photo of him wearing an NPR shirt on the set of his new movie. You can see it in this humorous piece by Linda Holmes on our pop culture blog Monkey See: www.npr.org. The picture has been making the rounds on celebrity sites like People and InStyle. And like Linda writes, most people there are checking out his hairstyle, but we’re happy to learn he’s a listener and are, of course, wondering if he donates to his local station. As most A-list celebrities don’t show their true media colors so loudly, perhaps this might be something your readers would get a kick out of. Hope you can have some fun with it. Best, Emerson (12/2/09) James, up until the last line of your "walk away" post It was pretty classy.Then you had to drop in the best friend line. That made you classless. God Bless-JD (12/2/09) Was wondering what happened to the biggest turkey contest you held over the week-end never saw any results or did I miss it thanks Larry, warrenton Va (12/2/09) Dave's response: It was just a bit of Turkey Day fun for the Mailbag. I didn't really tally up the votes. Although, I unofficially awarded the Biggest Turkey statue this year to the programmers of Citadel classic rocker 105.9 The Edge..... In a salute to my age, I swear I heard Dandy Don Meredith singing "Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over" while I was reading the story on the front page about the Washington Times. Howie (12/2/09) It has degraded to a pretty weak war..I admit.. and therefore I will walk away..my head held high...with a cold compress on it, as I have a headache..similar to MORON's wife's headache when MORON sobs and begs for sex, after his best friend crawls out the window as MORON enters the house after work. God bless you all. Steve (12/2/09) "There's no way to spin this new podcast as anything other than a humiliating and embarrassing denial of reality." Actually the four of them were too late applying for a greeters position at Walmart for the holidays. At least they would have made more money with that gig. (12/2/09) I think the familes of STEVE and MORON are extremely dysfunctional do they all look like SHIT??? Do they really swap their wives around??? Maybe they should get together and compare talent instead of wives. This is without a doubt the shoddiest war of words ever on DCRTV. JD (12/2/09) Space of eight minutes, Lavar quoted Genesis Adam and Eve (Eve having contaminated Adam's purity) and then went to "Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars". Eldridge has released hot button demons within us all. Chad has always been a Tom Leykis wannabe and will predictably go to the misogyny card for ratings (actually Chad is just as much a naive geek as Eldridge). Interesting how deeply buttons are being pushed ( M Wise repeatedly raised radio voice to run his tiresome sanctimonious addict wisdom during his segment). (12/2/09) My suggestion for B-Mitch would be a 10 am to Noon slot. Keep the Junkies 6 to 10, move Wise noon to 3, LaVar 3 to 7 and Holder 7 to 10 or 11. (12/2/09) First of all MORON you look like shit without any help from me. Secondly, I would think you'd be proud to say what station you own. Third, I didn't design our logo..but wow..letters in a circle..no one has ever done that before...Fourth..most independent owners are MORONS just like you...ever go to a NAB meeting?..and fifth..my contract engineer had your sister..Steve (12/2/09) Yo dave just saw "THE GREASEMAN" at the local grocery store. Still looks bulky and is still funny as hell. 105.9EDGE should put him on in the mornings. Sure a bunch of people think his shtick is old hat but so what. I'm in his target audience and anyone digging the EDGE would be too. BTW any more info on the big man down on the O.C.shore WBOC's Dennis Ketterer??? M/bethesda (12/2/09) The Washington Times today has a display ad apologizing for the lack of comics and TV listings in recent editions, and wording that suggests they hope for a return of those features soon. Christian (12/2/09) Dave: Was away in Hawaii for the past month but had a chance to listen to our dreadful sportstalk radio in this market. It would be a great move if WJFK signed B'Mitch because he's one of the few people who know football and who can convey the X's and O's in simple terms. Poor Doc Walker, he's to the point where he can't host a show solo and just confuses me about anything football related. Someone needs to tell Doc to stop the self-promotion and he's not the know-it-all. If the Redskins decide the clean house, is there any chance we'll hear a new radio team next year? I came across some Redskins fans in Arizona and they really do miss Herzog. One couple told be they've written several letters to the team saying the current play-by-play person needs to go. Wow, Our pain is being felt all the way out West as well. (12/2/09) >for the last time..I have more money than you'll ever have and my part-time overnight weekend jock is doing your wife. steve< KCJJ Steve - I have to tell you, from owner to owner, you make us all look like shit when you say stuff like that in an open forum like this. You wonder why radio is in the sad state of affairs it is today - when station "owners" are out there, with attitudes like this, and showing it for all to see. Combine this attitude with the "FCC Fuckers" as Joe in Essex likes to call the STA squatters, and it makes most independent station owners look like shit, when really - it is just a minority that are. Oh, and nice to be original on your morning show logo... Compare - www.1630kcjj.com and www.thebigshow.com (12/2/09) BMitch isn't very good frankly. He's pretty much a blowhard and doesn't offer any real insight to anything. Not to mention, the Redskins are on a downward trajectory in the market and nothing I've seen suggests that Snyder can turn it around. If WJFK was smart, they would be doing things to demonstrate that they welcome and will accomodate fans of the Nats, Caps, Wiz, United. Have a weekly Nats show with a knowledgeable baseball broadcaster or writer. Have some Caps and hockey oriented shows with a host (Al Koken?) and Craig Laughlin or someone like him. Show some love to (heaven forbid) soccer fans. THAT would sharply distinguish them from ESPN 980 and help their competitive position. (12/2/09) Does The Washington Post have fact checkers any more? In Mike Wise' column twice today he wrote that Ralph Friedgen was Maryland Athletic Director, Debbie Yow's first big hire. Yow actually hired Ron Vanderlinden as the head football coach previously. Vanderlinden did not work out and was fired four years later. Clearly Wise should have researched this better, but doesn't someone check it before it is published? (12/2/09) So Dave, yesterday I turned on 105.9, I actually havent thought it hasnt been all that bad. And they are playing "More than a feeling" and I always think i like that song....then it dawns on me, I swear I hear this every time I flip to 105.9! So yeah, you may be right...deeper cuts... (12/2/09) Enjoyed the pic of Gordon Barnes. He used To compile A weather almanac that we used to give away at Christmastime when I worked at the old Washington-Lee Savings & Loan in the early 80's. Wasn't he married at t some time to ex WEEL weather Girl Clarissa Douglas Barnes" Any idea what those 2 are up to these days? Rusty Gibson, WEBR/Radio Fairfax (12/2/09) I thought the Love Boat guy was the only funny radio guy to come out of Iowa, but Steve is #2. (12/2/09) Hear Tiger Panic to Mistress on her voicemail: "My Wife May Be Calling You" www.usmagazine.com (12/2/09) Steve– (>for the last time..I have more money than you'll ever have...) And no place but Wal*Mart and Southern States to spend it. I guess you could feed it to your livestock. (>...and my part-time overnight weekend jock is doing your wife.) My wife is about 1,000 miles from your podunk little market and hasn't done anyone (ahem) for quite awhile. Your wife, if that's what you call him in Iowa, has plenty of free time during the day and wears pants to hide the rug burns on his knees. Why do you think so many jocks agree to work at your backwater Radio Shack project station? It sure ain't the downtown energy. – Jamesonian (12/2/09) I've been following the Mike O'Meara stuff on your site for sometime. Mike and when it was Don and Mike have gotten me through some tough times. And yes I was blaming the messenger (you) when Mike got cancel in the JFK reformat. However, I continued to follow you because you usually get it right. If you had realling been following events then it would have been pretty obvious that Mike was setting something independent up and was not up (at least not yet) for the 105.9 moring show. Several weeks ago on Buzz Burbank's facebook page he posted that he had had lots of radio equipment installed at his home and strong hinted at either podcast or live internet radio. I wish you had been right. I really want to hear those guys for 4+ hours a day. I've just started listening to year old podcast of their show just to get through the day. Thanks and I'll keep reading because you get it right most of the time. (12/2/09) Dave's response: Reliable sources told me (1) that 105.9 was definitely considering Mike for morning drive, and (2) that Mike's post-Thanksgiving announcement would involve a local radio broadcast station. Quite obviously, something happened to derail the deal. We may never know..... While showing up in the top 10 Google searches for the D.C. area might attest to WTOP's popularity, it certainly doesn't say much for the intelligence of their listeners, when they hear "wtop.com" on air about a hundred times an hour. But then again, witnessing the massive stupidity that goes on in the comments sections of stories on their Web site gives the same impression. (12/2/09) for the last time..I have more money than you'll ever have and my part-time overnight weekend jock is doing your wife. steve (12/2/09) How about this for a scenario? With Buzz and Robb now with Mike and his new podcast, and not waiting for Don until next October after his CBS deal ends, Don's probably somewhat pissed at Mike. So, Don calls his new/old friend Jack and convinces Jack to tell his boss, Kenny, that he doesn't want Mike down the hall at 105.9. Kenny reluctantly agrees. That's why 105.9 announced midday and afternoon talent last week, but not a morning man, as it looks for someone else. Now, Don won't be humiliated for the next year with Mike and Buzz and Robb back on the DC airwaves, while he ain't. In a convoluted way, it all makes perfect sense. Dave, you came close to unearthing the story, but you just needed a little more logic to put it all together. - The Old Man In Those Empire Carpet Ads (12/2/09) Dave's response: I am pretty sure that Mike O'Meara was being considered for a slot at 105.9, as were many DC area radio personalities, but I'm not convinced that Don Geronimo or Jack Diamond had any part in the decision not to put Mike on the station. If Jack did object to Mike's direct competition on 105.9, it was probably because he simply didn't want another "morning zoo" show on his Citadel sister station. One underlying error in your "scenario" - it gives Don way more power than he actually has to influence Citadel's DC management. And, seriously folks, it probably would be smart to put a music-intensive morning show on the classic rocker. Cerphe would probably be smarter than hiring Mike..... CBS is serious about cross-promoting properties. I was just listening to WTIC in Hartford and heard spots for CSI New York on TV and WBBM Radio in Chicago (at least, that's what's on their streaming). (12/2/09) Looks like "Christmas at Rockefeller Center" may not happen tonight as scheduled on NBC. The loyal members of NABET may stay away. At least that's what the local is asking. On WTOP's website someone posted "NBC is about to become a non-union non-broadcaster with few (if any) on-shore employees..." apparently alluding to the planned sale of a controlling stake of NBCU by Comcast, the largest member of an industry seemingly hell-bent on contracting-out all it can, either domestically or out of the country. And where "happiness is measured by empty cubicles" by eliminating not just jobs, but careers... (12/2/09) With all this talk about 105.9/Mike O'Meara/Jack Diamond/Baltimore Sports/WMAR and such..kinda surprised DCRTV didn't go into the cancellation of the ABC-TV sitcom show "Hank" starring Kelsey Grammer. Even though "Hank" was set in the fictional town of "River Bend, VA" it was clear that "Hank" was set in the real life town of Front Royal, Virginia !! And that town, last I heard falls within DCRTV !!! Afterall Kelsey himself was in Front Royal and nearby Winchester just last year getting stuff to use for "Hank" such as the episode ( not aired ) where he mentions listening to Randy Woodward on real life WZRV-FM 95.3 "The River" ( my buddy at ABC-TV in Hollywood told me about this !! ) and another episode where Hank visits Winchester's Apple Blossom Mall complete with a shot of the local Belk Department Store not to mention the nearby Olive Garden restaurant. Are people in both Winchester and Front Royal that STUPID to know that a sitcom on ABC-TV was based in their own area? I guess so !!! WHSV-TV and their "TV3 Winchester" dropped the ball on this big time !!!! (12/2/09) Looks like the KHZ website is back...well, kinda. www.khztv.com (12/2/09) RE:"Given the speed with which you pounced, your imaginary award (not your website, remember?) and in the absence of a signature, I dub you Asperger. The eagle does not prolapse fly ani. ---ThePenIsMightier" Man, if you are Hunter S. Thompson back from the beyond, please let us know! (12/2/09) Broadcast Brothers & Sisters, To those who have the gall to knock "podcasting". Let me remind you that this medium is growing by leaps and bounds and without a doubt it will compete with the 3 other broadcast mediums in the near future just like FM kicked AM's cocky rear end in the mid 70's. You have to love radio to "podcast" because there's not much money in it (right now) and you'd have to personally fund your projects until it kicks off, but the joy of doing something different in broadcasting is something so fulfilling (especially if you've been around the "radio tracks" a few times like I have). Podcasters are not those who can't get a radio job, that's just rookie talk, because even if you have a gig, you don't know for how long. We love broadcasting it's in our blood thru thick and thin no matter how many ulcers it could cause. Hopefully, very soon the industry will take a long look at why radio is suffering in music programming and look to us "rebel with a cause" Podcasters who are raising some eyebrows with our gut to gut programming tactics, here's a hint for you bobble-headed doll PD's, OM's whatever you call yourselves' nowadays and see if your consultants will let you do this.. know your format, know your core artists, know your demos, play 2 or 3 hits per hour and keep the other tracks deep cuts, wrap it all around unique sounding and sometimes cold imaging, (no lazers, phasers or tazers, minimal explosions and stoopid sound bites) keep your segues very tight and when that mic opens have that jock tell a story of the artist,band,label or production in 15 to 20 sec or less and 2 brief wx checks (50 today, 42 tomorrow) at the top and bottom of hour only, then you add a few locally produced speciality shows like live concert tracks or music documentaries for the weekends and holidays. Throw those elements in one big pot and promo the hell out of it ...and watch both your listeners and PPM's get a hard on...AND THAT MEANS TSL MONEY BABY! and you get to keep your job..It's that simple. Rick McClure, Funk Radio Online (12/2/09) Re: This is for anyone here on Delmarva: found a new station at 105.1 today; www.fcc.gov (12/2/09) FYI Comcast www.engadget.com (12/2/09) /\ December 2 Messages /\ \/ December 1 Messages \/ Re: Making Good Money Doing Podcasts– I quick glance at the top 20 podcasts on iTunes reveals NOT ONE independent production, i.e. a production not supported by either a larger media entity (NPR, HowStuffWorks.com, etc.) or notoriety from another medium (John Hodgman, The Onion).With four hosts and no major media backing, how could the MOM Show possibly sell enough ads to make the enterprise financially successful? Is their affiliation with that East Bumfuck AM statition just a beard to allow them the rights to broadcast music? They couldn't do it legally otherwise, could they? Mike was handed a loyal listening audience, a stable production team, a solid line-up of affiliates and a patient parent company willing to give him time to make it his own, and he still failed. There's no way to spin this new podcast as anything other than a humiliating and embarrassing denial of reality. Time for an intervention. Mike... buddy... put down the cornhusk and have a seat. We need to talk. (12/1/09) To "Steve"....Glad you make a lot of money, but since Coralville/Iowa City does not make the top 300 markets in the country...the best we can check is nearby Cedar Rapids where "The Mighty 1630" does not even show up in the ratings...being only a county away. Guess "Hawkeye Sewer and Drain" pays you well. I am from the Midwest...don't bullsh*t me...If this is the best ex top ten talent can do, their career is over! Reality check from Middle America... (12/1/09) According to an all hands memo from Dave Lougee,the $500,000/year Gannett Broadcast President.." The Boradcast Division is NOT part of the Gannett furlough program. He says the pay reajustments last year more then cover any necessary cost savings. Wonderful. (12/1/09) RE: To the gentleman who is rattling the operators of Iowa station KCJJ. Your little post about that station using a corn husk as microphone is just typical of the "higher than thou" attitude that some people like you seem to have! Please tell me you're a broadcaster so I can find out what your station bills or has taken away from it's employees because of the economy. At best you owe KCJJ's owner an apology so he knows that everyone in your part of the world isn't an asshole! I happen to work at a radio station just west of Kansas City. Are you gonna say we use cornhusks, too? Get a clue dude and find something else worthwhile to write about! Just so you'll know a little about me, I was born just outside of Philadelphia and my first memories of radio consisted of WPGC and WEAM when they were both CHR. Growing up in Kansas City gave me the added perspective of learning you take people at face value or they won't take to YOU at all! Alvin G. Lawton (12/1/09) I used to have "FCK 21" on my license plates, One of our jocks out in California once had "3M TA3" on his plates. See what I meant about "putting one over"??? Well... at least MVA never caught up with me although the DMV canceled the jock's plates... -Unsigned Corporate Suit (12/1/09) Don Geronimo:: Mike Sorce tweets "I consider MikeO a brother. So there's no feud from my angle. I spoke to Mike last Wed." Hmmmmm. So much to say but one, brothers don't QUIT each other's radio show other than for selfish reasons and two, don't brothers attend each other's weddings? Don't worry O'Meara, I know what say you, with a brother like Sorce, who needs enemies! Ahhhhhhhhh!! (12/1/09) ….so, does Chelsea's future father-in-law get to come to the wedding in shackles or an electronic bracelet for the day? Maybe Obama will pardon him this Christmas, in the spirit of the holidays to former Congressmen turned felons? - Bob from College Park (12/1/09) Don Geronimo Talking Trash About You With Jack Diamond On Facebook! Michael Sorce - Oh my, Jack Diamond and I both saying on my FaceBook page that the dcrtv guy is full of shit. What does his 'radio guru' have 2 say? (12/1/09) Dave's response: Nice to see that Mike S (aka Don G) and Harvey F (aka Jack D) are best buds these days..... Steve, owner of KCJJ. I guess the fact that your station uses a corn husk as a microphone does make you "all that radio." Hey "hawkeye" I was just thinking, since your state corn farmers and station advertising continue to reap bushels from the MONUMENTAL fraud known as Ethanol, I'm sure Dave Hughes & DCRTV can expect your stations continued & BIGGER display ad support? (12/1/09) Number one..we are thrilled to be a part of the Mike O'Meara show.. Two..there are people making good money podcasting. They have talent. Three.. my station..1630 KCJJ not onlyhas a great signal, but I make more money in one year than you will make in twenty and my wife is better looking than yours and my kid is smarter than yours...so why don't you go back to watching your black and white Admiral and heating your soup on your hotplate. Oh, your inflatable doll likes me better, too. Just think, when Mom dies, all of that will be yours. Steve, owner KCJJ. (12/1/09) Wow: Not only are we (us real conservatives) sick of that load “Morning Sickness Joe” and his phony beard whatever her foreign sounding name is, but now we have been officially released from listening to let alone accepting that other narcissistic asshole Sean “Basically A Nothing With Two Shows” Hannity after he had that former fat fuck Mike “I’d Be Eating Fried Chicken But My Advisors Advised Me Otherwise” Huckaphony on his pathetic show. Mark Levin should mop the floor with him for doing it: enough said. Silvie: are you out the or still giving Chris Plante a lap dance? (12/1/09) "Here's a new rule in the mailbag, no direct promoting of an individual radio/podcast show by principles involved." -Thanks for sharing your opinion, but I believe I speak for the majority of the mailbag readers when I tell you to do everyone a favor and fuck off. Have a nice night! (12/1/09) This is for anyone here on Delmarva: found a new station at 105.1 today; I saw the carrier yesterday..the station's call letters seem to be WAMS; they call themselves "The 80s channel"..has anyone else discovered this one? Tom in Denton, MD. (12/1/09) Hey Mark Steiner Show, promoting your show in the Mailbag sucks - BUY A GOD DAMN DISPLAY AD FROM DAVE! Here's a new rule in the mailbag, no direct promoting of an individual radio/podcast show by principles involved. (12/1/09) Dave's response: A lot of media-types try to hype their wares (websites, radio shows, podcasts) here in the Mailbag and I'll often let them. But will they then spend a few bucks to buy an ad on DCRTV? Noooooooo..... I don't know how many people listened to Curtis Sliwa on WMAL from 9pm - 12 but his program has been canceled by WABC due to a contract dispute. In his place John Batchelor will now be on from 9 -1am. Word is that he will surface on a daytime show at another station in New York. (12/1/09) Dave's response: I've heard that Sliwa could soon be heard on WNYM, 970 AM, a Salem righty talker over in Jersey..... The MOM Show:: Podcast. Props where props are due. For over a year and up to when they were fired from WJFK, [we] had been collectively demanding that if O'Meara was have a chance in saving his show, he needed to apply three immediate changes. He didn't listen to us then and got cancelled. With the soon-to-be launch of his Podcast, he now seems to have reflected upon our suggestions. One, fire Beth Ann McBride [wrong busy-bee producer fit who now answers phones for the Tom Kent Radio Network] Two, even though your name is one the letterhead, realize that your a "number 2" and hire a talented & seasoned co-host [embrace your inner back-up role] O'Meara has done this with the hiring of Oscar "scary eyes" Santana & Three, more Burbank, less Spewak. Time will tell on this one. We can only hope now that O'Meara has taken a page from Adam Carolla and spared no technical expense in setting up his Podcast infrastructure. (12/1/09) Kara Rowland new TWT white house correspondent ... I doubt you'll see anything official bc of our fucked up situation right now, but here's the facebook post - www.facebook.com (12/1/09) More on the Baltimore Mayor conviction story coverage... WJZ TV ran with the breaking news until 2:30pm and WBAL TV went until 3pm. Overall though, the WBAL TV coverage was better. Jayne Miller was actually in the court room, but they just didn't break the story. While WJZ sorta broke the story, WBAL had more experts and analysts, although I still don't like that one was clearly a Dixon cheerleader even though she got convicted by far more than a jury of her peers. There could have been a relative of hers on that jury and she'd still been convicted of at least 1 count! WMAR ABC 2 NEWS can you hear me? Are they still on the air at all? I can't remember. LOL (12/1/09) This just in!!! Video of the Tiger Woods incident released by the Chinese :) www.youtube.com (12/1/09) To answer Dave's Tweet... According to Intelius.com, Harvey Joel Fisher of Gaithersburg, MD (and formerly of San Francisco, Jacksonville, and Washington, DC) is age 55. From personal experience, I'd say Intelius can be behind on the age shown by a year or two. (12/1/09) Who is federAL SANTOS? Stand by navigator. (12/1/09) Please...It is pathetic that O'Meara has sunk to doing a podcast ...but adding that he will be on a tiny AMer in the middle of Iowa is too much. There is NO time anybody outside of greater Coralville, Iowa will be able to hear the weak signal. Face it, both Don and Mike have burned too many bridges... their careers are over. (12/1/09) O'Meara:: Guilt By Radio Association - The Geronimo-Sorce Syndrome. For the two decades they were an on-air tandem - not equal partners, Mike Sorce's personal battles became O'Meara's battles too - that is what good 2nd chair minions do. For O'Meara, Elston & Spewak to underestimate now that the burning embers of those bridges that Sorce torched cannot still be smelled by radio executives & seasoned talent with power [especially in the DC market] as [they] attempt to re-launch their radio careers together is short-sighted. Take note O'Meara, in these challenging radio times, the ad hominem fallacy is correct in two ways 1] emerge in another city and far away from the DC/CBS market and 2] dis-associate yourselves from Geronimo-Sorce. No need for the "good guys" to go down with the radio ship because of a "bad" captain. Don Geronimo who? (12/2/09) (NBC-owned Bravo told Tareq and Michaele Salahi to crash the White House state dinner last week, so reports Gawker.) Dave, where is this claim in the article? It talks about the contract but doesn't appear to say that Bravo told them to crash the dinner. (Shawn in DC). (12/1/09) According to WBAL TV 11, ALL REPORTERS & MEDIA HAVE BEEN EJECTED FROM BALTIMORE CITY HALL! This is unprecedented. (12/1/09) I would think a BALTIMORE MAYOR CONVICTED story would make for a DCRTV news blurb since its on TV 24/7 here. Hello Dave, are you there??? LOL (12/1/09) KUDOS to WJZ 13 on their excellent news coverage of the Baltimore mayor's conviction today, especially the post-conviction juror interviews as well as dragging in Denise Koch & Vic Carter just after NOON! I was shocked! WBAL 11 gets a close 2nd in coverage, but seemed a bit behind in the information, but they did drag in Donna Hamilton early too. But it was totally inappropriate in my opinion for WBAL TV to have a Dixon supporter giving political & legal commentary afterwards. That was just a bad idea. Both stations broke into network programming for continued live coverage for hours after the verdict and are still running live coverage as of 2PM. WBFF FOX 45 comes in third, I was surprised and shocked that they broke into syndicated programming and that they actually had someone on the scene like Joy Lopolla ready to go live. FOX 45 did limited break-ins, but boy did they beat WMAR ABC 2! I hate to slam WMAR again, but, they dropped the ball on this story and had nobody in the newsroom prepared to anchor when the verdict broke and appeared to have no one ready to go live from the scene either right away. Then they ran the ABC soaps! How sad once again for MARYLAND's PIONEER TV STATION, the first TV station to do TV news in Maryland! And formerly owned by The Baltimore Sun I might add. Just sad, Scripps Howard should just sell the station, they obviously have no interest in running a news operation anymore. The only funny thing about this story, even though it's obviously a terrible day for Baltimore, is that I've learned that TV anchors dragged in on short notice & limited makeup look TERRIBLE in HD! LOL -- Joe in Essex :-) (12/1/09) Today, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was convicted of embezzlement. Now what? Join us on The Marc Steiner Show from 6-7pm this evening to learn what the ramifications of the trial are for Mayor Dixon and for Baltimore. First, from 5-6pm, with the announcement this week that 30,000 additional US troops will be deployed to Afghanistan over the next 6 months, we'll discuss Afganistan with a panel of Afghanis and other experts. Listen from 5-7pm on WEAA 88.9FM or online at www.weaa.org. All shows are also available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org. (12/1/09) KFF , the company that runs Kaiser Health News, is not the same as the company that runs the HMO, unless you know something that I don't, and something that KFF adamantly denies. I used to work for a company that did contract reporting for KFF. Love the site, keep it up. (12/1/09) Thanks Dave for posting my odd question. I'm especially grateful to the an unnamed person who took the time to post such a lucid and helpful reply. I quess my "seniority" is showing, huh? The last time I spoke with Trumbull, I think I mentioned how few of us are left who remember hand signals. Chris Telladira (grizzled old radio man) (12/1/09) It's nice to see that FOX5's Will Thomas' article (titled "Salahi's Crashed Black Caucus Dinner" - www.myfoxdc.com) has been picked up by other media, including top right billing on DrudgeReport.com. GO WILL! -Silvie- (12/1/09) Citadel Broadcasting's Tom Grooms has always been a class act and proved it once again at the recent weekend kids' charity on-air "remote" fundraiser for Clear Channel's country WMZQ when the scheduled host couldn't do it at the last minute. The spirit of the 60s lives on in Tom and I'm glad to call him my friend! (signed, federAL SANTOS) Peace! (12/1/09) Suzzane Ansilio new middays at The Edge 105.9. She is still a fixture on the web-page at KLOS Los Angeles. Is she voice tracking the D.C. gig? (12/1/09) Citadel is smart by not hiring O'Meara; his show without Don on WJFK was basically a rip-off of Jack Diamond's show. Why hire a direct competitor to a show on one of your own stations? When O'Meara was with Don, they were merciless in their attacks on Diamond. Paybacks a bitch, eh Mike? O'Meara wants desperately to get back on the easy money gravy train but the corporate suits may have finally realized he is just not worth the $500,000 a year he demands. He thinks he should get at least twice what the Junkies are each paid since he has been in radio much longer and (before he lost his JFK show) had a higher media profile. On his JFK show, O'Meara would routinely use boring, tedious radio games and other "fillers" to pad for time and it was clear he was doing as little prep work as possible each day while collecting those massive paychecks. Now that his contract is finally up at CBS, and the free money for not working has stopped flowing in, he wants back in the game. (12/1/09) Regarding the cheap shot against the Washington Times on the front page, anyone who thinks clearly would admit that having a more conservative counterbalance to the Wash Post is a good thing. You don't have to agree with the viewpoints expressed in the paper to see that it does provide an outlet for views and ideas that the Post would not provide an outlet for, either due to disagreement or lack of space. The Wash Times also has a better sports section than the Post, which is now essentially reduced to reprinting blogs. Pathetic to see what that paper has become. (12/1/09) The audible portrayal of the Morse code letters S.O.S. is not a "false distress signal," given the context. It's the same as hearing sirens during radio commercials, or some vomit voice saying "We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special (car dealer) bulletin." (12/1/09) Dave's response: What about Abba's single "SOS"? Could that generate an FCC fine? Ha ha ha..... Regarding WMAR ABC 2: They already canceled their midday news and their weekend late news on both Saturday and Sunday. They do run a poorly rated 9AM daily newscast, but I think they use all the same people as on the 5AM newscast so it probably costs them little to produce. They have no sportscaster, yet they actually run sports shows with hired help. Talk about dysfunctional. As for sharing news, with WBAL and WJZ running neck and neck in the ratings, I doubt either would want a news sharing situation, and WBFF FOX 45 would love to see WMAR sink even further, so they can be a strong 3rd in news ratings. The only news sharing situation I can see for WMAR is with a DC TV station and technically they already do that since they do use one of the DC choppers (I don't know which one though), but that's only for huge stories in Baltimore that also get some coverage in DC. Imagine if WMAR was an NBC station. They'd have turned the lights out by now. As to that MarylandReporter.com story, it just goes to show you that Maryland is still a completely corrupt one party state. O'Malley & the Dem-controlled legislature doesn't want transparency in government. They & The Baltimore Sun only demand that when a Republican is elected, go figure. I'm sure The Sun will not touch that story with a 10 foot pole! Finally, speaking of emoticons, LOLs, etc... Basically, if you were a kid BEFORE color TV (aka: Assisted Living facility bound), it's "Laughed Out Loud". If you were a kid AFTER color TV, it's LOL. It has nothing to do with being lazy. It has to do with progress. :-) (12/1/09) Nat Wright passed away on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26th. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 10th, 1926, his full name was "Nathaniel V.W. Wright IV", but he preferred “Nat” from an early age. During the Depression and before WW II, his family moved regionally from Baltimore to Sparrows Point to Maryland's Eastern Shore and eventually to Washington D.C., where he graduated from Anacostia High School in 1944. From there, he served with the U.S. Marine Corps, landing in Japan as part of the 2nd Marine Division’s occupation forces. His job was to organize pick-up baseball games with the children in local villages. Standing only 5’5”, Nat wasn't seen as a threat by the villagers. It may have been there that Nat became aware of his ability to entertain people. Returning to the United States, Nat attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland from 1946-’48, and American University in Washington D.C. from 1948- ’50, majoring in political science. That paved the way for Nat to get a job in ‘48 as an editorial researcher (a polite name for library clerk) at the old Washington Evening Star. In the Cold War Era, Nat enjoyed helping renowned journalists Elmer Davis and Mary McCrory dig through the archives. Nat was also introduced to a cute young photographer at the Star named Jacqueline Bouvier. Nothing came of it. In early ‘51, Nat was bitten by the broadcasting bug while radio was still the predominant medium, but television was catching on fast. Nat launched a career that spanned over 41 years, starting before "rock 'n roll", working in almost all the major music formats, plus news. He labored and learned at smaller radio stations from Hagerstown, MD to Dover, DE (WDOV) to Reading PA (WEEU) to Alexandria, VA. In 1956, Nat landed at WWDC-AM and worked part-time at WTTG-TV. In the summer of ‘57, Nat hosted a dance program called “Capitol Caravan,” replacing regular host, Bob McEwen, while he was on vacation. Interestingly, this was a dance program that was for and featured African-American youth, and McEwen was African-American. The majority of the viewers and studio audience thought Nat was also black. In the summer of ‘58 at Channel 5, Nat replaced a vacationing Lee Reynolds on the “Cap’n Tugg” program. He played “Rusty Hull,” and suffered under the hot studio lights wearing a pair of rubber overalls. He also read news, did voice-overs and commercials, and other fill-in work. He knew and respected Lee Reynolds and Pick Temple saying it was a privilege to work with them. In the summer of 1961, Nat was hired at WIP-AM in Philadelphia. He was the only “swing person” ever hired at the station, doing news and music programs at the same time. In 1967, Nat took over as the host of the second-oldest all-night radio program in the country, ‘The Dawn Patrol,” which he hosted for 17 years. He was called: “Nat Wright the Night Wrat.” At the same time, Nat did voice-overs and fill-ins at Channels 48 and 29 in Philadelphia. In 1984, WIP changed its format to all-talk, then all-sports, and most of the on-air staff, Nat included, was let go. From there, Nat worked at a radio broadcasting school, a talk radio station, and did a morning radio show at a small radio station in Trenton, NJ. He retired from broadcasting in 1992. Nat was a member in good standing of AFTRA for many years, and served on the AFTRA board as recording secretary for over 25 years. More details at: www.broadcastpioneers.com (12/1/09) Chris T., this topic was explored in great detail recently on one of the broadcast digest boards. The general consensus was yes; it is not legal to transmit a Morse Code "SOS" in a commercial. But because Morse Code has pretty much been abandoned by everyone other than airport beacons and ham radio operators, the point is pretty much moot, especially since the likelihood of a distress message in a commercial being legit is rather remote. The discussion also turned to music that has Morse Code overtones ("Western Union" by the Five Americans), and nearly every news jingle aired by every radio station in the U.S. since 1939 ("didda-didda-bomp-bomp"). It evidently boils down to how relevant the means of communication is. Smoke signals in old Western movies might well have been saying, "Bend over and grab your ankles" except we didn't know it. And how many F-U's were sent by semaphore flags in those old scout films? We can't use EBS or EAS sounds in radio commercials, which I completely agree with, and I applaud your decision to reject that "Mayday" commercial. While still not legal, the use of Morse in a commercial probably isn't the grand disaster it might have been imagined to be. (12/1/09) Dave, I'm curious about something I've observed for the past 6 weeks on network TV. Lately, following the Stephy show on ABC, the net runs a spot for Prudential. The spot opens with several "SOS" distress signals in International Morse Code. I'm wondering if there is a broascasting law "legal eagle" who can tell me that it is now legal to transmit false distress signals. Are not the chief engineers at each affiliate and O&O culpable? Many years ago, I actually rejected a spot that consisted of a voice over a background that was nothing but the word, "Mayday" repeated over and over. I hope someone can clear this up for me. Thanks for your time Dave. Chris Telladira (12/1/09) Scrolling through the mailbag, Silvie hasn't posted since last Tuesday. I see she has her own set of stalkers; how quaint. (12/1/09) Dave! Have you seen my Ipod? I need it! 105.9 put DJ's on and ruined a good thing. Now I may be an EX-PD, but the last time I checked, hiring DJ's is not a "cume builder" (which is what The Edge needs badly to survive). Now where did I put that thing......or right! It's in the box with my XM radio! Seriously, when you broke the story last week, I actually dusted off my Ipod. The end of a decent radio station in DC was inevitable. You rock as always! Thanks Dave. Jerome (12/1/09) I want to take a moment to thank the person that explained Tiger Woods dilemma. It was clearly stated. But, I do think if he was "fooling around" just being in the same house with his wife is punishment. I remember the first time my wife beat me with a broomstick, that's when I realized I'd married a witch. JD (12/1/09) Andy Rosen of MarylandReporter.com has an interesting blog on the loss of a Maryland state government PIO shop and its impact on reporters. Check it out at marylandreporter.com (12/1/09) I notice WMAR doesn't appear to be doing all that great. I don't know about any of you, I would be leaning toward... 1.) Scripps entering into a SSA (Shared Service Agreement) with either Hearst (WBAL), CBS (WJZ), or Sinclair (WBFF). 2.) Scripps discontinuing the 5PM news... airing top-rated "Dr. Oz" or "Ellen" instead. WMAR also discontinuing the midday newscast until further notice. The morning, 6PM, and 11PM newscasts staying on the air. 3.) Baltimore TV getting a LNS (Local News Service) agreement, similar to that of the FOX-NBC model. Hearst's top-rated WBAL may not be interested in participating. I would lean more toward CBS' WJZ, Sinclair's WBFF, and Scripps' WMAR sharing a news chopper, and pooling video of non-exclusive stories, in an effort to save the stations money, and freeing up resources to go after enterprise stories. Just some thoughts. Eric from GA (12/1/09) At last Dave: something REALLY funny in DCRTV’s “Silvie’s Mailbag”! (Several people wrote in last summer to DCRTV proposing a “Real Housewives of Chuck County, MD” show to be developed for Silvie. It could start off with her, in her bathrobe, sipping coffee in her kitchen, and listening and calling Chris Plante talking with him on and off the air). Now THAT’S funny: I “Laughed Out Loud” or “lol” for you lazy fucks. (12/1/09) Dave, I read with great amusement and frustration your story about the push for HD radio. Why, Spent Saturday evening decorating the XMAS tree. Tuned in WASH and the annual yuletide celebration. At least 2 spots/hour promoting HD Radio. Guess what? WASH HD, WMZQ HD and WBIG HD weren't on the air. WHUR HD was just fine. Ditto for whatever they call the HD stream at WTOP. We all know the dirty little secret that the IBOC HD system really doesn't work. But for broadcasters to not even transmit the signal at the same time they are promoting it....well..does it suprise anyone???? Wonder what the geniuses at Clear Channel are thinking? (12/1/09) /\ December 1 Messages /\ \/ November 30 Messages \/ Wow…It was great seeing Nat Albright once again. He is not only one of the finest broadcast professionals to grace a mic or camera in this area, but he is without doubt one of my favorites of those who’ve worked for me over the years. Even though the file linked to an earlier post may not show Nat as we’d like to remember him, I saw that spark of enthusiasm for sports and broadcasting still burning in his soul. I also have to say that in fairness to Nat, believe it or not, he is older than the gentlemen an earlier poster was referring to. In fact, IIRC, Nat was already doing a regular gig at the old WEAM when Ed and Willard were still students at AU. As for the baseball PBP re-creations, I remember hearing them on KOGO in San Diego in the 1960’s when the Padres were still a PCL team and it was re-creations via the Teletype and sound effects, for the away games. You know… That brings to mind three things this business seems to have lost over the last decade or so: Creativity; Respect; and Daring. Not only that, but it was a lot of fun. Sometimes, you’d see an opportunity to perhaps “get away with something”. Sometimes you’d get caught. And, sometimes you didn’t. But, even if you did get “caught”, after the scolding you’d get from the GM, PD, or CE (back when we had professionals worthy of those titles), you might also hear something like, “Did I ever tell you about the time I…”, and you’d be regaled with a whopper from an earlier era. Alas, you screw-up just once (or worse yet show individuality) these days, and you’re “pursuing other career opportunities”. Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/30/09) Ok, am I the only one who gets the slight drop in 105.7 The Fan ratings? ITS NOT BASEBALL SEASON ANYMORE! And WIYY/WBAL have The Ravens and lots of access to players during the NFL season, something CBS radio can't do anymore. DUH! Ed Norris is not the problem, it's just a seasonal drop in ratings during a period when The Baltimore Ravens are all Baltimore is talking about! (11/30/09) "I dub you Asperger." -And I dub you talentless, humorless, useless, and unoriginal. Get a new bit. -ThatThingIsMightier (11/30/09) Saw something strange tonight... Former Washington Redskin John Riggins playing the part of an NBA agent on an episode of One Tree Hill. The world may be near the end!! (11/30/09) Time-Warner is supposedly going to start a PR campaign to get the public to “pressure” broadcasters and the network-affiliate cable nets to eliminate fees for broadcast carriage on cable and “tying” agreements on the cable nets owned by the broadcast nets as well as holding the line or reducing carriage fees? While eschewing “a la carte”, there will be an explicit “write your congressman” component. I hear that CBS-Viacom is the first target because of the number of CBS O&O’s in its footprint and ... CBS is going to start wanting a piece of the action (I was among the few watching “Star Trek” on NBC-TV…) of what the affiliates get from cable carriage. Not only does this stem from the increase in cable operating costs and bills, but also the coverage emasculation due to ATSC. (11/30/09) A source tells me that there will possibly be no action on the Comcast-NBCU deal while the NHL season is on. Seems that some U.S. Senators and Representatives in hockey areas are not only getting constituent complaints about the DirecTV-Comcast fracas over Versus carriage rates, but Charlie Ergen is upset enough about the deal to be going to Congress (Dish has their Versus deal coming up soon…) and the satcasters PAC is supposedly showing the “fools on the hill” that Comcast wants more $ per subscriber for Versus from satellite than “traditional” CATV’s. Also, you can bet Verizon and AT&T are watching this closely. Unless a deal is done soon for Versus, what Comcast went through on the NFL Network may look like “Heidi” by comparison and NBCU may be left pregnant at the altar. (11/30/09) Ed Norris's pathetic attempt to get support by posting the following on his Show's Twitter - "EdNorrisShow If anyone should want to call the station for any reason, the number is 410-825-1000 and the bosses name is Dave Labrozzi. I'm just sayin' - about 12 hours ago" (11/30/09) "Approximately 250 words in ThePenis's last post. And not a single one of them made any sense. Congrats! You've made Dave's Hall of Shame!" Given the speed with which you pounced, your imaginary award (not your website, remember?) and in the absence of a signature, I dub you Asperger. The eagle does not prolapse fly ani. ---ThePenIsMightier (11/30/09) I've not read anything about the new journalism building at Maryland, but having said that I can say that the old journalism building was on the OLD MALL, the original historic part of the campus that sits against the NEW MALL. I know this from taking journalism classes there and it was a small historic building that shared space with other programs. Now, the big picture question is, why build a new journalism building when you don't have an RTVF or internet media program combined into it? Without any TV or radio or internet studies, basically a journalism degree alone is worthless today. Almost no one on any of the major networks' nightly news shows or any of the cable news networks has a journalism degree. I did an anchor comparison recently and even I was surprised how few people had journalism degrees who were presenting the news on TV. So the question does beg, WHY should Maryland waste so much tax dollars on what is basically a useless degree in today's society with all kinds of newspapers going under? It's like throwing money down a bankrupt drain. (11/30/09) There is so much interest in the Tiger Woods matter because 1) he's probably the most famous "athlete" in the world (assuming one considers golf a sport) and the most successful in terms of endorsements, 2) he has always carefully controlled his image to appear as Mr. straight arrow family man and hypocrisy always makes things like this more interesting and 3) he's an obnoxious jerk to the media and payback is hell. Plus the fact that he may have lied about what happened in his website statement just fanned the flames. (11/30/09) Re "The media is having a circus with the Tiger Wood Story. Why is that such a big deal? If it were any regular couple, it would be noted as a domestic issue. But, because it’s Tiger the police, the media, the nation is glued to the story. Leave them alone. If he was unfaithful…let him suffer at home. Life is tough for millionaires. JD" The reason that the police are investigating this incident is NOT because of the traffic collision. It is because of the likely event that it is a case of domestic assault and the evidence is pointing to the fact that she hit his ass with the golf club. He is in hiding because it takes days, sometimes weeks, for bruises to heal. You won't see him for awhile. In most states, including Florida, the police are obligated to make an arrest in cases of domestic assault if there are visible marks, bruises, abrasions, etc. In fact a police officer who does not make an arrest could himself be charged. (11/30/09) I have observed that Michaele Salahi is a bizarre mix of Ann Coulter and Suzanne Somers. (11/30/09) How much will MOM and company be getting paid for their podcast? As*hat (11/30/09) Re: "The University of Maryland is due to open a brand new journalism building. Why?" Because the current one sucks. beetsnotbeats (11/30/09) It was nice to see and hear Nat Albright again, but I was really shocked at how he sounded. Yes, I know he's rather old, but other familiar DC radio voices, who are also old, (like Ed Walker, Willard Scott, Bill Trumbull, etc.) still sound pretty much like they always have. (11/30/09) Approximately 250 words in ThePenis's last post. And not a single one of them made any sense. Congrats! You've made Dave's Hall of Shame! (11/30/09) As President Bartlet said in the episode of The West Wing where we found out that Dr. Cutty from House was a hooah after she let George Snuffalupagous have his way with her, "Seems to me we’ve all been taking a little break. Thinking about our personal lives or thinking about keeping our jobs. Breaks are good. It’s not a bad idea taking a break every now and then. I know how hard you all work. My point is this: Break’s over."His posts rank right up there (down there?) with Craigslist 'Rants-n-Raves,' in terms of intelligence and relevance. " Always intelligent, always relevant. " Silvie just called Chris Plante to say... " Dude, get a life, you're monitoring Sylvie and listening to Chris Plante. Have you a garage and an automobile that will run? It's the only way out for you, my friend. "Mike and I have little in common except for one obvious fact: no broadcasting entity is willing to pay either of us. And please don't think that there's money to be made in podcasting. Ad buys on such shows are minuscule at best. So, Mike, I wish you the best buddy, but you'd make more money by searching under your sofa cushions. – Jamesonian" The difference is, perhaps, that Mike doesn't own the recordings of his nationally regionally syndicated show and is making what are essentially demos to shop around. Good of you to clue him in on the realities of the radio business, though. "Silvie. It could start off with her, in her bathrobe..." Who ARE these anonymous pervs cranking to Sylvie and Chris Plante? Looking pretty good over here, eh? --- ThePenIsMightier (11/30/09) Re: "Dave, Why no postings about the live talent on 105.9 today?? New mid-day chick is plugging Kirk M. starting at 2p. Thanks, Laura" Thanks Laura (and Dave), for the heads up. I have been listening since your post here. And I have been enjoying 105.9 regularly for a couple of months now. Like an earlier mailbagger wrote, they have been playing a lot of varied and interesting stuff. A live voice makes it even better. Robert, Arlington (11/30/09) Animated versions of Chris Matthews and his forehead appeared in this MSNBC "Hardball" parody on Fox's "Family Guy." (11/30/09) That Express front-page note about design changes claims not to want to "spoil the fun" of highlighting all the changes to today's edition, but a commenter at the Washington Post Comic Riffs blog today, on the subject of comics vanishing from newspapers, writes that 3/5 of the Express comics have disappeared with today's new-look Express. That's some "fun." Christian voices.washingtonpost.com (11/30/09) "Speaking of attention whores, lately this board's become a Shell No Pest Strip for them. They're flocking like moths to a light...." Who exactly are you referring to? (11/30/09) I'd like to commend whoever sent in that link about Nat Allbright and baseball recreations. I had heard snippets of Nat doing the games but never had the explanation of how it was done and didn't realize how connected Nat was to the Dodgers. (Shawn in DC). (11/30/09) The media is having a circus with the Tiger Wood Story. Why is that such a big deal? If it were any regular couple, it would be noted as a domestic issue. But, because it’s Tiger the police, the media, the nation is glued to the story. Leave them alone. If he was unfaithful…let him suffer at home. Life is tough for millionaires. JD (11/30/09) Dave, Why no postings about the live talent on 105.9 today?? New mid-day chick is plugging Kirk M. starting at 2p. Thanks, Laura (11/30/09) Dave's response: Ah, DCRTV broke/reported the news last week. Probably no Mailbag postings today because the station has a very small audience..... Has anyone noticed that WBAL TV 11 now has the exact same WEATHER TEAM as way back here when anchor Rod Daniels didn't have gray hair? Check out the 11 News Weather Team at the end of this clip...... Watch Working For You Baltimore WBAL in News  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com It must be from just after they originally hired Tony Pann the first time around. I still miss Neal Estano, but that is kinda cool. WBAL's weather coverage just plain embarrasses WJZ's Turk and Marty Ass, both of whom got their meteorology degrees probably from some website in South America. Boy did WJZ screw up letting meteorologist Brooks Tomlin go. WJZ should have bought out Bob Turk's huge contract instead and paid Tomlin a smaller bundle to keep him or even hire Neal Estano, but I have a feeling that was a CBS inside deal since Tomlin went to Philly's CBS O&O KYW 3. I almost wonder if WJZ is afraid of Bob Turk. Can you imagine the tell-all book Bob Turk could write about Jerry & Al & Oprah, not to mention Marty Bass's, umm, indiscretion in the park? Turk's the only one left who knows all the dirt from back then since Richard Sher is not talking and is probably getting monthly stipends from Oprah to keep quiet! "Daring Denise" Koch back then was working for Evening Magazine & busy skate boarding, and not on Eyewitness News. Regardless, WJZ owes Jay Leno a HUGE Christmas gift this year. If WJZ was an NBC station right now, they'd probably be #3 in news behind WBAL & WBFF FOX 45, despite Jeff Barnd's bad toupes. Although Barnd's new one & new glasses kinda make him look younger though I'll admit. I can just imagine the discussions at Sinclair in Hunt Valley over what to do about Barnd's toupe during the HD News switch. But they pulled it off well, he looks good. But man, do the WJZers look haggard in HD, OUCH! The HD news switch at WJZ was more like a Halloween gag. (11/30/09) Several people wrote in last summer to DCRTV proposing a “Real Housewives of Chuck County, MD” show to be developed for Silvie. It could start off with her, in her bathrobe, sipping coffee in her kitchen, and listening and calling Chris Plante (talking with him on and off the air). Then, we could see her shopping the Waldorf Walmart, going to her Latin dance classes, posting messages to DCRTV and Herritage.org after lunch, taking her grandson to CCD twice a week, and jockeying for a hilltop parking space so she can listen to Michael Savage for 90 minutes while waiting for the class to finish. The show could end with Silvie calling Austin Hill to say goodnight. Ratings gold, I tell ya, but Bravo didn’t bite. (11/30/09) Speaking of attention whores, lately this board's become a Shell No Pest Strip for them. They're flocking like moths to a light.... (11/30/09) (regarding this thread) "Could someone please translate that last ThePenIs submission? Hell, I'd settle of a rational explanation of why he's allowed to clog up the DCRTV Mailbag with his lame, offensive posts." His posts rank right up there (down there?) with Craigslist 'Rants-n-Raves,' in terms of intelligence and relevance. (11/30/09) I don't know what people want or what people are expecting, but I want to take 105.9 The Edge behind the middle school and get it pregnant. It's like I'm listening to a completely different station than the rest of you. Maybe I'm not listening enough, but any station that moves from Pearl Jam to Motley Crue to Zeppelin to Van Halen to Quiet Riot to Guns N' Roses works fine for me. What exactly is "adult rock" anyways? They play the U2. They play the R.E.M. What else do you want? This isn't anything close to the Globe. Oh, and DC101 is absolutely dreadful. If that is representative of cool adult or other modern rock, please leave it there. (11/30/09) I find Ed to be a great on air talent. Maynard? Not so compelling. Weekly segments with Pat McDonough are ratings poison: the only thing worse than yet another guy spewing right wing talking points on the radio is yet another guy spewing right wing talking points IN A BALTIMORE ACCENT. Ed is compelling because he has his own opinions, he can shift gears, and he is not doing schtick. I hope,for the sake of my ears, that he can find the right crew around him (Mark Zinno?) and get the right format to soar as a strong local broadcaster. (11/30/09) As someone who produced and co-hosted a podcast for four years, I'd like to personally welcome Mike O'Meara to the realm of the amateur. Mike and I have little in common except for one obvious fact: no broadcasting entity is willing to pay either of us. And please don't think that there's money to be made in podcasting. Ad buys on such shows are minuscule at best. So, Mike, I wish you the best buddy, but you'd make more money by searching under your sofa cushions. – Jamesonian (11/30/09) Jan 15 looming for Citadel - insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com (11/30/09) According to someone at CBS Radio I just spoke to, Ed Norris on the Monday Morning QB show is only for the rest of the Ravens' season. It's a way to get Ed's name and image on the tube that may translate into more radio listeners. Nothing more than that. (11/30/09) Be sure to check out "Feed Yer Head" today from 3-4 P.M. on WEBR with your host Rachel. (11/30/09) Yeah, I have to agree with Jamie. The Norris show used to be “can’t miss” listening for me, but the suites have managed to take compelling, issue oriented discussion, and turn it into fluff and sports drivel. Same shit I can hear anywhere. Ed’s show was always thought provoking and a nice blend of serious talk with humor. Now, I don’t miss it at all when I get far enough south to start losing the signal on the way to work, and just switch over to the Junkies. Too bad. John (11/30/09) Silvie just called Chris Plante to say she is “offended” by the Real Housewives of DC, presumably that they didn’t pick HER to be on. She also wants Woodward and Bernstein to investigate Crashergate. Must be a slow news day….. (11/30/09) Less Norris in the morning? Ed possibly being phased out?!?? Thats simply the CBS way of thanking you for being a loyal listener. Remember: his segments started out on 99.1WHFS. (11/30/09) The University of Maryland is due to open a brand new journalism building. Why? (11/30/09) "Hell, I'd settle of a rational explanation of why he's allowed to clog up the DCRTV Mailbag with his lame, offensive posts." Here is the Mightier Corollary to Godwin's Law (that's the one about comparing people to Hitler): any sentence on the internet beginning with either "Hell," or "Heck," or including any variant of the phrase "for shits and giggles" may be safely disregarded. Offensive? I think not. As responses to my posts seem to be the real source of clogitation here, I shall now do my part as a good netizen, and break for some clean-limbed relaxing, luggage flung to the upper rack with a flick of the wrist, jungle cat-like in my movements. --- ThePenIsMightier (11/30/09) Not as cute as your valiant attempt at a laugh. Better luck next time, Penis. -ThatThingIsMightier (11/30/09) Has anyone else noticed that it seems that the Ed's morning show seems to be phasing out the serious issues that he normally talked about and are now focusing on entertainment and the usual morning show talk? I tuned in to hear something different not the usual banter... Also this morning it was the Monday Morning Quarterback program not even his normal show with Maynard??!! Tom Davis was even hosting it and Ed was just someone in studio. The promos for the station now say sports 24/7 when it used to say Ed Norris in the morning and sports all day long... Interesting... Jamie B, Eastern Shore of MD (11/30/09) (regarding a previous post) "Could someone please translate that last ThePenIs submission?" Hell, I'd settle of a rational explanation of why he's allowed to clog up the DCRTV Mailbag with his lame, offensive posts. (11/30/09) "Could someone please translate that last ThePenis submission?? I didn't seem to understand a single word of that incoherent and presumably poor attempt at humor. -ThatThingIsMightier" Aw, look, it's trying to think! Isn't that cute? --- ThePenIsMightier (11/30/09) Dave, I agree with your rant this morning on the awfulness of WVRX. I grew up here and DC has just never been a hard rock kind of town. Citadel does have a really cool AAA rock station in Birmingham, Alabama called Live 100.5, which you can stream and see their playlist here: www.live1005online.com. This should have been the station that WTGB could have been, or WVRX should be now. I'm not sure why some corporate idiot decided that DC needs to have two stations playing the same 35 year old rock music, but I"m pretty sure we only need one classic rock station. (11/30/09) Dave's response: There are a lot of cool stations that DC's 105.9 could model itself after - Chicago's WXRT, NYC's WRXP, Boston's WXRV or WFNX, or the UK's BBC Radio 6..... 105.7the fan..what's going on there this morn? What's going on there ..new format??? New people??? Tom Davis, Preston, etc, etc Do u know??? Thanks. Dan (11/30/09) Dave's response: I can't hear 105.7 down here in NOVA. What's up? The same mind behind 105.9 The Edge is the same vanilla mind behind Mix 107.3! One dull song after another! (11/30/09) Good day - Here's my New York Social Diary column for this week, taking a look inside the story involving the sensational Salahis. www.nysocialdiary.com... Perhaps today you will phone the Ritz Georgetown to make a reservation for our Q&A Cafe next Wednesday, Dec. 9, featuring the owners of Georgetown Cupcake - Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne - who are one of the best business success stories of the last year, and certainly of the recession. Bring friends. Have fun. It's the holidays! The number is 202.912.4110. Seating begins at noon, the fee is $50 all inclusive, and valet parking is offered for a discounted $10. All best, Carol Joynt (11/30/09) The 'turkey' 100 per cent responsible for everything you hear on WVRX would be Kenny King. (11/30/09) Dave's response: Why can't DC get a cool rock station? DC101's OK. It's Clear Channel generic. Ditto with WBIG and its classic hits format. But that's all we got in the DC market! CBS came close with the Globe, WTGB, a few years ago, until it flipped to hard classic rock and went down the ratings tube. Now, Citadel's giving us a station that sounds like the Globe did just before it died. What's the point? Hey, Kenny King, give us a good mix of deep tracks classic rock, and lean to the progressive side, along with some cool alternative rock classics, and some cool adult rock currents. Populate it with some local personalities who know music, like Cerphe, and brand it "DC's Best Rock. Period." Yeah, I once was a fan of Alice Cooper and Foghat - like what 105.9's now playing ad nauseum - and, you know what, I don't really want to just listen to the music I grew up with in high school. My musical tastes have "grown up" a bit since then. Duh..... Dave's comment: "I'll name a winner - who ever is programming WVRX, 105.9.....: begs the question: Is anyone really programming that station? Sound to me more like an iPod plugged into an Optimod and a transmitter. Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/30/09) Dave's response: Maybe Kenny King has become a radio Borg. That's a "Star Trek" reference..... Am I the ONLY one who wishes that WJZ would have kept the Mikes HOT during the commercial breaks ??? All of the years that I have seen that clip, and laffed at it each and every time, I never imagined the continuation once the camera had faded to black !!! (yes, I honestly do remember watching the ORIGINAL live telecast of that clip too, Hey, it wasnt THAT long ago !!! ). I wonder what happened to the Rabi and his family since then , that would be GREAT for CH13 to update, if they have not already. Jerry Turner, I'm sure that you are still laughing at that clip somewhere every time it is played, I just wish that we could have HEARD your reaction with our own ears . Maybe Richard Sher could give us his memories of that great piece of LIVE content. Thanks for the great line John Henneman, to paraphrase, I guess the "rumors" of Bill Quinn's death have been GREATLY exaggerated !!!! Btw, I am still a fully LICENSED EMT-Paramedic, currently working for a private ambo company in Towson as a fill in Paramedic and what else ???? RADIO Dispatcher. ( I hope that MIEMSS doesn't read dcrtv !!!!!. . . . . . Scott Fitzgerald, Balmer Born n Bred, 1955 Vintage. (11/30/09) Here's a link to watch DC radio great, Nat Albright, show how he "recreated" Dodgers baseball games back in the day. (11/30/09) Watch Nat Albright - Out of the Past - 2008 in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com Hey; regarding Sean Hannity's F'ed upped November, you forgot Sean Hannity getting caught this month substituting video footage on his Fox "News" program to make a Fox News sponsored teabag rally look bigger than it really was. all this Hannity crap can be heard on WMAL. (11/30/09) Could someone please translate that last ThePenis submission?? I didn't seem to understand a single word of that incoherent and presumably poor attempt at humor. -ThatThingIsMightier (11/30/09) /\ November 30 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....