DCRTV Best & Worst Of 2000
Front Page - Mailbag - Support DCRTV - Back To BW2007BEST: Elliott in the Morning on DC101 (consistantly funny AND local); WRNR (they were all over David Gray and Moby before anybody else would even think about adding them); WBAL-AM; The Lowdown, a short-lived Sunday afternoon sports talk show on WJFK-AM in Baltimore; Sinclair's 54 news at 6:30/45 news at 10 in Baltimore.
WORST: WHFS in General. When Lou Brutus left, it was all down hill from there. The Morning Crash is particularly terrible, and with all the wonderful talent out there, you'd have thought that they could have hired somebody vaguely competent and interesting for morning drive. And don't get me started on Tim Virgin, the new afternoon drive jock.
from Mike Berry 98WRC.COM:
BEST: Bonneville! WTOP & WGMS are first rate operations. Even the vacation relief (Renee Chaney) at WGMS is great..... HONORABLE MENTION: WBJC & Alan Lee on WQSR.
WORST: Channel 9 news. The plugs for survivor during the newscasts were shameful. The recent talent and schedule changes are terrible. They have taken apart what once was the best local news operation in town.
BEST/WORST:
Worst: 99.5: The format's not tired, it's exhausted.... Worst: WTEM, except for Tony Kornheiser. Steve Czaban is a generic sportstalk host: "Michael Jordan blows! Disagree? CALL ME!"
Best: Junkies. You have to laugh. They're funny.
from Silver Spring Bill:
BEST - Washington's class act, Eddie Gallaher. WTOP - Truly a useful service. Sometimes I wish for a bit of depth in coverage that can't be done with "traffic and weather on the 8's."
WORST - I think the term is "billboarding" - preannouncing this-and-that to keep viewers tuned in during the "commercial playhouse" of back-to-back commercials that continually challenges my short attention span. I believe it was "Kentucky Fried Movie" that had a segment "RUSSIAN ICBM'S HEADED FOR NEW YORK - MOSCOW IN FLAMES - ***FILM AT 11***. Also, Comcast and their repetitive local commercials on Montgomery County Cable evidently sold in packages at a penny apiece - and the device that plays them shows obvious MPEG artifacts when there are dissolves or activity on the screen. Still, it's better than the ill-timed, terrible looking local spots they played with analog equipment.
Beest Mornings... Howard Stern 106.7 WJFK ... Murphy and Cash 98.7 WMZQ... Bill and Kim 97.1 WASH ... Dave Adler 100.3 WBIG ... Leigh Hamilton 105.9 WJZW... Tom Joyner 102.3 WMMJ ... Elliot Segal 101.1 WWDC ... Jack and Bert 107.2 WRQX ... KT and Carter 99.5 WJMO ... Don Imus 980 WTEM ...
Worse Radio Mornings... "The Morning Crash" GINA CRASH AND ALLEN SCOTT 99.1 WHFS... Bush League 104.1 WWZZ ...
Afternoon drive - Best: Don and Mike 106.7 WJFK... Jon Anthony 98.7 WMZQ ... Tom Kelly 100.3 WBIG ... Justin Taylor 105.9 WJZW... Randi Martin 97.1 WASH ...
Worse none
Best Midday... G.Gordon Liddy 106.7 WJFK ... Jim London/Carol Munse 98.7 WMZQ ... Scott Brady 97.1 WASH ... Kathy Whiteside 100.3 WBIG ... Al Santos 105.9 WJZW ...
worse midday... Dr Laura 630 WMAL ...
Best Evening... Paula Young 98.7 WMZQ ... Glenn Hollis 97.1 WASH ... Goldy 100.3 WBIG ... VanNiece Johnson 105.9 WJZW ...
Worse... Sports Junkies 106.7 WJFK
--Rob, from BtvN - A Best Website Award to Dave & DCRTV for mixing the best of Baltimore & Washington TV and radio... My nominations:
Best/DC: WRC's News4. I am so happy to see that after all these years, Jim & the gang are still...there. Best/Baltimore: WJZ-13 for not boring us to death (like WBAL) and looking more professional than WMAR, but if that were the case, every station would win.
Worst/DC: WUSA. They used to be THE BEST, but now they just suck. 9...Where do I start? First Gurvir whatever-her-name-is replacing Andrea Roane, moving her to 11pm. Then, taking news vets "Buck" Buchannan and Andrea Roane and moving them to the morning hours. The thought of getting up at 3am 5 days a week makes me cringe. Then, killing off 9's 4pm news and replacing it with Montel-what-the-hell-is-this-Williams. Making Beverly Burke a field reporter. And 2 words: Ken Mease. Worst/Baltimore: WMAR. They're almost as bad as WUSA, and twice as cheap-looking. But then again, it's about the NEWS, not the graphics, or really, really bad reporting.
But I would also give a "Most Improved" award to WMAR, for the whole "Real People, Real News" concept. It's new and gives people a chance to talk back instead of just watching...
Best - Kudos go to WCSP for giving us great wall-to-wall coverage of this Fall's election. It's great to hear news in its raw format where "we-the-listener" can decide for ourselves instead of some opinionated broadcaster. (NPR really stepped over the bounds of journalistic integrity and balance during the height of the campaign. It was sad.) Runner up Kudos to WAGE - one of the few local stations with a sense of community.
The bad..... Sad state of "McFormatted" radio in DC. The FM dial is full of stale formats and limited playlists. I have had to flee to shortwave, internet, and satellite radio to regain my sanity. To bad 'RNR does not have a westside affiliate. Dishonorable Mention goes to Channel 14. Univision or TeleMundo is the solution.
BEST - WTOP news. Dependable and non-biased. What else can you ask for ? Just wish they would have purchased WTRI 1520 instead of killing one of the lonely classic country stations. WWZZ, for most i mproved in sound. Looks like the new PD is finally getting a grasp on the format. Somar Communications (WSMD, WKIK AM/FM, and now WMDM/WPTX) for at least being an English speaking voice on the radio dial for Southern Maryland, although autom ated. But ENOUGH of those Honda generator commercials already. Every single set this commercial is played.
WORST - Clear Channel. Everything about them at everyone of their crappy stations. WGAY 1260 for letting Christmas weather being announced yesterday (12/31). WWRC for letting us hear the automation tones audibly. WMZQ (except for Jim London, one of the few remaining good guys left in radio) for not letting anything play but top 10 and the same recurrents over and over again. And, last but certainly not least, WJMO, for the most pitiful ridiculous waste of a good signal. For a conglomerate that should know how to run radio, I ask, when are ya gonna pull the damned plug on this dying format? JMK Communications. I don't even know who these people are but the FCC should investigate. WTRI and WPWC would be good sou rces of revenue with fines for no legal ID's, EBS, and staffing. WORST TV: Channel 9 and Channel 14. Maybe the GM over at Channel 14 should put his application in for news director at 9 ? Or is there even anybody at Channel 14? Somebody has to load the tapes of the 1972 show New Zoo Revue (children's FCC requirement) and the seemingly endless infomercial crap they put on.
BEST: WTOP for news and weather coverage. WBIG - closest to personality in corporate radio as you can get, especially Scooter Magruder's Night Train. WGAY AM and Eddie Gallaher. WKCW - best local/traditional country. Automation sacked. WNAV - greatest live/local station remaining. WYRE - bringing back some R&B Oldies (Bucky Murphy). Traditional country good too. WQSR - great var iety of Oldies and especially, Alan Lee's Forgotten 45s program on Sunday nights. Way to go Alan! WIYY 98 Rock - Kirk, Mark and Lopez. Best morning show around. Creative, funny and not the same old laughing at each ot her's jokes. Larry the Cable Guy rules. WJMO - getting all live/local personalities to replace the former voice-tracks from LA, NY etc. Hey, those folks were not bad at all but they belong in their resp! ective markets.
WORST - WMZQ for dropping the Ed Rodriguez Show. All stations who did not provide up to the minute snow/cancellation updates and referred listeners to their websites instead. Hello? Cannot log on in the car. WWMD and WMJS for dropping their Easy Listening formats. WSMD/WKIK - automating and not even announcing song titles and artists. WWLG - replacing weekend and evening programming with the MYL satellite programming. Miss ya Carol St. John a nd Don Gary. Delmarva radio - no live/local talent full-time except for WZBH. All other stations (music and talk) who chose to sacrifice dedicated, local talent for automation/satellite/voice-tracking/satellite now and in the past.
Jason Veazey, one tired mo-fo.:
BEST: People still holding out hope that there will be a 'free-form' station in DC ala 'RNR. Nice to see there's still hope, but you know it'll never happen with the demographics of DC & the 4 major counties surrounding her. You're better off moving to Portland OR. Guys like Don Geronimo, Mike O'Meara, G. Gordon Liddy, Big Don O'Brien, Ken Merson, Pete Michaels, Cerphe, Mark Kessler, Paula Casey, and YDB...I have worked(actually STILL work)in the same stations as all of the above, and they're all GENUINE and REAL people, who have never put on airs to me or been anything other than down to earth. Refreshing. The staffs of WJFK FM, WARW, Mix 106.5 and Z104, who are in it to win it.
WORST: Getting off the air at 6PM at Z104, then having to break out to be on the air at Mix 106.5 by 7. Here's to no more of that s*!@ in 2001!
P. Kenny Burns:
BEST: The Washington and Baltimore Market. This has been a more exciting year watching and working in this market.
WORST: Cowardly, un-backed free-for-all attacks in the Mailbag. PInnacle Rule Number One: If your going to come, come correct.
JanGail, Fair Oaks, VA:
Best TV Newscast: WRC Channel 4; Best Most Improved TV Newscast: WJLA Channel 7 (for the addition of Maureen Bunyan and Doug Hill) -- their news team continues to get better and better-- will give Channel 4 the run for the money!... Best Sportscasters: tie-- Rene Knott and George Michael... Most Improved Sportscasters: Greg Owens and Jess Atkinson of Channel 9... Best Meteorologists: Doug Hill, Bob Ryan and Steve Rudin
Worst Decline in a TV Newscast: Channel 9 News... Worst Weathercast: Hillary Howard
Rockville Bill:
BEST SPORTSCASTER (RADIO): Johnny Holliday; BEST SPORTSCASTER (TV): George Michael; BEST WEATHERCASTER (TV): Doug Hill; BEST WEATHERCASTER (RADIO): Doug Hill; BEST NEWS (RADIO): WTOP; BEST NEWS (TV): NBC4-WRC; BEST TALK SHOW HOST (RADIO): (TIE) Tony Kornheiser, David Burd; BEST TALK SHOW HOST (TV): Charlie Rose; BEST MUSIC STATION: (TIE) WGMS, WBIG, WJZW; BEST AIR PERSONALITY NOT ON THE AIR: Eddie Gallaher; BEST AIR PERSONALITY NOT ON THE AIR OFTEN ENOUGH: (TIE) Ed Walker, Willard Scott, Tom Gauger, (Young) Dave Brown; Bobby Bennett, Weasel; BEST AIR PERSONALITY: (TIE) Johnny Dark, Cerphe, Tom Kelly; BEST WEBCAST: (TIE) Hober, Cafe Eclectic, WEBR, Zero 24-7 (even in reruns!); BEST COLLEGE RADIO: (TIE) WMUC, WGMU, WTMD, WFWM; BEST PROGRAM: (TIE): The Big Broadcast with Ed Walker, Dr. Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center, Hot Jazz Saturday Night with Rob Bamberger, Songs for Aging Children with Robert Aubry Davis and Martin Goldsmith, Music From the Hearts of Space (Stephen Hill), When Radio Was with Stan Freberg (even though it's syndicated!); LIFETIME BEST AWARD: Eddie Gallaher!
WORST: You know who you are!
Pete Misisco, Alexandria, VA - Thanks again for maintaining such a wonderful place for us radio/TV-philes in the Washington area to congregate. Here are my nominations for the best and worst:
BEST: WTOP, hands down. They've really got things figured out. Great news, great sound, incredible signal coverage (I recently listened to 1500 while in Providence, RI!)... And to boot, they really pay attention to what their listeners want! Couldn't ask for a better operation. Also, WRC-TV -- They have what I beleive is the cleanest on-air look of any of our local stations. Attractive graphics, smooth program transitions, consistently good audio/video quality.
WORST: WJMO, for proving that putting a CD carousel on "shuffle" is not a good way to program a major-market radio station. Same goes for WRQX... On the TV side, I must add my 'worst' vote to WUSA's news. 'nuff said.
Jim in Arlington:
Best: WTOP - definitely the best news coverage. Channel 4 news...Jim & co. still keeps it going! WINC, WBQB & WKMZ - Best sound and never owned by a conglomerate! WARW is good when you can't get KMZ. Dave - for running the best site in the entire WWW!
Worst: Clear Channel "the Microsoft of radio" for destroying any sense of radio individuality in all major markets across the United States. Their new slogan? "Resistance is Futile."
Best: Finest overall broadcast operation is WTOP. There is no other choice. Love 'em or hate 'em, Bonneville is proving you can buy a quality broadcast operation by simply hiring the right management/talent, and letting them do what they do best. The only downers over there are "Disco Dicus" leaving for Honolulu (Howard, take a look at the combining network Alan Roycroft designed and built for feeding most (if not all) of the Honolulu AM's into just one stick! (Wouldn't Bill Ashley be envious!!!)), Dave Brown being only on weekends, and bringing in the "Doug of Doom" to tarnish the reputation of Weather Channel carriage. Another downer not of their making are those insipid Fedcenter.com spots (Jim, I punch-out everytime I hear one of those!) and other "government-sector"-oriented spots. Bonneville, please realize that the "Government" is no longer either the leading employer or the largest economic force in this market!!!
Worst: WMAL. This is simply the poorest excuse of a major market network O/O one can imagine. The only people saving that place from being a toilet are Tim Brant, Andy Parks, and Chris Core. Although John Mathews runs a good operation when we get a weekday snowstorm, I seriously question some of the local news decisions when it comes to the choice of stories. Especially when a story about the religion of one of the newscasters airs, and that newscaster is allowed to use WMAL momentairly as a 5 KW soapbox to interject their personal view on the story. Whatever happened to dispassionate journalism, folks? Joe McCafferey must be spinning in his grave! As for Dr. Laura... Dave, one of my cousins in S.C. clued me into the website with "those pictures" a couple of years back. She wasn't bad looking in her younger days!!! However, I think she'd be more at home on WAVA than WMAL. Given WMAL's quality RF signal (if not their audio -C'mon Don (Culp) and Rick (King), you can do better!!! Diodes aren't the answer! Remember what you former neighbor, the old WGMS-AM used to sound like!) here is a golden opportunity for ABC to prove that you can make a ton of money with an AM. Program it "the way it used to be": Network news at the top of the hour, credible local news (with reporters -not stringers) at the bottom of the hour, reliable (non-sensational) weather coverage, and format it with entertaining personalities running nostalgia, oldies, or an MoR format. Mix in the community service WMAL is famous for, add in some shameless self-promotion, and you could well end up with an AM which could kick an FM or two around the parking lot! Tied for Second-Worst: WBIG and CBS/WARW! WBIG is a classic example of what can go wrong with today's multi-ownership rules. The music mix is terrible, and the spot clusters are simply too long. You've got some of the best talent (Tom Kelly, Johnny Dark, and Goldy) ever to grace an oldies station. Turn 'em loose and let them entertain! Cut back on the spot load and raise your rates to compensate. As for CBS, they missed a golden ("Tiffany", perhaps?) opportunity to make a good oldies market like D.C. an even better one by not taking 94.7 to oldies in the wake of the "Greaseman" disaster and the subsequent ratings nosedive. CBS does oldies extremely well (WCBS-FM, KODJ/KCBS-FM, and KRTH-FM, to name a few) and would've given WBIG a serious wake-up call. Shame on you CBS! And, absolute worst: The Copyright Royalty Tribunal, for requiring broadcasters in the U.S.A. to pay additional fees if their signal is also carried on the Internet. Unless Congress steps in and overturns this, it'll be the worst thing to happen to broadcasters migrating over to the 'net. And, it'll be the best thing to happen to mediocre broadcasters, regardless of market. Carriage of commercial American broadcasters on the 'net has done a far better job of communicating our culture abroad in five years than VOA has done in 50+. Now, the government wants to kill it. So much for the "no internet taxes" attitude we've heard in the past from Capitol Hill and the White House! Notice how they've been strangely silent on this one and the silence of the media on this? As for me, I'll confess. Except when it is actually snowing, I do not listen to local radio at home. I listen to more than a few USA or overseas domestic broadcasters, via my PC. And, if more were available, I'd give them a try! Pity KRTH-101 isn't on the web. Maybe one day...
Shawn, Bethesda:
Best of 2000.... Lets begin with Eddie Gallaher who will be missed by all. Goldie at Oldies 100,along with Johnny Dark.. Ed Walker on WAMU...Willard Scott who brightens up an otherwise dreadful WMAL morning show...WTOP Radio,best information source in Town.Tony Roberts, longtime voice of Notre Dame football, one time voice of the Washington Senators and Washington Bullets, Tony Kornheiser on the Team, Johnny Holliday who does it all, Radio, TV, Theatre, and Commercials ..Maureen Buynan on Channel 7, Noreen Genzler on Channel 4, and the veteran of the airwaves, Channel 9's Gordon Peterson.
Worst of 2000, the apparent demise of the Music of your life on 1260, Stern getting bluer and bluer with time, WTEM's weaklineup, outside of Tony K, The Redskins pre and post game shows on WJFK, and the overall Amatuer presentation of the Wizzards broadcast.
The Fizz's Fabulous Picks for Best and Worst! You know you've been holding your breath waiting for this, so heeeeere goes!:
Best: In Baltimore, Kirk, Mark and Lopez on 98 Rock remain the best morning show around. Funny without being too terribly dirty, great chemistry, love the gags, and Lopez is one smart guy! Back on Sweet Home Delmarva, the honor goes to Skip Dixxon on 96 Rock, for bringing the metal back to the airwaves, and during middays yet! Turned it on the other day and heard Jackyl's chainsaw-wieldind gem, "The Lumberjack" at 12:30 in the afternoon! Hell yeah! Wonder how long Queer Channel will let him get away with this. Also, Dino's Launchpad on the same station is great! Don and Mike are surprisingly more entertaining than I remember them from when they were on the Fox.
Worst; Oh, so many choices, so little time! First, Delilah and her noxious, nauseous, smarmy ... I think I'm out of adjectives. Moving on. In DC: Ellioton DC101. Man, does THIS guy think his $h!t don't stink! In Baltimore, Channel 2: embarrassingly close to amateurish. And on Delmarva: 93.5 the Beach, for continuing to be, despite great ratings, the sloppiest, most unprofessional, most commercial-saturated station I have ever heard, and with the blandest jocks and the absolute lamest morning show. They make HFS sound not so bad by comparison. Also, all the simulcasts, too numerous to waste time listing, you know who you are. Also, Skip Dixxon has points taken off for still airing incomprehensible calls from these idiots who keep calling him, and it sounds like he same three guys each time. You can only understand Skip's side of the conversation usually, the rest is just mumbling and gurgling. WBOC-TV for keeping that big, goofy Jane Jordan onboard. Shut up, Jane! And of course, the biggest F-U of them all goes out to Steer Clear Chanel Communications, the Scourge of the Radio Business, and the Enemy of Free-Thinking Programming Everywhere! These unscrupulous, money-grubbing corporate whores do away with jocks, they add commercials, they pump in syndicated crap shows, they hack playlists to pieces (I bet I have more CD's than DC101!), they just basically SUCK! How in the hell did jackoffs like these get in charge of even ONE radio station, let alone 1120, or whatever the death toll curently is! ... But hey, aside from that, everything's peachy-dandy!
Pete Medhurst:
BEST- I second the motion on Dave Brown aka YDB. Dave is a very decent human being who I dealt with from a management standpoint at first and now and a friend in the radio industry. Dave really convinced me to take the job doing traffic on WMAL and my family is much better for it. WTOP should reward him with a prominent on-air slot...... Chris Core- Another person of high quality. He has let me and Jamee be a part of the show and not just a talking head in an airplane or in the studio. He is a first class radio guy, you don't hold a job as long as he has if your not...... Jamee Pfeiffer- simply couldn't do my job without her..... Jim Russ- the great teacher..... Dave Johnson- The man who gave me my first job in radio at WNAV 12 years ago. I feel for him every night calling the Wizards, but it is an NBA job..... The John Thompson show with my hero Doc Walker, and Steve Czaban. Hang in there Steve, IMUS will go away eventually. Steve was very good on 1-on-1 sports and will end up in a prime spot on WTEM. The Kornheiser show is in class by itself..... Carol Costello, Stacy Donaldson (I'm a big fan), and Wendy Reiger who alledgedly lives near me in souther Anne Arundel County..... Jim Vance- Been watching him since I was a kid, he is still the very best.
worst- never in a million years.
Chris, WJZ fan:
Best:(washington):ABC 7 After years of being 3rd, people are now relizing that ABC 7 is actually the one of the best. Also their Newscasts are very comprensive and they really dont stress alot on news.
Worst:(Washington): WUSA. From Gurvir to moving Ken mease ( but Owens is good). THe deleting of the 4pm newscast was one of the reasons it is one of the sations i do not like.
Best(baltimore): WJZ. WJz has the most news plus the best weather team....Marty, Dr. Bob, Tim and Bob turk.Their Morning edition is the best and you have to say, WJZ is the best.
Worst (baltimore): ABC 2. WHen your newscast is beat by Sydnicated programming thats tell you something. ANd they have the worst graphics..
BEST, hmmmm... YDB; Master of DC radio. This guy's got the Midas touch, and without question betters any station associated with his name and work.
WORST-- DC101; for opting out of DC's AM signature big band station, and FM for losing their kewl, band breaking sophistication.
Howard:
Best: Rob Bamberger's "Hot Jazz Saturday Night" and Ed Walker's "Big Broadcast" on WAMU, "Songs for Ageing Children" on WETA, Johnny Dark, "Car Talk", WGMS, Frank, Sam and Sonny. A bit out of the DC area is the "Acoustic Cafe" on WMRA in Harrisonburg (with transmitters also in Charlottesville, Lexington and Winchester) and on WFWM in Frostburg, MD is Jazz M-Th evenings and Big Bands Friday evenings plus Greg Latta's "Just Plain Folks" folk music program on Saturday afternoons.
Worst: VerStandig Broadcasting trashing WWMD (like we really needed another country music station), "Survivor": News programs hyping it as "news", the many mindless spin-offs it has created and, of course, the program itself, Clear Channel hanging on to WJMO and not admitting that they should have stuck with WGAY(FM). Not worst, just rather sad: Most everything in the "best" section above is below 92MHz (commercial broadcasters, are you listening??).
Here's an entry from a Frederick listener:
Best: WXTR going from "Real Country" to all-news. I congradulate Bonneville for using their resources so responsibly. Also 95.9 moving from country to light adult contemporary. The format is something the area needed for a while. Yes, Dilila is horrible, but it's better than another country outlet.
Worst: Speaking of country outlets, this one was not needed. Turning the last easy listening station in the mid-atlantic area into a horrible country station was dumb. There will probably never again be another station quite like 104.7 WWMD. This is the biggest fault I have against VerStandig. The only plus I give them is turning 101.5 to contemporary.
BEST NEWS: NBC4. NBC4 has the best web site and best weather coverage in DC. Second place goes to ABC7. With Doug Hill on their team and a new weather center in the works, NEWS7 is improving.FOX5 has also gotten better.
WORST NEWS: Channel 9. Ever since the new director Davis Roberts stepped in, Channel 9 has gone down the drain. Remember, change is not necessarly good. For Channel 9 to improve, they should restore the 4PM news, put the old anchors back and make a new homepage. I don't like the CBS design.
BEST RADIO STATIONS: Z104 & WASH-FM 97.1 are some of the best stations in town. Oldies 100 makes it too. WTOP News is great too!
Mike In Laurel:
BEST: Elliot on DC101, The return of Doug Hill, Sheri Elliker, and WJZ's Katie Leahan
WORST: Korie Rose, first off Korie, 9 was never near 1st place or drastic changes wouldnt have been made. Additionally there's FOX Morning News and their error in reporting that PG schools were closed during our snow event when the y were open on time, NBC's Monday Night, there 8 o'clock hour was cancelled after a short few weeks, and Z104's Billy Bush. Bob Turk of WJZ, I met him and served him chicken at a function and he was quite rude. His kids are cute though.
Phil from SP says:
best---elliot, don and mike, chris core, channel 4 period. jamie and pete doing traffic on wmal, doug hill doing weather on WTOP, WMZQ period. small stations like WAGE.
worst- jackie murphy from the weather channel, mary jo powell (insert Dave Brown here Jim), WJMO, WBAL, Z104. Montel for 4pm news on 9.
Best: Man About Town Bob Madigan. How do you get a job as good as that one ?!!?
Worst: evening racist chat on WOL-AM
Korie Rose-
BEST: 4's NEWS(Even through I'm an Ch.9 viewer, 4 has Washington's best), FOX 5's Ten O'clock news, and 9EWN prior to October 16th(The station was almost at 1st until that day.), JC Hayward & Gordon Peterson, 4's Jim Vance & Doreen Glenzer, 5'Tracey Neale & Mike Landess. 9's "NEW" Weather Team (their truly WASHINGTON'S fun but serious weather team.) 9's former ND Paul Irvin. Smooth Jazz 105.9 and Al Santos. 9's hiring of Gurvir Dhinsda. 13's theme song "Baltimore Favorite News Team", 2's attempt to increase their ratings(NOTE: I like their new jazzy remix of their original theme/open.), 11's hard news format,which is helping them a little.(ALOT really!), and 2's (formally of Ch.9) Lexy Hickok. 4's Wendy Riger and 9's Jennifer Ryan, two of Washington's beautiful news people.
WORST: Everything done by 9's new ND David Roberts, Since he dropped 9EWN at 4, demoting Mike Buchanan, Peggy Fox, Beverly Burke, Ken Mease, changing the morning team, Shortening local sports at 6, letting Doug Hill leave for 7, and also letting Steve Rudin leave the market. 7's overall newscast ever after Doug Hill's joining the station. 7's and TOP's promotion of their single man "Weather Team" with Doug. 5's letting Josh Bingwinnger leave. 4's dropping an 9am news for Today.
An SPECIAL AWARD to our ABC affiliates, for their major attempts to increase their ratings, whether through 7's favorite the good old "Name Recognition" game. or 2's live news format, their slogan andthee remix of their theme.I can't wait to see what these stations have planned for 2001!
Steve Moore: Thanks for a great year Dave. You're the best!! My nominations:
Best TV anchor: WMAL's Carol Costello, who should move to evening news as soon as possible; Best radio sportscaster and announcer: Johnny Holliday, who continues to astound with his professional talents; Best morning radio: 97.1's Bill and Kim, who gently remind me each morning that vanilla music and good taste can still be attractive.
Worst personality: Rush is such a load. I can't believe this guy still has an audience. Worst aspect of current DC radio: the genius of the late Frank Zappa still goes unrecognized.
Best...WRNR, the lone representative of "free form" -- although AAA may more accurately describe the playlist -- in the DC area. (99.5 could make a killing on this format...ratings might be low, but the demographics would be great)....WCSP (kudos to the only station with a unique format around here)....WTEM during Redskins game (the ESPN coverage of all games in-progress is a real boon for football fans..and so much better-suited to the radio than the subpar play-by-play offered by SS&F)...Don & Mike (I agree with Ahrens here: When they're hot, they are great, the best thing on radio. When they resort to sophomoric antics -- e.g., on-air flatulence, discussions of genitalia, etc., they are just slightly more interesting than dead air)....The Mega stations (at least someone's making use of the AM band)...
The worst (and why are there soooo many more candidates for this): WTEM (I've done a lot of traveling the past couple of years, and I've concluded this is the absolute worst sports station around. Godforsaken Des Moines has a better sports talker)...Diamond in the Morning (can you say "pandering"?)...NewsChannel 8 (talk about a waste of precious bandwidth...huge chunks of NC8's broadcast day are taken up by infomercials and reruns of ABC News programs -- like I can't figure out how to tape Sam and Cokie for myself. More damning, during breaking news or weather, the NC8 frequently runs hours out-of-date newscasts)...the WTOP network (can't they put out of business something besides country stations?! How about buying up a religious or foreign language station next time? And, am I the only one who can't stand Lisa Baden's traffic reports...PLEASE: less schtick, more traffic!)...the 1390/1460/1480/1520 debacles (can't the FCC step in here and put redistribute these frequencies to real broadcasters)...the lack of any expanded AM stations in the immediate DC area (if ever a market deserved a new blowtorch AMer, it's us!).
One last BEST, echoed by others: DCRTV, a shining example of the best the web can be! Congrats to you....
Best: Radio: Don and Mike, Elliot..... TV: News Fox 5 at 10:00
Worst: Radio: 107.3 Especially the Jack and Bert show..... TV: Channel 7 weather woman Alexandra Steele. They need to kick her out of town.
Since program directors have been mentioned (I agree with previous: Steve Kosabu deserves to be a "best.") Best: Steve Allan Oldies 100. Makes it sound new and original every week. James Farley WTOP: station has improved dramatically on his watch.
Worst: whoever is responsible for WMAL's decline. Bring back Jim Gallant ! Worst: current pd whomever he/she may be at WWRC: the home of dead air.
Since there aren't many entries from Baltimore, here goes:
Best: Infinity's 1-2-3 punch of B102.7, Mix 106.5, and Lite 102. These stations complement each other well in providing Baltimore with a wide variety of music, with B playing more rhythmic with some rock CHR, Mix sounding a lot like a rock-leaning CHR at times, and WLIF providing the soundtrack for every Dentist's office from Sparks to Severn. Throw in WQSR, WHFS, and WPGC (which comes in pretty well in Balto.) and you've pretty much covered the musical taste of folks ages 5-55.// WWMX's Jo Jo and Kenny in the morning. Unlike WRQX's Jack and Bert, these guys don't try to get too serious and preachy on the air. They're just a couple of DJ's having a good time. Also, they're funny, yet clean, so parents can turn them on in the car when they take the kiddies to school.// WBFF 45 news. Somehow Fox 45 has avoided falling into the pit that other Fox affiliates, including WTTG, have fallen into. Their news actually contains some news, not just a bunch of car crashes, murders, and "special investigations" designed to fire people up but provide little good information.
Worst: B102.7's website (www.b1027online.com). It's ugly, it has no useful information, and the airstaff pages have been under construction since the flip from 102.7XYV ages ago.// WOCT's constant name changes. Just pick one and stick with it. Whether you're the Colt, Classic Hits 104.3, 104.3OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCT, or just plain old 104.3, you're not breaking the top 5 until you do something with your programming, or lack thereof.// WMAR 2 news. It's pathetic, and I'm not sure why. It would be less scary if there were obvious reasons for no one to tune into 2, but I don't think that there are. You can almost hear channels changing all over Baltimore as soon as the 2News theme comes on at 5, 6, or 11.//Syndicated morning shows. Howard Stern is one thing, but Gary Craig and Bob and Tom? Baltimore has proved that if it is given a good, local morning show, people will tune in. Just ask Brian Wilson and Don O'Brien or Steve Rouse.
Best: mornings on WTOP (Mike, Richard, Dave Johnson and Lisa Baden). Goldie on WBIG....his energy is infectious. Doug Hill (on both Channel 7 and TOP).
Worst: management at WMAL for letting station down downhill so far, so fast. There's no reason to listen to either morning or afternoon drivetime on the station that used to OWN both time periods. Management at Channel 9 for letting it go downhill so far and so fast. Also worst: Victoria Jones.
Best:"WTOP Radio Network". I can now hear them from Harrisburg to (almost) Richmond. Very impressive coverage. Best: Rick Edelman. Great financial advice..... Best: radio stations that raise money for worthwhile causes. WMAL helps Salvation Army from Kennedy Center. WTOP helps inner City "Place for the Kids." Neither station gets enough credit for community service..... Best: DCRTV. Dave, this is a wonderful site for radio fans. You deserve to be on the list of "bests !"
Worst: all the paid programming on WMAL. Before and after Rick Edelman, they run hour-long infomercials. Cheesy and just wrong for a "news" station to do. Worst: Victoria Jones. Unlistenable.
Best - Mix 107.3 - must agree with the Steve Kosbau thing. Anything about WRC-TV - they even make a 2am test pattern look good. Fox morning news, Bob and Eddie on WGAY, WTOP's "top 40" news presentation.
Worst - Duck's accident! The demise of good old music on the radio, clear channel for not giving standards a home on FM, Bonneville for continuing that thing they call Z104, and Oldies 106.9 in Hagerstown - just on general principals. Even though TOP is loved, Bonneville gets a 2000 thumbs down for killing country on 820.
Dave Statter:
Something I forgot in my Best of 2000 list (below). Two great broadcasting web sites that are a lot of fun. Bob Bell's Kaptain Kidshow and the Great 98 WRC, run by Mike Berry and Skip McCloskey. Thanks to Bob, Mike and Skip for their time and effort (and to Dave Hughes for helping us find these sites).
Steve:
Best: WRQX/WJZW, Steve Kosbau has done an outstanding job with these two ABC/Disney properties and their numbers prove it. WRC-TV for their stability, balance, and good presentation, and NBC corporate suits for giving Bob Long the opportunity to run his station in a manner that gives it those aforementioned qualities. Also, DCRTV for providing the opportunity for everyone in (or out of) broadcasting to comment in an open and fair environment.
Worst: WUSA-TV, not for their programming or content, but for not adequately using PR to manage the carousel of changes that have no doubt tarnished what is a pretty good station. DC101 for letting their morning show churn out of moral control (this is what our teenagers are learning from???). WTTG-TV for sloppy production (late switching, wrong chyrons, camera movements on-air, wrong package tapes, etc).
Best - Mix 107.3 all around - Jack, Bert, Celeste, Mike, Chris, Spanky et al, Don and Mike as always, Eddie and Bob on WGAY, WTOP news, WAMU and Eddie Walker, WMAL when Willard is on, WMAL when Tom Gauger is on, Mega for creating a great sounding top 40 station on 92.7, even if it is in espanol.
Worst - Clear Channel for continuing that crap Jammin' format, but yet probably killing the greatness on AM 1260. Z104 in general, 104.7 for dropping a great format, WMAL in general, Elliott on DC 101, Stern and his contract "talks".
Dr. D's:
Best: Doug Hill going to Channel 7 and joining Maureen Bunyan; Jess Atkinson at Channel 9; WGMS-FM; and Brian Mooar at Channel 4.
Worst: The demotion of Andrea Roane, Beverly Burke, Mike Buchannan, and Peggy Fox at Channel 9. The departure of Steve Rudin possibly from the market. The diminished amount of time given for sports on Channel 9.
Best - Johnny Holliday anytime anyplace, WTOP's pro Judlyne Lilly, Maureen McLain on WASH (very comfortable sound), the always solid Cerphe on WARW, the unsung part-timers in DC radio like John Martin at WRQX & Steve Ray and Kenny Franklin at WBIG, Bob Duckman's recovery, Ed Walker & Willard Scott, the continuing brilliance and enthusiasm of Johnny Dark on WBIG, the memories stirred up by DCRTV and Dave Hughes' devotion to keeping us so informed - as a hobby! (Can you imagine what Dave could do if we paid him!) And any day that goes by without hearing about another format change, heritage call letters disappearing, or radio legends passing.
Worst - WPFW - shut up and play the music! Stop talking over the vocals! Don't use real jazz pieces as underscore music! Play some traditional jazz older than 1985 once in a while and segue two songs without all that pledge pitching! Would it kill you to program the station, instead of leaving it to hosts who only play their friend's CDs? WGAY - move it back to 99.5 FM and do it live with a contemporary presentation to attract younger demos. And finally...petty little men with petty little squabbles over sh*t that happened years ago. Radio is a business, not a playground for those who need more attention from their Mommy.
RC Warrenton, VA
Best - AM: Classic Country 1420 WKCW and FM: 92.5 WINC.
Worst - Clear Channel Communications and the mess they have made of Radio in Washington Area and nationwide. NAB and NPR For their off base fight and dirty tactics to squash LPFM.
Brad's Best and Worst:
Best: Fox 5 Morning News (especially Tom Sater), Channel 9 having some balls to make changes, WMAL News, Winter Weather Coverage (seems a little less paranoid this year), DCRTV.com, Lisa de Moraes' column (despite lack of local coverage)
Worst: George Michael, Redskins handling of the media, WTTG losing Brett Haber, lack of non-news local TV production in DC, local TV election coverage
BEST - Don & Mike: RADIO GODS!! Hands down the best on the dial. Fresh and funny every day. The Sports Junkies: Proof that regular guys can do anything and do it well. Jammin' 99.5, 9* rock's KML, still strong after all these years, Amy Robach.
WORST - Rush, Dr. Laura, Howard Stern (think of something original, Howie), Jack Diamond, Z104, Will Thomas- FOX5.
Best - WINC - first half of year, WBQB - second half of year, Hot AC's with wide playlists...Z104, much improved lately, Magic 102, good variety of urban oldies...Memories 1550, please don't go away!
Worst - Mix 107.3, tightest playlist of any Hot AC in the country, Jammin 99.5, why is it still here?...all stations: too many commercials!
Coastraven... Best/Worst of ESRTV 2000:
Best: Jimmy Hoppa on Cat Country... Magic 98.9's killer entry into the airwaves (and the ratings)...Tom Joiner returns to Delmarva... Randy Lee Ashcraft finally gets local radio airplay... Dino's Launch Pad (96 Rock)... Lisa Bryant moves in front of the camera on WBOC TV... The Sean (Rima) Show on WGMD... The Wave avoids loosing Kevin Ocean to Jammin' 95.3.
Worst: Comcast/ Channel 47's "blue screen" treatment of syndicated programs!!... Froggy's replacement for Jimmy Hoppa... Simulcasts, Simulcasts, Simulcasts... AM 960... Jammin' 95.3... WETT goes (and stays) dark... 96 Rocks new lineup... Mancow... WRXS dumps "the Real" Bob Steele... Smooth Jazz... Phil Hendrie... The Beach moves its' #1 night guy to overnights.
Dave Statter:
Best: DCRTV for allowing us to hear from and reminisce with so many great broadcasters. Including (in no particular order) Johnny Holliday, Ed Walker, Ed Rodriguez, Walt Starling, Weasel, Johnny Dark, Howard Dicus, Don O'Brien, Dave Brown, Dick Dyszel, and now Bob Hughes (I am sure I have left a few out). Thanks to them and all of the other contributors to DCRTV who have helped make my 4 months away from work so entertaining. I've learned a lot from the old stories and from reading what people like and don't like about local TV and radio. Happy New Year to all.
Worst: DCRTV when the dialogue becomes nasty. If the writer's goal is to try to publicly settle old scores or pat themselves on the back because today they are on top, I am not interested. For that reason I am glad there is a scroll bar (kind of like a TV remote control)..... Worst of the Worst: For the first time in my life I can't tune into a Washington radio station and hear Eddie Gallaher.
WORST video signal quality for local broadcast stations by a cable company --Cox (Fairfax).
BEST off-the-air television antenna for local broadcast stations as an alternative to poor video quality from Cox (Fairfax)--Quantum by ChannelMaster.
Rich Keller:
Best -- Channel 4 News, Fox 5 Morning News, Wendy Reiger, WBIG, WINC (great station), the WTOP network, Z104, Jack and Bert on WRQX (best alternative to Howard)
Worst -- Channel 9 News (especially Gordon Peterson. Can't stand the guy), Jammin 99.5 (Please change this station), G. Gordon Liddy, Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, AM radio in general (other than WTOP)
DCRTV Dave:
Best - WGMS, WTOP, Howard Stern, Weasel and "Zero 24-7" (before 12/1), Channel 4 news, WETA radio (classical), Gallaher/Duckman on 1260, WMAL's news department, Ed Walker, Comcast putting BBC America and MTV2 on digital, Charles Town's WMRE
Worst - WMAL talkers Rush Limbaugh/Dr. Laura/Drudge, Channel 9's 4 PM shift to Montel along with downgrading Ken Mease as well as losing Doug Hill and Steve Rudin, 99.5, Salem and 105.1, Clear Channel's plans to dump nostalgia from 1260 as well as its overall neglect of its DC area AM stations, Channel 14, JFK's decision to dump "Capitol Radio," local TV news election coverage
