Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - November 8 to November 16, 2008 Latest messages listed first..... \/ November 16 Messages \/ I disagree with the disagreement on 104.3. Their playlist is more current, sure, but it's the same tired cock-rock-for-12-year-olds currents being spun plenty on DC101. If they took a page from the slightly more progressive commercial alternatives like KDLE 103.1 in LA they might be on to something. Nothing too esoteric, but their noon hour today, per yes.com, featured the Strokes, Black Kids, Modest Mouse, the Shins, Sonic Youth, the Verve, Souixsee and the Banshees, the White Stripes, Muse. The best of commercial alt and commercial indie without anything embarassingly cheesy and juvenile and without the folk/blues/AAA of RNR/TMD. (11/16/08) Re: 610 in Winchester: Should WTFX's owners decide to let the station go dark, the owners of WRNR-AM should consider moving from 740 to 610 with a directional pattern 'pointing' south-southwestward if necessary. They could have a better signal, especially at night. I think it was a big mistake to 'break down' the clear channels and much, if not most of this needs to be undone!...actually that would make more sense for Martinsburg's WEPM than for WRNR to do this. But either way its not going to happen. WRNR has been rumored thave been up for sale for years and I believe it came come a few years back with Pastor Jeff Owens of the Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church. From what I was told Owens wanted to turn 740 a religious outlet but of course that never happened ( I also imagine the backlash with the town of Martinsburg would be too much for that church too ). For WEPM..there is 95.9 FM. The could easily go there and dont even need 1340 AM at all. Besides WEPM is far more popular than WRNR. Tom Tucker is great in the mornings but he simply can not compete with WEPM morning guy Jay Young. (11/16/08) Friday was also the last day on payroll for XM On Broadway's John Von Soosten. (11/16/08) Don't know which end has the problem on this one but the first Virginia Cavaliers basketball broadcast to air on WJFK-FM has been plagued by technical issues. The game feed has cut in and out with the station running commercial loops to fill the long stretches of dead air. It's enough to make one miss WTNT. Everett W. (11/16/08) So---looks like the new FOX Sports 1370 is really making a splash...and did not EVEN show up in the 12+ numbers. Anyone know how they did in thier demo....WOW--way to go Petit--take a 50,000 watt signal and drop it right of the map! (11/16/08) Wonder if 610 would work non-d at lower power. Even 40 or 50 watts at night could cover Winchester. Perhaps a small, less expensive daytime pattern may work. (11/16/08) Dave's response: Would advertisers pay for spots on a 50-watt 610? Maybe on a combo of 1550 plus a low-power non-directional 610? How about SportsTalk 610 & 1550? Hmmm..... The Clear Channel decisions to flip the format of WTFX with WMRE, and to take WTFX/Winchester silent don't add up. While the 5,000-Watt daytime signal from Charles Town on 1550 provides marginal coverage over Winchester, the 6-Watt (that right, 6 Watts!) night signal on 1550 barely makes it up the hill on US-340 to the Charles Town Race Course. It sounds like Chuck Peterson, an otherwise good guy, might have sipped a bit too much of the CC Kool-Aid on this one, especially if he thinks that 6-Watt night signal from Charles Town at the expense of the existing coverage on 610 over Winchester equals a "strong commitment to our community." Then again, this isn't the first time a CC decision hasn't made sense. (11/16/08) SAN DIEGO TALK.....Dave Byrd - "One year later, he's Number one...KOGO's Chip Franklin, in just one year, has established himself as the number one morning show host in San Diego, not only in the coveted 25-54 category, but in 12+ overall. The station is number one as well, the first time in seven years. He is also being nominated for an Emmy for his short films which appear on NBC 7 each Thursday. A source at The Baltimore Sun said Chip was a divisive figure in local and state politics, and some of that is apparent in his new role at KOGO, where he has already riled up Mayor Jerry Sanders and certain City Council members. It was brought to our attention that his early success here in San Diego, is in stark contrast to his old station, WBAL Baltimore, which has been in a free fall since he and mid-day talker Rob Douglas departed within days of one another last summer. Their timed departure left a 9am-3pm hole in WBAL's schedule. Franklin had no comment on his departure or the management situation at WBAL, but we spoke to a current employee who said Franklin and Douglas's departures were sudden and had implications which reflect on the diversity of their replacements." (11/16/08) The gospel format on FM has gotten sizeable ratings in markets across the Southeast. But, despite its ratings, it’s proved a difficult format to sell. Media buyers still have a perception that gospel listeners are old and poor, which for the most part is not the case with today’s gospel FM’s. Roddy Freeman (11/16/08) The pre-recorded announcement that ran during the Handley-Millbrook game simply said, "On November 17th, SportsTalk 610 will go dark..." leading me to assume that CC is giving up AM 610. When Dan Glosner talked about the switch to the 1550 frequency, he made no mention of what would be on AM 610, again leading me to assume that there will be no AM 610 come monday. (11/16/08) My understanding is that the WTFX transmitters are on land that a retirement village is planned for west of Winchester off U.S. 50..... (11/16/08) The previous poster is correct. Clear Channel's 610 in Winchester will be going dark. The owner of the property where the tower sits is selling that property and therefore, evicting Clear Channel. It doesn't make financial sense for them to build a new tower somewhere else so they are just taking it off the air. (11/16/08) I disagree with the assessment of 104. On the contrary, it's a good current alternative/rock music station, and current is the key. Both DC101 and 98 are good stations that have been around a long time, but both playlists are heavy on GNR, Nirvana and a few other oldies. Yes, I said it! Oldies! If I want to listen to classic rock, I'll turn on one of the other stations or pull out one of my old CDs. Songs from those groups should be peppered lightly through the playlist, not staples of it. That's why 104 will do well if the right marketing team is put to work on it and the corporate suits have the patience to wait it out. (11/16/08) Re: 610 in Winchester: Should WTFX's owners decide to let the station go dark, the owners of WRNR-AM should consider moving from 740 to 610 with a directional pattern 'pointing' south-southwestward if necessary. They could have a better signal, especially at night. I think it was a big mistake to 'break down' the clear channels and much, if not most of this needs to be undone! (11/16/08) Re: Channel 104.3: I knew from the start that 104.3 stood little if any chance for success. I would suggest one of the following formats: Top-40 (probably the best move), a dance based 'AC' (similar to WKTU) or light hits (mellower than WLIF and willing to play standards from past and present). (11/16/08) ...With channel 1043 being a ratings failure, with Thea Mitchum at CC and Marc Clarke out there could CC flip channel 1043 to urban hip-hop with Steve Harvey or Marc Clarke In the AM. Or could CBS radio flip 1027 to hip-hop with Marc Clarke out there. (11/16/08) Clear Channel's WSMJ (Smooth Jazz) was not a programming failure. In fact, it had very respectable ratings all along. The failure was with sales who could not parlay decent ratings numbers into enough revenue to satisfy the corporate office, so they changed the format to something that was cheaper to produce (simulcasted morning show and shared program director with DC 101). Let's see them sell those dismal ratings! Another brilliant move from CC! (11/16/08) Dave, Regarding Clear Channel's 610. I have heard rumors that the station will go dark because Clear Channel has chosen not to continue the lease on the properity that currently houses the 610 transmitter site and towers. Clear Channels owns the property that houses the 1550 site, however a recent visit to the transmitter site itself shows a building in disrepair and overgrown with trees and weeds. Ron (11/16/08) Dave's response: Maybe Philly sports talker WIP, also on 610, could now increase its coverage to the southwest? Maybe WMAL could buy Winchester's 610 and use it for a relay? Hmmm..... To the poster who said that Siriusly Sinatra needs the touch of Jonathan Schwartz, Jonathan is still connected to the station. He is heard Monday-Saturday from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm and on Sundays from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm. As far as the music selection on Siriusly Sinatra I find it to be very close to High Standards on XM73. I am noticing more Frank Sinatra songs on Siriusly Sinatra which to me is just fine, but having Jonathan Schwartz and his broadcasts really makes Siriusly Sinatra every bit as good as or maybe even better than High Standards. Of course this is just my opinion. Marshall (11/16/08) Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that all local content is gone from 4.2, WRC's weather plus? I know it is going away but it's still on right now and it would be nice to have local content. I just saw the forcast for Boise. Thanks, WRC! (11/16/08) Dave's response: We have reported that NBC is planning to shut down the NBC Weather Plus service by the end of the year now that it's bought the Weather Channel. I hear that Channel 4 will be flipping 4.2 to "The Lindsay Czarniak Channel" any day now..... It’s a very small thing in the wake of the mishandled blending of XM and Sirius, but “Celtic Crush” – the weekly Celtic music show that was on the late lamented Sirius Disorder – WILL be back in the next couple of weeks, but now on Spectrum (Ch. 18 on Sirius). Larry Kirwin’s the host (also a member of Black47, a great Celtic rock band), and he was a great part of Sirius Disorder – but Sirius apparently determined that we needed some of the crap stations they kept. Sheesh. Sincerely, TMU. (11/16/08) I agree with my fellow posters who say Clear Channel dumping the Smooth Jazz format was a stupid thing to do. The station sounded great and (as everyone said) it was being played in offices and stores all over town. It was also somewhat of a success in Baltimore. There are several rock stations in the market and it made no sense to put another one (especially an eclectic one) on 104.3. I can only assume the move was made as a reaction to the Smooth Jazz format decline in other markets around the country. But that's okay. 104.3 has another opportunity to shine and do well. Clear Channel Baltimore has a jewel of a format right in their building and they don't even know it, nor obviously respect it. It's called Heaven 600. It's a little AM station with the calls WCAO. With just the resources of its AM audio-- it consistently comes in 10th or 11th place on AM. In a non transient, community based urban market like Baltimore, WCAO strategically placed on the FM at 104.3, would easily pull a 4.0 or better. Numbers like that would place this well programmed, nationally recognized and nationally awarded Black Gospel station in the top five position in the Baltimore market. Clear Channel Baltimore, if you want to look like a genius, get them to put WCAO on the 104.3 frequency and add to the FM billing success WPOC delivers. It would be such a smart move. But with there not being a Clear Channel national format, focus, understanding or presence in Black Gospel, it will never happen. But in reality, it's simple math, which one of the corporate bean counters out there must recognize. Consistent AM success + FM Frequency and Reach = Increase in Listenership, Ratings and Billing. I don't listen to it, but it's always struck me as good business and common sense. Signed, Ron in Pasadena (11/16/08) Dave's response: CBS got great numbers when it ran urban on 105.7 in 2001-2002 as X105.7, WXYV. Don't know about the ad revenue, which probably wasn't so hot..... /\ November 16 Messages /\ \/ November 15 Messages \/ Looks like AM 1550 already has a site up at sportstalk1550.com. A VERY weak logo though. I would be surprised if Big Band/Standards doesn't move to AM 610. (11/15/08) After months of rumors, Clear Channel dumped Smooth Jazz on 104.3 for rock or whatever it is now. And we were led to believe that although the numbers for WSMJ were good, the demographic was not what CC wanted. It was also a time when Smooth Jazz formats were being dumped all over the country, just like oldies were, leaving loyal listeners again without a format they thoroughly enjoyed. If the current format lasts long enough to reflect the new PPM's, it probably won't make any difference. Pretty typical of CC...find a format that proves to be popular and people like...then change it and get lower ratings. (11/15/08) Dave's response: CC should hire Marc Clarke for mornings on a new urban adult 104.3. And take on both of Radio One's Baltimore FMers. But, alas, Liggins' legal eagles probably had Clarke sign some sort of never-ending non-compete..... During the week, I listened and watching some of the afternoon programming on Baltimore'sESPN Radio 105-something and I was quite disappointed. I basically grew-up watching Scott Garceau on WMAR and unfortunately, this is one of these cases where a TV personality doesn't make-it on radio...he's very average on radio. Pair him with Anita Marks and it's the same bad chemistry as Kevin Sheehan and Rick Walker. Here's one to chew-on...if the Baltimore people were smart, they would simulcast WTEM's "The Sports Reporters" and have Andy and Steve make their show into a combo Washington-Baltimore effort while making a few extra dollars. Andy and Steve are radio pro's and know both markets and most important of all, they work well on the air. On the flip side, WTEM is getting worse by the minute. I think Liz should stop hanging-out with Scott Linn and stop being so cute on the air...nicknames for everything and she botched a lead to a Caps story and didn't know how to describe a "goaltender." If talent can change at the respective TV stations, why can't the same be said at the area radio stations. If you think about-it, the last fresh sounding sportstalk personality in the Washington, DC market was Chuck Booms. I know he didn't last very long but otherwise, we've had to listen to recycled sportstalk radio talent for nearly 10 years. (11/15/08) To the poster who compared those pictured at the WQCB dinner to dust...you couldn't carry dust's headphones. Go back to tweaking the automation goober. - S (11/15/08) It's one thing to post that reliable sources say they'll be changes or a shake up at a local radio station but it's another to post on your front page that someone specific is being fired on a specific day per that source. I know you said it was a "rumor" but.... c'mon now. I know radio is a tough, tough business to be in but would YOU like to see that you were potentially losing your job listed a rumor on a website? It's one thing to read personal opinions about yourself as some folks will like you and other won't but to see something like that listed on a page that mostly reports radio and TV "news" - a bit tacky and tasteless. Mind you, I don't care for and therefore don't listen to Weasel in the mornings. His style doesn't sit well with me in the early mornings - I'd need a few gallons of coffee for that. I think it is very important to have a strong morning show to set the tone for the day and that isn't happening on the Globe. I'd find it very hard to believe that the Globe would shoot themselves in the other foot by putting Albie Dee on in the mornings. I've heard him and I'm so NOT impressed. They need fresh change. ~Marge~ (11/15/08) Dave's response: If you're going to be in a public position, a la a radio personality, part of the job involves criticism from the public and speculation about your future. If you don't like that, get a less public job like being a bank teller or an accountant..... Clear Channel in Winchester is pulling the plug on WTFX (SportsTalk 610) on Monday, 11/17. Fox Sports Radio and local sports programming will be heard on WMRE AM 1550, which is currently "Memories 1550." The final local broadcast on SportsTalk 610 Saturday was the John Handley-Millbrook high school football playoff game. Hopefully, CC has plans for 1550's transmitter, because the station cannot be heard in Winchester at night, even though CC's building is at Winchester Regional airport. (I belive the 1550 transmitter is actually the old WXVA transmitter in Charles Town, WV). For those who cannot hear 1550, the local broadcasts will be streamed on their website... (11/15/08) I live in east Baltimore and am a long time WWDC music listener. I was excited to hear CC put a rocker into Baltimore but quickly disliked their choice of music and so I went back to WWDC in spite of its signal here. I could not understand why they didn’t just simulcast WWDC here instead of expensing a new format/station. Did you notice WWDC has higher ratings in Baltimore than WCHH? (11/15/08) Dave's response: If much of Baltimore can already hear Elliot on DC101, why put him on 104.3 too? Doesn't make much sense..... Those in the WQCB pictures may look older than dust but they have accomplished more in broadcasting than the poster will ever do. RD (11/15/08) Dave's response: Damn right! Right in the middle of "TMZ" on Saturday at about 5:30, Channel 5's digital signal went to "color rectangles" and tone. The tabloid trash continued on the analog channel. (11/15/08) The poster who compared the guys at WQCB to dust owes dust an apology. I understand that in 2009 the dinner will be renamed to WHCB for Washington Half-Century Broadcasters, and the event will be held at Leisure World. (11/15/08) Dave's response: They seem to be moving it closer to Leisure World each year. Last year Bethesda. This year Rockville. Next year? Olney? Let's hope Clear Channel somehow sees the light and returns Smooth Jazz to 104.3. Believe it or not, there are people out here in radioland that actually like that format. JohnnyuinHanoverPa. (11/15/08) Re ;"The dead air problem at night on WTNT has been traced to a satellite receiver issue that is being addressed. All should be well this coming week". That's great. But what about the other issues such as interviews being stopped in mid-sentence, ads running overtop of the host talking, topics in the first half of an hour not having anything to do with topics in the second half? There are a lot more issues on your station than some satellite. (11/15/08) So Jason Kidd is doing mornings now at Jack??? What happened to Gary Murphy?? (11/15/08) Another suggestion regarding WURA in Quantico: It would behoove the owner of the station to make it part of the Washington Nationals' radio network. Now that 107.7 FM has been converted to a WTOP relay, it will be difficult to hear the Nats on 1500 in southern Prince William because of nearby signals at 1460 and especially 1480. -- Vincent in Triangle (11/15/08) After looking at those pictures from the Washington Quarter Century Broadcasters gathering, only one thought comes to mind: damn, all of those guys look as old as dust. (11/15/08) Am I the only one who is not surprised at the plunge in ratings for 104.3? As WSMJ, they were on in practically every store I went into, and even in my HMO's office. Now, _no_one_ plays 104.3. It's either 101.9 or some other music source--I've heard satrad and even an MP3 player being used instead. Dumping the WSMJ format was a totally boneheaded decision. ~~CA in BC (11/15/08) Dave's response: Look, you got rock/alt rock WIYY (plus its two HD channels), classic rock WZBA, adult alternatives WTMD and WRNR, plus DC alt rock DC101 covering much of the Baltimore metro. Do you really need ANOTHER rocker for Baltimore? If Clear Channel had any brains, it would have put contemporary hit or some form of urban on 104.3..... To MLB4 re: Classic Country 1250- I work in Woodbridge and on occasion tried to pick up 1250 from there and had an awful time picking it up. The signal was very poor for what Bill Parris was trying to do, plus very little promotion of the station hurt it as well. Just for comparison purposes, 98Rock out of baltimore had a better signal than 1250 had. Stephen (11/15/08) (How come directtv doesn't have wnuv-dt or wutb-dt on their hd lineup in Baltimore? but yet Comcast does... Derek- Owings Mills) Direct TV is having trouble picking up some signals due to some multi-path problems where their antennae's are located downtown. I can't speak for WNUV, but WUTB is working on getting a fiber link to solve the problem. The "ball" is in Direct TV's court. WUTB has installed fiber links for HD with Comcast and Verizon. (11/15/08) I saw Shawn Yancy yesterday on WTTG announce that Gwen Tolbart had became a United States citizen on Friday. I didn't know she was Canadian. Congartulations Gwen and good timing with Obama soon to be at the helm of your new country Wecome aboard! (11/15/08) The poster who wrote gleefully about a station in southern virgina that would double its power on 980. Surely you werent referring to WJYK, Chase City, that is applying for an increase to 1kW. That is the only station with an app. There are no CPs. Please clarify. (11/15/08) I have it on good authority that Freedom570 changes to Jindal-Pawlenty570 on Monday. Tantum will have a built in excuse for the one hour of dead air every day. (11/15/08) The dead air problem at night on WTNT has been traced to a satellite receiver issue that is being addressed. All should be well this coming week. Thanks for listening. (11/15/08) To the one who posted that ELO/Supremes/Michael you tube link. Thanks, that was pretty clever I'd say. BTW, I did play Evil Woman. Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Fitz (11/15/08) ("OK, I feel like I need a hot shower! As a long time XM listener, I struggled through the transition to the combined Sirius XM this week. No damned wonder Sirius is losing its shirt. A full time channel for AC/DC? Elvis? Grateful Dead? Not to mention several channels of Howard . . . Yechhh!......") I agree with this poster. While it "seems" like XM got the better end of the stick with more music and comedy stations, like this poster said, some is not what it is cracked up to be. I think 1st Wave (44) is OK and I am glad that Sonny Fox is still on XM150 with that stupid name Raw Dog Comedy channel, I wish they kept Joel Hass in some form. UPOP or BBC Radio One is terrible. I liked UPOP 29 because they did not have any talk on it, now they have some god awful music on it ONLY from the UK. UPOP has stuff from all over (or at least US, Canada, central and southern American Pop music, and some parts of Europe). (11/15/08) Dave's response: I do like listening to BBC Radio 1, but it is not a replacement for UPOP. Much of what Radio 1 plays is American pop music - a la Britney Spears' "Womanizer" twice an hour..... OK, I feel like I need a hot shower! As a long time XM listener, I struggled through the transition to the combined Sirius XM this week. No damned wonder Sirius is losing its shirt. A full time channel for AC/DC? Elvis? Grateful Dead? Not to mention several channels of Howard . . . Yechhh! The Siriusly Sinatra channel has awful music and is deeply missing Jonathan Schwartz's soft touch. They've hacked up the sweet suite of Jazz channels between 70 and 79. The replacements are dull, boring, shrill, and have no where near the clarity of purpose and selectivity of music that the XM channels had. Another poster here pointed out that the classical announcers aren't. At least they had the good sense to keep Robert Aubrey Davis, but it's an all opera channel, and he was on midnite to 6. Does anyone know if Martin Goldsmith survived? He was the heart and soul of the XM classics channels . . . Most of the decades channels reverted to Sirius, but the 60s channels kept Phelps and Young from XM and the 5 jingles that don't say XM, badly hacked with new VOs . . . You don't suppose that Mel will part with a few quid to buy a new jingle package, do you? In the end, XM was a class product, thoughtfully planned and presented, with some damned good talent doing damned good work. Now that I hear what Sirius has been doing, they don't even compare. Sure, they're both on the bird, but Sirius is a low class, low budget, lowest common denominator operation, and still couldn't keep up with XM in terms of subscribers or share price. How the hell did Mel pull this one off? (11/15/08) To the poster that took issue with calling Lindsay Lohan "retarded": the only people you shouldn't call retarded are those who are actually retarded. They should be called "developmentally disabled", "Down Syndrome" or whatever is applicable. Then you called Big O and Dukes "stupid idiots". The redundancy aside, you are aware, aren't you, that "idiot" is a medical term that has a specific meaning and you shouldn't be using it as a pejorative? Right? I myself was wilding out and throwing roundhouse kicks when I heard LiLo being slagged. She's a slattern in my book. Diamond DCRTV Dave, about your recent speculations about rights to old shows: Don and Mike, and I THINK the Mike O'Meara Show, have played clips from the WAVA days on multiple occasions. Was this just hoping not to get caught, or did Don/Don and Mike own the rights? Or was there a gentleman's agreement? I find the fact that Don and Mike actively denied that there were any recordings of the show after the Janice Jackson "Here's My Nipple" incident significant. It implies that CBS wasn't recording it. If you owned the rights to a show, wouldn't you want a recording? And I loved your comment about WMAL in your interview with Bob "Send a Kid to Children's Hospital" Levey when you said "I'd like to see more humor and less hard news. Andy Parks is great.". Two kudos to you. You got your wish and you were right. --- The Penismightier (11/15/08) Does anyone know when the new Quantico AM station WURA will begin broadcasting? Who owns this construction permit? Any ideas on what the format could end up as? My vote would be to dig up any old carts, LPs, jingles, etc. from the late great Cousin Ray of WPWC and play a classic country/bluegrass format. I just can't see yet another Spanish/Brokered radio station in Northern Virginia. It is a shame that Classic Country 1250 couldn't make a go of it. You have to wonder did Metro Radio even TRY to sell ad time for that station? I wonder if potential advertisers in the Fauquier area have simply given up on radio buys since they haven't had a local radio station for so long. How the area went from a full service FM station with Sunny 94.3 WQRA and a handful of local AM'ers to absolutely NO local programming is beyond me. It did not seem like Classic Country 1250 was a "Bill Parris throw on some songs and wait til we can broker time to a (insert any ethnicity here) businessman" format such as WCTN or even the old 1050. (Am I the only radio geek that remembers a VERY short lived DANCE format on 1050 AM somewhere in between Spanish-language programming back in the late 90s??) MLB4 (11/15/08) I'm not a football fan by any stretch of the imagination. But, am I the only one who finds it interesting that ownership of the Washington Redskins seems to uniquely attract those unqualified to be FCC broadcast licensees? Lightnining has now struck twice. It's been brought to fruition once already. Will it happen again? Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/15/08) Ed in Bel Air...it was mentioned in the mailbag that TJ Roberts was a part of the budget cuts at CBS. That is why you hear Preistly voice tracking nights. And, Jason Kidd is PD and has been doing mornings on JACK for for almost a year. (11/15/08) /\ November 15 Messages /\ \/ November 14 Messages \/ In a race to sleepysville, the nutty wing owners of 105.7 are laying a sad pathetic bet that captivating 24 hour Baltimore sports talk will forestall the slow sinking of Norris's cop nightrider act which, with guns and mufflers blazing, is laughable at 5am. (11/14/08) There have been a large number of posts on this website concerning Red Zebra and their poor operation of radio stations they own in the DC Market. This thing is getting insane that the people who own and manage these stations can put on such a bad public performance right before our ears. It's time to work on pulling the licenses of these stations that are not performing in the public interest and put their loosing management team out of the business and on the street where they belong. Numerous postings have commented particularly about 570 & 1260 A.M. running large periods of dead air and overlapped events. This has been happening for many months since RZ has operated or owned the stations. Just this fact alone shows how incompetent the management team is and what an irresponsible owner Snyder is. None of their top Management has ever been involved in the type of Management roles they are responsible for in the DC stations. A perfect example of the stupidity is CEO Bruce Gilbert saying he "needed a lot of luck running the stations". Since when is luck an excuse for ignorance and lack of talent? Dennis Glasgow, the Ops Manager recently said he "had worked for a lot of radio stations in the past 10 years." Is this something to be proud of? I wonder how many places gave him his walking papers. 92.7 FM is also known to be off the air for at least 6 hours a few weeks ago starting at half time in a Red Skins game and not one single employee even knew this happened. DC is a town with a lot of lawyers, the F.C.C. and many minority interests that would like to have a voice on the air waves and they could be responsible people who would represent the best interests of the public. Start monitoring all of the RZ stations and documenting their reckless, irresponsible poor performance and be particularly concerned of their EAS obligations and the very real possibility of fraudulent billing. It's obvious these people have no way of reconciling spots actually run. (11/14/08) So Sirius XM, gave Christmas Eve and Cheristmas day and the day after Christmas off Plus the weekend. God i wish i could get that at my job. (11/14/08) ok, Im all about a 'hot-blond dyke' like Anita Marks who could use me ;-) -but whats the deal??? why cant I find any nude pics of her back in Playboy: Dec 02? (all types of computer viruses when y'all Google that...) = not cool (11/14/08) Is there any other station that is run any worse than WTNT? The nighttime is a disaster with interviews frequently being interrupted without warning and sometimes only half of the network news being played. But today I decided to keep the station on during the daytime. Same but worse. Talk shows suddenly disappearing with nothing but dead air only to be replaced by a completely different interview or guest. Then when the new guest is being interviewed a commercial starts without warning. Is there actually a human being present in their studio or is this all done by computer? (11/14/08) Dave's response: When WTNT was owned by Clear Channel, it was one of eight signals the radio giant owned in the DC area. Now, it's owned by Red Zebra, which has six signals in the area. I guarantee you that if WTNT was some company's sole DC area station, or maybe one of two, this automation fiasco wouldn't be happening..... Well it's time for the Christmas music!! 101.3 in York, PA is playing Christmas and 101.9 has their countdown to Christmas music on their website. Also Jason Kidd's been doing mornings on 102.7 the station he is the PD of since about April. Chris in Eldersburg, MD (11/14/08) ok, whats the deal? 'anita marks' is some type of hot-blond-bull type-bitch (lol) if she wants to mess with me ;-) -im all for it.... (11/14/08) I would like to keep my identity private, so I am sending this from an email account of a friends. With that said, here is what Uncle Mel sent out today. Thought it might peak your interest. - "To All Employees: As all of you know, we along with many companies are operating in a very difficult environment. The economy is slowing, our OEM and retail partners are hurting, satellite radio sales are not growing as we would like, and our stock price reflects that along with other issues. We are also eliminating many duplicate positions in the company as a result of the merger. With all that as background, I have decided that hosting the annual holiday parties this year would send a contradictory message. The SIRIUS XM team has done a great job of performing in this environment. My decision to not have the parties is difficult because if ever there was a time that I would like to celebrate and thank everyone for a great job, it would be this year. I know many of you look forward to the events but I believe this is the right decision at this time. Although canceling is disappointing in recognition of everyone's performance, we have decided to add an additional paid holiday for all employees this year. In addition to having Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as holidays, we will also add the day after Christmas this year so that you can spend more time with your friends and family. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication as we work our way through this challenging time. I am very confident that not only will our company be successful but also we will be VERY successful. Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer, SIRIUS XM Radio" (11/14/08) Did someone just admit to listening to an hour of dead air on the AM dial last night? I mean, I consider myself a bit of a radio geek too, but what kind of person listens to an hour of dead air, save for the spot breaks that come up several minutes apart? (end quote) That's the kind of comedy acumen that makes little kids want to grow up to be you. I button-push the same as anyone else in a car, Seinfeld. And every time *I came back around to 570*, all that was there were time pips, an "R R" in morse code, and "El tiempo es ahora 21 horas, 18 minutos, coordinó el tiempo universal". (11/14/08) Sirius is sure trashing XM. Of the three classical channels formerly on XM, the vocal channel is gone. Some really amateurish voices are now appearing on the classical channels, including a really shrill sounding woman on the classical pops channel. I don’t know why satellite radio feels it has to hire failed dj’s to clutter up music channels. And from a tech standpoint, Dave is right, there seems to be a little more bandwidth on the two classical channels, but the high-end still suffers. (11/14/08) Dave's response: So far, I'm not terribly impressed with "Sirius XM U," the replacement for indie rock XMU. XMU always had a quirkly, fun sense of music. SXMU too often sounds like its playing art rock interpretations of Van Halen. Yeech..... "The CBS/LDS relationship goes back decades and is still very close and warm..." KSL Radio, which was the original relationship, dropped CBS Radio for ABC News Radio several years ago. KSL-TV is an NBC affiliate. These aren't emotional relationships. They are business deals. WTOP is happy with CBS, other Bonneville stations not so much, and individual Bonneville stations are free to choose their partners. (11/14/08) Speaking of being "budget cutted"; Have T J Roberts and Jason Kidd been "budget cutted" from MIX 1065? I haven't heard Jason Kidd in months, and now Priestly is doing the 7 to midnight shift on MIX. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (11/14/08) I wanted to congratulate the Ungers on their new home at Fox Sports 1370. I concur with Andrew and Marc that we are both grateful for the opportunity that WNST gave us. I wish you guys the best at your new digs and I'll see you both tomorrow coincidentally after your show as I will be a guest on Tony Lombardi's Show at 10am. I can't wait. -Michael Popovec (11/14/08) Hi Dave, The news sharing is already underway at 4 and 5, they now share helicopter footage, one station flies in the morning and the other at night, saving an estimated $500K a year, and a fiber line has been installed between Nebraska and Wisconsin to share video. Will you be appearing at WQCB tonight? (11/14/08) Dave's response: Sorry, but I'm doing my lounge act in Atlantic City tonight. Won't be able to make the WQCB..... Dave, Check the latest blurb out. You’re a star! www.anitamarks.com (11/14/08) When "The Fan"'s website first went up last week, the afternoon show was listed as "The Scott Garceau Show w/ Anita Marks". That certainly looked like a tip she wouldn't be here for the long haul. Since the name has evolved to make the hosts a team, maybe the thoughts on this have changed at CBS. Or maybe the first name posted was wishful thinking on the part of the webmaster. Time will tell...Howie (11/14/08) It’s truly amazing how poorly organized and thrown together the whole format at 105.7 appears. College radio runs more smoothly………... Now, that’s a thought. Hell, if CBS keeps running their stations into the ground, I’ll be able to afford to buy them. (and fire Labrozzi) J (11/14/08) Ref: Mailbag Poster:"So funny…..yesterday at the start of the Scott Garceau/Anita Marks show the pre-taped intro. came on and said…..”and now the Scott Garceau show” with no mention of Anita". And the day before, I heard an intro that said both names, followed by Scott Garceau saying just his name. (11/14/08) Did someone just admit to listening to an hour of dead air on the AM dial last night? I mean, I consider myself a bit of a radio geek too, but what kind of person listens to an hour of dead air, save for the spot breaks that come up several minutes apart? Gave up at 10?!?! Holy crap! Lift up your hand and JUST PRESS ANOTHER BUTTON!!! (11/14/08) Dave's response: I'm told the new RZ CE is busy rectifying the 570/1260 automation problems. Something former owner CC could never manage to do..... I bet the NBC/Fox crew-sharing deal is a test run to expand it to national coverage. NBC already has been missing the past year or so from covering most stories around DC, partly because they've bought out a lot of senior crews, and partly from a reluctance to hire freelance. Fox staff crews, both network and local, have been running around covering everything from the Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) trial to suspicious packages. Plus they've got a helicopter. (11/14/08) “but overall you are going to get "RAVENS, RAVENS, RAVENS, orioles, RAVENS, RAVENS" on every local sports show this time of year and about a 60-40 split in favor of the Ravens the rest of the year (With the Terps thrown in now and again). The Orioles got a slight uptick this week because of the uniform change. From what I've heard of DC sports radio it's about 98% Redskins, so I'm guessing that's a pretty common situation all over the country” - Which leads me to this question, why bother with all-sports radio?? ESPN does a much more comprehensive coverage of all sports. Why not just have one 3 or 4 hour show per day? I’m a huge sports fan but I was tired of the format by the second day. It’s hard to believe an alternative rock station couldn’t do a better job at rating than this retread crap. Bring back the old WHFS or even better move tiny WRNR to the WJZ signal and bring back Damien while you are at it. (11/14/08) Someone wrote about WJZ-FM: "It’s all Ravens/Orioles/Orioles/Ravens with the same topics over and over and even the same callers from show to show." Welcome to the world of Baltimore Sports radio. The WNST loyalists do the same thing; they call every show. Baltimore also has that breed of caller who is only interested in being on the show, not listening to it. That caller will be on with Bob Haynie at 10:45 and Viv and the Bulldog at 10:55 (He probably calls Marr or Elliker to talk politics after that). As far a the range of topics goes, WNST covers the college scene better due to Haynie's love of it, but overall you are going to get "RAVENS, RAVENS, RAVENS, orioles, RAVENS, RAVENS" on every local sports show this time of year and about a 60-40 split in favor of the Ravens the rest of the year (With the Terps thrown in now and again). The Orioles got a slight uptick this week because of the uniform change. From what I've heard of DC sports radio it's about 98% Redskins, so I'm guessing that's a pretty common situation all over the country. Howie (11/14/08) (RE: Local television station groups owned by Fox and NBC have formed a news service to share video taken at news events like crime scenes and press conferences. The venture will operate initially in Philadelphia, where it was tested, as well as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Washington.) Makes all the sense in the world! the networks have been doing this whenever the President travels ovgerseas for years (pool). Save your editorial resources for investigative reporting and enterprise stories, and share the routine cop and crash and trial stories. Best use of your editorial resources in tough times. (11/14/08) What happened to Bill Redlin in the morning on WAMU ? Whoever is this Matt McClesky, he has apparently been told to say his name 27 times/hour. Enough already. Bring back the guy we've known, who doesn't have to say his name every other commercial, sheez. (11/14/08) Dave's response: We reported that Bill moved to the midday news shift on WAMU..... WRC and WTTG Sharing local news video - According to the AP, local Fox and NBC stations will be sharing local news video. "(Jack) Abernethy (from fox) and John Wallace, president of NBC Local Media, said the move would not diminish the journalism at the local stations. Instead, it would free crews at each station to cover more stories, they said." Wait...wait... that assumes that they keep the same number of field crews. Call me a pesimist but won't the stations just cut the number of crews? You bet your general manager's annual bonus they will. John news.yahoo.com (11/14/08) Another night of dead air for 570 WTNT: from 9 to 10 PM Thursday night, the only audio that hit the line consisted of local automated commercials and perhaps a newscast. I bailed at ten, so I don't know what followed. On the plus side, I know what time it is in Cuba. (11/14/08) My sources say a deal is afoot between Fox & NBC to have their O&O's share some local news video. Given the economy, it sounds possible. Losal TV news loses money in too many cases. (11/14/08) The "Sound" would be more likely on 103.5 or 101.9 with mews on 100.3 depending on how things go. The CBS/LDS relationship goes back decades and is still very close and warm... (11/14/08) Dave, The copyright question posed on 11-12-08 is most interesting. Nearly everything on the telly is copyrighted, save for PSA material, and sometimes even that is copyrighted, or has copyrighted material that protects it, such as a song. Movies, comedies, game shows, even the local news is copyrighted. Specialty radio programs are copyrighted-American Top 40 or Dick Clark's Rock, Roll and Remember are two examples. But the rest is not copyrighted, at all from what I can garner. Jingles may be, but who would be enough of an idiot to use someone else's jingle? You may recall hearing some jock whose spots will air long after they cease to be employed there. If it came to a battle I would say that the station could claim a type of ownership since they actually air the product and as thus are duly licensed to do so. If one paid for the airtime, they could copyright the show and thus own it. I think that years ago the popular Johnny Walker Show on WFBR-Baltimore (1300am) was copyrighted by The Baltimore Radio Show. This would allow them to air the material in any manner they see fit, since they would own it. It's been a long time since anyone on the air has been that popular, though. Not a lawyer, but I've been called worse. -Tom Soul, reporting from an undisclosed location in redneck PA. (11/14/08) So funny…..yesterday at the start of the Scott Garceau/Anita Marks show the pre-taped intro. came on and said…..”and now the Scott Garceau show” with no mention of Anita. I almost pulled off the road I was laughing so hard after reading about and hearing all of the Anita Marks gossip the past few days. After the intro, Scott came on and said “Welcome to the Scott Garceau {eerie pause} /Anita Marks show.” BTW…at the top of Anita’s web page is the following comment………. “Wow! What a week! This week, sports talk radio in Baltimore became bigger, brighter, and better! I hope you are all enjoying the new show format as much as I am. I want to take a moment to thank all my listeners for following me from ESPN 1300 AM across the dial to our new crystal clear FM station 105.7 The Fan. I'd also like to thank all my listeners for welcoming my new partner, Scott Garceau with such enthusiasm! Scott and I are going to work hard each day to bring you the very best in Ravens coverage and local sports. “ Yeah right! There is no way this format is going to sustain itself long term. I’ve heard bits from all of the shows and they are weak, to say the least. It’s all Ravens/Orioles/Orioles/Ravens with the same topics over and over and even the same callers from show to show. There is absolutely no diversity in the subject matter. The only show that is even remotely listenable is the Bruce Cunningham Show. The tension between Scott & Anita is unbearable and Bulldog should go back to being a high school coach and leave sports talk to the pros. (11/14/08) Just a heads up Smokin Joe AKA Joe Sanchez has returned to WYRX The Rocket in Southern Maryland (11/14/08) /\ November 14 Messages /\ \/ November 13 Messages \/ Dave: You were told right; Anita sure did mention DCRTV during the first fifteen minutes of yesterday's (Wednesday's) show..I won't remember exactly what she said..something to the affect of "There's an elephant on the table" (or something to that affect; she then went on to say that DCRTV had reported that she was quitting, which, would appear to be not the case. (11/13/08) Dave's response: Actually, we ran a report from a source who told us that her contract would not be renewed and that she would be gone from 105.7 by the end of the year..... And the poster said "I've heard that her and Garceau joke about it all the time when they are standing next to each other at the urinals." Wait I thought there were anymore comments on Ann Coulter, same? (11/13/08) Is Ken Beatrice doing any radio that you have heard of anywhere in the country? (11/13/08) ("... One single DC radio station sells more ads than all of nationally-oriented satellite radio, with its dozens of ad-supported channels..." and the satellite radio user subscription fees total..?) Not enough to keep them from losing billions and billions of dollars. (11/13/08) Dave, Saw your blurb about Baltimore Sports Talk. It's great that there are 3 stations now. I still can't stand Anita, and would love to see here go, but the only station I like is 1370. It lets me listen to Fox Sports which is much better than ESPN radio. As far as Jim Williams wanting to see a show with Marc Stern and Jay Catrell. That would be a disaster. I remember them from their on air roles on the Tony Kornheiser show and the Doc Walker show respectively. They are the reasons producers should keep their mouths shut. Stern's "Nigel" character got old after a week, and the only thing worse than Doc Walker on the Doc Walker show was Jay Catrell. Zach in Columbia (11/13/08) Re: Non-competes... I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds like what Sirius is trying to do with their layoff is sleazy, but probably not illegal. They're asking for the non-compete as a condition of receiving severance pay that was probably never guaranteed in the first place. It's not a condition of employment. They folks are free to walk and do whatever they want, but they won't get a payout from creepy Uncle Mel if they don't sign. (11/13/08) Dave, a thought to ponder about the XM non-compete agreement: What does it cover? If it attempts to prevent workers from FM/AM/Internet etc - anything beyond sat radio - that sounds preposterous. The funny thing about it is, if it does include those mediums, is that Mel's logic would be consistent re satrad competing with other forms of audio entertainment. Just some food for thought on the day before a ton more XMers walk out of Eckington for the final time. (11/13/08) Dave, The FCC website shows that neither AM or FM has a listing for the WGAY calls. There is an LPTV station in Key West Florida apparently using the calls. I also understand that there is an internet station using the calls. Unfortunately, in today's world, "WGAY" could only exist in DC...and somehow I suspect that Clear Channel (or was it Chancellor still when 1260 flipped?) won't want to use the calls...although they'd be wise to do such if they wanted to put that type of softer than WASH programming back on the air. I suspect it won't happen though. I suspect it will be a hotter than Hot 99.5 format. E. (11/13/08) Does anybody know what Jack " God Bless you" Diamond makes? Just curious, cause they really need to let him go......... Pl (11/13/08) Dave's response: He reportedly signed a new five-year deal with Citadel/WRQX earlier this year..... Hey all--wanted to remind all you Ravens fans to tune in on Thursday night's from 7-8:30pm (www.wzbhrocks.com) to The Toyota Ravens Rap Show that I co-host at the Greene Turtle in Ocean City along with former Baltimore Colt Bruce Laird (MASN, 105-7 The Fan), Tony Lombardi (profootball24x7.com, Fox Sports 1370), and John Gehrig (former Westiminster High and Lehigh College player). Feel free to call us with questions and comments at 410-723-4236. We have a blast and you get perspectives from various backgrounds as many of us have either played, coached and or analyzed the game. I think you learn a lot and enjoy. These guys are great and I really like working with them all. Hope you can tune in and call in. - Michael "Raven Mike" Popovec (11/13/08) “The rumors of Anita Marks getting fired have been going on ever since she hit the airwaves in Baltimore.. In fact, I've heard that her and Garceau joke about it all the time when they are standing next to each other at the urinals.“ ---- this post has to rank up there as the best one I’ve ever read on this site, BRILLIANT whoever you are Ref: Jim Williams in the Examiner...Anita Marks was not on the air yesterday on 105.7 and Scott made no mention of her when I was listening...so is she still there? And what ratings is he talking about...the 0.4 for 1300 AM? (11/13/08) Two possible new formats for WBIG, and Clear Channel will probably pick the two most boring possible. Instead, How about AAA like " the Sound" in LA ? (11/13/08) Darn right - it's the dj's who make peanuts that get cut. By the way, office staff (who also make peanuts) get cut, too when times get rough. Funny, but these supposedly struggling radio stations keep the general managers and sales managers on huge salaries who are mostly responsible for the underperformance of the stations, and they keep hiring more idiots for sales who couldn't sell space heaters to eskimoes at a 75% discount! By the way, there are some good salespeople out there who work their butts off and generate a lot of revenue. The radio stations need to get wise and keep only these salespeople (and stop cutting their commissions) and get rid of the rest of the dead weight in sales. Oh, and bring back a few of the eliminated programming and office people - the ones remaining are really burned out and need some help. In fact, you can bring back 5 or 6 of them for about the same as as the one useless GM's salary. (11/13/08) Anita mentioned DCRTV ?? Labrozzi responded to DCRTV ??? I thought CBS-Radio employees were banned from looking at this site. Seem to remember that access was blocked from all offices in Baltimore. What's up, Dave??? Oh, and Mr.. Labrozzi "interest Anita garners"?? Peter Rosenberg generated a lot of "interest" too. Didn't necessarily mean he was any good. But, I'm sure you'll still have the #1 Sports Talk show in Afternoon drive. Ought to this time of year anyway. 1300/1570/1370 combined have nowhere near the coverage area you have once the sun goes down. But hey, you'll look real good on paper to the CBS honchos, and potential buyers. And with the way that you spin things, that resume will be very impressive too. (11/13/08) "Fighting Ungers" quit WNST, head to Fox Sports 1370: The "Fighting Ungers" (Marc & Andrew) have quit their sports comedy radio show on WNST and are moving to a bigger station- FOX AM1370. Marc Unger said that he and Andrew "will miss WNST and the many great people there...there's one person, in particular, we won't miss", a reference to the brand new Vice President of Sales and Ops for WNST, who Unger did not name. However, Marc did post on his blog the the text of an email exchange he had with the unknamed VP which sparked their voluntary departure. Here's his blog: blog.myspace.com (11/13/08) 2 things about WJFK. First, why are they not doing well in PPM? Very simple. PPM shows real listening instead of reported listening. In reported listening, the small cume that listened to JFK reported that they listened for a long time. Turns out that the cume is still small. They just don’t listen. So, matter what Howard or Don & Mike tried to teach everyone, people who listen to JFK also listen to other radio stations. And, now it shows. And, the reason they tune out quickly is that the product is not good. The Sports Junkies, Big O And Dukes are not good and Mike is a poor comparison to Don And Mike. Secondly, for Big O And Dukes. I caught their segment about how bad it was for Lindsey Lohan to use the word “colored” for Barack Obama. Decent point. Then, when talking about her stupidity, they refer to her as “retarded”. It’s hard to bash someone like Lohan for using an insensitive slur when they use another one as the example. Stupid idiots. And, you wonder why their ratings are garbage. (11/13/08) And as far as the two guys he likes for 1370 AM, if they were in such demand, they'd by be doing sportstalk now somewhere. (11/13/08) Dave's response: I was told that Anita was on the air yesterday and that she even mentioned DCRTV..... The rumors of Anita Marks getting fired have been going on ever since she hit the airwaves in Baltimore.. In fact, I've heard that her and Garceau joke about it all the time when they are standing next to each other at the urinals. (11/13/08) Reguarding a previous message, The Winchester Star has never really fully forgive WFQX from airing that infamous promo "Froggy 99...More power than Jesus Christ" At the time both WINC-FM, Q102 and even Martinsburg's WKMZ-FM were braggging about their power but stilll for WFQX to campare their power to..well..Jesus ??? Well anyway..Harry Bryd who owns The Winchester Star..wasn't very happy. Come to think of it didn't WAZT's Art & Virginia Stamler actually pray for the WFQX tower to collapse and fall down to hurt their employees because of that one promo? You know some things in life would NOT surprrise me and that is one of them. (11/13/08) Haven't non-competes been banned in both NY state and DC? If the clause wasn't in effect if/when the personal services contract was first signed, assuming the contract was in place before the legislation took effect, Sirius XM has no business trying to implement a non-compete now. Affected employees in NYC should contact the New York Attorney General's office. Terminated employees in DC should get in touch with Mayor Fenty's General Counsel, and this should be done BEFORE YOU HAVE YOUR EXIT INTERVIEW! Then tell the HR folks that what they're trying to do is illegal. Shame on Karmazin and his bloodsuckers for pulling the rug out from under these broadcasters, and then trying to hold their severance hostage by attempting to keep them from working in their chosen career for a year. (11/13/08) "... One single DC radio station sells more ads than all of nationally-oriented satellite radio, with its dozens of ad-supported channels..." and the satellite radio user subscription fees total..? (11/13/08) Interesting article - "Secrets of Talk Radio... The former news director of WTMJ reveals how talk show hosts like Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner work to get us angry." www.milwaukeemagazine.com (11/13/08) Wait a minute... Clear Channel would possibly consider putting a format on 100 which would resemble what used to be on 99.5? You remember, the format they removed from 99.5 when it was actually pulling some decent numbers - within the top 10 in the 12+... Given that a pop rock station is more likely to garner more revenue than something softer than WASH, here is my thought. You take the format presently on 99.5 and move it over there. Then you take 99.5 back to what its format was nearly 10 years ago and put it at a familiar home. The coverage areas for both stations (although wattage is different) are about the same...and isn't 99.5 mostly syndication and voice tracking? But I'm probably the only one to think of that. (11/13/08) Dave's response: Are the WGAY calls still available? Right on about WTOP not giving ID of a couple of criminals. Telling people, thousands of whom are driving cars, vans and trucks, to go to the Internet is crazy. Hey, I got it. Why not just play commercials all day with breaks using various liners like "All the news on our Internet page" or "Want the news? Go to the Internet." Farley's crew is certainly not helping to solve a crime by not giving a description of the kidnappers. (11/13/08) Barbara's house going up for sale... hummm... perhaps a solid sign she's being forced to take the buyout? (11/13/08) I may be too cynical, but this is the way things appear to me... Re: WTOP and its web site--No traditional media company knows how to properly integrate the internet into its business. WTOP: "We're a news radio station, but the real content is on the web." PBS shows: "You sat through our TV show, but the in-depth content is on the web." Magazines: "Here's a stub of an article; the real content is on our web site." So why should we bother with radio, TV, or buying magazines? And then they cry that their audiences are going away... Re: brokered AMs and lost satrad channels--The people running radio don't listen to it. And they don't know music. They don't know why anyone would like an eclectic channel, they just know they don't have a pre-existing *name* to market. And if your station is brokered, you don't have to know anything except how to hit "Play". In their blind panic to make an extra penny, they don't realize they're killing off their own business. ~~CA in BC (11/13/08) Dave's response: WMAL will often tease a news story and then advise listeners to go to the "Buzz" section on their website for more. Great, if you're listening from home or an office, but rather maddening if you're in the car..... Dave, Are Babs Harison and her husband kidding? Asking $7,500,000 for their home is a bit much. Looking at the home on homevisit.com it is a beautiful home, but where does Babs husband, John Pyles think anyone will pay that kind of money for that home. Speaking of setting unrealistic expectations, John better come back to earth if he wants to sell his house. Scott in Alexandria (11/13/08) Dave's response: Maybe it's just a ploy to get everything thinking that you live in a $7.5 million mansion when you really live in a mere $2.3 million hovel. Seems Babs has been watching too much "Keeping Up Appearances" on 22 and 26..... Babs Harrison has a beautiful home, but the suggested retail price of $7,500,000 seems unrealistic in this market. Public DC Tax and Revenue records for 2009 assess the house at $2,339,190 and mysteriously, no public tax information or payments are available. Check out the home: www.homevisit.com (this is a public link). (11/13/08) Re: As a mom that was a stay-at-home mom, a work-outside-the home mom, and mom of a …blah, selfrighteous blah, selfrighteous blah…. And finally can all of the political haters of either party please just shut up already. …….POT MEET KETTLE…..Too freaking funny!!! (11/13/08) So, I'm driving home tonight from work and listening to WTOP and they're reporting about some poor woman who was kidnapped at gunpoint over in Alexandria? Forced to drive to an ATM machine and withdraw a wad of money to give to these low-life scumbags (there apparently were two). They escaped and are still roaming free. Now for the good part... The WTOP newscaster says, "For their description, simply go to the WTOP website." WHAT!?!?! Is it more important to drive people/money to your website than to give out a piece of relatively IMPORTANT information? I mean, you're a freakin' NEWS STATION, WTOP!!! (Al B. Back) (11/13/08) Why is it that the "cuts" come to the DJs who make peanuts? Maybe the management should go since they are the reason that the stations aren't really making money. Lets see, lets make the product that much worse by firing talent and bringing in syndicated crap and voice tracking, which will cause more people to tune out, and then think that we will make money by cutting the quality of the product. Radio truly deserves to go down in flames. Yup, I just got the axe and I'm bitter. In a few years (and not too many) the Internet will be available everywhere completely wireless. That's literally millions of stations right at the users fingertips and it will destroy what's left of broadcast radio. Local radio has basically replaced the brick building with a circus tent with a cat 5 storm on the way... I for one will be cheering for the storm. (11/13/08) Dave's response: The same reason that all the companies getting those taxpayer-funded bailouts will still find a way pay their management big fat salaries as they send hundreds of lower-level workers to the unemployment line. Yeah, maybe it's time for a little "socialism"..... Dave, As mom that was a stay-at-home mom, a work-outside-the home mom, and mom of a special needs child with developmental disabilities, I was discouraged to see Sarah Palin bring her younger children to the debate and other campaign functions. Her infant Trig should have been with a sitter while mom was a "work". The second youngest child Piper should have attended some functions, but mostly should have been home. And at what point did the children go to school? I am guessing a tutor was provided and if so, I am sure a sitter could have been provided too. And I was concerned with how they carried baby Trig around. They seemed to not to support his back more than support him while carrying him. And finally can all of the political haters of either party please just shut up already. Each party has its strengths and weaknesses and neither one has a monopoly on brilliance. Thanks Dave for letting me vent. Regards, An avid fan in MoCo (11/13/08) Dave, if CC were planning to flip WBIG to an FM talker, why would CC/DC have let former PD Bill Hess go up to AirAmerica? Wouldn't you think a more coherent plan would've been to keep Hess (who has news/talk experience - hell, he's running a talk network now) around to guide them through such a flip? Just a thought. - DC AM/FM (11/13/08) It comes as no surprise that 1250 AM is going the brokered route. The attempt they made at doing a classic Country station wasn't even half-assed - I'd put it more as 1/16-assed. There were no service elements to speak of (like dependable scheduled weather hits), no genuine imaging or identity to present, barely a speck of voicetracking or some attempt at humanizing the station outside of AM drive, and probably most telling of all were the commercial breaks that all but begged for advertisers to buy time. The same symptoms were heard almost letter-for-letter at WCTN 950 during its short fling with Oldies ("You too can buy an hour on this great new radio station!"). Lots of us grouse about "localism" here in the Mailbag, but its the little towns out in rural VA and MD that need local radio the most. When a "format change" turns such a station into a bad jukebox, you know that the dreaded word 'brokered' is coming down the road in less than six months. Of course, it's "just another AM", so there will be no guilt or regret when its time to tear out the towers, surrender the license, and build another townhouse complex on the grounds...sigh... (11/13/08) Sirius also pulled the plug on XM's Broadway channel, which so far seems to heve been supreior to what Sirius provides. Host and Program Director John von Soosten's last song (computerized) before the switch was "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music. Thought you might nejoy the song choice. (11/13/08) Regarding the Hannity/solution poster, I'll try top spell it out for you. This from Dictionary.com: Solution "1.the act of solving a problem, question, etc." The problem Hannity was referring to is dependence on countries that don't like us (Iran anyone) having us by the balls for our energy needs. Hannity's talked about different types of energy solutions (clean burning coal, offshore/ANWAR drilling. nuclear etc) as 'energy independence'. Shorthand for all of these solutions is 'energy independence'. Energy Independence (producing our own so Iran can go back to farming sand) is the solution to the problem. Hopefully that was easier and cheaper than Tylenol. (11/13/08) /\ November 13 Messages /\ \/ November 12 Messages \/ Radio-Info.com reports in its Wednesday People Moves: Clear Channel has opted not to renew the contract of Atlanta's WGST-AM (640) PD Randall Bloomquist (11/12/08) Dave's response: Gawd! Might the former WMAL PD be headed back up to the DC area? Kathy Louise Whiteside has been around the track a few times since the days she and Steve Alan worked at WLMD Laurel Maryland. That station had a killer lineup, with Steve doing "Oatmeal For Brains Breakfast Club," Rich Hodge midday, Tim Scott or Pat O'Leary in the afternoons, and former Howard County public school teacher Roger Caplan on SPOOOORTS. (11/12/08) I am a SIRIUS subscriber and am unhappy to lose SIRIUS DISORDER. Based on what Jamesonian says it sounds like Disorder and Fine Tuning were the same type of station. I am a big fan of free form radio. Disorder was pretty close. From what I have heard on the LOFT it does not seem like a good substitute. If you want AAA radio try the Spectrum, its like listening to WTMD, WXPN or WRNR. You might like Outlaw Country, depending on when you listen they play more then country, but if you listen at work Mojo Nixon uses a lot of profanity. Does anyone else think Donielle Flynn on WRNR is one of the worst DJ's ever? If she is live she can't run the board. She is always talking while commercials are playing or she has multiple commercials playing at once. She also makes me feel like I am listening to a school teacher. I want music not a guessing game. Bring back Comrade Chris or Damien or someone who at least has a free form mentality in a AAA format. Gene in Columbia (11/12/08) Ok..I belong to another site the topic of airchecks was brought up. Who exactly owns the rights to them? The jock? The radio station? Or could it be that airchecks are in public domain and could be used in any manner by anyone. For example a few years back when Virginia was voting on the issue of gay marriage, the Winchester Star newspaper put together a regional anti-gay marriage TV commerical featuring airchecks from the long defunct ( even though the station itself is still around ) WFQX Froggy 99. I remember the TV commerical that I saw on TV in Bristol that was using airchecks from "Tad Pole" & "Swamp Thing". In the eyes ( ok ears ) of the Winchester Star had gay marriage passed in Virginia then expect everyone on the air in the commonwealth to start talking with a lisp and sound like Paul Lynde ( as the Winchester Star claim Tad Pole and Swamp Thing did on the old Froggy 99 ) so therefor that could "turn" the children gay. Whatever !!! Looking back I wonder if those two jocks had any legal say as to prevent their old airchecks from being used in that commerical? My girlfriend recently was traveling through Kansas and according to her one of their local stations were playing back old airchecks on the air ( including Don & Mike from their old WAVA days ) that the jock had downloaded from reelradio.com? Is that practice legal? Would reelradio have a say in that matter? (11/12/08) Dave's response: Hmmm. Would a copyright issue be raised if someone used the audio and other elements of a radio station that no longer exists, at least not in the form it once did? Would former WAVA owner Emmis or current WAVA owner Salem or Geronimo himself have any claim to the copyright of old D&M show audio clips? Dave Labrozzi is full of sh*t. What a ham headed, moronic way to put things. Anita Marks is sitting in ''her office'' probably making voodoo dolls of her ''co-host'' and Labrozzi. What Mr. Labrozzi did was do what every pencil pusher in radio does. Makes some lame excuse that she's ''excited.'' She LOST her show. Who would be ''excited'' by that? Paul (11/12/08) Warrenton's 1250 Classic Country is now 100% brokered according to its website. The format did not last long. (11/12/08) So if the DCRTV rumor of Clear Channel perhaps selling WBIG ends up as a reality, then Clear Channel can take WFRE/WFMD Frederick back from the Aloha Trust. The folks up there better be careful if they come back under Daddy Mays' roof. (11/12/08) hmmm...Sat Rad promises all things to all people...before long, services cut cause their too 'spensive...wonder how long before the same scenario happens to the prez elect? (11/12/08) Dave ,great pix of Anita Mark's I believe I see nip in HD on my computer screen. Thank's for making work a little easier to handle today.. where's Grease when we need him???? A.M.F. from DELMARVA (11/12/08) So now the left wing kooks on this board are attacking Palin because she likes to have her baby around. Not only are these people beyond contempt, but I think they are concerned about Palin's obvious political skills for the future. No other way to explain the continuous incredibly mean-spirited attacks. (11/12/08) How come directtv doesn't have wnuv-dt or wutb-dt on their hd lineup in baltimore? but yet comcast does... Derek- Owings Mills (11/12/08) Sinclair's WNUV 54 requests to REDUCE analog operations early, which is quite funny because their digital signal doesn't even work properly. Big question is will the FCC allow a station to cease or reduce analog when the station doesn't even have a properly functioning digital signal in its place? Oh and since Sinclair is moving the WNUV transmission site from west of Baltimore to TV Hill, doesn't this STA request have no basis? This could be a test case for the FCC. WNUV's digital signal has never worked properly, doesn't even today except when they're retransmitting SD material. It freezes, skips, you name it in 720p or 1080i (I think the CW has used both). Bigger question is, will the FCC in '09 start fining stations for not operating watchable DTV signals as technically required. Right now you cannot watch WNUV-DT in primetime in HD. Soon, you'll not be able to watch it in analog either. Why do I think the FCC will drop the ball again and screw this up and allow this Special Temporary Authority request? Oh, simple answer, they approve these every day like kids running a frikkin candy store. :-( fjallfoss.fcc.gov (11/12/08) Bad news for the little man, Danny Snyder, and Red Zebra........ the lil ole AM 980 down in southern VA has applied to double its power. HAha! :-) (11/12/08) Re: Sirius XM Merger: The channel I'm sorry to see leave is America! I liked the idea of being able to hear the re-broadcasts of Eddie Stubbs's shows..especially if there was one I wanted to record..we'll say..if he had an "in studio" guest! Also will miss being able to hear the Grand Ole Opry encores as..most of the time, am not home on Saturday nights, thus, I don't always get to hear the Opry live! On a whole other subject, Anita Marks: I obviously am missing something because, I don't see any evidence of her not liking working with Scott Garceau! Admittedly I don't always pay close attention (when I have the show on, I'll be doing other things)..but she just isn't coming across to me like she's enraged! Tom in Denton, MD (11/12/08) ATTN:"DUH police"; good response may I say to my 'Palin retard baby' post (thanks Dave/DCRTV Land) As for "DUH police", I AM a Common-Sense "REPUBLICAN" writing that, and I can't understand the whole Palin selection??? Then Palin drags that retard baby everywhere as some type of 'prop' for pro-life conservatives? -I remember the 'good ole days' when Politicians hid their ugly/retard children... i miss those days -LOL (11/12/08) Re: Satellite radio audio quality. I figure each service could have about 25 stereo music channels with great audio and about 25 mono voice quality channels for a total of 50 channels. Anything more than that and quality goes to hell. It's the math. You can spin it, hype it, convince yourself otherwise or just lie, but you can't escape the numbers. They don't have enough total bandwidth (actually digital rate throughput) to deliver 100+ excellent sounding music channels. Game over. (11/12/08) Do you have no sense of decency on this site? Say what you want about Palin, but please pull the retard child post. Signed -- The DUH Police PS: U guys won, why are you so BITTER and ANGRY? LOL (11/12/08) So when are they going to start calling it "Maynard in the mornings..." on 105.7? I tried listening today to Ed Norris, and the show was un-listenable. Too much Maynard, and when the former top cop talks, he doesn't have much to say. And what could be more compelling in the 8 o'clock hour than hearing some babe from the BBB give advice to losers who've never heard the phrase "let the buyer beware." Clearly, Norris in the mornings on the new WJZ-FM is just a stop-gap. The Commish better hope that Bob Ehrlich gets re-elected, because that's where he may fine his next job opportunity. (11/12/08) I once asked a former employee of CBS Radio-Baltimore about Bob Phillips. The reply was and I quote "I don't know how he can live with himself". I can understand that with the manner in which personnel are summarily fired or as they like to say "budget cut". (11/12/08) Hi Dave, Yes, call me crazy, but last night, at 12am, I watched my favorite XM channel(#46 Top Tracks) change to Classic Vinyl. The music seems the same, so no big deal there. BUT the sound quality is lousy now. When it was XM Top Tracks, the sound quality was excellent. Clear, warm, distinct. It had a great "soundstage" to it. It was High Fidelity. Now its Sirius Classic Vinyl, it sounds dull, and muffled, not clear at all. Sounds like a big blanket was placed over my speakers. I also noticed this sound on channel #49, Classic Rewind. I called XM tech today, and after waiting 45 minutes, finally spoke with a tech rep, who had no clue what i was talking about. He suggested I email the channels directly(done). And he would resend a new signal to my receiver(done, made no difference). He also said he would tell his supervisors(who knows?). So have you heard any changes in the sound quality. Or am I crazy here? Thank you, David Ilowite (11/12/08) Dave's response: I listen to satrad on a home stereo system and many of XM's channels feature a "tinny" sound. Especially its talk and rock/pop music channels. I'm told it's caused by compressing so many channels into a limited patch of bandwidth. XM's classical music channels sound richer and "fuller." I don't think their audio is compressed as much..... Heard from a source...Great Scott in Georgetown, DE is about to make some cuts...again. (11/12/08) "We know that all-news WTOP owner Bonneville is on the prowl for more good-signaled FMers in DC (and Baltimore). And we're hearing more rumblings that Clear Channel is again looking at selling 'weak sister"'classic hits WBIG, the lowest-rated of its five FMers in the market. Might lightning finally strike? Our sources tell us that even if WBIG does not get sold due to the tightening credit market, the old music format is pretty much a gonner. Look for some form of talk, maybe even sports talk, to come to 100.3 in 2009. Stay tuned..." To borrow a line from the immortal James Brown, please, please, please, please... Incidentally, how many more years are the Nationals contracted to Bonneville? They might agree to a long-term extension if Bonneville buys 100.3, converts it to sports talk, and makes the Nats and Capitals its linchpins, perhaps persuading Johnny Holliday and the University of Maryland to add Terrapin sports to the mix (using 1500, which booms into College Park, as a backup in case of conflicts). -- Vincent in Triangle (11/12/08) Dave, Has WRC 4 released any info which reporters or staff has been bought out to reduce budget flow? Scott in Alexandria (11/12/08) Dave's response: Haven't heard..... Dave, will Morris Jones end up back on D.C. TV or could he end up at a channel 2 (salary might be too high for Scripps)? Or could he go to CNN or FOX news channel D.C. news rooms? Where will Morris go good question? (11/12/08) Dave's response: No idea..... Hey gang, it's our turn to BASH. We can't be blamed for any political actions..Majority rules both the Senate and Congress..let's get goin, let's whoop them up, let's bitch slap them, let's blame all of them for everything bad for the next 10000 years. Yessir, things are lookin up on Main Street. Barack Bashin..a new hit song by the Conserves......do wah diddy..!!! (11/12/08) You really have to love CBS-Radio. They let a respected pro in Kathy Whiteside go in a "Budget Cut". Meanwhile, in the same time period, they flip a station to "Sports Talk", and hire Scott Garceau with what I will assume is a pretty good contract, to work with Anita Marks, who I will assume is also on a pretty good contract, even though she obviously can't carry the show by herself, based on the surrounding her with other "talent" almost since her debut in Baltimore. Lots of bucks tied up there. Do you really need both??? Ms Marks sure doesn't seem too happy. Then they go and give WNST "grads" Ken Weinman and Jeremy Conn a show. Real talent there. And of course, they have to keep Maynard w/Norris and Bulldog w/Viviano, both of whom add very little. I heard Terry Ford filling in for Coleman one night a few weeks ago. Perhaps CBS can hire him, too. GAWD!!! Good Luck, Kathy ! We'll really miss you. Hope the DC rumor is true. Merson, Rouse, and now Kathy. Thanks CBS. (11/12/08) From The Baltimore Sun's Copy-editing Blog (with a request that the writers at Fox5 pay close attention): I pray you, good people, forbear... When I saw at Target the other day that the Christmas decorations were beginning to crowd out the Halloween merchandise, I realized that the grim time has come upon us again. So today, All Saints’ Day, is none too soon to repeat the solemn warnings. * This list of holiday cliches to shun, which I compiled with the assistance of fellow Sun copy editors and colleagues in the American Copy Editors Society, has been published in an earlier form on this blog and at the Poynter Institute’s Web site, www.poynter.org, under the title “Avoid holiday cliches.” “’Tis the season”: Not in copy, not in headlines, not at all. Never, never, never, never, never. You cannot make this fresh. Do not attempt it. “’Twas the night before” anything: 'Twasing is no more defensible than ’tising. (And if you must refer to the Rev. Mr. Moore's poem, if indeed he wrote it, the proper title is “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”) “Jolly old elf”: Please, no. And if you must use Kriss Kringle, remember the double s. Any “Christmas came early” construction. “Yes, Virginia” allusions: No. “Grinch steals”: When someone vandalizes holiday decorations, steals a child's toys from under the tree, or otherwise dampens holiday cheer, this construction may be almost irresistible. Resist it. Give Dickens a rest. No ghosts of anything past, present or future. Delete bah and humbug from your working vocabulary. Treat Scrooge as you would the Grinch, by ignoring him. “Turkey and all the trimmings”: If you can't define trimmings without looking up the word, you shouldn't be using it. “White stuff” for snow: We should have higher standards of usage than do television weather forecasters. Also avoid the tautologies favored by these types: winter season, weather conditions, winter weather conditions, snow event and snow precipitation. And the tautologies favored in advertising: free gift, extra bonus and extra added bonus. Old Man Winter, Jack Frost and other moldy personifications can safely be omitted. If the spirit of ecumenism and inclusion requires mention of Hanukkah in holiday articles, these points should be kept in mind. Hanukkah is a holiday more like Independence Day than Christmas, and it is only the coincidence of the calendar dates in a gentile culture that has caused the holiday to mimic Christian and secular elements. The holidays are coincidental; they are not twins. Pray do not ring out or ring in an old year, a new year, or anything else. Parodies of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are, if possible, even more tedious than the original. And, typically, they do not scan. Some readers (and, sadly, some writers) lap up this swill. It is familiar, and the complete lack of originality is a comfort to them. It is for such people that television exists. (11/12/08) As the economy slumps in the broadcast industry, 2009 will come to be known as the year of the “great anchor changes.” Top of the list are those at the top of the pay scale. I predict the following will retire in 2009: JC Hayward, Jim Vance, Gordon Peterson, Patrick McGrath and Gary Reals. Major anchor realignments will take place as stations attempt to do more with less. The changes we have seen in our industry over the past seven years will look miniscule compared to what will see over the next two. For those of you who are greedy, don’t like to work the extra hour or two or have issues with the company your work for, I have some advice: be thankful you have a job. Fact is, thirty percent of the people who work with you now won’t be there in two years, and one of the thirty percent may be YOU. (11/12/08) It's November 12th...no Christmas music yet? WLIF and WASH must be asleep at the wheel. Greg in Reisterstown (11/12/08) OK, enough of the 'Election 08' with Sarah Palin... BUT could someone out there in DCRTV Land explains to me why all through 'Election 08' Palin seemed to "use" her retard child as a prop? -Palin still goes around, doing national media interviews, with that retard baby as some prop in the background? During the 'presidential campaign' that pissed me off to no end seeing Palin 'use' that retard-baby of hers as a handbag or cabbage patch kid prop. (11/12/08) Dave's response: I did think it was odd that Palin dragged her infant child to her debate with Joe Biden. It's a baby. Leave it home with the babysitter..... Kathy Whiteside is a talented and focused broadcaster who earned her major market successes at K106, WWMX, WBIG and most recently WLIF through her abilities, determination and a hefty dose of sweat equity. No one should think even for a single second that her temporary hiatus was self-inflicted. It was always a pleasure to work with Kathy at both WWMX and WLIF - stations that greatly benefitted from her work ethic and love of the art. Don’t be surprised by the sound of a new door opening for her. Additionally, I appreciate the kind and thoughtful words from both Roddy Freeman and Ed Jones. Ken Merson/Merson Person Voice Tracks (11/12/08) (Even though he won't be president for another 70 days or so, Rush's already calling it the "Obama recession.") Suppose Mc Cain won the election. How do you think NBC for example would be presenting the downturn? You know darn well they would be asking if there was a correlation. Look I think it’s BS too but don’t be so indignant when it happens to your guy. It comes with the territory and God knows you guys have beaten the hell out of Bush for anything and everything that has gone wrong the last eight years. The dems will control pretty much everything at this point and they won’t have Bush around to blame anymore. Lets see how well they do. (11/12/08) ("Look for some form of talk, maybe even sports talk, to come to 100.3 in 2009. ") If Clear Channel retains 100.3, pursuant to the purchasing agreement between RZ and CC, Clear Channel CANNOT compete against RZ with a sports or talk format for 5 years and vice versa. VB (11/12/08) Dave's response: But if CC sold 100.3 to Bonneville, then Bonneville could put sports talk on 100.3? Right? Or Bonneville could put WTOP on 100.3 and then blow CC's WASH away with AC on 103.5? Right? Even though he won't be president for another 70 days or so, Rush's already calling it the "Obama recession." Man, time to flush Rush! (11/12/08) I have had the pleasure of working with Kathy Whiteside. She is a Class A personality. She does her prep, executes unlike anyone I have met in the past. She had a great sound and will truly be missed in Baltimore. I hope to hear her voice down the highway in DC very soon! (11/12/08) About the only good thing that I can say about the debut of the "Big Talker" 1580AM is that their signal strength is great in upper Montgomery County. However on their first day in the new format the first several minutes of the Bill O'Reilly show was delayed by five minutes of some weird countdown that sounded like something that station engineers would hear behind the scenes. It went something like, "stations that formerly received this show on channel 11 and transponder 18 are warned that it will now be on, blah, blah". Since then many shows have been suddenly interrupted by commercials, music, and sudden feeds of a newscast coming from who knows where. Today at 10 am the CNN newscast was on for two minutes only to be interrupted by about a minute of music, and then back to the CNN news for the last minute. This reminds me of WTNT during the evening and at night. (11/12/08) I agree with Ed Jones of Bel Air that Kathy Whiteside is a first-class air personality, as is Ken Merson. They are two of the best to grace the Baltimore airwaves in recent years. I was told Kathy Whiteside got her start at what was then K106. Her dad was Herb Whiteside, in management at then-big advertiser Pantry Pride. Mr. Whiteside apparently asked station owner Stu Frankel to help get Kathy on the air. Mr. Frankel obliged, and the rest is history. Roddy Freeman (11/12/08) Between this place becoming "All Obama Apologists All The Time" and the killing off of XM's Fine Tuning, I think I'll just retreat to the mountains with my guns, my dogs and my CD's and come back in a couple of years when y'all are gonna need the adults back in charge. Genghis Cohen- "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is the ultimate revolutionary act"-George Orwell (11/12/08) "Some time back you mentioned the "Pirate" on 87.7 mHz…" It's not a pirate - it's audio from low-power channel 6 in DC. Captain Mike and the crew of the S. S. Dashboard DXer, including Captains Jack, Morgan, Kangaroo, Beefheart, Chesapeake, and Twenty. Argh, me hearties! (11/12/08) WHFS 1580 has more than CKDO, Oshawa, Ontario to deal with. 20 years ago, when I was at PGC, there was also a station in Valdosta, GA on 1580. I could hear it in my cans off the monitor before doing the morning sign-on for PGC. I recall one day when I hit the plates on PGC a few minutes too early before sunrise, and got a call from someone at the Valdosta station. PGC was in his cans! Meanwhile, I'm sure everyone who can hear PGC at night is just thrilled to have a station that strongly disses President-elect Barack Obama for every tiny thing. That's really matching programming to the signal! Way to go, CBS. Jeffrey Young (11/12/08) I have to agree with a previous poster--something like Fine Tuning just doesn't make sense to the non-listeners that run satrad so it *must* get dumped. So much easier to "market" something incredibly bland like "All Elvis" or "All Grateful Dead". Long ago Sirius dumped their Super Shuffle--not as eclectic, but still one of the best channels they had. (Yeah, so it's still available by internet stream only--same as not existing at all.) ... The new channel lineup hit Sirius too and so affects Dish Network. There's actually two "new" channels on Dish I might listen to: 40s on 4 and Escape. The Dish site is not updated, but if you look at www.sirius.com, the channels from 1 to 84 are what's included in Dish's audio channels. ~~CA in BC (11/12/08) Dave, Is there any chance that a local radio station can become an old WWRC station in this area? Specifically is the a chance we will get a show like the old Joel Spivack show anytime soon? (11/12/08) Dave's response: Him and Allan Prell? How about it, Greg Tantum? The transition of music channels isn't going COMPLETELY smoothly at XM, at least for the online. 57 Grateful Dead has lots of interference... 72 SPA does too ...but the new Jam Band channel works, and I love it so far... matt in st paul mn (11/12/08) Re: Lost XM Channels – I agree with all the previous thoughts regarding the loss of programming channels Lucy, Ethel, Fred and Audio Visions as I listened to them all, but the losses are far greater than just these. XM Comedy (XM 150) has now been re-branded with some 'dog' reference which I don't fully understand but which I assume will mean the material will skew younger. That's probably why they describe the channel as playing "Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Dane Cook". Dane Cook?!? Who in their right mind would associate that hack with two giants of comedy? Idiot PDs, that's who. The loss of Fungus (XM 53) means that I've heard the last of Hee Haw Hell, their daily afternoon cowboy punk show. These are all significant losses and alone would cause me to cancel my subscription, but taking away Fine Tuning (XM 76) is like snatching my child from me. I'd never encountered any programming channel that played a true eclectic mix of music until Fine Tuning. Their play list would go from Peter Gabriel to Bach to Annie Haslam to Dead Can Dance to Indigo Girls to Green Day to Loreena McKennit to Jane Siberry to Johnny Cash and back again. It really was progressive in that it did not recognize walls between any type of music and would consistently select the "world's most interesting music". I'm sorry, Sirius marketing folk, but Deep Tracks (XM 40), while a nice station in its own right, is not a comparable substitute. Neither is The Loft (XM 50) or, as I like to call it, The Zoloft. ZZZzzzzzzzz. The fun of having a full range of choices was fun while it lasted, but it's back to CDs and my iPod. At least until the idiot suits in terrestrial radio finally start to recognize the potential of HD Radio. My subscription ends at the end of December and I won't be re-upping. Boy am I glad that I divested back in 2007! –Jamesonian (11/12/08) Hi Dave, Mark Kaye did a fill-in show on WJFK back in October. It was really great. One of the best I’ve heard on the station. (Better than half the crap they have on there now.) I subscribe to his blog and he just posted the audio: markkaye.com... CBS should find a place for him in DC. They have high-priced talent and low, low ratings. Don Geronimo left and took the ratings with him apparently. Mike O’Meara is okay, the Junks are the Junks...Jim Rome sucks. The station needs a serious shot in the arm. -KM (11/12/08) Did anyone else catch Sean Hannity using the wrong word to defend himself about 5:45 PM yesterday? He said "I am for solutions, and energy Independence is a solution to many problems we face.' Uh, "energy independence" is a vision, not a solution, and the vision of "energy independence" does not provide a way to solve a problem, by definition of the word "solution." Therefore, "energy independence is not a "solution." If you try and claim "energy independence" is a "solution" to a bigger problem, you enter into the fallacy of equivocation, again. They are playing with words again. I get headaches when I listen to Sean Hannity. (11/12/08) Beginning this Friday, November 14th, the Fighting Ungers will be heard on FOX 1370. We will be doing a one hour show on Mondays and Fridays from 6-7pm. Occasionally, doing two hours on Friday (depending on Washington Wizards games). We'll also be doing Saturday mornings 9-10am. Perhaps expanding if more time becomes available. We look forward to the switch and expect fans of our show to appreciate being able to hear us in areas where maybe the signal was tougher to pick up in the past. The tone of the show will remain the same. We'll continue to do popular segments like "The Fighting Ungers" horse race and "What They Said/What they Meant" and bring whatever it is we bring to the Baltimore sports talk radio scene. (11/12/08) With the loss of Lucy, Ethel and Fred in the big Sirius XM shakeup this morning, the big question yet to be answered: How will these moves affect Ricky? (11/12/08) Dave's response: That was the great XM mystery - why they had channels named for all of the "I Love Lucy" cast, except Ricky? It's like having Kirk, McCoy, Spock, Scotty, but no Sulu - the perfect re-named gay channel (OutQ) on Sirius XM, doncha think? Just got back into town from a red-eye flight from Seattle... can't sleep so I thought I'd catch-up on some reading. Len Shapiro's article about Comcast Sportsnet and Ernie Baur is lacking a general theme. Comcast Sportsnet will never meet today's regional sports network standards, like FSN has achieved, because Comcast is, will, and always has been a bunch of cheap-xss individuals who don't care about talent or production quality. The reason why MASN is so medicore is because some of the old/fired personnel from Comcast are now at MASN. Yes, Ernie has earned his stripes for lasting this long in the market and give him plenty of credit for establishing a solid-cheap product. I still say Dan Snyder should by Sportsnet and create his own Redskins Channel {without Larry Michael} and kick-butt. (11/12/08) Well, well, well!!!! Another one of CBS Radio's "wonderful" decisions. First it was Ken Merson, and now it's Kathy Whiteside. She is a Class A air personality and a wonderful talent. I listened to her on the old K106.5, MIX106.5, and Oldies 100. She will be sorely missed, and I hope she finds another on air gig. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (11/12/08) IMO, one of the first jobs the new Chief Engineer at the Zeeb needs to take on is obtaining an automation/playback system that actually works and handles total control over the studios. Tuesday night, as early as 9pm if not earlier, 570AM was airing a dead carrier, punctuated now and again by local spots. It sounded as if the satellite channel failed, or the SAT fader on the console was turned off. Add this to 1260's problem of double-punch audio, overlapping events and whatever else chases listeners away, and this new dude is looking at one big steaming pile of radio caca. Buddy, ditch the system now in use there and look at something new that can handle a switcher and play back emergency audio if it had to: Mediatouch, Rivendell, Enco, hell even WinAmp is an improvement over the piece of cheese that is on line now. (11/12/08) Ed Graham asked if I turned him off the radio.…never! I have been a huge fan of Mr. Graham for more than 45 years. In fact, I remember winning one of Ed’s radio contests at WFBR when I was in 9th grade. The fact that I am 58 now is a little scary...a bit scarier for Ed I would imagine. He asked listeners to guess a number between 1 and 1000 and write it on the inside of an orange peel and mail it in. I did and won a Wonder Woman comic book. Those who never had the chance to listen to Ed, missed one of the Baltimore’s best. What a great radio town Baltimore used to be. Doug Hill (11/12/08) Please notice that POTUS (sans '08) continues on the new Sirius-XM merger (channel 130). Good news for the great bunch of pros who run a terrific channel at POTUS. (11/12/08) I just went to the site at www.xmradio.com and saw that Jonathan Schwartz is now a part of the new XM73 Siriouly Sinatra. I am very pleased that the new suits at Sirius-XM had the knowledge of Jonathan's talents and wisdom and decided to retain him at Siriouly Sinatra. Marshall (11/12/08) Dave's response: It's 3:30 AM, and BBC Radio 1 is coming through live (OK, digitally delayed five hours) and clear on XM-29. Cool..... At about 11:40 pm on XM54, the PD for Lucy came on to thank everyone for supporting the station and satellite radio, and then they launched into five farewell songs: "Closing Time" by Semisonic, "Let The Mystery Be" by 10,000 Maniacs and David Byrne, "No Surprises" by Radiohead and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day (not a shock) and finally "Spells Like Teen Spirit" by Tori Amos. Ethel (XM47) ended with Mighty, Mighty Bosstones "So Sad To Say" (another goodbye song), and on XM44, Fred's final song was Haysi Fantazee "Shiny Shiny" which was just obtuse, before it ran a "Thank You!" message on the PAD Data, and went right into it's new Sirius identity promptly at midnight - as did Ethel and Lucy. Thank you XM for these little bright spots - I'll give the new stations a shot. (11/12/08) The channel "Sinatra" on Sirius, which features Nancy Sinatra picking some of her dad's favorite songs, and also has many standards era performances is pretty much the same content as "High Standards" on XM. Isn't Sirius XM keeping Sinatra channel if they are eliminating the High Standards? This is a popular channel that a lot of people listen to, me included, and is bringing life back into cabaret music and the standards that made Sinatra, Martin, Davis, Darin, and Bennett so well-known. Best, Tom Moore, Host, "The AES Tom Moore Show," Talk Radio 680 WCBM (11/12/08) /\ November 12 Messages /\ \/ November 11 Messages \/ I'm sorry to see XM73 High Standards leave. I think Jonathan Schwartz is absolutely magnificent as a host and program director of the station. I know it is being replaced by a Sinatra station which is probably as good with its content as XM73 currently is, but I'm still sad to see Jponathan Schwartz leave. Does anyone know if he has been one of the people let go by managment? Marshall (11/11/08) I don't think I'd call her a source, Everett, because it was a friend of mine who heard Rush himself say on-air during his show yesterday, 11/10, that he was going to be on the '2008 people special' with Ms. Walters. So, I don't know if he was actually joking or if it's true. -Silvie- (11/11/08) I noticed the posting on your website that Red Zebra has a new Chief Engineer. This is at least the third one they have hired this year! The previous CE was there for only 6 weeks when the little sawed off bastard they call the CEO, Bruce Gilbert, let him go for asking for more money because the place is all fucked up and he was tired of putting out fires everyday and got no cooperation from the Bozo they call the Ops Manager, Dennis Glasgow. Previous to the arrival of the previous CE, Red Zebra had hired a Chief who quit 3 days before he was scheduled to start. The word is out on this place from coast to coast for engineers. Beware! Let's see how long this one lasts. Please keep us posted. (11/11/08) Silvie's source is correct, Rush Limbaugh will be one of Barbara Walters' "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008." I'll leave out the pithy comments on this one. Everett W. (11/11/08) Speaking of harmonics and 1360, does anyone remember the WEBB squeak? When I was a kid in the 60’s, the squeak always present on WEBB was as much a part of the sound as the music and the personalities. When I was in the mood for soul music, I’d go to WWIN or WSID. But when I was in the mood for soul music with a squeak, WEBB was my station. Roddy Freeman (11/11/08) Someone told me that Rush Limbaugh will be on the Barbara Walters end-of-the-year special "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008". Can you verify this? I've been out of the loop in recent weeks. -Silvie- (11/11/08) Dave's response: The way Rush is going lately, he'll probably get in a pitch for those tankless water heaters during his interview with Babs..... Doug Hill said, "I remember listening every weekend when I was a kid, except when Ed Graham was on the air." Doug, I hope you meant that you turned off Monitor to listen to me, not that you turned me off when I was on Monitor. Ed Graham (11/11/08) Hello! I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that I've started my new assignment, as The Federal Eye: www.washingtonpost.com/federaleye... The Federal Eye blog will complement The Post's growing coverage of the federal govenrment and its workforce, the interactions between the various departments and agencies and how all these different aspects of Washington adjust as the Obama Administration takes over in January. My reporting will also eventually appear in the newspaper as part of the expanded Federal Page, which of course includes the reporting of the great Al Kamen, Joe Davidson, Robert O'Harrow and others. Coverage started off today with news from John Podesta's conference call that agency-by-agency reviews start on Monday. Wednesday marks the release of the Plum Book -- a "must read" for folks interested in working for the Obama Administration. I'll peruse the book all day Wednesday and post interesting items in the blog. Keep an Eye (get it?) on the blog, and submit any questions, comments or tips directly to me (ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com) or at federaleye@washingtonpost.com... Ed O'Keefe (11/11/08) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) ABC7 WJLA-TV/NewsChannel8 is looking for an experienced Research Manager. This experienced Candidate must be able to manage all audience research operations for ABC affiliate and 24-hour local cable news channel. Qualified candidates should have a minimum of 5 years experience with in depth knowledge of an practice experience using qualitative and quantitative research tools to provide timely, accurate and insightful analyses for all aspects of station operations. Knowledge of Nielsen and Scarborough a must. For immediate consideration please send your resume to: ABC7/NewsChannel8, Attention: HR Dept./RM, 1100 Wilson Blvd 6th Floor, Arlington, VA 22209 or Fax to 703-236-9536 or email to HR@wjla.com. (11/11/08) Hi Dave, Thanks for posting the new XM lineup. Sorry to see the Channel 77 AudioVisions is no more. That's all I listen to. I have also found lately that the signal strength seem to be such on power up of my car XM receivers that the Channel reverts to Ch 1. (Not a refresh problem) This does not happen with my home based XM radio with the directional antenna pointing South. I expect there will be a number of cancellations including mine. I can't see anybody running to sign up for this new listing. Regards, Don (11/11/08) Dave's response: I am quickly falling back in love with Howard Stern, now that I can again hear him - via XM (sorry Junks). And, I've heard Sirius's rock channels and they're quite cool, too. Plus, I'll love getting BBC Radio 1 on XM. I'm sorry to see all those XMers getting canned. XM's Audiovisions was cool, as were Lucy, Fred, and Ethel. But the new line-up looks pretty good to me..... Barry - thanks for your note which included -- "Since both 94.7 and 105.9 play classic rock, it would make sense for one of these stations to change to a smooth jazz format." -- This is not a knock toward you, but it shows the lack of perception that both of these stations are putting out toward the marketplace. Listeners think that *both* of these stations are classic rock. 105.9 *had* been...how many years ago? Marketing is our friend, folks. Nobody comes into the restaurant to eat, and sample the menu...if you don't get them into the door. (11/11/08) RE: “Lucy, Fred and Ethel have all been "renamed" - "Lithium," "1st Wave" and "Alt Nation…" Are these Sirius channels now? If so, do XM subs get these or a blend between the Sirius and XM channels? (11/11/08) Dave's response: While the line-ups of XM and Sirius will remain different - including many of the channel numbers, as of tomorrow there will be many more channels shared between the two services. For example, Sirius's rock channels like Lithium, 1st Wave, and Alt Nation will be heard on both services. Since we've reported that many XMers have been canned, those and many music channels will probably more Sirius-produced. Many talk channels will also be shared. However, there will be some differences. For example, Howard Stern's two channels will be pay-extra services on XM, while remaining basic on Sirius. The Bob Edwards/XMPR, Opie and Anthony's The Virus, and Oprah Winfrey remain basic to XMers but will be pay-extra for Sirius subscribers. And some Sirius channels, like gay-oriented OutQ, still stay as Sirius-only services. For now. Other channels, like the Sirius NPR channel, will now be available to all XM subscribers. My guess is that in the upcoming months, we'll see more coordination between the two satradders' line-ups. Tomorrow will be the first big step of several..... High-flying CBSers Chip Reid and Nancy Cordes (formerly Nancy Weiner) have roots in local TV. Both worked at Channel 7, I believe. (11/11/08) The same harmonic problem existed in Baltimore too with WCBM 680 and then AM 1360. But the WCBM owners bought AM 1360 and moved up a notched to AM 1370 and problem solved. On a certain stretch of I-95 in Baltimore, I still can receive daily WBMD 750 on WFED AM 1500. It used to freak me out, as if God was like suddenly calling me through my car radio out of the clear blue during the traffic & weather, but now there's nothing to listen to on AM 1500 anymore, so my panic attacks have ceased. If the Red Zebra people had some balls, they'd petition the FCC to yank the Newark Delaware AM 1260 that hasn't had a permanent transmitter site in 10+ years and upgrade DC's AM 1260 to 10kw or something. Snyder was already going to try something like that with AM 730 before those damned Canadians got involved! :-) (11/11/08) Hey Fitz... Be sure to feature this ELO song with The Supremes and Mikey Jackson www.youtube.com (And... YES... Cindy Birdsong could have had ALL my babies!) (11/11/08) I wonder what the all Christmas music rating will look like with the PPM. (11/11/08) I'm a BBC Radio 4 and BBC 7 listener too, and would be tied to my computer listening, except what I do is use their "Listen Again" feature to play what I want, but also run a program called Goldwave (a great shareware program) to record the program in real time (there are other ways of doing that too). When the program is done, I can save it as a .wav or .mp3 then write it to a CD-RW or and listen in my car. I find that I no longer have to listen at all to what is on the radio, and can hear all kinds of plays, sitcoms, mysteries, strange quiz shows, and factual programs whenever I feel like it. When I get tired of that, I make a CD of streamed music of whatever kind I like; doing it overnight allows me to record many, many hours at a time. And, by the way, it's never too early to say: Look on the the BBC site Xmas day for the video version of the Queen's Christmas Message! -- Carl in Olney (11/11/08) I miss the smooth jazz format that used to be on 105.9. Since both 94.7 and 105.9 play classic rock, it would make sense for one of these stations to change to a smooth jazz format. Barry Landau, Falls Church (11/11/08) (snip) Don't blame 630 for interfering with 1260 near the split in 270.(end) Oh, believe me, I'm not. I know they're doing everything by the book. I've toured their site during an SBE picnic and think its among the best anywhere. I am, however, blaming the anonymous long-since-gone filbert-head behind a desk somewhere who decided years ago that a 1260 and a 630 in the same town would be a dandy idea. (anudder snip) The problem is overload in your solid-state radio which generates the second harmonic. My old tube car radios didn't have the problem (end) I agree with you a bazillion percent, and certainly a more robust detector and harmonic suppression circuit would do the trick. Trouble is, I myself haven't encountered an automotive tube radio for nearly 43 years. The problem exists as-is today with the only technology available today, so a tube-driven car radio unfortunately becomes irrelevant. (11/11/08) Anyone who thinks the WMAL loyal listener's post is real needs a stiff drink. (11/11/08) Dave's response: Where's my shot of vodka? Dave with these new PPMS to get ratings could we see the end of WPGC-FM In a couple of years If the ratings slide like they appear to be with this ratings format It was unthinkable before now It Is a real thing with CBS radio. Look at what they did In Baltimore with the old urban format on 1057 (note the urban format has out performed every format that they have replaced It with) that shows you that CBS radio has no mercy when a black station has so-so ratings keep an eye out on this a format flip Is not out of the question now. (11/11/08) Dave's response: CBS has four major FMers in the DC market - PGC and TGB 15th, JFK and LZL 19th. Not good..... That Kathy Whiteside story was reported lastweek in the mailbag. I hope she lands somewhere else soon...she is a great person and truly talented! (11/11/08) Kathy Whiteside isn't on WLIF today. Not sure about yesterday. The mid-day show is missing from the "Lineup" on the WLIF. website www.1019litefm.com, and no mention of her on the homepage. As always with radio station websites, if you look hard enough, you can still find references to her. Any ideas?? Doug in Bei Air (11/11/08) Dave, You should remove the comment from the idiot who is the WMAL Loyal Listener cause for one your website is about RADIO OR TELEVISION. 2. This idiot doesn't know where he's getting his information from.. oh yes he does, from the 2 assholes, Sean Hannity and Rush. Obama is NOT a Muslim and he was born in the US dumbass.. it's called Hawaii. So my suggestion to this idiot is to get over it cuz America has spoken and WE elected Barack Obama! So Mr. Idiot do us all a favor and pack your bags and check out of the greatest country in the world, the U.S. While your at it tell the 2 dumbass' you listen to move with you! (11/11/08) I read the comments of the conservative (and panicked) person with interest. I'm a little to the right as well. However, I've decided to wait until Obama gets into the White House and then let's see what he can do rather than jump to conclusions. Yes, certainly I may have mellowed a bit, but I figure let's give the guy a chance to actually do something before we make any judgements. On another note for those of you who have cable TV in Northern VA, I'll be doing another Fitz Special on WEBR in Fairfax. That's channel 37 for most folks. Yep on wednesday from 10am to 12 noon, I'll be playing the Electric Light Orchestra for 2 hours. ELO ad nauseum I guess would be a good sub-title. Unfortunately it's not available on the net because I'll be playing some 26 ELO songs. Should be lots of fun, hope you can tune in. Fitz (11/11/08) WWRC 1260 might have neglected facilities, but it certainly could have a much better signal if it didn't have to protect WNWK 1260 in Delaware which the FCC has allowed to not even have a single AM radio tower for like over 10 years now or meet its FCC license requirements or if Danny Snyder bought the AM 1260 in Charlottesville, VA and took it dark. Sure, it's easy to blame owners for neglecting facilities, but the message comes from the top down. It's pretty clear the FCC cares very little about the AM radio dial. That's why the FCC does not enforce its own rules regarding AM radio transmission facilities & license compliance. You've got all kinds of sham companies warehousing AM frequency space & cluttering up the band with no interest in actually broadcasting to the public and the FCC couldn't give a RATS ASS about it. (11/11/08) One doesn't have to think all those thinks in WMAL loyal listener's mocking post to be worried about Obama. The guy is as inexperienced a president as has ever been elected. Total glitz over any substance. The perfect candidate in the American Idol age. He won by default because Bush was incompetent, McCain a poor campaigner and the media totally irresponsible. But talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Wow. (11/11/08) The CBS Evening News was pushing for the GM bailout last night. “We have to bailout GM because it is an American Symbol, and we have to bail out GM because Michigan will be forever depressed if we don’t”. I thought the whole idea of capitalism was to beat the hell out of your competition until they are out of business. When that occurs, you reap the rewards, and in this case you sell more cars, and increase the market share. Why should the companies who ran their companies the right way be penalized? More important, why is CBS pleading for a bailout? Capitalism is not supposed to have a heart or a conscious! (11/11/08) This is probably a dumb question/already answered but....can anyone tell me if my Sirius channel line up will be affected by the merger? I've seen lots of discussion of the effect on Sirius subscribers, but I'm not clear regarding the effect, if any, on Sirius subs. Is XM/Sirius going to offer the same line-up on different platforms? Or will Sirius be essentially unchanged? -Mike in Bartonsville (11/11/08) Dave's response: It's my understanding that Sirius XM will offer approximately the same channel line-up on both platforms. So, both will change. We'll know more tomorrow..... Re: "the real story was the 2 days after the election where the market dropped by about 1000 points. not a coincidence either. investors don't like socialists." But they weren't too upset about the recent semi-nationalization of banks -- they only truly socialist act the U.S. government has taken in my lifetime or yours (and perpetrated by the current Conservative President, George W. Bush) -- were they? And when the DOW jshot up more than 400 points in the next two days, what did that mean -- that they'd all reconciled themselves to "socialists"? Get a grip. The whole world is laughing at the ultra-Right's bizarre and unfounded attacks on Obama. (11/11/08) The station lurking under (now) WHFS 1580 is likely CKDO, Oshawa, Ontario. Now that sunset is around 5 PM, the evening critical hours when skywave starts propagating begin at 3 PM. CKDO is a Class A station, which means both its groundwave and skywave service area in Canada is protected, so it is likely the limiting station for WHFS at night. Regards, Dave Loudin (11/11/08) Rob..Saw your question regarding NBC Monitor. There is a site where you can hear a lot of memories from the 50s and 60s. I remember listening every weekend when I was a kid, except when Ed Graham was on the air. Gene Rayburn and Henry Morgan were my favorite hosts. www.monitorbeacon.net... Doug Hill... p.s. Dave, I appreciate your efforts to keep us informed. (11/11/08) Dave's response: Thanks Doug! You know, my parents almost named me Doug. After Douglas Edwards, the CBS news anchor of the time. I don't know why they switched to David..... For all of those who are mourning Fred leaving XM....give First Wave a shot, trust me it will be well worth it. Don't get me wrong, Fred was a great station but First Wave is also great in it's own ways and if you like or loved Fred....you are going to love First Wave....just trust me. Dan (11/11/08) Dave...I got the impression that the post from a "WMAL Loyal Listener" was tongue-in-cheek. I think it was mocking WMAL Loyal Liseners. I certainly didn't take it seriously. If it was actually serious, it's still a joke to me. -- Bobbie (11/11/08) Re: 630 interfering with 1260. Don't blame 630 for interfering with 1260 near the split in 270. The problem is overload in your solid-state radio which generates the second harmonic. My old tube car radios didn't have the problem but it appeared when I got a car with a solid state radio. Some of my solid state radios have been better than others. After-market radios were the worst. "Progress" doesn't always improve things. (11/11/08) Alright, I gotta chime in about the BBC-- If the sole satrad company would add BBC _7_, I'd resubscribe in a minute. Not only have I always been a fan of Britcoms, they're doing a Marx Brothers revival right now ("Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel"). It's great that it's available on the net, but I'd really rather not be tied to the computer to listen. ~~CA in BC (11/11/08) Oh My God! We elected a Muslim for President that wasn't even born in this country! That MSM is out to destroy this country. We didn't elect a true patriot like Sarah Palin for VP! Where is the outrage that the future president pals around with terr0rists that want to blow us up! Obama is a Socialist, Marxist, and Muslim all rolled into one. Rush is right, "he is not one of US." Time to withdrawal all my money, take up arms, and move to the Canadian wilderness. Wait, scratch that, Canada has universal health coverage meaning they are socialist too! I need to wait for Mark Levin from his undisclosed bunker to tell me where to go. Should be tonight. For now I will listen to Grandy & Andy and then Chris Plante Rush, and Hannity, as the voices of reason, justified concern, and panic. Buy your gift packs to the Freedom Concerts at Hannity.com. And prepare yourself, only a few short weeks until the "WAR ON CHRISTMAS" starts on the Sean Hannity Show. WMAL loyal listener. (11/11/08) Dave's response: I did get a request to delete the above as being tasteless, but I think I'll keep it. This is how some people think. We need to know that..... Rob, Yes, WBAL did carry Monitor. I used to listen every Saturday back in the 1950's JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (11/11/08) RE: Dave's Response: "XMers will get that BBC Radio 1 relay. That's cool. Now, how about BBC Radio 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.....?". Dave, this is the ONLY reason why I keep my Sirius subscription, is for BBC Radio 1. When at home, I find myself glued to BBC Radio 2 and Radio 6 quite often. There is just something about the BBC Radio stations....I guess it is just radio done right, with quality content, interaction and always breaking new music! (11/11/08) Dave's response: And no commercials..... There's no money in it, so I guess that's why, but I think it would be interesting to see what they're saying and doing on TV and radio in Canada, the UK, and Australia. Imagine a channel, one of at least a thousand, dedicated to a live feed from London, Adelaide, Toronto. (11/11/08) Another point about 1260 AM: I'd like to meet the dingleberry-head who thought it was a good idea to have a 630 and a 1260 in the same market. If you are approaching the I-270 split and are within 4 to 6 miles of the exchange, WMAL's 2nd harmonic (2x630) begins to interfere - then totally eat - WWRC on your car radio. I want to meet this doink so I can show him how a calculator works. (11/11/08) For whoever cares about "The Big Talker" - based on the web stream, the 270 watts of WHFS/1580 Morningside MD are pumping out the audio simulcast of CNN Headline News in the late night hours. And frankly, 270 watts devoted to airing Nancy Grace's TV show audio are 269.9999 watts too many. And yes, the WHFS calls did land on 1580 as of Monday, according to the FCC's Call Sign Query. (11/11/08) /\ November 11 Messages /\ \/ November 10 Messages \/ Does anyone remember Birach's WGOP, "DC Radio 700" from a few years back? With almost no nighttime signal, Big Talk 1580 has about as good a chance of succeeding. And they don't even have Grease to do mornings there. Is there even the slightest chance that 1580's nighttime signal could be upgraded to anything respectable? And speaking of respectable, is there even the slightest chance that Red Zebra is aware of 1260's long-standing transmitter issues? With proper maintenance, 1260 could be a real powerhouse on the AM dial in the D.C. area. I'll bet it would even give 980 a run for the money, if they were to rebuild their rotting ground array. As it stands, even the daytime signal is impossible to receive by most of the region. (11/10/08) Dave's response: I'm telling you, CBS is "grooming" the "Big Talker" for one of the DC FMers following a PPM implosion. Anyone know when Rush Limbaugh's deal with WMAL is up? monitor - does anyone remember if WBAL radio carried the show, WRC radio did?? thanks, rob (11/10/08) Dave wrote, "However, XM's 40s-On-4 through 80s-On-8 music "decade" channels will be heard on both systems, apparently". Not exactly. The XM names of some of these channels may survive, but many of the decade channel programmers and talent are gone. (11/10/08) Doreen Gentzler is looking quite fetching today..Don't know if it's the color she has on or maybe some Botox or something..Whatever, bravisimo.. (11/10/08) As for Comcast prices going up, it never seems to fail that each time they raise the prices, they delete a channel or two on the basic non-digital service..Something seems wrong with that picture..You pay more, but get less..It's only 4 months before non-digital subscribers will have to go digital with Comcast, change to FIOS or Direct TV, so why raise the prices and provide less channels?.At the rate they're going, by February, non-digital Comcast subscribers may only have a handful of channels.. (11/10/08) Once upon a time, the correspondent who covered the winning candidate during the primary/general election seasons, was picked as that network's White House correspondent. I have nothing against Chip Reid, but CBS should've continued that tradition. (11/10/08) BOOOOOOOOO!!!! Lucy, Fred and Ethel have all been "renamed" - "Lithium," "1st Wave" and "Alt Nation" - but worst of all Fungus is gone. This is a VERY sad day. (11/10/08) Dave's response: XMers will get that BBC Radio 1 relay. That's cool. Now, how about BBC Radio 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6..... Arbitron’s PPM has been kind to CHR stations. And the PPM is coming to the Baltimore market in May, 2009. As of now, Baltimore still has no CHR station. It’s been amazing to me that the market hasn’t had a CHR for years. I can’t think of another major market that’s CHRless. Maybe the PPM’s arrival will change that. Roddy Freeman (11/10/08) Dave's response: CBS's Mix 106.5 is pretty close to CHR. But, yes, Clear Channel would have been smarter to have made 104.3 contemporary hit Hot 104.3 instead of alt rock Channel 104.3..... Regarding the whereabouts of John Stevenson and Rich Kleinfeldt, formerly of Parkway Productions, John Stevenson has been working at VOA since the mid-1980s, and is currently Chief of the English Programs Division. Rich Kleinfeldt also worked at VOA for several years before retiring in the early-2000s. He now divides his time between being a music instructor, working as a fill-in host on WETA-FM, playing with the Washington Saxophone Quartet, and hosting two nationally-syndicated radio programs. (11/10/08) Ed Graham, I tend to agree with you.."love the country and hope that Obama Succeeds", That says it all. You commented on Gary (Helton) hire the "hotties" you certainly never did that, that's why you fired Helton 21 times..LOL! The Mel perception is right on, Scarborough, my jury is still out on that...As for Don...Let him fly....hmmmmm! Dangerous precedent, but a good idea.."PLB":0) (11/10/08) Even with the new imaging for 570, The Zeeb is still having problems getting things up on the air on both 570 and 1260. One or two show crossover teases on 570 still makes reference to McCain 570, and 1260 had an annoying tendency most of the day of playing the same 10-sec liner twice in a row, stepping on the return to the network program. Shouldn't we be long past the "works-in-progress" stage by this time? (11/10/08) Dave's response: A source tells me that the new "Big Talk" 1580 had a glitch today, going "dead air" for a while at about 3:45 PM. The source tells me that he could hear a Canadian oldies station coming in under the PGC-AM/HFS carrier..... Wow, as I read e-mail from my Republican friends, I find that they think the USA will cease to exist because a _____ has been elected. (You can fill that blank with Muslim, Ni__er, Commie, Anti-Christ, it's a long list) in fact, they are already attacking. Same thing happened when Clinton was elected. Republicans tried to get him for 8 years. Now Obama will be attacked for the rest of his term. By the way, typing in uppercase does not make you any more believable. They have jumped on the Post for being liberal. The Post didn't admit they were liberal, their ombudsman said they were. The Times hasn't admitted their bias either. Dear friends, love the country, and hope Obama is successful. | SiriusXM needs a new business plan. One that I would have used because I would have wanted the product to survive. Mel; seems to want it to survive long enough for him to cash out. | Gary Helton - - way to go, hire ALL the hotties. | Joe Scarborough won't be fired. As a matter of fact, a cable network that allowed their people to talk the way they do off the air, could have pretty good ratings. It is legal, you know. Cable does self-editing for their audience, like MTV bleeping videos. The FCC has no control. yet. | AC-DC's new album is pretty good. | Sliwa sucks. | CBS should put Don G on WPGC AM just like Dave said. Don't tell him what to do, just let him fly. Ed Graham (11/10/08) (While scanning the AM dial over the weekend, I heard Limbaugh say the market crash was a "pre-election reaction" to Obama's impending victory. He's really gone off the deep end this time, and the LA Times link you posted confirms it.) the real story was the 2 days after the election where the market dropped by about 1000 points. not a coincidence either. investors don't like socialists. (11/10/08) Marc - thank you for reinforcing my legal ID point. WTOP is still blowing with "WTOP-AM Silver Spring" and now we have "WHFS-AM Morningside". Here are the ID rules..."Official station identification shall consist of the station's call letters immediately followed by the community or communities specified in its license as the station's location: Provided, That the name of the licensee or the station's frequency or channel number, or both, as stated on the station's license may be inserted between the call letters and station location. No other insertion is permissible." According to the FCC, which still governs these things at last check, WTOP and WHFS do *not* have an " -AM" after their call signs on their license. Another that is blowing against this rule is WASH as well, they have no " - FM" on their license, yet use it every top of hour. Nobody enforces it, but it is an interesting point, for us geeks. (11/10/08) While scanning the AM dial over the weekend, I heard Limbaugh say the market crash was a "pre-election reaction" to Obama's impending victory. He's really gone off the deep end this time, and the LA Times link you posted confirms it. (11/10/08) Hey.. Some time back you mentioned the "Pirate" on 87.7 mHz...that Hispanic Pirate can be heard ALL over the FM band ..at least as far west as Winchester (at times) wondering why the FCC has not clamped down on these guys. Any ideas? Used to work for ABC News in DC..retired this year...hear from the folks down there things are bleak at best...rumors in the wind of more buy-outs and possible lay-offs...following the NBC lead. Curious if you've heard anything re that from your ABC sources?? Best regard..nice website. (11/10/08) Dave, Did a contact at CBS really use the specific term " park" regarding the WHFS call letters on 1580 AM? Observing what they've done in the past with other stations in the area, this "new" talk station may be promoted as a something they are really proud of, and are using the heritage calls for the long haul. I hope they have other calls in mind for 1580 AM. (11/10/08) Dave's response: No, no one from CBS used the term "park." That's purely my assumption..... Sirius/XM ran a lame full-page ad in USA Today in Friday, which probably created more questions than it answered about the new Sirius/XM Channel lineup. However, there is a better list available at www.digitalradiocentral.com (11/10/08) Listening to the New 1580 AM online from here in Connecticut. CNN News at the Top of the Hour? Good Grief. An Illegal top of the hour ID. WHFS-AM Morningside, Wasington DC is not legal. AM is considered to be the primary band and there is no -AM suffix. Even if there were a WHFS-FM. The AM would be WHFS. The FM would be WHFS-FM. And is there any idea what's gonna be airing 9PM-5AM? The front page only shows 5AM-9PM. Marc (11/10/08) Dave's response: Well, with just 270-watts after dark, I don't think it's gonna matter much what airs from 9 PM to 5 AM..... To the blowhard who obviously has nothing better to do than to ponder about Austin Hill's 'studio whereabouts': What difference does it make whether or not Austin sits in a studio chair vs. a remote location? Can you please tell me why this is a problem in your mind? For the past 3 months, he's been discussing the key players and topics of Election 2008, so what difference does it make where his mic is? Additionally, when talking about the local races and local political scene, he's had more guests to his show (VA atty. general; state senators; commissioners, et. al.) than any other local shows combined and he makes more sense in the inside-the-Beltway politik machinery than some of these so-called "local reporters" I hear all the time. You mean to tell me that you actually listened to the Carlson - Plante election night coverage? Even I didn't turn on the radio that night.... -Silvie- (11/10/08) Parkway ran 3 programs, one of them was Matinee that ran in the afternoons. One of the DJs was John Stevenson. Rich Kleinfelt (spelling) did one of the hour programs. There programs were sent out on reel-to-reel tape to stations. In fact, WGTS used to play all three programs on their station along time ago before they changed format. Kevin (11/10/08) Dave, I'm hoping one of your readers can help with a question about Parkway Classical Music. Parkway ran a syndicated Classical Music format that was heard on many stations in the 80's. I'd like to know more about the company, the DJs and what ultimately happened to them. Thanks (11/10/08) fascinating article: Bob Novak has been covering politics—and making people mad—for half a century. Now battling a brain tumor, he talks about his illness, the best and worst presidents, and what he'd do differently. www.washingtonian.com (11/10/08) WAY TO GO JOE!:-) ...BUT BE WARNED, ITS MSNBC/'OBAMA TV' AND THAT NETWORK IS RUN BY LIBERAL COWARDS & WEAKLINGS AND KOW-TOWS TO LIBERAL EGO-MANIACS LIKE MATTHEWS & OLBERMANN... LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO IMUS, THEIR GREATEST AND MOST HONEST SHOW... (HONESTLY, INSTEAD OF FIRING JOE CAN MSNBC DO THE RIGHT THING AND GET RID OF THAT ANNOYING-STUCK UP-SHREW MIKA -LOL) JOE, YOU HAD A GOOD RUN AND WILL BE MISSED. "JOE SCARBOUROGH, MSNBC. R.I.P" (11/10/08) Re: "Joe Scarborough just dropped the F-bomb on MSNBC live." It was pretty funny, because he clearly meant to use just the letter "F" (as he was quoting someone) and he didn't even realize it when he said it. Everyone else did - he was sharing a split screen with Mike Barnicle, and then a cut a stunned Chuck Todd and so on - none of them actually said anything, but about a minute later he finally realized what he has said (from his ear piece, I imagine). They apologized, and he said he was most worried about his wife's reaction when he got off the air...maybe he should worry most about getting a dead fish in the mail! (11/10/08) Dave, Just out of curiousity, have you ever tried contacting anyone on radio in the D.C. area who broadcasts from somewhere else while pretending they are in D.C. about why they do this? I know you've brought this subject up in the past. One immediate case in point is Austin Hill on WMAL. One can see from his site that he is based in Phoenix but he goes through this pretense of being in Washington while on the air. In fact, on election night, during Chris Plante's "coverage," he had Hill on from the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix where McCain was. The next day Hill was "back" in D.C. I don't care for Hill at all (beyond as a measure of reactionary thought) and probably wouldn't listen if I wasn't coming home from work after 8. But could we pull back the wizards of Oz's curtails a little more often when warranted? Thanks. (11/10/08) Dave's response: I'm aware of Mark Levin, who show is syndicated by NYC's WABC radio, even though he does his show from the DC area..... Andy Pollin talking about Redskins/Cowboys memories this morning....gee, theres an original topic for Dallas week. and while Im ranting about local sports announcers, I have a new drinking game. Anytime Steve Buckhantz talks about the season series between the Wizards and whomever they are playing - Drink! I promise you'll be blitzed before tipoff! (11/10/08) Dave, What are the odds that PPM ratings shifts and desperate radio conglomerates will lead to some decent rock radio in DC? Other than DC101's tired mix of butt rock and 90s grunge gold, there's no new rock in DC now. In a better world, MPR or one of the local public stations would pick up a failing frequency and start a great local music station to complement the public affairs programming. Even a decent commercial AAA/new rock station would be OK. Dare to dream, huh? (11/10/08) Dave's response: Amen! Look, there are lotsa folks in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who want a cool adult rocker in DC. And that doesn't mean one that plays the same three old AC/DC tunes all day..... Sorry, I couldn't disagree more with your excuse-making for the Post's bias. Yes, Individuals have biases. But a responsible news organization should be set up to catch and correct for those biases. And there is also a difference between expressing a newspaper's views on an editorial page, which is appropriate (although silly in my view, I mean who the hell cares?), and bias in what are articles placed in the straight news sections of the paper. Sorry, but the Post, and many other elite media outlets, DESERVE every bit of the bashing that they are getting for their unprecedented pro-Obama bias. And this isn't a partisan issue. Hillary Clinton had the same justified complaints that the Republicans have. (11/10/08) Suddenly I notice Mike Preston is missing from the Sun both in print and on-line? No annoncement that I have seen. Even his weekly "Report Card" was done this week by David Steele. Be interesting to see if he does his radio show today. Mel W Columbia, Md. (11/10/08) These withdrawal pains are intolerable...I MISS THE DON AND MIKE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seven months now and I can't get rid of the shakes! Get these bugs off me! It's soooo cold, now I'm burning up! God, I could really use a hit of "Larry to Larry" or "Stump the Stoop." And what am I supposed to do this Christmas without the "Hamburger James" or "Auntie Lola" stories?....it's soooo cold! Oooh, Don & Mike Show podcasts on my iPod...I'm much better now, thank you. Greg in Reisterstown, MD (11/10/08) Dave's response: You know, CBS owns the rights to all those old D&M shows. Maybe it could put them up on the web. There's obviously a demand for them. And where there's a demand, there's a dollar..... Listening to 60s on 6 on XM yesterday and a caller called in asking for Brucie … Phlash said they are looking forward to working with him starting next week … Good news on both fronts … looks like 60s on 6 stays with us … and Brucie will be available on XM ,,, - Marty (11/10/08) Dave's response: We do have a Sunday Front Page newsblurb in which Orbitcast reported that Cousin Brucie did say on his Sirius show that he'd soon be heard on XM..... Wow...Joe Scarborough just dropped the F-bomb on MSNBC live. Talking about the Rahm Emmanuel appointment. Oooops!! (11/10/08) Dave's response: The FCC has no jurisdiction to fine cable networks for "indecent" language. Just broadcast stations..... A poster said: "I had really never cared for him since the days he was on w/ the former Mrs. Sliwa." Ah yes, the good 'ol days when Lisa and Curtis Sliwa made guest appearances on the then-Jerry Springer of the 80's, "The Morton Downey, Jr. Show". I miss those days! To the other poster commenting about Sliwa in possible WMAL syndication: Yes, Hon, I understand how decisions are made, and if it's not to the fans' liking, then the fan can go somewhere else. If Austin Hill is removed, then Dennis Miller at 8 pm on WTNT sounds mmm mmm good right about now. -Silvie- (11/10/08) OMG! Another attack ad! www.huffingtonpost.com.... (11/10/08) "Dave's response:...the Post has six or seven times the number of subscribers that the Times has. But that's no surprise since the DC area is heavily "red" ..." Dave, you're confusing red and blue again. Repeat after me: Red starts with R; Righty starts with R; Republican starts with R. (11/10/08) Dave's response: F-red Grandy = Republican. I think I've got it. I think I've got it..... Re: Sliwa To MAL Evenings? After AAR/1600 in NYC put on infomercials in the morning, I couldn't believe Curtis Sliwa came across as the most moderate OTA political talker in his time period. I had really never cared for him since the days he was on w/ the former Mrs. Sliwa. Then I heard him the other day during his pre-Imus show on WABC....the anger/hate/venom that spewed forth about the President-Elect made me sick. Perhaps it was an unfortunate combination of his New York accent and his voice, but if anyone sounded like a hate monger, it was Curtis Sliwa. He made Bernard McGuirk sound like a pussy. And Rush Limbaugh like an alley cat. (11/10/08) Silvie - "Methinks that Austin should stay right where he is because we the fans are plenty happy to have him there." Yes, Hon...'cause that's how decisions are made. Because the "fans are plenty happy". Right. More on the Sliwa syndication here - www.musicradio77.com (11/10/08) It was all over the news about Chris Plante's interview with Governor Palin. ABC, CBS, CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, and MSNBC all caught and reported Sarah Palin's First Amendment Gaffe on the Chris Plante Show. ABC News even reported on it and that report was carried on WMAL that evening! You didn't have to be listening, and most who heard about it learned from legitimate news sources, and not listening live to the Chris Plante Show. The funny thing is, Chris Plante didn't dump it. At least Mark Levin was smart enough to tape his interview with Governor Palin, and provide her the written answers beforehand. As for Austin Hill being dumped, where else at night inside the beltway can we learn Shell Oil is an American company, and get our Republican Talking points from a guy in California, if he is gone from WMAL? Also Obama received more votes than anyone in US History, lets see if WMAL reports that like they did with Bush's tally in 2004. Is Chris Plante the new Michael Graham? (11/10/08) Dave...I doubted the Curtis Sliwa rumor until I read this post on radio-info.com: "The 'Making News' for Friday afternoon reports that the 'now syndicated' Curtis Sliwa will soon be heard on KABC-AM 790 Los Angeles from midnight till 3:00 am. Will this be the same show advertised as 'local' by WTKK?" I thought he was doing a unique show for WTKK up here, but it looks like it's going to be syndicated to other markets. So perhaps he will show up on WMAL. (11/10/08) /\ November 10 Messages /\ \/ November 9 Messages \/ I just want to say as a former Republican, Muslim and now proud, enlightened liberal, still Muslim that I am very proud of America for electing Barack Obama. For the most part, people were willing to listen to the issues and debate them. Unfortunately, leading up to this election, I was disturbed at the blatant Islamophobia on display on WMAL. The Republican party can thank Sean Hannity and Chris Plante for changing my vote and my party. Some people might have a name, Hussein or other, but not be Muslim. The same is true of Christian and Hebrew names. That's really sad that Plante and the rest are so narrow minded and paranoid about a name, that they had to drill it to their listeners on a daily basis. I've stood by for years and heard Hannity and Rush and Coulter say mistruths about my religion, but I thought they'd let go. Even during the Catholic boy-touching scandals, Sean drilled the Muslims and ignored what was going on in his own church (He's a Catholic, to my knowledge). This is a double standard and it is absolutely ridiculous! I also think that focusing on Obama, Ayers and the other boloney stories turned out to be a good thing for us Democrats. Anyone with google found out how exaggerated and non-existed some of these claims were. I used to be angry with WMAL, now I'm glad. Keep embarassing yourselves and help us to continue winning elections! I wonder if WMAL will consider bringing Stephanie Miller or Ron Reagan to the station. They would definitely bring more listeners, especially me and my friends. The market is here, we vote blue, so why not? (11/9/08) PLEASE no Curtis Sliwa. He sounds SO freaking bad it's unlistenable, both content-wise and delivery. I cringe and flip the dial whenever he's on Hannity or Levin. I'd rather hear the rebroadcast of Coast to Coast or even the aforementioned Hitler speeches (hell I'd rather hear a test pattern) than Sliwa. PLEASE don't put that satin jacket beret wearing marble mouthed lummox on. (11/9/08) Man...Chris Plante has a serious stalker. It's funny to me that someone that obviously vehemently disagrees with Plante as much as the poster does would spend THAT much time listening, as well as copiously taking notes of every utterance on Plante's show. I don't like leftie talk, therefore I don't listen to it. As much as he listens I hope the guy has a PPM or diary. (11/9/08) Hey Dave and fellow friends on the Mailbag, we are so excited at WHFC to have Trish Hennessey on board with us hosting her local jazz program. Trish has always been one of my inspirations because she so genuinely communicates her love to the local jazz community and is giving voice to these talented artists. I must add that she is a nice lady in person which is an added plus in knowing her. Also, congratulations to Lori Lewis on her new endeavor. Onward and upward to two, talented professionals. My computer went down last week and I missed looking at DCRTV. Glad to be back on line. Blessings to all. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (11/9/08) Dave, your Sliwa commentary makes no sense. If Mark Levin is on from 6 - 8 pm on WMAL, and Sliwa would hypothetically be on from 9pm - 1am, then what happens to the 8 - 9 pm hour? There's no way that Austin Hill would be able to do just one hour - he's barely getting 'warmed up' 45 minutes into the show. Methinks that Austin should stay right where he is because we the fans are plenty happy to have him there. It's bad enough for some of us that Chris Plante got moved to mornings, so messin' with Austin's schedule would not be pleasant. -Silvie- (11/9/08) Dave's response: I dunno. I was just passing on what my source told me. I guess they could start Sliwa at 10 PM..... (not DC-related, but fun to hear again) During the waning days of 'Monitor' on NBC Radio, they tried making the Saturday night portion of the show a little more "hip", with something called 'The Super Jocks'. Each week, Imus, Wolfman Jack and Los Angeles DJ, Robert W. Morgan, hosted on a rotating basis. You can hear some of the 'Imus in the Morning in the Evening on Monitor' segments, from 1973, on Dennis Hart's 'Monitor Trubute Pages', here - www.monitorbeacon.net... (11/9/08) There is a great sports special today at 2:30pm on NBC4 and WBAL-11 about the Paralympics that features two young women from the area. It is a wonderful family special and one of those rare things that you just watch and enjoy, less about sports and more about people. www.dcexaminer.com... Cheers, Jim (11/9/08) (snip) Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Cousin Brucie Morrow was one of the top DJs on "top 40" blowtorch WABC (end snip) And in the 80s, he was my boss. The Cuzz - along with Robert Sillerman - formed the Sillerman-Morrow corporation and bought several stations in a straight east-west line from Middletown NY to Cape Cod, Ma. When he bought WHMP AM-FM, Northampton, Ma. in 1983, I jumped from doing PM drive on a Music of Your Life station to doing Top 40 morning drive for his FM. I even took a pay cut to do so. My cover letter said, "I grew up listening to you, so I think I know what you are after", which must have got his attention, because I got the job two weeks after he got my package. The 80s were an amazing time for fun upbeat music, great acts, cool comedy and more, so being a promotions-conscious station was easy and memorable. And with all other stations in the market being nothing more than over-consulted liner-card mush factories, Cousin Brucie told us to play the hits and have a great time. Screw the Format Freaks, screw playing a double-red-dot record before a blue-dot record... we were on the air for listeners who wanted fun. My experience with Brucie lasted four years; the greatest on-air job I ever had. -Alan Peterson (11/9/08) Re: "Sliwa used to do the morning show on WABC, before Don Imus took the slot in December 2007." Sliwa co-hosted the morning show on WABC with liberal Ron Kuby ("Curtis and Kuby", if I recall right) for years. When Imus showed up, Kuby left, and eventually landed in the Air America afternoon drive slot formerly occupied by Randi Rhodes (now on Nova M Radio). Sliwa moved to doing the 5-6 AM slot before Imus, and is still listed today on the WABC schedule both before and after Imus (5-6 AM, 10-11:45 AM). www.wabcradio.com (11/9/08) I guess we are just getting continued positive reinforcement on what we all (well most of us anyway) already knew: Chris Plante is a horrible talk show host who is only good enough to work for WMAL and get an occasional guest appearance on the equally hilarious and journalistically void outlet known as CNN. (11/9/08) Colbert King forgot to thank Chris Plante of WMAL. It was Chris Plante's question that revealed Sarah Palin had no idea what the First Amendment was (and Chris let it air). It got worldwide attention. And speaking of Palin's comments on her "First Amendment" rights, I was surprised Grandy & Andy didn't have it on Say That Again, on Friday. Her comment on the Chris Plante show was so powerful Governor Palin had to go on national Television (Saturday Night Live Political Bash) to do damage control over the statement she made on the Chris Plante show. Can someone please explain to me why WMAL did not run Governor Palin's gaffe over several days like they did with Joe Biden's "stand up" gaffe? Chris Plante should put that interview, and how it most likely secured Virginia for Obama, on his resume. Mr. King also thanked the Secret Service who made it clear after Sean Hannity and Bill Kristol told Governor Palin to start using the word "terrorist," there were huge up ticks in death threats to Obama. (as we all know, Bill Kristol and Sean Hannity documented their discussions telling Palin she needed to start bringing up Ayers and Reverend Wright, she did, without the campaign's approval). Rick Davis should also be thanked. His decision to put Governor Palin on a bus for 10 days with Nicolle Wallace criss crossing Pennsylvania suburbs was the dumbest political decision since the Invasion of Iraq. Rick lost the election for McCain, and he lost a friend. Nicolle Wallace most likely will be working for a Democrat in 2012. Also, we need to thank the ex Romney supporters who jumped to the McCain campaign. Their leaks to Fox News in the last 10 days have been priceless. (11/9/08) Dave's response: Colbert King also forgot to "thank" South Florida power couple Rush Limbaugh and Drudge..... Dave, that point you made, about 'reader and reporter' having a slant is THE point that you keep missing in your own comments. Not that you are alone, for what you do, hypocritically, is exactly what the liberal media does, and should not. While it may be, and should be, for the reader to decide the facts, it is the job of a journalist, reporter, anchor, editor or other in the food chain to only report, and not distort, the facts. A reporter specifically SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT, SLANT THE COVERAGE. If you slant, that is editoralizing, and that, being a matter of opinion, is by itself often a factual void that only reports what supports the bias, rather than the whole story. You may do what you want with your rants, but keep the slant out of the factual stories. And stop condoning those who do otherwise. The W-P deserves all the criticism is receives, however long overdue. (11/9/08) Dave's response: Can you name me any major newspaper, radio outlet, or TV network that isn't slanted in some way or another? Maybe WTOP. But that's about it. Since "day one" of this website, I have never pretended that I'm not slanted in my coverage. I don't much like corporate radio, and, yes, my bias does tend to come through on the Front Page. But I'm honest enough to tell you that up-front. And, as always, I allow you, the reader, to have a voice, too, via this Mailbag. If you don't like DCRTV's bias or lean, go to some trade pub website for your media news. There you'll probably get little more than an endless stream of re-written press releases. Is that better? You decide..... We have Verizon Fios in Howard Country and wanted to watch the Caps-Rangers game on CSN plus. But, we couldn't find it anywhere. We called Verizon and they didn't seem to know. We also checked channel 1, which doubles as MASN 2 during baseball season. Then we looked on the CSN website, which only shows CSN plus for Fios in Montgomery County, but not Howard. I guess we'll have to start bugging Verizon to pick up that second channel. I think it's ridiculous that we can't see all the games of the local teams in our market. (11/9/08) "Responds a Post reader via an article comment: 'Surprise, surprise. Tell me something I don't know'....." All right, how about that in 2000 the Post ran more negative stories about Al Gore than George Bush. Damn liberal elite! (11/9/08) Dave's response: Look, despite having a Democrat battle a Republican for president, the candidacy of Barack Obama was something different - a black man running, with a real chance to win. In many respects, that alone made it worth penning more words/stories about him. And, pleeeeease. Can we finally open our eyes to see that no newspaper or TV station or cable news channel is un-biased. Just as no reporter is un-biased. They all are. That is, in fact, why the Washington Post is the only newspaper I actually pay to get delivered on my doorstep every morning. Because it is left-leaning - and I like that. I meant it when I said a while back that if the Washington Post endorsed John McCain this time around, I would have cancelled my subscription. I wasn't joking. Don't like the lean of the Post, go subscribe to the righty Washington Times. The votes are in and the Post has six or seven times the number of subscribers that the Times has. But that's no surprise since the DC area is heavily "red" - and the Post knows it. You'll never get "the truth" from any human journalist, and "fair and balanced" is a lie. That's not to say the news media isn't important, powerful, and has some damn good people involved with it. It does. But every thinking person "leans" - reader and reporter alike..... /\ November 9 Messages /\ \/ November 8 Messages \/ Driving around today it was so nice to hear Terps Basketball with Johnny Holiday and Chris Knoche. Without question, the best combination on Radio! Keep it up guy's. When I got home, I had trouble picking up WJFK and I live in Silver Spring. Not good. (11/8/08) The Washington Post needs an obudsman to tell us they are biased to the left? Will the obudsman tell us that its obvious the sky is blue in his next piece? (11/8/08) I heard Phil Hawes say a couple of weeks ago that his show on 980 will be on hiatus until the Spring. (11/8/08) "So, is Donnie G living in Ocean City now?..And is he still with his girlfriend?..And is Mike O'Meara still with his gal?" - The answers are no, no, no, and no you should not continue to use up oxygen. If you tune in to The Candy Show on WJFK from 3 - 7 pm sometimes they refer to the old days, and "where are they now". On another note, Dave, perhaps you might think about leaving Doni's attempts to sell his house alone. Everyone who really wants to know can easily find out. Given the history (cough, stalker) less is more. Think of it as a chance to be a standup guy. -- The Penismightier (11/8/08) Dave's response: I have always prohibited anyone from revealing the address of Don's Great Falls home here on DCRTV. However, since the address was included in an October Washington Times real estate profile of the home and its owner, I don't feel I need to hide it any longer. Is that okay, Mr. Penis Mightier? Sirius -XM scooped Redskins Radio on the signing of DeAngelo Hall. They had it before anyone else and also an interview with him. It helps to be the official radio of the NFL. It must trump being the home of the Redskins.... www.dcexaminer.com... Cheers, Jim (11/8/08) In spite of radio jobs being scarce and just outright lousy right now, it's nice to see someone in NoVa is hiring: washingtondc.craigslist.org although I have no idea who it is. (11/8/08) Dave's response: Doesn't Mark Levin do his national radio show from a studio in his Northern Virginia home? Hmmm..... Channel 9 cuts short its 7am Saturday news program for a five minute infomercial on teeth whitening. Do they really need the money that badly? (11/8/08) WTEM was not airing Phil Hawes' Better Golf show this morning. Has the longest-running sports-talk radio show in the D.C. market been cancelled by the Red Zebra folks? (11/8/08) Back in the day, WTEM had a female . Pam Ward had a show with Bruce Murry. I can't remember the time slot. They also had Bruce Murray and Bob Berger in the AM. I think Pam Ward went with ESPN. Bob Berger is now with Sporting News Radio, on the weekend. I don't no what happen with Bob Berger, he had a show with Sporting News Radio at one time. (11/8/08) Even if the economy was doing great I am pretty sure its a safe bet to say we would still be talking about radio bloodbaths and the like. For example I can remember 10 years ago when the economy was indeed doing the best it could do ( wasn't the unemployment rate around 2% then ? ) a lot of radio stations up and down the Virginia Shenandoah Valley were already cutting positions between sydication lke Blair Garner's After Midnight, SMN, voice tracking and so forth. And I can think of a few stations that made MILLIONS in sales but still "found a way" to cut positions. Not too mention today one has so many choices. Take the Ipod for example. I was in Indianapolis last week and it seemed EVERYONE in that city was listening to their Ipods. On the city buses, in the local supermarkets, at the mall, even standing in line at the bank !!! And I am willing to bet that 8 out of ten of them couldn't tell you who is on the radio in Indanapolis. It was more/less the same in Kanasa City too when I was there last May. My girlfriend recently had to attend a meeting in Denver and she was telling me that many Denver area restaurants that she visited are now using INTERNET RADIO as background music. There was a time whenever it snowed people turned to radio to get the latest in school closings and such. Today many school districts don't even bother as they just simply put the info on their own website or call up the local TV station. Heck my parents live in a small town in Ohio and their lone radio station, on snowy mornings they just tell listeners to "watch channel 10 for the latest in school closings". Like their station just didn't want to bother. And TV is really no better either. So many channels and networks have made it clear that they are far more interested in reaching that 24 year old than a 44 year old. All it takes is a glance of their programming. TV Land it looks like is getting out of the classic TV business and AMC today is hardly "American Movie Classics". MTV/ VH1? Forget it !!! Between that and all the competition now ( like radio ) such as On Demand, Internet TV, DVDs and the like...people have a lot more choices now also it has gotten to a point where there are more and more everyday who are discovering life without radio or TV ( like the singer Madonna for example..she doesn't own either and will not allow her family near one ) and guess what? They are doing just fine thank you very much. (11/8/08) /\ November 8 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....