Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - February 9 to February 16, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ February 16 Messages \/ Re: "WMAL Adds Trucker Show" You say that "...(a)ccording to wmal.com, "Midnight Trucking Radio" now airs from 3 AM to 5 PM on weeknights..." Soooooo, I guess that wipes out G&A, Chris Plante, Paul Harvey News, Rush and the first 2 hours of Hannity?? I THOUGHT that might be a typo, but it WOULD be UNIQUE programming! Anyway, the Website still says "...The overnight sensation Coast to Coast AM airs seven nights a week from 1am to 5am on 630 WMAL." Looks like THEY don't even know (or care) what's goin' on over there! --RB (2/16/09) WTF?! How does a trucking show on WMAL disgust you? You gotta problem with truckers in specific, or blue collar in general? You gotta problem with the middle class, those who actually work for a living rather than merely taking unearned income, aka stock dividends? Your attitude is exactly what got this country in the mess it is in. You think the working folks should just do their job and not have any voice. YOU are the reason workers feel a need to unionize and all the bad that comes with it,,,you sowed those seeds, not the liberals. Why shouldn't WMAL have programs that celebrate the breadth and freedom of this country, a program that appeals to those who drive our economy, literally, from coast to coast ? Perhaps you would prefer another whiney liberal program talking about all that is so bad with this country? We can't have those of course now that the Messiah has mounted the throne. Or maybe you want another 'love phones' program that talks to the masturbating, drug using, club hopping underbelly of society that is usually up at that time. Those truckers work for a living, 60 mins out of every hour. You should try doing the same, or work at least half as hard as they do. I have never before read anything so blatantly discriminatory on this site. Your attitude is what disgusts me. If you are a Republican, please leave the party, we do not need you. If you are a Democrat, well I am not surprised. (2/16/09) Dave's response: Just never though that WMAL's 5,000-watt nighttime directional antenna pattern, which covers I-95 from about Springfield to Greenbelt, to be particularly attractive for truckers, who are probably either tuned into some 50,000-watt monster from the Ohio Valley or satrad..... Burt in Denton, good to hear from you. Thanks for remembering. I’ve never worked with anyone named “Nance.” I have worked nearly nine years at the Calvert Independent, a weekly newspaper, which is strictly a local news publication. However, most Saturday mornings I do the “Saturday Morning Broadcast” on WMJS –LP (low power), 102.1 FM (yeah, those are 92.7’s old call letters). The music is highly eclectic. You would either need to move to Prince Frederick or attach the world’s tallest yagi to your radio to hear the broadcast live. However, log onto wmjs.org, click on “volunteers” click on my name and the contact link, send me an e-mail with your postal mailing address and I’ll send you a cassette of one of our previous broadcasts. Be careful driving in Denton. Some of those beach-bound motorists are freakin’ crazy. Marty Madden, Prince Frederick (2/16/09) Anyone know whats up with WRNR website (www.wrnr.com)? It is down as well with just the logo. (2/16/09) Now the Nations Capital has a Trucking Radio Station. www.wmal.com... WMAL just plain disgusts me. There is nothing of revelance for the citizens of PG County or District of Coumbia on AM 630. I actually thought I woke up out of a nightmare hearing a gawd awful trucking show. I decided not to write about it till I could actually verify that it was on the radio in the middle of the night. It was Gish. John T. Henneman (2/16/09) The person over at CBS/WJFK that thought switching from SNR to Fox Sports was a good idea should be fired. That is the worst form of sports talk I've ever heard. Sports talk doesn't need bad schtick and hack radio voices with hack radio music behind it. ESPN radio is even better than that (2/16/09) Re: 92.7 Sounds to me like equipment problems, not intentional. I notice the repair cycle seems to follow the logistics of an engineer having to drive out there to fix it. That might be after the normal day's work, in the evening, or before coming in for the day. Odds are studio problems (or a day job somewhere else) take priority, so 92.7 would get taken care of later. (2/16/09) Good to see your post Marty...used to listen to 92.7 when you were on the air. You may have also worked with a guy named Nance..who I worked with for awhile in a non-radio job. Nance also worked for WNAV during his radio career. Marty if you are still in radio, I would like to hear your programs. Good luck to you! Burt in Denton (2/16/09) Another instance of CBS Radio making a dumb move--they are shifting strong PM drive numbers. They have taken off Steve from WLIF Afternoons and brought over Fast Jimi from Mix, who both had very strong ratiings for their demos and day parts. Then they bring in Jason Kidd to partner with Jen for PM on WWMX. (2/16/09) Jason Lacanfora of the wash post is filling in on Fox 1370 am Sports, from 3-6pm - has there been a change?- I like Lacafora every Tuesday on, but i ALSO liked Jerry Coleman's program. However, their fox sports update guy -vic the brick at 20- and 40 is terrible!!!!!! (2/16/09) FYI Dave - The Anthony Bourdain food show "No Reservations", which in an earlier post I told you featured Mancow during a trip Tony made to Chicago, will be repeated tonight, Monday, Feb. 16th at 8:00 p.m. ET on the Travel Channel. -Silvie- (2/16/09) Dave, Jack is running an extended Totally 80s Weekend because of the President's Day Holiday...I noticed 101.9 Lite-FM is playing some 80s on their Flashback Weekend now when its just supposed to be just 60s and 70s. This could be because they are losing Jack to Clear Channel soon. (2/16/09) RE: Source: Trib Shopping Sun, No Locals Interested... As recently as December, former Baltimore County executive Ted Venetoulis was on WBAL Radio discussing his longtime wishes to acquire The Baltimore Sun. wbal.com (2/16/09) Dave, this from a post on dclocalmusic.com - interesting..... "Corporate pulled HFS2 from CBS Baltimore, it is now going to be an HD2 of a station in the DC Cluster (i believe WJFK-FM). The myspace/twitter/site was run completely by Spam, so obviously, with it not being in our building, he deleted all of the stuff he did. Also, the Festival At 4, Neci being on air, and other special programming (music news updates, etc) will no longer exist - it's just a jukebox of songs and such from now on. (Unless it gets ressurected, which I doubt.)" (2/16/09) Now that you mention DJ changes at CBS-Baltimore. What's the deal with 102.7 Jack-FM running the totally 80's weekend on a Monday? I know it's presidents day, but does that warrant an extra day of the totally 80's weekend? (2/16/09) Dave's response: Yeah. Heard Dexy's Midnight Runners today. Cool. Keep those 80s hits coming. Love 'em..... A poster writes “Perhaps the poster doesn’t know WFED has billed almost $3 million so far in 2009, the worst economy for radio ad sales in our lifetime. And their overhead is not much, it’s a small staff, unlike what it would take to do a “real” format as all the programming geniuses have discussed in the mailbag.” So you’re talking January billing of $3 million? Yeah, as January is ordinarily the worst month, that should translate to somewhere around $50 million+ for the year. That’s a head-turner, alright. Now we’ll have CBS flipping “The Gob” to get a chunk of that action! And WFED is just selling a concept—no numbers. The question remains, though. If you can bill $50 million a year selling a concept with no discernible audience on 1500, why would shifting the thing to 1050 (also with no discernible audience) make any difference? Does 1500 carry with it the Illusion Of An Audience that 1050 doesn’t have? BTW, the “real” format I suggested—with Core in mornings & Herzog in afternoons + network stuff the rest of the day only amounts to a staff of two—assuming contributions (news, etc.) from existing staff down the hall. How small do you want it? One? Okay, Frank, you’re out! Or maybe Chris… (2/16/09) To the unidentified poster who said 92.7 FM's recent transmitter problems were due to "years of neglect" by previous owners, I worked for one of the previous owners, MJS Communications Inc. The main transmitter that was used during the 1990s until the station was sold to Mega Communications in 2000 was very well maintained. It was purchased during the early 1990s with the previous transmitter kept as a backup. Mega moved the transmitter site from Prince Frederick to Sunderland. Dan Snyder has had plenty of time and has plenty of money to replace an aging transmitter or at least maintain it properly. The current woes are not the fault of prior owners. The Danny shouldn't be passing the buck on this one. I suppose next you'll be blaming Richie Pettibon for the 'Skins failure to make the playoffs this year. Marty Madden, Prince Frederick (2/16/09) Dave's response: Before Snyder bought it, 92.7 was owned by Mega Communications, which ran Spanish stuff for several years..... HFS2's homepage is now just a link to the player. HFS2's Myspace and Twitter pages are gone. And WRNR's page is simply the logo....ummm hmmmmm (2/16/09) I am ecstatic to see the Baltimore Examiner go. The have been littering our neighborhood for years with unwanted papers. Maybe, the "Sun Plus" will stop littering our mail boxes as well. Sorry to see any jobs go, but Good Riddance to a Nuisance Paper. (2/16/09) Just a note on your front-page piece on the Baltimore Sun and the Tribune Company. Cablevision did buy Newsday from Tribune a while back and I read somewhere, within the last couple of weeks, that Cablevision had to write down the value of Newsday on their books by millions of dollars because the slump in the newspaper industry. (2/16/09) Any rumours on the return of Tony Kornheiser? (2/16/09) Dave's response: To radio? Tony's said he won't come back to radio as long as he's still doing "Monday Night Football." I guess he finally realizes that you can't do a radio show from January to June, and then leave for "MNF" the rest of the year..... I see on MIX1065 Baltimore's website site, it's now Jenn and Jason in the afternoon. Wondering what happened to Fast Jimi, I took a look at WLIF. He's now doing afternoon's on WLIF. (2/16/09) Speaking of putting WHFS back on 99.1, the WHFS2 website is no longer up and running (www.whfs2.com). All of the content has been replaced. Currently, the only content the website has is a link to listen online. Dave, any idea why the suits discontinued the website? Drew from Fairfax (2/16/09) Dave's response: You want me to figure out what CBS Radio's up to? I don't think they even know..... RE:92.7,,,If they had any signal problems, it was not evident on Friday, February 13. I listened to the Mike and Mike show that morning while traveling from just outside Denton to Tilghman Island. From Easton to Tilghman, the signal was especially strong. Burt in Denton (2/16/09) ...they should have a database of all unscrupulous radio and TV owners, kinda like a sex offender registry. People that screwed over rank-and-file should be forced to register. And Mel Karmazin should be at the top of the list. The Mays family should be second. Few things provide me more happiness than to see Mel fall flat on his ass. Tank XM, then lose Sirius in a game of chicken. Wonder if the hardware store down the street from me needs anyone? (2/16/09) (snip) Classic Rock 94.7 = Total bore, so switch it to ... Jack-FM (end snip). The Jack format is approaching five years old. As stale as classic rock has become, Jack is running into middle-age even now and is going to require some tooling to keep itself relevant. How about a music format with no high-end and lots of compression gargle that drops out for a few seconds now and again, simulating that "streaming webcast" sound some folks seem to think we are enthusiastically heading headlong into? (2/16/09) The changes for CBS Washington should be as simple as this. 99.1-HFS Alt-Rock, 106.7-WLZL El-Zol, and 94.7 WJFK Jack-FM. El-Zol on 99.1 is a waste of signal while it would be the perfect fit on 106.7 with it's Washington only sginal. Classic Rock 94.7 = Total bore, so switch it to the format (Jack-FM) that keeps the music all mixed up and will include some of the classic rock as well, best part is that it is el-cheapo to run. 99.1 is a great spot for Alt-Rock, DC101 might have Elliot but to me the CC Alt-Rockers of WWDC & WCHH are very vulnerable thanks to the music they play to a WHFS-2 formatted station. I listen to HFS-2 online all day and WCHH sometimes drving home and it's not that hard to tell that WCHH is watered down some. The best part is that music that new music that plays on HFS-2 doesn't get played elsewhere seemingly for at least a month or two after HFS-2 has already been playing it. The only thing that a rebirth of alt-rock on 99.1 would need is a good morning show (that is not the Flunkies) with some decent DJ's. (2/16/09) Dave's response: Good ideas! I'd re-unite Don and Mike for the "music and more" morning show on Jack 94.7. And I'd make sure that whoever programs HFS on 99.1 to keep it all music-intensive, including the morning show. Maybe, also, CBS could buy WMAL/WJZW from Citadel and flip 'em to sports talk with two Junkies doing afternoons..... My last drive on Rt 66 revealed to my ears - at last - the 105.5FM repeater/translator in or near Reston, that plays WAMU's Bluegrass channel. Admittedly, for the first 20 minutes or so, it was a fascinating listen. But I began to get burned out very quickly. Nothing against bluegrass or fiddle music in general, but it just kinda happened. It did make me wonder though: how did a translator end up there in that town and on 105.5? If I recall, wasn't it a Reston or Herndon couple that was the genesis of the national LPFM movement more than a decade ago? How is it that they didn't end up with 105.5? Or is it just that it's been on the air for ages and I've never taken notice? If there was any area that could use the alternative programming heard on an LPFM - especially one where it was said, "There's no room on the dial for one", we are it. (1/16/09) Dave's response: I want my TMD back on 105.5. Wah..... “has anyone noticed that Mike's fiancée looks a lot like Senator Fred Thompson's wife Jeri?” Damn, you have to wonder what goes through her mind. Maybe lacking a little self worth? If she were my daughter I’d have to sit her down and have a talk. Sweetheart you’re an adult and you make your own choices but: a – the man is twice divorced. You do see a trend here and know the odds don’t you?... b – the man often drinks to excess... c - the man is grotesquely overweight, to the point he already needs joint replacement... d – while he had a fantastic career and no doubt made good money during that time, that career is on a rapid downward spiral.... Where is the future in that? (2/16/09) I guess the Washington Post missed this,,,intentionally. There is video on You Tube of Obama economic advisor Dr. Robert Reich specifically stating that the stimulus money should not go to jobs for 'highly skilled' nor for 'white male construction workers'. Then there is Charlie Rangel, in that same video, talking about how Congress should find formulas to push money around state legislatures and into low income neighborhoods...and 'not worry about what the middle class will do, they are busy putting food on the table and clothes on their children". Reich goes on to say how the hand of state governors need to be forced to sign onto the plan or get nothing. This really is starting to sound like socialism. Interesting given that Kentucky, (yes an entire state ) is being called Obama's Katrina for his non-response to the continuing hell which that RED state has been through due to ice storms. The comments on why Obama has ignored the crisis there are alarming, but one wonders if they are accurate. What is most alarming locally is how none of the above in reported in nor responded to in Washington DC. Had these been comments or inactions of the Bush admin.....at least Bush visited New Orleans. Where is the media on these stories? This is where we need a Fairness Doctrine, to force the reporting of these stories. (2/16/09) No, Red Zebra has NOT been turning off 92.7 on nights and weekends. That would violate FCC Rules. The site has actually been rather trouble free and reliable since RZ purchased it. However there have been some recent equipment problems due to years of neglect under prior owners. It is a bit easier to keep a problem there in check during the day than it is at night. Some backup is now in place and the issues with main equipment are being addressed. You can stop your uninformed and ill-informed prognostications of conspiracy now. (2/16/09) Has it been reported to you that ESPN 980 is shutting down 92.7 at night and on weekends? I typically listen to Mike and Mike every weekday morning on 92.7 on my way to work. 92.7 appeared to be offline every morning last week. I noticed the same thing Saturday evening. (2/16/09) Dave's response: I can't normally receive 92.7 at my location in Reston. We did have a report or two in the Mailbag last week about reception problems with the signal. Anyone else notice it being off the air more? “It’s just too good (great) a property to just be sitting there collecting dust!” Perhaps the poster doesn’t know WFED has billed almost $3 million so far in 2009, the worst economy for radio ad sales in our lifetime. And their overhead is not much, it’s a small staff, unlike what it would take to do a “real” format as all the programming geniuses have discussed in the mailbag. (2/16/09) Good day Dave! I have a quick question for you, do you happen to have a copy of the Donnie Simpson - Melvin Lindsay poster from the 80s, when Melvin joined KYS? I would love to see it again. Thanks for all of the good work. (2/16/09) Dave's response: I don't know if it's in the massive DCRTV Plus photo archive. I'll try to hunt it down. Anyone have a copy? /\ February 16 Messages /\ \/ February 15 Messages \/ A poster writes in response to my idea for repositioning whatever-the-calls-are-now 1500(AM) and moving Frederick’s 820 so it can be a usable complement to 1500: “Won’t happen. The Birach dynasty (snicker) has wanted to put a pile of towers up in Monty County for years and residents wouldn't let them. They won’t change their minds for 820.” So move it down to Clarke County or Fauquier County—it’s the western part of the DC metro that’s a problem for 1500. As movable frequencies go, 820 may be one of the most flexible for this region. Or just forget about it. Leave it in Frederick and flip the SOB to sports, like any normal clear-thinking broadcaster would. The important thing is to do something with 1500 other than what they are doing with it—nothing. It’s just too good (great) a property to just be sitting there collecting dust! (2/15/09) You wrote, "Any purchase of the nation's only satellite radio provider would face regulatory scrutiny, analysts said." Simple solution: Break up the Sirius-XM monopoly. Force them to be sold separately. Tim Phares (2/15/09) My old friend Dave let me point up the obvious here, because you are driven by a certain personal passion for your position in the political spectrum. If in one breath you post a warning at the top of the mailbag to discontinue political posts, yet in the next breath write a politically biased rant on the front page, you do yourself two forms of disservice. 1 - you come off as a hypocrite concerning the content. 2 - you make the site that much more unreadable. You'll always insult, alienate, piss off 50% of readers no matter what you say, so why not disengage yourself from anything political & start a site where you can vent all you'd like. Yes, it's your site. But seriously, can we return to the original purpose? - SR (2/15/09) Dave's response: In the 11-ish years of running DCRTV I have always allowed political discussions within the context of media-related issues. Michael Graham is a radio talk show host and he and his politics qualify as media-related issues. Now, Stevo, go join your old buddy EdRod in front of the TV with a cup of cocoa. I hear the Science Channel is running a documentary on vacuum tubes..... My friend John in Luray (yes he knows Larry in Luray) relays that his Daytona 500 viewing experience has been haphazard today because WTTG keeps cutting between SD and HD. He has DISH Network and says NASCAR boards indicate it's a local FOX5 problem. Seeing it here on Comcast as well. Charles in Winchester (2/15/09) Dave, I apologize if any of my posts have been too off-topic. I promise to just continue making fun of Andy Pollin from now on! :) (2/15/09) "Seeing as your phallic moniker has now returned along your penchant for misogyny, it's clear you are confused about your own psychosexual identity. Since we know your salary, and listening habits, can we hear about your dating history and sexual conquests?....Per the converter box, did you ever noodle the idea that once you have your 40 dollar gov't coupon in hand, the cost of the average converter box is reduced to about 10 bucks." Sorry, as a Third Order Dominican, I don't date. Misogyny? Where do you get that? I effin love broads. But thanks for serving up that softball. Hope it didn't come from your UnderArmor. As for the gummint coupon, aye, there's the rub, as any middle school boy who finds himself in your panel van might say. No more government coupons, at least for now. It's been in the news, you know. My lifetime streak of not contributing to NPR (outside of my taxes) continues unbroken. Instead of subjecting myself to the pledge drive I'm listening to podcasts of Joe Radio, wherein Joe Ardinger comes out against the stimulus bill. He actually makes a cogent argument. I see a Pen, you see something else. Hie thee to the DC Eagle, cherished friend. -- TheSharpieMiniIsMightier (2/15/09) More screwups from Comcast eastern Prince William...they are currently showing Georgia-Vanderbilt women on ESPN2 instead of Rutgers-Maryland (and the Terps have Prince William product Lynetta Kizer). You'd think Comcast would know better, especially given the name of the venue where the game is being played. -- Vincent in Triangle (2/15/09) "......has anyone noticed that Mike's fiancee looks a lot like Senator Fred Thompson's wife Jeri........). The faces are similar, but you can tell the difference by the tell tale boobies. I hope Mike is doing well. I remember Don and Mike on WAVA. I often wondered why Salem never changed the call letters. They really perked up my mornings. (2/15/09) Nice to see one of their own calling it like we have already known. In an opinion peice in the NYT, Columist Frank Rich refers to how "the mostly liberal MSNBC"...and host Joe had written a sort of death notice for the Obama stimulus plan. Wow, the NYT admitting to a liberal bias in any medium is amazing to begin with, and then to further point out that said liberal media has effectively called the honeymoon done. Now these are the sorts of CHANGE we need!! (2/15/09) Well gee Dave, we agree on something. You are quite correct. Its not nice to persecute an entire group because of the behavior of one person. So, are you ready to call for the removal of Rohm Emanuel over his remarks about Republicans? Do you think all white people should suffer because a few owned slaves? Now you see why the Fairness Doctrine is so wrong. The FD will be used by select groups to force their view down the throats of others when offended by the comments of one person. You fail to realize Dave that what you are commenting about is exactly the behavior the liberal fringe has been engaging in for the last 50 years. I guess since you are a Democrat, that means you think and act like all Democrats? What Graham is pointing out is the absurdity of how we make laws in this country. One person does something stupid and a law gets passed restricting the rights of everyone in the group that the individual is associated with. But that is how liberal Democrats make laws. You can't comment on Graham without realizing that what you are criticizing is exactly the method of the party you vote with. As you may know, some Democrats are working for the return of the FD. (2/15/09) Dave's response: Did I ever call for the "removal" of Michael Graham? No. Have I called for the resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine? No. Did I say that only righties are guilty of stereotyping? No. Perhaps you should start reading my stuff without so many preconceived notions clouding your perception. I may be a lib, but I just don't fit your stereotype of what a lib should be. Sorry about that..... Dave: Regarding your Michael Graham rant, you certainly are entitled to your opinion on him and agree he was a little kooky, but perhaps your distaste of him over his Islam is a terrorist religion statements might need some tempering. I don't know the guy and never spoke to him, but I got what he meant. He often stated that most if not all well known terrorist activity in the world comes from groups associated with Islam. If you look back at history, Islam has a violent past. (I know others do too, but they have put them aside) When the public inquires of Islamic leaders in the US and elsewhere if they condemn the actions of these people, there is often silence or mild rebukes. So while the association that fly's must come from poop as that's where you always see them may not be valid when it comes to Islam and terrorism, all you have to do is open your eyes and watch the news and see some connection. Porter Jervis (2/15/09) Dave's response: Perhaps, then, Michael Graham should try to be a little more specific and accurate with his radio talk, and not paint his view of the world with such broad, stereotypical brushes..... Hey buddy, Islam a "terrorist" religion… We all know if Michael (Graham) was an illegal alien he would have been given a pass. (2/15/09) Dave's response: Yeah, a pass on the next ICE bus back to Ciudad Juarez..... All weekend long, Robb Spewak has been on his Facebook account advising all of his followers to "friend" the "Wjfk Fm" Facebook page, saying, "Let's show the suits the power of the "Robb Mobb"... Sign of trouble at WJFK? (2/15/09) Dave's response: When you have four major FMers in a market, like CBS Radio does in DC, and your top station is something like 14th (PGC), you can kind of guess that there's gonna be some sort of a shake-up coming. Ditto when you're paying four guys a quarter mil each for something like 17th place in morning drive. Don't get me wrong. They're good guys and I like 'em, but are they really worth that much to CBS's corporate beancounters? Since it's a slow Sunday can we get a game of "What's she saying?" going with that pic of Mike O'Meara? So many possibilities.... (2/15/09) RE: "old TVs will still run with a $10 digital converter" Dude, if you can find a way to sell a $40 converter for $10 you will make a boatload of money, but you're just talking ess. --" /// Coming from an expert in talking "ess." I liked it better when your self-indulgent one man show- inside joke-look it's me in the mirror rants were signed sans Penis. Seeing as your phallic moniker has now returned along your penchant for misogyny, it's clear you are confused about your own psychosexual identity. Since we know your salary, and listening habits, can we hear about your dating history and sexual conquests? I am guessing that paragraph would be paper thin. Per the converter box, did you ever noodle the idea that once you have your 40 dollar gov't coupon in hand, the cost of the average converter box is reduced to about 10 bucks. Of course you didn't. Shake yer man-boobs for us one time. (2/15/09) Yet another chance to run that Vulcan O'Meara photo: has anyone noticed that Mike's fiancee looks a lot like Senator Fred Thompson's wife Jeri? (2/15/09) Caught Lou Holder doing the sports last night on Channel 9. I didn't see the whole thing, so don't know if he is subbing or is going to be the replacement for Levan Reid. (2/15/09) "[Michael Graham] whines like a nine-year-old girl when he got arrested for driving on an expired license" and then blah blah ... DCRTV Dave says it was a "revoked" license. Why does the gummint send out those renewal notices anyway? Retard says what? Which is it, anonymous poster, expired or revoked? Hard to tell since you don't cite a source. Either way, Michael Graham has disappointed me; Caesar's wife must be beyond reproach. You, however, are cool. We can always make room in Douchebagastan for "a vindictive little baby." ---- And to another dumbass who said "old TVs will still run with a $10 digital converter" Dude, if you can find a way to sell a $40 converter for $10 you will make a boatload of money, but you're just talking ess. --- ThePenIsMightier (2/15/09) RE: "Dave's response: The "Gobe"? I call it the "Glob." For God's sake - pull the plug, already! DC is the worst rock radio music market in the country. WBIG is bland and awful, WTGB is worse, and DC101 is just plain mediocre....." I have to agree with Dave about DC101. It is very rare to hear two songs in a row that have been released in the past decade on DC101. In contrast, it is rare to find a song released before 2006 currently playing on WPGC, WIHT and WKYS. Even WRQX plays songs in regular rotation that were released in the past 3 years. Any new rock songs being released today to other rock stations will reach DC101 in 2019. The problem is that DC101 is too heavy on recurrents that (on other stations) would've been recurrents in 1996, not 2009. I predict ten years from now that DC101 will still play the same tired '90s songs and they will still consider themselves a new music station. DLP in Woodbridge (2/15/09) /\ February 15 Messages /\ \/ February 14 Messages \/ ("O'Meara called into his 3 PM WJFK show, a bit loopy from the pain pills.............") Which, if my wife's knee surgery was any indicator, promptly wore off, and he's currently flat on his back at home, bandaged from scrotum-to-toes for no good reason, and heaving into a puke bucket beside the bed from the lingering effects of the anesthetic, also preventing him from keeping down any of the useless, baby-aspirin painkillers that they gave him while wheeling him out the door. (Outpatient surgery is a wonderful thing.) So, remember, gang, tune into 106.7 WJFK Monday for the Mike O'Meara Pukefest! In Technicolor and full-surround Smell-O-Vision! Hang In There, Mike, Eric In Alabamastan (2/14/09) If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times......... The FCC f'd up the HDTV conversion by shrinking the TV dial too much and not truly creating a system that replicates the coverage areas of the analog signals. You would think with all the tech & engineering people at the FCC's disposal, they would have gotten this right. But NOPE. The FCC just kept changing the original HDTV switch plan, while avoiding possible better solutions, as if over-the-air reception was no longer important, while at the same time allowing cable companies to price gouge consumers and lie to them in TV ADS saying Cable TV will make everything stay the same. WRONG! Simply not true and false advertising. This is the same way the FCC treats the AM BAND, like it doesn't exist or have problems! Same with HD RADIO, another FCC BUST. Anyone remember AM STEREO? Another FCC fiasco. If Pres. Obama had any balls, he'd fire everyone at the FCC, even including the current Chairman and start that government agency over from scratch. No publicly traded company could make as many mistakes as the FCC and stay in business, truth be told! (2/14/09) RE: [Didn't Mr. Graham have a rant about illegal aliens not having car insurance, and that is one of the reasons we need to deport them-they are not assimilating? Now that Mickey drives without insurance, where do we send him?] How about we deport him to his native country, Douchebagastan? But first, I guess the Government is going to be expected to send Graham a letter to remind him that he will need to renew his passport too. I am boggled at the blatant ass-hattery of this person who so very vocally derides any form of government intervention in his life as the creation of a "nanny state", yet whines like a nine-year-old girl when he got arrested for driving on an expired license and attempts to avoid all personal responsibility for his actions because he claims the government didn't send him a letter to remind him that his drivers license was going to expire. Pay the fine and shut up Mike. Otherwise, you look like a vindictive little baby. (2/14/09) Darcy Spencer of News4 just reported on a King Shepherd puppy that was allegedly 'doggienapped' from the Potomac home of its owners today (yes, another slow news day is upon us). But, interestingly enough, the puppy had a companion in the house, a scary-looking adult German Shepherd, who was not stolen. The puppy and the adult dog appear to have been in the home's hallway when the intruder came in the house, according to Joe Judge, the homeowner. So, my question is: why didn't the adult German Shepherd rip the intruder to pieces and/or bark so that he/she could scare the intruder away? If we are going to be subjected to weekend news pieces like this one, these are the questions we want reporters asking! Happy VD, Dave! -Silvie- (2/14/09) Inattentive, complacent TV viewers are to blame for a slow response to the digital conversion of broadcast television, not the government. It's like when "the government" got rid of leaded gasoline. Old cars still ran on the new stuff, just like old TVs will still run with a $10 digital converter. Just get off your a'send and buy the hardware. The only blame the government must take is for bogus signal comparisons for over-the-air reception. Viewers rightly feel the old analog system is stronger and better, and no amount of marketing hype and government push will change that reality. (2/14/09) Dave's response: If you get a strong signal - a la via cable or satellite - digital is definitely better. But in fringe over-the-air reception areas, you get a snowy, but watchable, picture with analog. Absolutely nothing - black screen - with digital..... Re: that proposed 94.7 logo, that is fantastic! And "Dave's response: If 94.7 instituted a "Jack"-type format based on 1980s contemporary hits/classic alt rock, kinda like what Balto's 102.7 is doing, their ratings would probably double overnight....." Check out 94.7's HD-2. Very deep, no repeats, very awesome music programming. I have HD in the house and in the car and am very pleased with the choices and quality. For those interested in HD, check out www.crutchfield.com? Crutchfield. I bought my car receiver from them and they provide you with a list of every thing you will need plus detailed, printed installation instructions with pictures specific to your vehicle. Had a question during installation which was quickly answered via a knowledgeable person on the phone. They rock! (2/14/09) I've read in numerous places how the DC & Baltimore markets are faring far better through this economic crisis compared to many other markets or the national numbers, mainly due to the stability and incredible number of government and/or military jobs in the area (BRAC), not to mention Baltimore's world class medical facilities, all of which are huge stable employers. Now yes, I fully comprehend that the newspaper industry as a whole is in trouble, but the question begs......... How could The Baltimore Sun be one of the first newspapers in the country to be in such serious trouble of going under? The answer clearly has to be NOT the general newspaper decline (even though that's contributing to it), but simply the series of bad management and companies and editorial staffs that has been running The Sun into the ground for the last decade or so. And you couldn't tell this more than when The Sun used to allow readers online to comment directly on Sun stories. More often than not, loyal Sun readers were venting on the Sun writer and story or its biased slant rather than the topic itself. You could clearly tell that lots of Sun readers were clearly dissatisfied with the newspaper. So what was The Sun's solution? They stopped most if not all comments on Sun stories from readers and now send you to a General Comments forum non-specific to any Sun story. The result for me was less interest in reading The Sun! HAha! (2/14/09) Dave's response: The problem with the Sun is its ownership by the Tribune Company. The Sun's "Chicago masters" simply aren't "connected" to the needs of the Baltimore news consumer. There's no question that the news biz is changing. But the Tribune beancounters are being penny-wise and pound foolish. If the Sun was locally-owned, like the Washington Post is, I'd have far more confidence that it could survive the current recession..... Kubatko used to use the byline "Roch Eric Kubatko." I'm a fan of newspapers, too, and the Baltimore Sun barely qualifies anymore. They should sell it to Ted Venetoulis, who's been trying to buy it for quite some time, or just give up. I wish I could get home delivery of the Post in my area, but I'm just beyond their home delievry boundary. (2/14/09) All this sadness about the Sun has a parallel in the weekly news magazines. US News & World Report is in the process of switching from weekly to just putting out about a dozen special-subject issues per year. (Best schools, best hospitals, etc.) It is said that Newsweek will be next. Time is thought to be in OK shape for now. (2/14/09) Where is the "personal responsibility" Michael Graham? At least his wife wasn't caught breast feeding in public; according to Mr. Graham, that is akin to pissing in public. Didn't Mr. Graham have a rant about illegal aliens not having car insurance, and that is one of the reasons we need to deport them-they are not assimilating? Now that Mickey drives without insurance, where do we send him? (2/14/09) Roch Kubatko. Is that his real name or a tv name ? (2/14/09) Dave's response: His real name was "Peter Angelos," but he had it changed..... As the Baltimore Examiner prints its last paper on Sunday the future of the Sun hangs in the balance. The losses that the Examiner where experiencing were not even a tenth of the losses going on at the cash strapped Sun. I am aware that many people in Baltimore do not think that the Sun would ever go out of business but the paper is losing money at a staggering rate. They have cut the sections down about as far as they can and still call it a newspaper. Hardly a day goes by that I don't get a call asking me if I want to subscribe to the Sun (despite the fact that I already do) the offers of a cut rate one or two year subscription deal are at a price that would not cover the cost of bringing the paper to my house. The Tribune Company has done extensive research on the future of their newspaper group and Baltimore Sun at their current rate of losing money (their burn rate) might be able to hang on for two years. At this very moment larger papers than the Sun in Denver, Seattle, San Diego and New Jersey will be gone by the end of the year or sooner. People who think that local ownership can somehow save the Sun do not have any idea how bad the industry is at this point in time. The website of the Sun could be its future but on the print side the Sun(along with many newspapers the NY Times included) is a huge loser. With the gains they are making throughout the region including Baltimore city and in the county Maryland's paper of record will likely be the Washington Post by the end of the year. I live in Baltimore and in my neighborhood more people subscribe to the POST than do to the SUN. Now the question that the once proud Sun faces is not if it will go out of business – but when. I am a lover of newspapers and so I want the Sun to continue but that seems very unlikely. It is a sad day for fans of the print media but the digital transition does not just pertain to the broadcast industry anymore. Signed a fan of newspapers… (2/14/09) so, if 94.7 is dropping their "Globe" name, and calling themselves just plain ol' Classic Rock 94.7, then heres the logo they should use next, being a little reminiscent of their WARW days.. (2/14/09) Dave's response: If 94.7 instituted a "Jack"-type format based on 1980s contemporary hits/classic alt rock, kinda like what Balto's 102.7 is doing, their ratings would probably double overnight..... SNIP: Change the COL of 820 to Barnesville and move the sticks down into NW Montgomery County :END. Wont happen. The Birach dynasty (snicker) has wanted to put a pile of towers up in Monty County for years and residents wouldn't let them. They wont change their minds for 820. (2/14/09) Satellites in general are really having a bad time as of late. There's SiriusXM swirling round the bowl right now, and there's the Siberian collision the other day between a defunct Russian satellite and an Iridium bird. News reports are saying the spray of debris from the 22,000 mph collision can jeopardize other satellites and orbiting spacecraft for - get this - up to 10,000 years. Is this a great time to be alive or what? Where can I buy a hemlock milkshake? (2/14/09) To the curious poster: Jim and Camille Bohannon did indeed meet through radio, she at the old WHFS and he at WGAY. They were married not only during their time at WRC but, before that, at WTOP, when management made her use the air name Laura Walters. Jim is still doing his nighttime shows on Westwood One and WFED 1500-AM, but Camille retired last year from AP Radio and is now a freelance announcer. (2/14/09) /\ February 14 Messages /\ \/ February 13 Messages \/ BTW 'bland old' Perkins is doing well and is surprisingly funny and fast on the O'Meara show this evening. (2/13/09) So Echostar is scooping up debt in XM-Sirius? The question here is which debt are they buying? If they're buying the convertibles, which are due later this month, they’d have the option of switching it out for equity at some point, though this is riskier than buying the bank debt, which puts them at the head of the line if and when Karmazin bites the bullet and files for bankruptcy. I’d rather be senior to convertibles here, and as Drew Carey might say, the price is right. Paul B. (2/13/09) Okay, back to radio. Oxley will owe me lunch for this one, but I’m not inclined to give up the gig I’ve got to come to DC and run 1500 for him. But when the town’s only fulltime 50-kw AM is pulling doughnuts in the ratings, it’s time to dust off the programming/positioning brain and make that dog bark again. Here’s the plan. Chris Core & Company for 6-9 AM. Centrist/neutral politically, well-known & well-liked in DC. As much or more news & community awareness as anything else—in other words, a great morning act. Stephanie Miller for 9A-noon. A return to 1500 for Miller—radio’s version of The Daily Show, with light-touch Righty-bashing, but no harm done. Followed either by Ed Schultz, when 570 turns him loose for not sustaining his trainwreck lead-in numbers, or Thom Hartmann, available now. Hartmann’s more cerebral—and DC likes cerebral—but Shultz can compete. In PMD, turn loose Frank Herzog & Friends. Like Core, well-known/well-liked—a pro’s pro. News, sports, sports, sports & whatever strikes Frank’s mood. Again—great afternoon drive radio. Then the Gnats for 162+ nights a year and Rhodes/Malloy/Ron Reagan during fall & winter. Overnights? Bohannon is fine (who cares?). The result? Enough of a mix to keep Salt Lake City from getting hyper about having a lib-talk station in the portfolio, but enough lib-talk content on a fully-competitive signal to round up a significant chunk of the 60+ percent political majority in the 8-million DC/Baltimore mega-market to score some decent numbers in both cities. And Core & Herzog are already on the payroll—so put ‘em to good use. Shift WFED & Federal News Radio back to 1050 where it belongs (the advertisers are buying a concept anyway—they’re not buying Arbitron rating points). And change the COL of 820 to Barnesville and move the sticks down into NW Montgomery County—or slap up another stick and hike the power—so it can be of some practical use as a repeater for 1500. If not, give it back to Frederick—it could be a good little moneymaker in the right format. As is, it’s just another monthly power bill producing no revenue and no usable audience. (2/13/09) I KNEW that MOM was James Doohan's [Scotty from Star Trek] lost son. Paul (2/13/09) I listen to the Junkies and O&D and occasionally will listen to Mike O'Meara. I am now totally used to the new commercial structure during the day and listening to the llloooooong commercial breaks for MO'M is torture. I can't listen to the ads long enough to stay with the show and keep checking other stations. I know Mike is syndicated, but this can't be good for his ratings can it? (2/13/09) RE: "... bring WARW back, they were so much better than this "Globe" BS..." But, even they (WARW) never had near the numbers that W-Lite had before Don Davis took over as PD and then GM. Smartest thing he ever did was give the Sunday Brunch host a free hand at programming that daypart which resulted in 7 consecutive #1 ARBs.... awww, the memories! federAL SANTOS (2/13/09) Aren't there some old Clear Channel/Jacor geniuses running The Baltimore Sun's parent company now? Fire people! Do it now! There are dollars to save and the readers won't know the difference! Sheeesh. These people really are one-trick ponies, aren't they? (2/13/09) Wonder if cufflinks has asked Mr. Kluge if he'd help out? I'll ask again, if Sirius/XM goes away will HD Radio probably go away too? The big drag for me regarding the change with the Imus show on the Untrue Oldies is the dropping of the I-man's alt country stuff he plays along with Lou's choices in music. Now it's the old tiresome oldies that get played again and again and yes again during the rest of the day on the Steve Alan progrummed station. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I also enjoy Warner Wolf's appearances on the I-Man show and I get feeling with the change he'll be getting less airtime here in D.C. I do notice with the I-man's show that the big name politco guests seem to be less and less these days. With WJLA taking away company car's from the employees does this mean the Dynomite StormTracker Hummer has also been parked? Much as I dislike the arrogant Mr.Connolly he had nice things to say about Mr. Walter on the a.m. newscast on channel 9 Friday morn. I've noticed that Andrea Roane seems to be out quite often, is she too leaving channel 9? Maybe they should just run infomercials on channel 9 from 5-630 p.m. Can we now say that channel 9 has sunk below channel 20 in terms of quality local programming. Hey WJFK preferred Sporting News Radio over the hyper drive of Faux Sports Radio Hope that operation Mr. O'Meara had was a success. Wonder who donated the funny bone? (2/13/09) The hefty Mike O'Meara survived his knee surgery….. Dave, why the shot at Mike’s weight?? Patrick J. (2/13/09) Dave's response: Why not (right). That's a funny pic. He looks like he's wearing a "Star Trek" uniform..... Probably just an unfortunate coincidence, but it sure sounded bad. During the 17:55 business update on WTOP last night, the final story was about how the tough economy is causing rising enrollment at STRAYER UNIVERSITY. The spot right after the "story" was for STRAYER UNIVERSITY. Whores. (2/13/09) Wow, has the sun set on The SUN? Way before Watergate, The Baltimore Sun was widely considered a more reputable newspaper nationally than The Washington Post and even had more foreign bureaus worldwide back in the day! Could someone please buy The Baltimore Sun and save it from itself PLEASE ?!?!? (2/13/09) yeah, i meant to say The Globe...it was a typo, obviously...but The Glob? thats hilarious! i just want them to bring WARW back, they were so much better than this "Globe" BS. (2/13/09) All this week, "Taylor on Radio-Info" has been looking at Radio Romances. I think the topic was even touched upon here in the DCRTV Mailbag, earlier in the week, with some local examples given. One couple I thought of was Jim and Camille Bohannon. I'd be surprised if they didn't originally meet in radio and I'm pretty sure they were still hitched back when they worked together at WRC, in its News-Talk 98 incarnation. They're no longer married, of course, but their love affair with radio still goes on - he, with his nightly national talkshow and she, on AP Radio. (2/13/09) The closings at The Sun this week, serve as some more evidence that newspapers all over the country are experiencing seismic shifts that are putting them into completely uncharted territory. The other night, Charlie Rose interviewed Walter Isaacson, Robert Thomson and Mort Zuckerman about he future of newspapers. It was a good segment, but even the guys at the top of the field aren't sure or can't agree which way their industry will ultimately be going. Here's the link to watch: www.charlierose.com (2/13/09) these past couple of days, ive been hearing the DJ's at 94.7 calling the station just 'Classic Rock 94.7'..although the voice tracks still call it "Classic Rock 94.7 The Gobe"...i wonder if there are any more changes coming to our classic rock station? no wonder 100.3 is higher in the ratings (11th now), compared to 94.7's 20th...cause they know how to stay just the way they are..... (2/13/09) Dave's response: The "Gobe"? I call it the "Glob." For God's sake - pull the plug, already! DC is the worst rock radio music market in the country. WBIG is bland and awful, WTGB is worse, and DC101 is just plain mediocre..... "Newsflash to all you 'dittoheads': Obama has stated that he is not interested in reinstating the FD so just knock it off." the messiah also said there would be no lobbyists in his administration, and even signed an executive order saying so. but he's issued over a dozen waivers to bring in lobbyists since then, including tax cheats like tom daschle. obambi also said he would meet with the worst dictators in the world with no pre-conditions, but has since tried to hem and haw his way out of that. and don't forget about being caught in the lie about being in favor of letting babies who survived botched abortions being left to die. do you really take him at his word about the fairness doctrine? (2/13/09) The 'press' was "banned" at the National Press Club? -WTF? ...oh I get it, its one of Obama minions so its FORBIDDEN to honestly question him or anything related to Obama/'da messiah'... This story is SHAMEFUL & PATHETIC! (way-to-go Georgetown -douches) Yet! I doubt any of the shallow-pro Obama-blowhards in the "mainstream media" will ever mention this story... Pathetic... ~"Kinky-Neo-Con" (2/13/09) Re Fairness Doctrine: You righties are hilarious. I mean, really. Every time some pol opens his or her yap about the FD you fools lose it - right on cue. Newsflash to all you 'dittoheads': Obama has stated that he is not interested in reinstating the FD so just knock it off. Actually, no, keep it up. Has it ever occurred to you morons that the Left is jerking your chains by mentioning it? Has it ever occurred to any of you that perhaps, just perhaps, those on the Left are having much fun at YOUR expense? Every time Rush, Sean, and especially Levin freak out over it and 'name names' concerning who brought it up each day I giggle my ass off at how you are all being played. Hell, if I was a pol I would publicly mention it every single day just to hear the screaming and wailing emanating from WMAL's transmitter while privately maintaining that I have zero interest in bringing it back. (2/13/09) Oh "boo effin who!" on NABETS having to drive themselves into work like the rest of us. Talk to your union leadership dumbasses! None of us 'brothers' like the conditions, and AFTRA had 100% participation in the salary reductions, but at least I still have a job. Quit your whining and go to to Koons to get a car. (2/13/09) Dave, of all the major news outlets in town: Ch. 4, 5, 7, 9, WTOP, The Post - where do you rank morale at each of them and do you see the next round of cutbacks? They've all chopped heads - how many more, in your opinion? Anyone else care to chime in? Just how bad is morale in your shop and what kind of cutbacks (beyond the layoffs) are you seeing? (2/13/09) (Dave's response: The Fairness Doctrine would not survive a challenge in the Supreme Court. In fact, it's the Repubs who are pushing for it since it'll make them "martyrs" for the "truth.") so how do you explain the number of democratic politicians (not talking heads) who have called for a revival of it? and it's not nutballs like maxine waters or major owens doing it either. high ranking members like pelosi, shumer, durbin, etc. have said they would welcome it back. oh, and it's quite ironic that slick willie would want this brought back to counter rush. maybe we should bring back "fairness" to the 90% of the media that covered up bill's crimes for 8+ years. (2/13/09) Dave's response: Look, Bill Clinton, who has come out in support of the FD, practically supported McCain in the last election. You can't trust him on anything any longer. Real Dems realize that the resurrection of the FD is merely a GOP ploy for "sympathy." That's the "truth" Ruth..... The Democrats insisting on reinstating the "Fairness Doctrine" are a joke. They have control of the White House and Congress. Now they want "equal time" on the airwaves so they can counter the conservative talk radio programs. If the government is allowed to take control of the airwaves instead of the advertisers and listeners, it will just make radio worse....since all government knows how to do is make a mess of things. Furthermore, why are the Liberals and Democrats so worried about equal time on the airwaves. Maybe it is because the conservative talk show hosts tell the truth? (2/13/09) Dave's response: The Fairness Doctrine would not survive a challenge in the Supreme Court. In fact, it's the Repubs who are pushing for it since it'll make them "martyrs" for the "truth." Clowns like Bill Press play right into the GOP's hands..... RE: [RE: the Palin “flaps.” The writer suggests we visit Youtube, so I did. Yup, Fox News and Bill O’Reilly talking about “insiders” who claimed Palin holds all of these misunderstandings. Those “insiders,” my friend, were the liberals who fabricated the whole thing!] You must be referring to the supposed "Eisenstadt Hoax" that 'MAL, Hannity, Limbaugh and the vast right-wing "Pajama's Media" blog-o-sphere have all reported about based on a article in the New York Times www.nytimes.com as an excuse for the comments about Palin's lack of knowledge. One problem: the two people mentioned in the Times article who are confirmed to have concocted Eisenstadt and claim responsibility for the "hoax" stated in the Times article that the "hoax" they perpetrated was claiming responsibility for the comments, not making the comments in the first place. The two go on to confirm that Eisenstadt was never Carl Cameron's "Senior Campaign Official" source quoted on Fox, and Cameron has also confirmed that Eisenstadt was not one of his sources either. To this day, Cameron stands by the story, and FOX News stands by the story. I quote from the Times article, "The pranksters behind Eisenstadt acknowledge that he was not, through them, the anonymous source of the Palin leak. He just claimed falsely that he was the leaker--and they say they have no reason to cast doubt on t he original story. For its part, Fox News Channel continues to stand behind its story." Sorry, but your excuse for Palin's lack of knowledge just doesn't add up. (2/13/09) Any jocks or stations who have been using the classic "Scott Studios" automation system: Google is getting out of the radio biz. Some months back, Google bought the Scott product and a spot delivery service that was bundled with it by an intermediary company. Google just announced they are shuttering the service and seeking a buyer for the automation line. Some stations are scrambling to look for a replacement system in case Google just folds the product line as well and walks away. And there aren't many companies left doing automation systems anymore. Should be interesting. (2/13/09) It's been straightened out now, but on Wednesday the AM dial in DC was quite the disaster zone. 700 AM remains quiet today (I wonder for how long to come), but two days ago around 4:10-4:15, the Red Zebra AMers started having some real problems: audio dropouts, garbled playbacks and more. For a good part of the late afternoon, 570 was silent except for "magic call" IDs, 730 was equally quiet, 980 was up but 1260 was in and out playing random cuts (some Spanish language was briefly heard, along with a liner for pre-season Wizards basketball). It sounded as if it might have been a satellite receiver issue, but somehow affected the digital playback systems as well. All better today. (2/13/09) Dave's response: Do what most intelligent Washingtonians have done - abandon AM radio. All hope for the old band is lost - at least locally..... Your headline is correct, Dave, by noting the newspaper's branches in the suburbs are closing. This is the definition of a bureau. If they want to have a "bureau" in the main office, that's fine, but it ain't in the suburbs, now is it. It's the newspaper version of what some of the local TV stations do -- the anchor introduces a story in the suburbs that they didn't go cover, but by golly we has someone here in OUR SATELLITE CENTER to tell us more (toss to reporter who's actually down the hall). (2/13/09) RE: the Palin “flaps.” The writer suggests we visit Youtube, so I did. Yup, Fox News and Bill O’Reilly talking about “insiders” who claimed Palin holds all of these misunderstandings. Those “insiders,” my friend, were the liberals who fabricated the whole thing! And whoa – here we have the supposedly biased to the point of unfairness Fox News, and every liberal’s enemy Bill O’Reilly, reporting on the story before it was known to be bogus. Maybe Fox and O’Reilly ARE reporting straight news, favorable or otherwise. Unlike our friends in the liberal media? Toledo Cliff (2/13/09) Please note that the headline you have for the AP story announcing the consolidation of our suburban bureaus is misleading. We are NOT closing suburban bureaus. We are relocating employees. Some reporters will work from a virtual environment; some are moving to our downtown offices. Our coverage of the suburbs will not change. (2/13/09) Dave's response: Yeah, but the Sun is physically closing the suburban bureaus. I don't think the headline is misleading. The blurb doesn't say that the Sun won't be covering the suburbs any longer..... DEAR SLAVES, ER, ALBRITTON EMPLOYEES: In addition to the 3.9% wage cuts and giving up company cars, we regret to announce that the continuing business downturn and our general tight-fistedness is forcing us to announce additional austerity measures. Effective immediately, we will no longer supply toilet paper in company bathrooms. It is management's view that if you have to go poop, it is a personal matter which takes time away from work. Therefore, you shall now be required to supply your own TP. The same principle applies for soap and paper towels - bring your own. Second, the computer on your desk and television monitor draw inordinate amounts of electricity - we will now be levying a small energy fee upon all employees based on hours worked. Third, the candy and soda machines in the break rooms take up valuable commercial space, which we have traditionally paid for. Effectively immediately, we are instituting a Sugar Tax on all employees, regardless of whether you drink Pepsi, eat Fritos or those little chocolatey things filled with cream. This tax, which will be garnished from your wages, will help us reduce overhead and maintain margins. Further measures are under consideration and may be announced at our discretion. Now get back to work. Sincerely, the Albrittons. P.S. The flogging shall continue until morale improves. (2/13/09) so I flipped on ESPN 980 yesterday just before 5pm and they were talking about the Nats and Adam Dunn. I missed the interview they did with Dunn, but they were really patting themselves on the back saying "Ok gang, see? We talked Nats." It was as though they were saying "see, we can talk more than football." sort of pathetic... (2/13/09) (Says one: "I guess we are supposed to drive ourselves into work now".....) Duh!!!!!!!! (2/13/09) Hunting "quayle", as Dave wrote, is what the Dems did during Bush 41. Hunting QUAIL is what Chris Wallace did with Karl Rove last weekend. Sorry to put you i9n a FOWL mood, Dave. [Note to Jewish readers: The Torah portion that was read last Shabbat mentioned quail (not Quayle)!] --Mike from Silver Spring (2/13/09) Dave's response: No, they weren't hunting quail - the bird. They were hunting J. Danforth Quayle, the former VP..... I'm an employed adult male and presumably, part of 105.7's major demographic. I've listened to the afternoon drive show several times, including today for about 30 minutes, and it's patently obvious that there is absolutely zero chemistry between Scott Garceau and Anita Marks. Anita is not particularly well-informed - Jim Williams' puff pieces notwithstanding - but I'm kind of surprised that Scott is not exactly a wizard himself. He's okay, don't get me wrong, but there's really nothing you could call compelling about his persona on-air. It's white bread to the nth degree. I'd like to hear a little conflict between the 2 of them, but I guess that's not going to happen. I'm getting more usable information - and better entertainment - from ESPN Radio on 1300. (2/13/09) Former Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson and his wife, Jeri, guest on the Jim Bohannon Show tonight at 10PM on AM-1500-WFED, or on the web at www.jimbotalk.net. On Mon 3/2, Fred & Jeri take over the 12N-2PM weekday slot on Westwood One Radio, replacing Bill O'Reilly. (2/13/09) "Dave's response: The DC Eagle? Isn't that where WMAL held its Christmas party last year? The MAL calls stand for "Mid-Atlantic Leather"....." Well, and I say this as a fan, Andy does seem like the savvy teddy bear calling the shots with his fey buddy and boy Nehman, keeping them in line and telling them when enough's enough. Who knows what kind of dungeon scene he's got going on in Carroll County, well stocked with Pajamagrams and Giant Berries, which I'm sure isn't code. I miss the days of cranking to tales of Ching-lau working at Victoria's secret. Is it possible that "Mrs. Fred" always looks surprised (and not in a Nancy Pelosi way)? And to Mr. "I hope your wife works" well, your wife, your mother your daughter, yada yada. I picked both my age and income out of the air (it's the internet, truth is optional) but I choose to take the high road. That's me, the high road, you catamite. -- ThePenIsMightier (2/13/09) /\ February 13 Messages /\ \/ February 12 Messages \/ RE: [ " Dave's response: The DC Eagle? Isn't that where WMAL held its Christmas party last year? The MAL calls stand for "Mid-Atlantic Leather" " ]........... Thanks Dave & ThePenIsMightier, I can't stop laughing, but yet at the same time I'm probably going to have nightmares tonight about feral cats and leather-clad bears going at it! LOL And yes, that was MUCH funnier than Mike O'Meira so THANK YOU! -- Joe in Essex :-) PS: You can't easily edit wikipdedia pages that are often messed with, they watch for that stuff, so true, but you'd be surprised how many lesser known pages you can play with and have stupid shit up for days! Hehe. Trust me. :-) = (2/12/09) "And if you can't find what you're looking for, you can always add YOUR TRUTH to a wikipedia page!" Actually, not always true. If you try to create a Big O and Dukes page or edit a Greaseman page, there's a freakshow going by the name of NeutralHomer with more feral cats than Buzz Burbank and John Normand put together who will pounce on you faster than a leather-clad bear in the pit at DC Eagle (639 New York Ave., NW for those so inclined) and put you in a world of Wikihurt. It would really be a shame if Big O and Dukes listeners tried to create a page about the show. All those web alerts could really take a chunk out of Neutral "Blame it on Aspergers" Homer's day. So I hope no one does that. -- ThePenIsMightier (2/12/09) Dave's response: The DC Eagle? Isn't that where WMAL held its Christmas party last year? The MAL calls stand for "Mid-Atlantic Leather"..... Now that The Baltimore Sun has no AA county bureau, maybe they can re-hire recently laid off Baltimore Examiner's Michael Olesker, and he can continue The Sun tradition he started and write stories about the Governor & legislative session from his bathtub! Wow, The Sun is really going down the drain fast. I expect the highly valued printing plant land to be sold within months at this rate. Who knows, Baltimore might end up with NO NEWSPAPER! :-( (2/12/09) Politics has nothing to do with programming radio. People who defend a format (WMAL) on political grounds just don't get it. WMAL programs to an existing audience. I am politically about as far left as you can go without being arrested, but I have programmed three major market Right Wing talk stations with great ratings. For those who want Left Wing talk stations, it's just not a viable format. PDs try to get ratings, not change the world. People who think talk radio is a crusade for the right wing are delusional. Ed Graham (2/12/09) The government should bail out Satellite Radio - - fire Mel - - and let CBP, NPR, and Don Geronimo run it. Ed Graham PS, I don't think it will go bankrupt. It would be the second biggest bankruptcy in the country. (2/12/09) DCRTV Dave, I really enjoyed your appearance on Letterman last night. Ed Graham (2/12/09) Dave's response: I didn't get to watch Joaquin Phoenix. I was too busy erecting a Mike O'Meara shrine in my hall closet..... "You can claim you heard on some unspecified radio show that Pelosi demanded a bigger plane all you want, but the fact remains that U.S. Senators don't get private jets via taxpayers. It's that simple." Someone please inform this mailbagger that House Speaker Pelosi is not a U.S. Senator. Thanks. (2/12/09) I orderd the Pro Flowers last year for Valentines Day. Like the article said paid extra for S&H. Yes, they were deliverd on Valentines Day but at 7:00pm. Several calls to customer service during the day was no help. Standard reply "They're on the truck". I wonder do the D J's get a commision when you type there names in the microphone box? (2/12/09) RE: [ " [Hmm, just like the democrats still insisting Sarah Palin questioning whether Africa was a continent (that was a bogus lie made by a liberal supporter)] " ].......... C'mon, if the media even covered 25% of Joe Biden's flubs or speeches or interviews, SERIOUSLY, this kind of Palin stuff would NOT even be NEWS! We're talking about the guy who voted AGAINST the 1st Gulf War, plagiarized JFK speeches, and has foot in mouth disease daily to the point where Obama himself distances himself from him during joint press conferences! And Biden's been around for 25 YEARS! Palin got more negative news coverage in 3 months than Biden got in 3 DECADES! What's wrong with that media bias picture? HAha! (2/12/09) RE: [Hmm, just like the democrats still insisting Sarah Palin questioning whether Africa was a continent (that was a bogus lie made by a liberal supporter)] Interesting...You tell us it was a bogus lie made by a "Liberal Supporter"? Really? I got an idea! Let's go to the videotape! www.youtube.com... Now, please clue us in... Which one of the three was the "Liberal Supporter" - was it Fox News Political Analyst Carl Cameron? or was it Bill O'Reilly of Fox News? Or was it the McCain Campaign "insider" Cameron was directly quoting? (2/12/09) I have noticed that over the past few months, DCRTV has become as much a political blog as one for broadcasting. Why not have two links, one for the true DCRTV Radio/TV /engineering related, and another for political blogs? You have to admit Dave, it will make your job at lot easier in some ways, since politics is a big part of Washington.. Tom Conroy (2/12/09) Dave's response: Moderating two Mailbags? Not enough time in my day..... I always get a good laugh when people quote WIKIPEDIA or those other websites mentioned below as if somehow because THEY investigated something, IT MUST BE TRUE! It just goes to show you how stupid and narrow minded people can be even in the internet age. Face it people, the ONLY way to get the truth about anything these days is to read/watch multiple sources AND MORE IMPORTANTLY of differing viewpoints. Few people do that though these days, so you get these DCRTV GOTCHA posts quoting websites that just mimic that person's opinion and they think they have found the truth. Sorry, but you've just found an internet VERSION of the truth that YOU WANTED TO HEAR in the first place! And if you can't find what you're looking for, you can always add YOUR TRUTH to a wikipedia page! Welcome to the New Millennium! HAha! (2/12/09) Of course the AP got punked. It's called political correctness. You hear a story about the super human feats of a woman who achieves what no man has done. No reason to fact check that story, we all know that women are just underachievers who are held back by men. So of course the story gets trumpetted from the highest rooftops. Had this been a story about a man achieving that, you can bet the facts would have been checked and the experts would have been called to discuss the feat and second guess it. This is what is wrong with the liberal-agenda guided media. (2/12/09) Anonymous writes, “you can't seem to comprehend that there never was any meat on the bone.” Hmm, just like the democrats still insisting Sarah Palin questioning whether Africa was a continent (that was a bogus lie made by a liberal supporter). Or the libs challenging Dan Quayle for properly quoting the public school’s instruction sheet when he misspelled potato (knowing it was probably wrong but deferring to the spelling bee’s official rules). I could give dozens of examples of the left drumbeating false issues like this. But you get the idea. There’s a growing awareness that many liberals chastise the right on issues, but feel free to play the same games when it’s convenient for them. This person posting the note is playing right into that belief. Toledo Cliff (2/12/09) Tony Perkins filling in for Mike O'Meara. Now there's a show that should be a real sleeper. Guess they got Tony cheap. (2/12/09) Dave's response: Now now! Tony doesn't like it when people are mean to him in the Mailbag! Stop it..... Hi Dave, Seems like the hostility toward Mike O'Meara, Buzz, and Rob increases as the economy sputters more and more. I wonder how much of it is jealousy? If you hate it why don't you shut up about it? Mike is hilarious and so is his team. They are light hearted folks and I wish there were more like him in this god awful town of Washington, Hell, DC. I not only love MOM, but the entire line up, including the hilarious Big O and Dukes kills it everyday. Humor like that takes years of slacking, movie and failure with women and family OR stuff people can relate to and enjoy. God bless these men. God bless WJFK. DC deserves it's dumb politics hour and Rush Limbozo and worse HANNITY (with his stupid gay dating site for "great Americans"). I am so disgusted with the alternatives to WJFK that I think I would move wherever the WJFK line up moves to (god forbid!) By the way, whoever called one of the Buzz babes a whore is just jealous and/or frustrated someone that hot would ignore him. Mike O'mEara and Buzz have a name and success. What the hell do you have? Except the satisfaction of slandering an attractive bunch of women with the courage to take off a shirt and laugh about it in front of a Camera. DC sucks because of haters like this. We're lucky to have WJFK. (2/12/09) Dave's response: Joni Mitchell was right - "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"..... Why are TV stations not being pro-active to make sure everyone can see their digital signal – why are they waiting for the feds to spend more $$ to subsidize cable boxes? Imagine the PR value of having a “get a free digital box day” when all the stations in a market got together, purchased a ton of boxes (at rock bottom prices I’ll bet) and either just gave them away or asked for a minor fee of $5.00 or so that could go to a local charity. Imagine if they got together and purchased a ton of the boxes and worked with local scout troops – boys and girls – to go DOOR TO DOOR and give them out to folks – and even offer to install them (they would be trained ahead of time). What great stories this would make and what great PR value there would be – they could turn stories about it. I could see the reporters/anchors going into homes to help install them… (2/12/09) (regarding a previous post) "What do Henrietta Hughes and Chuck Todd have in common: both are White House plants." Dave, I know you don't like political posts here - and this is probably nothing more than some rightwing troll just trying to stir up some shit - but I'd be curious to know what proof the poster can offer to back up such an outrageous claim about this poor, homeless woman?!? I was homeless myself about five years ago and living in a car as well. I understand that Ms. Hughes will be on with Andrea Mitchell on her MSNBC program tomorrow. I've been trying to find out if anyone has set up a fund at a bank, or even a P.O. box, so donations can be sent. I checked at the White House (since they promised to follow-up on her case) and also at NBC-Washington (where Andrea Mitcheel's program is produced), but nobody thus far has been able to furnish any info about how/where to send a donation to help Henrietta Hughes and her son out. (2/12/09) Speaking of the cluttered screen on WUSA-9, Toronto's version of NewsChannel 8 wins the TV screen Confusion Contest. It always has a small screen of the main news, surrounded by pictures of traffic, squares with the weather, and a scroll at the bottom of the screen + a clock, of course. I have never been able to watch it for more than 3 minutes without going nuts. And Rogers Cablevision operates it. At least CBC NewsWorld (the Canadian equivalent of an objective, no-Larry-King CNN) is more like a normal news operation, actually better than all of the others. Maybe someone from Channel 9 visited Toronto and unfortunately liked what he saw. (2/12/09) re"Dave, I hate these political tit-for-tat strings - I hate them more than I hate mayonnaise - so PLEASE, once and for all, lets put the "PELOSI DEMANDED A BIGGER JET" myth to rest." But first, let me write eight more lines about... (2/12/09) did you notice that wjfk has dropped sporting news radio and is now affilliated with fox radio? chris ramsay (2/12/09) Dave's response: In preparation for the flip? I have a question about the flailing MOMS ("Mike O'Meara Show"). Several times lately, Mike has opened the show by announcing what godawful D-level celeb guest he'll be interviewing that day from B.A. McBride's Rolodex of Pain. Today, it's that kid from Obama's appearance the other day, who got a job from his appearance on t.v. I rolled my eyes, and turned the radio off, because I KNOW it's going to be dreadful, just like all the other interviews on MOMS. Here's the question -- is that opening announcement required by FCC regulation -- you know, the equivalent of the warning label on cigarettes? "Danger: Boredom Approaching, Flee While You Can!" I'm not one of those who think the MOMS is bad all the time -- sometimes, Mike and Rob and Buzz and B.A. and the rest do capture a little of the old intimacy of the D&M days, and that's good -- but Mike has a COMPLETE tin ear for what's a bad interview, and he lacks Don's ability to turn a bad interview into amusing theatre. Result: boredom. Sincerely, TMU (2/12/09) Dave, I hate these political tit-for-tat strings - I hate them more than I hate mayonnaise - so PLEASE, once and for all, lets put the "PELOSI DEMANDED A BIGGER JET" myth to rest. The story that appeared on CNN was titled "House Security Chief: Pelosi didn't ask for plane; I did." - UPI's Lede was "Sgt-at-Arms Says He Requested Pelosi Plane." - Further, both FACTCHECK.ORG and SNOPES.COM debunked the original chain e-mail that led to this mess over a year ago and they both found it to be patently FALSE. www.snopes.com. You 'MAL listeners have been parading this trumped up slop for over a year now. You've jawed on it more furious than a wiener dog on a freaking squeak toy, yet you can't seem to comprehend that there never was any meat on the bone....For goodness sakes, you people just need to let this crap go! (2/12/09) I hear a lot of stations advertising flowers for Valentines Day. You might want to read this first. I had a similar experience. redtape.msnbc.com (2/12/09) Dave -- Drew Forrester at WNST Radio in Baltimore is claiming some sort of anti-trust violation because the Orioles won't let him cover the team at spring training this year. At first I thought the guy was full of hot air but the more I read his evidence and hear him describe the situation I think he has a valid point. My question (I'm in Towson so I don't know much about the Redskins but I hear Dan Snyder is nuts) is this. Have the Redskins ever locked out a media member because of a negative coverage issue like Forrester is claiming the Orioles are doing with him? My brother in law is an attorney in Hartford, CT and I linked one of Forrester's columns yesterday and he said as long as he can prove that no one else in Baltimore is being excluded from spring training that he might have a case against them. Oh, yeah, has anyone else heard that Sirius is going under? HA HA - Sorry, just thought I'd throw that in there. Thanks Dave! Keep up the good work. (2/12/09) The Sun's David Zurawik's blog today has some hysterically funny video clips, yesterday's Letterman and somebody posted a link to the CLASSIC Crispin Glover appearance on the old NBC Late Night w/ David Letterman. Just very funny, both worth watching for a good laugh....... weblogs.baltimoresun.com (2/12/09) Re FOX 5 Blogs: The FOX5 Blogs can be found here: community.myfoxdc.com (2/12/09) What Michael Phelps did was incredibly dumb, but wow, what a crazy state South Carolina is, some law enforcement people are trying to make a name for themselves and get on FOX News! Check this crazy screwy story out in today's SUN.......... www.baltimoresun.com... Since when can a photograph that doesn't even in and of itself show an actual crime be cause for an arrest? Well I guess we'll all find out tonight on Greta Van Susteran's show. God knows this is her kinda story! What is this country coming to? (2/12/09) Funny, I don't listen to Rush, Plante, or Hannity, yet I've heard of this Pelosi requesting a bigger plane story and that she specifically wanted to fly non-stop. I've read/heard this story many times. So where did I read and hear it? I honestly don't remember all the places, but it would have had to have been either The Baltimore Sun, The Post or CNN or Fox News and I'm pretty sure I saw the story in several places, both in print AND on TV. And a bigger question has been missed. Why DOES Pelosi need a non-stop flight? Doesn't that save her about 1hrs time at ridiculous added expense? So this false notion that this is a made up only by talk radio story I think can officially be put to bed. And it makes sense, it's not exactly like Nancy Pelosi has ever in her career been a staunch protector of the public dollar! (2/12/09) When FOX5 revamped their website, it appears that they also did away with their blogs section..Anyone know what happened? (2/12/09) Press panel urges Obama to back journalists' rights...? www.nytimes.com... (2/12/09) Associated Press got hoaxed.... Why it pays to be skeptical...and do a little math.... sports.yahoo.com (2/12/09) When the Oklahoma tornadoes struck earlier this week, one of the Baltimore TV stations aired a report by Dariel Snipes. She was on a Baltimore station until a few months ago. I can't remember where she had worked or where I saw her, but it was interesting to see her on the air again. (2/12/09) At one point on last night's "11 News Tonight", Marianne Banister got confused with which story was to be read next. It appeared that the teleprompter repeated the same story that she had just finished reading. She went back and forth between reading her script and looking at the teleprompter for about 15 seconds, before they finally put up the next story. Marianne handled it very professionally. There was no sign of her getting flustered. I just want to commend her for getting through it in that manner. BTW, Dave, thanks for your response to my Comcast DTV query yesterday. -Greg in Perry Hall (2/12/09) "You can claim you heard on some unspecified radio show that Pelosi demanded a bigger plane all you want, but the fact remains that U.S. Senators don't get private jets via taxpayers. It's that simple" Oh, really??? blogs.suntimes.com (2/12/09) I just wanted wanted to say this: You are ALL shaving my buzz! LOL! Have a great day shaving. Ain't life grand! -Chiller (2/12/09) What do Henrietta Hughes and Chuck Todd have in common: both are White House plants. online.wsj.com... About half-way through President Obama's press conference Monday night, he had an unscripted question of his own. "All, Chuck Todd," the President said, referring to NBC's White House correspondent. "Where's Chuck?" He had the same strange question about Fox News's Major Garrett: "Where's Major?" (2/12/09) Before anyone starts name calling, like Mark Levin does on WMAL, early this morning, I was thinking "Speaker" and I typed "Senator." My mistake. Sorry for any confusion. (2/12/09) Reason "I am a mid-40s wm making 60K." Gee, I hope your wife works. (2/12/09) You can claim you heard on some unspecified radio show that Pelosi demanded a bigger plane all you want, but the fact remains that U.S. Senators don't get private jets via taxpayers. It's that simple. (2/12/09) I agree with the other posters that 9 news in the morning is just too busy. I watch for Andrea and Kim, but the rate this is going, I am not sure which station I will start watching. I hope WUSA reads this. (2/12/09) Re"... for God sakes STOP LISTENING TO PLANTE AND HANNITY AND LIMBAUGH AND LEVIN TO GET YOUR "NEWS"! /// Not to minimize your points, but what about using a comma offends you ? (2/12/09) "Hey, yesterday Mike kept talking about how he needed to lose weight before he could have his surgery. Surgery for what?" Knee surgery. (2/12/09) Reason; BULLSHIT, period. It was all over the news that Pelosi requested a larger plane and not these smaller learjets as a previous post implies and she is the 1st Speaker of the House to make such a request. Here is the problem; it was not "all over the news that Nancy Pelosi 'REQUESTED A LARGER PLANE," it was all over TALK RADIO. Talk radio is not news. Period. Rush, Hammity, Levin, all call talk radio "entertainment," not "news." When Hannity called himself a "journalist," Fox News itself had to jump in and call him a "commentator." Here is what happened; the Heritage Foundation found out that the Sergeant of Arms inquired about a bigger plane that can go from DC to SFO non stop for Senator Pelosi. Heritage and the RNC took this item and blew it way out of proportion for the Republican National Committee's talking points fax they send to conservative talk radio. In this fax, they inserted terms like "Queen Nancy," and "privileged," for extra appeal. A certain nutcase from Baltimore, (first name Les), actually asked both Press Secretary Tony Snow and President George Bush about it, and both claimed it was (in Tony's words) "a non story." Do you know why the story, that was all over talk radio about a SF Bay project Pelosi supported that would benefit her husband's real estate holdings, died? Because her husband real estate holding were not "near" the project, as the Talking points fax had claimed. Same crap, different day. Talk radio has the honor of throwing this crap out and never running corrections because, as Rush Limbaugh personally told me face to face, they are not "news" they are "entertainment." Please, don't confuse what Sean Hammity, Rush, or Chris Plante say with real news. (2/12/09) RE: [BULLSHIT, period. It was all over the news that Pelosi requested a larger plane and not these smaller learjets as a previous post implies and she is the 1st Speaker of the House to make such a request. That was also in the news and not just Fox News either, so please don't make shit up people.] I'm sorry, but I have to call BULLSHIT on YOU here. First, it was NOT reported "all over the news", it was reported solely on RIGHT WING TALK SHOWS, so let me wedge some facts on this matter in that tic-tac sized brain you are exercising here, bub...Hastert was from Illinois: Plane flies from D.C. to Chicago - about 700 miles. Pelosi is from California: Plane flies to CALIFORNIA, about 2,600 miles. DO THE MATH! What WAS reported "all over the news" was that the request came from the SERGEANT AT ARMS and was made to accommodate security concerns that would have had to have been arranged at any ground stops for refueling. THINK! We are talking here about the third person in the line of succession for the presidency at a point where we are at war! I would hope that you self-proclaimed "GREAT AMERICANS" would set the politics aside for a moment and admit that the SECURITY of the number 3 in line for the presidency would be of SOME concern! Either way, Pelosi never even requested the plane, and has only used the larger plane ONCE! Get the cotton out of your ears and for God sakes STOP LISTENING TO PLANTE AND HANNITY AND LIMBAUGH AND LEVIN TO GET YOUR "NEWS"! (2/12/09) "Dave's response: Mike O'Meara and Robb Spewak can shake their "man boobs" too! Hey, yesterday Mike kept talking about how he needed to lose weight before he could have his surgery. Surgery for what?" I believe he is having knee surgery on Friday and Tony Perkins is coming in to host with the crew. (2/12/09) Shame, Shame, Shame on Fox News. In an Amber Alert story, we get two talking heads, pics of police tape and licensce plate of sherriff car, picture of crying dad,,,and that is all in the nearly FULL MINUTE before they show a pic of the taken child!!! But that is only half the screen, the other half has OctoMom and CEO hearings. It is nearly 1.5 mins before they put up the police contact number. Of course they have to run the 911 call. What the hell is wrong with Fox producers, come on guys. Only a quarter of the screen given to a pic of the child? That pic and the telephone number should have been all that was on the screen. You can talk under the pic. I ever heard of radio? We dont need to see your face or pretty graphics to communicate timely information of essential essence to the community. When giving an Amber Alert, there is no need for, and it adds nothing to the story, to have your anchors visage, reporters with B-roll and graphic artists and editors strutting their stuff. The pic of the girl is up for maybe 1.75 mins out of a nearly 3.5 min story. WTF!!!You handled the story quite poorly. This is the kinda 'shoot me shoot me look mom I am on TV' crap I expect from MSNBC. Horrible how you handled the story. Given how many TV sets sit turned on all day in office lobbies, delis/bars and stores, having that pic big and bold would do far more than any 'story' you think needs to be told. Just call me Disgusted. (2/12/09) DCRTV Dave said, "So, in a sense, you DO pay for Limbaugh's plane....."Yeah. VOLUNTARILY... not from tax dollars confiscated from people who have no CHOICE! Jeez, Dave... were you EVER right about anything? This website is plummeting downhill into another sleazy, dishonest, lefty political blog. (2/12/09) "No, it's more like Bill without Ted or Jay without Silent Bob or a woman without a fish." Such a thing exists? You are aware, aren't you, that the expression is "woman without a man, fish without a bicycle" and you turned it into something misogynistic comparing the holy of holeys to a fish, right? So you're a misogynist or a woman of questionable intelligence; either way it's cool. I want to know how Katie's date went and if ball-breath was a factor. And as to Dave's "Well, when you buy something at a store that advertises on WMAL, you pay a few extra cents to fund that radio ad campaign. And those cents that go to WMAL eventually go to syndicator Premiere to pay for the local rights to Limbaugh. And Premiere sends those cents, along with the cents from many other stations, on to Limbaugh who spends it on his private plane. So, in a sense, you DO pay for Limbaugh's plane....." I'm pretty sure that I don't patronize any of the advertisers on either WMAL or WJFK even though I am a rabid listener (with certain exceptions). I am a mid-40s wm making 60K and my listening doesn't matter to them at all as I don't have the PPM gizmo and as far as I know don't patronize their sponsors. All that to say, Rush isn't flying on my dime, but maybe I should stroke him a check. Jed. Beth Ann shake yer boobs!!! -- ItReallyIs (2/12/09) Dave's response: Mike O'Meara and Robb Spewak can shake their "man boobs" too! Hey, yesterday Mike kept talking about how he needed to lose weight before he could have his surgery. Surgery for what? What's with WUSA 9's "Headline News" like screen layout these days? I mean, could it possibly be any busier than it is? It is almost imposible to comprehend, what with weather/traffic in one corner, ticker news on the bottom and , oh, yeah, the actual broadcast reduced to about one third of the screen. They must really be desparate to reduce their morning local news to a cheesy version of CNBC, Bloomberg or Headline News. Why don't they just subscibe to a generic news service and forget the local news. Too much! (2/12/09) /\ February 12 Messages /\ \/ February 11 Messages \/ And the poster said "I hope I live to see the day when the divisive, hyphenated American groups such as this fade off into the sunset." AMEN. Too many are worried about protecting their franchise instead of letting their journalistic competency represent any societal characteristics. (2/11/09) RE: Speak Pelosi & the DCRTV mailbag comments........ BULLSHIT, period. It was all over the news that Pelosi requested a larger plane and not these smaller learjets as a previous post implies and she is the 1st Speaker of the House to make such a request. That was also in the news and not just Fox News either, so please don't make shit up people. Speaker Hastert did not need a non-stop flight, but Pelosi apparently does and wants it a LOT MORE COZY, so whatever they've been saying on WMAL or WBAL about it is probably true. Whether Rush Limbaugh uses such a plane is beyond irrelevant in my opinion. Rush isn't spending your money, neither is the CEO of GM, but Nancy Pelosi IS! BIG DIFFERENCE DUMBASSES! (2/11/09) Dave's response: Well, when you buy something at a store that advertises on WMAL, you pay a few extra cents to fund that radio ad campaign. And those cents that go to WMAL eventually go to syndicator Premiere to pay for the local rights to Limbaugh. And Premiere sends those cents, along with the cents from many other stations, on to Limbaugh who spends it on his private plane. So, in a sense, you DO pay for Limbaugh's plane..... The best '50s and '60s Oldies programming I've heard in this area is on Muzak-provided systems at some Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants (not to be confused with "Cheeburger Radio" at other restaurants). Wide variety, without the overplayed "Top 400 of all Time". I'd love to get my hands on one of their special CD players and the Oldies CDs. Could add it to my collection of Muzak-labelled amplifiers and speakers from bygone days. (2/11/09) Re:1500: With the recent rants on 1500, I was thinking maybe the station could go in the following directions: All-Sports with rights to the Redskins', or something of an odd twist could be talk by day featuring conservative and libertarian hosts including Neal Boortz, Jaz McKay (I really liked this guy when he was on what was 3WE in 1995), Brian Wilson, Irv Homer and OK if you want Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity or someone of that ilk. From 7PM to 5AM, do classic country and emphasize travel information tailored primarily to truckers. Rely on national advertisers for much of revenue. (2/11/09) RE: "O'Meara without Geronimo...it's kind of like Garfunkel without Simon, Oates without Hall, Messina without Loggins..." No, it's more like Bill without Ted or Jay without Silent Bob or a woman without a fish. (2/11/09) Just curious but does Washington,D.C. have one of the lousiest radio markets in the country in terms of orginality in station formats? Having listened to stations online from around the country it ain't great but still the playlists don't seem to be so gawdawful tight as here. Gosh Mr. O'Meara is just plain boring. Oh he can prattle on endlessly but to this occasional listener he ain't very funny at tall nor insightful in his observations. This can't be changed you either got it or you don't. Donnie G. did and O'Meara was an aok sidekick but by his self ugh... Was wondering what was going with the Imus show, thought maybe True Oldies was unable to sell any spots and playing music instead. Thought this ain't good for the I-man remaining on the air in D.C. but what they're doing is just as bad. Pretty much gutted the Imus show which was a hard listen already for this listener cause of the number of commercials. Frankly, I'm back to listening to JACK 102.7 outta Baltimore most of time and WPFW. The playlist on True Oldies has gotten so ridiculously small they can repeat the same song or artist several times a day, just boring... So WJLA canned all them folks but listening to WTOP over course of hour I heard the weather report given by three different folks who identified themselves as being part of the Doug Hill Weather Team. I count some 8+ folks working weather under Doug Hill's dommain. Quite a large posse. This old fart remembers when it was Louie Allen, Fred "The Silver Fox" Weiss and Johnny Batchelor filling in from time to time. And has anyone ver mentioned the WJLA Doug Hill Storm Tracker vehicle is a big old "senior moment" truck. Doesn't seem so environmentally friendly says I (2/11/09) For the DCRTV record, according to Andrew’s Air Force Base, Speaker Pelosi has in the past used the smaller C-20B jet and the slightly larger C-37A jet, as did Dennis Hassert, depending on availability, and that these may or may not be able to make a nonstop cross-country flight depending on conditions. A spokesperson for Andrew’s confirmed Speaker Pelosi has used the much larger C-32 Jet, that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Chris Plante (all heard locally on WMAL), often insinuate is her private plane, once and only once, when no other planes were available. You see, they just dontt get their facts right at WMAL. (2/11/09) Am I the only one that feels oogie when Andy Parks reads the pajamagram commercials and he uses the terms "sexy" and "do not disturb signs?" (2/11/09) Can the canned Muzak - The economy is awful and most of us have lost a buttload of retirement savings, but this is a bit of good news (in my opinion), only decades too late to save the negative connotations it lent to beautiful music - www.cnn.com (2/11/09) If Fox News is an arm of the GOP, does this make Holly Morris a set of [Quite Magnificent] boobs of the GOP? Paul (2/11/09) Dave's response: Ha ha ha. Hey, quite a number of times I've had Fox5ers come up to me and "wink" and whisper that just because they work there they don't march in lockstep with Ailes and Murdoch..... Methinks posters who use the word "methinks" need to learn that "methinks" is one word, not two. That's one thing me knows. (2/11/09) Maybe senators dont get jets, but they do get reserved parking at national airport. how come they cant take Metro from DC to National like the Democrats want us lowly folk to do. How come we have to pay for 24/7 parking spots that rarely get used? How come the Wahington Post, LAT and NYT don't cover that issue? Two word answer = elitiest hypocrites. (2/11/09) Actually Pelosi does have access to a jet because she is Speaker of the House, and lives in California. www.rollcall.com (2/11/09) Re:"Nancy Pelosi’s private governement jet is much bigger than any of the big three automaker’s." Who spends time making up and then broadcasting this tripe? United States Senators don't get "private governement jets." They never have. Me thinks someone watches too much FOX. (2/11/09) I'd agree with you Everett W. if WUSA.com didn't regularly have stories 6 hours, 8 hours, hell even a day old, as their lead story. I then see images they display on the home page that reminds me of the vision I have when I should have stopped drinking scotch an hour ago. Look at their pic of Marion Barry. Makes me wonder who's the dope smoking crack? He? Or the photog? Though I can certainly see your point about 4s site. "Sexting?" Um, News? Otto T. (2/11/09) O'Meara without Geronimo...it's kind of like Garfunkel without Simon, Oates without Hall, Messina without Loggins, in other words, just because a team is talented together, that doesn't mean that the lesser of the two talents can go on to a solo success. Mike is just another DJ on a mediocre program without Don. Together they were gold, separated they are more like...aluminum. (2/11/09) Dave's response: The Lone Ranger and Tonto..... Fox passes off GOP press release as its own research -- typo and all mediamatters.org (2/11/09) Dave's response: This is news? Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Fox News has always been an arm of the GOP..... (Thanks to Mike Berry for this one.) The geniuses at Sony have just released an amazing, new, overpriced, fucking piece of shit! www.truveo.com (2/11/09) Dear AFTRA: Good job sticking up for the folks at Ch. 4. What station owner seeking to bust your union will you cave in to next? (2/11/09) Just in time for the digital TV conversion: www.theonion.com (2/11/09) When I go onto WRC/4's Web site and the first story that comes up is headlined "Teens Skip Valentine's Flowers, Go for 'Sexting,'" I know that WUSA/9's site can't possibly be the worst. The new graphics package for 9's early morning newscasts is a take it or leave it proposition. Generations used to reading news from net sites filled with ads and sidebars may not mind too much. My concern remains the quality of the journalism displayed inside 9's video box, not the size of the box. Everett W. (2/11/09) The only thing that amazes me about WUSA is that they're still in business. I really wonder why they even bother any more. Clearly the worst station in the region, with the worst talent in the region, and the worst website of any media outlet this side of Richmond. What happened to these guys, Dave? (2/11/09) Dave's response: They should have hired Morris Jones and paired him with Tracey Neale years ago..... I have been trying to cancel my XM account for the last 4 hours. Every time I call and go through the hoops to get to the cancel department, I am told that they are going through a computer upgrade and call back in an hour. This has now been 3 times. Sounds like a dodge to me. Charlie / Springfield (2/11/09) Did anyone else "try" to watch WUSA-TV9 this morning. I love Andrea Roane, but the screen was just too busy that I flipped the station. WUSA should not continue with that. I agree; I had to change the channel. It was giving me a headache. I guess the graphics department decided to utilize every gadget in its arsenal. We can put traffic and weather on the right, scroll the latest headlines on the bottom, and if there's room, maybe even show the anchors. (2/11/09) With the situation WDMV is in, is it possible we are seeing the first station in our area to go dark due to financial problems? (2/11/09) WJFK on 94.7 digital? Why not put the whole lineup on the regular-analog 94.7. I bet the ratings would go way up...JFK barely covers parts of Montgomery County, and starts breaking up driving on 66 when I hit Rosslyn! The Junks are great, but have always been on low powered channels like JFK, and 99.1.....put them on a good signal and they will thrive. (2/11/09) Dave's response: I'll say it again. Put guy/sports talk WJFK on 94.7, which better reaches DC's NE suburbs, put El Zol on Northern VA's 106.7, and use 99.1, which reaches both DC and Baltimore, for a resurrected WHFS as a music-intensive adult-oriented alt/classic rocker..... Saw your blurb today about WTOP romances.... If you want more about radio romances, NPR is the place. Susan Stamberg used to have a running list of all the marriages among NPR couples (counting all the romances and affairs would be virtually impossible). Among those who married colleagues is Bob Edwards, whose wife was, I believe, an NPR receptionist at one time. (2/11/09) Has 1520 Brunswick bit the dust? Its been off for a couple weeks. (2/11/09) I'm surrounded by computers and fluorescent lights right now, so my AM radio is drowning in noise. Is anything airing on 700 AM today? (2/11/09) Dave's response: Was off when I checked earlier this morning..... www.washingtonian.com The Post's Kevin Merida thinks he has at least one thing in common with Barack Obama. (2/11/09) I'm curious about something. I'm a Comcast subscriber in Baltimore County, so I know I won't be affected by the digital transition having cable. However, what will Comcast do to their lineup, especially next Tuesday when Fox45 and the CW Baltimore will shut off their analog signals? Will Comcast move the digital signals of each station to the analog positions in their lineup (Chs. 15 & 14 respectively in Baltimore County), or will they keep them in their current digital channel positions only, or will they be available in both places in their lineup? I'm thinking the former or latter but not the middle option, since my TVs passed Ch.11's DTV test during their 5pm news back on 12/17/08. Thanks in advance to anyone who may have any insights. -Greg in Perry Hall (2/11/09) Dave's response: Nothing will change. You'll get the digital signals in standard-def on the old analog (channels under 100) tier, and the digital signals in high-def on the digital (200-ish) tier. In fact, Comcast has probably already made the switch. The local channels will continue to be in both places because many cable subscribers still only get the analog tier via their old analog TV sets..... What happened to Sporting News Radio on JFK late nights? Now it’s Fox Sports News Radio. Did SNR go under or did JFK just switch? So far I don’t like what I’ve heard, but then again, I’m used to David Stein when I can’t sleep. (2/11/09) More inaccurate information on DTV…WHAG channel 25 is not turning off the analog signal on 2/17. See their filing with the FCC on 2/10/09. They don’t even have their pre transition out of core low power DTV channel 55 on the air. They cannot complete final transition to DTV on their post transition channel 26 until WETA shuts down their analog signal. Since 26 plans on running the analog 26 signal until June 12th, Don’t look for WHAG to turn off their analog signal until a couple of days before the 12th. They need to replace the current non-directional channel 25 antenna with a directional antenna for their channel 26 digital operation. WJAL channel 68 in Hagerstown is in a bit of a bad situation due to the delay of the conversion. Their transmitter was destroyed by fire in January, I doubt they would spend the money to replace the analog facility for 4 months of operation. The problem is that their post transitional channel is 39, now being used by WJLA for digital operation, so they cannot operate on 39 until WJLA flash cuts the digital back to channel 7 and they don’t plan on doing that until June. I guess 68 will put the low power digital signal back on the air on their pre-transition assignment of channel 16. More reasons why the switch should not have been delayed! (2/11/09) Did anyone else "try" to watch WUSA-TV9 this morning. I love Andrea Roane, but the screen was just too busy that I flipped the station. WUSA should not continue with that. (2/11/09) So…Barbara and Joe are celebrating 15 years together. How wonderful. Now, how many more years will it be before they stop stepping on each other in and out of segments? Barney in Annapolis (2/11/09) WHSV in Harrisonburg is turning off the analog spiggot on 2/17 too... www.whsv.com (2/11/09) I'm glad to see 3DSJ come on board as an advertiser. I've seen them and read about them for a few years now, and after watching dozens of other web radio endeavors fail, its clear Bill Elliot surely knows what he's doing. Although admittedly, a main studio made out of "wrestling tables" and Masonite pegboard (www.3dsj.com) comes across as a l-ll-liiittle too "budgety" to me. (2/11/09) I dont't know who the poster was that 'corrected' my remarks about what Mel said. Mel is well known for monitoring and 'correcting' communications. I know what my source told me was said, and have no reason to question it. I stand behind what I said several days ago and that the record now confirms. XM Sirius either has new financing by 2/28 or its files bankruptcy. Mel is done, finally. (2/11/09) On 2/8, "SR" wrote, "I was surprised to hear the improved signal at night since they moved 1050 to the 1500 tower in Wheaton." Sorry, SR, but the 1050 signal is still emanating from the old location at the golf course. No diplexing yet. (2/11/09) RE: [ " Dave's response: Betcha WFED would make just as much money on the weaker 1050 as it does on the stronger 1500 " ].......... No truer words have ever been spoken, especially with AM 1050 upgrading to 10kw. While the AM 1500 monster signal is being completely wasted and WTOP, both AM 1050 & FMs 103.5 and 107.7 STILL have LESS COVERAGE AREA than before the switch! I realize Baltimore doesn't matter in the big picture, but with so many DC people moving to Baltimore it might soon and Bonneville is kinda asleep at the switch on this at the moment. WTOP 103.5 is just plain sketchy as a signal around much of Baltimore because it's so highly directional. AM 1500 is normally rock solid around Baltimore. Why does the idea of marketing a station to both markets continue to be ignored? It just makes no sense to me. Yes, the markets are quite different, but given the right format, there's no way you can't market a station in both DC and Baltimore. Baltimore doesn't even have an all news station OR a Top 40 station! Maybe I'm dumb, I dunno, but these things seem like no-brainers to me and I've listened to WTOP 1500 for decades from Baltimore, but I rarely can pick it up anymore and have taken it off my presets. (2/11/09) Dave's response: How about this - "1500 WHNF, Haulin' 95, From Miami To Maine, Your I-95 Truckin' Station." Country gold by day, trucker shows at night..... “Betcha WFED would make just as much money on the weaker 1050 as it does on the stronger 1500.....” Betcha you’re wrong. (2/11/09) Dave's response: Yeah, those federal "Beltway" advertisers really need to reach places like Scranton PA and Wilmington NC at night. Riiiight..... For thos who are scrutinizing companies like Wells Fargo and Citigroup for how they’re spending their money, consider this: 200 Democrats and the President chartered an Amtrack train and the world’s most expensive private jet (Airforce One) to go to a luxurious spa in Williamsburg to debate how much they would drive us further into debt all on the taxpayer’s dollar. Our government is in as dire straights as any of these companies who are on the public dole. Before we bitch about what companies are doing with our money, look at how our government (particularly the Democratic Party) are squandering it. Nancy Pelosi’s private governement jet is much bigger than any of the big three automaker’s. (2/11/09) /\ February 11 Messages /\ \/ February 10 Messages \/ WWRC has what sounds like a carrier-without-content on the air, but their audio can be heard on www.money1260.com, including CNN radio news at 9:00 pm. But the station now branding itself as "money 1260" has on its website a lineup that looks pretty similar (if not identical) to what the old "progressive talk 1260" offered -- Bill Press, Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Lionel, etc. What is going on here? (2/10/09) Heard on 94.7 WTGB HD channel 3 this evening - simulcast of the MOM show from JFK. Also they have been playing hour after hour of great 80's tunes (not the four dozen songs that have been playing ad nauseum on "classic rock" format for the past twenty years) on HD-2 with nothing but an occasional ID. I have an HD receiver in the car. Enjoying the music :) Robert in Arlington (2/10/09) Dave's response: We had reported late last year that CBS was planning to put 106.7 WJFK's audio on 94.7 WTGB's HD3. It looks like that's finally happened..... Al Roker worked at Channel 5's Panorama show from 1976-78 or so. I believe he also dated Judlyn Lilly for a time. (2/10/09) I bet WFED makes more money than WJFK this year. Had a friend inquire at WJFK for a commercial buy. Seems those shows that used to command $500-600-700 a spot now get a resounding $75-100 a spot if they are lucky. Face it, WJFK is a sinking ship, while WFED has the advantage of a targeted audience of fed workers and decision makers, a year round schedule of sports contracts and even a consistent smattering of brokered shows on the weekend. I wouldn't replicate the tired old formula of syndicated shows on 1500 at all. It smacks of the 3WT failure for a top 10 market station to rely on syndicated third tier fare. Live and local is making money. Hell, even 1050 could out earn WJFK if some foreign brokered group stepped up and did a long term deal. Fresh thinking please, not the same old recycled crap armchair PDs. Support yer bag! (2/10/09) Piece of useless trivia: The video that made Aaron Bruns famous around the world was the one he shot of Hillary Clinton drinking and dancing to an Enrique Iglesias song in San Juan, Puerto Rico last year: www.youtube.com -Silvie- (2/10/09) I’m listening to Saga’s “On The Loose” from when I was buying music on cassette on www.slacker.com as I send this… As soon as the Slacker G2 8gb 40 Station player is available with a compatible Bose Sound Dock (IPOD) or Altec Lansing Dock (Zune) I plan on having Slacker with me at work as well as here at home. Beyond AM, FM, and SIRIUS XM --- Slacker Rules! (2/10/09) Just saw an add on allaccess looking for talent for an "All Black Gospel FM" in DC- somebody's trying to bring an all black gospel format to DC. The ad suggested this station's dial position starts with a 1 and a 0. Stephen (2/10/09) Dave. on the Howard Stern show on SiriusXM. He had Al Roker, he said he work in Washington d.c , do you no what station he work at ? (2/10/09) Dave's response: 5? The New York Times is reporting that Sirius/XM has hired bankruptcy/restructuring attorneys and may file Chapter 11 within days. The filing would implicate Dish Network, whose owner holds much of Sirius' debt and who may be forced to buy Sirius. Shawn in DC (2/10/09) Dave's response: Just got the Front Page blurb up..... Just curious ,how does a guy (Aaron Bruns) land a job in the D.C bureau of Faux News Channel of all places after already having an arrest for the allegations he's charged with from 1999???? I can't even get a job holding Michael Phelps bong for him while he tokes on it?????? BTW I think 98rock's publicity stunt is great. All of these other professional a-holes err I mean athletes get away with drugs/weapons/DUI's and the like and seem to be able to go back to their respective teams without any real or at least normal person repercussions most of the time???? Double standard me thinks... (2/10/09) I've daydreamed that same phone call ("Hello." "Don?" "Yeah." "Michael, here.") through my head so many times in the last few months. I truly wish things were going better for MOM, but I just have no interest in it. That show--that station--hell, this whole town--needs a heavy dose of Don Geronimo. I knew I would miss hearing the guy, but I never dreamed I'd be feeling the affects all these months later. I respect his reasons for leaving, but I wish there were a way for him to come back. (2/10/09) Dave's response: There's nothing wrong with being a "Hank Kingsley." But we need our "Larry Sanders" back..... Betcha WFED makes more money this month than WWRC made the whole time it was lib talk. (2/10/09) Dave's response: Betcha WFED would make just as much money on the weaker 1050 as it does on the stronger 1500..... Here are this week's numbers for WJFK in demo: 18-34: Junkies - 14th... Big O & Dukes - 17th... Mike O'Meara - 19th... 25-54: Junkies - 13th... Big O & Dukes - 16th... Mike O'Meara - 19th... (2/10/09) Dave's response: Not good..... Wow... 50KW WFED is below WWRC in the ratings. Maybe Ed, Bill, Stephanie, & The Air America gang should move to 1500. Bob Fairfax (2/10/09) Dave's response: Putting Federal News Radio back on 1050 and keeping it on 820. And putting a low-budget syndicated talker on 1500 might be the way to go. Call it "1500 - From Nova Scotia To Florida (But Not Upper Montgomery) - The Kinda Really Really Big Talker"..... RE: [ " Once again Baltimore shows its lack of class and intelligence. " ]......... If Michael Phelps were a Redskins or worse yet, a toothless Caps player.......... DC/101's Elliot in the Morning would be pulling the SAME KELLOGGS STUNT! HAha! Tooz, congrats on being the perfect example of the snobby unintelligent but my shit doesn't stink Washingtonian stereotype! LOL (2/10/09) Re previous post: “Dave's response: Warning! Too many off-topic political-only posts. This is a media commentary venue. Gonna have to start trashing stuff.....” I was going to send the mailbag just this thought earlier today. Please start trashing! (2/10/09) Sorry to post so late in the afternoon, but I've been out of the office much of the day. Was wondering if any Mailbaggers who listen to Imus can confirm if what I heard this morning on the Internet audio stream of the show was the same thing broadcast on the regular radio dial. Specifically: I heard the identical Howard Kurtz segment I heard on yesterday's Imus show during my drive into work. Is the Imus stream regurgitating stuff a day late? I had thought that show segments were being voice-tracked, or compressed, or whatever the lingo is, same-day. But now I'm thinking that I might hear the Howard Kurtz interview tomorrow, then again on Thursday, etc. Have any other listeners encountered this "segment rerun" since WJZW started playing more music during the Imus show? Christian (2/10/09) "WAMU HD2 actually tied with 50,000 watt WFED's terrestrial signal 12+ in the current week trend" This shows me that the WAMU HD2 105.5 250-W FM translator W288BS is more valuable that WFED's 50-kW AM. I don't see any proof that anyone listens to the HD2 directly. Show me that the PPM ignores the translator. (2/10/09) From an earlier post, "In the socialized medical system of England, if you have macular degeneration, you must lose one eye before they will pay for treatment." That was an unintended consequence of a rule. The rule was modified in 2006, and this medical scare tactic is no longer the case anywhere in the United Kingdom. Please set the DCRTV record straight, Dave; we don't need Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, heard on 630 AM WMAL in the DC area, misinformation bleeding over to your message board. Thanks (2/10/09) DCRTV Dave mused "Why doesn't the Post just put daily TV listings in the Sunday Style And Arts section and then cut the weekly TV mag for everyone?." Well... beginning back in September of 1950, the Sunday Post did that very thing by printing an entire week's TV listings on a single sheet which subscribers could fold into a 16-page booklet. (Sort of a boob tuber's origami exercise.) Here are the easy instructions if you'd like to relive the good old days: dcmemories.com... In a Letter to the Editor on September 9th, K.D. Laurence of Alexandria proclaimed the TV Week supplement "is alone worth the price of the paper", and hoped "that it remains for a long time to come". (Note to K.D... your "long time to come" just ended.) (2/10/09) I think it is noteworthy to report that WAMU's HD2 channel (not webstream, but terrestrial signal) actually showed up in the weeklies (12+, 0.1). This is the first sighting for an HD2 channel to register in the PPM's, I believe nationwide. WAMU HD2 actually tied with 50,000 watt WFED's terrestrial signal 12+ in the current week trend. Congrats to the crew at WAMU HD2. (2/10/09) Anyone know what the age 25-54 PPM ratings are for the morning, midday, and afternoon shows on WJFK? The hosts of the midday show keep mentioning how great the ratings are for the morning and afternoon shows. It seems that the age 12+ PPM ratings don't seem to have any relevancy for these shows on WJFK. Most CBS radio stations are reducing staff and making other budget cuts, but not JFK. Do they really need four hosts on the morning show? Get rid of EB and Jason, that would save the station more than $500,000 in salaries instantly. (2/10/09) Dave's response: I'm told that JFK placed 19th in full-day adult 25-54 numbers. In men, 25-54, they're in 15th. Didn't get a per-show breakdown..... Dave, Just checked out you latest ppm update. In the past week, I've been forced to listen to ESPN980 during various parts of the day and have come to one obvious conclusion. There's not one show I can listen to for more that five minutes. I'm tired of people writing about how much Mike and Mike are too much into New York-Boston sports and how Colin Cowherd talks too much about Colin. Wait just one minute...Doc and Kevin's show has to be one of the biggest train-wrecks that continues to have 9 lives! Someone needs to whisper in Doc's ear that he doesn't know-it all and we don't care what he thinks about A-Rod. If Clear Channel has been totally cleaning house at their properties, I don't understand why Dan Snyder doesn't do the same at ESPN980...great 19th place in the ppm. Fox Sports Radio was smart to move Al Galdi off Czaban's show as Steve and Scott need to move-on with their radio careers. I'm glad I-tunes careers more sports talk stations in the country because we need serious help in the Washington, DC market. (2/10/09) Are people aware that socialized health care has been written into the bloated stimulus package? Included are methodologies that will determine if you can get care. The older you are, the more the formula works against you. They will weigh the cost vs. the number of years you have left ( i.e. In the socialized medical system of England, if you have macular degeneration, you must lose one eye before they will pay for treatment). Imagine someone at the DMV or the intake people at the Department of Public Assistance (Welfare) being the one who gives a thumbs up or down on your treatment....because you will now be at the mercy of these people. If you have an HMO, you know that Insurance people have a good deal to say about your treatment and care. Now, that will be replaced by a faceless bureaucracy if this stimulus bill passes. Starting to get that buyers remorse yet folks? (2/10/09) Dave's response: Warning! Too many off-topic political-only posts. This is a media commentary venue. Gonna have to start trashing stuff..... (regarding a previous post) "Dubya is doodling or making paper airplanes, like some dumb, bored disengaged 10-year-old sitting in the back of a classroom." The poster is not deranged. He/she raises a valid point. The contrast between Obama and Bush could not be more clear or stunning. In all of his public utterances, George W. Bush came across like an inarticulate buffoon, unable to construct or deliver a coherent English sentence - while Barack Obama comes across as thoughtful, intelligent and even eloquent. Some have described his tone and approach as "professorial", which could well lead someone to imagine someone like Bush, along the lines of what the original poster contemplated. The original post made complete sense, with a basis in rational thought (if not reality, exactly), so it really could not in any way, be considered a result of derangement. (2/10/09) Hey Dave, regarding the "big news by a local regional sports network" that had to be taken down from your site last week...any ETA on an official announcement from that regional sports network? Just curious...Greg in Reisterstown= (2/10/09) Dave's response: Not yet. Don't know what's causing the delay..... RE: "And the poster speculated maybe "Dubya is doodling or making paper airplanes." Get real. He never displayed that kind of creative or mechanical aptitude while in office, why would he start now ? He's probably watching re-runs of Beavis & Butthead, his mentors." Aah yes. Here come the apologists for Dear Leader. He will ead you to the promise land, along with his cabinet, if any of them ever get through their confirmation hearings. Come on all of you. If you are in the DC Metro area, you know what it is like inside the Beltway. The more things "change", the more they stay the same. (2/10/09) Dave, you might be interested in this. It's not Balto/DC related but pertinent to the bigger media picture. Not Your Dad's Radio Anymore www.altpress.com (2/10/09) Is the current mystery surrounding the absence of WDMV on the dial related wholly or peripherally to the recent bankruptcy announcement that made the paper a few weeks back? (2/10/09) “Maybe a few sponsors need to pull their ads off 98 Rock. 98 Rock has sunk to a new low.” Lower than “Jugs for Plugs”??? Which for the uninitiated, is where women come on the show topless in return for free promotion for a business. (and the Little Midget gets his thrill for the day) (2/10/09) I think that we saw the real Obama last night. Clearly ill-at ease, didn't seem to know even the most well known reporters, and repeating over and over, "where is Tony, where is Maria, where is Tom", etc, etc. Without a teleprompter he seemed to stumble and grasp for words. Not the same person who mesmerized millions with his public speaking ability during the campaign. The difference? That during the campaign he was ALWAYS reading his speeches and never was speaking off the cuff as he will be required to do at press conferences. No wonder that his handlers cut off access to him on the campaign plane. In regards to the black journalists feeling that they were used maybe they could speak to the one black reporter who was called on and then asked a stupid question about a baseball player. Why not ask about Brittany Spears? (2/10/09) The thing that struck me about last nights press conference. Actually there were two things: 1. How much Obama looked like a programmed android scanning the room from side to side...2. how much the current discussion of catastrophe and gloom and doom that will result if we don't pass stimulus - sounds like the discussion of what would happen if we didn't take care of weapons of mass destruction from a few years ago. Maybe in a year or two we will be discussing bad (financial) intel... (2/10/09) "We were window dressing," said Hazel Edney, a reporter with the National Newspaper Publishers Association, also known as the Black Press Of America. – This sort of thing really sucks. I wonder how many questions the Mexican Press of American, Asian Press of American, Indian Press of American, Latin Press American or others got to ask? What’s wrong with being just “The Press?” Of course the answer is obvious. I hope I live to see the day when the divisive, hyphenated American groups such as this fade off into the sunset. (2/10/09) RE: "Take A "Dump" On Kellogg" Once again Baltimore shows its lack of class and intelligence. This white trash radio stunt might be the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Hey Hon once again an athlete or politician from Baltimore commits a crime or in a scandal. Why am I not surprised? The Tooz (2/10/09) "During President Obama's news conference, I couldn't help but wonder if on a ranch somewhere right now, Dubya is doodling or making paper airplanes, like some dumb, bored disengaged 10-year-old sitting in the back of a classroom." - That's because you're deranged. (2/10/09) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Competent and energetic TV/radio booker looking for next opportunity. With the exception of President Obama and Bill Gates; there is no one that is nor reachable! Strong working knowledge of government, media and DC area. Serious inquiries only, please: skazoom33@aol.com (2/10/09) The internet audio stream for WDMV has also gone quiet. It might be time to send someone out to the Park Green office/studio location in Fairfax and check to see if the operation folded up and skipped out. It's happened before at their old Wisconsin St. NW address, around 2003 or so. (2/10/09) Seems like the business programming on Lil Danny’s 1260 was the very same that used to be on WGDOPMV 700. So what was on 700 Monday? Dead carrier – no audio, no top of the hour ID, no nutin. What’s on today? Not even a carrier. (2/10/09) Dave's response: I've always thought that WDMV should relay Cincinnati talker WLW, also on 700 AM. It could be WLW's "far eastern suburban" daytime relay..... And the poster speculated maybe "Dubya is doodling or making paper airplanes." Get real. He never displayed that kind of creative or mechanical aptitude while in office, why would he start now ? He's probably watching re-runs of Beavis & Butthead, his mentors. (2/10/09) re: "That is total incompitance." Sometimes the joke just writes itself... (2/10/09) In response to Dave's rant on 2/9/2009, the problem of dead air is not limited to 570 AM. Try listing to Headline news on 1580 AM on weekends. There is dead air galore.That is total incompitance. A college radio station is run better. On another note, 730 AM was a better choice that 1260AM.for business radio. 730 has better coverage through out the area and the fact that it is a daytimer makes it a perfect choice for business radio. Nobody listens to business radio after the markets close.So lack night time coverage was no problem. E.E. Fairfax Station (2/10/09) At last night’s Presidential news conference: The only question that strayed from domestic or foreign policy was from The Washington Post's Michael A. Fletcher, who asked about the admission by baseball star Alex Rodriguez that he once used steroids. Obama pronounced that "depressing news." I guess with all the cutbacks , releases and buyouts at The Washington Post of talented reporters, that the above question was the best their ‘sports reporter’ could come up with at the press conference. I mean I assume that was his beat based on his question. (2/10/09) During the immediate post-Great Depression, post-World War II, post-Korean War period, everybody was used to following orders and doing without. The periodic beep was heard on Dave Garroway's Today Show of the 1950s whenever somebody phoned in a news report, often from a foreign capital. There was a general consensus that Our Government knew what it was doing and had a good reason for requiring things like the beep. My understanding was that all parties to a call should be aware that their words were being taken down for possible use against them in a court of law. Of course, if you didn't know the beep convention, you didn't benefit from its intrusion. No doubt the device was an expensive-to-rent Western Electric special. (2/10/09) As far as 98 Rock taking a "dump" on Kellog's, is that even legal? Doesn't that violate the FCC's indecency rule? From what I understand, even if some form of human waste removal is implied, it violates FCC standards. Regardless, what a cheap radio stunt! Now even though I hate Mancow, when he blocked the Golden Gate Bridge to get a haircut (much like former President Clinton did when he held up San Francisco International Airport), that was funny! This is NOT funny, nor entertaining. This is disgusting and cheap. Watch 98 Drop! Much like Michael Phelps, they need grow up and get smarter. At least he has 14 gold medals. Idiots! (2/10/09) Come on people - 98 Rock is just catering to their listeners, blue collar males from 18-25 years old. If you think about it at that mentality, they are on the mark. That's not a slam, just a fact. Maybe you have outgrown that? There is always WRNR and WTMD for us grownups. (2/10/09) I actually think this should be news... THE BALTIMORE SUN HAS CHANGED ITS WEBSITE POLICY. YOU CAN NO LONGER COMMENT ON STORIES ON THEIR WEBSITE! YEP, THEY BANNED ALL STORY COMMENTS BECAUSE MOST OF THE CRITICISM WAS BEING VENTED AT THE SUN WRITERS! HAha! (Sun writer blogs still allow comments WITH APPROVAL of course, hehe.) WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? The Sun now just sends you to a general talk forum making it more difficult to directly criticize or comment on any really bad Sun story. And there are a LOT of Sun stories I'd like to comment on. For instance, The Baltimore Sun has written numerous stories on how the case against Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is WEAK (even though basically stolen goods were retrieved from the mayor's home and there is an actual indictment and even Pres. Obama refused to be seen publicly with her!), yet The Baltimore Sun (along with The Washington Post) continues its witch hunt against former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, the new RNC chairman. www.baltimoresun.com... Of course everyone remembers The Sun famously said, and I quote, "Michael Steele offers nothing to the ticket but the color of his skin"! ONCE AGAIN I SAY, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Oh, and the hysterically funny part of this new Sun story is they quoted an esteemed commercial law expert from Salisbury, MD?!?!? Is there such a thing?!?!? Did Sun writer Tricia Bishop have to hunt this expert down in a chicken coop or something to come up with this crap after the expert got someone in the Perdue family off on a traffic violation? HAha! Too funny! I just cannot stop laughing at this joke of a newspaper. But, in the end, its just very sad how bad The Sun has gotten. It's so bad I wish The Baltimore News American was back. The Examiners gone, anyone at Hearst listening ? Geez, they could just start the paper from scratch online and decide later whether to print actual copies and still probably make a killing. That's how bad The Baltimore Sun is lately. Sad. :-( (2/10/09) From Inside Radio: "Sima Birach says his company’s a victim of stolen identity — by his own son. More than a year of mistaken identities, misrepresentations and potentially criminal behavior has the 20-year owner of Birach Broadcasting speaking out. Birach alleges his son, Sima Birach Jr., and attorney George LeRoy created a Virginia-based company called Birach Broadcasting Corporation without his knowledge. From there they allegedly raised capital, hired staff and built a company with people believing they were dealing with the 23-station group. Making matters worse, he says a BIA Financial appraisal combined the two entities and was used by his son to misrepresent the company. Birach Sr. says his Detroit-based group has since been named in several lawsuits by companies with which he’s never had contact. When his attorneys approached his son to stop using the name, he refused. Police reports have been filed in Michigan and Virginia, where Birach Sr. has asked regulators to void the registration. “It is clear [my son] has surrounded himself with bad people who are pushing him deeper and deeper into problems,” says Birach Sr. “[He] should realize this will catch up with him sooner or later, and hopefully it won’t be too expensive for him.” Birach Jr. didn’t respond to a request for comment. While it’s clearly painful for Birach Sr. to speak out publicly against his son, he says he’s prepared to fight to save the company he’s spent his life building." (2/10/09) /\ February 10 Messages /\ \/ February 9 Messages \/ (RE: "Take A "Dump" On Kellogg" ...and THIS is what passes for entertainment on radio these days? Wild! Just freakin' wild! I'm quite sure that station's sponsors are so proud to be aligned with such cutting edge promotion! Talk about, putting CRAP ON THE AIR!) This has to be one of the most disgusting promotions of all time. Maybe a few sponsors need to pull their ads off 98 Rock. 98 Rock has sunk to a new low. I will never listen to them again. not even for Ravens games. Wonder what the Hearst ownership thinks about this. Everyone needs to boycott listening to this station and when the low ratings show up in the Arbitron books, maybe somebody will wake up. (2/9/09) During President Obama's news conference, I couldn't help but wonder if on a ranch somewhere right now, Dubya is doodling or making paper airplanes, like some dumb, bored disengaged 10-year-old sitting in the back of a classroom. (2/9/09) Someone at WTNT must have been asleep at the switch. I, too, heard dead air during "Mancow," but I also heard two commercials played simultaneously a few times, then an extra half hour of Mancow when Laura Ingraham should have been on. Either someone catches these gaffes, or they don't. Also, I wish WTNT would stop playing musical chairs with its line-up and settle on a playlist. (2/9/09) Dave, can you get more on this blurb from Inside Radio: “Birach: My ID's Been Stolen. More than a year of mistaken identities has the 20-year owner of Birach Broadcasting speaking out. Sima Birach Sr. alleges his son created a similarly-named company without his knowledge and raised capital, hired staff and built a company with people who thought they were doing business with the elder Birach.” (2/9/09) I wonder if OctoMom, Nadya Suleman (who now has 14 children) is related to Citadel boss, Farid Suleman...? (2/9/09) Mark Willes was chairman of Times Mirror (LA Times, Baltimore Sun) in the late 90's. An advertorial scandal occurred on his watch, which led directly to Times Mirror being taken over by Tribune Co. Now he has resurfaced as CEO of the holding company that owns Bonneville International (WTOP). (2/9/09) RE: ""Retreat" to Williamsburg last week?" Ha-Ha-Ha... when I saw that in the news I too thought, "Why travel all the way to Williamsburg last week to work on the stimulus bill... not enough offices in Washington, DC?" I know it's not like buying a corporate jet or giving yourself a couple million dollar bonus but, COME ON....!! (2/9/09) FOX5 has revamped their website and under their Health section, has a SexExpert listing of different articles on sexuality..And the reason they chose to go in that direction with their website?.. (2/9/09) Re: the Post TV Week issue I wonder how this is going to work for the paper distributor guy who comes down my street about 4:00 in the morning. Is he going to have a list of those who do and those who don't?! And is he going to have two different piles of papers (now sorted earlier, a task previously unnecessary) to fling out the car window? I'm sure this will be no trouble for him, this extra work, before he goes on to his second job. I was going to say "what a CF" but realize this is but one more sign of the Wapo's sad death spiral. Robert in Arlington (2/9/09) Dave's response: Why doesn't the Post just put daily TV listings in the Sunday Style And Arts section and then cut the weekly TV mag for everyone. If it's such a money-loser, that would be easier..... ".....Borders on fraudulent, huh....." I agree. Borders is a fraudulent store. I shouldn't have to get the Post behind the counter. The irony is, the porno magazines are in plain view and anyone (including minors) can help themselves. (2/9/09) Dave's response: I don't even waste my time going to Borders any longer. Their stock of stuff, including DVDs, sucks. And I can browse the daily rags elsewhere, a la Barnes And Noble..... Why is the lead story on several local news stations and some radio network news broadcasts this "so what" Rodriguez story? How many people watching the news give one crap about this? If there is any more proof needed that our home stations have turned into panting tabloid trash purveyors then this is it. (2/9/09) RE: "Take A "Dump" On Kellogg" ...and THIS is what passes for entertainment on radio these days? Wild! Just freakin' wild! I'm quite sure that station's sponsors are so proud to be aligned with such cutting edge promotion! Talk about, putting CRAP ON THE AIR! (2/9/09) I applaud 98-ROCK! Gee, doesn't Kelloggs sell cereal & snacks to all of the world's legally pot smoking nations like The Netherlands and such? Gee, maybe Kelloggs should stop supporting drug users' food cravings too huh? Yes, thank you for playing the hypocrisy game Kelloggs. And no I'm not supporting Phelps. What he did was dumb obviously and of course illegal here. But, if anyone should be losing endorsement deals, it should be A-ROD, since he's basically a fraud of an athlete now who's stats are now in question. Phelps didn't do anything in my opinion to tarnish his accomplishments. He just did something stupid, thats all and more kids will learn a valuable lesson from Phelps than they'll learn from A-ROD getting in the MLB Baseball Hall of Fame. That's for damn sure! (2/9/09) From Washington Times editor: "Shortly after 5 pm today we set a new one-day record for Web traffic _ surpassing 2 million page views in a single day for the first time in our history. With six more hours in the day, we will surely raise the bar much higher for the new record. The reason for the traffic is simple: you are producing a news report every day that is so original, cutting edge and exclusive that it is drawing new readers to the Times. To put today's milestone into perspective, an average day on the Web set in February 2008 was about 205,000 page views. Today's readership is already 10 times that amount and still soaring. To all who report, write, file and edit the stories driving this historic audience growth, please take a few minutes today to cherish and celebrate what you have accomplished." (2/9/09) Has anyone noticed WBAL has cut back local news. Saturday night at 6, I heard CBS at the top of the hour. I wonder if the cancellation of Steve Davis will lead to a syndicated show at 7 weeknights, followed by no local news? This really is the end of local radio as we know it! (2/9/09) Re " ...I'll put Anderson Cooper's or Wolf Blitzer's or Chris Matthew's paycheck up against Rush Limbaugh's or Sean Hannity's or Bill O'Reilly's paycheck in a heartbeat. Let's do an HONEST comparison and we'll find out once and for all just who is "Elite" in the media and just who is not. "Elite" media...just another conservitive wanker catchphrase..." /// How about this: Use a friggin comma when writing your next fantasy paycheck comparison post. Also, I guess the word conservative hasn't been bandied around enough in the mailbag for you to have gleaned the correct spelling. (2/9/09) Dear Al Sharpton: Thansk for keepin' it real. Best, Tawana Brawley (2/9/09) Regarding the following posted 02/09 - Wrong Number For Post TV Week "Opt-In"... Yesterday, DCRTV reported that the Post is planning to discontinue its Sunday weekly TV listings booklet in its Arlington-Alexandria delivery area, and more areas soon, unless subscribers say they want to continue receiving it..... If you call the phone number 202-334-6355 and select the option that you are not in the Arlington-Alexandria delivery area, they are denying your report of plans to disconinue in more areas (they aren't confirming it either), and question what sources dcrtv is using for the information. They also refuse to say whether or not the existing opt-in might be reversed if there is enough outrage. (2/9/09) Dave's response: A really really really dumb idea. It will be interesting to see what the Arlington and Alexandria consumer protection agencies have to say about such an "opt-in" plan in which people who have already subscribed to something then have to do something "extra" to continue to get what they already were paying for. Borders on fraudulent, huh..... I'd like to thank 98Rock for lowering the bar. Michael Phelps likes pot and Kellogs doesn't want any part of him. Phelps is a idiot for going over to a persons house and smoking dope and now he's losing his endorsement deal. What kind of moronic ''statement'' are you aiming for anyways? He's getting exactly what he deserves and Kellogs is completely right for dumping him. Is your station that desperate for ratings that your PD would condone listeners coming by and shitting on your station? That's just sad. And I'm pretty sure Tony Tiger is a HEAVY meth user. Paul (2/9/09) Mike in Fairfax is right. Pollin's behavior at that remote broadcast was ridiculous. Caps owner Ted Leonsis invites those two clowns down there and Pollin's conduct amounts to urinating on the carpet in the host's living room. And it proves again what complete dead wood this guy is. The Caps are the hottest ticket in town right now and there have been articles in both the Post and the Times about how all indicators show a huge increase in interest in the Caps. (Not surprising given their success, their relative youth, the fact that the best player in the world is on the team, that they have the best owner in town and the rags to riches story of the coach). A good sports talk host has his finger on the pulse of the sports fans in the town he is in. Pollin is anything but. (2/9/09) What a bunch of hooey the Post is trying to dish up to its subscribers regarding the TV Week opt-in program. Trying to ride on the coattails of the environmental movement! "It's the green thing to do, as printing fewer copies means saving trees, ink, and more." How about they stop sending me the plastic bag full of advertising circulars from Sears, JCPenney, Mattress Warehouse, and Rite-Aid, to name a few. I never look at any of those, so let's get the option to "opt-out" of the Sunday ads. Of course they won't do that because they depend on the ad money. We all understand that. But don't try to paint yourselves as all Green when you're just trying to save pennies for your company by giving your subscribers less content. (And as an old paperboy, I can't imagine what a headache it would be to try to deliver the correct opt-in or opt-out Sunday newspaper to the subscribers.) (2/9/09) Of course, Comcast SportsNet can afford to expand in a slowing economy. COMCAST is the ONLY company in the WORLD right now RAISING PRICES on people! I'm shocked MASN is doing as many HD games on a dedicated HD channel as they are quite frankly since MASN will probably lose money on the venture with 2 guaranteed to be losing teams. So I dunno what these Nats whiners are complaining about. Nobody will be watching the Nats anyways HD or otherwise! From last years ratings, just the 3 people on DCRTV complaining will be watching! LOL (2/9/09) I'm still waiting for The Baltimore Sun editorial staff to say that the only thing former MD Lt. Gov. Michael Steele adds to the RNC Chairmanship position is the color of his skin. C'mon, Sun editors, you said it once before when Steele ran for Lt. Gov. with Bob Ehrlich. Don't disappoint us now that he's gone far beyond that office or The Sun editorial staff's wildest expectations. Don't disappoint your loyal readers by giving up your bias now Baltimore Sun! The Sun editors truly couldn't have been wrong or out of line or racist with that comment, could they??? Of course not! Hehe. Well, to The Sun's credit, they are continuing to run negative stories about the man, so I guess they are trying their best with more limited resources. I guess "Nothing but the color of his skin" stories and oreo cookie stories are just too expensive to do in these trying economic times with a limited # of biased reporters! HAha! :-) (2/9/09) On his radio show of September 22, 2008, Rush Limbaugh falsely claimed that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) [was] “Arab.” Limbaugh stated “He’s Arab. You know, he’s from Africa. He’s from Arab parts of Africa.” The next day, while attempting to deny that race may play a role in the presidential campaign, Limbaugh read portions of a Philadelphia Daily News article by Dave Davies. Limbaugh inaccurately quoted Davies’s article, inserting the word “Arab” into a description of Obama’s ethnicity. According to Limbaugh, the article read: ‘Obama’s name and his Arab-African heritage are obstacles to the party’s chances of capturing the White House, party activists are finding.” In reality, Davies’s article stated: Obama’s name and his African heritage are obstacles to the party’s chances of capturing the White House, party activists are finding. For the record, Obama’s father was from Kenya, which is not an Arab part of Africa. I believe it was this misinformation from Limbaugh that armed the voter in Ohio into this exchange with John mcCain; www.youtube.com... Now, other than Chris Plante, is there anyone out there that can defend Rush and claim that that his statements were in any way “news? (2/9/09) ("RE: long distance relays clicking off. Isn't that the sound on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon? Between songs, there's this operator trying to call collect and/or person-to-person. "This is the United States calling, are we reaching ..." He hangs up, and each time, there's that noise.") Actually that segment is on Pink Floyd's "The Wall," at the end of the track called "Young Lust." (2/9/09) So Citadel is going to add oldies to Imus. Thank goodness we have true genius in high places. That will fix everything. I think we should name whoever made that decision king of radio. Now everything will be much, much better. His ratings will skyrocket. All will be well. I haven't seen this other news very widely reported, public radio listenership continues to climb. RnR reported a 3% jump over last year, this as more and more public stations are seeing success with live and local programs. But you go ahead you real geniuses of radio. Fidddle around with your ABC Oldies. I know I never get tired of trying to figure out if Imus is the closest to death or if Scott Shannon has caught up to him with that slurry, confused voice of his. (2/9/09) Syndication One News-Talk Network and "Keepin it Real with Al Sharpton" celebrate their 3rd Anniversary. WOL DC is an affiliate of Syndication One News-Talk Network.... [PIC 1] Syndication One News-Talk Network’s talk show host Al Sharpton and Operations Supervisor Kirk Tanter celebrate the third anniversary of both the Syndication One News-Talk Network and “Keepin’ it Real with Al Sharpton” Talk Radio Show in Washington DC... [PIC 2] Left to Right: Tech Producer Nathanial Harris, Newscaster Tamika Smith, Radio Host Al Sharpton, Operations Supervisor Kirk Tanter, and Call Screener Lorenzo Gamble celebrate Syndication One News-Talk Network AND “Keepin’ it Real with Al Sharpton” Radio show in Washington DC... [PIC 3] Syndication One News-Talk Network’s talk show host Al Sharpton celebrate the third anniversary of both the Syndication One News-Talk Network and “Keepin’ it Real with Al Sharpton” in Washington DC. (2/9/09) On those ebay WPGC tapes. No bids yet. Rodel was an ad agency, and these could originally have been a series of commercial spots that the local station would then put on "cart" to play on the air. But then you see scotch tape labels suggesting these are countdown shows for the best of 1961 and 1962. Could be cool stuff if it's the show itself, with the DJ and commercials. Those tapes are 7" reels, and everyone instantly remembers that means 30 minutes at 7.5 ips. (1.0mil wasn't very popular yet) Not very many songs would fit. If it's an "aircheck," you might get only the start and end of the songs with the DJ talking. The tape recorder would activate only with the mic on the mixing console. Or the tapes could be bulked. You know what THAT means. (2/9/09) Couldn’t help but notice that a week after announcing the WWRC/WTNT clusterfuck, PD Greg Tantum bails out of Red Zebra for a gig with Westwood One. Maybe we were too hard on the guy—maybe the decision did come from Upon High (that is, higher than Greg’s pay-grade). On the other hand, he also has the Train Wreck Of All Train Wrecks—3WT—on his resume, too. It would be real interesting to hear his side of these stories—programmers often take the hit for stupid decisions by the suits who sign their checks. Or will this guy’s DC legacy be BOTH 3WT and the godawful mess now on 570? (2/9/09) RE: long distance relays clicking off. Isn't that the sound on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon? Between songs, there's this operator trying to call collect and/or person-to-person. "This is the United States calling, are we reaching ..." He hangs up, and each time, there's that noise. (2/9/09) Seems amazingly cruel given their "under-the-radar" approach during Inaugaration Day. But I understand that there are more cuts slated to occur towards the end of February. (2/9/09) Dave, Wanted to pass along my wishes for a very happy birthday. Hope you celebrated in style. On a random note, has anyone else emailed you about the weirdness with SportsTalk 980 on Saturday night? I was driving around between 8 – 9pm and the programming on 980 was compromised by the Delilah Show. It was like sports talk was at 50% volume and Delilah was at 50%. Very strange. Anyway, happy birthday. Sure beats the alternative, eh? Cheers, Chris (2/9/09) Dave's response: Yes, being another year older sure beats being dead! Ha ha ha. Thanks to everyone who sent along birthday wishes. I didn't want to clutter up the Mailbag with 'em..... I, like Dave, tuned in to WTNT this morning, sad that Bill Bennett's show had been axed, but willing to give Mancow a chance. Like Dave, I got dead air. Then, during the drive in to work, I tried again. Dead air again. About 8:50, I heard some commercials. Arriving at the office, I tuned in Laura Ingraham's show, which is airing now with no problems. In 10 minutes, it's Ed Schultz, if the geniuses over at TNT can pick up the feed. I do wonder why Bennet's show, which was showing some signs of life, got axed for the libertarian-ish guy-talk-oriented (read: often crude) Mancow show, which is now followed by rightwinger Ingraham, who will then be followed by populist Leftie Schulz, and then angry white male Michael Savage. What's the strategy? Christian (2/9/09) Actually, the NY Times stopped publishing its TV book more than a year ago. It had appeared in the city as well as in the suburban editions. The Boston Globe discontinued theirs last year, as well. (2/9/09) For you old timers out there I thought you would like to know I saw some WPGC reel to reel tapes from 1961, 1962 and 1963 on eBay. They look interesting however I do not own a vintage reel to reel tape deck other wise I may be interested. I guess the cassette players will go the way of the reel to reel tape players as technology evolves. It would be interesting to find out what is on them. (2/9/09) If Rush's show is entertainment, and not news, then that means there is actually one LESS conservative show on the air. And BTW, you might recall that Stern got his program listed as news specifically so he would not have to comply with any equal time or fairness rules. Thus, it appears Rush is playing fair by not being news. (2/9/09) Dave's response: I think Stern tried to get his show classified as "news" so it wouldn't be under the watchful eye of the FCC's "indecency police." Newscasts have a much wider latitude than entertainment programs have when airing distasteful/controversial language and audio "imagry." Stern could get fined for saying the word "penis," while Charlie Gibson wouldn't..... The fact that Limbaugh bounces back and forth between saying "his show ISN'T NEWS, it is 'entertainment'" and insisting that he influences both GOP policy and elections only further proves the point that he is an irresponsible propagandist. The GOP would do well to recognize how dangerous that drug-addled egotist is and cut its ties to Herr Goebbells. At the same time, this headline on CNN today makes it easy to understand why so many people turn to nutjobs like Rush et al for news: "Kid Scores 890,971 Guitar Hero Record." Yes, that's right, there are people at CNN who consider that news. Dave in Sterling (2/9/09) Dave's response: "Irresponsible propagandist" is too nice of a term for what Limbaugh does..... About 6 months ago, I answered a telephone interview about my use of the TV Week section of the Post. The questions were about how often I looked at it, which parts did I read and would I pay extra to receive it, or be interested in a discount to not receive it (if I remember right). I told them I looked at it every day, and read almost every section of it, except the TV crossword. Too bad back then I only had a roof top antenna. Now that I have FiOS I use it even more because it's hard to scroll through all their channels, including some I don't even subscribe to. But maybe from all those phone interviews they discovered that everyone in Arlington and Alexandria only watches WETA and the Discovery Channel :^) I've always thought that the TV section is one of those things that gets people to buy the Sunday paper; maybe they think it's a draw only for non-subscribers. I hope they get 100% response to keep delivering TV Week. One final aside: the Baltimore Sun's TV magazine is the worst I have ever seen, impossible to read the listings, and I see many when I travel. Even the New York Times publishes a TV magazine in its New York/NJ/Connecticut editions, and they hate seeming like the hoi polloi. Possibly they publish it ironically. -- Carl in Olney (2/9/09) Hey Dave, I heard the same thing on TNT this morning. its was pretty much all dead air, aside from the commercial breaks from 7-8. Im sorry they got rid of Bill Bennett. i liked that show. I gotta say, Im sort of done w/ the stations in this area. I think its time for Sirius. (2/9/09) There was an incident during ESPN980's live broadcast from Verizon Center last Thursday where Sports Reporters hosts Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban were yelled at by a fan - "You're at the Caps game - stop talking Redskins!". Apparently his wife joined in the heckling and Pollin could barely restrain himself from going after the guy. While there's no excuse for trying to disrupt a radio show in progress, when a station does a remote from a game site listeners naturally expect the main focus of discussion to be the sport played there. Not only were there only two Capitals related segments on the show, but Pollin just had to work in two gratuitous hockey putdowns - "Ovechkin would be better off playing in a town where hockey matters" and "if we talked Caps every day, we'd soon be out on the street looking for work". While hockey's obviously not his cup of tea and you can't force someone to like something, is it too much to ask that he show a modicum of respect to Caps fans in the listening audience duing a show originating from their game? Newly named Nationals TV analyst Rob Dibble was a guest on that program during Super Bowl week, and all I can say is that he'd better watch his language while doing the games on MASN this season. On Saturday mornings starting at 6 AM, 980 airs a two hour pre-recorded program hosted by veteran sportscaster Bob Costas. Clearly nobody's minding the store at the time because you routinely hear the first few minutes of a car racing show before Costas comes on, and an hour later there's annoying crosstalk for several minutes. Interestingly, Costas recently had to end his long association with HBO Sports in order to sign on with the newly launched MLB Network - he was willing to work both gigs but HBO insisted on cable exclusivity. Fox's lead baseball and NFL play-by-play man Joe Buck has been hired to replace him on HBO, although not necessarily for the same programs. Mike, Fairfax (2/9/09) RE: [For Mr. or Ms. "Great Americans" to dispute the liberal slant of much of the elite media,blah, blah, blah] ELITE media? Let's see just who is "Elite" in the media today....I'll put Anderson Cooper's or Wolf Blitzer's or Chris Matthew's paycheck up against Rush Limbaugh's or Sean Hannity's or Bill O'Reilly's paycheck in a heartbeat. Let's do an HONEST comparison and we'll find out once and for all just who is "Elite" in the media and just who is not. "Elite" media...just another conservitive wanker catchphrase on the same par with "Mainstream" and "Drive-by". All three are full of bluster, but with no connection to reality whatsoever. (2/9/09) 'I'm not a TV anchor babe. I'm a big lesbian who looks like a man' www.guardian.co.uk (2/9/09) Love Dave's RANT on BOA and Wells Fargo and "channeling some of that bail-out money". But where's the rant about the Democrats channeling some of our tax dollars to take that obviously much needed, and earned, "Retreat" to Williamsburg last week? (2/9/09) Hello. Jay Kendrick seems to be gone from WBAL's weather team. Thank you. (2/9/09) Dave's response: Anyone know more? I googled around for the answer to the poster wondering about the little tone that would pop up every so often in that old recording from 1956. Turns out the Bell System leased the device that created the "beep" to as part of the recording or broadcast of telephone calls. But complying with disclosure law was NOT the original reason for the "beeper," as it came to be known. The device, made by Bell System division Western Electric, actually was part of litigation in the late 1950s between Bell and a company that made an acoustic shroud to keep other people from hearing what you said into the phone. Since it was a physical, rather than electrical device, the courts rejected the telephone company's prevailing effort to protect its monopoly against "foreign" apparatus. I couldn't find out when the "beeper" was discontinued as part of disclosure law, but it was certainly dead by the 1980s after the breakup of Ma Bell. As an aside, on Saturday CSPAN Radio was playing old LBJ recordings from the 1960s that did NOT have that beep on there. There was another vintage telco noise however -- you could hear the old-style long distance mechanical relays clicking off near the end of the recordings, after Johnson had finished talking to the other person and they had hung up. (2/9/09) (pertaining to) I can get traffic/weather on the 1s, 2s, 3s ... whenever I want, right to my desktop or cellphone...Why put up with an old-fashioned platform that delivers content when they want it delivered? (end) That question will answer itself during the next train collision, tanker spill, plane crash, street closure, water main flood or bridge collapse that our area experiences. If something forces you to stay inside while a catastrophe plays itself out, you won't want to sit thru buffering or an all-circuits-are-busy announcement - you'll want to know NOW. Owning a radio or TV station isn't just about delivering service elements on a schedule, its about being there with immediacy and with what is important NOW. Will this change in three years? Most certainly. But by then we may also have implantable rocket packs in our asses that eliminate the need for automobiles, so who knows? (2/9/09) Did ESPN 980 pull the plug on their two FM stations? The past two days, I haven’t been able to get 92.7 or 94.3 at all. Just curious. Thanks, Tim (2/9/09) Dave's response: Just checked and 94.3 is coming thru fine as WTEM. Can't get 92.7 at my location because it gets blown away by Winchester's 92.5..... For Mr. or Ms. "Great Americans" to dispute the liberal slant of much of the elite media, after all the cheerleading we just saw for Obama out of those folks over the campaign, is beyond laughable. Perhaps delusional is the better word. (2/9/09) I am enjoying the morning newscasts by Stephanie Kaye on WAMU, 88.5. She sounds fresh, nice voice, and interested in what she's telling us. On the radio station's website, no wonder: she's smart, has international experience, and has been doing local news besides ! The station will be smart if they keep her in morning drive. (2/9/09) "there are many outlets for left wing media opinion, starting with the three major television networks and most of the major newspapers." Uh, Rush Limbaugh has said repeatedly his show ISN'T NEWS, it is "entertainment." So, your comparison is faulty at best. (2/9/09) Well, I hope Sunday night's Grammy performance quiets the Jennifer Hudson haters. If you didn't feel that performance, you have no heart. (2/9/09) Ah yes, the lovely Samantha Davies graced WBAL's airwaves with her presence again tonight. (2/9/09) I don't want to get wrapped up in a tizzy over Nationals radio coverage again. It's really just shameful though when significant portions of an MLB team's own home metropolitan area can't hear said team's games on the radio. It's more shameful when one realizes that the only alternative ways for disenfranchised listeners to hear the game calls are from pay services, Sirius XM satellite and the MLB.com subscription streams. Quite frankly, if access to Nationals radio broadcasts becomes anymore limited, it will stop making economic sense to employ Slowes, Jageler and their associated production crew at all. WFED may as well then just simulcast the MASN audio and call it a day. Everett W. (2/9/09) RE: "Broadcasters, cable companies and satellite services are quickly being relegated to irrelevant in the content production and delivery process." This is a rather astute observation and here's a story that illustrates my general agreement. I've noticed over the last year or so that I barely listen to WTOP now because the only reason to listen to them in the first place - "traffic and weather on the 8s" is no longer necessary. I can get traffic/weather on the 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, 7, 8, 9s and 0s - whenever I want, right to my desktop or cellphone - who needs their 1960s-style wheel? Why put up with an old-fashioned platform that delivers content when they want it delivered? Which leads to a broader question: Why own a radio/TV station these days? There is no doubt the bad ad climate has hurt industry valuations over the past two years, but the secular change away from a handful of providers has done and will continue to do more LT damage, in my view. (2/9/09) QUOTE: "The harmonic of 630 is 1260." Yes, but it is almost-surely generated in your own radio. Many formats ago I listened to 1260. I had an after-market car radio. It had interference to 1260 anywhere at all close to 630. Reinstalling the factory car radio greatly improved the situation. The after-market radio just couldn't handle very strong signals. (2/9/09) WBAL.com under malware attack insidecharmcity.com (2/9/09) /\ February 9 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....