Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - March 30 to April 5, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ April 5 Messages \/ I find it very unfortunate that CBS is deciding to end the long-running soap opera series 'The Guiding Light'. Supposedly to move in the direction of airing a new talk show... or a new game show or reality show... thinking that this move will allow them to save money in the long run. We're in the midst of a reality television over-load. We've already got plenty of daytime talk shows, game shows, courtroom shows, and news-magazine shows. I'm asking myself.... "Why do we need more talk shows, games shows, and reality shows polluting our television airwaves?" and "Do ABC, CBS, and NBC not care about the soap operas anymore?" IMO, they have made the soaps television's "dying breed". Therefore, they have tarnished the legacy of Irna Phillips. I'm a very loyal fan of this long-running show, and the other 3 CBS soaps (The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and As the World Turns). If CBS were smart, and wants to save money, I'm very much willing to settle for a half-hour of Guiding Light, instead of no Guiding Light at all. If loyal GL fans want to crusade to save this long-running show, they can sign this on-line petition... www.thepetitionsite.com... Or the fans can put pressure on CBS, via phone, e-mail, or snail mail... Barbara Bloom (barbara.bloom@cbs.com) Senior VP - CBS Daytime 51 West 52nd Street New York, NY 10019 Call one of the following telephone numbers: CBS Audience Services at 212-975-3247... CBS New York offices at 212-975-4321... or CBS hotline 866-695-1859. E-mail: www.cbs.com (4/5/09) Tom Conroy is right about the listener's being so important to the radio stations. Without the listeners, the stations are low in the Arbitron books, which will hurt their advertising revenue and cause a whole host of issues, not to mention format changes and employees being let go. This is one reason why I have taken to using an MP3 player in the car with a few exceptions. Joyce Conroy's oldies program on Saturday night rocks, I hope maybe someday they will load the program on the WHFC site so it can be loaded to an MP3 player or Ipod. Same with :"Voices in the Hallway" with Charlie Stinchcomb at WKHS in Chestertown. Not to be overlooked either is the oldies program on Morgan University WEAA FM Satruday mornings. These are 3 truly good oldies programs in the area, if anyone knows of any others, post them on here. Burt in Denton (4/5/09) I have to respectfully disagree that listeners are simply the "end users" to radio. I can't think of a station PD in Baltimore that I worked with in 30 years that did not specifically instill in the staff the importance of relating to the listeners, and playing the music they love. Unfortunately, the intimacy of radio is limited today. If a station has the listeners, and they show up in the PPM's and Arbitron, THEN there is advertising, and higher ad rates for the station. Also, I think getting back to some of what worked in the past can't hurt. If someone wants 20 songs in a row, it's easy to load up an iPod or use other technologies. Radio really needs to get back to the intimate medium that worked for decades. Again, my humble opinion.. Tom Conroy (4/5/09) Re: DCRTV Dave's Tweet on "Ashes To Ashes": I switched-on my television's CC mode a few years back as an experiment and have never switched-it-off. There must be other boomers like myself who are also losing their hearing at an alarming rate and have become dependent on either CC or forced subtitles to understand a show's dialogue. Thick Brit accents especially throw us for a loop, so perhaps PBS (or the Beeb) believe that me and my fellow almost-deaf viewers will express our appreciation at perennial Pledge Drive time! (4/5/09) Dave's response: I can usually understand most British "English." But what takes a bit more "concentration" are the Scottish TV programs in "English," a la "Taggart" and "Hamish MacBeth." Or movies like "Trainspotting" and "Sweet Sixteen"..... WHFS fans, you know it's over don't you? I hate to sound harsh, but that era is over, and you HAVE to move on. Talking about it on DCRTV does nothing except make you, and other people upset. Unless WHFS fan, you and your fellow fans can pony up the money to buy a radio station to go back in time (w/a DeLoren, 88 mph's!), it will never be the same again. Hell, the music isn't even that good these days! THIS is the 21st century...you're welcome to join the rest of us. Unless you want to keep wearing your denim bellbottoms, fat collared shirts, and act like you can pull some chicks w/ their ironed hair, hip huggers, and clogs. Move on people, just move on. WHFS and ALL formats like that are D-E-A-D! Accept it. It sucks, I know it does, but it's a fact! Fans of it, I almost feel sorry for you...almost. Go to your HS reunion, and bring a WHFS-like mixtape. Live it for ONE, 1, just one night...because it's OVER! (4/5/09) Dave's response: I have four dozen HFS mix tapes, some dating back to 1981. Converted from cassette to CD a few years ago. I want them buried with me..... I see that the new unreadable screen format on WUSA's morning news finished fourth out of fout. Maybe it is time to return to a format we can actually see. (4/5/09) Dave...you are being far too fair and showing us a little too much underbelly by jousting publicly with the self-acknowledged Penis. This guy is a troll, who only posts to work his weak schtick in hopes someone will respond. Thankfully, most everyone ignores this guy's plentiful drivel. It's laughable he is taking so effort to correct you, considering his own numerous boners, which if one can't remember, a quick review through recent archives make quite clear. Killfiling the Penis wouldn't hurt the Mailbag. (4/5/09) "Dave [Gajdusek]'s response: Hey Mr. Penis, that comment was made when I first heard about the death and hadn't yet looked up the obit info. Whatadick....." Yet you chose not to look at the obituary before posting your response. You're a DC radio and tv maven, yet you've not heard of Tom Braden? You couldn't look him up on Wikipedia? I thought we were supposed to "[g]et local radio and TV news, gossip, and commentary the instant it fires on DCRTV Dave's brain synapses at twitter.com/dcrtv". You probably don't even remember when Carl "Eight-Ball" Rowan shot that kid in his hot tub. --- ThePenIsMightier (4/5/09) Dave's response: Hey Mr. Penis, the obit wasn't up yet when I posted that comment. I'd heard of Braden, but I wasn't sure if he'd worked for the Post at one time or another. It was just a "throw-away" Mailbag response. Sheesh. Now, go play with yourself..... everytime i see the call letters for wtgb i think of wgtb which was wdcu and is now cspan radio. personally i cannot listen to anything right of 90.1. it is really unfortunate that dc does not have any college radio stations. i know wmuc exists, but is only 10 watts and very hard to get. (4/5/09) Dave, I sent this to you last fall….Left to right…Joel and Ria Denver, Renee’ and Paul Bicknell (AKA Davy Jones) Barry and Dee Richards at dinner in Malibu CA summer of 2008. You might like to post this for all the Reazar…groupies. He’s doing fine, Record Promotion, a little air time…Loving life and a close friend of all at the table. PLB:0) (4/5/09) 94.7 F R E S H ??? “FRESH” DOES HAVE THE LETTERS H F S... APRIL FOOLS JOKE THAT RUNS ON MARCH 30TH THRU APRIL 6TH. AND WHY ALL THE PUB ON FIRED DJ??? NOT A SERMON JUST A THOUGHT... G-FORCE (4/5/09) CBS = Corporate Broadcasting Sucks! When will they learn? We're still waiting for another HFS to show up. Regardless of what the "consultants" say, the DC area needs a station that serves a highly viable listener base, no matter what the Arbitron numbers say. By the way, those who can do a job successfully, do...those who can't, consult. GE (4/5/09) Guess which retired DJ tweeted 8 times between 5:34 and 6:20 a.m. yesterday morning... and all bad shtick.(CK) Note to that someone special who notes when I twit, and thinks it's all bad schtick. Here's a paper bag. Try and program yourself out of it.(Don G) Twitter catfight! Meow! WJFK fan - Centreville (4/5/09) RE: [Chris Plante cancelled! Could the Obama Administration have put pressure on WMAL for the canellation? Could this be the Administration's opening salvo to silence conservative talk radio?] Yes. You are correct. "The Messiah" decreed that since Chris Plante and his three loyal listeners were single-handedly thwarting our liberal cabal and impeding our plot for successful socialist domination of the entire planet, they must to be silenced post-haste. Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden's coercive techniques proved triumphant in strong-arming most of the conservative underground at WMAL - so successful in fact that Grandy and Andy were quickly broken and have freely submitted to implantation of DNC mind-control chips. However, the steel trap mind of Chris Plante proved to be far too powerful, far too strong and far too brilliant to succumb to our brainwashing techniques, and had to be targeted for immediate elimination. Now, since it is YOU who breeched the liberal media silence that once protected our socialist plot, rest assured that DCRTV Dave has faithfully reported your identity to Messiah Headquarters at the ACLU and Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers have been dispatched to your secret bunker to assure you pay with your life. That puny tinfoil hat of yours will never protect you from our mind control! Ma-hua-HUA-hua-ha! (4/5/09) Re: "If you're searching for "your 'HMC heavy head leader", radio chameleon Hairy Barry Richards..." Thanks so much for the links and information!! Ooo papa dida, Your Soul leada (4/5/09) Concerning the Bring Back My WHFS discussion, remember when The Globe first came on and many in the mailbag were jumping up-and-down about the possibilities? What did that get ya? Seriously, think it through. I don't think you want CBS trying to bring back your beloved station. Some things are better left in memories... (4/5/09) Dave's response: I think you're right. One of the things that made the old WHFS so great was the fact that it was owned by people who cared about the station and its music. Like Jake Einstein. We simply can't expect a huge corporate entity like CBS to resurrect WHFS and restore it. It won't happen. It can't happen. The best we can do is to treasure those three decades of WHFS memories, and move on. We should be thankful that we even had a station as great as WHFS was for so many years, and be thankful that the cool music that made WHFS so great is still available, in one form or another. I kinda feel sorry for today's kids, because they'll never know what it was like to have a local radio station was so fucking cool..... Robert in Arlington: If you're searching for "your 'HMC heavy head leader", radio chameleon Hairy Barry Richards, look no farther than here: DCMemories.com. That article appeared exactly forty years ago last week. but just nine months earlier, an immaculately clean-shaven BR was mixing-it-up with the teenie boppers on "Groove In" at: www.youtube.com. I wonder if The Reazar is still smokin' up the airwaves on Sirius XM Radio from 10 pm - 4 am ET on Fridays? Word on the street has it that BR's low-budget Rock'N'Soul video shows on Channel-20 from the 1970s are being prepped for release on DVD. (4/5/09) I just thought I'd point out that WTGB's HD radiotext is reflecting the upcoming format flip by scrolling "CLASSIC ROCK 94.7 THANKS FOR LISTENING!" alternating with the song/artist info like usual. DLP in Woodbridge (4/5/09) Lots of talk over recent days about WHFS... some good, some pessimistic, others saying it was a great station for its day and for its time. Can we ever "go back again", as it were? Well, you tell me. See these motley middle-age coots striking a classic band pose for the camera? That's the Buzzcocks. Average age now 53 years old. Rock out, you Viagra-chewin' geezers, you! (4/5/09) Dave's response: Yeah. Cerphe is 57. Although his hair is much younger..... "Dave's response: Is that the guy they based the "Eight Is Enough" TV show on? A former WaPo reporter?" Dave Gajdusek, how lazy are you that you couldn't be troubled to look in the Washington Post's obituary section? Don't even get me started on how uninformed you are. Katherine Weymouth still sucks and I still wish metaphorical lupus on her. --- ThePenIsMightier (4/5/09) Dave's response: Hey Mr. Penis, that comment was made when I first heard about the death and hadn't yet looked up the obit info. Whatadick..... /\ April 5 Messages /\ \/ April 4 Messages \/ To Charlie in Springfield: I hate to break it to you, but the CBS Cares Colonoscopy Sweepstakes is not a joke, it's real: promotions.mardenkane.com. ~~CA in BC (4/4/09) Who is minding the store at Red Zebra? Saturday morning at 7 the Costas show goes to break...umm...to dead air. Then - ESPN comes on for about 10 minutes. Doh! That was supposed to be the second hour of Costas. No prob. Cut the network and start the show. And, can't they be more creative in filling network holes than by using Chuck Mangione's Feels So Good? Ponderous. (4/4/09) Re: "It take visionaries like Jake Einstein and even Chiconas from WHMC, to allow true music to be heard." Wow, I haven't heard the call WHMC ("heart of Montgomery county") for a long time. When "progressive" radio format was getting going in DC, Barry Richards was doing progressive programming on HMC. (Was this before or after his "Boss with the Hot Sauce" persona?). They had an event at the station and I went. Out in Gaithersburg, seemed like it was out in the woods, in the middle of nowhere. I remember three relatively short towers in a row with their red lights. The station had a large tall room festooned with christmas lights strung along the walls. Pretty good crowd, the programming and music was piped in to the room. My memory is hazy on this but I think the studio had a glass window that looked out over the room. They had door prizes and I won a 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!' album by the Rolling Stones. Any one else here remember HMC and Barry Richards' programming there? Robert in Arlington (4/4/09) ("Chris Plante cancelled! Could the Obama Administration have put pressure on WMAL for the canellation? Could this be the Administration's opening salvo to silence conservative talk radio?") Only a dittohead would imagine that Obama would give half a shit about a fucktard like Plante. Also, since conservative radio in the U.S. only has influence among the lowest common denominator of people -- i.e. the intellectually-challenged (hence your question) -- the bogus fairness doctrine revival meme finds a rich audience. The vanity of the listeners of such crap is such that they actually believe that all this blather hurts Obama and liberals, when precisely the opposite is true. It is conservative radio that has put the dunce-cap on the heads of the true believers. But as we all can see, it fits perfectly. In fact the average WMAL listener can wear his or her dunce-cap in a hurricane and never worry about losing it. Pinheads! (4/4/09) ("Chris Plante cancelled! Could the Obama Administration have put pressure on WMAL for the canellation? Could this be the Administration's opening salvo to silence conservative talk radio?") -- I know Plante is a favorite on Free Republic, but I think the cancellation was because he got poor ratings, not from political pressure. -- GAB in the Airless Cubicle (4/4/09) Chris Plante cancelled! Could the Obama Administration have put pressure on WMAL for the canellation? Could this be the Administration's opening salvo to silence conservative talk radio? (4/4/09) Ref; " Patricia Guadalupe. Her reports on WTOP seem to be without much accent but when she gives her name she sure does lay it on thick" That is perfectly normal among people whose first language is not English. I do agree that it sounds silly but I bet that WTOP is not discouraging her from doing it so to appear as culturally sensitive. (4/4/09) Great article about bringing back the original free-form HFS. People need to let the suits know where their ears are. iPods and Youtube unless they restart HFS. Unfortunately, most suits just don't get it. It take visionaries like Jake Einstein and even Chiconas from WHMC, to allow true music to be heard. There are so many incredible bands and musicians out there right now who never get to be heard on radio because the people in control of the airwaves don't have the slightest awareness or appreciation for true music. All they feed us is American Idol and RIAA-sanctioned Mickey-Mouse club alumni like Britney Spears, Aguilera and Lance Bass. Terrestrial radio is "dead" for now -- but someone will come along and do it again. Even satellite, which could be a new frontier in radio, is being wasted by the suits who program it. Stay on this, Dave...maybe someone with the brains and the money will get the message. Until then, at least we have our memories! crch (4/4/09) Last week on channel 7 in the 5 a.m. hour Tim Brandt did the prerecorded sports and used the phrase "Let me take you" Is that right of Mr. Brandt to use a phrase once used by George Michaels! Seems like channel 7 sends it's a.m. reporters to locations that have lil' relevance to the actual story. Seems like a waste of money too me. And the Montgomery County Mobile News Studio, is this like the news satellite center and the weather center and the water cooler center? And channel 9 is now using Inside Edition as a source for it's "news" stories? And is there a financial relationship between the D.C. Examiner and channel 9 And whats the story with Patricia Guadalupe. Her reports on WTOP seem to be without much accent but when she gives her name she sure does lay it on thick. Is Time Life music in trouble, seems like a lot fewer airings of their infomercials on late night tv in recent weeks. And those Quest commercials, oh mama Adios to you WTGB I'm afraid rock and roll is dying (4/4/09) I guess the honeymoon is over between Obama and at least one liberal apologist media source, the Washington Post. There is an article www.msnbc.msn.com at Washington Post .com, (linked from MSNBC which is no stranger to supporting the Democrats), that talks about how the Obama admin is trying to side step limits in the bailout package. Yes, the Democrat President is trying to not do what his own party in power at Congress told him to do. What is interesting is how the WP is rather candid about what the Obama admin (and yes, that implicates Obama, just as it did Bush during his admin) is doing and compares Obama's behavior to Bush several times. And the behavior comparison is not friendly to Obama. The article even goes so far as to note how Obama is using the same tactics as Bush did for handling Enron. There is an article as well about the conflict of interest that Larry Summers has. Again, Summers is a big time millionaire and Democratic Party supporter from academia. Yet, he is being called out in the mainstream media. People such as Summers usually get a pass while Cheney would get villified. Perhaps journalism, like the economy has reached its lowest possible point, realized the mistakes of favoritism shown during the Clinton years, from whence our economic mess was created, and is now on a path of enlightened improvement where it treats all politicians with equal suspicion and a glaring light turned to reporting all the facts. Or maybe its just that Dems got caught off guard with some many handlers tending to affairs in Europe this week. The WP does not usually put such effort and balance into a story. (4/4/09) Any chance Cerphe might have a personal services contract that might prevent him from moving to a non-CBS station for the time being? This business about him doing special projects for WJFK sounds a little too far-fetched. No doubt he could move a solid chunk of potential PPM activity to any competing area signal that could bring him on board. (4/4/09) The mistake that listeners make is thinking they are radio's customers. You are radio's end users. Advertisers are radio's customers. (4/4/09) I love listening to a station during transition. 94.7 Washington's Classic Rock (until 5 am Monday) has a few grenades left behind by the inventive shitcanned staff in the automation system. I hear about an hour ago a contest from "CBS Cares" for a free colonoscopy. This fully produced contest promo included all expenses paid to New York to get there the night before and "prepare". All from your friends at CBS Cares. As someone who used to work for CBS a few years ago, I can relate. And the music this weekend is just great. Too bad. Sad. Charlie / Springfield (4/4/09) If on Monday morning the calls WHFS Bethesda go out over the FM airwaves I will be happy for those who live within the signal range. Someone should get the slim chance at a radio station worth turning the radio on for. Then I will continue with my grudge over the absence of 99.1 whfs as I have since that foul January day 5 years past. I,like many others, was disgusted at what hfs had become in the last few years but held out hope that it would evolve again to what it should have been. I suppose devolve is the correct term but since it became LESS than it was and in NO way superior to its former self I would not say it evolved at all.....more like festered until rancid. Dave when I speak of 'they' at CBS I speak of a collective entity. I'm sure there are good guys and ladies who work for CBS but overall the effect of the corporation is ,and has been, negative to good radio. Being handed a catastrophe has to suck but no one so far has made a move in the right general direction let alone hit a bullseye in fixing the problem. I don't get why they don't listen to thier listeners at all !?!! If you told your grocer you wanted to see a certain product in thier store chances are,with a few others asking also,you'd see that product. Or you'd swing by another store to get it. If you told your doctor your illness wasn't getting better they'd try another cure. If you told your contractor you weren't happy with something they'd fix it or get sued or at least a bad rep.....so what gives? MEDIA EXECS LISTENUP: If you DON'T make listeners want to LISTEN then start looking at careers in other fields because the ax will just keep falling. Damn even a construction grunt can see it. It's a good thing illegals can't finagle thier way into your turf or you'd be down here in the pits with the rest of us. Have you noticed hard working people losing thier livelihood? Most of them PERFORMED and got canned. (4/4/09) Dave, another sign of just how much the Washington Post is in trouble. The newspaper behind the single greatest bit of investigative journalism in American history - Watergate - is now outsourcing its investigative reporting. Didn't anybody notice the byline on Friday's front page in the long piece on Treasury Secretary Geithner? The story was partly reported by ProPublica, the independent outfit formed last year (funded philanthropically) and run by former Wall Street journal managing editor Paul Stieger. The Washington Post - no longer able to conduct its own investigative journalism. (4/4/09) Hey practicing 'Christian". Have you ever heard the song 'They will know we are Christians (by our love)". Actions speak louder than words. As it says in the Bible, do not stand on the corner and beat your breast proclaiming your faith as the hypocrites do. Rather, go out and do good acts in the community. Your acts, your words, do not attest to your faith at all. (4/4/09) Dave's response: And thus The Lord spoketh..... Hey Paul Duckworth, please let Andy know 13 seats have opened up on his bus. Also, please make sure, no matter what is going on Monday, that Sean Hannity tells his radio audience to tune into his Fox News program Monday night when his special guest will be Oliver North talking about Obama decimating the military. Have Sean make this announcement right up against the 6:00 PM news-there is no better placement for a great needed plug. Ditch any comments about the day's news, the plug needs to be made. Your station for "news and information" has priorities," and Sean's TV plug must take priority. (4/4/09) Lets see, Dr, Laura mid morning, Michael Graham evenings, Michael Graham mid morning, Chris Core evenings, Chris Core mid morning, Chris Plante evenings, Chris Plante mid mornings, and Austin Hill, whenever. All have failed to attract ratings as "conservative talkers" on WMAL. Mark Plotkin set off a bidding war between WAMU and WTOP a few years ago. What does this tell you? Perhaps WMAL's 15 + year mission to build a hard line conservative talker around Rush, will never work in the DC market? Also, giving Grandy and Andy an extra hour is just dangerous; they already are at work at 3:30 AM each morning, and Grandy has already had a heat attack in the office. Not a sermon, just a thought. Perhaps ABC insisted Citadel change the name because Citadel is about to declare bankruptcy, and ABC doesn't want their name associated with Citadel's assets. As for talking about going to church, if I didn't mention it, I would have been attacked as a "liberal, anti God, un-American, liberal who doesn't support charities like conservatives do," as I was when I expressed my concerns over the dangerous science fiction movie "expelled" being marketed heavily on WMAL. WMAL has turned from a talker to a Republican talking points and conservative marketing vehicle for factually challenged name callers. In Plante's case, it appears this strategy didn't work. Let's see if it succeeds with Silwa, and Levin. My Christian charity work is between me and God (and sometimes, the IRS). (4/4/09) Random thoughts: So Plante got whacked. He was temporary, it was announced when Core was whacked. All I hear here is radio sucks, managers suck, no one knows what they are doing. Well if all these things are true, why are you still in the business? If you emit the same vibes at work as you do here, it’s no wonder you are dissatisfied at work and come across as the guy that says the man is just trying to keep me down. Claims to loathe Limbaugh, Plante, Hannity, Levin, yet posters can recite word for word what they say. Why would any stable person subject themselves to that? Personally, I find liberal radio distasteful and do not seek it out. I have always thought the Washington Post was written on an elementary school level and recites same old stuff and don’t read it. Some guy wrote this morning that he outraged at Hannity’s closing yesterday. Didn’t hear that it, but if it was so bad, I would expect the headline at Drudge would say something like BIGOT HANNITY: FIRED!!. I just checked, it doesn’t. What did strike me as odd is he claimed to be a church going tithing Christian. Seems a little boastful to me. Jesus said to Nicodemus that men cannot be saved by acts or deeds, but by Grace alone, so men will not boast. . Finn Grove (4/4/09) Listening to 94.7 these last few days reminnds me of watching the Redskins (can I use than Proper noun here?) come alive late in the 4th quarter and getting my hopes up they might pull of a win. If only... Porter Jervis (4/4/09) You"re starting to see a pattern here. Guys like Albie and Cerphe referred to personally as classy, quality , wonderful, pleasant, good-guys - everyone wishing them nothing but happiness and success. Never hear that about Mike Sorce aka Don Geronimo. (4/4/09) WEBR Radio had been in Buffalo, New York for a long time. From about the 1940's to the early 1990's, WEBR 970 AM... WEBR 94.5 FM... WEBR 970 was " The Sound of the City" for many years. Back in 1971 it was sold and in December switched to a Top 40 mixed in with Oldies type of format. March of 1972 was when the fun started one weekend. WEBR 9-7-0ldies was born. In rhe mid 70's, it would go back to "The Sound of the City" unril it was sold to PBS WNED TV. In 1977 it went all news and Jazz in the nightime. In the early 90's, the WNED calls were put there and now they are Public Radio. What a waste. The FM in 1977 went Classical and become WNED-FM. But in a contest on 9-7-Oldies, they asked listener's "What do the call letters WEBR stand for?" One listener responded Where Elvis Buys Rats. Dave from Buffalo (4/4/09) Dave, in regards to WMAL getting rid of Chris Plante... is this really the norm around the country. Doesnt anyone do any local programming anymore? I can understand a bit of syndication, but the entire day? I dunno, i think thats the part that bugs me. You would thinks these stations would want a bit more local stuff, maybe the afternoon show or a sports evening show, or something besides all the syndicated programs! (4/4/09) Dave's response: Well, WMAL recent got rid of its local evening show, and now its local late morning show. The only local programming it has is Grandy and Andy for five hours a day. The other 19 weekday hours come off the satellite. Even though Mark Levin is locally-based, his home station is NYC's WABC and he's syndicated to WMAL. Hey, when you plug into a satellite you don't have to pay to produce a show, pay salaries and health insurance, and all that union stuff. It's cheaper and it often gets better ratings. That's the reality of radio today. That's what's killing CBS's WJFK. It's paying mucho dollars to produce local talk shows from 5 AM to 7 PM daily - and they're struggling in the ratings, to boot..... "Hannity in my mind is poison, and I will say something I haven't said in 20 years-"Go to Hell, Sean Hannity;" I am a husband, father, Christian, and a steady church goer with a tithe, and Sean Hannity's use of the airwaves today disgusted me." Hey Flanders, if you don't like it turn it off. I don't care much for Hannity either so I don't listen or watch. As for the rest of it, I have no idea what relevance it has. None of that makes you a Christian. (4/4/09) Dave--- Mark Stevens here from the infamous Stevens and Medley show on 94-7. Let me also join in the best wishes for Albie (who I did not get to know as well as I would have liked , but what a classy guy!) Kelly who was our producer, the amazing Cerphe and the quirky but immensely talented Weasel. We came to 94-7 under very tough circumstances, and NO ONE was better to us than Cerphe. He was the most unpretentious big time talent I have ever worked with. I know Cerphe will go on to do what he wants to do...and listening to the final show today online was a true joy--I agree with some of the posters here in the 'bag that allowing people like Cerphe to flow their own shows really is what COULD make rock radio viable again. I have to give kudos to management for actually allowing the jocks to have a few days to say goodbye and have some fun...geez having fun on the air..what a concept!! We got a chance to work wit h some really great people who made impacts on me...AD, Jerry...RIck... Sam and bunch of fun promo staff and sales...for me truly and honor to be a small part of the history of classic rock on this station. and Dave, you were never a hater..not the biggest fan I know...but always fair with your opinions! and by far the best radio/tv site in the country! keep ranting and raving! Mark Stevens (4/4/09) So, I got in my car tonight and turned on WMAL to see how this immigrant hating station would handle today's event. Expecting Hannity to sign off with something decent and professional, such as "our hearts go out to the families of the Victims," all I heard was a plug for his TV show tonight when he will be talking with Dick Morris about Obama's arrogance. I don't care what he said earlier; in broadcasts, sign off's should recap and show the human side of things. Let me be clear, professionally, with today's tragedy, Sean Hannity's sign off should have been devoted to expressing sincere empathy towards those in our community that are hurting. Unfortunately, all we got from Hannity was RNC propaganda written before today's tragic event. ABC Radio Networks, strike that, Citadel Radio Networks, should yank Hannity off the air immediately for this conscious abuse of the radio airwaves and those that listen. I am no Chris Plante fan; I found it unconscionable how he tried to project onto Obama Palin's extremely stupid comment. However, I don't think under the same circumstances Plante would do what Hannity did today. Hannity in my mind is poison, and I will say something I haven't said in 20 years-"Go to Hell, Sean Hannity;" I am a husband, father, Christian, and a steady church goer with a tithe, and Sean Hannity's use of the airwaves today disgusted me. (4/4/09) Looks like the www.wqsr.com website has finally bit the dust, right now it’s missing a lot of graphics, and the “listen live” link is now dead. However, clicking around, I found that Clear Channel has set up a new site at www.1027jackfm.com and the live internet stream is up and running on the new site. It looks like for now, CC is committed to keeping Jack alive just a little bit longer. (4/4/09) Former WRC-AM personality Tom Braden has died. 90-something. He and Pat Buchanan used to do an excellent talk show on the NBC-owned station through the early 1980s when the network sold the station. I remember one show where Braden brought in a revolver, and, on live radio, slid it over to Buchanan on the studio table, to make some point or other about gun control in DC. Buchanan could be heard picking up the firearm, wordlessly, and finally saying "Tom this weapon is in terrible condition." (4/4/09) Dave's response: Is that the guy they based the "Eight Is Enough" TV show on? A former WaPo reporter? How much music is enough? In the 80's, I worked at a rock station in Dayton. The consultant came in and removed about 2/3 of the records in the library. He was of the school that, if people complained that you need to play more songs, you really need to play fewer songs but those songs have to be the ones that the target audience likes. If you don't think about it, it makes sense. We complained to the PD that we were sick of the same songs over and over again. He said: A. He didn't care, B. We weren't the target audience and C. The home office in Akron had spent an S-load of money on those guys. The pea sized playlist. Some things never change. To everyone who says that Cerphe did a great show today, it is time to do what I did. Satellite. John (4/4/09) (regarding a previous post) "CBS has obviously had a degree of success with the Fresh format in NY and Chicago, or they wouldn't be doing it here. And, they wouldn't be hiring Greg Dunkin, the architect of the format, to program it locally." During most of the 1980s, I worked with Greg Dunkin at Adult Contemporary KLSI 93.3 in Kansas City. He was Music Director there and he played a huge role in helping to take the station from literally nowhere, to tops with our target demographic (Women 25- 54). When Sandusky Newspapers bought the station from Jimmy Swaggart Ministries in early 1982, the place was a shambles and it barely registered in the ratings. At the time, KUDL owned the AC audience in Kansas City (and had, for a long time), but in pretty short order, KLSI caught 'em and then beat 'em, with a very successful full-service AC format. Greg is a gifted programmer and if anyone can make DC's 94.7 a ratings success, Greg Dunkin can! Scott Marinoff (Alexandria native, now in San Diego) (4/4/09) Robert in Arlington: I don't know which is sadder; your lack of reading comprehension or your inability to cut and paste text. I'd tell you to go back and re-read my earlier post, but I doubt you know how to use the Page Dn key. Here's what I wrote: Nobody, not even CBS, expects Fresh FM to be a Top 5 station (12+). Now begone you worthless pissant. You bore me. (4/4/09) /\ April 4 Messages /\ \/ April 3 Messages \/ Let me start by saying it has been a pleasure to work with Cerphe, Albie, Marci, Kelly, Weasel, Schelby, S&M, everyone from the past. I'm one of the lucky few who kelp their job (if you want to call it luck but hey it's a job). Cerphe is the most classy gentleman I know. He was willing to show me things and was always inviting. He is great and I hope to run into him again very soon. Kelly is awesome. She's so sweet. She's a great producer too and has a unbelievable delivery. As for Albie Dee....he is my fav. I grew up on Albie on PGC and was shocked when I was able to work with him. It was unreal and then I acually got to teach him a few things on the other side of things. Albie is just the man that's all I can say. God Bless you all and we will talk soon.--AD (4/3/09) How is fresh 94.7 going to be a success when some like me will remove that frequency from their presets? I hope Big100 or DC101 pick up slack. (4/3/09) I had dcrtv's website bookmarked at www272.pair.com/dcrtv and noticed earlier this week that the address no longer works. What happened? (4/3/09) Dave's response: New "high volume server" - www395.pair.com/dcrtv..... Is it true that every time an alt-rock format leaves the air, an angel gets his wings? (4/3/09) To Jeff in Bowie: Chill buddy, sounds like you need some anger managment. What a hateful post!....You need to look at things a bit more objectively. Maybe you need to join the Al Franken school of charm. Bill in Easton (4/3/09) Chris Plante compared to Bill Press? PAH-LEEZE! Give me a friggin' break. The hateful bile Plante spewed on MAL on a daily basis has no comparison whatsoever to the level of thoughtful and introspective conversation that Bill Press worked to elevate the political discourse to daily. Regardless of politics, Press is a class act and Plante is a stooge - a worthless hack. Dude, Its like you just attempted to compare Mark Levin to Mark Plotkin: Sean Hannity to Diane Rheem: Michael (Wiener) Savage to Kojo Namndi. We're talking not even from the same planet, much less in the same league. To put it into terms even a MAL knuckledragger might comprehend, when it comes to political knowledge, Plante wouldn't even be worthy of holding Press' jockstrap. You might have had Silvie at "Hello", but as for the rest of us, try again. (4/3/09) Re "CBS, expects Fresh FM to be a Top 5 station (12+) ..." written by "We'll be waiting" That is so sad that this is the view of the poor CBS apologist who represents the corporate suits that programs their stations with tired old stuff that nobody wants to listen to. As for your "showing us what a moron you are" Well aren't you special. Good luck to you. "CBS, expects Fresh FM to be a Top 5 station" BUWAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! ....... Hey wasn't Cerphe's program this afternoon the most wonderful example of what radio can be?! God bless him. Robert in Arlington (4/3/09) Jeff in Bowie and Mike in Manassas are such great human beings. When Bill Press got dropped I don't recall the same hateful posts. But I forget, they're part of the party of tolerance and compassion. (4/3/09) Dear "the format is doomed to fail": Seldom have I seen someone so determined to openly display their ignorance and lack of understanding of how commercial radio today works as you. Now you'll have another chance to show how little you know. The format hasn't even launched locally, yet you've already proclaimed it a failure. What is your definition of "fail"? Nobody, not even CBS, expects Fresh FM to be a Top 5 station (12+). But if they can attain Top 5 in Women 18-34, they'll have a sales story to tell. If you had ever read anything written by marketing gurus Ries & Trout, you'd know this is called "flanking." CBS has obviously had a degree of success with the Fresh format in NY and Chicago, or they wouldn't be doing it here. And, they wouldn't be hiring Greg Dunkin, the architect of the format, to program it locally. Please don't label me an apologist for the management of CBS Radio. I sold my CBS stock in August 2007 when it was priced about $24. It closed today at $4.85. But give Dan Mason some credit. He resurrected WCBS-FM in NYC, and did away with all of that Free FM crap that marked the failure of Joel Hollander as CBS Radio honcho. As for the old man, he became an open target once his son made him part of the discussion on a public forum. Now please come back with another salvo showing us what a moron you are. We'll be waiting. (4/3/09) To Dave in Sterling: Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't work for CBS. I do, however, have more than four decades of experience in radio, and I'll match my knowledge with 99% of those who frequent this cybersite. Over those 40+ years, I've been able to continually laugh my ass off at the naysayers who predicted that certain formats would fail, including all-news, talk, oldies and album rock. An arrogant asshole? Yes sir, and damn proud of it, with the bones to back it up. I'd go on, but I know you've got to get back to your gig in the toll booth on the Dulles Greenway. Y'all come back soon, you hear? (4/3/09) Wow, where do I start - first, let me start by saying that I've just returned from the Hard Times Cafe here in Waldorf, where I've downed 3 x-large margaritas on the rocks -- two in the name of Chris Plante and one in the name of Geoff Holtzman. Chris is a very thoughtful individual, and as his #1 fan, I want to thank you for everything you've done for conservative talk radio here in DC-MD-VA for the past three years. And Geoff, you're a talented producer with a lot of great ideas and you'll get far in life doing what you like to do most in broadcasting. On behalf of myself and the Plante Forum Fans, you will both be missed! -Love, Silvie- (4/3/09) RE: [Dave's Response; Maybe Chris can head to Silvie's home each day and do a "radio" show just for her] Um...Dave, take a look at Plante's PPM numbers - Other than the commute, he's clearly already been doing that for the last six months. Buh-bye you bat-shit-crazy, neocon-mouthpiece, Fox-Talking-Point-Spouting, Bush-administration-apologist, insane-conspiracy-theorist, tin-foil-hatted, birther-loving nutjob...don't let the door hit'cha where the good Lord split'cha. Silve - one word, babe; xanax. - Jeff in (Ain't karma a BITCH?) Bowie (4/3/09) Buh-bye Plante, ya big jerk. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out. Hey, you righties luv to talk about the free market... well... guess what... here it is in action. You suck, Plante. Pure and simple. And the market has spoken. Of course, I'm sure Faux is warming up a seat for him - that's where all the poor 'victims' of evil 'libs' end up. Mike in Manassas (4/3/09) I was just driving home happy to be listening to Cerfe on 94.7 when I heard him thanking his listeners for 11 amazing years at the station. Can you please forward this e-mail to him so he knows how badly he will be missed! I think he has such wonderful enthusiasm, incredible knowledge about the music business, and just such a pleasant attitude that I have enjoyed for so long. I am really angry that he has been displaced at the station, and they just lost me, a longtime fan of 94.7. I am changing the settings in the car tonight, because I don't want to hear the new format on Monday morning, done at the expense of a great DJ. Very disappointing way to run a business. My very best wishes for Cerfe's future happiness. He deserves it after all the joy he brought so many of us. Bye for now, Kate Wise (4/3/09) I think the self-proclaimed CBS expert ("Get back to us after the Fall book. In the meantime, rather than put your ignorance on public display here, go help the old fart change his Depends") has done a fine job of demonstrating why the company has become such a mediocrity, exactly how "Fresh" will flop, and that he is a complete asshole. Your belief that you're the only Mailbagger who is in the business or has valid opinions is perfectly in keeping with your company's snide, do-nothing reputation. It's also why my people no longer do business with your underachieving stations. Dave in Sterling (4/3/09) It looks like WAMD's days are severely numbered, if it's still on the air at all - control passed from First to Salem today, if I'm reading the paperwork right. Which reminds me...I'm still looking for someone in Harford County or vicinity who'd be willing to aircheck a little WAMD for me, if that's even still possible. There's a free Tower Site Calendar in it for anyone who could help out - Scott Fybush, scott at fybush dot com. (4/3/09) Re: "My point was that nobody gives a shit about the opinion of an 81-year-old male...." The format is doomed to fail, and your non-stop attacks on the guy's father are about as low-class as it gets. Between that and your staunch defense of a bland unbillable format make me think you MUST be one of the mindless schmucks who came up with the idea. (4/3/09) QUOTE: "WMAL axes Chris Plante. Has Silvie been put on suicide watch?" No. But she is blubbering about it on Free Republic. The suicide watch will come next. (4/3/09) Heaven forbid, Chris Plante gone from MAL. How will Silvie cope? Who will Silvie stalk now? That is, after a period of respectful mourning while she sucks down several bottles of Prozac and a few gallon jugs of Smirnoff. Oh, that's right ... she already started stalking the obnoxious, squeaky-voiced Mark Levin, Mr. Nasal himself. Good luck, Mark. Chris, count your blessings. (4/3/09) What this PPM i keep reading and hearing About??? Is there a website to cast my votes for the Local Media Favorites Stuff?? (4/3/09) To "Duh": My point was that nobody gives a shit about the opinion of an 81-year-old male beautiful music partisan concerning the potential of a format targeted to Women 18-34. I can't see Great-Gramps giving up his Mantovani and Hollyridge Strings albums to listen to Daughtry, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay and Leona Lewis. CBS doesn't expect to beat WASH, Hot 99-5 or Mix. The plan is to take a share or so from each, which is what happened in NY when Fresh FM took bites from both WLTW and WPLJ (it actually beats 'PLJ in 12+ share). Only time will tell if the CBS strategy works. Get back to us after the Fall book. In the meantime, rather than put your ignorance on public display here, go help the old fart change his Depends. (4/3/09) WMAL axes Chris Plante. Has Silvie been put on suicide watch? (4/3/09) Dave's response: Maybe Chris can head to Silvie's home each day and do a "radio" show just for her..... Just wondering....when was the last time Don Geronimo, Cerphe and Weasel were all without a gig at the same time? I'm thinking...Nixon administration?!? You could start a pretty fair station with that trio as your core: Geronimo in the AM, Cerphe in the PM, Weasel back on evenings. But I'm sure this Fresh thing will do really, really good. Unless it sucks. Which it does. Dave in Sterling (4/3/09) Let us not forget that the company who has run 94.7 into the ground is the same company that began it's heavy handed moronic rule by running HFS into the ground. Tight rein on playlists, telling jocks what to say and how to think,removal of anything artistic and a mass injection of bland makes it suitable for a CBS station. They have no talent for music and won't develop any even with tons of helpful suggestions or straightforward demands. They had the HFS move to 105.7 planned before the protests and pretended to care about the listeners. They sell out to whoever makes the best offer and consider us too stupid to know whats good for us.They Continue Being Stupid even as all thier assets circle the drain and don't have the decency to let anyone with a clue save the victimized station because they're the type who'd throw something away before letting someone else have it. They're the snotnosed little punk hiding under the table eating the last piece of candy that they stole from thier best friend.They're the asshole who splashes you while glaring at you because your car dared to break down on the road that they should own anyway.They're the kind of person even a bleeding heart would let drown because thier selfishness surrounds them like a cloud. So go ahead CBS....DROWN...with your nose 2 inches from the air becuase you're too stupid to live, DROWN and be gone from the world of people with brains and taste. (4/3/09) Dave's response: Michael Hughes is a nice guy. But he's got two strikes against him - (1) the needless death of alt rock WHFS, and (2) the needless death of the alt rock/classic rock Globe. Ah, three strikes and you're out..... Oww-w, wanna feel really old in a hurry? No? Well neither do I but I'm not going to suffer alone. Check out the pic of jazz horn player Chuck Mangione on Page 3 of today's WaPo Style section. When did THAT dude geeze out? (4/3/09) That's too bad about Chris Plante. His show was hilarious. I'm sure with his talent he'll get picked up....... he'll get picked up............. at........... I'm thinking here, give me a second. At........... shit. I'm drawing a blank. I'm not really sure where besides WMAL someone with his skill set could work!! (4/3/09) Dave's response: Maybe Chris Plante can get a job as Mark Levin's bodyguard at book signings..... Well its to God Damn bad that the ASSHOLES who run 94.7 couldn't figure out how to make the listeners happy.I mean today just after 3 p.m Cerphe was mixinitup like no one else could. He even said he was enjoying his final show. That in itself is odd because usually everyone gets blown out, The station flips and everyone is left wondering what the fuck just happened?? If those same ASSHOLES had let the jocks do what they do best maybe they wouldn't be flipping to DOUCHE 94.7.. CBS you've done your few listeners a major injustice and I'd like to say Best wishes to the entire airstaff and good luck landing a new gig... Former CC Employee/bethesda... (4/3/09) Dave's response: If only CBS had given the 94.7 DJs some freedom to play what they want. It would have been such a cool station and so many more people would have listened. Maaaaaaan. Fuck the consultants..... Do you sometimes get the impression that both CBS Baltimore and DC "Management" are trying to get themselves fired? Sort of like George Costanza trying to get fired from the Yankees to take a job with the Mets. (4/3/09) Recently, while flipping past the Univision station on my outstanding Verizon FiOS system, the wife noticed an ad for "Betty la Fea" on Telefutura. Well, we then realized that Verizon FiOS doesn't carry the Telefutura station in Washington. And until 2 weeks ago, they didn't carry Universal Sports (WRC-DT 4.3), though now they do, so Mrs. "In Olney" can watch ice skating 24 hours a day if she wants. I hope this comment might spur Verizon to start carrying the local Telefutura station, as I can't get it with my outdoor antenna this far north of DC. (At least we get Channel 14, so I can see Don Francisco on Saturday nights, sometimes the best thing on network TV on Saturdays, even though I can barely speak Spanish anymore.) But, then again, if the lack of low-power Channel 47 is my only complaint about FiOS, that's not too bad. And, for what it's worth, the article about the top 25 "Local Limbaughs" was not about politics as much as the best-performing local topic-dri ven talk shows of all stripes, so Fred et al. deserved to be listed there for their ability to have a well-produced topical local show, not because their politics is one way or another. -- Carl in Olney (4/3/09) What about octo-mom…..who’s targeting her? Signed: The Cheap Seats (4/3/09) "No offense to your dad, but octogenarian geezers aren't Fresh FM's target demo." Duh. Thanks for that insight. Obviously the guy's point was that even an aging fan of a classic DC bore station thinks "Fresh" sounds dull. Obviously. And I think he's right. I haven't talked to anybody yet who thinks this format stands much of a chance of succeeding. It will fail completely with men of all ages, it will fail completely with all young demos and it will only do marginally well with older women, who already have several similar stations that they are familiar with. Which means 94.7's entire current audience will disappear and the station will have to attract an entirely knew audience. Anybody think "Fresh" will make a big splash, have people talking and be able to create its own audience? No chance. Absolutely none. None. "No offense" to CBS, but you guys are fucking stupid. (4/3/09) To the person who commened on my post regarding Grandy's investment decisions, thanks for your comments. I agree, most competent financial advsiors would advise against what he did. What I intended to convey and did it poorly due to laziness of the hour and not wanting to post a long and dull post was that, many people his age move signifianct portions of their retirement investments to instruments that are intended to preserve principal. Grandy's decision appears unusual, his age makes what he did less dramatic. Porter Jervis (4/3/09) Leave it to Albie Dee to make a smooth and thoughtful exit from 94.7. All the best to one of classiest people I know. Albie Dee is a true broadcast professional and consummate gentleman. I'll be listening for you on XM's Pop2K and wherever else you may land next, Brother! Ken Merson/Merson Person Voice Tracks (4/3/09) The Chickens have Come Home To Roost on Localism, Access, and Control of Content in Programming at Pacifica, the Root Cause of most of Pacifica Problems. Or in other words I hope what came home too Roost is the real issue, Protection of Your Local Mass Emergency Communication Outlet at All Five Stations within Pacifica. Better a day late, like twenty years and a few more dollars short of Understanding how important it was and is to have the people that was License by the FCC as Radiotelephone Operators to control the public air waves. This is an issue that's destroyed commercial and non-commercial radio since the mid 80s with the change of total responsibility for programming and it's content to the owners of radio stations And when total responsibility for control over programming content was given to the owners, the rest is history, out of work talented local people that held a fcc radiotelephone license.>>Billy Ray, Wpfw Radio (4/3/09) [Snip] Last night my father, who is 81 years old ... told me he thinks 94.7's "Fresh" plans sounds "boring." [Snip] No offense to your dad, but octogenarian geezers aren't Fresh FM's target demo. (4/3/09) Dave's response: Those "octogenarian geezers" are WMAL's target demo..... RE: [1) Dave, I've seen "Love Boat" reruns on TVLand, and "Maude" reruns on Lifetime Channel as well as on WOR-TV in NY -Silvie-] Sorry Silvie, but you were confused. Those weren't actually "Maude" reruns on Lifetime - you were watching "Hannity" on Fox. Dick Morris was on, and he only SOUNDS like a dead ringer for Bea Arthur. (4/3/09) Dave-Thanks so much for the kind words. I also need to thank the listeners for all their warm wishes that I have been receiving the past few days. Let me tell you I had the most fun over the past 4 days than I have had in a long time being on the radio. I do want ot thank Jay Stevens and CBS radio for picking me 40 minutes after being let go from my previous employer. Look, this Memorial Day week marks 22 years here in the DC/Baltimore markets. I'll survive and land soon. Count on it. I'll be posting my next move very shortly on both myspace.com/albiedee and Facebook. SEE YOU AROUND THE RADIO FREQUENCIES! - Albie Dee (4/3/09) The Nationals no longer have an affiliate in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. WINC-AM 1400 will be staying with righty talk. WRNR-AM 740 in Martinsburg, WV is still a Nat's affil, but has a weak nightime signal because of blowtorch AM 740 out of Toronto. (4/3/09) from NY Post - NEW York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller equated the Gray Lady to a PBS pledge drive, claiming readers have offered to donate money to keep the Times alive. Keller was speaking at Stanford University to dedicate a new building for the campus newspaper -- an event he likened to a "ribbon-cutting" for "a new Pontiac dealership." The bombastic broadsheet editor went on to equate the keep-the-Times-alive movement to the cause of starving African refugees, saying, "Saving the New York Times now ranks with saving Darfur as a high-minded cause." Keller said he had little use for Web sites like Google and Drudge Report: "If you're inclined to trust Google as your source for news -- Google yourself." (4/3/09) Any news on the DC ratings book for last month? NBC4 is running commercials saying they are number 1, but they flash by so quickly I can't really see them. (4/3/09) Jeez, the Washington Nationals don't need a daytime Baltimore market station. They need a nighttime station to replace the lost 107.7 in northern Virginia. Unfortunately, the Nationals don't seem to be able to pull that one off. Everett W. (4/3/09) Last night my father, who is 81 years old and was a big fan of WGAY in its hayday, told me he thinks 94.7's "Fresh" plans sounds "boring." I kid you not. (4/3/09) ANY radio station that wants to keep listeners needs to dig deeper into the music libraries. The biggest problem with stations is the managements efforts to create the perfect platform to saturate you with commercials instead of the alleged format it claims.Its like the guy who tries to hard to be your best friend,he offers you all sorts of crap you don't want,makes an ass of himself in general and succeeds in creeping you out enough to avoid him. Suits need to take a good long gawk at the name of the station and then walk around the place and see the people that were hired for specific talents. If the suit wasn't hired for thier skill with engineering or music knowledge they should get the F out of the way,let the people who RUN the place run it and go sell ads to clients who like the format or whatever just get OUT of the WAY!!! This scenario fits pretty much any business. Why should radio be different? And "More Than A Feeling" & "Carry On Wayward Son" were what drove me turn the dial away from 98Suck and look for more interesting things.....it only took about 5 years before my radio landed somewhere....... (4/3/09) 1) Dave, I've seen "Love Boat" reruns on TVLand, and "Maude" reruns on Lifetime Channel as well as on WOR-TV in NY (a station seen in some cable systems throughout the country). 2) By the way, it was "Michael Savage Day" in the SanFran Bay Area on 3/31. Don't know exactly which organization was behind this push, although I'm fairly certain it wasn't the city or state government. 3) Wishing Holly Morris all the best during her "Chicago" performance this Sunday, as I recall hearing on FOX5 News this morning. Have a great weekend! -Silvie- (4/3/09) Diane Rehm today (Thursday) repeatedly complained about how scientists had gotten out of control, citing a news story about farm-raised whales to be used as an energy source. After she complained about it again and again, she came back 10 minutes later to say she'd been had by an April Fool's joke. Apparently the joke was done on All Things Considered. If the joke is too subtle for the national program hosts to figure out . . . is that a problem with the joke or the host? www.cjr.org (4/3/09) WNST becoming a Nats affiliate would really put Pete in his place...NOT! Gee, everyone within a 1/4 mile of Hart Rd could hear the games. Howie (4/3/09) Dave's response: The old WTRI in Brunswick MD was a Nats' affiliate and a daytime-only station. Like that station, WNST could carry the weekend afternoon games..... Nestor Aparicio should get Nationals' credentials, go to some Nats' games, encourage his listeners to do the same, and then dare the Orioles not to reciprocate. (4/3/09) Dave's response: Why doesn't Nestor go one better and make WNST a Nationals radio affiliate right there smack dab in Baltimore? You mentioned that Maryland Public Television's HD signal would be added in DC on 4/15. Will WETA HD be added in Baltimore? Thanks. (4/3/09) Dave's response: I haven't heard that WETA-HD will get added by Comcast's systems in the Baltimore metro. Anybody know? By the way, in addition to MPT-HD getting added to Comcast's DC systems on channel 219 on 4/15, MPT's two standard-def subchannels will get added in the DC area - MPT Select on 268 and MPT v-me on 269. Plus, Comcast is removing the analog signal of Channel 22/WMPT from its basic tier in the DC area. You'll need a digital box to continue receiving the main standard-def MPT channel via the basic service come 4/15..... Y'know if 94.7 had played the variety of songs they've been playing this past week, then their ratings wouldn't be in the toilet and their new name wouldn't sound like a sanitary napkin ad! I really liked the original format--a mix of the old and the new, but like I said in an earlier letter, I guess I was the only one. With Cerephe's extensive music collection and knowledge, I think he could easily start his own online station. Dawn (4/3/09) Dave's response: How many times have I suggested that 94.7 widen its playlist? Classic rock is a cool format if you "dig deep." Listeners are tired of the same three songs by a band played over and over and over. CBS has only itself to blame for the failure of classic rock, and previously alt rock, on 94.7..... One question: Since 102.7 JACK FM is no longer owned by CBS, will Jason Kidd be the PD at MIX 1065? Another question: What happened to Gary Murphy? Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (4/3/09) Several topics... Re: Pacifica-- In the full story it says, "In New York, 'we are at risk of being sued for breach of our lease agreements, which could have dire consequences,' including 'a loss of our signal.'" Now it makes sense. But wouldn't changing the locks be yet another breach of the lease agreement? ~ ~ ~ Re: "Why are these Citadel guys discarding all the years of goodwill?"-- Maybe it's the ABC TV network that wanted to be distanced from what Citadel is doing with the radio properties? Hm? ~ ~ ~ Re: "shouldn't iBiquity also be involved in working with this study?" Given iBiquity's iniquities with the development and promotion of the current mess, it's a good thing if they're not involved. I'd much rather see a study done by someone who stands to both gain and lose from a change in the current broadcast system. NPR's previous study showed that the talked-about 10-fold increase in digital power would hurt more reception that it helped. Now, if they want to find a way around that, maybe they can. Remember, it was iBiquity that gave us radio stations that occupy 3 channels instead of 1 and said it was a good thing. ~~CA in BC (4/3/09) RE: [Responding to the mild gloating over Fred Grandy's decision to publicly air his investment decisions, as he is over 60 it is not really unusual to divert retirement investments out of stocks and into more conservative instruments to preserve capital. If he was 40 that might be considered more radical. Porter Jervis] 60, 40, Radical, usual or not, I doubt you will ever find an investment advisor who will recommend for anyone to jump in the market when it is high, and pull all of your money out when it is at it's lowest point, Porter. That is just plain stupidity. When Grandy sold everything off, he is the person who put his decision out in public on the radio - I'm sure he's big enough to accept that, in hindsight, it was a stupid thing to do, and I'm sure he's kicking himself right now for doing it. (4/3/09) I had a dream last night that Donnie G was doing mornings on the new 94.7. The dream was a little fuzzy so I'm not sure if Mike was with him or not........ (4/3/09) Dave's response: Another wonderful idea that the suits at the Clueless Broadcasting System didn't have - put Don Geronimo in mornings on a real oldies 94.7, a la CBS's WOGL in Philly or WCBS-FM in NYC. Keep Mike O'Meara doing his afternoon show on JFK..... OK, Now you may have jumped the shark by trying to sell the site with the nostalgia of "Mark and Art"! Maybe with the passing of 94.7, and no real classic rock station around, we will start to reminisce, sooner rather than later, of those good old days when we could hear "More Thank a Feeling" and "Carry On My Wayward Son" every hour, on the hour. (But I doubt it!) (4/3/09) Dave's response: It was my subtle "tip of the ol' rabbit ears" to Albie Dee, Weasel, and, yes, even Stevens and Medley who did the post-Mark and Art morning shows on the various incarnations of DC's 94.7 with little promotion and, duh, little ratings. And to Albie on his last day on 94.7 - you da man! Responding to the mild gloating over Fred Grandy's decision to publicly air his investment decisions, as he is over 60 it is not really unusual to divert retirement investments out of stocks and into more conservative instruments to preserve capital. If he was 40 that might be considered more radical. Porter Jervis (4/3/09) Dave's response: Grandy will be OK. He'll retire on those residuals from reruns of "The Love Boat" and "Maude." Oh wait, neither show seems to be running any more on any of the many hundreds of cable channels. OK, Fred - worry..... (Boston's) WHDH is airing news at 10 this Fall instead of Jay Leno: whdh.com... Does Sunbeam want to lose the affiliation (even though NBC has extremely limited options)? (4/3/09) (earlier item) Corporation For Public Broadcasting has awarded a grant to NPR Labs to study ways to improve digital HD Radio coverage. ...NPR Labs is working with the CPB and several major commercial radio entities, as well as representatives from public radio stations with major investments in digital radio, including WAMU and WTMD. (end quote) Oh gee, call me just a little wacky for thinking this, but shouldn't iBiquity also be involved in working with this study? I mean, after all, they only INVENTED the phuqueing thing! (4/3/09) The only good thing about HD radio is that it gave former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Mary Gross some work (and presumably money) recently, voicing its latest series of lame commercials. Aside from that, HD merely provides formats these timid stations are too afraid to place on their regular signals. Instead, as in the case of 94.7 trying to emulate 97.1, they are essentially Muzak for receptionists. How exciting. -- Vincent in Triangle (4/3/09) Regarding “Citadel Name Slapped On ABC Radio Nets - 4/2 - ABC Radio Networks has changed its name to Citadel Media, saying the new name ‘represents the company's dedication to connecting audiences with advertisers across multiple platforms beyond its core radio business. . . ‘ “ That’s all nice and good, but what are these people thinking?? Are they looking to the failed Clear Channel model who doesn’t have an established brand name outside, perhaps, the advertising community? Are the shortsighted marking guys at Citadel in control of the company?? The ABC – American Broadcasting Company – name has been around since sometime in the 1940s, some 60 years – sure it could be called “old-school” but nearly everyone recognizes it. (BTW, doesn’t ABC/Disney still own 49% of the radio stations and the radio network business?) There is still an ABC television network and many of the TV affiliates call them “ABC X” e.g., ABC7 in New York, Chicago and Washington. Why are these Citadel guys discarding all the years of goodwill, and not leveraging the TV network (even if they are not affiliated with it) to their branding for a name that no one knows (Citadel)? How may years is it going to take to make Citadel a household word like ABC? (A sidebar – How many months is it going to take before Citadel goes into bankruptcy?) In my humble opinion they are making a big mistake. Now I don’t the legalize of this, but before Citadel bought control of the ABC radio stations, at least WMAL identified itself as an ABC station. Couldn’t the now call the stations a Citadel/ABC station? This would maintain the ABC branding and introduce the Citadel name more closely to the radio station and what the company want to do. (4/3/09) In 1972, while a student at University of Maryland, I attended an on-campus pornographic film. At the time, the importance of such an "egregious" event paled in comparison to the Vietnam War and the Nixon Horrors. The film included full-frontal nudity, simulated sex acts, and comedic twists. No big deal. I wish our elected leaders would suppress their inner child and STFU. College students are for all intents and purposes adults. In loco parentis disappeared on account of bounds being overstepped by repressive conscription fanatics like General Hershey and J. Edgar Hoover. (4/3/09) Dave wrote: "including that infamous rained-out Orioles pre-season game on Sunday." I thought the game resumed without the O's radio guys on the air because they were sent home by some idiot-jerk at a Baltimore radio station. So lame. And that's the type of _ _ _holes running radio today, folks. (4/3/09) /\ April 3 Messages /\ \/ April 2 Messages \/ RE: [ " There are finally 1,000,000 HD radios out there " ]........ And that fact comes from where? And more importantly, is anybody REALLY LiSTENING?? And MOST IMPORTANTLY, can anybody even receive these stations??? The answer is a PROFOUND NO! And yes, I used all caps to make an ass of you on purpose, sorry. But thank you for playing the HD-Radio game Ibiquity, Inc from Columbia, MD !!! YAY, I win! :-) And in the background...heard playing...."Does anybody really care? (4/2/09) All I try to do is contact various news outlets and correct them/point out some errors they make while reporting stories; such as reports on the military. These "journalists/producers" have little clue about what they are reading/saying and don't even know how to do some simple research (i.e. proper rank, weapons system, background etc.) and that bothers me to no end. I wont even start on the blatant political bias in the media coming from both sides (Right/Left) that tints-distorts "news" nowadays and how the media wont even acknowledge it themselves. Its all become propaganda... As for "...get a job where you can make a difference..." Like in the media? Sorry I cant... I'm not a good looking enough (I'm no metro-sexual or porn-star good looks, so I cant work at Fox"News") and I can find on a world map where all the important stories are (with out a teleprompter) and my snaky misanthropic wit just rub people the wrong way. Yet my dream was to always work in radio... overnights... alone... overseas... (like some BBC WorldService gig I listen to when I have insomnia) -Ha! ~Kinky-Neo-Con (4/2/09) Good audio on the College Park porn flick flap: wbal.com (4/2/09) "11 Claims Charm City TV News Crown" - when is WJZ 13 going to realize Marty Ass is killing them. Keep the bald headed know-it-all and continue to lose viewers. J in E'burg (4/2/09) CBS White House correspondent Chip Reid's father has passed away - Reid was with the president in Europe when it happened.. (4/2/09) RE: [Wonder how WMAL Fred "I sold everything against my stockbroker's advice" Grandy is feeling today?] Neiman isn't letting poor Fred forget it either. The morning that Gopher announced he told his broker to sell everything (3/4/09), the Dow opened at 6,875. Today, less than a month later, it closed today at 7,978. That's a net 16% gain in the market over four weeks. I'd venture a guess that it surely represents a net loss of tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for Gopher. You can be sure that Mrs. Fred is wearing Grandy's tofu-eating ass out for ir right about now. Funny, but on a related topic, I really have not heard Sean Hannity utter his oft-repeated phrase "The Obama Recession" in the last two weeks either....I think on this one, Not even Silvie can be Dubbya-Ehmmay-Yell brainwashed enough to peddle Grandy's folly as a smart decision. (4/2/09) I occasionally receive the kind of letters "Kinky-Neo-Con" boasts about writing. Every newsroom does. That's what trash cans are for. If you're truly the expert you claim to be, get a job where you can make a difference. In the meantime, your whining accomplishes nothing. (4/2/09) RE:1) Someone please tell me that President Obama giving an iPod as a gift to Queen Elizabeth II is an April Fools joke! Please oh please tell me this is a joke!!" - Can people PLEASE come up with something more legitimate to worry about? It's amazing to me that people are still trying to push this as some major gaffe. Even more stupid is making such a big deal as to what Mrs. Obama wears or wore. Or making such a big deal about the clothes Sarah Palin wore. Much more to worry about than the above issues for sure. Then again, Meredith Veira isn't much better than Katie Couric. The networks and other media need to get a grip on the real issues. Only Fox News seems to focus on the REAL issues. And no, I don't work for Fox, nor did I ever play a newscaster on TV or radio. (4/2/09) RE: [ " There are finally 1,000,000 HD radios out there " ]........ And that fact comes from where? And more importantly, is anybody REALLY LiSTENING?? And MOST IMPORTANTLY, can anybody even receive these stations??? The answer is a PROFOUND NO! And yes, I used all caps to make an ass of you on purpose, sorry. But thank you for playing the HD-Radio game Ibiquity, Inc from Columbia, MD !!! YAY, I win! :-) (4/2/09) re.: "There are finally 1,000,000 HD radios out there, that's a fact." So what? At some point in our history there were probably 1,000,000 AM Stereo Receivers, 1,000,000 Sony BetaMax Systems, 1,000,000 RCA Video Discs (anyone remember them?), and 1,000,000 Quadraphonic Systems all out there. Only goes to show that the America is made up of less than intelligent consumers. (4/2/09) "Kinky Neo-Con"... Judging from some of your posts on here, I can see why none of your e-mails to TV stations are answered. I'm sure your missives are full of "he/she sucks" type comments. Therefore, they go right to trash. You cannot be surprised by this. (4/2/09) Dave, Sorry to hear about the death of Vic Vissari. I interviewed him a few years ago for my show on Voice of America. In a segment on the 50th anniversary of videotape, he explained how, back in the day, video was edited by physically cutting the 2" wide tape. The text is here: www.voanews.com... And the audio is linked from this page: www.voanews.com (the segment starts at 15:35)... Regards, Art (4/2/09) (Maybe some people are happy that Don is gone AND hope the MOM show abortion is cancelled?) Perhaps some, but count me as a person who still misses Don G AND are rooting for The Mike O'Meara Show to succeed! Mike, Buzz, Robb, BA, Katie are my afternoon best friends that I've never met! (4/2/09) I receive the "Taylor on Radio-Info" emailed newsletter each weekday morning. In today's edition, there's an item about a top-25 list of the most influential non-syndicated talkshows, from radio consultant John Mainelli and Newsmax Magazine. WMAL's Grandy & Andy are on the list. newsmax.com... As a fan of great radio, it saddens me to see them and the 24 other shows on this list. While WMAL could never be considered a "great" station, it was (once upon a time) a good, reliable, solid "full-service" station. Actually, I can't think of one radio station in DC that ever deserved the title "great". When I think of a station of that caliber, WBZ in Boston comes to mind. When I recently learned of the death of WBZ's Larry Glick, I looked around online for clips of his shows. Along the way, I found a website featuring airchecks from radio stations in the Northeastern US. Among them was a series of segments from WBZ's 65th anniversary, in 1986. If you want to hear "great" (and classy) radio, scroll down that list and listen to those WBZ segments. www.northeastairchecks.com (4/2/09) Dave's response: I do like to slam Grandy and Andy, but they are Einsteins when compared to that bloviating bag of gas that airs on WMAL from noon to 3. Calling them "Local Limbaughs" is not a compliment. While I often disagree with G&A, both are thoughtful conservatives and well-worth listening to. Now, the moronic bullshitter Chris Plante - he's definitely an "LL" - a "Limbaugh Loser"..... RE: '...cause a viewer backlash...' What is that, a "viewer backlash"? that you speak of? -LOL. I often email local TV stations in DC or NYC or Philadelphia were I'm working about some of their MORONIC local news stories and IDIOT reporters (seriously? these folks studied "journalism"...) And yet NO ONE at the stations responds or follows up with a viewer like me. Why 'brag' about their 'contectivity' with the internets, twitter and all that crap if they don't care to email or 'twat' back? (don't even get me started on what a waste contacting Networks or Cable "news" is...) ~Kinky-Neo-Con (4/2/09) "PLEASE, HD RADIO IS DEAD! Your post is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here on DCRTV from a technical standpoint." Um, dumbass who has to shout with upper case letters, read the original post. 1. There are finally 1,000,000 HD radios out there, that's a fact. 2. whatever digital delivery system radio uses requires more study and research or it won't grow. (4/2/09) Wonder how WMAL Fred "I sold everything against my stockbroker's advice" Grandy is feeling today? ACH (4/2/09) RE: [ " As a commercial radio guy my hat is off to NPR for taking a lead on HD " ]......... PLEASE, HD RADIO IS DEAD! Your post is one of the stupidest things I've ever read here on DCRTV from a technical standpoint. There is no technical solution to solve this mess of no one being able to even receive the HD RADIO signals because the entire original technical premise of HD-RADIO is flawed! WAKE UP FCC! The only solution to save AM & FM radio is all digital/NO analog. The sooner the FCC initiates this type of plan for AM/FM, like creating a 2nd FM band similar to the HDTV conversion, etc, the better the chance that some of these radio companies might survive. And make no mistake, even if HD RADIO survives, it will NOT be the salvation of RADIO! DUH! Geez, it's amazing to me how so many smart people can post such dumb things in this mailbag. My advice? ..... HD-RADIO - PUT A FORK IN IT NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE! (4/2/09) Dave's response: Digital radio will be the future of radio. But the FCC needs to start over and form a digital-only radio band and initiate production of a new generation of receivers. The current American "HD Radio" system of putting the digital signal "on top" of a radio station's analog signal is a freaking mess..... www.insideradio.com ABC Radio gone????? (4/2/09) I don't know.....ABC was a much stronger brand than Citable, don't you think? (4/2/09) "The Corporation For Public Broadcasting has awarded a grant to NPR Labs to study ways to improve digital HD Radio coverage. The study will establish industry recommendations for the amount of power increase needed to improve digital radio coverage while protecting the existing analog FM stations. The $350,000 study is expected to be completed by the end of summer, with findings presented to the CPB and the Federal Communications Commission, and at the National Association Of Broadcasters Radio Show in Philadelphia in September. NPR Labs is working with the CPB and several major commercial radio entities, as well as representatives from public radio stations with major investments in digital radio" As a commercial radio guy my hat is off to NPR for taking a lead on HD. There are finally 1,000,000 HD radios out there, but more research is clearly needed if it is to grow any faster. Jim (4/2/09) "1) Someone please tell me that President Obama giving an iPod as a gift to Queen Elizabeth II is an April Fools joke! Please oh please tell me this is a joke!!" - Can people PLEASE come up with something more legitimate to worry about? It's amazing to me that people are still trying to push this as some major gaffe. A) The Queen had requested an iPod. B) It wasn't just an iPod, but included a variety of videos from the Queen's visit to Virginia, and also Obama's Inauguration and some speeches (no more vain than the Queen's gift in return of a signed picture of herself. C) The iPod also contained a number of showtunes, personally significant because the Queen and Edward loved them and sang them to each other. D) The gift also included a copy of the original score to "The King and I" signed by Richard Rodgers, also significant as this was one of their favorite shows. E) For the idiots like Meredith Viera complaining that the Queen apparently already had an iPod - that was a 2005 iPod Mini, pretty out of date now, and without video, which was part of the gift. --- So again, seriously, can we drop this "fake issue"? It's amazing to me with everything going on, and with so much desire to portray Obama as incompetent, that people are making a big deal out of this and trying to portray it as some sort of terrible gift when it fact it was quite well thought out, and went above and beyond the request for "just an iPod". - Justin (4/2/09) ("The "DCRTV Community" chased him away with pitchforks, and now they are bored so they turn their attention to The Mike O'Meara Show, doing an almost daily diatribe of how bad and un-listen-able his show is - limp dick cretins actually wanting them to fire their producer - pining away for someone else they wanted gone only a year or so ago... pathetic.") Maybe some people are happy that Don is gone AND hope the MOM show abortion is cancelled? (4/2/09) Vic Vissari passed away this morning at Holy Cross Hospital at 2:30 am. Vic, was one of the great editors at NBC NEWS. Also, a truly wonderful man , who was a friend to all who knew him. Vic also served as treasurer of NABET. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Vissari family. Cory Haber (4/2/09) Is it just me, or has 94.7 done something with its playlist? Are the DJ's just having fun and playing what they want before getting the boot? Or is something else afloat? Tim in Stafford (4/2/09) Dave, I tend to agree with you regarding Doreen Gentzler's possible exit. I'm sure it would save the station quite a bit of money. And I've noticed that lately she's been absent quite often. Maybe management is agreeable to giving her time off to interview elsewhere..If she were to leave, I would suspect that it wouldn't be too longer afterwards before Vance left. Not just due to money, but I find that out of all of the co-anchors, he gets along with Doreen the best. (4/2/09) Dave's response: I was just "reading between the lines" of what she had to say with DCRTV's Tricia Barba recently..... I just want to echo the person who said that people need to give it up with regards to resurrecting WHFS - it ain't gonna happen. But what's particularly galling, however, is I remember in the years leading up to CBS pulling the plug that there was constant chatter on DCRTV about how CBS/Infinity should just go ahead and kill WHFS - weekly and sometimes daily bashing of the station, until it finally happened and all of the nay-sayers were left with their dicks in their hands wondering "Wha' happened?" Even WHFS at its worst is better than no WHFS at all, and there's no chance to fix something IF IT IS GONE! Fast forward to the years of shit heaped on The Don and Mike Show, and Don in particular, and once the people got their way and Don left, it's nothing but the "Oh, dear - M'OM is nothing without Don! When's Don coming back! Did you see what Don twittered?" The "DCRTV Community" chased him away with pitchforks, and now they are bored so they turn their attention to The Mike O'Meara Show, doing an almost daily diatribe of how bad and un-listen-able his show is - limp dick cretins actually wanting them to fire their producer - pining away for someone else they wanted gone only a year or so ago... pathetic. (4/2/09) Dave, I just saw on Newsblues that three NBC anchors in major cities have been given a buyout. They are in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. I am surprised that this hasn't happened yet to Jim Vance. Have you heard anything. Just wondering. (4/2/09) Dave's response: I haven't heard anything about forcing Jim Vance out. Unlike some of the other markets you mention, DC's NBC4 is the top-rated news TV station in the market. Getting rid of Vance would probably cause a viewer backlash. However, I am hearing rumblings that Doreen Gentzler may be leaving 4 in the not too distant future. Wouldn't be surprised to see her go to 7 or 9..... I noticed this morning that WQSR HD2 is playing Smooth Jazz instead of Good Time Oldies. It sounds like the same people on the old 104.3 before the switched to Channel 104.3. Ron in Annapolis (4/2/09) Anybody notice the new “Jack” went from one of the brightest, cleanest (although maybe a bit hot) sounds to a muddy mess with no high end? Now we know who’s engineering has the tin ear… (4/2/09) Wow - the statement about HIV deaths not hitting the papers is pretty broad - any proof of that? Since the DNR has often printed editorials knocking whatever president's aids programs over the last 25 years and they have printed numerous obits about hollywood types who were have known to have died from this cause...AND there has never been any mention in any venue I can recall after having lived years in the valley (left wing, right wing or underground) of one tearful family not being able to get their loved one's obit published (and that would be a big deal I would think), seems awfully far fetched and urban mythish...don't ya think? And why the magical year 2004? I have submitted various obits over the years - mainly for elderly deaths in the near and far family (one just since the first of the year) and there is not even a line for cause of death. Do you think they just didn't print those submitted from young unmarried males that didn't show up in the front page car crash just to be "safe"? Keep the story coming, as soon as you think of it... (4/2/09) Holy crap, Dave Hughes, did you REALLY just allow a ONE THOUSAND WORD mailbag entry, with no paragraph indents, from a nutcase calling himself Captain Trips? I can't even make it past the third line when pill-poppers craft clumped-together pieces of fertilizer like that. Please, Dave, PUH-LEASE can we do some paginating when the looney tunes send you their manifestos?? My strained eyes thank you in advance. (4/2/09) For Cerphe not to go to the next level of rock-n-roll broadcasting for D.C. would be totally disrespectfull of what he can add to PPM. Cerphe is all about ratings and he can deliver. Hopefully, he can find a shift at Big 100.3. (4/2/09) Dave's response: Look, as much as I'd love to see Cerphe land a new radio gig, Clear Channel is rumored to be laying off hundreds more nationwide later this month. And, BIG's ratings are rising without him, and will rise further with the demise of Cerphe's station. I can't see CC hiring him..... April 1, 2009, One other piece of news out of WMAL; Effective immediately, Joe The Plumber will do the 9:05 AM-11:45 AM, weekday shift on WMAL. Said Paul Duckworth, Program Director, "Joe the Plumber is more qualified to talk about piles of crap than Chris Plante." Chris will do the overnight shift, leaving him more daytime hours playing Jack Bauer at the Spy Museum with his new radio sidekick. (4/2/09) /\ April 2 Messages /\ \/ April 1 Messages \/ XYZ Seems to me that JACK in Baltimore has been playing a lot more Urban Dance Mix stuff lately. Is that rumored to be new format? And WaPo just put us out of our misery. With all the changes and price increases I'm buying it a lot less. Going to the New York Times more and more, which I think far superior to the present day WaPo. (4/1/09) HFS music at 2 and 7 and before this show and after that one and when the other one isn't on and the next one isn't next and between plays during a ballgame and underneath used car sales and oozed in between politics and wall street analyses like audible cheez whiz holding together a structure made up of a schizophrenic staff talking about what someone said about someone who caught or missed a ball a certain way or why someone stole this but not that and the reaction to the reaction and a heaping mountain of bullshit that makes music lovers wanna put thier radio right thru an execs face.......nah....thats been done,it was called HFS Live on 1057: Baltimores alternative is Orioles/Ravens/Terps/Autoscoop Sports Talk Flagship Talk Station. If there ever is an attempt at WHFS again it should be music followed by music before music that precedes the music. And NOT the EmoPop hit parade it's been since being whored out. Some things don't mix. Here have some toothpaste with your macaroni and gravel,it's good for your lawndarts. (4/1/09) Even more lame than your "April Fool" was PTI, going with the, "Rick Pitino has stepped in at the 11th hour to take the Kentucky job away from Calipari...". Mike and Korny went on and on for 2 minutes, when everyone with half a brain knew it was BS seconds in. Weak. (4/1/09) Interesting comments about Staunton's newspaper outsourcing their printing to Harrisonburg's papers. For many years ( 1994 until 1999 ) I worked for the Northern Virginia Daily paper in Strasburg, VA and I can remember many of times hearing from our managment and advertisers that despite the massive population growth in both the Harrisonburg and Winchester areas the main reason why neither Byrd paper (Harrisonbrg's Daily News Record & Winchester Star ) wont do business on Sundays was in fact due to their religious beliefs. Of course that doesn't mean their employees have all of Sundays free. Perhaps their "Sunday" means 9pm Saturday until 9pm Sunday. I believe the Richmond supermarket chain Ukrops does this. The stores are closed on Sunday but somebody has to be there to get that delievery, deal with vendors and such on Sunday night in order for the store to be open on Monday morning. Perhaps money is a factor too. As was pointed out both Byrd papers do make their Saturday papers..Sunday with all the advertising and such but one really can't overlook the "right wing religious" part either. Want proof? Talk to any family in the Shenandoah Valley who had a loved one who had died from AIDS prior to 2004. For many years neither the Harrisonburg DNC or the Star would publish their death notices because they still felt AIDS was just a disease that strikes gay men. There was also a time when neither paper would publish in the obits the names of children who were born outside of marriage either. It was only after a 1996 murder of a young Winchester woman who had 6 kids out of wedlock that changed that policy. We at the Northern Virginia Daily never had any problem with the obits. Also Byrd was a big supporter ( and they spent big money too ) in fighting gay marriage in Virginia. However on the flip side business is business as the Winchester Star oddly does accept ads for some of those so-called West Virginia "gentlemens clubs" yet in the same paper they supported ex-gay groups such as like Exodus International. Go figure !!! Perhaps money is the reason why neither paper does Sundays but when a paper starts raising the Jesus flag and brings up "we dont do business on Sundays because that is our day of rest" as they had for so many years well...to me it would be make sense to say "..we make so much money with our Saturday editions..no need for a Sunday". But as long as Byrd wons both daily papers, they will continue to bring up religion to the public in their decision making. Steve (4/1/09) Has Comcast removed Cartoon Network form it's analog signal in Montomery Co? Channel 58 is now fuzyy and has been so all day. Inquring minds (my young daughter's) want to know. (4/1/09) Dave's response: Yes. Here in Reston, both Cartoon Network and the Comcast Network went digital-only today via Comcast. You must have a digibox to receive them..... Here in noisy central Arlington Comcast did add MASN-HD today. Dave, your front-page blurb mentioned that Comcast will be adding MPT-HD In the DC market on 4/15. I noticed from Comcast’s station lineup list, from their website for my area, shows the Fox News Channel being available on ch. 222 (I know that you may think that ch. 666 more appropriate!) but is not available now. If you contact Comcast they have no clue what your are talking about – only to unplug your converter for 30 seconds, etc. & etc. (most Comcast customers have gone through this drill many too many times!). Any idea if FCN-HD will be added on tax day? Any other HD channels, too? (4/1/09) Dave's response: Comcast has added Fox "News" and FX in HD on some of its area systems, but not yet on mine in Reston or yours in Arlington. Probably soon..... When are some of you going to wake up? WHFS won't be coming back to its old format, we do not live in the 80s now. WHFS coming back to its 80s format is about as likely as Rouse and Company coming back to WQSR or WCAO switching to its format used in the 60s. Oh yes, they will bring back Johnny Dark too. Dream on people. Burt in Denton (4/1/09) The Post item may be an April Fool's joke, but the fact is the newspaper industry IS trying all of the things mentioned, and that's the real joke. The industry is in a fight for survival. The NY Times tried and failed charging for content and the Wash Times did indeed do away with its Saturday edition and go online. The Post is desperate and willing to try anything. They've essentially done away with the business section and TV guide, closed down foreign bureaus and offered waves of buyots to employees. Chairman Donald Graham warns of "steep losses" in both 2008 and 2009, publisher Katherine Weymouth is getting rid of the Arlington HQ of Post Digital and says "unfortunately, we can't rule out future layoffs." Compared to all of that, trying to go online on Saturday - the lowest circulation day - well, why the hell not? Maybe a reporter at some other news outlet can make a phone call and see what's up? In fact -- what a real reporter at say, a local TV station, would do, is call the Post and ask if it's true, as you say. Wait, there are no real reporters in local TV, well maybe a few are still around. (4/1/09) I know it's an unpopular idea for everyone that drives SUV's and thinks only of themselves and what's convenient but...I'll bet all newspapers will get together and say if everyone pays $X a year, they can go to any newspaper webbsite for as often and as long as they want. Not a sermon...... (4/1/09) cute April Fool's Day joke at WCP (I think). www.washingtoncitypaper.com (4/1/09) Dave's response: Yeah, a HuffPost parody. Aren't those DCCPers funny! Some people genuinely wondered aloud whether the Republicans in Congress had been really been ‘reduced’ to this…CNC ‘Power Breakfast’ on WAMU safely wins the April Fools contest in DC. Stories also in Congress Daily, and likely tomorrow’s Washington Post. Enjoy! www.politico.com (4/1/09) Some great local Baltimore media April Fool's Day predictions at Profootball24x7.com (also known as Ravens247.com)... www.profootball24x7.com... Jim Hunter and Tony Kornheiser to do Raven's Preseason games ??? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Good one, I'm still laughing. Now THAT would be funny as the only thing Korny knows is the Deadskins (barely) and more importantly how to complain to a waiter! LOL -- Joe in Essex :-) (4/1/09) An 18 year old editorial in the Star proves your point? (4/1/09) "Poor poor Comcast customers. About to lose the NFL Network, which you had to pay extra for, and apparantly some people can't see MASN-HD yet on it's roll-out date. You really need to switch to FIOS. Not only do I get the NFL Network (and not have to pay extra for it as part of sports-tier package), we had MASN-HD already on Monday night, March 30th. So big deal about an April 1st roll-out Comcast, once again FIOS beats you to the punch and why they have my business instead of you." Again - person who won't leave a name - most people in Washington can not get FIOS. Don't you get it? I know people that have been in houses for over 5 years and the wiring flat out hasn't got there. Mike (4/1/09) Dave I for one HOPE this is an April Fool's joke. Putting HFS in Fairfax would be great for VA/DC listeners and I don't mean to imply they don't deserve it but WHFS was and should continue to be a Maryland station. It's been jerked around enough and when it finally got a decent output on the stick it turned out to be a setup for an airjacking. The Free Form-like format sounds awesome....kinda like......hfs!!!! but we all know thats too intelligent and tasteful for a suit to dream up. So a suggestion to those who are fools 364 other days of the year : ListenUP!! YOUR CORONA SOAKED SCHEME IS A WASH BECAUSE MOST OF THE LISTENERS ARE BACK WHERE THINGS ARE CHEAP AND YOU'RE WASTING AIRWAVES ! GOT IT?!? MUCHO DINEROS IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!!! Maybe thats the right language to speak with suits? (4/1/09) Dave's response: How about this? WJFK starts a 24/7 hard alt rock stream for its HD2 and website. And then airs that stream on the main 106.7 signal during the overnights and weekends, and keeps the Junks, BO&D, MO'M, and "Loveline." But when those four shows aren't on, even during the weekdays, it's music. Maybe add hour-long music breaks at 10 AM and 2 PM, and from 7 PM to 10 PM on weekdays. Market the station as a "guy lifestyle" station, not a "talker"..... Should have added that Don Geronimo was going to be something like Executive VP or Program Director. Work around his non-compete clause. Still following you though I am being "held" hostage in Los Alamos, NM. Gorgeous place, enjoy the work and the radio here is 10X worse than the DC area. (4/1/09) OK, that WHFS on 106.7 thing got me really excited when i first saw it, and it DID NOT say April Fools at first, so i got in a very good mood and when I went to lunch I read the "news" again only to see that April Fools was written next to it. like that i went from very happy to V-E-R-Y PISSED!ok, Dave, WHY DID YOU DO THAT? For awhile I thought i found my for sure #1 preset replacement for 94.7, until your april fools thing ruined it. i KNEW it was too fucking good to be true..........time to get my SIRIUS radio (4/1/09) (and he’s employed at a great radio station) Take out the word "great" - and there you have it. "that a heck of a lot of people out of the listening are wish they could receive" ...and that's why so many people in the listening area *are* listening to it, right? Jesus - all of you HFS/RNR socialites are fucking amazing - living in your own foggy world. (4/1/09) 1) Someone please tell me that President Obama giving an iPod as a gift to Queen Elizabeth II is an April Fools joke! Please oh please tell me this is a joke!! 2) Dave, we watched the Osbourne show last night on FOX5, and quite frankly I thought it was enjoyable, like a mix between "Deal or No Deal" and "Candid Camera". Everyone knows what Ozzy is capable of and that he's crazier than his wife & kids, but I thought it was okay - nothing major. -Silvie- (4/1/09) Dave's response: There's actually an Ozzy song on my all-time fav hit list - "I Just Want You" from "Ozzmosis"..... April 1, 2009; after Chris Plante announced on the air that he recently got engaged to be married, at two o’clock today, WMAL receive a phone call from one fan (yes, the one fan) saying Chris was “now in (her) custody.” The call was traced to a prepaid cell phone, purchased earlier today from a Wal-Mart in Waldorf. The caller said she demanded WMAL give Chris Plante more air time and more time to play Jack Bauer at the Spy Museum with her. WMAL acquiesced to her demands to get Chris back unharmed, so, starting tonight at 2:00 AM , instead of the trucking show, we will have what appears to be negotiated, “The Chris and Silvie Show,’ live from a basement in Charles County, MD. (4/1/09) Glenn Beck - nutjob. (4/1/09) The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c The 10/31 Project comedycentral.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest Poor poor Comcast customers. About to lose the NFL Network, which you had to pay extra for, and apparantly some people can't see MASN-HD yet on it's roll-out date. You really need to switch to FIOS. Not only do I get the NFL Network (and not have to pay extra for it as part of sports-tier package), we had MASN-HD already on Monday night, March 30th. So big deal about an April 1st roll-out Comcast, once again FIOS beats you to the punch and why they have my business instead of you. (4/1/09) April 1, 2009; WMAL’s Andy Parks today was eating a “Triple Baconator” at Wendy’s for lunch today, when a two pound chunk of bacon lodged in Andy’s throat. Brian Neiman, who was dining next to Andy, unfortunately, thought Andy’s blathering was just a rehearsal for tomorrow’s show, and simply shook his head and moved on. Raum Emanuel, was walking in front of Wendy’s on Wisconsin Ave, when he saw Andy choking. Mr. Emanuel ran in and was able to get his 38” arms around Andy and popped the slab out of Andy’s throat. Andy saw it was Raum Emauel, and immediately went into Joe Biden busting. “Raum then asked Andy, “Would you rather have the alternative?” Andy then said, “After that jerk Plante’s interview with her, we at WMAL are not allowed to even acknowledge that she exists.” Interesting…….. (4/1/09) Is anyone surprised that Comcast botched this particular rollout? Here in beautiful, downtown PG, MASN HD got its channel position on the contracted day (even though other providers found reason to set things up beforehand), the channel is still blank with the "should be available shortly." Typical M.O. for the worst service-providing company on the planet. Steve in Lanham (4/1/09) Vic Vissari long time engineer for NBC Washington is not doing well... He has Cancer and is at Holly Cross. His family is with him. He will be missed he is one of the great guys from the good days of NBC. I worked with him for years in EJ and enjoyed everytime I saw him in the mornings working the Today Show. (4/1/09) Here is the real story with the goings on at JFK, I know this because I am the radio Messiah, Buddha, Mohammed, Jesus, Lao-tse, Kirkeggarde, and Nietzche. First The Junkies: The Junkies will go to all Gladiator format. Lurch will wear a pith helmet and Chain Mail. EB will wear armor made of steel. JP will don nothing but a leather codpiece, but will be armed with a dagger (tanto style). Cakes will wear Japanese Feudal armor from the Edo period. Each day the show will begin with a ceremonial act of urinating into a bucket. Brett, dressed as Robin from Batman, will be forced to balance the bucket on the end of a pole. If any urine is spilled the Junks will sing in unison,”Not too money!!!” (c-minor). BDK will roll in the spillage while singing,”CC time, CC time, CC time, oh bitter failure,, my bride, you are mine!” (d-major). BDK will them be beaten with the body of a salmon until blood is spilled. The segments of the show will consist of Fights to be matched by the drawing of lots. Callers will suggest weapons, but only office supplies can be utilized. For example Round 1: Cakes (armed with a Swingline stapler), will fight Lurch (armed with a container of White Out). Round 2: JP (armed with a paper clip), fights EB (armed with a legal pad). They will fight until one loses consciousness. Round 3 will see the victors of the previous battle fighting for “The Daily Rick”. The weapons will be placed in the middle of the studio and the participants will race to get the weapon of choice. The weapons will be BDK, and Buzz Burbank’s colostomy bag. They fight to last man standing. Killing will not be allowed until sweeps. The victor will place his right foot on the chest of the loser, raise his right hand and sing,”Why so Rick? Why so Rick? For now Victory is mine, thanks to Farrish Toyota!!” (c-minor) The show will continue with: •EB reads entertainment page while Lurch, JP, and Cakes throw lawn darts at him. EB will be allowed to dodge the volleys, but the object is to draw blood. •Lurch will read his sports page in a tank of piranhas, while JP, EB, and cakes launch razor blades at him. Lurch will be allowed to have one free hand to swat at the fish. •JP will do a brief run down of the day’s news, but he will be tied to a stake, gasoline soaked rags will be at his feet. JP, EB, and Cakes will flick matches at him trying to ignite the rags. JP will be allowed to have a full bladder, urine being his only defense. •Cakes will be rubbed with bacon fat, he will be put in the mic’d green room with two Rotweillers. He will have to describe his sexual folly with Amy from the previous night while fighting off the dogs. He will have a Little Tots golf club for defense. This will be the format of the show. The Big O and Dukes Show: Will now be known as “The Day of the Chad” Chad will do the show standing at a podium. He will be fluent in German, and will do the show in that language. He will go on Hitleresque tirades against those he perceives to be his enemies. Working himself into a fury, he will beat Oscar and Drab with a riding crop. Oscar and Drab will be allowed to weep. The show staff will not be allowed to look him directly in the eye, should this happen the show will move outside. The offender will be blindfolded and led to the road. The offenders mother will be on the opposite side of the road. The offender will be pushed into traffic, and his mother will act as a vocal beacon in aiding the offender across the busy intersection. If the offender is hit by a car, Chad will scream: “Scheitern, beachten mein Wort. Vermeiden Sie meinen Blick!!! (Failure, heed my word. Avoid my gaze!!!) The show will also have heavy emphasis on Chad planning to invade and take over other radio stations in the DC metro area. He will have an army of interns. No one will be safe. Bi-weekly, Sven Lloyd will come in studio and oil Chad’s left nipple. Chad will stroke Sven’s head gently while singing Lieder für Kinder (children’s songs). Drab and Oscar dance in a circle, and throw flower petals. Calls are taken, Jews leave the area. The Mike O’Meara Show: The show will have no name, and will only run for one week as the show will be terminated after that time has elapsed. Beth Ann McBride will be heard in the background as a constant drone reciting the Rosary in Latin. Rob(b) will be dressed as Liberace, in a Bicentennial theme hot-pants rhinestone outfit. He will wear a collar, and Mike will lead him around the studio on a leash. Mike will read excerpts from Joyce’s Ullysses, and Finnegan’s Wake, and weep openly. Single Malt Scotch will be consumed for the duration of the week, the goal being by weeks end Mike is nearly comatose. The second hour of each show, a high Catholic Mass will be held. During the consecration of the Eucharist, Mike will sing ‘Danny Boy’, and weep. Mike will receive communion, and try not to vomit. If he does vomit Rob(b) will catch it in a pot painted gold. He will then hand it to Buzz (who is dressed as a Leprechaun), and Buzz will say,”Behold!!! My new colon!!!” He will then punch Rob(b) in the mouth, and kick him in the right kidney area. Rob(b) will then and in great pain say,”I wish my brother George were here.” Mike will then say, “...brother...” in a forlorn manner, and then weep. There will be no point to the show, and the above description is the only format that will be followed. Ratings will never be higher. The show will end with no fanfare, but Mike will be heard weeping to the sound of bagpipes playing ‘Amazing Grace’. The final minute of the show will end with the only guest to appear during the week long run. It will be Don Geranimo who will laugh for 55 seconds, the final 5 seconds of the new MOM show will end with a single utterance from Don to punctuate the run,”I told you so”. -captain trips in sterling (4/1/09) April 1, 2009; Retirement Living Television today reported WMAL’s Mark Levin will host a new afternoon news-talk show for RLT called “the Depends News Hour,” sponsored by Depends undergarments. “Depends is a great sponsorship fit,” said the president of Retirement Living, “When Mark rants so hard he pisses is pants on live television, the viewers can see how well the product works.” (4/1/09) Dave's response: Also today, Rush Limbaugh is marketing the new "Rush Flush 3000" - a new heavy duty toilet that uses three times the water per flush than a normal toilet. Perfect for those anti-environmentalists who shovel in the fatty food - and then have to make a mad dash for the bathroom..... Re: The Staunton News Leader and The Harrisonburg Daily News Record...it should be noted that in 1991 The Winchester Star ( owners of the Harrisonburg Daily News Record ) published an editorial SLAMMING the Martinsburg Journal for their plans about publishing a Sunday edition because it went against the Winchester Star's teachings/opinions of Jesus Christ. So maybe those Keebler elves really do exist. (4/1/09) April 1, 2009, WMAL has announced they will be the first affiliate and flagship station for the Dick Morris Radio Show; said one WMAL staffer, “with Dick’s connections to politics, prostitution, lying, misrepresentation, and bribery, Dick should feel right at home on the station that carries Rush Limbaugh.” Dick’s first guest will be George W. Bush plugging the former president’s new Book, and “best seller,” “Open, Honest, and Clear Communications with the American People.” (4/1/09) "...after about five minutes of being really pissed off realized it has to be an April Fool's joke." Doesn't anyone ever read all the way down to the last sentence anymore? (4/1/09) “Bob Waugh has the personality of a sponge filled with ticks and Indian food” – What? Does that mean he’s hyper, boring, funny, or that you are just a sad wanna-be or has been with an axe to grind? I know Bob and he’s not only a nice guy, but a great programmer with a history that you only wish that you could have, and he’s employed at a great radio station that a heck of a lot of people out of the listening are wish they could receive. I don’t think too many people are crying about being out of any other DC area stations listening area. (4/1/09) You got me. I just read your item and after about five minutes of being really pissed off realized it has to be an april fool's joke. I hope... (4/1/09) Shooting holes in Valley drama as posted on the DCRTV...Newspapers. When do you think the DNR produces and prints their Monday rag? Uhh, Sunday for those of you scoring at home. (or do you think the keebler elves magically show up at 12:01 am Monday to write, layout and print the paper, getting it delivered to my mailbox by 4am?). The DNR doesn't produce a Sunday rag because in modern times, it would have killed their Sat and Fri overly filled advertising coffers...They have printed as much in their own pages over the years...Its not as much about rest as it is about a limited market and maximizing revenues versus demand and cost. (4/1/09) (WRNR IS the re-incarnation of the real WHFS with some of the originals there plus Bob Waugh who in my opinion is equally as important as Cerphe) I can't stop laughing! Bob Waugh who is important as Cerphe?!?! Jesus! Bob Waugh has the personality of a sponge filled with ticks and Indian food. I hope that is an April Fools joke. "Important". The "re-incarnation of the real WHFS"?? Really? C'mon, Man. (4/1/09) Hmmm...I do not hear any Fox reports on NST today , in fact their whole signal is down ( angelos , lol?) I guess FOX Sports 1370am just owns the rights to this property ? So, what is nst going to do to fill all that airtime ?? how many re-runs do they have , lol! Kenneth- Columbia (4/1/09) Doe anyone have a link to the O&A bit? I feel like cringing today. Matt in Sterling (4/1/09) 104.3 HD 2 is playing Smooth Jazz and is ID’ing itself as Smooth Jazz 102.7. 102.7’s HD is gone. Maybe this is Clear Channel’s idea of a April Fool’s joke? (4/1/09) Dave, this article in Ad Age might be of interest to your audience - PB adage.com (4/1/09) A sad day for PressBox... www.pressboxonline.com (4/1/09) Dave's response: More AF merriment..... April Fool…Wow, DCRTV Dave, you are one funny guy! I almost believed the "news story" about 94.7 the Globe being rehatched as "Fresh 94.7"…but seriously, folks, yesterday around 5:45 PM, while crawling northbound on 270 toward the Frederick metroplex, I was listening to 102.7 Jack FM, when suddenly, smack dab in the middle of Corey Hart's "Never Surrender", the signal DID surrender and mysteriously vanished! I thought, wow, is Jack off already? CBS radio programmers eat their dead. Oh, heh heh heh, I said "jack off". Now I'M one funny guy! Mike in Frederick, and the Dashboard DX Society, increasingly disgusted with FM radio, but still chasing electrons to and fro… (4/1/09) Re: "Dude, this is called 98 ROCK" I meant mixing in Prog-Power metal at 10 to 20% level with the tired "modern" rock from the 90s and the even more tired classic rock from the 60s-80s. Over time as the audience accepts new music, this can be bumped up even higher. Even older "modern" rock is classic rock these days. Nirvana came on the scene heavily in 1991. That's 18 years ago! Looking at the 98 Rock playlist on Yes.com - it does knock the socks off of DC101 (doesn't take much!), but even their playlist could use a shot in the arm. Dave in Fredericksburg (4/1/09) Wow, did you hear? The Birachs just bought the DC Citadel stations (WMAL/WRQX/WJZW). This coincides with Montgomery County unanimously granting the construction permit this morning for their seven-tower mega-site to go up in Damascus. (4/1/09) Dave's response: Oh, did you hear? Rupert Murdoch just bought the Washington Post. Going to turn it into a sleezy tab, like his NY Post. Ha ha ha. Happy Fool's Day..... (Your April Fools joke about HFS taking over WJFK is not funny - the fact that we don't have anything close to HFS in this city years after HFS left is sad...and your "joke" was just a little more salt in the wound...thank god for my Ipod.) Because of your great reporting I think I will donate 500 dollars to DCRTV. April Fools - hurts don't it? (4/1/09) Dave's response: Your e-mail had your real identity on it. Look for my "collection guy," Vinnie (right), over at your place later today. Ha ha ha..... Your April Fools joke about HFS taking over WJFK is not funny - the fact that we don't have anything close to HFS in this city years after HFS left is sad...and your "joke" was just a little more salt in the wound...thank god for my Ipod. (4/1/09) Looks like another local newspaper is outsourcing and cutting jobs. This time its the Staunton News-Leader who is shutting down their Staunton press and having the printing operations done at Harrisonburg's Daily News Record. What makes this interesting is that the Staunton News-Leader offers a Sunday edition while Harrisonburg's Daily News record and their sister paper in Winchester, The Winchester Star do not since the owners of the Record & Star ( Bryd Newspapers ) still believe in that Sundays is a "day of rest". I wonder if he Staunton paper will continue their Sunday edition since they are outsourcing to a company who refuses to do business on that day? Strange that the paper would pick them to do business with.. That would be like Chick-Fil-A allowing a third party to do business in their restaurants on Sundays when the chain is closed as they too believe that Sunday is "a day of rest". (4/1/09) To "Please Help" re: Opie and Anthony. I am happy to help you. First, tell your friend/coworker/etc. who forwarded you the bit that you do not think that kind of humor is funny, and to please not send it to you again. Secondly, do not listen to them. Finally, get over it. Its that simple. Glad to be of service to you. (4/1/09) I was forwarded (a) racist radio bit from the Opie and Anthony show on Sirius/XM radio. These are the 2 jerks that joked about raping Condella Rice. I am sick over this bit where they have an African American girl in the studio and they are calling her a slave. We need to take action on this. I want them fired. Please help! (4/1/09) Thought this might be of interest... spotted Politico's Mike Allen, John Harris and Jim VandeHei having drinks with Bono at the bar in the Blue Duck Tavern last night. Funny how Reliable Slource notices Bono, but not who he was with! Oh....that's right.....people who LEAVE The Post for other publications are traitors never-again-to-be-mentioned! (4/1/09) Citadel just announced WMAL has been sold to American Standard for 50 million dollars. Said an American Standard spokesperson, "the synergies are there; WMAL gets paid for making up crap, and we get paid for taking it." (4/1/09) Dave's response: No, WMAL was just sold to Waste Management..... I almost believed the WHFS story on the front page, then I realized it was April 1. Too bad it's not true. (4/1/09) I normally follow tech stories in both local and national media, especially when they are of a local interest in DC to Baltimore, but how did I miss these stories? Lowly Baltimore is the FIRST 4G speed cell phone city in the nation? Who knew? www.foxbusiness.com... news.cnet.com... Was this story even reported by any local Baltimore TV station or news outlet? So far I've only been able to find ONE Baltimore Sun story about it, yet it really is sort of a big deal. Kinda sad that the Fox Business Network and CNET.com scoops most every single local Baltimore media outlet on a big technology story that is a 1st in the nation type thing. (4/1/09) April 1 - WRNR - Jokes on them. Having the owners of an Annapolis Saloon do AM drive - instead of regular air staff - was funny for about 5 minutes. How many regular listeners can stand four hour's of over-modulated distorted Mic audio and music? Carl, Pasadena (4/1/09) April Fool's joke? :) Dave (4/1/09) The JFK news item is too over the top. I knew that it was an April 1st hoax immediately. (4/1/09) So let me see if I follow... The Mike O'Meara show is on another week of vacation? Glad to see that amidst a hailstorm of rumors of local format flip, and the avalanche of other CBS stations around the country that have already flipped, that these guys really value their jobs and care to stand and fight in their ailing market. Big O and Dukes filled in for them and did way more engaging radio over an 8 hour span. Maybe its time to put the old horse out to pasture. Last I checked the target demo wasn't males 50-74 and females 18-retarded. At least Big O and Dukes have remained viciously loyal, hell, they even did shows FROM their vacation spot. I love the local radio I grew up with, and would rather not see it disappear. Get it together Grandpa. (4/1/09) RANT: You should just leave your 4/1 posting at the first two sentences. The rest is not even slightly amusing, and obviously not even remotely believable. If you're going to waste your time on an April's Fool's joke, why not put some effort into it? (4/1/09) Dave, I know that's April Fool's day, but you still ought to be ashamed of yourself (4/1/09) RE: "JFK Sinks, HFS To Be Reborn On 106.7" Happy April Fools Day to you too! KU (4/1/09) Dave, you had me for about 1.5 seconds. Howie (4/1/09) Well it's after midnight and the JACK-FM music stream online is DEAD. Listened over the air and heard the disco song Boogie Oogie, Bryan Adams - Hurts Like a Knife, then interestingly The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star. Since I don't often listen to JACK FM, I'm not sure if these are regular playlist items, but Hmmmmm, methinks something is amiss. At the very least the website and streaming will be hosted somewhere else and not through the CBS Media Player. (4/1/09) Dave's response: Yeah, that exactly what Jack had been playing. Looks like Clear Channel simply moved the Jack CD player from CBS's Baltimore HQ to a closet down the hall from POC. Look. It's cheap (no air staff) and it gets ratings..... I wrote yesterday about switching to Sirius (which i still am), but i saw that post about WHFS coming back on 106.7..............THANK YOU CBS!!!!!!!!! looks like they arent as stupid as they seem. i already have found what will replace 94.7 as my #1 preset. i am going to sorely miss the MOM though. sure, 106.7 wont be an AOR station, but THIS idea was just great. OH i doubt it is, but this better not be an April Fools joke, Dave...... (4/1/09) I hate to ask, but could you please refer to NB as one word....NewsBlues. Thanks. Hate to be so picky. (4/1/09) Dave's response: The logo at newsblues.com has it both ways - one word and two words. So, I guess I'm free to choose..... Ok, it's once again time to attack the FCC and The Hope Christian Church of Marlton New Jersey for invading Maryland's airwaves with what I consider illegal PIRATE RADIO broadcasts that should not be allowed by our FAILURE OF A GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION, The FCC!........... Witness this recent FCC aproval.... www.recnet.com... The importance of this FCC approval is that this 10 watt translator is licensed to White Marsh, Maryland, yet will have ABSOLUTELY NO COVERAGE OF WHITE MARSH, MARYLAND from that Towson area transmitter location!!! What's next, apply for a station in York, PA with a city of license of Maryland Line, MD and have no coverage in Maryland Line but have your transmitter in York??? Seriously, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE??? HOW CAN THIS MESS BE ALLOWED AND WHO IS TO BLAME ??? (4/1/09) It looks like WRNR started April ahead of the rest of us. The website shows the new Stan and Joe Morning Show banner with graphics straight out of Bullwinkle's Fractured Fairy Tales. I'll let you check out the rest yourselves. I wonder what other suprises April 1st will bring? (4/1/09) With 94.7 Fresh Garbage going on the air, ( I hope someone has the balls to play that Spirit song on WTGB as their last song) The only alternatives that DC has for good rock is WRNR and WTMD. Try like hell to pull them in if you live west of a line that cuts through the center of DC. WRNR IS the re-incarnation of the real WHFS with some of the originals there plus Bob Waugh who in my opinion is equally as important as Cerphe. He was at WLIR close to the time when WLIR changed from progressive AOR to Punk and new music in 1981. He's an alumni of the original K-Rock in New York when they switched to AOR in 1985, and then went to WHFS a few years later with Robert Benjamin. WRNR's stick is so close to DC, but the pattern just can't make it to the western half of the DC market, and they have no intention of making inroads into this conservative cultural gulag that at least radio-wise that is DC (4/1/09) RE: "To keep the PPMs from tanking, these songs can be mixed in with overplayed classic and modern rock (maybe 10% to 20% at most)". Dude, this is called 98 ROCK (4/1/09) /\ April 1 Messages /\ \/ March 31 Messages \/ To the guy who wrote: "I think you mean Larry Matthews, not John." You think wrong. John Matthews toured around in the WMAL news car covering stories for quite a long time before becoming news director. Larry Mathews is another news guy who got jammed up with the law. He was good, too. To hear WMAL news now is quite difficult. At night after ABC news some guy, I guess at Metro Traffic, comes on and gives one local story and that's it. THAT'S IT? So much for trying to be local just with the news. (3/31/09) Anyone notice that 947 is sounds especially good tonight? Looks like all it took was its impending demise to diversify its play list.... (3/31/09) I just heard "Tech 411" (Big O, sans Dukes) on JFK tonight. Do you know if this will in the regular lineup or just another one of their goofy, one-time, evening/weekend experiments? Does it already run on the weekends, perhaps? Kenny in Alexandria (3/31/09) Dave, the world sucks right now. The radio in GTA 4 (as in Grand Theft Auto 4) is MUCH BETTER than REAL RADIO. Isn't that fucking sad? Fresh94.7? How about Tired94.7? And JACK102.7 is ACTUALLY one of the BEST STATIONS in Baltimore. At first, my mom was angry that 60's and 70's motown + oldies was gone (maybe a stab at her mortality), but really, TRULY, the JACK format is kinda a good idea and really SHOULD NOT GO. If gone, 70's and 80's music needs to pop up somewhere. I don't know what CC has up it's sleeve, but it better know that JACK's music (forget the name) needs to stay. CHR is really taken care of by Mix 106.5 and DC's 95.5. I'm going to take a xanax, play some GTA4, go to sleep, and hope that the government and big corporate America gets it's head out of it's ass. KeninEaston (3/31/09) As of Tuesday evening WQSR seems to be off the air - no signal down here in Fairfax, VA where WQSR usually booms. Wonder if they are making technical changes this evening to link WQSR into the Clear Channel 'borg'... -MH (3/31/09) So the United States government is backing the warranties of all GM vehicles? Now I have no fear of that 3:00 am phone call to the White House: "Onstar, hello, this is Barack, how can I help you?" -- The Unknown Comic (3/31/09) Cerphe is gone from the CF that is 94.7? Well good. I know he will do well. I have been enjoying his work since 102.3 FM in the Triangle Towers bldg on Cordell Ave in Bethesda across from the Psychedeli. Always appreciated when he would warn "Brace yourself" before the occasional loud, jarring commercial came on. I hope they played "2120 South Michigan Avenue" by the Stones for him one last time on the Glob. Robert in Arlington (3/31/09) Re: Why not try SOMETHING DIFFERENT for a change?? AOR/ROCK format Heavy Metal try anything!!" I'm with you on this one. I've said before on here that Power Metal and Progressive Metal would be great "rock" formats for the radio. The Power and prog sub-genres sound more like hard rock than what most people consider metal (thrash/death/goth sub-genres). That would be a "Fresh" start to 94.7 and the hard rock format in general. The obstables are that there aren't many major labels selling this music (mostly indie right now) and the word "metal" scares people away, even though this is NOT what most people think of metal. PDs and MDs need to grow a few (and the suits in NYC and San Antonio need to loosen the puppet strings a bit) so these stations can do some experimentation. To keep the PPMs from tanking, these songs can be mixed in with overplayed classic and modern rock (maybe 10% to 20% at most). That way new music can be played as well as tried and true music to keep fans happy. Something's gotta give soon. Radio as a whole (terrestrial and satellite) is tanking big time. These bean counters just don't get it. Unless some drastic improvement happens, I'll just keep listening to my iPod. DC radio has to be the worst in the nation. I travel a lot and I have yet to find an area as bad as DC when it comes to rock radio. Dave in Fredericksburg (3/31/09) well, that does it. i am going to switch to Sirius. Terrestrial radio is dead (DC-wise) now. I do like music variety but with 3 AC stations and the same jason mraz, daughtry puke that is taking over the only good station in DC come monday, that we ALREADY HEAR on WASH, WIHT, and WRQX, i have had it. i dont see why classic rock and 80's hair metal doesnt fare well in DC! i am also sick to fuckin' death of the fixed playlists. lets see if 105.9 or 107.3 flips to an AOR rock or classic rock station....it will give me a reason to see whats on FM. ONLY the Mike O'Meara show will be a good reason to listen to FM, but now hes rumored to go to. Goodbye and good riddence. (3/31/09) "Well, that's one less recovering drug addict for New York" Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh says he'll leave New York over Gov. Paterson's tax increases - NY Daily News www.nydailynews.com (3/31/09) Jack-off? About 10 minutes ago, Jack was still Jacking, but now they're transmitter is on, but sending only silence... They just played some commercials. This could just be technical difficulties, perhaps caused by whatever is being changed there. - Sam (3/31/09) WQSR - How about urban hip-hip everything else has been tryed why not there are not many more formats that CC can try they are running out of them. It will not happen however It should but will not. Look for WERQ to take a ratings hit with the PPMs. (3/31/09) Just what we (the few people who actually listen to radio) need in D.C is another shitty station playing the same shitty songs over and over again. Why can't these assholes figure it out by now? Fresh 94.7 sounds like a new DOUCHE product. Gimme a F!@KING break. Why not try SOMETHING DIFFERENT for a change?? AOR/ROCK format Heavy Metal try anything!!! To the Moron who claims he knows what he's talking about I have seen Cerphe many a times over the years at many a show Big and small. He's a class act sorry to see him lose a job.So there goes the last station in town that occasionally played a decent song from time to time. Guess we're all stuck listening to 3 shitty stations 94.7/97.1/107.3 everytime we go to a doctors office for a rectal cavity search. Oh the hummanity!!!! M/bethesda..... (3/31/09) Enough is enough! Tomorrow April 1, begins the listener-led intervention and transformation of the MOM Show. It starts with the unrelenting petition drive to fire PD Beth Ann McBride. (3/31/09) Mike's on vacation again. Wow, how did he make it so long after his almost month off back in DEC.. This lazy ass has no work ethic. I"m not a fan, but hannity never takes off. Maybe if the MoM show wanted some success they might only take a week off and not the long two week breaks. Who else in Radio takes that much time off and is successful? I grive props to the sports junkies for splitting vacations among them and not all at the same time.. Please WJFK move Big O and Dukes show to afternoon (3/31/09) So, they have canned the air staff and changed the format at 94.7, yet they have retained the services of Michael Hughes as VP of programming. The name is Fresh, but mediocrity still reigns. A pity. (3/31/09) I can't think of a single market where Fresh worked. It looked good on paper when Coleman wheeled it out, but it never delivered to the best of my knowledge....ANYwhere. (3/31/09) Well, I've listened to Chicago's FRESH 105.9 and I don't see this working honestly. The old Z-104 sounded better than this FRESH format. I found the format neither FRESH and it was more boring than Z-104 honestly. Maybe I just don't get it. I dunno. (3/31/09) I'm sure you've been getting this question a lot.... ....but why has The Mike O'Meara Show been playing Best Of episodes for so long? (3/31/09) Dave's response: I believe Mike is on vacation..... Not really big news, since everyone started doing it years ago, but I noticed that WCEI from Easton is now broadcasting live on the web from their website, www.wceiradio.com. Also does anyone know if WCEI and WINX are now broadcasting from the same studios in Easton? (3/31/09) I noticed that message on the Jack-FM website is now gone?? (3/31/09) To the sniper that came up with the KHZ.com site as incorrect, you’re correct that site is owned by Japan, so what????? KHZTV.com is under construction. They did blow up the site due to mis-information. The rest of GROOVY’s post was correct. Davy Jones/PLB (3/31/09) Methinks Billy Sparks is an optimist! Put me down for October 31 in the CBS/94.7/soft rock death pool. (3/31/09) Dave's response: Instead of stunting with nutty music, CBS is stunting with fake news about next week's launch of Fresh 94.7. What if, come next Monday, they surprise us all with the resurrection of the real progressive rock WHFS on 94.7. I can hope, can't I? Hi. Old School here. Isn't it interesting how most of the nation's top radio stations also spend the most ad money and have the biggest payrolls? Equally interesting how most of the nation's top radio stations are at the top because THEY HAVE ACTUAL CONTENT ON THEIR AIR! 94.7 is about to become the next 104.3; the next 102.7 and 105.7--perfectly decent frequencies which, as long as they're run as they are--will be shadows of what they once were. Dead might be a better word. Okay. I know the bean counters run the show. But for once--it would be nice to have the bean counters shut up and allow the programmers to do their job like they used to be able to do. Content begets ratings. Ratings begets revenue. You want perpetual top five, make MONEY in this market and not go up directly against WTOP or an urban? 35-64, friends. Bring in the likes of Jim & Mary, Tom Gauger; people with CONTENT. Allow them to come to work and leave them alone! CBS and CC have dropped the ball so many times they think the ball BELONGS on the ground! Just once--I'd like to see SOMEONE do something right! Yeesh! (3/31/09) 94.7 Sounds PRETTY DAMN GOOD today, I listen to hair band music from about 12-2 today. I felt like I was 25 yrs younger, now if I could only get my LeMans back!!! (3/31/09) Re an earlier mailbag post: "KHZ.com" belongs to someone in Japan. "KHZTV.com" was the web address for WKHZ/WYRE; it currently has an "under construction" page from their host, presumably because they deleted everything they had there. Even the direct streamguys link doesn't work right now. (3/31/09) More problems with "true oldies" 105.9 -- not the music (they play a wider range of '60s and '70s stuff than I expected, including some relatively obscure things), but the national advertising. Today for the first time, I heard an ad for "California psychics," in addition to mortgage modification et al. Very discouraging. But I thought about this yesterday when I heard the Guess Who's "These Eyes," a hit about 40 years ago: In 1969, how many stations, even those playing "standards," were playing records from 1929, e.g., Louis Armstrong's "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black And Blue"? When you think about, it's amazing how much airplay '60s records still get today. -- Vincent in Triangle (3/31/09) So all of the on-air staff at 94.7 got shit-canned. All the better for them. The station is doomed to fade into oblivion very quickly, and they can all look for jobs at better places. Cerphe will do just fine, I'm sure. But I guess I'm out of the loop--where is Weasel these days? As for "Did anyone else hear today’s Chris Plante crap..." No, nobody did. Nobody listens to that shit. (3/31/09) RE: "Doesn't the new Fresh 94.7 sound a lot like the old Z-104? I kind of miss that. Might do well." And what happened to the old Z-104? Within 6 months of Hot 99.5 signing on, they were done! "Might do well?" Might you be insane? Your opinion is your opinion, but it just happens to be wrong. Dave, let's get a pool going to see how long (or short) it will be before Fresh gets stale, and flips the format...again! I say 9 months. -Billy Sparks (3/31/09) Dave, thought you might like to know Davy Jones is in the third week of being on the air after over 11 years of no radio at all. The first week and a half were “horrible”. But, last Monday it came alive. Jones is now officially “havin a ball”. Heard on 810 WYRE, and WKHZ, 1590 Ocean City. www.KHZ.com is in the midst of being re-built, it will soon stream for the world to hear. Soon he should also be heard in Delaware on an AM/FM. If all goes as planned it should be a “kick ass” AM/FM/Web piece of radio. Up tempo, top 40, four decades of it. GROOVY! (3/31/09) I think the scenarios (for Baltimore's 102.7) could be : -Keep Jack, change name, maybe make it or center it as an all 80s format..... -Flip to a 70s-90s Movin format type station to take away from Lite-FM and add back some of the older demo who lies oldies..... -Flip to Classic Hits to take away from Lite-FM (makes biggest sense and oldies used to be on this frequency)..... -Flip to a CHR (its going to be tough Mix and 92 Q do to well, CHR just doesn't work here and we have Hot 99-5 already)..... -Move the Gospel format to FM-my only contention with that is for a 50,00 watt signal I would think they may put on a more mass appeal format. I think its safe to say that news, talk, sports, mainstream or Hot A/C and rock are out. (3/31/09) Did anyone else hear today’s Chris Plante crap accusing the Obama administration of stock manipulation for financial gain with regards to Fiat and Chrysler? Remember, Chris Plante’s crap can be heard locally on WMAL. Now, onto Mark, "crappy eater," Levin; conservative groups like Newsmax, and the Heritage Foundation, buy large quantities (bulk sales) of books by conservative authors like Hammity, Levin, Coulter, and Jerome Corsi to get them on the best seller lists immediately after they are released. Then, they market the “best selling” book on Drudge, Newsmax, Fox News, and conservative talk radio for a month or so to encourage legitimate sales. With a ton of books on hand, they then give away these “best selling books” they earlier purchased as premiums at conservative events, gifts to members and staff of Congress, premiums for subscribing to conservative newsletters or magazines, or they sell them on ebay. It is a promotional racket, and it doesn’t surprise me Heritage was giving away books at the book signing-they have to get rid of all those books somehow. Project 21 is already selling copies of Levin’s book on EBAY. The conservative movement tried the same thing for the crappy science fiction movie Expelled (starring Mark Levin's friend Ben Stein)- buying up loads of tickets opening weekend, and marketing the movie on Hammity, Rush, Fox News, Newsmax, etc to get a "hit" at the movies. They found out though, due to the higher numbers in regards to theatre outlets, it is harder to get a top weekend movie than a "Best selling" book. (3/31/09) I know this is Chicago.... money.cnn.com (3/31/09) It is is important to note that the same group of top managers will be making the change regarding 94.7 and most likely 106.7. This is the same group responsible for the failures of the aforementioned stations. Revenue and ratings have plummeted at all of the CBS DC stations for years, yet the 3 blind mice continue to call all of the shots. For years, the only glimmer of hope came from WPGC, but that station is now sinking at a fast, and furious pace. Based on the facts of these trends there can be no logical reason to expect anything but more failures. (3/31/09) RE: [Who's "Mark Levin"? Seriously, I never heard of the guy.] He's an obnoxious and loudmouthed, yet miserably whiney conservative shock jock blessed with a nails-on-a-chalkboard voice whose syndicated talk program airs weekday evenings locally on WMAL. Imagine George Costanza hopped up on No-Doz, with a bad sinus infection and a maniacal hatred of all things "Librul". To put it into perspective, for those of you who have seen the movie "A Christmas Story", if Sean Hannity was "Scott Farcus", Mark Levin would be his "Grover Dill". - Jeff in Bowie (3/31/09) Re: "Who's "Mark Levin"? Seriously, I never heard of the guy." You can easily locate ABC Radio talk show host Mark Levin by checking any body cavity of Sean Hannity. (3/31/09) Doesn't the new Fresh 94.7 sound a lot like the old Z-104? I kind of miss that. Might do well. (3/31/09) "(WMAL) isn't even a skeleton of what it was when Larry Krebs and then John Matthews were out on the streets covering real news." I think you mean Larry Matthews, not John. John Matthews was the news director who sat on his ass when he wasn't running off to Disney World. (3/31/09) The analysis is done, and it can now be announced that "WHFS" is the official topic of the DCRTV Mailbag, finally replacing "Don and Mike". For those of you who just can't let it go, feel free to contact Dr. Emmett Brown. He has some room in the DeLorean for you. Geez (3/31/09) Dave, your Rant nailed it. What a huge opportunity CBS has blown by not tapping the heritage HFS calls and developing a seriously sophisticated rocker for a seriously sophisticated DC rock market. I’m still wondering what happened to Dan Mason’s brain. Did he forget everything he learned about DC? Or was he just not paying attention all those years ago? Is “Fresh” his attempt to re-live his 1977 WPGC days? Maybe that’s the real problem—Mason never was a rock guy, and most likely in his mind WHFS was always just a little Bethesda pea-shooter with a handful of pothead listeners. God save us from old Top 40 jocks… (3/31/09) Who's "Mark Levin"? Seriously, I never heard of the guy. (3/31/09) In the 'Only A Dream' department: Clear Channel returns failing 104.3 to Smooth Jazz,buys the HFS calls from CBS and launches a better,stronger,louder WHFS on 102.7 with the wonderful absence of Eliott and a morning drive packed with (dare I say it?) MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Clear Channel has been the only company with enough sense to put Modern/Alternative back in markets on non-HD FM. Now back to the real world......ugg (3/31/09) I'm holding out hope that Jack sticks around, with just a change in ownership. Don't tell me I've heard the last 9 at 9! For me, Jack was as good as it gets in the slash-and-burn era of radio automation. It's not live and local, but it's not tightly-playlisted boredom, either. (3/31/09) Jack Diamond in Best of ??? How many days off does he need? he must have 6 weeks of a Vacation by now, but for the past month every other week. Oh Jimmy bring me some coffee and God bless you. Pl (3/31/09) I agree with your assessment of the "C" in CBS standing for Clueless, but I can't agree with your "it just might work" rant about Stale^H^H^H^H^H Fresh 94.7. I don't see the point of positioning a station "between" other very similar stations. But then, I don't see the point of a lot of what goes on. Anyway, I have a question: When are PPMs coming to Baltimore? I see a few things in the radio ratings that strike me as a bit... um... "interesting". And diaries are so vulnerable... ~~CA in BC (3/31/09) For all the blather about the FRESH format start up, not one programming geek on here mentioned that the female voice on the website (at least for the first couple of minutes) says Fresh like Barbara Walters would say it...FWESH. Are they bartering their imaging? Geez (3/31/09) Speaking of the Octomom, have you heard she went to Denny's? Ordered 14 eggs, no sausage - and handed the bill to the people in the next booth. Ha ha ha hahahahahahh (3/31/09) Sooo, come Monday, 94.7 is going to be yet another dead knockoff of 107.3? We need ANOTHER 107.3 like a bull moose needs a football helmet! (3/31/09) Heh, who knew that the Heritage Foundation had so many members willing to soak in the rain for 6 or 7 hours! Oh those white, rich & racist folks stood in a line with the regular masses? Ewh! Not as bad as tractor-trailer loads of Pelosi's books being given away to lobbyists currying her favor, though. They didn't have to stand in the rain. -Silvie- (3/31/09) This I saw on my facebook page. "Hal Martin is saying GOODBYE TO JACK-FM as it switches ownership on Tuesday night. Kudos to Jason Kidd for a job well done!" (3/31/09) Um Silvie, I've got one silly little question for you - Care to venture how many of the "huddled masses yearning to be free" turned out for the Levin book signing in response to last week's broadcast e-mail from the Heritage Foundation promising their members a "complementary" copy (paid for by the Heritage Foundation, of course) if they showed up to pick it up and get it autographed? (3/31/09) " ...maybe if we just ignore the Rican-educated stalker (now we know why she's academically challenged), maybe she'll just go away. We can only hope. Signed, Chris P." More WOW! RACISM at its' finest ..." Well, "Juan" ... the stalker was the one who brought up her "Rican" education to begin with. Why did she feel it necessary to inject ethnicity into the discussion in the first place? Suggest you look toward the original source for the racism thread, mi amigo. Do you have any understanding for the idiocity of her posts and why she is the most disliked and mocked poster in this mailbag (oh, let's not forget poor ol' Joe in Essex -:). She's obviously still too academically challenged to figure it out. And kind of looks like you're not too far behind. /s/ A. Sharpton (3/31/09) " ... Last time I checked, "Confessions of a Crack Whore Octomom" was outselling Pelosi's book. -Silvie-" And I bet it's right there on your nightstand, Silvie. (3/31/09) With the vast void of good "rock stations" left in the DC area, I often recall the good ol' days when Q107 was around. Wish that format could be resurrected and WRQX magically change. Wouldn't it be great to hear the same type of music rotation, the same contests, sounders, and maybe even some of the same jocks (forget Joe Cipriano, he can't be lured away from Hollywood, and PLEASE forget Elliott and Woodside). Wonder what Uncle Johnny, Dave Thompson and Sandy Weaver are doing these days? Dude Walter is still around as is Doug Limerick. Man, what a great station that was in its heyday. Dave, do you remember that one promotion they ran when they would give away $10,000 to the 107th caller when they played "Hey Jude?" RIP Q107. (3/31/09) "Dave's response: I asked my "Uncle Mike" over at CBS about what will happen to 94.7's current airstaff and he didn't respond....." He was probably busy ringing up purchases at Saylor Hardware. The important thing is that DCRTV tipped us first, just like with the Post's format change, discussed for weeks in the print edition as well as their website discussions. I am still metaphorically wishing lupus on Ms. Weymouth for effing up the comics section. You know who has a really good comics section where the strips are normal size? The Washington Times. Ms. Weymouth, you just suck. Everything you have done, undo it. You are effing up the Post ninety ways to Sunday. --- ThePenIsMightier (3/31/09) Dave's response: Cutting the excellent biz section while keeping that mind-numblingly awful Style section? Go figure. Why? For more Paul Farhi stories about how NPR is gonna do fundraising when it isn't? Sheesh..... Hey Dave, While I generally don't write to you, I really need to comment on the douche bag who clearly knows NOTHING about Cerphe! Besides being my mentor not only regarding music and radio; but also helped me during my darker days. Cerphe is first and foremost a classy person (unlike the writer and probably myself by the end of this) HIs "fame" is not based on being on Little Feats album nor is it based on the fact that NO ONE has survived the DC radio business longer without selling his soul to corporate suits. Cerphe truly does care about the DC area and about his listeners (I once made the mistake of talking to him about his "fan base" for which he read me the riot act) Had the writer actually ever stepped foot in a studio, he would know that Cerphe does his homework far and away wider than the Rolling Stones Book Of Rock ... he knows the vast majority of the artists he plays on a personal level and is considered in most circles that matter as an artist in his own right. As for his never going out to venues and the like ... I call Bullshit! For every show I ever had to work at both large and small venues, Cerphe was always right there ... it could have been the Santana concert at Nissan or an early morning promotion at some bike shop; Cerphe was always right there - right on point. Most importantly, Cerphe cares deeply about the listeners ... I was constantly amazed at his ability to remember the names of most people who stopped by an event or might have ever called in on his show. I am honored to be considered a "friend" just as Warren Haynes or Bruce Springsteen are Cerphe's personal friends ... because to him, everyone is a friend ... everyone is an equal. The simple fact that the writer of the email regarding Cerphe is so spineless that he wouldn't even sign his name should be a factor in his knowledge of Cerphe and the radio industry as a whole (BTW dumbass, it's "polish a turd" ... stop mixing your metaphors)... He has no knowledge on either. Rick "Cherokee" West - former Promotional Coordinator for WARW (3/31/09) Quote: "RE: The Mark Levin Book Signing - Amazing footage, Silvie! Last time I saw that many angry white people queued up in one line, Central Casting was holding an open call for extras for "Birth of a Nation"! Seriously...we could make a game out of that YouTube video...call it "Try-to-spot-the-token-Puerto-Rican-cuz-there-ain't-no-brothers-in-line". After all, everyone knows WMAL secretly stands for "White Misinformed Angry Loners". Thanks for the laugh." WOW! Just WOW! I can't believe anyone would commit such invectives to the permanence of cyber space; especially over something as benign as a book signing. Bet you feel you won THAT round, eh slick? We'll, I guess you don't get out much. Quote: "Hey, fellow posters .... maybe if we just ignore the Rican-educated stalker (now we know why she's academically challenged), maybe she'll just go away. We can only hope. Signed, Chris P." More WOW! RACISM at its' finest. The last refuge of the intellectually challenged. Hey Chrissy, I'll bet you one devalued Federal Reserve Note you giggled after you wrote that. While I'll defend the right of these two imbeciles, and any other individual to express themselves with any thought that crosses their mind and spits out their lips (or through their fingertips), I don't think bigotry nor slander are covered under the ever narrowing interpretation of the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights or even tolerated in polite company. DCRTV indeed! Oh, well carry on. Cordially, Juan de la FredVegas, laughing and scratching and getting off my soapbox now. (3/31/09) Lowest common denominator huh? Hmmm does that mean we could look forward to a CBS/Jerry Springer collaboration? Or the FM version of "My Redneck Wedding"? Perhaps a play by play of "COPS" or "World's Dumbest _____". Hey Les I think Little Steven is on RNR too. AND....WHFS as a 'Fresh' format? Is that a clone of a 'Now' format or an 'Amp' format? Maybe a hybrid of both? Or maybe just another CBS load of bullshit?? Is 'Fresh' supposed to be the new "Modern" rock? Another play on words,play on names,play ANYthing besides some good F-ing MUSIC EH Comatose Broadcasting System?!??? I guess when the consumers are smarter than the company we set ourselves up to be disappointed. Powder up 94.7 all you like but the question remains: Where in Hell are the Fucking SOUNDS?????????????????? (3/31/09) I’m sure Lesli Foster is a nice person, but the reality is the local news business is in the toilet. And, by most accounts WUSA serves as the prime example. The station jettisoned a great deal of veteran talent, so it could pay the select few and middle management big bucks. News is a detail oriented business and credibility flows from understanding that. The doing-more-with-less crowd at WUSA can’t even spell the name of a town (Lansdowne, VA) correctly on the screen during a big news story. The station’s sports anchor is a wanna-be comedian, who routinely gets facts wrong, and (it’s worth saying again) can’t hold a candle to the late Glenn Brenner. Do we even need to mention Metro Networks? The outfit that closes offices, and then pretends to cover news and traffic in cities, where it has no presence, other than to copy the online edition of the town’s newspaper. Want to a see a real journalist? It may still be possible to catch Brian Lamb’s most recent Q&A with Sharyl Attkinson of CBS, who mentioned at her journalism school if you took from the newspaper you got an “F.” How’s that for opposite ends of the spectrum? Uttering the word “journalism” within 50 feet of Metro Networks is like saying “fine dining” while standing next to a dumpster. (3/31/09) I see that Mindy Mizell has moved from WBAL-TV to Fox News. She was seen this past wekend covering the floods out west. (3/31/09) "Conservative on the Eastern Shore"---you're pulling our leg, right? Those cartoonishly right-wing comments are all part of the joke, right? Fox News is "fair and balanced"--part of the gag as well, right? Right? Jeez, I HOPE I'm right. Otherwise, I'm going to have to assume that you are delusional and borderline unbalanced. Kinda scary, actually. Folks, there are actually people like this walking around...and many own guns. Be very afraid. (3/31/09) Since the music on Fresh 94.7 won't be much different than the store-brand vanilla pudding now heard on WASH and MIX, what's the incentive to listen? You know what might work, you programming research lemmings, you? How about live local and visible on-air talent? No voicetracking. No showbiz news every third break. Why should I care about Paris Hilton's clunge a full 2,000 miles outside of Hollywood? What's so talented about quoting a USA Today statistic on how many people chew their Twinkies on the left side of their mouths? Bring on DC comedian Allan Goodwin. Bring on DC authors doing book signings. Get Frank "Liberty Meadows" Cho on the phone from Maryland to talk about his latest comic book project. Send it all to iPhones and podcasts to be sure, but gimme a roster of real entertainers (not "jocks") doing a real DC-centric show. Maybe then I'll reserve a car radio button and stop hiding my PPM inside a lead-lined box. (3/31/09) /\ March 31 Messages /\ \/ March 30 Messages \/ You could also add Rob Reiner, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Rodney Dangerfield on all Jewish WASH. Then starting in November switch to all Christmas music. That might keep WASH FM's ratings near or at the top of the DC radio market. Jewish in Denton (3/30/09) Dave's response: Jewish rockers - a la Paul Simon and Barbra Streisand..... I am not happy to read that 94.7 is flipping to fresh rock whatever that is. Any ideas of what to replace 94.7 with on my presets? What's going to happen Little Steven's underground garage? I hope fresh94.7 is a flop. Big100 plays too much Billy Joel and Elton John sappy rock. Les in Adelphi (3/30/09) So, Joe the "Plumber"'s book is outselling Nancy Pelosi's. Let me get this straight. He's not a plumber. She's Speaker of the House. Whose more credible? Keep the wingnut nonsense coming! I find insane people rather entertaining. This means you! Compulsive liars! Atavists! Neocons! Don't you guys miss Ronald Reagan? (3/30/09) Besides daily print, I rarely comment on cable except to bash Comcast. However, this time, I have to agree with them on "The NFL Channel". Why? “Sunday Ticket”. DirecTV will be getting $1B/year for that exclusive deal under their new contract. Why give your competitor’s exclusive edge provider a sweetheart deal? Or, for that matter, any deal at all? If I were the Comcast suit responsible for programming, I’d have told the NFL, “You want to be on our systems? Fine. We either get “Sunday Ticket” exclusively or shared with satellite. Otherwise, don’t get airsick while exercising on a rolling doughnut.” Unsigned Corporate Suit (3/30/09) Joe the Plumber - Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,948 in 'Bestselling Books' VS. Nancy Pelosi - Amazon.com Sales Rank: #348,370 in 'Bestselling Books'. Last time I checked, "Confessions of a Crack Whore Octomom" was outselling Pelosi's book. -Silvie- (3/30/09) XYZ Have any of the other CBS Radio clusters performed as poorly as those in Washington,D.C. area? And the mention of Citadel trying to sell the stations they have in D.C. area. Might'n Citadel be trying to sell off station's in other markets as well? Who was the dude or dudette at Disney/ABC who talked Citadel into buying? I need a good financial advisor. Does Mike Walter have any sex discrimination suit going since the morning news on channel 9 is all broads, whoops ladies. No rumors of Andrea Rowan leaving the three ring circus that channel 9 mornings has become. Surely she could get a job with some broadcast organiztion that deals in news. And Ms. Goff is an attractive young lady but more and more she sounds like an airline attendant. Hey come on now, that's the only picture of Pamela Brown? (3/30/09) Dave - Why can't we have one good jazz station here? We have enough rock, AC, hit music stations here. Just switch 94.7 to all jazz. TS (3/30/09) Dave's response: It's the same reason that we don't have a progressive rock station - it appeals to a small band of super intelligent music fanatics. Not the broad range of lowest common denominator idiots that advertisers crave..... Any truth to the whispers that Clear Channel plans to flip WASH-FM to classic rock next Monday? (3/30/09) Dave's response: No. It's going Jewish rock - lots of David Lee Roth, Billy Joel, and Bob Dylan..... Assuming Westwood One's Web site is correct, WTEM and/or its sister stations will air the Frozen Four games. One would think then that WTEM talk hosts would give some kind of play to the event. Of course, years of station apathy towards hockey teach us otherwise. Everett W. (3/30/09) "Fresh 94.7"?! Easy stomach, don't turn over on me! Not that I listen to FM that much anymore anyway, but 94.7 was still nice for the quick trip to the store or the dog park, or maybe even to/from work. Well I've still got my MP3 player, Napster, CDs and 98 Rock. Dawn, who didn't like chick music when she was in that age group. (3/30/09) You people trashing Levin, Limbaugh, and Hannity crack me up. You are the same ones who would stand in line for books by Franken(fixes elections), Olbermann(blowhard) or Matthews( "a chill goes up my leg when Obama speaks") You people are the real joke! Eastern Shore Conservative (3/30/09) Cerphe has been around a long time. So what? He may be a nice guy, again so what? Nothing personal, but does that justify why he and other old jocks should stay on with this loser of a station? No. They can keep changing the format all they want, but using these same tired jocks is a huge part of the problem. You can chrome a turd, but it's still a turd. When a jock is young and hungry, they are plugged into the music, going to concerts, relating to the demo. You'd go on air without pay if you could. You fall in love with radio that much. It's all that matters, "being on the air." Now all these classic rock jocks do is recycle the same bits and memories they've been using their entire careers. Jock says to himself, "Looks like Nights in White Satin is about to end ... better grab the dog eared copy of the Whitburn book, and find something to say about the Moody Blues. Okay, wait for the gong ..." Opens mic and begins blabbering ... Or better yet, they Google it. "There's my :22 after break, cool, I'm set." The thing they are most concerned about is hanging on to a job. HANGING ON the key words here. The motivation changes, maybe they have families, heavy financial obligations. The most important thing isn't the new CD dropping Tuesday, it's do I get a raise to help pay mortgages, the kids tuition, etc. It's not their fault, it's just the nature of the beast. Time marches on, grow up. Give all these re-tread jocks the heave ho. You can say the same for MOM. He's not vital anymore, nobody on the JFK afternoon staff is. Just hangin' on to gigs. That and going on vacation. A lot. It's not real-life, people. Working in radio is a Peter Pan existence. It's a bubble.. It's not work, it's play. And it's great while it lasts. But it always ends. Really, how long can even a so-called talent like Elliot do what he does? Another 5 years? 10 years? Who wants to hear a 50 year old guy say "dude, stuff your cell phone down her pants and have her fart!" Cue sidekick laughter. Ask most any on-air radio person, can they do anything else for a living? Most will say no, radio is all I know. Sure, many have transitioned to other careers, but if they could, they would go back to radio. Again, why work for a living? Radio is fun. On it's worst day, it's better than diggin' ditches. Now that's work. I say, kill off 94.7 as it is, put on the same short list of researched tunes, and automate it. Cut down the overhead by going jockless and crank up the tunes. It's a no brainer. If you are an old jock and you just read all this, be honest, you know it's all true. (3/30/09) Dave - - what are your thoughts on how other stations in DC will tweak their music to respond to the new Fresh 947? Will WBIG move towards harder classic rock? What about true oldies? Since it seems like fresh will have a mirror sound to 1073, my prediction is one of them will be toast by Labor Day, if not sooner. (3/30/09) Dave's response: Yes, it puts Clear Channel in an excellent position to dominate rock radio in DC, owning both alt rocker DC101 and classic hits WBIG, which could toughen up toward classic rock. I can't see the DC market supporting three stations catering to the same female demo, as WASH, Fresh 94.7, and Mix 107.3 will soon be doing. Oldies? We already have the format on WJZW with less than impressive ratings. I still think there's a niche in DC for a well-programmed adult rocker, a la a resurrected WHFS..... I look at the ratings for ALL DC stations every single day! Simply put: ratings equal people who watch our product and that is how we stay in business. How Ms. Foster from Channel 9 can go a day, yet a week without looking helps to better explain why Channel 9 dominates as the 4th place news station. Absolutely, positively CLUELESS. Like anchor like management at WUSA. Tragic, pathetic, out of touch and simply sad. Maybe she would be better off anchoring public access where ratings or quality does not matter. (3/30/09) Fresh 94.7 confirmed. And the other "Fresh " stations include WWFS 102.7 New York, WCFS 105.9 Chicago, and in DC....... CBS wouldn't do it, or would they? Put AC on on 94.7 and the call letters, WHFS. The Nightmare never ends (3/30/09) Dave's response: Oh my God, you're right. CBS's Fresh station in NYC is WWFS. With "FS" standing for "Fresh." CBS could use the legendary WHFS calls (now parked on 1580) here in DC for Fresh 94.7? Ahhhhhhh..... Hey, fellow posters .... maybe if we just ignore the Rican-educated stalker (now we know why she's academically challenged), maybe she'll just go away. We can only hope. Signed, Chris P. (3/30/09) As Max 925 was my last gig before XM(Sirius) 4 years ago, Max has fliiped from Rock to News(sharing with AM WICO 1320 "Salisbury's Own) after a 7 year run(signal never did entice diary peeps in that area, who like Hip Hop to Rock) anyway, called in for the last show today(Co-Hosted by Joe Edwards, creater ofthe stations image) and one helluva great guy I might add, and reflected back on my year on morning drive, fulfilling one of my dreams, of doing mornings at the beach, and playing Rock(had long hair then, hell HAD hair I should say) with my main highlight, singing bass in a barbershow quartet(again this is a Rock format at the time)...instead of doing top of hour news... anyway, wanted to let you know at Noon today, Max 92-5, WXMD Salisbury-Ocean City. a Delmarva Radio Broadcasting Company, switched from Rock to News, and It feels like I am saying bye to something that really meant something to me, and I hope someone who listened, felt it. I also do sideline work for the Salisbury University SeaGulls Football team for 1320AM WICO since 2004, so I still feel like part of the place... I know man, alot of rambling, but I know you'll get the news out of this letter... J. Brooks, former Max More Music Morning Show Host 2004-2005, current Sports Anchor MLB/Newsroom SiriusXM Satelitte Radio 20005-present (3/30/09) D- Ya wanna bet that FRESH FM 94.7 lasts MAYBE 6 months! At least till the new 'book' comes out? These wizards JUST DON'T GET IT...they are still trying to divide up the small pieces of the pie instead of going for a SOLID big piece of the rest of pie..so to speak...its way better to be a SOLID 5 or 7 than 18! We'll see. D (3/30/09) Dave's response: Why would CBS announce A WEEK AHEAD (!!!) that it was going to launch a station? You're just tipping off your rivals to steal your thunder. Both WASH and Mix 107.3 can now plan to do something big next Monday, right? It makes no sense. Usually, a company radio launch statement happens moments before the launch. Why didn't CBS simply launch Fresh 94.7 today? Why next Monday? Maybe CBS is just trying to confuse us. Perhaps, come next Monday, we'll be getting the resurrection of heritage rocker WHFS? It wouldn't surprise me..... Now that Chairman Obama, who never ran anything as complicated as a lemonade stand, is running the banks, the car companies, and is about to run health care, lets put him in charge of WJFK. It will only make the station worse. (3/30/09) Dave, I took the time at lunch today to ditch all what remains of 94.7 from my radios. 94.7 "Fresh Manure" is not for me. I vote for your formatting idea with MOM, the Junks, Cephe, and the WHFS of yesteryear... brilliant! CBS radio has once again proved their ineptitude and before we all ring out 2009 those morons at CBS Radio will drive the station into the ratings tank with their "fresh manure" format. Just a thought. (3/30/09) 94.7 going Fresh is hilarious especially since everyone called the format flip about a year ago. When 94.7 was dead in the water. How long do you think 106.7 will stay Talk? Or how long for the Spanish 99.1? Lets hope that they don't throw the WHFS calls on 94.7 for the FS part standing for fresh! Just a bad thought since Chicago's 105.9 is WCFS, NY's 102.7 s WWFS. Also as for WQSR, don't fix what isn't broken. WQSR is a cheap cash cow and it's the best music station in Baltimore thanks to the variety & large playlist. But at the same time Clear Channel only likes formats that play the same 20 songs over and over & have VT'ed DJ's. (3/30/09) Let me second the kudos for Russ Thaler. He has done a terrific job on Washington Post Live. If he is leaving COMCAST Sportsnet altogether, as opposed to just leaving that one show, that is a big loss for Sportsnet. On another point, I believe the Frozen Four will be the first NCAA championship ever awarded in Washington. So one would hope the local sports broadcasting crowd would extract their heads from their behinds long enough to cover it. I really think that those on local TV and radio who continue to give hockey short shrift do so at their peril. The Caps are the best and most exciting pro team in town and are attracting a young demographic. Given the team's relative youth, they are going to be a highly competitive team for a long time. The Washington pro sports landscape seems to be changing. Local sports people ought to be AHEAD of the curve, not trailing far behind. (3/30/09) Hey Silvie and the two WMAL lurkers: Thanks very much (perhaps I should say 'Bolshoje spasibo!') for confirming my beliefs about conservatives and their thought processes. Poor whiny 'victims' as always. Mike in Manassas... who is AGAINST the Fairness Doctrine because he believes in allowing rightwing radio hosts to hang themselves. (3/30/09) I believe Mike said on the last show that they would be back in 3 weeks and Rob put quotes next to “see”. Get a grip! (3/30/09) FRESH 94.7? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? looks like i will have to switch to Satellite Radio unless 100.3 picks up more Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Rush, Pink Floyd, and Zeppelin tunes. I am thinking that once 107.3 gets sold, they might flip to some form of classic rock or AOR station, but as shitty as radio is in DC i doubt it. Losing 94.7, i no longer have a station where i can hear my Van Halen. DC does not need any more of that jason mraz, daughtry, or other worthless american idol bullshit. Goodbye from my presets 94.7!... (3/30/09) Dave's response: Damn, I was hoping for Schelby 94.7, female folk-ish rock..... I know the 94.7 news is just breaking, but any idea what might become of Cerphe? The guy is a rock-radio institution who went the New Age route with 106.7 before returning to his roots. I guess he's bound for boring BIG 100.3? Might actually be an excuse to listen, but I have trouble with the terrible playlist. Trouble with 94.7's, too. I'm sure Cerphe has problems with the limited playlists as well, although as a PD or former PD, he knows how to survive. Christian (3/30/09) Dave's response: I asked my "Uncle Mike" over at CBS about what will happen to 94.7's current airstaff and he didn't respond..... For anyone who wants the full Fresh experience, CBS also owns a full-fledged Fresh station in Chicago (www.fresh1059.com); in addition, it licenses the name to, among others, Beasley in Las Vegas (www.1027fresh.fm) and Simmons in Missoula (www.fresh1045.com). As always, thanks! EJM (3/30/09) Dave's response: Hey, if it works in Missoula, it'll work in DC. Right? To the post about Fox Nation: The age of most of the Fox News viewers may be much older than those of rival MSNBC but how do you explain why Fox News beats all the other cable news channels combined on a regular basis. And MSNBC's ratings are always in the toilet, maybe it is the blowhards on there (Olbermann and Matthews) that are the problem. Plus Fox News is fair and balanced, unlike MSNBC, sometimes referred to the "Obama Network". and their constant trashing of the Republicans and conservative movement. Conservative on the Eastern Shore (3/30/09) Dear Lesli, you may know me. I'm called REALITY. Your station blows and you're a dreadful anchor and copying Liz Crenshaw on your segents is just really sad. HOWEVER, when you're fired and shown the door [should be any day now], I'm starting a shuttle service to take disgruntled 9 employees to channel 7 or Fox 5. Paul (3/30/09) tv sports minute - mentions dcrtv tvs.mp3 - www.1021thegame.com (3/30/09) "First regarding the sad situation at Channel 9 and two words can only describe why they are so bad, Brett Haber! ... What does it say about a company who hires people like Steve Davis and Haber?". What really rubbed me the wrong way is how Haber 'promoted' last Friday's Capitals-Lightning game on his sportscasts - 'even if you don't follow hockey, you may want to check this one out because it's sure to be Fight Night at Verizon Center - could even erupt into a full scale riot' (expecting the Tampa team to try and exact revenge for Alex Ovechkin's over-the-top 50th goal celebration a week earlier). Caps owner Ted Leonsis doesn't need to use fighting to spur interest in his team - he's already accomplished that with a first place squad featuring arguably the game's best player. Needless to say, the anticipated mayhem never materialized and Haber was exposed as a blathering idiot. Then Sara Walsh had a 30 minute Sunday night sports recap show on the station and never even mentioned the four college hockey teams that advanced to the Frozen Four (which will be played in Washington for the first time ever). For whatever reason, you almost have to shout from the mountaintops to get most DC sports media outlets to pay more than token attention to anything hockey related. Mike, Fairfax (3/30/09) RE: [Anybody got any video of the 3 people who showed up at Nancy Pelosi's book signing? Anyone? *Sound of crickets* -Silvie] No success finding the Pelosi vid you speak of, Sil...however, I was able to dig up this pic from Conservative "Rockstar" JtP's book signing in our fair city just this last month. Talk about crickets chirping - Official head count for poor Mr. Wurtzelbacher's journalistic debut was a humiliating eleven people! As for Levin, I really don't find it to be all that "incredulous" for so many of you to have shown up. All it proves is how many nuts you can shake off the tree when you got Levin, Hannity and Limbaugh pimping the event nine hours a day every day for the entire week prior. Talk about doing everything you can to falsely-inflate your sales figures! Sure people like you wasted eight hours of your live that you will never get back and Levin laughed all the way to the bank (at your expense), but unfort unately, poor 'MAL is the only one who walked away with empty pockets. (3/30/09) An O'Meara best of with Robb and BA in studio after Robb has been promoting a new show on Facebook. And no explanation. Something amiss? (3/30/09) Dave, Rush Limbaugh has and still is on News Talk 92-7 WGMD out of Rehoboth Beach, Rush is just being moved over from the AM to the FM on WICO in the Salisbury area. Somehow Premiere allowed Rush to be on both stations even though they are in and serve the same market. This is probably because of the signal strength of the one and the lack of the other and more so because both stations are housed in different states even though they share a common market which is what makes the Delmarva market unique. (3/30/09) Dave, I know Citadel might sell Mix 107.3 but bottom line they bill well and get really good ratings, how come they haven't been brought up...Is another Hot A/C a really good fit, seems like Fresh will be very niche between WASH, Mix and Hot 99-5. There is bound to be a ton of crossover. (3/30/09) Whoops! O's announcers told to leave rain-delayed game early - Big League S... - MLB - Yahoo! Sports? sports.yahoo.com (3/30/09) A format change at 94.7FM. I bet they'll be jumping all the way from 18th to 16th...before sliding back to 18th and another format change in, what, 15 months? I'm not sure how any self-respecting strategist can say with a straight face that performance will be greatly enhanced by becoming only a little bit different than the competition. Why is it so hard for PDs and GMs to create something...well, creative?!? To stand out from the crowd, you have to STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD. A dozen different stations all playing basically the same crap will just slice up that format's piece of the pie in a dozen little pieces. I stand by my previous prescription: hand the reigns over to Don Geronimo and recreate 1970s-era AM radio on 94.7FM. Could it be a huge flop? Sure. But it might work and, if it didn't, you'd be changing the format again in 15 months...just as you will surely be doing anyway. Dave in Sterling (3/30/09) Dave's response: On the surface, I was thinking the flip to Fresh 94.7 is a good idea. But the "wild card" that could really fuck things up for CBS is Citadel's WRQX, Mix 107.3. You're gonna have Fresh 94.7, WASH, and Mix 107.3 going after the same exact audience. Yeah, you'll probably see 94.7 jump a few spots in the ratings by June, with 97.1 and 107.3 dropping a few spots. The "winners" will be Hot 99.5, which could rival WTOP for the top spot. Plus, the banal classic hits WBIG, which will pick a few spots by default, and ditto with the generic rocker DC101, both of which won't have classic rock on 94.7 to "dent" them. Still - you have CBS facing more big problems - the mis-signalled El Zol, the aging audience of PGC, and the continued PPM "problem" of "guy talk" on JFK. Whatever Fresh does, there's still a lot of work for CBS to "fix" its DC radio cluster..... Hey Mike, who the f*ck is "we"? Did DCRTV Dave retire and appoint you "King of the Mailbag" or something? Last time I checked this blog/mailbag was not Pravda or Tass - yet. Have a lovely glasnost day! Silvie (3/30/09) Mike in Manassas, get a freakin life! You seem obsessed with Silvie and her obsession. I would suggest that you take some coursed in knitting, brocading or some sort of a re-hab program to calm down the tingles of what appear to be jealousy. For God’s sake, give it a rest. DOOBIE (3/30/09) "self-loathing bitter" Mike in Manassas that, sir, is the pot calling the kettle black. Your posts are always filled with bitterness and usually profanity laced. If you don't agree with Levin or other WMAL shows, don't listen. From your posts you sit GLUED to the radio drinking in every glorious word Levin says, turning redder and redder with every syllable. You're the archetype of what Levin refers to when he plays the clip "you're a stalker". For whatever it's worth, I think it's awesome that Mark got such huge turnouts in LI and in Tyson's, especially given the weather. Kudos to Silvie and the thousands of others for braving the elements. (3/30/09) Really Beth Ann and CBS programming. With the 23rd rated show in PPM, can you really run a best-of vacation real or two of the MOM Show today with a serious face? If your not going to run a live show with fill-in hosts then just announce that you are listening to WJFK White Flag radio as Happy Trails To You plays in the background. It's obvious that you and CBS have thrown in the radio towel. Petition II: Dave Hughes for Program Director or hire a blind money to throw at programming dart board. My vote is for Hughes. (3/30/09) Dave's response: If I was programming JFK, I'd flip it to adult alt rock. I'd put Mike O'Meara in mornings, and the Junks in afternoons. And music all the rest of the time, including weekends. Make Cerphe MD. Slap the WHFS calls on the sucker and away we'd go to the top of the ratings heap. Or in that general direction..... Judging by the samples played on the 94.7 website, the "Fresh" format will sound amazingly similar to the music played in the lobby of my parent's retirement community. And I'm guessing they'll start playing All Your Light Christmas Favorites about October 15th. (3/30/09) Honestly, Silvie, who really cares? You go and stand in line for six hours in the drizzle to see one of your 'heroes' so he can sign a book and you come here and make it sound like the Second Coming. Whoop-dee-doo. We, aside from the WMAL lurkers, honesly do not give a SHIT. And what does Nancy Pelosi have to do with a two-bit Bob Grant wannabe radio host? NOTHING. And don't come here and tell us about how many stations Levin is on, or about how is now a three-hour thing, or about how many people showed up at his little party. Again, we do not CARE. We have more important things to concern ourselves with than some angry self-loathing bitter radio guy who writes juvenile and factually-challenged crap and screeches about it on the radio to keep the lights on. Oh, and whose local affiliate is skating on thin ice these days. Mike in Manassas (3/30/09) Oye, I'm grew up in Puerto Rican public schools, so I can get away with improper grammar once in an 'azul' moon, allright Mi'ja?? Anybody got any video of the 3 people who showed up at Nancy Pelosi's book signing? Anyone? *Sound of crickets* -Silvie- (3/30/09) RE: [I was laughing my ass off too on Saturday, looking at the incredulous size of the crowd and the fact that we stood in it for 6 hours] Silvie, You mean to tell us that you actually stood in line for SIX FRIKKIN' HOURS just to have that two-bit Hanni-toadie Mark Levin sign your book? All I can say is P.T. Barnum was right. One more thing, hun; no disrespect intended to your "Word-a-Day Calendar" vocabulary, but you really should look up the big words like "incredulous" before you employ them. Thanks again for yet another laugh. (3/30/09) Well it's official. CBS Radio has overtaken Clear Channel as the dumbest company in radio. "Fresh" 94.7? Get ready for Goo Goo Dolls, Faith Hill, Train, Nickelback...oh wait a minute, I can hear those songs already on WASH or MIX can't I? They're going to position themselves between Hot 99.5, WASH, and MIX? We'll see how that works out. I hope the call letters are WELS...We lose! This reminds me of the time when WGAY became Bright 99.5. Or, when WPGC became "(CL)ASSY" 95. Remember that? Yeah, now that I think about it, me either! It's not April 1st yet? DAMN! (3/30/09) For all of you armchair PDs trying to rack up bonus points in your fantasy formats league, it appears nothing will change at WQSR/Baltimore when Clean Channel assumes control. Check out this classified ad CC has been running in Inside Radio for at least the last week: CLEAR CHANNEL IS JACKING UP BALTIMORE! Three exciting jobs with JACK-FM (WQSR, pending acquisition): Program Director – a leader proficient with talent development, music, marketing, promotions, budgets. Must be able to perform on-air duties and be a great partner to Sales. Successful track record in radio programming required. Production Director – a broadcast professional to manage in-house production operation, create and produce client commercials. Local Sales Manager - leadership position REQUIRING a relentless work ethic, minimum 4 years media sales management experience, including internet and short form ads, plus an exceptionally positive attitude a must. If you ever take your foot off the gas, don’t waste our time or yours. (3/30/09) Business 101: The fast approaching petiton drive to fire B.A. McBride and for that matter, demand, plan & implement major changes to the MOM Show is not personal. It's business and ratings, or in this case, lack thereof. Producers, like a GM CEO who take billions of government bailout money and never "produce" are hired to be fired.. All McBride had to do was produce ratings. She has not. Didn't she get fired from her last NC radio job too? Releasing McBride is no different than firing the manager of your last place Nationals, or firing the captain of the Titantic. Oh, wait a minute. He went down with the ship just like McBride will do along with the entire MOM crew if changes are not made. For the record and with no further professional explanation needed, that would be Call to Duty - ass! Nothing personal. (3/30/09) Hi Dave, I'm a big fan of the site & appreciate all your hard work. Couple of questions. I hear post sportswriter Ivan Carter's replacing Russ Thaler as the host of WashPostlive on comcast ? Where is Russ going ? I think he's a great host. . . Also what do you think Cerphe Caldwell will do when 94.7 changes formats. Thanks, Jim (3/30/09) Dave's response: We did report that Russ was leaving CSN's "WaPo Live." I don't know where he's going. Anybody know? As for 94.7, I'm am hoping that Cerphe will be kept on as programmer for 94.7's HD2 alt rock stream. Up in NYC, CBS runs its heritage rock WNEW on the HD2 of its Fresh 102.7 station. I'm hoping that CBS will do the same here in DC, with our heritage rock WHFS on 94.7's HD2. Hey, Cerphe is so "flexible." I'm sure he could easily "fit" into 94.7's new hot AC format..... If i was clear channel i would put an upbeat mainstream urban back on 102.7 call it V103 and get the drops from the sister station WVAZ-FM CHICAGO, I would put the former #1 rated Big Phat Morning Show back on or Steve Harvey in the morning by this move it would bring #1 92Q down thus giving WPOC #1 status again As far as 104.3 goes i would either go top 40, oldies, or move Heaven 600 to fm and that would be lights out for wwin-am (3/30/09) OK, I watched some of "Weekend News with Chris Core" on channel 50...what a disaster. After who knows how many decades on radio, Core has somehow become stiff as a board and boring as hell. He's got a great voice and I think the spots he does on WTOP are pretty good, but when it comes time to put down the copy and speak...he's just not any good at it. And he displays an amazing ignorance of the topics. Lots of attitude, lots of pronouncements, but he just sounds dumber than hell. The guy used to be pretty good -- what happened to him? (3/30/09) I wish lupus on the Beth Ann Petition Guy (Smooth Young Boy v2). Also the person who effed up the Washington Post comics section. As much as possible I will steal the Washington Post instead of buying it. I will leave newspaper machines open, take five copies when I only pay for one, etc. As Poppy said, this will not stand. --- ThePenIsMightier (3/30/09) Regarding the Orioles Sunday "not" rainout: WHO CARES! It was a freakin' EXHIBITION GAME! The only people who may have had a reason to care are station sales and management people and the poor traffic manager who has to re-write all of the logs or deal with make goods. Sheeeesh! (3/30/09) Quote: "Thanks for the laugh." You're so welcome! I was laughing my ass off too on Saturday, looking at the incredulous size of the crowd and the fact that we stood in it for 6 hours (no V.I.P. treatment for obnoxious middle-aged serial stalkers :-( Levin and Sliwa were also laughing their asses off - all the way to the bank! Glad you enjoyed it! -Silvie- (3/30/09) Sometimes people forget this, but Rush Limbaugh exists primarily to sell commercials for radio stations. In case you've missed it, once again, "My job is to attract the largest audience I can, hold it for as long as I can to charge confiscatory advertising rates ..." (February 24, 2009). He's said that on the air many times. Information please: radio is a business. (3/30/09) Saw Sarah Walsh on WUSA sports last night and what a complete bore..Had never seen her before and will not be watching again..And went to their website and noticed that they have titled a number of their anchors/reporters "digital correspondents".What the heck is a "digital correspondent"? Guess I'm behind the times..But then again, I rarely watch WUSA9, so maybe that's something specific to their station. (3/30/09) No wonder people dismiss newspapers as irrelevant anymore. The so-called "enhancements" that the DC newspaper plans to discuss online today are, in reality, cutbacks and everyone knows it. I get the same reaction when I read that some company "is committed" to improving some point or other, when this phrase usually means they don't give a shit now get lost. (3/30/09) Clear Channel takes over 102.7 April 1. (3/30/09) FOX NATION: There are sound reasons why ultimately, the new website,FOX NATION, will fail just as the Fox Business Channel is struggling and will eventually cease to exist. The average age of the Fox News Channel viewer is 63.9 years according to Nielsen Research. That's eight years older than the average MSNBC viewer for example. Further, Fox viewers tend to live in rural areas, in red states. They are the least likely to have a computer in their homes. Alabama, for example, has the lowest penetration of computer home use per capita, than any state in the nation. There's a reason why more than twice as many computer users visit CNN's website or MSNBC's than Fox. The people visiting them have computers. You can count this anyway you like and still come up with the same numbers. Liberal political blogs get far more visitors than conservative ones and there are many more of them. One of the reasons Obama won is his people were savvy about this while McCain was going around saying he didn't know how to use a computer. (3/30/09) Dave, Just to let you know, MAX 92.5 in Salisbury appears to be flipping format at noon today. They have been talking all morning about this being their last morning show...and promising something new at noon. (3/30/09) Visitors to baltimoresun.com at 12 noon on April 1 can watch a live video stream featuring popular media personalities Troy Johnson and Marc Clarke. Troy and Marc, who’ve shared the Off the Mic blog on baltimoresun.com since December 2008, developed a wide and loyal following during the years they hosted The Big Phat Morning Show on 92Q. During the live video stream, viewers will be able to submit questions or send comments that Troy and Marc can respond to, and the program will be recorded and available on baltimoresun.com so that anyone who misses it can watch it later on demand. (3/30/09) Petition to fire Beth Ann McBride? My, you must be doing very well to wish someone lose their job in this economy. Your karma must be golden. While you're at it, why don't you go ahead and wish lupus on somebody? Turn off your radio and pay more attention to your career at Doody Calls. (3/30/09) Wacky goings on with Orioles radio. Sunday's Orioles exhibition game against the Mets resumed after a rain delay but the O's radio broadcast didn't because the announcers had already left the stadium for the day. Who's to blame? Pick a side. Everett W. weblogs.baltimoresun.com... blogs.nypost.com (3/30/09) With "bad guy" Geronimo jumping ship and CBS management grossly incompetent, It's time for the listeners to save the MOM Show. First things first. PETITION DRIVE TO FIRE BETH ANN MCBRIDE BEGINS ON APRIL 1, 2009 (3/30/09) Anyone know when clear channel takes over 102.7? It will be interesting to see if they keep the Jack format... 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