January 2002 to June 2002

Latest items listed first.....

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June 24, 2002
Norris Joins WMAL
WMAL debuted the new co-host for its morning news show on 6/24. She's Jane Norris, who used to host the late-morning "Today's Woman" program on Louisville's WHAS, a Clear Channel radio station. She replaces Tim Brant, who said adios to the ABC news/talker a few weeks ago. WMAL also adds liberal commentator Bill Press to its morning team.

June 22, 2002
Don And Mike Dropped In NYC
Infinity's WJFK midday radio duo "Don And Mike" have been dropped by their NYC outlet, Infinity's WNEW. D&M's show continues to air on Infinity's WYSP in Philadelphia, we hear. The main reason D&M moved to middays was so they could be heard live in NYC. Could this be one step toward the eventual return of the DC radio duo to WJFK's PM drive? JFK-FM sure could use a return to D&M's stellar ratings in that time slot, something that WNEW-based "Opie And Anthony" have not managed to duplicate. By the way, WNEW is filling the 10 AM to 3 PM weekday slot with "AFRO Zone," which, according to the station's website, is "a great mixture from four of WNEW's most popular personalities: Anthony, Fez, Ron, and Opie.

June 21, 2002
Kosbau To Detroit
Steve Kosbau, director of operations at ABC's WRQX and WJZW, has been named president and general manager for several ABC-owned stations in Detroit. AA adds that JZW program director Kenny King will most likely become acting program director at RQX until a permanent replacement is named. RQX assistant program director/music director Carol Parker continues in that role.

June 20, 2002
New GM At 4
"Michael Jack, former president and general manager of the NBC-owned TV station in Columbus, Ohio, has been named president and general manager of the Washington market's NBC-owned station, WRC," so reports the Washington Post. "At Channel 4, Jack replaces Linda Sullivan, who left recently when appointed president and general manager of NBC's new station in the San Jose-Oakland-San Francisco market."

June 17, 2002
Tracey Neale Wins Top News Anchor Emmy
Fox 5's Tracey Neale (left) won the Emmy Saturday evening for best news anchor during the local awards ceremony. She beat 9's Andrea Roane and Mike Buchanan, Gordon Peterson, and MPT's Jeff Salkin. The top sports anchor Emmy went to Comcast SportsNet's Chick Hernandez, beating 5's Dave Feldman. And the best weathercaster statue was shared by 5's Tom Sater and 4's Bob Ryan, besting 5's Sue Palka. Channel 5 also took the award for best evening newscast. This year's event was televised live via Howard University's Channel 32.

June 12, 2002
Bomb Scare At Channel 5
A phoned-in bomb scare forced the evacuation of Fox-owned Channel 5/WTTG's northwest DC studio facilities on Wednesday morning, causing the station to cancel its noon newscast. A rerun of MASH was aired instead. DCRTV hears that the entire Wisconsin Avenue building was surrounded with yellow crime scene tape, with personnel ordered out at about 10:30 AM. The explosives searching dogs then came in to sniff around. No bomb was found.

June 11, 2002
Holder Heads To WTTG
Channel 5/WTTG is replacing departing weekend sports anchor Dyrol Joyner with Lou Holder, who has most recently been a sports reporter and anchor at a Hartford TV station. He's originally from the DC region, but has spent a lot of time in the Philadelphia area including stints at that market's Fox station and at Comcast's CN8 network.

June 10, 2002
700 Becomes WGOP
Too bad for WMAL (with its line-up of right-wing talkers), the WGOP ("Grand Ole' Party") calls have been taken by Walkersville MD's WWTL (700 AM). The ethnic (largely Arabic) station near Frederick will adopt an Anglo talk format.

June 8, 2002
Court Upholds Defamation Suit Against JLA
The Prince William Journal reports that the Virginia Supreme Court on 6/7 agreed with a Fairfax court and upheld a physician's $2 million award in his defamation lawsuit against WJLA/Channel 7. Dr. Stephen Levin, a Vienna orthopedist, filed suit in October 1998 against WJLA, alleging that he had been maliciously defamed by a November 1997 news report which labeled him the "Dirty Doc" and the "X-Rated Doctor." During the Fairfax trial, Levin contended the techniques in question, which involve the manipulation of womens' breast and pelvic regions, are reputable and are proven in treating back, hip, and shoulder pain. WJLA had asked the high court to overturn the decision claiming that the award was excessive.

June 7, 2002
Jess Atkinson Says Farewell To 9
Channel 9/WUSA head sports anchor Jess Atkinson (right) has submitted his resignation. He told the station's news director, Dave Roberts, that he'll stay on until a replacement can be found. There had been rumblings that Atkinson and Roberts didn't see eye-to-eye on everything. Atkinson joined WUSA in January 2000 after a stint in Providence. He'd originally been a sports reporter and weekend sports anchor for WRC.

June 4, 2002
Joyner Out At 5
Weekend sports anchor Dyrol Joyner is out. Word in the newsroom is that Channel 5 owner Fox decided to option one of its "windows" in his contract and let him go. Also, we hear that morning news anchor Todd Wallace is taking a job with the NBC affiliate in Dallas.

June 3, 2002
Fire Damages WACA
Spanish language WACA (1540 AM) in Wheaton suffered a fire at its studios in May. DCRTV correspondent T.K. Wood reports that the station, also known as "Radio America," is now operating out of a temporary studio while the damage is being repaired. The fire was said to originate in a malfunctioning personal computer on a salesperson's desk. Apparently, the fire damage knocked off the air the station's FM relay, via WASH's 97.1 subcarrier.

May 31, 2002
WZDC Launches Spanish Newscast
Telemundo affiliate WZDC/Channel 64 will launch a Spanish language newscast on Monday, 6/3, going up against Univision's WMDO/Channel 30. WZDC's 6 PM weeknightly "Telenoticias 64" will be produced in cooperation with NBC-owned WRC/Channel 4. NBC recently purchased Telemundo. While WZDC and WMDO are low-power broadcasters, both enjoy substantial cable TV coverage throughout the DC area. WZDC will have an 11-person news team. Rival WMDO has a 15-person team for its 6 PM and 11 PM newscasts.

May 23, 2002
Negron And Aguirre Quit WBZS/WBPS
From Lloyd Grove's "Reliable Sources" column in the Washington Post: "Que pasa? It has been barely a month since The Post's Eugene L. Meyer wrote a splashy Style section profile of popular Spanish-language drive-time radio personality Alejandro Negron, who arrived at the Silver Spring station 'La Mega' (which is simulcast at 92.7 and 94.3 FM) back in January 2001 and gained a loyal following as a deejay and as program director. But Negron abruptly quit earlier this month in a dispute with General Manager Maria Elena Verdugo over the proliferation of diet infomercials leading into his show, 'El Vacilon de la Maņana' ('Goofiness in the Morning'). 'I thought paid programming was hurting it,' Negron told Meyer yesterday, adding that Verdugo agreed to drop the infomercials but then reneged. The dispute came to a head on May 7, when Negron confronted Verdugo. 'She said, 'Well, if you want to leave, leave.' I left . . . out of frustration.' Verdugo's only comment was: 'Alex resigned.' Negron's wife and fellow deejay, Carmen Aguirre, known as 'La Mega Chica,' quickly followed suit."

May 22, 2002
Shaum Leaves 1090
Radio And Records reports: "After more than 27 years as a reporter and news anchor for WBAL/Baltimore, Jack Shaum will retire, effective May 31. However, he's not slowing down - Shaum will take a reporter's position with a weekly in Kent Island, MD and take a more active role with the quarterly magazine of the Steamship Historical Society Of America."

May 20, 2002
"Murphy And Cash" To WBIG
Come July, "Murphy And Cash," actually Gary Murphy and Jessica Cash (left), the morning team at Clear Channel's country WMZQ, will be moving to the AM drive slot at co-owned oldies outlet WBIG, "Big 100." As DCRTV reported last week, M&C's slot on MZQ will be taken over in early July by "Ben And Brian," who had been the morning duo at a Phoenix country station. B&B's show will be syndicated nationwide. It looks like the loser in this game of radio musical chairs is current WBIG morning man Dave Adler.

May 20, 2002
O'Reilly Joins WMET
Business talker WMET (1150 AM) finally got around to debuting Bill O'Reilly's new talk radio show on Monday, 5/20. The show actually kicked-off on 5/8, when WMET joined it 36 minutes late. Thereafter, the station aired its standard financial talk fare instead of O'Reilly. The Fox News commentator's show, which airs live from noon to 2 PM on the Gaithersburg station, features a series of female co-hosts.

May 20, 2002
26 Completes Transmitter Repairs
Channel 26, WETA, is back up to full-power from its Bethesda tower after suffering a burned out transmission line in March. The public station had been operating with a weak signal from a backup tower in Arlington while it waited for the delivery of new gear - and recent bad weather had delayed installation. The transmitter troubles forced WETA to discontinue its digital signal, which it hopes to resurrect very soon.

May 17, 2002
Brant Says Farewell To MAL
Tim Brant (right), co-host of WMAL's morning drive show, dropped a bomb on 5/17 saying on air that it's his last day. Brant joined MAL's AM program in 1990 and has been partnered with Andy Parks. With a sports background, Brant had once been sports director at WJLA, and still does college football coverage for ABC Sports and other TV groups. There was a hint of Brant's restlessness, earlier this year, when management at the ABC-owned news/talk station revamped the morning show - adding PM drive host Chris Core and changing the name to the "WMAL Morning News" - and Brant went missing for a few days. Core returned to evenings after only one day on the AM drive shift. "Hey, I'm part of the old WMAL," Brant said on his final show, strongly suggesting that he felt less comfortable with the station's "new" focus on politically-oriented talk.

May 6, 2002
Oldies 100 Gets Big
Clear Channel's WBIG (100.3 FM) drops the "oldies" from "Oldies 100" in favor of "Big 100." Still the best of the 60s and 70s. Oldies stations across the nation are looking to attract younger listeners, such as removing references to the term "OLDies."

May 1, 2002
Virginia Ellis Dies
Virginia Ellis, 80, an advertising account executive with WDCA/Channel 20 from 1972 to 1997, died of congestive heart failure in Willingboro NJ. Also, she was general manager of WEEL radio in Fairfax from 1963 to 1972. Mrs. Ellis was a member of American Women In Radio And Television a recipient of the Silver Circle Award from the National Association Of Broadcasters..

April 30, 2002
Solly Died Of Coronary Artery Blockage
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease - partial blockage of a coronary artery - caused the death of Dale Solly (left), according to a report issued by the Baltimore medical examiner's office. The Channel 7 weekend news anchor collapsed and died at his Silver Spring home on 4/27. He was 53. The Washington Post reports that since the news broke of Mr. Solly's death, the station has been swamped with phone calls and e-mails, including calls from a number of Channel 7's competitors. WJLA news chief Steve Hammel told the Post: "One of the other station's anchors came over to express his condolences." Saturday afternoon, as news of Solly's death circulated among station employees, "People who weren't scheduled to work just came to the station; they wanted to be with other people from the station," Hammel added. Doug McKelway (who joined Channel 7 in the summer of 2001 after Channel 4 didn't renew his contract) will assume the Saturday anchor duties, while Del Waters will anchor the station's Sunday newscasts. Mr. Solly, who joined the station in 1988, then went to Cleveland (where he'd worked before coming to DC), and came back to WJLA in 1997. In Cleveland he'd worked for WKYC-TV and WJW-TV. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Mr. Solly "was stretching after a jog, said his mother, Dorothy, of Bedford Heights (Ohio). Solly was supposed to attend a birthday party before reporting for work at WJLA... When he failed to show up for the party, a friend went to his home and found his body on the back patio."

April 29, 2002
Donaldson To Air On NC8
NewsChannel 8 will start simulcasting Sam Donaldson's Friday radio show, which airs from 10 AM to noon on weekdays. The show originates at the ABC News bureau in downtown DC. The veteran ABC newsman began the week-daily two-hour radio talk show last September. The program is tape-delayed to midnight on ABC-owned WMAL (630 AM). If the ratings are good, the local news cable network may starting simulcasting Donaldson's radio show on a daily basis.

April 24, 2002
Buren Leaves Channel 13
Channel 13/WJZ has said farewell to long-time sports anchor John Buren (left). According to the Sun, the CBS-owned station will replace him with Mark Viviano, who'd worked at cable sports channel CNN/SI. Reports the Sun's David Folkenflik: "Buren has provided an irreverent presence at the station since his arrival in Baltimore in 1986. Viviano, a former weekend sports anchor at WBAL-TV, will start in late June. Station officials decided to pull Buren, 49, from the air immediately after an article (in the 4/24 Sun) disclosed the planned move. Buren declined comment." The Sun quotes WJZ general manager Jay Newman as saying: "We all wish John well. We thank him for his service to the station and the community for the past 16 years."

April 24, 2002
Donnelly Dies
Patrick Timothy Donnelly, a video editor for Channel 5's 10 PM newscast since 1971, died of cancer on 4/21 at Suburban Hospital. A graduate of Fairfax County's Fort Hunt High School and most recently a Bethesda resident, Mr. Donnelly was 53.

April 24, 2002
Sullivan To San Jose
Linda Sullivan, the president and general manager of DC's NBC-owned Channel 4/WRC, will be moving out west to run the network's new San Jose/San Francisco station, KNTV. She's been with WRC for five years. No word on her replacement.

April 24, 2002
PGC, POC Top Radio Ratings
The winter (through March) Arbitron radio ratings for the DC market, overall age 12+ demographic, out on 4/24. First place, as usual, went to urban WPGC-FM with a 6.1 share, but it was down a fairly substantial 0.6 share from fall's numbers. Second place was occupied by adult urban WMMJ with a 6.0 share, up a healthy 0.9. All-news WTOP placed 3rd with a 5.4 share (down only 0.1), with adult urban WHUR talking a sweet jump to 4th with a 4.7 share (up 0.2), and classical WGMS sliding a bit to 5th place with a 4.4 share (down 0.3). The rest: 6th adult contemporary WASH 4.2 (down 0.3) tied with urban WKYS (down 0.9), 8th news/GOP talk WMAL 4.1 (a solid 0.8 jump) tied with oldies WBIG (down 0.2), 10th rocker DC101 3.9 (up 0.1), 11th hot talk WJFK-FM 3.8 (up 0.1) tied with country WMZQ (up 0.6), 13th hot adult contemporary WRQX 3.7 (down 0.1), 14th smooth jazz WJZW 3.2 (a nasty 1.0 plunge), 15th urbanish contemporary WIHT 2.9 (up 0.2), 16th modern rockish hot adult contemporary Z104 2.3 (up 0.2), 17th classic rock WARW 2.0 (down 0.3), 18th Spanish contemporary WBZS/WBPS 1.8 (up a full 1.0), 19th testosterone rock WHFS 1.7 (up 0.2), and 20th sports talk WTEM 1.5 (down 0.1). Talker WTNT placed 24th with a 0.8 (up 0.2). Country WPOC took the top spot in Baltimore's Arbitron winter radio ratings, for the period through March. The station saw a huge 1.7 share jump since the fall period, to land at an 8.8. Urban WERQ continued its slide, down 0.1 to a 7.8 share for 2nd place. News/talk WBAL took a big plunge, down 1.9, to land at a 5.4 share, in a tie for 3rd place with adult contemporary WLIF, which was up 1.2. Oldies WQSR dipped 0.4 for a 5th place finish with a 5.3 share. The rest: 6th adult urban WWIN-FM 4.9 (down 0.3), 7th urban WXYV 4.6 (up 0.4), 8th hot adult contemporary WWMX 4.3 (up 0.5), 9th rocker WIYY 3.9 (down 0.5), 10th gospel WCAO 3.3 (up 0.7) tied with alternative rock WHFS (down 1.2), 12th classic rock WOCT 2.8 (down 0.3), 13th talker WCBM 2.4 (down 0.8), 15th religious WRBS 1.7 (down 0.2), 16th adult rock WZBA 1.5 (no change), 18th nostalgic WWLG 1.4 (no change), 20th talk/sports talk WJFK-AM 1.2 (no change), and 25th adult album alternative WRNR 0.8 (down 0.1).

April 23, 2002
Local Radio/TV Journalists Featured In 9/11 Book
Several local radio and TV journalists are featured in a new book on the terror of 9/11. "Covering Catastrophe, Broadcast Journalists Report September 11th" has accounts from anchors, reporters, photographers, producers, managers and others at the networks and local radio and television stations who were involved in bringing the story of the terror attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center to viewers and listeners. Allison Gilbert, an investigative producer at NYC's WNBC-TV, who almost was killed on 9/11, along with three other broadcast journalists from New York and a New York University professor, gathered and edited the accounts from more than 100 people. Included in the book: WTOP reporters Neal Augenstein and Amy Morris, WUSA managing editor Tony Castrilli and reporter Dave Statter, WJLA photographer Michael Forcucci, WRC assignment manager Bill Starks, WTTG reporter Will Thomas, as well as DC freelance photographer Bob Pugh. Also, the book features a tribute to the six broadcast engineers who lost their lives at the WTC. Royalties, along with a matching contribution from the publisher, go to the Citigroup Relief Fund, which will provide scholarships to children of 9/11 victims, and to the Society Of Broadcast Engineers Relief Fund. More at www.coveringcatastrophe.com.

April 20, 2002
Channel 26 Installs New Transmission Equipment
WETA/Channel 26, which suffered a burned out transmission line at its Bethesda tower on 3/19, installed a new antenna via helicopter on 4/20. New transmission line installation continues. When all is done, the public station will be able to resume its normal signal. Since March, the station has been operating with a lower power backup transmitter from its FM/digital TV tower in Arlington (its digital signal has been temporarily dismantled). In fact, Channel 26 had been operating at a lower power level than usual even since last year and was waiting for a new antenna which was to be delivered in January, but that was delayed because of a backlog created by the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and the need for new transmitters in the NYC market.

April 20, 2002
WJYJ Gets More Talk
Calvary Satellite Network is close to completing its purchase of Fredericksburg's WJYJ (90.5 FM), also known as "Joy FM." The station will be rechristened "Praise FM" with an emphasis on preaching as opposed to music. CSN (an outreach of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa CA) usually devotes about 90 percent of its programming to religious teachings, says VARTV, but since WJYJ has a strong following with its contemporary Christian format, look for some music programming to continue.

April 20, 2002
Changes At TNT
There were a bunch of line-up changes as of 4/29 at Clear Channel's "Dynamite Talk" WTNT (570 AM). Glenn Beck moves to 2 PM, followed by Michael Graham at 4 PM (expanding from a one-hour to a three-hour shift), with Laura Ingraham at 7 PM (she's moving from WWRC), and Michael Savage at 10 PM. Phil Hendrie (who had been heard at 10 PM) appears to be the loser in this game of musical chairs. Plus, co-owned biz talker WWRC (1260 AM) gets a "complete overhaul," we hear. Suze Orman takes Ingraham's evening slot at WWRC. Also, over on CC's sports talk WTEM (980 AM) look for the additions of Steve Spurrier's "Coaches Show" and Army football.

April 17, 2002
Mid-Atlantic Says "Shove It" to "Apple Country"
Mid-Atlantic's "Apple Country" combo 105.5/104.9 in the Winchester/Front Royal area had been repeatedly playing Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job And Shove It" as it stunted for a new sound with a station DJ pretending to have locked himself in the studio in an attempt to hijack the format. And at noon the new format was debuted - classic rock. The WAPP/WBPP calls have been scrapped for WWRT/WWRE.

April 12, 2002
WWGB Sold
Religious WWGB (1030 AM) in Indian Head MD had been sold by Jack Mortenson to Rev. Sun Young Joo and the Assemblies Of God for $2.9 million. Look for the English/Spanish religious programming to be replaced with Korean religious programming like what's heard on co-owned WPWA in the Philadelphia area.

April 12, 2002
TOP Snatches Plotkin
After 20 years at WAMU, local political commentator Mark Plotkin (right) is moving to WTOP where he'll host a Friday show at 10 AM, two hours earlier than his previous 88.5 outing. The Washington Post reports that TOP gave Plotkin more bucks than he could get at AMU and offered him a wider range of topics, including the chance to report breaking news.

April 11, 2002
Channel 5 To Start 5 PM Newscast
Channel 5/WTTG plans to move its highly-rated "Judge Judy" to 4 PM this fall when it starts a 5 PM newscast. That will put the judge up against Channel 7's "Oprah," the early news on Channel 4, and Channel 9's "Montel." Channel 5 is still officially looking for a replacement for its 10 PM 'cast co-anchor Mike Landess, who recently bolted for Denver.

April 9, 2002
610 Goes Sports Talk
Winchester's WNTW (610 AM) has flipped from contemporary Christian music to a sports talk format. The Clear Channel station's line-up includes Jim Rome, who was recently dropped by co-owned news talker WFMD (930 AM), across the Potomac in Frederick. WNTW is picking up much of its programming from Fox Sports.

April 8, 2002
WMET Gets New Owner
Trade journal M Street reports that Talk America owner and long-distance phone provider IDT is buying Gaithersburg's WMET (1150 AM) from Sondra Linden's Beltway Communications for $3.2 million cash plus $4.2 million in IDT stock. M Street says that WMET will most likely drop its Business Talk Radio line-up in favor of Talk America programming, which is already carried in part on the station. WMET has a construction permit to hike its daytime 1,000-watt signal to 50,000-watts, and night signal from 500-watts to 1,500-watts with a move to 1160. M Street says that the station will now have the money to carry out that upgrade, along with a new transmitter site, with its new ownership.

April 2, 2002
Cox Dumps Road Runner
Cox, which provides cable TV service to most of Fairfax County, says it will drop AOL/Time-Warner's Road Runner and replace it with its own Cox High Speed Internet Service. The switch will be made in May and June. Also, as of July the price for the service will be increased to $34.95/month - a $5 hike - for those who also subscribe to TV services and $49.95/month for those who don't. Elsewhere across the country, Cox subscribers were served by the @Home service which went bankrupt last year. Those users were switched to the new Cox internet service. An exception, until now, has been Cox's Fairfax operation which was served by Road Runner because of a contract signed by Media General, the previous owner of the system. All Cox Fairfax subscribers will get new e-mail addresses. Comcast's area cable internet subscribers were transferred from @Home to that cable firm's own Comcast.net service in January.

April 1, 2002
Ed Turner Dies
Ed Turner, who helped establish CNN (no relation to founder Ted Turner) as a major news organization and who started the 10 PM newscast at WTTG, died on 3/30 at George Washington University Hospital after battling liver cancer. He was 66. According to the Washington Post, Mr. Turner came to DC in 1966 to set up the news department at Metromedia-owned Channel 5 "and brought a novel concept to this area's broadcasting, the 10 p.m. newscast. With rival outlets airing their late news at 11 p.m., Mr. Turner convinced his bosses that the earlier time (done in Oklahoma City) could win over viewers. The station soon had a top-rated newscast. He was promoted to corporate vice president of all Metromedia-owned TV stations." During his long career, Mr. Turner also served as news director at Channel 9, and worked with the Freedom Forum, a media-oriented foundation then planning to start a local public affairs channel with WETA. He resigned in 1999 as president of the proposed Freedom Network, shortly before plans were scuttled when local cable giant would not guarantee carriage of the local public affairs service.

March 28, 2002
98Rock Hits 25
A quarter of a century ago on 3/28/77, Baltimore's 97.9, WIYY flipped the switch from news/talk to rock. And "98Rock" was born. The Hearst-owned station did an on-air celebration Thursday (3/28) with the likes of Charm City mayor Martin O'Malley, O's legend Cal Ripken Jr., and phone calls from rockers like Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Ozzy Osborne, Foo Fighters, AC/DC, and more. There was also a four-hour retrospective of WIYY's rock history, "98Rock25." Plus, the station, which was once known as WBAL-FM, paid tribute to the personalities who've stuck around the longest - such as Sarah Fleisher who has been with "98Rock" for all of its 25 years, Bob Lopez (23 years), Kirk McEwen (15 years), and Stash, aka Steve Ash (13 years).


March 27, 2002
Bye-Bye Bonnie
Oldies WBIG late evening lady Bonnie Phillips has left the station, and even left the radio biz, we hear. Her 10:30 PM to 2 AM slot is now being voice-tracked by someone else. She's been with the station nine years and they're hoping she'll come back soon for some weekend shifts.

March 26, 2002
Asylum Door Slammed At JFK-AM
More changes at Infinity's talk/sports talk WJFK-AM (1300) in Baltimore. We hear that "The Sports Asylum" has been cancelled after being aired less than four months in the 10 PM to 1 AM slot. Hosts Ben Unroe and Cary Newborn have been shown the door. Fox Sports Radio now fills overnights. In other changes: "Those Sports Guys" are now on from 6 PM to 11 PM, with Steve Hill joining the "guys," who include Paul Mittermeier and Steve Stofberg. The station kicks off weekdays with a "hot talk" format featuring Howard Stern at 6 AM, followed by DC's "Don And Mike" at 11 AM. It then flips to sports talk, starting with Jim Rome at 3 PM.

March 19, 2002
DC101 Fined For Airing Answering Machine Message Without Owner's Consent
Clear Channel rocker DC101 has been fined $6000 by the FCC for airing a phone call without the permission of the person being called, however in this case the voice on the other end wasn't actually a person, but rather an answering machine. The incident in question took place last November during Elliot Segal's morning show. According to Radio Business Report: "The owner of the answering machine complained to the FCC and WWDC acknowledged that the recorded phone message was broadcast (on) 11/30. However, the station argued that the message was 'generic in content' and not like a previous case where another Clear Channel station was fined for airing an actual conversation purloined from an answering machine. The FCC didn't buy that argument. It's given WWDC 30 days to pay up or appeal."

March 16, 2002
D&M Get Middays On 1300
"Don And Mike" are moving to middays (11 AM to 3 PM) live on Baltimore's WJFK-AM (1300). Previously the DC radio duo had been aired in PM drive via tape delay. And, sports talker Jim Rome is being shifted from the noon to 3 PM shift to the 3 PM to 6 PM slot, via tape delay. Plus, Steve Stofberg and Paul Mittermeier get another hour of "Those Sports Guys," and the third hour of Tony Bruno is history. Infinity's WJFK-AM still runs Howard Stern in AM drive. And still no sign of "Opie And Anthony" in Charm City (lucky you), although there are rumblings that 1300 will eventually ditch Rome for them.

March 15, 2002
Rushlow Remembered
On 3/12 DCRTV reported the death of Mike Rushlow, who served as WTOP's news director in the early 1990s. On 3/15 the Washington Post ran his obit: "Paul Michael 'Mike' Rushlow, 53, who spent the last five years at WTTG-TV and was a senior writer for the 'Fox Morning News' program, died of cancer March 12 at his home in Fairfax. Mr. Rushlow, a Detroit native, was a 1970 communications graduate of the University Of Detroit and concentrated his studies on radio and television. He was a newscaster on a Detroit radio station before settling in the Washington area in 1972. He was an editor and anchor at the old WAVA-AM and FM from 1972 to 1975, and an anchor and producer at WRC-AM from 1975 to 1982. He worked at WTOP-AM from 1983 to 1991, the last two years as news director. In the mid-1990s, he held news producer positions at Unistar Radio Networks, USA Today Sky Radio and National Public Radio."

March 13, 2002
Stan The Fan Says Farewell To Charm City
Stan "The Fan" Charles, who was canned in November from his evening sport talks show perch at Baltimore's WJFK-AM (1300), says he'll give up radio and head down to North Carolina with his family. Charles, 50, who is a 21-year veteran of the Charm City's airwaves, says he simply can't find a new radio job in the area.

March 12, 2002
Mustin Dies
Henry Ashmead Mustin, 88, died of cancer on 3/5. He was a Washington Star reporter in the 1930s and 1940s, and, in the 1950s and 1960s, a radio newscaster for WTOP, the Mutual Broadcasting System, and for Star-sponsored programs on WMAL. Mr. Mustin went on to write for the Commerce Department and the Voice Of America.

March 6, 2002
NC8 And JLA Merge Ops And Head For Rosslyn
Allbritton Communications, which owns Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8, will merge both operations into new studio and office facilities in the Rosslyn section of Arlington this summer. Allbritton announced early last year that it was moving WJLA to the landmark Twin Towers buildings (which overlook the Mall), but the news that NC8 is also relocating from its current facilities in suburban Newington VA is new. WJLA is currently located in northwest DC. The Rosslyn buildings had been occupied by Gannett (owner of Channel 9/WUSA) which recently moved its HQ to Tysons Corner. The Post reports: "Well-placed sources said that Wayne Lynch, (NC8's) vice president of news and programming since its launch, is likely to step down. Each station will continue to have its own news director and manager. They will pool news-gathering and production, administration, finance, operations, promotions and human resources. Each will maintain its own sales staff and have a distinct on-air look, separate studios and different on-air talent." No word on whether there will be any layoffs in the consolidation move.

March 6, 2002
Local Radio Revenue Fell In '01
BIA, which provides financial services for media companies, is about to report its 2001 estimated revenue figures for DC radio stations. DCRTV got a sneak preview and the results are not pretty. Most stations suffered declining numbers due, in large part, to the drop in advertising associated with the terror of 9/11. For example, Infinity's urban WPGC-FM plunged from $30 million in 2000 to $27.6 million in 2001. Infinity's hot talk WJFK-FM dropped from $33.8 million in 2000 to $32 million in 2001. ABC's news/talk WMAL went from $17 million in 2000 to $14 million in 2001. (Bonneville's all-news WTOP was not included in our glimpse at the numbers.) The biggest "hit" was taken by Clear Channel's "Hot 99.5" WIHT going from $17 million in 2000 (when it was "jammin' oldies" WJMO) to about $11.4 million in 2001 with "rhythmic pop." The only major increase appears to be at adult urban WMMJ which went from $17.7 million in 2000 up to $20 million in 2001. And the folks at the Radio One station can probably thank Tom Joyner (who was added to 102.3's AM drive) for that.

March 5, 2002
Landess Exits Fox 5
DCRTV hears that news anchor Mike Landess (right) is saying goodbye to Channel 5/WTTG and returning to his old stomping ground of Denver, where he will be joining KMGH-TV as its main news anchor. Landess, paired with Tracey Neale as the top anchor team with the Fox station's 10 PM newscast, has been with WTTG for about three years. We hear that the folks at Channel 5 are very sorry to see him go since he's credited with a spike in the station's news ratings. "I'm disappointed but it made sense," WTTG news director Katherine Green told the Post. "It's his old stomping ground; he wants to go back there. He did a great job for us... He helped us innovate the product. He hopes to do that in Denver".

March 5, 2002
Doerr Leaves NBC
Stephen Doerr, senior VP of news, programming and creative development for the NBC Television Stations division, resigned on 3/1 citing personal reasons. Among his many duties over the years, he'd served as news director at Channel 4/WRC.

March 4, 2002
WYSK Goes Alternative
Fredericksburg's WYSK (99.3 FM) has flipped from modern/hot adult contemporary to a harder, more alternative rock sound with stuff like Linkin Park, P.O.D., Incubus, Weezer, 311, Rob Zombie, and Three Doors Down.

March 4, 2002
More Chaney And Hollander At GMS
DCRTV first reported rumors of change at classical WGMS (103.5 FM) on 2/22 and now they're materializing. Effective 3/9, Renee Chaney and Diana Hollander make a bigger presence on the Bonneville station. In addition to her weekday fill-in duties, Chaney now hosts weekends from 7 AM to 1 PM. Plus, Hollander's back after a year's absence to do weekends from 1 PM to 7 PM. Also, as of 3/4, the station is adding a "Mozart In The Morning" feature and "103 Commercial-Free" minutes weekdays at 9 AM, both during AM driver Dennis Owens' show. More on tap: a focus on relaxing music for PM drive, another commercial-free hour weeknights at 8, and more ad-free tunes on Sundays from 9 AM to 11 AM.

March 4, 2002
Channel 4 Wins February Sweeps
Channel 4/WRC, powered by the Olympics, took first place in the all-important February TV ratings "sweeps." The NBC station scored an average 5.5 Nielson rating and 14 percent audience share, according to the Washington Times. Second place went to Channel 9/WUSA with a 5 rating and 14 share, followed by Channel 5/WTTG with a 3.9/11, Channel 7/WJLA with a 3.3/9, Channel 20/WDCA with a 1.2/3, and Channel 50/WBDC with a 0.9/3. Channel 9 did well in the early morning local news race, leading at 5 AM and coming in second to Channel 4's news at 6 AM. Channel 4's "Today Show" was first at 7 AM, with 5's "Fox Morning News" second, 7's "Good Morning America" in 3rd, and "The Early Show" on 9 in fourth place. Channel 9's news took first place at noon, with Channel 5's news in second. At 4 PM, 7's "Oprah" took the honors, with 4's news in second, and 9's "Montel" in third. At 5 PM, 5's "Judge Judy" was the victor with 4's news in second, 7's news in third, and 9's news in fourth. Channel 4's news was most watched show at 6 PM, followed by 9's news, 5's "Simpsons," and 7's news. At 6:30 PM, 4's local news was still king, with ABC network news on 7 in second, and CBS network news on 9 in third. At 7 PM, NBC network news took first on 4, "Wheel Of Fortune" on 7 second, "Friends" on 5 third, and "Weakest Link" on 9 fourth. "Jeopardy" on 7 was first at 7:30 PM, with 5's "Seinfeld" in second, "Access Hollywood" on 4 in third, and "Entertainment Tonight" on 9 in fourth. In the late news battle, Channel 4 took first, 5's 10 PM show was second, 9 was third, and 7 fourth.

March 1, 2002
Chris Core Gets MAL's 6 PM Slot, Victoria Jones Canned
Chris Core is moving to the 6 PM to 9 PM shift on ABC's news/talk WMAL. The station claimed that it received "thousands of complaints from literally all three branches of government" about moving the former PM driver to its new "WMAL Morning News" show on 2/25. Reports Radio And Records: "Although WMAL promoted Core's move to mornings for three weeks, Core refused to do another morning program after 2/25's debut with longtime hosts Andy Parks and Tim Brant. Core told associates that Parks and Brant, whom he considers his friends, were not the problem; rather, the move was protested by his afternoon audience and contrary to his lifestyle." Evening talker Victoria Jones (the station's only weekday local female host and one of the only avowed liberals heard on MAL) is out on her British bum, we hear. It all started on 2/25 when MAL debuted its morning news show. Chris was moved from his PM drive show (because of Sean Hannity's expansion to a full three hours, Chris used to do the 5 PM to 7 PM shift) to join previous morning show hosts Tim and Andy. But then on 2/26, Chris went missing. He was said to be out sick. And then came 2/27 and Chris was still gone, but now so was Tim, who was said to be out on the west coast doing something for ABC Sports. Andy did the morning show with guest host Tony Blankly. Then a WMAL source told us that Chris had said bye-bye and Tim was really talking to the ABC suits about his future with the station. Then came 2/28. And Chris and Tim were still missing, with Andy and Tony again on the morning show. Then, DCRTV heard that MAL had struck a deal with Chris, removing him from the morning show and giving him Victoria's 6 PM slot. And Victoria joined Chris and Tim and had gone missing too.

February 21, 2002
JC Celebrates 30 Years At 9
Channel 9 paid tribute during its 5 PM newscast on 2/21 to J.C. Hayward (right, joined by her WUSA family), who's celebrating 30 years as a news anchor at the station. She survived three sets of call letters (WTOP, WDVM, WUSA) and three owners (Washington Post, Detroit News, Gannett).

February 21, 2002
MUC May Start All-Sports Internet Station
From the Diamondback: "For a university radio station that once had more listeners than WHFS-FM, WMUC-FM does not exude the same presence on the campus it once had and is currently examining new formats to gain new listeners. The station is researching a 24-hour, online sports station, which it hopes to have running soon. The FM station may change its format to all-music, except for major sports events, station officials said."

February 20, 2002
Dory To WMAR
DCRTV hears that Denise Dory (left) will be joining Charm City's WMAR/Channel 2 as a news anchor and reporter. She's leaving WBTV in Charlotte where she's been for the past seven years. Here last day on the air in the North Carolina city is 3/1. She has been anchoring WBTV's 6 PM and 11 PM newscasts. Dory is a native Washingtonian, and she and her husband have family in the DC area. No specific word on her MAR duties.

February 18, 2002
Howard K. Smith Dies
Veteran network anchor, reporter, and commentator Howard K. Smith (right) died on 2/15 at his Bethesda home. He suffered from pneumonia and congestive heart failure. He was 87. In 1957, Mr. Smith came to DC to be a reporter and commentator for CBS's newscast. He soon joined ABC. Mr. Smith anchored that network's national newscast from 1969 to 1975.

February 18, 2002
Channel 7 To Restore Noon News
Channel 7 is planning to resurrect its noon news this fall - after a 15 year absence. The noon 'cast, which will go up against news on Channels 5 and 9, will feature Don Hudson and Alexandra Steele.

February 18, 2002
WRYR Launches
Southern Anne Arundel County's WRYR, a low-power community programmed facility at 97.5 FM, signed on for the first time on 2/18. The 100-watt station received donations of broadcast equipment including a 25-year-old stereo console broadcast board from WTOP.

February 12, 2002
98 Rock's Meg Replaced
Jennifer Wagner, the night personality at a Tulsa country (!) station (KXBL "The Bull") heads to Baltimore's 98Rock, WIYY, for the 7 PM to midnight slot. She replaces Meg (aka Megan Gunning, right), a former Miss Maryland, who left 97.9 on 1/31. Wagner will be joining Mickey Cucchiella, who's been a regular guest on 98Rock's morning show. DCRTV earlier reported that Meg had a one-year contract which was not being renewed. We hear that Meg is going to pursue a career in acting and modeling. The new evening show starts in March.

February 8, 2002
WJHU Becomes WYPR
Baltimore's 88.1 FM is now WYPR. The WJHU call letters were recently dropped when the station changed ownership from Johns Hopkins University to locally-based Your Public Radio Corp. The station's news/talk format is expected to continue.

February 8, 2002
Early DC TV Star Aletha Agee Dies
From the Washington Post: "Aletha Agee Travis (left), 75, a hard-working beauty queen who stepped from the pageant circuit into a career in the late 1940s and 1950s as one of Washington's first television personalities, died of brain cancer Jan. 9 at her home in Long Beach, Calif. As Aletha Agee, she appeared on DuMont Television's pioneering 'TV Disc Jockey' show with Arthur Lamb from 1947 to 1952, becoming a beloved and familiar face with the daily afternoon feature as television sets became more common in Washington. She later appeared on a string of game and variety shows for both WTTG and WMAL, and was WMAL-TV's 'weather girl' in the late 1950s... On the 'TV Disc Jockey' show, she and Lamb would read the news, interview such celebrities as Rosemary Clooney, perform skits, and lip-sync with popular songs of the day... Among her later shows (was) 'Joker's Wild,' with Jackson Weaver... Her marriage to former WTTG technical director David Chase Milligan ended in divorce."

February 1, 2002
WHFS Relaunches With New Morning Show
As the clock struck 5:30 AM on 2/1, WHFS began stunting "hot Latino" Spanish pop. But that lasted only ten minutes before Graeme (the first DJ heard on 99.1 in a month) assured listeners that the Infinity station would continue to play "huge f-ing sweeps" of testosterone-dripping alternative rock. He then cranked up the second Linkin Park jam within the hour. Graeme did confirm that he's now doing mornings and that Gina Crash and Allen Scott are history. Kathryn Lauren returns to middays, Tim Virgin is back in PM drive, and nights are being handled by weekender Matty on an interim basis. And, word is, veteran Neci is probably on the way out. And, oh yeah, program director Robert Benjamin gets a 30-day contract extension.

January 28, 2002
Clear Channel Country Cooperation
The seven Clear Channel country formatted stations in the Mid-Atlantic region will coordinate sales, marketing, and programming efforts. The alliance includes DC's WMZQ and Baltimore's WPOC, along with Frederick's WFRE, Winchester's WUSQ, Charles Town's WXVA, Dover's WDSD, and Salisbury's WWFG.

January 28, 2002
Willis Dies
All Access reports: "Condolences to country WKLB/Boston morning man John 'J.W.' Willis on the loss of his father, John, a longtime Boston TV personality and one of the original hosts of Boston's 'Good Day' TV show, this past week (1/23) in Baltimore." This is the same John Willis (senior) who once anchored WTTG's 10 PM news and its afternoon talk show "Panorama."

January 28, 2002
Wood Joins WMAR
From NewsBlues: "Longtime Seattle KIRO-TV anchor Brian Wood, who lost his job in a 'layoff' three months ago, begins co-anchoring the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts today (1/28) at WMAR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Baltimore. He replaces Stan Stovall, who spent most of the past 23 years at WMAR. Stovall left the station in December after WMAR chose not to renew his contract."

January 27, 2002
WJYJ Sold
Fredericksburg religious outlet WJYJ (90.5 FM), and a like FMer in Emporia VA, have been sold to Calvery Satellite Network International, another religious broadcaster, for $3.32 million. WJYJ is the main station of the "Joy FM" network which is also heard on a dozen low-powered translator stations throughout Virginia, including one in Alexandria on 97.7 FM. Calvery already owns a 19-watt translator on 91.3 FM in Fredericksburg.

January 25, 2002
WILC Sold
Laurel Spanish outlet WILC (900 AM) is being sold to ZGS Broadcast Holdings for $5.5 million. ZGS also owns local Telemundo TV affiliate, low-power WZDC/Channel 64. The seller is ILC Corporation.

January 25, 2002
Przywara And Doerr Die
Bernard Przywara, a technical engineer who retired from Channel 4 in 1985 after 30 years, died of congestive heart failure 1/19 at Casey House hospice in Rockville. He was 87. Mr. Przywara, who lived in Silver Spring, was a graduate of the Capitol Radio And Engineering Institute, where he also taught electronics classes. Also, Alan Doerr, a classical music programmer who was music director at WGMS from 1957 to 1973, died of liver disease 1/9 at his home in Potomac. He hosted "Alan Doerr Presents," featuring personal classical music selections. Also, Mr. Doerr worked for Parkway Productions, putting together programs for sale to classical music stations, and wrote music reviews for the Washington Post. He was 76.

January 15, 2002
WTOP, WASH, WGMS, and WBIG Post Big Gains In Fall Numbers
WTOP jumped from 4th in the summer to 2nd place in the fall Arbitron radio ratings, released on 1/15. WASH, WGMS, and WBIG also saw big gains, while WMZQ posted a substantial drop. The top spot in the overall age 12+ numbers, as usual, was occupied by urban WPGC-FM with a 6.7 share. All-news WTOP took 2nd with a 5.5 share, up from a 4.9 summer number. Adult urban WMMJ and urban WKYS tied for 3rd, each with a 5.1 share. Classical WGMS jumped from 7th to 5th place with a 4.7 share. Adult urban WHUR and adult contemporary (including 33 days of Christmas music) WASH, way up from 13th place in the summer ratings, tied for 6th place. Oldies WBIG took a nice jump from 11th to 8th, smooth jazz WJZW was 9th, while hot adult WRQX and rocker DC101 tied for 10th. Hot talk WJFK-FM jumped from 14th to 12th, news/talker WMAL sunk from 12th to 13th, while country WMZQ took a big tumble, from 6th to 14th place. Contemporary WIHT was up from 17th to 15th, classic rock WARW dropped from 15th to 16th, modern adult Z104 was down a notch to 17th, sports talk WTEM was up a notch to 18th, new rock alternative WHFS continued its slump to 19th, with gospel WPGC-AM in 20th. Even though urban WERQ took the top spot in the Arbitron fall radio ratings (age 12+) for Baltimore, out 1/15, it's down to a 7.9 share from a 9.6 during the summer. News/talk WBAL ranked 2nd with a 7.3 share, with country WPOC in 3rd with a 7.1. Oldies WQSR placed 4th with a 5.7, and adult urban WWIN-FM took 5th with a 5.2. While alternative rock WHFS sunk to 19th place in the DC market (above), it did well in Baltimore, up a full 1.0 share to a 4.5 for 6th place. Rocker WIYY took 7th with a 4.4, also up a healthy 0.7. Adult contemporary WLIF placed 8th, new urban WXYV 9th, and hot adult WWMX 10th. Talker WCBM took the 11th spot, classic rock WOCT 12th, and gospel WCAO 13th. Religious WRBS was 14th, adult rock WZBA 15th, and nostalgic WWLG 16th.

January 14, 2002
Telefutura Blasts Off
Univision's Spanish language, youth oriented Telefutura network launched on 1/14. The network's been running preview stuff for the past week or so. You can catch it on Arlington's Channel 14, which was recently renamed WFDC. The full-powered station is carried on all DC area cable systems except Comcast/Reston. Channel 14, previously WTMW, had relied primarily on old reruns and infomercials. Univision's main network will continue to air on low-powered Channel 30, WMDO.....

January 14, 2002
Wolff Still Howling
Bob Wolff, the radio/TV voice of the Washington Senators (remember them?), and who once had a Channel 5 show called "Wolff At The Door," is still going strong after 63 years in the business. Pushing 80, he's just signed a new contract with News 12, a Long Island cable news outlet where he does sports anchor, reporting, and commentary duties.

January 11, 2002
Infinity Shuffle
WPGC-AM/FM VP/GM Sam Rogers has been appointed Infinity/DC Market Captain, replacing the departing Phil Zachary. Rogers adds VP/GM stripes at WHFS, also replacing Zachary. WARW GSM Melissa Huston is upped to VP/GM at WARW, again replacing Zachary.....

January 10, 2002
Former NC8 Anchor Clif Webb Dies
Clifton Webb (right), a news anchor for NewsChannel 8 from its launch in 1991 until he left for the public relations field in 1997, died on 1/10 after suffering from kidney cancer. He was 51. Prior to joining NewsChannel 8, Mr. Webb was anchor and news director of Media General Cable's local Fairfax news operation, and did radio work before that. He also was involved in community work with Wolf Trap and the Fairfax Council For The Arts. Mr. Webb had most recently handled public relations for DuPont.

January 10, 2002
Jackson Upset At Kornheiser Show Remark
Two days after it first appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (and in DCRTV), "Reliable Source" columnist Lloyd Grove reports in the Washington Post that: "Jesse Jackson told us yesterday: 'I have the highest respect for Tony Kornheiser.' And our Post colleague has often declared on ESPN Radio's 'Tony Kornheiser Show' that Jackson is one of his heroes. Still, the civil rights impresario is waging a full-court press against Kornheiser, ESPN and its corporate parent, the Walt Disney Co., for satirical remarks about fired Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green, made during a commercial break on Friday's show and broadcast over the Internet but not on the air. According to Webcast listener Nathan Webb, an African American lawyer who was offended by the remarks and alerted Jackson, someone on the show - not Kornheiser - did a 'black voice' impression of the fired black coach. To wit: 'Brother can't get a chance in Minneapolis... The Man is trying to keep me down... It was the devil white racist... It was the white kicker's fault.' In a letter this week to Disney Chairman Michael Eisner, Jackson wrote: 'Such comments, if indeed verified, are certainly tasteless, without merit, dripping with racism, and must be dealt with severely.'" Jackson told the Post that he's not satisfied by an ESPN apology which stated that the remarks were "an unfortunate error in judgment" and that "appropriate internal actions" would be taken. Kornheiser's show is heard locally on WTEM.....

January 7, 2002
Forrest Boyd Dies
Veteran network radio newscaster Forrest Boyd died on 1/5 at the University Of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore after suffering a series of heart attacks. He was 80. Mr. Boyd's 50-plus years in radio journalism, much it it in the DC area, included long anchor stints with Mutual, UPI, and Standard News. In the 1990s he founded Christian-oriented United News And Information (UNI), which provides news to religious radio stations, and served as its executive news director until his death.

January 7, 2002
New Line-Up On WTNT
Clear Channel's "Dynamite Talk" WTNT (570 AM) has moved G. Gordon Liddy from noon to 10 AM so that he can be heard live. And there are other changes which include Michael Graham at 2 PM (for only one hour, he previously had a two-hour morning block), newcomer Glenn Beck at 3 PM, Michael Savage at 7 PM, and Phil Hendrie at 10 PM. Don Imus still airs in morning drive. And, Art Bell's show has been trimmed from 10 PM to a 1 AM start time. By the way, Bell is also being carried on Clear Channel's WWRC (1260 AM) from 1 AM to 5 AM.

January 7, 2002
More Hannity, No More Dr. Laura On WCBM
Sean Hannity joins Baltimore talker WCBM's (680 AM) line-up from 3 PM to 6 PM weekdays as of 1/7. G. Gordon Liddy gets an extra hour of airtime, from noon to 3 PM, instead of his previous termination time of 2 PM. Dr. Laura, who had the 2 PM to 4 PM slot, has gone bye-bye along with Bob Scherr.

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