Front Page - Mailbag - News - Rants 2005 - Rants 2006 - Rants 2007 - Support DCRTV By Dave Hughes dcrtv@dcrtv.com 11/10 - If those new Portable People Meter ratings continue to show a major slump for CBS's Spanish FMer El Zol, and don't show a predicted jolt for the recently-resurrected classic rock format on CBS's 94.7, the Globe, then how about this in early 2009: El Zol to 1580, the new "Big Talker" to 94.7, and the resurrection of the dual market "real progressive rock" WHFS on 99.1? If CBS sees fit to "park" those legendary calls on 1580 for the time being, it must be thinking about putting them to good use sometime soon. Hmmm..... 11/10 - Today's New York Times listed the top 10 cable TV shows for a recent week. And most of the slots were filled by either Fox News' Bill O'Reilly or Nickelodeon's Sponge Bob Square Pants. I don't know what says about American culture. But, then again, maybe I really don't want to know..... 11/7 - A DCRTVer tells us that Don Geronimo's Great Falls VA home is back on the market. Listed for $1.399 million at redfin.com. The contemporary pad featuring "Geronimo's cave," an office full of high-tech wiring, a private phone line, built-in bookcases and cabinets, and a cigar humidor, was originally listed for $1.6 million. However, it was mysteriously pulled from the market in mid-October. Geronimo, who retired in April from his long-running afternoon show on WJFK-FM, has said he plans to relocate to a residence he owns in Ocean City MD..... 11/7 - Radio One's decision to cut a top-rated local show on a top-rated local station is downright scary and should send shockwaves through the local broadcasting community. If 92Q morning man Marc Clarke can get canned due to a budget-cut by a financially troubled radio firm, then nobody's really "safe." Not Elliot at Clear Channel's DC101. Not the Junks at CBS's WJFK. Not Ron Smith at Hearst's WBAL. Now, I'm not saying that all of the above will be on the unemployment line soon, but it seems clear that the radio biz is going to be making some very deep cuts in 2009. Local radio personalities like WKYS's Russ Parr and WJFK's Mike O'Meara will probably be in better shape since they have syndication deals as insurance polities. The stock prices of many media companies, including Radio One, have plunged, in some cases by more than 90 percent. And the upcoming recession is killing ad sales. If a mainsteam retailer like Target is posting significantly lower sales, watch out. It's going to be more cost-effective for stations to plug into a satellite and pick up a nationally-syndicated show, like WERQ will soon be doing with Rickey Smiley in mornings. And music stations will increasingly go for voice-tracking as opposed to a live and local DJ. Having live bodies at a local radio station is expensive. There's salaries, health insurance, unions, and retirement benefits. All that can and will get chopped by corporate radio "bean counters" when the axe starts to seriously swing. Run for your life..... 11/5 - Luckily, I get my Washington Post delivered via subscription to my doorstep. Because there were no local or national newspapers at any of the newsstands in my Reston neighborhood on Wednesday morning. No Washington Post or Washington Times. No USA Today. No New York rags - Times, Post, or Daily News. No Baltimore Sun. Obviously, snatched up by profiteers hoping to peddle the historical "Obama victory" editions on Ebay. The Washington Post will produce 350,000 copies of a "commemorative edition" that will available at local retailers this afternoon. Oh, I did find a copy of today's freebie Washington Examiner at a local library. Anybody want to buy it? I thought not..... 11/5 - Boo hoo hoo WMAL. What a bunch of losers! Despite the 18-hours-a-day of anti-Obama radio every weekday (minus the overnight George Noory show) for months and months, old 630's whole coverage area went for the Democrat. Even Virginia's Loudoun and Prince William. Fred Grandy, Andy Parks, Mark Levin, Bryan Nehman, Chris Plante - all complete failures. Time for those cheap bastards at Citadel to issue a batch of pink slips and pull the plug on righty talk and replace it with polkas or opera or Gregorian chants. Ha ha ha. But seriously, folks. Is it too much to ask Citadel to give us a little diversity on WMAL, to reflect the DC area! I'm not saying that Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity shouldn't be heard, but how about a lefty or two, some women, younger voices, and a few African Americans on 630's airwaves? Change is coming to America. How about it coming to WMAL, too..... 11/5 - Talk on 1580? Bad idea. Look, I've heard Michael Smerconish on Philly's WPHT and on cable news and he's great. But CBS's DC suits are making the same mistake that Bonneville made with now-defunct talker 3WT - they have a bad signal. It's AM, which is practically dead in the DC market, and it has weak night coverage. OK, so the new "Big Talker" 1580 will be battling Dan Snyder's talk WTNT for 28th place in the radio ratings. Ho hum. With the 1580 talk thingo coming right after the 94.7 mis-launch and crash of the alt-ish rock Globe, things aren't going too well for CBS Radio in DC. CBS needs to do this: Put talker JFK on 94.7, which better reaches the Maryland suburbs and move it in the sports talk direction. Then put El Zol on 106.7, which better reaches the heavily Hispanic neighborhoods of Northern Virginia. Restore the heritage progressive rock WHFS on the dual-market signal of 99.1 - the musically-intensive station it was in the 1990s, not the alt rock/talk mess it was in the early 2000s. And put Don Geronimo's 1970s/1980s hit oldies "Musicradio" on 1580 and on the HD2s of 94.7 and 106.7..... 11/5 - DCRTV hears that commercial all-newser WTOP and public radio news talker WAMU are seeing big ratings surges in the early round of those Portable People Meter radio ratings. The just-out "pre-currency" trend for the electronic PPM method, which was debuted in the DC radio market in September, show the following rankings in overall weekday numbers, age 12+: 1) WTOP, 2) WAMU, 3) WASH, 4) WIHT, 5) WHUR, 6) WKYS, 7) WPGC-FM, 8) WRQX and WETA-FM, 10) WWDC and WMMJ, 12) WGTS, 13) WPRS, 14) WMAL, 15) WBIG and WMZQ, 17) WTEM, 18) WTGB, 19) WJZW, 20) WLZL and WJFK-FM. DCRTV's take: Stations higher in the PPMs when compaired to the old diary method include WTOP, WASH, WAMU, WIHT, WWDC, WRQX, and WGTS. Stations lower in the PPMs when compared to the diaries include urbans WPGC-FM, WHUR, and WMMJ, Spanish WLZL, plus WMAL, WMZQ, and WJFK-FM. In other markets using the PPMs, there has been some concern that urban and Spanish language stations don't perform as well with electronic measurement..... 11/3 - With the flip of Baltimore talker WHFS (105.7 FM) to sports talk WJZ-FM today (newsblurb above), DCRTV hears that the WHFS calls will be "parked" on CBS Radio's co-owned 1580 in the DC area, currently WPGC-AM. Might CBS have plans to someday resurrect the legendary DC progressive rocker? You'll recall that the WHFS calls graced the 102.3 frequency during the 1970s and early 1980s when it was a freeform progressive rocker. And later on 99.1, as the progressive rocker became an alternative rocker. That lasted until 2005, when CBS flipped 99.1 to Spanish WLZL and the WHFS calls moved to the Baltimore area's 105.7, which was then talk by day and alternative rock at night. CBS/DC did try to get the WHFS calls from CBS/Baltimore in early 2007 for 94.7 when that station became the alt-ish rock Globe, but the call transfer never happened. DCRTV has reported rumblings that CBS is planning to put political talk on 1580, currently a relay of urban WPGC-FM. Stay tuned..... 10/31 - Today, Rush Limbaugh yammered that the reason that the Washington Post and other newspapers are seeing huge financial slumps is because they endorsed Democrat Barack Obama. Utter and total horseshit. Even newspapers who've endorsed Republican John McCain are facing the same slump. It has nothing to do with the current presidential campaign and everything to do with the sagging economy and readers' migration to the internet in search of "diverse" and "instant" news sources. Duh..... 10/31 - "Circular motion was involved." WMAL's Chris Plante jesting this morning with morning men Fred Grandy and Andy Parks about his interview with Sarah Palin. The GOP VP taped chat aired on Plante's late morning show Friday..... 10/30 - During his show today, heard via WMAL, Rush Limbaugh let out a cheer of glee upon mentioning that McLean-based media giant Gannett is cutting upwards of 10 percent of its workforce due to the slumping economy. We all know that Rush hates the lefty "mainstream" media - fine and dandy. But many of those losing their jobs are just ordinary folks who do non-media-related tasks. Folks with kids, aging parents, piles of bills, soaring health care costs, and devalued retirement investments. And soon - no job. That's an especially heartless thing for a very wealthy man like Limbaugh to say. Someone who has an estimated $35 million radio contract..... 10/30 - "We have turned a corner. He has found his 'voice' on 'Monday Night Football'." One of WJFK-FM's Junkies (we can never tell which one's talking) this morning during an interview of Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon on the broadcasting fate of fellow Postie Tony Kornheiser, who does color commentary for "MNF"..... "I know family trees are truff (sic)." Rush Limbaugh today attempting to describe Obama's extended heritage. Heard via WMAL..... 10/29 - DCRTV has reported rumblings that Bonneville, which owns DC's all-news WTOP, is interested in buying some of the up-for-sale CBS radio stations in Baltimore. And, DCRTV has also reported that those five Baltimore stations may not sell due to the slumping stock and credit markets. However, Tom Taylor at Radio-Info.com quotes Star Media Group broker Peter Handy: "It's very difficult for any company outside of Bonneville to make a meaningful acquisition." Bonneville is said to be an "all-equity player" and less-reliant on obtaining credit. Which means that at least some of those CBSers in Baltimore could still change hands. We've reported that Bonneville is particularly interested in adult contemporary WLIF (101.9 FM) because its signal also covers much of the DC area. And classic hits WQSR (102.7 FM), which also covers a wide swath to the south..... 10/29 - So, what is CBS Radio going to do with 1580, WPGC's AM side? It's got a killer 50,000-watt daytime signal. Last month, the low-rated "inspirational talk" format got dropped for a relay of the FM urban contemporary signal. But, we were told that something "new" would be coming to the frequency. So what? How about talk! A DCRTVer has dropped a rumor that the slogan "The Big Talker" could soon be coming to DC's AM band. Well, that just so happens to be the slogan of CBS's Philadelphia talker WPHT, whose "big" signal on 1210 AM easily covers the DC area most nights. What if CBS was to put some of PHT's local talkers, like morning man Michael Smerconish, a frequent "Hardball" guest, on 1580, and replace WPHT's syndicated talkers (already heard on other DC stations) with talkers not currently heard here, like some from the now-defunct 3WT? Since 1580's night signal is on the weak side, CBS could locally market the station with the night signal of 1210, and also relay 1580 via the HD digital subchannels of either or both WPGC-FM and WJFK-FM. Interesting..... 10/29 - That ABC News Radio two-minute news report that WMAL ran at 7 this morning included the results of ABC-TV's "Dancing With The Stars." If ABC's top journalists really believe that reporting the results of an ABC-TV show merits "space" in the top two minutes of a national radio newscast - up there with plagues, terrorism, and election news, I trust their news judgment. I really do..... Oh, as for 94.7's return to classic rock. Why AC/DC every hour and almost no Beatles? Did CBS Radio take a poll of DC's radio listeners and they screamed for more AC/DC? You mean, all those gray bearded guys now in their 50s (who were in their 20s in the 1970s), clad in tight leather gear (ouch), actually rode their motorcycles to CBS Radio's Lanham HQ and staged a protest for more AC/DC on DC's airwaves? I find that really hard to believe..... 10/28 - WAMU has not quite given its blessing to that new Northern Virginia FM relay of its Bluegrass Country, but a station source does acknowledge that the American University news talker is "experimenting with a low-power analog alternative for BGC local listeners." Last month, the independent 250-watt Great Falls VA 105.5 FMer stopped relaying Towson University's adult alternative rock WTMD in favor of WAMU's bluegrass stream, which is carried on the web and on WAMU's 88.5 HD2 digital signal. We "don't want to raise listener expectations by formally releasing the information until we are sure we intend to stick with it. We should know something more definitive in early November," we're told..... 10/27 - "We don't get good ratings." So said Chad Dukes today on WJFK-FM. His partner, Oscar Santana, did admit that the midday team gets better ratings than any other recent midday show on the CBS talker. But, Dukes revealed, the two remain employed because they act as a programming bridge between the more highly-rated morning Junkies and afternooner Mike O'Meara. Plus, he added, he and "Big O" "work cheap," have a loyal audience, provide "bonus content" on the internet and via iPhones, and do loads of personal appearances, which advertisers like..... 10/27 - Last week, DCRTV told you that Erich "Mancow" Muller (left), longtime Chicago shock jock, got hired by Citadel to do the late morning, pre-Rush Limbaugh slot on its Chicago talker. Now, we're hearing rumblings that Citadel's DC talker WMAL (630 AM) may pick up Mancow for the same slot or evenings. By early 2009. And possibly even groom him as an eventual replacement for Limbaugh on Citadel's stations. Right now, Mancow's syndicated show is heard on Red Zebra talker WTNT (570 AM). However, DCRTV hears from several local radio gurus who tell us that such a Mancow move to MAL won't happen, and he's committed via his Talk Radio Network syndicator and a multi-year deal to remain on WTNT. We'll see. And, some more WMAL news: DCRTV hears that WMAL morning men Fred Grandy and Andy Parks aren't going anywhere, as they've just been signed to new contracts..... 10/24 - Great to hear DC radio veteran Chris Core guesting on Mark Plotkin's politics show on WTOP this morning. Might not be a bad idea to make the former longtime WMALer a permanent co-host of the show..... Frankly, WMALer Chris Plante gives me a headache. But they sure play some cool bumper music during his show. Including Canadian classic progressive rockers Martha And The Muffins' "Echo Beach" at 9:35 this morning. Now, if we could get a local station that would play the whole tune. Where is the old 102.3 WHFS when you really need it? Like Echo Beach: "Far away in time"..... 10/23 - You've got to hand it to WMAL's Grandy and Andy (right). Yeah, they're right-leaning talkers on a right-leaning station. But they had the guts this morning to bring up the controversy of Sarah Palin using Republican National Committee political money to buy $150,000 worth of clothes. Many other righty talkers/webbers have practically ignored the Palin duds issue. I just wonder how Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge would have hyped it if it was Michelle Obama instead of Palin who'd bought the clothes on the donors' dime..... 10/22 - From Gawker: "Matt Drudge, (the) nutty conservative weather-obsessed Miami queen blogger... (has) been an embarrassment. He highlights completely misleading bullshit and can't get anyone but the dumbest of bloggers to pick up on his pet stories"..... 10/21 - Two weeks ago, the Washington Times did a lengthy article about the sale of former WJFK-FM afternooner Don Geronimo's Great Falls home for $1.6 million. Then, several days later, DCRTV reported that the home got yanked off the market, according to what several local real estate gurus told us. Well, now the Washington Post has gotten around to reporting the news of the now-off sale. "We couldn't reach him, and his listing agent did not return several calls," the Post says in its 10/21 edition (page C3, not on the website). DCRTV guesses that Geronimo got mad when he saw so much personal information about himself and his late wife in the Times' real estate section piece..... 10/21 - DCRTV first tipped you on Monday. Now, a correction in Tuesday's Washington Post: "An old photograph was mistakenly published in the October 20 Style section with a Reliable Source item about Saturday's National Italian American Foundation gala. The photo of the late Jack Valenti with Mel Brooks and Alan Alda was from the 2006 gala." No correction for reporting that Valenti, who headed the Motion Picture Association Of America and died in April 2007, "mixed and mingled" at the dinner. Oh, the mistaken photo and caption were still up on the Post's website on Tuesday morning (right)..... 10/20 - DCRTV hears that DC radio and TV veteran Barton Eckert hasn't been doing his business news reports for WTOP and the Washington Business Journal lately. That's because he had surgery on his right foot in early October and is in a hard cast. Actually, Eckert injured his foot more than a year ago when he tripped on some cables in WTOP's "Glass Enclosed Nerve Center," which was being renovated. And the injury never completely healed. With Eckert only recently finding out that his foot was indeed broken and that surgery was needed. He expects to be out for about six weeks..... 10/20 - If Sirius XM is facing a huge credit crunch next year, how could it raise cash for survival? One of DCRTV's reliable sources tells us that the recently-merged firm has several major disposable assets - its DC real estate and its satellites. All would generate some cool cash for the struggling satradder. We already pretty much know that XM's music and talk channels will be replaced by their Sirius versions soon, so there'll be no need for the state-of-the-art XM New York Avenue broadcast complex. And, our source tells us that it's not out of the question that XMers would have to eventually trade in their incompatible receivers for Sirius versions, too. XM's birds, "parked" over the equator relative to the Earth's rotation, would be more valuable to other data and TV service applications than the constantly "moving" Sirius birds would be. Stay tuned..... 10/19 - Pardon me for delving into the political arena, but it's that time of the year and my concern is media-related. Agree or disagree with Sarah Palin, the reality is that if McCain, 72 and a cancer survivor, wins, there's a real chance that she could be required to take over the presidential duties in some form in the next four years. And, yet, during the campaign she has not appeared on any of the four major Sunday morning DC talk shows. Not "Meet The Press." Not "Face The Nation." Not "Fox News Sunday." And not "This Week." Yet she found the time to appear on the latest edition of a comedy show - "Saturday Night Live." I make no secret that I'm voting for Obama because I feel he'd make a better president than McCain would. However, I feel that McCain is qualified to be president, too. But the prospect of Palin running this country really scares me. And, what's even scarier is that her "political handlers" obviously agree with me by not letting her face the customary grillings from Brokaw, Schieffer, Wallace, and Stephanopoulos. If she's so afraid of the nasty American press, how's she going to handle real threats from the real bad guys like Iran, North Korea, and Al Qaeda? Whoa..... From the Politico: "Matt Drudge was long one of McCain's worst tormentors, but now he's become something of an ally. Perhaps most notably, (drudgereport.com webmaster) Drudge has in recent weeks seized upon any national polls that show the race close"..... 10/18 - DC TV and radio legends Mac McGarry and Ed Walker (left) reminisced about their years in broadcasting on Saturday during a National Press Club co-sponsored event at the Radio And Television Museum in Bowie MD. Walker, host of WAMU's "The Big Broadcast," worked with famed NBC broadcaster Willard Scott in the 1960s on radio outlets WRC and WWDC. They were known as the "Joy Boys Of Radio." McGarry is host of the long-running television program "It's Academic" on Channel 4/WRC, now in its 48th year..... 10/18 - Looks like DC radio legend Doug "Greaseman" Tracht is selling his Montgomery County digs, which feature a radio studio, now that he's landed the afternoon gig at a classic rocker in Jacksonville. The asking price for the Potomac pad is $1.495 million, according to local real estate records. However, we hear that the Grease may be staying in the DC area and merely "downsizing" his residence. Also, sources say that the Grease's house was on the market long before he landed the Jacksonville job..... 10/17 - Got a great idea for WMAL: "Andy The Plumber"..... 10/16 - All Access tells us that 18 boxes of company books, "Clear Vision: The Story Of Clear Channel Communications," arrived at Clear Channel's DC broadcast complex on Rockville Pike and a mass e-mail went out to everyone in the cluster to come get their complimentary copy. Rocker DC101 morning man Elliot Segal wasn't going to miss out on a great bit. Today is "The Elliot In The Morning Book Burning." Segal tells AA: "Apparently there are a lot of 'agencies' in DC that don't really like the idea. And, some of the Kool Aid drinkers tell me there is an agency in San Antonio (where CC is HQed) that won't like it either. What else is new? If I could get it sponsored they'd be doing flips." Update: Elliot used a wood chipper to dispose of the books..... 10/16 - Sometimes Drudge is a little too dippy for his own good. Witness a screaming headline on his site on Thursday afternoon: "Gallup's 'traditional' likely voter model shows Obama with a two-point advantage over McCain on Thursday, 49% to 47%, this is within poll's margin of error... Developing..." Ah, if Drudge had bothered to check realclearpolitics.com, he would have discovered that the Gallup Wednesday (!) "likely voters/traditional" poll gave Obama just a two point advantage. But two other Gallup polls, at the same time, show Obama up by six. Take your pick..... 10/16 - Speaking of the Washington Post, this is the first time I can remember that the paper didn't do an article on a quarterly Washington radio ratings report on the day after it was released. The "summer" book got released on Wednesday, and no Post article on Thursday. Granted, there was no earth-shattering news in yesterday's numbers, but that was something we could always have expected from the area's "paper of record." With Marc Fisher's recent decision to give up his regular "The Listener" radio column, and the long-ago demise of regular weekly radio round-ups by reporters like Jeffrey Yorke, the Post's coverage of local media clearly ain't what it was..... 10/15 - Today's DC Post tells us that Beatle Ringo Starr will no longer answer his fan mail. But it has nothing in the print edition on yesterday's bloodbath at DC-based XM. And, even more shocking, nothing on the website as of early today. Oh, we'll probably get a Paul Farhi piece later this week. Whenever. Yeah, the news will wait. But will the readers? The captain of the Titantic will tell you - it's hard to avoid the iceberg. Update: Marc Fisher did finally get something up later this morning about the XM cannings via wapo.com..... Speaking of the Post, there's a four-page ad spread in this week's TV Week for Ashby Ponds, a retirement community in Ashburn. The ad features several photos of people, all white, enjoying the life there. And a pic of two black cooks in the complex's restaurant. Oooookay..... 10/14 - A number of DCRTVers have recently noted that weatherman Tony Perkins (right) has been given a more prominent news anchoring role on Channel 5/WTTG's morning newscast. You may recall that DCRTV strongly hinted that Fox5 had much more in store for local TV/radio vet and American U grad Perkins upon his 2005 return to WTTG after doing the weather for ABC's NYC-based "Good Morning America." However, Perkins tells DCRTV that he is merely filling-in for Steve Chenevey. "It just so happens that, during a relatively short period of time, Steve has been out sick, has had jury duty, and now has a couple of vacation days. He will be back Thursday," Perkins adds..... 10/14 - Fox5's Tony Perkins. We all know he's a good buddy of WJFK-FM afternooner Mike O'Meara since their days as students at American University. And Perkins is a frequent guest on O'Meara's show. So, your friendly webmaster has a cool suggestion! Why don't Perkins and O'Meara change places for a day, with Perkins hosting the afternoon show on JFK and O'Meara doing the morning weather on 5? Hmmm..... 10/14 - DCRTV hears that the DC market office of Metro Traffic in Silver Spring will soon take over traffic reporting functions for Richmond VA and Greensboro NC, as parent Westwood One implements a round of consolidations. With Norfolk VA to be added to the DC office's duties by mid-2009. No word on the fate of Metro's Baltimore office, which is rumored to be shuttered in the wave of budget cuts..... 10/13 - Reliable industry sources tell DCRTV that the sale of those CBS radio stations in Baltimore and other mid-sized and small markets won't happen. At least until maybe late 2009 - at the earliest. Because of the current stock crisis, and the severe tightening of the credit market, radio companies that have been and are still solid - a la Bonneville, Emmis, Entercom, and Greater Media - can't secure the backing of big lending institutions for a purchase. That's not to say there won't be some more cuts at CBS Baltimore, but folks still working at WHFS, WWMX, WLIF, WQSR, and WJFK-AM will still be working for CBS for a good while longer, we hear..... 10/13 - The Washington Times reported Friday that DC radio great Don Geronimo was selling his Great Falls VA house for $1.6 million, as he relocates to Ocean City MD. "Adjacent to the living room is... Geronimo's cave, an office full of high-tech wiring, a private phone line, built-in bookcases and cabinets, and a cigar humidor." However, DCRTV hears that the real estate listing was withdrawn without a sale on Friday. Geronimo retired from his WJFK-FM "Don And Mike Show" radio gig in April..... 10/10 - We've heard that WTOP political guru Mark Plotkin has been having health troubles of late. But he sounded quite bad on Friday's 10 AM show. Slurring words, stammering. Really shouldn't have been on the air..... WMAL, which just loves to play thematic music tunes during its morning news items, played the Doors' "The End" during a economic assessment and stock market update on Friday morning..... 10/9 - So, let's see. We've got DC radio legend Don Geronimo still under contract to CBS Radio, so he can't work anywhere else. But he's retired from the Don and Mike show, which aired on CBS talker WJFK-FM. And, we've got an available CBS frequency in the DC area - 1580, WPGC-AM. Which CBS yanked the "inspirational" talk from on Monday, and is now doing a relay of urban WPGC-FM. So, how about this? Bring back Geronimo as the "voice" and programmer of a PGC "retro" contemporary "top 40" 1980s flashback format on PGC-AM. You'll recall that Geronimo was one of the jocks on "top 40" PGC in the 1980s. Call the "new" incarnation something like "Don Geronimo's Musicradio 1580." And also run it on the digital HD2 of WJFK-FM, 106.7. Brilliant, huh..... 10/9 - DCRTV hears that Jessica Doyle, who did the morning show on Bonneville's now defunct 3WT talker, is now a DC-based freelance reporter for CNN Newsource, the CNN local TV affiliate news service. So you may see her on Channel 7/WJLA or NewsChannel 8..... 10/8 - So, I make my weekly visit to the Salvation Army store in Herndon today. (I find some neato cheap t-shirts there.) And I hear some way cool rock oldies on their sound system. Including a George Harrison classic. And I think, man, 94.7 is sounding better! They always play 94.7 in there, even when it was alt-rockish! The song ends and I find out it's 100.3 they're playing. I have never heard BIG in that store before! I guess they got tired of "Black Betty" every hour..... 10/8 - DC area voice great Dude Walker does a "retro" promo for ABC's new "Life On Mars" time-warp cop show. "It was a lot of fun emulating Ernie Anderson, you know - the old 'Loooove Boat' guy," Dude tells us. Check it out at YouTube..... 10/8 - Washington Post sports media columnist Len Shapiro has collaborated with ESPN 980's Andy Pollin on a book, "The Great Book Of Washington Sports Lists," which will be in stores on 10/15. Shapiro tells us that it includes "Dan Snyder's 10 greatest blunders, the top 10 all-time list of Washington TV sportscasters, (and) the top 100 all-time Washington 100 athletes." More at amazon.com..... 10/7 - DCRTV hears that Channel 45/WBFF has a job posting for a weekend sports anchor/reporter on its website. Does that mean that Amy Fadool is leaving her job as Fox45's weekend sports anchor/reporter? Could she be heading to Philadelphia, to work with Comcast SportsNet? Stay tuned..... 10/7 - "Herndon blows. I'll never live in Herndon." So said Jason "Lurch" Bishop, one of WJFK-FM's Junkies, on Tuesday morning. During a Junks' discussion comparing the alleged "ghetto" reputation of Herndon with its allegedly more upscale neighbor of Reston (which is where the DCRTV World Headquarters is located)..... 10/2 - DCRTV has reported that Nassau Broadcasting is rumored to be a potential purchaser of some of CBS's five for-sale radioers in Baltimore. However, Nassau, which owns a batch of radio stations in the Northeast USA, including Hagerstown's WWEG and Frederick's WAFY, has been unable to close on its recent $22 million purchase of a Reading PA station to "due to certain dislocations in the credit market," according to an FCC filing. So, maybe we should cross Nassau off the CBS radio suitor list for Baltimore, which includes Bonneville, Emmis, and Entercom..... 10/2 - Was that DC radio great Al Santos seen hanging around his old station? DCRTV hears that Santos, who got canned along with the rest of the staff of Smooth Jazz 105.9 back in February, is back at now-oldies WJZW doing behind-the-scenes board work..... 10/1 - DCRTV already told you that WJFK-FMer El Jefe was leaving his Saturday evening "Hideout" show, which he and J-Dubs do from Tampa. Now, we hear that El Jefe is heading to Atlanta rocker WKLS, where he'll join the "Giant Show" with former Ron and Fez producer Giant Brian and old Michigan friend Shafee..... 10/1 - My most vivid Olsson's memory? Election Day 1980. A couple months out of college. Had some friends over to my Reston place. Headed out to vote that morning and then into to DC. Stopped by the Olsson's in Georgetown to pick up Kate Bush's new album, "Never For Ever." Back when music was on vinyl (and cassette). Still one of my all-time favorite albums, which I now have a CD copy of (the vinyl's long gone). That night, I came back to watch Ronald Reagan upset Jimmy Carter (who I voted for) on TV..... 10/1 - If you were watching an excellent "Nova" early "space race" documentary on WETA-TV last night, you missed about 10 minutes. You see, there was a thunderstorm that passed over South Arlington, where the PBS station's broadcast complex is. WETA didn't go off the air, but it lost its PBS satellite feed for a short time. Affecting WETA's main analog signal, one of its standard-def digital subchannels, and its high-def signal. This is not the first time that a thunderstorm has knocked out the PBS feed from WETA. Look, a thunderstorm in northwest Washington doesn't knock out the network feeds for Fox on WTTG, NBC on WRC, CBS on WUSA, or ABC on WJLA. It shouldn't black out PBS on WETA either. Unless it's one helluva big boomer. Sheesh..... 9/30 - Ah, did anyone notice that financially-strapped Circuit City has just opened a new store in the Fairfax Town Center space formerly occupied by Tower Records, which went belly-up in late 2006. That storefront has been vacant almost two years. That can't be good karma for the electronics outlet. Oh, the former Tower space at Tyson's Corner is now a discount shoe outlet. Probably a better "fit" for the economy. With your investments in the dumps, you'll still need shoes. But you can take a pass on that HD Radio or Blu-ray player..... 9/30 - A source tells DCRTV: "Word on the street is that Sam Zell is planning to can another 100 people at the Baltimore Sun (and) baltimoresun.com in November. The rumor has been circulating around the marketing and advertising offices on Calvert Street"..... 9/29 - Regarding the bids last week for the five CBS Radio stations in Baltimore, which are for-sale. DCRTV hears that several are "new to the region." Could that mean Emmis or Entercom? However, our top radio gurus still expect WTOP-owner Bonneville to go after Charm City's 101.9 and maybe 102.7. One guru tells us: "There are no doubt a few good people left at CBS Baltimore. I feel sorry for those poor bastards... Believe it or not, most suits still have a touch of humanity about themselves. It hurts to have to tell people they are now jobless because of the economy or trimming costs before a sale. And, of course, you can't tell them that part." As for Bonneville buying in Baltimore. We're told that the firm "is itching to build another sports talker (it just announced one in St. Louis) and an oldies powerhouse somewhere. Baltimore would be ripe for either"..... 9/29 - Regarding the bankruptcy filing of the DC City Paper's parent, you could tell things weren't quite right with the freebie rag because it was getting more difficult to find. At least here in the wilds of Fairfax County. The freebie DC Blade is available at local libraries, at Barnes And Noble, and at Borders. But CP is only available at the latter. And, CP's distributor has been delivering fewer and fewer copies to the Borders locations. Often, the Thursday-delivered rag is gone by early Friday - even before the weekend's started. Advertisers have got to love that. And, advertisers have got to love the paper's new push toward the web. Ahhh, how many ads can you fit on a webpage? Nowhere near what you can cram on a hundred or so print pages. So, will the Washington Post continue its quest to dominate all local media and buy CP? And make it a freebie extension of its Friday Weekend tab? Hmmm..... 9/28 - I live in a condo complex. And, on Friday, some truck must have backed into my group mailbox, causing it to lean. That afternoon, I saw my trusty mailman filling the boxes and started to talk to him about the incident. No big deal, he said, as he used his strength to lean the mailboxes back upright. "You're name is Hughes, right? You do that website." At first, I wondered how he knew my name, but then I realized that he handles my mail, so he must know. Yes, I told him. He revealed that he was a big fan of Don Geronimo, and how he enjoyed the radio god's feud with your friendly webmaster a few years ago. Now, flash back a month ago, and I was in a Subway sandwich shop and introduced myself to a lady in front of me in line who was wearing a Count Gore De Vol t-shirt. "Oh, you're the guy who runs that website," she said. Yeah, it's a big world out there. But, then again, no it's not. We're all "connected" in one way or another. That's what I love about doing DCRTV all these years - it brings a whole bunch of strangers together. As one big cyber "family." We wouldn't recognize each other on the street, but, in a very real sense, we all kind of "know" each other! Amazing! Oh, my mailman? He said he really loves Mike O'Meara's new show, too..... 9/28 - A DCRTV source tells us that Allbritton's Channel 7 "WJLA eliminated five positions from their promo/graphics department on Thursday - two from promotions, two from graphics, and the director of creative services. News Director Bill Lord will now run the much smaller department (cut by one-third), with the promo manager and art director reporting to him. They also do promos and graphics for NewsChannel 8, and some stuff for Politico, so what was already a very busy department is gonna be even more overburdened. Tough to see a station that has grown so much start to tear itself apart"..... 9/27 - A DCRTVer tells us that DC area radio veteran Ed Rodriguez, who has been rumored to have returned from a recent radio gig in South Florida, was heard on country WMZQ on Saturday afternoon..... 9/26 - Redskins great and former "Monday Night Football" personality Joe Theismann (right) on current "MNF" personality and Washington Postie Tony Kornheiser (left): "I still think Tony's out of place. Tony was hired to do a job in a football booth that, first of all, didn't suit him. And it didn't suit the venue, the venue being football, period. Tony doesn't belong in a booth. What he adds and what he brings, OK, has a place. But it doesn't have a place in the booth, and I think he's gonna retire after this year. And you've got to remember, I got fired from ESPN because I talked about football. And now, their main emphasis after two years of trying to do it the other way, is going back to talk about football." From Dan Steinberg's Sports Bog washingtonpost.com..... 9/26 - "Sarah Palin's face has been carved into a cornfield." A news item this morning from WMAL's Bryan Nehman, who also spends his time voicing car dealer ads for his Citadel station. Shortly thereafter, when Nehman reported about that $700 billion financial buyout plan being doomed, his station played the ominous opening credits music from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." And it played the Mighty Mouse "Here I Come To Save The Day" tune to news that John McCain was returning to DC to solve the financial crisis. And it played "Money" by Pink Floyd underneath news that WaMu got taken over..... 9/24 - A reliable source confirms to DCRTV that DC radio veteran Doug "Greaseman" Tracht is alive and well. Despite the announcement of his demise on his station, Clear Channel rocker DC101, yesterday afternoon and a video on YouTube and wording on a Greaseman fan website that alluded he was a gonner. "Doug is still trying to put the pieces together," a source close to Tracht tells us. "Family members were in tears not knowing his true fate. He was making calls all night just to put things right. He was on his boat and found out about the story last night. He had nothing to do with the rumor and is not too pleased." And, Tracht told a radio trade pub today: "At first I was pissed and then I figured an overzealous Grease fan, or as I like to say, one of our Branch Doodadians, thought I needed extra publicity. But Good Lord, that's the last kind of publicity I'd want to have... This was misleading and twisted, and I'm really saddened about it - and have been on the phone for the last 24 hours telling everyone, including my family, that I am alright. I just did a bit with Elliot this morning on DC101 to dispel this rumor. Why can't I just put on my headphones like anyone else and go to work"..... 9/24 - Your friendly webmaster, DCRTV Dave, who is not known for his "social schmoozing," did make it out of the "cave" today to do a media panel discussion at the Trade Association Luncheon at Tyson's Corner. Talked about local radio and the new PPM ratings. Actually had a few nice things to say about WMAL, but not a word about the Globe (a big sigh of relief from CBS, I'm sure). Anyhow, I ran into some very cool people, including Frank Zappala, a local radio consultant, who has worked all over the local radio dial, including at the old "top 40" WLPL in Baltimore in the 1970s. He tells me that he advised former WTOP owner, when he worked at the then-Outlet Company station in the 1980s, to move from 1500 AM to FM. In the 1980s! Further proof that there are some forward-looking area radio folks out there, in addition to Jim Farley. And thanks to Marty Valentine for inviting me to the event..... 9/23 - Smells like a publicity stunt to us. But a DCRTVer tells DCRTV: DC radio veteran "Grease is DEAD according to DC101. Roche just went on the air at 5:24 (PM on 9/23) and announced it. UNBELIEVABLE. Words cannot express this fan's loss." Check out this video at youtube.com. "The Greaseman Remembered." And "Doug 'The Greaseman' Tracht... 1950-2008." Posted on 9/22. However, a Wikipedia entry, which was modified on 9/23, listed Tracht's mysterious demise as occurring on "September 23, 2008." However, at 6:36 PM (ET) on 9/23 the profile was modified again, and the death date was removed. Tracht has been doing Saturday mornings on rocker DC101. He's worked at many DC area radio stations over the years, including as Howard Stern's replacement on DC101 in the 1980s. A DCRTVer tells us that he drove by Tracht's Potomac MD home Tuesday evening and everything looked "normal"..... 9/23 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel will announce a new program director for classic hits WBIG at any moment. A source tells us that CC is going to do a "last stand" push for the classic hits format, which is slumping in the ratings, up-against CBS's even lower-rated classic rock WTGB. Look for a major marketing campaign for WBIG, in hopes of boosting the station with the debut of the Portable People Meter electronic ratings system this fall in the DC market. The PPMs have been known to jolt the ratings of rock-ish stations. But, if, next spring, BIG's ratings are still stuck in the dumps, it's widely-rumored that CC will sell the station..... 9/22 - DCRTV hears rumblings that some top Hearst radio suits are pushing for Baltimore AM news talker WBAL to do a simulcast on FM. Might this mean something besides rock on Hearst's Baltimore FM frequency of 97.9 in the not-too-distant future? Or, might Hearst be looking at picking up one of CBS's four up-for-sale Charm City FM frequencies for that purpose? However, a top 98 Rocker tells DCRTV that he's heard nothing about Hearst wanting to put BAL on FM or about his firm buying more Baltimore FMers..... 9/22 - DCRTV hears that WTOP-owner Bonneville is really interested in picking up CBS's up-for-sale 101.9 frequency in Baltimore. And may just be planning to keep the adult contemporary format on WLIF. But maybe tweak the signal to the south to put better coverage into the DC metro. Of CBS's four Charm City's FMers, 101.9 best reaches the DC area. To make it a dual-market signal, like the old alternative rock WHFS on 99.1 once was. And challenge Clear Channel's DC adult contemporary WASH. Stay tuned..... 9/22 - "The Political Browser"? Really dumb name. But a good idea. Kinda late, though. The Washington Post, which once "owned" national coverage of Capitol Hill, should never have let the upstart Politico get as big and important as it's gotten since the Allbritton entity launched its feisty website in early 2007. The big question is the Post's timing. Why now, as the crazy 2008 presidential campaign is coming to a crescendo? Why not have done the Post's political web expansion a year ago? Could it have something to do with new publisher Katie and new news editor Marcus? Well, better late than never, I guess. The Post, in many respects, is still a giant bureaucratic ocean liner in an internet full of speedboats. It must change and adapt to survive. Faster..... 9/20 - Murdoch's "pillar of journalism" endorses McCain. So, News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said he doesn't regret his New York Post endorsing John McCain, even as some say the Republican ticket is the weaker choice for voters concerned about the economy. More from The Live Feed. By the way, Saturday's edition of Murdoch's "venerable" New York Post featured a picture of rap star Sean "Diddy" Combs stepping in dog shit (right) on an NYC street. Ah, that's news? Oh, Murdoch also owns Fox News, plus DC's WTTG/5 and WDCA/20, and Baltimore's WUTB/24..... 9/19 - DCRTV broke the news. Now, the radio trades confirm the departure of Jeff Shamrock, the morning sidekick and executive producer of the morning show on Baltimore's CBS talker WHFS (105.7 FM). Due to budget cuts in preparation for the widely-rumored sale of the cluster. A Baltimore radio guru tells DCRTV: "The Kirk and Mark show is another one of (CBS Baltimore honcho) Bob Philips' expensive... pet projects. Sadly, Shamrock's former salary and benefits package dollars now becomes another towel to blot up some of the red ink." And the guru adds: "Corporate has recently invoked a CBS Baltimore hiring freeze blocking new hires, part-time to full-time promotions, and salary increases other than those guaranteed contractually. Those who leave - for whatever reason - are not replaced, which saves the company salaries, commissions, and health and benefit compensations... The tasks once performed by exiting employees are subsequently hoisted onto those still on site without remuneration." And, DCRTV hears that there may be some more budget cuts at WHFS come February, when Kirk and Mark's contract comes up for renewal..... 9/18 - Dear radio suits at that big radio convention down in Texas: It's OK to give Grandy and Andy an award. They're old guys and it wouldn't hurt to give them a nice little statue for the fireplace mantle at the end of the careers. Although, Grandy probably wouldn't have room due to all those "Love Boat" Emmys he got years ago. But, please, radio guys, don't give their station an award. WMAL is a crappy talk station. It only runs talkers that are conservative, white, middle-aged, and male. It's pretty much gutted its news department. And merely plugs into a satellite for much of its programming. It doesn't even do a local afternoon drive show. Thanks for listening, and don't eat any raw chili. I did that once at a broadcasting convention in Texas and was sick for a month. Hugs, Davey..... 9/17 - DCRTV hears rumblings that Kirk and Mark morning show producer and sidekick Jeff Shamrock is gone. Victim of a CBS Radio budget cut at Baltimore talker WHFS (105.7 FM)..... 9/16 - From the Over The Top blog: The ever-alert folks at Pro Football Talk were wondering about the joke that ESPN's Tony Kornheiser made on the air about the Spanish-language version of "Monday Night Football." The website notes that following a replay of the Felix Jones kickoff return for a touchdown with audio from the Spanish-language call of the game, Washington Post sports columnist Kornheiser said, "I took high-school Spanish, and that either means 'nobody is going to touch him' or 'could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning.'" Wondered Pro Football Talk: "Did Tony just make a back-handed slap at Mexican immigrants, characterizing them generally as folks who come here only to do jobs like pick up our dry cleaning in the morning?... We're not sure whether the remark crossed the line. But it was too close to the line for Tony's own good... Regardless of whether he shouldn't have said it and what will happen next, Kornheiser offered up a bland, generic apology late in the game"..... 9/15 - "Do you listen to Kirk and Mark?" One of WJFK-FM's Junkies inquired of a Baltimore area listener this morning. When the response was in the negative, the Junkie replied: "You and everybody else." K&M replaced the Junkies in mornings on Baltimore CBS sister talker WHFS in early 2007..... 9/15 - "Too bad it's on ESPN. ESPN does not televise games. They televise those three clowns in the booth talking about the game." Radio talk titan Rush Limbaugh via WMAL today on tonight's Eagles-Cowboys game. Oh yeah, one of those "clowns" is DC media superstar Tony Kornheiser..... 9/15 - I just can't believe that the DC radio audience is crying out for "Cat Scratch Fever" every frigging hour, like what 94.7's playing. You know, classic rock doesn't have to be so mind-numblingly dull and turgid, as CBS seems to think. Considering the age of its target demo, it won't be long before 94.7 gets played in the hallways and public areas of area nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. You know, there is a way to make classic rock interesting and fun - and young. Like playing more "deep tracks" and more "current classics," such as alternative stuff from the 1980s and 1990s. Think Baltimore CBS sister Jack-FM without the disco-y tunes..... 9/14 - Is it really that difficult for a "world class newspaper" like the Washington Post to get the line-up of local radio stations that carry Redskins games correct? Sheesh. For last week's game, the Post told us that the Skins would be on DC's WBIG and Frederick's WFRE, like last year. Wrong. (And I never saw a correction.) For this week's game, WBIG is no longer listed, but WFRE still is. If someone at the Post had gone to the trouble of checking redskins.com, the Frederick area station is now WWEG. Plus, no mention in the Post that the team can also be heard on DC area outlets WTNT and WWRC. Not a big deal, but oh so very easy to get right - the first time. Takes just a minute to check via a Google search..... 9/12 - DCRTV has been reporting rumblings of big cuts coming to Westwood One's Metro Network operations. Now, we're hearing that the staff of the traffic and news service could be slashed by 15 percent, with the firm's 60 operations centers being consolidated into 13 regional hubs by early 2009. For a total savings of about $25 million. Says a local radio guru: "My guess is DC or Philly will be a 'hub.' If DC's the hub, then I don't expect many changes. If Philadelphia's the hub, I might think some of our favorite traffic reporters might be on the street, post-haste." But, another local radio guru tells us: "I am pretty darn sure DC remains. Jim Russ is too valuable a manager for Metro to lose. Don't expect any negative impact on (local clients of Metro's) traffic or sports. Metro in DC is going to be just fine." And a reliable local radio source adds that both DC and Philadelphia will be hubs in the Metro reorganization plan. However, DCRTV has been hearing rumors that Metro's Baltimore operations could be merged with the DC market facility in Silver Spring. UPDATE: DCRTV hears that a first round of cuts took place on Friday in Metro's DC office..... 9/11 - Kudos to WMAL "newsman" Bryan Nehman on his newest gig - voicing car dealer ads on the Citadel talker. You know, I think Nehman's finally found something he's really good at. What next, Bry? Public television pledge breaks?..... 9/11 - FishbowlDC tells us that DC media celeb "Tony Kornheiser's car was stolen from the ESPN garage in DC last week causing 'mad drama,' to quote one source. He dropped his keys in the garage, someone took the car, and now he's demanded extra security because he claims it's a stalker"..... 9/9 - Channel 5/WTTG morning news anchor Gurvir Dhindsa, and her husband, former Fox5 weatherman Tom Sater (all those rumors on DCRTV proved true), are just now announcing that she gave birth to twin girls back in late June. Virginia Grace and Lena Caroline were born 10 weeks prematurely and spent their first months in the neonatal ICU at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The now-healthy babies came home to the couple's Fauquier County home earlier this month. Sater, who got canned from Fox5 a few years ago, now works as a salesman at a farm supplies and tractor store in the Warrenton area..... 9/8 - "The word of my untimely demise circulated by your posters was erroneous bullshit. We were all at FM Talk 105.7 this morning. Kirk McEwen, Shamrock, and myself (right). Back from our 'unscheduled vacation' that we scheduled in February. Rested, tan, and still employed," Mark Ondayko tells DCRTV. That's in response to a trouble-making DCRTVer telling us that "Kirk McEwen was back on the air at 105.7 this morning, but no sign - or mention - of Mark." DCRTV first reported rumblings last week that CBS, which owns Baltimore talker WHFS (105.7 FM), is having "closed door" meetings about the future of the longtime Charm City radio duo due to their lack of ratings traction. Stay tuned..... 9/7 - DCRTV hears that the main signal of Redskins owner Dan Snyder's ESPN 980, WTEM, had been off the air from Saturday to midday Sunday. We're guessing that tropical storm Hannah did something to cut power to the AM 980 station's Hyattsville transmitter site. ESPN 980's two far-suburban FM transmitters on 92.7 and 94.3 were still working during the period. DCRTV has reported that Snyder's DC radio organization lacks a chief engineer..... 9/7 - "Magic." DC radio legend Donnie Simpson (right) in a word-association response to the word "radio." During a "The Inner Loop" interview on Channel 50/WDCW on Sunday morning. No, Donnie doesn't work for Magic 102.3, he works for rival urban outlet WPGC-FM, 95.5. He added that he never seriously thought about doing a nationally-syndicated radio show, preferring to make his top-rated local morning show the best that it can be..... 9/5 - We've heard that there's been a very nice response to the new nostalgic adult contemporary tunes being played by Potomac MD's WCTN (950 AM). There have actually been senior citizens from Montgomery County's Leisure World who've shown up at the station's Rockville studios to praise the format, we're told. But, we also hear rumblings that a brokered deal is in the works to put Korean religious programming on the signal later this month. Clearly, there's a radio audience in the DC area for Perry Como, Pat Boone, and Frank Sinatra. Might another area AMer pick up the format? What about Bonneville's 1050 AM in Silver Spring, soon to be without Federal News Radio, which is moving to the more powerful 1500 AM? You mean that one smallish AM station out of about 50 stations in a major market like DC can't program to seniors? That says something really sad about the radio biz..... 9/5 - Clear Channel's focus remains with rocker DC101 and adult contemporary WASH, the two top billing stations in the CCDC radio cluster. "Everybody else has been left to fend for themselves as far as support from 'on high' in the company," a CC source tells DCRTV. Classic hits WBIG "has always been viewed as the lowest priority station in the building," especially with the sale of the AMers to Redskins owner Dan Snyder. "Despite (WBIG) having a really strong signal, the company sees no value in it... and I'm not sure that the strength of the signal even factors into the company's decision of whether or not to sell"..... 9/4 - DCRTV hears that Bonneville is lusting after CBS's 101.9 FM in Baltimore. And maybe even Clear Channel's 100.3 FM in DC. CBS is reportedly selling all five radio stations in its Baltimore cluster, including adult contemporary WLIF. And Clear Channel has been rumored to have put classic hits WBIG on the market. Bonneville owns top-rated DC all-newser WTOP. Stay tuned..... 9/4 - Originally, Redskins owner Dan Snyder said he was planning to put his team on the six radio signals he now owns in the DC area: the three of ESPN 980 (980 AM, 92.7 FM, 94.3 FM), plus Spanish sports talker WXTR (730 AM), and talkers WTNT (570 AM) and WWRC (1260 AM). However, according to the Thursday Washington Post listing of radio stations carrying tonight's season debut, Clear Channel's classic hits WBIG (100.3 FM) will again be part of the team's radio line-up. Not so, says Bruce Gilbert, head of Snyder's Red Zebra broadcasting division. And, no, the Skins won't be on Clear Channel Frederick country outlet WFRE (99.9 FM), as the Post also listed..... 9/4 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel performed a mass execution at its Salisbury MD radio station cluster today. Market manager, head of ad sales, many more suits - all gone. We're told that Chuck Peterson has been brought in from CC's Winchester VA cluster to run things in the interim. More soon..... 9/4 - Interesting to hear Fred Grandy and Bryan Nehman talking up last night's heavily-hyped Sarah Palin speech on Citadel righty talker WMAL this morning. They did a fine job, but they sounded like they were reading the 'Prompter. Nice words of praise - but no fire in their bellies. Perhaps it's because neither is a true conservative. Where's real righty Andy Parks when you need him? On vacation?!?! On vacation the same week Citadel big boss Farid Suleman visits his DC subjects? Hmmm..... 9/3 - A source tells DCRTV that CBS Radio suits in Baltimore are conducting a series of "closed-door meetings" to discuss the future of the Kirk and Mark - Kirk McEwen, Mark Ondayko, and producer Jeff Shamrock. The morning show at talker WHFS, 105.7 FM. K&M are taking an "unscheduled vaction" this week, we're told. Might K&M be soon gone from HFS? We're told that they've been unable to gain ratings after leaving Hearst's 98 Rock in late 2006. And a budget-cutting CBS may see their contract renewal as simply too expensive. K&M jumped to WHFS in early 2007, replacing the Junkies, who were relayed from CBS talker WJFK-FM in the DC area. Which makes us wonder: Might the Junkies get returned to Baltimore? A CBS DCer shoots down any rumors of that. More soon..... 9/3 - Speaking of CBS Baltimore, DCRTV hears that management has informed the key staff of all five Charm City radio stations that they're definitely for sale. Over the summer, DCRTV had reported that CBS Radio is selling its stations in middle and small markets, including Baltimore. Including FMers WHFS, WLIF, WWMX, and WQSR, and WJFK-AM. We're told that the stations "will be sold once a suitable buyer is found." However, one longtime CBS Baltimorer tells us that he hasn't heard anything specific about a sale. Stay tuned...... 9/2 - DCRTV hears that Dan Snyder's Red Zebra broadcasting arm is heading into a Redskin season with no chief engineer on-board. We're told that the new CE it just signed is gone. Snyder plans to carry the Skins on his six DC area signals, including the three of ESPN 980..... 9/2 - DCRTV hears that Citadel head Farid Suleman is in town today touring his new acquisitions - talker WMAL, hot adult WRQX, and oldies WJZW. Might we be seeing more duties for WMAL General Manager Chris Berry, who's been seen smiling a lot lately around the Jenifer Street broadcast complex? Stay tuned..... 9/1 - A "Libertarian Republican" my ass. Bryan Nehman (left) is a friggin' Democrat! When I heard him this morning on righty talker WMAL talking up McCain's pick of Sarah Palin I almost upchucked my Cheerios. I realize that Bryan needs to "talk the talk" to keep his Citadel job, but come on, sometimes you just gotta stand up and say what you believe! Right Bry? I also feel that former Republican Congressman and Hollywood celeb Fred Grandy is no dyed-in-the-wool conservative, either. Maybe a "Giuliani-ite," which is basically a slightly righty-of-center Dem. Yeah, I do think there are some "real" righties at WMAL - Andy Parks (for sure), Chris Plante (reads those GOP talking points so well), and (the always crabby) Mark Levin, plus the syndicated talkers piped in from elsewhere. But the 630 morning show's Nehman and Grandy?!?! You may fool MAL's listeners but you don't fool me!..... 8/29 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel might just sell classic hits WBIG (100.3 FM) if the upcoming electronic Portable People Meter radio ratings, debuting in DC in September, don't show a serious surge for the station. In other markets, the PPMs have been good for rock-ish outlets. CC just sold its three DC area AMers to Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who, along with WTOP-owner Bonneville, would be the most-likely candidates to pick up WBIG. There are rumblings that CC almost sold WBIG to Snyder earlier this year, when he bought sports talk WTEM and talkers WTNT and WWRC. By the way, CC almost flipped WBIG to a Spanish format a few years ago, back when Bennett Zier ran the cluster. But that plan got nixxed by Zier's successor, Dave Pugh, we're told..... 8/26 - Well, learning that next-to-nobody's listening to the Nats (above newsblurb) via 107.7 FM and 1500 AM is not really a surprise. It does confirm that Bonneville's pairing of an AMer in a market where the AM band is almost dead and a rimshot far-suburban FMer only worked when the incredibly popular all-news WTOP was on the signals. With anything else, including talkers Washington Post Radio and 3WT, the pairing is ineffective. Bonneville is/was smart to put WTOP on FM-only, especially the inside-the-Beltway 103.5 signal. And Bonneville is making the best of a bad situation by breaking up the 1500/107.7 pairing, by putting Federal News Radio on the former and WTOP on the latter. More problematic is the radio future of the Nationals. The team is signed with Bonneville for the 2009 season. And again on the infamous 1500/107.7 pairing. And if the team stinks again, the radio numbers will continue to be dismal. Yeah, the Nats could negotiate their way out of the B'ville deal and move to Redskins owner Dan Snyder's ESPN 980, another pairing of a low-rated AMer with rimshot FMers. Bad news. Or maybe the Nats could move to CBS guy talker WJFK-FM, the former home of the Redskins and current home of University Of Maryland sports, which does need original programming in evenings. In my view, that would the "best bet" for the team's immediate radio future..... 8/25 - Was that former 3WT/Washington Post Radio Program Director Greg Tantum spied in Silver Spring lately? Still hanging around the DC area? We thought he was headed back to California, where he came from in early 2006 to program the heavily-hyped WaPo Radio, which lasted a year-and-a-half before sinking. Is Tantum still dabbling in the local news biz? Stay tuned..... 8/22 - Just heard a radio ad for Hooters that promises free wi-fi internet at area restaurants. Ah, if you're a guy glued to his laptop at Hooters, face it, you're gay..... 8/22 - The box that arrived at WTOP's Glass Enclosed Nerve Center contained four plaques from the Radio And Television News Directors' Association. But the Bonneville all-newser was expecting only three. It seems that the RTNDA forgot to announce that sports director Dave Johnson was getting an Edward R. Murrow Award for "best writing" for his "Dave's Take" commentaries. That brings to 33 as the number of major journalism awards won by WTOP so far this year..... 8/21 - DCRTV hears that the slogan "World Class Rock" could soon be gone, as CBS's the Globe rotates from alt-ish rock back to classic rock. And, no, 94.7 won't be going back to the Arrow moniker. Long live Bob Seger..... 8/21 - As for that rumor floating around that former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick has made a financial investment in Baltimore sports talker WNST (1570 AM), a local radio guru tells us: "Why would Brian invest in WNST? He does not live here any longer. He works for Fox sports and has a platform to do whatever he wants. If he really wanted drive the Ravens nuts he could command a big contract with WHFS-FM and ESPN 1300 AM. So while at this point the report might be right it makes no real business sense." DCRTV is told that Billick does still live in the Baltimore area. More as we hear it..... 8/21 - DCRTV's take on the DC-Baltimore area's top 10 radio rockers: 1) erockster - via DC101's HD2 - "wow" 2) 98 Rock - "solid" 3) WTMD - "progressive" 4) DC101 - "generic" 5) Indie 979 - via 98 Rock's HD3 - "cool" 6) WRNR - "HFS heritage" 7) WBIG - "robotic" 8) WZBA - "pretty good" 9) Classic 98 Rock via 98 Rock's HD2 - "uh huh" 10) Channel 104.3 - "hmmm" Somebody missing? Yeah, "disappointment"..... 8/20 - If 94.7, the Globe, is to be a success with its tweak back to classic rock, it needs a better morning show. Look, I absolutely love Weasel. All the way back to his days at the old 102.3 WHFS when it was progressive rock in the 1970s. But how about moving him to evenings to do a musically-intensive show, free of 94.7's playlist? Then, how about putting DC radio veteran Albie Dee in mornings! To do a banter-based topical show. Kind of like a "Mike O'Meara in the AM" or maybe a "Kane for folks in their 40s"..... Oh, I swear I heard Andy Parks let out a yawn at 8:10 this morning. See! Even he agrees that WMAL's morning show is way too often boring..... 8/20 - "He's the mayonnaise on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." A Washington radio programmer on Fox News superstar Bill O'Reilly. And his failure to generate any ratings on local radio..... 8/20 - With his local radio station - talker 3WT - going away, and his old local radio station - sports talk WTEM - now under the control of Redskins owner Dan Snyder, perhaps Tony Kornheiser (right) is looking to jump to Sirius XM satellite radio when he finishes his "Monday Night Football" gig for ESPN early next year. That's what Jim Williams is suggesting in the Examiner..... 8/19 - What was Pat Goss doing this morning in downtown Fairfax? Perhaps talking to CBS talker WJFK-FM about bringing back his Saturday car show after losing his slot on soon-to-be defunct Bonneville talker 3WT? Stay tuned..... 8/18 - DCRTV hears: "Surprise. (NBC News President) Steve Capus cannot tell a lie. BS! Not that Russert's passing hasn't gotten enough coverage. Word at the NBC News campus is that that Tim Russert's office - supposedly to be left intact - was demolished to make way for a new conference room. Word further confirms all the furniture in Tim's office was busted up so that no one in the bureau could use it or sell it on Ebay - nor was is offered for donation to the Smithsonian or the Newseum. Strange! The new bureau chief, Mark Whittaker, is having the old conference room built-out as his new office." That's at the NBC DC news bureau at the Channel 4/WRC complex on Nebraska Avenue..... 8/18 - Congrats to the Baltimore area's Michael Phelps and his eight Olympic gold medals. To be sure, you'll be seeing a lot more of Michael in the weeks and years to come as he appears on just about every TV show and in countless commercials. I'm not saying that Michael doesn't deserve the praise of all Americans for his amazing achievement. He certainly does. But, when you see Michael all over the media, take a moment to think about the thousands of young men in uniform who are Michael's age who have given their lives for their country in Iraq and elsewhere in the world in the past few years. These men and women have shown as much, if not more, courage as Michael has. And they've sacrificed even more. And yet most media outlets haven't even mentioned their names..... 8/17 - We realize that the Washington Post's readers are gradually abandoning the print rag. But, does the paper have to deliver such silly "filler" fluff on Sundays to attract younger demos? Like a piece on Channel 9 "news" anchor Lesli Foster singing karaoke in a Dupont Circle restaurant? Or yet another write-up on already way too over-exposed talk show host Larry King's secret of TV longevity? Or, how about more on the February 2009 flip to digital broadcast TV? This time, a somewhat hipper version. Whatever..... 8/16 - The time has come. News talk WMAL needs to move to FM. And now! Citadel must put the station on its 105.9 if it is to survive. Yeah, keep on it on 630 AM, but there is no longer any doubt that the AM band here in the DC market is near death. The traditional poor signal patterns, the product of the placement of DC's AM transmitters long before the rapid suburban sprawl of the 1960s through today, have become obsolete. Add to that the increasing electronic "buzz" of modern life, which makes AM unlistenable in many offices and homes. Witness the radio ratings. WMAL is the only DC AMer to register a significant audience. If the station is to survive and grow, it must move to FM. And the most-likely candidate would be Citadel's sister WJZW, 105.9, with its low-rated canned oldies format. All-news WTOP has already moved from 1500 AM to 103.5 FM. And sports talk WTEM is halfway there, with its 980 AM signal now available on two far-suburban FMers, 92.7 and 94.3. It's official: The AM radio band in the DC market is no longer a viable economic delivery method for major stations. OK, sure, it can continue to deliver niche stations - brokered and ethnic - to tiny audiences. But it's time for WMAL to make the move to FM..... 8/15 - Man, what's up with WMAL? Yeah, we know they're repainting the towers and the station's operating at low-ish power. But the night signal here in Wild West Fairfax, which was once absolutely flawless, now kinda sucks. I'm about seven miles from the transmitter and I can hear some other station underneath it on 630! And on Friday morning, the once-venerable news talker went into a "stutter" mode, with the transmitter blinking off and on at 8 AM for about 10 minutes. Jeez! Citadel - not quite ready for major market radio, quite obviously. And driving MAL into a big muddy ditch. You know, WMAL is the only DC market AM radio station that gets decent ratings. And, with the way things are going at MAL, in the not too distant future DC radio listeners simply won't need AM radios any more..... 8/14 - It's Masturbation Thursday! First, the Junkies on JFK-FM this morning revealed how long they go between JO sesssions. Six long days for Lurch, apparently. Less in-between time for the other (mostly married?!?!) guys. Then, our pal Marty Davis has a Chickaboomer clip from actor Ernest "McHale's Navy" Borgnine whispering to former WRCer Steve "Fox And Friends" Doocy about his secret for looking so young (not a day over 70) at age 91. Yup, you guessed it. He masturbates a lot. Way to go, Ernie!..... 8/14 - Columbia MD radio ratings firm Arbitron is preparing to launch its electronic Portable People Meter system in four cities this week, including the DC market. The first round of DC PPM data will be available in December. In other test markets, the PPM data has shown a dramatic decline in the ratings for radio stations that program to black and Hispanic audiences. So, it remains to be seen if the heavily African American DC market will continue to have four "urban" stations - WMMJ, WPGC-FM, WHUR, and WKYS - among its typical top five. Rock and adult contemporary stations, as well as white-oriented talkers, have benefited from the PPM methodology. And that could result in a ratings jump for stations like DC101, WASH, WBIG, the Globe, WJFK-FM, and WMAL. Stay tuned..... 8/12 - What's better than sex? "Listening to WMAL and drinking pina coladas." So said WMAL morning man Fred Grandy this morning. By the way, season one/volume two of "The Love Boat" gets released on DVD today. Grandy played the ship's purser, Burl "Gopher" Smith, on the 1970s romantic comedy/drama..... 8/12 - Is Rush Limbaugh sounding fainter? It's not your imagination or your radio. Our FCC guru tells us that Citadel news talker WMAL (630 AM) will be operating for the next month at only 25-percent power - just 2,500-watts - due to their Bethesda towers being re-painted..... 8/12 - When WJFK-FM canned Fox News talker Bill O'Reilly's radio show last year, station owner CBS got one - you heard right - one single e-mail of protest. That's what I'm told, anyway. Now, it looks like Bill's lost his post-JFK DC radio home, with yesterday's announcement of the demise of Bonneville talker 3WT. Obviously, low (no) ratings are the culprit. So, where will Bill end up next on the DC radio dial? Maybe one of Dan Snyder's weakish AM talkers, WTNT or WWRC? Hey, Bill, yeah, you get great ratings on TV cable "news," but nobody's listening to your radio show down here in the DC area. Noooobody. A little good news for the Keith Olbermann crowd..... 8/11 - Capitol Hill gossip blog FishbowlDC continues to hype its goofy "hottest" in DC contest, touting on Monday that more than 750,000 votes have been cast since last week. However, as of mid-day, 219,000 of those votes were for Media Consortium's Brian Beutler. That's 30 percent of the contest's votes for just one of the several dozen candidates among six categories. With many other poor saps receiving fewer than 100 votes. Of course, voters can vote as many times as they care to for themselves or their friends. Whatever..... 8/10 - Maryland court records show that former WJFK-FM afternooner Don Geronimo, real name Michael Sorce, got hit with a $290 fine for doing 90 in a 55 zone on eastbound Route 100 in Glen Burnie on 6/12 at 10:15 AM. A guilty plea was entered for the offense on 7/11, records show..... 8/10 - Lowered expectations. As a plain old classic rocker, 94.7 The Globe is pretty good. As we've reported, CBS has just tweaked the station from its alternative rockish stance to a more traditional classic rock niche. And, not bad, with the Clash, U2, Springsteen, the Pretenders, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madness, Stone Temple Pilots, and David Bowie. Apparently, gone are the handful of more adventurous alt-rockish tunes by the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, the Kooks, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Modest Mouse. The big mistake that CBS made was unfairly getting our hopes raised for the station. When it launched in February 2007, CBS DC radio honcho Michael Hughes promised us something with a musical sensibility in the tradition of the old free-form progressive rock WHFS. And we believed him. Silly us..... 8/8 - Capitol Hill gossip blog FishbowlDC is doing one of those "Hottest" contents. And in one category, one guy has, so far, racked up more than 78,000 votes, while some of his competitors have tallied somewhere in the 100-or-fewer vote range. Either he is supremely sexy and his rivals are hideously ugly or the FishbowlDC vote is something of a bad joke. Gee, you can hit the back button on your browser and vote many times for the same person. You know, when DCRTV does its Hottie contests, we make it a point to trash repeat votes from the same person. No, our system ain't perfect, but it ain't a complete fraud like FishbowlDC's is. Sheesh..... 8/7 - As I predicted in July, the Soviet Borders in Fairfax has put all of its paid newspapers behind the armed guards at the cash registers as of 8/1. Leaving only the freebie rags for folks to browse and read while sitting in the comfy chairs by the mag racks or at the Seattle's Best coffee bar. However, I noticed that the freebie Examiner is not available at the Fairfax bookshop. Why not? A prime opportunity to "get read" for the upstart tab..... Oh, I had a clandestine meeting in a DC area parking complex yesterday with a top local radio guy. And he revealed that I didn't appear "as scary" in person as he thought I'd be. Hey, I'm just a lovable bearded fuzzball with a shaved-head, combat cap, and camo shorts..... 8/5 - Loved listening to a bunch of JFK-FMers pretending to be local yokels in a spot for the Prince William County fair, you know, with a tractor pull and all. Including the voice of Mike O'Meara show producer Beth Ann McBride. Now, how about MAL's Andy Parks as an ICE agent checking citizenship status of fairgoers at the main gate?..... 8/3 - Here's a way for CBS to become the dominant TV/radio provider in DC. First: Flip 94.7 to headline-based all-news radio, like WINS in NYC. Second: After 94.7 has seriously damaged all-news WTOP's revenue and ratings in about a year, buy it from Bonneville and make it DC's more conversational all-news source, a la WCBS-AM in NYC. Oh yeah, also buy 1500 from B'ville and make that a relay of either 94.7 or 103.5. Then, third and finally: Buy Channel 4/WRC from NBC, which wants to sell it, and turn it into the "new" WTOP-TV, DC's CBS station. Now, CBS will own DC's top local TVer (4), two top radio all-newsers (94.7 and 103.5/1500), the top talker (WJFK-FM), the top urban outlet (WPGC-FM), and the top Spanish station (WLZL) in the Nation's Capital. There, wasn't that simple?..... 8/1 - Yesterday, DCRTV told you that CBS Radio announced that it'll be selling about 50 "mid-market" radio stations in the near-term. Today, radio trade pub All Access tells us that the five CBS stations in Baltimore are on an unofficial list of "likely" properties to be unloaded. Including adult contemporary WLIF (101.9 FM), hot adult contemporary WWMX (106.5 FM), classic hits WQSR (102.7 FM), talker WHFS (105.7 FM), and sports talker WJFK-AM (1300). Baltimore is the 21st radio market in terms of size. CBS's five DC market radio stations - WPGC-FM/AM, WTGB, WLZL, and WJFK-FM - were not on the unofficial list of spin-off candidates. DCRTV hears that if CBS does sell its Baltimore stations, Clear Channel could be a likely candidate to pick up some of them, to add to its cluster of WCAO, WPOC, and WCHH. Other potential CBS Charm City suitors: Greater Media moving down from Philadelphia, Nassau moving eastward from Frederick/Hagerstown, Bonneville or Red Zebra moving up from DC, maybe Entercom. Stay tuned..... 8/1 - Citadel news talker WMAL just loves to play cutsie pop musical introductions to news stories during its Grandy and Andy morning show. And that's fine with the lighter, somewhat amusing stuff. But not when you're heading into a story about female soldiers being sexually abused, like was heard this morning. Argh..... 7/31 - The best talk radio in the Nation's Capital? It ain't WMAL, which is an extention of GOP Central. It ain't WTNT, which carries a bunch of syndicated political loudmouths. It ain't 3WT, which is, well, just plain mixed-up. It ain't SportsTalk 980 or ESPN 980 or whatever it's being called these days. Or WAMU, which does offer some dense talk. No. It's WJFK-FM. CBS's 106.7 has one of the most engaging talk lineups in town. Or anywhere. Now, these guys on JFK aren't the same fat ego-bloated gasbags you hear and see all over cable TV spewing their bunkish bombast about politics, sports, and celebs. No. They're all actually, pretty much, regular guys. But if you listen, you'll find that they're much smarter than "talk radio superstars" like Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Bill O'Reilly. WJFK-FM's Junkies, Big O and Dukes, and Mike O'Meara - local and live radio from 5 AM-ish to 7 PM-ish - will surprise you. Yeah, sure, they talk about sports, cars, boobs, and booze. But if you pay attention, you'll also hear some very smart discussions about politics, the economy, relationships, and race relations. But what's surprising, is how interesting those "dry" topics are with the JFK treatment. For example, just today, Big O and Dukes were discussing the issue of how domestic car production affects the international balance of trade. But with their casual and conversational chat, you were probably fooled into thinking you were listening to a bunch of ordinary guys BS-ing. One of the reasons WJFK-FM's talk is so much more engaging than the other guys at the other stations is its "outside-the-Beltway" take on the DC area. You get the feel that the Junkies "know" what it's like to live here - to sit in endless traffic, to que for junk food, to get cut off on the Beltway by a mini-van driven by a distracted housemommy with a cell glued to her ear. They're not cheauffered around or invited to National Press Club fetes. Chad Dukes doesn't "panel" on "Hardball." Mike O'Meara doesn't spend weekends with Dick Cheney or do cocktails at Greta Van Susteren's. Look, I bash CBS Radio all the time. Like how it can't give DC a decent rock station with the Globe. But GM Michael Hughes and PD Chris Kinard really shine with WJFK-FM. It's not going to be the top station, but it will grow steadily. It's honest talk without the pomposity. Communication, not propaganda..... 7/30 - DCRTV's hearing rumblings of change at CBS's alternative/classic "World Class Rock" WTGB, the Globe. But CBS suits are denying that anything's up. The station's pretty much remained flat in the ratings since it transformed from the classic rock Arrow in February 2007. Some have speculated that CBS might be smart to flip 94.7 to smooth jazz, since the old WJZW (now oldies) got better numbers than the Globe gets. Nope, says a Globe source. CBS is sticking with the rock format until the rollout of the electronic Portable People Meter rating system in DC in late-2008. The PPM method seems to bolster the ratings of rockers. Then, CBS will re-evaluate the Globe after a full "book" of PPM data, we're told..... 7/29 - DCRTV hears that Baltimore-DC radio legend Johnny Dark (right) is no longer with Silver Spring-based Worldspace, where he did an oldies show. He opted out of his contract, we're told. DCRTV has reported that Worldspace, which provides satellite radio to worldwide places outside the USA, has been facing financial problems of late. We also hear that late paychecks are not uncommon. No word on Dark's future plans, since most local oldies radio stations (a la WQSR and WJZW) don't seem to want to staff themselves with real human beings. Over the years, Dark has worked all over the local radio dial, including at legendary "top 40" outlets WCAO and WEAM, and, more recently, at oldies outlets WQSR and WBIG..... 7/28 - DC's Channel 9/WUSA kicked off the new high-def version of "The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" at 6:30 PM tonight. But it had no audio. After a silent 20 seconds or so, they flipped back to old standard-def version. The HD was re-instated, with audio, at about halfway into the newscast. DCRTV hears that it was a CBS screw-up. "There was no audio coming in on the HD feed. (WUSA) switched back to SD right away. They finally got it straightened out about 14 minutes into the newscast," we're told. And, we hear that Couric's HD debut didn't go much better in Baltimore, where Channel 13/ WJZ takes the 7 PM feed of the newscast. After a few seconds of black screen, the SD version came on in the middle of a news report, we're told..... 7/26 - If the soon-to-be-merged SiriusXM wants to show that it's seriously going to "show the love" for its combined subscriber base, the first thing new CEO of the expanded firm, Mel Karmazin, should do is to take a batch of Sirius's most-popular channels - Howard Stern, NPR, NFL - and make them immediately available to XM subscribers on the XM platform at no extra charge. And ditto with XM's most-popular channels - Oprah, MLB, O&A - to Sirius subs on the Sirius platform. Do it from "day one" of the new married company. Since the two satrad systems are technically incompatible, it could be quite a while before XMers get Sirius stuff, and vice-versa, via new receivers. Mel, this would be a great way to get XM and Sirius subscribers "feeling good" before the receiver, programming, and billing hassles that will undoubtedly be coming with the new SiriusXM, or whatever it'll be called..... 7/26 - Just noticed that Friday's Washington Post finally ran a corrected local radio listing, long a gripe of yours truly. The "Greaseman" format was removed from WMET and replaced with "talk/international." The Grease left WMET last fall. He now does Saturday mornings on DC101. Among the changes, we also saw 1390 changed from Chinese to Spanish - three or fours years late. Plus Spanish on 1520, and the correct WPRS calls for gospel 104.1. A great newspaper demands accuracy - even with the "small stuff"..... 7/24 - DCRTV hears that Citadel DC news talker WMAL's former news director, John Matthews, can now be heard doing morning drive news on Hearst news talker WBAL radio in Baltimore. Matthews is doing fill-in work for vacationing news folk throughout the summer, we're told. Matthews got budget-cut from WMAL in February after two-ish decades with the former ABC station..... 7/24 - What I got at washingtonpost.com this morning: 7/23 - Kudos to Channel 9's Topper Shutt and Howard Bernstein for anchoring severe weather coverage on Wednesday during the 8 PM prime-time hour on WUSA's 9.2 digital channel (Comcast 203). As the rare occurence of two thunderstorm lines merged directly over the DC area, one from the west and one from the south and east. Yeah, Channels 4 and 7 both have digital weather channels, and they did flash radar warnings, but 9 went that "extra yard" with live meteorologists and it made all the difference. A solid public service from the Gannett station..... 7/19 - Beautiful sunny Saturday in mid-July. Cranking the volume on the car radio as you scoot around the Beltway. Flip over to 94.7 and what do you get? "Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton. What a frigging' downer of a tune! Oh, it's an environmentally-friendly "Low Voltage" acoustic weekend being sponsored by Sport Honda, which, of course, offers many environmentally-friendly autos. You almost wish that 94.7 would just sign off for the weekend, and save even more energy, rather that subject us to these sad, sluggish dirges about dying and death. If I was Sport Honda, I'd get my sponsorship money back. Man!..... 7/18 - DCRTV hears a reliable rumor that DC radio legend Don Geronimo could very well be heading to satellite radio come October. Either to DC's XM or to the Sirius/XM merged company, if the satrad marriage is ever approved. Geronimo, who retired from CBS talker WJFK-FM in April, started doing a music show for Ocean City eclectic rocker WOCM earlier this month..... 7/18 - DCRTV hears rumblings that this could be the last year for the Redskins game-day radio team of Sonny Jurgensen, Sam Huff, and play-by-play man Larry Michael. Next year it could be Mike Patrick doing play-by-play, with Joe Theismann and John Riggins adding color. At least that's what a reliable local radio source tells us. You'll recall that Jurgensen and Huff have been calling Skins' games for several decades, having previously been paired with play-by-play man Frank Herzog..... 7/17 - We had a covert mind-meeting in a toothless Fairfax parking garage with a certain PD of a certain FM talker who tells us, on weekends, he's added a one-hour racing show, a home improvement/real estate show, a two-hour mixed martial arts show, plus "The Hideout" and "Joe Radio," as well as two hours of BDK's movie show on Sundays. That's 11 hours of local programming, up from zero hours a year ago. Oh, and as for JP Flaim boxing JW Bobbitt? No. But if they do something "goofy" like that again, it'll be here, not in AC..... 7/15 - A sign that Borders Books And Music must be on its last legs. A sign in the Fairfax store proclaims that all daily newspapers will be kept behind the counter starting 8/1. Obviously, no more browsing of unpaid-for Washington Posts and USA Todays while relaxing at the Seattle's Best coffee bar or on the comfy chairs by the mag racks. Now, you'll have to buy a rag sight-unseen if you want to read it. Kind of like the way some stores treat porno mags. You know, big corporate bookstores like Borders should view their newspapers as a "loss leader" to get bodies into the store to browse for other stuff, like more-expensive books, CDs, and DVDs. Hey Borders, the clueless beancounters in your current management won't save your sorry ass with silly newspaper availability policies like that. Maybe Borders will go out of business and a batch of more-humane, locally-owned bookshops will take its place? I can hope, can't I?..... 7/14 - According to delawareonline.com: Washington Postie, ESPNer, and 3WTer Tony Kornheiser was spied at Rehoboth Beach's Big Fish Grill. While at the restaurant, Kornheiser didn't make too many friends, a source told gossiper Ryan Cormier. After announcing that he was "too famous to be here," a staffer finally found him a corner table to keep him from, ahem, all his fans. Once there, the type of crabs he wanted weren't on the menu and he allegedly said, "I want what I want when I want it." Cormier adds that his source swore he said that, but he'd be surprised if anyone could be such an "ass. Staffers had to go next door to the Big Fish Seafood Market to get Kornheiser his precious crabs"..... 7/14 - "I just don't want to drive to Fairfax every day of my friggin' life." One of the Fairfax-based WJFK-FM Junkies (we can never tell which particular Junkie said what) on today's morning show, about his overall career aspirations, which include developing a show for radio stations in other markets..... 7/14 - Might Redskins owner Dan Snyder face a legal hurdle at the Federal Communications Commission for the approval for the license transfer of SportsTalk 980 WTEM from Clear Channel to his Red Zebra firm from those opposed to the name of his team? Those who claim that "Redskin" is a "racially derogatory" reference to American natives say they will take their case to the FCC to challenge broadcast licenses of stations that carry the DC team. And, now, with Snyder a station owner, could he be the group's top target? A federal judge recently ruled against a group of native Americans that was challenging the team's name in court. Snyder currently operates WTEM under a lease agreement while he awaits the FCC's OK for the license transfer. If and when the deal is approved, Snyder will own six radio stations in the DC area. More at pr-inside.com..... 7/12 - Very early one morning a few years ago, I was awakened by the ringing phone. Just as I came to my senses, I realized that it was Tony Snow. He was calling to ask questions about a report running on DCRTV that claimed that WMAL was interested in picking up his Fox radio talk show, which had been running on WTNT. This was before he got the White House press secretary gig. Despite the fact that I had good-naturedly jabbed Snow and his righty politics several times in my Rant column, he was very friendly and said he loved the site. Damn, what a nice guy. Very sorry to see him go..... 7/11 - Checked out DC101's wonderful new erockster progressive rockish HD2 channel today and found it missing from 101.1's signal. Ditto with WTOP's HD3 traffic and weather channel on 103.5. What's even more pathetic about the "here-one-day-and-gone-the-next" status of local HD Radio channels is that I'm probably the only one who's noticing the absences. Man..... 7/10 - Fire drill. So, let's see. If there was a major emergency in the DC area, where would you turn for important information? WMAL, maybe? Its 630 low-band AM news talk signal does cover most of the metro area pretty darn good. Well, something knocked WMAL off the air for five minutes this morning at 8:15. Dead air, baby. No auxiliary transmitter immediately kicked in. Probably a power outage at the Bethesda transmitter site, since its sister FMers, WRQX and WJZW, with different transmitter sites, weren't affected. If something can knock 630 off the air, even for just a few minutes, is WMAL really ready for a real emergency in the Nation's Capital? Maybe WMAL's new owner Citadel should check into that..... 7/9 - Oh, lookie lookie. Via a quarter-page ad today on page A12, the Washington Post is hyping a "12-chapter serial" starting Sunday on "Who Killed Chandra Levy." OK, sure, if there's some legitimate new development on the missing/murdered DC intern who disappeared in 2001, please do report it. But drawing out the coverage into an almost two-week editorial "campaign" sure smacks of a Greta Van Susteren-esque exploitation of unseemly personal tragedy. Let me guess, a Postie has penned a book on the topic, right? I realize that the Post's circulation is slumping, but this is not the way to fix it. Man..... 7/9 - I hate to praise the evil rotten corporate bastards at Clear Channel, or the empty company suits who run DC's generic-sounding rocker DC101, but WWDC-FM's HD2 channel is absolutely magnificent, brilliant, and fantastic. If you're looking for adventurous progressive-ish rock, mixed with other cool genres in a fuckingly cool and imaginative way, with no commercials, then erockster is for you. It makes CBS Radio's the Globe 94.7 sound like a deflated beach ball slumping in the window of a dullish beach supplies store managed by Dan Mason. If you love really "out there" alt rock on the electronic and psychedelic fringe, and love to be sonically surprised, like I do, erockster alone is worth the several hundred bucks for an HD Radio. But why do that? You can listen for free on the erockster's website. Wow...... 7/9 - DCRTV hears rumblings that Fox News DC news icon Brit Hume (right) may be scaling back his workload after the current presidential campaign ends. Our sources tell us that the Rupert Murdoch-owned news channel "is doing high-level, private focus groups" to find a replacement for the Hume VA native on "Fox News Sunday." No word on whether he'll cut back his four-day-per-week hosting chores for the 6 PM "Special Report" show..... 7/8 - USA Today is just getting around to discovering broadcast digital HD Radio. With three articles in today's rag. And, yeah, it sounds great "on paper." They list a whole bunch of cool digital channels being done by stations around the country. However, the "catch" is that you'll only be able to hear the HD Radio channels in your area - if that. This ain't satellite radio, where you can hear everything everywhere. The USA Today articles didn't address the poor reception characteristics of HD Radio, although there are plans afoot to boost the power of stations' digital signals. Here in Fairfax County, I have difficulty receiving some DC area HD Radio signals some of the time. And, sometimes, area stations' HD signals mysteriously go away for days or weeks at a time. And forget about picking up the digital signals from anywhere other than the immediate DC area, like Baltimore, Frederick, or Fredericksburg. And the articles didn't mention that many stations' HD Radio signals sound canned and boring. And, still, many stations offer only their main signal in HD, with no HD2 or HD3 alternatives. Yeah, some local HD offerings like DC101's alt rock-ish mix channel, WAMU's bluegrass and news channels, 98 Rock's alt and classic channels, WHUR's World offering, and WTOP's traffic and weather channel are quite cool. But take it from someone who's been listening to DC area HD Radio for about a year. After plunking down $100 to $300 for an HD Radio receiver, the chances are quite good that you're going to be disappointed..... 7/7 - I'd like to welcome Dave Wellington to town to program DC101 and Channel 104.3. Dave, you won't have much to do on the DC end since DC101 pretty much programs itself. Plus, the pretty much generic rocker has no real competition in the Nation's Capital, unless you think that hardish hot adult contemporary "Voices Carry 94.7" is competition. Ha ha ha. You will have your work cut out for you in Baltimore, Dave, as the new WCHH is up against Baltimore's three-decade rock steamroller 98 Rock, WIYY, which does seem to be playing more alt rock of late, along with the harder stuff Baltimoreans so love. Plus, up there you'll have rock variations WRNR, WTMD, and WZBA to deal with - swarming around your face like gnats. Basically, Dave, just do what the suits at Clear Channel Central in San Antonio tell you to do. Keep the chair warm in your Rockville office and maybe wax Hartley's car every now and then. You'll soon realize that DC ain't a hot rock radio town like Boston is. And, if you're lucky, in a couple of months, you'll join the list of several dozen former PDs that DC101's gobbled up and spit out during the past few years. Can you say "revolving door"?..... 7/5 - OK, it's the start of the second half of 2008. What I'd like to see happen on the local radio dial before the end of the year: Bonneville's low-rated talker 3WT going sports talk and humiliating Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his six local stations. Base the new format on some soon-to-be-former SportsTalk 980ers... Citadel realizing that its new oldies 105.9 needs "local personality" and putting live jocks back on and ditching Imus or moving him to WMAL evenings... Ditto with CBS and adult hits WQSR about putting live jocks back on... WMAL realizing that it doesn't need three guys on the morning show. Just Nehman and Grandy is fine... CBS finally taking the Globe in a true adult alternative direction and slapping the legendary HFS calls on 94.7... A female voice on W-MALE a la Laura Ingraham... Dan Snyder starting a Spanish sports talker on some of those six area signals... CBS pairing 105.7 and 1300 as dual Baltimore sports talkers with the old WFBR calls... Nassau buying Frederick's 103.9 from Bonneville and relaying Annapolis's adult alternative WRNR for the western suburbs... All-news WBAL-AM... Salem finally realizing that it's a "sin" to have 105.1 and not do something with it that'll get ratings...JFK-FM ditching the infomercials and reruns on the weekends and going live and local on weekday evenings... CBS taking 1580 and putting a relay of its NYC all-newser WINS on it (what the hell)... Radio One putting urban talker WOL on 93.9's HD2 channel... Baltimore's 1370 going back to its nostalgic "Legends" music format with a DC area AM relay..... 7/3 - Rush Limbaugh gets a giant mountain of dough to do his radio show until 2016. Yet, he's deaf and lives alone with a cat at his series of mansions in a walled-off Palm Beach complex. Actually felt kind of sorry for him after reading Sunday's NY Times piece. There's a point where money and power become rather meaningless, at least as far as happiness is concerned. You know..... 7/2 - "Here's how radio camp works - there's the door, run!" WMAL's Bryan Nehman this morning, joking about sending his kid to "radio camp." Obviously a jestful comment on the current state of the slumping local radio biz..... 7/1 - So let's see. Bennett Zier ran Clear Channel DC for a while. OK. Then he and his cigar-chomping buds collectively bolted for Skins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra, which, of course, has done gang-busters in the radio ratings with its three (soon to be six) killer signals. And now Bennett's Boys are off to perform their magic ways at troubled Air America. Who else among the DC Radio Frat Pack will follow former CCers Bennett and Bill Hess to AirAm? Jeff Wyatt? Cam Gray? Tod Castleberry? Radio, what a damn cool biz, huh!..... Jump to Rants January To June 2008, Rants 2007, Rants 2006, Rants 2005, Rants 2004. All original material on this website is copyright by Dave Hughes/DCRTV.