Contents - Front Page - Mailbag - Recent Rants - News - Daveland - Support DCRTV By Dave Hughes dcrtv@dcrtv.com Rants from 2005..... 12/30 - DCRTV looks into its Cracked Crystal Ball for some 2006 predictions. Here goes. WMAL picks up more syndicated fare with the addition of Mancow in July. Fred Grandy and Andy Parks jump to Goodwill. Google buys Allbritton, which owns Channel 7, and Microsoft buys Gannett, which owns Channel 9. A last-minute entry to replace an unpopular Bob Ehrlich, Channel 13 weatherman Marty Bass wins the Maryland governor race. ABC sells WJZW to Bonneville to become Burd 105.9 with a comedy talk format headlined by David Burd. Lisa de Moraes quits the DC Post after it refuses to run her 4,000 paragraph piece on some insignificant insider network suit change in LA. After his horse fall, George Michael returns to 4's airwaves with a bionic body, a Darth Vader-like voice, and "laser beam" eyes. Fox News honcho Roger Ailes takes control of Fox 5 and flips the calls from WTTG to WGWB in "honor of the president and all the good he's doing." In April, Chip Franklin will crack-up on WBAL radio's airwaves; he'll be taken to a mental hospital screaming: "I'm a liberal. I can't repress it any longer. It has to come out! This righty act is killing me." He's replaced by Steve Rouse. Infinity adds "Off" to WQSR's title and creates "Jack Off 102.7 - Music For Men To Pleasure Themselves By." It becomes the number two station by August. Rupert Murdoch starts a line of Fox Booze products and test markets it in lower Montgomery County. The Redskins jump to Radio One's WKYS; the Reverand Al Sharpton replaces Larry Michael. WMET turns off the transmitter to save on the electric bill; its audience increases. Derek McGinty leaves Channel 9 to head the United Nations. Clear Channel puts the WGAY calls back on 99.5 and proclaims it the first "all gay" radio station; no changes are expected among its on-air personalities. A storm hits Baltimore in May, knocking Channel 2 off the air for a week; nobody notices. WARW's Stevens and Medley sign up for four-year NASA mission to run a radio station on Mars. DC101's Elliot Segal jumps to Sirius to become Howard Stern's "bitch." XM buys religious WGTS in Takoma Park and puts a 24/7 feed of indie college rock XMU on 91.9 as WXMU. Weasel and Cerphe start doing pledge drive work for Channel 26 and team up doing informercials for Medicare prescription drug plans. WETA-FM flips to a "world music" format. WASH becomes WLOO. Peter Angelos buys Channel 66 and makes it MASN fulltime and gets Nationals cable carriage in the DC area. Buddy Riser convinces Nassau to put his Vegas Radio on Frederick's 103.1. The DC Examiner goes belly-up; nobody notices. Channel 9 hires Morris Jones from Sinclair to co-anchor its evening newscasts with Tracey Neale; the ratings soar. Well, that's all for now. Happy New Year everybody..... 12/30 - Just putting things in perspective. USA Today today reports that Craig Ferguson, who hosts "The Late Late Show" on CBS, the comedy talk program that airs at 12:30 AM after David Letterman on CBS, attracts an average of 1.9 million viewers each night. That's about the same audience level that Bill O'Reilly gets on cable's Fox News Channel. And, as the hype goes, O'Reilly is the top-rated show on Fox News. In fact, according to TVNewser, the latest ratings show O'Reilly with about 1.7 million viewers each night. Hey, I do realize that O'Reilly's numbers are nothing to sneeze at - particurly among the handful of cable "news" networks. But, when you look at O'Reilly's numbers in "context" with everything else that's on cable, broadcast, even radio, he's not quite the media giant that he likes to pretend he is. At least no "bigger" than Craig Ferguson..... 12/29 - My 2005 favorite films: "The Squid And The Whale"; "Brokeback Mountain"; "Munich"; "Goodnight And Good Luck"; "Broken Flowers"; "Star Wars III," "Bad Education"; "Capote"; "The Constant Gardener" "A History Of Violence"..... My 2005 favorite TV: "Weeds" (Showtime), "Huff" (Showtime) - a 2004 show that I discovered in 2005, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO) - running out of steam but still funny, "House" (Fox); Turner Classic Movies..... My 2005 favorite DVDs: "Seinfeld" compilations; "Matt Helm Lounge"; "McMillan And Wife" season one; "A Home At The End Of The World"; "The Thin Man" boxed set; "New Order - A Collection," "The Right Spectacle" Elvis Costello videos; "The High And The Mighty"..... My 2005 favorite radio: XM's XMU, XM's Fred, XM's Lucy, XM's Ethel, XM's Frank's Place, "Coast To Coast AM," Vegas Radio WTRI..... My 2005 favorite songs: "Feel Good Inc." by the Gorillaz; "Precious" by Depeche Mode; "Dracula's Castle" by New Order..... 12/28 - I just love hearing DC-based Fox News Radio righty talker Tony Snow rant - like he did on his WMET show today - about how the New York Times is a Democratic Party organ. Hey, Tony, what about your boss - Rupert Murdoch - and his New York Post? Many think that rag is a Republican Party organ. But you never talk about that on your show, do you? Hey, Tony, open your eyes - there's sleazy stuff on BOTH sides of the political media aisle..... 12/27 - A more "colorful" WMAL in 2006? I've been hearing WMAL running spots aimed at advertisers, telling them what a great place it is for their messages. Yeah, I guess if they want to reach older white men. That's pretty much who the station's talk shows are aiming for. It's that not if you're a Democrat, female, liberal, black, gay, Hispanic, Asian, or youngish that'll you'll find a WMAL talker who'll tell you that you're misguided and wrong. Oh, no. That WMAL talker will often scream and shout that you're an idiot and stupid. Much of WMAL's talk is not just right-leaning and "informative." Oh, no. WMAL likes to insult. You can't raise your kids right. You don't have the proper "faith." They'll belittle you. Most of the station's talkers - all almost exclusively white and male - are condescending to those who disagree. And that's legal. This is America. Free speech and all that. And WMAL may attract a large audience of caucasian dudes. And their car radio pre-sets, too. But if WMAL is looking for the lifeblood of commercial radio - ad revenue - maybe it better rethink things in the new year. Mix it up a bit. How about a few more female, black, and, heck, Hispanic voices on old 630 in 2006? That doesn't mean abandoning the conservative viewpoint, but it does mean making the station "sound" a little more like the vibrant DC area that it serves. And show a little "respect" for your listeners, even if they - gasp - disagree with the host..... 12/25 - Christmas morning. And no Washington Post on my doorstep. Yet again. It's the fourth morning this month that the paper has come late or not at all. One of my new year resolutions will be to cancel my subscription and, like an increasing number of folks, read it only via the website. At least that's a reliable way to get "Posted." Oh, happy holidays to the ghost of John Carmody. I miss you..... 12/21 - Heard on horrible old WMAL today. Rush Limbaugh referred to Elton John's marriage to his boyfriend as "a funeral." I mean, you may not be in favor of gay marriage, but that's kind of mean, Rush. It's the holiday season, for Christ's sake. By the way, "Step Into Christmas" is one of my favorite holiday tunes. Not that there's anything wrong with that..... 12/20 - With sunny, dry and cold weather in the forecast, WMAL AccuWeather weatherman Joe Bastardi can't issue any of his sadistic "end of the world" forecasts. Which he so loves. So, he's issued a "static shock warning," alerting listeners of those nasty electric smacks when touching metal objects during times of such low humidity. Hey, I've got an idea for the new year: "The Joe Bastardi Morning Show" on WMAL. Now, that would be funny. That would give Fred Grandy time to do a new "Love Boat" movie - perhaps a disaster flick in which the ship gets knocked upside down by a huge wave and Grandy's character has to lead a ragtag bunch of survivors "up" through the bowels of the boat. And Andy Parks could apply his skills to managing a shoe store or fast food restaurant at a local mall..... 12/19 - Another primetime speech from George W. Bush last night. You know, that "war against terror" stuff, again. Am I the lone voice on this? But, how can you have a "war on terror"? Terror is merely the type of "weapon" being used. Like bombs, or guns, or nerve gas. World War II wasn't a "war on terror," even though Adolph Hitler certainly used terror as a weapon in his arsenal. It was a well-defined campaign against Nazism and its fascism. We will never win a war on "terror." But we might just win a war if our president will take off his blinders and tell us exactly who we're fighting. Why doesn't he want to do this? And why does so much of the media so blindly follow him on this point? I just don't get it. Or, maybe I do..... 12/16 - With Howard Stern's last day today, how about we all collectively move to remove WJFK-FM from our car radios. Do it now, while you're thinking about. Go out to your car, this very minute. If you don't know how to do it, consult the manual that came with your car radio. "I don't want no stinkin' Free FM." Yup, reprogram that 106.7 button. The problem is, there aren't a lot of good alternatives. DC101.1's got a pretty good morning show. Ditto with Charm City's 98 Rock, which is actually 97.9. Or get "laid back" with Loo on 97.1. Maybe some lefty news from NPR on 88.5 or 90.9. Or oldies on 100.3. Perhaps some Christian hits on 91.9. News on 107.7. Jack FM from Baltimore on 102.7 is kind of cool. Or get out the credit card and make the move to Sirius or XM. Just tell Infinity, er, CBS, to go take a flying f*ck. Changing your WJFK-FM car radio button is really easy to do. And if enough of us do it, advertisers will pay attention. And, given a few months, CBS may even change the station's management - or flip it to a new format. At least remove the evil Bill O'Reilly. There is always hope..... 12/15 - Almost brought me to tears this morning - the return of Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling to Howard Stern after the five-year split. Just another reminder of how great the show once was..... 12/12 - Fox News DC guy Major Garrett explained to WMAL's "Grandy And Andy" this morning that President Bush "turned a corner" in his presidency yesterday. Garrett spun that Bush was able to handle questions about Iraq from a "hostile" - non pre-screened - crowd of reporters and answer them off-the-cuff, without relying out well-rehearsed answers. Acccording to the DC Post, "The comments came during a rare audience question-and-answer session after a speech (in Philadelphia) on Iraq's upcoming elections." And how long has it taken Bush to field such unexpected questions? He's "only" been president five years. Man..... 12/9 - Listening to Howard Stern doing his "multimedia song and dance" hype job on his move to Sirius has made me, a devoted Stern fan from his DC101 days in the early 1980s, much less (!) likely to follow him to pay radio. Particularly his performance on his three-part "interview" with pompous dipshit Bill O'Reilly on Fox "News." In which Stern comes across like a pompous dipshit, too. Even bigger than O'Reilly! And that's saying something. Make no mistake - Howard Stern is, er, was a funny man. A very funny man. A king of comedy. While I found his social, political rants the most insightful, I've never been a big fan of hearing about Stern's bowel habits or Lesbian spankings. But, Howard, you're pushing your mid-50s. Maybe it's time to finally grow up. The "radio badboy act" is getting oh so stale. Do what Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs should have done - quit while you're on top. Pass up the extra bucks in favor of the legacy. Yeah, it's been a good, wild ride, but maybe it's time to retire the "mic" now - rather than after your new Sirius deal is up in five years. Hey Howard, you're not going to get a cut of my $12.95 a month. Sorry..... 12/8 - We're hearing that Infinity's going to put the classic oldies sounds of NYC's WCBS-FM back on the Big Apple's 101.1 frequency. As a digital subchannel. Dubbed "HD2" by the marketers. The format was dropped a few months back on the main WCBS-FM channel in favor of the smart ass "Jack" oldies format. Ratings for the new format have plunged, by the way. The only "catch" is that to hear the resurrected older oldies format you'll have to shell out a bunch of bucks for an expensive new radio. So, if Infinity's willing to bring back old formats via new broadcast digital streams, how about giving new life to the classic progressive rock of WHFS here in DC? Not some lame part-time immitation on a Baltimore frequency that doesn't reach DC. Perhaps Infinity could put it on one of WARW's "HD2" channels? Now that might make it worth coughing up some bucks for a new radio..... 12/7 - There's a Loudoun County man who's been listening to WTOP a bit too much, don't you think? He's stockpiling food, water, medicine, and even guns to defend his family in the event of civil unrest when the "bird flu" hits. Check him out at USA Today...... 12/6 - At about 10 this morning, WTOP breathlessly reported that another person has died of "bird flu" in China. You know, that's the bug that's going to come over here and kill millions. Blah blah blah. What's missing from the media's coverage of this disease is context. Just curious. How many people died today in China from traffic accidents? Or heart attacks? Or cancer? Or were murdered? In a nation of more than a billion people, I'd suspect that those numbers would be quite a bit higher than the one poor soul who succumbed to this "new" strain of flu. Oh sure, putting news in context often removes the "hype factor" - and that probably ain't too great for the ratings, either. WTOP's new slogan: "Be afraid. Be very afraid"..... 12/5 - Did you stop by a local Giant or Safeway at noonish today? Yup, they're going crazy. Loading up on toilet paper and milk and kitty litter. Preparing for that humongous "three-incher" tonight. Heck, Washingtonians may be storm-bound in their domiciles until, like, maybe even midday Tuesday. Sheesh. Oh, WMAL sadist Joe Bastard-i is even predicting more icy sh*t on Thursday or Friday..... 11/30 - This morning, Howard Stern launched into another one of his speeches about how the broadcasting biz is going to Hell in a handbasket because of all the politicos who are campaigning for "decency" on the airwaves. A la the hearings now being held on Capitol Hill. I've always agreed with Stern and stood with him during his battles with the FCC thought police and his frequent skirmishes with corporate radio suits. And while I still agree with Stern, I kind of now view him as something of a hypocrite. He's not standing and fighting. He's turning tail and running. As we all know, Stern will be on "free" broadcast radio until mid-December. Then he's running for cover over at subscription satellite radio, which, like pay cable TV, is not content-regulated by the feds. You know, Howard, many Americans have given up a heck of a lot more - like their finances, their jobs, their well-being, even their lives - in order to fight for freedom in this great nation. What are you sacrificing? You're going to a cushy new job where people are going to have to pay to hear you. A four-day work week, three months of vacation, etc. Oh, now let's take on Rush Limbaugh, who yesterday reaffirmed his "generosity" with his latest promotional scheme. "Donors" pay Limbaugh $50 so that the already very wealthy talk radio titan can give "free" subscriptions to his subscription website to members of the US military. Limbaugh isn't "giving away" anything. He's charging for the subscriptions. It's just "other" people who are paying. And he's marketing it like he's some kind of saint. Hey, Rush, you may fool some of the "millions" who listen to you, but there are an increasing number of folks who can see through you. You're rich enough to give away access to your website to our troop folks in Iraq. Without needing "donors" to pay you for the privilege. Shame on you. Shame on both of you..... 11/29 - Joyce GoBell (right), one of my neighbors here in Reston, who suffered from cancer five years ago, had a prosthetic nose created by Robert Barron, an anaplastologist in Ashburn. He's a former CIA agent who's considered a "master of disguise." They were included in a feature on ABC's "Good Morning America" Tuesday on Channel 7/WJLA and Channel 2/WMAR. Oh, "GMA" got her name wrong. They called her "Joyce Codell"..... 11/27 - The Skins drop another one. One step closer to a playoff-free Redskins season. Sonny, Sam, Larry, and Danny-Boy - you're losers! The Free FM 106.7 curse continues. But don't worry, Michael Hughes. The Junkies will be save your arse. Ha ha ha..... 11/25 - Just curious. Regarding the "We're in the black people business" quote that Radio One head Alfred Liggins gave to the DC Post in a Friday article. What if, say, the head of the local Clear Channel, ABC, Bonneville, or Infinity radio cluster said something like: "We're in the white people business." He'd be crucified, quite obviously. Or, what if a local radio suit had said: "We're in the men business." Or: "We're in the young people business." Etc. Yeah, I know ad folks, increasingly, sell spots according to the narrow, "focused" demos that their stations attract. However, wouldn't it be refreshing, in a rather "segregated" radio market like DC, if more stations crossed racial lines - and actively aimed for a multitude of races, ages, sexes, ethnic groups, and political alliances. We do seem to have a few stations that do that - Hot 99.5, WPGC-FM, Smooth Jazz 105.9, Liggins' own Magic 102.3, SportsTalk 980, and, of course, newser WTOP - all of which seem to be aimed at both blacks and whites equally. But just about every other station can be classified as "black" or "white." "Male" or "female." "Young" or "younger." The future of broadcast radio looks surprisingly uninclusive. And that's sad..... 11/22 - Oh that Post! Speaking of Peter Rosenberg landing the late morning gig at WJFK-FM, media reporter Paul Farhi, in his 11/22 Q&A at the DC Post, writes this: "Rosenberg does an intermittently interesting show... More interesting, maybe, is that he'll be a rare liberal voice on the radio, especially on a prominent station." Ah, Paul, what about Howard Stern, who supported John Kerry in the last election? Or Ron and Fez? All of the previous are - or have been - on WJFK-FM, the "prominent station" where Rosenberg works. "Rare liberal voice?" OK, yeah, there aren't many lefty talkers on WMAL and WTNT. But if you look, er listen, there are lots of lefties on the radio. What about Alan Colmes and Diane Rehm? What about just about everything and everyone on National Public Radio? What about the most listened-to overnight national radio show, "Coast To Coast AM," hosted by George Noory? Certainly no right-winger, he. Or Tom Joyner? What about Elliot Segal and Jack Diamond? El Jefe? Opie and Anthony? Tony Kornheiser? Or Al Franken, Ed Schultz, Randi Rhodes, and Janeane Garafalo, which are allegedly "heard" on our Progressive Talk 1260. Don Imus is certainly no arch righty, either. There are lots of lefty or left-leaning radio talkers out there - if you open your ears..... 11/20 - It's been a year of big change for me following the death of my ma one year ago today. I feel I've grown spiritually, in ways that even I could never have expected. But I won't get into all of that right now. I just want to express my intense thanks to my DCRTV "cyber family" for being here during the past year. You'll never know how much you've helped me during a difficult time. As Joni Mitchell sang: "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone." There is more here..... 11/16 - Last night, I caught "Nova" on Channel 26/WETA and noticed that something wasn't right. Everyone's face looked strange, somewhat elongated. Stretched from top to bottom. I flipped over to Channel 22/WMPT, which was running the same show, and discovered that the PBS science program was in wide-screen mode with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. And everyone's face looked normal. Obviously, WETA had decided to "stretch" the picture to remove the bars. But why? Many programs and movies are now shown in wide-screen on standard old TVs, like what I got. We've all gotten used to that. No problem. Hey, no more "horse faces," please, WETA. The black bars are fine..... 11/11 - Oh goody goody. Fox News dolt John Gibson will be hawking his new "ode to the right-wing" book Saturday at my local Wild West Fairfax Borders. Gawd, does every Fox Newser have a book out? And must they all spend about half their "fair and balanced" airtime whoring each other's "product"? Sheesh..... I stopped at one of those red boxes in Wild West Fairfax to pick up a DC Examiner on Friday. No, it didn't feature any Friday papers. Or Thursday papers, either. It contained Wednesday's papers. With its inept delivery system, the bumbling Examiner shows contempt for both its readers (however few) and its advertisers (however few). What a journalistic and marketing embarrassment..... 11/9 - What's really surprising is that even traditionally Republican Loudoun County voted for Democrat Tim Kaine on Tuesday. Kaine won all of suburban Northern Virginia. More than ever, right-leaning talker WMAL is a "red" station in a growing sea of "blue" counties. Oh, WMAL's Rush Limbaugh today said that the Dems' victories yesterday were not reflective of President Bush's slumping popularity. But, of course, if the Dems had lost, Rush would have given all the credit to Bush. Rush, as predictable as the Old Faithful geyser. And just as gassy..... 11/8 - Another one of my "What's Wrong With The Washington Post" rants. How many friggin' column inches does Lisa de Moraes have to waste on a fictional presidential campaign on NBC's "The West Wing." Again in her Tuesday column. Is she working for NBC's PR department? The show is fake, sweetie. It ain't real. Duh! Hey Lisa, how about covering some real local TV news in your column, for a change. Just go through the DCRTV Mailbag (like Paul Farhi does) and you'll find some cool stories. Does Derek McGinty need a better makeup artist? Did Laura Evans have a baby? Or what does Alison Starling wear to bed? Sheesh..... 11/7 - Andy Parks jested Monday morning that he wants to get one of those Taser electric shock guns so that he can "try it out" at WMAL. Ah, there is such love over there on Jenifer Street. Oh, get ready for all those horrid jewelry ads on the radio. In fact, they're already here! From now through Christmas. Of course, the only way you can show your love for that "special someone" this extended holiday season is to empty your bank account and/or jack up your credit card balance. Well, I'm not taking it this year. Whenever I hear that stomach-churning "Straight To The Heart" ditty I'm punching up another station. You should, too..... 11/4 - "Ah, we might have made a mistake." So goes the new WJFK-FM promo announcing that the Junkies will be replacing Howard Stern come January. What are they smoking over there on Main Street in Fairfax? Hmmm. Oh, over on the AM band, WMAL has been heard thanking individual listeners for listening. I guess when you have an audience as small as old 630 has these days, that's doable..... 11/3 - Recently, DC area radio traffic reporters, after doing their reports, are saying something like: "Jerry Kilgore will get traffic moving by bulldozing half of Arlington to widen I-66 inside the Beltway." I have nothing against Kilgore (OK, I do - I'm voting for the other guy running for Virginia govenor), and I have nothing against sponsored traffic reports (OK, I do - the ads often take up most of report), but there's something editorially bankrupt about having an entity with a biased interest in transportation sponsoring traffic news. And having traffic reporters voice those spots so that some listeners can get the impression that they're part of the traffic report itself. Regardless of whether - as with some of the Metro Traffic reports - a sponsorship disclaimer runs beforehand. Hey, it's like having a news report on local health care sponsored by a hospital corporation (like what Channel 9 does). Some folks in area media management desperately need a refresher course in Journalism 101..... 11/1 - That Neal Augenstein (left) is really gunning for an Edward R. Murrow news journalism award. Heard on WTOP today, Augenstein reported that WTOP employees brought to work bags of Halloween candy they didn't give away to trick-or-treaters yesterday evening. He added that it could be an act of generousity or, just maybe, WTOPers fear weight gain and merely wanted to ditch the candy on their co-workers. Oh, a week or two ago, Augenstein revealed what was in the WTOP snack room fridge. And we've heard that he's busy working on a piece about the cleanliness of WTOP's restroom for next week. Stay tuned..... 10/31 - Regular visitors to DCRTV know that I think Fox media baron Rupert Murdoch is evil. Now, what do you think of this. Murdoch is raising the 25-cent per month per subscriber cost of his Fox News Channel, which is paid by you via your local cable bill, to $1 per month per subscriber. That's a 300 percent increase. And it's well above the 60-cents per subscriber that rival CNN gets. If you think Exxon-Mobil is gouging you with $3 per gallon gasoline, what do you call what Murdoch is doing? Hmmm..... 10/30 - Just saw one of the best films I've seen all year - "The Weather Man." I wonder if Tom Sater has seen it? And Topper Shutt and Marty Bass. Hmmm. Got to get a Big Gulp. Check it out at imdb.com. Hey, you can't fault a film that references Devo and the cool tune "The Passenger" in its trailers, also at imdb.com..... 10/27 - Why is it that every Fox News Channel personality has to spend so much on-air time pitching their silly books. Big-headed Neil Cavuto spent months last year hawking a book on his afternoon biz show. And now has another one out. Big-haired John Gibson is doing the same on his evening "Big Story" - and on WMAL this morning. Greta Van Susteren even had some big-print, small-page ditty out a while back. Ditto with Sean Hannity. And Bill O'Reilly. Now, DCRTV hears that former Channel 4/WRCer Steve Doocy (left), who hosts the "Fox And Friends" morning show, has a book deal, too. Fittingly, it's a coloring book entitled "Rupert Murdoch's Family." You can use your Crayolas to fill in Rupert and his wife Wendy enjoying cocktails and "Dem jokes" with Fox News head Roger Ailes. Or Shepard Smith cuddling with a "mystery lover" at a Greenwich Village bar. Or Carl Cameron spit-polishing the brass bust of Ronald Reagan he keeps by his bed. Look for Doocy in the kiddie section of your local Barnes And Noble real soon..... 10/25 - Way to go WJFK-FM. It pulled the plug Tuesday at 9:45 AM on Howard Stern as he was mid-sentence in an explanation of what's going on with his broadcast radio replacements. So the Infinity talker could run 15-plus minutes of ads before the Junkies start at 10 AM. Gee, I wonder how many listeners sat around for all of those two dozen-ish ads and promos. Yeah, Free FM means lots of "clutter." Hey, you get what you pay for. That should be Free FM's new slogan. We've seen the future of broadcast radio as envisioned by Infinity. And it looks like the same old jalopy that's been driving many to subscription satellite radio..... 10/24 - Memo to Infinity: If you're going with the Junkies for morning drive, to replace Howard Stern, please lose Bill O'Reilly in middays and don't hire Jay Severin for evenings (as has been rumored). Fox Newser O'Reilly and former MSNBCer Severin are political talkers. They attract an old mannish crowd. They're meant for right-leaning politically-based AM talkers like WMAL or WTNT. WJFK-FM needs to focus on young men - and, maybe even women, too. It needs to populate itself with so called "hot talkers," who blab about girls and sex and music and sports. Not about the Supreme Court, the Iraq war, abortion rights, and Tom Delay. WJFK needs to find a cool chick for middays and something like "Ron And Fez" (who are now on XM) for evenings. Or play music, a la alt rock like the old WHFS did on 99.1. WJFK must decide. Does it want to be a youth-oriented force, and nab ad dollars for cars, beer, and condoms. Or does it want to battle AMers for geezers and run spots for cemetery plots, hemorrhoid cream, and grape juice..... 10/21 - Breaking snooze. It's gotta be a slow news day if Neal Augenstein does a story about what's in the WTOP snack room fridge. Heard in the 11 AM hour on Thursday. Really..... 10/19 - "Harry Belafonte, dining on lamb chops at Morton's on Connecticut Avenue on Saturday." Gee, I hope the Washington Post is paying Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts big bucks for exclusive scoops like that in today's "Reliable Source" gossip column..... 10/18 - News Blues tells us that a new study by Simmons Market Research on the media habits of 19,000 gay and lesbian adults found that gay men prefer CNN over Fox News. The possible reason? Anderson Cooper..... 10/15 - Just caught "Good Night And Good Luck" - about CBS News legend Edward R. Murrow's battle with "red hunting" Senator Joseph McCarthy. It's been a while since I saw a flick which received audience applause at the end. Please go see it..... 10/12 - Was that really WMAL evening talker Chris Core using his 11-year-old daughter Tabitha to sell hot tubs on his radio station? Sheesh. OK, Chris, you can hawk everything from gutters to junk haulers on old 630. That's up to you. And we've known you to use your wife and co-workers to shill stuff, too. But your daughter? Gee, Chris, at the very least I hope you'll use the revenue from that hot tub ad for Tabitha's college fund - and not for your own hot tub..... The Washington Post complains that folks just don't want to pay for the print edition - as its subscription numbers continue to decline. Perhaps the paper's reformatted gossip column, The Reliable Source, could be a lesson about what's wrong with the paper. With new co-authors Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts in place, the half-page Style section column has become an ever more lightweight mix of yesterday's rumblings and lots of pics and graphics. Perhaps a 20-second read, at best. Much of what's in the column can be gotten a day earlier and for free (!) on the internet from the much more ballsy Wonkette or the New York Post's Page Six. Heck, even Drudge is a better read than RS. The Post's anemic Style section, and its continued almost non-existent local media reporting (excluding the pompously fun Howie Kurtz), make it the chronic weak link in an otherwise great newspaper..... 10/10 - Leave it to WMAL to find some good news in the horrible Pakistan earthquake that killed thousands over the weekend. The station's crack news team reported Monday morning that terror mastermind Osama is thought to be hiding out in the mountains that border Afghanistan and, what the heck, he might have been killed. Right? Although, 630 did add, there is no report of that happening..... On Monday, DC Post superstar Howie Kurtz covered what most of the blogoshere covered last week - about how former Fox Newser and now MSNBCer David Shuster was slamming his old employer for "ethical lapses." However, Kurtz quotes Fox PR people as well as Fox's DC superstar Brit Hume who contend that Shuster was a "problem employee who tried to undermine his colleagues." That must be Murdochian doublespeak for "liberal." You know, even if Fox's "return fire" about Shuster was true, a classy organization would have kept its collective mouth shut, even with Shuster's "attack." Hitting back so hard at a single, "lowly" critic like Shuster makes the Fox News collective look journalistically insecure. And that maybe Shuster "hit a nerve"..... 10/4 - Will someone please fire the person who's responsible for distribution of the DC Examiner. One of the very very few (!) places to find the freebie rag in Reston is a news box behind the Silver Diner. Yet, that particular pick-up site is frequently (!) stuffed with the previous day's papers. Like again today. You know, you can spend loads of bucks on a new downtown DC newsroom and all that. But if you can't get the paper to the readers, something is wrong - big time. The rag's handful of advertisers may want to take note..... 10/3 - Former Channel 4er Steve Doocy, who now hosts GOP friendly Fox News Channel's "Fox And Friends," wanted viewer comments this morning about the GOP prez's new Supreme Court judicial nomination. "E-mail us if you like her," he said. I guess Doocy's not interested in those who would disagree with the prez. That's Fox for 'ya..... 10/1 - I guess the DC Post has got to produce Metro section fluff like this to satisfy advertisers once in a while. And, I guess, there's a potential shitload of advertiser booty available at Tysons Corner Center. And maybe, golly, some cool new teen subscribers for the old rag. But the Post already ran a front page biz section piece on the glorious new wing of the Northern Virginia mall yesterday. In today's dispatch, "reporter" Tara Bahrampour even notes how teenage boys at the mall's food court "wolf down their chicken." Sheesh..... 9/28 - MAL. Two down (Graham, Bloomquist). Three to go (Berry, Parks, Grandy)..... 9/27 - Yesterday, your trusty editor made a Mailbag comment that a certain address of a Clear Channel Rockville suit looked, at first glance, to contain a somewhat "locker room-ish" reference. Then, today, I got an e-mail from a certain someone close to that person who claimed that my comment regarding that particular classified ad "brought (her) to tears." I must deeply apologize for my remark - which has been removed from the Mailbag. I was only making a reference about the particular lettering of the e-mail address and was in no way (!) making any comment regarding the person behind the address, who I do not know and have never met..... 9/18 - Imagine my "joy" when, this morning, I saw a big poster of Fox News biz news gasbag Neil Cavuto (left) at my local (Reston) Barnes And Noble. He was decked out to look like some kind of James Bond-ish cartoon character. He'll be here on 10/6 signing his new book, which, I'm sure, he'll be promoting daily on his show from now until well past Easter. In case you don't know, Neil is the official recipient of DCRTV's "Ted Baxter Award," named for the pompous, big-headed anchor on the old "Mary Tyler Moore Show." Neil, who has several times given cash to the Bush campaign, makes no bones that he loves the president - and everyone else who's politically "right." And talk about his tacky style. Just last week, Cavuto interviewed a honcho from Domino's about its hurricane relief efforts - and Neil even managed to get in a plug for the firm's new "steak-lovers" pizza line. I guess Domino's spends a lot of advertising bucks with Neil's employer, Rupert Murdoch, and his Fox family of networks. Neil Cavuto - no finer carnival barker anywhere..... 9/14 - Everyone knows that media giant Rupert Murdoch loves George W. Bush. And he uses his Fox News Channel to promote the prez. Well, look at the goof (right) on Rupy's UK news network, Sky News..... 9/13 - Oh that Post! Lisa de Moraes covers Martha Stewart's new TV show (yawn) in the DC Post. But the real news is how the Post chopped up the not-all-that-long story onto five (!) website jumps. That gets the site's page count up in an attempt to impress advertisers - and to get more ads on your screen..... 9/7 - Imagine the horror. On Wednesday, I was driving down Sunset Hills Road in Reston. A bus was turning in front of me from Wiehle Avenue. Suddenly, without warning, I was confronted with the ugly mug of - gasp - G. Gordon Liddy (left). Right there, only mere feet from the front of my car. The monsterous face took up the entire side of the bus. Filling my entire windshield. One of those big entire-side-of-the-bus ads for WMET. Scary. Very scary..... 8/29 - Doncha just love cable news coverage of a hurricane. Moron reporters standing out in the dangerous 75 MPH-plus winds. If a big hunk of roofing or a tree comes crashing down on their brainless heads, they have only their stupidity - or their network's ratings-driven lust for "cool pics" - to blame..... 8/28 - You gotta read David Segal's magnificent piece in Sunday's DC Post about those magic moments at the rock concerts he's covered in the past decades. Way cool. And let me add one. It was at James Madison University in the late 1970s. Waiting in the lobby with a crush of other students for Harry Chapin to arrive. I had a horrible sore throat and a fever, but I wanted to hear the folk rock storyteller. He was late. His plane was diverted by fog from the local Shenandoah Valley airport and he had to fly into DC and catch a ride. Upon arrival, he walked into the lobby and apologized to all of us. Standing right next to me. So close that I even had him sign my program. Then, a girl, overcome by the heat of the crowd and the excitment, passed out. And Harry carried her over to a table and helped her regain consciousness. It was a fantastic concert in the old JMU hall. He played "Taxi" and, of course, "WOLD," about a washed up DJ. Oh, Harry met his grim fate on the Long Island Expressway in August 1981 - on the very same day my granddad passed away in a nursing home in Rockville..... 8/19 - This USA Today story ought to warm the hearts of the on-air personalities and management at WMAL..... Golly. DC-based Fox Newser Greta Van Susteren headed up to Philly to cover a missing black woman. TVNewser reports that some are wondering if Greta's reacting to criticism that Fox and other cablenewsers are only covering missing white women, a la Natalee Holloway in Aruba..... 8/17 - The substitute for the "suspended" Michael Graham on WMAL today used the term "rats" to describe those alleged illegal aliens in Herndon. Agree or disagree with the town's plans to use taxpayer funds for a gathering place for so-called Hispanic "day laborers," using a sub-human term to describe fellow human beings, documented Americans or not, is, plain and simple, bigotry. Totally uncalled for. How low can WMAL go, Chris Berry? How low..... 8/16 - I finally got around to catching Peter Rosenberg's evening fill-in show for the departed Ron and Fez (starting on XM in September) on WJFK-FM. While it still needs a little work, it certainly is promising. Not bad. The Rosenberg segment I heard featured some lightweight sex, relationship talk. The show is still not listed in the daily line-up on JFK's website, so I wonder if it's still in the audition mode. OK, if I was running 106.7, here's what I'd do. I'd try to get Adam Carolla for Stern's replacement in mornings. If he's not available, how about Elliot Segal from DC101? (When's his Clear Channel contract up?) But definitely not David Lee Roth. And not Mancow. I'd run Peter Rosenberg in middays (and ditch Bill O'Reilly). Move the Junkies back to evenings. Their show is great, but would be a better fit in evenings rather than late mornings. (For the same reason that it's better to drink in the evening.) During football season, I'd make 106.7's weekends "All Redskins" (and move Pat Goss to WMAL or WTNT). Re-hire Frank Herzog and give him a talk show. Even get some Redskins to play some tunes. Otherwise on JFK weekends - and overnights - I'd run "HFS Music"..... 8/12 - Just got a note from Comcast, my friendly cable TV provider here in Wild West Fairfax. They informed me that, come September, they'll be adding AZN (Asian programming), Sprout (kids stuff), Movieplex (movies), and the Lifetime Movie Network (chick flicks) to my digital line-up. What? No Logo? Isn't my Zip Code gay enough? Hmmm..... 8/6 - Way to go WMAL. Last week you scared away Muslim patrons of your station's advertisers. And this week it's Hispanics. So, who's next? Blacks, women, transvestites? At this rate, the righty "news talker" will be as ad-free as WAMU by September. I wonder. Could station honcho Chris Berry really be a secret agent for National Public Radio - in a plot to destroy the AM talk competition to WAMU and WETA-FM? Using Michael Graham as a Jenifer Street "suicide bomber," so to speak. And wouldn't it be funny if the next DC area station to flip to Latin sounds after 99.1 is 630? I hear that Chris Core does know some Spanish..... 7/26 - Michael Graham owes a deep debt of gratitude to the Council On American-Islamic Relations. Because of another CAIR complaint that the WMAL talker is "anti-Muslim," Graham couldn't have bought better PR. Which included a Style section front page story in Tuesday's Washington Post, complete with a color mug shot. The old saying still rings true - no publicity is bad publicity. And there is nothing worse than being ignored. Controversy drives radio ratings - and feeds the egos of "shock jocks" like Graham. The more people who are talking about Graham, and, to be frank, some of his half-baked, dipso opinions, the better for him and his ratings-slumping station. My advice to CAIR and to others offended by any radio talker - next time don't complain to the station or, especially, to the press. Just get on the phone and "quietly" let WMAL's advertisers know that you won't patronize them because of what Graham said. Teddy Roosevelt was right - walk softly but carry a big stick. And the potential loss of ad dollars is a mighty big stick to swing at a radio station that you don't like..... 7/23 - Another installment in my occasional "How I'd Fix" series. Well, after seeing the latest ratings and how far righty news talker WMAL continues to fall, let me offer some suggestions for rebuilding this once noble station. First, fire Grandy and Andy. The morning show needs a complete makeover. Think young. Think female. Think ethnic. Sure, politics is fine. But make it more of a fair fight - righty AND lefty voices. And don't make it so shrill, so hackish and partisan. If I was running MAL, I'd put late morning talker Michael Graham back on the bus to Richmond. There are smart conservatives and stupid conservatives. He's the latter. But, maybe if you paired him with an equally dopey liberal you'd be able to salvage the show. Evening talker Chris Core is the best thing WMAL has going for it. And the station desperately needs to localize its afternoon drive. So, take Sean Hannity's last hour and move it to 8 PM, and start Core's local show at 5 PM. And, please don't over "infomercialize" the weekends. Canning the weekend "morning news" and letting the brilliantly funny David Burd go to WTOP was a huge mistake. Also, add more sports to the station's mix. Bid for the Nationals next season. The Orioles work well for Baltimore news talker WBAL. Never forget - WMAL sits in the middle of a "blue state" zone, Democratic territory. Almost all of the DC area's major localities voted for John Kerry in the last election. If you want ratings - and respect - you simply can't alienate this core group of potential listeners. And that's exactly what WMAL has been doing..... 7/22 - Oh my God. Really big big news. Lisa de Moraes actually credits a - gasp - lowly website for some news. In Friday's "TV Column" in the DC Post: "The announcement was first reported on the website TVBarn.com." You know, DCRTV's been here for eight-plus years. And we have yet to see Ms. de Moraes publicly acknowledge our existence. In fact, I don't think the Post has ever credited DCRTV in print for anything. Paul Farhi has mentioned us several times in his online Q&As. (Thank you!) The Baltimore Sun has given print credit to DCRTV. Ditto with the DC Times, DC Examiner, NY Daily News, and NY Post. We're frequently given credit by other websites and trade pubs. Heck, DCRTV has broken millions (OK, maybe many hundreds) of local TV news stories. But, then again, the DC Post doesn't seem to care much about local TV. So, where's John Carmody when you need him? Sigh..... 7/20 - James "Scotty" Doohan has completed his final "beam me up." The Enterprise engineer on "Star Trek" was 85. Details from cnn.com. Read "He's Dead, Jim" at wbal.com. But isn't that what DeForest "Bones" Kelley (who passed away a few years ago) always said? Hmmm..... 7/20 - I know that some of you guys move to a new address every few years. And are experts at picking up and relocating - and the related bureaucracy. I'm not. It's been a long time since I've moved. But, as August starts, I'll be relocating the DCRTV World HQ to from one address in Reston to another address in Reston. And, as expected, I am having my share of "fun." Like the following: Trying to convince the lady from Dominion Virginia Power that the address for the place I'm moving to is real and not imaginary. Even though someone already lives there who has power supplied by Dominion Virginia Power..... Hanging on the phone with Verizon for an hour (!) - and suffering through three long "holds" - to get my phone service transferred to the new place..... Having to inform the settlement company that I am NOT the "David Hughes" who was arrested in Prince William County a few years back. I guess they did a criminal background check on my name. I was going to joke with the lady from that company that "I confine my crimes to Fairfax County," but I though better of saying that..... After informing Comcast that I'll be transferring my service to the new address, getting deluged calls from their telemarketers about why I'm "cancelling" my service. And begging me to stay..... Stay tuned. More "fun" to come, I'm darn sure of that..... 7/17 - For contractual reasons, the John Wayne airplane classic "The High And The Mighty" hasn't been seen for several decades. Until tonight. Sunday at 8 PM, American Movie Classics will run the film that, if you've never seen it before, was at the very the heart of the still joyful "Airplane" parodies - along with barf bag gems "The Crowded Sky" and "Zero Hour." Warning: AMC, once a commercial-free channel, throws in lots of ads and really annoying promos. But there's good news - the movie gets an ad and cut-free DVD release on 8/2..... 7/11 - Punched up the "Tubetime" video-on-demand feature on my Comcast digital cable over the weekend. Channel 199. And selected a few classic episodes of "Maude." You know, that Norman Lear 1970s comedy about Archie Bunker's lefty cousin. So, who is that skinny, geeky dude dating Maude's daugher, Carol, played by Adrienne Barbeau? It's Chris, played by - gasp - none other than Fred Grandy?!?! Yup, the same Grandy who is now half of the "Grandy And Andy" morning show on WMAL. Of course, we all remember Fred as Yeoman-Purser Burl "Gopher" Smith on "The Love Boat," and as a Republican Congressman from Iowa. But I'd forgotten his "Maude" gig. Strange career, huh..... 7/7 - Fox News bloviator Neil Cavuto today used the term "Muslim-looking men" on his show. So, Neil what's that? The Muslim religion encompases people all the way from Indonesia and the Philippines, eastward through Pakistan, through the Arabic Middle East, Persian Iran, to a good chunk of Africa. Not to mention many followers in Europe and America. Isn't that kind of like saying someone is "Christian-looking"? I guess the ultra-smug, self-righteous Cavuto would answer that all Christian guys should look like Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson..... 7/5 - There's something kind of gross, even mildly incestuous, when newspapers slobber praise on their own employees. Take this glowing write-up about media superstar Bob Woodward, which uncovers "the inner Woodward we've never known." Barf! At the top of the Style section in the DC Post..... 7/2 - DCRTV bought a piece of HP computer gear from Best Buy in May. And we sent in the $50 rebate form along with the bar code from the box, as required. Well, surprise surprise. We just got a card from the rebate fulfillment center that claimed the bar code was missing from the mailing and that our rebate won't be coming. Once again, we've been victimized by a "rebate rip-off"..... 7/1 - Another proud moment for Chris Berry, WMAL's president and general manager. Yesterday, late morning host Michael Graham led call-iners to spout off about which local "minority" they feel is the most "racist." The general consensus favored "Asians" over "Hispanics" and "blacks." I realize that any publicity I give to Graham is beneficial. He chuckles any time a DCRTVer mentions his show. It's proof he has a listener or two. But Graham's latest antic is yet another step down the "food chain" this once great radio station has taken in a desperate campaign to halt an inevitable ratings slide. Look, conservatives have every right to voice their views on the radio - including Graham's recent campaign against illegal (mainly Hispanic) immigration. But when it degenerates into tasteless, borderline racist humor, Graham and WMAL risk a credibility implosion. Yeah, "shock jocks" like Howard Stern sometimes do racial bits, but they're making fun of the sorry people who hold those views. With Graham, you have to wonder if he isn't part of that narrow-minded group..... 6/29 - Heard on WMAL. Where is Rush Limbaugh's mind these days? In describing President Bush's Tuesday speech on his Wednesday show, Rush blurted out that it was a "gang bang." He immediately cleared his throat and corrected himself, re-branding it a "barn burner"..... 6/28 - My Comcast cable company doesn't carry CMT. It offers GAC instead. So I guess I won't be able to watch this year's Miss America pageant. Wah..... 6/25 - As many of you know, my mother passed away last November. I'd been living with her in the old family place on Myrtle Lane in Reston during the last five years of her declining health. In December, my sister moved in and we've spent six months fixing up the place. In May, we put it up for sale. In June, we got a buyer. And, as of August 1st, I'll be moving to my new place - at Villaridge, just across the street from Reston's South Lakes Village Center. Once I get settled, I'll be unveiling new features for the site. And, don't forget, I'm still planning a DCRTV "get together." Probably in mid-August. Again, thanks for your patronage and support. The thrill ride continues. Full steam ahead..... 6/21 - Oh, so that explains it. They're spraying a deadly neurotoxin at the Fox News Channel. More from TVNewser..... 6/20 - No kidding. A headline on WMAL's 2:30 PM newscast on Monday: "Lightning can be deadly." Duh! We hear that those crack WMALers are working on another breaking (!) story for tomorrow: "Drinking Drano will make you very sick - or worse"..... Reason to cancel your satellite or cable service and trash your televisions - Fox is starting a business channel that'll probably feature heaping loads of horridly pompous gasbag Neil Cavuto. More from TVNewser..... 6/15 - It's really "nice" to see area media outlets today hyping Terri Schiavo's autopsy results in order to generate higher news ratings - and greater ad revenue. Admit it. You "journalists" are nothing more than goulish sickos..... 6/13 - What is it with the Washington Post and Tucker Carlson (left)? I mean, in the past year the Post has probably provided more column inches to the moderately right-leaning, pseudo Ivy Leagued, bow-tied DC-based political commentator than it has devoted to all of local radio and TV. Oooo. Tucker's got a show on PBS. Oooo. Tucker's going to leave CNN. Oooo. Tucker had a fancy party. Oooo. Tucker went to a pompous school and has famous well-connected parents. Oooo. Tucker bought a big house in New Jersey. Oooo. Tucker's got a new show on MSNBC. Oooo. Tucker's a charming drunk. Oooo. Tucker wooes chicks. Tucker f*cker! Take today's Style section. Tucker's got a mention in Howie Kurtz's weekly media column. He's also got a picture and a caption about his new show at the top of the daily TV listings. And a listing under "Cable News Premiere." And we'll probably be subjected to countless Style items in the upcoming week about Tucker's new show. The ratings. Behind the scenes. The prestigious guests. Maybe a tour of Tucker's new New Jersey mansion. Ahhh..... 6/7 - Righty blight. WMAL wasted a minute of valuable news time at 12:30 Tuesday afternoon to air a clip of Sean Hannity on "The View." Plus a reminder that Hannity airs at 3 PM. Yup, I can just imagine that old Eddie R. Murrow is once again spinning in his grave at the increasingly sorry state of WMAL's "news." Come on ABC, put "news talk" WMAL out of its misery. Flip 630 to co-owned ESPN Sports Radio and bid for the Nationals next season. Then Clear Channel can bolster its right-wing talk WTNT with Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and maybe even move 570 to the more powerful 980 signal. Oh, speaking of righty talkers, does Tony Snow, heard locally on a station no one listens to (WMET), do anything other than read Republican Party press releases and butt-kiss GOP politicos? Boring. Can't sleep? Try Tony..... 5/31 - WMAL is now running promos for its "Grandy And Andy" morning show. The 630 "Morning News" used to mention Andy (Parks) before (Fred) Grandy. With WMAL's morning drive kind of floundering in the ratings, is the news talker moving Andy's deck chair closer to the edge? Hmmm..... 5/27 - Yesterday I noted that a front page article on Hispanic construction workers in the DC Post mentioned El Zol, 99.1 FM, as being WHFS. Nope. It's now WLZL. The WHFS calls are now officially on Baltimore's 105.7 FM. Did we see a correction in today's edition? Nope. Hmmm..... 5/10 - Here's what's wrong with the DC Post. Paula "American Idol" Abdul makes fun of herself on "Saturday Night Live," which aired on Saturday (duh). So, when does Post TV critic Lisa de Moraes' write-up about it appear? Not on Monday, like just about every other TV critic. But on Tuesday - three friggin' days after "the event." And the Post's suits wonder why their print rag's circulation is slumping? It's "old news." Sheesh. While de Moraes is an excellent writer, her stuff often appears a day after the same news has run in the NY Post or USA Today. Not to mention the "instantness" of news on the internet, a la Drudge, or dare I say it, on DCRTV..... Rant 2: Here's what's wrong with WMAL's "news." Its inclusion of Michael Graham's weekend stunt (attending an "pro-illegal alien" immigration rally in an "INS" T-shirt) on the Monday and Tuesday newscasts shows that WMAL's news department lacks journalistic standards. Using journalists to do promotional crap. That's shameful - and too common in this day and age. Look, Graham's stunt was clever, to be sure. And, yeah, worthy of some hype on old 630's airwaves. But Graham's action was clearly a pre-thought-out stunt to get hype and juice the ratings. Not legitimate news. It's sad to watch ABC's suits running WMAL into the ground in hopes of getting a few Arbitron "thrills." The ratings erection will be fleeting, but the damage to a once-great station's legacy will be permanent..... 5/9 - You know, when a radio personality gets canned, he/she is usually pretty quiet as the lawyers hassle over the contractual stuff. So, it seems a little odd that Steve Rouse, who allegedly got fired from Baltimore's WQSR last week, which flipped from traditional oldies for more eclectic Jack oldies, is doing a rash of TV appearances and promotional events. It makes one think that his removal from QSR's airwaves is some sort of publicity stunt. And that his Infinity bosses have already planned a "back by popular demand" return for the Baltimore radio vet and his "company." Complete with lots of free "news" coverage on 2, 11, 13, 45/54, and in the Sun. Ah, didn't Rouse do a contract renewal deal just last year? However, a close confidant tells DCRTV that Rouse is no longer under contract to Infinity. Stay tuned..... 5/4 - One of the best British shows ever conceived was "One Foot In The Grave," in which a grumpy 60-ish man, Victor Meldrew, fights the insane world around him. It was shot in the 1990s with the brilliant actor Richard Wilson. The tragi-comedy rarely shows up on public TV any more, and has never been released on DVD on this side of the Atlantic. The VHS tapes, featuring only a handful of episodes, are long out of print. But, imagine my pleasant surprise when I just discovered that Maryland Public Television (Channel 22 in the DC-Baltimore area) is rerunning the show at 1:30 PM. If you're not near a TV at that time, set your Tivo or VCR so you can watch it later. And check out this tribute at TV Heaven, featuring the theme song by Monty Python's Eric Idle. More at bbc.co.uk..... 4/25 - Today, I'm planning to head over to George Mason University's "Sextravaganza." You know, the one that WMAL's geezer talkers have been flapping their dentured gums all about the past few days. Fueled by a handful of "indignant" old farts from the Virginia legislature. What's the big deal? The Fairfax taxpayer-funded school is featuring an event that will tackle a wide variety of sexual topics that college kids are talking about - from the light-hearted and humorous to the serious and sober, like AIDS prevention and abstinence. Even a Catholic ministry is participating. (More at wmal.com.) It seems that Silly 630 would rather have us go back to the era where sex got put way back in the closet on college campuses. WMAL is a radio station that longs for the past (the days of Eisenhower and poodle skirts), and richly deserves to be put in the past tense when it comes to the current crop of radio listeners..... 4/22 - Just heard on ad on Baltimore talker WBAL-AM for Ehrlich Pest Control. I didn't know the owner of the station ran spots for his side business, which targets ants, roaches, and Democrats who plan to run for governor. Just a joke. No hate mail, please..... 4/21 - Hi gang. Here's the latest on DCRTV's upcoming changes. I'm almost about to put ma's old Reston house, the DCRTV World HQ for the past few years, on the market. (I've already picked a real estate agent. No calls, please.) My mother died last November after a long illness. (More about her here.) And, my sister and I have spent the past few months putting a lot of improvements into the place - both inside and outside. Hopefully, with the "hot" real estate market, we'll get it sold in May and get out of here by June or so. I have been looking around for a new place, although not made a final decision yet. I'm torn between staying in Reston (which I really love, particularly the Lake Anne area) or moving "closer in," like to Arlington or Alexandria. Once I get settled in the new place over the summer, I'll be unveiling some big changes and improvements to DCRTV. I'm planning to launch an employment-related site where those looking for jobs in the DC and Baltimore media universe can post their resumes and easily connect to potential employers. I'll also be holding a long-promised DCRTV "get together," which should be a total blast. Since I have been very (!) busy with non-DCRTV stuff lately, and will continue to be for the next weeks, DCRTV may not get updated as frequently as you've come to expect. Please be patient. Also, while I really hate to beg (ha ha ha), your support now is more important than ever. Along with the move, I'll be upgrading computer and office gear and your donations will really come in handy. Again, thanks for your support. Every dollar received is greatly appreciated. Thanks, especially, to the fine folks who've sent a few bucks DCRTV's way in 2005. Hey, the future looks great. DCRTV will be celebrating the start of our 9th (wow!) big year in September. Stay tuned..... 4/20 - Rupert Murdoch is no friend of Comcast. Several years ago, the right-wing media baron battled the area cable giant for Mid-Atlantic regional sports network Home Team Sports, then owned by Viacom. Murdoch planned to add HTS to his regional family of Fox Sport Net channels. Comcast won, and Murdoch had to settle for having Comcast carry FSN programming on the renamed Comcast SportsNet. But, now, Murdoch is getting revenge. He's not only signed to carry the new Washington Nationals on his WDCA/20 and WTTG/5, but it looks like the new Orioles-owned network that carries the Nats, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, will be carried on his DirecTV. Exclusively. And not via Comcast, which owns almost all cable TV systems in the DC and Baltimore region. Once MASN illuminates DirecTV channel 626, look for Murdoch to take out ads in the Washington Post and on local radio and TV touting the fact that the only place you can see all of those Nats games is on his DirecTV. And watch him drive cable subscribers to satellite..... 4/19 - If this Congressman gets his way, the FCC will financially smack the individual radio personality - and not the corporate titan that owns station - if he/she says something "indecent." Joe Barton says he "think(s) it's constitutional" to hold the Howard Sterns and the Elliot Segals "liable" if they "say and do things that the average citizen thinks is indecent." More from Radio And Records. Hey, folks, you may not like what Stern and Segal say, but we really need to stop this Capitol Hill moron from taking away our freedom - using the guise of protecting our kids from hearing the "nasty words" on the radio that they already hear from their parents and friends. This has gone beyond a battle of wordage, and is now affecting ideas and thoughts of American citizens. And our right to express them..... "Looks like a big battle brewing between Democrats and people of faith." That's how Fred Grandy touted tomorrow's WMAL "Morning News." So, Grandy, you "Love Boat" retread, you're assuming that Democrats have no "faith"? Now you know what I've been developing a passionate dislike for WMAL. Ratings be damned, old 630 is nothing more than a crummy little GOP ass kissing talker that has to sign up cemetaries (!) to fill the ad time. Shame on News Talk 630 from "people of faith" of BOTH (!) political parties. There's more to quality radio than the politically-polarized stereotypical crap that WMAL serves up..... 4/18 - Proof that Mel Karmazin has lost his mind. Giving Martha Stewart a channel on Sirius. I mean, who in their right mind would want to hear her talking about decorating and cooking - on the radio? Sheesh. Details from Fox News..... What a goof! Monday's Washington Post features Saturday's TV listings. At least the edition that got delivered to the DCRTV World HQ this morning..... 4/16 - Republican talker WMAL (630 AM) is staging a promotion today. It'll offer $6.30 per gallon gas at a northwest DC gas station. The station's suits, who allegedly are in the back pocket of the GOP, want to prepare DC area residents for President Bush's energy "policy" in the years ahead. Oh, all proceeds raised will be donated to Vice President Dick Cheney and his oil industry buddies. Just a joke. No hate mail, please..... 4/15 - WMAL reported in its 7 AM Friday newscast that 28,000 folks got off at the RFK Stadium Metro stop on Thursday for the Nats home opener. And, we're told by the 630 newsman, that's way above the 2,000 who use the station on a typical day. OK. So, what is WMAL trying to tell us? That people don't use the RFK station when there isn't an event at RFK? Really? Duh. Hey WMAL, how about telling us if 28K is better or worse than the Metro station's draw with other big events at RFK. How about those old Redskins games? Hmmm..... 4/14 - Another reason to snicker at Silly 630. This just in: What to do if there are ants in your house. Revealed: Go to the store and buy some of those ant bait thingos. Duh. Via WMAL's half-hourly Thursday afternoon newscasts. Do we smell another AP (Ant Pageant) award here? Hmmm..... 4/7 - Thanks Peter! The National got their first win yesterday. But thanks to Orioles owner Peter Angelos, and his foot-dragging on the DC team's TV deal, you couldn't see it. There's no cable carriage for his Mid-Atlantic Sports Network..... 4/1 - On Friday, WMAL late morning talker Michael Graham introduced Derek McGinty as Derek "Down Low" McGinty. Is there something about the Channel 9 newsman that Michael Graham knows that we don't know? Hmmm..... 3/31 - Likely scenario. Comcast says "no way" to carriage of the Orioles-owned Mid-Atlantic Sports network and the non-broadcast Nationals games. Hell, it doesn't need competition for its Comcast SportsNet. And it probably isn't in the mood to do "a deal" with O's owner Peter Angelos (oh so fearful that DC's baseball team will mean a loss of revenue for his Charm City team) to add the new channel to its cable lineups from Harford to Prince William. Plus, where's Comcast going to find the room on all of its area cable systems' basic tiers for a new channel? Especially given such short notice. So, here comes a big opportunity for evil media baron Rupert Murdoch, who owns the Nats' broadcast TV outlets Channels 5/WTTG and 20/WDCA. And, oh yes, DirecTV, too. He'll put MAS exclusively on his satellite service and the only way you'll get to see all of the Nats' games is by forking over cash to Murdoch, who'll pass along a cut to Angelos, who'll be laughing all the way to the bank. DC baseballers, bend over and grab the ankles. You're getting screwed..... 3/30 - As a kid growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the Philadelphia area, my radio dial was often on 560 AM, WFIL. Grooving to the "top 40" hits dished out by the great "Dr." Don Rose (right). Now, Radio And Records reports that the radio legend, who also worked in Atlanta and San Francisco, died in his sleep Tuesday night at his Concord, California home. Farewell Dr. Don. Radio will never be the same..... 3/30 - Jesse Jackson, a lefty, wants Terri Shiavo's feeding tube re-inserted. Gee, according to Rush Limbaugh, all liberals want Ms. Shiavo "to die." The problem with too many radio talkers and cablenewsers is that few issues do not have clear-cut "black and white," "good and bad," "us versus them," or "lefty righty" divides. Many controversies are complicated, with many shades of gray. Not all liberals love Bill Clinton. And not all righties praise George W. Bush. Teddy Kennedy doesn't speak for all Demorcats. Ditto with Jerry Falwell for Republicans. It would be nice if many of the media blowhards would eliminate their stereotypical shortsightedness. Sadly, oversimplication, masquerading as "the truth," is the key to their ratings success..... 3/29 - Running on 630 today. Morning man Fred Grandy sounds just a bit too upbeat on a taped promo that attempts to hype the ratings of tomorrow's WMAL "Morning News" with the promise of more Terri Shiavo news. From the sound of Grandy's almost cheerful voice, he seems to be previewing the sorry family feud over a brain damaged woman with an expectation that merits a Redskins game..... 3/28 - Broadcasting & Cable on the media's coverage of Terri Schiavo. Amen..... 3/18 - When Howard Stern went to one of his lengthy ad breaks at 9:45 AM Friday, WJFK-FM immediately announced the end of the show. Advertisers in that 15-minute block before 10 AM may want to request refunds from Infinity ad sales dudes because their spots ran technically "after" Stern's show ended..... 3/14 - Memo to WMAL honcho Chris Berry: Now that you've loaded up paid infomercials on 630's weekend mornings and afternoons, why not introduce them to the 9 AM to noon weekday slot, too. The flower guy, the money man, and that real estate dude would be a huge improvement over the fifth-rate Limbaugh clone you have on now..... 3/11 - Michael Powell, perhaps the worst FCC chairman in recent history, got choked up as he said goodbye to the commission Thursday morning, fighting back tears as he presided over his final commission meeting. Powell, who propelled a confusing mess masquerading as an "indecency crusade" (fining Howard Stern but not fining Oprah for saying the same thing) was sent off with praise and a round of hugs from his fellow commissioners and a standing ovation from the crowded commission meeting room. More from Radio And Records and the DC Post. Look for Powell to eventually land a cushy job among the communications industry sharks and fat cats (Rupert Murdoch?) he pretended to "regulate"..... 3/10 - I "love" hearing these righty radio talkers go on and on about how English is the "patriotic" language of the USA. And how other tongues are "foreign." Ah, we don't speak "American," do we? Good old English came from England - a country in old Europe that we once fought a war with. The English language was here long before America existed. Look, I have no problem with encouraging all Americans to speak a common language - like English. But let's not make laws that penalize those who don't. Our "lingual melting pot" is a good thing..... 3/9 - Farewell Teresa Wright, one of my favorite actresses. Of a heart attack on 3/6 at age 86. Although she won an Oscar for "Mrs. Miniver," her finest performance was in one of my favorite films, Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant 1943 mystery "Shadow Of A Doubt." More in the DC Post..... 3/9 - Not meaning to defend Dan Rather. Heaven forbid. But it was kind of funny to see a Fox Newser yesterday refer to Rather's CBS News ratings as being "dead last." Yeah, among the "big three" broadcast TV networks. But, Rather's 8 or 9 million nightly viewers was still about three or four times (!) the number of people watching cable's "most powerful name in news," Fox News, during the same hour. Just trying to put things in perspective. Something TV news usually isn't very good at. No hate mail, please..... 3/8 - One thing that's certain - area weather forecasters have really blown it this winter. When they predict and hype big snow, we don't get it. And, like this morning, when they don't we do. OK, so it may not be heavy snow, but with 45 MPH wind gusts, for an hour or two it was like a blizzard out there. Memo to WTOP - drivers caught by surprise and stuck in stalled traffic on wintery roads don't want to hear anchors and forecasters cracking numerous weather jokes. Save the "humor" for a "less stressful" day..... For the record. President Bush made a "major speech" this morning about the Middle East from DC's National Defense University. It was carried live by all the major cable news nets, but by only one local TV station - Fox 5, which ditched "Divorce Court." It wasn't carried by 4, 7, NC8, or 9. Question? Why was it newsworthy for one station, but not the others? Hmmm..... 3/7 - One of my all-time favorite shows of the 1970s is "Maude," the Norman Lear-produced sitcom in which Bea Arthur plays righty Archie Bunker's lefty cousin. Yet, even with hundreds of digital cable channels, reruns of this hysterical political period piece are very difficult to find. So, imagine my surprise and pleasure to discover that Comcast has made available dozens of uncut, ad-free episodes on the "Tube Time" section of its video-on-demand service (channel 199). Via the "Cable Favorites" menu item. Anybody up for a bra burning? Hmmm..... 3/3 - Memo to Randal Stanley, Channel 9's news director: Here's an easy way to fix your station's continually sagging evening news numbers - hire Morris Jones (left) from Sinclair's Baltimore-based News Central. And pair him at 5 PM, 6 PM, and 11 PM with Tracey Neale. The Jones-Neale team was a ratings winner in the 1990s at Channel 5. Jones is a cool guy and he'll bring some much-needed PR flair and personality to WUSA. Also, make Tony Pann the "chief" weather dude. Topper Shutt's OK, but Tony's better..... 2/28 - From Sunday's weather forecasts, you'd have thought we'd be getting upwards of a foot of snow here in Wild West Fairfax by late Monday. In reality, we have about one inch on the ground. The roads are just wet. The DC and Baltimore area's weather forecasters have become a quite corrupt bunch. They're largely "no nothings" who are more concerned with grabbing big ratings for their respective radio and TV outlets - and far less concerned with delivering accurate weather forecasts. Hype is what's really important. And I'm not just complaining about today's forecast. But forecasts for last Thursday and Friday, too. Kids from across the region have lost three days of education when they easily could have made it to school. Hey, Bob and Doug and Sue and Tom and Marty and Norm and Topper and Joe - you all owe the region's residents a big apology. And that includes all you plastic-haired dipwads at the Weather Channel..... 2/24 - So far, here at the DCRTV World HQ we've gotten about five feet - of storm hype. Washingtonians are in a total panic. Hell, we might be getting three to five inches of, oh my god, snow. Yup, the blizzard of "the century." We might even get up to nine inches "north of town" - like maybe Rochester NY. The temperature has "plunged" to 34. Ah, isn't that above freezing? All area school systems have closed. Weathercasters are screaming about the end of humanity as we know it. While their bosses at area TV and radio stations lust with joy as ratings for the key February "sweeps" get "juiced." Welcome to Nutsville on the Potomac..... 2/21 - A WMAL news update at 7:45 this morning reported that Homer Simpson (right) conducted dozens of gay marriages on last night's episode of "The Simpsons." A memo to John Matthews, 630's news director: Cartoon characters aren't real. What they do doesn't merit coverage on your station's newscasts. Doh! Oh, speaking of the station I love to hate, a tip of the hat to those crack WMAL weather forecasters at AccuWeather. After hyping the projected weekend snow dozens of times an hour for the past week, we here in Wild West Fairfax got absolutely nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Face it, guys, you blew it. C'mon, Washingtonians. Why get all "wimped out" about the prospect of a few inches of snow in February? Take your anti-anxiety meds and turn off the TV or radio..... 2/19 - Proof? Life after death? First, let me tell you that I'm a huge (!) "Green Acres" fan. And my ma (left), who died in November, knew that. In fact, she and I watched the whole first season of the show when it came out on DVD early last year. I love that 1960s sitcom. There are subliminal social messages, way beyond traditional TV comedy writing, amidst "cityboy" Oliver Douglas's struggle to adapt to the crazed world of rural life. (Or is it the other way around?) Anyway, last night I had a dream. In it, I asked ma to give me a "concrete" sign that she's still "around." Then, this morning, February 19th, I had the compulsion to visit a shop that sells used books and videos in Centreville. And guess what I found? The complete second season of "Green Acres" on DVD. What's so strange about that, you might ask? Well, it doesn't get released until March 8th. Hey, I heard you ma. Loud and clear..... I got this in response to the above: Thanks for taking the time and space to point me and all of us casual visitors to your rant, Dave. Nice to see that. I hope not many people undertake to try to prove how it couldn't happen, and if they do, that you don't pay them much mind. I hope the good mood your dream got you in lasts a while. I have dreams sometimes about people I can't talk to in person anymore, which at first I would awaken myself trying to prove it was real and slamming the fuckin bedposts. As I've gotten accustomed to them I try to approach them entirely uncritically, and usually I get something good off of it, and once in a while I get what's called "lucid dreaming" which is where your half-conscious mind directs what's going to happen next. Those are the mornings where I really hate it when the alarm goes off. To all the people who will tell you - and I have to restrain myself from harshing on your mellow, take what I've said for what it is, just my experience - that "it can't happen", or "it's just a projection of your mind", I say, Maybe. If nothing else about this makes any sense at all, know that there's a whole lot of us who think the world of you, Dave. I miss your Ma for what she meant to you, and you mean a lot to me. -Wendell Dave's response: Thanks Wendell. Yeah, I've been trying to get a "solid sign" from ma that's she's still "out there." My dad died in November 1991. And in June 1992, the night before I went to Cape May NJ to visit his grave, I also asked him in a dream to give me "a sign." And during the trip to Cape May, being the newspaper junkie that I am, I went to a newspaper vending box to pick up the local rag. It didn't work. I walked up the street and tried two other boxes that didn't work. The third did. I picked up the local paper, and noticed a bunch of old papers on the shelf below. I picked up two from the top of the pile. I immediately noticed that one was dated November 25, 1991, the date of dad's funeral in Herndon, and November 26, 1991, the date of dad's burial in Cape May. Remember, these papers were more than six months old (!) and still in the vending box in June 1992. And I wouldn't have even have found this newspaper box if the three other vending boxes hadn't worked. I kind of took that as "the sign" from dad..... 2/18 - Now that the Nationals will be heard on Z104 this season (see our 2/17 newsblurb), it's time for Bonneville to give the DC radio market what it has been yearning for so many years - an FM sports talker. Since the mid-1970s, DC has been an FM radio market. In those past 30-ish years, only two (count 'em) area AMer have managed to post solid ratings - WMAL and WTOP. Even back in the 1970s, DC was one of the first markets to have a top-rated FM adult contemporary outlet (WASH) and a "top 40" station (WPGC). The market even had an FM all-newser (WAVA) then. So, why is DC so FM-minded? That's largely because so many of DC's AM signals suck. They were plotted out long before the suburbs sprawled out to Fairfax and Rockville in the 1960s, and to well past Stafford and Frederick today. Even WMAL and WTOP find that their AM signals don't blanket the suburbs any longer. Witness newser WTOP launch its 107.7 and 104.3 FM relays. Now is the time to give the market sports talk on FM. And Bonneville has that opportunity with Z104. Let's face it, musical Z104 has been struggling for so long. It's been going after female pairs of ears for years. And getting soundly beaten, again and again, by Mix 107.3 and WASH. Z104's "format" has floated from dance, to alternative pop, to hot adult contemporary, to "modern music" (whatever that is), and around and around again. With WTOP mastermind Jim Farley's programming smarts, a sports-oriented 104 can make a solid go of it. Clear Channel's AM sports talk WTEM is ripe for a fall. Witness the never-ending stream complaints about the station's signal and programming lineup from DCRTV's visitors. Even Joe Gibbs hates 'em. Bonneville can promote "SportsTalk 104" and the Nationals on its top-rated WTOP news network. Even bid for the Redskins one day. And, with the flip of Z104 to sports, we'll stop laughing at the folly of putting male-oriented baseball on a female-oriented music station. It'll now be praised as a brilliant move. "I had it planned all along," Farley could say. And we might believe him..... 2/18 - When the rights fees for local TV sports coverage - football, baseball, basketball - rise, cable TV companies are quick to pass the hike to you in the form of a more expensive monthly bill. But what if an entire sport's season is called off - like this year with the hockey strike? Will your friendly cable company return those "unused" rights fees to you in the form of a rebate or a lower bill? Are you kidding? Read sports columnist Phil Mushnick's take in the NY Post..... 2/13 - WTNT dumped longtime DC radio talker G. Gordon Liddy from its lineup last Monday. Since then, DCRTV has received several hundred Mailbag postings. But not a single one has even mentioned Liddy's removal from the Clear Channel talker. No lefties who are supportive. No righties who are indignant. I guess nobody really cares. Perhaps that's a not so subtle sign that maybe it's a good time for the G-Man to mothball the microphone and go into that world of radio retirement. And hit the links at Leisure World..... 2/10 - Killer. It could happen. WJFK-FM: Redskins, Nationals, NASCAR, and the Junkies. And maybe Kornheiser, too? (Stern, D&M, R&F to 94.7.) Ah, where's the funeral for AMer WTEM gonna be? Hmmm..... 2/9 - HELP! I'm in the process of fixing up and selling the DCRTV World HQ in Reston. And I'm looking to move into an apartment in Arlington. I plan to rent for a while, and may buy something later. If anyone's got a recommendation for a cool apartment complex in north Arlington - something within walking distance of Metro (Rosslyn, Court House, Clarendon, Virginia Square, Ballston) - please fire off an e-mail to me at dcrtv@dcrtv.com. Put "APARTMENT" on the subject line. I'll keep all responses confidential. Thanks for your help. - DCRTV Dave 2/7 - Just listened to G. Gordon Liddy's replacement Joe Scarborough. Via WTNT. Memo to Joe: How about pretending to voice some emotion when reading the GOP's daily talking points? You sound like a bad actor, reading from an oh so dull script. Why not get all "hot and bothered" and "bent out of shape" like Rush or Savage? Hell, even Liddy was more "fun" to listen to. Joe - you're a snore..... Strathmored to death. Hey, I'm as happy as the next guy that Montgomery County's got its own fancy-schmancy concert hall - Strathmore. But it seems like you can't open the DC Post these days without yet another write-up or mention about the place. There have been almost 50 articles in the past week or so. Is it true that the Post coughed up a tuba-sized load of funding for the project? Hmmm..... 2/4 - Journalism, Geraldo style. Fox Newser Geraldo Rivera says that if pop "superstar" Michael Jackson is convicted of child molestation, he'll shave off his trademark mustache. Now that's "real journalism, fair and balanced." The DC Post has more..... Oh, WMAL is running a new "Go Somewhere Else" promo. If you're female, live in NE/SE DC or PG, Hispanic, under 30, gay or bisexual (and not able to be converted to straightness), a member of the "egghead intelligencia," have ever voted for a Democrat or driven a Volvo, have ever watched CNN, PBS, Spike TV, Bravo and/or MTV, have ever agreed with Chris Matthews or questioned a policy of George W. Bush, have a cholesterol level under 250, and don't support the nomination of Ann Coulter to head the FCC, you're advised to listen to another station..... 2/2 - Ah WMAL. The station you love to hate. Promised for tomorrow's morning show: "two men and a whining liberal." So, I guess we can infer that lefty males aren't "real" men. Hey, how about some of us Democratic dudes venting our testosterone-induced phone rage on some of WMAL sponsors. What good is all that Arbitron glory if advertisers are wary about putting their dollars into 630's coffers? Anyone know the number for Giant's corporate office? Ha ha ha..... 2/1 - My neighbor got the debut edition of the Examiner delivered to her driveway. I did not. That's going to be a big problem for the new redone Journal. If it's going to deliver to a "demographically desirable" neighborhood (like white and upper income), how about getting the paper to all homes? On my Reston street, like with the Journal before it, delivery was rather half-assed. Judging from the little red bags in only some of the driveways. I picked up my copy from a red newsbox in front of the Amphora Restaurant in Herndon. And the first thing that hit me was the horrible quality of the text typeface. Each letter in a word had a different blackness level. I hope it was only a printing error on the first few pages, because it looked absolutely awful. Otherwise, the paper is an okay quick read. Nothing special. If I don't get it in my driveway on a particular day, I won't be all that disappointed. But, gawd, still that hideous Journal-era TV grid. Yuckola! In any case, I can't see anyone who already subscribes to the excellent Washington Post (not including its rather out of touch and pompous Style section) relying on the Examiner as his or her main local newspaper. My advice to the Examiner - become more populist and sensational, like the NY Post. Now that's a "fun" read. Screaming one-word headlines. Lots of news about fires, car accidents, and "perv" arrests. Today's debut Examiner did have a kiddie porn story on page 3. So there's "hope." And maybe hire a media columnist who's not afraid to slam the "corporate goons" who run radio and TV in the DC area. WTOP's Jim Farley exempted..... 1/31 - My ma died last November. And we're fixing up the old family house before we put it on the market. We had a crew of painters - all Spanish speakers - over today. And they brought a radio. So, what did they listen to? A station owned by Mega? Maybe the new El Zol? Radio Capital? Nope. They listened to WASH. Good old English language adult contemporary. And they were singing along with the tunes..... 1/30 - Last Monday, righty talker WMAL predicted snow this weekend in the DC area. When most of the other weather services didn't. And DCRTV made note of that in our Rant of that day. Well, guess what? WMAL was right. Or, more specifically, its weather service, AccuWeather, was right. We got an inch or two of the white stuff. Plus some sleet and freezing rain. Oh, by the way, WMAL-AccuWeather is predicting no snow next weekend. With temps in the 50s..... 1/24 - Last summer, right leaning talker WMAL often issued warnings for severe thunderstorms three or four days in advance. Well, on Monday morning and afternoon, WMAL's news dudes have been breathlessly predicting "more ice and snow" this weekend. So, I just checked the Weather Channel's weather.com and it's currently predicting cloudy and 42 on Saturday, and showers and 43 on Sunday. The National Weather Service is calling for sunny and 38 on Saturday, and partly cloudy and 43 on Sunday. We'll see if WMAL is right (pardon the pun) or wrong..... 1/19 - A promo heard today on righty talker WMAL. George W. Bush's second inauguration is referred to as "a second coming." Jesus! Hey, how about avoiding the religious verbal imagry, huh? What next? The second Bush term is America's "resurrection"? Is our nation being "born again"? How about the 630 airstaff reciting the Lord's Prayer, along with the Pledge Of Allegiance? Yeah, WMAL's ratings are up. But Arbitron doesn't measure credibility, fairness, and balance. Those are important, too..... 1/13 - WHFS's flip to Spanish was not (!) a surprise. In fact, there have been predictions of such a move here on DCRTV since 2001. From a DCRTV newsblurb in 2002: "As the clock struck 5:30 AM on 2/1, WHFS began stunting 'hot Latino' Spanish pop. But that lasted only ten minutes before Graeme (the first DJ heard on 99.1 in a month) assured listeners that the Infinity station would continue to play 'huge f-ing sweeps' of testosterone-dripping alternative rock." By the way, not only has junkiesradio.com been swamped, but DCRTV received four times (!) the normal number of daily visitors yesterday. If the pace keeps up, we'll have more than 2 million monthly visitors instead of our typical 500,000..... 1/3 - DCRTV has been "banned" from the computer network at Infinity's Baltimore (not DC) radio complex in Towson, which houses the studios and offices of WLIF, WQSR, WJFK-AM, WWMX, and WXYV. A fly on the wall tells us that "the computer guys (have) block(ed) the site from the company server so that no one can access the site via dcrtv.com. Word is that all the negative stuff about (a certain suit) has been getting to higher-ups at corporate"..... Click here to jump to the Recent Rants page. Jump to DCRTV's Front Page or to the Mailbag. All original material on this website is copyright by Dave Hughes/DCRTV.