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Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - February 8 to February 13, 2003 Latest messages listed first..... \/ February 13 Messages \/ On the subject of misleading local news reports, I wonder if anyone saw the piece on Channel 4 yesterday regarding recent increases in gasoline prices? First, the report suggested that the recent 10 cent/gallon price increase will force people to change their driving habits. Well, assuming an average of 300 to 500 miles per week with a car that gets about 20 miles/gallon, a ten cent price increase equals about $1.50 to $2.50 extra a week. Not exactly earth shattering. Second, all these reports over the years about gas price increases really irritate me. Unless they are comparing the price of gas AS ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION, the comparisons of today's prices to prices in prior years are meaningless. In fact, the price of gas today, even with recent increases, is well below the inflation-adjusted prices for a considerable portion of the last 50 years. But I guess there wouldn't be a story there if they stuck to objective facts. Frank. (2/13/03) Didn't Alfredas co host with Russ when he first came to Washington in the mid 90's? She also so worked with him in Dallas in the jeri curl days of 100.3 Jamz .(2/13/03) Re: WHAG-TV alums. Don't forget WJZ's Tim Williams and WBAL Radio's Pieter Bickford (who's turning into an enterprise reporter on the level of John Patti) (2/13/03) Mike in Fairfax said: "Meanwhile, if you don't think February's a slow month for sports, all you need do is tune in WTEM's Sports Reporters program" - I contend it only appears slow because the sports that are taking place are out of the band of knowledge for WTEM hosts (note I did not use the term sports reporter/experts here!) What's going on? Daytona 500, Pebble Beach, Buick Open, NHL Hockey, College Hoops is coming to a head, Baseball about to kick off, etc. I don't think that's too slow. Chris- Waldorf (2/13/03) Re WHAG-TV, Glenn Presgraves retired in 1996 or 97. My friend and at the time roommate Joe Versage took over for Glenn. Joe is now doing sports for a tv station in Rochester, NY. A few other 'HAG alums are doing quite well like Sam Ainnuden, who worked for ESPN for several years is now a director in Omaha. Molly Hennenburg is now with FoxNews. Brent Harris is at Fox 45 in Baltimore and the list goes on. Although not always the case, small markets like Hagerstown are training grounds for young broadcasters. I spent 2 years at WQCM doing Nights, Middays, Production, anything I could get my hands on. When I simply could not learn any more there, I landed an Operations Manager job at WCEI-FM/AM in Easton, MD, which I then used to become Assistant Director of Operations at Metro in Baltimore. My hope was to move back into radio management in Baltimore, but that's another story. My point is young inexperienced broadcasters need stations like WHAG to cut there teeth, make mistakes and improve there craft. Without those stations, where will our next Marty Bass', Sally Thorner's & Myles Montgomery's come from. BTW, Myles also spent time at QCM. Jerry 'getting kinda sunburned on the beach' Booth. (2/13/03) Dave - Instread of compiling mailbag manually every day - install a simple forum application on your server. Let people post as ofthen as they like. Let the freedom ring! Nick (2/13/03) Dave's response: As I've said before, I do the Mailbag because I love doing it. But, DCRTV does have an automated Bulletin Board/Chat system in place, although few people use it..... Dave: It looks like Ch. 42/Front Royal is actually a full-power simulcaster for WVPT. 100000watts.com lists it as WVPY...and if it's off the air, it is not noted. WVPT also lists 42 as one of its two full-power stations on its Web site - wvpt.net..."WVPT's coverage area consists of 29 counties. The signal is carried on numerous cable channels, two main analog transmitters, two digital transmitters and five translators. Transmitters: Analog 51 and Digital 11 (Elliot Knob, Staunton), Analog 42 and Digital 21 (Signal Knob, Front Royal)." Maybe they're having technical problems? (2/13/03) Channel 5 - Did anyone catch the promo on Sick Buildings last night? They had a young child sitting in a classroom talking about how the school was going to make them sick. He wrote "killing us" on notebook paper and underlined it as he spoke it. This channel is really overstepping the bounds of good taste. They've been walking that thin line before but it gets worse and worse. While on the topic, I must say that Will Thomas is the biggest joke in journalism. His demonstration of climbing under a ping pong table was ridiculous. I only watch it because 11 is too late for me. Craig - Frederick (2/13/03) Re: John Thompson on WTEM. Coach has a "stellar guest list"? I guess that's true, in the sense that his fame allows him to get other famous folks on the show (most of them David Falk clients), but Thompson DOESN'T ASK THEM ANY QUESTIONS. OK, I'll be fair, he asks them the same questions that a kindly old grandmother would ask. "So, Raheem, do you feel the media's treated you unfairly?" "Tell me, John, aren't you a complex individual with a lot of outside interests?" The final laugh is when Thompson rips the media, or turns the media ripping over to Rick "Schlock" Walker (Motto: "Rarely Has Such A Mediocre Announcing Career Been Built On Such A Mediocre Athletic Career") or Al Koken. I'm sorry, Thompson's the worse interviewer ever, NOBODY on that show is open to any opposing views, and his "stellar guest list" is a mirage built on softball questions. Sincerely, TMU. (2/13/03) (Regarding a previous message) John Feinstein has held a grudge against ex-Hoya coach John Thompson dating back to his days as a cub reporter for the Post covering Georgetown basketball back in the 80's, when Thompson placed severe restrictions on media access to his team. Feinstein is credited with coining the term 'Hoya paranoia' to describe the situation. Because he came on WTEM's airwaves and ripped Thompson and his radio show a few years ago, Feinstein's apparently been banned from that station ever since, except for occasional appearances on Jim Rome's syndicated show. Feinstein also had a falling out with ESPN, most likely in connection with the cable sports network's movie version of his best-selling book on controversial former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight. Thompson's show is worth keeping on the air due to his stellar guest list and insider knowledge of college hoops and the NBA. On the other hand, he needs to show a little more tolerance toward opinions contrary to his own - a monolithic viewpoint not open to debate is the exact opposite of what sports talk radio is supposed to be about. Meanwhile, if you don't think February's a slow month for sports, all you need do is tune in WTEM's Sports Reporters program. Within the past week, Andy Pollin has asked callers to weigh in on such topics as local TV weathercasters, the Michael Jackson TV special and competitive eating. I guess the Redskins didn't sign a backup punter so he could devote half the program to that! Mike, Fairfax (2/13/03) To the person who asked about Adelphia cable/Winchester and WINC-FM, the agreement beteen Adelpia and WINC-FM is from what I understood ( my son used to work for Adelphia ) only applies to local 6. Who watches the local goverment channels anyway !! WCT/ cable 29, interesting why they dont put the local college ( Shenandoah University ) radio station's audio on it consdiering the fact the university itself I believe is in charge of it, I bet many folks around Winchester dont even know their is a college station station. As far as Q102, FOx 99.3, ect...goes, have a hunch why you will never hear them on cable 29 there, Rick Ours is the manager of the channel ( last I heard ) and from what I remember he is NOT exactly a fan of any of the local stations there. He used to run the in-house cable system at Winchester Medical center, and even there on the infomation channels he had no problem piping in some station out of Washington, but never never anything from Winchester. (2/13/03) In response to the Harrisonburg Charlottesville market comments, it is interesting that not only are WVIR and WHSV carried on both area cable systems but both have translators in each others market. WVIR also has a translator near the transmitter site of WVPT on Elliots Knobs to serve the Staunton area. Furthermore WVIR also has its own news bureau just for Staunton located off S. Lee Hwy (Rt. 11) south of the city. Ch. 17 appears to be around (WPMG-LP), no clue what it does but there is an active license on it for Augusta County. This brings up a question I have had for awhile. How come WHSV owns (or is the registrant) of a tower on Rocky Mountain outside of Lexington (or maybe Buena Vista). The tower has an RP and a microwave license for the local PBS outlet. I would suppose both WHSV and WVPT had translators there at one time but no confirming info. Anyone know whats up with that? Thanks! - Parris Wood (2/13/03) Dave's response: Here in Wild West Fairfax, I used to pick up Harrisonburg/Staunton's WVPT via a translator from the Front Royal area on channel 42. But not lately..... from the Washington Post - Long time sponsor of the Ken Beatrice show, with his Arby's restaurants, passed away a couple weeks back. Seems worth noting with regards to the D.C. radio scene... I do eat the curly fries! "Bernard Wesley Streeter(Age 77) On January 26, 2003 at his residence. BERNARD W. STREETER beloved husband of 51 years of Patricia Streeter; loving father of Patrice Tibado of Frostproof, FL; Winston Streeter of Goldvein, VA and Trevor Streeter of Rochester, NY... Mr. Streeter was one of the Founders and a past President of the Arby's Franchise Association. He was a life member of the NRA and was a Staff Sergeant during World War II serving in the Army Air Corps as a B-17 Gunner... Inurnment at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Northern VA." This ad appeared in The Washington Post from 1/28/2003 - 1/29/2003." Also, Obituaries www.washingtonpost.com Monday, February 3, 2003; Page B06 (2/13/03) I've just got to respond to some of the previous accusations that WTOP does not break news stories because it's too busy re-reading the Washington Post. I'll do so with a couple of very recent examples: 1) WTOP's Mark Plotkin broke the story that District representatives want to move their primary to a date that would put it first in the nation. That now-national story was first reported on WTOP. (2) Chas Henry reported on Tuesday morning that the military was positioning missile launchers near bridges in the District. That story has now gone national. (3) Friday morning, February 7, I reported that Maryland's State Highway administration had made a mistake in it's use of a pre-treating solution in preparation for the snow that was forecast and that several accidents on I-270 were the result. It took the Associated Press until Monday, the 10th to do the story and the Washington Post ran with the very same story on Wednesday, the 12th. I think it's time for some of the DCRTV naysayers and 'TOP bashers to admit that WTOP really does wag the dog from time to time. Thanks for the space. Sprawl and Crawl Steve. (2/13/03) Ref WHAG-TV: If I remember correctly, Glenn Presgraves retired a few years ago. Howard (2/13/03) Forgive me for bringing up a subject that is not directly related to broadcasting. If it weren't for Clear Channel I wouldn't bother. But it seems to me the way the post office has gone downhill, should be a warning to broadcasters who outsource. In case you don't know it, when you call 1-800-ASKUSPS you are actually talking to a compnay called Teletech in Colorado. They are the same people who answer questions about Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King. They have very little knowledge about the product and don't care. Postal carriers are the same way in many cases. They are actually under private contract in some areas, drive their own cars and frequently misdeliver the mail. They don't care. It seems to me with outsourcing and voicetracking CC is simply breeding a generation of broadcasters who have no contact with the community and don't care. If the script is wrong, they may very well give out wrong information. I can only hope radio owners stop listening. (2/13/03) Reading some of the things in here about WHAG-TV and the fact that Hagerstown/ Washington County is part of the DC TV market, had me thinking about another tv market in the region. How far apart is Harrisonburg and Charlottesville? Always wondered why those 2 markets are considered seperate ( both WHAG and WVIR carries Jeopardy, Oprah, Wheel of Fortune for examples ) rather than one regional market? Over the years I heard it had to do with the fact that both cities are "college towns" ( I also heard its due to the fact that both towns are "independent cities" ). WHSV is on cable in Charlottesville while the same is true with WVIR in Harrisonburg, it would make sense to combined the two into one single market. You can even add Staunton to the list since surrounding Augusta County has its own commerical station on channel 17 ( if its still on the air ). Other tv market mysteries I can think of...How did Northern Virginia managed to get TWO PBS stations? How did Fredericksburg managed to get an NBC outlet of its own in the mid 70s? What did WRC ( and even Richmond's WWBT ) say about it? If WYVN out of Martinsburg remained FOX, when WTTG managed a few years back to get many cable systems to drop WBFF, what would they have done with WYVN? I do find it interesting that the Winchester area, prior to WAZT in the late 80s, no one thought about putting a station on the air there, no did the FCC assigned a channel there either. After all Front Royal has channel 42, Martinsburg has 60 and 44 and even little Woodstock has its own tv station , interesting Winchester never had anything to call its own. True a lot of folks there watch Washington and Baltimore stations but a local tv outlet may work there since none of the available tv stations there ( WHAG, WHSV, 2,4,5,7,9,11, 13, ect.. ) bother doing anything "Winchester". No news stories, not even local commericals from the area. WYVN had the problem with being "from West Virginia" since so many folks in Winchester/ frederick County , sadly "look down" at anything West Virginia. Before someone points out WAZT, yes they do local news but its TAPED. Until recently WAZT didnt even do sports and being a religious station many stories ( crimes for example )quite a few times I can remember simply didn't make it on their news. Interesting that the Lewis family ( the owners of WINC ) didnt get into television ( even if it did meant doing so in a nearby town ) the same way WSVA out of Harrisonburg did and the attempts of WJEJ and WFMD since all those stations went on the air pror to 1942. Then again though maybe the Lewis family thought the future of tv was in cable since they did bring cable tv service to Winchester in the mid 60s. Though the family sold out to Adelphia in 1990, the "Lewis" influence is still there since WINC-FM still remains on local cable 6. On this subject, over the years I heard that part of the deal between the Lewis family and Adelphia was that ONLY WINC-FM can be heard on cable there and that no other station is allowed to be heard for any reason ( on any channel ). In other words the use of Q102 or The Fox is not allowed ( though both stations had some of their staff involved with a local cable cancer benefit ). Always wondered if this "deal" was true or not. Even on the local community channels available there ( cable 29's Winchester commmunity channel is an example ) all one hears is generic audio from Music Choice not Q102, Fox, WTRM, not even Shenandoah University's radio station. (2/13/03) To all SPRTV readers, I regret to inform that I am going to have to resign being editor of SPRTV (Southern Pennsylvania Radio & TV). Due to some family issues on top of other things including school and work I can't find enough time to continue editing the web page. When I became editor of SPRTV I was in early high school and had much time to devote to the page. Now that I am in the college arena with 2 jobs I have to prioritize what I do and sadly SPRTV falls at the end of the list. In my view that isn't fair to the page and the readers. I will try to find someone else who will devote the time to SPRTV and continue the page. Until then I would like to return the page to Dave Hughes who does a great job with DCRTV in hopes an other editor will come along. I would like to thank EVERYONE who over the years has helped compile the information seen on SPRTV today! I will continue to contribute to all the DCRTV pages but for now it is best I back out of editing. Thanks very much for understanding, and forward any questions you may have to tdevine2@juno.com. As they say on the amateur bands, 73's and I'll catch you all down the road! -Travers(SPRTV editor) (2/13/03) Dave's response: All our best wishes, Travers. And thanks for all your hard work. And maybe someday soon we'll get to hear your influence (on air or in management) at a radio station somewhere. Like the DC area..... /\ February 13 Messages /\ \/ February 12 Messages \/ leave the site/link for MFP up there if more people did it on a routine basis we would not have so many uptight grumpy people around this world. (2/12/03) Here is a good analysis on why the electoral college works for the United States---A Federalist system not a direct democracy. www.cato.org -kb (2/12/03) Don't know if you already mentioned this, but David Segal, the Washington Post's pop music writer, used his online chat today to plug his weekend program on WJFK: "I'll start with a shameless plug for a new local radio show. It's shameless because I am on the show. "Along with two friends -- Mark Goodman, a part-time musician and full-time freakazoid, and Dave McKenna, a part-time freakazoid, a City Paper columnist and music freelancer for the Post -- we've started what is blandly called The Music Show. Actually, Goodman started it. McKenna and I are just freeloading, really. "The concept: a talk show about all things pop related. Mostly, we yammer about shows we've seen, argue about bands and play songs. Also, we try very hard to prevent Goodman from playing music by schizophrenics, which, for some reason, he has a weakness for. "It's on WJFK, at 106.7, on Sunday nights from 10 to 11." Christian Hamaker (2/12/03) In response to the critic of local news on Hagerstown's WHAG: I agree with another person who responded, they do a very good product given their meager budget. It does look like a training ground of sorts for up and coming talent as they move on to larger markets after a short stint. I only catch WHAG when I am visiting periodically in the Cumberland area and nearly each time I see a different anchor/ sports guy/ gal within a few months time. Over the years the only one that I seen stick it out is Glenn Pressgraves on sports, but I haven't seen Glenn in the past 2 years. My mom prefers WHAG to the Washington channels because they do provide news on the Cumberland area and the local weather (not just a snow amount from Billy Bob in Oakland or temp reading from George in LaVale). Cumberland did have a local cable station in the 70's, with local news coverage, but that disappeared with some changes in Cable ownership. Hopefully WHAG will realize that they need to reward the better on-air talent and induce them to stay around for more than a few months, then you would see an overall rise in the quality of the reporting and newscasts. David in Hyattsville (2/12/03) Re:Oh, by the way, Al Gore won. He did get more votes than did GWB. But that's not how we elect a president..... Precisely, Dave. That is why Al Gore did NOT win, because the electoral system has certain rules. Please don't say "Al Gore won" unless you follow immediately with "the popular vote." Want to change the rules? Fine, but don't try to do it retroactively. And don't lie and say Bush stole the election when, under existing electoral LAW, he won legitimately. Even after all the independent recounts, by USAToday and others, the right man is in the White House. (2/12/03) Dave's response: I am a firm believer that the Electoral College has got to go. By the way, I didn't say that Bush stole the election. You are right, though, the "right" man is in the White House..... Algore didnt win. Get over it. And if he was such a hot property within his party he would have run again. Bottom line. No one in his party could stand to go through that again and be taken seriously (2/12/03) Political angles aside, I find both CNN and FOX news channels so annoyingly repetitive and almost impossible to watch for more than 15 minutes. Both seem to portray one story a day as a major crisis in progress while repeating that same story every 15 minutes all day long as if it's late breaking updated news. I remember one day when one of the famed Yankee players died, it reminded me of an old Saturday Night Live Weekend Update skit when they would say "And this just in, Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco is STILL dead." Of course, he had been dead for years. Guess you had to see it. Maybe they should change their names to the DUMB and DUMBER News Channels instead! As for who won the election, grrrrrr... Al Gore DID NOT WIN! Get over it. The most votes DOES NOT DETERMINE a President. However, I'm not sure if it was a good idea giving the entire country a brush-up course in American Government 101 through the misinformed teachers/anchors at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and FOX though. God knows they all got it wrong so many times over. Personally, when I hear Dan Rather use the phrase "uncharted waters", I know it's time to change channels QUICKLY! Joe in Essex (2/12/03) Dave, Just wanted to let you know on Sunday night, February 9, I was watching Max X/Maximum Exposure on UPN 20 and at 11:47 p.m., they had a Christmas Commercial for T.J. Max! Boy, did I do a double-take. Christmas in February?! Happy Holidays! Tom in Frederick (2/12/03) DUDE, i dont mean to be rude and i aint no prude, but the ad 'masturbate for peace' has got to come off the site. i am all for free expression, free speech, free love and the freedom to love our freedom of expression, sexual or otherwise, but dude, inuendo is one thing when the kids can see the site, outright education is another. please take that ad down. thank you (2/12/03) The Sports Junkies had John "Junior" Feinstein on this a.m., and he was fabulous ranting on about college hoops for twenty minutes or so, but the high moment, for sure, was when he made reference to Esherick's troubles at Georgetown, and referred to ex-coach John Thompson as "now the host of the worst radio show ever." Truer words never spoken, Mr. Feinstein. Hey, Coach Thompson, have you called David Falk today to get your guest list? And make sure that Walker and Koken run all your errands, OK? Sincerely, TMU. (2/12/03) The Propaganda the Bush administration spews out??????? CNN didn't get the name the Clinton News Network for nothing Dave, As I have said in the past, there is a reason why the Fox News Channel kicks everyone rear end in the cable news business. They are good. They are fair and balanced (and God knows you hate that term). It has given people a choice other that Rather, Brokaw and Jennings who all but cried on the air when Al Gore lost. Yea, we really need to see more of that in America. It was like watching Debroah Weiner on WBAL the night Kathleen Kennedy Townsend lost the election. She was virtually in tears. AHHHHH those feel good dems (2/12/03) Dave's response: Hey, I ain't no CNN fan either. But Fox ain't F&B. It's right leaning. It would be nice if they'd just be honest about that..... Oh, by the way, Al Gore won. He did get more votes than did GWB. But that's not how we elect a president..... Dave, I have to admit, you make me laugh (and I mean that in a good way, not a condescending one) when you go on about FNC. All I have to ask is, then why do you watch it so much if you detest it so? I don't like MSNBC (not for political reasons, it just seems so ... I can't quite put a finger on it, but AA ball, if that makes sense. And I used to watch it all the time, it has just slipped from the majors to AA ball in my eyes), so it is never on my TV. But you seem like a junkie, you hate the smack, but love the high of (ranting about) FNC. In the interests of full disclosure, I do like FNC, but I also agree that they go overboard with the "Fox News Alerts" and such. But for good, solid reporting, I am hard-pressed to find a show better than "Special Report with Brit Hume." That is why your news item about it caught my eye. What is your opinion of that show? One final thought: one a recent trip home to see the in-laws and my own family in Connecticut, bit the NBC and ABC local affiliates had the same type of teasers as Fox5 had about the Amber Alert. One was about a chemical spill that was in a residential neighborhood and the other was about an Amber Alert. Are you going to slam the NBC and ABC owners for the same thing? Keep up the outstanding work, you do provide a great service. Unafraid to sign my name, Nick Minecci in Stafford, Va. P.S. - A new job opportunity may take us to Vermont, right up on the US/Canadian border. Do you know of any sites like yours, so I can scout the radio and TV situation up there? Thanks. (2/12/03) Dave's response: Fox News does have some solid journalists like Brit and Brian Wilson and Steve Harrigan and Greg Palcot and James Rosen and Wendell Goler. But it also has some (okay, entertaining) gasbags, too. I usually put on FNC when I need a good laugh or to catch up on the propaganda the Bush administration's dishing out..... Regarding the Vermont question, try Scott Fybush's Northeast Radio Watch..... Ref western Md. tv: I grew up in Hagerstown (before the proliferation of cable) and the DC stations were the dominant stations (certainly not out of antenna range). Those people with rotators also watched the Baltimore stations plus Channel 8 from Lancaster (which actually had the best signal of the lot). Garrett Co. (my current location) is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Besides Pittsburgh, I watch (over the air) Johnstown and Altoona stations. Since Ch9 from Steubenville, OH moved their tx into Pa, they have as good of a signal as the Pittsburgh stations. In a pinch, if necessary, I can also watch Wheeling (7), Hagerstown (25), Harrisonburg (3), State College (also 3), Weston, WV (5) and WTTG (also 5). The real stupid thing (I hear) is that with the satellite Local package they do not offer MPT's channel 36 located right here in the county; they offer only WQED (13) from Pittsburgh for PBS. Howard (2/12/03) Hyacinth Bucket? AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! I JUST SPILLED MY TEA!!!!!!!! Jeff (2/12/03) Dave's response: Dig this - www.tvheaven.ca/kup.htm..... Dave, Just a quick note to update you on station happenings. As we here at 88.1 WYPR celebrate our first year as a community licensee, I urge you to include our music programs in our station blurb. Evenings at WYPR are for music. Andy Bienstock, our PD, has been spinning great Jazz,(the classic stuff, Blue Note, Verve, Prestige etc.) for years on this frequency, and continues to do so. We have recently added the great Ken Jackson and his Big Band show to our lineup..."In The Mood", Friday nights 9-12. More local shows are being produced and we have just launched our news department with Sunni Khalid. These are exciting times for us in Baltimore.... Craig Hayward (2/12/03) (Regarding a previous message:) Nielsen assigns every county in America to a particular DMA according to the majority of viewing. Since the overwhelming majority of viewing in Washington County, Maryland (and surrounding counties, BTW) is to stations from DC, Nielsen assigns it to DC. If Hagerstown had a full complement of network affiliates, the locals might not watch as much 5/7/9 as they do. A contributor was observing that antenna reception in western Maryland was sketchy, but those counties have been among America's most heavily cabled counties for 30 years. Up around 80% cabled. So very few households use antennas (antennae?). Garrett County, Maryland is in the Pittsburgh DMA. Fulton County, PA (McConnellsburg) is in the Altoona-Johnstown DMA. Although Franklin County, PA (Chambersburg) watches a lot of Lancaster-Harrisburg television, 5/7/9 still gobble up the bulk of viewing, so it remains in the DC DMA. (2/12/03) I believe that Garrett County, Maryland is considered part of the Pittsburgh DMA, and the Pittsburgh stations are available to residents there with DirecTV or Dish. At least many of the larger Pittsburgh TV stations give Garrett County minimal news and weather coverage, while the geographically closer stations of north central West Virginia do not, as I recall. The same is true for Morgantown, West Virginia, I believe. I grew up just south of Garrett County in West Virginia, and it's an interesting market. On cable, we once received stations from Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Clarksburg/Fairmont, and even two out of Wheeling/Steubenville, Ohio. The Ohio and PA stations were definitely over a hundred miles away, well out of antenna range. The same was true for radio. Many of the larger FMers out of Pittsburgh and Wheeling came in loud and clear. -Jason (2/12/03) That www.rathergood.com, was much more entertaining than a post from PEACE, (it took up less space too) PLB:0) Paul L. Bicknell (2/12/03) Just a female centenarian from the Falkland Islands whose zip code is a Federal agency checking in. Keep up the good work DCRTV Dave! (2/12/03) Interesting Amber Alert this week. At 4:50PM, Fox ran a promo for its 5:00 newscast, saying, "Area officials issue an Amber Alert. Details coming up at 5." How dare they? They could have used that time to give details on the alert, and perhaps gotten to the right person that could have information about the abduction. Instead, they chose to chase the money and promote their newscast. The stations do this all the time - tease important stories - but in the case of an Amber Alert, where time is critical, they need to get responsible and put aside their p&l concerns. Toledo Cliff (2/12/03) Dave's response: Now you may know why I simply can't stomach anything Rupert Murdoch has his little Aussie fists on. Everything (especially human tragedy) is hype. Hey, what the heck if WW3 starts, at least it'll boost the ratings of his half-witted "news" channel (complete with its swooooshing sounds) a few points above C-SPAN. Don't get me started..... And now for your entertainment pleasure: www.rathergood.com..... - DCRTV Dave (2/12/03) Would you please do a rant telling listeners which radio shows are live, and which ones are voice tracked? I think people would benefit from knowing if they are listening to a human or just a computer. I bet most most stations won't tell you, but if you listen, you can figure it out. It would interesteing to note which stations become defensive when you ask. Listeners are tired of being decieved. (2/12/03) Speaking of Western Maryland and TV, I believe Cumberland, MD once had at least TWO UHF FCC allocations and/or construction permits in the late 1970's (I think they were both in the 50's UHF range). And I think Hagerstown also had another TV allocation. I'm not sure if any of them ever went on the air though. Cumberland back then was sort of a larger manufacturing town than today sadly (remember Kelly Springfield tires?). Also, I think it's ridiculous that Hagerstown, MD is in the Washington TV DMA. Hagerstown is what? 70+ miles from DC? Hagerstown has to be out of the signal coverage range for most DC or Baltimore stations (WHAG 25 is certainly not receivable in most Washington suburbs except Frederick). I guess DC/Baltimore stations are on cable there though. All this does is falsely inflate the Washington DMA advertising revenue totals making the market look bigger than it really is. I mean, c'mon, Dover/west-central Delaware or southern PA is <50 miles away from Baltimore and is not in the Baltimore DMA. And don't tell me antennas in DE aren't pointed towards Baltimore even though Delmarva/Philly stations are on their cable systems. There are so many more distant TV station DMA combos now that Baltimore just keeps dropping in it's DMA number with every combo. If you had to combine 2 markets in this area, Washington and Baltimore would have MUCH more overlap in almost every aspect you could consider and would be in the TOP 5 DMA wise. As for the rest of Western MD, Oakland and the Deep Creek Lake area is pretty much populated by former PA residents and/or Pittsburgh Steeler fans :( [GO RAVENS!] There are only Pittsburgh, WVA, & PA TV stations on cable west of the Frostburg/Cumberland area last I visited and antenna reception out there is, ummm, channel 36 MPT mostly. Anyone know what TV DMA market Garrett county MD is in now? Joe in Essex (2/12/03) WTOP is also building emergency facilities, at its Frederick location. (2/12/03) Dave's response: MAL's got 'em in David Burd's basement..... To Joe in Essex and other snow coverage haters: I could go on about how over the top the snow coverage is on all the television stations -- I believe one of stations even adds titles to its reporters and makes them snow team reporters on the day before, the day of, and the day after every 2 inch snow storm. But my real point is to continue the tradition on DCRTV to get the facts out. When WJLA first aired video of the truck driver doing donuts in the snow, the REPORTER said it was a guy having fun. Later, one of the ANCHORS (Elliott Francis) decided to give a play by play of the video of a white truck and then a red jeep in the snow and talk about how they were in trouble or how motorists were struggling with the snow this morning. I was a bit confused as well, because I was getting two different stories. SR in DC (2/12/03) Interesting comments on Hagerstown's NBC television affiliate, 25/WHAG. Truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. Compared to network affiliates in other American towns of 36,000 and counties of 135,000, their local news talent & on-air product stacks up pretty well. In fact, most of their peers don't attempt anywhere near WHAG's 3 hours a day of local news origination. On the other hand, WHAG's local marketing area (Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg-Cumberland) actually provides them with a much larger population base (about 500,000) than little ol' Hagersbush, and the station is a hell of a money maker. So don't buy into the notion that they look the way they do because of a meager budget. They continue to operate mostly with fresh-out-of-college rookies because they've CHOSEN to. When the kid reporters and anchors find out how much it costs to actually live (usually about 6 months), they bail, and are replaced by the next batch of kids with poor math skills. It's too bad, because WHAG-TV has lost some terrific young talents who would have stuck around forever if the company would've just paid a reasonable wage. (Lou Scally is the exception--a talented guy with another income source, WJEJ-AM). And it wouldn't take too many such retentions to make a huge difference in their on-air perception. But since this is the way they've consciously elected to operate, nobody should hold their breath waiting for an upgrade. (2/12/03) Does WBAL radio broadcast on the web. I went to there home page and they don't tell where to click. You can't pick them up on the radio in Washington D.C. when the sun gos down. (John) (2/12/03) Is WCBM using their 50,000 watts yet? If not, any word on when they will be? WCBM has always had a real nice signal across far South Jersey. (2/12/03) Six months ago or more, someone had posted a link on here to a site containing photos of transmitter sites and facilities of numerous radio stations in DC and Virginia. Does anyone still have that one bookmarked? I don't seem to have it and all of my Google searches have proven futile. Thanks, -Jason (2/12/03) Dave's response: Try www.telebeans.org..... UMMMMMMMMMM... ok so I am a paranoid conspiracist, but outside of the words "build a winning station from the ground up" I wonder if these two could be related... ...This from alliances.com jobs section from yesterday... ... "HOT AC IN DC...At MIX 107.3 in Washington, DC, we're always nosing around to see who's doin what! So...what are YOU doin'? Are you happy? Feeling loved? Show off a bit and drop us your stuff. Just for fun of course. "... ...And this from this afternoons news on allaccess.com ... ... ALL ACCESS is privy to a STEALTH MAJOR MARKET AIRSTAFF SEARCH for an adult format. This search is for all shifts, full and parttime to build a winning station from the ground up. It needs a hardworking staff that is willing to kiss a lot of hands and shake a lot of babies. No other details available. So, no questions, no emails, no phone calls, no kidding. Overnight your packages ......just a thought, just for fun of course!... ... coastraven (long time no see) (2/12/03) /\ February 12 Messages /\ \/ February 11 Messages \/ Not that this really matters, but the "Keeping an eye on the quack in Iraq" promo has been running for months, and is not strictly a WMAL promo but is part of the Sean Hannity network. Love your column! (2/11/03) Dave's response: Well, I haven't been listening to MAL all that much lately. So I guess that's proof..... Just a bit of broadcast history. Frederick once did have a TV station, or at least the construction permit for one. Following WWII the original owner of WFMD, Major Leonard acquired a construction permit for channel 5. Yes, the same channel 5 that is now WTTG in Washington. They even constructed studios for it. The WFRE transmitter building on the mountain above Frederick has several rooms that were originally intended to be TV studios. (Back in those days, you put the studios where the transmitter was…wherever it was.) I never found out why the station never went on the air in Frederick, but I suspect that Dumont may have bought the CP. So channel 5 went on in Washington instead of Frederick. If you were spending the money to put a TV station on the air, and had your choice of locations, would you put it in Frederick (which then had a population of only 20,000 or so) or in Washington? I also was told that later WFMD held a CP for channel 3, which at one time was also held by WJEJ in Hagerstown. WJEJ also constructed a studio/transmitter building for that station. The old WJEJ-FM (now WAYZ) transmitter building on Mt. Quirauk is huge building designed to be a TV studio. The license eventually ended up in Harrisonburg, VA as WSVA-TV . (No, it couldn’t be licensed to Washington…the frequency spacing wouldn’t fit.) TK in Frederick (2/11/03) Dave's response: Interesting. I'd never heard that story before. Harrisonburg certainly made more sense for a VHF allocation because it is just beyond the DC and Richmond TV coverage areas..... RE: "WHAG 25 from Hagerstown ... is the most laughable of all the stations that I've seen. Local cable access channels have better production value. Poor graphics, lousy grammar, illiterate news readers and of course the local commercials make it all a huge mess. Don't knock the local ones until you've seen this mess." Far be it from me to disagree, but ... well ... I disagree. Speaking as someone who has come from the small markets, the fact that WHAG is able to put together the programming they have on (and I'm guessing here) such a limited budget (compared to the "big boys") is testimony to the hard work the folks there put in day in and day out. I happen to know the 6PM anchor/assistant news director from way back and he dedicates his heart and soul to that place and does a damn good job. When you're working on the fringe of a major market it is much harder to get talent since they would rather be in the big market, so they have to work with what is dealt them. And despite the odds, I think they do a pretty good job all things considered. When you figure that they have a budget about one-tenth that of the DC stations it is hard to compare and contrast. However, I would say the amount of mistakes seen in the "big" market, where anchors and reporters make about 20 times what the folks in Hagerstown make, outnumbers the amount of mistakes of the "little" station's crew. That is what should speak volumes. Rick from Silver Spring (2/11/03) Can someone please explain something to me about WBIG? When they let Bonnie Philips go they simply played music with no announcer. Then apparantly voice tracked someone else. Why didn't they simply voice track Bonnie Philips? (2/11/03) Frederick, Maryland as big as it is will NEVER have its own local tv station. Same reason why Winchester will never one, people there for the most part tend to tune in to the DC/Baltimore outlets. Even in Hagerstown itself people there tend to tune in to WRC than WHAG. I dont know how Martinsburg's WYVN did when it was FOX but I do know they had a problem getting viewers in Winchester and Frederick. They simple couldnt get the viewers away from WTTG and WBFF ( the fact they were on cable channel 41 in Winchester didnt help either ). In Winchester WHAG has so few viewers that Adelphia there has in the past thought about dropping them. Same with Harrisonburg's WHSV. When Hagerstown's WJAL was dropped from cable in Winchester years back, no one complained !! When it returned a few years later, few if any noticed. Its tough for a station in western Maryland/ Northern Virginia/ West Virginia when you have the ability to watch those "big city" stations. If WHAG and WWPX offered something different to watch than just Dr. Phil/ Oprah/ Jeopardy, same things one can catch on WRC ( or whoever in DC ) they may actually get more viewers. None of these stations has ever gave me a reason to watch them. As far as "local news" goes you have the other issue of "why should I care?" attitude of the viewer. Why should folks in Winchester care about Hagerstown? Martinsburg with Frederick? Pennsylvania folks with Virginia? There is a reason why each town has its own newspaper. (2/11/03) I notice that each time I clear the cache and cookies on my system (which I do daily) I get the obnoxious survey from the post again. I have actually stopped going to them as often because this is so annoying. I stopped buying the post a while back and would use the Wash Times site more if they updated it more often. Chris - (AKA female born in 1902 living in a Pa Zip code) (2/11/03) Dave's response: Hmmm, maybe that's what's wrong with the Style section. It's being written for 100 year old women in Pennsylvania..... Topper has always been a horrible driver! He was in an accident on River Road back in 1999 when snowy conditions made driving less then desirable. He totaled his NEW car (which he only owned for a month) and knocked the bark of a tree. I don't think he was sitting in his booster seat and I believe had left his "shoe lifts" at home, opting for snow boots at the time of this incident. P.S. The vanity plates "WX Guru" shows just how big of an ego this man has. It is obvious the guy only wants to draw attention to himself. (2/11/03) When I hear people talk about how bad the local news channels are, I have to laugh. I live out in Frederick and have the ability to watch WHAG 25 from Hagerstown. This one is the most laughable of all the stations that I've seen. Local cable access channels have better production value. Poor graphics, lousy grammar, illiterate news readers and of course the local commercials make it all a huge mess. Don't knock the local ones until you've seen this mess. Also, why is it that Frederick is now the second largest city in Maryland but doesn't have a local news station. Don't say Channel 10 because that is nothing but five shows repeated over and over again. Craig - Frederick (2/11/03) As has been mentioned, Mike has done the show by himself before, but it isn't the same as when Don is there, or when Don does the show alone. Having Mike do a show solo once in a while (Once or twice a year) is a nice change of pace, but I wouldn't want him doing a week or two without Don there. I don't think it's an issue that Mike CANNOT run a good show by himself, but even he admits that Don runs the show. I would imagine that after 17 years of arriving 5 minutes before show time, he's got some rust to knock off as far as planning and carrying a show on his own. I seem to remember a few years ago when Don was not in one day we were treated to "Deep Fryer Cooking with Mike O'Meara". Interesting, yes. 5 days a week of that? Maybe not... (2/11/03) Did you know that Les Kinsolving is the cousin of the actor Lee Kinsolving who was in one of the episodes of the Outer Limits? (The Children of Spider County). (2/11/03) Dave's response: Ooookay..... Concerning the Washington Post's online survey of readers. It's amazing how many female readers that were born in 1901 are reading the Washington Post online. What's more amazing is that there are more than one of them.... living in several Virginia (and California and Hawaii) zip codes! -g (2/11/03) Got to agree about the Don & Mike show when Don isn't there. Not only is he the ringmaster, but the quarterback of the show. Many of the most recent great bits have featured Don and his life, but also have featured newsman Buz and Mike doing voice bits. Those bits, feauturing other players, wered devised by Don, yet he takes no on air credit for creating the concepts for the others to show their talents. And as the other poster stated, if you've ever actually heard the few times Mike has flied solo, you's understand why they go to best-of mode when Don ain't there. Dave thinks the ratio is 51% Don and 49% Mike. Not a knock on Mike, who is naturally funny and pretty good at impressions, but when you consider the outline and overall pacing of the show, it's really got to be about 70% Don and 30% Mike. You've also got to remember Don had climbed to the very tip top of the top 40 chain before he ever met Mike. But there is also no doubt they are GREAT together. If what they've eluded to, that after 5 years the show as we know it will cease to exist, then we'll ALL be able to see what career path each one takes, which might give a more accurate picture of who does what. (2/11/03) Dave's response: Actually, not to knock Mike (O'Meara), but I do agree with your 70/30 number. I was making a (too) subtle jest with that "maybe a little more" comment. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being "a Garfunkel"..... Davo, Like that guy's photo of the Tenleytown Towers...I see the one is still half-assed! (Unless it's been finished since.) When I was down in 2001, I could see that tower from where I was on Wisconsin Ave. Kind of dumb huh?! I saw that guy had a picture of the Mazza Gallerie since its remodeling, I'll have to see if he has anymore...since I usually stay right across the street! How the heck are you doing? How's mom? How's the Beetle? (2/11/03) Dave's response: Yeah, if anone's got some cool shots of area transmission towers against a spectacular sky (sunrise/sunset) send 'em along and we'll feature them here on DCRTV. I am doing fine. Ditto with 'ma. And the Beetle too. I have retired the Golf as the official "DCRTV Mobile." It turns 18 this year and spends most of its time in the garage - but it hasn't stalled (knock on wood) in more than a year..... Dave: As a regular DCRTV reader and long-time mailbag contributor - I felt compelled to drop $25 your way. You put a lot of work and effort into the site, and it's easily one of my "Top 5" regular radio/TV news Web sites daily. It's actually worth more than $25...but... I'm about to lose a lot of money starting a business, so I have to watch my bucks. ;) Great work...as always. Oh, re: my preferences in the mailbag...I'd certainly like to see more "bikini babes" (female), but if you can keep G. Gordon off it...or need to keep it without anyone in bathing suits to keep others happy...I'll be cool with it! Thanks. (2/11/03) Dave: You love pointing out when the Washington Post's radio listings are outdated. Well, the buzz is that one of this area's favorite media chatboards, in its AM Stations descriptions still reads "WTOP is Washington DC's home to the Baltimore Orioles" several years after the region's news, traffic, and weather station let the Birds fly away. Cheers, Neal Augenstein (2/11/03) Dave's response: I'm not saying that some of DCRTV's hundreds (!) of pages don't have some out of date info on them. But unlike the Post, when someone points out an error I fix it. Which I just did..... Dave, WRYR, The Chesapeake Bay's Community Radio, was profiled in today's Baltimore Sun, Anne Arundel Edition: www.sunspot.net. WRYR signed on their 100 Watt signal last February. A full program schedule can be found at the station's website: wryr.com -eric (2/11/03) About a year or so ago, while working in the Mt. Airy MD area, I had the chance to simultaneously listen to WWVZ 103.9 AND WWZZ 104.1 at the same time, switching back and forth. The first thing I noticed was the SIGNIFICANTLY POORER QUALITY of AUDIO on the 103.9 signal which I was MUCH closer to, by the way. It sounded as if I was switching between AM stereo and FM stereo. Does this have anything to do with the tower/STL upgrade to WWVZ (btw, would someone explain what STL stands for) ? Joe in Essex (2/11/03) Dave's response: Studio to transmitter link..... No offense to Mike O'Meara -- I love the show -- but it is painful to listen to when Don isn't there. It's happened a few times over the years, and Mike will host with Rob and Buzz joining in. It just doesn't work. Mike has no edge, which that show needs. Don -- the show ringleader/grump/meany -- has that edge. It's essential. If he's not there they may as well run best of. - John in Alexandria (2/11/03) Dave's response: Putting on my brutally honest hat here, I do think that Don has 51 percent of the talent to Mike's 49 percent. Or maybe just a tad more. Maybe they don't call it the "Mike And Don" show for a good reason..... What's up at WFLS in Fredericksburg? They just came off of one of their worst books in history, several sales people have recently been fired and/or quit, the new country competitor is doing a $500,000 giveaway (probably not as great as it sounds but still impressive), their former promotions director got canned and is now doing mornings on WTOP and so on and so on... What gives? (2/11/03) /\ February 11 Messages /\ \/ February 10 Messages \/ Why is there a "best of" whenever Don is out?I'm sure that Mike the professional he is can handle the show.Or is it Don is so conceited or a head case he won't let him.What are you afraid of Don??? (2/10/03) Dave: re -"Perhaps, we surmise, the Denver AM radio audience was looking for more of a standard righty talker, which Prell ain't." Maybe, but the woman who follows him, Enid Goldstein, isn't exactly a "righty talker" herself. I know her well from her days at Talk 650 KST(E) in Sacramento and from fill-in work at San Francisco powerhouse talker KGO. Enid's no Rush clone. Though I never heard Allan Prell, she would seem to be a good fit as his follow-up host...and probably not with Neal Boortz...who's crowing on the air today about his entrance into the Denver market. (2/10/03) Dave's response: Ya know, maybe Allan's just sick of Denver and longs for his old Charm City..... I totaly agree with Fred. That's why I always put in the numbers they suggest. 1965 and 20171. I alternate between m and f and always put Albania.I encourage everone else to do the same. The Posts makes plenty of money. They can give us this for free. (2/10/03) Dave's response: 20171? Isn't that Wild West Fairfax? Herndon south of the toll road..... Fred, you are right about WASHINGTON POST.COM every time i go there the same F::xxxx thing, once is ok but all the time. John (2/10/03) Dave's response: I visit the Post's site several times a day and it has yet to happen to me. Hmmm..... Fred - Just your mention here of the Post's web page survey methods may force a change in their policy, once they know that folks are putting garbage into the required fields. Back when companies used to send out survey cards in the mail (Pre-Web days, y'all...), I got so fed up with the deluge of cards one week that I brought one with me on the air at WHMP-FM, Northampton Mass, and invited folks to call up and help me fill one out. We ended up with a demographic nightmare that no company would believe and mailed it in. The card no doubt was chucked by a researcher once he/she noticed it was blsht, but it suuuuure felt good. - Al "Anything is Fair Game for Show Prep" Peterson (2/10/03) Is anyone else annoyed by the latest data-gathering tool employed by the Washington Post? At least once a day, when I click the link to a Post article I instead get taken to their brief survey where they are looking for demographics of their readers. I can understand filling this out once, but it has become so obnoxious now (and provides no click around option for those who do not wish to share any information), that I just put garbage into the fields to get to the article I want to see. In the end, I'm getting frustrated and the Post is getting inaccurate data. Seems like they could have designed this a little better. Fred. (2/10/03) I just emailed KNRC radio in Denver concerning Allan Prell. Bill Thorpe, Allan's producer, replied quickly informing me that Allan was brought in on a six-month trial and moved to Denver while his wife remained in NoVa. The station was happy with the performance of the show, but Allan wasn't. The show didn't take off in Denver as it had in Baltimore (KNRC isn't WBAL), but was growing enough to warrant its continuing. A telling statement from Mr. Thorpe is the following:"[I]t just seemed that for all the local complaints about wanting something different and new...that does not seem to be the case. I[t] appears that people talk about wanting both sides of an issue but would rather listen to someone that tells them how smart they are for agreeing with him/her and then tells you why the other side isn’t as smart as they are." My guess is that Allan got tired of taking calls from irate "dittoheads" not used to hearing a show with more than one side to it. Mr. Thorpe made it clear that Allan pulled the plug, not KRNC. He also said Allan had another business opportunity, but did not elaborate. Howie (2/10/03) Over the past few weeks, Channel 7 has been touting the fact that they are now the "largest news agency in D.C.", presumably in response to their facilities merger with NewsChannel 8. But has anyone else noticed that the caliber of their reporting has gone down substantially since, as well? Channel 7's never really had a great news staff, but it's worse now. Two words to substantiate this: MATT BROCK. I remember watching this guy like 3 or 4 years ago on NewsChannel 8, and he certainly hasn't improved since -- hasn't raised his reporting to the level of a major market BROADCAST (not cable) TV station. Last Friday in the snow reporting, he had pauses of 5-10 seconds between sentences, as if he were looking for the next thing to say (yeah, we haven't had enough snows this year to figure out what we're going to say next time on-camera, have we?). If Channel 7 wants to be a contender and give Channels 4 and 9 (and hell, even 5 is better lately) a run for their money, they have to tap only the NewsChannel 8 people who are "Ready for Prime Time". Let the others stay on the cable-only outlet, please. You're only embarrasing yourself. /Bob/ (2/10/03) I have been reading DCRTV from the begining and posting for several months. I have learned a lot and laughed a lot. I must admit however, that nothing compares to the past several days seeing "EB" (whoever that is) get so upset. He must have been in sales. He acts just like a sales person when you catch him doing something wrong. First he denies, then he gets mad, then comes the foot stomp.He must have tons of time on his hands comparing writing samples. It reminds me of Captain Queeg looking for the missing strawberries. Where is "Peace " when we need him? It's only a message board! (2/10/03) To the person who replied to the Don and Mike Show information previously posted by me, hopefully we will know the real story today when they come back on the air live at 3p (hoping they are back live today). I also hope DNM fans, if they heard there may have been an emergency surgery, were in the "pray if you got 'em" mode. So, we're hoping they are back live today, and that everyone is okay.....naturally. And another thing.....how could ye miss Thursday's show? Ya gotta listen every day, the whole four hours! ;) EP (2/10/03) 1. I never said I spoke for Bonneville. 2. I clearly noted that I used to work for Bonneville. Which would be why you don't see me on any staff lists, short-timer. 3. I only responded in the first place to explain the original issue, as to why there is no paint/light on the tower. As I started that project, I can talk about it. 4. How come "we pay people in Utah" does not address his/her comments to the unsigned poster attacking BIC. Perhaps they agree with the poster of the attacks. They certainly don't sound like the sort who is anywhere near a corporate management role and able to discuss more than what they have read on internal memos that they carried down the hall. 5. If the "we pay people in Utah" poster does indeed work for BIC, as they claim, why are they not defending the company and we do they not post their name? 6. It appears from my read of the writing style that the unsigned "we pay people in Utah" and the attacker may be the same person. Investigating THAT sort of belligerent subversive is what they pay people for in Utah! Perhaps Bruce, Bob, Claire and David would care for a forward of your messages? 7. I have been signing my posts and am waiting for your signature. EB (2/10/03) i read the message about D&M. Do you know any info was it really an emergency surgery or were they suspended and if so what happened on Thursdays show to cause that. must have missed something. (2/10/03) Dave's response: I know nothing..... WTEM ("Sportscrap980") has been dropping in and out all morning during the Kornheiser show, going silent for as much as ten seconds at a time, then (oddly) slowly coming back. It's really hard to imagine how that station could be worse. Sincerely, TMU. (2/10/03) On one of Channel 4's newscasts last Friday, anchor Doreen Gentzler joked that if they closed the schools one more time due to snow, she' d personally march her kids down to the school building and demand they be let in. Spoken like someone who used to work in Cleveland, where they probably have to get ten inches before anyone notices it's snowing. But the D.C. area's not south Florida and the various jurisdictions seem to have gotten much better at clearing the streets. Perhaps the time has come for the local media to abandon that tired, predictable "how could this possibly be happening to us?" reaction to the slightest hint of snow. There was no excuse for the decisions by Channels 4, 7 and 9 to preempt Friday's network morning news shows, especially during this time of international crisis. Mike, Fairfax (2/10/03) I have never seen EB's name on any staff list at Bonneville. If he would like to identify himself, it would be appreciated. Otherwise please stop speaking for Bonneville. That's why we pay people in Utah. (2/10/03) Keep in mind that while EB once worked for Bonneville, he does not speak for the company and a lot has changed since he left. (2/10/03) Re: "What typically is the maximum usable distance for a line-of-sight STL, and in situations involving especially long distances between the studio and transmitter, is it common to use multiple STLs, so that the audio makes a series of hops between the studio and the transmitter site?" -- It is common for stations to use multiple hops (and technologies) to get audio from a studio to a distant transmitter site, particularly if there are line-of-sight obstructions between the two. For example, a station with a line-of-sight obstruction between its studios and transmitter site might use ISDN or a T-1 to get around the obstruction, then put the audio on a traditional STL to get the rest of the way to its transmitter. It's a matter of balancing cost (long ISDN and T-1 lines can quickly run into the thousands of dollars per month), accessibility (Verizon does not provide ISDN or T-1 service at the High Knob location in Gambrill State Park, for example) and audio quality (a news/talk station can make some audio sacrifices that a music station can't). On the other side of the coin, I believe WETA gets its audio from its studios in Arlington to its Hagerstown transmitter with one microwave STL link. Easy, clean, neat, and very high audio quality. (2/10/03) I was PD at WMDM 20+ years ago. The original call stood for "Maryland Music Machine". It was A/C when I arrived in 1981; changed to rock in '82; was automated country by '90. Local traffic reporter Bev Farmer started here in the mid-80s. A couple of engineering colleagues at VOA tipped me off to DCRTV today. The site is AAA. I've worked radio in the VA/MD/DC area since '79, and it was like a trip down memory lane. Plus, lot's of stuff I'd lost track of. Nice work! (2/10/03) /\ February 10 Messages /\ \/ February 9 Messages \/ A comment and a couple questions prompted by EB's earlier statement that one of the reasons for the new WWVZ tower is to give WWVZ's STL antenna a stable platform that is above the height of the trees: I had always assumed that because of the distances between Arlington and Northwest Washington to Frederick, that the WWVZ and WXTR audio was being fed to the transmitter sites via ISDN lines or some other land-based hookups. Which leads to my questions: What typically is the maximum usable distance for a line-of-sight STL, and in situations involving especially long distances between the studio and transmitter, is it common to use multiple STLs, so that the audio makes a series of hops between the studio and the transmitter site? (2/9/03) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) A FM RADIO STATION IN MARYLAND IS LOOKING FOR A GOOD CONTRACT ENGINEER TO DEVOTE 3 DAY OF WORK TO HELP CLEAN UP SOME PROJECTS... MUST BE FAMILIAR WITH BROADCAST SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL , BROADCAST TOOS SWITCHERS AND TELOS ISDN EQUIPMENT... IF YOU ARE INTERESTED PLEASE RESPOND TO mdradioeng@hotmail.com...ASAP..... (2/9/03) Dave, Do you know if any other the four DC stations are actively seeking a new weather forecaster? I saw on another discussion board that one of the OCM's at The Weather Channel is interested in coming here. I would assume its for WJLA as a morning weather person. Would you know??? Thanks, Paul, Waldorf, MD (2/9/03) Dave's response: I haven't heard anything specific, but I would guess that 7's a very likely possibility since they've seen a number of their weather team members leave of late..... peace (n.) definition ... harmony, concord; serenity, calm, or quiet -- also "hold one's peace" ... to be silent (Webster's New World Dictionary) Just a thought, not a sermon (2/9/03) Perhaps my tip of the hat should have gone to Art Rose. No slight nor oversight was intended however. As Dave is the Corporate-level Market Chief for BIC's stations in the DC area, the project had to have his approval, and as I did not know specifically who below him was to thank for seeing the project through, I thought it polite to offer my congrats to the senior engineer, on behalf of his crew. Never meant to imply that Art was dead wood or anything less than worthy of compliment, but I also was not aware that he worked on behalf of WWVZ, knowing only of his role as the assistant at WTOP & WGMS. EB (2/9/03) I have no problem with Bonneville in general, or any of their stations. There are some specific thiings that they do that I wish they would change. I do find it odd however that anytime anyone criticizes any station for anything, a have page response comes like a stack of golden plates falling on your head. How about simply disagreeing and moving on. Long responses are usually not read anyway. Short ones are. Thank you. (2/9/03) Dave... Someone in DC just forwarded to me two posts from your DCRTV mailbag. I appreciate the kind words from one poster about my show and KTRS on the whole. To answer the other's question, my show is #5 12+ in middays, with especially healthy numbers in demo. Although KTRS no longer streams its audio (a situation I hope changes by summer), I do have a lot of audio from my show available on HarrisOnline.com, along with plenty of other stuff. Thanks to all for the interest -- it's nice to be remembered. ...Paul Harris, The Big 550 KTRS/St. Louis - www.harrisonline.com (2/9/03) Most of the work on the WWVZ/Gambrill tower project was done by Art Rose, not Dave Garner. (2/9/03) To Unsigned Poster and your beef with Bonneville. First of all, it is ILLEGAL to paint, light, or otherwise mark any "centenary structure" in variance with that method proscribed by the FAA. If the FAA says "the structure does not need to be painted or lighted" that means, specifically "DO NOT PAINT nor LIGHT THE STRUCTURE." Putting paint or lighting upon a structure that the FAA says is "unlit" on their maps will confuse a pilot who then sees the unexpected painted and/or lighted structure. Especially at night, an unexpected light is a major hazard. You CAUSE rather than prevent a hazard to air navigation when you paint or light a structure in variance to the law and published data upon which a pilot relies. Having flown over that site in a small craft during our antenna pattern testing, I can tell you that between .25 and 1.5 miles further up the hill are some taller & wider structures that you are not likely to avoid if you get within 150' elevation of the High Knob area. Therefore, you will hit lots of other painted and lighted tall steel structures, including WFRE, AT&T and others long before you hit the second shortest tower on that hill, which is the unpainted/unlit WWVZ tower. At 120', the tower is only 50' taller than the trees anyway. Again, if you are that low, paint won't help you!! Secondly, of all the companies I have ever worked for, BIC pays more attention than any to the needs of the handicapped. I reworked a brand new control room, to the tune of several thousand dollars, JUST TO ACCOMODATE ONE DJ who was not there a year later. When the studios were moved to Arlington, a condition of the lease was that the landlord had to upgrade all common entrances so as to support any potential handicapped staff or listeners. I believe Charles E. Smith companies spent $45,000 accomdating that request, including ramps, elevator modifications and automatic door systems. Not many tenants ask that much of a landlord, let alone make it a deal breaker. I know I spent several thousand dollars in various desk and office accomodations on a per-person basis to meet and exceed expectations for handicap accomodations. It was the policy of my office, as CE and the HR director that we asked about a new hire's needs at the time of hire and tried to have said accomodations in place before their first day of work. Whoever you are, you may have a handicap and you may have an issue, but neither is a reflection of BIC's handicap policy. EB (2/9/03) A listener in Iowa City (Don and Mike Show affiliate KCJJ1630) reports that on Fridee, Feberary 7erd, someone at KCJJ came on air prior to the Best Of and said the show would be in 'Best Of' due to an emergency surgery. That was all that was announced, according to this mistener. Conspiracy theorists, who thought the boys were perhaps 'suspended' Fridee due to what transpired on Thursdee's show, can chew on this latest news. (obvious misspellings intentional) EP (2/9/03) Aka Peace, you have got a lot of time on your hands. Stop with WTOP turn the dial that is what it is for. (AKA-SHUT UP) (2/9/03) Dave Garner can do what he wants with his hat. I don't care. I just wish Bonneville would spend $5 and buy a can of paint. I also don't like the way they treat disabled people. (2/9/03) Randy Woodward does NOT own Front Royal's WZRV/WFTR so I seriously doubt he has a say whether of not 95.3 will go live or stay with ABC/SMN's "good time rock & roll" format. Could be wrong but I dont think program directors decide on whether or not to automate, thats usually a owners decision. However in this day and age of voice tracks I am surpirsed many stations ( like WZRV and the station down in the Fredericksburg area ) still continue to use services like SMN. I know people who know nothing about radio but they can tell when a station is satellite. Voice tracks a lot of times you can get away with it. WARX 106.9 out of Hagerstown is not live. I believe its 100% voice tracked, unless the owner ( and former Philadelphia WFIL voice ) Gene Manning still does his live show after Imus. (2/9/03) Hey Peace, I just read the last (13) thirteen lines of your post. If we are us, let's go shovel our driveway and sidewalks. Add confused to your multiple identies. Dave (Hughes) Hope this ends your confusion????? Regards, TX, Granny, etc......hahahahaha:0) Paul L. Bicknell (2/9/03) Hats off to Dave Garner and crew at Bonneville for their progress on the WWVZ tower project. Those who responded with negative comments don't know what they are talking about. I originally conceived that site overhaul project in February 1998. For the first phase, we dealt with issues on the ground. This was a fairly fast and inexpensive affair that lasted about four weeks overall. That meant we gutted our side of the shared building and replaced basically everything except the original rack and transmitter. A new remote control, additional rack, transmitter overhaul, exciter overhaul, new processing, monitoring, electric service, generator and transfer switch were all added over the course of 1998 to late 1999. The second phase addressed the outside issues of tower and antenna. The first part of the second phase was completed by myself. It involved the replacement of the then existing antenna with a newer design that had been analyzyed with the specific intent of compatibilyt with the WWZZ signal. We knew going into that project that the antenna change was to some degree a proof of concept to show that changing the overall antenna system would provide a signal improvement of several orders of magnitude. Changing the antenna first was far less expensive, faster and more productive than a protracted period of trying to do both antenna and pole at the same time. It was crucical for final approval to show that we could do something with the site, as others had failed in their approaches prior to Bonneville's ownership. The antenna change process began in May 2000 and was completed in early Novermber 2000. We replaced the processing at both WWZZ and WWVZ at that point to maximize the continuation of the sound signature in the area of improvement in the overlapping signal areas. Lastly, the second part of the second phase is where they are now. In developing the second phase of the then proposed project, there were two goals in the design approach, both of which it appears have been brought forward by Dave. The first was to give WWVZ's STL and broadcast antennas a stable platform that was above the height of the trees. The second benefit of the second phase contained three parts, all of interest to the state and the public. The second benefit would eliminate two unsafe towers; it would improve aesthetics by reducing the number of towers 50% and would remove unsafe, damaged and non-operation state and park police antennas. In return for permitting the use, the state would get the benefit of moving their antennas to the new structure, having new antennas provided AT WWVZ EXPENSE and thus have a functioning public safety radio system at no cost to the state. From all accounts, the state had not enjoyed reliable operation of 2 (of 3) transmitters at that site for several years and lacked the resources to fix anything. The project was conceived early on with a very clear understanding that we had to deliver something back to the taxpayers who own the park. At no time did I entertain any notion of unsafe paint or lighting operation. In fact, in my initial proposal to the state, I specifically noted that we did not expect to need lighting, but would do so if the FAA required it and we offered to paint the tower in conformance with their preservation requirements. I had several conversations and some intial bids from the most knowledgeable tower company in the state toward producing a proper estimation of the work required. We had originally expected to be required to make the tower "look like a tree" so to speak. We made every effort in the proposal to offer a project with max benefit, low liability and no cost to the public. Bonneville operates safe sites and there is no reason to expect any lack of integrity nor overlooking of safety in this project either. I know Dave and he would not allow that sort of 'cost savings'. EB (2/9/03) Mr. McMearty, a sincere thank you for your reply to my latest ramblings. I post my opinions about WTOP on DCRTV because I am interested in generating discussion about issues of journalism and ethics. I will consider the kind offer to contact you directly but I truly like to hear what other listeners think about some of these issues. I have focused on WTOP for three reasons. One: with the exception of The Washington Post it is where I get most of my news. Two: I was put off by the self-congratulatory mass e-mailings I had read on DCRTV. Three: your station is a bit of a monopoly in this market and monopolies need someone to keep them honest. WTOP does a good job and there are some wonderful broadcasters at the station. No station is perfect. I usually bring up issues when I feel that WTOP has let me down as a listener. You were kind enough to discuss two of the issues in your message. While I respect your opinions I guess we will have to agree to disagree. The “resets” that were sloppily done Saturday morning and early afternoon overtop of the CBS Shuttle coverage (and apparently on WMAL over ABC coverage), were nothing more than “PROMOS” at a time of national tragedy. If you couldn’t better insert them into the programming I think it would have been more respectful to do without them. It would have been one thing if WTOP had been carrying another local station’s coverage from a disaster area. Then I could see the need to more frequently explain what station we were listening to. But for CBS News, heard each and every hour on WTOP and with CBS already doing its own “resets”? And anchored by Dan Ravive who is on your air each and every weekday morning? Give me a break. Do you really think without the local “resets” your regular listeners would have thought that they had suddenly stumbled onto some alien broadcast on 1500 AM? I don’t think people were as eager to find out what station they were listening to as they were trying to find the latest information on what happened to the Shuttle and the crew. After reading the explanation of “resets” on DCRTV and talking about them with a few other people in radio, I contend this was a pure business decision to help make sure WTOP got credit for its coverage in ratings diaries or surveys. Particularly with listeners who were suddenly coming into your tent because of the tragedy. Again, I just think you could have been a little less heavy handed. But it is, as I am always reminded in this forum, your very successful tent and you are allowed to run it as you wish. Now, the other issue. How come ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, WJLA/News 8, WUSA, WTTG, WRC and The Washington Post all thought it important and necessary to bring in their top guns over the weekend and WTOP didn’t? Is WTOP that much better structured than all of these news operations? Look at this quote from an article about CNN’s Aaron Brown being MIA on Saturday: “’You've got to have your marquee people out there on a day like that’, said an NBC News spokeswoman.” I am sure WTOP has some wonderful people who work the weekends but there is a reason these people are on weekends. In many cases they aren’t quite as talented and experienced as the people who are staffing morning and evening drive time. Let me be very clear that I am not saying the weekend people are bad at what they do. Mr. McMearty, I suggest you take a closer listen to your Saturday broadcasts after the station returned to local coverage. There was a lot of stumbling over what sounded like cold reads of new copy. There was a lot of information to convey and I make no claim that I could have done it any better. Just having dual anchors may have helped the situation. I also would liked to have heard more from your award winning, top reporters on other aspects of the story. I must have missed that long list of local stories during the time I listened Saturday evening. Whether it was a money saving move, or staff that didn’t want to come in for the big story (I will assume that Mike, Richard, Shawn, Diane and Bruce weren’t also out at Pebble Beach), or just a bad decision, I think WTOP missed the boat on this one. But hey, I am just some schmuck who writes to DCRTV and you’re the News Director. If you are up to it and you find the time, I’d be very interested in your comments about any of the other WTOP issues that have been brought up here recently. Now I have a new complaint about one of the most overused words in broadcast journalism, EXCLUSIVE. The word “Exclusive” was used last week leading into a story by one of your reporters. It was about a long awaited report on the conduct of the Metropolitan Police Department during the IMF demo at Pershing Park. To my ears, the only new information was that the report had finally made it to Mayor William’s desk. Every other fact in the WTOP story had already been hashed out in a lengthy City Paper story a few weeks earlier. I have a particular interest in this on-going debate, so when I heard “new details” and “exclusive” I expected WTOP was going to tell me what was actually in that internal police report. How about saving the “Exclusive” banner for when you really have the goods? Similarly, but not your problem, WTTG on Tuesday aired what they called “Exclusive” video from a deadly house fire. If it was “Exclusive” how come I saw what seemed to be the same video on Channels 4,7,8 and 9? Similarly, Channel 9 on its web site touted an “Exclusive” interview with the wife of accused bomber Prescott Sigmund. Wasn’t that the same Mrs. Sigmund I saw not too long ago on America’s Most Wanted? Mr. McMearty let me especially thank you for one comment you made: “Not all of the points you have made over the weeks are without merit …”. Even with the qualifiers “uninformed or oversimplified” that followed, it is a hell of a lot better than the usual reception I get on DCRTV. For that alone, you are my hero. Speaking of the usual reception: PLB, you keep reminding us that you don’t read my posts. Then, as usual, you go and provide the answer to one of the questions I asked, writing: “The reason people don't blink an eyebrow when WMAL get's knocked is because they deserve to be "knocked".” Mr. Bricknell admit it, for you this is just like passing a car wreck … hard to turn your head away. PLB I think you protest just a little too much. Maybe the truth is that you are me. Or am I just trying to deflect Mr. Hughes’ suspicions away from WMAL’s new GM? All I am saying is GIVE PEACE A CHANCE! The obnoxious, sleep inducing, WAAAAAY too anal, obsessive, boring, nitpicking, arbitrary, spastic, cajone lacking, agenda carrying, transparent, bashing, anonymous, lesbian knucklehead, a#*hole and anal idiot, liar, who may or may not be Willie Waffle or some other WMAL, ABC, WTEM, WJFK, or WAMU employee and apparent former friend of Paul Reubens … AKA Peace. (2/9/03) Regarding an earlier post... You imply no one at NASA was thinking about this stuff. In fact, they were; it's just that they didn't have any practical options. They've already answered publicly all of the "s***" you thought up. 1) They probably could have rationed supplies long enough for a rendevous with another shuttle. BUT...it takes two to fly the thing and there are only seats for five passengers. Two people would have had to stay behind and die. Aside from that, Columbia only had two spacewalk suits. A crew transfer would have had to involve somebody going EVA (without tether or robot arm) and lugging extra suits (one at a time) over to Columbia; then everybody would have to go EVA without tether across space. This would have to be done without any training of anybody involved and the grave possibility that the two shuttles would have to be so close they'd bump into each other. 2) The ISS was at a much higher orbit and at a different inclination. Columbia didn't carry nearly enough fuel to change orbits and get anywhere close to it. And even if that had been possible, there would be that pesky problem of tranferring the crew via EVA one at a time, and the risk of the shuttle and the ISS colliding.) 3)NASA certainly didn't believe the Columbia crew had a certain death sentence by reentering or they never would have let them do it. They weighed the risk of reentry vs. option #1 and decided reentry was much less risky, and they were probably right. If NASA knew for certain the crew was doomed, they probably would have used option #1. (2/9/03) Dave's response: Hey, I do find this stuff kinda interesting (I am a space freak) but this ain't the right place to debate this. This is a radio/TV forum. I'll let the above run, but it will be the last one on this topic..... /\ February 9 Messages /\ \/ February 8 Messages \/ To Jim in Alexandria... Hmmm, what would we have NASA do? Well, let's see.. How about ANYTHING? Jim Lovell is probably thanking the Lord that the current NASA administration wasn't around during the Apollo 13 flight. "Yep, there's damage.. Sorry 'bout that guys, nothing we can do." This "Ron" from NASA just ticks me off when he states that they didn't think it was significant damage, and if it had been, "There's nothing we could do". Like the Bruce Willis rant from Armageddon.. "C'mon, you're NASA, you have guys just sitting around thinking S*** up! That's what you're supposed to do.. I bet you've got a room somewhere with guys just thinking S*** up!" Plain and simple.. Had NASA investigated enough to find out that tile damage was significant enough (Not saying that is the root cause) to cause the destruction.. There should be many options available. A few would be an emergency flight by Discovery, which could have launched in 7 days. While the Columbia could not have docked with the ISS, if they can make a square peg fit in a round hole(See Apollo 13) they should be able to come up with a way to EVAC the crew to the ISS. (The Columbia could not support the crew the extra days for a Discovery rendezvous) Or at least PART of the crew, so that the Columbia could support the remainder. How about flying the Columbia close to the ISS and having the crew of the ISS look out a window at the possible damage? Point being that if you have high odds of a total loss of life and vehicle, you look at options. The options might not be a WHOLE lot better than what you're facing in the first place, but a 90% chance of death is better than certain death. Of course, I have no idea if any of these things are feasable, but you asked, so I'm just sitting around... Thinking S*** up! Remember when "CAN'T" wasn't in NASA's vocabulary? ... And how the hell did I miss that misspelling of "Genius"? (2/8/03) Dave's response: Ahhh, isn't this a radio/TV mailbag? Dear DCRTV Dave:I'm Frank,who has made "periodic pablum postings" on this here board. I do check the site most days still,but just haven't thought to make any mail comments lately..I just logged on DCRTV,to read some messages-but what did I see but near the "northeast"(not in Maryland)corner of the screen,but you holding a pineapple with your "boyish" look from 1972(when I was a year old,mostly). Were you in the DC area then..or still in Philadelphia? Anyhoo,Happy Birthday DCRTV man..please keep up your valuable service of providing the "scoop" that not even the Washington Post,let alone ABC7(LOL),will provide! And you also say,"You won't tell your age,but somewhere in area of Michael Jackson & Donny Osmond"..well,the new Pyramid host(bring back "Fountain of Youth" host Dick Clark)isn't TOO bad a guy,but as far as the "King of Pop" goes..well,I didn't watch that 20/20 special on him Thursday(watching UVA upset Maryland,as well as my school NCSU lose to Wake),but I'll say that I don't know if,from what I've heard/read people say about that MJ interview,I'd want to try to lump meself in with the "likes" of him! He sure better not be a real-life "Thriller" to any strange kids,I'll just say for now..-Frank (2/8/03) Dave's response: First off, thanks to Frank and to all the others who have sent me birthday wishes. I decided not to put them in the Mailbag so it wouldn't get cluttered with all that non-radio/TV stuff..... I moved to the DC area in February 1972 - 31 years ago this month! I had just celebrated my 14th birthday at our old home in Woodbury NJ (suburban Philadelphia) and the next week we moved down here. My dad worked for Xerox and his job got moved. I was a big top 40 radio fan back then and had to give up WFIL and WIBG for WEAM, WEEL, and WPGC. Also the same age as me (give or take a month) - Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gary Numan, Spike Lee, Shawn Colvin, Anita Baker, and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds..... By the way, the pic of me and the pineapple was taken in the summer of 1972 during a family vacation in Puerto Rico..... Responding to rant against NASA and gov't employees: Okay, pal. We'll find out soon enough what caused this tragedy. But if it seems OBVIOUS to you that NASA screwed up by allowing the Columbia to land, what then, Mr. Genious (not), would you have had them do? Jim, Alexandria (2/8/03) At 5:00 last evening, I was a moment tardy in switching to WUSA-9 to watch the local news...so I got the beginning of WRC-4s news instead. Usually, on WRC-4, as the cameras shift at 5:00 from Jim Handly and Pat Lawson-Muse to Susan Kidd and Wendy Rieger, we find Mr. Rieger quickly fussing with her hair. But last night, unless I'm hallucinating, Ms. Rieger picked up one of her news papers and appeared to kiss it. I know there are a number of folks who post less-than-complimentary opinions on WJLA-7s local news, but where on earth do they find some of these anchors/reporters of WRC-4? "Some" defined as: Wendy Rieger, Jim Vance, silly Pat Collins, poor tongue-tied Veronica Johnson, and the chirpy Chikage Windler, Barbara Harrison, and Joe Krebs. These individuals would make the fictional WJMs Ted Baxter of Mary Tyler Moore look good. Gary (Manassas) (2/8/03) WINC-FM borderline AAA?? Not so sure about that one. But looking at their current playlist, they seem to be much more aggressive in adding music sooner and playing more "new" artists than they were a few years ago. The playlist is loaded with a bunch of artists/songs that are still unfamiliar with most adults. The station had its best numbers ever when it was more conservative in it's approach, but still played enough newer music to give the station some nice flavor. They have gone from nearly a 20 share to a 9 share. Hopefully, they will bounce back. (2/8/03) I was saddened to learn of the death of Robert St John. In the 1960s he lent his name to a broadcasting school in DC called "Career Academy". It was somewhere on upper Wisconsin Ave (not too far from WTTG), as I recall. (2/8/03) (Regarding a previous message:) Towers under 200 feet AGL (above ground level) do not have to be painted or lighted, and you might notice that most cell towers are neither. Towers above 200 feet AGL or obstructions to air navigation as determined by the FAA must be marked in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations. Tall towers may be marked with paint or strobe lights for daytime, strobe or flashing red lights at night. Even the Washington Monument (555 feet AGL) is lighted at night. Churches may use flashing blue lights at night. If your tower lights fail, the operator must notify the FAA or face a fine, and they do levy fines. Walt Starling (2/8/03) More on Allan Prell - Neal Boortz's Web site (www.boortz.com) says he starts on KNRC/Denver on Monday... (2/8/03) Re: WWVZ tower Hello, If the tower doesn't clear the tree tops then why waste the money to paint a structure planes won't see? Furthermore the site isn't even near the high point of the mountain and half of the towers that are near it aren't painted either. Are their any flight paths that go near that mountain? If not, again there is no need as the paint would only make the site standout even more. Its things like the 400+ft AT&T Corp. microwave tower waaay down Gambrill Park Rd. that air planes would need to worry about. - Parris Wood (who was stuck in the snow on Gambrill Park Rd. in early Jan) (2/8/03) NBC News confirmed exactly what I'd been thinking for days tonight on NBC Nightly News. I'd been reluctant to criticize NASA or its administrators given the uncertainty and grave nature of the shuttle crash even though from just a few minutes after the Shuttle crash, it seemed quite obvious to me that NASA administrators screwed up by allowing the Shuttle to land when they knew it could have possible wing damage from the launch. While NASA administrators continue to search for "other possible causes", NBC News tonight hints at NASA withholding crucial photos showing the wing damage during the landing that appears to be in the same area where the launch damage occurred. This strongly suggests that NASA administrators screwed up and through complacency caused the loss of the 7 Astronauts. If there is one thing I've learned while working in government, it's that no human beings on earth are better at passing the buck, covering their asses, and still ending up impervious to repercussions for their own failures than federal government workers. I smell a cover-up brewing. Look for some top NASA administrators transferring to other parts of government or cashing in and taking early retirement on your tax dollars soon. Who knows, some might even get promotions for their excellent fact finding investigation of themselves that proves themselves at fault. Typical government... Sad. (2/8/03) Re: "Why won't Bonneville paint their tower? Are they hoping a plane will hit it?" Hardly. The FAA doesn't mandate that towers under 200 feet above ground be painted or lit. At 120 feet, it's a small tower. And remember, this single tower will replace TWO towers, one of which is aging and unsafe (made out of wood!). Bonneville is offering to pay the entire cost of both building the new tower AND moving the DNR equipment onto it. So both WWVZ and the DNR will get better performance from their transmitters. Bonneville is also paying for a new security fence (currently there is none) around the perimeter of the site. Before the public meeting which no one attended, Bonneville paid a crane operator to hoist a huge red flag to 120 ft. at the proposed location of the new tower. Even with no leaves on the surrounding trees, the flag was only barely visible to the naked eye. It's a great deal for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and for Bonneville. -Brian (2/8/03) /\ February 8 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....