Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - April 9 to April 19, 2010 Latest messages listed first..... \/ April 19 Messages \/ I agree with the earlier post about the "LIFE" series narration change. OPRAH BLOWS.......... (4/19/10) Fred Grandy may be off the air because of the situation at the station, but I just saw him on Entertainment Tonight and he is out of town with his Love Boat cast accepting an award for fan favorite show at the TV Land awards. I think the show was filmed yesterday, but it will air next week. Lara (4/19/10) I find it very strange that many of the same posters who bemoan local media for slashing head count and budgets also seem to place little value on the Pulitzer Prize winner from Bristol, Va. While I do not liken the Pulitzer to local Emmy awards. They both, to some degree, reward exceptional work by local media. Even if readers, viewers or users don't really care about "awards." Striving to be better than the competition generally yields a better product for the reader, viewer or user. So in many ways they do benefit. Perhaps those who post comments here might be wise to contemplate the value of awards in any profession. Striving for them, regardless the fact that many have been tarnished, encourage those in our industry (and others) to continue to do their best. And to do so under ever more trying circumstances. Instead of belittling awards. Someone ought to say THANKS!!!! to a small Virginia newspaper that made a committment to quality reporting. The belittling should be reserved for all the other organizations that don't make a committment. (4/19/10) Latest facebook entry confirms rumor www.facebook.com/GrandyandAndy (4/19/10) Dave, Does your source have any comment as to why WMAL is still promoting the Grandy and Andy morning show even though Grandy is supposedly out? Mike/Fairfax (4/19/10) Dave's response: I guess as long as WMAL "pretends" that Grandy and Andy are still together, and "pretends" that the show will continue, advertisers won't abandon it..... Sajak Broadcasting Corporation has hired Karl Magenhofer to lead the news department at their Annapolis station, 1430 WNAV. Magenhofer comes to WNAV from Harrisonburg, Virginia where he spent 11 years as News Director for WSVA and the rest of the five station co-owned group. Among his accomplishments while in Virginia were Media Professional of the Year from the Public Relations Council of the Valley, two time President of the Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters, and four time winner of the Frank H. Fuller award for outstanding contribution to the Associated Press. “We’re excited to have Karl join our staff. Local news is one of the most important aspects of our station’s programming. Karl will lead our news staff in providing the most comprehensive local news available,” said Steve Hopp, V.P. and General Manager of Sajak Broadcasting Corporation. In addition to the management of the news staff, Magenhofer will assume the duties of Afternoon Drivetime News Anchor. His talents also include sports play by play announcing and color commentary for sporting events. In Harrisonburg, he participated in game broadcasts on the James Madison University Sports Network. Originally from Howard County, Magenhofer is married. His wife is an Anne Arundel County native. (4/19/10) Looks like the Discovery Channel made the wrong decision when they replaced David Attenborough's narration for the Life series with Oprah Winfrey. Look at the reviews at Amazon - 108 negative, 9 positive, and 2 neutral. I have never seen anything earn so much hatred and so little love there. tinyurl.com (4/19/10) Dave's response: You see it all the time. The dumbed-down Discovery Channel redubs BBC and other British TV documentaries with American announcers. It's totally pointless. Those British announcers speak better English than many on this side of the big pond..... On his show this evening, Chris Matthews let us know that Jane Fonda revealed in an interview that she loves him. Nobody loves Chris Matthews as much as Chris Matthews. -- Bobbie (4/19/10) Dave's response: Emotionally, I, too, love Chris. But, physically, nah. He doesn't do anything for me..... "I move we institute a ban on Peter Rosenberg posts" -Agreed. But in Rosenberg's defense on this one, I tend to believe that the mention of his name in that post was nothing more than an excuse for a frequent mailbagger to post another useless anti-Geronimo post. In other words, someone was "bicktating" the mailbag. (4/19/10) Why is it that when the new sports station in Salisbury hit the air and announced that they were the new home for the Baltimore Orioles, it made the dcrtv front page. When they stopped broadcasting the games after a few days, nobody said anything. WICO 92.5 is still running all the Orioles games and they never get listed as a place to hear the games on your site. (4/19/10) If WTEM was smart they would (if they could legally) dump Mike and Mike and resurrect Czaben's "The First Team". I guess that was a Fox Sports national show, but they could reproduce it with Czabe and crew for a local show and likely do very well. On another topic, The Washington Nationals REALLY NEED a stronger radio presence, all three AM stations 820, 1050, and 1500 all fall off the map in NoVa come evening. They need a station that would cover the Leesburg, Winchester, Warrenton arch. Lots of Baseball fans out here who can't get the last innings of a game. (4/19/10) As a lurker and not a radiophile, I don’t really understand all of the arguments concerning AM 1600 in Dover or the Hope Christian Church/WVBV situation. However, it would be interesting if our resident ranter on this topic did some research to see if those station owners “know” people at the FCC or perhaps contribute to the reelection funds of certain influential Senators and Congressmen. (4/19/10) I move we institute a ban on Peter Rosenberg posts. Why? No one cares. Not even a little bit. Seriously, dude...give us a break. Hire yourself a press agent or something. (4/19/10) An Anita Marks sighting www.miamiherald.com (4/19/10) Dave: As some posters have already mentioned, 980 am must run the Mike and Mike show on the primary signal with the exception of the Redskins Monday morning after the game show. Even then, they must run all of the commercials that would have aired in the Mike and Mike show. They made this deal with the ESPN devil long ago, when they launched the station, and network. The show is a pre produced , commercial laden, dreadful piece of work. The only thing worse than a "local" show with too many commercials, and endless yack is a "national" show with endless yack, and too many commercials. Red Zebra is not done dumping people. They are leaking serious oil, and they have never shown a profit....NEVER! (4/19/10) (RE the JMU item on the Front Page:) Police storming a newspaper office and seizing photographs? That sounds more ominous to me than the riot itself. (4/19/10) Regarding your "rant" on WTEM in the mornings. I thought that ESPN radio had plans to replace the dullish Mike & Mike in the Mournings with the new Vinny Cerrato show? I enjoy the Sports Reporters on WTEM but the commercial breaks on the show seems to be taking on a Howard Stern quality in there length. And too much of Czaban doing the whore bit with all his commercials. I like Chris Knoche but wish they have a little more variety with the in studio guest but could definitely live without the pollyanna Dan Helie. (4/19/10) Dave asks: "Why doesn't WTEM hire a bunch of sports freak dudes in their 20s and go after the both the Junkies on JFK and Kane over on the highly-rated contemporary hit Hot 99.5?" 1. Because that doesn't mesh with their target demo of 40+ year old men. Same reason Kane wouldn't work on WJFK. 2. Because they'd lose their ESPN Radio affiliation and branding. ESPN Radio stations have to carry Mike and Mike. 3. Because they clearly can't afford it. They have 4 shows on every day between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. They're letting people go left and right. Talk radio is expensive. Especially if you're up against competition like The Junkies and Elliot, plus WTOP and NPR. (4/19/10) “Dave's response: JC = Jeff Christie. Talent on loan from himself. Oh never mind.....” Hey: that’s Rush Limbo’s radio name before he became himself again! Jokes? I get jokes: lifeisajoke.com (4/19/10) Dave: Interesting post about more local programming needed for 980. However, there's only one person left to run the station and I'm sure he's looking for his next job. Given the fact they let their talent use bad English and Czaban/Pollin come-off as mal-contents, there's no reason to listen to that station. Last week, someone sent you a posting saying that 980 was broadcasting live from downtown before the Caps playoff game...great, where was the pre-promotion? I second the post from Mike/Fairfax because it's quite clear status quo is acceptable and everyone's in self-preservation mode. (4/19/10) J.C. Hayward Wig Alert: yes, “J.C.” stands for “Jesus Christ” and I must say that she has the best dead squirrel, wig, or whatever the hell that thing is on her head to date. Looks like she styled it from Lesli “No E At The End Of Lesli” Foster’s hair style. No wonder WUSA is the Numero Uno news station in the DC market! She should keep that thing fed, stored properly, and worn when necessary: it’s a winner! (4/19/10) Dave's response: JC = Jeff Christie. Talent on loan from himself. Oh nevermind..... If you read thru the FCC application file for WWRC 1260 which is available online, you will find that Red Zebra applied for an STA extension back in October, but the FCC granted a completely new STA because the previous one given to Clear Channel had been allowed to lapse. I doubt anything related to STA's explains RZ's recent sale of 1260 to Salem. It's been obvious from the beginning that RZ has no enthusiasm for running 1260 because it is an unwanted stepchild they were forced to take in order to get WTEM 980 from Clear Channel. The bigger question is why they continue to hold on to WXTR 730 which is a waste of electricity. (4/19/10) Dave, I believe that ESPN radio requires its affiliates to carry the Mike and Mike show. (4/19/10) Dave's response: Maybe Snyder could put M&M on his 730 AM..... "Why doesn't WTEM hire a bunch of sports freak dudes in their 20s and go after the both the Junkies on JFK and Kane over on the highly-rated contemporary hit Hot 99.5?". On the other hand, Tony Kornheiser delivers decent ratings and he's at the opposite end of the age spectrum (perhaps over 60 by now). While I'm often puzzled by a show that can alternately sound like National Public Radio (chatting with Newsweek's Howard Fineman about Supreme Court vacancies) and National Enquirer Radio (gossiping about celebrity sex scandals) but seldom like typical sports talk radio, there does seem to be a sizable audience for it. Regarding Mike & Mike, it's clearly the most popular show on ESPN Radio at the national level and accomplishes that despite rarely if ever resorting to frat house humor, mean-spirited cynicism or gratuitous detours into pop culture. As part of Red Zebra's agreement with ESPN, the station may be required to air M&M in its entirety (although preempted for Redskins related programming on Mondays during football season). Some years back, WTEM attempted a midday show that ripped off the Junkies but it fell flat on its face - if memory serves, it was called "The Playground" and Chris Johnson (who currently produces WJFK's Mike Wise show) was part of it. Yesterday morning on 980, there was some sort of golf show hosted by Steve Czaban but the feed from ESPN Radio was going out at the same time making it nearly impossible to listen - yet another sign that RZ no longer cares about providing a quality sports radio product for Washington, DC. Mike, Fairfax (4/19/10) Dave – Did you work at WHFS back in early 90s? Your face & name are so familiar – as I was a newbie promo intern back in 1993 in the Darth Vader building in Lanham. Just curious if same guy. (4/19/10) Dave's response: Nope. I'm a longtime WHFS listsner, but I never worked there..... Over 40 minutes of exclusive video has been uploaded to the EVERY OTHER DAY IS HALLOWEEN Facebook page (www.facebook.com) - video clips of Bozo, Captain 20, Count Gore De Vol and more not seen in years, and not available anywhere else. A perfect primer for tomorrow, with the release of EVERY OTHER DAY IS HALLOWEEN on DVD, and The Count's special appearance at Video Vault in Old Town, Alexandria from 6-9pm. www.everyotherdayishalloween.com... (4/19/10) I don't see it in the online version of the new Washington Post business magazine, the print version of which was inserted into today's home-delivered papers, but the Motley Fool rated a number of local companies based on their one-month and one-year stock gains and losses. Radio One ranked fifth, if memory serves, among the top one-month gainers, but got only a 1-star rating on a 5-star scale. You'll have to track down the print edition to parse this out. I no longer have the paper with me, but thought the news might be of interest to you. Christian (4/19/10) Memo to Bonneville: The Grandy & Andy Show does make money, does have a decent size audience, and has many loyal listeners who could easily be persuaded to follow them to another talk station. If you don't want to buy any Citadel FMers, why not put them in morning drive on WFED AM 1500/820? G&A&Nehman (good newsman to add to your staff, & Grandy could provide commentary & election analysis with Mark Plotkin--sparks would fly!) AM drive, Chris Core mid-mornings, Federal News the rest of the day! (During G&A & CC have short Federal News updates.)--Mike from Silver Spring (4/19/10) Dave's response: I think Fred Grandy's next gig will be on "Dancing With The Stars." The "Maude" reunion show is out now that Bea Arthur is gone..... Dave - I guess Peter ended up NOT BEING the loser everybody thought he would be. Is it safe to say that Peter has been more successful than Don Geronimo ever will be in NYC? (Did Don ever get his fat face on a billboard???) Is it safe to say he is enjoying much more success than ANYONE left at JFK? **snicker at the haters** (4/19/10) Dave's response: I think CBS Radio did once spring for a cable TV ad for Don and Mike on JFK. It ran on the Manassas system..... Sir -- In your posting about WMAL this morning you wrote incorrectly this morning that, “We're told that he went missing to protest the termination date given he and Andy Parks by station owner Citadel, which DCRTV exclusively reported early last week.” You should have written, “We're told that he went missing to protest the termination date given him and Andy Parks by station owner Citadel, which DCRTV exclusively reported early last week.” You are welcome, Jim Regan (4/19/10) Dave's response: Thanks. You can be the new DCRTV proofreader. No pay but lots of fame..... Junkies Spring Break Party at State Theater: okay, we know you want & desperately need mucho el chickadees, but since you are promoting the event, why not at least set-up a way for listeners (even – gasp – “sausages”) who want to attend (thus responding to the promos) to secure a ticket(s). What’s the point of promoting something any person male or female cannot obtain? Sorta like Obambi & “Change”. (4/19/10) Is it possible that Red Zebra sold WWRC 1260 because they had to? I just noticed that Red Zebra filed for another Special Temporary Authority extension for WWRC. Is it possible they've exhausted their low power STA extension window? If that were the case, they'd have to take the station dark or fix the facilities. As the Delaware AM STA Merry-Go-Round proves, all you have to do to keep the STA process and extensions going is to just change ownership and you never have to prove you have proper FCC licensed facilities. The question that begs now is, will Salem actually fix the WWRC 1260 transmitting site or just hold it until the STA extension window expires all over again and re-sell it to someone else? This is one of those habitual FCC problems that the FCC just refuses to solve or end. With some AM stations not having proper transmitting facilities for over 15-20 years now, you would think the FCC would have changed this policy by now, but nope. Oh, just for fun here's another FCC "DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK" filing from Birach Broadcasting in Norfolk... fcc.gov... It looks like WBVA 140 has until November before the license is forfeited, but I imagine the FCC will accept another "DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK" excuse at least one more time. To say that the FCC is a complete joke would be an understatement after you look at these phony applications over and over again. Just laughable really. (4/19/10) Oh boy: “Beach Boys, Tony Bennett among familiar acts in Wolf Trap lineup” : wow! Nothing more EXCITING on a hot summer night than Tony Bennett and the Beach Boys: NOT! From our local newspaper, The Washington Post: “Curious pop fans will want to arrive at Wolf Trap shows early -- many of the season's most interesting performers appear on the underbill. Texas singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham, whose single "The Weary Kind" was made famous in the film "Crazy Heart" starring Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, is set to open for country crooner Lyle Lovett on Aug. 17. John Hiatt is another potential show-stealer. The rock maverick will perform tunes from his lauded new album, "The Open Road," when he warms up for the Levon Helm Band on July 21. And while country icon Willie Nelson is set to headline Wolf Trap on Aug. 3, his son Lukas Nelson will open for B.B. King on July 18. Nelson-the-younger may qualify as country music royalty, but he's proving to be a respectable blues guitarist in his own right. There are a handful of first-timers performing, too, including '90s soft-rock survivors Counting Crows and Rodrigo y Gabriela, a Mexican duo known for their agile guitar work. Other season highlights run the pop spectrum: Jeff Beck, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Four Tops and the Temptations, the B-52s, Backstreet Boys, Julio Iglesias, Harry Connick Jr., Anita Baker, Beres Hammond, Jackson Browne and Sheryl Crow. “ Jackson Browne and Cheryl Crowe: wow, THEIR careers are flying along! My take on “Willie Nelson is set to headline Wolf Trap on August. 3 “: I have seen Willie’s act up close & far away and it’s always the same act. If you have seen one Willie Nelson concert you have already seen them all. Otherwise: it looks like a pretty dismal line-up this summer. www.washingtonpost.com... (4/19/10) /\ April 19 Messages /\ \/ April 18 Messages \/ The 9/29/1980 “Post” contained what was to become a Pulitzer Prize winning article by Janet Cooke, entitled “Jimmy’s World”, about the life of a 7-year-old heroin addict. After it was revealed that the article was a fabrication, the Pulitzer was returned and Ms. Cooke resigned from the Post. However, the article proved that incredibility will buy you far more than credibility ever will. Indeed, until Mark Felt came forward a couple of years ago, there were more than a few older Republicans who claimed that “Deep Throat lived in Jimmy’s World”. That fiasco has cast a shadow upon the “Post” which remains even now, thirty years later. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/18/10) How interesting of CSN to lose the 3rd period of last night's "O/T" thriller @ the Phone Booth. Though I completely enjoy their on-air play by play guys, I do however only tune them in for the Caps and the occasional Wizards game. In my useless opinion, CSN went down the proverbial toilet after MASN became part of the urea sports equation. But just like everything else in this world, it's ALL about the mighty $. In the words of "Mr. Soundoff"; "Your response is welcome". RustyGibson (4/18/10) Charles Puttkammer and Dick Puttkammer? Must be brothers. (4/18/10) In re: the WCVB Youtube piece. Good old Dick Puttkamer. In the early 1970s, he was a director at Metromedia, WTTG-TV, where I watched his performance one memorable afternoon on the old Panorama program with John Willis and Maury Povich. It amazes how he draws order out of seeming chaos. (4/18/10) The Pulitzer is an industry award, limited in magnitude just like those handed out by the NAB, IEEE and other trade groups. Sure, it's nice to be recognized for achievement in all these groups, but the end user cares only about the product. They have no reason to care about the particular staffer . If a newspaper writer is thus recognized, fine, but it's a sign of leftover arrogance to think readers would be impressed at all. (4/18/10) Dave's response: And in a lot of the award ceremonies, like the local Emmys, some stations don't even bother to participate - or send in the same volume of entries. So, you basically have two stations competing against each other, with the other two pretty much left out. Leaving the victors to savor their largely "hollow" victories. Heck, I guess a win looks good on a resume, but means little else..... If Don can get around the CBS legal eagles and post 2 minute videos on the web, why can't he post a one hour daily podcast? So long as he talks about pop culture items, why would CBS give a shit? FWD - Reviewing Unseen Movies: April 17th wknd (4/18/10) In honor of NBC4's new über modern HD news set and Bob Ryan's only change of venue in three decades, let's flip back the pages to 1977 to demonstrate why the low-def days before ENG and computer-assisted control rooms were not "the good old days". Catch just a tiny glimpse of carrot top around 4:23 and again at 9:25. See if you can count the 26 profanities and (oh, yeah), smoke 'em if you got 'em. (4/18/10) "Most readers don't care about awards won by journalists. So discovers Washington Post ombudsman Andy Alexander in his latest column about the four Pulitizers nabbed by his paper's staff....." Duuuhhhh! What a moron! All he has to do is look at the 9/29/1980 "Post"... -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/18/10) "Readers Don't Care About Newspaper Awards," made me shake my head. Who remembers a byline? And who remembers that the name holds a Pulitzer? Prizes like that have value only inside the office. Papers can barely get people to subscribe. Is there a category for business acumen? All losers. (4/18/10) I'm not sure what scares me more... Carol Joynt's plastic surgery face or Larry King's LACK of plastic surgery face! And please remove the anti-Catholic rant over WMET Dave. WMET is not owned by the Catholic church. Will these nutty atheists ever stop with their anti-Catholic gibberish? That idiot just threw in 2 call letters just to get his hard-on over PRIESTS down! (4/18/10) "Bring Back Grandy & Andy to 630 WMAL" page created on Facebook. (4/18/10) Kept hearing ads for Andy and Grandy all through MoneyTalk and Leo LaPorte show on WMAL on Saturday. Is "Gopher " really gone? I must admit some bafflement at the $4million price tag for WMET paid by the Catholic Churchfor a station that has so few listeners. I do enjoy listening to "The Music of Your Life" stuff that I can pick up usually around dusk. This perhaps is the old apples versus oranges argument but doesn't the Catholic Church have better uses for the money these days like funding some of the many parochial schools that I hear are being shuttered or a reserve fund for what looks like more lawsuits coming regarding overly frisky priests. (4/18/10) It's ashame that WFBR's legendary morning guy "Johnny Walker" is no longer with us. We could sure use him to make another trip to see that witch doctor to help the Baltimore Orioles. J E in Salisbury (4/18/10) [WKHZ has no way to reduce power at night, even though THEIR long STA requires it (Been in the building, no remote control, and I know not one drives out their each night)] Yeah, Dick. I'm the one that built it. It drops at night, every night. All 50 watts of it, but it drops. Just because you didn't see a transmitter remote control in the studio when you were working there, Dick, it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. Why do you still hold a grudge, Dick? I mean - it was good enough for a paycheck, until we bounced your ass, right, Dick? Oh, Dick - learn how to write. Your commercial copy smelled like the above quote, as well. Also, please learn "there, their and they're", for Christ's sake! C'mon, Dick! In all seriousness, Bill Parris is a responsible broadcaster, Dick, and he would sooner turn the station off at night. He wouldn't let it run at full (STA) power all night long. Now, back to our regular Dick-cast. (4/18/10) /\ April 18 Messages /\ \/ April 17 Messages \/ The WAGE/WBIS application has been rattling around for months/years and now been approved multiple times as reported by multiple people. While it's true they finally got both day & night approval to operate on AM 1190 from 2 locations (one being their current location in Loudoun), if I'm not mistaken, they need to erect 2 more towers out in Loudoun before erecting 3 new towers near Dulles. The Multi-Million Dollar Question is zoning approval near Dulles. Without that, that dog won't hunt ever. (4/17/10) Thirty years ago, the FCC actually had the manpower and authority to nail a pirate operator... (4/17/10) Mailbag SNIP: "WKHZ has no way to reduce power at night, even though THEIR long STA requires it (Been in the building, no remote control, and I know not one drives out their each night)Hey broadcast EXPERT-----On stations reducing power at night, since the 1980s, this is done by remote control at the transmitter and monitored by these new fangled things called computers or by phone, and the rotary dials are gone too, nothing to see in a studio. You are soooooooo hip!!!! (4/17/10) RE: WBIS (nee WANN). A few years ago I would lament the loss of a big AM station around here, but these days it's more important to weed out, pare down, and refine the stations that remain on "Standard Broadcast." Former owner, the late Morrie Blum once took me on a tour of the new, 50,000 watt transmitter site he established for the final days of WANN. Gorgeous layout at a location in Crownsville. The studios remained at Eastport, as did the old towers, but that property was being put on the real estate market even then. I think he eventually rolled the power back so the light bill more closely matched the revenue, and then sold it off for what became WBIS. I hope WAGE or its successor makes a go of a high-power AM on 1200. I still miss the news on WTOP 1500, but manage to do okay with WBAL and their new morning news block. (4/17/10) (No, it's the END TIME. The end is near. Begin to pray) AGHHH!!!! December 21, 2012!!! AGHHH!!!! You are a f*cking idiot. (4/17/10) From 4/15 Gannett blog - chatter that Lougee is on his way out - please keep your eyes on this: Television division President Dave Lougee has sold an additional 10,625 Gannett shares he bought from the company earlier this month through options granted to him a year ago, a regulatory notice says. He's now sold 21,250 shares over the past month -- the maximum he could "exercise'' under this set of options. Blog comments: 1) That Dubow and Martore are worried about the chatter that Dave Lougee is looking to leave Gannett and has been looking at opportunities at a "large" network. 2) Definitely true. Heard it from outside sources. Looks like there will be more news from the executive ranks. Bad news for Dubow and Martore. (4/17/10) Dave, as determined as you are to give and get credit for reporting news around here, you may have overlooked the fact Dave Loudin tipped you off days earlier than the Baltimore Media Blog regarding WBIS and WAGE. (4/17/10) Dave's response: Ha ha ha! What goes around comes around..... That 1955 WaPo article conveniently neglected to mention that WWDC Park was located directly across Brookville Road from the old WSSC garbage depot that remained in operation until well into the 1970s. (4/17/10) "Why does the FCC allow stations not up to FCC regulations for a period of 15-20 YEARS apply for FM translators??? IT'S INSANE!" No, it's the END TIME. The end is near. Begin to pray. (4/17/10) This from the Baltimore Media Blog on Facebook: WBIS 1190AM in Baltimore/Annapolis may be going dark soon..The FCC has approved the station to go dark and a new D.C. based station with an un-named format will take it's place. (4/17/10) The Washington Post article didn't have too much detail on the potential cuts in funding to MHZ networks. Would you know if the cuts go through MHZ will have to cut down from 10 channels to 5? Does MHZ still produce the music video show "Strictly Global" ? Ddid anyone catch Casey Kasem's son on the" Daily Cconnection" on Friday. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Lindsay Czarniak. He was a small fella, better watch out for Melvin. Not crazy about the new look of the NBC4 news studio. Never cared for the glass block look and throw in neon blue colored glass block and I see tacky. I for one would be estatic to see the return of Imus to the airwaves in D.C.. Will Andy Parks be returning to the traffic beat now that the end may be near? Look out Lisa Baden? I bet Lauren DeMarco could handle the weather ,how about it channel 9? (4/17/10) /\ April 17 Messages /\ \/ April 16 Messages \/ Seems like only yesterday that Radio 1260 moved out to Brookville Road. (4/16/10) I'm pretty sure that none of the networks show commercials in overtime during the game in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But, if it goes to more than one overtime, they do show commercials during intermission. (4/16/10) Clear Channel's engineers have been doing rehab and repair work to the 1260 site on Brookville Road for over two years. The directional antenna system there is old, but it's probably in the best shape it's been in years. The problem is still the ground system and issues unique to the site. It's true that RZ runs 1260 on autopilot, but it's been that way since Clear Channel's time. (4/16/10) Dave, good to see the encouraging numbers for the Caps first playoff game on CSN. What was most interesting though--and I watched the game--the entire overtime period was broadcast commercial free which made it seem like pay-per-view. As I recall, the play-by-play guys seemed to imply that any overtime play in the series would be commercial free. Whether that had anything to do with the ratings, not sure, but it sure was fun to see the excess ice being scraped off the ice by lugs in overalls instead of watching a GEICO commercial for the tenth time. (chiste!) ACH (4/16/10) The AM 1600 in Dover being on several FM translators is another FCC SCAM! How can a station without proper transmitting facilities or a tower site be allowed to apply for FM translators ??? Why does the FCC allow stations not up to FCC regulations for a period of 15-20 YEARS apply for FM translators??? IT'S INSANE! NO WONDER THEY'RE NOT FINDING A PERMANENT TRANSMITTER SITE. The FCC keeps giving them FREE CANDY! And by the way, another FCC violator is The Hope Christian Church of Marlton, NJ. There's no f'ing way their White Marsh, Maryland translator is getting a signal from New Jersey's WVBV. The FCC needs to SHUT THEM DOWN ASAP! And these violators of the public airwaves should be banned from future applications for more stations. Seriously, what's going on now is just insane. So much for that Obama "change." At least at the FCC, it seems like business as usual, and a crooked one at that. (4/16/10) (As I understand it, since Greg Tantum left, not one single human being worked on or for 1260. It was all on autopilot. If I am wrong, somebody on the Red Zebra liferaft will set me straight.) It is technically true that no one person works entirely for 1260. Everyone at Red Zebra works for all the stations. Board ops, sales, engineers, etc, all work for 980-570-1260 together. One live show (paid programming) each day for an hour, but that's it. Automated the rest of the day, except for random overflow play by play sports games (4/16/10) Riddle me THIS Batman... What does tons of viagra, 8 divorces, chronic heart trouble & a close friendship with DCRTV's Carol Joynt have in common? You guessed it Boy Wonder... LARRY KING! LOL -- The Riddler (4/16/10) Dave's response: "DCRTV's Carol Joynt"? Nah..... Ref; "So let's see if those Salem engineers can whip the old WWDC-AM back into shape. It does provide decent daytime coverage throughout most of the DC area....." I used to be able to listen to Notre Dame games without difficulty when WWDC carried them. Now I can't even hear the station. (4/16/10) I find the Salem purchase of the old WWDC-AM intriguing. If it goes through. However, as is well known (to those of us dealing in such), Salem is still actively in the hunt for more signals in this market (they desperately want a decent second FM for “The Fish”.), I guess they couldn’t wait for WMAL to come up in Citadel’s probable “funeral sale” to put their talk product on. Getting back to 1260, IIRC, when CC sold it to the NFL’s version of Edward D. Wood, Jr., the Brookville Road transmitter site property was not included. Dave Loudin, have you recall? As for buyers of the Citadel properties here? There are buyers with cash and decent financing shopping this market right now. The only problem is that the asking prices are still way out of line with industry norms. (Remember when both Fox and CBS were recently looking at buying WRC-TV?) Besides Salem and the ones I’ve named in some of my recent e-mails, there are others. Should WMAL come on the market and Cumulus not be interested, you can bet Salem will buy it for their talk product and either put an ethnic Christian product on 1260, or sell it. Maybe even donate it. As for the rest of the cluster, there could be a minor bidding war for 105.9. The combatants at this time would likely be Salem. Cumulus, and CBS. With its fucked-up signal, I can’t imagine Bonneville seriously wanting to touch it. Unless… they lose in the bidding for 107.3! Should 107.3 come on the market, it would bring the best price a D.C. radio property has brought in ages. Although short-spaced “drop-ins” (Like in Richmond…) have cut in on its once considerable coverage, that signal from 4010 Chesapeake St. N.W. is still one of the best in the market. A bankruptcy auction for 107.3 could even bring the best price any single radio property in the U.S. has brought in many a year. Only glitch is “bankruptcy auctions” in broadcasting (and anything else for that matter) rarely convey assets at true market value as they’re usually considered to be akin to “damaged goods” or a “fire sale”. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/16/10) ("Politico Turns Tables On DC Show Hosts - 4/16 - The Politico launches "Turn The Table," in which Editor-In-Chief John Harris interviews the superstar hosts the DC-based Sunday morning political talk shows from the networks - including Schieffer, Wallace, Tapper, and Crowley.") WTOP has been doing that every Friday since '96 or '97........ (4/16/10) Anybody know how much Salem paid for 1260? (4/16/10) (Dave, It's amazing that the sale of WWRC 1260 by Red Zebra came out of nowhere. What's even more amazing is that no one working at Red Zebra even knows about it. Not a single email or mention from management. Way to run a company. People find out their station is being sold from your website instead of their own company.) As I understand it, since Greg Tantum left, not one single human being worked on or for 1260. It was all on autopilot. If I am wrong, somebody on the Red Zebra liferaft will set me straight. (4/16/10) What I was suggesting was the shut down of Newark, Delaware's 1260 not Washington. The 1600 in Dover is on an FM Translator, so I don't think it will really get shut down, unless the FCC decided to actually do their job, but here they never come over to the Delmarva Peninsula anymore, or maybe they would notice that WKHZ has no way to reduce power at night, even though THEIR long STA requires it (Been in the building, no remote control, and I know not one drives out their each night). The of course there is the Analog LP Channel 6 on the Q105 tower that is LICENSED, even though it's never been on the air. The there are the translators that are supposed to be repeating WXXY or what ever it is this month from Port Republic, New Jersey. And don't get me started on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where the FCC contract person has been across the Bay Bridge and Tunnel in a very long time. (4/16/10) "The station is probably running at a couple hundred watts non-directional at most on the 15 year STA permit plan from the FCC..." We're all gonna die I tell you. A long, slow, painful death. Oh the humanity! (4/16/10) Dave, It's amazing that the sale of WWRC 1260 by Red Zebra came out of nowhere. What's even more amazing is that no one working at Red Zebra even knows about it. Not a single email or mention from management. Way to run a company. People find out their station is being sold from your website instead of their own company. (4/16/10) Dave's response: I heard rumblings late last year that Salem was "kicking the tires" of one of Dan Snyder's DC area radio stations..... Here is the infamous WNWK AM 1260 in Newark, Delaware, sandwiched between Trenton, NJ's AM 1260 & Washington DC's WWRC 1260. www.radio-locator.com... Of course, that is the signal IF they were running at 1000 watts on 3 towers daytime, which they haven't for over 15 years! The station is probably running at a couple hundred watts non-directional at most on the 15 year STA permit plan from the FCC and it's doubtful the signal even reaches the entire community of license, Newark, DE. If ever there was a station that should go dark, this one is it. The FCC needs to learn how to put down sick animals. 15 years... Enough is enough FCC. Put a fork in it. (4/16/10) NPR's Carl Kassell threw out the first pitch Wednesday night for his beloved St. Louis Cardinals - politico.com (4/16/10) NYSD: Memories of Larry King & Love - Larry, Shawn and me and the first days of their romance ... www.nysocialdiary.com (4/16/10) Dave's response: I don't know. But I find that image of Larry King making love to a woman, to anyone, any other human being, to be utterly and profoundly disturbing. Ponderous, man, ponderous..... (I'm told that both Clear Channel and Red Zebra have allowed 1260's signal to deteriorate over the years. So let's see if those Salem engineers can whip the old WWDC-AM back into shape. It does provide decent daytime coverage throughout most of the DC area.....) A chief engineer told me years ago that CC paved over the ground system of 1260....a major no-no for an AM radio station. You might ask about that.....I cannot swear it is true, I jsut heard it nearly 10 years ago......... (4/16/10) Dave, I think the last post did not intend to suggest that Salem would shut down WWRC 1260, but was referring to a suggestion I've been making for over 2 years... That those 2 Delaware stations on 1260 & 1600 that haven't had transmitter sites for 15-20 years should go dark. They've both had close to 10 owners over the years that have made false promises to the FCC of looking for a transmitter site yet obviously have no intention of ever building a permanent transmitter site because the FCC keeps letting them get away with it. I mean c'mon is saying to the FCC that you can't find land in Delaware really a believable excuse? It's the equivalent of telling the teacher the dog ate my homework! I'm not certain how the Dover 1600 would help DC's 1600 because of the adjacent Glen Burnie WFBR 1590, but if the Newark 1260 would go dark, Salem would have lots of wiggle room at least daytime to enhance WWRC 1260's signal and especially towards Baltimore where it does not own a radio station. It would not surprise me if Salem buys that Delaware station and I'm certain it's probably for sale since both have been for sale for like 20 years running. It's not like anyone in Delaware is able to listen to the Newark 1260 from that children's Radio Shack AM radio project kit atop a chicken coop! LOL (4/16/10) Have to disagree with UCS on a few points. First, while DC may not be a 'big' market like SF or Chicago - its plenty big in the billing world. Especially to Citadel which is used to the Allentowns of the world. Second, Citadel isn't really hemorrhaging money. True, they aren't making what they used to and want to but they still have positive cash flow. Once they emerge from Chap 11 they'll have no debt, be owned by a bank and Farid will still be in charge. Other than continuing to cut costs it will be business as usual. It's a shame because the legacy ABC stations deserve to be owned by a company who gets it - like Bonneville. As for locally - WMAL is dead as a local station. They will be the syndicated arm of the network. WVRX is barely breathing. Listen to the ads- they run A LOT of PI's. MIX is the cash cow but even they aren't billing what they used to (then again, no one is). They may be a badly run company but they will be around a while. Even if they want to sell - who's buying? (4/16/10) Salem bought 970 in Aberdeen, then changed it's pattern to allow their New York area station to upgrade to 50kw. They then shut down Aberdeen. Maybe they'll do the same with Newark's 1260 which hasn't had a real tower site for about 15 years. They are sandwiched in between the D.C. station and one in Trenton New Jersey. Now if some one would by 1600 in the D.C. area, and then put 1600 in Dover out to pasture. (4/16/10) Dave's response: I'm pretty sure that Salem won't shut down 1260. It has been looking for a DC AMer to put its national talk format on. I'm told that both Clear Channel and Red Zebra have allowed 1260's signal to deteriorate over the years. So let's see if those Salem engineers can whip the old WWDC-AM back into shape. It does provide decent daytime coverage throughout most of the DC area..... Ok Kiddies....its learning time! Find the misspelled word in this WJLA online story...."Police are not saying anything about where they think the remains came from but, it should be noted that the AFRH is next to two cemetaries." That’s right...the last word of the sentence is misspelled. An all too common mistake. Here is a quick way to remember how to spell it correctly. DCRTV Dave's girlfriend ran out of the cemetery screaming... E....E.....E. There are three E's in cemetery. www.wjla.com (4/16/10) Dave's response: I saw a WaPo.com article yesterday on the Iceland volcano that had both "cancelled" and "canceled" in it. I guess both are acceptable spellings, but pick one and be consistent. Oh, speaking of Iceland, CNN's Rick Sanchez reportedly said yesterday that he was surprised that there's a volcano on Iceland because it's too cold there. Ah, Rick, there are volcanos on some of the moons of Jupiter, and it's alot colder there than Iceland..... Yeah, during the Kerry presidential campaign I hoped to deliver some network material, live and taped, through one of our Pittsburgh affiliates. But their uplink on the top of the building had crapped out and instead they were passing all their material through their satellite truck parked in the lot, a few stories below the studio, with a cable dangling out the window tapping a DA off the control room. NO one knew the difference, and it was very resourceful of them. (4/16/10) I say good for Fred Grandy if what you said is true that they were fired and he isnt showing up. No reason to stay on the air for however long if they dont need or want him. Fred, if you read this, thank you! I always enjoyed listening to you in the morning and your common sense approach to politics and everything else! (4/16/10) Dave's response: Yeah, no Fred Grandy on MAL's morning show again today. Now, yeah, he could be taking a long weekend, but he could be telling Citadel to go fuck themselves. Yeah, Fred, you go girl!!!!! Re: Tony Pan and WBAL - one of the greatest newscasts of all time occured about 10 years ago at Norfolk's WTKR-TV3 (CBS). A transformer blew underground, leaving downtown Norfolk with no electricity. So the WTKR news dept picked up a desk and a chair and went outside, hooked a camera to the satellite truck and beamed the signal out to Driver, Virginia, the site of the transmitter. Ta-da! Makeshift newscast. No electricity, no studio - no problem! Al McGilvray (4/16/10) After the revelation that the Tea Party Express was not a grass roots organization, and they were lining their pockets for the GOP and some conservative PACs with the help of Sean Hannity, Fox News did the right thing and pulled Sean Hannity (even though he went kicking and screaming) out of the Cincinnati stop yesterday. Fox News is correct to distance themselves, now, from the disingenuous Tea Party Express. Thank you Politico for exposing to Fox News and the rest of us the fraud the Tea Party Express and Sean Hannity were telling us. Wow! Will Chris Planet also follow Fox News's example and disavow the Tea Party Express, or will he keep telling us the lie that Michael Steele was pelted with Oreos at a predominantly Black college? (4/16/10) Dave's response: Agree or disagree with the Tea Party protests, if you're a "news channel" you shouldn't be sending your anchors to the group's events and doing cheerleading. I watched a few minutes of Neal Cavuto at 4 PM yesterday at a TP rally in Atlanta, and he was adoring of the crowd and they equally adored him. We can argue what constitutes "journalism," but I think even Mr. Murrow would agree that this ain't it. Not even close..... I truly enjoy DCRTV.com. But when the petty personal attacks start, the sniping at individuals go on for day after day, it ruins the DCRTV experience. Can't you just lay out a flat, "NO PERSONAL ATTACKS" rule and enforce it? When the petty sniping at people starts, I stop reading and don't come back for a couple of days. Why allow these anonymous cowards the access to levy lies and nasty false attacks on people? I can only surmise that you believe that these personal attacks make people come back to read the blog. THEY DON'T. I stop reading and leave DCRTV alone for days at a time because of it. Please at least consider banning these cowardly, childish, nasty personal attacks and keeping it more on the radio/tv industry issues. These people who post these cowardly personal attacks will have to go back to maturbating to Oprah and living with their mothers in the basement! Bill O (4/16/10) WBAL's Tony Pann is great: his weather computer crapped out in the 6AM hour, but he handled it SO well, just explained he was going to hit re-set, and presto! "Now we can have weather!" and you could hear the other air crew applaud and cheer. Great moments in live TV, and kept me interested as to outcome. More so than some of their stories ... (4/16/10) I recall a posting here on DCRTV a few weeks ago about Clear Channel possibly acquiring the rights to carry Rush on Baltimore radio. In the past week or so, a powerhouse Clear Channel outlet in the Winston Salem/Greensboro/High Point market on 94.5 recently dumped their Hispanic programming and call themselves RushRadio94.5. www.945thebeat.com... I have to wonder if indeed this is coming to a CC station in the Baltimore/DC market real soon as well. Dave, as expected, you were clearly ahead on this one. Tom Conroy WZBB-FM (4/16/10) Dave's response: Clear Channel has created a Rush Radio outlet in Boston, too..... /\ April 16 Messages /\ \/ April 15 Messages \/ Regarding Citadel's woes, "...even shutting down some money-losing operations in smaller markets..." Remember that compared to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, D.C. is a "smaller" market. So, we could see that happen here. It wasn't that long ago that CC took "legendary" WARM-590 in Scranton, PA silent. Never say "it can't happen". It does. And, even with "re-negotiated" contracts for talent and other union people, WMAL will continue to lose money. Just not as much as quickly as it does now. It goes without saying that WVRX is losing money. As for WRQX, it bills well but has high drive-time overhead compared to stations in markets like San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Salinas, Modesto, Stockton, or Fresno -namely markets Citadel is more familiar with. The sad thing is Citadel does have some comparatively successful stations. Look at WABC, WLS, KSFO, and KGO. In fact, KSFO was the radio home of Melanie Martin (the woman who helped make it possible for Gray Davis to seek "other professional opportunities" a few years ago) until the round of corporate-wide cuts that got Chris Core and John Matthews at WMAL. Unfortunately, Citadel corporately is hemorrhaging so much cash at such a high rate that there may not be much hope of saving even a "core" group of strong -or even "Citadel legacy"- stations to be part of a downsized Citadel. There's a pretty good shot of it being a total liquidation. I would expect to see Bonneville, Cumulus (note the timing of their new investment deal), among others to go after the remains. As woeful an O&O as Citadel may be, it's kind of sad in a way to see this probable scenario happen. For one thing, it'll likely mean the end of any form of ABC Radio. I wouldn't completely blame the economy for it, though. The Citadel-ABC Radio deal reminds me so much of the average guy who hits the lotto then goes out and buys a super-fast sports car when all his life he's been driving things like an Aveo, an Elantra, or such. And, one night he goes out and proceeds to wrap his new car around a power pole to the point where he's more compressed than "Palisades Park" by Freddy Cannon, and has to be cut out of what's left of what was once a beautiful car, but is now only fit for beer cans. Citadel did a highly-leveraged buy of some of the best properties in commercial radio. And, is now in its financial death throes because, like the driver I illustrated earlier, they lacked the experience to properly operate them. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/15/10) I thought it might be worth noting that Dr. Benjamin Hooks, former head of the NAACP, has died at age 85. In 1972, he was appointed to the FCC by President Nixon, becoming the first Black member of that regulatory body. www.nytimes.com (4/15/10) in regards to this comment: (Um, helllo!!!! Have you looked at WTOP's PPM numbers? THEY don't serve the local market????!!!???) I should have amended my comments. WTOP is a tremendous radio station. It delivers on its expectations on a consistent basis. There is no surprise why it wins in PPM. They simply do things right. The PPM problem - and radio's in general - is really more about music radio. There is no content there. Frightened and cowered program directors think only of playing more songs with fewer interruptions featuring ever decreasing play lists. They can not and will not look for ways to create entertainment outside of the music they play. A quick listen to the market confirms that. It used to be that morning drive was the bastion of local entertainment. Not too many local music morning shows that actually entertain, are there. Midday is a wasteland of 'more music, less talk'. And PM drive is only a small step above midday. And forget nights and weekends - there ain't nothin' happening there. As a result, most music stations 'win' by default. If they own a mass appeal position they get the share in PPM. Niche won't play anymore. What radio does not realize is that their days of succeeding as a simple jukebox are numbered. The question is - who has the guts to be different? (4/15/10) Re: "Will Chris Plante admit he was duped?" The Tea Party Express (the bus tour) chairman is Mark Williams, the California talk show host who had a rather infamous fill-in on WMAL some time back. There are radio talk show hosts all over the Tea Party movement, some linked to that group, some not. That PAC has been open about their involvement, and Mr. Williams started his activism (off-air) in that PAC, making cable TV news network appearances as its representative for months before the Tea Party Express got going. Interesting story, but not terribly surprising. (4/15/10) NBC4's sleek new studio makes ABC7's studio look outdated, which is next oldest TV studio in DC. (4/15/10) One more thing? From your 4/13 description about Richmond Comcast picking up The Pentagon Channel... Just to add that The Pentagon Channel also carries an Emmy award winning documentary series, a cooking show, a fitness show, daily live newscasts and updates, a weekly news magazine program, coverage of sports in the military....and specials like interviews with the President and the First Lady.... (4/15/10) If it's from Huffington Post and Newsweek, then it HAS to be true. (4/15/10) This morning on FOX5 news, the reporter (I think it was Sarah Simmons) covering the story about the student who had been beaten by the police said that the police had not released the names of the officers who had been suspended due to concern for their safety since a number of threatening e-mails and phone calls had been received. But right after saying that, she said that SHE had the name of one of the officers and proceeded to give his name!!!..Way to go FOX.. (4/15/10) (This is the sad reality of a large part of today's radio landscape - and PPM is making it worse. No one takes chances. No one identifies and serves their local market.) Um, helllo!!!! Have you looked at WTOP's PPM numbers? THEY don't serve the local market????!!!??? (4/15/10) I think the information in today's Post about Larry King is correct...at least in the Style section article I read. His current wife is his seventh, but he was married eight times because he married (and divorced) one woman twice. This will be his eighth divorce. This requires a mathematician rather than an editor. -- Bobbie (4/15/10) First look at the new WRC-TV set, designed by Clickspring Design, the same folks who did the MSNBC stuff. www.newscaststudio.com (4/15/10) It had to happen eventually: even conservatives are beginning to understand that Fox News is just a sloppy propaganda machine: www.newsweek.com (4/15/10) Re: Larry King. He will have 8 divorces. He married the same women twice, thus 7 wives and 8 divorces. The WaPo got it right. (4/15/10) Good thing the Wash Post let go so many of those unnecessary copy editors. Today’s dual Larry King headlines make that point: "Larry King files for divorce from wife No.8" ... "Larry King files for divorce from wife #7, Shawn Southwick, after 13 years of marriage" (4/15/10) Please Dave: let me take a stab at the following DCRTV post. Thanks. "Oh My God! The Tea Party Express was planned by a political firm to raise money for themselves! It is not "grass roots!" Oh My God! Chris Plante was duped into believing The Tea Party Express was planned by "Salt of the Earth," and "everyday Americans." Oh My God, all this media advancing the Tea Party Movement was planned by a political firm! We were all duped! Will Chris Plante admit he was duped? www.politico.com" - Listen you little ankle grabbing Commie: As the late, great Bismark did NOT say: "Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made." So goes "grassroots" or "Astroturf" politics. Grow up, Junior. And here, a photo of you and your lover: www.thewvsr.com (4/15/10) WFMD (Frederick's answer to WMAL) is holding their usual "Tea Party" gathering at Barley & Hops Restaurant today, with WFMD personalities (Blaine Young, Bob Miller, "The Forgotten Men", etc.) around 4:30 PM. If only someone had the brains to re-program WFMD as a local oldies or music format, it would sound better! (4/15/10) "Don’t worry MR. G!!!" BWHAHAHAHA....Looks like it might be time to break out the tin foil helmet, Bick. Signed, Mr. S. (4/15/10) Potomac Radio now has the blessing of the FCC to convert its existing site for 1200 kHz to nighttime operations on 1190 kHz. Regards, Dave Loudin (4/15/10) Exhibit #23,187 in your long-running campaign of questioning just how the Post can continually get TV/Radio information -- call letters, listings, etc. -- so horrifically wrong. Check out what they have for tonight's Caps playoff game: www.washingtonpost.com. (4/15/10) The HFStival would work now with or without the actual station broadcasting. The ground work for that was done in the 90s when WHFS was a station you didn't need new technology to hear. Lollapalooza,SXSW,Warped Tour.....these are events with no single station affiliation and they keep working. HFStival is known far and wide even by people who don't ,or didn't,listen to HFS. Even some of the younger crowd I know who refuse to buy HD radio or stream WHFS.com got interested when I mentioned HFStival. But having it in September rather than May or June is like someone telling you your birthday party will be 4 months late....and in my case its exactly whats being done.....Now if they once again had 2 'FStivals this year then September would be awesome but this is like Part 2 without a Part 1. Dave tell your aunt the crowd won't have many real Hippies but some of thier nephews and nieces ,or grandchildren, may like the brownies. Weasel?!? It would be cool if he DID MC the HFStival. Or for that matter any former HFS Jock. Everyone be sure to show your appreciation to Jerry for going it alone too,he's doing a pretty good job of rocking DC and certain stubborn holdouts in Maryland. So why would we want to go to the HFStival? Cuz WE'RE ALL A BUNCH OF FREAKS!!! Whaddawewant?? FStival FStivaaallll When do we want it?? MAYYYYY!!!!! Donnie grudgingly waiting all summer. (4/15/10) I have better things to do during my waking hours than watch, much less re-arrange my schedule to watch, TV. If I want to watch a show I like, most likely it's on an eztv RSS feed and my torrent client will automatically download an HD version of it within hours of its broadcast to my Internet and TV-attached media center PC. I can watch it whenever or load it to a portable and make that "wherever". You won't find episodes of The View, Oprah, Judge Judy, or Access Hollywood on those feeds, either. Perhaps the ad income from those shows' watchers is indirectly subsidizing the non-commercial viewing habits of people like me. If the newer, better stuff goes away because of that--so what?--there is enough older archived content out there to watch for a long time. And then there's the Wii/PS3/Playstation... (4/15/10) Oh My God! The Tea Party Express was planned by a political firm to raise money for themselves! It is not "grass roots!" Oh My God! Chris Plante was duped into believing The Tea Party Express was planned by "Salt of the Earth," and "everyday Americans." Oh My God, all this media advancing the Tea Party Movement was planned by a political firm! We were all duped! Will Chris Plante admit he was duped? www.politico.com (4/15/10) Any chance of Mark Weaver teaming up with Frank Hardin mornings on WMAL? Why do the teabaggers like Palin so much? She's such a money whore. Do you think if Jack Diamond is let loose he'd join Mike O'Meara's podcast crew? DCRTV Dave will your aunt be serving special brownies to the hippies coming to the HFS Festival? Will Weasal be the host or has he moved out of the D.C. area? (4/15/10) The HFStival may work - Music festivals seem to be on an upswing this year and local radio isn't needed anymore to get the word out. Facebook, Myspace, and a solid local website can bring in just as many people as a big radio station used to, just look at the "Island Bay Day" festival on the Eastern shore every year. Mostly web outreach with a small amount of local radio and print and they bring in thousands. (4/15/10) "Why does the MOM Show have this anorexic (unidentified - anyone know who this high maintenance bitch is?) woman as their lead photo on today's show?" - It's Kara Dioguardi from American Idol in May's issue of Allure. (4/15/10) /\ April 15 Messages /\ \/ April 14 Messages \/ A bunch of the old WASH staff from the '70's along with current morning host, Loo Katz, and former WCBM, WQSR, and current FRESH-FM host, Ken Merson, met up for some laughs and reminiscing on Monday in Annapolis...a good time. This would have been one hell of an airstaff... Others in the pic: Jim Herron, Bob Duckman, John Dowling, Ed Rodriguez, Jerry Clark, Marilyn Thompson... (4/14/10) UCS makes some good points inre Citadel. The demise of 4400 Jenifer St is being writ from above. They have become part of that nationwide broadcasting fraternity that suffers at the hands of their corporate overlords. This is the sad reality of a large part of today's radio landscape - and PPM is making it worse. No one takes chances. No o ne identifies and serves their local market. Its all about taking the safe route and being as broad in appeal as possible. The reality of WMAL is that they can no longer justify the big ticket cost of that morning show with the meager ratings. The audience for that station is narrowly focused on old white men (according to the numbers). Moving it to FM will not make them younger. Not unless they meke their content more appealing for someone born after 1960. I would imagine they will be replaced by something from their network stable. They won't do anything with Jack because he is the only ratings grabber MIX has. As for the rest of the legacy ABC stations? you can be sure the top down management style is being applied there, as well. It is sad but radio is sowing the seeds of its own demise. (4/14/10) Political diatribes aside, I don't think Fred Grandy & Andy Parks were technically "fired" today. A couple of facts to consider. As we all know, one of the first things a station does when an air personality is fired is pull them off the website and yank all promos for the show, as well as commercials done by that host. As of this evening G&A are on 630WMAL.com, liners into the breaks for G&A are still airing and the golf tournament promo, Thompson Creek Windows and Golf for Less spots are all airing. Since when does a fired employee get to continue to do their show? Where is the replacement show? And as far as the speculation concerning Scarborough returning to the early midday slot, unless Citadel is dictating that from a corporate level Joe & Mika underperform all over the country & just don't fit the mold of the line-up they have now. I think this has more to do with the reorganization under Citadel's bankruptcy proceedings, where they see this as an opportunity to rid themselves of a huge debt load, especially when it comes to severance due longterm employees. I also think this is a way to re-sign G&A under a different contract structure. If in fact G&A are gone, this is the oddest way to get rid of a morning show I've ever heard of. Citadel is not ready to run large and major market stations. They are strictly small and medium market operators & even at that, are in over their collective heads. I'd personally like to see WMAL move over to 105.9FM, put Jack Diamond in the morning, move Carson to the AM Drive slot on MIX 107.3 and totally revamp the WMAL brand. (4/14/10) It looks like Bonneville will be adding some FM signals for Nationals broadcasts: nats320.blogspot.com. Too bad that you will either have to live within three miles of Leesburg to pick up 104.3 or have an HD radio to pick up 107.7's HD signal. -BG (4/14/10) I listened to the Grandy & Andy show this morning. They said there were going to be over 10,000 people at the Tea Party Rally in Boston today. Actually, no more than half that showed up. Andy said that if he were unemployed he would work three jobs to stay off unemployment insurance rolls. Wow! Andy also chided a guy who was unemployed for not applying for a job at Wal-Mart as a greeter. Look for Andy as a greeter at a Wal-Mart near you soon, I guess. (4/14/10) To the unsigned poster who thinks I know nothing of radio history and formats, where did you pull that from? Not to draw Dave into this, but I think he'd disagree with you as he knows who I am. That aside, a move to an even harder right stance at WMAL, would be folly. Few are more hard right that Hannity and he's 15th in the market here--much lower than the station itself. Limbaugh, is number 4 in his time slot but in other markets, he's usually first. Using local talent is expensive and Citadel doesn't have the cash. Meanwhile WAMU, a liberal FM PBS station, is always in the top five. Actually, the harder WMAL goes right, the lower their rating will go, with the possible exception of election campaign periods. If WMAL can't translate their daily frothing at the mouth against the first black President into significant numbers, they have no hope. ACH (4/14/10) Steve Johnson - He left Red Zebra???!! Wow. It IS falling apart over there if that's the case. He ran that sales effort & was main liason between station and the team. (4/14/10) TO FRED DAHMS: With the verbal permission of Fred Gray, his e-mail address is Frederick.Gray@verizon.net and you can reach him at 301-498-4040. ACH (4/14/10) To the poster who inquired about the woman on the MOM show page today, I believe it's Emmanuelle Chriqui from HBO's Entourage as seen in Allure magazine. (4/14/10) Both Tom Robinson’s comments about radio and those of an anon poster about TV are almost on the money. It’s not a “radio problem” or a “TV problem”. It’s a “broadcasting problem”. And, it doesn’t take “re-invention” to be successful. Broadcasting needs to get back to its roots to survive. Local origination (and not just part time or contracted-out news, either!) with local management (if not ownership) are necessary to make this work. While I’m way past that 35-50 demographic Dave was talking about, except for work, I’ve only listened to AM for DX since WTOP gave up the ghost there. And, as for TV, (again except for work) I haven’t been a daily viewer in over 35 years. Broadcasting needs to be a part of (as opposed to apart from) the local community if it is to survive. That includes being a part of the local business community. Tom’s comments about the future of CC is a prediction of broadcasting’s potential future: One where only a few very strong stations survive in a market. Not just w/CC, but overall. Add in the continuing drama which is Citadel in D.C. and you have to wonder how much worse this business will get. My prediction is that after Andy & Grandy go, Chris Plante will indeed get AM drive… until he is fired (again) and Imus returns to D.C. with Mika and Joe returning to WMAL for late mornings. I bet that Carson and Harvey are likely being told (by what management is left) “not to worry” because of the revenue they bring in. They would be told this lest they use their “opt out” clauses and run elsewhere, perhaps leaving WRQX hopelessly crippled. And, WRQX is the last thing Citadel has in D.C. that resembles a money-spinner. If they’ve not been told this by now, they should be looking for a new gig. Being “Satan’s Advocate”, as I’m often called ipon to be, I’ll ask the question nobody else on the board has dared to ask (so far at least): Are these events unique to Citadel in D.C. or are similar pathos being played-out elsewhere? And, if they are, is it only at the former ABC stations, or are “legacy” Citadel stations also seeing this kind of hyper-toxic management? -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/14/10) From the Capital Weather Gang at washingtonpost.com: "Bob Ryan to WJLA? Rumors that Bob Ryan will return to local TV on WJLA (ABC 7) have returned. Today dcrtv.com is reporting that Ryan will join the station after his contractual "cooling off" period ends. It is expected that Ryan will fill the 11 p.m. timeslot while Doug Hill covers early-evening broadcasts." (4/14/10) Dave's response: Gosh, two nice credit mentions in one day. God bless 'em..... Dave's Quote: "If WMAL wants more pairs of younger ears they'll have to move to FM, for a start. Nobody under 40 listens to AM". By "young", I was referring and thinking of listeners in the 35-50 age range. Sadly, I'm a member of the latter part of this age equation - just a middle-aged suburban mom. -Silvie- (4/14/10) (NOTE TO CITADEL: Go harder to the right in a listening area where the populace votes between 60 and 70 percent Democratic? Oh yeah, that will work. ACH) With all due respect, ACH, you don't know much about radio history or formatics. Right-wing radio first flourished in two of THE most liberal cities in the U.S. Seattle and San Francisco. In fact, both have competing right-wing radio stations. The minority in those cities (conservatives) has a circle-the-wagons it's us-versus-them mentality. No radio station gets 100% of the audience...not even 60 or 70%. But you can WIN with 5% of all the listeners 25-54, In fact, a 5-share adults 25-54 means you eat well in the radio world. Yes, conservative radio CAN be a winning strategy in a very liberal city like DC. WMAL had many, many other flaws that held it back. It wasn't the strategy. (4/14/10) Dave's response: Righty talkers do very well is many liberal cities. Look at WABC in NYC, KFI in LA, or KSFO in SF. Those AMers have good signals in very "AM friendly" markets. WMAL's AM signal is barely OK, but it's in a heavily FM-biased market. One of the smartest things all-news WTOP did a few years back was move to FM. If WMAL moved or simulcasted on FM, a la 105.9, and focused on building back a solid news department with local morning and afternoon drive shows, and provided entertaining (!) righty talkers, including a few blacks and women, it could do very well here. But don't expect that from a busted and broke Citadel..... Why does the MOM Show have this anorexic (unidentified - anyone know who this high maintenance bitch is?) woman as their lead photo on today's show? It looks like she needs a cheeseburger for her ribs and an Excedrin for her headache. Just imagine her in the sack ("Not tonight, I have a headache and I'm too skinny!") www.mikeomearashow.com (4/14/10) Dave's response: Almost not safe for work..... Well, Big Dave, congrats on the scoop on the Metamucil Brothers, Andy & Grandy, who just could not come up extreme enough (though they tried) in their final days (who knows when) at WMAL: may they soon be replaced by dead air before that manic Chris “Yes, I’m Related To CBS’ Bill” Plante takes to the air in order to set himself up for a heart attack. While the suits are at it, somebody, please, please, let the MOM and the Giggle Boy Robb along with the Viagra Boy Buzz just go to that great radio graveyard in the sky to be with their maker. Dave, maybe have an extra latte at South Lakes Starfucks and an extra Jack tonight at the Fireplace. And Kudoos to Media Bistro’s “Fishbowl” for Big Dave’s kudos: www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC (4/14/10) Dave's response: God bless FishbowlDC..... Put down the crack pipe, people. Dave, you'll have to expand a bit on your 'reliable source' regarding WMAL and Grandy & Andy. So, let's say that they both are leaving and will be off the air soon -- that's precisely what Andy Parks had been stating within the past year after Chris Core left, and then after Chris Plante left the first time around. Let me explain: Andy has always stated that the radio business is one that fluctuates and that they never know the who, what, where, when of things to happen. I'm sad by these turn of events, if proved to be true, because I love those guys and I just saw them all last Saturday at the Free Speech Forum -- but nothing is everlasting in radio, from what I've learned. Here today; gone tomorrow. If Bryan Nehman and Ann Wog stay, that'll be a blessing. Who knows, maybe the station is gearing up for a younger audience-oriented programming? -Silvie- (4/14/10) Dave's response: If WMAL wants more pairs of younger ears they'll have to move to FM, for a start. Nobody under 40 listens to AM, at least not here in the DC market, which has been heavily FM-biased since the mid-1970s..... I just called WMAL and asked if Grandy and Andy will be on the air tomorrow morning. She said she didn’t know and she would have to ask the program director Paul Duckworth. So, I guess he is still employed. I just said, “That’s OK,” and hung up. What does this response tell me? A) I guess they are not getting any calls from listeners about this. B) Nobody cares. C) If they were let go, Paul Duckworth didn’t have a statement ready for the phone receptionist, which is incredible BAD MANAGEMENT. If they were let go, Paul Duckworth handled this situation swimmingly well- NOT! It may be another big FAIL for Duckworth. (4/14/10) hey Dave, I just saw the front page and Im really bummed about Grandy and Andy. I really enjoyed listening to them in the morning. I always found them pretty entertaining and that, for the most part made sense in what they said. Now Im gonna need another morning news show to listen to. (4/14/10) Dear Dave, Totally shocked re Grandy/Andy/Brian. I really, really like those guys - almost verging on a gay crush. My bros. How bout some hopeful prognostication: 570 Catholic Radio morning team? 1420 mornings? Anything??? Thanks. (4/14/10) Dave's response: My gay crush is on Bryan Nehman. Something particularly hot about some of those mysterious Middle-Eastern men. As for Catholic Radio on 1160 (not 570), I hear that Joe Ratzinger will be paired with Mancow for the morning slot. It'll be called "The Pope And The Dope Show"..... Grandy and Andy out? Did they fire Paul Duckworth as well? The first time I called WMAL to complain was when Andy said “Hitler is in the White House.” Paul Duckworth told me that it was a caller that brought up Hitler (not true, Andy said “it is like Nazi Germany” prompting the caller to ask “where’s Hitler?”). Duckworth told me Andy’s comment was “a little over the top,” but they were NOT going to apologize. As a station manager, it was Paul Duckworth’s responsibility to get the podcast of that disgusting comment off the website. He failed for two days to remove it. Should Grandy & Andy have been fired? Who knows? Should Duckworth be fired? Hell yes. Now, when market legends leave the air, like Geronimo, Gallagher, Simpson, O’Meara, Ryan, and Michaels, it is usually covered on television, covered in the newspapers, and recognized politely and sincerely, on other radio stations in the market. Will TV and other stations give Parks accolades for his 25 plus years in this market? I doubt it, and we have Bloomquist, Robinson, and Duckworth to blame for that. (4/14/10) While we HFS freaks should be grateful that its happening at all I must say that CBS has missed an important point concerning the HFStival. Traditionally most of the 'FStivals have been held on ,or near,Memorial Day weekend. This date had the advantage of offering listeners the first big blowout after a long winter of boredom. By the time September creeps in alot of people may have already blown thier fun money for the summer. Not to mention the fact that Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots are in the area for the MMR-B-Q in Philly and just might find the time to do a set for a station who promoted them heavily in the past. I guess its a tight timeline to put together a Memorial Day 'FStival but no doubt alot of fans will be disappointed. This is not to say I won't be going so "HEY CBS: DON'T BAIL OUT ON THE HFSTIVAL THIS TIME!!!" Donnie (4/14/10) People complain about the impure Sports Talk Corny Tony Kornheiser provides, as he adds entertainment with Sports Talk. If you look at the Junkies, it works for their ratings as much as it works for Tony’s. Mike Wise might be able to increase his share if he were allowed to do more of his non sports talk, after all he covers more than sports at the Washington Post. Like a good Coach, PD’s would be smart to use the strengths of their on-air talent to increase ratings. (4/14/10) NOTE TO CITADEL: Go harder to the right in a listening area where the populace votes between 60 and 70 percent Democratic? Oh yeah, that will work. ACH (4/14/10) Andy and Grandy gone? Is it wrong to have Schadenfreude for Andy Parks dismissal? Its a sun shinny day now. So long Parks, don't let the door hit you on your way out. Rich (4/14/10) To mark the beginning of the NHL playoff season, please, please WMAL make it a hat trick and fire Plante as well. ACH (4/14/10) Dave's response: I think the powers that be at Citadel want to turn 630 into a "red meat" righty talker like KSFO in San Francisco. And Grandy and Andy are a bit too "blueblood GOP" and "RINO-ish"..... ESPN 980 is broadcasting live from the MCI center tomorrow afternoon... they aren't blind to the Caps! (4/14/10) Does anyone at ESPN980 understand that the Washington Capitals are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup and are about to begin their playoff series on Thursday? Can they get somebody to find out what ails Nick Backstrom? Or is "Redskins at 1" in early April more important? (4/14/10) Dave: It's interesting to read your note about the end of the Grandy and Andy morning show on WMAL. I was planning this morning to write to you about the show, which I listen to, in part, every weekday, and say that "The Big Hour," which is a recent innovation on the show covering just one topic for an entire hour, just wasn't working. I'd turn it on and they'd have some unrecognizable voice droning on and on. Sometimes these guests were articulate and borderline recognizable -- a local politician, for instance -- but as often as not, they had some think-tank guru or school professor nattering on about whatever their pet issue was. It wasn't working. I wanted them to go back to the old, albeit repetitive, news format. Looks like the changes will be more sweeping now, with the hosts themselves swept out the door. What about Brian Nehman? Will he stay or will he go? Christian (4/14/10) [PARANOID?????( (snip) We like quality broadcasters and one of them is NOT. (end snip) *Question - How would you know one of them is not a quality broadcaster when it's been clearly said in the past you have no confirmation (and thus no identity) of who the post submitters are? Someone is not being very honest here.] Don’t worry MR. G!!! (4/14/10) "Dave, I am calling out area talk show host on ESPN 980AM and 106.7FM The Fan. Washington for the first time in years has the best team one of the major sports and it time to talk Caps. No excuses it time for hosts to quit being lazy and step up the coverage the Caps." I couldn't agree more but it should be pointed out that right now, 106.7's Mike Wise and Holden Kushner are broadcasting live from the Capitals' practice facility in Arlington, VA with lots of hockey discussion and interviews expected during their four hour timeslot. Meanwhile on ESPN 980, Tony Kornheiser's breaking down last night's episode of American Idol and he started his show by saying "we're not talking too much sports today." I think that's a fairly accurate indication of the attitude of those two shows toward the team (not to mention sports in general), and from an overall standpoint WJFK's been better than WTEM on the Caps all season long although falling short of what sports talk stations in traditional hockey markets provide. Speaking of 980, what's the deal with the same commentary by ESPN's Chris McKendry (regarding Tiger Woods' press conference at the Masters last week) getting replayed four or five days in a row toward the end of Kornheiser's show? - apparently nobody's minding the store over there. Mike, Fairfax (4/14/10) Although "The Examiners" criticism about the lack of Caps coverage is valid, it's quite hypocritical. WJFK knows the demand for Caps talk and tries but ESPN980 always thinks they know better. Where's "The Examiner" when it comes to pointing out the bad the talent and poor quality of ESPN980? Yesterday, I listened to 980 three-times. During each of their afternoon shows and right through 7pm, barely any Caps talk. If 980 wanted to compete in the market, why didn't they host a Caps pep-rally downtown at the Green Turtle or something? Now, 980 will hide behind the "cutting budget" excuse and really go in the tank. Unfortunately, there are some ex-980 people at WJFK so the out-of-the-box thinking is still limited but it's still disappointing that a FM sportstalk doesn't open their eyes and take advantage of the biggest sports story in the market. May be it's time to start dumping the big salaries at 980 and get some new thinking in-place. (4/14/10) Has anyone else noticed that just before WMAL's 9:a.m. news break, before particularly embittered unhinged reactionary right-winger Chris "It's a" Plante comes on, the lazy ass station still runs the promo of "20 minutes of news and views coming up," as though Grandy and Parky were still on during that hour? Someone please tell that to the Marconi (sp?) awards people. (4/14/10) Dave's response: Chris's middle name is "Dumasa"..... To: Tom Robinson/Fairfax about how the young people of today are way more into downloads and Ipods than radio, you are right and its the very same thing with television too. Today this is no shortage of those under 30 who "don't do TV" or they say "TV SUCKS ASS" or "TV is for the retarded" and of course they don't own sets either. Thats the "in" thing now plus a good many of the celebrities that the young people like such as movie actor Seth Rogen and music stars like Pitbull & Jay-Z all had made the claim in recent years that TV and radio "sucks" and they don't own either. For some reason around this area a lot of those in TV are having a hard time if not simply flat out refusing that there is an issue to begin with. However in some other parts of the country it is a problem that scares the hell out of many station owners. Last month during the switch to DTV I can recall reading in our local paper where one of the Indianapolis TV stations, I believe it was WISH-TV CBS 8 had went door to door at one of their local universities to remind students about the switch to DTV and see if they were ready...guess what? Not one of those students even owned a TV set !!! Meanwhile in Denver, local KCNC-TV CBS 4 and KMGH ABC 7 both actually spent money last year on local radio begging young people to come back to TV while KWGN channel 2 actually rebranded themselves as the Denver Deuce complete with a newscast geared towards that 25 year old. Even though "News on the Deuce" is complete with an anchor who goes on Facebook while reading the news, a reporter is only does stories on medical pot, rock bands on the set and so forth....the effort by KWGN is getting a big yawn among the young people there. My husband was in Las Vegas recently and he was telling me that one of their local TV stations were planning to start sponsoring rock concerts to get the young people to come back to TV but decided it wouldn't be worth the trouble..to get people to come back to you when they really don't want no part of you in the first place. (4/14/10) Dave, I am calling out area talk show host on ESPN 980AM and 106.7FM The Fan. Washington for the first time in years has the best team one of the major sports and it time to talk Caps. No excuses it time for hosts to quit being lazy and step up the coverage the Caps. www.washingtonexaminer.com... Cheers, Jim (4/14/10) Those white men at 630 do NOT like that uppity black prez. Ha ha ha. (4/14/10) (snip) We like quality broadcasters and one of them is NOT. (end snip) *Question - How would you know one of them is not a quality broadcaster when it's been clearly said in the past you have no confirmation (and thus no identity) of who the post submitters are? Someone is not being very honest here. (4/14/10) Tea Party report... (4/14/10) Re: "Dave's response: The age 25-54 numbers for the third week of March" Interesting numbers - Is WBIG rated 8th or 10th? you have them listed twice. Also is WIAD beating WRQX 25-54? Thanks! (4/14/10) Dave's response: Whoops. WRQX is 10th. Yeah, Fresh WIAD is beating Mix 107.3 in some dayparts in the 25-54 demo, and, I'd suspect, in the 25-54 female demo, too. And that's without having an expensive gasbag like Jack Diamond on the payroll. Gawd, with RQX gradually sinking, MAL pretty much the Leisure World radio demo, and the stuck-in-the-rock-sludge Edge, Citadel is pretty fucked-up here in the DC market, ain't it..... Oh look. More free plugs for KR2D2.com or what ever the low quality site is....I thought there were not going to be anymore mentions of that site without a paid advertisement. (4/14/10) "Would never let it on KHZTV.com" --Unless they paid the hourly studio rental fee, like everyone else on that "station". (4/14/10) The HFStival will be at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg. With all the festivals playing Jiffy Lube Live and Merriweather Post this summer, as well as the Virgin Festival slated for Pimlico, is there room for another all day rock concert in this area? (4/14/10) Dave's response: My aunt lives just off Quince Orchard Road. It's gonna be in her backyard..... "Please find me the element of the Tea Party movement that is beyond a doubt racist." OK, let's try this, then... washingtonindependent.com (4/14/10) I'm amazed at how much confusion about media companies can be had by readers of a media board. The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press are separate newspapers owned by separate companies. Today Gannett owns The Detroit Free Press. The Medianews Group owns The Detroit News. This has been the case since 2005. However, before that, Gannett owned The Detroit News, and the Free Press was owned by Knight Ridder. It was the Detroit News (through the Evening News Association) who traded Detroit's Channel 4 to the Washington Post for DC's Channel 9. (So obviously, Gannett, Knight Ridder and Medianews configured the transaction so that Gannett wouldn't inadvertently give Medianews WUSA 9.) Anyway, to people thinking the newspapers have merged, they did not. They had entered a joint operating agreement which affected the business side of things, though editorial remain separate. That continues through to 2089. They did also use to publish a combined weekend paper, but that arrangement ended in 2006 except for a quirk where the Detroit News gets to publish an editorial in the Sunday Free Press. (4/14/10) Dave, I spent 8 years of weekends at what was initialy Chancellor then AM/FM, then Clear Channel here in D.C. As much as I "used to" love radio (I still like it) I think the industry is in for major changes. I read the NY Times article. Here is what I think will happen...Clear Channel will sell off enough stations (the less profitable ones) to pay off their looming $700M debt. They will survive as a much smaller entity. Overall, I think that is good for radio. However, anyone that thinks the local overnight shift is coming back is living in a fantasy. I am an entrepreneur and work with many younger guys and gals, some just out of college. This past week I was riding with one and said put on WTOP so we can check the traffic. I got the deer in the headlights look. All the young generation knows is downloads and IPODS (not meant to be an offense, its just what the young generation is in to). What is "FM" anyway? FM is becoming yesterday's AM. OK, I admit it, except for WTOP, 98% of my listening is now on Sirius/XM. My point. ..Radio has to totally reinvent itself with something that is local (WTOP being a fine example). What that will be is up to the marketplace as it should be. Tom Robinson/Fairfax (4/14/10) Man, BICKTATION, That really has a nice ring to it! Dave, don't let these IP snipers get to you. There's only 2 or three, and their writing skills betray that. KHZ sincerely thanks "Hitman" for his PRICK, DICK and BRICK. However we'll pass on the half hour for each. We like quality broadcasters and one of them is NOT. It ain't Unsigned either. It's "no name coward". Would never let it on KHZTV.com. (4/14/10) Richard Dahms: Fred Gray still lives in Fulton, Md. with his wife Jane. He's lived there for 30-plus years in the same house. Fulton is near Laurel. Should be easy to find. Spoke to him a couple of months ago. ACH (4/14/10) HFStival is coming back... consequenceofsound.net (4/14/10) /\ April 14 Messages /\ \/ April 13 Messages \/ Will Lou Dobbs, Dennis Miller, and Glenn Beck be at the HFStival this September in Gaithersburg? I mean, WHFS is their radio station in the DC area, and Billy Idol and Lou Dobbs talking about immigration could be a lively debate. (4/13/10) I enjoyed reading the feedback and comments about WLMD Radio and the Allan Prell audio collage I placed on You Tube. There are other people perhaps I should have mentioned, but I was trying to keep the introduction as brief as possible and communicate some of the station’s history. I was Easy Ed Hartley’s board operator/engineer as well, and my recollection of him was that he was a very good man and easy to get along with as his nickname “Easy Ed” implies. Also doing talk radio during WLMD’s all telephone talk format was Fred Tucker, Bob Bell and Luther Starnes. Bob Gotkin did a sports talk show as well as Ed Francovic. Perhaps I was remiss in not mentioning the other Chief Engineers that I worked for during my employment at WLMD. Besides Scott Standiford who hired me to clean records after the flood and who trained me on operating the boards for Confidentially Feminine with Art Gliner, I also worked for Chief Engineers Lee Parr, Gene Roberts and Michael Cain. I have been asked by one of my fellow WLMD alumni if I knew the whereabouts of Fred Gray. Fred did afternoons when I arrived in 1972, and is the voice in the Allan Prell intro, the second air sequence in the collage before Allan tells the story of working in his darkroom in his basement. If anyone knows about Fred Gray, please post and I will pass it on. Two other names I will throw out to see if people remember: one is Jarrett Day who, by coincidence, I heard on the air in Des Moines, Iowa in the late 1970s while I was attending Drake University. The other name is Lou Scalley who did mid-mornings when Tropical Storm Agnes hit. Once again, if I could put another plug in for the You Tube site of vintage WLMD Allen Prell Show audio for those who missed the original post, the links can be found here... Thank you! Richard Dahms (4/13/10) Mr. "sHitman", what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this mailbag is now dumber for having read it. I award you no credit, and may God have mercy on your soul. (4/13/10) OK Dave – What you have on your hands is: one BRICK, one DICK and one PRICK…Davy Jones from KHZTV currently on air/internet he is the BRICK, unsigned poster and most likely never was or ever will be on the air anywhere he would be the DICK and the 3rd party mostly likely another never will be or never was is just chumming for hate on DCRTV thus he would be the PRICK. What to do? Have the Dick and the Prick come out of the closet and have Davy offer each of them ½ hour on air on his site/station and eXpose themselves ! – Chances are Prick and Dick will shrink to the actual size of their extremities and the Brick will remain hard as nails. Just a thought from JJ “Hitman” McKay/Ocean City, Maryland (4/13/10) So Miss Czarniak is dating the Ted Baxter School of Broadcasting & Hucksterism graduate, ay. Steve Villanueva? I was wondering, channel 4 has the money to do that silly daily connection show but didn't have the cash to continue Redskins Report or Fast Break? I say this with heavy heart about the lovely Ms. Brown but I agree about the hair color. Perhaps something more along the lines of Ms. Starling's hair color would be more appealing. Video Vault going out of business sale is a bit of a misnomer. Ventured down to Old Towne, which I hate to do these days, for second time in a last few days. I didn't realize they'd moved. Guess I'm a bad customer cause hadn't been since they moved. geez, I'd think the prime location with high rent might have contributed to the end of video vault. anyways no real prices established for a going out of business sale. Had to find a video then haul it to front desk wait a few minutes more for various other store activities, well it just got ponderous. I would have bought a couple hundred$ with the stores very unique selection if it hadn't been such a huge hassle. I guess the folks running the place really hate letting go. And then when I was told they would sell the stuff online well that ticked me off a bit. they had tons of videos left for a place going out of business in 2 weeks. Major bummer! Come on now, the O'Meara podcasts have turned into a bore fest. A show about sending them money all the time without much other content of a huimorous nature just ain't thick enough. (4/13/10) Can anyway give the top ten stations in Washington using the 25-54 numbers? Interested in particular the mornings, afternoons, and evenings? Is there much of a difference than the 18+ numbers? Craig (4/13/10) Dave's response: The age 25-54 numbers for the third week of March - 1) WTOP, 2) WHUR, 3) WIHT, 4) WKYS, 5) WASH, 6) WAMU, 7) WWDC, 8) WIAD and WBIG, 10) WBIG, 11) WPRS, 12) WMMJ and WLZL, 14) WPGC, 15) WMZQ, 16) WTEM, 17) WJFK, 18) WGTS, 19) WVRX, 20) WMAL, 21) WETA-FM. Those numbers basically tell you that a lot of WMAL and WETA-FM's listeners are oldies (55 and over), since both perform much better in the overall age 12+ numbers..... (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) DIRECTOR RADIO SERVICES, National Association of Broadcasters. Will be responsible for the management of radio awards programs including NAB Crystal Radio Awards, NAB Marconi Radio Awards, the National Radio Award, and the HD Radio Award. Please visit our Web site for a full listing about this exciting opportunity: www.nab.org. Send cover letter with salary range and resume to HR@nab.org with "Director Radio Services" in the subject line. (4/13/10) Just curious...Who is Paul Bicknell? Is he on radio or TV? Currently or retired? I never even heard of him, so what on earth is all the fuss about? Signed, An actual working broadcaster (4/13/10) "Dave, I think it's about time you just stopped posting this idiots inane diatribes, your call.. " --The return of BICKTATION!!!! (4/13/10) Liar??? What does lying have to do with it? You are a coward that hides behind a load of bullshit as a "no-name". Funny you took the time to call me a liar but didn't dare call Dave (Hughes) a liar-COWARD! If you have that much of a problem with me you are certainly among the few IP's that are elite cowards afraid to identify yourselves, probably because your entire family would be embarrassed by your childish antics. Dave, I think it's about time you just stopped posting this idiots inane diatribes, your call.. PLB/Davy Jones (4/13/10) Bicknell, you're a bad liar. In a Mailbag post a couple of days ago you and Dave both agreed that you had asked Dave who wrote emails criticizing you (I wrote one of them). So if you "could care less" who wrote the emails (I assume you meant to say you couldn't care less) (moron), why were you trying to find out who wrote them? Call me anything you want, the FACT is that you are a liar. (4/13/10) Here's why I LOVE Fox5 Morning ''News''. This morning they had a woman on who was clearly overweight telling us lucky viewers that eating McDonald's, Burger King, etc. is POTENTIONALLY bad for you AND full of calories. No.....Shit! I also wasted 20 minutes reading that article on Lindsay C. and learned nothing new. Paul (4/13/10) HFSTIVAL TIP.. kind of?? According to billyidol.net... Billy Idol will be at HFStival on 9/18 in Gaithersburg MD. According to Pollstar, Marcys Playground will be in Gaithersburg, MD on the same date in the same town. love the site. Cheers, David (4/13/10) To the poster that’s totally afraid of getting “outed” by Dave Hughes or for that matter me. You are one paranoid son of a bitch. I could care less who you are, you’re so consumed with me it’s tragic. Get some mental health help. Dave would NEVER betray anyone on the site. You do that all by yourself. You sir, are a loser: PLB/Davy Jones (4/13/10) wonder if Ryan will have any oversight of Fresh here in DC? (4/13/10) Dave's response: Just got the news up on the NYC page. I don't know, Fresh DC's ratings ain't so hot..... (radio outlets WPGC and WKYS incorrectly reported death of local artist) Radio stations used to have News departments with somebody who would say, "Are you SURE?" or "Did you CONFIRM this?" It is so wrong for radio stations, entire clusters, to have gotten rid of all the people who care about truth and accuracy. (4/13/10) I liked the Mailbag better before Paul Bicknell got permission to post whatever non-radio/TV crap he wanted, including long, non-funny "jokes." Pretty sure there are others who feel the same. Also think it's strange that (A) he inquired to you about who writes to the Mailbag, Dave, and (B) you actually handed him information. I feel very differently about DCRTV now than I did just a few days ago. Please don't hand over any information about me, my email or anything else to do with me to Bicknell or anyone without my permission. (4/13/10) Dave's response: As I said, Bick asked if some of the posts about him seemed to come from the same person, which I confirmed. However, as is my policy, I did not reveal who the posts were from. The identity of Mailbag posters is always protected here at DCRTV..... To commemorate the DVD release of Every Other Day is Halloween, April 20 has been named “Count Gore De Vol Day” all across the world! Go back in time to a place where television still had a bit of innocence and character. A time where you would sit on your couch, and TV hosts would introduce your favorite classic horror movies, afternoon cartoons, and TV shows. You collected your channel cards, you even stayed true to the code, you grew up watching these hosts everyday, it was a time for you to escape from your nagging parents, and daunting schoolwork. TV Hosts were always something special for the viewers as in most times they had to be eccentric in person and on the air. Every Other Day is Halloween is a documentary that takes you back to those days of your childhood (or the childhood you deserved), chronicling the life of television pioneer Dick Dyszel, who was Captain 20, Bozo The Clown, and is still introducing movies to this day as Count Gore De Vol. Join the fun, as Every Other Day is Halloween comes to DVD on April 20! Fans in the D.C. area will have the opportunity to purchase the DVD from "The Count" (recipient of the 2009 Rondo Award for “Favorite Horror Host”) at the official release party, held at Video Vault in Old Town, Alexandria (113 S Columbus St ) from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. (4/13/10) WPGC and WKYS incorrectly report death of local artist... Early Saturday morning a member of a local band (TCB), named Polo checked himself into the hospital and soon went into a coma. Twitter went crazy with people reposting his death. At some point around 4:00pm on Saturday afternoon, the idiots at both WPGC and WKYS confirmed that he was dead. Thankfully, he’s doing much better – and although he cannot be considered “out of the woods” – he has emerged from the coma. www.washingtoncitypaper.com (4/13/10) PLB that WAS very funny! (4/13/10) Thought this might help those that end sentences with a preposition: On his 74th birthday, a man got a gift certificate from his wife. The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation who was rumored to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction. After being persuaded, he drove to the reservation, handed his ticket to the medicine man and wondered what he was in for. The old man slowly, methodically produced a potion, handed it to him, and with a grip on his shoulder, warned, "This is powerful medicine and it must be respected. You take only a teaspoonful and then say '1-2-3'. When you do that, you will become more manly than you have ever been in your life and you can perform as long as you want." The man was encouraged. As he walks away, he turned and asked, "How do I stop the medicine from working?" "Your partner must say '1-2-3-4,' he responded. "But when she does, the medicine will not work again until the next full moon." He was very eager to see if it worked so he went home, showered, shaved, took a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited his wife to join him in the bedroom. When she came in, He took off his clothes and said, "1-2-3!" Immediately, he was the manliest of men. His wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes. And then she asked, "What was the 1-2-3 for?" And that, boys and girls, is why we should never end our sentences with a preposition, because we could end up with a dangling participle.PLB/DavyJones (4/13/10) “So how suspicious would it look for a young woman to be riding a bike near a highly secure zone WITH APPARATUS STRAPPED TO HER BACK. Stupid move.” - The poster forgot to include: “Bush/Cheney/Mother Teresa/Levin’s fault.” Meanwhile: www.boston.com (4/13/10) Good Morning, Do you know why Verizon doesn't include MASN2 HD as part of their line-up? Regards, Rick MacDonald (4/13/10) Dave's response: They offer so many HD channels and simply don't have any room for more? That'd be my guess..... Some of those "oldies" programs that run on WEBR/Fairfax Cable Access? Wouldn't it be cool to listen to them on one of THESE? cox.com (4/13/10) From that NY Post story about Clear Channel's crushing debt, how's *this* for a grim prophesy finally coming true? "Jim Brady, a former sales director for Clear Channel in the Albany area...said...'Clear Channel may have come to a point where they don't have enough people to make the stations profitable.'" I don't have a speck of education in business practice or corporate leadership, but even I saw this one coming years ago. (4/13/10) I went to Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria back when Bob McDonnell was there. I know for a fact that American History was one of the courses in the curriculum and that the Civil War era was covered in the text. It's truly amazing that he intentionally omitted any mention of slavery from a proclamation on Confederate History Month, then attempted to justify that omission by saying, in effect, that slavery was a side issue in the Civil War as far as Virginia was concerned. Then again, maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that he has a “tin ear” when it comes to racial issues, since in those days, there were only two or three Black students in the entire school. (4/13/10) So we have another t.v.office romance with Lyndsy Czarniak and Craig Melvin..AWWWW..Young love..But hey, beware..You see what happened to Tom and Holly.. (4/13/10) Dave's response: That's right! Craig may soon be selling tractors in Warrenton..... "The fact that WJFK hasn't shown any movement in the 12+ numbers is irrelevant. They're not concerned with them, except in the Junkies case where they're holding strong. The real book would be the 25-54 male demo." WTOP owns that demo. Last book # 1 men 25-54 in every daypart. 14.4 full week...next highest is DC101 with 6.4. PM Drive WTOP # 1 with 15.5. DC101 second with 7.5. WTEM 3rd with 5.9. WJFK tied for 6th with a 4.6 Full week men 25-54 JFK is 8th with a 4.2.....more than 10 full shares behind TOP. Oh, and WJFK's 6th place tie in PM Drive? Tied with El Zol and behind WKYS. (4/13/10) So how suspicious would it look for a young woman to be riding a bike near a highly secure zone WITH APPARATUS STRAPPED TO HER BACK. Stupid move. (4/13/10) Re: WJFK . The fact that WJFK hasn't shown any movement in the 12+ numbers is irrelevant. They're not concerned with them, except in the Junkies case where they're holding strong. The real book would be the 25-54 male demo. The MOM show was showing a strong 4th place 25-54 male, at the time of his contract non renewal. So I'd be interested to see how Lavar is doing in that demo now. Anyone have those numbers? I notice that recently JFK has traffic reports again, the same lame 20 second sponsored doughnuts they had way back when. (4/13/10) (regarding a previous post) “Can it be reported that the victim is not Tanya Snyder?” The Channel 4 website has information on the female cyclist who was killed. www.nbcwashington.com... To even speculate that it was Tanya Snyder is absurd. Think it through! Wouldn’t WTOP be right on top of a story like that? Or even Red Zebra? (4/13/10) Early Monday DCRTV published a photo of WTOP reporter Tanya Snyder in or near the nuclear summit security zone with a Comrex remote unit strapped to her bike. Later Monday WTOP reported a woman on a bike was killed when hit by a National Guard truck inside the summit security zone at New York and 12th Sts. Can it be reported that the victim is not Tanya Snyder? (4/13/10) Long-time DC radio listeners will recall when "Disco Stereo 93-KYS" pumped a pounding, pulsating beat into the area's airwaves, 35 years ago. The LA Times says Disco is dead, but the 70s sexual/social revolution lives on, in this review of Alice Echols book 'Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture'. www.latimes.com... NPR’s Tom Ashbrook discusses Disco’s deeper meaning, with the author and 70s Disco Diva, Donna Summer www.onpointradio.org (4/13/10) /\ April 13 Messages /\ \/ April 12 Messages \/ Reading in The Free Lance Star today an obituary for Vince Genson, former general manager at WFVA in the 80's and before that at WMAL in the 70's. A true radio pro from what I read. (4/12/10) (Monday News Item) WMHX (106.7 FM) in Hershey PA from hot adult contemporary to a 1990s-based hits format featuring everything from rock and pop hits, to urban and hip-hop. The new "Channel 106.7" is currently running jockless (END) Essentially, they've become exactly what "WINK 104" Harrisurg was during its heyday, minus the talent. Good luck... (4/12/10) From KCJJ fan page on Facebook: "Mike O'Meara joins us in the morning around 10 eastern/ 9 central. Hear him on the Mighty 1630 and @ www.1630kcjj.com. Click on KCJJ RAW... By the way, been awhile since you did a "Notable Quotable" so from today, Rush Limbaugh to a caller from the D.C. area: "There's a lot of experts on WMAL." Did you hear this? (4/12/10) Dave's response: I did start listening to Rush at noon today, but by about 12:15 I was feeling nauseous and went outside for a long walk and some fresh air. I hooked up with Kirsten and her dog, Max, and then caught a cup of iced tea at Starbucks with Shirley. I didn't get back until 4 PM, and Rush was already over..... Hey WJFK Hows that Change goin for ya?????? you got the same (if not Better) ratings with Mike O'meara and Guy Talk than you do with sports talk... just come out and admit it....it was a salary dump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you dont give 2 shits about your listeners.... its all aboutr the MONEY!!!! eat me CBS!!!! (4/12/10) Dave, I'm sorry but the papers and the nickels are long gone. I hope you may still be able to post a picture. (4/12/10) Channel 9 actually began life as WOIC-TV in 1949. The following year, the station became WTOP-TV ( yes, same as the radio station). In 1978, the call letters changed again to WDVM ( D for the District, V for Virginia, M for Maryland, as quoted in the call letter switch promo you can find on YouTube). In 1985. the call letters we know and love today arrived on the scene. For the complete history, of which I just gave a few higlights, look up WUSA-TV on Wikipedia, like I did. Andrew Fauver (4/12/10) Not that it matters since WMHX is a PA station, but looking at the playlist it looks as if Citadel is hoping to cash in on some sort of new Oldies style. Other than some of the AC'ish songs that were in the playlist the play list actually looked good. Somewhat of a newer style of Jack look to it, 90's-early 00's with some mid to late 80's mixed in just a tad bit. I'll give it try see how it sounds over time, I didn't think the AC 106.7 was that bad it kind of put the local oldies station to shame with songs from the 60's thru late 70's mixed in with 80's pop & 90's AC but I guess the format was too much all over the place to succeed. Chris in Hanover, PA. (4/12/10) Dave, Let’s not talk about the fact WRC wants to hire a Producer with little or no experience. But read the qualifications carefully, it’s full of contradictions. How can a news operation get the reporting right if they can’t even write a job posting clearly? Just thought you would get a kick out of this one. Maybe worth a “Rant????” --------------------- NBC Washington is seeking a Content Producer Washington, DC... Description: Content Producer General Responsibilities: Job Purpose: As a Content Producer your responsibilities would include: Work closely with Platform Managers, DayPart Managers and Assignment Editors, as well as Reporters and Anchors to desktop edit, write, produce and gather content on all of WRC’s platforms, including but not limited to Out-of-Home, web and broadcast. Responsible for the overall coverage of assigned stories on all platforms throughout the day. Research and produce news segments. Qualifications: Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience, Minimum 2 years news segment producing... Eligibility Requirements: External applicants are encouraged to submit a resume/CV through nbcunicareers.com to be considered (note job# 1162321). Internal applicants must submit EMS via the GE Career Opportunity System (COS). Must be willing to work in Washington D.C. Must be willing to take drug test and submit to a background investigation. Must be 18 years or greater. Must have unrestricted work authorization to work in the United States. Must be available to evenings, weekends and holidays. Desired... Minimum 1 year experience in newsgathering and/or production. Minimum 1 year experience writing, producing and desktop editing. Strong desire to deliver news as it develops on all current and future platforms. A sense of urgency and desire to learn emerging technologies. Strong journalistic skills. Significant experience in the news environment. Experience editing content on a desktop editing system. Ability to write, edit and produce under heavy deadline pressure without compromising accuracy or credibility. Ability to make priority decisions under deadline. Team player mentality. Interested candidates can apply on line at www.nbcunicareers.com. The position COS number is 1162321. NBC4 is an Equal Opportunity Employer. (4/12/10) Got a glance of Pamela Brown on channel 7 the other day and OMG, talk about scary looking..She can't seem to decide which hair color she wants to have and so far, most colors haven't worked. Can't some of her femal colleagues such as Alison Starling and/or Maureen Bunyan tactfully take her under their wing and give her some pointers? (4/12/10) Who knew Dan Snyder's wife Tanya was a reporter for a rival media company??? LOL (4/12/10) Two things. First, I agree that hockey is a game best seen (preferably in person, second best on HD, third best on standard TV). But I listen to Kolbe do the Caps broadcasts on radio all the time when at work in the evening or in the car. Certainly better than not keeping up on the game at all. So hockey on radio has its place. I might also add that Kolbe's predecessor on Caps radio broadcasts, Ron Weber, was responsible for teaching the game to many old time Caps fans when the team arrived in the mid-70's. His role in establishing the Caps this town doesn't get recognized enough (although Leonsis does a better job of that than Pollin did). Second, regarding the Czarniak story, can someone please explain to me why she gets so much hype. Yeah, she's kind of cute (but hardly gorgeous). And she's perky, but hardly much on the substance or a great interviewer. And she doesn't have the angle that great local sportscasters have had (Warner Wolf, let's go to the videotape; George Michael, the carnival barker routine as well as the satellite feed; Glenn Brenner, the stand up routine, etc.). And she's hardly the only female sportscaster in town. So what gives? (4/12/10) Hey Unsigned Corporate Suit! Thanks for your non-service to your country. (4/12/10) With nearly 50 heads of state in Washington, D.C. for the nuclear summit, the city faced massive traffic disruptions. WTOP reporters fanned out in force to give guidance to harried commuters including reporter Tanya Snyder seen here patrolling downtown on her bike. That's her Comrex Acess unit strapped to the back, allowing her to file near studio quality audio on her cellphone. Tanya regularly commutes from home to WTOP via bike. (4/12/10) Dave: Any news in those PPM numbers about how WMZQ's new "Baxter" morning show is doing? He's been working in a sidekick, so it seems like Clear Channel is tinkering with the program. Also, speaking of ratings, heard a funny promo on 105.9 "The Edge" this weekend. The voiceover guy says, "About those Arbitron ratings: We like to flip 'em upside down and pretend we're number 1!" I like the self-deprecating humor. Christian (4/12/10) Dave's response: WMZQ is hitting a low patch lately. Its morning show is 19th in the overall age 12+ demo. Ouch. As for 105.9, how about "lightening up" the playlist a bit, along with the humorous promos. I did hear REM on 105.9 yesterday. So there is a faint glimmer of hope for the station. But I'm still hearing a better mix of classic rock on the CVS in-store channel..... Just to get the dates right, in 1978 Post-Newsweek swapped Channel 9 for Channel 4 in Detroit, owned by the Detroit News. Calls were switched from WTOP to WDVM and Channel 9 became a subsidiary of the Evening News Association based in Detroit. In 1986, Gannett purchased the entire Evening News operation and took over Channel 9 as part of that deal, the calls were changed to WUSA on July 4, 1986. The copyright until recently had been "WUSA Gannett Co Inc". The News and Free Press were eventually combined under the Free Press umbrella, and for whatever reason Gannett corporate honchos decided to change the copyrights to match the subsidiaries. The other Gannett stations use whatever unit they are a part of such as Multimedia Holdings in St. Louis and Cleveland. All the WUSA paychecks list the employer as Detroit Free Press. (4/12/10) It is great seeing the videos and posts about LMD. It was a strange and wonderful place to work in the 70's and 80's. In the late 70's we had a rather unique promotion - we gave away nickel bags. They were a cloth bag containing a nickel and a pack of EZ wider rolling papers branded with the station logo and the slogan 'Roll with AM radio". The station also ran a weekend show - hosted by 'Bob Here' of later HFS fame - that was sponsored by Earthworks and featured nothing but drug related tunes for an hour. (4/12/10) Dave: Was Amy Holmes ever named as an official Washington Times Radio show co-host after Melanie Morgan left? I don't think she ever was, and I don't recall any promos or voiceovers that used her name. McCaslin was the only one who would mention her, once the show started. "I'm John McCaslin, with Amy Holmes..." Christian (4/12/10) Hi Dave, Just wondering if you have heard any rumblings about the HFStival returning this year? The site is running teaser promos hinting at this for about a week or so. Cheers, David (4/12/10) Dave's response: I'm hearing the teasers, too. Still no official announcement, but I do think the return of the HFStival, maybe not as grand as past installments, is very likely..... Unsigned Corporate Suit, what a specious argument! By your logic, an ad for mammograms discriminates against men. And an ad for Viagra or Boston Medical discriminates against women. And ad for Honda discriminates against people who don't have drivers licenses. What are you smoking, man?!? (4/12/10) Congrats are in order for DCRTV mailbagger Rusty Gibson and his increase in listenership this past Friday. Thumbs up to you, Rusty! (4/12/10) The WLMD tributes to Alan Prell on YOUTUBE are awesome. But the vocal's that introduce the Prell programs were done by legendary DC broadcaster Pat Murphy.(WMOD-WEAM-WEEL-WTTG 5) Apparently Murphy owned a voice over production company and produced the "Alan Prell" jingles as a joke to play on Prell, while Murphy sat in for him, when Prell was on Vacation in 1975. They're a scream! Lot of DC broadcasting history in those WLMD shows and Richard Dahms did a great job producing them. Amazing what you can find on YOUTUBE and DCRTV. Thanks for making them available! Robert W. Smith - Alexandria (4/12/10) Yes, I have noticed WUSA-TV's newscasts are now copyrighted to The Detroit News. Last I checked WUSA owner, Gannett, owns the other major Detroit newspaper, The Detroit Free Press, which has a joint operating agreement with The Detroit News. There might have been a structural reorganization that led to the new copyright but it sure does look odd on a Washington TV station's screen. I wonder if all Gannett TV stations around the country now air that The Detroit News copyright. (4/12/10) Dave's response: Back early 1980s, the Washington Post traded Channel 9, then WTOP-TV, to the Detroit News, and it became WDVM. The Post picked up the DN's Channel 4 in Detroit, which is still owned by the Post. DC's Channel 9 got bought by Gannett in the early 1990s and became WUSA. Maybe it has something to do with that linkage..... I would like to thank the poster who shared the video of my father Mac McGarry along with his good friend Ed Walker at the Radio and T.V museum in Bowie Maryland from 2008. That was my first chance to see the video. These guys are still hanging out together once a week along with some of their other business counterparts for a weekly session of big band tunes and lunch. It's an honor to know these radio/T.V. greats personally and I'm glad my Father still has a decent job in this strange world of radio/T.V that we all know here in the mailbag and on DCRTV.. As always, Thanks Dave for such a great website.. Mark McGarry/Bethany Beach. (4/12/10) The promos for AMN have always only mentioned McCaslin, never Holmes. Although, I saw Holmes on CNN yesterday - with a chyron under her saying "AMY HOLMES - TALK RADIO NETWORKS - AMERICA'S MORNING NEWS" - no mention of The Washington Times anywhere. (4/12/10) The reason behind Comcast "Local Edition" stealing the last few minutes of each CNN Headline News (HLN) half-hour cycle is simple: shameless political ingratiation. Comcast uses "Local Edition" to provide exposure and visibility for state lawmakers and others who serve in decision-making and opinion leading capacities. By ingratiating itself with these politicians, Comcast makes it easier to get approval for rate hikes and other measures meant to protect its turf and fatten its bottom line. I have strongly resented "Local Edition" since it started years ago. I am paying for Headline News, not Local Edition, and want all of CNN's feed to be aired. Comcast's political pandering ploy is transparent to me. Don't give me this nonsense that it is community service. JYoung (4/12/10) It will be all local coverage for the first round all the games against Montreal will air on CSN and 106.7FM The Fan in Washington and Fox Sports Radio 1370AM Baltimore that also covers the northern burbs. CSN good be looking at record ratings! washingtonexaminer.com... Cheers, Jim (4/12/10) Dave's response: I interviewed Steve Kolbe and he's a great guy. But I just can't imagine folks who listen to hockey on the radio. Of all the sports, it's probably the one you absolutely want to watch on TV, if at all possible. Oh, while 1370 has a killer daytime signal, you'll probably be better able to hear the Caps on 1500 (if the Nats aren't playing) throughout much of the Baltimore area after sunset..... You know how truly boring radio is in Washington? People write in here about how WTOP anchors do timechecks or pick nits on the commercials on WTOP. Is that because no other station does ANYTHING worth talking about? Jeeze!!! (4/12/10) The NY Times reports: Internet users have taken for granted that the territory was both a free-for-all and a digital disguise, allowing them to revel in their power to address the world while keeping their identities concealed. Now, news sites are rethinking anonymous online comments. www.nytimes.com (4/12/10) This viewer was absolutely astonished by the attire worn by Jennifer Gilbert on last night’s Fox45 News At Ten. The chest exposure was extremely inappropriate for a news anchor. (4/12/10) Would WTOP knowingly carry ads from a business offering a commodity or service of general commerce, but which chose to restrict its product or service from the general populace, offering it only to customers from a particular class based on profession? If you asked Jim Farley or Joel Oxley, they’d likely say, “certainly not!” Well, truth be told, they do. Right now, WTOP is carrying ads from an auto insurance company with the tag line “membership eligibility requirements apply.” Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s far no nobler a profession one can pursue than serving in the military of the U.S., which is of course the “membership restriction” of this advertiser, unlike Pentagon Federal Credit Union which doesn’t have such a restriction. For WTOP to carry on the public airwaves a commercial for a business that restricts its products and services to a specific profession is not just wrong. It is an unconscionable slap in the face to the men and women of the military (and their families) who sacrifice so much for the freedoms so many of us take for granted. Including the freedom from discrimination in commerce. WTOP should realize there are significant numbers of its audience whom, for whatever reason, have never served in the military and are thus unable to avail themselves of this advertiser’s products and services. In the process, WTOP is (hopefully without the intent) promoting a form of elitism. While WTOP because of its location, format, and audience will always attract advertising that airs on few other stations (“Products” like fighters, aerial refueling tankers, armored personnel carriers, etc. –Not to mention “advocacy ads” from the embassies of nations ranging from Germany to Saudi Arabia.), there are some ads which are just plain wrong. And should not be aired no matter how bad the economy. While there are plenty of military-specific media this advertiser can turn to for its message, airing these commercials from such a restrictive advertiser runs the risk of alienating your audience from the other advertisers in your client base. Perhaps WTOP has forgotten the motto of one of my top clients: “Companies are known by the company they keep.” -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/12/10) /\ April 12 Messages /\ \/ April 11 Messages \/ Thank you for posting the video clip of The Radio and Television Museum in Bowie honoring Ed Walker a couple years ago. I had a business appointment during his Saturday appearance at the museum, and I got back to Bowie late. When I arrived at the museum, I couldn’t find parking anywhere including along Mt. Oak Road, the Mt. Oak shopping strip mall across the street, or even in the nearby Oak Pond townhouse community where I own a rental property. The museum was packed to capacity with an overflow of people onto the front lawn. So, I missed the event entirely and greatly appreciated seeing the video. As I mentioned on the WLMD Radio/Allan Prell Show -1975 CD, Ed Walker once “guest hosted” for the vacationing Allan Prell for a week. As Allan’s board operator/engineer, I worked with Ed during his guest appearance. Five minutes before we went on the air, we developed a signal system between us. The week went perfect without any glitches, and I found Ed to be a true professional. It was also a personal thrill for me as I use to listen to The Joy Boys on WRC in the 1960s. At the end of the week, Ed gave me his autograph and one of his kazoos. Richard Dahms. (4/11/10) To the liberal whackjobs in the mailbag, a rightwing "nutjob" is a person that wishes the United States to return to its original Constitutional intent of small limited enumerated powers of the federal government. Why do the KM's of the world need to cede their freedom to the central planners? Why do you loons need "mommy" and "daddy" in the form of the federal government to take care of you? Have you not grown up yet? (4/11/10) Some questions: 1. Now that Dixie Carter is no longer with us (RIP), can MASN please stop using the PSA she's featured in? I think it's now in bad taste. 2. When WTOP runs sports reports, why do they only give Yankees and Red Sox scores among non-Nationals or Orioles results? If WTOP can't run all the MLB scores, at least give those involving all NL East and AL East teams. 3. Speaking of WTOP, why are their announcers now frequently giving the time as, say, "19 minutes after 8" instead of "8:19"? I've ever heard the time given as "19 minutes after the hour," as if they were Rob Bamberger doing "Hot Jazz Saturday Night" over NPR Worldwide. -- Vincent in Triangle (4/11/10) (RE KHZTV.com) I have been listening in the car as well as online. The stattion plays a good mix of music. If you do not like i, then don't listen and stop whining about here.. It certainly is a big improvement over 102.7 Jack FM. (4/11/10) How about we take a break from the petty sniping and enjoy a taped appearance by two of the undeniable greats of DC broadcasting, Mac McGarry and Ed Walker, at the Radio-TV Museum in Bowie? (4/11/10) Shopping at Bloom this morning and saw a bottle of Our Dog Blue wine. Thought maybe the Greaseman and his Funny Little Honey owned a winery until I saw the dog on the label was not licking his nasty doo-dads. (4/11/10) Is that Bicknell that's spamming the board as LOL with that KHZTV silliness?? (4/11/10) From the staff of KHZTV.com. P.T, Barnum: "write what you will, just spell my name correctly." Being included in this collection is an honor." PRINT..PRINT..MORE PRINT-"just sayin". LOL (4/11/10) Tina Fey hosted "Saturday Night Live" this week with musical guest Justin Bieber and while the latter's fans likely had no idea what was going on, the former reprised her role as Sarah Palin. Fey, hosting for the second time, dressed in a leather jacket and unveiled Palin's new career path--owning her very own network. It will feature shows such as "Todd!", "Are You Smarter than a Half-Term Governor?" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (that's right, SNL firmly landed in Team Coco). Not only did the sketch mock Palin, her family, and the Republican Party (note the Kenneth the Pag-ing of Bobby Jindal), but it also went after the tea-partiers for their constant misspellings and grammar mistakes in their protest signs. (4/11/10) "Dave's response: I agree. Yeah, KHZTV.com, how about buying an ad on DCRTV? Hmmm....." I also agree that the Plante/Limbaugh/Hannity/Levin crowd needs to help out DCRTV: poor Dave gets soooo many Right Wing Nutjobs hogging up the old DCRTV Mailbag they should buy ad space as well. Come on Silvie: cough up some bucks! And here they are at home on a beautiful Sunday morning: www.thewvsr.com (4/11/10) REF: "President Obama quietly breached years of protocol Saturday morning by leaving the White House without the press corps. " Give the guy a break, SMOKING is a HABIT...the man needs his SMOKE breaks without all of YOU non-smoking lame stream idiots always following him around...hang on "yea" He is the President, got ya" ok I'm - where was I, Oh yea BUTT OUT - Thanks J.J. "HITMAN" McKay OC, MD. (4/11/10) RE: "What is the point of Comcast interrupting Headline News for Comcast Local Edition?" What's the point of Headline News, or HLN as it's now known? With trash like Nancy Grace and whoever the hell else they have on in the evenings, that channel is basically unwatchable. No wonder they dropped "News" from their name - it's basically tabloid garbage like so many other cable networks these days. On another note, has anyone noticed that at the close of WUSA's newscasts, the on-screen graphic reads "Detroit Free Press, (C) 2010"? What's up with that? -BG (4/11/10) Here's something that's been bugging me for years: What is the point of Comcast interrupting Headline News for Comcast Local Edition, if they have their own network (The Comcast Network)? (4/11/10) Dave...You made a comment yesterday about shows being over promoted here in the mailbag. And that those shows should buy ad space if they were going to constantly plug their product. May I ask why you then continue to allow this KHZTV venture to litter the mailbag without ad space? Based on the last few days, they really should be required to pony up some cash for any future mentions. (4/11/10) Dave's response: I agree. Yeah, KHZTV.com, how about buying an ad on DCRTV? Hmmm..... I have been watching the amazing diatribes of a few people constantly putting nasty negative posts about the new broadcast venture that is being put together by the people at KHZTV.com. To be truthful, I have listened and watched this new entertainment media, I think it is fun to listen to, and fun to watch. The way the founders are utilizing all this trash posting is amazing. All that free press is just that, free press. Whomever is chasing Mr. Bicknell and the site are contributing to promotional marketing. As a Marketing Director, if I were running the KHZ ship, I'd pray the "haters" as they seem to be,continue. I don't know any of the people currently setting up this toy, but to me..fun, fun, fun. Len LaRue. (4/11/10) RE:...the "LOLer Feller" Your obvious talents are being wasted here. I would think Plante/Parks would get down right moist at the possibility of a caller like you. Think of all of the wing nut "wisdom" you could dispense, at least until the inevitable restraining order kicks in. You might want to expand your repertoire a little...by adding to your socialist/Marxist diatribes with the occasional Roswell/Area 51 reference...you would fit right in. Who knows, if you do this right you might get a shot at the big leagues...Hannity or Limbaugh or dare I say it, Beck! (until the inevitable restraining order kicks in). Timing is everything, and with the looming Supreme Court battle, your time may have come. Carpe Diem, Dittohead...MW (4/11/10) As seen on my local WRC NBC affiliate (making it Washington/DCRV mailbag worthy). Ah, Obambi marked his census incorrectly, which is a $500 fine according to federal law: www.nbc.com (4/11/10) WLMD had a second studio at Columbia Mall. Picture here. www.boxoprints.com... Steve Alan, (L) who later went on to fame and semi-fortune at WBIG, posted a sign in the window 'DO NOT TAP ON GLASS. IT WILL FRIGHTEN THE DJ AND HE WILL SWIM TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TANK." On the right is Pat O'Leary. WLMD by this time was heavily populated with recent grads of WMUC, including Cathy Ponton, Rich Hodge, Melinda Johnson, Mike Doughney, Gary Allentuck, Tim Scott Miner and others from the mid-late 70s. They also had a guy Roger Caplan who had left the Howard County school system to be a sportscaster. (4/11/10) /\ April 11 Messages /\ \/ April 10 Messages \/ Re: LOL - Hi Paul! How's that KHZ failure going? Planning on being blacklisted on the Internet too? (4/10/10) To Roddy Freeman: Ed Hartley worked at WLMD late '75 - early '76. So that would've been after he was at WWDC. He had been Johnny Holliday's engineer. While doing afternoons at WPIK, ('71/'72) he also did weekend overnights at WWDC. Later, he did overnights full time and Camille Bohannon did weekend overnights there. (4/10/10) I seem to be having a DCRTV posting spree these past couple of days, but the mention of Ed Hartley brought back some memories. When I worked at WNAV on weekends during college, Ed was the weekday afternoon host. Really nice guy. He left us to go to WEEL when it tried an oldies format under Jack Alix. WNAV was not exactly the paragon of formatted radio in those days. Two different times, Ed Hartley and the morning man, Al Gregg, became angry at management (who was Betty Smith). I don't recall why they were angry; maybe they were told to tone down the talk. To retaliate for whatever they thought had been done to them, Ed and Al both stopped talking and just segued the records and commercials. This went on for about 2 weeks both times. I asked Dennis Phillips (Phil Wayne), who also worked weekends and had been there a long time, why Ed and Al hadn't been fired or at least warned. Dennis replied, "I don't think management noticed."� Yes, it was an unusual station. Anyway, I'm wondering whether Ed worked at WLMD before or after WWDC. Roddy Freeman (4/10/10) Please find me the element of the Tea Party movement that is beyond a doubt racist. Or is that what the state run media is feeding you? (4/10/10) Hey, "just sayin"...don't just shut the "F" up! You're a total asshole...LOL- (4/10/10) This morning, NBC4 news pulled out a line from the tacky file. The tease for the story about the plane crash in Russia said that the government of Poland had been "beheaded" with the crash of an airplane carrying the president, his wife and other high ranking Polish heads of state..HMMM.."BEHEADED" ??..Come on channel 4..Who's wrote the script for THAT news story..REAL tacky!! (4/10/10) Congrats again to KM who is more interested in "spelling" than preserving the US Constitution. It's always interesting to notice the modern day American Marxists' utter disdain for the original intent of the founding document. (4/10/10) "LOL at the few radical leftists that post here in the mailbag who have a fit over talk radio and FoxNews." I love how people who disagree with you are radical leftists. When you throw out words like state run media and socialism you sound silly. I'm not entirely sure that anyone who listens to FoxNews or WMAL knows what state run media or socialism actually are. It's also more than a little ironic to hear people on a national TV channel or on nationally syndicated radio networks talk about mainstream media as if they are not part of it. I also regret to inform you that the tea party activists don't want to return the country to it's original intent. The tea party opposes Obama period, they don't care about states rights(Federal laws banning abortion/gay marriage/sex education). It is also undeniable that there is a certain element of the tea party that are racists. You throw around the word Czar as an attempt to invoke negative reactions towards Democrats as if GW Bush didn't have Czars. Lolers btw at your lack of understanding of economics. (4/10/10) Dave: On Bobby "Haircut" Erlich's radio show on WBAL: Your piece didn't say if Zurawik's 50,000 listener number is a cume or aqh calculation. I'm guessing it's cume which would mean that 50,000 different people tune in for at least five minutes over a two-hour period. I'm also guessing that the real number of people listening in any 15 minute period is south of 20,000. Am I close? ACH (4/10/10) Dave's response: That was Zurawik's piece. Ask him..... Dave, just to set the record straight, and although we do appreciate the plugs for our show, please know that neither I or my partner sumbitted either of the post concerning such. Being "fairly" new to what we're doing, we aren't going to cause any waves around here. And as I've said before, if I DO submit something, you can bet that my name will be at the end. As for being cancelled, the only way that's going to happen is if the wife notices the balance in the checkbook. Keep up the good work!.....Herm R (4/10/10) " It's not nice to take advantage of DCRTV....." -Dave...wake up...someone else copied and reposted that show plug just to get you going...I would know..I sent the first one in yesterday....Yet not the second one. Don't be all high and mighty and penalize a show for doing what hundreds of other shows have done in here for years. Just an observation though...All the boorish shenanigans seem to have started all over again with the return of one individual. Just sayin'. (4/10/10) It was fun to hear WLMD after all these years. Please post some audio of Dennis Richards, the Midday host, if you have it. A host that wasn't mentioned was Ed Hartley (Easy Ed), who also worked at WWDC-AM and WPIK-AM in the early 70s. Also, John Christopher ran the board for Dennis Richards on Saturdays. During the week, he did news in the morning at WMOD-FM (which later became WMZQ). The brief video clips brought back memories. They used to refer to that long dirt road as the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the few times I visited the station was in my 1971 Chevy Vega - which made for a very bumpy ride! (4/10/10) Oh, ick... some DJs should just be thrown out of the industry. On a web chat: (first poster) "Did you see where DJ Prolapse @ WNRN C'ville died from that shooting and fall?" (second poster) "So there's an opening? Where to I send T&R?" (4/10/10) By the way..."Keyn_sian" is spelled with a second "e", and "propoganda" gets an "a" instead of a second "o". When you're not out preserving the Constitution, how about a little remedial spelling. Apparently, a GED (much like Fox News) only gets you so far. Dittos...MW (4/10/10) Greetings Friends! The WLMD CD that I made for the Laurel Museum and the Radio and Television Museum in Bowie is now available on You Tube. We had to break the CD down for You Tube into 3 files due to the 10 minute limitation on You Tube. www.youtube.com... www.youtube.com... www.youtube.com... To my surprise when I loaded onto You Tube, I found someone who had placed videos of the WLMD station building onto You Tube which appears to have been taken shortly before the building was leveled. I have no idea who is speaking on video, but it is obviously a former WLMD employee, perhaps one of our chief engineers although I do not recognize the voice. Type WLMD in the You Tube search field and see what you find. This has been a fun little personal project, and I thank all of you. One of the things that made this project worthwhile was reconnecting with you after many years. Three things that the memories of WLMD Radio evoked in my mind while I was working on this project: 1) We were all young at the time; 2) Life was simpler with all our futures ahead of us; and 3) the United States was going through a pretty rough time at that time - similar to our times today. My special thanks to ADEK Productions in Annapolis. They did an outstanding job transferring the Allan Prell audio from 7 inch reel to reel tape, recording my introduction and placing the data files out onto You Tube for me. And now, I will sign off. This project is now complete. Thanks again, and thanks for the memories!!! This is Richard Dahms signing off. Respectfully, Richard, The Dahms Group, LLC (4/10/10) RE:..."the LOL/Your gig is up" guy... Wow, this latest screed is the equivalent of Internet drunk dialing, isn't it? Don't despair, anger management is a process...just use your words and get well soon! MW (4/10/10) Fairfax County found 4.5 million to buy a old lot and will spend even more to make it a commuter lot. But they are cutting the hell out of the school budget. What dicks. (4/10/10) Sure, you can listen to forgotten DC area broadcaster Paul Bicknell on KHZTV....or....you can do yourself a favor and listen to an entertaining program...Tune in to [deleted] ...Fridays at 6pm at [deleted] ...They won't put you to sleep. Guaranteed! (4/10/10) Dave's response: Time to buy an ad. If you don't, I hope your show gets cancelled and you spend eternity having to listen to 105.9 The Edge at full volume. It's not nice to take advantage of DCRTV..... Stupid Baltimore Sun... Of course there was no fire in Annapolis. The Democrats were just temporarily confused by the enormous stench of lobbyists & trial lawyers stuffing their campaign coffers and pockets. I'm sure it was business as usual minutes later and they all made a toast to raising taxes and doubling insurance rates at the whim of sleazy trial lawyers. Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Maryland. (4/10/10) /\ April 10 Messages /\ \/ April 9 Messages \/ Since DCRTV Dave shared his dream of a media utopia, I’ll share mine! In my cars, I want to be able to listen to any radio broadcast station from any state or any country –in real time with local spots, etc. None of this crap of “internet only” commercials, “content restricted from the internet”, etc. As for Television, same thing, I want to be able to watch in real time any TV station from any state or any country. No censorship of any kind. Likewise, local spots, etc. The Internet has the capability to do the radio part –if it weren’t for arcane copyright laws (including those of the U.S.) which were fashioned out the of fear of movable type and general literacy. I also blame those copyright laws for the stagnation we see today in music. Because of onerous airplay and netplay royalties (of which only something akin to a farthing out of every dollar actually makes it to the artist) broadcast of new or experimental music is stifled. Much the same is true of TV. The FCC bans CATV’s from carrying “foreign” broadcast TV stations unless they’re received via conventional terrestrial reception. Even domestic transmission is stifled because of “copyright fees” imposed on re-transmission of “distant” stations. Likewise satellite is suppressed domestically by virtue of laws like the “Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act” which restrict which TV stations a satellite customer is permitted to tune to. The technology is out there to make this work. There is no doubt a market willing to pay for it at a fair price. The problem is that the government finds it necessary for whatever reasons to control the access to media content and creativity. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/9/10) Snippet:Funny all of the negatives come from the same IP's?" -Really, Bicknell? Are you implying that DCRTV Dave is giving you backdoor information on the people posting on his site? Hmmm...That would seem to go against everything Dave has ever said about "not giving out submitters' info-retort---NO, IT MEANS YOU'RE A F@#%$N PARANOID..DJ/plb (4/9/10) Dave's response: I told Bick that it appeared that most of the critical comments about him seemed to come from the same two or so people using a variety of different e-mail addresses. As is my policy, I did not tell him the addresses used or the names of the posters. I said nothing about the IP addresses, which would be largely meaningless for e-mails generated from web-based e-mail services like Hotmail and Google Mail...... LOL at the few radical leftists that post here in the mailbag who have a fit over talk radio and FoxNews. You know who you are. You spout the greatness of Keynsian economics despite its failures while bankrupting the US government, and those who scoff at the limited enumerated powers of the Constitution, and laugh off states rights guaranteed by the 10th Amendment as some kind of kooky joke. You used to have a monopoly on the state run media. But now your propoganda machines at ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, PBS, NYTimes, WashPost that aid and abet the Democrat Socialist Party machine no longer have a monopoly. You can slime and slander Tea Party activists (who simply want a return to our country to the original intent of the US Constitution of a small limited federal government with the power returning back to the people) as racists but it ain't working anymore. And you can't stand it. Your gig is up and the American people are waking up to tyranny and their ceding their freedom to the central planners in Washington. No wonder you hate talk radio and Fox News. If it wasn't for them we would never have known about Chairman Obama's radical advisors. You know, like Anita Dunn (Obama's adviser would admires Chairman Mao), former Obama environmental czar Van Jones (admitted Communist sympathizer and 9/11 truther), Reverend Wright (Obama's minister of 20 years and Anti-Semite and racist), Kevin Jennings (Obama safe school czar who promoted sex for young teens including fisting), and Cass Sunstein (Obama advisor who believes that farm animals have the right to sue). Your gig is up fellas. Socialism and tyranny can no longer be shielded by your socialist allies in the state run media. (4/9/10) Roddy Freeman wrote, "...Ed and Skooch were always fooling with the wiring." Well, fooling with something. She was kind of busy being Miss Pickle; just ask Cesak. Speaking of WMUC, congrats to Ken Merson on his family's addition! Ed Jones, Columbia, MD (4/9/10) Dave. There are several reasons why 105.9 likely won't go the Jack route. First, they can't use the Jack name - CBS owns the rights to it in all their markets. Second, that format is attitude driven. If they can't develop a sneering, sarcastic, real-rock attitude with the Edge - do you think they could do that with a Jack (or Bob or Bruce or Gary)? Third, Citadel could eff up a wet dream. They would probably screw it up anyway. And, finally, they would probably view it as competition for MIX. Remember, they were calling MIX the 'best mix of everything' because of fears that someone would go Jack...and kept that slogan for - what - 4 or 5 years?! A Jack type format seems to do well in the PPM world and costs almost nothing to run...which might be the only reason why Citadel could do it. (4/9/10) I don't know whether to call it radio or television, but the radio station on KHZTV.COM is fun to listen to. Davy Jones sounds just as good as he ever did. That lively spontaneous approach is missing from most stations today, it is real radio. I checked them out a few minutes ago and a hot young guy named Grahm was on the station and TV/website, playing similar fun music and dancing around to it. It was the end of his show, but he said he would back on Monday at 3pm. He looks straight, but if he wasn't, hell, I'd do him!! ...Steve (4/9/10) "Funny all of the negatives come from the same IP's?" -Really, Bicknell? Are you implying that DCRTV Dave is giving you backdoor information on the people posting on his site? Hmmm...That would seem to go against everything Dave has ever said about "not giving out submitters' info". (4/9/10) Say kids... If you're older than dirt, this DVD set could be fun. (Special price with free shipping is for Friday only.) www.deepdiscount.com (4/9/10) Thanks Paul for the post and personal email. To Ed Jones in Columbia: I wanted to listen to WMUC, but the station's electronic team of Ed and Skooch were always fooling with the wiring. Roddy Freeman (4/9/10) Kiley Annette McGee made her world debut at 3:10 this afternoon. Kiley is the second daughter of Kelly (Merson) McGee and Kris McGee of Bel Air, MD. Kelly's Dad is 94-7 FRESH-FM/Merson Person Voice Tracks' Ken Merson. Mother and child are healthy. Grandpa Merson is in orbit! (4/9/10) Dave's response: Awww! Congrats..... Roddy (Freeman) Truly sorry if you feel that I deliberately ignored you. It was not intentional. In fact, I'm honored at the request you seem to be a dynamite person.. Also, I thought I'd take a minute to thank the two or three that are continuously posting hate directed at me and the past.. Funny all of the negatives come from the same IP's? All I can say is keep it up..any print is promotional and KHZTV.com, Davy Jones, Bill Parris, Graham Waples, Renee' Alan Coleman, Libby, Jay and the rest of us appreciate the "free ride". Keep it up.Regards PLB/Davy Jones (4/9/10) For what it's worth, the ex-Circuit City site that Fairfax County bought was not the one that Circuit City occupied when it closed down last year, just west of Springfield Mall. This was a previous location, on the other side of I-95. It's been vacant for a LONG time -- 10 years maybe? Oh, and while I'm picking nits, you quote Bill Parris as saying, "This concept is a combination of two medias..." But, of course, "media" is already a plural noun. "Combination of two media"....which, BTW: combining AM radio and the Internet seems like a pioneering concept....in 1995.... (4/9/10) The death of "the growing KHZ Radio Network" (currently two stations) is writ in its own press release: "...what the format does play is every uptempo, Top 40 hit that may be found on the target audience’s iPOD, as the format ignores radio opinions and targets audience opinions." Hate to have to be the one to point out the glaringly obvious, but if you're playing the same songs I have on my iPod (and, yes, I am right in the middle of your target demographic), why the hell would I listen to you instead of my iPod? Do you really think I spent $200 on the device and pay 99 cents per song to then just set it aside and listen to you? Ain't gonna happen. (4/9/10) I certainly hope Geronimo does NOT follow Bicknell to the Land of Nobody Ever Heard of Your Web Radio Station. I want Geronimo to be on an actual radio station that actual people in can actually listen to. I have no interest whatsoever in some two-bit webcast (can ya hear me now, Mike O'Meara?) that has an audience of 300-400 people. I want to drive around with the windows down and listen to real radio. KZITS or whatever the website is might be enough for the likes of Bicknell (I checked it out a while ago and it looked like my grandmother was operating the board and playing Toto records), but Geronimo and other people with talent belong on the air, broadcasting to an actual audience and making a mountain of money. (4/9/10) Regarding the front page piece on airplane tracking and Gannett's private planes blocked from the tracking. I know the Little Dan Snyder's "Redskins One" (I forget the actual tail number, but it's something like N1DS) is also blocked. It seems to me that companies with legitimate business reasons would want the numbers blocked. But on the other hand, curious fellows like me would sure like to find out where they are going! (4/19/10) Roddy Freeman said, "...'Davy Jones'...reverberated through the hallway of my [U of MD] dorm, Cumberland Hall...after I finished listening to Bobby D on WINX." Now, Roddy, you know you were supposed to be listening to WMUC! Credit, though, for listening to Duckman! Ed Jones, Columbia, MD (4/9/10) "RG5..does that “5” equate to your IQ?" -Sahhhh-wing and a miss!! -RG5 (4/9/10) Paul "Davy Jones" Bicknell means something to us older folks (although he recently confirmed me as a Facebook friend and then deleted me). In my first year at the U. of MD, his "95 and a half motorcycles"�reverberated through the hallway of my dorm, Cumberland Hall (which we called Cumbersome Hall), on a nightly basis. That of course was after I finished listening to Bobby D on WINX. Roddy Freeman (4/9/10) (news item from earlier) The Fairfax County government has scooped up a vacated Circuit City site in Springfield, will "burn it down," and plans to develop a commuter parking facility there. (end) OK, now THAT'S cool. Springfield needs something like that. I've often viewed that site and thought it would make a slick video and film production soundstage ... nice high ceilings, easy on & off the highway, but too much vibration and noise from surrounding traffic. While they're at it, I hope the county blows up the old Chi Chi's, the old Al's Place and Long John Silvers, and does something useful with that whole tract. (4/9/10) RG5..does that “5” equate to your IQ? (4/9/10) "First, while [the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry] may be celebrated, if their fans live in the DMV, they actually can afford to WATCH the game. Secondly, while owning the Redskins, Dan Snyder actually OWNS ESPN 980 as well. Logistics aside, it just seems beyond MichSarah Bachlin (2x stupid) to have your only competition in town break the biggest Redskins story in years...and oh yeah, you own the team and their flagship." But you also have to consider those fans listening to the game in their cars who didn't have the TV option. Another possible explanation for 980 not going local on the McNabb story until 8 AM the next day relates directly to the Snyder ownership - perhaps Red Zebra wanted to make sure its talk show hosts had been fully briefed on the company line regarding the trade before coming on the air to comment on it. The station's been promoting the fact that it'll be carrying tonight's Capitals game against Atlanta, almost certainly due to conflicts with Nationals and Wizards broadcasts on WFED and WJFK respectively. The pre-Snyder WTEM was the Caps' flagship station for a number of years before Ted Leonsis moved the games over to 1500-AM in 2007 (ironically just before the team started turning its fortunes around). The Thompson and Sports Reporters programs aren't airing today due to 980's coverage of the Orioles' home opener, which should be good news for 106.7 The Fan's Arrington/Dukes show which stands to pick up additional listeners. Mike, Fairfax (4/9/10) For those of you wishing and hoping for a decent classic rock station in DC - forget it. No one will attempt to create a station like WCXR in today's environment. Why? Because WCXR was built on mor ethan music. It had real personalities, great promotions and an edge, um, attitude. They even took chances. That will not happen today - esp at Citadel. First, they won't shell out for great talent. Second, they will never, ever take chances. In the PPM world today's myopic program director is shell shocked by the minute-by-minute ratings they can see. They believe (falsely) that you have to eliminate every possible negative (except bad commercials) and put out something that will appeal to everyone and offend no one. That trick never works. Or, should I say, that trick is already sort of working at WBIG. 105.9 is just a harder version of 100.3. So, instead of taking some risks they play it safe which equals uninteresting. Sure, they can play some great songs but other than that - why listen. Look, The Edge is just a classic rock version of MIX without the highly performing morning show. Hey, I love Kirk but it is easy to hear he is trying to perform inside a tight box. And, while 105.9 may have a larger cume than some other (second tier) stations their numbers suffer because no one sticks around for very long. This station will trudge along in the low to mid 2 share range until Citadel gets bored and decides on the next -ahem- great idea for that stick. The sad thing is - it doesn't have to be this way. Hell, they ain't making hay the way they are going - why not take a few chances. (4/9/10) Dave's response: Why doesn't someone do a "Jack" oldies format like Baltimore's QSR here in DC? That would be perfect for 105.9. Diverse playlist, heavy on 1980s synth pop..... Sun reported Md. Gov. Martin O'Malley and politicians fleeing a bar fire last night ... they definitely fled, but fire dept. said there was no fire ... tomlobianco.com (4/9/10) "nobody I know has ever heard of "KHZTV.Com"". -Interesting, nobody I know has ever heard of Davy Jones the disc jockey. Always illicts the "You mean the guy from the Monkees?" response. (4/9/10) "RG…hey, to you personally..stick-it!" **Ok...but only if you promise to not make me listen to your show...ok? -RG5 (4/9/10) Did I read that right? Bicknell finally found a job? Thank god! Let's all hope that means he'll have less time to fill the Mailbag (and the dozen other websites he plagues) with his self-absorbed bullshit. Hallelujah, and don't let the door hit your fat ass on the way out! By the way...nobody I know has ever heard of "KHZTV.Com" and the site isn't working at the moment. How fitting. (4/9/10) Tuesday, SFMSports.Net brings high school lacrosse back to FOX 1370 Sports Radio, as the Gilman Greyhounds play host to Mount St. Joe. Graham Whaples will call the game, which will be time-shifted to air at 7pm (game is at 4:15pm) on FOX 1370 Sports Radio. (4/9/10) Re: The Herm and Rayce Show.....we very much appreciate the plug from a viewer/listener, and it's nice to know that we don't put anybody to sleep. Except maybe our wives....lol Herm (4/9/10) QVC is owned by Liberty Media (4/9/10) I went to three different PC’s and a laptop and KHZ Radio is up on all of them..some PC’s load slower than others. BTW, thanks to the “unsigned” you’re sustaining your hatred and perspective. Get a freaking life. RG…hey, to you personally..stick-it! JA, you are very kind and right on the spot.PLB/Davy Jones (4/9/10) I think it's great that PLB/DJ is back on the air. I'll be listening. Been listening to him since I was a kid. And I'm glad you posted the press release to tell us about it. The only problem is, now YOU will be posting at least 10 letters from malcontents and no-lifers who will do nothing but whine, complain, bitch and hurl mindless and baseless insults at this talented guy and pollute the mailbag even more than it is. Happens every time. JA (4/9/10) Dave's response: As I told Mike O'Meara a few weeks ago, all that matters is if they're taking about you. Good or bad posts are all good. Media people have got to know that..... "Starting this month Davy Jones can be heard on KHZTV.Com" **Oh how the once marginally mighty have fallen.....RG (4/9/10) Ref: "Dave's response: Might that end up being Don Geronimo's new local radio home once his CBS contract expires in October? " - How does the "HitMan" fit into this KHTZTV deal, is he keeping Don's seat warm? just asking ?????? (4/9/10) Sure, you can listen to forgotten DC area broadcaster Paul Bicknell on KHZTV....or....you can do yourself a favor and listen to an entertaining program...Tune in to The Herm and Rayce Show...Fridays at 6pm at www.hermandrayce.com... They won't put you to sleep. Guaranteed! (4/9/10) Tried the KHZ site, but when went to Radio, get a black screen and no audio. Tried both FireFox & IE but got same result… (4/9/10) The following press release was sent to DCRTV: Washington/Baltimore radio legend “Davy Jones” is back on the air and doing 2010 and beyond radio. Davy Jones served a generation of radio listeners on huge radio stations like WBZ, Boston,WPGC, WMOD,WBIG, WXTR and is considered a signature air personality in both the Washington and Baltimore markets. His content, like that of Elvis and Frank Sanatra, has followed his audience from their teen days to today. Starting this month Davy Jones can be heard on KHZTV.Com and the growing KHZ Radio network. Starting stations on the net are WYRE, 810 in the Baltimore market and WKHZ. 1590 in OC Maryland. The KHZTV.com and the KHZ Radio stations is a new venture, targeting 35 to 54 adults, the radio net delivers hits to the website, where entertainment products are promoted and sold. Radio advertisers are sold a Multi-Media promotion package, a new concept to amplify the value of AM radio. This concept is a combination of two medias, using the strength of both, the ability of radio to quickly gather a high cume audience and a website’s ability to give detail and do instant commerce. Traditional, in the box radio PDs will never understand the music mix, as they will want to attach some inside the radio industry term to every song, then try to understand how so many labels can mix,…what the format does play is every uptempo, Top 40 hit that may be found on the target audience’s iPOD, as the format ignores radio opinions and targets audience opinions. Nor will they understand the website, TV programmers will. KHZ Radio Network, KHZTV.Com and KHZ Studios is not a radio station with a website, it’s a website with a radio station group. This new radio/website combination is designed to promote and sell entertainment products and discover new talents. Increasingly, products promoted on the website and sold on the web will be produced in the company studio complex, a full service music and Greenscreen TV studio. This venture is in business to discover and promote new music, TV and radio talent. (4/9/10) Dave's response: Might that end up being Don Geronimo's new local radio home once his CBS contract expires in October? Hmmm..... The reason why 105.9 The Sludge has higher ratings than other stations in the market is because some people like hearing the same crap time and time again. Why did I mention SatRad stations.....because they are so much better than 105.9. I agree with the poster this morning who said that we need a 98 Rock in DC. 105.9 could follow so many station models as far as rock stations go. I could name other stations that The Sludge could follow but they are out of the DC/Charm City Market areas. I am thankful for SatRad........it's the closest thing I get musically as to what I want from a classic rock station or classic alternative music without turning on my I-Pod. If The Sludge wants to improve their ratings.....they can go to the anything that rocks slogan and go after DC 101. Play everything that rocks and for a morning show.....pipe in Opie and Anthony in morning drive from Sirius XM. Mix up the rock and roll as well, throw in classic alternative tunes in with the classic rock and active rock and watch the ratings soar. It will draw in listeners from all aspects of the rock music genre. Then I might consider listening to The Sludge. Until then, it's back to Sirius XM. Just think for a minute though.....Opie and Anthony going after Elliot. Makes for a good healthy morning drive radio competition. Dan (4/9/10) Speaking of McDonalds, did McDonalds pull their ads off WJFK? (4/9/10) Everyone is missing the more perfect opportunity to bash McDonnell. Instead of getting him for ignoring slavery. Get him for trying to put people in the battlefield museums and the Mcdonalds and 7-11's at the exits for the parks. That's what he is trying to do. Figured someone somewhere would have figured that out and just be there with a hand out. Bashing him under the current tact doesn't make anyone any money... :)...since its ALWAYS about money! (4/9/10) Jezus H. W. Christ channel 7, can you please take those moronic, idiotic, law breaking, wanna-be famous, piss ants off of your airwaves. It was bad enough to do a story about the White House party crashers, but to make it your LEAD STORY? You guys have sunk to a new level. These people are NO BODIES! They owe me 1:30 of my life back. QUIT GIVING INTO THEIR BULLSHIT REALITY, PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY. Time to change the channel back to channel 4. (4/9/10) Dave, your world of an almost unlimited variety of “free” audio “streams” is very utopic. But will be unlikely to come to pass. Like anything else, I see the greedy getting involved to kill it in the womb. At least here in the U.S. First, while you can expect to pay your carrier to provide reception, there’s the copyright issued regarding things like performance royalties and access. The former has already silenced many a small American broadcaster’s internet stream (Thank RIAA for that…) with the latter mainly affecting pro sports in the U.S. and availability of material from overseas. Examples? Try listening to a U.K. commercial station on the internet from here in the U.S. And, on YouTube, there’s content that is restricted because of being outside the country of origin. Now, add to that re-writes of our telecomms laws (not to mention new laws), and you can see I don’t see your vision coming to pass. Unfortunately. Variety and choice in media are great. Unless you’re either a record company, broadcaster, or government. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/9/10) Well, I hope that those of you (us) who have Verizon FiOS are not holding out any hope for getting MASN2-HD. So all of those commercials you see on MASN2 in Standard Definition that tell you how "This is Better Than Cable, This is FiOS...This is Big!" are full of shit because cable is offering their subscribers MASN2 in HD. Greg in Reisterstown. I just received this response to an e-mail I sent to Verizon: "Thank you for contacting the Verizon eCenter. I have received your email dated April 8, 2010 regarding MASN2 in HD. I understand the importance of having access to your favorite channels. My name is Wendy, and I will be happy to assist you. Verizon is working to provide the most robust entertainment programming in the industry. I apologize, at this time, we do not have any plans to provide MASN2 HD. I have forwarded your request for this channel to our FiOS TV team where it will be given full consideration in future decisions for programming. I hope I have resolved your reason for contacting us. If you have additional questions, or if we may be of assistance to you in the future, please let us know. We look forward to serving you." (4/9/10) Mike in Fairfax, I have to respectfully disagree with you about 980 not interrupting the Yanks/Sox game on Sunday night. First, while their rivalry may be celebrated, if their fans live in the DMV, they actually can afford to WATCH the game. Secondly, while owning the Redskins, Dan Snyder actually OWNS ESPN 980 as well. Logistics aside, it just seems beyond MichSarah Bachlin (2x stupid) to have your only competition in town break the biggest Redskins story in years...and oh yeah, you own the team and their flagship. There is no defense of this, NONE! Honestly though, ESPN 980 and the Redskins are doppelgangers. Both piss poor in presentation, and yet somehow write checks that make the bank bounce. Don't worry about the budget cuts @ 980, that's just to streamline the place. They could basically run ESPN Radio 24/7 and still make money. This is why I stress it's so important for 106.7 The Fan to stop screwing around and put RADIO people on their RADIO station. It's not that hard...we're not trying to pass a bill in the Senate for God's sake...THIS IS RADIO! No offense unsigned one, but I hate corporate suits. -Billy Sparks (4/9/10) Is DC50 available on FIOS? (4/9/10) Dave's response: Yes. Verizon's Fios carries all local DC TV stations on its systems in the DC TV market..... No, Howie, you're wrong, you only have HALF the story. I'm talking about the David Zurawik who will take any media appearance he can get even when he doesn't know a damn thing about the topic, especially political stuff, which is supposed to NOT be his specialty, like his appearance on CNN where he attacked FOX News and Republicans. And as you said, he appeared on FOX News and attacked MSNBC. Go figure. The same David Zurawik also that refuses to state his conflicts of interest when reporting on stories, like his connections to Mark Steiner (formerly of WYPR) when reporting the Baltimore mayor's resignation, and his newspaper's affiliation with WJZ TV & CBS. Meanwhile he criticizes WBAL TV and radio routinely without ever mentioning this blatant conflict of interest. The guy has everything about the Fairness Doctrine wrong, deletes any criticism of himself or that does not fawn over him or Kate Gosselyn, and obviously has no clue about media ethics or he just doesn't give a rats ass! Take your pick. That's the David Zurawik I'm talking about, a complete boob. Now why is he attacking Bob Ehrlich & WBAL radio again? Somebody give me a good reason why David Zurawik is correct or find me a Z on TV article where he criticizes 105.7 The Fan or WJZ 13. I think I already proved my point and made a fool of Zurawik on multiple occasions, he's an embarrassment to both The Baltimore Sun AND Goucher College and makes a fool of himself on all 3 cable TV news nets as well! Zurawik is to media ethics as OJ is to marriage counseling. I also think it's hysterically funny that Zurawik keeps a BANNED LIST for his blog. He's the ONLY SUN writer that I have to create not a 2nd, but now a 3rd Sun account just to post a response to his Z on TV column. No other Sun writer is this nutty or so easily offended or thin-skinned. TOO FUNNY! :-) (4/9/10) Let me get this straight... So Governor Moonbeam Jerry Brown confirms ACORN voter fraud, yet you buy the "just playing along" story regarding human trafficking of minors even though obviously these ACORN workers had been forewarned about this stuff ahead of time??? Sure, we play that game around the dinner table every night... "LET's MAKE A DEAL (kid sex edition)" HAHA! And now you're attacking Sean Hannity and WMAL 630 for continuing to rat these scumbags out??? Wow, you must live in a very Alice in Wonderland place to buy all that BS. Please send me some of your pills, I'm having trouble sleeping and could use some funky dreams. And what the hell is opednews.com? Is that like run by Greenpeace or MoveOn.org? Sorry if I got easily confused by your lack of sanity. LOL (4/9/10) The unofficial shirt of Virginia's "Confederate Month"?: www.tshirthell.com... Don't blame me, I didn't design the damned thing. (4/9/10) Dave's response: I hear that Chris Plante was seen wearing that while at Joe Hadeed's carpet cleaning store yesterday..... /\ April 9 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....