Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - June 24 to July 5, 2010 Latest messages listed first..... \/ July 5 Messages \/ Happy Anniversary to the WPGC tribute site www.amandfmmorningside.com but I do have some advice. Get rid of that stupid message about "copyright infringement" that one gets if they by accidet right click on the site. Don't get me wrong, great site and one NEEDS to protect the content by making the photos and such where one can not copy and post them to another site. But that message whether its from the webmaster or the hosting company eitherway one could get the wrong idea such as what happened to a friend of mine when without thinking he right-clicked on a page on the www.reelradio.com site only to end up getting the message " AH HA BUSTED !! YOU WILL BE SUED FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGMENT !!". The message even showed HIS ISP address. Of course the personal message he had got back from Reelradio said that they had no intention on suing, just giving people a scare and to prevent those from trying to copy content. Wonder if Reelradio knew that had my friend was scared enough to get a lawyer only to get the "..hey we were just given ya a good scare" line from the site then Reelradio could be responsible for my friend's legal fees? Sometimes its best just not say nothing to protect YOUR butt. Just a sayin thats all. Other than that keep up the good work. (7/5/10) Rusty...Your sweet Melody should pummel you for your post. Go take a cold shower. (7/5/10) Maybe somebody could explain why the Washington Post listed 88.5 and 90.9 as stations to listen to the Capitol 4th concert on the radio so you can hear the music as you watch the fireworks and when my family tuned to those stations 88.5 was playing a Paul Harvey rerun and 90.9 was playing choir music which obviously was not the Capitol 4th. Does anybody know what station could play the concert so next year there isn't this suprise. Mike (7/5/10) Dave's response: Holy crap, you mean the Post got something wrong? Ha ha ha..... Silvie gets my vote on this! What a complete delight for the eyes. But knowing ladies from the Waldorf area, I'm not surprised. I could play "Sylvia's Mother" for her on my show on Friday. But that's entirely too depressing and doesn't do justice to her beauty. Long may you run Sweetie! Rusty Gibson (7/5/10) The following was forwarded to DCRTV..... Happy 4th to you – and Happy 10th to us! Today, July 4th marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the WPGC Tribute Site - www.amandfmmorningside.com. Originally consisting of artifacts in a box gathering dust in a garage, the site has grown through the years to over 2,000 pages long with hundreds of audio files including 200 airchecks (and nearly as many more coming in the future) and now averages about 10,000 hits per month. The vast majority of station memorabilia seen on the site has been donated by station alumni and long time listeners alike. The list of contributors is vast and too lengthy to mention here. But a special Good Guy salute goes to Richard Irwin of ReelRadio.com who graciously offered to host the site years ago when it reached such proportions it became economically unfeasible to host by any one individual... In celebration of our first decade online, special features have been added to the site including a greatly expanded history of the station, a new section devoted to books which have mentioned WPGC as well as the fascinating explanation of the significance of the grainy photo above! To all those who have supported this site and made it what it is today, our sincere thanks! To those who have intended on donating any WPGC artifacts forgotten about in a closet somewhere but haven’t quite gotten around yet to doing so, we look forward to hearing from you. Your input to the site is always valuable, or as ‘Mr. Soundoff’ would express it so eloquently (or bombastically!), ‘Your response is welcome!’ (7/5/10) What's with David Zurawik's constant slamming on WBAL now. He should support a station that's gone more local in the last few years, and has committed more resources to local coverage. But no, he's been blinded by his hatred for the Ehrlichs. How interesting that while the newspaper industry (i.e. The Washington Post) is getting slammed for the controversial emails of its "objective journalists" covering beats, Zurawik ignores that entire issue. Do you wonder what the bloggers and journalists at The Sun really think? He slams WBAL for having the Ehrlichs on the air, yet over the years, multiple local broadcasters had close ties to partisan politics and elected officials. Richard Sher's wife worked directly for a mayor. Did that taint WJZ's coverage? WBAL TV has an anchor whose husband used to be the spokesperson for the Maryland Democratic party. Did that taint their coverage? (By the way, funny how with a terrible economy and furlough days for state workers, he found a job as a spokesman for the state health department. Had Ehrlich done that, the legislature would have spent a milllion dollars investigating its "illegality...") Was WBAL Radio's coverage tainted when it had Schaefer, Glendening, Schmoke, and even O'Malley on the air. Why do they call a newspaper "NEWSpaper" if it includes so much opinion and commentary? WBAL has never been a news station. It's been news and talk (commentary and opinion) and sports. How can Zurawik not get that? Is he slamming ABC for George Stephanopoulos? No wait. he worked for a democrat. Perhaps someone at The Sun saw the latest poll ( HERE: www.magellanstrategies.com ) that indicated Ehrlich has a three-point lead over O'Malley, and they're all in a panic. Ehrlich marginalized The Sun when he was governor, and that paper will do anything to stop him from being re-elected. When O'Malley appears again on WTOP, will Zurawik write a column demanding equal time for Ehrlich. Doubtful. And regardless of who is in office, Maryland Public Television should stop sucking up to the governor, legislature, etc. It's all about keeping taxpayers dollars funneling into MPT. Zurawik has become a parody of a media writer and critic, and he is beneath the quality the few remaining readers of The Sun expect and deserve. (7/5/10) i know this is a TAD outside of NOVA and your perview but today i've been having lots of problems with my dvr there's some sort of slowness it usually takes less then 3 seconds to go thorugh channels and now it's so frustrating it takes 10 seconds or longer and yes i've already complained to comcast anyway if you could help, honestly if we had FIOS i'd drop comcast but since we're a bit from richmond just outside of chesterfield county and all so we can't get it (at least not yet) (7/5/10) Dave's response: I tend to notice that my Comcast DVR starts doing strange shit if it's not rebooted every few weeks. Unplug your DVR, count to 10, and plug it in again. It'll take another 10 minutes or so for it to restart. That probably will solve your problem..... Re: "Silvie vs. Sarah? Not even close! Sarah's the better looker by far!" Sarah reminds me of Charlie McCarthy. Robert, Arlington (7/5/10) Oh, that David Zurawik is at it again. Check out this exchange on his blog..... "Hey Z, I noticed you wouldn't publish my whole comment. What a bunch of thin skinned people the Sun employs. Pathetic." Zurawik's reply: "I do not print lies. And I know what you said about the Sun to be false. That is not a case of being thin skinned. That's being a responsible journalist. That's one of our standards at the Sun: We do not publish things we know to be false. Good MSM standard. You should try only writing things you know to be true. I will be happy to publish those comments. Z" Is he a load of crap and full of himself or what? And he bans certain email addresses too if he disagrees with or dislikes your opinion or it's overly critical on a regular basis. I've posted opinions, many harsh on various Baltimore Sun blogs. David Zurawik is the only one that censors opinions and doesn't allow much of any criticism of The Sun or especially himself. That to me defines the definition of not only bias and censorship, but also being "thin skinned." Look in the mirror Z, you write a damn blog for christ sakes, not even a reporter! I don't even think I'm going to bother reading his drivel anymore, it's a waste of time. The only reason Z continues to attack WBAL radio is because they often criticize The Sun and the Sun is certainly endorsing Gov. O'Malley. You can take that to the bank right now! LOL (7/5/10) Re: "Dave, why are many of the folks who post here so negative towards Silvie ... but from my recollection, she was really hot babe" Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And apparently you're the only DCRTV mailbagger who thinks she isn't the mailbag nitwit. Joe in Essex runs a close second. (7/5/10) Re Dave's response: "Austin's bein' real mean to Elena Kagan this morning. I'd like to see her sit on him." Elena Kagan sit on a male. Not very likely. (7/5/10) Dave's response: I just throught of a Mrs. Grandy joke, but I think I'll keep it to myself. Ha ha ha..... WBAL changes are a good step. Baltimore needs at WTOP type station & this appears to be a major step. Why isn't the Kirk & Mike show starting tomorrow? Wednesday, and you miss a lot of people going back to work on Tuesday after a long holiday weekend. -BW (7/5/10) Silvie vs. Sarah? Not even close! Sarah's the better looker by far! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (7/5/10) Speaking of Sylvie, I play a song by The Steep Canyon Rangers called Sylvie. It's a very nice accapella song that I'm sure Silvie would like. In fact, I'd be willing to play it as my first song on Fitzgrass next friday so she can hear it. The website to listen is: www.fcac,org/webr on Fridays from 1pm to 3pm. Yes I know bluegrass is not big here, but what the hell. Fitz (7/5/10) The word "trusty" and David Zurawik shouldn't be used in the same sentence. Between Zurawik's connections to Marc Steiner, WYPR, and The Sun and his association with WJZ and him being on CNN, the man doesn't have an ounce of credibility or transparency. No wonder he always criticizes WBAL radio & TV. Not to mention The Sun endorsed and is guaranteed to endorse Gov. Martin O'Malley again. Zurawik is basically a walking conflict of interest! (7/5/10) I would bet that the reason JohnnyUinHanover doesn't have a problem with COMCAST is that most likely his cable system has not yet gone through COMCAST's DTV conversion yet that renders HDTV sets useless without a new cable box and clunky cable remote and removes some of the special features of many HDTV sets. I know lots of people on the eastern shore of Maryland who don't have a problem with COMCAST either for that very reason. COMCAST has yet to roll out these DTV changes and hassles in many outlying areas, only in the DC & Baltimore metro areas mostly. In fact, even Baltimore city hasn't converted yet I don't think. So prepare yourself for the COMCAST fun JohnnyU, it will be coming to your COMCAST system eventually. It's just a matter of time. (7/5/10) So, let me get this right. Paul's on air name of Davy Jones has a nickname? Hit Me? Is Cathy Whiteside responsible for that moniker? AHHHHHmen (7/5/10) Dave, why are many of the folks who post here so negative towards Silvie. I know It's been a long time since her picture was posted here, but from my recollection, she was really hot babe! As is the case with Sarah Palin, I can't say I agree with her political leanings, but she (Silvie) is certainly the nicest looking of anything that's even been near WMAL. Do you have any of those Silvie pictures in your vast picture library that you could share with us this extended holiday weekend? Thanks. (7/5/10) Dave's response: You got 'em..... Was This Possible? Fell to sleep in SoMD listening to WGN 720. These days, the signal fades out between 5:00 and 5:30am. This morning I turned the CCRadio to see if another station would come in. Music came in loudly and clearly. I missed most of the station ID except for the last letter, Z. Knew it wouldn't be too hard to search w/ the FCC's AM Query. The only last-letter 'Z' station was KOTZ, KOTZEBU, AK. Picked up the webstream and the uniterrupted music mix was similar to that from OTA. At 9:00 ET, PBS came on. Have never DX'd AM beyond DesMoines, Iowa previously. Will mention that this past Saturday, KOEM, Mesquite, TX blew out WAMU from about 11:30AM - 2:00PM. (7/5/10) What role did WHUR's new CE play in the firing of the PD/OM? Will his legendary Daddy be brought in as a consultant, just like at the last place he worked? How many times is this act going to be repeated? Be careful Jim, there may be alliances, but there are no allegiances. (7/5/10) 1) Austin Hill is doing The Grandy Group solo this morning and he's such a pro at this. It's like he's been doing this all of his life -- pausing for traffic & weather, taking calls on cue, following the same exact routine as Nehman & Grandy, and totally inmersed in the politik apparatchik of DC-MD-VA. Great job, Austin! 2) Isn't the guy who spends all of his holidays in the basement actually you, DCRTV Dave? ;-) -Silvie- (7/5/10) Dave's response: Austin's bein' real mean to Elena Kagan this morning. I'd like to see her sit on him! Ha ha ha..... Good Gawd!!! Lauren DeMarco looks damn good this morning!! There is no traffic, but who cares!! (7/5/10) To Johnnyyuin: Dave doesn't have to leave the house to see a bear, know'm sayin'? To Dave: the HFS t-shirt and short-shorts were a little much-much for the hike-hike, don't you think? To the hate-ahs: yeah, keep speculating about Doni's frame of mind. Yeah, he's real jealous of Mike O'Meara. Who wouldn't want to have a shift that starts at 5 am? BTW, when your airshift starts at 5 am that doesn't mean you scream into the parking lot at 4:59. Dumbasses. Don, Mike, good on ya, grab the yambag of life and give it a good hard twist. Hate-ahs, if you want to talk about something, talk about how students at Bart's highschool were caught in some kind of cellphone sexgame contest, and a lacross playing graduate of the school is in trouble for allegedly killing his girlfriend at UVa. That's how ya hate. Me, I don't hate. Don and/or Mike, you GO, girlfriends!! Like Milton Berle, just enough to win the contest. - ZombieWoof (7/5/10) /\ July 5 Messages /\ \/ July 4 Messages \/ In absence of the guy who writed about spending Independence Day in his basement watching old movies on his round CRT Hallicrafters TV while drinking “Beast”, I’ll chime in with something regarding this day. As we celebrate with barbecues, swimming, and fireworks, let’s pause to think of those men and women who sacrificed their lives and who are risking their lives thousands of miles away, so that we may enjoy the freedoms we take for granted. Those freedoms include a broadcasting system which is still largely free from overt government interference. And, an Internet that is likely a form of expression the founding fathers would’ve approved of. So, on this day, if you’ve not done so before, say a prayer of thanksgiving for our veterans and our military. Also, how about hitting your Paypal account for DCRTV’s Independence Day Special? After all, through advertising and our support, DCRTV has the creative independence so many of would love to have. And, unlike what that radio preacher from McLean says, this is a sermon! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (7/4/10) Dave's response: Gee, thanks! Dave, Did you run into any bears on your hike? It seems they are being seen every week in northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (7/4/10) Dave's response: There are a lot of bears around Dupont Circle, too. Ha ha ha..... I will listen to Mike O'meara to hear his agonizing guest interviews, (cuts everybody off mid-answer), his fake laugh, his self pitying diatribes about being fat, his patronizing fake team player speeches...you know what, I'm not going to listen...the Edge, ruined... (7/4/10) Dave: How do you celebrate the 4th? Also, I wonder if we'll hear from the mailbag contributor who writes in to say he spends each holiday in his basement drinking a case of beer and watching old movies and TV shows. Funny stuff. (7/4/10) Dave's response: Yeah, this year we haven't heard from the guy who drinks a case of Milwaukee's Best every 4th of July and watches some cable channel marathon on his B&W portable in his basement. Maybe he finally died and went to TV Heaven? Me, I just got back from a three-hour hike in the woods..... Andy Parks these days? Stuck in the buffet line @ Golden Corral? (7/4/10) Dave: Farhi's story on O'Meara was in Saturday's paper... Ed O'Keefe,The Federal Eye, The Washington Post (7/4/10) Dave's response: My copy of Saturday's Style section did not have Farhi's itty-bitty piece on O'Meara's new gig. I've launched a major investigation and discovered that a short Reuters wire piece on Lady Gaga's Facebook fan base was pulled from page C8 in later editions for the Farhi blurb. You, obviously, get a later edition than we peons in the far, way out western suburbs of Fairfax County do. Lucky you..... Happy 4th Everybody! Here's Sweet Sue... (7/4/10) I read a lot of stuff(?) about COMCAST. You may possibly have a problem,however, I do not. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (7/4/10) Dave's response: I don't know. I talk to a lot of people and many say that dealing with the IRS and the DMV is more fun than Comcast..... Glad to hear about O'Meara and McKewan in the mornings. I just hope it doesn't lean too heavily on schtick. Also, I noticed that 100.3 and 105.9 were playing a lot of the same songs a few minutes apart today. If one station played a song, the other one played it about ten minutes later. Never heard that before. (7/4/10) Congratulations to 105.9's Klueless Kenny King on his first gaffe with his new morning show. In his press release, King misspells the name of the venue where the lunch is being held. It's GREENE Turtle, you boob! Not Green. I'm sure the client is so impressed. (7/4/10) /\ July 4 Messages /\ \/ July 3 Messages \/ 4 business days for Comcast to do a service call? What's wrong with them over in NOVA/DC? Here in Delaware/Maryland (live in DE work in MD) neither I nor anyone I work with has ever had them not come the next day. Including Sunday! (nice Comcast rep was like I don't want you to wait til Monday for a tech, you're totally down, so I'll say your phone is out, then we're required to come out on Sunday) At work with Comcast workplace, we're guranteed 4 business hour response time. If I was told 4 days to get my tv back up, I'd tell them no thanks, you can cancel, I'm switching to DirecTV or Dish. (7/3/10) Great so now you finally have one of your obsessions back on the air. You better hope he doesn't talk too much or his ppm ratings will tank. (7/3/10) Hey Dave, if you are going to save people's Comcast service, could you help save the Arlington/Alexandria system. I think I can safely say that no other provider in the Washington D.C. area (including Cox, FiOS, RCN, DirecTV, Dish and even other Comcast systems) provides as few HD channels as the Comcast system serving Arlington and Alexandria. Could you maybe contact your source at Comcast and remind them that there quite a few subscribers here that would love to have more than 30 HD channels. Thanks, Michael (7/3/10) Dave's response: I'll be right over! I too saw Brian Bolter stumbling and mumbling on the broadcast the other day due to the written copy and teleprompter problem..It reminded me of an incident that occurred years ago with an anchor named Sue Simmons who used to anchor with Jim Vance on channel 4. One evening, the person behind the teleprompter either wasn't moving it fast enough or there was some sort of error. But unlike Bolter attempting to remedy the situation, Sue Simmons just started yelling at the guy behind the teleprompter!..She was a real firecracker. And I understand that when she went to NY, not knowing that her microphone was still on, she dropped the F bomb saying "What the f--- are you doing??" (7/3/10) Dave, in the print edition of the Post I got in Alexandria today, there was a small blurb that is the same article that is online on the last page of the Style section. Mike in Alexandria (7/3/10) Dave's response: You must have gotten a later edition. Definitely no small Farhi write-up on O'Meara's new gig in my print Post this morning..... For an idea of the station 105.9 should pattern itself after, come down to Lynchburg and hear its 97.9 FM, also carried on 106.9 in nearby Bedford. "The Planet" isn't exactly WHFS in its prime, but it's far better than any rock station I've heard in D.C. the past decade. It plays a nice variety of stuff, including some early Elvis Costello and the Attractions and some Cream album cuts, e.g. "I Feel Free." (No Marshall Crenshaw yet, but we can hope.) It also has some solid specialty shows, a few local, a few syndicated. If anyone wants to give an online listen, it's at www.rocktheplanet.fm. -- Vincent in Lynchburg (7/3/10) Kenny King for PM Drive on The Edge? Seriously? He sucks on the air. Who the phuck are you, Kenny King's mom? You'd have better ratings letting one of those homeless people who sleep in their cars in the lot under 4400 Jenifer St. do PM Drive. Kenny King would be much better off hiring a separate on-air PD with format experience. But thank you for making me waste a beer snorking it up & outta my nostrils laughing so hard. Kenny King on air indeed muuuuhahahahaha now THAT is abso-phuckin-lutely hysterical!¡!¡ (7/3/10) Re: "And Kirk has been on the air since The Edge switched and no one cares about him on that station already." Right you are. I never thought he displayed any talent as an on-air personality when he was on 98Rock. It's not going to take long before MOM becomes the dominant player in that duo. Hopefully this move will bring some life to morning radio in the DC area. There's not much out there right now worth listening to, especially the incredibly bad Jack Diamond show. And don't even get me started on talk radio and Chris Plante. Gag me, please. (7/3/10) Very best of luck to Beverly Kirk, Audrey Barnes, LaToya Foster, Yolanda Vazquez, Rob Carson, Marc Clarke, Sunny James, and Minnie Others on getting your own show on Oprah's OWN Network. However, I voted for Zach... (7/3/10) The guy below who thinks that Donnie G. is somehow envious of Mike O’Meara’s new deal has just revealed how little he knows about radio, how much they’re getting paid, and what options each of them has. Donnie G. is in the clover. Sincerely, TMU (7/3/10) Dave: Let us all praise 105.9! Saw the news first in my Facebook newsfeed, where you'd posted. I think your recommendation that the station not settle into "Arrow" sterility with the same two tracks by the same four bands is wise, I would ask that the station play more hair bands from the 1980s -- the Scorpions, Ratt, stuff they've been mixing in, rather than the New Wave stuff you prefer. But if those musical styles can live side by side, I'd be cool with that. Anything besides Rick Derringer every hour on the hour. Christian (7/3/10) I must be living in a bizzaro world because I swear it was Kevin Sheehan and Chris Knoche I heard filling in on The Sports Reporters this past week on ESPN 980 WTEM. I didn't listen Friday but perchance that was a repeat show due to the holiday weekend? I can't handle much of Sheehan style, just find him ponderous to listen too and not a particularly funny guy despite his attempts, so I only listened for a few moments each day. Come on ESPN 980 why not Scott Linn filling in? And too much Chris Knoche. Once or twice a week is fine but lately he seems to be a constant guest on Sports Reporters. They having a hard time finding guests for the Sports Reporters? And good gawd not more Dan Helie. Ugh, boring. I sure miss the days of Larry Wiseman when he was with USA Today, he appears occasionally now but he seems very restricted in what he says. I liked when he could openly discuss other teams in the NFL. One of my dislikes about current day sports talk, very little in depth analysis and discussion of other teams and players throughout various sports. More centered on that day's hot gossipy topic and then beat the subject into ground. Yuck! Is the goal of the WaPo/Fairax Times to knockout all the other local newspapers in Fairfax County? I guess the lousy economy is helping that out. Is Bob Ryan eventually going to take over as lead weather caster at WJLA channel 7? Sure seems like Doug Hill is out quite a bit. And as for Mike O'Meara going to mornings on The Edge 105.9, I guess that's good for him but does strike me as bit of stinker for his podcasts buddies. All that talk by O'Meara about how much he enjoyed doing the podcast and the freedom it allowed was just a lot of wind? Ahhbra.com. Mr. Word (7/3/10) Thanks for the info Tom, I am listening to WFAN as well. Burt in Denton (7/3/10) You've mentioned some local women who are trying out to host a show on Oprah's network, but I haven't seen you mention Beverly Kirk. She is giving it a go as well. Have a great holiday weekend! (7/3/10) I can't believe this is the quote that Kirk gave thw Washington Post. "I think this is like Led Zep and the Stones coming together for an album." He really thinks very highly of himself and Mike. I don't remember the Stones or Led Zep having to released CDs on a podcast because they couldn't get anyone to hire them. And Kirk has been on the air since The Edge switched and no one cares about him on that station already. (7/3/10) Dave: Regarding this morning's post: "If you would have paid attention you would have noticed that it was not Czaben and Pollin doing their show. They are on vacation. It was Thom Laverro and Kevin Sheehan filling in for them." My sincere apologies for not being clear..I was referring to that show {yesterday 4p-7p} and if you were listening, they were the only people talking about Pop-Tarts. The bottom line, the program content was still crap! (7/3/10) Actually I think Kenny King will handle afternoons on 105.9, I think he did afternoons on the old WCXR IIRC, and when he filled in for Kirk a couple of weeks ago, he sounded really good. As far as Cerphe, probably out of the question, I don't think he and the Edge would be a good fit (Kenny would be better), but Jonathan "Weasel" Gilbert might be worth a look. Or Albie Dee for nights. Kevin Kash, Shock "with the rock", or Kelly Knight, too. Suzie Ansilio is already the music director. About two months ago, on Tom Grooms' overnight show, I thought I heard another former WCXR jock auditioning for a job at 105.9 (I think his name was Mark, back in the days from when Paul Harris did mornings, he did either middays or afternoons, could've been Kessler). But definitely Kenny for now in pm drive is my opinion, he did sound good, especially with Citadel traffic babe Chilli Amar (who does traffic for both 105.9 and 107.3) Stephen (7/3/10) Hmmmm... decisions, decisions... Should I continue listening to The Grandy Group in the a.m., or switch over to O'Meara... two very different formats, for sure. Congrats to Mike (7/3/10) Dave's response: I'm now calling it "The Nehman Group"..... In case anyone is interested in listening, Anita Marks can be heard on The Fan (WFAN) from now until two o'clock today. On WFAN with Adam The Bull from 10am - 2pm today!!! 877-377-6666 Tom in Denton, MD. (7/3/10) Dave's response: Listening right now to WFAN on WJFK's 106.7 HD3..... What about local product Kevin Kash for afternoons on The Edge? 10 years @ DC101, was heard nationwide on XM's classic hard rock Boneyard (voted best satellite radio channel in 2007 under Kash), served @ 104.3 in Baltimore when it was classic rock, 97.1 The Fox (classic rock) on Delmarva. (7/3/10) Seriously doubt Don G is spending time being jealous of Mike O. Don G is on the money in his new gig. And I know for a FACT that one DC radio outlet, not CBS, is in talks to syndicate Don's show to PM drive in DC. Might not happen, but people are interested in both of the former fat radio gods. And to call The Edge a major FM station is hi-larious. I do wish K&M and DG the best in their new ventures. Find it hard to stomach how Mike tossed Robb and Buzz to the side. Any bets how long the Mike podcast will last once he gets into the swing of his new show without his friends? -BW (7/3/10) RE: Dave Dickenson leaving WHUR. There's a difference between having left a station and having been shown the door. With Dickenson it was the latter. (7/3/10) The move by Citadel to put O'Meara & McEwen on in the morning on 105.9 was completely brilliant. Cerphe would make a solid choice for afternoons, but then I think you need to go with a younger personality for evenings to keep things fresh. The music I've heard on 105.9 has ranged from the 70's thru the 90's and has been some really good stuff, they just need to finish getting the on-air personalities lined up to make the rest happen. (7/3/10) Dave's response: Cerphe is young at heart, music-wise. He'd be perfect for 105.9's afternoons. He'd also be perfect as the station's music director..... Don congrats Mike on his Twitter page. You know, Don would look like an absolutely turd if he didn't mouth some sort of congrat to Mike, but you know that Don is absolutely steamed that he's doing a show for a dipwatt AMer in Sacramento and his old radio partner (rival) is doing morning drive on a major DC FMer. Don is stewing in jealousy, to be sure. (7/3/10) Did I read WaPo correctly that Kirk & Mike would be playing music? If so, what a waste of airtime. Why hire two guys to talk and have them play music? Any idea how much music, Mr Hughes? -BW (7/3/10) Dave's response: I would imagine you'll hear maybe three or four tunes an hour during 105.9's new morning drive show, with Kirk and Mike's banter, weather and traffic updates, and all those ads..... "Dave: I hope Dan Snyder's out of the country! But if he's in the area, I hope he's going to possibly make a major decision and clean-house at 980. It's bad enough having a show called "The Sports Reporters" that means nothing because Pollin and Czaban aren't journalists, but today was total garbage and heads should roll. No guests and no creativity at all!!!" If you would have paid attention you would have noticed that it was not Czaben and Pollin doing their show. They are on vacation. It was Thom Laverro and Kevin Sheehan filling in for them. (7/3/10) The "Baldo" comic strip in the Washington Post Sunday funnies section is a great lesson in tolerance, acceptance and liberty for all as Americans. Still, I can't wait to see who bitches and moans to the Post about the cartoonist subtly including a lesbian couple. (7/3/10) Wow. Two washed up, has-been DJs are now together at The Edge. Mike diedd at WJFK. Kirk died at WHFS. Now they'll die together at The Edge. The idea seems like it will be good. But when you hear it, it will suck. Two washed up old men. And, who cares that Don Geronimo gave Mike props. There's another washed up old man who is now doing a middle of day show on a shitty AM station in Sacramento. Who lasts longer? Geronimo on 1140? Or Kirk and Mike on The Edge? Or, 3rd choice... who cares? (7/3/10) Congrats to Kirk and Mike on the DC AM gig. I only with that 105.9 had a better signal and made it to Annapolis so that I could listen in. The two classic rockers that make it here are very dull with no personalities. 105.9 would be very welcome here. (7/3/10) Dave's response: Ah, those wonderful adjacent channel outlets. Up in Baltimore, you can't get DC's 104.1, 105.9, and 106.7. And we DCers can't get Baltimore's 104.3, 105.7, and 106.5..... /\ July 3 Messages /\ \/ July 2 Messages \/ Dave: I hope Dan Snyder's out of the country! But if he's in the area, I hope he's going to possibly make a major decision and clean-house at 980. It's bad enough having a show called "The Sports Reporters" that means nothing because Pollin and Czaban aren't journalists, but today was total garbage and heads should roll. No guests and no creativity at all!!! All we hear about is the same material that was used at 12noon and the history of Pop-Tarts? Oh, I'm sorry, if there's a guest it's usually some CSN internet writer who's terrible on radio. I think we've hit rock- bottom in sportstalk radio. (7/2/10) GREAT news for Kirk & Mike. Gotta think DG is glad to be back with CBS and have a fresh start. I heard Don give Mike major ups on his show today. Sucks that Buzz Rob and Oscar aren't gonna be there. Now I can listen to both D&M again. -BW (7/2/10) (RE O'Meara to 105.9:) GREAT move! More amazing because it's from a Citadel station. Thumbs up! (7/2/10) Re: Sean Hannity and KSL. It looks like Sean's show was picked up by Clear Channel's (mostly-syndicated) FM talker, KRNS/105.7. KRNS' website has a big graphic "welcoming" Sean to their station, come October 4th, while their incumbent afternoon host Dr. Laura gets scuttled to their sister AM station. Which more fulfills the Clear Channel mode of building an FM talker with the same standard lineup (Beck-to-Rush-to-Sean-to-Levin)... rather than KSL dropping the show. -Nate- www.knrs.com (7/2/10) Luv Kirk (7/2/10) Dave hats off to you. You were right on point with the Mike O Mera to 105.9 news. That is why you are the man even if it was an opinion or guess. (7/2/10) Dave's response: OK, so now that Kirk and Mike will be doing mornings at 105.9, how about getting Cerphe to do Kirk's old afternoon slot? And how about broadening the 105.9 playlist a bit to include more "New Wave" from the 1980s, like the Simple Minds, the Cure, maybe even the B-52s..... Listen to Geronimo online everyday...since KHTK is another CBS station, I'm pretty certain that bridge was only burned in the minds of his critics. (7/2/10) Now where can I find Don on the dial? (7/2/10) Dave's response: Head west about 3,000 miles and tune to 1140 AM..... I'm sure Don's busy burning bridges somewhere. He was a funny dude though........ (7/2/10) Finally, an actual morning show. Elliot is as boring as it gets. (7/2/10) Podcast definitely continues for Mike O'Meara. (7/2/10) This O'Meara news could finally mark the beginning of the end for the lazy and way overpaid Junkies. I'm sure many of the Junkies listeners will make the switch to 105.9 in morning drive to listen to Mike and Kirk. I bet the Junkies ratings will plummet soon. Those ads Eric Bickell does with his wife are terrible, with the same fake enthusiasm he uses on his show when taking calls. Maybe EB can get a job with the Ehrlic campaign for governor, lol! (7/2/10) DG has to be PISSED! He hates having to move and his ego is gonna be bruised with Mike staying in DC. (7/2/10) Kirk McEwen and Mike O'Meara in the mornings?? awesome! can I get some Larry King impersonations (7/2/10) SHAMROCK! That is awesome. I loved him on the K&M show. What a great team. Just wish I could get the signal up here in Harford Co (7/2/10) Dave's response: 105.7 blasts 105.9 in your neck of the woods..... This is going to be the start of something good at 105.9. Look out Elliot!! (7/2/10) Two interesting speculative items in today’s mailbag. First, Sean Hannity and KSL. Not a surprise to me. KSL’s brand in that part of the West is as valuable as WTOP’s is in D.C. And, Hannity does more “self-merchandising” on his show than Chris Core ever did on any of his. Not to mention plugging to death a competitor to KSL-TV channel 38, Fox News. Between that and some of the more extreme views he’s expressed on-air, I’m surprised the Council of the Twelve Apostles has kept him around as long as they have. One needs to remember that the KSL stations are part of Deseret Management, which while a part of Bonneville International, is in a slightly different category. Think of them as being the “Orthodox” part of Bonneville with WTOP being the “Pentecostals”! What any move by KSL regarding Hannity should be seen as is being “in the beginning”, as the prospect of Hannity’s star beginning to fade looms closer. As for WJLA-TV, you can be assured of a last minute deal to keep WJLA as an ABC affiliate. And, even if WJLA were to go independent, it wouldn’t be the “KRON” of the east for several reasons. First, Albritton has a stronger balance sheet than Young Broadcasting ever has. And, while the initial Albritton purchase of the old Evening Star Broadcasting Company set a record in the dark ages when it was done, there’s no massive debt hanging over their heads. Look at what Young paid for KRON and you’ll see what I mean. That was a deal doomed from the beginning. Also, while NBC was able to buy KNTV San Jose and Gerrymander it into San Francisco after KRON cut its ties, I only see ABC as having one or two similar possible options in D.C. Yes, “ABC50” could be one! Tribune’s finances are shaky with asset sales still a probability. The only other possibility would be a buy of WUSA-9 should Gannett get a good offer. (One thing I’ve learned in politics (lobbying) and broadcasting is that almost anything and anyone can be bought for the right price.) I don’t see WRC being on the block again unless it’s forced in the Comcast buy of NBCU. And, WFDC and WDCA are definitely not for sale. So, ABC is in a box. What to watch for would be positioning as “WJLA 7” instead of “ABC 7” beginning later this year. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (7/2/10) I like Kirk McEwen! YAY! (7/2/10) what about Buzz, Robb, and Oscar? (7/2/10) Dave's response: Not part of O'Meara's 105.9 morning deal, apparently..... I can't believe channel 5 had a "Breaking News" story that Paris Hilton was arrested for marijuana possession..Give me a freakin' break..What's so breaking news about that?? (7/2/10) Glenn Beck announced today that for an extra $9.95 a month, "Extreme Insiders" on his website will be able to enroll in "Beck University" (no, it's not a joke...check for yourself) www.glennbeck.com... Beck University promises "Captivating lectures and interactive online discussions" where, "experts will explore the concepts of Faith, Hope and Charity and show you how they influence America’s past, her present and most importantly her future." Darned if I havn't heard of this concept before...In fact, I believe the original name for the school was supposed to be "The Glenn Beck Center For Teabaggers Who Can't Read Real Good (and want to learn how to do other things good too)". The only reason Beck changed the name is he thinks the new one will sound a lot cooler when President Palin reminisces about it years from now while delivering his eu-goo-go-ly. - Jeff in (Barnum said it best: There's a sucker born every minute) Bowie (7/2/10) Glad to see Audrey Barnes still reporting for FOX5..Hope they keep her around for awhile.. (7/2/10) Talk about having to adlib. Just saw Brian Bolter begin to give a news story by reading his paper script but the picture on the screen didn't match the story. He then tried looking through his paper scripts again and couldn't find the story that matched the picture posted. So he then said "let's go with the teleprompter", pushed a button and that didn't work either..Then it looks like he went back to his papers and by then the picture and script matched..FOX5, make up your mind. Do you want the anchors to work the teleprompter or not?? (7/2/10) (RE: Mike O'Meara to 105.9:) Great team. Should be funny as h@ll. Will there be a third wheel at all as there usually are on morning shows? (7/2/10) December 31, 2012. Will this be the day WJLA turns into the KRON of the east? www.mediapost.com (7/2/10) Dave's response: The post is dated July 6, 2010. News from the future, wow. If ABC and Allbritton can't come to terms, might we be seeing ABC50 here in DC come 2013? Hmmm..... "Don Geronimo-Sorce: AHHHHHSTAYTUNEDITONLYGETSBETTER" --Ladies and gentlemen...Round of applause for the return of Paul Bicknell to the mailbag! Still slowly fading into obscurity at that pay by the hour station, "Hit Me"? (7/2/10) Don Geronimo-Sorce: "Dave, I just wanted to send a submission in thanking you for putting an end to the silly anti-Geronimo/Sacramento posts that had plagued this mailbag." AHHHHHSTAYTUNEDITONLYGETSBETTER (7/2/10) Little note to the Wash. Post: PLEASE put Doonesbury back in the actual comics page AND in black and white. I'm really tired of using a magnifying glass to read 1 strip. And whoever that woman was who co-hosted Let's Talk Live on Newschannel 8 w/ Natasha Barrett Thursday should be the permanent co-host. Paul (7/2/10) Listening to Kevin Sheehan filling with Loverro on the Sports Reporters this week reminds us that having a "radio voice" isn't everything. Loverro's funny AND informative, even if he's . . . a little squeaky in the vocal chord department. Sheehan sounds good, and brings NOTHING to the table. He did a long segment -- whoa, be still my heart -- on how salaries in the NBA are too high. Really? Professional athletes, even mediocre ones, make a lot of money? Way to bring us the breaking news, Rip Van Winkle. He similarly was madly excited that the pre-season football rags AREN'T hyping the Skins, insisting that was a "very good sign." Yeah, could be. Could not be, too. Maybe umpteen years of Danny Snyder's mediocrity have finally made most observers realize that betting on the Skins being good is a losing bet. Sheehan's fine reading the headlines; that's about it. Sincerely, TMU. (7/2/10) Regarding the passing of Jack Wells, I actually remember Jack Wells’ WJZ-TV show from when I was a very young kid. I recall that he was quite talented. One thing that I still remember was one morning when I turned on the TV a little before his show started at 7AM. He and some others in the studio were on the air without realizing it. And amazingly, they were talking about being told they had come on early the day before. Some of the language they were using—they were complaining about the mistake that had been made the previous day—was absolutely vulgar. Even as a young kid, I remember wondering how, given they knew what had happened the day before, they wouldn’t have had enough sense to be careful. In any case, after maybe 30 seconds of this, the theme song and the opening graphics came on, and then Jack, who had been cursing 15 seconds earlier, greeted the audience smiling and appearing happy. Roddy Freeman (7/2/10) All these people auditioning for Oprah... its starting to sound like The Gong Show. (7/2/10) Andy Pollin "safe and sane"? Come on, Mike in Fairfax, Andy Pollin with his all Redskins all the time approach is the personification of all that is wrong with local sports media. I find the guy to be arrogant, condescending and boring. And even though he fashions himself as a Redskins expert, the kind of trivia that he knows is something that any long time fan knows. Czaban at least has a schtick and keeps things interesting............... (7/2/10) I'm glad to hear WBAL is adding a more newsy flavor in the afternoon, but I'm not at all happy with the new morning show. Before the transition to "Maryland's Morning News," I found Dave Durian to be fun, engaging, funny, interesting, insightful and smart. He clearly shined (shone?) as a great morning guy who was obviously juggling many tasks at once but enjoying it. Now, he seems far more tied down to a format and is scripted, robotic and, well, dull. He and the morning show are now in my "okay to miss" category, joining every other radio station. Bob A. in Pikesville, MD. (7/2/10) Jack Wells in Beverly Hills on May 21, 2008. A great guy. Tremendous talent. Fascinating personality. A slew of great stories. He is already missed. - Bob Mathers (7/2/10) It is basically back to the future with WBAL. In the early 1990s, WBAL had their WBAL NewsJournal from 4-6 every afternoon. Allen Prell was on at 9 AM-12 PM and Ron Smith was on from 1-4PM. I will miss hear Ron Smith in the afternoon. Oh well. I guess that is what my iPod is for… (7/2/10) Dave's response: I'm glad they're moving Ron to late mornings. Something to switch over to when Tony Kornheiser goes into his long and rambling rants about Larry King, other long-dead media personalities, and "American Idol"..... "[Virginia] Tech's now at 106.7, Maryland's former D.C. flagship. It's as if the Terps and Gobblers made a trade." But apparently Georgetown's staying on 980 where it's almost certain to play second fiddle to Maryland considering the preponderance of staffers there with ties to the latter school (Pollin, Sheehan, Knoche, Galdi, etc.), not to mention Tony Kornheiser being a longtime golfing buddy of Terps hoops coach Gary Williams. One host on that station who can't be very happy about all this is John Thompson - perhaps he can use his influence and clout to ensure that the Hoyas get a fair slice of the pie during college basketball season. I don't think WTEM has ever owned the rights to Maryland basketball before although it did carry the football games some years back. Caught bits and pieces of MASN's first simulcast of John Riggins' HD radio show yesterday - it sounded like he was taking some shots at Redskins owner Dan Snyder (not exactly a common occurrence back when he worked for Snyder's Triple X stations). His sidekicks were former Channel 5 sports anchor Lou Holder and ex-Red Zebra suit Tod Castleberry. For some reason, Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban are both taking vacation at the same time - usually they stagger their time off from Sports Reporters and we get the safe and sane Pollin sans Czaban broadcasts followed by the runaway train Czaban sans Pollin shows. Kevin Sheehan's filling in on that program and he's been beating a few topics (LeBron, Vick, Haynesworth) to death all week long while largely ignoring the one major US sport (baseball) that's actually playing games right now. Yesterday he mentioned tuning in the Nationals game on MASN the other day, seeing they were losing 3-1 and quickly switching to another channel. That's all too typical of those with little or no real appreciation for baseball - giving up on the hometown team just because they're down by two runs in the late innings. Mike, Fairfax (7/2/10) [2) Julie Wright's wardrobe is awesome -- leopard & zebra blouse prints... and this morning she had the cutest giraffe print blouse!] Leave it to Silvie to return us to the National Geographic references! (7/2/10) Hello Rusty Gibson.....Thanks for the Tempests info. I remember the group from when I was at WEAM as Russ Wheeler in the early to mid-sixties. To answer your question...Yes, I was (am?) RC Allen,111 at WCAO, WLPL, WBAL and WLG,etc. Keep up your fine work at WEBR. RC (7/2/10) Quote: "There's apparently a new development in the situation with Bonneville’s KSL in Salt Lake City and Sean Hannity's radio show. Looks like they're giving him three months notice that he'll be dropped from their line-up effective October 1st. I wonder how the right will react?" The right could care less. I, for one, have turned 'blue in the face' trying to tell WMAL to do the same thing: to turn the 3-6pm time slot into a local afternoon-drive Liberal vs. Conservative show of some sort. Hannity carries on with his own nightly show on FNC, books, and other media, so his radio gig from 3-6pm is probably a thorn on his side. He'd be better off airing via tape delay in the evening hours. -Silvie- (7/2/10) Dave's response: I've said it over and over, too. If WMAL is to be a "complete" station, it needs live and local morning AND afternoon drives. Hannity doesn't get great radio ratings on WMAL and he's overexposed with his TV show..... Tom Grooms takes over the midnight to 5 shift on the edge. Now how about a morning show? Or is that too much to ask citadel? (7/2/10) Dave's response: I still think Mike O'Meara would be perfect for mornings on 105.9..... There's apparently a new development in the situation with Bonneville’s KSL in Salt Lake City and Sean Hannity's radio show. Looks like they're giving him three months notice that he'll be dropped from their line-up effective October 1st. I wonder how the right will react? They'd be hard-pressed to complain that Bonneville booted Hannity because his show didn't measure up to their "values code" - especially after the Mormon church poured millions of dollars into the effort the outlaw gay marriage in California, in 2008. Simply a case of equal treatment, right? Too bad more stations don't subscribe to this code! If you haven't read it, here it is: www.deseretmediacompanies.com (7/2/10) (quote) "What a smart GM does is listen to the needs and interests of their station's advertisers, current and potential." (end) But a smart *and* conscientious manager will balance that with the needs and demands of the community. That's why they got that license to begin with. Advertisers may be "the most important segment of any broadcaster's audience", but it is not the only segment. (7/2/10) /\ July 2 Messages /\ \/ July 1 Messages \/ "Regarding local radio coverage of the World Cup, it seems like the geniuses on both ESPN 980 AND WJFK have been beating up on soccer over the past couple of weeks. I heard the Loverrero/Sheehan nonsense, but I heard similar talk on WJFK this past weekend. And Pollin/Czaban?Knoche did the same thing. I'm not a soccer fan, but I don't get the mentality that says we should go out of our way to ridicule the sport. I have to wonder if the primary audience for soccer in the US was white or black, instead of latin, whether we would be hearing so much hating on the radio..." Maybe, but I sense it's merely the frat boy, beer commercial mentality that sports radio has unfortunately devolved into. It's a far cry from WFAN in the late '80s, which played it fairly straight (and still largely does compared to its progeny elsewhere). -- Vincent in Lynchburg (7/1/10) The WNAV GM says, "As a community based radio station, we are dedicated to listening to the needs and interests of our audience." What a smart GM does is listen to the needs and interests of their station's advertisers, current and potential. That is the most important segment of any broadcaster's audience. The one which pays the bills. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (7/1/10) 1) Dave, too bad you deleted the original post on the whole "Silvie is a Rican dimwit" stuff. I was actually having fun reading the replies, stupidity & silliness given that World Cup soccer has been on a 2-day break 'til tomorrow. 2) Julie Wright's wardrobe is awesome -- leopard & zebra blouse prints... and this morning she had the cutest giraffe print blouse! But if y'all want to see cleavage, tune in to Univisión's weathergal Jackie Garrido. 3) Cynné Simpson is an amazing anchorwoman - simplicity & presence make her one of the best in the newsbiz. SOUTH AMERICA RULES at the World Cup! -Silvie- (7/1/10) Back in 1957 when Westinghouse - then known as "Westinghouse Broadcasting Company" (not yet "Group W") - bought WAAM TV-13 in Baltimore, one of the first programming changes was a new morning show titled "Baltimore Close-Up" featuring Jack Wells According to a trade ad published that September, the new "Star-Bright WJZ-TV" tripled their former ratings with sets-in-use doubled. DCMemories.com... Jack's show was also considered a big draw for the younger set as evidenced by his picture (to the left of Buddy Deane) in the upper left corner of the cover of this DC- Baltimore edition of "TV Junior" from August 1959. Read the Baltimore Sun obit for Jack at: www.baltimoresun.com (7/1/10) RE: [As a Puerto Rican, myself, I can assure you that "'Rican" is, indeed, a pejorative term!] While I understand that any individual certainly has the right to take personal offense at the use of any term that causes you to feel debased, I do have a question - I just completed a cursory search of research databases listing common usage of hate speech, and although all of the other slang ethnic terms you listed were shown as recognized "hate speech" terms or derogatory ethnic terms on research databases, I cannot find a single instance of the word "Rican" being documented to be an ethnic slur. One interesting result: I also did a google search of the terms "DCRTV" "Silvie" and "Rican", and there is an instance of Silvie using the abbreviation "Rican" in reference to herself in May of last year. No disrespect intended, but I'm just looking for clarity...If "Rican" truly is recognized to be an ethnic slur by the Puerto Rican community, can someone please provide a reasonable documentation to validate that claim? (7/1/10) Dave's response: Since there have been so many requests, I have deleted the original post. Democracy rules, even here in the Mailbag..... I agree about the "hate speech" posts. I ,myself, rag on the Spanish over 99.1 WHFS but really it wouldn't matter if it were Mormons who had the station now. If I were truly racist I could add alot about how they stole my drywall work before stealing my station. I live in Cecil county where the majority of people seem to think its 1950s Georgia or Alabama. I'm 10 minutes from the infamous Rising Sun and its K-K-Klan history. Its sickening that people still have so narrow a mind in this day and age. Hey don't get me wrong I ain't no nice guy...but if you're going to be an asshole and insult people how about doing it right? Use your head. There are plenty of other ways to show dislike than the worn out down home bucktooth yeehaw method. And Archie Bunker was a fictional character. Donnie the Dago...yeah thats right... (7/1/10) I really miss Uncle Allie (7/1/10) What the fuck do any of these "hate speech" posts have to do with broadcasting anyhow??? (7/1/10) Regarding local radio coverage of the World Cup, it seems like the geniuses on both ESPN 980 AND WJFK have been beating up on soccer over the past couple of weeks. I heard the Loverrero/Sheehan nonsense, but I heard similar talk on WJFK this past weekend. And Pollin/Czaban?Knoche did the same thing. I'm not a soccer fan, but I don't get the mentality that says we should go out of our way to ridicule the sport. I have to wonder if the primary audience for soccer in the US was white or black, instead of latin, whether we would be hearing so much hating on the radio..... (7/1/10) As a Puerto Rican, myself, I can assure you that "'Rican" is, indeed, a pejorative term! It is NOT of the likes of "colored," which is still used in the Creole and Caribbean world to describe one of mixed African, European, Asian and/or indigenous races with no disrespect attached. It IS, as the earlier poster indicated, akin to "kike," "nigger," "dago," "honky," "fag," and a litany of other disgusting epithets. I also agree that the quality of posts has spiraled downward with VERY few broadcast professionals continuing to post here. That is not a product of corporate "gag orders" imposed on us as much as a desire to not be equated with the tone and attitude of many posters here. Please remove the offending post, Dave. To not do so indicates an acceptance of such "hate speech" and racism. Thanks. (7/1/10) Dave's response: I disagree. My allowing of postings that contain "hate speech" is not (!!!) an indication of my approval or "acceptance" of such. As I've always said, if someone wants to post something that makes them look like an ignorant idiot, then why should I "protect" them by pretending that they didn't say it. Not a sermon, just a thought. Oh, that original post is gone since so many have requested that it be so..... The person who posted about no one expect Puerto Ricans liking soccer is completely ignorant. Many people of all nationalities enjoy soccer. When I was in high school (1996-2000) more than half the players on my high school's soccer team were Polish-Americans. Also I have several Italian-American friends (Sicilian-American to be even more specific) and they were disappointed when Team Italy got knocked out of the World Cup Tournament last week. Traditionally Team Italy has done well in the tournament. I don't know what happened to them this year. Marc in Connecticut (7/1/10) i can confirm that jennifer gladstone interviewed at WHTM in harrisburg. i can also confirm that the morning anchor, cara moore, is leaving in about three weeks. however, i can ALSO confirm that the ND has stated to several parties he would prefer to promote from within. there are at least 2 possible candidates at this point, perhaps as many as 4, including the other two current morning reporters. (7/1/10) I just heard that Jack Wells died on Sunday. A great radio and TV pioneer. Ed Graham (7/1/10) "Now that ESPN980 is going to carry University of Maryland sports, where does that leave Virginia Tech in terms of a Washington DC affiliate for its game coverage?" Tech's now at 106.7, Maryland's former D.C. flagship. It's as if the Terps and Gobblers made a trade. -- Vincent in Lynchburg (7/1/10) Re: "While I'm not one for censorship, perjoratives like "Rican" are akin to using the terms "spic", "colored", "pollack", etc., I think a little editing is in order, either from these "enlightened" posters, or YOU Dave." I believe that Silvie on at least one occasion in this mailbag as referred to herself as being of Puerto Rican ancestry. Therefore, a posting of "half" of that ancestry referencing her is not pejorative in any way. And btw, if you're going to post, please learn to spell or at last run your post through spell check before posting. It's pejorative (no "r" before the "j") and it's mastUrbation, not mastErbation (7/1/10) Dave, I just wanted to send a submission in thanking you for putting an end to the silly anti-Geronimo/Sacramento posts that had plagued this mailbag. I know you probably think no one has noticed that they have been gone for a couple weeks now, but I assure you, it has been noticed. I want to give you props for no longer posting that persons nonsense and making the mailbag a better place to visit. (7/1/10) Dave's response: I haven't been not posting posts about Geronimo. I guess that poster finally got tired and gave up..... Why is Chuck Bell on? Did Channel 4 lose another top forecaster......hmmm? And why does he have to try and do stand-up? If I want stand-up, I'll go to a comedy club. Bring back Veronica Johnson and just tell we if it's going to rain or not! I like her look and her style! (7/1/10) Now that ESPN980 is going to carry University of Maryland sports, where does that leave Virginia Tech in terms of a Washington DC affiliate for its game coverage? (7/1/10) Anita Marks has been added to the full time rotation for the new Sirius-XM Fantasy Sports Channel. She adds the new duties to her jobs with the NY Giants and WFAN... www.washingtonexaminer.com... Last night, the wife and I watched "Larry King Live" with Elizabeth Edwards. Every time Mrs. Edwards said something a little interesting, a box would pop up with that text as a "CNN Exclusive". (And I know they do this all the time.) BUT: Some of the phrases they showed she hadn't stated yet. There was a box with a quote about the "Gore's breakup" (don't they know how to use plural at CNN?) that ran every 5 minutes from about 9:30, but she didn't make the statement until 9:58. So either their conversation was completely scripted in advance, or the show isn't live: it's probably both! Maybe it's time for his production staff to retire and not him. Give me Jim Bohannan any day. -- Carl in Olney (7/1/10) "...Who gives a flying fuck about the World Cup? Oh that's right .... apparently the Rican mailbag dimwit..." As time marches on, this blog continues be less about DC media, and more about being a masterbation towel for 12 year old casualties of public education. While I'm not one for censorship, perjoratives like "Rican" are akin to using the terms "spic", "colored", "pollack", etc., I think a little editing is in order, either from these "enlightened" posters, or YOU Dave. Regards, P.A. Cavity, laughing, scratching, and spray painting racial epithets, in beautiful, historical, FredVegas. (7/1/10) It's unanimous! Give WRAU to WXPN starting tomorrow. Bob Fairfax (7/1/10) Re: WaPosties "Like" Hitchens' Cancer Story. Don't blame the WaPost or the WaPosties for this perception. This one lies squarely at the feet of Facebook itself. The "Like" function is perhaps the worst-named function in all of social media. Its true purpose is to both let your FB friends know you're interested in the topic, and to be alerted when someone posts a comment to the thread (so you don't have to post an actual comment yourself). Many, many people have complained about labeling this functionality "Like;" but as usual with FB management, they never listen. Remember, this is the same management that foists changes in its interface upon its membership when no changes are really needed. And let's not get started on the privacy stuff ... (7/1/10) "station that puts on air a guy (Thom Loverro) who makes Hi-Pitch Eric sound masculine?" Nice 1997 reference, funny guy. Care to try again using something from this century? AHHHH (7/1/10) Audrey Barnes IS much better looking then Julie "stuck in the 80's" Wright (7/1/10) Re: WRAU in Ocean City. Can someone explain to me why Ocean City needs 3 NPR talkers? You have WSDL, the local homegrown product from Salisbury U. Then the Big Boys from Baltimore decide that the incredibly vanilla WYPR needed a Delmarva outlet, so we were cursed with WYPO. Now WAMU blabs that their listeners really wanted yet another NPR taker in OC. Throw in WSCL on 89.5 and that's 4 public stations, although WSCL has that great classical music. Don't forget the Princess Anne station on 91.3 with their jazz, plus Temple University has the stick in Dover with classical and jazz. The last thing OC needed was yet another NPR station. WSDL was doing just fine in filling that role, thank you. I think it was just a slap by American University against Salisbury University, reminding Salisbury who is really in charge. The boys at WYPR/WYPO probably have that same snotty attitude against the Shore, thinking that little ol' Salisbury University isn't up to the task of provide public radio like the Smart People in Baltimore are. Why do we need 4 channels to hear All Things Considered? I know a lot of people complain about religious translators clogging up the FM band, but NPR is just as bad. If WAMU/WRAU still played bluegrass on the main channel, it would have been a wonderful addition, but instead, we get more yak yak yak. John in DE (7/1/10) Really, what do we expect from a sports station that puts on air a guy (Thom Loverro) who makes Hi-Pitch Eric sound masculine? (7/1/10) I’ll miss listening to Shari Elliker in the mornings on WBAL Radio. I don’t understand the negative comments I’ve read. I thought she did a great job keeping the audience attention and stimulating thought provoking talk radio. Ron Smith will do fine in the mornings. Of course, I wish Ron Smith would extend an invitation to Allan Prell to come on for a guest appearance in his old time slot for those of us old farts who remember how they sparred with each other from different sides of the political spectrum. Richard Dahms (7/1/10) /\ July 1 Messages /\ \/ June 30 Messages \/ Re: "I have been listening to the Junkies since 1999. I think that JP seems out of sink with the rest of the guys. I don't know if it is the divorce but..... over the years...." I am glad JP is out of "sink," because it can lead to terrible chafing. Statistically, one more Junkie should ditch his hausfrau before their limited fame dwindles. The Junkies as a whole are not terribly funny. As noted in prior posts, some less so that others. EB's faux outrage and over-the-top pomposity is taken directly from the Howard Stern playbook, who was idolized when these guys were the short straw at WJFK. (6/30/10) Re:"to the poster talking about Audrey Barnes....she is a great journalist, a hard worker and a friend of mine and WAY better looking then Julie Wright......PLEASE!!!!", I read the original post and I thought it was giving her a compliment and saying that she DID look better than Julie. (6/30/10) Dave -- See below. Re. Kane, everybody's favorite topic, so I thought you might be interested. Still trying to verify the details (you can see some links I found listed below), but it seems to check out. I e-mailed the apparent owner of this dog and was supplied with a clip from the show -- you'll probably vomit listening to it now that there's a backstory to it. Nice, mature back-and-forth on Kane's Facebook page. www.facebook.com... (Click on the thread started by Michael Woodruff... has about 13 comments.) Beau B. (6/30/10) The first appearance of DC radio's Bob Davis in the Washington Post is the October 1951 radio listings as host of ":Musical Bazaar" from 9:30 to 11:00 am weekdays for WOL-AM 1450. The next mention of his name comes in September 1955 as an on-air announcer at WGMS, involved chiefly with their "On Stage" program. Alas, no mention of his involvement with WQQW, the predecessor of WGMS. (6/30/10) Donation $$$ make $1/2M+ salaries? MAYBE things aren't so bad at PBS: Jun 30, 2010, Kerger signs on for three more years at PBS - PBS CEO Paula Kerger has inked another three-year contract, according to PBS. No word on salary. According to a 2009 survey of nonprofits by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Kerger was making $534,500 at the end of fiscal 2008, up from $424,209 in 2007. During 2008 she had $60,198 in benefits and an expense account of $11,225. (6/30/10) The technician is correct that you might do well to aim the antenna in the opposite direction. Here's a simple rundown of what's going on. Rooftop, chimney-mount antennas for household reception of television signals over-the-air typically have characteristics that favor one direction. This design exaggerates the antenna's sensitivity, and multiplies the available signal the antenna delivers down the cord to your living room. Such antennas are the MOST sensitive to signals that hit the horizontal rods broadside (not on the ends), but when you're pointing, say, North, you also will get some sensitivity to the South. Signals from East and West would be the hardest to pick up when the antenna is pointed North. What the technician was probably suggesting is that you favor the weakest set of stations by pointing the antenna their way, and hope that your stronger station in the opposite direction will continue to come in because there's more signal to begin with. For interested readers, you may also find it interesting that the varying lengths of rods that you see are tuned to various wavelengths representing the TV channels. This means one antenna can pick up across a range of frequencies. Ideally you would find an antenna designed to pick up what are traditionally called "UHF" and "VHF" channels, and NOT just one or the other. By the way, don't fall for the "digital ready" sales pitch. It's the UHF/VHF part that is important, and if you find a new, but "old" analog rooftop TV antenna, you will do quite well. (6/30/10) Cliff, If you live between DC and Hagerstown then they will be in opposite directions, and yes you will loose DC. You can install a rotor on your antenna so you can rotate it and point at the station from a control in your living room. You can also install a mast mounted preamp at the antenna to improve your signals. It will help you if you have a long run of cable from the antenna to the TV with splitters for more than one set. Bob Fairfax (6/30/10) Word from the inside is that the merger of the Loudoun Times-Mirror and the Loudoun Independent is resulting in layoffs at both papers today. Most of the pink slips are going out at the Independent but boxes are being packed at the Times-Mirror too. This is what happens when half-assed "business men" who inherited their jobs and their companies are left to their own devices. (6/30/10) “I'm having a tough time picking up signal from WHAG 25 TV/Hagerstown …” You could buy an UHF antenna just to pick up WHAG and combine the signals with your existing antenna using a standard splitter (working in reverse). Or you could buy an antenna rotator. (6/30/10) Dave: I'd like to follow-up Mike's/Fairfax post about 980's treatment of World Cup Soccer. I think the article that was written was unfair and most of all, misleading. First, I would not have written such an article because anyone who does their homework knows most of 980's talent are weak and agenda-driven like Doc and Coach Thompson. Furthermore, we all know Sheehan is not a credible talent and is lucky to be on-air. Problem is, I've always respected Thom Loverro's work but he could be weak when it comes to World Cup knowledge. When people don't know about a sport, like Doc and Pollin having no clue about hockey, they tend to avoid the topic. As we know, if Sheehan doesn't like a team, he won't mention them or acknowledge their accomplishments. Second, the article chose the wrong sportstalk station as their reference "point." I think WJFK does a better job covering the World Cup than 980 and that's where the publication made their mistake...they picked the wrong station to critique. Finally, if I was head of affiliate relations for ESPN Radio, I would not be happy about this article. I thought ESPN stations are told to plug their network's product like World Cup!! Ooops, someone didn't get the memo. (6/30/10) Interesting, WBOC said in an email several months ago they were begging Directv and Dish Network to carry them, now that they want to they use "contract" negotiations as why they aren't on Dish Network. In a related thought, if WBAL has a problem with Nexstar then why didn't they allow Channel 11 on Dish Network like they are on cable. (6/30/10) Seeing that photo of WGMS great Bob Davis on DCRTV’s front page a few days ago finally made me realize who Bob reminded me of during my WGMS era of decades ago: Hubert Humphrey! Dave, I hope you have a chance to talk with Bob sometime and have him share with you some of the many stories he can undoubtedly tell about the old days of D.C. radio as I believe he worked for WGMS predecessor WQQW. John Pinckney (looking at DCRTV from far away in my beloved home of Pasadena, CA (Where the humidity is likely lower, but the radio is definitely better!) (6/30/10) I think I've had enough of Brian Mitchell. Regards Biff (6/30/10) Dave, Check out the timely advertising for Cap Day in Baltimore that was on the Washinton Post's website today. Dirk (6/30/10) I have been listening to the Junkies since 1999. I think that JP seems out of sink with the rest of the guys. I don't know if it is the divorce but..... over the years, it seems like he doesn't gel with the other 3 guys, anymore. Lurch kinda mentioned how annoying JP was, the week he was out. I also think the fight JP had with EB, this week, is more real than not....it might have been hyped up a little for radio entertainment but mostly real. EB is a genius at the radio fight, by the way. The show was much better, more interesting,and funnier with just EB, Lurch, and Cakes. (6/30/10) I'm having a tough time picking up signal from WHAG 25 TV/Hagerstown. I just bought a house with a nifty tower. My HDTV scanned and picked up lots of open air digital channels, including the NBC4, Fox5, ABC7 and CBS9. But it's not picking up WHAG. Problem is, NBC4's signal is occasionally too low, causing the dreaded pixilation or channel drop altogether. I called WHAG, and someone in their engineering department suggested I point the antenna in the opposite direction, but if I do that, I suspect I'll lose 5, 7 and 9 (and all the other channels). And I'm too cheap to buy cable or satellite. Can anyone confirm if the WHAG guy was correct? Is that my only option, or does anyone have other suggestions that allows me to keep all my great DC channels? Thanks, Cliff (6/30/10) WTEM's Sports Fix has drawn some harsh criticism from a writer for The Nation (a partisan political magazine) for the way Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro dealt with World Cup soccer on a recent show. Dave Zirin wrote the following in his blog on June 23 - "I was listening to a DC sports radio show called the Sports Fix with Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro (Loverro writes a sports column for the Washington Times). Loverro was dismissive about the quality of the victory, saying, 'When I think of Algeria, all I think about are terrorists and Abbott and Costello movies.' ... The two then debated whether United States vs. Algeria was 'a Grenada game' or 'a Vietnam game,' comparing the soccer game to the two wars—Grenada of course being the easy win and Vietnam the tragic loss. It reminded why these kinds of international competitions can leave me with such a sour taste ... why must an insanely miraculous athletic victory also be a reinforcer of cultural supremacy?". In the first place, Loverro no longer works for the Washington Times - he was let go when that paper discontinued its sports section earlier this year. Perhaps Zirin assumed that since the Times is known as a right wing publication, everyone who's ever worked there (whether or not they wrote about politics) must have had to pass a Rush Limbaugh test of conservative beliefs to get hired. But I didn't think Sheehan and Loverro came across as 'ugly Americans' using soccer as a means of promoting US superiority and putting down other countries - they readily admit to neither knowing nor caring much about it and were probably just trying to do entertaining radio. Loverro's remark was actually funny although I'd guess that 95 percent of the under-35 crowd doesn't have the foggiest idea who Abbott and Costello were. The most puzzling comment about soccer I've heard on that station was Tony Kornheiser suggesting that the primary reason for its failure to become mainstream in the US is that you're not allowed to use your hands ("we're a very young, aggressive, violent country ... and we're not sticking our hands in our pants"). The sport was invented in England, a country which for a very long time took great pride in having the most powerful Navy in the world - so I guess tasks involving the use of hands had little to do with the building, maintenance and operation of all those ships. ESPN's taken some heat for showing American troops in Afghanistan watching matches involving the US team - apparently the World Cup's supposed to be a celebration of peaceful competition among nations and some viewers found it jarring and inappropriate for the TV network carrying the tournament to go out of its way to remind everyone about war in that way. The link to Zirin's blog entry - www.thenation.com... Mike, Fairfax (6/30/10) I used to think corporate radio management actually read their coffee table books on integrity. Robb de Capitol Heights (6/30/10) I noticed that there is a sofa in the KHZ studio. Is that for the on-air talent or for the people on the other side of the room waiting for the coin operated washers and dryers to finish? (6/30/10) Hi "Robert C." (might you be RC Allen. III?). By the time I joined Tempest (circa '78), we had become The New Tempest due to many personnel changes. We never did any local recording though the band may have existed in come carnation in the era that you described. Rusty (6/30/10) The “Metromedia 19” from Cincinnati was WXIX. As for the relays, AT&T had built so much capacity in their terrestrial microwave network that they were able to sell relays at an affordable price to the CATV’s. This was even done for some FM stations. IIRC, the old WGMS-FM in D.C. was microwaved of a tower near Fredericksburg down to Norfolk so WGH-FM could carry the Metropolitan Opera. As for the microwave relays, sometimes they looked and sounded good and sometimes they didn’t. While usually viewable, they rarely looked like locals because of the numerous microwave “hops”. But, in many of the communities where the distant indies where they were carried, they were a welcome addition to the local network affiliates. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (6/30/10) Elliker should put a snap on her trap. She's lucky to even have job in this economy. (6/30/10) To Rusty Gibson regarding your old group "Tempest": In the early to mid-60's there was a group named "The Tempests" that had a local hit in the D.C. area on WEAM in D.C. By chance, did your group "Tempest" change its name to "The Tempests"? The Tempests had a locally produced album that included a single called "Would You Believe". Robert C. (6/30/10) Normally I do not catch WJLA's 11:00pm newscast. But out of sheer curiosity I did manage to tune in this evening to catch Bob Ryan's weather report. Good old Bob seemed quite comfortable in his new digs (especially when discussing longtime Channel 4 pal Arch Campbell). Though I still wonder how he feels about playing 2nd fiddle to Doug Hill. And wasn't WBAL's Sherry Elliker known as Traffic Reporter "Sherry Licker" years ago on "D&M"? Rusty Gibson (6/30/10) Dave's response: Yes, she was heard on the old D&M show..... To those posters who feel Shari Elliker is lucky to have a job, you are absolutely right. Anyone in radio today who is able to draw a paycheck is fortunate. Smarts and creativity have been on the decline in radio for years and someone like Shari, who enjoys both, was probably lucky to have hosted her own show for as long as she did. The people who own and run radio stations in major markets are a step below carny folk; they exhibit little original thought and they juggle lineups because they can, not because they have a better idea. Or, as if often the case, they hire some consultant, who justifies their existence by telling them to fire whoever is currently working for them, talent and creativity be damned. Shari will still be working, though for less money and probably with less to say about content. That is WBAL’s loss. The one thing her show can best be judged by is the lack of mention in this forum over the past three years. No complaints from this bunch means she was doing just fine. Her show was entertaining and damned good radio. The powers-that-be at WBAL have their collective heads up their collective arses. Marshall in Silver Spring (6/30/10) I have worked with Shari Elliker for years, and to read the barbs being thrown at her in this mailbag makes me want to punch you all in the snoot. Bad attitude? No. Not at all. Team player? Absolutely. Contrary to reports that she is angry, Shari is actually excited about returning to afternoons and a format that gives her the flexibility to take advantage of all that radio has to offer. She's worked afternoons before on both terrestrial and satellite radio and is actually looking forward to giving this new afternoon format at WBAL everything she has. She has a GREAT attitude about this change -- as she has about most everything. Like I said, I've known Shari for years, through radio, TV, stage and film, and a better human being, talent, and team player I haven't met. She remains a GREAT asset to WBAL, and I can't wait to see her thrive in the new format. Thanks for listening. Sincerely, Wes Johnson - who really DOES have a bad attitude :) (6/30/10) /\ June 30 Messages /\ \/ June 29 Messages \/ All this talk about cable tv..last night a friend of mine was telling me that he can remember watching Baltimore's WBFF channel 45 on cable in New York on a system near Binghamton way back in the early 1980's. Since when was WBFF a "superstation" as in the same ballpark as say WGN or even KTLA? Now I know that both WTTG and WDCA had viewers way down south as I can remember seeing their listings appear in the Charlotte, North Carolina edition of TV Guide but I have no idea as to the number of systems in and around Charlotte who had offered WTTG or WDCA. Likewise with the old WYAH channel 27 from Hampton Roads, I remember seeing their listings appear in the old Washington Star even though I don't think that paper was even available anywhere near Norfolk so who offered WYAH around DC? What was the purpoes of having listings for WYAH if nobody could had received them? On a similar note I do remember visting some town in southwestern Virginia back in 1984 ( maybe 85 ) and noticing the the small motel we had stayed at offered WTTV out of Indianapolis as well as "Metromedia 19" from Cincinatti. Anyway I wonder how all of this was possible back in those days since this was before DBS. Come to think of it was WUSA at one time availble to a nationwide audience VIA the old Primestar satellite service? Or am I thinking WJLA? (6/29/10) It would not surprise me if Nestor sells or LMA's WNST. He has expressed in his blogs and facebook that the website is the money maker. The station are just call letters, that is it. Nestor can turn the transmitter off and continue to make money. As a matter of fact, I would just get rid of the signal and make WNST a web only station. It would make more money. I mean, look at Ravens 24x7...a web only station can survive on its own! (6/29/10) to the poster talking about Audrey Barnes....she is a great journalist, a hard worker and a friend of mine and WAY better looking then Julie Wright......PLEASE!!!! (6/29/10) Shari Elliker is lucky to have a job at WBAL at all. She's a nice person and has some talent but is simply not able to carry a show on her own. Moving into a supporting position in the afternoons seems like the perfect fit for her. If she doesn't like the pay cut or minimizing of her role, then she should leave and let someone who is psyched about the gig do it. Ron Smith can carry any shift and will do well in the late morning slot. A bad attitude is not what WBAL needs at this time. (6/29/10) Does anyone know of any radio station doing what WMMJ did letting the entire air staff go? Out side of a format flip I have never heard of a radio station doing that. (6/29/10) During the story on the kids who thought they had a summer job, but didn't, did anyone see Karen Grey Houston pretty much bum rush a guard at the door of a facility to get inside to talk to someone?..Guard told her she and her camera people couldn't come in and she boldly said "WHY??!!" and proceeded through the door and past the guard..Pretty funny. (6/29/10) Don't know what happened when Julie Wright went on vacation, but when she came back, for the first couple of days her outfits looked like she came to work directly from a club..Just no attraction there..However, just saw Audrey Barnes again on FOX5 with a too tight jacket on that made her much more attractive than Julie. (6/29/10) Shari ought to be happy she has a freaking job. I am sure many of the former Radio One personalities would take that shift no questions asked, and probably for a lot less that Shari demands. In this economy, she should be glad to not be replaced by a syndicated program or simulcast of another news operation a la WTOP or KYW. (6/29/10) On his last 3-6 show last Friday, Ron Smith’s producer said that the new show would be called something like “Shari Elliker and the WBAL Afternoon News Journal.” Smith commented that it sounds like she’d be playing the same role as Dave Durian in the morning. Sounds like she’ll be more than just a contributor…. Thanks. Ian (6/29/10) It would be interesting to see where WNST fit in the Baltimore ratings for the second week of June. It is interesting for me to note how Nestor Aparicio has spent the last several years talking about how the Arbitron ratings (and now the PPMs) don’t mean anything because they are inaccurate. He always suggests that he has the number one sports website in Baltimore, and that is where the money comes from. Yet, he fired Bob Haynie a few weeks ago because Haynie was not bringing in the advertising revenue, and yesterday you ran a blurb about how Nestor cut his ties with Ray Bachman. Something is afoot. You suggested in the past (or perhaps it was Jim Williams in the Examiner) that Baltimore has 4 full-time sports talk stations (WJZ-AM, WJZ-FM, WNST and WVIE) which is more than the number of professional sports teams they have, and that eventually one of those stations was going to have to change formats or sign off the air because Baltimore simply cannot support this many full-time stations. My question to you: Are Nestor’s actions – cutting ties with his two longest-tenured on-air personalities – a sign that WNST is getting ready to say adios? Thank you, Scott (6/29/10) Dave's responses: WNST is a labor of love, and I can't imagine it makes all that much money. As long as Nestor wants to do it, and he can pay the bills, it'll be there. My guess is that the recent staff cuts at WNST simply reflect the fact that size of the Baltimore radio sports advertising pool is only so big, especially with four stations fighting over it..... 1) I just lived through 20 anxious minutes when my Comcast Cable (Charles Co.) went out, and I'm watching the first half of the Spain-Portugal World Cup match! It came back, and it's still 0-0. Geez, what timing! (Do you realize that this World Cup could not only be a Latin American Final Four, but it could also be a South American Final Four?) 2) Rusty, I have not heard of the business you asked about in LaPlata, and I don't think it's at that location anymore. I know where the VFW bldg. is -- and I'll ask my friends about the other establishment. All the best to you! -Silvie- (6/29/10) Dave's response: Yesterday, one of my flat screen TVs, a 26-inch Insignia model, simply refused to turn on. Took it in to Best Buy for repair, since it's only six-months old and has a 2-year warranty. I must say, waiting in like at the "Geek Squad" window is about as much fun as waiting in line at the DMV. After a wait that took the better part of an hour with a somewhat uncommunicative clerk, I learned that it's a three week wait to find out if it's a repair or replace job. Not a terribly "Buyer Be Happy" experience at Best Buy this morning for me..... Junkies radio cage match wasn't a bit. These two are ketchup and ginger ale. Mr Photogenic is half nuts (but good radio) from the start and will benefit from a vacation. JP is the odd guy out (the king of Ashburn made a nasty comment about vacationing JP last week as being 'annoying') and JP is probably fishing for a buy-out of his contract which runs another year. When money is contracted, business deals never ever last more than a few years before alliances and leverages crack the nut. JP will soon move on to other things. (6/29/10) OK I'll bite. In reference to the eb vs jp fight. I wasn't listening but I just heard the podcast of that last segment. It is classic infantile, low self esteem, unfunny bullying by eb. The next time I hear him say something funny will be the first. Cakes and Lurch are the funny ones,(occassionally), jp and eb are not. Eb only gets a laugh when he says something outrageous or sophomoric. I'd actually like to see him get in the ring with jp. Jp would knock him out. Eb has an upper deck ego, with warning track ability. Notice he never threatens Lurch or Brett, because he knows better. (6/29/10) Thanks Dave, those male 25-54 numbers are what JFK focus's on. So they are doing pretty well! (6/29/10) Ah, the power of Carbonite! www.inc.com (6/29/10) Lots of awkwardness at the end of the junkies show today as EB and JP appear to nearly come to blows. 1067thefandc.cbslocal.com (6/29/10) Okay… was that EB JP fight real on the Junkies or was it to spark comments here? (6/29/10) As expected, WUSA has joined WJLA in requesting that their temporary power hike be made permanent (fcc.gov). As with WJLA's case, no additional interference to nearby stations was found. Regards, Dave Loudin (6/29/10) To the poster who wrote "May I suggest you be like me and simply stare at Julie Wright's increasingly revealing bosoms"... I thought I was the only one who had been happily noticing this special feature of Fox Morning News - Probably now THE only reason - I like to watch what has increasingly become a bland, inane news show. Julie Wright has certainly become a first rate hottie! (6/29/10) I checked out WRAU this morning, and they are not in HD. It may be that they are still working on they HD set up or they may be planning it later. I also checked their signal to the North over the weekend, and in comparison, WSDL which is a class B-1 had a slightly better signal in Harrington, Delaware than WRAU, a class B. WSDL is located in Roxana, Delaware Northeast of WRAU in Whaleyville, but is on a shorter tower. (6/29/10) I can't understand why Howard Stern would want to go back to terrestrial radio! On satellite, he works 4 days a week and has no limitations on what he talks about. Guests seem to be more relaxed, and the show is 1000% better because of it. (6/29/10) Dave's response: I still think that there's a market for commercial talk stations that are non-sports and non-righty politics. The old "guy talk" format and even a "girl talk" format are definitely do-able - if you have the right talent. Maybe Stern's return to broadcast radio could be the "jolt" that gets the "guy talk" format rejuvenated. But, you know, that format is currently available on Sirius XM - and maybe that's where it should stay, free of the FCC's "indecency" rules..... To the mailbagger who is overly ''concerned'' about the Guvir/Holly/Tom triangle on Faux Morning News; you need to let it go. May I suggest you be like me and simply stare at Julie Wright's increasingly revealing bosoms. Or scratch your scalp in complete confusion as to who would take time out to ''Ask The Weatherman'' dopey questions. Paul (6/29/10) WJFK in 21rst overall? Again? that equates to a 1.3 market share or 61000 people in a market of 4.5 million roughly. McDonalds and Gieco actually pay to be on this station? JFK should pay them! How do the sales reps at WJFK account for their high ad rates to the media buyers? Any chance of the JFK target demos, M25-54, P25-54 Dave? (6/29/10) Dave's response: JFK placed 17th in the overall age 25-54 demo. But a source tells me that in the men age 25-54 demo, JFK was 6th full week, 3rd in morning drive, 3rd in midday, and 5th in afternoon drive. WTEM was 10th, 6th, 6th, and 9th in the same dayparts with that demo, I'm told..... To those healthy heterosexual mailbaggers salivating over their 60" plasma displays, pay close attention. I'm the guy that didn't marry pretty Pamela Brown. Educated, well-intentioned, good girl in our town. I wonder where I'd be today if she had loved me too. Probably be driving kids to school. (6/29/10) Been getting a lot of bleeding from some music station while trying to listen to Sports Reporters on 94.3 lately. This didn't use to happen in my 4th floor condo in Fairfax. Change in direction of 94.3 signal? Power decrease? And over on my over the air digital tv 50.1 and 50.2 THIS movie channel no longer come in very strong at all. Have to constantly get up and adjust the rabbit ears. Gets to be a pain. You guys stop with the Pamela Brown stuff. She doesn't work Saturday nights anymore Rebecca Cooper does or Julie Parker. Ms. Brown looks fine now thats she's made a choice on the hair color. Didn't her Mom recently celebrate her birthday? And weht Jayne Kennedy? Tom Gavin we chatted the other day. Still planning to pick you up about 8:30 on Friday night and head over to the Paper Moon. Wear your ascot Tom the ladies always swoon when you've got it on. (6/29/10) I'm a little late on the post but Y-RockonXPNs Noise Complaint Radio is on its last show tonite. All punk covers to finish its run. This Wednesday night is Joey Os last show followed by Josh T Landow July 8th. Sad time once again for Y100 fans. Thanks for the music guys!!!! Donnie (6/29/10) As evidence of Verizon’s chaotic customer service, here is an e-mail I received today. I did change from NOT VoIP to VoIP, both on FiOS. I also changed my cable TV bundle to reduce costs. I canceled nothing. Result? My service will be suspended after 10 days, according to the e-mail. It seems the Verizon computer had a “glitch” that sent this message to many unsuspecting customers. The person who answered the phone at the number (below) was well aware of the issue. As a side “benefit” of my rejiggered account, all my SpeedDial and VoiceMail settings were wiped out. *69 now calls the calling party WITHOUT telling me first who called and when. Speed Dialing REQUIRES a poundsign before the one- or two-digit Speed Dial number. There are people inside the phone company who are unaware that operating procedures in the customer’s domicile HAVE CHANGED. Thank you, Verizon, for being a valuable drain on my wallet...... Dear Valued Verizon Customer, We know how important your Verizon FiOS services are to you. Therefore, we need to be sure that our records correctly reflect the status of your remaining FiOS services following your recent request to change your voice telephone service to another provider. If you wish to continue your remaining FiOS services (TV or Data), please contact us within the next 10 days at 1-800-468-9986 Monday – Friday between 11:00 AM and 9:00 PM ET so that we can update our records. If you do not wish to retain your remaining Verizon FiOS services, you do not need to take any action. Your service will be suspended after 10 days. Any charges incurred for FiOS service following completion of your order to cancel Verizon voice service will automatically be credited within one to two bill cycles. We appreciate your business! Your complete satisfaction is our goal. Sincerely, Verizon Customer Care Team (6/29/10) In case we have anyone in the mailbag who is interested in what's happening with Anita Marks (and if you have Sirius or XM Radio)..here's where she can be found on Tuesday..according to her latest Tweat:Tues. My 1st show on Sirius XM, "Sirius XM Fantasy Football" hosting w/ John Hansen..2-5pm est. Sirius # 211, XM # 147..top stories and more Tom in Denton, MD. (6/29/10) As for Veronica gone from the NBC weather desk, I think, as seems to be the case with other stations, it's summer and people are being switched around to cover vacations. (6/29/10) /\ June 29 Messages /\ \/ June 28 Messages \/ Pamela Brown, eh, I've seen much better. At least she doesn't use the whole bottle of peroxide on her hair anymore. (6/28/10) Wow! Veronica gone from the weather set at NBC4? Sure hope so… Chuck is either sitting in or auditioning for the evening strip and he’s light years better than Veronica and fits the team nicely. PLEEZE keep him on! (6/28/10) Dave, you and the Mailbaggers seem knowledgeable when it comes to all things cable, so maybe they can answer something that I've wondered about. Someone once told me that techs and installers for phone and cable companies, as well as utility company field people, work within a "bounty system". By this I mean that if one, say, sees an illicit item like a bong or pot, in a customer's home, they get a "reward" if they report it to the company (who then informs the police). (6/28/10) Dave's response: I've never heard of that..... Absolutely great flub this morning on Channel 4 news. Coming back from a break, Joe Krebs and Pat Lawson Muse re-introduced themselves, but Pat had her auto-pilot on and just read what was on the prompter - "I'm Eun Yang". Everyone had a good laff. Hey, it happens. (6/28/10) Will Wmal management make any more changes as a result of their 17th place finish (one would hope so)? (6/28/10) "Let me just say that Channel 7 news anchor Pamela Brown was absolutely stunning on Saturday's newscast. A babe among babes." Her mother is Phyllis George, the former Miss America who co-hosted CBS' NFL pregame show with Brent Musberger, Irv Cross and Jimmy the Greek back in the 70s and later became first lady of the state of Kentucky. The eventual replacement for George on the NFL Today set was another beauty contest winner named Jayne Kennedy, so it appears that the eye candy factor in the hiring of female sportscasters isn't just a recent phenomenon - it dates back more than 35 years. While I don't know whether John Riggins (who played for the Jets and Redskins during that decade) was ever the subject of a Phyllis George feature interview, the upcoming debut of MASN's simulcast of his radio show makes the local sports discussion lineup in afternoon drive time even more crowded as he'll be competing directly with CSN's Washington Post Live in addition to WTEM's Sports Reporters and WJFK's LaVar Arrington show. When MASN picked up his old Triple X show a few years ago, I think Anita Marks' Baltimore based program was shifted to an earlier timeslot in order to accomodate the Skins legend. His sidekicks on that show were Kevin Sheehan and Gary Braun, both of whom are employed by ESPN 980 now (the latter as a frequent contributor to Tony Kornheiser's show) - so I'm not sure who Riggo's working with this time around. Mike, Fairfax (6/28/10) Dave: I just wanted to say how Verizon's customer service is actually worse than Comcast's. I was without a dial tone on my phone for almost 3 weeks because Verizon couldn't get to me until 3 weeks after I called. And even on the day Verizon was supposed to show up, they didn't. It took an additional two days before I finally got my phone service working. As a recently retired employee of Comcast, I told them that when I worked for Comcast I thought our customer service was very poor. but Verizon gave a whole new meaning for poor customer service. Unfortunately the last things these companies care about is the customer. The only thing that is important to these companies is the bottom line and the customers only get the "bottom' not the service. I am very frustrated over the loss of phone service for almost 3 weeks. Inexcusable!!! (6/28/10) I vote for XPN to simulcast on more stations in Maryland PERIOD. And Y-Rock on the HD2s of more than just 88.5/88.7!!! They've managed to mix the right combination of NPR and music radio. Even a Grunge-head can appreciate XPN. Donnie (6/28/10) Hey Dave, Happy Summer, hope all is well...I just wanted to write in because I saw the news on Bob Haynie and Ray Bachman. I am sorry to hear the news, I just wanted to let them know it was a pleasure having worked with them and I wish them all the best. I had alot of fun having worked with them and everyone at WNST. We really had a great crew assembled there was fortunate to have worked and met them all. I am so happy to see that Rob and Casey are doing well and I hope Bob and Ray don't have to be on the sidelines for long. -Michael Popovec (6/28/10) I remember back when I was working in radio in Dayton, OH. Before every staff meeting, the FM Program Director would fire one of the on-air people. At the meeting, he would emphasize to every one that they were replaceable and that they could be next if they didn't work harder. Compared to Jammillah Muhammad, the new PD at WMMJ, this guy was Mother Theresa. Of course, it could be like that line from Treasure Island: "Them that died were the lucky ones." John (6/28/10) Watched FOX5 morning news this morning and I kinda felt sorry for Gurvir..She's someone who's married to an ex-employee and ex-husband of one of the more popular (although not in my eye) reporters on the show and the show and/or co-workers refuse to acknowledge that Tom Sater's her husband..Case in point this morning. She mentioned her twins' birthday and then made a comment about how the show did a 20th anniversary show on Friday and that her twins' father is Tom Sater who used to work there..And the way she mentioned it suggested that it wasn't mentioned on the "Where are they now" segment on Friday..Well, after she made that comment? Crickets!!!!..No comment from Tucker, no comment from Steve..Also on Friday, Holly showed a picture of Gurvir 20 yrs ago and made no mention of Tom, but Holly did show a picture of herself 20 yrs ago and said that one of the guys in the picture is her current husband, and she emphasized "current". Now, I hear that Tom's departure wasn't a pleasant one which may be why his name is not allowed to be mentioned on air..But you can just see how uncomfortable the anchors are whenever Tom's name comes up.. (6/28/10) Regarding verizon/FIOS/apartments. I'm in Arlington, in a 5 unit building. Every place around me has FIOS but they skipped our building. I have no dish and I refuse to give Comcast money on principle. I e-mailed Verizon beginning of December with an e-mail titled "I want to give Verizon more money", explaining I was surrounded by FIOS but couldn't get it. Since then it's been a comedy of errors. Nice people to talk to, very understanding and good attitudes but the bottom line is it'll be JULY and they tell me it may be another 60-90 days before I MIGHT be able to get FIOS. I get the usual "I'm sorry but it's outside my dept". I would LOVE to hear someone from Verizon defend it taking 7 months to run a FIOS wire 40 feet to our building. (6/28/10) Dave's response: Verizon's Fios lines run down Twin Branches Road in Reston, right outside my bedroom window. But they run right past my condo complex. Again, 40 feet or 4,000 feet, it don't matter when they don't service your "multi-unit dwelling"..... Looks like the WMAL morning changes are beginning to bear fruit. The station's 17th place ranking is it's worst in three years, perhaps its lowest ranking ever. Congrats to both the management and the "talent." Calm down with some good Puerto Rican rum, Silvie. ACH (6/28/10) Re WMMJ program director Jammillah Muhammad: "Staff is super excited about her ability to increase the ratings with WMMJ..." What staff? Weren't they shown the door? (6/28/10) Dave's response: I guess the source meant the Radio One corporate staff over there in Lanham..... Let me guess, the braintrust at Radio One (Washington) think making WMMJ #1 in the PPM's is gonna solve all of their (financial) problems? If that's the thinking, I've got some prime swamp land up in PA just perfect for their new corporate headquarters. Even if WMMJ grabbed the number one spot they will never outbill WTOP. Let me explain. Let's say WRQX slid into the number one spot with 'MMJ number2 and WTOP in third place. WTOP would still outbill both of those stations 10 to one easy? Don't believe me ask the agency reps you deal with? Sure urban stations do get their share of agency dollars but they don't get what AC's and news/talk stations can command. You think WMMJ is gonna outbill WPGC-FM? Doubtfull! Hiring cheap jocks isn't gonna get you to the financial promise land! You guys were certified fools for letting Alvin John Waples go! He was probably the only CERTIFIED pro on that station (6/28/10) roosty yu stahp orr eyl hv yu thrron ohff webr tom gavin (6/28/10) I vote for WXPN to take over the OC relay and give the people some diversity? When I'm on vacation I don't want to be plugged into 24/7 News and blab repeated over and over. It is not cheap to build and operate a 50KW radio station. I wonder where he money came from. Do they really think they can beg enough money to pay for this. Bob Fairfax (6/28/10) Dave's response: Got an idea. Hey, maybe WPFW, 89.3, could relay Philly's wonderful XPN on its HD2? Hmmm..... You polyannas who are freaking out about WAMU at 88.3 "to put what is on the air already" make me laugh. You have to stop believing public broadcasting = altruism. WAMU got a transmitter at the beach so they can run promos in DC that say "when you're the beach you can hear us on 88.3." Thus their listeners perceive WAMU is doing more to serve them, and the listeners will send them more money. Anyone who thinks public radio isn't about the money is fooling himself. (6/28/10) FIOS will cut all other cabling when installing FIOS. Its is common practice for them from the very beginning. They are very upfront about it, so they aren't trying to hide it. (6/28/10) Our condo board of directors, after about a year of negotiation with Verizon, declined their offer to wire the building. Why? FiOS refused to guarantee that they wouldn’t damage the Comcast wires (being left in place), and the hallway wallpaper. So that apartment complex in Reston better closely supervise the FiOS crews and monitor for damage. (6/28/10) I guess we're out of touch with reality up here. I've never heard of Kabletown. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa (6/28/10) To all the Rush bashers: You are probably the same people who think Howard Stern is funny, or that Al Franken is hilarious. You are jealous of Rush, who really tells it like it is, not to mention the inept president this country has! (6/28/10) Radio Delmarva already does a great job covering the Eastern Shore with NPR news and has a ton of local news too. Why would WAMU put the same programs on (Diane Rehm is now on three stations!). Shouldn't we have some diversity of public radio programming? who the heck is in charge of making sure we get a lot of different stations instead of more of the same. Why would WAMU spend all this money to build a station to put what is on the air already. It makes no business sense at all! WTMD's music format would have offered a different option down here so I don't have to stream it! WAMU could have put the Bluegrass Country on too and that would be better than repeated programs. (5/28/10) To JohnnyuinHanover: I guess I'm not a Comcast hater, per se. But, I've certainly grown to love the little benefits that I get from Kabletown. For instance, when I call their 1-800 number and ask for Kenneth, he drops everything and runs over just to wash and detail my ride. What more proof do I need that the K in Kabletown stands for the Keen interest they take in my needs! Then, there's Kabletown's seven channels of after-hours adult programming with the sophisticated male in mind. (6/28/10) WYPO is at 106.9 and began repeating WYPR in 2007. (6/28/10) The carpetbaggers at WAMU decided to add their NPR signal to Ocean City Maryland (WRAU 88.3 50 KW). What did they think - listeners on the Eastern Shore were not getting enough Morning Edition...Car Talk....All Things Considered...from the FOUR existing public stations already struggling there for listener dollars? Carl Olson, Crofton, MD (6/28/10) Its not as if we had a bad time pronouncing the name of that stupid volcano in Iceland two months ago; now we have those plastic horns at the World Cup tripping us up. So I turn to the DCRTV Brain Trust (shown in the picture) for guidance: Is "vuvuzela" pronounced as "voo-voo-ZAY-luh" or as "vuh-VOOZ-u-luh"? A dry hump session is riding on this answer. (6/28/10) RE:[It's hard to decipher fact from fiction. -Silvie] Only if you listen to too much WMAL and watch too much Fox News. For the rest of us, it's actually pretty easy. (6/28/10) WRAU, the WAMU Ocean City repeater station at 88.3 signed on the air Friday afternoon from the WQHQ tower in Whaleysville north of rt. 50. (6/28/10) Hey Miss Silvie: Knowing that you're from Southern Md., I wanted to ask. Many years ago I played in a band based in that area (we were called "Tempest), that played many times in a little place in LaPlata called the "Foxes Den." Is that place still standing? It was next door to an American Legion but I've often wondered after recent tornado damage about it's status. BTW, I am very Much American. The photo that riled you was a WEBR "promo"(thatDCRTV- Dave was kind enough to have retained and reproduced) from a British invasion special done on my show years ago. Peace and love 2 U,and all of my fellow "Mailbaggers", (even Collings & Gavin), Rusty Gibson (6/28/10) A number of years ago, word was here that COMCAST was buying our local cable company. After reading all the bad things about COMCAST, I didn't know what to do. I was pretty sure I would be going to the dish. Time passed and I have COMCAST. I even have their internet. Guess What????? I have no complaints. I AM SATISFIED WITH COMCAST. ( Sorry about that all you COMCAST haters.) JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (6/28/10) Dave's response: So, you're the one! Ha ha ha..... /\ June 28 Messages /\ \/ June 27 Messages \/ I got a chuckle from this real web page for a Comcast sales agency in West (By Gosh) Virginia: comcastcable.newtechnologytv.com... Seems that you'll automatically be connecting to Comcast if you sign up for cable TV in Kabletown! And don't forget the "Special Kabletown Discount Code: G18812". (6/27/10) RE: "It just takes your breath away, the jackification of MMJ. Robb de Capitol Heights" - Agreed. I'm just getting used to Smooth Jazz 105.9 HD on the net with no personalities. Its nice, but missing a little humanity for us humans! (6/27/10) I'm sorry, but any idiot who would describe the violent act of rape as "an unsuspecting male attempt[ing] to have his way." is a douche. Anyone who then sympathizes with the rapist by proclaiming, "The man is left unable to walk, or to use his captured member for other natural purposes." is a mega-douche. Anyone who goes on to structure a rationalization that a man who has committed an act of rape has some natural right to "resume any semblance of normalcy." is a mega-asshole-douche. Limbaugh's comments are indefensible. Those of you currently defending his statement need to step back and reassess your position. It was incredibly poor judgement for WMAL to link to such a callous statement. Shame on them. (6/27/10) RE: Pompous asshole Rush Limbaugh. So you worked with him in Kansas City in the '80's? That would mean you worked with him at KMBZ. He was my PD at another station in Kansas City durring the late '70's and I found him anything but an "asshole!" In fact he took an interest in me and he went out of his way to deflect a lot of unwanted station crap away from me. That is the Rush Limbaugh that I knew. (6/27/10) (regarding a previous post) "Wow, Jeff from Bowie amazes me. How long did it take you to stare at Wikipedia and research all of your Rush Limbaugh fun facts?" Jeff from Bowie can add another 'fun fact' about Limbaugh to his already impressive list: He's a pompous asshole! I didn't have to consult Wikipedia about this, because we worked at the same station in Kansas City, in the 1980s. (6/27/10) Lots o' changes at Newschannel 8 lately. In addtion to Morris Jones taking the helm for the evening newscasts, there's a new female anchor for the early portions of the Morning Report, with Melanie Hastings anchoring the later portions and taking over for Doug McKelway on "Let's Talk Live," which recently moved from noon to 11am. NewsTalk moves from 4pm to 10am starting Monday, with a repeat at 4. It appears that their weathercasters are playing musical chairs: last week, Brian van de Graaf was doing the morning shows, and Joe Witte did the late shows early in the week, and Steve Rudin was there the second part of the week. I think weathercaster/entertainment reporter Kyle Osborne must be gone, as he hasn't been on in several weeks now, and his "Entertainment Forecast" show mysteriously disappeared a few weeks back. I wondered how long they would keep him on once they hired Arch Campbell. Time to get a scorecard to keep track of all of these changes. (6/27/10) Dave's response: I hear that Erik Wemple will be doing Bible-thumping religious rants on the new "WTBD" at 9 weeknights starting in August. He'll be the reincarnation of Dr. Gene Scott..... Here's that WBAL Weather puppet (at the 1:10 point), thanks to Tom of DC. In 2008, Rhea Feikin wrote the following: "I had the most fabulous firing on TV. Cal (Shulman, the puppeteer) and I knew we were being fired, and— here’s a life lesson— they should never let you know something like that before you go on the air. I started that program, ‘This is our last weather show— we’ve been fired.’ I turned to the puppet and said, ‘J.P., do you feel like doing the weather?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘Neither do I,’ I said, then looked at the camera and asked, ‘Would you like to meet the man behind J.P.?’ Then Cal draped the puppet over the set and we walked off— leaving four minutes of unfilled airtime." (6/27/10) Comcast withdraws NBC merger plan... Wants instead to merge with Taliban - amplicate.com (6/27/10) Anyone see the 20 yr celebration of FOX morning news?..Was wondering how it went and what they showed. I heard that Holly Morris was the one who did the story on it. (6/27/10) Why are all weekend female cable (and many local TV) news anchors/tele-prompter readers such annoying, clue-less bimbos? Take away their tele-prompters & scripts and these centerfold babes get that panic 'deer-in-the-headlights' look and just prattle on like a hot dumb sorority sister. If I want to watch sexy, scantily-clad, air-headed bimbos I'll watch a XXX porn with a lame plot/acting scenes, not CNN-FNC-MSNBC (6/27/10) Wow, Jeff from Bowie amazes me. How long did it take you to stare at Wikipedia and research all of your Rush Limbaugh fun facts? No wonder it took you a few days to reply to Christian and the others, It's hard to decipher fact from fiction. [... and now back to the Argentina - Mexico match...] -Silvie- (6/27/10) It just takes your breath away, the jackification of MMJ. Robb de Capitol Heights (6/27/10) The guy with the nausea continues to vomit the word "radio" as part of his hurl ahead of traffic and weather together. So if you need a fix, grab his radio chunks as he pewks his way along every 10 mins. (6/27/10) Does Kennedy the Weather Dog on Fox 5 remind anyone of the puppet that used to do the weather on Channel 11 in Baltimore in the 1960's? You gotta believe Tucker didn't have a dog co-host in mind when he went to college. (6/27/10) Pamela Brown is much more attractive when she wears her hair off her face..When it just hangs, she looks like a wet dog.. (6/27/10) I truly enjoyed the local morning news on NBC4. Mainly due to the absence of Kimberly Suiters..For once I got to see the professionalsim and personality of Aaron Gilchrist. Most of the time, he has to take a back seat to Kimberly's constant meaningless chit chat..Too bad he can't due the weekends alone. (6/27/10) Someone will have to speak to the camera person on the Chris Matthews Show. On this morning's show, there were a couple of shots of guests where you couldn't see Chris's name in the background. This surely must be a mistake, and the camera person will have to do a better job of including Chris's name in every shot, in case we forget whose show we're watching. I've never seen anyone else's name appear all over the place on any other show...is there anyone as arrogant (or insecure) as Chris Matthews? -- Bobbie (6/27/10) Thanks Donnie for the post about WHFS FM and the free form weekend. I have listened to HFS a good part of the weekend and the tune selection was superb! Since I bought a program earlier this year to record online listening, I am planning on listening to this music on my drive to New Mexico next month. Burt in Denton (6/27/10) (Radio One job ad quote from website) "To competently and professionally provide continuity and surveillance information in a professional, knowledgeable and entertaining way and will be active in pre-show strategy and execution while staying within the negotiated job responsibilities at all times" (end quote) What over-inflated consultified horsecock wrote THAT bucket of chum? They're not looking for entertainers or personable hosts, they're looking for technicians and strategists. Is that what The New Radio has become? Majic is about to abandon its rep as a pleasant companion to being just another delivery method as forgettable and disposable as the software that sends Quizno's coupons to your smartphone. Change may be inevitable, but that first turn into the fast lane isn't always a smart one. (6/27/10) RE: RUSH LIMBAUGH. Given his lifetime of huge personal failings (thrice-divorced, chronic drug abuse and sex tourism addiction), mega career blunders (The McNabb controversy, mocking Michael J. Fox's Parkinson Disease affliction, Operation Chaos, Barack the Magic Negro, "Get the bone out of your nose", etc.), and blatantly hypocritical moral stances (draft-dodged during Viet Nam, yet calls military personnel who disagree with his views "phony soldiers", Illegally obtained prescription medications after claiming "if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up.", etc.), just what do you think it will take for the hard-core Limbites to drop their cult-like fascination with this buffoon and finally admit that he is nothing but a clown, fleecing them on the basis of mutual hatred of things they fear yet do not understand? What is it going to take before Dorothy pulls back the curtain to prove to these imbeciles that their wizard is nothing but a carnival barker? Where did the system go so horribly wrong to allow such a blatant hate-filled charlatan to become the de-facto leader of the once-great conservative movement in America? - Jeff in (You don't like it? Don't read it!) Bowie (6/27/10) Zurawik is clearly showing his partisan colors on the Ehrlich show and his attacks on WBAL. He attacks the program for putting a calling on the air who mimics "Martin." Yet for years the WJZ Morning News had a character called "Harry Horni." Maybe Z on TV never got up early enough to see that or be offended by that or to question why that got air time. He never mentions continued appearances by O'Malley on other programs under the guise of "public affairs." Those shows do nothing by promote the agenda of the incumbent. Maybe Zurawik should have written a column on photo op journalism, and the photo op moment of the week -- Martin O'Malley hopping aboard a MARC train. Yeah, like he really cares about MARC train riders. Thankfully, the political writers at the Sun have done a fair job of reporting the O'Malley - Ehrlich race and have debunked the claims made in O'Malley's tedious and obnoxious commercials. And perhaps Zurawik should be questioning why the governor won't appear on WBAL to take calls from their listeners. They are, after all, paying O'Malley's salary too. Maybe he'll lose his temper again and threaten to kick someone's ass like he did on a WBAL show years ago. Maybe what's really bothering Zurawik is that he was criticized by Ehrlich. Or maybe it's that his paper is printing three new sections that have nothing to do with improve its news coverage. As O'Malley would say, "whine, David, whine..." (6/27/10) Dave's response: Also, Zurawik does some work for WYPR radio. That's a rival news talk station to WBAL. I know Dave announces that quite prominently via a background statement on his Sun blog, but it could "influence" some of his "perceptions" of WBAL, doncha think? Hmmm..... Re: "Why just drop 'radio'? They also need to drop WTOP. Those are radio station 'call letters' that have been used since 1934 and say nothing about emerging cross platform interactive multimedia." OK, so what should they call themselves? Drop WTOP and drop Radio and...anyway, even if they are all about the multimedia these days, WTOP (old style radio calls) has been their primary brand, in the move from 1500 and suburban FM simulcasters to 103.5. (6/27/10) /\ June 27 Messages /\ \/ June 26 Messages \/ Wow, for a company that wants it's help on the cheap they sure are asking a lot for a person's services. After getting thru that overworded ad on their website I'm wondering if Bill Drake were alive today would they consider him or John Landecker qualified for an opening. I have heard jocks on Radio One stations in both Washington and Baltimore that sound as though they were hired right off the street. I'm sorry but for what they want to pay they have NO business being picky! (6/26/10) Let me just say that Channel 7 news anchor Pamela Brown was absolutely stunning on Saturday's newscast. A babe among babes. (6/26/10) The New York Times covered the sale of Politics and Prose a few days ago. Just saw the story: www.nytimes.com: Mr. Sagalyn said he and Franklin Foer, editor of The New Republic and one of Mr. Sagalyn’s clients, have been in preliminary discussions with Ms. Meade and Ms. Cohen about buying the bookstore as part of a larger group of buyers. Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic and a nearby resident, said he is part of the same interested group. Mr. Sagalyn declined to name the others in the group, although he said all of them are customers of the store. ... Another interested group is being led by Nicholas Kittrie, a law professor at American University. Mr. Kittrie said his group includes about 10 people in the publishing, radio and electronic communications industries. He declined to identify any of them by name. Mr. Kittrie said that the group has substantial financial resources and that some of its members could be interested in turning Politics and Prose into a publishing company as well. "They’re really thinking about going considerably beyond what this bookstore has been doing,” he said. “They really view it as a possibility of a literary center.” (6/26/10) You don't even have to tune Rush Limbaugh in to appreciate him and his entertainment value...lol...Jeff in Bowie is Exhibit 1-A! LMFAO...after all these years I still LOVE how Rush leads idiot lefty's (redundant I know) into making blatant fools out of themselves over absolutely nothing! Freakin' priceless!! (6/26/10) Dave, it should be noted also in the news blurb that Baltimore's WBAL 11 is also requesting a permanent VHF DTV power hike due to lost viewers, but WHAG NBC 25 Hagerstown's parent company NEXSTAR is fiercely fighting WBAL NBC 11's FCC application asking for huge sums of money to make an interference agreement deal. (This info is also from FCC records as well by the way as filed by Hearst Broadcasting). NEXSTAR conveniently owns the NBC 25 affiliate that has been approved for DISH network on the eastern shore of Maryland (which makes absolutely no sense) as well as the channel 11 in Scranton PA. hmmmm, anyone smell a rat here? Let's face it, no one is going to switch to DISH Network just to get NBC 25 from Hagerstown, MD, especially if WBOC CBS 16 and FOX 21 and WMDT ABC 47 don't sign on to DISH, which so far they haven't. It's clear NEXSTAR is playing games, not only with Baltimore viewers, but also with the people in the Salisbury/OC TV market as well. I think NEXSTAR should be ratted out publicly for it's duplicity. The company shouldn't be fighting WBAL's power hike and meddling in the Baltimore TV market nor should it be meddling in the Salisbury/OC TV market. As far as I know WJLA ABC 7 has not had this type of conflict, nor WUSA 9 or WJZ 13, but maybe Dave Loudin knows more. (6/26/10) This weekend is the annual Field Day for amateur ("ham") radio operators, with local clubs setting up tents, antennas and portable stations in parks, fields etc to see how many contacts they can make in one weekend. It's not radio or TV as most DCRTV fans know or care about it, but if this 'ducting' phenomenon that brings distant FM stations into DC continues, there are bound to be some happy operators this weekend. -KJ4IVD, Springfield VA (6/26/10) I never listen to Jack Diamond. But from what I read it seems like he goes through a lot of on air partners. Maybe the partners should stay and Jack should leave the show. (6/26/10) RE: "In normal face to face conversation I would denote my political allegiance as an identifier, however it was necessary to do it here on an internet topic specific message board." - What I meant to say was would NOT denote my political allegiance in face to face conversation. (6/26/10) re: WaPo Mis-ID...They still don't bother to use spell check anymore either. Latest example, in Friday's print and online article on Bill Clinton in South Africa: New York, Los Angles and Washington are among as many as 18 U.S. cities that would host World Cup matches under the committee's bid proposal...Maybe, they use it in the Premier Edition of the Post, if you don't get it, you don't get it www.washingtonpost.com (6/26/10) "And more from the paper's ombudsman, Andy Alexander, who says that the Post's standing among conservatives has been hurt" Godddam that's funny! I mean lets be honest. Hardly a day goes by when the Post isn't slanted anti-conservative. Mr. Alexander is living in fantasy land if he thinks conservatives care about any sort of standing with the Post. Years of unabashed bias are far more telling than this one silly little incident. Was anyone surprised by it??? (6/26/10) Dave's response: What is with the Post these days? It just seems to be making silly blunder after blunder. Producing a cheap little Stephen Strasburg "poster" and then not distributing it to subscribers of the Sunday edition. Nickel and diming subcribers 15-cents for the Sunday TV week? Cutting back business coverage, and eliminating its daily biz section, and then charging $49 a year for a Monday biz tab. The Style section looks like crap - big pics and small-town newspaper-ish writing, including that ever-dopey, way-too-smug gossip column. The sports section is poison for advertisers. The "salon" scandal, now this thing with hiring a lefty to pen a righty political blog. No serious coverage of the Comcast-NBC merger because Comcast is a big advertiser in the paper. Getting the defense secretarty's title wrong in a front page article. The grand old paper is just getting "lost" in a fog of bad decisions, advertiser suck-up, and outright incompetence. I really think it's time for some serious upper-level suit (skirt) changes..... Fox5's broadcast signal finally came on the air about 9a Saturday. (6/26/10) RE: [As a lib myself] Sorry but you 'effed it up in the first sentence dude. I can not think of a single progressive thinking person on the face of the planet that would use that phrase as a self-identifier. - You are correct but only partially. In normal face to face conversation I would denote my political allegiance as an identifier, however it was necessary to do it here on an internet topic specific message board. (6/26/10) Fox5 WTTG Washington has been off the air for hours. There's no on-air broadcast signal and the tuners I've tried in two parts of DC that are connected to an antenna indicate a "no signal" condition. Not sure if cable viewers have a feed. No mention of trouble on the station website. (6/26/10) Dave's response: As of 9 AM, I'm getting Fox5 on Comcast cable and over-the-air. They did run a rather "formal" station ID at 9 AM, which makes me think they were signing-on at that time. Yeah, the station could have been off the air earlier this morning. Most cable systems get landline feeds from local TVers, so they can still be seen on cable even if they go off the air..... Was half sleep when channel 5 news came on last night and "thought" I heard a reporter identify herself as Audrey Barnes, but dismissed it as not hearing it correctly..I read that she was going to do some consulting and training reporters when she left WUSA..But I guess it's nothing wrong with picking up some work, especially if you're gonna be paid..And it didn't take her long to find something else..But then again, and no disrespect to Ms Barnes, I think FOX5 will take almost anyone to fill their free-lance pool. I've seen reporters do one or two reports and are never seen again.. (6/26/10) Several points to consider on this Saturday… Regarding the Comcast buy of NBCU, the “pause” is only political. All Comcast likely needs to do is circulate some “economic stimulus” of its own on Capitol Hill. This acquisition will go through because Comcast has the political (read dollars) clout for it to happen. Keep in mind that while Comcast doesn’t care about customers it cares about competition and their perception in relation to it enough to want to weaken, if not destroy it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t consider cable companies which rate better than Comcast in Consumer Reports to be “competitors” to be weakened at all costs, just to make Comcast look better in comparison. Finally, Dave, in considering editing, take a look at how long some stories stay on WTOP’s website front page. Some stories are there for so long, that if they were meat in a supermarket, they’d be marked “Manager’s Special! Reduced for Quick Sale!” and packaged so the green fur can’t be seen. If WTOP truly wants to be the “multi-platform” megalith of its ambitions, they need to start looking at how stale their front page is compared to their air. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (6/26/10) Dave's response: I'm sure you're right. Comcast's merger with NBC is already bought and paid for on Capitol Hill. The FCC is a joke. It's hearings should be held on Comedy Central, complete with a laugh track. Maybe Jon Stewart should be the next commissioner..... What's all the fuss over David Weigel's private emails? I'm sure countless millions across America wish that Limbaugh would croak. (6/26/10) Dave's response: I don't wish death on anyone, including Rush. I'd just like his new wife to walk in the bedroom and find him in bed with Matt Drudge..... Dear Mr. Gavin: Buy a vowel! Sincerely, Vanna (6/26/10) Dave, can we safely conclude that Rusty is supporting England in their match against Germany on Sunday given his Union Jack outfit and fashion accessories? ;-) GO USA!! -Silvie- (6/26/10) Ex-WUSA-TV reporter/anchor Audrey Barnes was seen on Fox5 News at 10 Friday night doing a short package with an on-scene standupper on how the DC area remembered Michael Jackson. And if it hasn't already been reported here, ex-WJLA-TV weekend sports anchor Greg Toland presented WUSA-TV's 11p sportscast Friday. (6/26/10) /\ June 26 Messages /\ \/ June 25 Messages \/ Hi Dave, Been listening to Majic and to be honest it is kind of boring without the DJs. I don't know what their game plan is but if they were number 2 last month then something was going right with the plan they already had. If anything they should have moved up AJW from afternoons to middays and just hear nonstop music with little talk here and there. Then put Olivia in the afternoons for some upbeat, friendly talk for the afternoon. Those would be some changes i would have made if I were in charge. I hope Radio One knows what they are doing. Will the same thing happen to the magic station in Charm City? TS (6/25/10) I've been listening to WHFS.com all evening and thier "Free Form Weekend" sounds great.....and kind of familiar. Sort of like an old FM station I used to like. Wish I hadn't hit that U.S. Bong so much in the 70s....now where was I? Oh Yeah....DAMN good...and ..hot?!? Now why is that stuck in my mind? Donnie (6/25/10) I agree that VHF FM signals from across the country in the middle of the afternoon are very unlikely to be Tropo. They are far more likely Skip from a temporary condition in the ionosphere caused by thunderstorms between the transmitter and the receiver. The signals can come from well over a thousand miles away. They are usually very unstable, bounce up and down a lot and occur in the afternoon when storms are present. Tropo signals change gradually and usually occur in the morning and evening during inversions or near the coast. Bob (6/25/10) P*ss on Michael Jackson, I miss Farrah. Died the same day as the King of Pop. Just like 20 years ago when Jim Henson stole Sammy Davis' thunder. Oh, and check out what Tori Spelling has to say: www.nydailynews.com (6/25/10) RE: [As a lib myself] Sorry but you 'effed it up in the first sentence dude. I can not think of a single progressive thinking person on the face of the planet that would use that phrase as a self-identifier. The abbreviated term "lib" is pretty much only employed as a pejorative, mostly by those on the fringe-right AM talk radio circuit and Fox News. Nice attempt, but busted. While you may be able to get away with that silly crap on a Hannity call-in, we're too smart here. (6/25/10) Regarding the poster who wonders about that Bonneville on-air decision to just drop the word "radio", when they could drop WTOP too? Oh...I dunno. Maybe because THE FCC REQUIRES IT? Yeah--I think that's it. (6/25/10) From the FCC files: WJLA has requested that their special higher power (52 kW instead of 30 kW) authority be made permanent (fcc.gov). Measurements failed to find any additional interference to nearby stations. Regards, Dave Loudin (6/25/10) Christian said it better than I've seen anybody else say it yet. As a lib myself, I without a doubt think it safe to say that Jeff in Bowie had dethroned Ms. Silvie as the resident loon in this mailbag. At least Silvie defends what she likes (whether we agree with it or not!) and keeps it to that. Jeff in (blah blah blah blah) Bowie's endless ramblings have become impossible for a logical person like myself to read all the way through. Seriously Jeff. Use your energy more productively. Turn on some NPR or MSNBC or something and stop listening to nonsense that AM radio spews out. I know somebody could reasonably counter that NPR or MSNBC is nonsense as well. That's definitely a subjective opinion and I respect that. However, back to Jeff. Do yourself and the rest of us a favor and do what most of Washington D.C. did years ago when they stopped being relevant and step AWAY from WMAL!!!!!! (6/25/10) Well Rush is right about the Rape Axe. Check is out at the NY Daily News www.nydailynews.com (6/25/10) Saw some of FOX5 Morning News go down memory lane to celebrate 20 yrs on the air..They did a segment of where they were 20 yrs ago and I was shocked to see Holly Morris show a picture of her as a freshman at Duke with some classmates, one of which is her current husband!!!..Maybe she should've married him first..They also had a "where are they now" segment, but no mention of Tom Sater. But then again, I only saw the news until 8am, so don't know if she continued in another segment. (6/25/10) On Wednesday June 23,2010, I, along with several other members of the on air staff at Majic 102.3 parted professional ways. Therefore, I am no longer employed by Radio One. However, I would like to thank Radio One for giving me yet another opportunity to work in one of my favorite places, the Washington DC Metro area. I also want to thank the fans ,all over the country ,along with the Washington, DC community for always supporting my career and always showing me love. Majic 102.3 was a wonderful station to work for, with a close knit on air staff and sales team, it truly was an amazing place to work, for the past 3 years. Many of you have followed my 22 plus year radio career and have seen me in this situation before, and each and every setback has always been a set up for a new wonderful beginning. This shall be no different. I ask that you continue to follow me at www.oliviafox.com, and after taking a month or so off to enjoy my family, I will be announcing my next move. Again..... thank you, Radio One, for allowing the Olivia Fox Brand to be heard and seen again in the Washington DC market and I wish you nothing but the best. Fox Fans in Washington DC and beyond.....stay tuned... Olivia Fox (6/25/10) to mahch roosty gbsin im bhetr tan hhim ohn tha raydeo tom gavin (6/25/10) Dave's response: Hi, Tom. Heard you on Geronimo's show the other day..... Dave, I think it's brave of you not to hide your homosexuality in this forum. You should be commended for that. (6/25/10) "Dave's response: A good excuse to run a pic of the Rustman....." -T hanks Dave....Now I won't be able to sleep for days. (6/25/10) All this mailbag talk about the World Cup. Who gives a fuck? Bring on Stephen Strasburg. (6/25/10) Dave's response: How about Stephen Strasburg in nothing but soccer shorts? (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) ON-AIR TRAFFIC REPORTER POSITION: Looking for people that are reliable and can work without supervision (if needed). The position requires the ability to produce and voice traffic reports and weather reports on several radio stations simultaneously, and to upload audio files to FTP servers. Some stations are live (over the telephone), but most are pre-recorded. The position also requires an understanding on how to properly gather the information for on-air use, such as listening to police scanners (which is a must), properly interpreting information off of the CHP, NHP, MDOT (CHART), and NOAA websites, and making various phone calls to local authorities to verify that the information is correct. Previous traffic reporting experience or similar experience preferred, but will train the right people. This position is primarily for people that have their own studio (with a professional sound), but you can work out of our primary studio if needed. This position requires more than just previous voice-over or D.J. experience; it is a very detail oriented job. You must also maintain your own equipment (if working out of your home). If you think you have what it takes, then e-mail a voice-demo and resume to jobs@reliantbroadcastservices.com. Pay is piece-work and/or barter. Part-time and fill-in only (for now). (6/25/10) RE: “Wanted to pass along an example of tropospheric ducting…” Same thing happened here in Virginia Beach. I was listening to WAMU-HD (yes, in Virginia Beach) in the morning and left the radio on 88.5. I noticed an HD signal was back on in the afternoon. Looked at the display and it was showing KCRB/Bemidji MN. Scanned the dial and was getting KYCK/97.1 Crookston MN, 20 miles SE of Fargo ND… nearly 1,300 miles away! Bob Corbin/VARTV (6/25/10) Joe Kasell's reception from Minnesota yesterday was impressive, yes - but it was not "tropospheric ducting." It was E-skip. The two propagation modes are often confused, but actually quite distinct. E-skip is like a mirror in an upper layer of the atmosphere, reflecting signals from (generally) 600-1300 miles away. E-skip openings generally start at low-band VHF frequencies (the old TV channels 2-6) and sometimes move up into FM; it's exceedingly rare for E-skip to occur at frequencies above the FM band (NOAA weather radio, TV channels 7-13). E-skip openings sometimes affect just the lower part of the FM dial, not all of it. Tropospheric ducting is more like a tunnel (or actually a leaky tube) that develops in a lower level of the atmosphere. Tropo enhancement can occur on anything from semi-local signals (like Baltimore's 105.7/106.5 overriding 105.9 and 106.7 in Fairfax) to about 700-800 miles. Tropo generally happens at frequencies from FM well up into the UHF TV spectrum. Unlike skip, tropo is intensely dependent on local climate conditions. It's much more common on hot, muggy days, especially in coastal areas, and often follows coastal paths (Virginia Beach to Cape Cod, for instance.) - Scott Fybush, fybush.com (6/25/10) Rush...... I can not stand his tired ole schtick. Hr Hughes, why doesn't Citadel put Rush on 105.9? Even tho I hate him, he is a radio icon. Seems to be waste of all that hate on tired old WMAL. See Rush and his whole hate agenda on FM anytime soon? DO you still listen to him occasionally, Mr Hughes? I thought his first few years were entertaining, then he became RUSH. Thanks for the vine -BW (6/25/10) It's nice to see that Jeff in Bowie has contributed the first "I'm Am Truly OUTRAGED by WMAL!" letter of the day by 9:40 a.m., when I checked the Mailbag. No doubt Jeff or one of the unsigned Mailbaggers who monitor WMAL all day long will have another letter here by noon, complaining about "batshit-crazy" Mrs. Fred, or "that moron Chris Plante." By late afternoon, one of the gang will send his daily "Hannity Is a Douche" letters, and the sun won't set before Mr. "WMAL Hates Our Troops" drops a line. You can't fault these readers for lack of consistency. Too bad they're more predictable than the hosts that they claim are so tired and repetitive. Christian (6/25/10) "------------My main problem is why do we have to read so much about it on this board?------------" Because Rusty gives prizes. (6/25/10) Dave's response: A good excuse to run a pic of the Rustman (right)..... Once again, Rush Limbaugh provides free proof - on tape - of what an absolute friggin' tone-deaf DOUCHE he really is... I can't believe the pinhead actually advocates for the victomhood of rapists, and to top it off - as expected - he then attempts to tie the whole thing up with an assinine mock attack on Bill Clinton. Unbelievable. What makes it worse? This morning, WMAL proudly linked to this ignorant piece of gutter humor above the fold on their home page. Note to WMAL and Rush: RAPE. IS. NOT. FUNNY. What sort of lunatic still listens to this ignorant piece of shite anyways? Jeff in (Defend THAT, Silvie) Bowie (6/25/10) Good Morning, Dave. Linked is an article that says that San Diego, followed by Washington, DC, broke all sorts of records of World Cup viewership on ESPN and Univisión. Baltimore is not the only soccer TV viewing city. -Silvie- www.epltalk.com (6/25/10) Re "emerging cross platform interactive multimedia" --- www.erikanddanna.com... Hahahaha! (6/25/10) Listened to 107.3 on the way in today. Erica's there today, as is Jimmy. Jack has the day off. Chris in Silver Spring (6/25/10) I have some bets to settle, so I'll throw it open here. We all continually see the Antwerpen commercials, and yes, many times they're more annoying than anything, but this is about owner Jack Antwerpen himself... hearing him on the commercials has opened up a debate among myself and some friends. When he's speaking, it comes out "Jayck sezz Yayss!!!" or "Wett's doo it agin tomowow!!!". I say he simply has a Barbara Walters/Elmer Fudd-ish speech impediment, one friend thinks Jack may be hearing impaired, and his speech shows the usual affects from that, and another friend thinks it's a very heavy Bronx or Jersey accent. None of us has ever met the guy, so we're not sure. So among us, who's right? Or is it maybe a combination of these? (6/25/10) Dave: Yes, 106.7 did an ok job coverage last night's draft but 980 really missed the boat on this one!! Let's see if others will agree; I didn't really hear any draft coverage on 980...all I heard was an extra hour of the Sports Reporters. Fine, 980 swings a remote deal with a sports-bar and we get to hear more non-sense from Pollin and Czaban. If 980 wanted to really compete with 106.7, they should have sent an Al Galdi-type to NYC and been right in the center of it all. Who cares what CSN's Chris Miller thinks...if you're going to have someone on the phone from NYC, why not make-it someone relevant to the story. 106.7 was a better listen last night!!! (6/25/10) Listening to the NBA Draft coverae between 980 and WJFK, there was just no contest. 106.7 The Fan completely dominated 980, which took the lazy route and went to ESPN network coverage at 8. This may not be Boston, Philly, or NYC, but it's not Sacramento either, and if the local team has the #1 overall pick and is rumored to make some trades on draft not, flipping the switch to network programming 20 minutes after the first pick is made shows a shortcoming in philosophy that will eventually be the demise of 980. Especially when The Fan puts on such a great show, as they did last night. (6/25/10) The last three grafs of the Post's piece on military advertising on the Style front page. It discusses how WFED turns a healthy profit despite nonexistent ratings. (6/25/10) It is 6:35 am and trying to read the Weekend section online at the Washington Post. Deja Vue! This all seems famillar. Even the date – June 18, 2010. (6/25/10) Dear Dave: Wanted to pass along an example of tropospheric ducting. Driving home from work today I tuned my radio to 94.3 FM to catch a bit of WTEM and instead of Pollin and Czaban, I'm listening to the post-game show of today's Minnesota Twins/Milwaukee Brewers game. The signal would drop in and out but, eventually, I was able to hear a station id: KULO FM 94.3 in Alexandria, Minnesota, home of "Good Time Oldies" and a member of the Twins radio network. As the crow flies, that's a distance of 1025.8 miles, according to the Infoplease.com website. Absolutely fantastic. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (6/25/10) /\ June 25 Messages /\ \/ June 24 Messages \/ “Moe the Union Guy” sounds like the type of engineer I’ve always enjoyed working with. In my younger days, it wasn’t uncommon for the “Union Guys” to be more pro-company than some of the “managers”. I remember NABET old-timers saying things like “*The* National Broadcasting Company” instead of merely “NBC”. This changed as broadcasting became more of a “business” than a mere “service” which could be profitable for all, and you had people coming in from other industries who had no intention of making broadcasting a career. “Moe”, that part is something I wish you’d mentioned! Look at how few people are making broadcasting a career anymore! Even worse is that “opportunity for advancement” in this industry is gone. “Moe”, that’s something else I wish you’d mentioned. Unfortunately, the ravages of time are diminishing the number of "suits" who were a “Union Guy (or Gal)” once upon a time. Instead of advancement, some employers try to make conditions unpleasant for the employees in hopes that they’ll quit so they can be replaced with someone “cheaper”. Like a “contractor”, who doesn’t receive the benefits which are now devalued (and derided) by some in this business… I hope “Moe” has the chance to talk with someone who was in broadcasting when it was called upon to serve the nation as never before. I’m referring to the weekend of President Kennedy’s assassination and funeral. There were no “craft jurisdictions” or such. Everybody did everything. I saw technicians become producers, directors, writers, and even on-air talent when the chips were down. And, nobody complained. There were no “managers” or “workers”. We were all broadcasters. Alas, the last time I saw anything close to that was during another national tragedy, 9/11, in which several broadcast professionals, both Union and Management, perished together at the WTC. Sorry for the long rant. But, it seems that some are forgetting that just as a business cannot survive without customers, unless it’s a tiny “one-man (or one-woman) band”, it cannot survive out without dedicated employees either. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (6/24/10) Re: " emerging cross platform interactive multimedia" Ha ha! That sounds like where I used to work when they began "implementing new technologies to create a whole new paradigm" :) What a load of crap. Robert, Arlington (6/24/10) Re: "Hello Dave, still love the site and check in everyday. Here’s my own personal rant about the CBS sell-off..." Thanks MikeG for an excellent and well written analysis. Robert, Arlington (6/24/10) Comcastration: "PBS compared the wages of the highly network trained technicians with those of people working at cable companies around the country, saying that since employees had not experienced a high turn-over, they must not need a wage increase." That's not a Core Value! (Chris, I'm sorry ...) A professional attitude to the job is a Core Value! Would you not think it appropriate to look at the wages of highly trained network television technicians in this market compared to PBS wages of techs doing the same work? We know that Union wage levels in this market set the standard. So why is PBS looking at cable tech wages? That’s right; Comcast hates unions, CWA and NABET in particular. And what the hell are “Market Data Technicians?” Yes, PBS techs actually love their job and are devoted to the idea of public broadcasting. Apparently, some lawyers don’t get it, so they just walk out! Meanwhile, NABET-CWA-represented techs at NBCU can look forward to more of the same fatal logic at the bargaining table. (Moe the Union Guy) (6/24/10) "Dave's response: Let see, DC market Spanish stations - 1) 87.7, 2) 99.1, 3) 730, 4) 900, 5) 950, 6) 1030, 7) 1050 [new], 8) 1390, 9) 1460, 10) 1480, 11) 1540. Am I missing anyone?" Inexplicably, I cannot locate any Spanish-language World Cup radio programs on any of these stations, unless I'm oblivious and really missing something. 730 is English-language EPSN, broadcasting every game live from South Africa -- but I'm constantly driving around Southern Maryland and almost getting into accidents trying to find and tune into a Spanish-speaking radio sports show. Que Madre! -Silvie- (6/24/10) (regarding a previous post) "Did I just read the words 'emerging cross platform interactive multimedia'?. What happened to the business we all knew and loved?" What happened to radio? It's deader than Eddie Gallaher. (6/24/10) This intriguing tidbit from Tom Boswell during his Post chat this morning... Falls Church, Va.: Boz, at around 2pm yesterday the U.S. had won a huge game at the World Cup. Strasburg was gearing up to pitch in a few hours. And the Wizards were a day away from drafting their guard of the future in Wall. I turned on sports radio to hear about these topics, and predictably they were on hour seven of uninterrupted Haynesworth coverage. Will things ever change around here? Tom Boswell: It's an endless nightmare. I watched the soccer, of course. Amazing. They were dead, then Algeria got the bright idea to try to score (and advance to the next round) instead of merely shocking the world by knocking out the U.S. and less than 10 seconds after they get aggressive and take their "chance" to score, the ball is in the back of their own net! I doubt very much that Wall is remotely akin to Ovechkin or Strasburg in potential. But he should be a significant help. By the way, why on earth are you listening to sports radio? It must kill more brain cells than any narcotic except extremely contaminated PCP. I think I've listened to less than 10 hours in my life. If I heard myself being interviewed, I'd turn myself off. -- Vincent in Lynchburg (6/24/10) Hello Dave, still love the site and check in everyday. Here’s my own personal rant about the CBS sell-off. It’s a little long, and a bit incendiary, but I think it makes a great point. Do with it as you see fit… So CBS is trying dump some stations…NO! That’s sarcasm folks, eat it up. Who amongst us didn’t see this scenario coming? Christ, when CBS was gobbling up everything under the sun, we all knew full well this day would eventually come to pass. And the most sickening part of this whole “de-regulation” debacle, is that a lot of good people are going to lose their jobs. And let’s be honest, the axe has already been falling, and pretty hard, all across the country; leading up to what we now have before us…A bloated and over-burdened beast that thought it could rule the radio/broadcasting world, and be all things to all people; succumbing to the realization that greed and “red-tie” thinking isn’t always the solution. I compare the CBS situation to the bust in the housing market. Banks threw money at folks that decided to up-grade and live way beyond their means. Buyers never thought about how they were going to make the mortgage payment on their new swanky digs; let alone pay the daily up-keep costs and taxes. “Hey Biff, I just bought an $800,000 townhome in Canton. It’s awesome. I figure I can ride it for six months and then dump it; make a big profit, and then roll the cash into another awesome house I can’t really afford, or maintain.” The bubble burst, and a lot of good people got screwed because some idiot was never taken aside and told, “Don’t live beyond your means.” What was CBS thinking? Did they really think they could manage, develop, and maintain all their newly acquired holdings? I remember hearing rumblings from the higher-ups that the long term plan was to consolidate all the talent and local affiliate bosses into one small pool of syndicated drones that would take care of everything, all across the country. Does this sound familiar to anyone who has lost a job at CBS? Why is some asshole in (pick a city) running a station in (pick a city at three least three states away from the first city)? Who thought this was a good idea? I think we can all agree that what works in D.C., doesn’t work in Baltimore. And we’re only forty minutes apart down 95! What made radio so great was its local appeal and connection. When your talent can’t pronounce a street-name correctly, and your boss doesn’t give a shit because he has four other stations to look after, well, my friends, you’ve lost touch with your market and are doomed to failure. You average listener, the one who pays the bills, may be a little unsophisticated and rough compared to your Lincoln Town-car and haute cuisine ways…But he/she has a shit detector that’s quite sophisticated and easily set off. That’s why the one “DJ for everyone” idea has fallen by the wayside. And also why CBS is pruning it’s hedges. Simply put, CBS bent a great industry and a lot of good people over a board-room table, kissed them a couple of times to make them think they cared, and then reamed them in the corn-hole without any lube. And let’s be honest, it wasn’t only CBS. There were others too that jumped on the “deregulation, buy it all, band wagon”. And that’s why radio smells and sounds like ass right now. –MikeG (6/24/10) "but that's all it is: INTERNET radio. I don't really have a problem with it, and applaud those who volunteer. My main problem is why do we have to read so much about it on this board? I mean, who cares?" -Because this IS a radio and TV site. And considering you yourself called it "radio", you answered your own question, dumbass. AHHHH (6/24/10) "My main problem is why do we have to read so much about it on this board? I mean, who cares?" Apparently, the people who post about it. When Dave hands over the reins to this site to you, we will all look forward to you telling the rest of us what subjects we are allowed to post about. - Clay Dalrymple (6/24/10) (snip) " emerging cross platform interactive multimedia" (end snip) Sounds like one of those GSA computer contractor ads on WTOP. Al McGilvray (6/24/10) Listening to Don on his own is like what Seinfeld might be like if it were just Jerry and occasionally Elaine. Don and Mike was an ensemble show (like Seinfeld) with Don at the helm and it was just right. Mike is working it almost too hard with the boys but honestly it is more entertaining at this point. Don may have to bring in someone like Buzz to work with. The sound effects and caller banter just aren't clicking the way it used to. Thankfully I found Adam Carolla and get the dose of boys having fun that I missed so much when the old D&M show ended. (6/24/10) From the comments posted yesterday about PBS, it almost sounds like PBS is in the process of being “Comcastrated”! In fact, it reeks of Comcast. I’m sure the Cable Company used in the salary comparison is Comcast, as they not only dominate this region, but I bet they also have some Union representation around here that they’d like to get some revenge on. The “two-week limit” on vacations also sounds like something they would force on employees. As for “low-turnover” affecting salaries, perhaps PBS has forgotten about the concepts of pride in one’s craft, and loyalty to something they believe in. I guess that for some at PBS, “it’s only a job” and they’ll never understand that. Somehow, given the poor service I’ve gotten out of Comcast over the years, I get the feeling that their employees and managers also feel that way. (No doubt the Comcastoff ex-employees and ex-managers who’ve “lived” with that culture are no doubt taking that anti-customer and anti-worker spirit elsewhere. If you can’t “buy or beat” the competition, infiltrate them from within and infect them!) Remember that Comcast has a multi-faceted interest in those talks. First, as a content creator. Second, as a content provider to its CATV systems. And, third, when the NBCU deal gets approved, as a competitor. I agree with an earlier poster who said that the Comcast-NBCU should not only be denied but Comcast itself needs to be shrunk by the Feds. (6/24/10) Metropolitan DC’s Hispanic population is around 650,000, about the size of the Syracuse or Charleston, SC metro areas. Big enough to support a couple of FMs and a dozen crippled AM daytime-only or limited signal sticks. I always presumed that Bonneville was holding onto 1050 as a future bet on the Canadians’ process of systematically killing the AM band, eh, and eventually clearing them to fire up the SOB at high power 24/7. So is this an LMA with an option to buy? Or does Bonneville still hold the license? (6/24/10) Wow, lotta Farley hate in the mailbag today. Must be from other PDs who are sore about him continually kicking their asses. Signed, I'm Not Jim Farley. (6/24/10) Did I just read the words " emerging cross platform interactive multimedia"?. What happened to the business we all knew and loved? (6/24/10) Tom: I read your impassioned defense of internet radio, but that's all it is: INTERNET radio. I don't really have a problem with it, and applaud those who volunteer. My main problem is why do we have to read so much about it on this board? I mean, who cares? (6/24/10) RE: I'll add two more Spanish stations: 1420, and 1600, and sometimes 1120. Plus 860 in Baltimore is frequently in Spanish with religious programming." how much do you want to bet that AM810 will be Spanish soon too... (6/24/10) Dave's response: The following WTOP memo was forwarded to DCRTV..... I just heard from our transmitter engineer, Dave Kolesar, regarding the 103.5 signal. We have had several reports of “popping”, “fuzzy-sounding” audio and interference from other stations. Dave says because of the intense heat, our signal has been subject to highly unusual amounts of tropospheric ducting the past couple of days. (Dave was hearing distant FM stations interfering with 103.5 while he was on the top side of the Beltway, practically in the shadow of our tower.) Ducting, or the “bending” of FM and TV transmission signals, can occur during periods of unseasonably high heat and humidity, when the signal encounters warmer rather than cooler air in the atmosphere. You can find more info at the link above. If we get calls from listeners complaining about the signal, I would just explain that the heat and humidity affect radio signals in unusual ways and this can result in poor reception. It usually doesn’t last too long in any particular place. (6/24/10) Worst Apology EVER!! voices.washingtonpost.com (6/24/10) Why just drop "radio"? They also need to drop WTOP. Those are radio station "call letters" that have been used since 1934 and say nothing about emerging cross platform interactive multimedia. They say nothing about wireless distribution and partnership synergies. In 1934, no one knew about podcasts and always on-line/on-demand techno babble. C'mon Farley...in for a penny, in for a pound. Ditch the calls. (6/24/10) Just wondering when the Connection will actually stop publishing, I got one today. (6/24/10) Imus Does Thursday Show From DC Area – Any possibility that he will “reappear” on the radio in DC market? (6/24/10) Dave's response: Not that I can see..... Can someone please tell me the fascination with simulcasting radio shows? Come on MASN. (6/24/10) Maybe Majic 102.3 is stunting. I just heard a whispered liner that said: "Want to know a secret? We're working on something bigger and better. Stay tuned." (6/24/10) Dave's response: Hmmm. What could 102.3 flip to? Maybe back to WHFS pre-1983? Ha ha ha..... Mrs. Fred will carry on the theme that Obama is trying to make the United States a third world socialist country. Mrs. Fred will also narrate how Obama hates our troops, and Mrs. Fred will tell us Obama is a liar. Bank on it. I find it Hilarious Fred Grandy married a birther! I thought he was smarter than that. Ellen (6/24/10) I'll add two more Spanish stations: 1420, and 1600, and sometimes 1120. Plus 860 in Baltimore is frequently in Spanish with religious programming. -- Carl in Olney (6/24/10) "DC market Spanish stations - 1) 87.7, 2) 99.1, 3) 730, 4) 900, 5) 950, 6) 1030, 7) 1050 [new], 8) 1390, 9) 1460, 10) 1480, 11) 1540. Am I missing anyone?" Well, since you asked, 920 AM is also Spanish, as is 1420, which can be picked up in most of the area. 1120 is not exclusively or even primarily Spanish, but it does have some Spanish language programming. On the other 1160 AM had been primarily espanol before flipping to all Catholic, all the time. As a non-Spanish speaker, it's a bummer because that's a lot of stations that do me no good. On the other hand, it's nice to see someone using AM radio for something other than religion and right-wing talk. (6/24/10) re: WTOP dropping the word "radio." Didn't NPR just do this too? Looks like Farley is playing follow the leader again. (6/24/10) Dave's response: They still got the "R" in their name. Made they could change to NPM - National Public Media..... DCRTV Game; please post your predictions by 8:00 PM tonight; We are trying to predict what batsh&t crazy "opinion" Mrs. Fred will bring to the table tomorrow morning on WMAL. I will make the first prediction; Mrs. Fred will infer Obama a secret Muslim. (6/24/10) Dave's response: Tomorrow, Mrs. Fred will claim that Obama is not only not born in the USA, but that he's not even human. He's from an alien race from another planet, she will contend. And Fred will pleasantly nod his head in obedient agreement since she's got his testicles in a lockbox that she keeps by her bed...... That WTOP quote on your front page smacks of arrogance. Have they, WTOP, every heard of being a humble winner? Your thoughts Dave - BW (6/24/10) Dave's response: I've been covering local radio for 13+ years and I've run into very few "humble" people in the biz..... OMG! Did anyone hear Chris Plante get caught being a hypocrite this morning? He was yelling Obama “fired McChrystal,”: and a caller said McChrystal resigned, Obama was very clear about it, and to say he was fired is disparaging a man in uniform, and is not supporting our troops. Well, there you go. So, we can conclude, again, WMAL hates out troops, and this week’s WMAL hating our troops march is being lead by Chris Plante! Now regarding the comment, “Infinity picking Opie and Anthony over Don and Mike in the fall of 2001 was a mistake and a disaster in DC. D&M never gained traction in NYC, but there were a lot of factors going on there that contributed to the failure.” Very True. It was Walter Sabo that advised Ken Stevens and Jeremy Coleman to make that move, and he defended it until the end of O&A’s first radio career. He later distanced himself from it at a Talk Radio Seminar after the church stunt. History has proven, the hiring of O&A has always lead to disaster-everything from management firings, sponsorship flee, and embarrassment, to physical injury on third parties. Yes, Infinity made a huge, I mean HUGE, mistake. It is a shame no broadcast message board, or broadcaster warned Infinity about those clowns. Oh, wait a minute, DCRTV members were very vocal about the bad choice, and Howard Stern proved prescient at the time by calling them “dangerous idiots.” (6/24/10) According to all access: "BONNEVILLE News WTOP/WASHINGTON has removed the word "radio" from its top- and bottom-of-the-hour positioners." They want to position themselves as content providers across all media. Wait...they are the number one RADIO station in market number 9 and one of the highest billing RADIO stations in the nation and they are trying to distance themselves from the medium that pays the bills and finances their forays into "new media." Idiots. John (6/24/10) RE: "This perfectly demonstrates the need for the modern broadcaster to be adaptable and talented in more ways than one." WOW, you could not have "hit the post" harder. This rings so true. I have been in this biz for 14 years, which is a lifetime in this industry, but not as long as others! I have been laid off due to format changes, budget cutbacks, and contract failed negotiations. But, I've bounced back within days. Why? Because I am able to MORE than just hit buttons, read liners and prep. I am able to do voice overs, I have a home studio, I have access to major market PDs, so I can cut imaging/voice track/etc. I also have an engineering background, as well as understand promotions and sales. I know how to execute, as well as set up and break down remotes. Now, I work for myself, a freelancer to multiple stations, in addition to being on payroll for a few other stations. A few tidbits of advice I would like to add is for talent to invest in a home studio. You don't need anything big, expensive, over the top. Just a small mixer, a good mic and the desire to use a spare room to make it happen. Having that home studio can mean the difference between struggling to pay rent and earning some money when the axe falls. Another thing, network as much as possible. I tell the graduates of broadcasting schools that the MOST important thing to know and to do is to network. It is all about who you know, and can they throw you a bone when shit hits the fan. (6/24/10) Point of clarification for mlb4: A 6/23 Mailbag posting noted 31+ AM stations can be heard in DC; not 30+ *Spanish* signals. The headcount on Spanish stations is 11, give or take. (6/24/10) Dave's response: Let see, DC market Spanish stations - 1) 87.7, 2) 99.1, 3) 730, 4) 900, 5) 950, 6) 1030, 7) 1050 [new], 8) 1390, 9) 1460, 10) 1480, 11) 1540. Am I missing anyone? Thanks for the coverage of the Don Geronimo Show. I have enjoyed reading the comments in the mailbag. A quick point here: today's radio industry has been destroyed by the national economy, especially the failure of the automobile industry. Ad dollars are harder and harder to come by, and shows like the old Don and Mike Show will be fewer and fewer in number. Those shows are way too expensive now. The Mike O'Meara Show isn't on radio because you'd have to pay those four guys a living wage, plus factor in the associated business costs of a radio station. Don G is wise to strike out on his own. Costwise, he is far more employable as a one man show. (6/24/10) The Don and Mike talk gets people riled up in the mailbag, which is probably why Hughes does it. A few corrections: Don and Mike moved to mid days in August 2001 and moved back to afternoon drive in September 2002. Infinity picking Opie and Anthony over Don and Mike in the fall of 2001 was a mistake and a disaster in DC. D&M never gained traction in NYC, but there were a lot of factors going on there that contributed to the failure. And I hate to get into the more personal stuff, but if Freda doesn't pass away from the car accident in July 2005, my guess is that the show would still be around (probably not at WJFK). To point towards 2002 and say look at how the mightly have fallen in 2010 is crazy. 8 years is an eternity in any business, especially something as volatile as radio. (6/24/10) Mr Hughes - OK, I'll bite. Eight years ago, D&M had a bunch of affiliates. Now Don is back in Sacramento. Mike is not even in radio, doing a one hour podcast. Yet you intimate how "Don" has fallen. Just sayin. -BW Thanks for the vine. (6/24/10) Alvin John Waples, canned from Majic yesterday, has one of the best on air presentation and delivery I have ever heard. Same goes for Olivia Fox. I could see both of them ending up elsewhere on the Baltimore/DC dial, maybe not even on an urban formatted station. It is business stunts like this that prove not only CBS or CC are destroying radio as we know it, but other owners too. And on another point of radio stupidity from this week, (1050 AM), if there are 30 + stations broadcasting in the Spanish language now - doesn't that mean there is more variety in foreign language programming than in English on the DC radio dial? mlb4 (6/24/10) Dave's response: Maybe it's time for Clear Channel to flip 98.7 over to adult urban contemporary or some sort of rhythmic contemporary format with some of the former WMMJ staff. Maybe bring back the old WMOD calls. CC should then re-orient Frederick's country 99.9 to be more of a DC market player..... Erica is gone from the JDMS? Unless today's show was a 'best of' this sounds like bad information. Plus, her bio is still on the the Mix 107.3 website. (6/24/10) Dave's response: Soon to be gone. My sources say that Mix 107.3 is actively looking for her replacement..... Mr Hughes, our host. Why do you feel the need for your own snide remarks about the size of Sacramento? I know, Don G works there now. Is this "DC"rtv or "Sac"rtv? Sacramento's metro population is 1.8 million people. Slightly smaller than Baltimore. So what? I believe you are somehow intimating Don G is a loser because he's there now.Okay we get it.I urge you to write more on local media. Don G is not local or relevant to DC now. Get with the program, Dave. I also noticed U don't crack on Mike O. I bet is because he buys ads on your site. PLEASE PLEASE more media news, less Don (& Mike). You are playing to an audience that cares about more than 2 guys that are not on the air in DC or Baltimore. -BW... Still a BIG dcrtv fan!!!!!!!!! (6/24/10) Dave's response: Back in 2002, when CBS put Opie and Anthony in afternoon drive, Don and Mike did a midday show and were on DC's WJFK, plus major CBS FMers in NYC and Philadelphia. I'm just pointing out that "that was then and Sacramento is now"..... It is rare when the Wizards have the 1st pick in the NBA Draft and so ESPN Radio 980AM, 106.7FM The Fan and CSN are all in full draft coverage mode all day long and well into the night. Things are already stared and will go late into the night. Both The Fan the Flagship of the Wizards and CSN have pre and post draft shows planned today and tonight. ESPN 980AM will have the ESPN RADIO COVERAGE. washingtonexaminer.com... Cheers, Jim (6/24/10) Re: Erica Hillary Out At 107.3 - The REAL story here is that Erica COULD NOT STAND working with Santa and his elf (Jack & Jimmie) - that is why she left. - Bob (6/24/10) It really is not much of a difference but Baltimore is radio market #22 not #24 either way its top 25 outside of the top 20. It was a top 20 radio market(#19 or #20) for many years but it no longer is. (6/24/10) Dave's response: I knew it was 20-something, but not as low as Sacramento, which is 27th..... I was driving home from work the other day (Monday I think) and was listening to Lavarr and Dukes. When I got to the light at the intersection of Rte 28 and Rte 29 in Fauquier County, the station faded a little and I heard Howard and Robin talking about Lady Gaga at the Yankees game over the weekend. Once I made it through the light, WJFK was back and I couldn't hear Howard anymore. Any idea why I may have heard this? Has anybody else ever reported it? I don't have Syrius and I RARELY listen to WJFK since the format flip. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know. Jon (6/24/10) Dave's response: Some Sirius and XM radio receivers used in cars send their signal via a frequency on a car's radio. The listener then tunes to an "empty" pre-selected channel on his radio to hear Sirius XM programming. Obviously, the driver of a car near you at the time selected a frequency around 106.7. Usually, drivers select a frequency just below 88, where there's usually little else to hear. However, we now have WDCN's Spanish programming on 87.7, channel 6's audio frequency..... Erica Hillary is let go from MIX, the entire air staff of Majic 102.3 is shown the door ... not a pretty time to be an on-air talent. This perfectly demonstrates the need for the modern broadcaster to be adaptable and talented in more ways than one. Let's understand a harsh reality: anyone can talk, anyone can Tweet, anyone can read content off the Web. What's the thing that sets you apart from everybody else on the dial? Can you save the remote broadcast when the "thingie" doesn't work right? Can you "act" commercial copy instead of "read" commercial copy? Will you turn up at schools for talks or workshops with the theater people or the radio club? Do things you say on air make people stop and say, "Yeah, me too!", or is it just more fluff about Lindsay Lohan? Can you cut fun videos for the web and contribute great material to the station blog? Can you be a face for - and a friend of - the community, or are you content to "do your four then out the door"? The broadcasters I know who are well employed are great writers, capable technicians/engineers, patient mentors, versatile voice talents, maybe 1/3 MacGyver, and the best friends of their communities and demographics. I'm not saying this as a nyah-nyah to these recently displaced broadcasters who I will miss hearing, but as an advisory to anyone on their way up who thinks their poo doesn't stink. Get good, get versatile, and get noticed. (6/24/10) I get a chance to check in on DCRTV from time to time. Unfortunately the bashing by a VERY few never changes, but everyone is entitled to an opinion. I was fortunate to get into radio in the early 70's; it was college radio, when I was a junior in high school. It tool a few hours by bus to get to WBJC at the time, plus shift, and a few hours home. That eventually led to 30+ years doing weekends at some top Baltimore stations. It's easy to say "Get a job in real radio" to people like Rusty Gibson. I can respectfully tell you that breaking into the business on air in today's business model is very difficult compared to years past. Back then stations were live, so real people were needed to cover all shifts; yes, even nighttime. Many would volunteer their time to a local station to get on air and gain experience, and you learned far more that just being behind the mic. Guys like Rusty, and many others were wise enough to find whatever was available, and a community access station is a great way to start. I know veteran commercial DJ's who volunteered a lot of time and talent at VA Hospital radio stations, and AFRS. My wife volunteers at WHFC as do veteran broadcasters Trish Hennessy and Alan Field. If you have a passion for radio, music, and your listeners, use whatever comes your way be it internet, community access, LPFM, or college radio. It's easy to sit back and bash others without the pride of leaving your name, you too have options. I salute all the volunteers who make a difference because of their passion, one listener at a time. Your pride shows. Tom Conroy, afternoons WZBB-FM (6/24/10) Why international news outlets look so sophisticated - dcinternationalist.wordpress.com (6/24/10) Hey Dave, So with everyone gone at WMMJ could this mean they are making way for Donnie Simpson?? TS (6/24/10) Dave's response: WMMJ was the 2nd top-rated station in the DC market in the latest weekly ratings. There's really no need to hire the expensive Simpson. Plus, Simpson's under contract to CBS for a while longer, like next year. I think you'll see him jumping to TV, maybe something to do with Oprah and her new cable network..... /\ June 24 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....