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Contents - Contact Us - News Tips - News Archive - Mailbag - Twitter - Rant - Support Us Station List - Classified Ads - Advertise On DCRTV - RSS - NYC - Boston - DCRTV Plus More Cuts At Sun - 12/6 - A DCRTV source tells us that there were more cuts at the Baltimore Sun on Friday. And, we're told that some of the Tribune paper's online ad sales reps won't be getting paid in December. More soon..... WaPo Slow On CXs - 12/6 - Washington Post ombudsman Andy Alexander says the Post is still too slow in publishing corrections. At washingtonpost.com..... Roy Hoopes Dies - 12/6 - Roy Hoopes, 87, a longtime Washington journalist who was the author of an acclaimed biography of crime novelist James M. Cain and more than 30 other books, died December 1 of pneumonia at the AAA Atrium Classic assisted living facilty in Silver Spring. He lived in Bethesda. More in the Washington Post..... DCRTV's December Fundraiser - 12/6 - Have you helped support DCRTV this year? DCRTV is an independent, locally-based, one-man site. The best source of local media news, commentary, and gossip for the DC-Baltimore region. Ads are great, but we also depend on donations from our visitors to pay the costs associated with the site. We don't have a parent company to subsidize us. Please put some bucks on safely on your credit card via PayPal or drop a check in the mail. No amount is too small or too large. Click here. Make it $39 and get a year of access to local radio and TV cool-memory-jam-packed DCRTV Plus, where we've got a 1978 memory of new country outlet WMZQ and Channel 4 teaming up (left) as today's Flashback..... DCRTV's On Twitter & Facebook - 12/6 - Get local radio and TV news, gossip, and commentary the instant it fires on DCRTV Dave's brain synapses at twitter.com/dcrtv. Also, check us out at facebook.com/dcrtv..... Moran In Line To Replace Stephy At "This Week" - 12/5 - With George Stephanopoulos expected to go to ABC's "Good Morning America" and not keep his host post with DC-based Sunday political talker "This Week," the favorite to succeed him is Terry Moran. Also mentioned: Gwen Ifill, Ted Koppel, Jake Tapper. So reports Mike Allen at the Politico..... Crash Couple Generates More Press - 12/5 - A gaggle of press people followed that couple who crashed a White House state dinner out to Front Royal VA on Friday as a judge slapped them for not paying a landscaper. The DC Post has more..... Gibson Says Goodbye In DC - 12/5 - Outgoing ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson paid a visit to the ABC Washington bureau on Thursday to say goodbye. Gibson is giving up the "World News" position on 12/18. Diane Sawyer takes over in January..... Lambda Rising To Close - 12/4 - Lambda Rising, Washington's gay bookstore since 1974, will close its remaining Dupont Circle and Rehoboth Beach locations in January. The news comes less than a month after DC's gay newspaper of 40 years, the Washington Blade, stopped publishing when its parent company went bankrupt. More from DCAgenda.com..... Terry Owens Says Goodbye To 2 - 12/4 - After 17 years of anchoring and reporting on city government, Terry Owens signed off at Channel 2/WMAR Friday at the end of his 5:30 PM newscast. More at baltimoresun.com..... WLIF Tops Nov PPMs For Balto - 12/4 - The Baltimore Portable People Meter radio ratings for the month of November, full-day, age 12+: 1) WLIF, 2) WWIN-FM, 3) WPOC, 4) WWMX, 5) WERQ, 6) WRBS-FM and WIYY, 8) WQSR, 9) WBAL-AM, 10) WCBM, 11) WYPR, 12) WCHH, 13) WJZ-FM, 14) WZBA and WBJC, 16) WIHT and WTOP, 18) WPGC, 19) WCAO and WHUR, 21) WAMU, 22) WWDC, 23) WKYS, 24) WTEM and WBIG, 26) WRQX and WXCY, 28) WASH, 29) WMAL and WGTS, 31) WLZL, 32) WEAA and WMZQ, 34) WRNR-FM and WFRE, 36) WTGB and WTMD and WETA-FM and WJZ-AM, 40) WMMJ and WWIN-AM and WPFW, 43) WAVA-FM, 44) WVIE and WVRX and WAFY and WOLB and WWEG..... "TW" Beats "MTP" - 12/4 - ABC's "This Week" has upset usual favorite NBC's "Meet The Press" for 1st place among DC-based Sunday political talkers last weekend among total viewers. In the key age 25-54 demo, CBS's "Face The Nation" took 1st, with "TW" 2nd, and "MTP" 3rd..... Lynch Leaves USA Today Tab - 12/4 - McLean-based Gannett has laid off founding USA Today Weekend editor and 30-year company veteran Lorrie Lynch. The weekend tabloid will now be produced by the staff of the weekdaily USA Today..... Snyder-Salem Swap Coming? - 12/4 - Yesterday, we reported a rumor that Salem's 105.1 has been quietly put on the market. A rumbling strongly denied by Salem's WAVA execs, by the way. Still, might a deal be in the works for Salem to swap 105.1 for Redskins owner Dan Snyder's (right) 980 and maybe his 570, 730, and 1260, too? Sources confirm that something's in the works between the two radio parties. We know that Salem would like to get a DC signal for its righty political talk format. Such a swap would give Snyder's sports talk WTEM an inside the Beltway FMer to better compete with CBS's rival WJFK and provide Salem with more signals and a pile of cash..... Black Caucus Wants Funds For Minority B'casters - 12/4 - Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have chosen to buck their party and President Obama in a bid to stall financial regulation reform. Inner City Broadcasting has put forth an aggressive lobbying campaign asking the administration to help minority-owned businesses, including Inner City. Inner City, a troubled New York City-based radio broadcaster, which owns 17 commercial stations, is facing a possible financial collapse because of pressure by Goldman Sachs and GE Capital to repay nearly $230 million in debt. More from Radio Online..... CapHill Reacts To Comcast-NBC Merger - 12/4 - The $30 billion Comcast-NBC merger deal has set off immediate reaction from consumer groups and lawmakers in Washington, heralding an epic regulatory battle over concentrating so much power in one company. One in four cable subscribers in the US is a Comcast customer. NBC Universal owns Telemundo, MSNBC, and Bravo, TV shows such as Jay Leno's, regional stations such as Washington's Channel 4/WRC, and Universal movie studios. The DC Post has more..... Hill Starts Energy Blog - 12/4 - The Hill launches E2 Wire, a blog by Jim Snyder and Ben Geman that focuses on energy and environmental politics and policy..... Wolffe To Write WH Book - 12/4 - Former Newsweek correspondent Richard Wolffe leaves political PR firm Public Strategies to write book about the White House. The DC Post has more..... Balto Sports Media News - 12/3 - The latest Baltimore sports media news, including some unhappy campers at 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM, and the death of WTTR's Dwight Dingle, is in this week's PressBox column from your friendly webmaster..... Nat'l Geo Shutters Adventure - 12/3 - After quietly exploring options for a sale, the DC-based National Geographic Society has decided to shutter the print edition of its Adventure spinoff title. Folio has more..... Stephy Likely To Land At "GMA" - 12/3 - ABC has offered the DC-based host of "This Week," George Stephanopoulos, the coveted job of co-hosting NYC-based "Good Morning America," and negotiations are under way. So reports Howie Kurtz at washingtonpost.com..... 2 Cuts 15 - 12/3 - From DCRTV's 12/3 Mailbag: "WMAR-TV ABC2 laid off an additional 15 people yesterday. No traffic department, no art department, no ratings for the sales department. Will the last person left please turn out the lights?" More as we hear it..... Bad News For Mayor Is Good News For 11 - 12/3 - Channel 11/WBAL's evening newscasts got a big tune-in yesterday with coverage of the verdict of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. More at baltimoresun.com..... Sources: 105.1 Up For Sale? - 12/3 - DCRTV hears that Salem is quietly shopping around its 105.1 WAVA-FM signal, which is licensed to Arlington. A reliable local radio guru tells us that the market-blanketing-signal stick could fetch $25 million or more. California-based Salem programs a Christian/conservative talk format on 105.1, ever since it picked it up from Emmis in 1992, when it was a contemporary hit outlet. DCRTV also hears that Salem's possible sale of 105.1 may be part of an overall strategy to pick up a second or third AMer in the DC market, in addition to its WAVA-AM, 780, which is also licensed to Arlington and also features Christian/conservative talk. Update: DCRTV hears from some execs at 105.1 who insist that the signal isn't for sale. "Salem has been selling some 'non strategic' stations, but not stations like WAVA. WAVA is one of Salem's most successful radio stations," we're told..... 7 Seeks UHF Relay To Fix Signal Woes - 12/3 - A DCRTV tech guru tells us that Channel 7/WJLA is asking the Federal Communications Commission to allow it to add a UHF relay on channel 39 to improve its digital signal coverage. Like many TV stations that moved their digital signals from UHF back to their original VHF channels back in June at the digital TV deadline, WJLA says that some viewers have been having trouble receiving the DC market's ABC affiliate. However, our tech guru tells us that the new UHFer could create interference to some area stations that use adjacent frequencies. More at fcc.gov..... TOP Tops Nov PPMs - 12/3 - The November monthly Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC, full-day, age 12+: 1) WTOP [1st in both drivetimes], 2) WHUR [Harvey 2nd], 3) WIHT [Kane 4th], 4) WAMU, 5) WASH [L&L 9th], 6) WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 7) WETA-FM, 8) WBIG, 9) WRQX [Diamond 8th] and WWDC [Elliot 13th], 11) WMAL [G&A 10th, Rush 3rd, Hannity 8th], 12) WPGC [Simpson 12th] and WMZQ, 14) WPRS and WTEM [Korny 16th] and WKYS [Parr 13th], 17) WTGB, 18) WJFK [Junks 10th, Wise 18th, Arrington 18th], 19) WLZL, 20) WGTS, 21) WVRX, 22) WINC-FM, 23) WAVA, 24) WBQB and WPFW and WFLS and WDCN, 28) WBJC and WFRE, 30) WAVA and WWEG and WAFY and WERQ, 34) WTNT [TWT 27th] and WIYY and WQSR and WGRQ and WILC and WFMD and WJYJ, 41) WLIF and WWGB and WRNR-FM and WFED and WKDV and WPOC and WYCB, 48) WOL and WRBS-FM and WGRX and WBAL-AM and WZBA and WTOP's stream and WWMX and WZHF and WYPF and WCBM and WTEM's stream..... Classic Rock Tweaked On 104.9 & 105.5 As "The Bone" - 12/3 - A source tells DCRTV that Centennial is making some changes today at noon to its classic rock duo-cast in the Winchester area on 104.9 and 105.5, WWRE/WWRT. We now hear that the station will stay a rocker, with some hardish tweaks and a new identity: "The Bone." With the WXBN/WXNB calls. "The Bone" will focus on rock music from the 1990s and 2000s. "We'll still make room for a Zeppelin song from time to time" says Program Director Brian Beddow, "but I think listeners will find the new station much more enjoyable." More at everythingthatrocks.fm..... Dozier To Speak In Arlington - 12/3 - CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier discusses her new book, "Breathing The Fire," and surviving the war in Iraq on Tuesday, 12/8, 7 PM, at the Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 North Quincy Street, Arlington. In 2006, Dozier was almost killed by car bomb in Baghdad that took the lives of her cameraman, soundman, a US Army captain, and his translator. She recovered after multiple surgeries and is currently assigned to the network's Washington bureau. More at 703-228-5990..... WH Reporters Don't Want Sites Added To Pool - 12/3 - White House reporters question the addition of websites like the Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo into press pool. "This is really troubling," says New York Times reporter Peter Baker. "We're blurring the line between news and punditry even further and opening ourselves to legitimate questions among readers about where the White House press corps gets its information." The Politico has more..... Former WaPoer Objects To Bureau Closings - 12/3 - At cjr.org, ex-Washington Post New York bureau chief Michael Powell scoffs at the WaPo's new "for and about Washington" focus with the closing of three national news bureaus..... It's Official: Comcast Buying NBC - 12/3 - As expected, Comcast, the largest US cable-television company, makes the official announcement today that it will start a joint venture with General Electric's NBC Universal unit, creating an entertainment company valued at about $37 billion. Comcast will merge cable channels worth $7.25 billion with the NBC Universal assets, valued at $30 billion, the companies said today in a statement. Comcast also will contribute $6.5 billion in cash. The cable operator will own 51 percent of the new entity, which Jeffrey Zucker will lead. The deal gives Philadelphia-based Comcast the USA, CNBC, MSNBC, and Bravo cable channels, NBC's broadcast networks and stations, including DC's Channel 4/WRC, a film studio, and amusement parks. Bloomberg, the DC Post, and nytimes.com have more..... Marsden's Last 'Cast On 2 - 12/3 - David Zurawik on the farewell yesterday of longtime Channel 2/WMAR news anchor Mary Beth Marsden: "She said goodbye to area viewers at the end of the 6 PM newscast with the same sense of fun and easygoing grace that distinguished her long career." In her final piece, Marsden jested that, over the years, she sported 15 hairstyles in 21 years - "one for every news director." More at baltimoresun.com..... Levin To Keynote Hillsdale Dinner - 12/3 - Conservative national radio host Mark Levin, who does his show from a studio in his Northern Virginia home and is heard on WMAL, will be the keynote speaker for Hillsdale College's annual Church Dinner tonight at the Mayflower Hotel. The Hillsdale, Michigan, school holds the invitation-only event, which, in the past, has featured Rush Limbaugh, President George W. Bush, and Senator Jesse Helms as speakers..... SFMSports & 1370 To Carry Baltimore Area HS Hoops - 12/3 - SFMSports.net will broadcast select weekly men's basketball games from six high schools in the Baltimore area via steaming and podcasts on its website and via Baltimore sports talker Fox 1370, WVIE. Graham Whaples and Brent Diederich will handle play-by-play. Says Steve Clendenin, president of SFMSpoorts: "This is media training at its best for these students. We make every effort to include player interviews and features during each game. We want the students to feel comfortable with a microphone in front of them, so we work with each player to combat the jitters of giving interviews"..... Half Yard Follows Crash Couple - 12/3 -More evidence that Bethesda's Half Yard Productions is filming that White House state dinner crash couple for the "Real Housewives Of Washington" reality show for Bravo. In the DC Post..... TWT Slashes 40% Of Workforce, Cuts Local & Sports Coverage - 12/2 - From TPM: The beleaguered Washington Times announced "significant" reductions to its staff of 370 today. In response to "marketplace realities", "the company is aggressively working to achieve efficiencies of scale that must include significant staff reduction of its 370 personnel," said Publisher Jonathan Slevin. Including the elimination of all of its local news and sports news staff. The Times statement does not give an exact number of layoffs. The release went out to reporters as Times staffers attended a hastily called meeting in the newspaper's ballroom this afternoon. Several people packed up their desk photos in anticipation they could be laid off with limited notice. Also, some staffers have been avoiding parking in the parking lot in case the gates are closed to force them to return equipment. The Politico says that upwards of 40 percent of the TWT's staff could be pink-slipped. The paper is also instituting "controlled-market local circulation," with the local print edition free in certain areas of Washington with a premium price for home-delivery. The Washington Post reports that the TWT will continue to produce and syndicate its morning radio show, which is heard locally on WTNT (570 AM)..... WaPo Sports Scoops In Crash Couple Coverage - 12/2 - Eric Wemple at washingtoncitypaper.com looks at the scoops the Washington Post got in its coverage of the couple that crashed a White House state dinner last week..... BMitch To JFK? - 12/2 - DCRTV hears that Redskins veteran Brian Mitchell paid a visit to CBS Radio sports talker WJFK, 106.7 The Fan, today to guest with midday man Mike Wise. Could Mitchell's presence at the Fairfax station mean that he might be talking to suits there about a regular on-air presence? Mitchell, who has been working for CBS Radio sports talker WIP in Philadelphia, got canned a while back by Redskins owner Dan Snyder's sports talker, WTEM, ESPN 980, after he slammed his old team on the air. Stay tuned..... CapHill Hearing On PPMs - 12/2 - The US House Of Representatives Committee On Oversight And Government Reform held a hearing today to examine Columbia MD-based Arbitron's Portable People Meter radio ratings service and methodology. Specifically, the committee set out to determine "whether the PPM technology and methodology accurately measure radio audiences and whether PPM has a disproportionately negative impact on radio stations owned by minorities or targeted toward minority listeners." FMQB has more..... Michaels Succeeds Zell At Trib's Helm - 12/2 - Radio veteran Randy Michaels has been named chief executive of Tribune Company, succeeding Sam Zell, who remains chairman of the Chicago-based media concern that has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for nearly a year. Michaels joined Tribune's executive ranks when Zell took the company private in a debt-heavy December 2007 transaction. Locally, Tribune owns the Baltimore Sun and Channel 50/WDCW. More in the Chicago Tribune..... Comcast-NBC Marriage Coming Tomorrow? - 12/2 - A merger between Comcast and NBC Universal, expected to be announced by Thursday, would probably come with concessions aimed at forestalling a drawn-out federal review of the deal, the DC Post reports..... CBS's Pitts To Do GU Reception - 12/2 - CBS News chief national correspondent and "60 Minutes" contributor Byron Pitts will discuss his new book, "Step Out On Nothing: How Faith And Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges," at Georgetown University on Thursday. He will discuss his childhood in inner-city Baltimore, his career at CBS, and the future of journalism at 7 PM in GU's Copley Formal Lounge. A reception and book signing will follow..... Jerry Klein Back To MAL - 12/2 - DCRTV hears that weekend talk show host and producer Jerry Klein is coming back to talker WMAL as a board op/call screener..... More Cuts At Newseum - 12/2 - DC's Newseum has trimmed its staff for the second time since reopening in its new, larger location on Pennsylvania Avenue in April 2008. In the latest round of dismissals, the news-gathering museum eliminated 29 fulltime positions, or 13 percent of personnel. It has now reduced its staff by 23 percent overall. Despite the cuts, the facility reports solid attendance. "We will top 720,000, we are trending ahead of that," Newseum head Kenneth Paulson tells the Washington Post. "Month after month, we had exceeded last year's numbers. And our catering operations continue to drive revenue"..... Matthews Takes Heat For "Enemy Camp" Remark - 12/2 - During last night's analysis of President Obama's speech at West Point, MSNBC's DC-based host Chris Matthews made a stunning analogy that set the conservative blogosphere atwitter. Matthews claimed that the commander-in-chief of the US Military "went to maybe the enemy camp tonight to make his case." Matthews later clarified his statement. This morning, WMAL's Fred Grandy called Matthews' remark "an extraordinary take." Mediaite has more..... Marsden Signs Off Tonight - 12/2 - DCRTV tipped you last week. Now, David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com previews Mary Beth Marsden's farewell on Channel 2/WMAR's newscasts tonight after 21 years at the station. After the holidays, Marsden says she's "open to possibilities" about a new gig somewhere else on the Baltimore TV dial..... Politics In Spanish - 12/2 - DC-based Politics will start a Spanish language edition for Latin America. It will feature region-specific content and increase the publication's circulation by about 25,000..... De Moraes Savages Crash Couple - 12/2 - At washingtonpost.com, Lisa de Moraes delivers a deliciously snarky take on that Northern Virginia couple who crashed a White House state dinner last week - and all the media hype generated..... Shapiro On Woods' Silence - 12/2 - At washingtonpost.com, Len Shapiro says that Tiger Woods needs to give up the silent treatment..... WTOP Makes Google Top 10 For DC - 12/1 - All-newser WTOP is the only local media outlet to make the list of "DC's Top 10 Google Searches For 2009." More from DCist.... Leno Continues To Hurt 11's News - 12/1 - The November "sweeps" ratings hold more bad news for Channel 11/WBAL when it comes to Jay Leno and his effect on the Baltimore NBC affiliate's late local news. And despite a slight bump in some ratings thanks to the arrival of People Meters over the summer, struggling Channel 2/WMAR finds itself as the last place news channel in Baltimore behind Channel 45/WBFF. More at baltimoresun.com..... More Cuts At Gannett - 12/1 - From the DC Biz Journal: McLean-based Gannett's community newspaper division will require a one-week furlough for most of its employees during the first quarter, as the publishing giant continues to trim costs amid declining advertising revenue. The latest round of furloughs will also include employees in Gannett's corporate division and affect some employees in its digital division. At Gannett's USA Today, 26 newsroom jobs will be eliminated across the board, with no specific section taking the brunt of the cuts. Another nine jobs will be eliminated at its USA Weekend division, a separate editorial department. Gannett's third-quarter advertising revenue was down 28.4 percent from year-ago levels. Circulation was down 4.9 percent at its newspapers..... 2 More NYT DCers Take Buyouts - 12/1 - Following Neil Lewis and Stephen Labaton, two more New York Times veterans in Washington are taking buyouts from the paper: David Johnston and David Stout. The Politico has more..... NBC Implicated In WH State Dinner Crash Scandal - 12/1 - NBC-owned Bravo told Tareq and Michaele Salahi to crash the White House state dinner last week, so reports Gawker. The Northern Virginia couple have already signed a deal that prohibits them from talking to anyone but NBC, Gawker contends..... Z: 2 Fumbled Balto Mayor Verdict - 12/1 - At baltimoresun.com, David Zurawik says that Channel 2/WMAR "stumbled and fumbled" in its coverage this afternoon of the verdict of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon - guilty on one count of embezzlement, not guilty on three other charges. He praises Channel 11/WBAL and Channel 13/WJZ for their coverage. A DCRTVer tells us that 11 and 13 have been on air with the news for about three straight hours, and that much of the press has been banished from City Hall..... Reed Sells B&C - 12/1 - Industry trade magazines Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, which have a DC news bureau, have been sold by Reed Business Information to NewBay Media. More at latimes.com..... Discovery Re-Signs Zahn - 12/1 - Silver Spring-based Discovery has ordered a second season of "On The Case With Paula Zahn," the newsmagazine hosted by the former CNN anchor. B&C has more..... WaPo Runs "News" From Kaiser - 12/1 - At washingtonian.com, Harry Jaffe looks at how the Washington Post is outsourcing news articles, including a recent health piece penned by Kaiser Health News..... O'Meara Unveils Site For Podcast - 12/1 - That Mike O'Meara (center left in pic at right) podcast that DCRTV first told you about last week will be available at MikeOMearaShow.com. The one-hour-per-weekday show kicks off on Monday, 12/7. With Robb Spewak (left), Buzz Burbank (center right), and Oscar Santana (right). DCRTV hears that, as expected, O'Meara's podcast will have a radio affiliate to start. It'll be heard on Iowa City, Iowa's KCJJ (1630 AM) at 5 PM CT or 6 PM ET, but it won't be available on KCJJ's website. If conditions are right at this time of year, you might be able to hear KCJJ's signal in the DC-Baltimore area after dark..... Feud Yanked Planned 105.9 Morning Show? - 12/1 - A source tells us that there was a morning show in place for Citadel's classic rock 105.9 The Edge - but it fell through. A local radio guru speculates that the longtime feud between Jack Diamond, the legendary morning man at Citadel sister hot adult contemporary WRQX, Mix 107.3, and former WJFKers Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara could have had a part to play in the decision. O'Meara was supposedly in-line for the 105.9 morning spot. If O'Meara had gotten the gig, he would have been just down the hall from 107.3's Diamond. Last week, Citadel announced that Baltimore radio veteran Kirk McEwen would be doing the afternoon shift on 105.9. Update: Via their Twitter/Facebook pages today, both Geronimo and Diamond claim that they aren't feuding. In fact, Geronimo says he and Diamond regularly communicate with each other..... Radio One Yanks Print Mag - 12/1 - DCRTV hears that Lanham-based African American radio giant Radio One is suspending print publication of its bi-monthly magazine Giant, while making it a web-only vehicle at GiantLife.com. The magazine had been aimed at African Americans aged 21-to-34. Radio One acquired Giant three years ago..... Citadeler Steps In On Clear Channel Fundraiser - 12/1 - DCRTV hears that the radio personality who was supposed to do a recent weekend kids' charity on-air "remote" fundraiser for Clear Channel's country WMZQ couldn't do it at the last minute. And guess who just happened to be wandering the area mall at the same time? DC radio veteran Tom Grooms, who works at Citadel classic rocker WVRX, 105.9 The Edge. Our source tells us that Grooms, donned in his Edge jacket and t-shirt, manned the mic and even managed to get a promo or two in for his Citadel station on the Clear Channel station. We're told that Grooms told passer-bys, "It's all about the kids," on his spur of the moment decision to do it..... Comcast Purchase Of NBC Gets Closer - 12/1 - General Electric has reached a tentative agreement with the French media conglomerate Vivendi that clears the way for the sale of NBC Universal, including the flagship NBC network and its owned stations like Channel 4/WRC, to Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator. The NY Times has more..... Dennis Ketterer Gone From 16 - 12/1 - DCRTV hears that longtime Channel 16/WBOC weatherman and chief meteorologist Dennis Ketterer was let go from the Salisbury station on Monday. Brian Keane did mornings and noon and then came back and did the evening shift. Ketterer's bio is gone from WBOC's website and he posted this on his Twitter page: "Thanks everyone. It's been fun." Ketterer once worked at DC's Channel 7/WJLA. More soon..... MD Cuts Dave Humphrey - 12/1 - MarylandReporter.com takes a look at the Maryland Department Of General Services's cut of spokesman Dave Humphrey, a longtime radio veteran of Baltimore's WCBM and WLIF. He said he's looking for his next gig, and it's a friendly departure. Humphrey's last day is today. The cuts were made during the most recent round of budget reductions two weeks ago..... Blankley: TWT Still Good For Something - 12/1 - From Romenesko: What's the problem-plagued Washington Times any good for? "The editorial and opinion pages are valuable," says columnist Tony Blankley. "And it has a different news judgment regarding the national pages and the news reporting, which is keeping with the reality of the conservative 60 percent of the country." More in the NY Times..... WH Returns Fire At Politico - 12/1 - White House staffers fire back at the Politico with seven juicy critiques, including: "They are more interested in readers than accuracy." More at TheAtlantic.com..... Roker Visits CIA - 12/1 - The DC Post reports that Al Roker on Monday slipped into the CIA, where the "Today" weatherman, who has his own production company, got inside info for his upcoming series on the history of espionage. Roker talked to Director Leon Panetta and other senior officials, toured the museum and lunched with CIA employees..... More Tiger Crash & Crash Couple Media Stuff - 12/1 - Washington Post bottom feeding. Yet more on the media and the Tiger Woods scandal here and here. And yet more on the media and that couple that crashed the White House dinner here and here and here..... 9's Goff Speaks For Crash Couple - 11/30 - Channel 9/WUSA reporter Angie Goff becomes an unofficial spokesperson on CNN for the couple that crashed a White House state dinner last week. More from TVNewser..... TWT Runs Birther Ad - 11/30 - From Think Progress: "This latest national edition of the Washington Times features a full-page ad that claims that President Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States. The ad was purchased by the anti-Obama website ProtectOurLiberty.org. While the group has placed several birther ads in the Washington Times in recent months, the version that ran this morning contains far more inflammatory imagery - three monkeys, apparently intended to represent the US Congress, courts, and the media"..... "Real World" To Balto? - 11/30 - InsideCharmCity.com tells us that MTV may be heading to Baltimore for the next season of "The Real World," which just finished filming in DC..... WMAL Adds Batchelor To Weeknights - 11/30 - DCRTV's NYC News page recently reported that John Batchelor is replacing Curtis Sliwa's weeknightly show on Citadel's NYC talker WABC-AM. Well, DCRTV hears that the same change is coming to Citadel's DC talker, WMAL, starting tonight. It'll be Batchelor from 10 PM to midnight. Batchelor, who currently is heard on WMAL's weekend evenings, used to do a weeknightly show on WMAL..... Karmazin: Sirius XM To WorldSpace's Rescue - 11/30 - Mel Karmazin, who heads Sirius XM, hints that his satellite radio firm could come to the aid of financially troubled WorldSpace, the Silver Spring-based satellite radio company that provides service to Asia, Europe, and Africa. WorldSpace raised almost $150 million in a 2005 IPO, but filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Liberty Media, which controls about 40 percent of Sirius XM, has lately been buying up WorldSpace debt. More from PaidContent..... HuffPost To WH Pool - 11/30 - The Huffington Post joins the White House press pool. The Politico has more..... WZAA's Jack Rice To Afghanistan - 11/30 - Air America Media personality Jack Rice, who is heard on DC lefty talker WZAA (1050 AM), will present a week of broadcasts from Afghanistan, 12/7 through 12/11. Rice, who recently returned from a series of programs originating from the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, will be embedded with the 82nd Airborne division, near Kandahar. "Live In Washington With Jack Rice" airs from noon to 3 PM weekdays, with a live feed at www.airamerica.com..... "Meet" Wins DC Sunday Talkers Battle - 11/30 - In the battle of the DC-based Sunday political talkers, NBC's "Meet The Press" placed its usual 1st on Sunday 11/22. ABC's "This Week" was 2nd, "CBS's "Face The Nation" 3rd, and Fox's "Fox News Sunday" its usual 4th..... 2 NYT DCers Take Buyouts - 11/30 - New York Times staffers have until next Monday to apply for the current buyout offer, and already two veteran reporters are planning to leave the Washington bureau - Stephen Labaton and Neil Lewis. In October, Executive Editor Bill Keller held a lunch with Washington staffers to discuss the buyout packages and emphasized the importance of the bureau in generating news for the paper. The Politico has more..... XMAS Push For HD Radio - 11/30 - Columbia MD-based iBiquity, developer of broadcast digital HD Radio technology, is highlighting HD Radio receivers as "great gifts for the holidays." Retailers like Best Buy, Costco, Crutchfield, and RadioShack are providing some "door-buster" deals, in-store signage, and radio campaigns through December. Radio Online has more..... WaPo Makes Express Changes - 11/30 - The Express, the Washington Post's freebie tab, makes a few design changes. Now, just one "most compelling" story on the front page, plus the addition of "The Feed" page, with news highlights. As well and font and color changes. More at expressnightout.com..... Chelsea Engaged To Son Of Former 4er - 11/30 - Chelsea Clinton has announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky. His mother, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, is a former Democratic member of Congress who was a reporter for Channel 4/ WRC in the 1970s and 1980s. The Huffington Post has more..... Palin To Do Fairfax Book Signing - 11/30 - Republican former VP candidate Sarah Palin will do a just-announced appearance in Fairfax on Saturday, 12/5. She'll be signing her new book at BJ's Wholesale Mart at the Fair Lakes shopping complex. That evening, she'll be the top GOP guest at the Gridiron Club's winter dinner in DC..... "NewsHour" Partners With GlobalPost - 11/30 - WETA's reformatted "PBS NewsHour" does a news gathering partnership with Boston-based GlobalPost. The TV news program will collaborate with GlobalPost's network of approximately 70 correspondents around the world. GlobalPost correspondents and videographers will jointly produce weekly video news segments that will air on "NewsHour" and will also appear on the show's website..... "Unhappy Campers" At 105.7 - 11/30 - DCRTV hears that there's some stomach churning going on among the staff at CBS Radio's Baltimore sports talker WJZ-FM, 105.7 The Fan. A number of "unhappy campers," we're told, including morning man Ed Norris, the former Baltimore top cop who has been told to talk more sports and less politics. Also, "four or five" staffers are up for contract renewal soon, and they fear the worst from a budget-cutting CBS. Plus, there's some concern about the station's ratings, which have slumped a bit since the spring and summer. More in DCRTV's newsblurb below..... Less Norris In 105.7's Mornings? - 11/30 - It looks like CBS Radio sports talker 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM in Baltimore, might be retooling its Ed Norris (right) morning show. We get this comment in DCRTV's 11/30 Mailbag: "Has anyone else noticed that it seems that the Ed's morning show seems to be phasing out the serious issues that he normally talked about and are now focusing on entertainment and the usual morning show talk? I tuned in to hear something different not the usual banter. Also, this morning it was the 'Monday Morning Quarterback' program not even his normal show with Maynard??!! Tom Davis was even hosting it and Ed was just someone in studio. The promos for the station now say sports 24/7 when it used to say Ed Norris in the morning and sports all day long. Interesting"..... Wise Talks Tiger (Even Though He Doesn't Want To) - 11/30 - Rant. So, WJFK's Mike Wise, who spent much of his show today talking about the Tiger Woods scandal (crashing his car and allegedly fighting with his wife over the long holiday weekend), says he doesn't like talking about the Tiger Woods scandal. You know, a private matter, blah blah blah. Hey, Mike, it beats another boring Monday droning endlessly on about those awful Redskins. Now, I must again re-assess whether the Washington market really really really needs two FM sports talkers. Maybe 106.7 would do better as a good solid oldies station or maybe a resurrected progressive rock WHFS? How about Amp 106.7? Sheesh. More Rants..... Nat Wright Dies - 11/30 - Radio-Info.com tells us that Nat Wright (right), 82, died on Thanksgiving Day, after a career in Washington DC at the old WWDC and at Philadelphia's WIP. In the late 1950s at WWDC, 1260 AM, Wright did a popular personality-based music program. He moved to WIP in 1961 and got the "Dawn Patrol" all-night shift in 1967. He also had worked at WEEU in Reading PA and WDOV in Dover DE. Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers has more..... More: "NewsHour" Changes - 11/30 - Howard Kurtz takes a look at the format change coming in December to PBS's "NewsHour," which is produced by WETA. Including the combination of television and online operations, and coping with sharp cutbacks by donors, which has led to the loss of half its producers over the past five years. In the DC Post. Also, more in the NY Times..... AOL To Mass-Produce Content - 11/30 - Dulles-based AOL is putting the finishing touches on a high-tech system for mass-producing news articles, entertainment, and other online content, the linchpin of Chief Executive Tim Armstrong's strategy for reviving the struggling 25-year-old internet company after Time Warner spins it off in December. The WSJ has more..... WH Crashers Sought Bravo Prize - 11/30 - Still yet more on that Northern Virginia couple that crashed last Tuesday's White House state dinner, in Monday's DC Post. And how the stunt could have been a path to inclusion on Bravo's new "Real Housewives Of Washington"..... CHE Appoints Harvey Hill - 11/30 - The DC-based Chronicle Of Higher Education appoints Harvey Hill as associate publisher. Hill is an ad sales veteran of the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post..... Book Release For TWTer - 11/30 - Julia Duin, religion editor for the Washington Times, releases her latest book, "Days Of Fire And Glory." She traces the journey of an Episcopal priest, who took a house of worship located in a Houston slum and created one the nation's fastest-growing and most vibrant churches..... DCRTV Ad News - 11/30 - DCRTV welcomes back local internet radioer The DC AM as an advertiser through January. Plus, we thank Comcast SportsNet for extending its ad through the end of the year. And check out the US Naval Institute, Funk Radio Online, and Baltimore sports newspaper PressBox for their new ads in the right column. Please support DCRTV's advertisers because they support DCRTV. Reach a million movers and shakers every month. Click here..... WH Party Crash Couple Seeks Big Bucks For TV Interview - 11/29 - The Virginia socialites who apparently crashed the White House state dinner last week remained elusive Saturday, as reports surfaced that the aspiring reality-TV stars were trying to sell their story for hundreds of thousands of dollars and CNN said the couple's upcoming appearance on "Larry King Live" had been cancelled. The Associated Press reported that Tareq and Michaele Salahi were offering to talk to broadcast networks about their experience and were looking for a payment in the mid-six figures range. Representatives for the couple contacted networks to urge them to "get their bids in" for an interview. The DC Post has more...... WTTR's Dwight Dingle Dies - 11/28 - Longtime WTTR radio personality Dwight Dingle died on Thursday. Dingle was the station manager at Pat Sajak's WTTR (1470 AM), but was perhaps best known as a sportscaster for the Westminster MD station. There's more from the Carroll County Times..... WaPo Cuts 2 Video Reporters - 11/28 - Regina McCombs at poynter.org looks at how the recent cut of two well-known video journalists, Travis Fox and Pierre Kattar, could diminish the value of the Washington Post's website..... Holly Bailey Leaving Newsweek - 11/28 - Holly Bailey, White House correspondent for Newsweek, is leaving the Washington Post-owned magazine via a buyout. "There has been a shift at the print magazine, with less emphasis on reporting day stories out of the capital. Already, the magazine doesn't go on most foreign trips with the president, such as the recent one to Asia," says Michael Calderone at the Politico..... Communication Problems At WaPo - 11/28 - Washington Post ombudsman Andy Alexander says it's often difficult for readers to find the e-mail addresses of reporters and columnists..... JLAers Star In Studio Theater Production - 11/27 - Channel 7/WJLA's news anchors, including Gordon Peterson, appear on-screen during Studio Theatre's "The Solid Gold Cadillac," which opens next week. Peterson, Doug McKelway, and Greta Kreuz will be playing old-time newscasters in the 1953 comedy about corporate culture. More in the DC Post..... O'Meara To Start Podcast - 11/27 - DCRTV hears that Mike O'Meara (right) will launch a one hour-per-day podcast (no live streaming to start) on 12/7 at a website to be divulged on 12/1, when his current contract with CBS Radio ends. He'll have his old WJFK show personalities Buzz Burbank and Robb Spewak on the new internet show, along with another former WJFKer, Oscar Santana, from the old "Big O And Dukes Show." DCRTV hears that O'Meara's show will probably be carried on Iowa City, Iowa, guy talker KCJJ at some point in the not too distant future, but, as yet, no DC radio on-air gig for him. Spewak currently does a show for KCJJ on Friday afternoons. O'Meara's WJFK show got yanked in June when the station flipped to sports talk. O'Meara had been partnered in afternoons with Don Geronimo for 20-ish years, until April 2008, when Geronimo left the show. Sources close to O'Meara say that he's talked to a number of local radio stations, including new Citadel classic rocker WVRX, 105.9 FM, but, so far, nothing to announce. More at O'Meara's Facebook page..... Comcast + NBC = Too Much Control? - 11/27 - If cable TV giant Comcast merges with NBC Universal, which owns a whole batch of cable TV networks plus DC's Channel 4/WRC, will one firm have too much control of the American media scene? The Washington Post tackles that burning question..... More: Couple Crash State Dinner For Bravo Show Hype - 11/27 - The Washington Post has more on the growing controversy involving a Northern Virginia couple's uninvited crashing of a White House state dinner Tuesday and its relation to the hype for Bravo's new "Real Housewives Of Washington" reality show. The couple had announced that they would appear with CNN's Larry King, but have since changed their minds..... Blade's Demise: A Dark Cloud For Gay Media - 11/27 - Michael Triplett takes a look at what the demise of the Washington Blade means for the future of gay media and journalism in America. At mediaite.com..... Cerphe's Show Lands Caribbean Station - 11/26 - DCRTV's already told you that DC rock radio legend Cerphe Colwell (second from left in pic, right) is back with a new online progressive rock music show - "Cerphe's Progressive Show" - every Friday at ecoplanetradio.com. Now, we hear that the show will be syndicated on Island 92 radio in Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies, starting 12/5. It can be heard Saturdays at 9 AM AST (which we assume is 8 AM EST) at island92.com. Eric Boyer, the station's program director, grew up in the DC area and was an avid listener of " the good old days of HFS." He says he's excited to be able to keep "the sprit of that legendary station alive." Island 92 is a rock, blues, and "goodtime music station" for the Northeast Caribbean..... Couple Crash State Dinner For Bravo Show Hype - 11/26 - Was a Northern Virginia couple's uninvited crashing of a White House state dinner Tuesday actually hype for Bravo's new "Real Housewives Of Washington" reality show, which is being produced by locally-based Half Yard Productions? The Washington Post and the Politico have more..... Austin Hill Fills In For Plante - 11/26 - Austin Hill, former WMAL evening host and current afternoon drive host at Boise's KIDO, returns to 630 to guest host the 9 AM-to-noon "Chris Plante Show" on Friday, 11/27.... Warner & Sony Settle XM Dispute - 11/25 - Warner Music Group and Sony music-publishing units have dropped a copyright-infringement lawsuit against District-based XM Satellite Radio Holdings over a product that allows XM listeners to record and store songs. Bloomberg has more..... WaPo Partners With Amazon.com On Book Sales - 11/25 - The Washington Post's business development unit just unveiled a new experiment - allowing readers to purchase books mentioned in the paper's book coverage via Amazon.com's Associates program. Book links on the site will go to a new Post store, where the paper will receive a percentage of any sales from Amazon. GalleyCat has more..... Hill Owner Interested In Nielsen Pubs - 11/25 - The Nielsen Company's beleaguered trade-publishing unit, including Billboard, the Hollywood Reporter, and Adweek, is on the block again. Can a private-equity group, including the publisher of DC's The Hill newspaper and News Corporation scion Lachlan Murdoch, save it? AdAge has more..... WLIF Tops Balto PPMs Again - 11/25 - The Baltimore market Portable People Meter radio ratings for the "third" week of November, full-day, age 12+: 1) WLIF, 2) WWIN-FM, 3) WPOC, 4) WERQ, 5) WWMX, 6) WRBS-FM, 7) WIYY, 8) WBAL-AM, 9) WQSR, 10) WYPR, 11) WCBM and WCHH, 13) WJZ-FM, 14) WIHT, 15) WTOP, 16) WZBA, 17) WPGC, 18) WCAO and WAMU and WBJC, 21) WHUR, 22) WKYS, 23) WBIG and WWDC, 25) WASH, 26) WRQX and WTEM and WMAL and WXCY, 30) WEAA and WFRE, 32) WJZ-AM and WGTS and WLZL and WRNR-FM and WTGB, 37) WMZQ, 38) WPFW and WETA-FM and WTMD, 41) WMMJ, 42) WWIN-AM and WAVA-FM and WBAL-AM's stream, 45) WWEG and WVRX..... WaPo Hikes Price For Turkey Day Edition - 11/25 - Even though it's a weekday edition, Thursday's Thanksgiving Washington Post will sport a Sunday-ish $1.50 newsstand price, instead of the usual Monday-to-Saturday rate of 75-cents. Also, Sunday-only subscribers will also get the Thursday paper this week. The holiday newspaper, which sports a big pack of Black Friday ad circulars, sells "in volumes comparable with other Thursdays, which is extraordinary considering commuter traffic is near absent on Thanksgiving," a Post spokesperson claims. Bloomberg has more..... Can Balto Support 4 TV News Ops? - 11/25 - Your friendly webmaster has conjectured that Baltimore might no longer be able to support four TV news operations - 2, 11, 13, and 45. And that the lowest-rated local news department, at Channel 2/WMAR, will see more cuts and could disappear completely. And now, Charm City TV critic David Zurawik pens this as a comment to a posting on his "Z On TV" blog at baltimoresun.com: "Markets like Baltimore (26th) can no longer afford three or four major news operations. Money is too tight, and technology creating many more outlets for local news. So outside of the top two stations or possible a third with a strong niche, they are slashing news budgets. I am sad to say that will be more leaving WMAR in coming days and weeks. Maybe a few at other stations, too"..... 4 Leads DC TV News Battle - 11/25 - Channel 4/WRC holds onto its top spot in the DC TV news battle at 6 AM, 6 PM, and 11 PM during November. And that's despite Jay Leno's slumping ratings at 10 PM. Channel 9/ WUSA is still in the basement, with 4th place finishes at 5 PM and 6 PM. Overall, local news viewing continued to fall. Washington's four broadcast news stations attracted 417,000 viewers to the 11 PM news, a decline of 9 percent over the past two years, the DC Post reports..... VOA Expands In Latin America - 11/25 - Facing a group of presidents loudly critical of Washington, the US government's DC-based Voice Of America is expanding its audience in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. More at washingtonpost.com..... Kirk McEwen Joins 105.9 - 11/24 - DCRTV hears that Baltimore radio veteran Kirk McEwen will do the 2 PM to 7 PM shift on Citadel classic rocker 105.9 The Edge, WVRX, and Suzanne Ansilio from LA classic rocker KLOS will be music director and midday personality. Come 11/30. Still no word about morning drive, although all signs point to former WJFKer Mike O'Meara. After a night stint at DC101 in the 1990s, McEwen was part of the "Kirk And Mark" morning team on 98 Rock, WIYY, and later on the now defunct Live 105.7, WHFS. More soon..... WKJS Tops Richmond - 11/24 - Radio One's urban adult WKJS tops the latest Richmond radio ratings. More from Radio-Online.com..... WaPo Closes 3 National Bureaus - 11/24 - DCRTV hears that the Washington Post is closing its NYC, LA, and Chicago bureaus. Reporters are being offered assignments in DC, we're told. News aides are being let go. The change will affect TV critic and reporter Lisa de Moraes, who is based at the Post's LA bureau. More from the Post and the Politico..... 2nd Buyout At 2: Terry Owens - 11/24 - After 17 years of covering city government and anchoring the news at Channel 2/WMAR, Terry Owens (right) is leaving the Baltimore ABC affiliate. Owens, who along with Mary Beth Marsden is the second high-visibility anchor to take a buyout offer from the Scripps station in recent days, said his last day at Channel 2 will be 12/4. More at baltimoresun.com..... Abe Pollin Dies - 11/24 - Abe Pollin, 85, Washington's homegrown sports entreprenur who owned the Wizards and Mystics basketball teams and the Capitals hockey team, died today. More at washingtonpost.com..... WTOP Tops DC Radio Heap Again - 11/24 - The Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC for the "third" week of November, full-week, age 12+: 1) WTOP [1st both drivetimes], 2) WIHT [Kane 4th], 3) WHUR [Harvey 2nd], 4) WAMU, 5) WASH [L&L 9th], 6) WETA-FM, 7) WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 8) WBIG, 9) WRQX [Diamond 7th], 10) WWDC [Elliot 9th], 11) WMZQ, 12) WMAL [G&A 11th, Rush 4th, Hannity 12th], 13) WPGC [Simpson 13th], 14) WPRS, 15) WKYS [Parr 13th], 16) WTGB and WTEM [Korny 15th], 18) WLZL, 19) WJFK [Junks 13th, Wise 19th, Arrington 19th], 20) WVRX and WGTS, 22) WINC-FM, 23) WPFW and WAVA, 25) WFRE and WBQB, 27) WERQ and WGRQ and WDCN and WFLS, 31) WAFY and WWEG and WTNT [TWT 29th], 34) WWGB and WBJC and WFMD and WACA and WQSR and WIYY and WILC, 41) WJYJ and WPOC and WFED and WYCB and WRNR-FM and WLIF and WGRX..... Redskins Losing Washington Connection? - 11/24 - The local media gets a mention in a Wall Street Journal piece that's hyped: "Are the Redskins Losing Washington? Another Bad Season And Continued Missteps Are Loosening A Disparate Region's Ties to Its Team"..... More: MO'M To 105.9? - 11/24 - A local radio source who is plugged into the local rock radio community tells us this about classic rocker 105.9, WVRX: "They might make the announcement today. Probably Mike (O'Meara) in the AM. Out-of-town woman middays. Well-known Baltimore/DC guy PM drive, voicetrack 7 PM to 6 AM weekends." Hmmm..... Kevin Huffman Wins WaPo Punditry Contest - 11/24 - Kevin Huffman has been named winner of the Washington Post's "America's Next Great Pundit" contest. After receiving 25,000 total votes, the Teach For America executive has been awarded a weekly column for 13 weeks at $200 a pop. The search began in October with nearly 5,000 contestants. By the way, Huffman's ex-wife is DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, who is frequently covered by the Post. The Politico has more..... Dobbs Tells TOP He Might Run For Prez - 11/24 - Former CNN personality Lou Dobbs makes some news on WTOP. According to the NY Daily News, he reveals to the DC all-newser that he just might run for president..... AOL To Rebrand As "Aol." - 11/24 - Dulles-based AOL, which used to be AOL Time Warner, which used to be America Online, is now going to be "Aol." As it begins new life on 12/9 as a spinoff from Time Warner. With a lowercase "o" and "l" and a dot at the end. Whatever. More at washingtonpost.com.... Geronimo Lands Weekend Shifts At NYC's CBS-FM - 11/23 - DCRTV hears that former WJFK afternoon man Don Geronimo (right) will be doing weekend shifts at CBS Radio's classic hits and oldies WCBS-FM in NYC. Including 7 PM to midnight on Saturday 12/22, and 3 PM to 7 PM on Saturday 12/26. "It's just a few fill-in shifts, nothing set in stone," he writes on his Twitter page. "We'll see what happens. I'm excited to do anything on CBS-FM." The station streams at wcbsfm.com. Geronimo's under contract to CBS Radio through October 2010. The firm has kept him sidelined, off the air in DC, since he left his gig at former guy talker WJFK in April 2008..... Z Praises Balto Talkers For Coverage Of Mayor's Trial - 11/23 - At baltimoresun.com, David Zurawik gives "good grades" to Baltimore talk radio - WOLB, WEAA, WBAL - for coverage of the corruption trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon..... NAB To Honor MJF - 11/23 - The DC-based National Association Of Broadcasters will give its Distinguished Service Award to Michael J. Fox for his fundraising for Parkinson's research. The actor will be honored at the NAB's annual April confab in Las Vegas..... More: Scandalized TWT's Inner Workings - 11/23 - A wide-ranging affidavit by Washington Times editorial page editor Richard Miniter in the lawsuit he is filing against the Times provides a detailed picture of the inner workings of the newspaper that has been rocked by the canning of three executives and the resignation of its top editor. TPM has more..... New WaPo Entertaining Column From Quinn - 11/23 - The Washington Post introduces "The Party," a new Sally Quinn Style column on entertaining. It will appear through the holidays. In her first installment at washingtonpost.com, she offers her advice on what you should at a holiday meal if some want to say grace and others do not..... More: Job Losses At WaPo With Merger - 11/23 - DCRTV tipped you last week. And now, the DC Biz Journal has more about job losses coming to the Washington Post as the print and online operations are merged..... Governing Staff Worried About Sale To Scientologists - 11/23 - The NY Times tells us that there's concern at DC-based Governing magazine over its sale to Scientologists. Last week, DCRTV reported that the St. Petersburg Times was selling the publication to e.Republic, whose founder and other top executives are Scientologists. Coverage of Scientology has long been an important story for the St. Petersburg Times, given that the church’s spiritual headquarters is located in nearby Clearwater, Florida..... Maxwell Cut Loose From Cleveland Rocker - 11/23 - Maxwell, aka Benjamin Bornstein, has gotten released from Cleveland rocker WMMS after nearly seven years in afternoon drive. You may recall that Maxwell was formerly half of the "Max And Miles" morning team on defunct Baltimore classic rocker WXFB, now contemporary hit Z104.3, WZFT. A source tells DCRTV that Maxwell's contract was due to run out at the end of the year, and he turned down an extension, a process that played itself out on-the-air throughout much of this year..... Carl Kasell To Leave NPR News Duties - 11/23 - Longtime National Public Radioer Carl Kasell (right) will leave his newscasting job at the end of the year. He will continue his role as judge and scorekeeper of the NPR news quiz "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" Kasell has been in broadcasting business for more than 50 years. He joined NPR as a part-time newscaster in 1975 and was on staff by 1977. He did the first newscast during the debut of "Morning Edition" in November 1979, and has been with the program since. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Kassel was a newscaster on the old WAVA radio, one of the first all-news radio stations in the country. Romenesko has more..... Discovery Partners With Obama In Science Initiative - 11/23 - Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications is launching a major, multi-year science initiative supporting President Obama's Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (STEM) campaign. The Science Channel and Discovery Education will be the two businesses most closely involved with the campaign, dubbed "Be The Future." The Science Channel will launch a commercial-free science block on Monday-Saturday afternoons in 2010. B&C has more..... Augenstein's Band Is Back - 11/23 - After 25 years, WTOP reporter Neal Augenstein cranks up his old band, Modest Proposal. And he's been hyping it today on the all-newser's airwaves. More at wtop.com..... Feud Continues Between Korny & Wise - 11/23 - Dan Steinberg at washingtonpost.com has the latest on a "feud" between former Washington Postie Tony Kornheiser on WTEM and current Postie Mike Wise on WJFK. Now, Kornheiser's ESPN "PTI" partner Mike Wilbon, another current Postie, is calling for a "steel cage" match between the two..... More Rumors About B'ville Expanding DC Cluster - 11/23 - Radio-Info.com editor Tom Taylor's hearing more rumors about WTOP and WFED owner Bonneville picking up stations in the DC market. The latest rumbling involves a "multi-market swap involving Atlanta, Washington DC, and St. Louis.... One (that) would make Bonneville even bigger in Washington DC and St. Louis." DCRTV has reported previous rumors about Bonneville possibly picking up stations from Citadel in DC (WRQX, WMAL, WVRX) and CBS in Baltimore (WLIF). Stay tuned..... Dene Hallam Dies - 11/23 - Dene Hallam, who, we're told, was program director in the 1980s at the DC area's country WPIK/WXRA, died suddenly at age 56 on Friday in Atlanta. Over the years, the award-winning radio veteran had also worked at country and contemporary hit stations in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, and Kansas City..... Allan Baker Dies - 11/23 - Allan Baker, 81, a former division chief at the Voice Of America, died at his home in Rockville on 11/9 of congestive heart failure. Baker was responsible for introducing Pashto broadcasts to Afghanistan and reinstituting a Farsi program to Iran..... Kurtz Does Miller - 11/23 - Howard Kurtz on Emily Miller: "Once she spoke for Tom DeLay, traveled the world with Colin Powell. Now she's forced to get by with freelance writing, retail jobs, babysitting - and her latest incarnation as gossip columnist for the website Politics Daily. The 38-year-old woman who has borne the brunt of endless gossip is trying her hand at dishing about others." More at washingtonpost.com..... Hari Sreenivasan To "NewsHour" - 11/22 - CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan jumps to PBS's "NewsHour," which is produced at WETA. Where he'll be a news anchor and reporter. He'll be joining the PBS weeknightly news program on 12/7, when a batch of changes will be made, including a name change from "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" to "PBS NewsHour"..... Oprah Raises Discovery's Profile - 11/22 - The news that "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is going to end after 25 years so that its host can devote herself to a new cable channel set off reverberations in TV and financial circles late last week. But nowhere was the effect felt more keenly than in Silver Spring, where the Maryland-based Discovery Communications was vaulted into a new realm of prominence and prestige as the future home of OWN - the Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery, a cable channel once known for showing inexpensive documentaries, has found itself the talk of both Wall Street and Madison Avenue, as everyone from financial analysts to managers of network affiliates and -owned stations that depend on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to provide an essential lead-in to their early evening newscasts wondered how the move would affect them. So reports David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com..... O'Meara Promises "Major Announcement" On Friday - 11/21 - Former WJFKer Mike O'Meara posted this late Saturday on his Facebook page: "I want to thank all of you for your patience and understanding during these difficult months for me. I will have a major announcement on Friday November 27th, and again I want to thank all of you for your unbelievable support during my down time"..... WTMD Wants To Revitalize Senator Theater - 11/21 - Towson University's adult alternative rock WTMD (89.7 FM) is among four parties who answered the city's call for proposals to lease or own the Senator Theatre. Stephen Yasko, general manager of WTMD, has said he'd like to move WTMD's studios into the financially troubled Baltimore landmark and create an environment akin to Philadelphia's World Café, which includes a restaurant and two performance spaces as well as radio facilities. The Baltimore Sun has more..... Blade Returns As DC Agenda - 11/21 - The region's gay newspaper, the Washington Blade, closed earlier this week due to the bankruptcy of its parent company, Window Media. Without missing a weekly issue, the staff of the former Blade rushed to get out the first edition of DC Agenda on Friday. Plus, a new website at DCAgenda.com. More from the Washington Post. Also in the Post: Blade editor Kevin Naff on "Why We Need The Washington Blade"..... WaPo Mag Profiles WAMU's Dorie Anisman - 11/21 - Dorie Anisman is the phone manager for WAMU talk show hosts Diane Rehm and Kojo Nnamdi. And she gets a write-up in Sunday's Washington Post Magazine..... Sirius XM Gets In Holiday Spirit - 11/21 - Sirius XM announces its holiday music line-up. Holly (Sirius-3, XM-23) will feature contemporary holiday tunes from 11/16 to 12/31. Holiday Traditions (Sirius-4, XM-4) will feature traditional holiday recordings from the 1940s through the 1960s from 11/16 to 12/25. Holiday Pops (Sirius-79, XM-77) will feature classical Christmas carols from 12/7 to 12/25. Country Christmas (Sirius-62, XM-10) will run from 12/7 to 12/25. And Radio Hanukkah (Sirius-76 and XM-28) will run from 12/7 to 12/19..... Support DCRTV's Advertisers - 11/21 - DCRTV welcomes back Maura Sullivan and her "Christmas Eve In Washington" holiday classic for their second yearly seasonal ad here on DCRTV. And we'd like to thank CSN Washington for renewing their top banner ad. Please support DCRTV's advertisers because they support DCRTV..... Christmas Comes Early At WASH - 11/20 - DCRTV told you a while back that it would happen on November 20th. And it did happen on November 20th. WASH (97.1 FM) went all-Christmas. Now, look for the Clear Channel adult contemporary station to soar to the top of the Portable People Meter radio ratings for the "Holiday" period. More at washfm.com. More: We hear that Frederick's WAFY, Key 103.1, also made the Christmas flip on Friday..... Riggins Offers Plenty Of "Shtick" - 11/20 - John Riggins, who now does sports work for WTOP radio and is regularly seen on YouTube, "speaks loudly and carries a big shtick." That's according to Len Shapiro at washingtonpost.com..... WaPo's Merge Of Paper & Website Causing Job Losses - 11/20 - Erik Wemple at washingtoncitypaper.com: Multiple sources are reporting that several employees at washingtonpost.com are losing their jobs as part of the merger of the site with the main Washington Post newsroom. Several of dot-com's editorial staffers as well as some non-editorial workers are among those who've gotten the ax, according to the sources. A top Post official cautioned against using the term "layoff" to describe reductions at washingtonpost.com, insisting that any dismissals are "targeted" at duplication of work between the website and the newsroom..... Jessica Taylor To Politico - 11/20 - Jessica Taylor jumps from the National Journal to the Politico, where she'll be web editor for its 2010 mid-term campaign coverage..... Governing Mag Sold - 11/20 - From the Politico: When the Economist Group - owners of Roll Call - purchased Congressional Quarterly last in July, they didn't acquire Governing magazine, which had also been up for sale. But now Times Publishing, which previously-owned CQ, has unloaded Governing to e.Republic. The Sacramento-based company bills itself as "the nation's leading publishing, research, event and new media company focused on the state and local government and education markets." Governing will remain in its downtown Washington office under publisher Fred Kuhn, although "some operations will be combined with similar functions at e.Republic." It's unclear what impact that will have on Governing's staff. However, the merger of CQ and Roll Call - where there were also redundancies - led to 44 layoffs..... Oprah's New TV Net Won't Start Until 2011 - 11/20 - The start date for Oprah Winfrey's new cable network, OWN, a joint venture with Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications, has been pushed back from next year to early 2011. It'll take the place of the Discovery Health channel. More from B&C..... It's Official: Oprah To End TV Talk Show - 11/20 - DCRTV tipped you a few weeks ago. Now, David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com has more: "The Oprah Winfrey Show," one of the most successful franchises in TV history, will come to an end in September 2011, as the former Baltimore talk show host commits her energies to launching a cable channel with Maryland-based Discovery Communications. Winfrey, who did news anchoring (right) and got her talk show start at Channel 13/ WJZ in Baltimore, will make the announcement on her show Friday, according to WABC-TV, the ABC-owned NYC station that carries the show in the nation's largest TV market. The syndicated program, which debuted in 1986, has been a gold mine for the stations that use it as a lead-in to their early evening newcasts. The program airs in Baltimore on Channel 11/WBAL and in DC on Channel 7/WJLA. More from Lisa de Moraes at washingtonpost.com..... Matt Stover Does Shine-FM - 11/20 - DCRTV hears that former Baltimore Raven, now Indianapolis Colts kicker, Matt Stover gives his only interview before Sunday's game to "Mornings With Tracey, Mike And Dave," during their Friday show on Baltimore's Christian contemporary 95.1 Shine-FM. Stover had a regular weekly segment on the program when he played for the Ravens..... Former 104.3er Ty Becomes Bailey To Replace Whitney On 101.1 - 11/19 - Clear Channel alternative rocker DC101 fills its midday slot with Ty, who was heard on Baltimore's WCHH, Channel 104.3, the alt rocker that Clear Channel blew up for contemporary hit Z104.3 earlier this month. Ty, who will call herself Bailey on DC101, begins on 11/23. She replaces Whitney, who now does mornings on Seattle alt rocker KNDD. Ty, er, Bailey will also host a regional new music program, "Local Lix," on Sundays at 10 PM starting on 12/6..... Older news goes to DCRTV's News Archive. Copyright Dave Hughes/DCRTV.....

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