Contents - Contact - News Tips - News Archive - Mailbag - Rant - Support DCRTV NYC/Philadelphia - Boston/Hartford/Prov - Richmond/Norfolk/Salisbury - Capitol Hill Shows/Podcasts - Voice Biz - Cord Cutter - Video - Nostalgia - Advertiser Spotlight Facebook - YouTube - Twitter - Stations - Jobs - Advertise - Dave TV - DCRTV Plus Lisa Baden Heads To Fresh - 12/31 - Morning traffic diva Lisa Baden (right) joins CBS Radio's WIAD, 94.7 Fresh FM. She had been heard on the company's all-newser, WNEW, 99.1, until it pink-slipped its air staff two weeks ago. Baden will now be heard on Tommy McFly's morning show at 0:10 and 0:40 during each hour. "Lisa's local knowledge, passion and quick wit are unparalleled in DC traffic reporting," says Steve Davis, program director for WIAD and vice president of programming for the CBS-DC cluster. "Her ability to relate to commuters with quick, concise and entertaining information makes her reports a perfect fit with the 'Tommy Show'." An employee of Total Traffic, Baden has been reporting DC area traffic for more than two decades. Over the years, she's been heard on WTOP, WMAL, and Channel 7/WJLA, among many other stations..... Support DCRTV: $3.9K More Needed In 2015 - 12/31 - DCRTV is $3,912 below our financial goal - ad revenue and donations - for the end of 2015. Help your favorite independent local media news, commentary, and nostalgia website end the year on a high note. DCRTV started covering DC and Baltimore area media news 18 years ago. We've been here all those years because of your support. While advertisers are great, support from individual visitors accounts for about 50% of our revenue. Send your donation via PayPal to our dcrtv@hotmail.com address. Or pop a check in the mail. Make it payable to "Dave Hughes" and send it to Dave Hughes, 1981-B Villaridge Drive, Reston VA 20191. Visit our Support page. Make your donation $39 or more and get a year's worth of access to local radio and TV memory-packed DCRTV Plus. Just added to DCRTV Plus: A 1962 Christmas memory of the old WRC radio, 980 AM (left)..... Cast Your Votes For BW 2015 - 12/31 - Just a few more days to cast your votes in DCRTV's annual Best/Worst list, the 2015 edition. Tell us the best and worst in DC and Baltimore radio, TV, and other media - including TV news people, DJs, radio personalities, stations, formats, owners, newspaper columnists and reporters, talk show hosts, magazines, websites, bloggers, behind-the-scenes folks, cable news nets, and more. Keep your nominations in good taste and group all your "bests" and "worsts" together. A Wednesday submission: "Best: Fox 5's Kevin McCarthy... Sports Junkies... The Locker Room with Doc Walker, Brian Mitchell and Scott Jackson... Chad Dukes vs. The World... Jim Vance and Doreen Gentzler... Julie Wright - Fox 5 News... DCRTV... Worst: Chris Paul... The Man Cave... The Drive with Chris Cooley and Steve Czaban... Chris Russell... Jim Handley and Doreen Gentzler... the Return of Donnie Simpson... Afternoons with Tony, Mo' and George... Fox Morning News Team... Wisdom Martin... Maureen Umeh... Holly Morris... Julie Wright - ABC 7... No Chief Sportscaster on 4, 5, 7 or 9..." Send your selections to our dcrtv@hotmail.com address and put "BW" on the subject line..... Dave TV: DC & Balto Radio Predictions For 2016 - 12/30 - What will the new year bring? My predictions for DC and Baltimore radio in 2016. Could CBS buy Cumulus's stations and put El Zol on 107.3? Might Dan Snyder sell his Red Zebra radio biz, including ESPN 980, to Hubbard, which owns WTOP? Might CBS gets its hands on WTOP? Could WBAL-AM finally get an FM outlet? And many more possibilities in today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... VOA Experiences "Meltdown" - 12/30 - The broadcast system at the DC-based Voice Of America continues its fourth day of a "meltdown" on Wednesday. A digital upgrade is not going well, and problems continue with the international broadcaster's contract employees. "Many programs are not airing," we're told. "The VOA has effectly been silenced." More at bbgwatch.com..... Walter Pincus Retires From WaPo - 12/30 - Walter Pincus, who is leaving the Washington Post after more than 40 years of covering intelligence, defense, and foreign policy issues, reflected on his time there. "There are no words that could sum up how grateful I am to have had this opportunity to write about subjects I care deeply about, and for a readership that often responded in ways that showed they too cared, whether they agreed with what I wrote or not," Pincus writes. "It was Ben Bradlee who hired me originally in 1966, and three generations of the Graham family plus a group of editors that put up with me, even when what I wrote seemed critical of issues they believed in or individuals they admired." At washingtonpost.com..... Dark & Santos To Leave WTTR - 12/30 - Johnny Dark and Betsy Santos are leaving Westminster's oldies WTTR, 1470. Dark, who does afternoon drive, and Santos, who is program director and who does late mornings, will do their last shows on Monday, January 4. "This decision was not easy for either of us but necessary," writes Baltimore and DC radio veteran Dark. "Words can't express how much the both of us love Carroll County and the marvelous listeners who have supported us. I will still be doing all my outside appearances and look forward to seeing many of you face to face." Since the 1960s, Dark has been heard on many area "top 40" and oldies outlets including WBIG, WCAO, WQSR, and WEAM..... Dave TV: Top Local Media Stories For 2015 - 12/29 - I do my annual countdown of the top local media stories for DC and Baltimore in 2015 - Ed Walker, Jack Diamond, Sarah Fleischer, Tim Brant, JC Hayward, Jim Vance, Donnie Simpson, Frank Ski, Ken Beatrice, WNEW, the Washington Post, and much more. In today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... DCRTV's Job Ads - 12/29 - Baltimore news talker WCBM has an opening for a part-time weekend producer. That's the latest posting on DCRTV's Job Ads, where you can reach many thousands of local radio and TV movers and shakers for just $49..... DCRTV's Local Media Person Of The Year: Steve Swenson - 12/28 - Steve Swenson (right) came to DC from NYC five years ago to head the CBS Radio cluster and to create a new all-newser, WNEW, which would go head-to-head with Hubbard's top-rated, top-billing WTOP. That lofty, initially cocksure mission was staffed with an army of rather stellar local radio news pros and the backing of a prestigious news organization that featured the legacy of Edward R. Murrow. But it ended in a colossal and embarrassing failure late this year when WNEW's plug got pulled and upwards of two dozen folks who survived many rounds of previous cuts lost their jobs. After the station was never able to surmount 20th place in the DC ratings throughout its just-shy-of-four-year history. Not only has WNEW been a problematic mess of late with a signal that didn't quite cover chunks of its core market, there were many weeks during Swenson's reign when none of CBS's five major DC area FMers ranked in the "top 10." To his credit, during the past year, both WPGC, which suffered a slump during most of Swenson's time here, and 94.7 Fresh FM have been able to attract respectably-sized audiences. But El Zol continues to be plagued by mismanagement and a horrible signal, while 106.7 The Fan remains locked in a bruising battle with Red Zebra rival ESPN 980. With WNEW now being farmed-out to Bloomberg, CBS's DC radio empire is down to four major stations. Not a particularly good track record for Swenson, who seems to be spending a lot of time these days lusting on Facebook over a mansion he's building in Nantucket. We can't blame Swenson for everything bad at CBS Radio-DC the past five years. This is a notoriously tough radio market with a severe lack of available quality signals and the US radio biz in general is facing huge negative consequences with the rise of 'net streaming. However, he seemed to be far too fixated on building fancy new studio digs in DC, near Nats Park, while not devoting enough effective investment in the "product." Hopefully, soon, Swenson will get to spend more, if not all of his time at his beautiful new place near the ocean. For better or worse, and in this case the latter, Swenson is DCRTV's "Local Media Person Of The Year" for 2015..... WTOP Tops Male "Money Demo" - 12/28 - What were men, "money demo" age 25-54, listening to in the DC radio market during the month of December? Full-day: 1) WTOP, 2) WIHT, 3) WAMU, 4) WKYS, 5) WPGC, 6) WMAL, 7) WBIG, 8) WASH, 9) WJFK-FM, 10) WMMJ. Morning drive: 1) WTOP, 2) WAMU, 3) WKYS, 4) WIHT, 5) WMAL, 6) WWDC, 7) WJFK-FM, 8) WBIG, 9) WPGC and WHUR and WLZL. Midday: 1) WBIG, 2) WJFK-FM, 3) WMAL, 4) WIHT and WAMU and WTOP, 7) WPGC, 8) WKYS, 9) WMMJ, 10) WASH. Afternoon drive: 1) WTOP, 2) WAMU and WIHT, 4) WBIG, 5) WPGC, 6) WMAL, 7) WKYS, 8) WMMJ, 9) WJFK-FM, 10) WASH..... 32 To Air Bayou Documentary - 12/28 - Metro Teleproductions announces a re-airing of its award-winning documentary, "The Bayou: DC's Killer Joint," at 8 PM Saturday, January 2nd, on Channel 32/WHUT. The 90-minute documentary is a look back at one of the premiere clubs in the Mid-Atlantic region. It originally premiered on Maryland Public Television in 2013, with re-airings on Channel 26/WETA and WHUT as well as via 70 public television stations and various film festivals across the country. The film features rare footage of Eva Cassidy, early music of U2 and the Dave Matthews Band, as well as a look back at the Night Hawks, Cherry Smash, and Sinbad. The executive producer is Dave Lilling. It was produced by Vinnie Perrone, Bill Scanlan, and Dave Nuttycombe..... Former JFKer Becomes Podcast Biz Developer - 12/27 - The Washington Post talks to Oscar "Santana" Zeballos, who had a career as a radio talk show host, but a 2009 format change to all-sports talk at WJFK, 106.7, left him at a crossroads. The change also left Mike O'Meara without a talk radio home as well. Zeballos saw an opportunity to repackage and re-launch the popular content that CBS Radio had dropped and independently distribute and produce "The Mike O'Meara Show" online and via iTunes. Since then, the daily O'Meara podcast has achieved more than 30 million downloads and they have signed additional personalities for DC-based MORE Broadcasting, to produce additional podcasts. Now, Zeballos is working on a business start-up allowing content producers to distribute podcasts through their own branded individual apps, according to the Post piece..... Dave TV: NBC 4's Chris Lawrence & Mark Segraves, Tower Porn, More - 12/26 - My DC radio Christmas wish, as always, is for Santa to bring me a cool, locally-oriented progressive rock station. Also, I look at Scott Fybush's excellent Tower Site Calendar for 2016. Plus, some rumblings about two kind of creepy Channel 4/WRC personalities - Chris Lawrence and Mark Segraves. And, look forward to what 2016 may hold for the future of DCRTV. In today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... WaPo Photo Editor Dies - 12/26 - Dyan Elovich, 55, a photo editor at the Washington Post, died December 22 at a hospice in Rockville. She had complications from ovarian cancer. Elovich began working in 1997 for the Post's online operation. In 2010, she moved to the newspaper's main newsroom. More at washingtonpost.com..... Family Visits Jailed WaPo Reporter - 12/26 - Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post correspondent being held by the Iranian government for more than 500 days, was allowed a Christmas Day visit with his wife and mother. More at washingtonpost.com..... Cruz Slams WaPo Cartoon - 12/23 - Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz says a Washington Post cartoon depicting his daughters, aged 5 and 7, as monkeys is inappropriate and that children of candidates should be off-limits in campaigns. So reports AP..... Sinclair Brags About Attkisson Ratings - 12/23 - Sinclair claims that "Full Measure With Sharyl Attkisson," its new Channel 7/WJLA-based national Sunday morning political talker, is "besting its cable rivals by an impressive margin. The critically acclaimed program is growing steadily and hit its highest numbers ever on November 29, 2015 with 307,100 household impressions." Check out the press release at finance.yahoo.com..... WPGC Vet Charlie Shoe Dies - 12/23 - DCRTV hears that Charlie Shoe died December 21 in Punta Gorda, Florida. He worked as program director and in ad sales at then-contemporary hits outlet WPGC in the late 1960s and 1970s. During his career, Shoe also worked at radio stations in New Hampshire, North Carolina, and, most recently, Florida..... Obama Data Cruncher To CBS Radio - 12/23 - Tom Taylor Now tells us that Michael Simon, a former data cruncher for the Obama campaign, joins CBS Radio to "create new data-driven ad products and strategies for political campaigns, candidates, and related committees and organizations." CBS hopes he and his knowledge will be useful in monetizing radio and digital assets in the 2016 campaign cycle, TTN adds. Simon's appeared on CNBC and "PBS Newshour," has spoken at Harvard's Kennedy Center Of Government, and has consulted for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Buzzfeed, and Slate..... PBDC: Glenn Harris Retires From NC8, More - 12/22 - Glenn Harris retires from NewsChannel 8. Sinclair signed a deal to carry DC United on Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8. And, the Wizards will stay on WNEW despite all the changes there. In this week's DC sports media column at PressBoxDC.com..... WTOP Tops DC Radio Heap For December - 12/22 - The Washington market radio ratings for the month of December. Full-day, age 12+: 1) WTOP, 2) WAMU, 3) WASH, 4) WIHT, 5) WHUR, 6) WPGC, 7) WMMJ, 8) WETA-FM, 9) WMAL, 10) WBIG and WKYS, 12) WIAD, 13) WMZQ, 14) WGTS, 15) WWDC, 16) WRQX, 17) WJFK-FM, 18) WTEM and WLZL, 20) WPRS, 21) WAVA-FM, 22) WDCN and WNEW, 24) WERQ and WBQB, 26) WFLS and WWEG and WAFY and WIYY and WFRE and WYPR, 32) WINC-FM and WWMX, 34) WPOC and WILC and WQSR and WBJC, 38) WGRQ and WJYJ and WPFW. The December radio ratings run from early November to early December, before the four-week "Holiday" period.... WLIF Tops Balto Radio Heap For December - 12/22 - The Baltimore market radio ratings for the month of December. Full-day, age 6+: 1) WLIF, 2) WERQ, 3) WPOC, 4) WWIN-FM, 5) WRBS-FM, 6) WWMX, 7) WIYY, 8) WZFT, 9) WJZ-FM, 10) WCBM, 11) WQSR, 12) WBAL-AM, 13) WZBA, 14) WCAO, 15) WAMU and WBJC, 17) WASH and WNEW, 19) WYPR, 20) WKYS and WWDC and WTOP and WPGC, 24) WHUR, 25) WXCY and WLZL, 27) WMZQ and WLIFHD2 and WRQX and WTTR and WMAL and WIHT and WBIG, 34) WRNR-FM, 35) WGTS and WTEM and WEAA, 39) WSOX and WFRE. The December radio ratings run from early November to early December, before the four-week "Holiday" period..... Soaring Ratings Reward XMAS Radioers - 12/22 - The Washington Post takes a look at radio stations - like DC's WASH, 97.1, and Baltimore's WLIF, 101.9 - that flip to all-Christmas tunes many weeks before the holiday. And soar to the very top of the ratings heap. "Christmas music is like the gingerbread latte," says WASH Program Director Kenny King, whose station has gone all-Christmas since 2001. "It's here for a limited time only, and it's extremely popular"..... Glenn Harris Says Goodbye To NC8 - 12/21 - On his last sports talk show on NewsChannel 8 Friday, Glenn Harris (right) was joined by a batch of local sports celebs, including John Thompson. More at washingtonpost.com. More memories of Harris are at pressboxdc.com..... Bezos Controls WaPo From Seattle - 12/21 - The Wall Street Journal looks at Jeff Bezos' impact on the Washington Post. He "has increasingly made his mark on how the paper is run. His focus on customer experience has become a near mandate within the news operation," according to the WSJ piece. "While Mr. Bezos has rarely visited the paper's offices, he holds a one-hour teleconference with the paper's top managers once every two weeks. Twice a year, Post executives fly to Seattle for daylong retreats with their boss." The Amazon founder bought the Post in mid-2013..... Jerry Coleman Loses 2 CBS Radio Gigs - 12/21 - DC-Baltimore sports radio veteran Jerry Coleman has had a batch of bad employment luck lately. Last week, CBS's DC news talker WNEW canned its entire air staff, including Jerry, who was doing commentary and reporting duties. And, this week, Jerry heard from Baltimore's WJZ-FM, 105.7 The Fan, another CBS station, that it will no longer need his anchoring and reporting skills. His contract at the Charm City sports talker is not being renewed, he's announced..... WGRQ Raises Funds For Bone Marrow Transplant - 12/19 - Mark Clifford, afternoon personality and program director of Fredericksburg's classic hits WGRQ, 95.9, says he will be undergoing a bone marrow transplant in early 2016. He's been fighting bone marrow cancer for the past year. His sister, Gayle, will be his donor. Clifford has been part of the Fredericksburg radio market since 1991, and an employee of WGRQ owner Telemedia Broadcasting for more than five years. To aid with his medical expenses, a donation page has been established at onetoonefunds.crowdsterapp.com..... MPT Unveils 6th Season Of "Collectibles" - 12/19 - Maryland Public Television's "Chesapeake Collectibles" premieres for its sixth season with new episodes airing Thursdays at 8 PM starting January 7. Rhea Feikin returns as series host. The program is said to be among MPT's most successful flagship series. Memorabilia from all over the world are brought to the set by collectors from the Chesapeake Bay region. More than 20 certified appraisers evaluate the market values of the heirlooms presented for assessment. Season six once again features an "appraiser highlights" segment with insider tips on collecting and market trends..... DC United To Sign Deal With JLA - 12/18 - The DC United professional soccer team is ending its 19-year partnership with Comcast SportsNet and will sign a multi-year deal with Sinclair's Channel 7/WJLA. So reports thebiglead.com. Many games will be seen on WJLA sister NewsChannel 8, adds washingtonpost.com..... Dish Adds NewsChannel 8 - 12/18 - Dish Network adds Sinclair's NewsChannel 8 to the line-ups of its DC market subscribers. On channel 8. The move expands NC8's availability to more than 2 million area households. Channel 7/WJLA sister NC8, which is based in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, celebrates its 25th anniversary in October 2016. It is already available via Comcast, Cox, DirecTV, Verizon FIOS, Open Band, RCN, and the US Capitol's cable system..... Dave TV: What Killed WNEW - 12/18 - CBS pulled the plug today on its local newser WNEW, 99.1, and I try to avoid doing a "told you so" analysis of what killed the almost four-year-old station. At 10 AM on December 18, Bloomberg took over the signal according to a lease and will program mainly business news on the station. In today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... Farley On WNEW's "Very Sad Day" - 12/18 - DCRTV hears from Jim Farley (right), the longtime vice president of programming at Hubbard all-newser WTOP, regarding the demise today of CBS's local news operation at WNEW. "It is a very sad day. Some really talented radio news people lose their jobs a week before Christmas. Cruel timing. But I give props to Dan Mason and Scott Herman for giving this over three years, hiring good people and also smart people to run it. Competition is good, but I have to wonder: Will this be the last attempt to do all-news radio ever?!? I hope not but I can hear anybody pitching the idea getting shot down with 'CBS couldn't do it, what makes you think we could do it?'" Farley retired from WTOP in late 2013. From Florida, he now runs a news radio consulting business with WTOP as a client..... CBS Yanks Local News From WNEW, Relays Bloomberg - 12/18 - DCRTV hears that CBS Radio has ended the almost four-year-old news format on WNEW, 99.1. As of 10 AM Friday, the local news and mix of syndicated talkers, like Dave Ramsey, have been replaced with a fulltime relay of Bloomberg business news radio. On-air, Bloomberg is touting its "Bloomberg 99.1 Newsroom" in DC. We're told that Bloomberg is leasing the time from CBS, which, as of now, is not selling the station. Although a sale deal to Bloomberg is not out of the question, we're told. Under Bloomberg's control, WNEW will continue to air local news, traffic, weather, and sports updates and will remain the flagship station for Wizards basketball. "We're not looking for a mass audience," Justin Smith, Bloomberg Media's chief executive, told washingtonpost.com. "We're looking for a niche audience" of business executives and entrepreneurs. The station will simulcast the audio portion of the Bloomberg-produced political discussion TV show "With All Due Respect" that is carried on the Bloomberg cable news channel. Also, DCRTV is hearing that CBS has cut a number of WNEW staffers this week, with all of the local news airstaff to be pink-slipped eventually, possibly as many as 20-30 positions. With more CBS Radio personnel cuts coming to its DC cluster before the end of the year. CBS started all-newser WNEW in January 2012 with hopes of cutting into the ratings and revenue of Hubbard's top-rated WTOP. However, WNEW's DC ratings never significantly surmounted 20th place, as the station was hampered by its signal, which is broadcast from the Crofton area in the Baltimore market and has coverage issues in Northern Virginia and the western DC suburbs. CBS tried re-orienting the all-newser to be more of a Maryland and Baltimore area station and added syndicated talkers to middays and evenings, but its ratings didn't significantly improve in the DC market. More at radioinsight.com..... More: Glenn Harris To Retire From NC8 - 12/18 - Earlier this week, DCRTV told you that sports reporter, anchor, and show host Glenn Harris (right) is retiring from NewsChannel 8. Harris worked at the local cable news channel since it was launched in 1991, hosting his evening sports talk show continuously since 1993, with his last appearance on tonight's show at 9 PM. Before NC8, Harris worked at Channel 4/WRC, Channel 5/WTTG, WHUR, and WOL. DC Sports Bog blogger Dan Steinberg profiles Harris in Friday's Washington Post..... Ploger Leaves Nats For TV Gig - 12/18 - Washington Nationals in-game host Mike Ploger announces that he is leaving the team. He's headed to Toledo, Ohio, to become a sports reporter and anchor for NBC affiliate WNWO-TV. More at washington.cbslocal.com..... Dave TV: Parr & Joyner Changes At Radio One DC, More - 12/17 - More on that big shake-up coming to Radio One in DC involving WKYS's Russ Parr replacing Tom Joyner on WMMJ. And a big demotion to WOL for Joyner. Also, the Washington Post kind of credits DCRTV for breaking a story about Red Zebra's Rick Carmean. Jim Bohannon reduces his radio workload. Diane Rehm to talk about her WAMU years. Willard Scott retires from NBC's "Today." Are Jack Diamond's ratings rising on WRQX? And, Glenn Harris leaves NewsChannel 8. And more in today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... Parr To Replace Joyner On MMJ - 12/17 - Several weeks ago, the Daily Mail reported a rumor that Radio One is planning to yank Chicago-based morning man Tom Joyner (right) off WMMJ, 102.3, and replace him with Russ Parr (left) from mornings at WKYS, 93.9. That report was denied by the suits at the Silver Spring-based urban radio giant. Now, Urban Radio Magazine reports that, come January 19, Radio One will move Joyner from WMMJ to mornings at WOL, 1450, transfer Parr from WKYS to WMMJ mornings, and put "The FAM With Lil Mo And DJ QuickSilva," who do a show on Radio One's WERQ, 92.3, in Baltimore, in mornings on WKYS. DCRTV's take: Radio One is dealing with a serious revenue slump in the DC market and probably does need to shake things up. However, moving Joyner from a top-rated FM signal to a low-rated AMer is a major demotion. More: Parr's weekend show, "On The Air," will continue on WKYS on Saturday mornings. Joyner's morning show will also air on the HD Radio digital subchannels of WKYS, WMMJ, and WPRS. Joyner's weekend show, "Right Back Atcha," will continue to air on WMMJ on Saturday mornings. And, WOL's Carl Nelson moves to afternoon drive..... TV News Coverage Differs In Gray Mistrial - 12/17 - Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik reports that Baltimore's TV stations covered the protests following yesterday's police officer mistrial in the Freddy Gray death less sensationally than the national TV news outfits did..... Confirmed: Carmean Gone From RedZeb - 12/17 - Last week, DCRTV reported that Rick Carmean was gone from his gig. He was the CEO of Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting arm, which runs his two sports talk radio stations, WTEM, ESPN 980, and WSPZ, SportsTalk 570. Now, the Washington Post confirms the news and adds that Carmean will not be replaced, while Redskins Executive Vice President Terry Bateman, the chairman of Red Zebra, will take a more active role in running the stations. That will create a "closer business relationship [between the stations and the team] under a new management structure," Sports Bogger Dan Steinberg writes..... PBDC: Beatrice Dies, Carmean Out, More - 12/17 - Rick Carmean leaves his management post at Red Zebra, which owns ESPN 980. Longtime DC sports talk host Ken Beatrice dies. The latest DC sports radio monthly ratings. In the latest DC sports media column at PressBoxDC.com..... Bohannan Leaves "America In The Morning" - 12/16 - DC radio veteran Jim Bohannon (right) will host his last "America In The Morning" syndicated program on Friday, December 18. Bohannon, who has hosted the early morning news program since its debut in 1984, will continue to host his nightly Westwood One-syndicated "Jim Bohannon Show," which is heard locally on WFED, 1500 AM. John Trout will take over as "America In The Morning" host on January 18. Trout's extensive radio and TV career had taken him to Salisbury's Channel 16/WBOC, where he hosted the "Proud To Serve" news segment utilizing the station's helicopter, Chopper 16. Says Bohannon: "It's time for me to cut back the daily schedule a bit and focus my attention on the research, interviews, and calls for my weeknight show"..... Rehm, Weymouth, Merrill To Do "Q&A" - 12/16 - Longtime WAMU talk show host Diane Rehm, who recently announced that she'll be retiring in late 2016, will be doing DC media veteran Carol Joynt's "Q&A Cafe" in February. More at caroljoynt.com. Also, Joynt's got former Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth in the hot seat for the January 28 edition of the "Q&A," joined by Cathy Merrill Williams, president and publisher of the Washingtonian magazine. Reservations for both lunchtime events at the George Town Club can be made by calling the club at 202-333-9330..... Wilmore To Host WHCA Dinner - 12/16 - The announcement was made today. Larry Wilmore, host of Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show," will host the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 30, 2016..... 26 & 11 Get duPonts - 12/16 - Channel 26/WETA and Channel 11/WBAL pick up Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University journalism awards. WETA for its public television series "Cancer: The Emperor Of All Maladies" and WBAL's Jayne Miller her investigative work on the death of Freddie Gray. "Her exemplary reports raised important questions about probable cause, police policy, and accountability," the judges found. "Miller asked probing, smart questions and followed up with clear analysis of a fast changing story"..... "Today" Says Farewell To Willard - 12/16 - DCRTV told you last week that DC radio and TV legend Willard Scott would be saying goodbye this week to NBC's "Today" show, where he's been reporting the weather and celebrating viewers' age 100+ birthdays, for 35 years. Well, yesterday, the show's current and former cast members bid an official farewell to Willard, along with a long list of political and entertainment celebrities. At washingtonpost.com..... WAMU Tops DC Radio Heap - 12/15 - The Washington market radio ratings for the "third week" of November. Full-day, age 12+: 1) WAMU, 2) WTOP, 3) WIHT, 4) WASH, 5) WHUR, 6) WPGC, 7) WMAL and WMMJ, 9) WBIG and WKYS and WETA-FM, 12) WIAD, 13) WMZQ, 14) WGTS, 15) WRQX, 16) WWDC, 17) WLZL and WJFK-FM, 19) WPRS, 20) WTEM, 21) WDCN and WAVA-FM, 23) WNEW, 24) WBQB and WFRE and WERQ and WWEG and WINC-FM, 29) WIYY and WWMX..... WashTimes GOP Debate Falls Through - 12/15 - The Republican National Committee confirms that a GOP debate in the works for January 16 hosted by Liberty University in Lynchburg VA and sponsored by the Washington Times fell through in the planning stages. More at washingtonpost.com..... Stern Re-Signs With SiriusXM - 12/15 - Howard Stern, who got his start on rocker DC101 in the early 1980s and was heard on "guy talker" WJFK in the 1990s and early 2000s, has signed a new five-year deal with SiriusXM, which he joined in 2006. More at howardstern.com. Also, Tuesday's Washington Post wonders if Stern is "going soft or just getting sharper?"..... WaPo Web Traffic Up - 12/15 - The ramped-up presidential race and the Paris terror attacks were good news for the Washington Post. According to comScore, the Post's website had 71.6 million digital unique visitors in November, surpassing its previous record of 66.9 million monthly users and closing the gap with CNN and BuzzFeed. Time spent per user was nearly 15 minutes. Mobile and desktop users also saw jumps year over year. More at washingtonpost.com..... Former VOA Director Evelyn Lieberman Dies - 12/15 - Evelyn Lieberman, who was the first woman to serve as deputy chief of staff to a president, Bill Clinton, died December 12 in Saturday in Washington. She was 71 and suffering from pancreatic cancer. Also, Lieberman directed the Voice Of America and was the first person to serve as under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. More at nytimes.com..... Threatened Women On Discovery Network - 12/15 - Washingtonian takes a look at Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications' Investigation Discovery "true crime" network. Headlined: "Cable's campiest channel has perfected the art of killing women"..... Glenn Harris To Retire From NC8 - 12/14 - DCRTV hears that longtime DC sports anchor, reporter, and commentator Glenn Harris (right) is retiring from NewsChannel 8. He guested on the regional news network's "NewsTalk" program Monday morning, sharing memories with its former news director, Wayne Lynch, and longtime anchor Nathan Roberts. Today's show will replay at 1 PM, 8:30 PM, and 11:30 PM. Harris's last "SportsTalk" is Friday, December 18, at 9 PM..... Kristen Soltis Joins Examiner - 12/14 - Pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson joins the Washington Examiner as a weekly columnist. Her video and written column, called "The Bright Side," will launch in January. It will cover political trends and public opinion, and how they play into the 2016 elections. She comes from the Daily Beast and worked at US News before that. Soltis is also author of "The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up)," which was published in July, and is co-founder of Echelon Insights, a polling company..... Howard's WHUT Could Disappear - 12/14 - The New York Times looks at the very real possibility that Howard Univsersity's Channel 32/WHUT, one of the only black-owned public TV stations, may soon disappear. Financially-struggling Howard may return PBS member station's license to the Federal Communications Commission in exhange for a $461 million payout in an auction of TV spectrum to make space for more non-TV digital services..... Balto Radio Vet Brian Macdonald Dies - 12/14 - Brian Macdonald, whose career in Baltimore area radio spanned more than 30 years, died December 12. He worked at WBAL-AM, where he was a music director and talk show host, as well as at WBJC and WCBM. Also, he taught at Towson University, the Community Colleges Of Baltimore, and Harford Day School. More at legacy.com..... MASN Asks For "Neutral Forum" In Nats TV Rights Dispute - 12/12 - The Orioles-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network has asked a New York appeals court to order that its TV rights dispute with the Nationals be heard by a "neutral and independent forum." Last month, a New York Supreme Court justice tossed out a Major League Baseball arbitration decision that would have compelled MASN to pay tens of millions of dollars a year more to the Nationals for the right to show their games. Concluding that MASN was denied a fair hearing, the judge vacated the decision and suggested the parties settle the matter through a "neutral dispute resolution process." More at baltimoresun.com..... WaPo Unveils Apple TV App - 12/12 - The Washington Post has announced that its Apple TV app is now available in the Apple TV App Store. More at washingtonpost.com. Post video can also be found on other streaming service providers such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV..... Willard Scott To Retire From "Today" - 12/11 - DCRTV hears that DC TV and radio legend Willard Scott (right), 81, has announced his retirement from NBC's "Today" show, where he's appeared twice a week to mark the birthdays of viewers who have reached the age of 100 and beyond. During his 35 years with "Today," Scott also delivered the weather, after leaving the top weather post at NBC's Channel 4/WRC. According to the AP, the "Today" show staff will produce a tribute to Scott on Tuesday, December 15. Scott began his career as a page at age 16 at DC's WRC-TV. From the 1950s through the 1970s, he was paired with Ed Walker, who recently died, as radio's "The Joy Boys," who were heard on WWDC and other area stations. Scott also played kiddie show host "Bozo The Clown" for WRC-TV, as well as the first "Ronald McDonald"..... Carmean Out In Red Zebra Revamp - 12/11 - DCRTV hears that the Redskins organization is making some big changes in the structure and management of its Red Zebra radio broadcasting arm, which owns sports talkers WTEM, ESPN 980, and WSPZ, SportsTalk 570. We're told that Red Zebra CEO Rick Carmean was let go yesterday, to be replaced by executives from the Redskins, including Larry Michael, who calls the team's radio games, and ad sales manager Steve Johnson. "The team plans to exert more direct control over the [radio stations]," a source tells us. WTEM has been locked in a bruising battle with rival CBS sports talker WJFK, 106.7 The Fan, the past few years, with both stations frequently ranking in the 16th to 18th place range..... Barry Schweid Dies - 12/11 - Barry Schweid, the legendary Associated Press diplomatic correspondent who reported and analyzed events from around the world over a career spanning 56 years, died Thursday at 83. Schweid died at home from complications of a degenerative neurological condition. Among his career highlights, he traveled with Henry Kissinger on the secretary of state's "shuttle diplomacy" flights and covered the difficult negotiations at Camp David that President Jimmy Carter brokered to reach a historic peace treaty in 1977 between Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin. So reports AP..... SLR: Farewell Ken & Max, More - 12/11 - The deaths of Ken Beatrice and Max Cacas, the upcoming retirement of Diane Rehm, and much more gets discussed by DCRTV Dave and DC media guru Jonathan in the latest Sadly Lacking Radio podcast at sadlylackingradio.podbean.com..... WaPo Celebrates Itself With Move - 12/11 - Marc Fisher at washingtonpost.com pens a piece on the history of his newspaper after its move, this week, to new digs a few blocks away. Which generated this website comment from a reader: "So you moved. What's with the self-congratulation? You may think you're the best, but anyone who has read the Post the last 20-odd years know that's a joke. You've closed foreign bureaus, let copy editors go, shrunk the news hole, continued to give short shrift to important local news, buried your noses in the backsides of politicians and security gurus, refused to provide names to attributions, and encouraged the worst writing of any major newspaper. Bravo"..... Dave TV: Remembering Max Cacas At WAVA, More - 12/10 - On a sunny and warm December day, I talk about memories of longtime DC radio newsman Max Cacas, who I remember at all-newser WAVA in the 1970s. Plus, news that Diane Rehm will retire from WAMU after the presidential election next year. And some early ratings indications about whether Jack Diamond's return to WRQX will be a success. And more in today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... Big Changes At RNR-AM - 12/10 - From DCRTV's Thursday Mailbag: "A real 'passing of the torch' today as ownership of TalkRadio WRNR [740 AM/106.5 FM], Martinsburg WV, is transferred from Rick Wachtel to local magazine publisher Mike Hornby. Wachtel and original partners Hugh Keatley and Legarde McBee put the station on the air in April of 1976. Fran Little, the station's only broadcast engineer of nearly 40 years, is also retiring today"..... Garrett Ranked Top VO Pro - 12/10 - Pat Garrett again takes the top spot in the second annual "Benztown 50 Voice Power Index" that ranks the country's national voiceover talent. Garrett's currently heard on top stations around the country like NYC all-newser WCBS-AM and urban adult contemporay WBLS, Chicago's classic hits WLS-FM, and Dallas country KPLX. Locally, he's the voice of Channel 13/WJZ, sports talkers 105.7 The Fan and 106.7 The Fan, as well as Mix 106.5. Now the head of his own firm, Pat Garrett Creative, he's been heard over the years on WTOP, WBSB, WAVA, WDJY, WXYV, WRQX, among many other local stations. He started his radio career in 1981 at Ocean City's WOCQ. More at benztown.com..... Ava-joye Burnett To 13 - 12/9 - Ava-joye Burnett (right) joins Baltimore's Channel 13/WJZ as a reporter. She comes from Richmond's Channel 8/WRIC, where she's been reporting for the past four years. Before that, she was a production assistant at DC's Channel 9/WUSA and reported for Hagerstown's Channel 25/WHAG..... Max Cacas Dies - 12/9 - DCRTV hears that DC radio news veteran Max Cacas (right) died yesterday. He was 61. Via Facebook, Joseph Kasell, son of longtime DC newsman Carl Kasell, writes: "Still in shock after learning the news this morning. I'm writing this post to note the passing of a longtime family friend, Max Cacas, who suffered a heart attack yesterday. Max and I go back about 35 years. I first met him through my dad when they both were at National Public Radio. Max quickly became a frequent guest at our household, enjoying many of my mom's lasagna dinners. He, my dad, and I shared many times together, going in on a Washington Capitals partial plan during the Capital Center days of Langway and Gartner and Stevens, as well as taking in trips to Philly during the summer to catch some National League ball during DC's baseball exile. And our interest in baseball carried on to the present day in our conversations on several Washington Nationals Facebook pages. We also shared a lot of ups and downs personally, whether it be his wedding day or my wedding day, or the passing of my mom, who treated Max like a son and whom Max served as a pallbearer. He was in the radio business for a long time, working at places like NPR, WTOP, Federal News Radio, and WXTR (Xtra 104 for you longtime DC people). I'm still processing this and just can't believe this happened. Many prayers for Max and for his dear wife, Lisa S. Myers." More: Cacas also worked at WAMU, WASH, and at then all-newser WAVA..... WAMU's Rehm To Retire In Late 2016 - 12/8 - DCRTV hears that longtime WAMU morning talk show host Diane Rehm (right) will retire next year. Rehm, 79, says she plans to end her show in late 2016, after the presidential election in November. "My thinking is that I'll stay on the air until the election because I really want to see how this will go," she tells washingtonpost.com. "My feeling is, I have a number of ideas and I'm perfectly happy doing something different... where I'm not forced to get up at 5 AM every morning to prepare for a show. I've been doing that for 37 years. Maybe I'll get to sleep until 7 or 7:30 AM, like other people do." Rehm's late morning two-hour show is carried by almost 200 public radio stations and heard by 2.5 million weekly. She started working at WAMU in 1973 as a volunteer. Rehm began hosting what was then called the "Kaleidoscope" program in 1979, which was renamed after her five years later. Her program became nationally syndicated in 1995..... WBOC TV Team To DC - 12/8 - Some Eastern Shore TV news from DCRTV's Tuesday Mailbag: Channel 16 "WBOC-TV power couple Scott Abraham (left), sports director, and Lacee Griffith, morning anchor (right), are leaving the Salisbury market. Scott announced today he's taking a sports reporter position at WJLA in Washington. Scott held down the sports desk for more than seven years and was very popular for his high school sports coverage. No word on whether Lacee will be staying with the news business when the couple relocates 'over the bridge,' as folks say on the Shore. They met at the station, and were married in 2013"..... WAMU Trims Kojo To 1 Hour - 12/8 - DCRTV hears that American University public radio news talker WAMU, 88.5 FM, will be cutting back Kojo Nnamdi's midday show to one hour, from noon to 1 PM, eliminating the 1 PM to 2 PM hour, which will likely be turned over to an as-yet-to-be-named nationally syndicated show. On Fridays, "The Politics Hour," which is hosted by Nnamdi (right) and Channel 4/WRC local politics reporter and analyst Tom Sherwood, will continue to inhabit the noon to 1 PM slot. Nnamdi writes on his thekojonnamdishow.org site that the changes, which take place January 25, "will allow me and my production team to focus on what we do best - convening discussion on critical regional issues." Under JJ Yore, the station's new general manager, WAMU has been making numerous budget cuts during 2015..... Dave TV: Should WTOP Expand Its Brand? - 12/8 - Enjoy a very special Thansgiving weekend edition of "Dave TV" where I take a look at the many successes of Hubbard all-newser WTOP. But find that the company's DC cluster could make better use of WTOP's extensive newsroom. Including the development of a full-time sports talk stream and political talk stream. Now, all Hubbard needs to do is to find more local signals. Oh, and what to do with Federal News Radio, which has a hard time even showing up in the ratings. In today's "Dave TV" at DCRTV's Dave TV page..... Older news goes to DCRTV's News Archive. Older gossip and commentary items can be found on DCRTV's Rant page. Copyright Dave Hughes/DCRTV.....

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