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DCRTV Mailbag - March 22 to March 27, 2007
Latest messages listed first.....
\/ March 27 Messages \/
apology accepted, Barbara....it could have happened to anyone. (3/27/07)
got a notice from youtube that WRC-TV had filed a copyright complaint and our video was removed. What's interesting is that a simple search on youtube for WRC TV brings up several other videos and promo's. Hmmm WRC-TV only flexes it's "muscle" when it wants to, seems to me that they would have to bring down everything or their case for infringment is severely weakend. here's the email we got..... "Dear Member: This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by WRC-TV/NBC4 claiming that this material is infringing: Barbara Harrison drops 'S-bomb' on air: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwIY-yquzNc" (3/27/07)
If we have to wait for an XM-Sirius merger to hear Johnny Dark stateside, I think we'll be waiting a long, long time. Not even close to a slam dunk on that one. (3/27/07)
MASN’s TV schedule located on their website, shows the John Riggins show premiering on April 2nd at 5pm, with the Anita Marks show being on for only a half hour from 4:30 to 5. Looking at the schedule for the rest of the week, it looks like the Anita Marks show will be shown regularly from 3-5 (depending on whether there is a Nats or O’s game on) and the John Riggins show broadcast from 5-7. (3/27/07)
If CBS changed 94.7 "The Globe" ito "HFS" tomorrow, dropping the "green" and adding an even more eclectic alternative mix, within a week people would stop paying attention - and within a month, those that were left would be complaining about what era of HFS would be, and some bitching that it's not really HFS without Damien, Niecy and the Daily Feed. The Globe a damn good idea, and pretty great station as it is, and the angle they cornered is refreshingly different, even it is annoying to even the leftiest lefties. How can people complain about some PSA's on wanting to better the planet, but are willing to sit through shit commercial after shit commercial? At some point the station will evolve - give it time. For now, the Globe is a regular go to for me, in with XM's Fungus, Lucy, Fred, Ethel and R&F 202. (3/27/07)
Dave's response: How about Gina Crash! I miss her. If they want to do 94.7 right, how about this "mix" - 25 percent "world class classic rock" like Zep, Steely Dan, Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, leaning to the more obscure, less over-played stuff; 25 percent "classic alternative" like Siouxsie, Smiths, New Order, Cure, Depeche, Stone Temple Pilots; 25 percent "out there alternative" like what you hear on Sirius's Left Of Center and XM's XMU; and 25 percent from the top of the current alt rock/AAA charts a la Modest Mouse, Linkin Park, Death Cab, Good Charlotte.....
Hello, The Orioles just announced the addition of another radio affiliate in Norfolk, Virginia - WGH AM. Norfolk is also the home of the Orioles' new Triple-A affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. Attached is a press release with more information, and below is the complete list of the Orioles' 21 radio affiliates. Thanks, Monica Pence..... ORIOLES 2007 RADIO NETWORK - MARYLAND - Annapolis WNAV-AM (1430 AM)... Baltimore WHFS-FM (105.7 FM)... Cumberland WTBO-AM (1450 AM)... Frederick WFMD-AM (930 AM)... Frostburg WFRB-AM (560 AM)... Hagerstown WARK-AM (1490 AM)... Pocomoke City WGOP-AM (540 AM)... Pocomoke City WKHW-FM (106.5 FM)... Salisbury WICO-AM (1320 AM)... Westminster WTTR-AM (1470 AM)... DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - Washington WTEM-AM (980 AM)... PENNSYLVANIA - Carlisle WIOO-AM (1000 AM)... Hanover WHVR-AM (1280 AM)... Lancaster WPDC-AM (1600 AM)... Shippensburg WEEO-AM (1480 AM)... York WOYK-AM (1350 AM)... VIRGINIA - Blacksburg WKEX-AM (1430 AM)... Leesburg WAGE-AM (1200 AM)... Norfolk WGH-AM (1310 AM)... Winchester WINC-AM (1400 AM)... WEST VIRGINIA - Martinsburg WEPM-AM (1340 AM)... (3/27/07)
"Harrison stated that steps are being taken to ensure that it wouldn't happen again." What?! Is she hoping next time the producer will have her microphone shut off? Barbara needs to stop with coursing, in the first place. I hope she has that in consideration when she says steps are being taken so it wouldn' t happen again. (3/27/07)
Even though I wasn't a listener, it's sad to hear Ben's leaving MZQ. As a promotions rat at 98.7 I was always amazed at how well he treated the part timers, making sure to thank them at the end of events and just engaging them in pleasant conversation, which is more than I could ever say for Brian the walking ego. Even Jamie whatserface was nicer than that guy. Ben's wife was equally nice. What's Brian going to do now that the talent is leaving? Doesn't Kane need a second chair down the hall? Also, how do you get a hold of those shirts from the shirt stack. I have a few from the CC stations up there that I probably wouldn't miss if you want 'em. Best, Tim (3/27/07)
I agree with the earlier poster that DISH Network has been really slow to roll out the Regional Sports Nets in HD. The MASN thing is pretty simple, though. DISH will wait until Charlie Ergen gets HIS price for the service. If MASN remains too high in his thinking, we won't get it. DISH has made room for the channel on a satellite, so they're ready to go when and if the contracts are signed. Of course, DISH also made room for the YES network twice and never got the contract signed. Since I'm stuck with DISH until mid 2008, does anyone know what CSN plans to show once college baseball is over? Howie (3/27/07)
Cocker? I barely know her! (3/27/07)
Regarding "Please, 94.7, no Joe Cocker! Argh....." Except Cry Me A River. That's my fave, and one you never hear these days. And maybe Midnight Rider. What you must mean, Dave, is….Let me put it this way. We don't need any more help from his friends (even a little) when he doesn't feel too good himself anyway even though he keeps insisting we're so beautiful to him. KOF (3/27/07)
No MASN and no Comcast HD on Dish Network. The Echostar company out of Colorado appears to be keeping Nats and O's fans out of the baseball loop. I hear the calls now, "DUMP THE DISH!" "DUMP THE DISH!" You got that right. (3/27/07)
Today at noon, instead of the TK replay resuming, they began to replay some godawful morning show from Federal News Radio 1050. They let it play for a minute before they realized their mistake and pulled it before putting on a string of WaPo Radio spots. OOPS! (3/27/07)
I agree with Dave 100% on changing the Globe to WHFS and dropping the "Green" stuff. Nothing against environmenatlism, but I don't need to hear about it all day long, when all I want is some good music. Oh, and make it like the "Real WHFS" of old, and drop the wannabe old DC101 playlist. KEEP WEASEL AND SERPHE! I don't care what hapens to WJFK. I don't listen to it anymore. I wonder if satellite even wants Don & Mike. Why pay for the snorefest they put on now? I wish I owned the WJFK signal, just the same. I would drop everything on the station and hope to put something interesting and exciting on there. What could that interesting and exciting format be? JOHN IN STAFFORD (3/27/07)
Dave's response: Please, 94.7, no Joe Cocker! Argh.....
So, I see Tony Snow has had a recurrence of his cancer. Politics aside, that is a shame, and I wish him well. I wonder if Rush will say "ladies and gentlemen, this is the perfect way for the GOP to counteract the Edwards cancer ploy. 'look, we have cancer too'. ladies and gentlemen, I tell you, that Carl Rove is a genius" (3/27/07)
Barbara Harrison just apologized at the end of today's 10 a.m. newscast for yesterday's incident. Harrison stated that steps are being taken to ensure that it wouldn't happen again. Everett W. (3/27/07)
Yes, Kornheiser said all those nice things about Theismann, but what he noticeably DIDN'T say was that he had nothing to do with Theismann's ouster. Maybe Kornheiser slipped the old dagger in Theismann's back during his negotiations to return to MNF on ESPN?????????? Wouldn't put it past him........ (3/27/07)
Dave: was just reading your rants and I couldn't help but notice something. that since Feb 28th (a month ago) you have posted 9 rants. 5 of them are about one of Bonneville's stations or just Bonneville itself. WHY??? with about 25 (full market) radio stations and 7 different broadcasting companies, your focus on Bonneville is disproportionate, to say the least. I understand that WTOP is an 800 pound gorilla and people love to knock the big guy, but what gives with the Bonneville focus of your website??? Did you get fired from Bonneville at some point in your career? Do you have something against the Mormons that own the company? It just makes no sense. lets bring DCRTV back to covering the entire market!!! (3/27/07)
Dave's response: I have never worked for Bonneville. I don't know, I just get into certain "mindsets" and focus on certain stations at certain times. Hey, I haven't ranted much about Don and Mike lately.....
I have notced that Mix 106.5 is playing more top 40 music, especially at night. Any chance that they will ditch the mix format and go Top 40? I find myself listening more lately except for the mornings and when they throw in some old slow song. (3/27/07)
Does anyone know what kind of storage/playback system is in use at WCTN-AM 950? Its beginning to sound like a looping CD, where the same mistakes and bad segues keep coming back. Also, what are they using for storage and playback at the Washington Ear radio reading service? Anyone know? (3/27/07)
Breaking on cnn and msnbc: Tony Snow’s cancer has spread to his liver. Sorry to hear it. Hope he pulls through ok. (3/27/07)
FYI, I’ve had DirecTV since December and they’ve always shown Comcast in HD. It’s not listed on your guide, but hit 629 and it’ll go to the regular Comcast SportsNet channel, then go up one channel and it’ll still show 629, but it’ll be the HD version. There’s a delay in the games, and the screen "burps" a lot, but the picture is definitely worth it. Denesh (3/27/07)
Dan Mason can rebuild CBS radio without Stern if LM stays out of the way. Hollander screwed up CBS over and over again. You could see that CBS, Hollander and Moonves, had no idea how to handle that. Hiring "name" personalities who suck on the radio has never been the answer. Mason knows how to create great radio. The O & A incident was funny, and the overreaction to it by the forever uptight minority was just stupid. I hope Mason can make CBS stations listenable again. * * * Similar reactions to Barbara Harrison. Yes, she should always remember that any microphone can be live, and yes the engineer had enough time and should have cut her mike before she said "shit," but so what. Grow up. I know that most of the people writing to this board use worse language than that every day. The only reason you're bitching is so you have something to complain about. Again, grow up. * * * Tom Gauger is right (he's at 98.7% so far this year) about WTWP. But then, we knew that a year ago. In fact, we have always know that. It is the biggest reason that WTWP can't be saved. With a three month lead time before going on the air, and a year of "tweaking," they should be ashamed of themselves. Next time WTOP wants to revolutionize a Washington institution, they should call Tom or Ed first. Some very simple basics could have made WTWP a great radio station - - now, there's no hope. Ed Graham (3/27/07)
D - AFTER SURGRY I CAN ONLY TYPE WITH ONE FINGER. HERE IS THE COMPLETE STORY ON JAWS TAKING JOE T ON MNF. NEVER BEFORE HAS THE E IN ESPN STOOD FOR ENTERTAINMENT. JAWS ENTERTAINING STTYLE ALONG WITH ABILITY TO WORK MR TONY WAS THE REASON FOR THE CHANGE. www.examiner.com... JIM (3/27/07)
Dave's response: Jeez, Jim, I hope you're OK. Get well soon, buddy.....
Dan Mason is one of the nicest,honest and strait up guys, you would ever meet in the radio business. He totally gets it. This is a great thing for CBS radio. (3/27/07)
Comcast SportsNet HD has been carried for a few months by DirecTV, but only for subscribers in zip codes within about 50 miles of Washington. Outside this area, DirecTV says that the HD feed is not available because it's only sent on the DC spotbeam. Outside of the 50 mile radius, CSN-HD is carried on Comcast by fiber optic link. The feed for CSN-HD is only sent terrestrially, which I assume was a way to keep the feed from DirecTV, but they figured out a way to get the signal anyway. DirecTV has also told me that CSN-HD will be available to the entire region once they get their new satellites going and they can offer more HD local channels. I learned all this over the last two years in an effort to get Comcast in Richmond to carry CSN-HD. They finally added the channel on February 1. Bob Bradford, Richmond (3/27/07)
Is DCRTV becoming a local wannabe version of Drudge Report? What's the connection between this: "Webb Aide, Past Army Timeser, Arrested On CapHill Gun Charge" And local (Washington's media market) radio and television news (ostensibly the theme and purpose of DCRTV)? Even if Thompson was once in print media, this web site is not... Not that I don't wanna see this guy doing time -- as any other criminal convicted of a handgun charge in DC should --according to the gun ban lobby and -- gasp -- the insane gun control laws of DC. Can we expect full coverage of, say, Capitol Hill hearings on agricultural issues from DCRTV next? Yawn.... What gives, Dave? (3/27/07)
Dave's response: DCRTV covers lots of local print media news, in case you hadn't noticed. And the Webb aide used to work for Gannett-owned Army Times. The story had a local media connection.....
The reason that it's a cam capture is that my wife was at home watching the news and called me to tell me what happend. Rather than try to have her do a screen capture I told her to just rewind and use the camera as it was the easiest and fastest way. My wife was at home alone with our 13month old, it is totally legit. (3/27/07)
Dave's response: I'd have to agree. We got postings from half a dozen different Mailbaggers yesterday - all confirming that Babs uttered the "s-word," not the "f-word" that Newsblues reported this morning.....
EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Sheryl Underwood gets a daily talk show on XM www.reddingnewsreview.com... Robert "Rob" Redding Jr., Redding News Review, Washington, D.C. (3/27/07)
Mason in as the CBS CEO will cause big changes in DC. Dan is a good radio guy who is the opposite of Joel H, who was nothing but a cheap imitation of Mel K. Heads will roll at the local CBS stations by July 1st. (3/27/07)
Dave's response: Here's what I do if I was Mason. I'd flip WJFK-FM over to sports talk and try to do a deal with Dan Snyder to move his Triple X and the Redskins (back) to 106.7 (keeping 730) with the Sports Junkies doing mornings. Bid for the Nationals next season. I'd get the WHFS calls on 94.7 and make it a real (!) adult alternative rocker. Ditch "The Globe" and the "green" stuff. Like Chicago's WXRT. Negotiate Don and Mike out of their contract (which ends in 2008) and let them go to satellite radio. WPGC-FM/ AM and WLZL are doing fine, thank you, except work to improve 99.1's signal inside the Beltway and into Northern Virginia. Maybe do a deal to relay El Zol on Snyder's 94.3 in Warrenton.....
("DCRTV hears that DirecTV has added Comcast SportsNet HD. That's the Mid-Atlantic version based in Bethesda.....") It's been on there since at least late January, when I finally broke down and bought an HDTV. (3/27/07)
Great Scott owns a total of ten stations. Their first station, a small am outside of Philly, as well as the stations mentioned in Delaware, and three stations on Maryland's Eastern Shore, WOCQ Berlin, OC-104, WKHI Fruitland (downgraded from a B in Exmore, Va. to B-1 in Fruitland), this may again be downgraded to an A through a complex change of stations in Virginia, and WKHW in Pocomoke City (LMA'd to Bey Country, owner of WBEY). Do to the current FCC rules, they would have to spin off seperately two of the FM's if they ever sell the stations as a group. (3/27/07)
No mention that Mason was pushed out after the O&A stunt in the church and is now being brought back. CBS will forgive any former sin if it helps them dig out of the post-Stern doldrums it finds itself in. Of course, having talent on air would be a great start ... (3/27/07)
Ah yes JJ----Number One for Hip Hop and R&B-103.9 OC 104. In deed, WOCQ-"Berlin"-or Willards. (3/27/07)
That is one dubious s bomb (Harrison channel 4). Shhhh, from a cam capturing a screen. Why was somebody videotaping the screen rather than actually doing a straight to vid capture? Anybody could shape that audio. I call shenanigans. (3/27/07)
Extra Innings Beanball War to Capitol Hill Read the full article at: www.multichannel.com (3/27/07)
Dave, From the new plus pages, I was interested to find the link to the Felix Grant collection. It seems that none of the listen links are available to other than credentialed researchers at some local universities. No surprise, my student ID number (if I remembered it correctly) from GWU dating back to the early 70’s didn’t work as a login. Any ideas on how it might be possible to listen to any of this treasure trove without going back to school? Joe (3/27/07)
Dave's response: Anybody know? In you don't have DCRTV Plus, the link is www.aladin.wrlc.org.....
ref: Delaware Owned Stations I think ya forgot the cash cow for Great Scott WOCQ Willards, Md or something like that....so it's not a 1st state station.J.J. "Hitman" McKay (3/27/07)
Don Geronimo is not a sympathetic person. Funny sometimes, but troubled in a way that seems to have no apparent appealing side. (Howard Stern, for example, is troubled but it works and he has a soft side). For four years I listened to "Don and Mike" every weekday afternoon, driving my son home from school, so I've got some basis for an opinion. In a city where we have no substantive counter to the Washington Post, it's good that there is your site and that you stepped up. (3/27/07)
None of you big time John Thompson supporters got nothing to say about Fred Brown's comments about El Rey in Mike Wise's column on Sunday? Who's your messiah now, See! I'd heard for year's that John Jr. (not the current coach the 3rd) is pretty much a mefirst person and that a lot of his former player's were not enamored with the ole ball coach. John Jr. likes to portray himself as Dean Smith like, who actually does maintain connections wth many of his former players. And lemme ask you something didn't John Jr. grow up in D.C. what's the story on the southern drawl he uses, it even seems to be getting even more pronounced in his later years I must compliment Mr. Wise on actually writing a few columns in a row and involved a great deal of legwork. I don't know if he can keep it up the pace but it's refreshing to have columnists back in the WaPo sport's section. And not that sh8t with Wilbon and Kornholio on page 2 that don't count as a sport's column. When I buy WaPo(yeah Donnie Graham is shaking in his guicci loafers, not) I'd just cut Kornholio loose, he can take his throwing monky feces shtick elsewhere, and Wilbon would be like Feinstein producing the the occasional well thought out and informed column........btws speaking of basketball think Gary Williams might hire his old friend Tom Davis as a bench coach? I think Mr. Williams took a different tact as a ball coach this season from the whirling dervish to a more thoughtful strategy when dealing with his student atheletes and helped produce that wonderful turnaround at the end of the season. I predicted a so-so season but it turned out pretty good........and you old timers cover your eyes for rest but that Full Court Press on channel 4 is turning into one big circle jerk for Georgie and the boys, hey look at us you great unwashed losers we have money and your just jealous, man what a bunch of cheese, I'd like intelligent discussion on sport's without it turning into shouting yakfest done for their own amusement, I exclude David Dupree from the above, seems like a more thoughtful kind of guy....and I guess Georgie didn't take the "Let me take you" phrase cause that pretty gal with that big old smile used it tonite...now that sport's journalism or is it "sex sells" to the knuckle draggers.....just your average hipster duffus....weht susan king....hootie gibson (3/27/07)
The long anticipated layoffs and corporate restructuring of Discovery Communications will be happening very soon. The worst kept secret making the rounds at the company's Silver Spring based headquarters is that the announcement of layoffs of numerous employees and restructuring of departments will be happening April 9. It will be big, eliminate "layers of management", and be similar to the cost cuts and layoffs recently at NBC Universal, which was headed at the time by current Discovery CEO David Zaslav. (3/27/07)
/\ March 27 Messages /\
\/ March 26 Messages \/
DAVE, my man I hate to jump on any bandwagon especially w/KORNY and JOE.T. no longer on the tube together but I would've figured it would be Kornholio out and not JOE.T. I like Joe. He's annoying but he was great w/Patrick and McGuire on espn sunday night games. Why not pair him back up w/Patrick for some other duties at ESPN. How about BABS or should we call her BLAB'S Harrison...Classic blooper and now thanks to youtube we can hear it over and over again and again. Soon we will all just watch youtube for our news. Keep it up. Checks in the mail as soon as the I.R.S sends it to me... AMF FROM DELMARVA............. (3/26/07)
Dave's response: Thanks.....
("Also, it was such a pleasure to not have to hear Gus Johnson, perhaps the worst play by play guy on CBS calling any of the sweet 16 and elite 8 games. He’s Stuart Scott horrible.") Amen to that! He not only the worst play-by-play guy on CBS, he's the worst on any network -- even worse than Musburger. James Brown is a great change, just like ESPN dumping Theismann. Now, if they could just get rid of Kornheiser, they would have a solid booth. Tirico and Jaworski would be better without Kornheiser. (3/26/07)
lewesfire.com - Photos of NBC12 chopper down (3/26/07)
Here's Babbles Harrison's s-bomb: www.youtube.com -- Think we've all said something we shouldn't have in front of the the mike, to be fair. But I wonder, will Babbles be gagged for a few days, or will she be back on tomorrow like nothing ever happened? The RCL (3/26/07)
A comment to those who criticize the Posties trying to talk on radio. There is an ENORMOUS difference between writing for print and talking for radio. Radio talkers often can’t write a complete sentence for print, and ink journalists often can’t deal with the idiosyncrasies of radio talk. They ain’t compatible. Tom Gauger (3/26/07)
[I've been assured that he will call me back. (I'm not holding my breath, don't worry).] And what exactly is the nature of your complaint? That you were “offended” by such language? Or is it that you have no freaking life? They don’t need to be told that she made a mistake – they know. Every blue haired old lady has already called to lodge their complaint. And what do you do when he calls you back – gloat? (Because after all, you did have someone that you perceive as a very important person return your call?!) The media needs more observant watch dogs like you. Keep up the good work, sport. (3/26/07)
does anyone have video of Babs Harrison and her poopy mouth this morning???? (3/26/07)
My post from 2/5, just after the launch of The Globe: "I'm looking at the last two days worth of BDS for WARW. For those of you hoping for less repetition, you're out of luck. Lots of records spun 5-6 times over those two days. For those hoping for something resembling even a glimmer of a AAA, you are out of luck as well. The person who deemed it "newer generic oldies" is right on the money. They did a lot of raiding of the gold library currently playing on DC101 (even most of the songs a few 'baggers are excited to hear again are DC101 staples.) This mailbag meltdown will be fun to watch... " It didn't even take two months...classic... (3/26/07)
@ Rush's comments @ DCRTV's posting.... It should surprise No One that Limberger would bad mouth Mr. Fox and Mrs. Edwards and accuse them of exploiting their REAL medical problems. He is the person. lest we forget, who tried to pass off his addiction to prescription drugs as an asset and has been exploiting it ever since. People like him just assume that, because THEY have the behavior (exploiting) anyone and everyone else does, too. And since his ratings come from badmouthing the left, I find no surprise in his drivel against Mr. Fox or Mrs. Edwards. What a scumbag ! Ed BonGiovanni, Potomac Falls, VA. (3/26/07)
Apparently, Ms. Harrison thought it was O.K. to swear on set, as long as the director had cut to a breaking news conference on the cause of death for Anna Nicole Smith. So, around 10:49 this morning 3/26/07, as Ms. Harrison was expressing some frustration at not understanding the name of the drug chloralhydrate, she let out her frustration, clearly intending to say SHOOT. Whether or not she knew the audio was open, there was no apology in the remaining 10 minutes of the morning broadcast. A call to News 4 revealed that while the desk staff was acutely aware and acknowledged that it was a "serious, serious issue," News 4's management was unable to respond to this viewer's phone complaint. Mr. Frank Caskin (spelling?) was in a meeting; I've been assured that he will call me back. (I'm not holding my breath, don't worry). (3/26/07)
Dave, Happy Monday. I am getting twisted pleasure from reading the play-by-play of the death of "The Globe" here in the Mailbag. It's not local, mind you, but compare the music selection done by Steve West on Radio Nigel ( www.radionigel.com ) with the recycled detritus on WJMD and you'll see why the Globe is going nowhere fast. Somehow I don't equate The Eagles' "Hotel California" with "World-Class rock", but it just may be me. What do you bet that if I tuned into WTGB right now, I'd hear "Angie" by the Rolling Stones...again... Oh, for the poster who said "I never, ever heard a record run into the ground at the old WHFS, and I was always being introduced to new (and old) records that I hadn't heard before. ", I offer Matt Johnson (The The)'s "Uncertain Smile". Hell, they beat The Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today" to death in 1969 at 102.3. They've always had a favourite and played the living bejeezus out of it at one time or another. And yes, get rid of the bimbo working with Weasel. She's never once gotten a read out without a stumble. It's painful. Boner-Ville could probably do best by putting WTOP back on 1500 in simulcast. Doubt they will though. Thanks, Frank in Arlington (3/26/07)
Dave's response: My two favorite songs of all time - Matt "The The" Johnson's "Uncertain Smile" and New Order's "True Faith." And I often hear the latter on Mix 107.3 or WINC-FM, by the way. As for 1500, Bonneville should flip the calls back to WJSV and play old Arthur Godfrey bits and tunes. What the hell.....
I can see Joey T. staying with ESPN to do college football, if and ONLY if, he’s paired up again with Mike Patrick doing the primetime Saturday night games. Or how bout this pompous gasbag team on ABC of him with Brent Musberger. Good god, that’s almost as bad as if the little midget did hire him to do Redskins radio with Larry Michael and canned Sonny and Sam... Troy Aikman the best analyst on NFL games right now??? Puhleez, he’d be no better than 4th stringer on CBS. Fox made a huge boner letting Collingsworth walk instead of Aikman. (3/26/07)
Heard Barbara Harrison say shit on live TV during the Anna Nicole press conference…. She didn’t realize she was on air!!! (3/26/07)
Nantz and Packer did a good job calling the Georgetown game on TV. But, for my money, there's no better way to enjoy a big Hoya victory than by listening to the radio play-by-play of Rich Chvotkin. He really adds to the flavor of the moment. HOYAS WIN! (3/26/07)
Why blame "the techs in the control room (at) WRC4" for Barbara Harrison's open mic snafu? She should know better after 30 or so years in broadcasting. And, isn't the WRC4 control room located at 30 Rock now-a-days, not locally? (3/26/07)
Yeah, there was something wrong at MNF all right. You had an experienced, strong, opinionated analyst in Joe T and a guy who contributed virtually nothing and at times could barely be heard over the crowd noise in Tony K. I just don't understand this move. Jaws is very good, btw. I think we'll hear much more about this move. We need to. A tip of the cap to Lindsay C. who now pronounces NCAA "N-C-A-A" not "N-C-double A". The NCAA several years back said they would like the letters spelled out. You won't hear "N-C-double A" from any CBS announcer. Regards Biff (3/26/07)
So let me get this straight, Dave. Basically anyone who has a bad opinion of you or your website, you go and trash them in a rant or supposed negative pub. Why is it when you don't have anything good to say, its always shared by "insiders in the company," such as Washington Post Radio or WJFK? Why are these people so brazen that they can share their opinion, but to scared to attach their name to it? Or are you just making it up so it sounds like it has some cred? What's the deal, man? How about a little levity and ambiguity in your website? Instead of using it to get back at people who actually have DC area media jobs, unlike you. - Dan in Malvern, PA (3/26/07)
Dave, here's the preliminary data on the Friday (NBC12) helo crash (in Rehoboth), for what it's worth. The weather line is the weather observation at Dover almost two hours after the crash and shows wind from the south at 10 knots, visibility 10 miles, light rain, scattered clouds at 2500, broken clouds at 4000, overcast at 10,000, temperature (c) 17, dew point 13, altimeter (barometric pressure) 30.14. Visability shouldn't have been a problem. (3/26/07)
For the last few years, we've been able to watch Orioles home games in High-Definition and turn on the radio to hear a static filled, mono play-by-play on the radio. (But at least AM signals travel a longer distance than FM). This year, we'll be able to hear the play-by-play in full FM stereo (provided you live within 15 miles of Baltimore City) and the televised games will be on Standard Definition, fuzzy-grained, analog cable channels. Now that's progress! Remember you can't spell "Angelos" or "Orioles" without L-O-S-E. Greg in Reisterstown. (Bewildered and Disgruntled O's fan) (3/26/07)
Re: "At night you can hear it in New England, Nova Scotia, and Sweden but not in upper Montgomery County....." Remember this WaPo ad for "WTOP RADIO 150" from 1967? (3/26/07)Re: Post radio and their ratings. Am I the only one wwho things Burd and the other radio hosts are good, but that most of the Post reporters are boring and can't manage a full sentence without many ums or ahs? (3/26/07)
I agree Daryl Johnston is a real bore on TV, but c'mon Troy Aikman is the best analyist on NFL games right now. How can you say John Riggins? Don't you think if he was any good he would be on one of the announcer teams now? (3/26/07)
Sorry I missed Barbara Harrison's expletive...how ironic, given how she mumbles, bumbles and stumbles while reporting the news, that at last she's gotten out a word people can hear and understand. -- Bobbie (3/26/07)
I can't imagine that Joe Theismann will stay in the ESPN family. The man's ego has to be severely bruised, he's not about to settle for analyzing Western Athletic Conference games on ESPN2. I imagine though that he would look for work at Fox or CBS Sports first before accepting a local radio gig. Everett W. (3/26/07)
Dave, I agree with most of your rant on why Post has gone nowhere yet. But consider this. Most successful talk radio stations surround themselves with controversy. Controversial guests, controversial topics. But Post Radio is pretty namby-pamby in this area. Could that be because of The Post? Do the newspaper people take themselves so seriously they won't allow controversy on a talk radio station that shares their name? (3/26/07)
Re: Joey T. out of MNF — I think this move makes perfect sense in that ESPN knows the chemistry that Jaws and TK have had on PTI and that should translate well into the booth. Now, if Fox was smart they’d pluck Joey T. to do games with Dick Stockton, hire John Riggins to team with Joe Buck and they can send Troy Aikman and Daryl “I’m more like deer in the headlights rather than a moose” Johnston down the ladder like they did Bill Maas. Re: Local sportscasters — It was a very very very close call on Green’s traveling. So in that moment of the game and all the excitement, the only way a travel was going to be called was if it was so blatantly obvious. And the replay shows that his pivot foot came ever so slightly off the ground so it looked pretty legal to the refs in real motion, Georgetown wins, there’s no reason for the local sports folk to talk about what might have been, leave that to your CBS network studio yakkers and ESPN. Are you a disappointed transplanted Vandy fan?? Also, it was such a pleasure to not have to hear Gus Johnson, perhaps the worst play by play guy on CBS calling any of the sweet 16 and elite 8 games. He’s Stuart Scott horrible. (3/26/07)
Steve Hammond, Lead Anchor of WBOC-TV on Delmarva celebrated his 20 year anniversary with the station last week. Watch his on air tribute at www.wboc.com (3/26/07)
Dave, your Rant regarding Bonneville and particularly Washington Post Radio is blunt, sad, but accurate (in my opinion). As a longtime listener of ‘TOP, I was sorry to see it go. I only hoped that the suits at Bonneville knew what I wanted to listen to better than I did. (I was pretty sure I wanted to hear news, traffic and weather on the 8’s. From my Eastern Shore home, I can’t get 103.5 FM). Prior to be big switch to ‘TWP at the end of March, ’06, I remember thinking that if it wasn’t broken, why the hell were they trying to fix 1500 a.m.? From the ashes of the Big Boom birth of Washington Post Radio came only one bright spot: David Burd’s weekend show. It was fresh, local, up-beat…and gone. To weekday mornings went David. The saying, “Robbing Peter to pay Paul” came to mind when that happened. They sacrificed the Weekend Lamb to feed the Beast of the Morning Drive. That was it for me. After listening to 1500 a.m. for a long time (40 years?), I bailed. During the week, by 0600 hours, I am in my car, listening to Sirius. On weekends, switching from the Burd show to learning the ins and outs of colon cleansing didn’t work. Maybe WTWP has something else in Burd’s previous weekend time slot now, I wouldn’t know. I don’t listen to 1500 anymore. My kitchen radio is tuned to CNN Headline News on 1690 a.m., WPTX, Lexington Park. It’s not all that fresh or local but it is news. Happy Birthday, Washington Post Radio. Richard in Cambridge (3/26/07)
The only radio companies based in Delaware are Delmarva Broadcasting-which owns 2 stations in the First State, WDEL/AM and WSTW/FM. Also Great Scott is in Georgetown, which owns 7 stations licensed to Delaware-WKDB/WZEB; WGBG/WJKI; WZBH; WJWK and WJWL. They also one one licensed to Maryland-WKHI. Clear Channel owns some, but they are not Delaware based companies. (3/26/07)
Barbara Harrison just let out a "Shit" on air at News NBC 4 during the Anna Nicole Smith Autopsy News Conference. She did not know her microphone was on.... What a tool! (3/26/07)
Did anyone hear NBC4's Barbara Harrsion drop the "S" word during the live feed of Dr. Perper's Press Connference on the autopsy findings of Anna Nicole this morning? While showing the press conference apparently the techs in the control room WRC4 forgot to turn off Harrison's live mic and we heard Barbara Harrison say, "he just said she took chlorophyl? Shit." It went straight over the air live. T (3/26/07)
Dave, since we rely a lot on your insider tips..and there has not been any word of a new PD hire at the Globe(the last we heard was someone was there as an "interim")...maybe the whole station is on "hold" until they decide on whoever will be the PD. That would explain the static nature of the playlist and the very STALE on air promos of listeners calling in with reactions to the change. the potential for this Globe format though is still very high..but i agree with some previous posters . I think once a new PD gets in there (hopefully one with "world class rock" experience) begins taking a rake through the playlist, freshens and maybe even completely changes the promo presentation--this thing can still be great. and yes, we do need some local music time and information and maybe a blues show and..well, you see...there is so much that can be done! (3/26/07)
Dave's response: I like The Globe, but it confounds me. The station was launched as a place for fresh, bold, and diverse rock. And yet we hear the same Steely Dan/ Police/Talking Heads tune "recycled" many times during a particular day. The station's imaging and promotions are already starting to sound stale, bland, and way too conservative, like the music. And that's not good for a "green-leaning" alleged "progressive" rocker.....
Now that Theismann is out at Monday Night Football, it opens the door For Danny Snyder's radio empire to offer him a slot at Triple X. This would be great because nobody could hear him on those stations. On a serious note, don't be surprised to hear Joey T on the Redskins Radio broadcasts in place of Sam Huff this year. (3/26/07)
Concerning the “shameless” DC sportscasters, what does Mike in Fairfax expect them to do? It WAS controversial and the wrong call, but the outcome of the game will not change. Are the fans supposed to not support them now that they didn’t win? Do you think that there might have been a call or two during that game that went against Georgetown? The CBS sportscasters brought it up, but they didn’t dwell on it later. They could have called it a controversial play, but it’s going to stand regardless of what you say about it. I’m sure sportscasters that work in any other area would do the same. It’s human nature. Sounds like somebody just doesn’t like the Hoyas. (3/26/07)
Dave's response: I guess there wasn't enough room in the "MNF" broadcast booth for the inflated egos of both Kornheiser and Theismann.....
More on the Theisman outing with MNF. sports.espn.go.com... Looks like Ron Jaworski will be teaming up with Tirico and Kornheiser. Denesh (3/26/07)
The following was forwarded to DCRTV.....
Dear ABC Member: As you know, on March 22, 2007, the NABET-CWA Network Negotiating Committee recessed bargaining with ABC after nearly four weeks of meetings in Tysons Corner, VA. The Committee wants to explain to you why this development occurred, as well update you on the current status of negotiations. Since negotiations began on February 28th, ABC has sought to reduce many important benefits and conditions of your employment as a staff or daily-hire member. The Company began these talks with attacks on jurisdiction that would remove a large volume of the work you are currently performing under the contract. The Company also proposed changes to your work day which would increase your hours at work by virtue of unpaid meal periods. To date, ABC has made it clear by attacking seniority, and by proposing a hard freeze of our financially healthy pension plan, that the Company has little regard for long-term, loyal employees. It is also apparent that with its proposals, ABC management has little regard for the contributions NABET-CWA members have made to the past, and more importantly, the current ratings and revenue successes in all divisions of the Company. Based on ABC's posture at the table, your Bargaining Committee unanimously decided on March 22nd that no mutually positive outcome would result from continuing these negotiations at this time. Our decision to recess the talks before the expiration date of the current contract was not arrived at lightly. In fact, we took several days to review ABC's current proposals and its statements across the table in connection with those proposals. For example, on March 15th, ABC announced that it was at that point, rejecting all of the Union's proposals to improve staff and daily-hire working conditions. Furthermore, we were particularly disturbed by ABC's March 20th decision to put on the table--three weeks after negotiations began and only eleven days prior to contract expiration--its devastating pension proposal. We viewed these actions as being rooted in the underlying disrespect the Company has for you and for your representatives at the bargaining table. Thus, it was clear to your Bargaining Committee that ABC was not interested in truly negotiating at this time. Nothing could illustrate this more than when, on March 22nd, Sector President and Chief Spokesperson John S. Clark informed ABC across the table that the Union was recessing the negotiations for the time being, one Company representative responded by saying "John, we haven't started negotiating yet." This unexpectedly candid response affirmed your Committee's belief that ABC was not seriously engaged in the bargaining process at this juncture. We are extremely disappointed that ABC has decided to embark down a negative path at the outset of these negotiations. Especially disappointing is the fact that, over the course of three short weeks, the Company has dismantled three years of improved relations between the parties. All of the positive results gained from working together on the ESPN Time-Buy Agreement, the KABC-TV Multiple Function Program Agreement, and the Secondary Digital Operations Engineering Agreement have been undone by ABC in Tysons Corner. When the talks began on February 28th, we told ABC management that we would be open-minded in working with the Company on solutions to any real issues, but we were not interested in spending countless hours on unnecessary changes to our terms and conditions of employment. That is why, at this time, your Network Negotiating Committee believes that your interests would be best served by having us return to our respective cities to educate the membership on all of the developments from these negotiations. Locals 16, 31, 41, 51, and 57 are making arrangements to hold membership meetings as soon as possible for this purpose. Please make every effort to attend your Local's membership meeting. As NABET-CWA President John S. Clark emphasized in his letter to you last month, you cannot afford to stand on the sidelines and watch the negotiations play out as if you are a disinterested observer. Your job and your family's future welfare are being impacted by what is occurring at the bargaining table. You must show your tangible support for your negotiating team by visibly participating in mobilization activities. We will update you as soon as there are any new developments concerning these negotiations. In addition, we remind all members to ignore rumors. All official negotiation and mobilization information will be delivered on the Sector website at www.abc-contract.info. Please also check Local websites, hotlines, and e-mail for additional information. In solidarity, /s/ Gene Maxwell, Local 16, New York City, /s/ Maurice "Moe" Thomas, Local 31, Washington, D.C., /s/ Ray W. Taylor, Local 41, Chicago, /s/ Kevin Wilson, Local 51, San Francisco, /s/ Richard Daszkowski, Local 57, Los Angeles (3/26/07)
Once again, TV sports anchors in DC have shown themselves to be shameless shills for the local teams with their treatment of Friday night's Georgetown-Vanderbilt NCAA game. As far as I know, no sportscast mentioned the fact that the Hoyas' Jeff Green may have gotten away with a traveling violation on his game winning basket. Inasmuch as CBS studio anchors Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis made a strong case that the refs should have nullified the hoop and given the ball to Vanderbilt (which in all likelihood would have changed the outcome of the game) and several national sports radio hosts have agreed, it's inexcusable for Channel 9's Brett Haber and his counterparts at other stations to come on the air with their 'rah rah Hoyas' stuff and pretend that the non-call in question never happened. There's little doubt that had the situation been reversed and the Hoyas lost on a controversial play, those same anchors would have screamed bloody murder. I thought sportscasters had a responsiblity to report the full story, but apparently ignoring anything not favorable to the hometown team is perfectly acceptable these days. Mike, Fairfax (3/26/07)
Deleware is the home of headquarters for corporations - many just a mailbox address for tax purposes. Perhaps the companies that sold the radio stations are incorporated in Delaware. Just a theory. Al McGilvray (3/26/07)
Dave's response: Remember in "Get Smart," evil KAOS was "a Delaware corporation" for tax purposes. Ha ha ha.....
Couple of questions/observations. Did Kornheiser do in Theismann? Certainly, Theismann was no more responsible for "poor chemistry" than Kornheiser was........ A poster recently asked what the ratings were on John Riggins show on TripleX. I don't know, but I suspect that he must have been getting some traction because the first thing WTEM's new PD did was boot John Thompson's show out of afternoon drive and move Czaban and Pollin back there.................. Also interesting to read in the Post that ex-Hoya Fred Brown took some shots at his ex-coach John Thompson (the father) and said many of the other ex-players feel the same way. Frankly, Thompson has gotten a free ride from the media in this town for way too long and I suspect an enterprising reporter could do a helluva story on issues such as Thompson's controversial, some may say exclusionary, recruiting practices, alleged Las Vegas gambling connections and the circumstances of his departure from Georgetown, which have still been unexplained as far as I know....................... (3/26/07)
Hey---I got this in my email this morning from Inside Radio... "Which states got the richest station sale prices in 2006? Kagan Research says the population's generally migrating toward the Sunbelt so the answers are what you'd expect - Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas. But tiny Delaware actually led the pack, with six deals at an average multiple of 19 times cash flow." Which radio stations in Delaware were sold? (3/26/07)
("I thought Gary Nance did a great job calling the game for CBS...") I guess since Jim NANTZ was working in Circuit City, somebody had to do the game with Billy. (3/26/07)
"Classy" hayseeds showing "respect" - I'm sure nothing comforted Nancy Reagan more than hearing hillbillies and racist clapping, hooting and taking pictures like a bunch of inbred jackaninnies. (3/26/07)
Pretty cool moment last night for me. I was flipping through the AM dial as I could not sleep in my dorm room in Boston. For grins and giggles I throw on 1500 hoping to get WaPo Radio. Crystal clear, I could not believe my ears. I knew 1500 came up that way, but I mean this is a pretty pathetic clock radio where I can't even get 980 when I am home and WaPo radio sounded like I was was in DC. Hoping this is not a one time thing, I would love to be able to get some Nats action for free!! That being said, lets say it was a one time thing on this pathetic radio, can anyone suggest a good (somewhat cheap, I am a college student after all) radio that is good for reception. I would also love to be able to pick up that station that I work at (WAMG) as well at night when they turn down the power along with WTWP! Thanks!- Keith in Boston (3/26/07)
Dave's response: That's the problem with the 1500 signal. At night you can hear it in New England, Nova Scotia, and Sweden but not in upper Montgomery County.....
Wanna buy a vowel? -g- (3/26/07)If'en I had Johnny Holiday as a guest on my little public access radio show I don't think I'd admit to not listening to him do the play by play for Maryland basketball game's even if'en the delay really sucks these days.......With Joel Hollander leaving the helm of CBS Radio surely Mr. Hughes is in line to become top honcho? Why look at what he's done with the D.C. area station's, redirected the sunken ship which is WJFK, are they numero uno in ad rev? and then the marketing of the Globe, did he come up with the concept or hired the numbn..uuuhh sorry genius who created this brillant format and lastly and totally there's the Unzipped thing after the treading water Don and Mike show on WJFK....why this confirms that vocal ability means nothing in radio anymore nor the ability to engage callers in conversation...why those calls ain't set up in some cases, no way...the big apple calls ye Mr. Hughes and say bye bye to braverman for me and does that clear the deck for Ms. Broyhill to takeover the D.C. fleet....donnie g. where you going so soon.......weht michael wolff.....hoot gibson (3/26/07)
Dave's response: It's time for The Globe to ditch its awful on-air promos. I'm tired of hearing Michael Hughes lecturing me about replacing my old incandescent energy-wasting light bulbs with new "green" toxic mercury-filled compact fluorescents. How about some cool new promos? Some that would sound good on a rock station. And, while I love "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," must we hear it every goddamn hour?!?!? Sheesh.....
The helicopter that crashed in Lewes, DE is leased to Richmond's NBC12 part time. It was in the Lewes area on lease to Centex Homes, a housing development company... The occupants included the pilot from Helo Air and 3 Centex company officials visiting The Ridings at Rehoboth, a Centex property. The chopper clipped a pair of power lines located on the property. As of this writing the chopper remains on its side on the property awaiting removal by the NTSB to a hangar at the Sussex County Airport for further investigation. (3/26/07)
This week on www.jazzradiodc.com our featured artist are as follows... March 26 to March 30 Monday - Various artists, IBM Interview with Marilyn Johnson, Vice President, Market Development..... Tuesday - Renee Rosnes, pianist..... Wednesday - Woody Shaw, trumpeter..... Thursday - Eliane Elias, pianist..... Friday - Charles Brown, vocalist..... We're on the internet 24 hours a day at www.jazzradiodc.comand on the radio Monday through Friday from 4 pm to 5 pm in Washington DC on WMET AM 1160... Listen daily and tell a friend. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. We're here to promote jazz and keep this great art form alive and growing. Visit our website for what's happening in Washington DC. (3/26/07)
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I agree with the person below and hope that The Globe gets itself together and plays some exciting new music. The poster mentions that the Globe is making comparisons between their station and the old WHFS. HARDLY! I would say its more like the old DC101 of the early 80' or so, if they hired Weasel as their morning DJ instead of Howard Stern. It's radio with good DJ's and a dull, boring playlist. JOHN IN STAFFORD (3/25/07)
It is Sunday evening and there is nothing on television. ( as usual ) I've read DCRTV several times and started surfing the net. I started reading PBRTV. The only station I can get is KDKA. The last time I listened to KDKA, they were still playing music. What I want to know is, what in the world is wrong with the people in Pittsburgh? I just finished reading PBRTV's mailbag. ( twice ) None of the posts had any profanity nor were any of them mean spirited. Just comments and questions. Polite questions. As I said, What in the world is wrong with those people in Pittsburgh? JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (3/25/07)
Despite the poor performance of my Terrapins in the Tournament, I think that congratulations are in order for the Hoyas! I thought Gary Nance did a great job calling the game for CBS. Rusty Gibson (3/25/07)
Would it surprise you to learn that most Union members at ABC/Disney are stockholders too? Would it surprise you to learn that Union members actually suggest better ways of doing business and make a profit? And yet, Company management continues to make decisions that hurt the business, hurt the employees, and hurt the stockholders. Either way, we pay for it. Interesting, huh? The only way the Company pays attention is when someone makes noise. (3/25/07)
Bram Weinstein has been on vacation and I haven't missed him for a minute. Regards Biff (3/25/07)
Does anyone know why there is a post on the TripleXESPN radio website that says the "john riggins show" and the "Bram Weinstein" show will return on April 2nd. Did the recent time change cause the station to implode? Are cost overuns finally catching up to them? Are there rats in the studio, as there is at Johnny Rockets? I'm just asking to see if anyone knows, or am I the only one who listens to the station. (3/25/07)
After reading that post about dumb hayseeds and the characterization of said, it got me to a thinkin'. Just what kinda hayseed wereas Roger Clinton and Billy Carter? They may have been smarterin than the usual, but they shure dressified in publik the same as us dumb countrie republikuns. I guess who you call a hayseed and who you can a cuntry bumpkin depends upon how you differentiate the difference between a dumbass and a jackass. Funny that Democrats use the jackass for a symbol. And the poster dun proved that characterization to be accurate too. (3/25/07)
Up front declaration: I would not vote for John Edwards even if he was the only candidate running. For arguments sake, if he was someone I would vote for, he would be less likely to get my vote as he should be taking care of his sick wife and keeping his family together, not running around the country. He is just showing me he will sink to any level to get a vote, even prostituting his sick wife to get sympathy , which is pathetic. (3/25/07)
OK, I was one of those overly optimistic fools who actually believed the 94.7 FM hype when they became "The Globe" a few weeks ago. While I think they've improved the station, they didn't do half of what they implied they would, and they have a lonnnnnnnnnng way to go before I will consider them anything memorable. Running Weasel in the morning and Little Steven on Sunday nights: A+. Keeping poser Schelby on middays and saddling Weasel with a vanilla news-reading "sidekick": F. Worst of all is the station's inability to sound even vaguely in touch with the local music scene. While they imply that they are emulating the glory days of WHFS, I have yet to hear any mention of even one local band, let alone any local music making it onto the surprisingly small playlist. The last few days Schelby has been reading promos of concerts--some as far away as West Virginia and Chicago, for no apparent reason--and they have been exclusively international and national touring bands. WHFS was a major promoter of the local music scene, not just an advertising vehicle for Ticketmaster. As for the playlist: I hear the same old 94.7-The Arrow box of records, with three or four tunes culled from the WHFS days and one Death Cab for Cutie record. I never, ever heard a record run into the ground at the old WHFS, and I was always being introduced to new (and old) records that I hadn't heard before. Music on The Globe is the same old same old. Finally, PLEASE DEAR GOD SHELVE THE STUPID LISTENER CALL-IN PROMOS! "I guess I'm in to the en-vye-ro-munt and what not, but you play Led Zep and so that is cool, keep up the good work!" Jeezus. What's the target demographic? Remedial math and wood shop? (3/26/07)
Dave, Id like to offer another sarcastic 'way to go' to WTEM. instead of watching the florida/oregon game, i was sitting outside and listening to it. with about 3:30 left in the game at about 4:43pm, they turn off the Westwood One coverage to go to the Georgetown game! Are you kidding me? Im sorry, but while I understand that they are the flagship of Gtown basketball, you don't do that! It wasn't like they hadnt known they were going to do a pregame show! why not put the Florida/Oregon game on 570? not like they havent been known to do that. Just another reason they are so messed up. (3/26/07)
RE: ABC/Disney, FCC Approves Disney/ABC-Citadel Deal headline was in R&R March 22. Chuck (3/25/07)
Tens of thousands of people in Vatican Square applauded and cheered as the DEAD BODY of Pope Paul was lifted by the pallbearers for all to see. For the masses in attendance at a ceremonial funeral procession to show support to a grieving family or pay homage to a great person by applauding or cheering is an old world custom and not disrespectful or macabre. JA (3/25/07)
"Yet, when the Company is called to task on these issues they always cite their right to "F**k Things Up!" Well, I would like to see the Union f**k things up for the Company by taking a strong and unrelenting stand for the members of this Union." What twisted logic! The stockholders own the company, NOT the union. (3/25/07)
More "prehistoric fossilized whale shit 10,000 feet beneath the ocean floor": NBC's MATT LAUER: I'm stalling a little bit here, because the question I want to ask you is one that's going to sound terribly inappropriate, and I'm trying to figure out the right way to say it. Neither John [n]or Elizabeth Edwards asked for this. However, one of the facts that remains this morning is that John Edwards' picture is on the front page of the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and in some ways we have to ask the political question of: "What is the impact of this going to be on a campaign that was toiling in third place?" NBC's KELLY O'DONNELL: Now, of course, as a cancer survivor and a person battling a recurrence, many people will find her a sympathetic figure, and that's something that certainly helps John Edwards in this way. Senior advisors say that Elizabeth has always sort of made him more human, sort of balanced John Edwards in the public's eye. (3/25/07)
A poster wants to stop Joe Vallario. Now THAT'S FUNNY!!! Anybody who knows old Joe will tell you that that nobody stops Joe Vallario. I think he taught Jimmy Hoffa and Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. how to play the loyalty and discipline game, It is suicide in Maryland to even try and go against Joe. She might get her press release on a station in this state, but I hope that station doesn't have any pending applications for anything in any district anywhere in Maryland. It is just possible that mention of Joe is why she is not getting a receptive ear anywhere. Joe is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat who does things the old fashioned Kennedy way. Then again, with Pelosi in office, maybe its the new way. And if you get in his way, you will wish you had voted for a party that didnt include old Joe or his proteges like John Giannetti. Old Joe is no stranger to how radio works, as he remains the landlord for several and continues to have interests in renting tower space to broadcast and cell clients. If you think I am wrong, how did Joe know about certain actions of the FCC on behalf of a station,,,before the station, its consultant and lawyers even knew? His flack was even bold enough to call the station and tell them what the FCC decision was. Good Luck and may God spend some extra time watching your back. (3/25/07)
Wasn't it the aptly-named Tony "Snow" who famously wrote in 1998 that "Executive Privilege is a dodge" ? I guess these days he thinks it's a Bentley... (3/25/07)
It is with great anguish and reluctance that I read the bulletins from the Union's negotiations with the Disney/ABC. To listen to the Company is disheartening. The presentations given by the Company are nothing more than disguised attempts to eliminate the Union at ABC. I have heard all the management’s risk assessment and concocted explanations over the years, and they have yet to prove worthy of implementation. The fact that the Internet Ventures they have engaged in has yet to bear fruit is but another example of their trying to imitate the operations of other enterprises without innovating in these new digital mediums. Repackaged programs, which were not publicly acceptable on the network, make for sad program material on the Internet. True, technology will change they way programs will be produced. But this Company pays the least and asks for the same quality as other networks. Now the Company is trying to get its employees to bear the burden of its poor management decisions and practices through give backs and elimination of jobs. Yet, when the Company is called to task on these issues they always cite their right to "F**k Things Up!" Well, I would like to see the Union f**k things up for the Company by taking a strong and unrelenting stand for the members of this Union. It's now or never! (3/25/07)
re: "What I remember most about Reagan's funeral is all the dumb hayseeds who came to show their 'respect' by APPLAUDING during a funeral persuasion, dressed in shorts too small for their fat asses, and stained t-shirts with the American Flag all over it."---thanks for the laugh, unintentional on your part but still quite humorous. Is that a Springfield or a Dundalk education? When DnM talk about the 'tards that post here, you must be near the top of the list. (3/25/07)
I watched Tony Snow dance on several media outlets in regard to the current scandal surrounding the firing of U.S. attorneys, and the White House's so-called "unprecidented" offer to "allow some" members of congress to have an "informal chat" with Rove and Meyers...just a couple of sticking points though...not really worth mentioning...do you mind if what they say is not under oath?...oh, and did I mention transcripts will not be allowed, and one more thing...it's gotta be behind closed doors. The amazing thing is that, the whole time Tony's lips were moving, all I kept hearing was "You know, you are really going to need the undercoating....and my sales manager has generously authorized me to throw in the floormats if you sign right now....hmmmm...you probably are going to want the wiper blades too, don't you?" Excuse me, Mr. Snow...I know that your current job description pretty much limits you to being little more than a partisan political tool, Tony, but you need to ask yourself...was it really worth selling your soul to a man that seventy percent of America no longer respects or believes is honest? Come over to the light before it's too late, Tony...at least you'll be able to sleep at night again. (3/25/07)
I wondered if you could give me some advice about the best way to get someone to cover a story on local talk radio in Maryland. This week PROTECT (The National Association to Protect Children) launched a campaign in Maryland to put pressure on Maryland Speaker of the House Michael Busch and Majority Leader Kumar Barve asking them to use their power and leadership to stop Delegate Joseph F. Vallario blocking good bills that would protect children. I've attached a copy of the press release to give you some more information. I'd really appreciate it if you could give me any advice on which local talk radio stations might cover this kind of news - and the best way to get some airtime. Thanks for your help, Linda (3/25/07)
Dave's response: Get on the phone to the major news and talk stations like WTOP, WMAL, WAMU, WBAL, WCBM, and WYPR. Ask for the news director or someone in the news department.....
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\/ March 24 Messages \/
I was there for the funeral PROCESSION (guess even us hayseeds know proper word usage),right there on Mass Ave near the Cathedral,and saw nothing of what you claim.Of course,you probably get your info from MoveOn,so your poor word usage and your shopworn talking-point descriptions are understandable. KJ, Laurel MD (3/24/07)
I think its great when people write rational commentary here that goes against the grain. Usually no insulting, just logical presentation of facts and conclusions. Then the donk underbelly rises up with their usual putrid responses, here is a couple "idiot", "bigmouth", "tony snowjob", "I personally hate rush limbaugh" For me, I am overjoyed that you proudly represent the DNC and parrot their talking points. It shows that party's true colors. (3/24/07)
(Re: We also remember the scumbags who disrupted President Reagan's funeral at the Nat'l Cathedral) What I remember most about Reagan's funeral is all the dumb hayseeds who came to show their 'respect' by APPLAUDING during a funeral persuasion, dressed in shorts too small for their fat asses, and stained t-shirts with the American Flag all over it. Next time another Culture Warrior like O'Reilly and Coulter and Rush want to thumb their nose at how low the liberals have taken us into anti-social and unrefined behavior, they should look no further that the retarded hillbillies in their own party (aka: The Rubes), who somehow identify with big biz-ness and the top 1% as they stuff their pudgy faces with McGriddles. (3/24/07)
Dave's response: Off-Topic Weekends, right here at DCRTV!
MANY other news outlets have questioned how the Edwards announcement would be utilized in his presidential campaign. As usual the Rush Limbaugh is show prep for the MSM. "JOHN EDWARDS AND HIS WIFE TO DISCUSS HER CANCER AND HIS CANDIDACY WITH KATIE COURIC ON '60 MINUTES' SUNDAY ON CBS... DEVELOPING..." Drudge (3/24/07)
For all you lefties who have their noses so far outta joint over Limbaugh's take on the Edwards' campaign presser....we remember all the love from you when the terrorist "missed" Cheney.We also remember the scumbags who disrupted President Reagan's funeral at the Nat'l Cathedral and all the utterly tasteless jokes from the likes of the odious Bill Maher. He looks UP to see whale shit.... KJ, Laurel MD (3/24/07)
Rush Limbaugh is an idiot. John Edwards and his wife took the bull by the horns and communicated to the country and the world what is going on in regard to Elizabeth Edwards health on their own terms. I see this as a wise and honest decision rather than hiding it and letting the tabloids like the Enquirer or Star Magazine splash the news all over the front page of their papers. They are to be commended for this instead of ridiculed. A sad commentary on our times if the announcement of a personal health crisis is viewed as a "political" move to garner sympathy votes. If they had chosen not to make this public, there would have been outcry that they were "hiding" something and not being forthright. Rush Limbaugh and his fellow bigmouth Ann Coulter need to shut up. (3/24/07)
Actually, tony snowjob has done some fundraising for the repukes since he's been the WH hack, so he most certainly IS a political ally as well as an employee. And pleez don't forget that he came from Faux Snooze (and that studies show that people who get all their news from Faux are less informed than the rest of us). Listen, you cats had 6 years of a rubberstamp congress and I can't think of a single good thing you did. Luckily the grownups are back, offering some much needed checks and balances to the runaway unitary executive branch cheney so badly wants. Absolute power sure corrupts quickly. I like tony snow and wish him well. My dad died from colon cancer, so I understand tony being cautious. I'm a friend of tony's soul, but an enemy of his job choice. Lying for this corrupt administration is probably what's makibg the poor guy sick. As for edwards, he HAD to come forward with this story, or else the bad guys would try to play 'gotcha!l. Rove would try one of his infamous whisper campaigns (pssst, did you hear about edward's wife? He'll probably drop out of the campaign any minute now.) but we like transparency in gov't anyway, and it's a breath of fresh air from the most secret hiding, devious admin in history. And I think don and mike would agree! (3/24/07)
The counter-point is that Rush Limbaugh is "connecting dots that don't exist." One can say that Edwards' decision to continue with his campaign is being done for "personal gain," as one poster says. How does anyone know for sure but Edwards and his wife? What dots did Rush Limabugh make when he shook his body in front of a camera to immitate Michael J. Fox's ailment? Do I think that there is anything at all that could, or should, be made political about Tony Snow's condition? NO! I feel the same way about Edwards and Fox. JOHN IN STAFFORD (3/24/07)
OH MY GOD..enough about George Michael! Why can't some people just fade away gracefully? The man has been uniformed about the local sports scene for years. Unless it is horses he doesn't care. The sports Machine has been outdated since 1985. Good riddance, enough, gooooo awaaaayyyyy! Also, I thought picture of Cerphe was a picture of Jeff Foxworthy. (3/24/07)
A DCRTVer sent this question to DirecTV.....
I recently heard that Comcast customers here in the DC area will lose around-the-clock coverage on C-SPAN2, because that cable company is going to share C-SPAN2 with MASN2 as a result of MASN's exclusive programming rights to air Baltimore Orioles & Washington Nationals baseball games this season. Will that apply to DirecTV customers here in the DC area too?
And received this reply.....
Thanks for writing. We do value you as one of our customers and appreciate your business. I would certainly like to help to get your questions answered quickly. I understand your concern of losing other channels to allow for enough broadcast space so that MASN2 or other content can be shown. Since I do not know the details of the situation, I would not want to speculate about the reason for the decision you are referring to. However, in addition to assuring you that we do not have the same plans at this time, there few examples and information that I can give to help you understand how this type of change is handled with DIRECTV. One reason that any program provider may decide to remove channels at certain times is due to limitations in broadcast bandwidth (the amount of data that can be broadcast by them at the same time). Many regional sports networks often broadcast an alternate channel to air a game while their main channel is left to be able to show it's regular programming. As an example, this frequently happens without any noticeable impact to you (such as not losing another channel to give room for the added programming being shown). We always try to ensure that changes to our programming, such as additional broadcasts of sporting events, have a limited or no impact on other programming that we offer. Another example that you have seen is each year during the increased HD broadcasts of NFL games. Rather than turning off some of the regular programming we may simply reduce the amount of available Pay Per View channels being broadcast at the exact same time as the game, as well as less visible changes such as the temporary removal of any receiver software updates which may be constantly broadcast and available in the signal. Thanks again for writing and I thank you very much for your patience and understanding. Sincerely, Daniel W... DIRECTV Customer Service (3/24/07)
Ah. So the seamy underbelly of the Democratic Party has revealed its true M.O. They attack the political allies of those they despise, hoping to bring down the supporters and thus unseat the supported. Nice Snow Job there. How very nice. First problem is that Tony Snow is an employee, not a political ally. Since we are now encouraged by the peace loving liberals to attack political allies and government employees, how about a WaterGate style investigation of Democratic Party supporters. All accusations will come from leaked sources, yet be treated as fact,with no attribution nor right of fair trail. You dare to put Libby on trial for the very same behavior that Mark Felt engaged in but was never tried for? Let's start with the hidden money train from Forrest City Ratner, which hopes to build a huge Atlantic Yards mega-opolis in Brooklyn to support a certain sports team, while displacing thousands of low income families. Or perhaps we should investigate the gossamer links between FCR and our local baseball team. Or maybe we should investigate why Al Gore is really interested in global warming. Could it be that by punishing the use of fossil fuels, and forcing the use of 'alternative' fuels, we might have a need for more photovoltaics and batteries? Photovolts and batteries both use zinc. Guess which hypocritical politican owns land for which he receives mineral rights royalties that just happen to cover some of this country's largest zinc deposits? Guess which politician owns more mineral rights (OIL PLUS ZINC) than the Bush family? Let's not forget, though the Dems would love us to do so, that the Gore family was introduced to Oil and Zinc by Armand Hammer, a known Soviet sympathizer who tried to bribe his way into Washington politics. Gore knows he can't sell his mineral rights at a profit as long as there are environmental protections against ground water pollution by heavy metals. Tennesse has time and again cited the property for environmental violations. BUT, if we can make fossil fuels prohibitively expensive by enforcing the Kyoto discords, and then give tax breaks for alternative fuels, which use his minerals rather than Bush minerals,,,then Al can sell his minerals to big corporations who will get tax breaks for using minerals that are used to make products for alternative fuels. He of course will say that the environmental impact is less from mining zinc than burning oil. Another thing he can't prove, just like Global Warming. Or he can say that he only sold the mineral rights, he didn't do the mining and the contamination. Just like Bill didn't inhale nor have sex with that woman. You want to attack allies, bring it on. You may think the Washington Post and the NYT are the best sources of the truth. But upon reading papers from other cities, one can note that your dirty laundry is far more embarrassing than mine. Your allies have a whole lot more to show, and more to loose. I hope your snow job buries you in a blizzard of the truth. (3/24/07)
Sorry, John in Stafford, you are trying to connect dots that don’t exist. Snow’s medical revelations are not being made for personal gain, while Edwards’ clearly are. Additionally, Snow’s condition is his own, while Edwards’ is not. If you truly listen to Limbaugh’s show, you’d know that he has been consistently critical of the Bush administration and the GOP as well for betraying core conservative principles. (3/24/07)
Dave's response: I don't agree with Tony's politics, but he's a really nice guy. He once called me when DCRTV ran an article that WMAL was thinking about picking up his old Fox News Radio show, which was then carried on WMET. Look, there are so many problems now plaguing the Bush administration that any "sympathy" generated by Tony's health issues won't change anything. Likewise with Edwards' wife and her health issues. If you don't agree with John Edwards' policies before, you still won't like them now. Plus, the election isn't even this year! It's at the end of next year! A very long time for new revelations to surface about all the candidates.....
To chime in on George Michael's "noble" departure, I too wondered what it really accomplished. He'll still going to be doing his Full Court Press and Redskins show, thus still get a paycheck, which I'm sure is quite nice..The only win-win situation here would be if he stepped down and NBC continued to keep his staff on board in some sort of capacity..So, I don't get it. (3/24/07)
Tony Snow can’t take the heat of attorney-gate and shrubby’s forthcoming decision NOT to support the troops when he dusts off his unused veto pen and kills the bill that actually gives him MORE funding than he asked for, for his pet war. Too many scandals crashing down all at once. That’s THE REAL reason Snowjob is ducking out for a few weeks. Like all chickenhawks (awol jr, 5-deferment cheney, and anal cysts Limbaugh to name a few) , he’s a coward! He even manages to look like a coward when he’s decked out in armor. (On a serious to note, I wish the admin’s latest shill a speedy recovery, and hope it’s nothing at all, prolly the last remaining nugget of his conscience unfortunately. Maybe this rest will give him time to think about whether lying on behalf of the fascists is the best career path.) mediamatters.org (3/24/07)
I'm a confused about the noble actions of George Michael over at channel 4. NBC told him to cut his 22 person staff down to 10 and he said he couldn't do that so he quit and the whole staff got canned? Where be the nobility in that? I'll spitball here and say King George is set for life but many of those canned were not. Is there something else to this situation? King George was kind of ready to pack it in and he tried to do it in a way to make him look good? So is the sport's department pretty much a zippy at channel 4 and what we'll get from now on is a pretty gal with a smile and I guess that occasional pithy remark, like for sure. ......Did Don and Mike ever come back from that vacation that started in what October or was it November?....can't wait to see Petey McRosenberger on his webcam tonite...he be showng all us donkeys his dazzling talent....you want fries with that.........weht jackson bain...hoot gibson.... (3/24/07)
Dave's response: Don and Mike's new "seven-weeks-off/nine-weeks-on" contract has them back doing live shows again sometime in mid-May, just a week or two before a three-week Memorial Day break. Then they're back for two weeks or so before their three-week 4th Of July break. And then there's the three-week Labor Day break. Of course, Buzz, Rob, John, and Joe are hourly-wage workers and don't get the time off. They still have to report everyday to the Rockville studios to make sure the equipment's in working order, update the D&M website, and play cards. Buzz does go over to Don's Great Falls mansion to do yard work in exchange for not doing news items that aren't needed during the breaks. Rob and Joe will sometimes "help out" at Mike's restaurant (waiting tables, washing dishes, parking cars), but stubborn producer John steadfastly refuses to do any "non-show-related" work.....
Been sitting here this a.m. watching "The Five Heartbeats" (a fine film loosely based on "The Dells"). And despite all of the times I've seen it, I never realized that Howard Stern made a cameo appearance as a photographer. Howard looked like he did in his DC-101 days. Lastly, there was a nice write up in the OBits in today's TWP about my friend at WEBR Ken Rostkowski Ken died suddenly on 3/5. Rusty Gibson WEBR Radio/Fairfax (3/24/07)
Dave's response: The write-up about Ken is at www.legacy.com.....
No, Tony Snow is not campaigning for any office. The point of my previous post is that he is a political ally of Rush Limbaugh. Snow is also a high profile person in the Bush administration that is supported in an overt way by Limbaugh. Will Limbaugh be easier on Snow for those specific reasons? He doesn't cut Edwards or Fox any slack. I didn't think I had to spell it out in the sarcasm of my previous post. Just the same, I hope my reply clears it up for you. JOHN IN STAFFORD (3/24/07)
IIRC, the Brat Pack film "St. Elmo's Fire" takes place at Georgetown University...but portions of it were filmed at the University of Maryland. I suppose actually setting it at College Park, while more accurate, wouldn't have been perceived as sufficiently upscale. -- Vincent in Triangle (3/24/07)
I personally hate rush limbaugh, but he is right. The ANNOUNCEMENT(Press conference) that John Edwards had is definitely a ploy to get Edwards a boost in the polls. Its nothing new, and its been done previously by people on both sides of the aisle. If my wife had a reoccurance of cancer, the last thing on my mind would be holding a press conference. It just goes to show you where some people's priorities are. Jay in Baltimore (3/24/07)
"I Dream of Jeannie" was set at Cape Kennedy ... and many exteriors showed dry mountains in the distance. Florida NOT. (3/24/07)
shall we take a poll as to when THE POLITICO will shut down ? It has really made a great first impression getting two stories wrong in two months, great track record. It's kinda funny to know that all the great political journalist are over in Rosslyn working and still get it wrong. (3/24/07)
Dave's response: Hey, despite the Edwards goof, the Politico probably got more press and more traffic than it's ever had in its short history. Internet news gathering is different than print. It's instant and fast. You go with the best information possible - and sometimes it's not always 100 percent accurate. You immediately update and update and update again until the story's right. It's "news being made." Sometimes it isn't pretty. As long as it's done in good faith (without fraud and malice) and you aim for the truth, you'll get "there" most of the time. Mere journalists are human, too. They make mistakes. Just like pompous politicians, cable TV loudmouths, and deaf radio talkers.....
/\ March 24 Messages /\
\/ March 23 Messages \/
(RE: Peter Rosenberg) A follow up to You Deserve a Breakbeat Today: www.washingtoncitypaper.com... It also made the news in NC: www.wral.com (3/23/07)
Uh, John In Stafford, unlike John Edwards, Tony Snow is not campaigning for any high office, is he? Big difference. (3/23/07)
I remember when "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" used to race uphill through the canyons of Arlington, Virginia, and take all the dirt roads to elude the bad guys. Al McGilvray (3/23/07)
Let's see how even-handed Rush Limbaugh is when talking about a person's political motives when disclosing an illness. He's made controversial remarks about Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, and Michael J. Fox. Assuming that Fox is far left of Limbaugh, politically, Limbaugh is two-for-two in allegedly slamming left-wingers whose medical conditions affect their political lives in some way. What will he say about his old buddy, Republican White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, Monday? JOHN IN STAFFORD (3/23/07)
Regarding DC area locations on television which were not realistic, I have a pet peeve about the excellent movie, "Remember The Titans," which was based on a true story. The plot was the integration of T. C. Williams H. S. in Alexandria in the 1970s. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Alexandria being a rural backwater at that time. Nonetheless, the homes of faculty and students shown in the movie looked like they were shot in the Mississippi Delta or some similar spot---very isolated low-slung farmhouses in the middle of cotton fields---unlike anything I've ever seen in Alexandria. (3/23/07)
On Andy Richter’s new show where he plays an accountant who moonlights as a private eye, his office is in “Fair Oaks Plaza.” Which is probably just as specific a location as “Springfield.” (3/23/07)
Dave's response: In the "Get Smart" episode in which Max is being rushed to the church to marry 99, the car passes the occasional LA palm tree. And it's supposed to be DC.....
(regarding the comment about my post about Limbaugh in the mailbag) "It is one thing to criticize someone with whom one disagrees, but it is another thing indeed to use the kind of scatological frat house language that you chose. It was inappropriate, plain and simple." For way too long, Rush has been dismissed for simply being 'polarizing' and for merely 'creating controversy'. Limbaugh's suggestion that the announcement of Elizabeth Edwards' recurrence of cancer is a campaign ploy design to give John Edwards a boost in the polls, is about as low as you can go! I used the example of whale shit on the ocean floor and then, beneath the ocean floor, to vividly convey just how low Rush is willing to sink in his tactics. I stand by what I said and how I said it - for that reason - and because there's vastly more truth in how I characterized Rush, than how he is portraying John and Elizabeth Edwards. On my best day ever, I could now even begin to approach the level of inappropriateness that Limbaugh reaches on a regular basis! Scott Marinoff (grew up in Alexandria, now in San Diego) (3/23/07)
Looks like you got your wish... Maybe (Post media critic Howard) Kurtz can explain why the Post did that while he's bashing Politico in his column. www.washingtonpost.com... (3/23/07)
My late Father In Law (Irv Ziff) appeared in many episodes of "Homicide. Life On The Street". and many scenes were shot on location in Baltimore.(He and Yaphett Kotto And Belzer were great friends). RustyGibson (3/23/07)
Dear DCTV Dave: Only a naïve sap would think that Edward’s announcement of his wife’s cancer isn’t pure calculation. The guy’s an ambulance chaser AND a politician, which put together, exceeds any chicanery any talk radio host could think of. C’mon Dave, take off your partisan hat for a change and concede that Limbaugh is spot-on here. (3/23/07)
If Bennett Zier resigned, then how was he replaced in less than 24 hours? Dave save your good Kharma and don't defend this man. Bennett was known for stepping on people at Rockville for his own benefit. He spent millions to relocate the AM's there and rebuild the facility to massage his own ego. Mean while he was letting people go left and right (including an entire station) due to budget shortages? This man will shake your hand so you can't defend yourself as he slips the blade between your ribs. I thought it was poetic justice when he went to work for Snyder. This is better! (3/23/07)
Here’s the part of the BZ/DS/3X story I don’t get. It wasn’t that long ago that they filed for a CP to turn 730 into a damn blowtorch with a directional rig out near Dulles. With all due respect to everyone’s volatile personalities, firing up that baby would solve most (not all, but most) of Red Zebra’s reception problems, especially with WFRE covering their Redskins’ ass from the northwest. Did I miss something? Did the application go down in flames? Or did one of the principals in RZ just not have the patience to wait for the plan to be realized? (3/23/07)
Hi I got this email this AM from Chris, he's a helluva nice guy and I wish him the best of everything Subject: Moving on Friends – As some of you may know, today is my last day with Cumulus Media of Fayetteville. As of 5 o’clock today. As of Monday – I’ll be with Curtis Media in Raleigh as Director of Programming for WWMY/WWNF Chris Roth (3/23/07)
Dave's response: We did a Front Page newsblurb on 3/21 on Chris's move. All our best to him. Let's hope he makes it back to do some radio programming in DC some time. The market could use his expertise. So, what's up with Goldy? Is he all by himself in Fayetteville now that Chris is gone?
Remember that movie Syriana, with George Clooney, the scene where they come out of a bar and go to IKEA, or something like that. I remember hearing about the bar scene being filmed somewhere here in Rockville. And the IKEA scene? Could it be the one in College Park? It sure seemed very familiar, having been there a couple of times. (3/23/07)
Dave's response: The Ikea in White Marsh? How about 1999's "Arlington Road," with Tim Robbins and Jeff Bridges, which was set in Reston but was actually filmed in a suburb of Houston. Loved it when they went to "The Reston Mall." Ha ha ha.....
In the CBS show about the DC Police Commissioner a few years back the police went to investigate a murder on Benning Road, I fell out of my chair when the "Benning Road" they arrived at was a country road with a nice brook running perpendicular and a white washed wooden covered bridge over the lazy stream. A lot of time when filming "about DC" they simply look at a DC map to get references and film somewhere else. The X Files had someone meet them "Off 95-Bond Mill Road." They all arrived at a warehouse district. Though almost two miles long, Bond Mill Road has no commercial properties on it, just single family 4+ bedroom homes running into an area of ball fields, tennis courts, and a reservoir below. Speaking of misrepresentation, I listened to Mark Levin last night and I am still amazed that he can consciously twist the truth so much. He goes from partisan hack to factual liar in a matter of two and a half sentences. It is good no one listens to "The scratchy One." (3/23/07)
Dave's response: There's a Kevin Costner movie ("No Way Out"?) where, during a subway chase, they get out at a Metro station on M Street in Georgetown - where, of course, there isn't one. And the below-ground shots were filmed in Baltimore's subway.....
"Look at the "X Files." It was set in DC but most of the filming was done in Vancouver and, in the last few seasons, LA....." Remember Seinfeld? Filmed in LA. (3/23/07)
Dave's response: Many great NYC-set TV comedies - from "I Love Lucy" to "All In The Family" - were shot in LA. One of the hoots about watching the "X Files" was all the fake DC area places they'd feature - mythical shopping malls, pretend hospitals, and schools that don't exist.....
I have been around this area a LONG time. I remember Don Geronimo nighttimes on PGC. I remember the big comeback on WAVA. Than the pairing with Mike on the Morning Zoo where they made constant fun of Elliot & Woodside and even more so of the "old farts" Charlie & Harrigan. NOW - is their show as fresh and entertaining as it used to be?? All of us get stale in the same job for many years and it is hard to keep it fresh, but, in the entertainment industry you better keep it fresh or the next generation of listeners will move on to someone else. Loyal Listener less & less (3/23/07)
Dave: I see BZ's name is still displayed on the Red Zebra corporate page. Is this an indication of lack of attention to detail, or is manpower so low that there's no one to handle this sort of thing? www.redzebrabroadcasting.com (3/23/07)
Just when you thought the "Jerry's Subs" commercials could not get worse...they pump out another steamimg, retarded pile of crap. The new tabloid style show spot is easily the worst radio spot EVER. I call for an immediate boycott of the Jerry's chain until they decide to come out with some form of an intelligent commercial. Management of that place must think current and potential customers are idiots. They may or may not have quality food there...but I won't go there because of their horrific spots. And chances are, I am not the only one with that same thought. (3/23/07)
Is it me or are my eyes deceiving me? MASN seems to be stuck on ESPNEWS. It has been this way since Wednesday night. (3/23/07)
Say No to NPR's Anti Labor Firing of a Union Negotiato...r Description/History: In 1997 the engineering Unit of NPR began the process of Unionization. NPR management hired a large outside law firm to attempt to thwart these Unionization efforts. NPR filed many costly appeals. Finally, after the appeals and two votes, NABET-CWA was certified as the Engineering Union of NPR in 1999. After long arduous expensive negotiations the first contract was signed in 2002. NPR violated the contract and a large amount of grievances had to be filed. NPR continued to pay their inside legal team and outside hired expensive law firms. For the second contract negotiations, NPR management hired an additional outside large expensive law firm. One of the negotiators who had also been involved in the Union mobilization efforts and a staunch supporter of workers fair rights was then fired by NPR management. That same negotiator was also utilizing the provisions of the FMLA at the time of her firing. After the negotiator made her thoughts clear on the then current contract non favorable to workers rights proposal, the negotiator, was brought in to meetings and told she would be terminated for any absences FMLA or not and/or any inadvertent errors. The Negotiator had had an excellent professional record and had been an employee of NPR's for 12 years, and with a family and a young child. NPR Management concurred that the Union did not agree with what they were doing, NPR was told by Union officials that NPR management was in violation of the contract. However, NPR Management fired the negotiator anyway and the workers voted for NPR's contract. Further resulting in another labor violation and insult: a Union worker would not want to volunteer to be a negotiator unless that volunteer made sure to agree with (NPR) Management. NPR continues to violate their worker's rights and contract, and still resulting in more and more legal costs from their inside legal team and additionally hired expensive outside law firms. We, the undersigned, are urging NPR Management to stop wasting funds on legal expenses that fight the Union and workers fair rights. We urge NPR to reinstate, reimburse and make whole the fired Union negotiator with all wages and benefits. Link to sign the petition: -can sign anonymously or with name- www.gopetition.com (3/23/07)
WBOC anchor Steve Hammond on Friday marked 20 years with the station. In recognition of the anniversary, family and friends joined Hammond the day before in Dover as the Delaware Senate honored him for his years of service to the community. Some of state's most powerful said Hammond sets a high standard for journalism on Delmarva. www.wboc.com (3/23/07)
I'm really surprised that anyone would be shocked at Bennett Zier using "Fuck it". My first memory of Zier was when he arrived at WBIG, back in the Steve Allen Days. He called staff meeting, part-timers, full-timers. Introduced himself to a "MIXED GROUP" males and females. When he finished his introduction he closed the meeting with "don't fuck this up". I'm no prude, not by any stretch of the imagination, BUT not knowing any of the NEW staff I would think he would have not resorted to the crass epitaph. But, Zier is CRASS to the bone.Anonymous former WBIG employee. (3/23/07)
Please read this as an interest from someone who has no ax to grind politically. As I was contemplating sending you a significant contribution to your column, I read your caustic comments about Rush Limbaugh and changed my mind. While Mr. Limbaugh is certainly a polarizing individual, creating controversy has been his calling card for years. Everyone knows that. It is one thing to criticize someone with whom one disagrees, but it is another thing indeed to use the kind of scatological frat house language that you chose. It was inappropriate, plain and simple. Also interestingly, in a quick review of recent posts, it seems that you save these kinds of words for conservative personalities. Perhaps you are unaware that people of many varied political persuasions enjoy reading about TV/radio issues. Saving your harshest comments for conservatives reduces your potential for funds to keep your site going, because many conservatives would probably contribute more if they weren’t chastised so severely I think you owe readers an apology. Cordially, Bob Fritz (3/23/07)
Dave's response: First off, those comments about Rush were from a DCRTV visitor, and not from me. And, second, we run all kinds of comments here in the Mailbag - both pro and con about Rush. Yes, I admit that I am a liberal. And, yes, I do agree that Rush's comments yesterday (how John Edwards' press conference regarding his wife's cancer was some sort of campaign ploy) were rather tasteless. It's fine to slam Edwards for his political views, but calling him "faggot" and "the Breck girl" are kind of childish, don't you think. By the way, I do agree with you about some of the foul lauguage popping up in the Mailbag. I will crack down that.....
Dave: Many scenes in "Breach" were indeed filmed in D.C. At the very least, one prominent scene at the Navy Memorial downtown was filmed there, in D.C. Another scene was filmed on a road in D.C.--possibly the Whitehurst Freeway, but it could be another road. Additionally, at least one other scene was filmed in D.C. You can find people who were extras, local crew who worked on the film while it was here, and others who were involved locally. Additiionally, there were media reports about the production crew being in town. So, yes, scenes in "Breach" were indeed filmed in D.C. (3/23/07)
Dave's response: Many DC-set films and TV shows are actually filmed elsewhere, with just the "location" shots done locally. Exteriors of the FBI's HQ simply can't be duplicated elsewhere. That was definitely Foxstone Park at the end of the film because you could see that big Tysons Corner tower in the background. But, I'm told, many of the generic outdoor shots and the interiors were shot in Toronto, where it's much cleaper to film, apparently. Look at the "X Files." It was set in DC but most of the filming was done in Vancouver and, in the last few seasons, LA.....
("Dave is right! Zier said "FUCK THIS". The signal was crappy") My what short memories...Red Zebra was the creation of Daniel Snyder and Bennett Zier...remember the cute little article about how they came up with the name Red Zebra as they were putting this company together. Do we not think that Bennett was involved in buying these 3 signals? He was the CEO of this company! He talked about the business plan they developed...a plan that involved 3 signals "that together, cover the entire market". (3/23/07)
Dave's response: The story is that Bennett Zier's e-mail nickname is "blue zebra," a la "BZ." And he wanted to call Synder's media company that. But "blue" was changed to "red" to better suit the Redskins' official colors.....
Unamed Poster. Methinks your balls are in an uproar because I continue to put hope into place. The "dislike" for Don & Mike is more resentment than dislike. They are two pompous incompetent but, once totally competant individuals. I keep hoping that something will light the burned out candle. That's all. I do check in just for that reason. Many years ago I knew Mike O'Meara very well, back when he wasn't carrying the demons around. He was, (and might still be) a nice person hiding in a tortured body, don't know. Don, well I knew him too, he has not changed a bit. That in itself is too bad. You'd think after all he's been through he'd finally discover compassion, kindness and caring. NOPE. You say I'm a hypocrite, yes, true in some instances, but all in all I'm a dreamer and hope for the best for all even D&M. Your sarcasm falls on deaf ears and your "glass house" is in shambles As for the target, you wouldn't recognize it if it sat on your face.ANG (3/23/07)
Re: AM IBOC: The devil will be in the details of how the Rules are written. The Rules have not yet been issued. There will be serious interference issues with night-time AM IBOC and the forthcoming FCC's Rules on how to settle such disputes are crucial. Also, it appears that the situation regarding interference to Canadian AMs has not yet been faced. Don't expect night-time AM IBOC to light up "tomorrow". (3/23/07)
Triple X running no local programming with Georgetown in the Sweet 16 is terrible. WTEM 980's programming other than Czaban isn't that good but at least it's local and live the day a major local team is playing a Sweet 16 game. I'll grant you that Riggins doesn't know much about anything but football but his two co-hosts seem to do a decent job covering for him. Is it possible that the Riggins Show is on permanent vacation? Does anyone know how the Riggins show did in the last book? (3/23/07)
biggest news since FM Stereo was adopted. Yesterday, The FCC greenlighted the use of Ibiquity's HD Radio technology for digital broadcasting. This is no longer experimental. Even translators, boosters and LPFM are allowed to use it. Nightime AM is also allowed... (3/23/07)
Dave, anyone who thinks The Politico has a left wing bias hasn't read it. The Politico's bias is strictly toward DC insiderdom, regardless of party. Howie (3/23/07)
Last October, before the midterm elections, Rush Limbaugh claimed that Michael J. Fox (who has Parkinson's Disease) was "exaggerating the effects of the disease". In a campaign advertisement Fox did for Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Claire McCaskill, Limbaugh suggested that his "moving all around and shaking" in the ad, was "purely an act." At the time, I noted that I thought Limbaugh was lower than whale shit on the ocean floor. I was right, of course, in my estimation of Rush Limbaugh, and now he has managed to out-do himself! On his radio program on Thursday, here's Rush's take on the announcement that Elizabeth Edwards has been diagnosed with bone cancer: "I'm telling you this is to jump-start the campaign, this is to see if it will jump-start the campaign and we'll find out the next three or four days, or whatever, week, if that happens." I underestimated Rush Limbaugh. He's NOT lower than whale shit on the ocean floor. He is lower than prehistoric fossilized whale shit 10,000 feet beneath the ocean floor! (3/23/07)
"F*CK THIS YEAH RIGHT" They did not have a a good signal. If you want the numbers! 'YOU HAVE TO PICK THEM UP, SO THEY CAN LISTEN '' Also i don't sit in my underwear read this board. Thanks Danny boy! for the post! (3/23/07)
I hate to agree with a ghost and disregard the comments of Poopsie, but this Ang character is like the Energizer Bunny. No matter how times he gets slapped down, handed his lunch, he keeps on babbling. Vinnie's ghost has it right, you are the most blatant hypocrite who inhabits these environs. Your local police force could save on manpower if they hired you, because you have the good cop/bad cop routine down to a tee. You scold people for being nasty and rude, yet you are continually so yourself. You scream at people to change the station when they belly ache about the content of a radio show, but you repeatedly ignore your own advice, as your last efforts at critiquing Don & Mike prove. Let's see, you claim you tune in because you are hoping for a change in content from the guys who have proved they can trowel out the same old crap for 20+ years, and still be successful. Kinda odd and wishful, huh? I think what put the Ajax in Ang's thong was when during his three minutes of listening he discovered....hush everybody: "Homosexual Humor" Tells us true, how close were you to gathering up all the Blades laying around your house to build a protest bonfire? And after Vinnie's Ghost called you out, you replied with your per-usual weak retort which always ends in calling someone a nasty name with neat asterisks to hide some of the offending letters. Creative. Methinks maybe a few too many lead paint chips peeling off the walls and radiators during your youth might be a factor. And now, because I own you, I will happily supply you with a catapult and a truck load of boulders, whilst I saunter around nude in my glass house, comfortably knowing you could never hit me. Hey! Want me to write your retort for you? At least I have a chance of hitting the target? An Unnamed Poster (3/23/07)
Bennett Zier is not the guy who put WTEM on the air in 1992. It was up and running when he got there. Steve Goldstein was the original GM and a guy who used to be at WFAN, Scott something, hired the original staff. Zier, however, was the guy who presided over a huge cutback in staff and product quality in 1994 or '95. Had the respect of absolutely no one, but then the same can be said for his lieutenant Todd Castlebury, whose own days at Red Zebra are likely numbered. (3/23/07)
A reminder for those of you who have booked for Chris Matthews appearance at The Q&A Cafe: it is Tuesday, March 27. We may start at 12:45, because Chris has a packed day and asked to start a little early. This lunch is sold out, but there is a wait list. If you are on the wait list, or want to be on the wait list, you might check with Jon Moss on Monday to find out about cancellations. We always have cancellations. Jon's number is 202.338.2000. Reserve now for the lunch with sportscaster George Michael on Wednesday, April 4. This will be an interesting look not only inside sports but also inside local TV sports and the changes happening at local TV in general. George is a candid and entertaining fellow and I expect the Q&A will be the same. Coming up right after George, on Thursday, April 12, is a chat with John F. Harris, editor of the new The Politico newspaper and website. John is also the author of "How to Win," which is about the '08 presidential campaign, and "The Survivor," a sharp look at the life and times of Bill Clinton. Before The Politico, John was the national politics editor of The Washington Post. For additional Q&A names and dates, please visit the website. Thanks, Carol Joynt (3/23/07)
Most of you will be fast asleep (or out of the listening area) this Saturday morning (3/24) when I will be hosting an hour of the oldies on 620 KHB. I was given the go-ahead by station owner, Bob Stevens, to give it a shot. In that case, you might want to tune in since that may be the last time you'll hear me! Kidding aside, if you are in the listening region and you are awake this Saturday from 6-7 AM, put 620 on your AM dial and tune in. You can hear what it sounds like for a guy to do his first solo airshift! Eric O'Brien, Pittsburgh Radio and TV, PBRTV Editor/Webmaster www.pbrtv.com (3/23/07)
/\ March 23 Messages /\
\/ March 22 Messages \/
I've never been a big Rush fan but I log a little time with him each day just to see how he spins things. For the past 4 years he's always reffered to Edwards as "the breck girl". Now today when remarking on Edwards press conference he repeatedly reffered to him as Senator Edwards. Why back down from your cute/hateful little nicknames now Rush? You are the epitome of a flip flopper. Just because his wife has breast cancer is he now not going to be a target of your snide remarks. If your going to tag someone with a nickname stick with it and don't try to jerk us around with fake sincerity. You'll be calling him "breck girl" again before the week is over. Nice try, but it's sickening to me. I'd love to hear him if the Iranian President's wife had breast cancer. (3/22/07)
Dave's response: Well, at least Rush didn't call him "faggot" like Ann Coulter did.....
"barring a leak from someone deep inside Red Zebra" Deep inside Red Zebra? There are no more than four or five core zebras left, how deep could you possibly go? (3/22/07)
Bruce Gilbert as the new CEO of Red Zebra. Wonder how much $$$$$$$$$$$ Snyder had to fork over for his new puppet? Or is it not so much the $$$$$$$$ as the other benefits that Snyder used to lure Gilbert to run a unorganized at best radio outfit. Now for Danny Boy's next act, maybe he can put a REAL NFL team on the field like Jack Kent Cooke did. (3/22/07)
"Dave is right! Zier said "FUCK THIS" Yeah right, and in less than 12 hours they announced that the head of ESPN is taking his place. Sounds like Snyder said "FUCK YOU". But that aside, it should amaze the half dozen or so of the has beens that sit around in their underwear and read this board that the hiring of a CEO with credentials like this would create EVEN MORE negative response towards Red Zebra than BZ, the guy everyone loved to hate. The fact that Red Zebra has validated its presence and future in this market with the hiring of Gilbert has made so many so angry further validates the overreaching power of Dan Snyder. And what's even MORE PATHETIC are the sad little limp dicks here who are so quick to predict the demise of Red Zebra and spending SO MUCH of their time doing so. You have obviously failed at your job, or are failing at your position in what's left of the DC radio market. Red Zebra is no doubt in it for the long run, longer than your unemployment checks will cover the cost of the dial-up service that affords you the luxury writing about how much you hate Dan Snyder. I wonder if he would hire YOU? (3/22/07)
Dave is right! Zier said "FUCK THIS". The signal was crappy. Danny Boy had to go to the NFL, so he could stream the games in Washington D.C. so people could get the games at night. That was the problem, Danny boy did not want to fork over the cash to get a big sick. He needs a good signal. Then it may work! Zier new what was going on. He just told Danny boy "Adios-amigo" Dave is right! (3/22/07)
Wow! What did Bruce Gilbert do wrong to get the Zebra CEO job? Why would any qualified broadcaster accept a job managing stations with no signals? The answer is the same as all of the NFL players and coach's who come to the Redskins.....M$O$N$E$Y! Snyder will court the person to death and then pay them anything until he grows bored and then not pay them what he promised. He does this with everyone from his Nanny to his landscaper to his players but people keep falling for the devils promises. My advice to Bruce is....run as fast as you can and keep running to another job...any job...Little Danny and his henchmen will screw you before the season starts. Signed, Lavar Arrington (3/22/07)
Bennett Zier leaving Red Zebra is just the tip of the ice berg. We know that Danny Boy wants to shove the OVER-HYPED Redskins down our throats 24-7-365 and that if he or his hired suits had any clue about sports radio, they would have looked at other major markets and seen that the successful all sports stations is LIVE local programming. As he flies around the country wasting money on washed up football players, Danny Boy should tune in to some of the great sports radio stations like WFAN- New York, WEEI Boston/ Providence and WMVP- Chicago to see what live local programming can do. I ESPN says you have to carry a certain number of program hours to be an affiliate, but you can still have good ratings if you have good local programing. Do the names Phil Wood and Frank Herzog mean anything to the folks at Red Zebra? Guess Not. These two men would be perfect host for a sports talker. Nobody knows baseball like Wood and he's very knowledgeable when it comes to football and hockey. Want a host that knows the Redskins inside out and won't embarrass himself talking about other NFL teams or somebody that knows the NBA and PGA inside out, then Herzog would be that man. Both were available when Triple X went on the air and Danny Boy blew his chance to hire (even as part-timers) two extremely talented hosts. Live programming brings ratings a drunk host and two yes boys doesn't constitute live programming. Go ahead Danny Boy, waste your money on useless radio programming but don't cry when your ratings are ationszero or below even with the Redskins on these stations. (3/22/07)
RE: Red Donkey. Now that Bennett "Blue Zebra" Zier is gone, time to downgrade that pony to an ass. Can we now change the name to something more appropriate? Red Midget? What a shock that a Danny Snyder led production has employed an overkill of management and hype, with a "win yesterday" urgency to produce a complete radio disaster. Quick aside on disasters: The John Riggins Show. OFF the next TWO weeks and running "best of?" HA! Right during Sweet 16 and Final Four!!! Fabulous. Bram "Giggles" Weinstein - off to Thailand. As for any real sports fans who might actually be their listeners, and MIGHT want to hear live college basketball talk right now: "F*** you! You get NOTHING!" This flush is just the "courtesy flush" to kill the stench, the final one will come probably after the "new guy" (Shapiro, as a side gig from turning around Six Flags?) realizes that he too can't make miracles happen with 3-tin-can signals on a string. The delirious joy of another botched SnyderCo adventure gone bad, is almost too much to handle. Where does it rank? To me, right behind "Charging To Watch Practice" and "Seats Behind Pillars." But remember everybody to repeat that Snyder mantra: "Sure he's a real jerk, but he's a GREAT businessman." Oh. Really? (3/22/07)
FYI, Dave. This description of a D. C. crime scene from the first chapter of George Pelecanos’ exceptional new mystery novel "The Night Gardener”: “The public relations officer, a moley Italian American who appeared frequently on TV, fed the usual to a reporter fom Channel 4, a man with suspicious hair whose gimmick was a clipped delivery and dramatic pauses between sentences.” (3/22/07)
Dave's response: Is Pat Collins of Italian ancestry?
Gee, I decided to check out this site today for the first time in a long time and WOW! People are really getting angry with one another. Cat fights...meow, especially nasty posts from some really nasty people. Why would anyone call themselve the "ghost of Vince Lombardi'"? To corrupt such a great coach with drivel is to me really disrespectful. Sorry, it's just an opinion. "Can't we all just get along?" poopsie (3/22/07)
Triple X can't possibly run "best of" programming of the Riggins show during Final 4 week and Opening Day particularly if Georgetown is in the Final 4. They'll likely bring Weinstein or Sheehan in to host live shows. They are the only hosts at Triple X that know anything about college basketball anyway. (3/22/07)
("During his years at Clear Channel, Zier demonstrated time after time that he's not a strong believer in locally produced sports talk radio") Zier was the one that put the original WTEM on the air – when it was live 24/7… do you suppose, maybe that it was Clear Channel that wasn’t a strong believer? (3/22/07)
Hello Vince, this is the Hypocrite ANG, You are totally correct, I don't like D&M at all, not in the least. They irritate me to no end. Hypocriticlly speaking, I do have hopes that things will change as far as the content of the program. Every once in a while I take a few minutes out of my hypocritical day to see for myself just how BAD they are getting. Unfortunately everytime I check I get the same juvenile self indulgent crap from them. The homosexual humor has left the building, especially if you sound like you're trying to sound "girlish of effeminate". Hypocritally observing your quest to make me feel uncomfortabe I'll be blunt you aren't. You in my judgement, are the supereme a**hole. (hypocritically speaking of course)ANG (3/22/07)
("I am the clown that stated that Red Zebra billed 9 million in 5 months last year and if you check the Market Revenue Report produced by Miller Kaplan you will find that to be true....Those are the facts clown hater.") Dear "Clown", it is true, Red Zebra billed about 9 Million in 2006. However, it is ALSO true that WJFK billed about that much in 2005, the last year they had the team. But lets not forget that the Redskins were getting 8 million in rights fees from WJFK. So, if you are Dan Snyder, you LOSE the 8 Mil in rights fees, but you bill $9 Million with Red Zebra. Now you are ahead $1 Mil, right? Wrong! You paid $33 Million for 3 signals nobody can hear and you have $1 Mil in revenue to show for it. The math is easy. and we are just talking Revenue. now lets add up the expenses? Riggins and his crew, the suits from CC that were hired in addition to everyone else, suites and tickets for Fed Ex and Verizon Center, RENT, etc... signed, Danny Boy. (3/22/07)
Regarding Mel W’s question about filling out his Arbitron diary. Mel, just write down what radio stations you actually hear, and when & where you hear them. None of it goes to a bottomless data bucket. WTOP always shows up in Baltimore ratings; so does WBJC, though as a non-commercial station, those ratings aren’t published for general consumption. But if you are listening to them—or ESPN or WFAN—it will be counted. So don’t worry about it. Just fill in the diary as closely to real-life as you can, and send it back. (3/22/07)
Dave's response: What if you have 94.7 on all your pre-sets, like me?
"I can see a talk station with sports talk segments and play by play sports events - but a 24/7 sports TALK station?". That format's been highly successful for years in places like Boston, New York, Philly, Chicago and LA - so why not Washington? With more creative programming decisions over the years, WTEM may well have become a consistent ratings success story. Red Zebra appears to be in the process of squandering a golden opportunity to knock 980 down a peg and make Triple X the preferred sports radio outlet for the DC area. John Riggins announced yesterday that his show would be airing 'best of' material for the next two weeks while he's on vacation. I'm sorry - what self-respecting sports radio station in America puts its afternoon drive program in 'best of' mode during the culminating rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament as well as Opening Day in baseball? Bram Weinstein hasn't been doing his show this week because he's vacationing in Thailand (evidently management didn't allow anyone to take time off during Redskin season). There's a very real possibility that Georgetown will be playing in the Final Four a week from now - how bad would it look were that to happen and Triple X be in no position to do it justice? Riggins was complaining about his show being unable to book John Thompson III or any Hoya player as a guest despite repeated efforts. Perhaps that has something to do with WTEM (which carries the Georgetown games and employs the head coach's influential father as a host) being in no mood to do any favors for the network that raided its on-air talent last year. On the other hand, Bennett Zier's departure may very well turn out to be a good thing for RZ. During his years at Clear Channel, Zier demonstrated time after time that he's not a strong believer in locally produced sports talk radio. Mike, Fairfax (3/22/07)
To ANG the Hypocrite (please refer to yourself with this moniker in future posts). [Start your snip from today] Yesterday afternoon I took three minutes to listen D&M. It was HORRIBLE! Donnie was delivering items from USA Today trying to sound like a homosexual. It was radio at it's worst. [end snip]. Please to be comparing and contrasting with this... [Start your snip from 3/14] Don and Mike...Don and Mike...D&M, D&M....GEESUS CHE-RIST! Give it a rest. If you don't like them don't listen, if you do...listen but please, please stop this incessant whining, bitching, moaning trivial bull****! [end snip]. And you still claim you're not being a hypocrite?? Fess up; you're really Doni G. himself operating on the assumption that there's no bad PR, aren't you? Or maybe the homosexual angle is hitting a little too close to home? Signed, The Ghost of Vince Lombardi (3/22/07)
I am curious abut how Arbitron uses their data. I am actually keeping an Arbtron diary this week. So I live in Howard County - which is part of Baltimore demographic, and work in PG which is part of DC area. So when I tell them I'm at home but listening to WTOP, how - if at all - does that figure in the ratings? Simlarly, at the office, I may switch on Baltimore ESPN radio, or WBJC. And what if I'm in the car anywhere in the area? I assume for sure that when I tell them I am listening to WFAN New York, that info goes in the bottomless data bucket. Can anyone provide insight? Mel W. Columbia, Md. (3/22/07)
Dave's response: Hey Mel, I could post your entire address. Maybe you'd get some checks in the mail from area stations. Ha ha ha. You're an important person.....
Statement from iBiquity Digital's President and CEO Bob Struble on today's HD Radio ruling by the FCC: "iBiquity Digital commends the FCC for its decision today to authorize the use of two additional HD Radio services - multicasting and datacasting - and allow AM HD Radio stations to begin nighttime broadcasting. Today's decision reinforces the Commission's support for the HD Radio system and provides automakers, broadcasters, receiver manufacturers and retailers with the certainty of formal adoption of critical HD Radio services. We anticipate this action will also prompt a surge of activity from companies in each of these industries as they look to capitalize on the continuing momentum of the HD Radio rollout." (3/22/07)
Egg on face at The Politico... Never mind bias, The Politico could use a refresher course in basic journalism. A blogger there just did a mea culpa for single source reporting that John Edwards would suspend his presidential campaign.. except of course that Edwards didn't actually suspend his campaign. Everett W. www.politico.com (3/22/07)
I apologize in advance for keeping this topic alive. In reference to the song about Sen. Obama on Rush Limbaugh's show: Calling him a "Magic Negro" is not some phrase he made up. This is a satire based on opinion columns that have appeared in some newspapers recently about Senator Biden's opinion of Sen. Obama, and other columns claiming that many African-Americans consider him inauthentic because of his non-"African-American" background and life story. Here is a quote from the Wikipedia: "Although he has magical powers, his magic is ostensibly directed toward helping and enlightening a white male character. It is this feature of the magical negro that is most troubling. Although the character seems to be show