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Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - May 1 to May 7, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ May 7 Messages \/ To the Steve Malzberg basher: You won't be listening to Steve subbing for Chris Plante anymore because beginning tonight (May 7), he'll be hosting his own show on WOR Radio from 9-Midnight, right after Michael Savage, every Monday-Friday. The show will stream live at www.wor710.com (5/7/07) I'm intrigued that WTOP is selling naming rights to its glass-enclosed nerve center. This opens up a world of possibility. They could start selling the rights to individual stories -- like: “This triple homicide brought to you by Prince George’s County Hospital ….when you’re bleeding to death in the gutter, we’re there for you. PG-CH – your health care partner since 1987.” “This arson – sponsored by Zippo lighters. Zippo – the leader in combustibility since 1927.” Great ideas, huh?!?! (5/7/07) WHO is Bill Glasser? Let me ask YOU something, Mister: Is it cold living under that rock? I just hope that when the big one falls, you've decided that answer for yourself! The Eisenstein Family (5/7/07) "Come on, it's the news, not a Redskins broadcast, we don't need to have a client's name on every little thing. How tacky and devoid of class. Doesn't Bonneville make millions enough as it is?" Danny Boy demands top dollar for everything that bears the Redskin marks, not in a million years would he have given away the naming rights to his studios for the price Ledo paid for Bonneville's regardless of how they were performing. I do love their pizza though! (5/7/07) While most of us are aware who Damien Einstein is, the real question lingers: Who the hell is Bill Glasser???? Signed The Robot (5/7/07) Dave's response: Not Einstein - "Eisenstein"..... Not too many mailbag posters seem to listen to WASH. But CC beat Bonneville to the punch a few weeks ago--with commercial plugs saying they're broadcasting from "the Thompson Creek Windows" studios of WASH-FM. With that sponsor, is it glass-enclosed too? (5/7/07) Dave's response: Or the Cropp-Metcalf climate-controlled studios of the Globe..... Who is Damian Eisenstein? (5/7/07) Something about WTOP and the Ledo Pizza sponsorship thing seems to suck the credibility right out of their newscasts. I almost spit out my beverage while driving when I heard that. As if "glass-enclosed nerve center" wasn't pretentious enough. Come on, it's the news, not a Redskins broadcast, we don't need to have a client's name on every little thing. How tacky and devoid of class. Doesn't Bonneville make millions enough as it is? (5/7/07) The Meltdown at 7 continues... There's a simple explanation regarding Elliott Francis' departure from WJLA/NC8... He quit after being unceremoniously yanked from anchoring the weekend shows on both stations. In the wake of lame a lame February book... News Director Alex Likowski is trying to target a younger demographic. Weekend mornings have been relegated to a rotation of "green" reporters, and Francis' nightside shows were given over to Leslie Cook. Once Elliott had to start dayside shifts again, the negative atmosphere of the newsroom and his shabby treatment by management ultimately led him to quit. This comes on the heels of several "behind the scenes people" giving notice for just the same reasons... and the newsroom is abuzz that Francis may be just the first of many. (5/7/07) When the radio ad comes on featuring a bunch of snot nosed kids singing "You're the most awesome mom in the world" I immediately change the channel and don't come back for a hell of a long time. I suggest you do the same. (5/7/07) Anyone catch the Twilight Zone episode where Tom (Gavin) and Mike frequently have retard Don on their show? Scary stuff. (5/7/07) Dave, do you ever think that some posting such as this one...."Whatever happened to Stacey Cohan, who used to be a reporter on Channel 9 in D.C.? I thought that she was kind of hot" are just plants. Maybe from the person of topic themselves? (5/7/07) Dave's response: I'm sure we get our share of "planted" postings. Not sure about that one..... What's up with Spanish language FM Stereo broadcast on 87.7 MHz - heard clearly on car radio Monday 5/7 afternoon in Lanham..Bowie...Crofton...Annapolis and Serverna Park, Md ? Various male and female announcers - all talking over varied up tempo music selections - and mentions of Equador...Peru...and Microsoft! FM Pirate ? Heck of a signal. Carl in Annapolis (5/7/07) Dave's response: We did a blurb on it last week. It's a new low-power TV operation on channel 6 from North Arlington. A relay of the Spanish Unison network. And, as we all know, the audio of TV's channel 6 comes in on FM 87.7..... There is news that Damian Einstein is no longer on the air at WRNR in Annapolis, MD. It was confirmed by the station and other online outlets. ? (5/7/07) I too sometimes listen to Grandy and the other guy on WMAL in the morning. Neighbors have seen me sitting in my car at the traffic screaming WTF at the radio. This morning was one of those occasions. The news mentioned Casa something in Maryland handing out cards with instructions on what to do if arrested and that was it. The rest of the 1/2 was devoted to the hosts claiming that exercising your right to keep silent until you spoke with an attorney was indeed ILLEGAL. Well they used the phrase "breaking the law". No mention of Tobias, Iraq, evolution, madam, minimal mention of Kansas, etc. Can we, as listeners, petition to change the name of the program from WMAL News to WMAL NOT THE NEWS. Mark in, still evolving, ANNANDALE (5/7/07) Dave's response: It seems that all the Hispanic folks from pricey Arlington are moving to Herndon. While Annandale attracts more Koreans. Ah, the blessed fabric of DC's ethnic community, making this a really cool place to live..... Whatever happened to Stacey Cohan, who used to be a reporter on Channel 9 in D.C.? I thought that she was kind of hot. (5/7/07) Dave- Something a little fishy about the Lido Pizza deal. Is it just a strange coincidence that "Will Robinson" used to be the Marketing and Promotions Director for WTOP? I should know- it was me! Will Robinson was my on-air name at HFS. Could this be a little joke that Big Jim Farley is playing on us all? Curious minds want to know. Also- Shari Elliker, from HFS and current host of XM's BroadMinded now has a show on WBAL-AM. Wes Johnson and I joined her for her maiden voyage yesterday. As always- thanks for an amazing job well done. (5/7/07) Dave's response: The robot flailing his arms - "Danger Will Robinson, danger"..... To Rusty Gibson (as well as Dave)..thanks! Have the link saved in "favorites"..and plan on giving you a listen! BTW Rusty..I, too, was born in Easton (that's where the hospital was..and still is). Tom in Denton, MD (5/7/07) Dave's response: Hey, I was born in Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. Lots of famous people have "checked in and out" there..... I don't think there is any comparison between Mickey & Amelia vs. Kirk & Mark (or Chris & Mike or as Mickey called them this morning, Hambone & Hip Hop). I saw the KMS rating posted here last week & they were lower than what the Junks were pulling in. Nothing posted on the M&A ratings, but Mickey has been trumpeting M&A are #1. It was funny last week when 98 Rock was in Cancun. Mickey & Stash were giving the awards for the week as 98 Rock usually does & the "Where are they now" award went to Chris & Mike since no one knows where they are. Maybe someone can come up with the Baltimore ratings & put them here. I think there was a posting last week for KMS that said a total rating of 1.0 for March & a 0.4 for Men 18+. How long will CBS stick with these 2? CBS dumped a lot of money in K&M's pockets & spent a lot of money on advertising for them & are getting no return on their investment. How long did David Lee last in NY after Howard? They aren't funny, especially Mark, who never really was, & they have just lost it since they left 98 Rock last year. It's like they are still on vacation from there 3 month non-compete time off. HFS picking them up is like the Orioles picking up Sammy Sosa in '05, the best years & times are behind them. Speaking of the O's, I hope they are proud that people in Northern Baltimore County/Harford County & Southern York can't listen to the O's. The 105.7 signal is cut off thanks to the 105.7 signal out of York. The 2 signals just bounce off each other from Forest Hill/Jarrettsville to the PA line, then 105.7 the X takes over. Their York County affiliate is ESPN Radio 1350 AM, WOYK. Forget about it after dark as they are at 1000 watts & only 5000 during the day. The Orioles should have stayed with BAL & Kirk with 98 Rock. Mark could have gone to Pittsburgh & rooted for his beloved Squeelers. Jeff in New Freedom, PA (Southern York County) (5/7/07) Hello, everyone - After a week off we're back Thursday, May 10, with a Q&A that's sure to interest and entertain - a conversation with Loews Hotels Chairman and CEO Jonathan Tisch. He is also co-chairman of the board of the Loews Corporation, one of the largest diversified financial corporations in the U.S. Among other business interests, Loews wholly owns Lorillard, Loews Hotels and the Bulova Coroporation, as well as half of Diamond Offshore Drilling and most of CNA Financial Corporation. A 1976 graduate of Tufts, Tisch gave the school a $40 million endowment gift. He also is very generous to the democratic party. Tisch is involved in many pursuits, a lot of them having to do with tourism and New York. His name has been mentioned seriously as a possible eventual candidate for New York City mayor to succeed Michael Bloomberg, another wildly successful businessman. Tisch has written two books: "The Power of We," which was out a couple of years ago, and his new book, "Chocolates On the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing the Customer Experience." Please take advantage of this rare opportunity to get to know an interesting mover and shaker. For reservations, please contact Jon Moss at 202.338.2000 during weekday business hours. The doors open at noon, the program begins at 12:30, and the fee is $35, all inclusive. Please note: we've added a terrific Q&A for Wednesday, June 6 - a look at morning radio after Don Imus. The guests will be two local radio superstars: David Burd of Washington Post Radio and Fred Grandy of WMAL (yes, and the "Love Boat" and Congress). We hope to see you Thursday. Bring a friend. Carol Joynt... Watch Q&A Cafe TV at... www.nathansgeorgetown.com (5/7/07) Dear WMAL, After listening to Grandy and Andy and then Austin's intro this morning I see you are continuing to avoid talking about A) this mess in Iraq- another 12 American troops killed this past weekend, B) the State Department official who is very close to Condi Rice that resigned on Friday (and his use of the word "Gals"), C) Paul Wolfowitz playing nepotism giving huge raises to his live-in girlfriend, D) the three Republican presidential contenders that admitted they don't believe in the theory of evolution, E) Rove's subpoena, F) fired US attorneys, G) the tornado rescue efforts are being hampered because the Kansas National Guard's equipment is mostly in Iraq, and H) gas prices at an all time high. I see you are avoiding key topicality to devote more time for Andy's commentary on "illegal immigration." I appreciate your priorities, and I agree, there is a problem with illegal immigration. And here is my story to illustrate my issues. My townhouse community inside the Virginia beltway needed labor to do clean up in the common area and woods nearby. I went to the day laborer section in Arlington (by WETA) to find workers. I offered every person $10.00 an hour (no teenager in the neighborhood responded to the help wanted adds in the community bulletin). For $10.00 an hour, far more than minimum wage, I had no takers at the day labor shelter on Sunday. I couldn't get two workers for under $20.00 an hour each, plus I had to buy them lunch! My condo budget was blown big time. As you can see, we need more undocumented workers-it's simple, BUS THEM IN, COMPETITION DRIVES PRICES DOWN FOR EVERYBODY! (5/7/07) Dave's response: Yeah, I guess that means Fox News won't be covering any of the above, either, in favor of continued "breaking news" about Paris Hilton going to jail..... anyone listen to 105.7 in the mornings? just curious as to what some people think - The show seems to have possibilities but is hard to take at times, especially with Mark trying to be the all-knowing pseudo-leader of the show and arguing about everything (arguments do not necessarily = entertainment) possible. The guests seem decent, although their interviews tend to go nowhere and just fizzle out. Listening for about 45 minutes during the morning drive enables me to hear about 4 or 5 trainwrecks, coupled with awkward segways or even silence as they rush to commercial to switch gears. The parody songs (is it the 80's again?) can go away as well. Not that it matters, as the station will probably put someone else in the morning, as they can't seem to hold a lineup for very long. I know that the dial can be changes, but I am just looking for something funny in the morning....the search continues.... (5/7/07) The WTOP Lido Pizza Gas Engulfed Nerd Center. Has a nice ring to it. What's next? WTWP's Amy and Roxanne's Moore Hummer Reliable Sources? The Mark Plotkin Gutter Helmet Political Question of the Week? The PetCo Magic Salamander Mormon Moment of Meditation sounds good too. Anybody over there try to sell a regular commercial load? (5/7/07) 'That Andy Pollin's amazing - he knows everything!' –…What he knows is Redskins and Terps…someone tell Andy that there is a baseball team in town, albeit they may not be very good, but they are here and some fans (don’t be surprised Andy) like to hear more than 5 minutes about MLB during your 3 hour show. It’s a shame Scott Linn can’t replace him. Him and Czabe are great in the morning on the FOX show. (5/7/07) WMAL's fill in hosts, in general, suck. I really really like Chris Plante's show. I can usually tolerate the fill ins. Steve oy vey Malzberg makes my ears bleed. I can take about 3 minutes before I hit click. However the bloated gasbag filling in yesterday was atrocious, horrid, sucked, blew dog...you get my point. 30 seconds and I was praying for a colon cleanser infomercial. There's a difference between being so bad I stay with it to see how bad it gets and just sucking. He went waaaaaay over the line. On a bright side the guy filling in for Chris Core (Austin Hill?) is phenomenal. Of course he's not local either. He has a show in Phoenix with G Gordon's kid. (5/7/07) ("Did anyone else notice in WUSA-9s report on traffic that the 6th worst in the country is Prince Georgia's County. That's right, Prince Georgia's. Another reason why I no longer have much faith in them.") But the graphic did look good in HD. Not the first time someone over there with a 10th grade education hacked the English language on a graphic. (5/7/07) We could talk about KMS's ratings, but its kind of hard when they have none! (5/7/07) Dave's response: But seriously folks, how are Kirk and Mark on HFS (the cursed station) stacking up against Mickey and Amelia on 98 Rock? Was wondering if we could talk today about some ratings, particularly for KMS and 98Rock. Thanks, Louis (5/7/07) During the first week of WTEM's show hosted by Dave Feldman and Carol Maloney, FOX TV reporters from other parts of the country as well as current and former ESPN anchors appeared as guests. Of course Feldman worked for ESPN prior to joining Fox 5 - clearly his network of contacts at both places played a role in Clear Channel's decision to give him a radio gig. For some reason, I'm getting the impression that the station's trying to create the sports radio version of Regis and Kathy Lee. If so, it's a mistake - Maloney brings a lot of sportscasting experience to the table and shouldn't be there for the sole purpose of providing the 'female perspective'. An amusing thing happened on Friday's show - they were talking about the Warriors knocking the Mavericks out of the NBA playoffs and Feldman mentioned Wizards TV analyst Phil Chenier as being on the 1975 Bullets team that got swept by Golden State in the Finals. A few minutes later he remarked that Andy Pollin had come in and corrected him during a commercial break, saying that Chenier didn't join the Bullets until after that but was part of the '78 championship team. Feldman then said something like: 'That Andy Pollin's amazing - he knows everything!'. But not long after that, a second correction by the host was necessary - someone had looked it up and found that Chenier was indeed a member of that '75 team. So I guess Pollin doesn't actually know everything when it comes to sports. Over at Post Radio, Tony Kornheiser opened his program today by saying 'Lots of important things happened in sports over the weekend - I'll get to all of it later in the show'. Guess what? - I didn't tune in to wait until later to hear about the weekend's sports events, so I flipped over to another station where they were talking about them right then and there. Memo to Kornheiser - if you insist on devoting your opening segment to detailed analysis of last night's Sopranos episode after a weekend that including NBA and NHL playoff action, the first major boxing event in a long time, the Kentucky Derby, Roger Clemens signing with the Yankees and Tiger Woods winning a golf tournament, you're more than welcome to do so - just don't expect the sports oriented portion of your listening audience to wait patiently for you to 'get around' to the topics they're interested in. Mike, Fairfax (5/7/07) I hope everyone had a good weekend. Wow. There were a few posters who knew who recorded "Resurrection Shuffle". I see it was played on CAO back in the day. Rusty Gibson also remembered the Tom Jones version of the song, as I do. I wish I could have gotten the Tom Jones version, but I liked the Ashton, Gardner and Dyke version better. I guess for my next musical trivia question, I'll have to dig a little deeper. Thanks for your responses. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (5/7/07) First of all to the guy who said Donni G should've taken Rosenberg under his wing to help him with his show... why again? I'm no Donni fan, but he's getting paid to do HIS show, not help some 6th-rate wannabe hip-hop DJ turn his schizophrenic unevenly paced POS show into something half-way listenable. He's supposed to be able to do that on his own, and I've actually heard his hosting skills have improved dramatically in between orders of McNuggets and McFrosty's. Moving on to whole R&F at WJFK debates, well of course you can blame the 'JFK promotion machine, or the lack thereof, but as Dave points out 'JFK has never excelled at promoting any show of theirs, even the headline acts. If Jefe and Dubs had come back they probably would've fallen victim to this as well, and really they are probably too talented to live in obscurity like that anyway. A locally based 'Loveline' rip-off really probably was the best choice for management, as they could pay the duo with no track record a salary to match, and not what Jefe and Dubs would've requested.... you know something in the order of $10.00 an hour or whatever awful rates 'JFK thinks is fair these days. Once D&M leave that station may as well start handing out the life vests because the Titanic is going down my friends. 5000 - Jason (5/7/07) WaPo's Wayward Queer Culture Poster Gal bigheaddc.com (5/7/07) FOX News Personality Crosses Any Party Line for Fame bigheaddc.com (5/7/07) Dave, Speaking of WTOP. Ledo Pizza has just purchased the naming rights to the "Glass Enclosed Nerve Center" Take a listen to the promo: ledo.mp3... Thanks, Will Robinson, Marketing Director, Ledo Pizza System, Inc. (5/7/07) I have just seen (again !) one of the networks using video footage from Kansas and these tornado "storm chasers." Should the media be glorifying what amounts to a dangerous, frivolous stunt? Wait for a lawsuit like that woman who drank all that water on an FM station stunt. There's no science in this storm-chasing, just an ego boost and a thrill ride for the idiots with a camcorder who happen to survive. (5/7/07) Have some funny items to pass along about WAGE. Last week their new reporter, Miles Mead, stole a direct quote from an article that appeared on the Leesburg Today website. It was a quote from a judge in a murder case; Mead even started his story with the quote just as the Leesburg Today did. This morning he took another story from a local paper, this time the victim was the Loudoun Extra. It was a story about a possible rabies scare in Loudoun and Fauquier. Miles, apparently not from the area, pronounced it Fauqueer. NICE!! Not to be outdone they had what sounded like a teenaged kid reading the sports. During one of the breaks of the (yawn) Wall Street Journal Show this morning he referred to Potomac Falls High School as Pot Falls. This is what the local kids call the school because of the alleged drug abuse that goes on at the school. Nice going WAGE!!! (5/7/07) ("Now you need a Muslim.") You know that’s the great thing about this board… and this country. You can voice your opinion no matter how much of jackass it makes you appear. (5/7/07) Well, WUSA just did a story about, gosh, a fleabag motel in, of all places, the nation's capital. What will the pwecious tourists think? Ah, May. (5/7/07) Did anyone else notice in WUSA-9s report on traffic that the 6th worst in the country is Prince Georgia's County. That's right, Prince Georgia's. Another reason why I no longer have much faith in them. Diane in PG (5/7/07) /\ May 7 Messages /\ \/ May 6 Messages \/ Hey "Tom in Denton": You can pick up my show( and I hope you do!) via www.fcac.org each Friday from 3-5. B/T/W, I was born in Easton. Lastly does anyone know whatever became of ex channel 4 (&7) newser Fred Thomas? That guy was always so serious behind the anchor desk to the point where I was afraid that if he smiled, his face would crumble to the floor. Perhaps he became an Undertaker. Rusty Gibson WEBR Radio/Fairfax (5/6/07) (Dave's response: You mean, somebody actually listens to WMAL on the weekends? Why?) Hey, how about Leo Laporte from 2-4 on Saturdays and 8-9 on Sundays. Leo's the hardest working man in media. That and Coast to Coast AM are the only things worth listening to on that horrible station. Stay-at-Home Dad (5/6/07) ("re Dave's response: We did a report on Channel 4 hiring him. Apparently, he was the third-stringer in the sports department of a Toledo, Ohio TV station - and made the jump to a top 10 market station! Must be pretty good or has a relative who "knows someone" at NBC....") Sorry but you have it slightly wrong. His name sounds like he is a Muslim and that is PC now. It used to be that you need to hire blacks, then Asians, then Hispanics, now you need a Muslim. (5/6/07) (someone said: "There's a difference between some drunk trying to break into his home and someone with a pair of guns blowing people away") I did not hear the show he was complaining about, so I don't know the context, but I assume it has to do with defending yourself. To me there is no difference, defending yourself is defending yourself. (5/6/07) To Rusty Gibson: is your Friday show available on the internet? Thought I saw it in one of your postings...but now..I don't see it! I even googled it..but at present, am unable to come up with a website listing for you; all I'm seeing is "WEBR/Fairfax. Tom in Denton, MD. (5/6/07) Dave's response: You can listen to Rusty's show live at 3 PM Fridays at fcac.org. Click on WEBR radio. There are no podcasts of the show. You can only stream it live..... Hi Dave, This is a funny youtube clip--the lighter and creative side of youtube is well represented here: www.youtube.com... Keep up the great work and glad to see that fellow dcrtv'ers are signing up for your Plus pages. Robb in Capitol Heights (5/6/07) Dave's response: Thanks Robb! Hey WMAL, nice job letting some hack from Sacramento piss all over the students at Virginia Tech by calling them cowards and fairies on your airwaves today. Do you really want Mark Williams telling your target audience that their kids, who those of us around here know put up more of a fight than this hack is willing to admit, are victims waiting to happen? That they're just sissies? Even more pathetic is that when called on it he gave no answer as to what he'd do in the same situation. There's a line between provocative radio and offensive obnoxiousness, and while the line is subjective, that piece of crap in California should stick with talking about things he might know about. There's a difference between some drunk trying to break into his home and someone with a pair of guns blowing people away. Can't wait to hear what this hack has to say again tomorrow night filling in for Plante. Betcha he doesn't piss on the Tech students again though. Just another right wing wuss with a big mouth. (5/6/07) Dave's response: You mean, somebody actually listens to WMAL on the weekends? Why? The latest addition to Channel 4's sports department is Hakem Dermish. He was introduced the other night on a sports report. His bio is on their website. -- Bobbie (5/6/07) Dave's response: We did a report on Channel 4 hiring him. Apparently, he was the third-stringer in the sports department of a Toledo, Ohio TV station - and made the jump to a top 10 market station! Must be pretty good or has a relative who "knows someone" at NBC..... Rusty Gibson dropped the name of former WMAL-AM night owl, Bill Mayhugh. You can read about Bill (in his 1960's prime) at: dcmemories.com (5/6/07) About You tube and copyrights, I could be wrong about this but if a video is filmed in a location with the premission of the owner, then yes the owner can indeed get that video pulled and claim a copyright violation. Say I went into a Giant Food one night and decided to make a video of those who shop there in the evening without even asking the chain if I can film there. If Giant Food saw that clip on You tube or anywhere else, they has as much right to have it pulled as NBC does if I were upload Jay Leno. I have even heard even just showing the logo of business on a clip is enough for that business to have a clip removed, that is if it is used without permisson. Now about that WICL ( Hagerstown-Williamsport ) You tube clip, I actually saw the clip myself thanks to a friend of mine from New York who emailed it to me and I can see why that station pulled that clip. Even though its been not quite a year since I seen it I believe in the discription of the clip when it was available said something to the tune about how these guys were able to break into the radio station at night and that the employees there knew nothing so right there says that WICL had no idea this was being made much less gave an OK to do it. It also brings up exactly what kind of security that station had or still has for that matter to allow total strangers inside. The clip I am sure was filmed on a Saturday night because as this was being made one could very easily here the Supergold Mike harvey show in the background and thats a saturday nite show plus i heard several liners that said "perfect for your weekend". Remembering the video and its hard not to forget I might say considering the main part of the clip was not only the punching but the same guy was being whipped by a mic cord by another man decked out in leather and it seemed that the guy having this done on himself seemed to be enjoying it. And yes every other word on this was "woof" if not the word "fuck". And that spitting scene is something I wish never would see again, well maybe John Waters would get an idea for his next movie from watching the WICL clip though but its not my cup of tea. What is sad though is that the clip was viewed by so many it was well into the 6 figure range, way past 100,000. Even if just 50,000 saw that clip from that it is still way, way more the number of listners WICL ( or their sister WEPM-AM for that matter) had or ever will. (5/6/07) Saw some guy this morning on NBC4 news doing a sports story from Redskins Park..Anyone know if he's the third person on the sports team now?.. (5/6/07) Speaking of WCAO, an aircheck of a young Larry Monroe (Berg) on KLIF in 1957 is on today’s front page of Reelradio.com. KLIF was playing the hits, but they weren’t yet of a top-40 nature. Monroe sound much more reserved than he sounded in the early ‘60s on WCAO, where he was also PD. Listening to Reelradio requires a modest contribution of $12, which is a value if you love old top-40 radio. I don’t think Dave will mind if I tell you about the special Reelradio/DCRTV Plus bundle available this weekend for $72. You just send $12 to Reelradio and $60 to DCRTV…great deal. (5/6/07) Dave's response: Not a bad idea - "bundling" DCRTV with other sites. Will have to explore. Maybe we can do a deal with an "adult site" - $75 gets you a year of DCRTV Plus and Bag Lady Bimbos. Hmmm..... To those that inquired about "The Ressurection shuffle" by Ashton Gardner and Dyke. Enjoy! (5/6/07) Dave's response: Can't put the audio file on the site because of bandwidth and potential copyright issues. Sorry..... Roddy Freeman gets an "A" on his WCAO history test. When I came to Baltimore in 1961, WCAO was located in that old townhouse at 1102 North Charles Street. There was so much room in that building that the 4th floor was used primarily for storage and staff meetings. Great memories!....Johnny Dark (World Space Satellite Radio.) (5/6/07) "Remember when is the lowest form of conversation." Tony Soprano (5/6/07) Hey Roddy: Yes, that was me with Tom on the final day of the Country format on WCAO. It was quite an emotional week there when the news broke. Thanks so much for clearing up the time line when WCAO moved to the Park Heights Avenue location. After they leveled the building in 1988, WCAO and WXYV moved their studios to the Woodholme Center off of Reisterstown Road. By the way, Owen Weber, who was a former GM at WCAO is now working in Baton Rouge. Also, congrats to radio brother Rusty Gibson on his return to WEBR. Power to you Rusty. You're a true survivor. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC/WYTI) (5/6/07) The Globe seems to be wandering into DC101 playlist territory and has already abandoned the 80's unless it was a super hit or The Police. I pass by infrequently yet have heard several d.j's pushing Amy Winehouse. Why they seem to be pushing so hard you'd almost think payola. Lot's of the Killer's, I'd rather hear Roxy Music. Well I guess once again the radio music fans hopes have been smashed to smithereens against the rock of corporate greed and tunnelvision. Did WJFK spend one dime on promoting Ron and Fez? (5/6/07) Dave's response: The Globe is, frankly, all over the place. Sometimes you hear Modest Mouse and Guster, and other times it's Rod Stewart and Bob Marley. As I said in a previous rant, if you flip between DC101 and the Globe, you seem to get one relatively decent rock station..... Who the heck are: Marc Schroeder, Michelle Deal, Shiara Plasencia and Cole Towler? Check this out to see and hear someone's interesting, yet vivid nightmare! www.youtube.com. The real giggles and gag begins at :22. (5/6/07) /\ May 6 Messages /\ \/ May 5 Messages \/ Sorry, I have no Harden & Weaver stories but I was a neighbor of Bill Mayhugh in Annandale in the late 60's (his son Scott & me were good friends. At the time, I had no idea whiom Mr. Mayhugh was as and at that early age (11), I had the ambition of radio! Though I'd still love to read some Harden & Weaver stories! And, incidentally, I'd like to thank all of my fellow "Maillbaggers" that called in yesterday to "welcome me back to the air" after a 4 month "hiatus"... Peace & Love, Rusty Gibson, WEBR Radio/Fairfax (5/5/07) Re: YouTube and copyrights... The copyright laws have been and continue to be re-written and used to take away the public's rights. Now they are so convoluted and oppressive that all someone has to do is whisper "copyright violation" in the direction of YouTube (or ebay or whatever) and they will yank whatever is mentioned rather than risk severe consequences. It is not in their best interest to even think otherwise. Go and read up about copyright law in this "digital millennium". It's very, very scary. (5/5/07) Anybody have any good Harden & Weaver stories? Had dinner with some family friends last night, and we got on the topic of radio and WMAL. I'd never heard of the duo, but it was all they could talk about. I'm sure it was a fun and memorable show if they're still talking about it 30 years later. (5/5/07) Kinda surprised to hear about Elliott Francis leaving..But then again, I was surprised when Christianne Klein "left" and WJLA switched Elliott from weekday to weekend duties, which at the time, I thought of as a demotion..But who knows what goes on behind the scenes at these stations. I'm still trying to figure out why Tony Perkins over at FOX5 is now doing segments that Holly Morris used to do..And speaking of FOX5, Rupert must make everyone over there sign some sort of confidentiality agreement or something because very little "juicy gossip" seems to leak from there.. (5/5/07) Like a lot of people in DC radio, I got my start with Milt Grant on WTTG Channel 5 and out of the old WAVA Studio's on Lee Highway, when he did his radio show. I saw the post about The Montgomery County College channel playing his old shows. Anyone know how to make contact with the right person there who could hook me up with some copies. I'd love to see some of those old shows. Like when I could move that fast and smile! They must be on video tape to play them on a college station. Pat Murphy - Norfolk, VA (5/5/07) Food for thought? Thomas Roberts replacing Elliot Francis? (5/5/07) Dave's response: Well, TVNewser reported that former CNNer Thomas Roberts was doing a DC-based syndication deal, which would make a landing at WJLA seem unlikely, doncha think? Maybe he's headed to radio. Hmmm..... This week Ron & Fez's New York numbers came into question by the New York Radio message board, and PD John Mainelli quickly responded with the numbers below - which really beg the questions (a) what's wrong with WJFK in letting these guys ever go and (b) are they the real force carrying a station with 1.3 ratings. Let this be an example to the weaklings in charge of programming here in DC that good radio - like R&F and The Hideout - will be rewarded eventually. ***** www.musicradio77.com... Posted by John Mainelli on May 04, 2007 at 18:12:58: In Reply to: Re: Re: Ron and Fez posted by Allan Sniffen on May 04, 2007 at 14:45:15: Ask and you shall receive, Allan. These are Arbitron fall-to-winter numbers for 6-9 PM, MON-FRI, AQH share, New York metro: Persons/18-34... WFNY 1.5 to 4.4 (8th) [Ron & Fez]... WABC 1.0 to 1.0 (18th) [Mark Levin/Jerry Agar]... WOR 1.0 to 0.9 (19thT) [Michael Savage]... Persons/18-49... WFNY 1.4 to 3.6 (10th) [Ron & Fez]... WOR 1.2 to 1.9 (17th) [Michael Savage]... WABC 2.0 to 1.5 (19th) [Mark Levin/Jerry Agar]... Persons/25-54... WFNY 1.2 to 3.4 (9th) [Ron & Fez]... WOR 1.8 to 2.4 (16th) [Michael Savage]... WABC 2.5 to 1.9 (18th) [Mark Levin/Jerry Agar]... Persons/12+... WABC 3.5 to 3.6 (8th) [Mark Levin/Jerry Agar]... WOR 3.3 to 3.3 (10th) [Michael Savage]... WFNY 1.1 to 2.3 (17thT) [Ron & Fez]... Best demo performance for Ron & Fez: #2 among Men/18-49. (5/5/07) Reguarding MASN getting some clips removed from You Tube due to copyrights, while this may very well be indeed the case here sometimes I wonder whenever a clip is removed by a third party and You Tube claims "copyright violation" if there is more to do than just that. In other words, another totally unrelated reason. A few months back in my hometown someone shot a clip taken at one of our local radio stations. Pretty much it was a tour of the place and thats it. However that clip was removed from You Tube at the request of Clear Channel over "copyright violation". How? Another clip that was available on You Tube until a few months back involved Martinsburg's Prettyman Broadcasting. This clip was filmed in the studio of their WICL-FM Cool 95.9. This clip was quite bizarre showing some guy in the studio getting punched in the stomach screaming "yeah dude..punch me f*cking harder..WOOF !!" while the other guys in the clip was yelling "grrrrr" and "woof". Looking at the clip looked like those 3 heavy set hairy guys were totally wasted, in fact one was seen drinking a Coors beer in the clip. Oh BTW...that clip ended with the three guys spitting on each other. Quality clip, hardly but nonetheless when a buddy of mine in Texas tried to access that clip it said the video was removed at the request of Prettyman Broadcasting INC over copyright violation. Now it doesn't take rocket science to know that WICL themselves did NOT film that clip ( if they did are they that hard up for PR ? ) but if it was indeed a third party who did the filming how can WICL/Prettyman Broadcasting claim "copyright violation"? Odd ! Chris (5/5/07) Prior to around 1965, WCAO’s studios were in a classic old townhouse at 1102 N. Charles Street. When WCAO moved to the old Park Heights Avenue transmitter site, the sales offices relocated to 40 W. Chase Street. In the early ’60’s, WCAO’s neighbors included WSID at 910 N. Charles Street, WAYE at 916 and WWIN at 1119 (the numbers might be slightly off). Joyce, I remember WCAO’s last day as a country station, a Sunday. A woman had joined Tom Conroy that morning and was saying that Johnny Dark was a gentleman, and talking about how Johnny used to say, “The Big 60.” I’m guessing that was you. Was it? Roddy Freeman (5/5/07) Hey Rusty: During the heyday, I believe that WCAO was broadcasting out of their building on 8001 Park Heights Avenue. If memory serves, their sales office was located on Chase Street in Baltimore. I have some fond memories of the Park Heights location. I can remember getting lost while heading to a friend's wedding at the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. Somehow I ended up in WCAO's parking lot and stayed there for about 5 minutes in awe thinking that Johnny Dark walked through this building and delivered so many great broadcasts. Of course, those great thoughts extended to R.C.Allen, III and the other great jocks that we listened to over the years. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet Johnny that day; but I believe our good Lord was planting a seed for me to pursue my dream of becoming a broadcaster. You can't imagine the exhilaration and fear when I was asked to substitute for Tom on "Sunday Gospel Time" during its tenure on WCAO. It was such an honor working with Johnny. As we all know, he's one classy guy. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC/WYTI) (5/5/07) i'm so psyched that thomas roberts is moving to dc!!! i can't wait to see him at cobalt. he's so effing hot... (5/5/07) You don’t need MASN to see the Nationals in Shenandoah County, at least when they’re playing the Cubs. Just like last year, the game slipped through the cracks on WGN on Friday afternoon. Too bad Shentel seems to remember it’s supposed to black out the games on TBS. Charles in Strasburg (nee Winchester) (5/5/07) Someone asked the other day if Natasha Barrett is still with WJLA. I saw her on 4/04 on the 11 PM news. I think she was just moved off the early morning shift. (5/5/07) WKXW-FM in Trenton (New Jersey 101.5) is again making news, this time through a conflict with the president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, who was upset the afternoon hosts, Craig Carton and Ray Rossi, had drawn attention to police message boards calling for a ticket-writing blitz. The official called a press conference where he showed the media Carton's home address and license plate number (Carton, a one-time WIP staffer, lives in Pennsylvania). Fearing retaliation, Carton and Rossi left Thursday's show less than an hour into the program, and WKXW blasted the troopers' official for intimidation. This could get interesting. www.app.com -- Vincent in Triangle (5/5/07) For those of you that don't know , a very good friend of mines' son has recently been stricken with a terrible bone cancer. The video explains what the Montgomery county public school system has bestowed on him to add to his hurt and aggrivation. The story aired on FOX NEWS last night. After watching the brief story , if you can please take the time and maybe offer up a kind thought or prayer in his fight to live a normal life. Thanks in advance for the time, Jim Lavin... click link below to see brief news story - Clever Solution Allows Student, Girlfriend to Attend School Prom www.myfoxdc.com (5/5/07) The Montgomery County College channel 10 ran some old Milt Grant record hop shows starting at 2 am on Saturday morning. They apparently go back to 1957. Although I did not grow up in the Washington D.C. area, it brought back fond memories of similar shows in my home state of Connecticut as well as American Bandstand. Milt had teens rate a record. He also did live spots, one for Tops Drive in. He had a sandwich that seemed similar to the Big Mac. He then guzzled down a Pepsi and handed out freebies to the kids. I was thinking a senior in high school on that show is 67 today. (5/5/07) /\ May 5 Messages /\ \/ May 4 Messages \/ To all of youformer "WCAOers" out there: As a long time fan of the station in your heyday, weren't the studios located somewhere on Reiserstown Ave? Just wondering as I could never win a contest when I was a kid in the 60's. Rusty Gibson... p.s. Would LOVE to see some old photos of the studio someday! (5/4/07) To Ed Jones: "Resurrection Shuffle" was recorded by Tom Jones (any relation?) on the Parrot label. Keep 'em coming as I love stuff like this! Rusty Gibson (5/4/07) How many people are working at Zebra now. (Three?) (5/4/07) ‘Resurrection Shuffle’ was performed by the group known as Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. Jack ‘Hoss’ Edwards once twin spinned the song behind ‘The Little Kiddies From The Motor City’ doing ‘I’m Livin’ In Shame’ at 1:45 AM on a late spring night in 1971 on WCAO Radio Baltimore, a broadcast service of Plough, Incorporated. I believe a rumble of thunder was heard at the time along Echodale Avenue in northeast Baltimore, which disturbed the audio harmonics in the crashing drum solo which kicked off the song. (5/4/07) "Resurrection Shuffle"... Ashton,Gardner and Van Dyke... also Tom Jones had a version. (5/4/07) "Resurrection Shuffle" was recorded by Ashton, Gardner & Dyke. It peaked at #40 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the summer of 1971. Be well.-Bill Gavin (5/4/07) RE: "You Lefties are so stupid sometimes"......."but the phrase/nominclature ". Maybe so, maybe not, but smart enough to use spell check before we post and start calling people stupid. (5/4/07) Ah, it sounds like “Robert The Angry Mailman” is about to appear on D&M, which means it’s time to turn the radio off. Five minutes here or there of the D&M freak show, fine. Turning the show over to their personal weirdo collection, not fine. It’s iPod time. Sincerely, TMU. P.S. Good to hear that Tony K. is getting some ratings traction at WTWP. That’ll come in real handy when he LEAVES in a month or two for MNF. Does anyone know how you market a radio host who’s only on the radio four or five months a year? Me, neither. (5/4/07) It's Friday, and time for another trivia question: Who recorded "Resurrection Shuffle" back in 1971? I have the record and already know who recorded it. I just want to see who else out there remembers this lost classic 45. This is just for fun. It was a top 10 hit out in the KC area, along with "Gotta See Jane" by R. D. Taylor. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (5/4/07) Hey Dave, Could we talk this afternoon about 98 Rocks morning numbers? Thanks, Louis (5/4/07) Dave's response: I don't have a Baltimore source who gives me the various daypart breakouts. Send 'em along and I'll post 'em..... You Lefties are so stupid sometimes...the "Barack the Magic Negro" came from the Los Angeles Times!!!!!!! Rush does a parody song yes, but the phrase/nominclature came from THREE articles from the L.A. Times (a Liberal rag). (5/4/07) No matter how long and vigorously you polish a turd, it won't shine, nor turn to into gold. Rosenberg was a living checklist of a bad broadcaster, give someone else a chance before he is granted Phoenix status. While both O&A and the Junkies are palatable when I don't hook up my Sirius portable unit, I don't think moving O&A to morning improves ratings, in fact, my guess is they would worsen. The Junkies have a local flavor, and for their foibles and woefully overused catch phrases, they obviously work hard promoting their show locally, with an apparent never ending list of contests and appearances. While not my bag, I think that works in connecting with their listeners and the local community. That being said, I personally would prefer O&A in the morning, but I don't think it's a good business move. The show which is missed the most is Ron & Fez, whose intelligence and subtlety is uncommon in a world of like minded deejays focusing on the lowest common denominator and going over the top to try to gain recognition and ratings. (5/4/07) You know sometimes I wonder if people even think. NBC 4's website shows a tab headline of the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who died in that car accident last week, saying that he was drunk at the time, then the very next tab you click on deals with the DC Scene and shows a group of young adults at a bar with beers in their hand. That's right, remember the death of one person by hanging out with your friends and getting drunk. Denesh (5/4/07) Dave's response: Ahhh, one of my favorite films is "The Silencers," a 1960s spy spoof starring Dean Martin as Matt Helm. And Matt pours a cocktail from his car's glove box "bar" and drinks it while he's driving. Whoa! I agree completely. Donnie G needs his own music channel if JFK plans on HD channels. I still enjoy D&M, and love his music going in and out of segments. Also that bit/contest where he challenges others to name the song, artist, and album. I have no reason to get HD radio right now, but if Donnie G has a station, I'd consider it. TL (5/4/07) Dave's response: HD Radio needs to have specific "go to destinations." Just having a second channel of such-and-such canned music doesn't do it. If there was "The WHFS Vault" or "Don Geronimo's Musicradio" or "WXRT Nationwide" or "Tim Virgin's Jukebox" or "Rolling Stones Radio" - something that would target a specific niche - then folks might just go out a plunk down a few hundred bucks for a digital receiver..... "analysis of the WJFK lineup (including yours, Dave) is laughable, and based only in personal preference, not ratings...". OK Eric Bickle - oops! - er, I mean "Mr. Well Connected Radio Spot Buyer", if advertisers are really queued up, money in hand, to buy Junkie AM spots, why do the oh-so-loveable Junks repeatedly pimp low-budget Tahiti Village infomertials or mention a certain Atlantic City casino ad naseum? My "preference" is to ignore WJFK, because station management has thrown away more true radio talent (Ron 'n Fez, El Jefe/JDubs) in deference to low-priced broadcast trainees like the Junks. A pox on CBS/WJFK until the eventual house-cleaning. anannoyedpjdjnva (5/4/07) Rush, who runs "Barack The Magic Negro", is now a spokesman for GM. I wonder if the African American community will now turn against GM and boycott it. W in W (5/4/07) Geez...you would think with Comcast bending all their customers over and sticking the high costs of their service (almost $20 dollars extra for HBO) up their butt that they would let the thing at Nathan's slide. It never stops with them (see Nats/MASN issue from last year). Comcast is the lowest form of blood sucking scum. They're right below the cell phone companies. (5/4/07) Dave's response: Hey, I hear that's the next business venture Comcast is eyeing - cell phones..... I would love to know the logic behind Rosenberg doing middays on any DC radio station? He did middays. It was awful. He was given a huge chance to make it big and scored a goose egg. (5/4/07) Dave's response: I really don't think WJFK-FM/CBS did a very good job promoting Peter Rosenberg or Ron and Fez or El Jefe and J-Dubbs when they were on the station. They all needed more "nurturing" from management, which, frankly, they didn't get. In fact, I don't think CBS does a very good job promoting the Junks or D&M either..... JT…you offer excellent observations about the nuances of great p-b-p voices from back in the day. Let’s face it. Baltimore baseball fans were blessed back in the era with great teams AND announcers. O’Donnell was in baseball parlance…an ‘ace’, or number #1 starter on any other broadcast team…yet he was the second in command in Baltimore to Chuck Thompson. You can even take it one step further. From 1964-67…the Orioles had Frank Messer as a third voice…and he later landed the lead role for the Yankees beginning in the late 60’s. One of O’Donnell’s strengths is one that is rarely heard on broadcasts these days…with the exception of a Jon Miller. That is the ability to smoothly paint a picture with words as an unfamiliar and fast-moving situation unfolds on the field. I remember in particular O’Donnell’s description of the scene at Shea Stadium in October ’69 when the Mets had just defeated the Orioles in Game 5 to win the World Series. The fans were down on the field and tearing it up pretty good, and O’Donnell’s running narrative described it well. Like JT opined, the old-timers knew ‘the game, the pace and its history’. Bob Mathers (5/4/07) If ABC were smart, they'd flip Smooth Jazz to Oldies with Steve Allan in charge and move Jack Diamond over there. They could put Carson in mornings on Mix. That way, they keep Jack's name and heritage while letting him relate to his demo. (5/4/07) Kiran Chetry, of CNN American Morning (also known as "The Pride of Gaithersburg"), wears short skirts! bigheaddc.com (5/4/07) MONSTER MADHOUSE LIVE DOUBLE FEATURE TONIGHT WITH COUNT GORE DE VOL! At 8:00 p.m., on Falls Church, Virginia based FCCTV, The Count will co-host the silent movie classic "Nosferatu" (complete with live music accompaniment) with the cast of MML (www.monstermadhouse.com) - including Karlos Borloff and the rest of the Monsterminators. This is the Count's second live appearance on Monster Madhouse Live in the last year, and this time will include recent footage of him performing "The Monster Mash," to honor the passing of the beloved Bobby "Boris" Picket, as well as debuting his short film "The Count's Nightmare." At 10pm, a second LIVE episode of MML begins: "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet." Lots of surprise guests and footage planned for both episodes - the return of Director Sarcofiguy, and one lucky viewer will win a DVD copy of "VanHelsing." Whatever you do, don't waste your time with "Spiderman 3" tonight - it will still be there tomorrow! This is a rare opportunity to catch live, LOCAL television again - grown men and women in make-up, monster movies, and the possibility of someone collapsing from exhaustion! FCCTV can be seen in Fairfax County and Falls Church on Cox Channel 12 and Starpower Channel 2, and can be seen in all of Northern Virginia on Verizon's Fios service Channel 35. (5/4/07) re: "Ron and Fez didn't generate great evening numbers for WJFK-FM, and CBS suits feared that El Jefe and J-Dubbs would only repeat R&F's anemic ratings performance" WJFK sabotaged R&F, cutting into their show with awful "Redskins Radio" and unlistable Terps' "Man on Man" radio. WJFK felt wounded that R&F weren't going to wait around and see what happened after Stern left, when they bolted for XM - now we are almost 2 years removed from that, and Ron and Fez announced this week that they received a great book in NY (number two in the evening, terrestrial time slot), and also get a plum national audience w/ XM. WJFK compound their mistakes again by passing on The Hideout and blaming a successful radio show that they had stifled. (5/4/07) As I write this, I'm listening to Virgin Classic Radio streaming from the UK, playing "LaGrange" by ZZ. Schweet! Ya know, if 106.7 does offer an HD channel, I'd like to see Joe Ardinger get his own show, maybe with Robert the Angry Mailman as his sideman, and Julie Wright to "spicesh" up the traffic. And they could pick up Donielle Flynn to do her own version of "Chick Chat" - maybe call it the "BROADcast" Yeah, I'd pay money to hear that...Also heard that Queen is down in Virginia this week to help celebrate the founding of Jamestown. Will Paul Rodgers be fronting the group, or maybe they've dug up Freddie Mercury for one more tour. Wonder if they're still doing "Tie Your Mother Down" and "Fat Bottom Girls." Good stuff! Oh wait - different Queen...dammit! Mike in Frederick (the Dashboard DX Society has the day off). Angels want to wear my red shoes... (5/4/07) You may have posted this already, but Lawson Deming has died at 94. He was known to thousands of Michigan TV viewers (and for a time in other markets such as D.C.) as Sir Graves Ghastly, hosting a weekly horror show. I used to watch him faithfully when visiting relatives in Detroit as a youth. Thought a few folks around here might remember him. A fan site: www.sirgravesghastly.com... (5/4/07) Nathans' popular Sunday "Sopranos Night" got whacked by HBO. Turns out public establishments are not permitted to use HBO, but no one bothered to tell Nathans. Just like that, HBO ordered Comcast to pull the plug on our feed. Mean, mean HBO. Bad HBO. Now that Nathans won't be showing the Sopranos these remaining four episodes, I expect HBO's local area sales to skyrocket. No doubt Nathans was pulling that much business away from them. Geez, it's just a little corner bar, not a big hotel or restaurant chain. Why doesn't HBO pick on someone their own size? Nonetheless, we will continue to offer the fresh pasta at discounted prices until the Sopranos season comes to a close. Carol (5/4/07) Dave's response: Maybe, instead of "The Sopranos," you could run a DVD of "Goodfellas" - which is as good or even a bit better that Tony and company. No fat kids pooping in the shower, anyway. (Not good to watch while you're eating pasta)..... "wasn't that Howard Stern funnyman Artie Lang playing Ari's fat friend who pays a visit?" -Who is this "Howard Stern" you speak of? (5/4/07) Dave's response: That guy who hung around with Anna Nicole Smith. You know..... To be entire accurate, Rusty, Bill O'Donnell was not inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame. Only uniformed personnel are eligible for that honor. He was chosen for the Herb Armstrong Award, which is given at the annual Orioles Hall of Fame induction. It's not entirely unlike the Ford Frick Award at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, which is awarded to a broadcaster every summer. They're not going into the Hall of Fame - there is no "broadcaster's wing" of the Hall of Fame as people so frequently refer to. They are simply recognized at the induction ceremony every summer. I've been told that O'Donnell got the nod this year from the Orioles after a rather impassioned presentation by Tom Davis and Phil Wood, both friends of Bill's from the old days, to the Orioles Hall of Fame committee. (5/4/07) So...will Comcast pull the plug on all of the local sports bars that show games in High-Definition? It costs extra to have an HD feed with Comcast just like it costs extra to have a premium channel like HBO showing the Sopranos. Wait a minute, the O's and the Gnats aren't in HD anyway...I guess problem solved. Thanks for screwing people even farther up the ass Comcast. "Thank you sir may I have another?" (5/4/07) I used to think that FM stations, translators, and boosters did not enjoy protection outside their service contour (that level depends on the class of station) until we had a discussion on the WJYJ translator in Alexandria. The real story: although translators are licensed based on protection ratios to other broadcast service contours, the Part 74 regulations clearly state that translators cannot interfere with the public's regular reception of other stations. NO SIGNAL THRESHOLD IS CITED. Therefore, WLIF listeners outside that station's service area CAN complain about interference and CAN possible get the subject translator shut off. Regards, Dave Loudin (5/4/07) So what was it, last ratings period when they showed that afternoons on WJFK were tied with WMAL (essentially, Don & Mike tied with Sean Hannity)? Now it looks like MAL is a full 2 places ABOVE WJFK. Wow! The S.S. WJFK continues to sink on the heals of those two windbags. Keep baling water with those dixie cups, it ain't helping. (5/4/07) Imagine that...Commie-cast in another feeble attempt to unnecessarily bleed another penny out of a person/business...Who'd have thunk it?!?!? (5/4/07) Dave's response: With "The Sopranos" less than stellar ratings, and more pointless episodes (like Sunday's), the show could use all the publicity it can get. By the way, in this week's "Entourage," wasn't that Howard Stern funnyman Artie Lang playing Ari's fat friend who pays a visit? RE: [ " Now, will Channel 11 please put those Benny Hill reruns back on late Sunday nights..... " ]........ Oh My God! I can't believe anyone else remembers WBAL 11 showing Benny Hill on Sunday nights! I first watched the show on WDCA 20, but the interesting thing that I remember about WBAL 11's late Sunday night airing of the show was, yes, my first teenage TV look at naked female breasts with Dad's approval while Mom was asleep! The WBAL shows appeared to unedited or they aired episodes not aired on WDCA. I never saw any of that on channel 20 or my mother would have taken down the Channel Master antenna for sure! I still turned out gay anyway, but it sure was fun to watch and pretend. :-) This analysis of the WJFK lineup (including yours, Dave) is laughable, and based only in personal preference, not ratings. The Fall book for JFK was solid in the drive times. Other than that, they have nothing. But to trash the Junkies numbers and suggest that O&A live would be better is ridiculous. Like them or not, the Junkies surpassed Stern's key demos from Fall 05 to Fall 06. That's hard to do, and says a lot. Look around the country and find me a similar result. You can't. I'm a buyer, and I can't get on their show because they are sold out, at very decent rates. This book won't change that, because many of my advertisers don't want to be on Elliot. Enough jokes about under age girls, lawsuits, etc. So, you want to put O and A on in mornings? Hmm, I'm not buying their 1 share P25-54 in middays, I'd certainly rather buy the Junkies 4 share in mornings. O and A won't be on WJFK in a few more ratings books, because no one will buy them unless their ratings are hugh, and they currently SUCK. Much less in mornings, duh. And Rosenberg... come on. 0.0 share in the key demo in 1 of his books. I'd like a filet o' fish. (5/4/07) Bob Mathers - Thanks for sharing your terrific memories of Bill O'Donnell. Baseball is a game that can be enjoyed by the casual observer, but to truly know and love the game takes time, effort and an understanding of tradition. It takes spending hours at the ballyard watching, and learning the game. He knew all of that and more. Too often "sports guys" think they can "do" baseball by just showing up at a couple of games and learning a few of the players names and what positions they play. Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell, Jon Miller and others are/were a joy to listen to because of their understanding of the game, its pace, and its history. JT (5/4/07) I would like to hire Donni Flynn just to say the word "F*ck" to me over and over again. (5/4/07) Dave's response: OK, how about this for 106.7 - Mike O'Meara middays, and Don and Donielle for afternoons? Oh, nevermind..... hey WJLA, as long as the Queen leaves her hat on, no one will get fired, will they? (5/4/07) Dave's response: I am definitely not a "royal lover," but I do kinda like the Queen. Look, all you radio personalities who make tasteless jokes about "Liz"? May you end up like Benny Hill! He died in front of his telly, all alone. And wasn't discovered for a week or so. Now, will Channel 11 please put those Benny Hill reruns back on late Sunday nights..... /\ May 4 Messages /\ \/ May 3 Messages \/ us2.newsmemory.com... Page 14…check out the story about Goldy in the Carolina’s (5/3/07) Hi! My name is Katie Greene and I work for Ricochet Television in Los Angeles. We are the producers of Supernanny and we are in the process of casting for a new child care expert. We are looking for some great people from the D.C./Baltimore area to apply. Anything you can do to help spread the word ie radio interviews, new articles, web postings, etc. and get more applicants from your area would be great! I am going to attach our press release and hopefully we can work together to get some great people from your market! Thanks so much for your time! -Katie www.supernanny.com (5/3/07) Back in the summer of ’67 I was a 9 year old hooligan who attended about 30 Oriole games at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. After one such contest, I decided to take a jaunt through the press box to see where Bill O’Donnell & Chuck Thompson worked. I snuck past the usher and slunk down the walkway, only to encounter a stocky crew-cut figure coming out of the booth and heading toward me. It was in fact, Bill O’Donnell. His voice sounded like thunder, and he proceeded to tell me to get out of the press box because I didn’t belong there. Fast forward to the summer of ’82, when as an employee at a Seattle radio station I dropped by the Kingdome one night before an Orioles-Mariners game and ran into…you guessed it, Bill O’Donnell. We sat in the press box and talked for half an hour about Baltimore, Seattle, baseball, and broadcasting. I brought up the 1967 encounter during the conversation. Bill replied, “I don’t remember that particular occasion, but I’m sure you deserved it”. I couldn’t agree with him more. Then weeks later I saw a story come across the wire that he had passed and I couldn’t believe my eyes. And yes, I was there at Memorial Stadium on that night in June. When O’Donnell made that great call, everyone listening to the game on the radio (as well as the thousands in the stands) realized there and then that Baltimore baseball in 1979 was gonna be a beautiful thing. I was walking back to my seat after ordering my 12th or 13th beer of the evening. Then, the roar of the crowd caused me to slosh the suds as I ran to the top of the ramp just in time to watch the ball leave the park. If memory serves right, I drove home that night and on the post-game show…I heard over and over again, the replay of WFBR’s Charley Eckman (who was in the booth) cutting in on O’Donnell, yelling, “GET OUT OF HERE. GET OUT OF HERE, YEAH BABY!” as DeCinces’ blast sailed over the left field wall. Bill O’Donnell was a precise, articulate and smooth as silk arbiter of the action. I encourage anyone to find airchecks of his work (they’re around here and there) and listen to the art of a great play-by-play man in action. If he were here to acknowledge his election into the Orioles Hall Of Fame, he would do it with class and professionalism…which is what any broadcaster strives to accomplish. Bob Mathers – Seattle, Washington (5/3/07) Hey, wasn't it just two months ago that Baltimore's CBS Radio has become the most profitable cluster of the media giant's, something to the tune of $50 mil. ? WHFS with it's current all talk format w/ the Orioles and KMS may not be showing up in the ratings, but at least it's making them some serious cash !!! Just goes to show you that ratings don't make any damn sense. Oh well, at least HFS2 is pretty cool. KeninEaston (5/3/07) As for Tony Perkins guest hosting "Fox and Friends", I don't know if he's interested in doing another national show, particularly if he would have to relocate or do a significant amount of commuting. I think I read somewhere that after awhile, he was not too crazy about how he had to commute between NY & D.C., especially when he and his wife had a child.But, I do believe that there are bigger and better plans for him in the future. He's already doing two segments that Holly Morris used to do; Neighborhood News as well as the newly titled "Let Tony Do It".. Also, maybe it's a one time thing, but I found it odd that Allison Seymour accompanied Tony Perkins on his "Let Tony Do It" segment today..Is she being "primed" to take over that spot?..Personally, I'd prefer she take over Lark's spot. (5/3/07) What?!? Donielle Flynn got caned at DC-101? That is SO HOT! Does anyone have pics or vids? Do you know if it was bare-bottomed or on something sexy? Like maybe a tasty little thong. Mmmm. Just to think about it! A. Jolie (5/3/07) Dave's response: Again, that image of Vibegrrl with a whip invades my consciousness..... Donni would have been fired either on the spot or the next day if it was because of the F bomb. CC probably just found someone who would voicetrack DC for 5 grand a year from Grand Rapids. (5/3/07) I like your suggested WJFK line up. Do you know why WJFK went with that relationship show instead of El Jefe? Ann (5/3/07) Dave's response: I'm told that CBS Radio wanted to do a local version of the nationally syndicated "Loveline." Also, Ron and Fez didn't generate great evening numbers for WJFK-FM, and CBS suits feared that El Jefe and J-Dubbs would only repeat R&F's anemic ratings performance..... I remember running the board for "Love Songs" with Al Casey on Classy-95 from 7-12midnight. His voice on reel-to-reel with the same 100 love songs over and over again. Sometimes we got crazy after 11pm and played sound effects in the background of the music like whips on Micheal Jackson songs and gunshots on that stupid Janis Ian song. If you worked in the summer you had to play the WPGC MORNINGSIDE cart only on am1580 at the top of the hour. The only smart thing about the format change was keeping the PGC calls for the AM. On Baker and Burd Ronald Reagan came riding in on his horse. Jeff Baker would jump off his chair in the studio to sound like Reagan getting off the horse. Rob Edgar, Ft. Payne, AL (5/3/07) I am so proud to announce that former Oriole Broadcaster (the late) Bill O'Doonnell was inducted into the Orioles Hall Of fame today along with former player B. J. Surhoff. The formal ceremonies will take place on 8/25. Bill and Chuck were the best! Rusty Gibson (5/3/07) Dave's response: Rusty's glorious return to WEBR - Friday!!! BUSTED! Wonkette Editor Performing Fellatio on His Phone!!! bigheaddc.com (5/3/07) Folks, I hear Rush has been missing from his show a lot lately because he's getting plastic surgery to become a "Negro." I hear that new, darker Rush will look a lot like Bernie Mac. He'll also become a conservative Democrat. - Wilbur in Washington (5/3/07) Do I remember Classy 95? I was there when it was WPGC, I was doing production, fill in and eventually became Promotions Director. I was in the production studio one afternoon. In comes the infamous Jeanne Oates..she says QUOTE: "Davy you have a minute? I have something I want to run by you..she then proceeded to tell me about "CHANGING The CALL LETTERS!! She said the station was going to be WCLY "Classy 95!" To cater to the yuppy population saturating DC. She asked me what I thought, as always being the diplomat I was and still am....I said "Jeanne you'll be looking for a job within a year". Well to make a long story short I was looking for a job in two weeks and she was doing the same a year later. That decision was a disaster. We all know that. At that time Baker and Burd were doing AM...Dave Foxx was doing Mid-Days I think can't remember much more about the in place staff. It was one of the most memorable events in my career. The smartest thing they did was KEEP the WPGC calls. PLB/Davy Jones (5/3/07) The real reasond Donni was bumped from 101: she pronounced words like "crash" as "cree-yush". "black" as "blee-yuk", "sack" as "see-yuk", etc. I wonder if she has a knack for black slacks with slack in the back? (5/3/07) Oy Vey, $5.99 a month for Shalom TV? AY-YAY-YAY, GAY AVEK! Phil C. in Livingston, NJ (5/3/07) Dave's response: Hey, Howard On-Demand on Comcast is $10 a month. And he's only half Jewish..... Doni did say “f*ck” during Elliot’s show a while back. They were having some of their typical banter and after Doni left the studio you could hear her in the background. It was very clear. Rob (5/3/07) I hope Steve Allan's return to Washington radio means a return to oldies. He programmed WBIG when it was the best station in town, taking mere months to force the legacy oldies station, WXTR, to change its format. Between the DJs who lost their jobs on WQSR and WBIG when both dumped oldies, there is no shortage of top-notch jocks who know the music and have ties to the area. Right now, I have to rely on CDs and cassette tapes to listen to the classics, except on Saturdays and Sundays where I can pick up Flashback Weekend on 101.9 FM out of Baltimore. (5/3/07) Something that nobody noticed - Up in Baltimore most stations performed as expected in the Winter book, except WRNR-FM. They usually barely show up with around a .7 share, nut this time they got a 1.5. That's more than double their average when all of the other rock stations are flat. Not bad considering that 'RNRs signal doesn't even cover about 1/4 of the market and they have direct competition from a non commercial with a stronger signal (WTMD) playing a similar format - right in Baltimore. They've done some tweaking with the airstaff, adding a female co-host in the mornings, and a new night jock. Hopefully things will continue to improve and their numbers will keep going up. Congrats 'RNR! (5/3/07) "I think the best JFK line-up right now would be: O&A live mornings, Peter Rosenberg middays, D&M afternoons, Junks evenings, El Jefe and J-Dubbs late nights...". Given the certainty that CBS will move O&A (bad ratings and all...) to JFK's drive-time slot, and that the Gordito Donaldo y Miguel are (astoundingly) entrenched in the pm drive time, I'd give Peter R. an extended Saturday gig, move the fading Junks to mid-days and simulcast Ron and Fez from 6 to 9 - followed by El Jefe and J Dubs. How does Michael Hughes create the cesspool that's WJFK, and land on his feet with the El Zol success?!?! What a lucky f**ker!! Thanks to XM, I've got a pretty decent am commute with UPOP/29 (DC-based) and Extreme/152, in the pm it's more music, and about a half hour of Sherri Elliker and pals on XM 155 at 5pm (also DC-based). WJFK-who? dapjdjondabeltway (5/3/07) What a great site. So much interesting news today. Good luck in Miami, Bruce - - again. Thanks to Jeffrey Yorke for an interesting Imus thingy in R&R. I liked the take on the DC ratings. I think that this site just turned the corner of 34th and Vine. Just don't kiss a cop, Dave. Just a note about the ratings. WTOP beats WMAL for a lot of reasons, but being on FM is the big one. In Baltimore there used to be a female talk station. I still think the hype for WVIE was funny from WCBM's GM about, I was thinking what format would help the station, and not affect the ratings on WCBM and it just popped into my head...Female Talk. If you do it wrong, nothing works on AM. They could pick almost any music not played in Baltimore and segue for 24 hours and have more listeners. PS. Dr. Laura is hated by most women. Ed Graham (5/3/07) Dave's response: She's hated by most men, too..... To respond to the question about Arbitron counting "minorities as more people than non-minorities", the technical answer is yes. Arbitron ratings are based on households rather than individuals. Their take on the Latin American communities rooted in Amercian soil concludes that the average Latin household has more members than a Caucasion residence. (5/3/07) Will you be reporting on what happened to DC 101's weekday DJ? The morning show announced today that she's no longer with the station. No other details were provided and I noticed that her info has already been removed from the station's Web site: www.dc101.com.... Thank you! (5/3/07) Dave's response: You have to realize that Clear Channel has a dungeon in the basement of its Rockville studio complex. Folks who talk to DCRTV wind up there. (Imagine: Vibegrrl in leather boots with a whip!) Here on DCRTV, we've discussed the many rumors regarding Donielle's fate. I can't do a "news" blurb until I hear something "solid." Until then, just assume that she's been canned for saying something she shouldn't have..... It's spelled Steve "Allan". Also FYI, Steve has background in Smooth Jazz. He did it more than 20 years ago at WLTT. He also did middays at 106.7, when it was WBMW and Smooth Jazz was called NAC (for New Adult Contemporary). (5/3/07) In regards to the El Zol jump in ratings - Is it still true that Arbitron counts minorities as more people than non-minorities? Years ago (many) I remember something about the African-American stations being elevated artificially due to some practice of counting minority returned diaries as representing more people than everyone else. If that's still going on then you can take that 11% of the population that is Hispanic/Latino and, in the eyes of Arbitron, double it. That would explain the ratings as much as it would explain the consistant top placing of stations like WPGC and "Magic 102.3", who's signal is half that of most other area stations. Can anyone fill me in on this - I could be dead wrong. Thanks. (5/3/07) Regarding the Cepeda arrest -- I'm quite glad that Joe Kasell offered up the phrase 'To be fair, however, one should ask if and when either station mentioned this story' -- seems that's what does pass for 'reporting' on this site (hearing something on one station, and posting what all others did or didn't do as the gospel). For the record, I did hear the story on WTEM. It was certainly mentioned in the 6pm hour, possibly as early as the station's 5.40 sports' update. For the most part, the 980 anchor people do a pretty solid job. To the listener who was even bothering with XXX or TOP -- you're kidding, right? Best thing about TOP's sports is Craig Heist - he's good - you can have the rest of them. I can't hear the ESPN carrier on a regular basis, and when I do hear it - I don't like it, at all. (5/3/07) From RadioDailyNews.com: Black comics do white voices -- so why can't white comics parody blacks? I have no problem with that. But "Barack, the Magic Negro" isn't funny. Shanklin doesn't sound like Al Sharpton, he sounds like "Amos and Andy." But it's not as if Rush Limbaugh or his listeners are chuckling at the stereotyped voice -- they're mocking the op-ed piece, and the liberal media's fascination with Obama. Right? Some folks criticize Limbaugh for playing the song, for using the term "Magic Negro" over and over, for calling Obama "Barack Hussein Odumbo," for saying Obama is "Halfrican American," for calling him "Obama Osama" (5/3/07) Two things: 1) Regarding Doni at DC101. I was listening the day that she dropped the F-BOMB and as I remember it, it never actually hit the airwaves. Someone hit the delay before it reached the air. I also remember you posting a story about her saying something bad about the suits a CC. Maybe that's why she's gone. 2) I never really cared for Rosenberg's show but I do think that it would have improved, if given enough time and guidance. Instead of blowing him off, someone like Donni G should have taken Rosenberg under his wing once he got the JFK job and helped him with his show for the good of the station. (5/3/07) Don't worry, love still grows. All Rosemary, all the time (thyme? No, that's another song) lives on at the mighty 950. [Sound of crickets chirping...]. Mike in Frederick and the Dashboard DX Society. If there's a rock n roll heaven, Milt Grant's spinning the '45's while the band takes a break. (5/3/07) Dave's response: "If there's a rock 'n roll heaven, they sure must have a hell-of-a-band"..... Loudoun section of the Post has a story on the rape of WAGE www.washingtonpost.com.... Homogenized Radio! (5/3/07) Dave's response: On first read, I thought you wrote "Homosexual Radio." In God-fearing Loudoun? Oh my Lord..... ("Regarding the translator and WLIF. The poster is incorrect. WLIF is not entitled to any protection in that area as that area is not within any of its assigned nor protected contours. The translator does not have to be shut down") I think the scenario would be that if the translator interferes with WLIF within its protected contour, then the translator would have to be shut off that frequency. Let’s say, you are in that little part of Eastern MoCo that is in WLIF’s protected contour, and you can’t hear WLIF – that would be an example for a frequency change. (5/3/07) Just heard on JACK-FM that "Jack Fest 2007" is set for July 21 at the Baltimore Civic Center (er... 1st Mariner Arena) ZZ Top, REO SPeedwagon, Stray Cats, The Pretenders. More at www.wqsr.com... Doug in Bel Air (5/3/07) RE: "El Zol, according to some, has very raunchy content. Will rival stations have Spanish-speaking experts listen and report violations to the FCC?" I've listened to EL ZOL in the afternoons, and yes they have raunchy material, similar to what is broadcasted on the Don and Mike's show, the O&A show, Howard Stern, etc....So, that doesn't hold water as a reason for the demise of the station. Do rival stations for DC 101 and WJFK report violations to the FCC? I don't know, and never heard of that happening, but isn't the audience the ones reporting the violations? (5/3/07) Dave's response: Hey, Tony Kornheiser was making sexual "erection" jokes on Washington Post Radio this morning. I doubt that sexual jokes would make it in the Post, which often brands itself as a "family paper." But they're OK for the paper's radio station? Hmmm..... Hello, My name is Eric Blocker and I just have one correction about the progressive rock station in Philadelphia. The station wasn’t WIOQ it was WYSP. We used to make fun of it when we were kids, my sister listened to it. I’ve been out of radio for a little while now (WOND,WMGM-FM, WNVZ, WIP-AM WKTU and WTAR-AM) I miss the business but I’m Mr. traveling IT guy now. Keep up the good work I love your website. Have a good one. Eric B (5/3/07) Dave's response: Basically, Philly's had three or four cool FM rockers over the years - mainstream outlets 94.1 WYSP and 93.3 WMMR and alt rock 100.3 WPLY, along with the cool WLIR-ish alt rock relay on 103.9. And 102.1 WIOQ, now a hit contemporary outlet, which was progressive rock for many years. Of all of the above, only WMMR survives as a rock outlet. Oh, anyone remember the few months that 92.5 (now country WXTU) was "Rock Of The '80s" WIFI? I still have an aircheck of that I made from here in the DC area on a night that Winchester's 92.5 was off the air..... I’ll miss you guys – but just in case you have to hear Three Dog Night “Shambala” majic1027.com... Bruce Kelly, MAJIC Mornings, MAJIC 102.7 Miami (5/3/07) (Regarding today's Flashback:) Holy crap, I grew up with that station and George Michael !!! The boss jocks, man that brings back memories. That was the AM station in Philly that played EVERYTHING. You could hear The Doors Light My Fire and then a Temptations song and then a Tom Jones song and then Whole Lotta Love. DAVID (5/3/07) Dave's response: I grew up in Willingboro and Woodbury NJ, and listened to Famous 56, WFIL-AM, too. Today's flashback is WFIL's FM side on 102.1, which became WIOQ (W-102 in cursive letters) in 1970 or so with an easy listening format. And then many many many variations of rock and contemporary hit music in the four decades since. But the calls have stuck..... Today, Tony Kornheiser made "erection" jokes. And he called the queen "an old bag." Are the Bonneville straight-laces (who don't even allow lottery ads!) in Salt Lake City paying attention to what's being said on one of their stations? (5/3/07) Regarding the translator and WLIF. The poster is incorrect. WLIF is not entitled to any protection in that area as that area is not within any of its assigned nor protected contours. The translator does not have to be shut down. (5/3/07) Question for the radio insiders and experts here: for months prior to the 2004 election, WHFS -105.7 in Balt carried the USA news network as late night filler (USA Radio News is a family operation based in Texas and runs a right wing political infomercial under guise of 'news') and then dropped 'em after the election. WHFS is now running them again. I am curious about how the finances work. Does WHFS get paid by WUSA to run the political infomercial? If so, who pays/supports WUSA? How does this all work? Thanks for any thoughts. As an afterthought, you have to shake your head at the twisted sequence that married the call letters WHFS to a 1.7 rating powerhouse with a drowsy suburban cop-show audience. (5/3/07) To the poster commenting on the lack of mention on WTEM or Triple X of the Orlando Cepeda story, I could give a simple explanation: it had nothing to do with the Redskins. I'm not saying the story is not worthy of mention around here, especially since it concerns a baseball Hall-of-Famer, but consider the considerable amount of discussions on this board in recent years concerning the content on WTEM and Triple X. To be fair, however, one should ask if and when either station mentioned this story and, if so, was the mention from one of their on-air staff or did it come from the network (ESPN or FoxSports). And for those who haven't done so, kick in some dollars for access to DCRTV Plus. Sincerely, Joe Kasell (5/3/07) you are probably all over this by now, but Donielle Flynn is out at DC101. Any news as to why? (5/3/07) Dave's response: We did report a while back that Donielle was suspended for saying an expletive during a guest shot on Elliot's morning show. Apparently, that led to her alleged canning. We have also heard that DC101 received a recent FCC notice regarding some sort of complaint from someone regarding something that got said on the station. Was it that certain something that Donielle said? Inquiring minds want to know..... Did Donielle flynn get canned at DC101? Elliott keeps playing clips of her saying fired and she is not on their website..... -- Christopher (5/3/07) Ref: Falwell translator on 101.9. Unless I'm not interpreting the FCC's rules correctly (Article 74.1203, section a3), if the translator is interfering with your reception of WLIF, regardless of the strength of WLIF's signal, the translator must be shut down. I'd contact WLIF's engineering department if the translator is preventing you from listening to their station or just ask the FCC. See what they say; no harm in trying. Howard (5/3/07) No mention in the mailbag about the ratings on Triple X radio? That company has programming managers earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and talent that earns well over 1 million dollars. They spent a million in outside marketing last Fall and they get a 0.6. The signals stink and the programming stinks. In addition, the people who work at Triple X have an attitude. There has never been a bigger failure in DC broadcasting history. (5/3/07) Dave's response: That's why Bennett sailed away on his lifeboat! A bigger failure in DC broadcasting history? Anyone remember Classy 95? WASH's disco era? WJFK-FM's current middays/evenings/weekends? The place for breaking sports news: WTOP! At 6:15 p.m., this evening, May 2, 2007, sports on 103.5 FM had the Orlando Cepeda drugs-in-the-car story. I switched to the alleged sports station, xxx, and Riggins went to the sports break around 6:20 p.m. Daytime ball scores and other useless chatter consumed the sports report. NO MENTION of the Cepeda drug story. Nix. None. Zero. Hmmmmmmm. (5/3/07) Every once in a while I have to remind myself that TV news in the 21st century is a complete fucking joke. Roller Derby? Really? That's your third story in the 11 PM rundown? I realize you have to mix it up with a feature every so often but ... come on, Channel 7, that's weak sauce. Real fucking weak. If I wanted to watch crappy fluff on local news (of which there's no shortage) I'd beeline it to the WTTG morning show to see their silly weatherman do silly gags that have nothing to do with meteorology. I expect better from WJLA, and I'm sure a lot of people might agree. (5/3/07) Dave, you mention an ideal WJFK lineup with Peter Rosenberg on in middays. A great idea that won't happen. He is good, and it seems that he didn't get much of a chance to catch on before he was fired. Why would he want to go back on WJFK when they canned him? The station probably wouldn't want him back, either. Hopefully, another staion will give him a break. Let WJFK stew in its own crap. JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/3/07) Regarding MSNBC's parade of AM-drive tryouts ... To paraphrase Tom Lehrer, MSNBC must be experiencing that uncomfortable feeling - like a Christian-Scientist with appendicitis! First, Philly talker, Michael Smerconish. (scary to watch - like a demented, rightwing Mr. Clean!) Then L.A. talker Stephanie Miller. (funny, but enough with the sound effects and the sidekick with the impressions every five minutes!) And now, pretty-boy smart ass, Tucker Carlson. Let's face it, Imus was an American original and MSNBC ain't gonna find his equal any time soon. They may as well choose two reasonably articulate and visually appealing anchors/hosts and stick to straight news, with maybe some opinionated back & forth, leavened with intelligent and topical humor. Of the three, Stephanie Miller would be the easiest to wake-up to on a daily basis, though she'd need to stop trying to cram six hours of content into a three-hour program. Less is more. As it is now, her approach is like the verbal equivalent of a three-ring circus! (5/3/07) Here's the link for the Amber Theoharris "F" bomb... www.withleather.com (5/3/07) /\ May 3 Messages /\ \/ May 2 Messages \/ Dave , as you yourself pointed out--the Globe was up in A25-54 and had a very strong March--which of course will be only partially reflected in the winter book--which reminds us ALL to look at those 12+ numbers with much caution. You can only tell so much with 12+--the real meat of the book are the numbers we don't see much of here--25+, Male and Female breakouts , etc etc...12+ really is just window dressing. Still ,it is fun to take shots at downtrending shows and stations and once mighty afternoon shows! (5/2/07) Hey Dave - It's not all about circulation. Check this out: publications.mediapost.com... No newspaper is going to post a big circulation gain in the Internet era. It's all about the Web. Some are obviously better than others. (5/2/07) "tells us that DC-based MSNBC evening political talk show host Tucker Carlson will do a post-Imus morning show tryout on the NBC-owned cable news network on Thursday and Friday" - Thank God. Anything but that woman who MSNBC had on for the last three days. How could anyone possibly watch that show let alone listen to it? (5/2/07) I propose a scientific experiment. Take two radio stations. Radio A is programmed using focus groups, to reduce the heartburn of the executive owners. Radio B is programmed by somebody who is interested in and very familiar with the music. After two, maybe 3 years, which station has the better ratingz? Which station is more beloved by the average listener? Which has better revenue? (5/2/07) Dave's response: Hey I could program The Globe? And what if I am? Hmmm. I hear that 94.7 was up 26 percent "A25-54" in the winter ratings. And the month of March was the "2nd strongest" for the station in a year. Now, where did I put that pic of Weasel in a Speedo? Oh nevermind..... Interesting news out of Baltimore today....... Tarzan (Gordon Scott) dies in Baltimore, Sinclair stock drops 8% on weak earnings, and the guy who created MASN and handled the fight with MLB over the creation of The Washington Nationals, Joe Foss, resigns from the Baltimore Orioles. (5/2/07) Regarding WJFK, While the Junkies do annoy me at times, (could they whine more?) overall, I do like them. I think they're more of an afternoon drive show. They just don't fit as a morning show. Recently they have been bitching more and more about mornings. Could they be planting a seed so they can claim that it was their idea to go to mids or drive time after their current contract is up? Even though, acording to them, they get good ratings for their demo, I don't think they will be in mornings when the current contract expires. As far as OnA replacing them, I like OnA just fine but they can't get good ratings in their own city. It is nice to see KnM (with an established local program, albeit, less watts) falling flat. The Junks got Zero play by management up there and KnM got a big corporate push for months and look at the shitty ratings. OUCH. (5/2/07) Dave's response: Well, during Don's "hiatus" last November, the word was that he suggested flipping slots with the Junks, with D&M moving to 106.7 mornings. And the Junks flatly rejected it. Look, I think the best JFK line-up right now would be: O&A live mornings, Peter Rosenberg middays, D&M afternoons, Junks evenings, El Jefe and J-Dubbs late nights..... Proof that Arbitron is a flawed service....... WLZL 99.1 shouldn't even show at all in the Baltimore ratings. Baltimore has one of the smallest Hispanic populations in the nation of a major market city. I also remember a year or so ago, WJFK FM 106.7 showed in the Baltimore ratings. Of course, that was an error too since no one at all can even receive the signal! (5/2/07) Buzz's latest "Metamucil" health crisis. God, it's old man radio, for Christ sake! Jesus, you'd think Catholic Cemeteries, Depends or AARP would be D&M show sponsors! Can't you JFK sales people sell!!!!!! (5/2/06) Donielle Flynn - I haven't heard anything, but I think she is no longer with DC101. Her profile has been removed and it is like she never worked there. She was on the air today, so I don't know...Also not sure if anyone knows anything about this or not. Regards (5/2/07) Regarding Opie & Anthony in New York, Opie and Anthony replaced DLR in April of 2006. What the Daily News failed to tell you yesterday is A) Their best performance was # 7 in the market, ages 18-34. B) 18-49 they are number 13, C) 25-54 they are #14, D) 35-64 they are number 19. In other words, The closer you get to buying your first home, or, the closer you get to earning a six figure salary, the further you get from the Opie and Anthony brand. Not good. Did you know their Chicago's ratings were so poor last fall the station dropped the one hour delay and went live so to get rid of them by 8:00 AM? But on a good note, CBS Radio has announced new O&A advertisers, including G.E.D. ON LINE, Psychic Hotline, 1-900-Hot-Girls, Zima, Lincoln Tech, Dickey's Uniforms, Cashpoint (car title loan co.), Girls Gone Wild, Tattoo's R Us, and The Republican National Committee. Also, the US Army, and the "Yonkers Human Testing Labs" have announced they have both upped their O&A commercial commitments with WFNY FM. (5/2/07) What is the biggest drag on WJFK's ratings? Blowhard Bill O'Reilly? The boring Junkies or tired-assed Don & Mike? How about the fact that management is still trying to program the station to a format that was designed specifically to compliment Howard Stern? JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/2/07) " A radio station directed to hispanics is doing better than a radio station directed to the American population." HUH?!?! Hispanics are definitely a part of the American population. And despite all the angst over the change of format to El Zol, it's now obvious the change was the right move to make. JT (5/2/07) If the Washington Times could get their circulation department to get its act together, they could probably sell more papers. I gave up on them a few years ago for home delivery as it only seemed to get delivered on fair weather days. And even that was suspect if it was a nice weekend. MOst newspaper machines in NOVA never have a current issue until 10 or later. Its disgraceful. (5/2/07) WKKK? KKK? Really? Remind me to stay away from that station. Wouldn't be surprised to see a lineup of Greasman, Imus, and Rush Limbaugh on their, though I would love to see Louis Farrakhan in their for a little mix. Denesh (5/2/07) Hee, Hee, Hee - the WJFK news gets better and better!! The ratings don't lie!! The Junks are getting pummeled by the PM drive time "talent". Oh, the shame Junks, that's not a very money position to be in!! Now I understand your kvetching @ about 9am today "taking one for the team" with the winter ratings. I know you think the ship will right itself and you'll rocket back to, say #11 in the am drive time. But boys, that sound you hear behind you all is the envitable "O&A virus". As Robbay would say: "Manga!!". As the Greaseman would say: "Habadogee and AFM"!! A highly-amused djpjenva. Viva elZol!! (5/2/07) Dave, Since everyone reads your website, can I throw out some questions that have been on my mind a while? 1. Why haven't People Meters meant the end of sweeps stunting? Since Neilsen sampling is the same year-'round, why put so much emphasis (special segments with grabbing music, graphics and promotion) in May, NOvember and February? 2. Why is there a huge ad for Tony Kornheiser's SportsTalk 980 show -- 9am-1pm! -- displayed so prominently at Montgomery Mall? He's been gone from WTEM for months. (It's near the Legal Seafood entrance, large as life.) 3. Why does WJFK bother with traffic reports during Don & Mike? They average 6 seconds and have no value. What gives? Thanks. (5/2/07) These are the people who have acquired Clear Channel Salisbury. They are not wasting any time. The search is already on for GM's. This was just printed in the Iowa Broadcaster's Newsletter... "General Managers- GoodRadio.TV is in a nationwide acquisition mode and is looking for General Managers and Regional Managers to join our growing company. If you have a strong sales orientation and believe in growing your people by motivating and working directly with team members and clients, we woudl like to talk to you. GoodRadio.TV is acquiring small market stations where our radio stations are integrated with communities we serve. Direct Sales experience a must. Send your resume to: gpelletier@goodradio.tv. GoodRadio.TV is a Equal Opportunity Employer." Frank Hamilton is the current general manager of Clear Channel Salisbury. (5/2/07) when you get around to b-more numbers.... KMS started in Feb, so the first month of this book are the Junks. 6a-10a... Persons 12+... Jan Feb Mar... 2.4 - 1.7 - 1.0... Men 18+... Jan Feb Mar 3.1 - 2.4 - 0.4... That march # is not a typo. (5/2/07) Dave's response: I have put a curse on 105.7. Its ratings will suck until it gives the WHFS calls back to CBS/DC, so they can be restored on 94.7. Until that happens, Baltimore's 105.7 will be a radio ratings disaster..... Frequency of Falwell translator ...is 101.9 In a translator license, the numbers, 270 in W270AX, are the channel number of the frequency. Stupidly, the FCC protects second and third adjacents of nearby stations, but does not protect any station beyond it's "grade A" contour. Thus, a strong local station, WLIF, is wiped out in Chantilly by a translator which cannot legally be put on 96.7 or 106.3 or 104.5, all of which would work without causing interference to anything listenable. ...Sam (5/2/07) Dave's response: Baltimore's Lite FM, WLIF, is well received in Northern Virginia. Hopefully, it will limit whatever squat coverage Falwell gets with his silly WRVL relay on 101.9 in Chantilly..... RE: Your "Free FM" story today: Where in the world is "CBS talker WKFK-FM..."??? --RB (5/2/07) Dave's response: Just a typo. The new calls for 106.7 are actually WKKK. The heavily Germanic Rob Spewak is the new GM..... What can JFK expect for ratings when after 1:00pm you have a gasbag, two assbags, and a couple of douchebags on the air? (5/2/07) Dave's response: All rolled into one person - Bill O'Reilly! Dave, more fodder for your recent suggestion about creating "Northern Virginia 92.5" out of the frequency in Winchester: According to the New York Daily News, the station you'd pattern it after, WKXW-FM in Trenton ("New Jersey 101.5"), reportedly collected more than $25 million in ad revenue in 2006, actually outbilling New York talker WABC-AM. Here's the link: www.nydailynews.com -- Vincent in Triangle (5/2/07) Dave's response: Here in Wild West Fairfax, Winchester's (actually Fauquier's) 92.5 is one of the strongest FM signals. And yet it gets a 0.3 share of the metro Washington radio audience. Something is definitely wrong with this "radio scenario." There's no local station serving Prince William any longer. And with WAGE's apparent demise, there'll be no local station serving Loudoun. Loudoun + PW = more than half a million people. Is my "logic" making "cents" somewhere? Sheesh..... Only moments after Rush bragged about getting to test drive the latest Cadillac CTS today, he lectured his audience as being "too hedonistic" and not focused enough on the realities of the world, like the never ending war on terror. Is this guy simply too stooooopid to be on the radio? (5/2/07) WLZL doing better than WJFK?? WOW!!!! A radio station directed to hispanics is doing better than a radio station directed to the American population. Didn't I read in this blog there was no latin audience in the past two years? The proof is in the pudding! (5/2/07) According to the WAGE.com Web site, "The Wall Street Journal This Morning" program will take the morning slot on WAGE/1200 as of Monday, May 7. Yes, the very same program that bores listeners out of their freakin' skulls at WTNT will soon be able to do the same at WAGE. Everett W. (5/2/07) Dave's response: Maybe a business news format a la what the company's WBIS runs? In reference to installing a Sirius radio in a Mazda, You can buy a non factory unit ( Kenwood, Sony, etc.) from Best Buy and have them install it for half as much or get it from Crutchfield and do it yourself and it wont be a FM connection. Tim (5/2/07) Anyone hear anything regarding the future of programming on WAGE? I heard the morning host say today that this was the last week of the morning show and they would have new programming starting Monday. I have heard lots of rumors as to what that might be but nothing confirmed. Any ideas? (5/2/07) It looks like Steve Ray is working more than most of you on that website, but that other IMDB link is wrong. It's a similar name, different guy here www.imdb.com. Geez, you guys are obsessed. What did you do, stay up all night and google him? (5/2/07) Confirmed: Love Grows is back at 950 AM; WCTN can't help itself... Can you say rudderless? KOF (5/2/07) A previous mailer mentioned Ford/Mercury promoting Sirius. I bought a Mazda last year (Ford has a stake in Mazda, although I'm not sure how great a stake) and am just now thinking about adding Sirius. But the service guy at my dealer told me it costs something like $500 to activate the "head end unit" in my car, or whatever it's called. He said the guy who sold me the car could tell me more. I think I can go to Best Buy and activate Sirius for a whole lot less, although it's routed through an FM frequency. I think. I really don't know, and I've held off on calling the guy who sold me the car, figuring he was in an end-of-month crunch a couple of days ago. It seems ludicrous to pay $500 for something I can get for much less money, but I'm not sure if the tradeoff involves a dimunition of audio quality, or if there are other hidden costs associated with an end-run around the dealer. Christian (5/2/07) Charlie Donovan is working at Montgomery College shaping the minds of the "future of radio". (5/2/07) Please to see about the slight circulation increase at the Wash Times. I often have worried about DC becoming a one newspaper town, but perhaps I should be worrying that the Post may fold instead of the Times. (5/2/07) Carlos (Charlie D) - In response to your previous posting, because our parents blended two families together after the loss of one of my parents. We're brothers. That's all you need to know. - Rob Wolchek FOX2/Detroit (5/2/07) "found this on craigslist tonight... re WYRE) Just an FYI - RBCStudios is Bill Parris' operation. (5/2/07) Dave's response: We've been asked by someone at WYRE to remove the original Craigslist post and we have..... Dear Dave, Long time resident and worker in the TV industry, Eric Kulberg here. I knew Milt Grant since he gave me my first job in the Washington market, back in 1966 at Channel 20. Been assisting Richard Harrington with his appreciation. One question that has been raised, when did Channel 5 move from the Harrington Hotel to the Raleigh Hotel? Almost all the old timers from Channel 5 have passed so digging up this old history is getting harder all the time. If you have any insight on this, Mr. Harrington and I would appreciate it. Thank you, Eric Kulberg, Universal Media Inc (5/2/07) Dave's response: Anyone know? Have you posted anything about this to DCRTV? www.publicradioquest.com (5/2/07) In reference to zipcars and XM. Ummm, What's a zipcar? (5/2/07) Dave's response: Isn't it one of the car rental firms that targets urban dwellers who lack cars and occasionally need a car for appointments and other local errands? You sign up for a few hours use of the car via the internet or phone and find it at a specific location in your neighborhood. And return it there when you're done. I think that's how it works..... I guess O&A news only merits front page coverage when it's "more gooder." David Hinckley's column from yesterday's NY Post tries, lamely, to pump up the unfunny duo, but the bottom line is that their rating in NYC, 1.3, is barely more than what DLR got and they've now been on the air there for a year. On top of being dumped in Dallas, SF (rumored) and Providence, the PD in Boston, their (supposed) strongest market, ran live broadcasting of another on air "talent" instead of unfunny reruns while the two were on vacation. Who exactly is irrelevent boyZ? (5/2/07) Dave's response: I like O&A, but the show doesn't "work" when you know it's taped. You need to hear it live. I think O&A would be able to re-build their DC audience if their morning show was aired live - and not via tape delay in middays, a la what WJFK-FM does. Yesterday's Hinckley column is at www.nydailynews.com..... Good Broadcasting is buying Clear Channel Delmarva. The announcement was made yesterday by market manager Frank Hamilton. I understand this will be their largest market. (5/2/07) Dave's response: Haven't see it in any of the trade pubs. Can anyone confirm? 950 AM still running Oldies when there is no Spanish religious programming scheduled. At 6:30 this morning, you could hear "This Old Heart of Mine" playing against the swirling background of every other station at 950 kHz skywaving into DC. (5/2/07) I was very glad to hear that Rupert Murdoch's bid to buy 'The Wall Street Journal' was rejected. According to 'New Yorker' media writer, Ken Auletta, on 'The Charlie Rose Show' last night, the current owners put Murdoch dead last on the list of potential buyers - with Gannett, next to last. He also said that if they did decide to sell, they'd prefer that the Graham Family (Post/Newsweek) or Bloomberg Media be the buyers. (5/2/07) There is a Mercury ad that offers three months of free Sirius on some models of their automobiles. Is there any problem getting people to subscribe to the service without giving it away? Or is Ford having trouble selling Mercurys without incentives? JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/2/07) /\ May 2 Messages /\ \/ May 1 Messages \/ I think Brian Williams did an outstanding job last week of moderating the "debate" between the Democratic presidential candidates. He asked the questions and let the candidates answer them. I have a feeling that the debate between the Republican candidates on Thursday night on MSNBC will be an entirely different story because Chris Matthews is the moderator. In my opinion, he is one of the most egotistical, arrogant, people in broadcasting today, who dearly loves the sound of his own voice and his own thoughts. Have you counted all the places his name appears on the screen on his 10:00am Sunday Chris Matthews Show...on the floor, on the coffee mugs, in the corner of the screen, in the background (I'm actually surprised he doesn't give his guests tee shirts with his name and picture on them -- maybe I shouldn't give him any ideas)? Have you noticed all the times he says "me," "I," "when I worked for Tip O'Neill," when I grew up in Philadelphia," etc. etc. etc. I think a good drinking game during the Thursday debate would be to take a drink every time Chris Matthews says "I." I think many people would be drunk in the first half hour. He doesn't seem to know everything is not about him. -- Bobbie (5/1/07) Hey Jack Edward, you little mother ... isn't the afternoon lady at WBJC Frankie Jordan?-Bernie Millenson (5/1/07) OK, it's bad enough Steve Ray has found a way to some how associate himself with the already irrelevant Mike O'Meara national anthem 'scandal', but are we now suppose to believe that a TV reporter from Detroit, not only kills time reading the DCRTV mailbag, but just happens to have a chronogical knowledge of Steve's tragic life story, and without Steve's knowledge SPRUNG TO HIS DEFENSE by writing an email in an attempt to set things straight?! I know it's strickly against mailbag guidelines to list the number of places Steve has been terminated from since his heroic return to DC, but speaking from the standpoint of someone Steve tried to screw over seemingly without reason, I can only say that it doesn't take much to uncover some pretty significant holes in his resume. And 'Rob', not being from the area, you may not know that running the board for 200 MLB games at XM isn't exactly a career highlight. Peace and chicken grease to my homies in the Motor City!! ~Carlos (5/1/07) Dave's response: Yeah, but it sure beats spinning tunes at an Adams Morgan McDonald's on weekend overnights..... From what I heard Jay Cottrell had a mutual parting of the ways with FOX Sports Radio and Jay was recently working for a software company. I'm glad he got a gig with WTEM and hope he's still assisting in coaching the North County Cougars hoop team. He brought a lot to Czabe's show and good to see him back in the radio biz. (5/1/07) Was comin' into the frey here to tell all I'm still lookin for Frank Harden and was dismayed by the news that Milt Grant died. He went back almost as far as I in D.C. My old partner, Hoppity Skippity (Jules Huber) worked wiih Milt. Jules was a sure salesman and he was up on Milt Grant. Talked very well of his boss. I'm still looking for what's left of WTTG's first crew. Book is beginniing to steam and a party or a couple are coming down to Holly Hill from D.C. to look it over. Thank you for your help in the past Gordon Williamson fsp2a@aol.com Anybody who wants to write a chapter about archival radio or TV (up until 1960) let me know. There are 6 persons from Md/Va who will have chapters. (5/1/07) John Normand, the worst he can do is fire you! Be brave! Actually, can we get Beth Ann McBride back? That would be cool! (5/1/07) It is with great sadness to say good bye to Milt Grant, an exceptional broadcaster, both in front and behind the cameras and microphones. A true exocentric, Milt had his ways. Ways that would not have worked for any one other than Milt Grant. Milt gave me the opportunity in the early 1980's to prove my stuff as a lighting director for what was then the busiest TV commercial production house in DC. He provided gateways to other now iconic Washington TV personalities such as Herb Davis, Danny O'Brien, Dick (Count Gore DeVol and Capt 20) Dysel, and Petey Green. He had technical vision to start the first commercial UHF in a VHF town, purchase the first ever RCA TCR automated cartridge video tape machine (serial number 0001) and the first 2" helical video tape machines. At the time, Milt owned the first and only TV camera crane and the first RCA TK76 camera used in commercial production in the DC/Baltimore markets. If it were not for The Milt Grant Show, what teenager in Washington would have known about TOPS Sirloiners and shakes. Thanks Milt. It was great growing up with you and working with you! Walt Palmer, Lewes, DE (5/1/07) Congratulations WBJC/91.5 on your outstanding music and programming. The on air staff is flawless and the awesome lady in the afternoon with that delightful British accent is fantastic. I have been listening for just a few months and I never hear any mistakes except an occasional cd that skips and who cares. Keep up the great work, you guys are real pros. Give me my six pack, bag of hard pretzels and my Bose and 91.5. Continued success. Lets support Dave with a check for this great site. Jack Edwards (5/1/07) The most enjoyment I've received from the Grumpy Gasbags, er, "Don and Mike" in the past two years has been reading the "national anthem" related posts yesterday and today. As is always the case with those two sociopaths, it's always got be a "war" - even when they seemingly benefit from a little positive exposure prior to a National's game. Nice move boneheads, bite the hand that feeds you - now start counting the days before you get a similar chance again! This morning, the charming "Junkies" parlayed an almost-believable boxing interview with Al Bernstein from Showtime, with - TA-DA!! - a Tahiti Village infomercial. I thought the Junks made **plenty** 'o MOANEE - after all, they ain't shy about reminding us about how little they work, how much the gamble, and oh-how-much money they have. When, oh, when will CBS radio give Michael Hughes his walking papers and clean house in Fairfax? While they are at it, the CBS suits need to address a little out-of-control ego infestation in a WJFK Rockville annex...dapjdjnnnva... (5/1/07) Classical WETA now carries local and business news weekday afternoons. (5/1/07) Today's Babbles Harrison lowlight at 6am: "The fire at Eastern Market caused five to ten thousand dollars' worth of damage" If only that were really true. (5/1/07) I know that loose cannon. He's a lifelong friend and those who are really close to Steve know that he has busted his ass to rebuild a career after coming back from 20 years in Los Angeles to take care of his Mom's continuing heart problems. He's also the first in the door and last out when things need to be done.. And although he's put the screwjob behind him, only two or three people really know what happened at WorldSpace with Dan Turner (now at XM) setting him up. Ask Ray Boyd at Worldspace. Ask the 30 other people who were let go in March 2000 because they didn't have their financing together. The first two years of the Nationals broadcasts he did every single game without anyone there to back him up, on top of 200 MLB games at XM, including the first three months while still in the wheelchair and then to walker and cane after an horrendous auto accident. The guy is the first to admit he's an egotistical pompous ass, but it's with such humor and a wink that everyone around him knows it's all part of his self-depriciating humor. Ask the five WTOP staffers who got jobs at XM because of Steve. Ask Chris Zemba who was out of a job at Z104 & now has a full-time slot at WTRI. Ask Charlie & Dave about how he's held together the broadcasts when technical glitches almost took them off the air. Ask his friends still working in the human rights fields in China and North Korea about how much quiet work he's done on the Hill to get funding for refugee relocation. He's helped me do stories on consumer stings for FOX-TV & I can always count on the guy. He's one of those guys whose work ethic is unquestioned but has to blow off steam every now & then for his own good. So what. In this business you either get eaten or keep climbing. Don Geronimo's comments notwithstanding I'm not surprised Steve didn't call Don worse than what he did. Steve isn't a saint but I've known him since 1981 and I'd hire him in a heartbeat. (Hey buddy, I know you wouldn't want this but those old demons that keep popping up need to shut it man.) - Rob Wolchek - FOX2 Detroit (5/1/07) re: "If someone called me a douchebag on the public airwaves I'd be using more than profanity. I'd be using a 30 inch Louisville Slugger on the hood of their car."---well, that's some mighty thin skin you're wearing. If I went off in that manner every time someone publicly goofed about me on the air, I'd be a frequent guest of the state penal system. That being said, his decision to use profanity here is simply a lapse in professionalism. Maybe he doesn't care. That's cool too, but his employer should. Steve, I'm curious to hear your take... (5/1/07) Journalist Ted Koppel has worked as a Vietnam War correspondent, was embedded with the U.S. Army during the onset of the Iraq War, and reported on every major presidential election since the 1960s. The NPR Senior News Analyst will need to draw from these high-pressure experiences when he plays "Not My Job" on NPR's news quiz program Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!(r), airing the weekend of May 5 on NPR member stations nationwide. (5/1/07) Dave: I find it amusing that Geronimo got upset because his name was not uttered at a baseball game. It was O’Meara’s time to shine and Don couldn’t handle the fact that his name would not be mentioned. Grow up loser! Do you remember when he said he would no longer visit your web site? He mentioned that post yesterday so fast that I believe he has your site up 24/7 refreshing it by the minute waiting for someone to talk about him. The guy might be near another breakdown and should take another 6 week vacation to get his head together. Bye Don. Sincerely, a real fan. (5/1/07) "Columnist Frank Rich ...said he believes that attending the black-tie bash insidiously supports the administration's agenda." Um, yeah. And 20 bucks says the Times quietly finds its way back to the table if Hillary or Obama wins in '08. What a bunch of hypocritical bullshitters. (5/1/07) Rush Limbaugh today touted news from "the Southern hemisphere" - Venezuela and Cuba. If dropout Rush had made it through college, he might have known that both mentioned countries are NORTH of the Equator, and, therefore, in the northern hemisphere. Rush, you are a dope about just about everything! (5/1/07) Dave, I hope you don't always believe what Donnie G says, he's known to stretch the truth from time to time. Do you really think Bonneville lawyers "vehemently argued"? Also, to answer another poster's question, Kevin Kiley would be a great addition to WTEM, but he recently got a job in LA. Family still lives here in DC, though. (5/1/07) to Tom Conroy et al - The name that we saw stamped onto so many 3rd-class FCC Licenses with the all-important Broadcast Endorsement was Ben F. Waple ( one 'p'). What a great 70's memory - taking that test, hanging the license up in a frame from Kresge's, and starting off in radio, never forgetting to do that legal ID within two minutes of the hour and half-hour! Mark Clark (5/1/07) DC Times Sat-Rad Commentary... James Miller has the piece: washingtontimes.com.... "It stretches credulity to believe that a two-down-to-one merger in a market with no really good substitutes and where entry is very, very difficult would be in the public interest. Surely the federal agencies know that too." --James C. Miller III is former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (1981-1985) and is a consultant to the National Association of Broadcasters. (5/1/07) To Tom Conroy: Ben F. Waple was the longtime SECRETARY of the FCC, a career employee. Part of his job was "authorizing" (signing) official documents issued by the FCC, such as licenses and operator permits. He was never a Commissioner let alone Chairman. Those folks were political appointees.-Newton Minow (5/1/07) WaPo Blogger Must Be the Only Guy Who Goes to Hooters for the Food bigheaddc.com (5/1/07) Dear Dave: For the record, the recent post from JK in Fairfax was NOT me so, please, no flames directed at me. Sincerely, Joe Kasell (5/1/07) Dave's response: No, you're the "JK in LoCo" (lovely Loudoun)..... Hey lighten up Mr. PC Tightass. If someone called me a douchebag on the public airwaves I'd be using more than profanity. I'd be using a 30 inch Louisville Slugger on the hood of their car. The guy showed remarkable restraint IMHO and if you read the posts again I don't think he signed the second one with position and title. Geronimo is a crap stirring has been who treats people like shit. Just ask those who tried to move on after being in the lunar eclipse of those two fat asses D&M. Good for the Bonneville gang in keeping their turf clean. - JK in Fairfax (5/1/07) Should a person working in an official capacity for the Nationals broadcasts be using profanity in a public forum like the DCRTV mailbag? In the wake of recent events, I thought one would know better. I not a fan of the PC police but the current climate would seem to lead one to use a little discretion and common sense. (5/1/07) Jay Cottrell is the producer/contributer who mysteriously disappeared from Steve Czaban's Fox Morning show several months ago. Never heard if he was fired or left on his own. Heard parts of the Feldman and Maloney show on WTEM today. I like Feldman especially when he sat in with the Sports Reporters. Not too sure about Carol Maloney though. She seems like a nice woman but chick sports talk radio doesn't do it for me. WTEM keeps giving people shows who never had full time radio gigs like Brian Mitchell, Feldman, Maloney, etc. (though they are likable, knowledgeable and opinionated) making the station sound very amateurish at times. Is Kevin Kiley still in the area? I really enjoyed his various stints with the station. How about teaming him with Feldman? After stints with The Coach and Chuck Booms, working with Feldman would be a breeze. It seems like the odd man out in the reshuffling is Scott Jackson. Sometimes a little too sarcastic but tolerable. Maybe they can give him a show in the evening slot when there is no O's game. (5/1/07) I know this is a really stupid question, but why does Don refer to you as "Rupert" (and not mention DCRTV)? (5/1/07) Dave's response: Robert DeNiro plays "Rupert Pupkin" in "The King Of Comedy." In the film, the delusional Rupert, seeking fame, does a TV talk show from his ma's basement with taped music and cardboard cutouts of celebrities. I guess, Don feels that your friendly webmaster does DCRTV simply as an excuse for not being talented enough to be on the radio. And, while I agree, I would be horrible on the radio, I have never had a desire to be a radio personality. I really do like the reporting/writing side of things. The funny thing is, the "Rupert" character achieves his dream at the end of the film - and becomes the next "Jerry Langford," which is the Johnny Carson character played by Jerry Lewis, who gets kidnapped by Rupert and his whacky band of "cohorts" in an ultimately successful scheme to get Rupert his first big TV break. It's a great film. And, while you're at it, check out some other great films about the "media biz" and "fame" - "Network" (the brilliant William Holden in one of his last rolls) and "A Face In The Crowd" (a magnificent Andy Griffith quite unlike "Andy Taylor"). "Network" is an eerie 1970s prediction of the rise of TV tabloid news, a la Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera. And "Face," which was done way back in the 1950s, gives us some insight into the rise (and fall) of the modern radio "shock jock." I hear it was actually based on the life of Arthur Godfrey, the Leesburger who did a national radio show. All three are fascinating films. And all were way, way ahead of their time. All of the above are on DVD..... Let's go back, say, 36 years or so when many veteran broadcasters caused us to get that radio bug ( we were youngsters to Jack Edwards, Johnny Dark, Jack Gale, many others) after year