Shop amazon.com via these links, pay the regular low price, and support DCRTV too: Radios - TVs - Electronics - XM Gear - Top DVDs - Radio Books

Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - May 25 to May 31, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ May 31 Messages \/ Paul Harvey...Also on WAMD, Aberdeen @ 12:40 & if you are way up in Northern Maryland, check out WIOV, 105.1. I think they still run it. Although not on the website. Anybody know if you can hear Paul on the Sirius ABC News and Talk Channel??? We want... ...the rest of the story. (5/31/07) Why keep Paul Harvey, much less replace him? Oh--maybe because he makes a ton of money for ABC? Of less interest to corporate suits or the "burn in hell" poster, he's one of the most gifted rhetoriticians of the past century, with a turn of phrase and deliver of same which is unparalleled. That sure as hell beats 15 more minutes of the mindless screaming semi-literate pap (Chris Core excepted) which passes for discourse on most of his affiliates. (5/31/07) Voting for the next Junkette ends tomorrow! Your vote counts! www.1067freefm.com... Thanks! (5/31/07) I know this is probably bad taste but why is Paul Harvey still on? Why keep his slot filled when he finally retires? They mentioned Prez Fred as his replacement. Why replace him? Just let the shows go from 9-12 as opposed to 9-11:45. I'll go burn in hell now. (5/31/07) I do not believe WCBM carries Paul Harvey--no mention of him on their web site. Aside from WMAL, Bawlmer choices for PH are WHP Harrisburg PA (580 -- good luck getting that out of the splatter from WCAO) at 11:35, and WCTR Chestertown MD (1530) at 12:05. (5/31/07) Can you tell me if you carry Paul Harvey and what station and time. thanks Sharon (5/31/07) Dave's response: DCRTV doesn't carry him, but you can hear Paul on WMAL at 8:30 AM and 11:45 AM. I believe WCBM also carries him. That brings a memory of my college days at JMU. In the late 1970s, I had a communications professor who'd never heard of Paul Harvey. Given that Paul's been around since Marconi, I found that rather stupendous..... It could be that articles in the newspaper on the sports/media biz are always vague enough that one can see what one wants to see, but I didn't get from the Sun article about the Ravens/CBS feud that CBS didn't charge last year but were going to this year until the Ravens protested. I got that they wanted to charge, but reluctantly chose not to from the start in hopes of placating the Ravens. I could be mistaken and it's a minor point anyway. The truth is that CBS is greedy (they've destroyed almost every station they've bought in both markets in the name of the bottom line), the Ravens are greedy (they charge $35 a space on the lots they control as well and I don't see them clearing any free space for buses), and I have little sympathy for either. I'll stand by my statement, though, that the public perception of the situation would turn 180 degrees if one substituted "Angelos" for "Ravens". Howie (5/31/07) Dear everyone - Please make your reservations now for our next to last Q&A Cafe, Wednesday, June 6, which will take an interesting look behind the scenes of morning talk radio. You knew him as "Gopher" on The Love Boat TV show, and as a Congressman, but Fred Grandy is one of the stars of morning "drive time" radio on WMAL (630 am), every weekeday morning. Over at 1500 am, Washington Post Radio, his competition is David Burd, another star of morning talk. They both have interesting stories to tell - about themselves, their jobs, talking and analyzing Washington. Also, we'll get a read on what the terrestrial radio landscape looks like after Imus. As always, the doors open at noon, the program begins at 12:30, the fee is $35, all inclusive of beverages, food, tip and tax, and to make reservations contact Jon Moss at 202.338.2000 during weekday business hours. I look forward to seeing you there. Carol Joynt (5/31/07) Years ago their was a hierarchy among D.C. television news, that went 9,4,7 and 5, with some placing 5 among the top three because of their ten o'clock hour long format. Well, with WRC's budget and talent cuts they closely resemble WUSA in the late nineties and earlier this decade. A shadow of their former greatness who for budget reasons are letting well liked talent go. Who will be the next to go at Four...Vance, Gentzler or Ryan? Their strategy to this point has been to dump the medium priced talent (George Michael excepted) and replace them with Harrisonburg level talent dressed up in $1000 suits. Watch both markets for any length of time, and the quality of their clothing, is all that seems to separate them. Doug in Stephens City (5/31/07) I looked at Arch Campbell's top 10 favorite movies of all time via that story on your front page a few days ago and noticed that Bean was on his list. OK, Casablanca and Vertigo make sense. But Bean? Arch is nutz! (5/31/07) /\ May 31 Messages /\ \/ May 30 Messages \/ Re: "Gary Murphy to QSR" Isn't the whole point of Jack-FM is to be Jockless, very cheaply run cash cows? I think this would mark the first Jack-FM in the country to get an Air Personality. Maybe 102.7 Jack-FM isn't doing quite as well as people seem to think they are? Since I've never seen Murphy and Cash's morning ratings for 100.3 or really heard his show there. Is this guy any good? (5/30/07) Wow, if I were still at WMAL, I would be so happy to see Pat go. It would almost offset the dismay at seeing Michele (Basch) go. WTOP producers can expect to work with an insulting, headstrong sci fi geek boy. Kind of like kissing Eddie Haskell. The man couldn't hit a Post if it jumped out in front of him and laid on the ground in a plastic bag. (5/30/07) If you read the story carefully about CBS & The Ravens, you'll note that Philips stated that he was reluctant to allow buses to park without compensating CBS, and only changed his mind after the Ravens protested. In other words, no they didn't charge last year, but they intended to try to get away with it this year before being caught by The Ravens. So now out of the goodness of their little hearts, they're not charging again, but aren't guaranteeing the required number of parking spaces this time around, meaning they're going to make as much money off of charging as many cars as possible off of their radio stations' waiting list for profit since those radio stations no longer have the Ravens to profit from. Gee, thanks CBS, you greedy bastards. Oh, how are those O's ad sales coming along? :-) (5/30/07) How can WRC cut good talent like IJ Hudson and Arch Campbell, yet they keep Pat Lawson Muse on the air? Their 4pm newscast is basically unwatchable – it’s really gone downhill. Yesterday, she was talking about the Duke lacrosse team’s loss in the championship game up in Baltimore. She called them the “Blue Jays” – Hello! Duke is the “Blue Devils!” She’s not as bad as Barbara Harrison, but that’s not really saying much. And has anyone else watched their new sportscaster, Hakem Dermish? This guy is not major-market talent by any means (according to his bio, his resume includes stations in Toledo and Marquette, Michigan). How the heck does someone who was the #3 sportscaster at a Toledo TV station get hired by a major market affiliate like WRC? That station is really on a freefall right now and their ratings will reflect it soon enough… Brian in Fairfax (5/30/07) Dave: Why do you always have young men on your promo ads? It looks like you get these photos from some sort of gay porno site; do you? What's up w/ that? (5/30/07) Actually, that's not a bad idea - Don solo on satellite radio. I could see him doing a weekly music show or something just for fun. Some of the best moments on D&M for me, is when Don's passion for music and his rain-man like knowledge of music and music producers shine thru. I'd listen. Buzz, Mike and Rob and Joe will star a new band and tour w/ the stones. Perry N - Winchester (5/30/07) Dave's response: I've said it before - "Don Geronimo's Musicradio" on WJFK-FM's HD2..... I thought CBS put out a press release the last time D&M renewed their contract. Wasn’t it $10m over the next 5 years? Something like that. Not sure how it gets divvied up, but Don surely gets more. They recently cut Robbay’s salary IN HALF when they demoted him from producer. Bummer. Don will go to satellite when their contract expires, sans Mike. Buzz will host his own radio show, I’m guessing on JFK but don’t know for sure. Haven’t heard what Mike plans to do. (5/30/07) I am sure glad that Triple X obtained the broadcast rights to the Hokie football and basketball games. Since I am a ardent UVA and UMD supporter it is nice to have the arch rival broadcast in static. Broadcasting games on those three pea shooters is the dumbest decision since recruiting the Vick brothers. Maybe the Snyder trifecta can go after dog fights next! (5/30/07) Someone said: "Apparently, CBS has backed down and will not charge the busses, but CBS still won't guarantee there will be enough room for them at all, so not charging for something that may or may not be available is hardly a concession." Actually, they didn't charge the busses last year, although I did note in the article that the CBS official did state that they came to the decision reluctantly. As far as space usage goes, it did appear to me as someone who walks past that lot every home game that CBS was using much more of the lot for individual cars at $35 per than the Ravens did when they controlled the lot. Where those excess buses parked last year, I'm not sure. Still, while I'm hardly a big CBS radio fan this strikes me as the Ravens flexing some muscle because having JFK and HFS right there doing an alternative pre game show is annoying to them. BTW, WNST used to lease a lot as well, but it was controlled by private owners and they didn't broadcast from it. Howie (5/30/07) FYI: Peter Schickele and PDQ Bach: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour will be in Owings Mills (Gordon Center) on June 16th… (5/30/07) (RE: Merrieweather Post Dave's response: Weren't they planning to put housing in place of the pavilion? Maybe the depressed real estate market has made the developers rethink their plans.....) Yeah, Dave.. They were planning on doing a lot of neat things in that area.. Then people started dropping like flies due to murder, rape, etc, etc.. Columbia is really a swell place to live these days. NOT. (5/30/07) DJ Salaries - right before the '06 D&M "final meltdown", the charming Mr. Sorce ranted one day that he had "20 million friggin' dollars in the bank" and everyone could basically kiss his a## - or words to that effect. I also recall Don saying he made $2 million/per year. Mike has said he made "not as much as Don". What does that add up to? Well, two overpaid, unfunny guys for one thing. If I were Robbay (who, when I last heard D&M in '06, was the funniest thing going on the show) I'd be ready to jump out of a window. Even if CBS pays Rob twice the salary they were paying B.A. McBride, he may not be making more than $100,000/year. Let's take adorable Donnie at his word and figure he gets $2 million/year. Let's say Mike gets $1.5/year - that would put Rob at 1/35th of his bosses (estimated) aggregate salaries. No wonder Mr. Spewack had to peddle items on eBay!! Maybe Rob's commercial work bumps him up another $100,000/year or so - one could only hope, given the fact he has to mollify the volatile Donnie G. on a daily basis. As for the Junkies, they have hit the lottery IMHO - their show is still at the level of a non-paid cable access "cluster f" and they **still** relentlessly complain about how much they get paid and the "burden" of making apperances!! It's really hilarious that XM gets slammed for overpaying for talent when CBS could be throwing away $3.5 million on D&M and $2.4 million on the Junks!! If any of this pisses off D&M or the Junks, I've accomplished my mission!! danonpaidpj-djinoverpricedno-va (5/30/07) There are lots of questions with no answers yet on the aftereffects of the new Virginia Tech/Triple X deal. Will SportsTalk980 try to pick up another "local" college football affiliation with the loss of the Hokies? Is George Mason men's basketball now on the outs with Triple X and if so, where will it go? Does the new deal mean that WAGE/1200 will lose its Virginia Tech football and men's basketball affiliations too? Everett W. (5/30/07) Who cares how much money don geronimo makes? his show still sucks. maybe don should take some money and hire a talented writer for the show. 25 yrs in one market and all he can get is 2 million beans a year? what a joke. don failed in nyc. even peter Rosenberg found a gig on the air there. there is nothing worse than 2 elderly men trying to act hip and "with it". almost pathetic. can't help but feel sorry for him. money does not = quality. ashley simpson makes a lot of money too. dean sterling (5/30/07) The Peter Schickele? Woohoo! Are you doing anything for Public Radio at the moment? I loved "Schickele Mix", but my local NPR affiliate dropped it some years ago. Please come play Baltimore? We miss you, since we can't get to Carnegie Hall anymore! (Need to practice more, I guess!) Michael (5/30/07) WBOC TV Sportscaster arrested on DUI….according to this website: www.sbynews.com (5/30/07) Apparently, CBS has backed down and will not charge the busses, but CBS still won't guarantee there will be enough room for them at all, so not charging for something that may or may not be available is hardly a concession. That's why the Ravens are attempting to get Baltimore City to intervene and cancel the CBS parking lot contract. (5/30/07) Dave, I noticed in one of your posts that musically you are a fan of the Globe and DC101 (which play basically rock/alternative). I have very limited personal experience working in radio (I audited a small radio stations a few years ago). Between your site, other commentators on radio ratings and the people I knew it appears to me that most of the people I know who are in the industry or who comment on it personally enjoy rock music. I know that you probably can't vouch for everyone but have you experienced this as well or am I just way off base? Also, I find this ironic considering that the urban stations and country stations seem to do very well in our area. Are there people who listen to the urban/country genres who also comment on the ratings and trends in the industry? Any insight is appreciated. BTW, thanks for the very informative site, Matt (5/30/07) Dave's response: I like all kinds of music - except country and opera. Yeah, I do spend a lot of car radio time on rockers (alt, active, and classic) like the Globe, DC101, WBIG, and 98 Rock. I'd probably listen to WZBA, too, but its signal in Northern Virginia is pretty sucky. I also like oldies and big band and contemporary hits and jazz and classical and urban and contemporary Latino and reggae, too..... Merriweather Post closing stories were in the local press four or five years ago. What happened to change the situation? Merriweather Post is still open. JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/30/07) Dave's response: Weren't they planning to put housing in place of the pavilion? Maybe the depressed real estate market has made the developers rethink their plans..... Time for a little history lesson? Comments about WWDCs tower lights (or lack thereof) brings to mind the era in which their Brookeville Road facilities were built (originally for WOL-AM)... with enough room for a TV station. dcmemories.com... The first time that the WWDC air studios were moved to that "isolated" Silver Spring locale was in 1955 as seen here: dcmemories.com... And let's not forget that joyful day that WWDC first signed-on in 1941: dcmemories.com and dcmemories.com. By the way, the Channel-20 frequency was held for a very long time by WARL-TV! (5/30/07) Thought I'd weigh in on a post from a couple of days ago about WRC Radio studios at the Wardman (later Sheraton) Park Hotel. In 1967 I worked at Mutual Broadcasting as a summer relief technician. Their facilities were in what I was told were the former WRC offices just off the hotel lobby, The WRC studios had been in a converted theatre, which by then was walled off from the hotel and used as a warehouse for furniture. The studios - complete with stage proscenium - were still mostly intact. I got a tour from MBS staffers Ken French and Joe Campbell, two of the nicest guys I ever worked with. They passed the whole summer telling me old radio stories. Joe said that for years after WRC moved out, his show's set was still hanging in the flies. (kidshow.dcmemories.com) They also showed me where The Joy Boys worked (www.thejoyboys.com). But the most interesting part was the story about the demonstrations done there when Congress and the FCC were weighing the two competing color TV systems. Ken and Joe had both participated, and said they were done using enormous pedestals with a CBS and RCA camera mounted side-by-side. There were still jacks on the wall labeled "RCA" and "CBS". I wish I'd taken pictures, but they'd be lost by now anyway. So enough of the old fart ramble. I'm on the air. John Dowling (5/30/07) Feeling nappy-headed myself... Well, it's my lunch break and I'm tired; time for a little nappy. KOF (5/30/07) How ironic that DCRTV characterizes Imus' firing "Here in DC, Imus's CBS Radio show was carried by Clear Channel talker WTNT, until he made a racist jest about the Rutgers female basketball team...." even though Imus (who I can't stand) never used a race specific term but then runs this very "race" specific item "Jim Vance, the longtime Channel 4/WRC news anchor, is being inducted this summer into the 2007 Hall Of Fame by the National Association Of Black Journalists." Well, "black" ain't a "race" it's a color and nappy ain't a race it's a type of hair anybody of any "race" could have. (5/30/07) Enos Presley didn't mind his name. That is, until everybody started calling his older brother Elvis the Pelvis. Peter Schickele, a.k.a. P.D.Q. Bach (5/30/07) DJ salary talk - get ready for another Donni G meltdown regarding DCRTV - I suspect that Don and Mike get paid by the pound and the junkies get paid by the number of homemade catch phrases that nobody knows/cares about they can dream up. (5/30/07) Dave's response: Hey, that would be a great Dude Walker D&M show sounder - "Don and Mike, they're paid by the pound." In that case, Mike would be far richer than Don..... According to the Sun, the Ravens are protesting that the city of Baltimore entered into a multi-year lease last year to allow CBS radio control of one of the parking lots near the Stadium. CBS used the venue for their own radio shows and provided parking spaces to fans for a fee. Despite their protest that the deal wasn't the best for the fans, the Ravens protest seems to be nothing more than the team trying to control the ability of its former flagship to broadcast its own pregame show near the Stadium. Gee if Angelos was involved we'd all be, quite properly, attacking him for greed, paranoia, etc. Howie (5/30/07) Today, Tony Kornheiser called a race car drive from Scotland as being "Scotch." Wrong! It's "Scottish." (5/30/07) I don't listen to DnM much but I did happen to hear Don, (perhaps 6 months ago during a pissy rant) brag that he makes 2 mil a year. Mike makes less, but not by much. The junks are very mum on their contract but I would have to think they make around 250,000 a year plus constant perks from sponsors. Free cel phone, free chicken out cards, a few of them have car deals, etc. A pretty good gig for some pretty stupid radio. (5/30/07) Add another entry to the list of names best left unsung in Shirley Ellis' 60's hit song "The Name Game": Ruby. It's not vulgar or obscene, but it will make every 11-year-old in the room giggle uncontrollably. This joins the existing (and as yet incomplete) list so far consisting of Chuck/Bucky, Richie/Mitch, Bart/Artie/Marty, and many yet to be discovered. Oddly enough, the name "Enos" is safe... (5/30/07) PS to Roddy Freeman: I have it on pretty good authority that the posts attributed to Mr. Averill were bogus. And, while I'm here chewing up scenery, props to Hank "Mr. Geography" Silverberg for his description of Virginia's unique and wacky city and county charters. He's still my hero from my Metro Traffic days. Best Spotter Ever! - Ed. Rodriguez (5/30/07) To Roddy Freeman: Longtime WEAM General Manager, Harry H. Averill apparently always planned on keeping the details of his demise a secret. Mr. Averill was aware of the numerous former WEAM Team Redcoats who planned to execute any variety of excretory functions on his grave after his passing. The last time I got together with Mr. Averill was in 1982, when he came to visit me in Charlottesville. We had a wonderful visit and I was amazed at the candor of his self- assessment. He had a pretty good idea of what many staffers thought of him. But, his sole focus was the quality and execution of the product. And, if you look at WEAM's success during his tenure, hhe made his mark! I have tried to find out the details of his passing for years, but have only been able to confirm (at about a 90% confidence level) that he died in the late 80's or early 90's. - ER (5/30/07) Hey Dave, Having an argument at work over how much money the WJFK DJs make and was wondering if you or anyone else could settle a bet. My contention is that Don and Mike both make over a million a year (probably closer to 2) and that the Junkies on WJFK probably make between $400,000 - $600,000. Am I in the ballpark or do they make much less? Can you shed some light or give your own hypotheses? Thanks (5/30/07) Dave's response: From their jests on the show, I'd guess that Don makes a lot more dough than Mike, who dabbles in the restaurant biz to augment his income. Radio personality salaries are a very closely guarded secret. It's pretty much anyone's guess..... J-f-C, your reading comprehension sucks. My comments "re: Jackie" were just that, about Jackie (& HS). Who questioned Artie's departure? -MontCo (5/30/07) Here is another photo of Maralee Beck (second from the left). The photo was taken back in 2005. Al McGilvray (5/30/07) How could the DC101 tower lights burn out and not be replaced? Have you seen the "engineering staff" at 1801? Yeah, that sums it up. (5/30/07) Anyone our there know what Lexy Hickok and Chas Henry are these days? (5/30/07) Dave's response: I think you meant "where"..... Nancy Yorke, mother of R&R Washington Bureau Chief Jeffrey Yorke, died on Saturday in Annapolis. (5/30/07) Dave's response: Our deepest sympathies to Jeffrey and his family..... /\ May 30 Messages /\ \/ May 29 Messages \/ (CLIP) Can someone tell me how DC101 people forgot to turn lights on a tower? (END CLIP) This might also be a good time to review those operating logs to see who might have been faking their readings and falsifying the "Observed Tower Lights" check-box. In an earlier time, a spot inspection by an FCC official would have caught these flubs and resulted in a huge fine. DC101, ya got off easy! (5/29/07) The recently posted photo of a Maralee Beck trying to preserve a Beverly Hills mansion and the long-ago WTTG-5 weathercaster appear to be of the same woman... (5/29/07) "Can someone tell me, how DC101 people forgot to turn lights on a tower. That is rule number 101. Airplanes fly over radio towers. GOD!!!!" I hope you’re not serious? People don't manually turn tower lights on and off. They’re on sensors just like streetlights. And like streetlights or the lights in your house, they eventually burn out. When that happens, a professional tower climber has to be hired to climb up and replace them. That doesn’t happen overnight so in the interim, the station is required to notify the FAA so a warning can be issued. I hope you sleep better now. (5/29/07) Fez Whatley returned to The Ron and Fez Show on XM today and sounded great! Fez was off for a week after a health scare. But he's back and better than ever,. WJFK doesn't deserve a show like Ron and Fez. Let radio's titanic sink without R&F! -runaway bride (5/29/07) Can someone tell me, how DC101 people forgot to turn lights on a tower. That is rule number 101. Airplanes fly over radio towers. GOD!!!! (5/29/07) I've seen Amy Robach on the weekend and I think she does "fairly well". However, there are some days where it's obvious that she's trying maybe a bit too much. I think she needs a little more grooming if she wants to tackle the weekday gig..I agree with the poster who said that a more realistic move would be to replace Campbell Brown. I personally find Campbell quite annoying. And Lester is pretty dry..I never understood why they were assigned to weekends anyway..I wouldn't lose any sleep over both being replaced on the weekend. (5/29/07) Along with WRNR, WNRN, WEHM, KNBT, KWFR, WXRT, KINK, WTMD and others across the audio landscape, KPIG FM in Freedom, California is what radio was like in the hey day of progressive, free form FM radio stations in the early to mid 1970s. Before the suits ruined it for the music lovers and turned out the hit making machine of heavy rotation radio that features the S.O.S. ad nauseum. This is from their website - www.kpig.com: What is KPIG? We're an anachronism - a throwback to the days when real DJs picked out the music, and listeners expected something more from a radio station than just a couple of hundred songs repeated over and over, with some "big voice" guy yelling about how great it all is. We're also - to the amazement of all of the radio "professionals" who make the rules we thumb our noses at - very successful, though we try not to let it go to our heads. KPIG is located in Freedom, California - near Santa Cruz - and radiates a mighty 2,850 watts from a knoll (bare - not grassy) in scenic Prunetucky-by-the-Slough. We broadcast at 107.5 FM - and in spite of having perhaps the worst signal in the area, we're frequently rated #1 in our market (in Adults 25-54). Dean (5/29/07) Howie... Many TV anchors ASK to have co-anchors say they're "on assignment" rather than on vacation. It has to do with security, believe it or not. Look at it this way, why advertise the fact that your house is going to be empty that week? Think about it. It makes perfect sense. (5/29/07) Looks like XM chose the wrong World War II event as a "day of infamy." -- Vincent in Triangle (5/29/07) DC 101 tower lights. HEY Jeff Kapugi, good to see you are on top of your responsibilities. Tower lights dark, just like your programming abilities. How was your lunch in Baltimore the other week? Planning on screwing up that market too? (5/29/07) "XM Plans Radio Re-Creation Of D-Day - 5/29 - On 6/6, DC-based XM Satellite Radio's 1940's channel, The 40s (XM-4), will re-create radio's coverage of the infamous D-Day invasion of the Normandy coast of France." Infamous?? Do you really mean: 1 having a reputation of the worst kind : notoriously evil (an infamous traitor) or 2 : causing or bringing infamy : DISGRACEFUL (an infamous crime)??? D-Day may be historic, significant, fateful and earthshaking, however, it can't be considered infamous on any level. (5/29/07) Dave's response: Well, that's word-for-word from today's XM press release: "On Wednesday, June 6, XM's 1940's channel, 'The 40s' (XM 4), will bring history to life with a broadcast special re-creating radio's coverage of the infamous D-Day invasion of the Normandy coast of France." I agree with you and have removed the word from today's Front Page newsblurb..... I am sure Amy Robach is just salivating over the thought of being on Page Six. The thought that she could replace Campbell Brown on Weekend Today is very much a possibility. Anything during the week is just a pipedream. (5/29/07) "Dave's response: OK, how about this. Get R&F back down to WJFK-FM to do middays. 6 AM Opie and Anthony live, 10 AM Ron and Fez live from JFK,..." As long as Ron and Fez have their New York, XM gig, I don't see them returning to JFK/Fairfax. One of Fezzie's lines is: "Don't bury me in Fairfax!". With the demolition of FreeFM in NYC, why, oh, why doesn't CBS clean house @ WJFK? Dave, you must know the reason!! I'm no OnA fan, but at some point you would think CBS would like to get the drive-time show a higher profile than the double-digit ranking the Junkies are providing. If it's got to be OnA so be it. I'll bet you could get Ron and Fez to simulcast a 6-9pm show from NYC if the money were right... (5/29/07) Dave's response: As bad as WJFK-FM's schedule is, there's still a boatload of advertisers who'll pay good bucks to be on 106.7. The main reason we're not seeing a flip from talk is that the station still rakes in the dough from sponsors seeking those male demos..... Tom in Denton said:"I just found it interesting that Tom [Davis] said, 'Phil [Wood] has the day off today'..when we know that Phil was doing his show at 980!" I've often been driven crazy by a similar TV news convention, that of claiming that someone is "on assignment". Quite often when the anchor is "on assignment", he/she's on VACATION. I'm glad Phil got another gig, but he'll be sorely missed on the Davis show, where his low key approach and finer grasp of details kept Tom somewhat in check. Howie (5/29/07) I'm not sure what the guy trashing WZBA "The Bay" is talking about in regards to hearing the same songs multiple times this weekend. They were doing a "Top 500" countdown and obviously within that countdown the same song isn't going to be played more than one time. Maybe you had DC's 100.3 tuned in? (5/29/07) Dear Dave: I wanted to say that it was a great pleasure to hear Phil Wood on WTEM this past weekend talking about the thing he knows best: baseball. While it was difficult for me to hear more than snippets of his show (shuttling a 6-year-old and an 18-month-old to various places will do that) what I did manage to hear was what we've heard from Phil in the past: a serious discussion of the sport along with the taking of listener calls. The big difference from when he last was on the air in the area is, of course, the existence of a real home team to talk about which, in my mind, makes his show doubly better. I still can't understand why it took so long for Phil to be brought back for this purpose, especially when you consider his knowledge of Washington baseball history. I know that this board has had many discussions about coverage of local teams. True, the Redskins are the big name in the DC area, but not the only one, and that there is substantial interest in other teams. Consider that with little fanfare, there were plenty of callers to Phil's program on Saturday. Consider also that in his previous stint with WTEM, Phil hosted a daily program middays, before the Nationals were even a glint in anybody's eye, and I don't recall the program hurting for callers. And the nice thing about the program is that it doesn't fall back on the somewhat sophomoric, chest-thumping, in-your-face style so prevalent elsewhere up-and-down the dial. Just my two cents. Great site Dave, as always! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (5/29/07) The last change they need to make is to cut the Sports Retards/Opiners. Czabe & Polley don't talk much about sports anymore now that their 'Skins aren't playing. Seriously, these guys have an agenda against any sport other than pro football.” – WTEM needs to drop Polley only, Czaban’s show in the morning is actually very good, different from most talk shows. Czaban with a different side-kick could be interesting. Just listen to how much better the show is when Polley is on vacation and Czabe doesn’t have to follow the awful agenda that Polley puts together. I agree with the negativity by Polley, it is annoying. It’s too bad the suits at WTEM don’t read the mailbag from time to time. (5/29/07) With Phil Wood back at WTEM, one wonders whether Clear Channel is trying to position itself as a player for Nationals' radio rights in 2008. While 980 would make a good flagship, if I'm Stan Kasten, I would only make the deal if Clear Channel also airs the games on one of its FM properties, most likely 100.3. WTEM's nighttime signal doesn't reach some outlying parts of the D.C. area, whereas 100.3 can be heard as far as the northern outskirts of the Shenandoah Valley (I've picked it up on Interstate 81). To me, its signal would be preferable to 106.7's. Anyway, it's good to hear WTEM evolve into a general sports station instead of one solely focused on "that football team," to borrow a phrase from one of its promos. -- Vincent in Triangle (5/29/07) Dave's response: Yes, the Nats would have to be nuts to flip to WTEM next year, unless WTEM moves to FM..... So-I had a chance to check out some Baltimore stations this holiday weekend. Enjoyed the Hair Ball weekend on 98 Rock-although, I would have loved to hear some old school 98 rock imaging from the 80s and 90s. WLIF ended the flashback weekened Sunday!!!! Funny, since the holiday weekend rolled on until Monday night. As for WZBA--wow, what a boring station that is. The imaging guy sucks, the music is the same recycled 10 Queen, Pink Floyd, Springsteen and Zepplin songs over and over. I heard we are the champions three times this weekend. Come on now--I remember seeing that they were nominated for some kind of reward--what the BGE Reward for best customer that is wasting electricity. (5/29/07) The WaPo radio experiment, like the newspaper -- "If you don't get it, you don't get it..." (5/29/07) On his first day as host of WTEM's Saturday baseball show, Phil Wood remarked that John Thompson was instrumental in the process that resulted in him getting rehired by the station. You wonder why management needed prodding from Thompson before deciding to put Wood back on the air - should have been a no-brainer after Marc Sterne (the previous host) jumped to Post Radio. Nonetheless, it's a step in the right direction for a station whose treatment of baseball has left something to be desired over recent years. As far as Sports Reporters is concerned, the show has its entertaining moments but Andy Pollin's constant negativity regarding the local teams is starting to get annoying. What's puzzling is that he and Steve Czaban actually seem to revel in the misfortunes of the Redskins, Nationals, etc. - far too much levity and jocularity where sober, thoughtful analysis is called for. For example, yesterday the station played 'Best of Reporters' and there was a segment where Pollin joked that "after the Skins lose to the Cowboys by three touchdowns (this coming season), perhaps Joe Gibbs will go on his radio show and answer callers' questions about the parking situation at FedEx Field." For his information, they haven't lost to Dallas by three touchdowns since Gibbs was brought back as head coach in 2004. Somehow, I don't think defeatist sarcasm is what Skins fans (who tend to be optimistic and upbeat about their team) want to be hearing more than three months in advance of the first meaningful game. A few weeks ago, Pollin actually said that he "wouldn't mind" seeing the Nationals make a serious bid for the worst record in baseball history. While they're not likely to contend for a playoff berth this year, the Nats are clearly much better than all those preseason experts (whose dire prognostications Pollin appears to have bought into hook, line and sinker) believed. I'm pleasantly surprised about the Feldman & Maloney show - didn't think it would get this good this quickly. During his guest appearances on Reporters, Feldman seemed too deferential toward Pollin and Czaban and didn't contribute as much as he could have to the discussions. With this new program, it's a completely different story and the guest list has been very impressive. Mike, Fairfax (5/29/07) Hello, All. I hope everyone had a good three day weekend. The correct answer to my trivia question who recorded "Hot Pants" was Salvage. I saw the correct answer posted over the weekend. More trivia questions to come. I have to think of some harder trivia questions. I have a few up my sleeve. As Dave says, "Stay tooned". Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (5/29/07) So the poster doesn't like it when David Burd uses sound effects, or interupts people. How about turning the knob on the radio and going to WASH FM ...maybe they're playing Christmas tunes you'll like. We like David Burd on the radio and always have ever since he first showed up on WPGC years ago. He's funny without being vulgar and has a a bizaar sense of humor. He's a former Marine who hasn't forgotten where he came from. Unlike folks like Tony K who reminds us repeatedly that he's rich. So, if the poster, who doesn't like Burd's interuptions and sound effects doens't like it... go someplace else. I have to admit that there are times when I pray that Burd interupts some of these boring people he has to interview on Washinton Post Radio. He seems not to want to put up with blow hards on the radio who give the standard pat answers. My family can't wait until Burd takes over for Mr Tony when he leaves for Monday night football. He's more funny than Tony. At least that's what I think. Dave Hughes has hinted at this as well. Susan Riley and family, Falls Church (5/29/07) Dear Washington Post Radio, I’d like to offer some thoughts regarding your morning drive show with David Burd. I am really trying to give your new station a fair shake, but man is it getting difficult. Rather than tuning directly over to Sirius in the morning and catching up with Stern and Co., I figure it might be nice to get a little local flavor to start my day. You know, weather and traffic maybe even a local interest story. Your boy Burd is KILLING me with the constant talking over people and his newest trick, ill-timed sound effects. Need an example? 6:45 am this morning your weather reporter was in the middle of announcing today’s high temp and Burd walks all over him with a sound effect of someone brushing their teeth and then jumps in with a lame one liner to the effect that the weather guy is brushing his teeth while giving his report. I never heard the freaking high temp Mr. Burd because you don’t know when to pipe down. I liked him on weekend mornings when he did his show alone. His quirkiness was refreshing and on the weekends his schmaltzy approach to radio was sort of fun, in an old-time kind of way. But running the ship on a weekday, morning drive program just isn’t working out. (5/29/07) Someone at WAGE must have read the Washington Post this weekend!! The old news on their website has been removed and now their is no link for local news on the homepage. (5/29/07) re: "Jackie Martling, who knows? Maybe negotiations have begun and H.Stern's comments = posturing. Wouldn't be the first time Stern lied! -MontCo" Well, that was a dumb and unnecessary and uninformed comment - for the record - the big scoop that Artie might leave the show came from Artie himself last week during the Thursday program when he talked about being burned out getting up at the hour to do the show, and he might leave when his contract is up in January. Howard spent his time trying to convince him to stay - that was the extent of the conversation. Oddly enough, the Junkies actually talked about it last Friday when E.B. said he was listening to the replay on his way in that morning. As far as Jackie Martling, it wouldn't be out of the realm that he could return since he and Howard patched things up and he does a weekly show on one of Stern's Sirius channels. (5/29/07) Ed Rodriquez posted something on another site indicating Harry Averill had passed away. Since I can’t find a way to email Ed on the Key 103 website, I’ll ask the question here. Did Mr. Averill indeed pass away and when? He was posting on DCRTV as recently as a year and a half to 2 years ago. Roddy Freeman (5/29/07) Dave, The confusion over political jurisdictions in Virginia is just a Southern plot maintain political control. Thus you have: 1. Cities that resemble counties, likeVirginia Beach ; 2. Towns that resemble cities, like Vienna; and 3. Un-incorporated enties like Tysons Corner, that are totally unclassifable. I understand it, but then again I am a proud lifetime native of Virginia. Like George Allen uttered in his famous "macca moment": Welcome to the ""real Virginia"......"Macca"..... Doug, a proud native Southerner in Stephens City (5/29/07) Atlantis...Donovan Leich, unless there's another I haven't heard of. (5/29/07) From a person with the job title of Geographer with the federal government - Independent cities in Virginia actually have a FIPS code similar to that of a county as well as a city FIPS code. County FIPS codes are composed of the 2 digit state code and the three digit county code. They are numerically ordered by alphabet with all independent cities coming after counties. A city FIPS code is uniquely identified by the 2-digit state code and a 5-digit city code. Fairfax County is 51059 and Alexandria City is 51510 (all independent cities come numerically after the counties). Alexandria city as a place is 5101000 and Arlington county (which has no cities in it) has a place code of 5103000. If you read the language closely associated with all publications of FIPS codes it will say county or county equivalent. It has nothing to do with being a commonwealth and numerous other states also have independent cities (for example Baltimore like many have pointed out). It is technically correct for the weather service to issue an alert for the counties of Arlington and Alexandria because Alexandria is a county equivalent (not in another county). Every state has to be completely contained within a county or county equivalent. There are no counties in Louisiana (they are all parishes) and very few in Alaska (they are boroughs) but most people consider them counties. NIST and the US Census Bureau hold all the information on FIPS codes for your further reading pleasure. While we may consider it "wrong" to call Alexandria city a county it is a county equivalent and it is correct to call it one. You could also call Arlington a city (because it is an equivalent) and you'd be correct. Your quirky geography lesson for the day. (5/29/07) Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennyslvania are commonwealths as well as Virginia but those three don't have any independent cities so such as thing really isn't a "commonwealth" idea. I remember when Fairfax County moved its government offices out of Fairfax city to Fair Lakes. Same thing almost happened 20 years ago to the north in Frederick County ( Virginia ) when they wanted to move their offices out of downtown Winchester to a complex near the Winchester Airport.thus taking the county seat of Frederick County out of Winchester. However the city of Winchester BEGGED Frederick County not to do it for fear of destroying the business cilmate of downtown Winchester. If I remember correctly the deal between the two was that in exchange for the county offices to stay in Winchester the city would give up its "independent city" status in return to becoming a town ( like Leesburg for example ) and also give up its right to annex which is somewhat ironic since in Virginia I believe towns can still annex county land while cities can not. Well 20 years later Winchester is still an independent city and there are those ( many I might say ) who feel to this day that Frederick County was double-crossed. (5/29/07) Rusty and fellow triviaists: Bill House(?) "Atlanta(tis?)"?? Early '70s. Can't find anything on Wiki or Google. Thanks, Ed in Fenton (5/29/07) Is Jennifer Gilbert of Fox 45 Baltimore pregnant? Is she married? her official station bio on the Fox 45 website makes no mention of a spouse. She sure looks pregnant. (5/29/07) Don't mess with Big Bill Hell! youtube.com (5/29/07) /\ May 29 Messages /\ \/ May 28 Messages \/ I don't recall WRC-radio having Wardman Park studios, though it could be likely because of sharing talent with TV. The only time I visited WRC at Wardman Park it was strictly a TV visit including the wonders of COLOR TV. The main color monitor had three 12-inch CRTs, one for each primary color, combined by half-silvered mirrors - no 3-color CRTs for them. 'Twas long ago. (5/28/07) It's great that the WTEM suits like Phil Wood and brought him back to his old timeslot. I like the changes, with Doc having his own show and Feldman & Maloney. The last change they need to make is to cut the Sports Retards/Opiners. Czabe & Polley don't talk much about sports anymore now that their 'Skins aren't playing. Seriously, these guys have an agenda against any sport other than pro football. I just got my wisdom teeth removed, and I'd rather go through that again than listen to that train-wreck of a show. (5/28/07) Hi All, A clarification for you on the City/county divide. In Virginia, a city is a separate political entity chartered by the state government. They have their own government, their own tax rate, their own municipal departments. Alexandria is an independent city. But there is some confusion because the section of Fairfax county that adjoins the city is also called Alexandria. There is Fairfax county, Fairfax City. The city of Manassas and the city of Manassas Park, though located on every map as being part of Prince William County, are actually separate political units. But many of the folks who live near Hoadly road in Dale City, often say they live in Manassas. Some of their addresses actually read that way. There are more but I will spare you. But I know that when the warnings come over from the National Weather Service about thunderstorms and the like, they list Prince William , Manassas and Manassas Park, all separately as well as Fairfax county, Fairfax City and the city of Alexandria. I suspect the Channel 4 crawl was simply a MISTAKE. They do happen to everyone from time to time. The rules are different in Maryland. Here's one for you. Is Takoma Park in Prince George's County or Montgomery County? Hank Silverberg, WTOP Radio (5/28/07) Dave's response: Some Falls Church addresses are in Falls Church City, while others are in Fairfax County. Ditto with Alexandria addresses - some in the city and some in Fairfax County. As for Takoma Park, I believe it used to be divided between the two counties, but the residents voted for the entire municipality to be in Montgomery County. Now, what I like are counties that have segments completely "detached" from the main part of the county. Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in suburban Boston, also includes the Brookline area, which is completely "surrounded" by Middlesex and Suffolk counties..... IIRC, before the Washington Color Plant was built, WRC radio (and NBC (both Blue & Red nets)) had their D.C.studios in the Trans-Lux Building... The place still had a few antennas and a faded "RCA" sign on it until it was torn down in the 1970's. I don't recall radio ever using Wardman-Park (as it was back then...) (5/28/07) Re: Jackie Martling, who knows? Maybe negotiations have begun and H.Stern's comments = posturing. Wouldn't be the first time Stern lied! -MontCo (5/28/07) For folks who are uneasy at the National Weather Service's use of "county" to describe DC in their severe weather alert software, the U.S. Congress is considering a solution. On April 16th, a new bill entitled "District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act'" was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would turn the District of Columbia back over to the State of Maryland. The fascinating details can be seen at: frwebgate.access.gpo.gov. Of course, at one time, Georgetown was an independent city inside the District of Columbia (known as "Georgetown, DC"), as was "Alexandria, DC" until Virginia reclaimed its part of DC. (5/28/07) Carson City, Nevada is an "independent city" as well. Then you have those cities and counties that have "merged together" such as Lousiville, Kansas City ( Missouri ) and I believe its the case with Indianapolis but nonetheless those places are still part of a county. One thing about Virginia with its independent cities I always thought it was odd was that many of these places, even though they arent part of a county, many are still "county seats". Rockingham County, VA for example their county seat is Harrisonburg even though Harrisonburg is an independent city. Likewise with Frederick County, VA and Winchester. Dittos with Fredeircksburg and Charlottesville. A county whose county seat isnt even a part of their county. Odd !! Only in Virginia. (5/28/07) Dave's response: That's one reason why Fairfax County moved its government offices from Fairfax City, which is not part of Fairfax County, to the Fair Lakes area, which is..... FYI, WABC is featuring a George Michael aircheck this hour...1100EST. (5/28/07) AP is reporting, that WABC tv in New York, had a fire. WABC was off the air saturday (5/28/07) Baltimore City is independent of Baltimore County by virtue of sucession and a variance from the rules otherwise governing the State of Maryland. Independent cities are not the norm in the state. Otherwise, B'more would indeed be part of B'more County. That is because Maryland is a state. Virginia, on the other hand, is a commonwealth. The key distinction here is that in Virginia all cities are considered equal but distinct from any county that might surround them. Independent cities are not the exception, they are the rule. NWS alerts are based upon providing protection to regions, not cities. Those regions are identified by federal FIPS codes which use a hierarchal system from national, to state, to county, to locality in the definition of an alert. An independent city is a locality. Geographically, that city exists usually within the confines of the county. From a public service POV, it is correct for the NWS to address independent cities as part of the surrounding county in the best interests of alerting the largest group of people who may be effected. Only a moron or a Socialist would deny emergency alerts to people based upon political boundaries. There is no need for the NWS to further complicate the FIPS codes just to make a few people in a holler feel more special than they already think they are. (5/28/07) WFMD/WFRE News Director get off of sinking CC ship. She is going to work for local hospital. Who is next? That is 9 people in the past year to head out the door. How bad is it? The GM cut the cable in the studio's. Wow that saved $30 dollars. The Mays family would be proud! (5/28/07) Too bad that Howard Stern doesn't do a show on regular radio at the same time as his satellite show. Opie & Anthony got away with it until they angered XM. I doubt Sirius will allow it with the amount of money they're paying Howard. He probably doesn't want the FCC on his back, either. I wonder if he'd still bring in a great deal of advertising money, and high ratings, if he came back to regular radio. JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/28/07) Lets see Maryland has an independent city called Baltimore, Virginia has independent cities, St Louis in Missouri is an Independent Jurisdiction........ The weather software is faulty and should be returned and replaced .No excuses. John T. Henneman (5/28/07) Once again--showing my age. I was 13 or so when a bunch of friends and I went to see GLASS HARP at the FALLS CHURCH COMMUNITY CENTER. Barry Richards was the MC. If my memory serves me right, the warmup band was called "Kris-Kross" with a Hendrix look-and-sound-alike (this was a couple years before Hendrix died) that, seriously, stole the show. Anyway; Barry gets up there in between sets and the next thing I know someone's throwing tomatoes at him! I'm dead serious! I'll never forget Barry trying to calm things down by saying (in that terrible pukey voice), "hey listen everybody! We can work this out! We're all brothers here!" The next tomato got him on the neck and that was the last we saw of him. Next time I saw Barry Richards was probably 1990 on cable doing something called "California Wrestling." God bless us, everyone. sean hall (5/28/07) In Virginia, a "city" is never part of a county. Surrounded, yes, but not _part_ of a county. (5/28/07) Some TVDX here in Wild West Fairfax this Sunday evening! Bagged WMAR's DTV on channel 52 with all three streams pretty rock-solid. UnID-23, audio only ID'ing only as "Your Community Information Station" video was the usual Daystar repeater in D.C. Any idea who the other station was? Might be wortwhile getting up early on Memorial Day to DX! (5/28/07) Stern said on Thursday's show that there would be NO WAY he would ever work with Jackie Martling again. Jackie is very demanding and always thought he should have gotten more money, respect, etc. He was a real pain in the ass during every contract negotiation. Stern is just fine with Jackie having his own show on CH.101 on Sirius. If Artie indeed goes, either Greg Fitzsimmons or another comedian of that caliber will step in to fill that spot. Artie lasted longer than anyone could have predicted and he does look pretty bad lately...maybe it is time for him to take some time off and get healthy and then do some TV/movie type stuff. Too bad...Artie was a great sidekick and funny as hell. (5/28/07) (Please tell me why Channel 4 has a bulletin across the screen warning about thunderstorms in the county of Washington in Washington, DC as well as in the county of Alexandria and Arlington...) The National Weather Service’s practice on issuing warnings is to do it by county. In most states, cities inside a county are considered part of that county. However, here in Virginia, you have “independent cities” that are not considered to be a part of the county they are in. Therefore, the NWS has to identify each “independent city” individually. DC also doesn’t fit the NWS mold, as it is a unique entity. The software that ingests the warning assumes that each separately identified jurisdiction is a county. This works in 49 of the states. That’s why you saw the cities and the district identified as a county. (5/28/07) /\ May 28 Messages /\ \/ May 27 Messages \/ ("Please tell me why Channel 4 has a bulletin across the screen warning about thunderstorms in the county of Washington in Washington, DC as well as in the county of Alexandria and Arlington (the only correct county).") (snip) I would imagine this kind of stupidity originates in a computer database that has a schema that fits most locations in the United States. Every city in a county in a state. Our beloved nation's capital is a City in a District, which it fills to the brim. There is no countyesque subdivision. Every county in Louisiana is in fact called a Parish. I'll bet the automated message system originates not at Channel 4 but at the National Weather Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a division of the Department of Commerce, a division of the Executive Branch, a division of the Federal Government. A few minutes of twiddling, as if someone cared, and the messages would become familiar to the general public in all instances. (5/27/07) FOX5 begins the The Lark McCarthy "Good-Bye Tour" tomorrow..It will continue all week. (5/27/07) Please tell me why Channel 4 has a bulletin across the screen warning about thunderstorms in the county of Washington in Washington, DC as well as in the county of Alexandria and Arlington (the only correct county). Aren't these people educated as to the geographical and political jurisdictions of the Washington area? If not, they should be before they issue warnings to non-existent jurisdictions. -- Bobbie (5/27/07) A really sad story about the death of WAGE in today’s Washington Post. More local radio biting the dust. Tom Gauger (5/27/07) Not a peep on 950 AM for two weeks now. Are they totally dark? (5/27/07) (Insert boilerplate joke here re: heatwave, start of summer, when does WASH-FM Christmas music start) -end (5/27/07) Now here's something interesting (at least to me) Phil Wood was on WTEM Saturday morning. To this day, ESPN1300 still promotes that show from eleven till two as "The Tom Davis/Phil Wood Show!" Yesterday Tom said that "Phil had the day off!" Wonder what's going on here? As best as I can figure, Phil is on WTEM until noon on Saturdays. So is it possible that..once he's finished with his show from WTEM, will he then join Tom Davis on ESPN1300? Wonder how long ESPN1300 will keep saying "Phil has the day off today?" The shame in it all is that Phil and Tom worked good together! Wonder if they plan on getting someone else to work with Tom? Or are they just going to keep telling people that "Phil has the day off?" Don't get me wrong; I think Tom Davis can do well by himself if need be; I just found it interesting that Tom said, "Phil has the day off today"..when we know that Phil was doing his show at 980! Tom in Denton, MD (5/27/07) Hey all you 1960's soul music fans. Do you remember the Magnificent Men from the York-Harrisburg area. I saw them back in 1966 as a last minute fill-in for James & Bobby Purify at a show in New Castle, Delaware. They were incredible and now they have a documentary in the works. Check out the trailer at magnificentmen.org. Bill in Lothian (5/27/07) I am confused. But, then again, it does not take much to confuse me. Up here in the Borough of Hanover in the beautiful Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, COMCAST had usually run MASN on the TV Guide channel ( channel 8) and MASN 2 on 62, the regular MASN channel. Today and several times before, they switched broadcasts and showed the Nationals on the TV Guide channel and the Orioles on 62. If I am correct , this is done because COMCAST in York, Pa does not carry WJZ on their cable system.But why switch from one to the other? Are they trying to confuse us? Another thing I notice today and for the past several weeks, When the Phillies played the Braves, the game was also carried on Turner Broadcasting I thought that strange because last year, when this happened, Turner Broadcasting was blacked out. For the last several weeks, it was not. Today,. it was blacked out again. What gives? Oh well, I guess life goes on. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (5/27/07) It is quite true that Al and Tipper Gore are the godparents of contemporary censorship. What most folks do not realize is that their opposing approaches present a very real double-threat to our cherished freedoms of speech and peaceable assemly. Perhaps even to our freedom of religious expression. Tipper wants to censor content, especially rock and urban lyrics that are some how less pure than country. But Al, wants to censor distribution. Al essentially proposed a 'sin tax' on broadcast, cable and Internet. The idea was that an organization would pay a user fee based upon the sort of content they provided, to whom and in what bandwidth. Furhermore, in a sort of bow to the Euro-centric sympathies of his party, Gore would also tax receivers, including cable and broadcast, for the 'privilege' of being able to receive this content. So, you can broadcast porn or HD sports, but the broadcaster and the viewer would both pay for it. The funds gathered were supposed to pay for the expansion of the Internet to every home (remember, he invented it) and would have fully funded CPB, thus making PBS and NPR to only 'free' broadcast services. It took the lawyers and constitutional scholars in the OEB many months to convince Al that what he wanted to do was unconstitutional. Funny how the Washington Post conveniently missed this attempt by the VP to circumvent our constitution and our rights. I guess they figured a restriction on electronic media would be in their favor, so they avoided the subject. (5/27/07) Lark McCarthy to KLAS-TV. Up in the air if it will be the Noon and 4PM slot, or 4PM and 6PM. KLAS has quietly been looking for an anchor to diversify the lineup. With Lark, they fill the need with her experience, excellence and commitment to outstanding journalism. KLAS-TV has been the undisputed news leader in Las Vegas for over two decades. (5/27/07) www.avsforum.com - Wheel and Jeopardy! will be finally shown in HD this July on ABC-7 according to Robert Forsyth the director, of Operations and Engineering at WJLA-TV in a post at avsforum.com (5/27/07) Dave's response: Alex Trebek in HD? Damn, that alone is worth the $2000 for a new TV..... "Dave's response: OK, how about this. Get R&F back down to WJFK-FM to do middays. 6 AM Opie and Anthony live, 10 AM Ron and Fez live from JFK, 1 PM Boob O'Reilly (mandated by CBS suits - what are you gonna do), 3 PM Don and Mike, 7 PM the Sports (!) Junkies, 10 PM El Jefe and J-Dubbs live from JFK." This all implies that there is no new talent available. Rather than shuffling a deck with a bunch of has been's, isn't there some new talent, the next Stern or D&M that could be worked into the mix? (5/27/07) Dave's response: "The next Stern" should and could have been Jon Stewart, who could have continued his Comedy Central duties along with a new morning radio gig. In fact, the radio gig would have landed him probably 25 times (!) the audience he currently gets on cable TV. In fact, there are rumors that he was offered and turned down an offer from CBS Radio after Stern announced his retirement, er, his jump to satellite radio. Oh, the NY Post is reporting that Stern sidekick Artie Lang will be leaving Stern's satrad show. Lang is leading to Hollywood for more film/TV acting work. He was recently seen in an episode of "Entourage." Does that mean Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling might reunite with Stern? If so, that might be worth the $12.95 for a monthly Sirius subscription..... /\ May 27 Messages /\ \/ May 26 Messages \/ Logan's two-run double Friday came in the sixth inning, when Jageler does the play-by-play. He does the third, fourth, sixth and seventh innings for Nats radio. -- Vincent in Triangle (5/26/07) When does WJFK's mandate to carry Bill O'Reilly run out? Do you think they'll drop him the second his contract is over? JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/26/07) Dave's response: I'm pretty sure that the folks who run JFK would drop O'Reilly in a heartbeat, but CBS's NYC-based execs (Joel Hollander, Les Moonves) mandated that the CBS station run him. It will be interesting to see if things change under new management (Dan Mason). Probably not..... Opie and Anthony again drag Ron and Fez down. How long before R&F stop following O&A to the unemployment line? It's a shame that Ron and Fez feel the need to depend on O&A. Keep following them. It works out well every time. Ron and Fez get what they deserve for aligning themselves with idiots. Benny, Rockville MD (5/26/07) Dave's response: OK, how about this. Get R&F back down to WJFK-FM to do middays. 6 AM Opie and Anthony live, 10 AM Ron and Fez live from JFK, 1 PM Boob O'Reilly (mandated by CBS suits - what are you gonna do), 3 PM Don and Mike, 7 PM the Sports (!) Junkies, 10 PM El Jefe and J-Dubbs live from JFK. Then work to mix and co-brand the shows. When Don's away, have Fez or El Jefe sit in with Mike. Have some of the Junks and or Mike do guest shots with R&F. Etc. Maybe put that "Unzipped" thing on the weekend evenings. Re-sign the Redskins and get the Nationals for next season. 106.7 would be well on its way back to "superstation" status. In fact, drop the Free FM logo and just call it "Superstation 106.7".... It was great to have Phil Wood back. To Vincent in Triangle, the Nats radio call was Charlie Slowes. Not Dave Jageler. (5/26/07) (RE: "As for public air waves it's conservatives like you that is (sic) killing this industry because you want everyone to think like you!") Let us not forget that it was liberal Tipper Gore who began her own censorship crusade in the 80's. Many of the current government sponsored censorship laws are on her and husband Al's head. Don't be blinded by partisanship. Both parties favor censorship. Why, two-faced politicians squashing free speech is as American as apple pie! McCain/Feingold anybody? Happy Memorial Day to all. ~Mark (5/26/07) It's great to have Phil Wood, and baseball talk, back on the radio, but WTEM needs to get on the ball, pardon the pun. On the 20/20 sportscast preceding his show, the call of Nook Logan's two-run double from Friday's Nationals game at St. Louis was aired -- I wasn't aware WTEM was now allowed to use Nats' radio network snippets instead of taking MASN audio -- but the sportscaster said it was "Charlie Slowes on the call" when it was actually Dave Jageler. -- Vincent in Triangle (5/26/07) With all the Brian & O'Brien pictures you had recently, thought you'd like to know that Brian Wilson will be part of the WABC Rewound on Memorial Day. They're playing old music tapes, and he'll be on at 6AM from his Ross & Wilson days. (5/26/07) All this talk about Crabby Appleton and other obscura fronm the 1870's got me to looking for Crabby Appleton on Youtube and here's what I found. Keep on Rockin' in the Free World, lil' babys! www.youtube.com... (5/26/07) Back in the good ol' days of the Mighty MetroMedia and Maralee Bech, those of us in the staging dept would take our evening break on the bench of the outside news set. We would dispose of our smokeable early 70's entertainment over our shoulders. After much nurturing our spoils turned into a 6 foot pot plant and some where, somebody has the stills and the video air checks of our prize gentle swaying over Maralee's shoulder. Wish I had 'em, but all I have are the fond, yet somewhat clouded memories! Walt in Lewes (5/26/07) I kinda agree with JohnnyinHanover. While the signal sent over sats may or may not be public airways, as we learned last week from XM's failure, there are ground based repeaters that most certainly fall in the purview of FCC. As Commissioner Reilly Hollingsworth reminded me last week on another matter, the FCC doesn't care what happens until a signal leaves an intentional ground based radiator. It that's the case, then ground based repeaters AND sat uplinks are subject to FCC rules. Walt in Lewes (5/26/07) If satellite radio is generally in bad financial shape, is it too soon to wonder if the format will survive long enough for Howard Stern to fulfill his $500,000, 000. contract. JOHN IN STAFFORD (5/26/07) To "JohnnyuinHanover" - so what do you think about off-air (Cable TV/DirectTV/Dish Network) stations? Do you think they need to be regulated too? They're broadcast over satellite. Does that count too? My question is - WHY would that count? You need a SUBSCRIPTION to get these services. You don't need to get a subcription to get "over the air" (standard terrestrial radio & TV) services. That's the difference. I can see regulating those because anybody can watch them for free. But if you have to pay, why regulate? I'm not an O&A fan and glad XM kicked them to the curb (I wish CBS cans their sorry asses too) - but FEDERAL regulation where it doesn't belong doesn't make sense. Any radio & TV company (terrestrial or satellite) can self-regulate since its their company, but leave the FCC out of non-terrestrial services. Not a sermon, just a thought. Dave in Fredericksburg (5/26/07) Johnny U: Satellite radio (like other pay broadcast services) can only received by those who, having full knowledge of the service's content, CHOOSE to subscribe and pay for it. I can't for the life of me understand why you, the government or anyone else should have anything to say about it. If you don't like it, don't subscribe. As for me, give me uncensored radio that allows me to make my own decisions without the unwanted imposition of anyone else's sense of misdirected "morality", self-righteousness or hypocritical religiosity. Mike in Bartonsville (5/26/07) To JohnnyuinHanover,pa. Dude are you kidding? Sat Radio is like cable T.V..You pay for the programming .If you don't like the program then don't buy it or block it out.Who are you to decide on what I can listen too.As for public air waves it's conservatives like you that is killing this industry because you want everyone to think like you! Last time I looked at a radio it has 2 very important buttons or knobs.One is for the channel selection and the other is for ON /Off. USE them! (5/26/07) /\ May 26 Messages /\ \/ May 25 Messages \/ Salvage, a group of back-up vocalists, recorded "Hot Pants." (5/25/07) I said this a month ago and I will repeat it. Even though the signal comes from a satellite, it still comes over public airways. I must urge every one of you to write your congressperson and urge them to pass laws to regulate the content of what comes over the satellite to your home or car. This garbage must be regulated.JohnnyuinHanover,pa. (5/25/07) RE: "You HFS whiners (you to Dave) remind me of those Baltimorons holding on the the Colts." I know this isn't a sports message board but there's no friggin' way that I'm going to let this little gem pass without some sort of a retort. Hey, jackass. Have you even been to Baltimore lately??? Seems to me like there's a certain little team in the purple and black up here now that won a little game called the Super Bowl back in '01 and that kind of took care of your so-called Colts whiners. Jesus Christ, you want to talk about whiners?? How about we bring up the Foreskins and that midget of an owner you guys have! Yours truly, Kevin in HdG, MD. (5/25/07) Hey Ed: Just taking a wild guess here w/no research or("Google" help). How about Joe Tex? Rusty Gibson, WEBR Radio/Fairfax (5/25/07) What about WHMC in Gaithersburg forty years ago? I hung out there with a buddy who worked the overnight shift. Spent many a drunken night at that rural outpost. (5/25/07) (Dave's response: I didn't know there were any Republicans in Bethesda, which is about as die-hard Democrat as a place can be. Now, if that happened to Bob Beckel in Warrenton or Frederick, I might believe it.....) Beckel's a perv, wherever he is: www.thesmokinggun.com... Meet Maryam Massihi. The 21-year-old hooker recently stole political consultant Bob Beckel's heart--at least for a few hours, at $300 per. Then Massihi (who used the names Tiffany and Cindy professionally) and her cohorts allegedly tried to extort $50,000 in hush money from the Democratic heavyweight (he ran Walter Mondale's 1984 presidential campaign). Beckel's recent run-in with Massihi & Co. is detailed in this search warrant affidavit filed August 23 in Alexandria, Virginia's Circuit Court. Beckel discovered his young consort via the Internet (Massihi's electronic come-on is below) and paid her by check, which proved helpful when cops began probing who was trying to shake down the 53-year-old Beckel. With Massihi currently imprisoned and facing extortion and conspiracy charges, her D.C. answering machine message needs an update: "Hi. I'll be back around September. Thank you." (6 pages)... Don't believe a word of this or his story. Klintoonista anti-Bush propaganda. Enough said: THIMMESCH !!! (5/25/07) www.robinson-gardens.com... This is a photo of Maralee Beck (possibly the former WTTG weather lady from the 1970's. She is the president of a non-profit in Beverly Hills that is preserving a mansion. Al McGilvray, WRNR-AM, Martinsburg, WV (5/25/07) "Since " Free FM" with it's talk format is being dismantled, maybe they can bring back WHFS" Reality check morons...HFS is talk and sports now, get over it, Why hasn't any other radio station picked up the format? I'll tell you why....because it sucks...no one listens to it or it would still be here. Who wants to listen to Fall Out Boy followed by some tired Depeche Mode Song followed by some crap Coldplay song...uuhhhhhh NOBODY...the format is dead, just like oldies. You HFS whiners (you to Dave) remind me of those Baltimorons holding on the the Colts. Build a museum for your crap Alt Rock. Very hot headed would you say? Anyway HFS music really isn't dead because stations like the Globe sor maybe even 103.1 Play the alt rockish type stuff. Like most stations, HFS type music caters to certain Demos it's just the the Corporate Conglomerates kill these stations for Bland, Jack-FM's, Free Fm, Movin and any other flavor of the week format. He said Oldies is dead, no it's more like the big Corporations like Clear Channel, CBS and Cumulus killed the format. 1. Because they own 65 percent of radio stations are owned by the big corporations, and 2 those corporations only care about getting as much money into their pocket as they possibly can, cut the playlist down to 100 songs when the could be 10 times that, fire talented Air Persdonalitiesw and get people off the street with no skills for dirt cheap. Being 24 years old IU'd still take WQSR even in 100 song playtlist over Jack, Free, Movin, and espically over the way, way over-rated Don and Mike. For good example of this take a look at York, PA's 96.1 WSOX before Cumulus and now that Cumulus owns them, also look at the playlist difference since Cumulus took over. A great oldies stations that was possibly one of the best in the country with a pretty good size playlist now cut down to crap 100 song playlist, much like WQSR's final day's. Best part is that when Cumulus cut the playlist 96.1 was coming off a book in which they had a 9.0 rating. Ahh the advertising money from that, and milking it for all it's worth!!! It's not that the format is dead but that these big corporations have done a great job killing them. If you think the format is dead for any other reason the Corporate, then your very wrong and are very misguided. Give me a FM signal like 102.7 or even 105.7, and the money it to run a station, Give it an Oldies format, bring in the Rouse and companies and Ken Merson's and give the listeners what they want, playing what THEY want. Let see how dead the format would look in 6 months with a station like that. It's not that these stations were unprofitable, because they were still profitable, it's just the CBS, and Clear Channel wanted to put as much as the could in their pocket, and had a screw the quality of the product, and the who gives an F about station listener outlook on things. Sincerely a listener who sitll misses WQSR greatly, and is very much in touch with the fact that the format will never be back due to the asshole CC's, and CBS's, and the reject PD's who they know something but are only figure head's at these stations while decisions are made from corporate head quarters elsewhere. (5/25/07) Dave's response: Granted, Coldplay is a guilty pleasure. I think the only major area pop/rock station I haven't heard them on, at one time or another, is 98Rock..... Re: the poster's comment about FOX5 having an "exclusive" on the DC madam, how are these stations defining "exclusive"?..Reason being, NBC said the same about and exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie and I think ABC had already interviewed her. I've heard stations say someone came FIRST to FOX5 or ONLY to Access Hollywood..How is that possible?..There can only be one "FIRST".. (5/25/07) Wow!!!! Somebody out there remembered "Roll On" was recorded by the New Colony Six. That was a classic. I wish I would have bought this record back then. This was an up-tempo song, which was out of character for this mellow band. Okay, another trivia question. Who recorded "Hot Pants"? I'm not looking for the James Brown version. This was another top ten record in the Kansas City area in the spring of 1971, but didn't reach any higher than the mid 50's on the Hot 100. Come on Rusty Gibson and Joyce Conroy. Let's see what you've got. (Smile) The reason I'm into regional hits is because when I moved to Baltimore, I learned about Bob Brady & the Concords, The Van Dykes, The Lafayettes, Joe and Eddie, and others. When I heard the classics from these artists, I said Wow! What great music. Ed Jones, Bel Air MD (5/25/07) what is praise 104.1 contact info? - Jason (5/25/07) Dave's response: Hey, buddy, you can look it up just as easy as I can. Call information and ask for Radio One in Lanham..... FLASHBACK! Anyone here attend a "WHMC Love-In" in rural Gaithersburg 40 yrs ago? Any memories of Barry Richards? or $10 baggies? lol. -MontCo (5/25/07) (Dave's response: It's my duty as webmaster of this site to listen to ALL local radio, good and bad.....) Recent upgrade (while in Count Gore's dungeon) made from six to eight ears allows Dave to do this. (5/25/07) Dave's response: Huh? RE:"Since " Free FM" with it's talk format is being dismantled, maybe they can bring back WHFS" Reality check morons...HFS is talk and sports now, get over it, Why hasn't any other radio station picked up the format? I'll tell you why....because it sucks...no one listens to it or it would still be here. Who wants to listen to Fall Out Boy followed by some tired Depeche Mode Song followed by some crap Coldplay song...uuhhhhhh NOBODY...the format is dead, just like oldies. You HFS whiners (you to Dave) remind me of those Baltimorons holding on the the Colts. Build a museum for your crap Alt Rock. (5/25/07) Pro Bush union workers? A doughy 55 year old Beckel taking on two 30 year old construction workers? I smell a rat. (5/25/07) Bonneville DC has very few Mormon employees. Maybe a handful, possibly less. There may not be any at the top since Tom Glade left some years ago. There is very little influence from Salt Lake in DC operations. (5/25/07) Dave's response: Except that gun show ads are OK, lottery ads aren't..... Sorry to bug you again, but I just saw this news, from Editor & Publisher: www.editorandpublisher.com... 2007 EPpy Winners Announced... "In the category of Best Newspaper-Affiliated Web Site with more than one million unique monthly visitors, NYTimes.com took the top prize. The Associated Press took honors for Best News Web Site (asap) for fewer than one million unique visitors per month, and The Washington Post won the award for Best Design of a Media-Affiliated Web Site (with more than one million unique monthly visitors)." (5/25/07) Dave, Long before Sue Palka, WTTG had a woman weather forecaster back in the late 1960's/early 1970's named Maralee Beck, who did a pretty good job on the weather from D.C.'s first outdoor weather set! She was a 20-something brunettte with shoulder-length hair, freckles (Our 1964 Silvertone color set had pretty good resolution!) and a reasonable body, as viewed by then-teenaged eyes! I've heard that she later became something of a Hollywood columnist... John (5/25/07) The Opie + Anthony Pest ARMY showed they are a force to be reckoned with when about fifteen people showed up this morning to the XM stockholders' meeting to hand out fliers to people with jobs. Of course they are blaming the low turn out on the *fact* that DC is not a destination on holiday weekends I guess they didnt realize that tourism is never bigger than during the spring or that thousands of bikers descend on Washington every Memorial Day weekend \ still Im sure their presence went a long way into changing peoples hearts and minds that O&A aren't responsible for anything said on their show and need to be held to a different standard than the rest of the world, even on *uncensored* sat-rad. (5/25/07) I certainly agree about how bad Kornheiser's show is. The guy is the most self centered person in the world and this particular supporting cast really has no talent. To think that WTWP went through all this hoopla for a show this poor AND will have Kornheiser popping in an out as his ESPN duties allow is just mind boggling. (5/25/07) Construction workers trying to peel an anti bush sticker? They must not have been Union Workers. Unions despise the repubs as they are so anti Union and anti labor in general. They were probrobly non union hispanics that think bush is their boy now that his new immigration legislation is in the news. (5/25/07) Dave's response: I didn't know there were any Republicans in Bethesda, which is about as die-hard Democrat as a place can be. Now, if that happened to Bob Beckel in Warrenton or Frederick, I might believe it..... Since " Free FM" with it's talk format is being dismantled, maybe they can bring back WHFS. This time maybe CBS can place the alternative rock format where it's core audience can actually hear them. 102.7? (5/25/07) Dave's response: A return of the "real" WHFS on 102.7 would be cool. Great coverage into the DC area, as opposed to 105.7..... Radiophiles, A Prairie Home Companion will broadcast live from our very own Wolf Trap tomorrow at 5:45 PM. Listen live on WAMU. If you are going to the show Saturday, and you have lawn seats, remember, there are going to be a least six thousand other dufusses crowding the lawn with blankets and coolers full of food for this show. (If you were smart you would have bought tickets for Friday's rehearsal- much less of a crowd, and no parking hassles). If you have lawn tickets for tomorrow, get there early to get in line or you will not get any good real estate on the lawn to see the show. People usually started lining up around 10:00 AM in the morning for this show in the past, with their lawn chairs, coolers, blankets, and food, so do what you must. Or you can scrap tomorrow's tickets, and buy really good pavilion seats for tonight's rehearsal and not have the hassle on Saturday. Is any DCRTVer going to tomorrow's show, and if so, can you please tell us you don't have Lawn tickets? (5/25/07) Dave, Hope all is well and Baltimore will play host to the NCAA Lacrosse tournament this weekend and over 50,000 people will head to M&T Bank Stadium for the Final Four this weekend and the Championship game on Monday. ESPN is in town and they will be giving the event max coverage making it a showcase event. www.examiner.com... Have a nice holiday!! Cheers, Jim (5/25/07) If I can't get a Gino Giant, I would be happy to take an Ameche's Powerhouse instead. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (5/25/07) “How many of the Bonneville DC employees are actually mormon?” Why does that matter? (5/25/07) With NY dropping Free FM and bringing back legendary calls, do you think the next move is Baltimore? (5/25/07) Dave's response: I'd like to see 105.7 go back to the WQSR calls with an oldies rock format with Kirk and Mark doing mornings, and the Orioles. With the WHFS calls coming back to DC, on 94.7. I'd like to see 102.7 go back to the WXYV calls and do a Hot 99.5-like contemporary hit format. Too many Baltimoreians are listening to DC's 99.5..... Dave, It’s always entertaining to read some of the absolute statements the readers make. Now some facts. Tony’s show was on for only half of the latest rating period and has scored some impressive results… #1 8:30 – 10:30 with Men 25-54 in Montgomery County with a 7.3... #6 Persons 25-54... #6 Men 25-54 in Fairfax County with a 3.5... #7 Men 25-54 in all Metro Virginia counties with a 3.2... We get more numbers in a couple of weeks. Let’s see what happens. (5/25/07) Dave's response: Friday - the mean old teacher's gone, and the fun substitute's in charge..... How many of the Bonneville DC employees are actually mormon? (5/25/07) So the branding campaign devised to make the audience forget Howard has now been completely terminated, the replacements are 18th in the audience, currently suspended from their alleged satellite show and this is "winning?" I guess Howard is really irrelevent ... (5/25/07) OH Boy wouldn't a "HARLEY COLD CUT"w/a large Fruit Punch or a PIZZA SUB from The Pixie Shoppe and a chocolate shake ,Hit the spot right about now? Or maybe a GINO GIANT? (5/25/07) FOX5's American Idol ''News'' Special at 6 PM on Wednesday was THE perfect example of how bad local AND national news has gotten. A solid half hour of absolute bullshit. And Holly Morris's ''Exclusive Inside Scoop'' that Christina Auguliera was the ''surprise'' guest was WAY off. Way too go, stupid! Even insuating that Laura Evans and Shawn Yancy are anything close to ''journalists'' is laughable. You're NOT. You are Rupey's Lil Puppets. Oh well, as AC/DC likes to say, ''Hell Aint A Bad Place To Be''! Paul (5/25/07) Dave's response: I don't know about that, but I sure love the new laugh track on Rupert's Fox News Channel. A huge improvement, especially when Brit Hume's on..... A reporter from Fox 5 Thursday, said he had an "exclusive interview" w/the DC Madam. Guess he didn't see another station had her on earlier that day. hmmmm (5/25/07) /\ May 25 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....