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DCRTV Mailbag - June 1 to June 4, 2007
Latest messages listed first.....
\/ June 4 Messages \/
Sorry to hear about the cutbacks at Bonneville. You have to give Joel and Jim credit for rolling the dice and trying something new - and backing it up financially. That being said, a year and a half is more than enough time to realize that the experiment has failed. Innovators and risk takers sometimes flop and that's what this looks like, unfortunately. I give them credit for trying, though. Hey, maybe maybe they could cut Kornheiser's salary to lighten their sails even more. What a selfish, boring, pompous windbag. He's laughing all the way to the bank while everyone around him suffers. If Tony K. were on the Titanic, he'd have dressed up like an old lady to sneak on to the lifeboat. But I digress. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: The problem Bonneville will have is that WTWP's gain will be WTOP's loss. Both being of the news and talk genre. Something I think you're just starting to see happen. I think Bonneville will soon long for the days of its DC radio diversity, with classical WGMS and hit oriented Z104. Two stations that could gain audience without hurting cash cow WTOP.....
Anyone know who got axed at WTOP/Wapo? (6/4/07)
Dave's response: I got some names, but didn't want to run 'em until I get confirmation.....
Last week's mention of The Name Game (Ruby) makes it to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org (6/4/07)
"I know that the subject of 980's treatment of baseball has been beaten to death on this mailbag..." Well, mostly by one person. I think the only reason Mike, or should we call him "the WTEM ombudsman," listens to 980 is to bitch about it here in the mailbag. One of the reasons I got XM is because of the awful sports radio in D.C. I haven't listened to 980 since I subscribed over a year ago and I don't miss it. Perhaps the "ombudsman" should give XM (or Sirius) a shot. Look, WTEM sucks and Mike makes some valid points, but unless it gets some new "talent," and get rid of Andy Pollin, which will never happen, it will never change. (6/4/07)
"But I have one small question for any other D&M listeners out there in dcrtv land – does ANYBODY think Tom Gavin’s funny? How about Super Dave?" Your answer lies in the afternoon drive numbers Dave posted today. (6/4/07)
Yesterday I had the unfortunate experience of being stuck in the car for 3 hours on my way home from the beach. Rain was pouring, traffic was inching, and there was nothing on the radio! The Orioles have disappointed me time after time--lately they have been notorious for their heartbreaking Sunday losses. In desparation, I turned to AM radio, and a twinkling, angelic voice stopped my scanning. It was a clever little girl doing a bit called "Ask Natalie" on "The Shari Elliker Show." As I listened further, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Shari Elliker, who I'd heard of before, had her own show Sunday afternoons on WBAL 1090AM 1:30pm-4pm. What really kept me in stiches was her co-star, Neil Beller. The banter between these two was just terrific. I googled them later and found out that they had a radio show together in college some years back, and have joined forces once again. Also in the house were two other guys I found out later were Wes and Bill, who were funny in their own right. What made it enjoyable to listen to was that they brought up topics everyone can relate to--current news, entertainment scandals, things that drive you crazy about your significant other, and the darndest things kids say. I have included in this email a clip from the "Ask Natalie" segment of the show, in which Natalie cracks everyone up with her ingenious knock-knock joke to a death row inmate. I emailed Shari and she sent it to me to keep. I just wanted to share my good fortune with others. There actually is something worth listening to on the radio. You just have to know where to find it. I know what I'll be doing with my lazy Sunday afternoons from now on--catching up with Shari and Neil on "The Shari Elliker Show." Signed, Fed up with the Orioles in B-more (6/4/07)
Agree about Tom Gavin and Super Dave. Worst.radio.ever! I still like their show but when they put this crap on, I go to my XM. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: "Once." That's Spanish, ever more appropriate for CBS Radio in DC.....
One of the reasons that the Redskins is such a great name for a team is because it drives the political correctness weenies crazy. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to be changed, weenies. Keeping the name is the one thing that Danny Boy has done right. (6/4/07)
950-AM WCTN sorta limped back on the air today, broadcasting Spanish language & music programming. Wonder why they vanished for nearly 3 weeks? Engineering issues? Power bill? (6/4/07)
Dave's response: Isn't the tower on a golf course? Maybe it got hit by an errant ball.....
Just in: Buzz Burbank just admitted that he doesn't believe in God. Ah, Buzz, you've just blown your shot at moving to Mormon WTOP after D&M break up on '08. Looks like you'll be voicing car dealer and scrap metal ads forever in your dark, cold, Godless void. Have a nice day! (6/4/07)
JohnFM to replace WJFK-FM? That's a great name for the station. The station smells like a john now. Hey, MASN...how about Phil Wood doing a regular call-in show? (6/4/07)
To those of you who were former Adelphia customers in teh Frederick, MD area. If you were getting high-speed internet only (no cable) you probably paid something like 42.95/month. When Comcast took over, they shot up the rate to 57.95/month. I just got off the phone and without hassle, they dropped the rate to 34.99/month. I didn't ask if they were going to drop my speed, but I'm surprised they didn't give me trouble for asking. The worst part of course is that instead of stepping up and showing that they can be helpful, but not changing the rate, they changed it and makes customers call to ask for a rate reduction. I was calling to cut my high speed down to as slow as they could possibly do it, but they surprised me. So kudos for today. I bet Comcast does not hear that very often. TL (6/4/07)
RE: don't know why I am getting such terrible reception on WVIE 1370 Baltimore. It is loud and annoying, and causing me to turn the radio off completely. It does not happen on other stations. Please advise." That noise you are hearing is failure. That is why no one listens to it. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: Maybe Dr. Laura's vibrator is too close to the mic. Just joooooking. No hate mail, please.....
RE: "When she comes back I'll be she'll have all that worked out and will be better than 11's morning weather dude Neal Estano. Could anyone sound more montonic that he is?" - Neal is not only calm but always professional with his presentation. He's got a great voice, looks good, and has great chemistry with the other anchors. (6/4/07)
To the Stan the Fan complainer....... Ummm, the title of his show is Stan the Fan. Apparently you missed that. The essential phrase is "the fan", not Stan the Radio God, Stan the Sports Reporter, Stan the Baseball Historian, or Stan the Archeologist. If you want that, go to the Smithsonian and please, TAKE PHIL WOOD WITH YOU! Show him the dinosaurs or something. :-) (6/4/07)
typo? Hendrie - that's 10 pm to 1pm PT in all of the other press I've seen, like Radio and Records (and) Mediaweek ...but I'm just noting that, you may be correct... (6/4/07)
Dave's response: 10 PM to 1 PM (PT) is still a 15 hour show! It must be 10 PM to 1 AM (PT), which would be 1 AM to 4 AM (ET), directly up against "Coast To Coast AM" with George Noory and Art Bell.....
OK, I listen to Don and Mike – still do, still think they’re GENERALLY funny. But I have one small question for any other D&M listeners out there in dcrtv land – does ANYBODY think Tom Gavin’s funny? How about Super Dave? What’s less funny than Tom Gavin and Super Dave TOGETHER? Nothing I can think of today at 4:35, as D&M turn the show over to their own pet weirdos, so it’s time to turn the dial . . . sincerely, TMU. (6/4/07)Dave's response: Another excuse to run our favorite pic of Tom Gavin (right).....
I don't know why I am getting such terrible reception on WVIE 1370 Baltimore. It is loud and annoying, and causing me to turn the radio off completely. It does not happen on other stations. Please advise. (6/4/07)
Search feature - Think that it is not working correctly. Tried several searches with no results to include ‘wusa’ and “WUSA” but nothing was found. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: I've been moving DCRTV's pages to new locations lately, especially many of the classic Mailbags. Try going to Yahoo or Google's main search engines and entering "WUSA" and "DCRTV." You'll get a bunch of stuff.....
The comments about FOX not having much real news on its "news" broadcasts strike me as on target, but hasn't FOX 5 seen pretty good numbers for its newscasts lately? I'm not sure they've suffered the dire losses of their competitors. On a related note, I was up in New York City last week, and happened to catch their FOX affiliate's late news cast. After all the attention that WTTG gets for its 10 p.m. news, I was under the impression that the D.C. station had patented its own style of hype blended with news, but it turns out that the NY FOX broadcast is a clone. I'm not sure which channel copied the other; maybe this is the "FOX style" for all of its late-night newscasts? I found it depressing, turned it off, and ended up on "Real Time With Bill Maher," a hideously unfunny "satire" show in which P.J. O'Rourke, a respectable, genuinely witty columnist, proved that he's the only person who thinks his written style of humor translates to TV talk shows. Ben Affleck joined him, using the "F" word liberally. At least, I thought, O'Rourke hadn't descended to that level of "discourse," even though his humor failed badly. But then O'Rourke threw in a few "F bombs," in an attempt, I guess, to ingratiate himself with the kids. Bor-ing! Christian (6/4/07)
FYI, meteorologist Lisa Teachman isn't with WBFF anymore. She's working weekends for KMBC television in Kansas City. Everett W. (6/4/07)
wapo floppo - moro staffo onada streetooooh - pagliacci was notta dis saddddddooooh - signed, opera man (6/4/07)
To the poster who asked about WBFF's Lisa Teachman: She has voluntarily left the station. Her husband was transferred and she will go with him. Fox45 has hired Jessica Starr as it's new weekend meterologist. I find it interesting that the poster referred to Lisa's alleged "trouble working the graphics computer." That makes me think the poster is within the station, and for him/her to make that statement and then rip Lisa for her "uptight body language" and "schoolmarmish personna" is at best, cowardly, and at worst gutless. Lisa is a very nice person, and does not deserve to be treated like that by an (of course) unsigned poster. Shame on you. (6/4/07)
sounds like WaPo Radio had a good rating month. I bet many people are surprised by that (based on mailbag postings), but you forget that Tony K (like him or not) had BIG ratings at WTEM (#1 with men in his time slot). It shouldn't be a surprise that he is bringing people to the Post Radio party. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: And now that Tony's finally getting the WaPo Radio ratings "snowball" rolling, what's he going to do? Leave for seven months of "MNF." Ponderous, man, ponderous.....
More on the AP news awards.... OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - The following stations received awards tonight in Ocean City at the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association convention: Baltimore Metro Radio: Spot News Reporting: WBAL-AM, "Murder in Amish Country"... News Series: WBAL-AM, "Little League"... Coverage of a Continuing Story: WBAL-AM, "Electric Shock"... Use of Sound: WBAL-AM, "Wise Avenue Train Station"... Documentary/In-depth: WBAL-AM, "Children Aren't Always the Victims"... Year-round Local Sports: WBAL-AM... Editorial or Commentary: WBAL-AM, "Walden Ponderings"... Public Affairs: WBAL-AM, "Good Neighbors, Good Neighborhoods"... Enterprise Reporting: WBAL-AM, Anne Kramer, "Going Around in 911 Circles"... Feature/Human Interest: WBAL-AM, "Pedal Power"... Sports Feature: WBAL-AM, "All Things Ravens"... Specialty Reporting: WBAL-AM, "In the Spotlight"... Best Newscast: WBAL-AM, "Oct. 17, 2006, 7 a.m. News"... Outstanding Web Site: wbal.com... Outstanding Talk Show: WBAL-AM, "The Chip Franklin Show"... Outstanding News Operation: WBAL-AM... Baltimore Metro TV: Spot News Reporting (tie): WBAL-TV, "Farm Fire" & WJZ-TV "Signal 13"... News Series: WBAL-TV, "Behind Closed Doors"... Coverage of a Continuing Story: WBFF-TV, "Police Scandal"... Documentary/In-depth: WBAL-TV, "Baltimore Basilica"... Year-round Local Sports: WBFF-TV... Weathercast: WBFF-TV, Steve Fertig... Public Affairs: WMAR-TV "Lights and Sirens"... Enterprise Reporting: WBAL-TV, Mindy Basara, Joyce Karp, Charles Cochran and Augusta Brennan-Jones, "Baby Gender Mentor"... Feature/Human Interest: WJZ-TV, "Last Hope"... Sports Feature: WBAL-TV, "Section 62"... Television Photography: WJZ-TV, Eric Kettering... Specialty Reporting: WBAL-TV, "Health Alert with Donna Hamilton"... Best Newscast: WBAL-TV, "11 News at 5"... Outstanding News Operation: WBFF-TV... Washington Metro Radio: Spot News Reporting: WTOP, "Flash Flood"... News Series: WTOP, "Victim to Survivor"... Coverage of a Continuing Story: WTOP, "Police Shooting in Fairfax County"... Use of sound: WTOP, "Fruitcake Firing Range"... Documentary/In-depth: WFED, "Feds and the Flood"... Year-round Local Sports: WTOP... Editorial or Commentary: WTOP, "Commentary and Analysis"... Public Affairs: WTWP, "Gallaudet Series"... Enterprise Reporting: WFED, Mark Segraves, "Paying for the Motorcade"... Feature/Human Interest: WTOP, "Capitol Hauntings"... Sports Feature: WTOP, "66 Orioles"... Specialty Reporting: WTOP, "Man About Town"... Best Newscast: WTOP, "November 15"... Outstanding Web Site: wtopnews.com... Outstanding Talk Show: WTOP, "Ask the..."... Outstanding News Operation: WTOP... Washington Metro TV: Spot News Reporting: WTTG-TV, "Needwood Dam Evacuation"... News Series: WTTG-TV, "License Line-up"... Coverage of a Continuing Story: WTTG-TV, "Floods of '06"... Documentary/In Depth: WTTG-TV "Overtime on Your Dime"... Weathercast: WTTG-TV... Public Affairs: WTTG-TV, "Fire Ops 101"... Enterprise Reporting: WTTG-TV, Rick Yarborough, Maureen Umeh and Stephanie Johnson "Towing Troubles"... Feature/Human Interest: WTTG-TV, "Pip and Zastrow"... Television Photography: WTTG-TV, Lance Ing... Specialty Reporting: WTTG-TV, "Danger From the Deep"... Best Newscast: WJLA-TV, "October 17, 2006"... Outstanding News Operation: WJLA-TV... Nonmetro Radio: Spot News Reporting: WFMD-AM, "Drownings"... News Series: WFMD-AM, "Leaving Office"... Coverage of a Continuing Story: WTTR-AM, "Election Night 2006"... Use of sound: WSCL-FM, "Immigrant Protest"... Documentary/In-depth: WSCL-FM, "Undocumented on Delmarva"... Year-round Local Sports: WTTR-AM... Editorial or Commentary: WTTR-AM, "I've Been Thinking About..."... Public Affairs: WTTR-AM, "Carroll County Forum"... Feature/Human Interest: WSCL-FM, "Blackwater"... Sports Feature: WTTR-AM, "Athlete of the Week"... Specialty Reporting: WFMD-AM, "Education"... Best Newscast: WFMD-AM, "5:05 a.m."... Outstanding Web Site: WFMD-AM... Outstanding Talk Show: WFMD-AM, "Moderately Priced Dwelling Units"... Outstanding News Operation: WFMD-AM... Nonmetro TV: Spot News Reporting: WBOC-TV, "Homes Evacuated"... News Series: WBOC-TV, "9/11 Five Years Later"... Coverage of a Continuing Story: WBOC-TV, "Maryland and Delaware Flooding"... Documentary/In-depth: WMDT-TV, "MDE vs. Salisbury WWTT"... Year-round Local Sports: WBOC-TV... Weathercast: WBOC-TV... Public Affairs: WBOC-TV, "2006 Jefferson Awards"... Enterprise Reporting: WBOC-TV, Laura Mazzeo and Josh Crompton, "Delmarva's Most Wanted"... Feature/Human Interest: WMDT-TV, "Angel Flight"... Sports Feature: WBOC-TV, "Friday Night Flights"... Television Photography: WBOC-TV, Tim Jones, "White Marlin"... Specialty Reporting: WBOC-TV, "Learning Matters"... Best Newscast: WMDT-TV, "November 15, 6 p.m."... Outstanding Web Site: wboc.com... Outstanding News Operation: WBOC-TV... Certificate for Outstanding News Protection of The Associated Press... WBAL-AM, Baltimore... WPOC-FM, Baltimore... WBFF-TV, Baltimore... WTOP, Washington... WUSA-TV, Washington... WDEL-AM, Wilmington, Del.... WILM-AM, Wilmington, Del.... WGMD-AM, Rehoboth Beach, Del.... WBOC-TV, Salisbury... (6/4/07)
Hey DCRTV Dave and VARTV Bob, 97-7 The Rocket, Southern Maryland's Rock Station's new website is www.977therocket.com for your respective sites. Also, Dave, on the station listings 97.7 WMDM- Alternative Rock should be updated to 97.7 WYRX- Rock. Thanks, Dean in SOMD (6/4/07)
Phil Hendrie is coming back. Further proof that prayer DOES work! (6/4/07)
Actually, there was a rather large story on all of the major radio stations in Baltimore that Radio Tower Way was being renamed in honor of Brooks Robinson. It was to celebrat #5's 70th birthday last week. Coincidentally, it will probably be 70 years before the Orioles have a winning team again! just kidding, congrats to Brooks! (6/4/07)
No. I haven't seen WBBF Fox45's Lisa Teachman doing weather recently either but her bio is still on the station web page whatever that's worth. Could be she's retraining. She has so much trouble working the graphics computer. Or maybe she's just chilling so when she comes back she doesn't have that uptight body language and schoolmarmish personna. Ya. When she comes back I'll be she'll have all that worked out and will be better than 11's morning weather dude Neal Estano. Could anyone sound more montonic that he is? Give us Tony Pann's wife! Why does Tony always get the high profile job while Mary Ellen has to stay in the background in the bush leagues? (6/4/07)
A couple of more facts for the conversation. Washington Post Radio has beaten WMAL and WTEM in 25-54 share and cume two of the last three months in morning drive. In the latest month Washington Post Radio beat WMAL and WTEM 25-54 share midday's, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. and during the latest month Washington Post Radio beat WTEM and WMAL with 25-54 cume, 3 - 7 p.m. and beat WTEM 25-54 share and came within one-tenth of WMAL between 3 - 7 p.m. Another way to look at it, the strongest month for Washington Post radio is the only month which will carry into the full Spring report so it's safe to say we have a pretty good horse race underway. (6/4/07)
Dave, you didn't answer my question about whether or not DC can supports two sports radio stations. Love to know your opinion. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: If someone puts a sports talker on an FM signal with good coverage of the DC area (like 100.3, 105.1, or 106.7), it will rule the roost and the other area sports talkers will go away. Until that happens, SportsTalk 980 will continue to be hindered by being an AMer (with a not-so-great night signal) in an FM dominant market, and Triple X will struggle with its three weakish signals (two rimshot FMers and a weakish AMer).....
I was in Baltimore this past weekend and noticed that Radio Tower Road has been replaced with Brooks Robinson Way. Probably very few readers know what I’m talking about. But Radio Tower Road was the road running from Park Heights Avenue to Stevenson Road alongside the former WCAO tower site. Roddy Freeman (6/4/07)
"As for traffic and WX – radio’s challenge is to make it even more immediate than every ten minutes -- I can get these things INSTANTLY elsewhere right now. " Oh really -- where would you be getting INSTANT traffic and weather information? JT (6/4/07)
RE: "CC would have never pushed them out. they are trying to get MORE talent, not reduce." Actually they are trying to get cheaper talent, not more (and that applies t just about all their departments). CC is the Wal Mart of radio, and figures it is better to get several inept employees for the price of one. Ahh but isn't "Less More"? How do you spell Shadenfreud again? (6/4/07)
Dave, are you ready to declare WaPo Radio dead yet? And do you think this town can support two sports radio stations? (6/4/07)
Dave's response: The folks at WaPo Radio tell me that they're happy with the latest numbers. Morning drive, 12+, is up to 16th place. Some say they wouldn't be surprised to see Burd and Korny overtaking the Junks soon.....
"...about a uniform change. I do know this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Redskins/Braves" (yawn) Wake me when they change their blatently racist and highly offensive nickname! (6/4/07)
WTEM's Sports Reporters feasted on the story of Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez getting caught cheating on his wife at a Toronto strip club last week, devoting entire segments of two or three shows to it. That's funny - I seem to recall Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban barely mentioning A-Rod when he was tearing up the American League back in April. Sorry, guys - if you're not interested in paying more than a modicum of attention to what's happening on the field in baseball, don't turn around and act like a couple of college freshmen attending their first frat party when a salacious or sordid story involving a ballplayer's private life breaks. The sleazy editorial priorities of the New York Post shouldn't be allowed to dictate the content of local sports talk shows. Czaban even insisted on taking calls from 'Yankee Nation' regarding Rodriguez. Hello - if memory serves, there's this team called the Washington Nationals that plays its home games a tad closer to WTEM's studios than the Yankees do. A lot of people worked awfully hard for years so that this area could eventually have a franchise to call its own. Would it kill Pollin and Czaban to try and engage Nats fans in conversation on relevant topics every now and then before throwing out the welcome mat to supporters of out-to-town teams? ls that too much to ask of a WASHINGTON, DC sports radio station? I know that the subject of 980's treatment of baseball has been beaten to death on this mailbag (and bringing back Phil Wood is definitely a positive move), but here's a case of two hosts who normally treat the sport like an afterthought suddenly jumping all over a baseball related story due to its tabloid element - really rubbed me the wrong way. Mike, Fairfax (6/4/07)
Dave, Happy Monday to you and all. Big thanks to Diane in PG for nailing it on the head. Local TV news is at it's lowest quality since, I don't know, 1953. There's never any location specific information, any follow-through, intelligent discussion, or context. Journalistic integrity? Bah, check with the lawyers first... no, they say we can't have any. Sorry. Also, on the Katie Couric thingie, many people have said it, and so will I. Stop over-analyzing it vis a vis sexism in the workplace. She's simply not that good at anchoring, the production is laughable, and there's no journalistic support. Remember when TV news would "take you there" and you didn't have to listen to the incessant yak yak yak of a loudmouthed know-it-all over every shot? If CBS had any brains, they'd do a retro show ala Cronkite, and accept it as a ratings "loss leader". Do it at 7:00pm to 7:30pm, do it well, and let it be. Promote it a little, and see what grows in 5 years. Just keep the damned suits AWAY from the studio, from the control room, and from the news room. I haven't watched network or local news much since 2001. I don't need MTV style 2-second vignettes to keep me visually "entertained" (Ooh look! Something SHINY!) durning a newscast. As far as I'm concerned, I can still learn plenty for the over 80 crowd, if I just listen... Thanks, Frank G in Arlington (6/4/07)
In response to the skins question, I haven't heard anything yet about a uniform change. I do know this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Redskins/Braves (70 of those years in the Nation's Capital). I have seen a 75th anniversary symbol that has come out. You can see it here on a skins 75th anniversary t-shirt. store.redskins.com... Personally, I loved the uni's they wore for the 70th anniversary, and wouldn't mind seeing them switch to gold pants. I think it gives them a classic NFL look. Denesh (6/4/07)
RE: "WMZQ AE's leave...Their exits are being termed by the company as a pair of resignations." they definitely resigned. These are the 2 top reps at WMZQ and arguably 2 of the top AEs at 1801. CC would have never pushed them out. they are trying to get MORE talent, not reduce. BA (6/4/07)
Phil Hendrie is coming back to radio. The "man-of-a-thousand-voices" has signed a deal with Talk Radio Network for a new show, which will air from 10 AM to 1 AM (ET) starting 6/25. It's been a year since Hendrie gave up his previous show with Clear Channel's Premiere. Hendrie had been heard on Clear Channel's WTNT..... I think you need an AM/PM change in there somewhere. Just thought you'd want to know. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: It's true. Phil is going to be on 15 hours a day. Almost as long as what David Burd will be doing after Tony Kornheiser leaves. Ha ha ha.....
“Farhi missed the obvious reason evening TV news watching is down. Traffic gets worse every year and people are stuck in traffic for longer periods. Plenty of time to get all the news they want from TOP or NPR.” – partially true, though this hardly explains the large dropoffs in numbers at 11pm. One reason I don’t watch local TV any more because news of the shooting du jour in SE DC or PG County has no relevance for me. Local TV, like local radio, always goes for the low-hanging fruit – because it’s the cheapest, fastest content to acquire. I want more depth and breadth than either is capable of delivering. As for traffic and WX – radio’s challenge is to make it even more immediate than every ten minutes -- I can get these things INSTANTLY elsewhere right now. (6/4/07)
Maybe it is not because Katie Couric is a woman that her ratings are down. It could be her professional reputation as a plucky pixie sans gravitas. She's a good interviewer. She was an excellent player in the profitable morning show host genre. But she didn't parachute into a war zone during World War II like Cronkite. I'm thinking Pauline Fredrick, Nancy Dickerson, and Barbara Starr would, if living, be better casting. People don't want their evening news show to be a poor carbon copy of Oprah. The La Couric diva routine doesn't sit well, either. CBS suits no doubt picked Katie because of her high Q rating, outstanding track record, because they were desperate, and because they had more money than sense. Most of their guys with gravitas are over 80 years of age. And the gutting of CBS News by Laurence Tisch, may God rest his soul, is the cause of that. (6/4/07)
Re: "Katie Couric having trouble catching on with the public because she is the first solo female anchor"-- I love it, I absolutely love it: It's the AUDIENCE's fault! Shame on all of us for not recognizing pure gold when it is plopped at our feet! We just don't know what's good for us. And... excuse me, my wife just walked in... Damn you woman! Get back in that kitchen! I don't care if you just had the baby, get back where you belong! (6/4/07)
Couric supporters find it hard to believe she's just no good as an evening news anchor. So they push it to some other reason as for why her ratings are awful. There is nothing about the evening anchor chair holding women back. It's the person who fills the chair. These are facts. (6/4/07)
Local radio news is alive and well on the Eastern Shore. In Maryland, WICO-am/Fm as well at their Lewes station have some local news in the morning. WSCL/WSDL report local news, along with WQMR in Snow Hill. Mike Powell's stations in Pocomoke City (WBEY, LMA'd WGOP & WKHW) run local news. Clear Channel (Soon to be Good Radio.TV run news from WBOC TV, no local news person for at least 5 years).MTS stations out of Cambridge also has local news.In Delaware, WGMD also has local news, in fact they have three full time news people (One is an outside reporter). I'm sure what the Great Scott's stations are going. (6/4/07)
Yesterday on ESPN's Outside the lines show MASN and ESPN, 1300am was part of their special program on sports talk radio which will be 20 years old this week. Also, George Michael will partner with FOX Sports Darrell Waltrip will be partners on DirecTV's Hot Pass coming soon. www.examiner.com (6/4/07)
Just got this in my inbox this morning from Inside Radio.... "The FCC is rethinking radio's rulebook. It's looking at requiring stations to be staffed 24-hours a day to avoid late-night and weekend EAS glitches. The tradeoff would be a more relaxed main studio rule. The FCC is also considering a requirement that all public files be posted electronically on a station's website." (6/4/07)
Paul Farhi missed the obvious reason evening TV news watching is down. Traffic gets worse every year and people are stuck in traffic for longerf periods. Plenty of time to get all the news they want from TOP or NPR. (6/4/07)
Dave's response: Personally, my viewing of local TV news is way down. I'm listening to radio or on the internet in the mornings and watching Chris Matthews at 5 PM on MSNBC. And I get my daily news fix from the internet, cable TV, and radio long before the 6:30 PM broadcast network newscasts. I'll only watch Williams, Gibson, or Couric maybe two or three times a year, if there's a HUGE breaking story like the Virginia Tech shootings.....
I heard the top two sales reps at WMZQ fled 1801 on Friday? Is this true? (6/4/07)
Dave's response: I had a dream about that at 4 AM Saturday.....
A point of clarification: Clear Channel's Delmarva cluster no longer uses CC-Baltimore for their newscast delivery. They are in a partnership with WBOC-TV. (6/4/07)
To Angel in Pocomoke City: The "Hitman" is gone? OMG!!!! Hey, if a tree fell in the woods....... Popped in this morning and sounds like the same music selection that 's been running for two years so check that one off your list too. Heard something about a "new" WCTG coming, anyone know what that's about? Jason-Fruitland, Md (6/4/07)
Local news is alive and well, I think, on the Eastern Shore. To my knowledge, MTS is the only cluster airing LOCAL news that originates from thier studios, although the newsman seems to stumble through everything. I heard a story this morning about a kid at a salisbury school threatening cops with a bow and arrow!!! WINX gets news from MEtro in Bmore, so does Joe. WMDT does news (ha) on X1069 while clear channel's news is piped in from Charm City. (6/4/07)
Re: Viewers Tuning Out Local Evening Newscasts. Perhaps the viewers are missing because the news is missing. (1) I turn off WTTG whenever the "news" turns into an infomercial for Fox entertainment programs, especially American Idol. (2) I turn off "news" programs when I see a breathless or hysterical report about some marginal problem with a lot of interviews on one side of the problem or issue and nothing on the other side. WTTG (not fair and balanced) seems to have at least one such "report" in each "newscast," but they are not the only offenders. (3) I turn off liars after the second time in the show they say something is coming up next and it doesn't. (4) Looking at murders. On average, local TV "news" stations report 1/3 to 1/2 of the murders that take place in Prince George's County. When they do, the have the horns blaring and talk about "breaking news." They almost never put any of the murders in context, such as telling us if they are in one of the county's hot spots. They almost never report arrests. They almost never report convictions or sentencing actions. They never provide any kind of review or analysis. The coverage they do provide is essentially useless for anyone who really wants to understand the crime situation in the county, so why should anyone seriously interested in news bother watching? Diane in PG (6/4/07)
Does anybody know if Fox 5 news on MY 24 in Baltimore actually gets any numbers? I watch it every night @ 10:59 so they can chop the last story to get into Seinfeld. Do the Fox folks really think Baltimore people want an hour of DC based news every night? As for the Billy Graham ads. Be an on-air guy and an Atheist who happens to be gay, I totally do not like reading this Metro copy, but as air folks it is part of the gig. There is no way I would crack the mike and say I am going to watch it, but I read it like I care for 10 seconds. (6/4/07)
( Re: "WJFK aired three ads to drum up sponsors for the station or to attract ad reps.") ... It's not just JFK ... DC101 is also airing similar spots, voiced by Whitney (6/4/07)
Dear Dave: About 6 years ago I dropped Comcast for DirecTV. The reasons were simple. Better customer service, especially after-hours; better channel selection (it's nice not having Comcast-owned channels shoved down your throat...also, DirecTV carried MASN from the start); better pricing (it's been consistently cheaper for me...also, DirecTV didn't increase their subscription rates after picking up MASN, unlike Comcast). Being the do-it-yourselfer that I am, I was able to perform the install in a little over an hour, a big advantage over having to schedule a window with an installer. As for signal drops during inclimate weather, I can count the number of instances of that happening on one hand, with the worst being a 30-second drop when Hurricane Isabel came through the area several years ago. Strangely, weather was more an issue for Comcast when I subscribed to them while living in Reston (as well as the old Media General when I lived in Annandale many moons ago). Not a sermon, just my observations. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (6/4/07)
Local news is alive and well on the radio in Garrett County MD too. 104.5 KHJ (WKHJ) and 92.3 The Train (WWHC) both have extended local news at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM. These news casts include information such as: car accidents with injuries, assaults with injuries, DUI/DWI arrests, convictions from the courthouse that lead to jail sentences, and whatnot. The hourly newscasts are tapes of CNN Radio. (6/4/07)
A question for SportsTalk980 types: Is it true the Redskins will be wearing 1970/'71 era yellow pants and "R" helmets this season? Hail. -MontCo (6/4/07)
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RE: "If I'm not mistaken, "Comcast sticking up for their customers" was a quote from a previous post, so yes, that person was saying that Comcast was doing this NFL Network move for their customers. Learn how to read. DUH." - Correct, the phrase "Comcast sticking up for their customers" was used but your reading comprehension fails once again. The phrase was used to illustrate that Comcast was moving the channel to a sports only tier and that Comcast wasn't going to pay the NFL for all of their subscribers. It was not said anywhere that this would save any customers any money. DUH! (6/3/07)
You might want to check into this. Ron and Fez have been speaking about the Opie and anthony show and that the CBS replays of their show will be airing on XM 202 starting on Monday. The 2 hour XM exclusive will remain suspended until 6/16. (6/3/07)
Local radio news is alive and well in central Pennsylvania. I was in that area yesterday when I came across this news item on a small AM station. "XYZ Township police are investigating two cases of mooning that happened on Friday. In the first case a 54 year old woman was tending to her garden when she was mooned by two young men in a red car. Later on several workers at XYZ Manufacturing were mooned while waiting for their bus". (6/3/07)
I love a rainy Sunday like this. Not much else to do so I hopped in the car and drove around the city, which looks great in a light rain with the slick streets. I started at the low end of the AM dial and started scanning while I ran around the Mall, across the 14th street bridge, back up the GW Parkway and across Chain Bridge back into DC to the house. Picked up some interesting stations, but I got locked in on Charlie & Dave calling the Nats game. Something about baseball on the radio that is so hypnotic and soothing. I've come to an all new appreciation for these guys. I switched on MASN when I got home, but only listened for about a half inning before I brought out the old GE SuperRadio from the closet and turned it on, turning the MASN sound down. I like Bob Carpenter and am really starting to like Don Sutton, but it's just not the same as spending a summer afternoon listening to the game on radio. I was inspired to buy some tickets at Camden Yards when the Nats are up there in two weeks, and for the Detroit series at RFK. Shame we have to go back to work Monday. (6/3/07)
Re: Taffic and Jesus Rant - Do you think any of the Metro employees who are "people of faith" ever complain about reading the ads for TV shows that don't line up with their beliefs? No! They do the job they were hired for - report the traffic and read the :10 copy. Nobody thinks the reporters are "endorsing" these ads. If anyone gets flack abot an ad - it is the station. By the way, The Billy Graham ads are placed nationally by his agency just like any other program producer who wants their show watched. Anybody feel like turning down an ad buy? My two pennies! (6/3/07)
Verizon FIOS is a real threat to Comcast. I have FIOS at my location in AA County and am not looking back at Comcast. They have 3 weather plus channels, CNN International (no Anna Nicole news there), a widget that allows you to look at traffic and weather information at the bottom of your screen regardless of what channel you are currently watching. They have all of the other channels Comcast has and a couple of free sports channels. The tech told me they are having a hard time getting the rest of the state wired because of the opposition they face from Comcast because of the relationship Comcast has with most local governments. It'll be real interesting to see who the winner is when both companies can operate on a level playing field. (6/3/07)
Came across your great website! I live in the DC area and found it very informative! Didn’t know if you had heard of the ‘SAVE JERICHO” campaign? CBS recently cancelled the drama, and FANS ARE LETTING THEM KNOW THEY ARE NOT STANDING FOR IT! (6/3/07)
If I'm not mistaken, "Comcast sticking up for their customers" was a quote from a previous post, so yes, that person was saying that Comcast was doing this NFL Network move for their customers. Learn how to read. DUH. (6/3/07)
"Ok , I have Comast. I live in Arlington. I can say that i have had no problem" Never have Comcast owe you a refund. I cancelled my service on March 30th. They still took out a whole month on bill pay. I have called for hours and been to the office in Frederick, MD several times. I was getting bills into May. Their excuse? Computer error. It is funny but if you don't pay they cut your service like that. FIOS is coming and Comcast can kiss their ass goodbye. (6/3/07)
Can't some station put a George 104 type format on the air???????????? Or bring a WRNR format to the DC air waves!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (6/3/07)
Ok , I have Comast. I live in Arlington. I can say that i have had no problem. I have Comcast internet, home phone, and digital cable. When i call them it is fix. One time i had problems with the internet service. He came out. He fix. He told me if i had problems again to call him ( He gave me his cell phone number) Also, i don't work for Comcast. (6/3/07)
So Comcrap wants to put NFL Network on a sports tier so other customers who don't like pro football, and who do not watch the NFL, don't have to pay for it. That's OK but how about a religious tier so I don't have to pay for religious channels that I DO NOT watch. Come on folks. The cable TV and satellite TV business has been a customer rip-off for years and years and years. Check the history: cable TV was started to give residents of a Pennsylvania town better TV signals. Shrewd business folks and thieves, such as the shopping and some religious channels, have ripped off customers for too long. Darn shame. I pay enough. We're dumping HBO as soon as the Sopranos finale airs. Goodbye Home Box Office. (6/3/07)
"To the person about the Dish Network. That person is right.The signal does fades when it rains, and windy days. No better with DirecTV. I no Comcast cost a lot of money, but you can watch it when it rains or on a windy day." I've had DirectTV for 2 years and have had only 1 problem ever due to bad weather and it lasted for 1 hour. DirecTV is great IMHO. And NFL Sunday Ticket is the best for us out-of-town NFL fans. (6/3/07)
RE: "HAha! That's the biggest load of horse shit I've possibly ever heard in my entire life! Comcast is moving NFL Net to a digital sport tier not to save its customers money (they are raising rates anyway! DUH!), but to increase the purchases of pay services like On Demand and other tiered pay services." - It was never said that Comcast was moving the NFL Network to save their customers money (DUH!!!!!!). It was said that Comcast was moving the channel to a sports only teir to reduce the amount of money that they had to pay out to the NFL (DUH!!!!!). (6/3/07)
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RE: [ "Comcast sticking up for their customers" ]........ HAha! That's the biggest load of horse shit I've possibly ever heard in my entire life! Comcast is moving NFL Net to a digital sport tier not to save its customers money (they are raising rates anyway! DUH!), but to increase the purchases of pay services like On Demand and other tiered pay services. Similarly, Comcast is forcing low and fixed income customers with older cable boxes to switch to cable boxes with access to these new PAY services whether they want to or not! And worse yet, they are charging elderly people $14.95 JUST TO KEEP THEIR CABLE TV! And they know elderly people will just pay it so they're sending out threatening letters saying things like "ACT NOW OR YOU WILL LOSE CABLE!". If that is not sleazy, I don't know what is. So, if you thought Comcast was looking out for the consumer, ummm, you need therapy. Seriously. Oh, and all these COMCRAP cronies in this mailbag talking about how bad the picture is on DISH or DIREC-TV, my message to you is....... GO AWAY! No one believes your sleazy satellite/ancient technology museum commercials and no one in their right mind could possibly believe that a digital signal from DIREC-TV or DISH could possibly be worse than the signals on a typical Comcast installation. I've never been to a single Comcast home in my entire life that did not have at least 1 or more static-ridden or blurry channels or audio signals all over the place. The big difference between signal interruptions on DISH and DIREC-TV is that unless you have an obstruction problem (like trees), most of these issues are fixable ones. I can't tell you how many times I've complained to Comcast over the years about bad signals or audio on different channels only to get either no offered solution or a repair visit that fixes nothing! So go away Comcrap cronies. No one here is dumb enough to believe your phony P.R. B.S. (6/2/07)
"WJFK aired three ads to drum up sponsors for the station or to attract ad reps." You would have an easier time selling tickets for a cruise on the Titanic. (6/2/07)
RE: "As for Comcrap charging nearly $6.00 for the NFL Network, is that per month? Per year? " - You didn't read the message before you bothered to respond. If you had you would have read it was 55cents per subscriber, per month the NFL demanded that Comcast (not Comcrap) pay the NFL Network (a very mediocre channel) in order to carry the channel. In the rare instance of Comcast sticking up for their customers they put the channel on a sports only tier so those that are so amazed by football documentaries and blue screens can pony up the money themselves for it. The fee also includes other sports channels. So again, if this sort of riveting programming is something you just can't live without, $6 is pennies per day (plus you get other sports channels with that $6 per month!) to keep you entertained without having to unneccesarily line the already overflowing pockets of the NFL for their lame programming. What I don't understand is why anybody would think that Comcast should have to pay the NFL for every single one of their subscribers? (6/2/07)
I need the Breck girl in my life. Bring him, er, her to me. My life isn't complete without John! - Rush (6/2/07)
To those talking about Dish Network customers losing service on rainy or windy days: we've had Dish Network for nearly a year and a half now; I've only seen maybe two or three occasions at the most when we've lost signal due to rain...it usually has to be an awful hard rain to make ?Dishnet go out! Even at that, the signal hasn't been lost for all that long..maybe five minutes. Just out of curiosity, for you guys who have Comcast..let me ask: if you do lose your service, how long does it usually take before it comes back up? Tom in Denton, MD (6/2/07)
Dish Network is OK now that it has MASN. Signal rarely goes out except during very heavy rain or very heavy snow. As for Comcrap charging nearly $6.00 for the NFL Network, is that per month? Per year? Let's do the math: NFL Network supposedly costs Comcrap $ .55 per subscriber. Is that per month? Per year? So if it's $ .55 per month for Comcrap but Comcrap charges $6.00 per month, that's quite a deal for the cable company. Glad I don't have Comcrap! (6/2/07)
On today's episode of the "Tom Davis Show" on MASN, Tom had former O's pitcher Dave Johnson as his co-host. He had earlier announced that Phil Wood had permanently left show due to his gig at WTEM but that they would be working on various projects together in the future. Both Tom and Dave worked well together as it was nice to hear 2 Baltimore guys talking basebal in my humble opinion. Rusty Gibson (6/2/07)
snip* Now that George -- the short-lived adult hits formatted station thatwas launched ealier this year before getting killed last April -- islong gone, 106.7 WJFK, which could soon drop the FreeFM moniker, maywind up going the JackFM route. Like WJFK, Baltimore's JackFM (102.7 FMWQSR) is owned by CBS Radio. Should WJFK go the the JackFM route, thestation would be called JohnFM, rather than JackFM, because the J inWJFK stands for John (the first name of the late US President, John F.Kennedy) -- and to possibly avoid confusion with its aforementionedBaltimore sibling. I think that DC's JohnFM would be a great complimentto Baltimore's JackFM, since both WJFK-FM & WQSR-FM are owned byCBS Radio, do you agree? (6/2/07) * snip ---- No! I do NOT agree. You are a feeble-minded idiot... an amateur and a wannabe, for whom this medium was not intended. You are hereby ordered to gether up ALL of your radio reception and transmission devices and turn them into Dave Hughes and the vast DCRTV staff for inventory and redistribution to the poor who actually "get it." And, come to think of it, stop by Triangle and pick Vincent's radio equipment, too. He is SO overthinking it! Sincerely, Hoobert Heever, Chairman, Federal Radio Commission (6/2/07)
I hope WTNT simulcasts "Morning Joe" if it becomes a permanent fixture. The show they have on in the morning is so boring. (6/2/07)
Dave's response: Yes, I suspect the WTNT morning biz show is merely a "filler" until CBS Radio officially launches a replacement for Imus.....
For the second straight week, the sports update on Phil Wood's WTEM show (the announcer identified herself as Meredith Joseph) misidentified a Nationals' broadcaster. This time it was the MASN feed, and she attributed Cristian Guzman's hit in the 10th inning (he later scored the winning run) as being a call from Don Sutton, when it was obviously Bob Carpenter (Sutton only does analysis). Sigh. -- Vincent in Triangle (6/2/07)
The gang at CB-Assssss, WJFK (AM) has outdone themselves once again. On saturday morning you get to hear PressBox Live for 2 hours. I think they should change the name of the show to PressBox Dead. You get 2 hours of Stan the Fan saying "ah, ah" and his constant butt kissing. Then you get 2 hours of a BOXING SHOW. The host is a Baltimore area boxing promoter. He has the WORST Baltimore accent. I assume that this show is brokered time because no one in their right mind would pay this guy. Please bring back Phil Wood! (6/2/07)
Now that George -- the short-lived adult hits formatted station that was launched ealier this year before getting killed last April -- is long gone, 106.7 WJFK, which could soon drop the FreeFM moniker, may wind up going the JackFM route. Like WJFK, Baltimore's JackFM (102.7 FM WQSR) is owned by CBS Radio. Should WJFK go the the JackFM route, the station would be called JohnFM, rather than JackFM, because the J in WJFK stands for John (the first name of the late US President, John F. Kennedy) -- and to possibly avoid confusion with its aforementioned Baltimore sibling. I think that DC's JohnFM would be a great compliment to Baltimore's JackFM, since both WJFK-FM & WQSR-FM are owned by CBS Radio, do you agree? (6/2/07)
Dave's response: How about Joe FM? With D&M phone screener Joe Ardinger as the station's "voice".....
I too am disappointed by WaPo's head-in-poopchute crew for killing "Nats At Night" mid-season. (Hell, they've got 107.7 AND 1500 right?) -MontCo (6/2/07)
Ref: save internet radio...bullshit, that is what internet "radio" is : It's only been two weeks but we miss Hitman so much on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, 96-5CTG just sucks without his music selection and wit....from all the girls over 30 but afraid to admit it thanks for your time. Angel in Pocomoke City, Md (6/2/07)
Regarding WQAW broadcasting on Channel 69 UHF from the Lake Shore area. Who knows? Does anyone even own a TV anymore that picks up UHF direct from an outside antenna. I'm in the Lake Shore area and I've never even heard of the station. And one other thing is certain - they won't be broadcasting on Channel 69 much longer. The FCC DTV mandate calls for everyone to be off those frequencies by Feb 2009 at the latest. They would be in big trouble if they stayed there anyway, with Sprint Nextel moving all the National Public Safety 800 MHz systems down to the 806-809 block as part of the nationwide Rebanding program (which is a big piece of shit headache in itself!) (6/2/07)
I saw the last 30 minutes of the Lark McCarthy tribute this morning and Holly Morris just HAD to make it about herself..At the end, it was mentioned (I guess for those who weren't aware), that Allison Seymour would be taking over Lark's spot come Monday..Well, Holly made an outburst that she (Holly) was the second most senior person on staff. And said this about 3 times..I guess there was a reason for that. But I couldn't figure out what that had to do with anything..Was she saying that maybe SHE should've gotten the spot??..Was she jealous because she wasn't getting enough attention?..I don't know..But I was quite surprised when it happened..Not what I expected at the end of what was supposed to be Lark's celebration. (6/2/07)
Rehau is a town in the district of Hof, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 12 km southeast of Hof, and 12 km west of As. Formerly a fairly isolated town, located as it is near both Czech and former East German borders, with the fall of The Wall, it is now in the center of a growing area, with a new Autobahn providing ready access from Nuremberg and Munich. The principle employer and economic engine is the polymer manufacturer Rehau AG, which was founded just after WWII and is a company that produces products in the automotive, construction, furniture and medical industries. The first documented name of Rehau was "Resawe" in the year 1234. (6/2/07)
Anybody seen WBFF-45's Lisa Teachman lately ? (6/2/07)
It looks like the excess Clear Channel stations in Salisbury-Ocean City have been spun off buy the new guy in town, Good Radio...this was posted at Radio and Records.... COMMENT: Clear Channel entered into an asset purchase agreement with GoodRadio.TV on April 30, 2007. The consummation of the transactions contemplated in the purchase agreement is subject, among other things, to the consent of the FCC. As a condition of its approval of these transactions, the FCC will require GoodRadio.TV to comply with the FCC's local radio ownership rule. To obtain such consent, it will be necessary for GoodRadio.TV to divest itself of a certain number of radio stations in different radio markets immediately after the closing described in the purchase agreement. GoodRadio.TV desires to assign the FCC licenses and other assets relating to such stations to the designated trustee pursuant to a trust agreement. Under the trust agreement, the designated trust would be required to sell such stations to a third party or third parties. Delaware - WLBW-FM/Fenwick Island (Salisbury-Ocean City) - FREQUENCY: 92.1 MHz - POWER: 3kw at 469 feet - FORMAT: Oldies..... Maryland - WDKZ-FM/Salisbury (Salisbury-Ocean City) - FREQUENCY: 105.5 MHz - POWER: 2kw at 384 feet - FORMAT: CHR..... (6/2/07)
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Wow, that Sun article about the M & T Stadium just reeks of favoritism toward CBS. How sleazy can one get? Apparently, pretty sleazy. M & T really sucks as a bank, in my opinion. I hope that everyone who has an account with them will consider closing it, or never opening an account with them to begin with.-An ex-M & T customer (6/1/07)
Sgt. Pepper sounds "worn and dated?" Somebody needs a nap. (6/1/07)
In the last ad break of Friday's Don and Mike show, WJFK aired three ads to drum up sponsors for the station or to attract ad reps. Sounds like all isn't well on Main Street in Fairfax. (6/1/07)
Regarding McRosenburger "going" to Hot97: unless he's broadcasting from the french fry pit at Adams Morganhole's McDonalds, one would assume he will be at their studios, supposedly at: www.hot97.com 395 Hudson St. 7th Fl. New York, NY 10014. So I suppose that will be the final nail in the McRosenburger coffin as far as Washington, DC based DCRTV is concerned and we never have to hear about that douchebag again! Besides: if he get's off at 3AM in the West Village he will likely... be mugged... Problem solved. (6/1/07)
Dave's response: Hey, if Rosenberg had no problems in DC's Adams Morgan during the wee hours of the morning (a la the McDonalds gig), he'll probably have no problem in NYC's Greenwich Village.....
If you get a dish, upgrade to a slightly larger diameter dish; 24" instead of 18". It's worth the $75 investment. If you have your dish installed PROPERLY, DirecTV does not fade out when the wind blows. In six years of having DirecTV, signal went out maybe a dozen times during only the most severe tropical storms and even then only for a minute or so. Because of moving to a neighborhood with a lot of tall trees that the neighbor won't cut down, I have to have Cox. Cox is horrible. The picture is ALWAYS bad and the "techs" have been here dozens of times. I'd rather have DirecTV with the occasional rain fade as opposed to the constant s#!tty picture with Cox. FiOS where are you? (6/1/07)
To the person about the Dish Network. That person is right.The signal does fades when it rains, and windy days. No better with DirecTV. I no Comcast cost a lot of money, but you can watch it when it rains or on a windy day (6/1/07)
RE: WQAW / [ " Dave's response: Maybe a landline to Comcast's fiber ring, which links all its DC area systems? " ]......... Yes, probably, but the funny thing is that probably cost more to build than the station itself! LOL (6/1/07)
I know I tease him, but, er, I love him. Breck girl, be mine, please! - Rush (6/1/07)
Update on WQAW-LP 69 / Azteca America from FCC records... FCC permit to move to Bowie and channel 25 was dismissed last year. Permit to move to channel 8 has not yet been decided yet so it will stay in Lake Shore Maryland on channel 69 for now. I wonder how the cable headends are actually receiving the signal, being that its on UHF 69, which is probably difficult to receive even in Lake Shore, Maryland! (6/1/07)
Dave's response: Maybe a landline to Comcast's fiber ring, which links all its DC area systems? Hmmm.....
OK, so here's a missing persons report for you - anybody know what happened to Rhyan Jones after the Ben and Brian show went bye-bye? He was there producer & had done some side work at DC101, and all of a suddun, poof! If you're out there buddy, let's do happy hour! CS (6/1/07)
Effective today, Comcast has raised rates on Maryland's eastern shore and plans to turn off all Jerrold and General Instrument cable boxes in the next week to force people to pay more for digital cable and in effect PAY for stuff like the previous content mentioned by Lauren that should be FREE! And yes, Lauren, Comcast IS CHARGING for the alleged FREE content. How? Because Comcast is forcing customers to unhook all their cable boxes and haul them into Comcast for ON DEMAND boxes or LOSE CABLE ALTOGETHER. The other alternative? PAY COMCAST TO COME OUT AND REINSTALL A CABLE BOX THAT WORKS. This forced upgrade charge should be illegal and is certainly unethical at best. This charge should have been included in the previous round of MASN price gouging increases. COMCAST, YOU SUCK. Hurry up Verizon with FIOS, I cannot wait to dump these slimy rat bastards. Thanks. (6/1/07)
All this media hoopla over the anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper album leaves me cold. I never thought that album was any good. At the time, I thought it was mostly pretentious elevator music. Now, it sounds worn and dated. Maybe you had to be on LSD............... (6/1/07)
WQAW-LP's path to becoming a suburban DC station is interesting. It began with a permit for channel 69 licensed to Salisbury, MD with a tower location east of Easton (!). Next, the permit was modified for Lake Shore, MD, with a tower location on Kent Island and an antenna pattern aimed southwest. It was licensed with those facilities in the summer of 2005. It was shut off in March the next year because of interference to co-located Sprint/Nextel facilities, which was solved by lowering the antenna and the transmitted power. A license for these facilities was issued March 14th 2007. The station has APPLIED to change the licensed community to Bowie, change to channel 25, and move to WMPT's tower with an antenna pattern aimed southwest. PLEASE do not use Wikipedia for this stuff (just about everything in the previous post was wrong) - go to the FCC's site instead. // I see that I left off mentioning WDCW-DT, which as just one sub-channel, the Tube, which has been noted several times already as being very cool. Regards, Dave Loudin (6/1/07)
RE: "So I'll have to pay extra to get the NFL Network via Comcast now huh? But Lifetime, Bravo, TV One and Logo are still included in standard cable right? Dish Network, here I come. I'm sick of Comcast's bullsh*t." - Comcast has been paying the NFL 55cents per subscriber per month to the NFL (the NFL's requirement) for the NFL Network. Comcast decided not to pay the NFL for every one of their subscribers and instead will pay them for the exact number of subscribers they have to that channel by moving it to a sports only tier. This is a rare instance of Comcast standing up for the majority of their customers. Since you find football documentaries, preseason games, and a blue screen with scores on it during game time worthwhile you should have no problem paying the $5 per month that Comcast is offering. It also includes a bunch of other sports channels in it too. I don't recommend Dish Network because the signal fades in and out during windy/cloudy/rainy days. Why would you want to pay for a service that you can't watch on a rainy day? (6/1/07)
Dave– Effective today, Comcast has made available ON DEMAND all six final-round games from the boys and girls Maryland State High School Lacrosse Championships. All six games, three boys’ and three girls’, are accessible free of charge to Comcast Digital Cable subscribers across the state of Maryland. As with all ON DEMAND content, customers can tune-in whenever they’d like and are able to pause, rewind and fast-forward the action. High School Lacrosse ON DEMAND is a perfect example to highlight the benefits of digital cable. It showcases digital’s ability to handle huge amounts of content and utilizes its interactive capability. Without digital cable’s ‘two way technology,’ ON DEMAND wouldn’t be possible. We’ve launched similar locally-focused programming ON DEMAND before and it’s been a big hit. I’d love to speak with you about the lacrosse states’ availability and how it ties into our growing library of local ON DEMAND content. Thanks, Lauren (6/1/07)
Help Save Internet Radio! The July 15th Deadline could force many web streams to shut down. WTMD has posted information and way to let your Congressional leaders know how you feel at our blog at wtmd.blogspot.com. (6/1/07)
So I'll have to pay extra to get the NFL Network via Comcast now huh? But Lifetime, Bravo, TV One and Logo are still included in standard cable right? Whew, I thought for a moment there, they would get rid of those incredibly entertaining channels...(note the sarcasm for those of you who don't get it) Dish Network, here I come. I'm sick of Comcast's bullsh*t. (6/1/07)
Dave's response: The daily Washington Post carries listings for dozens and dozens of obscure cable channels, but not for Logo. Hmmm.....
The WCAO 1965 survey chart on DCRTV Plus reminded me of a few things I want to mention. The late Gene Creasy had been PD of WCAO’s direct competitor, WITH. By 1965, WITH was losing audience, partly because its listeners were moving to the suburbs, outside of WITH’s signal, at least at night. But Creasy and WITH did their best to compete against WCAO. I remember WITH challenged WCAO to a broom-stick hockey game at the Civic Center. As the #1 station, WCAO wisely ignored the whole thing, which frustrated Creasy and WITH. In fact, I heard Creasy criticize WCAO on the (WITH) air for not responding. When Reeves bought WITH around June, 1965, Creasy was released but quickly appeared doing WBAL’s overnight show. Then about 6 months later, Creasy was hired as PD at WCAO, which apparently realized Creasy’s programming skills. And he did a good job dayparting WCAO to compete with the modernized WCBM. I also thought Gene Creasy had a unique and good voice. Second, GM Byron Millenson, whose photo is on the survey, ultimately took his own life. (I don’t know what was happening personally, but he was a highly successful man in the radio business.) Finally, Johnny Dark is missing from the survey because it was published during his year away at WEAM. Roddy Freeman (6/1/07)
What's REHAU? www.na.rehau.com (6/1/07)
Not exactly off-topic…Checking Drudge, it appears that the infamous (or famous) tell-all blogger "Washingtonienne" has filed for bankruptcy. Can anybody say "Your 15 minutes are over"? With apologies to the late Andy Warhol, I still remain Genghis Cohen, in oppressively humid and not at all mild Eastern Prince William County. (6/1/07)
Does anybody know if any HD channels are working around the Country? Besides radio people does anybody have HD? I think it is dead, just like am stereo. One thought. I wonder why broadcasters with an AM & FM don't put the AM signal on the HD. AM is so dead anyway, maybe some of those folks would move over. (6/1/07)
Dave's response: HD Radio in the DC market is VERY half-assed! Apart from what WAMU's doing - Bluegrass Country and the relay of Towson's excellent adult alternative rockish WTMD, the cool nostalgic music channel on WASH, and WHUR's World channel, the other DC stations offer little more than canned-sounding derivitaves of their main format - at best. And still nothing from WETA-FM, WPFW, WJFK-FM, WAVA, WLZL, WKYS, and WBIG. If HD Radio is going to survive, we're going to need a much better programming effort than what we're getting. I can just see some guy cranking up his new $300+ HD Radio car receiver and wondering "that's it?" after scanning the dial.....
Was at a function at REHAU in Leesburg this morning, and Buddy Rizer was introduced as their just-hired marketing director. What does this mean for WTRI? (6/1/07)
Dave's response: What is "REHAU"?
Speaking on WNVT, Cox is now carrying WNVT sub channels on 470-477. A lot of Korean and Chinese stuff, plus two Russian channels including news in English, a Dutch channel and France 24; their answer to Faux News. Oh, and how could I forget Nigerian TV. Hoo boy! Still waiting for FiOS in Fairfax City so I never have to see "Digital Max" ever again. Plus with all the money I'll save, I can get an AppleTV! Stay@HomeDad in Fairfax. (6/1/07)
Dave's response: We did report on the MHz/WNVC/WNVT digital channels being carried by Cox. Comcast carries many of the channels too, except for the Dutch and Japanese ones.....
Hey Dave, I checked TV Azteca last night and they are IDing as channel 69. Googling the station I found out that Channel 69 is WQAW. Wikipedia has all this information as well: WQAW-CA is a low-power Class A television station in Bowie, Maryland, broadcasting locally in analog on UHF channel 25 as an affiliate of Azteca America. The station is owned by Una Vez Mas Holdings, LLC of Dallas, Texas. WQAW currently holds a construction permit to move the station to channel 8 and its city of license to Lake Shore, Maryland. The move would move the station closer to Baltimore, and away from Washington's WZDC-LP, which recently moved to channel 25. Michael Wright (6/1/07)
Dave… Looks like AzA in DC is a straight-to-cable market for them since they don’t have an OTA signal in the market… It appears that they have signed agreements with Cox, Comcast and maybe others… www.corporate-aztecaamerica.com... Bob/VARTV.com (6/1/07)
The final rounds of the National Spelling Bee were televised on ABC last night. if memory serves, this show had been carried exclusively by ESPN during the daylight hours over the past ten years or so. Inasmuch as network TV isn't known for putting educational fare on the air in the 8-10 PM timeslot, I suspect that the motivation for the move was more to exploit the emotional roller coaster of the children as they struggled with seemingly impossible words for the entertainment of the masses than to expand viewers' vocubulary. It's yet another primetime reality TV show, albeit only taking place once per year. I don't even think it's far fetched to suggest that the incident of a kid fainting on the air two or three years ago may have helped persuade ABC to pick up the event. What Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg from ESPN Radio were doing on the telecast is beyond me - perhaps to provide some comic relief. If so, they didn't exactly have everyone rolling on the floor. A better choice might have been Mr. Tony - not to make fun of the contestants (already under enough pressure) as he does on the radio, but perhaps to come up with a sentence for each word used in the competition. Kornheiser would barely have to think in order to compose better sentences than the lame ones used by the show's moderators, and no one would complain if he managed to work in a few subtle digs at his Post colleagues in the process. Mike, Fairfax (6/1/07)
Hey Dave--Comcast DC does indeed have Azteca America on Channel 209 with the other local digitals, and the on-screen guide says it's WQAW, so I'm guessing they're picking up analog WQAW-LP on 25 and digitizing it... John in Washington, DC (6/1/07)
On this "Sgt. Pepper's" anniversary, I remember Cerphe, about 15 years ago, appearing on Channel 4 News to discuss the record's great importance. It was tied into the CD release of "Sgt. Pepper's." Maybe that release was tied to the 25th anniversary of the record? Also, about those Jesus-lovin' radio spots: I've noticed several myself at the end of traffic reports. Usually for Church of the Redeemer. As a Christian, I find these announcements pleasantly jarring, but the idea of churches advertising on the radio strikes me as an odd use of church funds. Christian (6/1/07)
On WTWP-1500 this morning and yesterday morning, the transmitter was turned off for about 3 seconds every 5 minutes or so. Is that a new plan to ruin Mr. Tony's show? Are they testing the equipment at 8:45 in the morning? Is there a raccoon playing with the circuit breaker over on University Blvd? I was almost tempted to turn to 107.7 except I work in Columbia, and dang it, I can't get it there so well. When it's on 820 AM I'll have more choices when the transmitter becomes intermittent. On another note: Shortwave and medium-wave radio at sunset has been unbelievably great this week. On my little Grundig analog-with-digital readout portable that I carry while walking in the neighborhood, I got Lithuania, Australia (15+ MHz), Austria, Portugal, and Romania (11+ and 9+ MHz) very, very clearly two nights ago, without trying hard at all; and no, they were not relays from Canada or the Caribbean, they still had some background hiss/noise and the radio had to be held just right and the antenna all the way out, but it was clearer than it's been in a long time. -- Carl in Olney (6/1/07)
Dave's response: Damn! And I have trouble getting WTEM at night.....
Dave, I find it ironic that the idiots on Fox and Friends this morning decided that when a man was attempting to jump off the George Washington Bridge in New York City, they were more concerned with telling us a traffic report on how bad I-95 was backed up because of this. That and Geraldo was too busy picking a debate of his own in the middle of it. Therefore the new slogan for FNC should be....The RNC runs our station.....until something happens. Dan (6/1/07)
Dave's response: I tell you, I really started loving Fox News Channel now that they've added a laugh track.....
Fred Thompson is TERRIBLE as a sub for Paul Harvey. He has no idea how to deliver a story or even how to separate one story from another. He sounds like a bumbling, doddering old man, and I can't believe that anyone who's heard him would think he has anything near what it takes to be President. I've always thought that Gil Gross should get the job as PH's replacement--his delivery sparkles and he comes up with many interesting and offbeat stories. Given PH's recent frequent faltering (getting stories backwards or substituting wrong words as he reads his copy), Gil Gross stands out as by far the best of all the people heard in that time slot. With Prez Fred campaigning, maybe Gross can get his slot as PH's designated replacement. (6/1/07)
What? No more Nats At Night? That just makes no sense. Every few weeks I cycle into the third shift and that's the only way I can listen to the games! Jim Bohannon I love your program but there are three or four more hours in the day I won't be flipping over to 1500 AM. Who made that decision? The team or the station? (6/1/07)
Dave's response: We reported about the change back in mid-May. Either no one was listening or it was screwing up the contracts WaPo Radio/Bonneville has with its overnight shows, a la Jim Bohannon.....
Are Kaine and O'Malley in the loop? Would they include WTOP? What about DC???????? Can Fenty issue one or is DC left out? - State governors are getting the authority to issue EAS alerts. Since its inception in the dark days of the Cold War — the authority to issue warnings was held solely by the president. In the more than five decades since it started not a single presidential alert was ever issued. And the system has morphed into one dealing with weather s and natural disasters. So the FCC is ordering stations to air EAS alerts coming from each of the 50 governors. Chairman Kevin Martin says “local public safety officials need to be permitted to activate emergency alerts” saying they are “often best-situated to serve the needs of their own communities.” The FCC is considering giving local or other state officials the ability to issue an EAS message. Some broadcasters are worried that could dilute their effectiveness – and open the door for mistakes or hacking into the system. The NAB says it’s onboard for change. It’s pushing for “credentialing standards” for operators to have access to their stations during emergencies. (6/1/07)
It was 40 years ago today - June 1, 1967 - The album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles was released in the U.K. Here's a recent article about it from Parade Magazine www.parade.com... Elvis, Hitler and Jesus were considered for inclusion on the cover, but they didn't make the cut. Here's a list of the people and items that did www.iamthebeatles.com... (6/1/07)
Yo, Dave. At this time of year, I'm able to get all the DC DTV signals save WNVC-DT 57 (although, with WNVT-DT 30, I'm not missing anything) here in King George. None of them have a Spanish subchannel. WFDC-DT, like WDCA-DT and WTTG-DT, has no subchannels. On the opposite side of the fence, WNVC/WNVT runs five standard-def programs while WPXW-DT has four. WETA-DT's main channel claims to be high-def, but with three standard-def subchannels, there's way too many compression artifacts that reduce clarity. WJLA-DT is back up to two standard-def subchannels, as Local Point TV is back. WRC-DT and WUSA-DT continue to have just the single weather/radar subchannel. Regards, Dave Loudin (6/1/07)
Dave's response: I just wonder why Comcast put Azteca America on channel 209. The 200-209 range of digital channels seems to be reserved for various over-the-air standard-def digital relays of local signals. If it was simply a basic cable channel delivered via satellite (not a local relay), you'd think Comcast would have put it in the 100s, where most of those seem to be. Or in the Spanish channel tier, in the 600s. But Comcast does have a few odd channel placements, like putting ESPN News at 102 and not clustering it with the other sports channels in the upper 200s.....
Interesting atmospheric conditions last night, got to hear the O's/Angels game on 105.7 HFS while driving in the car in OCEAN CITY, MD! No DC 101 or 94.7 The Globe sadly, but got many Baltimore stations... 98 ROCK, Lite102, & that Jackshit FM thing on 102.7 as well as quite a few unrecognizable stations. Oh, and the old 99.1 HFS en la casa tambien! :-) PS: Oh, before anyone complains, I know, bad spanish. (6/1/07)
Dave's response: I was trying to kill the boredom while sitting at one of Northern Virginia's many 10-minute red lights yesterday and was flipping around the FM dial. And found religion on 89.7, where Baltimore alt rockish WTMD sometimes is. I presume it was some sort of distant signal and not a format flip.....
As a generally conservative station, it seems that WMAL would want to carry syndicated flame thrower Neal Boortz in the morning. He's may be as right-wing as Rush Limbaugh, even though he claims to be libertarian rather than conservative. No one in Washington carries his show, though it's on in many markets in the country. JOHN IN STAFFORD (6/1/07)
It's official. No more Nats at night. Strange programming. They went with Jim Bohannon at midnight, then switched to Tony Kornheiser at 1 am, only to switch back to Bohannon at 2 am. I already miss the Bang Zoom. (6/1/07)
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