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Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - June 5 to June 7, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ June 7 Messages \/ Wow - congrats to WBIG on the Redskins. Now they only have to worry about the other 163 hours a week that suck. Congrats! (6/7/07) Does anyone knonw where a bootleg at 106.1 is coming from? Since visiting Baltimore the past few days I've heard the station, sometimes coming in well and not so good at other times, playing "whatever." They even gave out a request number with a computerized voice. Nice to be back up here in Balto for another week or so and hope to get around to see some of my radio pals. Bill Powers, Los Angeles (6/7/07) Quote: "How about giving someone a second chance and have Don Imus host [the Price is Right]". I dunno, I cannot picture the I-Man spinning wheels and moving around much. He might drop dead by the time the 'showacse showdown' takes place. (6/7/07) ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S WHERE'S WALDO'S TOWER DCRTV TRIVIA GAME (WCTN 950 Potomac)............. Somewhere in the overgrown woods apparently (see pic). Either that or they've given the FCC the wrong tower coordinates. DOH! :-) (6/7/07) Matters not which station Danny the Boy Snyder signs up to do Redskins broadcasts if they continue to use the delay.I listened for YEARS to Sonny,Sam and *sigh* Frank without the delay.Now....impossible. C'mon Danny Boy....take a stand.You can afford the fines if some drunken idiot's @#$!% gets out over the airwaves.I don't know how many more games I can take with Idiot Aikman droning on and on about himself..... KJ, Laurel,MD (6/7/07) Here's my dream team for the Oldies format on 1370 AM. I actually like the "Legends" imaging that was used during the WWLG days. Regarding the engineering and maintenance, I fully agree that Mike Fast is one of the best in the business. Here we go: Ed Graham as GM, Bob Mathers as PD. Jocks must include: Johnny Dark, Ken Merson, R.C. Allen, III, Gary Helton, Gary Michaels, Jack Edwards, Steve Cochran, Paul Bicknell. Weekends: Yours truly along with Alan Lee. Let's have Messrs. Mathers and Graham doing a week-end shift just for the fun of it. Also, keep the Rock and Lebo show. It's a shame that things didn't work out when 1370 AM had their chance with the "oldies" format. When people say that the "oldies" format is dead, in my opinion, they are dead wrong. Based on the feedback that I receive on "Oldies Block Party", listeners still love to hear the 50's and 60's. To Ed Rothstein: Ed, when did you host your show on WHFC. I started in 2002 with OBP. Blessings to all for the weekend. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (6/7/07) Posted earlier; "I hardly consider the ProIraq-FredHiatt-DavidBroder-HowardKurtz-DanaMilbank version to be at all left wing. Howie." Hey Howie, What an awful thing to write; you should be ashamed of yourself. To write something like that, and to leave off the name Deborah, the Outlook section is never wrong even when Fred Hiatt has completely divorced himself of reality, Howell is a travesty. You need to apologize for your grave error in judgment in omitting Deborah, the Outlook section doesn't need to read the front page before editorializing, Howell's name. Boy, Howie, you screwed up royally this time. Deborah, liberals are wrong, Howell loves Republican talking points, and twice she misquoted the carefully crafted wording and got herself in trouble. Now, Howie, as a punishment, sit down and write 100 times, "Deborah Howell got it wrong again, so next week's column will be all fluff." (6/7/07) Dave...about your rant...how can you be outraged when you printed every piece of garbage WaPo sent you? All the stuff about "getting traction" and "catching WMAL in cume".? All horseshit and you gave it credibility. Cutting staff, putting on 7 hours (!) of David Burd and looking to B-level syndicated programming shows you they are just playing out the string. Its the single worst blunder in Washington Radio history. Its a joke. What I don't understand is why doesn't it go all sports? Seriously.. Snyder, plus the 'Skins, plus the Nats plus ESPN Radio on two good signals would end WTEM and actually give us radio we want and need! Still a DCRTV Fan. (6/7/07) Hey Dave, Re-read your item about WBIG...but Clear Channel "did not enough inventory available." This doesn't make sense. Thanks, Stephen (6/7/07) Dave's response: Yeah, I didn't understand it either. That's why I put it in quotes. Maybe it had something to do with promotional spots available to hype the Redskins' presence on the station. Whatever..... (Regarding a previous Dave's Response:) Once we get answers to the first question then it makes sense to follow up how many brand new spoken word radio stations in a top ten market, in the past five years, broke even or made a profit after one year? (6/7/07) Since when is the Post a left leaning newspaper? Do you read its editorials and are you aware of its columnists? Bo Jones, Fred Hiatt, David Broder and the others are much more right than left. See, for example, the paper's position on the war. C'mon Dave, we don't have a left leaning paper in this area. Shawn in DC (6/7/07) #2of2 In sum, I apologize 2u personally Dave (& by me explicitly posting "fk TK!" too, I undrstnd hw it reads as being tied 2Maggie.) Oops.. (6/7/07) Dave's response: This and the one below - something about Paul Farhi and something I cut from someone's post, I think..... Oh man, then I agree with edit. If that was your/anyone's perception, I was wrong. (I stupidly though "Maggie" a less less-wl known refrnc.) (6/7/07) WBIG provided an excellent listening experience for last postseason's Philadelphia/New Orleans game. It should be a very good outlet for the Redskins if the deal comes to pass. Any WBIG/Redskins arrangement would make for some very strange allies though due to the obvious local sports radio rivalry between Clear Channel and Red Zebra. Hopefully, Dan Snyder would be smart enough to make a condition of any such possible deal that Clear Channel could not turn any of its local FM stations to a sports talk format. Everett W. (6/7/07) I thought maybe I was having a flashback....If it wasn't PerryNoid someone else is beating him at his own game. With more talent at that. (6/7/07) Here’s some different radio news: I am having a blast with my XM Radio! Long live Deep Tracks! Also downloading stuff onto my iPod – I control what I listen to and when. That’s the ticket! - PB (6/7/07) Dave, I think that you may have misspoken when you said, “Dave's response: There is one radio station in the whole country (!) that is owned by a newspaper and programmed by that paper's news staff. And we are watching it implode.” Dave, you know better than anyone that WaPo does not own WTWP. But I will agree that Wash Post Radio is a flawed product and they should try to fix it, but I don’t think that adding a bunch of syndicated product is the answer. WTWP has some good talent; just let them get rid of the tether-line to the newspaper and let them do GOOD local radio worthy of a big market like DC. Sure it’s expensive, but are the powers-at-be at WTWP, as my grandfather said, “People with deep pockets and short arms?” Perhaps so. (6/7/07) Dave's response: You're right. Bonneville owns WTWP. But the Post sure acts like it owns it. And that could be the root of the problem..... "There is one radio station in the whole country (!) that is owned by a newspaper and programmed by that paper's news staff. And we are watching it implode." Dave, you are obviously not referring to WTWP, since you know very well that it is owned by Bonneville, not the Washington Post. (6/7/07) "....white nationalist radio"..."ignorant, insular, paranoid crackers." Looks like someone took a bite of the racist apple today. But wait. It's probably OK if the poster was a minority. However if a white person made the same stupid insensitive remarks you can bet he'd be labeled a "racist." (6/7/07) Here's a radio quiz for everyone. Comparing April 2006 to 2007 Washington Post Radio's 25-54 Share has grown from: .9 to 1.7 Total Week..... 1.5 to 2.6 6 a.m. - 10 a.m...... .4 to 1.9 10 a.m. - 3 p.m...... .7 to 1.1 3 p.m. to 7 p.m...... Here's the question. In the past five years what other BRAND NEW spoken word radio stations in a TOP TEN market grew as quickly within the 25-54 demographic? (6/7/07) Dave's response: Two questions, though. First, how much of that audience is being cannibalized from sister all-newser WTOP? And, second, are those ratings gains being translated into ad revenue, specifically enough cash to keep an expensive locally-produced, all-original content news/talk station afloat, as well as turning a profit for two companies in bed together on the venture? A mighty tall order, if you ask me..... nats pitcher mike bacsic is a former sports talk radio intern and aspires to a career in sports talk radio, but doesn't know 980's frequency yet... hey, it's summer, i'm desperate for copy... blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog (6/7/07) ("Dave's response: Let's see. In the past fews days, alone, we've had Front Page news items on WMAL, WERQ, WKYS, WJZW, XM, DC101, the VOA, Hot 99.5, WHUR, WJFK-FM, WAMU, the old WEAM, and WETA-FM. In addition to WTOP and WTWP. How about opening your eyes.....") You may want to open YOUR eyes. If you don't think there is a disproportionate amount of news and rants on your site for WTOP, WTWP, Tony Kornheiser and The Washington Post than you are kidding yourself. Maybe you do realize it...since your response was a little on the defensive side. Looks like I'm not the only one noticing this. Brian (6/7/07) Dave's response: There is one radio station in the whole country (!) that is owned by a newspaper and programmed by that paper's news staff. And we are watching it implode. I think it's a major local media story and am in no way defensive of the extensive coverage provided on this site. In fact, it's kinda fun scooping the Post on stories about itself..... did i miss something? today i heard a perry noid song on howard stern what gives? no more ron and fez songs? what a f*&^$%G traitor!!! (6/7/07) Dear Paul Farhi - I salute you, sir. Keep reporting WaPo's inconvenient truth. F*ck Tony Kornheiser.... -MontCo (6/7/07) This is unreal, a record company trying to mandate what radio is allowed to play as they had only allowed "singles rights" status to the track without guest vocals on it... It seems that we can't only blame radio suits for the bland nature of the majority of radio stations (in all major formats). They are allowed to play the same artists same songs over and over and over but not to veer from what has been sent by the labels as a "single"... What a deal for the listener. With a climate that supports corporate interests over musical expression it is no wonder that XM, Sirius, Pandora, Last FM, IPODs, Zunes, MP3s, Online Stations, and even HD Radio have all become so popular over the past few years. Dean in SOMD. www.radioandrecords.com... "Music Row and country radio are buzzing about a cease and desist letter sent to radio by Sony BMG Nashville. The letter, written by Sony BMG Nashville senior VP of legal and business affairs Katherine E. Woods, demands that radio stop playing a Tracy Lawrence album cut featuring Sony BMG artist Kenny Chesney, who records for the company’s BNA Records"... (6/7/07) "Where is WMAL's sense of equal time and fairness? How are YOU getting a balanced view simply by listening to WMAL?" You're getting equal time from CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, AP, Reuters, CNN Headline News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune, Time, Newsweek, and about 98.9% of Hollywood movies, TV shows and "documentaries." Boo-hoo! (6/7/07) I agree that Oldies, Classic Hits or whatever it's called now is the ideal format for WVIE. I'm not suggesting revisiting the train wreck formerly known as WWLG/Legends 1370 debacle that was dumped last year. Instead of the minor league jocks, the horrible music flow and all of those hearing aid and bed pan spots they aired, M-10 or - better yet - an actual broadcast-minded owner - need only secure a small but knowledgeable team of experienced players who "get it". I'd beg Johnny Dark to do mornings, let Jack Edwards loose during the middle of the day and pay Ken Merson whatever he needs to do afternoons and the overall format and music programming. All three of these gentlemen are missed by several generations of Baltimore radio listeners. I would enforce that Programming Department and not the Sales Department determine programming and marketing strategies. Programming would also sit on engineering until the on-air audio sound was tweaked to aural perfection. And for God sake - I search the galaxy to find a set of call letters and/or an imaging name that actually tells people what they're listening to. Of course, none of this will never become reality because it makes sense. (6/7/07) 12:43PM--Dow Jones money report, Glenn Bleck on at same time on WTNT. 12:44PM--Another beginning of the tape delayed Glenn Beck program (same one that began before). 12:45PM--Lunch is over. I was entertained, and I thought--this never would have happened at my college radio station (WUSB, AM620, State U. of NY at Stony Brook, 1968-71) (6/7/07) If Mr. Mangione were to allow yours truly to bring oldies back to Baltimore on 1370, Ed Graham would be one of the first to be contacted to be a part of it. Of course, full time on-air would perhaps be inconvenient for him, only because he’s making too much money in his regular gummint gig…but wouldn’t he sound great whenever he were available? You betcha! Thanks to Ed Rothstein too for the comments posted yesterday. Mr. Rothstein ‘gets it’ regarding his thoughts on Baltimore’s knowledge of oldies music. Mr. Graham knows what he’s talking about too, when he mentioned the ratings benefit for the Mangiones with such a move. Ed managed WITH during its renaissance as an oldies station in 1996-97, and with our small budget…he was constantly searching for ways to make the product better – and did. He brought on guys like Moon Man, J.B. Brown, Joe Parker, and Sir Johnny O to handle the night gigs. He took the format clock back to a traditional 1960’s 2 song/spot set presentation. He opened it up for the jocks to be personalities and he did it all while at the same time managing a cast of characters that would have given Billy Martin and the 1977 Yankees (see: ‘Bronx Zoo’) a run for its money in the drama department. We need to get down to Little Italy, and have a conversation with Mr. Mangione when he plays bocce over at the schoolyard across from St. Leo’s. Let’s go! - Bob Mathers (6/7/07) 12:31PM--now it's just Glenn Beck on WTNT. Wonder what's going to happen at the top of the hour (since his tape-delayed show just began--at the beginning--at 12:28? (6/7/07) Does Washington Post Radio really deserve this much coverage on DCRTV? I mean, c'mon, I realize it's the prestigious Washington Post, but everyday, it's WaPo this, WaPo that on DCRTV. There are more people on DCRTV talking about WaPo Radio than are actually LISTENING! HAha! :-) (6/7/07) Ch-ch-ch-changes? Flipping the dial at 12:19PM finds The Tammy Bruce Show on WTNT (instead of Glenn Beck). The WTNT website still shows Glenn Beck. The WMAL website still shows the Tammy Bruce weekend show. And Dave suggested that WTWP would acquire Glenn Beck. So, what gives?--Mike from Silver Spring (6/7/07) Dave's response: Well, that was actually Paul Farhi who broke the Beck to WTWP news. We at DCRTV give credit where credit is due. Unlike some "journalists" out there. (Where's my squirrel?) Oh, I checked WTNT at 12:32 PM and Beck is on. WTNT often mistakenly runs the wrong show..... (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Country Morning Host/Program Director: WIGO Country, Middle Peninsula’s newest country station seeks a morning personality / program director. If you have a desire to host mornings, experience with promotions and contests, and a track record of responsibility and involvement, this is your ideal job. Competitive compensation, security and Chesapeake Bay location. E-mail resume, aircheck, etc., to: billsherard@tworivers.net. Two Rivers Communications is an EEO employer. (6/7/07) A correction Dave, Safeway's generic cola was not "Go", but if I'm not mistaken, was labeled "Cragmont". Just being my usual anal self. Rusty Gibson (6/7/07) Dave's response: It was Cragmont. It's now Go 2..... Gorgeous beach conditions and the recent appearance of Tippy Stringer at DCRTV Plus harkens to an era 53 years ago when local TV wx forecasting was truly estrogen-centric. The caption of this 1954 foto from the June 6th WaPost reads: "The three 'weather girls' of Washington television are unnecessarily cautious at Drum Point Beach, Md. Left to right are Tippy Stringer (WNBW), Aletha Agee (WMAL-TV) and Cindy Dahl (WTTG)." Catch more of Aletha Agee at www.youtube.com (6/7/07) No offense Dave, but I'm sick of reading about "Korny" EVERY day! (6/7/07) Dave's response: What's the alternative? Don and Mike 24/7? I guess equal time and fairness are only a doctrine to be applied against others, in favor of your POV rather than providing information for the listener to decide? Thank God for WMAL!! Gee, do you hear the hypocrisy in what you are saying? Where is WMAL’s sense of equal time and fairness? How are YOU getting a balanced view simply by listening to WMAL? (a right leaning organization) Fact is – most people (right or left) only want to hear their views spit back at them and not an opposing viewpoint… get over it. (6/7/07) Once again the radio executives know best. Without even a shred of evidence whatsoever that there was a need or desire for yet another outlet for Washington Post reporters or even the need or desire for yet another talk station, these experts (have any of them even taken Marketing 101?) decided what was missing in Washington radio was Washington Post radio. Therefore, it is no surprise that it is a dismal failure. How about now actually conducting some research into what the audience wants, or is that beneath these arrogant ignorant executives? I bet research would show there are a ton of format holes for certain demos. For example, there are few of any stations targeting older adults. I bet they could be reached with a personality-driven oldies station. Or how about simulcasting WRNR to bring real AAA to this market, not the phony Globe. The impolrtant thing is to use research to determine what people want, not decide what you want to deliver and then shove it down peoples' throats. But I guess this is news to you. Andy in Reston (6/7/07) Am I the only one wondering if Bonneville wants Beck for WTWP because Beck's a Mormon? Seems unlikely, I know, but I confess that the question crossed my mind. Christian (6/7/07) dave...have you conidered changing the name of your site to BRTV? Because all we get now is constant talk about Bonneville and WTOP/WTWP. And when the talk isn't about either of those 2 stations, it is about the print version of The Washington Post. The rants, the front page, and the mailbag. Some of us just don't care about Bonneville that much. (6/7/07) Dave's response: Let's see. In the past fews days, alone, we've had Front Page news items on WMAL, WERQ, WKYS, WJZW, XM, DC101, the VOA, Hot 99.5, WHUR, WJFK-FM, WAMU, the old WEAM, and WETA-FM. In addition to WTOP and WTWP. How about opening your eyes..... Amazing how poor Dave (not a radio "professional") gets it. Dave, your comments on WTWP are correct. The ditto-heads that want to make programming a political issue are on another planet. The hook for WTWP is that they are somehow dialed into the hotbed of developing local, national, and international news. Naturally that didn't happen. Fewer people care about newspapers anymore. There are so many news sources papers are becoming irrelevant. Again, a so-so idea - - done badly. Bob Mathers wants to fix WVIE. I would be happy to consult Bonneville. WTOP is great, but could be better. Federal radio is about as good as that could be. WTWP has to cut its losses and put a new format on that will not dilute the WTOP audience. Ed Graham (6/7/07) WVIE (cute name a woman's station after a vee-gina) WVIE was a really bad idea, poorly executed. Bob Mathers can fix it. Even on a small budget. Bob is great on the air, knows the music and the city, he can sell, and promote. Management would have to commit to a few things. 1) A great set of Call Letters. 2) Let the very capable Mike Fast, with Bob's help, process the audio chain. 3) Keep sales and management out of the programming department. 4) Do something to promote the launch of the new format and new call letters. 5) Have some fun for a change. 6) Don't let the Washington Post get involved. (stupid joke) WCBM is climbing in the ratings at the expense of WBAL - - a station in need of a new rudder. WVIE could get a solid 2 share in the same demo as WCBM without taking from WCBM's audience, but with a 60 - 40 women over men. Add that to the WCBM potential and you beat WBAL. All could be accomplished without a great budget hit. Go for it. Ed Graham (6/7/07) RE your front page piece on Wash Post Radio - "Said Post radio and TV projects director Tina Gulland: "We've gotten much better at doing news and information, but it's expensive, and we're not building an audience as quickly as we had hoped."" First, this "project" has been "learn as you go" for supposed JOURNALISTS at the Washington Post from the outset. Can't you just hear hear the conversations at the Post - "You know, this "news and information" thing is hard work. Who knew we'd have to spend money to put together a listenable product?" What a JOKE! Who is this Tina person? Sounds like some marketing type with no clue about radio or the news biz. The people who were able to get out early are probably really grateful they don't have to deal with this kind of amateurism. Second, how do Oxley, Farley and company sleep at night knowing they have undercut the ratings of their meal ticket (TOP) to pander to the Post on this failing venture? Oh, I know, they'll get into another expensive deal to fill air time, and further drain revenues from the DC stations that actually are programmed well and make a profit. Oh, how the mightly have fallen. (6/7/07) WTWP is pathetic. Instead of building an audience with the one unique product it has, the Washington Nationals, they cut the "Nats at Night" game rebroadcast in favor of another snooze of a syndicated late-night chat fest. Besides the fact that the Nats have a really good on-air radio team, you'd think a little math might make WTWP want to exploit the games more. If 20,000 people go to a game that ends at 10:30 p.m., it's pretty likely that a good portion of those folks will be awake 90 minutes later and would want to hear at least part of the game they attended, not just the post-game stuff. Today the Nats play at 1 p.m. Those who can't get to the game probably can't get the radio at work (the FM signal is too weak for most of DC and AM hardly penetrates office buildings). For the plenty of fans who don't pay for MLB's Web broadcast, a lot of them would probably want to hear the game at some point after work. But it won't be rebroadcast on TWP. Yeah, TWP has added some coverage on off days and added a post-game call-in show (they seem to get the same 4 callers). But the "flagship" station seems to see the Nats as more of an inconvenience than an opportunity. The idea of "NPR on caffeine" is a joke. Howard Kurtz and the other usual suspect Posties are overexposed already and tedious at best. So now TWP is looking to become just another outlet of syndicated gas-baggery. What a waste. They deserve their fate. (6/7/07) WTWP going for Glen Beck is a travesty not because he's a righty, but because it drives away their target audience-one that wants to hear more in depth coverage of what's in the paper, not a left or right wing ranter. Of course, the ratings seem to indicate they've done that all by themselves. Beck isn't going to give them any numbers, either, just a cost saving over doing their own programming. BTW, when we all talk about the "lefty" WaPo we're talking about the tradition of the brand and not its current incarnation. I hardly consider the ProIraq-FredHiatt-DavidBroder-HowardKurtz-DanaMilbank version to be at all left wing. Howie (6/7/07) To add to my other post, all I'm saying is it seems like Bonneville has more radio stations than it can handle. With Dave's comments earlier this week on the subject of sports radio in DC, a really good FM signal would hopefully jump start listeners. In my opinion, Bonneville should do one of two things: 1) Sell and/or trade WTWP 107.7 to Red Zebra for cash and 92.7, 94.3 and 730am. Then if they wish, continue WTWP to 103.9 and 730am with a lower budget (get rid of Kornheiser and the Nationals). Add 92.7 to WTOP. Convert 94.3 to a new format a la Spanish programming, International programming, hell even Mormon radio; Red Zebra would in turn have a stronger signal and they should pick up Tony Kornheiser and the Nationals, putting them rightfully so on a sports talk station. Thus, leaving it as such WTOP = 103.5 and 92.7; WTWP = 103.9 and 730am; Triple-X = 107.7; and new format station on 94.3. Triple X's new format being Kornheiser/fill-in host in the morning, Bram Weinstein in the afternoon, Dan Patrick mid-afternoon, John Riggins during drive home, Nationals at night. OR 2) Keep the current agreement with the Washington Post and convert the station to sports radio, with Washington Post/Times/USA today/other writers/local sports anchors as hosts (ex. Mike Wise, Tom Boswell, Tom Loverro, David Dupree, David Aldridge, etc). Keep Kornehiser and the Nationals. Possible line-up David Aldridge/Kornheiser in the morning, Dan Daly/David Dupree/Tom Loverro in the afternoon, Mike Wise/Brett Haber on the drive home. Nationals at night. Anyways just my thoughts. It's probably just high hopes. Denesh (6/7/07) There is nothing wrong as such with having a "rightie" on WTWP. There is something wrong though with the Washington Post becoming associated with a half-baked rightie like the aforementioned Glenn Beck. The Washington Post's main asset to this day is its brand credibility built up since the days of the Watergate investigation. If the Post company approves having Beck on its branded station, every inane comment that Beck has ever made will then reflect back negatively on that Washington Post brand as a whole. The Post should want no part of such a plan. Everett W. (6/7/07) I must admit it is fun to watch the Bonneville managers squirm when they attempt to explain the Post radio failure. They had to be the most arrogant bunch in the business a few years ago. They took over Z 104 and the ratings plummeted so bad that they had to sell the station. They ran WGMS in to the ground. They fired people left and right. They used TOP to cross promote 104 and GMS to no avail. They made excuse after excuse, and each time they had to deal with honest criticism,they fought back like spoiled school children. Other than WTOP, they don't look so smart, do they? (6/7/07) Dave's response: Two years ago, Bonneville had three major radio operations in the DC market, all with their own specific and independent audience and ad streams - all-news WTOP, classical music WGMS, and contemporary music Z104. Now, all they've got is all-news WTOP and a money hemorraging talker that's leaching the ratings and ad base of the "cash cow"..... So what do you think of the attempt to buy the Wall Street Journal? My opinion is that no individual-group-corporation should own more than 10% of the airways or democracy is endangered. (6/7/07) Dave's response: I agree! The more "voices" the better! And I mean owners - not the number of co-owned channels. Rupert Murdoch obviously wants to brand his planned righty business cable channel with the Wall Street Journal's name. I don't think he cares all that much about the print version since most newspapers are seeing dramatic decreases in subscribers and ad revenue of late..... check out washington city paper today... they have a lame WaPo story (6/7/07) Dave's response: At www.washingtoncitypaper.com..... Here's a thought, how about Dan Snyder and the boys at Red Zebra buying WTWP, that way it pays Bonneville for the losses it incurred with Post Radio and provides a clear signal all over the Metro area and beyond for Triple-X. At least sell one of the three dials (107.7, 1500, WGYS) to make up for the loss. Denesh (6/7/07) Putting Glenn Beck on the air will be the death knell for Post Radio. It's one thing to have Bohannon on late night. It's another thing to turn into white nationalist radio in the middle of the day. Don't ignorant, insular, paranoid crackers already have an outlet to turn to that validates their self-pity and bloodlust? Namely WMAL? Going from Sam Litzinger to Glenn Beck is like replacing Norman Mailer with Joseph Goebbels. (6/7/07) Dave's response: And why not put Bill O'Reilly on WaPo Radio? I know CBS/DC hates having to run him on JFK-FM. In fact, why not make WaPo Radio a Fox News Radio affiliate with John Gibson and Neil Cavuto? With Fox News "newscasts" on the hour. If it brings in listeners and money, why should the Post Company suits care? Just whoring out the brand for a buck. It's the American thing to do. Right? And then sign a deal with Time Warner's Cartoon Network for a cartoon based on those cute little blue "Post Points" characters..... The liberal hypocrisy continues to amuse me. You admit that TWP is left leaning. So what is wrong then with having a "righty" on their station? I guess equal time and fairness are only a doctrine to be applied against others, in favor of your POV rather than providing information for the listener to decide? Thank God for WMAL!! It may be the only thing that makes TWP and WTWP speak some of the truth, some of the time. When your true colors come shining through, there is only the undemocratic monochrome of a pink filter, or perhaps rose colored glasses, coming from you. (6/7/07) Dave's response: It's not so much that a righty will be on the WaPo Radio, it's that it'll be a syndicated NON-WAPO righty. What's the point of having Washington Post Radio when it will sound like WTNT or WMAL? If what Bonneville wants is a talker with a bunch of canned radio righties (or lefties) why not just call it TalkRadio 107.7 & 1500 and cut the ties to the rag..... How can a station called Washington Post Radio pick up controversial political talk programs from either side of the spectrum without damaging the Washington Post's own reputation? I don't begrudge Bonneville wanting to pick up Glenn Beck for the 1500 & 107.7 frequencies but at the point such a move is ever made, the Washington Post Radio concept would need to be dropped. Everett W. (6/7/07) Dear Mike O'Meara; those of us driving "with our fingers in to the third knuckle" are the dopes listening to your fat bloated ass....giving you your #14 ratings, you fat shit. WB Centreville, VA (6/7/07) Speaking of WCTN's tower that fell, didn't WKHZ's tower fall...I think they are running off of two now...where is the FCC when you need them? (6/7/07) Dave's response: Playing golf with industry types at the Falls Road course..... Has anybody noticed that the WHFS and WPGC signs have been taken down from the south side of the office building on Route 50, just outside the beltway in Maryland? (6/7/07) Dave's response: Just saying it again. The WHFS calls belong back in DC, on 94.7..... 3rd Veteran Sales Rep gone in under a week at 1801. Why are they so unhappy? (6/7/07) Paraphrase of a classic Blazing Saddles line when Chris Plante goes on a tear: Goldarnit Mr. Plante. You use your tongue prettier'n a twenty dollar whore. (No I'm not Sylvie in Waldorf) (6/7/07) With Deana Martin doing a show on XM does that mean she's giving up her show on "The Music of Your Life" network? I enjoy her show very much. I hear her show in the evenings on WMET 1160 am, home of the Greaseman, now doing his morning show in the mornings. Deana Martin looks just like her dad Dino before he had the plastic surgery on his nose.........in the May 2007 issue of Washingtonian George Michaels says Czarniak is the best hire he ever did. Is that because it caused rumblings below the waist for the old boy? What about the late Darrian Chapman? I thought that guy was way better than Czarniak.....I went over to 950 a few weeks back and freed the hamsters running the generator they must have hired some illegal hamsters on the cheap over there......does the mere mention of McRosenberger get a certain someone excited even if he's been mean?..new drinking game, how many times does Albie Dee say his name during his evening shift on Globe......I'm glad I can tell my out of town friends that Washington radio doesn't SUCK anymore , it doesn't SUCK anymore cause we have GLOBE.......breaking news: kitten up tree , will keep an eye on it for you (6/7/07) Dave's response: Doesn't the Globe consider Elvis Costello "World Class Rock"? Hmmm..... Five years from now, AJ Soprano will be living in a cockroach-infested studio apartment on the bad side of Philadelphia, living off Cheetoes and Sam's Club soda, editing a web site devoted to radio and television, and begging people who visit his web site for money every month. (6/7/07) Dave's response: By the way, I'm almost out of Safeway's Go cola. Have YOU supported DCRTV this month? Click here..... ("There have been no firings at all (other than for cause) at WTOP or WFED in years.") That is completely not true. They just fired several people at Post Radio and Federal News Radio. Not for cause - just to save a few bucks." Yes, there were cost-cutting layoffs this week at WaPo Radio, but NOT WTOP and NOT WFED (which is what I said). Repeat, NO ONE at WFED has been let go, other than for cause, in at least the past several years. -DB (6/7/07) Be advised that Deana Martin has been co-hosting the morning show on the satellite-fed Music of Your Life feed for some time. I hear her locally on WCHA 800 AM in Chambersburg, PA. It's not in my demographic! You might need to rewrite the blurb to reflect this isn't her first national radio gig. See below for MOYL boilerplate. Joe BorrellLes Brown Jr. & Deana Martin [ Mon-Fri 6am - 8am ]... Good Mornings are virtually guaranteed with the Music of Your Life! Les Brown and Deana Martin offer a most unqiuely enjoyable and personable approach to the Music Of Your Life®. Pour your coffee, settle back and enjoy the Show! (6/7/07) /\ June 7 Messages /\ \/ June 6 Messages \/ Someone mentioned that WCTN AM 950 had been off the air for a while, so I thought this would be a great time to introduce a new DCRTV feature... It's called Where's Waldo's tower? (see pic). Are they on the fairway? Are they in the sand traps? Are they in the water trap? You make the call! Answer to be posted tomorrow :-) (6/6/07) Dave's response: Hey, I still have the pics of the WCTN tower collapse of a few years ago (below)..... So-with the change over happening at ABC/Citadel on the 11th, what changes do we predict. Dave, do you have any inside dirt? Do we think that Mix will go into the direction of George was trying to, Smooth Jazz go oldies? Whatcha think? (6/6/07) Dave's response: I have heard rumblings that Smooth Jazz 105.9 could go more in an oldies direction with Steve Allan at the programming helm..... Who will be Bob Barker's replacement on The Price Is Right? How about giving someone a second chance and have Don Imus host. You could have Charles McCord call the contestant down, Bernard interviewing the players on contestants row and the I-Man yuking it up with the winners while playing Plinko. Ratings bonanza! (6/6/07) Dave, Care to predict the final Sopranos episode? (6/6/07) Dave's response: Shades of "Goodfellas." The episode opens five years later and we see a middle class treeless subdivision in the suburbs of some western city a la Boise, Salt Lake City, or Denver. The door to a house opens and Tony stumbles out to get the paper. The episode then goes into detailing a day in the life of Tony and Carm in the witness relocation program. During the final episode, we follow Tony and Carm about their dullish daily activities, including a trip to the local Wal-Mart. We learn though their conversations that Uncle Jun has died, daughter Meadow is married and lawyering in LA, son AJ was arrested on a drugs charge three years ago and is in the psychiatric ward of a prison somewhere, and sister Janice is back in Seattle, now working for Starbucks. Tony spends his days mulling about the house and watching old movies on TV, while Carm is now a licensed residential real estate agent and financially supports the couple. Paulie defected to Phil, who is now running both the NYC and NJ "family's" operations..... I noticed that Family Radio's WDCT 1310 Fairfax had its STA (Special Temporary Authority) extension dismissed by the FCC today (they've been operating that way for several years it appears). Does that mean they have their 4 towers at Lee Highway & Main Street in Fairfax back up to FCC standards? Or is it just wishful thinking on my part that the FCC would enforce its AM licensing regulations for a change and force them to do so? (6/6/07) Dave's response: I don't think that Family Radio owns Fairfax's WDCT. At least not the same Family Radio that owns WFSI in Annapolis, and WBGR and WBMD in Baltimore..... Dave, You are soooo much hotter without that fucking beard! At least trim it! I had no idea that you were such a hottie... and I imagine still be if you'd trim up bit. (6/6/07) Dave's response: I did trim the beard back a few years ago and immediately went into a serious depression. The longer it is, the better I feel. Go figure..... WMAL's Chris Plante subbing again nationally for Mark Levin on Fri., June 8th from 6-8 p.m., followed by his own show from 8-10 p.m. (6/6/07) Dave's response: Silvie from Waldorf, I presume..... I usually listen to the Junkies until Czabe comes on just after six. I tune in this morn and they talked at length, and in great detail, about popping a giant zit. After a minute of this, I listened to one song, came back to the Junks and they were STILL talking about it. For F***s sake, is air-time that hard to fill? Czabe may be a little sophmoric at times but he doesn't go that low. Do these guys know they're in their late 30's? (6/6/07) Greetings, DCRTV got a mention on the Jack Diamond morning show this AM. Something about speculation on when Jack would leave the show. He said that it, "would give DCRTV something to write about" or something along those lines. Cheers! (6/6/07) Dave's response: Well, with Citadel's scheduled takeover of ABC's radio stations next week, I'd suspect we'll see lotsa changes at Mix 107.3, Smooth Jazz 105.9, and WMAL. Especially the cutting loose of some of the more high-priced talent. Like Jack Diamond? Hmmm..... Bob Mathers is correct. 1370 would be perfect for oldies. When I hosted a show on WHFC, the show was quite popular and I played very obscure music as Gary Helton will verify. Despite that and the station's limited signal, new people called all the time. Mathers would be a good choice.- Ed Rothstein "The Big Beat!". (6/6/07) To: Mr. Nicholas Mangione Sr….I have written you several times in the past regarding my passion for oldies, how they tie in with Baltimore’s heritage of the Top 40 era, and how I would welcome the opportunity to program 1370 AM and build it into a winning oldies radio station. If you are aware of the recent postings offering comments on the present women’s talk format and its lack of ratings performance, then perhaps you would like to consider the following proposal. You sir, are a very accomplished citizen in the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. Everything you have undertaken has been a success. When WCBM went off the air in 1988, you eventually acquired the property out of bankruptcy and put the once-proud and sadly neglected property back on the air again. You saved a Baltimore broadcasting institution. Two decades later, the station is enjoying its best ratings and revenues in many years. You had a specific game plan for WCBM. May I humbly submit that you need one for 1370 and that I would like to provide it for your company. I am hereby offering to you my services as a multi-experienced programming and sales-oriented broadcast person for the specific intent of bringing success to 1370 AM in Baltimore as its manager. I’ve never been a big name or long-standing ‘institution’ compared with many others. However, I have studied ‘Baltimore’ oldies and the oldies culture in the city. I’ve also been blessed to work with some of the greatest broadcasters in Baltimore top 40 history and would be in a position to implement their legacy in a positive contribution to Baltimore radio. At previous stations, my efforts were successful to varying degrees in realizing profits for station ownership. In every case, these stations were AM. To bring success to AM radio, the manager must be willing to work 3 times as hard as his FM counterpart. He must have PASSION, lead by example, hire the right combination of talent and salespeople, and produce the necessary chemistry, loyalty, and dedication required to win over the ‘long haul’. I ask for the opportunity to answer the bell and return the oldies to 1370 and with the help of the right talent (and there is plenty of it, waiting and rarin’ to go)…add another ‘win’ to your legendary resume’. Last Saturday night in Baltimore, I hosted an oldies dance for a crowd of Buddy Deane Committee members and their friends. The energy, love, and passion for oldies in Baltimore was never more on display. What an inspirational evening! A glimpse of what still is…and what can become again on Baltimore radio…if you’re willing to hand me the key and let me get to work. Sincerely, Bob Mathers – Seattle, Washington (6/6/07) To the guy who pointed out below that I can listen to Sirius on the work computer – normally true, but not when the powers-that-be at work are cranky about such things on the work computer network. We’re lucky if we can look at Yahoo anymore. Thanks, TMU (6/6/07) to the "dumbass" posters...are you stupid enough to think that minimal cross promotion WTOP and WGMS did of each other had enough of an effect on ratings that you can make a correlation to the future success/failure of WTOP because WGMS went away? Where was it said that the absence of WGMS cross promotion would have had enough of an effect on ratings to cause the failure of WTOP? Did Diane in PG get a diary? Put the bottle down and lighten up! (6/6/07) Not breaking bricks here, I would just like to know if these O&A protests ever bring out more than 10 - 20 people? For all the hype, there never seems to be a big turn out.. (6/6/07) Bob Barker's Last Show... By Prof. Douglas Gomery (Emeritus)... University of Maryland: CBS did two specials for TV's longest running star -- The Price Is Right's Bob Barker - in mid-May. Sweeps is where you want your best prime time shows. But the last show for Bob will be taped June 6 and broadcast the following Friday - in daytime and prime time. And an era will end. Many of those who survive the 24 hour waiting line to get on The Price Is Right (TPIR) tell the same story. Grandma did my early day care and she trained them. "I have been watching you my whole life." They were trained to play Plinkco or the Showcase. One winner asked Bob if he could say the lines he had literally heard his entire life: "Help Control the Pet Population. Have your pets spayed or neutered." (Bob has contributed millions to Harvard and other universities for animal research.) Why do college fraternities on the west coast use their spring break to stand in line 24 hours to get on TPIR? Why military units? Why senior groups? Why church groups? Why is TPIR the only truly diverse show on TV? Bob and his producers insist on it. This is why in one comic moment we saw Bob -- at age 82 -- picked up by a Samoan woman in a ritualistic lift. This is genre TV at its best. The show is always taped live, after just one run though. Bob even talks to the audience during commercial breaks. He knows the audience and the show exudes this love. Anyone who has watched and knows TV sees TPIR as a logistical tour de force. There are more than 100 stagehands and it is a ballet of prizes. Even "Barker's Beauties" do a ballet. Always face the audience. Once when Tyra Banks guested as Beauty she stumbled about, unable do what the pros made look natural. Indeed this is a story of professionalism. Bob is "Bob." He never misses a beat. No script; never a missed line. Think about it. Most of us can not do a 10 minute speech without notes. All Bob has is 35 years of experience, and an ability that - if one thinks about it - can only be labeled as professionalism at its best. Not seeing Bob at lunch time -- as millions have done -- for 35 years literally has many of us fans in tears. So on the largest stage in Hollywood (built in 1952 for Playhouse 90) Bob will tape his last show. He will do it as he always has. It will be the same -- but always better. It will have an audience that has waited all night simply to hope to be chosen to "come on down" and then win to get to stand next to Bob. I do not know what I will do to be inspired each day - to do my best. Take a complex gig and make it look so easy. He inspires me. And if you catch the show -- even after the last one -- with re-runs for the rest of the summer, you will see a master of his craft. If only we all were as good at what we did. As a writer I get to revise. Bob has just that one take. Wow! Will you be missed Bob. ----- Prof. Douglas Gomery made his network television debut in 1950 as a member of the Peanut Gallery on the Howdy Doody Show in New York City. He never looked back and has become one of the nation's leading experts on radio, television and film. He is currently the Resident Scholar at the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland. His newest book is a comprehensive look at the history of broadcasting in the United States to be published this September by Blackwell's. www.journalism.umd.edu (6/6/07) There might have been a diary or two in Carroll County, but it couldn't have been much of a lean because WRNR-FM, broadcasting from the Eastern Shore with 6KW, was way up in Baltimore too. They don't have any signal in Carroll County due to both distance and WAFY on the same frequency and no signal in most of Baltimore County as well (too far). It seems like a pretty even trend for once. (6/6/07) Opie and Anthony fans are protesting the "suspension", not the "suspention". Keep up the excellent work! (6/6/07) Dave's response: I will fire Dan Rather, DCRTV's proofreader..... Osei The Dark Secret has left V-103 here in Atlanta, reportedly to return to DC. The question is whether he’ll return to a station in DC or just to DC. He did afternoon drive at WKYS before moving to middays at V-103. He has a good voice, but I didn’t think he was especially good as a jock. Roddy Freeman (6/6/07) TMU, you don’t need yer ipod at work if you’ve got Sirius; just listen online and you’ll have all that great commercial free music (and all the good talk shows, too), right at yer fingertips…! (6/6/07) Elliot visits this website ALL the time as does most all DC/Baltimore/Eastern Shore jocks do. Most of them have this set as their homepage and check it multiple times a day. Thanks Dave!! (6/6/07) Dave's response: I know that! Ha ha ha..... A poster writes “Hey--Anybody know if you can get diary placement for trends? I ask, because, WZBA was up and AM WTTR showed for the first time, since I can remember. I was thinking it was a Carroll County leaning, but then WFRE, WAYZ, WAFY and others did not show. Any light?” No, no diary placement info with trends, but your Carroll County guess looks solid. As for the Frederick-Hagerstown signals not showing, well… WAFY’s signal in Carroll’s populated areas is marginal, at best; WAYZ has never generated much audience east of the Blue Ridge—and the closer one gets to WPOC, the less WFRE gets. You nailed the real clues—up for ZBA and a showing for WTTR (!!!!!!!!!!!!!). When TTR shows, you know there’s a Westminster diary involved. (6/6/07) Dave, You may already know the identity of the 3 producers let go by WTWP. If not, I strongly suspect one of them is Leigh Harrington, who worked on Sam Litzinger's midday show.... I was informed "she's no longer with the station". (6/6/07) Dave's response: Yes, I've heard the same name mentioned..... You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish. REO Speedwagon (6/6/07) Dave, Thanks for the mention on dcrtv.com. I've had you bookmarked since hearing about you on Don and Mike. I appreciate your diligence and hard work. Jim, O&A Fan (6/6/07) ("today's music ain't got the same sole.") Maybe not, but it sure has the same tuna and mahi-mahi. (6/6/07) "There have been no firings at all (other than for cause) at WTOP or WFED in years." That is completely not true. They just fired several people at Post Radio and Federal News Radio. Not for cause - just to save a few bucks. Call Joel and ask him if this is true. Or Lisa Wolfe at WFED. They won't comment on bad news. Not that they're required to. (6/6/07) to the "dumbass" posters...are you stupid enough to think that minimal cross promotion WTOP and WGMS did of each other had enough of an effect on ratings that you can make a correlation to the future success/failure of WTOP because WGMS went away? If so, then why does Federal News Radio not show up in Arbitron? WTOP does considerably more cross promotion for WFED than it ever did for WGMS. oh yeah, WTOP also did cross promotion for Z104 and look how much that helped. (6/6/07) Dave, I have been reading this site on and off for several years. I have found it to interesting at times. I have never said anything because I don't know much about the business of radio. I also Don’t' care about knowing the radio business. I have just been nothing more then a listener all my life, but I use to enjoy being a listener. I was a listener when Johnny Dark and RC Allen (and others like Kirby Scott.."awhip, awhip, awhip it on meeeee!") were on WCAO AM. Actually my favorite station was WCAO when WITH was the number 1 favorite of most of my peers. I also remember listening to radio shows on Sunday on WTOP (even after TV began coming on strong). Shows like "Your truly, Johnny Dollar" and "Gunsmoke" with William Conrad. As far as I'm concerned today's radio in the Baltimore/Washington area is just plain garbage. I finally just turned the radio off all together. See I miss on air personalities who actually have personality. And when we talk about music, since I am old, I'm not into rap, which isn't written for me anyway, not into hip hop, not into a steady diet of country and tired of hearing the same limited number of 70s & 80's songs over and over and over again. Jack radio is just that Jack Sh**. Oh yea, I just love listening to 15 songs I don't like just to hear 1 that I do and then that's followed up with a bunch of commercials and station IDs. Oh just sooooo entertaining! I have never been much on talk radio and "shock" jocks leave me cold. There is nothing on radio in this area for me anymore. As far as music, thank God for CD and tape players. I get to listen to what I want (not what "Jack" wants me to) and there are no commercials or lame station ID bs. Still no on air personality, but none of the radio stations do either. I do listen to 40 minutes of radio in the morning. I listen to WLIF to mostly get the traffic reports for the tunnel. Rouse still is somewhat entertaining but not like his show was on WQSR. I usually turn the volume down when they play the music. Guess I'm just a cranky old man but I remember a better time in radio in Baltimore and Washington, so I'm not a radio listener anymore. Actually I'm not much of a TV watcher anymore either. Just got tired of the shows interrupting the commercials Really enjoyed those long, boring, stupid, redundant commercials. Why they waste good commercial time by interjecting shows I'll never be able to figure out! Anyway, that's how I feel and I finally had to say it to someone and since you are all are always taking about radio stuff I picked you (sorry about that). I'm sure someone will differ with my views and call me dumb, crazy, cranky and old with issues and they will be right but I no only do I not care anymore. As the man said, "Call me a rebel, call me what you will, say I'm old fashion, say I'm over the hill, today's music ain't got the same sole (and neither do the radio stations) just give me that old time rock and roll"! Thanks for the use of the hall. An old, disgusted, former radio listener. (6/6/07) Just a note on Marc Davis and NASCAR - Marc is the son of retired NBC4 cameraman Harry Davis. (6/6/07) WVIE has been on the air for a year now and it bascially has not shown up in the 12 + monthly books over the entire year. I know someone here will proably jump in and claim that WVIE has a 4.0 rating in a 25-54 Womens Demo or something. The bottom line is that not showing up in the 12 + books in your home market, looks bad. The idea of a Women's talk station was a bad idea to begin with and Nick Mangione needs to open the pocket book a little. No true website for WWLG / WVIE? Everyone these days has a website, but yet this guy couldn't put one together for 1370? It's not like it costs $20,000 to put together a website. Other posters have said that WWLG sounded good. The music was good but there was no money being spent to build it into a top notch AM station. Could oldies have worked on 1370? Yes, especially in Baltimore right after losing Good-Time Oldies WQSR. But much like CBS, and Clear Channel with their stations, Mangione didn't put a dime into 1370. They didn't package the music together correctly, they needed to upgrade some of the Air Personalities, and more importantly they needed to ADVERTISE the new station, get billboards in prime locations or advertise it on the TV to get the new station out there to the public. I haven't listened to 1370 since it became WVIE but I can't picture that it's any better than WWLG was. (6/6/07) All day long I was waiting for the headlines ..."CC pulls the plug on Elliot enema routine to rectify problem. Fans flushed with excitement. Get the straight poop on DCRTV! Is Elliott's job in the bag or are listeners being hosed? Enema jokes send Elliott's career down the tubes! CC "Head" Honcho says elliott firing was a shitty job but somebody had to do it! Who will fill the gap?" ROFLMAO (Followed by that ridiculous hyena laugh of DC101's Morning Midget (6/6/07) Dave's response: My 23-year-old niece said she almost ran off the road the other morning when she heard Elliot mention her uncle's website..... Wednesday's New York Times has a report that eBay will begin taking bids on unsold radio time from 2.300 stations in the top 300 media markets. www.nytimes.com (6/6/07) Dave's response: I guess we'll be hearing more spots for male erection remedies..... Re: "And what about reports of more bloodletting at WTOP and Federal News Radio?" What "bloodletting"? It's news to me (no pun intended). There have been no mass-firings at either station. In fact, there have been no firings at all (other than for cause) at WTOP or WFED in years. -Dinky Byne (6/6/07) /\ June 6 Messages /\ \/ June 5 Messages \/ Dave -- can you explain this? When Bonneville brings in one person, like Pat Brogan from WMAL, they are quick to highlight the fact they are bringing in ONE person - and a part-timer at that. Makes it look like good times on Idaho Ave. But when they let a bunch of people go at Washington Post Radio, Federal News Radio and WTOP, they bury the news - you still haven't found out who got dumped, have you? Let's face it -- times aren't very good in the (your ad here) glass enclosed nerve center. (6/5/07) Dave's response: We did confirm that Kate Brown was one of the producers leaving WaPo Radio..... "A year and a half is more than enough time to know that Post Radio has failed." The fact that they've fired a bunch of people confirms this, doesn't it? Since when does a successful venture lop off a bunch of heads? And what about reports of more bloodletting at WTOP and Federal News Radio? (6/5/07) "Hmmmmm...didn't WTOP and WGMS used to cross promote each other? Wasn't that a programming decision designed to keep listeners like Diane in PG in the Bonneville family? If not, then why would you run them?" Looks like the programmers at NPR were already one step ahead of Bonneville and are using the same tactics against them to attract and grow listenership from what has long been their largest competitor in the market. (6/5/07) I know that when WVIE was WWLG and running Oldies, they had a very distincitve sound-a good punch. Probably the punchiest on the am dial in Baltimore. There are few stations that I have heard on the AM that sounded that good. I know that WAMD in Aberdeen is running an old Analog Optimod, and they sound pretty crips and punchy too. (6/5/07) "But your logic of listening less to WTOP because of they don't own WGMS makes no sense. Just curious about your comment. As a programmer, I would love to know more about your logic. Maybe I can learn something" - Hmmmmm...didn't WTOP and WGMS used to cross promote each other? Wasn't that a programming decision designed to keep listeners like Diane in PG in the Bonneville family? If not, then why would you run them? Worse yet, why the hell would any programmer at WTOP be going to this board to "learn something"? This is the biggest dumbass post I've ever read from a Bonnevillian...they need to get rid of this Mor(m)on!!! (6/5/07) Shouldn't sports reporters be familiar with the sports they report on, even if they may not care about them? I'm talking about Lindsay Czarniak's report on tennis tonight on the 6:00 news on Channel 4...I actually almost fainted that she even mentioned tennis. As a tennis player/fan, it's obvious to me that Channel 4's sports department doesn't care about tennis at all, but when they deign to report on it, it seems they should get their facts straight (as they should with any sport they report on). Tonight Lindsay reported on the French Open, saying that Serena Williams was the only woman left...well, no, there were eight women playing today. She left out the word "American." Then she said Sharapova was playing in the semi-finals, which was interesting since they were playing the quarterfinals today. And she completely neglected to report that Roger Federer won his match...in four sets, rather than in his usual straight sets...which was newsworthy in itself. I realize that tennis is the stepchild of sports reporting, but in the few times it gets coverage, it would be nice to get the report accurate. -- Bobbie (6/5/07) Mike in Fairfax is right about the lack of local coverage of hockey. And this in a market that has had an NHL team since 1974. Worse, some outlets, like several WTEM hosts, seem to delight in mocking that sport, among others. Mind boggling for a station that calls itself Washington's sports station. As a native, I remember being pleased when DC finally became a major league sports town with all four major sports for the first time when the Nats arrived. (When the Senators were here, the Wiz/Bullets and Caps weren't). But now I think that the local media doesn't know how to deal with it. (6/5/07) Hey Dave...i have been following the Elliot "enema" discussion today..on the heels of the O&A suspension and the Don and MIke well, fill in the blank for whatever they were talking about. It is not so much a matter of censorship on some of these shows...rather, an appalling lack of creativity , freshness or anything resembling intelligent radio. Like the old Seinfeld bit--where the guy is honking his horn at some pretty woman walking in front of him.."this is a man who has run out of ideas." (6/5/07) Talk about hypocrites. Channel 9 was actually promoting a website today that identifies the location of police radar and speed enforcement areas. Yet they will be the first to stick a microphone into the face of someone on whose street there has been an accident caused by speed. No wonder that the respect and viewership of local news has fallen way off. (6/5/07) RE: "I agree with the other posters about WVIE 1370. There simply is no reason to listen to it; nothing that distinguishes it." "There are lots of music genres completely unrepresented on radio in this area; with the proper knowledgeable programmers AND and engineer who knows how to put some punch in an AM signal (VERY rare these days!), those 50,000 watts might not be wasted. (6/5/07) Okay boys and girls!!! YOU are now the owner of WVIE. Your missions are to choose !) a saleable Baltimore radio format which has the potential to reap a 3.0 share adults 35+, 2) a multi-layered Program Director, 3) AM Drive, Midday and PM Drive talent and 4) a marketing strategy. I'll be looking forward to the potential "proposals" that you come up with. (6/5/07) EITMonline.com had already been out of commission due to a server isssue -- not because the show had been yanked. (6/5/07) There is nothing dramatic going on with Elliot - he was not pulled off the air by management. His Dog is very sick and he had to go ot the vet to put it to sleep. (6/5/07) I was the one who made the comment about the need for "punch" in an AM music format. I was not slamming Mike Fast of WVIE; I honestly can't bring to mind what that station sounds like these days. I was thinking of other AM radio stations who currently or have recently programmed _music_. The sound of some of these was so flat that it's no wonder some people think you can't do music on AM. AM _can_ sound good, and just as you need good programmers, you need good engineering to make the programming appealing to the ears. If, as people attest, Mr. Fast can do that, then it's up to management to put something worth tuning in for on WVIE. (6/5/07) "Takes a lot of discipline to walk in Rosenberg's shoes..." Hey Peter, I too got a gig like that once. I had almost no air experience. Don't flatter yourself too much. They'll put just about anything on during that time slot if the price is right. (6/5/07) You guys crack me up! I've been checking dcrtv all day trying to find out what happened to Elliot...and suddenly I see a link to my own blog where my friends and I have been discussing it. That's pretty funny. Thanks guys! Regards, Megan (aka nanbolein) (6/5/07) Just as an FYI, eitmonline.com was showing the half image of Elliot yesterday before whatever happened this morning and over the weekend it was just an image of Britney Spears' hand wearing a ring that said "fuck". I heard on their show Thursday or Friday that they were changing something on the site and there would not be an update that day, which appears to have continued through the weekend. It sounded as though the site would be up, just not updated, but it appeared to be down completely. Can't say any more than that for certain, but I am certain about that. Jeff in Silver Spring (6/5/07) From The Washington Post: (QUOTE) "So any broadcaster who sees this decision as a green light to send more gratuitous sex and violence into our homes would be making a huge mistake," Copps said. "The FCC has a duty to find a way to breathe life into the laws that protect our kids." (ENDQUOTE) Has anyone done a study that found that kids are irreparably harmed by hearing profane/indecent words broadcast? This seems to be the rationale for the FCC to violate the Constitutional guarantee of free speech. (Of course, blue haired old ladies born in 1890 don't want broadcasters pouring filth into their living rooms. But, anybody else care about the occasional naughty word?) (QUOTE) Billboard awards show in which reality show star Nicole Richie said, "Have you ever tried to get cow s--- out of a Prada purse? It's not so f------ simple." (ENDQUOTE) How would cow s---- get into a Prada purse? Sacrilege. (6/5/07) To the poster who queried -- "I thought most stations used some sort of computer digital storage media." You may have witnessed a digital rewind of recorded material. Most digital editing software has a shuttle feature that replicates the scrolling FF and REW functions of a tape deck. You never know. (6/5/07) Hi Dave, Love your site - it's where I get all the real behind-the-scenes scoop on what's happening in the local media. Now I have a question that I'm hoping you can help answer: what's happened to Elliot over at DC101? This morning the "Elliot in the Morning" show was live in the beginning, then it suddenly switched over to the "best of" fairly early on (I believe during the 6am hour). Plus all the website content has been removed at www.eitmonline.com. Strange... A local blogger is talking about it here if you're interested: nanbolein.livejournal.com. (Yup, I totally did a search - once I saw the EITM website I started to wonder if anyone was confused too.) So what's the scoop? Is the whole EITM crew gone? Has he finally been sacked by the FCC? Thanks for digging into this! -Kate (6/5/07) To Diane in PG...let me get this straight because you completely lost me. NOW listen to WTOP for only 15 minutes a week because WGMS is no longer one of Bonneville's stations???...or do you listen to WTOP less time because of other reasons? Bonneville gave up WGMS...so whatever listening they lost of you they expected. But your logic of listening less to WTOP because of they don't own WGMS makes no sense. Just curious about your comment. As a programmer, I would love to know more about your logic. Maybe I can learn something. (6/5/07) I read with interest the comments about WVIE, the worst programmed 50K radio station on the east coast. Does anyone realize how many real hot professional former "rock jocks" are out here? Most of them are comfortable, making a living and would love to go back on the air just for the "FUN OF IT". I'm sure that the ownership of WVIE could cough up enough to pay a good programmer. Though the theory is the "oldies radio" is dead. It can't be any DEADER than the current format on that signal. As mentioned, a good CONSULTING engineer that could "tweak the signal would help, Mike Fast is an excellent engineer, BUT they need outside help!!, a line-up of known jocks (at a fair price) and BA-DA-BING. I'm sure it could bring in revenue, and at least better numbers! Your thoughts? Bopper! (6/5/07) I don’t have to worry about my radio choices during my AM and PM commutes anymore. For our anniversary, my wife got me Sirius for the car, and I’m a man reborn. Just now, I ran a few errands during lunch, and returned to work with Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot” at high volume. When was the last time THAT got played on a DC-area station? I’ve got “Broadway’s Best” (show tunes)! It’s MORE than worth the $6.95 a month (my wife already had Sirius, so it’s cheaper for me). Oh, I’ll still be listening to Mr. Tony (until he leaves) and D&M at my desk, and I’ve got my iPod for when D&M aren’t getting it done, but I’m hearing a lot of great music that DC radio has abandoned. Sincerely, TMU (6/5/07) Regarding the post about WVIE, I won't comment on programming, but the statement about needing an engineer who knows how to put a punch in an AM signal needs some clarification. Having worked with Mike Fast of WCBM/WVIE for over 20 years, you simply won't find a more knowledgable AM engineer in this market. Certainly those in the SBE can agree. He helped design and build three completely new transmission facilities for these stations, and they are state of the art. Mike is also a purist, and as such, he'll find the perfect balance between density and distortion, again, if asked to do so. The fact is that if management expected engineering to add punch to the signal, then it would have been done, and done well. Formats in part dictate the signature sound of any station. Talk radio does not need to be "balls to the wall" for ratings. Very few engineers have the luxury of tweaking processing unless cleared thru programming and management , nowadays, even sales get involved. In a perfect world, the engineers themselves, just like programmers, would have the chance to do their job with little input from others, that's not the case now. (6/5/07) Love him or hate him, Rosenberg is pulling himself up by his bootstraps. I'm sure you haters will find something nasty to say -- But the boy is slowly but surely on the grind...Number 1 radio market, interviewing top rappers, got himself a little radio show. Yes, the show isn't morning drive in New York...but he is climbing the ladder...Takes a lot of discipline to walk in Rosenberg's shoes... (6/5/07) Seems like Shari Elliker's friends and family are posting in the mailbag today. The Tooz (6/5/07) Today, Rush said that liberals lack faith and a belief in God. Well, Rush's show was locally sponsored by Giant Food on WMAL. Does that mean Giant is endorsing Rush's views? And if so, should we liberals boycott Giant? (6/5/07) As a longtime reader of DCRTV, I know how most of the posts are complaints about either D&M (who deserve the response they are getting) or about O&A/Howard or WTOP/WASHPO radio. Just to break the flow, I thought I'd tip off true radio fans to something I caught on my drive back to DC this weekend. WBAL has a show with Shari Elliker, who I used to love on D&M and as the traffic chick on DC101, Wes Johnson, who used to make me laugh on WHFS, and some guy named Bill Glasser, who they said was from FOX TV. I rarely listen to WBAL, but I have to say this show was not what I expected to hear on that station. I was really, truly laughing out loud in my car, and unlike most radio shows- I found myself compelled to listen. I was actually entertained- and found myself doing something I haven't done in a very long time- sitting in my car in my driveway to hear the end of the show. And the best compliment I can pay to them- when it was over, I was sad and actually left wanting more. So- my question is- why the hell isn't this show on in DC? Someone in management please check out this show and get it on here so I can actually catch it more often! And why the hell is WBAL wasting this show on a Sunday? I can't imagine they have anything this good on during the week. Yours- Jack Welby, Potomac, MD (6/5/07) From All Access: So, what's a bigtime, major market PD and DJ get together go like in 2007? Well this past SATURDAY night (6/2), CLEAR CHANNEL/WASHINGTON & BALTIMORE OM and WIHT (HOT 995) PD JEFF KAPUGI had gathering of all the PDs and airtalent at his palatial residence for a BBQ. Someone had a video cam rolling, and guess who decided to lead the party in karaoke? You got it -- HOT 995 morning stud KANE! No offense KANE, but your singing voice makes nails on a chalkboard sound like angels wings beating by comparison! Click here for KANE's karaoke video. www.youtube.com.... Ouch!!!!! Only kidding big man! (6/5/07) Dave's response: Gawd! It makes you long real hard for the return of Mark and Kris..... Terry Ford may be "very critical" of the Orioles, but his baseball credibility is zero. Same with Jeremy Conn and Mark Zinno. And Anita Marks. These people all need a crash course in how the game works. Tom Davis is far too supportive of Peter Angelos, but it's clear he understands the nuances of the game. Dave Johnson is critical of the Orioles, too, but knows the game inside and out, and manages to be subtle about it. Perhaps intelligent baseball talk is over the heads of many so-called fans who prefer hosts who are no smarter than they are. (6/5/07) "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... Perhaps the 'ombudsman' should give XM (or Sirius) a shot." When the station does something right (such as giving Doc Walker his own show or launching Feldman & Maloney), I point that out as well. I've also been highly critical of 980's main sports talk competition on the dial, that PR arm of the Redskins known as Triple X. XM (which I've subscribed to since 2004) has specialty talk channels for baseball, hockey and golf that provide an alternative for those dissatisfied with the treatment of those sports on terrestrial radio. The focus of these channels being national, listeners seldom get the local angles that a station like WTEM can provide. Frankly, the talk show lineup on the baseball channel is somewhat disappointing. Mark Patrick in the morning isn't quite as funny as he seems to think, while Charlie Steiner (the midday host) comes across as overly reverential about the glory days of baseball's past (how many times can you can wax rhapsodic about a Brooklyn Dodger/New York Giant game from 1955 before the under-60 crowd tunes you out?). While Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy have some interesting discussions on their afternoon drive show, they often get too bogged down in baseball minutiae. With the NHL playoffs going on, I've been checking out the hockey talk channel lately. Yesterday, someone identifying himself as a Capitals fan called Scott Laughlin's morning show and remarked that "it's great to have your channel because coverage of hockey here in DC is almost nonexistent". Amen to that - even with the sport struggling for visibility in the US, there can't be too many NHL cities where the local media pays less attention to its hockey team than Washington. Mike, Fairfax (6/5/07) Wow...FCC ruling on accidental obcenities: www.washingtonpost.com. No shit! (6/5/07) I'm going to be moving into an area where both Comcast and RCN are offered. I’m familiar with Comcast but has anyone on the mailbag used (or have) the RCN service and, if so, what do you think of it? Thanks. (6/5/07) Dave, This might be an unorthodox way to prepare for an interview, but perhaps your passionate, loyal and plugged in readers would share some of their thoughts on David Burd, Fred Grandy ... and the emerging post-Imus morning-drive era of terrestrial radio? Thank you, Carol Joynt (6/5/07) "The mobile billboards are paid for solely with the hard earned money of the Opie and Anthony fans." I was going to make a snide comment here, but I changed my mind. Let's just say I'm suspicious of the so called "PAC". ".....the mass cancellation of an estimated 60,000 subscriptions in protest of the suspension." Hmmm. 60,000 (maybe) out of 7,000,000+; looks like less than 1% to me. I'd call that a negligible loss. The rest of the post looks like as lame WJFK commercial, just like that lame "recap" of the "hilarious" Sherri Elliker Show. Really Dave, you should be collecting money from these posters for advertising these shows. And just to show I'm not a hypocrite, I'm sending you $5 via USPS. Stay@Home Dad (where every penny counts). (6/5/07) Dave's response: Thanks S@HD for your support! Hey, I can use every dollar I can get with another one of those quarterly self-employment tax payments (ouch!) due to Uncle Sam in mid-June..... I agree with the other posters about WVIE 1370. There simply is no reason to listen to it; nothing that distinguishes it. It's obvious the owners don't care--they can't even be bothered to fork out a big 8 bucks to give the station its own web address-- they just present it as an afterthought on the WCBM web site. I wonder what someone who is actually interested in a radio station could do with that signal. There are lots of music genres completely unrepresented on radio in this area; with the proper knowledgable programmers AND and engineer who knows how to put some punch in an AM signal (VERY rare these days!), those 50,000 watts might not be wasted. (6/5/07) As far as I know, there is no real way of knowing where the Arbitron diaries were sent but I don't think that there was a Caroll County lean (for the Baltimore book) only because Annapolis' WRNR was way up too and they don't have a signal up there. WZBA's signal is market-wide, so it shouldn't matter where the books go with them. (6/5/07) ("I am fairly certain the alcohol enema conversation on Elliot was already a "best of". The last conversation I can recall as live was about Doni and another guy who is on a 2 month "vacation" courtesy of the judicial system.") This was the last conversation before going to break. They were supposed to come back to Diane’s news. The guy they were talking about used to run the dump button for the station and they were talking about how he used to come into work drunk all the time. Rob (6/5/07) The Post quotes Joel Oxley: "As for Bonneville's decision to drop WGMS and classical music, he said: 'I think it made sense. I don't look back on that decision with regret.'" However much sense it made to him, it certainly drove me away. For years I listened two to four or more hours a day to WGMS and WTOP, roughly half and half. Now I find myself listening about equally to WETA and WBJC, with a bit of WAMU thrown in, and WTOP maybe 15 minutes a WEEK, instead of hours a day with Bonneville. Oxley's stations and advertisers (whoever they are now) no longer influence my spending. If that's what he wanted, it makes perfect sense. Diane in PG (6/5/07) Dave, thanks for noting the passing of Paul Christy/ Christades. He was, without a doubt, one of the best music directors and one of the best programmers in WEAM history. One look at his resume can tell you that. What it can't tell you is his joy in radio and in making hit music (Paul was one of the producers on the Fifth Dimension's "Save the Country!") And, his resume could not demonstrate what a good teacher he could be to kids with a genuine interest in radio. Thanks for being an influence on my career and so many others, Paul. You are already sorely missed! - Ed. Rodriguez (6/5/07) Consolidation has killed the radio industry. Take a look at how the Market Manager operates today in Washington. CBS and Bonneville own the two biggest revenue operations today and have for many years. Each market manager has a laundry list of weak sister stations. Consolidation has killed WHFS, Arrow, JFK, Z104, WGMS just to name a few stations. No one has proven that they can run multiple stations successfully. The market manager just bleeds the weak stations and protects the cash cow stations like TOP and PGC. These weak stations have no chance to grow because the resources are constantly depleted and managers stay employed because they protect the mother ship. (6/5/07) It's nice to see Paul Farhi covering WETA and WAMU ratings, but why are the rating of our other public station, WPFW, never reported? I'm a WPFW member, but I have no idea if its jazz music is trending up or down in the ratings, or if its anti-war political coverage garners more ears these days than it did a few years ago. Does anyone have access to Pacifica numbers? Christian (6/5/07) Re: "Did anyone else see the on air LIVE rewind on WRC's 5pm show on Monday?" I'm more surpised that they were actually using video tape. I thought most stations used some sort of computer digital storage media (hard drives) these days? (6/5/07) WMAL and WJFK have pretty low ratings. Are people getting tired of conservative talk, in WMAL's case, and bored with the humor of teenage boys coming from middle-aged guys, such as the programming goes on WJFK? Could either station be up for sale and format changes in the near future? JOHN IN STAFORD (6/5/07) Dave's response: It wouldn't shock me to see CBS do a deal with Redskins owner Dan Snyder (maybe an LMA or a joint ownership thingo) with Triple X ending up on 106.7. With the Sports Junkies in mornings and D&M, with more of a sports focus, in afternoons. (Don's a big football fan.) And Riggo doing middays or evenings..... I am fairly certain the alcohol enema conversation on Elliot was already a "best of". The last conversation I can recall as live was about Doni and another guy who is on a 2 month "vacation" courtesy of the judicial system. -Kevin (6/5/07) Hey--Anybody know if you can get diary placement for trends? I ask, because, WZBA was up and AM WTTR showed for the first time, since I can remember. I was thinking it was a Carroll County leaning, but then WFRE, WAYZ, WAFY and others did not show. Any light? (6/5/07) So, if we read between the lines, the Z104 sale to Radio One was a corporate directed fire sale to replace the cash that Joel lost in getting rid of Classical 103.5. (6/5/07) Dave said: "The folks at WaPo Radio tell me that they're happy with the latest numbers. Morning drive, 12+, is up to 16th place." Let us not forget, in the last part of its life, WHFS (Landover) survived years with ratings much lower than that. Let the hate mail begin! Mark in Annandale (6/5/07) Dave's response: Yeah, but the old WHFS at 99.1 with its music-based format was a lot cheaper to run than WaPo Radio, which is all locally-produced news and talk..... Speaking of WVIE, does anyone know why Brooke Stevens has disappeared from the 7-9 am morning show? She was phoning in for a while with what sounded like a bad cold and then disappeared completely. Is she ill? And if so what's the prognosis for retrning to the air? Bill (6/5/07) Opie and Anthony listeners send XM a billboard sized message... Beyond AM, Beyond FM, Beyond Belief is the sentiment of the Opie and Anthony listeners. The listeners of the Opie and Anthony radio show have organized to purchase multiple mobile billboards, reading: Opie and Anthony suspended from uncensored satellite radio? The mobile billboards are paid for solely with the hard earned money of the Opie and Anthony fans. A first for a show in the history of radio. The mobile billboards will circle around the Washington DC area, with one stationed in sight of the satellite company’s home base, the XM compound. The campaign is set to run for a full four days starting June 4th. The shock jocks were suspended on May 15th from an uncensored XL channel, on a pay service, with the option to block out the channel at anytime. Opie and Anthony were suspended for comments made by a real homeless man in an interview. Feeling betrayed by XM’s decision, listeners known as PESTS, have a new found sense of activism. With the full support of the PAC, People Against Censorship, the billboard campaign coincides with the mass cancellation of an estimated 60,000 subscriptions in protest of the suspension. The question remains: Is XM punishing Opie and Anthony or the listeners? The Opie and Anthony show can be heard weekdays from 10 AM - 1 PM EST on WJFK, 106.7... (6/5/07) "Absolutely NO ONE is listening to JFK-FM's middays, evenings, or weekends." Come on Dave the weekends aren’t that bad if you’re into the business details of government or interested in a good colon cleansing. Speaking of colon cleansing, that’s exactly what the station needs. They have more than a few old turds that need to be expelled from their system. (6/5/07) Dave's response: Well, those "old turds" still bring in the ad dollars..... Very often, the Electronic News Gathering (ENG) trucks that TV stations use to cover live news reports feed pre-recorded video back to the station while the reporter is live on the air. There is a possibility the wrong button was punched during the live report. Al McGilvray (6/5/07) "Year and a half is more than enough time....." First, Washington Post Radio launched March 30, 2006 which means the first month for ratings was April. Let's compare year to year progress for WTWP and some other stations. We will look at 25-54, total week (dayparts look even better) Washington Post Radio April 2006 .9 April 2007 1.7..... WMAL April 2006 2.6 April 2007 1.0..... WTEM April 2006 2.4 April .7..... 6-10 a.m. Washington Post Radio April 2006 1.5 April 2007 2.6..... WMAL April 2006 1.9 April 2007 1.2..... WTEM April 2006 2.0 Aprill 2007 .8..... It will be interesting to so how much more Washington Post Radio grows when it actually has a year and half of numbers to report. (6/5/07) I love sports and got XM three years ago. Since then I stopped listening to WTEM. Don't miss it a bit. I listen to Czaban's national show on FOX Sports Radio in the early AM, flip over to Tony K's show on XM 144 from 9-11, then listen to Tony Bruno, who is also on XM 144 from 11-2. Good stuff. (6/5/07) Dave's response: A local radio listener listening to Tony Kornheiser on XM and not via Washington Post Radio. I wonder how many others are doing that..... RE: WVIE...the station is a joke, running syndicated talk programming during the day, and brokered programming at night. They had a thing going when they were Oldies, THE ONLY OLDIES IN THE MARKET. They would have done much better if they dumped the network and allowed the talent to program and jock the station, or hired in new talent. But-just any other station, especially privately owned, they just don't want to spend money. (6/5/07) Well, to paraphrase a latter-day morning zoo, WJFK is felted. I hope there's not a format change but there obviously are line-up problems. (6/5/07) Dave's response: The more and more I think about it, a Joe FM oldies format for 106.7 would be perfect. Keep the Junks and D&M and ditch everything else and replace it with a 1970s to 1990s "we play what we want" oldies format with D&M call screener Joe Ardinger as the station's imaging voice. Let Geronimo be music director. Face it. Absolutely NO ONE is listening to JFK-FM's middays, evenings, or weekends. That's not good for a major FMer like 106.7. Do a big promo campaign: "We're giving Joe Ardinger the keys to the station"..... When the history of Bonneville in Washington is written, here are the last few chapters: 1) Has a profitable WGMS, a mega-profitable WTOP and a profitable Z104. So far, so good... 2) It fires everyone at Z104, moves WGMS, launches Washington Post Radio... 3) Dumps WGMS, firing a bunch of people again... 4) Joel Oxley brags to media about how he was ripping off Dan Snyder in 104.1 deal... 5) Snyder wises up, pulls out of deal, Joel launches George, later kills it... 6) Begins firing people at Post Radio, cuts back at Federal News Radio, cheapens itself by selling the naming rights to the glass-enclosed nerve center, cuts back at WTOP... It seems like Joel Oxley has taken a good situation and a lot of good will and through a series of moves, each progressively more damaging then the last, disrupted many lives and cost his company lots of money. And looking back at point 1 above, it didn't even seem broke to begin with - so why did he try to "fix" it? Z-104, WGMS, George, Washington Post Radio? Perhaps it's time for Joel to go? (6/5/07) EITM got dumped this morning following a rehash of alcohol enemas. Currently running Best of...... (6/5/07) Mangione's WVIE 1370 didn't even make the Top 34 & half of the Washington radio landscape made at least that in the Baltimore numbers! OUCH! Time for a format flip maybe? What a waste of a great 50,000 watt signal that they spent so much to build. On the other hand, Rush Limbaugh and the new Governor have certainly paid off for WCBM 680. They seem to be edging closer and closer to WBAL, who's numbers appear to have sank considerably. Maybe time for Chip Franklin to stage another phony fight with O'Malley??? :-) (6/5/07) did anyone else see the on air LIVE rewind on WRC's 5pm show on Monday? There was a "LIVE" bug on the video of the hostage situation in Hampton, VA, cops were walking around with guns and the anchors said it was live video, then all of a sudden the video BEGAN TO REWIND ON AIR! Are we to believe that every LIVE segment on WRC is not live at all? Come on WRC that's cheating. (6/5/07) Does anyone listen to those AM drive guys on WHFS? Someone please explain to me what makes them worth listening to? They get promoted a lot during the O's broadcasts (much too much) and I listened to them one morning. I don't get it. I have to give WHFS credit for putting on ex-WNST host Terry Ford on the air. Very critical of the O's. They get credit for that. (6/5/07) Link to story about WETA doubling it's audience since switching back to classical: www.washingtonpost.com... In the story Joel Oxley, said y that "classical is now in a great place in this market. It's in great hands" with WETA. As for Bonneville's decision to drop WGMS and classical music, he said: "I think it made sense. I don't look back on that decision with regret." WETA raised $590,000 in May, and attracted 6,150 new members. Still think the decision was a wise one? That tells me that it was and IS a commercially viable format, still has an audience in DC and Bonneville made a huge mistake. Never, never, never ignore the older, highly educated ad dollar. It will find a way into your competitor's pocket. I haven't heard but a few fleeting Wolf Trap spots on WTOP and WTWP, and most of the car ads are now for Toyota and Nissan and Farrish Jeep instead of the Lexus, M-B and Jaguar spots that WGMS had on for years. Not to be a snob about it, since there is an audience for almost everything in DC, but why hand over those ad dollars & audience to someone else in a city that pulses with power hungry elitists who need their Ken Cen, NSO and Folger Theater fixes? I'd rather have 100 WGMS listeners come into my place of business than 1000 Don & Mike listeners because I know they are most qualified to buy. Disappointed. (6/5/07) /\ June 5 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....