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Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - September 3 to September 6, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ September 6 Messages \/ I’m not trying to be the official Jack Diamond historian, but the person who mentioned Diamond’s stints at WDJQ and WCBM is correct (although I thought he called himself Jack Diamond on WDJQ). But there were some stops before DC, most notably being the #1-rated morning show in San Diego at country KSON-FM during the late ‘80s. Roddy Freeman (9/6/07) I don't think that the fact that local sports teams have to purchase radio time has anything to do with the DC market per se. I think teams in other markets have to do the same thing by and large. As Leonsis said, the only exceptions are for those rare teams that truly dominate their market, such as the Yankees in New York and the Redskins here. (9/6/07) Apple, Polk Audio and iBiquity Digital announced today that consumers who hear a song on an HD Radio station and want to preview, buy and download it will soon be able to do that with just the touch of a button. The new 'iTunes Tagging' feature will allow consumers to not only download songs they have known for years, but also sample and download new songs from new artists. It is the perfect link with the broad reach of radio, which continues to be the place where most consumers are introduced to new music and new artists. Here's how it works: iTunes Tagging enables consumers using HD Radio receivers that have been equipped with a special 'Tag' button, to tag songs that they hear on the FM dial. Information about these tagged songs is then stored by the receiver and transferred to the individual's iPod. When the iPod is connected to a computer, the new iTunes software automatically presents the songs in a Tagged playlist so that the consumer can preview, buy and download them. (9/6/07) Happened to notice a few minutes ago that WHFS (105.7) is broadcasting back in stereo again! anyone else notice this? It had been reported on DCRTV Dot Com that they were going to broadcast in "mono"..if memory serves me correctly "to improve their signal"..guess it didn't work? Tom in Denton, MD (9/6/07) Dave....Of course Jack Diamond will survive. His show is almost always number one in women 25-54. Whether people who read this site like him or not, his show is a money machine for WRQX. Lets remember, radio is about making money, not about judging art. Congrats to Jack... he has earned every penny he has earned, by making his employer rich! Not in the Demo....but a listener who gets it. (9/6/07) Dave's response: Change the gender (men 25-54) and the station (WJFK) and you could say the same thing about Don Geronimo..... Jack Diamond...Harvey Fisher was PD at WDJQ, Q104 as well as on the air as "Jack of Diamonds". Also on the air was John "Baron" Wolfe mid-days. They shared studios with the old WITH-AM 1230 and they were formerly WITH-FM. The station later became B-104 with Brian & O'Brien, Willie "B", and the rest is history. Also, when Jack/Harvey left DJQ, he did a short part-time stint at WCBM when they were playing music, before he went to Mix. (9/6/07) Not surprising to see the negative posts about Shari Elliker taking over the 9 to noon slot at WBAL. This mailbag and, for that matter, this whole website reflect the radio industry in general - by men, for men. When a woman gets a shot at a prime time radio job normally inhabited by a male, she starts out with two strikes against her. There are obvious exceptions for a handful of nationally syndicated women, but the vast majority of women in major markets work in the margins. Traffic, news, weather, side-kick, mid-day jock on a music station with little or no opportunity to expound on anything more than the next McDonalds ad. That's what your radio gals do. Station managers and PD's, again virtually all male, will hire a morning man with all the experience and talent of turnip, pair him with an experienced female side-kick and let him totally run the show. Generally into the ground. This town is full of women who know radio better than the vast majority of male jocks - they know what's funny, they know what their audience wants to hear, and most importantly, they know what doesn't work. But you're not going to get a chance to hear what they can do because they won't get the chance to call the shots. Which brings me back to Shari. I don't know any better than anyone else how she will do in her new gig. But I've got a pretty good hunch. She's funny as hell, smart as hell, and she knows what makes good radio. Broadminded on XM was her idea from the start. Like any other daily radio show, it has its ups and downs but when Shari is in the driver's seat the show is funny, topical, and damned good radio. She can more than hold her own with the white right males that listen to BAL and they might actually learn a thing or two from her. If the PD there has enough sense to let her call the shots, she will probably make him look like some kind of genius. "Geez, whoever thought a girl could make this work"? Actually, most of the women in radio, that's who. Just my two cents. Marshall in Silver Spring (9/6/07) The Capitals' Ted Leonsis speaks a basic truth that needs to be recognized. To read most local sports forums, the vast majority of area fans are under the delusion that radio stations are getting into bidding contests to land the rights to one's favorite team. With only a few exceptions, that just isn't the case. Sports teams need radio stations (or believe that they do) more than radio stations need sports teams. Everett W (9/6/07) Hello to Everyone I know in the entire world, I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that I am back in the US of A and still blogging. I just published my first US post late last night. Check it out if you get a chance. In summary, the last three weeks have been a complete whirlwind but things are finally starting to settle into some sense of normalcy. Currently, I am planning a cross country US road trip for sometime in the late fall and also beginning to look at the countries I would like to visit for my Africa trip in early 2008. In the meantime, the blog will live on. I am caddying at a crazy golf course in Baltimore and have found myself in one of the most ridiculous living situations imaginable in downtown Baltimore (Federal Hill) with my good friends Ben Vears and Dave Binck. I feel like I am still traveling and there will be plenty to write about. In addition, I am in the process of trying to turn all of this into a viable business model which has already proven interesting. Over 3000 people have viewed my Antarctica Polar Plunge on www.LonelyPlanet.tv and I want to do more video when on the road in the US and in Africa. I am very excited about everything I have going on. If anyone knows any film students that might be interested in going either across country or to Africa shoot me an email. Peace, Dave Ford -- Check out my blog at www.DaveFordDoesEarth.com (9/6/07) Unsigned corporate suit: Hire a friggin' editor already. Dave In Sterling (9/6/07) Ref: WNAV was Jack Diamond at WNAV in the early 70's? I remember the Weird Beird in the Afternoons, Marvelous Marv Ellis 7-Midnight and I think Steve Hopper was there at the same time.... (9/6/07) Very interesting blog regarding the Caps buying air time from Bonneville. This is nothing new. The Wizards and Caps have had to purchase airtime for years because of the lack of interest in the DC market. Stations can not generate enough advertising dollars and there are no ratings, so the teams must reach in to their pocket and shell out $500,000 to the station. Georgetown buys time. George Mason buys time. Virginia and Virginia Tech buy time. Dan Snyder even buys time from WBIG for the mighty Redskins. Play by Play sports on the radio are losing propositions unless you just take the $500,000 and give the team the inventory you were not going to sell anyway. WJFK has made more profit since they lost the Skins. (9/6/07) After Mike O'Meara left WBEY and joined up with Don he did voicework on the side. One station he did voiceovers for was WCEI in Easton. A former WBEY workmate named Tom Anderson (who was doing mornings at WCEI) got him to do all of the ID's and liners. (9/6/07) To Mike in Fairfax: I stand corrected regarding my statement of where the Caps broadcasts are going to (a week in the sun and sand tends to play lasting games with my mind...what can I say). You also make a good point regarding the hosts of some of the programs on WTEM. Those hosts likely would say "The Redskins and football are what is important to our listeners, especially when you look at the phone calls we get" but I believe that mindset has done more to drive away listeners over the years who would want to discuss the Nats, Capitals, and other sports-related stories. Those who have those other sports interests are there (about ten years ago Phil Wood did a five-day-a-week program that had no shortage of baseball callers, and Ken Beatrice had more than his share of callers interested on various sports topics when he was still on) but I think those listeners have long given up on WTEM ever expanding the scope of their discussion. I will say this: I hope that the Nats never end up on WTEM. Their signal to the western suburbs stinks at night and I don't like the idea of a conflict shifting a broadcast to AM 570 or AM 1260, which are worse. Sincerely, Joe Kasell (9/6/07) Logged over the last 36 hours from Frederick, Rockville, and on I-270: 93.7, WPYA, “BOB-FM”, Norfolk; 94.7 WDSD, Dover, DE, formerly on 92.9; 94.9, WPTE, “The Point”, Virginia Beach; 96.7 WCEI, Easton; 96.9, WFPG, Atlantic City; 102.1, WRXL, “102.1 The X”, Richmond (simulcasts Elliott); 103.7 WMXB, “Mix 103.7", Richmond; and 106.3, WCEM, “The Heat”, Cambridge. Hardly a major band opening, but not too shabby, either. Of all of these, 94.9 came in last night and this morning like a local. Not a sermon, just a bandscan, from Mike from Frederick and your friendly neighborhood Dashboard DX Society. Your mileage may vary. (9/6/07) A little small town news, as of yesterday T-bone and heather are back on SoMar Communications 98.3 Star FM mornings after more than a year. Back a year or so we (the listeners) knew they were leaving to go back to Alaska but they were abruptly pulled off the air by the GM. They weren’t supposed to discuss their departure on the air and they did after being hounded by listeners. That’s as best as I remember. Their return is a big surprise. Thanks, Jay Szewczyk (9/6/07) Okay....who remembers when Jack Diamond was on WDJQ-SUPER Q104 briefly in the early 70's? How about Dave Harrison? Jay Christian?Jumpin Johnny Pavlos? (9/6/07) Hey Jim Lashley: Am hoping that you remember me during my brief stay at Columbia. You see the bottom line was, I had both financial and health issues in those days. These days though, I'm quite happy at Public Access WEBR.I remember very well telling you that I'd rather be on the radio than eat! Hope all is well with you old friend. Rusty Gibson (9/6/07) “In the late '70s, Jack Diamond (Harvey Joel Fischer in real life) was PD at WYRE in Annapolis, not WNAV.” I worked with him at WNAV in 1970. Roddy Freeman (9/6/07) (regarding a previous post) Apparently, former CBS honcho, Dr. Frank Stanton and retired Army General Andrew J. Goodpaster, both seem to have confirmed that the long-elsuive Doomsday Tape by Godfrey did exist. www.conelrad.com (9/6/07) Dave's response: As I kid rummaging through my grandparents' attic in Hartsdale NY decades ago, I came across a stack of 78s. And one of their favorite songs was Arthur Godfrey's "You're Over the Hill." I don't know if you could actually say he "sang" it. Kind of "talked" it. Oh, did I ever tell the story about how my grandmother was backing out of her driveway one day and ran into a school bus carrying the child of Snooky Lanson. No one was injured..... Ed Norris announced today that starting Monday 9/10, his show will be on HFS from 10 am - 3 pm taking over the last hour of the KMS Morning Show. How soon before KMS lose the rest of their morning long borefest? Maybe they could go back to 98 Rock and intern on the Napoleon and Morticia morning bitch party. Speaking of the "Screaming Munchkin", he should expand his joke catalogue before he tries to rip off Jackie the Joke Man again. "Stump Mickey" sounds awfully redundant. Homer J in Elkton (9/6/07) Kudos to all that say enough of the "old, bald and orange" man with the face for radio Korny. Korny Wants Name Off Radio Show. What's his name doing on a radio show with another voice conducting the show in the first place? If I leave my job do does my cubby still have my name tag? When a player playing (name your sport here) have someone else wearing his/her jersey? When I break up with my girlfriend does she still call out my name when she's sporking another guy? (...well, yes. Yes she does, but I digress) How does any organization or business justify a product that is not the actual product. Bad decisions, bad management, bad idea. Kinda like the 9 morning news READING THE FREAKING NEWSPAPERS TO THE VIEWERS AS THEIR NEWSCAST. GREAT FREAKING JOURNALISM AND USE OF THE MEDIA!! If I'm going to wait on a table am I going to tell new customers what the old customers ate, how they ate it and why they ate it? AM I???!! -skimmell (9/6/07) "Secondly, bravo to the Caps in moving their games away from WTEM. The team deserves better and, hopefully, this move will better serve them (with the caveat that XXX is still a Dan Snyder operation)." The new radio home of the Capitals isn't Triple X - it's Bonneville's 3WT (1500-AM). You wonder whether Clear Channel will now make a major pitch for the Nationals radio rights starting next season (the first in the new ballpark). A caller to Phil Wood's Saturday show on WTEM was complaining about the lack of baseball talk on the station during the week - perhaps that situation would start to change if it actually carried the games. I was listening to Feldman & Maloney yesterday and heard Carol Maloney say that the show's producer had come to her with the idea of taking some calls on the Nats and Orioles, but she shot it down saying "I'm just not into baseball right now - haven't been keeping up with it that much". While Maloney's fairly new to sports talk radio, that type of thinking has to drive local baseball fans up the wall. For the past six weeks or so, the phone topics on this program (picked by the hosts) can be summarized by "Redskins this, Redskins that, Michael Vick this and Michael Vick that" with little variation. Now the producer actually tries to throw a bone to Nats and O's fans for a change, but the hosts can't be bothered - would take valuable time away from obsessing on the urgent issue of who'll be the backup QB for the Skins. By the way, the media in many NFL towns don't devote as much time to controversies involving the FIRST string quarterback as DC's recently did for Todd Collins vs. Mark Brunell. I was high on Feldman & Maloney during its early days on the air but lately have begun to sour on it. While the show still provides some interesting discussions and interviews, far too much air time is wasted on inane banter between the two hosts. Mike, Fairfax (9/6/07) Contrary to the recent post, Mike O'Meara was the PD of both WYRE and WBEY. He also was production and on air. Two of the WBEY jocks were Renee' Connelly (now Paul Bicknell's wife) and Terry Alley (now with WNAV) I don't know where Diamond fits in that mix. I don't think he does, my memory tells me he was with WNAV for a short amount of time. (9/6/07) WaPo's Reliable Source gets tawdry, TMZ style bigheaddc.com (9/6/07) I wonder if all the new white guys at 3WT will learn how to turn off the mics. This morning's replay of the TK Show w/David Burd had a mic open during the tape replay (10:50-11:05). You could hear a male voice explaining mic operation and a female voice (Victoria Jones?) saying "they'll never know it's taped". NICE! Almost as good as the way the station pops off the air for a couple of seconds a few times every hour...what's up with that? (9/6/07) True story. I was driving in Berkley County, WV yesterday, flicking through the AM dial, and came upon the local news from who knows where, and the newsperson was reporting on the suspension of some students from some high school and she said they were suspended for using "a farting machine" in class. (9/6/07) Dave's response: Yeah, you were listening to WGAV, Tom Gavin Radio..... The signal for the Globe seems to drop out every few seconds, it almost is like what you see on the web when a clip is buffered, all the other stations come in fine and the Globe used to come in as well. What could cause this? Tony (9/6/07) Dave's response: I've been listening to 94.7 and haven't heard any odd glitches, other than the occasional burp from Schelby. I guess she must eat lunch while doing her show..... More unnecessary and minimally entertaining Arthur Godfrey information. According to an end-of the-world-as-we-knew-it-in-the-1950's website that focuses on the history of CONELRAD and all other such fun stuff, it is alleged in an "urban myth" type of way that the "Old Red-Head" recorded a series of post-attack public service messages to be broadcast on radio in the aftermath of the apocalypse. Godfrey claimed, in an interview shortly before his death, that he had been approached by Office of Emergency Preparedness (the predecessor to FEMA) personnel to record these messages because his voice was "the most recognizable and comforting on radio". There is also an ancillary claim that other well-known actors also made such pre-recorded announcements. However, to date, no such recordings have been uncovered, although that doesn't mean they don't exist; odds are they're quietly gathering dust in a wharehouse somewhere in Suitland or Denver waiting for declassification and release in 2050. Personally, if the world was ending around me today, count me in to be scanning the dial for comforting words from Paul Harvey… Genghis Cohen (depressed and fatalistic and just waiting to go home and kick the cat in still God-Damned too warm Prince William County) (9/6/07) I believe the blurb yesterday said Jack Diamond was going into his eighteenth year, not completing it. He was Jim Fisher at WNAV and Bruce Diamond at WINX. Roddy Freeman (9/6/07) In the late '70s, Jack Diamond (Harvey Joel Fischer in real life) was PD at WYRE in Annapolis, not WNAV. Diamond succeeded Steve Kingston as PD. Diamond's air staff included Mike O'Meara, Gene Baxter and others who later gained regional and even national prominence. Diamond and the staff at WYRE also launched Bay Country 103.1 in Graysonville where O'Meara did morning drive for a while. Just thought you might want to know... thanks (9/6/07) With only 17 months to go until the end of analog TV, and with the new season unofficially starting next week, what are local TV stations' plans for increasing their HD/widescreen programming? It's incredible to see that for a large part of the day WETA's bit-starved HD channel has the only HD/widescreen programming in both Washington and Baltimore. And what's up with MPT _ceasing_ all HD/widescreen programming? For the most part, the TV stations in this area act like no one has a widescreen TV. (And WBAL and WUTB still haven't even been able to figure out the proper way to broadcast non-widescreen programming. Their digital channels are unwatchable for most of the day, with 4:3 images stretched all out of shape.) (9/6/07) Enough with Tony Kornheiser. Do people really care where he'll end up? I sure don't. Wapo or 3WT sunk hundred of thousands of dollars into a guy for a two hour show! Now he's moaning that his name is still on it even though he gets paid all that $ for half a year and 10 hours a week. Tough life. I say suck it up. Steve (9/6/07) I'm a little concerned about all the white guys in radio. But as I am a white guy, I have too much opressing to get done today to have time left over to do anything about it. Can I purchase some whitey offsets? (9/6/07) Congratulations Harvey/Bruce/Jack .It was my pleasure to replace you at WNAV-AM back in 1971as the result of your phone call to The Columbia School of Broadcasting.I had the pleasure of meeting you at the station on your way to Ocean City.I even had a chance to hear you on the Air in Chicago in the early 1980s.I even remember your days at WEEL.Your 17 years at WQRX are a plus my friend.I hope to hear more good things from and about you in the future. Jim Lashley, WASH-FM (1972-1983) (9/6/07) Re: Kornheiser and his flippin' radio show. I'm getting sick and tired of Tony Kornheiser and how he wants this and how he doesn't like that and he's here, he's there and expects the world to wipe his butt. Now, he doesn't want his name on a radio time slot on a station destined to die at the end of the month because his freekin' presence is not on it! I don't want to listen to him any more, hear him any more, or read about him any more. Why doesn't he take his fussy ass up or down I-95 to someplace else that will put up with his whining! Enough! (9/6/07) More on the Caps Radio deal www.onfrozenblog.com (9/6/07) In response to your rant that you’re getting complaints that “commercial talk radio, particularly the political kind heard largely on AM, is heavily white and heavily male”, I must disagree with those who are making those complaints, at least as it pertains to AM talk radio in the DC/Baltimore area. Here in this region, we have WOL (1450-AM) featuring non-white radio hosts such as “The Black Eagle Joe Madison (who looks great these days), Al Sharpton, and Bernie McCain. In fact, McCain can also be heard in Baltimore on WOLB (1010-AM), which also carries a talk show hosted by the non-white Larry Young. WBAL carries the non-white Clarence Mitchell, IV whose uncle was the first black congressman in MD history and whose grandfather was one of the greatest black civil rights leaders ever. And as far as AM talk radio being “too male”, WBAL named the non-male Sheri Elliker as their new mid-day host. And then there’s WVIE (1370-AM) with a talk radio format geared specifically towards women, featuring non-males such as Laura Ingraham, Dr. Laura, Sallie Jesse Raphael, and Dr. Joy Brown. Not to mention that the news Director at WVIE’s sister station WCBM (690-AM) is a non-male named Brenda Carl. (9/6/07) Dave's response: Good point. But, still, major local commercial talkers like WMAL, WTNT, WCBM, WBAL, and WJFK-FM are all still pretty much white guys..... RE: "...F*ckingham Station..." in Centex Homes spot: You, sir/madam, have a very vivid imagination! The woman clearly says "BUCK-ingham," although she could have put a little more emphasis on the "B!" On the other hand, have you heard the Toyota commercial with the woman taking about "DOODADS!?" Grease would be so proud! --RB (9/6/07) Maybe next you can put up a diversity scoreboard for WHUR or 99.1 El Zol (9/6/07) Dave's response: You know, that's not such a bad idea..... If 3WT were to pick up, say, Larry Elder (which wouldn't be a bad move), would that count on your "Diversity Scoreboard"? (9/6/07) How about "The DC-101 Greaseman Show ... with Elliot in the Morning"? (9/6/07) Regarding Joe Pyne, there was a movie in the mid-seventies called "A Cry for Help" where actor Robert Culp plays Harry Freeman, a hard-hitting and insulting radio talk show host. The plot involves a troubled teenage girl who is on the verge of committing suicide. The young lady calls in to the radio show crying and asking "why are you always putting people down". In the end, Harry ends up saving her life by getting the listeners involved into finding her whereabouts. Based on my memory, most of the scenario plays out on the air. I was intrigued by this movie and read that Robert Culp patterned the character after Joe Pyne. Dave, being a movie buff, do you remember this one. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (9/6/07) Joe Pyne is as close as your nearest Internet browser. One example: www.youtube.com (9/6/07) Dave, In your front page note on Jack Diamond, it should read 17th (vs 18th) anniversary, and that he started with the station in 1990 (vs 1980). Graphic from Mix website attached to confirm. Dave (9/6/07) The late '70's and early '80's was a neat time to be in radio if you're not old enough to have been a part of the '50's or '60's. AM was or did die (or at least went on life support while being in a coma) at about that time and FM took off. So, if you were working at stand alone AM's, you most likely learned a LOT about how to do things with very little. Stuff like digital leaps were coming getting away from vinyl and yes, network delivery finally got away from 7 kilohertz phone lines (if you had that much bandwidth). Having grown up listening to big market AM's with their clean network feeds, it was a drag to get a job at a podunk AM with ABC Entertainment coming in via dial up - yes tinny! Many AM's (including mine) were getting network news and such on standard dial-up lines that were down to about 3.5 kilohertz for bandwidth (think cell phone quality without the digital crap). Many AM's sent their programming to the xmitters from downtown studios via phone lines (again, some just standard dial-ups) especially our rural brethren. I remember many times trying to locate the "bad" line fuse after a lightning storm. Anybody remember those old Scientific Atlanta (and whatever the other brand was) of first generation sat receivers? Took about a foot of rack width, with the little thumbwheels with the channel numbers on them? But John Belmont on the hour (and half hour for us Entertainment affiliates in the early days) sounded good. (9/6/07) ***Makes me nostalgic for the comparatively kind and gentle Joe Pyne. Letme guess... I'm the only one on the board who remembers him!*** "Let me tell YOU somthing, mister... I lost this leg fighting to keep our country free, but I'll still take it outside if you wanna..." THAT Joe Pyne? He was, like Morton Downey and Jerry Springer, entertaining and surprising as hell, until you figured out the timing of his rants. When it got too predictable, it wasn't fun anymore. BTW- His son, Robert Pyne played the Sergeant on "CHiPs" for the show's entire run. - Joe Hollywood (9/6/07) I was trying to locate one of your archives regarding Craig quitting the Elliott in the Morning Show on DC 101. They replayed the show yesterday and I caught the end, but I had no idea he had quit a few weeks back. I've searched through your information several times, but I"m just not finding it. Can you forward that article to me? Thanks! Jenny (9/6/07) Dave's response: We did do a short rumorish newsblurb on Craig's departure in early August on the Front Page. But the item got "purged" when we transferred the older news items to DCRTV's News Archive during the past weekend. We try not to clog up the archive with stories of "lesser importance." If I made a wrong judgement, I accept your condemnation in advance..... In the words of one of my favorite Craigslist picture captions..."Oh Jeez, Not THIS Shit Again!" Dave, you know that I agree with you on a number of issues, but this diversity counter is old school, leftover, politically correct bullshit that went out of style the minute Bill Maher started dating strippers while crowing about having respect for all colors, creeds and sexual preferences. The last time you took at dig at WTWP you forgot to mention the outstanding job Hillary Howard does, in addition to the fact that almost the entire Producer's staff is female. At this point, Stephanie Miller isn't on the air yet, but she's got to be included in the counter numbers, as does Victoria Jones & Jessica Doyle. It doesn't matter what the color of your skin or the XY DNA is when we're talking about VOICES. It matters that the host is well informed, entertaining & is open minded enough to see all the points in the talk spectrum (and RESPECT them) without having to represent them through forced multiculturalism. I'm sorry old buddy, but this smacks of quotas, not opportunities. (9/6/07) Dave's response: Just wondering if we can get a commercial talk station that "reflects" the incredibly diverse DC area. No quotas. I'm simply holding up a "mirror" to 3WT. Stephanie Miller will be included in the tally if and when an official announcement is made about her landing a slot on 3WT. We've heard rumors but no confirmation yet. Victoria and Jessica will also be included in the tally if they are officially listed as host or co-host in the title of their respective shows..... Not quite sure why you don't keep tally on all the stations in the market but since your fasination with Bonneville continues you should at least try to be accurate. The early morning show is co-hosted by Jessica Doyle, very much a woman. The 8 - 10 show features Joe Barber, Kevin Stanfield and David Aldredge, African Americans. The show also includes Victoria Jones. A woman. (9/6/07) Dave's response: Only show hosts count in our "3WT Diversity Scoreboard." We've not had official word that Jessica Doyle will officially be a host/co-host. If her name is in the title of the morning show, then she'll be counted as a "host" and she'll be added to our tally. Sidekicks and other regularly featured personalities on a show don't count..... Dear Dave: To echo AC in DC's post, back in the day AT&T was used a lot for receiving feeds of network broadcasts. Many moons ago when I would accompany my Dad on a trip to the studios of WPIK or WAVA (or WGBR in our hometown of Goldsboro, NC) I distinctly remember seeing thick wires with the old phone jacks plugged-in to whatever devices there were, with the jacks labeled with "Mutual" or "AP" or "Do not touch." Additionally, in the early days of the NBC Radio Network it was actually two networks: the Red Network, which offered entertainment and music, and the Blue Network, which offered news and cultural programming. I've read several explanations for the use of Red and Blue: it referred to the red and blue lines on the AT&T diagrams; it originated from the color of the push-pins engineers used to designate affiliates; and it was the color of the phone jack plugs at each affiliated station used to receive programming. In the early 1940's, following pressure from the FCC that was investigating the effects of broadcast monopolies, NBC divested itself of the Blue Network. The Blue Network would become the American Broadcasting Company. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (9/6/07) Dave's response: When I was at JMU in the late 1970s, I worked at the college radio station, WMRA. It was (and still is) an NPR affiliate. But, back then, all of our hi-fi programming came in the mail via audio tape, which I was in charge of cataloging. Our live network programming from NPR came via a phone line loop from DC, but Harrisonburg VA was on the "end" of the loop, which snaked its way across the country. Therefore, our reception was quite deteriorated and tinny. Some time before 1980, we got hooked to the NPR feed via satellite and the fidelity hike was impressive..... Just to set the record straight on Shari Elliker's radio experience she has been hosting a satellite radio show for sometime, so it's not like she's never been anything but a traffic reporter or Don's (and Chip's) stooge. I listened yesterday and found her refreshing and pleasant; she obviously doesn't fit in with Beauchamp's format. I suspect that Jeff will attempt to "mold" her politics as time goes on to get her more in line with all the angry men on the station. BTW, I'll believe she's moving to Baltimore when it actually happens. Chip claimed he was moving there right after his hire, but all the articles about the San Diego move indicated that he still lived in MoCo. And Allan Prell still commuted from VA the entire time he worked for 1090. Howie (9/6/07) Eighteen years of Jack Diamond? Harvey is one of those guys that will continue to stay on the air, and make a pile of money, and nobody knows why. Barbara Harrison, Mike Buchanan and Pat Collins make you feel the same way. You watch and listen to these people and you always ask the same question. I know that the ratings or research must be positive but have you ever met anyone who really liked these guys? (9/6/07) Dave's response: Every market has them - loveable old coots who never seem to get fired. Look at Baltimore's Marty Bass..... “I can't beleive Bram WeinSTEEN spent the first few minutes of their inaugural braodcast crying about his name being mispronounced. This is obviously a HUGE softspot for WeinSTEEN. But he wasn't half as mad as Larry Michael clearly was over his rant...he was very visibly PISSED OFF over his blatant narcassism. It looked as though Larry was about to tell WeinSTEEN to shut the hell up!” I think its spelled WHINE-STEEN! (9/6/07) Concerning the changes at WBAL Radio - Franklin's gone, Douglas is gone, Smith is old and near hanging it up, and Elliott has been dissed one time too many and is probably heading for the door. Maybe they're going to do "all chit chat radio," with a staff of media lightweights. AM radio is dying ... (9/6/07) Bob, if you want a newscast that's worthwhile, check out BBC America. I cannot recommend any of the local broadcast or cable newscasts. Ditto, Chicken Noodle News and the Fascist News Channel. Speaking of "Ditto's", I was listening to Rush Limbaugh this afternoon and I'm now convinced that "Jeff Christie" has finally lost it. Not only was he extremely rude and insulting to a caller who intelligently criticized him, he made the comment, "I am talk radio" after hanging up on the guy! What an arrogant pompous ass! Makes me nostalgic for the comparatively kind and gentle Joe Pyne. Let me guess... I'm the only one on the board who remembers him! (9/6/07) Unsigned corporate suit here… A couple of weeks ago, a question was asked here on the board as to why Cable TV and Satellite TV in the U.S. didn’t carry foreign domestic TV, in the same manner that Satellite Radio does. Since no one else has commented, and as I have been exposed to this professionally, I’ll put this out in the hopes that others will add their intellectual input on this subject. Here’s the picture. And, it’s not too pretty, either. Basically, it’s illegal for a pay television provider in the United States to re-transmit a terrestrial broadcast television signal that originates from outside the United States that cannot otherwise be generally received terrestrially in that market. It’s not just an FCC rule. It’s a law! That is why Cable TV systems along the bord! ers can carry Canadian or Mexican stations, if they choose to. They just have to use old-fashioned off-air reception. No fiber, microwave, or satellite reception permitted! There are a lot of reasons for this. Some are good, but most aren’t. When my locals on 4 and 9 had their studios at 250 Lanark Drive, the CBC carried episodes of some current American network series a day or two ahead of the U.S. airing. The insanity on copyrights and carriage rights is the only justification I can logically see. (OK, bad pun!) IMHO, the rule/law is unfortunate and xenophobic. And, outdated! As one who has had the good fortune to travel over a good chunk of the civilized world (and live abroad), I would have to say that not only are both Canadian and Mexican domestic broadcast TV more creative than the U.S. variety, but the same is true for most of the world. However, there are some things that are seen on foreign domestic broadcast TV that would upset many American TV viewe! rs, and most politicians. The degree of discussion and criticism of A merican policies would upset many here in the U.S. It’s not that Americans themselves are usually being criticized, it the policies of our government. Of course, the amount of nudity and sexuality depicted on foreign domestic TV would no doubt be decried in the Bible Belt, it’s buckle, and it’s notches! However, the sex on foreign broadcast TV is not that pervasive. And, it’s on really late at night local time. (Which could be a problem for some Americans as late night in Europe is early evening or prime time on the U.S. East Coast!) Some of the best I’ve seen over the years? From my time at Chateau Bertsdorf, --Sanstag Nacht--, on Luxembourg’s RTL was the funniest thing that either my wife or I ever saw! It made “Saturday Night Live” (On which it was very loosely based.) look like “Sesame Street” by comparison. OTOH, a very R-rated (Almost X) rated version of “The Newlywed Game” on a commercial network in France made Bob Eubanks! alleged blooper seem tame. There are also some social things that are common outside of the U.S. that would seriously offend many Americans. An example would be how the flag is saluted. In Mexico and other places in Central and South America, a civilian salutes the flag with the right arm outstretched and the hand extended, in a manner reminiscent of the Nazi-era salute in Germany. When XHAUC-9 in Chihuahua would sign-on every morning, the crowd singing --La Himno Nacional Mexicano-- would all be saluting like this! However, IMHO, I’d love to see foreign domestic broadcast stations carried on American Cable or Satellite services. But, under two conditions: 1.) It would have to be either 24-7 or s/on-s/off (including test patterns or color bars), including local ads (Which could upset some American companies, as their overseas affiliates sell products not available here! McD’s sells a great steak sandwich in the U.K, for example!) 2.) Alluding to #! 1, the carriage would have to be completely “transparent” in that what would be seen on LS86-TV channel 11 in Buenos Aries, would simultaneously be seen in the U.S., were its signal to be carried here. Oh yes, as for DirecTV carrying the CBC “Hockey Night in Canada”: They are carrying a specific program, not a station. The rights/carriage purchase was handled differently. And, in most cases, the “originating” station being used is CBCT-13 (Formerly CFCY-TV) in Charlottetown, PEI, which is probably beyond the range of any American Cable System. The signal comes up a couple of minutes before HNIC starts and is pulled shortly after the game is over. Oh yes, there’s a reciprocal law in that it’s illegal for a foreign broadcast signal intended for live American reception to originate in the U.S. It’s called “The Brinkley Act”. However, there have been “Private Laws” enacted over the years to grant (and rescind) waivers of the law. The most obvious is XETV-6 in Tijuana, which was the San Diego ABC-TV affiliate for ! many years. That is, until a San Diego UHF complained and the waiver was rescinded. The UHF didn’t get ABC-TV, though. Channel 10 got ABC-TV, with NBC-TV going to the UHF and it eventually became an NBC-TV O&O. XETV then spent several years as an English language independent before Fox-TV came along and it’s been a Fox-TV affiliate ever since. (No doubt Rupert’s clout on the Hill will ensure XETV’s waiver for more years than he has left!) For many years, the only local English program XETV had was a Sunday morning show about tourism in Mexico, but it looks like that’s been displaced by a rather credible local newscast. There have also been various AM and FM stations in Tijuana that have had “Brinkley Waivers” over the years. Several other Mexican stations have had them, too. Strangely, most of the border TV’s that have had “Brinkley Waivers” were also Fox-TV affiliates! Hmmmm…! (9/6/07) Dave's response: I recall a trip I took to a LA in the mid-1980s for a broadcasting convention. My hotel room was on the 12th floor, which afforded excellent reception of the San Diego area's legendary alt rocker 91X which, of course, was from Mexico. And promptly at 11 PM on this Sunday night, we got the station ID, in Spanish naturally, and a very tinny-sounding "informational" program from the Mexican government..... /\ September 6 Messages /\ \/ September 5 Messages \/ Hey: I relocated to the area for a new job and I wanted to know about the local tv stations- which one is #1 in this market? how about #2 and who is last? It would help me in deciding what news casts are worth my time. Thanks. - Rob (9/5/07) Concerning Godfrey's remote broadcasts from Leesburg, I believe WTOP's Jim Silman was actively involved in making those broadcasts a reality. And further evidence from Wikipedia; "Godfrey had been in pain since the 1931 car crash that damaged his hip. In 1953, he underwent pioneering hip replacement surgery in Boston using an early plastic artificial hip joint. The operation was successful and he returned to the show to the delight of his vast audience. CBS was so concerned about losing his audience that during his recovery, he broadcast live from his Beacon Hill estate near Leesburg, the signal carried by microwave towers built on the property. It is believed that this was the first time that CBS conducted a 'remote' broadcast." (9/5/07) Government enlists MC Hammer to revitalize DC bigheaddc.com (9/5/07) For those of you in Silver Spring, Bethesda, NE DC, and areas beyond, now is your chance to tune in WMUC-FM at 88.1 MHz. Baltimore station WYPR has temporarily reduced its power to implement the installation of transmission equipment that will increase its power toward DC. That increase will, as the Baltimore Sun put it on February 22, 2006, "...push aside a low-wattage student station at the University of Maryland, College Park that already occupies WYPR's signal on 88.1 FM." So, as John Lennon once said for WMUC, "Get listenin', kids!" (9/5/07) About the addition of Jennifer Ryan as co-host at 7pm, according to Derek McGinty, it's part of a test... wusa9.com... Though if they don't change the schedule, Jennifer Ryan will be anchoring some sort of news cast every single day of the week... does anybody else in town work behind the anchor deck every day? (9/5/07) Here's an article from Sunday's Post written by unpaid, mid-life radio "intern" Heather Taylor: www.washingtonpost.com... So if she makes no money but has a show on WMET, does that mean she's *paying* money to be on the air? Even so, it's still kind of cool. Christian (9/5/07) Jack Diamond was also Bruce Diamond on WEEL back in the 70's. I believe that I saw a photo once in the archives of DCRTV. (8/5/07) "I haven't happened upon uber-Skins reporter Bram Weinstein and his speech impediment since he departed from 980. Until today." I can't beleive Bram WeinSTEEN spent the first few minutes of their inaugural braodcast crying about his name being mispronounced. This is obviously a HUGE softspot for WeinSTEEN. But he wasn't half as mad as Larry Michael clearly was over his rant...he was very visibly PISSED OFF over his blatant narcassism. It looked as though Larry was about to tell WeinSTEEN to shut the hell up! (9/5/07) I haven't happened upon uber-Skins reporter Bram Weinstein and his speech impediment since he departed from 980. Until today. That's when I was treated to the laugh riot known as 'Redskins Radio.' Apparently, this program is a Comcast production and is part of their partnership with the Snyder team. I would hope all involved have kept their receipts, this show needs to be returned. The cameras appear to be run by Wayne and Garth's friends and the audio (some exclusive X has over there) is canned. Larry Michael, who clearly would rather be working alone than with Bram, promoted players 'coming up' -- I assumed there'd be a live interview on this taped show. Never happened, as the audio they aired came from a locker room-style press conference. Wicked, close access that station gets to the team. I'm impressed. Give me 980 any day of the week, please. I did hear Weinstein once mention, during his WTEM days, that he was on a local, cable access channel at his start. Apparently, h e's into flirting with the past. This counts as public access. If you want Redskin content, turn the dial, or look for the remote. Michael and Weinstein were all over the big Miami match up with one guy referencing the other's sexuality, and the other mocking his partner's memory, or lack thereof. Cutting edge and really inside guys. I am once again ecstatic that I can't hear this radio station group, and even more glad that I have found my remote. CLICK. Back to News 4 at 4. Handly is good. And in a related story, I can't wait to read how much Jim 'I make this site so credible' Williams loves that Larry Michael show. (9/5/07) All this chat about Jack Diamond at WINX! Wasn't he also at WYRE? I remember Joel Denver at WINX in 1969 while he was a student at Northwood High School. Here's his pic (far right) as a member of the WINX Wobblers basketball team. BD (9/5/07) (18 For Diamond At 107.3 - 9/5 - All Access wishes morning man Jack Diamond (right) congrats on his 18th year at WRQX, Mix 107.3....) If he's been on the ABC station since 1970, how is that 18 years? Did you mean 1990? Or? Just throwin' it out there. And I remember WINX!! :) Keep up the great work. I'm a big fan. -K (9/5/07) Dave's response: I guess All Access's Joel Denver must have flunked math. I assume that Diamond's been on WRQX since 1980, not 1970..... : Postscript to my last message: as the poster points out, Hope Christian does not have all the translators they need to bounce their programming over from New Jersey yet, so they have to rebroadcast an available signal. However, once those translators are in place, they are free to daisy-chain them even if the ultimate source happens to come from another state. Sorry, that poster is still wrong. Regards, Dave Loudin (9/5/07) For those inquiring about wmrtv.com, my job has changed quite a bit over the past two years and I travel throughout the Eastern United States. I no longer have time to keep the site updated, but I am working to update it to have the full history of TV and Radio in Western Maryland. If you have any historical information such as air checks and/or pictures of central or western Maryland please send them in to wmrtv@wmrtv.com. As for news updates, Dave and dcrtv.com will have to keep you up-to-date. Thanks! Ray (9/5/07) I really don't want to get into an internet argument about this, BUT the rules for feeding translators goes like this: translators may only rebroadcast programming retrieved by reception of an FM signal (no matter what state it's in) EXCEPT in the reserved part of the FM band. Translators between 88 and 92 MHz may also be fed by satellite (again, no matter what state the source is in.) Since Auction 83 covers only the non-reserved part of the band, NO satellite-fed proposals of any kind are allowed. However, over-the-air reception of an out-of-state station is perfectly acceptable. Show me where the FCC said otherwise. Regards, Dave Loudin (9/5/07) To the person who wondered about the lack of updates to wmrtv.com, I believe the reason behind that is due to the fact that Ray Dinterman their webmaster has a full time job that takes away the time from updating WMRTV. Now as far as svrtv.net goes, funny how all these current changes happening at WINC and Real Classic Rock, upcoming changes at Martinsburg's Prettyman Broadcasting, changes at Front Royal's WZRV and WFTR and the PD at WKSI is leaving that station, svrtv would be offline right now. But on the other hand I am not surprised. Maybe all the drama assoicated with SVRTV and BTVonlinemedia before hand finally caught up with the site... Let me ask this..DCRTV has been around for 10 years. How many people ran the site since then? Why only one, that being Dave Hughes. Same thing ,with VARTV though not as long, in this case it's Robert Corbin. On the other hand Between BTVonlinemedia.com and SVRTV.net, lets see here you had Karen Baker, Tom Carson, Tanner Miller, Kim Leach, Me, David Peck, George Stambaugh, Alecia Leach and finally Tybois Uphold. Thats NINE people being invloved with just one site during a period of only 4 years !! Of course tempers flair and you have those who want to take the site this way and another who wants to do it that way. Either way its a recipe for drama. Even though I am proud of the work I done with BTVonlinemedia.com and SVRTV was a good site in its own right ( though a lot of the site came from BTVonline, I think its time for SVRTV to fade into history of Winchester radio. Chris Hoff (9/5/07) What is this I hear of Cowboy returning to 96 rock? Could it bee he got tired of landing planes? Dave whats the latest on on the whole rumor of Don and Mike being pulled from 96 rock. Its not that Im too lazy to read the past weeks mail bag its just I cant read:-( By the way Dave since you wont trim the beard might I ask just how long its "been in production" ? Your in Christ CC (9/5/07) Dave's response: I have had a beard since the summer of 1979. Do the math..... I just want to vent about Don and Mike. I have been a long time fan for years, but today I barely even listen anymore. What did it for me was the long vacations all the time. Don is quitting next May, Why can't in this final year they do more shows? I guess because they're lazy and don't have the passion for the show they once had when the show was great. Shows like Sean Hannity is always working, even Opie and Anthony only leave for a week and do a lot of new shows. Don and Mike ratings are down from before the glory days.. When you don't care anymore the product does suffer and listeners tend to leave. When Don leaves and it's just Mike and Rob, I don't think the show will last very long. Mike is too lazy to put the work and effort into a show.. (9/5/07) THIS JUST IN... Hope Christian Church of Marlton New Jersey has it's eye's on Pennsylvania now! New translator near Harrisburg maybe soon. Next, the entire east coast? Inquiring minds want to know. (9/5/07) According to Tom Gavin, D&M show regular "Cheryl the big dyke" has passed away. Can anyone confirm? (9/5/07) Bill O'Reilly give new meaning to the word "pathetic," though it seems his logic is very close to that of the President's. Also, Chimp Franklin's politics were whichever way the wind was blowing. Bruce Elliott is a strident know-it-all who's too smug for his own good. Good luck to Shari, who's going to find that Charm City embraces mediocity on TV & Radio. She can leave her "A" game at home. (9/5/07) Going into his eighteenth year of doing mornings at Mix 107.3 in his hometown is quite an accomplishment for Jack Diamond. And he’s successfully filled in as a talk show host on WABC, WLS and WMAL, also an accomplishment. But I believe WINX was Mr. Diamond’s second station; he started at WNAV. Roddy Freeman (9/5/07) "Dave's response: No communications satellites or ISDN lines back then. You had to physically go to the radio or TV station to be on the air." You sure about that, Dave? Certainly as far back as the 1040s, and maybe earlier, you could go to Ma Bell and get a broadcast quality circuit between your station and a ball park, concert venue, or your morning talent's dining room. Wasn't particularly cheap or quick or easy, and it may not have been done routinely for a one-off event, but it certainly was do-able, especially for heavyweight talent like Godfrey. -- AC in DC (9/5/07) Dave's response: 1040? You must mean 1940. Yeah, I guess you're right. Godfrey could have done his radio show from his home. But it wouldn't have been as inexpensive and easy as with today's technology..... Some Naughty, Not Too Bright, Girls At Wash Times bigheaddc.com (9/5/07) Bonneville took out the 3wtradio.com domain name back on the 14th… (9/5/07) Toby Knapp at 99.5 is not gay (just pretends for some weird fun). The only openly gay guy on the air there is Houston. Go look at the site...says so. (9/5/07) Toby Knapp can`t be in the closet. There isn`t one big enough. Put your hand up for Detroit. A lovely city. (9/5/07) WORST MOVE IN THE HISTORY OF RADIO............ Elliker To Replace Franklin On BAL Radio (9/5/07) This the response to a listener who complained about the loss of WTMD's fulltime HD signal via WAMU. It was forwarded to DCRTV..... Dear Mr. XXXX, Thanks for your e-mail. I'm truly sorry that you made the HD Radio investment, only to find that we are making changes that negatively impact your choice. The collaboration with WTMD was groundbreaking, and I agree that this is an underserved population in DC. However, WAMU's own history is much more closely tied to both bluegrass and news/talk, and we felt we had to provide venues for both those formats to flourish under our call letters. You will be able to hear WTMD from 7 p.m., through overnights on the weekends, which I hope will provide some early evening listening for you. I will forward your comments along to our Programming Department. Thank you for taking the time to write to us. Best, Kay Summers, Director of Public Information, WAMU 88.5 (9/5/07) Do you think that Don knows that Mike came out of the closet? How is he taking it? (9/5/07) Dave's response: I think the two celebrated Mike's announcement with an intimate candlelit dinner at O'Meara's, one of the finest restaurant/pubs in all of Manassas..... I think Beauchamp has lost it. Shari Elliker is a respected radio journalist, primarily as a traffic reporter however. She's never hosted anything by herself on the radio outside of gimmicks on the Don and Mike Show. She's made a terrific career out of voiceovers and doing some acting, but frankly this hiring makes no sense. Shari has no clue on politics and that's what people want to talk about. Human interest radio shows have traditionally always sucked outside of George Nouri's late-night show on aliens and UFOs and Kim Kommando's show -- and they are nationally syndicated niche shows that work because enough people around the country care. I see that he waned someone local, but is anyone really gonna bother listening to this? The reason Chip had a good show is that he could mix strongly conservative politics with humor. With Shari you get just humor and no one will really take her seriously if she's talking about a fire bombing of a Baltimore row house or the death of a cop or Larry Craig. Also, to my knowledge, Beauchamp did not even bring in finalists to the station to interview them in person. Didn't do an on-air audition either. Apparently just made a decision, mostly by himself based on audition tapes. I think this show's not going to work. It's not what the market has dictated. I could see having Shari co-host the show with a more politically-inclined person, but not a solo gig. This I think will bomb. Nothing against Shari, but this just isn't something that WBAL listeners already listen to. Wrong decision. (9/5/07) From FMQB: Congratulations to Gregg "Opie" Hughes, who announced this morning on the Opie & Anthony Show that he has gotten engaged to his girlfriend Lindsay. Also getting in on the fun, producer Eric "E-Rock" Nagel announced that he too, had also recently gotten engaged. (9/5/07) Dave Loudin makes some interesting points, but I don't think the Hope Christian Church of Marlton NJ is actually stringing together these signals from New Jersey. For 1, they didn't get all the signals they applied for (some are still undecided by the FCC), which would leave gaps, and yes they are NOT supposed to be retransmitting satellite signals from another state per the rules of the FCC translator auctions. This might have been allowed in the past, but it's NOT ALLOWED for these translators that Hope Christian applied for and if they're violating FCC rules, they should have these licenses take from them for non-compliance with FCC rules. It IS the public's airwaves afterall, am I right, not Clear Channels or some church in New Jersey? The fact that there were so many defenders of this church and and immediate response from WGTS people shows that I've touched a nerve. Thank you for letting me know I was right, by the way. Now onto the FCC complaint-filing stage. :-) (9/5/07) "Cotton-mouthed Brit Hume leaves the DC bureau of Fox News today to moderate a Republican presidential debate in Durham NC....." Dave: I don't understand "cotton mouthed" but for the record the GOP debate is in New Hampshire, not North Carolina. Ira (9/5/07) Hello, Dave! I know how much you enjoy hearing from me, but I have a question for you! What happened to the Battle of the Media Hotties for this week? Did I miss it somewhere??? Oh, one more thing. If that college station in Maryland goes "K-love" the Ac's in that area might wanna watch out. KLove is on here in Topeka, KS via a 10 watt translator. Even though they can't even cover the entire town of Topeka with a city grade signal their first book in this town got them a 4 share in Shawnee county alone. This time around they are at a 2.2 share but they tied a full powered FM out of Lawrence. Just my 2 cents (I'm sure you were looking for it-smile!) Alvin G. Lawton (9/5/07) Dave's response: The fourth round of DCRTV's Battle Of The Local Media Hotties will take place next week. I gave it a two-week rest over the Labor Day holiday..... YO DAVE today's my birthday. Glad to share such a momentous day with you and DCRTV turning ten. AWESOME SITE. keep up the great work..AMF FROM DELMARVA (9/5/07) Dave's response: Yo AMF, happy birthday! Maybe you and David Burd to get together and celebrate..... I can recall back in the 1950's, Arthur Godfrey did do his television show from his home in Virginia. The rest of the cast was in New York. He usually sat at poolside wearing a bathing suit. He usually swam a lap once during each show. JohnnyuinHanover,pa. (9/5/07) Dave's response: Not a Speedo, I hope..... I am deeply saddened by the news of Janis Martin's passing. Thank you DCRTV Dave and Tom in Denton for the articles. I love the female rock-a-billy performers and in my opinion they were seriously underrated. Unfortunately, female rock n rollers who loved to swivel and shake had a difficult time in the 50's. As we know, Elvis had his share of criticism as well. Janis' song "My Boy Elvis" is one that I often feature on "Oldies Block Party". When I discovered she was from the Danville area and still performing, I so wanted to speak with her. Janis had a page on My Space and there were several entries from outside the United States. "Drug Store Rock N Roll" is a real kicker and in my opinion this is the song that truly showcased her talent. According to one of my Elvis reference books, Janis and Elvis recorded an album in 1958 that was issued on the Teal label; however, Colonel Tom had it yanked. RIP Janis. You won't be forgotten. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (9/5/07) Re Elliker: You heard it first here... Dave, if you'll recall, you received a mailbag not on August 1st noting that WBAL would replace Franklin with Elliker. Once again, you had it first! (9/5/07) Dave: FYI: The (GOP) debate is in Durham, NH (New Hampshire), not NC. Keep up the great work! (9/5/07) Dave's response: Must be a trend. Yesterday we got Lexington KY and VA mixed up..... Been on vacation so just now catching up but there are a few questions that need answering so here it goes: How much does Dave wish he would have been "outed" ala Mike Rogers instead of "outing" himself for the past ten years at DCRTV? Will WUSA's Tracy "Your New American-African Momma" Neale straighten (i.e. make white) the hair of her newly purchased adoptees from Africa or leave them naturally kinky unlike her? Now that news that Chip Franklin will be replaced by a third rate radio "personality" ("Lick her: we hardly knew her!") will he become a Baltimore cop like his dad (too late to be on The Wire)? WIth Bill "Phone Sex" O'Reilly actually receive lower ratings in his new DC gig than he did on WJFK? And last but not least: do Don and Mike listeners even notice that they are on "vacation" for the next few weeks or think that the "Best Of" is live and funnier than thye have been of late? Inquiring DCRTVers want to know! (9/5/07) Dave's response: Hey, what can I say? If you can't guess my sexual orientation after ten friggin' years of DCRTV then you must be as clueless as the folks covering local media at the Washington Post. Didn't Mike O'Meara officially come "out of the closet" last week? And whatever happened to the WGAY calls? Maybe 99.5's Toby Knapp might know..... Here is a little bit more on Arthur Godfrey and how he assisted the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in developing their radio system. inetdocs.loudoun.gov (9/5/07) Maybe I'm naive, but the history of the NPR-HD Radio relationship looks weird to me. NPR Stations: White Mice of HD Radio notionscapital.wordpress.com... Mike (9/5/07) There's a thread on DCist on the WAMU situation (dcist.com). Pay note to one comment in particular, which I am posting below. Has anyone ever been to one of these meetings? Do local journalists like Fisher and Fahri go and take notes? According to WAMU, there is a public comment period at their quarterly Community Council Meeting, the next one being on Sept. 25 at 7 PM. I'm thinking of going to express dismay - and more to the point, total and utter confusion at how 24/7 bluegrass serves the community more than AAA would. Just because the area had a demand for bluegrass demographically 40 years ago does not mean this holds today, tradition or no. This doesn't mean that bluegrass shouldn't be on the air to some degree, just not at the total expense of all other non-com genres of popular music! If nothing else, perhaps WETA could start using its HD channels to pick up WTMD, WXPN, or any of the other non-com AAAs around the country, or perhaps Minnesota Public Radio, which is about to buy the Christian station WGMS for a new talk station in DC, could run The Current on one of its HD subchannels. When you think of other major cities, DC is almost certainly the least-served in the gulf between traditional NPR micro-genres and commercial pap. When you consider that even commercial radio in DC is terrible music-wise compared to other cities, the need for non-com programming is even greater. (9/5/07) Yes, Godfrey did his radio show from his home in Virginia quite a bit with the rest of the cast in New York. One presumes he flew to NYC to be there for the TV shows. (9/5/07) Dave's response: No communications satellites or ISDN lines back then. You had to physically go to the radio or TV station to be on the air. Imagine that..... I’m sorry to hear that Ed Rodriquez has left Key 103. I haven’t met Ed, but his posts make it obvious he’s one of the real radio guys. You remember the old saying, “Bad things happen to good people, especially when they’re in radio.” Roddy Freeman (9/5/07) Dave's response: Getting canned is a common and expected occurance in the radio biz. I'm sure that a local radio vet like Ed will wind up at some other station very soon..... Happy 75th to David Burd! (9/5/07) Dave's response: Man, he doesn't look a day over 70! Happy birthday Burdman! Oh, was listening to this morning's WaPo Radio show and heard sidekick Victoria Jones profess her love for the UK band The Stranglers. Hey, maybe she should be programming The Globe. "Always The Sun"..... Shari Ellicker is replacing Chip Franklin on WBAL? Bruce Elliott would have been a much better replacement. I couldn't stand Shari when she was on WITH Chip, let alone having her own show. Hell, she even sucked as Don and Mike's "Traffic Babe" about 15 years ago...when they called her Shari "Licker". (9/5/07) Dave, This is Fred Thompson at the Q&A Cafe last November. Verbtim transcript. It's also up on YouTube: CAROL JOYNT: Well, you have never run for president... FRED THOMPSON: No, I never did... MS. JOYNT: But would you consider it?... MR. THOMPSON: No... MS. JOYNT: Would you take a position on a ticket?... MR. THOMPSON: I would have had to have started two years ago if I was going to run... MS. JOYNT: But if they wanted you on a ticket, would you want to jump back in?... MR. THOMPSON: I don’t think I would ever want to jump back in... MS. JOYNT: In any role, because there was some talk that you might run for governor in your home state of Tennessee... MR. THOMPSON: No... MS. JOYNT: Nope. You’re happy right where you are... MR. THOMPSON: Hey, I’m happy doing what I’m doing. I was in a pretty good position. I had gotten to be –... MS. JOYNT: You had a good role... MR. THOMPSON: Well, I had a pretty good – a pretty good job in politics and the future looked pretty good in terms of being reelected and all. So I had that. So it’s stepping back, stepping out of it and then clamoring to get back in doesn’t make any sense for me. I enjoy what I’m doing... (9/5/07) Re: Live! Nude! Conservative DC Writers! IOKIYAR! (google it, www.google.com) (9/5/07) Jeff Beauchamp on the Elliker hiring: "What Shari will be doing is analogous to the features or style pages of a newspaper, the slice-of-life stories, the pop-culture stuff." Translated: "We don't want her fretting about the important things Ron and Bruce talk about." Howie (9/5/07) A story I’ve heard is that Arthur Godfrey did broadcasts from his home in Middleburg, VA. Does anyone know for sure? He claimed that cranberry juice extended his life for several years. (9/5/07) Dave's response: Cranberry juice is good for the kidneys. Don Geronimo should be drinking it..... Check out my menacing rants on WTGB's URL on yes.com. Before I'm done ragging on those BASTARDS who can't seem to extract themselves from classic rock, I'm going to get kicked off of every blog out there. For fucking god sakes, I hear half of the Globe's playlist on WEAM circa 1971! not WHFS circa 1985. Michael Hughes is such a god damn phony. (9/5/07) Dave's response: Some songs that get played on The Globe ("In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel) could also get played on WASH. That ain't right..... Dave, I wanna wish you congratulations on your 10th year. You inspired my own media blog three years ago and several others to mention. You are the best! Though I've sent my annual donation, I plan to send an extra DCRTV birthday gift shortly. I paid a tribute to you on my blog on the September 5th news........in your own words. May you have plenty more years with DCRTV. Kemi Joshua, www.Keminications.com, Toronto, Canada's Media News and Gossip (9/5/07) Just to pass along to you that two radio/tv related websites in the DCRTV area are gone. WMRTV and SVRTV. WMRTV is still there but all Iget is a blue screen. SVRTV is totally gone. (9/5/07) Dear Dave: In response to a recent poster's report of MASN advertising in the Charlotte area, he may want to look at this link to the Business of Baseball site (www.bizofbaseball.com) which discusses baseball television broadcast territories and the effect upon franchise relocation. It includes a map (a bit outdated since it does not reflect the Nats move to DC) of the broadcast territories of each Major League team. In looking at the map, the city of Charlotte is "shared" by the Orioles, Reds, and Braves. Just something to throw into the mix. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (9/5/07) RE: Translators – Dave Loudin is correct (as usual). 95.1 WRBS is an example with three translators in other States : 97.1 FM Middletown, DE(80 watts); 100.1 FM Camden, DE(170 watts); 107.1 FM Hanover, PA(21 watts). So to recap, Non-commercial stations with non-commercial frequency translators can use any way to get the signal to a translator (ie Satellite, internet, off-air, etc). Commercial and non-commercial stations with translators in the commercial band have to get the signal to them from a radio station (or translator or LPFM) only using their air signal. (9/5/07) dave you r statement that bill orilety got yanked off of wjfk is not correct he can still be ehard from 1 to 3 am. Chris Ramsay (9/5/07) Dave's response: Oh, 1 AM to 3 AM on 106.7. We'll that's pretty damn close to being off the air in DC..... /\ September 5 Messages /\ \/ September 4 Messages \/ Dave, I thought some of your readers might be interested in knowing MASN is at it again---running radio and newspaper ads trying to shame Time Warner/Charlotte into carrying their service. The ads are actually pretty heavy handed, accusing Time Warner of limiting the viewing options of local viewers (we only get a little over 300 channels now). Actually, I didn't know Charlotte was in MASN's territory. We've certainly never gotten CSN here, and there was never any questions about that. I guess MASN is drooling over TW/C's 400,000 subscribers. (9/4/07) Did I hear correctly that Brett Haber supposedly had scooped all of the local sportscasters with the done deal that Mark Brunell had been traded?..Uh, Brett, Brunell is still a Redskin and still listed on the website's roster..Has he done any back peddling on this? (9/4/07) Dave - thanks for the (supportive) rant. Someone mentioned The Q&A Cafe has a deal with News Channel 8. We've talked, but right now QAC has no deals with anyone. Always hopeful, though. Happy Anniversary to you and your newsy site. Carol (9/4/07) Looks like we're not done w/Arthur Godfrey quite yet. As for his engineeriing expertise, he was a ham radio op (K4LIB) back when you had to know what was going on inside the rig. (As opposed to the appliance operators of today) I actually had a QSO w/him during Field Day 1977. And, he was very nice on the air and working guys twice (Under a club call and then under their home call.) so they xould get his QSL card. The call is held today by the Arthur Godfrey Fam Club, which I understand has the hulk of Arthur's DC-3, N1M... (9/4/07) I'm impressed with the photos of the Washington Times ladies published further down the board! I can only imagine what's been published on Usenet! (9/4/07) Bill O'Reilly? Pathetic. (9/4/07) What is happening with Centennial - Mid Atlantic? I heard the deal is dying do to the tight credit market and or FCC issues. (9/4/07) I see WMZQ has introduced its new DJs on its website… One--Michael J--says he was nominated for a CMA; he identifies as being with MZQ, but the nomination had to come from a previous market job, right? Ever get any scoop on what happened to long-time vets Jim London and Seth Warner (especially London who was a fixture there, except for one previous firing…)? Contract? Money trimming? Have they landed anywhere else? (9/4/07) Dave's response: Dead silence, as usual, from Commissars Pugh and Kapugi at Clear Channel's DC gulag. Michael J comes from Clear Channel's sister country outlet WPOC in Baltimore..... Oh look!!!!! Another Don and Mike 2 week vacation!!! Wow...How many does that make this year?? 4???? 5????? Geesh....What a waste of 4 hours on WJFK.... (9/4/07) I'm pretty certain that the note about the legalities of out-of-state programming on translators is completely wrong. There is a distinction on HOW a translator receives the program to rebroadcast based on frequency. In the NCE part of the FM band, translators can be fed by satellite (originally meant to help state-operated public radio networks cover their entire state) or by over-the-air reception. For translators to the right of 92, they must be able to receive the FM station that they are rebroadcasting. RF doesn't stop at state boundaries, so relaying an out-of-state signal is not "illegal." The trick for a non-commercial entity to feed a distant translator over-the-air is to string along a series of translators, each one picking up the audio from the one before. So, an NCE station in New Jersey is picked up by translator 1 which is then picked up by translator 2 and so on until you get to the one for Baltimore. Until all the translators are up, the distant one has to relay something that can be received, like another NCE station. Regards, Dave Loudin (9/4/07) RE: WGTS Translators - I am not sure who gave you the information that Columbia Union College purchased a translator, but they were mistaken. WGTS nor Columbia Union College has purchased a translator (anywhere). WGTS has been used to repeat their signal on three translators in the Baltimore area on a temporary basis. But just to make sure I checked with the CFO of Columbia Union College, the treasurer of WGTS/Columbia Union College Broadcasting, Inc (The actual licensee of WGTS). I am also an officer of WGTS/CUCBI and again neither entity has purchased a translator in the area. Also a correction for your news blurb - none of the frequencies we are on have been used to rebroadcast anything from Hope Christian Church, only WGTS at this point.... I took a quick moment to look at the app at the FCC and in reviewing the translator situation I think I can see where someone was confused about the Baltimore translator. If you look at the app that appeared on the FCC database today - BALFT - 20070904ABV, is transferring the license from Radio Assist TO Hope Christian Church (NOT WGTS or Columbia Union College). The app lists WGTS as being the station the translator will be rebroadcasting. They of course can change which station they use for the translator to rebroadcast. This has nothing to do with WGTS or Columbia Union College owning a translator. John Konrad, Vice President/General Manager, WGTS 91.9 fm (9/4/07) I’m unsure as to who the tool is that has it out for the translators…but the best I understand, Marlton Church COULD rebroadcast their programming on 106.1 in Baltimore if they chose to do so. A non-commercial broadcaster can actually send their signal by satellite to a “translator” – can they not? That’s the way the rules are written, no? (9/4/07) RE: [ " The signal will drop its relay of NJ's Hope Christian Church Of Marlton to rebroadcast the college's Christian contemporary WGTS (91.9 FM). "]....... Wrong on 1 point for sure! Baltimore's 106.1 is ALREADY re-broadcasting WGTS. I posted it here previously (while receiving it from BWI Marshall Airport) and even someone from WGTS confirmed it in the mailbag. If ANY of those Hope Christian Church of Marlton NJ or Radio Assist Ministry translators re-broadcast a signal from NEW JERSEY, they would be in danger of losing their FCC license, since that would be ILLEGAL. If anyone in Maryland or Delaware has info about HEARING a NEW JERSEY Christian radio station on a local signal, they should post it here first so it can be stopped. Once again, it would BE ILLEGAL! (9/4/07) Perhaps the final word (for the time being anyway) on Arthur Godfrey... here's an itty bitty mp3 sample of vintage "musical expression" allegedly by the ol' Codfish himself. DCMemories.com... I dare you to turn-on the "continuous repeat" feature of your computer's mp3 player and crank-up your speakers. By the fiftieth mind-expanding repetition of this clip, you'll be eager to chug-a-lug a whole gallon of the same high-octane beverage that Arthur seemed to be enjoying. (Guaranteed to rid your home of left-over, unwelcome holiday guests as well.) And while I've got your attention, I've been told that there is an old radio blooper (from the 1960s or older) of Tony Marvin (Arthur Godfrey's announcer at one time and who later worked for Mutual Broadcasting) in an inebriated state during his announcing shift. Has anyone run across it? (9/4/07) Has anyone else heard the Centex Homes radio spot where the woman CLEARLY says "Fuckingham Station"? So help me god, she is dropping the "F bomb" in there....No two ways about it...It's clear as day. (9/4/07) Dave's response: Where is Fuckingham Station? A few miles from Norfuck? (Re: 2 of Comcast's cable systems -- both of them to the west of the DC area -- no longer have their MTV. The Comcast cable systems that no longer have the 26-year-old cable net, which airs shows such as "The Real World," "Pimp My Ride," and "My Super Sweet 16," among others, are in Front Royal, VA and Winchester, VA. And with the annual Video Music Awards coming up later this week, this is not good news...) Unless it was dropped over the weekend, which would never surprise me with this cable system, MTV can be found on Channel 39. It moved last month from Channel 73 (hoping that means MASN could finally be on the way). Charles in Winchester (9/4/07) The other mailbag poster who'll be missing WTMD should write WAMU (ksummers@wamu.org) and let them know. Maybe they can fill in some of the large blocks of currently unscheduled programming with some more diverse offerings (World Cafe?). (9/4/07) A couple of things..first: Concerning a "call-in" show for discussion of "radio industry": there is a show that is on the internet called "The Radio Racket"..I think the url is www.radioracket.com they sort of do something like what I think you're talking about; since they're based in the Philadelphia area, they mostly talk about radio in the Philly area. So Dave, could that be a possibility for folks who are interested in talking radio in the Baltimore/Washington D.C./eastern shore market? About Kevin Ocean..does anybody remember him as "Roger Ribbit?" I do; when the old "KHI became "Froggy 99.9 (the format was "country"..as it is now. But the jocks all had "froggy" names; the lady who came on in the afternoons went by "Ann Fibian" (I know her real name..but she might kill me if I divouged her real name..but I'll bet some of you know her; I'll say this much: she currently is working in Baltimore. Tom in Denton, MD (9/4/07) Live! Nude! Conservative DC Writers! bigheaddc.com: Well, well, well. It looks like a couple of Washington Times’ reporters share more than core conservative values in common. Both Kelly Jane Torrance and Kara Rowland have posted a couple of naughty pics of themselves on these here tubular Internets. With all the recent tension going on inside the Times’ newsroom, you’ve gotta wonder if their bosses have had a chance to figure it out yet! According to Torrance’s blog (www.kellyjanetorrance.com), her skin pic was shot by “a friend” in sunny Cyprus, a vacay destination well-known for its nude beaches. Does anyone else smell a whiff of hypocrisy here? (Or was that just one of the girl’s nether regions?) Here you have two pretty (as in somewhat) conservative individuals writing stories (and in Torrance’s case awful movie reviews) telling everyone to keep it in their pants, while they prance about, letting it all hang out. Not fair! As one naughty boy on Big Head DC’s staff observed: “It’s like the Ann Coulter school of sexual hypocrisy, but with less clothes.” (9/4/07) Regarding the Caps and WTEM: let's be fair about WTEM. In the past year or two, several of the people there, Thompson, Walker, Mitchell, HAVE made an attempt to cover the Caps and treat them with respect. Koken and Linn, of course, are hockey guys. But it was too little too late. People like Pollin and Czaban had so poisoned the well by insulting the sport, the team and hockey fans, that hard core Caps fans had long ago stopped listening to the station. Leonsis should have moved years ago. His blog post foreshadowing the move was all too clear about his dissatisfaction with WTEM. Imagine how Leonsis feels. He pays big bucks to have the games broadcast on WTEM and then he hears the sports and his team ridiculed in a way that surely hurts in terms of marketing casual sports fans. I'm sure Bonneville made a competitive bid to get the Caps, but the atmosphere that made the move necessary can be laid directly on the doorstep of Pollin and Czaban. I hope WTEM thinks those two are worth the business they just lost. By the way, my recollection of the 98 Caps Cup run was that they did indeed get much better coverage from the mainstream local media. Everyone loves a winner and there is no more treasured trophy in sports than the Stanley Cup. Being a hockey fan, I remember being amazed at walking into local bars at which I usually have to ask them to put the Caps game on one of the televisions and seeing people three or four deep at the bar cheering the Caps on in a Stanley Cup final game. It can be like that again. (9/4/07) Dave, you really should consolidate your Delmarva NPR stories into one big story because not only is Baltimore's WYPR setting up shop at the beach, but Washington's WAMU is ALSO putting a new non-com signal on the air in OC on 88.3 AND an even more powerful one than WYPO 106.9 and at least as powerful as the existing Salisbury University's WSCL/WSDL on Delmarva. That could potentially make for THREE NPR stations at the beach all competing against each other! I can understand why Salisbury U is upset, but you only have to look at their latest construction permit decision for a translator at the shore to see how they f'd up their signals... www.radio-locator.com... Who is that translator for? Do blue crabs listen to NPR? The signal will barely reach ANY local town where people actually live! Amazing engineering flub considering they already had a translator directly IN the town of Crisfield and are abandoning it (for cash maybe?). (9/4/07) Warning - Sarcastic Statement Approaching - - Thank goodness, more talk for Washington's airwaves! I don't get it. HD radio is certainly struggling to establish itself in the marketplace. It certainly doesn't help when HD recievers are $100 - 200. So what motivates someone to spend money to get yet another piece of audio equipment? Unique programming. I purchased a $200 Sangean Tuner (using DCRTV's Amazon link) to listen to WTMD. Now I get to listen to WETA's failed programming. Yeah!! (Whoops, more sarcasm.) (9/4/07) Dave's response: HD Radio - "Highly Disappointing." A marketing campaign and little else. But, hell, that's corporate radio for 'ya..... Congratulations Dave! Even though I have been bashed many times on this site, I have always believed DCRTV serves a vital purpose. People are fascinated by the inner workings of the Broadcasting business, including those of us who are in the business. The truth can be painful. Nobody gets away with anything since you started this site 10 years ago. Keep it going. I have always wondered if this forum would make a good call in show on the air. Sounds like a good idea to me. (9/4/07) Dave's response: Over the years, I have informally discussed doing a media-related show on area radio, but station managers are very skittish about talking about other media outlets, particularly competing stations, on their airwaves..... So is the almost total yanking of AAA on WAMU going to be offset by MPR running the Current on an HD channel when they get to town (and when is the sale going through already?) Or will WAMU's high profile HD moves finally spur WETA to run something on its HD subchannels? (9/4/07) Dave's response: Why doesn't WTMD end its relationship with WAMU and move its DC HD signal over to WTGB? The non-comm AAA WTMD music would be a welcome replacement for the canned alt rock "Jam" stream (which goes back to the classic rock WARW days) on The Globe's HD2 channel..... I believe Carol is already in talks with News 8 to air her restaurant chats on TV. I think they're looking at slotting her on the weekend. (9/4/07) Interesting rumor from Delmarva.. Cowboy may return to 96 rock mornings. Steve (9/4/07) Dave, I was curious how the Baltimore radio stations' morning shows stack up? Is there a website that shows how the ratings have been for the last year or 18 months. This is for a project for school ( 9th grade). Thank you, Boyd (9/4/07) Dave's response: You can go to radioandrecords.com and click on the "ratings" tab and see the full-day Baltimore ratings for a year or so. Anybody got a ratings snapshot of the Baltimore morning radio shows for Boyd? Ref: Happy Labor Day…To the poster reference to the good old days Eastern Shore Radio: 100 KHI.... How about the ever so sexy Cheryl Aydolette (when did I hire her? Must have been a good hire in between morning show and happy hour) doing news in the morning with the Hitman .... she and Al Lavie shared those duties as he was semi- retiring at the time. She went on to be a spokesperson for Constellation Energy, BGE. Your lineups were Hitman and Company in the Morning, Dave Fleetwood (actually I think I fired him and hired Lane, but anyhow hate to mess up a good story with some facts) middays, Lane Jernigan afternoons and Flash Phelps (I fired flash for the annoying paper rattle noises, just annoyed the hell out of me) in the evenings, for awhile. You also had Phil Dirt, Mike Phillips (aka Philapelli or something like that) , RJ (Shingleton) and (rumbling and stubling) Jack Gillen and the ever so crazy Chris O'Brien (I loved this kids energy, he’s still working radio in the mid-west or at least so Mcfly told me a couple of month ago) . I remember the Hurricane in the mid eighties where everybody was forced to evacuate but KHI stayed on the air ( studios downtown ) and the whole crew reported action as it was happening to keep you informed. (yes as a matter of fact we had two dj’s duct taped to a pair of pay phones on the boardwalk, Some funny shit…and I think one of them was Jesse “Crash” Collins who I named during his first full day a work for wrecking the band new Coco Cola video van….Yep “Crash” went on to L.A. worked at the Power and the Beat. Talk about live, local and latebreaking.......And what about Hitman’s weather guy from WBOC and later the weather channel Mike Seidel (still there and calls and checks in every month or so, great guy, no doubt)…Happy 10th Anny Dave and thanks for the kind words Rich…..JJ “Hitman” McKay (9/4/07) (regarding an item on the DCRTV News Page) I applaud and endorse the efforts of blogactive.com's Mike Rogers' outing of closeted gay Congress members and other political staffers. These people need to become aware that there is a very high price to pay for their hypocrisy. They have used power and position to publicly proclaim their support of "morality and family values", yet behind the scenes they engage in activities and lifestyles that they publicly condemn. Same goes for similar efforts by Larry Flynt to expose these frauds! I'd like to see this kind of courage from all journalists and publishers, bringing the same truthfulness to their reporting, so that more stories of this kind see the light of day. (9/4/07) As of this morning (9/4), "Oldies 95.3" in Front Royal is now branding themselves as "The River 95.3." (9/4/07) Maybe The Globe should jettison the current format and bring JACK radio to D.C. Heck JACK radio has a far bringer playlist than The Globe. They could save money by dumping the jocks and Michael Highes could spend more time concentrating on making WPGC and El Zol better instead of working on playlists for the Globe and stringing O'Meara along.......boy Jerry Lewis seemed a lot more energetic this year and did I hear correctly that the firefighter's raised $25 million this year! but say no Casey Kasem this year? Where are those damn pictures I was suppose to get last week. (9/4/07) I shoulda asked NBC for Barbara Harrison's vacation plan when I was on the air - Johnny Carson (9/4/07) "Birdies" lie! I talked to EdRod late last week and he was really excited about the new PD at Key and had been helping him with a lot of the planned out programming improvements the new guy wanted to do. Ed said they were friends for years and had worked together somewhere. WMZQ? WPOC? He said but I wasn't really paying attention. Sucks for listeners. Rodriguez was all Key had going for it. (9/4/07) Back in the 70's, WJZ had a mid-day talk host that went by the name of Larry Angel (I believe he came in after Oprah departed). Does anyone know whatever became of him? Rusty Gibson (9/4/07) Dear Dave: Just got back from a restful week on the beach at Corolla, NC. As always when I'm out of town, I did some DX-ing and was able to listen to the Nats loud and clear on 1500 AM. Interestingly, I was also able to pick up the signal of WTEM at night down there. In contrast, nighttime service to Ashburn from those two stations is, of course, nonexistent and reflects outdated FCC-regulated signal patterns. Secondly, bravo to the Caps in moving their games away from WTEM. The team deserves better and, hopefully, this move will better serve them (with the caveat that XXX is still a Dan Snyder operation). As for the person who said "[h]ey Caps and caps fans start getting some wins and then people won't be so negative...," I remember very clearly the treatment the Caps received during and just after their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998, and it was no better than what it is now. It obvious that the views expressed by some is due to ignorance and nothing else. Also, Tony Kornheiser has been quite the difficult person to read on hockey, on the one hand not being complementary of the sport while on the other saying on more than one occasion that there is nothing more exciting in sports than attending a Stanley Cup Playoff game. Finally, a salute to you Dave for 10 years of managing this board, relaying information, and providing a meeting place for those who are in the industry, for those who have some connection to it (like yours truly), or for those who just have a curiosity driven by the romance and magic of years past of tuning in distant signals from far-off cities and discovering that this country (and world) is that much bigger than what we can actually see. Here's to another 10 years...and beyond. Congratulations! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (9/4/07) /\ September 4 Messages /\ \/ September 3 Messages \/ Regarding "Here's a classic 100-KHI lineup that rocked..." it was Kevin Ocean (real name Kevin Evans). (8/3/07) The Midlife Intern: Free to Follow Her Heart, By Heather R. Taylor, Special to the Washington Post: "Decades after most of my contemporaries began flourishing in their careers, I began a two-year internship, becoming perhaps one of the most senior interns in radio history. Working countless hours for no pay may not sound like a good midlife career move, but while I worked for free, the experience both enriched and freed me. I produced and hosted an hour-long weekly radio talk show, "American Odyssey Radio," with responsibility for identifying and researching themes, writing the scripts and operating the audio board. Unlike my 20-something intern counterparts, I received neither college credit nor stipend. My compensation came in the form of opportunity -- the chance to create an engaging broadcast that could be heard in more than 270,000 Washington area households on WEBR and reach even more people over the Internet..." (9/3/07) WRXS was X107 for a few years in the mid-90's. It was a great station that introduced me to a lot of truly alternative rock when I was in high school in Salisbury. Unfortunately it was doomed by a weak signal coming out of Bishopville and a populace that was more interested in Billy Ray Cyrus than Pavement. (9/3/07) FYI...Johnny Holliday was the PA voice of the Bullets, right after WWDC lost the games to WTOP back in the mid 70's. I believe he did the games at the Cap center for about a year of Two. Frank Herzog did the play by play for WTOP, Holliday and Tony Roberts had done the games for WWDC the last year the team played in Baltimore, and continued through the mid 70's. Yes, Johnny and Rick Barry were close friends, in fact Rick attended many of the Radio Oneders games that WWDC put on playing school faculty's throughout the area, but WWDC did not carry any of the Washington Capitol's ABA games. (9/3/07) 2 of Comcast's cable systems -- both of them to the west of the DC area -- no longer have their MTV. The Comcast cable systems that no longer have the 26-year-old cable net, which airs shows such as "The Real World," "Pimp My Ride," and "My Super Sweet 16," among others, are in Front Royal, VA and Winchester, VA. And with the annual Video Music Awards coming up later this week, this is not good news. (9/3/07) So we know Johnny Holliday didn't handle P.A. for the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets...but that doesn't mean he might not have had local pro basketball P.A. duties. How many people remember the 1969-70 Washington Capitols of the ABA, formerly the Oakland Oaks, who lasted all of one year (playing at the Washington Coliseum of '64 Beatles concert fame) before moving to Virginia and becoming the Squires? (Perhaps the team would have had more success if the University of Maryland had given the team permission to play games at Cole Field House, where a number of NBA neutral-site games had been played over the years, but AD Jim Kehoe, fearful pro basketball attendance would hurt Terrapin ticket sales under new coach Lefty Driesell, turned them down.) The Capitols' star was Rick Barry, who was good friends with Johnny when both were in the Bay Area. I wasn't in the area then, so I don't know if Capitols games were aired on WWDC, or if Johnny had anything to do with the broadcasts. Anyone know? -- Vincent in Triangle (9/3/07) Here's a classic 100-KHI lineup that rocked...Hitman / Al Lavie / Craig Heist, Lane Jernigan, Danny Ocean (RIP), George McFly, The Beav...the boys of summer! (9/3/07) Ed Rodriguez fired from Key 103.1 as of Friday. Something about a personality clash with the new P.D. (Might not be the whole reason, but birdies say it was a factor.) Ahh, radio. (9/3/07) Interesting rumor about possible "digital radio" regarding Apple's imminent Sept. 5 release of new audio & video iPods... www.macrumors.com... It would be VERY cool to have local HD radio station reception or Satrad on an iPod or iPhone, especially since neither device can stream local radio stations currently. Or maybe local radio station streaming ability is really what the rumor is all about? I guess we'll have to wait for Sept. 5 to find out for sure. (9/3/07) Okay..I'll talk about WAMU (not that they care)..but I'm one of those who used to enjoy the country and bluegrass programming; we used to hear how much (during their "Begathons) how much our dollars meant to them..how it kept that type of programming on the air; it must not have been so! Or at least..they felt that we didn't represent enough of the audience to keep that programming on their main channel! Sure, Ray Davis and Katie Daily will do a great job..but who's gonna be able to hear them? I still say that this whole "HD" thing is a bust; the signals don't really go that far! You (at least at this time) cannot "load up your computer and listen to the "on line" stream of Bluegrass country" while you're driving down the road! So it seems to me that what WAMU has done (and is still doing) is alienating it's fans of country and bluegrass (especially those who live outside the metro D.C. area! I actually didn't send them anything this year, in part, because Eddie Stubbs had stopped doing his show (it was also in part because I'm trying to be a little more choosey about where I send my dollars. But now..I'll probably never send them anything in protest of what they're doing with their country music and bluegrass programming! The only reason now that I'll ever have for listening to WAMU might be to tune in to see what Ed Walker has on "The Big Broadcast" on Sunday nights! Thanks for reading; sorry about the long post. Happy Labor Day to all. Tom in Denton, MD. (9/3/07) I thought today's blog post might be of interest - notionscapital.wordpress.com... "Washington’s WAMU-FM, American University’s radio station, was built by fans of Bluegrass music. In gratitude, the station is burying Bluegrass in a big, deep hole in the air called HD Radio." Best, Mike (9/3/07) Re: I can't believe no one is talking about WAMU! This is will be huge for the thousands who've contributed money to keep bluegrass and americana music on that station. //// In the words of former President Clinton, who was recently described by tap dancer extraordinaire Larry Craig as a "nasty, bad, naughty boy," I feel your pain. But, the writing has been on the wall for a long time, first the programming was curtailed, now it's virtually gone from "free" radio. Niche programming is going to cost you something one way or the other, whether its via the Internet, Satellite, HD radio, etc. Not to quibble with the OP about what fans of Bluegrass & Roots music donate per annum, but I would guess listening time and those who tune out is greater than those who stayed tuned in. It's all about money and numbers. "Serving the community" is subjective. (9/3/07) I can't believe no one is talking about WAMU! This is will be huge for the thousands who've contributed money to keep bluegrass and americana music on that station. Smart of them to release the news at the start of the Labor Day weekend, when so many are on holiday. I can just imagine the angry calls in a couple of weeks time from folks are driving around and suddenly can't find any music. (Let's hope they pull into a car park before calling!) I'll be among those not just talking, but sending off a letter of complaint. My dial stays on WAMU Saturday and Sunday, except when I'm looking for traffic reports. I've got XM, but find it somewhat stale...which wasn't true when they first got started. While many of you might scoff, truth is that many of the listeners to those programs are highly educated professionals, driving cars that come with high end audio systems that are factory installed --- removing them to add an hd headunit is not only expensive, it's going to play havoc for some of those with systems that are tuned to the car----porsche, mercedes, volvo and the like design their high end stereo systems for a reason, and the cabins never sound the same once you've pulled out the installed ones. And who is going to trade in a car they like simply because they can't get HD? Some might do, but I'd wager most will just grumble and pull out CDs. As for auxiliary tuners, there aren't many of them, and if your manufacturer hasn't made one ...well, you're out of luck. And most are made for recent model years only. That said, the new stations look interesting, except for the cutback of WTMD. I'm sure Katy Daley and Ray Davies will do a fine job, and perhaps one day I'll hear them. It is very clever of WAMU to hand out HD table radios to everyone who donated the name of the bluegrass shows during the past two pledge drives. But the real question is why is WAMU shunning the faithful who continued to donate money, even after the last fiasco? Why are they turning away from the local programs and news that made them famous? I had such high hopes when the new GM arrived, as she had come from a station that respected music and managed to keep a local flavor when all others were starting to sound alike. Just one more question...why does the US calling this HD radio? In the UK, the same thing is called "digital radio." And the radios used there are much more sophisticated than the few on sale here, with many having built in recorders, allowing you to timeshift programs. And, like the US satellite broadcasters, you can tune in a national digital station like Radio 4, and not have to re-tune once if you're driving across the country. Which is a god-send, as I'd be quite cross if I lost "Just A Minute" just as Paul Merton took off on a flight of fancy. Of course I'm cross when I'm here in America because I can't even listen to "Just A Minute," except online....but that's a whole other matter. Didn't WAMU carry JAM back in the old days? Or was it just only "I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue?" (9/3/07) "I don't care how YOU pronounce his name, what matters is how HE pronounces it!" I don't care how he pronounces it because I don't even know who the hell he is. This mailbag sure has some trivial people. Paul (9/3/07) A couple brief observations: I can't understanding the complaints about the Washington Post. Certainly it make mistakes and it's imperfect but it's certainly better than most papers. Marc Fisher has sharp and unusual viewpoints in his column on metropolitan matters. Anything written by Joel Achenbach is always interesting. Has anyone seen the Baltimore Sun lately? At least the Post has continued its in-depth news coverage ( I know - the Metro news section begs for more, deeper stories but again look at the Sun's decline). I realize the newspaper as we know it is slowly dying - but at least the Post is still in there punching even with recent cuts. This may be the result of a news publication that remains family owned instead of the corporate, sadly emasculated Baltimore Sun. The comment that Washington's radio is losing its cool stations - I remember one of the reasons I moved from dreary Baltimore to Washington is because D.C. had the coolest stations. WGTB, WHFS, even staid old WMAL (when WMAL was what a community station was all about). From the 80's on, D.C. stations became stulifying to listen to. (9/3/07) Dave's response: I have said that the Post is an excellent newspaper, except for the Style section. I was listening to The Globe this morning and they came out of a classic Pink Floyd song to tell us how bold and innovative they are. Sad..... I see in R&R that Warrenton's 1250 AM, WPRZ was recently sold to Metro Radio for 1.1 million. A few years ago I had the privilage of working with JR Richardson and Mike Fast to install a diplex system there plus a new Nautel transmitter, we did this for Metro Radio. Steve Buchanan, the owner of WPRZ was a real gentleman and long time broadcaster. I wish Steve well should he be retiring. Tom Conroy (9/3/07) Dave's response: If you checked the Front Page, you wouldn't have known that DCRTV beat R&R on that one by a week or two. As usual. Poor little Warrenton has no local radio any more - 94.3 is Triple X, 107.7 is WaPo Radio, 1420 is Spanish geared to Prince William, and 1250 will probably be the same soon..... While Safari 3.03 may be the latest version of the Apple browser, it is also a BETA piece of software as it states definitively on the download website -- www.apple.com/safari -- which is why you have to go to download it manually instead of being bundled with other system updates. It was released obstensively to facilitate webpage compatibility with the Apple iPhone. (9/3/07) Dave ... somewhere in your images directory, you might have a vintage pic of those huge towers formerly at RonReag Airport. I recall sending you same some months ago with a caption that read something like "how about THESE babies", or something equally Peterson-esque. Black and white, long distance shot. -ap (9/3/07) Good thing I remembered correctly. My father said he used to see those towers, and there's a plaque where they stood. One correction; it was NSS, not NAA, which was the D.C. station; NAA is in Maine now, and I don't know where it was then. /BT/ Could WWWT take some of its programming time and play bluegrass and country and folk music? It would work from 12 midnight to 5 at nights, and there would be listeners. Saturday mornings would be good too./BT/ GAB in the Airless Cubicle (9/3/07) CONGRATULATIONS AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DCRTV!!!! Love 'n Huggles, Tippy & Angel, too (9/3/07) Dave: Happy Labor Day to you and to everyone that reads and participates here on DCRTV. To the poster reference to the good old days Eastern Shore Radio: 100 KHI.... How about the ever so sexy Cheryl Aydolette doing news in the morning with the Hitman .... she and Al Lavie shared those duties as he was semi- retiring at the time. She went on to be a spokesperson for Constellation Energy, BGE. Your lineups were Hitman and Company in the Morning, Dave Fleetwood middays, Lane Jernigan afternoons and Flash Phelps in the evenings, for awhile. You also had Phil Dirt, Mike Phillips, RJ, and Jack Gillen and the ever so crazy Chris O'Brien. I remember the Hurricane in the mid eighties where everbody was forced to evacuate but KHI stayed on the air ( studios downtown ) and the whole crew reported action as it was happening to keep you informed. Talk about live, local and latebreaking.......Happy 10th anniversary Dave. Rich (9/3/07) To Shawn in Bethesda: Yo're correct about Johnny Dark handling P.A. duties at the old Civic Center in Baltimore. Though when they moved to the Capital Centre in Landover, the voice of the arena for both the Bullets and the Caps was the late Marv Brooks. Mr. Brooks was a mainstay at the old WMOD. I don't recall Johnny Holiday ever handling P.A. duties. Rusty Gibson (9/3/07) Wow... 10 years of DCRTV! Dave, I remember the first time I found your website... Remember something called "Webcrawler"? I believe that's how I first found your site. And, I'd already been surfing the web for almost two years! Not to mention 12 years of Compu$erve before that where I was on BP Forum and Hamnet. (I guess you could say I've been online since 1983 in that case!) Hard to believe... As for a DCRTV celebration, how about a picnic at Stratton Woods Park, next to WOHN? Perhaps you could even convince Verizon Wireless to open up the building so survivors could show "what was where" in there. Perhaps somewhere a faded "Where's Jay?" might still survive in the place! If not a picnic at WOHN, how about a late afternoon beer bust at Harry Averill's gravesite to allow so many the oppor! tunity desired by so many! But, there's still a place in this biz for those who have a hobbyist's enthusiasm for it. Perhaps that enthusiasm began years ago when we first heard a far-away radio station. Of course, "far-away" was (and still is) a matter of interpretation. At least it was easier to ID what you were hearing because almost everything was "live and local" back then. Not long ago, the wife and I took some time off to do some pre-retirement house-hunting. On our fourth afternoon out, driving between Essex and Ludlow on the old Route 66. I decided to fire-up the Pioneer (Still the best-designed RF sections in a current car receiver!) on AM and see what "Dashboard DX" was out there. Even though sunset was approaching, the near-absence of RFI and QRM (Unlike what I found recently back in Northern Virginia, It was impossible to listen to WMAL, WTWP, etc. on parts of roads like Georgetown Pike, Springvale Road, or Hunter Mill Road!) made DX'ing enjoyable, even ! of signals that would be local or even semi-local to Pasadena, but whi ch I'd likely not listen to. We listened to XEPRS-1090 w/a Padres game as "Double 'X' Sports" up to the Spanish ID. Then, near Amboy we heard something I've not heard for ages back east: A real sign-off at sundown! Yes, KBRT-740 actually signs-off at our local sunset! None of this bullshit of dropping to a wastefully bizarre night power of 13 watts or something like that! I suppose having a 50KW clear like KCBS in San Francisco on 740 helps! The KBRT s/off is an "old fashioned" one with all the info we used to hear "in the day"! Strange thing is, their rig is on Catalina atop Signal Hill, not far from where wildfires were a few months ago. We did some other tuning around that evening listening to old favorites like KGO, KSCO, (K)KOH, and others. But, the highlight that evening was listening live to Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's homerun record on the Giants' hometown station, KNBR-680. Dave, best wishes from Pasadena on DCRTV's 10th anniversary! John Pinckney (! Still an occasional Dashboard DX'er!) (9/3/07) /\ September 3 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....