Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - September 30 to October 4, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ October 4 Messages \/ Well Dave, it appears that your Battle of the Local Hotties has brought out responses from your contenders this week. Derek McGinty has begun soliciting votes on his blog over at WUSA and HAS posted quite unflattering pictures (although not the Real Brian Bolter). Brian Bolter has countered on FOX5's blog site..I find it quite amusing!!!..Just another example that the local on air talent DOES read DCRTV.. (10/4/07) Dave's response: Check out Derek's blog at wusa9.com. And Brian's blog at myfoxdc.com. As of tonight, Derek has a 2-to-1 lead over 5's Brian Bolter. If Brian loses this battle, it will be the second loss in a row for Channel 5, as 5's Shawn Yancy lost to Channel 4's Wendy Rieger last week..... (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Broadcast professionals: If you have been thinking about joining The National Press Club, now is the time to act. The world's most prestigious press club is waiving initiation fees for new applicants in October. The NPC offers special rates for students and for professionals under age 35. For more information, go to www.press.org or call the NPC Membership Office at 202-662-7505. (10/4/07) (regarding a previous post) "Chip Franklin escapes the sinkhole that is WBAL, only to find one in San Diego!" Actually, Chip's only connection to the sinkhole here is that after only one month on the air in San Diego, radio listeners were praying for the earth to open and swallow them up! He IS that bad! (10/4/07) If I hear David Burd telling that story about how some rock star puked in his car again I think I'll throw up the Moo Shoo pork I orginally vomited when I heard Geronimo retell for the umpteenth time that story about he ordered double portions of Chinese at 10 AM at some dive near the old WAVA studios. Man. You radio guys are getting OLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD! Please don't make us (your listeners) repeatedly suffer for the ravages of your age. Cue Harry Chapin: "WOLDDDDDD. I've got a hemmorhoid that won't go away". (10/4/07) Comcast of Prince George's County, MD announces the following programming changes effective 10/1/07: Channel 68 is now re-designated as Sports Overflow. The Channel will be predominantly C-SPAN2, preempted occasionally by live sporting events. The channel had been designated MASN2. C-SPAN2 continues to be available without preemption on digital channel 104... For DIRECTV customers, Comcast SportsNet Plus will be seen on Channel 669. For Dish Network customers, Comcast SportsNet Plus will be seen on Channel 446. (10/4/07) Dave's response: All area Comcast systems will be running the new CSN+ overflow channel where MASN2 was, which was where C-SPAN 2 was - er, still is some of the time. That's on basic cable. C-SPAN 2 is available fulltime on digital 104..... When Clear Channel held the local baseball postseason radio rights, virtually every game was aired in the D.C. market. Weekday afternoon games were farmed off to WTNT or WWRC but they still aired. That's more than can be said for this year though under Red Zebra stewardship. Any key games in conflict with Redskins or Virginia Tech coverage won't air on local D.C. radio at all. Everett W. (10/4/07) Mike in Fairfax: Feldman is not a hockey guy. So I'm not surprised by his comments. Carol Maloney, on the other hand, likes the sport and used to take Pollin and Czaban to task for not talking about the Caps and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she was the primary force behind the remote broadcast from Kettler IcePlex. I will give WTEM credit for one thing, however. With the exception of Czaban and Pollin, who were ripped by Leonsis and hate the Caps and their fans, the station has continued to give the Caps some coverage even after the announcement that the team's radio broadcasts were moving to the greener pastures of 3WT. (10/4/07) Chip Franklin escapes the sinkhole that is WBAL, only to find one in San Diego! (10/4/07) Dave, I agree with your rant about O'Meara doing a great job yesterday. I do want to point out that he didn't know he was flying solo until 20 minutes before the show, so no time to stress and the outline for the show would have been set-up for Don. I think if JFK keeps Mike around for a new, post-Don show, Robbay would not be included as he is way too associated with Don as his "best buddy" and godfather of lil' Robb. Maybe Don should take more time off in the next several months and let the others fly on their own. Anyone know if Mike will be off the air as of May 31, 2008 too? (10/4/07) To Bob Mathers: Thanks for the kind words! It was truly fun at WAMD, learned alot of great things--good and bad. The market had a true jewel in it's own backyard. After leaving WAMD, I came the Delmarva area to launch a new station-which I'm sure most people know what station that was. Then, I was off to Cambridge. Now, I have my own company (cheap self-promotion, Sound Foundations Media, LLC.) If DCRTV Dave does not mind, I'll have him pass my email address over to you, if you want it. And yes Dave, I will send a check to DCRTV for a donation! Bob, I'll be in touch! Steve (10/4/07) Dave's response: Thanks..... (Re: My Chickaboomer website. I am flattered and appreciative of the poster who wrote: "Love the Chickaboomer site with that sassy lady who looks and sounds more Gen-X than Boomer. Thanks for exposing the rest of us to her--maybe one day you can expose the rest of her to us (in a dignified manner of course..) In the meantime, I'll settle for reading her funny and witty take on the news of the day. But as one who has suffered the consequences of trying to read her blog while drinking coffee at the same time--do not try this at home. You may end up spewing or choking while trying not to laugh out loud.") To "Ghengis Cohen" who wrote that I remind him of his ex-wife. I apologize, my friend. Perhaps you'd still be married had she adopted my stress-relieving techniques. Vacuuming, cleaning, ironing. Naked. On second thought, are you one of my ex-husbands? Marty (10/4/07) To Steve Mann...Good to hear from you Steve. Those days at WAMD bring back a lot of nice memories. As far as you are concerned, you are the prime example for anyone who wants to get into the radio business and how persistence pays off! Now, let me tell people why we called you 'Boy Wonder'. You showed up at WAMD as a Havre de Grace HS student who was willing to do anything...starting at the tender age of 14! At WAMD we did tons of remotes and free appearances, had Buddy Deane on, did billboards and TV spots, at one time had live jocks on around the clock, ran 18 minutes of spots per hour and created quite a buzz around Harford County and even down into Baltimore...because people down there heard about us. they just couldn't hear us. As opposed to Yogi Berra saying 'If you get hurt, and miss work...it won't hurt to MISS work.' You played a big part in whatever success we achieved. You went from running errands to becoming a board op to a jock to doing live appearances to as you say...managing the station, and then you moved on up to the Cambridge outfit run by Troy Hill (who I had the pleasure of seeing 1 1/2 years ago at the WSUX reunion in Seaford, Delaware). Speaking of one James Vaughan McMahan, alias 'Captain Jim', he gets the credit for bringing you on...and then when I got there and soon there after he started doing his thing at the Ripken Museum...he encouraged me to put the oldies format on in November of '97 and we all enjoyed a few years of some rather amazing times. Steve...don't ever lose your fire, or the love of this business. As you and I both know...radio can be cruel, even debilitating at times...and those things can happen without warning. However, the good far outweighs the bad and I wouldn't trade the stories, people I've worked with, and listeners who hopefully were enriched along the way by an encouraging word or comment on or off-air. Neither will you. I'm glad I had a chance to work with you...and it would not surprise me at all that maybe one day it will happen again. I'll be in Baltimore October 16-20 to emcee the Van Dykes benefit concert there in Catonsville, so if you're around...maybe we can grab a coffee and a meal and shoot the breeze. Thanks again for your kind words and congrats on your accomplishments in the business thus far. I believe there will be many more to come for you. Bob Mathers (10/4/07) I hear 3WT tried very hard to get Chip Franklin before he moved to San Diego. (10/4/07) (RE: WBAL on Mediacom. As of 9 this morning, Mediacom is still running WBAL. I live in Bethany Beach and have recieved no messages about dropping WBAL, but they are dropping WJZ. So, they can't have two CBS affiliates but they can carrry 3 FOX affiliates.) Adelphia in Winchester dropped the only other FOX affiliate, Channel 45 from Baltimore, around 1998 or 1999 (right before I moved “down” the valley from Harrisonburg), so we’ve always had to rely on WTTG. That said, since I’m a Redskins fan, not a problem with watching NFL games. But this weekend is BAD. WUSA cannot show a 1 p.m. game because the Redskins are at home, so the doubleheader is out. On top of that, when 90 percent of the country gets Denver and San Diego at 4:15, the region is stuck with Baltimore at San Francisco on both 9 and 13. Guess I’ll be warming a barstool at BWW. Charles in Winchester (10/4/07) "To the angry liberal ... Rush Limbaugh has 20 million listeners - Air America has 3 million listeners." We know Air America sucks. Not enough "good" signals and some bad programming. But, Rush and Howard Stern clocked in at about 20 million listeners. Rush has almost 7% of America listening. That means - - over 93% of America doesn't listen. Looks like a "narrow slice" to me. You can love, or hate Rush, but don't be offended by the truth. Ed Graham (10/4/07) Dave's response: So, what does that say about Fox News, which gets about 3 or 4 million people to watch its most-watched show "The O'Reilly Factor"? I guess that means about 97 percent of America ain't watching Bill. Hmmm..... To Bob Mathers: I'm glad to hear that you have "landed" at KOMO. I remember working under your wing at Oldies 97 WAMD. WOW-that was fun, the station saw it's first profits in a long time, had a respectable format and was out and about quite often. I took everything I learned from you, Bob, and have adapted the knowledge to each situation that I have encountered. Even when I had the opportunity to manage WAMD under First Broadcasting (and yes, the tables turned, Captain Jim worked for me--that was refreshing) I tried to revive the localism of WAMD. We did a good job with the resources that we had. We also had excellent staff working there, from Chris Duff (who later went on to WZEB in Delaware, and is now PM Driver at WXCY), to Rick Manick-Mr. Sports himself and the other behind the scenes folks like Carol, Paul, Chris-not to mention the incredible talent that I worked with during Bob's reign, such as Joyce Controy, Rockin Ron Hunt, Denny Hill, Joe Eveluis (sp), Craig Fader, Joe Roberts, JB Brown and the others. So Bob--good luck in Seattle and stay in touch! "Boy Wonder"--Steve "Mann" (10/4/07) It still amazes me that radio people are surprised that HD Radio on AM at night can’t work. I liked your rant about Don and Mike, I’ a big fan. A few years ago, I said that D & M should think about growing into a Morning team that would fit on WMAL. Let CBS do something younger. It’s like there is a huge gap between old radio pros (D & M), and inexperienced young guys doing morning shows. CBS hasn’t figured out how to create talented young talk shows. That’s why Mason doesn’t seem to like FM talk. I think that after many years of doing fart jokes, pros like Don and Mike would want to move on. Mike on his own, with Buzz would be the first step - - for the sake of change, I think the rest of the crew should be different for 25-54 numbers. I would love to hear Don on NPR (or XM) doing what ever the hell he wants. God, radio could be great if we could just create it for the listener. Ed Graham (10/4/07) RE: WBAL on Mediacom. As of 9 this morning, Mediacom is still running WBAL. I live in Bethany Beach and have recieved no messages about dropping WBAL, but they are dropping WJZ. So, they can't have two CBS affiliates but they can carrry 3 FOX affiliates. (10/4/07) To the angry liberal that thinks Rush's listeners are a VERY NARROW SLICE OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION and who has fallen for the lies of mediamatter.org - Rush Limbaugh has 20 million listeners - Air America has 3 listeners (10/4/07) You wrote: "Billy Bush Re-Signs With NBC: - It's worth noting that Billy Bush was also the co-host (with Denise Van Outen) of the show Grease: You're the One That I Want, which ran earlier this year and cast the leads in the current Broadway production of Grease. Tim Phares (10/4/07) I was browsing around that Boston Talk Radio Board and reading up on Jerry Williams (who was on WBZ & WRKO, back in the day). Wasn't he also on WRC during its talk incarnation in the 70s? I seem to recall he was on (possibly evenings) in the same timeframe as when Mort Sahl did afternoon drive. Also, would somebody please hook us up with a link for the Clear Channel recruitment promo for new ad sales folks (who don't want to sell cars in 2008). (10/4/07) I was surprised today to hear NONE of the noises I described yesterday on either 700 or 680 while driving from my home in Springfield to DC --- UNTIL I got to the Memorial Bridge (9:18 AM). At that time, the noises started up again, but were MUCH weaker than before. I heard them continuously as I drove up the E Street Expressway and then up 20th Street (9:20 to 9:30). Again, they were much weaker. If it is not an experimental station of some sort, then I am thinking the signal could be a spur (spurious radiation) from some kind of data transmitter in DC. State Department or some Embassy's high frequency link (if they still use them!) comes to mind as a possible source. Perhaps today the station was on lower power or could even have turned their antenna to a different direction. There is definately something radiating on 690 kHz and it has wide sidebands when transmitting data. Whether this radiation is intentional or not remains to be seen. Nothing in my previous note was either anti- or pro- IBOC. It was neutral. I was reporting on a strange noise, not IBOC hash. I know what IBOC hash sounds like, which is exactly why I described the noise as "squeaks and squaks and tones and buzzes," and not as hash. It's funny how some people will read what they want to read, think they know what is being said, jump to a conclusion and promptly post back with an attack: (((Gotcha!!! The nattering nabobs of negativity and their disingenous agenda are smoked out by their own hubris. A poster writes that he could not listen to 700 WDMV because of digital hash from WXTR 730.))) and (((It is only because some are looking to fault IBOC that they are suddenly so aware of the noise that has always been there.))) I think THEY are the ones with an agenda. I certainly had none, was simply reporting on a strange transmission that is interfering with licensed broadcasters. I never said I could not listen to 680 or 700. I said there are "noises" on top of them, which there are. It just amazes me how quickly people will pick a fight when they THINK someone is on the other side of an issue. IMHO, the jury is still out on IBOC and I'm in the Wait And See mode. Larry ( N4VA) Springfield, VA (10/4/07) YO DAVE, I'm sittin here in Delaware and I have the shitty mediacom and WBAL/11 is still working on my T.V. ..Not sure if the previous poster was watching another channel. They have recently been blacking out some of the FOX programming because MEDIACOM carries 3 FOX affiliates and I know just how much you love FOX......................AMF from DELMARVA..... (10/4/07) To Joyce Conroy...thanks for your nice words. I hope you continue to have success with your oldies show and I know that many on this site have appreciated your encouraging words over the past months and years...for anyone trying to log on to www.ultimateoldiesradio.com in the last 24 hours...we have switched web hosters and in the transition we're off line to allow for the new ip configuration to switch over. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks, Bob Mathers (10/4/07) Red Zebra split the feeds of its Triple X affiliates during afternoon drive time yesterday, with ESPN Radio's coverage of the baseball playoffs airing on AM-730 and the John Riggins show on the two FM stations. The availability of all postseason games on local radio is more important than ever now that the first round is exclusively on cable TV. Back when Clear Channel had the contract with ESPN, there were times when games played during the day weren't carried by any station in the DC area. Of course XM subscribers have a choice between two or three channels airing each postseason game. With TBS having the contract for all four division series and a league championship series, you wonder why Charles Barkley wasn't invited to join Ernie Johnson, Cal Ripken and Frank Thomas on the studio show. After all, isn't he supposed to be the ultimate authority on all things sports related in this country? On WTEM's Feldman & Maloney show, I've heard Dave Feldman remark on two separate occasions that when he and Carol Maloney were doing a remote from the Capitals' practice facility not long ago, the switchboards were flooded with callers who wanted to talk about the Wizards (because something had just happened involving Gilbert Arenas). I'm not doubting his story, but it sounds suspiciously like the type of anecdotal evidence that the station has often used in the past to justify giving short shrift to hockey. Hopefully, Feldman's not falling into the trap of assuming that those who call into talk shows on 980 are representative of Washington sports fans as a whole. Caps fans have largely drifted away from the station due in part to the constant insults and putdowns from the likes of Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban, and now the games themselves are no longer there. While the Wizards have their core base of loyal fans, so do the Caps - not quite as many but equally passionate about their team. Of course the Wiz are coming off three straight playoff appearances while the Capitals haven't qualified for the NHL postseason since 2003, so it's hardly surprising that pro basketball's a hotter ticket right now. But the pendulum could easily swing in the other direction should the Caps start winning in a big way and the Wizards fall off a bit. Feldman and Carol Maloney deserve credit for doing that remote and it should be mentioned that they did take some hockey calls. But for Feldman to twice go out of his way to point out that most of the callers wanted to talk Wizards on a broadcast that was planned to be mainly about the Capitals rubbed me the wrong way. Mike, Fairfax (10/4/07) 'Legs'- Rush, love him or hate him, has the largest radio audience in the nation. I happen to be one of the many 'loyal listeners'. I don't think ALL Hispanic immigrants are illegal, but it's a fact that the majority of illegals are Hispanic. My view: tighten the border and keep ALL illegals out- European, Swedish, Russian, Asian, African, Hispanic. I don't always agree with Rush but I do find him entertaining. This whole firestorm about 'phony soldier' is BS. I heard the segment live. I got the context he meant: Rush 'impugned the honor' of ONE soldier that was a fraud = 'phony soldier' (now charged with crimes related to the fraud). Have a great day! (10/4/07) Dave's response: Yeah, let's hear Andy Parks go on a rant tomorrow about all those illegal Swedish immigrants..... Boston talk radio board bostontalkradio.proboards47.com (10/4/07) Mediacom Cable which serves Southeastern Sussex County, Ocean Pines and rural parts of northern Worcester and Wicomico Counties has pulled the plug on WBAL, the only NBC station on the cable. At one time they carried WMGM-TV in Wildwood, N.J. which is is also an NBC affiliate. This should be interesting. I think Comcast in Lewes carries WCAU Channel 10 from Philadelphia. This should be interesting. (10/4/07) Dave's response: The only NBC station on that cable system has been dropped? Every cable system carries at least one of each of the major nets. They've got to carry some other NBC station from somewhere. Hmmm..... i agree that o'meara does get better each time he flys solo......doesn't sound like he's in panic mode for whole show....but with ratings tanking wouldn't master hughes be thinking of hiring some young punks on the cheap who'll cow tow to the command of playing the commercial sets exactly when management says they should be played and brown nosing the bosses at wjfk instead a high salaried yesterdays news like o'meara and the rest of the crew....sure it'll be sucky radio with talentless young punks but youse got to remember radio is a businees meant to make money and not to entertain.....is BOBB really former don and mike intern B. O. BOB doing his imitation of sterling hayden from dr. strangelove in ye old mailbag? (10/4/07) Personally, I just love to see all the sniveling, self-righteous, extreme right-wing Rush-bo apologistas "rushing" to the defense of their favorite white fat guy (that's not misinformed, that's an opinion. Don't like it, too bad.) . Its about time someone called him out when he slams people who don't happen to agree with the narrow view of the world that passes for "entertainment" (i.e., brainwashing) that he promulgates among his loyal listeners, who, it should be noted, only represent a VERY NARROW SLICE OF THE AMERICAN POPULATION. Even though they think they are a majority. This is the same crowd that villifies all Hispanic immigrants as "illegal", and wants to DICTATE to American women how they should manage their own reproductive systems. And oh, yeah, they're also ARBITRARILY opposed to any public funding of potentially life-saving stem cell research. Because it offends THEIR religious & moral sensibilities, which they want to impose on everyone. (For the Rush people, tolerance only counts when its their "values" that are tolerated.) And, didn't Rush's president, "shrub", veto children's health insurance yesterday? Shame on him, and shame on Rush, and especially shame, shame, shame on his followers, for impugning the honor of any soldier, or any citizen for that matter, who does not agree with this stupidest of wars. I'm glad to see that ad from the soldier calling out Rushbo to meet him face to face. Rush will just blather on, blatantly snubbing that soldier, and his handful of listeners will keep making him rich with all the irritable bowel remedies and hemmorrhoid creams. Meanwhile, Darfur, No Child Left Behind, and Britney Spears. Makes me glad I traded the radio mic and broadcasting for the relative sanity of motherhood a few years back. {Stepping gingerly off the soapbox in her Manolo Blahnik sandals}, - Just Call Me 'Legs' (10/4/07) Left in the dark www.poconorecord.com... Check this out. More proof of HD AM radio failing other stations at night! - Dave K., Waldorf (10/4/07) /\ October 4 Messages /\ \/ October 3 Messages \/ (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Executive Producer – WHSV – TV is looking for a talented, organized and aggressive news producer who is ready to move into a management role. Our next EP will be able to produce a fast paced newscast and think on their feet when faced with breaking news. You will also oversee and manage other producers and shows. You should be able to creatively showcase the “Big Story” and understand the importance of teases. Knowledge and experience with internet news presentation is desired. Experience with I-News and non-linear show editing and production is a plus. This is a great opportunity to work in a growing market less than 2 hours from Washington DC. There may also be some “on-air” opportunities with this position. Check us out on the web at whsv.com to see our product. If you think you can take us to the next level, please RUSH your resume, tape and news philosophy to Ed Reams, News Director, WHSV – TV, 50 North Main Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. You may email your resume at ereams@whsv.com. WHSV is a drug-free workplace. EOE (10/3/07) 700 WDGMOVP-AM is likely not the source of the digital noise, nor is 730 AM out of Alexandria. But its a good bet 710 WOR-AM New York is, and the sidebands are playing havoc on either side this far to the south. Don H: your concerns are noted, but DMV's ownership has peed-off a number of broadcasters, engineers and suppliers in recent years, so you have to expect dung to be flung now and again until all are convinced you have the place on an even keel. -- Signed: one of the many 'peed-ons'. (10/3/07) Please be aware that this Saturday October 6, 2007, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) will be conducting a Simulated Emergency Test (SET) whereby a Tsunami will form and strike the east coast of the United States. THIS IS A DRILL.... Following is a synopsis and scenario of this SET.... SET EXERCISE 2007 - TSUNAMI... OCTOBER 6, 2007... 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM... EXERCISE OBJECTIVES: 1. Test local, state and county alert plans and notification procedures. 2. Stimulate and exercise the state ARES / RACES network systems, voice and data. 3. Establish contact with individual state and county level Emergency Operations Centers. Send or deliver exercise messages for that agency as required also participate as required (RACES / ARES) with Crossband / Liaison with MARS stations. 4. Conduct frequency and propagation checks on all designated State frequencies. 5. Demonstrate the ability to provide a reliable message center environment. 6. The command and control Traffic net will open on frequency 3.905 KHz however the NCS may move to alternate frequencies. MISSION: Support FEMA, Red Cross, All State and County OEMs, and any agency that request support. TASKS: Establish radio contact & provide emergency communications support. Exercise will last at least 3 hours possibly requiring frequency and NCS change Provide report information from disaster scenes to Incident Commander (Simulated ) Transmit support requests and info requests. [All messages shall carry the word TEST or This is a Drill ] Provide exercise damage assessment reports via voice and digital systems. SCENARIO: 6 OCT 2007... 06:00 ESDT: Earthquake measuring R 9.8 is detected 50 miles of the coast of Puerto Rico in the Puerto Rican Trench. This earthquake triggers a massive underwater landslide which causes a tsunami to head toward the Northeast Coast of the United States. A Tsunami Warning is issued for the coast from Virginia to Boston, MA by N.O.A.A..... 07:00 EDST: VA, MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT, RI and MA Governors decide to activate Army National Guard and EOC's and order mandatory evacuation of all costal areas to 3 miles inland.... 08:00 EDST: All DOD Facilities directly on the coast ordered evacuated except for emergency personnel. ARES / RACES exercise nets activate..... 09:00 EDST: Red Cross opens shelters on high ground at least 20 miles from shoreline..... 09:10 EDST: Virginia State OEM reports that a 45 Ft. wave hits the Delmarva Peninsula and is traveling up the coast in both the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays..... 09:15 EDST: A 60 Ft. Tsunami wave travels up the Delaware Bay and makes land fall at Cape May NJ..... 09:45 EDST: Wave makes a 35 Ft. landfall in Wilmington Delaware..... 09:50 EDST: Philadelphia EOC reports 25 Ft. Tsunami wave makes landfall at Airport..... 10:00 EDST: 25 Ft. Tsunami Wave makes landfall at Long Island and New York City..... 10:05 EDST: 35 Ft. Tsunami Wave reported making landfall at New London CT, Newport RI and Cape Cod..... 10:10 EDST: 30 Ft. wave makes land fall at Boston, MA.... 10:15 EDST: Most costal areas report up to 30 Ft. of water. Power and communications are out in these areas as well. Most coastal airports are closed due to runways under water, lost power and communications. Some coastal areas were not hit too hard because of sheltering reefs and islands off the coast..... 10:59 EDST: END EXERCISE- ARES / RACES NETS CLOSE.... (10/3/07) RE: “Gotcha” Speaking of hubris, where did you get yours? You imply WDMV is “creating noise and intentional interference” and the station may be “operating illegally” outside of “proper power and pattern.” You question the poster if s/he has checked certain aspects of WDMV’s transmission chain. My question is, “Have you?” If you do have direct evidence of such activity feel free to contact me at donh at dcradio700 dot com. I’m more than happy to publicly post my email address. How about you? (10/3/07) Gotcha!!! The nattering nabobs of negativity and their disingenous agenda are smoked out by their own hubris. A poster writes that he could not listen to 700 WDMV because of digital hash from WXTR 730. Very interesting, since 730 AM has NOT RUN IBOC IN OVER FIVE YEARS. And WDMV does not have contour protection in Springfield. Therefore, the noise you are hearing is ambient noise. Did you even both to check if 700 is operating at proper power and pattern? If you heard them between near sunset and slightly after sunrise, then they were operating illegally. That would mean 700 WDMV was creating noise and intentional interference, rather than being the station that was interfered with. The FCC should investigate that. How quickly you rush to blame IBOC. The fact is, that ambient noise is often much higher than the IBOC signal within the protected contours and tends to make an analog signal unusable sooner than any perceived nosie from IBOC. You proved my point twice actually. WMAL never had it on at night either except to test the daytime system several months ago. Your doubts are confirmed, there is no IBOC noise. It is only because some are looking to fault IBOC that they are suddenly so aware of the noise that has always been there. (10/3/07) My View on Cable-Only Baseball Playoff TV Coverage: it doesn't really matter because if u have the internet and go to mlb.com and click on TBS HOT CORNER it pretty much broadcasts the game, but in a weird angle they also have a continuous studio show running through the game, a pitcher cam and dugout cam. the expierience isnt as good as watching it on TV but it's pretty close. and it's worth it if ur a baseball fanatic and have no cable (10/3/07) Dave, in addition to “Battle of the Hotties,” maybe should also have a contest of “Who Would Win”: Pat Goss’ colon vs. Fred Grandy’s heart attack. We’ve sure heard enough about both… Chris in Alexandria (10/3/07) I dunno, Dave - if it comes down to listening to lower-level righty whackjobs like Grandy and company or getting a colonoscopy, I think I'll take the colonoscopy. Not having to listen to a flaming idiot like Limbaugh ought to be a fair trade for something like open-heart surgery... (10/13/07) Boy, great day on D&M. No Don, then an appearance by the much-dreaded “Robert The Angry Mailman”. Radio OFF. Sincerely, TMU (10/3/07) I don't care so much that the radio industry is trying something digital, but what a screwy way to try it, by ruining one band (AM) and failing to retail digital on the other (FM IBOC). Unlike digital television where we all have to get new TVs, there has been NO government mandate to "go digital" in radio. The experiment is already a failure when it comes to public excitement. Receiver manufacturers know this (so long, Boston Acoustic), and it looks like the "market" may someday be only the eccentrics, like those with huge Ku-band satellite dishes in their yards, remember them ? (10/3/07) Ref: the previous posts about "ChickaBoomer". For the love of God and all that's holy, NO!NO!NO! She looks like a dead ringer for my ex-wife. Tell her to keep the clothes on…Genghis Cohen, still twitching from the memories... (10/3/07) Big Dave, I asked you this before. When are you going to offer DCRTV t-shirts, etc.? Get on the stick. I will buy an X-large and your web site will get some badly needed funds. Most of my other t-shirts have ketchup/mustard/salsa etc. stains (one has blood on it) and I need some new ones – come on, man! (10/3/07) I have heard on two different tv stations and one radio station that Isiah Thomas had been "convicted" of sexual harrassment. You cannot be convicted in a civil trial. The word "convicted" implies a criminal charge. Where in the hell do these writers come from and wouldn't you think that the newsreaders might have an ounce of sense and question the word? (10/3/07) I was listening to Yolanda Adams this morning and could not get the telephone number for RENEWHERB, can you please forward me with the address and telephone number and the web address. (10/3/07) Alex Pareene Defends His Weakness biggheaddc.com (10/3/07) Just in case, “Broadcasting & Cable” has two stories on the (Comcast VNR) fines… “FCC: Free, Non-Controversial VNRs Can Still Trigger Fines; Comcast Faces Four More FCC Fines, Totaling $16,000” -- www.broadcastingcable.com... “Martin Defends Comcast Place at Head of VNR Fine Line; Comcast Wouldn't Agree to 'Tolling Agreement' to Give FCC More Time” -- www.broadcastingcable.com... (The first is from Monday, but I hadn’t heard about this until I saw your mention of the WT story.) (10/3/07) Someone need to buy Fox5 a new clock. The broadcast was off an entire hour this morning and Bob and Guivere looked very silly thanking everyone for getting up so early with them at 6:00am. It was 7:00am. And they kept reporting it. By 7:30 I had to change the channel because it was painful. Anyone know what time they finally got in synch? (10/3/07) All of you are wrong...that's Mike O'Meara on top of the Mormon Temple trying to get a Dish TV signal so he can watch the Red Sox! (10/3/07) I've been hearing "noises" on top of WDMV / 700 kHz for quite some time now. I hear the noise all the way from Springfield to Washington on the car radio. I'd always thought it was digital hash from WXTR / 730 in Alexandria, but now I have my doubts. Today, I noticed that the same "noises," which sound like squeaks and squaks and tones and buzzes are also quite audible on top of WCBM / 680 kHz. Tuning between the two stations, to 690 kHz, I found what sounded like a carrier which would suddenly go into some other mode, perhaps transmitting digital programming or information of some sort. My questions are: Is there an experimental station on 690 kHz doing some kind of testing? Can anyone else out in DCRTVLand confirm that these "noises" can be heard at their location? If so, is it widespread (no pun intended)? If it is, does management at WDMV and WCBM know about it? Thanks for any input on this mystery. Larry (N4VA) Springfield, VA Dave.... anyone who might want to respond direct, or if you'd rather not clutter up the Mailbag with this, can use N4VA at Yahoo.com (thanks) (10/3/07) Yes, I noticed last night that the HD hash was gone from WJR, WABC, and WBBM. But it's still on WTNT, WGY, WHAS, WTEM, WBZ, WHAM, and who knows where else. KOF (10/3/07) As long as there are politics, there will be mudslinging. Everyone does it, liberals and conservatives. Did a Google search on mudslinging got this link from the award-winning Sliver Chips newspaper, published at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD. An excerpt: "...during the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson was "accused of favoring the teaching of 'murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest,'" by his opponent." And, "... one man from Georgia proclaimed that (Abe) Lincoln planned to "force inter-marriage between children - that 'within 10 years or less our children will be the slaves of Negroes.'" Nothing new about today's mudslinging. Lighten up folks. (10/3/07) Last week it was Paul Farhi not identifying what radio station, what frequency and at what time, you can hear the Bill O'Reilly program...the program that aired this racially insensitive comment that he was writing about. Today, his colleague, Jason Reid, writes an aritcle about Clinton Portis' knee injury that was revealed on the John Thompson Show. however, much like Farhi, he fails to identify what station, frequency and/or time this program is heard. We have seen this shoddy journalism in places like the Reliable source for years...failing to properly identify radio personalities. it would be nice to see radio stations discontinue the practice of identifying "news" from the Washington Post until the Post corrects this. (10/3/07) That’s why rev sharpton and Jackson are complete assholes. Those two clowns and the media are always quick to jump on something when it’s a white person against a black or minority, but if it’s black/black or black on a white, then it’s totally fine I guess and you won’t hear anything from those ambulance chasers. Funny how this world works. Blacks can call each other the same words that are offensive when another race uses those same words against them. By the way, has sharpton ever apologized to the white kids from duke?? Hmmm, don’t think they have, wonder why? (10/3/07) BOBB: Define "victory in Iraq." If you can do it, you'll be one better than our half-retarded president, who has never been able to spell out what the hell he's trying to do. Now let's get back to the what the Mailbag is supposed to be about: bashing Don & Mike. Dave in Sterling (10/3/07) It's October -- and we all know what that means -- WLIF and WASH should be switching to the All-Christmas Music format any day now. Greg in Reisterstown (10/3/07) Here's a photo of a local radio personality for your site, Dave. Nevermind that it is vomit inducing, eyeball gouging, and will make all the ladies turn gay. Courtesy EB from the Junkies, the self-proclaimed (and obviously delusional) "8". imgsrv.wjfk.com -- DM (10/3/07) Dave's response: It's the new Mike O'Meara's Torso Wrap - "instantly lose five inches from your gut." I hear he's selling it at his Manassas eatery, which, according to Geronimo on yesterday's show, has been visited by numerous state and local agencies..... It seems like just yesterday that Bonneville fired Billy Bush because some intern didn’t like the way he was treated. This happened the week of the Bush Jr Inauguration. I remember the Bonneville Executives commenting behind the scenes that he wasn’t very good anyway. Breaking News, he was, and is, pretty good. (10/3/07) Speaking of Richmond's Martin Agency and the Caveman sitcom spin-off... I'd definitely tune-in for a new show spun-off from THESE spots celebrating a girl's two best friends: www.youtube.com and www.youtube.com... Does anyone know if Martin had anything to do with this campaign and if these spots are airing on broadcast TV? (10/3/07) Re: news story about Comcast being fined for airing a VNR... Could "Cavemen" be considered a half-hour commercial? BTW, I watched "Cavemen", mostly because of Spike Ferensten's constant jokes about it. I found it well-acted and not at all repulsive, like most network shows are. On the other hand, the show had absolutely nothing to recommend it. The writing was unimaginative, and they did practically nothing with the gimmick that is the show's reason for existing. (10/3/07) Dave's response: I didn't think the FCC regulated the content of non-licensed cable TV networks like CN8. I thought that cable networks could run whatever they want to. And that the FCC's VNR rules only applied to licensed over-the-air broadcasters. Righties could say that half the stuff on CNN is from Democratic Party VNRs and lefties could claim that half the stuff on Fox News is from GOP VNRs..... OK, I think it's agreed among the majority of people here that the FCC has F'D up FM and AM DIGITAL RADIO just like they did with AM STEREO by listening to special interests and NOT the PUBLIC INTEREST! Now the question begs, WHAT'S NEXT? How do we fix it? The ONLY solution in my opinion is ALL DIGITAL/WITHIN BAND (& maybe even further constricted). The longer the FCC waits and Clear Channel tries to cram this HD-Radio crap that no one can actually receive down our throats with expensive radios no one is buying, the worse it's going to be for EVEN Clear Channel as well as the public's airwaves. -- JustMy2cents (10/3/07) So Isiah Thomas, Michael Dolan and MSG are found guilty of sexual harassment, accused of running a workplace where women were called "bitches" and "ho's." (from NY Daily News). When can we expect the Rev. Jackson and the Rev. Sharpton calling for a boycott of the NY Knicks, MSG, advertisers of the Knicks, advertisers on the Knicks Radio Network, and the MSG Network? Haven't heard word one yet, so I guess we can assume that if Imus would have just left out the "nappy head" part, things would have been okay. (10/3/07) Hypocrisy in the Morning….my first guess is that you’re die hard liberal…one sided, one party United Fool. We are in a war..the what if I posted was just that a “what if”. You can add and subtract any part of it but, our leaders???? Democrat, Republican, Liberal are NOT fighting a war, they are fighting one another. It doesn’t matter whether Russia WOULD HAVE bombed Saudi Arabia. That’s not the point. What I’m saying “die hard”, is if we’re going to fight a war let’s do that and be united as a country. All of our Politicos are only fighting for votes, not a VICTORY IN IRAQ! (If I haven’t made this clear to you, you’re definitely not an American, you’re a political sucker) BOBB (10/3/07) Dave's response: Warning warning, off topic alert. This thread must end..... BOBB asked us to “Imagine if instead of the "Twin Towers", the Kremlin had been hit. There would be no Al-Quada...There would be no Iraq, no Iran...it would be a patch of glass.” But wouldn’t the ruskies have nuked Saudi Arabia, the true home of the 9-11 hijackers, instead of constantly holding hands with and kissing the Saudi princes like Pretzeldent Bush can’t seem to stop doing? And mailbagger Tim, when you wrote “[Limbaugh] was talking about the habit of the antiwar left of hauling out people who claim to have served in the war to attack the war and our troops,” were you referring to 5-deferments Dick Cheney (“I had other priorities”), or AWOL Bushie who hid out in the reserves, or pimple-assed Limbaugh himself (well, his doc said he had a ‘pilonoidal cyst’--- a nest of hair near his tailbone that could get infected and oogy---google it for pics!) or the tons of other chickenhawks in this administration who are happy to march your sons and daughters into a meat grinder with no plans to ever stop? Gawd, I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning! (10/3/07) Citadel gets a pat on the back for shutting off their interference generators at night, also known as AM IBOC. Now if only we can get a reversal among the Clear Channel stations that were told to cut their treble down to levels that sound like talking through a pillow. AM can sound great; every bit as good as the resurgent fad of running "mono" FM. And since the FCC is allowing a 30Kc slice for the sidestream digital telemetry on AM, the smart stations will now just open that treble back up on their analog AM and shove it through the many many AM receivers that are today out there. I would enjoy seeing how the FCC would prosecute any violation and enforcement. (10/3/07) For openers, Rush Limbaugh has lost a lot of weight and kept it off over the years, so it's just not factual to call him a big fat white guy. It makes you look uninformed to do so. Second, Tom Harkin (D-IA) actually broke a Senate Floor Rule by "engaging in a personal attack on an individual" with a medical condition when he pondered whether Rush was "back on the drugs again." Can you imagine the liberal squealing if ANYONE in the public forum began referencing the "Alcoholic Senators from New England," "Tottering" Dodd and "I've Killed My Girlfriend and I Can't Get Up" Kennedy? Then, we have "avowed racists" Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. It made for interesting listening last week when Sharpton had not heard Bill O'Reilly's sarcasm about the Harlem restaurant and the lack of Hip-Hop/Gansta Culture within mainstream Black America. Sharpton's guests on his WOL radio show had all heard the exchange with NPR's Juan Williams and attempted to explain it to Reverend Al, but he just could not understand the concept of sarcasm. The greatest lesson was that Sharpton is truly not a smart man, just a thug-like extortionist. Now, leftist organs that masquerade as centrist, like the Washington Post and The Hill, are willing to cut and paste an incomplete snippet of a press release from David Brock's liberal website. Finally, it is MOST infuriating to think that elected officials are spending MY tax dollars to spew venom against an individual who was exercising his First Amandment right. And, they were doing it all as a precursor to re-introduce the very fascist form censorship known as the Fairness Doctrine. Kind of like "Peoples' Republic." Be scared, Mr. and Ms. Broadcaster, be scared! The Voice of Freedom (10/3/07) Dear Jazz Lover: This week we feature the fantastic trumpet sounds of Blue Mitchell, the music of the late Joe Zawinul, a live interview with Charles Tolliver and a extensive review of his new big band CD... "With Love" and there's more... Click here to check it all out now... jazzradiodc.com (10/3/07) RE: [ " Hasn't it been said enough in this forum: Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer, and nothing more. All this hype simply gives him needed publicity, and won't change a thing. Why don't we get outraged and write HBO about Bill Maher's recent comedy special where he savages Bush and his cronies? Well, at least Maher is funny. The only thing amazing about this story is that apparently breathing humans still listen to old Johnny-One-Note. The reason listening to Rush sucks is because it's like watching two bobbin head dolls sitting on the rear deck of a car as it rolls down the highway. His show is like the scene in Groundhog Day, when Bill Murray has to slap the clock radio every morning when it plays the same song. It's easy to spout and pontificate when you never have to defend or debate an issue with someone who possesses knowledge or has a differing opinion. It sure is boring radio, but that's Rush..its old news...and he apparently adds comfort to the lives of some folks as they tinker and dodder, and reminisce about when Sammy Kaye and Lawrence Welk were big. " ].................. WOW, YOU JUST HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! WHAT A GREAT DESCRIPTION! I'll go even further... Even as a Republican-leaning type person ideology wise, I find Limbaugh at best annoying these days and old news. He did used to be funny, but no one probably remembers it anymore, it's been so long ago. And I can't stand to watch or listen to O'Reilly either and it's becoming more and more difficult to watch or listen to any of the pundits, both left and right anymore (Obberman, Matthews,etc.). If any of them ever had a sense of humor, believe me it's long since left the building. And I think I've figured out what bothers me most about these people... it's a combination of THE ARROGANCE FACTOR & that THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT JOURNALISTS, THEY JUST PLAY ONE ON TV! In order to go on their show, you're forced to either suck up to their opinions no matter how wrong they are or get pummeled when you disagree. Even when they're right, I feel dirty agreeing with them. Finally yes, it's true, Bill Maher is funny, but I wouldn't want him running the country anymore than any of these people. He appears to be getting most of his Iraq war facts from MoveOn.org manifestos. I'm not a fan of the war, but Bill Maher is officially "OUT THERE." (10/3/07) Dave's response: There was a time when Rush was invited on some of the "serious" Washington TV talk shows. Now-a-days, though, his appearances are pretty much limited to the Fox Comedy News Channel. His latest controversies are mere cries of attention, like a little kid who's being ignored..... "Wondering who Created the GEICO Caveman" - This was the creation of the Martin Agency In Richmond Virginia. Yes, they created the gecko too. In addition, they created the UPS "What Can Brown Do For You" campaign. Not bad for a shop in little old Richmond. (10/3/07) Used car dealers as Clear Channel salespeople? That's the top of their sales heap. If you can almost string a complete sentence together in mostly English, you can sell for Clear Channel. If the opening line to your sales pitch at your last job began, "welcome to Chili's, can I take your order?", you can sell for Clear Channel. CC actually prefers, in this order, used car salesmen, waterbed salesmen, and beeper salesmen. with a shout out to 30 Rock for the last one. SMB (10/3/07) Looks like Phil Spector was ahead of his time. This from his boxset released in 1991. Betcha Phil wishes he was 'Back to 1991' (10/3/07) Hasn't it been said enough in this forum: Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer, and nothing more. All this hype simply gives him needed publicity, and won't change a thing. Why don't we get outraged and write HBO about Bill Maher's recent comedy special where he savages Bush and his cronies? Well, at least Maher is funny. The only thing amazing about this story is that apparently breathing humans still listen to old Johnny-One-Note. The reason listening to Rush sucks is because it's like watching two bobbin head dolls sitting on the rear deck of a car as it rolls down the highway. His show is like the scene in Groundhog Day, when Bill Murray has to slap the clock radio every morning when it plays the same song. It's easy to spout and pontificate when you never have to defend or debate an issue with someone who possesses knowledge or has a differing opinion. It sure is boring radio, but that's Rush..its old news...and he apparently adds comfort to the lives of some folks as they tinker and dodder, and reminisce about when Sammy Kaye and Lawrence Welk were big. (10/3/07) .....so, a big fat white guy, does what he is supposed to do (makes a controversial remark on the radio) what he is paid lots of money to do, and that is.....generate controversy. Makes a so called HATEFUL statement. And why is this news? Thats what big fat white guys get paid to do,(ok some of them are not fat) all over ths country, all over the Baltimore-Washington radio market. They get paid to stir things up, they get paid lots of moohlah to do just what Rush Limpballs did. Spew hate. Generate more hate. Cash the paycheck. Look at Arbitron. Rinse. Repeat. Ad Naseum. Until they die. Because they won't retire. They will keep riding this train to the end of the line. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Talk about your hate crime. Its a crime the way they make a living, off of HATE! (10/3/07) Some New York newspapers and websites are reporting that Imus is close to a deal with Citadel....Charles Mccord would be with him, but they are not sure about Bernard Mcguirk. Could this mean Imus in the Morning on WMAL? (10/3/07) Watched a few minutes of the Caveman tv series on the channel 7 last night. It appears they are not using the Cavemen from the commercials. Also the show doesn't seem to have the feel of the commercials. Ain't it an advertising agency in Richmond, Va. that came up with the idear for the commercials? Did this ad agency also come up with all the different GEICO commercial storylines? Does the ad agency have a piece of the action on the tv series? How about GEICO?....i'll take a wild guess FM talk station's changing from stereo to mono, is there a cost savings in this move?.....is Forbes magazine being turned into another gossip rag? They seemed to be invovled in shows on the E! cable channel. A series of them effing boring list shows. Is Mike Rowe concerned about overexposure or he ain't got control of how many times Discovery runs his show into the ground? ....i'll bet 1310 am pulls a huge share in Annandale these days!...ain't Bill O'Rightly and Rush Limbone "carnival barkers", you know what I mean?....sad to see the end of Johnston's Auto Body in Merrifield, the son didn't even take a lot of stuff off the building his dad had put up, meanwhile just around the corner the Muslim center has re-opened after 3-4 years of being closed, man the place is packed with cars and when they let out it's a traffic nightmare...wonder what they do in there it doesn't appear to be a mosque (10/3/07) From Boston. Dan Rea calls his 8:00PM to 12:00AM WBZ show "The Nightside" How fucking original! He is a just another righty gasbag, and the way he cuts off anyone who disagrees with him, makes me want to punch him in the face. WBZ has a long time tradition of sucking ever since there " Chicken Rock" format, and the beat goes on... (10/3/07) BOBB: "Imagine if instead of the "Twin Towers", the Kremlin had been hit. There would be no Al-Quada...There would be no Iraq, no Iran...it would be a patch of glass. America, wake up...we are paying an awful price for not having the stomach to finish what's been started. If you want to win this WAR, finish it." Dam strate, Bob! Whut we need iz another 9-11 to toughen up the country and giv us the stomach to REELY fight this war. On accounta how we can't be doin' that whut with all these libruls and college professors and the MEEDYA stabbin us in the back. HOOHAA! Who needs Viagra when weez got all dem newkiller missuls. (10/3/07) It looks like 105.7 has gone back to mono also. I'm glad they did--the reception is much clearer down toward DC where the stereo signal used to relay a lot of hiss and static interference from 105.9. As for the sound quality closer to Baltimore, I really can't detect much of a difference between stereo and mono on a station that's almost all talk anyway. I wish they would have stuck with this during baseball season instead of just trying it for a couple of days. Fred (10/3/07) Dave, your dementia is showing. You take Greta to task for stirring up the Holloway story, again. Yet you ignore the almost daily references which the liberal media continues to make to Abu Ghraib. Both are old stories with more headline appeal than any new content. Your rant this time was a misfire. (10/3/07) /\ October 3 Messages /\ \/ October 2 Messages \/ I have just received the WQBC announcement for this year. The cost $60.00 per person. THAT’s for just the dinner! Cash bar????? Travel…Christ, I could take my wife to a really fine restaurant, dinner, drinks and tip would just about equal the cost of dinner alone. Count me out this year. I make good money, but damn’ that’s just too steep. AFTRA/SAG Member. They’re getting greedy. (10/2/07) (regarding a previous post) "Driving home last night I heard a commercial on a Clear Channel station recruiting sales people. The spot suggests that next year would be a better year to sell radio ads because car sales will stink." If someone has an mp3 file or a link to a website for it, please post it here in the mailbag. I'd sure like to hear this recruitment spot! (10/2/07) Dave's response: Will link to it, but don't want to host it on the site for legal reasons..... Unsigned Corporate Suit again… Dave, I think someone still working for Citadel must read DCRTV! Nice to hear they turned off their junk at night. Quality programming will bring listeners back to local radio (and TV) with good quality signals keeping them. Decent video and audio (this goes for both TV and radio) isn’t rocket science. In fact, with the “back to mono” movement on the part of some FM’s, it won’t be hard to prove that AM can sound as good as FM. The embarrassment will be when you have an AM that sounds better than an FM! All it takes is talented engineers and good equipment. I call it the “IPPP” principle: Invest in your “People” first and “Plant” second if you want “Profits”. That IBOC adjacent channel hash is the worst thing! I’ve heard on a radio since the “Woodpecker”. Then again, except for possibly Bob Mathers (Who I’m glad is working on the radio descendant of America’s best TV newscast, namely on KOMO-4), I’m probably the only one on the board old enough to remember it! (10/2/07) Love the Chickaboomer site with that sassy lady who looks and sounds more Gen-X than Boomer. Thanks for exposing the rest of us to her--maybe one day you can expose the rest of her to us (in a dignified manner of course..) In the meantime, I'll settle for reading her funny and witty take on the news of the day. But as one who has suffered the consequences of trying to read her blog while drinking coffee at the same time--do not try this at home. You may end up spewing or choking while trying not to laugh out loud. (10/2/07) Hello, everyone: We still have some seats available for the Q&A this Thursday, October 4, with Connie Schultz. She is a columnist for The Cleveland Plain Dealer who often finds her topics derived from the experiences she knew growing up as the daughter of a Ohio factory worker. Her good writing, sharp and thoughtful point of view won her the Pulitzer Prize. She brought that same attitude to her role as campaign wife when husband Sherrod Brown ran as the democratic nominee for Ohio senator and beat incumbent republican Tom DeWine. In an era when a man might be the next First Lady it is timely to take a look at just what it means to be a political spouse. Connie's not baking cookies. Well, if she is she's baking them while she's also thinking about her next newspaper column and seeing the nation, and its issues, through glasses that are anything but rose-colored. Come meet a top tier American journalist who has a story to tell about setting her own career aside for the time it took to help get her husband elected to a job in which they both believed. Jon Moss will be taking reservations tomorrow between 10 and 5 at 202.338.2000. The fee is $35, all inclusive. The doors open at noon, the program begins at 12:30. Just do it. We hope to see you at The Q&A Cafe... Carol (10/2/07) To the poster who wrote "Driving home last night I heard a commercial on a Clear Channel station recruiting sales people. The spot suggests that next year would be a better year to sell radio ads because car sales will stink." I buy a fair amount of advertising from Clear Channel, and always walk away feeling like I just dealt with a used car salesman. Now I know why...they're hiring the rejects from the car dealer labor pool. Remember "less is more"? Their salespeople really think that this means "less for the advertiser = more for CC"! (10/2/07) You write: Democrats have called on the chief executive of Clear Channel to denounce remarks by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, whom they say made a "hateful" and "unpatriotic" attack on US troops opposed to the war in Iraq. Premiere, a Clear Channel subsidiary, syndicates Limbaugh's show. At issue is a remark from Limbaugh last week that characterized such troops as "phony soldiers." But that isn't what he said. He named specific people's names. He was talking about the habit of the antiwar left of hauling out people who claim to have served in the war to attack the war and our troops. One of the people specifically named is Jesse MacBeth, who was convicted of making false statements about his war record to the VA. I believe the Democrats who are attacking Limbaugh know that, but they are going to insist otherwise for their own political purposes. Tim Phares (10/2/07) Dave's response: The "you" you refer to is The Hill newspaper..... HaHaHaHaHaHaHa! I'm sure Rush Limbaugh is laughing at all of you liberals ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK! I'm sure he thanks you for all of the publicity, too! You liberals are playing right into his hands! You seem to get it wrong more often than not! Oh, and one more thing; regarding: "Limbaugh is heard locally on WMAL and WCBM..." In the interest of truth in reporting, you should also include WFMD, for those of us who live, work and/or drive by Frederick! Thanks! Brian (10/2/07) Dave's response: Yeah, but if I list Rush's station in Frederick, then I got to include Winchester and Fredericksburg, too. Where will it end? Re: "cutting-edge mono--Welcome back to 1962." The fact is that turning off the stereo pilot can yield as much as a 23 dB improvement in signal to noise, very important for the fringe reception areas. Most car radios spend most of their time delivering mono audio anyway--no matter what the stereo indicator on the radio wants you to believe, the radio switches to mono at the first hint of noise to protect all our delicate ears. So the actual impact of broadcasting in mono may not be all that obvious. It helps the people who listen at home, since a lot of home equipment has been sold with no mono switch at all. (10/2/07) From Inside Radio.... "Citadel silences HD nighttime AM signals... Three weeks after the FCC began allowing AM stations to broadcast in HD after dark, Citadel engineers say interference concerns and listener complaints have led to the decision to pull the plug. Of special concern is the impact on Citadel's big 50,000 watt stations like New York's WABC and Detroit's WJR. Insiders call the move "temporary" while they look for ways to improve signal coverage - and point out they'll remain in HD during daylight hours." (10/2/07) Dave's response: I have noticed that Citadel does not run its HD Radio signal for WMAL at night..... Isn't it just about time for Rush to start blaming it on Bill Clinton? Yours in illegally obtained pharmaceuticals, Dave in Sterling (10/2/07) I am so tired of politics. This latest round of "Rush" bull***t, the government swarming to take him down....What the hell is going on? We're in a major war and we have these PETTY governement officials..Senators-on the take-Congressman-on the take, just making bufoons out of our nation, bitching and moaning about some "talker". Let's start to fight with the intention of winning in Iraq. Imagine if instead of the "Twin Towers", the Kremlin had been hit. There would be no Al-Quada...There would be no Iraq, no Iran...it would be a patch of glass. America, wake up...we are paying an awful price for not having the stomach to finish what's been started. If you want to win this WAR, finish it. BOBB (10/2/07) COME ON PEOPLE McGinty is NOT HOT. He is not even sort of good looking. Look at that melon. It is HUGE. VOTE for Bolter (10/2/07) (RE The Globe:) Here is a long to Jacobs Media Consultants, if you haven't seen it yet: www.jacobsmedia.com... Scroll to the bottom and you'll see that the mention of Hybrid formats includes elements of Classic Rock,Alternative, and Adult alternative. If Michael Hughes can be convinced to make it 15% classic rock, 40% AAA, 15% classic alternative, and 30% alternative, then that would be a good start. Then leave the matter of which artists and which cuts in the hands of Norm Winer, Pat Ferrise, Weasel and Cerphe, then you have a true " HYBRID", also give him some names of artists which should be included, and if he is really serious about about making it "DC unique" then include Grin and later Nils Lofgren, The Urban Verbs. (10/2/07) This is the guy (Dan Rea) who's now doing the talk show on WBZ-AM. The book was published in 1981. Al McGilvray (10/2/07) Dave's response: Just got a newsblurb up on our Boston News page..... "Actually, it was Rush that selectively edited the tape of the original statement." Do you actually listen to Limbaugh really or do you just take the parsed snippets from the Hillary Clinton front group mediamatter.com? I'm a dedicated listener, something you are not. The fact is that Rush has been talking about "phony" soldiers for a couple of years now - you know, those that fake their service and rob the VA of benefits or claim service or medals they didn't earn. Rush's latest attack came after ABC News Tonight's Brian Ross' story on "Phony Soldiers". Rush then broadcast his Morning Commentary on 600 stations nationwide Wednesday morning concerning "Phony Soldier" Jessie MacBride as referenced on the ABC story. Mediamatters knows exactly what they are doing. Like O'Reilly, they are taking a couple of sentences out of context and smearing their GOP enemies. This is symptomatic and reminiscent of the Clinton slime machine. Their radical left wing allies in the mainstream media and in the Senate have been outed for the anti-military zealots that they are (moveon.org, Reid, Murtha, Kerry, Clinton, Durbin). And by the way, those same leftists are grasping for straws to save face but it is failing. No wonder this Congress has an 11% approval rating. Oh, and by the way, the US Attorney's Office in the Pacific Northwest are investigating what they call "phony" soldiers. Now do you think mediadoesn'tmatter.com will slime ABC or the US Attorney's Office? Forget about it. (10/2/07) Let's get 1310 AM back to WEEL and Allen Prell's Dateline Show. This retro move may bring ratings to that frequency only a few listen to now. (10/2/07) “Democrats have called on the chief executive of Clear Channel to denounce remarks by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh” This country needs to wake up! Al Qaida is sitting back laughing their ass off, watching our country’s “leaders” going after a talk radio host while they quietly plan the next big one. No wonder Congress’s approval rating is lower than President Bush. The whole goddam bunch should be thrown out on their behinds. Honest, decent Americans are going to wind up paying the ultimate price again if these buffoons don’t stop this petty bickering and spend more time focusing on the security of our country. (10/2/07) (CBS talker WJFK (106.7) is among an increasing number of area FMers now broadcasting in cutting-edge mono.) Welcome back to 1962. I would not expect anything less from Washington-area broadcasters, who also lag behind most big markets in HD news. What's next? Going back to black and white? Spinning 78s vs. 45s? (10/2/07) Dave's response: Hey, what if 106.7 moved the transmitter back to Manassas and restored the easy listening music. WEZR all over again..... Listening to Rush ranting on today about Harry Reid's "character assasination," you'd think Rush has a copyright on the slamming others unfairly. Enjoy it you big fat drug addicted Vietnam war dogding blimp! KC in DC (10/2/07) Wow! Cox is offering cell phone service now. If it's as good as there cable and internet, I'd hate to be out on the road late at night with a flat with them as my cell provider. By the way, the phone can only use the basic, prime numbers 1,3, 5, and seven. If you want to use the other numbers on the phone, you'll have to subscribe to the premium service. No thanks. (10/2/07) (clip from Front Page) Consumers who hear a song on their local HD Radio stations - and want to preview, buy and download it later on iTunes - will soon be able to do that with the touch of a button on an enabled HD Radio receiver (end clip) Bag that, bucko. I'll just do what I've always done and just record it right off the radio into my soundcard, then chop up the cuts later. I'll never notice the extra layer of conversion (analog back to digital) when I'm listening on the Metro with headphones, and the sound has already been pre-processed to sound good and punchy when I use my little ipod transmitter into my FM radio. (10/2/07) Hey Bob Mathers: It's great to hear from you. Congrats on your recent position at KOMO at the news desk. Bob was a jack of all trades at WAMD and very involved with community events. If I am not mistaken Radio Unc., you would occasionally write some of the news stories for us too. In my opinion, you are never too old (maybe I should say vintage) to excel or re-learn another aspect of the business. Also, good news about Jamey Singleton who lost his position at WSLS (TV) in Roanoke. He's now writing a new column for the Franklin News-Post. Jamey writes from a fun and informative prospective about the weather, and it's a good read. So glad that he landed on his feet. I wish that for everyone. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (10/2/07) Marc Fisher radio book - Have you read his abridged history of US radio yet? (10/2/07) Dave's response: I enjoyed "Something In The Air." By the way, I have an autographed copy..... You are way off base on the Limbaugh story. He was referring to one individual, who was jailed for claiming to have been an Iraq vet in order to collect benefits: seattlepi.nwsource.com... Perhaps you should read something besides DNC press releases. Jim Limbach, Dale City, VA (10/2/07) Dave's response: DCRTV's coverage came straight from The Hill publication. I made it a point to use someone else's coverage of that story so that none of my "biases" would creep in. OK, I did use that old "fat face" pic of Rush with the story. But, I swear, that was only bias in that newsblurb..... In response to "More media matters slime editing and parsing of right wing commentary and passing it onto their allies in the mainstream media and Senate." Actually, it was Rush that selectively edited the tape of the original statement. Media Matters has the original statement and the one Rush claimed Friday to be the original statement. mediamatters.org... It is clear Rush selectively edited his version (and claimed it was the entire conversation) for his defense. If this was in a court of law, Rush could be charged with perjury and falsifying evidence. It is a shame Mark Levin last night, and Chris Core this morning, misrepresented what Rush actually said, and how he said it. (10/2/07) If WJFK is going to broadcast in mono, then the station's engineers need to hook up their CD decks properly so we can hear both channels of songs. The fact that we're hearing only one channel is most obvious when Don & Mike play snippets of older songs, such as the Doors' "Touch Me," but I suspect the problem affects the other shows as well. (10/2/07) Cory! My mistake…it IS Jim Farley atop the Mormon Temple and his trumpet is a secret antenna adding digital hash to WMAL’s signal. Now I know what ‘MAL sounds so bad these days. Tom Gauger (10/2/07) To Drew re: WTRI: Much as you want to believe something else, radio is a BUSINESS. Buddy Rizer and his partner owned the radio station to make money. They put their savings into it and tried as long as they could with a format they really thought would work! And maybe it would have worked in a larger market, or with a more powerful stick. But they are not in the business of your feelings. If an "entire community was let down" by their move, then it's the community's fault for not supporting the advertisers. That's how radio works. You listen, you buy from people who advertise, format/station is successful. You listen, don't buy (obviously from Reisterstown you hardly were shopping in Brunswick on a regular basis) and advertisers aren't pleased with their results. I applaud Buddy and his partner for trying, and taking the risk. And I certainly understand their desire to maintain their savings, thus leasing the station. Best of luck to you, Mr. Rizer. (10/2/07) Driving home last night I heard a commercial on a Clear Channel station recruiting sales people. The commercial states that next year will be a terrible year to be selling cars because the auto industry is suffering. The spot suggests that next year would be a better year to sell radio ads because car sales will stink. Do you think Clear Channel gave any thought to the reaction the local car dealers would have when they hear this commercial? Isn’t the auto ad category one of the top three spenders? What a bunch of brainless idiots. (10/2/07) Let's face it - Rush Limbaugh is nothing but an evil, lying, cowardly sack of steaming, purulent pig excrement! (10/2/07) Dave's response: Regarding Rush "phony soldiers" comment. He's brilliant at taking a quote out of context from a Dem or lefty pol and ramming it down his/her throat. And now, someone's done it back to him. I guess Rush now knows how that feels..... Dave, I really need to let my feelings be known on this issue: What just happened in Brunswick (WTRI-AM) should NOT come as a huge surprize considering that the past 2 falls they had been broadcasting on a "delayed" basis Loudoun County,Va high school football on Saturdays during the season through a company called TCC Sports through it's "sister" outlet called www.gamedaymagazine.com. This fall when I go to listen to WTRI on Saturday afternoons the games at the time they normally would have been on (2p) they weren't there. So, needless to say I figured something was brewing and I was dead on right. Now this company TCC Sports/gamedaymagazine.com is having to broadcast all their games online as a result of this (which doesn't help that company). As much as I hate to say it (believe me I'll say it right now) Buddy Rizer and his business partner are nothing but SELLOUTS ! after this latest decision to "flip"/"lease", whatever you want to call it to someone of another "descent" who in turn puts broadcasting on the air that NO ONE is going to listen to and in the meanwhile Rizer and his partner plan to place their broadcasting (which by the way is NEVER working) onto the "net". Well Mr. Rizer, you got it "your" way alright and you've proceeded to "let down" an entire town that embraced you from day 1 just so you can make a few extra dollars. I can tell you all right now that this decision to do this is going backfire and backfire miserably eventually winding up with the "lease" (one running spanish format) plus Rizer and his partner going broke and thus this station WTRI will go "dark" and that will be the end of an era for this am'er. -Drew McMahon- -Reisterstown ,Md- PS- Rizer and company have "lost me" as a listener even if they decide to come back and run the programming on it again. You had a good thing going and you blew it. Way to go Buddy (10/2/07) Bah ! Don't you guys know "Gabriel" is my radio name and Moroni is how the bill collectors know me ? Next thing you know you will say my trumpet is really a bugle and I'm supposed to play the National Anthem at signoff. (10/2/07) Bob Carpenter returning to the Nats would be nice. Enjoyed his work with Don Sutton, as well as Debbie Taylor and her reporting. The pre and post game shows with Johnny Holliday and Ray Knight were top notch, as good as any that I've seen. Good chemistry and fun to watch. On the Terps broadcast Saturday I heard Johnny salute some injured soldiers he and Ray had visited at Walter Reed Hospital. I could tell it was an emotional experience for both of them. Nice gesture by a couple of nice guys! (10/2/07) Dave's response: My sources tell me that there's a decent chance that Carpenter will be returning to the Nats' TV broadcast booth next season. Apparently, a number of the broadcasters that Nats' management wanted to replace him with already have deals locked in place next season. Duh..... Hey Dave, ABC World News Tonight did an investigative story with Brian Ross on September 24 on the "phony soldiers". Do you think "controversy will envelope" ABC News? Why didn't you run a headline on ABC News "phony soldiers" story? Will the Senate vote to castigate ABC News? Don't think so. More mediamatters slime editing and parsing of right wing commentary and passing it onto their allies in the mainstream media and Senate. Ever heard of Jesse MacBeth? Limbaugh has. He's a phony soldier. (10/2/07) /\ October 2 Messages /\ \/ October 1 Messages \/ Hi Dave, Here is a great website with prediction maps of ducting potential. They do a nice job with this site. Tom Conroy www.dxinfocentre.com (10/1/07) I remember driving on the Beltway near the Mormon Temple, back in the early 70s and seeing "Surrender Dorothy" spray-painted on the railroad bridge that spans the highway. Auntie Em! Auntie Em! (10/1/07) The Don and Mike Show in Vermont: They have been on the CC cluster in Vermont for awhile at 7pm. CC dumped Sean Hannity to move D&M to the afternoon slot. Al McGilvray (10/1/07) "We hope that you will be pleased to know that we are planning a significant complement of Hi Definition programming for both our Nationals and Orioles game productions next season." FWIW, MASN-HD is supposedly in "Test Mode" on the new DirecTV-10 satellite, although no official carriage date has been announced. www.avsforum.com (10/1/07) Dave's response: I hear that MASN's even got an HD production company lined up. The big problem will be getting committments from area cable companies - particularly Comcast - to get MASN-HD locally distributed. Look at how difficult it was for MASN to get cable carriage of its standard-def channel last year..... One must wonder- a previous post mentioned the loss of "The zone" on 93.7 in Pittsburgh- to be replaced by a station with a moniker that starts with a "B", if speculation is correct( and after what Dan Mason has done in NYC and Philly) with credible evidence found at www.pitts-urgh.com ( go there and you'll see what I mean), than a plan might be afoot to send the WTGB calls to Pittsburgh (since an Albany station has the legendary WBZZ calls) and put the WHFS calls on 94.7. Stephen (10/1/07) TOM, YOUR WRONG IT'S NOT MORONI ON THE MORMON TEMPLE..IT'S JIM FARLEY! LOL CORY (10/1/07) Dave's response: Grrrrr..... WYPR started it's broadcast on 106.9 in Ocean City today. I hope Maryland Public TV gets it's Digital signal working by February 17, 2009 or they'll be no PBS out of Salisbury. Their digital signal has been missing in action of and on for more than a month. I guess since the summer season's over, time to old up the MPT boardwalk til next spring. It's almost as bad with WHYY 's repeater in Seaford. While the parent has three digital signals, only one makes it south.Gotta love the big city stations! (10/1/07) Quick research. Per the Washington Post ( washingtonpost.com ) Tony Reali lives in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of D.C. There was a four alarm fire in an Adams Morgan condo complex early today, ( www.wjla.com ) I assume that's the reference in question. Everett W. (10/1/07) Today the FCC "accepted for filing" a new application from the people who are trying to get 1200 near Richmond. Is is for a considerably better transmitter location. (10/1/07) At the bottom of my post is the story from allaccess.com. Yes Lorrin Palagi Was with Guy Zapolean consultants. Another mention of The Globe as Classic Rock. They are being really careful not to give up the 35 to 54 year old base. Maybe they should become 94.7 THE GLOVE..... ("Former CITADEL Country KSCS/DALLAS OM/PD and ZAPOLEON MEDIA STRATEGIES consultant LORRIN PALAGI has been named PD at CBS Classic Rock WTGB (94.7 THE GLOBE)/WASHINGTON, D.C. It's a return to the nation's capital for PALAGI, who programmed then ABC-owned WRQX (MIX 107.3) in the '90s. Wrote SVP/Market Mgr. MICHAEL HUGHES, "I’m very excited to welcome LORRIN back to WASHINGTON, D.C. as Program Director of the new 94.7 THE GLOBE. LORRIN’s winning experience in major markets with unique format variations make him the perfect choice for this position.") (10/1/07) Dave's response: Just punched up 94.7 at 6:20 PM on Monday and they were playing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side On The Moon." So I guess you could call 'em classic rock..... Hi Dave, At the end of PTI today Kornheiser said that statboy, aka tony Reali (also host of around the horn on espn) would not be on due to his apartment burning down. Just wondering if you have heard anything regarding this. I know he is DC based. Keep up the great work! Jason (10/1/07) Dave's response: Anybody know more..... how do i nominate a "hottie"?? how about todd mcdermott v. leon harris? (10/1/07) Dave's response: Maybe..... If I’m not mistaken, the angel high atop the Mormon Temple is Moroni and not Gabriel. Tom Gauger (10/1/07) RE: New Globe PD. Wasn't this guy also a consultant for the last ocuple of years with (maybe) Zapoleon? (10/1/07) Dave's response: Are you trying to make a Hindenberg joke? Hi, I’ve enjoyed your website on occasion over the years and, while understandable, I am somewhat disappointed that certain areas have gone beyond the cloak of subscription. Now I completely understand the need to raise funds for the incredible effort that has gone into the site over the years, but I would say you’re charging for the wrong stuff. Whereas I occasionally like to go and review some of the market’s history, especially when I head down to the area, it is not worth the subscription for info that doesn’t change. What you should charge for is the news updates, stuff that continues to take your time and effort and worth the cash outlay for people who follow the market closely. My best example is that I have paid for a subscription to Scott Fybush’s NERW because the weekly news affects the market I work in. Occasionally I’ll peruse through the station histories, but once you’ve read them, you’ve read them. If I’m curious about the history of the 102.7 signal in Baltimore, I’m not going to pay the $50 (or 40) to read it once. Nor if I want to look at the other station histories, because again – once I’ve read them, it’s over. If you’re adding audio files and bios, charge for that too. As I recall, you organized an excellent history of the market and it is valuable to the site, but it doesn’t change (unless they dump Jack and put oldies back on the dial!) Thanks for listening to my rant. Continued success with the site, it is a major contributor to all things radio. Jack (10/1/07) Dave's response: Living in the DC area is expensive. I've got a mortgage on my condo, taxes, equipment expenses, health insurance premiums, etc., to pay. What I am trying to do via DCRTV Plus is to encourage folks to help pitch in a few bucks to help fund the site. Even with the ads we now run, about one-third of our operating income still comes from donations from visitors like you. You know, you could think of the $50 yearly "fee" for DCRTV Plus as being a $35 donation to the "great work" we do here and $15 for what you think Plus is worth. Or whatever. That comes to something like $4 a month. That's the price of one cup (!!!!) of coffee at Starbucks. You gotta admit, for the price of one cup of coffee per month you get a boatload of fun, news, gossip, socialization, nostalgia, and downright "dirt" from DCRTV. Right Jack? Just got this from Inside Radio....could there be changes afoot in Baltimore and DC? "CBS format flips in Detroit and Pittsburgh. Dan Mason says he won't do any more than one format flip in a day, but he's pulled the plug on a pair of low-rated big market stations today. Detroit's "Live 97.1 - Free FM" WKRK-FM drops its FM talk format and is simulcasting sister all-sports WXYT (1270). And in Pittsburgh, CBS dumps its talk format on "The Zone" WTZN-FM and is stunting with Christmas music until Friday afternoon." (10/1/07) Dave's response: I don't see any major format changes from CBS Radio in DC or Baltimore for the remainder of this year. The weakest link in the chain would be CBS talker WHFS, 105.7. Maybe back to alt rock. Dan Mason doesn't seem to be fond of all the FM talkers that CBS started with the loss of Howard Stern to Sirius..... Please find attached... a picture regarding WHUR receiving the prestigious NAB Marconi Award for Urban Station of the Year. Attached is a photo of WHUR General Manager Jim Watkins holding the award... The award was issued Thursday, September 27th. Renee J. Nash, Director of Information and Public Affairs (10/1/07) I'd like to say hi to my valued friends (hopefully they still consider themselves friends 'lol') and break the rather strange news that I have morphed into a Sat/Sun desk journalist/editor here at KOMO 1000 AM in Seattle. I still love the oldies, but I'm finding this news thing to be a lot of fun too. That...and enjoying wonderful perks like free tickets to see Mariner games...as KOMO is the flagship for the team. Dennis Kelly is our PD here, a name that would certainly ring a bell with many newsers in DC. In addition to paying Dave Hughes to advertise my oldies website here on DCRTV, I work daily with broadcasters who mentor aspiring radio stars at stations across the US and Canada. That too is a lot of fun, as a few of them are in the Baltimore-DC markets and I can continue to maintain some valued friendships. Plus there are a few other things to keep one busy. I must really enjoy this crazy business. Funny how after all these years of not doing news...30 of them to be exact...I've come full circle and we're somehow getting the hang of writing and editing radio news in 2007. So far, so good. The Lord sure does amazin' things, don't He? Thanks and hi to all - Bob Mathers - Seattle, Washington (10/1/07) The Only good news from that story about the Globe's new program director being Lorrin Palagi, is that Norm Winer will be assisting in the music direction. Will Norm Winer be assisting from his perch at WXRT? The bad news is that Lorrin Palagi has mostly top 40 experience, or hybrid format music experience which to me means not a true hybrid format, but COMPROMISE. he is being brought in from the outside, and as far as I'm concerned is hostile to any type of eclectic rock format. Prove me wrong! Also, why the fuck did The Globe bring in Jacobs, or any consultant?! it's an expense that the station doesn't need, and it only hurts the potential creativity of the station, and certainly any choices that the DJ's have, or might have. I heard less doublespeak in your story in George Orwell's 1984, a good example is Michael Hughes comment: "Do not expect a major shift in strategy, "This station is uniquely Washington. If some call it Triple A, adult alternative, or polka, I don't care. The music mix is unique to the listeners that live here"..... No Michael Hughes, currently the station is uniquely Omaha, Springfield, or Oklahoma City, and Anytown USA, and for it to become uniquely Washington, WTGB, The Globe needs a shift in strategy in the direction of being freeform, or eclectic. The Globe needs to more hip, more local, and more eclectic. (10/1/07) FOX Sports Radio Programming to Stream Live on FOXSports.com on MSN (10/1/07) Over the past few years Marc Fisher has shown an uncanny ability to speak in with what at first glance appears to be an authoritative voice about topics he quickly proves he doesn't understand. He used to harp on Loudoun County zoning and political issues and, without fail, would demonstrate by the end of each column that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He'd report weird rumors as fact, put words in people's mouths that they would never utter and--frankly--just make crap up to fit his off the wall theories. Another angry ignoramus. He did the same thing when he whined about the Nationals coming to town. And any time he talks about DC politics. Now he's proved he doesn't understand ratings books. Once upon a time I admired the Post for its writers; anymore I just cringe and flip to the box scores. (10/1/07) Nice snow job done by Al Liggins. First he subjugates the answer by dragging in topics not related to the discussion. Several paragraphs later he finally talks about what is Radio One doing to protect the audience from offensive material. What Al left out however is that Radio One has two other radio services, that being Satellite One and Syndication One on which such constraints are not enforced. And of course, no member of Congress is smart enough to realize what was left our or question him about all the entities that exist under the Radio One umbrella. (10/1/07) I will never get over the fact that so many people actually think of Bill O'Reilly as some kind of authority figure. The guy is a transparent charlatan, a wanton propagandist and not even very good at it. Yet there are millions of people who believe every bizarre thing he says. It is seriously depressing. I thought we were a fairly intelligent country. I was wrong. Dave in Sterling (10/1/07) Dave, I believe Lorrin Palagi started at 107.3 when the station was Q107 and stayed for the flip to Mix. Q107 was being edged out by WAVA at the time, but from what I heard, Palagi was highly respected, which is evidenced by his being trusted to created Mix. As you well know, most PD’s don’t get to stay around for a format change. Roddy Freeman (10/1/07) Dave: I like "Real Estate Mailbag" in Saturday's Post as well. Every week I read about that rule requiring me to live in my house at least two years to qualify for the exemption from taxes if I sell my property. I think I have it memorized by now. Sadly, in case you hadn't heard, the author of that column passed away last week, and Saturday's column ran with a note indicating it would be Bruss' last column. Christian www.washingtonpost.com (10/1/07) As far as MASN going HD, I'll believe it when I see it. They were sending out e-mails this time last year about going HD for the 2007 season. And on that note, what has happened to their Web site? It used to be pretty decent, but now it's a wreck. The programming guide is gone and lots of other sections are really messed up. (10/1/07) If what John Hennemen said about the reliability of Washington Times delivery were true in my neighborhood, I'd still be a subscriber. I switched to the Post a couple of years ago, and it's been reliable ... until Sunday, when the paper showed up just after 8 a.m. (the cutoff time for delivery, I believe), but WITHOUT the section including Arts, Book World, and Travel. Those sections showed up with TODAY'S paper. I guess it was a widespread problem. Christian (10/1/07) Dave's response: I got Sunday's Post OK, but I've been having problems with Saturday's paper. I love to read that Real Estate Q&A. You know stuff like - "I have a mortgage on a rental condo with my mother-in-law's ex-lover, but if I sell the house will the taxman hit us up for capital gains." Fun stuff..... Re: "I guess the American public simply doesn't want an all-music-videos-all-the-time channel"-- I don't think that's it. I loved it; it was the best thing to come out of the digital TV "revolution". But I think they were ahead of their time. How many people are actually watching digital sub-channels? And how many stations across the country, like 54 in Balmer, dropped The Tube when the idiotic E/I rule was applied to sub-channels? If the audience isn't capable of watching the channel, the content is not the reason for its demise. I'm really sorry to see The Tube end, but maybe 50 can fill the space with one of the many other "networks" that are available but not carried locally. I'd love to see American Life TV on one of the available local subchannels. (10/1/07) Dave's response: Anyone remember the early days of Channel 50, then WCQR, which aired a "weather cam" - a camera on top of its DC tower - when it wasn't running programming from the now defunct Financial News Network or the old subscription Super TV service? Maybe 50 could go back to running that on its digital subchannel..... "I love Marc Fisher, but when he wrote today that less than four per cent of potential listeners use WMAL it shows a lack of understanding of what ratings mean. By that, less than 6 per cent of washingtonains listen to WTOP! We all know that is not true. Since (DCRTV) readers are radio groupies, perhaps you should have somebody explain what those numbers actually mean. I promise many more than six per cent of Washingtonians listen to WTOP." 20% of the audience listens to WTOP. It is the cume rating but very few if any print reporters get the concept of cume. (10/1/07) I wonder if enough Nats fans deluged the Lerners as well as MASN on behalf of Bob Carpenter. Barry Svrluga is also reporting in today's Post that the Nats could not get the services of ESPN's Dan Shulman. Carpenter was a decent enough play-by-play guy and a class act, especially during the last few weeks of the season. (10/1/07) At midnight The Tube Network, seen locally on OTA digital channel 50.2, went dark. Apparently the national network couldn’t attract enough advertising and ran out of money. (10/1/07) Dave's response: That's a shame. I guess the American public simply doesn't want an all-music-videos-all-the-time channel like what MTV started out as in the early 1980s. With the exception of MTVHits, all of the other MTV multiplexes have pretty much dropped wall-to-wall videos in favor of traditional programming. That's what advertisers and viewers want, apparently..... So I sent my monthly "when's HD coming?" email to MASN and, tucked in there with the usual self congratulations for all their "innovations" this season was the following : " We hope that you will be pleased to know that we are planning a significant complement of Hi Definition programming for both our Nationals and Orioles game productions next season." Now if I can discern the meaning of 'significant complement' maybe I can figure out if they actually plan to put THE GAMES in HD. The likes of Rick Dempsey and Ray Knight in HD I can do without. Howie (10/1/07) Interesting that the WPost quotes Farley near the mention about the Mormon Church's "experiment" of faith-based radio at one of their stations in Utah. I bet once Farley and his latest experiment are gone from 1500, they will be replaced by the same church programming being heard at Salt Lake City. Imagine: a 50,000 watt Mormon station whose transmitter is in the shadow of Gabriel's gold trumpet there off the Capital Beltway. (10/1/07) Dave's response: Put Federal News Radio on 1500. Why not? With all the wonks around here and a 50,000-watt signal? Sounds like a success to me. Bonneville could put 3WT on 1050 along with 820 and 107.7. It's gonna get "WTNT type" ratings anyway. Why waste too much wattage on it? Hmmm..... Forget Buck Martinez and Amber Theoharris, I'm not sure if I'm returning to MASN after the Orioles' and Nationals' pathetic coverage on this low-definition, grainy 4:3 picture, poorly produced insult of a regional sports network. Greg in Reisterstown (10/1/07) RE: Security clearance. .... Polygraph not required for most levels of clearance; required for the highest levels. (10/1/07) Re: "...heard a bit of 106.5 or 106.7 out of Harrisburg. Some lite rock station and Jim London was doing afternoons." That's John London. Not the same guy. (10/1/07) "Any word on where Jim London is headed now that he has been fired from WMZQ? I’d love to see him to talk radio, especially politics and current affairs." Was in Hagerstown and while listening to Don and Mike on WJFK (what a shit signal), heard a bit of 106.5 or 106.7 out of Harrisburg. Some lite rock station and Jim London was doing afternoons. I hate lite rock, smooth jazz, and hot country. Paul (10/1/07) Cutting Joe Theismann loose was ther best move ESPN has made in a long time. What remains to be done is for NO other media outlet to allow "The Mouth" to pollute the airwaves. I was so glad when Lawrence Taylor snapped his leg and this news is almost as good. (10/1/07) RE: Security clearance. You have to be sponsored. You have to have a relatively clean work and life record. You have to undergo a complete background investigation, including polygragh. Once you get it, you need to maintain that clearance every two years or so, depending on the agency or department you do the bulk of your work for. And above all else, you have to keep your mouth shut once you have the clearance (10/1/07) Dave, I am sorry to see a REAL pro like Andrian Mitchell leave WTOP without getting the afternoon slot. If you needed to CREATE a spot for Hilary Howard, why not give HER Andrian's job and give Andrian afternoon drive. Ira, Diane, Andrian....Ken/Bethesda (10/1/07) I'm not going to say Buck Martinez isn't very knowledgeable about baseball, obviously he is, but I have to admit his voice is annoying. He slurs his words and to me, almost sounds drunk most of the time (I'm sure he isn't). His accent doesn't sound Baltimore or anywhere down south I can identify and it's just rambling drunk annoying to me! Sorry. Someone recently mentioned Mel Proctor here. Adding him to either the Nats or O's coverage would definitely be a plus. I always liked him back in the old HTS days. (10/1/07) Bob Carpenter did drop a hint during yesterday's final broadcast of the season that there is a chance he may be back. While acknowledging the well-wishes of the fans, Bob mentioned that he had a very pleasant talk with Stan Kasten on Friday and, while he wouldn't go into any details, he did quote Yogi Berra: "It ain't over 'til it's over." Bob is a real pro and one of the finest baseball PbP men on the tube. Here's hoping the Nats realize how valuable he is and not only keep him, but give him a long-term deal like Don Sutton has. Same goes for the radio guys. (10/1/07) /\ October 1 Messages /\ \/ September 30 Messages \/ There are always advertisements on the Web and in the paper for audio and video technicians "with security clearance". Apparently this is like some secret guild: either you have it or you don't, and the ones who have it won't tell you how to get it. Is anyone willing to share the secret of how one is able to obtain "security clearance"? (9/30/07) Marc Fisher is the last person who should be reporting on local radio. Is the Post that hard up for media reporters that they need to draft him? Dave would be an excellent choice. Fisher reported that the Redskins left AM radio and went to FM "years ago" when in fact they can be found on several places on the AM dial and only went to FM a few years ago. He seems to be unaware that it was a Washington tradition to turn the sound down on tv and listen to Frank Herzog, Sunny, and Sam on the AM dial but now that is impossible since radio is now at least a play ahead of the tv coverage. (9/30/07) Dave's response: While the Redskins' radio network has always included regional AM stations, they were on WJFK-FM in the immediate DC market for 10 years, from 1995 through 2005..... Dear Dave: Unorthodox reports on the NAB Radio Show Marconi Awards dinner Thursday in Charlotte that won't make the trades. chickaboomer.blogspot.com... chickaboomer.blogspot.com... Marty (9/30/07) RE: AM 1200..... I think you're underestimating the proposed service area. It will definitely reach Hopewell and beyond daytime. I didn't intend to say it's nighttime signal would reach Norfolk, it won't, but it will certainly be heard down there during the day. As far as it's coverage of Richmond, I can only see the farthest most northern burbs of Richmond that wouldn't have great coverage. I suspect that this app will eventually be amended to account for the disappearance of WAGE from AM 1200 since as this app is proposed, it has to account for both 1190 Annapolis and WAGE 1200, one of which may eventually be gone. As to whether anyone will be listening or not listening (as in WMET), that's really a programming issue and an issue specific to DC. DC is not an AM town. People are listening to AM radio in other markets. Although I have to admit, for the ultimate survival of AM radio, the FCC is going to have to take action soon. One good idea would be to start cracking down on stations like the ones in Delaware (WNWK 1260) which haven't had a transmitter site for a decade or more. Those are the type of stations that should have their licenses revoked nationwide. If the FCC started taking this action, there would be room for a lot more 50k daytime & better night time signals in markets where AM can and has been successful. Protecting each and every town's historic 250-1000 watt AM station allocation as an FCC policy has outlived it's purpose. Obviously, even people in small towns have access to various types of media today. These were allocations given out when AM was the only broadcast media in town and many of them are just not necessary today. (9/30/07) Any word on where Jim London is headed now that he has been fired from WMZQ? I’d love to see him to talk radio, especially politics and current affairs. (9/30/07) I love Marc Fisher, but when he wrote today that less than four per cent of potential listeners use WMAL it shows a lack of understanding of what ratings mean. By that, less than 6 per cent of washingtonains listen to WTOP! We all know that is not true. Since (DCRTV) readers are radio groupies, perhaps you should have somebody explain what those numbers actually mean. I promise many more than six per cent of Washingtonians listen to WTOP. That is the problem with printing ratings. They are based on info advertisers use. It does not reflect listener choices. (9/30/07) Dave's response: I love Marc Fisher, too. Ever since he sent me that poster of him in a Speedo. I have it on my bedroom wall, right next to my bed..... Watched today's finale' of the O's season and it sounded to me like neither Buck Martinzez or Amber Theoharris would be returning to MASN next season. Got any inside info Diamond Dave? Rusty (9/30/07) Dave's response: Anybody know more? Hmmm..... It looks like there may still be some hope for Bob Carpenter returning to the Nats broadcasting team next year. From the official website of the Washington Nationals (washington.nationals.mlb.com): “The Nationals have informed Bob Carpenter that there may be a chance he could be back with the team as its TV play-by-play announcer on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. At the same time, Carpenter plans to still seek other employment, just in case the Nationals decide to go in another direction. Carpenter declined to comment on the situation. The Nationals had made contact with the agent of ESPN broadcaster Dan Shulman, but he didn't have interest in the job. "I'm under contract from ESPN. I'm very happy at ESPN," said Shulman, who worked Sunday's Nationals-Phillies game on ESPN Radio.“ Hmm… Brian in Fairfax (9/30/07) Dave: When the DTV "initial" transition happens, local LPTV stations like WWTD-LP, tv49, will still be analog broadcasting and available to the 3.5 million people in its coverage area. Some 700,000 people within our coverage area do not subscribe to cable tv and over 1.2 million people who do have a 2nd TV without cable. So the death of analog TV in the DC metro area is not accurately being reported. The following is a quote from Communications Daily about last week's DTV event in DC. "The DTV transition won't end Feb. 17, 2009, said the National Translator Association and the Community Broadcasters Association. In a letter to FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Chief Catherine Seidel, they asked the FCC to remind consumers that all of the 7,300 translator, class A and low-power TV stations are exempt from the transition. The letter asked Seidel to tell the Sept. 26 FCC DTV workshop about the stations. She moderated the day-long meeting. It's "incorrect and misleading" for the commission to be telling consumers that the last day of analog broadcasting is Feb. 17, the groups said. "We hope that government and private industry will not mislead the public." Seidel didn't read the letter to the DTV workshop, said lawyer Peter Tannenwald, representing the CBA. An FCC official told him that the commission will keep the stations in mind in education efforts, Tannenwald said. The (LPTV & translator) broadcasters are exempt from the transition because the FCC hasn't completed a rulemaking to set a deadline for the stations to stop analog transmissions." These excerpts from Communications Daily are reprinted by permission of Warren Communications News, Inc. Mike Gravino, Station Manager, WWTD-LP, tv49 (9/30/07) Dear Jazz Lover: This week we feature the fantastic trumpet sounds of Blue Mitchell, the music of the late Joe Zawinul, a live interview with Charles Tolliver and a extensive review of his new big band CD... "With Love" and there's more... Click here to check it all out now... jazzradiodc.com... Don't forget... holiday time is just around the corner and that means people spending money. JAZZRADIODC.COM is a commercial radio program and is proud to work with sponsors. We do not operate on donations. We have an affluent and intelligent audience of consumers who have money to spend. If you or someone you know needs to advertise to reach the "right" people... then (contact us) for more information on how to sell your product or service on this radio/internet jazz program. Do check out the entire JAZZRADIODC.COM site and listen often. Thanks, Carl David (9/30/07) Re: "The whole point of moving digital is to eventually have full 1080 HDTV." The point of moving to digital is so that broadcasters can make more money by running a bunch of standard-definition channels where once they had one channel, the government can make money by auctioning off radio frequency spectrum that once was considered to belong to the public, and the electronics industry can make money by selling everyone new TV sets. Whether you like, or consider good enough, anything that is available to you under the new digital broadcasting rules is entirely irrelevant. And BTW, 720p signals _do_ qualify as "High Definition"; most sets that have been sold can't even display 1080 pixels vertically. (9/30/07) Quote:"Wow, just noticed that someone has an FCC app for a new 50,000 watt AM 1200 near Richmond that would blanket Virginia from Richmond to Norfolk! And with a 20,000 watt nighttime signal too!" Comment: Look at the application. The proposed location places almost all of Richmond's population outside the good service area. And its main beam doesn't even reach to Hopewell ("Hopeless"), only one-third of the way to the Norfolk area. They probably can't move to a better location because of WAGE. It makes WWWT 1500 service to the DC area look excellent by comparison. Richmond's 1200 looks like a real loser with 8 towers at that. (9/30/07) Dave's response: I don't need to remind you that the DC area's WMET (1160 AM) runs 50,000-watts by day. And it has yet to make even the slightest twitch in the local radio ratings..... Well my last time listening to WTRI last night as Karen Carpenter sang and the station seemed to power down and lots of other stations started to bleed thru...adios mi compadre I'd hoist a brew but i hate that piss of a beer,corona......speaking of Cox I find it quite annoying that Cox chooses to interrupt that last 10 minutes of virtually every hour of CNN with it's own public relations tax right off stuff, why can't they pick an empty channel and put that stuff their!...hell the selection on most cable sucks imo, and getting worse and worse at this point i've stockpiled many of my old favorite tv shows and movies that i got little use for Crap TV but just out of curiousity a basic digital cable offering ain't required is it like it was in the days of analog?......i like reading the McPaper they put on wall in bathroom at my local mickey d's (9/30/07) Dave from the "perspective of delivery" the Washington Times does an excellent job A+ while the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post get an F.After missing the Sun then the Post most days of the week I canceled both. I did without paper for awhile and then someone called about Washington Times Its been delivered on time and to right house literally more than 99.5 percent of the time for years now..I live in Hyattsville.John T. Henneman (9/30/07) Wasn't Mr. Greenspan the neighbor on Captain Kangaroo? Al McGilvray (9/30/07) Dear Dave: I echo Rob in Ashburn's sentiments about the morning newspaper and the "convenience" it offers over laptops in certain situations. Let me add that without newspapers, it becomes more difficult to paper train a puppy or line a birdcage. Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (9/30/07) Wow, just noticed that someone has an FCC app for a new 50,000 watt AM 1200 near Richmond that would blanket Virginia from Richmond to Norfolk! And with a 20,000 watt nighttime signal too! Makes me wonder why Leesburg's WAGE wants to vacate AM 1200 for Annapolis's AM 1190 frequency and at only 1.3kw nighttime??? Also noticed a new 50,000 watt AM 1200 proposed for Boston. Seems like a lot of big budget 50k plans on these 2 adjacent frequencies. Geez, will Washington ever get a decent signaled AM station? :-( (9/30/07) /\ September 30 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....