Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - October 18 to October 23, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ October 23 Messages \/ Howard crushed O&A 5-1 on satellite even though XM has nearly 2 million more subscribers. The "virus" is more like a cough ..what a joke: Arbitron has released the Spring 2007 ratings for both XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. The report breaks out each service's channel by channel data of both cume (short for "cumulative audience" - essentially the unduplicated persons or households listening during a specific period) and AQH (Average Quarter Hour - the average number of persons listening to a station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period). XM led significantly with a cume of 10.33 million listeners versus the 6.6 million listeners at Sirius. But Howard Stern owned the top spot as the most-listened to satellite radio channel with over five times as many listeners as Opie & Anthony: Sirius' Howard 100 (ch 100) had a cume of 1.22 million listeners and an AQH of 96,700 XM's The Virus (ch 202) had a cume of 216,800 listeners and an AQH of 20,800 While Howard 100 was the #1 most listened to satellite radio channel, XM's Top 20 on 20 (ch 20) ranked as #2, with 1.05 million cume listeners and an AQH of 21,800 listeners. XM's listening is more evenly distributed, while Sirius is more Howard Stern-biased (Howard 101 even had a cume of 502,000 and AQH of 30,700). (10/23/07) BOBB, I hope you are kidding when you say that she is the news director. If that is the case, I will be dismayed. In addition to sounding like she is unhappy, she does not seem polished or experienced. I have heard news directors at other stations similar to WNAV and they sound MUCH better than she does. Whoever is running that station needs to seriously have a talk with her. (10/23/07) Ahhh, Dave in Sterling, aren't you the guy who hates WHFS 105.7's Ed Norris because he's a felon and shouldn't be on the radio, but I bet you intend to vote for the wife of a felon for President, in effect, making a felon a co-President and evading the Constitutional term limits??? HAha! See, hypocrisy afflicts BOTH parties! Personally, no matter who wins, I for one would not like to hear the names Clinton or Bush anymore for a LONG WHILE. Those 2 names bring up nothing but a picture of skeleton filled closets for me this Halloween. :-( (10/23/07) It is time to move the whole radio crew out. I can remember when Steve Gilmartin did the broadcasts on WMAL-AM (he was also the main sports anchor for channel seven before they banned ownership of TV and Radio stations by one owner ) He left on the early seventies (I think for a job in Houston) when the late Len Hathaway took over and did the broadcasts (along with Mal Campbell, who was also a WMAL sports reporter).He was such an admitted homer, that even a die-hard Skins fan, such as myself couldn't listen at times. When Ken Beatrice came to prominence and took over the sports at programming at WMAL radio radio in the seventies, Dan Lovett was brought in from New York as Channel Seven's main sports guy, he also assumed the play by play. Sam Huff, I think was first teamed with Lovett, then Huff and Herzog along with Jurgensen after he left his CBS-TV gig. All the Super Bowl years were covered by Herzo g, Huf f and Jurgensen, after Joel Albritton bought Channel Seven. I always liked Herzog ,who has been doing straight news on WTOP recently I hear. Larry Michael, who assumed play by play, after being the pre-game host for a few years, is perhaps the worst of any of these. I hear that he is a "Danny Boy Snyder Favorite" which may explain his continuing his presence. Michael is the worst I have heard in the thirty- five plus years I have listened to the Radio broadcasts! I think its time to move the whole crew out before Sonny and Frank all pass away on the job. I think that ex-Redskin Mark May would be a good choice as a replacement. You could bring back Herzog, to appease the old timers. Doug in Stephens City (10/23/07) The News from WNAV has lost it’s touch. The post about the afternoon news girl is very observant. She seems like she’s pissed at the on air jock, the job, and herself. I think (THINK) She’s the News Director, but I’m not certain. It just seems like there’s a lot of friction on the “team”. I aosl think the station, overall sounds really good and is definitely covering the Annapolis/neighborhood-BOBB (10/23/07) I turned on FOX5 this morning and noticed that Tony Perkins was out sick again. Yeah, people get sick, but it appears that at least 2-3 times a month, he's out sick. And yeah, I know he has a young son and maybe this kid catches stuff from other kids, brings it home and then passes it on to Tony. But hey, I think he may be the only one on FOX5 who is constantly out due to illness. I just hope he's o.k.. (10/23/07) Actually, this is the fourth time by my count in the past year they had to repost it. It's a shame that they had gone through that many news people in a year, I don't care how big or small the news department is. WNAV seemed to be sounding great news wise for a while and then it started to sink. They only had one morning person in the past year that sounded great. I think he left earlier this year. The woman who does afternoons (who actually has been there for a while now) doesn't seem all that happy about what she is doing. I don't know who's running things over there, but I hope their news department gets overhauled. I moved to the area about seven years ago from Pennsylvania and have been impressed with WNAV when I first moved here with their news department. I reminded me of similar operations in my hometown in State College. But for the past year or so, it seems that putting out a good news product has taken a backseat, which is really sad. I hope things improve soon. John in Annapolis (10/23/07) "Does anyone know if DISH or DIRECTV will help out with this or what affiliates they offer on Delmarva?" Until local channels are offered on either system, you'd need a waiver to get CBS, FOX, ABC or the CW on your satellite dish. That would be because of SHVIA, the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act. There's also zero chance of getting a waiver out of either station. Even if you did, you'd get the New York or L.A. stations. (10/23/07) WMAL is making a big mistake by not considering to carry Imus's new show. It could be that they are afraid of being criticized by the politically correct crowd. But since this controversy started it has been evident that Imus's biggest critics are those who never listened to his show, jumped on the bandwagon with the others, and lumped him in with the know-nothing shock jocks. (10/23/07) I don't know about most people who migrate to the shore, but I grew up in the Baltimore area. While I watch WBOC for a local touch, I mainly watch CBS programming and news on WJZ. It might be the connection of being back home, or the familarity of the personalities. Don't get me wrong, WBOC does a great job down here. WMDT on the other hand, that is a different slice of cake. But, I will miss WJZ. I believe that there was or is going to be a town hall meeting in Ocean Pines with the Mediacom officials to voice objection to the removal of WJZ. (10/23/07) Since Don Imus is back in the news. I thought this was an interesting article about Al Roker and his hypocrisy about offensive jokes. It seems like he has no problem being part of the infamous Friars roast, but wanted Don Imus fired for words that are much less offensive. It just seems like he took the Imus incident as an opportunity to advance himself and he really isn't offended by salty language. Otherwise he wouldn't have made jokes about epileptics a few months back and he definetly wouldn't have attended a Friars roast. What do you think?? www.mediatakeout.com (10/23/07) Wow…li’l ole Farhi finally broke some news on his own? Now if that isn’t the sound of one hand clapping… (10/23/07) The first XM & Sirius ratings? Source Inside Radio: Radio a "worst job for the 21st Century." The U.S. Labor Department says radio will be among the slowest-growing industries in the coming decade. Government economists say consolidation and technology breakthroughs will lead to 5% fewer radio announcers by 2015. Among the "negatives" for radio work - shift work and low pay, with the median salary for a radio employee about $11 an hour. (10/23/07) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) WTOP/3WT/WFED radio needs a Desktop Support Specialist. Duties include maintaining the functionality of the Desktop/Laptop IS infrastructure. Installing applications, patches, fixes and other approved software. Service the helpdesk w/trouble resolution, training/other related issues. Assist engineering dept. w/projects. Candidate needs to be on-call after hours. Bachelor degree from accredited college/university w/degree in computer related discipline preferred. MCSE, CCNA certifications a plus. Applications at www.wtopnews.com link “inside wtop” email to jobs@wtopnews.com. An Equal Opportunity Employer. (10/23/07) I'm sure WBOC has been and will continue to fight to get rid of WJZ and all of the FOX affiliates including FOX 5 as well in the next year just like WMDT got WMAR removed practically everywhere on Delmarva. Good for WBOC, bad for the many people that have retired to Delmarva from the Washington/Baltimore area or have shore homes in the family like me. This growing population largely does not watch either WMDT or WBOC at all and probably never will that much. So apparently, the game is to FORCE them to? Does anyone know if DISH or DIRECTV will help out with this or what affiliates they offer on Delmarva? Because if Comcast ultimately does this same thing, I would switch to satellite in a heartbeat. Obviously, this is not what the cable customers want, but a money deal between WBOC and Mediacom. :-( (10/23/07) Let's see now - the site is DCRTV, right? As in Washington, DC. It covers "Washington, DC/Baltimore Area Radio, TV, and Media," right? Now, I understand why Rob "it's quitting time" Douglas, would care about San Diego radio, he's Chip Franklin's stooge, but why should anybody else? Don't you slackers have better things to do with your time? Like look for work? (10/23/07) The best part about a national disaster is watching all the hate-filled cranks coming out of the woodwork to declare "Nobody cares and if we do..." etc etc etc. When it was New Orleans, the networks got pounded by conservatives declaring the coverage had a "liberal bias" made to make Bush look bad. Now it's -- well, conservatives, I guess -- who are going stark raving loony screeching that they don't care if dozens/hundreds/thousands of rich people's homes burn to the ground in southern California. Bush said today help is "on the way" to California. Let's hope it gets there faster than it did to New Orleans, because they're still waiting. As for Larry Michael(s): I think he kisses Daniel Snyder's ass better than anybody else in the business. Dave in Sterling (10/23/07) To FOX 5 & CNN (& the rest of the networks & stations I've stopped watching lately)....... Spare us the pity party for Hollywood actor's multi-million dollar homes being lost to the wildfires. I'm sick and tired of watching it. Nobody cares and if we do, it's only in knowing which ones have filed for federal & state disaster relief funds. So many more people die in fires every week with so much less coverage and probably less help, but just because the pictures are so spectacular looking and the houses such mansions, we have to endure 24/7 coverage of this when only 1 person has even died! Hardly a disaster. And just think, YOU the taxpayer might just be paying welfare to CHER as a result! Of course I'm sure people think I'm saying something outrageous and inconceivable, but I'll never forget the time that a reporter had the guts to ask rather wealthy newsman Sam Donaldson if he'd ever taken government welfare when his house on the Outer Banks was destroyed by a hurricane and if so why. To my surprise, Donaldson was honest and said "Of course." , "Because it's there. Why wouldn't I?" My next question (which of course was not asked) would have been something like, "Aren't you then a total dishonest hypocrit for asking harsh & critical questions of mostly Republicans for cutting allegedly low income social programs that you in fact, a wealthy person, have benefited from?" Of course, these types of tough questions are never asked of important media stars or Democrat politicos in such cases as, for instance, the SCHIP program, which is nothing more than special interest middle class welfare. I don't have children so I shouldn't be paying for my neighbors' kids healthcare. It's that simple, especially when they have the money to pay for it themselves and choose not to. And for people making just $60k with 8 kids, well, even Jesus would probably condemn that practice as immoral. Why isn't this angle being covered by CNN or MSNBC? I don't even think I've seen this angle on FOX News! What ever happened to personal responsibility in this country? Nevermind, now back to the California Hollywood stars disaster scene. "Oh the humanity of it all!" [tears] (10/23/07) An HD radio story www.abc2news.com (10/23/07) Okay! I can’t take it anymore! Isn’t speaking the skill radio personalities are paid for? Shouldn’t correct pronunciation be part of the job qualifications? Now, will someone please tell Kelly Knight how to pronounce Jaguar(s)? If I hear her say “Jag-wy-ers” one more time, I will march over to the Globe studios and drop a dictionary on her head. It’s pronounced “Jag-wahr,” Kelly. Or “Jag-yoo-ah” if you’re a Brit. (10/23/07) Larry Michael is still fondly remembered in some corners for his calls of George Washington basketball games. The problem that strikes me on the Redskins football side is that Michael has to work with hand me down sidekicks. The Redskins should dump both Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff after the current season and hire someone new like Joe Theismann to work with Michael. Everett W. (10/23/07) Today is a sad day in Ocean Pines and Bethany Beach-as Mediacom Cable has dropped WJZ 13 from it's line-up. That means no more waking up to the shiny head of Marty Bass, no more Media Hottie Sally Thorner, no more whistle when Bob Turk comes on for his forecast, no more preppy-good boy Mark Viviano posing for promo shots, no more "WJZ IS ALWAYS ON." Today, WJZ is not on-it's snow (much like most other Mediacom channels). But, hey-at least we have three Fox affiliates! (10/23/07) WTEM hasn't been very forthcoming regarding the circumstances surrounding the decision to cancel the Feldman & Maloney show, which has been replaced by Dan Patrick's new syndicated program starting yesterday. On what turned out to be their final broadcast last Friday, neither Dave Feldman nor Carol Maloney made any mention of the fact that they were leaving - which may rule out the possibility that Feldman quit on his own due to radio work interfering with his duties as sports director at Channel 5. While sports talk radio may not be an ideal fit for TV anchors, I thought the show was fairly entertaining. Due to Feldman's contacts at Fox and ESPN as well as Maloney's at CSN, the guest roster was very impressive. They definitely weren't as hard hitting or acerbic when dealing with the Redskins as some other hosts on the station, which could have something to do with the fact that neither Fox 5 nor CSN wants to to risk having its access to the team curtailed in any way. Perhaps Feldman and Maloney will now return to the guest rotation on Sports Reporters (where they'd been regulars prior to getting their own gig). If that doesn't happen, it would be a sign that they're not okay with what just transpired. One good thing about Patrick's show airing in the middle of the day is that we get a two hour break from burgundy and gold obsession, although the fact that it's tape delayed makes it hard for listeners to participate in the caller segments. Not only that, but he often teases interviews coming up in the third hour which isn't heard on the station. Now that Patrick's no longer employed by ESPN, he's at liberty to talk candidly about the four letter network and criticize it when called for. Apparently he's also landed a writing job at Sports Ilustrated, while longtime SI columnist Rick Reilly was recently hired by ESPN. Mike, Fairfax (10/23/07) Add to the list of Commercials That Must Die: the return of the On*Star radio spots. You know, the "actual conversation between a motorist and an On*star representative" bits. The old ones where the car owners locked themselves out of their cars were laughable, but now they have women calling up, crying hysterically: "Help! I hit an endangered stripe-tailed badger, my car went off a cliff and landed in an active volcano, the steering wheel is lodged in my ass and the airbag went off and broke my jaw!"..."Okay ma'am, help is on the way." We GET it. On*Star is wonderful. Please stop! (10/23/07) I know that you have written some about the break up of Dan and Tom. But Dan tells the Examiner that all is fine and that he and Tom are cool. Our gossip guys are better then the Post Reliable Source group! Check out the Yeas and Nays. www.examiner.com (10/23/07) I’m thrilled to see that newsbabe Wendy Rieger’s “Going Green” is going wider! That should help her land a gig if evil nbc4 cans her at the end of her contract, like they’ve done to so many of our longtime favorites. Speaking of that, where did Susan Kidd end up? Any idears? (10/23/07) (regarding a previous comment) "I listened yesterday morning to about 2 hours of Chip's coverage" I guess you didn't hear the portions of his "coverage" that I did. When he wasn't stumbling and stammering through it, he was stepping all over his own dick! He sounded more like a punch-drunk boxer describing a Chinese fire drill, than an Edward R. Murrow-like figure, on a London rooftop during World War Two', that you've described. (10/23/07) "Sonny, Sam & Larry are gawd-awful. D. Snyder ought to embarrassed that those are the voices of his radio broadcast." I was working outside this past Sunday and listened to the game on radio, not the first time though. Larry is downright bad. That bad DJ voice has to go too. I can tolerate Sam but he's kind like the grandfather you love but who has clearly lost a few steps. Sonny is about the only thing worth salvaging. As for Snyder and embarrassment, it's no different than the product he puts on the field of the Fed Ex experience. Don't hold your breath on that one. (10/23/07) I have always been surprised why Frank Herzog was replaced. And I often wondered why Sonny and Sam didn't come to his defense. Frank adds class to the broadcasts, much like John Miller did with the Orioles. Now, BOTH sound like lower level teams. It's just like Johnny and Maryland, they go together. Where is loyalty in this business? Ken /Bethesda (10/23/07) To the (person) commenting about Chip Franklin covering the horrific fires in San Diego let me make two points: #1. I listened yesterday morning to about 2 hours of Chip's coverage that was being simulcast throughout Southern California as people were being awakened to the news that 100's of thousands of them needed to evacuate and flee for their lives. Chip did an excellent job moving the coverage between many reporters, public officials, helicopter pilots, and listener calls that provided data to citizens, police, and fire personnel. For a talk show host new to an area he did a great job with names of communities and distances between those communities and the fast moving fires. It was also apparent at one point from a comment made by one reporter to Chip that he was doing this while concerned for his own family's safety. #2. It takes a unique and special kind of (person) to take this moment of crisis in Southern California to take a cheap shot at a good man who has done nothing but consistently succeed in business and in life... --Rob Douglas (10/23/07) By observing the Baltimore and DC markets. 9 is the only station offering newscasts in HD. I don't know about any of you. I have the slightest clue on which Baltimore station will be 1st to pull off HD. It being widely speculated that either ABC 2 or WBAL 11 could and might be first to pull it off. What I've observed, several of ABC 2's sister stations under the Scripps umbrella, and several of WBAL 11's sister stations under the Hearst umbrella are offering their newscasts in HD. I also have the slightest clue on which DC station will be 2nd to pull off HD. WUSA 9 was first to pull off HD, back in 2005. It being widely speculated that either NBC 4 or FOX 5 could and might be next to pull it off. WNBC (New York City, NY) being the only NBC O&O station... WJW (Cleveland, OH) and WTXF (Philadelphia, PA) being the only FOX O&O stations to offer newscasts in HD. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next. Thanks, Eric (10/23/07) A few things that have been on my mind that are now showing up in the Mailbag -- Sonny, Sam & Larry are gawd-awful. D. Snyder ought to embarrassed that those are the voices of his radio broadcast. My 90 year mother-in-law could do a better job than Sonny and Sam. As for Larry Michael -- sounds like he stays up nights looking for the most shiny, happy words to describe this team, so as not to anger his boss. Was anyone listening to the GB game when Sam actual said he hoped a player did not get in the game, because he could not pronounce that player's name? Seriously, this is a premiere and highly valued NFL franchise and they dump a broadcaster of FH's stature for that hack??? BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK!BRING BACK FRANK! Oh, saw the Fox 5 promos during the game last night and yes, Will Thomas does look like he has seen the business end of a Botox syringe. Clear Channel now has the on-air talent doing traffic? Something is not really working there -- the staff of traffic professionals seemed to know what they were talking about and had a sort of cadence that gave them an air of credibility. Not so much now. Bill Worthington seems to be the only one comfortable with the delivery and doesn't sound like he is reading directly from TrafficLand.com. LO (10/23/07) An article on ex DCer Matthew Blades' performance at his new Milwaukee station can be found at this link... www.jsonline.com (10/23/07) /\ October 23 Messages /\ \/ October 22 Messages \/ Nice to see the Radio & TV Museum doing an exhibit on "Ghost Radio Stations". Pity they didn't include memories of the "Ghost TV Stations" from this area, such as WOOK-TV, WFAN-TV, WNBW, WMAL-TV, WOIC(TV), WTOP-TV, WDVM-TV, WMET-TV, WKJL(TV), WHSW(TV), WAPB, and WAAM-TV, to think of a few. Perhaps others may have additional "nominees" from around here? -Unsigned Corporate Suit (10/22/07) Dave's response: More "Ghost Radio Stations" - WINX. WDON. WAYE. WLMD. WCTN. WRC (one W) radio. WSID. WANN. WGAY. WEEL. WPRW. WGTB. WDCU. WLTT. WMOD. WLOM. WDJY. WXYV. WCXR. WEER. WTWP. WOHN. Where's Jay? Philly asked about WNAV. I interviewed there once, three years ago, and uh, still haven't heard back. After I was told I should feel real good. They were offering around 23-24k, which ain't much for Annapolis. I guess depending on how brand spanking new you are to broadcasting would determine if it's worth applying for. And Dave, yes, enough of the celebrity blather on the news. It just isn't important. I wish more news people would buy into that. (10/22/07) To all you people that don't like me. Im a good play by play man for the Washington Redskins. Just ask Mr Snyder , he will tell you. SO JUST STOP! ( Larry Michael AKA : Ted Baxter) (10/22/07) Re: "He could have been there during the leftist protesters or it could have been a hate crime." Very true. Also, he could have been crushed by an elephant or fallen down the steps or walked into a door or been slapped by his mama or had an allergic reaction or been hit by a pitch or had a book fall on his face in his sleep....what's yer point? And, again, who the hell is Randi Rhodes? (10/22/07) I'll hop on the "Larry Michaels sucks" bandwagon. Except that I fault all 3 of them. not that is is Sonny and Sam's job to give the play by play, but these guys are awful if you are not in front of a TV or at the game. very often, and usually during a big or controversial play, they completely forget that the majority of their listeners can't see the game. They will often discuss the re-play they are watching on their monitors and then comment on it without painting the picture to the listener. They are getting worse...and nobody is managing these guys. I dread being in the car during the game. you have no choice but to listen to the radio. If I'm not mistaken Michaels is emplyed by the skins, so we can all forget about a change being made anytime soon. (10/22/07) Local angle on the Wired HD radio story: Both Robert (then Bob) Hughes and Peter (then Pete) Ferrara worked together at WASH-FM for several years back in the 70's. Bob was PD, Pete was an accout exec. Bob went on to PD at Lite, GM at XTRA104, then co-founded the company that landed him in San Diego. Pete retired from near the top of the Clear Channel corporate ladder before he strapped into the HD yoke. Winston (always Winston) Cargill (10/22/07) This is the 3rd time the WNAV position has been posted in a matter of a few months. Does anyone have input as to what is going on there? And if it is even worth sending a resume to? Thanks..... Philly (10/22/07) Pick some real hotties: Todd, Will, Steve (5 at 5am), Gavier (5 at 5am) Doug Hill, Brian, Tracey (10/22/07) Dave's response: Doug Hill? Are you friggin' kidding? I mean, he's a good weatherman and all, but he's nowhere as cute as Howie Bernstein. Sheesh..... The San Diego fires aren't funny, of course, but it reallly is rather humorous listening to Chip Franklin trying to sound like he knows what the hell he's talking about, having only lived in San Diego for less than two months! The highways and secondary routes and neighborhoods in San Diego county are quite confusing even if you've lived here a while, so Skippy is really shuffling, jiving and doing a tap dance! He should drop this "instant expert" act of his and go man the Salvation Army van, helping to distribute cool drinks and sandwiches to the firefighters. What a useless blowhard! (10/22/07) Dave's response: I heard on a radio news report this morning that David Ducovney's home is threatened. Imagine that! I guess that makes the fires so much more important to us all to know that the home of beloved "X Files" and "Californication" star is in peril. Do news people have to be such hype assholes? Fox 5 "News" has hit a new low. Their latest promo: "MANSCAPING, Monday at 10:00." Who the fuck: a) thinks shit like this belongs on the NEWS; 2) actually APPROVES this shit going on the NEWS; and iii) WATCHES this shit? If I were a journalist at Fox News, I would submit my resignation immediately upon seeing promos like that. (10/22/07) Dave's response: Yes, when talking about Fox5 or other Murdochian news ops, it's a good idea to put it in quotes..... Re: "WHUT broadcasting a digital signal on Channel 33, with no PSID data, in glorious standard definition." They've had it up for a couple of weeks; I'm surprised they haven't fixed the PSID data yet. It's also the worst digital picture on the Wash-Balto dial; it's not that it's SD --WFDC is also SD only, as are all the subchannels around the dial-- it's in fuzz-o-vision, far below the quality it could be. Still, up here in Baltimore County, it's a vast improvement over the snow on their analog signal. (10/22/07) We all know Don Geronimo is a big Batman freak. Now, I think I know what Don will be doing after he leaves the Don & Mike show next year. He's been spending his vacation time filming a new movie. He'll be the new gay Batman in "Batman - Not That There's Anything Wrong With That" in theaters next summer. It'll be funded by Redskins owner Dan Snyder's new film subsidiary. (10/22/07) The real issues in Randi Rhodes case are not being addressed. Have the Republicans forgotten how Limbaugh was raked over for his perscription drug follies? I am amazed at how tame the response has been. That Randi is a hysterical whiner is not news. Her behavior here proves that she fabricates, distorts, reinvents, plain lies to create a story where none exists. But a story does exist, and is being ignored. Randi has a drinking problem. Where are the liberal groups now? Had this been a conservative, white, male, they would have demanded that his driver licensce be revoked, that he been committed by court order to rehab, that he be taken off the air until rehabiliated, etc. for unlawful use of a controlled substance. That is the outcry that should be put forth. That this public figure has been drunk in public, and that such drunkness is against the law. I want to see MADD and MoveOn.org sue the bar that served her. Let's see them restrict her 'rights' for the good of the public. Where is the outrage? The conservatives are once again playing by the rules of the opposition. How about demanding a statement from Hillary Clinton on this matter just as Plotkin demanded a statement from Laura Bush. Think outside the box!!!! Do something or be done in. (10/22/07) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) News Anchor/Reporter... Contact: WNAV Sajak Broadcasting Corp... Deadline: October 31, 2007... Job Description: Full service AM station in Maryland’s capital city has an opening for a full time news anchor/reporter. You will be responsible for on-air newscasts, outside news reporting, remote assignments, generating and researching local news stories, interviews, and production. Must have knowledge of topics of interest to our audience to include: politics, the environment, business, and local sports. Must be competent on digital equipment, computer use, and flexible hours. Tapes/CD’s and résumé’s (NO CALLS) to: Jane Schlegel, News Director, WNAV Radio, Radio Park, PO Box 6726, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or a résumé and a short (2 minutes, max!!!) mp3 to jobs@wnav.com. (10/22/07) Michael is really awful on the 'Skins games. Last week I watched the Packers-Redskins and listened to the entire radio broadcast. I won't do that every again. That other guy is right, Michael isn't even qualified for cable-access high school football. He's absolutely terrible. He kissed Snyder's _ _ _ and that's how Frank left Sam and Sonny. At least Frank described the action and if you're driving and listening, you knew what happened. Larry Michael DOES NOT paint pictures on the radio; and that's what he is supposed to do. (10/22/07) How about a battle of the 3rd stringer hotties and put Elliot's "Flounder" up against D&M's Robbay?** For all of you who hate O&A, what are YOU listening to between the time Elliot gets off the air and 1pm? I understand they are not doing great in the ratings while being taped to broadcast and then put in mid-days, but remember that D&M didn't do well in NYC and Philly and Howard Stern didn't get great ratings once he left DC and broadcast from NYC. I think listeners may like some of their shows to be more local, but I don't hear a better alternative for O&A mid-days.** Does anyone really think that the D&M show, minus Don, will get good ratings and keep the same audience? Or will we all just complain that it isn't the same as it was without Don (personally I look forward to Don's retirement and I hope he means to stay away)? Maybe everyone should go their separate ways and we could get 2 NEW shows instead of one re-hashed show?** (10/22/07) So Patrick is tape delayed AND shortened. Nothing like a live local show, huh? In many ways, Feldman and Maloney was a very good local radio show. Hopefully, they will find a place on another station like Snyder's or whatever Washington Post radio eventually turns into. I think they would be great after Burd. They were a throwback, with a sports twist, to the old Trumbull and Core show on MAL back when radio was actual entertainment. - Bob from College Park (10/22/07) So here is Larry Michael's call on the Cardinals two point coversion. "He throws, and it is caught ..." (so we all think the Cardinals scored the two points and we are pissed). Then he says "by Leron Landry". Then silence by Michael. He never said it was intercepted. Now Mr. Michael, do you realize that casual Redskin fans listening may not even know who Leron Landry is? The casual fan may think he was a Cardinal player. And to not even say that the pass was intercepted is out and out horrendous play by play work. Larry Michael has no business doing high school football on cable access television much less the radio voice of an NFL team. What a joke Larry Michael is. (10/22/07) Dave's response: How Yoda-esque..... Yes, Rod Fritz and his entire WRKO Radio news staff were kicked out of the station but it was 11 months; Thursday before Thanksgiving, 2006. WRKO has no news staff; traffic folks are doing the news it appears. Very sad. Entercom? Cheap Channel? No news people? You know Cheap Channel has zero radio news folks at any of its stations in the DC area. Dave, isn't that still correct? (10/22/07) Dave's response: I believe that's correct. Clear Channel DC has eight radio stations and no news staff. Where news headlines are called for, their traffic people "rip and read" 'em..... "They shouted with glee over the apparent discrepancy between what actually happened to the liberal talk radio host (which we still don't know) and how it was initially reported". We still don't know? You left wing lunatics are always looking to smear the right regardless of the truth. Your blog is a joke. Sickening. (10/22/07) Do you suppose that Levan Reid knows what the word "touchdown" means? It is getting quite annoying to hear him shout "he takes it to the house" on every single play that results in a touchdown. Maybe he thinks that he is on Sportscenter catering to a bunch of twelve year olds. (10/22/07) (Regarding DCRTV's Battle Of The Local Media Hotties:) I hope this is the right address to vote. I use Firefox,so everytime I click Vote Here,I get sent to Internet explorer. Please LMK if this is the correct address or if not what it is. Thanks. Vote=Sally Thorner (10/22/07) Dave's response: Your vote has been recorded..... WHUT is finally broadcasting a digital signal on Channel 33. There is apparently no PSID data in the stream. It shows up as 33.1 vice 32.1 but it is there in glorious standard definition. (10/22/07) Just read the post about Will Thomas and on any other night I would've watched the 10 o'clock newscast. But with the game being on past that time, I went to sleep. So, was anything said when the news finally came on?..Maybe he had some plastic surgery since it does cause puffiness and bruising. But I would think if that's the case, he would've stayed out a few days. Who knows..As for him living near Georgetown, I thought he lived in the Adams Morgan area.(10/22/07) "The right-wing noise machine has been having a field day with Randigate." Lets face it, this is the most attention she's gotten in years. She should be happy. (10/22/07) Dave's response: All publicity is good. If you're a radio personality and they stop talking about you - good or bad, that's when you need to worry..... The right-wing noise machine has been having a field day with Randigate. Once, they smelled blood in the water they attacked Talking Radio and other liberal blogs like a school of piranhas going after fresh meat. They shouted with glee over the apparent discrepancy between what actually happened to the liberal talk radio host (which we still don't know) and how it was initially reported. It has been an eye-opening experience for our blog as well. Our original story on the circumstances surrounding Randi's fall outside of a Manhattan Irish Pub was picked up by all the New York newspapers, and the Associated Press filed a story which appeared in dozens of American papers. Several right wing talk radio hosts picked it up including Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and it was featured on several segments of the Fox News Channel. Needless to say the story was hit in blogosphere. If you do a Google search for "Randi Rhodes" "Talking Radio" you will get over 300 hits. More than 1,400 comments were posted to our original story and Talking Radio received over 200,000 hits in one day! Find out how Talking Radio wound up in the middle of this media circus. www.talkingradio.blogspot.com (10/22/07) "What's up with WIll Thomas? He just did the halftime teaser for the news, and the whole left side of his face was swollen. HIs eye was swollen almost shut. Have you heard anything? " Doesn't he live in or near Georgetown? He could have been there during the leftist protesters or it could have been a hate crime. (10/22/07) A few talk radio observations. First, as to WBAL Radio: the TV commercials for the Ron Smith show feature average, well-modulated, reasonable-sounding citizens, clearly not the same people who call that show. Next, someone should advise the former first lady that the reason people listen to the Kendall and Bob Ehrlich Show on Saturday mornings, is NOT to hear Kendall Ehrlich. To the extent she has to talk at all, it would make the show more listenable if she would simply let her husband finish his sentences BEFORE interjecting her continuous, shrill point of view. Next, as to WCBM Radio: At the end of his opinion pieces, Les Kinsolving tells his listeners “That’s my opinion. I’d love to hear yours.” Unlike any other talk show host in Baltimore who may say the same thing, he means it and shows it by actually letting dissenting callers talk without constant interruption and belittling. Finally, for some reason, I always find it interesting that Frank Luber expresses his very conservative view point of view by day, and hosts a brokered talk show for a medical malpractice law firm by night. Bob in Pikesville (10/22/07) Blankley and "Oriental" to refer to "Asians" Oh, is that taboo too? for petes sake get a friggen life. (10/22/07) /\ October 22 Messages /\ \/ October 21 Messages \/ What's up with WIll Thomas? He just did the halftime teaser for the news, and the whole left side of his face was swollen. HIs eye was swollen almost shut. Have you heard anything? (10/21/07) What was the altercation about in the Redskins locker room after the game? Chris Samuels was being interviewed and suddenly (can't remember if I had on WTEM or the "network) and suddenly there was profanity, the interviewer was saying 'its our interview" and Samuels was heard yelling, "be cool guys, stay cool", followed by more profanity and then we were promised that we would hear the details but I never heard anything. (10/21/07) Did anyone else notice Tony Blankley on the McLaughlin Group this morning use the term "Oriental" to refer to "Asians" (10/21/07) I doubt Dave Feldman using the sideline is a permanent thing. Fox Sports sometimes employs local personnel as sideline reporters for its lower-tier NFL broadcasts. Everett W. (10/21/07) hi guys, just wanted to let you know that J-dubs called into the Ron and Fez Show on XM202 on Thursday and when Ron asked if he was ready to do the big announcement he replied "the big annoucement that we're back to doing exactly what we did five years ago?" So looks like the 106.7 weekend show rumour is correct....they never should have flipped to the Next... format. Chris (10/21/07) Dave's response: A very reliable source at CBS tells me that El Jefe and J Dubs will be back on WJFK-FM, at least on weekends. It seems that 106.7 needs to build talk team depth, as Geronimo retires next spring. That's if 106.7 wants to remain a guy talker. The Junks in mornings, Big O and Dukes in evenings, and, soon, El Jefe and J Dubs on weekends. Now, let's get Ron and Fez re-signed and we might have something really cool in the making, post-Donnie..... Saw Dave Feldman doing side line reporting for the Skins game today. Anyone know if this is going to be a permanent gig for him?..Haven't noticed him before, but I havent' watched an entire Skins game this season, so maybe I missed him. (10/21/07) I think Marty Davis is hot....are you married Marty? (10/21/07) (Regarding a previous message:) Rod Fritz from WRKO now is with Fox News Radio. He and the entire news department was booted out of the station about six months ago. (10/21/07) Chickaboomer is a Ana Marie Cox wannabe. Unfortunately, Marty does not have the super intellect of Ms. Cox. (10/21/07) Any Balt/Wash Music Directors (AC/Hot AC/CHR) know of the California-based band----Melee? Was in Home Depot in Bel Air last week and heard this power-pop, hook-driven song called "Built To Last"...googled the lyrics to find that out. Went to Best Buy in Bel Air Friday, and bought the one CD (Devils & Angels) they had on the shelf. It's a real breath of fresh air for pop in 2007. Just wondering if Warner Bros dropped the ball here, or has yet to promote it. The album probably has 4 or 5 songs worth air-play. "Built To Last" could/should be heavy rotation. Haven't heard them in Balt, and am out of range from DC. Not pimping here, just a former area-MD who recognizes a band with incredible talent. www.youtube.com (10/21/07) Dave's response: Was watching "Torchwood" on BBC America and heard "Monster" by The Automatic Automatic - theautomatic.co.uk. Damn cool tune. Downloaded in it on iTunes. The Globe ought to be playing stuff like that instead of "Our House" by CSN..... ain't lil' danny just a wee bit taller than napolean boneaparte but just short of all of channel 9's weathermun?..now that autumn is here does lil' danny wander out to his veranda and enjoy the changing colors of the leaves on his trees? lil' danny urged el presidente shrub to run! another reason to dislike the megalomaniac......has dick clark's rock 'n' roll show been half time entertainment at a redskin's game? is "hail to the redskin's" in public domain? it's just me, but that song seems to hardly be used anymore.....and this is prime directive violation on my part but no late night horror movies on falls church cable tv no more...an era has ended i guess, and a real monster has taken over...drag!...and to the dude saying Friday porch settin' on dons and mikes show was worst bit ever don't you purty much say that after every time you listen to the don and mike show...maybe your teeth are yeller and your bitter too...sure it sucked but that was the point......that's the brillance of don and mike show it's anti-entertaining....See!...... now go have a few beers and listen to cerphe instead, very cool....enjoyed the disco music show Saturday nights on WASH, no really! (10/21/07) Hey Dave, I noticed on the battle of thermedia hotties that directly to the right is that really hot ad for Beauty in DC. Kind of takes away any possibility of even looking at your two local media hotties for this week! (10/21/07) /\ October 21 Messages /\ \/ October 20 Messages \/ Just reading today that Blob's Park in Jessup will be closing its doors after 70 years. So many of the radio hosts whom Tom and I have worked with over the years on WBMD have fond memories of Blob's Park such as Janice and Jay Lochner of the "Family Polka Program", Gil, Mary and Mike Ziemski (many will remember Mike Ziemski as Mike Matthews of WPOC), of "Polkamotion PM", Joe Bocheck of the "Edelweiss Hour" and Tommy Kalinoski of the "Maryland Polka Train" just to name a few. Also Vince and Connie Shemansky who were hosts of the "Saturday Polka Hop" formerly on WTMD and Connie and Milton Brozowski of "Happy Music Time" on WITH have all mentioned great times at Blob's. We will miss the fun, food, and most of all the camaraderie. The ethnic radio programs will hold a very special place in Baltimore radio just like Blob's Park and Haussner's Restaurant. Blessings. "Sister" Joyce Conroy (WHFC) who will truly miss that fine German beer. (10/20/07) Does anyone know if George and Sonny made their weekly football predictions last night (Friday, 10/19) on Channel 4's 5:00pm news show? If they did, I missed it, and I didn't watch the 6:00 show. If they didn't give their predictions, does anyone know why not? Their record last week wasn't good (they each predicted the same results, including the Redskins winning...as always), but I wouldn't think that had anything to do with it. I always enjoy watching their predictions and seeing who comes out ahead, but if they weren't on last night, I'd like to know what happened and if they'll ever be on again. -- Bobbie (10/20/07) I disagree with TMU. I thought Feldman and Maloney was pretty good and they really didn't get a fair shake. And wasn't WTEM's mantra "live and local". What the hell happened? That is on F'ed up station. (10/20/07) To the guy who questions my quote on D&M's "porch-settin" segment being the worst in broadcast history. You had to reference a story from 1983 about a man lighting himself on fire to compare. I believe I've won, 'nuff said...case closed! (10/20/07) Yes, the Patriots will win the Super Bowl this year. And, no doubt technical Emmy's and a Telly award (or two) along the way for their effective and creative use of instructional video for training purposes. However, having said that, the team is a blight upon the world of professional sports that's as bad as the steroids and betting in baseball, or the betting by a referee plus the fighting and violence in the NBA. Now the interesting thing here is, were this type of videotaping to occur in other parts of the business world, it would be called "Industrial Espionage", and prosecuted as such in the criminal justice system with the possibility of people going to Club Fed. The penalties (!) exacted by the NFL Commisioner are a joke at best and an insult to those in professional sports who adhere to! the concept of sportsmanship. Given the continued "success" the Patriots are having on the field, it makes one wonder if the discovery of this activity is another case of "too little too late"? Unsigned Corporate Suit (10/20/07) More reasons to mock WTEM: (a) Feldman & Maloney, now gone, and not lamented – that show never found its rhythm. Feldman’s just snarky and nasty; Maloney’s little miss happy homer. (b) Put on your dark glasses, and then go to www.sportstalk980.com. Is that the WORST looking website EVER? I’d fire my web company on general principle. Sincerely, TMU (10/20/07) Dave's response: The worst-looking local media outlet website, in my humble opinion, is washingtontimes.com. A dreadful mix of links that often don't work and crappy ads (including pop-ups that open a full-page window but only take up a tiny part of the screen), it's often slow, unresponsive, poorly updated, and incomplete. Looks like a 5th grader designed it..... What is WTEM doing? Ok so maybe Feldman and Maloney wasn't that great but give it some time to grow. Pulling the plug that quickly is very strange. Great, you get Dan Patrick but its national. I thought WTEM was going more local during day. Looks like they have no idea what they are doing over there. Shame. (10/20/07) Re: WHFS Calls-I mentioned earlier in the mailbag that WHFS is not using their calls at all during Ravens game's, they say 'Baltimore's FM Talk 105-7' and on the RDS in the car the WHFS calls are now gone, its also says 'Baltimore's FM Talk 105-7'. I do believe CBS will have them transferred to 94-7. I do believe....Congrats to Ed Norris and producer Maynard G...Re: WBAL/WHFS ratings. I am curious to see what people think about my comments and I have said this before in this mailbag but while I have no numbers to back this up I can go by experiance with my friends and a lot of the people I know younger than me. I am 27 and its been my experiance that my generation for the most part does not listen to talk radio. I consider myself one of the few exceptions the rule as I listen to a lot of news/talk radio-WBAL, WCBM, WHFS. Their attention spans are shorter and in terms of politics its seems they care less and less. I believe in the last presidential election it ended up having the lowest voter turn out among young registered voters. For those that do care about domestic and foreign events they blog and use message boards and get their opinion out on-line but they don't listen or call talk shows much. I think that is a real issue for a WBAL/WHFS. The generation before is much worse. Some have never pushed the AM button on their radio. The listeners WBAL for has had over the years and the older current ones came from generations that cared more about current events, were active and grew up where radio was one of the very few mediums to get their voice heard but technology has really changed all that. I really don't know in another 15-20 years what lies ahead for political talk radio in general. There is not much of a new, younger base of listeners or at least the numbers will never be where they were. I think the notion that a WBAL get younger, pushes more non-political topics with Sherry Eliker for instance, change their voiceover guy (already did that), etc really won't change things too much because we have found that FM talk which focuses more on pop culture and life has largely failed. If people my age want to be entertained they will listen to their favorite radio station's morning show and that is about it. Plus FM Talk-what is it? It needs better identification. WHFS did do this way back in their liners, explaining what their shows are, it helps but at the end of the day the amount of younger listernship just is not there. -Michael Popovec (10/20/07) (Dave's response: We reported and linked to an NY rag article basically confirming that she wasn't mugged. She has a smallish audience. Didn't think her story was that big of a deal.....) But she fits your definition of news, being on local radio. And this kind of makes you look like your political views color what you post. And I know that is not the case. You are pretty damn fair when choosing stories........usually. (10/20/07) (Full-Time Traffic Reporter Wanted in Washington D.C. - Traffic.com in Washington, D.C. is looking for solid candidates to be considered for FULL TIME ON-AIR work as a traffic reporter.) I hear traffic.com no longer has any aircraft covering DC. Financial cutback. Can anybody confirm? (10/20/07) Interesting discussion you have been having about the Redskins Vs the Nationals on attendence. Let me throw this into the fire. The Redskins have not done much in recent years in terms of the playoffs. If that continues for two more years , and the Nats are able to field a contender that is in a pennant race in say September of 2009...it will be interesting to see how things turn out. Washington has been a football town only because the baseball teams never did anything but leave for other cities. Put a baseball contender on the field and into the playoffs next October or say 2009 and the Redskins reign as king might end. Fans are basically sunshine patriots. There are exceptions of course. The Patroits could win five superbowls and the Red Sox would still rule Boston. Just ask the Celtics. It's a baseball town and and alway will be. But in Washington, where you have to be related to someone who has been a season ticket holder since the 1920's to get Redskins tickets, the Nats could change everything with a contender. Hank Silverberg (10/20/07) Mark Ondayko, co-host of Baltimore's KMS morning show (WHFS, 105.7) emails the campaign to say "Sign me up!" martybass2008.blogspot.com... Join with us to put a short bald guy into the White House! (10/20/07) Editor & Publisher reports that Washingtonpost.com has overtaken USAToday.com as the second most widely read newspaper Web site in the country, behind NYTimes.com. Also edging onto the latest list: Sites for the Washington Times and Baltimore Sun. (10/20/07) Re:"why 105.7 is holding onto the calls" -- Because you have all the radio stations owned by a few nationwide megacorporations, who don't know radio, don't know localities, don't know history, and what's more, they don't care. From their point of view, the ideal situation would be to put all the stations on autopilot and rake in the money. Thinking about such arcana as local history and the little people's mental images of stations is just not in the business plan. (10/20/07) To the guy comparing me to Lassie: I laughed my ancient ass off when I read it! Your clever humor is much appreciated by a post-menopausal hag like me. I'm way too old to care about what anyone thinks of me. My mantra: what other people think of me is none of my business. Keep up those cards and letters! Or email me directly at marty@chickaboomer.com... Marty Chickaboomer (10/20/07) Where, or where is Rod Fritz, newsman? Last time I heard he was news director of WRKO-AM, Boston. Where'd he go? (10/20/07) Does anyone know how tall Dan Snyder actually is? People say he's a midget, but just how bad is he? (10/20/07) 105.7 having the WHFS calls makes no sense at all, why 105.7 is holding onto the calls I don't know because FM Talk isn't what you think of when you think HFS. CBS should move El Zol to 94.7 and the globe to 99.1 as you mentioned with the HFS calls. WJFK should change formats all together ridding of the Junkies and Don and Mike. Maybe Washington could get it's own Jack, or Fresh? Ed Norris might be doing well on middays on 105.7 but beyond Norris and the Orioles 105.7 has nothing. KMS is a bunch of Has-beens. Don and Mike are way past their prime and it'll be good ridance when they're gone. 2 bad shows in the main drive times, that'll get you ratings! WBAL and WCBM if they're smart will do everything they can to get Ed Norris as he'd be a direct fit for either station. It's great that 102.7 now has Classic Hit's on HD2 but they need a web stream of it as well. Hopefully eventually classic hits will be moved to WQSR HD-1. Also either Jack is just trying to stay a float for a while longer or are trying to stay fresh as they have added Kasey Kasem's 80's AT-40 for sunday nights 7-12, disco and dance music on saturday nights, and stadium rock sunday's before the Ravens Games. Something that no one has mentioned is that Mix 106.5 was up big in at least the 12+ ratings to a 4.6. That leaves me curious how they did in their key demos. Maybe CHR can work in Baltimore? (10/20/07) "Don and Mike did the worst segment ever broadcast?" What about that guy who lit himself on fire? www.time.com (10/20/07) Kudos for CBS Radio for having the foresight to craft a show like the Ed Norris show, a show who's beginnings was in the previous show in the same mid-afternoon timeslot, the Big O and Dukes show on the now defunct half-music WHFS, half talk Live 105.7. Ed's show is very informative and local and touches on a lot if not all the important topics that face us Bal-mer Washington Metropolitician-ers (hon!). With the older demo CBS is aiming for, mixing in sporting events like Oriole's baseball and Maryland Terp's everything along with the before, after, pre-before and post-after sports talk is a perfect fit for the rest of the line-up, all consisting of older (mostly predominantly white) guys, KMS included (I know the Kirkster is black, that's why I said mostly). It works. It sells ads. Ratings are up, even in the silly 12+, but definitely in the 25-55. And this branding of the station as "FM Talk 1057" at least settles some of the confusion using call letters to a heritage progressive rocker and has me totally believing that this is just a way of holding on to the rights of the calls. There just isn't any other good explanation really. Here's what should happen, and you've touched on it before: Move El Zol to 94.7 and The Globe to 99.1 and put the calls back, rebranding the station as "99.1 HFS : Global Rock" Baltimore's ratings for El Zol don't constitute keeping the station on such a far reaching frequency, and the Globe currently doesn't extend past Anne Arundel Co. This has to happen, and if CBS would do some of the other things you've proposed for The Globe to them such as changing the current lineup, then I think they'd have a winner. KeninBrooklyn (10/20/07) Dave's response: I like your idea, and I'll take it one step further. CBS should put El Zol on 106.7, because its Fairfax signal best reaches the heavily Hispanic areas of Northern Virginia. CBS should flip WJFK-FM to all sports talk and put it on Bethesda's 94.7, giving the U of MD sports better coverage into places like College Park (duh). Newly reborn WHFS, this time a real (!) heritage progressive AAA rocker, could go back to Crofton's 99.1, and re-reach Baltimore, too. That'd be cool..... The Orioles better average attendance than the Nationals is a joke. Remember that the O's get a spike in attendance over 18 games when the Red Sox and Yankees come into town. Outside of opening day, those are the only games to sell out. The real joke is that at least 60 per cent of those fans are rooting for the visiting team. Meanwhile, the Nationals may need the help of Phillies and Mets fans to increase their gate with a new ballpark next year. And while the Nationals will never overcome the Redskins in popularity, how would you like to be the Patriots? They may go undefeated this year and win their fourth Super Bowl in seven years, but will still be looking up at the Red Sox in fan appeal. (10/20/07) Very unfortunate if WTEM bumps Feldman and Maloney for Dan Patrick. First of all, F & M is a much better show than Doc Walker, Thompson or Sports Reporters. Second, it is sacrificing local programming for syndicated crap. Another stupid decision for WTEM. (10/20/07) Dave's response: Clear Channel spends a lot of time and energy programming a sports talker that's on a crappy AM signal that can't be heard in much of the metro area's largest population county (Fairfax) at night. Why bother..... It's no shock that the AP story didn't mention that Rush Limbaugh is matching the $2.1 million dollar winning bid going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. On top of that Limbaugh is raising another $1 million by selling 1000 signed copies of the slanderous phoney soldier letter that will also go to the same charitable organization. The most outrageous thing is that Harry Reid actually took credit for the millions raised despite the fact he didn't raise a single dollar for the charity. So not only does Reid go before the Senate and seek to silence the First Amendment rights of a private citizen, he has the audacity to claim he had something to do with raising the money. Reid is a pompous ass that is a disgrace to the United States Senate. Is a clown like Harry Reid the best America has to offer? Sickening. (10/20/07) why didn't john normand get his old position back before he took over producership from robbay?...idear alert how about roger williams playing "autumn leaves" while robbay read his intro to friday's edition of porch sittin' .....have we heard from the ghosts of rocktober yet on the don and mike show, i mean it's the last time ever and no call in yet to the pumpkin picasso? well time for my ovaltine, flavored with cool-aid and a dash of gold bond for the nasty male itch......why have the antique auto auction shows disappeared from cable tv, the Speed channel had them on all the time and in a streak of originality espn was showing them too but now nothing , what gives?.........last week show of "Design to Sell" on hgtv cable channel had birtish guy clive intro'ing a house in Mosby Woods neighborhood in toothless fairfax city only clive pronounced it Mossby instead of Moesby...what i find drag about 'design to sell' is not only that hgtv seems to be phasing out Clive the british guy but that little fireplug Lisa LaPorte the designer ..man why do the numbnuts at programming at cable channels have to be changing sh8t up all the time..they may think keeping it fresh but for me you get use to a show and then bam! it's gone, makes me less interested in watching the channel since if i get interested in show it more than likely will disappear (10/20/07) /\ October 20 Messages /\ \/ October 19 Messages \/ I loved the suggestion from Dave for Citadel to go oldies on 107.3. However, I don’t think it’ll happen. While Steve Allan has what it takes to make it happen, my doubts come from Citadel. I base that upon experiences shared by folks either fortuante enough to find a better gig elsewhere (not hard to do) or are unfortunate enough to be stuck there. A successful oldies station involves risk, commitment, and a respect for tradition. From what I’ve seen, Citadel is weak or non-existent in all of these. Citadel’s commitment to the "arts & crafts” of the biz is rivaled only by that of Mel Karmazin. In fact, had Sirius not come along with a better offer, I’m sure Mel would’ve landed at Citadel. And, he would’ve no doubt either felt right at home or awed that someone else could ! be even cheaper than he is. As for an oldies station in D.C., CBS could really show how it’s done on 94.7. However, that will become a modern WHFS before it goes oldies. The pity of this biz is that there are so few class acts in it anymore. And, even CBS had fallen off the wagon with the infamous Jack$hit format. (I’d love to know how many either listen to it on WCBS-FM’s HD or online streams!) BTW, Dave, most of the satrad receivers you were monitoring were probably for Sirius, They seem to use a more powerful modulator than XM’s. Sirius also has 87.9 as an available frequency which older XM’s (like mine) don’t. Unsigned Corporate Suit (10/19/07) D+M are such perfect overweight porkers to whisper their mind-numbing screen porch musings as representatives of the wealthy gated suburban community because they are devoid of interesting thoughts not because they they are getting tired and old, but because their gated protected pathetic monotone culdesacs separate themselves from any meaningful life experiences worth a radio word. (10/19/07) Not only Dmitri Young, as someone pointed out, but the Nats GM got arrested for DUI last year. Face it, all these sports have some issues along those lines. Most of the Redskins are solid citizens and their coach is universally respected for his basic decency. So I hardly think that the Redskins dominance of the local market among media coverage and fan support is going to be threatened by an occasional bad apple that may pop up once in a while. (10/19/07) Well, the Other Mike in Fairfax apparently doesn't know that Dmitri Young pled guilty to assaulting his girlfriend in 2006. Is he a better role model than Jason Campbell or Marcus Washington or Randy Thomas? Baseball players have their share of baggage too. And you ridiculously suggested that the Redskins players can't form sentences in interviews. What does that have to do with civility? Face it, you got snagged guy. (10/19/07) Dave's response: Getting off-topic here..... Wow. I'm surprised (not!) you have nothing on the confirmation of Randi Rhodes getting drunk and hurting herself, and then her doing nothing to stop (and possibly even contributing to) the conspiracy theories coming out of Air America. Were you hoping and praying for a "hate crime" that Media Matters could take advantage of? In a matter of 4 days, we went from Rhodes being mugged by some right-wing vigilantes trying to "silence" her, to the truth of her getting drunk off her ass and face-planting outside a bar. (10/19/07) Dave's response: We reported and linked to an NY rag article basically confirming that she wasn't mugged. She has a smallish audience. Didn't think her story was that big of a deal..... RE: "Really now. What the "Other Mike in Fairfax" and his unnamed supporting poster seem to be saying, if you read between the lines, is that they prefer the Nationals because of the white players, while the Redskins are primarily black players." Don't you dare put words in my mouth. This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with civility. Ty Cobb was no role model and Hines Ward is. Just tell me when was the last time a National was arrested? How about a Redskin? (Hint less than a week ago). The Other "Non-White" Mike in Fairfax (10/19/07) MONSTER MADHOUSE LIVE RETURNS TONIGHT At 10:00 p.m., on Falls Church, Virginia based FCCTV! Karlos Borloff and the rest of the Monsterminators are back in time for Halloween, hosting segments from the Boris Karloff class-sick, BLACK SABBATH Lots of interesting surprises are planned, including special guests, live call in, footage from Chiller, live music footage and PLENTY (oh yes... PLENTY!) more! This is a rare opportunity to catch live, LOCAL and improved television again - grown men and women in make-up, monster movies, and the promise of something you never will see anywhere else! FCCTV can be viewed in Fairfax County and Falls Church on Cox Channel 12 on Starpower Channel 2, all of Northern Virginia on Verizon's Fios service Channel 35, and STREAMING LIVE on the internet (complete with a live "chat" with members of the cast) at www.monstermadhouselive.com. (10/19/07) Hello, all - At the next Q&A Cafe we go inside the world of "Big Dog" Billionaires and the wannabe pups who hope to join their ranks in another eight or nine hundred million. In this crowd, a mere $500 million is not on the radar. The Forbes list of billionaires is close to 1,000, and the majority are American or give the United States as their primary residence. Who are they? How did they get their money? What do they do with it? All questions that come with interesting answers when the source is Robert Frank, the Wall Street Journal's "Wealth" columnist and the author of the New York Times bestseller, "Richistan." You can read his blog at blogs.wsj.com/wealth. It's worth a bookmark. You may think the billionaires don't have an impact on your life, but au contraire. Note that some are particularly interested in politics and the ways they believe their new fortunes can shape the future - theirs, ours and the planet's. So, grab a friend and make a reservation for Thursday, October 25, at The Q&A Cafe. The doors open at noon, the program begins at 12:30, the fee is $35, all inclusive, and reservations can be made with Jon Moss at 202.338.2000 or nathansgtn@aol.com. He will be in the office next week, starting Tuesday, during daytime business hours. If you missed this week's Q&A Cafe with former Virginia governor and current democratic U.S. senate candidate Mark Warner, watch it on News Channel 8 - this Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 11pm. On Comcast in DC that's channel 28. For more about The Q&A Cafe schedule, please visit our website. Carol Joynt (10/19/07) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Full-Time Traffic Reporter Wanted in Washington D.C. - Traffic.com in Washington, D.C. is looking for solid candidates to be considered for FULL TIME ON-AIR work as a traffic reporter. Applicants must have prior experience broadcasting either traffic or news. NO BEGINNERS PLEASE. We are looking for experienced, credible sounding reporters to broadcast traffic reports for our D.C.-area client radio stations using Traffic.com resources and methods. Affiliate approval is required for employment, so send your best TRAFFIC or NEWS samples to sfoster@traffic.com. Please include your resume. Come work for a technology minded company where our focus is TRAFFIC and nothing else. E-mail samples using MP3 or other electronic format (along w/resume) to sfoster@traffic.com. Traffic.com, Inc. is a NAVTEQ Company and an Equal Opportunity Employer. M/F/D/V (10/19/07) Re: "...Reader's Digest's DC bureau chief." Why on earth does a magazine that prints excerpts from other magazines and newspapers need a "DC bureau chief"? True story: A highschool buddy and I once sat down to think of the oldest, lamest jokes we could and sent about 10 of them to RD for publication. Some of them ridiculed RD, some included some clumsy double entendre, some were flat out dirty, but most were just moronic. They published two of the dumber ones. We also sent a letter to Bil & Jeff Keane, the guys who do Family Circus, asking them to shorten the Mom's skirts and have her wear higher heels. They never even wrote back to us. Bastards. Dave In Sterling (10/19/07) Dave's response: Whenever I visited my grandmother, she always had a tray of mints and a pile of very neatly stacked recent Reader's Digests on her coffee table. I'll never forget those beautiful floral covers..... Carl Cannon is one of the best reporters and writers in DC. Reader's Digest is an interesting choice for him. They must be planning to go great guns with their Washington bureau for them to ask him and for him to accept. I can't wait to find out more... (10/19/07) I can honestly say that I have just heard "W.O.D.A.M" (the worst of Don and Mike). The 2nd segment of the first hour was the most pitiful 30 minutes in DC radio history....I weep for the national audience. Don always busts on small market radio stations for doing "hinckey" remotes and breaks...he had to literally hit the button himself to end the most pathetic segment in radio history. (10/19/07) Hey Ed - First off, there's more than one Brian Wilson fan out there -- no need to single the other writer as "the" one. Second, Brian's been a ratings success in talk radio in San Francisco, Washington, Atlanta and New York. What gives you the impression that success wouldn't translate to talk success in Baltimore? Look at what's happening in New York -- they're bringing back Imus, Bob Grant is back on the air, and in Chicago John Landecker is doing talk. Who in Baltimore has been able to move from dj to talk? Steve Rouse couldn't do it, Bruce Elliott is lightweight. Glenn Beck, also of B104, now is a successful talk host, but that's about the only other one I can think of. You're right about working on something for today. Great talent can transcend decades and remain fresh and relevant. And as for Wilson's politics, I read libertarian there, not conservative. Have you listened to his current show online lately? I suspect not 1MDlibertarian (10/19/07) Great...now we're stuck with D&M "porch-settin", listening about how bad the traffic was on the way to work and how Don gave the finger to the people driving around an accident...how original for DC and yet another award-winning show. Oh, please...keep remarking on the cars passing by the studio and inviting the pedestrians to come up and talk to you (cue the crickets). I need to lose weight and Don & Mike have helped me today! (10/19/07) Dave's response: A great excuse to run the pic from a porch session over the summer. The one covered by CBS News..... To the Brian Wilson fan: OK, so we agree. "What makes you think he wouldn't kill again in Baltimore?" Maybe he would, if given a shift, and not a fill in. I like Brian on and off the air and enjoyed working with him. I don't know if he would want to come back to Baltimore on WBAL. That would be a very professional alternative to the other stuff BAL has put on to replace Limbaugh. Especially if they move to WBAL-FM (98 Rock) and put sports talk on the AM. I know it won't happen, but it would be a killer. Ed Graham (10/19/07) Obviously Beauchamp has something up his sleeve as he hasn't given the black man the mid-day job even though he hired the white chick for the mid-morning gig. So something must be in the offing. Looks like Chip Franklin's timing was excellent in getting off the sinking ship. (10/19/07) Dave, Content, content, content. I'm listening to Radio Nigel on the 'net right now, where it's the Block Party Friday. Hmmm, let's see, we had three from Joe Jackson (including Nineteen Forever and Hometown), three from Erasure (including Drama), three from ABC, and now three from Robyn Hitchcock. I bring this up because I know that on The Globe, I'd be getting three from the Rolling Stones (including Brown Sugar), three from David Bowie (Golden Years, perhaps played 3 times), and three from the Police, followed by, uh, three more from the Police. As I'm about to hit send, Radio Nigel is playing "Going Down To Liverpool" from The Bangles... God, I wish we had a GOOD MUSIC radio station in DC. The playlists here are far too narrow, like so many of the corporate minds controlling them. Rant over. Frank in Arlington (10/19/07) Hey Ed - My "liberal" comment was based on the audience's perception/reaction to Ron's opposition to the war, not Smith becoming a liberal per se. If Beauchamp has "neurtered" him - if Smith's just hanging in for the money - they both have a problem. Question now is: who neutered Beauchamp? As for Wilson's B104 successes, so what? He has re-invented himself as a talk show host with successes on WABC in New York and other ABC stations in Dallas (WBAP) and San Francisco (KSFO). What makes you think he wouldn't kill again in Baltimore? A friend in Ohio just told me he pulled an 11 share, M25-54 in PM drive there. If Wilson didn't have the talent to cut it, why did Beauchamp have him fill in for Smith all those years? His shows with Walter Williams were some of the best radio I ever heard! That Wilson's "politics" are similar to Smith's just proves my point: Wilson-Smith afternoons would be killer. But if Beauchamp doesn't have the guts to make it happen, much less let Ron be Ron, I guess we all lose. (10/19/07) (Re: Dave's response: Back in the 1970s, I used to love listening to Windsor, Ontario (Detroit) "top 40" outlet CKLW on 800 AM. But some nights, the signal from PJB, religious Trans World Radio in the Netherlands Antilles (off the coast of Venezuela) would come in, instead. I believe it was running 500,000-watts at the time. A pretty regular long-haul AM catch in the DC area.....) Prior to satellite talk taking over and, ultimately, a power down, I used to listen to WOWO, from that "great place to be," Fort Wayne, Indiana, home of Maj. Frank Burns. I did get KOA on the clock radio last winter, when they had that big snowstorm in Denver, but it was only after hearing someone (Sean Rima?) on the Web stream saying they could be heard in 38 states. Spent a week out there over the summer and brought the XM along. Just like living here and listening to WTOP a couple of times a day, I would switch back and forth between KOA and XM. Charles in Winchester (10/19/07) Dave, how about entering former MD First Lady Kendel Erlich as a contestent for the "Battle of the Media Hotties" ?? After all, she now co-hosts a radio show with her ex-gov husband on Baltimore's WBAL. That, and she's kinda hot..at least for a "First Lady." (10/19/07) Did that dead rat found at the WaPo Wadio Wesidence have big red LED's for eyes? www.instructables.com... Kinda disgusting... (10/19/07) Now, here's a quote from someone who's never worked in the media: "First, on John Normand: Don't know if this was the case,but had I been in his place, I'd have quit rather than be let go." NO! You stay put until the last gasping breath of your employment and make those belly-crawling, single-celled, excremental scumbags PAY you every last red cent of what they OWE you! There is NO SHAME in being fired from this carnival-based, grub-worm infested business. A. Godfrey, Leesburg (10/19/07) articles.moneycentral.msn.com... Hey Dave, please check this out. Is this the end of the world? "Best Buy said today it has stopped selling analog televisions and pulled all remaining stock from its shelves, signaling the end of an era as consumers increasingly move toward digital products with flat-panel and high-definition screens"..... (10/19/07) Dave's response: Just call 'em "monitors" and keep selling 'em..... I've got news for BA. There are plenty of hard core Redskins fans who hate Danny Boy too, but you follow a sport and root for a team, not an owner. The suggestion that the owner of a team has to be a great role model in order for one to root for the team is hilarious. George Steinbrenner, if I'm not mistaken, is a convicted criminal and Yankee fans don't seem to have any trouble rooting for their team. I also suspect that poster Mike would have no trouble sitting with his son at a Nats - Yankees game, so he's being more than a bit hypocritical. In fact, if the owner as role model proposition was true, 99% of the pro sports teams would have no fans. Personally, I think it is unrealisitic, and really pretty arrogant, for baseball fans to expect the Nats to come in here and take over the town after Major League Baseball gave DC the finger for 33 years. The Redskins are King Kong here because they've been the primary focal point of the local professional sports scene for over three decades and because local sports fans, by necessity, have focused on football rather than baseball. The Wizards and the Caps have their following, as will the Nats. When they win they will attract more media attention and more fan support. The Nats will also get a nice bounce out of the new stadium. But they will always play second fiddle to the Redskins. That's just the way pro sports have developed in this town (and MLB has only itself to blame for that). And those kinds of things don't change. The Pats have been hugely successful but the Red Sox are still number one in Boston. The Giants or Jets could win five Super Bowls but would still take a back seat to the Yankees in New York. The Eagles attract more interest than the Phillies in Philadelphia, notwithstanding NEVER having won a Super Bowl. Can you imagine the Texas Rangers ever displacing the Cowboys in Dallas? So the Skins are number one here for good. But having said all that, I certainly agree with those who want all the local sports covered by local media, which was the original topic. It would be foolish not to recognize and accept the Redskins dominance, but I root for and want to follow ALL of the local pro and college teams. (10/19/07) The mailbag seems a bit wild and crazy today, so I'll try to join in... I'd take all talk off all radio stations and make them all play different types of music. The Balto-Wash radio dial is a cultural wasteland with gazillions of types of music totally unrepresented while a bunch of know-nothings bla bla bla all day and all night. ~~~ And maybe, just maybe, the dead rat is just a dead rat that didn't know he was picking such a significant place to die. ~~CA in BC (10/19/07) Really now. What the "Other Mike in Fairfax" and his unnamed supporting poster seem to be saying, if you read between the lines, is that they prefer the Nationals because of the white players, while the Redskins are primarily black players. Well, that's okay. Racists have to go to sports events too I guess. Fact is, you won't find anyone in any sport as upstanding and articulate as Jason Campbell or Ladell Betts or Randy Thomas or Chris Samuels or Marcus Washington or Sean Springs, not to mention guys like Jansen, Rabach and Cooley. And I find the prison reference amusing given all the problems in baseball with use of illegal steroids. We could see the all time h.r. king behind bars yet, remember. The Other Mike is more than a little two faced on that. Anyway, I'm of the view that the Redskins dominance here won't go away for a long long time, no matter what the Nats, Caps or Wiz do. It has become way too ingrained locally, both with the fans AND the local media. I'm glad baseball is back and I'll go to games and root for the Nationals, as I do the other local teams. And I'm no fan of Snyder's. But Redskins will ALWAYS be number one. (10/19/07) Re: "Yes, everyone knows WHFS/105.7's Ed Norris was convicted of a felony. But what many listeners and people who don't know much about Baltimore City politics don't know (and that apparently includes writers from The Baltimore Sun) is that Norris was convicted of misusing a private police dept. slush fund, not public money, and that every previous police commissioner & mayor had abused the exact same fund in exactly the same way over decades. Norris inherited the "system."' Oh, well--then it's OK. Everyone knows it's OK to commit a felony as long as somebody else has already done it. What were we thinking? As for the D&M meeting forcing WJFK to air a "Best Of"....while I love D&M and (unlike a lot of other mailbaggers) recognize that they have been at or near the top in their prime demographic for virtually their entire Washington DC careers, Geronimo does seem to be going out of his way over the past couple of years to put in just as few hours a day as possible. Wonder what could have made that change in him? ...Duh. Dave in Sterling (10/19/07) Hello To Tom Conroy: Good to hear that you're doing well down in the "sticks" (as you called it)..I don't suppose that station where you're doing "overnights" does any streaming over the internet, does it? If so, will have to tune in to hear what you sound like these days! Tom in Denton, MD (10/19/07) "The reason the Voice of Reason is losing to Norris is that Ron Smith has been phoning it in ever since Beachump neutered him over the war." This is a lot more accurate than trying to claim that Ron is some sort of liberal because of his stance on the war. Ron is very much still the conservative; he, like Pat Buchanan and others, believes that you don't fight wars that are not in your strategic best interest. Ron correctly assessed this one as not passing the smell test from the start. Now, Beauchamp has Ron talking about only things where Ron's opinion matches today's right wing dogma. Lots of pro-gun, anti-immigrant, anti-O'Malley stuff. Also, everyone still needs to note that Smith's numbers are still higher than everyone but Norris and he's still beating HIS competition. WBAL's problems are in all the timeslots other than Smith's and Durian's. Howie (10/19/07) Ddi I say how much say how much I HATE The Globe today? (10/19/07) Two points: First, on John Normand: Don't know if this was the case, but had I been in his place, I'd have quit rather than be let go. It was apparent in his voice during Wednesday's phone-guest fiasco that he was thisclose to telling Don where to shove it. For them to use a faulty cellphone as "the straw that breaks the camels back" is pretty lame. But as we close in on next spring, does Don give a fleas ass? Course not. Moving on, about Ed Norris: He has grown well into the radio thing, never expected him to. I also recall that during his City Police tenure, to try to assure good press coverage, he had an "in" with the media.... as it were, so to speak, nudge-nudge say no more. (10/19/07) The reason the Voice of Reason is losing to Norris is that Ron Smith has been phoning it in ever since Beachump neutered him over the war. Ron has to do the show that his producer hands him every day with all efforts directed at trying to keep Ron from talking about the war. It's sad but WBAL has turned Ron into a pussy who doesn't do the shows he wants to do cause he's riding out the end of his career and wants the money. Every once in a while Ron re-discovers his balls and says what he means. It's sad. I remember a Ron Smith that was a man of principle who would do as he pleased on his show and tell Beachump to shove it if he didn't like it. But Beachump bullied Ron into thinking that he'd lose to Hannity if he didn't ignore the war. It would be great radio if Ron would get a testosterone injection and finish his career a man with principle--but it appears he's just Beauchump's lackey. (10/19/07) This argument about DC being a "Redskins town" is little silly. Why is it a Redskins town? Because except for the Bullets winning a championship in 1979, there has been no other winning team in the area. So are we a football/Redskins town because nobody likes the other sports?...or is it because no other sports have been dominant enough to develop the loyal and passionate fans the Redskins have? I would contend, that if any of our professional teams (leave DC United out of the equation) would become as successful as the Redskins have, then things would change. History and longevity do play a part...and I believe the Redskins have been in this town longer than any of our other major professional teams. If the Nationals start going to the playoffs consistently, you watch how quick this also becomes a "baseball town". It is all about success and winning. And I agree with Mike...there are plenty of us that can't stand Snyder (like his evil twin Angelos in Baltimore) and that will have an effect on the Redskins. BA (10/19/07) Amen "The Other Mike". I would rather sit next to you in a half-full baseball stadium with civilized people around me than sit in FedEx Field with drunken louts falling all over the seats and unable to navigate the aisles. Would you rather listen to a Nats game, with two gentlemen calling the play-by-play, or listen to that idiot who took Frank Herzog's place and have commercials built into every other play? The Nats players are for the most part intellegent guys who can give a good interview. Ever listen to a Redskin player being interviewed on the radio? They can't form complete sentences and it sounds like they are being interviewed from prision. (10/19/07) John Norman was done when Don humiliated him on the radio when he failed to go to commercial and Don finally got his ass in a sling for it. Pathetic man, I listen because Mike cracks me up. Don has to always talk about how well he does, how bad his childhood was, etc... hey my childhood was a lot worse than yours ASSHAT and I don't play the pity card. he even calls his brother to confirm that (oh this is bad? Not ) Dad yelled at me called me stupid over spaghetti. He talks about Janet all the time as well, and calls her. Do not reuse the same shtick as you did with Frieda... I may sound awfully angry but it is because a great show has been destroyed. By Don ass Geronimo. He is the the poster BOY for short, fat, inadequate males By the way, Yep BA was a great producer, and a feminine view on things, but she was getting a little to good. PL (10/19/07) Dave's response: I think Don and BA would be a great hosting pair for a morning network TV show. Is CBS TV listening? Seriously, if Don can't figure out how to schedule meetings in order to avoid his show going into "Best-of's," May 2008 can't get here fast enough. It's sad really...I listened to D&M from WAVA to 2005 and I just can't believe how bad it's gotten. (10/19/07) My wife would like a HD radio to get some specific shows that are on HD radio, broadcast from Washington DC. I'm wondering if you know where we can get a chart that shows if HD Radio coverage will reach Reston, Virginia. (10/19/07) Dave's response: I'm in Reston too, and you can hear what I can hear at DCRTV's HD Radio page..... For battle of media hotties: Lassie Vs Marty Davis (Chickaboomer)... 2 old dogs that used to do TV (10/19/07) This might be bizarre enough to work, but I would take all the music off of 94.7 The Globe and turn it into a liberal talk station. Weasel seems like he's up on politics and liberal enough to be the morning man. After May 2008 if Donnie G does retire from WJFK, Mike and Buzz could do afternoons. Not sure about the rest of the day but keep it live and local. (10/19/07) By the way, Ed Norris beating Ron Smith - - HE'S ON FM. It's not that AM sounds bad, and FM talk sounds great. People are using their AM buttons less and less. Most listeners under 70 don't even program the buttons on their car radios for AM. Ed shouldn't move to AM, Ron should move to FM. There should be one really good FM talk station and one really big AM sports station in Balto/DC. Ed Graham (10/19/07) To the Brian Wilson fan: You said that Ron Smith has morphed into some semi-liberal. This is the kind of ignorance that makes me question the sanity of your kind of conservative thinking. Ron Smith actually has a brain. He didn't support the war, so you thing he is a liberal. Like most people who actually think, Ron looks at a problem and then makes up his own mind. You don't seem to have mastered that one. By the way, Brian and Ron have similar politics. You might be right about Brian, but remember that his ratings success in Baltimore were on B-104 (a CHR station). It's time for WBAL to be creative. Why not hire Doug Tract to do a non-greaseman show. I know he can be entertaining in a new format. Sorry, but the grease is so 70s. Every time an important slot opens on local stations, people talk about who they should bring back - - there is never a reason to recreate an old show. A pro like Doug should be thinking about what he can do to be relevant. Sure, hire talent, but then work on something for today, not tired retro programming. Ed Graham (10/19/07) ("Don Geronimo revealed on his Thursday WJFK-FM show that the show was in "best of" mode on Wednesday because of a meeting held among the show's partipants: Geronimo, Mike O'Meara, Robb Spewak, Joe Ardinger, Buzz Burbank, and John Normand.") What??!!?? They can't hold a meeting BEFORE the show? What utter disdain for their listeners. Isn't the Fall ratings period an important one? These guys deserve to tank in the ratings. (10/19/07) Dave's response: I think they should have had the meeting on the show. It would have made great radio..... From this morning's Baltimore Sun www.baltimoresun.com and the lovely Laura Vozzella: "Ed Norris' comeback was dramatic enough when the ex-commish landed a radio gig in the city that sent him to the slammer. Now, he's really back on top. The Ed Norris Show on WHFS-FM is Baltimore's highest-rated talk program among adults ages 25 to 54, according to the latest Arbitron ratings. Norris averaged 49,100 weekly listeners in that coveted age group, while WBAL's Ron Smith had 46,200. Rush Limbaugh drew 27,600 to WCBM. Here's how WHFS is promoting its good news: "First he led the nation in crime reduction. Now he leads the city on the radio." And, my favorite: "They took his badge, but they didn't take his brain."" [Note to HFS management. Beauchump has had meetings with Norris before to try to steal him away. You better pony-up more for big Ed and get ink on the paper.] (10/19/07) Lycos reports that Don and Mike, Leykis, etc. have "fallen off the radar". Well, I believe that it is LYCOS that has fallen off the radar. I didn't realize that this waste of bandwidth was even still around. They were one of the early search engines but were left in the dust a long time ago. --Marc in Fairfax (10/19/07) Is it possible the dead rat planted in front of the 3WT (nee WaPo Radio) building was planted by one of Tony K's "little people" as a gag? There was a running gag on the Kornheiser show about an old guy with a dead rat in his mouth, stemming from a news item about some old dude found in such condition at a hospice in California. - Inspector Klushaw (10/19/07) Dave's response: It probably fell out of Nigel's lunch bag..... Prell/Erlich? Really Dave - I know you've never been a big fan of Brian Wilson's - but no one can deny his Baltimore ratings success, length of time in the market and the fact that he has scored major points in NYC, Atlanta, San Francisco, etc. When it comes to "Talent" and ratings (what radio stations supposedly want), Wilson is the logical choice. Wherever he's gone, he gets ratings. Period. You don't have to like him - or his politics - to acknowledge that. I just don't understand why Beauchamp would stick with a ratings killer when he could have a major league winner - and a damn good talk show host - going up against Rush. Ratings and revenue is what it's all about. Love him or hate him, Brian Wilson could beat Rush - in Baltimore anyway. And is head and shoulders above Prell, Ehrlich or any combination. No qustion. "C4", it appears, is killing those 12-3 ratings. Not a good lead-in for Ron Smith who's having his own problems having morphed into some semi-liberal. Why else would BAL be running those "I Love Ron Smith" TV commercials. Never saw THEM before. Wilson vs Rush just makes sense. And I would enjoy the hell out of it. (10/19/07) Dave's response: When have I ever said anything negative about Wilson? Never..... Re: "And the Nats will NEVER make a "serious dent" in the Redskins dominance. Football is king, not just in D.C." First, I'd rather go see a Nats game any day with the stands half full rather than put a penny in the pockets of Little Danny or the idiot Redskins players. There's hardly anyone for a kid to look up to on that team. The nationals have hard working, respectable players like Zimmerman, Young, Corderro; athletes who can form coherent sentences and aren't glorified thugs. I'd rather than my son sit in a 1/2 full baseball stadium with me and support them. Let's see who makes the playoffs sooner the 'skins or the Nationals. It may take 20 years, but the Nationals will be champs of their sport before the Redskins are of theirs. The Redskins suck and will continue to suck. A different Mike who also lives in Fairfax. (10/19/07) Don Geronimo is paulie Sr. and o'meara is paulie jr. but who's mikey? is it robbay or buzz? and between whom was this tension that don "paulie sr" juan was talking about? tension between o'meara and robbay? or with buzz?.....so it appears that don has reached agreement with cbs suits to let him work elsewhere right away after he quits instead of waiting till end of current contract? if don is going to be with cufflinks wouldn't robbay be included in the ride? ain't don and robbay butt buddies?...was super dave so scared of arm rasslin' tom gavin he ran away to new orleans?....wasn't john normand a good cbs soldier forced upon don and mike? i found most of these celebrity guests boring as sh9t, i mean d l hughley, yuck mediocre talent, bring on the whacky guests it's part of what made the show great back in the day....is it time to think of replacements for Jurgenson and Huff? how about Theisman and Mark May? I'd love to see Frank Herzog come back but pretty boy larry michael has inserted himself so far up the reddskin backside he ain't going no where unless he calls lil' danny a tree killer...where does riggins get his haircut? man each year he gets that freaky looking haircut, looks like zippy the pinhead a bit....regis philbin new line. "what are you lookin' at?" (10/19/07) Yes, everyone knows WHFS/105.7's Ed Norris was convicted of a felony. But what many listeners and people who don't know much about Baltimore City politics don't know (and that apparently includes writers from The Baltimore Sun) is that Norris was convicted of misusing a private police dept. slush fund, not public money, and that every previous police commissioner & mayor had abused the exact same fund in exactly the same way over decades. Norris inherited the "system." The only thing Norris did differently with it is he entertained Maryland's new Gov. O'Malley, they ate at nicer restaurants in NYC than previous Baltimore City police commissioners, & they bought classier hookers! So if Norris is a felon, that means every previous Baltimore City police commissioner, mayor, and at least 2 governors probably are too since they all took advantage of the exact same fund! This is one of the reasons I no longer read The Baltimore Sun or any major newspaper when it comes to local news stories anymore. They hire Ivy Leaguer type journalism grads instead of real local beat writers who know the area well and they can't offer proper historical context to any local story because they are nothing but wet behind the ears out of towner kids with excellent grades and writing skills looking to use any local newspaper as a stepping stone to a higher job out of town with a bigger newspaper! Unfortunately, the real "local stories" suffer because they have no local historical context. This is a classic example. (10/19/07) /\ October 19 Messages /\ \/ October 18 Messages \/ If the current Hindenberg-like wreck that is the Don and Mike show is Don's lame attempt at trying out for Satellite radio, they'd be crazy to hire him unless it was just him playing music from Doni's grab bag and no gab at all from him. They'd get more for their money by hiring Mike, Robbay, Buzz, and BA sans Mr. Sorce (and bring back Sherri Elliker to balance out the feminine voice). (10/18/07) (RE: How soon before they get serious over on Jenifer Street and give the extra stripes and the reigns of WRQX to Steve Allan? Days, weeks, months? Just how bad does it have to get?... Dave's response: Restore the old Q107 imaging and make it a killer oldies outlet like Big 100 used to be.....) I think if you listen to The Globe and RQX long enough, you basically wind up hearing the same thing. The difference being, of course, that Mix is more chick-centric, while The Globe is more like a scratching post for middle-aged guys. Aside from the older stuff TGB plays (pre-1980 stuff), its playlist (such as it is) seems indistinguishable from Mix's. I think Q107 ought to come back, but not as an oldies-like-Big-100-used-to-be outlet. I wish rock weren't a dying breed in DC. I'd actually like to see Q107 like it was in its heyday, closer to what DC101 was like in it's heyday, and less of a let's-play-anything-we-want free for all. Something closer to the Arrow, despite its failure. Oh, and BTW, I find it hilarious that Don Geronimo is kicking Diamond's ass in the Battle of the Media Hotties this week!!!!! Mike in Alexandria (10/18/07) Just curious, has anyone tuned into WMZQ on their ride home in the afternoons? If so, do you find the new guy beyond nauseating? LO (10/18/07) Mike in Fairfax says: "the Nationals managed to outdraw the A's, Pirates, Royals, Devil Rays and Marlins this year and averaged only about 3,000 fewer fans per game than the Orioles who play in state-of-the-art Camden Yards. Once they become good enough to contend for titles on a regular basis, I'd be shocked if they don't make a serious dent in the Redskins' dominance around here." Gee, the Nats had the best attendence of last-place teams. And the D.C. market is bigger than those cities he mentioned. Congrats to the Nats on that! And "only 3,000 fewer per game?" Only? That's over 240,000 fans for the season, so that's a lot. And I hope he's not getting his hopes up on the Nats being a contender. That will be a while, especially with the Mets, Phillies and Braves in their divsision. Bowden better go spend some serious cash on free agents if they want to contend. And the Nats will NEVER make a "serious dent" in the Redskins dominance. Football is king, not just in D.C. (10/18/07) Though I am no longer in the Baltimore radio market, DCRTV is a regular feature keeping me up to date with the latest radio "scoop". Dave you sure have your contacts! Though I miss Baltimore a lot, DCRTV is a piece of home. Down here in the sticks, I still do overnights on WZBB 99.9, a great little family owned station doing country from the 60's thru today. I was also fortunate to finally get in the door at Wheeler Broadcasting in Roanoke. From what I have seen and heard, they are quite a company to work with. It looks like fill-in at 200,000 watt Q99, their AC outlet, and producing at WFIR960. It is refreshing to come to a smaller market and see radio done well. Quite an impressive facility with at least 5 stations. Tom Conroy (10/18/07) Back "in the day" (so to speak) when I called the east coast home, the big thrill was to hear the West Coast on AM. I spent two years DX'ing before I heard my first one, KNX-1070. And, before that night was over, I'd also heard KFBK-1530, KGBS-1020, KNBR-680, KFI-640, XEPRS-1090, XETRA-690, and the best one of all: XEMO-860 with a blazing 5KW. Later on, there were times that KFI could even be heard under WMAL's splatter. Alas, time, careers, and family have kept me from doing any DX'ing for a long time. Except occasionally when traveling at night. Nowadays, I'm often trying to see how far east I can hear! With the demise of the 1-A and 1-B clears of the old NARBA treaty, AM DX is tough. About the furthest east I've gotten lately is WWL. As for the electronic noise Dave mentioned, the once e! lectrically quiet Mojave now has patches of serious interference. This is due to the numerous transmission lines bringing power to our Southland from as far away as Nevada, Arizona and Utah. As for not hearing KFI, it's probably going to be a very long time before their once-formidable signal is restored. A General Aviation pilot doing some sightseeing around Christmas a few years ago clipped KFI's 750' tower. Both tower and plane crashed. Although the only fatalities were those on the plane, the legendary Orange County NIMBY's have been successful in thwarting Clear Channel's efforts to rebuild the tower. The NIMBY's down there say that had the accident not occurred on a weekend, additional lives might have been lost. FWIW, the KFI site is adjacent to the northbound side of the 5 freeway near Disneyland in Buena Park, and is in what is now a complex of light industry and warehouses. So, KFI now runs 22KW into a short small cross-section tower that was originally in! tended for short-term use at low power when the big tower was undergoi ng maintenance. Never mind that KFI was a key station for emergencies from WWII thru the days of Conelrad, EBS, and now EAS. On those Friday evenings when we're driving from Pasadena up U.S. 395 to our second home, there are times when KFI "just isn't there". I guess when "the big one" hits, we'd better pray KNX's site (in Torrance) survives! John Pinckney (10/18/07) Where'd you hear the Jefe and Dubs rumor? I've been talking to a few people and that's not what I hear at all. (10/18/07) Dave's response: The sourcing on that one is solid..... Dave, it's not at all unusual for me to pick up KOA (850 kHz) in Denver from here in central Maryland during the fall and winter. Occasionally it comes in earlier at night, but from experience the best time to catch it is between 6 and 7 a.m., just before sunrise. For some reason, at that hour no other stations seem to come in strong enough at that spot on the dial to substantially interfere with it, and KOA will often sneak in with a fair to weak signal. But the West Coast (e.g., KFI)? From here, I've had no luck since 1980. KOF (10/18/07) Dave's response: Back in the 1970s, I used to love listening to Windsor, Ontario (Detroit) "top 40" outlet CKLW on 800 AM. But some nights, the signal from PJB, religious Trans World Radio in the Netherlands Antilles (off the coast of Venezuela) would come in, instead. I believe it was running 500,000-watts at the time. A pretty regular long-haul AM catch in the DC area..... Dcrtv, I happened to be a participant in the summer Arbitron book, and my listening week included plenty of XM radio time. But I don’t see any satellite radio reflected in your article. Is that because the satellite numbers are so low, or are they not part of the “book” yet? Mike (10/18/07) Dave's response: Good question. If someone indicates to Arbitron that they're listening to XM or Sirius, how is that reflected in the local radio ratings? One of North America’s most esoteric wall calendars comes out for its seventh year in a row. The “Tower Site Calendar 2008” went on sale at the end of August. The calendar, which features a photo each month of a well-known broadcast transmitter site, is photographed and written by Scott Fybush, the creator of “Tower Site of the Week” (www.fybush.com/featuredsite.html) and “NorthEast Radio Watch” (www.fybush.com/nerw.html). The full-color monthly calendar has become a tradition for many radio engineers. It’s also a novelty for those who think all radio towers look alike. “The response to the 2007 calendar was overwhelming,” says Fybush. “A lot of radio engineers invite me to their sites in the hope that their towers will feature in the calendar, and I’m hoping to make some of them very happy with this edition.” As in its predecessors, each month of the 2008 calendar features an 8”x11” color photograph of a broadcast transmitter site, taken by Fybush during his travels around the U.S., Canada and beyond. The sites pictured on the 2008 calendar: KAST’s waterfront site in Astoria, Oregon... The demolition of WOR New York’s three-tower array in Lyndhurst, New Jersey... KFBK Sacramento’s decades-old Franklin antennas... Rib Mountain’s candelabra tower near Wausau, Wisconsin... Black Mountain’s tower farm, overlooking the Las Vegas Strip... WESX’s tower and studio in Salem, Massachusetts... The pair of Blaw-Knox towers for KFKA Greeley, Colorado... The historic WIBG AM array in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania... WGAN Portland, Maine, draped in afternoon summer shadows... KXLY’s towers atop Mount Spokane in Washington... Binghamton, New York’s Ingraham Hill tower farm... KROQ’s Verdugo Hills site east of Burbank, California... A close-up night shot of the first-ever FM tower, built by Major Edwin Howard Armstrong in Alpine, New Jersey... WBNS’s Blaw-Knox “diamond” tower in Columbus, Ohio... In addition to tower photos, the calendar’s monthly pages include significant dates in radio and television history, as well as civil and religious holidays. The 2008 calendars cost $18 each, postpaid ($19.44 including sales tax for New York State residents), and can be purchased by check (payable to “Scott Fybush”) or money order to 92 Bonnie Brae Avenue, Rochester NY 14618. Orders can also be placed with major credit cards at www.fybush.com. “Visiting studio and transmitter sites is a great way to see the country,” says Fybush, who also edits the radio directory site 100000watts.com and trade newsletter Radio Journal, anchors newscasts for NPR member station WXXI in Rochester, N.Y. and is a columnist for Radio World. (10/18/07) Perhaps a little local tie for DCRTV, as I live in Ashburn (as do many other FiOS-havin' hockey fans): sports.aol.com... Hope all is well. Can't understand how the Globe isn't rating better -- best music station available in DC not on XM or Sirius, in my opinion. Greg Wyshynski (10/18/07) I was wondering why the show was about Beth Ann, I wasn't sure if it was a repeat or a live show when I started listening at 5pm. Isn't it ironic that the show was about Beth Ann, an ex-producer? How many producers have the show had in the last 3 years? 4 or 5? (10/18/07) To Mike in Fairfax:...... 2 of the teams the Nats outdrew have been bandied about to be DELETED FRANCHISES by MLB in years past for their failure to attract fans! But in fairness, I'm not surprised Andy Pollin doesn't care about the Colorado Rockies, their FANS don't either as they are 19th in attendance! In fact, Colorado, Cleveland, and Arizona ALL have the distinction of having similar attendance to the nearly last place Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals! Only when those MLB Playoff teams were practically CERTAIN playoff teams did their attendance tick up a bit at the end of their seasons and at many times during the season, both Baltimore and Washington were AHEAD of at least 1 or more of those teams! And keep in mind we knew the Nats & O's weren't goin anywhere since at least soon after the All Star break. True. (10/18/07) The Ed Norris Show hits #1! First time an FM talker has done that in Baltimore. The Sun took the opportunity to remind us that he's a felon. Nice. www.baltimoresun.com (10/18/07) Great...John Normand is out as producer for D&M...what a crock! I agree with the other person as far as Robbay getting them guests. Maybe for this year they could call Native Americans and ask about Thanksgiving before they go on their 2 week "holiday break". At least John was able to book excellent guests on a consistant basis. I'm sure this is over the incident the other day when some no-name person called the show late on a crappy cell phone, which is nowhere near John's fault. But because it made the show look bad, I'm sure Don "I'm the Perfect and Egotistical" radio host had to take action to protect the "value" of the show. I can't wait until he retires in '08! (10/18/07) What on earth is the appeal of two dead AM's in Virginia Beach? RadioLocator-dot-Net shows most of the RF energy going to keep the fish warm in the Bay. And at 1450 and 1550 kHz, who's going to be listening that far up the dial? Even digital radio won't save this pair. Honestly, sometimes I think Birach Broadcasting would blow money on a sprinkle-covered turd on a popsicle stick and call it a radio station. (10/18/07) D & M take a dump and drop John Norman: "Nobody" to be producer, as if it would make a difference anyway. Geronimo hints at retaining partnership with fatso in the future: whine "We have been going through an awful lot (it shows on the show)." Film at eleven. (10/18/07) Great, John Normand is out of the D&M Show so we get no more celebrity interviews. Back to Robbay getting 80 year old race car drivers and german hoteliers for Octoberfest. (10/18/07) Dave's response: After listening to yesterday's reruns, I can't say it enough - bring BA back!!!!!!! Yes, COMCAST SportsNet pays the Redskins, but they still do an outstanding job of covering the other teams. The entire point was that there IS an example of an outlet in this town that covers sports correctly and demonstrates that Leonsis was right and Czabollin wrong. Great, emphasize Redskins coverage; no doubt that they are the King Kong of the local sports teams and will be for the lifetimes of everyone who posts here. But to suggest that covering the other local teams as well will cause ratings to suffer is silly in my view. Doing so just writes off an underserved market; and Czabollin's ratings hardly puts them in position to do that. (10/18/07) (Sports talk in DC needs to be on a big signal FMer. WTEM needs to move to 100.3. Then, Clear Channel could put political talk on 980, and make 570/1260 nostalgic Vegas Radio.....) There is ZERO money to be made with nostalgic radio. It would draw an audience, but make no money. Public radio oughtta fill the void for formats like that...... (10/18/07) (The listing I got doesn't even have Progressive Talk 1260 listed. It's that bad.....) Dave, WWRC did not show. Neither did WFMD, WUST, WOL. All have shown in previous books, not just recently. (10/18/07) Dan Patrick's show is being aired (tape delay) on WTEM 980 from 7 to 10 p.m. on nights that there are no games being broadcast. Sincerely, Ed, Fairfax, VA (10/18/07) OK, it’s 2:27 – place your bets. D&M live today, or more phantom “best of”? Incidentally, while the Riggins show on Triple-X may occasionally have a discouraging word to say about the Skins, you can always count on the Larry “House Man” Michael show for the finest in outright slurping. Larry’s had his knee pads on since he took that job. Oh, and for the guy below who claimed that hockey’s invisible t.v. ratings were irrelevant to whether they should talk hockey on WTEM . . . wha? Hockey’s not popular; that’s what the t.v. ratings show. Why would hockey talk be popular? Sincerely, TMU (10/18/07) In case anyone is interested, the Discovery Channel's "Build it Bigger" did a show on the new Nats stadium. It aired for the first time last night, but they repeat everything 100 times a week so you should eb able to get it! (10/18/07) Everyone is talking about wi-fi in cars and such – and how it will replace “radio”. When Verizon can actually keep a call complete traveling up and down 270 from Germantown – I’ll actually worry about wi-fi “replacing” radio. Christ, they can’t even get a simple phone call to stay connected… (10/18/07) Dave's response: A lot of "new" technology is like that. Works well "on paper" but not "in reality." HD Radio is a perfect example. It seems that some companies are more interested in getting consumers to fork over their dollars with a swift marketing campaign, rather than delivering a "rock solid" service..... KLUG! Quit nominating yourself. (10/18/07) RE: “I suspect that Comcast Sports Net is sophisticated enough that would be doing only Redskins if they thought coverage of the other teams would hurt their ratings” You need to know that Comcast has a multi million dollar deal with the Skins that gives them nothing more than access with the team and a few signs and BS interviews with Snyder. They ain’t paying the Nationals, Wizards or Caps anything. They pay the Redskins because if they don’t have them, they have nothing. Channel 9 pays the Skins and so does Channel 4. In addition, MASN even pays Snyder’s low wattage radio stations for the Riggins show. Redskins are everything in the DC sports world. Without them, you have nothing. Unfortunately! (10/18/07) One has to wonder,,,was the dead rat outside of Bonneville a warning to someone? And what if Randi Rhodes had tripped over it? Would she have sued Bonneville, the landlord or the city? I see a vast right wing conspiracy here to trip up a liberal journalist. Oh wait, Plotting Plotkin works there. Isn't he a liberal, and a journalist? Oh God, now they are targeting him. There really IS a vast right wing conspiracy and now they want to trip up Plotkin. The rat must be a warning to Mark to not get tripped up like Randi. I bet Hillary Clinto planted the rat to distract people from thinking about the illegal contributions from law firms and other sources. Cute how she used a democrat to distract republicans. Me thinks this is a vast left wing conspiracy to draw attention away from the repeat and widespread financial corruption in the democratic party and among their candidates, starting with Hillary. Plates OFF. (10/18/07) John Klug, afternoon personality on 100.7 The Bay should be included on Battle of The Media Hotties! He’s a hottie!! (10/18/07) Mike in Fairfax: Prepare to be shocked. The Nats could win five World Series and they still wouldn't do much damage to the Redskins fan base. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure the Nat will do well once they move to the new stadium. But DC is a football town, which MLB abandoned. Those thirty plus years without baseball give the Skins a fan loyalty here that is rarely matched around the country. Even Danny Boy Snyder can't screw that up. As for Pollin and Czaban, and WTEM in general, my theory is that the memo went out when Triple X went on air that WTEM wants to be viewed as the cynical alternative to Triple X. WTEM wants to portray itself as the place to go to get the real story while suggesting that Triple X will give you the house version. Not quite fair, since I've heard Riggo, Sheehan and company be quite critical of the Redskins. But that, in my view, is WTEM's line and explains why people like Czaban, Pollin, Walker and Mitchell have intensified their venom at the goings on at Redskins Park. (10/18/07) With all of this talk about WI-FI in cars and such-is this going to be as "great" as HD Radio, or AM Stereo? I mean, how far will the WI-FI signals reach and will they be avail in smaller markets? So-if I want to punch in a site to listen to, I would loose it after 2 miles? (10/18/07) Dave, You are absolutely right about THe Globe. Except, Screw the Linkin Park, crap. No More Compromises. Also, about Shelby, I've been on that yes.com site. I spoke my mind there, and she and all the Sycophant losers seem to have a way of shielding themselves against criticism, by praising the music, and talking about non sense. On The air, Shelby sucks. (10/18/07) Dave's response: I wouldn't recommend all Linkin Park songs for The Globe. But "What I've Done" would have been a perfect fit with the "green" label and all that..... PJ: you are SO right. I'm as hard core Redskins as anyone, having grown up in the area and lived and died with the team for 45 years now. But even I would like to hear more talk about the local teams on WTEM. Leonsis was right. This attitude that Czaban and Pollin have that only Redskins-talk will give them even the anemic ratings that they now have is ridiculous and, when you think about it, insulting to DC sports fans. Not to mention that their sarcastic trashing of baseball fans (Nat-zis, according to them), hockey fans, soccer fans, etc. is beyond arrogant and offensive. Look at COMCAST SportsNet. They do a fantastic job of covering ALL the local teams, pro and college. Sure, they emphasize the Redskins. That only makes sense. But they give good coverage to the Nats, Caps, Wiz, DC United, Mystics and all the area college football and b-ball teams, including the more distant teams that have a lot of alumni in the DC area like UVA and VA Tech. I suspect that COMCAST SportsNet is sophisticated enough that they would be doing only Redskins if they thought coverage of the other teams was hurting their ratings. Too bad DC doesn't have the sports radio equivalent of COMCAST SportsNet, and never will have as long as lightweights like Czaban and Pollin are around. (10/18/07) OK, I will be the first to jump in on the dead Rat at Idaho Avenue. Did the rat have an old Washington post radio tee shirt on, or was it an old Z104 shirt, or was it an old WGMS shirt? (10/18/07) Listening to Doyle and Burd this morning on 3WT, I heard a promo for Stephanie Miller and Glenn Beck in the afternoons. No "coming soon," either. Can anyone confirm? There are no developments posted on the 3WT Web site. Christian (10/18/07) Tokia Lynn Dow, 37, gunned down October 12 while with her son on a street in Landover, less than a mile from PG police headquarters, after getting off Metro. Newsworthy? Apparently not! Not reported by the Post, or the Times, or the Examiner. Searches of the web sites of the local broadcast media claiming to carry local news all come up negative. Where can one read about this senseless killing? In the Albany, New York, Times Union. That's right, the Albany Times Union reported a local murder that our local "news" outlets refused to carry. How can those of use who want to stop the mayhem hold our elected officials accountable when the press and broadcast media refuse to tell us how bad things really are? Another example of why I have little respect for our local newspapers or broadcast media and no sympathy when they whine about falling circulation or ratings. Diane in PG (10/18/07) Dave's response: Hey, yesterday on Faux News, John Gibson (whose shocking white hair looks like he just stuck his penis in an electrical outlet) was interviewing an anti-athiest who was about to reveal scientic proof that God exists. Holy shit, I thought. I gotta hear this! However, Gibson cut him off mid-word so he'd have time in the show to express his "My Word" displeasure about the Disney Channel canning one of its kiddie TV stars. This "news" channel richly deserves a laugh track..... Dave, Linkin Park and Green Day are about as “alternative” as Foreigner and Journey were 25 years ago. This is 2007, not 1997 – get with the program! (10/18/07) Dave: Doesn't look like you have this yet: from www.wamu.org.... Broadcast Veterans Join WAMU 88.5 News Team - WAMU 88.5 welcomes three broadcast veterans to its award-winning local and regional news staff. Meymo Lyons brings 22 years of experience in broadcast news to her position as producer/assignments editor. Pat Brogan, with more than 10 years of experience in radio news, joins WAMU 88.5 as a news anchor/host. Deborah Bolling brings a varied background in journalism, film and television production to her post as news intern supervisor and senior coordinator of the station's "Youth Voices" high school journalism project. (10/18/07) Dave's response: We reported that Pat Brogan was leaving WMAL for WTOP and then WAMU a couple of months ago. And we also ran a news item about the other WAMU additions a while back, too. Old news..... "The Nats couldn’t draw flies after the initial honeymoon ended. Yes, they will do well in year one of the new stadium, but they will return to obscurity in year two." We're talking about a team that since moving to DC in 2005 has played its home games in an outdated stadium lacking some of the basic amenities fans in most other major league cities are accustomed to. Despite that fact, the Nationals managed to outdraw the A's, Pirates, Royals, Devil Rays and Marlins this year and averaged only about 3,000 fewer fans per game than the Orioles who play in state-of-the-art Camden Yards. Once they become good enough to contend for titles on a regular basis, I'd be shocked if they don't make a serious dent in the Redskins' dominance around here. Just look at Denver - a Bronco town for decades that's going nuts over the World Series bound Rockies right now. During the two or three minutes WTEM's Sports Reporters saw fit to discuss the baseball playoffs yesterday, Andy Pollin remarked that he had zero interest in Colorado because the franchise is only fifteen years old. I'm sorry - as a sports radio host, it's his JOB to pay attention to a team making an unprecedented late season/postseason run and give the story more than a passing mention on his show. The 'Miracle Mets' of 1969 were an eighth year expansion team - and their story's part of the lore of baseball. Regarding Pollin and Steve Czaban going out of their way to rip the Redskins (especially Joe Gibbs and the coaching staff), you almost get the impression they're disappointed when the team wins a game because they have to pull their punches to some extent. I know it's not true since they're both lifelong fans (and have made good points at times), yet they sure seem to relish getting their licks in. Even the show's regular guests such as Chris Knoche, Kevin Blackistone and Larry Weisman tend to share Pollin's glasses half-empty view of the Skins. Mike, Fairfax (10/18/07) OK, I've waded through days and days of cranky e-mails about Randi Rhodes and how her falling down or being mugged is such an incredibly big deal. Question: Who the hell is Randi Rhodes?!? (10/18/07) (RE: "Did you notice in the (Arbitron) ratings for (Fredericksburg) that were posted in RandR station WBQB wasn't even listed." None of Mid Atlantic Network (to be Centennial Broadcasting???) stations are listed in the Freddy arbs: WBQB/101.5, WFVA/1230, WINC/92.5. Robert F Corbin/VARTV.com) Since the Free Lance Star group is the only subscriber, the numbers have been embargoed for nearly a year. I don’t know why Arbitron released the numbers sans non-subrscribers. Paul M. Johnson, Director of Operations, Free Lance Star Broadcasting (10/18/07) Word out of Manhattan is that Randi Rhodes downed 14 Bloody Mary's in an Irish Pub on Sunday night and was acting crass, crude, loud, and pretentious. She then proceded to trip and fall as she exited the pub chipping a few teeth. Funny how the mainstream media just simply ignores this story. And, if this was Rush Limbaugh, the clowns at Hillary Clinton's creation, mediamatters.com, would have been making hay of this for weeks. Anyway, those Bloody Mary's must have been spiked from some Bush operative from the vast right wing conspiracy!!!! (10/18/07) re: Rant about saving The Globe - I think Weasel is one of the best guys in the radio