Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - November 26 to November 30, 2007 Latest messages listed first..... \/ November 30 Messages \/ When Mr. Geronimo went off on his tirade about cbs and michael hughes on todays edition do you think O'Meara was getting a very tight sphincter? And Herr Geronimo, the website sucks let cbs have it! Did Herr Geronimo really say during the tirade that the show was not there to take 4 hours of idiots calling in! Huh? I says Michael Todd Hughes recommend to suits at Black Rock cut this turd loose for xmas and be done with it. Or how about this Mr. Hughes, sneak into the Greasemun studios on rockville pike this weekend and delete the pong or phone ringing sound from 24 tv show from the Don's soundboard, with his OCD we could listen in on mundee and see if'en the don's head will esplode. Does O'Meara do mocking imitations of Don when he gets loaded over at his bar? Wouldn't it have been so synergistically delicious Michael Toad Hughes, if you'd had O'Meara tie in with the Sports Chunkies Atlantic City Poker event this week?And to Tom Gavin ,Charley Stuangstabalak says get well soon buddy! And now for some frothy ovaltine and pie. gang code (11/30/07) On Redskins Radio, on Comcast Sports Net. Does Larry Michael (AKA :Ted Baxter) no that he is on tv. What is he looking at off camera? (11/30/07) Don Geronimo is an idiot. The other day, Mr. Big Bad sat on his fat ass behind a microphone and said that a ''police friend'' in Miami told him that the possibility was there that Sean Taylor's gf or another woman may have shot him. What facts does this ''friend'' have to back it up? How is it that this jerk off behind a microphone can blurt out something so utterly irresponsible and no one bats an eyelash? I'm tired of idiot disc jockeys and every arm chair detective spewing their completely pointless ''theories'' as to why he was murdered. People like that really need to sit down and have a tall frosty glass of Shut The Fuck Up. Wouldn't be nice if people were actually held accountable for the garbage they spew? Geronimo needs to get back to doing what he seems to be doing best lately. Yelling at callers hours after hour, putting 0 effort into a show that's completely run out of gas and padding time until May so he can go home and sit on his fat ass even more. Thanks for the memories, Don but it's time to go. Paul (11/30/07) How can this guy Mitchell criticize Shapiro for his not surprised comments but not Wilbon? That's total BS and suggests that the racist here is Mitchell. (11/30/07) Wii 5hrs on E-Bay Last Saturday got in my car drove 15 minutes to Costco Got cart walked in store bought Wii drove home total time 1 hour Boy was I exhausted... (11/30/07) If Salem wants to expand WWDJ to the west, what about WBLF in central PA? (11/30/07) [Wilbon criticized? HA, no way cause he’s black...] BS. Shapiro's column appeared in the Post on Tuesday. He incorporated some of Wilbon's comments into the article. Wilbon was also ripped and roundly criticized by many, many of those who hammered Shapiro in responses to the column. Wilbon's column the next day was characterized as somthing of a retreat, but the damage was already done by his previous day's comments and he still received criticism. Get your facts straight. There was no reverse racism involved and try reading responses to Shapiro and Wilbon before you play the race card. Shawn in DC. (11/30/07) Breaking News from the Burger Chef studios, where the burgers are just scrumptious, Tom Gavin will not be doing his Friday afternoon show on internet radio WEBR. Apparently, Mr. Gavin is under the weather. More on this developing story as we get more sponsors to pay for mindless blathering. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Gavin from the all of us at the Burger Chef studios. (11/30/07) Just got off Ebay and bought a Wii. I bid for three hours. That's it . Done deal. A five hour bidding on the hotties is all we should have, more traffic on your website, and more fun for us. I got pretty pumped up the last 10 minutes of that bidding war. Whew, I needed a little DCRTV to bring me back to earth. PL (11/30/07) I heard the John Feinstein gun control rant on Sportyak980’s Sports Reporters this week. Steve Czaban, who makes no secret of his conservative leanings, tried to rein Feinstein in. Feinstein’s a very smart guy, but he plainly operates from the assumption that he’s always the smartest guy in the room. Can you imagine anything more unbearable than a gun control debate on a sports talk station? Andy Polley told Steve they could do it when Andy was on vacation – good call, Andy. I’ve got my personal WTEM boycott in effect after I heard the Feinstein segment – I’m going to wait until I can count on twenty minutes of air time without hearing Sean Taylor’s name before I go back. Sincerely, TMU (11/30/07) Here is what I understand about the Salem purchase of WAMD. Salem owns WJDY at 970 in NYC which they desperatly want to take to 50kw, but WAMD is hindering the southern contour. So, if Salem buys WAMD-they can either downgrade the power (which has been proposed), simulcast WJDY or kill the station completely. I know that First Broadcasting has been conducting tests in Southern Jersey and Delaware for "signal" adjustments, which would explain why they now want to "lower" the day time power and retain the 500-watts at night. They could effectivly simulcast WJDY on 970 and have wall to wall daytime coverage from Harford Co to NYC...with the coverage of both stations (as WAMD has a decent signal in south Jersey). So, death to another local broadcast signal. (11/30/07) Dave's response: I can't think of any other reason why they'd want to buy a station in Aberdeen MD. By the way, it's WWDJ (among the coolest calls on the radio dial) not "WJDY" and it's licensed to Hackensack NJ. As you can see by the current WWDJ night signal pattern (right), by fiddling with WAMD's 970 signal, Salem could improve WWDJ's coverage to the west and southwest - to reach more of the NJ suburbs of NYC..... Wilbon criticized? HA, no way cause he’s black. Another great example is an article by Jason whitlock, a black sportswriter ----- msn.foxsports.com ---- anyone criticizing him? I’m not a big fan of Shapiro either, just seems like a bitter old man, but come on folks, if you’re going to criticize the white writers, do the same for the black writers you hypocrites. I love the double standard in America, isn’t it great, blacks can hide behind the 1st amendment, but if a white person is critical, oh no he’s racist, come on folks, move on--- dave (11/30/07) While the vast majority of GM’s come up through sales, some do come from the programming side. I’m probably going to get jumped on for this, but CBS Market Manager Michael Hughes is one of the programmers who have risen to GM. Former WQSR GM Brad Murray is another. Roddy Freeman (11/30/07) A cool (Mailbag) thread might be to ask TV producers, etc., some of the "tricks" TV management has used in the past to try and win the ratings in this sophisticated market. Ironically, NBC4 dropped ALL of the commercials from one of its 5 o'clock shows toward the end of ratings to keep viewers from tuning away. That cost a bundle. You might get some interesting comments on other "tricks" of the trade. (11/30/07) Regarding the Len Shapiro item from the City Paper, I agree that he is a skunk, a lousy hack writer. But I'm just curious, is Michael Wilbon getting as much grief for saying almost the exact same thing in his weekly chat on Monday and his column on Tuesday? (11/30/07) Dave -- Why not just stick an arrow in the heart of former Unipressers? United Press International alum who frequent dcrtv (me, Gauger, Foty, Kepley, etc) know while Helen Thomas may not still be with UPI, she's certainly NOT with AP, as mentioned in your news blurb. She's currently the Hearst White House columnist. Cheers, Neal Augenstein (11/30/07) Dave's response: I fixed her..... Bryant Gumbel has to be the absolute worst play-by-play man in the history of all sports. He clearly doesnt do the neccessary prep work to get ready for the game. Just ask Rick Romo. That was a pretty good game that was made unwatchable by his dry, boring and error filled call. I felt like I had just mainlined tryptophan by the time that thing was over. (11/30/07) Every time there's a highly publicized tragedy involving gun violence, it seems that John Feinstein gets on his soapbox with an impassioned plea for drastic firearms control. He did so on more than one local radio show after the Virginia Tech massacre, and now in the wake of the Sean Taylor story he came on WTEM's Sports Reporters the other day and went so far as to recommend that Dan Snyder and Joe Gibbs become national spokesmen for that cause. While I have no idea of either Snyder's or Gibbs' views on gun control, there's no way that'll happen even if both agree completely with Feinstein. The image conscious NFL doesn't want to touch hot button political issues with a ten foot pole and is especially loathe to give any appearance of favoring a 'left wing' position. The charitable causes the league gets involved with are invariably non-controversial ones like building playgrounds in the inner city or supporting the troops overseas. Gibbs is also a NASCAR guy, and I don't think it's a stretch to suppose that most devotees of that sport are gun owners and NRA types not particularly open minded toward the anti-firearms viewpoint. Feinstein did say he was open to Steve Czaban's suggestion of holding a gun control debate on the show, but that's just not the type of thing sports talk radio should be getting involved with. Mike, Fairfax (11/30/07) I agree about Joel Oxley. Nice guy, looks the part on the outside. But, he should thank his lucky star he's with Jim Farley who has made WTOP so successful. Today's General Managers are only glorified Sales Managers. They think they know programming, they think they know people. They DON'T know either. Mr. Farley has allowed Oxley to increase rates and thus revenue. Oxley couldn't lead great people and sell upper demos from WGMS, he couldn't hire a programmer and bring ratings to Z-104 and who knows what's going on at 3-W-T. "General Manager of the Year"? How about "Oh what a Lucky Man am I" Ken/Bethesda (11/30/07) We all know that Joel Oxley is a “great” guy who cares about his employees. We all know what a “great” job he has done maximizing WTOP. The point everyone is trying to make is clear. How can he be named one of the countries best radio managers after the disasters that occurred with the other three stations? If he is “great’, then why didn’t that greatness transfer to the other three stations? He had the same tools to work with as the other three stations, which were all run by the same company. It would seem to me that a great manager would be successful at any format. Then, and only then, would the manager be labeled one of the best in the country. The magic of WTOP has made a number of average people look great. A “great” manager would have made at least one of those other stations work successfully. (11/30/07) “104.1 should've been combined with 107.7 into an all-sports operation.” Bad idea. Combine those 2 signals into one and you’d have overlapping coverage in northern Virginia, but never reach anyone in Montgomery or Frederick Counties, or anywhere north of DC. 107.7 only has value as a metro signal when it is combined with another signal that has coverage to the north (i.e., 1500). OTOH, 104.1 is an outstanding signal for a gospel format because the signal’s geographic strength and the format’s demographic strength are perfectly compatible. My bet is Radio One will do very well with it. That’s a good deal for both Bonneville and Radio One, and for listeners who like gospel, who have been woefully underserved by commercial FM in this market. (11/30/07) Dave - you are so right on about these intrusive ads, especially with involuntary audio/video. If I want any of that business, I'd log onto Myspace. These ads are the worst offenders ever, far exceeding most "normal" banner ads - is anyone else tired of those Network Solutions ads with the Revenge of the Nerds reject and his secret foot fetish? (11/30/07) Dave's response: A few years back, I included an audio file on DCRTV's Front Page. It was the great Dude Walker welcoming folks to DCRTV. Man, I got so many complaints about it. People want their silence, particularly in a work environment, when surfing the 'net..... Re: Salem buying WAMD. Whew. I first read it as "Salem Buys WTMD" Sincerely, Mike in Kensington... P.S. For Paul in Waldorf: How often do these WUSA-DT freezes occur? Once every ~30 seconds? Regardless, it could be the result of a fault in their older Harris encoder + the inability for your decoder to compensate for the error. Similar issues have been occurring at KHOU-DT in Houston. Details at www.avsforum.com. My digital tuner has no issues with WUSA-DT. (11/30/07) Dave's response: I hear if Mike Huckabee gets elected president, all college-owned progressive rock stations will automatically be deeded over to Salem. By FCCC mandate - the Federal Christian Communications Commission, which will be operated by Blackwater..... Remember Salem`s reported interest in WAMD 970 in Aberdeen, Md. (likely to help Salem`s WWDJ 970 signal in N.Y.C.) ? The deal`s been signed as reported by Radio & Records for $3 million to First Broadcasting Investment Partners. R&R`s story doesn`t say what Salem`s plans are for the station & they also made an error when saying that this would be Salem`s 1st official Baltimore market station (like many in Baltimore, they forget about WITH-AM). Hezi, Balto, Md. (11/30/07) Channel 7’s news ratings really should be channel 9’s news ratings. After all, 7 has 9’s anchors and 9’s meterologist. Well, they were… that is until channel 9 threw them away for something new. Reminds me of childhood Christmas toys, how so many are broken or thrown away. But, that old Lionel train set is not only remembered, it still runs. OK, so some of the couplers may be broken, a gondola may have a corner chipped off, and the transformer makes scary sounds, runs hot, and smells weird. However, it runs. That’s sort of like the former channel 9 folks who are now earning rating points at channel 7. When your talent commands a loyal audience, be loyal to your talent, and you’ll have a loyal audience for your station’s advertisers. Channel 7 has done some dumb and short-sighted things over the past several years. Hiring Gordon Peterson, Maureen Bunyan, and Doug Hill were not among them. They knew that in the process, they were buying what had been! 9’s news audience. Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/30/07) Nice job by NewsChannel 8 (and by extension, ABC 7) on their evening newscasts on Thursday. Sandwich news about another video from Osama Bin Laden talking terroristic threats and other nonsense with the news that you're now atop the ratings. It was great seeing Rebecca Cooper segue between the big party in the newsroom and the rather serious story she had to report, and then wrap up with the serious story with an "oh by the way, we're number one hahaha, thanks for watching, now it's almost my turn in the kegstand line." Just when you think ABC/NC8 might be into doing things on the legitimate side, you see their news director tell them to pull some stupid crap like that. Nevermind Ross McLaughlin's continued attempt at becoming TV's version of the National Enquirer. We get it, you guys are happy with the newest ratings. Mention that in a commercial or a promo, not the middle of a serious newscast. Signed, a guy soooooo happy he isn't in TV. (11/30/07) Congratulations to WRC-TV News Director Vickie Burns! We all knew you could do it!! (11/30/07) An anonymous poster wrote, "Why is it that these local newscasts and, moreover, our local meteorologists have not mentioned an iota about the 7.3 magnitude earthquake and tsunami alert in the Caribbean? It's only the #1 vacation destination for Americans this time of year and the closest to the mainland USA that any quake/tsunami alert has been discerned? C'mon, guys - wake up!" - Ummm... Dear Unsigned Dude, I LIVE on the edge of the Caribbean, so I checked out all the reports. THIS is all I've found: "This bulletin is being issued for information only. An earthquake measuring 7.4 has occurred near the island of Martinique in the eastern Caribbean. The earthquake struck at 15:00 (19:00 GMT) off the north-west coast of Martinique at a depth of 145.4 kilometres (90.4 miles). No casualties have been reported and no tsunami warning has been given. The National Societies of the affected countries, with the support of the International Federation, have determined that external assistance is not required, and are therefore not seeking funding or other assistance from donors at this time." That is the official release from the International Society of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. For the record, TWO... count'em...TWO buildings were destroyed on Martinique. It does not sound as though there were any measurable casualties. Looking above, you'll see there is also NO tsunami warning. So, why are you so angry? It sounds to me like the broadcasters got it right this time. - Ed. Rodriguez, in the Fabulous Florida Keys (temp: 77, relative humidity 78%). (11/30/07) On WPRS. I love that term, "Extension of Consummation", Ken! Since most of us here are adults, we all know what "consummation" really means. In this case, I think it's happening to Bonneville. 104.1 should've never been sold. That sale is on serious life-support. 104.1 should've been combined with 107.7 into an all-sports operation. I would've kept 1500 as WTOP-AM. In a full-blown emergency, AM is what people will turn to when there's a hurricane, blizzard, etc. If there were a serious full-blown emergency, what would WTOP's night coverage be with 50KW ND (Under an STA of course.) with KSTP silent? I bet Ken Sleeman and Dave Garner have run the numbers! FM is good for all-news. But, AM combined with that FM is even better. DTV is a non-starter in an emergency given the proven on-air fragility of the VSB-8 signal. Now, as for Joel Oxley, the concern he has for his people is one of the reasons Bonneville D.C. makes money. Good managers (in any business) learn early that the better you treat your people, the better your profits (There's that word again!) are likely to be. Money is not the sole factor here. Sure, a nice base salary package combined with performance bonuses, good raises, an annual bonus, and commissions all help. But, it's not all dollars. One example: When a manager stops listening to their people, he/she is doomed. And, so are their people and their business. Worse yet are those operations where the employees are treated like animated meat. And, like cattle awaiting slaughter, wonder each day if it'll be their turn to be laid off. Especially dreaded is the last day of a pay period when the accounting for a layoff is supposed to be simpler. You can easily tell these operations at a glance by the number of empty cubes or offices. A friend recently told me of one operation where it looked like the place had been "neutroned", as `The cubes were there, but the people were gone.' How anyone can layoff that many people (Or, even one person.) and be comfortable with themselves is beyond me. I've encountered far too many managers and even executives who always believed their operations were over-staffed and went out of their way to see how many people they could layoff! And, then after the layoffs, wondered why their operation tanked! Fortunately, these idiots are usually found out fast before serious damage can be done. That's another reason why Joel Oxley deserved that award. The two recent layoffs in Bonneville's current mini-cluster in D.C. tore that man's guts out. It also likely tore up some people in SLC at the home office and with the corporate parent. Both are very sensitive of their images for a lot of reasons. The arrangement that amazed me was the whole WPRS LMA given the past acceptance of Bonneville-owned stations on religious programming that was non-LDS. A few years ago, KSL supposedly canceled a flight (after airing only one spot ran) bought by a local church of the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) to promote Easter services. But, times change. Thankfully. Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/30/07) Ole' Bryant Gumbel on da' NFL Network tonight is simply simple. He tells viewers what we see. No creativity. And when the Packers got to the 20 yard line in the 3rd quarter he said they got to the "25 yard line." Maybe it's good most of American cannot see the game because of the cable vs NFL negotiating game. Bryant needs to go do something else. (11/30/07) Maybe channel 4 will finally get Doreen to wear some low cut leopard skin blouses as a ratings booster! And how about breast implants for Czarniak with a tongue stud and belly button piercing and then wears tube tops. Get all the ladies at channel 4 to wear short skirts and then have low angle shots of long legs and such just like on the spanish news shows. will dcrtv be having a best and worst year end poll and necrology? Did Michael Hughes have to pay farley or arsehole consultant who came up with the sucky idear for selling naming rights to station studio? i miss mr. greaseman in the mornings but he had a few year break after he got canned the first time didn't he? so he sort of already knows what its like to wake up late. i thought 1160 am surprisingly had some big time advertisers on the greasemun show so why did they can him? (11/30/07) Rough night watching the game on the NFL Network. My brother and I started a game of shots every time Bryant Gumbel used the phrase it would appear. I just returned from the hospital after being taken by ambulance and having my stomach pumped. My brother died from alcohol poisoning. RIP (11/30/07) Dave's response: I get the NFL Network in HD - and I didn't even watch the game. Ha ha ha..... /\ November 30 Messages /\ \/ November 29 Messages \/ I love following other markets and it looks like I was right about NYC, WCBS-FM was the station that made more of a dent in WLTW than WWFS. Even though WLTW has rebounded a little bit, WWFS has tailed off as WCBS-FM has continually gone up. CBS-FM is what will give WLTW is toughest competition...I was amazed to see that WLTW actually had a three hour shift, wow I thought those went out the doors years ago once CDs came into use and computers whihc made it easier for a jock and allowed for a longer shift...I think its neat that WKTU with such a niche format has survived and done failry well. -Michael Popovec (11/29/07) Sorry Dave more on Warner, Mike and Mike do their show from Birstol, Conn, it is fed to every affiliate (the same show), after the network of commercials there is a segment for local spots, many stations will play commercials for a nice part of the break but leading into the national SportsCenter will break in with a local update which focuses more on the local teams, generally a minute or so. Wolf will have no interaction with Mike and Mike as he will be on the affiliate (even if that affiliate is OnO). National SportCenters still done by Bob Picozzi, Kevin Winter, and Christine Lisi. (11/29/07) Dave's response: Bummer. It would be cool to hear Warner interacting with Mike and Mike..... Why is it that these local newscasts and, moreover, our local meteorologists have not mentioned an iota about the 7.3 magnitude earthquake and tsunami alert in the Caribbean? It's only the #1 vacation destination for Americans this time of year and the closest to the mainland USA that any quake/tsunami alert has been discerned? C'mon, guys - wake up! (11/29/07) Dave's response: I saw on Fox News that it's delaying the investigation surrounding the disappearance of Natalee Holloway on Aruba..... Dave: Re: FCC Waters Down Cable Regs... Dave, the FCC has a new logo. Check it out on www.fcc.gov. (11/29/07) W*USA 9 NEWS NOW grew in more newscasts year to year than any other local station in November among the most important demographic group, the station announced today. Newscasts aired on the station at 5am, 6am, 7am, 9am, Noon, 5pm, 6pm, 6:30pm and 7pm all grew from their November 2006 level in the “Adult 25-54” demographic group, the one that advertisers covet most, making the Gannett-owned CBS affiliate the only local station to experience such across-the-board growth in the November sweeps period year to year. The station experienced the highest ratings growth year to year among it’s competitors in the marquee 5pm & 6pm local newscasts among the same viewers, and also showed similar growth for it’s 7pm local newscast, the only one in the market. “This is clearly a terrific sweeps for all of us at 9 News NOW”, said Allan Horlick, president and general manager of W*USA9. ”We were up in virtually every newscast, at a time when some of our competitors experienced substantial falloff. It certainly appears that given these numbers and the general momentum going forward, that W*USA 9 is back in the game.” 9 NEWS NOW at 11pm maintained it’s year to year share in the A25-54 demographic group. The Washington DC market is as competitive as any market in the country with four 11pm newscasts practically tied in November. (11/29/07) Joel Oxley does deserve this accolade—and all of these people who think otherwise…listen up. I was one of the people let go during the GMS/Z104 shakeup. True, it wasn’t a good thing, and no, we didn’t see it coming, but the bottom line was that Bonneville was just protecting it’s bread and butter station, WTOP. The future of radio is on FM. I know for a fact Bonneville was looking for another FM in the marketplace to purchase, and when this plan didn’t pan out, this was the end result. Joel is/was wonderful at interacting with his co-workers, both inside and outside of the office. He was always extremely genuine and very easy-going—he was a REAL person, not some phony corporate suit whose only concern was how much money could his station(s) make. I can tell you this is a rarity in this business. As a person sitting in that 4th floor conference room that cold and gloomy January morning when everything went down, you could see the despair in Joel’s eyes. He cares about his people. That’s the bottom line. Congrats, Joel. (11/29/07) Hey Dave, Wolf will only be heard in NYC (1050 ESPN), he is not going to be on the national version of mike and mike, just the NYC version (ie he will do an update in the break or something), regardless Triple X and JFK wont have him. enjoy! keith (11/29/07) Dave's response: I was not aware that Mike and Mike did a different NYC version of their show from the nationally-aired one. Is it true that Warner Wolf won't be heard down here? Hi Dave: I'm really disappointed to hear that my good friends, Randy Dennis and Trish Hennessey are being replaced at WSMJ by syndicated programming. Way to go, Clear Channel! I worked with these outstanding professionals for a year until my early dismissal from the Baltimore cluster this past June. They did their jobs so beautifully it looked effortless. I cannot tell you how many people loved the two of them when they were a pair in the morning, but also how much they loved them separately when Trish was moved to her own show in the afternoon. When I told people where I worked, they'd always inquire about these two luminous personalities and wanted to know what they were like. I could honestly say that they were two of the best people I'd ever worked with--they put their heart and soul into their jobs. WSMJ has always had problems defining exactly what it was and who their audience was. I feel this is just another grave mistake that was made for the sake of ratings that will likely backfire. I know they'll both bounce back, but what a terrible time to show someone the door--the holiday season! I love them both and hope that another station sees the potential goldmine they could have with the two of them. Randy and Trish, my heart is with both of you! Kat Hudson (11/29/07) Dave, I was wondering if you’ve heard anything about people having problems with digital HD reception from channel 9 via an over the air antenna? When I watch 9.1 using my rooftop, the picture regularly freezes and I get a second or two of no signal. I don’t have any of those problems with 4, 5, or 7 and if I flip the set to analog, no reception problems on 9. Thanks, Paul in Waldorf (11/29/07) Dave's response: I've been doing tests with a digital TV set and various indoor antennae at my location in Reston and it is rare that the over-the-air signal doesn't suffer frequent freeze-ups. A rooftop antenna should provide better results, but I'm in a condo and the erection of one wouldn't be possible. I can get a decent digital signal from 4, 5, 7, 9, 14, 20, 26, and 50 but I frequently have to reorient the antenna several times. Then, if you change channels, you have to "play" with the antenna again. I highly recommend cable or satellite TV service for digital and HD TV reception. I don't notice a specific problem with 9..... Okay, not local but funny! www.snopes.com (11/29/07) Congratulations to Channel 7 for taking Channel 4 to the woodshed. Channel 4 has been on top forever and they thought they were invincible. This just in…they weren’t! Memo to WTOP, it doesn’t last forever. (11/29/07) WJLA-TV achieves a landmark in local broadcasting history today as ABC 7 News at 11pm wins Washington’s late news race, upsetting WRC-TV’s nearly ten-year ratings reign. Anchored by the popular team of Leon Harris, Maureen Bunyan, Doug Hill and Tim Brant, ABC 7 News at 11 experienced spectacular year-to-year growth, turning Washington’s fastest growing 11pm newscast into the area’s #1 late local news. "Our news team has worked incredibly hard to raise the news bar here in Washington, and it’s encouraging to see our efforts pay off in the ratings,” said Fred Ryan, President & General Manager of ABC 7. “I couldn’t be more proud of Leon, Maureen, Doug and Tim, and the entire ABC 7 News team.” “This has been a truly amazing reversal of fortune,” said Bill Lord, ABC 7’s Executive VP of News. “We have assembled one of the most respected teams of journalists Washington has ever seen, and we’re thrilled that viewers are following them to ABC 7 News.“ Aside from the household ratings victory, ABC 7 News at 11 was #1 in the Adults 25-54, Females 25-54, Adults 18-49 and Females 18-49 demographics. ABC 7 also experienced significant successes in other newscasts: Good Morning Washington at 5am grew +23.5% YTY in HH ratings, while WRC and WUSA declined -17.1% and -9.0% respectively. Good Morning Washington at 6am remained flat YTY while WRC decreased -12.3% and WUSA was down -11.6%. ABC 7 News at Noon grew +4% YTY in HH ratings. WUSA was down -12%. ABC 7 News at 5pm grew +3.3% YTY in HH share. WRC experienced a -10% slide, WUSA was down -4.1%, and WTTG remained flat YTY. ABC 7 News at 5pm was #1 in the Adults 25-54, Females 25-54, Adults 18-49, and Females 18-49 demographics. ABC 7 News at 6pm grew +3.9% YTY in HH share. WRC, WUSA and WTTG all three slipped by -16.0%, -14.8% and -5.5% respectively. ABC 7/WJLA-TV is a division of Allbritton Communications Company, which owns and operates eight television stations in seven broadcast markets, including Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, DC. Allbritton Communications also owns and operates NewsChannel 8, Washington’s 24-hour local cable news channel, as well as the political newspaper and website POLITICO and POLITICO.com. (11/29/07) (“Ahhh, Bruce Cockburn (pronounced Coburn). Anybody remember "If I Had A Rocket Launcher"?”) For sure! Cockburn did a bunch of great songs besides “Rocket Launcher”…”Lovers in a Dangerous Time” and “Wondering Where the Lions Are” come to mind. “Stealing Fire” was a great album. -Brian (11/29/07) (Why don't we answer that question before we just talk about how "easy it is to sell". ) No, really. I want to know why a top 5 station in a major market with wealthy demos is a hard sell? (11/29/07) You're right, PLB. My 84-year-old mom still insists on buying "good-ol'"American cars, and she keeps having to shell out thou$and$ for repairs practically from the moment they leave the dealer's lot. I never have that problem with my Toyotas. KOF (11/29/07) I saw your newsblurb regarding the WJLA newscast taking down WRC at 11 PM. Does anyone know if they breakdown ratings by county or area? For example, is there a way to find out what stations people watch in Montgomery Co, MD as compared to Loudoun County, VA? Thanks. (11/29/07) Will Kornholio be welcomed back for a weakly sport's column at the WaPo? If the Kornholio leaves would Wilbon be in line to take over as the color guy on MNF? Very sad to hear of the impending demise of AOL radio. Just want to send a big EFF YOU to the local folks at Sound Exchange and local artist Cathy Fink. If internet radio shuts down how much money do artists and music companies get then, SEE! Did Rusty take some spelling classes from Tom Gavin? Ship has sailed. Gotd9mn radio and tv sure blows dead bear these days and don't see it getting any better. merry xmas from wash radio everybody... (11/29/07) Dave's response: Maybe Rusty and Tom are the same person? Kind of like a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde of local public access radio? Hmmm..... More breaking news... After a decade of dominance, WRC lost the 11PM newscast to WJLA. Here are the #'s: WRC year to year @ 11 - DOWN 30%... 'JLA year to year @ 11 - UP 42%... 7 is #1 in Adults 25-54 (The Prime Demo) @ 5... 7 is up in share in all but one newscast... 4 is down significantly in EVERY newscast... Tough Times on Nebraska Ave. (11/29/07) Talk Radio 101.1 WQMR in Ocean City will once again carry Imus in the Morning. They ran Westwood One's different hosts that were filling in in that timeslot but eventually flipped over to Mike and Mike in the Morning from ESPN Radio. (11/29/07) Wash Times writer calls Wash Post columnist " a racist conniving dog of a skunk" on air www.washingtoncitypaper.com (11/29/07) And the controversy continues. Those of us that are 50 plus years of age are all but ignored by the retailers? REALLY! And this is NEW. The industry as a whole is stuck in the 1970's..80's and 90's. They firmly believe that folks over 50 are living on welfare or some type of poverty mode. However, the Auto Dealers have figured it out..look at all of the high performance vehicles being marketed...Cadillac, Chrysler, Chevrolet, even the Cooper. Ahhh, those were the days. We do have bucks to spend, we're spending them too....life is good-PLB (11/29/07) (I programmed two classical stations that sold very easily...) If the classical format was SO valuable and "easy to sell", then why hasn't someone else capitalized on the hole in the market and put classical on instead of whatever garbage they are programming now? Why don't we answer that question before we just talk about how "easy it is to sell". that is an unspecific comment anyway. based on reports, WGMS sold plenty of advertising...like over 10 million in the years leading up to when Bonneville pulled the plug. but there is more than that...like revenue growth potential, profit growth potential, etc. There is a good reason, WGMS was one of the last remaining classically formatted commercial stations in the country. get off your soap box and think about the facts. there are over 10,000 radio stations in the country and not many are classical. Maybe Bonneville is smart...or maybe just another lemming. (11/29/07) The Imus program is still picking up stations, WTAR in Norfolk announced a pickup just today. A last minute announcement about WTNT would seem unlikely but not be a complete stunner. Everett W. (11/29/07) Dave's response: It would seem to me that apart from his home base of NYC, he'd need to get on the air in DC because he has so many politicos and politico media on his show..... Anote to my fellow ""mailbailbaggaggers": i wil will will be taking a ang a sasasababaabtaticiciical for a few oonths! BUT I WILL BE BAVCK! LOBVE, Rusty (11/29/07) Dave, Do you know whether any DC station is playing Imus on Monday? -- Christopher Wilbur (11/29/07) Dave's response: No official announcement from anyone, locally, about carrying Imus. WTNT has hinted that it will add Imus come January, but that's all we've heard. I guess many in the radio biz want to see if an advertiser boycott will develope after he debuts in NYC on Monday. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if WTNT surprised us all and added Imus's show sooner..... My friend told me sean taylor died. I think he's bustin my balls. I hope this isn't true, cause he's the only one I've heard this from. Has anyone else heard this story? (11/29/07) (Those who blame him for supposedly killing WGMS have no idea what actually happened) this is actually true...as Bonneville used to say on WaPo Radio..."there is more to the story". In this case there is a lot more to the story. It is easy and fun to trash Bonneville's moves, but lets just see how things end up in a year or 2. WTOP's growth and dominance from a revenue and profit standpoint is not given enough weight in many of these uneducated and uninformed postings. There is also more to the revenue/profit story of WGMS and Z104. BA (11/29/07) "why do radio show producers look so shabby? I realize this is a radio show, but when you are simulcast on a world-wide cable television outlet, shave, borrow a comb and buy a sweater that fits." I agree he should have shaved and combed his hair, but radio producers make no money, so the ill fitting sweater will have to do. They also look so shabby because they get to the station at 3 or 4 in the morning and make sure everything is prepped and ready to go for the host. Kudos to the 50 yr old man with a ton of gadgets and disposable income. You are the norm now, but you wouldn't know that by listening to radio or talking to radio execs. They'd peg you at Denny's around 4:00pm for dinner. The real problem with radio is they are not relevant and they don't understand the listening and spending habits of the demos they are targeting. With all the competition for your attention, what was not that noticeable is now glaring. Radio might as well be Morse Code. (11/29/07) The over-coverage of the Sean Taylor murder is approaching epic proportions. If I hear one more Redskin say that they’re “dedicating” the rest of the season to Taylor, I’ll vomit. Oh, so you’ll play HARDER because one of your teammates died? Doesn’t say anything good about how hard you were playing before, I guess. With the game on Sunday, and the funeral on Monday, we can look forward to MUCH MORE intensive no-news coverage of this (say it with me, now, over and over again, until your lips bleed) tragic event. Put down the sports section, and back away from the newspaper . . .. sincerely, TMU (11/29/07) "The person who wrote this obviously knows nothing about selling radio, demographics, CPP, etc. It’s a lot more complicated than that. Better squeeze out your mop, buddy, you missed a spot over by the urinal. " I programmed two classical stations that sold very easily, as well as triple A and talk stations. Please, educate me on why you can't sell ads on the number four station in a major market. I'll make sure to clean up your puddle in return. Please aim better next time. (11/29/07) Hey Dave, I heard "Three Strange Days" by School of Fish on The Globe last night. Loved it. My politics are certainly to the right, but I keep The Globe on my car preset just for songs like this one. I think I blew out a speaker. (I did have a laugh-out-loud moment when I heard a heroin addiction commercial on The Globe the other day. Won't find THAT commercial on WMAL!) Also, I found that Joe Theisman had some great analysis of Sean Taylor on WTOP the other day. In a nutshell, he explained how Taylor spent 90 minutes with Theisman picking his brain on how certain quarterbacks in the league do things. Quite insightful, and a great interview for WTOP. (11/29/07) Keep 'unsigned corp suit' away from fire arms...and get him some cymbalta. Citadel will run leaner than ABC, but they haven't torn apart stations like WPRO-AM, etc. and they just hired IMUS, which I understand they might syndicate but if rumor control is true - we're not even getting that on WMAL. So RELAX...smoke if you got em and get some sun when it comes out. (11/29/07) Instead of going "all news", maybe WMAL should just switch to "all Rush-all the time"! Hell, if they pick up Rush's new three-hour weekend show, 'Week In Review', they'll be well on their way! According to Taylor on Radio-Info, It debuts on January 5, 2008. Premiere, he says, is looking for more inventory and money. For some of the longtime affiliates, this may be a hard sell, since many already have revenue generating shows and aren't likely to clear a three-hour block of time on a Saturday. For those affiliates, they may find Rush's new weekend show on a different station in the same market or maybe face higher fees and terms at contract renewal time, according to Taylor. Sheesh! Just what radio need - another day of Limbaugh! (11/29/07) Dave's response: I can't imagine WMAL giving up any of its weekend infomercial income to pay Premiere for more Rush..... I'm sorry that Sean Taylor died, really I am. I'm tired of hearing about it for 50% of every local newscast. It's CNN for me until the guy is buried. (11/29/07) Re: 11/29 news item "AOL May Silence Radio Service" -- The music industry is so incredibly stupid: 'Sales are down, so let's choke off the ways people get exposed to our product!' I don't think anyone in business understands their customers anymore. (11/29/07) Dave - you must be using IE as a browser. Switch to Firefox and you will not have the same issues with popups and annoying ads like the one from Dell. (11/29/07) Dave's response: Yeah. I do run Firefox, too. Will have to use it more..... Can anyone recommend a trusted website that sells broadcast microphones & boards new and used? Looking for an online store that sells broadcast radio equipment & furniture. Thanks, Monica, Gainesville, VA (11/29/07) "The Trouble With Normal Is It Always Gets Worse..." Bruce Cockburn (I first heard this song on 99.1 'HFS in the pre-corporate days of the 80's and early 90's). Fortunately, I have a large CD collection and 97.7 The Rocket (which is only live until 10 am) to listen to as I can't listen to any online radio at work and it looks soon like I may not be able to listen to it at home either. If XM's X-Country (Channel 12) gets lost in the shuffle of the XM-Sirius merger, I will really be disappointed in the radio industry yet again. www.bloomberg.com (11/29/07) Dave's response: Ahhh, Bruce Cockburn (pronounced Coburn). Anybody remember "If I Had A Rocket Launcher"? "Some sonofabitch will die." Wow! I miss HFS 102.3 and the early days of 99.1. By the way, Cockburn looks exactly like my old next-door neighbor..... I watched The Bill Press Show simulcast on C-Span this morning (Wednesday) and I have a question - why do radio show producers look so shabby? I realize this is a radio show, but when you are simulcast on a world-wide cable television outlet, shave, borrow a comb and buy a sweater that fits. (11/29/07) Dave's response: Hey, on Tuesday's C-SPAN simulcast, WMAL's Chris Core was seen in a lovely lime green sweater blowing his nose. Not on the sweater, on a handkerchief..... WMAL had a chance to compete in the "all news" arena with WTOP after the 9-11 attacks but chose not to. They WERE, and STILL are, locked up with Rush and Hannity to one, give up their "conservative image" and two, go all news instead of some headlines and the rest syndicated programming. They are too known as the "right-wing" outlet to be otherwise, unless they drop some of it ,and goe like FOX News on tv. Ken/Bethesda (11/29/07) When the consolidation of radio started 8 or 9 years ago many people thought this was a bad idea. Most companies used to run stations as individual business units and the competition was fierce. Today, the business is homogenized and the revenue is flat or down in most major markets. Four GM’s have turned into one, four Sales managers have turned into two, Two PD’s have turned into one, and four Marketing/Promotions managers have turned into one. The expenses have been reduced but the creativity has suffered. It is OK for the GM of WTOP to screw up three other viable stations if WTOP continues to prosper. All of the lower and medium level stations will cease to exist in the next ten years. The future of radio is not about cutting expense. It’s not about merging and purging. Radio must transform the on the air model into and over-the-everywhere-model. This takes great leadership, creativity and a lot of guts. Unfortunately, the leaders that remain in radio are nothing but survivors. Most of the people who built great radio stations are gone. We are going to wake up one day real soon and be left with 5 or 6 stations in our market. If you think this is crazy, just look at Bonneville who is one of the better operators in the business. In the span of a few years they have dismantled Z104, WGMS and WAPO and the GM is honored as one of the best in the industry. I guess if you judge him based on merging and purging, he is the best! (11/29/07) Re: Unsigned Corporate Suit's rant about WMAL: Wow, and I thought I was a "glass half-empty" person. Though I can't disagree on most everything, Citadel would NEVER turn in their 630 license. They'd move 630's programming to 105.9, then sell 630 to Dan Snyder / Red Zebra before solely turning the license in. Oooh, wouldn't this be nice: Sell 630 to Snyder for some cash and the current station lineup (730/94.3/92.7), then have Citadel sell those three stations to WTMD or WRNR or a combination thereof? And DCRTV Dave, don't underestimate the business potential of the current WMAL site! Check out this maps.Google.com. Ol' 630's site's right next to I-495, and very close to the heavily-trafficked I-270Spur/I-495 interchange. It's too close to Montgomery Mall for another shopping site to go up, but half-acre to one-acre McMansions (you can make more money off of those vs. two-acre lots) or an industrial office park? Sure! Call it "Access Oaks" for home development or "Access Montgomery Industrial Park" for office buildings, or something. I can see the ads now: "With near-direct access to I-270, I-495, Montgomery Mall, and everything Montgomery County has to offer, it's the ideal place for your next home [or 'your business' if that applies]." I won't, for now, bore people with details on how to create exits for both I-270 and I-495, and extend Greentree Rd. to Democracy Blvd. (needed to provide better outflow to shopping and non-controlled roadways) but it's entirely possible with a little creative ingenuity and lots of money (and a crooked politician in Snyder's backpocket to find a way to bulldoze some of the area around that land under "eminent domain"). However, the current economic situation points toward a major downturn/recession that could last five more years (yes, the foreclosure situation is THAT bad, from what I'm being told), and therefore a reduction in prices of land. So maybe 630 with "only" its current site will be sold to, and maintained by, Snyder. Sincerely, Mike in Kensington (11/29/07) I noticed in yesterday's FCC filings an extension of consummation filed regarding the Bonneville/Radio One WPRS 104.1 deal. Hmmmm. Deal going sour? (11/29/07) Dave's response: We have reported rumors of such..... (Re: All I can say is “Stink, Stank, Stunk” to Cheap Channel for ousting two major talents who added personality, professionalism and that yearned for local touch to a market that is already homogenized and bland with syndication. Both Trish Hennessey and Randy Dennis will be missed on WSMJ.) You tell 'em Joyce! My sentiments exactly! Tom in Denton, MD (11/29/07) Dave, I don’t see Citadel going all-news on WMAL for a very good reason: Done right, all-news is probably the most labor-intensive format in radio. Thus, expensive! And, since Citadel has never been shy about handing out pink slips in the first place, I don’t see them doing the hiring 630 would need to go all-news. Actually, they make Cheap Channel look like Bonneville, when it comes to comparing HR practices. Once the new year has come, I would expect a very through housecleaning on Jennifer Street. In fact, the current Jennifer Street facility could be history by this time next year. The good news is that Chris Core and Chris Plante will likely survive, albeit syndicated to other Citadel stations as well as being on 630. That will give Chris Core the national exposure he so richly deserves. And, Chris Plante will have the chance to grow into a viable conservative talker who is possessed of brain and wit to compete against geezers like Rush, Levin, etc. As for ! 105.9 and 107.3, they will likely be satellite-fed from a like-formatted small-market station from within Citadel’s portfolio. As for the other on-air talent: Gone! They’re too expensive. 630 will carry other Citadel talker talent. However, once Core retires, he won’t be replaced locally. Other than transmitter sites, the only local presence Citadel will likely have 18 months from now will be account executives. That’ll be it. The spots will be cut in the smaller-market Citadel stations. Oh yes, regarding transmitter sites, I’d watch Greentree Road very carefully. Given Citadel’s attention to the bottom-line, once housing bounces back, should Greentree Road become more valuable for townhouses, condos, or a “Town Centre” mega-mall, than as a radio station, don’t be surprised if Citadel doesn’t sell it off and diplex at 570’s site. Just remember that 570’s former site became townhouses real quick once RKO General was forced to sell. Alternat! ively, should Greentree Road become sufficiently valuable, if Citadel couldn’t find a suitable new site (Suitability includes cost in the Citadel lexicon.), I wouldn’t be surprised if they simply took 630 silent and turned the license back to the FCC. Wouldn’t be the first time a legendary AM has been taken silent, either. If that happens, expect 105.9 to become a conservative talker of some sort. Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/29/07) Dave's response: No way they'll plop a "mega-mall" on the WMAL transmitter site. Heck, Greentree Road in Bethesda is a dead-end residential street! Maybe McMansions on two-acre lots..... Anyone else notice that Sean Taylor happened to get murdered right in the middle of the Fall book? Morbid as it may be, it's the truth. It won't get 9/11 ratings, but still, it'll be a bump for everyone. (11/29/07) Dave's response: Haven't seen sensationalist Fox News play-up the story as much as I'd thought. You know, the way they endlessly hype missing and murdered rich, beautiful white girls. They're STILL doing the Natalee Holloway story..... /\ November 29 Messages /\ \/ November 28 Messages \/ All I can say is “Stink, Stank, Stunk” to Cheap Channel for ousting two major talents who added personality, professionalism and that yearned for local touch to a market that is already homogenized and bland with syndication. Both Trish Hennessey and Randy Dennis will be missed on WSMJ. I will keep them in my prayers and hopefully management from another station will be smart enough to grab them quickly. Blessings. Joyce Conroy (WHFC) (11/28/07) I like the whippersnapper below claiming to be the 55 year old that ad agencies would rather forget exists. Let me tell you something that'll be a real eyeopener for you Media Buyers out there. I'm 50 years old, have a body piercing, a tattoo, a brand spanking new 2008 vehicle, 2 iPods including the 160gb iPod classic that has room for 45,000 songs (1/2 full), saw Springsteen live, we routinely buy tickets to the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap & even the 9:30 Club. We vacationed about 120 miles away at the tip of the Chesapeake peninsula & are planning another B&B getaway over the next two months. Airline tickets are all bought and in hand for Xmas and quite frankly I've never felt more a part of the "Consumer Boomers" than I do now. More disposable income, more cool stuff added to our "wish list" & more vacation time accrued than I've ever had in my life. AND among the 20,000 songs in my iPod are about 2500 great Classical works + another 4000 - 4500 Jazz performances. Face it. Media Buyers need to wake up and go after the big boomer money. WGMS should be back in place with a Traditional Jazz commercial station as it's companion, with spots going after that mid-to-upper income well educated consumer in DC. - THX (11/28/07) “That indicates a sales staff that doesn't know how to sell. If you've got the number 4 or 5 station in a major market, you can sell it if it's running a Tuvan throat singer format.” The person who wrote this obviously knows nothing about selling radio, demographics, CPP, etc. It’s a lot more complicated than that. Better squeeze out your mop, buddy, you missed a spot over by the urinal. (11/28/07) "Who was the stupid idiot (or idiots) who made the crazy decision to fire Joe Theismann and replace him with Tony Kornheiser?" Um, nobody. Remember, they worked together last season. Ron Jaworski replaced Theismann, who is a blowhard and isn't missed. But I agree that Kornheiser has to go. That is off TV and radio. (11/28/07) "Yes, Fox "broke" the story. But I can guarantee no one will really care or remember by tomorrow. " You care or you wouldn't have posted. And you wonder how WSVN confirmed it before you in your Washington, DC newsroom? hmmmm, maybe because they're in Miami and have Miami contacts? Just a thought. (11/28/07) For the life of me,I never understood why WMAL radio never went all-news and challenge WTOP. Hello Citadel! (11/28/07) I'm a 55-year-old baby boomer and I'm set in my ways. I only drive Buicks. I won't go outside without my suitcoat, dress trousers, black dress socks held up by suspenders, polished wingtips and silk tie. I only use Crest toothpaste and Crisco. I have all the furniture I'll ever buy. My house is paid off. You advertising to me is a complete waste of time and money -- especially for those new-fangled electronic gizmos that I don't understand. (11/28/07) Dave, I hope this turns out to be true. I can`t stand listening to Tony Kornheiser on television or on the radio. Who was the stupid idiot (or idiots) who made the crazy decision to fire Joe Theismann and replace him with Tony Kornheiser? One of the worst decisions in the history of Monday Night Football. Who is the clueless fool who actually thought Tony knew more about the NFL then Joe Theismann?? Joe Theismann knows more about the NFL than Tony ever will. The sooner Tony leaves MNF the better. Bring back Joe Theismann. DCRTV FAN (11/28/07) Good point on the HUGE loss of Bonneville share due to the WAPO/WGMS debacle. By comparison Citadel's three signals get almost an 11 share! Prediction: WWWT ratings will drive Bonneville down further. They had better pray nobody else goes "all-news" (like in NYC and LA) or they will sink like the leaky ship they are. Truth-teller (11/28/07) Dave's response: Hmmm. Citadel could move 630's talk to 105.9 and flip 630 to DC's second all-newser? Hmmm..... Lost in the blizzard of discussion of HDTV and the FCC, and missing from your report (and the WPost & WTimes) on yesterday's FCC activity on "Cable Regs" -- More FMs in the 'Sardine Can' -- (FROM THE R&R WEBSITE [www.radioandrecords.com]): "FCC Clears Way For LPFM Expansion...Martin: 'Critical we take action and try to facilitate LPFM to its fullest'...Shortly before 10 p.m. on Tuesday night (Nov. 27), the FCC’s five member commissioner panel approved expanding the seven-year-old low-power FM service to hundreds more applicants across the country. The noncommercial service passed in 2000 with the idea of giving a voice to those who had none, in the words of then-FCC chairman Bill Kennard. It was at first limited to certain areas of the dial to ensure that the new service would not interfere with established and more powerful commercial signals that were already serving their communities. But now, the 100-watt stations will also have a shot at getting spectrum where higher powered commercial and noncommercial stations’ repeater signals might have been placed. “Low power FM is a breath of fresh air,” said FCC commissioner Michael Copps, a well-known anti-consolidator and long-time supporter of LPFM in announcing his support for expanding the service. “LPFM is a solution to what ails us.” In his opening remarks at the FCC hearing, which was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, but did not get underway until 9:14 p.m. -- more than 12 hours later -- commissioner Jonathan Adlestein thanked members of the Prometheus Radio Project, some of whom returned to the FCC hearing room to sit in the audience. “Today’s referendum should allow LPFM to live up to its dream,” Adelstein said. FCC chairman Kevin Martin, also a strong proponent of expansion of LPFM service, told the audience that “opportunities for new voices in the radio market are critical going forward.” He noted the “significant cost barriers that new entrants face. LPFM presents opportunity for new voices. I think it is critical that we take action and try to facilitate LPFM to its fullest.” The FCC’s vote comes less than a month after the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance senator Maria Cantwell’s (D-Wash.) “Local Radio Community Act of 2007,” legislation that would also expand LPFM by eliminating second channel adjacency protections that currently prevent LPFM stations from landing their frequencies too close to established high powered stations." *** How many LPFMs do you think they could fit in in the BaltiWash area? --RB (11/28/07) Ahhhh, the holidays..a great time for "dumping" talent. I am so sorry to hear about Trish Hennessey. My wife has been a long time friend of hers. She's had some rough breaks, and now this! I, for the life of me don't understand the management of this damn' industry. Why this time of year,\? Why real talent? Trish is an outstanding broadcaster with tremendous credentials and a really savvy understanding of what's needed to make for a successful air trick. Then, they bring in a syndicated show to replace her. What's up with that? So sorry Trish. PLB (11/28/07) Bonneville has a collective 6.3 share in the DC market as of the last book. Before the WaPo "experiment" they had about a 9 to 11 share. What, exactly, has Oxley done right? He had four formats running with marketable audiences, and now has one. And as far as the classical can't be sold argument goes, that's cheap balogna. That indicates a sales staff that doesn't know how to sell. If you've got the number 4 or 5 station in a major market, you can sell it if it's running a Tuvan throat singer format. (11/28/07) WTMD today announced on the air around 10:15AM that they could be heard on 105.5 in Great Falls, VA. Shortly after that 105.5 went off the air. I Don't know what happened but I hope it is only a technical problem. With regards to picking up WTMD with a roof top TV antenna. TV antennas work at the low end of the FM band where WTMD broadcasts. They do not work well the higher up the band you go. I have been using a made for FM only antenna on my roof to pick up WTMD for several years. They have several advantages over indoor antennas. They cover the entire FM band, have gain, and they are directional. This means they can reject an unwanted signal from another direction while increasing the signal you want. If you put a rotor on the antenna you can point the it where you want and maximize the signal. You would be amazed at the difference it makes from an indoor antenna. It would also improve the pick up of digital FM signals as well. The same goes for TV and HDTV reception as well. If you want to pick up over the air HDTV put up a good UHF-VHF antenna system. I have one in Fairfax and can watch HD signals from Baltimore. Bob, Fairfax VA (11/28/07) Dave's response: You're right. Just checked at 4:30 PM on Wednesday, and the WTMD relay on 105.5 is gonno. I was listening to it in the car earlier today..... Does anyone know where Doc Walker went to medical school? I remember that Len Shapiro used to, ridiculously, rip Rich Gilgallon for using the nickname "Coach" when he wasn't one. Wonder why Shapiro doesn't give equal treatment to Walker? (11/28/07) Ric “Doc” Walker and all have come strong to the mike, (LOL). The problem is that this is a one sports town and although the Sean Taylor murder is tragic, there are other stories for the drive by media to focus on but won’t but only one for the sports talk stations to focus on Almost like they hope the outrage will take over and callers will call all day and night. Nobody is saying anything other than the obvious, yet if this was a random murder wouldn’t there have been helicopters and police dogs tracking down the criminals, yet we see none. The police are very quiet about the whole story also surprising since if it was a true random act wouldn’t they want the people to help in case somebody saw something. If the media was doing their job we would here more of the investigation and we don’t for fear of offending Redskin nation. (11/28/07) I just wanted to wish the best to Trish Hennessey and Randy Dennis especially with this being around the holidays. Both are first class people and jocks and I hope they land on their feet very soon. -Michael Popovec (11/28/07) Regarding the reference to WGMS and its older audience:"Classical was a poor fit on a commercial station, because advertisers will only pay for audience 25-54." Fortunately that's changing. Advertisers are starting to wake up to the fact that baby boomers are aging, are not so set in their buying habits and have some real money to spend. I've seen several magazine articles, most notably in Advertising Age, chiding advertisers and programmers for overlooking the potential of the aging baby boomer market. I hear a new chant coming, like "we're here, we're old, yes we can be sold!" (11/28/07) “Doc Walker has been completely irresponsible on the Sean Taylor murder and really ought to know better.” – I guess that is Doc’s “Pro-View” (11/28/07) Don Geronimo also said that he was "not surprised" that Sean Taylor got shot. Big deal! Even though I'm a diehard Redskins fan and thought that Taylor was at the top of his game, it doesn't surprise me either. He didn't have a very savory past and may very well have created a few enemies along the way. Was he becoming a more mature, respected player and person? Absolutely. Is it so far out in left field the thought that he got shot? I think not. Besides..these radio personalities have a right to state their opinions and none of them even mentioned one iota about race being a factor. (11/28/07) Dave in Fredericksburg, you are onto something. When Sean Hannity says "three hours a day, that's all I ask" it is a blatant appeal to diary holders to "vote" for him. And it works. People vote for their station or their community or their cause. That's what PPM is proving. In the diary method, people remember and write down on average 3 stations per week. But in PPM, they are actually listening to 6 or more stations per week. The diary is a memory game that smart PD's have learned to manipulate. PPM measures actual listening and if Arbitron is able to deliver a reliable and large enough sample it will be far more accurate than the current diary system. (11/28/07) The name Michael Wilbon and the word ''credibility'' should never be put together. I agree with what the other poster said about what he was implying. Why is it that when tragedy befalls a ''popular'' figure and he happens to be black, is the color of his skin suddenly important. Isn't it bad enough that this person is gone and people are grieving? Are we that out of control that because the color of his skin immediately leads to judgement of any questionable past? Does every aspect of a persons life have to be gone over and over based on the color of their skin? Another thing, I understand Comcast may be the ''official'' Redskins station in the area, but why are they STILL on today with ''breaking news'' when there isn't any? Haven't we all been severely traumatized enough by having to actually see Larry Michaels and his pet weasel sitting next to him, staring vacantly off into space? Seriously, Comcast, stop it already. Paul (11/28/07) "Or are they listening to a radio that can't communicate with a PPM? (such as a Walkman or similar radio that uses headphones)." Arbitron provides an adaptor so you can listen on your walkman and still have the ppm connected. See www.arbitron.com or www.arbitron.com (11/28/07) Memo to all: Sean Taylor is still dead (like Generalissimo Francisco Franco). The behavior of the ENTIRE media – black, white, beige, regardless of shade – has been abysmal. Sportstalk 980 ran out of stuff to say about this in the first hour. The callers ran out in ten minutes. It’s awful, the guy was murdered, no arrest yet – repeat forever. Make sure you use the word “tragedy” every minute or so. Kneel before the power of the 24-hour-news cycle – the beast must feed, even if there’s nothing to feed upon. Sincerely, TMU. (11/28/07) Media hotties - What about Lesli Foster vs. Allison Seymour or Maureen Umeh? (11/28/07) HD radio to become standard in most Volvos jalopnik.com (11/28/07) Dave's response: Don't Volvo's radios still offer AM stereo? Ha ha ha..... Regarding the Arbitron PPM issue: I wonder what the real reason why the Personal People Meter (PPM) isn't working right? Supposedly the ratings for ethnic stations are far lower than the diaries have been telling us. Are the people not taking the PPMs with them? Or are they listening to a radio that can't communicate with a PPM? (such as a Walkman or similar radio that uses headphones). Or is the real reason that maybe, just maybe, that there aren't that many people who actually listen to these stations? I wonder how many diary entries are falsifications? People say they're listening to a radio station (or watching a TV program) while in fact they really aren't? Is it the technology that's faulty or the people? Just my 2 1/2 cents. By the way, the PPM is one heck of an electronic device. www.arbitron.com. Dave in Fredericksburg (11/28/07) Dave's response: I think that's a BIG case of "fraud" in the written diaries - listeners not listing embarrassing stuff they say they don't like - but do listen to. Howard Stern, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, etc. Guys who secretly like George Michael tunes on WASH, gals who get off on Ozzy on 98 Rock. You can't lie with PPM..... Congrats and well-deserved kudos to Joel Oxley, a true rarity in this business: a great guy and a great manager. Those who blame him for supposedly killing WGMS have no idea what actually happened. (11/28/07) Dave's response: Ah, so "what actually happened"? Apparently there's an issue over BigheadDC's credibility. The male hooker claims he didn't have gay sex with retiring Senator Trent Lott. And there are questions about the veracity of Sam Donaldson's phone number in the DC Madam's client list. www.huffingtonpost.com... www.benjaminnicholas.com... - Marty Chickaboomer (11/28/07) (Spin it any way you want, but they have gone from three viable (and profitable) formats down to one) Make that two. You forgot WFED which has a profitable niche and taps into ad dollars other stations can't get. (11/28/07) Dave's response: However you want to spin it, Joel Oxley will forever be remembered as the man who killed off heritage classical WGMS, a station that survived for 50 years and didn't need to die the way it did. Granted, the format continues on WETA-FM, but I bet the suits over there are just dying to get back into the public talk radio field. Especially with WGTS staying Christian contemporary, and not enough "room" on WAMU for all the public radio talk programs out there..... "Funny, the writer from Bonneville defends all of their recent moves and changes, but then conveniently omits any mention of the debacle known as Washington Post Radio." Post Radio was a bold experiment. It failed because they underestimated how many newspaper people would actually sound interesting on the radio, but give them credit. When was the last time any other group attemped a new and expensive news format? (11/28/07) Dave's response: I know I come off as a Monday morning quarterback, but Washington Post Radio was - and still is - a cool idea. If they had geared the station to the under-age-35 demo and offered a broad variety of talk AND MUSIC. It was programmed too much like an "old guy" traditional news talker. But, I mean, that's what Bonneville does. So I guess you can't really blame them. Now, if the Post had gotten into bed with some public radio group instead, maybe the folks who run Philadelphia's WXPN and could have used WETA's 90.9 signal, the "experiment" might have worked. The reason the Post went with Bonneville was the availablity of those two major signals - 107.7 and 1500..... Nice award for Mr. Oxley but usually a 1 for 4 batting average or .250 gets you fired. The same people with the same stations win every year. Now, had Oxley turned around Z104, or saved WGMS, or made WAPO radio work, he would be a deserving choice. If you judge him his body of work he looks real bad. (11/28/07) Funny, the writer from Bonneville defends all of their recent moves and changes, but then conveniently omits any mention of the debacle known as Washington Post Radio or 3WT. Sure, WGMS was an aging format, but it was still a money machine. In it's day, Z-104 did pretty well considering the marginal signal. Spin it any way you want, but they have gone from three viable (and profitable) formats down to one. (11/28/07) Doc Walker has been completely irresponsible on the Sean Taylor murder and really ought to know better. WTEM really can do better. For example, letting Feldman and Maloney go was ridiculous when Walker could have been (and should have been) shown the door. (11/28/07) Re Media Hottie WHITNEY – lots of pics here: www.dc101.com (11/28/07) Media Hotties – OMG – Whitney is REALLY cute. Source for more pics please. m (11/28/07) (Regarding the news item about Joel Oxley receiving a "best manager" award from Radio Ink:) You just don't know how to see things from a strategic point of view. He took our best product, WTOP, and put it on our best distribution channel, 103.5. A brilliant strategic move. Then he partnered with WETA to save the classical music format. Classical was a poor fit on a commercial station, because advertisers will only pay for audience 25-54. The classical audience is heavily 50+. But in the world of noncommercial radio, they need listeners who write checks, and people 50+ have most of the disposable income. It is a huge fund-raising success for WETA and insures the format will survive. 104.1 will be sold for a very handsome profit. 103.9 fills in the only hole 103.5 had in the Metro, Frederick County. In short, all the moves were strategic and very well thought out. And the company Joel works for is ecstatic about him and the moves he has made for the long term. Most other radio operators can see no farther than the next quarter. (11/28/07) As I listened to the endless coverage of the Sean Taylor tragedy the last few days, I was not surprised to hear sportswriters and sports commentators like Michael Wilbon and Rick Walker come off like complete fools. First, Walker inexplicably recommends that the Redskins go down to Miami on there day off to “settle” the situation” and then goes on and on about his rough upbringing in LA and stating that white people don’t understand. The man was on a football scholarship at UCLA and played pro football for countless dollars. How bad was that? Secondly, Michael Wilbon tells anyone who would listen that he was “not surprised” when told about the Taylor shooting. Today, he doesn’t deny making that statement but he is back peddling like a madman to save what is left of his street cred. Again, the “mainstream folks” don’t understand. The man attended Northwestern University and makes millions of dollars blabbing about sports. How bad is that? Sports people like Walker and Wilbon need to comment on games and never tread on important news stories and social issues. (11/28/07) Re: "[Y]ou ever hear white people playing the race card?" When a white person asks this they are doing exactly that. (11/28/07) Flynt Confirms Sam Donaldson’s Number Appears In DC Madam’s Records, But He Chose Not to Reveal It; Signs Point to ABC News Cover-Up bigheaddc.com (11/28/07) /\ November 28 Messages /\ \/ November 27 Messages \/ Hello all: I've returned from another exciting (and far less lengthy) stay at Washington Hospital Center. I had a big hernia and had put off getting it fixed for about five years (you'll know why if you were in the loop on the first one) until I couldn't put if off any longer. They got in there and found things much worse than thought, so they fixed everything. Fentanyl is a wonderful thing. Am back home now. Will decide Friday whether to go back on-air Monday or take another week off. Right now; I'm leaning toward the latter but you never know. Good news is I was spared two more procedures. Bad news is I couldn't go home on Fentanyl. I see where Bob Gneiser died --probably about the time I was having my surgery. Sad. Bob was a good guy and certainly a big name to anyone 40+. Please pass along my condolences. And please feel free to drop an email or call me. Many, many thanks for your thoughts, prayers and phone calls. sean hall sean@seanhall.com (11/27/07) Why is race always brought up when it involves a black person? So tired of this shit, playing the race card, you ever hear white people playing the race card? Like the previous poster said, listen to wilbon and other black journalists and shut up, black writers are saying the SAME THING, Also, why does Jim Williams continue to write articles? MASN provided nothing but a radio show !?!? That was nothing compared to Comcast sportsnet, NOT EVEN CLOSE. When I want local sports news, I’ll always turn to CSN, MASN just doesn’t do much and looks like cable access to me. --- Patricia Lee (11/27/07) I’m utterly and thoroughly amazed at anyone using WSVN and “journalistic” in the same sentence. Very, very sad. The motto in their “newsroom” is, “If it bleeds, it leads!” I wouldn’t be surprised if the phrase didn’t originate there. For those who haven’t seen their local “news”, just imagine a combination of WUSA’s “talent” combined with WTTG’s content and delivery, with the fairness and balance of FNC, and you’ve got WSVN. More than a few journalism professors use DVD’s of WSVN’s local newscasts to illustrate what “bad” broadcast news can be like as the likes of WSVN is seen so rarely. And, what’s strange is that the staff of WSVN takes comments like these as “compliments”! If you’re from out of town visiting in their coverage area, I recommend watching that station… at least once for the experience. They make the Fox “news” operations appear almost credible by comparison. In fact, the closest television news! operation I’ve seen that is comparable on-air to WSVN is Sky News of the UK, which is owned by Fox’s corporate parent. When I think of WSVN, I cannot help but think of another Florida institution: The Weekly World News! Unsigned Corporate Suit (11/27/07) I can't help but wonder if there was a "feeling in the air" at Baltimore CC that changes were inevitable. I had worked with both Trish and Randy, and can tell you that both are absolute professionals, and most of all, real personalities. I have no doubt that they will move on again, and land on their feet. It was back about the same time in 1991 that WCAO cleaned house and many long time veterans were out on the street on a short notice. Those of us in the business long enough know how it has changed. Who would have ever expected the big mega broadcasters would ever pay what that have paid for broadcast properties over the past 10 years or so. PD's, promotion, engineers and jocks are often part of several stations, and paid a bit more than for one. Since 1971 I was fortunate to stay in radio part time, and job security was generally pretty good. I tell young broadcasters to learn many skills, and that those skills learned can lead to other careers that may be more stable. I am fortunate to be working on air at locally owned WZBB plus the very professional Wheeler operation, at WFIR and WSLQ. All of these stations have very low turnover. Again, this is a smaller market, but radio is still fun depending on who you work for. I wish my friends at CBS Baltimore the best of luck too should the Grinch steal their Christmas. Randy and Trish, call on me if I can lend a hand. Tom Conroy (11/27/07) Perhaps the National Association of Black Journalists need to listen to Michael Wilbon and Stephen Smith, both recognized black journalists, who were all over the dial today calling attention to the huge problem with black men being murdered by other black men, the propensity of black men to own guns, and the violence in the black community. Wilbon also mentioned that if he heard that a Redskin player had been shot he would immediately guess that it was Taylor. Whining about what the "white journalists" are writing or reporting serves no purpose. (11/27/07) If Geronimo were to dangle some shiny keys in front of O'Meara would that make him laugh too? And of course the hyena laugh from Spewack in the background. The Roger Ebert bit today, O'Meara said they'd never done that game with the voice software before but they did a few months back. Does O'Meara have a pickled brain from too much drinking? Who's this sean taylor dude? Any soldiers die recently in Iraq and/or Afghanistan? as our idiot el presidente sits watching the tv and eating pretzels. banana stand (11/27/07) So I'm sitting in the dentist chair all morning, with channel 4 in front of me. After the babbling and non-news of the Today Show, we switch to Mid Morning News on 4. For the first 20 minutes, they report on the Taylor death, saying ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Not one bit of actual information was given. They then spent about 5 minutes on the girl who has been missing from Aruba since 2005. Oh yes, after that, they mentioned for about 30 seconds that the leaders of the Israeli and Palestine governments were meeting in Annapolis to set up peace talks. Then, back to good old (still dead) Sean. It's really nice to know the things that will really affect me are so well covered in the media. What in the hell is going on? (11/27/07) Yup. It's that time of the year for the ghost of Christmas lights past... thanks to eyeontv (aka "Tom of DC") www.youtube.com... And practically in the shadow of the WPOT-TV tower, the traditional shooting of the lights has commenced ... thanks to Bob Bybee's TheJoyBoys.com (mp3) www.thejoyboys.com (11/27/07) Speaking of Radio Ink, WAVA Alum David Edgar now programming WLHK-FM & WYXB-FM/Indianapolis was named a top ten programmer for 2007 in the Medium market category. Here's the link: radioink.com (11/27/07) I smile at all the exploring you're doing making field strength measurements of WTMD and its low powered relay in NoVa.. Take your old analog TV antenna that's on the roof of the house, buy some fresh coaxial line, and connect it to the back of your FM stereo to hear WTMD. I realized the other day that the wavelength of those old antennas were VHF/UHF and FM capable. Comes in great ! (the new feedline will reduce the amount of signal lost in old weatherbeaten coax) (11/27/07) With all due respect to Sean Taylor and his family...he was shot two days ago and his death was first reported approximately 12 hours ago. It's no longer "breaking news." And I will echo the previous poster who wondered just how many straight hours Larry Michael(s) could repeat the same 3-4 cliches about Taylor's death. The guy was a GREAT player, but 'Redskins Radio' blew right past honoring him around noon and has been plowing through ghoulish obsession ever since. (11/27/07) I live in Arlington and received my Comcast bill today. I usually toss the bill’s inserts into the trash but today I looked at them and what did I find but the new rates for the cable service beginning next year! Most of the increases are scheduled for a January start, but there are some which begin in March. Nevertheless, looking at my bill and the new rates my Comcast bill will go up 3.5% next year, not including the “taxes, surcharges and fees” (which I’m guessing are based as a percentage of the total Comcast service bill). Anyway, my advice is to look at your Comcast bill and any inserts closely. Those guys from Philly want more of our money! (11/27/07) "I'd like to thank Comcast for their completely worthless and totally inappropriate non stop ''coverage'' of Sean Taylor's death." --- They're a regional sports network, THE REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORK OF THE REDSKINS. What do you want them to do asshole? Arguably the teams' biggest star gets murdered DURING THE SEASON, what do you want a quick mention then move on? You're an idiot ! They have the best coverage of any local network period. (11/27/07) The Junks announced the death of Sean Taylor at 5:54:20 Tuesday morning with attributes to FOX 5. (11/27/07) Dave's response: Which, of course, got it from Miami Fox affiliate WSVN, a Sunbeam station..... Dear Dave, do you have a list of services that you personally subscribe to (cable, Tivo, satellite radio, Internet, trade pubs, etc.)? Just curious—didn’t see a list on your website. Chris in Alexandria (11/27/07) Dave's response: Comcast internet and TV, XM satrad, Verizon phone landline, AT&T cell phone. I subscribe to the print edition of the Washington Post and Wired magazine, but I won't be renewing the latter after it expires in February..... “WTOP, WAMU, WMAL and Newschannel 8 were all on at 9. Heck, even WJFK was doing live coverage at 9am. [9 News NOW was the] only local news [at 9]? Not by a longshot.” Oh…sorry to forget Ch. 8 (most people unfortunately do), but to be more specific, Ch. 9 was the only local affiliate TV news to cover it at 9. Yes, 9 is the only local affiliate TV news on at that time, luck of the draw I guess, but they rose to the challenge with solid live reports from Miami and several emotional interviews from those in the know. Nice job, 9 News NOW producers. (11/27/07) I'd like to thank Comcast for their completely worthless and totally inappropriate non stop ''coverage'' of Sean Taylor's death. HOW much can Larry Michael and whoever that worm like clown that sits next to him dron on and on and repeating the same thing? And how long will it take lil Danny Synder to exploit Sean Taylor's death? Look for those ''commemorative'' hats, shirts, pins, programs at the next home game. Paul (11/27/07) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) WTOPnews.com has both full-time and part-time openings for a talented, dedicated web editor who can write news articles clearly and concisely, update and maintain news and sports stories, excercise sound news judgment, edit graphics and audio files, all while juggling chainsaws. Details here: www.wtopnews.com. (11/27/07) Why does Tony Kornheiser talk to "Nigel" Sterne instead of David Burd? My guess is that it's because Mr. Tony doesn't suffer fools lightly. One needed to only hear this morning's cringe inducing Burd's phone interview with Lindsay Czarniak to know that Burd doesn't have the class to know when to shut up - his phony fawning and "cutie patootie" patter was especially inappropriate under the circumstances. If anyone heard the show yesterday when Burd was out sick and Victoria Jones and "Nigel" had the mike, they know that it's far better when Burd isn't around. (11/27/07) Re: The person who wrote about 5 breaking the story before anyone else -- Channel 5 went on the air first this morning, citing its affiliate in Miami WSVN. As someone working in a competing newsroom, let me tell you we saw it and tried to confirm it as fast as we could. How WSVN got the jump - who knows? An inside source, better reporting, right place right time, someone sleeping around. However, I know in our newsroom and in at least one other, there was discomfort over going with A) another affiliate's report, B) WSVN, which has a questionable journalistic reputation, and C) when declaring someone alive or dead, you want to be sure (see Fox News and the Pope in 2005). The AP alert crossed about four minutes later. Yes, Fox "broke" the story. But I can guarantee no one will really care or remember by tomorrow. (11/27/07) Here's why Rush Limbaugh is such a crackpot and a fraud. Here's what he had to say today about two wars: "Vietnam was started by the Democrats. Iraq was started by the terrorists." Ahhh, anyone remember the Commies? Jesus! I guess that's how he rationalizes the fact that he legally dodged the draft - a Democrat war!?!? Rush is quickly becoming a bloated parody of himself - a rich, arrogant, fat moron who does little more than suck GOP cock. He's the radio propaganda wizard of a president with a 30 percent approval rate after seven years in office. Most intelligent Americans now laugh at the silly ramblings from the gasbag from Palm Beach as he staggers down the road to irrelevance. (11/27/07) It was amazing to watch the local coverage of the death of Sean Taylor. Channel 5 (which I just happened to be watching) broke the news of Sean's death. I switched around to see if the other local stations had it and they were just going about the local wx, traffic, etc. It seemed like an eternity before anyone else picked it up. When I worked in news, we ALWAYS had competing stations on to see what they were doing. I can't believe that 4,7 & 9 were asleep at the wheel. Maybe it was just too early in the morning for the producers and reporters to get their act together. I'm not a big fan of Fox 5 but this morning they made the other stations look foolish. (11/27/07) As a Dallas fan (I was there when they were 1-15, not a bandwagon jumper) let me send my deepest sympathies to all the Redskins fans, along with the folks at Redskins Radio and the various media figures that covered him. I'm sure this has to be a difficult day. A caller to Chris Core's show this morning had a unique idea for a tribute. First defensive play of the game, the Redskins line up with 10 players on defense, kind of a 'missing man' tribute. I thought that was fitting. (11/27/07) Concerning Dave’s response to an earlier post - “ Tony Kornheiser called into his own 3WT show this morning to discuss the Sean Taylor death. And, again, Tony would only talk to show producer Marc "Nigel" Sterne and not to substitute host David Burd. What is it between Tony and David?” As we know, Tony is thin-skinned. My guess is that he won’t talk with Burd because he (David) calls the show “The Tony Kornheiser, STARRING David Burd.” I bet that TK doesn’t like the word “starring” because Tony is the actual star of the show (and a bigger one than Burd will ever be), even though he isn’t there. If Burd were to use the word “featuring” instead of “starring” Tony might not be so OPed. (11/27/07) A few years ago, there was a proposed merger between DirecTV and Dish which eventually was denied. How was that proposed merger different than the proposed one between XM and Sirius? (11/27/07) (W*USA 9 News NOW at 9am had extensive local coverage of the death of Washington Redskin Sean Taylor this morning, and given it’s 9am news slot was the only local news on at the time as the story continued to break.) Say what?!!? WTOP, WAMU, WMAL and Newschannel 8 were all on at 9. Heck, even WJFK was doing live coverage at 9am. Only local news? Not by a longshot. (11/27/07) Re: "The death of Sean Taylor is certainly tragic but don't expect the final solution to turn out like many of you think. It will be surprising to most"//// Final Solution ?? How about sparing us the cryptic morbidity and give us your secret insights, oh great soothsayer. (11/27/07) “This morning, Doc Walker was criticizing the Redskins for allowing Sean Taylor to go back to his home without "protection" while knowing that it had been broken into a week ago.” – Rick Walker should go down there and do something about it if he is that passionate about it. Blaming the Redskins Organization is ridiculous and nothing more of another attempt by Rick and WTEM to stick it to the Redskins once again. Blowhard was a great way to describe Rick Walker. (11/27/07) When something happens to a sports figure, it is a crime or medical story. Sports is what happens on the field or court. The media should learn the difference. (11/27/07) (Re: Dennis & Hennessey Out At WSMJ) Looks like it's time for me to replace the 104.3 pre-set on my stereo; Cheap Channel has let go one of the most talented "on air" personalities in Baltimore! Tom in Denton, MD. (11/27/07) RE: [ " The death of Sean Taylor is certainly tragic but don't expect the final solution to turn out like many of you think. It will be surprising to most. " ]......... Hmmmm. I was thinking exactly the same thing after one of the cable networks (I forget which one) said something along the lines of the police not actively searching for a burglar on the loose right after it happened. Almost as if they suspected it was an "inside job" maybe? Maybe I was just reading too much between the lines or it was another FlubNews Channel faux pas. I dunno. Definitely tragic though. :-( (11/27/07) W*USA 9 News NOW at 9am had extensive local coverage of the death of Washington Redskin Sean Taylor this morning, and given it’s 9am news slot was the only local news on at the time as the story continued to break. The station had Bruce Leshan live in Miami from the Jackson Memorial Hospital where Taylor died with sound from Taylor’s father Pedro, plus Mike Walter and Andrea Roane had live interviews with Janice Sharpstein (wife of Taylor’s former lawyer Richard Sharpstein and a close friend of Taylor’s), plus former Redskins Brian Mitchell, an emotional Joe Theismann who had recently mentored Taylor on how to read a quarterback, and Darryl Grant, as well as CBS Sports anchor James Brown, among others. The station will provide continuing coverage of the story all day under it’s “Remembering a Redskin” mantle. (11/27/07) When big stories develop, personalities and stations can make a name. Good for Sportstalk980 for providing a forum to vent and discuss the tragedy. Bad for Rick “Doc” Walker who continues to sound like an idiot. Please take the microphone away from him. (11/27/07) Dave's response: Tony Kornheiser called into his own 3WT show this morning to discuss the Sean Taylor death. And, again, Tony would only talk to show producer Marc "Nigel" Sterne and not to substitute host David Burd. What is it between Tony and David? Strange..... "We'll never know the heights that you could have reached as a young man, a father, a husband, or as a Redskin. The promise you displayed in all these areas pointed to so much more than what we had yet seen. We watched you grow as a Redskin and begin to assume a mantle of leadership after a period of youthful indiscretions. We rejoiced in the way your young daughter changed the direction of your life. We will miss you. Rest in peace, Sean." (11/27/07) You people are idiots. It's obvious that since Andy Parks is seen manning different screens, boards and equipment (more so than Fred and Bryan) there's nothing he can do but to have the mic hanging from above, down. Sheesh! The whole broadcast was great & they were all great - so all of you need to shut up now. (11/27/07) The death of Sean Taylor is certainly tragic but don't expect the final solution to turn out like many of you think. It will be surprising to most. (11/27/07) This morning, Doc Walker was criticizing the Redskins for allowing Sean Taylor to go back to his home without "protection" while knowing that it had been broken into a week ago. I know WTEM is trying to distinguish itself from Redskins Radio's allegedly softer coverage of the team, but 980's Redskins bashing has reached new lows. Taylor was a 24 year old man, not a baby, and Gibbs has said that he didn't even know Taylor was back in Miami because injured players are on their own during game weekends. Walker is nothing but a pompous blowhard (and he wasn't much of a player either). As for the poster who doesn't understand the extensive coverage of Taylor's death, now you know why some say that the second most important person in DC after the president is the Redskins quarterback. That team has a bond with the local community that few sports teams equal. (11/27/07) Leave it to a station like WMMJ , in between "Huggy" promos, to do a good job covering Sean Taylor's death. I heard their DC anchor Matt Davis, who does a bunch of their stations, with fan reaction, Clinton Portis and Taylor's former attorney. Good stuff! THEY even had a reporter or stringer in Miami. Ken/Bethesda (11/27/07) Dave's response: Heard a JFK-FMer this morning refer to the "death of Clinton Portis." He immediately corrected himself. Whew..... Mangrove Papa?????????? If the discussion was just about the Grease I wouldn’t have even bothered to post. I do agree his timing and his topic were stupid. BOBB (11/27/07) The Channels 5, 7 and 9 have all done excellent jobs covering the Sean Taylor story. I question why Channel 4 did not have a reporter sent to Miami? Practically the end of the ratings period and you would have thought they would have spent the extra money. Also, any truth that the guys wife may be a suspect? People get shot all the time, but it is not often in the groin. This sounds like a possible "Crime of Passion" ... please don't roll your eyes on this one ... but saying "groin" and "upper leg" is just another way of saying his privates. (11/27/07) I heard about Sean Taylor's death on BBC TV, so I immediately turned over to WRC for the latest. The #1 station in the market couldn't bother to have a sports reporter on standbye in case this happened. I remember all the breaking stories I covered with fellow reporters in much smaller markets over the years, sleeping in offices in between shifts, and now, in the nation's #8 market, they cover breaking news by rousting a sports anchor at a quarter to 7 to do a phoner from home while the anchors make burpy noises in the background? (11/27/07) As regrettable as the senseless death of Sean Taylor is, someone needs to let Channel 4 know that it's not the death of the President or the Pope. With the wall-to-wall coverage of nothing but that this morning I was half-expecting them to go dark at 7am and just play funeral music. At least the other channels managed to have other news on their broadcasts this morning. Sad? Yes. A pointless and unwarranted act of violence? Yes. A disaster of national proportions as Ch 4 makes it out to be? Not hardly at all. (11/27/07) What a doofus! Doesn't Andy understand that the show is being seen on TV this morning? Most of the time, his microphone is blocking his fat face. [Wait! Maybe he DOES know and is sparing the national audience the trauma of seeing it!] Thank God Bryan is kinda cute ... (11/27/07) Dave's response: Bryan Nehman's C-SPAN apperance this morning, at right..... "When a field reporter broadcasts live from the X-Mas light display on 34th Street and pronounces it as being in "HAMP-Ton" (emphasizing the "P" and the "T") instead of "Ham-den", then they seem fairly clueless about the fabricated "tradition."" Can't argue with mispronouncing being an annoyance, but why can't or won't you consider the "Miracle" on 34th Street as a tradition? It's gone on long enough to have been handed down through at least one generation of people living on the street as well as new and incoming homeowners of the street taking to it. I remember it, in different incarnations, since I was a teen 20-some years ago. (11/27/07) Good memories of those old rumbling, oil smelling clackety AP monsters lined up fourteen across the sports room. $2.15 /hour plus occasional 'keep the change' after running up the stairs (faster than the old elevators) with a shaky box of hot coffee from the cafeteria which was open 24/7. In our smoke-haze sports dept, it was always exciting when almost all the machines would spring to life on a Saturday night as the west coast scores started rolling in. Sometimes even the big-shot columnist would hover near a machine when one of us copyboys shouted above the racket," UCLA". When an exciting event dateline started would lean over and squeeze the sides as if riding the noisy black horse into the future, all the while almost peeing our pants as the carriage return platten would slap and ring and interminable slow type hands would slap out,"AP desk 20:16 Saturday Los Angeles" and then a series of clacks and rings and more headline codes and symbols in and finally, letter by letter, the jumpy feed would start edging closer the news," UCLA charged back from its halftime deficit......." (11/27/07) It is 7:30am and the news of the tragic death of Redskin Sean Taylor is spreading around Washington. This is a sad story about a young 24 year old man with a one year old child, who was murdered in front of his girlfriend, at his own home early Monday morning. Unfortunately, this scenario plays out just about every day in our country, and very few take notice. Sean Taylor played professional football so the story will be dissected by the sports media. I hope and pray that the sports media exercise caution while commenting on this tragedy. For the most part, they are not even remotely qualified to do anything but report the facts, yet they will give there opinions until we are blue in the face. Former Redskin Rick Walker stated that the Redskins should go down to Miami to get “even” on there day off and wonders on the air why Sean Taylor didn’t have attack “Rotts” at his home. This story is not about a game but the loss of a young mans life. Please treat the issue properly, or shut up. (11/27/07) WMAL's Grandy and Andy make last minute direction change due to death of Redskins player over night. Program airs on C-SPAN and 630WMAL till 9AM. (11/27/07) BOBB wrote: **What THAT meant was the dynamic "race shakers" are Constantly making anti Caucasian "slip of the tongue" remarks....or stirring the racial cauldrons!** and ** your observations put Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the like, in the same league blasphemous slip of the tongue??? ** First BOBB, we were discussing Greaseman's talent and intent. I agree that Al, Jesse, etc. are now what the late, great Malcolm X called, "Professional Negroes." Their caucasian equivalent is David Duke. I find all of those extremists to be the excrement of their species. Our topic, however, is Doug Tracht. He is not in that repulsive group. I feel like he chose race-baiting, consciously or subconsciously, as a way to get ratings. And, that scheme backfired. I do not understand why that opinion angers you so. I do think that my reasoning might be hard for you to follow and, thus, cause you to lash out at me personally. Paul, it would make NO SENSE to "cross my legs and sit down" when the whole purpose of this forum is discuss topics about the Washington/Baltimore radio and television market. If that makes you uncomfortable, perhaps you could peruse the doilie-making websites. A lot of cross-dressers like that! But, the rest of us are having more fun building up, tearing down, fantasizing and proselytizing about our favorites and least favorites. Eh BOBB? Heck, I'd love to hear Bob Kelly, Bill Clark and Johnny Wilcox back on WRC again, but time marches on! - Your Mangrove Mama's Mangrove Papa (11/27/07) Ah, yes, the classic "business decision" excuse. Like the term "business ethics" is an oxymoron. Like it won't affect numbers all that much if the layoffs occur on 11/30 and 1/11 instead. Yep, keep drinking that Kool-Aid, Unsigned Corporate Suit and fellow top corporate suits from here to San Antonio, NYC, and beyond. Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas!!! Sincerely, Mike in Kensington (11/27/07) There’s been quite a bit of talk here about layoffs in the local ‘biz. I’ll tell you about what’s driving a lot of the layoffs. There are two factors behind this. And, they are intertwined. The first is cash flow. That is basically, how much $ you have after all expenses are paid. It used to be called “profit”. But, that’s now a dirty word. The second is something that directly affects your cash flow: Labor Expense. Basically, that one is your people cost. And, here’s where a lot of problems come in. Those of us who live here know that it’s damned expensive. However, if your corporate HQ is in a place where the cost of living (Especially housing!) is a lot cheaper, you have a tough time convincing the pea counters that although Washington isn’t a “major market” th! at bills on a level with New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Boston, the cost of living in the D.C. area is on a par with those larger markets. And, look at where many of the multi-station owners have their HQ: Mostly in the South or Southwest, where the cost of living is but a tiny fraction of what it is here. So, keep in mind that it’s not just a matter of how much you bill –it’s how much you send to corporate after all the bills are paid. And, that includes paying for what has now become the most disposable resource in the media business: People. The reason that People are more disposable than they used to be is simple: There used to be such a thing as “competition” in media. It still exists to a small extent in some aspects of the video marketplace. But, in broadcasting (Especially in radio.), it’s dead. The era of hiring away somebody’s top talent (Not restricted to only the folks behind the mic or in front of the camera, either!) or losing t! hem to a competitor because you pissed them off is no more. Why? Bec ause the anti-competitive FCC has taken away the competitive incentive by allowing multi-station ownership in a market. OK, there are things like satellite delivery, removal of requirements for local programming, program length commercials that have added to the mess as well. However, having said all that, I will predict that there are three more “windows” of layoffs in this business that we’ll see happen in the next 45 days. The first will be on 11/30 (As we get into end-of-year and need to bring up those year-end numbers.), followed by 12/21 (Yes, I know that’s the Friday before Christmas. However, they always tell us that it’s a “business decision”. And, the calendar ignores holidays. The pea counters like to do layoffs right around Christmas as it starts “bulking-up” your numbers so you get a “running start” going into the new year.), and finally either January 4th or January 11th of 2008 (Again to “hit the ground running” in the new year.)… Just sign me as The Unsigned Corporate Suit (Who has lived through too damn many of these…) (11/27/07) I also saw this morning Sandra Shaw live from Hampden on WBAL TV 11 News. Although I did notice she mispronounced the neighborhood name and it probably should have been avoidable she is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than Jay Kendrick. How did that guy get hired? He's horrible. I know or at least I'd like to think that WBAL is embarrassed by this bad hire. Maybe he'll get better with time, doubt it though. At least Ms. Shaw speaks proper English. Actually speaking of Sandra Shaw, she is a good addition to the morning show. Sometimes a little too perky for my liking but I think she does a great job in the mornings and isn't as sarcastic as Domenica Davis was in the similar role. (11/27/07) Nice to see so many reminiscences about the AP wire copy machine. Now, does anyone plan to actually BUY the mutha? (11/27/07) Boy, these posts on the old news teletype machines are bringing back some memories. Like Jim, one of my first jobs in the news business was right here in D.C., in the old Washington bureau of ABC Radio in the early 1970s, while I was still a student at the University of Maryland. At the time, the radio bureau newsroom was in the building on the *west* side of Connecticut Ave at DeSales Street., NW (across the street from the Mayflower), in a building where there was a street-front television studio, and a separate radio studio open to public view from the sidewalk. (That building no longer exists, and what's left of ABC Radio in D.C. is half a block east on DeSales Street). I worked for the late Ken Scott, the D.C. Radio bureau chief, as a desk assistant. One of my jobs was changing both paper and ribbons on the wire machines. The 'carbonless' wire paper was just coming into vogue, so fortunately I was spared the mess and bother of separating out those black carbons. When the bureau was originating network newscasts (usually the ABC Information network shows ot the late, great Joe Templeton in the mornings, and occasionally David Garcia's Entertainment network shows on the half-hour), we would put on five-copy carbonless paper so Joe T, his editor, Ken, and his second in command could all have copies of the wires, along with a "file" copy for the desk, Oh, and we were supposed to keep open the wiremachine soundproof cabinets, and we were to watch the wires for "urgents and bulletins", and inform the show producer immediately if something crossed while we were on the air. When we were out of newscast production mode, the bureau switched back to double-copy paper., Another thing that saved my fingers at the time was the first waterless hand cleaners that we could use to clean up after a ribbon change. That usually happened at the end of each shift, and then again midday the next day, so that the top copy was always good and dark for the anchors, I got to where I could change a ribbon on the old black clunker teletypes in about 15 seconds, and about 20 seconds for the electronic "dot matrix" printers. {sigh} And so it goes... - Max in Mild West Arlington (11/27/07) /\ November 27 Messages /\ \/ November 26 Messages \/ Re: the AP machine available on craigslist: When I started pulling wirecopy for NBC News here in Washington in 1971, we used cotton gloves from the film developing unit to change the ribbons. That still didn't keep all the black ink off of our hands. Who else remembers that the UPI machines used purple ink ribbons with ink bottles in the machines? We were supposed to use their ribbons until they wore out as the ink in the bottle was supposed to keep the ribbons inked. The AP and Reuters machines ran at 60 words-per-minute while the UPI machines ran at 45 WPM. That is, until the electronic machines made their debut. At NBC, we had at least a dozen machines in the wire room which was soundproofed somewhat like a radio studio. That room would be flooded with wire copy from the overnight for the morning desk assistant. It's a wonder that there was never a fire with all the wires and paper on the floor. We also had an AP Photo machine we had to change. The paper for that machine was wet so that it could print a picture, in black-and-white, of course! Dave in Annandale (11/26/07) With regards to the 105.5 signal. I really doubt that it is going to get into Arlington with maybe the exception of the northern part which is high in elevation. The reason you loose it quickly south of Tysons on the beltway is the high ground elevation of the Tysons area is between you and the transmitter. The signal is non existent on I-66 from the beltway to route 50 where it just barely comes in for a 1/2 mile or so. At that point the Berryville station starts to interfere. Parts of Fairfax City are higher than I-66 so you may pick it up in those areas. I think the reason it gets to I-270 so well is because it gets a clear shot across the river into Southwestern Montgomery County. Bob, Fairfax (11/26/07) I’m sure Doc didn’t mean it like that, but he’s a blowhard anyways. I can’t understand what he or most of his guests/listeners say half the time cause they all talk at the same time. His show sucks, kinda of tired of all these ex-skins getting radio shows, they’re all terrible. Brian Mitchell seems to be the only decent one, but his act gets old after a while too. (11/26/07) Comcast SportsNet (DC-Baltimore) broke the news on the shooting of Redskins safety Sean Taylor on Washington Post Live. (11/26/07) WTMD relay on 105.5 Signal report; Today as I drove to work at 5:30AM from western Fairfax County to Rockville I monitored 105.5. I began receiving a decent but sometimes noisy signal just south of Tysons on the beltway. The signal continued all the way up 270 to the 370 exit. The strongest signal was going over the AML Bridge. At Shady Grove Metro area WTMD's own signal on 89.7 was about equal to 105.5. I drive to various areas of Montgomery County during the day. Today I was in the clarksburg area the signal from 105.5 was listen-able up 270 almost to Clarksburg. I now will be able to listen to WTMD on the west side of 270 especially in the south east corner of the county. Thank You Mr. Garziglia!!! With all the mail this 36 watt WTMD relay has stirred up just imagine what a high power relay would do for the listenership of WTMD. Bob, Fairfax (11/26/07) Dave's response: I'm picking up WTMD all the way south to Fairfax City. However, to the west, anywhere west of the Fairfax County Parkway (western parts of Reston, Herndon), the signal tends to lose the battle with Winchester area rocker WWRE/WWRT, also on 105.5. How's the WTMD relay signal in Sterling, McLean, and Arlington? Dear Peter.... I mean ... Colleen. You go girl! Best Wishes, Renee Richards (11/26/07) Dave's response: Or Wendy Carlos. We could put Peter up against Colleen in the next Battle Of The Media Hotties. Oh, nevermind..... I never listen to 980 or 730 but wanted info on the Sean Taylor situation. I was listening to Doc Walker talking about it. He was basically questioning why Taylor didn't have "Rotts" (Rottweilers) in his Florida home, as well as saying that the Redskins would go down there on their off day to 'settle up'. His whole tone came across as extremely thuggish. Way to keep the stereotypes going Doc. (11/26/07) (I always hated changing the ribbon in the AP newsticker because there was no way to do it without ending up with blackened fingers. What innocent, long-ago days! $2.15 an hour in 1973). I can top that. I started at all-news WINS in 1966 and we needed multiple copies of all the wires. So there were rolls of carbon paper in between each sheet of paper. Between separating the carbon paper and changing the ribbons, copyboys (there were no copy girls, no women in the newsroom at all) were called "the black hand of the newsroom." It was a truly dirty job. And starting pay in NYC was $1.25 an hour. Jim (11/26/07) Saw your post about Sean Taylor coverage on dcrtv, and I wanted to mention that Comcast SportsNet will have ongoing live coverage with updates about Taylor through 8 p.m. when we start our Wizards coverage. We have live updates with Chick Hernandez from Redskin Park and also from Miami, Fl. (11/26/07) Mangrove Papa.....great moniker?????? What THAT meant was the dynamic "race shakers" are Constantly making anti Caucasian "slip of the tongue" remarks....or stirring the racial cauldrons! EXCERPT from Mailbag. From: (Your Mangrove Mama's Mangrove Papa) the ever-present BOBB writes ***What language is that and what does it mean? your observations put Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the like, in the same league blasphemous slip of the tongue??? BOBB (11/26/07) Wow. Mangrove, sit down and cross your legs and calm down. Geeez, people. I'll settle the ''situation''. Grease is an outdated talent who's not coming back. ''Rev'' Al Sharpton only helps African Americans if there is a TV camera or microphone around. I look at him the way I do a circus clown. There, everything's settled. Let's all take a deep breath and move on with our lives. Paul (11/26/07) I visited the Redskins Radio website to check on the status of Sean Taylor. If you click “headlines” there is a nice update from the AP. I am guessing they don’t update this section much because the rotating banner ad above the story is promoting the Dan Patrick show. It looks like they “fumbled” again! (11/26/07) Does the Greasman have enough money to quit? Pl (11/26/07) sean taylor - Comcast sportsnet is also doing a good amount of updates. They told me at 2:30 they'll be on talking about the situation, WPL is now at 4 for continuing updates. So if you're around a TV, you might want to tune to CSN. ---- Jim Miller (11/26/07) First, that's SO sad about Gina Crash! How the mighty fall. From big stations in big markets like DC and Philly to a little, tiny station in Grasonville MD. Wow. Second, the ever-present BOBB writes *** your observations put Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the like, in the same league blasphemous slip of the tongue???*** What language is that and what does it mean? Third, to the fellow I tagged as a "baboon" earlier today, I believe you meant to call me a "buffoon," not a "baffoon." And, your observations about the Greaseman are intriguing to me because I, too, was captivated by Doug Tracht's Greaseman persona when it debuted on WRC in 1973. After I heard his tapes from WAPE in Jacksonville, I felt that he had become mean-spirited and I detected a racist overtone. The racism I heard on WAPE seemed to subside in his initial days at WWDC-FM (DC 101). I liked the "Lawman" and "Sgt. Fury" segments; found them entertaining, well-written and witty. But, after time passed his act by on the nightly syndicated broadcast, he seemed to be caught in a rut and grasping at straws. I think that desperation is what led to his infamous remark on Arrow 94.7. Look, I'm not slamming the guy. I'm just saying that his "slip of the tongue" excuse is, in my opinion, worse than if he had scripted a bad bit! Slips of the tongue reveal our subconscious thoughts; the ones that hovering just below the surface. That's my point about comparing what he said with Dick Armey's remark. - Your Mangrove Mama's Mangrove Papa (11/26/07) I too am a product of Grease. I took his shtick, mixed it with a little of my own, and used it very successfully on Armed Forces Radio in Europe. Making your audience think; taking your listeners on a thrill-ride with alternate endings is something that is missing today. You have to admit, this town… hell, this country is a lot different than it was in the 80’s. Those of you who were there know what I’m talking about. West Virginia, my pappy, cocktails and firearms are lost in the ether. Thank the Greaseman for leaving a lasting impression on us 50+’ers who were allowed to have a little bit of good clean fun for a while. (11/26/07) Hey Dave - What were you doing on the front page of yesterday's NY Times? :-) (11/26/07) Dave's response: Ha ha ha. I can only wish that my beard were so free of gray hair! Yeah, my latest "look" continues to feature the long beard, although I keep whatever hair is left on my balding head cut very short and covered by an old Army cap. Add to that the camo pants, the boot-like shoes, and a nasty cough (damn, another cold from my niece's kids). I make quite a threatening presence in the checkout line at the Safeway..... The poster said "ridiculously difficult for anyone to find the new local DTV channels over the air." Dave had the answer (doesn't he always ?!?!) down at the bottom, but let's amplify -- all new HDTV sets have an automatic channel finder ("scan") that today looks for both analog and digital channels throughout both ranges. They are saved into the television's memory, presto ! When analog does leave the airwaves, the same automatic channel finder will continue to locate all useable digital signals, along with their identifications as a text box on your screen. The analog channels, especially "3" and "4" will continue to be useful for your DVD, VHS units and "pong" game box. (11/26/07) RE: MANGROVE PAPA/GREASEMAN. This is the poster who you referred to as a BABOON. I am actually a Radio DJ in a nearby market with quite a few years of experience in this business. I grew up listening to the Greaseman and found his schtick to be just what I needed to pursue my own career in what is now a dying profession thanks to companies like CHEAP CHANNEL etc. I went to college, got a degree, got a job and was on my way. Greaseman was a pioneer in the times and the face of the all powerful F.C.C. at the time. He was able to do something most of these other NO -Talents couldn't. He made you actually think while you were listening. You either figured it out or it passed you by. If you didn't get it the first time around then it usually made more people tune in to figure out all of his doublespeak..Is he getting Hosed by the double standard that seems to allow obvious assholes like Imus and Stern to get away with just about everything, I think so. Did he make a few mistakes in his career, Of course he has, haven't Stern and Imus made numerous mistakes in their careers and been given multiple chances to repent? I believe they have..SO from this "BABOON" to you sir who write like a "BAFFOON" as always A.M.F from Bethesda.......... (11/26/07) Memo to Channel 11 (WBAL-TV)...and to any other Baltimore TV news outlets: If you are going to send an out-of-towner disguised as a local field reporter to do live shots from the now ultra-trendy Christmas light display on 34th Street in Hamden, and if that field reporter is to talk about it being such a longstanding Baltimore "tradition" (as if she thinks she knows what she's talking about), then for credibility purposes, please be sure that the out-of-towner disguised as a field reporter can at least pronounce the neighborhood's name correctly. When a field reporter broadcasts live from the X-Mas light display on 34th Street and pronounces it as being in "HAMP-Ton" (emphasizing the "P" and the "T") instead of "Ham-den", then they seem fairly clueless about the fabricated "tradition." Fortunately, someone must have corrected Channel 11's Sandra Shaw, as she began to pronounce it correctly as they went back to her during the rest of this morning's newscast. (11/26/07) About Greaseman. Dave is right. He was on the edge for his time. But everything changes. I remember dialing him in DC on that am station and expecting to hear something different. Instead I was transported back to the '80's on DC101. Reminded me of listening to that 1980's aircheck of don and mike on WAVA that was posted over the weekend on Reelradio. Burnt toast and coffee time! Good times no doubt - but not something I want to do every day. Even the bit vault stuff he was using was from way back - some of it from his 94.7 days, sounding like it came right off a cassette of his show that day. With some of his take on the news, he could have probably taken the Glen Beck route to staying on the air. Anyway, wish him well. (11/26/07) RE: [ " However, if you punch up channel 48, you will get WRC's digital channels... " ].......... And the average poor person who puts up an antenna with a new inexpensive digital TV in the next year will know that info how exactly if a DTV scan doesn't find WRC-DT 48 automatically? That info is not even on NBC4.com nor is it on many stations' own websites because the FCC has declared that marketing the DTV channel number is not allowed! DTV stations cannot be called by their DTV channel # by FCC rule and it's the law of the land. Yep, it's true. BRILLIANT, FCC! :-( (11/26/07) Dave's response: Exactly. My digital TV couldn't find Channel 26/WETA's digital signals. I had to tell it to look on channel 27 - while I reoriented the antenna. But how many Average Daves would known to look there if stations don't publicize the real dial locations of their digital channel? The Greaseman persona got stuck in the 80s. Too dangerous a place to be once the late 90s rolled along. "Clinton and the Punk" was a funny bit, but missed the boat in 1997 -- the bit might still have been viable had Clint Eastwood been replaced by Vin Diesel or The Rock at the right time. Stallone was off the radar too, so any bits relating to him were just as stale. Nothing new was coming down the line, which is why the big return didn't click. In Imus' case, he reinvented himself several times over the decades; bailing on the fast-talking music deejay persona and adopting a more modern talk direction. Once Imus realized he was viewed by contemporaries as an Elder Statesman of AM radio (and that Stern basically commandeered his act), he shifted his performance to fit. Gone were bits like "As the Avocado Turns", "The Fabulous Black Beatles" and 'interviews' with Joe Pepitone, Elvis, John Lennon et al. It's not that Doug's "Greaseman" alter-ego wasn't an inspired radio concept, just that he became too entrenched in one successful mode from 20 years ago and couldn't let it go. Consultants half his age would have had nothing to offer, as they couldn't begin to understand where to take the character. This would had to have been a decision by Tracht somewhere along the line to either update Grease or mothball him and become a player of a different cut. Hopefully when his boat docks back in the USA, he'll have made up his mind. (11/26/07) You sluts!!!! Grease, Doug Tracht is a talent, a great one. The issue is....he NEVER got into the 21st century. His act is old, his characters are old, but he is NOT a hack, he is not evil minded, arrogant or self centered. He's been slammed by almost everyone, and that's a shame. What he should have done is get himself some young on target manager/writer and changed his act to today....I agree with Dave Hughes...talented but didn't evolve. Slapping him publicly here in the mailbag is bush league bull***t. This post is directed at Mangrove Papa, your observations put Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the like, in the same league blasphemous slip of the tongue????......You're an idiot!!! BOBB (11/27/07) A recent poster mentioned Gina Crash filling in on WRNR recently. I've been listening to her morning show on "The Hawk", 105.7 in Manahawkin, NJ via the 'net, but I haven't heard her in a while. Is she back in town, or was that just a holiday gig? Mike in Frederick and the Dashboard DX Society, all recoving from Thanksgiving with new-found girth. "As God is my witness, my favorite bread's Heidi, and I hope it's yours, too!" AM