Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - September 19 to September 29, 2009 Latest messages listed first..... \/ September 29 Messages \/ Politics Daily dishes out some harsh criticism for the ultra left wing nutjob Hollywood community & The Washington Post and LA Times (Tribune's Baltimore Sun sister look-alike rag)... www.politicsdaily.com... The hypocrisy of the left-wing's rush to defend Roman Polanski is just unfathomable. Shouldn't we just let all the Catholic priests off the hook now because Hollywood and The Post & LA Times says sex with minors is ok? How do liberals sleep at night? Just un-frikking believable. And you wonder why subscriptions are down? There's your sign. It's called epic failure to accurately report the news! (9/29/09) Dave.. Wanna here how 'CLASSIC ROCK' is supposed to sound? Check out the 'new' ENHANCED STEREO' on KFRC.com....click on the 'Classic Rock' window.....it REALLY is good......KFRC-HD2 San Fransico! Ya think ANYONE in the DC market could get the message? More amazing....stations DROPPING HD! ONLY in the DC Market! Best, D (9/29/09) re: the post about Comcast on-demand.... I thought all the ads went into the right-hand column. (9/29/09) Hey ,hey found the website for Mr. Robbay Spewak's podcasts. www.robbspewak.com... Did Mr. Kinard have a secret sh8t eating grin as Michael Hughes left the building? Still think Kinard was brought in to kill the Guy Talk format for the CBS Suits who have hard for the Sports Talk. I find the endless Dreadskin discussion just ponderous, truly ponderous on Duh Fan and ESPN 980. Come on, don't it seem like lil' danny was pissed at El Riggo and banished him? Why does Allison Starling do a tongue click after almost every sentence she reads? (9/29/09) Dave- I have seen many comments over the last few days about this classic rock station or that one. The reason any "classic" station whether it be oldies, rock, or country fails is because the PD tries to run it like an AC station with a 300 song playlist. Classic is about the music. The good and successful ones have a playlist in excess of 1000 songs and some up to 5000 songs. Charlie (9/29/09) Sacbee.com article: Philly based Entercom on trial for water-drinking death... (9/29/09) Dave, With the fall TV season upon us, I thought you might be interested to hear about some recent findings from a survey issued by Comcast. The survey revealed not only that 81% of people plan to watch primetime TV shows this fall season (drama series lead with 68% of respondents saying they plan to watch this genre the most, comedy came in at a close second), but also that a majority (78% of individuals younger than 35, more than 50% of individuals over 35) plan to use time-shifting technologies like video on demand, DVRs and the Internet to watch their favorite fall primetime programs in addition to watching live. Consumers continue to embrace new and different ways to watch TV – and that’s reflected, for example, in the rising popularity of Comcast’s signature On Demand service, which offers more than 10,000 titles each month, with the vast majority available at no additional cost for customers to watch when they want, with the ability to pause, fast-forward and rewind. In fact, the survey showed a nearly 25% increase among Comcast customers in viewing fall TV series On Demand from 2007 to 2008 – and Comcast customers have viewed more than 13 billion programs On Demand since 2003! In addition to its signature On Demand service, Comcast offers customers other options for watching their favorite fall shows, from its linear programming to DVR service to Fancast.com, Comcast’s next-generation entertainment site... Thanks! Alisha (9/29/09) Since 105.9 dropped "Smooth Jazz", its had all the ratings traction of drag slicks on a frozen lake after a Zamboni went first. What I still find interesting is the absence of interest in "saving" jazz on 105.9, compared to what happened years earlier when 100.3 dropped the format. Has interest in the format gone the way of classical? I hope I'm not the only one left on the board who remembers the firestorm Jerry Lyman created back when he announced the plan to take WGMS-AM Top-40, keeping the FM classical? Actually, if Jerry had been watching the trends at the time, a better announcement might have been "preserving classical music on AM and switching the FM to a modern music format" (Like Drake Top-40!) Alas, what could've been! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/29/09) OK, WW1 is forcing people to take ten days unpaid for the year. At least they get to keep their jobs. For now, at least. Look at the number of people who've lost theirs or have been told that their services "will no longer be needed" after December 31st because of the new Great Depression. Given a choice (Which usually isn't the case...), I'd rather take the unpaid days than lose a career and have to start all over again somewhere else... once a new job is found! It's very surprising that a "broadcaster" would do something like this as there's really no competition to have to worry about hiring somebody you pissed-off by laying them off. It would be expected in cable as anyone who got laid-off there would be fair game for hiring by Verizon FIOS, knowing that the new hire's prime goal would be competitive vengeance against the company/industry who ruined their life. (9/29/09) Albert Haynesworth is a perfect symbol for the Wash Redskins. He is a fat surly bloated out of shape overpaid soft bellied paycheck monstrosity. Washington is where free agents flock and flop on their contract years to get the check. The terrible irony is that Wash Fans (short for fanatics) enthusiasm has always fired the seeds of their corporate mediocracy . The NFL is a Barnham and Baily act where three titted women in the cheap tent have been replaced with fat worthless eight titted loads like Haynesworth. US Football is actually a slow motion outdated dusty military cavalry clash from the a past century. Washington deserves fat load flopping over fed Haynesworth as a national symbol and as tribute to its glassy eyed couch potato comfortable soft bellied corporate stupidity. (9/29/09) "Riggins on WTOP is a waste. He said very little that most listeners haven't heard, read or thought before." There's still an unanswered question or two regarding Riggo's departure from ESPN 980 earlier this year - why was his time on the air cut back dramatically around the midpoint of the 2008 football season (including a weekly two hour appearance on Sports Reporters that went away without explanation)? Was there some sort of nasty dustup between him and Dan Snyder which made his continued employment there unpalatable to the latter? Of course the Redskins losing to a Lions team that hadn't won a game since 2007 was a sure bet to bring local sports talk radio to the boiling point this week, but it certainly didn't justify the nearly hysterical reaction on certain TV stations. Watching Channel 4's late Sunday night newscast, you'd think the Skins had just lost to a Division III college team - bad as Detroit is, every member of that team did have to qualify for a professional roster. Not only that, but for the news anchor to bring up rumor and speculation about Jim Zorn possibly getting fired as head coach was highly irresponsible. This is a man's livelihood we're talking about - unless you've got solid evidence that such a move is actually being considered by the team's management, you have no business bringing it up. Perhaps this practice of treating Redskins related news as if it were just as important as the other types of stories that routinely lead newscasts (such as violent crime, national politics and world affairs) needs to be reexamined, because for all the attention lavished on the team around here it's really just fun and games when you come right down to it. Even from a purely sports point of view Channel 4 blew it - Lindsay Czarniak (reporting from Ford Field) absolutely needed to get some interviews from the Lions' locker room in addition to the Skins', because the end of Detroit's record setting run of futility (including last year's 0-16 record) was a huge national sports story not to mention the fact that there are fans of every team in the league residing in the DC area. Mike, Fairfax (9/29/09) How can Westwood expect to savfe money on unpaid furlough days that people take off? If traffic reporter A takes the unpaid day off, they still have to pay traffic reporter B or C to cover the shift. You have to cover all shifts when doing traffic and sports reports and news.....shift-workers, unlike sales or business employees need to be replaced. (9/29/09) After Phil Zachary left, WHFS was in the hands of Sam Rogers until corp made the decision to switch to Spanish. At that time the station was handed over to Michael Hughes. (9/29/09) The one thing I hate about 980 is on every show they constantly replay interviews from the prior show. Doc and Coach's show replayed the Jim Zorn interview from yesterday's Kevin Sheehan show and they are replaying it again at 4:30 on the Sports Reporters. It's up on their web site, they keep telling us we can fetch it anytime for our ipod but no need really as the same sorry Zorn interview is played over and over again. (9/29/09) This past Saturday, JC Hayward was the MC at the annual gala dinner of Hospice Caring of Montgomery County, a non-medical hospice with a small staff and many volunteers who provide non-medical assistance to people in the last few months of life, and who host support groups for people who are grieving loved ones. She has been a supporter of Hospice Caring for many, many years, and, I believe, is on the Board of Trustees. She was the narrator of a video celebrating HCI's 20th anniverasary, and introduced various speakers. I attended and greatly appreciate JC Hayward lending her name and time to help a good cause. -- Carl of Olney (9/29/09) I read that there is new Rock radio in DC and some readers think that old or new, the stations suck. Rock is the same in DC as it is in here in Miami or Rochester or Altoona. The music is the same, so the stations, invariably will sound the same- UNLESS- the station has a unique local morning show that is talented- not GOOFY, interesting, and original. The show has to be SO good that if they played music the listeners would complain. You can hear an Aerosmith song anywhere. You can't hear a great morning show anywhere but on the station that airs it. There are very few shows this good- Paul and Young Ron in Miami, Tommy and Rumble in Virginia (I heard the Tommy half has left) and Lamont and Tonelli in SF. It's not the songs that makes a rock station great, it's what's between the songs. From a former DC radio listener, now in South Florida. (9/29/09) Re: "They ought to do that for baseball." I agree Dave, although there is no "red zone" and of course you can score at least one run anytime you are at bat, so that makes it difficult. I have not been able to watch MLB Network as much as I would have liked this season, but from what I have seen, they try to do that on the nightly "MLB Tonight" coverage from 6 p.m. to the last out. It's not perfect, but it's a worthwhile effort.... Charles in Winchester (9/29/09) Michael Hughes was the Senior VP/Market Manager of CBS DC when HFS flipped, however, Sam Rogers was the man in charge of both HFS and PGC. Michael oversaw JFK and ARW. No necessarily sure that he's the person responsible for the ultimate demise of HFS...flipping to Spanish was something coming from above Michael at CBS corporate as it was a company initiative to launch Spanish formats in their larger markets. Michael was handed the ropes at El Zol and ultimately created the new station from the ground up. I don't think Michael would've blown up HFS--he did/does believe in the format in which it was...but, CBS was tired of the excuses and impatient, so had to do what they had to do. (9/29/09) Re: Kim Martucci, Dave, could you please refuse accepting the kinds of total childishness that is being submitted by some nine year old who clearly needs to change his diaper? He's dragging this message board through it. P.S. She's actually a wonderful person. And works hard at what she does. She already works for the biggest losers in DC, why should be subjected to such unnecessary gallows humor? Love your site Dave, but I'm a little disappointed you read this posting, and then decided to post it. It has no place on such a fine website. Neal (9/29/09) Me finds it strange that Dave ended up with advanced notice of the Brian Egan departure without any real insight as to why... Only a promise of 'more soon' which turned out to be not confirmation but rather a rehash of the precious post. So I have to ask: has CC finally wised up and started deliberately slipping DCRTV inside info to generate buzz over staff changes that would otherwise go unnoticed? Is goes without saying that the Egan firing is only noteworthy for purposes of speculating whom will be brought in to replace morning drive at a station that's revamped its entire airstaff twice in two years. It is also of note that if, in fact, the new morning show is a solo act, they will have successfully eliminated two on-air positions at MZQ in that same two-year time frame given that was once a three person morning show. (9/29/09) “Will Tony Pann please wear the sweater one last time! Does this mean La Martucci will be taking over the weekends?.“ If Lurch (aka “Kim” after his sex change) “I Was Proposed To On Channel Nine Live” has to work for Tony on weekends, will “The Thing’s” wife/husband/whatever would marry that mess have to raise the Petri-dish children who will be conceived and born on WUSA? (9/29/09) Correction...Dave, Michael Hughes did not preside over WHFS at any time. (9/29/09) Dave's response: Didn't he hire the station's management staff, including program directors? Wasn't he the guy who, essentially, made the decision to flip it to Spanish in early 2005? While I'm not a big fan of FOX NEWS's Bill O'Reilly, he kind of nailed it good there on The Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik, who obviously sees his pink slip on the wall and is grasping at straws to find a left wing nutjob parachute escape route from the sinking ship that is The Baltimore Sun (aka Los Angeles Times/Tribune, Inc.). If I worked there, I'd be doing the same thing honestly. I'd bet money that he wrote that article just to send it as a resume to another left wing news organization. In related news, CBS's 60 Minutes, which used to do this type of ACORN STING operation type investigative reporting (that David Zurawik criticized oddly) premiered its 1st episode with a Bernie Maddoff story. Geez, talk about old news for old people. Put a fork in it 60 Minutes or just fucking DIE will you please? Does anyone in the world really want to hear anything more about Bernie Madoff? I think not. Epic fail for 60 Minutes, picked the WRONG OLD NEWS story for a PREMIERE! You think? Say what you want about media bias, but it's no wonder FOX NEWS is #1. They are BREAKING STORIES, even theatrically unhinged Glenn Beck, regardless of whether you like him or not. FOX was also first to the Roman Polanski arrest. CNN ignored it for quite some time. CBS, ABC & NBC News all ignored the ACORN story and got egg on their faces. And the bitter irony is that people like The Baltimore's Sun's David Zurawik are getting pink slips daily for criticizing FOX NEWS! Kinda weird huh? (9/29/09) According to CNNMoney.com, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is one of the five most overpaid CEOs in the U.S. See article below... finance.yahoo.com (9/29/09) I’d like to chime in on the post about PENISmightier. He’s an a—hole. From his posts one can tell he fancies himself as an intellectual. He’s a boar. Many moons ago I got into his face about his “holier than thou” attitude, his retorts were childish, high end use of the English language but saying nothing of worth. PENIS-stick it where the sun don’t shine. WOW (9/29/09) THE REDZONE CHANNEL COULD JUST BE THE BEST THING... EVER !!! (9/29/09) Dave's response: They ought to do that for baseball..... Wow! Clear Channel (yanks) the guy at WMZQ who raises money for charity. Didn't see that coming! Al McGilvray (9/29/09) I'd like to chime in here about the messages displayed on the WPGC and WRC tribute websites. As one of the webmasters of the WRC site let me shed some light on what I think is the cause of what very few people are experiencing when they right click an image. First: only users of Internet Explorer will see this phenomena. Firefox and other browsers are immune. That is because IE uses the vulnerable Active X component. There are several sites out there that, if visited, can place a cookie on your system and cause such messages to be displayed when an Active X string is activated. Usually these sites are fun to visit since they take the existing HTML code and inset other text to turn the page into something other than what it is. One such site www.pornolize.com (which is currently offline) will take an average website and turn it into a porno site. I will say that this site DOES NOT put anything on your system that would cause what people are reporting here. The WRC site doe not discourage the use of audio files since they are largely airchecks and other files taken off the public airwaves. The purpose of the copyright note is to remind everyone that some of the images used have been donated from private and family collections and should not be used at will for personal gain. Skip McCloskey, 40-year audio pro, www.98wrc.com (9/29/09) The web people at WPGC ought to realize by now that listeners/surfers can download whatever audio they want just by recording it in real time during streaming. I can count at least four *free* software audio editors out there that would allow this. If you're going to discourage people from helping themselves to your product, then apply it to everyone. Sign me as a 30-year audio pro, thanks. (9/29/09) Dave's response: That classic PGC tribute site is not affiliated with the current PGC or its CBS parent, by the way..... The person who uses the moniker "ThePenIsMightier" must be a heavy financial contributor to DCRTV. That's the only reason I can come up with to explain why he is allowed to repeatedly post his inane, offensive drivel. In his first post on Monday, we find this gem: "Ah yes, the traditional Jewish festival of salted fish ... The cool thing is, they ask forgiveness for things they're going to do in the coming year." Then, in his second post yesterday, he graces us with: "Ah, Michael Hughes. Another warm wine enema fancier bites the proverbial dust." C'mon Dave, this "PenIs" clown's hateful, stupid posts really have no place on, what otherwise is, an enjoyable cyberspace destination! (9/29/09) Jim Nichols filling in for 11 pm weather on WBAL TV? Here's his bio: www.jimnichols.tv... John Collins is still listed on the station website so he must be on vacation. (9/29/09) Some weeks back somebody had mentioned in here about getting some rather bizarre messages when one right clicks on the WRC-AM 980 and WPGC Radio Tribute sites ( www.amandfmmorningside.com & www.98wrc.com ). Last night on the WPGC site it happened to me. By accident I right clicked when trying to listen to an audio file, but I got message saying "Busted !! HA HA..we have your IP addresses and you must pay the webmaster of this site $250 for copyright infringement SO THERE !! We take Paypal !!..." Is this a joke? I wonder if this is something from the hosting company rather that those who actually run the WPGC & WRC sites? I know some years back www.reelradio.com I knew a number of people who for one reason or another after listening to an aircheck who then tried to to listen to another one without closing out the last one, they got a similar message about being "you are busted for copyright infringement" and about how their IP address was on their file and they will sue..etc...I can remember the webmaster of the site at the time mentioning it was the hosting company who was behind that..not him directly though however at the same time the rumor was that Reelradio was having money issues and this was a "way" to get people to pay for the site to continue. Never did buy that rumor though even though it wasnt long afterward when Reelradio became a site one has to pay. Hmmmmmm. Anyway maybe it would be wise for the people who run these sites to contact their hosting companies about these "messages" since I am pretty sure one can find themselves in some legal hot water if one's site has messages about "suing people for copyright infringement..please pay right now..." if one isn't serious ( have these sites actually sued anyone yet ? ) much less a lack of proof anyway. Oh for the record I went back to the WPGC site an hour later..no "busted" message. Likewise with WRC's. Sounds like a hosting issue to me and chances are not the webmasters. (9/29/09) Dave's response: There is a way to disable the "right click/save" thingo and you can also put up a message informing the "clickee." I wouldn't worry about the site owner coming after you for copyright infringement, especially since you were prevented from downloading the file in the first place. They're just trying to strongly discourage folks from downloading the site's files..... Tonight, Bill O'Reilly once again took the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik to task. (9/29/09) GAWD how DC rock radio SUCKS! WWDC, WBIG and now WVRX are just emberrasing excuses for their respective formats. When 105.9 became The Edge, I thought it was the best thing to ever happen to this area, but after 4 or so days it became very old. then they shedded most of their playlist to make room for the same overplayed crap already heard over on BIG and DC101! It is just over a Month since the station launched, and I cringe everytime i turn the station on. That's pretty pathetic. I might start listening to 105.9 more often once some talent comes on the airwaves, but for now It's back to internet radio.When will the DC area get a great rock station like Detroit's WRIF?? (9/29/09) Dave's response: Apart from a few months with the Globe in 2007, it's been a helluva long time since DC had a decent rock station. You'd have to go back to the glory days of WHFS in the 1990s. The folks at Citadel are good at programming small market radio stations. That what WVRX is. It would probably do quite well in Altoona or Fort Wayne. They're driving their three DC stations into a fucking black hole with their stupid missteps..... www.current.org... Check out Current article along the right side of web site, entitled: “Top pubcasters' salaries listed in newspaper survey”. Fiscal year 2008 salaries include: Sharon Percy Rockefeller, WETA president, $391,904... It’s from something called the Chronicle of Philanthropy…(could not see the original article). (9/29/09) /\ September 29 Messages /\ \/ September 28 Messages \/ Twenty Strange Moments in Newscasting: www.epiccarnival.com. Watch for the now classic Jim and George clip where the model falls down. (9/28/09) I wish Michael Hughes a great deal of good fortune in his new endeavor. He is a class act, and always seemed to be fair and level headed, unlike the pompous, egotistical, self righteous and wildly unsuccessful suit that remains at the helm. The better man has left the building. (9/28/09) Will Tony Pann please wear the sweater one last time! Does this mean La Martucci will be taking over the weekends? (9/28/09) Joe Madison interviews Jim Brown reddingnewsreview.com (9/28/09) Ah, Michael Hughes. Another warm wine enema fancier bites the proverbial dust. Is there a six-car garage manse up for sale, or did our Michael go the Gabe Merkin route and buy his own radio station? Dave, you were more than cordial in your kudos to Mr. Hughes, but let's remember that this was the CBS droid who presided over the ass -effing of loyal WJFK listeners which took place in recent months. Who's listening to that station, by the way, the Cowboy Todd's of the world? Eff Michael Hughes, I wish him failure, as I wish to the entire CBS organization including Letterman. Of course if it doesn't happen, it's not the end of the world, what are you gonna do? Oh, also Daniel Snyder, I wish him failure, which is not going to happen, because the Redskins organization continues to pump out revenue without regard to win/loss records. That tree-killing midget bitch. Zorny, we hardly knew ye. --- ThePenIsMightier (9/28/09) "This is what The Edge should be playing..." Original "Watchtower" at noon, then the Hendrix cover 3 hours later? Two of the Zep standards 3 hours apart? Maybe you had to be there, but it sounds like tomorrow will be Two-fers, and Rock-tober starts Thursday... (same ol' same old)... Mark/CharmCity (9/28/09) Dave's response: Amen. Citadel DC is sinking faster than the Titanic did. The clueless WVRX, the Freshly-torpedoed Mix 107.3, and the just plain awful WMAL. Sigh..... I know how hard it is when your big brother decides to move out and strike out on his own. Annapolis isn't that far away, though. You can vist on weekends and holidays; and it's WRNR-FM. (9/28/09) Funny that Michael is taking credit for Hiring Elliot Segal at DC 101. I took over DC 101 in 1999 and don't remember him in the meetings......LOL (9/28/09) Michael Hughes has a resume that looks great and a record that stinks. Finally, maybe we'll get some great programming out of CBS stations!! Bye bye Michael. Some of us won't miss you! (9/28/09) Dave's response: Michael Hughes' tenure at CBS is definitely a mixed bag. He presided over some very cool years at alt rock WHFS. But, then again, it didn't need to decline the way it did the year or two before the format flip in 2005. And yet, El Zol is a very cool station, if you're into that sort of thing. It remains the DC market's dominant Hispanic outlet. Michael certainly fought long and hard for the successful and very popular "guy talk" format on WJFK, with Stern, O'Meara, the Junks, Ron and Fez, Opie and Anthony, and lotsa cool years of cool shows. It was the most sucessful station of its kind in the nation - until the PPMs clobbered it. The success of the new sports talk WJFK and the Fresh female format on WTGB are still "works in progress," but things are definitely trending upward. And we can't forget that very magical first year of the very cool altish rockish Globe, from its launch in February 2007 until the spring of 2008-ish or so. Yeah, I've had my differences of opinion with Michael over the years, but, all-in-all, his radio career here in DC with CBS is one to be quite proud of..... It is with mixed reaction I announce Michael Hughes has decided to take on some new and exciting challenges and will be leaving CBS Radio. Michael has been the consummate professional and a fabulous partner in helping us radically transform our cluster over the last year. While we are sure to miss his leadership, we should all be happy for him as he moves on with the next chapter of his life. What follows will describe that chapter……. Michael Hughes is leaving CBS Radio to form MHMedia, a full-service radio management consultancy to assist operators in the sales, programming, staffing, profit generation, and overall asset value enhancement of radio properties. MH Media will be headquartered in Annapolis, MD at Empire Broadcasting System’s 103.1 FM, WRNR and has signed that station as its first client. Michael will assist in all facets of the station’s sales, marketing and programming strategies, and will consult the company’s station acquisition plans for 2010 and beyond. Michael said, “My 10 years at CBS Radio, and 25 years total in our industry, in various senior management roles, across a variety of formats, has perfectly prepared me for this next phase in my career. I will most certainly miss the terrific pros in Washington, D.C. I've had the good fortune to work alongside, but the time seemed right to put my skills to work for other operators in multiple areas of concentration.” Michael will begin his new position on October 19th. Please join me in both thanking Michael for all he has done for all of us, as well as wishing him luck. Thank you Michael, kick some butt. (9/28/09) "“Where's Elliot? Not even Best Of this morning? Did I miss a memo? –Chainsman” – Today is Yom Kipper, Elliott said on Friday they would be off today - Martha Stewart" - Ah yes, the traditional Jewish festival of salted fish. Thanks for the tip-in, Martha. The cool thing is, they ask forgiveness for things they're going to do in the coming year. Hey Iran, shall we synchronize swatches? Defend your soup! Free Polanski! Parker Jewish Can't Lose! --- ThePenisMightier (9/28/09) Steve Bisciotti, owner of the Baltimore Ravens will make a rare in person guest appereance at the Greene Turtle in Ocean City on a special day, this Wednesday for the Ravens Wrap Show hosted by Michael Popovec (Raven Mike) and heard from 7-8:30pm on Salisbury-OC active rocker 93-5 The Beach, streaming at wzbhrocks.com. The show can also be seen and heard on their new webcam that can be found at ravens247.com. (9/28/09) 98Rocks's Detour Dave Sandler makes his long-awaited return to the air this afternoon with Stash 3PM (9/28/09) “Where's Elliot? Not even Best Of this morning? Did I miss a memo? –Chainsman” – Today is Yom Kipper, Elliott said on Friday they would be off today - Martha Stewart (9/28/09) Riggins on any sort of radio has been very underwhelming to date. It seems radio would be a perfect medium for a personality like Riggins and his opinions, but it just doesn't work for him. He's hard to listen to. (9/28/09) CLASS ACT: Tony Pann! Why he was never promoted to replace Topper will remain a forever unanswered question. Why he was passed up for the M-F morning position for Howard Bernstein will also remain a mystery. When people like Tony leave, you know the inner workings of a business have completely failed. In this case, the ratings scream like a nightmare. Also, what was up with a new reporter on Channel 9 last night wearing jeans on-air? It looked so unprofessional, but this is probably standard for WUSA. (9/28/09) Attention WMAL - You're running commercials on top of programming again on your web stream. Nice to know someone at the station occasionally listens. It's been happening for days. (9/28/09) Lucy Vodden (the inspiration for Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds) reported dead today in the UK from lupus at age 46. yahoo.com (9/28/09) Riggins on WTOP is a waste. He said very little that most listeners haven't heard, read or thought before. I can't stand Danny Snyder either; most of us despise him. Riggins is supposed to be on the radio to talk about the game. He did very little of that. Where's the insight? Where is his expertise? Where are Riggo's thoughts on how the 'Skins could right the sinking ship? Not on WTOP, that's for sure. Bonneville is wasting a lot of dough on this deal, that's for sure. (9/28/09) Elliot isn't on the air today because it's Yom Kippur. (9/28/09) Dave's response: Ditto with Tony Kornheiser..... Headline of the year award goes to.....The Carrol County Times www.carrollcountytimes.com ....."Redskins snap Lions' streak" (9/28/09) Dave----Among the things I like about your site is if there is media news & relevant stuff, it's there, up to the minute all the time!!! Some other "local radio sites" are in a set it and forget it mode merely regurgitating stuff from other sources or going to press once a year, llike cny radio dot com. Their top story is about "The Peppermint Twist's Joey Dee Band".....making it to the stand in their walkers and sitting out "Hot Pastrami with Mashed Potatoes." Well , maybe that's a fine nostagia piece, but "an unchanging story for two weeks?" Guess they don't get it .. and don't have to. It's in the same area as the the famous Syracuse Newhouse School of Communications. This is where. a local tv station (CBS 5-WTVH) needed a part for their tranmitter and was off the air for about ten (10) days, a period of time extending from before the labor day holiday weekend, through the the weekend after. They had to order the part and, " you know how slow things are around the holiday." Can you imagine? Guess.. we're staring in the face... an era in which television stations consider themselves "ON-THE-AIR" when they're ON CABLE even if their transmitter is"ON THE FRITZ." Oh, this has happened several times to them in the past and each time they handled it this way and it's a CBS affiliate. They have been off the air, "down, dead, they crashed!" WTVH Channel 5 has been notorious for this sort of thing on too many occasions. ( Just google their call letters for fascinating reading.) Would you want to pull their network affiliation if you had a say? Yeah, but where would they go? "No sandwiches today...somebody didn't bother to buy a loaf of bread..and the're too lazy to go to Seven Eleven. Guess in places like this, the Seven Eleven would be closed." That's how I ended my summer vacation in the finger lakes camping in upstate New York. Don't remember anything like this happening in Rockville or Gaithersburg.. ...even with the usual suspects. Guess with attitudes like that... the candelabra in Baltimore is redundant. They might as well sell the thing for real estate. From what I've seen, TV towers are now redundant in Syracuse, a town that was late getting cable to begin with... now unaware that a tv station that's on the air actually needs a transmitter and a tower to actually be on air. Tell that to WTVH channel 5. Worse still tell it to most of their viewers that they're off their air...they wouldn't know because they're watching on cable, as long as "they can see it, it's on the air." Maybe, CBS's home office in New York may care that their Syracuse station was off the air for a "few" days going into and out of the labor day weekend , the saturday and sunday before, yes including prime time, soap opera time, sports,etc Would they know the difference? Would it really matter? It happens quite often in that town. "I saw Andy Rooney, what you talking about, da, dtv?"Oh that, whatever it is, it doesn't matter, "we have cable. Obliviousness is in season.... folks staring like deer in the headlights...asking what," what are you talkin' about ...we got cable, the picture's fine... "Ya say you're in the innercity?" what do ya mean I can't wear my white shoes after labor day and can't get a 6 pack at 7/11, 6/12 or wherever?" Ouch....Granted, "we all have cable, satellite, etc.,"(ie, accessibility to the services at the given rate unlike the free broadcast air of radio & tv, god's free air) But there always was the mystique of the wireless, am. fm tv what have you...actually being on the air and hearing something off the air . At this rate some of these folks should be hooked up to a pa system and hear only what's said on that wired pa system like hearing only the announcements in the morning like in the old schools in the city and county.... and not care there is a world beyond....or...IS THERE? Every signal deficient radio station---am or fm---could have big ratings because they're on the internet.. Think of that ...no towers..no transmitters...no land needed for one tower or multi tower arrays, to be heard beyond the corner, directional or non directional, NIGHT & DAY!!! A good programmer could be number one in Ocean City, Olney, Pikesville, Baltimore , Dundalk , even in Syracuse , Toledo , and Podunk without a stick, "an antenna," 24/7!!! "100 PERCENT PENETRATION....".AND EVEN IF IT'S LESS...THEY DON'T MATTER....WHO NEEDS THE FRINGE..MUST BE FREAKS..WHO NEEDS THEM...YOU NEED THEM....WE DON'T NEED THEM....WE DON'T WANT THEM...SOMEBODY CAN DO THEM A NARROWCAST...A NICHECAST ALL BECAUSE OF A HIGH TECH DIXIE CUP CLOSED CIRCUIT VARIATION ON A THEME....DX, WHATS THAT?" HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DCRTV. EVERYBODY SHOULD SEND YOU A CHECK OF AT LEAST 50 BUCKS!!!!! Thank You, M E (9/28/09) Dave's response: Thanks! You can make an anniversary donation to DCRTV by visiting our Support Us page..... If Tony Pann is coming to WBAL-TV11 mornings, what's happening with Sandra Shaw? (9/28/09) Where's Elliot? Not even Best Of this morning? Did I miss a memo? -Chainsman (9/28/09) Dave's response: Oh, gawd, Cheap Channel wouldn't be dumb enough to cut him, would it? About the FiOS being digital comment: If Cox cable went 100% digital they would have exactly the same bandwidth that FiOS has. The FiOS cable signal is 1 gigahertz, and so is Cox Cable's. For whatever reason, Cox has a huge number of channels in analog which would translate to about 100 channels in digital, but they have not converted them over yet for inexplicable reasons. -Chainsman (9/28/09) Dave's response: Cable companies like Comcast and Cox, which have been serving local customers for many years, have many subscribers who have analog-only boxes or watch TV with an old "cable ready" analog set and no box. That's still a lot of customers that would have to get an upgraded digital box in order for Comcast and Cox to go "100 percent digital." That's a pretty big equipment cost for the companies, who would naturally pass that on to their heritage subscribers! Since Verizon's FIOS system is new, it can go "100 percent digital" from the start and offer loads more channels than both Comcast and Cox can..... I just read this in my local newspaper, THE WASHINGTON POST: “There ain't no such thing as a coincidence," Trentadue said.” If the “Truthers” believe the attacks of September 11, 2001 (can’t stand the term “9/11” any more than the terms “blog” or “blogger”) were known ahead of time on Bush’s watch, did Clintoon’s administration know ahead of time about the Oklahoma City Murrah Building bombing of April 19. 1995 ? Inquiring minds don’t want to know…. www.washingtonpost.com (9/28/09) I just saw the new comedy that WMAR airs directly after the 11 news on Sunday. I think its called sports extra with Stan Charles. Each time they have him on, its like being the first car in line behind a car accident. You get to watch everything and it gets worse with each minute. Poor Stan should stick to radio and print. He is much better. Its as if I was watching oral surgery, all the grimacing, squinting and mumbling of words the only thing missing was an "OUCH" (other than mine from watching). (9/28/09) Re "Dave's response: The reason Verizon's FIOS has more channels has nothing to do with fiber optics. It's because it's 100 percent digital." This is indeed a big difference, but FIOS does have a couple others. Their voice and data services ride over the fiber, unlike cable companies who have to dedicate channels for this. Video on demand and guide info are also over the data network, again saving cable channels. (9/28/09) Normally, I'm not one criticize, especially when it comes to WTOP, but there have been have been some things heard in the last 48 hours that made me think "Huh?". First, on Friday evening, Veronica Robinson leads into the weather with "Meteorigist Mike Steneford, looking at live Super Doppler 7, does it looks,like the clouds are increasing?" Mike quickly called her out by stating the obvious - radar gives no indication of cloud cover. She responded with "...Yeah, I know that, but..." Then today, just before the CBS news at 12, Nathan Roberts was reading the headlines, and he said the 'Skins fans were "packing into FedEx Field" for today's game. Uh, they played in DETROIT today. He did correct himself a few minutes later, after the CBS news. Then, in the first few minutes of the 5:00 hour, they went from talking about the Snyder-men's loss to the Nationals latest loss. Nathan Hager led into Patreeeeecia Wah-dalupe's story by saying it was the Nats' "final home game of the season." Wrong - the Nats open open up a three-game set at home starting Monday against the Mets. Wednesday's game will be the last home game of the season. I guess the Bonneville fact-checkers took the weekend off... (9/28/09) /\ September 28 Messages /\ \/ September 27 Messages \/ Dave, You are incorrect. Verizon's claim of fiber 'straight to the home' is quite legit. And fiber allows them to use less compression for a given amount of chanels than the other guys. Fiber is why they have more channels. Verizon has invested many millions, if not billions of dollars more infrastructure than probably Comcast and Cox combined. Unlike Comcast and Cox who only use fiber between their hubs, Verizon is doing the real deal on hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) to handle voice, video and data with as much bandwidth and quality as possible up to the minimum point of penetration (MPOP),,,which is as far as the law allows them because of the bundled telephone service. Verizon pretty much has no choice but to use coax beyond the MPOP, and the law puts much of the choice in the hands of the consumer, not the vendor. Verizon's use of HFC is not something they came up with in a marketing gimmick as you insinutate, incorrectly. Rather, HFC is a technical standard referenced in electrical and telecomm code documents. Saying you want the fiber to come alllll the way in to the set-top box is like saying the gas main sized pipe in the street should come allll the way in to your water heater, or otherwise you are not really getting gas. It is both impractical and unnecessary. Yes it would deliver more CFM and at a higher pressure,,,but what would you do with it? Distributing via fiber to every node in the house would make the cost and complexity ridiculous for the homeowner while delivering no improvement to the service. If the FCC thought the consumer would be better served by fiber to the set-top, you can bet they would force that regulation down Verizon's throat. As someone who installs fiber nearly every day for a living, I can tell you that your opinion is an uneducated hyperbole of public anger infuritating frenzy that is just plain dead wrong on this subject. Verizon has fiber all the way into the house, as far as the law allows. End of story. Stop creating an ill-informed issue where one does not exist and stop trying to be an engineer. Stick to muck raking. (9/27/09) Nice rant about Verizon but you are wrong. If you have an older house or a house that has not been wired for fiber, then you are using coxial within the house. However, anyone who has bought a house in last couple of years has had it wired with fiber. also, any of the millions of condo buildings have fiber. In addition, anyone who simply wants to run a single optic to their television set can take advantage of the faster speed. Comcast has to compress their signal because of a lack of bandwidth. VZ doesn't have this problem, hence the superior picture quality and the increased number of HD channels. (9/27/09) Following the Ravens 3rd win of the season Sunday, the 98 Rock website features the headline "Ravens Win The Season Opener" and their record is posted at 1-0. Yes, the "flagship" radio station's website is 2 weeks behind. I am sure 105.7 is chomping at the bit. When exactly is 98 Rock's contract up with the Ravens? (9/27/09) Straight to the home isn't BS. Because they have a TRUE Fiber Optic network, you get MORE HD channels. Comcast and Cox lie about their FO network. And it isn't completely meaningless to the consumer when you see how MANY more HD channels Verizon has than Comcast or Cox. Cox in Fairfax has one HBO, one Showtime, one Starz and one Cinemax in HD, with Verizon having at least five or more per network. FO to the home means something. (9/27/09) Dave's response: The reason Verizon's FIOS has more channels has nothing to do with fiber optics. It's because it's 100 percent digital. You can put two-ish HD or up to eight SD digital channels in the bandwidth space that one analog channel uses. Comcast and other area cable systems still offer between 60-70 analog channels due to the large amount of subscribers who still depend on older "cable ready" sets without converter boxes or older arrangements with analog-only boxes. If Comcast went 100 percent digital too, it could offer as many channels as Verizon does, regardless of whether it delivers its fiber optic service to a neighborhood node or to a box on the back of your home..... Dave, Verizon's claim of delivering fiber optic "straight to the home" is accurate. We've got our own dedicated strand of glass, 7 miles long, from our home to the firehouse, on whose property a Verizon infrastructure sits. It houses the traditional "copper" telephone lines as well as a cellphone tower and a FiOS light-based distribution system. Seems like a quibble when you point out the light pipe, at the home, needs to be converted to something the set top box can utilize. (9/27/09) Dave's response: Watching all those ads during football today, it just bothers me to see Verizon keep making that "straight to the home" fiber optic claim when it is completely meaningless to the consumer. More in today's Rant..... I just love reading the posts that say a radio station should play all listener requests at times. How great that would be to hear. blah blah blah. If a radio station did that on a consistent basis it would be a great big fail. Why? Because of a couple of things. First, most people request stuff they already know and like. If you have ever spent any time in a studio listening to calls you would know that most people request the hits. Yes, the same stuff some posters are tired of hearing over and over - that's what people request. Why? Because they like it! That is why they are hits! That would be the definition of mass appeal. Second, there are people who request obscure and unknown stuff that only they like. Most of the rest of the audience would respond with a collective 'huh?". Now, do I think radio stations of all formats can go broader and deeper and play more than the same 250 songs over and over? Absolutely. In any format are there songs they ignore? Tru dat. But to think that 'listener request' programming is the ticket to ratings riches is flawed thinking. (9/27/09) While I agree with the earlier poster about Rush's wardrobe decision, Dave I can't believe you wouldn't join me in a full-on rodfest for the new, slenderer Rush. There's an icon if I ever saw one. If not, you can content yourself with Gene Weingarten leavings over in the corner booth. For bonus points, he actually made pretty good sense, just like Bill Clnton on Press the Meat this morning, except when he went out of the way to remind everyone of the murder accusations; I guarantee one of his people had a word with him about that. Probably distracted by some off-camera poon. My one and so far only viewing of the Jay Lenos Show. Is WJFK still on the air? Have they gone Spanish? RIP Bill Safire --- ThePenIsMightier (9/27/09) Dave's response: It is interesting how people like Limbaugh are so much different when they do a show like Leno then when they are preaching to the perverted on their own show. I never liked Leno. OK, yeah, he's god awful ugly and all that, but I've just never found him very funny. I remain a Letterman kinda guy..... Be glad that you tuned into 106.7 The Fan and heard the Steelers game. At least you got to hear some good NFL football! You could have tuned into Comcast SportsSnooze and saw The Redskins postgame funeral. Never have I seen a Post Game show with so many speechless people. No Skins players gave any interviews. Even the hosts at times were speechless. I guess part of CSNWashington's contract with Danny Snyder involves no harsh criticizm of the Skins. Of the 4 host's Report Cards for the game, only 1 gave the Skins an F! How is that possible? I guess the 1 host doesn't like his job as much as the others, hehe. If that wasn't an epic fail of a game, I don't know what one could be! I'm sure 106.7 The Fan will have lots to talk about tomorrow and this will drive ratings through the roof since you know that ESPN 980 will not be very critical of the Skins. The CBS suits are happy as a clam right now. By the way, the area's other local sports network, MASN, was also bad today. When will MASN start doing longer and better Ravens Post-Game shows? We're talking about a team that most likely will go to the playoffs and has been picked by several people at ESPN to win the AFC North and at least 1 analyst to go to the SuperBowl, yet they have this lame 2 person short on everything post game show with Amber "I should be doing the morning traffic" Theoharris that looks like its being shot from an old WMAR 2 news set from the late 80s. Both the Orioles & Nats have much better post-game shows than The Ravens do as do The Skins. If I were The Baltimore Ravens, I'd be complaining to MASN. The Ravens Post-Game show is just pathetic. The only saving grace is that lots of Ravens players and coaches are willing to talk to the media, unlike the Skins, where there's a lock-down against speaking to the media or twittering, etc. So what would 106.7 The Fan have been able to do after this Skins loss if none of the Skins players/coaches were willing to talk? Exactly, like I said, be glad you heard the Steelers game and skipped the silent funeral. (9/27/09) Dave's response: So, are the Junks still "horny for Zornie"? Ha ha ha..... Well, I guess those "rumors" that Amy Robach was getting a divorce were true..Wow..Local gal moves to the big city with her husband and kids, gets national attention, gets a divorce and marries a celebrity..Guess that's what happens when you get in the limelight..She always seemed to be working which may have taken a toll on the marriage..Maybe she feels her celebrity/actor future husband will understand her hectic schedule. (9/27/09) 106.7 = Fail. I'm a BOAD fan and have never been in favor of the format change. I tried supporting Chad, but even that I couldn't stomach any longer. But now, after the Redskins epically fail against the Lions, I actually wanted some local sports radio talk. So, tune in to hear Chad crucify them...and what do I get? The Steelers' game? Good job CBS radio. Local content indeed. (9/27/09) I notice Comcast in Arlington is now showing News4 in 16:9. I wonder if HD will be next? Hope so since my eyes hate the stretched image. (9/27/09) Tonight is Tony Pann's last night at WUSA before moving to WBAL on October 5th, more in the Examiner. www.examiner.com... By the way, he is also switching radio outlets, moving from WCBM to WBAL. (9/27/09) Dave, I'm with you on HFS2's lack of jocks. I can't get a good grip on how I feel about HFS2...one hour they are SO WHFS-like that I can almost hear the staticcy hiss of the touchy Grasonville signal and expect Weasel or Kath to name the song and do a unique segue to the next awesome cut...the next hour I'd swear it was 98Rock or B104 with music so cliche I wanna puke. As for cliche..Cliche Channel has 2 slightly genetically botched clones of DC101 in Baltimore and Philly. Channel1043 skims the surface of Alternative/Modern Hits just as DC101 does. Radio1045 does the same. They each have thier own serving of Hair Metal or Glamrock that mocks an Active rock station in that city. (9/27/09) Anybody know what WPOC is doing on Saturday night after 11. I was out riding around last night and it was like they were playing college music. Kind of odd for WPOC. Also--Isn't Baltimore on the people meter now. Anybody know how the early numbers are shaking out? (9/27/09) If the new rock stations new morning show is Tommy Griffiths OMG! I was stationed with my husband in Norfolk for 6 1/2 years and listened to TG everymorning and then we moved to the area (Quantico) and morning radio SUXXXXX in DC. Tommy will own this town. Is it for sure that he's coming here? When will they do an announcement? Are you guys part of the radio staions in town, or is this just a blog thing? Now I'm psyched! Ginny and David Hope (9/27/09) Dave, I read what WRXP's playlist was... and it just makes me so damn mad that no one can get it fucking right man. NO ONE. I'm interested on your thoughts on you're HD/PC/Ipod only HFS2 is sounding like TO YOU. My opinion of the Baltimore operated one: it sounded like a better DC101, a station I could never like because unlike WHFS they never,ever,ever,never,never even acnowledge Baltimore existance. Now true, we have our OWN DC101 ("Channel" a Balti-snore's 98 Rock w/ more Alternative "hits"), so it shouldn't matter, but we in Glen Burnie (and most of "central" MD) can listen to 101.1. I guess it's the name. DC for DC. Whatever. Go back to Rockville with ya' baad self. -KeninGlenBurnie (9/27/09) Dave's response: I thought HFS2 would have the occasional DJ. We got two hours of Cerphe on day one, but it's been all automation since then. It would be nice to hear a little "humanity" on the station now and then..... I'm confused. Since when did citing a book with all kinds of nasty unconfirmed NFL rumors from various sources that largely don't or won't go on record earn more credibility than actual journalism from respected news sources where there are journalistic rules of how to confirm the validity of the information? Did I miss the new JOUR 101 memo? Did the rules change? Or do we have another Art Modell voodoo doll owner lurking in the DCRTV mailbag? Sheesh, will these people ever let it go? It's easy to make fun of the Baltimorons who do the same thing, but what is quite amazing is that the people from Cleveland are far worse. I'm beginning to think that Cleveland has more Art Modell conspiracies than Baltimore has crabs (& I'm not referring to the seafood kind) LOL (9/27/09) Update correction & clarification. Was trying to locate Scott Andrews or Andy Bitsco formerly of WGAY and WJMD. Andrews (Bitsco) at one time worked with Bob Moke at WGAY in the last days of their beautiful music format and previously with Bob Chandler at the same station. Moke went on later to program satellite radio's 40's channel. Is Scott Andrews (Andy Bitsco) still around...is he still alive? Andy also at an earlier time ran Parkway Productions which was headquartered in Silver Spring and later in Rockville. "Music Til Dawn" was similar to the programming Andy Bitsco used to do in DC. If anyone has information they could pass along, it would be appreciated. Sorry for any previous confusion. Thank you. Mark (9/27/09) Watching that old TV commercial for the now defunct Marshall Hall Amusement Park from 1974..if memory serves me correctly it was just a few short years after that commerical was made I believe that the roller coaster was demolished thanks to high winds. When that happened I do seem to recall Marshall Hall not allowing the local TV crews and both The Washington Post and the old Washington Star to take any pics of the damaged roller coaster fearing people will go elsewhere like to Kings Dominion ( like they would find out anyway ). Anyway that action on the part of Marshall Hall pissed off either the Post or the Star ( not sure which one ) as one of those papers soon did a story about how unsafe their rides were such as claiming that the ferris wheel's bolts were so rusted and old that the ride was "waiting to collapse". It wasn't very long that Marshall Hall became defunct. Anyway does anyone remember when the old Glen Echo Amusement Park was featured on the old Jim Nabors sitcom "Gomer Pyle USMC"? I haven't seen that episode in ages but I do remember my dad years ago telling me that the Gomer Pyle people had actually filmed some of the Glen Echo scenes at other amusement parks in an effort to make Glen Echo to appear much larger than it actually was. I do recall that episode being in color which makes me to believe that the Gomer Plyle/Glen Echo episode was done shortly before Glen Echo closed in 1968. (9/27/09) Most "classic rock" stations don't believe in deep cuts. Matter of fact most stations should have some live local folks in the studio to call up and make requests... Imagine if you called 105.9 and asked to hear the live version of STOP by the James Gang... Wouldn't that be neat? Ain't Happening... I think Grand Funk Railroad had a bunch of cool stuff off the first few albums,But Classic Rock means "Were an American Band"or"I'm your Captain"... Believe it or not Thursday morning on the way to work either I had 105.9, or was it Big 100.3?,and White Room by Cream was playing. I flipped to the other station at the end of the song and lo and behold,White Room was on the other station. I wonder what it would take to have a 2 hour long show of listner request for some real Classic rock. I know I would listen... Thanx for letting me rant... By the way I'm 53 and I will crank up that radio if the musics right... Jim (9/27/09) /\ September 27 Messages /\ \/ September 26 Messages \/ Dave Hughes, you couldn't be more wrong about 105.9FM the Edge. The station is fantastic. Thank you Citadel, for the great music. Sincerely, David M. Geary (9/26/09) Dave's response: More rock variety and more deep cuts. That's all I want..... Jeez, I hope friggin' Joe in Essex is done with his long winded, nonsensical posts about Modell. BTW, Joe, the other poster made a much more persuasive case about Modell than you did in about 20% of the words. You saying you saw a report on ESPN doesn't carry half the weight of where someone cites an actual source. Sorry. (9/26/09) Thanks to the person who posted the interview with Lee Reynolds! In the clip of Cap'n. Tugg using the radio, I noticed a box with flashing lights, to the right of the other equipment. Wasn't that the Spy Filter Machine? If I recall the plot correctly, that was a device that would keep Spike Marlin & Axel Grackle (the spies) from intercepting radio communications between The Channel Queen and the various other characters. I don't remember if Fantail the Parrot ever did make it into space, but the Spy Filter Machine would've kept those communications secure as well. Man, what great childhood memories!!! (9/26/09) Wasn't there a show like "Music Til' Dawn" on WGAY or WJMD with Scott Stevens or Andy Bitsco? Bitsco was talked about in that book, Jock To Rock or something like that. Didn't they used to do a show like that in Detroit or was that All Night Flight on KYA in San Francisco. Is Andy Bitsco still aound? Is he still alive? Last time I think I ran across him was a party in Montgomery Village. He had quite a background in mor and beautiful music. The last time I think I heard him was when he was doing WGAY before the change. Think he was working with that big band-40's channel guy who does satellite radio? Sorry, can't think of his name, but maybe he reads Dave's dctrv stuff...everybody does. As I recall, Andy also ran Parkway Productions in Silver Spring. Borrowed some of those large, I think 16" reel to reel, open reels of very very high fidelity beautiiful music from him once to dub down..think it was even on high speed. A lot of fun to handle on an old Ampex. Guess the old WQXR in New York was big on that kind of purist recording & public stations played symphony orchestra concerts that way. Used to watch em lugging all that heavy equipment aound the Meyerhoff in Baltimore..pulling up in their large greyhoundlike sized buses complete with all kinds of video equipment so they could have a crew outside and inside and watch. see, or oogle each other to do strictly audio for their radio broadcast? Much ado. Something like that happened for WBJC live from Ethel's Place, like another Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall which stands up pretty good, uh, all things considered, after all of these "hundreds of years." Bless them all. Guess Neal Ellis still does stuff like that. Hope he doesn't have to do all of that heavy lifting. Imagine all those mikes and you still can't hear the singers. Around The Pike in Rockville...is Barry Richards back in town? Did I hear him, Tom Grooms and Murray The K and Weasil on a legal pirate station at 1620 or was it memorex. Next time, I'm check another secret fm location. Now if I can find out if Eva Braun was their first female morning man? Mark (9/26/09) RE: "First, a few observations about WASHINGTON DC TELEVISION STATION WTOP, er, ah,"... You take all day to say nothing. - Sorry Lurch (aka Kim Martucci) if the truth offends you: maybe stay out of the way of everything West of The Mississippi on screen and stop dying your hair and you will have more time to actually say something. I know you are Dumb & Dumber, but for the most part, it takes the same time for most people to read something as to write it: except you. (9/26/09) RE: [ " I cited a specific source for the factual information on Modell. You just throw out unverifiable bluster " ]........ Nope, you cited a "tell all" book that attacks the NFL on multiple levels and is very critical of the NFL, not just Modell. That's like me finding a book that states Bill Clinton was one America's worst presidents and then stating it's a journalistic fact just because it was in a book! I cited ESPN, The Baltimore Sun, and various other journalistic organizations, not to mention statements from several former Maryland Stadium Authority directors. These nutty Modell conspiracy theories were all concocted by the "Save Our Browns" campaign with the help of local Cleveland media. I was in Cleveland about a week or so after the Browns move was announced, so I know exactly where all these these rumors come from. Then the national media jumped on the conspiracy bandwagon & the "Cry For Cleveland" campaign like fools, something that never happened ever before in the NFL or with The Colts or Raiders moves. There were never any national media stories of how The Baltimore Colts owner shopped the team around publicly to like 5 different cities as if it were a cheapass whore & even helicoptered into a stadium for a Steal the Colts rally! By comparison, Modell is a class act. None of the REAL journalistic stories written at the time of NFL expansion support any of these "Modell trashed the Baltimore expansion bid" conspiracy. That doesn't mean Modell wasn't interested in the Baltimore deal or that several other owners weren't either. But, it does mean that the ONLY owner that trashed Baltimore NFL expansion multiple times both publicly and privately was Jack Kent Cooke and he was very vocal about it. And Bethesda resident Paul Tagliabue w/ the help of studies from the league office made the ultimate decision after meeting Cooke which was then rubber-stamped by the expansion committee and the full ownership. And one of those choices has turned out to be a complete NFL failure in hindsight. If I recall correctly, Al Davis refused to vote just for spite. I stated facts, you quoted a "tell all" book. That WTAM guy Frantz is just icing on the cake, but I guess I could see Nasty Nestor doing something similar, but then again Nestor is NOT on Baltimore's News/Talk station like that idiot is on WTAM in Cleveland. That's kind of embarrassing for Cleveland and makes the city look like total trash. WBAL radio would never allow something that low. That's the difference between class and non-class. Since I figure I'm arguing with someone originally from Cleveland, I'm going to make this my last post on this topic for certain this time. It's a pointless argument and you can never change these nutty Clevelanders minds, so its not worth trying. (9/26/09) I live in Ellicott City Md. and am a Verizon FiOS customer. I noticed today that I no longer get DC channels, 4, 5, 7, 9...It starts at channel 1 and skips to 8 now. The DC channels are not listed in the guide. I haven't done a lot of research yet, but was wondering if those channels are no longer available in Howard County? ... This is Ellicott City again... I found the DC Channels on FiOS. 16 is WRC, 17 is WTTG, 18 is WJLA, and 19 is WUSA (9/26/09) RE: "First, a few observations about WASHINGTON DC TELEVISION STATION WTOP, er, ah,"... You take all day to say nothing. (9/26/09) OK after reading about yet another cut at Clear Channel Washington...exactly what happens when somebody gets the ax at Clear Channel? The reason I ask, lately I have been hearing some rather bizarre stories popping up on other sites about what actually takes place when one gets fired at Clear Channel and the other companies like Citadel, CBS and Entercom. Stories such as "..not being allowed to clean out your desk to get your personal items", "police are called first..then the termination takes place..after which the police then escorts the fired employee to his/her home". One story I read last night about some woman who had recently got the ax by the hands of Clear Channel, she claims that CC actually gave her a restraining order the day after the firing going as far as telling her that she could no longer have any contact whatsoever with her former co-workers..not even a simple "hello" at the supermarket..and if Clear Channel just happens to be doing a remote from that store..no she can't shop there either. The same woman also claimed that if one "quits" Clear Channel even by giving the usual two weeks notice and leaves on good terms, CC would still tell future employers in references that the person was "fired". Is this even legal? Oh another poster on the same site claims that some radio companies now are even turning to a "third party" to fire people such as the local newspaper or even local media sites similar to DCRTV because they don't want to be "the bad guys". Now I know when someone gets fired chances are they may be bitter when they post such stuff and one should take these stories with a grain of salt but still I wonder just how much of any of this is actually true? Now I have heard over the years about the police being called at factories per-corporate policy when they fire people (usually when a plant shuts down ), just kinda suprised this sort of thing would take place in radio...if it does happen at all. (9/26/09) Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but I don't understand the vitriol UCS expressed for the American Airlines music show and tapes. The tapes are still popular items on ebay (and how many people have a reel-to-reel machine today?) and featured big names in the MOR and pop fields. CFZM (AM740) provides a similar program in the wee small hours to this day. I for one wish there was room on the dial for a full-time MOR or beautiful music station. But since there isn't, does anyone know if it's possible to get GrooveShark on a portable device?~~CA in BC (9/26/09) The main announcer on the Marshall Hall spot sounds like Paul Hallett, who like Bill Johnson, was a staff voice at WTTG for ages. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/26/09) The announcer on the main section of that 1974 commercial for The Wilson Line was Paul Hallett who got his start at WTOP in the early '50s and moved to WTTG in 1963. He was also the unseen host of Channel-5's Saturday night "Chiller" movie show. By the way, before year's end, Bill Gormly will be interviewed on FCAC's "Out of the Past" webcast. Watch this space for details. In the meantime, here's an interview with Cap't Tugg from Out of the Past. (9/26/09) Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com. Made mistake before, it was WNDR in Syracuse not WNER which is someplace else. That's where Bill Parris who was on WINX and WLPL was? WNDR is the place where Bill Quinn was PD before WLPL and WINX. From a tape that we just put on cd Bill Quinn was Wild Bill playing the Top 50 and said it'sChock ful of Nuts Coffee Time on the new WNDR. Somebody calling himself Dan, Dan Dandee like the cruiseship was on the station too, as well as Jolly Rolly. Guess those old dudes got around like Barry Richard, Juan O'Reilly and Chris Roth on All Hit Winx. Awesome listening to the old shows on a legal pirate station with all those old jocks. That traffic guy Jim Lavin and Rob Michael Scorpio and Thomas Grooms, heard them also on winks, winx. There's a bunch of other tapes we're going through. Don't really know whats going to happen next. It's like it used to be on the radio. It's going to be cool to have these cd's. What do you think? Thanks again. Shay (9/26/09) I fondly remember both American Airlines Music 'til Dawn AND Dolly Holiday. I listened on WTOP AM-1500 and on a station in Charlotte, respectively. It may not have been the rock and/or roll that was popular during the period, but I liked the slushy string light classical music otherwise known as dreck. It was corporate radio conceived by advertising agencies to promote their business clients in what they perceived to be a high-brow way. Today you hear the likes of Glenn Beck and El Rushbo bloviating about the latest obscene attempt by progressives to take Our Great Nation down the road to perdition. I'd rather hear music (no Dixieland, no blueglass, no rap, preferably few vocals). In my youth, I was permitted to turn on the air conditioner (I had none in my bedroom) during a nighttime asthma attack. I'd curl up with Music 'til Dawn on my transistor radio and fall asleep. It was heaven to me. (9/26/09) Here's a 1974 commercial for The Wilson Line and Marshall Hall Amusement Park. I'm not sure who the main announcer is, but that's Bill Gormley doing the tag at the end. I remember my older brother and his girlfriend going on a WEAM Record Hop cruise in the 1960s, that was hosted by Russ Wheeler (one of the WEAM Team Redcoats). My brother brought me back some promo 45s. One summer, we got to take a Wilson Line cruise to Marshall Hall because we raised a certain amount of money at our backyard Muscular Dystrophy Carnival. Two other times, some of the neighborhood kids visited Channel 5 for having our carnivals. The first time (way back) we went to the studio when it was in the Raleigh Hotel, to be on TV with Bill Johnson. The second time, it was a visit to see Cap'n. Tugg at the new WTTG digs on Wisconsin Avenue. (9/26/09) MORNING SHOW for THE EDGE? Tommy Griffiths? 20 years at WNOR ROCKER in Norfolk/Va BEACH. Owned the market with Tommy and Rumble and Tommy and The Bull. Said he left show to move on to a bigger market that is close by. Makes sense. Considered a MAJOR LEAGUE TALENT and it's about time he moves on. Would not be suprised to see him land the gig. He's a stand-up comedian and opens for Ralphie May and other biggies... (9/26/09) /\ September 26 Messages /\ \/ September 25 Messages \/ Hey Dave,With all do respect, Why would 105.9 The Edge want to copy the format of wrxp? They are only ....wait for it....19th in NYC with a 1.7. Shoot, the old format, on 105.9, was 20th. Not much of a difference if you ask me. You can count on one hand the number of AAA formats that actually get ratings and ratings get money. Radio is a business,plan and simple. There are a lot more successful classic rock radio stations getting ratings and making money than there are AAA's. Just my humble (out of work) opinion. luv u man! (9/25/09) Rob asked if anyone here remembers American Airlines’ “Music till Dawn” on WTOP… Unfortunately, I do! It was some of the most absolutely, totally wretched dreck ever inflicted upon first ticket holders (Remember when all directional AM’s had to have a first ticket holder on duty?), usually at their first job. When I started moving up the ladder and started flying to NYC at least once a month back in the 1960’s, I found American proudly proclaiming its sponsorship of “Music Till Dawn” (and the hapless stations on which it could be heard (I doubt many people actually listened to it!)) in their timetables, in-flight magazine, and just about everywhere else. They even sold reel-to-reel tapes of that garbage. I can't believe people actually paying to hear that stuff at home. It would've been like writing an airline for its recipes back when airlines usually served something resembling food which was included in your ticket price. The "Music till Dawn" playlist often included the “background music” that was played during boarding and deplaning of American’s aircraft. I’m sure that an inquiry on an airline enthusiast or history website or to the C.R. Smith American Airlines Museum in Dallas might bring more information. Now, having said all that, does anybody else here besides me remember en even more dreadful overnight show called “Holiday Inn Nighttime” hosted by Dolly Holiday? A board shift with that crap was really a “bored shift”! I knew guys who routinely slept through parts of her show until the local cut-ins. It was an open secret with guys bringing alarm clocks with them and often faking the log readings. The music and M.C. of “Holiday Inn Nighttime” made “Music till Dawn” sound like AT40 and Casey Kasem by comparison! I guess that’s why us old timers aren’t too surprised at how radio is today. Truly repulsive radio isn’t anything new… it’s just being recycled in recycled packaging! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/25/09) Final response to one of the blowhards, who is strongly suspect is Joe in Essex. I cited a specific source for the factual information on Modell. You just throw out unverifiable bluster. I'll let the board's readers decide who has more credibility. (9/25/09) Hey Frantz Cleveland WTAM guy, if you are going to impersonate Joe the Plumber running loud irrational Cleveland smack, then you need to start by toning down the nose. Damn, a squeezable honker is one thing, but your snorter is as much an offense to all self respecting air-breathing mammals as your brainiac logic ( sorreeee, I never made it past your opening reason that started with Wash DC..WTF?). (9/25/09) I don't care what the "While I'm still not convinced about Chad Dukes & Lavar Arrington" poster has to offer. I listen to 106.7 and am impressed with both Arrington and Dukes. I started out being a hater skeptic, but have spun around on the respect meter. Arrington is the real deal who expresses some refreshingly honest comfortable athlete opinions in this button down corporate city. But I'm also impressed with Dukes who blends his manic give a snit attitude with some solid sports knowledge (where did that come from?). We are lucky to have these contrarians punching airwaves given the usual bigcity bloated sports trash. (9/25/09) Wow, just when you thought the NFL smack talk couldn't get any worse, check out Cleveland's WTAM's Top 5 Reasons Why Baltimore SUCKS... Cleveland's white trash sports talk WTAM guy makes DC & Baltimore's sports talk stations look high-brow in comparison! Do you think WBAL or WTOP or even 105.7 The Fan would ever allow this piece of trash to put this on Youtube? I think not. And people from Washington think Baltimore has an inferiority complex??? I rest my case. Could this DJ and Cleveland be anymore pathetic and more of a loser city than that stupid video shows? Can't wait for the DAWGS to go home with their tails between their legs Sunday afternoon! And let's not forget, Ohio's MLB teams have the 4th & 5th WORST attendance in MLB. HAha! Oh, how the truth hurts so bad for dying rust belt cities like Cleveland. Can't wait for Baltimore to build an NBA-sized arena and steal another team from another dying rust belt city. :-) (9/25/09) Mr Hughes your site is awesome! Mark just played some tapes of some of the deejays who were on in Washington and Baltimore. Ron Riley sounds super on WCAO and so does Jack Lennon and Skip Nelson on WINX. Wonder if that's the same guy who sang Old Black Magic with Glen Miller? Alan Field used to play it on WITH. It would be great to get other tapes of Michael Q Anthony and Bill Parris on WLPL. Didn't he work with Peter Straus and Bill Quinn in New York at WTLB and WNER? Well, just love the tapes like the cruisin stuff they used to sell at Tower in Rockville. Hope some readers have some oldie goodie tapes. I think these came from Mr Vicker at the old WINX.before they tore the house down. Was there someone there by the name of Dave Norment? The one called Message of Hope was inspiring. Thanks guys, Shayna (9/25/09) Anyone remember Music till Dawn on Wtop radio?? sponsored by American airlines. rob (9/25/09) Speaking of the NFL... I noticed that The Baltimore Ravens game will not be televised in the Washington market this weekend or anywhere in the region except Baltimore & Salisbury while the Redskins game will not be televised in the Baltimore market. Of course the Ravens are a team predicted by many to win the AFC North division unlike the Redskins who are predicted to not fight themselves out of a paper bag. It looks like both games will be the least watched 1pm NFL games according to the current NFL map. Is this due to NFL rules or do WUSA 9 and FOX45 have some agenda here? I mean, I can understand people in DC wanting to see the Philly/KC matchup since it's a division rival, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone in Baltimore who really wants to watch the Saints/Bills game! I'm not even a Skins fan and even I would rather watch the Skins game to root against them over the game WBFF FOX45 picked! :-) (9/25/09) I was living in Indy from 1983 till 1993 .I saw the Blue and White seats being installed in the Hossier Dome before it was enclosed and before the last week in march 1984. Now why would a hoosier Dome have blue and White seats unless the Colts were coming. I knew a contact who was a relative of Miami Owner he called and ask point blank was Baltimore going to get an expansion team.The answer No and hell no! Baltimore had no support as it ended up years later . The best analysis was made today. I only add one fact Charlotte was selected the planned expansion day and yes because St Louis fell through the second vote was delayed so Jacksonville could get their act together before the vote John T. Henneman (9/25/09) First, a few observations about WASHINGTON DC TELEVISION STATION WTOP, er, ah, WUSA: the Uber-loverly Anita Brickman sighted today gathering her laundry from the cleaners in the real Cabin John (not the phony shopping center namesake in what is actually Outer Mongolia Bethesda) not far from the former home of the Great Late Glenn Brenner. She is ten times better looking in person than on television (she would be great on Dancing With The Stars and is surprisingly friendly, down to earth and, well, VERY, VERY HOT! The same cannot be said for her comrade, Lurch “That’s A Man Baby” The Weatherman (aka Kim “I Was Proposed To On Television” Martucci) who really should stay the hell out of the view of the weather map as she takes up half the country when she’s standing in front of it and learn not lean to over too much as one can easily see the roots of her ridiculously dyed phony read hair. As a matter of fact, she might be better suited if she just acted deaf and dumb (the latter she already has covered) and just use a pointer from another room. What a goofball in hoop ear rings and under sized outfits: please keep her on days as she’s a bit much to have to look at early in the morning. Now: if only Angie would show a little more cleavage, WUSA might actually crawl outta the cellar ratings it seems to own. Second: am I the only person who notices that PMSNBC is the ONLY cable network that gives complete coverage to whatever Mideast dictator is spouting off? They were the only ones to cover THE ENTIRE DAFFY KHADAFI speech and today they gave that smelly anti-Semite Iranian dictator the same treatment as if he has anything to say. I say just show a photo of these guys with a pile of dog crap superimposed over their faces and report that they have nothing worth hearing instead. (9/25/09) Hey there guys and gals it's barry richards www.barryrichardsshows.com and then there's this wvrx-fm.fimc.net... I find it curious that Metro is doing an ad blitz on radio with their huge budget deficit. (9/25/09) WCEM-FM/Cambridge PD/morning guy Gary "G.E." Edsall will be featured in AllAccess' "10 Questions" section in the Hot AC category beginning this Monday...."no market" rants and raves at their finest! (9/25/09) Why would I read a scandal and rumor filled book by Jon Morgan when I read all the AP, ESPN, and various newspaper reports at the time of NFL expansion and have actually spoken directly to the former Maryland Stadium Authority director? Since when does something being written in a scandal book make it journalism or a fact? My basic point still stands, Tagliabue made the NFL expansion decision. Could Art Modell or other owners have stepped in for Baltimore? Certainly, but they didn't have to vote against Baltimore because Tagliabue and the League Ofiice made the decision and it was widely reported that the Expansion Committee was going to simplly rubber stamp Tagliabue's choices. As for owners interested in Baltimore, well guess what? According to several former Maryland Stadium Authority directors, at least 3-4 NFL teams were checking out Baltimore for a possible move over the years, not just The Browns. All these nutty Clevelander conspiracy theories on Modell trashing the Baltimore bid are just that... nutty rumors. And according to ESPN at the time, Tagliabue had not decided on Jacksonville initially or before he met Jack Kent Cooke because all news reports at the time had the favored expansion teams as St. Louis and Charlotte. However, the St. Louis ownership group completely fell apart and all started suing each other if I recall correctly just before the final NFL expansion decision was to be announced. I watched the announcement on live TV at the time. The announcement was even delayed so as to give the St. Louis group extra time to re-organize and settle their differences, at least that's what ESPN was reporting that day. Why would the announcement have been delayed if Jax & Charlotte were the 2 chosen cities all along? All of the books full of revisionist history on this subject amaze me. I watched it unfold live on ESPN. It was quite clear that the collapse of the St. Louis bid delayed the proceedings and created a dillemma for Tagliabue that forced him to choose Jacksonville at the last minute. There was not a single reporter covering the story at the time who was not shocked that neither St. Louis or Baltimore got one of the franchises. And if I recall correctly, Jack Kent Cooke also made a passionate speech to the Expansion Committee against Baltimore. I've never read that Art Modell ever did such a thing nor any of the other NFL owners who were looking at the Baltimore bid. But, I did get to watch Bethesda resident Paul Tagliabue on live TV respond to a question as to what Baltimore should do with its stadium funding proposal and with all the lack of class that Tagliabue has, he said "Maybe Baltimore should consider building a museum or something." He also said once that he ultimately envisioned Ohio only having 1 NFL team. What an asshole. And it was that arrogant asshole atttitude by Tagliabue that led the State of Maryland to get tough and aggressive on stealing an NFL team. So yes, you could easily lay some of the blame on Tagliabue for both Los Angeles and Cleveland losing NFL teams because he set up the perfect storm for both of those teams moving. In hindsight, the choice of Jacksonville made absolutely no sense whatsoever & was a horrible decision. The city obviously cannot support an NFL team and it doesn't even have a nice stadium. The day Wayne Weaver dies is the last day the Jags stay in Jacksonville most likely. (9/25/09) On the topic of NewsChannel 8’s 18th anniversary, is there any reason Albritton has not/could not/would not put it on one of Channel 7’s digital channels? That’s the only way I ever see us getting it in the valley. Charles in Winchester (9/25/09) Dave's response: I think Allbritton has an exclusivity deal with area cable TV systems, a la Comcast, Cox, and Verizon's FIOS. That's why you can't see NC8 via WJLA's digital signal subchannels or via satellite systems like DirecTV..... The CQ bloodbath has been felt at WAMU. Last night, Pat Brogan, local host for All Things Considered, said something along the lines of , “Normally at this time (~5:45 pm) we’d bring you news from Captiol Hill with a reporter from CQ.com. However, this will be off the air until the beginning of October.” Jonathan Allen was who they’d always have on. He’s on your kill list. (9/25/09) "complete with a green-screen virtual set studio (and the Tom Gavin show).". ----God forbid the general public loses that fossil....errr....radio legend! *sarcasm* (9/25/09) Two issues: 1) If I have to listen to 105.9 The Edge play "Panama", "Start Me Up" or "Money for Nothing" one more time, I'm gonna set my hair on fire. 2) Bryan Nehman ROCKS!! -Silvie- (9/25/09) (Re: Any truth to the rumor that Fairfax Public Access is shutting down in 2013?) I can't see that as being likely, unless Cox has renegotiated its contract with the county. Media General (Cox's predecessor) got the OK to build only when they agreed to launch a "channel for the people", and Cox took that up when they bought the system several years ago. FCAC/FPA is a superb facility, complete with a green-screen virtual set studio (and the Tom Gavin show). Shutting down the channel would be a great loss to the vox populi. (9/25/09) Dave's response: We do know that Fairfax County is redeveloping the grunky industrial complex, populated by auto body shops, etc., where FCAC is currently located in Merrifield as a retail/residential "town center" a la Fairfax Corner a few miles away. And I have heard that FCAC is looking for a new location for its broadcast studio complex. And just vetoed moving to the Herndon area. We'll see..... Anyone seel Limbaugh on Leno last night? Rush, wearing a half unbuttoned, untucked shirt (gag!), just couldn't sit still. Like he was hyped up on uppers or had ants up his anus. (9/25/09) Check out Baltimore Magazine for info on a benefit for a MPT anchor's anniversary. $250 a table and emceed by John Waters. (9/25/09) Man, there are some know nothing blowhards on this board. Anyone who is interested in the truth about Modell's machinations to trash Baltimore's expansion bid and keep the city for himself should read "Glory for Sale: fans, dollars and the new NFL", by Jon Morgan. Among other things, he reveals that Modell had been discussing a possible move with Baltimore officials since the year after the Colts left and that he actively manuvered to kill the Baltimore expansion bid while publicly professing support (including voting against the Baltimore bid by his good buddy Lerner). He also makes clear that Taglibue had decided to back Jacksonville BEFORE the meeting with Jack Kent Cooke that the Baltimore crowd so loves to whine about. But never let the facts get in the way of the Baltimore inferiority complex, right? As for an actual local media topic, I see that WTEM is having Scott Linn due a remote broadcast tomorrow from the first Capitals Convention at National Harbor for which 5,000 fans paid 40 bucks a piece to attend. You know the Caps must be hot when WTEM actually starts paying attention to them. (9/25/09) Furloughs At WW1? Sounds far-fetched to me....... (9/25/09) So the "Ben and Brian" show lost Ben first, and now Brian? So the "Brian and Jenny" show, or whatever it was called, is now just the "Jenny Show"? Christian (9/25/09) Big Auto News: "HD Radio will be a standard offering in the 2010 Jaguar XJ luxury sport sedan model, as well as its XKR sports car and XFR sport sedan." All right. Now the system is taking off! Hey, all you doubters...Bite me! John (9/25/09) It all became clear to me last night in an alcohol-soaked dream: radio's troubles in DC aren't because of the internet or the iPod or Clear Channel or the economy. Ready? It's guys named Dan. Think about it! What's happening with all the Redskins stations? What's happening with CBS? Where is all the bulsht coming from? GUYS NAMED DAN! If your name is Dan, get the hell out of radio now. Wow, I'm still really hung over... (9/25/09) For those of you who are trying to figure out how to upload and promote your radio show, DJ mix or podcast for free, check this out: www.mixcloud.com. (Pete and Brenda, Bob Mathers, and many others that I know should look at this one for sure) It also is like a Youtube for radio with thousands of shows, DJs, and lots of music. Worth looking at. Ed Graham (9/25/09) Any truth to the rumor that Fairfax Public Access is shutting down in 2013??? (9/25/09) Billy Bush Expands WW1 Show - Did you know there is still one WWI American veteran still alive? He is 108-year-old Frank Woodruff Buckles, and he still lives on his Jefferson County, WV farm. He has been interviewed by just about all the local media, including WHAG-TV NBC25 in Hagerstown, Md. Al McGilvray (9/25/09) From Politico: The Time cover was one thing, but now there's more evidence Glenn Beck has broken through the mainstream: a Saturday Night Live parody. On Thursday's "Weekend Update" special, the president tunes in to the Fox host. (9/25/09) Dave: it just occurred to me what with all the banter about keeping DCRTV’s “Mailbag” on target in terms of posts pertaining to only DC television and radio topics that you also cover both print and internet media. Perhaps you should change the name to DCRTVPI (DC RADIO, TELEVISION, PRINT & INTERNET)? (9/25/09) UCS queried: "Whom do you feel sorrier for? The people who are getting the ax? Or, the 'survivors'...?" I feel sorrier for the people getting the axe. The latter group is still receiving a paycheck. And like any other job in the good old USA, they are welcome to give notice and leave any time they are dissatisfied with their job. Count me as one of those guys doing the work of three people and have been doing so for a long time. (9/25/09) Belated Happy Twelfth Birthday Big Dave: treat yourself to a coffee at the South Lakes Starfucks, will ya? Meanwhile, I watched The Anointed One here in the WASHINGTON DC AREA on my LOCAL CABLE TV and I’m surprised that all the DCRTV leftists ankle grabbers have not commented how impressed they were that Obambi gave his U.N. speech and then sat – unlike those oh so horrible people who walked out and missed the glory of it all – through speeches by those wonderful human beings, Daffy Khadafy and The Iranian Stud. You must be so very proud you voted for a man with friends like that! (9/25/09) An earlier post mentioned some obvious casualties in this business when layoffs become cultural. Two others were omitted. When employees work in an environment where fear of layoff is a part of daily life, employee trust is destroyed. You first see this in “little” but significant ways. Unnecessary spending ceases. Your employees not only stop the Starbucks habit, they “brown bag” their lunches. Of course, eating out at dinner becomes history. You’ll see employees trim (or even eliminate) vacations, hobbies, “frills” like music or dance lessons, or sports for the kids. They are doing this to conserve funds for the layoff they see coming. Why? They don’t trust you! This loss of trust eventually reaches your clients seemingly through osmosis, even if nothing is mentioned by an employee. As a result, your clients perceive unreliability and cut their buys. In the worst case, you actually lose clients. Finally, this loss of employee trust reaches your audience, creating a possibly insurmountable incredibility gap. This loss of trust by employees is as easy to fix as a broken egg. The only hope when it happens in a major operation, is that the corporate HQ will learn of it early enough to have officials fly in, clean house overnight of those responsible for the mess, and try to give employees reason to trust all over again. (9/25/09) Hey Dave! I've switched off my HD transmission, have Anita Mark doing sideline reporting and I'm denying a format change... IN MY PANTS! (9/25/09) DJ's who remember WOHN also remember being 20 years old at Johnny Holiday's 50th birthday party! (9/25/09) "While I'm still not convinced about Chad Dukes & Lavar Arrington, I have to say that Arrington is getting better all the time. And he's got an incredible voice for radio." Check back five months from now, when pro football season is over and Mr. Arrington has to talk about other sports. Why can't D.C. find a Mike Francesa type for afternoon drive time, someone knowledgeable on a variety of sports? Why must we settle for former coaches or players who have certain "sacred cows" they won't touch? -- Vincent in Triangle (9/25/09) Hey Tom Conroy: Thanks; got the site; somehow I was thinking that your station streamed..and I was gonna get to hear you spinning some good ole country music)..but don't see any type of "listen live" link..aw but I'll bet it's a good station..and am sure you do a nice job! I remember hearing you on WPOC back in the day! Tom in Denton, MD. (9/25/09) To be, or not to be? That is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles… While my brothers at Clear Channel have lost their battle and are consumed with mediocrity and despair… I can not look past the fact the CBS has joined them in their acceptance of the level they have lowered themselves to. Les Moonves, Dan Mason are laughing all the way to the bank, while the public is robbed of quality programming. Sign off Dan. Go do your internet radio show. You can’t handle 50,000 watts, you Puss! (9/25/09) /\ September 25 Messages /\ \/ September 24 Messages \/ For the person asking about WZBB's website, it's www.supercountryonline.com. Nothing fancy at all since the staff pretty much does it all, from website to scheduling to programming to computer/network repair. With all the budget cutting in radio, I told the PD he should open his own computer repair shop on the side. Somehow he and the office manager keep the "IT" stuff going. Tom (9/24/09) Bill Press has NOTHING to do with Air America. He's syndicated by Dial-Global. (9/24/09) With all this talk about actual and rumored layoffs not just in the business but throughout the economy as this Depression continues to deepen, here’s something to ponder: Whom do you feel sorrier for? The people who are getting the ax? Or, the “survivors” who now have to do their original work, plus often the work of those laid-off, or are re-assigned (often to something they’re unsuited for (OK, programmed to fail! And, ultimately get fired instead of laid-off.)) and go to work each day wondering if that day will be the one in which they get laid-off themselves? A sensible person would wonder if an atmosphere like that is bad for morale with quality and productivity going in the tank. It would… if, there were any morale left! And, quality does suffer along with productivity. When employees feel ‘What does it matter? Why bother? I’m going to get laid-off eventually like everyone else!’ your operation is doomed. Pity this is so true now with properties which were once “crown jewels”, but have been allowed to tarnish and corrode from within because it was decided to treat their loyal employees like “pieces of meat” (as one chain PD once called his jocks) instead of human beings. Folks, this is only going to get worse. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/24/09) No Jim OR Doreen on 6pm news?..What's up?..And as far as Tony Perkins sitting in the anchor chair more and more, it isn't rocket science that something's up with Steve consistently MIA and Tony conveniently filling in...I believe that it's only a matter of time before Steve just fades away and we will no longer hear Tony say "I'm Tony Perkins filling in for Steve Chenevy", just "Good Morning, I'm Tony Perkins"..But hey, I can't be mad at the brotha since I bet this whole transition from weather guy to anchor were conditions of his contract with FOX5 prior to joining that station..However, it is somewhat painful to watch him go through his "anchor training"..He so many times looks a cardboard cutout and quite uncomfortable when reading the teleprompter.. (9/24/09) Hey, Dave...your headline -- "Celeb Journos Battle Tumors" -- is a little scary. It sounds as if Andrea Roane and Bill Press have brain tumors. For a minute, I thought I was reading the National Enquirer. Wouldn't it be more accurate (and less sensational) to say "Celeb Journos Raise Money to Battle Tumors"? Anyway, congratulations on 12 great years of a great website...you do a wonderful job. -- Bobbie (9/24/09) Dave's response: Thanks Bobbie. I fixed that headline..... These are my last comments on this long-winded topic... First, if the jury in the USFL case had understood or been given proper instructions by the judge in that case, there would have been significant damages against the NFL and the league or leagues would look quite different today. It was clear that the NFL had violated antitrust laws in both keeping the USFL off of network TV and out of certain NFL stadiums. If that were not the case, then I'd suggest to Jim Williams that the USFL would not have won the case in the first place! The lack of damages was a complete judicial fluke and error, not an indication that the NFL had only committed minor infractions. Oh, and people forget that the State of Maryland also sued the NFL and Paul Tagliabue was involved in that case as well. That case was settled out of court if I recall correctly. I don't remember the terms of the settlement, but it had something to do with Baltimore being a top consideration for NFL expansion. And speaking of NFL expansion, everybody has their Art Modell conspiracy theories regarding why Baltimore did not get an NFL expansion team. The problem with all of them is that they are purely conjecture with no basis in fact, just rumors made up by whiny Clevelanders who won't give it a rest to this day. The facts are that Paul Tagliabue studied the expansion markets with the help of people within the league office and made the decision himself after having a publicized meeting with Jack Kent Cooke where Cooke strongly argued that Baltimore was part of the Redskins market and that 2 franchises in this region would be detrimental not only to the Redskins, but also to the NFL itself because one or both teams would have a hard time succeeding. The NFL expansion committee did not make the decision on expansion, they just rubber-stamped Taglibue's 2 preferred cities after he was publicly pressured by Jack Kent Cooke and conducted all the growth studies and rated the cities, albeit in a biased manner in hindsight. That process was widely reported by The Sun, The Post, ESPN, etc. These are facts widely reported by local & national media at the time. All of the Modell rumors are basically still to this day... rumors. If there was any meddling by the Expansion Committee owners, it was only because several of them liked Wayne Weaver quite a bit, while the St. Louis and Baltimore ownership groups were sketchy at best, well except for Al Lerner, who offered to jump into the Baltimore ownership pool at the very last minute. However, even with the very well connected Al Lerner involved in Baltimore's ownership, Tagliabue still chose tiny market Jacksonville anyway, you know, that fast growing market that won't sell out hardly any of its games this season! Go figure. After that, Baltimoreans knew the fix was in the same way Washingtonians knew the fix was in for MLB w/ Angelos. I read every single story regarding NFL expansion at the time. Methinks Jim Williams was reading too much of his own copy at the time instead of all the printed newspaper stories I read. Ironically, The Browns moving deal was signed on Al Lerner's private jet at BWI and it was leaked on the Stan the Fan radio show later that day, although Stan hung up on the neighbor of the Governor's body guard, thinking it was a crank call! And if I recall correctly, Pete Rozelle always claimed that his biggest failures as Commissioner were not stopping The Baltimore Colts move to Indy or stopping Al Davis, but The Raiders move was rectified ultimately. Baltimoreans will always hold a grudge over The Colts because the NFL & Paul Tagliabue fought so hard and blatantly to not rectify that situation. Oh and finally, according to USA Today, as of the beginning of September, neither the Carolina Panthers or Jacksonville Jaguars have sold out their entire seasons while both Baltimore & Washington had complete sellouts before the start of the season. Oh, and you can add to that list Miami and Tampa & Oakland too! So much for those growing & non-growing market studies huh? Sure Tags wasn't biased against Baltimore! HAha! (9/24/09) WHOA! 12 years? That really is a great accomplishment. Congrats! I'm giving you 2 mildly gnarled thumbs up and a tip of my tin foil cap [keeps the voices away] to you Dave! May you have many more years of delivering to us, your often humble faithful, all the best and worst that DC TV and radio have to offer. Paul (9/24/09) As a follow up to recent postings expressing an interest in a Baltimore-DC Radio Reunion, a site has been procured. The venue seats 1,000 and has a 2,000 square foot dance floor. The place is situated between the cities right off the B-W Parkway. Some have suggested that Spring 2010 would be a good time to hold the affair. All feedback on this proposed event is much appreciated. (9/24/09) I noticed it, too, that WOHN was the fictional TV station mentioned on "Glee". I assume they picked it because it's supposedly Western OHio News. But it sure reminds me of 1440 in Herndon, and someone must have looked on the Wikipedia and realized it's the call letters of a defunct radio station. Also: Did anyone watch the Katherine Couric webcast where she interviewed Glenn Beck? (I am not discussing politics here.) I wasn't going to stare at a 3x3 picture for 45 miniutes but I let it play and recorded the sound with a program called Goldwave, then copied the wave file to a CD and listened to it on the way to work. Since it's just talking heads, it's an easy way to listen to it. I thought it was quite a nicely done and fair interview. She allowed him to offer his opinions, and also didn't let slide odd or contentious things he has said in the past, but didn't argue with him, which some interviewers (like those on NPR) would do. I give 2 thumbs up on that inaugural webcast. I think she has only improved by doing a serious CBS news broadcast these few years. Unfortunately, I still prefer Law and Order reruns when I get home from work. -- Carl in Olney (9/24/09) While I'm still not convinced about Chad Dukes & Lavar Arrington, I have to say that Arrington is getting better all the time. And he's got an incredible voice for radio. Over on WTEM, which I still prefer, the John Thompson show remains a glaring disaster. Complete and never ending boredom--and could somebody PLEASE tell Rick Walker to stop stuffing his fat face while he's on mic? There's nothing more annoying than listening to him chew, swallow and slobber his way through a segment. What a clown. (9/24/09) Not sure what Jim Williams incredibly long rant had to do with radio and TV, but I do know that his education on the NFL has some blind spots. For starters, Tagliabue was NOT the commissioner during "the first planned expansion since 1966." That was commissioner Pete Rozelle, who added Tampa Bay and Seattle to the league in 1976. (9/24/09) FACT: Nobody reads the Washington Examiner. (9/24/09) Dave, have you seen this today? The WP website now has a wrap-around advertisement for Siemens. This is the first time I've ever seen any national news organization using online advertising like this, which is just like what some U.S. entertainment sites like IMDB do. I'm actually shocked by this - not in a bad way, just, wow. It's like the day the NYT starting running color photos on A1. (9/24/09) Add to the axed (at CQ): Jodi Schneider, training director and former economics editor…. (9/24/09) Fact: First of all the USFL sued the NFL. – It was an antitrust suit – charging the NFL with keeping the USFL from getting a strong TV contract. The USFL strategy was to force a merger and extract large settlement in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The USFL won because the NFL was found guilty of SOME MINOR business violations. The jury gave them $1 because they had no idea what to award as damages. They noted that ABC which also a deal with the NFL had not attempted to bar the USFL from getting a TV contract. Also USFL teams were permitted to play in the same stadiums as the NFL teams. So the jury gave the USFL damages but could not see fit to award them anything for TV tampering. I ATTENDED THE TRIAL Fact: Paul Tagliabue was not a lead lawyer in the suit it was Frank Rothman and Bob Fiske who represented the NFL. The NFL in fact brought in Rothman as the lead lawyer BECAUSE it was Tagliabue who LOST the 1982 case that allowed the Raiders to move to Los Angeles. So both Rothman and Fiske, who were friends of Rozelle were hired guns while Tagliabue sat at the table. It should be noted that in fact Tagliabue and Fiske were attempting to do a back channel deal to fold up to four USFL teams into the NFL that included the Baltimore Stars WHILE the trial was going on. Fact: What killed the USFL was expansion without a real plan. Some teams were paying outrageous salaries without the cash flow to back it up. That is why the league hoped that the lawsuit against the NFL would net them cash and force a merger. Clearly it was faulty logic. Fact: The Rams move from LA came when they were out of their lease in Anaheim and made the move to St. Louis. The NFL HAS NOT STOPPED ANY MOVE SINCE THEY LOST THE COURT CASE TO AL DAVIS IN 1982. THEY ARE POWERLESS TO DO SO OR THEY WOULD HAVE STOPPED BOTH THE BROWNS AND THE RAMS MOVES. Fact: Baltimore was a benefactor of the 1986 Tax Act which allowed them to build a stadium easier than ever before and at same time doing so with perks that they could use to entice a new tenant or keep an existing one. Something they could not do in the Rozelle days - or perhaps they could have kept the Colts. Fact: With Tagliabue as commissioner there was labor peace throughout his entire his term as commissioner. The NFL experienced the largest growth as a league during his term as a commissioner which included the largest TV contracts in sports history and the first planned expansion since 1966. Fact: Expansion – The owners picked Carolina and Jacksonville based the growth projections. The committee was led by Steelers owner Dan Rooney and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. So you can’t pin that on Tagliabue! At least five owners had at one time or another thought Jacksonville was a good NFL city. The entire expansion committee went with those two cities so to say that Tagliabue hand- picked them to slight Baltimore is absurd. He played his role and that was to follow to letter what THE OWNERS wanted. Fact: Tagliabue met with Jack Kent Cooke to keep Baltimore out of the NFL. I have no doubt that he did the same way that Orioles owner Peter Angelos worked with Bud Selig to keep baseball from moving to Washington. For the record I am not here to defend Tagliabue and I will leave his legacy as a commissioner up to historians. My goal is to simply to set the record straight and I encourage anyone interested to look into the facts listed above as my credibility was called into question and I would have enjoyed the debated one on one but I am dealing with an un-named person so if this is a topic you are not interested in I totally understand and sorry if I have bothered you. Should the poster wish to continue this debate they can email me directly at jwilliams@washingtonexaminer.com. -- Jim Williams (9/24/09) Message for Tom Conroy: Just tried to find the website for WZBB. However..all I'm getting is a "page cannot be found"..or some such message (actually..I believe what it says is something like "99.9 cannot be found! Is the website just having a hiccup? (9/24/09) Yes, the man I saw on one of Kinko's of Waldorf computers looking at the DCRTV site (I am certain it was DCRTV as I looked twice to make sure and I know the site from top to bottom -- he was in the Mailbag at the time) was a man in his mid-50s, very rugged-looking, moustache, grayish hair, and with a hat on. He definitely looked like a construction worker or farmer. I glanced at him one more time before I left the copying area, just to get a good look... Best, Silvie (9/24/09) Hey Dave, I just wanted to congratulate you on celebrating 12 years of bringing dcrtv.com to the world. The site has kept me up with the good (WRNR/WTMD), the bad (No HFS on 99.1, No 97.7 The Rocket as a rock station), and the ugly (political bickering and the corporate dilution of localism, interesting formats, and depth of playlists). I figure if we have political bickering on the radio and on the cable news outlets then it is fine to have it on your site as well since it is media-based. As much as I don’t like the current administration, I don’t think the last administration was that great either. If we elected Ron Paul in 2012 America might have a chance of returning some common sense to Washington. I’m glad to still have DC101, 98 ROCK, WTMD, WRNR, WNRN, WXJK, WRXL, WROV, 98 Rock in Harrisonburg, 3WV, 96X, FM99 WNOR, and even 105.9 The Edge and Big 100.3. I listen to my Zune, WMP, and Sirius XM most of the time for a wide variety of genres but when you have something as awful as most current DC radio stations, it is good that it isn’t all bad on the FM dial. Thanks for all you do DCRTV Dave. Signed, your long-time platonic admirer from SOMD (aka Dean in Southern Maryland). (9/24/09) Dave's response: Thanks. Hey, I just got a call from "Silvie In Waldorf" who said that she just spied someone reading the DCRTV Mailbag at the Kinko's in Waldorf. And, no, it wasn't Chris Plante..... To poster Barry, why didn't you include Art Modell on your list of those you want to "rot in hell" since Modell, as chairman of the expansion committee was every bit as responsible for Balamer not getting an expansion franchise as Talgibue and Cooke? He wanted to keep that sweetheart corporate welfare deal on the stadium for himself. BTW, you got a team so stop your whining. On another topic, I am not surprised by the news that WJFK is beating WTEM in some key demos. As the new kid on the block, people are checking them out. The question is whether they will stick with them or go back to the familiarity of WTEM. That remains to be seen. (9/24/09) Dave: Congratulations on 12 years!!! Great site and hope there are many more years to come. Regarding the news about George Michael and Channel 5 rejecting any offers...I think his quotes were quite misleading. Whenever we hear George say "do-it right," that means six-figure talent salaries. George has a problem with words because it's not actual production quality it's all about the top dollars for talent. Now, if Len Shapiro was a true journalist, he would make this point but he didn't. I really question whether Channel 5 was close to any deal. Again, there's a reason why George isn't doing a show, he's still in denial about today's economy. (9/24/09) Clear Channel can afford to build new studios for WASH-FM, but can't afford to float the folks responsible for quality control on the commercials that PAY for said studios? Okay, repeat after me: touch the tip of your index finger to the front of your lips and flutter up and down rapidly -- bububububububububububububububu... (9/24/09) Dave's response: To pay the salary of one superstar like Kane or Elliot, Clear Channel could probably keep 20 people employeed. Think about that one..... In regards to the poster who wrote so eloquently about how Tagliabue should be "put to bed" was right on. Everything written in that post was absolutely true. We should also add that Tagliabue did more than "meet" with fellow scumbag Jack Kent Cooke about keeping Baltimore out of the league. They both wanted to make Baltimore and Washington to be one market. What geniuses, although it almost worked as the local Baltimore tv stations and the Sun tried to jam the Redskins down Baltimore's throat for 12 years. Tagliabue would have blocked the Browns from moving to Baltimore but didn't because Cooke was finally placated by the state of Maryland with $70 million worth of infrastructure and roads for his duplication of Giants Stadium in Landover. This was after he was unable to get what he wanted out of Virginia and DC. It was only then that he came hat in hand to Maryland and bargained his chip of letting Baltimore get an expansion team or a relocated team. Once he was satisfied so was his dupe, Tagliabue. May they both rot in hell. Barry (9/24/09) Is it too much to expect that WTOP might get across the fact that since 8am, downtown DC has been completely shut down by a suspicious package at the Islamic Center. After sitting in immoveable traffic for an hour, Lisa Baden is telling me that "Virginia is clearing out nicely". I'm very happy for them. HUGE failure by WTOP to cover this story today. (9/24/09) Tried the new portable HD 'arm/wristband' radio. Sitting in parking lot in Southern NJ, listening to Phila. PA stations,,,it works and quite well. And you can power it from the cig lighter with the usual USB cable that cell phones now use. Nice. (9/24/09) 98 Rock gave you a shout-out during the 6:15-6:30 block this am; Amelia was looking for info & referenced "our good friend Dave Hughes." (9/24/09) Dave's response: Awww schucks! "On the Fox show 'Glee', the TV station there is WOHN. Where's Jay?" Ever see the opening disclaimer in the movie "Z"? This is not accidential. This is intentional... RIP Jay Beattie... (9/24/09) Is there some way we can put Bethesda resident & former NFL Commish Paul Tagliabue to bed? I know ESPN, Sporting News, the networks, & the local Washington media treat the man like he's a god, but truth be told, this man did more harm to the NFL and several NFL markets than any other NFL Commissioner in NFL history. Pete Roselle always regarded his inability to stop The Baltimore Colts from moving to Indy as a wrong he wished he could have fixed, but couldn't. But that's peanuts compared to Paul Tagliabue. His track record as NFL commissioner in hindsight is like a snowballing slow motion train wreck! To begin with, Tagliabue held a grudge after the USFL case, which he lost as the lead litigator and because Maryland sued the NFL along with The Baltimore Stars. His behind the scenes meeting with Jack Kent Cooke cost Baltimore an NFL expansion franchise. His decision regarding St. Louis left the 2nd largest market in the country, Los Angeles, without an NFL franchise to this day. Both decisions combined cost Cleveland the their Browns and led to a complete failure of an NFL franchise known as The Jacksonville Jaguars, who will probably not sell out any of their games this season or possibly ever again even after the NFL let them remove seats from being counted! Add to that his 2 most infamous comments... "I see in the future Ohio only having 1 NFL team" and the even more infamous "Maybe Baltimore should consider building a museum" And what NFL markets are still flourishing this season with complete sellouts & waiting lists? Yep, Washington, Baltimore, & Cleveland. Go figure. If anyone thinks Tags had the pulse of the NFL nailed down, sorry Jim Williams of The Examiner, you are DEAD WRONG! And yes, the whole legal tactic of the NFL was to prevent huge damages in the case, which hence sued the USFL out of business because the NFL prevented the USFL from getting TV contracts which would have kept the league afloat. Of course, the USFL owners bailed on the league after that, including Donald Trump, but no one stays on a sinking ship that doesn't have to. To defend Tagliabue or the NFL on any of these points is unconscionable and shows how little about sports history Jim Williams of The Examiner knows as well as many people at ESPN and other national sports media. So yes, with a clever legal defense, sleezy lawyer Paul Tagliabue essentually sued the USFL out of existence by preventing any legal damages against the NFL in the case. I remember they once gave out Paul Tagliabue's Bethesda address on WIYY 98ROCK. I thought of going there and egging it for spite, but cooler heads prevailed and I'm sure he would have sued me out of existence too had I done such. (9/24/09) ACORN Sues Over Balto Taping - this is what is known as doubling down on stupid. it's bad enough that employees at *5* different offices (so far) have been caught giving advice on how to set up a child sex-slavery ring and hide the profits so no taxes can be collected, but now ACORN wants to claim "emotional distress" and get millions in damages. brilliant. they should have just laid low, let the heat die down (or at least, what little heat the MSM gave them while at the same time trying to de-legitimize what hannah and james accomplished), and wait for the taxpayer money to come streaming back in. now this story is going to stay current, members of ACORN are going to have to testify under oath, and democrats in congress are going to have to make good on cutting off taxpayer funding instead of paying it the lip service they hoped would make the story go away. (9/24/09) (sung to the tune of an old time radio theme) Who's that little chatter box? The one with all the curly locks? Who could it be? It's Muammar Gadhafi! Good God! This idiot rambles on & on more than Glenn Beck - (and he's just as crazy!). (9/24/09) /\ September 24 Messages /\ \/ September 23 Messages \/ It's hard to believe, but DCRTV has made it 12 years, and even survived when some stations and corporations did not. Back in the 80's, I was probably in my prime in Baltimore radio, we had to rely on word of mouth to know what was going on. Even "The Sunpapers" had a radio column then. I, like many count on DCRTV for keeping up to date with the very latest happenings from my hometown and DC. Being down here in the "sticks" of SW Virginia, it really helps me along. How about the days when DCRTV had a black background and whatever color the letters were! I seem to recall, not everyone wanted the present format. Yes, we are creatures of habit. Let's see, in the past 20 years or so we have had C-Quam AM, HD AM, and HD FM & TV. Internet broadcasting and other forms are being developed as we speak. I bet DCRTV will offer more surprises in years to come. A suggestion Dave, how about a two way talk show about DC/Baltimore media? Streamed, and done a few times a week for an hour at a time, with the link on the site? Perhaps even a listener supported DCRTV Channel via streaming? I thank you for your dedication to this project, even when your Mom was in bad health. I bet she was proud! Despite the bickering among the cast of characters, it's sometimes like a good WWF event, entertaining and enlightening. Keep up the good work! Tom Conroy, afternoons WZBB-FM (9/23/09) On the Fox show 'Glee', the TV station there is WOHN. Where's Jay? (9/23/09) It's 7:16 PM and BIG is playing "Running on Empty" followed by "Get Together" so I guess that rumor is false. (9/23/09) Okay…5pm comes and goes….and nothing on Big 100.3 yet. So far we’ve gotten Who Are You by The Who, Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac, And now they just started playing Don’t Stop Believing by Journey. Wouldn’t it be funny if they pulled a “Sopranos” like stunt and cut the song off mid way thru, lol (9/23/09) Dave's response: Funny! I thought the same thing. But, no, next up - "No Time" by the Guess Who. No time left for WBIG? Hmmm..... "I was also apprehensive of Kornheiser's return to the local airwaves, but he's been pretty good--if he'd just stop bringing in panels of nobodies who guffaw at his every word." Not all that different from Andy Pollin guffawing at his every word back in the old days, but at least the panelists are mainly his former Washington Post colleagues who can provide insights on one topic or another. The difference between Kornheiser and Mike Wise (his competition on 106.7 The Fan) is that while both hosts may begin their respective shows by commenting on Robert Henson (a Redskins backup player) ripping the team's fans on his twitter page, the former will move seamlessly to a chat with the Post's Eugene Robinson regarding Ellen replacing Paula as a judge on American Idol while the latter will devote the next two or three segments to fielding calls from listeners on the Henson issue. Mr. Tony's takes and interviews on various subjects are usually interesting, but you wonder whether ESPN 980's management might be tempted to make a final effort to get him to relax the no phones policy and cut back a bit on politics and pop culture in order to keep the station's hardcore sports fans from drifting over to Wise's program (maybe bring back that staple of previous shows where he'd bring on a columnist from San Diego to chat about the Chargers and Padres or a radio host from Philly to update listeners on the Eagles, Sixers and Flyers). There's just not that much synergy between Kornheiser's program and the Redskins heavy Sports Fix despite Kevin Sheehan's minor role on the former - in addition to giving Sheehan a few seconds to promote Fix they should perhaps consider a crosstalk feature (a la WJFK's approach where the Junkies chat with Wise and Rohland at the tail end of their show and Wise later hands the baton over to Arrington and Dukes). A brief segment where the two jaded sportswriters (Kornheiser and Thom Loverro) kick around a sports topic might not be such a bad idea. Mike, Fairfax (9/23/09) Let's put this USFL thing to rest. Here's the bottom line: the original poster was dead wrong when he claimed Tagliabue "sued them out of business". No other hair-splitting is necessary. (9/23/09) Point to ponder on the Hallicrafters ad on DCRTV+: That $169.95 was roughly equal to 10% of the cost of a full-size 1947 Chevrolet back then. In today’s dollars, that radio’s price would be equivalent to $2,500.00 or more. Pretty expensive considering the performance of even the best Hallicrafters of that era to what’s available today. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/23/09) Gary Helton is to be commended for recognizing the art form and value of the musical stage as a key ingredient of "The Great American Song Book"....and picking up on the possibility of seeking out Alan Field for a Saturday timeslot. I can't imagine any savvy public station in Baltimore not doing it before--- with the exception of Bill Quinn's Carousel, on what was WBJC in a more adventuresome day--- when things were popping at variety of venues. There was a time that Quinn and company did a countdown of the longest running musicals of all time and Ethel Ennis was a co-host revisiting her Belgium tour with Benny Goodman and played airchecks of appearances with Arthur Godfrey and showcased the opening of Ethel's Place downtown near the Meyerhoff. Also, most memorable on the same station were local radio appearances by Duke Elliington, Mel Torme, Al Hibbler, Imogene Coca, Todd Duncan, Eartha Kitt, Nat Hentoff, academy award winning composer-conductor John Green and so many others like Baltimore author-screenwriter, the late George Gipe who said. "the best way to get to Hollywood is by plane." It was great joy to hear a station that...w-a-s in t-h-e m-o-m-e-n-t in Baltimore and the entire state of Maryland..... and so richly embraced it. It is very interesting to look at the program guides from the 70's and 80's, whether you get them from e-bay, the station's archive or public file, or even venture to "google" them if you can. Mark Eastwood (9/23/09) (I was testing out a friend's Verizon FIOS TV service the other day and the bottom-of-the-screen channel identifier was one channel behind. If you went from channel 101 to 102, you saw the channel 101 IDer on 102, and then IDer for 102 on 103, etc. Most annoying.....) Happens to me all the time on my "non DVR" set top boxes... (9/23/09) This for the two folks debating the USFL issue: Fact - The USFL did win the court battle - THEY DID NOT GET THE DAMAGES THAT THEY EXPECTED. They simply were miss managed out of business not forced out by the NFL. Fact: Paul Tagliabue SUGGESTED to the NFL that they offer to expansion to up to four USFL teams - Baltimore, Oakland (the Raiders were in LA at the time), Memphis or Birmingham and Arizona. The offer was made to the USFL and because Trumps New Jersey team was not part of the expansion plans he had enough owners convinced that the league could make it that the USFL did not take the offer made by the NFL. Those are the facts. Just want to make sure that the mailbag debate is on point. Happy 12th! -- Jim Williams (9/23/09) grooves is probably gonna do afternoons at another major market... (9/23/09) Happy 12th!!! Don't be afraid of hair starting to grow in weird places...it's natural. Thanks for giving the people who work in this ridiculous industry an unbiased, well, MOSTLY unbiased viewpoint! Here's to the future. Now sit down, we need to have a talk about girls....... (9/23/09) Dave's response: Hair in my ears! Love it! Girls? Are you crazy? Ha ha ha..... Dave: I was listening to Elliot online today (Chicago morning radio sucks...) and he pretty much said that Big is flipping formats at 5pm today. I didn't see anything in the mailbag or on the site about it. You might want to check it out. -Brian (9/23/09) Dave's response: Anyone know more? After repeated bad experiences getting technical problems fixed with Comcast, their competitor, Verizon, offered to give me a 15 days like it or take it out trial period. A competent man showed up during the hours agreed (unlike the first time when nobody showed or called) and installed lickety split. The picture isn't pixelated, as with Comcast, and the sound doesn't regularly drop out, as with Comcast. Also got POTS and speedy Internet. It remains to be seen whether I'm saving money, but the fiber optic cable solution is superior to 25-year-old weathered copper coaxial cables. Cable installation here was initially executed in 1985. So, 24 years of regular payments should stand for something with Comcast. Not so. Jamal, a supervisor at the call center informed me that customers who cancel are "responsible for the cable TV equipment" and must shlep it their own selves to a Comcast office, conveniently located 20 miles to the north. I phoned the company's administrative offices and they changed their tune. A bill collector collected the equipment and gave me the necessary papers. Jamal told me that he "would love to debate" the issue with me all day, but his position was not negotiable. Can't say I will miss paying $175.00 per month for affrontery and ersatz service. (9/23/09) Dave's response: I was testing out a friend's Verizon FIOS TV service the other day and the bottom-of-the-screen channel identifier was one channel behind. If you went from channel 101 to 102, you saw the channel 101 IDer on 102, and then IDer for 102 on 103, etc. Most annoying..... Congrats to new National Radio Hall of Fame candidate Barret Hansen. What, never heard of him? Yeah, you have... www.whosaliveandwhosdead.com (9/23/09) Very good! Ravens & Skins JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (9/23/09) 12 years old, hunh? Awesome. Time for your first cigarette. No, no, you're supposed to use your left hand... (9/23/09) Sure 105.9's HD Radio signal is gone for good or maybe just a technical issue ? (HD Radio is one big technical issue!) Smoothjazz1059.com is still up and running with a webstream for what it's worth, basically a stagnate capsule of the old SJ playlist and jingles. (9/23/09) Mr. Graham, I saw your post in reference to Dave’s (Hughes) birthday. I can’t say I was surprised, I’ve always had thoughts about your true temperament! PLB:0) (9/23/09) Look, let's be real here. What George Michael is talking about when he talks about costs of the show is how much he and the others are paid. Should George, Sonny and Riggo decide to take less money just so the show can air? That's up to them. They could always dump Wilbon who didn't add much anyway. (9/23/09) Mark Eastwood.....I used 'narrowcasting' to contrast with 'broad', but 'fringe' is obviously the more appropriate word. Thanks. As for finding the best business model, I wasn't interested in that much work at this stage. But it's funny you should mention public stations. There is one in Baltimore that I felt was the perfect venue for It's Showtime. Pitched it numerous times but they couldn't see its value....in a town where the Hippodrome sells out its entire season of musicals year in and year out. So....Gary Helton, I'll be in touch. Alan Field (9/23/09) Versus is gone from DIRECTV. For more information, visit directv.com (9/23/09) Dave's response: We did report that when it happened on 9/1. Oh, I tuned into Versus the other night and it was running a movie. A movie on a sports net? Whatever..... The person who by accident right clicked on the PGC/RC/WKYS history sites only to get a foul message, reading this I have to wonder if it could be result of a third party playing a joke and the webmasters of those sites didn't even know it? Afterall say this person was in Phoenix and accssed those sites there, I guess it "could" be possible for someone between Phoenix and Washington to break into the system someplace or whatever? Now I will admit..I know very little about website making and such but I do remember a few years ago what happened to the Nashville TV tribute site. One day I tried looking at an old WSMV-TV clip only to get some stupid message like "your an a-hole !!". I emailed the webmaster of that site only to get the usual "..you don't know what you are talking about" line even though the forums were full of people claiming to have gotten the same remark as I did..all from outside Tennessee.the .thing was nobody in Nashville was getting that "friendly" message. On a related note, DCRTV...I was checking out DCRTV on a recent trip to Indianapolis. The content such as the mailbag and the usual stories about WTOP and The Sports Junkies were the same as I would see back home in Maryland but the ads were different. Instead of "Merson Person Voice Tracks" I saw a big banner ad to remind me to watch "WTHR-TV NBC 13 Eyewitness News" and the WMAR/Pressbox ad was replaced by an ad for Kroger Grocery Stores ( a chain with NO stores in either Washington or Baltimore ). Maybe this was a "Time Warner" thing, their way of making money I suppose..replacing out of market ads for local Indianapolis ones but still it was strange seeing an ad for WTHR-TV on DCRTV. Steven (9/23/09) To Dave, About the George Michael post. This is the exact same thing that he said when gave a talk a couple of months ago at the Friendship Heights Center. He said that costs prevented him from being aired. He didn't want to sacrifice quality for more money. I say. Yeah George. (9/23/09) Yeah george it came down to TOO MUCH MONEY,, bring it down a bit and have the show return to the airwaves, maybe even Comcast sportsnet (9/23/09) I'm surprised that Silvie didn't automatically say her cable outages were somehow Obama's fault! (9/23/09) RE: WRC - WPGC Websites. To the poster who complained about the WRC/WKYS and WPGC websites displaying profanity I sure hope he's not talking about 98wrc.com or amandfmmorniningside.com. Even though these sites are run by different webmasters, I can assure you that neither site displays any of the messages you have mentioned. I can only speak officially for 98wrc.com and say that there is absolutely nothing like you described on our site. If you right click a photo it will remind you that the photo is personal property and there are infringement laws but that's where the message ends. It doesn't even prohibit you from downloading the pic for your own personal use. I have known the webmaster of the WPGC site for many years and I could not find any of the comments you mentioned. I would check your own system for a program that translates java script into phrases that you have described. I've only seen it affect a PC once and that was almost 7 years ago. Webmasters of 98wrc.com (9/23/09) DCRTV Dave, Happy 12th birthday - - next year you can have sex. Ed Graham (9/23/09) "Baltimore Gameday Uncensored"? Well, since there is no "Uncensored" in any Orioles related programming, draw your own conclusions. And God knows after listening to Gary Stine (sp?) after the UMD-JMU Game, where all you heard was how young the Terps are, how great a job "Formally Big Ralph"" is doing, remain calm...all is well, there is no censorship there either, right? Wonder if CBS ever gets the Ravens Broadcast Rights again that the "Uncensored" program will continue? (9/23/09) Happy Bday to DCRTV, Dave! Thanks as always for all the great info! (9/23/09) (Dave said: "I found that most TV/internet "outages" can be fixed by simply unplugging your cable box/modem, counting to 10, and then plugging it in and letting it reboot.") Thanks Dave! I just did this and it WORKED! You're the best! -Silvie- (9/23/09) Dave's response: What can I say. I am brilliant! I have enjoyed, admired and respected Alan Field and his on-air work for decades--since I first heard him on WCAO. He is welcome to bring his talent and knowledge of Broadway music and The Great American Songbook to WHFC if he'd be willing to accept an hour on Saturday afternoons (that's all I have available) and, like almost everyone else here, work for the love/fun of it. We may not show up on the PPMs yet or get the courtesy and respect from our peers that we deserve (hidden message to JH), but listeners seem to appreciate us, with our one full-timer, two part-timers, and 30 volunteers. Alan, contact me if you're interested in Saturdays from 4 to 5. Gary Helton, WHFC-FM, Bel Air (9/23/09) To those who think that Redskins owner Dan Snyder will say anything to Sonny about his tough questioning of Jim Zorn after Sunday's simply do not understand their relationship. Other than Joe Gibbs no one person has had the ear of Danny more than Sonny. There is NOTHING that Sonny could do or say that would ever be challenged by the Redskins owner. Sonny has total freedom to say anything he wants or ask any question he wants and knows he will not be questioned. By the way on the USFL item - I was very involved with the league and it was Donald Trump that did in the league and not the NFL. They came in after the league was starting to unravel. Have a great day! Cheers, Jim (9/23/09) Was there even an internet in 1997? Wow - way to go, Dave. Keep up the good work! Hope all continues to go well for you. (9/23/09) Dave's response: As I've said, I've been doing this site for so many years because I absolutely love doing it. It's an absolute joy to spend each day doing something you love. I get to interact daily with so many wonderfully cool people..... An ad for 105.7 the Fan and ESPN 1300 in the Baltimore Sun says... "BALTIMORE GAMEDAY UNCENSORED IT'S REAL. IT'S STRAIGHT. IT'S NO BS." Excuse me, but if it's uncensored, why don't they say bullshit instead of BS? (9/23/09) Leonard Shapiro has a nice article on George Michael on Washingtonpost.com. It doesn't sound like George will be on the air anytime soon. www.washingtonpost.com (9/23/09) Digital cable sucks. We've had our digital boxes with Comcast since June, and service is interrupted here in Charles Co. every other day. Comcast reps say they're due to "outages" -- sometimes I think that's a line they feed to get customers to get them off the phone. Charles Co. this morning has an "outage" and our TVs are out. I'm not sure if Verizon Fios is any different. -Silvie- (9/23/09) Dave's response: I know several folks here in Reston who have Verizon FIOS and I've heard a lot of complaints from them about outages. I found that most TV/internet "outages" can be fixed by simply unplugging your cable box/modem, counting to 10, and then plugging it in and letting it reboot. If I don't do that with my Comcast DVR box every two or three weeks or so, it starts doing really weird shit..... Paul Tagliabue was the lead attorney in the USFL vs. NFL case and was handsomely rewarded for his, ummm, LOSS in the case. The jury misunderstood the ramifications of the case or the law or were mis-instructed by the judge and therefor rendered a verdict that on the surface was a win for the USFL, but did not offer any punishment to the NFL or payment of damages to the USFL. So, in essence, the NFL sued the USFL out of business with sleazy lawyer tricks that kept the jury in the dark. Yes, that's how Tags rolls, legal scum. So I was correct, I just didn't give the details. I could go on and on with more scumbag Tagliabue stories, but that would be even more off topic. (9/23/09) Alan Field, thanks for picking up on the previous jottings. You mentioned "narrowcasting" as the norm today and said there ought to be room for all kinds of programming like showtunes. I agree, but prefer to call it niche targeting and to think of it as an essential element of "The Great American Songbook" in the sell. Maybe Danny Stiles in New York City has found some sort of "business model" that works. He plays original recordings of the greats & others....and is heard on several brokered type New Jersey stations in the New York metro, plus he streams 24/7 on the web. Sounds like he had a plan and worked out a deal to find the way. His air style is kind of reminscent of Freddy Robbins, Symphony Sid and Martin Block with shades of a WEVD or WOV. Oh yeah, he also does a weekly stint on the am side of public station WNYC. You know, you can't beat being on a good public station with a good signal to enhance the entire scenario. Could it be that there's more of a there, there in the New York metro than in the Baltimore-Washington? Mark Eastwood (9/23/09) Last night I was checking out the tribute website for 98 WRC/WKYS. On the WKYS page by accident I right clicked only to get a message popping across the screen saying ( please pardon the language ) "..this content is protected..learn about copyright infringement you stupid mother fucker !!" At first I thought it was a joke so I went to the "Greaseman" page, but this time I right clicked on purpose..same ugly comment. Is the WRC/WKYS run by the same folks who did the WPGC tribute site? Some months back I seem to recall reading a message on another site where someone visiting the WPGC tribute site by accident right clicked only in their case they got the message "...dumbass...you can't do that you stupid shit..or we will sue your sorry ass !!". Now I fully understand that the folks who run the WRC/WKYS and WPGC tribute sites wanting to protect their hard work that they had put into them and don't want to see their material pop up on other websites without credit and I do fully understand the webmasters of those sites putting up a blocker to prevent the copying of pics and such BUT is there really a need to use words like "mother fucker" or" stupid shit"? Yes..protect your work..but leave the dirty comments off. (9/23/09) Join us this Thursday for our kick-off event at the Skye Lounge in DC as we introduce how Web-based media will now be eligible for Emmy consideration! In response to the tremendous growth of the Internet as the primary source of news for many Americans, the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) announces its new Advanced Media Awards. A total of 19 categories now recognize those using the Web to deliver video-based news, programming, entertainment and advertising material. The decision to expand its mission to include Web-based media places this Academy Chapter among the first of 19 NATAS Chapters to honor original video programming achievements on the Web with nomination opportunities across multiple categories culminating in its own ceremony next Spring. According to NATAS First Vice President Sean McGarvy, the Advanced Media Awards are open to both traditional broadcast media as well as Internet broadcasters, content directors, managing editors, writers, producers, videographers, editors and other craftspersons (developers). They are intended to recognize the new ways storytelling is produced for the Web in documentaries, journalism, entertainment, and advertising in the new media. Says McGarvy, “There is exceptional work being created for the Internet that doesn’t have to wait for the evening news to be showcased. In many cases ‘breaking news’ makes it online before conventional broadcast media has a chance to get on the air with it. In many ways, this recognition is long overdue.” Awards will be given in recognition of editorial content and video production creativity in original material intended for a regional audience and created primarily for consumption on non-traditional viewing platforms such as computers, mobile phones, PDAs and similar devices. The celebratory launch party hosted by NATAS, and open to all new media broadcasters, will take place at the annual Membership Meeting this Thursday, September 24th at the Skye Lounge DC at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC, from 6 to 9 PM. The Skye Lounge is walking distance from Foggy Bottom Metro with easy access on I St., NW. An open bar with beer and rail drinks as well as free finger foods will be served. The National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is a nonprofit, professional organization serving the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. television community. The Academy’s Emmy AwardÒ is the industry’s benchmark for the recognition of television excellence. For additional information, contact Dianne Bruno at capitalemmys@aol.com or 301-587-3993. (9/23/09) Re: Comment about Zorn-Jurgensen exchange. First off I don't believe Danny boy has the ball's to call/confront Sonny about any just criticism he may make as a reporter/commentator. And if he did Sonny would probably tell him to pound sand. And I totally agree with you about ANY show with Larry Michaels. I have never seen such crap in my entire life. BC (9/23/09) /\ September 23 Messages /\ \/ September 22 Messages \/ One thing that is being overlooked in the Sonny - Zorn exchange regarding Zorn's play calling is Jurgensen is one of the few former athletes who has the guts to ask tough questions to another man's face. Most former athletes are too close to the teams and players they cover. They bring hardly any journalistic or news breaking ability to the table. For decades, Jurgensen has been the exception in the DC market. I would wager a guess he got a call from Danny boy, who never likes second guessing of his team, even if it's Sonny Jurgensen. One other quick thought. Is there a worse sports program or worse sports host than Larry Michael either in the booth or on the deadly program that airs on Comcast? It's like watching a program on high school sports. He is simply dreadful. You would think the DC market could do better. Frederick, Maryland (9/22/09) Paul Tagliabue did NOT "sue the USFL out of business"...quite the contrary, the USFL actually won the lawsuit it filed against the NFL. They were awarded one dollar, trebeled. Three dollars total. The league went out of business shortly thereafter. Whoever that poster was sure needs to get his facts straight. (9/22/09) Oct. 8 Screening of Barry Richards Rock Shows at AFI Silver Spring Theatre (9/22/09) Yes Glen Beck left B104 in '91. I still have a tape of his old "Glen Beck and the Morning Guy's" show laying around. Also I remember when the 1st Gulf war started Beck on on there talking abou all the stuff that was going on to the people in Iraq. His show went from 6pm-7pm that day. I also have bits of that on that as well as his "life call rap" his 90 day trail song and his make believe fun park. Steve (9/22/09) "WMAL should use the WBAL model for success with a few tweaks... a mix of all news in the morning, right wing talk (with at least one local host that's popular like Ron Smith is in Baltimore), and sports talk or sports programming in the evening." In a world without WTOP, that formula would probably work, but WBAL succeeds largely because Baltimore has no all-news station, and hasn't since the old WBAL-FM belonged to NBC's short-lived News and Information Service in the mid-'70s. WMAL has no impetus to develop a good news staff, as it had for so many years. -- Vincent in Triangle (9/22/09) If that Salon article is to be believed, Glenn Beck is the embodiment of that old adage: "Nothing succeeds like excess." A few weeks ago, somebody posted an air check of Beck's blizzard performance on WPGC. At the time, I noted that he really did suck. Now I know that he was stoned at the time. He might have cleaned up his act drug-wise, but he still sucks - then and now. (9/22/09) In my humble opinion, for what it's worth, I think the apostrophe in Greta's ad was put in intentionally. I believe it was meant to be humorous.JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (9/22/09) Dave, just to let you know, Grooves' bio page is still on WIHT's website. Don't know if it will be removed before the show or not. (9/22/09) WMAL should use the WBAL model for success with a few tweaks... a mix of all news in the morning, right wing talk (with at least one local host that's popular like Ron Smith is in Baltimore), and sports talk or sports programming in the evening. I realize WBAL is not doing as well as they previously were when they had Rush Limbaugh, but still, even with Beauchamp's programming flubs that helped WCBM, that model could work for WMAL and differentiate it from WTNT. People are still listening to talk radio, they're just not listening to WMAL or WTNT or WWRC. WMAL really needs a sports team & some sports talk in my opinion to broaden their listener base. Currently WMAL is basically doing what WCBM is doing in Baltimore, but the problem with that is that Baltimore is a more conservative market than DC is and WCBM's signal blankets the conservative Maryland eastern shore and Delaware. I'm sure those #s don't show up in the WCBM ratings, but you can bet they're booking some ads from that powerful signal to willing listeners. WMAL does not have that advantage. Their signal, even with 10,000 watts day time now, just does not do anywhere near that. (9/22/09) Wow more apparently meaningless numbers!! If 12+ is irrelevant to the actual ratings or goals of a station why do they post them? I don't see any other ratings posted. So the fact that a station has remained in the same spot,or dropped a couple,means nothing? Why don't the numbers for a stations particular demographic get mentioned? (9/22/09) I'm sure no one is taking this UFL league on VERSUS seriously, but people forget. The Baltimore Stars had pretty darn good attendance even though they played in College Park, Maryland! Of course Baltimore had no NFL team at the time and a Bethesda based lawyer named Paul Tagliabue sued the USFL out of business, but oh how we forget Tag's claim to fame. This league might survive, there's definitely a demand for more football or the NFL wouldn't be talking about moving to 18 games. Competition is good. However, ironically the New York UFL team is owned by a U of Maryland grad, the Florida team is owned by the Tampa Rays yet will play their first game in Orlando, god knows what gambling interests are connected to the Vegas team since the UFL was founded in VEGAS & the championship game will be there. But the coup de grace... the California team appears to be owned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's scandal ridden husband! TOO FUNNY! (9/22/09) Is WMAL in a flat-spin or a tailspin? I really can't decide! As a pilot and broadcaster, I've never gotten either an airframe or station into that maneuver. However, WMAL in its current state is far brom a hard or even challenging sell. With good marketing talent, it can easily make a hefty profit with its existing air lineup. Will $hitahel do it? I doubt it. Thus far, they've shown that they don't have the brains God gave fading paint. Besides, the good marketing talent around here is either working elsewhere or wouldn't dare touch the place. In all honesty, I almost geel sorry for them. They own some really choice properties. The sad part is, they don't know how to run them. Only how to ruin some while others are on autopilot. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/22/09) Glenn Beck's radio days... (9/22/09) JFK Beating TEM In Key Male Demos - Saw this one coming from a mile away. Skins fans, it does NO good to support Snyder's radio station by calling to rant about how bad his team is and how much you dislike him! Change the channel! I believe JFK is a breath of fresh air from the fowl stench Snyder has blown on this area for the past 10 years! Just hope JFK can get a good hockey person on the air by the time the Caps are ready to go. (9/22/09) Did Greta get her ears tightened a second (or third) time? That pic of her in the ad with the misplaced apostrophe is generously Photoshopped and makes her look a lot more synthetic than it should. That pic more resembles Odo from "Deep Space Nine" than it does the Greta I've been watching on TV for years. (9/22/09) Local broadcaster will be part of four-person team on Versus www.baltimoresun.com... Not that too many will care, but local media related. Doug in Bel Air (9/22/09) heard grooves got canned from hot 99.5...oops... (9/22/09) Dave - catch wind of the departure of Grooves from HOT? I always heard he ranked just behind PGC in their target demos. (9/22/09) WJZ 105.7 The Fan's Anita Marks lands a UFL broadcasting job on Comcast-owned VERSUS. www.baltimoresun.com (9/22/09) Hey Dave, We never hear you talk about the weekend shows on either Sports Format? Is it due to no interest or have you never listened? Really trying to find out who the Kev & Rock guys are. Thanks, Croix (9/22/09) Dave's response: I just don't listen to JFK on the weekends. I like listening to tunes when I'm driving around on the weekeneds, but DC's rock music stations are so terribly awful that I'm usually listening to 88.5's cool weekend talks shows, a la "Car Talk" and "A Prarie Home Companion"..... Actually, Beck left in 1991 to be replaced by Chris Emory with Schelby Sweeney, then in 1992 Emory was replaced by......Bruce Kelly - who transitioned the last 6 months of B-104 to the first months of Variety only to leave to go back to Phoenix. Talk about six degrees. (9/22/09) Barney Franks makes a Rush Limbaugh painkiller joke on last night's Leno. (9/22/09) Will someone please tell Gwen Tolbart of Fox 5 To get a new hairstyle or wig please it's way overdue ! Mike from D.C. (9/22/09) Glenn Beck and Pat Gray (Glenn & Pat) did mornings at B104 from 1989 till just before the station flipped to Variety. They later did mornings together at KC101 in New Haven, CT. (9/22/09) Is there a reason why the ron and fez audio file library stops in March of 2009? Does Buzz Burbank get his freedom from CBS sooner than O'Meara? voice123.com/michaelelston... I believe I still hear Beth Ann McBride doing the occasional voiceover on WJFK ur excuse me 106.7 Duh Fan. I'm still curious like Larry from the corner, was it O'Meara who decided the political talk and decreasing the use of his arsenal of whacky voices was the way to go with his show or some CBS exec told him to do that? Too me O'Meara's strength was his ability to improvise while in character. something that imo seemed lacking otherwise. Didn't CBS sign up Adam Corrola for an online radio show? ( I see his podcasts have also gone bye bye.) did CBS consider O'Meara for an online show or his contract ends in Jan. 2010 so wish him adios and well fine then? speaking of podcasts I thought Robbay spewak was going to do some podcasts for the mighty KCJJ( the longest running affiliate along the ham and eggs network) but I se nothing on the KCJJ website. What happened? Is lil' Danny behind John riggins being on the outside looking in regarding Redskin coverage. I thought Riggo was pretty tame last year in his criticism of Redskin's but maybe lil' Danny got him for the years before? Was wondering what had happened to Larry Weisman of USA Today on the WTEM Sport's Reporters sadly he's been absorbed by Redskin.com so I guess he can't be as forthright in his opinion of the NFL (9/22/09) Greta's eyes are like that because off camera O'Reilly is showing her the NEW Bill O'Reilly Red, White and Blue Right Wing Dildo. Paul (9/22/09) Funny, I know I was in Baltimore and listening to B-104 in the late 80's early 90's, but I have no recollection of Glenn Beck whatsoever on 104.3. I would think I would remember someone as "theatrically unhinged" as him, but nope, hehe. :-) (9/22/09) Dave's response: I seem to recall that Beck did the afternoon show on 104.3 in the early 1990s. I may be wrong..... Have to admit I was an early critic of the 106.7FM sports-talk format and some of their personnel, but they have proved me wrong since their startup. The station is simply a better listen than WTEM. WTEM's constant Redskin-hyping has a lot to do with that. The attitude of Kevin Sheehan and several others on Monday, following the Redskins unispiring win over the Rams, was 'it's the fans fault." Apparently the Redskins offense, which has scored just one touchdown this year, is dominating...we're all just too stupid to understand that. I was also apprehensive of Kornheiser's return to the local airwaves, but he's been pretty good--if he'd just stop bringing in panels of nobodies who guffaw at his every word. (9/22/09) Dave's response: I am not a sports junkie, just a casual sports fan. And I'm usually not drawn to the sports talk format. But I do still enjoy listening to the Junkies on 106.7 and I also like Mike Wise and Bill Rohland. But I'm also finding myself listening more to 980, actually 94.3, in late mornings to the great Tony Kornheiser. He's just a heck of a lot of fun. I just haven't been able to get into 106.7's afternoon show. For me, anyway, it just doesn't "click." The Arrington-Dukes combo just doesn't work for me. Maybe JFK should add Oscar Santana to the PM drive mix on 106.7. He and Chad Dukes had such a great "chemistry" on the old "guy talker" - something which is so desperately lacking on JFK's afternoons, IMHO..... Obviously Binghamton, NY, is NOT a big market, but I was there over Labor Day weekend and they went straight from the Alabama-Va. Tech game into one of the "CSI" shows (might have been NY) at midnight. Having missed the news while watching the football game, I was a little bummed until I saw this thing called News 10. Apparently, Time-Warner runs a news operation for its systems in the southern tier and central New York. The newscast they were running over and over was an hour long, I'm guessing it was taped at 11 p.m., and had weather every 10 minutes. I imagine if there was something breaking, they would have the ability to go live. When I got up Sunday morning, there was a new newscast in its place. I was fairly impressed. On a side note, I see that WBAL now runs its 11 p.m. newscast again at midnight on its Plus channel. Might be something worthwhile for somone in the DC market to think about. Charles in Winchester (9/22/09) Thanks for the link to the Salon article on Beck. It was fun reliving 1983 when I was a high school intern for WPGC. One of my jobs that summer was to pick up the mail from the famous BOX 8550 in Washington, DC and bring it to Greenbelt. I remember Bruce Kelly and those softball games. Glenn Beck was just another radio geek in those days. It's amazing how many morning ZOO hosts became conservative radio clowns. I always wondered what that smell was coming from the back office. Rob Edgar, Fort Payne, AL (9/22/09) Hey, does anybody on this board remember Glenn Beck as a jock at PGC or B104? Was he a decent jock? Was he a crazy MF like he is now? Or is a schtick he developed when he finally figured out he wasn’t going anywhere reading the liners and hitting the posts? (9/22/09) Dave, Wow, 3 retweets in a row! Am I blushing? OK, now that you've puckered up (*joking*), I'll unlimber the wallet. You should see a sub for DCRTV+ in a couple of days. - Fferret (9/22/09) Dave's response: Hey, intelligent Twitters get re-Twittered by me. Thanks..... Well whether you like Tony Perkins or not at least he had the BALLS this morning to call out the Redskins's rookie twitter idiot and tell the audience his take on being a lifelong fan and that the redskins will continued to get booed based on their pathetic offense so far this season. I don't much care for Tony as an anchor but at least he ain't takin' no shit from a snot nosed over-payed under performing professional athelete on dickhead synders payroll. M/bethesda...... (9/22/09) Dave's response: Speaking of Tony Perkins, "Psycho" is running tonight at 10:30 on TCM..... More and more Tony Perkins is "filling in" for Steve Chenevey..I sure hope they're not trying to phase Steve out as this is how it looks..I just remember when Doreen Gentzler was about to take her leave of absence, more and more people were filling in for her as well..Dave I know that when word was out that Tony was coming to this market, you believed they had bigger plans for him other than a weatherguy..Well, looks like in time he's going to be a "real" anchor..But I still like Steve and hope they don't get rid of him... (9/22/09) To Mark Eastwood....I appreciate your nice comments, though my keyboard is blushing. But your point about variety is well taken. I've been semi-retired since 2004 but continued to program my favorite kind of music on various stations that would have me. They were adult standard stations and my weekend program was devoted to showmusic, certainly a far cry from the mainstream. But unfortunately, each station that tried for something different bit the dust. Whether it was WTRI or WCTN, adult standard music eventually takes a hit. Heck, I even helped close an internet station, Vegasradio. As long as narrowcasting is the norm, there ought to be room for all kinds of programming. So if anyone knows of a station that wants to try adding a showmusic program to the weekend, let me know. Alan Field (9/22/09) J. R. Russ of www.movieticketradio.com welcomes broadcasters to Philadelphia by offering the “first free beer special” of the evening to any NAB credentialed broadcaster who stops in at Finnegan’s Wake, 3rd and Spring Garden streets, Wednesday from 5-7pm ET. Russ says: “Finnegan’s Wake is a GREAT Philly tradition and is just a five minute cab ride from the convention location in Center City. I hope to see old friends and meet new ones on Wednesday to tell them more about Movie Ticket Radio™ and demonstrate the high quality broadcast solutions offered by Hy Lit Radio Technologies, Inc.” In addition, Sam Lit will broadcast the event live from 5-10pm ET on www.hylitradio.com... (9/22/09) /\ September 22 Messages /\ \/ September 21 Messages \/ CBS ass is part deaux... By the way, the literary device I used in my post was sarcasm. But be careful, nobody like a wiseass. MikeG. (9/21/09) To the poster calling Dave out for his "pro" CBS slant? Did it ever cross your mind that this might have been "irony", or better yet, sarcasm? Because that's what I read. Even if it wasn't sarcasm, doesn't anyone else find the humour in this statment? CBS is happy? Of course they are! They cut the bottom line, went with the sure thing, and bought themselves three more years of their heads just barely bobbing above the Tsumani. I would love to be a CBS "suit" right now. No matter what you did, you couldn't screw things up any more than they already are! "What's that? The all "Whale Sounds" of Nova Scotia is trending well? Let's try it. We can save some money, and lead the listening audience to believe that we're environmentaly friendly. You're a genius (insert important sounding executive name here) let's take the jet to the Vegas and celebrate." I remember when "Jest's" were very in with the CBS crowd. It was a jacket, without sleeves, and they all wore them. They wanted us to believe that they were casaul, like us humps in the trenches; but they also liked the way that it still had some weird authority presence. I loved the fact that we all called them "Jest's", and a few of us drones also referred to then as "Vacket's". It was just another shining example of how out of touch and removed from us the CBS "suits" really were. So in closing, Huzzah! to CBS and it's "new" and "exciting" and "listener driven" format. Once again, they have chosen the easy way out, and bought some time. God bless short sidedness and mediocrity. -MikeG. (9/21/09) I don't think ABC's college football running late is a very good excuse for WMAR 2 not running a late Saturday newscast. Is WJLA 7 doing this or other major market stations? I think not. It's kinda sad really, it's like Maryland's pioneer TV station has basically given up the fight. :-( (9/21/09) Alan Field is Unforgettable, whatever the station or format! Our Baltimore dial scan offers proof positive, whether monitoring am 600, 860, 1230, or elsewhere in the am/fm spectrum. In additon to the rock and roll and chr , Alan Field is an erudite, versatile broadcaster who is very much at home in a variety of genres. Some pretty classy programs certainly have been Alan's forte in a field shared by a very few. Baltimore's original NPR station, WBJC, comes to mind when it was still a complete meal with a wide, imaginative programming lineup which included "The Great Atlantic Radio Conspiracy, "Ripoffs and Remedys," "Jazz Beat with Robert Ford", "Bill Quinn's American Pop Standard Carousel Show," and "Prairie Home Companion," the first time around. Just found copies of old WBJC program guides at an estate sale in Ellicott City and and am amazed by the depth and diversity of cultural informational programming to "die for." When Alan Field was doing morning drive on WAYE and WITH, I noticed WBJC \was doing "Sounds Like Yesterday" and Theresa Saulsbury was anchoring "Newscapsule-Maryland" and the great Harley Brinsfield was hosting his jazz broadcasts on WBJC, and to top things off the ledendary Ethel Ennis sang "The Star Spangled Banner" everyday. The Governor of Maryland would be proud to realize that this station--owned by the state--- used to be the station for localism in Baltimore and Maryland---and was the flagship station for "Maryland, A Self Portrait." Alan Field is unforgettable, and he's always been in the company of good radio, and unforgettable broadcasting. Mark Eastwood (9/21/09) Re: "Listening to the Junkies this morning, I heard a listener call in the 7:00 hour reporting an exchange he heard between Sonny Jurgensen and Jim Zorn on the WTEM post-game show ... Would someone please confirm that this took place?" Yes it happened and they had the audio of the exchange on Kevin Sheehan's Sports Fix program this afternoon, between noon and two pm. Robert, Arlington (9/21/09) Boston's WGBH to buy classical music station WCRB news.google.com (9/21/09) Dear Dave, Your website is really cool - I thought maybe you could help me out with some information since you seem to have the inside scoop on the media in D.C. I am looking for an old television program that aired on WTTG called Panorama - this was before your time (I think it went off the air in 1987). It was a locally produced talk show that aired live from 12-1. Maury Povich hosted it and Charlie Rose hosted it for a short time as well. I'm looking for a specific show from December 1980. Any idea where I might locate it? WTTG has no clue. Any libraries that might have copies or media people who may know where to find it? Any advice you can give would be appreciated! Thanks - Joan, krazy123kat@yahoo.com (9/21/09) Dave, With all due respect, when you print a story like "CBS Suits Love Balto & DC Sports Flips - DCRTV hears that CBS Radio's suits in NYC are pleased with their two new sports talkers in the region..." you must declare where you are getting this information from or provide a link. It seems you have become nothing more than the mouthpiece for a CBS Radio employee that likes to chat with you and tell you how great they are doing. It also seems that you are now possibly following your CBS Radio friends advice or lead and printing particular demographic numbers for radio shows instead of or in addition to the overalls. I'm sure they love and thank you for this as it makes the show's ratings for which they are talking up to you look so much better. You did not start doing this until after JFK's switch and it seems to be influenced by folks there. (9/21/09) For Chris, yes, Zorn told Sonny he'd have to take him out of the game for insubordination, or something like that. When Zorn asked why Sonny wouldn't run the play as called, Sonny responded, "Because it didn't work." Priceless. Christian (9/21/09) Here is an example of DC area media/ 500 Billion dollar per year internet military/gun power...but issued is a warnng to not enter and post unless you are somewhat sophisticated and can protect your computer from serious blue screen military grade malware: forums.somd.com. Good luck playing with these military money funded Southern Maryland mad at the worlds. Why this is a Wash DC area media issue is because it demonstrates the networked power military money. This is a serious warning: the people on this site will carve you a new one. (9/21/09) I'm also mildly bent out of shape by Faux5 replacing The Simpsons at 7 with ANOTHER episode of Seinfeld. Every time I even turn Seinfeld on it seems to be the same one. I'd swear Fox only shows about 20. Why the move Fox5? To make way for that unfunny The Office show? Hasn't everyone seen at least one episode of The Office and decided it was kinda funny once but not a reason to watch it again? Bring back The Simpsons! Paul (9/21/09) CBS aired its final Newsbreak following the Guiding Light on Friday, more in the Examiner- www.examiner.com (9/21/09) The backdrop of WUSA 9's set is redesigned...it really looks sharp and nice... (9/21/09) Much obliged for the quick response to my question about the Sonny-Coach Z exchange. My company’s internet access blocks streaming audio, and I can’t pick up any radio signals either. However, I can access good ol’ DCRTV, the world’s best clearinghouse for local media news. Now I’m in the know. See Dave, we can discuss local media issues that have nothing to do with ACORN, or Glenn Beck, or Keith Olbermann. If I want political back-and-forth, I’ll go elsewhere. Chris from Bethesda (9/21/09) Glenn Beck is no more "unhinged" than Keith Olbermann. Both sides have their burdens to bear. (9/21/09) This is why liberal political punchback posts are DC relevant: is because the largest corporation in the world is the US military which has been fed 500 Billion, repeat the word, BILLION dollars a year of tax payer money over years and generations and this money spawns its own old retired self interested VA taxmoney internet army, especially in the Washington DC area where hundreds of thousands of these tax money patriots reside. This is absolutely a DC media issue. If we cannot face the corporate military-for- profit country we have become then we are destined for third world hell and ground zero is the Wash DC area. (9/21/09) The Sonny Jurgenson interview with Zorn has been discussed continually today on both WTEM and WJFK. The only difference in your version is that Zorn did not say that the quarterback would be kicked off the team. He said that the quarterback would be taken out of the game. (9/21/09) Dave's response: More at Dan Steinberg's DC Sports Bog at washingtonpost.com..... Listening to the Junkies this morning, I heard a listener call in the 7:00 hour reporting an exchange he heard between Sonny Jurgensen and Jim Zorn on the WTEM post-game show. Sonny brought up one of the play calls down near the end zone, and said if that play (either the idiotic halfback option call, or the brain-dead sweep to the short side of the field on fourth and one) had come in while he was quarterback, he would have changed it in the huddle and run something saner, to which coach Z replies that he would have yanked Sonny out of the game and kicked him off the team for doing so. Would someone please confirm that this took place? And if so, I now have a must-listen appointment every Sunday afternoon. Chris from Bethesda (9/21/09) And speaking of a mean Hillary Clinton impression... This just in... (9/21/09) Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com. hey I just saw the Post headline about the Redskins game yesterday. Very negative I thought. It was still a win, albeit, ugly. (9/21/09) In the interest of full disclosure, Carol Joynt should mention the fact that Alexandra Wentworth is Mrs. George Stephanopoulos. (I wonder if Ali will do her mean Hillary Clinton impersonation for the Q&A Cafe crowd?) (9/21/09) Anyone have the Wii game console at home? I just took a download from Nintendo and a whole slew of characters ("Mii's") came along for the ride, including Whoopie Goldberg, Garfield, Billy Mays, Ozzie Osbourne, Garfield and Flava Flav. I smell lawsuits aplenty... (9/21/09) Good afternoon - This is to remind you that Alexandra Wentworth will be the guest at The Q&A Cafe on October 15 at the Georgetown Ritz Carlton Hotel. Seating beings at noon, the program starts at 12:30, ends at 1:30, the fee is $50 all inclusive, paid at the door, and reservations can be made at 202.912.4110. We hope to see you there. Today in my column on New York Social Diary, there's a cast list for the "Real Housewives of Washington, DC," which is to begin shooting any day now, if not already. Also, a formal dinner in the company of Declaration of Independence at the National Archives on the institution's 75th birthday. Read it all here: www.nysocialdiary.com. Best regards, Carol (9/21/09) I'm begging you to kill the political debate here. There are COUNTLESS places on the Internet to debate politics. There's only one dcrtv. Sincerely, TMU. (9/21/09) Dave's response: Done. Just trashed three new non-media-related posts..... "...when right around 5:17 the signal abruptly switched to another station playing a Barry White song..." I was listening to 105.9 this morning (same tower as 106.7?). At about 0500, the HD stream disappeared when I was at the 66-495 interchange. At about 0515, the analog went out in the middle of a song and some distant country station started coming in. (9/21/09) (DCRTV hears that talks between Bonneville and Citadel, for the former to pick up some of the latter's radio stations, seem to have come to a halt.) What "talks"?!? (9/21/09) Oh, Dave. There you go again. "Dave's response: Everytime Fox News makes a journalistic lapse, it's always blamed on some individual employee. Like: It's just Beck's personal opinion, not ours. Riiiiiight...." You are SO right. Fox is unique and EVIL in this habit. No other media company allows individuals to twist in the wind. NBC was right behind Imus, weren't they? CNN has always said, "Lou Dobbs speaks for all of Time Warner." And CBS stood right behind that 60 Minutes producer-cum-document forger in the Bush scandal. Gosh, Dave. This must be the first example ever! So good of you to comment on this serious lapse of journalistic integrity on the part of a nobody. I'm glad you held back your indignation all those times liberal news organizations totally distorted coverage by, say, finding the lone racist sign in a crowd of 75,000 and put forth that person as representative of all conservatives. Those, in your view, must just be a legitimate journalistic decisions. Oh, wait. This one was about Fox and Fox is evil and must be stopped at all costs. Well, that explains everything. Thanks, Dave. Bob in Forest Hill (9/21/09) (Snip) "...a young, relatively inexperienced associate producer..." (end snip) Instead of working in network television in Washington, DC, why isn't she out in Nebraska getting experience like the rest of us did? Al McGilvray (9/21/09) Dave's response: Everytime Fox News makes a journalistic lapse, it's always blamed on some individual employee. Like: It's just Beck's personal opinion, not ours. Riiiiiight..... “Does anyone else think FOX’s Patti Anne Browne is HOT?!? Biff in Winchester” Biff my man, what’s not to like? Good make-up, hoop ear rings, adequate breasts and bangs equals bangable. Fox grows ‘em on a special farm in The Great American Midwest according to Karl Rove. Now, as for this: “What is with these demeaning references? …Please stop publishing these kinds of posts. If a poster cannot make a valid point without resorting to this kind of nonsense, they shouldn't be allowed a forum on DCRTV - let 'em display their stupidity on their own blog”. Oh !!!: this is Dave’s “blog” (a most reprehensible term – sounds like something left in a toilet), not yours, not mine. If messages sent to DCRTV’s “Mailbag” don’t pass muster, then you will never even see them: I’ll let him be the judge. And BTW: have you really READ some of the Hateful Leftist Mailbaggers’ posts (like Jeff in Bowie, et al)? DCRTV’s Mailbag is an Equal Opportunity Offender: you should be pleased with Free Speech in action, not aghast. (9/21/09) Actually, the WVRX calls might be short lived, as a still-Arbitron paper diary infested part of the world nearby has a couple of stations who could use the old your-call-letters-are too-close-to-mine excuse with the FCC to get Citadel to change the call sign for 105.9. (9/21/09) "On a lighter note, our 44th white President made clear on one of the morning shows (Press the Meat, Last Week Without David Brinkley, National Facial) that he still finds time to follow major league baseball. Doesn't this fellow realize he has a full-time jizzob? As Fiddler once said in Roots, 'You in America, now, Boy!' Try talking Cubs to the next parents of a serviceman you need to meet. Well, that was needlessly harsh, but the point is made." Ah, those right-wing punks...they never get it right. Obama is a devout White Sox fan, as he has made clear on many occasions; he could care less about those North Siders. Then again, the Cubs were Reagan's team, so that's probably why that's the first team that comes to conservatives' minds. And "Press The Meat," "National Facial"...what sophistication, what subtlety! -- Vincent in Triangle (9/21/09) I don't want to shoot anyone and I never suggested that I did! The socialist governments take care of that themselves. Check your history books. And if you don't think we are heading that way, consider one of Obama's czars (or perhaps FCC offical in charge of Diversity, I honestly cannot keep up with them) that has praised the radio/TV situation in Venezuela. I really don't care what side of an issue you support, but all sides should be allowed to be presented. Not so in Venezuela. And now we have a guy in power in the Obama administration that supports supressing the press. So you don't like Rush, Sean, Mark, Bill? I don't like Keith, Rachel, Chris. So what. Every one of them still has the right to present their views on whatever they want to pontificate about. If you disagree, then you fail to understand the rights we have in this country. To silence anyone of these folks would be wrong. Bill in Maryland (9/21/09) While on my way to work this morning I was listening to "THE FAAAAAAAN" when right around 5:17 the signal abruptly switched to another station playing a Barry White song with considerable static. It cleared up for a moment, but when I got on I-66 heading east from Manassas it faded to the point where there was nothing BUT static. Which was unfortunate as the song ended and, from what I could hear switched to "Always Something There to Remind Me" by Naked Eyes but I missed the station ID. But right at 5:21 it flipped back to the Junkies as if nothing had happened. Now if this were a DXing event I assume that I would've heard WJFK struggling to come back in but other than the music it was pure static. --Shaun in Nokesville, VA (9/21/09) About local morning news, I believe Angie Goff is doing a fine job filling in for Andrea and prefer Howie to Kimmie doing weather. Than at seven I switch to five and Perkin's is out of his league again in the anchor chair. On the upside at Ch 5 this morning Allison Oakley is doing a good job with traffic and I don't have to listen to Julie giggling and her and Tony and their ridiculous blathering. I'm done. BC (9/21/09) /\ September 21 Messages /\ \/ September 20 Messages \/ I really had to laugh at the remark that passed-over 'Fox News Sunday' host, Chris Wallace, made about the Obama administration: "the biggest bunch of crybabies I have dealt with in my 30 years in Washington." Conservatives, right wingers, and teabaggers in America are the personification of "crybabies"! Their whole approach to the Health Care Reform issue, is that of a typical two-year-old: "I DON'T WANT TO & YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!". Wahh! Wahh! Wahh! C'mon - give me a fuckin' break! (9/20/09) Vincent in Triangle: Now THATS what I'm talkin' about!!!! WHFS had a very wide spectrum but always managed to avoid the 'hit' cuts,the cliche,the commercially homogenized music spewing from other stations like sewer outlets. They had talented Jocks with thier own tastes and talents.I may not have loved every single song they played but even those I didn't care for never made me want to put my boot thru the radio. Up until Infinity bought the station it was still pretty much Wanda and Harrys Fish and Salads....not HAM not CHEESE and no greasy-30-square-feet-of-hair-having-mic-licking-screeching-front man for a mediocre corp-rock outfit. It may have been reeeeally wierd,it may have been utterly depressing or even crystal meth for your ears( i prefer coffee in mine) but it was DIFFERENT and STIMULATING and you didn't expect the next song to make you gag and spit. "Cynical Girl" was one of my favorites and there is a whole lot more 80s music out there and if anyone is expected to have the talent for digging them up its those associated with whatever HFS entity exists today. If HFS doesn't remain something of what it was the next flip might just be into the dumpster. -Donnie in horrid Cecil county where 94.7 DOES NOT REACH- PS: CBS: give it back or DAAAMMMNN you ALLLL to HEEELLLLLLLLLLLL (9/20/09) "You can't look at 12 plus, dipshit." -- Absolutely 100% right. How does anyone know or care what 12 year olds listen to? No way to measure it. "Dave's response: I've been declared "insane" by Bob in Forest Hill." -- Dave, remember you were declared worse after the phone portion of your appearance on the Hideout on the old WJFK 106.7 (has anyone started up a station on their frequency yet?) And Dave, you wrote about Murdoch "And try to get the bastard stripped of his US citizenship and shipped back to Australia. Ga' day, mate....." which puts you squarely in the legal camp of Michael "Are you one of those sodomites" Weiner, who from time to time advocates prosecution for treason or sedition (newsflash -- no longer a crime, it was in all the papers) of those of whom he disapproves. In spite of your Hideout performance, which I'm sure is not available on the interweb, I expect better from you. On a lighter note, our 44th white President made clear on one of the morning shows (Press the Meat, Last Week Without David Brinkley, National Facial) that he still finds time to follow major league baseball. Doesn't this fellow realize he has a full-time jizzob? As Fiddler once said in Roots, "You in America, now, Boy!" Try talking Cubs to the next parents of a serviceman you need to meet. Well, that was needlessly harsh, but the point is made. ---ThePenIsMightier (9/20/09) Dave's response: Ha ha ha! You know, I did a phoner for a later El Jefe show, when his JFK Saturday show was being done from Tampa, that never aired due to my completely insane comments about the management of CBS DC's radio cluster..... My apologies to Dave. I didn't realize it was a direct quote. OK Dave, you are back on the good list - even if your politics are misguided. Sorry again. Bill, Maryland (9/20/09) (“You leftists will be the ruin of this country and the first ones shot when our democracy falls”. Bill, Maryland) Bill, you give us decent folk on the right side of the aisle a bad name. Biff in Winchester. (9/20/09) Something that crossed my mind about all this Fox news business and the left wing uproar about their reporting and views. When Cronkite came out against the Vietnam War in the late 60's, did LBJ and the rest of his administration blast CBS and refuse to talk to them? I was only 13 so I really don't remember much except my dad was a US Marine in Vietnam and I was pissed. Did the White House then act like they are now because of a difference in opinion? I think even with all the objection's to the VN war, LBJ acted like more of a gentleman and respected other's views than the current administration and his follower's. Have much more to say but am watching football again. BC (9/20/09) ("Theatrically unhinged Glenn Beck...You leftists will be the ruin of this country and the first ones shot when our democracy falls. Bill, Maryland") Are you kidding me? You want to shoot people who disagree with you? Where are you from...North Korea? Getting this back on topic, Glen Beck is a sinking ship. FOX has been trying to spread him across multiple shows to rehabilitate his image. Hilarious to watch. --Chris in DC (9/20/09) Theatrically unhinged Glenn Beck. Screw you Dave! At least someone exposed these bastards at ACORN for what they really are. You leftists will be the ruin of this country and the first ones shot when our democracy falls. Bill, Maryland (9/20/09) Dave's response: Bill, the "theatrically unhinged" comment on the Front Page blurb today was a direct quote from Washington Post ombudsman Andy Alexander - not me. I'm sure that you'd rather "screw" him instead..... I noticed that Courtney robinson filled in for Pamela brown on GMW this saturday and dida fine job. (9/20/09) Between the poor coverage of last weekend's rally in DC and the failure for all these years to investigate ACORN (where was 60 Minutes on this?), the liberal bias of the elite media is really laid out for all to see. (9/20/09) "Yes 86% wanted an 80s show. I'm one those 86%. Fine. But when did HFS EVER play Ozzy? And Styx-maybe in the 70s on 102.3 but never,ever,EVER Mr Roboto! How about the songs 99.1 WHFS Grasonville/Annapolis played on the eighties?" Yep...imagine calling this show and requesting "Cynical Girl" by Marshall Crenshaw, a song (and artist) WHFS played a lot of at that time. I tend to doubt it would be played now. -- Vincent in Triangle (9/20/09) What the leftists don't realize is that the non-Fox coverage of the Sept 12 DC tea party was basically finding the most over the top, outrageous signs and doing reports on those as if the entire cadre of protestors was racist and/or nuts. You never see the liberal media focus in on the outrageously over the top signs at war or pro-choice rallies. No, those folks are normal everyday Americans. Fox's point was that the coverage of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, etc. was nothing more than finding the kookiest sign they could find so they could call the entire get together a kook-fest. (9/20/09) Yes 86% wanted an 80s show. I'm one those 86%. Fine. But when did HFS EVER play Ozzy? And Styx-maybe in the 70s on 102.3 but never,ever,EVER Mr Roboto! How about the songs 99.1 WHFS Grasonville/Annapolis played on the eighties? Like the GoGos,Berlin,Romeo Void they played after the 98Suck impersonation? How about Pet Shop Boys,Wall of Voodoo,TMBG,Til Tuesday....and about enough other 80s New Wave and Punk bands to fill up ohhhh sayyy about 4 hours? Why not? They filled a decade with music NOT found on other stations. Thats why I tuned in. If its gonna be Ozzy and Slayer then wheres the Pantera? I can get the typical cookie cutter overplayed trash thrash on 98Rock,DC101 or even 94 WYSP. I hit the HFS stream for a cut above,which is what HFS was despite the beancounters opinion. Next time I hear Ozzy on HFS I'll just leave Y-Rock on XPN as my default. I know they'll play Modern/Alternative/Indie or whatever...besides hair metal. (9/20/09) Does anyone else think FOX’s Patti Anne Browne is HOT?!? Biff in Winchester (9/20/09) This is not local media per se, but I'm local so I think it's valid... After slamming ACORN and the under-age prostitutes tax & housing sting in a local GAY.COM chat room I got reported multiple times to GAY.COM apparently and guess what happened? They just canceled my account the very next day. I actually paid them money for the account too! No email, no nothing, just poof, account GONE! GAY.COM just deleted me for slamming ACORN! And I said nothing worse there than what I've said here on DCRTV.com, almost word for word. I guess I'm a gay anti-gay racist now? Truly unbelievable really. (9/20/09) /\ September 20 Messages /\ \/ September 19 Messages \/ Heading home from Ballston to Springfield VA Saturday around 6:30PM, I began listening to Virginia football on 570 AM. Audio quality was downright awful, and I soon realized I was hearing a game that was coming in on a plain old telephone circuit. In this day and age, where we have the means to send clean digital audio over common phone lines, over DSL and ISDN, it is hard to fathom hearing a game over a radio station that first had to get there by way of the lowest fidelity connection possible. Come on WTNT, is it really that hard to buy a TieLine codec off of eBay? (9/19/09) ..I agree with Bob in Forest Hill as well as well. Gosh, because Fox is the only network that disagrees with Obama, does that make them "racist"? Funny how people heap grief and trash the Fox Network because they often disagree with Obama's policies as well as the liberals. Ed In Easton (9/19/09) (“TGB-2 just played Ozzy Osbourne-Bark at the Moon and is now playing Styx-Mr Roboto. This is JUST the kind of SHIT I considered WHFS a refuge FROM!!!!!!!!”) I do believe HFS2 does a Saturday night 80’s show from 8pm to midnight. In fact, if you look at their website, you will see a poll where 86% of listeners wanted a 80’s show on Saturday night. (9/19/09) What I don't understand is why would FOX NEWS take out an ad in The Washington Post over the tax protest thing vs. the ACORN scandal? Seems like a bad choice to me. You could argue the protest was undercovered by several news organizations possibly but it was covered, even if downplayed. However, the ACORN scandal was NOT EVEN COVERED AT ALL by ABC or NBC/MSNBC news until ACORN threatened to sue FOX NEWS! Even CNN was late to the ACORN story. And local Baltimore TV stations too. And ABC News had to wake up Charlie Gibson from his slumber and he looked like a complete fool in that radio interview, like he had no clue what was going on in the world. Yet no one wonders if Charlie Gibson can see Russia from his Alaska house? (that's a Sarah Palin-related sarcastic joke btw). I think even very liberal Peter Jennings is probably cringing in his grave right now seeing what village idiot filled his shoes at ABC World News Tonight. (9/19/09) OK now I gotta eat my words. HFS2 just came thru with The GoGos,Romeo Void and Berlin. This is more like it!!!! Sounds like a Saturday night in 85 trying to keep that touchy signal way down the bay from me. But man the Hair bands and Glamrock was NEVER a part of hfs. If its listener requests for that stuff PLEASE send it to 97Underground or 98Online. whfs should STAY whfs. And speakin' of.....how 'bout those calls....and another frequency...a MAIN channel...i'm just sayin' y'know? 18th again? you know what i'm talkin' about -UpperBayCoffeeSpaz- (9/19/09) TGB-2 just played Ozzy Osbourne-Bark at the Moon and is now playing Styx-Mr Roboto. This is JUST the kind of SHIT I considered WHFS a refuge FROM!!!!!!! STOP calling it HFS ANYthing if you're going to be what 98Rock USED to be(or may still be for all i listen to it) WHFS was once Free Form then Modern/Alternative but NEVER do I remember Ozzy on it. MAYBE Styx long ago when they were new but even that would have been more like Suite Madam Blue NOT FUCKING ROBOTO!!!! Whats next?Oh my god never rmind Pat Benetar just started playing FUCK YOU CBS!!!!!!!!!YYYYOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU SSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK (9/19/09) (re: Dave's response) "I've been declared 'insane' by Bob in Forest Hill. Cool....." Isn't that a little like being called 'a pompous ass' by Rush Limbaugh? (9/19/09) Couple of things. While I agree with the poster that Kornheiser's show sounds exceedingly lame and unentertaining, I don't think Wise has a shot in hell against him. Wise is just as arrogant and condascending as Kornheiser is, and he doesn't have the core audience that Kornheiser has built up over the years . Also, while it is nice that Kushner and Wise have apparently said that they will talk some Caps, the problem isn't just that hockey is ignored, it is that there are so few on either WTEM or WJFK that can talk knowledgeably about the sport. Wise CLEARLY has no clue about the sport and that is abundantly obvious when he writes about it. I don't know about Kushner, but there is nothing in his resume that gives me much hope. Thom Loverero does know some hockey and I'm hopeful that he will force Lil Andy Pollin (aka Kevin Sheehan) to shut up and do some Caps talk on a regular basis. Al Koken wasn't my cup of tea in some respects, but he was the most hockey saavy host ever to grace the DC sportstalk airwaves. Of course, Big John didn't want to talk much hockey so Koken's opportunities were few and far between. (9/19/09) Stopped by and saw Bob's comment and your response, don't think he was saying you are insane, from what I've seen just hypocritical and bias in the way you conduct the site and the mailbag in particular. Like the website besides that!! I'd go into it but I'd rather watch college football. BC (9/19/09) Don't know if this was mentioned in the mailbag, but Campbell Brown called out FOX News for a full page ad taken they had taken out saying that CNN as well as other networks didn't cover that large protest downtown last week.She had a whole segment showing CNN reporters reporting from the protest and then proceeded to have a "roundtable" talk about why FOX would lie about CNN not being there..Yeah, FOX can be pretty sleazy, but to take out a full page ad with totally untrue accusations..Oh that's right, I did say it was FOX..Guess I shouldn't be surprised. (9/19/09) Just as the US government has turned over functions of war to mercenaries, the Federal Communications Commission now lets the Parents Television Council screen TV programs for four-letter words. www.broadcastingcable.com (scroll to the end for the damning comment).... This comes as the FCC announced it would again seek to punish CBS for showing the "wardrobe malfunction" by Janet Jackson in 2004. gawker.com... The PTC, based inside the Beltway, supports censorship of anything the right wing does not like and urges the US government to punish TV stations for showing anything the PTC calls indecent. Not surprisingly the PTC defends its McCarthyite tactics. www.broadcastingcable.com (9/19/09) Dave, re: "My advice to Obama is to treat Rupert Murdoch as the enemy. And not to have anything to do with his "media organs," including anything with the Fox name on it. And try to get the bastard stripped of his US citizenship and shipped back to Australia. Ga' day, mate....." Seriously, shame on you. The one damn large media organization that disagrees with your point of view and you not only want it destroyed (and the tens of thousands of people he employees all over the world unemployed) and him personally damaged and deported? I have to assume you're serious since you didn't take the opportunity to correct yourself when offered. Seriously demented world view and, well, kinda pathetic, given that most of the media validates your thinking every single day. Your Murdoch hatred has officially reached insanity and pathos. Bob in Forest Hill (9/19/09) Dave's response: I've been declared "insane" by Bob in Forest Hill. Cool..... ("You can't look at 12 plus, dipshit. WTEM does great in their core demo. JFK's hosts sound clueless - TEM's sound like pros. It's simple.") If you believe that 980's host sound like pros then you need to raise your criteria for professionalism. WTEM's ratings are putrid and it's programming and hosts are a radio abortion. Specifically the John Thompson show and Andy Pollin, unlistenable radio at it's worse. (9/19/09) When is Imus going to be back on the radio here?. Barney (9/19/09) Dave's response: I wouldn't look for him anywhere any time soon after his lousy ratings on the old 105.9. Don't forget, Imus will be seen on Fox Business Channel mornings come October..... What is with these demeaning references? - "Madchow is a happily married man" "Ms. Madcow" "Butch Madcow" "Obambi" - I don't know if it's the same person who posts this way or if it's several people, but it reflects a level of immaturity and ignorance that really has no place on your mailbag. Please stop publishing these kinds of posts. If a poster cannot make a valid point without resorting to this kind of nonsense, they shouldn't be allowed a forum on DCRTV - let 'em display their stupidity on their own blog. (9/19/09) Post on Loudoun losing media - Interesting, the Post sports section lists WAGE as carrying Tech football game....D-5 box of media outlets for Va Tech vs. Nebraska.. (9/19/09) There’s been a lot of negative talk of late on this board and others about Fox News Channel and the personalities behind it. Specifically, Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes. First, while it’s well known that Australian of Scottish ancestry is cheap, one must wonder what equipment the FNC employees must put up with. I say that because of the ACORN “tapes” FNC has been promoting. Anyone who uses tape these days is to be pitied. Our operations haven’t recorded on rust in almost a decade. (OK, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and perhaps they are using “tapes” because their audience may not understand modern technology. But, even I couldn’t resist the dig!) And, speaking of pity, one must show such towards both Murdoch and Ailes. Why? Because any one who is seemingly so filled of fear and hatred is deserving of pity in the first place. But, combine that with an avaricial greed not just desirous of capitalizing on the fear and hatred on the part of their audience that they endeavor to incite still more fear and hatred and you have someone so spiritually and intellectually impoverished that pity is an understatement of their true need, -Unsigned Corporate Suit (9/19/09) (regarding Dave's response) "My advice to Obama is to treat Rupert Murdoch as the enemy. And not to have anything to do with his 'media organs,' including anything with the Fox name on it. And try to get the bastard stripped of his US citizenship and shipped back to Australia. Ga' day, mate....." I'm the person who sent the original 'rightwing tizzy' post. Even as a liberal, I'm surprised at the second part, where you suggest the Murdoch should be stripped of his US citizenship. As far as I know, he came to America legally and hasn't broken any laws that I'm aware of. I do agree that as a corporate citizen, he sucks donkey dicks in Hell and, he's pretty much scum - but deporting his Aussie ass, is a little harsh. Dave, you were kidding about that last part, right? (9/19/09) (RE:Dave's response: My advice to Obama is to treat Rupert Murdoch as the enemy. And not to have anything to do with his "media organs," including anything with the Fox name on it. And try to get the bastard stripped of his US citizenship and shipped back to Australia. Ga' day, mate.....) Dave, you have it all wrong. NBC should be shut down. It is a money-losing operation, it is pro-Obama to the point of absurdity and the MSNBC ratings are horrible. Add to the fact that the parent company GE and its CEO sympathizes with terrorists, they should be shut down for treason!. (9/19/09) You know it really doesn't matter what place ESPN 980 is in. Do you listen to the updates? They sell EVERYTHING! The studio name, traffic, weather, even the phone lines! Everything there is sponsored. Factor that in with ads (American Service Center, etc.), and that's where 106.7 The Fan comes up short. In the words of Randy Moss, "Straight cash homey, straight cash!" And THAT'S what radio is all about. (9/19/09) Two things: (One, no one reading this mailbag is "getting into" Ms. Maddow's pants, straight or not straight. Two, what tower does "local Washington TV channel 103" use as a transmitter site?) Okie Dokie: I’ll bite. You, “Mystery Oh So Concerned About Setting Maddow Straight” Mailbagette may be correct, as apparently Ms Rachael “I Went To Oxford Just Like Bill Clintoon Did”. Madchow is a happily married man: wordpress.com... Second, and here’s the REAL FUN, I watch both network and cable via a thing called a “television” (A TV for those of you in Rio Linda) and my transmitter is a little company called “Verizon”: you might have seen one of their THOUSANDS OF ADS on your rabbit eared “TV”. Welcome to the 21st Century! As for Ms. Madcow: I am willing to believe that such a word as “Homophobic” exists if there is also such a word as “Hetrophobic”, which Butch Madcow displayed ad nausea on Friday’s episode of “The Rachael Maddow Show” (found on channel 103, which I’m sorry your “TV” must not be able to receive – consider yourself lucky). Following the rule, “Know Thy Enemy”, I tuned into to watch her mimicking the Lipstick Lesbian Hot Carrie Prejean via a split screen: childish ain’t the word, but vicious will do. Imagine if Sean “The Ham” Hannity has mimicked a gay activist, like say, the brilliant Californians Against Hate’s Fred Karger via a split screen: he might be up on charges by Eric “My Law Firm Defends Terrorists and Perverts With Great Pride” Hold ‘Em Holder and Obambi’s Injustice Department for committing a “hate crime”. All’s fair in the world of unfairness I suppose. (9/19/09) The Washington Post looks at the media's failure, including their own, to find a footing in covering news in Loudoun County. www.washingtonpost.com (9/19/09) (I know this gets a bit deep but there's a reason why 980 never breaks 18th place in the PPM's and it starts with management...) Here we go again with someone who knows absolutely nothing about radio ratings. You can't look at 12 plus, dipshit. WTEM does great in their core demo. JFK's hosts sound clueless - TEM's sound like pros. It's simple. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the Junks, but that is all that JFK has brought to the table...and continues to be all that they have. (9/19/09) Dave: While I was out-of-town all week, I had several opportunities to listen to Kornheiser's show and must say, may be Tony should have stayed away. Think about-it, he spent at least 10-minutes talking about his Washington Post settlement and his side-kick needed to remind him that he received a handsome amount of money. Here's where Tony shoots himself in the foot!! Yes, many industry people say he's arrogant and self-serving as the next media star along with being stand-offish in-person. Given the fact Sheehan and Braun add nothing to the show and think they are stars as well and what do you have? many voices killing two hours that aren't able to relate to their male, middle-class audience...this is the problem with sportstalk radio in our market. Kornheiser has no avenue to let-out his complaints..there's no room on his ESPN show for that and he has to share the spotlight with Wilbon. Well, what better place than radio. I've come across plenty of the "bar crowd" who like listening to Mike Wise and LaVar because they are talking to their audiences like they are with them at the bar...rather than talking down to them like everyone at ESPN980. I know this gets a bit deep but there's a reason why 980 never breaks 18th place in the PPM's and it starts with management. Obviously, there's very little control over the talent at 980... while over at WJFK, their talent are people you want to have rap with at your local bar. (9/19/09) The Right wing is not in a Tizzy..The right wing is right! The Alpabet Nets will kiss ass, ignore facts make believe all is right with the USA, Ignore the "bail outs" blah blah unemployment, foreclosures blah blah, You Libs are mis-reading the mood of the Conservatives. We aren't in a TIZZY, we're looking for truth. Just look at the reporting of the tea party by the Mainstream...70K people???????? There were over 1.7 mill according to the Overseas Press, and that was a conservative estimate (I know you'll squawk back-"overseas". Let's face it, we'll never agree. I'll watch, once you're un-armed.;Oh , forgot you already turned in your weapons.-WOW (9/19/09) Can CBS sent Mike Wise to a speach class and learn how to talk. The man can't get one word out. (9/19/09) Dave's response: He'll do that if you bone up on your spelling..... Hey Dave, I didn't see mention of this so I thought I'd pass it along your way: www.cbspressexpress.com... "CBS RADIO FORGES ONLINE PARTNERSHIP WITH ADAM CAROLLA Popular Entertainer's Podcast To Be Featured Across CBS RADIO Properties; Carolla To Also Program His Own Streaming Radio Station, K-ACE. ... Promotion for Adam Carolla will appear across CBS RADIO’s portfolio of station properties with direct links to the entertainer’s dedicated website. Once there, fans can listen to the latest audio rant from Adam, as well as sample archived podcasts. Ad sales for the podcast will be handled by CBS RADIO. Pre-roll, in-stream audio and live reads are available for local and national clients looking to reach Adam’s target audience of Men 18-49, among others." Perhaps there's some hope that BOAD might make a paid return to my ears? *crosses all cross-able body parts* -Grant in Laurel (9/19/09) The right wing is in a tizzy over President Obama's decision not to appear on 'Fox News Sunday' this weekend. I don't know what the big deal is or why they're confused by this. I mean, in his address to a Joint Session of Congress on September 9th, he laid it all out, about as clearly as anyone could: "But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than to improve it. I won't stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what's in this plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now." The President views being on Fox News a waste of time, so he won't be on with Chris Wallace on Sunday. He made the correct choice - and I don't blame him one bit. www.whitehouse.gov (9/19/09) Dave's response: My advice to Obama is to treat Rupert Murdoch as the enemy. And not to have anything to do with his "media organs," including anything with the Fox name on it. And try to get the bastard stripped of his US citizenship and shipped back to Australia. Ga' day, mate..... Unscheduled 106.7 show ... Half past midnite was waiting at Fairfax County sobriety checkpoint @ Centreville. Driver of TheFan Tahoe was undergoing a field sobriety eval. tall white guy... unscheduled WJFK REMOTE ... driver of TheFan Tahoe undergoing field sobriety test 1230 am sat morn in Centerville ... was eastbound on Lee Hwy (9/19/09) Re: "Cry a little because you know you will never – as a man – get into Rachael Maddow pants who is ON LOCAL WASHINGTON TV ON CHANNEL 103 WEEKDAYS 9:00 PM EST" Two things: One, no one reading this mailbag is "getting into" Ms. Maddow's pants, straight or not straight. Two, what tower does "local Washington TV channel 103" use as a transmitter site? (9/19/09) As I saw on LOCAL WASHINGTON TV “Chuck Todd sneezed into his hand, and not his sleeve: Obambi quarantines entire WHPC”... What a way to make Drudge: it is the Silly Season, ain’t it? Reminds me of my favorite Johnny Depp movie: www.youtube.com... Sebelius has most certainly Jumped The Shark from MILF to WOC (Wrinkled Old Cougar), hasn’t she? I know: be nice. (9/19/09) Dave's response: The very fact that a Chuck Todd sneeze would make the news is proof that journalism is officially dead here in America. And Drudge is a pallbearer at the funeral..... Call it Round 2 of Comcast vs. FCC... On 9/22. This time, it's the law/rule forcing the cable nets to sell "at cost" access to sat fed cable nets to competitors. Imagine DirecTV without HBO or Cinemax? FiOS without Comcast Sportsnet? DirecTV opened this can or worms when they sued to force Comcast's terresterially-fed Philly sports net onto the 'bird. Now, when contracts come due, they may seriouslly lose. The FCC is already trying to cover Kevin Martin's ass on this one. However, the D.C. Court of Appeals has what I call "conservative constiutional activists" on it. So, it' possible a serious shakeout may happen. My prediction is that the rule will be kept, but modified to allow "free-market" pricing and availability. An example of this rule as current would be the government forcing GM to allow Lincoln dealers to sell the CTS-V because Lincoln doesn't have an equivalent car, thus putting the Lincoln dealer at a competitive disadvantage. (9/19/09) /\ September 19 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....