Current Mailbag - Mailbag Archive Index - DCRTV Front Page - Support DCRTV DCRTV Mailbag - April 20 to April 28, 2010 Latest messages listed first..... \/ April 28 Messages \/ Playing armchair programmer...With Joe & Mika gone (prayer DOES work), WABC has a 10-12 'filler' on Mark Simone (my fave fill in host). He'd be someone I could stomach after Plante (though I'd have kept him 9-12 and someone else doing mornings). I'd ditch Austin Hill (can't stand him) in a heartbeat and simulcast Mark Simone. He's smooth, very articulate and a great debater. BTW is Austin still pretending he's in DC, when he's really in AZ? He could give good perspective on the AZ immigration bill being there (4/28/10) I think the Comsumerist award should be the lead item. Just think of the competition Comcast had to overcome. Bank of America, AIG, Bear Stearns, GM, Chrysler, ExxonMobil, Countrywide Mortgage, Toyota, etc. Not to mention last year's winner, Ticketmaster. A bridesmaid for several years, Comcast shows what determined effort can indeed accomplish! (4/28/10) Tip: Expect the planter to lose his AM Drive "training wheels" on Friday at 8:30 and be on his own w/Nehman come Monday. Also, expect another implosion or two on Jennifer Street. The question is, what will Duckworth do should Brian Nehman get the Fox News gig he'd love to have? (And, which he could handle!) The next question is whether Grandy will stay with Retirement TV or ditch the D.C. area and go back to either Hollywood or Iowa? The only thing holding WMAL together right now is what helped destroy it: The Depression. If it weren't for the Depression, Plante would likely be the only one left. Everyone else would've had a better gig by now... I've never seen one so riddled with the cancers WMALnot only has, but seems to be accumulating by the day. Syndication is their only saving grace. It's only a matter of time before some of them start leaving. Including Rush as there's luttle (if any) "excellence in broadcasting" left at the once mighty 630. If it had to be all "live/local" they'd blow worse than they already do. Ditching the net news at the top of the hour in AM drive is one of the cheapest and most desperate cost-saving measures I've seen them do. It sticks out so nastily. Prediction: Within 18-24 months, the ranking of the D.C. talkers will be 100.3, 1260, 570, and 630... Why 100.3??? Think about it! Lots of potential there!!! (4/28/10) There have been offers to take WRQX off Citadel's hands. But, the "deal" includes 105.9 and WMAL, or no deal. And, they want way too much money! (4/28/10) RE: "According to the FCC, WAMU will increase its HD-RADIO power to 680 watts. WOW, the power of almost 7 light bulbs. I'm impressed!" There is a handful of times this time of year that I can get WAMU's digital signal here in Virginia Beach (I do have a decent sized FM-only antenna in my attic pointed that way). I guess the power increase will increase my likelihood of getting them more down here. Bob/VARTV (4/28/10) WGAY AM and FM used to run a feature every Sunday afternoon called "Matinee at 1." It was a condensed version of a Broadway musical hosted by Bob Chandler, the stations' PD. Do any recordings of these shows exist today? Inquiring minds want to know. (4/28/10) Comcast named worst company in America. This is due to their high prices and poor, if any, customer service www.myfoxdc.com (4/28/10) So WAMU's HD Radio signal will still be less than the equivalent of a lower power CLASS A FM analog signal at <2000 watts ERP ? How does the FCC or iBiquity continue to live in fantasy land that this HD RADIO thing is going to work? It's clearly a failure and the only solution is ALL DIGITAL AM/FM. Am I the only person who gets this? (4/28/10) I nominate this as Chris Plante's official theme song! (4/28/10) Barry Richards makes a challenge to Count Gore at the 5:42 mark of this video. (4/28/10) The WAMU digital power increase from 170 to 680 watts is the transmitter power output. The ERP of the digital signal increases from 500 watts to 2kw. In theory this should double the coverage, however as they say your mileage may very. (4/28/10) Hey Dave ... I was hoping you could do me a favor... Local legend, Garry "Diaperman" Shider, guitarist, singer and band director of the band Parliament/Funkadelic is currently in a local DC hospital battling brain and lung cancer and his prognosis is "grim". Garry, based on his career choice has never had medical insurance and his bills are already running in the hundred of thousands. During the time I was with P-Funk, long before I ever thought about going into radio, Garry was a mentor, a friend and a road proven father figure and I NEED to give back to him and his wife, Linda and his sons, Marshall and Garrett, as they all took me in as family. If you could find someway to put the website for his fund on DCRTV, I am certain it would generate additional monies because many people remember songs like "One Nation Under A Groove", "Cosmic Slop" and of course, "Atomic Dog". Hell, there are some stations that still play all three! I am certain Garry would have no problems with you putting my request on the front page of your site, versus the Mailbag, and that he would appreciate any contributions from your readers. I thank you in advance for your consideration to this request. Cherokee www.garryshidermedicalfund.com (4/28/10) Saw what I thought was a new Time Life infomercial a few days ago hosted by Lloyd Price.(Time Life seems to have cut way back on the airings of its infomercials during the depression and when did TL move its headquarters from Richmond VA on East Parham St. to Des Moines, Iowa?) Anyways I noticed during the infomercial a music act on an old tv show who's name I didn't catch performing in front of a sign for Milt Grants Record Hop or something like that. Is this the kind of stuff Barry Richards video will contain and has Mr. Richards released that video yet? Will the videos be on sale down at the Purple Grab Bag? whooppee goodbye Music of Your Life I'll miss you being replaced by the righteous church of kid touchers radio network (4/28/10) I'm amazed at the number of black callers to both Wise's show and John Thompson's show who wanted to talk Capitals hockey. I've noted an increase through the season but nothing like today. Very good to hear and it bodes well for the future of the team. (4/28/10) well i gave it a few days and it sucks!!!!! I used to turn my dial at 9 am to Laura or Beck now i do not have to changes stations since i am no longer listening to wmal. (4/28/10) Looks like WAMU will be the first station in the DC area to get a HD Radio boost from 1% (170 watts digital) to 4% (680 watts digital). Application here, fcc.gov (4/28/10) Dave's response: If they're lucky, the increased "buzzing" of the digital signal on either "side" of 88.5 will wipe out whatever analog reception there is of Baltimore's WYPR on 88.1 (either via Baltimore or Frederick) and Baltimore's WEAA on 88.9 in the DC area. Eliminating any out-of-market NPR competition. Ha ha ha..... (excerpt) At the end of every single song one hears this computer voice ( usually a 20 something woman ) backsell the song by artist and title..and that is it. Usually the track is followed by a jingle and/or sweeper. Now as to whom is this "voice", very generic as again only the title of song and the artist is given. (end) Nothing new. Automated FMs of the late 70s were doing this too. Syndicators like Drake-Chenault would send out reels of tape to be slapped up on the ol' automation system, and everything on the Current reel would have Mr. Noname talking out the tune. What finally happened? Personality Radio won out and automated hits became a yawn fest, at least for a couple of decades. For you young 'uns unfamiliar with how you'd fit a reel of tape into an "automation system", you have to understand those old rigs had no hard disk, no sound cards, no nothing. Well hey, take a look at the pictures: shaferinternational.com and www.cflradio.net (4/28/10) According to the FCC, WAMU will increase its HD-RADIO power to 680 watts. WOW, the power of almost 7 light bulbs. I'm impressed! LOL (4/28/10) Not local – but interesting… For all you Dashboard DX’ers check out “Beach…Boogie & Blues” at 1070 AM Also streams at WNCT.COM. What a shame a format like that won’t work here. (4/28/10) Yesterday, Chris Plante was outraged, and he asked the question “is Obama a racist for leaving out mentioning White men in a talk to his supporters?” Plante devoted over an hour to this fake question. Last night, MSNBC had a montage of all these right wing radio talkers, and Fox News talkers, outraged, and asking the same question. It was like they are all working off the same playbook, and a couch is making the calls. The montage was pretty funny though, they were all using the same catch phrases. Anyway, CHRIS PLANTE IS A COMPLETE IDIOT IF HE THINKS HE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS MARKET BY FOLLOWING THE DAILY HERRITAGE TALKING POINTS. IF DUCKWORTH ALLOWS THIS LAZY APPROACH TO A TALK RADIO SHOW IN THE NATION”S CAPITAL, AND DOESN”T DEMAND OF PLANTE AN ORIGINAL CONCEPT, THEN BOTH DUCKWORTH AND PLANTE ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOBS, AND BOTH OF THEM NEED TO BE FIRED. Sorry for shouting, but those points had to be made. Have a nice day, everyone. (4/28/10) Actually, Dave, what WMAL needs right now is a non-political talker between 9 and noon. Give the listener a breather between Plante in drive and Rush. I could see a Clark Howard bringing in more women for example. ACG (4/28/10) Just got back from Houston, Texas. Even though I didn't listen to much radio while I was there I did noticed a couple of stations are doing the "generic voice" thing. In other words at the end of every single song one hears this computer voice ( usually a 20 something woman ) backsell the song by artist and title..and that is it. Usually the track is followed by a jingle and/or sweeper .Now as to whom is this "voice", very generic as again only the title of song and the artist is given. Kinda reminds me of an automated telephone operator "..press one for English..press two for Spanish". You get the idea. Denver's KOSI-FM 101 uses this 24/7 even on the few live dayparts left and as I am pretty sure there is a station in Philadelphia as well as Atlanta that does it too. Of course this "set-up" does have its critics such as those who feel that by having this computer voice backselling every single song ruins the music flow. However some companies like Entercom claim that this practice actually helps in getting that younger demographic "..young people would rather here this that an actual live radio announcer". Anyway with Citadel, Clear Channel having their money woes and CBS cutting back, I am very surprised this generic voice 24/7 thng hasn't found its way yet on MIX 107.3, WASH-FM, heck even FRESH. Really if a station in a bigger market such as Philadelphia is doing this, ah sooner or later it will come to DC and Baltimore. (4/28/10) Dave, Tonight will either be the last game of the season or the Caps will beat Montreal and move on to rake in even more ratings for CSN and their radio network which tonight includes both WFED 1500AM and 106.7FM The Fan plus Fox Sports Radio Baltimore 1370am. washingtonexaminer.com. Here are the details! Cheers, Jim (4/28/10) I'm just waiting for the bloody abortion that is WMAL's revamped morning show to implode, showering fet-a-bits on all and sundry. With all due respect to Silvie, the last thing I need is more Chris Plante earlier in the day. He seems to think that people want to hear what he says. He is largely wrong in that. If you sound like you've got a pistol halfway down your throat as you rail against the "trash" and "garbage" that you've had to deal with, as a self-identified 30-year veteran of local and federal law enforcement (my money's on prison guard) did today, you will get your air time, otherwise CP will talk over you as he did Grandy. To be fair, it sounds like CP has been talked to and told not to be such an overt douche during the transition until he owns mornings at WMAL. They've even got a new window company as a sponsor. Andy Parks is looking pretty good now, isn't he, Dave? I picture him chuckling and rubbing his hands together in his bunker in Carroll County, or soaring over the countryside in his ultralight. Silvie, I love you, I've heard you as a caller, but CHRIS PLANTE SUCKS!!! And I say that as the most rightwing person you would ever hope to meet. He just sucks. I'm going to have to find another morning radio station. Hmm, I wonder if there's anything over here, lower on the dial... P.S. Nehman's doing his best in a sucky situation. I'm sure he'll end up being great once CP shakes out the last droplets of WMAL. With a body like that, he could go far. (4/28/10) Dave, Big Tigger received big ratings on tv with the 18 to 34 demo do you know how his morning radio show is doing with that demo? So far its early but his numbers are off to a shaky start with the 12 plus demo that is not a money demo anyway. (4/28/10) Dave's response: I don't usually get to see the stats for that demo. Anybody know? Rusty...RE: "Lou Roberts" voice123.com/fredschall (4/28/10) Earlier I heard Imus talking about the Scarborough radio show supposedly going on a "hiatus". The press release from Citadel indicated that this move was needed so they could re-work the show from a two-hour broadcast, to a three-hour broadcast. Imus raised the point that his show on WABC isn't over until 10am - which leaves just two hours for Scarborough - since Limbaugh starts at Noon. Where would the 3rd hour of a revamped Scarborough show go? They certainly wouldn't drop the first hour of Rush (or the last hour of Imus, for that matter), would they? (4/28/10) Dave's response: Come on! The "hiatus" is a cancellation. Scarborough isn't "red meat righty" enough and his radio ratings suck. His live show lasted on WMAL just a few months. A heavy "inside the Beltway" political show and it can't survive on the Washington radio dial? Only 22 national affiliates? The Citadel announcement was just a "face saving" termination..... Dear Dave: Regarding the drop in the Washington Post circulation that you noted yesterday, there are a lot of reasons why, and one certainly has to be non-attention to detail. The edition received at my home this morning stated on the front page of the sports section that the Nats-Cubs game ended too late to be included in the paper (I disagree with the notion that a 10:48 PM final pitch is too late, but that's a debate for another day). However, in scanning the National League standings inside, I saw that the won/loss records for the Nats and Cubs were updated to reflect last night's contest as opposed to seeing an "x" next to each team to denote a late game. Additionally, there was line score (not a box score with details of the game) of the final result. The paper also had the game story of the Orioles win over the Yankees last night, but the standings for each team had an "x" for a late game and a won/loss record that did not include last night's result. Added up, little details like this make a big difference for readers. If the editors seemingly do not care about details, why should readers spend money on sloppiness? Great site Dave! Sincerely, Joe Kasell (4/28/10) Been watching a number of NBA playoff games and I haven't seen one camera shot of an NBA cheerleader. Could all the ladies that ESPN has hired put pressure on the networks that carry pro basketball not to show the cheerleaders. Seems a bit contradictory if this is the case cause a number of the ESPN ladies seem to have a case of "Hey,Look at me"itis i.e. Hannah Storm. (4/28/10) Dear Dave, Regarding your rant on getting rid of the print edition of the Washington Post, I suspect you don't ride Metro in the morning much. If you did, you'd know how wonderful it is to get the free Post Express is every morning. No, it's not in-depth, but it's just enough to get you caught up while making that miserable ride into the city. It's fun to see nearly everyone on the car you're riding on with their noses buried in the small paper, actually reading about Wall Street, Afghanistan and everything else. In addition, the people who hand it out are about the nicest you'll ever meet. If the WaPo has to get rid of the big edition, so be it, but please don't give up on the Express. (4/28/10) I was extremely pleased to see Oprah's show today. She spent more than half the show with Wes Moore the author. He is the son of the late Wes Moore who worked at WMAL as a reporter, and died far too young. Actually Wes (Sr.) was much more than a "reporter." He was a first-class young journalist. Soft-spoken and highly professional, Wes was one of the finest human beings I ever met. He married the former Joy Epps, who also was a WMAL employee, and a well-liked professional. After seeing Wes Jr's story on Oprah, it is obvious that he is one apple that sure didn't fall far from that proverbial tree. When we old timers get together, we still talk about how much we miss Wes Moore Sr. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word. Chris Telladira (4/28/10) Monday's Nats-Cubs Outage: (Sadly) Not MASN's fault. Apparently the local Chicago feed experienced the same problem according to a contributor to Dan Steinberg's Sports Bog on WaPo.com (4/28/10) Dave's response: Got a Front Page blurb up on it yesterday..... Has anyone noticed Fred is leaving at 8:30 AM without saying “goodbye” or “have a good show” to Chris Plante? Mock my words; when the “E:True Hollywood Story-Fred Grandy as Gopher” movie comes out, AND IT WILL, Duckworth and Plante will be portrayed as complete bumbling idiots. Duckworth, you handled this situation atrociously and you bit off more than you can chew. Looking forward to the movie! (4/28/10) Dave's response: I'm hearing rumblings from WMAL sources that Chris Plante prefers to work alone, just himself and the callers, and doesn't really want Fred Grandy around. We'll see how long that "partnership" lasts..... Rusty, thanks...I am having a blast. This is the newest most progressive format for AM/FM/Web communications to come along since the "strange format" at WPGC and all of the other great entertainment outllets of the daze gone by.."Tennessee Birdwalk to, Bridge Over Troubled Waters"...it will be done again. History repeats itself..de ja vu....KHZTV.com/jones (4/28/10) RE:...Chris "The Idiot" Plante...Someone should tell him, in between his hysterical anti-left/liberal/progressive/Democrat rants...that the right wing, evangelical Christians on the Texas State school board have decided to play down Jefferson's importance to the nation's founding fathers in the states curriculum. Seems these enlightened Texans dislike Jefferson's support for the separation of church and state. Go figure...MW (4/28/10) I saw your note on dcrtv regarding how you don't use the insert. We are in the exact opposite position where we don't read the dead tree version at all but just use the coupons. Anyway if we can work something out you could save us the cost of a subscription and save the wasted paper on both sides. We live in Springfield and would love to work something out if you are interested. Long time fan of your site. Thanks for the site and good job scooping all of the regular media such as wapo. -- Gregory (4/28/10) Dave's response: I ain't driving from Reston to Springfield every Saturday to bring you my unread WaPo inserts. I sometimes catch an indie flick at the Cinema Arts in Fairfax on Saturday afternoon. That's about halfway. Maybe we could meet there. I'll throw in Parade and that awful WaPo Sunday mag. I'll keep the TV Week. Ha ha ha..... /\ April 28 Messages /\ \/ April 27 Messages \/ Comcast has worked hard to earn this award. I want to especially thank all the Little People (who've been stepped on and stepped up), but most of all, I want to thank the Unnamed Corporate Suit for making my day! I haven't felt this good since my wedding day!. Thank you. (I'm truly all teary-eyed). -Moe the Union Guy (4/27/10) Anyone know what former WEEL jock "Lou Roberts" is up to these days? Hey Davy, your show ROCKS! Rusty Gibson, WEBR/Radioairfax (4/27/10) "Moe the Union Guy" over at NABET should see this link about Comcast's latest accomplishment: consumerist.com... I'm rather disappointed DCRTV Dave hadn't posted it yet. Then again, maybe he hasn't seen it yet. However, I feel it is well worth sharing the news about. Comcast was up against some very worthy rivals, but they prevailed. Sometimes, those deserving of appropriate recognition receive it. In this case, Comcast proves that this can indeed happen! -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/27/10) To Shawn in DC: The number of times the word S%#tty was used today by Senators Levin and McCaskill is 14 so far. ACH (4/27/10) It took a day hire to screw it up for everybody www.mediabistro.com (4/27/10) RE: [ " Dave's response: I disagreed with Andy Parks most of the time, but he was no idiot. Chris Plante is an idiot..... " ]........ And yet Chris Plante made The Baltimore Sun's Z ON TV David Zurawik look like a complete idiot on CNN too. Go figure. With Kate Gosselin gone from Dancing with The Stars, it's time to re-inspect the gene pool again. :-) (4/27/10) I caught part of the Senate hearings today while on break from work and never thought I'd hear a Senator repeatedly using the word "shitty" (from a Goldman e-mail) with such relish at a televised hearing. Just hilarious and Senator Levin seemed to enjoy using it over and over at the hearing. Shawn in DC. (4/27/10) Dave, I am the victim of a 2005 Infinity downsizing courtesy of the radio genius Bob Eugene Philips in Baltimore. I found a new position and career as an assisted living community public relations director. Our company caters to the lifestyles of seniors. All of these communities have activity directors who have the same energy and creativity I saw in radio station promotion directors. My message here is that if you are an energetic, under paid, creative, promotion director type who may have been let go or is just plain sick of the working for guys like R. Eugene Philips, look at senior living facilities. In fact, my building in Potomac, Md is currently looking for one. Email: Potomac-crd@emeritus.com (4/27/10) (Is it asking too much to have just ONE traffic report on Fox Morning News without having Julie ''Tee Hee...Come [deleted] Me Tony'' Wright cackling and giggling like she's 12?) Paul, you should be more considerate. That traffic report isn't about you, it is about Julie. Julie will take a story from 45 seconds before her traffic, and go back to it, to turn it into something about her. If she wants to dance on Tony's lap, that is her prerogative, to paraphrase Bobby Brown. "Meme Wright with the traffic" is what they should say - "because it is always about me." To wrap this up, Paul - Yes. It is asking too much. (4/27/10) The New York Times covered WETA and the strength of classical music on the public radio dial here: www.nytimes.com... Christian (4/27/10) Wow, talk about still being in the technical dark ages. MASN apparently cannot show the reruns of last night's Cubs-Nats game either (too embarrassing maybe?). About 1 a.m., when the rerun was supposed to be shown, MASN had ESPNews on instead. Then, this morning, we're getting Cubs-Nats. From July 3, 2005. With the Cubs' announcers. CSN might not be perfect, but I'd trust them with my broadcasting rights before MASN. For instance, CSN could probably have grabbed the game from its sister in Chicago if it was showing it. Then we'd have the Cubs announcers, true. But it would not be a five-year-old game. Charles in Winchester (4/27/10) Dave: I was out of town most of last week and was only able to follow the Redskins' draft on the internet/980 and various networks. I was also listening to other sportstalk stations and I must say, they all sounded more intelligent than the talent on 980 and WJFK. Seriously, doesn't Pollin, Doc and Czaban know they sound like amateurs and you can tell they have no inside contacts or information about what the Redskins did in the draft. WJFK was a bit better because LaVar actually gave you some good insight along with other guests. The unsettling corporate environment at 980 must be bad when you start to hear talent not caring. I guess there's no one left to tell 980's talent to shape-up...may be talent should ship-out instead. (4/27/10) "Damn shame about (WMAL) in general - they were top-drawer for so long, and these days they keep finding new and different ways to dig a new basement." They certainly were top drawer....but how long ago? When did the demise happen? (4/27/10) “…Chris Plante, who works at a radio station (WMAL) that has an airstaff made up entirely of white men, slams Obama for targeting political messages to blacks and Hispanics, and not caring enough about white voters. What's wrong with this picture?...” It highlights the divisive nature of your thinking? The President of the United States is supposed to be the President of all of the citizens of the country; not just a particular demographic. This meeting reinforces in the mind of some that this is not necessarily the case. Signed. Johnny D. Laughing, scratching, and reveling in my Mediterranean heritage in beautiful, hysterical FredVegas. (4/27/10) Is it asking too much to have just ONE traffic report on Fox Morning News without having Julie ''Tee Hee...Come [deleted] Me Tony'' Wright cackling and giggling like she's 12? I'm thinking that instead of that idiotic ''Ask The Weatherman'' segment before 7AM, Julie should just give Tony a lap dance every morning. Paul (4/27/10) RE: [ " When Anita Marks was on MASN, she would make puddles over the mere mention of his (Tim Tebow's) name. I'm glad she's history as well. " ]........ Meanwhile Scott Garceau is still scratching his head wondering who Mr. Burns from The Simpsons is! Talk about the blind leading the blind! Too funny! LOL (4/27/10) I'm really confused. How long has Hitler been in the White House? By all (left and right) accounts, he seems to appear approximately every 10 years since 1936. Since 1999, Adolf seems to have been short cycled to every five years. Please explain. (4/27/10) I haven't written for awhile because I've been listening to actual good quality radio while enjoying the volcanic air in Oxford and London. Or as one newspaper wrote: "UK paralysed by Hot Air (From Both the Volcano and the Debates)". It's the only country where AM sounds as clear as our FM. What a pleasure to wake up and listen to BBC Radio 4 have intelligent stories, interviews, and discussions, and without the NPR whiny monotone, sometimes broken up by a little bit of excitement when a liberal event is reported on. The morning TV shows have non-predictable interviews. The local London all-news station unfortunately is a little ordinary sounding (LBC News 1152; they moved regular LBC Talk to 97.3 FM). But BBC Radio London (94.9) and BBC Radio Oxford (95.2) and, I assume all the other local radios, are like what US full-service stations used to be like. Now to the main subject at hand: WRC-TV in HD: It may be that my set is not right for one channel only (unlikely) but everyone on the news there now has a slight bluish tint to them. Half the actuality pictures are SD and stretched to fit the screen, which is crazy: every other broadcaster knows to put nice borders on the left and right rather than stretch them. And, as others have said, it looks like they are sitting squashed together in the center of a very wide conference table, so it looks good for the SD viewers and there is nothing extra in HD but a lot of blue and the shine from the Pledge they use to clean the table. You know what I've noticed they've done in England? People have, I believe, widescreen SD TVs. So all PAL SD programs are made to be in wide screen and can be seen on an inexpensive SD PAL TV pretty darn clearly. And why do European countries all have a ton of a range of TV listings magazines, all costing about $1.75 (like Radio Times in England, Horzu in Germany, and about 10 competitors in each country), and our one national TV magazine, TV Guide only lists Prime Time programs in tiny print, and is not even one tenth as organized looking as these others? Then again you spend an entire day this time of year watching the Snooker Championships. -- Carl in Olney (4/27/10) I guess I'm missing the whole point with HD since I don't have a television with HD...So on NBC4, I don't see the purpose of that huge blue screen behind the anchor desk..If I look close, I think I can see outlines of the monument and capitol. So, is this what they're going to show all the time?..Please explain!!. (4/27/10) What has happened at 4? The news in HD looks so crap. Has it been lit using worklights from Home Depot? It's bland, flat and boring. Monochromatic. Probably best viewed using a 1959 9" tube in a Walnut cabinet!!!! The anchors look uncomfortable and appear to be wondering what is going to happen next!!! Guess the set was designed by Washington Zoo's monkey house and a bucket of crayons. (4/27/10) Dave - In reference to your rant concerning the Post, I think the Post should discontinue the print version. I would suggest that the ad inserts (Sunday and Wednesday) could be delivered at the advertisers' expense (no cost to the subscriber). Even though I do have home delivery of the Post, I seldom read it. (4/27/10) Dave's response: I get the weekend pile-o-inserts with Saturday's paper. And, apart from the Best Buy circular, the whole pile always goes straight to my newspaper recycling bin - never looked at. I feel somewhat guilty about that. Maybe the Post should let us "op out" of that..... “If a right-wing radio host had said somehting [sic] like this about a Dem they would be calling for boycotts etc.” Excuse me, a right wing radio host in this market just last month said “Hitler is in the White House,” and the “Dems” on DCRTV didn’t call for a boycott, they called for an apology. The Hitler comment was not even covered in the liberal Washington Post, CNN, or on MSNBC. BTW, there was no apology in the right wing case. (4/27/10) Finally now that the NFL draft is history, we can stop hearing of the overrated Tim Tibow. When Anita Marks was on MASN, she would make puddles over the mere mention of his name. I'm glad she's history as well. But I'm sure she'll survive and be back on her knees in no time! (4/27/10) Good God, it gets better and better! This morning, Plante was railing against the left in Hollywood. He said that the left in Hollywood like to glorify people like Hugo Chavez and demonize great Americans like Thomas Jefferson. "Name me one movie made by leftists in Hollywood that depicted Jefferson in a good light,” Plante yelled. Grandy jumped in and said "I can name two; Jefferson in Paris, and Madison.” This comedy team of Plante & Grandy is better than the Smothers Brothers! (4/27/10) Dave's response: I disagreed with Andy Parks most of the time, but he was no idiot. Chris Plante is an idiot..... Damn shame about that station (WMAL) in general - they were top-drawer for so long, and these days they keep finding new and different ways to dig a new basement. (4/27/10) Lets see if this is even mentioned by the mainstream media.... If a right-wing radio host had said somehting like this about a Dem they would be calling for boycotts etc... news.blogs.cnn.com... Talk show host apologizes for comments on Tim Tebow A Boston sports talk show host has apologized for likening former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow's NFL draft-night party to a "Nazi rally." "Anyone who listens to the show regularly knows that I am not the most articulate person in the world, and on Friday, we were joking around about the NFL Draft. And unfortunately, I made a regrettable statement about the Tim Tebow draft party that ended up offending some people. And I truly, truly can tell you that was not my intention," Fred "Toucher" Toettcher said in a statement given to CNN affiliate WHDH on Monday. "I apologize to you that were offended. You know, I just apologize, and I regret what I said." Toettcher made the comments Friday on the Toucher and Rich Show on WBZ-FM, the morning after Tebow was selected 25th in the first round of the NFL draft by Denver. (4/27/10) ACH, thanks for your service to your country! Some of us are old enough to remember those were scary times for the USA. Too many people forget the Berlin Crisis brought us to the brink of a shooting war, with American and Soviet tanks barrel to barrel. One shot and it would have gone nuclear. (4/27/10) Dave's response: Ditto with the Cuban missile crisis. Those were scary times. Some neighbors were building bomb shelters. I was just a little kid. We had Civil Defense drills in elementary school. Like hiding under your desk would protect you from an atomic bomb attack. A lot of people were expecting the end of the world at any moment, back then..... Chris Plante, who works at a radio station (WMAL) that has an airstaff made up entirely of white men, slams Obama for targeting political messages to blacks and Hispanics, and not caring enough about white voters. What's wrong with this picture? (4/27/10) Why does CBS block the Junkies here in Deli, India? I got the in Japan. 980 is working. MOS podcast rocks. OOBBEE (4/27/10) Dave's response: Maybe they don't want all those folks working at your credit card company's call center in Bombay (Mumbai) wasting their time listening to the Junks..... Train Wreck: WMAL’s morning “line-up” (they should be in a line-up) out and out sucks. No TWO ways about it: Plante and whomever he is shouting over (who’s with him there?) just don’t make it when it comes to morning drive time. Other than Stern, nobody ever really makes it on their own during this time: you need at least two distinct voices, able to banter back and forth EQUALLY (which Stern sort of had with Robin). When I drove a taxi in Monkey County to put my sorry broke ass through Monkey College (“Harvard On The Pike”) our company’s Motorola radio would allow for cabbies to “step over each other” when calling into dispatch by “keying” the mike: Plante keys the mike all the time and jumps all over --- who is that guy with him? – his co-host. Plante is best (or as good as he gets) when regulated to the narcissistic singular “host”: like Rush, like Sean, like Beck, like Savage, like Levin. None of the aforementioned would work with a co-host. JMHO: Just My Humble Opinion. And look, here’s Plante’s radio career: chronicle.augusta.com (4/27/10) Dave's response: I simply can't stand Plante. He's a fuckin' idiot. I gave WMAL a chance this morning, but at 7:32 I bailed out for Howard Stern on Sirius XM..... It is really on WMAL's website; "Andy Parks, a name synonymous with 630 WMAL for nearly 25 years as morning host and airborne traffic reporter, is no longer with us." And I thought Chris Plante was the biggest idiot at WMAL. Boy, was I wrong. Ellen (4/27/10) Dear BUSTED: I can't account for stupidity, but I'll be charitable and simply say you must have misunderstood. My entire work life was about 50 years. I was in the 82nd Airborne between 1958 and 1962 and was then extended for several months due to the Berlin crisis of 1961-62. I made 26 jumps. It was after my service that I came to the Washington area and began my media career. Surely, you are not so dense that you thought that anyone can serve 50 years in the army AND work two or three jobs a week on the side AND run a media corporation, etc. It is leaps of fancy like yours that makes me despair for this country. ACH (4/27/10) Dave, I hope this will be my last post regarding ACH. ACH if what you say is true, thanks for the service and congrats on the successes. “you'll see that it began with an assumptive "don't quit your day job" declaration by an unsigned poster” I’m the unsigned poster. I was basing it on “Thank you. Will be here all week. Two shows nightly and do try the veal! ACH” The “don’t quit your day job” was an attempt at humor, showing that I didn’t think your “stand up material” was very good, NOT a personal attack on you. As for being an unsigned poster, I’m not in broadcasting, just a lurker, so signing would make no difference because no one knows me. If it matters THAT much I’ll try to come up with a witty moniker. (4/27/10) "...Dave's response: Some other cities have radio or TV media sites, but none are quite as fabulous as DCRTV is...". DCRTV IS fabulous!! I live outside the DC broadcast area but still enjoy the site often. I discovered this site through D&M's railing against you. This whole ACH 'worth'-thing is just weird, though... Ed in Fenton (4/27/10) Dave's response: Thanks, Ed, and thanks to D&M..... I just want ACH to know.....4 figures, 5 figures..6 figures..It don't matter...you are making yourself look like an ass. Keep up the good work, you're making those that make 7 figures look bad. DG (4/27/10) "I quote from Army News 12/16/2009; "The Army's longest serving colonel - and possibly its longest serving Soldier...Col. Richard Hatch, who completed 40 years, eight months and 22 days." www.army.mil. If you are going to prevaricate, please try to be more believable next time. BUSTED" While you're patting yourself on the back... Col Hatch might have been the longest serving colonel, but he doesn't hold a candle to General Douglas MacArthur, who served from 1903 to 1951, for a total of 48 years. General MacArthur was fired at the ripe old age of 71. --Chris in DC (4/27/10) /\ April 27 Messages /\ \/ April 26 Messages \/ Its 9:05PM Joe show on WMAL as usual. John T. Henneman (4/26/10) RE: [Sorry, you feel that way. After 50 years of the military (82nd Airborne)...] This is not media related, but I simply have to call "bullshit" here. Maximum service age for all branches of the U.S. Military is 62. In order for anyone to have served "50 years", that would mean that individual would have had to have enlisted at the wise old age of twelve. Your claim also exceeds the standing service record by an amazing 125%. I quote from Army News 12/16/2009; "The Army's longest serving colonel - and possibly its longest serving Soldier - said his "goodbyes" to a career of challenges and opportunities at a retirement ceremony Dec. 4 in Bob Jones Auditorium. Col. Richard Hatch, who completed 40 years, eight months and 22 days." www.army.mil. If you are going to prevaricate, please try to be more believable next time. BUSTED. (4/26/10) Snopes is reporting that the Facebook item has no basis; it is a scam which has been circulating for awhile. The page links you to a site that may drop a virus or malware into your PC. Other source: answers.yahoo.com... Facebook remains free. -Al Peterson (4/26/10) Dave, you may want to remove the message regarding the Facebook site and how they will charge money in the future. This is a scam. These sites on Facebook have popped up from time to time. Basically they get you to become a "fan" (now like) and then send out a mass message to all of the page's fans. The message contains a link to an outside website that contains a virus. (4/26/10) Dave: Suggest you pull the mailbag post about Facebook planning to charge beginning in June. It's a hoax. Here's a link to Snopes.com: www.snopes.com. Be well. (4/26/10) Dave, here is the information on "boobquake". Perhaps this explains the Fox 5 morning news. Thanks to all who participated. www.blaghag.com (4/26/10) It's been weeks since you reported the sale of WWRC from Red Zebra to Salem, and STILL there's no official word from Red Zebra to any of their employees that the sale has actually taken place. What kind of a second rate company do they run over there? (4/26/10) Dave's response: I dunno. Salem will begin operating the station on May 15th, due to a lease agreement, while awaiting approval of the sale by the FCC..... Two things: (1) If Veronica Johnson is going to spend all this time telling me about a possible tornado, the PLEASE me why the word "rotation" is so important since you say it to the point of ad nauseum. What is creating rotation--why is it alwats along south PG County near the Potomac...blah blah blah. (2) No to Core/Parks. Radio needs new ideas and voices. "Nuf said. (4/26/10) I turned on the radio to WMAL this morning and the only thing I heard was a big flushing sound due to the idiotic decisions of WMAL management. WMAL has been on the Washington airwaves for almost 85 years, and with the direction the station has just been steered, the station will be lucky to see it's 86th birthday. Andy Parks and Fred Grandy had the best chemistry of any morning team I have ever heard as they bought out the best in each other. Andy, thank you for your tremedous contributions to Washington DC for over 25 years. Fred the same goes to you - but lose the airbag that they have you teamed up with and re-take that microphone. As of today, WMAL has lost me as a loyal listener, and now the call letters stand for We Miss Andy Lots. JR (4/26/10) Dave's response: It's not Andy Lots. It's Andy Pots, er, Andy Parks. Oh, nevermind..... Well it is not radio. Looks like Face Book won't be free for long www.facebook.com (4/26/10) Has Veronica Johnson officially been crowned the 6 & 11pm weather person? (4/26/10) I always think of this question whenever you post ratings, but forget to ask. So since I'm thinking of it, here goes: When a station like WHFS AM 1580 doesn't show up in your ratings summary, is that because (a) it's not paying to be monitored; (b) you don't feel like listing it; or (c) it's not registering enough listeners to show up in the ratings. I assume it's "C"…but that's kind of surprising. I'm no fan of conservative talk, but 1580 does have a couple of fairly prominent personalities (Beck, Dennis Miller). You'd think those two guys would be enough to propel it past a low-power Manassas Spanish station (WKDV) or a barely audible Christian station out of Culpeper (WJYJ).. (4/26/10) FOX5 did a story about an Iranian cleric who said that women who show too much skin cause earthquakes. So there was a protest this morning by women who got to gether to show their cleavage to prove the cleric wrong. Maybe this morning's FOX5 traffic lady was showing cleavage as part of that protest group. (4/26/10) Now that Paul Duckworth has informed us all that Andy Parks is no longer with us, it is time to look back and see how Andy entertained us throughout the years. We laughed at Andy being stubborn; we cringed when Andy ate too many Baconators from Wendy’s; sometimes we even felt uncomfortable when he made uninformed comments; but that was Andy Parks’ style, and we listened to his words. Now that Paul Duckworth has informed us in writing Andy Parks is no longer with us, I see things a little differently. In Radio, one needs to communicate effectively with correct words, because that’s all you have. A great broadcaster understands this requirement and chooses not only the right words, but the best words for a given situation. Looking at it another way, a poor choice in words means a poor communications professional. Andy was a communications professional and I don’t believe I ever heard him using poor choices of words. Now that Paul Duckworth has, in writing, painfully informed us that “Andy Parks is no longer with us,” we must look back and appreciate Andy’s communication skills throughout the years at WMAL. God Bless You Andy Parks, I am off to buy a sympathy card to go to your former colleagues at WMAL. (4/26/10) "You come across as an ass." Sorry, you feel that way. After 50 years of the military (82nd Airborne), follow by at times (in the early years) working two and three jobs, running a multi-million dollar corporation in the media industry, authoring nine books including two bestsellers, married to the same person for 45 years, and fathering two successful children I can only wish that every poster on this site experience as much success as myself. If you go back and read all the posts, you'll see that it began with an assumptive "don't quit your day job" declaration by an unsigned poster. Since I no longer have a day job or any regular job and only do volunteer charity work (am nearly 70) I felt it needed to say why I don't have a "day job." I really have no need to care about your opinion or opinions but I only wish you well and hope you succeed. Maybe you have already experienced this success and if so, I congratulate you. But one bit of advice to all. You will be happier if you are less vindictive and drop the personal name calling to people you've never met and know nothing about. Yes, it is okay to mock someone like a Chris Plante as we all know who he is, what he stands for, and that he is paid to call the mighty names (not to mention the less mighty who follow another religion.) But when you attack someone you don't know, you risk making a fool of yourself. ACH (4/26/10) Update on 47 news director Dawn Mitchell: sbynews.blogspot.com (4/26/10) Dave's response: I was gonna cut and paste a few lines for a credited Front Page blurb on DCRTV but I got a message that if I did the FBI would soon be breaking down my front door to arrest me for copyright infringement. Man, kinda harsh, huh..... Thanks for the HDTV tech info John. Just curious have you compared the various stations HD news picture quality? I know this can be somewhat subjective but do you think 4 is as good as 9 or 11? Bob Fairfax (4/26/10) ACH- You could have a net worth higher than Trump and Bill Gates combined. Doesn't change the fact that you come across as an ass. (4/26/10) Quote: "The Citadel Titanic is sinking, and it looks like this movie is going to end with Plante singing a solo version of "Nearer My God To Thee"." But, unlike Captain Murdoch (no relation to Rupert), who reversed the engines on the Titanic as soon as the iceberg was spotted by crewman Fleet, Plante is just going full steam ahead (at full speed, blades at full capacity) and thus steering the vessel far left, away from and totally missing the iceberg. You should see him wearing a black dress and donning a wig with the 'heart of the ocean' as a necklace doing his best impersonation of Celine Dion belting "My Heart Will Go On" -- it brings tears of joy to my eyes... -Silvie- (4/26/10) www.630wmal.com - Andy is "no longer with us." Andy is not "no longer with the station," Andy is "no longer with us." (4/26/10) Dave's response: Maybe Andy went to The Great Radio Station In The Sky since signing off WMAL on Friday. Anybody know? Sad news; in a note from Paul Duckworth posted on WMAL’s website, it is reported that ANDY PARKS IS DEAD! From WMAL's website; “As is often the case, with all the good news, comes a bit of sad news. Andy Parks, a name synonymous with 630 WMAL for nearly 25 years as morning host and airborne traffic reporter, is no longer with us. “ It is about communication, people! Dave, can you now induct Duckworth in the DCRTV Hall of Shame? (4/26/10) Dave's response: Maybe those cookies that Farid Suleman gave him as a going-away present Friday were laced with arsenic..... Joe Witte was spotted doing the weather during the noon newscast on WJLA. Spot work or is he back for good? (4/26/10) Dave's response: They're keeping him on as a future chauffeur for Bob Ryan..... [This morning is moving along swimmingly at WMAL - better than I expected....I actually liked the chemistry between Grandy & Plante on this first day as well. The Planteman was in 'rear form' this morning, as is expected of him. Best, -Silvie-] "Rear" form indeed....If by that you mean that Plante made a total ass out of himself. No disrespect intended, Sil - but methinks you are a little too biased to grant anything close to an accurate judgement on this matter. Given your cheerleading history, Chris Plante could read the ingredients list off the back of a shampoo bottle and you would still beat the keyboard screaming "BRAVO!" and claiming it to be the second coming of Walter Winchell. Let me see if I can put this delicately; the show sucked. I mean, suckage of mythical proportions. Did you see Kevin James and Adam Sandler paired in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry"? That sucked, and this was worse. You could hear the sarcasm in Grandy's voice as he repeatedly referred to Plante as "Big Man", and Plante showed no respect whatsoever to his co-host, repeatedly cutting off or talking over Grandy. Silvie, for once in your life take the rose-colored glasses off, babe....the Citadel Titanic is sinking, and it looks like this movie is going to end with Plante singing a solo version of "Nearer My God To Thee". For goodness sakes, the only reason Plante still has a job at 'MAL is he is willing to work for less than those who have already jumped out of the door and pulled the ripcord....and in my humble opinion, what they are paying him now is still ten times more than he is worth. (4/26/10) RE: "What's up the Fox 5 news tiddays..." Posted like a true Fox listener? 'Cuz really, who cares about news when there's breasts to look at... whatza matter... did mommy not breast feed you enough (or at all?) when you were growing up or perhaps this post was from the pen of a 12 year old. To whomever wrote the post, why don't you put your "strong" facial features (whatever THAT means) where the sun don't shine! (4/26/10) The WTOP iphone app is free. (They believe in a Free Press). (4/26/10) Re: "SEVERE STROM - FREDERCIK, MD." That isn't all. One of our other area channels referred to it as "Fredericksburg, Maryland." The TV news people can't get anything right anymore. KOF in Gaither, Maryl--uh, er, Rockville, Virgi--anyway, somewhere near Germantown, Tennes-- (4/26/10) Re:"SEVERE STROM - FREDERCIK, MD." Maybe that was to differ it from Fredireck or Fredreck, VA? lol (But it IS an issue having two Fredericks that close together) Charles in Winchester, not Frederick County. (4/26/10) During the 7am broadcast, Gurvir was doing some story in the studio and was holding what appeared to be a HUGE remote in her hand..Must've been to control the teleprompter..But she was really having a time witnessed by her disjointed delivery of the story..Oh well..Guess it takes time to get used to pretty much walk and chew gum at the same time. (4/26/10) Sunday night on NBC 4, a perfect example of why Master-Controlling the place remotely from somewhere else is not a great idea. The conclusion of the local newscast - about 6:28PM - included a severe weather announcement for parts of Maryland just north of DC. Before much got said, the station cut away to a commercial, logged and called for no doubt by some automated pile of junk somewhere unknown. The weather announcement never made the air. A live person would have blown off the spot and run a makegood later on. This is progress? Feh. (4/26/10) Regarding the front-page blurb, "The Washington Post unveils its iPhone app for $1.99 per year." I don't know much about apps and their costs, but do all or most of the apps you buy, say the $0.99 ones, charge you annually? (4/26/10) Dave's response: It sounds to me that the $1.99 rate is a "subscription" which will undoubtedly be hiked in the not-too-distant future..... Murdoch family feud www.vanityfair.com (4/26/10) Dave, I wondered if you knew where I could get info similar to DCRTV on the St. Louis market. Thanks, Bartt (4/26/10) Dave's response: Some other cities have radio or TV media sites, but none are quite as fabulous as DCRTV is. Don't know about STL. Anybody know? Horrible; The Plante/Grandy show was a disaster during the 8:00 AM hour. They covered illegal aliens, new movies, Arizona, the left, abortion, assisted suicide, and at least two other subjects between 8:00 AM and 8:15 AM. Plante couldn’t keep his mouth shut when Grandy was talking, and Grandy exited quietly at 8:30 AM, apparently knowing this first try was an embarrassment of Kelsey Grammer alcohol consumption proportions. In explaining the new sked at 8:30 AM, Plante first said Austin Hill would be on at 10:30, and then Plante said he would continue until 10:00 AM. It was confusing to say the least. Duckworth should be inducted into the DCRTV Hall of Shame. (4/26/10) Dave's response: I didn't induct Duckworth into the DCRTVHOS because he's just a Citadel "stooge" and probably didn't have any say in the WMAL changes..... U vant ze TV cleavage? U got ze TV cleavage! Zut alors! (faked pic) (4/26/10) Dave's response: Comcast just added Fox Biz in HD here in Reston. Just in time, too..... As Congress and the FCC begin to scrutinize the proposed Comcast/NBC Universal merger, NABET-CWA is warning that the deal would be disastrous for workers, given Comcast’s history of trampling on employees’ rights and workplace standards at the companies it purchases. Throughout the country, Comcast has developed a history of violating workers’ rights. It has fired and retaliated against workers who try to form a union. The great debt Comcast will take on to finance the deal will also put economic pressure on the financial future of the company and worker wages and benefits. With the current negotiations between NBCU and NABET-CWA at a virtual standstill, the prospects for a fair settlement look dim indeed. NABET-CWA is warning lawmakers that the proposed deal also would be bad news for consumers. After its takeover of NBC, Comcast would control one in every five TV viewing hours. It could raise prices for consumers, limit the number of independent and local voices, withhold programming for competitors and crush competition from emerging video outlets by starving them of content. -Moe the Union Guy. NABET31.org (4/26/10) Dave's response: The ONLY people who will "win" if the Comcast-NBC merger goes through will be Comcast's top execs and stockholders. Everybody else - including NBC's and Comcast's employees, cable TV subscribers, and TV viewers - will lose. Look for monopolistic higher rates for everything, including cable TV networks and therefore more costly cable TV service, plus a huge round of cuts at NBC stations and with its network programming development, including news and public affairs (what's left, anyway)..... Last night in summing up the bad weather that hit a few hours earlier Channel 4 featured a crawler saying "SEVERE STROM - FREDERCIK, MD." Somebody got thunderstruck or somethin'? KOF (4/26/10) Great story in this week’s SportsBusiness Journal by John Ourand and Michael Smith on how CBS and Turner worked the deal for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. NCAA’s money-making matchup: How CBS, Turner made the numbers work in $10.8 billion deal www.sportsbusinessjournal.com... Thanks, Bill (4/26/10) I too wondered what was up with the traffic lady having to show boob cleavage this morning on FOX5..But I think that's a requirement in order for doing the traffic. (4/26/10) Okay… I know that Saturday & Sunday morning local news is not the “A” team for anchor jobs and it used to get on my nerves watching Britt McHenry stumble through the News Channel 8 Morning Report. But this weekend I have turned the corner and now look forward to seeing what she can screw up next! The turning point was when they showed a weather camera and she remarked…”It looks like another beautiful day here in D.C.” The pictured showed wet cold and foggy, maybe a great day for “Jack the Ripper” but for most of us, not really. Also, there must have not been much going on either because they did 10 minutes of weather AFTER they came back from a break that ended with 2 minutes of weather. (4/26/10) Dear Dave, Listened to the MAL abortion this morning - what unlistenable crap. Plante incapable of fathoming or even acknowledging Fred's humor, No chemistry whatsoever, Racing along like some business radio channel - bop -bop-bop-bop-bop-bop - Nauseating. Got a new window sponsor that screams of cheap vinyl whereas Thompson Windows at least sounded cozy. Sounded like they also had some pretty big national accounts - probably gave that time away in a bid to project a WTOP aura - And the commercials seemed to run FOREVER. When I drive in in the morning I want to get the smart gossip and a little political inside and a little chumminess and a perspective of reasonableness. NOT Plante bitching 24/7 NOT CNBC ticker-tape info NOT computer generated radio. Pardon my french, but the people that run that station are ass-clowns with tin ears and no respect for the listener. We had Johnny & Ed, We had The Beverly Hillbillies...now we got pablum. m (4/26/10) "To ACH and other Randi Rhodes apologists..." There is one of the most overused attack words in debates today-apologist. It's an attempt to instantly discredit (and ignore) the other person's position. A local sports radio host in Baltimore insists on using the word anytime someone doesn't agree with his one note act. Howie (4/26/10) After always ranting on Wash Post for their fact checking mishaps- way to reprint their mistakes without checking! First of all it's GEICO, and 2nd of all the story is lacking the info that the voice guy hasn't been used in over a year. Call them to ask about the job opening, and you'll get the real story..... (4/26/10) Dave's response: Sorry if I didn't spell "Geico" in all caps. Yeah, I'll get one of DCRTV's army of news researchers out to fact-check a Post piece. Do you really think I have time for that? This is a one-man site. Sheesh..... Dave said: "It's clear that Grandy's only going to be there for a transitionary period, then it will be all-Plante from 6 AM to 10 AM. And I won't be listening." Yeah, right. How many times have I heard that B.S. before? This morning is moving along swimmingly at WMAL - better than I expected. I listened to Nehman's entire first hour and it moved along flawlessly. People, you need to remember that Andy Parks has been behind the mic for, what, 30 years? Nehman is not Parks, nor does he intend to be Parks. Nehman's style is his own and I feel as if the "conversational" part is a breath of fresh material & style. Plus, he's mixing it up with all sorts of topics, which is phenomenal. I actually liked the chemistry between Grandy & Plante on this first day as well. The Planteman was in 'rear form' this morning, as is expected of him. Best, -Silvie- (4/26/10) Dave's response: I didn't wake up early enough to hear Nehman's 5 AM hour. But I didn't hear any chemistry at all between Plante and Grandy. Grandy seemed "wooden" and this morning it seemed to me that he was there "because he contractually had to be." Hey, he walked off the show two weeks ago and Citadel and Fred's team of lawyers probably agreed to have him return to the show for a specific transitional period of time to avoid a lawsuit for breach of contract. That's my guess. Via its bankruptcy proceedings, Citadel can squash any talent contracts, but not the other way around, as Grandy has probably found out..... Your information on WMAL was worthwhile and I appreciate it. I used to have every radio in the house tuned to the station and then just the morning. I am a lefty and didn't agree with the right wingers employed there, but hey Andy and Grandy got me going in the morning. The signal up at my house in Columbia sucks, but what's a little static. This morning I'm changing all of those radios to WTOP (one in every room as I walk around getting ready to come into work). Plante is just too much, along with Limbaugh, Hannity, and Levin who seem to be unable to see anything but black and white in there monochroamtic coloring boxes. Keep it up and the check will follow shortly.////////////Jim (4/26/10) Dave's response: Thanks Jim. I like WTOP a lot for its news, weather, and traffic. But I can only listen to it for 15 minutes at a time before it gets repetitive. And I liked WMAL in mornings because it was a great place to get "a little more background" and a "political angle" on the news of the day. Yeah, it leaned right but as a liberal I could also enjoy it. It wasn't mindlessly stoooopid. While Andy was often stridently conservative, Fred and Bryan often took "the middle ground." Now, with Plante, the show is little more than the same old righty stuff that you get from most other AM talkers and Fox News. It's clear that Grandy's only going to be there for a transitionary period, then it will be all-Plante from 6 AM to 10 AM. And I won't be listening. Thank God for Sirius XM. It looks like I'm going to be going back to Howard Stern, for a while anyway. Yeah, the Junks are OK, but not great. There is little else for me on Washington radio in terms of cool morning talk. Each and everyday Washington radio just sucks a little more, doesn't it! WMAL owner Citadel's DC suits Kenny King and Jeff Boden have earned prime spots in the DCRTV DC Radio Hall Of Shame. They should get out of radio and go open a chain of mall shoe stores with Bennett Zier and Dan Mason..... New radio shows with new hosts and new radio partners need to be given sufficient opportunity to see if they can work. So it is great news that WMAL mornings have lots of room for improvement! Memo to Nehman: Either do news, or talk, but not "conversational". Have structured news segments & then take some calls, or do an interview (check out WBAL's Maryland Morning News). Memo to Plante & Grandy: First have Chris present the agreed upon topic. Then, let Grandy comment. Then let Chris comment. Each one of you trying to out-talk the other is extraordinarily irritating. And move from topic to topic--stop with the rambling! Memo to WMAL management: With traffic on the 5s, I didn't have to switch much to WTOP. Now, I do. And, Doug Limerick had great newscasts--put him back! --Mike from Silver Spring. PS: Good luck Andy--and thanks for your decades of info & entertainment on WMAL (going back to those great traffic reports & more, with Trumbull and Core!) (4/26/10) Dave's response: Oh, it's 8:30 AM. G'night Fred! I am sitting here in my hotel in Delhi, India and the Junkies are blocked from streaming by CBS. I'll just listen to Mike O'Meara's podcasts and then see if I can listen to Mr. Tony. I have both on this laptop but I can not seem to be able to copy the Junks for travel. They are about the only left to listen to at JFK except when Lavar takes off and big lips sits in with Fad Lukes. I try to store content of both the MOS and Mr. Tony for long trips like this.....OOBBEE (4/26/10) Wow, someone just voiced what I was thinking. What is this thing with breasts hanging out on morning television? I'm female and find it unreal that 5 would think it's a good idea to encourage this kind of unprofessional behavior. I once spoke with the GM of 5 when Gurvir had hers hanging out. It's as if they think no one will watch if the women don't have on low cut shirts/dresses. That says to me that they know their product is inferior so let's distract everyone with breasts!?! Yeah, that makes sense. There are so many great female anchors, reporters, etc. on local TV and not ONE of them has their breasts hanging out. Once a woman goes on air looking like a hooker all credibility is shot. (4/26/10) Anyone know what the disposition is/will be of the old Arlington campus of Connecticut School of Broadcasting? They've been closed for a pretty long time as the parent company works out its bankruptcy issues, and I dont believe this campus is on the list of schools reopened by former owner Dick Robinson. Its not that I want to sign up; just there is a lot of equipment there I wouldn't mind picking up at auction. IMO, even if the school reopened tomorrow, it'd still be basing its curriculum on "necessary skills" that have not been valid in the industry for at least eight years. ---Not a student, but very familiar with the place. (4/26/10) What's up the the Fox 5 news tiddays? Julie Wright, Lauren Demarco, and now Charlie Maxx. Only problem is Charlie has some "strong" facial features. (She is filling-in for Julie Wright.) Bring back Lauren's boobies! (And the skyfox chick is chubby with boobies...and she has filled-in in the past...) (4/26/10) re:..."ivory tower liberals" comment... As is so often the case these days, this is typical... right wing anger directed toward the Left when the problem is in their own house. The US Chamber of Commerce had been advocating a "loosening" of immigration standards to include more laborers and less professional types back in the 1970's...as a way to depress wages for everyone. The right wing's hero, Reagan, slashed funding to Border Patrol, gave the illegals unconditional amnesty, and did nothing to beef up enforcement and penalties for businesses that used undocumented workers. Never let the facts get in the way of a good rant, eh? Your misinformation is almost Palin-esque, and your anger is woefully misdirected...try and find out who really screwed you before blaming the right wing's "usual suspects". MW (4/26/10) Dave, You know radio because you cover it and study it. But if that Chris Planet character can make it in national syndication, then I'm Ingrid Bergman's daughter. The one who should be out, again, first, is the one who's being kept on, for now. What a mistake! (4/26/10) will miss parks / but glad grandy remains. was there any announcement friday - did he get to say goodbye - thanks for 35-40 years? why be so secretive about the new line-up? will plante / grandy just act like nothing is new tomorrow? (4/26/10) On Celebrity Apprentice tonight, Trump corrected Cyndi Lauper. She said "I feel bad." Trump jumped in and said "you mean 'badly.'" I was then reminded of the postulate from my years at Boys' Latin; if you feel badly when someone else says they feel bad, just remember, 'all men are created equally.'" "Feeling badly" means feeling with your fingertips, "badly." Feeling bad, is something different, and in Cyndi's case, absolutely appropriate. (4/26/10) ACH...it's not a singular opinion. I don't think you're funny either. It's the internet; of course we're all rich (seven figures? PTOOEY! I have a ten figure net worth), beautiful/handsome, great in bed and live in luxury homes and drive luxury vehicles. Bragging online about being a millionaire. Laughable (4/26/10) Re "I've made my money and have a seven-figure net worth.” I’m willing to bet it’s not even six figures. Bragging about your wealth in a forum like this reeks of insecurity./// My penis is bigger than your net worth..... (4/26/10) So let me see if I have this right. Grandy and Andy get fired. Grandy then goes off to sulk and Andy sucks it up and soldiers on alone, without complaint, knowing he has been fired. And WMAL hires Grandy back??? I have a question for attorneys who read this site: Tell me, do companies that go bankrupt have to give up their sense of decency as part of deal? - Disgruntled (4/26/10) "I'm willing to bet it's not even six figures." How much? Let's bet a thousand dollars with the winner writing the check to DCRTV. We'll have Dave Hughes be the referee since the money will wind up in his hands anyway and he lives less than a mile from my house. I'll bring the documentation and you bring the money. Put up or shut up. ACH (4/26/10) Dave's response: Wow! Now that the Nats are playing good baseball they need to get a good station that one can get throughout Fairfax. 1500 is not it. FiOS switch the Nats to channel 1 and stop showing in in HD. It is hard to be a good fan with such bad Radio and TV coverage (4/26/10) "Bragging about your wealth in a forum like this reeks of insecurity." Bragging about your wealth in ANY forum reeks of insecurity and is just in poor taste. mizburd (4/26/10) I’ve marked my calendar for May 3 – 7, 2010 as Radio Legends Week on WTTR. These are great names in area broadcasting in their line-up particularly for those of us who use to listen to Top 40 on WCAO Radio in the 1960s. One point of correction - as a resident radio historian on WLMD Radio, “the Merson Person” Ken Merson actually began his broadcast career at WLMD before landing at WCBM. We were co-worker contemporaries together at WLMD. Ken’s broadcast career certainly took off after arriving at WCBM. I’ll be listening to Radio Legends Week on WTTR, and would suggest interest for a similar nostalgia radio week here in the Washington, D.C. radio market. Richard Dahms (4/26/10) Radio listeners of Majic 102.3 have scheduled a protest demonstration for next Sunday May 2, 2010 at 3 pm outside Radio One headquarters, 5900 Princess Garden Parkway, Lanham Md, For canceling a popular long running Sunday afternoon radio show "Majic Memories" geared toward African American baby boomers. We are asking listeners to come out and turn in their 30 and over club cards. This music from the 60's and 70's have brought us through very difficult times in America, such as the civil rights movement and the Viet-Nam era. To take this away from us is sending a message that Radio One discounts it's older listener base which supported Radio One from it's beginning in the DC area, and that the music has no value in the African American community. This decision was made by Jay Stevens, VP of programming content. It appears that Mr. Stevens (who is not of African American descent) has no clue or idea how his decision has affected the African American community in the DC metropolitan area. It seems that Mr. Stevens' stands for the younger folk whose music he may be more familiar with. He has totally discounted listeners who have put this station where it is! There are many, many listeners who, like me, ONLY listen to the station for Ron V's stylish "Majic Memories" program; You know, the one that plays music that has become identified with the Baby Boomer generation. That's the generation that listened to WOL, WOOK, WUST, WWDC, WPGC and other music stations that helped us grow up and prosper. Now, WMMJ has become the last commercial station to drop Motown classics and TRUE R&B/Soul music as the DC City once known as Chocolate City becomes increasingly Vanilla and Mocha. Black history is in the music of the past, not the present or future for so many, many listeners. How proud can WMMJ be of itself when it eliminates playing songs that mean so much to its most faithful/vintage-eared listeners? A sad state of affairs has become 102.3's "Hits and Oldies" moniker. Where are the TRUE Oldies? (4/26/10) /\ April 26 Messages /\ \/ April 25 Messages \/ “I've made my money and have a seven-figure net worth.” I’m willing to bet it’s not even six figures. Bragging about your wealth in a forum like this reeks of insecurity. (4/25/10) Dave's response: I have seven-figure net worth, too, but most of those figures are to the right of the decimal point..... Response to the unsigned poster who says "don't quit your day job:" Don't need to, don't have a job. I've made my money and have a seven-figure net worth. (See how little you know.) As for being "not funny" humor is subjective and you are entitled to your singular opinion. ACH (4/25/10) ACH- you're not funny. Don't quit the day job. (4/25/10) There are "Plantistas?" Where do they meet--in an Exxon restroom, just off U.S. 301 in Waldorf? ACH (4/25/10) Quote: "I suspect you'll soon be hearing just Nehman & Plante from 5AM-10AM." I have no problem with that format eventually (and I believe I speak for the majority of "Plantistas"), so long as Bryan Nehman takes charge of all 'housekeeping issues', such as news, traffic, weather, and introduction of guests. As stated before, Plante just needs to talk - with zero distractions and the least amount of interruptions. -Silvie- (4/25/10) Dave: I'm having a fit of nostalgia today. I went to DC-101's site to see if the station still does "Six Sides at 6," a feature I used to tune into when I was teen. It's gone, of course, from what I could tell. Probably has been for a decade or more. If memory serves, the station used to play a side of an LP, but once CDs came out, the "side" constituted the entire album. The program aired Sunday nights, and I would listen if there was an album I wanted to hear. Money was scarce and there was no Internet. I couldn't drive and had to save up weekly allowance to buy an LP, until I started working part time. I think I first heard Van Halen's "5150" on "Six Sides at Six," and various other hard-rock albums from that era. I guess the days of playing entire albums, even during low-rated weekend shifts, are gone. I'd love to hear form other Mailbaggers about their memories of "Six Sides at Six." Christian (4/25/10) Dave's response: Didn't DC101 and then rocker WAVA once play full albums at midnight? We're talking the 1980s. I remember recording Elvis Costello's "Get Happy" album off of WHFS in its entirety about three months before it got released here..... In case anyone is wondering about quality on the over-the-air digital tv channels... The total for the bit bucket is about 17 mbits. The stations try to leave as much as possible for the main HD channel and use the rest for the digital sub channels, which explains WRC's 12.4, 1.3 (Weather), 3 (Sports) and 1.83 for the mobile TV, with a little left for the PSIP data, etc. ATSC can be either constant or variable bit rate. This is like a very quick 2 pass encode process. The channel that needs more bits, gets more bits. There is a minimum, maximum and average bit rate set up in the encoder. This is also called "stat muxing." In WRC's case, they are using variable bit rate or VBR. Most everyone around here does except for channel 30 (really 24) WNVC, which gives all 5 of the channels 3 mbits each at a constant bit rate. I apologize for being so techie. Everyone, WAKE UP! John (4/25/10) I will be very disappointed with Fred if he doesn't come clean on all aspects of this - Loyal listeners deserve it. m (4/25/10) Great move Duckworth. I bet new advertisers can't wait to sponsor Plante in prime AM morning drive. This sked is a winner, and Brian is perfect for the competitive 5:00 AM hour! Transitioning Plante/Grandy to Plante only at 8:30 AM is genius! As Buzz used to say, "what could possibly go wrong?" I think Plante's rants about "the left" will be echoed completely, and agreed with by Grandy, and a deep friendship and admiration will envelop! Wow! Duckworth, you really know what you are doing building this powerhouse morning line up. I can't wait, and Plante is a perfect vehicle to communicate a sane, well thought out message for conservatives in morning drive. (And I am sure the powers that be have forgiven Plante for not dumping "THE STUPIDEST COMMENT MADE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN 32 YEARS" when he interviewed Sarah Palin). Looking forward to some great talk radio on WMAL next week. Seriously, who out there in DCRTV land doesn't think this move will be the dumbest programming decision since the Opie and Anthony/Don and Mike debacle? (4/25/10) To ACH and other Randi Rhodes apologists: She's a mean drunk (the real reason behind those "injuries" a few months ago--she fell flat on her face) and a vicious boss. I know her and I know those who worked for her. Andy Parks may go over the top on the air. Randi Rhodes IS over the top. All the time. (4/25/10) Reviewing short term WMAL history, Chris Plante was fired from WMAL 4/09, presumably to save money. He was rehired in 10/09, presumably because of listeners' protests. Andy Parks was fired in 4/10, presumably to save money. Could it be, Dave, that Chris Plante was rehired by management in 10/09, knowing that they could save even more money by firing Andy & replacing him with Chris? Given my suspicions, and given the odd programming schedule now in place, I suspect you'll soon be hearing just Nehman & Plante from 5AM-10AM. It's sad. Grandy gives us the political insight that few others have; Andy knew how to keep the show running smoothly. The chemistry was great between Grandy, Andy & Nehman--it will be difficult to duplicate it with Chris, under current Citadel financial circumstances.--Mike from Silver Spring (4/25/10) I'm not in radio, never have been and never will be, so excuse my naivete, but if you're trying to cut costs at WMAL, wouldn't it make more sense to just have Nehman & Gopher do mornings, then keep Plante where he is? You'd ax Parks salary, maybe give Gopher a pay cut for reduced hours, and save having to pipe Austin Hill in from his home in AZ. As a bonus you'd groom Nehman to be able to take over for Gopher for when he has another vegan diet induced heart attack. (4/25/10) Dave's response: Because the highly-paid Gopher/Grandy's also on the way out, just back temporarily during a transition phase, and the lefty Nehman just isn't the solo host type for a righty talker..... 'why anyone in the federal government who likes or supports Obama would do anything to move the proposed Comcast/NBC merger closer to reality'? Because they are paid by all of us and SWORN TO FOLLOW AND UPHOLD THE LAW, not be guided by their PARTISAN WHIMS. (4/25/10) Being a very small construction business I am conflicted on Illegal issues. I believe in Human Rights, the right to be secure in ones person and properties,the right to improve ones life and those of ones family,the right to not be 'owned' in any sense of the word. But I do not believe I should lose my livelihood to those who do not pay the same taxes,insurance policies and other obligatory expenses as I do. I do not believe that Citizens have the right to cut other Citizens throats by doing so. I do not believe that the Elite or the Well-Off have any more right to shape our country just because they have Money. The most far reaching and world changing innovations have come from Poor people or those who had no choice but to change the way things were. I,myself,have been competing with the unfair tactics of Illegals and those who employ them since the 80s,long before the rest of the country recognized the threat. The icing on the shitcake was when CBS went traitor and gave the Illegal work force a station that gives criminals something to dance to when they are doing stolen work. Donnie,North East MD USA (4/25/10) RE: [we the fans do not like it that Plante is or might be squeezed out of valuable on-air time. -Silvie-] Personally, I think it will be a friggin' hoot to hear how Plante is going to react when he finds that his formerly solo "crazy" balloon has been tethered to terrafirma by the lead weight (albeit occasionally questionable) sanity of Fred Grandy. Grandy ain't going to play Plante's whipping boy the way Jerry Kline rolled over and showed his belly. My prediction is that their fledgling "partnership" will last less than a week before Fred gives up and just walks off the show. In fact, within the first 90 minutes on Monday, I predict Grandy will get fed up and profusely call "Bulls#!t" on any one of Plante's many loopy conspiracy theories. Almost makes Plante's drivel worth listening to just to be there when the train derails! Can't wait for the sparks to fly! (4/25/10) Dave, let me add to your critique of Andy Alexander's weak ombudsman column this morning ("Troublesome gap on a mine story") since there are several troublesome omissions in his "reporting." First, he quotes a West Virginia University law professor who blithely dismisses the several hundred coal mine safety violations as saying "some violations are like traffic tickets." Putting aside the fact that just a few traffic tickets will cause any state to revoke your driver's license, Alexander failed to note that Murray Coal just gave $1 million to WVU to endow a chair there, and Massey Coal just donated $500,000 and that over the years the coal industry has given tens of millions of dollars to the school which is why they have a $350 million endowment fund. Surely, he can't believe that someone from WVU would dare to diss the coal industry. Then he quotes a woman from a coal mining newsletter who says pretty much the same thing without noting that the subscribers are coal mine owners and management. You don't think the miners are paying $1100 a year to subscribe are you, Andy? (4/25/10) There wasn't any whining about Randi Rhodes W remarks because she went back on the air and apologized, admitting that "my W bit was over the top." Since Randi Rhodes served honorably in the U.S. military and neither Grandy, Andy, or Plante did, I'm gonna take a chance and say she's more of a man than all three combined. Now let the lesbian fabrications begin because that's all you guys have left. ACH (4/25/10) Two things. First, illegal aliens spend every day of their lives breaking the law by being in the US. They deserve no dignity or sympathy. Second, all this whining over Parks' Hitler comment shows what pathetic hypocrites lefties really are. Where was the whining from the lefties when W was called all that and worse? There was none because it was the lefties who were doing the attacking then........ (4/25/10) Dave's response: The aliens wouldn't be here if there weren't a lot of patriotic Americans who are willing to hire them to avoid paying payroll/labor/FICA taxes. Most of them work very hard for very little pay. They may not have earned your sympathy, but they are human beings and, in that respect, they should not be denied that basic dignity..... To the unsigned poster who compared Andy Parks and his Hitler remarks to Randi Rhodes. Randi Rhodes was suspended from the radio for calling Fox News' Geraldine Ferraro a "whore." Andy Parks has never been suspended, reprimanded, or apologized for anything he said. Case closed. ACH (4/25/10) The WMAL web site confirms your newsblurb. www.wmal.com - Mike/Fairfax (4/25/10) Dave's response: 6 to 8:30 for Grandy? Why not 6 to 9? Why 8:30? It's like Grandy has got another gig to get to at 9. Strange..... In response to the '2 faced prick' poster. The reason no one squealed when Randy Rhodes went over the top on W is simple - no one hears her. Left wing radio is non-existent - witness the demise of Air America. As pathetic as WMAL's ratings are - at least they have ratings. Speaking of which - Grandy & Plante? Two alpha dogs trying to share a mic? Good luck. This is looking more and more like another brilliant Citadel cost cutting move. Local management trying to make chicken salad out of corporate chicken shit. (4/25/10) Former WJLA reporter and current Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly was on Howard Stern this week. Although somewhat in oblivion on Satellite radio, Stern still shows why he rules morning radio during this interview. A message to the Junkies, Elliot and Kane...try showing up earlier than five minutes before your shift and running out the door at 10 a.m. and do some show prep!!! www.examiner.com (4/25/10) Dave, if your front page of the new WMAL morning schedule is correct, am I reading that Austin Hill will be on-air for 2 hours (10am-Noon), while Plante will be on-air solo for 1½ hours (8:30am-10am)? This makes no f*&%ing sense!! As much as I like Hill, Plante should be given 'first dibs' on any hypothetical morning schedule or itinerary at WMAL... he's the only local talent whose fans suffered and acted in unison for months to get him back on-air. After endless e-mails, letters, swicthboard calls, fan pages, etc., we the "Plantistas" demand more respect in getting our guy back to a decent and normal morning schedule. I'll save my commentary for when the show(s) actually starts (and perhaps within a few weeks I'll make my own analysis of the situation), but we the fans do not like it that Plante is or might be squeezed out of valuable on-air time. -Silvie- (4/25/10) /\ April 25 Messages /\ \/ April 24 Messages \/ hey dave, hope all is well. do you have any info on bubba the love sponge being pulled off of the air on y101 in richmond? (4/24/10) Did I have a stroke or what? KATE AMARA former WBAL Alum was anchoring the 6PM news today (4/24/10) I thought she was now exclusively a Hearst Washington Bureau reporter. Then again WBAL is owned by Hearst. Ryan (4/24/10) If Fred Grandy and Chris Plante do show up as a tandem Monday, I suggest their program be called, THE GOPHER AND THE FUHRER. Thank you. Will be here all week. Two shows nightly and do try the veal! ACH (4/24/10) Dave, Rabbitears.info shows video bandwidth for 4 to be (12.4mbps on 4.1) (1.3m on 4.2) and (3.0m on 4.3). They show bandwidth for 9 to be (12.1mbps on 9.1) & (1.5m on 9.2) bandwidth for 11: (14.2mbps on 11.1) & (4.05m on 11.2). I think these are limits and the channel may not use that much all the time. Perhaps someone else knows exactly how it works. (4/24/10) So many here are two faced pricks. You whine and complain when someone on the radio says something you don't like (Parks: Hitler in the White House). How many times did freaks like Rhandi Rhodes say stuff over the top about George W. Bush and you could hear a pin drop in this forum when it came to criticisms. (4/24/10) Is the anchor desk on the new NBC4 newscast huge or what???!!!..They could fit a bunch of people behind that desk..What was that supposed to be in the background?..Don't have an HD t.v., but on my t.v., it looked like Vance and Doreen were sitting in front of one of those huge fish tanks at the aquarium.. (4/24/10) Hate to argue with you Dave..but AM Stereo worked and works very well. When received on an AM stereo receiver and some new HD receivers that are CQAM capable, it sounds great with fidelity up to 10000 cycles ..which is the limit of most FM's broadcasting multiple HD channels. ClearChannel killed it when they decided it was more important to hit 125% and greater modulation than provide a quality signal to it's main listening radius. Stations like ours at 1630 (expanded band) are still required by license to broadcast in stereo unless we are in HD and believe or not, there are still more AM stereo receivers out there than HD receivers in use. And that ain't a lot. If you're ever in Iowa..I dare you to sit in my car and tell the difference between us and most of the FM's on my Caddy factory radio, which is still AM stereo capable. Steve, KCJJ. (4/24/10) Dave's response: Hey, I have a GE Superradio which features wideband AM mode. And if you have a good signalled AMer at your location, it'll sound "almost" like FM, - OK, mono FM. The problem with AM stereo is that if you have a "problematic" signal, a la weakish or prone to interference, it doesn't sound so great..... Dave, did Andy Parks actually say "cargo"? I'm sure that he did not, so stop saying that as if he had. All he's always stated was that immigrants should not come here "illegally". He has no problem with people from other nations coming into this country -- just do it legally! What's so hard to understand about that? I can hear Andy's voice in my head right now saying over & over: "Illegal", "Illegal", Illegal"... I will miss that 'angry white male' so much! He was always so nice to me, and the last time that I saw him on 4/10, he was so excited to tell me about a layover stop he had in my hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico a few months ago. Miss You & Love Ya, Andy Parks! -Silvie- (4/24/10) I'm glad 4 finally went HD news and it is a big improvement. I don't think the quality is quite as good as 9 or 13. During close up live shots the detail of the face and clothing is not quite as good as 9 or13. I hope they give it a little more bandwidth. The best HD quality goes to 11 in Baltimore they have the best detail. This is all OTA from my antenna and not through cable. I'm comparing the 1080i signals 5, 7& 45 use 720p. Bob Fairfax (4/24/10) Dave's response: Channel 4/WRC runs two digital standard-def subchannels - weather and sports - so its main channel's HD bandwidth is cut a bit..... How about a morning show for Andy Parks on WDMV? It would be close to his home and give WDMV a reason to get back on the air with legitimate programming. They do have a good signal into Montgomery County. (4/24/10) Last month Andy Parks said on the air "Hitler is in the White House." I called the station to complain, and Paul Duckworth said it was "over the top," and he talked to Parks about it. Duckworth also said there would be no apology. Friday, the subject of Hitler came up, and Parks said that the legislature gave Hitler all his power, and the first thing Hitler did was institute nationalized health care. You would think on his last show he wouldn't say that type of crap, but he did. Good luck Andy, and we will benefit now that you no longer have a broadcast tower to disseminate your crap. (4/24/10) This Monday morning when my clock radio goes off, how I would love to be awaken by Harden and Weaver. JohnnyuinHanover,Pa. (4/24/10) Dave: Enjoyed your interview with Lee Shephard, whom I've met and recall well from WTOP, having grown up in Arlington. I appreciate your coverage re WMAL, being a listener and having visited the station. I notice the web site now has just ''WMAL'' on schedule in Grandy/Andy time slot. My question is, to what do you attribute the dominance of FM in the DC market? Also, I have a WMAL brochure from 1983 promoting the coming of AM stereo. Any idea what happened to it? Thanks for replying when you have a moment! (4/24/10) Dave's response: Most of the AM signal patterns, particularly the night patterns, were developed long before the DC suburbs grew past the Beltway since the 1960s. Therefore, it's difficult to hear most DC area AM stations 24/7 throughout much of the suburbs, particularly those north and west of town. So, the DC area was one of the first nationwide to become "FM dominant" in the mid-1970s. As for AM stereo, it simply was a dumb idea considering the many other limitations on AM signals, including their subjectivity to interference, a la via thunderstorms, and relatively low audio fidelity..... What's good for Imus....is good for GEICO pitchmen. Let the hypocrisy gush forth...... KJ, Laurel MD (4/24/10) What’s all this talk about illegal aliens? Everybody knows that there are aliens from other planets here on Earth but that does not mean they are illegal. What? Not aliens from outer space? Aliens from foreign countries? Oh. Never mind. Signed, Emily Litella (4/24/10) "Clear Channel has sold two stations in its' Salisbury cluster. Sorry, no other info known." Rumors are it's 92.1 The Wave and Kiss 105. (4/24/10) RE: [ " Dave's response: I'm sure that Andy Parks is a friendly chap and a good neighbor and all that. But, a while back, he made a jest on WMAL about shipping illegal aliens back to Mexico like they were cargo. Agree or disagree with the USA's immigration policies, you just don't talk about fellow human beings - grandmothers and infants - that way. Ever since then, I stopped liking Andy..... " ] ...... I'm sure Dave Hughes is a friendly chap and a good neighbor too but this comment angered me because it completely epitomizes why I dislike ivory tower liberals..... You people outside the real world just don't see it. I'll tell you a story Dave... When I lost my job during the last recession (not this one), I did lots of things to find work and one job I had was delivering Telephone books. Sounds like a bad job, but between me and my buddy with his truck, we made pretty good money delivering to apartment complexes, not to mention it was like having a free gym membership and not a very dirty job. Then one day we showed up to pick up routes, and lo and behold, there were 3 white full size vans in the parking lot with HUMAN CARGO in them with Texas license plates. And ONE person walked into the office with a valid U.S. drivers license and took all our routes for that day using HUMAN CARGO! And how much money do you think those dozens of illegals got paid that day Dave? I bet not enough to feed their families even. So this notion that Americans don't lose REAL JOBS to illegal immigrants is also Ivory Tower liberal BUNK! I won't stop liking you or your website Dave, but this comment touched a nerve with me, and you're all wrong on this one from my personal perspective and I think if you'd have gone through the same experience, you'd agree with me. Not everyone who posts on DCRTV is filthy rich. -- Joe in Essex (4/24/10) Dave's response: Illegal immigrants are still human beings and should be treated with some dignity. That's all I'm saying. Change immigration policy, fine. Sure, send undocumented workers back to Mexico. But don't ship them back as "cargo." I'll tell you, though, many rich people use undocumented workers because they can avoid paying taxes on the labor. Look at all those wealthy Supreme Court nominees of the past who've had an "illegal" nanny watching their kids..... "Agree or disagree with the USA's immigration policies, you just don't talk about fellow human beings - grandmothers and infants - that way. Ever since then, I stopped liking Andy....." EXACTlY DAVE - the man is beyond redemption. I remember after 9-11, I think it was Thanksgiving dinner, my brother made some remark about just going ahead and nuking all the Arabs - And I have not spoken to him now for 9 years. I think we agree that fat folk should be put in concentration camps - especially the right wing ones. m (4/24/10) "Rusty Gibson, WEBR Radio/Fairfax..... And now I see that Poison's Brett Michaels is a potential candidate for the "Celebrity Slab" -*rolls eyes* Stay classy, Rusty! (4/24/10) While I don’t have any personal animus towards Andy Parks, I’ve always been in awe of the lucky star he has lived under. Specifically, and maybe some geezer lurkers can fill in the details, I remember when Andy’s broadcasting consisted of “eye in the sky” traffic reports. Don’t think he was doing the flying too (like the late, great Walt Starling), but there was an incident where Andy took exception to something that Harden and Weaver had said to him, and he walked off the job—literally had the plane landed and that was it for WMAL traffic reports for that air shift. Remarkably, he wasn’t fired and subsequently complained to Chris Core on the air while being ribbed about the incident “Do I have to put up with this?” to which Core replied quite sternly “Oh yes you do!” The rest as they say is history. I figure everything since has been gravy in a way. Quite a successful run really. Good luck to you Mr. Parks. (4/24/10) Dave's response: I'm sure that Andy Parks is a friendly chap and a good neighbor and all that. But, a while back, he made a jest on WMAL about shipping illegal aliens back to Mexico like they were cargo. Agree or disagree with the USA's immigration policies, you just don't talk about fellow human beings - grandmothers and infants - that way. Ever since then, I stopped liking Andy..... Many prayers for a miracle recovery for Nick Charles. I recall that he was WJZ's replacement for the late John Kennelly on 13's Oriole pre and post game shows in the early 70's. The jingle back then went something like..."Relax..and be a Bird Watcher". I hope you make it Nick! Rusty Gibson, WEBR Radio/Fairfax..... And now I see that Poison's Brett Michaels is a potential candidate for the "Celebrity Slab" (4/24/10) Dave's response: Oh, thanks Rusty for the "DCRTV Dedication" of the B-52's "Channel Z" on your 5 PM WEBR show yesterday. How cool is that!..... Just looked at WMAL's web page. Under "Station" heading, "Contacts" , Fred's name is still there, but Andy's is gone. Interesting! (4/24/10) Dave's response: It looks increasingly likely that it's going to be the "Grandy And Plante" show on Monday. Andy's definitely out. Stay tuned..... Clear Channel has sold two stations in its' Salisbury cluster. Sorry, no other info known. (4/24/10) Dave's response: Anybody know the stations and the buyer..... Just some information I thought the people in the Baltimore Market would like some news about HD news. WBAL-TV launched their HD helicopter in February 2010 but with in the past two or three weeks the helicopter appears to actually be transmitting their signal in HD, previously it as appeared to me at least as SD Widescreen it is now being dubbed as Sky Team 11 HD. Also this past week on Thursday April 22, 2010 it appears WBAL-TV has at least one HD ENG/SNG truck as Gerry Sandusky was reporting from Ravens headquarters in Owings Mills, MD during the NFL draft in HD. For a while it also appears that WBAL has been airing HD video (such as stock footage) in a manner similar to the way CNBC HD+ was produced but with a side bar on the left in addition to the regular lower third, creating a smaller 16:9 frame. On more than one occasion live reports from Hearst's Washington Bureau have appeared in HD featuring 'BAL alum Kate Amara. WJZ-TV has had their helicopter transmitting video in what also appears to be SD widescreen until recently when at times the pictures appears to be in HD. Also this past week I have noticed WJZ has installed a few HD Sky Cams - one over looking the inner harbor and I believe another one looking over the Baltimore Beltway. But so far no HD ENG. WMAR-TV is still in SD but on more than one occasion I have seen a 16:9 picture in a 4:3 frame. In 2007 Scripps which owns WMAR-TV purchased JVC HD Cameras for all of their stations see: www.broadcastingcable.com. From what I've seen neither WBAL-TV nor WJZ-TV have the ability to play back pre-recorded HD segments (such as when a reporter files a report from the newsroom and it is replayed for a later broadcast or replaying their HD helicopter footage). When WBAL-TV started airing HD newscasts has pre-recorded their sports segments that occur in the evening so that they can be re aired in the morning shows with out the pillar boxes that say WBAL-TV. I would like to say thank you to the people at WBAL-TV and WJZ-TV for the fact that they do not air or record their ENG segments in SD Widescreen like other stations do. As a news junkie I visit many local news websites one of the biggest offenders for using SD widescreen is WESH-TV in Orlando, FL which is also WBAL-TV's sister station. It's beyond me that people think that this blurry and stretched out picture is HD. The only complaint I have for all three of the Baltimore stations broadcasting HD news casts is that their video online is only in 4:3. I would like to say congratulations to the people over at WRC-TV NBC4 in Washington, D.C. for finally making the switch to HD Newscasts. I would have thought they would have been one of the first stations in the region to go HD given their testing with HD broadcasting technology in the '90s under the name of WHD-TV. I am unable to receive WRC-TV's signal up here in Baltimore County via antenna but I would like to see some screen captures. If anyone is able to take some grabs please just reply to the MAILBAG - I check it often. Ryan (4/24/10) FCC Commissioner Michael Copps speaks about recent court decisions on net neutrality and media ownership rules. It doesn't take too long to watch this and anyone who's interested in the future of the Internet and the Media, really should take the time to see this. www.pbs.org (4/24/10) Hey Dave, How about a rant – Verizon doesn’t carry MASN HD-2 so not all the Nats games are in HD. Strange, Verizon has a lot of advertising bucks invested in the Nats for Fios TV, but yet they don’t have full HD coverage for the games? What’s up with that? Watching baseball on Channel 1 is like watching 1970’s television. (4/24/10) /\ April 24 Messages /\ \/ April 23 Messages \/ Any resemblance between the two logos is purely koincidental. (4/23/10) Besides the basic failure to achieve interesting formats, radio is circling the drain because of four technical failures that were avoidable: 1. Deliberately crappy sound quality on AM despite the potential to sound really good; 2. indecisive "AM Stereo" that the marketplace rejected 3. digital telemetry on top of traditional analog FM signals, cutting reception range; 4. digital signal on top of traditional analog AM, which made an interference mess of what was left of the band. Is it any wonder that offices no longer have a "radio" anywhere, and no one at home listens to "radio"? The car is the last target for "radio," and the audience wants something better. (4/23/10) I just checked the WMAL Web site, and all references to Grandy, Andy, and their show are off the site. Nehman's page is still there, so presumably he still has a job, at least for now. mizburd (4/23/10) WTTR is looking for a sales exec who "must be creative, energetic, self-motivated and organized"? Wow. Remember when those adjectives were used in an advertisement to describe the air talent? (4/23/10) Putting Plante in Mornings is just an awful idea; I mean, I like Republican crap as must as the next guy, but Chris takes his crap to an all new level of crap, and I just won’t be able to take all that crap so early in the morning. Do you hear me Mr. Duckworth; limit Plante’s crap, OK? And speaking of crap, I thought “The Big Hour” was “too Big to fail;” I heard them tell me that every morning. I guess that crap was just like other WMAL crap. And as long as we are talking about WMAL and crap, Sean Hannity the other day talked about discrimination against White folks trying to get drafted in the NFL. (Readers, seriously now, stop laughing). The NFL has bent over backwards to be race neutral over the last four decades, and Sean pulls this crap? How long has it been since Black Quarterbacks were first string? Has anyone told Sean the “uneducated southern white male strategy” no longer applies, and has been abandoned by the Republican party? Or at least they say it has been abandoned. Wait, Michael Steele just said it is still around. I get so confused. Never mind. Sean keep up the good work, and when you find discrimination against White Americans (in favor of Black Africans, mostly from Kenya) in long distance running, jump on it. OK? (4/23/10) I lol'ed at Ed Graham's comment about radio screwing up HD. HD Radio was dead on arrival. No one wanted it except for Ibiquity. Hell, how can you expect radio companies to create interesting - or even listenable - side channels when they are having trouble with their main frequencies. HD radio was seen as the answer to the never realized threat satellite posed to terrestrial radio. Radio's problems are radio's creation. HD is a waste of bandwidth. While there are business models that could make it work today's radio programmer does not have the time, the personnel or the creativity to develop new formats for the side channels. So, we end up with juke box programming or re-broadcasts of out-of-market signals. Even at $40 I see no reason to splurge on an HD box. (4/23/10) Was the amber theoharis getting pissy comment actually serious? She’s terrible and should be thankful she even has a job, which she probably wouldn’t have if she weren’t somewhat cute. Shut up amber, do your 3 or 4 updates a game -- which add nothing -- and hope your checks don’t bounce. (4/23/10) Pamela Brown doesn't need to change anything about her appearance. She looks just fine the way she is. Indeed, she does! HLD in Fairfax (4/23/10) So I was feeling pretty bad about Andy and Grandy getting fired so I went to the 630 WMAL website and watched a few of their videos. They are a couple of douche nozzles. What idiots. They are mindless a-holes. I'm glad they are fired and anyone who has listened to them in the past needs to send their radio to the FCC with a sincere apology for being a waste of the earth's resources. Thank you. John (4/23/10) Although I find Gurvir and Holly on FOX5's morning news quite annoying, I do enjoy watching Allison and Steve..And Tony, ONLY when he's doing the weather or lightweight stuff..Can't deal with him when he does the "Anchor Man" role..Too stiff and boring.. (4/23/10) Dave, I think you're the "melodramatic" one today. Maybe Fred Grandy hasn't cleaned out his desk, simply because HE DOESN'T NEED TO. He could send someone else to do it for him. What's inside a desk, anyway - paper clips, novelty pens, old articles, aspirin bottles? He doesn't need that crap. Your 'breaking news' on the little things going on at Jenifer Street should earn you an award from Bernstein & Woodward. Let's see what awaits us on Monday morning.... Toodles, -Silvie- (4/23/10) (From DCRTV's Classified Ads:) Advertising sales position with local Carroll County radio station. Sales experience required. Must be creative, energetic, self-motivated and organized. Knowledge of the local marketing area required. Experience with website advertising helpful. Fax resume to 410-876-5095 or forward to jobs@wttr.com. Earnings: Salary plus Commissions with Benefits package. (4/23/10) We all remember their names, voices, and the good times they gave us. Westminster’s 1470 WTTR has designated May 3 – 7, 2010 as Radio Legends Week. Morning host Bob Mathers welcomes a number of area broadcasting greats to the mic. ‘These are iconic figures which made radio memories for hundreds of thousands of us. We loved the way they entertained us and we never forgot their contributions to our growing up years’, said Mathers. ‘It’s a blast to bring them in.’ The lineup includes… JERRY DANIELS – Possessing one of the quickest wits of any broadcast personality, Daniels came to WCBM in early 1979 from WIP in Philadelphia. He remained on-air as a jock until the station changed to news-talk in late June of 1982. He stayed on after the flip to handle sports for the station. Daniels also gained respect as a successful Account Executive for several other Baltimore outlets including Mix 106.5. JOHNNY DARK – He came to Baltimore in 1961 and the city will never let him go. His peak 61 percent share of the total audience in his daypart remains the highest ever audience rating in local history. Dark became the signature voice at 60 WCAO, personifying to a legion of fans the definition of Top 40 radio. An enduring icon to this day, Johnny also worked at WQSR before the station changed format in May of 2005. JACK EDWARDS – The walking encyclopedia of music was also a WCAO mainstay, arriving at the station in May, 1959. Fifteen years later, he landed at WCBM and for another 15 years hosted the popular Saturday night show ‘Only Yesterday’ at an area club. His broadcast tribute to Elvis on the night of his death remains a landmark of Baltimore radio. Jack also worked middays in the early 90’s at WTTR. KEN MERSON – We call him ‘The Merson Person’. Others call him a long time consistent presence in local radio. Ken’s stops include WQSR, WLIF, Mix 106.5 and the former B104. It all started for Ken on 68 WCBM. Like all the others, radio is in his blood and he loves and appreciates its heritage. Merson is still cranking out the hits every weekend on 94.7 Fresh FM in Washington D.C. ROBERT C. ALLEN – Anybody who grew up in these parts has heard the friendly tones of one ‘Robert C Allen the Third’. Bob held down mornings throughout the 70’s at 60 WCAO and also worked at 1090 WBAL in Baltimore. Allen also made steps at other heritage AM stations of the day, like WFIL in Philadelphia, WHYL Springfield, and WEAM in Washington. Bob also did TV back in the day. A classic jock we all love, that’s RCA! Each radio legend will have his own day during the week. The format will center on memories of local radio and music. Listen to WTTR Radio or visit WTTR.com for the specific schedule of appearances. Schedule is subject to change. 1470 WTTR is Carroll County’s heritage station where the Orioles, Ravens and the Greatest Hits of All Time come to play!! WTTR is owned by TV personality Pat Sajak. (4/23/10) Whatever became of Cindy McGuire after she was shown the door at Mix 107.3? I was working there when the hammer fell. She didn't keep in touch with a soul. I think she was pretty mad about it, which is a shame, because some of us would like to have helped by offering job tips (I'd heard she wanted to go to San Diego and I had a contact there for her).... but again- she's nowhere to be found. I've tried Facebook, and the VO sites. Nothing. Have you heard anything at all? (4/23/10) Don't miss ROBB SPEWAK'S History of Rock'n Roll Part One this afternoon at 2 eastern/ 1 central..and join Robb in the chatroom LIVE..from the Mighty 1630 and @ www.1630kcjj.com. Click on KCJJ RAW. (4/23/10) (Fox5 management does not have a sense of humor) - Judging by their traffic reporter in the morning, I'd say you are incorrect. I didn't say it was a good sense of humor, mind you. Just once I'd enjoy hearing a traffic report that doesn't begin with "Oh, Tony" or something else that makes the reporter think the world revolves around her. Just stick to the facts, ma'am. (4/23/10) Dave's response: Fox5's talent is funny as shit. Not the station's MANAGEMENT. Technically, Julie Wright works for Metro Traffic, not Fox5..... Re the VA RINOs and Dems not reducing the spending of our tax money on 'public' broadcasting -- These RINOs and Dems all NEED TO BE REPLACED. They claim we have to make 'deep' cuts, etc. Just a load of crap from these clowns spending our money on frills. We really DON'T need to be getting the chinese, arab, russian, and nigerian, etc. tv here in NOVA that it's been funding! Educational my ass. (4/23/10) A while back, I bought an Insignia HD radio portable. It's little like a slightly thicker Sansa Fuse. Works great, and now it's on sale for $39.98. Take a look - www.bestbuy.com. You can use phones, or plug it in to your car. Worth $40 to see how the radio industry screwed up HD. It is in Best Buy stores. Ed Graham (4/23/10) Dave: Actually, that's "Kabletown" with a "K". (I nearly peed my pants when I spied Neutron Jack playing himself on "30 Rock".) And Doreen isn't dependent on income from the anchor job any longer. Sheinhardt Wig's new DGDC Spring Collection is a certified hit! (4/23/10) This just in from the FCC... 10/19/2010! That's deadline #2 for Birach Broadcasting to get AMer WDMV 700 back on air or turn in the license. Wanna bet they submit another "Dog Ate My Homework" excuse and get it extended? The FCC is so pathetic. (4/23/10) Just got word that everyone was fired at WDYL (Y101 / 100.9) in Richmond yesterday. No morning show today and right now their PD is (badly) voicing breaks. Rumoured CHR flip in the works shortly. Having worked for that group of stations back in the 90's I know there's still lingering contention after all these years between WMXB and whoever their alt-rocker-of-the-day is... This must have been in the works a while... the domain hot1009.com has been registered to Cox Radio and was a "new domain" registered to them as of 1/26/2010. Their old / "current" website at y101rocks.com is telling people to listen to 103.7 the River (WMXB) and I just heard a sweeper on WDYL telling people to listen to WMXB as well. Now getting word that not *everyone* was let go... some were let go, several are being reassigned. (4/23/10) Regarding: "While waiting for the CBS Evening News to start Thursday night, I noticed this at the end of Channel 9’s local news: “© 2010 Detroit Free Press.” Yes, the Free Press, like WUSA, is a Gannett property. But doesn’t that seem a bit odd? Some sort of accounting trick, perhaps?": Federal copyright law requires the copyright to be in the name of the copyright holder. WUSA is owned by Detroit Free Press, Inc., which ultimately is Gannett's. That's the name that has to be publicized as the copyright holder. Not a tax dodge, as Dave assumes. (4/23/10) (regarding a previous post) "You are an arrogant prick" That's MISTER arrogant prick, to you, bub! (4/23/10) Hey Dave...any idea why WAMU was off the air for several hours this morning?? No audio at least from 230am to 430am. Just curious. (4/23/10) Dave's response: Ah, Diane Rehm plugged in her hair dryer and the power went out at WAMU? Nah. I'd imagine some transmitter work in the wee hours..... you are an arrogant prick - no wonder Don Geronimo slammed you relentlessly (4/23/10) Dave's response: Thank you! "An "ACH" is a banking acronym for..." -There used to be an old timer who used to post here ALL the time using acronyms. What was that old coots name again? Hmmmm... (4/23/10) Think Bickel is in trouble for this? From his twitter: Well...it was great being on Fox 5 the last few years.... JP called Haynesworth a "fat a-- (actual word used on air)"..... I'm guessing that run is over..... (4/23/10) Dave's response: Fox5 management does not have a sense of humor. Just ask "Anchor Boy" Bolter..... (regarding the Newspage item) "MTP Stays 1st" And, their production skills have improved too - compared to this 1970s clip back when Bill Monroe was host. Looks like the director or the guy running the switcher, were hung-over or something! www.youtube.com (4/23/10) Hint to Eric Krasner: Miss Harper radio jingle (Five stores, opening soon at L'Enfant Plaza) "Miss Harper, Miss Harper, she's a lot like you." Now playing on the 15 per week TAP plan on WASH, Q107, WINX, and WEEL. ACH (4/23/10) Dylan, what is a registered, unlicensed LPFM? By definition, LPFM refers to **licensed** 100 watt @ 100 feet stations and are available only to non-commercial educational entities and public safety and transportation organizations. Using a Part 15 certified transmitter is not the same thing. Part 15 operations shouldn't carry much beyond your house (you could probably cover more ground by blasting a car sound system) and are permitted on a strict non-interference basis. Ginning up an antenna to increase your range is NOT authorized. Regards, Dave Loudin (4/23/10) That threat by the Muslim organization against the creators of "South Park" for a supposed insult of the prophet Mohammed is probably nothing for them to worry about. Ahead of them in line would be people like Michael Savage, Rev. Franklin Graham, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Graham and at least a dozen other right-wing TV/Radio hosts. The "South Park" folks will likely die of old age before they become victims of a fatwa! (4/23/10) An "ACH" is a banking acronym for "Automated Clearinghouse". (I know this from my former gig as a bank auditor/Branch Manager.) And I'll betya many of you have transactions via this mode hitting your respective checking accounts daily. Rusty (MajorTom) (4/23/10) While waiting for the CBS Evening News to start Thursday night, I noticed this at the end of Channel 9’s local news: “© 2010 Detroit Free Press.” Yes, the Free Press, like WUSA, is a Gannett property. But doesn’t that seem a bit odd? Some sort of accounting trick, perhaps? (4/23/10) Dave's response: Someone brought that up a few weeks ago. Some kind of a tax dodge being used by WUSA parent Gannett. Apparently, WUSA paychecks are issued by the Detroit Free Press, which Gannett owns..... Your report on dead end radio was unfortunately unacurate. We were infact a registered unlicenced lpfm station. NPR logged a complaint and that is why we were shut down. Not because we were pirate. Because we are not nor have we ever been pirates. Please actually talk to us if you're going to put out a story on us. Incase you are interested, we are currently undergoing reforms to get our licence and put up a Internet radio streem. Gracias amigo, Dylan kitselman, Co-founder Dead End Radio. (4/23/10) Dave's response: The info, which came from the FCC, didn't mention the name of your "station"..... TBD.com. The Big Disaster. More suitable names: hindenberg-news-network.com, titanic-news.com and my personal favorite: eyjafjallajokull-news-now.com. (4/23/10) At the end of the 11pm newscast on channel 4, Doreen talked about the new set and how she hopes the audience likes it because they did..Then she made a weird comment that she hopes that it helps them keep their jobs..What the heck did THAT mean?.Don't see the relation between a new set and job security. (4/23/10) Dave's response: I guess she took a glance into her Comcastic Crystal Ball. Life at NBC's TVers under Cabletown's rule isn't going to be fun. And Doreen knows it. She's no dummy..... One of the all-time great Klingons is dead: Michael Pataki, at age 72. memory-alpha.org (4/23/10) /\ April 23 Messages /\ \/ April 22 Messages \/ Who is ACH? He obviously knew my father. Eric Krasner (4/22/10) "Better yet — have Chris Plante do the morning drive show ..." Hey, even better yet: just get rid of Chris Plante ... this time for good. What a friggin' dunce. (4/22/10) The Galaxy 15 is on a crash course. Be afraid, be very afraid, Save yourselves! Love, Major Tom (4/22/10) The following was forwarded to DCRTV..... Subject: NBC Informational Picketing - Sunday May 2 from 7:30 AM to 11 AM... Please help support our NABET brothers and sisters who work for NBC. Dear Sisters and Brothers, Our members at NBCU/WRC-TV have been without a contract for over a year. Each Sunday we have a Informational Picket at 4001 Nebraska Avenue NW in Washington, DC. I would like to invite you to join us this Sunday, May 2, 2010 (7:30 AM to 11 AM), as we picket Meet the Press. This is the date that WRC-TV will roll out their new Control Room which will use fewer employees to operate. There is reported to be a large contingent of upper level management invited to attend and I would like to have a show of force to let these managers from NBCU and Comcast know that the UNION will stand up for the rights of their members to negotiate a fair contract. J. Carl Mayers, President, NABET-CWA Local 52031 (4/22/10) There are few people in life who I believe honestly don't think their poop stinks and/or that they are sincerely better than the rest of us. Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber had Sally Quinn in mind when he penned "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina?" Why anyone would feel sympathy or empathy for this: ultimate snob, smug, pretentious and all around witch, IMHO, is beyond me. If she were 50 years younger, she's be Amarosa and on "The Apprentice, I think, relishing in her "role" of self-important stuck up snob. - Bob from College Park... (4/22/10) Few random thoughts: Kudos to Fred for making a stand. Fred's an astute businessman, and a financial genius. Oh wait,,,didn't he bail on the market at just the wrong time? Maybe Chris Plante can get him a seat at the "Real Estate Riches" seminars, since he has other station employees on their commercials. Hope Plante's buying a lot of properties. Nehman and Parks are probably just plodding along, waiting for the ax. Nehman will be fine. I agree with Sylvie (Dr. Phil poster- you, sir, are an ass) about Plante...wind him up at 9 and turn him off at 12. The constraints of morning drive scheduling would be too much for him. he'd just get started on a caller and have to break for traffic. (4/22/10) Dave's response: Fred's only been at WMAL a few years, after many other gigs elsewhere, including the Hollywood years and some years on Capitol Hill. Andy, on the other hand, had pretty much worked at WMAL for at least the past two decades. I'm sure that Fred's in a better position to simply walk away from the sinking station. Andy's probably got his retirement tied up in WMAL and the bankrupt Citadel. I'm sure that's why he's staying until the bitter end. There's no point in screwing that up..... I hear the HFStival 2010 is continuing to add some big acts. Why, I understand that Oasis will be there to perform their latest track recorded with The Carpenters. (Karen has never looked lovelier.) (4/22/10) Dave's response: Richard Carpenter had a nice ass back then. My favorite Carpenters tune remains the remake of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft"..... Mark Levin responds: nationalreview.com (4/22/10) So, let's see. That's right-leaning 570, 630, 680, 780, 1090, 1260, 1520, 1580, and 105.1. And maybe soon 102.7. Thank goodness there are still 88.5 and 89.3 left for me to phone in to complain about the liberal media bias! (Oh, that's right, it's all about giving listeners what they want, since all the right-leaning stations are soooo highly rated.) (4/22/10) I hope Nehman washes his hands in the bathroom now; he may need to at his next place of work. (4/22/10) Not strictly DC media news but big media news nonetheless. According to ESPN (sports.espn.go.com), the NCAA, having opted out of its old contract with CBS to broadcast the men's college basketball tournament, are preparing to sign a new contract with CBS and Turner. The contract would televise all games nationally (a first) through 2024 along with a "March Madness" expansion to 68 teams. The later stages of the tournament would be exclusively on TBS in 2016, 18, 20, 22 and 24, remaining on CBS in the other years. Most had predicted the NCAA would try to get a more lucrative contract with ESPN but it appears CBS/Turner outbid them. (4/22/10) No peace for Sally Quinn www.caroljoynt.com (4/22/10) Thanks to whoever it was who played Dr. John’s I Walk on Guilded Splinters Sunday night on 100.3. (4/22/10) Yes, I am the son of Stuart Krasner. Dad was in the radio program at American University with Willard & Ed, but I don't think his radio career lasted very long. He ended up in the family business, Miss Harper. He passed away Ocrober 14th, 2004. Thanks for all of the wonderful comments about the film. I have a huge collection of 16mm films, and the footage used was from a 1949 fluff piece. Eric Krasner, CineGraphic Studios (4/22/10) accoring to what i just heard on fox 1370 am in b-more....There is an NCAA press conference scheduled for 12:30 today , to announce new 14-year deal with CBS and Turner for the NCAA Tourney..WOW -NO ESPN !.-jack , pikesville (4/22/10) Someone please get Pamela Brown a stylist..The hair color is wrong and as well as her overall look..She just always seems to look disheveled..And on an unrelated note, don't get the reason Donny Deutsch was let go.. (4/22/10) Citadel, owner of Patriotic WMAL, failed to pay, or even file, taxes in 2008 in the state of Michigan (I guess Citadel felt Michigan didn’t need the cash). Let's all say, together, "Great Americans!" Speaking of “Patriots,” Jim Manzi of National Review and the Manhattan Institute, (no liberal media here) eviscerates Mark Levin’s Liberty & Tyranny book. In questioning Mark’s take on global warming, Manzi states “It was awful. It was so bad that it was like the proverbial clock that chimes 13 times — not only is it obviously wrong, but it is so wrong that it leads you to question every other piece of information it has ever provided.” Manzi ends the piece with this love note; “if you’re someone who read this book in order to help you form an honest opinion about global warming, then you were suckered. Liberty and Tyranny does not present a reasoned overview of the global warming debate; it doesn’t even present a reasoned argument for a specific point of view, other than that of willful ignorance. This section of the book is an almost perfect example of epistemic closure.”Ouch! Mark Levin’s crap can be heard on 630 WMAL. (4/22/10) Breaking news from the WMAL Newsroom! via Jeff in (a three hour tour...a three hour tour.) Bowie.... (4/22/10) Dave's response: You should have Photoshopped the boat to be the "SS Citadel"..... You think it would be bad to have Chris Plante in the mornings ? Don't give me Anita Marks. I was just getting back into my morning newspaper/bathroom routine here at the station, and now she'll be back, standing at the urinals like before. How am I supposed to concentrate. (4/22/10) What a kick it was to hear Ken Merson on 94-7 Fresh on my way home yesterday afternoon. I was having the best time listening to him because I could tell he was having a lot of fun like he always did on all those Baltimore stations I used to hear him on. Really liked the music he was playing, too. (4/22/10) Dave's response: Honestly, there's probably no station in the DC market that plays more cool U2 than hot adult contemporary 94.7. This is a terrible rock radio market, especially for adults..... The Washington Post's Paul Farhi is featured in an MSNBC segment that ultimately got Donny Deutsch and a producer sent home by the cable network. Deutsch was pulled from MSNBC's 3PM hour after including Keith Olbermann in a montage of angry media personalities. Deutsch, who had been hosting an "America the Angry" segment in the hour formerly occupied by David Shuster, who was also sent packing after going behind the backs of network big wigs by trying out for a show on CNN. www.huffingtonpost.com (4/22/10) Lance Baxter, who has a voice you may have heard because he's done a lot of voice-over work for GEICO, won't be doing those commercials anymore. Baxter acknowledges that GEICO has fired him after it became known that he left a voice mail for the "tea party" organization Freedom Works that asked "what (are) the percentages of people that are mentally retarded who work for the organization and are members of it?" He also asked how Freedom Works will "spin it when one of your members does actually kill somebody?" www.npr.org (4/22/10) Meet the Press is looking for stand-in students from American University (barely 2 blocks down the road from WRC's building) to sit on their new HD set while they do camera tests. -Bobby Oler, AU Class of 2011 (4/22/10) Better yet — have Chris Plante do the morning drive show, and transplant Laura Ingraham from WTNT to WMAL from 9am - Noon. Bryan Nehman could stay and be Plante's sidekick? Just thinking... -Silvie- (4/22/10) Dave's response: With Andy Parks staying in the background, doing boardwork. How humiliating. I'm told that WTNT carries a lot of Talk Radio Network product, including Ingraham, and won't let her go without a big fight. I'd say that her move to a station tettering on bankruptcy is very unlikely..... WJZ 13 anchor/reporter Adam May has apparently been the victim of identity theft for over $3000 charged at a Walmart according to his Facebook page. And, coincidently, the WJZ website apparently was hacked or messed up as well, showing the wrong photo for Adam May! More at Baltimore Media Blog. www.facebook.com... (4/22/10) Is Eric Krasner the son of Stuart or Howard Krasner. If so, he does them proud. ACH (4/22/10) RE: "Plante To Mornings At WMAL?" - Oh Christ.... NOOOOOOOO!!! Just leave Plante right where he is!!! I know it's just a rumor, but, once Plante was moved from evenings to daytime a few years ago, his "mojo" and "intensity" died down because he had to somewhat 'behave' for the mid-morning crowd, which is more, shall I say, 'demure' and 'mature'. I cannot imagine for the life of me Plante cutting to traffic & weather every 10 minutes or so. Plante needs to just be a radio talk show host who talks about the issues of the day with no other distractions. -Silvie- (4/22/10) Hey Dave: The Flunkies are appearing in Fairfax tonight to tout the NFL draft, but somehow are omitted from The Washington Post’s sports radio & television guide. Not sure if they are doing a radio show as well from there, but one would think a radio station that calls itself “The Fan” would do so. What gives: nobody promoting WJFK these days? I notice that competitor WTEM is listed: www.washingtonpost.com (4/22/10) Dave's response: Did you catch the new slogan on the Post's front page - "If We Didn't Report It, It Didn't Happen"..... (I made a short film using the fabulous WMAL "anthem". It's on Youtube for all to enjoy. Eric Krasner, CineGraphic Studios) Thank you for the great memories. I remember when WMAL used this "anthem" back in the 1960's when it was a fantastic station. It was second to none with the music it played as well as the personalities on the station. And the anthem is still fantastic and still gives me Goosebumps when I hear it. There were some other jingles during that period of time also as well as an instrumental version of one jingle too which was very catchy. Thanks for the memories! Marshall in Pikesville MD (4/22/10) Is there any way someone could post a screengrab for those of us reading from afar? Thanks! (4/22/10) For Eric Krasner, thanks loads for putting the video together with the old WMAL jingle and posting it here. Absolutely great stuff- I love the streetcar shots in particular. Took me back to my days in jr. high school when I had a Post paper route. I listened to Bill Mayhugh in the wee hours of the morning all the time, and he played this jingle full-length at least once or twice each night. I think Felix Grant ran it every night at his signoff too. Back then WMAL was populated with some of the nicest people I ever met, and Bill was no exception. I got to know him, Felix Grant and Tom Gauger pretty well over the years, and you couldn't have asked for a nicer bunch of guys. Category-A class acts, all three. Stan Fetter (4/22/10) To the anonymous poster asking about the condition of the Galaxy 15 bird… it suffered what we call “an in-orbit failure” back on April 5 due to intense solar activity. The manufacturer of the spacecraft is running tests to see if it can be restored to service as has happened in the past with similar situations. Other satellites with this type of failure have been ”repaired” by uploading a software “patch”. This will likely be done once diagnostics pin down exactly what’s going on. It is hoped that the bird can return to normal service by summer. However, at this time there are command and telemetry issues with Galaxy 15, which make things interesting. –Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/22/10) this may be a response from somebody at 95.9 THE SPORTS MONSTER in regards to no longer airing the Orioles games. It appeared this morning in the local blog "Salisbury News". "While it is true that we are no longer able to offer O’s games on the radio, we are willing to send someone to your house or business to kick you in the crotch 3 times during the game. Our research indicates that this is more humane and less time consuming that forcing you to listen to an entire Orioles broadcast." Now that's just plain funny. (4/22/10) /\ April 22 Messages /\ \/ April 21 Messages \/ I enjoyed the vintage DC scenes added to the old WMAL Anthem. Of course, the station would have to modify the jingle, if they ever plan to use it these days. [singing:] "We like to be in Washington DC - but hate most of the black/brown/non-white folks & liberals we see. WMAL, Washington!". (4/21/10) Hey Dave: Previously, I posted that The Junkies Spring Break promos were frustrating because sausages could not readily get tickets. WRONG! Yesterday morning, I was listening early when they said to call in for tickets: I did, was put on hold, waited, and then CK, or Brett or someone came on and asked for my name, address, telephone info and said that there would be two tickets waiting for me at The State Theater on April 30th. So I just wanna say: thanks, Junks and withdraw my complaint. There: how many corrections do you ever get at DCRTV's "Mailbag". Can't wait to see some sweating skank up close & live: junks.tv? (4/21/10) Yes, Comcast owns VS, and I’m sure it was part of the NHL contract that they could show the Caps, Flyers, Blackhawks and Sharks in the other teams’ markets. As was mentioned earlier, the Flyers would show up on CSN-Mid-Atlantic from time to time. Meanwhile, The Comcast Network had all kinds of Sharks games this season. Actually, VS has even been using feeds from “Hockey Night In Canada” for its West Coast playoff games on occasion. I enjoy seeing those games, but it is kind of weird that VS would be THAT cheap. Charles in Winchester (4/21/10) Re: No Flyers games on CSN/TCN, Charles in Winchester wrote in part, " ... But I found it interesting that rather than send crews to Chicago and Denver the past few days, VS [Versus] has simply picked up the CSN feeds of those games and called it 'bonus coverage.'" I believe that Comcast owns either the network entirely or at least has a controlling interest in Versus. I'd imagine the bean counters in Philly figured that it would save money just to use the feeds they already control and generate some revenue on the national network. (4/21/10) "I still listen to the show every morning, despite feeling sick to my stomach about what could happen any day, or within a month, etc. It's the same feeling I got when Chris Plante was 'shown the door' the first time around. It's a small miracle that I haven't developed stomach ulcers yet." For heaven's sake, Silvie, get a life. /s/ Dr. Phil (4/21/10) Has anyone heard that the Galaxy 15 satellite has failed? Ground controllers lost the ability to communicate with it due to solar activity at the beginning of April. Now it is beginning to lose its grip on everything else. Galaxy 12 is being moved into position to take over. G15 handles lots of TV, including ESPN, a pile of HBO channels, Starz, Encore and a few Fox sports feeds, and illuminates pretty much the entire continental U.S. - footprint map at www.lyngsat-maps.com (4/21/10) Dear Dave, There was a first-time caller chiming in on the Grandy & Andy show this morning and there was talk about his nervousness - Andy pipes in, under his breath, with something like "he's not the only nervous one here - I am too". I'm hoping that ole Fred has an ace up his sleeve that he's not ready to show. I'd hate to think 50-something is too old and that we're ceding the airwaves to cackling adolescent idiots like Elliot. And as much as I like to dislike that Fat F*ck, he's doing surprisingly well without Fred - so, Kudos you chunky honky. m (4/21/10) "WTOP's 103.5 FM signal went off the air for about five minutes last night, then it came back on the air at reduced power for the better part of an hour (presumably from the low-power backup transmitter on the roof). The on-air announcer said the weak signal on 103.5 was due to a power failure in the area of American University" WAMU and WTOP both went off the air at the same time because of that power failure. Car hit a utility pole at Nebraska and New Mexico blacking our the neighborhood. (4/21/10) The perfect job for Fred Grandy when the curtain comes down on his gig at WMAL. Someone should submit a screenplay to take a twist on a 'Love Boat' reunion, as the ship sails the Indian Ocean and is attacked and commandeered by Pirates. After all the Pirates are informed that everyone on the ship is quarantined due to an outbreak of eColi ( a very plausible scenario in these days of cruising ), the 'doctor' gives every thug a MJ dose of Propofol to 'protect them.' Then, its simply a matter of time before all the Pirates' bodies are dumped overboard to keep the food cycle of nature going, giving the show a 'green' perspective. And thus, the 'doctor' is the hero with a brilliant idea and the whole ship throws a drinking party to celebrate. And if they were to cast Michael Jackson's doctor to give the injections, I'm sure it would be a real ratings grabber. If any DCRTV readers have a screenplay idea for this reunion, post it here. Fred reads this board. He'd know who to get that screenplay to. (4/21/10) Dave's response: How about "Poseidon III: The Love Boat's Final Voyage." The Love Boat, with all its original crew, including Fred Grandy and his sexy legs, plus guest stars Donnie and Marie Osmond with Henry Winkler, gets hit by a big wave from Hurricane Farid and turns over. And everyone has to escape by going "upward" through the bowels of the ship..... WTOP's 103.5 FM signal went off the air for about five minutes last night, then it came back on the air at reduced power for the better part of an hour (presumably from the low-power backup transmitter on the roof). The on-air announcer said the weak signal on 103.5 was due to a power failure in the area of American University and recommended listeners tune to 103.9 or 107.7. After about thirty minutes they announced the problem was resolved and reminded people to tune back to 103.5. -Chainsman (4/21/10) I made a short film using the fabulous WMAL "anthem". It's on Youtube for all to enjoy. Eric Krasner, CineGraphic Studios (4/21/10) Another potty word has fallen, and use of the word "fart" on television may now have been completely legitimized. Until recently, the word was uttered only occasionally on "Family Guy", "The Simpsons" or "How I Met Your Mother". Wednesday morning, Matt Lauer on the Today Show was heard to utter, "Go over like a fart in church". It took a couple of decades for "ass", "bitch" and "pissed off" to survive the censor's hissing blade (thank you Saturday Night Live!), and nearly a decade for "penis" to become a joke word (thank you Howard Stern and Lorena Bobbit). Now "fart" has been set free... figuratively speaking... thanks to the Today Show. (4/21/10) This made me laugh... www.96rockdelmarva.com... The Sports Animal's TOP HEADLINE is BILL COSBY SHOW CANCELLED in Salisbury! LOL Too funny. And I think it's a majority black city or darn close if I'm not mistaken. But back to the O's... That signal barely overlaps WICO, so basically there is no longer any radio station carrying The Baltimore Orioles for this summer at the Maryland and Delaware beaches. :-( Do the Nats have a station down there either? (4/21/10) Dave, maybe there's a gag order in place at WMAL in order for all the parties involved with "Grandy & Andy" not to spill out certain info. I still listen to the show every morning, despite feeling sick to my stomach about what could happen any day, or within a month, etc. It's the same feeling I got when Chris Plante was 'shown the door' the first time around. It's a small miracle that I haven't developed stomach ulcers yet. Fred & Andy will be fine -- they're institutions in Washington and seasoned broadcasters. Bryan Nehman is part of a new generation of very talented and smart individuals who will have a bright future in Media, no matter what he ends up doing. Bryan's gift is his voice, obviously, and I've always championed that he should be an innovator in mixing Politics with Pop Culture, a style of media that is badly needed here in the "stuffiness" of the DC political culture. Laura Ingraham and Austin Hill are masterful doing this -- and Bryan's "got it". He's also quick-witted and has a spontaneous sense of humor, which is necessary for this style of broadcasting. Best, -Silvie- (4/21/10) Dave's response: While I think that both Fred Grandy and Andy Parks will be fine financially into their older years, it's pretty obvious that both are at the end of their talk radio careers. Parks is a local radio great, but there just isn't much of a demand for guys who are over age 50 to do local radio here any more. He's never really been a host on his own, always, instead, part of a team. I'm told that Andy's a superb board-op, but he's always kind of been an Ed McMahon-ish "second banana" talent-wise. Grandy, on the other hand, has a national reputation forged by the Congressional and Hollywood experience, and could very well land another media or even a political gig, a la his recent hosting gig on Retirement Living TV. I kind of doubt that he'll end up back on a local radio show, though. As for Bryan Nehman, he'll probably end up as a spokesman for CAIR or maybe become a male model..... (snip)JC UR a "Whig". Understand? Stoppa UR Bitchin little lady! (We'll clash soon - I PROMISE!) (4/21/10) (end snip) I think I speak for many here when I ask this question, but HUH??? (4/21/10) Word has it that The Sports Animal dropped the O's cause they didn't know that the O's were on 92-5 WICO. Kind of surprised they didn't ask or know the competition. Not sure if they thought they could not sell because of WICO or WICO is a Pocomoke City signal that does get into Salisbury. But you can't hear WICO in Sussex County because of WGMD that is on 92-7. Not sure if they realize that but I am really dissapointed. I love sports talk radio on FM, wish they had not dropped the O's. If they dropped them because they are bad well they should have known it was going to be a trying year to begin with. -A local Delamarva advertiser (4/21/10) This morning on WFMD's "Morning News Express" (with Bob Miller), the "Barley & Hops" Grill owner was talking about how he was "losing customers", due to the WFMD Tea Party that happened at the restaurant last Thursday. I drove around the place (long after the WFMD shindig was over), and saw a WFRE satellite truck vehicle in the B&H parking lot. WFRE is the more popular station out of the Clear Channel Frederick combo, and it looks like they only have one satellite truck (the other vehicles that the station uses are separate SUVs for 930 and 99.9). I wonder when people drove by Barley & Hops that saw the FRE van, if FRE might have lost some of their listeners (the Tea event only aired on FMD), resulting Country music fans to go to WAYZ (Hagerstown) or WGTY (Gettysburg) for their country fix? Hmmm... (4/21/10) Re: No Flyers games on CSN/TCN. I gotta figure that the deal that allows CSN to rebroadcast its Flyers, Blackhawks and Sharks games in the DC/Baltimore area is only for the regular season. But I found it interesting that rather than send crews to Chicago and Denver the past few days, VS has simply picked up the CSN feeds of those games, and called it "bonus coverage." Just wait for the conference finals, when its all NBC and VS. We'll be scouring the net for feeds on weeknights. Charles in Winchester (4/21/10) Donnie says: "Enemy artists ... La Migre at the gates ... head-bobbing yes-men ..." The hell're you gibbering about, man? I'm talking about the music, not trying to grind some political axe (like you seem all too ready to do). "Alternative rock is far from dead" because the media won't let it die. And another poster is right: each fo the bands "confirmed" is on the state-fair/casino circuit, as are many of their contemporaries, who, I'm sure, will be announced shortly (see Tonic and Collective Soul sharing a field in Minnesota with REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar, among other washed-up acts, this summer). I guess it makes sense in a way: a festival bearing the name of an all-but-nonexistent radio station, which WAS "the biggest music event around," populated with a handful of dried-up, faceless acts from that station's long-departed heyday. Marcy Playground, for Chrissakes! HFStival is obviously being modeled after the M3 Rockfest, held at the same venue in June, with an equally anemic lineup of bands. DOn't kid yourself: Bonnaroo it ain't, pal. Doghouse Reilly (4/21/10) hey, WHOEVER wrote that - "WBAL is the flagship station of the Baltimore Ravens, right? I mean, it says it on their website and all. So why in the half hour leading up to the release of the Ravens 2010 schedule (one of the things all football fans look forward to in the offseason) were Brett Hollander and Peter Schmuck talking about the ancient history of Orioles Baseball and pimping the Sports Legends Museum - while 1057 and WNST were both aggressively reporting on the schedule leaks from around the league. I had the schedule from 1057 and WNST BEFORE the 7PM release, and not from WBAL until after their news cast at 7PM. Oh, and what was 98 Rock (the other "flagship" station) doing at this time? Playing white trash music. Well done guys - UH, WRONG... when it cam to getting out the Ravens 1st gm , cbs , wnst- and yes flagship wbal were ALL beat by Fox 1370 Sportsradio at 5-50pm...which , IMHO, fairly covers ALL sports in town evenly. (4/21/10) [Dave's response: I hear that both Parks and Don Geronimo are competing for the greeter job at the new Beltsville Wal-Mart. Andy would also be happy in the hardware department or on the store's security team, hunting down illegal alien shoplifters.....] As strange as it may sound to some in many places ( of course not in a big market like DC ), retail often does pay better than radio or even TV for that matter. For many years I had a good friend who worked for the Entercom cluster in Buffalo. Today he works for Target and he has told me many of times that he makes far more money today working for Target than he ever did full time for Entercom. Plus on top of that last year my girlfriend was visiting a Kroger in Roanoke and noticed one of their baggers was also a reporter for their local WSLS-TV. Guess WSLS doesn't pay that much either and for the record neither does Kroger, I used to work for that chain I know. (4/21/10) WBAL is the flagship station of the Baltimore Ravens, right? I mean, it says it on their website and all. So why in the half hour leading up to the release of the Ravens 2010 schedule (one of the things all football fans look forward to in the offseason) were Brett Hollander and Peter Schmuck talking about the ancient history of Orioles Baseball and pimping the Sports Legends Museum - while 1057 and WNST were both aggressively reporting on the schedule leaks from around the league. I had the schedule from 1057 and WNST BEFORE the 7PM release, and not from WBAL until after their news cast at 7PM. Oh, and what was 98 Rock (the other "flagship" station) doing at this time? Playing white trash music. Well done guys - we know who the real radio sports leaders in Baltimore are. (4/21/10) Hey, what's so surprising about Andy & Grandy? Scott Garceau did the same thing with Anita Marks. It took a caller accidently getting through with an accidental comment about Anita Marks for him to mention her existence on the planet the day she left 105.7 The Fan. And it made Garceau look silly & arrogant as shit and I've had less respect for the man ever since. You would think people would realize that it's those certain defining moments that show your true self & character that people ultimately notice and remember. (4/21/10) Can anyone explain why none of the Flyers playoff games have been broadcast on any of Comcast’s 900 channels in Baltimore County? They’ve all been played on opposite nights as the Caps (so no conflict there) but all we get on CSN and CN8 are taped boxing matches, MMA and college lacrosse games while the Flyers are being broadcast on CSN Philly. Throughout the regular season, CN8 or CSN Balto/Washington would periodically show Flyers games – why not during the postseason? I’ve been forced to listen to the games in my laptop via WIP’s website. Brutal…. (4/21/10) Been a while.... RE: Big rating for all three Caps-Montreal games on CSN as a matter of fact on all three nights Jim, you must work at CSN or be a Hockey nut. RE: Dave's response: I hear from a source that the pajama-clad-all-day Fred: Cash is king baby. Never turn it down. Dave, if some one said here is 50K, do DCRTV for two more months or shut it down now, what would you do? RE: I couldn't agree with Paul Fahri more: 1000% correct! I wish I could see specific ratings rather than overall…. RE: The Fixx, Presidents of the United States, Third Eye Blind?????WTF???: I’ll still go. Wish it was at RFK though. RE: Seems like Liz Drabeck has adopted a different speaking style at WJFK than what she used in her time at WTEM. Sounds too me she's using a more breathy: Dude get off the blanket. Re: I do not understand the two sarcastic remarks made about Big Tigger: Who is he? RE: Driving home and listening to 106.7 The Fan... gotta say I'm pretty impressed: CK, its after 700 PM. RE: Dave: SFMSports.Net will be broadcasting the CAC Tournament, as the undefeated Salisbury Sea Gulls host Mary Washington today (Wednesday) at 4pm. OK Lurch, we know they are undefeated. OOBBEE (4/21/10) (RE: Suit Changes At Bonneville - 4/21 - Some management changes at Salt Lake City-based Bonneville, which owns DC all-newser WTOP. From the SLC Tribune.....) Dave, that's not Bonneville. Bonneville is now totally a radio company. All the Salt Lake properties were rolled int one separate unit (including KSL TV and Radio). It is a related company (same owner) but it is not Bonneville. So since it is just Salt Lake with no DC connection, you may not want it. (4/21/10) Dave's response: Thanks. No need for the blurb then..... Big rating for all three Caps-Montreal games on CSN as a matter of fact on all three nights they were the most watched network on TV in the 18-35 and 35-55 male demos.. Even in Baltimore where game three Monday night beat the O's game - that was a late game against Seattle.washingtonexaminer.com... Jim (4/21/10) Nice Rant on WMAL on Andy being a man. I suspect that he and Brian are staying on to claim a respectable severance. On a similar note, I recall many moons ago when a persoanlity left a station, spots with their voice on it was scrubbed. I heard Grand's voice on a spot this week. OR, Maybe Andy and Brian are whistling past the graveyard. (4/21/10) Dave's response: I hear from a source that the pajama-clad-all-day Fred Grandy is sitting alone in his Bethesda mansion watching endless reruns of "The Love Boat" on DVD with a big bottle of Scotch muttering "Why, why, why?" So sad..... Dave, your WMAL rant today is naive and idealistic, not realistic. Maybe Andy or Nehman need to keep working for financial reasons. Maybe a sudden, early departure will affect the employment of others at the station. Perhaps they don't want to burn their bridges with Citadel management--you never know who you might help or harm you next in your career. And, management telling employees what to say, or limiting their on air remarks? Shocking!! I can think of a number of Don & Mike battles with different stations' management on such issues. I'm certain other DCRTVers have funny memories of similar situations. What needs to happen is some independent coverage of the situation--by the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, etc--Mike from Silver Spring (4/21/10) Dave's response: You have a point. If Andy walked off the show with Grandy, there'd be no show. And the cheap bastards at Citadel would just can everyone and simply relay Don Imus from sister WABC radio in NYC. So, yeah, I guess Andy's staying keeps a paycheck coming for a bunch of WMALers, including Nehman, for a few more weeks, at least. Maybe Andy's not such a bad guy after all. I bet he even voted for McGovern in 1972..... I couldn't agree with Paul Fahri more. The top rated shows on each station (Junks and Kornheiser) are the ones with the least sports content. So I guess almost everyone who listens agrees, too. Too bad we can't get a guy talk station in DC - oh that's right! We had one! And it got better ratings than either WTEM or WJFK in its current incarnation. (4/21/10) The Fixx, Presidents of the United States, Third Eye Blind?????WTF??? These guys are all on the county fair/ amusement park circuit! Hey Andy Parks, have you even applied for a job at Wal Mart yet? (4/21/10) Dave's response: The Fixx's "Saved By Zero" is a great tune. Way too radical for the 105.9 playlist, though. I hear that both Parks and Don Geronimo are competing for the greeter job at the new Beltsville Wal-Mart. Andy would also be happy in the hardware department or on the store's security team, hunting down illegal alien shoplifters..... Seems like Liz Drabeck has adopted a different speaking style at WJFK than what she used in her time at WTEM. Sounds too me she's using a more breathy matter of fact style. Wonder why. Seeing that picture of an old WDVM news team on the DCRTV front page makes me wonder why Andrea Roane has her hair style so short these days. Looks like she gets a hair cut once a week. Was perusing the DCRTV Boston page and seeing that few sports anchors let loose in the Boston tv market got me looking around and I see Levan Reid had been a sports reporter in that market for 7 years before coming to D.C. Speaking o channel 9f, I see Sara Walsh is still around. When does she leave for ESPN? Now that Howard Bernstein has returned has channel 9 let loose the 2 fill in weather folks? Has channel 9 toyed with the idea of dropping news altogether and running paid programming? I also noticed looking at the DCRTV Boston page that the ads seemed to be D.C. area centered not getting any interest from the Boston market or don't have feet on the ground in Boston to dig up avertisers in that market. (4/21/10) I do not understand the two sarcastic remarks made about Big Tigger. He is whether you like him or Urban radio or not PPM or not look at as one of the top air personalities in Washington reportedly making 2 million dollars a year to do WPGC`s morning drive slot. Why the comments i just ask Dave a simple question about the man`s ratings why? (4/21/10) Hey Hater you need to look up the definition of 'confirmed'. These bands just happen to be the ones that signed on to this point. Since CBS is waiting all summer for the HFStival it gives plenty of time for other acts to join. And they NEVER announce the headliners until last. Haven't you ever listened to HFS? Actually with that mindset of yours I'd say no. For all the flack the Alternative fans catch its funny its the biggest music event around and you probably don't even have to worry about crossfire from 'enemy' artists or La Migre' waiting outside the gates. Even from a profit standpoint the HFStival,WHFS and its fans bring paydays. Modern/Alternative is far from dead and even the thickest of headbobbing yes men can see that. Donnie (4/21/10) (RE: I was never a diehard Anita Marks fan, but it's hard to make an argument she's a dim bulb compared to Scott Garceau after today's show! LOL) - Now this is very laughable, somebody chiding Scott Garceau about not knowing about a character on the Simpsons. Sounds to me. like this person has a rather limited view of things. Scott Garceau is a very knowledgable sports person, I thought Anita was too. Seems the person doing the complaining is the dim bulb..not Marks or Garceau. Ed, Easton, MD (4/21/10) (regarding a previous post) "There is too much at stake, especially in light of the speed with which news can be distributed in the electronic age, for there not to be these safeguards in place." The ultimate 'safeguard' is common sense on the part of the reader/viewer/hearer. Certainly most people are surely capable of discerning what is a report of actual importance and one that is complete nonsense. This isn't to say that otherwise intelligent people can't be fooled. Take the 1938 'War of the Worlds" broadcast for example. Or, these days - Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, et al. (4/21/10) "Dave's response: 'I've tried John King's new show and it's absolutely cringe-worthy watching him trying to be hip and appeal to teens and twentysomethings....'". Really!! CNN/HLNm and Fox, too, are great for laughs. Check the afternoon-clown (Rick Sanchez?) for ultra-hipness (and teeth). I think there's a slash missing in John King's logo ("JK" should be J/K). Anderson Cooper ... Oh, my...Hannity: smarmy, smirky. Ed in Fenton. (4/21/10) Driving home and listening to 106.7 The Fan... gotta say I'm pretty impressed. You have Bill Rohland doing his show, Frank Hanrahan doing updates, Byron Kerr doing live updates during the sports news updates live from Nats Park, and now Chris Russell with their Wizards and Caps beat reporters going until midnight tonight. And it's just Tuesday night, not a special show or anything. Pretty good group of talent for a 7 to midnight lineup. (4/21/10) "So that's the deal. I tuned in to hear the game on Sunday afternoon and it wasn't there. Instead I heard a basketball game and ESPN radio running at the same time. It was not listenable! I came back a couple of hours later, and they were still playing two things at the same time. The "Sports Animal" is a frickin' joke." AMEN to that! Clear Channel has already turned it into a joke! The last O's game I heard was last Wednesday and as the first pitch was being thrown, it suddenly switched over to the Scott Van Pelt show. And it stayed there for a couple of minutes! Ever since then I haven't heard the O's at all. The only thing worth a damn on the station now is the fact that they simulcast Dan Patrick. And that's also on their sports AMer that runs the Shorebirds. They might as well run the Shorebirds on the FMer, that way people would actually be able to hear our local team! At least I can listen to the O's still on 92.5. Thank goodness for them - John in Salisbury (4/21/10) JC UR a "Whig". Understand? Stoppa UR Bitchin little lady! (We'll clash soon - I PROMISE!) (4/21/10) Dave: SFMSports.Net will be broadcasting the CAC Tournament, as the undefeated Salisbury Sea Gulls host Mary Washington today (Wednesday) at 4pm. The game will be aired LIVE on WQMR-FM 101.1. SFMSports.Net will also broadcast the CAC Championship this Saturday, as Salisbury hosts a to be determined opponent. Also, the War on the Shore against Washington College will be broadcast LIVE on Saturday, May 8th. All games will also be streamed live at www.sfmsports.net. Graham Whaples will call the games. Steve Clendenin, Owner (4/21/10) /\ April 21 Messages /\ \/ April 20 Messages \/ The revelations about Enquirer founder/publisher Generoso Pope are not surprising. There is a long history of media outlets not only holding off on stories that would embarass the CIA, but actually being specifically tasked to manipulate news in order to a) plant misinformation to confuse the enemy during times of war, b) keep the details of covert operations from being leaked to the public, c) keep the public from panicking during natural disasters or covert attacks on the government, military or financial sectors....and d) be used for HUMMIT collection either electronically or with good old fashioned investigative reporting. Katherine Graham & Ben Bradlee at Newsweek & The Washington Post, William Paley at CBS, James Reston at the NY Times and literally two to three hundred reporters, publishers, technicians and broadcasters at all levels were recruited under Operation:Mockingbird in the 1950's. Literally 3000+ CIA staffers and contractors were a part of the program over more than 20 years. It has been said that due to an inadvertent exposure by a congressional staffer in the mid-1970's for Frank Church's Select Committee the program was discontinued in February 1976. The truth is that the program was actually revamped under another operational structure and that to this day there are Agents of Influence under contract at news organizations around the world who are charged with media manipulation, story plants, and burying news that would expose covert operations. There are at least 8 known AOIs, who are either voluntary or paid by the CIA, employed now at local broadcast bureaus in Washington. Some recruited early in their careers, some approached after they reached certain influential status in the media. One law firm in DC, who also happens to represent many of the network investigative reporters, also represents current & former covert operatives who wish to write books about their years in the agency. There is too much at stake, especially in light of the speed with which news can be distributed in the electronic age, for there not to be these safeguards in place. It's not "black helicopter" Art Bell kind of stuff, it's the real deal. (4/20/10) Am glad someone brought up about "The Sports Animal" not broadcasting the Orioles games! Am confused: might it be that they're only broadcasting home games? As for Anita Marks (IMO)..105.7thefan should have not let her get away! Will be anxious to see what their afternoon ratings are now that Scott Garceau and Jeremy are doing that spot in the afternoons! (4/20/10) Speaking of Anita Marks... More proof today on 105.7 The FAN that Anita Marks is smarter than the average Garceau... Scott Garceau today admitted today live on air and also on MASN that he has no clue who Mr. Burns from The Simpsons is and appeared to not even know the show! Now that's about as clueless & dumb as it gets. Does he live in a cave? You would think he has kids and would know at least through them right? But nope. I was never a diehard Anita Marks fan, but it's hard to make an argument she's a dim bulb compared to Scott Garceau after today's show! LOL (4/20/10) Well, all you citizens of "Alternative Nation" must be wetting yourselves with joy at the long-prayed-for return of the HFStival. That's right, you've been making fun of so-called "hair bands" for years, and now it's your turn. Time to put on your best flannel, drink some Zima and party like it's 1996. Funny, I thought the whole point of the alternative movement was to be cutting-edge and underground, yet what was once a premier alt-rock event is loaded up with has-beens from 15 years ago, not one of them having any relevance for most of a decade, at least. Are ya happy now? Where's the Verve Pipe? Doghouse Reilly (4/20/10) According to a book by the grandson of National Enquirer founder, Generoso Pope, the tabloid had a long history of shielding the CIA by not running certain stories. Paul Pope’s book, “The Deeds of My Fathers,” is scheduled for publication in October. washingtonpost.com (4/20/10) Roosty hw lhong hv u nut lyk mynrtees.? Tom (4/20/10) When I heard 810AM at 2AM..I did not hear a "tester ID' at any time during the 45 minutes I had it on..(That 45 minutes included a top of the hour that only mentioned WKHZ, Ocean City...No mention of WYRE, Annapolis!) Not sure of how often the "tester ID" needs to run but I would imagine that if such a thing had run, it would have done so over a period of 45 minutes. There was no test, someone just forgot to sign it off at sundown. (4/20/10) Re; "Big" Tigger. I look forward to his numbers much as I would a headache John. Though I'm Quite sure he would preface a question by saying "Let me AX you something". No that he has some "Cash Money" in his "crib" R (4/20/10) I think Ken Mease has some public relations things going on closer to D.C., but he has continued to serve as the emcee of the Sports Breakfast at the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival since he left WUSA. He’s probably been in that role for the last decade. Charles in Winchester (4/20/10) (Well, there is one daytimer, WYRE 810AM, controlled by said "Responsible broadcaster" that I heard blasting "On the air"..at full power at 2 in the morning while driving through Annapolis on my way home from southern Md) I assume you heard the "WYRE Annapolis Testing" ID that was running, as well. (4/20/10) "Why is it that when the new sports station in Salisbury hit the air and announced that they were the new home for the Baltimore Orioles, it made the dcrtv front page. When they stopped broadcasting the games after a few days, nobody said anything." So that's the deal. I tuned in to hear the game on Sunday afternoon and it wasn't there. Instead I heard a basketball game and ESPN radio running at the same time. It was not listenable! I came back a couple of hours later, and they were still playing two things at the same time. The "Sports Animal" is a frickin' joke. Go back to 96 Rock. Like I asked in an earlier post, "doesn't anybody there listen to their own station?" I used to be in radio. I know everything is automated; but automation acts up sometimes. Listen to what you're putting out over the air, you dumb asses. DP in Laurel, DE (4/20/10) Dave, Way to scare me with that Anita headline. I don't care one way or the other about her, but the nasty jokes that would once again start filling this forum and every sports blog in the area would be too much to take. Howie (4/20/10) Dave, regarding your answer to the Ken Mease inquiry, I think you might be mixing up your Ken's. It is former Channel 9'er Ken Broo (shown in the picture on today's front page) who is in Cincinnati on WLWT these days. Great site. Tom in Wheaton (4/20/10) Dave's response: Whoops. Yeah, my brain thought that Rusty was asking about the sportscaster in the Channel 9 DCRTV Plus Flashback of today. Ken Mease, I believe, went back up to his native New England, I think the Hartford area, after leaving Channel 9 a few years back..... DCRTV Dave: You may have confused Ken Mease with Ken Broo in your reply to Rusty Gibson's mailbag post - I think it was Broo who went back to a TV station in Cincinnati after being the lead sports anchor at Channel 9 for several years. Mike B. (4/20/10) To the Bill Parris defender who speaks about how the responsible broadcaster would "sooner turn the station off at night"....Well, there is one daytimer, WYRE 810AM, controlled by said "Responsible broadcaster" that I heard blasting "On the air"..at full power at 2 in the morning while driving through Annapolis on my way home from southern Md. (It was rebroadcasting KHZ from Ocean City). Funny you would also use the phrase "Bounce"..in your tirade since Mr. Parris has been guilty of issuing paychecks that could be described with the same phrase. If you're going to defend someone, you should at least know what you're talking about! (4/20/10) Was just looking at the WBAL Radio schedule www.wbal.com and see that weekday mornings we have 'Marland's Morning News with Dave Dorian". Gee, I always thought it was Merle-Land. (4/20/10) OMYGAWD: “El Rusbo” (heard weekdays from Noon- 3:00 PM on my local radio station WRC) just combined political sarcasms and a sponsor fairly brilliantly! While trashing the Obambi administration’s late great attorney Gregg Craig for now becoming Goldman Sachs attorney in the SEC “civil lawsuit”, that cute, loveable teddy bear Rush said that they are all “in bed with each other” and that their “Sleep Number Bed” (a Limbaugh sponsor) control number was “69”. Wonder if they caught THAT in Rio Linda? (4/20/10) (CNN - "It should just go back to being a 24/7 hard news network like it was in its infancy") Amen!!!!!!!!! (4/20/10) "Dave its early but are there any early numbers for Big Tigger`s morning show?" -I'll bet WEBR's Rusty Gibson can hardly contain his excitement waiting on those numbers. He is a huge Big Tigger fan! (4/20/10) Dave's response: No no no. Rusty's a golden oldie..... Dave its early but are there any early numbers for Big Tigger`s morning show? (4/20/10) Dave's response: The next few weekly PPM rounds should give us an early indication. There's about a month lag in the release of the radio numbers..... WASH's morning team of Loo Katz and Lori Brooks chat with Regis Philbin. And in return, he made fun of them on the show with Kelly! Fast forward to 7:25 when the bit begins - bventertainment.go.com (4/20/10) "Movies should not be "stretched." No way....." Just watch great classics like "Gone Wit Da Wind" or "How Da West Be Won" in "Panavision" on any television - HD or otherwise, and you will see stretched out faces of Clarke Gable and Jimmy Stewart the size of Mount Rushmore. I have seen both these movies in theaters and nothing replaces a good old fashioned wide screen, that home television versions just cannot duplicate. Even the original Shaft (seen at Washington's Keith Theater at age 14) first seen in the theater was different than on television: cinematreasures.org (4/20/10) Awhile back, it was reported that t.v. anchors would be operating the teleprompter. Well, yesterday on FOX5 Morning News, Gurvir had some technical difficulties with operating it..She was reading it and all of a sudden she stopped, made a comment about having to get control of her teleprompter and proceeded to look for the foot pedal (or whatever is under there). It used to be if there was a problem with the teleprompter, the anchor would just read the written copy. But now, the anchors have to be responsile for troubleshooting the teleprompter. (4/20/10) Re: Brooklyn Radio Pirate WFAT - Isn't that a Sony TC-366 or TC-377 tape deck in the background? I bought a TC-366 in August 1970. They had a sloping front panel. (4/20/10) Awkward watching John King's show last week with his wife Dana Bash on the panel via remote. Perhaps more awkward is noticing that they must've received a 2-for-1 deal on dental implants . . . (4/20/10) Dave's response: I've tried John King's new show and it's absolutely cringe-worthy watching him trying to be hip and appeal to teens and twentysomethings. I like John and think he's a superb TV journalist, but the show is just plain awful, as is much of the fare on CNN. It should just go back to being a 24/7 hard news network like it was in its infancy with Ted Turner at the helm. Fuck the ratings battle with Fox News, which really isn't a news channel most of the time. CNN always cleans up in the ad revenue department. It shouldn't over-focus on the nightly ratings and shouldn't even try to compete with circus clowns like Beck, O'Reilly, and Olbermann..... You don't really want to see TCM in HD. Direct TV had it for a little while last year and the movies in 4:3 were really stretched. I never got to see a widescreen movie on TCM in HD. A week or so after the conversion to HD, it was gone. Not sure if it was TCM or Direct TV who made the choice. Cheers! Nancy (4/20/10) Dave's response: Yuck. There are a lot of widescreen classics like Hitchcock's "Vertigo" or the Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy "Pillow Talk" that would be great to see in HD, but, no, 4:3 movies should not be "stretched." No way..... RE: WMAL... "Catholic Cemeteries, Thompson Creek Windows" those advertisers were on 105.9 last year when they were still "The True Oldies Channel". That reminds me Citadel ought to bring it back (what have they got to lose!). If that happens I'll have two stations (WERQ and True Oldies 105.9) to listen to when I make my annual pilgrimage to NOVA in October. C'mon Fagreed, bring back Mr. Shannon for ole times sake! (4/20/10) Caps ratings through the roof. Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic delivered an average viewership of 143,000 households in the Washington (120,000) and Baltimore (23,000) markets for our broadcast of Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, April 15, earning an average household rating of 5.1 in the Washington market. The household rating peaked during the overtime period at 7.4 in Washington and 3.2 in Baltimore, equating to approximately 210,000 combined households during the final quarter-hour of the broadcast. Overall, the broadcast stands as the highest-rated Game One in Capitals playoff history on Comcast SportsNet, and the fourth highest-rated Capitals playoff game overall, behind Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Philadelphia on April 22, 2008 (5.3) and Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Pittsburgh on May 11 and 13, 2009, which earned 5.3 and 5.5 average household ratings, respectively. In the Washington market, the game was the most-watched television program among key adult and male demographic categories during the time period, including Men 18-49 (5.0), Men 25-54 (5.9) and Adults 18-49 (3.5), and ranked second in among all television programs in overall household ratings. Among Men 25-54, the game posted a peak rating of 9.4 and an 8.3 peak among Men 18-49 during the overtime period. tvbythenumbers.com (4/20/10) Anyone know what former WUSA Sports Anchor Ken Meese is up to these days? Rusty Gibson (4/20/10) Dave's response: I'd heard he went back to a Cincinnati TVer to a sports anchor gig..... Why does the eastern shore have all these outlets for the o's and in frederick, we can not hear the games on radio at night and very poor in the day. We are very under served as far as radio outlets for a city of 60,000. (4/20/10) Dave's response: That's a big problem with the Orioles flagship, 105.7 The Fan. It gets clobbered to the south and southwest by 105.9 in the DC area, 105.5 out Winchester way, and that co-channeled 105.7 up north in PA. Hey, Frederick has at least half a dozen radioers. Look at poor Leesburg, just across the Potomac. No local radio at all in Loudoun County..... Dave, I saw your rant regarding Comcast in Reston. FiOS has really fast internet, but I would stick to Comcast for their cable. At least you can watch all the Nats/Orioles games in HD! Verizon is one of the primary sponsors of MASN’s baseball coverage, but they are the only cable system in the DC area that doesn’t carry MASN2 HD. You have to go to PA, NC, and Western MD to find another cable system that doesn’t carry it. Verizon clearly dropped the (base)ball on that one! They have no plans to carry the channel. Dave (4/20/10) (regarding a previous post) "The TV Land/Love Boat thing was not filmed yesterday. It was filmed the Thursday before the WMAL Healthcare debate." I doubt seriously that it was filmed. More likely, it was videotaped or otherwise recorded, digitally. (4/20/10) The TV Land/Love Boat thing was not filmed yesterday. It was filmed the Thursday before the WMAL Healthcare debate. (4/20/10) No one here de-valued the winner of a Pulitzer. It was the significance of the award itself that was kept in perspective. Remember the newspaper's survey checked whether readers cared that a writer held a Pulitzer. They don't, survey said. And I would seriously question any reporting that was motivated by seeking an award. (4/20/10) TV Land awards - www.antimusic.com... Funny advertisers will support TV awards to an old goat like Fred Grandy's Love Boat but dare let a radio station have Johnny Dark or Jack Edwards play songs from the same era and the ad dollars dry up faster then water in a desert. John T. Heneman (4/20/10) It's the local advertisers that WMAL is trying to convince that "all is well" by pretending that "Grandy & Andy" are continuing, when in all reality, things are very unwell. If they lose Catholic Cemeteries, Thompson Creek Windows, and Cabinet Discounters, in AM Drive, who will they have left? What surprises me is that McLean Bible Church isn't buying time on a station which seemingly would be a natural for them. Its a pity WMAL isn't an animal. Citadel could call a Veterinarian in to perform "an act of humanity" (as Lisa Baden always calls it) to lessen the inevitable agony. It's so sad to witness on-air how bad things are getting. All the more so when one considers what a giant WMAL had once been. -Unsigned Corporate Suit (4/20/10) Why couldn't the presidential debates two years ago have gone something like this? comixed.com (4/20/10) /\ April 20 Messages /\ Jump to the Mailbag Archive Index.....