January 2003 to June 2003

Latest items listed first.....

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June 20, 2003
Buchanan To Leave 9's Morning News
Channel 9/WUSA anchor Mike Buchanan will be leaving the Gannett station's 5 AM, 6 AM, and 9 AM newscasts. The move, scheduled to happen this summer, will end Buchanan's 14-year partnership with Andrea Roane. The two used to anchor the station's now defunct 4 PM newscast. "I have mixed emotions. The morning show is a winner, but I need to get some sleep," he told the Washington Times. May's ratings showed 9's morning newscast slipping to 3rd place, behind Channels 4 and 5. Buchanan's contract expires in December but he hopes to renew it. He's been with the station since 1970. His son, Doug, is a reporter for WUSA.

June 19, 2003
PGC, POC Again Rule Radio Roost
No big changes in the radio Arbitrends for the DC and Baltimore markets, released on 6/19. In the overall age 12+ demo, 1st place in DC, as usual, went to urban WPGC-FM. Adult urban WMMJ was 2nd, all-news WTOP 3rd, classical WGMS 4th, adult urban WHUR 5th, urban WKYS 6th, news talk WMAL 7th, and hot adult contemporary WRQX 8th. Hot talk WJFK-FM jumped two notches to land at 9th, in a tie with smooth jazz WJZW. The best Clear Channel could do was country WMZQ's 11th place. Oldies WBIG was 12th, with contemporary WIHT falling three places to 13th. Adult contemporary WASH was 14th, rocker WWDC 15th, hot adult contemporary WWZZ/WWVZ 16th, classic rock WARW 17th, sports talk WTEM 18th, with alternative rock WHFS and country WFRE tied for 19th. Up in Baltimore, country WPOC again placed 1st in the age 12+ numbers. Urban WERQ was 2nd, news talk WBAL-AM 3rd, adult urban WWIN-FM 4th, adult contemporary WLIF 5th, hot adult contemporary WWMX 6th, oldies WQSR 7th, rocker WIYY 8th, alternative rock WHFS 9th, and hot talk WXYV 10th. Talker WCBM placed 11th, with religious WCAO and classic rock WXFB tied for 12th. Other Charm City station numbers: adult rock WZBA 14th, nostalgic WWLG 16th, and religious WRBS 17th. Down in Fredericksburg, country WFLS again placed 1st with hot adult contemporary WBQB in 2nd.

June 18, 2003
Virgin To NYC
WHFS afternoon guy Tim Virgin heads to NYC to do afternoons on Infinity's co-owned contemporary WNEW with MTVer Alison Stewart. The gig starts 7/4.

June 18, 2003
Larry Douglas Dies
Larry Douglas, longtime technical director for ABC's "Nightline," has died. Douglas established technical procedures and oversaw their performance in the "Nightline" control room at the ABC News Washington bureau.

June 17, 2003
Former Channel 9 Weatherman Charlie Gertz Dies
Charlie Gertz, who did the weather from 1969 to 1972 on Channel 9, back when it was Washington Post-owned WTOP-TV, has died. He passed away on Friday (6/13) at the Bethesda Naval Hospital after suffering a stroke. The 20-year Navy veteran was 76. Mr. Gertz was dubbed Channel 9's "Fearless Forecaster." From 1978 to 1992, he did the weather at WYFF-TV in Greenville SC.

June 12, 2003
WGOP Tower Plan Hits Hurdle
The latest on plans to move WGOP and WDMV to a transmission site in northern Montgomery County is in the Montgomery Gazette. A proposal to build a series of radio towers on Bethesda Church Road in Damascus hit a hurdle when the county planning board voted to restrict the future use of the property. "The land is owned by Sima Birach, president of Elijah Broadcasting of Southfield, Mich., and Michael Winn, who lives in an existing house on a 8.6 acre lot. A home can also be built on a 5.6-acre lot. The remaining 78 acres must return to the planning board for approval of anything other than agricultural buildings. Elijah Broadcasting wants to transmit its two Washington area stations, WDMV 540 AM and WGOP 700 AM, from the seven radio towers, which would range in height from 279 to 411 feet, according to Elijah's filings with the Federal Communications Commission," the Gazette adds. WGOP is currently located in the Frederick County community of Walkersville. WDMV is in the Eastern Shore town of Pocomoke City.

June 9, 2003
WTTG Dominates Emmys
Fox's Channel 5/WTTG sent in the most nominations and, golly gee, took home the most statues at the local Emmy award ceremony on Saturday evening. Including the one for best newscast in a "large market." Tracey Neale was selected as best news anchor. Again. And Tom Sater was there to pick up his statue as best weathercaster. For the fourth year in a row. There were no nominations for best sports anchor, but NBC's Channel 4/WRC did take the trophy for best sportscast. Hearst's Channel 11/WBAL was selected for the best "medium market" newscast. "But the night belonged to WTTG. News Director Katherine Green, thanked profusely throughout the night in speeches by staff members accepting their awards, finally got her chance when accepting the award for best continuing coverage, of last fall's sniper attacks," reports the Washington Post. Among top Baltimore area stations, MPT won nine prizes, while WBFF took home four. WBAL-TV took three and WJZ two.

June 3, 2003
50 Big Ones For Johnny Dark
WBIG personality Johnny Dark just celebrated his 50th big year in the radio biz. He currently hosts 100.3's "Top 10 At 10" show weeknights and the station's live all-request show on Saturday evenings. His contemporary music radio career includes a really big event in 1964 - when he introduced The Beatles, who were on stage in the USA for the first time. Dark started his radio days in 1953 at WHIL in Boston. In the late 1950s he moved south, to Arlington's WEAM (1390 AM), one of the DC area's legendary "top 40" stations. After a short stint back in Boston, in the early 1960s he headed to Baltimore's also legendary "top 40" outlet WCAO (600 AM). And then back to WEAM and again back to WCAO. Dark worked at Baltimore's WWMX in the early 1990s before joining WBIG.

May 27, 2003
WASH Boots Brady, Adler To Mornings
DCRTV hears that, as of Monday, WASH morning man Scott Brady (left) is a gonner. He's been at the Clear Channel adult contemporary station for seven-ish years. Dave Adler will be running 97.1's morning show on an "interim basis," as the search for a new morning host and assistant program director takes place. By the way, DCRTV ran rumors of such a move about six-ish months ago. Adler used to do mornings at CC's oldies WBIG, but he got bounced last spring-ish when "Murphy And Cash" moved over from CC's country WMZQ. Brady's been doing mornings at WASH since the late-ish summer of 2001.

May 27, 2003
John Allen Dies
John Clayton Allen III, 57, who once hosted a morning radio show on DC's WNTR, died of cancer on 5/24 at his home in Bethesda. Most recently, he'd worked in the public affairs department at the Administration For Children And Families within the Department Of Health And Human Services. Mr. Allen was a child actor in the 1950s, appearing on "I Love Lucy."

May 23, 2003
9 To Launch 7 PM News With McGinty
Channel 9/WUSA plans to start a half-hour 7 PM newscast in September and has hired Derek McGinty to anchor it. McGinty left Channel 7/WJLA in 2001 to co-anchor ABC's overnight "World News Now." Before that, he hosted a talk show on WAMU (88.5 FM), which was also carried on National Public Radio. WUSA is moving the current 7 PM occupant, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," to 4 PM, and is picking up "Inside Edition" for 4:30, replacing the low-rated "Montel."


May 21, 2003
4 Leads DC Sweeps, Again
Once again, Channel 4/WRC leads the key May ratings period, although it's slumping a bit in the afternoon and early evening. Some stats. 5 AM to 7 AM: WRC/4 news is 1st (up 22 percent from last year), WUSA/9 news is 2nd (down 6 percent), WJLA/7 news is 3rd (down 7 percent), WTTG/5 news is 4th (up 22 percent). 5 PM: WRC news 1st (down 13 percent), WJLA news 2nd (up 8 percent), WUSA news 3rd (down 6 percent), WTTG news 4th (down 37 percent from last May when it aired "Judge Judy"). 6 PM: WRC news 1st (down 17 percent), WUSA news 2nd (up 3 percent), WJLA news 3rd (up 8 percent), WTTG "Simpsons" 4th. Late news: WRC 1st (up 1 percent), WTTG 2nd (up 12 percent), WUSA 3rd (up 14 percent), WJLA 4th (up 5 percent).

May 20, 2003
Press Leaves WMAL
Bill Press, the lone dyed-in-the-wool liberal at news talker WMAL, is a gonner. He's saying adios to the "Morning News." We're being told that it's Press's decision. We hear that Press wants to spend more time on his various national TV stuff like co-hosting an MSNBC show. He'll still be heard "occasionally" on ABC-owned MAL. Press joined MAL's morning show last year, after Tim Brant left.

May 14, 2003
Channel 53 Goes Off The Air
Northern Virginia public TV station Channel 53/WNVT has gone off the air until September, while it installs new transmission gear for its digital broadcasts. And the question remains - will the station ever resurrect its analog signal on Channel 53 or will it become a "digital only" operation on its digital signal allocation of Channel 30? Area cable subscribers will continue to see WNVT (aka "MHz2") during the summer, via land line connections from the station's Merrifield studios. WNVT "signs on" most days at 4 PM, and broadcasts mainly educational and music programming. It's owned by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting, which also operates Channel 56/WNVC ("MHz"), which primarily airs foreign language programming. WNVT's transmitter is at Independent Hill in Prince William County. By the way, once WNVT starts its digital operations on Channel 30, low-powered Univision station WMDO will have to move to a new channel.

May 12, 2003
"On Your Side" Returns To 7
Channel 7 brings back its "Seven On Your Side" consumer report segment. The long-running feature was canned a while back, as was the host, former WJLA news anchor Paul Berry (who is now heard on WTNT radio). The station's new consumer reporter will be new arrival Ross McLaughlin.

May 12, 2003
WASH Reunion
This weekend, WASH alums held a reunion at the Monocle Restaurant on Capitol Hill. The occasion celebrated the Metromedia Broadcasting "glory years" from 1968 to 1983, and the emergence of adult contemporary WASH as perhaps the first full-service stand-alone FM to achieve such dominance in a major market. Most of the legendary airstaff still work in the area. Attending: Greg Cole, Craig Windom, Bill McClosky, Bob Hughes, Long John Dowling, Ed Rodriguez, Joe Connolly, Charlie Carson, Bob Duckman, Jerry Clark, Walt Starling, Barton Eckert, Josh Cohen, Mike Kavanagh, Ed Tobias, Dick Uliano, Bob Raiford, Paul Anthony, and, by telephone hookup, the one and only Eddie Gallaher. The reunion was organized by former managers Bill and Sue Dalton, and also included former GM's Sid Abel and Susan Breakefield, and the former sales, engineering, and office staff. Unable to attend: Al Roker, Jeff Beauchamp, Jim Lashley, Bob Levey, and former intern Katie Couric.

May 12, 2003
Sam Lacy Dies
From the Baltimore Sun: "Sam Lacy, a Baltimore sportswriter whose crusade for integration rattled the cage of big league baseball and helped erase the game's color line more than a half-century ago, died Thursday of heart and kidney failure at Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. He was 99."

May 9, 2003
WJAL Pushes For Cable Carriage In DC Area
Might you soon be seeing the home shopping and infomercial programming of Hagerstown's Channel 68/WJAL on your DC area cable system? Probably. We hear that 68's owner, Entravision, is pushing the FCC to enforce its "must carry" rules to apply to all cable TV systems in the DC area. We also hear that even though most DC area cable systems can't get even pick up the signal of Channel 68 at their headends, if Entravision can create a fiber relay of the signal or offer it via its digital allocation (on channel 12) in the DC area, the various Comcast systems, as well as Cox's Fairfax system, would be required to make room for the signal on their basic tier. By some definitions, Hagerstown is considered to be part of the DC TV market. By the way, Entravision also has an ownership stake in two DC area Spanish stations, full-power Channel 14/WFDC in Arlington (which broadcasts Telefutura) and low-power Channel 30/WMDO (a Univision station) in DC. Most DC area cable systems already carry both of those signals.

May 8, 2003
Donovan Leaves 4
Mary Ellen Donovan is out as managing news editor at Channel 4/WRC. We hear that she wants to take some time off to be with her family. A DC area native, Donovan's been at WRC for the past five years, and has also worked at Channels 7 and 9.

May 8, 2003
Parenteau Indicted
Former XM Satellite Radio director of comedy programming Mark Parenteau has been indicted on charges that he and another man had lured teenage boys to a DC home during a two-year period and plied them with money, marijuana, and alcohol in exchange for sex. According to the Washington Post, the 18-count indictment handed up by a DC Superior Court grand jury accused Parenteau, 53, of the 1400 block of Swann Street NW, and Thomas Grady Jr., 44, of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, of sexual abuse, prostitution, and other crimes. Parenteau was dismissed by XM shortly after his arrest in August 2002. He and Grady allegedly paid a 17-year-old to bring boys (some as young as 14) to their home. Kathleen Voelker, an attorney for Parenteau, said he has been falsely accused, the Post adds. Before joining XM, Parenteau worked at WBCN/Boston and WAXQ/NYC, both rock stations.

May 2, 2003
WHAG Swings To Sinatra
Hagerstown's WHAG (1410 AM) has dropped the news talk format it's offered for 20-plus years in favor of adult popular standards. The Dame Broadcasting-owned station now plugs into the satellite feed of "Music Of Your Life," joining co-owned WCHA (800 AM) in nearby Chambersburg PA. WHAG will still feature a live morning show as well as Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball and the ESPN "Game On The Week." A Dame suits says that the station's lowish ratings didn't justify the more expensive news talk format.

April 30, 2003
Joe Witte Joins 7
Channel 7/WJLA has hired a new weekend meteorologist. It's Joe Witte who comes from CNBC as well as WNBC-TV in NYC and NBC's "News At Sunrise" and "Sunday Today." "With Doug Hill on weeknights and Joe Witte on weekends, ABC7 will have one of the strongest weather teams in the country," says JLA VP/news Bill Lord.

April 29, 2003
John Butler Gone From MAL
John Butler has resigned his post as program director/operations manager at ABC news talker WMAL. Apparently, suits at parent ABC weren't very pleased with the station's recent ratings performance in the "pre-noon" period - with the recently revamped "Morning News" program (which saw the addition of Jane Norris and Bill Press), as well as Sam Donaldson and Dr. Laura Schlessinger's numbers. So, look for changes. Also, we hear that management is pretty much satisfied with the performance of the afternoon and early evening programming - nationally syndicated righties Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, both of whom saw upticks in the latest Arbitrons. Butler's been a newscaster for ABC Radio since 1981. He later joined WMAL as its news director, and in 1998 was promoted to the PD/OM position.

April 29, 2003
7 Gets Yet Another News Director
Jamie Foster is Channel 7/WJLA's latest news director. The Allbritton station's third in four years. Foster comes from WFAA in Dallas where he's an executive news producer. He starts at the chronically news ratings-starved WJLA in June. Foster was picked by 7's vice-president of news Bill Lord, who joined the DC ABC affiliate and sister NewsChannel 8 in February. Foster replaces Steve Hammel, who was jettisoned in November 2002. The Post adds that this is the second time Lord has hired Foster. While news director at KNBC in LA, Lord signed Foster as producer of the 5 PM news, and he soon became assistant news director. Foster has also worked at WSVN in Miami.

April 25, 2003
1260 To Stay With CNN
Clear Channel plans to continue the relay of CNN Headline News on WWRC (1260 AM). In mid-March, the station dropped most of its syndicated talk line-up (Jim Bohannon, Jim Kramer, Bloomberg Business News, The Dolans) for CNN's Iraq war news coverage. Now, because of "positive listener response," CC plans to keep the news output coming despite the decrease of war-related news.

April 24, 2003
JLA Brings Times Square To Rosslyn
Nightlife shy Rosslyn, that cluster of office buildings just across the Key Bridge in Arlington, will soon get an oversized screen featuring the animated images of Doug Hill, Maureen Bunyan, and Peter Jennings, as well as other news programming from ABC affiliate Channel 7/WJLA and co-owned NewsChannel 8. It's being called "a touch of Times Square." The 9-by-12-foot screen, as well as a breaking news ticker, will be located just outside WJLA's new studio/office facilities, which are in one of the 31-story twin towers that used to house USA Today and the headquarters of Gannett (both now at Tysons Corner). Allbritton-owned WJLA moved from DC to Virginia last year.

April 23, 2003
MMJ, POC Top Radio Ratings
Winter Arbitrons for DC. While TOP was down a bit from the sniper coverage of fall, the beginning of Iraq war was good for the news station. Rush and Sean Hannity are on an upswing at MAL, but still some work needed for the morning show. MMJ sees a huge jump in PM drive. Don and Mike do well on JFK-FM, but still got beat by MMJ and TOP. JFK posts overall losses from fall and the previous winter book. And a solid performance for ARW, plus a nice uptick for the Junks on HFS. And now the numbers. Full week, age 12+: 1. urban adult WMMJ, 2. urban WPGC-FM, 3. news WTOP, 4. classical WGMS and urban WKYS, 6. urban adult WHUR, 7. news talk WMAL, 8. hot adult contemporary WRQX, 9. smooth jazz WJZW and adult contemporary WASH, 11. rhythmic contemporary WIHT, 12. oldies WBIG, 13. country WMZQ, 14. hot talk WJFK-FM, 15. classic rock WARW, 16. rock WWDC, 17. Spanish contemporary WBZS/WBPS, 18. hot adult contemporary WWZZ/WWVZ, 19. sports talk WTEM, 20. religious talk WAVA and alternative rock WHFS. In Baltimore, full week, age 12+: 1. country WPOC, 2. urban WERQ, 3. adult contemporary WLIF, 4. urban adult WWIN-FM, 5. news talk WBAL, 6. hot adult contemporary WWMX, 7. urban (flipped to talk) WXYV, 8. rock WIYY, 9. oldies WQSR, 10. alternative rock WHFS, 11. gospel WCAO, 12. talk WCBM and adult rock WZBA, 14. classic rock WXFB, 15. nostalgic WWLG. Down in Fredericksburg, full week, age 12+: 1. country WFLS, 2. hot adult contemporary WBQB, 3. news WTOP, 4. alternative rock WYSK, 5. hot talk WJFK-FM, 6. urban WPGC-FM and classic rock WWUZ, 8. nostalgic WFVA, 9. smooth jazz WJZW, 10. urban WKYS.

April 19, 2003
Barnd Returns To 45
Jeff Barnd will rejoin Channel 45/WBFF as its main news anchor. Barnd, who'd been working at a Boston TV station, had been at WBFF from 1991 to 1995. He replaces Tony Harris, who left for an Atlanta TV station a short while ago. Barnd will be seen on two newscasts - 45's 10 PM show as well as sister station Channel 54/WNUV's 6:30 PM edition.

April 18, 2003
Stovall Returns To 11
DCRTV has been reporting rumblings that Stan Stovall is returning to the Charm City's airwaves - as a morning news anchor at Channel 11/WBAL. Stovall will co-anchor the morning newscast. He'll replace Barry Simms, who moves to the station's investigative unit. Stovall had worked at Channel 11 in the late 1970s and early 1980s before leaving for stints in St. Louis and Philadelphia. He returned to Baltimore via Channel 2/WMAR, where he anchored the news from 1989 until his contract wasn't renewed in late 2001.

April 16, 2003
9 Hires Weekend Sports Anchor
Channel 9/WUSA has hired Levan Reid (left) as its weekend sports anchor. He replaces the recently canned Ken Mease. Reid comes from the Fox station in Boston. He starts in June. Still no word on the future of Steve Davis, who, in March, was demoted from 9's main weekday sports anchor position to a weekend gig.

April 16, 2003
92Q's Ms. Toni Dies
"Radio personality and nationally known recording artist Ms. Toni is dead." So reports urbaninsite.com. "Baltimore native Tony Boston was a Baltimore City housing authority employee by day, but at night transformed into the hip hop transvestite club performer known for his 1994 hit, 'How U Gonna Carry It, Whazup Whazup.' Ms. Toni would go on to be the morning radio sidekick of announcers Randy Dennis and Frank Ski at WERQ-FM (92Q). His song was a club favorite nationwide receiving accolades from artists like Sean 'P-Diddy' Combs and Michael Jackson. Boston died Friday from complications from an automobile accident two years ago. He was 37."

April 8, 2003
George Baumann Dies
Channel 13/WJZ reporter and anchor George Baumann has died at age 74. He suffered a heart attack Monday after undergoing angioplasty the previous week to repair coronary artery blockage. Mr. Baumann spent five decades on Charm City's airwaves. A Baltimore native, he had been a radio personality on the old WBMD and WFBR during the 1950s. Mr. Baumann joined Channel 13 in 1960, focusing on political news until his retirement in 1998.

April 2, 2003
Mega To Import Programming For 92.7 & 94.3
DCRTV hears that as part of a budget cutting move, Silver Spring's Mega Communications may be pulling the plug on local programming at its two DC area FMers in favor of relaying the signal from a Spanish station it owns in the Orlando market. The move will happen by the end of April, we're told. It will affect Prince Frederick's WBZS (92.7 FM) and Warrenton's WBPS (94.3 FM). For the past few years, those two stations have been airing the same Spanish adult contemporary programming, which has come from Mega's studios in the old WGAY "World Building" in Silver Spring. Previously, WBZS had a Spanish urban contemporary format, with WBPS (then WPLC-FM) running Spanish "amor" love songs. Says our source: "It seems odd that Mega 92.7/94.3 would abandon local programming considering their latest Arbitron accomplishment. Would WHFS or Z104 consider Spanish programming? DC could easily represent $6 to 8 million in revenue." WBZS/WBPS ranked a record high 19th place in the latest radio ratings round-up.

April 1, 2003
PLC Goes Righty Talk
On 4/1, Silver Spring's 1050 AM, WPLC, which has been off the air the past few weeks, assumed a talk format with the likes of conservative Oliver North. North, who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate from Virginia in the mid-1990s, hasn't been regularly heard on DC area radio since WWRC, then on 980 AM, dumped its local talk format many moons ago. Air Time Media, in a deal with the Genesis Communications Network, will operate the former Spanish station, which Metro Radio recently bought from Mega. Besides North in afternoons, the line-up includes Doug Stephan's "Good Day" show in mornings. Also: Alex Jones, and the "Power Hour" with Joyce Riley and Dave Von Kleinst.

March 31, 2003
810 Is Sold, Goes Spanish
WYRE (810 AM) in Annapolis dropped its English eclectic music format in favor of Spanish tunes. It's calling itself "Latino 810." We also hear that the locally-owned station has been sold.

March 24, 2003
Comcast, Radio One Pick Head For BET Rival
Johnathan Rodgers, former president of Discovery Communications' US networks, has been selected as the head of the new Comcast-Radio One cable TV network that will rival Viacom's Black Entertainment Television. Radio One, Discovery, and BET are based in the DC area; Comcast in Philadelphia. The new black-oriented network is slated to start later this year or early next. Its name will be chosen in a contest to be held by Radio One's radio stations. Locally, Radio One owns WKYS, WMMJ, WERQ, WWIN FM/AM, WYCB, WOL, and WOLB. Comcast owns many cable TV systems in the DC/Baltimore area.

March 21, 2003
Marc Anthony Gone From 99.5
Marc Anthony leaves Clear Channel's rhythmic contemporary WIHT, Hot 99.5. He'd been doing the evening shift. Word is that he didn't jump, he was pushed.

March 19, 2003
TOP Is DC Radio's Top Money Machine
WTOP raked in the most ad dollars in 2002, according to estimated stats for the DC radio market provided by BIA Financial Network, which keeps an eye on the profitability of broadcast outlets. The Bonneville all-news station generated $30.5 million in advertising revenue last year. Second place went to Infinity's hot talk (and Redskins flagship) WJFK-FM with $28.4 million. Co-owned urban contemporary WPGC-FM took 3rd place with $28.2 million. ABC's hot adult contemporary WRQX placed 4th with $23.4 million. Radio One's adult urban WMMJ ranked 5th with $20.5 million. Clear Channel's top local generator was oldies WBIG, in 6th place with $20.1 million. Radio One's urban WKYS ranked 7th with $20 million. Rounding out the top 10 - Clear Channel's adult contemporary WASH with $19.4 million at 8th, Howard University's adult urban WHUR with $19 million at 9th, and Clear Channel's country WMZQ at 10th with $18.8 million. The rest: CC rocker WWDC $17 million, ABC's news talk WMAL $14.8 million, ABC's smooth jazz WJZW $12.7 million, Infinity alt rocker WHFS $12.5 million, CC rhythmic contemporary WIHT $12 million, Infinity classic rocker WARW $10.6 million, Bonneville's classical WGMS $9.4 million, CC sports talker WTEM $7.6 million, Salem's religious WAVA $6.5 million, and Bonneville's modern rockish adult contemporary WWZZ/WWVZ $6.4 million.

March 19, 2003
Rudin Sues 5
From the Washington Times: "WTTG-TV (Channel 5) substitute weatherman Steve Rudin is suing his bosses, claiming they unfairly passed him over for a permanent gig forecasting on the station's new 5 PM newscast. The lawsuit was filed March 4 in DC Superior Court. In the complaint, Mr. Rudin claims the station violated the DC Human Rights Act when it gave the 5 PM forecasting job to Gwen Tolbart, a black woman. Mr. Rudin is white. The complaint asks the court to force WTTG to make Mr. Rudin a full-time forecaster on the 5 PM newscast, with back pay and benefits. It also seeks unspecified 'general and special damages' and 'punitive damages.' Mr. Rudin's attorney, James. M. Eisenmann, and WTTG managers declined comment."

March 13, 2003
Herzog Takes Top Sports Spot At 9
Veteran sportscaster (and radio voice of the Redskins) Frank Herzog becomes Channel 9/WUSA's top sports anchor. He replaces Steve Davis, who joined 9 in September 2002 from Baltimore's Channel 45/WBFF. Davis, who apparently never jelled with other staffers at the station, moves to weekend sports anchoring. Herzog's been at 9 for 30-ish years. He, most recently, handled morning sports duties and occasionally did some morning news anchoring. Herzog left 9 in 1983 to become sports director at Channel 7/WJLA, and returned to WUSA in 1992. It appears that WUSA sports anchor and 17-year vet Ken Mease, who had been handling weekend duties, is the odd man out in this latest game of musical chairs. The word is that he's been discharged - to the tune of more than $150,000 in severance, thanks to his union contract.

March 12, 2003
WBIS Looks For New XMTR Site(s)
DCRTV tech guru Dave Loudin tells us that Nations Radio, the owner of business news/talk WBIS (1190 AM) in Annapolis, has had a construction permit to build a new 50,000-watt daytime facility at a landfill on the southern tip of Baltimore City since 1999. However, unspecified environmental concerns preclude using that site, so WBIS has applied for and gotten the permit to build a 50,000-watt four-tower array at the Dover Road landfill operated by Anne Arundel County. WBIS will have to hurry, Dave adds, since the station will lose the lease for its existing transmitter site this fall. Nations Radio is seeking a separate night signal site that requires changing its community of license to Garrison.

March 11, 2003
66 Snags Orioles For DC
Pax's Channel 66/WPXW will air 56 Baltimore Orioles games during the 2003 season. The broadcast schedule kicks off 3/31 when O's take on the Cleveland Indians. Tribune's Channel 50/WBDC had been the Orioles' TV affiliate for the DC market during the 2002 season. Viacom/CBS's Channel 13/WJZ and Sinclair-operated Channel 54/WNUV will again be carrying Orioles broadcast games in the Baltimore market. Comcast SportsNet is the team's cable affiliate, with some games airing on Allbritton's NewsChannel 8 in the DC area and Comcast's CN8 in the Baltimore area.

March 11, 2003
Brett Haber Joins 104
The new morning show co-host at Bonneville's 104, WWZZ/WWVZ, is going to be former Channel 5 sports anchor Brett Haber. Haber, who once co-hosted DC101's morning show with Elliot Segal, went back to (his native) NYC in 2000 to sports anchor on the CBS station there (with former Channel 9er Warner Wolf). But he recently lost that gig. Last we heard (late last year), he was still under contract to CBS doing sports duties, but there have been rumblings that he might like to return to the DC area. Haber will continue doing sports work for CBS and other media groups on the weekends. But, on weekday mornings he'll be partnered with current 104 morning co-host Erin. Erin's old partner, Dylan, has been jettisoned. Also, we're getting a reaffirmation that 104's format will not change, although the rockish nature of the modern rockish adult contemporary music playlist will be reinforced.

March 10, 2003
Stern Plus D&M Move To 105.7, 1300 Goes Sports
Howard Stern did his expected Baltimore flipperooni, going from 1300 to the new "Live 105.7." Frankly, Howie sounded a bit less than enthusiastic when he made the announcement on his Monday show about his new Baltimore FM radio home - while noting that he was on an Infinity co-owned AMer for "nine years." However, he didn't mention his somewhat lackluster Charm City ratings during that long period. WJFK-AM is now ESPN-based sports talk as "AM 1300 The Jock - All Sports, All The Time." It looks like JFK-AM's midday "Out To Lunch With Bill And Thrill" show is also moving to 105.7, along with "Don And Mike" for PM drive. Tom Leykis will air during 105.7's evenings, with "Coast To Coast" with George Noory in overnights. "Those Sports Guys" remain in 1300's evening slot. Hip-hop/rap had aired on 105.7 since September 2001, when oldies WQSR moved from the frequency to 102.7.

March 7, 2003
New News Director At 2
Channel 2 has a new news director. It's Andrea Parquet Taylor. She comes from Scripps' co-owned WXYZ-TV in Detroit, and before that WRAL-TV in Raleigh. Staci Feger-Childers left WMAR in January after her two-year stint failed to boost the station from its long-time third place news position.

March 4, 2003
13 Wins Baltimore Sweeps
From the Baltimore Sun: "Two strategic shifts at (Channel 13) WJZ-TV have sent the station's ratings surging above those of rival (Channel 11) WBAL-TV. Last fall, WJZ launched the city's first 4 p.m. news show and adopted a more serious tone throughout all of its newscasts. Now the early news program beats out WBAL's perennial winner, Oprah Winfrey's syndicated talk show, and boosts ratings for WJZ's evening news shows by capturing viewers who tune in early."

March 4, 2003
WNVT Might Become Digital Only
Commonwealth Public Broadcasting, which owns Northern Virginia public TV stations Channel 56/WNVC (MHz) and Channel 53/WNVT (MHz2), along with PBS stations in Richmond and Charlottesville, has just asked the FCC to extend the build-out of its digital TV services. And one scenario that Commonwealth is proposing calls for WNVT to completely cease analog operations on channel 53 and become a digital-only service via its digital allocation on channel 30.

March 1, 2003
Former Channel 5 Anchor Dies
From the Washington Post: "Larry Bryant, 53, a native of Washington who was a reporter, producer and anchor for WTTG-TV in the 1970s and host of the program 'Black News,' died of a heart attack Feb. 20 at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York while on a business trip. He lived in Canoga Park, California."

February 26, 2003
Channel 5 Wins Late News Crown
With a little help from the Fox network's "Joe Millionaire" and "American Idol," Channel 5/WTTG received the late evening news crown for the February ratings "sweeps." According to the Washington Times, the Fox-owned station, which is known for its sensationalist slant, posted a 59 percent hike and attracted an average nightly 204,000 households for its 10 PM 'cast. Channel 4/WRC's 11 PM news attracted 191,000 households, a 7 percent rise since February 2002. Channel 9/WUSA snagged 164,000, up 59 percent, with Channel 7/WJLA netting 114,000, a 30 percent jump. However, in other time periods WTTG's newscasts didn't fare as well. At 5 PM, WRC was 1st, WUSA 2nd, WJLA 3rd, and WTTG 4th. At 6 PM, WRC was 1st, WJLA 2nd, WTTG's "Simpsons" 3rd, and WUSA 4th. During the 5 AM to 7 AM period, WRC was 1st, WUSA 2nd, WJLA 3rd, and WTTG 4th.

February 25, 2003
Kitzmiller To WAGE, Draisey Leaves
Paul Draisey is leaving "Good Morning Loudoun" at Leesburg's WAGE (1200 AM). Ron Kitzmiller, formerly of Frederick's WFMD (930 AM), will be taking his place. He'll be co-hosting with Draisey this week, with Kitzmiller taking over the AM drive slot on Monday, 3/3. Draisey says that he's planning to focus on his own ad/PR agency and other non-radio business ventures. He tells us: "I will not be going to another station. I just need to slow down the all-day pace from 3:30 AM to 7 PM at night." Draisey's been at WAGE since 1971, when he was only 14.

February 22, 2003
Chikage To Boston
Channel 4/WRC weekend weather person Chikage Windler moves to Boston to be a meteorologist for NBC affiliate WHDH.

February 21, 2003
Fire At 2
The fire alarms went off at the Baltimore studios of WMAR/Channel 2 at 5:25 PM on Friday causing the building to be evacuated. For about 20 minutes the station ran an ID graphic. At about 5:45, the station's evening newscast resumed. News anchors said that a car in WMAR's parking lot was on fire and smoke from the blaze entered the building via an air intake vent. Haze filled the structure's second floor causing the alarm and sprinkler system to go off, forcing an evacuation. Police and fire officials quickly OKed the safety of the studios and the station's staff returned.

February 20, 2003
Stevens, Coleman Leave WJFK
WJFK-FM suits, GM Ken Stevens and PD Jeremy Coleman, have been officially given their walking papers by Infinity. The two, who had also been in charge of NYC hot talker WNEW-FM, had been on suspension since shortly after the Opie and Anthony sex-in-a-church stunt last summer. They had maintained offices at the Fairfax hot talker for "appearance" sake since the O&A debacle, but their spaces are now vacant. Alan Leinwand is JFK-FM's "acting" GM, with Jason Veazey serving as the station's "acting" OM/PD. WNEW dropped its talk format a few weeks ago and is playing current hit music while everyone waits for an entertainment-based talk/music format to debut.

February 19, 2003
4's Chopper Intercepted By F-15
CNN reports: "An unresponsive news helicopter in the restricted airspace around the nation's capital prompted a security scramble Wednesday by an Air Force F-15 and a US Customs Black Hawk helicopter, which intercepted the chopper over suburban Maryland. The helicopter - owned by local TV station WRC - was flying over the traffic-clogged Interstate 270 in suburban Maryland north of Washington and failed to respond to queries by radio from military crews patrolling the area, according Air Force Gen. John Jumper. Jumper, who is the Air Force chief of staff, and Secretary Of The Air Force James Roche were taking questions on a live radio call-in show when two drivers on cell phones called to report seeing the unusual movements of aircraft. Air Force officials said he North American Aerospace Command scrambled the F-15 and Customs helicopter. The traffic helicopter was identified and found to pose no threat to the region. As part of the stepped-up combat air patrols over Washington, Air Force fighters patrol at high altitudes, rapidly covering a large territory, while the US Customs helicopters patrol closer to the ground and at slower speeds."

February 18, 2003
Shermon Brodey Dies
Shermon Brodey, 66, director of marketing communications for Arbitron for more than 20 years, died 2/6 at his home in Annapolis. He had a heart ailment and diabetes. According to the Post: "After moving to Washington in 1961, he was an announcer for radio station WASH-FM. He was senior editor of Broadcasting Magazine from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, and also was an announcer for the Washington Senators."

February 14, 2003
Shev Val Radio Vet Dies
David Stanley "Stan" Marsh, 68, died on 2/9 after several years of poor health. A Luray native and long-time resident, Mr. Marsh was a DJ at Harrisonburg's WKCY and at Luray's WLCC. Also, he owned a Luray electronics firm.

February 13, 2003
Parr Picks Replacement For Olivia
WKYS morning man Russ Parr has reportedly selected Alfreda as his new co-host. She used to be the midday personality at a Dallas urban radio station, and previously was paired with Parr when he was based in Dallas. Alfreda replaces Olivia Fox, who was given the boot by Radio One a couple of months ago. Parr's show is syndicated nationwide.

February 7, 2003
Smooth Sailing For New WWVZ Tower
No members of the public even bothered to show up at a hearing regarding a plan to build a new tower for WWVZ (103.9 FM) in the Frederick area. According to the Gazette, Bonneville wants to erect a 120-foot steel monopole to replace two 80-foot towers at the High Knob section of Gambrill State Park. One tower holds an antenna for the Maryland Department Of Natural Resources, which owns the site on Gambrill Park Road. The other tower holds an antenna for Bonneville's WWVZ, which relays the signal of the DC area's modern rockish contemporary formatted "104," WWZZ (104.1 FM). The Gazette says that Bonneville wants to build one taller, unpainted and unlit tower for both antennas because of safety concerns about its aging structure.

February 7, 2003
CSN Goes HD
Comcast SportsNet launches a high-definition cable channel and will begin production of local professional sports, including the Wizards, Capitals, and Orioles. The initial CSN-HD local schedule will feature 20 regular season professional contests, beginning 2/17 with a Wizards afternoon game against Toronto. If you have an HD set and an HD cable converter box, CSN-HD will be available on Comcast's channel 172 in the DC/Baltimore area. Some of Comcast's cable systems already carry the HD signals of area ABC, CBS, and NBC stations, as well as WETA/PBS, HBO, and Showtime. An NBA HD channel is being added.

February 7, 2003
Larry LeSueur Dies
Larry LeSueur, a former CBS News radio reporter who was the first person to broadcast from the US beachhead at Normandy on D-Day in 1944, died Wednesday at his home in Washington DC of Parkinson's Disease. He was 93. According to Radio And Records: "LeSueur began his journalism career in 1936 as a writer for the United Press and was hired by CBS's Edward R. Murrow shortly after World War II began. In a series called 'London After Dark,' LeSueur, Murrow and Eric Sevareid reported on the nighttime sights and sounds of London during the Nazi Blitz. LeSueur also was first to report the liberation of Paris and covered the liberation of the Dachau and Manthauson concentration camps. LeSueur was later a CBS White House correspondent and was assigned to the United Nations before he left the network in 1963. He retired in 1984 after serving as a White House correspondent for the Voice of America."

February 7, 2003
Robert St. John Dies
Former radio newsman and author Robert St. John has died at his Washington area home of leukemia at 100. St. John joined NBC Radio in 1941 but was blacklisted in 1950 and spent 15 years in Switzerland, becoming a prolific author.

February 6, 2003
Harris, Pinson Leave 45
Channel 45/WBFF news anchor Tony Harris heads to Atlanta, where he'll do like duties for the CBS station there. And, Lori Pinson, a weather forecaster, is also leaving the Sinclair station. No word on her plans. Both Harris and Pinson could also be seen on co-operated Channel 54/WNUV's 6:30 PM newscast.

February 6, 2003
LaRue Has More Surgery
Tabitha LaRue, a news reporter and anchor at Fredericksburg country outlet WFLS, is recovering from yet another round of surgery to battle ovarian cancer. According to VARTV, she called the radio station newsroom from her Johns Hopkins hospital bed on Wednesday to say that "they got everything." She hopes to be released on Friday, with recovery at home for about two weeks.

February 5, 2003
Wagner Joins WXFB
Jennifer Wagner, who was given the boot from the evening show at Hearst's WIYY "98 Rock" late last year, has joined WXFB "B104.3." She'll do morning and afternoon traffic reports for the classic rocker and its Clear Channel sister, gospel WCAO "Heaven 600." Also, Whitney, who used to handle traffic duties for 104.3 and 600, becomes producer and news anchor of XFB's Max and Miles morning show.

February 5, 2003
Morris Jones Now Seen On 45
Looks like Sinclair's Charm City Fox affiliate Channel 45/WBFF has kicked off its 11 PM newscast. Dubbed "Newscentral Late Edition," it features elements from Sinclair's centralized news service, which is based locally at Hunt Valley and provides news segments to its 60+ TV stations around the country. Former Channel 5/WTTG anchor Morris Jones handles the national feed, which is added to a local wrap hosted by Jennifer Gilbert. WBFF continues its locally-based 10 PM newscast.

February 4, 2003
WJLA Gets New News Director
Bill Lord joins WJLA/Channel 7 as VP/news. He'll reign over news ops at Rosslyn-based 7 and sister NewsChannel 8. According to the Washington Post: "Lord was news director at the CBS affiliate KIRO-TV in Seattle. He was let go in May 2001 after failing to boost KIRO's newscasts above third place in that market, even though, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, KIRO frequently beat its competition on breaking news and its investigative work 'transcended the standard sweeps-month fear that aims to frighten rather than inform.'" Lord worked at LA's NBC station in the mid-1990s and once hired Bob Long, now the news director at WRC. Lord replaces Steve Hammel, who left JLA in November for a news director job at a Phoenix TV station.

February 3, 2003
Mickey Gets New Partner
Charm City native Amelia Ryerse, who hails from a Wilmington NC station, is joining evening man Mickey Cucchiella on WIYY "98Rock" as of 2/17. He's been doing the show with producer Don ever since Jennifer got the boot late last year.

February 2, 2003
WYSK Goes Latino, WKDM Goes Korean
A new line-up of Spanish language programming arrives at Fredericksburg's WYSK-AM (1350). According to the Washington Post, WYSK-AM is "the first all-Spanish radio station in north-central Virginia." However, the paper makes only a veiled, non-specific reference to WPWC (1480 AM) in Dumfries, a few exits up I-95, which kicked off its "Radio Fiesta" Spanish format last year. Andy Lazo, who is a host of the new "Latino Mix" format on WYSK, used to work at Rockville's WKDM (1600 AM), which has apparently flipped from Spanish to Korean programming.

January 30, 2003
Mega Sells WPLC
Mega Communications sells Silver Spring's WPLC (1050 AM) to Northern Virginia-based Metro Radio for $1.5 million. That leaves Mega, which owns a batch of Spanish language stations along the East Coast, with only two area FMers (WBZS 92.7/WBPS 94.3) and one AMer (WKDL/730). WPLC has been relaying the "Radio Capital" regional Mexican programming of WKDL. No word on what the new format will be. Last year, Mega had an agreement to sell WPLC for $3 million to Multicultural Broadcasting, which owns several local AMers including WZHF/1390, WKCW/1420, WKDV/1460, and WKDM/1600. But, apparently, that deal fell through. Mega, which is HQed in Silver Spring, also sells a Philadelphia AMer (WURD) while holding onto an AM/FM combo (WEMG) in that market.

January 30, 2003
JZW To Air News
ABC's smooth jazz WJZW will air newscasts from sister news talker WMAL. Starting 2/10, 630 anchor Michelle Basch will be heard twice an hour during 105.9's morning drive. "The strength of WMAL news brings a credible voice to WJZW, and provides an additional outlet for WMAL to showcase the importance of their brand," an MAL spokesperson tells us. Also, MAL will market (run spots) for JZW (and probably the other way around). Speaking of MAL, look for the addition of two news people in the upcoming weeks.

January 28, 2003
Ron And Fez To JFK-FM
It looks like Ron and Fez will be booked on the next flight from LaGuardia to Reagan National. Their flagship station, Infinity's NYC FM hot talker WNEW, has started stunting for a new format. A Monday announcement from the duo of risque evening talk - "To all our New York buddies: We just wanted to thank you for all the support and friendship that you have given us over the past several years. The Ron and Fez Show will no longer be on WNEW. We would have liked to have done a 'see ya' show to thank you all, but such is the radio business. The show will still be on the air on WJFK in Washington, DC." The NY Daily News adds that Infinity spokesperson Dana McClintock has "confirmed that Ron and Fez, WNEW's last live talk team, are moving to sister station WJFK in DC. This disappointed R&F fans, who have waged a spirited campaign to keep them here."

January 19, 2003
Allen Lands BAL News Job
Mike Allen joins Hearst's Channel 11/WBAL as its director of news operations. He comes from Channel 4/WRC where he's been manning the night news desk. A Baltimore native, Allen has also worked at Channel 5/WTTG and and Channel 13/WJZ, and at Salisbury's Channel 16/WBOC, as well as at TV stations in Jacksonville.

January 17, 2003
Hughes Joins Infinity
Michael Hughes, general manager of WZGC, a classic rock outlet in Atlanta, has been promoted to head the Infinity cluster in DC. That includes WPGC-FM and AM, WHFS, WJFK-FM, and WARW. Hughes's title will be senior VP/market manager. We also hear that WHFS/WPGC GM Sam Rogers adds senior VP/sales director duties for the cluster.

January 13, 2003
Allen Becomes WWLG/WCBM News Director
The Baltimore Sun reports that "substitute radio announcer Mandy Allen this week has become the news director for WWLG (1370 AM) and WCBM (680 AM), the Baltimore radio stations owned by the Mangione family. She says the station will have Frank Luber and Ken Maylath report more stories for regular inclusion in the news updates each morning on WCBM, the station with the talk format. As the antennas broadcasting their signals have been greatly strengthened - many people in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore can hear their programs for the first time - the stations' officials wanted to give a greater local feel to broadcasts."

January 13, 2003
More D&M On 1300, No More Rome
DCRTV hears that Baltimore's WJFK-AM (1300) is finally adding the fourth hour of Don and Mike's show. Starting on 1/20, D&M will run until 7 PM, instead of being terminated at 6 PM. And, the Infinity talker's giving the walking papers to Jim Rome's national sports show. A new local sports show will air from 11 AM to 3 PM called "Out to Lunch" with Steve Hill from "Those Sports Guys" and Bill Rohland. And, Mark Cizler joins "Those Sports Guys," which will now air from 7 PM to 11 PM. Howard Stern will still rule morning drive.

January 13, 2003
Radio One, Comcast Launch Black Cable Net
Radio One and Comcast plan to launch an African American-oriented TV network to rival Black Entertainment Television. Radio One's based in Lanham. It's the largest black group owner of radio stations in the nation. Owning some 60 outlets including WKYS, WMMJ, WERQ, WOL, WOLB, WYCB, and WWIN-FM/AM in the DC/Baltimore area. Comcast, based in Philadelphia, owns most of the DC/Baltimore area cable TV systems. And with its recent merger with AT&T Broadband, it's the largest owner of cable systems in the nation. The new network would take on BET, which is based in DC and is the brainchild of local media/sports magnate Robert Johnson. He sold the channel, which is available in 60 million homes, to Viacom (which also owns CBS and MTV and Infinity radio). Radio One has dabbled in cable TV before, with a financial stake in the struggling New Urban Entertainment network, also based in the DC area.

January 3, 2003
2's News Director Calls It Quits
Help wanted: news director at Baltimore's WMAR/Channel 2. The Baltimore Sun reports that "after two years on the job, Staci Feger-Childers has resigned, saying she had burned out in pushing to revive the station's flagging fortunes. General manager Drew Berry informed staffers of her departure during brief meetings yesterday morning." Feger-Childers, 35, said she'll stay in the area - her husband is a photojournalist at a DC TV station. She transformed WMAR's look ("ABC 2") and brought on many new faces. "Anchors Stan Stovall and Mary Bubala, reporters Anna Marie Chwastiak, Mark Vernarelli and John Rosson, and weather forecaster Colette Kennedy were all dropped. Meanwhile, the station added reporter Janet Swanson, forecaster Dennis Ketterer and anchors Brian Wood, Denise Dory and Jo Ann Bauer. Morning news host Jamie Costello returned to WMAR, while anchor and reporter Vernon Shaw came and left during Feger-Childers' tenure," reports the Sun. And the station's long slumping news ratings have seen an upturn. But apparently not enough for owner Scripps.

January 2, 2003
32's GM Resigns
After just eight months on the job, Adam Clayton Powell III has resigned as general manager of Howard University-owned WHUT/Channel 32. According to Richard Prince's "Journal-isms," university president Patrick Swygert said that Powell would remain as a consultant and head the search for his own successor. In a statement, Powell said he was able to achieve more than expected in relatively short time, including expanding local news, public affairs, and educational program production, creating partnerships and joint production agreements with other public and commercial broadcasters in the DC area, restarting WHUT's fund-raising and development department, and pushing forward with plans for the PBS station's digital service. Before joining WHUT last April, Powell was VP of technology at the Freedom Forum.
January 2, 2003
Paul Berry Does PM Drive On WTNT
Former Channel 7 news anchor Paul Berry is the replacement for WTNT PM drive host Michael Graham, who is moving to Richmond's WRVA radio. Several years ago, WJLA did not renew Berry's contract. Berry has been heard on WTNT as Graham's substitute host. We do hear that WTNT is looking for a permanent host to fill the 4 PM to 7 PM period. Clear Channel sources tell us that Graham just didn't quite "click" in the WTNT PM drive slot, and that a less political, more humorous replacement is being sought.....

January 1, 2003
New Sked For 53 And 56
Northern Virginia public television stations WNVT and WNVC (MHz Networks) are making some schedule changes for 2003. Channel 53/WNVT (also known as MHz2), which has been signing off most evenings at 6, will now be off the air all weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Its weekday schedule will be from 4 PM to midnight and will include a batch of Latino and Indian international fare, plus some educational shows via "open.tv." Over on Channel 56/WNVC (also known as MHz), the international (China, Ireland, Japan, Spain, Pakistan, Russia, Poland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Vietnam, etc.) fare continues most of the time, with educational shows ("MHz Learn"/"open.tv") slated to run between 1 AM and 7 AM on Monday through Friday. The station will sign off on Saturday and Sunday at 1 AM.

January 1, 2003
Hamlin Says Goodbye To 94.7
From our Mailbag: "Lost amid all the New Year's revelry was the fact that another longtime Washington radio voice signed off at the end of 2002. With no fanfare, Bill Hamlin, who worked for more than 30 years (!) at WARW and its predecessors on 94.7 (beautiful music WJMD and lite rock WLTT), did his last show on December 31. Bill, a graduate of Catholic University's esteemed drama department, will continue his on-stage work in local theatre productions. WARW's live all-night show is being replaced with a board op shift. Here's wishing all the best in the future to one of DC radio's true gentlemen."

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