Contents - Front Page - Mailbag - Recent Rants - News - Daveland - Support DCRTV By Dave Hughes dcrtv@dcrtv.com Rants from July to December 2008..... 12/29 - Your friendly webmaster has chatted with some local radio and TV gurus who gave us their forecasts for the next year. What we're hearing ain't good. Lots of layoff and budget cuts in the broadcasting biz both in 2009 and 2010. At historic, never-before-seen levels. Several local AMers will go dark, especially those stations who find that their transmitter site real estate is worth more than they are. Three local radio owners are set for meltdowns - Citadel, Nassau, and Clear Channel. Look for substantial sales, with Citadel possibly pulling out of the DC market. Look for Bonneville, which doesn't rely on credit financing, to make a major expansion in DC, Baltimore, and possibly even Philadelphia. We're told that Bonneville could pick up Clear Channel's WBIG, CBS's WLIF and WWMX, and Citadel's WMAL, WRQX, and WJZW. Satellite radio is in for a very rough year, although Sirius XM shark Mel Karmazin could defy the odds and keep his recently-merged firm afloat with a skeleton staff. No such hope for iBiquity's HD Radio, which will probably go the way of AM Stereo. Most-likely local radio format change candidates: WBIG, WTGB, WJFK, WLZL, WQSR, WCHH, WJZW, and WAVA. On the TV side, massive local cuts from NBC, Fox, and Gannett. Some replacement of local newscasts with syndicated programming. More infomercials, even during top-viewing hours. Might slumping Gannett put 9 up for sale? We already know that NBC is quietly shopping 4. Might CBS buy or trade for 4? Might 5's owner Fox sell 20 and buy 9? Could DC lose one of its four local TV news operations? We're hearing that the February digital TV switchover will be a huge fiasco, with many thousands of local TV sets going dark, and a significant loss of audience - particularly in the inner city and fringe reception areas - for the already slumping local stations. Look for big cuts at cable TV firms as customers cut back their level of services with the slumping economy. So, guys and gals, time to hunker down. Think 2008 was bad? It's going to get much rougher out there. 2009 will be a "game changer," we're told. The broadcasting biz will be a different beast when it's all over. "Happy New Year"..... 12/26 - I hear that CBS Radio DC honcho Michael Hughes went to bed on Christmas Eve, and was visited in his dreams by the ghosts of Jake Einstein, Frank Zappa, and Root Boy Slim who commanded him to restore the heritage progressive rock WHFS on one of CBS's local FMers by David Bowie's birthday on January 8th. On 94.7 or back to 99.1? Hughes awoke to find Ian Dury's "Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part Three)" playing on his bedside clock radio. Hmmm. Better do it, Michael. You don't want "the universe" against you. Happy Holidaze everyone!..... 12/25 - Yeah, it's another Christmas. I kinda stopped "celebrating" Christmas in 2004 after my ma died. With both parents gone, all four grandparents gone, me single and no kids, I just kinda find this particular holiday kinda depressing. Kinda "hammers home" the losses, you know. Yeah, I still got family. A sister and her two kids, and one of those kids with kids. They're all local and I see them many times during the year. But, when I get together with the family at Christmas, I come away kinda "blue." So, last year I changed things. I started a new "personal tradition" - "going out" with friends on Christmas. No gifts, no cards, no Santa stuff, no candy canes. My friends are kinda like me, grown tired of all the "hoopla," both familial and capitalistic. Surprisingly, there are quite a few restaurants open. And it's a big day for movies. I find the less "up" I get before Christmas, the less "down" I get afterward. Yeah, I "play down" the holiday and "get through it." So, if you still like Christmas, great! But if you're kinda like me, don't feel so bad on 12/25 - 12/26 will be here before you know it..... 12/22 - DCRTV hears: "Last Thursday, all of the managers at WRC left at 5 PM for 'a meeting outside of the building.' Turns out it was a holiday dinner for managers only, nothing for the staff. This in the wake of layoffs and buyouts on Nebraska Avenue. Also, Nissan has cancelled their sponsorship of the 11 PM "Nissan Sports Desk" due to the bad economy after only three months. The Nissan contract was to last a year, netting WRC close to a million dollars"..... 12/22 - CBS has four major FMers in the DC market. And in the latest PPM radio ratings it was urban WPGC in 15th, Spanish WLZL 16th, classic rock WTGB 20th, and guy talk WJFK 21st. I think it's fairly obvious that we'll be seeing "big moves" from CBS Radio/DC in early 2009. Format changes? Station sales? Could be quite huge. Stay tuned..... 12/19 - That mysterious two-day suspension of DC101 morning man Elliot Segal last week. Could it be because Elliot joked about running over the station's general sales manager with a bus the day before he got yanked off the air? "Baiting a listener into killing a fellow co-worker and then expressing joy in the thought of their death probably didn't go over so well," Josh at show fan blog EITMfans wonders. DC101 owner Clear Channel has remained silent about the incident..... 12/18 - DCRTV hears that Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski did their radio show from WMAL's Jenifer Street broadcast complex today. Could that mean that the DC Citadel talker is giving serious thought to running the new "Morning Joe" radio show in late mornings? Like WMAL's NYC talk sister, WABC-AM? Stay tuned..... 12/17 - Nevermind that his old (now defunct) 3WT (previously Washington Post Radio) radio show didn't garner the ratings gold he'd hoped, longtime Washington Post sports columnist and ESPN "Pardon The Interruption" co-host Tony Kornheiser (left) now says that he won't return to local radio until he steps away from the football broadcast booth at ESPN's "Monday Night Football." He tells Dan Levy's On The DL podcast: "I mean, I don't want to yo-yo. don't want to do it five months on and six months off, or five months on and seven months off, whatever the math is... I'm not gonna do radio until I can do radio forever. There is no radio as long as I'm doing football, though I'll happily be a guest on anybody else's radio show whenever they want me.... If I'm doing 'Monday Night Football' I can't take a paycheck from (Redskins owner) Dan Snyder (who owns ESPN 980)... But it also seems to me troubling that if his company owns the radio station and I'm employed ostensibly doing commentary on the National Football League teams, how can it not be a conflict?" For the past few years, Kornheiser had been doing his local radio show from January to June, leaving from July through December to do his "MNF" duties..... 12/17 - Titanic righty radio talker Rush Limbaugh (left) revealed today that he was missing from his national show on Tuesday, heard locally on WMAL, WCBM, and WFMD, because he was in DC attending a White House Christmas party with President George Bush and other GOP biggies. With Barack Obama and the Dems taking over in January, Rush added that he seriously doubts that he'll be invited back to the White House in the "foreseeable future... other than for an interrogation"...... 12/16 - DCRTV first tipped you yesterday. And now it happens. Baltimore radio veterans and one-time WERQ morning partners Marc Clarke (right), who recently got canned from Radio One's WERQ, and Troy Johnson (left), who recently got canned from CBS's WHFS, are back together on the internet. The two have kicked off a new blog - "Troy And Marc Off The Mic" at baltimoresun.com. Writes Clarke in one of his first posts: "A few days after America did something I did not think would happen in my lifetime - elect an African-American president - my employer did something that I had been waiting on for a few years: Fired me. People always ask me was I surprised and the answer to that question is no. They also ask me am I mad or bitter and the answer to that question is also no. In the nine years I worked at my job I made a lot of money, touched a lot of people, had fun, started a family and probably grew up a little." Look for a podcast and video coming soon..... 12/16 - A DCRTVer tells us: "Elliot (right) referred to his days off last week as that 'stupid suspension' on the air this morning... What happened at DC101? Why was Elliot apparently suspended for two days? Why does Clear Channel, or whoever is trying to run DC101, suspend their biggest, most popular personality for two days? Why suspend your morning drive DJ for two days? What's going on over there?" Clear Channel suits, who never talk to DCRTV anyway, remain silent about Elliot Segal's mysterious absence last week. The morning man says via his show's website at eitmonline.com: "Thursday and Friday, I was kicked off the air. Part of my being kicked off the air and suspended and then being allowed to come back in here today was that I can't say why." One listener tells DCRTV that the suspension could be because of a "Holocaust" joke recently made on the show. More as we hear it..... 12/16 - CBS Radio local sources are shooting down a flurry of new rumors we got late Monday that guy talker WJFK might soon flip to sports talk with a whole new line-up. The station's seen its ratings dip with the new preliminary Portable People Meter electronic radio ratings, which debuted in the DC market in September. The way DCRTV's reading it is that the local CBS Radio suits like the Junkies (right), Big O and Dukes, and Mike O'Meara and want to give the current line-up another PPM chance when the official electronic numbers are unveiled in January, with a new 106.7 antenna in place. However, CBS Radio's NYC suits may not be as patient. They've already flipped FM guy talkers, the last remnants of the old post-Howard Stern "Free FM" outlets, to sports in Baltimore, Dallas, and Detroit..... 12/15 - Where in the world is Bob Sellers (right), a morning news anchor at Fox's Channel 5/WTTG who got "let go" in July? DCRTV hears that he's now working as an investment consultant for a money manager in NYC. We're told that Sellers, a high-profile anchor who jumped to DC's Fox5 from sister Fox News Channel, saw the non-renewal of his contract as a news budget cut, despite rising AM ratings with him, Tony Perkins, and Alison Seymour in place. By the way, DCRTV hears that Sellers' departure will not be the last cut at Fox5, with a number of additional on-air and behind-the-scenes pink slips coming in early 2009..... 12/15 - So, Clear Channel is picking up WQSR from CBS. And what format is missing from the Baltimore radio dial? A full-blown contemporary hit format like what CC runs in DC via Hot 99.5. Looks like a likely bet for Charm City's 102.7..... 12/14 - On Inauguration Day, 1/20, the Washington Post will run a special "Welcome To The White House" section to celebrate the new president, Barack Obama. And it's accepting classified-type line ads from readers at $10 for two lines. However, WMAL listeners be warned. According to a full-page color ad on A28 of Sunday's Post, "Ads must be congratulatory in nature... The Washington Post reserves the right to edit, revise, or rejected any notice"..... 12/14 - Sports media columnist Jim Williams at dcexaminer.com: "It is time for the Nationals to move to WJFK-FM 106.7 and make them their flagship station. The CBS radio outlet could serve the team with plenty of promotion on all of their shows during the day. Players and management could appear on the programs and the marketing of the team could be front and center. The station has been good for the University of Maryland as well as Virginia sports. It certainly would be an upgrade from WFED. WJFK-FM can make a great partner for the Nats. They have the demographics - men 12 to 34 - which is just the audience the team is looking for in a flagship station"..... 12/10 - DCRTV hears that Kevin Klose, former president of DC-based National Public Radio, could very well soon be named dean of the Philip Merrill College Of Journalism at the University Of Maryland..... 12/10 - DCRTV hears that Alan Hay, who was vice president and general manager of alternative rock WHFS from 1988 to 1995 and the Ravens Radio Network from 1996 to 2001, has been named the advertising sales director for the Catholic Standard newspaper of the Archdiocese Of Washington. Since 2005, Hay served as the director of advertising networks for the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association..... 12/10 - The National Associaton Of Broadcasters recently backed a plan to hike the power of digital "HD Radio." Why? Because the power levels of HDR signals are so low that you can't hear them reliably on HDR radios more than five or 10 miles from a station's transmitter. Here in Fairfax County, it's tough to hear all of the DC area FM HDR signals, forget the HDR signals from Frederick, Winchester, or Baltimore. But, the reason those HDR signals are so low is that they produce an audible "buzz" on regular radios on either "side" of a station's analog signal. And that noise can make it difficult to listen to more distant signals. For example, the buzz on DC's 101.1 can black out signals from 100.7 to 101.5 in some parts of the metro area, making it impossible for some to hear analog stations from Baltimore and Fredericksburg. Clearly, it was a mistake for the FCC to approve a plan years ago to clutter the FM band with digital signals. However, it's obvious that the NAB is not terribly concerned with radio's listeners. It's marching to the tune of a small band of corporate interests. Perhaps, it would be better to "start over" with American digital radio to give it its own band somewhere else, separate from the 88-108 FM broadcast band, as is being done in the UK and other nations. One interesting plan calls for the allocation of the 76-88 FM band segment (now currently occupied by analog TV channels 5 and 6) for the exclusive use of digital radio signals. The FCC must not let HDR interfere even more with reliable analog FM radio reception..... 12/9 - CBS Radio is down to only two non-sports-oriented FM guy talkers - the DC area's WJFK and LA's KLSX. Just today, CBS flipped another remnant of the old "Free FM" post-Howard Stern FM talkers to sports talk - Dallas's KLLI. Coming not long after it ended the guy talk format in Baltimore - then WHFS, now sports talk WJZ-FM, 105.7. With a like move in Detroit, too. Don't forget, CBS previously replaced the guy talk format in NYC and Philadelphia with restored rockers. With WJFK's less-than-impressive Portable People Meter radio ratings, and lack of a strong FM sports talk outlet in DC, could the Nation's Capital be next in line for a CBS FM sports talker? Heck, the morning Junkies could easily go back to their original Sports Junkies slant. 106.7 FM, WJFK, already runs University Of Maryland and University Of Virginia sports. UPDATE: A mysteriously planned recent meeting of CBS Radio's DC and national suits was a hot topic on Tuesday's Mike O'Meara afternoon show on WJFK. Stay tuned..... 12/8 - OK, so media giant Tribune may file for bankruptcy protection (see our Sunday newsblurb below). And what if it decides to sell some of its TV properties to raise some much-needed cash? Who would buy Tribune's DC TVer, Channel 50/WDCW? Channel 4/WRC owner NBC? Nah. NBC is looking to dump many of its stations and WRC is reportedly on the market. Channel 5/WTTG owner Fox? Nah. Fox already has two TVers in DC with Channel 20/WDCA. Fox would be more interested in buying another DC VHFer and ditching 20. Channel 9/WUSA owner Gannett? If we weren't in an economic slump, it might be a real possibility. Slumping Gannett does own TV duopolies in other markets, but credit's tight right now for a major purchase. How about Channel 7/WJLA owner Allbritton? Hmmm. Now there's a real possibility. Since JLA is Allbritton's flagship, the addition of 50 could cement its dominant foothold in DC with its added ownership of NewsChannel 8 and the Politico. What would Allbritton do with 50? Keep it an indie or CW affiliate? Maybe. Put currently cable-only NC8 on the broadcast band? Maybe. Start up a Spanish language station? Maybe. Could someone from out of the market eye 50? A religious network, perhaps? Maybe another major network like ABC or CBS? Stay tuned..... 12/8 - Over the weekend, DCRTV told you that Channel 7/WJLA was planning to launch high-def local newscasts today. Well, it seems that the takeoff was somewhat aborted. A local viewer tells us: "WJLA completely botched the HD launch at noon. The HD signal did not work for the pre-show tease or the show open, after some scrambled video, the standard-def video was used. Then about three minutes into the show, there was no video at all for several minutes, just a black screen with the time and temp logo and audio. After the first commercial break, squeezed HD video with wings was on for a couple of minutes, finally the HD signal was found, but no audio for the rest of the block. About 12:20, they did manage to get audio, but it was with an echo which lasted until the end of the show. Let's see if they can manage to get it on clean for the 5 PM show"..... 12/6 - I enjoyed watching Citadel-owned WMAL honcho Chris Berry on Saturday evening's Chris Core-hosted "Weekend News" on Channel 50/WDCW. And, yes, I do agree with Berry that a re-imposition of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" would be wrong. The government, including the Federal Communications Commission, should not be in the business of regulating program content on radio and TV stations - period. I've said it before, and I just said it again. But, maybe we wouldn't even be having this discussion if radio management suits like Berry (who canned longtime MALer Core earlier this year) made a half-assed attempt to have some sort of diversity of opinion on their stations. Take WMAL. Every single talk host on the station, from 5 AM to 1 AM, is a middle-aged or older white man who leans to the right. No women, no blacks, no lefties. Perhaps, instead of foolishly asking the government to regulate which opinions should be heard on 630, listeners should instead take the issue to WMAL's local advertisers. If WMAL's sponsors start to bitch and pull their dollars, you can damn well be sure that Berry will jump..... 12/5 - Baltimore radio sports talk host Anita Marks (right) shoots down rumors that her move to co-host afternoons with Scott Garceau on the new sports talk WJZ-FM (105.7) is a demotion. "That's the way people perceive it because I'm in the second chair, but it's equal billing," Marks tells Ray Frager at baltimoresun.com. "It's perceived as a step down for me, but that's not the case at all." She also shoots down rumors that she and Garceau don't get along. And as for rumors that she'll soon be off the air? Her contract runs through the end of the Ravens season, she said, and CBS station management has been talking to her agent about a new deal. "As far as I know, they'd like me back," Marks adds, "and I want to come back"..... 12/5 - "I have two different birth certificates with two different names on them." Citadel's WMAL late morning host Chris Plante, talking about his own situation during his Friday show. Which focused on the possiblity that Barack Obama's Hawaii birth document is invalid and that the president elect is not a US citizen..... 12/4 - DCRTV hears from a source at 1801 Rockville that the morning man at 97.1 was almost about to make a donation to DCRTV until - oooops - he read this morning's jestful rant about how Cheap Channel could cut either Loo or Lori from the morning show to save some dough. How many times have we heard that one: "I was just about to make a donation to DCRTV until I read (such and such)." Pleeeeease. Hey, we love you Loo, but maybe not quite as much as we now love Jack. Although, we've never gotten a "lawyer letter" from Loo..... Talker WMAL is running an ad for a product that will remove up to 25 pounds of "spackle-like" crud from one's intestines. Aired during Rush Limbaugh's show. Yeah, WMAL is the perfect place to advertise that product, doncha think..... Oh, newser WTOP is calling itself both "Your Bailout Station" (regarding an economic bailout contest) and "Your Inauguration Station." Isn't there an FCC rule that prohibits a station from calling itself more than one of "your" stations at a time. Hmmm. Ha ha ha..... 12/4 - The radio industry is in big trouble with the slumping economy. I was tuning up and down the local radio dial and figured that many on-air personnel cuts could be made - and listeners probably wouldn't even notice. Take WASH. Why have both Loo and Lori in mornings? Loo alone would be fine. How many people does it take to announce Christmas tunes? Actually, Loo probably makes more than Lori, so maybe it would be better for Cheap Channel, er, Clear Channel to cut him and keep her. Likewise at the classic rock Globe. Do listeners really need DJs to tell them that they're listening to some overplayed band like Queen? We really don't need Marci to talk up "Bicycle Race." CBS doesn't have DJs on Baltimore's oldies Jack, why on the Globe? Over on WJFK, do we really need four Junkies. Would listeners really notice if there were only three? Or even two! And what about firing either Chad or Oscar and add midday co-host to Robb's duties? Does DC101's Elliot really really need Flounder? Over at WMAL, dumping Andy Parks and having Fred Grandy and Bryan Nehman as co-hosts would actually improve the show. At Hot 99.5, keep Kane in mornings, minus a few crew members, but have syndicated Ryan Seacrest run over and over and over the other 20 hours of the day. Would anybody really notice? Clear Channel could easily get rid of alt rock 104.3 in Baltimore and plug in DC101's audio. Ditto with country WMZQ on Baltimore's 93.1 in place of WPOC. How about making it "The Sports Reporter" (singular) on ESPN 980?..... 12/4 - DCRTV hears that DC rock radio veteran Jonathan "Weasel" Gilbert (left) will be doing a very special "The Weasel Who Stole Christmas" holiday music special on classic rocker WTGB, the Globe. On Christmas Eve from 7 PM to midnight. Within 94.7's special classic Christmas programming from noon Christmas Eve through Christmas day. You'll recall that Weasel hosted his rockish Christmas music special on the old progressive/alt rock WHFS in the 1970s and 1980s. Look for "Run Run Rudolph" by Keith Richards and Chuck Berry, the Beatles' Christmas messages, plus Christmas and Chanukah parodies from the likes of Bob Rivers, Adam Sandler, Stan Freeberg, Weird Al Yankovic, Spike Jones, and Dr. Demento..... 12/2 - Tom Taylor at Radio-Info.com mentions DCRTV's rumor yesterday that all-news WTOP-owner Bonneville is looking to expand its radio presence in DC, and that a swap between it and CBS and/or Clear Channel may be in the offing. Taylor speculates that CBS could swap its two LA AM newsers, KFWB and KNX, for Bonneville's KSND-FM, which was recently purchased from the DC area's Radio One. "If CBS could somehow add another FM (in LA), then Bonneville's long-rumored interest in the Washington DC and/or Baltimore markets could lead to a mutually agreeable swap. Clear Channel is also rumored - by DCRTV, among others - to be motivated to lighten up its own holdings in DC and/or Baltimore. One thing's for sure - Bonneville's Bruce Reese loves considering deals, especially swaps. He swapped out of LA once before, and Bonneville's the only big-market group with the financial capacity to swing deals right now. Bruce surely senses great opportunity in today's markets"..... 12/2 - DCRTV hears that WMAL/WRQX/WJZW owner Citadel is not only capping vacations at 2 weeks for all employees - except those with a personal services or union contract, it is also taking away free parking at its Jenifer Street DC broadcast complex. Beginning in January, all employees will have to pay $125 per month to park. Shouldn't be a problem for WMAL Program Director Paul Duckworth, who doesn't own a car, we're told. Citadel is facing a severe cash/credit crunch and could be selling some of its stations in 2009, we hear..... 12/2 - "How can you avoid... WMAL news..." Heard on WMAL at 12:02 PM today. Apparently, someone running the board at the DC talker mistakenly punched up an ad from local financial guru Ric Edelman ("How can you avoid the lies about money?") which got cut off in mid-query, just as newsman Mark Weaver started 630's local newscast..... 12/1 - DCRTV's already told you that CBS Radio is trying to sell its five Baltimore stations and that WTOP-owner Bonneville is interested in picking up possibly WLIF, WQSR, and maybe even WWMX. But, now, we're also hearing that the CBS-Bonneville deal could also involve the sale or swap of both firms' stations in other markets. CBS has announced that it's selling a batch of stations in middle and small markets. However, DCRTV hears that the agreement could still be a ways off - like summer 2009. We're also hearing that, while Bonneville wants the Baltimore stations, it wants more DC stations even more. And will wait to see if Clear Channel and Citadel, both of which are facing serious financial issues in 2009, might be selling some of their DC properties. The former has been rumored to be putting WBIG on the market, with talk that the latter, which owns WMAL, WRQX, and WJZW, could pull out of the market completely. Also interested in picking up some more DC stations? CBS. Even though it's selling its Baltimore stations. Stay tuned..... 12/1 - DCRTV hears that DC radio veteran Don Geronimo's Great Falls VA home recently sold for $1.22 million, below the $1.399 early November listing price. Geronimo and his late wife Freda bought the house in 1992 for $645,000. Geronimo, who retired in April from his long-running afternoon show on WJFK, has said he plans to relocate to a residence he owns in Ocean City MD..... 11/29 - This Thanksgiving, DCRTV's held its first "Who's The Biggest Turkey In Local Radio And TV" contest. Voting took place Wednesday through Friday - and the winner was WJFK afternoon man Mike O'Meara (right) with 25 percent of the approximately 1,500 votes cast. Coming in 2nd was ESPNer/Washington Postie Tony Kornheiser with 13 percent. Voice of the Redskins Larry Michael received 9 percent for 3rd place, while his boss, Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who also owns ESPN 980, took 4th with 7 percent. Taking 5th place with 6 percent of the vote were WJFK middayers Big O and Dukes. Tied for 6th place with 3 percent of the vote each were WMAL morning man Andy Parks and CBS Baltimore radio exec Dave Labrozzi. Tied for 8th place with about 2 percent of the vote each were FCC head Kevin Martin, Sirius XM head Mel Karmazin, CBS Baltimore suit Bob Philips, and WJFK's morning Junkies. Rounding out the final 26 percent of votes cast were several dozen other local TV and radio personalities, each receiving less than 1 percent of the vote. Due to space considerations, we won't list all of their names. Thanks for voting. And stay tuned for our second annual "turkey" contest next Thanksgiving. As they say, no publicity is bad publicity..... 11/29 - "He's Jack Bauer. He's everyone's hero." So proclaims Fox5's Tony Perkins in a currently-running WTTG promo, which aims to benefit those real anti-terror "heroes" who don't get so much media hype. Ah, Tony, "Jack Bauer" doesn't really exist. He's played by an actor. "24" is only a TV show. Time for a "reality check" for Mr. Perkins..... 11/26 - DC's Ted Koppel divorced yesterday from DC's Discovery Communications. So, where does DC's Post get its Wednesday article (page C7, not on its website) from? Ah, LA's Times. Those buyout cuts are showing..... "Joe The Plumber" has partnered with a website to make videos about how to hook-up digital TV converters. That's right. Got a TV problem? Call a plumber. Sheesh..... How about the classic rock Globe getting former morning man Weasel to do an HFS progressive rock holiday flashback show on 94.7 on Christmas Eve? Oldsters will remember Weasel's wonderful rockin' Christmas shows on the old freeform WHFS back in the 1970s and 1980s..... Oh, rotten old Borders is reporting a $175 million loss in the latest quarter. You know, put newspapers behind the counter and readers will go to Barnes And Noble to browse the news, instead. Inept retailers like Borders, who treat their customers with penny-pinching contempt, deserve to suffer in the slumping economy..... 11/25 - From today's "Pop Culture" Q&A at washingtonpost.com: Washington DC: "Any word if Tony Kornheiser (left) will return to radio after this year's 'MNF' gig is up? With no obligation to the Post, he's free to go to Red Zebra without any conflicts of interest if they'll have him, besides it's affiliated with ESPN anyways. I'd scrap Colin Cowherd in a heartbeat for Tony"... Paul Farhi: "I got nothin' for ya there. But your reasoning makes sense to me, on all counts." DCRTV adds: Kornheiser can't return to Bonneville, which owned his most-recent local radio home of now-defunct talker 3WT. And while the Washington Post would prohibit, as a conflict of interest, one of its employees from working at Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra-owned ESPN 980, WTEM, Kornheiser did recently take the Post's buyout offer and is no longer a fulltime employee. Some DCRTV sources say that veteran sports columnist Kornheiser could do an exclusive Sirius XM satellite radio show next year, after his ESPN "Monday Night Football" chores are done. Stay tuned..... 11/24 - Some local radio gurus are looking into their crystal balls for 2009. And they see a lot of station swaps. Look for companies like Clear Channel and CBS to swap stations in some markets. We have heard rumors that CC wants to sell low-rated classic hits WBIG. So, could that go to WPGC/WJFK/WTGB/WLZL-owner CBS? Or might WTOP-owner Bonneville do a swap with CC, picking up WBIG by unloading a station in another market to CC? Or will Bonneville buy WBIG outright, without a swap? Also, we're told that WMAL/WRQX/WJZW-owner Citadel will be selling some of its stations in order to reduce its heavy debt load. Maybe a DCer? Stay tuned..... 11/24 - Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth in an Aspen Institute roundtable discussion today - on the current state of Washington Post Radio: "The short answer is: It's over... It ended about six months ago. I guess you missed it a lot!" Ah, perhaps someone ought to tell Weymouth that the plug got pulled on WaPo Radio in September 2007. That's something like 14 or 15 months ago..... 11/23 - Back in the days when there was a Tower Records in Fairfax, I spent many hours talking music with the man who worked mornings and middays at the store. All I knew, back then, was that his name was Bill and he lived in Reston. He was an older guy, kinda strange for Tower, where most of the employees were definitely younger than me. But we grew to be good casual friends. Bill left Tower a year or so before it went belly-up in late 2006. And I ran into him several times while walking around Lake Anne in Reston, as he was walking his dog. And I'd stop and we'd have another long talk about music. Well, imagine my surprise today when I saw a "Missing Persons" poster for him on the door of the Lake Anne Pharmacy. According to Fairfax County Police, his full name is William Eustace (left), he's 70, and he left his Waters Edge Lane townhouse on foot at about 3 PM on October 25th and hasn't been seen since. A police helicopter and search dogs scanned the area around Lake Anne, which Eustace's home borders. He is described as white and 5-feet 7-inches tall, with white hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, a t-shirt, and bluejeans. Anyone with information is asked to call Fairfax Police at 703-691-2131. Wow. Isn't life strange?..... 11/20 - Chris Plante, who just finished voicing an ad for GM's OnStar on righty talker WMAL, launched into a major slam of the big automaker's attempts for a government bailout on his late morning show today. Hey Chris, if you're gonna slam 'em, don't take their money, too. It makes you just as "bad" as they are. Hypocrite..... 11/19 - If you tuned into Citadel's WMAL this morning, you got the feeling that it was going to be President Biden come January, with all the hype about Barack Obama's allegedly doctored birth certification. Yeah, according to nbcaugusta.com, former presidential candidate and Marylander Alan Keyes has filed suit to prevent California from giving its electoral votes to Obama until more evidence is provided to prove that Obama is a natural born citizen of the US. During the campaign, Obama did provide a "Certification Of Live Birth" that showed he was born in Hawaii in 1961. Yeah, I guess Keyes' filing is "news" and that WMAL should report it. But was it really necessary to spend so much time on it? Come on Grandy and Andy. The election's over. Move on..... 11/18 - We chat with a prominent independent local radio guru, who tells us that WTOP's Portable People Meter numbers are "astounding. I never thought I would see double digit shares again (in DC) - but we have them in overall, 25-54, AM Drive, PM drive. Wow!" Meanwhile, WTOP talk rival WMAL is sinking in the PPMs. We're also told: Look for MAL owner Citadel to sell some of its signals in 2009 "to try to save themselves." Over at MAL sister oldies WJZW: "Dumping smooth jazz has had two effects - driving the numbers on that signal down by half. Imus gets no ratings." Plus, the move makes Clear Channel's adult contemporary WASH a "powerhouse 'at work' station"..... 11/18 - A DCRTV spy on Jenifer Street tells us that Mix 107.3 morning man Jack Diamond (right) was heard ranting about a certain website today. Something about how this site is "mean-spirited" by not mentioning that his WRQX show was in 2nd place in morning drive in the new Portable People Meter weekly ratings. He also allegedly said that all we, er, this particular site does is "diss people." According to the latest batch of weekly PPMs that we have, age 12+, morning drive, Jack's show is in 3rd place, which is damn good. Behind only 1st place WTOP and 2nd place WAMU, and ahead of 4th place Loo Katz on WASH, who was tied with Kane on Hot 99.5..... 11/17 - Hey, with the news that Winchester's 610 is shutting down to sell its tower site to a real estate developer, what about the same thing happening to DC's 630? I don't know how many acres are there just off the Beltway in North Bethesda, but that plot of park-like land is probably worth more than the righty talk radio station. We once told you that WMAL's previous owner ABC did explore a decade or so ago the option of selling the land for a development of "mini mansions," with the 630 transmitter relocated to less expensive ground in Poolesville, in Northern Montgomery. To WMAL's current owner Citadel, which is in dire financial straits with its recent stock plunge of 95-ish percent, might a like deal be resurrected? Maybe move MAL to co-owned FMer 105.9 and shut down 630 for good. Might make cents, er, sense. Grandy and Andy in stereo! Hmmm..... 11/13 - Is that former WMAL News Director John Matthews hanging out at his old station today? DCRTV hears that he's doing fill-in reporting duties at the Citadel talker. You'll recall that Matthews got cut in that Citadel bloodbath back in February, after two-plus decades with the station. Might Matthews be returning to old 630 on a more permanent basis? Hmmm..... 11/13 - So why are all-news WTOP and news/talk WAMU doing so well in those new Portable People Meter electronic radio ratings for DC, while more talk-oriented stations like WMAL and WJFK are doing so poorly? We asked around, and the consensus was that in the old diary world people remembered the names of strong personalities - a la Rush or Don and Mike - so they wrote them down. But an all-news station is a "utility," with no real strong personalities, just reliable non-stop traffic, weather, scores, and news. And, with the old diaries, listeners did not remember to write down the all-newser, while they were more likely to write down a talk personality that they might not have listened to as much as they said they did. Plus, with a presidential campaign and a financial meltdown happening at the same time, all-news and news/talk radio are attracting even more listeners than usual, we're told..... 11/13 - If those new Portable People Meter electronic ratings don't show a quick improvement for the classic hits format at WBIG (100.3 FM), Clear Channel might sell the station or flip the format come 2009. That's what DCRTV told you yesterday. Today, we learn that two possible new formats that CC's DC suits are strongly looking at for BIG include rhythmic hot adult contemporary, a la WKTU in NYC. And a softer, rock-less adult contemporary sound. Softer and more nostalgic than CC's adult contemporary WASH..... 11/13 - One single DC radio station sells more ads than all of nationally-oriented satellite radio, with its dozens of ad-supported channels. That's right. According to Radio-Info.com, in their first two months of married existence, Sirius XM did a grand total $5.1 in ad revenue - putting it on target to bill about $35 million for the year. DCRTV has reported that all-news WTOP billed $51 million in 2007..... 11/12 - DCRTV hears that DC radio veteran Randi Martin, who once worked at adult contemporary WASH, is the latest layoff casuality at DC's XM Satellite Radio. She'll be gone from her morning show gig at adult contemporary channel The Blend by the end of 2008, we're told. Approximately 100 XMers have been given pink slips since mid-October. With more to come, we're hearing..... 11/12 - DCRTV is hearing industry rumblings late Wednesday that WTOP-owner Bonneville has submitted a bid or bids for the up-for-sale CBS Radio stations in Baltimore. As we've reported, Bonneville is especially interested in WLIF, 101.9 FM, and maybe also WQSR, 102.7 FM - stations that also cover a significant portion of the DC metro..... 11/12 - DCRTV hears that area radio vet Kathy Whiteside was seen strolling down Jenifer Street this morning arm-in-arm (figuratively) with her old radio buddy Steve Allan. You may recall that she once worked with Allan, who once programmed Clear Channel's WBIG, back when it was a killer warm-body oldies outlet. Allan now makes sure the "Scott Shannon True Oldies Automation Plug" is firmly plugged in at Citadel's oldies WJZW, which is on Jenifer Street. DCRTV just reported that Whiteside got budget cut from her midday gig at CBS's adult contemporary WLIF in Baltimore..... 11/12 - CBS is shooting down rumors that Anita Marks may soon be gone from new sports talker, WJZ-FM, 105.7 in Baltimore. She has been co-hosting the afternoon show with Scott Garceau, and, before that, had been solo-hosting the afternoon show on CBS's old sports talk ESPN 1300, now WJZ-AM. Several sources tell us that she'll be gone in December when her contract expires. There have been rumors that she and former ABC2 sports anchor Garceau don't get along. However, CBS Radio/Baltimore honcho Dave Labrozzi says it ain't so. He tells DCRTV: "Anita is (currently) in her office preparing for her show with Scott Garceau. There is no truth to the story and it should be noted on your site that Anita is enjoying working with Scott Garceau on the 'New Sports Radio 105-7, The Fan.' It is amazing how much interest Anita garners. Scott and Anita are enjoying the show and are excited about '105-7, The Fan'"..... 11/12 - We know that all-news WTOP owner Bonneville is on the prowl for more good-signaled FMers in DC (and Baltimore). And we're hearing more rumblings that Clear Channel is again looking at selling "weak sister" classic hits WBIG, the lowest-rated of its five FMers in the market. Might lightning finally strike? Our sources tell us that even if WBIG does not get sold due to the tightening credit market, the old music format is pretty much a gonner. Look for some form of talk, maybe even sports talk, to come to 100.3 in 2009. Stay tuned..... 11/11 - DCRTV hears that DC-Baltimore radio veteran Kathy Whiteside has been released from the midday shift at CBS's adult contemporary WLIF, 101.9 FM, because of budget cuts. Diane Lynn will replace her on Baltimore's Lite 102..... 11/11 - There are rumblings that WMAL is planning to put Curtis Sliwa in the 9 PM or 10 PM to 1 AM slot. Syndicated from Citadel sister talker WABC in NYC. Sliwa used to do the morning drive show on WABC, before Don Imus took the slot in December 2007. More soon..... 11/10 - If those new Portable People Meter ratings continue to show a major slump for CBS's Spanish FMer El Zol, and don't show a predicted jolt for the recently-resurrected classic rock format on CBS's 94.7, the Globe, then how about this in early 2009: El Zol to 1580, the new "Big Talker" to 94.7, and the resurrection of the dual market "real progressive rock" WHFS on 99.1? If CBS sees fit to "park" those legendary calls on 1580 for the time being, it must be thinking about putting them to good use sometime soon. Hmmm..... 11/10 - Today's New York Times listed the top 10 cable TV shows for a recent week. And most of the slots were filled by either Fox News' Bill O'Reilly or Nickelodeon's Sponge Bob Square Pants. I don't know what says about American culture. But, then again, maybe I really don't want to know..... 11/7 - A DCRTVer tells us that Don Geronimo's Great Falls VA home is back on the market. Listed for $1.399 million at redfin.com. The contemporary pad featuring "Geronimo's cave," an office full of high-tech wiring, a private phone line, built-in bookcases and cabinets, and a cigar humidor, was originally listed for $1.6 million. However, it was mysteriously pulled from the market in mid-October. Geronimo, who retired in April from his long-running afternoon show on WJFK-FM, has said he plans to relocate to a residence he owns in Ocean City MD..... 11/7 - Radio One's decision to cut a top-rated local show on a top-rated local station is downright scary and should send shockwaves through the local broadcasting community. If 92Q morning man Marc Clarke can get canned due to a budget-cut by a financially troubled radio firm, then nobody's really "safe." Not Elliot at Clear Channel's DC101. Not the Junks at CBS's WJFK. Not Ron Smith at Hearst's WBAL. Now, I'm not saying that all of the above will be on the unemployment line soon, but it seems clear that the radio biz is going to be making some very deep cuts in 2009. Local radio personalities like WKYS's Russ Parr and WJFK's Mike O'Meara will probably be in better shape since they have syndication deals as insurance polities. The stock prices of many media companies, including Radio One, have plunged, in some cases by more than 90 percent. And the upcoming recession is killing ad sales. If a mainsteam retailer like Target is posting significantly lower sales, watch out. It's going to be more cost-effective for stations to plug into a satellite and pick up a nationally-syndicated show, like WERQ will soon be doing with Rickey Smiley in mornings. And music stations will increasingly go for voice-tracking as opposed to a live and local DJ. Having live bodies at a local radio station is expensive. There's salaries, health insurance, unions, and retirement benefits. All that can and will get chopped by corporate radio "bean counters" when the axe starts to seriously swing. Run for your life..... 11/5 - Luckily, I get my Washington Post delivered via subscription to my doorstep. Because there were no local or national newspapers at any of the newsstands in my Reston neighborhood on Wednesday morning. No Washington Post or Washington Times. No USA Today. No New York rags - Times, Post, or Daily News. No Baltimore Sun. Obviously, snatched up by profiteers hoping to peddle the historical "Obama victory" editions on Ebay. The Washington Post will produce 350,000 copies of a "commemorative edition" that will available at local retailers this afternoon. Oh, I did find a copy of today's freebie Washington Examiner at a local library. Anybody want to buy it? I thought not..... 11/5 - Boo hoo hoo WMAL. What a bunch of losers! Despite the 18-hours-a-day of anti-Obama radio every weekday (minus the overnight George Noory show) for months and months, old 630's whole coverage area went for the Democrat. Even Virginia's Loudoun and Prince William. Fred Grandy, Andy Parks, Mark Levin, Bryan Nehman, Chris Plante - all complete failures. Time for those cheap bastards at Citadel to issue a batch of pink slips and pull the plug on righty talk and replace it with polkas or opera or Gregorian chants. Ha ha ha. But seriously, folks. Is it too much to ask Citadel to give us a little diversity on WMAL, to reflect the DC area! I'm not saying that Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity shouldn't be heard, but how about a lefty or two, some women, younger voices, and a few African Americans on 630's airwaves? Change is coming to America. How about it coming to WMAL, too..... 11/5 - Talk on 1580? Bad idea. Look, I've heard Michael Smerconish on Philly's WPHT and on cable news and he's great. But CBS's DC suits are making the same mistake that Bonneville made with now-defunct talker 3WT - they have a bad signal. It's AM, which is practically dead in the DC market, and it has weak night coverage. OK, so the new "Big Talker" 1580 will be battling Dan Snyder's talk WTNT for 28th place in the radio ratings. Ho hum. With the 1580 talk thingo coming right after the 94.7 mis-launch and crash of the alt-ish rock Globe, things aren't going too well for CBS Radio in DC. CBS needs to do this: Put talker JFK on 94.7, which better reaches the Maryland suburbs and move it in the sports talk direction. Then put El Zol on 106.7, which better reaches the heavily Hispanic neighborhoods of Northern Virginia. Restore the heritage progressive rock WHFS on the dual-market signal of 99.1 - the musically-intensive station it was in the 1990s, not the alt rock/talk mess it was in the early 2000s..... 11/5 - DCRTV hears that commercial all-newser WTOP and public radio news talker WAMU are seeing big ratings surges in the early round of those Portable People Meter radio ratings. The just-out "pre-currency" trend for the electronic PPM method, which was debuted in the DC radio market in September, show the following rankings in overall weekday numbers, age 12+: 1) WTOP, 2) WAMU, 3) WASH, 4) WIHT, 5) WHUR, 6) WKYS, 7) WPGC-FM, 8) WRQX and WETA-FM, 10) WWDC and WMMJ, 12) WGTS, 13) WPRS, 14) WMAL, 15) WBIG and WMZQ, 17) WTEM, 18) WTGB, 19) WJZW, 20) WLZL and WJFK-FM. DCRTV's take: Stations higher in the PPMs when compaired to the old diary method include WTOP, WASH, WAMU, WIHT, WWDC, WRQX, and WGTS. Stations lower in the PPMs when compared to the diaries include urbans WPGC-FM, WHUR, and WMMJ, Spanish WLZL, plus WMAL, WMZQ, and WJFK-FM. In other markets using the PPMs, there has been some concern that urban and Spanish language stations don't perform as well with electronic measurement..... 11/3 - With the flip of Baltimore talker WHFS (105.7 FM) to sports talk WJZ-FM today (newsblurb above), DCRTV hears that the WHFS calls will be "parked" on CBS Radio's co-owned 1580 in the DC area, currently WPGC-AM. Might CBS have plans to someday resurrect the legendary DC progressive rocker? You'll recall that the WHFS calls graced the 102.3 frequency during the 1970s and early 1980s when it was a freeform progressive rocker. And later on 99.1, as the progressive rocker became an alternative rocker. That lasted until 2005, when CBS flipped 99.1 to Spanish WLZL and the WHFS calls moved to the Baltimore area's 105.7, which was then talk by day and alternative rock at night. CBS/DC did try to get the WHFS calls from CBS/Baltimore in early 2007 for 94.7 when that station became the alt-ish rock Globe, but the call transfer never happened. DCRTV has reported rumblings that CBS is planning to put political talk on 1580, currently a relay of urban WPGC-FM. Stay tuned..... 10/31 - Today, Rush Limbaugh yammered that the reason that the Washington Post and other newspapers are seeing huge financial slumps is because they endorsed Democrat Barack Obama. Utter and total horseshit. Even newspapers who've endorsed Republican John McCain are facing the same slump. It has nothing to do with the current presidential campaign and everything to do with the sagging economy and readers' migration to the internet in search of "diverse" and "instant" news sources. Duh..... 10/31 - "Circular motion was involved." WMAL's Chris Plante jesting this morning with morning men Fred Grandy and Andy Parks about his interview with Sarah Palin. The GOP VP taped chat aired on Plante's late morning show Friday..... 10/30 - During his show today, heard via WMAL, Rush Limbaugh let out a cheer of glee upon mentioning that McLean-based media giant Gannett is cutting upwards of 10 percent of its workforce due to the slumping economy. We all know that Rush hates the lefty "mainstream" media - fine and dandy. But many of those losing their jobs are just ordinary folks who do non-media-related tasks. Folks with kids, aging parents, piles of bills, soaring health care costs, and devalued retirement investments. And soon - no job. That's an especially heartless thing for a very wealthy man like Limbaugh to say. Someone who has an estimated $35 million radio contract..... 10/30 - "We have turned a corner. He has found his 'voice' on 'Monday Night Football'." One of WJFK-FM's Junkies (we can never tell which one's talking) this morning during an interview of Washington Post sports columnist Michael Wilbon on the broadcasting fate of fellow Postie Tony Kornheiser, who does color commentary for "MNF"..... "I know family trees are truff (sic)." Rush Limbaugh today attempting to describe Obama's extended heritage. Heard via WMAL..... 10/29 - DCRTV has reported rumblings that Bonneville, which owns DC's all-news WTOP, is interested in buying some of the up-for-sale CBS radio stations in Baltimore. And, DCRTV has also reported that those five Baltimore stations may not sell due to the slumping stock and credit markets. However, Tom Taylor at Radio-Info.com quotes Star Media Group broker Peter Handy: "It's very difficult for any company outside of Bonneville to make a meaningful acquisition." Bonneville is said to be an "all-equity player" and less-reliant on obtaining credit. Which means that at least some of those CBSers in Baltimore could still change hands. We've reported that Bonneville is particularly interested in adult contemporary WLIF (101.9 FM) because its signal also covers much of the DC area. And classic hits WQSR (102.7 FM), which also covers a wide swath to the south..... 10/29 - So, what is CBS Radio going to do with 1580, WPGC's AM side? It's got a killer 50,000-watt daytime signal. Last month, the low-rated "inspirational talk" format got dropped for a relay of the FM urban contemporary signal. But, we were told that something "new" would be coming to the frequency. So what? How about talk! A DCRTVer has dropped a rumor that the slogan "The Big Talker" could soon be coming to DC's AM band. Well, that just so happens to be the slogan of CBS's Philadelphia talker WPHT, whose "big" signal on 1210 AM easily covers the DC area most nights. What if CBS was to put some of PHT's local talkers, like morning man Michael Smerconish, a frequent "Hardball" guest, on 1580, and replace WPHT's syndicated talkers (already heard on other DC stations) with talkers not currently heard here, like some from the now-defunct 3WT? Since 1580's night signal is on the weak side, CBS could locally market the station with the night signal of 1210, and also relay 1580 via the HD digital subchannels of either or both WPGC-FM and WJFK-FM. Interesting..... 10/29 - That ABC News Radio two-minute news report that WMAL ran at 7 this morning included the results of ABC-TV's "Dancing With The Stars." If ABC's top journalists really believe that reporting the results of an ABC-TV show merits "space" in the top two minutes of a national radio newscast - up there with plagues, terrorism, and election news, I trust their news judgment. I really do..... Oh, as for 94.7's return to classic rock. Why AC/DC every hour and almost no Beatles? Did CBS Radio take a poll of DC's radio listeners and they screamed for more AC/DC? You mean, all those gray bearded guys now in their 50s (who were in their 20s in the 1970s), clad in tight leather gear (ouch), actually rode their motorcycles to CBS Radio's Lanham HQ and staged a protest for more AC/DC on DC's airwaves? I find that really hard to believe..... 10/28 - WAMU has not quite given its blessing to that new Northern Virginia FM relay of its Bluegrass Country, but a station source does acknowledge that the American University news talker is "experimenting with a low-power analog alternative for BGC local listeners." Last month, the independent 250-watt Great Falls VA 105.5 FMer stopped relaying Towson University's adult alternative rock WTMD in favor of WAMU's bluegrass stream, which is carried on the web and on WAMU's 88.5 HD2 digital signal. We "don't want to raise listener expectations by formally releasing the information until we are sure we intend to stick with it. We should know something more definitive in early November," we're told..... 10/27 - "We don't get good ratings." So said Chad Dukes today on WJFK-FM. His partner, Oscar Santana, did admit that the midday team gets better ratings than any other recent midday show on the CBS talker. But, Dukes revealed, the two remain employed because they act as a programming bridge between the more highly-rated morning Junkies and afternooner Mike O'Meara. Plus, he added, he and "Big O" "work cheap," have a loyal audience, provide "bonus content" on the internet and via iPhones, and do loads of personal appearances, which advertisers like..... 10/27 - Last week, DCRTV told you that Erich "Mancow" Muller (left), longtime Chicago shock jock, got hired by Citadel to do the late morning, pre-Rush Limbaugh slot on its Chicago talker. Now, we're hearing rumblings that Citadel's DC talker WMAL (630 AM) may pick up Mancow for the same slot or evenings. By early 2009. And possibly even groom him as an eventual replacement for Limbaugh on Citadel's stations. Right now, Mancow's syndicated show is heard on Red Zebra talker WTNT (570 AM). However, DCRTV hears from several local radio gurus who tell us that such a Mancow move to MAL won't happen, and he's committed via his Talk Radio Network syndicator and a multi-year deal to remain on WTNT. We'll see. And, some more WMAL news: DCRTV hears that WMAL morning men Fred Grandy and Andy Parks aren't going anywhere, as they've just been signed to new contracts..... 10/24 - Great to hear DC radio veteran Chris Core guesting on Mark Plotkin's politics show on WTOP this morning. Might not be a bad idea to make the former longtime WMALer a permanent co-host of the show..... Frankly, WMALer Chris Plante gives me a headache. But they sure play some cool bumper music during his show. Including Canadian classic progressive rockers Martha And The Muffins' "Echo Beach" at 9:35 this morning. Now, if we could get a local station that would play the whole tune. Where is the old 102.3 WHFS when you really need it? Like Echo Beach: "Far away in time"..... 10/23 - You've got to hand it to WMAL's Grandy and Andy (right). Yeah, they're right-leaning talkers on a right-leaning station. But they had the guts this morning to bring up the controversy of Sarah Palin using Republican National Committee political money to buy $150,000 worth of clothes. Many other righty talkers/webbers have practically ignored the Palin duds issue. I just wonder how Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge would have hyped it if it was Michelle Obama instead of Palin who'd bought the clothes on the donors' dime..... 10/22 - From Gawker: "Matt Drudge, (the) nutty conservative weather-obsessed Miami queen blogger... (has) been an embarrassment. He highlights completely misleading bullshit and can't get anyone but the dumbest of bloggers to pick up on his pet stories"..... 10/21 - Two weeks ago, the Washington Times did a lengthy article about the sale of former WJFK-FM afternooner Don Geronimo's Great Falls home for $1.6 million. Then, several days later, DCRTV reported that the home got yanked off the market, according to what several local real estate gurus told us. Well, now the Washington Post has gotten around to reporting the news of the now-off sale. "We couldn't reach him, and his listing agent did not return several calls," the Post says in its 10/21 edition (page C3, not on the website). DCRTV guesses that Geronimo got mad when he saw so much personal information about himself and his late wife in the Times' real estate section piece..... 10/21 - DCRTV first tipped you on Monday. Now, a correction in Tuesday's Washington Post: "An old photograph was mistakenly published in the October 20 Style section with a Reliable Source item about Saturday's National Italian American Foundation gala. The photo of the late Jack Valenti with Mel Brooks and Alan Alda was from the 2006 gala." No correction for reporting that Valenti, who headed the Motion Picture Association Of America and died in April 2007, "mixed and mingled" at the dinner. Oh, the mistaken photo and caption were still up on the Post's website on Tuesday morning (right)..... 10/20 - DCRTV hears that DC radio and TV veteran Barton Eckert hasn't been doing his business news reports for WTOP and the Washington Business Journal lately. That's because he had surgery on his right foot in early October and is in a hard cast. Actually, Eckert injured his foot more than a year ago when he tripped on some cables in WTOP's "Glass Enclosed Nerve Center," which was being renovated. And the injury never completely healed. With Eckert only recently finding out that his foot was indeed broken and that surgery was needed. He expects to be out for about six weeks..... 10/20 - If Sirius XM is facing a huge credit crunch next year, how could it raise cash for survival? One of DCRTV's reliable sources tells us that the recently-merged firm has several major disposable assets - its DC real estate and its satellites. All would generate some cool cash for the struggling satradder. We already pretty much know that XM's music and talk channels will be replaced by their Sirius versions soon, so there'll be no need for the state-of-the-art XM New York Avenue broadcast complex. And, our source tells us that it's not out of the question that XMers would have to eventually trade in their incompatible receivers for Sirius versions, too. XM's birds, "parked" over the equator relative to the Earth's rotation, would be more valuable to other data and TV service applications than the constantly "moving" Sirius birds would be. Stay tuned..... 10/19 - Pardon me for delving into the political arena, but it's that time of the year and my concern is media-related. Agree or disagree with Sarah Palin, the reality is that if McCain, 72 and a cancer survivor, wins, there's a real chance that she could be required to take over the presidential duties in some form in the next four years. And, yet, during the campaign she has not appeared on any of the four major Sunday morning DC talk shows. Not "Meet The Press." Not "Face The Nation." Not "Fox News Sunday." And not "This Week." Yet she found the time to appear on the latest edition of a comedy show - "Saturday Night Live." I make no secret that I'm voting for Obama because I feel he'd make a better president than McCain would. However, I feel that McCain is qualified to be president, too. But the prospect of Palin running this country really scares me. And, what's even scarier is that her "political handlers" obviously agree with me by not letting her face the customary grillings from Brokaw, Schieffer, Wallace, and Stephanopoulos. If she's so afraid of the nasty American press, how's she going to handle real threats from the real bad guys like Iran, North Korea, and Al Qaeda? Whoa..... From the Politico: "Matt Drudge was long one of McCain's worst tormentors, but now he's become something of an ally. Perhaps most notably, (drudgereport.com webmaster) Drudge has in recent weeks seized upon any national polls that show the race close"..... 10/18 - DC TV and radio legends Mac McGarry and Ed Walker (left) reminisced about their years in broadcasting on Saturday during a National Press Club co-sponsored event at the Radio And Television Museum in Bowie MD. Walker, host of WAMU's "The Big Broadcast," worked with famed NBC broadcaster Willard Scott in the 1960s on radio outlets WRC and WWDC. They were known as the "Joy Boys Of Radio." McGarry is host of the long-running television program "It's Academic" on Channel 4/WRC, now in its 48th year..... 10/18 - Looks like DC radio legend Doug "Greaseman" Tracht is selling his Montgomery County digs, which feature a radio studio, now that he's landed the afternoon gig at a classic rocker in Jacksonville. The asking price for the Potomac pad is $1.495 million, according to local real estate records. However, we hear that the Grease may be staying in the DC area and merely "downsizing" his residence. Also, sources say that the Grease's house was on the market long before he landed the Jacksonville job..... 10/17 - Got a great idea for WMAL: "Andy The Plumber"..... 10/16 - All Access tells us that 18 boxes of company books, "Clear Vision: The Story Of Clear Channel Communications," arrived at Clear Channel's DC broadcast complex on Rockville Pike and a mass e-mail went out to everyone in the cluster to come get their complimentary copy. Rocker DC101 morning man Elliot Segal wasn't going to miss out on a great bit. Today is "The Elliot In The Morning Book Burning." Segal tells AA: "Apparently there are a lot of 'agencies' in DC that don't really like the idea. And, some of the Kool Aid drinkers tell me there is an agency in San Antonio (where CC is HQed) that won't like it either. What else is new? If I could get it sponsored they'd be doing flips." Update: Elliot used a wood chipper to dispose of the books..... 10/16 - Sometimes Drudge is a little too dippy for his own good. Witness a screaming headline on his site on Thursday afternoon: "Gallup's 'traditional' likely voter model shows Obama with a two-point advantage over McCain on Thursday, 49% to 47%, this is within poll's margin of error... Developing..." Ah, if Drudge had bothered to check realclearpolitics.com, he would have discovered that the Gallup Wednesday (!) "likely voters/traditional" poll gave Obama just a two point advantage. But two other Gallup polls, at the same time, show Obama up by six. Take your pick..... 10/16 - Speaking of the Washington Post, this is the first time I can remember that the paper didn't do an article on a quarterly Washington radio ratings report on the day after it was released. The "summer" book got released on Wednesday, and no Post article on Thursday. Granted, there was no earth-shattering news in yesterday's numbers, but that was something we could always have expected from the area's "paper of record." With Marc Fisher's recent decision to give up his regular "The Listener" radio column, and the long-ago demise of regular weekly radio round-ups by reporters like Jeffrey Yorke, the Post's coverage of local media clearly ain't what it was..... 10/15 - Today's DC Post tells us that Beatle Ringo Starr will no longer answer his fan mail. But it has nothing in the print edition on yesterday's bloodbath at DC-based XM. And, even more shocking, nothing on the website as of early today. Oh, we'll probably get a Paul Farhi piece later this week. Whenever. Yeah, the news will wait. But will the readers? The captain of the Titantic will tell you - it's hard to avoid the iceberg. Update: Marc Fisher did finally get something up later this morning about the XM cannings via wapo.com..... Speaking of the Post, there's a four-page ad spread in this week's TV Week for Ashby Ponds, a retirement community in Ashburn. The ad features several photos of people, all white, enjoying the life there. And a pic of two black cooks in the complex's restaurant. Oooookay..... 10/14 - A number of DCRTVers have recently noted that weatherman Tony Perkins (right) has been given a more prominent news anchoring role on Channel 5/WTTG's morning newscast. You may recall that DCRTV strongly hinted that Fox5 had much more in store for local TV/radio vet and American U grad Perkins upon his 2005 return to WTTG after doing the weather for ABC's NYC-based "Good Morning America." However, Perkins tells DCRTV that he is merely filling-in for Steve Chenevey. "It just so happens that, during a relatively short period of time, Steve has been out sick, has had jury duty, and now has a couple of vacation days. He will be back Thursday," Perkins adds..... 10/14 - Fox5's Tony Perkins. We all know he's a good buddy of WJFK-FM afternooner Mike O'Meara since their days as students at American University. And Perkins is a frequent guest on O'Meara's show. So, your friendly webmaster has a cool suggestion! Why don't Perkins and O'Meara change places for a day, with Perkins hosting the afternoon show on JFK and O'Meara doing the morning weather on 5? Hmmm..... 10/14 - DCRTV hears that the DC market office of Metro Traffic in Silver Spring will soon take over traffic reporting functions for Richmond VA and Greensboro NC, as parent Westwood One implements a round of consolidations. With Norfolk VA to be added to the DC office's duties by mid-2009. No word on the fate of Metro's Baltimore office, which is rumored to be shuttered in the wave of budget cuts..... 10/13 - Reliable industry sources tell DCRTV that the sale of those CBS radio stations in Baltimore and other mid-sized and small markets won't happen. At least until maybe late 2009 - at the earliest. Because of the current stock crisis, and the severe tightening of the credit market, radio companies that have been and are still solid - a la Bonneville, Emmis, Entercom, and Greater Media - can't secure the backing of big lending institutions for a purchase. That's not to say there won't be some more cuts at CBS Baltimore, but folks still working at WHFS, WWMX, WLIF, WQSR, and WJFK-AM will still be working for CBS for a good while longer, we hear..... 10/13 - The Washington Times reported Friday that DC radio great Don Geronimo was selling his Great Falls VA house for $1.6 million, as he relocates to Ocean City MD. "Adjacent to the living room is... Geronimo's cave, an office full of high-tech wiring, a private phone line, built-in bookcases and cabinets, and a cigar humidor." However, DCRTV hears that the real estate listing was withdrawn without a sale on Friday. Geronimo retired from his WJFK-FM "Don And Mike Show" radio gig in April..... 10/10 - We've heard that WTOP political guru Mark Plotkin has been having health troubles of late. But he sounded quite bad on Friday's 10 AM show. Slurring words, stammering. Really shouldn't have been on the air..... WMAL, which just loves to play thematic music tunes during its morning news items, played the Doors' "The End" during a economic assessment and stock market update on Friday morning..... 10/9 - DCRTV hears that Jessica Doyle, who did the morning show on Bonneville's now defunct 3WT talker, is now a DC-based freelance reporter for CNN Newsource, the CNN local TV affiliate news service. So you may see her on Channel 7/WJLA or NewsChannel 8..... 10/8 - So, I make my weekly visit to the Salvation Army store in Herndon today. (I find some neato cheap t-shirts there.) And I hear some way cool rock oldies on their sound system. Including a George Harrison classic. And I think, man, 94.7 is sounding better! They always play 94.7 in there, even when it was alt-rockish! The song ends and I find out it's 100.3 they're playing. I have never heard BIG in that store before! I guess they got tired of "Black Betty" every hour..... 10/8 - DC area voice great Dude Walker does a "retro" promo for ABC's new "Life On Mars" time-warp cop show. "It was a lot of fun emulating Ernie Anderson, you know - the old 'Loooove Boat' guy," Dude tells us. Check it out at YouTube..... 10/8 - Washington Post sports media columnist Len Shapiro has collaborated with ESPN 980's Andy Pollin on a book, "The Great Book Of Washington Sports Lists," which will be in stores on 10/15. Shapiro tells us that it includes "Dan Snyder's 10 greatest blunders, the top 10 all-time list of Washington TV sportscasters, (and) the top 100 all-time Washington 100 athletes." More at amazon.com..... 10/7 - DCRTV hears that Channel 45/WBFF has a job posting for a weekend sports anchor/reporter on its website. Does that mean that Amy Fadool is leaving her job as Fox45's weekend sports anchor/reporter? Could she be heading to Philadelphia, to work with Comcast SportsNet? Stay tuned..... 10/7 - "Herndon blows. I'll never live in Herndon." So said Jason "Lurch" Bishop, one of WJFK-FM's Junkies, on Tuesday morning. During a Junks' discussion comparing the alleged "ghetto" reputation of Herndon with its allegedly more upscale neighbor of Reston (which is where the DCRTV World Headquarters is located)..... 10/2 - DCRTV has reported that Nassau Broadcasting is rumored to be a potential purchaser of some of CBS's five for-sale radioers in Baltimore. However, Nassau, which owns a batch of radio stations in the Northeast USA, including Hagerstown's WWEG and Frederick's WAFY, has been unable to close on its recent $22 million purchase of a Reading PA station to "due to certain dislocations in the credit market," according to an FCC filing. So, maybe we should cross Nassau off the CBS radio suitor list for Baltimore, which includes Bonneville, Emmis, and Entercom..... 10/2 - Was that DC radio great Al Santos seen hanging around his old station? DCRTV hears that Santos, who got canned along with the rest of the staff of Smooth Jazz 105.9 back in February, is back at now-oldies WJZW doing behind-the-scenes board work..... 10/1 - DCRTV already told you that WJFK-FMer El Jefe was leaving his Saturday evening "Hideout" show, which he and J-Dubs do from Tampa. Now, we hear that El Jefe is heading to Atlanta rocker WKLS, where he'll join the "Giant Show" with former Ron and Fez producer Giant Brian and old Michigan friend Shafee..... 10/1 - My most vivid Olsson's memory? Election Day 1980. A couple months out of college. Had some friends over to my Reston place. Headed out to vote that morning and then into to DC. Stopped by the Olsson's in Georgetown to pick up Kate Bush's new album, "Never For Ever." Back when music was on vinyl (and cassette). Still one of my all-time favorite albums, which I now have a CD copy of (the vinyl's long gone). That night, I came back to watch Ronald Reagan upset Jimmy Carter (who I voted for) on TV..... 10/1 - If you were watching an excellent "Nova" early "space race" documentary on WETA-TV last night, you missed about 10 minutes. You see, there was a thunderstorm that passed over South Arlington, where the PBS station's broadcast complex is. WETA didn't go off the air, but it lost its PBS satellite feed for a short time. Affecting WETA's main analog signal, one of its standard-def digital subchannels, and its high-def signal. This is not the first time that a thunderstorm has knocked out the PBS feed from WETA. Look, a thunderstorm in northwest Washington doesn't knock out the network feeds for Fox on WTTG, NBC on WRC, CBS on WUSA, or ABC on WJLA. It shouldn't black out PBS on WETA either. Unless it's one helluva big boomer. Sheesh..... 9/30 - Ah, did anyone notice that financially-strapped Circuit City has just opened a new store in the Fairfax Town Center space formerly occupied by Tower Records, which went belly-up in late 2006. That storefront has been vacant almost two years. That can't be good karma for the electronics outlet. Oh, the former Tower space at Tyson's Corner is now a discount shoe outlet. Probably a better "fit" for the economy. With your investments in the dumps, you'll still need shoes. But you can take a pass on that HD Radio or Blu-ray player..... 9/30 - A source tells DCRTV: "Word on the street is that Sam Zell is planning to can another 100 people at the Baltimore Sun (and) baltimoresun.com in November. The rumor has been circulating around the marketing and advertising offices on Calvert Street"..... 9/29 - Regarding the bids last week for the five CBS Radio stations in Baltimore, which are for-sale. DCRTV hears that several are "new to the region." Could that mean Emmis or Entercom? However, our top radio gurus still expect WTOP-owner Bonneville to go after Charm City's 101.9 and maybe 102.7. One guru tells us: "There are no doubt a few good people left at CBS Baltimore. I feel sorry for those poor bastards... Believe it or not, most suits still have a touch of humanity about themselves. It hurts to have to tell people they are now jobless because of the economy or trimming costs before a sale. And, of course, you can't tell them that part." As for Bonneville buying in Baltimore. We're told that the firm "is itching to build another sports talker (it just announced one in St. Louis) and an oldies powerhouse somewhere. Baltimore would be ripe for either"..... 9/29 - Regarding the bankruptcy filing of the DC City Paper's parent, you could tell things weren't quite right with the freebie rag because it was getting more difficult to find. At least here in the wilds of Fairfax County. The freebie DC Blade is available at local libraries, at Barnes And Noble, and at Borders. But CP is only available at the latter. And, CP's distributor has been delivering fewer and fewer copies to the Borders locations. Often, the Thursday-delivered rag is gone by early Friday - even before the weekend's started. Advertisers have got to love that. And, advertisers have got to love the paper's new push toward the web. Ahhh, how many ads can you fit on a webpage? Nowhere near what you can cram on a hundred or so print pages. So, will the Washington Post continue its quest to dominate all local media and buy CP? And make it a freebie extension of its Friday Weekend tab? Hmmm..... 9/28 - I live in a condo complex. And, on Friday, some truck must have backed into my group mailbox, causing it to lean. That afternoon, I saw my trusty mailman filling the boxes and started to talk to him about the incident. No big deal, he said, as he used his strength to lean the mailboxes back upright. "You're name is Hughes, right? You do that website." At first, I wondered how he knew my name, but then I realized that he handles my mail, so he must know. Yes, I told him. He revealed that he was a big fan of Don Geronimo, and how he enjoyed the radio god's feud with your friendly webmaster a few years ago. Now, flash back a month ago, and I was in a Subway sandwich shop and introduced myself to a lady in front of me in line who was wearing a Count Gore De Vol t-shirt. "Oh, you're the guy who runs that website," she said. Yeah, it's a big world out there. But, then again, no it's not. We're all "connected" in one way or another. That's what I love about doing DCRTV all these years - it brings a whole bunch of strangers together. As one big cyber "family." We wouldn't recognize each other on the street, but, in a very real sense, we all kind of "know" each other! Amazing! Oh, my mailman? He said he really loves Mike O'Meara's new show, too..... 9/28 - A DCRTV source tells us that Allbritton's Channel 7 "WJLA eliminated five positions from their promo/graphics department on Thursday - two from promotions, two from graphics, and the director of creative services. News Director Bill Lord will now run the much smaller department (cut by one-third), with the promo manager and art director reporting to him. They also do promos and graphics for NewsChannel 8, and some stuff for Politico, so what was already a very busy department is gonna be even more overburdened. Tough to see a station that has grown so much start to tear itself apart"..... 9/27 - A DCRTVer tells us that DC area radio veteran Ed Rodriguez, who has been rumored to have returned from a recent radio gig in South Florida, was heard on country WMZQ on Saturday afternoon..... 9/26 - Redskins great and former "Monday Night Football" personality Joe Theismann (right) on current "MNF" personality and Washington Postie Tony Kornheiser (left): "I still think Tony's out of place. Tony was hired to do a job in a football booth that, first of all, didn't suit him. And it didn't suit the venue, the venue being football, period. Tony doesn't belong in a booth. What he adds and what he brings, OK, has a place. But it doesn't have a place in the booth, and I think he's gonna retire after this year. And you've got to remember, I got fired from ESPN because I talked about football. And now, their main emphasis after two years of trying to do it the other way, is going back to talk about football." From Dan Steinberg's Sports Bog washingtonpost.com..... 9/26 - "Sarah Palin's face has been carved into a cornfield." A news item this morning from WMAL's Bryan Nehman, who also spends his time voicing car dealer ads for his Citadel station. Shortly thereafter, when Nehman reported about that $700 billion financial buyout plan being doomed, his station played the ominous opening credits music from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." And it played the Mighty Mouse "Here I Come To Save The Day" tune to news that John McCain was returning to DC to solve the financial crisis. And it played "Money" by Pink Floyd underneath news that WaMu got taken over..... 9/24 - A reliable source confirms to DCRTV that DC radio veteran Doug "Greaseman" Tracht is alive and well. Despite the announcement of his demise on his station, Clear Channel rocker DC101, yesterday afternoon and a video on YouTube and wording on a Greaseman fan website that alluded he was a gonner. "Doug is still trying to put the pieces together," a source close to Tracht tells us. "Family members were in tears not knowing his true fate. He was making calls all night just to put things right. He was on his boat and found out about the story last night. He had nothing to do with the rumor and is not too pleased." And, Tracht told a radio trade pub today: "At first I was pissed and then I figured an overzealous Grease fan, or as I like to say, one of our Branch Doodadians, thought I needed extra publicity. But Good Lord, that's the last kind of publicity I'd want to have... This was misleading and twisted, and I'm really saddened about it - and have been on the phone for the last 24 hours telling everyone, including my family, that I am alright. I just did a bit with Elliot this morning on DC101 to dispel this rumor. Why can't I just put on my headphones like anyone else and go to work"..... 9/24 - Your friendly webmaster, DCRTV Dave, who is not known for his "social schmoozing," did make it out of the "cave" today to do a media panel discussion at the Trade Association Luncheon at Tyson's Corner. Talked about local radio and the new PPM ratings. Actually had a few nice things to say about WMAL, but not a word about the Globe (a big sigh of relief from CBS, I'm sure). Anyhow, I ran into some very cool people, including Frank Zappala, a local radio consultant, who has worked all over the local radio dial, including at the old "top 40" WLPL in Baltimore in the 1970s. He tells me that he advised former WTOP owner, when he worked at the then-Outlet Company station in the 1980s, to move from 1500 AM to FM. In the 1980s! Further proof that there are some forward-looking area radio folks out there, in addition to Jim Farley. And thanks to Marty Valentine for inviting me to the event..... 9/23 - Smells like a publicity stunt to us. But a DCRTVer tells DCRTV: DC radio veteran "Grease is DEAD according to DC101. Roche just went on the air at 5:24 (PM on 9/23) and announced it. UNBELIEVABLE. Words cannot express this fan's loss." Check out this video at youtube.com. "The Greaseman Remembered." And "Doug 'The Greaseman' Tracht... 1950-2008." Posted on 9/22. However, a Wikipedia entry, which was modified on 9/23, listed Tracht's mysterious demise as occurring on "September 23, 2008." However, at 6:36 PM (ET) on 9/23 the profile was modified again, and the death date was removed. Tracht has been doing Saturday mornings on rocker DC101. He's worked at many DC area radio stations over the years, including as Howard Stern's replacement on DC101 in the 1980s. A DCRTVer tells us that he drove by Tracht's Potomac MD home Tuesday evening and everything looked "normal"..... 9/23 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel will announce a new program director for classic hits WBIG at any moment. A source tells us that CC is going to do a "last stand" push for the classic hits format, which is slumping in the ratings, up-against CBS's even lower-rated classic rock WTGB. Look for a major marketing campaign for WBIG, in hopes of boosting the station with the debut of the Portable People Meter electronic ratings system this fall in the DC market. The PPMs have been known to jolt the ratings of rock-ish stations. But, if, next spring, BIG's ratings are still stuck in the dumps, it's widely-rumored that CC will sell the station..... 9/22 - DCRTV hears rumblings that some top Hearst radio suits are pushing for Baltimore AM news talker WBAL to do a simulcast on FM. Might this mean something besides rock on Hearst's Baltimore FM frequency of 97.9 in the not-too-distant future? Or, might Hearst be looking at picking up one of CBS's four up-for-sale Charm City FM frequencies for that purpose? However, a top 98 Rocker tells DCRTV that he's heard nothing about Hearst wanting to put BAL on FM or about his firm buying more Baltimore FMers..... 9/22 - DCRTV hears that WTOP-owner Bonneville is really interested in picking up CBS's up-for-sale 101.9 frequency in Baltimore. And may just be planning to keep the adult contemporary format on WLIF. But maybe tweak the signal to the south to put better coverage into the DC metro. Of CBS's four Charm City's FMers, 101.9 best reaches the DC area. To make it a dual-market signal, like the old alternative rock WHFS on 99.1 once was. And challenge Clear Channel's DC adult contemporary WASH. Stay tuned..... 9/22 - "The Political Browser"? Really dumb name. But a good idea. Kinda late, though. The Washington Post, which once "owned" national coverage of Capitol Hill, should never have let the upstart Politico get as big and important as it's gotten since the Allbritton entity launched its feisty website in early 2007. The big question is the Post's timing. Why now, as the crazy 2008 presidential campaign is coming to a crescendo? Why not have done the Post's political web expansion a year ago? Could it have something to do with new publisher Katie and new news editor Marcus? Well, better late than never, I guess. The Post, in many respects, is still a giant bureaucratic ocean liner in an internet full of speedboats. It must change and adapt to survive. Faster..... 9/20 - Murdoch's "pillar of journalism" endorses McCain. So, News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said he doesn't regret his New York Post endorsing John McCain, even as some say the Republican ticket is the weaker choice for voters concerned about the economy. More from The Live Feed. By the way, Saturday's edition of Murdoch's "venerable" New York Post featured a picture of rap star Sean "Diddy" Combs stepping in dog shit (right) on an NYC street. Ah, that's news? Oh, Murdoch also owns Fox News, plus DC's WTTG/5 and WDCA/20, and Baltimore's WUTB/24..... 9/19 - DCRTV broke the news. Now, the radio trades confirm the departure of Jeff Shamrock, the morning sidekick and executive producer of the morning show on Baltimore's CBS talker WHFS (105.7 FM). Due to budget cuts in preparation for the widely-rumored sale of the cluster. A Baltimore radio guru tells DCRTV: "The Kirk and Mark show is another one of (CBS Baltimore honcho) Bob Philips' expensive... pet projects. Sadly, Shamrock's former salary and benefits package dollars now becomes another towel to blot up some of the red ink." And the guru adds: "Corporate has recently invoked a CBS Baltimore hiring freeze blocking new hires, part-time to full-time promotions, and salary increases other than those guaranteed contractually. Those who leave - for whatever reason - are not replaced, which saves the company salaries, commissions, and health and benefit compensations... The tasks once performed by exiting employees are subsequently hoisted onto those still on site without remuneration." And, DCRTV hears that there may be some more budget cuts at WHFS come February, when Kirk and Mark's contract comes up for renewal..... 9/18 - Dear radio suits at that big radio convention down in Texas: It's OK to give Grandy and Andy an award. They're old guys and it wouldn't hurt to give them a nice little statue for the fireplace mantle at the end of the careers. Although, Grandy probably wouldn't have room due to all those "Love Boat" Emmys he got years ago. But, please, radio guys, don't give their station an award. WMAL is a crappy talk station. It only runs talkers that are conservative, white, middle-aged, and male. It's pretty much gutted its news department. And merely plugs into a satellite for much of its programming. It doesn't even do a local afternoon drive show. Thanks for listening, and don't eat any raw chili. I did that once at a broadcasting convention in Texas and was sick for a month. Hugs, Davey..... 9/17 - DCRTV hears rumblings that Kirk and Mark morning show producer and sidekick Jeff Shamrock is gone. Victim of a CBS Radio budget cut at Baltimore talker WHFS (105.7 FM)..... 9/16 - From the Over The Top blog: The ever-alert folks at Pro Football Talk were wondering about the joke that ESPN's Tony Kornheiser made on the air about the Spanish-language version of "Monday Night Football." The website notes that following a replay of the Felix Jones kickoff return for a touchdown with audio from the Spanish-language call of the game, Washington Post sports columnist Kornheiser said, "I took high-school Spanish, and that either means 'nobody is going to touch him' or 'could you pick up my dry cleaning in the morning.'" Wondered Pro Football Talk: "Did Tony just make a back-handed slap at Mexican immigrants, characterizing them generally as folks who come here only to do jobs like pick up our dry cleaning in the morning?... We're not sure whether the remark crossed the line. But it was too close to the line for Tony's own good... Regardless of whether he shouldn't have said it and what will happen next, Kornheiser offered up a bland, generic apology late in the game"..... 9/15 - "Do you listen to Kirk and Mark?" One of WJFK-FM's Junkies inquired of a Baltimore area listener this morning. When the response was in the negative, the Junkie replied: "You and everybody else." K&M replaced the Junkies in mornings on Baltimore CBS sister talker WHFS in early 2007..... 9/15 - "Too bad it's on ESPN. ESPN does not televise games. They televise those three clowns in the booth talking about the game." Radio talk titan Rush Limbaugh via WMAL today on tonight's Eagles-Cowboys game. Oh yeah, one of those "clowns" is DC media superstar Tony Kornheiser..... 9/15 - I just can't believe that the DC radio audience is crying out for "Cat Scratch Fever" every frigging hour, like what 94.7's playing. You know, classic rock doesn't have to be so mind-numblingly dull and turgid, as CBS seems to think. Considering the age of its target demo, it won't be long before 94.7 gets played in the hallways and public areas of area nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. You know, there is a way to make classic rock interesting and fun - and young. Like playing more "deep tracks" and more "current classics," such as alternative stuff from the 1980s and 1990s. Think Baltimore CBS sister Jack-FM without the disco-y tunes..... 9/14 - Is it really that difficult for a "world class newspaper" like the Washington Post to get the line-up of local radio stations that carry Redskins games correct? Sheesh. For last week's game, the Post told us that the Skins would be on DC's WBIG and Frederick's WFRE, like last year. Wrong. (And I never saw a correction.) For this week's game, WBIG is no longer listed, but WFRE still is. If someone at the Post had gone to the trouble of checking redskins.com, the Frederick area station is now WWEG. Plus, no mention in the Post that the team can also be heard on DC area outlets WTNT and WWRC. Not a big deal, but oh so very easy to get right - the first time. Takes just a minute to check via a Google search..... 9/12 - DCRTV has been reporting rumblings of big cuts coming to Westwood One's Metro Network operations. Now, we're hearing that the staff of the traffic and news service could be slashed by 15 percent, with the firm's 60 operations centers being consolidated into 13 regional hubs by early 2009. For a total savings of about $25 million. Says a local radio guru: "My guess is DC or Philly will be a 'hub.' If DC's the hub, then I don't expect many changes. If Philadelphia's the hub, I might think some of our favorite traffic reporters might be on the street, post-haste." But, another local radio guru tells us: "I am pretty darn sure DC remains. Jim Russ is too valuable a manager for Metro to lose. Don't expect any negative impact on (local clients of Metro's) traffic or sports. Metro in DC is going to be just fine." And a reliable local radio source adds that both DC and Philadelphia will be hubs in the Metro reorganization plan. However, DCRTV has been hearing rumors that Metro's Baltimore operations could be merged with the DC market facility in Silver Spring. UPDATE: DCRTV hears that a first round of cuts took place on Friday in Metro's DC office..... 9/11 - Kudos to WMAL "newsman" Bryan Nehman on his newest gig - voicing car dealer ads on the Citadel talker. You know, I think Nehman's finally found something he's really good at. What next, Bry? Public television pledge breaks?..... 9/11 - FishbowlDC tells us that DC media celeb "Tony Kornheiser's car was stolen from the ESPN garage in DC last week causing 'mad drama,' to quote one source. He dropped his keys in the garage, someone took the car, and now he's demanded extra security because he claims it's a stalker"..... 9/9 - Channel 5/WTTG morning news anchor Gurvir Dhindsa, and her husband, former Fox5 weatherman Tom Sater (all those rumors on DCRTV proved true), are just now announcing that she gave birth to twin girls back in late June. Virginia Grace and Lena Caroline were born 10 weeks prematurely and spent their first months in the neonatal ICU at Inova Fairfax Hospital. The now-healthy babies came home to the couple's Fauquier County home earlier this month. Sater, who got canned from Fox5 a few years ago, now works as a salesman at a farm supplies and tractor store in the Warrenton area..... 9/8 - "The word of my untimely demise circulated by your posters was erroneous bullshit. We were all at FM Talk 105.7 this morning. Kirk McEwen, Shamrock, and myself (right). Back from our 'unscheduled vacation' that we scheduled in February. Rested, tan, and still employed," Mark Ondayko tells DCRTV. That's in response to a trouble-making DCRTVer telling us that "Kirk McEwen was back on the air at 105.7 this morning, but no sign - or mention - of Mark." DCRTV first reported rumblings last week that CBS, which owns Baltimore talker WHFS (105.7 FM), is having "closed door" meetings about the future of the longtime Charm City radio duo due to their lack of ratings traction. Stay tuned..... 9/7 - DCRTV hears that the main signal of Redskins owner Dan Snyder's ESPN 980, WTEM, had been off the air from Saturday to midday Sunday. We're guessing that tropical storm Hannah did something to cut power to the AM 980 station's Hyattsville transmitter site. ESPN 980's two far-suburban FM transmitters on 92.7 and 94.3 were still working during the period. DCRTV has reported that Snyder's DC radio organization lacks a chief engineer..... 9/7 - "Magic." DC radio legend Donnie Simpson (right) in a word-association response to the word "radio." During a "The Inner Loop" interview on Channel 50/WDCW on Sunday morning. No, Donnie doesn't work for Magic 102.3, he works for rival urban outlet WPGC-FM, 95.5. He added that he never seriously thought about doing a nationally-syndicated radio show, preferring to make his top-rated local morning show the best that it can be..... 9/5 - We've heard that there's been a very nice response to the new nostalgic adult contemporary tunes being played by Potomac MD's WCTN (950 AM). There have actually been senior citizens from Montgomery County's Leisure World who've shown up at the station's Rockville studios to praise the format, we're told. But, we also hear rumblings that a brokered deal is in the works to put Korean religious programming on the signal later this month. Clearly, there's a radio audience in the DC area for Perry Como, Pat Boone, and Frank Sinatra. Might another area AMer pick up the format? What about Bonneville's 1050 AM in Silver Spring, soon to be without Federal News Radio, which is moving to the more powerful 1500 AM? You mean that one smallish AM station out of about 50 stations in a major market like DC can't program to seniors? That says something really sad about the radio biz..... 9/5 - Clear Channel's focus remains with rocker DC101 and adult contemporary WASH, the two top billing stations in the CCDC radio cluster. "Everybody else has been left to fend for themselves as far as support from 'on high' in the company," a CC source tells DCRTV. Classic hits WBIG "has always been viewed as the lowest priority station in the building," especially with the sale of the AMers to Redskins owner Dan Snyder. "Despite (WBIG) having a really strong signal, the company sees no value in it... and I'm not sure that the strength of the signal even factors into the company's decision of whether or not to sell"..... 9/4 - DCRTV hears that Bonneville is lusting after CBS's 101.9 FM in Baltimore. And maybe even Clear Channel's 100.3 FM in DC. CBS is reportedly selling all five radio stations in its Baltimore cluster, including adult contemporary WLIF. And Clear Channel has been rumored to have put classic hits WBIG on the market. Bonneville owns top-rated DC all-newser WTOP. Stay tuned..... 9/4 - Originally, Redskins owner Dan Snyder said he was planning to put his team on the six radio signals he now owns in the DC area: the three of ESPN 980 (980 AM, 92.7 FM, 94.3 FM), plus Spanish sports talker WXTR (730 AM), and talkers WTNT (570 AM) and WWRC (1260 AM). However, according to the Thursday Washington Post listing of radio stations carrying tonight's season debut, Clear Channel's classic hits WBIG (100.3 FM) will again be part of the team's radio line-up. Not so, says Bruce Gilbert, head of Snyder's Red Zebra broadcasting division. And, no, the Skins won't be on Clear Channel Frederick country outlet WFRE (99.9 FM), as the Post also listed..... 9/4 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel performed a mass execution at its Salisbury MD radio station cluster today. Market manager, head of ad sales, many more suits - all gone. We're told that Chuck Peterson has been brought in from CC's Winchester VA cluster to run things in the interim. More soon..... 9/4 - Interesting to hear Fred Grandy and Bryan Nehman talking up last night's heavily-hyped Sarah Palin speech on Citadel righty talker WMAL this morning. They did a fine job, but they sounded like they were reading the 'Prompter. Nice words of praise - but no fire in their bellies. Perhaps it's because neither is a true conservative. Where's real righty Andy Parks when you need him? On vacation?!?! On vacation the same week Citadel big boss Farid Suleman visits his DC subjects? Hmmm..... 9/3 - A source tells DCRTV that CBS Radio suits in Baltimore are conducting a series of "closed-door meetings" to discuss the future of the Kirk and Mark - Kirk McEwen, Mark Ondayko, and producer Jeff Shamrock. The morning show at talker WHFS, 105.7 FM. K&M are taking an "unscheduled vaction" this week, we're told. Might K&M be soon gone from HFS? We're told that they've been unable to gain ratings after leaving Hearst's 98 Rock in late 2006. And a budget-cutting CBS may see their contract renewal as simply too expensive. K&M jumped to WHFS in early 2007, replacing the Junkies, who were relayed from CBS talker WJFK-FM in the DC area. Which makes us wonder: Might the Junkies get returned to Baltimore? A CBS DCer shoots down any rumors of that. More soon..... 9/3 - Speaking of CBS Baltimore, DCRTV hears that management has informed the key staff of all five Charm City radio stations that they're definitely for sale. Over the summer, DCRTV had reported that CBS Radio is selling its stations in middle and small markets, including Baltimore. Including FMers WHFS, WLIF, WWMX, and WQSR, and WJFK-AM. We're told that the stations "will be sold once a suitable buyer is found." However, one longtime CBS Baltimorer tells us that he hasn't heard anything specific about a sale. Stay tuned...... 9/2 - DCRTV hears that Dan Snyder's Red Zebra broadcasting arm is heading into a Redskin season with no chief engineer on-board. We're told that the new CE it just signed is gone. Snyder plans to carry the Skins on his six DC area signals, including the three of ESPN 980..... 9/2 - DCRTV hears that Citadel head Farid Suleman is in town today touring his new acquisitions - talker WMAL, hot adult WRQX, and oldies WJZW. Might we be seeing more duties for WMAL General Manager Chris Berry, who's been seen smiling a lot lately around the Jenifer Street broadcast complex? Stay tuned..... 9/1 - A "Libertarian Republican" my ass. Bryan Nehman (left) is a friggin' Democrat! When I heard him this morning on righty talker WMAL talking up McCain's pick of Sarah Palin I almost upchucked my Cheerios. I realize that Bryan needs to "talk the talk" to keep his Citadel job, but come on, sometimes you just gotta stand up and say what you believe! Right Bry? I also feel that former Republican Congressman and Hollywood celeb Fred Grandy is no dyed-in-the-wool conservative, either. Maybe a "Giuliani-ite," which is basically a slightly righty-of-center Dem. Yeah, I do think there are some "real" righties at WMAL - Andy Parks (for sure), Chris Plante (reads those GOP talking points so well), and (the always crabby) Mark Levin, plus the syndicated talkers piped in from elsewhere. But the 630 morning show's Nehman and Grandy?!?! You may fool MAL's listeners but you don't fool me!..... 8/29 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel might just sell classic hits WBIG (100.3 FM) if the upcoming electronic Portable People Meter radio ratings, debuting in DC in September, don't show a serious surge for the station. In other markets, the PPMs have been good for rock-ish outlets. CC just sold its three DC area AMers to Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who, along with WTOP-owner Bonneville, would be the most-likely candidates to pick up WBIG. There are rumblings that CC almost sold WBIG to Snyder earlier this year, when he bought sports talk WTEM and talkers WTNT and WWRC. By the way, CC almost flipped WBIG to a Spanish format a few years ago, back when Bennett Zier ran the cluster. But that plan got nixxed by Zier's successor, Dave Pugh, we're told..... 8/26 - Well, learning that next-to-nobody's listening to the Nats (above newsblurb) via 107.7 FM and 1500 AM is not really a surprise. It does confirm that Bonneville's pairing of an AMer in a market where the AM band is almost dead and a rimshot far-suburban FMer only worked when the incredibly popular all-news WTOP was on the signals. With anything else, including talkers Washington Post Radio and 3WT, the pairing is ineffective. Bonneville is/was smart to put WTOP on FM-only, especially the inside-the-Beltway 103.5 signal. And Bonneville is making the best of a bad situation by breaking up the 1500/107.7 pairing, by putting Federal News Radio on the former and WTOP on the latter. More problematic is the radio future of the Nationals. The team is signed with Bonneville for the 2009 season. And again on the infamous 1500/107.7 pairing. And if the team stinks again, the radio numbers will continue to be dismal. Yeah, the Nats could negotiate their way out of the B'ville deal and move to Redskins owner Dan Snyder's ESPN 980, another pairing of a low-rated AMer with rimshot FMers. Bad news. Or maybe the Nats could move to CBS guy talker WJFK-FM, the former home of the Redskins and current home of University Of Maryland sports, which does need original programming in evenings. In my view, that would the "best bet" for the team's immediate radio future..... 8/25 - Was that former 3WT/Washington Post Radio Program Director Greg Tantum spied in Silver Spring lately? Still hanging around the DC area? We thought he was headed back to California, where he came from in early 2006 to program the heavily-hyped WaPo Radio, which lasted a year-and-a-half before sinking. Is Tantum still dabbling in the local news biz? Stay tuned..... 8/22 - Just heard a radio ad for Hooters that promises free wi-fi internet at area restaurants. Ah, if you're a guy glued to his laptop at Hooters, face it, you're gay..... 8/22 - The box that arrived at WTOP's Glass Enclosed Nerve Center contained four plaques from the Radio And Television News Directors' Association. But the Bonneville all-newser was expecting only three. It seems that the RTNDA forgot to announce that sports director Dave Johnson was getting an Edward R. Murrow Award for "best writing" for his "Dave's Take" commentaries. That brings to 33 as the number of major journalism awards won by WTOP so far this year..... 8/21 - DCRTV hears that the slogan "World Class Rock" could soon be gone, as CBS's the Globe rotates from alt-ish rock back to classic rock. And, no, 94.7 won't be going back to the Arrow moniker. Long live Bob Seger..... 8/21 - As for that rumor floating around that former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick has made a financial investment in Baltimore sports talker WNST (1570 AM), a local radio guru tells us: "Why would Brian invest in WNST? He does not live here any longer. He works for Fox sports and has a platform to do whatever he wants. If he really wanted drive the Ravens nuts he could command a big contract with WHFS-FM and ESPN 1300 AM. So while at this point the report might be right it makes no real business sense." DCRTV is told that Billick does still live in the Baltimore area. More as we hear it..... 8/21 - DCRTV's take on the DC-Baltimore area's top 10 radio rockers: 1) erockster - via DC101's HD2 - "wow" 2) 98 Rock - "solid" 3) WTMD - "progressive" 4) DC101 - "generic" 5) Indie 979 - via 98 Rock's HD3 - "cool" 6) WRNR - "HFS heritage" 7) WBIG - "robotic" 8) WZBA - "pretty good" 9) Classic 98 Rock via 98 Rock's HD2 - "uh huh" 10) Channel 104.3 - "hmmm" Somebody missing? Yeah, "disappointment"..... 8/20 - If 94.7, the Globe, is to be a success with its tweak back to classic rock, it needs a better morning show. Look, I absolutely love Weasel. All the way back to his days at the old 102.3 WHFS when it was progressive rock in the 1970s. But how about moving him to evenings to do a musically-intensive show, free of 94.7's playlist? Then, how about putting DC radio veteran Albie Dee in mornings! To do a banter-based topical show. Kind of like a "Mike O'Meara in the AM" or maybe a "Kane for folks in their 40s"..... Oh, I swear I heard Andy Parks let out a yawn at 8:10 this morning. See! Even he agrees that WMAL's morning show is way too often boring..... 8/20 - "He's the mayonnaise on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." A Washington radio programmer on Fox News superstar Bill O'Reilly. And his failure to generate any ratings on local radio..... 8/20 - With his local radio station - talker 3WT - going away, and his old local radio station - sports talk WTEM - now under the control of Redskins owner Dan Snyder, perhaps Tony Kornheiser (right) is looking to jump to Sirius XM satellite radio when he finishes his "Monday Night Football" gig for ESPN early next year. That's what Jim Williams is suggesting in the Examiner..... 8/19 - What was Pat Goss doing this morning in downtown Fairfax? Perhaps talking to CBS talker WJFK-FM about bringing back his Saturday car show after losing his slot on soon-to-be defunct Bonneville talker 3WT? Stay tuned..... 8/18 - DCRTV hears: "Surprise. (NBC News President) Steve Capus cannot tell a lie. BS! Not that Russert's passing hasn't gotten enough coverage. Word at the NBC News campus is that that Tim Russert's office - supposedly to be left intact - was demolished to make way for a new conference room. Word further confirms all the furniture in Tim's office was busted up so that no one in the bureau could use it or sell it on Ebay - nor was is offered for donation to the Smithsonian or the Newseum. Strange! The new bureau chief, Mark Whittaker, is having the old conference room built-out as his new office." That's at the NBC DC news bureau at the Channel 4/WRC complex on Nebraska Avenue..... 8/18 - Congrats to the Baltimore area's Michael Phelps and his eight Olympic gold medals. To be sure, you'll be seeing a lot more of Michael in the weeks and years to come as he appears on just about every TV show and in countless commercials. I'm not saying that Michael doesn't deserve the praise of all Americans for his amazing achievement. He certainly does. But, when you see Michael all over the media, take a moment to think about the thousands of young men in uniform who are Michael's age who have given their lives for their country in Iraq and elsewhere in the world in the past few years. These men and women have shown as much, if not more, courage as Michael has. And they've sacrificed even more. And yet most media outlets haven't even mentioned their names..... 8/17 - We realize that the Washington Post's readers are gradually abandoning the print rag. But, does the paper have to deliver such silly "filler" fluff on Sundays to attract younger demos? Like a piece on Channel 9 "news" anchor Lesli Foster singing karaoke in a Dupont Circle restaurant? Or yet another write-up on already way too over-exposed talk show host Larry King's secret of TV longevity? Or, how about more on the February 2009 flip to digital broadcast TV? This time, a somewhat hipper version. Whatever..... 8/16 - The time has come. News talk WMAL needs to move to FM. And now! Citadel must put the station on its 105.9 if it is to survive. Yeah, keep on it on 630 AM, but there is no longer any doubt that the AM band here in the DC market is near death. The traditional poor signal patterns, the product of the placement of DC's AM transmitters long before the rapid suburban sprawl of the 1960s through today, have become obsolete. Add to that the increasing electronic "buzz" of modern life, which makes AM unlistenable in many offices and homes. Witness the radio ratings. WMAL is the only DC AMer to register a significant audience. If the station is to survive and grow, it must move to FM. And the most-likely candidate would be Citadel's sister WJZW, 105.9, with its low-rated canned oldies format. All-news WTOP has already moved from 1500 AM to 103.5 FM. And sports talk WTEM is halfway there, with its 980 AM signal now available on two far-suburban FMers, 92.7 and 94.3. It's official: The AM radio band in the DC market is no longer a viable economic delivery method for major stations. OK, sure, it can continue to deliver niche stations - brokered and ethnic - to tiny audiences. But it's time for WMAL to make the move to FM..... 8/15 - Man, what's up with WMAL? Yeah, we know they're repainting the towers and the station's operating at low-ish power. But the night signal here in Wild West Fairfax, which was once absolutely flawless, now kinda sucks. I'm about seven miles from the transmitter and I can hear some other station underneath it on 630! And on Friday morning, the once-venerable news talker went into a "stutter" mode, with the transmitter blinking off and on at 8 AM for about 10 minutes. Jeez! Citadel - not quite ready for major market radio, quite obviously. And driving MAL into a big muddy ditch. You know, WMAL is the only DC market AM radio station that gets decent ratings. And, with the way things are going at MAL, in the not too distant future DC radio listeners simply won't need AM radios any more..... 8/14 - It's Masturbation Thursday! First, the Junkies on JFK-FM this morning revealed how long they go between JO sesssions. Six long days for Lurch, apparently. Less in-between time for the other (mostly married?!?!) guys. Then, our pal Marty Davis has a Chickaboomer clip from actor Ernest "McHale's Navy" Borgnine whispering to former WRCer Steve "Fox And Friends" Doocy about his secret for looking so young (not a day over 70) at age 91. Yup, you guessed it. He masturbates a lot. Way to go, Ernie!..... 8/14 - Columbia MD radio ratings firm Arbitron is preparing to launch its electronic Portable People Meter system in four cities this week, including the DC market. The first round of DC PPM data will be available in December. In other test markets, the PPM data has shown a dramatic decline in the ratings for radio stations that program to black and Hispanic audiences. So, it remains to be seen if the heavily African American DC market will continue to have four "urban" stations - WMMJ, WPGC-FM, WHUR, and WKYS - among its typical top five. Rock and adult contemporary stations, as well as white-oriented talkers, have benefited from the PPM methodology. And that could result in a ratings jump for stations like DC101, WASH, WBIG, the Globe, WJFK-FM, and WMAL. Stay tuned..... 8/12 - What's better than sex? "Listening to WMAL and drinking pina coladas." So said WMAL morning man Fred Grandy this morning. By the way, season one/volume two of "The Love Boat" gets released on DVD today. Grandy played the ship's purser, Burl "Gopher" Smith, on the 1970s romantic comedy/drama..... 8/12 - Is Rush Limbaugh sounding fainter? It's not your imagination or your radio. Our FCC guru tells us that Citadel news talker WMAL (630 AM) will be operating for the next month at only 25-percent power - just 2,500-watts - due to their Bethesda towers being re-painted..... 8/12 - When WJFK-FM canned Fox News talker Bill O'Reilly's radio show last year, station owner CBS got one - you heard right - one single e-mail of protest. That's what I'm told, anyway. Now, it looks like Bill's lost his post-JFK DC radio home, with yesterday's announcement of the demise of Bonneville talker 3WT. Obviously, low (no) ratings are the culprit. So, where will Bill end up next on the DC radio dial? Maybe one of Dan Snyder's weakish AM talkers, WTNT or WWRC? Hey, Bill, yeah, you get great ratings on TV cable "news," but nobody's listening to your radio show down here in the DC area. Noooobody. A little good news for the Keith Olbermann crowd..... 8/11 - Capitol Hill gossip blog FishbowlDC continues to hype its goofy "hottest" in DC contest, touting on Monday that more than 750,000 votes have been cast since last week. However, as of mid-day, 219,000 of those votes were for Media Consortium's Brian Beutler. That's 30 percent of the contest's votes for just one of the several dozen candidates among six categories. With many other poor saps receiving fewer than 100 votes. Of course, voters can vote as many times as they care to for themselves or their friends. Whatever..... 8/10 - Maryland court records show that former WJFK-FM afternooner Don Geronimo, real name Michael Sorce, got hit with a $290 fine for doing 90 in a 55 zone on eastbound Route 100 in Glen Burnie on 6/12 at 10:15 AM. A guilty plea was entered for the offense on 7/11, records show..... 8/10 - Lowered expectations. As a plain old classic rocker, 94.7 The Globe is pretty good. As we've reported, CBS has just tweaked the station from its alternative rockish stance to a more traditional classic rock niche. And, not bad, with the Clash, U2, Springsteen, the Pretenders, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madness, Stone Temple Pilots, and David Bowie. Apparently, gone are the handful of more adventurous alt-rockish tunes by the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, the Kooks, the Kaiser Chiefs, and Modest Mouse. The big mistake that CBS made was unfairly getting our hopes raised for the station. When it launched in February 2007, CBS DC radio honcho Michael Hughes promised us something with a musical sensibility in the tradition of the old free-form progressive rock WHFS. And we believed him. Silly us..... 8/8 - Capitol Hill gossip blog FishbowlDC is doing one of those "Hottest" contents. And in one category, one guy has, so far, racked up more than 78,000 votes, while some of his competitors have tallied somewhere in the 100-or-fewer vote range. Either he is supremely sexy and his rivals are hideously ugly or the FishbowlDC vote is something of a bad joke. Gee, you can hit the back button on your browser and vote many times for the same person. You know, when DCRTV does its Hottie contests, we make it a point to trash repeat votes from the same person. No, our system ain't perfect, but it ain't a complete fraud like FishbowlDC's is. Sheesh..... 8/7 - As I predicted in July, the Soviet Borders in Fairfax has put all of its paid newspapers behind the armed guards at the cash registers as of 8/1. Leaving only the freebie rags for folks to browse and read while sitting in the comfy chairs by the mag racks or at the Seattle's Best coffee bar. However, I noticed that the freebie Examiner is not available at the Fairfax bookshop. Why not? A prime opportunity to "get read" for the upstart tab..... Oh, I had a clandestine meeting in a DC area parking complex yesterday with a top local radio guy. And he revealed that I didn't appear "as scary" in person as he thought I'd be. Hey, I'm just a lovable bearded fuzzball with a shaved-head, combat cap, and camo shorts..... 8/5 - Loved listening to a bunch of JFK-FMers pretending to be local yokels in a spot for the Prince William County fair, you know, with a tractor pull and all. Including the voice of Mike O'Meara show producer Beth Ann McBride. Now, how about MAL's Andy Parks as an ICE agent checking citizenship status of fairgoers at the main gate?..... 8/3 - Here's a way for CBS to become the dominant TV/radio provider in DC. First: Flip 94.7 to headline-based all-news radio, like WINS in NYC. Second: After 94.7 has seriously damaged all-news WTOP's revenue and ratings in about a year, buy it from Bonneville and make it DC's more conversational all-news source, a la WCBS-AM in NYC. Oh yeah, also buy 1500 from B'ville and make that a relay of either 94.7 or 103.5. Then, third and finally: Buy Channel 4/WRC from NBC, which wants to sell it, and turn it into the "new" WTOP-TV, DC's CBS station. Now, CBS will own DC's top local TVer (4), two top radio all-newsers (94.7 and 103.5/1500), the top talker (WJFK-FM), the top urban outlet (WPGC-FM), and the top Spanish station (WLZL) in the Nation's Capital. There, wasn't that simple?..... 8/1 - Yesterday, DCRTV told you that CBS Radio announced that it'll be selling about 50 "mid-market" radio stations in the near-term. Today, radio trade pub All Access tells us that the five CBS stations in Baltimore are on an unofficial list of "likely" properties to be unloaded. Including adult contemporary WLIF (101.9 FM), hot adult contemporary WWMX (106.5 FM), classic hits WQSR (102.7 FM), talker WHFS (105.7 FM), and sports talker WJFK-AM (1300). Baltimore is the 21st radio market in terms of size. CBS's five DC market radio stations - WPGC-FM/AM, WTGB, WLZL, and WJFK-FM - were not on the unofficial list of spin-off candidates. DCRTV hears that if CBS does sell its Baltimore stations, Clear Channel could be a likely candidate to pick up some of them, to add to its cluster of WCAO, WPOC, and WCHH. Other potential CBS Charm City suitors: Greater Media moving down from Philadelphia, Nassau moving eastward from Frederick/Hagerstown, Bonneville or Red Zebra moving up from DC, maybe Entercom. Stay tuned..... 8/1 - Citadel news talker WMAL just loves to play cutsie pop musical introductions to news stories during its Grandy and Andy morning show. And that's fine with the lighter, somewhat amusing stuff. But not when you're heading into a story about female soldiers being sexually abused, like was heard this morning. Argh..... 7/31 - The best talk radio in the Nation's Capital? It ain't WMAL, which is an extention of GOP Central. It ain't WTNT, which carries a bunch of syndicated political loudmouths. It ain't 3WT, which is, well, just plain mixed-up. It ain't SportsTalk 980 or ESPN 980 or whatever it's being called these days. Or WAMU, which does offer some dense talk. No. It's WJFK-FM. CBS's 106.7 has one of the most engaging talk lineups in town. Or anywhere. Now, these guys on JFK aren't the same fat ego-bloated gasbags you hear and see all over cable TV spewing their bunkish bombast about politics, sports, and celebs. No. They're all actually, pretty much, regular guys. But if you listen, you'll find that they're much smarter than "talk radio superstars" like Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Bill O'Reilly. WJFK-FM's Junkies, Big O and Dukes, and Mike O'Meara - local and live radio from 5 AM-ish to 7 PM-ish - will surprise you. Yeah, sure, they talk about sports, cars, boobs, and booze. But if you pay attention, you'll also hear some very smart discussions about politics, the economy, relationships, and race relations. But what's surprising, is how interesting those "dry" topics are with the JFK treatment. For example, just today, Big O and Dukes were discussing the issue of how domestic car production affects the international balance of trade. But with their casual and conversational chat, you were probably fooled into thinking you were listening to a bunch of ordinary guys BS-ing. One of the reasons WJFK-FM's talk is so much more engaging than the other guys at the other stations is its "outside-the-Beltway" take on the DC area. You get the feel that the Junkies "know" what it's like to live here - to sit in endless traffic, to que for junk food, to get cut off on the Beltway by a mini-van driven by a distracted housemommy with a cell glued to her ear. They're not cheauffered around or invited to National Press Club fetes. Chad Dukes doesn't "panel" on "Hardball." Mike O'Meara doesn't spend weekends with Dick Cheney or do cocktails at Greta Van Susteren's. Look, I bash CBS Radio all the time. Like how it can't give DC a decent rock station with the Globe. But GM Michael Hughes and PD Chris Kinard really shine with WJFK-FM. It's not going to be the top station, but it will grow steadily. It's honest talk without the pomposity. Communication, not propaganda..... 7/30 - DCRTV's hearing rumblings of change at CBS's alternative/classic "World Class Rock" WTGB, the Globe. But CBS suits are denying that anything's up. The station's pretty much remained flat in the ratings since it transformed from the classic rock Arrow in February 2007. Some have speculated that CBS might be smart to flip 94.7 to smooth jazz, since the old WJZW (now oldies) got better numbers than the Globe gets. Nope, says a Globe source. CBS is sticking with the rock format until the rollout of the electronic Portable People Meter rating system in DC in late-2008. The PPM method seems to bolster the ratings of rockers. Then, CBS will re-evaluate the Globe after a full "book" of PPM data, we're told..... 7/29 - DCRTV hears that Baltimore-DC radio legend Johnny Dark (right) is no longer with Silver Spring-based Worldspace, where he did an oldies show. He opted out of his contract, we're told. DCRTV has reported that Worldspace, which provides satellite radio to worldwide places outside the USA, has been facing financial problems of late. We also hear that late paychecks are not uncommon. No word on Dark's future plans, since most local oldies radio stations (a la WQSR and WJZW) don't seem to want to staff themselves with real human beings. Over the years, Dark has worked all over the local radio dial, including at legendary "top 40" outlets WCAO and WEAM, and, more recently, at oldies outlets WQSR and WBIG..... 7/28 - DC's Channel 9/WUSA kicked off the new high-def version of "The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" at 6:30 PM tonight. But it had no audio. After a silent 20 seconds or so, they flipped back to old standard-def version. The HD was re-instated, with audio, at about halfway into the newscast. DCRTV hears that it was a CBS screw-up. "There was no audio coming in on the HD feed. (WUSA) switched back to SD right away. They finally got it straightened out about 14 minutes into the newscast," we're told. And, we hear that Couric's HD debut didn't go much better in Baltimore, where Channel 13/ WJZ takes the 7 PM feed of the newscast. After a few seconds of black screen, the SD version came on in the middle of a news report, we're told..... 7/26 - If the soon-to-be-merged SiriusXM wants to show that it's seriously going to "show the love" for its combined subscriber base, the first thing new CEO of the expanded firm, Mel Karmazin, should do is to take a batch of Sirius's most-popular channels - Howard Stern, NPR, NFL - and make them immediately available to XM subscribers on the XM platform at no extra charge. And ditto with XM's most-popular channels - Oprah, MLB, O&A - to Sirius subs on the Sirius platform. Do it from "day one" of the new married company. Since the two satrad systems are technically incompatible, it could be quite a while before XMers get Sirius stuff, and vice-versa, via new receivers. Mel, this would be a great way to get XM and Sirius subscribers "feeling good" before the receiver, programming, and billing hassles that will undoubtedly be coming with the new SiriusXM, or whatever it'll be called..... 7/26 - Just noticed that Friday's Washington Post finally ran a corrected local radio listing, long a gripe of yours truly. The "Greaseman" format was removed from WMET and replaced with "talk/international." The Grease left WMET last fall. He now does Saturday mornings on DC101. Among the changes, we also saw 1390 changed from Chinese to Spanish - three or fours years late. Plus Spanish on 1520, and the correct WPRS calls for gospel 104.1. A great newspaper demands accuracy - even with the "small stuff"..... 7/24 - DCRTV hears that Citadel DC news talker WMAL's former news director, John Matthews, can now be heard doing morning drive news on Hearst news talker WBAL radio in Baltimore. Matthews is doing fill-in work for vacationing news folk throughout the summer, we're told. Matthews got budget-cut from WMAL in February after two-ish decades with the former ABC station..... 7/24 - What I got at washingtonpost.com this morning: 7/23 - Kudos to Channel 9's Topper Shutt and Howard Bernstein for anchoring severe weather coverage on Wednesday during the 8 PM prime-time hour on WUSA's 9.2 digital channel (Comcast 203). As the rare occurence of two thunderstorm lines merged directly over the DC area, one from the west and one from the south and east. Yeah, Channels 4 and 7 both have digital weather channels, and they did flash radar warnings, but 9 went that "extra yard" with live meteorologists and it made all the difference. A solid public service from the Gannett station..... 7/19 - Beautiful sunny Saturday in mid-July. Cranking the volume on the car radio as you scoot around the Beltway. Flip over to 94.7 and what do you get? "Tears In Heaven" by Eric Clapton. What a frigging' downer of a tune! Oh, it's an environmentally-friendly "Low Voltage" acoustic weekend being sponsored by Sport Honda, which, of course, offers many environmentally-friendly autos. You almost wish that 94.7 would just sign off for the weekend, and save even more energy, rather that subject us to these sad, sluggish dirges about dying and death. If I was Sport Honda, I'd get my sponsorship money back. Man!..... 7/18 - DCRTV hears rumblings that this could be the last year for the Redskins game-day radio team of Sonny Jurgensen, Sam Huff, and play-by-play man Larry Michael. Next year it could be Mike Patrick doing play-by-play, with Joe Theismann and John Riggins adding color. At least that's what a reliable local radio source tells us. You'll recall that Jurgensen and Huff have been calling Skins' games for several decades, having previously been paired with play-by-play man Frank Herzog..... 7/17 - We had a covert mind-meeting in a toothless Fairfax parking garage with a certain PD of a certain FM talker who tells us, on weekends, he's added a one-hour racing show, a home improvement/real estate show, a two-hour mixed martial arts show, plus "The Hideout" and "Joe Radio," as well as two hours of BDK's movie show on Sundays. That's 11 hours of local programming, up from zero hours a year ago. Oh, and as for JP Flaim boxing JW Bobbitt? No. But if they do something "goofy" like that again, it'll be here, not in AC..... 7/15 - A sign that Borders Books And Music must be on its last legs. A sign in the Fairfax store proclaims that all daily newspapers will be kept behind the counter starting 8/1. Obviously, no more browsing of unpaid-for Washington Posts and USA Todays while relaxing at the Seattle's Best coffee bar or on the comfy chairs by the mag racks. Now, you'll have to buy a rag sight-unseen if you want to read it. Kind of like the way some stores treat porno mags. You know, big corporate bookstores like Borders should view their newspapers as a "loss leader" to get bodies into the store to browse for other stuff, like more-expensive books, CDs, and DVDs. Hey Borders, the clueless beancounters in your current management won't save your sorry ass with silly newspaper availability policies like that. Maybe Borders will go out of business and a batch of more-humane, locally-owned bookshops will take its place? I can hope, can't I?..... 7/14 - According to delawareonline.com: Washington Postie, ESPNer, and 3WTer Tony Kornheiser was spied at Rehoboth Beach's Big Fish Grill. While at the restaurant, Kornheiser didn't make too many friends, a source told gossiper Ryan Cormier. After announcing that he was "too famous to be here," a staffer finally found him a corner table to keep him from, ahem, all his fans. Once there, the type of crabs he wanted weren't on the menu and he allegedly said, "I want what I want when I want it." Cormier adds that his source swore he said that, but he'd be surprised if anyone could be such an "ass. Staffers had to go next door to the Big Fish Seafood Market to get Kornheiser his precious crabs"..... 7/14 - "I just don't want to drive to Fairfax every day of my friggin' life." One of the Fairfax-based WJFK-FM Junkies (we can never tell which particular Junkie said what) on today's morning show, about his overall career aspirations, which include developing a show for radio stations in other markets..... 7/14 - Might Redskins owner Dan Snyder face a legal hurdle at the Federal Communications Commission for the approval for the license transfer of SportsTalk 980 WTEM from Clear Channel to his Red Zebra firm from those opposed to the name of his team? Those who claim that "Redskin" is a "racially derogatory" reference to American natives say they will take their case to the FCC to challenge broadcast licenses of stations that carry the DC team. And, now, with Snyder a station owner, could he be the group's top target? A federal judge recently ruled against a group of native Americans that was challenging the team's name in court. Snyder currently operates WTEM under a lease agreement while he awaits the FCC's OK for the license transfer. If and when the deal is approved, Snyder will own six radio stations in the DC area. More at pr-inside.com..... 7/12 - Very early one morning a few years ago, I was awakened by the ringing phone. Just as I came to my senses, I realized that it was Tony Snow. He was calling to ask questions about a report running on DCRTV that claimed that WMAL was interested in picking up his Fox radio talk show, which had been running on WTNT. This was before he got the White House press secretary gig. Despite the fact that I had good-naturedly jabbed Snow and his righty politics several times in my Rant column, he was very friendly and said he loved the site. Damn, what a nice guy. Very sorry to see him go..... 7/11 - Checked out DC101's wonderful new erockster progressive rockish HD2 channel today and found it missing from 101.1's signal. Ditto with WTOP's HD3 traffic and weather channel on 103.5. What's even more pathetic about the "here-one-day-and-gone-the-next" status of local HD Radio channels is that I'm probably the only one who's noticing the absences. Man..... 7/10 - Fire drill. So, let's see. If there was a major emergency in the DC area, where would you turn for important information? WMAL, maybe? Its 630 low-band AM news talk signal does cover most of the metro area pretty darn good. Well, something knocked WMAL off the air for five minutes this morning at 8:15. Dead air, baby. No auxiliary transmitter immediately kicked in. Probably a power outage at the Bethesda transmitter site, since its sister FMers, WRQX and WJZW, with different transmitter sites, weren't affected. If something can knock 630 off the air, even for just a few minutes, is WMAL really ready for a real emergency in the Nation's Capital? Maybe WMAL's new owner Citadel should check into that..... 7/9 - Oh, lookie lookie. Via a quarter-page ad today on page A12, the Washington Post is hyping a "12-chapter serial" starting Sunday on "Who Killed Chandra Levy." OK, sure, if there's some legitimate new development on the missing/murdered DC intern who disappeared in 2001, please do report it. But drawing out the coverage into an almost two-week editorial "campaign" sure smacks of a Greta Van Susteren-esque exploitation of unseemly personal tragedy. Let me guess, a Postie has penned a book on the topic, right? I realize that the Post's circulation is slumping, but this is not the way to fix it. Man..... 7/9 - I hate to praise the evil rotten corporate bastards at Clear Channel, or the empty company suits who run DC's generic-sounding rocker DC101, but WWDC-FM's HD2 channel is absolutely magnificent, brilliant, and fantastic. If you're looking for adventurous progressive-ish rock, mixed with other cool genres in a fuckingly cool and imaginative way, with no commercials, then erockster is for you. It makes CBS Radio's the Globe 94.7 sound like a deflated beach ball slumping in the window of a dullish beach supplies store managed by Dan Mason. If you love really "out there" alt rock on the electronic and psychedelic fringe, and love to be sonically surprised, like I do, erockster alone is worth the several hundred bucks for an HD Radio. But why do that? You can listen for free on the erockster's website. Wow...... 7/9 - DCRTV hears rumblings that Fox News DC news icon Brit Hume (right) may be scaling back his workload after the current presidential campaign ends. Our sources tell us that the Rupert Murdoch-owned news channel "is doing high-level, private focus groups" to find a replacement for the Hume VA native on "Fox News Sunday." No word on whether he'll cut back his four-day-per-week hosting chores for the 6 PM "Special Report" show..... 7/8 - USA Today is just getting around to discovering broadcast digital HD Radio. With three articles in today's rag. And, yeah, it sounds great "on paper." They list a whole bunch of cool digital channels being done by stations around the country. However, the "catch" is that you'll only be able to hear the HD Radio channels in your area - if that. This ain't satellite radio, where you can hear everything everywhere. The USA Today articles didn't address the poor reception characteristics of HD Radio, although there are plans afoot to boost the power of stations' digital signals. Here in Fairfax County, I have difficulty receiving some DC area HD Radio signals some of the time. And, sometimes, area stations' HD signals mysteriously go away for days or weeks at a time. And forget about picking up the digital signals from anywhere other than the immediate DC area, like Baltimore, Frederick, or Fredericksburg. And the articles didn't mention that many stations' HD Radio signals sound canned and boring. And, still, many stations offer only their main signal in HD, with no HD2 or HD3 alternatives. Yeah, some local HD offerings like DC101's alt rock-ish mix channel, WAMU's bluegrass and news channels, 98 Rock's alt and classic channels, WHUR's World offering, and WTOP's traffic and weather channel are quite cool. But take it from someone who's been listening to DC area HD Radio for about a year. After plunking down $100 to $300 for an HD Radio receiver, the chances are quite good that you're going to be disappointed..... 7/7 - I'd like to welcome Dave Wellington to town to program DC101 and Channel 104.3. Dave, you won't have much to do on the DC end since DC101 pretty much programs itself. Plus, the pretty much generic rocker has no real competition in the Nation's Capital, unless you think that hardish hot adult contemporary "Voices Carry 94.7" is competition. Ha ha ha. You will have your work cut out for you in Baltimore, Dave, as the new WCHH is up against Baltimore's three-decade rock steamroller 98 Rock, WIYY, which does seem to be playing more alt rock of late, along with the harder stuff Baltimoreans so love. Plus, up there you'll have rock variations WRNR, WTMD, and WZBA to deal with - swarming around your face like gnats. Basically, Dave, just do what the suits at Clear Channel Central in San Antonio tell you to do. Keep the chair warm in your Rockville office and maybe wax Hartley's car every now and then. You'll soon realize that DC ain't a hot rock radio town like Boston is. And, if you're lucky, in a couple of months, you'll join the list of several dozen former PDs that DC101's gobbled up and spit out during the past few years. Can you say "revolving door"?..... 7/5 - OK, it's the start of the second half of 2008. What I'd like to see happen on the local radio dial before the end of the year: Bonneville's low-rated talker 3WT going sports talk and humiliating Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his six local stations. Base the new format on some soon-to-be-former SportsTalk 980ers... Citadel realizing that its new oldies 105.9 needs "local personality" and putting live jocks back on and ditching Imus or moving him to WMAL evenings... Ditto with CBS and adult hits WQSR about putting live jocks back on... WMAL realizing that it doesn't need three guys on the morning show. Just Nehman and Grandy is fine... CBS finally taking the Globe in a true adult alternative direction and slapping the legendary HFS calls on 94.7... A female voice on W-MALE a la Laura Ingraham... Dan Snyder starting a Spanish sports talker on some of those six area signals... CBS pairing 105.7 and 1300 as dual Baltimore sports talkers with the old WFBR calls... Nassau buying Frederick's 103.9 from Bonneville and relaying Annapolis's adult alternative WRNR for the western suburbs... All-news WBAL-AM... Salem finally realizing that it's a "sin" to have 105.1 and not do something with it that'll get ratings...JFK-FM ditching the infomercials and reruns on the weekends and going live and local on weekday evenings... CBS taking 1580 and putting a relay of its NYC all-newser WINS on it (what the hell)... Radio One putting urban talker WOL on 93.9's HD2 channel... Baltimore's 1370 going back to its nostalgic "Legends" music format with a DC area AM relay..... 7/3 - Rush Limbaugh gets a giant mountain of dough to do his radio show until 2016. Yet, he's deaf and lives alone with a cat at his series of mansions in a walled-off Palm Beach complex. Actually felt kind of sorry for him after reading Sunday's NY Times piece. There's a point where money and power become rather meaningless, at least as far as happiness is concerned. You know..... 7/2 - "Here's how radio camp works - there's the door, run!" WMAL's Bryan Nehman this morning, joking about sending his kid to "radio camp." Obviously a jestful comment on the current state of the slumping local radio biz..... 7/1 - So let's see. Bennett Zier ran Clear Channel DC for a while. OK. Then he and his cigar-chomping buds collectively bolted for Skins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra, which, of course, has done gang-busters in the radio ratings with its three (soon to be six) killer signals. And now Bennett's Boys are off to perform their magic ways at troubled Air America. Who else among the DC Radio Frat Pack will follow former CCers Bennett and Bill Hess to AirAm? Jeff Wyatt? Cam Gray? Tod Castleberry? Radio, what a damn cool biz, huh!..... Click here to jump to the Recent Rants page. Jump to DCRTV's Front Page or to the Mailbag. All original material on this website is copyright by Dave Hughes/DCRTV.