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Contents - Contact Us - News Tips - News Archive - Mailbag - Twitter - Rant - Support Us Station List - Classified Ads - Advertise On DCRTV - RSS - NYC - Boston - DCRTV Plus Chris Berry Leaves MAL - 1/5 - First on DCRTV! We hear that Chris Berry (left), president and general manager of news talker WMAL, is leaving the Citadel station. And we won't get to hear where he's headed until tomorrow. Berry joined then-ABC-owned WMAL in 2002 from ABC News. Could he be headed back to ABC? Is he getting out of Citadel before having to make a big batch of Citadel-mandated cuts? We're hearing that Jeff Boden, who is GM of Citadel's DC sisters hot adult contemporary WRQX and oldies WJZW, will be taking over WMAL, too. More soon..... Levin Adds 3rd Hour - 1/5 - ABC Radio Networks has signed former Republican Party honcho Mark Levin to a new multi-year syndication agreement. The DC area-based show is approaching its three-year anniversary. Also, Levin's 6 PM program will expand from two to three hours, ending at 9 PM instead of 8 PM, including via Citadel news talker WMAL..... RZ Seeks 3 Engineering Types - 1/5 - DCRTV hears that Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra broadcasting arm is looking for three tech types - a studio engineer, a transmitter engineer, and an internet technology person. At sbe.org/jobline. Locally, RZ owns the three signals of ESPN 980, Spanish sports WXTR, plus talkers WTNT and WWRC..... Santos To VOA - 1/5 - DCRTV hears that DC radio veteran Al Santos has a new gig. Along with his fill-in work at Citadel's oldies WJZW, he'll be doing "board op" work at the Voice Of America. Santos used to do a show on the old smooth jazz WJZW..... Frederick's WAFY Tops JZW & JFK In "Holiday" PPMs - 1/5 - With the "December" book completed, we now get a "Holiday" book with the new electronic Portable People Meter radio ratings. These are the weekly numbers for 12/11 through 12/17 for the DC market, age 12+, full-day: 1) WASH (with Christmas tunes), 2) WTOP (AM drive 1st, PM drive 2nd), 3) WAMU, 4) WHUR, 5) WIHT, 6) WRQX, 7) WETA-FM, 8) WWDC (Elliot 7th) and WGTS, 10) WKYS and WPRS, 12) WMMJ, 13) WBIG, 14) WPGC, 15) WMZQ, 16) WMAL (Grandy and Andy 14th, Rush 5th, Hannity 17th), 17) WTEM, 18) WLZL, 19) WTGB, 20) WAFY (Frederick's Key 103 with Christmas tunes), 21) WJZW, 22) WJFK (Junks 17th, O'Meara 21st), 23) WBQB, 24) WFLS and WPFW and WERQ, 27) WLIF (Christmas) and WBJC and WAVA, 30) WTNT and WPOC and WIYY, 33) WQSR and WGRQ and WASH's webstream, 36) WZBA and WRBS and WFED, 39) WLTF (Christmas) and WYCB and WWMX..... Gazettes To Go Broadsheet - 1/5 - The Washington Post-owned suburban Maryland Gazette newspapers are dropping their tabloid format for broadsheet. Which will allow the publication to "provide advertisements that are slightly larger, the flexibility to provide more stories and photographs, and save on newsprint." More at gazette.net..... RTN Returns - 1/5 - Rejoice "Marcus Welby," "Leave It To Beaver," and "McCloud" fans. The Retro TV Network, which carries nostalgic TV shows from the 1950s through the 1980s, lives. Due to a dispute with one of its video suppliers, the service went off the air early Sunday morning. But the network was restored early on Monday. It is carried on the digital subchannels of many TV stations across the country, including Channel 7/WJLA, via "7.3" and Comcast's channel 205 in the DC area. WJLA started running RTN in July, after terminating its locally-produced public access-type service, Local Point TV. More from TVNewsday..... 11 To Reduce Power Of Analog Signal - 1/5 - UPDATE: DCRTV hears that Channel 11/ WBAL will continue airing its analog signal on VHF channel 11 right up until the 2/17 national TV deadline. This contradicts a report we posted over the weekend, in which a source told us that 11 would shut off its analog signal early. However, WBAL will start operating its analog signal on reduced power starting the third week of January, in order to prepare for the digital conversion. By 2/17, WBAL will move its digital signal from UHF channel 59 to its longtime VHF perch of channel 11..... Phil Bennett Out At WaPo - 1/5 - As expected, Phil Bennett is no longer the Washington Post's managing editor. And it looks like Liz Spayd is set to be named managing editor of both the print rag and the washingtonpost.com website, the latter which was managed by the recently-departed Jim Brady. More in the Post..... DeFeo To DC Times - 1/5 - TownHall.com's Chuck DeFeo has been named the general manager of interactive and social media for the Washington Times..... Ebony & Jet Up WH Coverage - 1/5 - The black press gears up for the first black president. Essence, the top-selling magazine among black women, will have a full-time White House reporter for the first time. Ebony magazine will add a White House reporter, either fulltime or as-needed. Its sister publication, Jet magazine, will have a weekly two-page Washington report in every issue. More from the Politico..... BAL Radios Signs With SNR - 1/5 - Baltimore news talker WBAL (1090 AM) picks up an affiliation with Sporting New Radio, now that Fox Sports Radio has moved to WVIE, Fox 1370 Sports Radio. SNR programming is airing on BAL in the 9 PM hour on weekdays, from 4 PM to 9 PM on Saturdays, and from midnight to 5 AM and from noon to 4 AM (except for the occasional infomercial programming) on Sundays..... Boswell & Jenkins Honored - 1/5 - The Washington Post's Tom Boswell and Sally Jenkins make the best sportwriters list of 2008 by "The Fix" column at wsj.com..... Notable Quotable - 1/5 - "I hate to be on the side of CAIR, but..." Fred Grandy agreeing this morning with the DC-based Council On American-Islamic Relations, which has charged that a Muslim family was discriminated against last week when they were removed from an AirTran flight at Reagan National because of an alleged security concern. As you'll recall, CAIR has frequently criticized the programming on Grandy's station, talker WMAL..... New Website For Foreign Policy - 1/5 - DC-based Foreign Policy magazine revamps its ForeignPolicy.com website..... Flashback - 1/5 - Today's Flashback: A 1968 memory of WTOP radio (right). The hi-rez image is at DCRTV Plus. Where you can check out hundreds of local radio and TV pics, as well as loads of cool audio and video clips and tribute pages. Including two new Photo Galleries - 49 and 50 (51 and 52 coming in January) - with memories of WBAL, WTTG, WPGC, WMAR, Milt Grant, Don Richards, WRC, WMAL, WTOP, WGMS, and more. Plus, pics from the Washington Quarter Century Broadcasters 11/14 gathering, and several previous years. And, much more, including tribute pages to WASH, WMAL, WOHN, WCBM, WRC, Don Geronimo, Jim Vance, Gordon Peterson, Howard Stern, Warner Wolf, Arch Campbell, Johnny Holliday, Johnny Dark, Eddie Gallaher, Count Gore De Vol, the Call Letter Cavalcade, Tech Specs, and Jingleland. Oh, thanks to everyone who took advantage of our 2-years-for-$39 offer, which has now "officially" ended. However, if we get your last-minute $39 donation via PayPal or the US Mail in the next few days, we'll still give you the DCRTV Plus deal. Thanks again for supporting DCRTV..... Williams: George Michael To CSN? - 1/4 - So, where will DC TV sports legend George Michael go after leaving Channel 4/WRC after three decades? Examiner sports media columnist Jim Williams thinks Michael is most-likely to take his "Redskins Report" and "Full Court Press" shows to Comcast SportsNet. "They have the state-of-the-art HD studios with a support staff and a relationship with the Redskins." They also have the cash to keep the "Michael team" of Sonny Jurgensen and Michael Wilbon intact. Still, you can't rule out a Michael move to the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, WJLA, or WTTG, Williams adds. DCRTV adds: We hear from source that WJLA isn't interested in acquiring Michael..... Last Call For Roll Call? - 1/4 - Wonkette was rumormongering Sunday that venerable old Capitol Hill rag Roll Call may be going under. Chris Dorobek, of Federal News Radio, insists the rumors ain't true..... 11 Launches HD Local News, To End Analog Signal Early - 1/4 - Channel 11/WBAL has become the second TVer in Baltimore and fourth TVer in the DC-Baltimore region to launch high-def local news. On 1/3, it also unveiled a new news set and graphics package. More at wbaltv.com. Baltimore's Channel 45/WBFF and DC's Channel 7/WJLA launched HD local news in 2008, with DC's Channel 9/WUSA running it several years. Also, we're told that Channel 11 says it's planning to discontinue its traditional analog TV broadcasts on 1/21, about four weeks before the national digital TV deadline of 2/17. WBAL is scheduled to move its current DTV signal from UHF channel 59 back to its longtime perch of VHF channel 11..... Rant - 1/3 - OK. How about this? Get Don Geronimo out of retirement and reunite him with Mike O'Meara for mornings on new sports talk WJFK (106.7 FM). Don and Mike (left) back for "sports and more" with the longtime "zoo" show's usual cast of characters. Look, Don has lived and breathed radio since he was 12 or so. Isn't a 9-month "retirement" long enough? Take the Junkies back to their Sports Junkies ways and put them in afternoons, where they could focus on the day's sports developments. Heavily hype the return of Geronimo, who's a huge pro football fan and could easily do a sport-ish show. Over the next few years, JFK-FM could get the Nats, the Wizards, the Caps. Maybe even take 1580 AM, now a political talker that no one listens to, and make it JFK-AM, with more syndicated sports stuff from Fox Sports and Sporting News Radio. Hell, middayers Big O and Dukes could stay on and do a college sports show. Then CBS would have FM/AM sports talkers in both DC and Baltimore. Sounds like a winning formula to me. Dan Snyder would not only have a losing football team, but a losing DC radio station, too. More Rants..... BW2008 - 1/3 - DCRTV's end-of-the-year "Best/Worst." Yesterday was the last day to cast a ballot in our BW2008. A Friday nomination - "Best: Dave, thanks for giving us something interesting to read. No wonder the Post is so afraid of you!!!" Thanks to everyone who voted. Now, get busy on your 2009 nominations, which we'll start taking on 12/15/09. Happy New Year..... JFK Will Likely Go Sports, Keep Junks & O'Meara - 1/2 - Examiner sports media columnist Jim Williams tells DCRTV that he's spoken to representatives of Fox Sports Radio and Sporting News Radio and both have targeted CBS Radio guy talker WJFK (106.7 FM) for an all-sports or "nearly all-sports" format. There have been a number of conversations about the focus of the station. Both networks have made "very attractive" pitches to CBS. The two sports networks feel that an FM sports talker would be a big hit in DC, Williams adds. One scenario has WJFK, which has been battered by the new electronic Portable People Meter radio ratings, keeping the Junkies in mornings and Mike O'Meara in afternoons, but with sports talk in other time slots and a goal to make the station the flagship for the Nationals and the Wizards, and add more college sports. A sports talk WJFK would be a solid ad sales package with CBS's newly-minted sports talk WJZ-FM/AM in Baltimore, Williams adds..... Support DCRTV's Advertisers - 1/2 - Thanks to DC area radio voice great Dude Walker for renewing his ad with DCRTV. We hear that he's still the voice of AARP's "My Generation" and was just signed to do voiceover work for WNBW (classic DC TV calls), the NBC affiliate in Gainesville, Florida. Check out him and his services at dudewalker.com. And please support DCRTV's advertisers because they support DCRTV..... Sargent To Write For Post's New "Who Runs Gov" Site - 1/2 - From Michael Calerdone at the Politico: When Greg Sargent wrote this morning that he was leaving Talking Points Memo for a secret new Washington Post site that launches in the coming weeks, he didn't reveal the name. But according to a source familiar with the project, the Post has settled on one: "Who Runs Gov." The site will include regularly-updated profiles of leaders in the political and policy worlds. Sargent - who'll be working from both Connecticut and DC - will be writing the site's lead blog. Rachel Van Dongen, formerly of Roll Call, is overseeing the project..... Jaffe: Post Wages "War" With DC Schools Head - 1/2 - Harry Jaffe at washingtonian.com tells us that DC schools head Michelle Rhee has become a darling of the national media. Reporters for Time, the Atlantic, the New York Times, CBS, and other outlets have chronicled her brash crusade to fix the public schools. They all quote her at length. But search for Rhee's comments in the Washington Post and you'll come up empty. Post education writer Bill Turque is at war with Rhee, contends Jaffee. "She and her staff say he demanded preferential treatment and turned negative when it didn't happen"..... FCC Asked To Lower Costs Of DTV Sets - 1/2 - A consumer advocacy group plans to file a petition today with the Federal Communications Commission in a bid to reduce the costs of digital TV sets. The petition asks the FCC to revise its rules for digital television patent licenses, arguing that TV manufacturers are charged too much to use the technology, which in turn causes prices for digital TV sets to balloon. US television buyers pay about $30 more per digital set than consumers in other countries. That's because electronics makers are being overcharged to use the intellectual property for digital tuners and other parts in TVs and converter boxes, and that price is passed on to the consumers, according to the group. More in the DC Post..... Robert Poos Dies - 1/2 - Robert Poos, 78, who covered the Vietnam War as a reporter for the Associated Press and later was managing editor of Soldier Of Fortune magazine, died on 12/15 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Mount Vernon Nursing And Rehabilitation Center in Alexandria. More in the DC Post..... FP Hires Brose & Rozen - 1/2 - DC-based Foreign Policy mag has hired Christian Brose, formerly Condi Rice's chief speechwriter and policy adviser for the past four years, and Laura Rozen, formerly a national security correspondent for Mother Jones..... Edwards Says All OK With XMPR At Sirius XM - 1/1 - A post by Bob Edwards might have given some the wrong impression. Not to worry, everything's fine with the DC-based public radio veteran and the XM Public Radio channel. Early Thursday, a DCRTVer told us that Edwards "posted a message last night on Facebook referring to his 'darkest personal and professional hour.' He didn't say what it was, but one can imagine more (satellite radio) cuts are involved." However, later on Thursday we heard that all's well with Edwards at Sirius XM and that the satrad firm's execs have been very supportive of Edwards and XMPR's programming. The Facebook post, we're told, was about the slumping broadcast biz in general. Edwards left National Public Radio several years ago for XM. XMPR survived the November round of Sirius XM channel cuts..... BET & TV One To Cover Obama Inaug - 1/1 - BET and TV One, two DC-based entertainment television networks aimed primarily at a black audience, haven't paid much attention to presidential inaugurations before. This time will be different. Both are planning extensive coverage for 1/20, when Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation's 44th president. While it will be followed as a news event, network executives said the installation of the first black president will be as much a celebration as a story. More from AP..... Notable Quotable - 1/1 - DC Post technology columnist Rob Pegoraro in his year-end review: "The transition from analog to digital TV got another 12 months closer, but despite widely available digital converter boxes and ever-cheaper high-def sets, things still look shaky. This year will probably bring advances we haven't even imagined yet, but many people in the digital business will be happy if they just get through the analog shutoff in one piece"..... Happy New Year - 1/1 - DCRTV's "cracked crystal ball" radio predictions for 2009: Religious-based WAVA owner Salem will buy all of Clear Channel's DC area FMers - WBIG will become Christian talk, WMZQ will tweak to Christian country, DC101 will go to Christian rock, WIHT will become Christian contemporary, and WASH will become Christmas all-year... Loo Katz will tire of the Christmas tunes by March and move to WRQX, becoming Jack Diamond's partner... Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge will get married... WJFK will go sports talk, with (surprise!) Don Geronimo doing the morning show... The out-of-work Junkies will move to Vegas and do a gambling show for Spike. It'll be a big hit... Chad will be working at an Enterprise car rental outlet in Silver Spring, Oscar will move back in with his folks (did he ever move out?)... Mike O'Meara will head up to New York state to star in CBS's new "CSI Buffalo"... Citadel will move WMAL to 105.9 and turn 630's license back to the FCC, selling off the Bethesda transmitter site for a residential development named Suleman Estates... WMAL will fire Grandy and Andy and replace them with Carson from 107.3... Hearst will buy 101.9 from CBS and simulcast news talk WBAL on FM... WBAL radio will go all-news in afternoon drive and move Ron Smith to middays... Redskins owner Dan Snyder will buy up a batch of DC area AMers, including 700, 950, 1030, 1120, 1310, 1390, 1460, and 1520, and relay righty talker WTNT on half and lefty talker WWRC on the other half. The automation system will frequently malfunction, running both stations' programs at the same time on each signal... Clear Channel will put gospel WCAO on 104.3 and flip 600 to sports, giving Baltimore its 5th sports talker... Redskins owner Dan Snyder will buy 100.7 from Shamrock, giving Baltimore its 6th sports talker... CBS will flip 94.7 to a jockless classic hits format, named "Mike 94.7" (after CBS honcho Michael Hughes)... WHFS will be resurrected on 99.1... WTOP top programmer Jim Farley will be named chairman of the FCC and he'll pass a new rule requiring an FM all-news outlet in each of the top 25 markets... The Radio Ministry Of The Calvary Chapel Of Marlton NJ will buy WRBS and move its transmitters to Essex, right next to "Joe in Essex"... Happy New Year everyone..... Wind Blows "U" From USA Today Building - 12/31 - Today's high winds in the DC area knocked the "U" from atop Gannett's USA Today building at Tyson's Corner. An ominous 2009 warning from God? Hmmm..... Newspaper Editors To Drop "Paper"? - 12/31 - The Reston-based American Society Of Newspaper Editors is mulling over the removal of "paper" from its name. As a recognition that the trade group's members are becoming more dependant on the internet. "We are way beyond ink on paper," ASNE President Charlotte Hall wrote in a letter to members..... JFK In Trouble In December PPMs - 12/31 - Guy talker WJFK continues its poor performance in the December monthly electronic Portable People Meter ratings for DC, fueling rumors that CBS will flip the station to sports talk early in the new year. The latest monthly PPMs, age 12+, full-day: 1) WTOP, 2) WASH, 3) WAMU, 4) WIHT, 5) WRQX, 6) WHUR, 7) WGTS and WETA-FM, 9) WKYS, 10) WWDC, 11) WPRS, 12) WMMJ, 13) WPGC and WMZQ, 15) WBIG, 16) WLZL, 17) WMAL, 18) WTGB, 19) WTEM and WJZW, 21) WJFK, 22) WBQB and WPFW. Morning drive, same demo: 1) WTOP, 2) WAMU, 3) WASH, 4) WIHT, 5) WHUR, 6) WRQX, 7) WWDC and WPRS, 9) WKYS and WMMJ, 11) WETA-FM, 12) WPGC, 13) WGTS and WMZQ, 15) WMAL, 16) WBIG and WLZL, 18) WJFK, 19) WTGB and WTEM, 21) WJZW. Afternoon drive, same demo: 1) WTOP, 2) WASH, 3) WAMU, 4) WIHT, 5) WHUR and WRQX, 7) WETA-FM and WKYS and WWDC, 10) WMZQ, 11) WPRS, 12) WPGC, 13) WBIG, 14) WLZL, 15) WGTS, 16) WTEM, 17) WMMJ, 18) WMAL and WTGB, 20) WJZW, 21) WJFK. In the latest weekly PPM numbers, WASH, with its Christmas tunes, is in first place. Also, DCRTV hears that WAMU's HD Radio channels post a 0.6 cume rating, a milestone of sorts for digital-only local radio services. Possibly because Bluegrass Country, WAMU-HD2, is now broadcast in analog via Great Falls VA's 105.5 FM? As of today, ratings firm Arbitron certifies the October, November, and today's December "book" as "currency." The new PPM numbers for DC become official and can be used to set ad rates..... Two Former Hot 99.5ers Host Morning Show In Chicago - 12/31 - Former Hot 99.5ers Julian Nieh (right) and J Niice get named morning show co-hosts at CBS's contemporary hit B96, WBBM-FM, in Chicago. The "J Niice And Julian On The Radio" show replaces the long-running team of Eddie and JoBo, who departed in November. Nieh was with Clear Channel's contemporary hit WIHT for four years and did the night show before leaving for BBM. J Niice was a part-time on-airer at WIHT..... NC8 Starts Two Local Shows - 12/31 - Allbritton's NewsChannel 8 launches two locally-produced programs on 1/5. "Washington Business Tonight" at 7:30 PM will be the regional news outlet's "first venture into a hybrid of news-produced interviews and business-sponsored segments," according to a company release. The hour-long "Let's Talk Live" will air at noon and be hosted by WJLA reporter Natasha Barrett, plus co-hosts from Allbritton's WJLA and NC8. It'll be geared to women, with topics ranging from health and home decor, to entertainment and family life..... Tate Says Farewell To FCC - 12/31 - From Radio And Records: Republican Federal Communications Commissioner commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, who will exit her post with the start of the new Congress, was honored Tuesday during the agency's open meeting, conducted via teleconference. Tate was first nominated by President George Bush in November 2005 and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate that December. She was sworn in the following January and renominated by Bush for a full five-year term in June 2007. Her departure - which will leave the FCC with two Republicans and two Democrats - was expected, as she had not be reconfirmed by Congress..... DC Lobbyist Sues NY Times Over Romantic Allegation - 12/30 - From AP: A Washington lobbyist sued the New York Times for $27 million Tuesday over an article that she says gave the false impression she had an affair with Senator John McCain in 1999. The newspaper stood by the story. Vicki Iseman filed the defamation suit in US District Court in Richmond. It also names as defendants the Times' executive editor, its Washington bureau chief and four reporters. Iseman represented telecommunications companies before the Senate Commerce Committee, which McCain chaired. In February, as McCain was seeking the Republican presidential nomination, the Times reported that McCain aides once worried the relationship between Iseman and McCain had turned romantic. The article said that both McCain and Iseman denied any romantic relationship, but the lawsuit says most readers would find that obligatory. More in the DC Post..... BAL Cans DeFilippo - 12/30 - DCRTV hears that Democratic political commentator Frank "Flip" DeFilippo has been let go at news talk WBAL (1090 AM). DeFilippo was heard Mondays with Ron Smith in the 5 PM hour. A few weeks ago, WBAL radio restaurant reviewer Doug Roberts was relieved of those duties, but will stay on to do other assignments..... Johnson's New Black TV Net Gains Support - 12/30 - DC media magnate Bob Johnson and Channel 66/WPXW owner Ion have the backing of a number of supporters for their proposal to create Urban Television, a minority-targeted over-the-air TV network. Including the support of Rainbow/PUSH founder Jesse Jackson. Johnson (right) is the founder of DC-based Black Entertainment Television, which is now owned by Viacom. Broadcasting And Cable has more..... New Sun Ed: "Everyone's Weary" - 12/30 - New Baltimore Sun Editor Monty Cook gets grilled by snd.org. "We're all finding the way forward. I told our staff a few days ago that they will never hear me utter the phrase 'We must do more with less.' Everyone's weary. Everyone's working harder. I think we have to work smarter. And that means we can no longer do everything. You prioritize. You make choices. You commit what resources you have to the type of coverage, beats, and stories that mean the most to your readers and will have the greatest impact on their lives"..... Rush To DTV Could Cause Coupon Delays - 12/30 - With the digital TV deadline less than two months away, orders for digital conveter boxes hit record highs over the weekend, rising 30 percent over the previous weekend. Now some in Congress are worried that the increased demand could lead to delays in getting the converter box coupons to consumers. Each household is eligible to order two $40 coupons. The DC Post has more..... NPR Reporter Covering Cuts Gets Cut - 12/30 - National Public Radio correspondent Ketzel Levine started a series in December called "American Moxie: How We Get By," covering how Americans were handling the economic crisis, but midway through her reporting, she was among 64 NPR employees to be laid off. So Levine, who'd been with NPR since 1977, decided that the final installment in the series would be about herself. The NY Times has more..... "MTP" Again 1st - 12/30 - "Meet The Press" continued its reign as the most-watched DC-based Sunday morning political show last Sunday. In the DC market, the NBC program finished on top, followed by CBS's "Face The Nation," Fox's "Fox News Sunday," and ABC's "This Week." Nationally, NBC was on top, with ABC 2nd, CBS 3rd, and Fox 4th..... Shapiro On George Michael: "Truly Deep Cut" - 12/29 - Washington Post sports media columnist Len Shapiro focuses on the final parting of longtime sports anchor and host George Michael (right) from Channel 4/WRC after almost three decades. "You can't be bitter about it," Michael told Shapiro about leaving "Redskins Report" and his other weekly WRC sports shows, after giving up his nightly anchor duties in early 2007. "The thing that drives you is to be successful, and if you're successful, you'd like to think you'd also have some security. But in these economic times, some people react differently, so you accept that and move on. I've got some time to work things out. Sonny (Jurgensen) and John (Riggins) and Mike (Wilbon) have been great. They all said 'I'm in, count me in'... Do I know if something will happen? I don't know... Will we do the show again? I certainly hope so." Oh, thanks to Shapiro for crediting DCRTV with first reporting the story last week..... Fox Biz Dropped From XM - 12/29 - Sirius XM has dropped the Fox Business Network (channel 136) from the XM Satellite Radio line-up, effective 12/27. XM subscribers can still get business networks CNBC and Bloomberg, plus Fox News Channel, CNN, Headline News, BBC World Service, and C-SPAN Radio..... Baltimore's Sports Radio War - 12/29 - The December issue of Baltimore's Press Box looks at the sports radio war in Baltimore between WNST (1570 AM), WVIE (1370 AM), WJZ-FM (105.7), and WJZ-AM (1300). Is there room for all four? Stay tuned..... Post Corrects "Deep Throat" Obit - 12/29 - The Washington Post couldn't even get its obituary about "Deep Throat" completely correct. The corrections: "Earlier versions of this story, including in the print edition of Friday's Washington Post, incorrectly said Mark Felt died at a hospice. Felt died at his home in California, under hospice care. Also, this article said that Felt believed he was acting with the approval of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover when he authorized break-ins at the homes of people thought to be affiliated with the Weather Underground. Hoover had died several months earlier; Felt believed he had the approval of the interim director, L. Patrick Gray"..... Arrival Of Obama Keeps Kamen Busy - 12/29 - Washingtonian profiles Washington Post "In The Loop" columnist Al Kamen, whose job it is to chronicle the federal government changes with the start of the Obama administration..... Rant: 2009 Storm Warning - 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." More Rants..... Three 2009 Credit Hurdles For Sirius XM - 12/29 - Rick Munnariz at The Motley Fool predicts: "Between its present liquidity and its authorization to have as many as 8 billion shares outstanding, Sirius XM has enough ammo to get through February. Now it needs to clear the May and December hurdles"..... Shales Reviews Matthews Who Judges Bush - 12/29 - TV critic Tom Shales reviews MSNBC DCer Chris "Hardball" Matthews' "The Decider" documentary on eight years of George W. Bush's presidency. "It's doubtful that a prominent place will be found in the Bush presidential library for 'The Decider,' but it's a diligent, worthwhile investigation into what went wrong - and why so often." It airs at 5 PM and 7 PM tonight. More in the DC Post..... Ricks To Blog For Foreign Policy Mag - 12/29 - Former Washington Post military reporter Tom Ricks, who took a buyout last spring, will blog for Foreign Policy magazine, which is planning a revamped website next week. The Washington Post Company purchased FP in September..... David Rampe Dies - 12/29 - David Rampe, an editor on the foreign desk of the New York Times, died on 12/24 in Manhattan. He was 60. At the Times, he worked as an editor in the business section and in the Washington bureau. In the early 1990s, he was the founding editor of TimesFax (since renamed TimesDigest), a digest of Times articles sent to resorts and hotels overseas and to cruise ships. More in the Times..... Solomon Remembers Repeated WMAL Firings - 12/28 - George Solomon retires from a 5 1/2-year stint as a Sunday sports columnist at the Washington Post that followed a 28-year marathon as sports editor. Among his recollections - Andy Ockershausen, the "Comcast executive who, as general manager of WMAL, set a record for firing the same two people in one decade when he canned Andrew Beyer and me seven times from our radio show ('It's Just A Game') in the 1970s"..... Serious Financial Woes Await Sirius XM - 12/28 - The NY Times looks at the huge credit hurdle facing Sirius XM Satellite Radio in 2009. "Its balance sheet is larded with nearly $1 billion of debt that matures in 2009 and must be refinanced - but try finding a sympathetic banker in our current hard-luck environment. Sirius XM has nearly 20 million paying customers, many of them evangelists for the service, but what does that matter if you can't pay your debts?"..... Post Ombudsman Howell Bids Adieu - 12/28 - Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell says farewell. "Most cities don't have as good a paper as the Post. A friend who moved away told me that she misses the Post more than anything else. And she's a conservative Republican." Andy Alexander, former Washington bureau chief of Cox Newspapers, takes the rag critique position in February..... Shales Hypes MSNBC - 12/28 - TV critic Tom Shales has named two MSNBC shows to his tops list this year - the only news channel or news division to make his list. MSNBC's "Morning Joe" is Shales' number four "best new program" of 2008. Shales also names MSNBC's Rachel Maddow as his number one "breakout performer" of 2008. In the DC Post..... PPMs Boost GTS - 12/27 - For many years, Christian contemporary WGTS (91.9 FM) praised the Lord with a relatively small-ish audience, according to the old diary-based radio ratings. Now, the new, some say more accurate electronic Portable People Meter ratings, which debuted in the DC market in September, show the non-commercial Columbia Union College station, which was almost sold last year, to be a "top 10" player, with more listeners than major commericial stations like DC101, WBIG, and WMZQ. More in the DC Post..... Cory Haber To Retire - 12/27 - DCRTV hears that Cory Haber, longtime NBC and Channel 4/WRC engineer and Emmy award winner, is retiring at the end of March. More soon..... RNC Head Candidate Uses Rush's "Magic Negro" Obama Parody - 12/27 - Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, sent committee members this month a holiday music CD that included "Barack The Magic Negro," a parody song first aired in 2007 by talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Created by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, the song puts new lyrics to the tune of "Puff The Magic Dragon," and it is performed as if black activist Al Sharpton were singing it. Limbaugh played it after the Los Angeles Times ran an opinion piece with the same title. More in the DC Post..... Rant - 12/27 - In the above story on an RNC candidate's use of a Rush Limbaugh parody, the author of the Washington Post piece acknowledged that his story was based on an article in the Hill newspaper, which "first reported" it. It would be nice if other Post print reporters who get story leads from DCRTV would make like acknowledgements. That's never happened. Despite the fact that DCRTV's been here more than a decade and "broken" countless local media stories. The Baltimore Sun acknowledges DCRTV scoops. So has the Washington Times and the New York Post. Plus many websites. But never the print Washington Post. More Rants..... Neal Estano Leaves 11 - 12/26 - Today's the last day for Channel 11/WBAL morning meteorologist Neal Estano. He's been at 11 for eight years. We assume it's a budget cut at the Hearst station. No word on Estano's plans, except that he'll be leaving the Baltimore area. Read his farewell message at wbaltv.com..... FVA Cuts 2 - 12/26 - Mark Clifford, co-host of "Fredericksburg Today" on Fredericksburg news talker WFVA (1230 AM), was let go last week during a round of budget cuts. He had been at the station for five years and also served as the station's program director. Also gone, WFVA news anchor and reporter Kathy Stewart. Leaving News Director Ted Schubel as the only local live body on the Centennial station..... DC Press Corps Beach Bumming In Hawaii - 12/26 - The DC-based press corps covering President elect Barack Obama on vacation in Hawaii obviously doesn't have much to do. Other than write up pieces like this about bumming around the beach on Christmas with nothing to do. From Philip Rucker in the DC Post..... Rant - 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! More Rants..... B'cast Equip Firm Bradley Gets Bought - 12/25 - Frederick-based Bradley Broadcast and Pro Audio has been bought by rival equipment dealer SCMS. The terms and price were not disclosed. For now, the two companies have in place an interim operating agreement whereby Bradley will continue to deal with its customers by telephone and e-mail, but the orders will actually be shipped and billed through SCMS. Once the deal closes, Bradley Broadcast will function as a sales office of SCMS. SCMS owner Bob Cauthen told Radio World the deal will be good for his business particularly in the government sector and because he was able to retain key Bradley staff. Bradley was owned by David Matthews, a former radio chief engineer who purchased it in 2007. Long-time Bradley executive Art Reed and account exec Bob Eburg will continue to staff an office based in Frederick. Bradley was started in 1983 as a subsidiary of The Music Emporium, a national catalog dealer in musical instruments and pro sound reinforcement. In 2000, the parent company was sold to The Guitar Center and Bradley later moved from its Rockville location to Frederick. You may recall that Matthews in the early 1980s attempted to start a radio station in Reston on 700 AM, but the new allocation was awarded to a Frederick area applicant. The station is now brokered talk WDMV..... James Adams Leaves 4 - 12/25 - Another cut at Channel 4/WRC. DCRTV hears that longtime reporter and anchor James Adams took a buyout from the NBC-owned station. "He went to the station Sunday and cleaned out his desk," we're told..... Henry Monroe Dies - 12/25 - Harry Wilcox Monroe, 88, a retired broadcaster with the Voice Of America, died on 12/21 of respiratory failure at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. He was a Fairfax City resident. More in the DC Post..... More On Collapse Of Post's FL TV Deal - 12/25 - Two days after DCRTV reported it, the Washington Post gets around to reporting the news that its plans to buy a Miami TV station from NBC have collapsed. More in DCRTV's 12/23 newsblurb..... More: Michael Ends Three Decades With 4 - 12/25 - DCRTV broke the story on Wednesday morning (newsblurb below). Now, Thursday's DC Post follows-up on DCRTV's scoop about how Channel 4/WRC has cancelled George Michael's sports shows, including "Redskins Report," ending the 28-year career Michael had with the NBC station..... George Michael's Sports Shows Gone From 4 - 12/24 - DCRTV gets confirmation on news we broke early Wednesday. That longtime DC TV sports anchor George Michael (right) will no longer be doing his weekly sports shows at NBC's Channel 4/WRC. A source tells us: "At the taping of... Michael's sports show, Michael Jack, VP at NBC4, informed George that his contract was being bought out and (Tuesday's) taping was the last. George... responded with an offer to the crew that they could come out to his (Maryland) ranch and muck out the horse stalls for a couple of bucks an hour." Michael gave up his nightly sports anchoring duties at budget-cutting WRC in March 2007. But he was continuing to host weekly sports shows like "Redskins Report" and "Full Court Press." DCRTV now hears that both shows are gone from 4's schedule, including the WRC appearances on "RR" by Redskins greats Sonny Jurgensen and John Riggins, plus, over the years, Washington Post sports scribes Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, and David DuPree. Another WRC source tells DCRTV that the latest tussle between Michael and 4 was "amicable (and) mutually beneficial." And while there was some turbulence between Michael and WRC's management, he was well-liked by the station's crew and on-air personalities. By the way, we're starting to hear rumors that Michael and "RR" could end up at either the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network or Comcast SportsNet. Stay tuned..... Comcast Adds MLB & Daystar - 12/24 - Two additions to DCRTV's Reston Comcast system. The new MLB Network baseball channel is now on 280, part of the cable system's digital sports tier. It officially launches on 1/1 and TVNewser has more. Also, we're seeing Texas-based religious network Daystar on Comcast channel 287. It's been available via a low-power broadcast signal on Channel 23 in the DC area for several years..... 3 Leave Politico - 12/24 - Three leave Allbritton's Politico. Dan Reilly becomes communications director for Congressman Ed Markey. Richard Cullen will be staff assistant to Congressman Eric Cantor. And Ryan Grim leaves to take the new Congressional correspondent post for the Huffington Post..... WaPo's Purchase Of 2nd Miami TVer Collapses - 12/23 - NBC's sale of WTVJ-TV in Miami to the Washington Post Company is a bust. In a joint statement, the media companies said: "Given the current economic environment, and the delay in receiving the necessary regulatory approval, the deal has been terminated." The would-be sale, agreed on in July, was scheduled to close by the end of 2008. The parties had agreed on a $205 million price, according to an FCC disclosure. Many had figured on a considerably higher price. The Washington Post was seeking a duopoly in Miami. Its Post-Newsweek broadcast subsidiary already owns Miami's ABC affiliate, WPLG-TV. More from Broadcasting And Cable..... 45 To Relay MGM Channel - 12/23 - Baltimore's Channel 45/WBFF will launch This TV Baltimore on its digital subchannel on 1/12. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios is backing the new This TV network, which is designed for the US broadcast marketplace. It'll offer movies from the MGM library as well as classic sitcoms and childrens' programming. It will replace Good TV, a WBFF-based nostalgic entertainment channel which went off the air in October. This TV Baltimore can be seen on digital channel 45.2 and will also be carried in the Baltimore TV market by Comcast on channel 206 and via Verizon FIOS..... Baier To Replace Hume - 12/23 - Bret Baier will replace the retiring Brit Hume on Fox News Channel's DC-based "Special Report." Baier is Hume's usual fill-in host, including Fridays, which Hume takes off. Baier is currently chief White House correspondent for Fox News. Prior to that post, Baier was FNC's Pentagon correspondent. Chris Wallace and Jim Angle will be filling in on "Special Report" until 1/5, when Baier takes over. Hume will continue to do political analysis for "Fox News Sunday"..... Post & Sun To Share News - 12/23 - AP tells us that the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun will share editorial content, including stories and photos. Especially Maryland state news and sports. The new budget-conscious deal will put Sun stories on the Post's LAT-WP News Service. Exclusive stories and articles on competitive topics, such as some aspects of Maryland state government, won't be shared, the AP adds. A local news media guru tells DCRTV: "Hmmmmmm"..... Gary Reals Bids Farewell To 9 - 12/23 - Today is Channel 9/WUSA general assigment reporter Gary Reals' (left) last day at the Gannett station. He's been reporting DC area news for four decades. Reals, who is leaving 9 because of a series of budget cuts and employee buyouts, joined WUSA (then WDVM) in 1991, after working at Channel 7/WJLA since 1983. He started at WMAL radio in 1970, working his way up to reporting duties by 1975. More on Reals' career is at wusa9.com. DCRTV's take: Very sad to see Reals leave 9. A true broadcast journalist. One of the very best..... Monty Cook Nabs Sun's Editor Gig - 12/22 - J. Montgomery "Monty" Cook gets named editor and senior vice president of the Baltimore Sun. He replaces Timothy Franklin, who has taken a position at the Indiana University School Of Journalism. Cook joined the Sun as deputy managing editor in 2004. In 2007, Cook was promoted to director of content development and oversaw last spring's launch of "b," the Sun's free daily aimed at young adults..... Jim Brady To Leave Wapo.com - 12/22 - Jim Brady will step down as executive editor of the Washington Post's website, washingtonpost.com. He came to wapo.com 1995 as sports editor, before joining America Online, and then returning to the Post. It looks like Liz Spayd is set to be named managing editor of both the print rag and the website. More in the Post..... 4's Managers Meet In Secret As Econ Slumps - 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"..... Older news goes to DCRTV's News Archive. Copyright Dave Hughes/DCRTV.....

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