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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 MD Democrats Say Ehrlich Broke FCC Rules - 2/8 - The Baltimore Sun reports that Republican former Gover Robert Ehrlich - who might be in a rematch against Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley this fall - violated "payola rules" during a segment last year on Channel 45/WBFF, the Maryland Democratic Party says in a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission. Ehrlich, a regular on the station's "Political Pulse" show, discussed Baltimore-based Cordish's bid for the Anne Arundel County slot-machine facility in an appearance April 3. But he did not disclose that his firm, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, had been hired by Cordish to build support for the company's license, the Democrats say..... New Generation Hires Albie Dee - 2/8 - Local radio veteran Albie Dee will be doing afternoon drive on the contemporary hit format for New Generation Programming, which is launching a variety of syndicated formats for economically-challenged small and medium-market radio stations..... Michael Hughes Does News On RNR-FM - 2/8 - DCRTV hears that local radio veteran Michael Hughes had to put on the headphones and do news this morning on Annapolis adult alternative rocker WRNR (103.1 FM). "Had a blast. It's been awhile, but just like riding a bike," he tells DCRTV. Hughes left his longtime post at CBS Radio's DC cluster last year to start his own radio consulting business..... Snowbound DCers Flock To TV Bowl - 2/8 - Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner tells us that the Super Bowl was the most-watched TV show ever, and Washington was the number two rated metered market, just behind of New Orleans and ahead of Indianapolis. "Clearly snow helps," Williams says..... Snow Sends WaPo.com, WTOP.com Traffic Soaring - 2/8 - Despite the huge snowfall on Friday and Saturday, the Washington Post says it managed to deliver up to about 400,000 of its 642,000 Sunday papers on Sunday, the Politico reports. Sunday paper deliveries continue today and tomorrow. Also, the Post's website witnessed a surge in readers, many looking for up-to-the-minute weather and road conditions. Washingtonpost.com brought in twice the typical weekend pageviews, with a daily average of 16.4 million. Also, the local page was up 182 percent from a recent weekend, and the mobile site clocked in another 500,000 views on Saturday. More: Washington all-news radioer WTOP also reports record traffic to its wtop.com website. It recorded 10 million page views during the weekend snowstorm, way up from the site's average daily 1.6 million..... TOP Tops Radio Ratings - 2/8 - The Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC, second week of January, age 12+, full day: 1) WTOP [1st both drivetimes], 2) WIHT [Kane 4th], 3) WETA-FM and WAMU, 5) WHUR [Harvey 3rd], 6) WASH [L&L 7th], 7) WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 8) WBIG, 9) WRQX [Diamond 8th], 10) WWDC [Elliot 11th] and WPGC [Simpson 9th], 12) WGTS, 13) WMAL [G&A 11th, Rush 6th, Hannity 13th], 14) WKYS [Parr 13], 15) WPRS and WNZQ, 17) WIAD, 18) WTEM [M&M 18th, Korny 12th, Czaban 15th], 19) WLZL, 20) WVRX, 21) WJFK [Junks 17th, Wise 21st, Arrington 20th], 22) WDCN and WBQB, 24) WINC-FM, 25) WKDV and WAVA-FM and WFLS, 28) WWEG and WPFW, 30) WTNT and WACA..... Storm Power Outages May Suppress PPM Ratings - 2/8 - While all-newser WTOP, already at the top of the DC radio ratings, will benefit from many thousands of additional listeners over the weekend due to power outages during the snowstorm, the PPMs may not record all of WTOP's additional listeners. We're told that the electronic Portable People Meter devices must be placed into a dock that is connected both to electricity and a landline phone. The meter will work until it loses power. But, with a power outage, the dock is not working and that's what sends the data to Arbitron. The meters have batteries recharged by the dock. Oh, if you rely only on your cell and don't have a landline phone? Arbitron will pay to have one installed at your home during your term as a PPM device carrier..... "Happy Talk" News Consultant Dies - 2/8 - Frank Magid dies at 78. He's the TV news consultant who, in the 1970s, created news anchor "happy talk." Resulting in co-anchors who chatted between stories, fast-paced graphics, sports tickers and live shots, and a heavy reliance on both crime coverage and "feel-good" segments. Kind of like what you see on most local TV stations even today. More from the DC Post..... Shales On Bowl Ads - 2/8 - Tom Shales on last night's Super Bowl ads at wapo.com..... DCRTV's February Fundraiser - 2/8 - Advertisers are great, but DCRTV has always depended on donations from our wonderful visitors to help us cover a large chunk of our operating expenses. You are the reason DCRTV is here as the best source of news, gossip, and commentary about DC and Baltimore radio, TV, and media. Put some bucks safely on plastic or pop a check in the mail. Visit our Support DCRTV page. Make it $39 and get a year's access to DCRTV Plus, which is loaded with local radio and TV memories, including pics, tribute pages, station histories, technical specs, jingles, call letter histories, plus audio and video clips. Including a snowy 1960s memory of WTOP radio (right) in Photo Gallery 21..... Amy Robach Ties Knot - 2/7 - Former Channel 5/WTTG news anchor Amy Robach, who now co-anchors NBC's "Weekend Today," married "Melrose Place" actor Andrew Shue yesterday. More from TVNewser..... WaPo: Sunday Paper On Monday Or Tuesday - 2/7 - From the Washington Post: "Our carriers are continuing to deliver newspapers throughout the day as side roads are cleared. Sunday newspapers that are unable to be delivered today will be delivered on Monday or Tuesday... We appreciate your patience"..... Sat TV Snowbound? Watch Bowl On 9 Via Antenna - 2/7 - Snow still in your dish, blocking satellite TV reception? Never fear. You can still catch the Super Bowl on regular broadcast TV - remember that? Advises Washington Post techie guru Rob Pegoraro: "CBS affiliate WUSA will be broadcasting the game, and it recently increased the power of its transmission. If you can't get your satellite reception in gear - or if your cable's gone out - try tuning into channel 9.1 or having your tuner rescan the airwaves to pick up that channel. You'll need a VHF antenna, such as one with adjustable rabbit ears, to pick up this signal; an indoor antenna can work in many spots within a few miles of WUSA's transmitter in Tenleytown, while farther out you may need an attic or rooftop antenna"..... Storm Coverage: Folks In The Dark Shouldn't Be Left In The Dark - 2/7 - Rant. As always, WTOP radio did a great job during the big snow that dumped between 20 and 35 inches on the DC-Baltimore area from early Friday to late Saturday. I loved having father Frank Herzog "holding my hand" early Saturday, as the darkest portion of the scary storm descended on the DC area. I had to put up with a power outage of five whole minutes early Saturday, and was afraid it might go out longer. But it didn't. But Frank was there with his comforting voice to let me know that a lot of people were far worse off than I was, there sipping tea in my heated condo with my battery-powered radio, even though I could have used a plugged-in model. And ditto with the TV stations, which provided a nice, comforting high-def (except for NBC4) window on the world for those who had power, like me, during the storm. Even Ailes5 was doing a good job. But, you've got to admit, the TV coverage was repetitive. Over and over again, the same info. Filling hours with little new to report. Memo: Simply providing more coverage of the same stuff over and over is not necessarily better coverage. You could easily watch each TVer for 10 minutes, get all the storm news you need, and then go on to a good book. It's a shame that hardly any people have battery-powered digital TVs, so there was no way folks without juice could get their storm news from 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, or 45. Also, digital TV signals don't work on those old TV band radios, so radioers WTOP and WBAL (few other local radioers did storm coverage) were the only storm news choices of the power-less. If you had power and an internet connection or a battery-powered mobile device capable of surfing the web, then you had a variety of choices, including probably the best source of local weather news, the Capital Weather Gang at washingtonpost.com. Kudos to them. Sure, I was full of "oh come on, we're not going to get 2+ feet this weekend" when reading the CWG guys last week, but they were right on the money. And they have been all winter. Frequent updates and interesting to all levels of weather lovers/haters, from the casual to the fanatic. Look, I slam the Post a lot, but when it comes to storm-related weather news, they're the best. In conclusion, we need to figure out ways to deliver all this wonderful storm news to people who lack power during a storm - or, even more importantly, during a terror attack or other emergency. A battery-powered radio just doesn't cut it in this techie age. We need to have better distribution of battery-powered gear that can provide internet and digital TV access. Folks without juice shouldn't be left pretty much "in the dark" information-wise, as they are now. Oh, two days (so far) without the print Washington Post and I'm discovering that I could go without that expensive home delivery option without too much withdrawl. To the Post's suits, that's got to be much more scary than a feet of snow! Pic at right: Me and my buried car. More Rants..... Z On Storm Coverage - 2/6 - There's the big storm that dumped 15-35 inches of snow on the DC-Balimore area. There's the coverage of the big storm by area TVers and radioers, many of which went wall-to-wall on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and afternoon. And then there's the coverage of the coverage of the storm from David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com. And more coverage of the coverage from Paul Blart at washingtonpost.com..... WTOP's Riggo Show To Air On MASN - 2/5 - DCRTV hears that the new John Riggins afternoon radio show that was announced yesterday will most-certainly have a local TV component. As we first reported, Bonneville's WTOP is putting the Redskins great on the HD Radio digital HD3 signal of 103.5 come March. And now DCRTV hears rumblings that TV engineers have been seen in the first-floor studio at 3400 Idaho Avenue NW, where Riggins will be doing his show, installing HD gear plus lights and cameras. DCRTV wonders: Could Comcast SportsNet or the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network be interested? Probably MASN, we're told. Stay tuned..... Theoharis Won't Replace Marks On 105.7 - 2/5 - Amber Theoharis (right) has become the target of CBS Radio Baltimore sports talker WJZ-FM, 105.7 The Fan, as the replacement for afternoon show co-host Anita Marks, who could not come to terms with the station on a contract extension. But, she says she won't be joining the show, so reports Jim Williams at washingtonexaminer.com. Theoharis will do some fill-in work on the now-dubbed "Scott Garceau Show," which airs on 105.7 from 2 PM to 6 PM. The show is simulcast from 3 PM to 7 PM on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Theoharis serves as an in-game reporter on MASN's Orioles broadcasts, as well as the host of "Ravens Xtra." MASN spokesman Todd Webster says Theoharis is staying right where she is at MASN. "As one of the premiere sports journalists in the country, it is understandable that Amber would be actively sought-after by many media outlets. The reality is she is doing a one-day special appearance on 105.7 on Monday, as she will be covering the Orioles fulltime for MASN again during the 2010 season," Webster tells DCRTV..... New Format Coming Soon On 1050 - 2/5 - DCRTV hears that Bonneville has gotten numerous offers and inquiries about putting replacement talk or music programming on 1050 AM, a la a lease agreement like it had with the now-bankrupt Air America. Stay tuned..... Schieffer Escapes Snow - 2/5 - While Washington DC braces for "Snowpocalypse," Bob Schieffer is heading to Miami. Schieffer will host "Face The Nation" this Sunday from the site of Super Bowl XLIV, airing that night on CBS. And Schieffer’s guest is appropriate for the setting: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. More from the Politico..... CQ Comings & Goings - 2/5 - American Banker's Steven Sloan joins CQ, covering the financial services beat. He's a veteran of the Dow Jones Newswires, the Wall Street Journal Online, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle. More: Capitol Hill health issues reporter Drew Armstrong leaves CQ for a gig at Bloomberg DC..... Stern To Replace Cowell On "Idol"? - 2/5 - "American Idol" producers are eager to hire Howard Stern to replace Simon Cowell as the show's tough-talking judge, the NY Post reports..... WaPo Delivers Weekend Ad Bag On Friday Due To Snow - 2/5 - The bad news: If you subscribe to the Washington Post, you probably won't find it in your driveway on Saturday morning if we get up to two feet of snow tonight. The good news: The Post is delivering the plastic bag of ad circulars, normally found with your Saturday or Sunday paper, on Friday for many of its subscribers. More bad news: You probably won't be getting out to do much shopping this weekend if we get up to two feet of snow. More good news: You could always burn the circulars in your fireplace for heat if your power goes out due to the heavy snow and high winds..... Balto Newsers To Discuss Post-Quake Haiti - 2/5 - The aftermath of last month's earthquake in Haiti will be discussed during the launch of the Baltimore Newsmakers Forum on Wednesday, 2/10, 6 PM, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt Street. "Haiti: The Way Forward" is the topic of the inaugural Baltimore Newsmakers Forum, which is produced by Andaz Media Group in conjunction with the Association Of Black Media Workers in Baltimore. Panelists include Sunni Khalid, managing editor at WYPR; Dr. Joseph Baptiste, president of the National Organization For The Advancement Of Haitians; Madison Smartt Bell, professor at Goucher College and author of a trilogy on the 1791 Haitian Slave Revolution; Lowell Melser, a reporter at WBAL-TV who traveled to Haiti aboard the USNS Comfort; and André Chung, a photographer who returned from Haiti with some powerful images from the disaster..... Rush Musical Reviewed - 2/5 - At the top of Second City Theatricals' "Rush Limbaugh! The Musical," we meet the show's hero at a Missouri sock hop. It's 1968 and the rising king of the radio dial is holding on hard to the 1950s. "I don't yet know what in life I'll be," sings the future prophet of the ditto heads, as his sponsor, the Reverend Rightwing Of The Church Of Immaculate Exemption, stands grinning nearby. "But I know dirty, filthy hippies bother me." More from the Chicago Tribune..... Shameful WMAL - 2/5 - Rant. It's racially derogatory to call an African American man a "boy." So, how is it any different when Rush Limbaugh calls President Obama a "man child" - as the talk radio host did again today? If you're a DC area advertiser, do you really want your spots to be heard on a station - like DC's Citadel-owned WMAL - that broadcasts such shameless crap? WMAL and its sponsors, like the Home Depot, who should be openly condemning such garbage talk rather than supporting it with their ad dollars, should be deeply ashamed. More Rants..... 4's Bob Ryan Might Jump To 7 - 2/5 - The Washington Post is reporting that top weatherman Bob Ryan (right) is considering leaving NBC-owned Channel 4/WRC and jumping to Channel 7/WJLA. Ryan has held talks in recent weeks with WJLA about teaming with its veteran meteorologist, Doug Hill, on its evening newscasts. Channel 7 hasn't completed a deal with Ryan yet, and negotiations could fall through, the Post adds. But with Ryan's current contract expiring in early March, he would be free to change stations after NBC's telecast of the Winter Olympics this month. The Post adds that Ryan would probably be a good fit with a new local news venture that WJLA's owner, Allbritton, is planning. As DCRTV has reported, the company intends to fold resources from its local cable news operation, NewsChannel 8, and its political news publication, Politico, into an all-local website and TV channel later this year. The venture, which is under the direction of former Washingtonpost.com editor Jim Brady, is expected to have a major local weather component. One reader comment to the Post's story: "This is nonsense. Bob's just looking for more money from WRC. Doug and Bob have never gotten along"..... Comcast, NBC Execs Grilled On CapHill - 2/5 - House and Senate Democrats grilled top executives of Comcast and NBC Universal in hearings Thursday on the companies' proposed $30 billion merger, with some lawmakers expressing concern that the deal could hurt consumers and stifle competition. The DC Post has more..... Gannett's Bullard To Retire - 2/5 - Media giant Gannett, based in McLean, said Marcia Bullard will retire as president and chief executive of its USA Weekend magazine at the end of March. Charles Gabrielson, publisher of the weekly magazine, will take on the additional role of president. According to the DC Post, Bullard has spent 35 years with Gannett and was a member of the staff that launched the company's flagship publication, USA Today, in 1982. Gabrielson joined USA Weekend in 1989..... DCRTV Classified Ads - 2/5 - WNAV in Annapolis is looking for a news anchor/reporter. WarpathConfidential.com seeks experienced local ad reps for its website, podcast, and monthly magazine. And Key 103 in Frederick is looking for a program director who can do an airshift. Those are the latest DCRTV Classified Ads. For just $25 reach many thousands of local media movers and shakers..... Riggo To Do PM Drive Show For TOP's HD3 - 2/4 - Bonneville all-newser WTOP radio has signed a "multi-year broadcasting partnership" with NFL Hall Of Famer and Redskins great John Riggins (right). "The John Riggins Show" will return to the air via WTOP's digital HD Radio HD3 channel via 103.5 FM from 4 PM to 7 PM weekdays starting in March. Riggins did an afternoon drive show for Redskins owner Dan Snyder's now defunct Triple X ESPN Radio, but that ended in mid-2008 when Snyder bought sports talker WTEM and shut down Triple X. Also, Riggins will host WTOP pre-game and post-game shows during the NFL season. "Riggo" just completed his first year of providing analysis and commentary for WTOP during the Redskins' season and will continue in that role during the 2010 NFL season. Riggins will also host one-hour "Ask Riggo" late morning WTOP specials throughout the year..... TOP Prepares For Monster Snow - 2/4 - In place of "The Politics Program" at 10 AM tomorrow, WTOP radio will do a special one-hour "Ask Doug" call-in show with Channel 7/WJLA Chief Meteorologist "Doug Of Doom" Hill and WTOP traffic reporter Bob Marbourg about the impending end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it late Friday and all-day Saturday snowstorm that could dump up to two feet on the DC area. Mark Segraves will anchor the program, which will include transportation officials from Maryland, Virginia, and DC..... Divorce For JP - 2/4 - A DCRTVer tells us: WJFK morning Junkie JP Flaim announced on yesterday's show that he and his wife are divorcing, after being separated for six months. JP says that he's now living in "a small apartment"..... Carib Cruise For WashTimes Biggies - 2/4 - Just when the Washington Times looked to be going out of business - after laying off more than half of the staff, way more than the 40 percent that was originally projected, Times employees and some advertisers are leaving this weekend for the warm waters of the Caribbean. No word if Times acting president John Slevin and the paper's new executive editor are going. A local newspaper source wonders: "How can a newspaper that has slashed itself to the bone, has no significant local print circulation and has layed off so many people, afford to take a super expensive luxury trip?"..... Comcast To Launch Xfinity Brand - 2/4 - Comcast plans to rebrand its cable TV, internet, and phone services as Xfinity TV, Xfinity Internet, and Xfinity Voice in 11 markets, including DC and Baltimore, starting next week. Comcast will remain the name of the parent company. A Comcast spokesman said that last year's switch from analog to digital cable laid the groundwork for the switch to Xfinity by freeing up bandwidth for new services, including 100 megabit-per-second broadband, additional high-def channels, and a larger On-Demand catalog. More at comcast.com and seattletimes.nwsource.com. Comcast has switched some, but not all, of its DC and Baltimore area cable TV systems to mostly digital. However, some systems, like Arlington, Reston, Howard, and Baltimore city, await equipment that won't be available until summer..... Theismann To Do Int'l Coverage Of Bowl - 2/4 - Redskins great Joe Theismann will be part of the international broadcast team feeding Sunday's Super Bowl to more than 200 countries. More at washingtonexaminer.com..... Zitner To DC WSJ - 2/4 - Aaron Zitner leaves the Tribune-owned Los Angeles Times to become the DC-based political editor of the Wall Street Journal..... AirAm Has $17M In Liabilities - 2/4 - The media has been pouring over the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing court papers to see who is an unsecured creditor for lefty radio network Air America, which went belly-up in January. Locally, Ruxton Ventures of Chevy Chase was listed as a major investor in the network, with a 4.48% claim on the firm's assets. Air America lists assets of $1,549,910 and liabilities of $17,152,302..... Citadel Hopes To Erase $1.4B In Debt - 2/4 - Speaking of bankruptcies, Citadel Broadcasting has filed its Chapter 11 reorganization plan with the court, which it's hoping will extinguish $1.4 billion in debt. The firm, which owns locals WMAL, WRQX, and WVRX, hopes to have about $72 million cash on hand by the end of April. More from Reuters..... Bloomberg Makes DC Changes - 2/4 - At the Bloomberg News Washington bureau, management changes are in the works that will affect who oversees daily coverage of government and politics. Executive Washington editor Al Hunt is expected to step away from much of the bureau's day-to-day management, with bureau chief Mike Tackett taking on an expanded role. The Politico has more..... "MTP" 1st Again - 2/4 - NBC's "Meet The Press" was again the top-rated DC-based political talker last Sunday. ABC's "This Week" was 2nd, CBS's "Face The Nation" placed 3rd, and Fox's "Fox News Sunday" 4th..... AOL Posts Q4 Profit - 2/3 - AOL, the formerly Dulles-based internet company spun off from Time Warner, posted a fourth-quarter profit of 1-cent a share in its first earnings report as an independent company as display advertising sales improved. Net income totaled $1.4 million, compared with a loss of $1.96 billion a year earlier. Time Warner spun off AOL in December, nine years after a $124 billion combination that triggered record losses. AOL Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong is trying to spur profit growth by investing in specialized websites and overhauling ad sales, and cutting about one-third of the company's 6,900 employees. Bloomberg has more..... "Hardball" With Farhi Finishes Last - 2/3 - The Tuesday edition of "Hardball" on MSNBC, in which Chris Matthews interviewed Washington Post Style section scribe Paul Farhi (right) about the recent Oscar movie nominations, came in dead last among the cable TV news network shows in the 5 PM hour. According to the stats at TVNewser, Glenn Beck on Fox News won the hour, with more than eight times the audience of MSNBC's DC-based "Hardball," which placed a distant fourth among the four news networks at that hour..... Support DCRTV's Advertisers - 2/3 - DCRTV welcomes Tommy Griffiths for renewing his ad in the right column. He's the former host of the "WNOR Morning Show" in Norfolk/Virginia Beach for almost 20 years. He co-hosted the "Tommy And The Bull" show from 1990 to 1995, and the "Tommy And Rumble" show from 1995 to 2009. He says he's consistently #1 in adults 25-49, and is looking to move on to "a bigger market for bigger challenges." More at tommygriffiths.com..... CBS Pay Cut For Couric? - 2/3 - With a little more than a year to go on her contract, Katie Couric is dressing up her resumé. The CBS anchor and DC media pixie, now 53, is facing a huge pay cut in her unprecedented $15 million-a-year salary. More importantly, her bosses at CBS have not yet said whether they want to keep her - at any price. "I would be flabbergasted if she didn't take a pay cut," after next year, a source close to Couric tells the NY Post..... Hannity To Do NRCC - 2/3 - Fox News and WMAL/WCBM personality Sean Hannity will deliver the keynote address at this year's fundraising dinner for the National Republican Congressional Committee on March 23 at DC's National Building Museum..... More FIOS Subs To Get CSN+ - 2/3 - Verizon's FIOS is finally giving its TV subscribers in "outlying areas" access to Comcast SportsNet Plus, the overflow channel that runs the Capitals when the Wizards are on CSN's main channel, and vice versa. CSN+ games will continue to air on the FIOS1 channel in the immediate DC metro area, and on channel 334 in the rest of the region. More from Dan Steinberg at washingtonpost.com..... Farley: Simpson Wrong On WFRE Claim - 2/3 - WTOP VP/Programming Jim Farley asks the Washington Post to run a correction to a Q&A yesterday featuring former WPGCer Donnie Simpson, who claimed that the allegedly faulty Portable People Meter radio ratings once showed that Frederick country outlet WFRE once topped the Washington radio ratings - in place of its usual occupant, WTOP. Something that's never happened, according to a look at the DC PPMs, which were unveiled here in the fall of 2008. A copy of Farley's request is in DCRTV's 2/3 Mailbag..... Father Of Doug McKelway Dies - 2/3 - Condolences to Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8 anchor Doug McKelway on the January 31 death of his father, Dr. William Prentiss McKelway, 87, a native Washingtonian and longtime obstetrician. Dr. McKelway was a veteran of the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Dr. McKelway's father, Benjamin, editor of the Washington Evening Star and president of the Associated Press, was selected by General Eisenhower to cover the liberation of the Nazi death camps. Dr. McKelway graduated from George Washington University Medical School in 1950 and became a clinical professor in 1974. He founded Foxhall OB-GYN Associates. Services will be held on February 5, 1:30 PM, at St. David's Episcopal Church, 5150 Macomb Street NW, DC. A copy of the obit is in DCRTV's 2/3 Mailbag..... More: CBS Axes 9 In DC - 2/3 - DCRTV's already told you that nine CBS News staffers at the Washington bureau got the budget cut ax earlier this week. Now, the Politico tells us that producers Mark Katkov and Jill Rosenbaum were given pink slips. The DC cuts included three technicians, four producers, and two office personnel. CBS News reportedly cut upwards of 100 nationwide..... No New Show For Kate At TLC? - 2/3 - David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com now doubts whether Silver Spring-based Discovery-owned TLC actually has a new show planned for Kate Gosselin, formerly of "John And Kate Plus Eight"..... 3 FCC Commissioners To Speak At NAB Show - 2/3 - FCC Commissioners Michael Copps, Mignon Clyburn, and Meredith Attwell Baker will speak during the 2010 NAB Show at a session entitled "The Washington Face-Off." The session, to be held April 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will feature a discussion about spectrum management, media ownership, and developments in digital media. The DC-based National Association Of Broadcasters' annual spring confab will take place from April 10 to 15 in Las Vegas. FMQB has more..... C-SPAN To Cover Comcast-NBC Hearings - 2/2 - DC-based C-SPAN will air the Comcast/ NBCU House Communications And Internet Subcommittee hearing on the proposed Comcast and NBC Universal joint venture live on Thursday at 9:30 AM. No word yet if C-SPAN will cover the afternoon hearing, which includes many of the same witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee. Headlining both hearings: Comcast Chairman/CEO Brian Roberts and NBCU President/CEO Jeff Zucker. Comcast owns cable TV systems serving much of the DC-Baltimore area, while NBC owns Channel 4/WRC..... WaPo's Brauchli Left WSJ With $6.4M - 2/2 - Marcus Brauchli, now running the Washington Post, has never spoken publicly about how much he received upon leaving the top job at the Wall Street Journal in April 2007, just a few months after Rupert Murdoch took over. Previous reports have simply put the number in the "millions." But in Sarah Ellison's forthcoming book on the sale of Dow Jones, the ex-Journal media reporter writes that Brauchli walked away with $6.4 million. The Politico has more..... Fired Deejay Rico Campaigns Against PGC - 2/2 - Deejay Rico (right), who got canned last week by urban contemporary WPGC (95.5 FM) for playing a tune that was not approved by the CBS Radio station's management, is launching a Facebook campaign against his former employer. "GET THOSE EMAILS OUT REMEMBER TAKE 955 WPGC OFF YOUR RADIO... HELP WITH THIS PROTEST AND EMAIL MICHAEL.SAUNDERS@ CBSRADIO.COM, REGGIE.ROUSE@CBSRADIO.COM & SAM.ROGERS@CBSRADIO.COM... TELL EVERYBODY... TAG IT OR POST IT!!" Longtime morning man Donnie Simpson, whose last show was Friday, had asked Rico to do a mix on the air, including an unapproved Prince song, we're told. Rico had been a longtime production assistant at PGC..... Simpson: PPMs Killing PGC - 2/2 - Longtime WPGCer Donnie Simpson, who did his last show for the CBS Radio station on Friday, answered questions at a Q&A today at washingtonpost.com. "The music on my show and the control of it was a major factor in determining my leaving. I've always had control of what I played on the air." Also, he slammed the new electronic Portable People Meter radio ratings. "PPM has been a disaster. It has killed minority stations across this country... In one rating period, WFRE, a country station in Frederick, MD, showed up number one in DC... There are so many problems with PPM, just one of them is the fact that it rates what it hears, not neccessarily what you hear"..... WLIF Remains Atop Balto Radio Heap - 2/2 - The first week of the January Portable People Meter radio ratings for Baltimore. Full-day, age 12+: 1) WLIF, 2) WWIN-FM, 3) WERQ, 4) WPOC, 5) WWMX, 6) WIYY, 7) WRBS-FM, 8) WBAL-AM, 9) WQSR, 10) WJZ-FM, 11) WYPR and WZFT and WZBA, 14) WCBM, 15) WBJC. More: 21) WCAO, 31) WTMD, 34) WEAA, 35) WRNR-FM and WJZ-AM, 39) WWIN-AM, 42) WOLB and WNST, 45) WRBS-AM.... CPB Worries About Obama Budget Cuts - 2/2 - The DC-based Corporation For Public Broadcasting has added its voice to the noncommercial broadcasters concerned with some cuts in the president's proposed 2011 budget. CPB President Pat Harrison says she's grateful for the appropriation noncoms did get, including the two-year forward funding that helps insure editorial independence, but she was concerned about the effort to zero out about $25 million in "critical infrastructure" grants currently funded through the departments of Commerce and Education. More from B&C..... Sinclair & ABC Continue Talking - 2/2 - Sinclair has extended the affiliate agreements covering the Baltimore-based firm's nine owned or operated ABC affiliated TV stations until February 28. The two parties continue to negotiate the terms of the agreements, which were set to expire December 31, and had already been extended a month. B&C has more..... Former WaPo Film Critic To Obama Admin - 2/2 - Former Washington Post film critic Desson Thomson will join the Obama administration and head to London as a speechwriter for Ambassador Louis Susman. Thomson worked for the Post from 1983 to 2008, most recently as a film critic for the Weekend and Style sections. More from Ed O'Keefe at wapo.com..... Jay Heflin To The Hill - 2/2 - Former CQer Jay Heflin jumps to The Hill. A former tax accountant, he'll be writing about tax and fiscal issues..... Jon Miller To Hall Of Fame - 2/2 - Longtime Baltimore Orioles play-by-play man Jon Miller is the winner of the Ford C. Frick Award, which is given for lifetime achievement in broadcasting and admits Miller to the National Baseball Hall Of Fame And Museum. Miller moved on to the San Francisco Giants after the Orioles moved too slowly to renew his contract in the 1990s. There has always been speculation that owner Peter Angelos didn't want him back because he was too honest about the team. More at baltimoresun.com..... Steve Eldridge Update - 2/2 - DCRTV hears that DC radio and WTOP veteran Steve Eldridge has taken a turn for the worse in his long battle with cancer. More soon..... WTOP Calls Back On 1050 - 2/2 - Bonneville has resurrected the WTOP call letters on 1050 AM, as its top-of-the-hour ID now includes "WTOP Silver Spring." Since Air America went bye-bye last week, 1050 has been switched to a relay of all-news WTOP, but the WZAA call remained until yesterday. WTOP's main signal of 103.5 remains "WTOP-FM Washington"..... Shales Loves Walters - 2/2 - TV critic Tom Shales thought that ABC News diva Barbara Walters was just fantastic subbing on the DC-based "This Week" last Sunday. At washingtonpost.com..... CSN Upgrades Friday's Caps Game - 2/1 - Comcast SportsNet says it'll flip the Capitals and Wizards games on Friday, 2/5. The Caps' 7 PM match against the Atlanta Thrashers at Verizon Center has been moved from CSN+ to CSN and will air in glorious high-def. With the Wizards' game against the Orlando Magic, scheduled at the same time, getting moved to CSN+, which is only available in quaint standard-def..... Anita Marks To Cover Bowl For Miami Sportser - 2/1 - Local sports media guru Jim Williams tells DCRTV that Anita Marks (right), who recently got yanked off CBS Radio Baltimore sports talker 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM, will be part of Beasley-owned Miami sports talker WQAM's Super Bowl coverage. "They are the top sports station in the Miami market and you can hear them all up and down the east coast of Florida," Williams says. Also, Williams tells DCRTV that there's been a whole lot of interest in Marks in a number of markets much larger than Baltimore, including the 9th largest radio market. Stay tuned..... CBS Cuts Hit DC - 2/1 - DCRTV hears from a source: "The firings at CBS Washington have started. Nine so far with more being called into offices as we speak." DCRTV told you over the weekend that CBS was cutting about 100 positions nationwide, with about a dozen CBS News cuts in its Washington bureau. Another source: "Looks like the total is 10 at CBS. None have been called into the office for about an hour - three technicians, four producers, two office, and one IT." More as we hear it..... Foxy Palin To Do "FNS" - 2/1 - Sarah Palin, now an employee of Fox News, will appear on the DC-based "Fox News Sunday." The Politico has more..... Real World DCer Lands Radio Gig - 2/1 - Erika Lauren, a cast member from MTV's "Real World DC," joins "The Alan Cox Show," heard afternoons on Cleveland rocker WMMS..... TEM & JFK Prepare For Bowl - 2/1 - Jim Williams looks at the preparations DC's sports talkers - WTEM ESPN 980 and WJFK 106.7 The Fan - are making to cover the Super Bowl in Miami on Sunday. More at washingtonexaminer.com..... DGA Honor For Jason Winer - Baltimore native Jason Winer picks up a Directors Guild Of America Award for the pilot of ABC's "Modern Family." More at baltimoresun.com..... Daily Caller Jumps Into WH Press Pool - 2/1 - Tucker Carlson's DC-based Daily Caller website joins the White House press pool. Starting in March, White House reporter Jon Ward will begin filing reports. The Politico has more..... WQSR: Goodbye Baltimore, Hello DC? - 2/1 - DCRTV hears that Clear Channel is building new studios on the 6th floor at 1801 Rockville Pike for what could be a six signal for its DC cluster. Yet, Clear Channel owns only five stations in the Washington market. Just recently, DCRTV reported that Clear Channel named Dave Wellington, who is already program director of DC alternative rocker DC101, as PD also of Baltimore's jockless classic hits "Jack FM," WQSR. Might Clear Channel be planning to make WQSR a more DC-oriented signal, with its programming coming from the DC HQ in Rockville? And why studios for a jockless format? The 102.7 FMer has decent coverage of the DC metro. What's the Rush? Hmmm..... TOP Back To Top Spot - 2/1 - With the Christmas season behind us, and the "Holiday" Portable People Meter radio ratings period over, all-news WTOP returns to the top of the heap. Week one of January, full-day, age 12+:) 1) WTOP [1st in both drivetimes], 2) WAMU, 3) WHUR [Harvey 3rd], 4) WIHT [Kane 4th], 5) WASH [L&L 7th], 6) WETA-FM, 7) WMMJ [Joyner 5th], 8) WBIG, 9) WRQX [Diamond 9th], 10) WWDC [Elliot 11th], 11) WGTS, 12) WPGC [Simpson 12th], 13) WKYS [Parr 10th], 14) WMAL [G&A 16th, Rush 7th, Hannity 13th], 15) WMZQ, 16) WPRS, 17) WIAD, 18) WTEM [M&M 18th, Korny 12th, Czaban 14th], 19) WLZL, 20) WJFK [Junks 14th, Wise 21st, Arrington 19th], 21) WVRX, 22) WBQB, 23) WAVA-FM and WDCN and WINC-FM, 26) WFLS and WTNT, 28) WYCB and WQSR and WERQ and WPFW and WKDV and WACA and WAFY..... TEM & TNT Schedule Korny Replays - 2/1 - DCRTV hears that Red Zebra sports talker WTEM (980 AM, 92.7 FM, 94.3 FM) will be re-running Tony Kornheiser's live 10 AM to noon show from 7 PM to 9 PM the same evening. And from 4 AM to 6 AM the following weekday on Red Zebra sister talker WTNT (570 AM). That's according to Kornheiser's show banter this morning. He's the top-rated host on Redskins owner Dan Snyder's ESPN 980..... Gannett Outlook Improves - 2/1 - McLean-based Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, said Monday it turned a profit in the fourth quarter, helped by a drop in one-time costs and a smaller decline in ad sales. Although Gannett's earnings topped Wall Street's estimates, its shares tumbled more than 10 percent, or $1.65, to $14.50 in morning trading Monday. AP has more..... Metro Traffic Plane Lands On NJ Turnpike - 2/1 - Nearby news. Breaking. A Metro Networks plane reporting traffic for CBS's all-news KYW-AM and Channel 3/KYW in Philadelphia made an emergency landing on the New Jersey Turnpike during morning rush hour on Monday. No injuries. More at DCRTV's Philadelphia Media News page..... Corley & Brooks Doing PGC Mornings, Simpson Talking To Oprah? - 2/1 - Anji Corley and Mike Brooks are doing the WPGC (95.5 FM) morning show this morning, with longtime newsman Guy Lambert. No official CBS Radio announcement about a post-Donnie Simpson morning show on the longtime urban contemporary outlet. As for Simpson, DCRTV hears rumors that he's been taking to Oprah Winfrey about a spot on her new OWN network with Silver Spring-based Discovery Channel. OWN will debut early next year, just about the same time Simpson's CBS Radio contract ends. Also, there's a rumor floating around that Simpson may do a syndicated national TV show for Oprah's organization. Her broadcast TV show, seen locally on Channel 7/WJLA and Channel 11/WBAL, ends in fall 2011..... Politico TV To Replace NC8 By Fall - 2/1 - DCRTV hears more about Politico TV, which could very well be replacing NewsChannel 8 later this year. It'll basically be a political news channel, based here in DC, with national, Capitol Hill news, plus local political news, possibly via cut-ins. And we're hearing that the channel, to be launched by Allbritton, which owns the Politico website and print rag, plus WJLA and NC8, could be taken nationwide, unlike local news NC8, which is only available in the DC area. No firm launch date for Politico TV, but late summer or early fall is a likely time-frame. Update: A Politico PR person denies all of the above, but, when pressed, would not say just what Politico TV or Allbritton's new local news venture will be or when they'll launch..... Dealey Nabs WashTimes Editor Gig - 2/1 - DCRTV tipped you earlier. Now we get official word from the Washington Times that Sam Dealey has been named new executive editor..... Sun Vet Cameron Snyder Dies - 2/1 - Cameron Crockett Snyder, a sportswriter for the Baltimore Sun who covered the Baltimore Colts during their heyday and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame, died on 1/29 of lung cancer at his home in Fullerton. He was 93. More from the Sun..... James Brown Talks To WETA - 2/1 - Longtime Washington sportscaster James Brown, who currently anchors CBS's NFL coverage, stops by the WETA Book Studio to talk about his new book, "Role Of A Lifetime." More at thebookstudio.com..... Rush E-Mails WaPo Gossip Gals - 2/1 - Stop the presses. The Reliable Source re-write gossip gals in the Washington Post actually got an e-mail from titanic righty radio talker Rush Limbaugh, who was a judge at Saturday's Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. In the e-mail, Limbaugh, who does an anti-Obama show heard locally on WMAL, strongly praises the new Miss America, Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron from Fredericksburg. No confirmation, but DCRTV hears that the RS gals might have got Rush's private e-mail contact from the Politico's Michael Calderone..... Former 2 ND Handles Super Bowl PR - 2/1 - Super Bowl XLIV kicks off in Miami next Sunday, and Howard County resident David Silverstein is in South Florida, working for the city's host committee on the zillion off-the-field details that go into making the huge event a success. The 44-year-old former news director at Channel 2/WMAR in Baltimore is in Miami by necessity. He lost his six-figure job in March 2008, when new management wanted its own people. His goodbye included a seven-month severance package. The DC Post has more..... FCC OKs Power Hike For HD Radio - 2/1 - From Tom Taylor at Radio-Info.com: Important news in the iBiquity/HD Radio world. Fears of signal interference caused the FCC to keep power levels tamped way down, which meant that many buyers of HD Radio receivers aren't able to reliably get signals from local stations. On Friday, the Media Bureau adopted an order permitting most stations to immediately make a four-fold power increase. Plus, stations can apply for even more power. The Commission, still worried about interference, will "establish interference remediation procedures." The FCC reserves the right to re-visit the power increases if it gets reports of "significant interference," since the digital HD Radio signal creates an audible buzz on either "side" of the analog signal..... WFMD's Blaine Young Jumps Back Into Political Arena - 1/31 - Blaine Young, who hosts a talk show on Frederick's WFMD (930 AM), has been chosen by the Frederick County Republican State Central Committee to fill a vacant county commissioners seat. Young had been a former Frederick alderman. The Frederick News-Post has more..... Candy Crowley To Host CNN's "SOTU" - 1/31 - CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has been named anchor of CNN's DC-based Sunday morning political program, "State Of The Union." She takes over from John King, who will start a new weeknightly CNN show in February. The Politico has more..... WLIF Tops Holiday Balto PPMs - 1/31 - The "Holiday" monthly Portable People Meter radio ratings for Baltimore, full-day, age 12+: 1) WLIF, 2) WWIN-FM, 3) WERQ, 4) WPOC, 5) WWMX, 6) WQSR, 7) WIYY and WRBS-FM, 9) WBAL-AM, 10) WYPR, 11) WJZ-FM, 12) WZFT, 13) WZBA, 14) WCBM, 15) WBJC. More: 19) WCAO, 30) WEAA, 32) WRNR-FM and WTMD, 38) WJZ-AM, 41) WWIN-AM, 44) WNST and WVIE..... Patricia Guadalupe Exits WTOP - 1/30 - DCRTV hears that Patricia Guadalupe is leaving her reporting gig with all-news WTOP radio to join the DC-based National Association Of Latino Elected Officials as its communications chief. "It's been a great ride, but the allure of more focus on political issues, and no holidays or weekend work and more money... was too good to pass up," she writes on her Facebook page..... A Dozen CBS News Cuts Coming To DC - 1/30 - CBS News employees are bracing for a significant round of layoffs that will hit the news division next week. Nationwide job cuts could reach as high as 100, or 7% of the approximately 1,400-person staff. The LA Times has more. DCRTV hears that maybe a dozen layoffs could hit CBS's Washington news bureau..... Tom Brookshier Dies - 1/30 - Former Philadelphia Eagles star Tom Brookshier has died at 78. The Eagles said he had cancer and died Friday night. Brookshier was an All-Pro defensive back who played on the Eagles' 1960 championship team. He had 20 interceptions in seven seasons with the team, earning All-Pro honors in 1959 and 1960. After he retired, Brookshier announced NFL games for CBS. He teamed with Pat Summerall to form CBS's top telecast team. He was also heard on the old WCAU (now WPHT) radio in Philadelphia. He is one of seven Eagles to have his number retired. ESPN has more..... Stars & Stripes Delivers To Haiti - 1/30 - Starting Saturday, DC-based military newspaper Stars And Stripes will begin circulating in earthquake ravaged Haiti. "Stars And Stripes has not only a proud tradition but a mandate to be sure that we provide a newspaper wherever soldiers are," Senior Managing Editor Howard Witt said. "The main places we go now obviously is Iraq and Afghanistan, but as soon as it was apparent there was going to be a massive deployment to Haiti, our distribution and circulation people were trying to figure out how to get on the island." The 800 copies going to Haiti will be printed at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. E&P has more..... Parshall Leaves Salem For Moody - 1/30 - Janet Parshall, a syndicated talk-show host and the nation's pre-eminent female Christian broadcaster, is leaving the Salem Radio Network to start a new show with the Chicago-based Moody Broadcasting Network. The last day for "Janet Parshall's America" was a Friday rerun. Parshall, who lives near Front Royal VA, recorded her last live show Monday, when she announced she was leaving. Locally, Parshall is heard on Salem's Christian talk WAVA (105.1 FM) and attracted 0.9 percent of the local audience, one-third that of rival Christian contemporary WGTS (91.9 FM). In 1998, Parshall's show ran four hours a day on WAVA. Her time has since been reduced to one hour at 3 PM. The DC Times has more..... Donnie Simpson: "Not Retirement" - 1/29 - "This is not a retirement, I will be back," Donnie Simpson (right) said on urban contemporary WPGC's airwaves at 6:13 AM Friday. He confirmed that it's his last day at the CBS Radio station, but not his last day on the radio in DC. He jested that he was late this morning because he had to "get some boxes from the basement" to pack up his things. "I brought my own box. Usually they put it in a box for you." DCRTV has told you that CBS was negotiating an early contractual "out" with the longtime morning personality in order to cut costs and to attract more younger listeners to DC's 95.5. Simpson's first tribute caller was Robert Johnson, the founder of BET, where Simpson once worked. Said Steve Harvey, who's heard mornings on PGC rival WHUR: "You cannot let a legend go and replace him," in a slam to "PGC or PEC, whatever it's called." Stressed Simpson: "This is my decision, bro, I don't want to point a finger... The option to stay was there... There's no animosity to management or anything like that... I leave happy... and with integrity." Russ Parr, morning man on rival WKYS, also called Simpson. More call-ins: Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Tavis Smiley, Bootsy Collins, Frankie Beverly, Wyclef Jean, John Legend, DL Hughley, and DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier. Channel 5/WTTG and Tony Perkins (left with Simpson in pic at right), who worked at WKYS with Simpson before Simpson jumped to PGC in 1992, streamed the PGC farewell during its Friday morning newscast at myfoxdc.com. According to the Washington Post, the station forbade Simpson to reminisce on the air with two former sidekicks, Chris Paul and Huggy Lowdown, who now work for rival programs. While Simpson was tight-lipped about what he will do next, he hinted that he could be heading back to TV. And still no official word about who will replace Simpson in the PGC morning slot, but DCRTV has reported rumors that Big Tigger could be moved over from afternoons..... Simpson & Cerphe In WETA's '70s Doc - 1/29 - Longtime (now former) WPGCer Donnie Simpson and veteran DC rock radio personality Cerphe Colwell will be featured in WETA-TV's "Washington In The '70s" documentary, which will debut on 2/22 at 9 PM. Also featured: Marion Barry, Connie Chung, Walter Fauntroy, Charlene Drew Jarvis, Maury Povich, and Carole Schwartz. Bernard Shaw will narrate..... Sam Dealey To Be WashTimes Editor - 1/29 - Sam Dealey is expected to be named executive editor of the Washington Times. He'll replace John Solomon, who left the conservative paper as the ownership, members of the Unification Church, began dismantling it. So reports Paul Bedard at usnews.com. Dealey's resume includes US News, Reader's Digest, GQ, Details, the New York Times, CNN, and PBS..... Al Colby Dies - 1/29 - DCRTV hears that Al Colby, 66, a retired CBS News Washington Bureau cameraman, died on January 29. Colby joined CBS in the late 1960s. More soon..... Bob Windsor Dies - 1/29 - DCRTV hears that Bob Windsor, who worked for ABC News in TV and radio in the 1960s, and again in the late 1970s and early 1980s, died on January 25 of cancer at his DC area home. He was 73. He originally worked as a radio and television news correspondent for WTOP, and then joined ABC News in DC and later became one of the voices of ABC Radio Network/Information..... Transportation Reporting Partnership For WAMU - 1/29 - DCRTV hears that American University news talker WAMU (88.5 FM) is beginning a year-long partnership with NYC public radio station WNYC the non-profit investigative news organization ProPublica to focus on local and regional transportation issues that affect the DC area. Parttime reporter David Schultz will report, as part of a Rockefeller Foundation-funded project that includes several public radio stations and ProPublica..... Rehm To Interview Kasell - 1/29 - More WAMU news: 88.5 FM's mid-morning host Diane Rehm will interview longtime National Public Radio newsman Carl Kasell at George Washington University's Jack Morton Auditorium on 2/2 at 7 PM. The event is already sold-out. Rehm will discuss Kasell's 50 years in broadcasting, his decision to retire from the NPR Newscast Unit, how NPR has changed since he started in 1975, and what lies ahead. The interview will available on wamu.org on 2/3..... Comcast Adds 32's HD - 1/29 - Comcast has added Howard University's Channel 32/ WHUT in high-def on its DC area systems - channels 202 and 802. Also, you'll need a digital box or a TV with a digital tuner to continue receiving WHUT's standard-def signal in the "limited basic tier." The analog cable TV feed of the PBS affiliate has been dropped, and will no longer be available to subscribers with pre-digital cable-ready sets and older, non-digital boxes..... Comcast & NBC Pledge To Bolster Broadcast TVers - 1/29 - Comcast and NBC Universal, seeking to win regulatory approval of their proposed $30 billion union, promised Thursday to maintain local over-the-air broadcasting services and to beef up programming for children and minority viewers. The companies' pledge came in a merger application with the Federal Communications Commission, but analysts and public interest groups say other key questions remain, including how the combined media and internet-service titan would affect the way people access entertainment and news over the web. The DC Post has more..... Buttry To Allbritton's DC Local News Op - 1/29 - Steve Buttry is leaving the Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to join the new local Washington news operation being launched by Allbritton, which owns the Politico, WJLA, and NewsChannel 8. E&P has more..... CQ's Leah Nylen To Main Justice - 1/29 - Leah Nylen leaves CQ's Legislative Action to become managing editor of legal news blog Main Justice..... DCRTV Classified Ads - 1/28 - Comcast Spotlight is looking for a local sales manager, regional account executive, national direct account executive, and sales assistants. WTOP radio is looking for a fulltime reporter. And Centennial Broadcasting/WBQB Fredericksburg is looking for a marketing consultant. Those are the latest DCRTV Classified Ads. For just $25 reach many thousands of local media movers and shakers..... Deejay Rico Gone From PGC - 1/28 - DCRTV hears that CBS Radio's urban contemporary WPGC (95.5 FM) has cut loose Deejay Rico. A source tells us: "Wednesday, Donnie Simpson asked him to do a mix on the air during his show and the new program manager, Michael Saunders, felt he needed to be fired for doing a mix when there wasn't one scheduled." Outgoing WPGC morning man Donnie Simpson stayed off the air Thursday to protest the dismissal of one of his longtime production assistants. Rico reportedly said he was fired for playing music, including a Prince song, that Simpson had asked for on Wednesday, but had not been approved by the station's management..... More: Marks Gone From 105.7 - 1/28 - The latest Baltimore sports media news, including the departure of Anita Marks from 105.7 The Fan, is in this week's column from your trusty DCRTV (not DRTV) webmaster at pressboxonline.com..... XMAS WASH Tops Holiday Monthly Ratings - 1/28 - The monthly "Holiday" Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC, full-day, age 12+:) 1) WASH [L&L 4th], 2) WTOP [AM drive 1st, PM drive 2nd], 3) WAMU, 4) WIHT [Kane 6th], 5) WHUR [Harvey 3rd], 6) WMMJ [Joyner 7th], 7) WETA-FM, 8) WBIG, 9) WPGC [Simpson 9th], 10) WKYS [Parr 10th] and WWDC [Elliot 11th], 12) WRQX [Diamond 11th], 13) WMZQ, 14) WTGB, 15) WMAL [G&A 17th, Rush 8th, Hannity 15th], 16) WGTS, 17) WPRS, 18) WLZL, 19) WTEM [M&M 18th, Korny 14th, Czaban 17th], 20) WJFK [Junks 14th, Wise 19th, Arrington 20th], 21) WVRX, 22) WDCN, 23) WBQB, 24) WPFW, 25) WINC-FM and WFLS and WAVA..... "MTP" 1st Again - 1/28 - NBC's "Meet The Press" was again the top-rated DC-based political talker last Sunday. CBS's "Face The Nation" placed 2nd, ABC's "This Week" was 3rd, and Fox's "Fox News Sunday" 4th..... Obama To Call Simpson's PGC Farewell Tomorrow? - 1/28 - A source tells DCRTV: "Donnie IS off today... Big show planned with star-studded call-ins and live celebs tomorrow. Possibly even Obama!" DCRTV has told you that CBS Radio has been negotiating to buy out the contract of longtime DC radio morning man Donnie Simpson (left), and it looks increasingly likely that tomorrow, Friday, will be his big finale at WPGC (95.5 FM). More soon..... Cost-Cutting Helps MG - 1/28 - Richmond-based Media General reports 4Q 2009 income of $27.4 million. The publisher of the Richmond-Times Dispatch, plus Prince William County's News And Messenger and its InsideNova.com website, cited cost-cutting and stronger ad sales for the profit. Reuters has more..... Comcast To Partner With Leonsis For Wizards, Verizon Center? - 1/28 - In the Examiner, Jim Williams wonders if area cable TV giant Comcast will join forces with former AOL mogul Ted Leonsis, who owns the hockey Capitals, to obtain the basketball Wizards and Verizon Center. Comcast owns a batch of sports networks, including Comcast SportsNet and Versus, plus the Comcast Center arena in Philadelphia. Just yesterday, the holding company that owns a majority of the Wizards and the Verizon Center says it has the right to put the franchise and arena on the open market, throwing into question attempts by Leonsis to take full ownership of the sprawling regional sports empire. Thomas Heath has more at washingtonpost.com..... Grady & Goldstein To Snoop For PolDaily - 1/28 - Heading up the new investigative unit at AOL's Politics Daily - James Grady and Bonnie Goldstein. She is a former special investigator to the US Senate and a former investigative producer for ABC News. And he is author of 13 novels and worked as investigative reporter for syndicated muckraker Jack Anderson..... WaPo Deletes Blog Post Critical Of WaPo - 1/28 - A Washington Post blog post critical of the Washington Post disappears from the Washington Post's website. The post from education reporter Bill Turque criticized the paper's editorial board and explained to readers why they might have noticed an anomaly in the paper's coverage of a high-profile hubbub centering on DC schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Erik Wemple has more at washingtoncitypaper.com..... NAB & RAB To Grand Hyatt - 1/28 - We've already tipped you. Now DCRTV gets confirmation that the National Association Of Broadcasters' fall radio show, which has now been merged with the Radio Advertising Bureau's fall confab, will be held at DC's Grand Hyatt from September 29 to October 1. "The choice of Washington is designed partially for better access to policy makers on Capitol Hill. It should add to radio's profile in the capital and might even offer valuable lobbying opportunities for group heads and state association execs," says Radio-Info.com's Tom Taylor..... Limbaugh Does Miss America - 1/28 - Rush Limbaugh says he loves to judge people. And he's in Las Vegas to judge the Miss America contestants. More in the Las Vegas Sun..... Shales On Prez's SOTU - 1/28 - Tom Shales watches State Of The Union speeches so you don't have to. At washingtonpost.com he writes: "There was humility but no remorse in Obama's words or the way in which he delivered them. He hailed and commended American values and seemed also to personify some of them - directness, candor, neighborliness. At moments he was less the man in the White House than the guy next door"..... UMD Buys WaPo's College Park Print Plant - 1/27 - The University Of Maryland has reached a deal to buy the Washington Post's printing plant in College Park for about $12 million, the Baltimore Business Journal reports. The purchase should allow the University Of Maryland to relocate some facilities and services from its growing east campus to the shuttered 300,000-square-foot plant that sits on more than 18 acres. The deal needs approval of the Maryland Board Of Public Works, which is expected to vote on 2/10. The Post's Maryland plant was shuttered last year, with most printing now taking place at its Springfield, Virginia plant..... Bloomberg Might Start Political News Site - 1/27 - Bloomberg News is weighing whether to give the OK to a new editorial product internally dubbed "BGov" that would cover the intersection of business and politics and be delivered via a website. The project comes after Bloomberg's parent company turned down the opportunity to purchase Congressional Quarterly last year. If approved, BGov would hire 40 to 50 editorial employees later this year and have a budget of $100 million. Talking Biz News has more..... CNN Radio Layoffs - 1/27 - DCRTV is hearing about a big batch of layoffs at CNN Radio in Atlanta. Lots of cuts, including off-air people and editors. No word yet on how it'll affect the DC staff. More soon..... Ingraham Gets New Prod - 1/27 - While she can be a stern, heartless taskmaster to her employees, DC-based righty radio talker Laura Ingraham has found a new senior producer. It's Nelson Lewis, who has worked with the guest booking unit of Fox News in DC..... Mika & Joe To MC WPCF Dinner - 1/27 - Mika Brzezinksi and Joe Scarborough of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show will emcee the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner on February 10..... More Local News On 7? - 1/27 - DCRTV hears that Channel 7/WJLA will lose the Martha Stewart show to the Hallmark Channel come September. And, with Oprah Winfrey's last show set for June 2011, DC's Allbritton-owned ABC affiliate will have "two fill two huge gaps in programing." A local TV guru wonders: "Could it mean more local news? With all the NewsChannel 8 (and) Politico rumblings, 10 AM and 4 PM news show do not sound out of the question" for 7. DCRTV has told you that Allbritton is developing a Politico-based local news website and TV operation that could be seen on the firm's NC8 and WJLA. Stay tuned..... 11 Readies New Chopper - 1/27 - Channel 11/WBAL upgrades both chopper and camera system. Sky Team 11 HD to debut soon. In the picture (right), we see 11's old chopper on the right, and the new chopper being equipped on the left. It'll be "HD news from the air for Baltimore," a source tells DCRTV..... 1370 Wants More Night Power - 1/27 - A DCRTV tech guru tells us that Baltimore sports talker WVIE, Fox 1370, has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to triple its night time power to 24,000-watts, more than three times its current post-sunset power level. WVIE already sports a 50,000-watt daytime signal, which gives it decent coverage even thoughout the DC metro..... Sun's Site Bans Article Comments - 1/27 - DCRTV hears that the Baltimore Sun has temporarily disabled all "in-story commenting" due to "technical issues." That means readers can't post website comments on Sun articles, for the time-being, anyway. "We are working to correct the issue and will bring back this feature in the future. In the meantime, please use our talk forums to discuss stories," an announcement at baltimoresun.com says. We're told that the restriction also affects the Los Angeles Times, the Sun's Tribune Company sister. DCRTV wonders if the Sun is seeking new methods to screen out tasteless and potentially libelous comments posted by readers, as well as junk e-mail. Stay tuned...... Donnie Still On PGC - 1/27 - They're still calling it "The Donnie Simpson Show" on WPGC, but Mr. Simpson doesn't seem to be there this morning. Oh, wait, he is there, but seems to be playing a lot of music and not doing a lot of talking. DCRTV told you that there were rumblings yesterday that yesterday may have been Simpson's last at the ratings-troubled urban contemporary outlet, with other reports claiming that Friday would be his last day. We've also reported that station owner CBS Radio has been negotiating to get morning man Simpson "out" of his contract. We've also told you that afternoon man Big Tigger may be moving to mornings at 95.5. More as we hear it..... WaPo CXs Errant Pentagon Afghan Death List - 1/27 - Last weekend, DCRTV reported that in the listing of "Afghanistan War Deaths" in Sunday's Washington Post, two soldiers named "Mark Juarez" were listed as being killed on the same day. And we also told you that MSNBC reported the previous week that the Pentagon made an error regarding the like-named soldiers with different middle initials, one of whom has since returned alive and well to the USA. On Wednesday, the Post issued a correction for its Sunday piece..... Examinerer Charges Fox5 With Story Theft - 1/27 - Golly! The Washington Examiner's Michael Neibauer claims that Fox5, WTTG, stole his story about problems at the DC Animal Shelter. FishbowlDC has more..... Z: Sexist Males Didn't Like Marks - 1/26 - David Zurawik uncovers some "sociological undercurrents" in the pile of anti-Anita Marks comments he's received since running a piece yesterday about her leaving Baltimore sports talker 105.7 The Fan, WJZ-FM. And finds a strong hint of "sexism" from many male posters. "I believe men will accept certain kinds of women sportscasters - particularly ones who go out of their way to defer to male knowledge and authority. The one thing no one will ever accuse Marks of being is deferential," he writes at baltimoresun.com..... "Anxiety" Plagues DC CNNers - 1/26 - Michael Calderone writes about "anxiety" being exhibited at CNN and reports that at a recent annual meeting with CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton in Washington, bureau staffers expressed their discontent with some of the programming changes being made, namely Rick Sanchez gaining an hour for "Rick's List" and Wolf Blitzer's "Situation Room." At politico.com..... Spanish Oldies For 700 AM - 1/26 - DCRTV hears that WDMV (700 AM), the Birach-owned Frederick area station that returned to the airwaves earlier this month, is now playing Spanish language oldies. Before leaving the airwaves last summer, the station had been airing brokered talk..... Bob Dylan Joins WETA's WH Music Special - 1/26 - DCRTV hears that music legend Bob Dylan is performing as a part of "In Performance At The White House: A Celebration Of Music From The Civil Rights Movement," a PBS music special produced by Arlington-based WETA. It'll be taped on 2/10 and air at 8 PM on 2/11. It will be Dylan's first performance at the White House, and the event - hosted by the Obamas - will also include Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Seal, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the Howard University Choir..... Comcast Makes Bias & Colts Docs Available On-Demand - 1/26 - As part of Comcast's recently-launched ESPN On-Demand offering, which includes sports documentaries from ESPN's critically acclaimed "30 For 30" film series, digital TV customers in the DC and Baltimore areas can now watch a batch of "regionally relevant" documentaries. Including "Without Bias," about University Of Maryland basketball star Len Bias's tragic death. And "The Band That Wouldn't Die," about the Baltimore Colts marching band after the team moved to Indianapolis. They're available in the "Get Local" folder of Comcast's main On-Demand menu, under "Sports" and "ESPN 30 For 30" menus..... DC Postie Gets Slammed By NY Postie - 1/26 - DC Postie and WJFKer Mike Wise gets a not-so-nice mention from sports columnist Peter Vecsey in the NY Post..... Pre-Friday Adios For PGC's Simpson? - 1/26 - Unconfirmed. This morning's scuttlebutt has longtime morning radio man Donnie Simpson having called Channel 5/WTTG to tell them that his last day on urban contemporary WPGC (95.5 FM) is today. DCRTV has reported that ratings-slumping PGC's owner, CBS Radio, has been negotiating to get Simpson an early "out" on his contract, and the Washington Post has reported that Friday could be Simpson's last day at PGC. More soon..... Inga Barks Guest Hosts WashTimes Radio Show - 1/26 - West Coast radio personality Inga Barks is the latest to be doing guest-hosting duties on the Washington Times morning radio program, "America's Morning News." The Talk Radio Network show, heard locally on WTNT, has yet to name a replacement for Melanie Morgan, who resigned earlier this month due to health issues. Barks was on with John McCaslin this morning. "The guest host scheduling poses a big dilemma because the new management at the Washington Times has no experience in the radio industry and is essentially unaware of its players," a source tells DCRTV. "They must rely on Talk Radio Network's expertise for direction and talent. The relationship between the two parties ain't what it used to be"..... Wilkie's Car Gets Broken Into - 1/26 - FishbowlDC tells us that The Hill's Christina Wilkie was the victim of a vehicle break-in Thursday at about 10:30 PM on 15th and Chapin streets, NW DC, in what police characterized as a smash-and-grab theft of her laptop and reporting equipment from inside a locked car. Thieves smashed the front window and also shaved off the car's registration and inspection stickers. The indicent occurred as Wilkie was on her way home from work and had stopped to visit a friend..... Carolyn Presutti To VOA - 1/26 - DCRTV hears that Carolyn Presutti is joining the DC-based Voice Of America's English Division as a general assignment reporter. Presutti most recently freelanced for AARP-TV's "My Generation," Channel 5/WTTG, and CNN's "The Situation Room." She also authored an article about being an extra in a movie in the February edition of Washingtonian. You might remember her as the morning anchor with Mack Lee at Channel 9/WUSA in the mid-1990s..... Pollin Estate & Leonsis Vie For Wizards - 1/26 - The estate of the late Abe Pollin and investors led by former AOL mogul Ted Leonsis, via a group known as Lincoln Holdings, are among the parties reportedly interested the Washington Wizards and the Verizon Center, which Pollin owned until his 11/24 death. The Leonsis group already owns 44 percent of the Wizards and Verizon Center and wants to buy the rest, the Washington Post reports..... Radio Disney Sells VA Outlet - 1/26 - That Radio Disney outlet you can often hear in the DC area on 1650 AM, WHKT from the Norfolk area, has been sold for $350,000 to a group that will probably flip it to religion. Disney paid $1,075,000 for the stronger 1650 and a nearby weaker AMer back in 2002. Ouch..... DOJ OKs Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger - 1/26 - The Justice Department has approved the merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation, in a deal that combines two of the most important companies in the music industry, but required concessions that federal officials said would protect consumers from higher prices on tickets to concerts. Ticketmaster is the country's largest seller of tickets to concerts, sports games and other live events. Live Nation is another major ticket-seller and runs more than 100 concert venues, including the recently renamed Nissan Pavilion, Jiffy Lube Live. The DC Post has more..... Shales Misses Cox - 1/26 - In a Style section filler piece, DC Post TV critic Tom Shales longs for the days when Wally Cox was seen on NBC..... Price Hike For WHCA Dinner - 1/26 - NewsBlues tells us that tickets to the May 1st White House Correspondents Association Dinner, featuring Jay Leno, have been bumped up from $200 to $225. Don't blame Jay. The cost of putting on the dinner climbed this year because of efforts to make it more eco-friendly by "using paper products, supplies and services that reduce the threat of global warming, deforestation, toxic wastes, hazardous chemicals, and species extinction"..... Amanda Carpenter Leaves Sinking WashTimes - 1/25 - Amanda Carpenter, who joined the Washington Times a year ago from Townhall.com to help spearhead the paper's conservative news and analysis site, Conservatives.com, which was shuttered in late December, joins South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint's staff as a senior commmunications advisor and speechwriter. A Washington Times source tells DCRTV: "There could be a bombshell resignation in the very near future and the morale is at an all-time low"..... WaPo's de Moraes To Cover Local TV - 1/25 - Less Jay Leno and more Barbara Harrison for the Washington Post. It looks like Post TV critic Lisa de Moraes will start covering the local TV scene, in addition to the national TV biz stories that she's been doing the past eight-ish years since joining the paper. That's according to a Q&A today at washingtonpost.com from Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti. de Moraes had been based at the Post's Los Angeles bureau, one of the national bureaus being shuttered by the paper..... WaPo To Launch Biz Pub - 1/25 - The Washington Post is planning to launch a new local weekly business publication -"Capital Business" - to directly compete with the Washington Business Journal. DC City Paper has more. Last year, the Post eliminated its daily Business section, making it part of the main "A" news section, except on Sundays..... Haber Remembers Michael - 1/25 - Also in the DC City Paper, Dave McKenna looks at how Channel 9/WUSA's Brett Haber remembered former Channel 4/WRC sports anchor George Michael at Michael's memorial service last week..... Anita Marks Out At 105.7 - 1/25 - After over a month of working on a new contract, Anita Marks (right) and CBS Radio's Baltimore sports talker, WJZ-FM, 105.7 The Fan, will be parting ways after four years. The two sides could not craft an agreement that would give Marks the freedom to explore other national TV options while working for CBS. So reports Jim Williams at washingtonexaminer.com. "I had a great run in Baltimore but in the end I had to do what is best for my career, so it is time to move on," Marks says. It is not clear yet what CBS will do to replace Marks on the popular "Scott Garceau And Anita Marks Show" afternoons on WJZ-FM. More from David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com, who initially gave Williams credit for this morning's scoop and then re-posted his piece Monday afternoon without the Williams credit..... More On Donnie Simpson's Contract - 1/25 - We're getting conflicting details about Donnie Simpson's contract. A local radio source tells DCRTV that longtime morning man Simpson, who will reportedly be doing his last radio show for urban contemporary WPGC (95.5 FM) on Friday (see DCRTV's early Monday newsblurb), actually signed only a 1-year contract with CBS Radio last February. And his deal with the firm ends on February 11, 2010. We're told that he was offered a 2-year deal prior to the Portable People Meter system rolling out in the DC market in October 2008 but he declined it. "They are really quiet over there (at CBS Radio's DC HQ in Lanham) on whether this is indeed the final week" for Simpson, we're told..... Leno At 10 Has Hurt 4 At 11 - 1/25 - It has repeatedly been reported by the Washington Post that Jay Leno's new 10 PM show hasn't hurt the ratings of Channel 4/WRC in DC, unlike many other markets. However, today's Wall Street Journal indicates that Leno has dropped WRC's news ratings at 11 PM by 25 percent in the key age 25-54 demo, with an ad revenue loss for the NBC-owned station of $42,305 per week. That's not as bad as many other markets, such as NYC, which posted a 47.6 percent ratings decline for the 11 PM newscast of WNBC-TV..... FCC Sees Shrinking Workforce - 1/25 - The number of employees working at the Federal Communications Commission declined steadily between fiscal 2003 and 2008. The Government Accountability Office found that an inability to offer competitive salaries and a lack of workforce planning have made it difficult for FCC to effectively recruit and retain talented employees. More from Government Executive..... 90.9 To Put Opera, Vocal Classical On HD2 - 1/25 - DCRTV told you over the weekend that classical WETA-FM (90.9 FM) has launched an HD2 digital HD Radio subchannel playing more classical music - generic, so far. Now, we hear that the station will put Viva La Voce, a radio channel featuring choral, opera, and art song, on its HD2 come February. VLV, which was carried by the HD2 of the old classical WGMS back when it was on 103.5 FM (right), will share hosts with WETA-FM and "will provide additional opportunity for classical music enthusiasts to hear the vocal music they love," we're told..... New UMD Journalism Building Opens - 1/25 - The Diamondback takes a look at the University Of Maryland's new journalism building, the $30 million Knight Hall in College Park, which opened today for its first day of classes..... Wind Silences WTNT - 1/25 - DCRTV hears that this morning's heavy winds took out WTNT (570 AM). A tree branch fell on a power line at the Red Zebra talker's Germantown transmitter site. Repairs are expected to be made by late morning, we're told..... WZAA To Relay WTOP After AirAm - 1/25 - DCRTV hears that Washington's Air America station, WZAA (1050 AM), will go back to a simulcast of all-newser WTOP after the lefty radio network, which filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings last week, discontinues programming later today. Air America had been leasing the Silver Spring-based AMer from WTOP owner Bonneville. WZAA will continue carrying its local sports committments. "We have had some very intriguing offers and or suggestions (for a new format), but that's the plan for now," a top DC Bonneviller tells DCRTV. We've reported that WAVA owner Salem is looking for a DC AMer to air its righty political talk format on, but so far no rumored talks with Bonneville. Stay tuned..... Citadel's Big DC Mess - 1/25 - Your friendly webmaster looks at some of the new "Grandy And Andy" WMAL show tweaks, and the overall mess that WMAL's owner Citadel has on its hands here in DC - in today's Rant..... Donnie Simpson's Last Week At PGC - 1/25 - DCRTV first tipped you on 1/12. And now we hear that Donnie Simpson's (left) 32-year run on Washington's airwaves will end this week, with the longtime morning host expected to sign off after a falling out with his longtime station, WPGC (95.5 FM). The Washington Post is reporting that Simpson's last show likely will be Friday, barring any last-minute changes to an exit agreement that was still being finalized over the weekend. Simpson, 55, is under contract until March 2011, but has sought to end his association with the CBS-owned station that has employed him as its signature morning personality since 1993. CBS will keep Simpson from jumping to another station by invoking the "non-compete" provision of his contract. The clause bars the big-salaried Simpson from working for a Washington-area station for slightly more than a year. Urban contemporary WPGC has been plagued with a ratings slump for more than a year. CBS recently hired a new program director for the Lanham-based station..... Former 2er Ken Matz Dies - 1/25 - DCRTV hears that Ken Matz, who used to work at Channel 2/WMAR, has died of throat cancer in Florida. Matz, who was also known as "Gary Smith," also worked at TV stations in Philadelphia and Miami, and at radio stations across Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg's WFEC and Philadelphia's WIBG and KYW..... Clear Channel Talking To Stern - 1/25 - Tom Taylor at Radio-Info.com reports that radio giant Clear Channel is talking to Howard Stern (left), with the shock jock's contract expiring soon at Sirius XM. There've been rumors-a-plenty that Stern might return to terrestrial radio, which he left in 2005 for satellite radio. Stern used to work for CBS Radio and was heard on DC's WJFK and the old WHFS in Baltimore. Locally, Clear Channel owns about a dozen radio stations, including rocker DC101 and classic hits WBIG, which would be likely stations for Stern to land on should he do a deal with the company. Update: On his Monday Sirius XM show, Stern again said that he won't be returning to broadcast radio. "I'm not contemplating it... I don't want to be censored"..... WaPo Print Plant Vet Dies - 1/25 - Jerre George Lowe, 80, an engraving foreman at the Washington Post's printing plants from 1953 until he retired in 1989, died after a heart attack on January 22 at Inova Loudoun Hospital. A former resident of Falls Church, he had lived in Loudoun County since 1992. The Post has more..... Bolter Injures Foot - 1/25 - Channel 5/WTTG news anchor Brian Bolter injured his foot after a snowboarding accident. The Baltimore Media Blog at Facebook quotes Bolter as saying: "When my children ask I'll have to explain daddy amputated his left foot due to unforseen circumstances, but kept on riding"..... FCC Veteran Jim Quello Dies - 1/24 - Tom Taylor at Radio-Info.com tells DCRTV that former Federal Communications Commission commissioner Jim Quello died Sunday at his Alexandria home. He was 95. "A helluva career as both broadcaster and common-sense regulator during his 24 years on the FCC," says Taylor. "Also, an avid tennis player in the DC area, well into his 80s." Quello joined the FCC after a broadcasting career that included stints at local television stations in Detroit. He was the winner of the National Association Of Broadcaster's Distinguished Service Award in 1994..... WTOP "Nerve Center" Impresses Fybush - 1/24 - Northeast Radio Watch czar Scott Fybush selects WTOP's "Glass-Enclosed Nerve Center" as his mid-January "Tower Site Of The Week," ah, er, even though it's not really a tower site. Whatever. At fybush.com..... WaPo Doesn't Catch Afghan Death Mix-Up - 1/24 - In the listing of "Afghanistan War Deaths" on page A14 of Sunday's Washington Post, two soldiers named "Mark Juarez" are listed as being killed on the same day, 1/9, in the Helmand provience - a Mark A. Juarez, 22, of Bakersfield, California, and a Mark D. Juarez, 23, of San Antonio, Texas. However, MSNBC reported on 1/13 that the Pentagon made an error regarding the like-named Bakersfield-based soldier, who has since returned home to visit his family..... Fox45 Wary Of Putting Conan At 11 - 1/24 - Even though now former NBCer Conan O'Brien has been widely rumored to be jumping to Fox this fall, David Zurawik at baltimoresun.com reports that may of Fox's affiliates may not be so keen on clearing time for a network talk show at 11 PM, when many stations run news or syndicated shows. Says Bill Fanshawe of Baltimore's Fox affiliate, Sinclair-owned Channel 45/WBFF: "If there was an opportunity and the network got Conan, for us, one of the biggest factors would involve us having a brand (local news) built at 10 and 11 - and established in those time periods. But if there was some flexibility... and they would consider having Conan come on after 11:30, yes, there could be an opportunity at my particular Fox station in Baltimore"..... WETA-FM Adds HD2 - 1/24 - A DCRTVer tells us that classical WETA-FM (90.9) has finally added a second HD Radio signal, airing classical music with no announcers on its HD2 subchannel. Even though HD Radio has been around for several years, WETA has refused to join the party - at least subchannel-wise. Its major public radio rival, news and talk WAMU (88.5 FM), has offered two HD Radio subchannels - bluegrass and more news and talk - for the past few years..... Milbank Defends Rag Against Charges Of "Collapse" - 1/24 - At washingtonpost.com, Dana Milbank shoots down a recent "the New Republic" ("the" not capitalized) piece that detailed the alleged "messy collapse" of "The Washington Post" ("the" capitalized)..... Walters To Host Next Week's "This Week" - 1/24 - Next Sunday, Barbara Walters will guest host ABC's "This Week" from the Newseum. Her guests will include Fox News boss Roger Ailes and Huffington Post's head Arianna Huffington..... WaPo & Gruesome Images From Haiti - 1/24 - Washington Post ombusdman Andy Alexander looks at how editors decide whether images of horror from the Haiti quake are too graphic to run. "Many readers who complained to the Post objected most to the gruesome images being featured on the newspaper's front page, where there is no warning," he writes. And: "Most newspapers stay clear of dead babies"..... DC Sunday Talkers In Flux - 1/23 - Variety looks at the overall turmoil at DC-based Sunday morning political talk shows. Including the question of who will succeed George Stephanopoulos as the host of ABC's "This Week"..... NAB Head Expects "Conditions" For Comcast/NBCU Deal - 1/23 - National Association Of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith said Friday he expects the Obama administration will but "lots of caveats and conditions" on the Comcast/NBC Universal deal. The DC-based NAB has taken no position on the Comcast/NBCU merger. Smith was interviewed on C-SPAN's "Communicators" series Friday. Multichannel News has more..... Harvey & Hoover Shared Friendship - 1/23 - Previously confidential files show that longtime conservative radio commentator Paul Harvey, who died last February at 90, enjoyed a 20-year friendship with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, often submitting advance copies of his radio script for comment and approval. Harvey wrote Hoover and his deputies regularly. Hoover, in turn, helped Harvey with research, suggested changes in scripts and showered the broadcaster with effusive praise. The Washington Post has more..... Heilemann & Halperin To Do "Q&A Cafe" - 1/23 - Carol Joynt has lined up "Game Change" authors John Heilemann and Mark Halperin to replace Chris Hansen of NBC's "Dateline," who had to cancel, for the 1/28 edition of "The Q&A Cafe" at the Ritz Georgetown. More at caroljoynt.com..... Court Ruling On Corporate Campaign Donations To Bolster Media Biz - 1/23 - The struggling media industry - particularly television networks and local broadcast stations - could end up being the big beneficiaries of Thursday's Supreme Court ruling lifting limits on corporate donations to political campaigns. How big? One Wall Street research firm has already upped its 2010 profit estimate for CBS, which owns Baltimore's Channel 13/WJZ. Analysts said the court ruling could also benefit the struggling newspaper industry, particularly local papers and those that have a high readership in the nation's capital, such as the Washington Post. More in the Washington Post..... Caps Set Ratings Record On CSN - 1/22 - Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic says it posted all-time record ratings for regular season Washington Capitals coverage - earning a 3.3 household rating and a 6.5 rating in the key men age 25-54 demographic - during last night's road game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The National Hockey League's premier rivalry attracted an average of 88,000 combined households in the Washington (76,000) and Baltimore (12,000) markets during the Capitals 6-3 win over the Penguins. During the third period, the game earned peak ratings of 4.2 in Washington and 1.5 in Baltimore, which equates to 113,000 combined households. More at csnwashington.com..... CACI Demands NYT Retraction - 1/22 - Arlington-based CACI International is demanding a retraction and correction to an editorial published in the New York Times on 1/11. "In the process of commenting on a matter involving a private security contractor, the Times editorial falsely characterized CACI's personnel who worked in Iraq as mercenaries," a CACI statement says. "The editorial then asserted that CACI personnel were involved in 'proven incidents of abuse in 2003 and 2004 in the Abu Ghraib prison' and implied that they had committed crimes for which they have not been held accountable." CACI says the statements are "maliciously false." More at caci.com..... Lefty Talkers Survive Despite AirAm Crash - 1/22 - Liberal radio talk host Bill Press, who once did the morning show at WMAL, argues that the closing of Air America has been a long time coming, and its demise will have no impact on the current state of "progressive" talk radio. He tells the Politico that most of today's nationally syndicated, lefty talk show hosts - Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, Randi Rhodes, and himself - have never been or are no longer Air America hosts. "Our programs will carry on, without interruption or change. And, in every market where we are heard on the air, we will continue to match or beat our conservative competition in both ratings and revenue"..... "MTP" 1st Again - 1/22 - NBC's "Meet The Press" was again the top-rated DC-based political talker last Sunday. CBS's "Face The Nation" placed 2nd, ABC's "This Week" was 3rd, and Fox's "Fox News Sunday" 4th..... Steve Harvey To Host "Family Feud" - 1/22 - National morning radio man Steve Harvey will be hosting TV game show "Family Feud" starting this fall. He takes over from John O'Hurley. Comedian Harvey is no stranger to TV, having starred in sitcoms "The Steve Harvey Show" and "Me And The Boys," plus other video work. Harvey's radio show is heard locally on WHUR (96.3 FM)..... Jiffy Lube Buys Naming Rights For Nissan Pavilion - 1/22 - You may be seeing your favorite band this summer at "Jiffy Lube Live." InsideNova.com reports that the Washington Area Co-op, a group of 13 Jiffy Lube franchisees that run auto service centers in Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia, has purchased the naming rights for seven years to what had been called the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow VA. The facility is owned by Live Nation..... 4 Cameraman Harry Davis Dies - 1/22 - DCRTV hears that longtime NBC-DC and Channel 4/WRC cameraman Harry Davis (left, with son at right), 62, died Thursday from a heart attack in North Carolina. Davis was an award-winning news photographer at NBC4 for 28 years, before he retired a few years ago. According to nbcwashington.com, Davis traveled the country supporting his son Marc's dream to drive racing cars. Marc was a driver for the Joe Gibbs racing team. At WRC, Davis founded Teen TV, a program that mentored inner city kids and taught them all about TV production. His other project, the Broadcast Factory, also offered opportunities to DC area kids..... George Michael Remembered In Memorial Service - 1/22 - Channel 4/WRC news anchor and colleague Jim Vance and former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs eulogized legendary DC sports anchor and "Sports Machine" host George Michael (right) in a memorial service Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. Their words portrayed Michael as a hard working, enthusiastic, and passionate journalist who touched the lives of everyone he met. "George Michael was the first man to tell me he loved me," Vance explained. Upon telling Michael that those words made him uncomfortable, Michael replied: "Get over it." Michael died on 12/24 after a two-year battle with leukemia. More at myfoxdc.com, wtop.com, nbcwashington.com, and washingtonexaminer.com..... McKenna On Christian Crusader Gibbs - 1/22 - Dave McKenna at washingtoncitypaper.com: "Speaking of Satan... (former Redskins coach) Joe Gibbs has a higher save pecentage than Jose Theodore. He claimed George Michael for Jesus at yesterday's memorial service at National Cathedral. Gibbs proclaimed Glenn Brenner spiritually cleansed at his 1992 funeral, also. Wonder if Gibbs is calling Frank Herzog?"..... Zier & Hess Go Down With AirAm Ship - 1/22 - Friday's DC Post has more on how the plug pulled on lefty radio network Air America on Thursday. Air America's chief executive is Bennett Zier (right), who founded and previously headed Redskins owner Daniel Snyder's broadcasting company, Red Zebra, and was the top executive of Clear Channel's DC radio cluster. The company's programming director, Bill Hess, was also once a Clear Channel DC radio executive. Since last summer, Air America has been heard in the Washington area on WZAA (1050 AM). Its audience has been so small that Arbitron, which compiles radio ratings, was unable to detect any listeners for WZAA during several weeks in December..... TNR's WaPo Piece Not "Lazy" - 1/22 - Erik Wemple at washingtoncitypaper.com doesn't think that The New Republic's recent piece on the Washington Post's screw-ups was lazy..... More: Stern Leaving Satrad? - 1/22 - More rumblings that legendary shock jock Howard Stern will end his money-laden deal with Sirius XM satellite radio and jump back to "regular" terrestrial radio. At FMQB..... Leno To Host WHCA Dinner - 1/22 - The White House Correspondents' Association plans to announce Friday morning that Jay Leno will headline their annual pols-stars-and-reporters dinner on May 1. The DC Post has more. Just yesterday, NBC officially announced that Leno will move back to the 11:35 PM slot in March, with Conan O'Brien getting a big payoff to leave the network..... More Press For Gregory - 1/22 - Another interview of NBC's "Meet The Press" host David Gregory. This time at marketwatch.com..... AirAm To Shut Down - 1/21 - DCRTV hears that lefty talk radio Air America is shutting down. Company Chairman Charlie Kireker notified staffers today that the company will be filing for bankruptcy and terminating programming. "Our painstaking search for new investors has come close several times right up into this week, but ultimately fell short of success," Kireker says. The politically liberal network was heard on the DC area on WZAA (1050 AM). All current employees will be paid through today. A severance package will be offered tomorrow to fulltime current employees with more than six months of tenure. Starting at 6 PM today, Air America will provide a selection of "encore programming" until 9 PM Monday, 1/25, at which time Air America programming will end. More from Politico. No word on what will happen to WZAA, which was leased by Air America. The station is owned by WTOP's owner, Bonneville..... NBC Files WH Complaint - 1/21 - NBC News has filed a formal complaint with the White House press office over the distribution of presidential interviews, specifically that several of the most recent broadcast TV interviews have gone to ABC News - including George Stephanopoulos's interview yesterday and Charlie Gibson's on 12/15. TVNewser has more..... MASN Unveils Nats Sked - 1/21 - The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network releases its Washington Nationals schedule. As DCRTV has told you, with the launch of MASN2-HD, all Nats games are in high-def this year, with 95 on MASN and 67 on MASN2. Some Sunday afternoon games will also be seen on Channel 50/WDCW. More at washingtonpost.com..... Farewell To George Michael - 1/21 - At washingtonpost.com, sports columnist Len Shapiro looks at how friends and colleagues will be gathering today to eulogize legendary Channel 4/WRC sports anchor George Michael (right) at the National Cathedral. Michael, 70, died on 12/24 after a two-year battle with cancer. More: We're told that, after the service, there was a "small gathering" at Channel 4 news anchor Jim Vance's Spring Valley home. Among the guests: Dan Snyder, Joe Gibbs, and Bob Ryan..... New Gig For Bill Toohey - 1/21 - The Baltimore Sun tells that that after almost 14 years as the voice of the Baltimore County Police, Bill Toohey will leave the department on Friday, take a week off, and start a new job on February 1. Toohey, a former radio reporter and spokesman for two US senators, is to be the communications director for the Maryland Governor's Office Of Crime Control And Prevention, which coordinates programs, grants, and research for public safety and corrections agencies..... BMitch Gets Saturday Show On JFK - 1/21 - This morning, a DCRTVer told us that WJFK's morning Junkies announced that former Redskin Brian Mitchell will be in for Mike Wise and will have "a special announcement." Middayer Wise is attending the memorial service for former Channel 4/WRC sports anchor George Michael. DCRTV has reported that WJFK, 106.7 The Fan, might be giving Mitchell his own show. He currently does fill-in work for the CBS sports talker. Now, via a big noon announment, we hear that Mitchell will indeed be getting his own WJFK show - on Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM. Starting 1/30..... NFL Net To Run '69 Super Bowl - 1/21 - The NFL Network will re-run Super Bowl III, with the NY Jets and Joe Namath beating the Baltimore Colts, on Saturday at 8 PM. The game will air "just like it did on NBC back in 1969 in living color, but with no enhancements," so says Jim Williams, who has more at washingtonexaminer.com..... Grandy & Andy Get Tweaked - 1/21 - Citadel news talker WMAL (630 AM) plans to make some tweaks to its "Grandy And Andy" (right) morning show come next week. The 8 AM hour will focus on listener calls, there'll be more "in-depth" news stories in the 7 AM hour, more of a newscast feel to the 6 AM hour, and G&A's "top 5 at 5" news stories in the 5 AM hour. While WMAL's ratings are great in middays, with the syndicated Rush Limbaugh, the station has struggled to hold on to a youthful, non-geezerish audience in its locally-based morning drive, and with the syndicated Sean Hannity in afternoon drive..... FCC Forbids Cable From Denying Sports To Rivals - 1/21 - The Federal Communications Commission has voted to prevent cable operators from withholding sports programming from competing paid television providers such as DirecTV and AT&T. DirecTV has complained that Comcast has used the policy loophole to shut out competitors from the Philadelphia market, where it owns coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Comcast dominates that programming through its Comcast regional sports network. More at washingtonpost.com..... Former 7 Reporter Charles Powers Dies - 1/21 - When Charles Powers, a public relations practitioner who died on January 3, was a reporter for Channel 7, then WMAL-TV, in 1974, he helped break the infamous Tidal Basin story by his knowledge of a congressman's cranium. Early in the morning of October 9, 1974, US Park Police stopped a Lincoln Continental, driven by an intoxicated Representative Wilbur Mills. An exotic dancer named Fanne Foxe jumped out of the congressman's car and jumped into the Tidal Basin. Powers, 64, died of cancer at Inova Alexandria Hospital. More in the Washington Post..... WDCN Lands DC United - 1/20 - Spanish WDCN will carry DC United soccer games this season. The station, which is dubbed "La Nueva 87.7 FM," uses the audio carrier of a low-power channel 6 TVer. Says DC United Senior VP/Marketing Doug Hicks: "La Nueva has quickly shown value in its ability to reach a large audience and will be a great partner of the club in our efforts on and off of the field." WDCN will also host an hour-long, live pre-game tailgate party for every home game. During the season, La Nueva will feature a 30-minute weekly show hosted by station Sports Director Herbert Baires, who will be the play-by-play announcer. Baires called DC United matches from 1999 to 2005..... Older news goes to DCRTV's News Archive. Copyright Dave Hughes/DCRTV.....

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