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SUPPORT DCRTV'S ADVERTISERS /\ \/ DCRTV'S RADIO/TV/MEDIA NEWS/GOSSIP IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE NORTHEAST USA /\ \/ Contents - Contact Us - News Tips - News Archive - Mailbag - Rant - Support DCRTV Station List - Classified Ads - Advertise On DCRTV - RSS - NYC - Boston - DCRTV Plus Citadel Asks DCRTV To Remove Diamond Article - 5/9 - On Thursday, DCRTV featured a link to a Wikipedia article which made a reference to Jack Diamond, the morning man at WRQX. When we posted the link, we stated that Diamond's employer, Citadel Broadcasting, had claimed that there was no truth to information contained in the Wikipedia article. On Friday, DCRTV received a letter from Nancy Ory, an attorney representing Citadel, who told us that Citadel "has made no announcement concerning plans to replace the 'Jack Diamond Morning Show' with alternative programming and has every expectation that its relationship with Mr. Diamond will continue in the future." Also, Ory's letter requested that we remove yesterday's news item that featured the link to the Wikipedia entry. We have done so..... 2 To Buy 13's DTV XMTR Gear - 5/9 - A DCRTVer tells us that Scripps' Channel 2/ WMAR does not intend to build a new digital TV facility or buy any new transmitting equipment for Baltimore's famed "candelabra" tower. WMAR is instead purchasing the existing equipment from CBS's Channel 13/WJZ. We're told that means both stations will be unlikely to be launching high-def local newscasts any time soon. Check out 2's FCC DTV filing at fcc.gov..... Support DCRTV's Advertisers - 5/9 - DCRTV thanks Matt K. Baker and his mattspeaking.com voice biz for renewing their DCRTV ad. You'll hear Matt's voice in commercials for the DC United soccer team, on promos for the Discovery Channel, as well as Discovery's UpFront 2008 Tour. Plus, Matt does imaging for Classic 98 Rock, another DCRTV advertiser. And, don't forget that we have two new Classified Ads. A web account manager for WJLA and NewsChannel 8. And a satellite coordinator for WJLA and NewsChannel 8. Please support DCRTV's advertisers because they support DCRTV..... Wittman Leaves Post's Publication Subsidiary - 5/9 - FishbowlDC tells us that, after only four months on the job, Kevin Wittman has resigned from his position as president of the Washington Post's Post-Newsweek Media. Apparently, Wittman had been commuting back and forth to the area from New Jersey and ultimately found the travel too overwhelming. Wittman oversaw PNM's 41 publications, including: 12 Comprint Military Publications newspapers, 22 Gazette newspapers, and seven Southern Maryland newspapers..... FCC OKs Upgraded 88.1 In Lex Park - 5/9 - A Lexington Park church has received licensing from the Federal Communications Commission to build a 30-meter tower in St. Mary's City that will carry a 1,900-watt signal across most of St. Mary's County and to the Eastern Shore. William Ruckman, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington Park, said his church has been broadcasting low-power radio programming for the past nine years on the FM frequency of 88.1. More from somdnews.com..... State Legal Eagles Voice Concerns About Satrad Merger - 5/9 - State attorneys general continued to register their concerns with the proposed satellite radio merger of DC's XM and NYC's Sirius. The attorneys generals met with Federal Communications Commission member Jonathan Adelstein this week to talk about the lack of an interoperable radio that would work with both services, as well as their general concern that "significant harms" would result from "the loss of a direct competitor." Broadcasting And Cable has more..... Notable Quotable - 5/9 - "I don't need a girlfriend, ma. Where's the meatloaf?" So said Oscar "Big O" Santana on his Friday show about what he says upon returning home after his WJFK-FM midday airshift..... DCRTV Flashback - 5/9 - Today's Flashback: A 1957 Glen Echo amusement park ad featuring a personal appearance by DC area broadcasting legend Milt Grant (left). The complete hi-rez image is at DCRTV Plus. Just opened at DCRTV Plus: A new DCRTVideo section, with loads of cool DC and Baltimore news and station promo videos from many decades. Plus, we've just opened our 41st photo gallery with memories of WTOP, WINX, WWDC, and WBAL. Don't forget, DCRTV is an independent site that still depends on donations from you, our wonderful visitors. Ad income pays only part of our monthly expenses. Make a donation via PayPal or mail a check. Click here. Make it $39 and get memory-packed DCRTV Plus through May 2009..... Radio One Stocks "Crushed" - 5/9 - "Our stocks have been crushed," Radio One chief executive Alfred Liggins acknowledged in a conference call with investors yesterday, following news of a continued revenue slump at the Lanham-based broadcaster. "Since we happened to be, my family, the largest shareholder, when the stock is below $1, it's very painful." The company sought to explain why Liggins and his mother, Radio One founder Cathy Hughes, sold shares in April. Liggins said the sales were required to satisfy a forward sale of stock for about $7 a share two years ago. "Ms. Hughes and I want to affirmatively allay any fears that we were selling into the stock's current weakness," Liggins said in a statement. "We want to assure all of our security holders that we stand firmly committed to Radio One and these transactions were isolated sales triggered solely by historical events." More in the DC Post. Also in the Post, Steven Pearlstein paints a brutally honest picture of the highly-compensated Liggins and Hughes and how they're running Radio One into a big financial ditch..... Revenue Up For Discovery - 5/9 - Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications reported yesterday that first-quarter revenue was up 12 percent on the strength of advertising and subscriber revenue at its television networks. DC Post..... Revenue Down For Tribune - 5/9 - A continued weak advertising environment resulted in an 8 percent decline in first-quarter operating revenue and a 16 percent drop in operating cash flow for the Tribune Company, parent of the Baltimore Sun and DC's Channel 50/WDCW. There's more from the LA Times..... Weaker Financials For Clear Channel - 5/9 - Radio station operator Clear Channel, which owns 13 stations in the DC-Baltimore area, posted a weaker-than-expected profit as softness in the overall advertising market overshadowed gains in its outdoor ad unit. Reuters has more..... Ingraham Adopts Daughter - 5/9 - Radio talk show host and DCer Laura Ingraham, heard locally on WTNT, has adopted a 3-year-old girl from an orphanage in Guatemala..... Battle Of The Media Hotties - 5/9 - Round 22. This week, we pit WTOP investigative reporter Mark Segraves (right) against WTOP "sprawl and crawl" reporter Adam Tuss (left) in our Battle Of The Media Hotties. Cast your vote here. Only one vote per e-mail address. Voting ends at midnight Friday. As of early Friday, with about 800 votes cast, Segraves had about 52 percent of the vote, to about 48 percent for Tuss..... Examiner To Scale Back Home Delivery - 5/8 - DCRTV hears that the DC and Baltimore editions of the Examiner freebie tabloid newspaper will stop 6-day home delivery come mid-July. Then, it will begin 2-day home delivery, on Thursdays and Sundays only, with a new Sunday edition. The paper will still be printed and distributed via newspaper vending boxes each day. Editor And Publisher has more..... Marc Steiner From 88.1 To 88.9 - 5/8 - DCRTV is hearing rumblings that Marc Steiner, who recently got the boot from his gig at Baltimore public radio outlet WYPR (88.1 FM), may soon be heard on another Baltimore public radio outlet - WEAA (88.9 FM). More soon..... Ignatius, Meacham Might Replace Downey At Post - 5/8 - The NY Post on the Washington Post: The Beltway buzz now is that longtime Executive Editor Len Downie will be taking the latest round of buyouts. Among those thought to be in the running are veteran editor and columnist David Ignatius, who served for several years as executive editor at the International Herald Tribune when it was owned jointly by the Washington Post and the New York Times, and Jon Meacham, wunderkind editor of the Washington Post's sister publication, Newsweek..... More Red Ink At Radio One - 5/8 - Lanham-based urban radio giant Radio One reported more losses Thursday - a net loss in the first quarter of $18.3 million. Revenue in the latest period decreased 2 percent to $72.5 million versus the year-ago quarter. Radio One execs cited the decline in national radio advertising for the decline. More from bizjournals.com..... Limbaugh: Post Gets It Wrong - 5/8 - "When you read it, you can't figure out what they concluded." So said Rush Limbaugh on his radio show today about the Washington Post, and other "mainstream" media outlets, reporting that the righty talk titan had "called off" his "Operation Chaos" campaign, which commanded Republicans to cast primary votes for Democrat Hillary Clinton. And reports that he'd "thrown his support to Obama," her party rival. Neither of which has occurred, Limbaugh alleged via WMAL and WCBM..... Slump For Citadel - 5/8 - Citadel, which owns WRQX, WJZW, and WMAL, reported that its first-quarter revenue dropped 5 percent. Citadel's bottom line swung to a loss of $8.3 million, following the acquisition of ABC's radio stations last year. More from Radio Ink..... Savage Leaves Globe For NY Times - 5/8 - Big loss for the Boston Globe: Charlie Savage, who won a 2007 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Bush administration's sweeping expansion of executive power, is headed to the New York Times. He'll start there later this month. More from thephoenix.com..... Morning Man Moore At FLS - 5/8 - Geoff Moore has been picked by Fredericksburg country outlet WFLS (93.3 FM) to co-host mornings with Jessica Cash. He replaces 31-year FLS veteran Brian Strobel, who retired in late 2007. Moore comes from a hot adult contemporary station in Tampa. He starts on 5/12..... Memorial Service For Bill Hamlin - 5/8 - A memorial service for longtime DC radio personality Bill Hamlin (right) will be held on 6/16, 7:30 PM, in the Aaron And Cecile Goldman Theater at the DC Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th Street NW. This is the home of Theater J, where Hamlin performed many times. Hamlin, an award-winning actor and radio personality on 94.7 FM - as WJMD, WLTT, and WARW - died on 2/21 from lung cancer at the age of 64. More in DCRTV's 5/8 Mailbag..... DCRTVideo - 5/8 - Rhea Feiken "loses it" during a Maryland Public Television pledge break. With Stu Kerr. Via DCRTVideo at the bottom of the right column on this page..... FCC Plans Early Digital TV Switch In NC - 5/8 - The Federal Communications Commission plans to pull the plug on analog TV signals in Wilmington NC in September - five months ahead of the national February 2009 digital-only broadcast TV deadline - in order to work out "kinks" in the procedure. Viewers who rely on over-the-air reception will need to either purchase new digital TV sets or digital converter boxes for their old analog sets, and maybe even install new antenna systems. More in the DC Post..... Post Puts Rush's "Chaos" Campaign On Front Page - 5/8 - Thursday's Washington Post puts righty radio talk titan Rush Limbaugh on the front page and asks if his "Operation Chaos" campaign gave Hillary Clinton the edge in Indiana on Tuesday, thereby prolonging the Democratic Party's presidential primary content..... Too Many DODers Talking Up Iraq On Nets? - 5/8 - A pair of powerful legislators want to know whether news networks bear any culpability related to a Department Of Defense program to recruit ex-military officers to talk up Iraq and other policies on TV, online, and elsewhere. Broadcasting And Cable has more..... DC Times Runs "Muslim" Quote About Obama - 5/8 - A Washington Times article uncritically quoted an Indiana man saying of Barack Obama, "I can't stand him.... He's a Muslim. He's not even pro-American as far as I'm concerned." So reports Media Matters..... Rush Switches Sides In Dem "Chaos" Campaign - 5/7 - Righty talk radio titan Rush Limbaugh (left), between crowing about the success and attention of his "Operation Chaos," switched sides in the Democratic primary today. "I now urge the Democratic superdelegates to go publicly make your mind up for Obama," he said on his show, heard locally on WMAL and WCBM. Earlier, he said, "I'm now tempted to tell superdelegates to pick Obama because I now believe he would be the weakest nominee." Limbaugh had been urging his listeners to support Hillary as the only chance for Republican victory in November, and to extend the Democratic primary. Exit polls and anecdotes suggest that many did. More from the Politico..... Thomas Roberts Makes Advocate's Cover - 5/7 - National gay news magazine the Advocate features Baltimore native and former CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts as its cover guy (right). Roberts was outed by a blog when he was an anchor at CNN in 2006, but has since openly discussed his sexuality. "If people don't like that I'm gay or that I talk about being gay, I'm sorry. Because that's not my problem." Roberts made the news a few years ago when he revealed that he, as a youth, was molested by a priest while attending a Baltimore Catholic school..... CSN To Air 5 Mystics Games - 5/7 - Comcast SportsNet will air five Washington Mystics games this season, including four games in high-definition. The CSN games of the pro basketball female team will be featured during July. In addition, the Mystics will be featured four times on national television, making their 2008 national debut on 5/31, when the team hosts the Los Angeles Sparks on ABC..... Local News Channel From 4? - 5/7 - Broadcasting And Cable reports that NBC's flagship TV station, WNBC in NYC, is transforming its headquarters into a "content center" as the station prepares the launch of a 24-hour local news channel which will be available on WNBC's digital signal. With live headlines every half-hour and plenty of weather and traffic coverage. Might NBC's DC station, Channel 4/ WRC, be thinking about doing the same thing? Stay tuned..... With Editor Maybe Taking Buyout, Big Changes Coming To Post's Style - 5/7 - At washingtoncitypaper.com, Erik Wemple tells us that the Washington Post's Style section may be saying goodbye to its top editor, Deborah Heard, who has plowed 20-plus years of service into the paper. She is weighing an early retirement package. "Less clear is whether Heard may be feeling a push as well. Her section is the subject of considerable intra-newsroom sniping, much of it a lamentation of how far Style has fallen over the years"..... Segraves Begs For "Hottie" Votes On WTOP - 5/7 - At the start of the "Ask The Governor" program today, featuring Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, WTOP reporter Mark Segraves made a shameless and brash request for DCRTV "Battle Of The Media Hotties" votes from the station's listeners (see newsblurb below). Hear his plea here (MP3)..... Princell Hair To Head 2's News? - 5/7 - FTVLive tells us that rumors spilling out of Baltimore are saying that former CNN boss Princell Hair (right) is going to be named news director at struggling Channel 2/WMAR. Sources tell FTVLive that WMAR Acting News Director Kelly Groft has been told she isn't getting the ND gig. Hair has been spotted in the hallways at the Scripps ABC affiliate. Hair once was the ND at Channel 11/WBAL, "so he knows the area," FTVLive adds..... 7 To Go HD News By End Of Summer - 5/7 - DCRTV hears that Channel 7/WJLA will go to high-def local newscasts by the end of summer. New studio cameras and a new switcher are down to final bids from major equipment vendors. Field cameras are already HD-ready, and graphics are ready to go. Promotions has been shooting in HD for months. Allbritton sister NewsChannel 8 will also be in HD, but nobody will see it since the deal with local cable providers Comcast and Cox has no provisions for HD, and they have not asked for it, so NC8 will be "down converted" to standard-def. We're told that it's easier for the whole 7/NC8 facility to be HD and down convert NC8 to SD than to have WJLA in HD and NC8 in SD. Also, we also hear that NC8's will have new studio space in the former SunTrust bank space on Wilson Boulevard, just down the street from WJLA's Rosslyn HQ..... Baltimore Can't See Al Jaz Coverage Of Baltimore - 5/7 - The English language Arabic news network of Al Jazeera just finished doing an in-depth story on Baltimore. "From the crime and grime to the hope and prayer of a powerful Bethel AME service," writes Kim Andrew Elliot via his international broadcasting blog at kimelli.nfshost.com. But, you can't see Al Jazeera in Baltimore, since no major USA cable or satellite companies carry it. Despite its "large and active bureau in Washington," according to the former host of "Communications World" on the Voice Of America..... Manassas OKs Verizon FiOS - 5/7 - Manassas is the latest area jurisdiction to give the green light to Verizon to wire the city for its FiOS TV and internet service. Currently, Manassas is served by Comcast. More from prnewswire.com..... NFL's Battle With Comcast Continues - 5/7 - The NFL Network continues its battle with area cable TV giant Comcast, which moved the pro football channel onto a $5-a-month digital sports tier last year. In a complaint to the FCC, NFL says Comcast, which the nation's largest cable operator, made the move as punishment for not landing a package of eight regular season games last season. Those games, instead, aired on the NFL Network. There's more from Broadcasting And Cable..... 58 For Russert - 5/7 - NBC's DC-based host of top-rated "Meet The Press," Tim Russert, turns 58 today..... Rant - 5/7 - We asked you yesterday what should the alleged alt rock Globe be playing instead of Joe Cocker and Paul Simon. And you told us: Flaming Lips, Gorillaz, Old 97s, Rachael Yamagata, Matthew Ryan, Rhett Miller, the Waterboys, Wire Train, the White Animals, Jason And The Scorchers, Editors, Embrace, Hard-Fi, Kaiser Chiefs, the Kooks, Safety Suit, Monster In The Machine, Ryan Cabbera, Bjork, the Smiths, Big Audio Dynamite, Flamin' Groovies, Big Star, Let's Active, dBs, Spoon, Sloan, and King Crimson. Today, we make another suggestion with a "Music The Globe Be Playing" video on our Rant page. Send us your suggestions for cool Globe tunes to dcrtv@dcrtv.com..... Where Were You When Indy & NC Voted? - 5/6 - From DCRTV's Does Anyone Give A Shit Department: Patrick Gavin, of FishbowlDC, finds out what more than 50 (count 'em) DC media types will be doing tonight as the monumental primary results from Indiana and North Carolina are tabulated. Reveals WMAL honcho Chris Berry: "Watching? All of the cool kids are listening to the radio for election coverage. The pictures are much better on the radio"..... Notable Quotable - 5/6 - "I was gonna take my mother to O'Meara's for Mother's Day." So said a disappointed caller to Mike O'Meara's WJFK-FM show on Tuesday. Replied O'Meara: "You're going to have to take her somewhere else." O'Meara recently shuttered his Manassas eatery due to the slowing economy..... WOLer Joe Madison Joins XM - 5/6 - Joe Madison (right) leaves Radio One urban talker WOL (1450 AM) to do mornings at DC-based XM's The Power black talk channel, XM-169. Madison, aka "The Black Eagle," spent 10 years at WOL, with his show being simulcasted on The Power. But, starting 6/2, Madison will be doing his show from XM's New York Avenue studios from 6 AM to 10 AM. It's still not certain whether he will continue to be heard on Lanham-studioed WOL, although some radio trade publications seem to suggest that he won't. "The addition of Joe Madison to our in-house team underpins XM's commitment to outstanding African-American talk programming," said XM President Nate Davis. "The Black Eagle delivers for his listeners everyday. His engaging style is driven by his unmatched curiosity and awareness of the key civil rights issues around the world"..... Once Heard On GTS, Walter Camp Dies - 5/6 - Walter Camp Jr., 79, who once hosted a German music show on Takoma Park MD's WGTS (91.9 FM), died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 5/1 at his home in Silver Spring. The son of German immigrants, Camp was a member of the Washingtonia Schuhplattler Verein, which performs traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler dances, German drinking songs, and Alpine bell-ringing. He and his brother, Ronald, hosted "Musical Memories Of Germany And Austria" on WGTS for 20 years. More in the DC Post..... Arbitron Hit Over Philly PPMs - 5/6 - Columbia MD-based ratings firm Arbitron gets slammed by a Philadelphia radio exec for its problematic portable people meter (PPM) radio ratings. At DCRTV's Philadelphia/NYC News page..... 'Net Radio Surges At Work - 5/6 - Twenty percent of at-work radio listening is done via the internet. That's up from 12 percent a year earlier. More from Radio Online..... Former Mix 106.5er Lands At WCEI - 5/6 - DCRTV hears that Kenny Campbell, former morning man with JoJo at Baltimore's Mix 106.5, is now at hot adult contemporary WCEI, 96.7 FM, in Easton. When Campbell left WWMX several years ago, he landed in Denver..... Hume To MC Awards Ceremony - 5/6 - Fox News DCer Brit Hume will serve as master of ceremeonies for the 2008 Bradley Prizes awards gala and the Kennedy Center on 6/4. The Bradley Prizes honor "outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves in promoting democratic capitalism, freedom, and the defense of American institutions"..... Mason Takes CBS Radio Down Digital Path - 5/6 - Radio isn't dead. So proclaims Dan Mason (right), the DC area radio vet who is now president of CBS Radio. He claims that "$1 billion in ad dollars were telling you that the iPod and satellite radio will lead to the death of radio. That's a myth. Like when you were told the eight-track tapes, cassettes and the CD would sign radio's death warrant. To say that an iPod or satellite radio, with little or no human connection will ever replace radio is absurd." Mason was calling attention to CBS Radio's intention to make use of digital distribution - via the "Player.Play.It" media player - even as the radio firm and its peers struggle to cope with the additional competition from those platforms. More from washingtonpost.com and FMQB..... Czarniak's Prom Memories - 5/6 - Washingtonian posts high school prom pics of some DC superstars, including Channel 4 sportscaster Lindsay Czarniak at Centreville High in 1995..... Indie Rock & More On Digital DC101 - 5/6 - DCRTV plops erockster.com on its digital radio HD2 subchannel. Lots of indie rock, plus Brit pop, dance, and more. We heard Cut Copy, Nirvana, Weezer, White Stripes, Bjork, and Bloc Party. More at dc101.com..... ABC & Woodruff To Produce Green News For Discovery - 5/6 - ABC News' Bob Woodruff will anchor a weekly environment-oriented series for Planet Green, a network being launched by Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications. Scheduled to premiere in July, Woodruff's new series is billed as an "eco-newscast." It will be produced by ABC News, where Woodruff, 46, has been a correspondent since 1996. After serving as a chief anchor at ABC for less than a month, Woodruff in January 2006 suffered a serious brain injury from a roadside blast in Iraq. AP has more..... More: "Takeaway" On WEAA - 5/6 - The NY Times looks at "The Takeaway," a new public radio show from NYC now airing on Baltimore's WEAA (88.9 FM)..... New Gig For Nicole Zaloumis - 5/5 - Nicole Zaloumis, who was once a sports anchor and reporter for DC's NBC4, leaves her reporter gig with Comcast SportsNet West for an anchor/reporter job with Fox Sports Net Northwest..... DC Times Hikes Newsstand Price - 5/5 - The Washington Times, one of the last major daily newspapers pricing newsstand copies at just 25-cents, has doubled its price to 50-cents. Same as the Washington Post. That's still cheaper than USA Today at 75-cents and the New York Times at $1.25. But more expensive than the Washington Express (owned by the Post) and the Washington Examiner, which are free..... Sponsorship Slump Causes NPR Belt-Tightening - 5/5 - Ellen Weiss, DC-based National Public Radio's vice president of news, asks her employees to limit discressionary travel and overtime to keep budget costs in line. She says that NPR is "seeing a serious slowdown in the sponsorship market underwriting," according to a memo posted at FishbowlDC..... Hillary: Rush Has Crush On Me - 5/5 - "He's always had a crush on me," Hillary Clinton said of Rush Limbaugh, to a crowd in Indiana. The righty radio talk titan has encouraged Republicans to vote for Clinton to divide the Democratic Party. More in the Indianapolis Star..... Jaffe: Singletary Singled Out, US News In Trouble? - 5/5 - At washingtonian.com, Harry Jaffe looks at Michelle Singletary, the Washington Post's chief personal-finance columnist. Plus, Jaffe does a video piece, also at washingtonian.com, about whether news weeklies, like US News, "are on the way out"..... Sunday Morning Meltdowns At 105.9 & 100.3 - 5/5 - DCRTVers tell us that both of DC's oldies outlets were in meltdown mode on Sunday morning. We're told that Citadel's oldies WJZW (105.9 FM) not only went for several hours without an hourly legal ID, which is mandated by the FCC, but it also featured lengthy periods of "dead air" and periods with two commercials being run at the same time. Some of which cut into the "true oldies." And, down the dial at Clear Channel's classic hits WBIG (100.3 FM), we're told that it was repeatedly playing two songs at the same time. Is this any way to run major market radio? Hmmm..... NY Post Retracts O&A Story - 5/5 - From the NY Post: "On April 23 we reported that the fiancée of Gregg 'Opie' Hughes, one half of the Opie and Anthony radio show, was involved in an X-rated sex video with MTV star Bam Margera. We reported that Hughes was taking legal action against a disgruntled ex-employee of the radio duo who had acquired the rights to the video. We have since learned that this information, supplied by Steppin' Out's Chaunce Hayden, was entirely incorrect. There is no sex tape. Further, Hughes' fiancée has never met the MTV star. The Post sincerely regrets the error." O&A, who used to be heard on WJFK-FM, are still heard on XM..... More: O'Meara Closes Eatery - 5/5 - Not only do the DC Post gossip hacks get the news five days after DCRTV first reported it, they also fail to credit Postie Paul Farhi for catching the item on DCRTV and feeding it to them. About WJFK-FM afternooner Mike O'Meara closing his O'Meara's restaurant in Manassas..... Chaffee Joins Washington Life - 5/5 - Kevin Chaffee has left the Washington Times after 17-years covering society and the arts. He joins Washington Life magazine as a senior editor..... Postie's Home Consumed By Flame - 5/5 - FishbowlDC tells us that Washington Post Washington Biz Blog writer Mike Shepard had the misfortune of having his DC home severely damaged by fire on Saturday night. He and his family are safe..... Paul Harvey Loses His Angel - 5/5 - Lynne "Angel" Harvey, known to many as "The First Lady of Radio," died at her Illinois home on 5/3 after a year-long battle with leukemia. ABC News reports her age was 92. Lynne, one of the great broadcasting figures of the past century, developed and edited husband Paul Harvey's best-known feature "The Rest Of The Story," heard locally on WMAL and WCBM. She was also the first producer ever inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame in 1997. More from Radio And Records..... CBS Moving Lara Logan To DC - 5/5 - CBS may be looking to add a little female star power in the expectation that Katie Couric will relinquish the anchor chair next year. The network is close to a deal to bring Lara Logan, its South African-born chief foreign correspondent, to Washington. So reports Howie Kurtz in the DC Post..... Support DCRTV's Advertisers - 5/5 - Thanks to area radio legends Ken Merson, mpvt123.com, and Chris Core, chriscoretalks.com, for renewing their ads on DCRTV. Don't forget, DCRTV is the perfect place for local radio and TV veterans to reach the movers and shakers in the local media biz. Thinking of a job change, expanding your current business, or maybe even launching a career as a talk or music show host? Advertise on DCRTV. Click here for the details about an affordable ad that'll reach many thousands..... DC's AM Band: Down, But Not Quite Out - 5/4 - In Sunday's DC Post, Marc Fisher takes a listen to the incresingly low-rated AM band in the DC area and finds lots of Spanish, some religion, and lots of satellite-delivered talk. And a shrinking handful of local voices, a la WFAX, WPGC-AM, WOL, and WNAV. "A comeback for AM is a long shot, but it is only possible with programs that cannot be heard anywhere else, not even on the web, with the daily recitation of the police blotter, the triumphs of local high school athletes and the voices of the places where we live," writes Fisher..... Too Much Bling At BET? - 5/4 - Has film director Reggie Hudlin been able to change things at once DC-based Black Entertainment Television, where he's president of entertainment? "His critics blame him for serving up a steady diet of the same old same old: poisonous, stereotypical images of blacks, specifically rap videos featuring scantily clad vixens and blinged-out gangstas," says the DC Post..... More: Plagiarism At KidsPost - 5/4 - Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell: "Plagiarism is a serious crime in journalism; it can be embarrassing and career-ending. But what if the plagiarists are children who won the KidsPost poetry contest, children who said the work was their own?"..... No 1st For Fox's Obama Show - 5/4 - Chris Wallace's interview with Barack Obama last Sunday couldn't even generate a first place finish for Fox's "Fox News Sunday." A second place DC political talker finish in the DC market, behind usual first-placer "Meet The Press" with Tim Russert on NBC. Obama's interview with Wallace got aired four times - once on the Fox broadcast network and three times on the sister Fox News Channel for about 4 million viewers in total. Heck, even CBS's Katie Couric gets more pairs of eyeballs..... More Red Ink On Post's Pages - 5/3 - More bad news for the Washington Post. Its parent company reported a 39 percent decline in first-quarter profit. Operating income at the Post's newspaper division plunged 92 percent, with revenue down 6 percent, and print ad revenue off 11 percent. Ad revenue at the Post's website was up 8 percent for the quarter, but that was a slowdown from the double-digit increases posted last year. More in the Post..... O'Meara & CBS Sign On The Line - 5/2 - DCRTV hears that CBS Radio has signed a new contract with WJFK-FM afternoon man Mike O'Meara. A top CBS DCer tells us: "We did sign an agreement and thrilled to do it.... WJFK is committed to Mike and Mike to WJFK for a good run." Terms of the deal were not released..... Lehrer Out Of Hospital - 5/2 - PBS's "NewsHour" host Jim Lehrer has checked out of Massachusetts General Hospital following heart surgery last week. Lehrer will be staying in Boston, continuing his recuperation for a few weeks, before heading back to DC..... 2nd Place For Chris Matthews - 5/2 - MSNBC DCer Chris Matthews takes 2nd place in the UK Telegraph rag's kind of dopey list of the "most influential US political pundits," beating out Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. As expected, Matthews stroked his over-inflated ego with the news during his Friday "Hardball" show..... Radio One Stock Continues To Slide - 5/2 - Even with the Dow Jones average closing above 13,000 yesterday, for the first time since early January, the stock price of Lanham urban radio giant Radio One slid to 95-cents, its lowest price since the company went private in 1999. It closed at $7.30 a year ago - before it plunged 87 percent. If the price doesn't climb back above $1 within a month, the stock could be de-listed..... NC8 To HD, Politico TV On Track - 5/2 - A tipster tells DCRTV: NewsChannel 8 is getting a new state-of-the-art news set and studio and will go high-def by late summer (presumably with sister WJLA). They are moving the "studio" out of its current space to the second floor of the Rosslyn facility to make more room for Politico TV. This should help squash some rumors about the possible demise or scaling back of the political rag/website's TV efforts. Allbritton's "WJLA/ NC8/Politico is by no means getting smaller. If anything, they are expanding"..... Sandy Johnson & AP Part Company - 5/2 - Sandy Johnson is gone from her DC bureau chief gig at Associated Press. She was pushed, we hear. Didn't get along with the AP suits in NYC, apparently. Ron Fournier will be acting DC bureau chief until her replacement is found..... Copycat Kids At KidsPost - 5/2 - Future Janet Cooks or Jayson Blairs? Among the "Corrections" in today's Washington Post: One of the poems that KidsPost published April 29 as part of its poetry contest was not written by the child who submitted it. The poem that appeared as "Horrible, Just Horrible" was actually written by Shel Silverstein and is titled "One Out Of Sixteen." The child who sent in the poem originally told KidsPost that it was her work. Another poem on the page, titled "Eraser," was inspired by, but not credited to, Louis Phillips, who wrote "The Eraser Poem"..... Sun Launches HoCo News Site - 5/2 - The Baltimore Sun Media Group, which publishes the Sun and baltimoresun.com, today launches ExploreHoward.com, a website focused solely on news from Howard County. The Columbia Flier and the Howard County Times are teaming up to create the site, which includes articles and photos from these publications, in addition to blogs written by staff editors and reporters. ExploreHoward.com will also feature live feeds from other publications' websites, including those of the Sun, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Examiner. News and features from monthly publications The View From Ellicott City and The View From Western Howard County also will appear on the site..... Jack's Back On 107.3 - 5/2 - It's Friday morning - and Jack Diamond is back on his Mix 107.3 morning radio show. Apparently working without a Citadel contract, or some new deal got worked out at the last minute. Someone blinked. More as we hear it. More in DCRTV's 5/1 and 4/30 newsblurbs..... Foreclosure Notices Fill Post's Classified Ad Pages - 5/2 - The mortgage crisis is good news for local newspapers, with foreclosure legal notices filling up the classified ads section. So reports the DC City Paper. "There are definitely more than we've ever seen," says Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press Association. "I've been in the business 30 years." In a recent edition, the Washington Post's classifieds section totaled 22 pages, approximately 14 of which were devoted to what are technically known as "trustee's sales"..... Hockey TV Ratings Up - 5/2 - In the DC Times, Tim Lemke tells us that TV ratings for professional hockey are up. Thanks, in part, to the Washington Capitals' playoff games..... SatRad Receivers Need More Stuff - 5/2 - Two powerful members of the House Of Representatives have told Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin that satellite radio receivers must not exclude HD Radio, iPods, internet connectivity, or other technology if the FCC permits XM and Sirius to merge. More from Radio And Records..... Honors For Nat Geo - 5/2 - DC's National Geographic picks up a batch of National Magazine Awards. In the DC Post..... Examiner Gets Bland - 5/2 - Jacque Bland, currently the managing editor of the State Journal in Charleston WV, will be joining the Washington Examiner as features editor..... Allbritton Doesn't Pull Plug On Politico TV - 5/2 - DCRTV hears that Politico TV is still "on," despite what FTVLive told us yesterday (see newsblurb below). It was never supposed to be a "channel" - like a fulltime cable channel. Instead, it is supposed to be a broadband channel, a la bunch of video clips on a website. So far, we're told, they have hired three people for the Politico TV project - none are being fired. In fact, they are looking for one more. We do hear that Don Ennis, the new producer for Politico's Sunday TV news show, "Capital Sunday," is going to be replaced. And there's been a lot of internal in-fighting about the project, including lots of sleepless nights about a new studio set and other alleged meddling by Allbritton sister WJLA-TV. But the new Politico TV show and the web video project are still going forward..... Allbritton Pulls Plug On Politico TV - 5/1 - FTVLive tells us that the plug has been pulled on Politico TV. The TV channel was supposed to be a spin off of the website politico.com. The Politico was conceived as a political news-gathering operation, recruiting its reporting talent from traditional newspaper, web, and television backgrounds to join the 24-hour newscycle of the internet. Launched by Allbritton Communications, which also owns Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8, the website went hot in January 2007. The TV channel, Politico TV, was supposed to follow. According to FTVLive, a number of TV people were hired and the TV side of the Politico was said to be moving along. Now, word comes that Politico TV is on "hiatus" - which is the code word for "it ain't happening," adds FTVLive..... Positive Spin For Comcast - 5/1 - Area media giant Comcast reported mostly improved first-quarter earnings Thursday, although it experienced a net loss of 57,000 video subscribers. Comcast reported a 10 percent rise in income, while revenue climbed 14 percent. Comcast said average revenue per basic subscriber hit $107 per month in the quarter, up from $96 one year earlier, and $87 two years ago, indicating the impact of customers buying multiple services - TV, internet, phone. More from Broadcasting And Cable..... DC Madam Commits Suicide - 5/1 - Police say "DC Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 52, has killed herself in Florida. Police were called to the Tampa home of Palfrey's mother on Thursday to investigate the alleged suicide. She was found hanged in a backyard shed. Palfrey was arrested for allegedly running an upscale call girl ring in the nation's capital, one that serviced a number of media and political men. In mid-April, she was convicted of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes, and racketeering, but she had not yet been sentenced. More from the DC Post. One of Palfrey's last interviews was with DC's Carol Joynt at her "Q&A Cafe." Via YouTube..... 30 Cut At DC Times - 5/1 - More on those budget/employee cuts at the Washington Times. As the right-leaning rag fights the slumping economy, the continuing presence of the Washington Post, plus two local freebie tabs - the Post's Express and the Washington Examiner. It looks like some 30 Times staffers have been given pink slips. Plus, there are more Times changes than we reported in our 4/29 newsblurb. Like: The paper's Metro and Business sections will become part of the a new main "Plugged In" section. The washingtontimes.com website redesign takes effect in mid-May..... Payne To Program KYS - 5/1 - Radio One names Al Payne as program director of urban contemporary WKYS (93.9 FM), as well as vice president of the nationally-syndicated Russ Parr morning show, which originates at WKYS. Payne comes from Radio One's Detroit radio cluster, where he'd been operations manager. He replaces Steve Hegwood, who became operations manager of Radio One's Atlanta radio cluster last November..... Rush Slams "Oddball" Chris Matthews - 5/1 - On his WMAL/WCBM show today, Rush Limbaugh (left) dissed DCer Chris Matthews' "Oddball" show, claiming that the host and a guest on yesterday's MSNBC "Hardball" show downplayed Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos" campaign as being ineffective, merely an ego boost for the righty talk radio titan. Limbaugh wants Republicans to vote for the weaker candidate in Democratic primaries. Up until now, that had been Hillary Clinton..... MASN Baseball Ads "Pleasant Surprise" - 5/1 - From natspride.com: MASN's terrific stable of clever, top-quality "Fantasy Camp" commercials this season has been a pleasant surprise. There's the one where Bob Carpenter is tutoring an eager young broadcaster who over-sells a Ryan Zimmerman home run. "It's the bottom of the first inning - save the pipes," he says. "Remember people, there's no DL for announcers"..... 7's Kathy Fowler Shares Painful Memories To Prevent Teenage Car Accidents - 5/1 - Channel 7/WJLA medical reporter Kathy Fowler shares the on-going pain of a tragic car accident she was in 20 years ago, as a teenager. She visits area high schools "in hopes of opening at least one pair of teenage eyes to the fragility of life and the consequences of decisions." There's more in Bethesda Magazine..... Thanks - 5/1 - Thank you for making April DCRTV's highest traffic month in the past year..... Diamond "Shopping Himself" To Other Stations - 5/1 - Regarding DCRTV's rumblings of yesterday. A source tells us that Mix 107.3 morning man Jack Diamond "has been shopping himself around for about the last six months to various DC radio clusters. His contract is up very soon and he does not have a non-compete clause written into it." DCRTV is hearing rumors that the high-salaried Diamond may be the next one to walk the Citadel budget-cutting plank. "Jack Diamond has the day off, but he'll be back tomorrow," is what they're saying on Mix 107.3 this morning. The word is that his contact expired yesterday, and he was advised by his reps not to return until he has a new deal. Which means he may not be back. The pic at right is from happier times at WRQX, when Diamond celebrated his 17th anniversary with the hot adult contemporary station last fall..... O'Meara Closes Restaurant - 5/1 - DCRTV hears that WJFK-FM afternoon man Mike O'Meara's Manassas eatery is now closed. O'Meara's Irish Pub had been open only on weekends since mid-March. The slumping economy, Virginia's stringent booze regulations, and the demands of launching his new JFK show, since the recent retirement of partner Don Geronimo, have all contributed to the demise of the restaurant, we're told. We also hear that O'Meara would like to get back into the restaurant business someday - if the economy improves and he has the time..... TW To Spin-Off Cable, AOL Next - 5/1 - Media giant Time Warner will spin-off its cable unit, it said during its quarterly earnings call yesterday, formalizing a decision that has been months in the making. Now the future of Dulles-based AOL has moved squarely to the spin-off fore. More in the DC Post..... Huffington Feuds With Russert - 5/1 - Arianna Huffington claims that she was banished from NBC News shows because her new book, "Right Is Wrong," blasted DC-based "Meet The Press" anchor Tim Russert. Huffington is the force behind the Huffington Post, a political website where she had started a blog called "Russert Watch." More in the NY Post. Oh, Russert makes a Time list of the top 100 "artists and entertainers".... Ratings: Junks Stalk Elliot - 5/1 - In Thursday's DC Post, Paul Farhi focuses on the continued rise of WJFK-FM's morning Junkies in his piece on Wednesday's release of the winter radio ratings. Writes Farhi about the 12th place Junks: Elliot Segal's "Elliot In The Morning" still holds a big advantage overall, primarily as a result of his strength among female listeners. Segal's program finished tied for sixth overall during the most recent quarter. In part, that's because Elliot is heard on DC101, a rock station that attracts both men and women in roughly equal measures throughout the day. The Junkies, on the other hand, are on WJFK, an all-talk station that barely bothers trying to win over women..... Wolf Blitzer Speaks - 5/1 - ESPN chats with DC-based CNNer Wolf Blitzer..... Lehrer Recovers - 5/1 - An update on "NewsHour" host Jim Lehrer, who recently underwent successful heart surgery, at pbs.org. Oh, DCRTV recently spied a car being driven through Oakton with VA plates "PBS ORG." Hmmm..... TOP Tops Winter Radio Heap - 4/30 - Those quarterly winter radio ratings are out. DC. Age 12+ demo. Full-day: 1) WTOP, 2) WHUR, 3) WMMJ and WPGC-FM, 5) WKYS, 6) WASH, 7) WIHT, 8) WLZL, 9) WMZQ, 10) WPRS and WRQX and WMAL, 13) WBIG, 14) WJZW and WWDC, 16) WJFK-FM, 17) WTGB, 18) WTEM, 19) WAVA, 20) WFRE, 21) WFLS and WWXX and WWWT, 24) WWGB and WYCB and WBQB. Morning drive: 1) WTOP, 2) WHUR, 3) WMMJ, 4) WKYS, 5) WPGC-FM, 6) WWDC and WIHT, 8) WASH, 9) WMAL, 10) WLZL, 11) WRQX, 12) WJFK-FM [Junkies 1st in men age 18-49] and WMZQ, 14) WPRS, 15) WBIG, 16) WJZW, 17) WWWT, 18) WTGB, 19) WAVA and WTEM, 21) WWXX, 22) WFRE, 23) WYCB and WFLS and WBQB. Afternoon drive: 1) WTOP, 2) WHUR, 3) WLZL, 4) WPGC-FM, 5) WMMJ, 6) WKYS, 7) WMZQ and WIHT and WASH, 10) WRQX, 11) WJFK-FM [D&M 4th in men age 18-49], 12) WMAL, 13) WBIG, 14) WJZW, 15) WPRS, 16) WWDC, 17) WTEM, 18) WTGB, 19) WWXX and WFRE, 21) WAVA and WFLS and WBQB, 24) WWGB and WWWT and WINC-FM. There are more numbers at radioandrecords.com. In Baltimore, full-day same demo: 1) WERQ, 2) WPOC, 3) WWIN-FM, 4) WLIF, 5) WBAL, 6) WWMX, 7) WIYY, 8) WSMJ, 9) WCBM, 10) WZBA, 11) WCAO and WQSR, 13) WHFS, 14) WRBS and WHUR. More at radioandrecords.com..... Comcast Adds mun2 - 4/30 - Featuring bilingual programming for Latino youth in the USA, mun2 joins Comcast's DC area digital cable lineup on channel 636. Offering Latin and mainstream entertainment, including a heavy dose of contemporary music, mun2 "celebrates the lifestyles of Latino youth - from award-winning original programs to exclusive interviews, performances, and the latest music videos." As part of the agreement between mun2 owner NBC Universal and Comcast, both mun2 and NBC's Telemundo programming will also be available on Comcast's On Demand service. More about mun2 at holamun2.com...... Citadel's Next DC Cut: Jack Diamond? - 4/30 - DCRTV hears rumblings that something big could be coming down the pike at Citadel's hot adult contemporary Mix 107.3, WRQX. Is morning man Jack Diamond (right) soon to be on the outs? We hear that longtime DC radio vet Diamond's contract is up soon, maybe today, and station owner Citadel wants the high-priced talent gone. Citadel recently made a batch of big budget cuts at its smooth jazz, now oldies WJZW and news talk WMAL. If Diamond is a gonner, might RQX put afternoon man Rob Carson in mornings? Stay tuned..... 45 Launches HD Newscasts - 4/30 - A DCRTVer tells us that Baltimore's Fox affiliate, Channel 45/WBFF, debuts its high-def newscasts today. DCRTV told you a while back that station owner Sinclair was planning to start HD local news broadcasts on Fox45 this spring. That would make WBFF the second TVer in the DC-Baltimore area to air news in HD. Joining DC's Channel 9/WUSA. DC's Channel 5/WTTG is expected to launch HD news in May..... Sorensen To Do Q&A - 4/30 - Ted Sorensen, former chief speechwriter and counsel to JFK, and the last of the close Kennedy White House aides who is still alive, will appear at the "Q&A Cafe" with Carol Joynt on 6/24. He has written a much anticipated memoir, "Counselor: A Life At The Edge Of History," which will be out soon. More at nathansgeorgetown.com..... Randi Rhodes Returns To XM - 4/30 - DCRTV tipped you off a few days ago. And now XM announces that lefty talker Randi Rhodes will return to the DC-based satellite broadcaster's lineup on 5/5. The new "Randi Rhodes Show," which is syndicated by Nova M Radio, will air weekdays from 3 PM to 6 PM on XM's liberal political talk channel, Air America (XM-167). Rhodes got canned from her Air America radio network gig (unrelated to XM's Air America channel) a few weeks ago after she made rude comments about Hillary Clinton and other Democrats at a public appearance in San Francisco..... Big Bucks For XM Head - 4/30 - The president and chief executive of DC's XM Satellite Radio received compensation valued at $4.85 million in 2007, according to a regulatory filing. AP has more..... More For Core At Bonneville? - 4/30 - Yesterday, DCRTV told you that DC radio talk veteran and former WMALer Chris Core was joining all-newser WTOP to do one-minute commentaries. Today, the DC Post quotes WTOP programmer Jim Farley as saying Core could host a talk show on WTOP's Bonneville sister talker 3WT. Actually, Farley told DCRTV that, too, yesterday, but we thought the comment was off-the-record and didn't report it. "Stay tuned," was how Farley reacted after we suggested that Core could host a live and local afternoon drive show on 3WT, replacing the syndicated talk now airing. Farley is the de facto programmer for 3WT, with its official PD, Greg Tantum, leaving for California. Also, the Post adds that Core replaces DC TV news veteran Mike Buchanan, who had been airing commentaries on WTOP. Buchanan got bounced in a recent budget cut..... More Rumblings Of A Senate Run For Matthews - 4/30 - The possibility of the host of MSNBC's "Hardball" political show host Chris Matthews (left), running against Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican, for Specter's senate seat in Pennsylvania is intensifying. Although Matthews said to Bill Maher of HBO that he's "not getting involved in it" when asked about whether he would seek the position in 2010, it is odd to employ his TV program in a way that would make him a favorable candidate to run for senator of Pennsylvania as a Democrat. The NY Sun has more. Also, Jossip reports: One MSNBC exec wants Matthews gone, giving more time to David Gregory..... David Gregory A "Jerk" - 4/30 - Gawker tells us that DC-based David Gregory, who replaced Tucker Carlson in MSNBC's 6 PM slot, is pretty much a "jerk"..... Website Upgrade For Nat'l Geo - 4/30 - The DC-based National Geographic Channel unveils a redesigned website that features more than 800 hours of video, 2,000 photos from its most popular shows, and a TV scheduling tool. Multichannel News has more..... Congress To Call For FCC Head's Head - 4/30 - As Congress continues to investigate alleged mismanagement at the Federal Communications Commission, Chairman Kevin Martin might be called to defend himself in a hearing regarding his leadership. More from FMQB..... Marriage For Jim Angle - 4/30 - Jim Angle, Fox News's chief Washington correspondent, is finally taking the plunge. Angle is engaged to Patrice Pisinski, a former senior adviser at the Department Of Energy. More from the DC Examiner..... Katie Suffers Dip After Replacement Speculation - 4/30 - The "CBS Evening News" audience has taken a noticeable dip ever since the latest round of speculation over DC media pixie Katie Couric's job. The broadcast averaged 5.34 million viewers last week, breaking a record low for CBS News' flagship show that had been set the week before. More from AP..... Cuts At DC Times - 4/30 - FishbowlDC tells us that Kevin Chaffee, Cathy Donohoe, Seth McLaughlin, Jim Brantley, Shelley Widhalm, and Bert Goulait are out in a round of budget cuts at the Washington Times. Also, Chris Dolan has been named deputy assistant managing editor for politics..... Budget Woes At "NewsHour" - 4/30 - Also from FishbowlDC: Money problems over at the Channel 26/WETA production of PBS news show "NewsHour" with Jim Lehrer. Reportedly, they've frozen salaries and cut retirement contributions. Apparently, the slumping economy has reduced donations to public TV..... CBS & NBC Want Weather Channel - 4/30 - CBS and NBC Universal plan to bid between $3.5 billion and $4.0 billion for The Weather Channel, privately held by Norfolk-based Landmark Communications..... 85 For Roll Call Founder - 4/30 - Roll Call founder Sid Yudain celebrated his 85th birthday last Saturday with a performance by satirist Mark Russell at Yudain's Virginia home..... Verizon & Comcast Improve Customer Service - 4/30 - With an increasing number of websites and blogs filling with complaints about local cable TV and phone providers, companies like Verizon and Comcast are bolstering their customer service staffs and even launching their own live online chats. More in the DC Post..... Lehrer On The Mend - 4/29 - TVNewser tells us that PBS's Jim Lehrer is on the mend after undergoing heart surgery last week. Colleague Judy Woodruff visited Lehrer in the hospital and says he is doing well and is in good spirits..... 13's Weather Team To Entertain Kids At Oriole Park - 4/29 - Channel 13/WJZ's weather team of Bob Turk, Bernadette Woods, and Tim Williams will hold a Field Trip Day workshop for area school kids on 5/1 at Oriole Park. Presented by WJZ and MASN, it's an educational opportunity for students in grades 3 to 8 to take part in a fun and interactive program about Maryland weather. Orioles head groundskeeper Nicole Sherry will discuss how weather patterns affect the playing field at Camden Yards, as well as the impact on the game itself. All this before the Orioles versus the Tampa Bay Rays at 12:30 PM..... Chris Core To Do WTOP Commentary - 4/29 - DC talk radio veteran Chris Core (right) joins all-news WTOP, where he will do a daily commentary, "Core Values," which will air weekdays in afternoon drive and will also be available on the station's website. Core, who spent 30-ish years at talker WMAL until he was budget-cut on 2/29, has been doing work for DC-based XM Satellite Radio's POTUS '08 presidential election channel for the past few weeks. WTOP programming head Jim Farley says: "In an important election year like this one, Chris strengthens our lineup of commentators and analysts from both sides of the political spectrum. It's a perfect counterpart to our straight news reporting." Core's first day with WTOP is 5/1..... Farhi: Mike Lacks Don's "Edge" - 4/29 - In his Tuesday "Station Break" Q&A at washingtonpost.com, Paul Farhi gives us his take on the new Mike O'Meara show on WJFK-FM: "Yes, it's kinder/gentler, but goshdarn, I miss that old bile-spewer Geronimo. The show had more, um, spunk (cut to clip of Lou Grant saying, 'I hate spunk!') with Don in the chair. I'll repeat what I said last time: Give Mike O. some time to ease into the lead; he's a really fine broadcaster and superb comic talent. But I really do miss the 'edge' that Don had"..... CBS Radio Slumps - 4/29 - CBS Radio reports that revenue fell 9 percent, as ad sales remained weak and the unit was affected by the sale of nearly 40 stations in 10 markets. At radio stations the company has owned at least a year, revenue slipped 6 percent. However, as a whole, CBS's quarterly earnings rose 14 percent, helped by greater profits on the TV side. More from MarketWatch. In the DC-Baltimore area, CBS owns about a dozen radio stations, including WPGC, WJFK, WTGB, WLZL, WLIF, WQSR, WHFS, and WWMX. It also owns TVer Channel 13/WJZ..... Larry King Cancels "Q&A" Appearance - 4/29 - DCRTV hears that CNN talk legend Larry King has pulled out of his "Q&A Cafe" Wednesday noon interview with Carol Joynt. He did not promise to reschedule..... Post Buyout List Lengthens - 4/29 - FishbowlDC tells us that Anne Groer is the latest to confirm that she's taking the Washington Post's latest employee cost-cutting buyout. Others who are reportedly taking the buyout or are already gone include: Walter Nicholls, Peter Carlson, Bill O'Brian, Tom Ricks, KC Summers, Desson Thompson, Eve Zibart, Richard Harrington, Tamara Jones, Susan Schmidt, Tim Page, and Maralee Schwartz..... XM & Sirius Delay Stockholder Meetings - 4/29 - DC's XM Satellite Radio has postponed its 2008 annual meeting of stockholders. The company will announce a new date for the meeting when it has further information relating to the timing of its pending merger with NYC's Sirius Satellite Radio, which has also postponed its shareholder meeting. The 2008 annual meeting of XM stockholders had been scheduled for 5/23. The Department Of Justice gave its blessing to the merger proposal in March, but the deal still awaits approval from the Federal Communications Commission. The DC Post has more..... 4 Considered Selling Lot & Building - 4/29 - From TVNewser: "This weekend we also learned NBCU was recently considering selling their Nebraska Avenue lot and building in Washington DC which houses the NBC News bureau, MSNBC-DC, and WRC. But no deal, everyone stays put." DCRTV recently reported that WRC sold its broadcast tower, which is also on the Nebraska Avenue property. NBC recently shuttered its news bureau on Capitol Hill, and moved in with co-owned WRC, which is in upper northwest..... DC Times To Get Makeover - 4/29 - The Washington Times announces a bunch of upgrades. Including a widening of the distribution area for its "two-star" later edition. And a redesigned website that will feature a mobile news platform, video programming, news feeds, and a "news cube" that will allow readers to dig deeper into a story. Also coming: an electronic edition on the web and a redesign of the print product. The Times' subscription level continues to hover in the 100,000 range, well below the Washington Post's 670,000 daily level..... Liggins Does Wedding - 4/29 - The DC Post reports that Radio One head Alfred Liggins took time away from his urban radio firm to be groomsman at the wedding of former Congressman Harold Ford and fashion exec Emily Threlkeld Saturday in Miami..... Laurie Dhue Seen At 7 - 4/28 - Seen at the Rosslyn HQ of Channel 7/WJLA today: Laurie Dhue, formerly an anchor at Fox News and other cable news nets. Possible new JLA anchor? You know, 7's never formally replaced evening anchor Kathleen Matthews, who left more than a year ago. Hmmm. Stay tuned..... Brian Billick To Fox - 4/28 - In the Examiner, Jim Williams tells us that former Baltimore Ravens Coach Brian Billick will be heading to Fox to do football booth work..... Comcast Loses Subscribers - 4/28 - Reuters reports that area media giant Comcast is forecast to have lost 73,400 basic video customers in the latest quarter, mirroring a trend with other cable TV companies. With satellite TV services adding subscribers. That's still a small fraction of Comcast's 24 million subscribers nationwide. Meanwhile, Multichannel News tells us that Verzion, which is busy wiring parts of the DC-Baltimore region with its FiOS service, has reeled in about 260,000 new TV and internet customers since the beginning of 2008, taking it over the 1 million mark nationally..... Senator Slams Rush For "Incendiary" Comments - 4/28 - Senator Ken Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado, has asked that Clear Channel "reprimand" Rush Limbaugh for what Salazar calls Limbaugh's "clear exhortation" for riots during August's Democratic National Convention in Denver. Limbaugh said last week that he was not calling for a riot in Denver but only "dreams" of it, to the tune of "White Christmas." "Now, I'm not inspiring or inciting riots. I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming of riots in Denver," Limbaugh said on the air, mimicking the holiday tune. But Salazar, in his letter to Clear Channel, which owns Limbaugh's Denver station, characterized Limbaugh's comments as "incendiary." The Denver Post has more...... NABer Out After Robbins Fallout - 4/28 - The trade pubs are reporting that Pam Magnani has left her job as the DC-based National Association Of Broadcasters' senior VP of meetings and conferences. The speculation is that her departure may be related to her role in booking lefty activist actor Tim Robbins as the keynote speaker at the NAB's annual confab in Las Vegas. Robbins' politically-charged speech ripped the radio industry and, in particular, talk radio..... Steve Rudin To 7 - 4/28 - Heard on WTOP over the weekend: A weather report from ABC7 weatherman Steve Rudin (right). So, does that mean Rudin's now working for Channel 7/WJLA? After stints at Channel 5/WTTG and Channel 9/WUSA. Heck, all he needs now is a gig at Channel 4/WRC and he'll have worked at all of DC's major TV news channels..... Rag Slump Hits Post - 4/28 - Many US newspaper continue to see slumping circulation figures. The Washington Post watched as 3.6 percent of its print subscribers left, according to six-month figures as of March from the Audit Bureau Of Circulations. Tyson's Corner-based USA Today, which relies heavily on free distribution at airports and hotels, bucked the trend and saw a 0.3 percent jump. More from AP..... DCRTV's WHCA Party Pics - 4/28 - We've got some pics from Saturday afternoon's DCRTV pre-White House Correspondents' Association dinner picnic/pool party here..... More WHCA Pics - 4/28 - Lots more White House Correspondents' Association pics from "Q&A Cafe" host Carol Joynt at nysocialdiary.com..... "Big Ron" O'Brien Dies - 4/28 - Philadelphia radio veteran "Big Ron" O'Brien (left), who worked at DC's "top 40" WPGC in 1976 and 1977, died Sunday of complications from pneumonia. O'Brien, 56, had been ill for nearly two months. O'Brien worked at Philly "top 40" outlet WFIL in the 1970s, and later at that city's oldies WOGL. He'd also worked in LA, St. Louis, and Denver. More in the Philadelphia Inquirer. There's a tribute page to O'Brien at amandfmmorningside.com..... Aaron Brown To PBS - 4/28 - Aaron Brown, the former CNN anchor who found cable TV an awkward fit, is joining Arlington-based PBS and its "Wide Angle" series and ending his on-air absence of more than two years. Anchoring "Wide Angle," a weekly public affairs series with a global focus, offers the chance "to work in an environment where people just think about making good TV and good journalism," Brown told AP. Brown, 59, who left CNN in November 2005 during a shake-up that gave his time slot to rising star Anderson Cooper, said he was contractually barred from working in TV until last June. He's been teaching at Arizona State University. Produced by NYC's WNET, "Wide Angle" begins its seventh season in July..... Murrow Commemorated At Newseum - 4/28 - TVNewser attended a live taping of "Inside Media" Saturday afternoon. The Newseum program was a tribute to Edward R. Murrow commemorating what would have been his 100th birthday. Former CBS and NBC News correspondent Marvin Kalb, and Bob Edwards, host of "The Bob Edwards Show" on XM participated in the panel which was moderated by Frank Bond..... Chris Wallace "Happier On Cable" - 4/28 - The South Florida Sun Sentinel profiles Chris Wallace, who hosts the DC-based "Fox News Sunday" political talker, who is "happier on cable" than he was at ABC. Although his show is shown on Fox broadcast TV..... Mudd: Always On CBS - 4/28 - The Huffington Post talks to CBS News legend Roger Mudd, who reveals that he can't imagine working for another network..... Visitors Up At AOL Sites - 4/28 - Semi-Dulles-based AOL is attracting more users to its free websites, but it hasn't found the formula for maximizing ad revenue. The Wall Street Journal has more..... More: Kelly Loses Miami Gig - 4/27 - The Miami Herald has more on DC radio vet Bruce Kelly's parting of the ways with Miami oldies outlet WMXJ. "He's not sure what he's going to do. Moving his family to Miramar from the Washington DC area, where he was working as program director of several of the oldies channels on XM Satellite Radio, wasn't easy, and he's not anxious to leave leave the Miami area again"..... 1st Newseum "This Week" Ranks 2nd - 4/27 - ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos finished in second place in total viewers nationwide last Sunday - its first since moving to the Newseum. NBC's "Meet The Press" finished in first place, as usual, with CBS's "Face The Nation third, and Fox's "Fox News Sunday" fourth..... Holly Sells Cookies For Cancer Research - 4/27 - A DCRTVer tells us: "Holly Morris of Fox5 news was quite busy on Saturday, selling cookies and other goods outside her Brookeville home to raise money for breast cancer research. She was extremely pleasant and introduced me to her (I guess new) husband Frank. I asked her about doing all the outings for fox in the morning and she says she loves it just as much as when she started. Oh, and the cookies were delicious"..... Last WHCA Dinner For W - 4/27 - President Bush spoke at his last White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night, as the beautiful journalists schmoozed, drank, and partied in DC. AP and the DC Post have more. Party pics from TVNewser and the the DC Post. "Watch now as Ed Murrow rolls slowly in his grave," jests News Blues editor Mike James..... Howell's Advice For Terminated Tunison - 4/27 - In Sunday's DC Post, ombudsman Deborah Howell looks at Postie Michael Tunison, 25, who got fired after he posted expletive-laden comments and a drunken pic of himself on a sports blog. Writes Howell: "Advice to young bloggers who want a mainstream media job: Don't hide your other job. Don't embarrass the editors. And use that talent without posting a picture of yourself drunk"..... Journos Jostle For Publicity At WHCA Parties - 4/26 - That's Chris Matthews (left) and Tim Russert (right) hanging out together at one of the many White House Correspondents' Association pre-dinner parties on Saturday. More from TVNewser..... More: Big Raises For Execs At Slumping Radio One - 4/26 - Four days ago, DCRTV tipped you off. Now, the DC Post also tells us that struggling Lanham-based urban media giant Radio One has agreed to give founder and chairman Cathy Hughes and her son, chief executive Alfred Liggins, substantial raises and bonuses as part of new three-year pay packages. This, at the same time the company's stock has plunged more than 80 percent, and the firm has sold its Los Angeles radio station at a loss..... Trashing That Tube TV - 4/26 - Area residents are loading up their cars and trucks with their old analog "tube" TVs and heading to recycling centers as the deadline for all-digital broadcasts approaches in early 2009. More in the DC Post..... Heart Surgery For Jim Lehrer - 4/25 - Jim Lehrer (right), the longtime anchor of PBS's signature evening newscast, underwent a successful heart valve procedure on Wednesday. "Jim plans to be back at full speed and on the program within a few weeks," the network said in a statement on Friday. A spokeswoman for Lehrer said he first felt ill last Friday. Lehrer, whose program is produced by DC's WETA, checked into the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for the procedure. Substitute hosts will fill in for Lehrer on "The NewsHour" for the time being. Lehrer decided not to anchor "The NewsHour" from WQED, the PBS station in Pittsburgh, this week to highlight the Pennsylvania primary. More from nytimes.com..... Bruce Kelly Leaving Miami? - 4/25 - DCRTV hears rumblings that DC area radio veteran and past XMer Bruce Kelly has left his year-old gig doing mornings at Miami oldies outlet WMXJ. More soon..... Randi Rhodes To XM? - 4/25 - DCRTV hears rumblings that Randi Rhodes, who recently got bounced from lefty radio network Air America for making some nasty comments about Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, could be again heard on DC-based XM Satellite Radio. Stay tuned..... Doocy Does Bush - 4/25 - TVNewser tells us that former Channel 4er Steve Doocy, who now hosts Fox News Channel's "Fox And Friends" morning show, got a one-on-one with President Bush Thursday as part of Doocy's emcee role at a White House event honoring the Wounded Warrior Project. Doocy asked the unpopular president if could be invited to Jenna's wedding. "I could give you the political answer and say 'oh, yeah..let me think about it,' Bush said, "but the answer is absolutely not. Anyway, thanks for trying"..... "Meet" Wins Again - 4/25 - As usual, NBC's "Meet The Press" took the top DC market spot among the Sunday morning talk shows last Sunday. CBS's "Face The Nation" was second, Fox's "Fox News Sunday" was third. ABC's "This Week" was dead last, despite its debut from the Newseum..... MD AG Wants New Satrad Competition If XM-Sirius Deal OKed - 4/25 - Citing its anti-competitive harm to consumers, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, joined by top legal eagles of three other states, has asked that the Federal Communications Commission block the proposed satellite radio marriage of DC's XM and NYC's Sirius. If the merger is approved, the AGs urge the FCC to make spectrum available to a separate company that would offer a free satrad service. The directive, sent to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin yesterday, duplicates a March letter sent by the AGs from 10 other states. The only entity that has made a pitch to lease satellite spectrum from a combined XM-Sirius is Bethesda-based Georgetown Partners..... "Glassergate" At Post - 4/25 - At washingtonian.com, media columnist Harry Jaffe goes to video to analyze the departure of top national news desk editor Susan Glasser from the Washington Post. At the washingtoncitypaper.com, Erik Wemple describes a post-Glasser meeting at the Post as being "Orwellian." More on Glasser from Carol Joynt's "Q&A Cafe" interview this week with Newsweek's Michael Isikoff at youtube.com..... McLaughlin From 4 To 9 - 4/25 - John McLaughlin (right), the progenitor of TV's longest-running political talkfest, is taking his group to a new venue. "The McLaughlin Group," which has been seen on, and produced at, NBC-owned Channel 4/WRC, will move next week to Gannett's CBS affiliate, Channel 9/WUSA. The change ends McLaughlin's 26-year association with NBC. The roundtable show's Sunday-morning time slot, at 11:30 AM, will not change. The move follows a new agreement between CBS and McLaughlin's production company, Oliver Productions. In addition to airing on WUSA, weekly chat show will be seen on WCBS-TV in NYC, ending its run on WNBC-TV. "The McLaughlin Group" will continue on 315 PBS stations across the country. McLaughlin, 81, also hosts a weekly interview program, "John McLaughlin's One On One," that will move to the two CBS stations and continue on PBS stations, so reports the DC Post..... WLZL Gets 5 Award Noms - 4/25 - CBS Radio's Spanish contemporary WLZL (99.1 FM), El Zol, gets nominated for a batch of Medalla de Cortez awards from trade pub Radio Ink. Including "Station Of The Year," Michael Hughes as "General Manager Of The Year," Jessica Rodriguez as "Station Manager Of The Year," Aracely Rivera as "Programmer Of The Year," and Pedro Biaggi as "Personality Of The Year." The award ceremony, for outstanding achievement in Hispanic radio, will be held in May in Miami. Geraldo Rivera will be there..... Caps Set Balto TV Record - 4/25 - Game 7 of the Washington Capitals versus Philadelphia Flyers series set a record for a Comcast SportsNet hockey telecast in Baltimore, averaging 40,000 households, according to Ray Frager in the Baltimore Sun. Plus, he has more on ESPN Radio naming University Of Maryland grad Scott Van Pelt as co-host of Mike Tirico's show..... Luther Jackson Dies - 4/25 - Luther Jackson, 83, who in the early 1960s was among the few black reporters at the Washington Post and in 1968 became the first black faculty member at Columbia University's journalism school, died on 4/22 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He had Parkinson's disease. Jackson taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism until 1992. His areas of expertise included urban affairs and the history of the black press. Housing and urban planning had been his beat at the Post, where he worked from 1959 to 1963. More in the Washington Post..... Paul Harvey Returns - 4/25 - Ailing radio legend Paul Harvey will return on a parttime basis to his "The Rest Of The Story," heard nationwide, including via WMAL. Ron Chapman will continue to host "Paul Harvey News And Comment" until Harvey is able to resume his weekday schedule with ABC Radio Networks. Harvey has been off the air since February, when he had a bout with pneumonia..... Presidential Birthday For Rieger - 4/25 - Channel 4/WRC's Wendy Rieger celebrates her 52nd birthday and George H. W. Bush shows up. More in the DC Post..... Positive Spin For Scripps - 4/25 - EW Scripps, which owns Baltimore's Channel 2/WMAR, said first-quarter profit rose 23 percent on revenue gains at its cable-television and internet units. Bloomberg has more..... Brady On Imus - 4/25 - In Forbes, James Brady looks at the return of Don Imus to the radio dial. Including 105.9 in DC..... Drudge Losing "Edge" - 4/25 - Newsweek's Michael Isikoff on Matt Drudge and his Drudge Report: "Much less of a factor than he was five years ago. I think he has lost a little bit of his edge... Everybody is looking at media where it is constant 24/7 news cycle." More from his "Q&A Cafe" interview with Carol Joynt at businessandmedia.org..... Less Time Spent At Post's Site - 4/24 - Despite rolling out loads of new features, including blogs, the average person spent less time at the Washington Post's website in March, 16 minutes per month, than he/she did a year earlier, 18 minutes. The Politico's site saw growth from 5 minutes to 15 minutes per month, but the year-ago figure came just after the DC political news organization launched. Editor And Publisher has more..... WETA To Produce PBS Series On Latino Americans - 4/24 - WETA and Latino Public Broadcasting have formed a partnership to produce a documentary series for PBS chronicling the experience, influence, and impact of Latinos on the American historical narrative. With the support of a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, research and development work has begun on "The Latino Americans," slated to be broadcast in fall of 2011. The series will consist of three two-hour episodes tracing the history of Latino immigration to the US..... New PRI Morning Show To Debut On WEAA - 4/24 - Baltimore's WEAA (88.9 FM) will be plugged in Monday, 4/28, when PRI and NYC's WNYC launch a new morning show, "The Takeway With John Hockenberry And Adaora Udoji." The one-hour news program will feature editorial collaboration with the BBC World Service, the New York Times, and WGBH in Boston. More at thetakeaway.org..... Perkins To Fill-In For Simpson - 4/24 - DCRTV hears that Channel 5/WTTG weatherman Tony Perkins, who is a local radio veteran, will be filling-in for morning man Donnie Simpson on CBS's urban WPGC-FM next week..... Obama To Do "FNS" - 4/24 - DCRTV hears that there's a good chance that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will end his avoidance of the allegedly right-leaning Fox News Channel and appear on Chris Wallace's DC-based "Fox News Sunday" show this Sunday. Look for Obama to tape a sit-down with Wallace on Saturday from Indiana..... Granddaughter For Ken Merson - 4/24 - Baltimore area radio legend and Merson Person Voice Tracks owner Ken Merson is a grandfather. Katherine "Kate" Elise McGee made her world debut at 6:15 PM Wednesday in a Bel Air hospital to Kris and Kelly McGee. "Kate, mom, and dad are all doing fine while Grandpa Merson remains in orbit," we're told..... More CC DC Blackouts - 4/24 - The DC Clear Channel stations were off the air again for a short time yesterday. DCRTV told you that there were also outages on Monday and Tuesday of most or all of Clear Channel's eight local stations. Possible power problems at the 1801 Rockville Pike broadcast complex (right). They just "can't figure it out," we're told..... Stern "Wack Packer" Kallenbach Dies - 4/24 - Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a member of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack," has died. So reported Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show this morning. Kallenbach was recently seen in commercials for "Monday Night Football" and also appeared in the movie "Jerry Maguire." According to the Stern show, which spoke to his mother, Kallenbach, 39, was serving time in a Philadelphia area jail, where he fell ill, and was taken to a Philadelphia area hospital, where he died from pneumonia. More at philly.com..... More On Opie Fiancee Sex Tape - 4/24 - From All Access: MTVer Bam Margera joined Opie and Anthony via telephone this morning on their XM Satellite Radio and CBS Radio show to deny the existence of a sex tape featuring himself and Opie's fiancee Lindsay. The denial comes after the NY Post reported on "Steppin' Out" publisher Chaunce Hayden's insistence that such a tape does exist and that a former O&A staffer bought the rights to the tape from Margera for distribution. "I think it's nonsense," Margera said of the story, adding that he, like Opie, would pay $100,000 to see the tape. "I really don't think it's true, and I'd match you on the hundred grand," the MTV "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" star told O&A..... Ken Hanner Leaves DC Times - 4/24 - The word is that Ken Hanner is out as national editor of the Washington Times, after 26 years at the New York Avenue allegedly righty rag. His position will probably be terminated in an overall restructuring that is currently being conducted by new Executive Editor John Solomon..... Rebecca Carr Leaves Cox - 4/24 - Rebecca Carr, a DC-based national news correspondent for Cox Newspapers, jumps to Patton Boggs, a DC law firm that focuses on public policy. She'll be director of media relations and communications for the firm..... O'Meara Pod Takes 9th - 4/24 - Mike O'Meara's new WJFK-FM show is the 9th most-popular podcast on iTunes today, up from 10th yesterday. We're getting a somewhat giddy feeling from suits over there at CBS Radio's DC cluster Lanham HQ regarding the first week-and-a-half of the new Mike O'Meara show, which is syndicated by Westwood One. "These folks are all so happy now and enjoying the new environment. All early indications - streaming, podcasts, calls, and advertiser interest - are all very strong!" Even some smiles from some CBS NYCers, we hear. And they almost never smile..... Glasser's Post Exit Examined - 4/24 - In the Politico, Michael Calderone looks at the exit of Susan Glasser, who headed the Washington Post's national dews desk. "The removal of Glasser is being viewed as an unprecedented step. During the past 17 years of (Executive Editor Leonard) Downie's stewardship, the Post has never been rash in making changes at the top ranks of the newsroom, especially doing so in such public manner"..... 11's Jayne Miller Recovering From Brain Surgery - 4/24 - The Baltimore Sun looks at the ordeal faced by Channel 11/WBAL reporter Jayne Miller (right), who recently had brain surgery. "The real moral of this story is just to listen to your body," says Miller, who turns 54 Saturday. "My body was clearly telling me something at the beginning of February, that this wasn't just another cold, this wasn't just a headache that was going to pass. There was something more seriously wrong here. I feel very lucky that I listened to myself, I acted on it, and then I listened to my doctors"..... Picture Problems For Set-Top DigiBoxes - 4/24 - AP reviews several of those new set-top digital boxes for use by those who view over-the-air TV via older TV sets. "Unless users manually change settings from show to show, the picture from many stations either won't fill the screen, or it will be so big that parts the picture are cut off by the edges of the screen." Traditional analog TV broadcasts are set to end in February 2009..... Stephy Mans G'town Lemonade Stand - 4/24 - From FishbowlDC: If you were walking around Georgetown this past weekend, you may have spotted the Stephanopoulos family on the steps of their Georgetown mansion - with a lemonade stand. George, the host of ABC's "This Week," and his wife, Ali Wentworth, oversaw the kids' business. For a mere 50-cents lucky folks passing by got a chance to chat up Georgie and a refreshing glass of lemonade..... O'Meara Pod Takes 10th - 4/23 - Mike O'Meara's new WJFK-FM show is the 10th most-popular podcast on iTunes. Beating out Bill Maher and Tony Kornheiser. "Getting great feedback on the show, so far," says a top CBS Radioer..... Blend Most-Popular XM Channel - 4/23 - The most popular channels on DC's XM Satellite Radio? The Blend on 25. Also, Flight 26 on 26, and Top 20 On 20. Plus Willie's Place on 13, 60s On 6, Highway 16, 70s On 7, and 80s On 8. All music-based. On the talk side, it's The Virus on 202, with a big lead over Fox News on 121 and ESPN on 140..... Syndie Deal For Sharpton & Ballentine - 4/23 - Superadio Networks inks an affiliation and sales agreement with Lanham-based Radio One to syndicate the "Al Sharpton Show" and the "Warren Ballentine Show." Radio Online has more. Both Sharpton and Ballentine are heard on Radio One's WOL (1450 AM)..... Comcast Launches "AnyRoom" VOD - 4/23 - Area cable TV giant Comcast launches "AnyRoom On Demand." Available to digital cable subscribers in the DC area with Motorola boxes, AnyRoom allows the viewer to select video-on-demand programming on one television and view it on any other TV in the home hooked up to a digital cable box. Customers can watch the same program on two or more different digital boxes simultaneously..... Opie Rages Over Alleged Sex Tape - 4/23 - "There is no sex tape. There is absolutely no sex tape," said an enraged morning radio man Gregg "Opie" Hughes today in response to a New York Post Page Six report about a sex tape involving his fiancee, Lindsay, and MTV/Jackass star Bam Margera. The gossip column wrote, "A disgruntled ex-employee of the radio duo recently acquired rights to the video from Margera and it's soon to be released on a pay-for-play website, reports Steppin' Out's Chaunce Hayden. 'They're doing the nasty - and I mean nasty,' Hayden says. 'Hughes is taking legal action to prevent its distribution. Apparently, he's so distraught, he's banned the name 'Bam' from being mentioned on the show.'" FMQB has more. Former JFK-FMers Opie and Anthony are still heard on DC's XM Satellite Radio..... Former 9er Mike Hurdelbrink Dies - 4/23 - DCRTV hears that Mike Hurdelbrink passed away on 4/18. He was a production manager at DC's Channel 9, as WUSA and back when it was WDVM in the early 1980s. He later became an independent director/producer in the DC area. His wife is Rosemary Reed of Double R Productions..... Van Pelt Named Tirico's Co-Host - 4/23 - Scott Van Pelt, who grew up in the DC area, has been named permanent co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike Tirico show, which airs 1 PM to 3 PM on the DC area's Triple X ESPN sports talker. Also, we hear that Van Pelt will go solo in the 3 PM hour come May..... James Crawley Dies - 4/23 - James Crawley, a longtime military reporter who embedded during the invasion of Iraq and served as president of the Military Reporters And Editors group, died Tuesday night. Crawley, 51, had been battling brain cancer since late-2007, and had been unemployed for several months after being laid off from Media General's Washington bureau as part of a reorganization. More from Editor And Publisher..... Cox Adds Pentagon Channel Programs - 4/23 - Cox is adding several programs from the Pentagon Channel to its video-on-demand lineup in Northern Virginia, home to a large military population. The channel, a satellite-TV service of the Department Of Defense, is already available to 1.3 milion service members on more than 350 military bases in the US, as well as to an additional 800,000 overseas via American Forces Radio And Television. It is also carried to another 13 million people via commercial distribution by a number of cable operators including Comcast in the DC area. Cox will carry "RECON," "Fit For Duty," and "The Grill Sergeants" via its free VOD services in Fairfax County..... 60 For Ray Davis At WAMU - 4/23 - Ray Davis, host of "The Ray Davis Show" on WAMU's Bluegrass Country channel, celebrates 60 years in broadcasting on 5/2. Davis joined WAMU in 1985 to host "Saturday Bluegrass", and shared hosting duties for the weekday afternoon program "Bluegrass Country" until 2001. He currently hosts three live hours of traditional bluegrass music at 3 PM weekdays and 10 AM Sundays WAMU's Bluegrass Country, which is available at bluegrasscountry.org and via 88.5's HD Radio digital signal..... Former & Current CCers Turn Out For Reunion - 4/23 - DCRTV tipped you yesterday. And now we hear that there was an impressive turnout yesterday evening at an unofficial reunion of former (some fired) and current Clear Channel DC employees at a Rockville restaurant. Among those who showed up: Bill Worthington, Bill Hess, Jon Ballard, Bennett Zier, Donielle Flynn, and Jeff Wyatt. Plus a batch of former and current CC salespeople. CC owns eight radio stations in the DC market..... Fox Appeals "Married" Dismissal Rejection - 4/23 - Fox has officially filed an appeal to the Federal Communications Commission's rejection of Fox's challenge to an indecency fine for an episode of "Married By America." Originally, the FCC hit Fox with a fine for airing the show, which featured pixilated nudity, on 13 TV stations, including DC's Fox5, WTTG. The latest Fox filing calls the FCC's action arbitrary and capricious. DCRTV's take: Fox owner and righty media baron Rupert Murdoch has received lots of favors from the Bush administration and the federal government, including permission to own two TV stations and a major newspaper in NYC. Just pay the fine as a "cost of doing business"..... Record Low Ratings For Katie - 4/23 - The bad news for CBS News began last week with several days of speculation about the future of its anchor, DC media pixie Katie Couric. Then came word on Monday that the network would not get the opportunity to present a Democratic primary debate in North Carolina. On Tuesday CBS received ratings results that put an exclamation point on its troubles: the "CBS Evening News" recorded the worst five-night run in its history last week. More in the NY Times..... More: Unpopular Glasser Removed From Top News Slot At Post - 4/23 - Media critic Howie Kurtz pens a blurb in the Washington Post about the Post's decision yesterday to move Susan Glasser from assistant managing editor for national news to a lower profile job as a project assistant to Post Company head Donald Graham. "Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie decided to remove Glasser after a high-level committee of editors concluded that her aggressive management style had led to a serious decline in staff morale," wrote Kurtz. "The timing, in the middle of the campaign, was unusual"..... Rockers Say No To Satrad - 4/23 - A web survey of more than 27,000 respondents across 69 rock-formatted radio stations found that many current satellite radio subscribers "are not committed to continuing with either XM or Sirius." According to the Jacobs Media study: "We found a dirty little secret in the data: If satellite radio came with the car or truck you purchased, or you received it as a gift, your inclination to continue the subscription is much shakier. In other words, subscription rates have been supported by giving away free samples or as part of a package. When it's time to start writing checks, it's hard for satellite radio to retain customers." More from Radio Ink..... El Tiempo Latino Awarded - 4/23 - El Tiempo Latino, a Spanish-language weekly published by Washington Post Media, won a first-place award as outstanding weekly from the National Association Of Hispanic Publications. The weekly also won seven other first-place awards for content and design at the José Martí Awards For Excellence In Publishing competition at the Hispanic publications association's annual conference held last week in Atlanta..... Shales Reviews First Lady's TV Gig - 4/23 - TV critic Tom Shales in the DC Post: "If Laura Bush had a real, honest-to-goodness day job, she would be well advised to keep it. The first lady, taking time out from whatever she would normally be doing, made her debut yesterday as the anchor of a network morning show, co-hosting the third hour of 'Today' on NBC. For a president's wife, she was okay, but it's unlikely she'll be a candidate to take over for Oprah should Winfrey ever retire"..... CNN Re-Signs King - 4/22 - Sources tell TVNewser that CNN and Larry King have agreed to a contract extension, which will keep the talk show host with the network through 2010, beyond his 97th birthday. OK, 77th. It just seems like the former..... Tony Snow Suffers Illness - 4/22 - New CNN commentator Tony Snow was reportedly taken to the hospital this morning. In Washington state, the DC-based Snow canceled a series of speeches at Eastern Washington University because of illness. He was treated for exhaustion at the hospital, says a source. There is no word yet on his health status - he's been battling colon cancer - or whether he will appear on the air tonight with CNN, during its coverage of the Pennsylvania presidential primary..... Commemorating Murrow's 100th - 4/22 - To commemorate the centennial of the birth of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, the National Press Club will host a panel discussion on the life of the legendary CBS newsman. Casey Murrow, son of the influential media personality, and legendary broadcaster Richard C. Hottelet will join moderator Marvin Kalb, the last correspondent personally hired at CBS News by Murrow, at the National Press Club on Friday, 4/25. "The Unknown Murrow" will feature reflections on the famed broadcaster that are not widely known - his upbringing and family, his passion for being an educator, his work ethic and personality, and how these qualities of character shaped broadcast journalism. Also, the Newseum will celebrate Murrow's 100th birthday with a special "Inside Media" program on Saturday, 4/26, with XM/public radio host Bob Edwards joined by Kalb..... CC DC Blackouts - 4/22 - We're hearing a rumbling that all or most of Clear Channel's eight DC area stations went off the air for a short time yesterday. And again on Tuesday afternoon, for about 10 minutes. A power problem at the Rockville broadcast complex? More soon..... CC DC Reunion Tonight - 4/22 - DCRTV hears that there will be a unofficial "reunion" tonight for many of the fired and former employees of Clear Channel in DC. Quite a crowd. They're getting together at the On The Border restaurant on Rockville Pike, just down the street from CC's DC broadcast complex, we're told. Invitation-only. And some very well-known former CCers didn't get an invite, we hear. "Should be interesting," a local radio guru tells us. Look for some current CCers to show up, too..... FCC Head Testifies On Comcast 'Net Blocking - 4/22 - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday that testimony suggested that area cable giant Comcast was degrading and blocking peer-to-peer internet content, and not just where the traffic was bottlenecked. The FCC is currently considering a complaint against Comcast that it was targeting P2P application BitTorrent. More from Broadcasting And Cable and the DC Post..... Glasser Gone From News Post - 4/22 - From Harry Jaffe at washingtonian.com: Susan Glasser, Washington Post national news boss, has been removed from the job, according to many newsroom sources. Official word from the Post is imminent, they report. Glasser returned to the newsroom yesterday from some time off and was ushered into a series of meetings with Executive Editor Len Downie and Managing Editor Phil Bennett. The participants emerged from the meeting wearing stone faces. More from Erik Wemple at washingtoncitypaper.com..... Radio One's Liggins Gets Raise & Bonus Despite Biz Slump - 4/22 - Radio Biz Report reports that Alfred Liggins (right), head of Lanham-based urban radio giant Radio One, is getting a check for $4.8 million, plus a signing bonus and a raise. The compensation committee of the board of directors coughed up the extra cash after determining that he had been underpaid for the past three years. Liggins was paid $1,106,902 in 2007. That included a base salary of $575,370, a bonus of $468,720 and $62,815 in other compensation. Under the new employment agreement he signed last week, his base salary jumps to $980,000 and his bonus - 50 percent based on specific goals and 50 percent determined by the board's compensation committee - can be up to 100 percent of the base salary. Liggins also received a $1,000 "signing bonus" with his new three-year contract, plus he got 300,000 restricted shares of stock and options to purchase 1,150,000 shares. As founder of TV One, the cable channel partly owned by Radio One, Liggins is also to receive 8 percent of any distribution that Radio One receives from TV One. Oh, during the past three years Radio One's stock price went from $16.12 to $6.74. More recently, the company agreed to sell its Los Angeles radio station at a huge loss..... Stamp For Sevareid - 4/22 - The US Postal Service today will release a stamp (right) commemorating World War II correspondent Eric Sevareid, who later became a DC-based commentator for the "CBS Evening News" when Walter Cronkite anchored. The 41-cent stamp honoring Sevareid, who died in 1992, will be outdated in less than a month. The price of a first-class stamp is increasing by 1-cent on 5/12 to 42-cents..... Laura Bush Co-Hosts "Today" - 4/22 - As expected, First Lady Laura Bush "guest hosted" NBC's "Today" show this morning. More at TVNewser..... Ashley Out Of Hospital - 4/22 - DCRTV hears that Bill Ashley has been released from Fairfax Hospital after pancreatic cancer surgery two weeks ago. "It was a pretty rough hospital stay, but he seems to be doing much better just by being at home. Thanks to everyone for cards, calls, expressions of concern," his daughter Jennifer tells us. Ashley, who retired from Bradley Broadcast in Frederick at the end of February, was diagnosed with the ailment just two weeks after his retirement. In 1968, Ashley became the chief engineer of WAVA. After 16 years with WAVA, he joined the Mutual Radio Network. And, for the past 20 years, Ashley's been a sales representative with Bradley. More on Ashley's career from Radio World..... Critics Slam Cable's Compression Of HD - 4/22 - Area cable giant Comcast recently began using new technology on some channels to compress three HD signals into the bandwidth of one analog station. That gives subscribers access to more high-def options, but it also means that the images are not all that sharp on some higher-priced plasma screens. AP has more..... Rant - 4/22 - Tony Kornheiser, the Caps, and "American Idol." In today's Rant..... Glenn Hollis Returns To WASH - 4/21 - DCRTV hears that Glenn Hollis (right) has rejoined WASH (97.1 FM). He'll be hosting the Clear Channel adult contemporary outlet's new Sunday "Jazz Brunch" program, from 8 AM to noon. Hollis created and spent 12 years as host of WASH's "After Hours" nationally-syndicated nightly love songs show. Until CC pulled the plug on the show in March 2006. For the past two years, he's been running a picture-framing shop in the Frederick area with his wife..... PGC-AM Debuts New Lineup - 4/21 - CBS Radio recently flipped WPGC-AM (1580) from gospel music to inspirational talk. And now we're hearing more about the new programming lineup. "The Breakdown" airs during mornings and is hosted by Todd B. He used to host "Love, Talk, And Slow Jamz" on sister urban outlet WPGC-FM (95.5). Marsha Sumner hosts "Crosstalk/Urban Style" in middays, with comedian Akintunde airing from 1 PM to 4 PM. Veteran broadcaster Jim Allen hosts news program "The Signs Of The Times" in afternoon drive, with "The Takeover" with JT from 6 PM to 8 PM..... Charlottesville TVer Launches HD News - 4/21 - Our sister site VARTV tells us that WVIR-TV, the NBC affiliate in tiny little Charlottesville, has just launched high-def local newscasts. So, if WVIR can, why can't the NBC outlets in big Baltimore (WBAL) and bigger DC (WRC) do the same? Hmmm..... Tony Snow To CNN - 4/21 - Former White House press secretary and former Fox Newser Tony Snow (right) joins CNN as a conservative commentator, beginning today. Snow served as press secretary to President Bush from April 2006 to September 2007. For 10 years beginning in 1996, he appeared on Fox News Channel, hosting the DC-based "Fox News Sunday" and other programs. From 2003 to 2006, "The Tony Snow Show" aired on Fox News Radio. Before joining Fox, Snow served as a substitute "From The Right" co-host for CNN's "Crossfire." More in the DC Post..... NC Dumps Couric Debate - 4/21 - The North Carolina Democratic Party has dropped plans for a 4/27 presidential debate, which would have been moderated by CBS DC media pixie Katie Couric. More from the Politico..... Donielle Flynn To RNR - 4/21 - DCRTV hears that former DC101 midday maven Donielle Flynn (right) can now be heard doing weekends on Annapolis adult alternative rocker WRNR, 103.1 FM. Metal mama Flynn got suspended from DC101 last year when she was heard uttering an expletive on Elliot Segal's morning show. And then she got the boot soon afterward due to differences with management..... Quarterly Slump For Gannett - 4/21 - McLean-based Gannett reported first quarter 2008 broadcasting revenues down 7 percent from the same quarter in 2007. Gannett head Craig Dubow blamed a soft economy and the loss of the Super Bowl to Fox this year, as several Gannett-owned CBS affiliates - including DC's Channel 9/ WUSA - benefited from the game in 2007. More from Broadcasting And Cable..... Notable Quotable - 4/21 - "He's got a messianiac complex." So said Rush Limbaugh today, via WMAL, about Barack Obama. Via his national radio show, righty talk titan Limbaugh is leading his "Operation Chaos" charge for Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton in tomorrow's Democratic presidential primary in Pennsylvania..... Power Changes At XM - 4/21 - DC-based XM Satellite Radio will change the lineup of urban talk channel "The Power," XM-169, come 4/28. Including shows from Keith Murphy, Armstrong Williams, David Anderson, Brian Higgins, Wilmer Leon, Willie Jolley, George Wilson, Robert "Rob" Redding, Mario Armstrong, Maggie Linton, Charles Ellison, and Peter Groff. These hosts join prominent community leaders, including Joe Madison, Kojo Nnamdi, Al Sharpton, Warren Ballantine, Tavis Smiley, and "The 2 Live Stews." More at xmradio.com..... XM Partners With Politics Mag - 4/21 - More from DC's XM. The satradder's POTUS '08 presidential election channel will feature staff from Campaigns And Elections' Politics magazine, including Publisher Jordan Lieberman and Editor-in-Chief Bill Beaman..... DC Times Launches 'Net Radio Shows - 4/21 - The Washington Times teams with wsRadio for two internet radio programs. Times contributor Rick Amato will serve as moderator of "Inside The Story," and Times columnist John McCaslin will host "Inside The Beltway"..... WAMU Sponsors Kasper Book Signing - 4/21 - WAMU (88.5 FM) is sponsoring a book signing with Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of American Public Media's "The Splendid Table," at 11 AM on Sunday, 5/4, at the Freshfarm Market at Dupont Circle. She'll be signing her new book, "The Splendid Table's How To Eat Supper," which compiles tips, recipes, and culinary know-how. The Politics And Prose bookstore will sell the book at the event..... Twins For Gurvir - 4/21 - A DCRTVer tells us: Channel 5/WTTG morning news anchor Gurv