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January 2006 to December 2006
December 27, 2006NBC Cuts 4's AM News Producer
The latest victim of NBC's budget-cutting ax is longtime Channel 4/WRC morning news Executive Producer Lisa Rasmussen. She'd been at the station more than 20 years. Rasmussen was "the behind-the-scenes fourth person of the long-running Barbara Harrison - Joe Krebs - Tom Kierein morning team," we're told. "We're grateful to Lisa for the hard work and determination it took to jump start the news day for so long," News Director Vicki Burns said in a pre-Christmas memo to WRC staff.
December 27, 2006
Cumberland Radio Personality Dies During Show
Charles "Chazz" Offutt (right), the morning man on Cumberland MD's nostalgic music WTBO (1450 AM), died at 8:23 AM on 12/26, while in the midst of his show. He was 66. He suffered an apparent heart attack. "I was listening to Chazz and all of a sudden there was just nothing," said Joanne Van, mother of Jim Van, one of Offutt's co-workers, told the Cumberland Times-News. "The mike was open and I heard somebody say 'Chazz,' then I heard them say 'Call 911,' then Jimmy called and gave me the bad news. People will miss Chazz. He is a wonderful man." Offutt started in radio in 1959. His late-night show, "The Night Owls Club," on WCUM was popular with rock-and-roll fans in the 1960s. He left for several years to work in newspaper ad sales. He returned to radio in 1993 and had hosted "The Morning Road Show" on WTBO since then. Offutt is survived by his wife and five children.December 25, 2006
James Brown Dies, Once Owned Baltimore Radio Station
James Brown, the dynamic, pompadoured "Godfather Of Soul," whose rasping vocals and revolutionary rhythms made him a giant of R&B and an inspiration for rap, funk, and disco, died early Christmas morning. He was 73. In the 1970s, Brown owned a Baltimore radio station, soul music outlet WEBB on 1360 AM.
December 24, 2006
Arch Campbell To 7
Former Channel 4/WRC entertainment reporter and film critic Arch Campbell will jump to Channel 7/WJLA. A parttime gig. Campbell, who'd been at WRC for more than 30 years, recently said his farewell to the NBC station after he was budget-cutted. He'll do entertainment-related news segments for the Allbritton-owned ABC affiliate on Thursdays and Fridays.
December 22, 2006
1230 Drops WITH, Becomes WRBS-AM
Baltimore's 1230 AM, righty talk WITH, is now WRBS-AM, playing music and announcing a schedule of Bible-teaching, hymns, and inspirational music. A few months ago, DCRTV reported that Baltimore-based Peter And John Ministries, which owns Charm City's WRBS-FM, was buying WITH from Salem.
December 22, 2006
Orioles To Leave BAL Radio
It looks like the Orioles will be leaving their longtime Baltimore perch of Hearst's WBAL-AM for CBS's WJFK-AM and WHFS-FM duo. So reports Baltimore Examiner sports media columnist Jim Williams. "Barring any last-minute snags... That will give the O's tons of cross-promotion with the two Charm City talkers booking plenty of time for players and front office staff." It will also give a much-needed ratings boost to WJFK-AM, also known as ESPN Radio 1300.
December 22, 2006
Changes At WSMJ
We hear: "Changes afoot at Baltimore's Smooth Jazz 104.3. Midday host, Bill Simpson, has left for greener pastures - no official word as to what happened to him. The new weekday lineup is Randy Dennis (morning drive), (Program Director) Lori Lewis middays, (and) Trish Hennessey (PM drive). No other changes - as far as we know."
December 20, 2006
Triple X's Riggins To Also Air On MASN
A deal has been done to put Triple X afternoon radio man and Redskins legend John Riggins' show also on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Probably come February. A multi-year contract. We hear that MASN will also continue to carry WJFK-AM afternooner Anita Marks. The deal is expected to include several other elements that will give MASN exclusive access to the Redskins Radio Network. Triple X is owned by Redskins owner Dan Snyder and MASN is owned by Orioles owner Peter Angelos.
December 19, 2006
Covering Fire, 7 Photog Hit By Vehicle & Killed
A news cameraman for Channel 7/WJLA was struck and killed by a vehicle overnight while covering a news story in Upper Marlboro. WJLA Vice President Of News Bill Lord identified the cameraman as Gordon Davis (right). Davis, 51, was shooting video of Prince George's County firefighters battling a blaze in the 7500 block of Robert Crain Highway around 2:40 AM. Prince George's County Fire And Emergency Medical Services spokesman Mark Brady said the fire in a strip center was quickly brought under control. He said the driver of the striking vehicle approached firefighters and said he'd struck a pedestrian in the southbound lanes of Route 301 about 100 yards away from the fire scene near Osborne Road. Brady said emergency medical technicians quickly responded to the injured man and transported him to Southern Maryland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Davis had been the overnight videographer for WJLA and sister NewsChannel 8 for about a decade. He lived in Thurmont with his wife and 14-year-old daughter. The incident is being investigated by the Maryland State Police. No charges have been filed against the driver.December 18, 2006
Sinclair & Former DC Chief Settle Legal Wranglings
Baltimore-based Sinclair and its former Washington bureau chief have ended a two-year legal battle over his dismissal during the 2004 presidential election campaign. Sinclair fired Jonathan Leiberman after he publicly criticized Sinclair's decision to pre-empt normal programming at 40 of the company's stations to air what he called "an extremely one-sided and negative" documentary about Democratic nominee John Kerry. Under the terms of the settlement, no one involved in the case may speak publicly about it, according to the Baltimore Sun.
December 16, 2006
WETA-FM May Go Back To Classical
Non-commercial news talk WETA-FM's board of directors have voted to return 90.9 to classical music if Redskins owner Dan Snyder terminates classical for sports talk - practically a certainty - when he takes control of WGMS in January. "This would end a potential public relations embarrassment for Snyder," we're told. WETA-FM and WGMS were rival classical stations for 35 years, but WETA-FM abandoned the format in March 2005. According to the Washington Post, Snyder's Red Zebra still could affect WETA-FM's future by keeping the classical format and putting it on its Triple X sports talker's current 92.7 and 94.3 weakish signals, with the sports talker moving to the better coverage of WGMS's 104.1 and 103.9.
December 16, 2006
O's Dempsey To MASN
After spending the past five seasons on the Orioles' coaching staff, Rick Dempsey, who had been in line to be the team's bullpen coach in 2007, now is expected to take a broadcasting job with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, where he would be on the Orioles' pre- and post-game shows and provide color commentary for certain games. Though a final deal hasn't been reached, several sources confirmed that it could happen soon. MASN has yet to announce the Orioles' broadcast team for 2007. Dempsey was an analyst for Comcast SportsNet in 2000, but was hired to the Orioles' coaching staff the next season.
December 15, 2006
Ratings Sun Shines On El Zol
Another batch of those monthly Arbitrends. Big gains full day and in afternoon drive for CBS's Spanish El Zol, WLZL. For DC, full day, age 12+: 1) WMMJ, 2) WPGC-FM, 3) WHUR, 4) WTOP, 5) WKYS, 6) WASH and WIHT, 8) WMZQ, 9) WMAL and WJZW, 11) WLZL (up from 15th) and WGMS, 13) WBIG, 14) WWDC, 15) WRQX, 16) WJFK-FM, 17) WARW, 18) WAVA, 19) WTEM, 20) WPGC-AM and WFRE, 22) WTNT, 23) WYCB and WWXX and WTWP. Morning drive, age 12+: 1) WTOP, 2) WPGC-FM, 3) WMMJ, 4) WHUR, 5) WWDC (Elliot up slightly) and WKYS, 7) WMAL, 8) WIHT, 9) WMZQ, 10) WRQX, 11) WJFK-FM (Junkies down slightly), 12) WASH, 13) WLZL, 14) WJZW and WGMS and WBIG, 17) WAVA, 18) WTNT and WTEM, 20) WARW, 21) WFRE and WTWP and WPGC-AM. Afternoon drive, age 12+: 1) WHUR, 2) WPGC-FM, 3) WTOP, 4) WMMJ, 5) WIHT and WJFK-FM (D&M down slightly), 7) WKYS, 8) WLZL (way up from 16th) and WASH, 10) WMAL, 11) WJZW and WMZQ, 13) WBIG, 14) WWDC, 15) WGMS and WRQX, 17) WARW, 18) WTEM, 19) WAVA, 20) WPGC-AM and WWXX and WTWP. Despite the seemingly sluggish numbers for Washington Post Radio, station operator Bonneville claims it's "finally getting some traction" in the age 25-54 demo, where WTWP almost ties rival talker WMAL in the monthly number for morning drive. Baltimore, full day, age 12+: 1) WERQ, 2) WPOC, 3) WWIN-FM, 4) WBAL-AM, 5) WLIF, 6) WSMJ, 7) WIYY, 8) WWMX, 9) WCBM, 10) WQSR, 11) WCAO, 12) WHUR, 13) WZBA, 14) WHFS, 15) WIHT and WPGC-FM and WWDC, 18) WRBS, 19) WKYS, 20) WTOP. Fredericksburg, full day, age 12+: 1) WFLS, 2) WBQB, 3) WHUR, 4) WGRQ and WTOP, 6) WGRX and WPGC-FM.
December 15, 2006
Crize Cyuises To DC101 PD Post
Cruze has been named program director of Clear Channel rocker DC101. The position has been open since Rick Schmidt left in October. Before his latest gig at Philadelphia classic rocker WMGK, Cruze worked at alternative rock WFNX in Boston for seven years. His previous programming stops included rockers in Houston, Mobile, and St. Louis.
December 15, 2006
Ahmet Eryegun Dies
Ahmet Ertegun (left), the founder of Atlantic Records and the man who launched the careers of Ray Charles and Led Zeppelin, died 12/14 in NYC following complications from a fall at age 83. After his Turkish diplomat father was named ambassador to the US in 1934, Ertegun gained access to the streets of Washington DC and jazz groups with the help of Cleo Payne, the embassy's black janitor. Both Ahmet and older brother Nesuhi became avid collectors of jazz and blues records, gaining mention in Esquire magazine in 1938 when Ertegun was still in high school. After briefly attending DC's St. Albans School, Ertegun enrolled in the Landon School in Bethesda. He enrolled in St. John's College in Annapolis, where he graduated with a degree in classical philosophy in 1944, the year of his father's death. While working toward a doctoral degree at Georgetown University, Ertegun hung around Waxie Maxie Silverman's Quality Music Shop. In 1947, Ertegun decided to start his own record label in NYC, launching his music biz career.December 12, 2006
PFW's Ambrose Lane Hospitalized
Pacifica Radio icon and WPFW host Ambrose Lane (left) has been hospitalized with congestive heart failure. He's being treated at the Howard County General Hospital in Columbia and is not expected to return to his "We Ourselves" program on XM's The Power (XM-169) for the rest of this week, at least. Lane, who is a minister, has been a talk show host as well as a political/religious commentator since 1978 on WPFW, and has been doing his XM show since March.
December 12, 2006
Ray Davis To Do Daily Bluegrass On Digital WAMU
Come January, WAMU bluegrass music veteran Ray Davis will return to the weekday airwaves from 3 PM to 6 PM via 88.5's third digital channel. The "HD Radio" offering, WAMU's Bluegrass Country, broadcasts bluegrass tunes 24/7. Davis joined WAMU in 1985, back when WAMU broadcast bluegrass on weekday afternoons via its main signal. Currently, Davis hosts three hours of traditional bluegrass music at 10 AM Sundays on WAMU. Davis began his radio career at the age of 15, and spent 38 years hosting a bluegrass program for then-country WBMD in Baltimore.
December 12, 2006
R&F Do NYC Radio Deal
Former WJFK-FMers Ron and Fez (right), who are now heard on DC's XM Satellite Radio, have penned a deal with CBS Radio to also be heard on the Free FM talker in NYC. R&F take the 6 PM to 9 PM slot on WFNY. It'll be a live show, not a replay of their midday XM show. Opie and Anthony, who are also heard on XM, will remain on WFNY's mornings. Still no word about whether Ron Bennington and Fez Whatley will again be heard on DC's CBS-owned Free FM talker, WJFK-FM. They had aired in the midday and evening slots before jumping to XM in 2005.
December 11, 2006
Regular On 1960s Baltimore Radio & TV Dies
Margaret Pedone Frillarte (right), age 70, died on 12/4 after a series of lengthy illnesses. Born and raised in Baltimore, she made a number of appearances as a youth on WCBM radio's "Hobby Club" childrens' show. As Peggy Pedone, the up-and-coming model and beauty contest contestant was a regular on Channel 13/ WJZ's "The Jack Wells Show" in the early 1960s, and was featured during fashion segments of dance-oriented "The Buddy Deane Show," seen on WJZ in afternoons. She was seen in numerous local commercials and print ads in the 1960s. In 1968, she went to NYC to appear on the NBC game show "Eye Guess."December 10, 2006
JP Gets TKO'd In 1st
From a DCRTVer about the 12/9 boxing match featuring the WJFK-FMer against pro middleweight Jay Watts. "Kudos to Junkie JP Flaim (right) for putting on a fine - but all too brief - match
at the Patriot Center (Saturday night)! He was a crowd favorite... The kid he was fighting was fit as a fiddle and quick fisted. Just outclassed our poor JP at his debut... JP looked buff and seemed to have good upper body strength, but his legs were weak. He fell down a few times early on... except for the one time a blow sent him reeling and he staggered back about 10 feet into his corner! Ref checked his eyes to make sure he didn't have a concussion, and sent him back in... 'The Latin Donkey' (JP's nickname) fought his heart out, and even gave the other guy a few good licks, but after he went down again late in the round the ref stopped the fight. JP Flaim, TKO'd in round one. He looked distraught. He was so upset that he didn't make it through the round, just really ticked at himself."December 9, 2006
Rabbi Gets Six Years In "Dateline" Sex Sting
Associated Press reports that a Maryland rabbi ensnared in a "Dateline NBC" sex sting was sentenced to 6-and-1/2 years in prison last week for attempting to solicit someone pretending to be a 13-year-old boy. David Kaye, 56, of Rockville, was convicted in September in federal court of enticement and traveling across state lines to engage in illegal sexual conduct with an underage youth he had contacted via the internet. When Kaye drove to what he thought was the boy's home in Herndon, he was instead confronted by an NBC television reporter and camera crew.
December 8, 2006
Len Hathaway Dies
Len Hathaway, who handled Redskins announcing duties with Sam Huff in the mid-1970s on WMAL radio, passed away on 12/7, at age 79. We hear that he also did sportscasting duties on the old WMAL-TV, Channel 7. Hathaway died in his sleep in Columbia SC, where he did a radio show after leaving Washington. He had been suffering from ALS.
December 8, 2006
Donald Allen Dies
From the Washington Post: Donald Allen, a television anchorman in Washington during the 1960s and early 1970s, died of brain trauma dementia on 11/23 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was 78. Allen worked in DC for 12 years, starting in 1962, at what was then WTOP-TV (Channel 9), where he won a local Emmy for his 1964-65 reports and an individual achievement award for his 1967-68 11 PM newscasts. In 1969, he switched to what was then WMAL-TV (Channel 7) and won a local Emmy in 1970 for his 6 and 11 PM newscasts. He worked closely with a number of future network television news stars, including Sam Donaldson and Charlie Gibson.
December 7, 2006
RedZeb Talking To Bonneville About Buying WGMS
Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra is in talks to buy classical WGMS and its 104.1 and 103.9 signals from Bonneville. For sports talk Triple X ESPN Radio. Says Joel Oxley, who heads Bonneville's radio operations in the DC area: "I want to respond to rumors on a deal between Bonneville and Red Zebra Broadcasting (Dan Snyder's group) regarding the sale of 104.1/103.9. Our company is in discussions with Red Zebra but there is not a deal in place."
December 6, 2006
1260 Adds Press, Moves Franken Later
Clear Channel lefty talker WWRC (1260 AM) picks up Bill Press for mornings, starting 12/11. Press, who once co-hosted mornings on ABC's righty talker WMAL, replaces Air America's "The Young Turks." Also, WWRC flips Ed Schultz to the noon slot, with Al Franken moving to 3 PM.
December 5, 2006
MHz Gets French Net
Fairfax-based MHz Networks will carry the new France 24 news channel fulltime on its MHz-3 service, which is available via digital broadcast on Channel 30/WNVT and Channel 57/WNVC. It replaces MHz's Link TV international service. MHz-3 is also available via Comcast in the DC area on channel 186.
December 5, 2006
Radio One Counsel Dies
Radio One General Counsel John Jones died on 12/3 at age 38. He was based at the urban radio firm's Lanham HQ. A heart attack.
December 4, 2006
Former M&C Producer Dies
Dave Marcum, who once produced the old Murphy and Cash morning show back when it was on country WMZQ, died on 12/3 of cancer at age 52. Marcum spent three decades working at country radio stations around the country, and most recently hosted a morning show for ABC's Real Country service, which is based in Texas. DCRTV hears that Marcum also worked at Baltimore's WGRX in the 1990s.
December 3, 2006
92Q's LaDawn Black To PGC
Urban radio relationship expert LaDawn Black, host of Radio One-owned WERQ's "The Love Zone," will be jumping to CBS's WPGC-FM come mid-January. There have been rumblings over the past few weeks that the DC native has wanted to take her program elsewhere, with rumors that she might become a fill-in host on Michael Baisden's nationally syndicated relationship show, "Love, Lust And Lies."
December 1, 2006
13 Gains But 11 Wings Baltimore TV Battle
The Baltimore Ravens' powerhouse season has sent fans flocking to Channel 13/WJZ's game telecasts, which last month showed a viewership increase of 59 percent over November 2005. Nielsen ratings figures show that "Dr. Phil," the newest addition to WJZ's chat lineup, took 60 percent of the audience from Channel 11/WBAL's "Ellen DeGeneres Show." But the so-called ratings "sweeps" for November prove that WBAL, Charm City's NBC affiliate, continues to lead the local market overall, attracting more news viewers than Baltimore's other stations.
November 30, 2006
Viewers Tune Out 11 PM Newscasts
The Washington Post looks at Nielsen's TV November "sweeps" ratings for DC and finds that there's "a precipitous decline in late prime-time viewership" that has taken "its toll on 11 PM weeknight newscasts." Channels 4, 7, and 9 saw late-newscast viewership plummet by more than 10 percent. At 11, 7 plunged by about 35 percent. Channel 4 led at 11, but viewership was down 11 percent. The area's most popular news station remained 4. From early morning to late night, 4 trumped 5, 7, and 9 when newscasts went head-to-head. Nearly all early-morning newscasts grew in popularity, with 4 in the lead. The hyped "CBS Evening News" with Katie Couric was in 3rd place at 6:30 PM on 9. Former UPNer Channel 20, which began airing My Network TV, nose-dived in primetime, while former WBer Channel 50, now a CW affiliate, posted a 15 percent primetime rise.
November 30, 2006
Smith Hempstone Dies
Ambassador Smith Hempstone, who was once editor of the Washington Star editorial page, and executive editor and editor-in-chief of the Washington Times, has died at age 77.
November 29, 2006
MAL Newser To TOP
Veteran WMAL newser Michelle Basch is jumping to radio rival WTOP.
November 29, 2006
Brooke Stevens To WVIE
Area radio veteran Brooke Stevens now does the morning show on Baltimore female-oriented talker WVIE (1370 AM). Stevens, who once did the afternoon show with Chris Core on DC talker WMAL (630 AM), co-hosts with Michael Gabel. They're joined by Brenda Carl (news), Ted Patterson and Chuck Whittaker (traffic), Justin Berk and Tony Pann (weather), and Paisley Wessel (business).
November 29, 2006
Albie Grabs XM Gig
Albie Dee, who was canned from Clear Channel's Hot 99.5 afternoon slot several months ago, and who has been doing fill-in work at CBS's WPGC-FM, WARW, and WJFK-FM since, lands the noon to 6 PM gig at DC-based XM Satellite Radio's Hit List (XM-30) contemporary music channel.
November 29, 2006
Kathleen Matthews Says Goodbye
Longtime Channel 7/WJLA evening news anchor Kathleen Matthews signed off for the last time on tonight's 5 PM newscast on DC's ABC affiliate. The one-hour 'cast concluded with a look back at her 31-year broadcast career. Matthews, who is married to MSNBC's Chris "Hardball" Matthews, will become the executive VP for global communications and public affairs with Marriott. She'll remain a contributor to the station's primetime news magazine, "Metropolitan Edition."
November 28, 2006
Arch Campbell Leaving 4
Longtime movie reviewer and entertainment reporter Arch Campbell is the latest victim of budget cuts at NBC4, WRC. He'll be leaving the NBC-owned station at the end of the year. Campbell, who had been with DC's Channel 4 since 1974, tells the Post that he'll still be heard on WASH radio and via his own new website.
November 28, 2006
NPR Commentator Dies
Bebe Moore Campbell, whose commentaries were heard on DC-based National Public Radio, died on Monday of brain cancer. She was 56. The best-selling author of several novels and non-fiction books was a frequent guest on "Morning Edition" and other NPR programs.
November 27, 2006
Fadool Replaces Theoharis At 45
Amy Fadool is taking Amber Theoharis's sports gig at Baltimore's Channel 45/WBFF. A Northern Virginia native, Fadool worked as a weekend sports anchor at Sinclair's sister WZTV-TV in Nashville. Her career started at WKYT-TV in Lexington, Kentucky as a sports reporter.
November 24, 2006
Former 5er Faces Prostate Cancer
Former Channel 5/WTTG news anchor Mike Landess is battling prostate cancer. And he's doing a series of reports about the disease, which is common among older men, for Denver's KMGH-TV, where he now works.
November 24, 2006
Amber Theoharis Leaving 45
Amber Theoharis will be leaving Channel 45 at the end of the year. Theoharis, who joined Sinclair's WBFF in 2004, doesn't have a new fulltime gig lined up yet. She has been heard on Charm City sports talker WJFK-AM and has been hosting shows on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
November 23, 2006
No Injuries In 9 News Truck Mishap
A Channel 9/WUSA technican failed to lower the 65-foot microwave mast as he drove away in a news remote truck. The mast hit the metal cross arm for a pair of traffic signals in Herndon Tuesday. The mast broke, but no one was injured. Luckily, the mast didn't strike power lines, which could have produced deadly consequences. The incident occurred at the intersection of Ferndale Avenue and Herndon Parkway, at the site of a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run, which 9 News was covering. Besides extensive damage to the truck, the traffic signal pole and cross arm had to be taken down and replaced by two temporary wooden poles with wire strung between them to carry the traffic signals. Herndon expects to bill Channel 9 for the repair work. According to a station source, several safety features which might have prevented the mishap were not installed or activated on the truck.
November 22, 2006
El Jefe & J-Dubs Return To 106.7
Former WJFK-FMers El Jefe and J-Dubs are returning to their old haunt to do a week-worth of "test shows" from 12/4 to 12/8 in the 8 PM to 10 PM slot. "Dubs and I are excited to welcome our former co-worker and very good friend, Shaffee, into 'The Hideout' as a new member of the show," El Jefe writes via his website. The radio duo, which left the DC area's CBS talker 106.7 two years ago, recently got canned from their evening gig at a Clear Channel talker in Orlando.
November 22, 2006
2's GM Resigns
Drew Berry, general manager of Scripps-owned Channel 2/WMAR in Baltimore, has announced his resignation. Come December, the 50-year-old executive will join the faculty of the Norfolk area's Hampton University, where he will teach at the school's Scripps Howard School Of Journalism And Communication. Berry joined WMAR in 1997 and was news director and station manager before assuming his current duties in 2000.
November 20, 2006
4 Cans Susan Kidd
Network-owned Channel 4/WRC longtime news anchor Susan Kidd has been cut loose. In a "dear colleagues" message she sent a copy of which to DCRTV: "I've been kicked to the curb... I'm told I'll be off the air as of the end of December... I'm not bitter because I've remained humble. Really humbled. You can only be called Doreen (Gentzler) or JC (Hayward) so many times before you realize it's not all about you... People love me, but they love (Jim) Vance more." Kidd anchors NBC4's 5 PM 'cast with Wendy Rieger. A winner of six Emmys, she's been with WRC since 1983.
November 20, 2006
Fox 5 Settles Tornado Complaint
Channel 5/ WTTG owner Fox has agreed to pay $12,000 and adopt various new newsroom policies to settle a proposed FCC fine against it over conveying emergency warnings to the hearing-impaired. The move mirrors a similar settlement by NBC's Channel 4/WRC. The FCC had proposed fining WTTG $16,000, but said it was in the public interest to take the $12,000, combined with a number of steps Fox pledged to take. The proposed fine stemmed from a viewer complaint that Fox 5 had "failed to make accessible to persons with hearing disabilities emergency information that it provided aurally in its programming" for WTTG during a thunderstorm and tornado watch in May 2004.
November 20, 2006
Two Posties Jump To Allbritton-CBS Venture
Washington Post political reporters Jim VandeHei and John Harris are jumping to Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8 owner Joe Allbritton's new Capitol Hill rag, the Capitol Leader, to launch a multi-platform company that will feature a one-stop web hop for political news. The new venture will also include a partnership with CBS News, with cross-promotion via DC-based "Face The Nation" and other CBS news shows.
November 17, 2006
NABET Reaches Accord With 7 & 8
After almost two years of negotiations, a tentative agreement has been reached between the National Association Of Broadcast Employees And Technicians and Allbritton-owned Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8. The last issue remaining was the right to arbitrate discharge cases. As a result of extended talks, since the membership's vote in June, the NABET union negotiated the right for arbitration in all cases. A Local 31 unit meeting will be held soon to discuss and vote on the deal.
November 17, 2006
TOP Drives To Top Of Drivetimes
All-news WTOP took the top spot in both morning and afternoon drives in the overall age 12+ Arbitrend radio ratings, out today. In the full-day numbers, adult urban WMMJ ranked 1st, urban WPGC-FM 2nd, with adult urban WHUR in a tie with WTOP for 3rd, and hit Hot 99.5 in 5th. Talker WMAL jumped from 14th to 9th, rocker DC101 slid from 9th to 13th to tie with classic rock hits WBIG, Spanish WLZL remained level at 15th, WJFK-FM dropped from 15th to 16th, classic rock WARW slid from 15th to 17th, and sports talk WTEM slumped from 18th to 19th. In mornings, WMMJ's Tom Joyner was 2nd, WPGC-FM's Donnie Simpson 3rd, WHUR's Steve Harvey 4th, WMAL's Grandy and Andy 5th, DC101's Elliot 6th, the just-fired Hot 99.5 "Hot Morning Mess" 7th, and WJFK-FM's Junkies 10th. New talker Washington Post Radio and new sports talker Triple X both failed to crack the top 20. Urban WERQ took the top spot in Baltimore and country WFLS was the king of Fredericksburg.
November 17, 2006
Former Baltimore TV Personality Enters Plea In 1974 Assault
Former Memphis TV news anchor Ron Meroney, who worked in the Baltimore TV market in the 1970s, has entered a plea to a reduced charge of child abuse in connection with the sexual molestation of an underage girl in Wicomico County on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1974. Meroney's plea deal includes a 15-year sentence, with all but 18 months suspended, and five years probation. Meroney will also be forced to register as a sex offender. His guilty plea will prevent him from serving any time in jail.
November 16, 2006
George Michael Leaving Sports Anchor Gig At 4
Longtime DC TV legend George Michael (right) will be giving up his nightly sports anchoring duties come March, as well as his nationally syndicated "Sports Machine," but he will continue to host Redskins-related (with Sonny Jurgensen, John Riggins, and Michael Wilbon) and other sports shows for the NBC-owned station. Even though he's getting the "best ratings ever" on the top-rated DC TV news operation, Michael tells DCRTV that he will not participate in the network's much-hyped budget cuts. "I was offered a longterm contract to stay," he says, "but I will not lay somebody off." Michael adds: "If they're going to cut, let them start with me." He stresses that he will remain under contract to NBC, but in a different capacity than in the past. And, according to Michael, there is no truth to the rumors that he'll be doing anything for Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra broadcasting arm via Triple X ESPN Radio.November 15, 2006
Jack Alix Dies
Area radio legend Jack Alix (left), 64, (WEAM, WPGC, WEEL, WINX, WXTR) passed away Wednesday morning due to complications from pneumonia. After his days in the 1960s and 1970s at many area "top 40" outlets, Alix (pictured at right in the 1960s and more recently at left) continued his radio career in Richmond (WLEE, WRVQ, WMXB, WBBT, WXGI) and Fredericksburg. Also, Alix produced the 1970s syndicated radio show "Rock And Roll Roots" and did a teen dance show on Channel 20/WDCA. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Richmond Association Of Broadcasters last spring. "I knew Jack from the time I got into radio at age 15," Joel Denver, the DC radio vet who runs California-based radio biz website All Access, tells DCRTV. "Great jock in his day, for sure."November 15, 2006
Nats Back To WaPo Radio
The Washington Nationals have reached a one-year deal to broadcast its games on WTWP, Washington Post Radio, the outlet that carried the games last season. There was talk that the team might bolt for SportsTalk 980 or Triple X ESPN Radio, which it may still do in 2008. The agreement with Bonneville-operated WTWP calls for "an extensive post-game show" and weekly Nationals programming. The Nationals' radio team of Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler is back, too.
November 15, 2006
More "MOYL" At 1160
Gaithersburg-based brokered talk outlet WMET (1160 AM) announces that it'll be running the "Music Of Your Life" nostalgic popular standards format from 8 PM to 6 AM on its airwaves, and fulltime via moyl.wmet1160.com.
November 14, 2006
Bob Menaker Dies
Bob Menaker, 61, a journalist at several Washington-area publications and in recent years editor in chief of the Atlanta Jewish Times, died 11/8 of brain cancer at his home in Atlanta. He was a former resident of Alexandria. Menaker was a contestant on "Jeopardy," the TV quiz show, in the mid-1980s and won $9,000.
November 14, 2006
Joe Ungaro Dies
Stars And Stripes ombudsman Joe Ungaro, the driving force behind major reforms to the DC-based military-oriented newspaper in the 1990s, died suddenly Sunday night. He was 76.
November 13, 2006
WAMU To Provide Digital Relay Of WTMD
On 11/14, American University news talker WAMU, 88.5 FM, will begin relaying the adult album alternative signal of Towson University's WTMD on its second digital channel. This will provide a reception boost for the Baltimore area's WTMD, which has an analog signal on 89.7 FM that doesn't reach most of the DC area. Says WAMU General Manager Caryn Mathes: "Using HD Radio to bring AAA music back to Washington DC is one step in our process of developing a 'family of content services' to listeners. I'm very excited to be on the forefront of not only HD Radio usage and programming, but also collaboration between two public radio stations." Adds WTMD General Manager Stephen Yasko: "In 1980, I was an undergraduate at American University, and the music on the radio matched the sense of adventure and optimism that I think many of us have carried in our lives. To be able to recreate that listening experience for folks on the radio in Baltimore and now in Washington is a great honor for me and the entire WTMD staff."
November 11, 2006
Jack Marsh Dies
Jack Marsh, a retired award-winning news photographer who chased fires and accidents for Baltimore and Washington television stations, died on 11/5 at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center after suffering a fall at his Hampden home. He was 78. During his 40-plus-year career, he worked for Baltimore's Channels 11 and 13, DC's Channel 9, Salisbury's Channel 47, and the DC bureau of NBC News.
November 8, 2006
Former JFKers Fired In Orlando
Former WJFK-FMers El Jefe and J-Dubs have had their evening "The Hideout" show canned from Orlando talker WTKS. An apparent budget cut at the Clear Channel station.
November 8, 2006
Marimow To Philly
Bill Marimow, a former Baltimore Sun editor who's recently been working at DC's National Public Radio, takes the editor gig at the troubled Philadelphia Inquirer.
November 7, 2006
New Morning Team At RBS
Baltimore Christian talk and music outlet WRBS (95.1 FM) has announced that Tracey Tiernan, Mike Alley, and David Paul will replace longtime morning host Dick Ireland, who suffered a stroke in May. Tiernan moves from afternoon drive, Alley anchored traffic and co-hosted with Ireland, and Paul is the station's program director. Steve Swanson will replace Tiernan in PM drive. Ireland, who had worked at WLIF for 26 years, announced in September that he was retiring from WRBS due to health issues. Says Steve Lawhon, WRBS's general manager: "(Ireland) continues to improve and is thankful for everyone's thoughts and prayers." WRBS is owned by the Peter And John Radio Fellowship.
November 7, 2006
Nats Can Paciorek As TV Color Man
Ex-big leaguer Tom Paciorek, who served as a color analyst on the Nationals' television broadcasts on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, was told that his contract would not be renewed. Paciorek said he was told by Chris Glass, MASN's executive producer, that the Nats had made the decision. Paciorek said he would retire from broadcasting, "because this is the only job I wanted." Play-by-play man Bob Carpenter is signed through 2007.
November 6, 2006
Arnie Dachs Dies
Arnie Sachs, a longtime political and sports photographer
for a number of local and national media services, died on 11/3 in Dunkirk MD
of cancer. He was 78. Sachs is best remembered for his photo (right) of a young
Bill Clinton with President John F. Kennedy. Sachs was a fixture on the Redskins sideline since the 1960s and even covered training camp last summer from his motorized scooter. His son, Ron
Sachs, is also a local photographer.November 6, 2006
James McIlhenny Dies
James McIlhenny, 78, former president of US News And World Report magazine, died of complications of cancer 11/3 at his Alexandria home. McIlhenny's career embraced retailing, manufacturing, and publishing, although his favorite job was running the magazine in the early 1980s. At the time, it was Washington's second-largest publishing company.
November 5, 2006
Helen Dewar Dies
Helen Dewar, 70, for 25 years the Washington Post's Senate reporter, died of breast cancer on 11/4.
November 3, 2006
930 Club Founder Dies
Jon Bowers, 61, an attorney and real estate developer who founded the legendary 930 Club, died of cancer on 10/6 at his home in DC. In 1979, Bowers purchased the Atlantic Building at 930 F Street in old downtown DC, bought out the lease of a failing establishment on the first floor, and replaced it with his club. The 930 soon became the DC area's "alternative" music mecca - featuring punk, new wave, funk, reggae, roots rock, go-go, and much more.
November 3, 2006
Jen To 106.5
Former WHFSer Jen gets the 2 PM to 7 PM gig on Baltimore's Mix 106.5.
November 2, 2006
NGC Crew Injured In Afghanistan
A crew on assignment for the DC-based National Geographic Channel, embedded with a US Army Special Forces unit in Afghanistan, was injured on 10/28 when a vehicle in their convoy struck a landmine. Executive Producer Steven Hoggard, of the DC area-based Hoggard Films, and a DC-based crew of one cameraman and one soundman were filming the convoy when a vehicle in front of them hit a landmine. Based on unconfirmed information, both Hoggard and the cameraman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Hoggard was airlifted to Germany, and the cameraman is being treated and expected to be flown to the US for additional treatment. The soundman was unharmed from the blast, and is still filming in Afghanistan. The crew arrived in Afghanistan on 10/25 and was embedded with Special Forces filming the special "Inside The Green Berets" for NGC.
November 2, 2006
Huckabee Leaves Parr
Darryl Huckaby, VP of operations for the WKYS-based "Russ Parr Morning Show," has resigned. Huckaby held the position for more than a year and, prior to that, was program director of urban WKYS.
November 2, 2006
Broadcasting Mag's Former Publisher Dies
Lawrence Taishoff, the former publisher of once DC-based Broadcasting magazine, and son of Sol Taishoff, the founder of the publication that eventually became Broadcasting And Cable, passed away on Wednesday morning in DC after a long, debilitating illness. He was 73. Until a recent stay at the Washington Hospital Center, he had been living in Naples, Florida. He also maintained a home in suburban DC. In 1986, he sold Broadcasting to Times Mirror, which sold it to Cahners, which is now Reed Business Information.
November 1, 2006
Hot 99.5 Fires "Morning Mess"
Clear Channel has dumped "The Hot Morning Mess" (left) from Hot 99.5, WIHT. DCRTV had heard that Mark Kaye and Kris Gamble's contracts are up at the end of the year. Kane, a on-air personality at WFLZ, a Tampa hit music station, is joining Hot 99.5 to head the morning show as of 11/13. Kane previously worked with Clear Channel DC radio honcho Jeff Kapugi at WFLZ. Also out: "Mess" producer Ron Ross.November 1, 2006
Jessica Cash Gets Morning Gig At FLS
Jessica Cash, once part of the "Murphy And Cash" morning team heard on Clear Channel's WBIG (100.3 FM) and WMZQ (98.7 FM), has landed a permanent gig as morning show co-host with Fredericksburg country outlet WFLS (93.3 FM). With her former partner Gary Murphy, Cash spent seven years at country WMZQ, and another four at oldies WBIG. The pair parted company last April when Clear Channel flipped WBIG from oldies to classic rock hits. Since then, Cash has been doing parttime fill-in work at WFLS, which is owned by the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star newspaper. Cash starts on 11/13 and will be paired with Brian Stroble, a longtime WFLSer. DCRTV has reported that Murphy is now handling ad sales at CBS Radio in Baltimore.
November 1, 2006
Changes At NST
Changes at Baltimore sports talker WNST (1570 AM). We're told that Nester Aparicio's station has yanked personalities Terry Ford and Jeremy Conn.
October 31, 2006
Levan Reid Back To 9
Levan Reid is returning to Channel 9/WUSA. He'll soon be anchoring the weekend sports, and do weekday sports reports with Brett Haber and Sara Walsh. "No word exactly why he came back, although there wasn't much official word as to why he left either," a WUSA source tells DCRTV. Reid, who joined 9 from the Fox station in Boston a few years back, left WUSA in mid-summer to deal with apparent family issues.
October 31, 2006
Allie Oakley Flies For Fox 5
Allie Oakley, creative services director for Fredericksburg radio stations WBQB and WFVA, is the latest "Sky Fox" airborne traffic reporter with DC's Fox 5, WTTG. Actually, she works for Metro Traffic. Oakley plans to continue parttime with the two radio outlets, helping with production and community events. You'll recall that Oakley used to be part of the Mark and Art morning team on classic rock WARW, pre-Stevens and Medley.
October 30, 2006
K&M Gone From 98 Rock, To Replace Junks on HFS, M&A To 98 Mornings
A Baltimore media source tells DCRTV: "Kirk and Mark from 98 Rock are gone from the station. They must serve a 90-day no-compete clause in their contracts but will start with WHFS 105.7 - or at least legally can - on February 1st. The issues between Kirk McEwen and 98 Rock caused problems for local wrestling company Maryland Championship Wrestling. 98 Rock's general manager... informed both McEwen and Mickey Cuchiello that they could not appear in the scheduled '8 Man Tag Team Match' they were promoting on their respective shows up to the Friday of the event, which was last night. Both were informed that they would be in essence in breach of contract if they did the wrestling match. For the record, the vast majority of the crowd came to see TNA Wrestlers Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels and although the announcement that the 98 Rock DJs were unable to appear did elicit a negative response from parts of the audience, the show was still a considerable success with over 800 fans in attendance. By the time you read this, (98 Rock afternooners) Mickey and Amelia will be the morning show and (former 98 Rock morning men) Kirk and Mark will be sitting out no-compete clauses as they await their February debuts on WHFS." Also: The WJFK-FM-based Junkies are officially gone from WHFS mornings come February, and, on their show, they slammed the suits at CBS Radio in Baltimore for not promoting and backing them as Howard Stern's replacement in the Charm City. 98 Rock morning newsman Josh Spiegel is believed to be staying with the station. According to a statement at 98online.com, it was Kirk and Mark's "decision" to leave 98 Rock.
October 26, 2006
2 Veteran George Kroen Dies
George Kroen, a retired television cameraman and engineer whose career dated to the pioneering days of Baltimore's Channel 2/WMAR, died of complications from a stroke Sunday at Sinai Hospital. The longtime Randallstown resident was 78. In 1947, Kroen began his broadcasting career as an announcer for radio station WLEE in Richmond, and later moved to WGAY radio in Silver Spring. In 1948, he joined WMAR, which went on the air in 1947, as a cameraman. Kroen was promoted to master controller, overseeing technical operations, a position he held at his 1999 retirement.
October 26, 2006
New PD At MZQ & POC
Meg Stevens becomes program director for Clear Channel's DC country WMZQ (98.7 FM) and Baltimore country WPOC (93.1 FM). She comes from Clear Channel's country WGAR and oldies WMJI in Cleveland, and replaces George King at WMZQ and Ken Boesen at WPOC.
October 24, 2006
Snyder Seeks Power Hike For 730
Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra is applying to hike the power of WXTR, 730 AM, one of the three signals of his Triple X ESPN Sports talker. RZ wants to jump the daytime power from 8,000-watts to 28,000-watts, and the tiny night power of 25-watts to 20,000-watts. The plan would move WXTR's transmission towers from Mount Vernon, south of Alexandria, to Redskins Park in Ashburn, near Dulles Airport. We'll see if the Federal Communications Commission will allow the signal improvements since the frequency is reserved by Canada, and American stations on 730 must protect Canadian stations at night. The daytime signal changes would add nearly all of Maryland's Eastern Shore while limiting the signal towards Baltimore a bit. But the nighttime signal changes would be the most noticeable, providing the ability to listen to the station after sunset throughout much of the DC area, we're told.
October 21, 2006
Pye Chamerlayne Dies
Edward "Pye" Chamberlayne, 68, died in his sleep Saturday morning at his home in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Chamberlayne suffered from numerous medical ailments and had heart artery bypass surgery a few years ago. He was the Capitol Hill correspondent for the old UPI Radio Network. A Richmond native and University Of Virginia graduate, Chamberlayne moved to DC and began working for UPI in 1962, covering the White House before covering Congress and politics. He also worked for Metromedia Radio, including a stint as the broadcasting group's DC news bureau chief. "We've lost another great voice," says his friend, former WMAL personality and ABC Radio newsman Tom Gauger.
October 21, 2006
ZGS Buys Richmond TVer
ZGS Communications, an Hispanic-owned broadcasting company headquartered in Arlington, has agreed to acquire a low-power TV station in Richmond, Channel 45/WKYV. The currently off-air outlet owned by Tiger Eye Broadcasting used to relay a shopping network. ZGS owns the DC area's Telemundo affiliate, low-powered Channel 64/WZDC, which is widely carried on area cable TV systems.
October 18, 2006
IJ Hudson Out The Door At 4
Veteran reporter IJ Hudson is being shown the door at Channel 4/WRC. Our sources at NBC 4 say that "Ira John" Hudson was actually "informed" weeks ago that he is being "let go" as part of a round of massive cuts coming to NBC, including at its local stations, like WRC. His contract is up in January and is not being renewed. "Having worked at 4, I can say IJ is truly one of the really nice guys in the business. I hope he makes out well," we're told. Hudson joined WRC in 1985.
October 18, 2006
PGC Tops Summer Ratings
The summer radio ratings numbers from Arbitron. DC: WPGC-FM is trailed by WMMJ, WTOP, WHUR, WKYS, WIHT, WGMS, WASH, WMZQ, and WWDC. Baltimore: WERQ is trailed by WPOC, WWIN-FM, WLIF, WBAL, WIYY, WSMJ, WWMX, WZBA, and WCBM. Hit music Hot 99.5 and hot adult contemporary Mix 107.3 posted huge gains. Both benefiting from the demise of "modern music" Z104 in January. The FM urbans - WPGC, WMMJ, and WHUR - did well, as usual, as did all-news WTOP. Classical WGMS, which got relocated to a less powerful pair of signals in January, has lost nearly 30 percent of its audience. And the Post's own Washington Post Radio, talker WTWP, "remains mired" at 22nd place, dropping a spot from spring. In morning drive, DC101's Elliot Segal was up, as were the Junkies over on WJFK, at least in their male target demo. But WTOP remained dominant, at 1st, with WMMJ's Tom Joyner in 2nd, and WPGC's Donnie Simpson in 3rd. Dan Snyder's Triple X ESPN Radio debuted in 28th place. But, having a second sports talker on the DC radio dial sent rival SportsTalk 980 down a half-point to 18th place. DCRTV adds: In afternoon drive, WTOP again placed 1st, with WHUR 2nd, WPGC 3rd, WMMJ 4th, and Hot 99.5 5th. WJFK's Don and Mike slumped from 3rd to 6th. Full-day, talker WMAL sunk to 14th.
October 18, 2006
DC101 PD Gone
Rick Schmidt has resigned his program director post with Clear Channel rocker DC101. He joined WWDC in August 2005. During his almost 20-year radio career, Schmidt has worked for rock and alternative rockers in Raleigh, Tampa, Tallahassee, and Jacksonville.
October 18, 2006
ABC Radio's Joe Shamwell Dies
Joe Shamwell (right), head of marketing research for ABC's DC radio cluster (WMAL, WJZW, WRQX), passed away in his sleep Monday. He apparently had a history of heart problems. Shamwell, 62, once worked at WHUR and was co-writer of the song "Just The Two Of Us" and more than 100 other tunes. His music career began in his birthplace, Washington DC, in 1967 at Waxie Maxie's Record Store where he befriended Eddie Floyd. He moved to Memphis and collaborated with Floyd on many titles and also wrote with Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Tommy Tate, Steve Cropper, William Bell, Homer Banks, and others. Floyd, Bell, Tate, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, the Bar Kays, Con-Funk-Shun, Johnnie Taylor, and Booker T And The MG's all recorded Shamwell's songs.October 18, 2006
Goss Drives From JFK To WaPo Radio
Longtime WJFK-FM weekend car radio guy Pat Goss (left) is jumping to Washington Post Radio. Come 11/4, "Goss's Garage" will be heard on Bonneville-operated talker WTWP, 107.7 FM and 1500 AM, on Saturdays from 11 AM to 1 PM. For the past 15 years, Goss has been heard on CBS talker WJFK-FM, 106.7. "We're excited to have been able to make this happen," says WTWP Program Director Greg Tantum. "The addition of Pat Goss to the weekend lineup further strengthens Washington Post Radio's role as the Washington area's leader for local, in-depth news, and information." For 26 years, Goss has been co-host of the Maryland Public Television-produced "MotorWeek," which airs on nearly 300 PBS stations. Also, he owns a car repair shop in Prince George's County. Goss's WJFK-FM defection leaves the ratings-slumping former Redskins outlet's weekend lineup mainly populated with infomercials and reruns of weekday shows.October 17, 2006
CBS News Vet Christopher Glenn Dies
Veteran CBS News correspondent Christopher Glenn, who retired earlier this year, has died. He was 68. Glenn, who suffered from liver cancer, died suddenly in a hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut. After a 35 years as an integral part of CBS News, Glenn shut off his microphone in February. Prior to joining CBS News, Glenn was managing editor of the Metromedia Radio News Network in DC in the early 1970s.
October 17, 2006
Arlington Launches Emergency AMer
Arlington County's Office Of Emergency Management has started a low-powered AMer on 1700. It's currently running a three-minute loop in English and Spanish about the "Arlington Alert" system.
October 16, 2006
98 Rock Goes Digital
Baltimore's 98 Rock, WIYY, apparently became the 1,000th US radio station to broadcast a digital HD Radio signal. Last week, owner Hearst has flipped the switch for 97.9 FM to start transmitting via Columbia MD's iBiquity system, along with a replacement for its 19-year-old analog transmitter. The station is taking a "soft opening" approach to the digital debut, and expects to promote it in November with the launch of a website for WIYY's digital output. WIYY will feature three channels - classic rock, alternative rock, and the main rock signal.
October 14, 2006
Local Hip-Hop Engineer Gunned Down
Raymond Brown, 36, a hip-hop music engineer professionally known as Scottie Beats, was shot and killed after an early morning dispute Friday with someone trying to tow his car from his Mitchellville area home. "He was the man," WPGC-FM personality DJ Flexx tells the Washington Post. "He understood all the music in DC, from go-go to hip-hop. He was one of the best studio engineers in the area. Everybody wanted him on their projects because they knew if he worked on it, it would be special." Brown was an engineer at Night Flight Recording Studios in Fort Washington. He is credited as a producer on the CD "Crunk Juice" by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz and as an engineer on "Rebirth" by Jennifer Lopez. According to the Post, police have not determined whether the tow truck operator was attempting to steal Brown's car or to repossess it.
October 13, 2006
Ballard To BIG Mornings
Classic rock hits WBIG is moving former DC101er Jon Ballard from afternoons to mornings, with evening man Struber moving to afternoons.
October 13, 2006
Nassau Buys WRNR
Nassau Broadcasting, which owns more than 50 stations along the eastern seaboard, has agreed to purchase adult alternative "Triple A" WRNR, 103.1 FM, in Annapolis, from Empire Broadcasting. The station's buyer is actually "a new entity called Grasonville Broadcasting. WRNR will operate under an LMA - local marketing agreement - with Empire, which is contracting management through Nassau. According to WRNR Operations Manager (and former 99.1 WHFSer) Bob Waugh, "We are very excited about Nassau taking over WRNR. They have assured us there will be no format change at the station and have already made it clear that they will offer us resources for the station that were not available to us before." Nassau also owns adult contemporary WAFY, Key 103, in Frederick, which is also on 103.1 FM.
October 13, 2006
Marimow Resigns NPR News Post
The top news executive at National Public Radio suddenly resigned from his post last night, leaving the DC-based organization without an editorial leader for programming that reaches more than 20 million listeners a week. Bill Marimow will stay at NPR and become its ombudsman, which removes him from daily responsibility for programs such as "All Things Considered." The much-decorated newspaperman who spent a decade at the Baltimore Sun, first as managing editor and then as editor, joined NPR in 2004 and was named vice president for news and information in February 2006.
October 11, 2006
VOA's Mark Hopkins Dies
Mark Hopkins, 75, a Voice Of America journalist who died of complications from liver cancer 9/25 at Sibley Memorial Hospital, broadcast from China's Tiananmen Square as tanks rolled in to crush the 1989 student demonstrations. He also was the first to alert the world in 1991 to former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev's ouster in Moscow. Hopkins, a DC resident, was one of a number of journalists expelled from China for his reporting on the massacre in Beijing.
October 10, 2006
New News Director For 2
David Silverstein, the news director at Columbus OH's WSYX-TV, is heading to Baltimore's Channel 2/WMAR. Connie Howard left her gig as 2's news director in June, after she failed to improve the Scripps Howard ABC affiliate's chronically anemic news ratings. WSYX is owned by Baltimore-based Sinclair.
October 10, 2006
Zan Hollander Dies
Zander "Zan" Hollander, 75, a former reporter with United Press International and an export control specialist with the Department Of Energy, died 10/3 of respiratory failure at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He was a resident of DC and had been hospitalized for a hip fracture.
October 9, 2006
Gary Murphy To CBS
Gary Murphy, formerly half of the "Murphy And Cash" morning team on Clear Channel's WBIG, and WMZQ before that, starts a gig as an ad account executive at CBS Radio in Baltimore.
October 7, 2006
Tower Terminated
It's the end of the road for legendary music retailer Tower Records. The bankrupt California-based company has been sold to a liquidator. Look for "going out of business" sales at Tower's five DC area locations starting today.
October 6, 2006
New Gig For RQX's Dave Linn
Mix 107.3's Dave Linn gives up eight years of doing overnights to become the station's continuity director. Linn will still be heard on the ABC hot adult contemporary outlet doing weekend shifts. A Vienna VA native, Linn's also worked at WJFK-FM, Fredericksburg's WBQB, and Richmond's WRXL/WRNL.
October 6, 2006
O'Meara's Pub Hit With Fine
The Potomac News reports that the Virginia Department Of Alcohol And Beverage Control has accepted an offer from O'Meara's Restaurant And Pub in Manassas to pay a $4500 fine instead of losing its liquor license for 10 days. The owners of O'Meara's, including WJFK-FM afternoon personality Mike O'Meara, half of the "Don And Mike Show" team, were charged with selling alcohol to two intoxicated people, allowing lewd or disorderly conduct, and selling alcohol in an unauthorized manner or place.
October 5, 2006
Teapot Tim Leaving Hot 99.5
Hot 99.5's "The Hot Morning Mess" is saying goodbye to "stuntboy extraordinaire" (that's what Radio And Records calls him) "Teapot Tim" Coburn, who's devoting his fulltime energies to his photography business. The 28-year-old Vienna resident has had lots of "fun" while working at WIHT, including running down the Beltway during rush hour, going barefoot on hot coals, cooking steak on his butt, strapping fireworks to his body, stripping on Rockville Pike's median strip, and mooning drivers in "ManASSas." That last one got him picked up by the cops, one of numerous run-ins with the authorities. "After five long years of mischief, mayhem, laughter, and legal fees," Coburn's last day at the Clear Channel contemporary hit outlet will be 10/13.
October 5, 2006
Charlie Slezak Dies
Delmarva Broadcasting employees are mourning the death of engineer Charlie Slezak, 53, who died suddenly this past weekend. He had worked for the Delaware-based group for 26 years. He was president of the Chesapeake Bay Radio Association. Slezak worked at WNRK in Newark before coming to WDEL/WSTW in Wilmington, where he DJed as "Chris Stevens."
October 4, 2006
WERQ Morning Changes
From the Baltimore Sun: Listeners of "The Big Phat Morning Show" on Baltimore's urban 92Q, WERQ, got a surprise when they turned on their radios. The on-air team of Troy Johnson, Marc Clarke, and Sonjay, known for its lively discussions of current events, social issues and politics sandwiched between Jay-Z and Chingy tunes, was no longer intact. In typical radio fashion, the changes came swiftly and silently - with no on-air explanation offered to listeners. Johnson was told that his contract wouldn't be extended. Sonjay was transferred to a mostly behind-the-scenes production job. And Clarke, who will continue in the morning slot, was joined by Johnny "Porkchop" Doswell, another 92Q DJ.
October 4, 2006
Bill Neal Dies
William "Bill" Neal, who had a morning program on WBAL radio in the 1960s, died of Alzheimer's disease complications on 9/30 at Stella Maris Hospice. The Timonium resident was 81. Neal was a TV announcer at NBC in NYC when he moved to Washington and worked at Voice Of America before holding radio jobs in Baltimore at WBAL and WCBM in the 1960s. He retired from broadcasting in 1979 as a television staff announcer at then-WTOP, DC's Channel 9.
October 4, 2006
RW Apple Dies
RW Apple Jr., who, in more than 40 years as a correspondent and editor at the New York Times, wrote about war and revolution, politics and government, food and drink, and the revenge of living well from more than 100 countries, died early this morning in Washington. He was 71 and had been suffering from cancer.
October 4, 2006
Grandy OK After Heart Scare
WMAL morning man Fred Grandy is "doing fine" after receiving two heart artery stents to relieve chest pains and shortness of breath he suffered before Tuesday's show. So said his ABC talker co-host Andy Parks on Wednesday's show. Grandy suffered a heart attack a few years ago, and had one stent installed at that time. Parks said that the former "Love Boat" star and Congressman should be back at old 630 in a few days.
October 3, 2006
Bob Sellers From Fox News To Fox 5
Bob Sellers will jump from NYC-based Fox News Channel to DC's Fox 5 to co-anchor the morning news show with Lark McCarthy, Gurvir Dhindsa, Steve Cheveney, Allison Seymour, Holly Morris, and Tony Perkins. He starts on 10/23. Sellers, who most recently anchored "Fox News Live" and spent four years with CNBC's "Market Watch" and "Today's Business," replaces Michael Gargiulo, who left Fox 5, WTTG, over the summer for a gig with NYC's WNBC-TV.
October 3, 2006
CBS Cans Ken Merson
Charm City radio veteran Ken Merson ("The Merson Person") was cut loose by CBS Radio in Baltimore. He had been doing afternoon drive at WLIF, Lite-FM, for the last couple of years. Prior to that, he had been on WQSR for many years. Merson is under contract to CBS until the end of the year. WLIF Program Director Greg Carpenter will take Merson's shift.
October 3, 2006
Baltimore Radio Vet Buys Bama Station
Baltimore radio legend Jack Gale has purchased a radio station in Dothan, Alabama, where he'll do mornings. Gale worked mornings at WITH and WWIN back in the 1950s and '60s. Joining him will be Kevin Larkin, formerly of WITH, and Chris Morgan, formerly of WQXI in Atlanta. Morgan also worked for Gale at WPDQ in Jacksonville. Gale will continue to do national voiceovers, as well as his show on ultimateoldies.com, plus traveling to Nashville to produce country artists. As Gale says, "Us old guys never know when to quit." He will celebrate his 81st birthday in November.
September 29, 2006
Sol Schildhause Dies
Sol Schildhause, 89, the first chief of the Federal Communications Commission's cable television bureau, who later became a lobbyist for the industry, died of heart disease 9/15 at his home in Bethany Beach.
September 27, 2006
God Returns On DC's 23
The DC area hasn't had a fulltime broadcast Christian TV station since the 1980s, when Channel 66 in Manassas used to be WTKK (Witnessing The King Of Kings). But, now, there's Channel 23, WDDN, a lowish-powered 2,000-watt religious outlet transmitting from rocker DC101's tower. It features Christian programming via satellite from the Dallas-based Daystar network. WDDN's analog signal covers most areas inside the Beltway, and even makes it out to central Montgomery and Fairfax counties.
September 26, 2006
Former Balto TV Personality Reaches Plea Agreement In 1974 Rape
From Salisbury's WBOC-TV: A former Baltimore TV personality, who most recently worked at a Memphis TV station, has made a deal with prosecutors in connection with an accusation that he raped a young girl on the Eastern Shore more than 30 years ago. On Tuesday, attorneys for 69-year-old Ron Meroney said their client will plead guilty to statutory rape charges in court on 11/3 in Wicomico County, according to WBOC. He is accused of raping a girl under the age of 14 in the summer of 1974, back when Meroney worked as a weatherman at Channel 2/WMAR. Meroney was charged in May after the adult victim, now in her 30s, came forward. Even though the alleged crime occurred more than three decades ago, under Maryland law there is no statute of limitations for felony arrests.
September 26, 2006
No More Severin On 106.7
Jay Severin, who has hosted a national show syndicated by Westwood One for the past year, will return to hosting a daily live and local afternoon drive show exclusively for Boston talker WTKK. That means no more Severin from 8 PM to 11 PM on WJFK-FM.
September 21, 2006
Stern Takes NPR CEO Gig
Ken Stern, who served as executive vice president since 1999, has been named chief executive officer of DC-based National Public Radio, effective 10/1. Kevin Klose, who joined NPR as president and chief executive officer in 1998, will continue as president and as a member of the NPR Board Of Directors.
September 21, 2006
WRBS's Dick Ireland To Retire
Baltimore religious outlet WRBS (95.1 FM) announced today that Baltimore radio legend Dick Ireland (right) will not return to his morning program after suffering a stroke in May. Hundreds of cards, letters, and well-wishes have encouraged Ireland and his family as he continues his rehabilitation therapy. "Physically I am doing well. There are times when I can't express everything I want to say, but I am making progress in speech therapy.
Our prayer is that the Lord would be glorified through this experience," Ireland said via a WRBS statement. At a recent gathering in his honor, Ireland was presented with a
commemorative plaque containing the microphone he used at WRBS. Steve
Lawhon, WRBS General Manager noted, "We wanted Dick to understand the
depth of our appreciation for his work in broadcasting and to honor his
exemplary Christian faith and witness." Ireland was the morning man at then easy listening WLIF (101.9 FM) for 26 years before joining WRBS in 1997. No word yet on Ireland's replacement at WRBS.September 20, 2006
MMJ & PGC Rule Latest Trends, TOP Tops Drivetimes
Another round of those monthly Arbitrend radio ratings. DC, full day, age 12+: 1) WMMJ and WPGC-FM, 3) WHUR, 4) WTOP-FM/AM, 5) WIHT, 6) WKYS, 7) WASH, 8) WMZQ, 9) WGMS/WGYS, 10) WRQX and WWDC, 12) WJZW, 13) WBIG, 14) WMAL, 15) WARW, 16) WJFK-FM, 17) WLZL, 18) WTEM, 19) WFRE and WAVA, 21) WPGC-AM and WTWP-FM/AM. In morning drive, WTOP-FM/AM takes 1st. WMMJ's Tom Joyner is in 2nd, up from 5th. WWDC's Elliot Segal places 4th, down from 3rd. WMAL's Grandy and Andy stay even at 11th. WJFK-FM's Junkies stay even at 13th. In afternoon drive, WTOP-FM/AM again places 1st. WJFK-FM's Don and Mike sink from 3rd to 6th, behind WIHT's now canned Albie Dee in 5th. WMAL's Sean Hannity drops from 11th to 14th. Baltimore, full day, age 12+: 1) WERQ, 2) WPOC, 3) WWIN-FM, 4) WLIF, 5) WBAL-AM, 6) WIYY, 7) WSMJ, 8) WWMX, 9) WZBA, 10) WCAO and WCBM, 12) WQSR.
September 19, 2006
Syd Thrift Dies, Had Show On WAVA
Longtime baseball executive and radio host Syd Thrift (right) died on 9/18 following knee replacement surgery. In addition to a career that spanned nearly 50 years with the Orioles, Yankees, Cubs, Pirates, and others, Thrift and co-host Tim Donner aired the "Talkin' Baseball" show, which was syndicated via DC's Radio America and heard locally on WAVA-AM (780) Sunday afternoons. A Virginia native and resident, Thrift was 77.September 19, 2006
Tim Virgin To Phoenix
Tim Virgin, who did nights and was the music director and interim program director at Baltimore's WHFS, 105.7 FM, which is talk by day and alternative rock at night and on weekends, snags the assistant program director and music director gigs at alt rock KEDJ in Phoenix. Virgin used to do afternoon drive on WHFS, back when it was a DC market fulltime alt rocker on 99.1 FM.
September 19, 2006
Del Walters Gone From 2
Channel 2/WMAR has parted ways with anchor Del Walters. Walters came to WMAR following two decades in DC as anchor and senior investigative reporter for Channel 7/ WJLA. The word is that WMAR General Manager Drew Berry called a meeting yesterday and told the staff that Walters was no longer at the station, which ranks 3rd or 4th in Charm City TV news ratings in any given time slot.
September 13, 2006
Rosenblum To Start DC TV News Net For Verizon
Michael Rosenblum, a TV news consultant who's said to be a major proponent of one-man-band TV journalists, has placed several ads on Craigslist for a new local network startup in DC. Our sources say its for a news channel to be exclusively carried by Verizon's DC area cable systems. A la Comcast's exclusive CN8, which recently debuted in the DC area.
September 13, 2006
Knapp Gets 99.5 FM Drive Gig
Toby Knapp will take Hot 99.5's afternoon drive slot. He comes from a sister Clear Channel contemporary hit outlet in Columbia SC. He'll also assume assistant program director duties at WIHT. Knapp replaces Albie Dee's replacement.....
September 10, 2006
Setbacks Hit Alternative Broadcasting
Tim Davis is stepping down as the general manager of Arlington-based Alternative Broadcasting. To accept a job as the operations manager of Charlottesville's alternative rock WNRN (91.9 FM). We're told that the decision was made after a deal for a transmitter site in Warrenton fell through. Alternative, which set its sights on a construction permit with Roy Clark-owned WYQZ (96.7 FM), was hoping to get its non-commercial alt rock programming on the air in Northern Virginia. Davis will remain on Alternative's board of directors as it plots an alternative course for the future.
September 9, 2006
Hurricane Leaves WOLB's Young
Hurricane, producer of the "Larry Young Morning Show" heard on Baltimore urban talker WOLB (1010 AM), is leaving after two years on the show. During his time there, Young went from relative unknown locally to nationally recognized as one of Talkers Magazines top 250 talk shows in America. Hurricane is joing a radio group in DC.
September 9, 2006
50 Launches The Tube
Channel 50/WDCW has launched The Tube on one of its digital channels. And the music video network will pop up on Comcast's 207 in the DC area. The Tube is already carried in the Baltimore area via the digital offerings of Channel 54/WNUV and via Comcast.
September 7, 2006
Potomac Rabbi Found Guilty In NBC Sex Sting
A 56-year-old rabbi has been found guilty of attempting to solicit what he thought was a 13-year-old boy for sex in an August 2005 internet sting aired by NBC's "Dateline." David Kaye of Potomac, who has been in jail since his arrest in May, could get 60 years behind bars for traveling to a Herndon house only to be confronted by NBC correspondent Chris Hansen. Those "To Catch A Predator" episodes of "Dateline" highlight NBC's collaboration with Perverted Justice, a so-called "pedophile-hunting vigilante group." "The extent of the network's business relationship" with PJ founder Xavier Von Erck "has raised eyebrows in the halls of NBC News," John Cook writes for Radar. "Dateline" has "gone to unprecedented lengths to secure Von Erck's ongoing cooperation, reportedly paying him in excess of $100,000 per episode for his services," according to Cook's report.
September 7, 2006
11 Kicks Off 5 AM Sunday Newscast
Channel 11/WBAL launches an early Sunday morning newscast on 9/10. From 5 AM to 8 AM. It will make the Hearst-owned NBC affiliate the only Baltimore TV station with local newscasts starting at 5 AM seven days a week. "Weekend Today" airs at 8 AM on Sundays, more local 11 news at 9 AM, "Meet The Press" at 10 AM, "The Chris Matthews Show" at 11 AM, and "11 TV Hill" at 11:30 AM.
September 7, 2006
Causey & Norris To Do FED Mornings
Bonneville's Federal News Radio WFED (1050 AM) teams Mike Causey with Jane Norris for morning drive. Starting 9/13. Causey wrote the "Federal Diary" at the Washington Post for two decades and has been a senior correspondent for FNR since its start in 2002. Norris, a media savy right-leaning political analyst who used to co-host the morning show on WMAL, joined the Bush Administration in 2004 and has held posts with the departments of Labor and Health And Human Services.
September 7, 2006
Fairfax City Debuts Radio Station
You will get community announcements, weather, and emergency information on a new radio station owned by the City Of Fairfax, WQEL336. The 1650 AMer can be heard throughout much of central Fairfax County.
September 5, 2006
Mick Lee Gone From 99.5
Mick Lee has been canned from the afternoon drive slot and assistant program director gig at Hot 99.5. A Clear Channel source tells us that "he's out for cursing on the air while voice tracking." Lee joined contemporary hit WIHT only a month ago from a station in Albany NY to replace DC radio veteran Albie Dee.
September 1, 2006
Capitol Hill Studio For CN8
Comcast is rolling out its CN8 network throughout the DC area in September - to 2 million more subscribers in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Also, the northeastern USA-oriented news and entertainment channel, which is based in Wilmington, Delaware, is breaking ground on construction of a Capitol Hill studio to allow the region's "politicians, newsmakers, pundits, and athletes" to contribute to "Comcast Newsmakers" segments and other CN8 programming.
August 31, 2006
Rouse To Do Mornings At LIF
Baltimore radio veteran Steve Rouse is going to be doing mornings on CBS's adult contemporary WLIF (101.9 FM). Starting 9/12. On "Baltimore's Morning Show," Rouse will be paired with Lite FM's Diane Lyn and traffic reporter Scott Parker. Rouse and his "Company" got bounced from CBS's WQSR (102.7 FM) in the spring of 2005 when it flipped from older rock and soul oldies to eclectic newer oldies Jack FM. According to the Baltimore Sun, Rouse, 55, who has been doing fill-in work on WBAL-AM and 98 Rock since his WQSR show was canceled, said he's excited about returning to Baltimore radio on a fulltime basis. "It's what I've done all my life. You have a tendency to miss that once you're not doing it. You miss that groove you get into and talking with people on the street and going out to different events." The current WLIF morning show host, Greg Carpenter, will remain at the station as program director.
August 31, 2006
WETA Takes Digital TV Channels Fulltime
Channel 26/WETA's digital TV channels will go to 24-hour-per-day schedules. WETA, DC's PBS outlet, broadcasts four standard definition digital channels during daytime hours and one high definition and one standard definition channel during primetime and overnights. Effective 9/1, WETA's digital channels - WETA HD, WETA Create, WETA Family, and WETA World - will be available fulltime. WETA's analog over-the-air signal will retain its operating hours of 6 AM until 3 AM daily and will not be simulcast on the digital broadcasts. Comcast, the DC area's dominant cable TV provider, carries WETA's digital services on cable channels 200, 201, 202, and 220.
August 31, 2006
Allbritton Hires Miss America's Daughter
Allbritton-owned Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8 have hired a reporter fresh out of college. Something that the DC area TV news operation almost never does. And, Pamela Brown, unlike other NC8 "one man band" recent hires, will get a photographer to tag along with her. Brown, a May graduate of the University Of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, does have some connections. We're told that she's the daughter of former Kentucky Governor John Brown and his former wife, Phyllis George, Miss America 1971, who once had gigs on CBS's "NFL Today" and "Morning News." Says an NC8 source: "The hire is causing morale among some of the reporters and producers to plummet. It's being viewed as a slap in the face to some of the more senior reporters."
August 30, 2006
VOA Head Accused Of Irregularities
The NY Times reports that State Department investigators have concluded that Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board Of Governors, which oversees the DC-based Voice Of America, improperly hired a friend on the public payroll for nearly $250,000 over two and a half years. They also said that Tomlinson used his government office for personal business, including running a "horse racing operation," repeatedly used government employees to do his personal errands, and that he billed the government for more days of work than the rules permit. Tomlinson was ousted from the DC-based Corporation For Public Broadcasting last year following an inquiry that found evidence that he had violated rules meant to insulate public television and radio from political influence. His renomination by President Bush to another term as BBG head is pending before the Senate.
August 28, 2006
John Wilson Dies
Journalist and activist John Wilson has died in NYC. Wilson was a former Metropolitan section editor at the Washington Times and an editor with the Science section of the New York Times. Wilson was also a founding member of the National Lesbian And Gay Journalists Association. He was 56.
August 28, 2006
GMS To Charge For Opera Stream
Bonneville-owned WGMS plans to turn its VivaLaVoce.com internet stream into a subscription-only affair. As of 9/1, you'll have to cough up $4.99 per month to hear the vocally-based classical programming on your computer. At the same time, the service will be going ad-free. "The increase in (music) royalty and streaming expenses has outpaced our ability to support the station commercially," says an announcement on the stream's website. No word about how this change will affect VivaLaVoce's broadcast via classical WGMS's digital signal.
August 27, 2006
Kidnapped Fox Newsers Released In Gaza
Two Fox News journalists held for 13 days in the Gaza Strip were released Sunday after they were shown on a videotape saying they converted to Islam. The two journalists, American Steve Centanni, 60, and New Zealand cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, "have liberated themselves" by converting to Islam, according to the statement accompanying a videotape from a group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades. Gaza journalists confirmed that Centanni, who is a veteran of the DC TV news scene, and Wiig arrived at a hotel in Gaza shortly after noon local time.
August 24, 2006
Marius Payton Gone From CSN
Earlier this month, Scott Hanson left Comcast SportsNet after his contract was not renewed. Now, Marius Payton, who joined the DC and Baltimore area version of the sports channel in 2004, is out the door as well. His photo, profile, and bio have been removed from the talent page on CSN's website. We hear that Payton told viewers that he took a TV sports job back home in his native Utah, to be close to friends and family. We also hear that he could be working on a new CSN version in the Rocky Mountain region.
August 23, 2006
PGC Tops Trends
Another round of those monthly Arbitrend radio ratings. For DC. In the "beauty contest" full-day, age 12+ numbers: 1) WPGC-FM, 2) WHUR, 3) WTOP-FM/AM, 4) WMMJ, 5) WKYS, 6) WIHT, 7) WJZW and WMZQ and WWDC and WASH, 11) WGMS/WGYS, 12) WRQX, 13) WMAL, 14) WBIG, 15) WJFK-FM, 16) WLZL, 17) WARW, 18) WTEM, 19) WFRE and WAVA-FM/AM, 21) WTWP-FM/AM, 22) WPGC-AM, 23) WFLS and WBPS/WBZS, 25) WACA and WKDL and WIYY, 28) WWRC and WAFY and WTNT, 31) WOL and WYCB and WILC and WBQB and WINC-FM. Baltimore, full-day, age 12+: 1) WERQ, 2) WPOC, 3) WWIN-FM, 4) WBAL-AM, 5) WLIF, 6) WIYY, 7) WSMJ, 8) WWMX, 9) WZBA, 10) WCBM, 11) WQSR, 12) WCAO, 13) WRBS, 14) WHFS, 15) WIHT and WPGC-FM.
August 18, 2006
More BIGers Announced
Lisa Berigan takes middays and Scott Struber nights and assistant program director duties at Clear Channel's classic rock hits WBIG. She's a veteran of the defunct Z104 and the Chicago radio scene and he's from XM's Ethel and XMU as well as rockers in San Diego, Chicago, and Albuquerque. We already know that DC101er Jon Ballard will be doing afternoons on 100.3.
August 18, 2006
Hanson Gone From CSN
Comcast SportsNet is not renewing Scott Hanson's contract. After some "tense negotiations," an agreement couldn't be reached. He's been yanked from the sports net's website. Hanson joined CSN's Philadelphia network in 2000, and moved to the DC-Baltimore version in 2002, where he's been an anchor and reporter and was the network's main correspondent for the Washington Nationals.
August 17, 2006
Longtime HR Head Leaves CC DC
The longtime head of human resources for Clear Channel's DC radio cluster, Cordell Weaver, was cut loose on Thursday. "Cordell is well known to anyone who worked at WMZQ from the 70s-80s days," we're told by a CC DC source. "She worked her way up when WMZQ was sold numerous times."
August 17, 2006
WNN Closes
A source tells us: "Washington News Network is closing its doors. The bureau at 400 North Capitol Street has already ceased operations, and is in the process of selling off its equipment. WNN is the latest in a series of bureaus that have been shuttered in the last 10 years, including the much larger Conus, and Group W. Similarly, Potomac News has told its few remaining staffers that they should find new jobs, as it is consolidating its Unification Church-owned facilities and will no longer provide news services."
August 17, 2006
Clear Channel Rules DC Radio Roost
Arbitron releases DC radio ratings by ownership group. Clear Channel, which owns eight stations (WWDC, WIHT, WMZQ, WTEM, WASH, WBIG, WTNT, WWRC), commands a 22.2 share of the overall audience and a 46.8 percent "cume." CBS, with five stations (WPGC-FM/AM, WJFK-FM, WLZL, WARW), takes second place with a 14.1 share/32.7% cume. Bonneville, with seven outlets (WTOP-FM/AM, WTWP-FM/AM, WFED, WGMS/WGYS), ranks 3rd with a 10.4/28.3%. ABC, with three stations (WMAL, WRQX, WJZW), places 4th with an 11.0/24.3%. Taking 5th is Radio One, with four outlets (WKYS, WMMJ, WOL, WYCB), with an 11.1/21.0%. Rounding out the top dozen or so: Howard University (WHUR) with a 6.2/12.2%, Mid-Atlantic (WBQB, WINC-FM) with a 0.9/4.4%, Salem (WAVA-FM/AM) with a 1.0/3.8%, and Mega (now Red Zebra) (WKDL, WBPS/WBZS) with a 0.9/2.2%.
August 17, 2006
O'Meara's DC Pub Deal Falls Through
A source tells us: "I have heard from friends in the bar biz that Mike O'Meara's deal to buy The Sign Of The Whale on M Street has gone kaput!" The afternoon WJFK-FM man (right) was working on a deal to buy the Dupont Circle area pub and transform it into the second outlet of his O'Meara's eatery in Manassas. When it was publicly announced in June, O'Meara warned on-air that the contract to purchase the DC restaurant was not finalized and could fall through.
August 17, 2006
DC TV News Vet Lands NYC TV Gig
NYC's WCBS-TV names Carl Gottlieb as executive producer of political and investigative reporting. Gottlieb career includes the following gigs: executive news producer at Channel 7/WJLA, news director at Channel 5/WTTG, chief for Tribune's DC news bureau, and managing news editor for Baltimore's Sinclair.
August 15, 2006
Former 4er Larry Carl Dies
Larry Carl, 88, an associate director at Channel 4/WRC from 1950 to 1988 who specialized in news and sports programs, died on 8/11 at University Hospitals Of Cleveland. He had pneumonia. Carl helped direct WRC's coverage of the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, the death and funeral of John Kennedy, the assassination of civil rights leader Malcolm X, and Richard Nixon's presidential resignation. He also was a Washington coordinator for NBC's weekend football broadcasts from the 1960s to the 1980s.
August 15, 2006
4 Picks Clay's Replacement
Steve Villaneuva, a weekend weather forecaster NYC's Fox-owned WWOR-TV, has been hired to replace weatherman Clay Anderson at NBC's Channel 4/WRC.
August 15, 2006
Herzog Plays Movie Judge
DC TV and radio veteran Frank Herzog plays a judge, a la a gavel and robe, in "Step Up," a dance-oriented flick released last weekend. The film ranked second in overall ticket sales nationwide. The Herzog character sentences the male lead to community service at the so-called Maryland School Of The Arts, Fox 5 and WTWP radio film critic Willie Waffle tells DCRTV. Herzog, once the radio voice of the Redskins as well as a sports anchor at Channels 7 and 9, currently does news anchoring for WTOP radio.
August 14, 2006
Steve Hegwood To Program KYS
Steve Hegwood is returning to Lanham's Radio One to again program urban WKYS. He replaces Derrick Brown, who exited KYS last month. And Hegwood may take on more company duties, too. Hegwood, who runs a broadcasting biz in Lanham, has most recently been consulting for Magic's urban KDAY in LA.
August 13, 2006
WPFW's Raymond Whitfield Dies
WPFW's Raymond Whitfield (left) who died of cancer on 8/2 at age 77. Focusing on the criminal justice system, he produced and hosted two nationally distributed radio series: "The Inside-Outside Media Collective" and "Youth At Risk." Whitfield also hosted a show that gave inmates at the former Lorton prison an opportunity to speak on the air and to hear from families and friends. More recently, he produced and hosted "Crossroads: Where Criminal And Social Justice Meet," a series focusing on issues that affect both incarcerated people and their families.August 10, 2006
5's News On 24 Too
Fox is going to simulcast Fox 5 WTTG's DC morning newscast on co-owned My 24 WUTB in Baltimore. Look for the news show's scope to be broadened to include the Charm City area and the Eastern Shore. It starts on 9/5, the same date that Fox's My Network TV (which replaces UPN on many stations) launches. "We have long realized that there are many loyal viewers of Fox 5 news in the Baltimore market," WTTG General Manager Duffy Dyer said in a statement. "My 24 recognizes that the appetite in Baltimore for regional news of the day, weather, and traffic is growing."
August 10, 2006
Radio One Hires HURer
DC area-based Radio One names Daisy Davis operations manager for its three-station Philadelphia radio cluster. Davis most recently served as consultant at Howard University's urban adult contemporary WHUR.
August 9, 2006
Baltimore Ravens Want DC TV Market
The Baltimore Sun reports that the Baltimore Ravens are quietly appealing to the NFL to unite Baltimore and Washington into a single television market, a move that could help the club serve thousands of fans - and cultivate new ones - who can't see all of the team's games because they live outside the immediate Baltimore area. Under the club's proposal, all Ravens regular-season games would be televised on network affiliates not only in Baltimore, but also on Washington stations, which reach areas such as Frederick County, where their fans have complained about missing games. The proposal also calls for all Washington Redskins games to air on Baltimore stations.
August 9, 2006
George Keady Dies
Steve Williams, regional program director for First Media (WWZW and WREL) in Lexington VA, tells us that his dad, George Keady, 77, passed away in Cumberland MD on Monday. Starting in the late 1950s and for the next 20 years, Keady worked at Frederick MD's WFMD, Cumberland's WKYR (now WCBC), and Gettysburg PA's WGET. Plus Channel 25/WHAG in Hagerstown MD. "He had me on the air when I was three. The one thing that he was most proud of and always talked about was that he helped build WHAG," says Williams. "I remember him working 24 on (and) 24 off and sleeping on a cot at the transmitter site in Clear Spring."
August 8, 2006
DC101's Ballard To BIG
Jon Ballard is getting pushed out of afternoons at Clear Channel rocker DC101 to do afternoons at sister classic rock hits WBIG. Greg Roche moves from evenings at DC101 to afternoons, replacing Ballard. Weekender Whitney will take Roche's current 7 PM to midnight shift at DC101.
August 8, 2006
Tom Moyer Heads WAVA
Salem officially names Tom Moyer station manager of DC area Christian programming outlets WAVA-FM/AM. Moyer had been general sales manager at the now Rosslyn-studioed stations since 1992, and had previously served as acting station manager. He'd also worked at WABS (now WAVA-AM) before Salem bought the station, and at Westwood One's Mutual Broadcasting Network.
August 8, 2006
Brooke Baldwin To 5
Brooke Baldwin, morning news anchor at WOWK-TV in Huntington WV, has landed a reporting gig at DC's Fox 5. That's a leap from the 64th largest TV market to the 8th.
August 6, 2006
Clay Anderson Leaving 4
Weatherman Clay Anderson announced during a "Today Show" local cut-in Sunday he's leaving Channel 4/WRC.
August 5, 2006
Comcast Agrees To Carry MASN & Nats
Washington Nationals fans can uncork the champagne and start celebrating. Comcast and MASN announced an agreement to bring the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network to 1.6 million customers on the cable TV giant's expanded basic line-up in the DC, Baltimore, and Salisbury areas beginning 9/1. MASN will be made available to an additional 600,000 regional Comcast customers over the next two years. Terms were not available.
August 4, 2006
Harrisonburg Station Wants Chunk Of DC TV Market
The Federal Communications Commission has granted a "special relief" request by Gray's ABC affiliate Channel 3/WHSV in the Virginia Shenandoah Valley town of Harrisonburg to modify the Harrisonburg "designated market area" (DMA) to include Virginia's Berryville, Boyce, Frederick, Middletown, Stephens City, Winchester, Front Royal, and Warren - all of which currently are in the Washington DC DMA. WHSV says it wants to preserve its signal carriage on local (formerly Adelphia now Comcast) cable systems in those communties. Opposition to the request has been filed by DC's major TV stations - including Allbritton's ABC affiliate Channel 7/WJLA, NBC's Channel 4/WRC, Fox's Channel 5/WTTG and Channel 20/WDCA, Gannett's Channel 9/WUSA, and Tribune's Channel 50/WDCW.
August 3, 2006
Albie Axed At 99.5
Clear Channel contemporary hit outlet Hot 99.5, WIHT, is making line-up changes. The "Hot Morning Mess" with Mark Kaye, Kris Gamble, Teapot Tim, and Ron Ross stays the same. In middays, Vibegrrl makes the move from the late night. Mick Lee comes from Albany, NY, to take the afternoon drive slot as well as the station's assistant program director duties. And, Grooves comes from Lexington, Kentucky, to do nights. Also, Gillian Sussman adds music director stripes to her programming coordinator chores. With all the changes, DCRTV hears that Hot 99.5 big boy Albie Dee has been given the boot from his afternoon gig and will be doing temporary fill-in work at CBS's urban WPGC-FM while the 20-year DC radio vet prowls for a new permanent gig. Middayer KT Harris is gone from 99.5, too.
August 2, 2006
John Irving Gone From Metro
DC radio veteran John Irving is the latest to get a budget cut-based pink slip from Metro Traffic. Its DC news operation. Irving, you'll recall, worked at WKYS way back when.
August 2, 2006
WPPT Goes Country
Verstandig has flipped Hagerstown's WPPT (92.1 FM) from hot adult contemporary to classic country. The air staff is expected to remain in place with the exception of the syndicated "Valentine In The Morning" show, which has been dropped.
August 1, 2006
11's Dave Collins Hurt At Orioles Game
Veteran Channel 11/WBAL investigative reporter Dave Collins was badly hurt over the weekend at a Baltimore Orioles baseball game when he was hit in the face by a foul ball. He'll need reconstructive surgery.
July 31, 2006
Fox 5 Launches "Edge"
Channel 5/WTTG unveils its "The Edge" 11 PM newscast tonight, as part of a two-hour news and information block that starts with its top-rated 10 PM newscast and ends with a half hour of Geraldo Rivera's tabloid show at 11:30 PM. Brian Bolter, who co-anchors the 10 PM 'cast, will solo anchor and be chairless during the 11 PM show. "We're blowing out the old model of the newscast that viewers have become accustomed to," he tells John Maynard in the Washington Post. Fox 5 News Director Katherine Green says viewers shouldn't expect to see the same lead story at 11 PM that they might have watched an hour earlier. "The weather is the number one reason people watch news," Green adds, so "The Edge" will usually lead with the next day's weather report.
July 28, 2006
Vance Reaches Deal With 4
Jim Vance, Channel 4/WRC's longtime news anchor, will be staying right where he is. We're told that Vance has reached a new three-year deal to remain the big dog on the NBC station's top-rated "News 4." No word on the money numbers. There were rumblings a few months ago that Vance, who's been at WRC more than three decades, and NBC weren't seeing eye-to-eye on a new contract.
July 28, 2006
Amy Paige Leaving 107.3
Amy Paige, middayer on Mix 107.3, WRQX, is leaving the ABC-owned hot adult contemporary station at the end of August. She's planning to relocate to Nashville with her family.
July 28, 2006
Beverly Fox Jumps From MAL To WaPo Radio
Yet another ABC-owned WMAL staffer will jump ship today to go to rival talker Washington Post Radio, WTWP, joining ex-WMALers like David Burd and editor Mike Jakaitis. Our sources are telling us that it's ad sales maven Beverly Fox. She'll also handle ad sales for Bonneville sister, classical WGMS. Fox used to do on-air work on the old WLTT and WGAY.
July 28, 2006
Metro Traffic Pink Slips Forsythe
Ken Forsythe, who did traffic reports for NBC4, was among the 72 recent budget-cutting national job slashings made by Westwood One's Metro Traffic.
July 26, 2006
Adelphia To Become Comcast
More than half-a-million Adelphia cable TV subscribers in Virginia and Maryland will become Comcast subscribers as of 7/31. In places like Frederick, Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Winchester, Front Royal, Warrenton, and Harrisonburg. The acquisition of bankrupt Adelphia will give Comcast 23.3 million more subscribers nationwide - cementing its status as America's largest cable TV company. Philadelphia-based Comcast already owns most of the cable TV systems in the immediate DC and Baltimore areas.
July 26, 2006
Lauren Thompson Gone From 95.9
Lauren Thompson of Baltimore's adult urban WWIN-FM, Magic 95.9, is gone. Jeff "The Jammer" Daniels assumes the midday spot and Magic fill-in "youngster" Durwin Dean, who is the board operator for the "Sunday Morning Joy" program with Radio One head Cathy Hughes' beau, Jeff Majors, takes over Daniels' weekend spot.
July 25, 2006
Country Is King In Winchester & Hagerstown
Arbitron releases more of those spring radio ratings "books." In Winchester, country WUSQ attracts a mammoth 20.2 share of the northern Shenandoah Valley audience. Its closest competitor, hot adult contemporary WINC-FM, places second with a distant 8.9 share of the overall age 12+ listeners. A few miles north, in the Hagerstown area, country also rules the roost with WAYZ taking a 15.4 share. Second place is a tie between another country station, Frederick's WFRE, and hot adult contemporary WIKZ.
July 24, 2006
WAMU & WETA Down But Not Out
DC's two NPR-based non-commercial news-based talkers, WAMU (88.5 FM) and WETA (90.9 FM), saw a drop in their spring ratings. Could the arrival of commercial news-based talker WTWP (107.7 FM and 1500 AM), Washington Post Radio, have been the culprit? In the key age 25-54 demo, WAMU went from winter's 4.5 share to spring's 3.8. While WETA slid from a 2.3 to a 1.9. In that demo, WTWP debuted with a 0.9 share. Arbitron does not include non-commercial stations in the heavily-hyped quarterly ratings "books" with their commercial brethren.
July 24, 2006
Zoh Back On Baltimore Radio
Baltimore radio veteran Zohara "Zoh" Hieronimus returns to the Charm City airwaves on Sundays from 3 PM to 5 PM on female talker WVIE (1370 AM). "Clear View" will include interviews with entrepreneurs, archeologists, artists, scientists, politicians, and sports figures. According to Baltimore's City Paper, her show features an "idiosyncratic system of New Age beliefs and quasi-plausible conspiracy theories." Hieronimus had been heard on WCBM and WOLB a few years back.
July 24, 2006
Keith Mills Lands Radio Gig At BAL & 98 Rock
Keith Mills has been officially named "sports guy" for Baltimore's WBAL-AM and 98 Rock WIYY, both owned by Hearst. It was announced Monday morning. The former Channel 2 anchor, who has been battling a drug addiction problem, replaces Jerry Coleman, who just signed to cover the Redskins for DC's WTEM. Also, Mills recently signed a deal to work with a sports-oriented Baltimore PR firm.
July 21, 2006
Hot 99.5 Leaps To 5th
The quarterly spring radio ratings from Arbitron. DC, full day, age 12+: 1. WPGC-FM, 2. WTOP-FM/AM, 3. WHUR, 4. WMMJ, 5. WIHT (Hot 99.5 up from 9th), 6. WKYS, 7. WASH, 8. WMAL, 9. WJZW and WGMS and WMZQ, 12. WWDC, 13. WRQX, 14. WBIG, 15. WLZL, 16. WJFK-FM, 17. WTEM and WARW, 19. WFRE and WAVA, 21. WPGC-AM and WTWP-FM/AM, 23. WBPS/WBZS, 24. WACA and WWRC and WFLS, 27. WOL and WAFY and WYCB and WKDL and WTNT and WBQB and WIYY, 34. WILC and WWEG and WINC-FM. Baltimore, full day, age 12+: 1. WERQ, 2. WPOC, 3. WBAL-AM, 4. WWIN-FM, 5. WLIF, 6. WIYY, 7. WSMJ, 8. WMMX, 9. WCAO, 10. WQSR, 11. WCBM, 12. WHFS and WZBA, 14. WPGC-FM and WRBS, 16. WWDC, 17. WIHT, 18. WHUR and WKYS, 20. WRNR and WTOP-FM and WXCY.
July 21, 2006
Julian To Chicago
Former Clear Channel WIHT, Hot 99.5, evening dude Julian Nieh is now doing evenings on CBS's contemporary WBBM, B96, in Chicago.
July 15, 2006
Jerry Coleman To WTEM
Former Baltimore WBAL-AM/98 Rock sports reporter Jerry Coleman has signed up with DC's SportsTalk 980 to do sports updates and serve as WTEM's Redskins beat reporter.
July 20, 2006
Evie Ward To TOP
That new female voice on WTOP is Evie Ward, who did country WMZQ a few years back. She's been hired as a fill-in anchor from her recent gig as chief of Metro News in Raleigh.
July 18, 2006
Sun's Publisher Steps Down
Denise Palmer, the publisher and chief executive officer of the Baltimore Sun, will steps down after leading the paper for four years. She becomes publisher of the Tampa Tribune. Palmer will be replaced temporarily by Bob Gremillion, a vice president for the Sun's parent, Chicago-based Tribune Company, and publisher of its South Florida Sun-Sentinel, until a permanent replacement is appointed.
July 18, 2006
KYS PD Gone
Derrick Brown has resigned for personal reasons his position as program director at Radio One's urban WKYS. He's headed back to his family in Denver. Brown joined WKYS earlier this year after Denver's KDJM, the station he previously programmed, flipped from urban to country. This is just the latest wave of changes hitting Lanham-based Radio One, with its head of programming, Mary Catherine Sneed, recently out, and rumors of big line-up changes at its Baltimore urban outlet, WERQ.
July 17, 2006
WXTR Calls Revived By RedZeb
We now know the call letters for Redskins owner Dan Snyder's new Red Zebra sports talker - Triple X ESPN Radio. The WXTR calls, which once graced the late great XTRA Oldies 104 and more recently all-news WTOP's Frederick relay on 820 AM, come to the 730 AMer, which had been WKDL. Warrenton's 94.3 FMer drops WBPS for WWXT and Prince Frederick's 92.7 FMer WBZS becomes WWXX.
July 16, 2006
9 Loses Cohan To 5
Reporter Stacey Cohan is jumping from from Gannett's Channel 9/WUSA to Fox's Channel 5/WTTG at the end of July. We hear that Cohan will be the first of "many other talented people" leaving WUSA.
July 16, 2006
Snyder Buys VA Beach Station
Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra is buying an FMer in Virginia Beach. It's urban WWHV from bankrupt On Top Communications. That'll give Snyder five stations - including three (two rimshot FMers and an AMer) in the DC area and one (an AMer) in Richmond.
July 15, 2006
DC Man Gets Jail For Kiddie Smut On VOA Computer
James Russell Woodgates, 54, who worked as a broadcaster for the DC-based Voice Of America, was sentenced Friday to a year in prison for possessing child pornography. Woodgates, who lives in DC, was accessing the material from his computer at VOA, the US attorney's office said. The images were found in 2002. In May, Woodgates pleaded guilty in US District Court to one count of possession of child pornography.
July 14, 2006
Memphis Anchor Returns To MD To Face 1974 Rape Charge
A Memphis television anchor indicted last year for statutory rape was officially charged in Maryland Thursday. Ronald Meroney, 69, of Arlington, Tennessee, turned himself into the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office for one count of statutory rape dating back to 1974. He had been indicted by a Wicomico County grand jury in late 2005. Meroney - who lived in Maryland in the 1970s and 1980s and worked at Baltimore's Channel 2/WMAR - was serving as a anchor on "Good Morning Memphis," via a Fox affiliated television station, when he was arrested by Tennessee police for the Wicomico warrant in May. He then elected to fight extradition back to Maryland. Now in the custody of Maryland authorities, Meroney's next court appearance will be at a bail hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
July 13, 2006
Salem Sells WITH To WRBS
California-based religious radio giant Salem is selling its Baltimore talker WITH (1230 AM) to the Peter And John Radio Fellowship, which owns religious WRBS (95.1 FM), also Baltimore. The price for WITH is $3.25 million.
July 13, 2006
Gillispie Gone From JFK-FM
WJFK-FM Program Director Greg Gillispie is among the 100+ CBS Radio employees nationwide who got pink slipped on Wednesday in a round of job cost-cutting. Gillispie joined WJFK in February 2006 - just in time for the recently Howard Stern-less Free FM talker to suffer a huge ratings plunge.
July 12, 2006
Brenda Carl Named CBM News Head
Brenda Carl has been named news director at WCBM. She replaces Mandy Allen, who resigned in May. Also, John Lewis comes from WILM in Wilmington to join the Baltimore talker's afternoon news team. Joan Doniger, formerly of DC's WMAL, had been doing news fill-in work on 680.
July 12, 2006
49 Arrives On DC's Airwaves
If you're one of the diminishing number of people in the DC area who still watches over-the-air (non cable or satellite) TV, point your rabbit ears in the general direction of northwest DC for Channel 49/WWTD. The just-launched lowish-powered analog (old fashioned) station airs a mix of old movies and infomercials. According to the FCC, WWTD is owned by an outfit called DC Broadcasting.
July 12, 2006
O'Meara Buys DC Pub
WJFK-FM afternoon man Mike O'Meara will pick up DC M Street pub Sign Of The Whale. O'Meara won the Dupont Circle area property in bankruptcy court and plans to turn it into a second outlet of his O'Meara's Irish pub in Manassas. O'Meara and biz partner John Cantrell bid $390,000 to win the right to take over the bar from owner Glasgow.
July 11, 2006
MAL's Portnoy To ABC News Radio
WMAL's Steven Portnoy is jumping to ABC News Radio, where he's been freelancing since February 2006. He'll be based in DC. Portnoy, who has been anchoring and reporting at ABC-owned WMAL for three years, came from Syracuse, where he graduated from Syracuse University and worked at WSYR radio.
July 10, 2006
4's Tony Dorsey To Metro
Channel 4/WRC reporter Tony Dorsey is joining DC's Metro transit system to become its public affairs director.
July 10, 2006
Kathleen Matthews Leaving 7
Channel 7/WJLA news anchor Kathleen Matthews (right) is leaving DC's Allbritton-owned ABC affiliate to be vice president for global communications and public affairs for DC-based hotel company Marriott when her contract expires in December. Kathleen, who anchors WJLA's 5 PM newscast and hosts "Capital Sunday" and "Working Woman," has been covering news from DC for three decades. She is married to Chris Matthews, the DC-based "Hardball" MSNBC host who also has a syndicated Sunday political talk show.July 10, 2006
Cal Lampley Dies
Cal Lampley, who hosted "Peabody Presents," a Sunday evening classical music program on Baltimore's WCBM radio in the 1970s, died on 7/6 of complications from multiple sclerosis at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center. He was 82. The retired musical educator, composer, and pianist produced acclaimed jazz and pop records. Also, Lampley appeared on Maryland Public Television's "The Critics' Place," where he reviewed classical music for 11 years in the 1970s and 1980s.
July 10, 2006
New Calls For 97.7
Somar Communications has dumped the longtime call letters of WMDM in the southern Maryland community of Lexington Park for WYRX. In late May, the station on 97.7 FM dropped oldies for alternative rock and then switched to mainstream rock.
July 9, 2006
"Nature" Narrator George Page Dies
George Page, the creator and resonant on-air voice of the award-winning public television series "Nature," died of cancer on 6/28 at his home in Equinunk, Pennsylvania. He was 71. Page worked at NYC PBS station WNET from 1973 to 1998, and before that at PBS's headquarters in the DC area, where he served as assistant to the network's president.
July 7, 2006
Shedlick Rides The Zebra
Tom Shedlick is the latest local Clear Channeler to jump to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting. Shedlick had been Clear Channel's director of engineering for its DC radio complex until a few weeks ago, when he was shown the door in an apparent cost-cutting move.
July 7, 2006
Nats Seek Better Radio Deal
The Washington Nationals baseball team have exercized an "out" in their radio contract with Bonneville's WTWP, Washington Post Radio, that allows the baseball team to shop around for a "better" deal next year. The Nats are in the midst of their first year of a three-year deal with WTWP. "The Nationals will be on WTWP for the rest of this season. Nats President Stan Kasten believes his team "could get more money, a larger network, and year-round baseball talk." Talks will proceed with Clear Channel (WTEM), ABC-Citadel (WMAL), CBS (WJFK-FM), Bonneville (WTOP, WTWP), and Redskins owner Dan Snyder's new Red Zebra Broadcasting. The word is that Snyder would love to snag the Nationals to boast Washington's two highest-profile sports franchises. Also, you could see a creative marketing plan that would allow for Nationals tickets and merchandise to be sold in Redskins stores throughout the region.
July 6, 2006
7's Christianne Klein To ABC News
Channel 7/WJLA anchor and reporter Christianne Klein will become an overnight and early morning news anchor as well as a correspondent for ABC News, based in NYC. Klein used to anchor for WJLA, but was restricted to reporting duties after she got on the wrong side of 7's owner and British Royal Family fan Joe Allbritton when she allegedly included something unflattering in a report about Prince Charles during his 2005 visit to DC. Before coming to WJLA, Klein was an anchor and reporter at KUTV in Salt Lake City.
July 5, 2006
Dan Michaels Takes WBIG Helm
Clear Channel names Dan Michaels as program director of classic hits WBIG, Big 100.3. Michaels takes over from Bill Hess, who shifted jobs in April to become operations manager for CC's DC AMers - sports talk WTEM, and talkers WTNT and WWRC. Hess remains program director of adult contemporary WASH. Michaels comes from adult alternative rocker KQMT in Denver and, before that, classic rock WMGK in Philadelphia.
July 4, 2006
Rod MacLeish Dies
From Tuesday's Washington Post: Rod MacLeish, 80, a political commentator on radio and TV for four decades, died on 7/1 at his home in DC. A spokeswoman for the DC medical examiner said the cause of death is pending further tests. MacLeish spent many years as chief commentator for Westinghouse Broadcasting. Starting in 1976, he went on to do commentary for CBS News, National Public Radio, the Christian Science Monitor, and other media organizations.....
July 3, 2006
Helen Ward Dies
From the Baltimore Sun: Helen Ward, who had a long career as an advertising copywriter after a stint as a Baltimore radio show host, died on 6/26 of pneumonia at the Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. She was 95. Ward had a radio talk show on WFBR from about 1934 to 1936 called "Mac And Helen." It was among the earliest call-in and advice talk shows.
July 1, 2006
Sneed Out At Radio One
Mary Catherine Sneed (right), chief operating officer of Lanham-based Radio One, has exited. In a memo to Radio One employees, President Alfred Liggins said that he'll serve as interim COO. According to the Washington Post, Sneed, who left to pursue other interests, became an executive officer of Radio One in January 1998 and played a large role, helping oversee the business and music sides for the company. As supervisor of the program directors who decide what goes on the air, she was one of the most powerful women in urban radio.June 30, 2006
Amy Morris Upped At WFED
Amy Morris gets promoted to executive editor of Bonneville's Federal News Radio, WFED (1050 AM). Morris has been with Bonneville seven years. She started at all-news WTOP as a freelance assistant editor, writer, reporter, and anchor, moving on to morning drive reporter and weekend anchor. For the past two years, she has been afternoon anchor on WFED.
June 30, 2006
Hot 99.5 Goes Julian-Less
Julian Nieh, who did Hot 99.5's "The Hot Freek Show" from 6 PM to 10 PM, is gone. After four years at the contemporary hit station, he has been wiped from WIHT's website.
June 29, 2006
XM Boots Hank For Willie
DC-based XM Satellite Radio has signed country music legend Willie Nelson to relaunch its traditional country channel. XM-13, which had been called Hank's Place in honor of country legend Hank Williams, will be called Willie's Place as of 7/10. XM is building studios in Carl's Corner, Texas, at Nelson's BioDiesel Truck Stop. Willie's Place will begin broadcasting live from Carl's Corner next year.
June 29, 2006
Paul Miner Dies
Paul Miner, who made radio commercials and had worked in the broadcast industry, died Monday after collapsing in the lobby of the North Baltimore condominium building where he lived. He was 88. Miner, who had worked for WINS and WABC radio in NYC as well as the DC-based Voice Of America, moved to Baltimore about 20 years ago and had a show, "Mr. Information," on WCBM.
June 26, 2006
Levan Reid, Joyce Jackson Leave 9
Sports anchor-reporter Levan Reid is leaving Channel 9/WUSA. "My guess is that it's his choice," a 9 Newser tells DCRTV. Reid, who joined the Gannett CBS affiliate several years ago from Boston's Fox station, has another gig lined up somewhere, we're told. Also, we hear that recent Emmy winner and sports reporter Joyce Jackson will be gone from 9 soon, too. You'll recall that WUSA and other Gannett stations used Jackson to report from her native New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina coverage last year.
June 23, 2006
PGC, ERQ Top Latest Trends
Another batch of those monthly Arbitrends. DC. Full day, overall age 12+: 1) WPGC-FM, 2) WMMJ, 3) WHUR, 4) WTOP-FM/AM, 5) WKYS, 6) WGMS/WGYS, 7) WIHT, 8) WJZW, 9) WASH and WMZQ and WWDC, 12) WMAL, 13) WRQX, 14) WBIG, 15) WJFK-FM and WTEM, 17) WLZL, 18) WARW, 19) WTWP-FM/AM, 20) WPGC-AM. Morning drive, age 12+: 1) WTOP-FM/AM, 2) WPGC-FM, 3) WMMJ, 4) WWDC, 5) WKYS, 6) WHUR, 7) WIHT, 8) WRQX, 9) WMZQ, 10) WMAL and WGMS/WGYS, 12) WASH, 13) WJFK-FM, 14) WJZW, 15) WBIG, 16) WTEM, 17) WLZL, 18) WTWP-FM/AM, 19) WARW, 20) WAVA. We didn't get to see the afternoon drive numbers, but WJFK-FM (Don and Mike) placed 5th in the 12+ numbers. Baltimore. Full day, age 12+: 1) WERQ, 2) WPOC, 3) WWIN-FM, 4) WBAL-AM, 5) WLIF, 6) WIYY, 7) WSMJ, 8) WZBA, 9) WWMX, 10) WCAO and WQSR, 12) WCBM, 13) WRBS, 14) WHFS.
June 23, 2006
2's News Director Gone
DCRTV hears that Connie Howard is out as news director at Baltimore's Channel 2/WMAR. Good thing Howard has a local real estate gig going on the side, as DCRTV had previously reported. No word on her replacement at the Scripps Howard-owned ABC affiliate that's always in third or four place in the Charm City news ratings. Howard joined WMAR in 2004. She came from WFAA-TV in Dallas, where she was assistant ND.
June 22, 2006
Nashville's Sara Walsh To 9
The Nashville Tennessean tells us that Sara Walsh, "Nashville's first female TV sports reporter since Robin Roberts worked here more than 17 years ago," is leaving WKRN-TV for a gig at a Washington DC TV station. DCRTV hears that Walsh's destination is Channel 9/WUSA.
June 21, 2006
Former VOAer Benjamin Gordon Dies
Benjamin Gordon, 73, a former Voice Of America broadcaster, died of pancreatic cancer 5/21 at his Silver Spring home. Gordon worked as program and news director for the Atlantic Broadcasting Company's WUST radio in the late 1950s before joining the VOA as a radio news writer in DC. He advanced to foreign information specialist and United Nations correspondent. Gordon retired in 1990.
June 20, 2006
Larry Young To Conntinue WOLB Gig
The Baltimore Sun reports that former Maryland state Senator Larry Young, a Baltimore Democrat who was expelled from the General Assembly on charges that he used his public position to enrich his private businesses, has chosen to continue his radio career rather than attempt a return to the legislature. Young, who has already collected $40,000 in campaign contributions, said Monday that he is abandoning the comeback bid so he can continue his morning talk show on Radio One's Charm City talker WOLB (1010 AM) and join the ministries of the Reverend Al Sharpton.
June 20, 2006
Thomas Kengla Dies
Thomas Kengla, 56, a Rockville postal worker-turned-video producer at Montgomery Community Television, died of pneumonia 6/2 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He worked on "News Counterpoint," "Focus On The Farm," "Tack Room," and "Inside The Blues."
June 20, 2006
Philip Merrill's Death Ruled Suicide
Maryland authorities have recovered the body of Philip Merrill, 72, the publisher of Washingtonian magazine and the Capital newspaper in Annapolis, who disappeared on 6/10 while sailing alone in the Chesapeake Bay. Officials of the Maryland Natural Resources Police said a boater spotted the body floating in the Chesapeake off Poplar Island, about 17 miles south of Annapolis. Family members identified Merrill's body, which was clad in a shirt with the name of his sailboat "Merrilly" on it. The body was found with a shotgun wound to the head and without a life jacket. Merrill's death has been ruled a suicide.
June 15, 2006
Oziel Out At WFED
David Oziel is out as news director of WFED (1050 AM), Federal News Radio. Lisa Wolfe, program director at WFED and Bonneville's co-owned all-news WTOP, has assumed Oziel's former duties. Bonneville denies a report that WFED and federalnewsradio.com missed a mid-term revenue target.
June 15, 2006
Judlyne Lilly Leaves WFED
Judlyne Lilly, "one of the most memorable and recognizable voices" on DC area news radio, is leaving Bonneville's Federal News Radio operation. The former all-news WTOP radio and Channel 5/WTTG reporter will return to her native Houston come July. "Family reasons" is what we're hearing.
June 15, 2006
Jerry Coleman Out At BAL & 98 Rock
Jerry Coleman is out as morning sports guy at Hearst's talker WBAL-AM and 98 Rock, WIYY. This week, former Channel 2/WMAR sportscaster Keith Mills began filling the role (as DCRTV reported in a 6/13 newsblurb), though WBAL management said it is a temporary assignment at this point while it considers Mills and others for the job.
June 13, 2006
Don Cheadle To Star In Petey Greene Movie
Filming was slated to begin in June on a movie about Ralph "Petey" Greene, a DC radio and TV broadcaster who hosted a Channel 20 (later also shown on BET) talk show in the 1970s and early 1980s. "Talk To Me" is being filmed in Toronto and stars Don Cheadle (right) as Greene, who was said to be a Washington folk hero and a tireless advocate for the poor. Greene, who spent time in Lorton Reformatory and battled the bottle, died of cancer in 1984 at age 53. More than 20,000 showed up at his funeral.
June 12, 2006
Riggo To Red Zebra
Former Redskin John Riggins has joined Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting. Riggins recently left a gig at Sirius Satellite Radio, where he did "The Afternoon Blitz" show. Red Zebra is planning to start an ESPN-based DC radio sports talker this summer.
June 11, 2006
MSNBC Fires Maury & Connie
MSNBC's "Weekends With Maury And Connie" is being cancelled. The program, hosted by DC TV veterans Maury Povich and Connie Chung, will end its run this week. The husband and wife team taped their second-to-last show last Friday. "Weekends" launched six months ago, but never seemed to find an audience. Povich continues his nationally syndicated tabloid talk show, "Maury."
June 10, 2006
NPR Veteran James Barrett Dies
From the Washington Post: James Barrett, 75, who acted on radio and in the Army before joining in the birth of National Public Radio as its first public relations director, died of pneumonia 6/4 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He lived in Arlington. Barrett came to DC in 1970 and helped launch NPR and "All Things Considered" in the spring of 1971. He promoted the fledgling network until 1979, when health problems forced early retirement.
June 7, 2006
Weinstein Gone From 980
Bram Weinstein is gone from SportsTalk 980, WTEM. "It came as a surprise to the suits at Clear Channel," Williams tells DCRTV. WTEM Program Director Chris Johnson tells the DC Examiner: "We are sad to see Bram go. He has been a part of the WTEM family for seven years. We wish him well no matter what his next job may be." Weinstein could wind up at Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting, which is planning to start a rival sports talker this summer.
June 6, 2006
NABET Votes To Strike 4
The National Association Of Broadcast Employees And Technicians, which represents 2,500 employees at four television stations owned and operated by NBC, including DC's Channel 4/WRC, has voted to authorize a strike. A strike date was not set. Issues under negotiation include overnight shift differential pay and health care coverage for new hires, according to NABET President John Clark. The union has been negotiating with GE-owned NBC Universal since its contract expired in March.
June 6, 2006
WNVC Goes Digital-Only On Cable
Northern Virginia public TV outlet Channel 56/WNVC has been granted FCC permission to become a digital-only outlet on area cable TV systems. However, it will not turn off its analog over-the-air transmitter. As of 6/30, look for DC area Comcast cable systems to discontinue carriage of WNVC - also known as MHz - on their basic analog tier and add four WNVC digital signals: WNVC MHz Worldview (205), WNVC Link TV (186), WNVC Russian World TV (657), and WNVC Nigerian TV Authority (677).
June 6, 2006
Jim Vance's Contract Talks With 4 "Turn Nasty"
FTVLive is reporting that negotiations between NBC's Channel 4/WRC and longtime news anchor Jim Vance "have turned nasty and it could end up with the two sides parting ways." WRC and Vance are far apart on the negotiations and one source says that Vance has gone so far as to fire his agent. FTV adds that "NBC is quietly looking at resumes and a possible replacement for Vance." Vance's shows were number one in the most recent May ratings. Vance has been at WRC since 1969 and has been the main anchor since 1972. Sources tell FTV that both NBC and WRC have been trying to keep the news of bad negotiations a secret. The search for a possible replacement is being kept equally as quiet.
June 5, 2006
Fox 5 To Add News At 11
Channel 5/WTTG will add an 11 PM newscast in July. The Fox station will go head-to-head seven days a week with the other stations in town. Channel 5, which has run a 10 PM newscast for more than three decades, has not said what will happen to its current 11 PM occupant, the low-rated "Geraldo At Large."
June 4, 2006
Tom Shedlick Gone From CC
Tom Shedlick, director of engineering for DC's eight-station Clear Channel complex in Rockville, has parted ways with the radio giant. After eight years.
June 4, 2006
Former DC Record Store Owner Dies
Robert Bialek, 84, a native Washingtonian who opened the Discount Record Shop near Dupont Circle, which evolved into the Discount Book And Record Shop franchise, died on 5/30 after a heart attack. He sold the business in the early 1980s.
June 2, 2006
4 Axes Wally Bruckner, Replacement Picked
Channel 4/ WRC will not renew the contract of Wally Bruckner (left), who has been with the NBC-owned station since 1990. As lead sports event reporter and weekend evening sports anchor, Bruckner has traveled extensively for the nationally syndicated "George Michael Sports Machine." He will leave WRC in late July, shortly before the start of Redskins pre-season. 
Bruckner will be replaced by Dan Hellie (right), the sports director at Orlando's WFTV-TV, who grew up in the DC area. According to NB, even though Hellie signed a long-term renewal with WFTV, the contract contained a "DC out" clause, allowing him to return to his hometown in the event of a job prospect. Hellie joined WFTV three years ago from WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach. WRC is one of the nation's great local sports stations and has a 20 person sports staff, led by the legendary George Michael.June 1, 2006
Oldies WWLG Becomes Gal Talk WVIE
Baltimore oldies outlet WWLG (1370 AM) becomes WVIE, V-1370 "The Voice," with its flip to "female-targeted" talk. The line-up includes Laura Schlessinger, Laura Ingraham, Tammy Bruce, and Joy Browne. "Sister" WWLG is owned by locally-based Mangione Family Enterprises, along with "brother" male-oriented talker WCBM (680 AM), Rush Limbaugh's new radio home.
May 31, 2006
Redskins owner Buys Richmond Sports Talker
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting has agreed to purchase Gee Communications' WXGI (950 AM) in Richmond. An official announcement will come 6/1, with Red Zebra beginning a local marketing agreement with sports talk WXGI, which features ESPN programming. Red Zebra recently purchased three stations in the DC area - WBZS (92.7 FM) in Prince Frederick, WBPS (94.3 FM) in Warrenton, and WKDL (730 AM) in Alexandria - from Mega Communications.
May 31, 2006
O&A To 106.7 Middays
Opie and Anthony will air on WJFK-FM in middays, in replacement of Peter Rosenberg's 10 AM to noon show. Starting 6/26, O&A will air from 10 AM to 1 PM. Bill O'Reilly gets moved to the 1 PM to 3 PM slot. Penn Jillette will be heard from 7 PM to 8 PM, and Jay Severin from 8 PM to 11 PM. Rosenberg moves back to weekends. According to Dan Caterinicchia in the Washington Times, Michael Hughes, general manager of WJFK-FM, said the CBS talk station had "work to do in middays" after it dropped from 13th to 18th overall, and "The Don And Mike Show" in afternoon drive dropped from 5th to 15th. O&A aired in afternoon drive on WJFK-FM until 2002, when they were yanked after doing a show which featured a Virginia couple having sex in an NYC church.
May 29, 2006
Former VOAer Jerry McKinney Dies In Rafting Mishap
Jerry McKinney, former managing editor at the DC-based Voice Of America, died in a rafting accident in New Mexico. McKinney ran the VOA newsroom until he returned to New Mexico in 2002. According to Associated Press, McKinney, 68, died on 5/26 when his raft flipped on the rapids section of the Animas River, throwing himself and a 3-year-old girl into the water. The girl was rescued by another raft.
May 29, 2006
HFStival: From "Spectable" To "Just A Concert"
Only 16,000 tickets were sold in advance for this weekend's HFStival at Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion, which was expanded to hold 27,000. According to the Washington Post, this year's two-day concert "marked a visible end to the glory days of the HFStival, when it was routine for organizers to sell out 60,000-seat venues. Last year, Washington's 99.1 FM, the major promotional platform for the festival, was converted to a Spanish language station, El Zol. The 2005 festival was at the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. In previous years, it has been at RFK Stadium and FedEx Field." Says one participant: "The other ones were a spectacle; they were crazy. This is just a concert." Now only a parttime alternative rocker, WHFS resides on Baltimore's 105.7 FM, which is difficult to hear in much of the DC metro. The Baltimore Sun says the event drew 40,000 in two days, down from 46,000 last year.May 26, 2006
PGC, TOP, HUR Top 'Trends
Another round of those monthly radio Arbitrends from Arbitron. For DC. Full day, age 12+: 1st WPGC-FM, 2nd WMMJ, 3rd WHUR, 4th WTOP-FM/AM, 5th WMAL, 6th WJZW, 7th WASH, 8th WIHT, 9th WKYS, 10th WMZQ, 11th WGMS, 12th WWDC, 13th WBIG, 14th WRQX, 15th WJFK-FM, 16th WLZL, 17th WTEM, 18th WARW, 19th WPGC-AM, 20th WTWP-FM/AM. In Baltimore, WERQ is 1st in the full day, age 12+ numbers, WPOC 2nd, WWIN-FM 3rd, WBAL-AM and WLIF 4th, WIYY 6th, WSMJ 7th, WQSR 8th, WWMX 9th, and WZBA 10th.
May 26, 2006
5's Gargiulo To NYC
Michael Gargiulo, who's co-anchored Channel 5/ WTTG's "Morning News" since 2000, is leaving the newscast at the end of next month to join NYC's NBC-owned WNBC as a reporter. The native New Yorker said he will miss the station but that he's "always thought about trying to get back to New York and this was an opportunity."
May 25, 2006
4 & 11 Top News Ratings
Channel 4's newscasts continue to dominate the DC market. Channel 4 won every head-to-head newscast among total viewers. The NBC station's biggest audience is at 11 PM, when its newscast averaged 194,000 viewers. That's 60,000 more than Channel 9 and nearly double Channel 7. Channel 5, boosted by hit "American Idol," featured the most-watched "late night" news. It's 10 PM newscast attracted 197,000 viewers. Channel 7's 5 PM newscast was tops among the age 25-to-54 demographic that local advertisers prize. Channel 9 continues to lag in early evenings. Its 5 PM newscast was fifth behind the other three newscasts and "Judge Mathis" on Channel 50. Channel 9's news was third at 6 PM, behind 4 and 7. Channel 11 is the king of the TV hill in Baltimore. In the May "sweeps," 11's newscasts were tops at 6 AM, 5 PM, 6 PM, and at 11 PM. Channel 13 was the news victor at noon.
May 24, 2006
Oldies WWLG To Go Talk
Baltimore oldies outlet WWLG (1370 AM) will go to a female-oriented talk format on 6/5. As WVIE. The station, which is locally co-owned with talker WCBM (680 AM), has been playing oldies since May 2005, when CBS's WQSR (102.7 FM) dropped older oldies for its newer oldies "Jack" format. Before that, WCBM played nostalgic adult standards.
May 17, 2006
Dick Ireland Recovering From Stroke
Dick Ireland (right), host of the morning show at Baltimore religious music and talk outlet WRBS (95.1 FM), is recovering from a stroke he suffered on 5/11. A source tells us: "I spoke to his wife, who said he's mobile - just can't talk right now." Ireland, who has been in the radio business since age 17, spent many years at the then easy listening WLIF (101.9 FM).May 14, 2006
Jane Day Dies
Jane Day, 82, a journalist who worked for the old National Observer newspaper and United Press wire service in Washington, died of cancer 4/17 at the Quarry Hill rehabilitation facility in Camden, Maine. Day, a prolific writer and editor, worked in Washington for a variety of publications, including the Southern Maryland Times and the Sentinel in Rockville. She was a member of the White House Correspondents Association from 1968 to 1970.
May 13, 2006
David Harfeld Dies
David Harfeld, 70, who, beginning in 1989, wrote and hosted a weekly radio show on Broadway musicals, "Curtain Up," on the then WNTR (1050 AM) in Silver Spring, died on 5/7 of cancer at Suburban Hospital. The Chevy Chase resident's show aired on public radio stations in Wisconsin, Alaska, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and elsewhere.
May 11, 2006
Clear Channel Cans Kash From DC101, XM's Kiss
Kevin Kash is out at DC101 after a decade at the rocker. We're also told that DC101 owner Clear Channel has canned Kash as the program director of its Kiss contemporary hits channel on DC-based XM Satellite Radio. He also ran CC's Mix adult contemporary, Nashville country, and Sunny easy listening XM channels. Look for Kash to soon return to the radio biz "talking on a much larger platform."
May 8, 2006
PFW's Damu Smith Dies
Damu Smith, the "Spirit In Action" co-host of Pacifica's WPFW (89.3 FM), died on 5/5 of complications from colon cancer. The noted peace activist was 54.
May 8, 2006
Lots Of News Changes For 13
A batch of news changes at Baltimore's Channel 13/WJZ. Mary Bubala will join Don Scott on the noon news show. Also, Bubala will report for 13's morning news. Tim Williams and Bernadette Woods will now handle weather in the noon newscast, replacing Marty Bass, who will continue to be featured in "team weather" and features segments. Kathryn Brown will move to nights, reporting for 13's 11 PM newscast. Adam May will anchor weekend nights, joining Bernadette Woods and Stan Saunders, who will continue to report during the week. Sharon Lee is leaving 13 to join her husband in Boston. Jessica Kartalija comes from Albuquerque to join 13 in July. She'll anchor weekend mornings with Tim Williams. Reporter Peggy Lee comes from Savannah to join 13 in June. Lee, who specializes in "cold case" crime news, used to work at Philadelphia's WCAU-TV.
May 5, 2006
Former 2er Keith Mills Gets House Arrest
Former Channel 2/WMAR sportscaster Keith Mills was sentenced to nine months of house arrest for stealing prescription medicines from his next-door neighbor in Linthicum, a woman who was suffering from cancer. According to the Baltimore Sun, Mills, 48, pleaded guilty before an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge to first-degree burglary. Mills received five years of supervised probation and was ordered to undergo random urine checks and to have no contact with his neighbor. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the state's attorney's office dropped five other charges against Mills. Mills was arrested at his home in January for stealing OxyContin and other painkillers from his neighbor, who was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer that had spread to her breast and kidney. After his arrest, Mills lost his job at WMAR, where he had worked for 18 years. Addressing the judge, Mills said: "I have been humbled by this experience - embarrassed, humiliated, but humbled more than anything." Immediately after his January arrest, Mills enrolled in a month-long drug treatment program in Antigua. And, he said he now attends five Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week.
May 5, 2006
Former Baltimore TV Personality Arrested For 1974 Maryland Rape
Ron Meroney, a Memphis television news anchor who was just arrested on charges of raping a young child on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1974, once worked in the Baltimore market, and was a weatherman on Channel 2/WMAR. Meroney, 69, was arrested at his Tennessee home on 5/3. He was indicted in December on a charge of statutory rape of a child under 14. The victim, now in her 30s, recently came forward to police. And the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center began an investigation. Under Maryland law there is no statute of limitations on felonies. Meroney, who is an anchor on "Good Morning Memphis" on the Memphis Fox affiliate, has vowed to fight extradition to Maryland.
May 4, 2006
VOA's Al James Dies
Al James, former host of the Voice Of America's "Daybreak Africa" program, died on 5/2. James began his career with the DC-based VOA as an engineer and later worked in the English-to-Africa service as a news reader. He then became writer and host of "Daybreak Africa," where he remained until his retirement several years ago.
May 3, 2006
CW To Baltimore's 54
The new CW network will land on Baltimore's Channel 54/ WNUV, the Sinclair-operated current Charm City WB affiliate. Replacing the WB and UPN nets, CW will debut this fall. Baltimore's current UPN outlet, Channel 24/WUTB, will join Rupert Murdoch's My Network TV this fall. WUTB is owned by Murdoch.
May 3, 2006
Louis Rukeyser Dies
Louis Rukeyser (right), the longtime host of Maryland Public Television's "Wall Street Week," a Friday evening PBS staple for three decades, died yesterday at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 73 and had multiple myeloma. Rukeyser moved his business news and commentary program to CNBC in 2002 after a dispute with MPT, which wanted to reformat the show and use younger hosts.May 1, 2006
Tracy Morgan Jumps From PGC-AM To WAVA
Tracy Morgan, who spent almost a decade as a personality on CBS's gospel WPGC-AM, joins religious WAVA (105.1 FM) as host of the Salem station's weekend gospel program. Morgan, who left Heaven 1580 in January, will air on WAVA from noon to 5 PM each Sunday. Morgan is a consultant with internet gospel radio station spiritco1.com.
April 28, 2006
HUR Soars, JFK Sinks
The winter Arbitron radio ratings. In the overall age 12+ DC numbers, adult urban WHUR soared to 1st, with all-news WTOP/WTWP in a tie with adult urban WMMJ for 2nd. Urban WPGC-FM was 4th, urban WKYS 5th, adult contemporary WASH 6th, classical WGMS 7th (despite its move to the weaker 104.1/103.9 frequencies), country WMZQ 8th, rhythmic contemporary WIHT 9th, smooth jazz WJZW 10th, and rocker WWDC 11th. Talker WMAL was 12th, tied with hot adult WRQX. Oldies WBIG was 14th, sports talk WTEM 15th, while Spanish WLZL dropped to a 16th place tie with classic rock WARW. Post-Stern talker WJFK-FM sank to 18th place, with religious talker WAVA at 19th. Gospel WPGC-AM and country WFRE tied for 20th. Urban WERQ takes the top spot in Baltimore's age 12+ numbers, with country WPOC 2nd, adult urban WWIN-FM 3rd, adult contemporary WLIF 4th, news talk WBAL-AM 5th, rock WIYY 6th, smooth jazz WSMJ 7th, adult hits WQSR 8th, classic rock WZBA 9th, hot adult WWMX 10th, gospel WCAO 11th, talk WCBM 12th, talk-alt rock WHFS 13th, and religious WRBS 14th.
April 28, 2006
DC Radio Veteran Tom Bells Dies
Longtime Arlington County Police Department spokesman Tom Bell died on 4/25 of complications from leukemia at Georgetown University Hospital. He was 57. Bell, who retired from his ACPD job in 1998 after two decades, had previously been an announcer and program director for several Washington area radio stations including WASH, WEAM, WEEL, and WXTR. He was in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970, was active with the Virginia National Guard, and served as commanding officer of the Leesburg National Guard. In 1997, Bell retired from the military at the rank of major.
April 27, 2006
Changes At WTEM
Some line-up changes at Clear Channel's SportsTalk 980, WTEM, come 5/1. Former Redskin Brian Mitchell will do the noon to 3 PM shift now that ESPN programming, including Dan Patrick, is going to Redskins owner Dan Snyder's still-veiled sports talk outlet. The show will be co-hosted by Braum Weinstien. "The Sports Reporters" with Andy Polin and Steve Czaban will air from 9 AM to noon, replacing "Monday Night Football"-bound Tony Kornheiser. John Thompson's show will now run from 3 PM to 7 PM. Previously announced: Czaban is replacing ESPN's "Mike And Mike" in mornings.
April 27, 2006
Kurt Kenschen Dies
Longtime Washington-based Mutual Radio newsman Kurt Henschen died Wednesday night after a long bout with ALS.
April 26, 2006
Lapidus Out At CC
Clear Channel has handed the pink slip to Mark Lapidus, who was marketing director for all of the radio giant's eight DC area stations. "He was told they need his salary to hire a PD for WBIG," a source says.
April 26, 2006
Unfair Labor Practice Claim Filed Over Washington Post Radio
WTOP's Neal Augenstein is reporting that the union representing Washington Post employees has filed an unfair labor practice claim with the National Labor Relations Board. The union says the newspaper pays some, but not all reporters who "appear" on Washington Post Radio. There is also a claim that the Post will not disclose how the decision is made on who gets paid and who doesn't. Tina Gulland, of the Washington Post, says participation is voluntary, and those who provide radio content outside of their usual newspaper responsibilities are paid. Washington Post Radio, talker WTWP, is owned by Bonneville, which also owns all-news WTOP. Also: some Washington Post reporters are refusing to go on WTWP until the union dispute is resolved.
April 26, 2006
Lark To Vegas
It looks like Channel 5/WTTG morning news anchor Lark McCarthy will be moving to Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that McCarthy, who was a White House correspondent for ABC News before joining Fox 5 in 1990, is heading to an anchor gig at KLAS-TV in the gambling mecca. Apparently, she's following her husband on a job change.
April 25, 2006
Tony Snow To Get WH Gig
DC-based Fox Newser Tony Snow will become the White House press secretary, with the official announcement coming Wednesday morning. Snow's Fox News Radio show wasn't a big hit when it recently aired on Gaithersburg talker WMET (1160 AM). According to the Washington Times, Dennis Israel, WMET's general manager, said he had received only one phone call and two e-mails about the disappearance of Snow's largely pro-Bush show after the station switched to paid programming in March.
April 25, 2006
Sex Charges Swirl Around Povich
From the Washington Post: A producer for DC TV veteran Maury Povich's "Maury" syndicated tabloid talk show filed a multimillion-dollar sexual harassment lawsuit against him and members of his staff, claiming she was subjected to sexual remarks and made to watch pornographic movies and expose her body. According to AP, a 28-year-old NJ woman says in court papers that she had a heavy workload because she had to do jobs that should have been performed by another female staffer, who was having an "intimate and sexual relationship" with Povich, according to the AP report. DC native Povich (right), who got his start at Channel 5/ WTTG, is married to former TV news anchor Connie Chung, another former WTTGer, who co-hosts "Weekends With Maury And Connie" on MSNBC.
April 24, 2006
Marcus Johnson Out As JZW's Morning Man
Morning man Marcus Johnson (left) is leaving Smooth Jazz 105.9, WJZW. The renowned jazz pianist and head of Three Keys Music has rejected an offer from station owner ABC to, instead, do 60-second arts segments. Johnson says station assertions that he didn't want to continue doing mornings due to his rigorous performance schedule are simply not true. If he received "the right offer," he would have continued. Johnson was named 105.9's morning show host in March 2005, teamed with Jacqui Allen. Meanwhile, Fernando Carlos and Charlie Maxx are the new morning team, according to smoothjazz1059.com.April 24, 2006
New Calls For 50
Channel 50 is dropping the WBDC calls for WDCW. Come 5/1. The Tribune-owned station becomes a new CW network affiliate this fall, when the WB network ceases to exist. DC's Channel 50 has also sported the WCQR and WFTY calls.
April 21, 2006
Rush To WCBM
Rush Limbaugh's Baltimore move to talker WCBM (680 AM) is practically "a done deal. There were money issues," a source tells us. But, after a few behind-the-scenes personnel cuts, the dough was found to pay what the rotund Florida-based righty was demanding. We're also hearing that the most likely CBM on-air cut will be DC-based former Watergater G. Gordon Liddy. Limbaugh got fired from talker WBAL (1090 AM), which plans to extend the shifts of Chip Franklin and Ron Smith to fill its midday "Rush gap" come June.
April 20, 2006
O&A To Return To CBS Radio, Junks To Stay At JFK
Opie and Anthony will be returning to terrestrial radio to replace Howard Stern replacement David Lee Roth. O&A's "uncensored" show will continue on DC's XM Satellite Radio. While there are reports that O&A will replace Roth on CBS Radio's FM talk stations in northeastern cities, including NYC, the duo could also air in DC via CBS's WJFK-FM. O&A aired during afternoons on 106.7 until they got yanked from the broadcast airwaves in 2002 after an infamous "sex in a church" contest scandal involving a DC area couple. However, Junkies were assurred on-air by WJFK-FM head Michael Hughes that they'll remain 106.7's morning show. In the future, O&A could air tape-delayed in another WJFK-FM time slot.
April 20, 2006
WHSV Veteran Engineer Dies
Ira Titus "Buddy" Lowe Jr., 85, died on 4/7 at Rockingham Memorial Hospital in the Shenandoah Valley town of Harrisonburg VA. Lowe was chief engineer at Harrisonburg's Channel 3/WHSV (previously WSVA-TV) for 36 years. He was a resident of Harrisonburg.
April 19, 2006
11 Photog Mark DeLeon Dies
Mark DeLeon, a Channel 11/WBAL news photographer and editor, died of cardiac arrest during surgery at a Baltimore area hospital. DeLeon had been with WBAL-TV since 1985, and before that with Channel 2/WMAR in the same capacity. "Mark has 'broken in' many a new reporter and photographer including myself when I came to Baltimore in 1987," a co-worker tells DCRTV. He was "always a friendly person willing to lend you a tape or cable or offering advice to fellow photogs in the field."
April 18, 2006
Stan "The Fan" Returns To Radio, Launches Sports Rag
Longtime Baltimore sports radio personality Stan "The Fan" Charles has come back to the Charm City airwaves and he's launching PressBox, a weekly sports-oriented newspaper. "PressBox Live" airs from 7 AM to 9 AM Saturdays on WJFK-AM (1300). The print version will feature local sports columnists Jim Henneman, Phil Jackman, Craig Heist, and Damon "The Bulldog" Yaffe. Charles had penned the Baltimore City Paper's "A Fan's Notes" column and did programs for Maryland Public Television and the old Home Team Sports. He hosted an evening sports talk show on WJFK-AM until 2002.
April 14, 2006
NY Times To End TV Venture With Discovery
The New York Times plans to sell its stake in Discovery Times Channel, a news and documentary network launched four years ago with Silver Spring-based Discovery Communications after investing $104 million in the venture. In the original deal arranged in 2002, the Times had the option to sell its stake in the channel (Comcast 111, Cox 150) back to Discovery after the venture's four-year anniversary. Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said he was "pleased" with the Discovery venture. "But over time our strategy has shifted," he said in a statement. "We believe that shorter form pieces, such as the video we are currently producing on NYTimes.com, serve us well. With broadband penetration increasing, video has proven popular with both users and advertisers. Increasingly, that is where we will focus our efforts."
April 12, 2006
John Aronoff Dies
John Aronoff, 41, a sports statistician and a graphics and information specialist for several television networks, died on 4/5 from a self-inflicted gunshot at his home in Portland, Oregon. A DC area native, Aronoff once worked for Channel 20/WDCA, where he kept statistics for Baltimore Orioles games. Aronoff also worked for ESPN, CBS, NBC, Turner Sports, and the Golf Channel. He teamed with well-known sportscasters, including James Brown, Mike Tirico, and Mike Patrick.
April 12, 2006
CC Gives Hess Control Of DC AMers
Clear Channel officially names Bill Hess as operations manager of its DC area AM stations - sports talk WTEM (980), plus talkers WTNT (570) and WWRC (1260). He'll continue as program director of adult contemporary WASH (97.1 FM). Hess recently gave up the programming reins for WBIG (100.3 FM), which flipped from oldies to classic rock hits.
April 11, 2006
Margaret Leppo Dies
Margaret Leppo, longtime executive secretary for Baltimore's WWIN (1400 AM), died of cancer on 4/2 at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Lutherville resident was 83. Baltimore radio veteran Jack Edwards tells DCRTV: "Mags was there when Jack Dawson hired me in 1956. Vince Bagli, Nelson Baker, and Jim Stanley were also onboard at that time." Leppo retired in 1980.
April 11, 2006
MAL, RQX Veteran Linda McQueeny Dies
Linda McQueeny, a veteran of ABC's WMAL and WRQX (previously WMAL-FM), died on 4/10 at Anne Arundel Hospital. She'd lived on the Eastern Shore. No word on the cause of death, but McQueeny had suffered from heart-related problems. For many years, McQueeny was secretary to WMAL CEO Andy Ockershausen. According to her good friend and former WMALer Tom Gauger: "Linda was in reality Andy's executive officer and could put out fires, answer complaints, set up and run client schmoozes and, in general, keep both WMAL and WRQX up and running. She was the most amazing person I ever met at WMAL in the 18 years of my presence there." McQueeny and Gauger are pictured at right.April 10, 2006
Haber In Hot Water Over OLN Remarks
Channel 9/WUSA sports anchor Brett Haber was reportedly dismissed from a side job he had at Comcast-owned OLN, Outdoor Life Network, for allegedly making tasteless remarks during coverage of a rodeo in Portland, Oregon in February. According to rodeo news website Rodeo Attitude: "During a commercial break in the telecast..., the audio feed was on as rider Brian Herman struggled to get settled atop a bull as it thrashed in the chute. Before Herman was granted a re-ride, and in a comment heard on the in-arena TV monitors, Haber said, 'Nod your head you f****** hillbilly. You're not going to ride anyway.' Later that night, with the audio feed off, Haber made yet another comment that angered at least one rider. When Willy Ropp went down in a wreck during his ride in the championship round, and it was clear the injuries suffered would result in a delay, Haber complained that he was going to miss his flight (back to DC), according to two OLN sources."
April 10, 2006
Kingston To XM's Ethel
Steve Kingston will program XM's alternative rock Ethel channel (XM-47). Kingston, who once programmed NYC's alternative rock WXRK and contemporary Z100, owns adult alternative WRNR and country WINX in Annapolis. He'll be based at XM's NYC offices.
April 9, 2006
Ken Barnett Dies
Ken Barnett has died at age 43. A DC area native and radio engineering expert, he helped alternative rock WHFS build its 99.1 signal. Much of Barnett's time was spent on the Eastern Shore, where he worked at WWTR, WSBY, WKHZ, WKHI, WOCQ, and talker WQMR, which he helped start.
April 8, 2006
Anita Marks To 1300
Anita Marks is leaving a sports talker in Miami in late April to become an afternoon drive host in Baltimore. And DCRTV hears that she's headed to sports talk WJFK-AM (1300).
April 7, 2006
Snyder Snatches ESPN Programming From WTEM
Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and his Red Zebra Broadcasting have acquired the rights to ESPN Radio's programs and will begin broadcasting them when Snyder's stations switch from a Spanish-language format to sports talk in the next few months. The programs, which currently air on CC's SportsTalk 980 WTEM, include "Mike And Mike" in the morning and "The Dan Patrick Show" in the afternoon. The loss of the ESPN shows weakens WTEM, which is losing its late morning host, superstar Washington Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser, who will become an analyst on ESPN's "Monday Night Football." The three Red Zebra stations - WBPS (94.3 FM) in Warrenton VA, WBZS (92.7 FM) in Prince Frederick MD, and WKDL (730 AM) in Alexandria VA - have signals too weak to cover the entire DC area, especially at night. But Snyder could expand the stations' reach by buying other stations, or by forming an alliance with a stronger station, possibly CC's WTEM or one of its sister FMers. With the loss of ESPN Radio programming (see newsblurb below), sports talk WTEM will be airing Steve Czaban in morning drive. Czaban already does a national morning show, "The First Team On Fox," for Fox Sports Radio, which will now air on WTEM come July. Replacing ESPN's "Mike And Mike." Czaban will continue to do "The Sports Reporters" with Andy Pollin at 5 PM on WTEM.
April 6, 2006
9 "Promotes" JC, She'll Leave 5 PM Newscast
Channel 9/WUSA will yank three decade DC TV news veteran JC Hayward off the 5 PM news anchor desk. There have been rumors floating around that Hayward will be leaving 9 when her current contract is up. However, WUSA station manager Darryll Green announced Wednesday that Hayward has been "promoted" to the newly-created post of vice president for "media outreach programs." Green said: "This is an extension of JC's long term commitment to our community and an opportunity for us to increase both her and the station's visibility as active participants in the life of this community." Hayward will continue to anchor 9's noon newscast, but because of her new responsibilities "she has decided that now is the time to leave the 5 PM anchor chair," according to a statement from the Gannett station. Hayward will continue her weekly "JC And Friends" feature during 9's noon and 5 PM newscasts. Beginning 4/24, Tracey Neale and Derek McGinty will co-anchor the 5 PM hour. The 6 PM and 11 PM newscasts remain co-anchored by Neale and Todd McDermott. McGinty will continue with the 7 PM newscast. In the latest "sweeps" period in February, WUSA's 5 PM newscast was in fifth place, feeding speculation that Hayward's "promotion" is due to poor ratings.
April 5, 2006
Couric Makes In Official: She's Jumping To CBS
After months and months of rumors, she made it official on Wednesday morning. Arlington-native Katie Couric confirmed on the air that she's leaving NBC's "Today" show at the end of May. She'll be jumping to CBS where she'll anchor the evening news and produce stories for "60 Minutes." Meredith Vieira, co-host of ABC's "The View," is expected be Couric's "Today" replacement.
April 5, 2006
Examiner Launches Charm City Edition
From the Baltimore Sun: A decade after the demise of the Evening Sun, the city's last afternoon publication, Baltimore will again be a two-newspaper town with today's launch of the Baltimore Examiner, a free tabloid aimed primarily at the region's most affluent residents. The new paper will be published Monday through Saturday. It is the third in a chain of newspapers that Denver-based Clarity Media - owned by conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz - hopes to expand into as many as 60 cities. Clarity publishes the DC Examiner.
April 3, 2006
WBIG "Evolves" From Oldies To Classic Hits
achman Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" kicked off the latest "evolution" of Clear Channel's WBIG, which flipped from oldies to "classic hits" from the late 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s - "The Greatest Rock 'N Roll Of All Time." The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Chicago, Elton John, the Beatles, Boston, and Led Zepplin. The calls and the Big 100.3 name will stay. The new format will "encompass many of the current songs WBIG plays, with a different presentation," a CC suit says. The new WBIG will be jockless, as CC starts a search for on-air personalities as well as a new program director. The morning team of "Murphy And Cash" is gone, along with middayer Stephanie Wells and afternoon host Tom Kelly. "Cousin Vinnie" Bruce will stay as WBIG's music director and is the only member of the airstaff to remain. Former WBIG PD Bill Hess will continue programming sister WASH, which has an adult contemporary format. The word is that Hess will also help program some of CC's DC AMers - sports talk WTEM and talkers WTNT and WWRC.
April 3, 2006
Sun & BAL Jump Into Bed Together
The Baltimore Sun and news talk WBAL radio have agreed to share news resources under a new "working relationship." Veteran Sun columnist Dan Rodricks will regularly share host duties with WBAL's Chip Franklin, beginning in June. The Sun's business desk will provide material for a daily early-morning news show. WBAL will share audio feeds with the Sun's website. And, the paper's reporters can begin appearing on the station's broadcasts. Plus, the two organizations also hope to co-sponsor political debates during the fall campaign season.
April 3, 2006
Morris Jones To Head Sinclair's DC Bureau
Sinclair is making some changes with the effective demise of its Hunt Valley-based News Central operation as of 3/31. Former primary anchor Morris Jones becomes Sinclair's DC bureau reporter - the same job once held by Jon Leiberman, before he was fired and sued. Former News Central co-anchor Jennifer Gladstone now anchors mornings at Channel 45/WBFF. Vytas Reid, former chief meteorologist for Sinclair's Weather Central, continues his WBFF duties. Lisa Teachman will do weekend weather at WBFF. Tony Pagnotti will do AM cut-ins for selected Sinclair stations. Kristin Emery, Susan Schrack, and James Wieland received layoff notices.
March 30, 2006
Post Radio Hits The Dial
At 5:30 this morning, former WTOP morning man Mike Moss launched the long-form news talk output of WTWP, Washington Post Radio. With a Post-produced website and internet streaming at washingtonpostradio.com. WTWP is a joint venture with Bonneville, which owns all-news WTOP, and can be heard on 107.7 FM and 1500 AM. WTOP's flow of non-stop news continues on 103.5 FM in the DC area, on 820 AM in Frederick, and via wtopnews.com.
March 29, 2006
Classic 7 Show Host Dies
Claire Kleess Lyons of the "Claire And CoCo" (right) 1960s childrens' show died 3/28 at a hospital near her home in Florida from a blood clot in the heart. "Claire And CoCo," an award-winning human-and-poodle program on Channel 7, then WMAL-TV, was televised from the old "Van Ness Ice Palace" studios from 1965 to 1969. After the show ended, Claire hosted "Now Women" and later "Claire," an adult-oriented interview show on Channel 7. Also, we hear that Charlie Gibson of ABC's "Good Morning America" was Claire's floor manager at WMAL-TV. There's more at kidshow.dcmemories.com.March 29, 2006
Junks Slump On Post-Stern JFK
The latest monthly Arbitrends, morning drive, overall age 12+ for DC, show the post-Howard Stern Junkies sinking to 14th place via WJFK-FM. With Stern, JFK usually ranked 6th or 7th in mornings. However, a local radio guru tells us it all ain't that bad. "The Junkies actually recovered a lot of ground month to month. P 12+ they went 1.6 to 2.2. P 25-54 went 2.5 to 3.7. Stern's last two books in that demo were 3.4 and 4.6, so they are actually not far off of his pace." Adds our source: "The rest of the WJFK line-up is a disaster. Midday was even lower than January, Don and Mike are way down for the second month in a row, and Severin is barely showing up." Once again, in mornings, WTOP took 1st, with WMMJ 2nd, WPGC-FM 3rd, and DC101's Elliot got boosted to 4th, obviously getting some ex-Sternies. WHUR placed 5th, WASH 6th, WMAL 7th, WMZQ 8th, WRQX 9th, WIHT 10th, WGMS 11th, WBIG 12th, and WJZW 13th. Arbitron badly mangled the data for WTOP and WTWP, both of which carried the all-news output of WTOP during the ratings period.
March 29, 2006
WETA-FM Signs Rebecca Roberts For Daily Talk Show
Rebecca Roberts, 35, the Bethesda-born daughter of DC journalists Cokie and Steve Roberts, will be hosting a daily talk show for public radio news talker WETA-FM. It'll be called "The Intersection," will focus on "local issues," and will debut this summer. Roberts has been hosting a public radio show in San Francisco.
March 29, 2006
Lee Hall Valeriani Dies
Lee Hall Valeriani, 80, who was a foreign correspondent for NBC television in the 1950s and early 1960s and then worked for 28 years at Voice Of America, died of cancer 3/23 at her home in Washington.
March 27, 2006
Former PGCer EZ Street Joins KYS
EZ Street (right) will be returning to DC's airwaves. DCRTV hears that he'll be heard on Radio One's urban WKYS (93.9 FM) starting next Monday (4/3) in afternoon drive. EZ was the afternoon jock at CBS's urban WPGC-FM (95.5) until March 2005, when he left for a radio gig at urban adult KBLX in San Francisco. In February, Osei, "The Dark Secret," left WKYS and its afternoon drive slot.March 26, 2006
5 Tech Vet Robert Lynch Dies
Robert Lynch, 75, former technical director for Channel 5/WTTG, died of cancer 3/16 at Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham. He lived in Riverdale Park. During his career, Lynch was a cameraman on "The Jimmy Dean Show" in DC and filmed President John Kennedy's last news conference in November 1963. Eventually, Lynch headed Fox 5's technical department. He retired in 2001.
March 23, 2006
Robert Free Dies
Robert Free, a former Baltimore broadcaster, died of liver and lung cancer on 3/17 at a hospital in Winter Haven, Florida. He was 54. During the 1980s, Free worked as a producer and board operator at the old WFBR handling Orioles broadcasts. He was a disc jockey at WFBR and later at WPOC. He was working as an announcer at WCBM when he moved to Hollywood, Florida in 1989.
March 22, 2006
WTWP Hires Jerry Phillips
Bonneville has hired Jerry Phillips (right) to produce a weekly public affairs show on the new Washington Post Radio station, WTWP. The show, which debuts on 4/2, will air at 6 AM Sundays on 107.7 FM and 1500 AM. Clear Channel axed Phillips in December when it shut the public affairs department for its eight DC radio stations. Phillips served as WHUR's morning host in the 1970s and 1980s, and had been with Clear Channel for 13 years.March 20, 2006
DC Post Veteran Bill Brady Dies
Bill Brady, 85, a retired night metropolitan editor for the Washington Post who helped shape coverage by handling late-breaking news and by breaking in young reporters, and who was once dubbed "the most unflappable person in the Post newsroom," died 3/19 at the University Of Virginia hospital in Charlottesville. He had a respiratory ailment.
March 17, 2006
Controversial DC Tower To Be Removed
DC Mayor Anthony Williams has announced that the District and American Towers have reached an agreement to tear down a partially completed controversial communications tower on 41st Street and Wisconsin Avenue in upper northwest. "I am pleased that this protracted dispute has been settled - I know that many Tenleytown residents have been waiting for years for a resolution to this case," said Williams. "I look forward to the dismantling of the tower, and I have instructed my staff to facilitate the permitting process so that this can proceed quickly." For five years, neighborhood residents have contended that the proper zoning permits had not been acquired for its construction. Causing a protracted legal battle.
March 16, 2006
WMET To Go Ethnic, Keep Grease
IDT-owned talker WMET (1160 AM) will keep Doug "Greaseman" Tracht for mornings, but dump everything else. Starting 3/24, it'll be brokered ethnic programming. The Gaithersburg-licensed DC-studioed station, which has a great daytime signal but becomes a pip-squeaker after dark, has featured several Fox Newsers, including Tony Snow and John Gibson. Plus DC-based Watergater G. Gordon Liddy.
March 15, 2006
Hollis Out At 97.1
Clear Channel has said goodbye to WASH "After Hours" host Glenn Hollis. His 9 PM to 2 AM show was syndicated to other adult contemporary stations. Hollis will be replaced on 97.1 by the syndicated Delilah.
March 14, 2006
Howard, Litzinger, Burd, Brown Land WTWP Host Gigs
We hear more details about the lineup on WTWP, Washington Post Radio, which debuts later this month. We already know that WTOP morning man Mike Moss will handle morning drive and NBC News veteran Bob Kur will do afternoon drive on the long-form news talker, which will be owned by all-news WTOP-owner Bonneville. Now, DCRTV learns that Hillary Howard will do the 10 AM to noon shift. Howard, married to Channel 9 reporter Dave Statter, used to work at Channels 5 and 9 and has been reporting for WTOP of late. Three decade radio vet and former WAMUer Sam Litzinger will anchor the noon to 3 PM slot. David Burd, who jumped from WMAL to WTOP last year, will anchor Saturday and Sunday mornings. Burd, who was once was half of the "Baker And Burd" show on WPGC, will continue his contributions to WTOP's weekday afternoon drive show. And, Washington Post automobile columnist Warren Brown will air from 11 AM to 1 PM on Saturdays. Brown used to do a show for WMAL. And, Nationals play-by-play will also be heard on WTWP, which takes over the 107.7 FM and 1500 AM frequencies on 3/30.
March 13, 2006
WBAL Radio "Cancels" Limbaugh
Baltimore news talker WBAL (1090 AM) is losing Rush Limbaugh at the end of May. To be more precise, it's not just losing him, it's canning him. "Our cancelling Rush was all about WBAL being local, local, local," says a top BALer. Starting 6/1, Hearst's WBAL will extend Chip Franklin's current late morning show from 9:30 AM to 2 PM, and start afternoon driver Ron Smith at 2 PM instead of at 3 PM. "Our research shows that Marylanders desire even more information and discussion about the events and issues impacting them, and the communities where they live," says a statement at wbal.com.
March 13, 2006
Sinclair To Close News Central
Baltimore-based Sinclair Broadcast Group will effectively shutter its Hunt Valley-based News Central. News Blues reports that the national news operation, which feeds dozens of Sinclair-owned and operated TV stations, will close at the end of March. The employment status of news anchors like former Fox 5er Morris Jones, Jennifer Gladstone, and Alison Kosik, and weather forecasters Kristin Emery, Scott Padgett, Tony Pagnotti, Vytas Reid, Susan Schrack, Lisa Teachman, and James Wieland remains unclear. Sinclair launched its $50 million News Central in 2002. Says NB: "Designed to cut costs by eliminating or greatly reducing the size of existing news departments at Sinclair stations, News Central became the focus of much criticism because it shifted control of news content away from the individual stations and into the hands of Baltimore news managers." However, News Central newscasts produced low ratings and have been dropped by many Sinclair stations. NB adds that Sinclair is "scrambling" to maintain local news broadcasts on its major network-affiliated stations like Baltimore's Fox 45, WBFF, which produces a morning and a 10 PM newscast.
March 12, 2006
Howard U's "Mr. Bill" Dies
William "Mr. Bill" Christian, 64, former news director at Howard University's WHUR-FM and WHUT-TV (once WHMM) and an adjunct communications professor, died on 2/12 of complications of diabetes at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in DC. Christian worked at WHUR from the 1970s through the early 1980s, and then freelanced at several other DC area radio and TV stations.
March 11, 2006
Source: 2 Fires Keith Mills
A reliable Baltimore media source tells DCRTV that Channel 2/WMAR has "very quietly" fired sports anchor Keith Mills. The decision to terminate Mills was made two weeks ago, we're told. Mills was arrested in January and charged with the theft of prescription painkillers from his next-door neighbor - a cancer patient - in Linthicum. Mills faces two felony counts of first-degree burglary and two misdemeanor counts of theft. The charges carry a maximum combined sentence of 43 years. In November 2004, Mills was charged with "obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud" after allegedly phoning in a prescription under a false name. He did a 28-day stay in a drug and alcohol treatment facility in December 2004. Since that first incident, Mills has openly discussed fighting his addiction to prescription painkillers.
March 10, 2006
DC TV Photog Nabbed For Exposure
According to the Washington Post, a freelance TV news photographer who supplied footage to all four DC TV news operations - Channel 4, 5, 7, and 9 - was arrested Wednesday on charges that he exposed himself to a group of 12 and 13-year-old girls in Wheaton in February. Steven Eisen, 58, of Silver Spring was charged with burglary, stalking, and two counts of indecent exposure. He was released on $3,500 bond.
March 10, 2006
Post Cuts Editorial Staff
The Washington Post is slashing 80 newsroom jobs. Most of the cuts will be via attrition and buyouts. Affected employees are being notified this week. The Post, which has about 800 reporters and editors, has seen its circulation drop for the past few years.
March 9, 2006
Fox 5 Reporter Arrested In Domestic Dispute
The Baltimore Sun reports that Darryn Moore (left), a investigative reporter for DC's Channel 5/WTTG who used to work at Baltimore's Channel 2/WMAR, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with domestic aggravated assault, accused of throwing a kettle of hot water at his wife during an argument in their West Baltimore home. Moore, 41, was released on his own recognizance shortly after he appeared before a court commissioner. Moore, who joined Fox 5 in January, had formerly been a police officer in Atlanta. In 1999, he gave up the gun and badge to pursue a career in television news. He joined WMAR in 2003.March 9, 2006
Musical WHFS Lives On WHFS 2
CBS Radio has launched a website for WHFS2 at whfs2.com. The ad-free alternative rock stream is available via digital HD Radio on Baltimore's new WHFS, 105.7 FM. An internet stream is "coming soon." Ever since the old DC-based alt rock WHFS at 99.1 FM got yanked for Spanish WLZL in early 2005, 105.7 FM's main analog signal features talk by day and alt rock at night and on the weekends. The 105.7 signal is difficult to receive in the DC area.
March 8, 2006
Fairfax's Cox Adds MASN
If you live in Fairfax County (not Reston) and are a Washington Nationals fan you're in luck. Cox, the largest stand-alone cable TV system in the DC area, is adding the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. Cox has 242,000 subscribers in Fairfax County, Fairfax City, Falls Church, and the towns of Herndon, Clifton, and Vienna. Cox will carry MASN on expanded basic channel 102. Comcast, which has 1.3 million subscribers in the DC area, still has no plans to carry MASN, which will have 154 Nats games in 2006. Ditto with Adelphia. Comcast is suing MASN, which was founded by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, over the rights to carry the Orioles on Comcast SportsNet. A Montgomery County Court judge has twice dismissed Comcast's lawsuit. Cox will also add MASN to its Fredericksburg system. MASN is also carried by Verizon, RCN, Charter, and DirecTV.
March 6, 2006
Celeste Clark Dies
Mix 107.3, WRQX, personality Celeste Clark died on Sunday morning at her home in Leesburg after battling cancer. Clark, 50, who grew up in Arlington, had been with the ABC-owned now hot adult contemporary station since the mid-1980s. Once known as overnighter "Candy Clark" in the station's contemporary music Q107 days, she became a traffic reporter, and eventually segued into on-air personality work during middays.March 6, 2006
New Nats TV Team
Bob Carpenter will handle play-by-play for the Nationals and Tom Paciorek will do color analysis for MASN. They will be in the Nationals' TV booth for 158 games in 2006, including four preseason contests. Carpenter's called the St. Louis Cardinals for a decade, and has handled baseball, college basketball, and college football for ESPN. Paciorek arrives from the Atlanta Braves where he spent five seasons, after a year with the Detroit Tigers and 13 seasons covering the Chicago White Sox.
March 3, 2006
"Sweeps" Show Local Viewers Vanishing
The all-important February TV ratings "sweeps" are done. And, Channel 4/WRC continued its lead in the DC TV news battle, as the reported number of local TV viewers plunged. The overall drop is blamed on ratings firm Nielsen's use of the new electronic Local People Meter system, instead of relying on a paper diary method. Some of the steepest declines were in the early-morning period. According to the Washington Post, Channel 7/WJLA had the biggest morning decline. Bill Lord, WJLA's vice president of news, told the Post: "A lot of our audience evaporated with the change in measuring systems. I can't sit here and cry about it because I'm going to be living with this system." Also: The Baltimore Sun tells us that Channel 11/WBAL benefited from NBC's Olympics coverage and was the victor in many Baltimore news rating races.
March 3, 2006
Tower Shutters Annapolis Store
California-based Tower Records, which filed for bankruptcy protection a few years ago and has been struggling with falling CD sales (with the rise of digital downloading), is closing its Annapolis location on 3/12. Its only presence in the Baltimore market. "After 15 years of serving the local community, we've lost our lease and are closing out doors for good," says the copy of an ad running in area rags. Tower's five other area outlets - DC, Rockville, Tysons Corner, Alexandria, and Fairfax - remain open.
March 2, 2006
Stephen Johnson Joins Red Zebra
Redskins owner Daniel Snyder's Red Zebra Broadcasting adds Stephen Johnson as VP of sales. Johnson, a two-decade veteran of sports marketing sales and management, most recently worked for CBS Radio. Red Zebra recently bought WBZS (92.7 FM), WBPS (94.3 FM), and WKDL (730 AM) in the DC area.
March 2, 2006
Post Circ Drops Again
Circulation and earnings continue to slump at the Washington Post. The number of subscribers to the daily edition declined 4.3 percent in the latest quarter, with Sunday circulation dropping 4.1 percent. The Post's circulation has seen a steady decline the past two years or so largely due, some say, to the news output being available free on the paper's website. And, soon, the Post will be giving away its news product on the radio, too, in a deal with Bonneville to create Washington Post Radio. While the Post's Kaplan education division continues to do well, the newspaper's cable TV arm suffered big losses because of damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina to systems in the Gulf Coast region.
March 1, 2006
JFK-FM Suffers From Stern's Departure
In morning drive, WJFK-FM netted a 4.4 share among the age 25-to-54 "money" demo for 8th place in the rolling November-to-January Arbitrend average. That was down only a little bit from Howard Stern's 4.6 share in the fall. But, when you break down the numbers to reflect only the post-Stern radio universe after 1/1, sources tell DCRTV that WJFK-FM's full-day audience is below a 2.0 share. We're told that Stern had a 5.5 in November, a 5.4 in December, and that the Junkies had a 2.3 morning drive share in January. In Baltimore, via WHFS, the news for the Junkies was even worse. In the age 25-to-54 demo, Stern's two last months produced a 5.9 and a 7.6. The Junkies had only a 1.8 morning drive share in January. WPGC-FM topped the overall age 12-plus demo in the latest Arbitrend radio ratings for Washington, and WERQ topped the same demo in Baltimore. Also, DCRTV hears that ratings firm Arbitron has told Bonneville it will perform a full audit of the "Washington Winter Phase 1 Arbitrends" because of problems recording and reporting the ratings of the WTOP-WTWP-WGMS frequency flipperooni of early January.
February 27, 2006
Rohland & Dukes Out At 1300
Some changes are coming to Baltimore sports talker WJFK-AM's evening drive line-up. The "Out Of Bounds" team of Bill Rohland and Chad Dukes is heading to the showers.
February 27, 2006
Sun Reporter Attacked After Car Accident
Carl Schoettler, 72, a veteran Baltimore Sun reporter was attacked Saturday near Baltimore City Hall during an apparent robbery attempt and remains in serious condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Schoettler had been driving west on Fayette Street at 8 PM when his car and another vehicle collided. After the two drivers exchanged information, Schoettler was attacked by a young male who was standing at a bus stop. Witnesses saw the attacker strike Schoettler and kick him several times in the head. The attacker fled without getting money or personal property.
February 25, 2006
Bob Kur To WTWP Afternoons
Bonneville-operated Washington Post Radio talker WTWP hires Bob Kur as its afternoon drive host. Kur used to be a reporter for NBC News and, most recently, anchored on NBC's MSNBC cable network. Kur joined NBC in 1973 as a general assignment reporter for Channel 4/ WRC. WTWP launches on 3/30 via 107.7 FM and 1500 AM.
February 24, 2006
Steve Harvey To WHUR
Howard University's adult urban WHUR is replacing its "Real DC" morning show with Steve Harvey, who is syndicated from NYC. TC, part of WHUR's now former local team with Tony Richards and George Willborn, writes via sistacircle.com: "It saddens us to inform you that we will no longer be on the air at WHUR. Management has decided to replace us with the syndicated 'Steve Harvey Morning Show' scheduled to start in March. If any audience deserves to have a goodbye, you are that audience. However radio does not allow that. We have always said that you are the best listeners in the world and we will always believe that. Thank you again for the time we shared together. The laughs and memories will stay in our hearts forever."
February 24, 2006
This Time WGAY Is Really Gay
For the first time in five years, the WGAY call letters will again be on the DC radio dial. Well, the internet radio dial. For decades, WGAY graced the 99.5 FM frequency (and several AM outlets) with many years of "beautiful music," which eventually became adult contemporary. Now, you can listen to "gay-oriented programming" at DC area-based wgay.fm live every Friday evening, plus "archived programming" from WGTB, once Georgetown University's progressive rock outlet. The new encarnation of WGAY is headed by Dave Kolesar, 28, who says he's wanted to run his own radio station for "more than half my life."
February 23, 2006
New PD For KYS
Radio One urban WKYS (93.9 FM) hires Derrick Brown as program director. Brown comes from an Infinity urban oldies outlet in Denver. He's also worked at an adult urban station in Miami. He replaces Daryl Huckaby, who now handles programming duties for Russ Parr's WKYS morning show, which Radio One syndicates nationwide.
February 23, 2006
WTEM Does "Lifetime" Deal With Thompson
Clear Channel has signed John Thompson to a "lifetime contract" with SportsTalk 980, WTEM. Thompson, the former head coach of Georgetown University, hosts a two-hour show on WTEM at 3 PM daily. "As a veteran broadcaster, John's experience coupled with his candor and humor have made him one of the area's biggest sports radio personalities," says Alene Grevey, senior VP for Clear Channel Radio's Mid-South region.
February 22, 2006
Fox Launches New Neto For 20 & 24
We now get a clearer picture about what DC's Channel 20/WDCA and Baltimore's Channel 24/WUTB will be showing after the UPN network goes belly-up this summer. WDCA/WUTB owner Fox will launch My Network TV. Starting in September, the new net will feature "original content" programming from 8 PM to 10 PM Monday through Saturday. Still no firm word about what specific shows will be carried. The DC and Baltimore stations will be joined by Fox-owned former UPN affiliates in NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Orlando. UPN and the WB network are being merged to form CW, which will air in DC on Channel 50/WBDC and on Baltimore's Channel 54/WNUV.
February 22, 2006
WMUC To Kiss 88.1 Goodbye
It looks like WMUC, the University Of Maryland's decades-old low-powered student-programmed radio station on 88.1 FM, will soon be history. At least on the FM broadcast band. Nick Madigan, in the Baltimore Sun, did a profile on Baltimore public radio outlet WYPR. And he told us that WYPR "has gotten permission from the Federal Communications Commission to push aside a low-wattage student station at the University Of Maryland, College Park that already occupies WYPR's signal on 88.1 FM." The 10-watt WMUC signal can be received within about five miles of College Park, and, if you're on a hill and have a decent receiver, can be heard in Arlington and central Montgomery County. WYPR also operates WYPF, a Frederick area relay on 88.1 FM. Madigan adds that WMUC will continue its output of music, talk, and sports as an internet-only operation.
February 22, 2006
WFMS Host Apologizes For Hitler Remark
A Frederick radio talk-show host has apologized for comparing the president of the Frederick County Commissioners to Adolf Hitler. According to the Baltimore Sun, Blaine Young host of "Frederick's Forum" on Clear Channel talker WFMD (930 AM), a former Frederick alderman and the son of former Frederick Mayor Ron Young, said during his show's weekly broadcast Saturday morning that growth opponents led by Commissioner John Thompson tend to blame real-estate developers for the county's problems in the same way Hitler blamed Jews for Germany's pre-war economic decline. Thompson responded Monday by calling Young "an unmitigated liar" and offering not to sue Clear Channel for defamation if the company would donate $10,000 to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Young, who also is WFMD's ad sales manager, said that he apologizes to anyone who was offended by the remark. He said he would apologize publicly on his radio show this Saturday. "I did not mean any disrespect in any way, shape or form to the Jewish population in terms of the atrocities that they suffered during the Holocaust," Young told the Sun. Douglas Hillard, general manager of WFMD, said he wouldn't discipline Young for the remark.
February 21, 2006
Howard Dicus Loses Wife
Condolences to WTOP reporter Howard Dicus on the death of his wife, Marilyn, on 2/19 after a three-year battle with breast cancer. She was 60. For many years, Marilyn was a spokesperson for DC's Metro rail and bus system. Howard and Marilyn moved to her native Hawaii a few years ago, as he continued reporting technology and business issues for WTOP.....
February 21, 2006
Scott Engler Joins 5
Scott Engler, former co-anchor of the 10 PM news at Philladelphia's Tribune-owned WPHL-TV, jumps to DC's Fox 5 as a Sunday morning news anchor and weekday reporter.
February 20, 2006
WWIN DJ Robbed
Durwin Dean, a weekend personality on Baltimore's adult urban WWIN-FM (95.9), was robbed in Annapolis on 2/15. According to police, Dean was driving a bus on Lincoln Drive when he was approached by a suspect with a handgun who demanded money. Dean, 31, who was not injured in the incident, turned over cash to the robber, who fled on foot. The police investigation continues.
February 14, 2006
WPER To Be Relayed On WJYJ
Positive Alternative Radio, which owns Culpeper's WPER (89.9 FM), will expand its contemporary Christian music format throughout northern and central Virginia via its recently purchased WJYJ (90.5 FM) in Fredericksburg. WJYJ, which offered more traditional religious programming under previous owner CSN Virginia, has been stunting with Christmas tunes since the beginning of 2006. WPER's "Positive Hit Music" will also be heard on a network of WJYJ's low-powered FM translators in Flint Hill (96.5 FM), Alexandria (97.7 FM), and Leesburg (93.5 FM). New translators are planned for Front Royal (88.1 FM), Winchester (106.3 FM), and Stanardsville (88.1 FM). Plus, WPER will boost its coverage into the DC suburbs by March with antenna improvements. Positive Alternative Radio has also acquired WPVA (90.1 FM) in Charlottesville, which is called "Spirit FM."
February 14, 2006
New PD For JFK-FM
Greg Gillispie is the new program director of CBS's "Free FM 106.7" WJFK. Gillispie's worked at stations in Pittsburgh, Omaha, Toledo, Detroit, and Denver. He takes over from Cameron Gray, who advances to the confused talk station's operations manager slot. Gillispie says he looks forward to working with afternoon drive "legends" Don and Mike.
February 13, 2006
Famed Baltimore Media Professor Dies
Baltimore Junior College (now Baltimore Community College) media professor A. Frank Holston died on 2/10. "He leaves behind three generations of grateful students, friends, and media professionals," says a close acquaintance.
February 10, 2006
DirecTV To Drop 66
DirecTV will eliminate Channel 66/WPXW from the package of local DC area broadcast stations it offers. It's part of DirecTV's decision to drop the Pax or "i" network from its line-up as of 2/28. According to DirecTV, the network and all of its nationwide stations are being removed because their "family-oriented entertainment" programming has been replaced with "infomercials and other promotional shows," in violation of the contract Rupert Murdoch-owned DirecTV has with Pax. Last year, Channel 66 and its sister, Channel 60/WWPX in the Hagerstown area, were the DC market TV affiliates for the Baltimore Orioles.
February 9, 2006
Geronimo Injured In Car Accident
WJFK-FM afternoon man Don Geronimo, whose wife was killed in a car accident last summer, received a "level two" concussion and bruised ribs in a car accident on 2/9. He told listeners via a phone call to his radio partner Mike O'Meara on his show that the accident wasn't his fault, and that he blacked out for about 20 seconds after he hit his head on his car's sun roof. That injury required six stitches to the back of his head. He was treated and released from a Northern Virginia hospital. No details on where the mishap occurred. But Geronimo did say that his vehicle hit a vehicle that was leaving a driveway. The driver of that vehicle was not injured, Geronimo said.
February 8, 2006
KGOer Takes WTWP PD Post
Greg Tantum, the news director at ABC's KGO news talk radio in San Francisco, has been hired as the program director for WTWP, the Washington Post Radio talker to be operated by WTOP owner Bonneville. Tantum's 30-year broadcast resume includes news stints as a reporter and anchor at stations in LA, Philadelphia, Seattle, and San Diego, and he's worked for Gannett, CBS, Westinghouse, and ABC. During Tantum's tenure with KGO, the station won five national Edward R. Murrow Awards for news excellence during the past four years.
February 8, 2006
WTOP Launches Spanish Language News Website
Bonneville all-newser WTOP has launched wtopnoticias.com to serve the DC area's Spanish speaking population. It'll feature news from Associated Press Spanish Online and the Washington Hispanic newspaper. "The fastest-growing segment of the population in our region is the Hispanic community," says Jim Farley, WTOP's VP of news and programming.
February 8, 2006
Marimow To NPR
Bill Marimow will become the vice president for news at DC-based NPR, the network's equivalent of editor-in-chief. He's been acting in that capacity since Bruce Drake, the VP for news since 2000, stepped down last year. Marimow is a two-time Pulitzer winner and was the long-time managing editor/editor of the Baltimore Sun.
February 8, 2006
Kornheiser To "MNF"
Washington Post sports columnist Tony Kornheiser will be joining the ESPN broadcast booth for "Monday Night Football" next season. Kornheiser will serve as a color commentator in what is expected to be a three-man booth for "MNF," which is moving from ABC to ESPN. Speculation has revolved around longtime ESPN play-by-play man Mike Tirico and former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann joining Kornheiser in the booth. Kornheiser also hosts sports shows on WTEM and ESPN.
February 7, 2006
45 To Launch 2nd Channel Via Digital
Sinclair's Channel 45/WBFF will carry a separate video stream of programming on one of its digital subchannels. Dubbed "45-2," the channel will launch on 5/1 and be available via the Comcast, Millennium, and Verizon cable TV systems in the Baltimore market. The 24/7 digital offering will feature "a nostalgic line-up of some of the best shows that have aired in the Baltimore market over the years," says Bill Fanshawe, general manager of WBFF-TV. Including "All In The Family," "Sanford And Son," "In The Heat Of The Night," and "Good Times." Also: "We have set aside air time on Sunday mornings so that local churches can reach out to their parishioners through the broadcast of their services. The plan is to eventually expand to include other community events, as well," Fanshawe adds.
February 7, 2006
James Brown To CBS
DC-based Fox Sports football pre-and-post-game anchor James Brown is jumping over to CBS Sports, where he worked before Fox. Brown got his start calling Washington Bullets games for DC TV in 1978 and later joined Channel 9/WUSA as a reporter and anchor.
February 6, 2006
Citadel Does Deal With ABC Radio
Citadel will indeed buy a chunk of ABC/Disney's radio assets in a deal worth $2.7 billion in cash and stock. Including ABC's DC stations: WMAL, WRQX, and WJZW. The sale would create the industry's third-biggest radio group. Disney will keep Radio Disney and the ESPN brands and networks, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, but spin off its radio assets and merge them with Citadel's. Citadel shareholders will own around 49 percent of the new company, Disney shareholders the rest. A DC media watcher tells DCRTV that Citadel will probably "slim down" costs and people at ABC Radio, and then spin off the stations individually in a year or two. Citadel is bankrolled by "big leveraged finance guys. Their interests are short-term, not long-term."
February 6, 2006
New GSM For WTWP & WGMS
Steve Goldstein will become general sales manager for Bonneville's new Washington Post Radio talker WTWP and classical WGMS. He comes from Clear Channel, where he's been managing the sales departments of WIHT and WBIG. Goldstein, who must sit out a non-compete clause in his Clear Channel contract until May, has also worked at WJFK-FM and its Redskins Radio, WGAY, WLTT, and WXYV.
February 3, 2006
Osei Says Goodbye To KYS
Osei "The Dark Secret," WKYS's top-rated afternoon drive host, has decided not to renew his contract with the Radio One urban contemporary station. "The management of WKYS presented me with a new contract, but for personal reasons I chose to decline the offer and resign my position," Osei says via a statement. Osei was hired by WKYS in May 2003 as the host of "Chocolate City Soul," the station's former slow jams program. Before joining WKYS, Osei worked at Baltimore's now defunct urban contemporary WXYV, at DC's WPGC-FM, and at Philadelphia's WPHI.
January 31, 2006
Ryan Ditches Print Version Of Weather Almanac
In the past, at the start of every year you could find the print version of "Bob Ryan's Almanac And Guide For The Weatherwise" at every area Giant Food store. Not so this year. The Channel 4/WRC meteorologist announces that he'll "do something a bit different this year." A web-only version. "Rather than adding new articles, pictures, and printing an almanac once a year, our online version will be a work in progress and interactive and updated throughout the year," Ryan says via nbc4.com.
January 31, 2006
Mike Moss Lands Morning Gig At New WTWP
Mike Moss will be the morning drive host for Bonneville's new Washington Post Radio, long-form news talker WTWP, set to debut in March. Moss has been morning drive co-anchor on Bonneville's all-news WTOP radio for 10 years, sharing the studio with Richard Day. Moss and Day have ranked first in key demographics for the past 16 Arbitron ratings "books." Moss will be replaced at WTOP with Bruce Alan, who currently does middays. Moss joined WTOP in 1996. Before that he worked at NBC News, Associated Press Network News, former radio news talker WRC, plus radio outlets in Boston and Atlanta.
January 29, 2006
9 Assignment Editor Chris Houston Dies Of Cancer
Chris Houston (left), who worked the news assignment desk at Channel 9/WUSA, died of pancreatic cancer Saturday morning at his home in Silver Spring. He was 42. He joined WUSA in the mid-1980s as a reporter trainee and, over the years, performed many newsroom jobs. "Chris was a key player in our newsroom and one of the most valuable members of the 9News team," says a statement at wusa9.com. "Chris was also the conscience of our newsroom, never letting us lose sight of the importance of fair and balanced reporting." His wife, Karen Gray Houston, is a reporter at Channel 5/WTTG.January 29, 2006
J. Parker Connor Dies
J. Parker Connor, 79, a DC communications law attorney for more than 25 years before becoming a radio broadcaster and real estate agent in the Eastern Shore's Bethany Beach, died of congestive heart failure 1/21 at his winter home in Florida. Connor was a partner in the law firm of Mullin And Connor (later Mullin, Connor, And Rhyne) from 1960 until the mid-1980s. In 1974, he started WWTR-FM in Bethany Beach. Connor later purchased WJDY-AM in Salisbury and WSUX-FM in Seaford, and put WSBY-FM on the air in Salisbury.
January 27, 2006
Sandusky To Do Ravens Radio
In the Baltimore Sun, Ray Frager confirms that WBAL radio has named Channel 11/WBAL sports anchor Gerry Sandusky play-by-play announcer for the Ravens. "This is one of those dream jobs every sportscaster wants," Sandusky said yesterday. Still no word on an analyst on the games, which will also air on 98 Rock, WIYY. All three stations are owned by Hearst.
January 26, 2006
20 Becomes DCA20
Fox is removing the UPN logo from its UPN affiliates, including DC's UPN 20 (WDCA) and Baltimore's UPN 24 (WUTB). Apparently, Fox is upset with the UPN-WB network merger and the fact that its UPN affiliates will not become part of the new CW CBS-Warner network. That honor will go to Tribune-owned Channel 50/WBDC. Fox also owns the UPN affiliates in other major markets, like NYC and Chicago. Before Channel 20 became a UPN affiliate, it was known as DC20. It's now known as DCA20.
January 26, 2006
2's Keith Mills Charged With Stealing Painkillers From Neighbor
Channel 2/ WMAR sports anchor Keith Mills (left) was arrested Wednesday and charged with the theft of prescription painkillers from his next-door neighbor in the 200 block of Cheddington Road in Linthicum. The Baltimore Sun reports that Mills has been hit with two felony counts of first-degree burglary and two misdemeanor counts of theft. The charges carry a maximum combined sentence of 43 years. After a hearing in Anne Arundel County District Court in Glen Burnie last night, Mills was released on $250,000 bond. According to the Sun, Mills' neighbor, who has been undergoing cancer treatment, became suspicious after she noticed a door ajar at her home and pills missing two years ago. She installed a video surveillance system that is alleged to have captured Mills on tape stealing pills in December. In November 2004, Mills was charged with "obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud" after allegedly phoning in a prescription under a false name. Mills spoke with the Sun in December 2004 after finishing a 28-day stay in a drug and alcohol treatment facility. He openly discussed fighting his addiction to painkillers, specifically Vicodin. WMAR General Manager Drew Barry has refused comment on the matter.January 24, 2006
Fire Claims WMUC DJ
Dave Ellis, the University Of Maryland student killed in a 1/24 College Park apartment fire, was a DJ at the school's campus station, 10-watt WMUC, 88.1 FM. Ellis, 22, was the host of "TRS Radio," a program that carried on a tradition of Friday night hip-hop on WMUC that dates back to 1991. "The Soul Controllers" (now on WPFW) aired in that block from 1991 to 2000. It then hosted by Peter Rosenberg (now of WJFK-FM fame), who gave it to Ellis.
January 20, 2006
Redskins Buys Mega's 3 DC Area Radio Stations
Redskins owner Daniel Snyder's newly created Red Zebra broadcasting arm has purchased Mega's three DC area Spanish language radio stations - WBZS (92.7 FM) in Prince Frederick MD, WBPS (94.3 FM) in Warrenton VA, and WKDL (730 AM) in Alexandria VA. A rumored $33 million deal. While no format changes have been announced, the word is that Snyder is planning an English language sports talk format on, at least, the FM duo. According to the press release, Red Zebra "will be the broadcast home of the Redskins, managing the broadcast rights to the Redskins, starting with the 2006 season." It will be run by Bennett Zier, who, had headed Clear Channel's Mid-Atlantic radio operations.
January 19, 2006
Bonneville To Carry Nats For 3 Years
Bonneville has made it official. It confirmed all of the rumors that it will carry the Washington Nationals on its new Washington Post Radio talker WTWP, which will debut in late March on 107.7 FM and 1500 AM. The Nats will also be heard on low-powered 104.3 FM in Leesburg. Also confirmed: Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler will serve as the team's radio voices. It's a three-year deal. This season, a minimum of 10 pre-season games, all 162 regular season games, and all post-season games will be broadcast on WTWP.
January 19, 2006
Local Radio Unveils Digital Offerings
Clear Channel will be launching digital "HD" programming in the DC and Baltimore area. Via rhythmic contemporary Hot 99.5, WIHT, on digital 99.5 look for the newest contemporary hit radio hits. Via country WMZQ on digital 98.7 it will be classic country. Via country WPOC on digital 93.1 new and future country will be offered. Via oldies WBIG on digital 100.3 you'll get older oldies from the 1950s and 1960s. Via rocker DC101 on digital 101.1 "Elliot On Demand" from the station's morning show will be on tap. Via adult contemporary WASH on digital 97.1 you'll be treated to ballads and love songs. And, via smooth jazz WSMJ on digital 104.3 the offering will be traditional jazz. Bonneville also announces its "HD Radio" digital services. Via classical WGMS on digital 104.1 there will be a relay of opera Viva La Voce. Via all-news WTOP on digital 103.5 look for classical music "deep tracks." Meanwhile, CBS will put adult album alternative music on WARW's digital 94.7, gospel on WPGC's digital 95.5, reggaeton on WLZL's digital 99.1, female-oriented talk on WJFK-FM's 106.7, lite adult contemporary on WLIF's digital 101.9, sports talk on WQSR's digital 102.7, fulltime alternative rock on WHFS's digital 105.7, and contemporary hits on WWMX's 106.5.
January 17, 2006
WTOP Takes 1st In Fall Arbs
Those fall quarter Arbitrons are out and all-news WTOP takes the top spot in the DC market, which usually has an urban music outlet in the numero uno position. In the "beauty contest" age 12+ demo, urban contemporary WPGC-FM stays in 2nd, and urban adult WMMJ falls from 1st to 3rd. Urban adult WHUR drops from 3rd to 4th, adult contemporary WASH jumps from 7th to 5th, with classical WGMS slumping from 4th to 6th. The rest: urban WKYS 7th, talker WMAL 8th, rocker DC101 9th, rhythmic contemporary WIHT 10th, smooth jazz WJZW and country WMZQ tied for 11th, talker WJFK-FM 13th, hot adult WRQX 14th, Spanish reggaton WLZL and oldies WBIG tied for 15th, sports talk WTEM 17th, classic rock WARW 18th, defunct "modern music" Z104 19th, and Spanish "classica" WBZS/WBPS 20th. Up in Baltimore, in the age 12+ demo, urban WERQ takes 1st, country WPOC 2nd, adult contemporary WLIF 3rd, urban adult WWIN-FM 4th, and talker WBAL-AM slumps into 5th. 98 Rock places 6th, talk and alt rock WHFS 7th, smooth jazz WSMJ 8th, "Jack" oldies WQSR 9th, and gospel WCAO 10th.
January 16, 2006
Mono Returns To DC's FM Band
Mono is making a comeback on the DC area's FM band. Radio engineers have long known that a mono FM signal has more range than a stereo one does. In fringe areas, a stereo signal can feature an annoying hiss. The resurrection of mono arrived several years ago, when Bonneville's WTOP started an FM relay on Warrenton's 94.3, which got moved to 107.7. The mono signal improved coverage into the DC metro. And since the programming was news and talk, the loss of stereo didn't seem to matter to listeners. Then, Bonneville stripped stereo from its 104.1 and 103.9, two edge-of-the-metro area signals that carried "modern" music-based Z104. It improved the coverage area, but didn't seem to do a lot for the station's anemic ratings. Z104 was decapitated earlier this month. A quick check of the DC FM band finds several other stations broadcasting in mono, including the new WTOP news signal on 103.5, classical WGMS's old stereo home. Also in mono: CSPAN's wonk-talk WCSP 90.1, which battles closely-spaced Culpeper's Christian contemporary WPER 89.9 in parts of Northern Virginia, Salem's religious-oriented talker WAVA 105.1, and Mega's Spanish "classica" music rimshots of WBZS 92.7 in Prince Frederick and WBPS 94.3 in Warrenton. Still talking in stereo: NPR-based WAMU 88.5 and WETA-FM 90.9.January 12, 2006
7 Veteran John Harter To Retire
Reporter John Harter (left), a Channel 7 employee of nearly 40 years, is retiring at the end of January. Harter has covered business and consumer issues, particularly the airline and automotive industries. He might be best known for his auto test drives, though he hasn't done those in years. His tenure goes back about two dozen news directors, two station owners (the Washington Star and Joe Allbritton), and two sets of call letters (WMAL and WJLA). Harter will freelance for 7 and sister NewsChannel 8 after his retirement.January 11, 2006
Bennett Zier Jumps From Clear Channel To Redskins
Bennett Zier, head of Clear Channel's Washington/Baltimore radio operations, is leaving the company to become CEO of Red Zebra, a group being launched by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Snyder, who recently seized control of the Six Flags amusement park chain, reportedly wants to build a media empire and is putting Zier in charge of sniffing out radio, television, and internet opportunities nationwide.
January 10, 2006
New Calls For Bonneville Stations
With the recent Bonneville signal flips, these call letter changes have been granted by the FCC. As of midnight tonight, now all-news 103.5 drops WGMS-FM for WTOP-FM and relay 820 drops WXTR-AM for WTOP-AM. Also, 1500 drops its longtime WTOP-AM ID for WTWP-AM and 107.7 drops WTOP-FM for WTWP-FM. In late March, 1500 and 107.7 will become Washington Post Radio with a long-form news and talk format. On 1/16, now classical 104.1 drops WWZZ-FM for WGMS-FM and relay 103.9 drops WWVZ-FM for WGYS-FM.
January 9, 2006
Metro Traffic's Gary Thompson Dies
DC area traffic reporter Gary Thompson, 41, died Saturday. The cause of death is undetermined, pending an autopsy by the DC Medical Examiner. Thompson, for the past year and until recently, had been a weekend overnight traffic reporter for Metro Networks. His work was heard primarily on WMAL. He had previously been a traffic reporter for XM Satellite Radio.
January 9, 2006
NY Times Journalist Dies After Being Beaten In DC Robbery
David Rosenbaum (right), 63, a member of the New York Times Washington bureau for more than 30 years, died Sunday after he was attacked Friday night on Gramercy Street in northwest DC, between Connecticut and Wisconsin avenues. He suffered a head injury and underwent surgery Saturday at Howard University Hospital to try to relieve pressure on his brain. Joe Gentile, a DC police spokesman, said that the victim was taking a walk when he was attacked and that his wallet was missing when police arrived at the scene. Police are investigating a report that two men were seen leaving the area in a dark-colored vehicle. Over the years, Rosenbaum held a number of reporting and editing positions with the NY Times.January 5, 2006
Neil Strawser Dies
From the Washington Post: Neil Edward Strawser (left), 78, a former CBS News correspondent who became a spokesman for Capitol Hill committees, died 12/31 at George Washington University Hospital after a heart attack. He was a resident of the District. Starting in 1952, Strawser spent 34 years at CBS in Washington and was mostly a radio correspondent. He also appeared on television, including one assignment to interview future first lady Jacqueline Kennedy on the presidential campaign trail in 1960 and another in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, when he was among the first newsmen admitted to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.January 4, 2006
Bonneville Kills Z104, Moves GMS To 104.1 & 103.9, TOP To 103.5, DC Post Radio & Nats Coming To 107.7 & 1500
At noon today, Bonneville killed off "modern music" Z104. It moved classical WGMS from its longtime dial spot of 103.5 to Z104's 104.1 and 103.9 frequencies. And it put all-news WTOP on 103.5. So, what's going to happen to 107.7, which is still relaying WTOP? Bonneville's DC radio honcho Joel Oxley announced on WTOP's airwaves at 12:23 PM that, come March, WTOP's Warrenton FM relay and Wheaton AMer on 1500 will become WTOP-produced Washington Post Radio, with "long-form" news, a la a commercial version of NPR. There are also reports that the baseball Nationals will land on 1500 AM and 107.7 FM, via the Post's radio service. Looking for jobs: Z104 Program Director Sammy Simpson, Z104 personalities Mathew Blades, Jenny Chase, Sean Sellers, and JV, and Nationals radio man Dave Shea. On its airwaves, WTOP called the changes "a seismic shift in Washington radio." Also, we hear that WGMS will get a new antenna this weekend which will "significantly boost the signal from where it is now." Says DC Post columnist Marc Fisher in his Raw Fisher blog about WGMS leaving 103.5: "That's an unfortunate move for the highly successful WGMS, which will now have trouble reaching big chunks of its affluent, educated audience in upper northwest (DC) and lower Montgomery County, where the Z104 signal is very weak."
January 4, 2006
Plagiarism Charges Fell Sun Columnist
Baltimore Sun columnist Michael Olesker (right), 60, resigned Tuesday amid allegations of plagiarism. Olesker, who wrote a column that appeared twice a week in the Maryland section, quit two weeks before his 30th anniversary as a Baltimore columnist. According to a Baltimore CityPaper investigation, several instances were uncovered in which Olesker had apparently appropriated the work of journalists at his own paper and at the New York Times and the Washington Post.January 3, 2006
Park Service Launches Info AMer On Mall
The National Park Service has launched a low-powered radio operation on 1670 AM to provide tourists with information about DC's parks, monuments, and memorials. The 10-watt signal can be heard within three miles of the Mall. Park rangers will provide recorded updates on visiting hours and other information for the Capitol, the White House Visitors Center, the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Bureau Of Engraving And Printing, the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument, and Pershing Park.
January 3, 2006
Levin Replaces Core On 630
Sean Hannity radio "family" member Mark "F. Lee" Levin will take the 6 PM slot on WMAL, replacing locally-based Chris Core, who is moving to late mornings. The righty Levin, who apparently lives in Virginia, already airs in the same slot on WMAL's ABC sister news talker, WABC in NYC.
January 2, 2006
New Line-Up On 106.7
CBS talker WJFK-FM, now dubbed 106.7 Free FM, debuts its post-Howard Stern line-up this week. The Junkies at 5:30 AM, Peter Rosenberg at 10 AM, Bill O'Reilly at noon (up an hour), Penn Jillette at 2 PM, "Don And Mike" remain at 3 PM, and Jay Severin at 7 PM. The Junkies and D&M are also heard on Baltimore's 105.7 Free FM, WHFS.
January 2, 2006
"Wire" Actor Dies
Richard DeAngelis, who played Baltimore Police Colonel Raymond Foerster in HBO's Baltimore-based crime drama "The Wire," died of congestive heart failure on 12/28 at his home in Silver Spring. He was 73. DeAngelis' movie career spanned four decades, including the character "Ricky Roach" in John Waters' "Cecil B. Demented."
January 1, 2006
Spanish TV Channel Changes
With the arrival of the new year, Univision has flipped its two DC area Spanish language TV signals. The Univision network moves from low-powered Channel 47/WMDO to full-powered Channel 14/WFDC. And Univision's youth-oriented Telefutura network moves from 14 to 47. The change causes Univision and Telefutura to exchange channel locations on DC area cable TV systems, too.
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