July 2009 to Present

Latest items listed first.....

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October 30, 2009
Billy Zero Gone From WTMD
Billy Zero is out as program director at Towson University's adult alternative rock WTMD (89.7 FM). Before joining WTMD, Zero had been PD for XM's XMU indie rock channel.

October 30, 2009
Michael Flinn Leaves 4
Reporter Michael Flynn is leaving Channel 4/WRC for a gig as the director of communications at the Meals On Wheels Association in Alexandria.

October 29, 2009
Valerie Johnson Leaving 5
Valerie Johnson is leaving Channel 5/WTTG after 30 years of service. Johnson started with WTTG in 1979. Her position was eliminated as part of the June budget cuts, but she's been allowed to stay in traffic until she qualified for retirement.

October 28, 2009
Allbritton To Start Local News Site
Allbritton, the parent company of Channel 7/WJLA, NewsChannel 8, and the Politico, is starting a new DC area local news website. It will employ 50, which will share content between the two TV operations. Former washingtonpost.com executive editor Jim Brady is planning the venture with Frederick Ryan, vice chairman of Allbritton and president of WJLA, and Bill Lord, station manager of WJLA and NC8.

October 26, 2009
Peter Rohrbach Dies
Peter Rohrbach, a veteran DC-based communications attorney, died on 10/25 following a bone-marrow transplant. He joined Hogan & Hartson 30 years ago, and his work with communications clients included Clear Channel, XM Satellite Radio, and Qwest. The firm says he "played a major role in many of the key regulatory developments" in developing businesses such as satellite and information services. Rohrbach made partner in 1987 and was a member of H&H's executive committee. He became ill with lymphoma.

October 23, 2009
9 Names D'Ambrosi As ND
Channel 9/WUSA has named Fred D'Ambrosi as its new news director. He was ND at Milwaukee's WISN-TV from 1986 to 1997 and at KFMB-TV San Diego from 1997 to 2009. D'Ambrosi replaces Lane Michaelsen, who left DC's Gannett-owned CBS affiliate in August to take the ND job at NBC-owned WTVJ-TV in Miami.

October 22, 2009
WCTN Says Adios To Oldies
Potomac MD's WCTN (950 AM) is back to Spanish language music and talk. The station, which is owned by Win Radio, which is headed by a Korean-American executive from the New York City area, has been running older pop oldies, a la material by Frank Sinatra and Patti Page. At the old format's website, 950wctn.com, we're greeted with the fateful message: "WCTN says adios."

October 21, 2009
Jack Nelson Dies
Jack Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who covered the civil rights movement and the Watergate scandal for the Los Angeles Times, died of pancreatic cancer on Wednesday at his home in Bethesda. He was 80. Nelson spent more than 35 years with the LA Times, stepping down as its chief Washington correspondent in 2001. He joined the LA Times in 1965 and in 1970 began working in its Washington bureau. He was bureau chief from 1975 to the end of 1995.

October 13, 2009
Joe Boxer To MZQ Mornings
Clear Channel country outlet WMZQ (98.7 FM) moves Jenni Chase to middays, replacing Jeffrey "Jeffro" Mason, who got axed in August. She had been co-hosting mornings with Brian Egan, who got axed in September. Joe Boxer will now host WMZQ mornings. He comes from Clear Channel's WCOL, a country outlet in Columbus, Ohio.

October 13, 2009
Chris Plante Returns To WMAL
Citadel news talker WMAL (630 AM) announced this morning that Chris Plante will take back the 9 AM to noon slot starting Monday. Back in April, WMAL removed the locally-based Plante in order to air Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezeninski's syndicated 10 AM to noon NYC-based show, with WMAL's local morning team of Fred Grandy and Andy Parks extending the end of their show from 9 AM to 10 AM. DCRTV hears rumblings that Grandy and Andy, who start their show at 5 AM, absolutely hated doing the fifth hour at 9 AM.

October 13, 2009
4's Keith Garvin To Dallas
Keith Garvin (left), who has spent the last three years at Channel 4/WRC, will be the new co-anchor of a 7 PM nightly newscast for KTXA-TV in Dallas. Dubbed "TXA21," it's the CBS sister station of Dallas's CBS affiliate KTVT-TV. Bark says that Dallas's CBS11 hasn't officially announced the hire yet. Garvin joined NBC's WRC in 2006, and has been a weekend anchor for "News4 Today." He also worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor on other WRC newscasts.

October 8, 2009
TOP Again Tops DC Radio Heap
No big surprises in the September monthly Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC. Alt rocker WWDC, DC101, continues to slump. New sports talker WJFK, 106.7 The Fan, and new hot adult contemporary WTGB, 94.7 Fresh FM, continue slow upward trends. While new classic rocker WJZW (now WVRX) shows no significant upward tick - yet. The numbers, full-week, age 12+: 1) WTOP [1st both drivetimes], 2) WHUR [Harvey 2nd], 3) WAMU, 4) WASH [Loriloo 8th], 5) WIHT [Kane 4th], 6) WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 7) WBIG, 8) WETA-FM, 9) WGTS, 10) WRQX [Diamond 8th], 11) WKYS [Parr 10th] and WMZQ, 13) WPGC [Simpson 16th], 14) WWDC [Elliot 14th], 15) WPRS, 16) WTGB, 17) WMAL [G&A 15th, Rush 11th, Hannity 12th], 18) WJFK [Junks 13th, Arrington 17th], 19) WTEM, 20) WLZL, 21) WJZW (now WVRX), 22) WPFW and WFRE and WAVA, 25) WBQB, 26) WFLS and WAFY and WWEG. More: 30) WFED and WILC, 34) WKDV and WTNT [TWT 27th], 38) WACA and WYCB.

October 6, 2009
Steve Allan Gone From 105.9
Steve Allan, program director and afternoon man at the old oldies WJZW, is out of a gig. The DC radio veteran, who once programmed Clear Channel's WASH and WBIG, was kept onboard when Citadel made the WJZW flip to classic rock, as WVRX, in August. Also out at 105.9, Charlie Maxx, who did morning traffic and board work. Citadel DC's operations manager, Kenny King, is doing the PD work at 105.9 The Edge, we're told.

October 5, 2009
Sun's Tim Wheatley Killed In Car Wreck
The Baltimore Sun's managing editor for business news, Tim Wheatley, 48, was killed in a car accident in the northern Baltimore County area of Hereford this morning. His 9-year-old daughter was with him in the vehicle. We're told that she has survived and was taken to the Johns Hopkins Childrens Center. Baltimore County Police spokesman Bill Toohey tells DCRTV that the accident occurred at 8:54 AM. Wheatley, who was a resident of Monkton, was turning onto southbound York Road when his vehicle was hit by a UPS truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His daughter was taken to Sinai Hospital and then on to JHCC, in critical condition. The UPS truck driver was not seriously injured, police say. The investigation continues. Before joining the Sun's business coverage earlier this year, Wheatley had been a managing editor for the Sun's sports section. He'd been with the Sun since 2006.

October 1, 2009
Washington Ear Founder Dies
Margaret Pfanstiehl, who founded the nonprofit Metropolitan Washington Ear in 1974, died Monday. The Ear provides free services for blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled people who cannot effectively read print. It's available via several sources, including telephone, the internet, and via a subchannel on WETA-FM, 90.9. Pfanstiehl lived in Silver Spring.

October 1, 2009
WaPo & LA Times End News Service
The Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service, a syndicate with more than 600 clients around the world, is being dissolved with the agreement of both sides. The two newspapers, which each owned 50 percent of the venture, will now compete to provide their articles to subscribers to the joint service. Executives at the Times and Post were tight-lipped about the split, but it clearly had its roots in Tribune Company's 2000 takeover of the Los Angeles paper's parent company. That takeover included the Baltimore Sun, Newsday, and the Hartford Courant, whose articles were also offered by the news service.

September 29, 2009
Brian Egan Gone From MZQ
Brian Egan is gone from WMZQ's morning show and is no longer working at the Clear Channel country outlet. Jenni Chase will host solo, while a new MZQ morning show is sought. No word from Clear Channel DC for details about Egan's departure. He came to WMZQ in 2002 with radio partner Ben Campbell from a Phoenix country station. Teir "Ben And Brian" morning show on 98.7 lasted until 2007, when Campbell left. He's now part of the "Ben And Matt" morning team at Clear Channel country outlet KNIX in Phoenix. During his seven years in Washington, Egan spend a lot of time hosting fundraising efforts for leukemia, a disease his wife was diagnosed with in 2005.

September 28, 2009
Michael Hughes Leaves CBS DC, Launches Radio Consultancy
Michael Hughes is leaving CBS Radio's DC cluster to form MHMedia, a radio management consultancy handling sales, programming, staffing, profit generation, and asset value enhancement. MHMedia will be headquartered in Annapolis at Empire Broadcasting's WRNR-FM. Says Hughes, who has been overseeing programming at CBS's DC stations, including Spanish WLZL, hot adult contemporary WTGB, and sports talk WJFK: "My 10 years at CBS Radio, and 25 years total in our industry, in various senior management roles, across a variety of formats, has perfectly prepared me for this next phase in my career. I will most certainly miss the terrific pros in Washington DC. I've had the good fortune to work alongside, but the time seemed right to put my skills to work for other operators in multiple areas of concentration." Hughes' resume includes management and programming gigs at AM/FM and Jacor, both of which got gobbled up by Clear Channel. Back in 1999, when AM/FM bought DC101, Hughes helped consult the rocker. His programming team hired Elliot Segal and Jon Ballard, who's now at WWDC sister WBIG. Longtime WJFKer Mike O'Meara tells DCRTV: "I enjoyed my time working with Michael. He was always honest and up front with me during very difficult times. I wish him the very best and I would work with him again in a minute. He's one of the good guys."

September 22, 2009
Newseum's Max Page Dies
Max Page, a former television journalist who led the team overseeing the design and construction of DC's Newseum, died after a heart attack at his Vienna VA home on 9/15, his 60th birthday. He had worked for the Freedom Forum and the Newseum since 1992, most recently as vice president for government and community relations. The Newseum, a museum focused on the news media, opened its new building last year.

September 20, 2009
Bernard Brenner Dies
Bernard Brenner, 87, a longtime farm editor with the United Press International wire service, died at Inova Fairfax Hospital on 9/17 of lung cancer. He lived in Gainesville. Brenner wrote a daily column, "On The Farm Front," throughout much of his time in UPI's Washington bureau and provided daily broadcast reports on Washington developments of interest to farming communities.

September 18, 2009
New President For NAB
The DC-based National Association Of Broadcasters names Gordon Smith, who was a Republican US Senator from Oregon, as its new president. He's been on the Commerce Committee, which oversees the Federal Communications Commission. He succeeds David Rehr, who left in June.

September 17, 2009
WaPo To Merge Print & Website On 1/1
The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com have set a wedding date. The print and online operations of the newspaper will merge as of January 1, 2010. Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth says that it's important to create one organization for print and online operations that would mirror the perception of readers, users, and advertisers. Washington Post Digital employees responsible for washingtonpost.com will become employees of the Washington Post at that time. Website leadership will remain in place. Current washingtonpost.com leader Goli Sheikholeslami will be the head of digital operations and digital product development at the Post.

September 17, 2009
Veteran WH Photog Jack Kightlinger Dies In Car Wreck
Jack Kightlinger, a retired White House photographer who worked for five presidents, was killed along with his wife following a fiery wreck. He was 77. Jack and his wife, Adele, were in a collision Monday in their hometown of Flat Rock in southwest North Carolina when a truck crossed the center line. Jack died at the scene. Adele, also 77, died a day later at the hospital. Kightlinger took behind-the-scenes photos of presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan over a 19-year span ending in 1985.

September 16, 2009
New Calls For 105.9
Citadel's new classic rock 105.9 The Edge will be dropping the WJZW calls for WVRX at midnight tonight. The WJZW calls have been on the DC area's 105.9 since 1994, when the smooth jazz format debuted on the then-ABC station. Citadel flipped the format to oldies in early 2008, but kept the WJZW calls. Last month, Citadel flipped 105.9 to classic rock, a format the station had pre-1994 as WCXR.

September 16, 2009
Lord Promoted At 7 & 8
Bill Lord, vice president of news at Channel 7/WJLA and Allbritton sister NewsChannel 8, has been promoted to "station manager." His expanded responsibilities will include the coordination of sales and marketing as well as news, promotions, and technical operation of the two outlets.

September 16, 2009
Marc Clarke Gone From 24
The Marc Clarke morning show is no longer on Baltimore's My24, Channel 24/WUTB. The economy has again dealt Clarke a bad hand but he says he is launching a project that will specialize in producing original audio/video content focusing on the Washington DC/Baltimore area. Clarke, who'd been heard on urban WERQ (92.3 FM) for many years doing the morning show until he got budget cut last year, started his morning TV show at Baltimore's Fox-owned My Network TV outlet WUTB earlier this year.

September 15, 2009
Anna Marcus Dies
Anna Marcus, 93, a columnist for the old Wheaton News community newspaper, died on 8/16 at Holy Cross Hospital of pneumonia and emphysema. She was a Wheaton resident. Marcus worked for the Wheaton News from the 1940s to the 1960s. She was also a contract typist for the Wheaton Kiwanis Club, typing, mimeographing, and distributing its newsletter, and wrote for the Montgomery County Sentinel, among other local papers.

September 15, 2009
IDT Spins WMET To CTM
IDT has spun off its media interests into a new wholly-owned subsidiary, CTM Media Holdings. Including brokered ethnic WMET (1160 AM), which is licensed to Gaithersburg. There had been rumors that WMET was up for sale.

September 14, 2009
MPT To Pink Slip 18
Maryland Public Television will cut 18 positions or 10 percent of its current fulltime workforce as a part of an effort to deal with a budget shortfall. "The staff reductions at MPT, while extremely painful, will result in no loss of programming and no on-air talent will be affected," said MPT President Robert Shuman, according to wbal.com. "We realize that there will be an end to the current fiscal crisis we and our sister-stations are facing at some point in the future," Shuman said, "but, for now, we have been forced to make a difficult decision that I'm sorry to say impacts the most important resource Maryland Public Television has - its people." The layoffs will include staff who work in technology, content, institutional advancement, communications, and administrative units of Owings Mills-based MPT.

September 11, 2009
Jeremy Settle Out As NC8 ND
Allbritton has parted company NewsChannel 8 News Director Jeremy Settle, less than a year after he was hired as news director of NewsChannel 8. He joined WJLA sister NC8 in October 2008 from Gray Television's Charlottesville TV triopoly of WCAV, WVAW, and WAHU. Bill Lord, vice president of news for WJLA and NC8, says that Settle's separation was "voluntary. He resigned. I accepted."

September 10, 2009
CBS Happy With JFK's Target Demos
Despite a slump in its overall numbers since flipping from "guy talk" to sports talk in mid-July, CBS suits are pointing out gains for WJFK, 106.7 The Fan, within its target male age 25-54 demo. In the weekly breakdowns for August, the morning Junkies are solidly in 3rd place, with middayers Mike Wise and Bill Rohland up from 9th to 5th place since the flip, and afternooners Lavar Arrington and Chad Dukes rising from 7th to 2nd place in the demo. The monthly August Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC, full-week, age 12+: 1) WTOP [1st both drivetimes], 2) WHUR [Harvey 2nd], 3) WAMU, 4) WASH [Loriloo 9th], 5) WIHT [Kane 5th], 6) WGTS and WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 8) WBIG, 9) WRQX [Diamond 8th], 10) WETA-FM, 11) WKYS [Parr 11th], 12) WWDC [Elliot 13th] and WMZQ, 14) WTGB, 15) WPRS, 16) WPGC [Simpson 16th], 17) WLZL, 18) WMAL [G&A 18th, Rush 17th, Hannity 18th], 19) WTEM, 20) WJZW [Imus 22nd] and WJFK [Junkies 13th, Arrington 20th], 22) WPFW, 23) WBQB and WFLS and WFRE and WAVA. More: 31) WTNT and WFED and WKDV and WILC. Since debuting in April, CBS's 94.7 Fresh FM, WTGB, is up to 8th place in afternoon drive in the monthly numbers.

September 9, 2009
Simpson & Lyders To Be Co-Anchors At 7 With Harris
Cynné Simpson (left), the niece of WPGC morning man Donnie Simpson, has been named interim 5 PM news anchor with Leon Harris at Channel 7/WJLA. Simpson, a Howard University graduate who arrived from WGCL-TV in Atlanta 18 months ago, replaces Kathleen Mathews, who left for a public relations position at Marriott almost three years ago. Also, Caroline Lyders has been named interim 11 PM news anchor, also with Harris. She joined the Allbritton ABC affiliate as a reporter in 2008. Harris had been anchoring solo at 11 since Maureen Bunyan semi-retired to work on her novel.

September 8, 2009
13's Sally Thorner To Retire
After more than two decades at the Baltimore TV anchor desk, Channel 13/WJZ newswoman Sally Thorner (right) said on Tuesday that she is retiring. The 54-year-old anchorwoman said her last day at the CBS-owned station will be December 18. "I love working at the station, and everybody has been great," Thorner said in a Baltimore Sun interview. "But this the right time... and I am going to grab it." When Thorner came to Baltimore in the early 1980s, she worked as a reporter for Channel 2/WMAR, but jumped to WJZ in 1993. In a memo today, WJZ General Manager Jay Newman said: "I have worked with Sally for more then a decade and will miss seeing her everyday. I want to thank her for all her hard work and her many contributions to the success of WJZ. I am sure you all join me in wishing her well. She will be missed."

September 6, 2009
WETA, PBS Veteran Lewis Zager Dies
Lewis Zager, 58, a broadcast engineer who had been an independent consultant helping public television stations transition from analog to digital television since 2007, died on 8/16 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. He had acute myeloid leukemia. From 2002 to 2007, Zager worked for PBS in Northern Virginia as the director of the Digital Television Strategic Services Group. He started his broadcast career in 1979 as a cameraman and sound engineer for WETA. He later became a technical director for shows including "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and "Washington Week in Review." Zager was a vice president of technology when he left WETA in 2002.

September 3, 2009
WJSS Sold
Havre De Grace MD religious talker WJSS (1330 AM) gets sold by Benjamin-Dane LLC to CRS Radio Holdings for $750,000. Benjamin-Dane paid Peoples Broadcast Network $350,000 for WJSS back in 2004.

August 31, 2009
Janice Ockerhausen Leaves WMAL
Thirty-year-vet Janice Ockershausen has resigned from Citadel news talker WMAL (630 AM). She was WMAL's top-billing sales person for years. She began her career as an intern, and for a while was producer of the Harden and Weaver show. She is married to Andy Ockershausen, the man who guided WMAL to its glory years under Washington Star and ABC ownership, creating such teams as Harden and Weaver as well as Trumbull and Core.

August 31, 2009
BAL Debuts All-News Mornings
Baltimore news talker WBAL (1090 AM) is transforming its morning talk show into four hours of all-news radio. Re-branding the 5 AM to 9 AM weekday slot as "Maryland's Morning News." Current morning host Dave Durian remains onboard. He'll be joined by WBAL news anchors Bill Vanko and John Patti. The program will feature "traffic and weather together" every 10 minutes, sports, money reports, and live newsmaker interviews. "The media landscape has changed dramatically in the past year," says WBAL News Director Mark Miller. He adds, "With this unheard of economic downturn we're all enduring, most of our listeners have had to modify and change their lifestyles. We're changing our format to all-news in the mornings to better serve them." Says Durian, "The Baltimore market is crying out for an all-news morning show. This just seems to be a natural evolution for our mornings."

August 29, 2009
Kornheiser To WTEM
Redskins owner Dan Snyder's ESPN 980, WTEM, has announced that Tony Kornheiser will be heard on the sports talk station in the 10 AM to noon weekday slot, starting 9/8.

August 28, 2009
Lindsay Murphy Joins Fox5 Sports
Channel 5/WTTG names Lindsay Murphy (right) as weekend sports anchor and reporter. She'll do Fox5's sports reports on Fridays and Saturdays, and serve as a sports reporter during the week. She comes from Channel 29/WVIR in Charlottesville. Before that, she worked at Channel 4/ WRC as a sports producer and as an intern for George Michael's "Sports Machine." She also interned at Harrisonburg's Channel 3/WHSV.....

August 28, 2009
Former VOAer Tanya Dooher Dies
Tanya Dooher, 86, a Russian-born radio newscaster for the DC-based Voice Of America's Russian broadcasts, died on August 16 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda after a single-car accident in Chevy Chase. Dooher, a Chevy Chase resident, joined VOA in 1961, where she read news reports that she translated into Russian from English. After 32 years, she became a media personality in Russia, often receiving letters from listeners in the former Soviet Union. She retired in 1993.

August 28, 2009
Ted Patterson Retires
Longtime Baltimore sports broadcaster Ted Patterson is retiring. Heard mornings on WCBM (680 AM), his last day is today, Friday. An on-air tribute is planned. His future plans include organizing his extensive sports memorabilia collection and freelance sports reporting, we're told.

August 26, 2009
105.9 Gets An Edge, Imus Out
DCRTV told you that Citadel was planning to pull the plug on True Oldies 105.9. Well, it happened at 10 AM today, with the arrival of "The Edge," a hardish classic rock/alternative rock format. Slogan: "Classic rock that rocks." Look out Clear Channel's classic hits/rock WBIG. DCRTV hears that DC radio veteran Steve Allan, who programmed the 1960s/1970s-based pop oldies format, is staying. DCRTV also hears that the syndicated Don Imus morning show is toast. Last song on True Oldies 105.9: "Windy" by the Association. First song on 105.9 The Edge: Aerosmith's "Living On The Edge." Playlist includes the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Tom Petty, Stone Temple Pilots, the Doors, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden, AC/DC, the Who. Commercial-free through Labor Day. Currently jockless. Website at theedge1059.com. Citadel's DC Operations Manager Kenny King calls the format "Mix 107.3 for guys," in reference to sister hot adult contemporary WRQX and its female orientation. The Scott Shannon-syndicated "True Oldies" format was installed in February 2008 and never achieved any ratings traction. In the latest ratings round-up, the station, WJZW, placed 20th. "Will be interesting. This market has always had very soft tastes," says a local radio guru. "Will be curious to see if it flies." By the way, CBS pulled the plug on its classic rocker, The Globe 94.7, back in April after playing more hardish tunes. CBS "saw limited return on 94.7 when it turned up the tempo" in its final months, a local radio source tells DCRTV. WJZW's HD2 remains smooth jazz, its pre-True Oldies format. Trivia: 105.9 was classic rock back in the 1980s as WCXR.

August 25, 2009
Hedge Fund Wins City Paper B'ruptcy Battle
Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason has lost control of the company his parents founded in 1972 to the NYC hedge fund from whom he borrowed $30 million to buy the Washington City Paper and Chicago Reader. Atalaya won the auction with a $5 million cash bid. Michael Bogdan, managing partner of the winning NYC-based hedge fund, said he is committed to keeping the newspaper chain's 230 employees and 400,000 readers in six cities. "We are here for the long haul and we want to make this work," Bogdan said minutes after Federal Bankruptcy Judge Caryl Delano accepted Atalaya's bid. Creative Loafing bid $2.32 million in cash and securities.

August 24, 2009
Carl Grossman Dies
Carl Grossman, 60, the Leesburg man who pleaded guilty in Fairfax County Court in May 2007 to a misdemeanor charge of stalking in connection with a January 2007 incident in which former WJFK afternoon host Don Geronimo (aka Michael Sorce) received a letter that allegedly contained threats to himself and his family, has died. Grossman, who had been a frequent caller on the Don and Mike O'Meara show, was given a one-year jail sentence with 10 months suspended, followed by a year of probation and a period of supervised mental health care. Grossman's sister, Sara, tells DCRTV that her brother's death "was very sudden and unexpected. Of course, my family blames Don Geronimo for his death in a weird way." She adds: "Our view is that if Don had accepted Carl's written apology, or allowed Carl to pay a fine and be on probation instead of insisting that no plea could be reached unless a jail sentence was attached, then Carl would not have been fired from his job, would not have been denied unemployment benefits, would not have lost health insurance, could have gone to see doctors and afford medications for his asthma, and would not have died uninsured and with respiratory failure that he could not afford to have treated properly." She says that Carl went to an emergency room last Wednesday. He was released from the hospital on Friday and was found dead of an apparent asthma attack on Saturday morning after placing a 911 call at 5 AM. Geronimo placed a statement on his website maintaining that Sara's comments are "wrong." He added: "I committed no crime against the stalker. It was he who violated my family." Geronimo also said that it's false to assume that he could "have simply snapped my fingers and made it so he wouldn't go to jail for his crime."

August 24, 2009
26 Seeks Western Metro Relay
Washington's main PBS outlet, Channel 26/WETA, is asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to put a relay operation in far western Montgomery County on channel 31 in order to fill-in a western metro area coverage gap it says it has via its DC-based digital signal on channel 27. The new channel 31 signal would also cover Loudoun and Frederick counties.

August 21, 2009
Diane Rehm Falls, Cracks Pelvis
Susan Page, filling-in today for Diane Rehm (right) on WAMU (88.5 FM), told listeners this morning that Rehm fell yesterday while crossing a street, and cracked her pelvis. Page wished Rehm a speedy recovery. Kay Summers, a WAMU spokeswoman, tells DCRTV that Rehm "caught her heel in the hem of her slacks while dashing across the street... and cracked her pelvis when she fell. She'll be recuperating for next several weeks." You can send get-well wishes to her at drshow@wamu.org. Substitute hosts for Rehm's nationally-syndicated 10 AM to noon show will include Page, Frank Sesno, and Steve Roberts.

August 19, 2009
Craig Lee Hennige Dies
Craig Lee Hennige, 60, of Waldorf, died on 8/15 at the Braddock Health Center in Cumberland. He was the owner of Motorsports Promotions for more than 25 years. Hennige worked for WBIG, then Oldies 100, from 1993 through 2006 as the voice of the Rolling Oldies Show, and appeared at more than 1,000 events. A life-long car enthusiast at local tracks, he raced the "Whooppee Car" from 1971 through the 1990s. "Craig was one of the finest professionals that I ever worked with. I'm sure a number of your readers have met him over the years," local radio great and WBIG vet Johnny Dark tells DCRTV.

August 18, 2009
Post Axes LoudounExtra
The Washington Post is pulling the plug on its hyper-local news and commentary LoudounExtra.com site for Virginia's Loudoun County. Kris Coratti, the Post's director of communications, says: "While the Washington Post remains dedicated to maintaining a high level of coverage of the counties surrounding Washington DC, we found that our experiment with LoudounExtra.com as a separate site was not a sustainable model. According to Coratti, LoudounExtra.com will be turned off in September, while its content will migrate over to the paper's main site at Washingtonpost.com, ending a rare endeavor by a major daily to present news online in such a local and targeted way. When launched in 2007, the Post promised the site would be geared solely toward Loudoun residents, organizations, and businesses and feature community news, events, and sports sometimes reported on by county residents and local bloggers.

August 13, 2009
TOP Is Tops In July
The monthly July Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC, full-week, age 12+: 1) WTOP [1st in both drivetimes], 2) WHUR [Harvey 2nd], 3) WAMU, 4) WASH [Loriloo 11th], 5) WIHT [Kane 5th], 6) WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 7) WBIG [Ballard 10th], 8) WRQX [Diamond 4th], 9) WGTS, 10) WMZQ, 11) WPGC [Simpson 14th] and WETA-FM and WWDC [Elliot 13th], 14) WKYS [Parr 12th], 15) WPRS, 16) WTGB, 17) WMAL [G&A 16th, Rush 14th, Hannity 19th], 18) WLZL, 19) WJFK [Junks 14th, O'Meara 16th], 20) WTEM, 21) WJZW [Imus 22nd], 22) WAVA, 23) WPFW, 24) WFRE and WBQB. More: 33) WYCB and WILC and WKDV and WACA and WFED, 39) WTNT, 43) WZHF and WKCW and WMET.

August 12, 2009
MPT's Margaret Sullivan Dies
Margaret Sullivan, 62, a producer at Maryland Public Television, died Tuesday after a short illness. She began her career as an actress and stage manager for the newly-formed Center Stage in Baltimore in 1969. Sullivan began her television career in the early 1970s as a camera operator and director of commercials for Channel 45/WBFF. She left for MPT in 1976 and worked on shows such as "Crabs," "The Critics Place," and "Weeknight Alive." She also was an associate producer for MPT's "On Stage At Wolf Trap." Working with Julia Child in the late 1990s (right), Sullivan produced "Cooking With Master Chefs," "Baking With Julia," and "In Julia's Kitchen With Master Chefs." Says MPT veteran Rhea Feikin, via the Baltimore Sun: "She was one of the most professional and generous producers I have ever worked with - and one of the nicest human beings I have known."

August 12, 2009
Ira Apple Dies
Ira Apple died Tuesday in a hospice in Reisterstown after suffering a series of aneurysms in early July. He was 74. Apple programmed a number of radio stations, including Baltimore's WBAL, Pittsburgh's KDKA, and Boston's WBZ, before his current job with the Traffic Directors Guild Of America. He also served as a sales manager with CBSI.

August 11, 2009
Michaelsen Out As 9's ND
8/11 - Lane Michaelsen has resigned his news director gig at Gannett-owned Channel 9/WUSA in order to go "back" to Florida. Where he'll be news director at NBC-owned WTVJ-TV in Miami. WTVJ's general manager is Ardyth Diercks, who had been general manager at WUSA. While Gannett searches for someone new, Jay Mishkin will be the interim news director at WUSA. Lane's last day at WUSA will be 8/19. The Washington Post made an unsuccessful attempt to buy WTVJ last year and run it as a Miami duopoly with its WPLG-TV.

August 10, 2009
Post Cuts Nat'l Weekly
The Washington Post's National Weekly Edition will cease publication at the end of the year, a victim of the bad economy and declining circulation. NWE editor Sharon Scott confirmed that the tabloid, started more than a quarter century ago, will be shuttered. Circulation, which she said peaked at about 150,000 a decade ago, is now about 20,000.

August 10, 2009
Heart Surgery For BAL's "Detour Dave"
WBAL radio traffic reporter "Detour Dave" Sandler collapsed Sunday afternoon on a Baltimore area ballfield. And he will be undergoing heart bypass surgery at the University Of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. From his hospital bed, Sandler told DCRTV that he blacked out while rounding third base to score the winning run for his amateur softball team, the Kings. It just so happened that cardiologist Scott Katzen is also a member of the team. Katzen came to Sandler's aid until the ambulance arrived.

August 10, 2009
Bill Burton Dies
Legendary outdoors writer Bill Burton (right) died early this morning, losing his lengthy battle with cancer, his family said. Burton, 82, was a newspaperman through and through, who wrote about fishing and hunting in the Chesapeake Bay for more than 50 years. He spent decades at the Baltimore Sun and more recently wrote for the Annapolis Capital and Bay Weekly.

August 9, 2009
Retired 4 Engineer Arthur Page Dies
Arthur H. Page III, 89, a retired radio and television engineer for Channel 4/WRC, died on July 25 at his son's home in Washington. He had pancreatic cancer. Page graduated from the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute in the late 1940s and then began his career in radio and television at WRC. As an engineer, he participated in the station's TV coverage of presidential inaugurals and White House events, and he was a radio engineer for popular local shows such as "The Joy Boys," starring Willard Scott and Ed Walker, which aired on WRC radio. He retired in 1982.

August 7, 2009
Theismann To TEM
Redskins great Joe Theismann will be returning to the Washington radio airwaves on Redskins owner Dan Snyder's WTEM, ESPN 980. "The Joe Theismann Show" will debut on Friday, 8/14, in the 8 AM to 10 AM slot. And then, starting on 8/17, it'll air on Mondays in the same time slot. It'll originate from Redskins Park in Ashburn. Theismann will be joined by WTEM's Kevin Sheehan. In addition to his Monday show, Theismann will play an "integral role" on WTEM's Redskins pre-game show and be a frequent guest on other ESPN 980 shows throughout the week.

August 5, 2009
Ed Walker To Hall Of Fame
DC radio legend Ed Walker (right) has received enough votes during the past few weeks and will be inducted into the Chicago-based national Radio Hall Of Fame in November. "This is the culmination of a lot of years in broadcasting, and I'm very grateful," says the 77-year-old Walker. "It hasn't really sunk in yet, but thanks to everyone for the support. It's a great honor to be recognized by all the people who have listened to radio over the years." Adds WAMU General Manager Caryn Mathes, "I am thrilled that Ed has been elected to the Radio Hall Of Fame. He is a legend in Washington radio, and this is a richly deserved honor." Walker's radio career began in 1951 as an American University freshman and one of the founders of WAMU-AM, the campus radio station that preceded the current WAMU-FM. The same year, Walker met fellow AU student Willard Scott. In the 1950s, they became the comedy duo Joy Boys on WRC radio until 1972, when WWDC added the show to its schedule. WWDC aired the last Joy Boys show in 1974. Walker has also worked at WPGC and WMAL and at Channel 7/WJLA and NewsChannel 8. In December 1990, Walker returned to WAMU to host vintage radio program "The Big Broadcast" on Sunday evenings.

August 5, 2009
Ravens Land DC Radio Affiliate
Air America lefty talker WZAA (1050 AM) will be the DC market's home for the Baltimore Ravens. Including all 20 pre-season and regular season games during the 2009-2010 season. "I'm thrilled to enter into this partnership with one of the area's most successful sports franchises. This is a terrific opportunity to reach Ravens' fans in the DC area," said Marty Sheehan, station manager of WZAA, which Air America leases from WTOP owner Bonneville. "To be able to partner with one of the premiere brands in the NFL is exciting for our listeners, advertisers, and talent." The Silver Spring station runs just 44-watts after dark. The Ravens' Baltimore radio flagships are Hearst's news talker WBAL (1090 AM) and WIYY, 98 Rock (97.9 FM).

August 5, 2009
Thomas Schroth Dies
Thomas Schroth, who helped expand and deepen political coverage of Washington as the editor of Congressional Quarterly and a founding editor of National Journal, died on July 23 at his home in Sedgwick, Maine.

August 5, 2009
Bill Phelps Dies
William Issiah Phelps, 53, an internet radio and low-power television station entrepreneur, died July 21 at his home in Greenbelt after a heart attack. Phelps began his career on local radio stations WOL, WMMJ, WINX, WSID, and WJMO (now WIHT) under the air names of Billy Dee, Alexander Goodfellow, Tom Collins, Bill Clark, Bill Fox, and Bob Scott. He moved into radio station management in Georgia and South Carolina. He returned to the Washington area in 1990, founding Hyattsville's Segway Media, a media production company. In 2003, he founded a multimedia advertising company, Radio Music Productions, and began broadcasting over the internet, where he developed the "Billy Dee's Timeless Classics" show and the "Higher Ground" gospel show. His Jammin' 99.5 (then WJMO) internet radio station featured music and interviews with top singers. Phelps acquired three low-power television stations, WIAV (Channel 58) in Greenbelt, WRAV (Channel 8) in Ocean City, and WQAV (Channel 34) in Atlantic City.

August 3, 2009
95.1 Gets Shiny
Baltimore Christian talk and music outlet WRBS is now "95.1 Shine FM." The Peter And John Radio Fellowship outlet has dropped its old "95-One" moniker. It's also unveiled a new website at 951shinefm.com and, we hear, it's emphasizing the Christian contemporary tunes.

August 2, 2009
WAGE Goes Silent
DullesDistrict.com tells us that tough economic conditions have claimed another area media outlet, as Loudoun County's only radio station - AM 1200 WAGE - shut down this morning. If you tune to the frequency on the AM dial, you'll now only hear dead air. The management of Leesburg's WAGE indicated this is only a temporary suspension, as it is continuing plans to make the station into a 50,000-watt regional outlet that can be heard throughout the Washington DC metro area. WAGE's owner - New World Radio - purchased the station in 2005, and it was never a secret their goals were to power the station up to 50,000-watts to go after advertisers outside of the Loudoun borders. Getting the regulatory approval to build a tower, however, turned into a much longer and difficult process than originally thought.

August 2, 2009
George Taylor Morris Dies
George Taylor Morris (left), who was the morning host on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Deep Tracks classic rock channel and did the "XM Artist Confidential" series, has died at his home in Reston from throat cancer. He was 62. Over the years, Morris, nicknamed "GTM," worked at the NYC area's WHLI, WWDJ, WPIX-FM, as well as Boston's WCOZ, NBC's young adult radio network "The Source," and at the Westwood One Radio Network. In 1984, Morris was recruited by the Global Satellite Network to write, produce, and host "Reelin' In The Years," a weekly syndicated album rock show that was a mix of music, interviews, commentary, vintage commercials, plus film and TV clips.

July 28, 2009
BAL To Become Newser In AM Drive
Come 8/31, Baltimore news talker WBAL (1090 AM) is transforming its morning talk show into four hours of all-news radio. Re-branding the 5 AM to 9 AM weekday slot as "Maryland's Morning News." Current morning host Dave Durian remains onboard. He'll be joined by WBAL news anchors Bill Vanko and John Patti. The program will feature "traffic and weather together" every 10 minutes, sports, money reports, and live newsmaker interviews. "The media landscape has changed dramatically in the past year," says WBAL News Director Mark Miller. He adds, "With this unheard of economic downturn we're all enduring, most of our listeners have had to modify and change their lifestyles. We're changing our format to all-news in the mornings to better serve them." Says Durian, "The Baltimore market is crying out for an all-news morning show. This just seems to be a natural evolution for our mornings."

July 27, 2009
Longtime Post Carrier Dies
Gertrude Monaco, 93, who delivered the Washington Post for 22 years in Prince George's County and who was a tireless volunteer for her church and community, died on 7/19 of a heart attack at her home in New Carrollton. Mrs. Monaco lived in Washington for 15 years before moving to New Carrollton in 1959 to raise her six children. She was already active in her church and scouting before she began delivering the Post to customers in New Carrollton in 1966.

July 27, 2009
Nan Billingsley Hurt Dies
Nan Billingsley Hurt, 90, of Lexington Park MD, died on 7/20. We're told that during the years leading up to World War II, she was a writer for the Free Lance Star in Fredericksburg as well as "Miss Fredericksburg." In the 1940s, she was a radio announcer at WFVA in Fredericksburg and WINX in Washington DC.

July 25, 2009
Tony Pann Jumps From 9 To 11
Channel 9/WUSA weatherman Tony Pann is leaving the DC Gannett station. His contract was not renewed. He'll be leaving WUSA at the end of September and heading up to Hearst's Channel 11/WBAL in Baltimore to do morning weather reporting. Pann worked in the Baltimore TV market before coming to WUSA.

July 24, 2009
WERQ Tops Baltimore Radio Heap
The quarterly spring radio ratings for Baltimore, age 12+, full-week: 1) WERQ, 2) WWIN-FM, 3) WPOC, 4) WLIF, 5) WBAL-AM and WWMX, 7) WCBM, 8) WJZ-FM, 9) WIYY, 10) WQSR, 11) WZBA, 12) WCAO. More: 14) WRBS, 18) WCHH, 25) WRNR, 28) WNST and WWIN-AM and WXCY, 31) WJZ-AM. CBS Radio execs are doing cartwheels over latest quarterly ratings numbers for the new Baltimore FM sports talker, 105.7 The Fan. WJZ-FM launched last fall. And it's now in 3rd place among men aged 25-54, going from a 3.9 to a 6.1 demo share since the winter diary-method radio ratings. Also, in the same demo, the station placed 1st in afternoon drive with the Scott Garceau and Anita Marks show, 3rd in middays, and 4th in mornings with Ed Norris.

July 24, 2009
Loverro Joins WTEM
Washington Times sports columnist Thom Loverro will pair with sports radio personality Kevin Sheehan on WTEM, ESPN 980, for a midday show called "Sports Fix." No mention in the Times article that the noon to 2 PM show on Redskins owner Dan Snyder's station will be directly up against Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise's new show on rival sports talker WJFK, 106.7 The Fan. CBS launched the new format Monday with Wise paired with Bill Rohland in the 10 AM to 2 PM slot. The Washington Times' new nationally syndicated political talk morning drive radio show is also heard on a Snyder-owned station, talker WTNT, AM 570.

July 23, 2009
Loudoun Easterner Closes
Another local newspaper bites the dust. At easterner.com: "Effective today, July 22, 2009, we have suspended publication of the Loudoun Easterner. This was a difficult decision. We appreciate the years of reader, advertiser, and employee loyalty to the publication." The Loudoun County newspaper, based in Sterling and later Ashburn, was a freebie weekly tabloid and had been operating since 1968. At its peak, it had a reported distribution of almost 150,000 copies.

July 22, 2009
Beauchamp To Be Consultant For BAL Radio
Jeff Beauchamp is leaving his day-to-day work at WBAL radio (1090 AM) after almost 34 years. The vice president and station manager of the Hearst-owned Baltimore news talker will become a consultant for the station. He's taking a package offered by station owner Hearst. "This has been a great company to work for," Beauchamp tells DCRTV. "This was their decision. They have that right and privilege and I'm moving forward." Says WBAL General Manager Ed Kiernan: "WBAL radio is the most influential voice in Maryland and one of the most honored stations in the country. Jeff's track record of success is second to none. There is no way to overstate his leadership in the formidable history of WBAL radio. On a personal level, Jeff and I have worked together for over 18 years. He's opinionated, loud, and proud with outstanding instincts. His attention to detail is legendary. Jeff taught me, and many of you, how the job should be done and I am eternally grateful."

July 17, 2009
Jim Whittemore Dies
We hear: "Jim Whittemore dies. Jim was an outstanding cameraman and floor manager at WTTG/Channel 5 and WBAL/Channel 11 in the 1970s and then moved to Ocean City to pursue his dream... a radio career. He was best known as "Captain Jim" - the sidekick to Hitman McKay on WKHI/Ocean City in the late '80s and early '90s. Jim was also heard on WRXS, WTGM, WJDY, and WKHZ. Jim called the Delmarva Shorebird games for quite some time, and was also the stadium announcer at Delmarva Downs. He also had an unsuccessful mayoral bid in the late '80s".....

July 17, 2009
TOP Tops June PPMs
The June monthly Portable People Meter radio ratings for DC show all five of Clear Channel's FMers (WASH, WIHT, WBIG, WWDC, WMZQ) in the "top 10." While CBS's four FMers (WPGC, WTGB, WLZL, WJFK) are all outside the "top 10." As usual, Bonneville's WTOP takes the crown. Here are the age 12+, full-week numbers: 1) WTOP [1st in both drivetimes], 2) WHUR [Harvey 3rd] and WASH [Loriloo 7th], 4) WAMU, 5) WIHT [Kane 5th], 6) WBIG, 7) WRQX [Diamond 4th], 8) WMMJ [Joyner 6th], 9) WGTS, 10) WWDC [Elliot 12th] and WMZQ, 12) WETA-FM, 13) WKYS [Parr 13th], 14) WPGC [Simpson 15th] and WPRS, 16) WTGB and WMAL [G&A 17th, Rush 9th, Hannity 18th], 18) WLZL, 19) WJFK [Junks 14th, O'Meara 14th] and WTEM, 21) WJZW [Imus 22nd], 22) WFRE and WBQB, 24) WPFW, 25) WAVA. More: 28) WFED, 33) WKDV, 36) WILC and WYCB and WTNT, 41) WWGB.

July 14, 2009
WJFK Flips To Sports
CBS Radio made the official announcement today that "guy talker" WJFK will become "Sportsradio 106.7 The Fan" at 6 AM on Monday, 7/20. CBS suits met with advertisers at noon Tuesday at the Verizon Center. As expected, the Junkies, now the Sports Junkies, will remain in morning drive. And, as we've reported, Mike Wise will be paired with Bill Rohland in middays, with Chad Dukes and Lavar Arrington doing afternoon drive. There will be a website at 1067thefandc.com. And, as we've reported, the Wizards will air on JFK this fall, with Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor calling the games. Plus, as we've hinted, JFK will be carrying Westwood One's NFL "Primetime" package of Thursday, Sunday, and Monday games, plus the playoffs and the Super Bowl. That package had aired on Redskins owner Dan Snyder's WTEM, ESPN 980. We also get confirmation that longtime afternooner Mike O'Meara is a gonner. His show is in reruns this week. We hear that O'Meara will do a farewell segment, but not a full live show, on Friday, 7/17.

July 13, 2009
Charles Barbour Dies
Charles Barbour, 89, an assistant sports editor at the Washington Star from 1954 to 1977, died on June 25 at Inova Loudoun Hospital Center in Leesburg of pneumonia. Early in his career, Barbour, a Washington native, was a sports editor for the old Washington Times-Herald.

July 9, 2009
Ken Mellgren Retires From AP
Ken Mellgren (right) is taking early retirement after after 14 years with Associated Press Broadcast in DC. He tells DCRTV: "Working with AP in affiliate relations and new product development has been a terrific experience. My 25 years in Washington broadcasting has been extremely rewarding and I have no plans to move. I look forward to some consulting and volunteering." Before joining AP, Mellgren spent five years as regional operations manager for Metro Networks and six years as program director for the old WRC radio, when it featured a talk format under Greater Media. He plans to continue to chair the Broadcast Committee at the National Press Club, as well as his post as director of the Radio And Television Museum in Bowie.

July 6, 2009
Leinwand Jumps To CC
Alan Leinwand, who was once general manager and general sales manager of CBS Radio's WJFK in Washington - back in its "superstation" days with Howard Stern and the Redskins, becomes general sales manager for Clear Channel's NYC radio cluster. Leinwand was most-recently vice president for sales at CBS's WXRK in NYC.

July 3, 2009
Alan Etter To Leave DC EMS
Alan Etter, public information officer for the District Of Columbia Fire/EMS Department, is leaving the agency after 10 years. He's joining the University Of The District Of Columbia's communications office. Etter started his career as a reporter with Richmond's WRVA-TV. In 1991, he came to DC as a reporter for WTOP radio and CBS News, covering news stories in the city and across the USA.

July 2, 2009
Whitney To Seattle
We told you that DC101's Whitney is leaving her midday gig later this month. Now, we hear that she's heading to Seattle to do her own morning radio show at alt rocker KNDD. Whitney Knoerlin will begin the gig in August.

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