|
Radio Talk
With Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2001; 1 p.m. EDT
Frank Ahrens covers radio for The Washington Post. His column -- "The Listener" -- appears every other Tuesday in the Style section. Frank is also a general assignment feature writer, and his reporting subjects have included everything from minivans to murders, from baseball to bandwidth.
If you're wondering about the inner workings of radio in Washington, around the country and on the Web, or want to know what Frank really thinks of minivans, then don't touch that dial... um, mouse! Please join us for this discussion!
Also, check out an edition of Radio Lives with Frank Ahrens, a series of conversations with washington radio's biggest stars.
Below is the transcript.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Frank Ahrens: Greetings, all. And welcome back to the discussion.
Today, an evil vivisection of Smooth Jazz 105.9, complicitous with excellent program director Kenny King. Sorry...couldn't hold off any longer. What are your thoughts?
Also, the Limbaugh diagnosis and changes at WGMS, as former midday host Diana Hollander finally decides to leave the station after being on an extended leave because of a medical condition, yet to be publicly identified by the station.
Also, thanks to the baseball playoffs, there's some excelelnt play-by-play underway on ESPN radio, with the broadcast team of Charlie Steiner and Dave "Soup" Campbell, who are about the best team on radio.
Let's go to your questions.
Washington, D.C.:
Frank,
Really enjoyed your column today. As a fan of true jazz -- John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, and so on -- I believe that so-called smooth jazz is profoundly evil. In fact, I am convinced that smooth jazz contributed directly to the decline and eventual fall of the Roman empire and every great civilization since. (Take heed, Washington!)
Unfortunately, ever since UDC was forced to sell WDCU, WPFW has been the only stop on the dial that plays any jazz. With Washington being such a diverse, affluent, educated town, one that seemingly has an appreciation for fine art in all its forms, why is it that a real jazz station is unable to succeed here commercially? Is this the case in other, larger cites?
Also, how's drive-time doing on WMAL? I'd really like to hear Chris Core beginning at 4:00 again.
Frank Ahrens: As for all ratings questions, the summer Arbitron book comes out tomorrow and I'll write a story about it for Thursday's paper. Some interesting things to watch for: How is Top 40 Hot 99.5 doing and how are Don and Mike doing on their move to midday.
Thanks for nice words on Smooth Jazz column. I'm afraid, however, that I don't have many more complimentary words for straight-ahead jazz, tho. Stick with me on this....
One would think that D.C., being the home of Duke Ellington and a racially diverse population, would be a great market for a commercial jazz station. Indeed, other cities, like Chicago, have them. But the last one here, as you point out, WDCU, U-DC's old staiton that did jazz and is now C-span was the last bastion, except for Pacifica's WPFW, which carries on the jazz tradition. But it's a public station and has a small, small budget. Sometimes, I wonder if jazz is like Latin: a dead art form. I wonder if it didn't kill itself with what seems like an exclusionary attitude, i.e., the idea that you have to be worthy to listen to it. For instance: I went to H.R. 57, the jazz club on 14th street, a couple of months ago, and it was an open-mike night. Place was packed, folks were listening, talking, having a good time, etc. Then the hostesss got up on stage and essentially told the audience to shut up and respect the artists by listening in silence. Is this a welcoming attitude to your art form? So I have a sort of love-hate relationship with jazz--I own plenty of Miles and Parker, etc., but wonder why it seems to shoot itself in teh foot like that.
Arlington, Va.:
I was sorry to read today that Diana Hollander won't be returning to WGMS. Is she going to be OK?
Frank Ahrens: Unclear. The station won't disclose any details about her illness, of which all we know is that it is a long-term one. Of course, her fans wish her well.
San Diego, Calif.:
Good column today!
You managed to work in 20+ references to yourself--followed up with a warmed over news flash about Rush Limbaugh. All of the other reporters must be wondering how you managed to get that scoop!
Frank Ahrens: Thanks, I really appreciate the kind words. It's great to have really astute fans of the column check in in such a supportive manner! You guys are the best! :)
Middletown Man:
Frank, Just when I was getting back into the Greaseman's humor, he bolts from town again and we are left wondering if we'll ever hear from him again. Any news?
Frank Ahrens: Sure. Doug "Greaseman" Tracht is no longer on the D.C. air, because he's not broadcasting from WZHF 1390 anymore. He's built a home studio to service his handful of stations that carry his show and is negotiating with a large radio chain to return to the D.C. air in the near future in a limited capacity.
Alexandria, Va.:
Frank - what's the frequency for ESPN radio? I'd like to catch some of the baseball!
Frank Ahrens: The games that are being carried locally are being carried by WTEM 980 AM. But don't be surprised if you hear a Caps hockey game or talk show, because I can't quite figger out how or when WTEM is deciding to carry the baseball playoffs. Maybe someone from the station can check in in this discussion and tell us what to expcet with the upcoming ALCS, NLCS and World Series.
Mt. Rainier, Md.:
Now I feel really Philistine. I like smooth jazz, although somewhat apologetically. I only listen to radio in the car, so I don't want something that is going to be really distracting or aggravating. There's enough of that on the road. On the plus side, I frequently hear music, especially instrumentals, that I won't hear anyplace else that I really like. Hiroshima, Chaquico come to mind first. They play some awesome guitarists. Without them, I'm stuck with golden oldies (heard it the first time thanks) and NPR (sometimes too depressing).
Frank Ahrens: Hey, no shame. We all have our guilty pleasures. Listen, the riff today was just a little fun. It's a personal foible. As I pointed out...lots of peopel listen to the station and it makes pretty good money. However, as Austin Powers would say, "It's not my bag, bay-bee!" I don't dig the slow-jam. What can I say? (Admission: I once paid actual cash money in college to see Spyro Gyra.)
Glover Park, D.C.:
Argh, this is your last chat? That's tragic!!!
Since we've got a "war" going on right now, and since the US media is pretty much just regurgitating whatever the White House says, no matter how innane, would you (or O Dub) care to comment on the importance of shortwave, and perhaps some good non-US frequencies to pick up for some analysis?
Frank Ahrens: Well, since you broach it. No, this is not my last discussion, but the days are numbered. This is as good a time as any to share this with my excellent readers:
I am changing jobs in about 1.5 months. After five fun years in the Style section, I'm moving to the Financial section of The Post, where I'll cover media/entertainment/advertising. It's an excellent hard-news beat. It's true, I will no longer write The Listener, or do local radio Live On-line discussions about local radio, but I'm hoping to work out something with the folks who run these discussions to start up a new Live On-Line discussion that pertains to my new beat, so we can all stay in touch. Someone will take over The Listener--don't know who, yet--but I've got a couple of columns and discussions left in me.
In short, no need to panic. Yet.
This sounds like a great question for O Dubya, who's posted something already that may answer it. Let's take a look...
Potomac, Md.:
I feel like I should be able to figure out the answer to this, but why do some stations (and it seems like it's the cheesier ones) have this "echo" effect on the air. It's as if they're broadcasting in an empty gym or something. I think the Diamond in the Morning show, for one, uses this effect.
Frank Ahrens: It's called "reverb," and stations like Mix 107.3 and WJFK use it to sound more distinctive. I don't mind it behind music, but I HATE too much of it for talk. When Mix 107.3 deejays come on after songs, it sounds like they're filling my head. I have to turn away. But not to Smooth Jazz. (Ha!)
The Airless Cubicle:
Frank, let me congratulate you on your change of job. I sincerely hope you will have fun. We'll miss you here, but I promise to keep bringing up the glories of medium-wave and shortwave radio in the forum.
Radio Shariya in Afghanistan didn't even make it to Day 2 in the air war. The transmitters in Kabul were one of the first targets. (These were not the radio towers at which the U.N. mine clearance workers were killed). A monitor in India reports hearing it on the same frequency, 7085 to 7090 kHz, but at reduced power.
The U.S. aircraft used in the radio campaign are from a unit that has taken part in Haiti and Bosnia and Kosovo. Because we are at war, I won't ID the units involved. The programming comes from a Psyops unit with experience in the job and the transmitters are 2 ten kiloWatt Collins units mounted in EC-130s, code named COMMANDO SOLO. The U.S. is airdropping hand-wound radios, the BayGen model, on Afghanistan preset to the American broadcasts. They broadcast information about food drops as well as American news. Remember, telling the truth is also propaganda.
The U.S. is buying time on Al-Jazeera television to get the point out. I think that if the Voice of America were seen less as a political football between the State Department and Senate Republicans, it might develop a stronger news service overseas. We need to get transmitters into the area which can be heard at night by the Pakistani in the street, and we need to get the message out clearly the U.S. is not anti-Muslim.
Here in the States, the best news coverage in the morning still comes from Radio Nederlands. They took over the BBC frequencies of 5965 and 15220 kHz and use them to good effect. The BBC can still be heard on 5975 kHz and 12095 kHz at night, aimed to the Caribbean.
Remember, there's always room for more in the Shelter.
Frank Ahrens: Excellent posting, O Dubya. Thanks much for the nice words. Like an excellent amenity in an condo, I will convey you to the next Listener! And of course, hope to hear from you and everyone else in whatever new discussion I do.
Bethesda, Md.:
How has Don and Mike been doing since their time shift? Will they ever make it back to a drive time slot?
Rob
Frank Ahrens: We'll see some prelim results with the summer Arbitrons come out tomorrow. Don and Mike are now Infinity's midday product, rolled out across the country. Opie and Anthony are Infinity's afternoon product. Seems to me like Don and Mike stay middays for awhile.
Workin' in a Coal Mine, Kentucky:
Frank,
Enjoyed your tour of smooth jazz today. A couple of observations:
Demographically, smooth jazz stations attract listeners who walk and quack like public radio listeners. In a couple of markets the arrival of smooth jazz moved news/jazz NPR stations to all-news.
In some markets, like Cincinnati and (I think) Buffalo, smooth jazz didn't produce enough revenue and the format flipped. Popular choices are "Alice," the female-targeted rock format or some variant of "rhythmic-mojo-jammin' oldies...
If you believe a song or piece of music arcs like a story, smooth jazz disappoints because it is all "middle" with no perceptible beginning or end.
Finally, I'm always reminded of a line from jazz writer Francis Davis, who about 20 years ago in the Philadelphia Inquirer described smooth jazz' predecessor, "new age," as "rhythmically palsied."
Frank Ahrens: Good points. Yes, the Smooth Jazz audience is very similar to the public radio audience: Wealthy, educated and prone to avoiding loudness and clutter on the radio. However, Smooth Jazz's audience is much more racially integreated than NPR's.
Burtonsville, Md.:
Hi Frank, I'm posting early. This may be outside your area of expertise, but I tuned into 105.7 the other day to hear the Baltimore oldies station (much better than 100.3 here) and they had flip-flopped with 102.7, the Baltimore hip-hop station. Is this unusual in the radio business? I don't recall anything like that happening in DC (at least on FM). Also, do you know whether the new satellite radios will be capable of picking up AM-FM as well? I'd hate to give up NPR and local news just to get commercial-free music. Thanks in advance.
Frank Ahrens: Yes, the Infinity stations in Baltimore did some flipping to make way for new formats. Rare, but not unheard of. Look at the FM section of www.dcrtv.com, Dave Hughes's local radio site, to get the backstory on these two stations.
Yes, satellite radio will have three bands: AM, FM, satellite. You'll still get all your over-the-air stations, plus CDs, too.
Chantilly, Va.:
Frank,
A funny thing happened to me Friday evening and I thought I'd put it out there for general consumption. I was talking to a radio personality (RP) on the phone about a comment he made on the air and about ten minutes later I am surprised to hear myself on the air, having the same discussion with this RP. I called him back and asked whether he should have asked me for permission to broadcast that discussion and he responded that permission is only needed when the radio station initiates the call, not when a listener calls the station. Is this right? I didn't even know he was recording me when I called the first time, something else I don't think is quite on the up-and-up.
Thanks, Bob J.
Frank Ahrens: Yes, that is correct. The FCC regs imply that, if you call up, you're asking for it, essentially. Be warned.
Gaithersburg, Md.:
The way I see it, poor old Kenny King is like an assistant manager at McDonald's. He's in the place 12 hours a day, getting coated with airborne grease, and he ends up eating all his meals there. Soon he starts noticing the subtle differences between a Quarter-Pounder (TM) and a Big Mac (TM). Eventually he gets to where actual food tastes wrong and would give him indigestion.
Kenny's been there 7 years? By this point, exposure to Miles Davis and John Coltrane might kill him.
Frank Ahrens: Hahaha! Hey...you want to take over the column?
Berryville, Va.:
Do radio stations track down rumors about them like format changes, rumors about their deejays' private lives, etc.? If so how do they do it? Reason I ask if that a good friend told me recently that Clear Channel actually has someone on their staff whose main job is to track down rumors.
We had a case up in this area years ago about a rumor that a local dj was homosexual and had HIV. The owners of the radio station was able to track down the source and from what I remember charges was pressed. In this case a teenage girl called the station to get a request on and the dj said he would. When the song failed to appear on his show she "got back at him" by starting the rumors (she told some local businesses/churches hoping for a boycott as well as tell other kids ).
I do wonder if this is the reason why some webites like DCRTV.com for example don't show the ISP addresses?
Frank Ahrens: Wow. What an interesting story. I'm guessing that a huge company like Clear Channel has fleets of lawyers and perhaps even investigators pursuing internal matters like this. But the subtext of the story seems to be: This is what happens when you don't play listeners' requests!
Dale City, Va.:
Frank,
Just a question regarding your opinion about Smooth Jazz in this a.m.'s paper. Are they puting the play list together here or being dictated to by someone at Broadcast Architecture? My biggest gripe with the format is they too much Kenny G (Sominex in a sax) and too many other artists (Phil Collins, Michael McDonald, etc.) who aren't jazz at all. Thanks!
Frank Ahrens: Good question. Broadcast Architecture is a programming consulting firm owned by Clear Channel (naturally). Smooth Jazz, and many stations, employ BA to help them with research and song selection. BA will tell Smooth Jazz, "the latest Fattburger (love that) tune is doing well in Chicago, Phoenix and Seattle, but not NYC or Houston." So Smooth Jazz program director Kenny King takes that information and decides whether to play the song here, and if so, how often to play the song. BA is useful to programmers.
Mclean, Va.:
I think radio really stinks these day's but still like to keep informed on what's happening in the local and national industry.
I guess I'll ask one question. Do you think WAMU might reconsider its jettison of bluegrass music if it's upcoming fundraising period turns out poorly or ship has sailed and music is bad, talking something to death, good!
Frank Ahrens: I think WAMU is committed to being an all news/talk station during the week. That's their brand and their franchise. I think bluegras stays on the weekends.
Arlington, VA:
Francois, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are doing the ALCS and World Series on ESPN Radio, while Charlie Steiner does the NLCS. Both of these teams are superior to the talking heads on Fox (except for maybe Joe Buck). BTW, have you heard that dreadful Rex Hudler doing the color for the M's-Tribe series?
I hope WTEM makes room for the Miller/Morgan team in the next couple of weeks, but with the Caps/Wiz and countless Redskin shows, we may have to dial up WBAL out of Baltimore.
Frank Ahrens: I really, really like Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on TV. I think Miller, who I've interviewed a couple of times, is best play-by-play man working now, and that's no insult to Vin Scully. Also, I think Morgan is a v. good analyst. He's smart. However, there's just somethign about the chemistry and knowledge between ESPN's Charlie Steiner and Dave "Soup" Campbell that's outstanding. Steiner is a solid play-by-play guy and has a terrifically droll sense of humor. Campbell--a former player--has great, and insightful stories. For instance, they were broadcasting from Busch Stadium early this year, which is notoriously hot. Steiner brought that up, told an amusing story from, I think, Casey Stengel about the Busch heat, then Campbell told this great story about Cardinals players back in the day putting aluminum foil in their shoes becaue they thought it would reflect the heat from teh Astroturf!!!
Arlington, Va.:
Hi Frank-
Sorry for the early submission -- I have a staff meeting at 1.
I am very disappointed in the new 104.1. I was SO excited the first weekend after the format changed -- heard artists who I have rarely heard on any other stations (e.g. Fiona Apple, old-school Sarah McLaughlin). Now it seems that they've just reverted to the generic 90s and 00s stuff they played before, just less poppy. It sucks. I was so excited about the prospect of a somewhat-alternative station (that is, alternative to the homogeneous junk on 107.3, DC101 and, it hurts me to say this, WHFS). Please get the message to them that they were winning by taking a risk and doing something different. Now the only pitch they have to make is 1/2 the commercials (which means time for one or two more bland songs per hour - oh joy).
Thanks.
A 20-something chick who was supposed to be their target audience.
Frank Ahrens: Thanks, chick. I'll post this so Z104 general manager Mark O'Brien will see it.
Falls Church, Va.:
Last show? Tuesday will never be the same without you and the regulars- no GenXGurl, Airless cubicle, Washington lawyers. Who will moderate the truck/minivan crowd, WMAL/WTOP competition? How do I keep up with the Art Bell news? Miss you already, gotta go mourn. -Tina
Frank Ahrens: Thanks, Tina. Today is not a day to be sad. Today is a day to celebrate life, to raise a glass to growth and moving on. To embrace each other (c'mon...group hug. There you go!) and realize that, as Carol Burnett sang, "I'm so glad we had this time together..."
How was that? Who's got a dry eye? You? You? Didn't think so.
DEE CEE (The Original):
Hiya Frank-
Do you have someone "warming up in the bullpen"? (i.e. will someone be continuing these on-line sessions about radio?)
Your column about the smooth jazz station kind of sums up the banality of commercial radio today; there is much to groan about:
WARW plays, what, 10 or 15 classic rock songs over and over again.
There is word that Clear Channel is going to
automate their overnight programming on their local FMers with prerecorded voice tracks and music, and thereby do away with live DJs.
(Corporate radio would probably be happy to have a robot sit at the DJ's console if they could get away with it. No vacation, sick days, retirement, etc.)
Voice compression technolgy being used to squeeze an extra two minutes out of every hour for more ads.
Instead of using live local air talent, WMAL continues to feed at the slop trough of the conservative talkers, playing Rush and Sean Hannity re-runs overnight and Saturdays. And furthermore, completely ruins the moment of veteran commentator Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story," by interrupting the critical point and turns the feature into a chee-zee "do-you-know-the-answer" phone-in contest for movie tickets.
Thank goodness for WPFW, WAMU and the internet which brings in stations like KPIG-FM with eclectic music.
These sessions have been a lot of fun.
Best wishes Frank!!
Frank Ahrens: Thanks, Dee Cee. I think you just wrote my goodbye column for me.
It's unclear who's taking over the column. That's up to the honchos here in the Style section. But radio is important--I'm sure one of my talent colleagues will take up the mantle.
Classic Rock Watch:
Frank, they're backsliding again. And, as Dan Quayle once ventured, they know who they are. Yes, "Classic Rock 94.7" is retreating into their absurd cocoon of all Fleetwood Mac/Billy Joel/ZZ Top all the time. It's getting really bad. I mean, first of all, do you know anybody who likes Fleetwood Mac? That whiny cow Stevie Nicks against the backdrop of those rudimentary guitar licks? Puh-leeze. But that's not even the worst of it. Morning dork Mark Kessler is fumbling at the mouth again, talking over the beginning vocals of songs. It's really embarrassing, as if one were listening to a college radio station. And when he manages to avoid competing with lead vocalists, he always announces a song with an absurd non-sequitor: "They just found another case of Anthrax. Here's the Boss with 'Born In The USA!'" Once again, I thank you in advance for posting this so that the suits at WARW may take note. You continue to run the best DC radio forum around, and your pieces in the paper keep getting better and better. Here's hoping some of your talent rubs off on Arrow 94.7.
Frank Ahrens: Thanks, oh assiduous Classic Rock watcher. I know Classic Rock program director Phil Locascio tunes into these discussions, so he'll see this.
Laurie:
Frank -- I am glad that you have a couple more chats & columns left....Congrats on the new job.
I still like Z104 -- it's just that they must play the same songs at the exact same times everday -- I set by watch by Dave Matthews - 9:50 am.
Frank Ahrens: Hahaha! Great content analysis, Laurie. Thanks for the nice words.
I need to hear something different:
Frank,
Just a vent, I think.
Isn't anybody thinking clearly out there in radio management? Z104 has become a modern version of 107.3 which is very similar to soft rock stations. DC101 and HFS play the same tunes. If I hear that "It's been awhile" song one more time from every station, I may have turn to jazz or some other annoying kind of music. Isn't there somebody playing new songs, no matter what kind of "rock" it is?
Frank Ahrens: I have written a piece in the upcoming Washington Monthly, which will be out later this month, exactly on that topic. It's pegged to a review of a new book called "FM," by longtime WNEW deejay Richard Neer, which purports to tell the history of rock radio through the lens of that legendary free-form NYC rock station. But the piece I did is bigger: I don't think you can blame rock radio for sucking when what they're getting to play is crap. For every Green Day, you seem to get a dozen Blink 182s and Limp Bizkits. For me, the best-sounding music stations on the radio today are the black-hits stations, like WPGC (95.5) and WKYS (93.9). The post-rap artists like Nelly, DMX, Destiny's Child and so forth make the hookiest, richest-sounding, most musically ambitious songs that I hear on radio these days. And the deejays are the most entertaining and plugged into their communities.
Greenbelt, Md.:
Gen-X-Gurl here:
Frank, no joking around today. I realize that you are soon to move on to the business section and a very nice, well earned promotion. Congratulations, you will be missed.
Sorry, I have not been around much. Again, this past summer in "the Heartland of America", I had the time of my life. Morning radio there is a blast. You will never know how close I came to not coming home. I was offered the full time job and very nearly took it. If, I am still remembered by them next spring pre graduation, I think that may very well be where my life is played out. As I was leaving this summer, the station owner's wife said that if I come back, she would bet I wind up Mayor of the town within five years. I told her radio is my life, not politics but she just gave me a funny look. I am taking a boatload of extra classes for a crazy challenge of it and they have kept me away post summer.
I appreciate your help and advice over the past two years Frank. You are a good man. When I do make it, I will drop you a line and we can have lunch someday when I am home for a visit.
No ending jokes, just a friendly hug and kiss and tons of warm wishes. Keep on track to be the future Managing Editor.
Gen-X-Gurl
P.S. One last thing, the Powers-That-Be should seriously consider giving you Kornheiser's Sunday Style column, you would be supurb at it.
Frank Ahrens: Well, it's about time, young lady! (tap, tap, tap...)
Glad to hear from you, glad your summer went so well, and, if I could invest in humans like the stock market, I'd buy many shares of Gen-X-Gurl's future radio career.
Do keep in touch.
Washington, D.C.:
WCPN in Cleveland is a public station that plays traditional jazz (from big band to free form) along with news and public affairs. It does fairly well, although I must agree with you that jazz tends to take itself much, much too seriously.
Of course, I have the same problem with classical music too.
Frank Ahrens: Exactly.
Heavenly on Capitol Hill, D.C.:
Frank,
Congrats! We'll miss ya covering the local radio stations... no matter how horrid the situation is. Hopefully, you'll have chats scheduled under your new position.
Random... A few evenings ago, one of those "Miss Cleo" adverts came on and Bert (formerly of the Jack and Bert morning show, not evil Bert) was in it! The commercial also featured Lindsey from the Seattle cast of the "Real World."
Frank Ahrens: Omigod. How far has Bert Weiss fallen???
Northwest D.C.:
Frank -
So, Clear Channel is automating overnights on WMZQ. Rumour is that this is what's going to happen with all their FMs (WASH, WBIG, DC101). Do you think Arbitron will EVER rate those hours, or is this just a taste of things to come? I know it's cheaper than paying an actual announcer for those hours, but it seems to me this is almost thumbing their nose at their listeners. If they have such little regard for them, why don't they just sign off at midnight?
Frank Ahrens: Yes, the word is that Clear Channel stations here in D.C. are automating overnights--no live deejays. A costcutting measure, naturally. You're right--Aribitron does not count those hours, and I wonder if they will even when they replace their diaries with their "people meters" that they're testing now. (It's something you wear that records what you listen to, instead of you having to try to remember and write it down.) Overnights are really a dead zone because airtime is all about people listenign who advertisers want to listen and there just aren't that many people listening. On the other hand, many a star deejay got their start on overnights. It's a great training ground. A couple of local stations even offered to put ME on overnights. Wouldn't THAT be rich?
Woodbridge, Va.:
Will you do an on-line chat when you work for the Business section? Will you cover the business-side of radio? And will you have to start acting like a real grown-up and listen to stations that do news and money news and business reports? I'd love it if you continued on-line chats as a Biz guy.
Frank Ahrens: Re. grown-up: I am wearing an actual tie today.
I hope to continue an on-line live discussion, once I get to the Biz section.
Takoma Park, Md.
I, too, was very sad to read that Diana Hollander would not be returning to WGMS. What used to be posted in her bio "she always sounds likes she's smiling," was really true. I actually met her on a couple of WGMS-sponsored events and she was as gracious as her radio personality. While I totally understand keeping her medical condition private, I don't understand why I have not heard anything from the other personalities, like Dennis Owens (who used to refer to her lovingly as "bubbles"), etc. Did I miss something? Even a "we are so sad that Diana Hollander will no longer be with WGMS", or a few of her favorite classical pieces in her honor...something. Even the website now has her picture off and no remembrance or dedication at all.
Frank Ahrens: I agree. I don't think WGMS has done a good job of saying goodbye to Diana Hollander, but perhaps they still will.
Vienna, Va.:
Here's a local radio trivia question for you, Frankie. Whatever happened to the local radio magazine "Forecast" (1970s)? And could the D.C. market today support such a rag?
Frank Ahrens: I don't know...that's news to me. Any old radio hands out there know that? If I were you, I'd post this question to the www.dcrtv.com mailbag. I'm sure you'll get an answer.
Bethesda, Md.:
Are you optimistic or not about the future of satellite radio?
Frank Ahrens: I am optimistic about the future of satellite radio, if only because it follows the hyper-successful biz model of cable television: that people will pay for narrowcasting of stuff they want. Further, I think it's a good idea to launch it in cars, where people have fewer entertainment options than they at home.
However, I am not optimistic that it was a good time to start a new, luxury business even before Sept. 11, and am more pessimistic now. Both XM and Sirius need to weather the first year, hope the car companies agree to put a bunch of their radios in a bunch of their new cars, and cross their fingers. The product is good; it just needs to get out there.
Arlington, Va.:
Do you ONLY listen to music? Do you have any passion of news or talk on the radio?
Seems to be we need that now more than ever (to steal a line from one of them).
Frank Ahrens: Actually, the first station I turn on when I get in the car, especially post-Sept. 11, is all-news WTOP. (And I just KNOW I'm going to see this in a WTOP promo...damn you, Jim Farley!) I need to check to see if something's blown up. Also, I listen to NPR a lot, too.
Frank Ahrens: That's gonna do it for today folks. Thanks for all the excellent questions.
And remember: Today was NOT, repeat NOT, our final discussion. See you in a couple of weeks.
|
|
© Copyright 2001 The Washington Post Company | 
