Station Break with Paul Farhi: WJFK-FM to Challenge Dan Snyder's WTEM as All Sports

Washington Post staff writer Paul Farhi was online Tuesday, July 14, at 1 p.m. ET to talk about the latest news and topical issues in the pop culture world of TV, radio, movies and trends.

Today's Topic: The big radio sports-talk flip is a go. In a direct challenge to Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his string of local sports stations, CBS Radio is about to convert WJFK-FM to all sports. Who's up, who's down, who wins the week?

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Paul Farhi: Greetings, all, and thanks for coming 'round...So, it's on. As foreshadowed here, there and elsewhere, the suits at CBS are flipping WJFK-FM (106.7) next week from guy-talk to all sports-talk (they're tub-thumping the format change at an event at the Verizon Center, complete with cheerleaders and scoreboard graphics, even as I write this). The real storyline here, I think, is that radio is about to get some old-fashioned competition, something almost absent in this corporate-radio age: CBS is taking direct aim at Redskins owner Dan Snyder's mini-radio empire, especially WTEM/ESPN 980, until this second the only sports talker in town (One of the scoreboard graphics at Verizon today touted the new station as "Unbiased, uncensored Redskins coverage"--an indirect shot at the Snyder stations). That's good; competition makes everyone better, though in this case I suspect it will ultimately make one station owner a lot poorer.

A few deets on the new WJFK, "The Fan" (ugh): The Junkies will remain in morning drive time, re- rebranding themselves as "The Sports Junkies" (their original name). The 10-2 pm shift will be handled by The Post's own Mike Wise, with co-host Bill Rohland. Ex-Skin (and radio newbie) LaVar Arrington will be in the 2-to-6 shift, with holdover Chad Dukes co-hosting. 6-7 pm has not yet been announced but my spies tell me CBS is trying to hire John Riggins, late of Snyder's own station, for some extra Redskins cred. Nights will mostly be live sports--Wizards games, Terps and (if they can get the rights) Capitals. Plus--take that, Dan Snyder!--WJFK will have CBS's package of NFL games on Monday and Thursday nights, Sunday afternoons and Sunday nights, plus the playoffs and Super Bowl.

What's missing: Mike O'Meara and crew. His show was a) expensive and b) didn't fit the new format, so he's getting the heave-ho. This is a sad end for O'Meara, Robb, Buzz, etc. They were part of a great radio tradition, and a great show, "Don & Mike." Unclear what will become of Mike, et al, for now.

Anyway, live and local, morning till night. On paper, that beats ESPN 980 right off the bat, since 980 has the generic and syndicated Mike & Mike and Colin Cowherd's show covering its entire morning bloc. Wonder if Snyder, or his very capable radio lieutenant, Bruce Gilbert, is rethinking that now that CBS is coming after 'em. We'll see.

Anyway, as they say on talk radio (news and sports), let's go to the phones....

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NOVA: They should get Don Geromino to come back!

Paul Farhi: I think that bridge has been burned...

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Wheaton, Md.: Glad to hear of competition. WTEM is weak! Only thing of quality is John Thompson. They only talk about the Redskins and they broadcast the Orioles for god's sake!

Paul Farhi: Well, thing is, the Redskins are the first, second, third and fourth most popular sports topic in this area. WJFK has really gone Redskins-centric by hiring LaVar (and possibly Riggo). And you know the rest of the time Topics One through 27 are going to be that football team. It's a safe bet that WJFK will try to out-Redskins the competish.

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Haymarket, Va.: I am glad to hear that WJFK is/may move to sports format. We need a voice that can be trusted. Dan Snyder tries to control everything. The worst example of this is Redskins Report on Comcast. OMG, have they no shame -- this is such a propaganda, schmarmy show with that shill Larry Michaels.

At some point it seems this effort to control everything will be like herding cats, and eventually they'll all get out. My question is this. Is there a day-of-reckoning-train-wreck fan revolt coming? Is this WJFK move a public acknowledgement of the fact that the propaganda has gone on too long? Do you think FedEx Field will be empty this year? I have heard that ticket sales are way down.

Synder is one of SI's worst owners, he can't keep his finger off the coaching/personnel trigger, his ticket office operates like a used car dealer, with inconsistent pricing and ready to gouge or bait/switch loyal fans, they propagate the waiting-list myth, and all the while he is trying to hide it by controlling media outlets. Is this the year when it blows up in his face?

Paul Farhi: Everyone will love Snyder (or like him more) when/if the team starts winning. A lot of hardcore fans think he's actually a true believer and wants to do the best by the team. But he hasn't had the best p.r., has he? And he can take some of the blame (and not just blame the media) for that. No doubt, by the way, that the new WJFK will needle, needle, needle him, if only as a way to attack WTEM.

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Falls Church, Va.: Being a long time listener to the Don and Mike show, now the Mike O'Meara show on WJFK, what will become of him and will the Junkies play a main role in the daily lineup as they're mostly sports oriented? What has Mr. O'Meara said of this, and how long is his current contract?

Paul Farhi: Haven't heard a word from Mike. I believe his contract runs until the end of the year, but I'm not entirely sure.

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Alexandria, Va.: OK, so, reading your announcement, it's not a new "sports talk station" -- it's a new "Redskin talk station."

Forgive me if I plan to keep the XM Radio connected for now.

Paul Farhi: Yeah, but being from Alexandria (or possibly Alexandrai) you surely understand the "pull" the Redskins have around here. They're huge. Or maybe I should say HUGE.

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Herndon, Va.: Mr. F: I think WJFK will have one big advantage -- its signal. I'm a steady WTEM listener, especially to "The Sports Reporters." For later in the evening, however, neither the "980" AM or the FM signals come in very clear to my home. I'm old-fashioned enough to still use my radio, and not listen on the Internet, so WJFK, assuming its on-air staff is any good, will easily pick up an evening listener.

Paul Farhi: That's an interesting question. Some of the suits at the unveiling today made a big deal about WJFK's "coverage" of Northern Virginia. They're clearly aiming for younger men in that area. WTEM/ESPN 980, by the way, has a very strong signal, certainly during the day. It's not terrible at night, either, when it has to cut its power.

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Alexandria, Va.: The Redskins wouldn't be topics 1, 2, 3, and 4 if there was anyone capable of doing a competent job on anything other than the 'Skins.

Paul Farhi: Hmmm. There is that. Riggins, for example, is strong on the Skins, but pretty weak elsewhere. LaVar is certainly going to know his football, too, but it remains to be seen how much radio "personality" and other-sports knowledge he'll have. The Junkies, on the other hand, are virtual renaissance men--they do "guy" talk and sports talk as well as anyone. Chad Dukes is a talent, too. I love Mike Wise as a columnist but he's something of a mystery to me as a broadcaster. We'll see.

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Arlington, Va.: Arrington during PM drive time? WTEM's stock just went up.

Paul Farhi: I dunno. He's a pretty good talker, as anyone who's heard him interviewed knows. Could be a surprise.

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Washington, D.C.: Paul:

Have you heard anything as to whether Tony Kornheiser will be back on the radio?

Paul Farhi: Time for our weekly Where-Is-Tony? question. Same question, same answer: I got nuthin' for you on that. No announcements or even rumors.

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Paul Farhi: Time for our weekly Where-Is-Tony? question. Same question, same answer: I got nuthin' for you on that. No announcements or even rumors.

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Burke, Va.: The Junkies are certainly more entertaining than the egregious Mike and Mike.

I would rather have ten-inch-needles with real-sharp-points jabbed into my ears than listen to the midday shows on WTEM, so I have to think that Mike Wise and the other guy are preferable.

But . . . Lavar and Dukes? That has the smell of disaster written all over it. I think the Sports Reporters, with all the limitations of Andy Polley and the Czabe, are still a vastly superior entertainment product.

An HOUR of Riggo is actually a good idea. First of all, as he's previously demonstrated, he really doesn't have enough to say to support a whole show without several people in the room to assist. But for an hour a day, find him a sidekick . . . that could work.

But, whither Mr. Tony? THAT'S the real question!

Paul Farhi: Well, see, Dukes will be a pretty good foil and/or teammate for LaVar, I think. Dukes is a very smart broadcaster; he knows how to move the show along, how to rant, how to do comedy. Just what a neophyte like LaVar would need/want.

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Mike Wise: He'll do fine as long as he remembers to talk about Idol every day.

Paul Farhi: Tony did a bit much of that, didn't he?

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Olney, Md.: What happens to Olney's own Oscar Santana, one-half of the "Big O and Dukes Show"? Chad stays on with LaVar Arrington, but I have heard nothing about Oscar.

Paul Farhi: Oscar has been offered a job at one of the other local CBS stations (which include WPGC, WLZL and "Fresh94.7"). Not sure which station or what job, however.

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Alexandria, Va.: I get very frustrated with WTEM replacing ESPN with their Redskin shows on Friday and Monday. As a football fan I miss coverage of the rest of the league so they can promote their product. Do you think CBS may be able to pick up the ESPN contract so we get some national sports coverage?

Paul Farhi: No way. Snyder's outfit, Red Zebra Broadcasting, locked that one down a while ago. WJFK does have a syndication agreement with Fox Sports Radio, which it plugs in on weekends now and will probably heard here and there in the future.

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Vienna, Va.: Any chance Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin could be lured to the new WJFK and do their Sports Reporters show there?

Paul Farhi: Doubtful. WJFK has a full lineup now. And if they're trying to contain their costs (and who isn't?), I wonder if they'd ever spend the dough for those two (Czabe, by the way, is heard on Fox Sports, so I guess it's theoretically possible that you might hear him on WJFK via that route).

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Ethernet: I believe the hockey-oriented Mike O'M and the mouth, Tony K, should team up to take on a couple hours at JFK. That would be entertaining to see Mike get to Tony.

Paul Farhi: I'm sure they would have chemistry, but only the kind that makes stuff explode.

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Alexandria, Va.: Mike Wise - Boring columnist, boring on the radio. He has no chance.

LaVar -- hahahahahah

Paul Farhi: I say give Mike (and peace) a chance. Then we'll talk.

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Alexandria, Va.: Don't get me wrong, I love the Redskins as much as the next guy, but for crying out loud, can a sports station talk a little baseball in the summer and follow the Wiz like they give a darn? I know these teams are more than a little weak at the moment, but c'mon our local sports radio should give someone other than the Skins a little love.

Paul Farhi: Hate to break this to you, but I think the Nationals have about 40,000 solid fans. They can sell out a Sunday game (against the Dodgers or Yankees or Red Sox), but that's only if they attract every single one of their 40,000 fans. They don't seem to have much beyond that. Radio recognizes that--why talk about them when the multitudes really, really care about the football team?

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Navy Yard: Mike Wise does those silly little "behind the scenes" videos for the Post, particularly, it seems, involving hockey. If I could listen during the day, I'd give him a chance, just to see if he can carry on the slightly sly and sarcastic tone. I'll also be curious to see if he uses his on-air time to tackle deeper stories like he has done for the paper on Donald Brashear this spring, and Frank Robinson on Sunday.

Paul Farhi: I'm curious to see if he can keep doing those great pieces for the paper while doing a four-hour radio program (plus prep time) five days a week. But that's not my call. Mike's bosses here have signed off on his new gig...

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Fairfax, Va.: If nothing else, maybe the presence of some competition will make WTEM less LAZY. I'm sorry, they've played "Best Of" Sports Reporters during drive-time lately. Sports talk BEST OF? Sports talk has nothing to sell but being current -- I can't imagine that there isn't some intern at WTEM who wouldn't KILL for two hours of air time. Even if the intern stinks, it's better than airing re-runs.

So, how long until Larry "House Man" Michael tries to tell us that getting your Skins news from HIM -- the Pravda of sports news -- is better than getting it from, you know, actual reporters that don't WORK for the Danny?

Paul Farhi: I think anyone who is employed by someone AND reports on that someone or his company/team/vested interest has a very high bar to get over in terms of credibility (I know; I was the guy assigned to write up a few stories last week on the Post's little "salon" fiasco). But here's the thing about sports: This goes on all the time. Announcers of games are employees of the team. And sometimes they're reporters about the team. Example: WTOP's Dave Johnson, who is also the Wizards' play-by-play guy. How is that NOT a conflict of interest? Would anyone tolerate this among political or business reporters? Of course not. So why is sports different?

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Bowie, Md.: For those celebrating WJFK as a place free of Snyder's "control" where the team can be criticized, I guess they've never listened to the Sports Reporters on WTEM evening drive. Czaban and Pollin do nothing but criticize the team and Snyder in particular, and have done so both before and after Snyder purchased the station.

And WJFK's coverage is horrible east and northeast of D.C., as it gets interference from 106.5 in Baltimore.

Paul Farhi: All true, in my experience.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: Will they bring back Ken Beatrice?

Paul Farhi: Sorry. No.

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Navy Yard: Will there be any baseball shows and do they have any interest in broadcasting Nationals games?

Paul Farhi: Nothing on baseball is planned. And since they're going in whole hog on live sports coverage, I wouldn't be surprised to see them go after Bonneville's rights to the Nationals when that contract comes up for bid. Yet another benefit of competition: It's going to make sports-team owners just a little richer when they put their rights out to bid.

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Where-Is-Tony? question: I think Tony should become one of the celebs on "Dancing With The Stars," don't you?

Paul Farhi: I would not pay to see that.

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"...four-hour radio program (plus prep time)...": You ever listen to sports radio? Throw out one or two opinions (logic not required) and open the phones. Boom, you're on the air.

Paul Farhi: Well, sure, it's mostly spontaneous, but they do have to figure out what to talk about, which does take time. If you think otherwise, try this little fun experiment: Park yourself in front of a microphone and start talking. See how fast you run out of stuff to say.

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pro Mike Wise: I've heard Mike Wise on the radio; arrogant, pompous, an a--. I didn't change the dial for a second. It should be entertaining radio.

Paul Farhi: Haha! Isn't that what Americans want in their sports-talk hosts?

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Fairfax, Va.: Paul:

1. Why talk about the Nats? Because you really CAN'T talk Skins 24/7. It seems like you can, but you can't.

2. Incidentally, WTEM's signal on 980 doesn't exist in Fairfax after sundown; it just doesn't. You have to hit their FM outlets. I have HEARD that 106.7 has issues on the Maryland side, but it's bell-clear in Fairfax, which is no surprise.

Paul Farhi: Maybe this suggests there's room for both: WTEM/980 takes the east side, WJFK takes the west.

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Give Mike a Chance: He's been on the Sports Reporters many times. Sucks the air right out of everything every time he talks.

Paul Farhi: Wow. Some real Mike haters out there. This could be good (see previous comment) or bad for him. Dunno. (Personally, I think Mike is a great guy...)

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Burke, Va.: Man, people are still asking to bring back Kenny Beatrice?

I hear Walter Winchell's available . . .

Paul Farhi: I think Ken is probably a whole lot more lively than Wally these days...

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Kettler Capitals Iceplex: If JFK gets the Capitals, what will happen when they play the same nights as the Bullets? Since the Caps are good and the other, not so much, Abe's team gets the boot, right?

Paul Farhi: I imagine that's a ratings-driven question. Whichever pulls the bigger numbers gets the prime spot. The other's game can be laid off on another CBS-owned station, as Bonneville has done with its sports in the past.

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One of the 40,000 Nats fans: I think that either sports talk station would love to regularly have 40,000 listeners tuning into someone who can talk baseball in a fun and informative way. The national pastime in the nation's capital should be a no-brainer.

Paul Farhi: Yeah, well, while WJFK would probably be happy drawing 40,000 to a baseball show, it would never pull that number. So start dividing and sub-dividing that number and you'll see where this leads (answer: to very few listeners).

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Burke, Va.: When Johnny Carson retired, they didn't give the Tonight Show to Ed McMahon, right?

So . . . now that the Mike O'Meara Show has gone under, is there still talk of moving that (very)marginal show to 94.7?

A sidekick is a sidekick . . .

Paul Farhi: Mike's done, at least on the CBS stations and at least for the time being. I think the era is probably over.

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Reston, Va.: Didn't there used to be laws that would have prevented Dan Snyder from owner a sports franchise and media network in the same city? What happened?

Paul Farhi: I don't think there were any such laws, as sports teams have owned radio (and TV) stations for decades and decades. Just one example: Ted Turner bought the Braves back in the 1970s and put them on "Superstation" WTBS (making the Braves "America's Team." Sort of). What you're probably thinking of is the federal restriction against cross ownership--one company can't own the newspaper AND a TV station in the same town.

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The Airless Cubicle: Hi, Paul, The transition to all-sports is not going to help WJFK. The problem is getting the attention of young men in the prime buying demographic. I started to say "grab," but it's nearly impossible to get young men to pay attention to one thing for long. There are so many other attractions, such as the iPhone and the Wii and video-on-demand. You have to entice them with people -- not concepts, not gimmicks -- that will get their attention. Don Geronimo and Mike O'Meara could, once they got past their attempts to game Arbitron with "feuding." The only place I think anyone listens to radio is in a car or in the shower. However, CBS would not have done better retaining the old WJFK format. Toyota's Production System, one of the models of quality control, uses an analytical tool called "Five Whys." If you keep asking "Why?" to each answer you get, you end up with the root cause of the problem. 1. Why is WJFK flipping to sports-talk? Because CBS can't afford to keep the station as it was, with high personnel costs and low ratings. Note: Ratings are not the issue; profitability is. WAVA has low ratings and makes much money. 2. Why isn't WJFK making a profit? Its costs are high and exceed reasonable revenue expectations. 3. Why are the costs high? There are two causes. The announcers are experienced in radio and have high salary expectations. In addition, the station's fixed costs are too high. 4. Why are the fixed costs too high? Because CBS pays high premiums and interest to pay off the loans the corporation took to buy the station. 5. Why did they pay so much? Because when deregulation came around, everyone was trying to buy a number of local stations in the same large metropolitan areas to gain cost efficiency in managing and billing. Forget the Fairness Doctrine as the hottest issue in broadcasting. The real killer change was removing the restriction on the number of radio and TV stations one owner could have. If it were back to no more than one station in a region and no more than 12 nationwide, there would be a fire sale of stations and very unhappy stockholders. Considering Clear Channel and CBS have a reputation for cheapness and unoriginality, it's tempting to write your local Congresscritter and ask him or her to reimpose ownership limits. Sports-talk radio is not a panacea. There's only one station in regular listening range of Washington that does a decent job of sports talk, WFAN-660-New York. Even their better programming fails to keep your attention for long. If WFAN were in another city, without the 50-kilowatt signal and with fewer listeners, no station could afford them. Don Imus used to joke as he left the air approaching 10 a.m., "We now conclude this station's revenue-earning day." He was right. You need knowledgeable and interesting announcers to run a sports-talk station with decent ratings, and they cost more money than stations can afford. So what is the answer? There probably isn't a good one; merely least-worse ones.

Paul Farhi: The Oracle speaks! Love your analysis, Airless!

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Re: Last week's comment about Comcast dropping Cartoon Network: I don't mind Comcast dropping channels from the analog lineup. What I mind is their dropping channels AND raising the price. It seems there's a two-dollar price increase for every channel they drop. I'd switch to a satellite service if the neighbor's trees didn't prevent it.

Paul Farhi: Well, don't get me started on the cable guys! The phone guys appear to be no better. As I left for work this morning, a very noisy crew of Verizon contractors were busy tearing the hell out of my front lawn. Yes, FiOS is coming to my 'hood. And it's utterly obnoxious. They've marked up everyone's front yards and are digging, digging, digging everywhere. Their explanation for all this was a door hanger, which gives a lot of blah blah blah and this lame reassurance: "Please be assured that as we transform our network in your neighborhood, we will remain focused on customer care."

Oh, yeah. I believe them.

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Washington, D.C.: Like Mike and Mike in the Morning or not, they essentially cover the spectrum of sports, not just sports Washington. And, during the football season, Monday morning is turned over to local sports/Redskins football. The question is what do you want as and for your audience. If you view this region as from across the country, a national audience of sorts, then either Mike and Mike or First on Fox works for you (though I find Fox sports too much "in your face", guy talk, etc.). And, if you want the ESPN package, you take Mike and Mike with it, their morning drive time show. Like it or not, it's understandable.

As for LaVar Arrington "...He's a pretty good talker, as anyone who's heard him interviewed knows. Could be a surprise." Well, there's a big difference in being interviewed for a short time, or even an occasional or once-in-a-while in-depth interview; it's an entirely different thing to be the interviewer and spending several hours a day talking all sports. Because if he/they are only going to talk Redskins, even if it's anti-Snyder Redskins, then we already have Redskins radio on WTEM and they're not the most docile, in Snyder's pocket broadcasters; they (including Mr. Riggins when he was there), were critical, frequently extremely critical of the Redskins in general, Redskins management, and Redskins performance.

But, if the station is going to be Fox Sports, then sorry, but I'd rather listen to the ESPN package during non-local show time.

Paul Farhi: Eh. To each his own (and now each will have his, or her, own).

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Alexandira, Va.: I think this is a mistake, and to be better then 980 they are going to have to cover more sports than just the 'Skins and D.C. Sports. There are so many people here that are transplants, that just don't care that much, that I think making it totally D.C.-centric will take away a lot of the people who used to listen to the old shows.

Paul Farhi: We seem to be getting a lot of comments from Alexandira today. What part of Virginia is Alexandira in, anyway?

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Leesburg, Va.: I can't figure out how or why you think that Chad Dukes is going to be a "good foil" for LaVarr. You know what a foil is, right? The fundamental concept behind a foil is oppositeness. Who plays the "straight man" role on a show with Lavarr and Dukes?

An Arrington and Dukes Show will be about a successful as a "Three Stooges" would have been if every stooge was Curly.

Paul Farhi: Chad figured out a way to play against Oscar quite well. As for a "straight" man: Why is that necessary? Two guys with lots of opinions about sports might be just fine.

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Verizon, FiOS, and Backhoes: Paul,

Is Verizon the CLEC for your home, or do they have a franchise or other permission to use the public utility easement?

If not, you may be getting free FIOS for a very long time...

Paul Farhi: Verizon does have a franchise for Montgomery County, and so I assume it has the right to utilize the public utility easement. I was told this, at least, as I was reaching for my shotgun....

And to tell you the truth, I'd rather have them give me free lawn service, to repair the damage their doing, than give me free FiOS.

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FiOS: Surprisingly enough, when they dug up my back yard and common areas they actually did a good job of putting things back together. Hard to tell where they dug. Only good thing I can say though.

Paul Farhi: I hope you're right in this case. I guess it all depends on the crew supervisor. All the companies use contractors to do these jobs, so I'm sure the quality of repair varies.

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Moscow, Russia: What are chances this radio talks my team more? 980 only talks in playoff and then not much.

Paul Farhi: Thanks for writing, Sergei Federov, and good luck in the Kontinental Hockey League.

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Ballston, Va.: Paul, Paul, Paul,

FiOS has the best picture and sound. Better than cable and satellite. The signal is not compressed like cable and you don't lose your picture in bad weather like with the DISH or DirecTV.

Internet service is great because it never slows down like cable.

And look at the bright side; you can get them all to bid against themselves and save $50 to $100 a month over a year depending your package. Competition is good.

Paul Farhi: You don't happen to work for Verizon, do you?

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the "there are so many transplants" argument: Marc Fisher looked into this and it's actually not true if you take the metro area as a single unit, at least, there are no more transplants here than any other major metro area. But the way the government tracks it, DC, MD, and VA are all different places, so if you were born in D.C., grew up in Maryland, and then moved to Virginia, those are not counted as local moves. But you and I know that they are, in fact, local, and not transplants. But the "Everyone here is a transplant" myth has serious, if wrong, staying power.

So I don't think the argument to have more nationally-focused sports radio holds much water.

Paul Farhi: Thanks for pointing this out. Yes, everyone thinks D.C. is such a transitory town, mainly because a new administration comes in every four or eight years (and the two-year Congressional cycle). But the number of people coming and going in those transition is quite tiny, particularly in a metropolitan area of five million people or more. And even the administration types aren't all that transitory; the people voted out of office mostly seem to stick around, waiting for their next shot.

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FiOS again: It was kind of fun to watch them shoot the torpedoes through the ground.

Paul Farhi: Is that how they do it? I was wondering about that. The crew dug holes in the grass on either side of my driveway. And I thought, how are they gonna get the wires under the driveway, from hole to hole? Torpedoes? Wow, I'm like this thing a little more (but don't blow up the petunia bed, please)....

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The reason people are still interested in Ken...: The reason people are still interested in Ken Beatrice is because, whether you like him or his style or not, he was informative, he took calls and listened, he didn't ridicule or chastise callers, and he didn't cut callers off; and then he responded with his own opinions. Sure he was pompous and he made errors, sure he was a pitchman for products, in the same [way] Godfrey and Paul Harvey and Harden and Weaver and others were (remember them from Washington radio)? But when you compare Mr. Beatrice to today's hosts, he still doesn't come out looking... or sounding... bad. Even if he only gave a five minute "Here's Beatrice and his views."

Paul Farhi: Yes, but that's old school stuff these days. Today, you've got to breathe some fire. Especially with talk (non-NPR variety, of course).

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Herndon, Va.: Mr. F: The BIG, BIG local "hole" which will not be filled is the loss of George Michael's "Redskins Report" and "Full Court Press." I wish someone would pony up the $$$ to start George and crew off again, but . . .

Paul Farhi: Well, there's the problem in a nutshell. Money. WRC didn't want to pay George (and crew) the money they were getting for those shows. And WRC wanted to put its sportscasters, Dan Hellie and Lindsay Czarniak, on the panels. Both were non-starters for George.

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Reno, Nev.: Do you have concrete confirmation that The Mike O'Meara show is over? Will they be coming back to say goodbye? I listen to affiliate out west and hope they stay on somewhere.

Paul Farhi: It's over on WJFK, the station that originates it. Which means, pending some other arrangement that hasn't been announced/disclosed, it's over for the affiliates, too.

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Washington, D.C.: What's George Michael up to?

Paul Farhi: I think he's about 6'2".*

* Another fine selection from Ye Olde Joke Booke.

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Alexandria, Va. : FiOS came through my neighborhood -- they didn't tear up my lawn.

By the time I added the add-ons to make a fair comparison, Verizon was more expensive than Cox.

Paul Farhi: I've got to do the comparisons, once I get over being steamed at them. I suspect it won't be all that much of a bargain over Comcast.

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Verizon, FI: Verizon tore up our neighborhood and did a bad job fixing it, the contractors used illegal work crews who ate lunch on our lawns and went to the bathroom in the nearby woods. Altogether a wonderful experience.

Paul Farhi: Yeah, funny, those parts of the rebuild weren't mentioned anywhere in the door hanger I got.

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Atlanta, Ga.: Speaking of Don and Mike, after Don left I never got into Mike on his own. Really the show was never the same after Freida's death. Maybe if Mike can afford all the alimony and support payments, he can just hang it up and retire.

Last I heard, Don was doing some local radio on the Eastern Shore area, but ended up quitting due to differences with management. What's the latest on Don?

Paul Farhi: He has a no-compete deal with CBS, which means he can do anything he wants on the radio as long as it doesn't compete with a CBS-owned station in the same area. Hence, the Eastern Shore gig.

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Ballston, Va.: No not employee of FiOS. They don't pay enough for me to afford a $500k home theater with my Meridian 4k projector. FiOS has the best signal.

Paul Farhi: A $500k home theater? That's absurd. If I had a $500k home theater, it would look like the Uptown, with 2,500 seats, giant chandeliers, a balcony, and custom-made sticky floors.

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Alexandria, Va.: I've had DirecTV for years and have lost my signal a total of 1 time, during a heavy snowstorm, for a very brief period. Satellite is also the only game in town if you want NFL Sunday Ticket or NHL Center Ice. The picture difference between satellite HD and FiOS is so minor that the average eye cannot tell the difference unless you have a huge TV. And all that Internet bandwith is only useful if you actually need that much.

Paul Farhi: Yeah, but I bet things would be different if you lived in Alexandira...

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FiOS again: For me it is cheaper than Comcast but nothing can compare to the satisfaction of returning a Comcast cable box. Nothing.

Paul Farhi: Haha! I dunno. Do we hate the cable company any more than we hate the phone company? [Insert sound bite of Lily Tomlin as Earnestine the telephone operator here]....

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"I guess it all depends on the supervisor": Actually, it should depend on how the contract is written; they may be doing a better job of specifying what "restoration" means. I'm told, for example, that DDOT now specifies what kind of soil crews use in the tree boxes when sidewalks are replaced, so they shouldn't use the old broken up pavement as fill, like they did the last time the ones on my street were done.

Paul Farhi: I'm wondering how much good pre-bitching and pre-moaning will do. If I start complaining now, can I head off disaster later?

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Silver Spring, Md.: Any word on what will happen with Drab T-Shirt (Matt Cahill)? As the producer for Big O and Dukes show, he was vital to the show's chemistry. I think if you take away everybody he's familiar/comfortable with, Chad Dukes could get a whole let less interesting...

Paul Farhi: He'll still be Chad's producer.

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Former Cable Guy Here:: I managed a cable system in the 90's in a small historic town...one day a guy called, all irate, because our contractor had torn up his lawn installing service. We agreed to buy sod to replace the damage (doin' the right thing, y'know) and I went out a couple of days later to check the installer's work.

There was a bright green strip running diagonally across a dirt-brown lawn. It looked like somebody ran a highlighter across his yard, from the pedestal to the house.

Paul Farhi: Nice! Or actually not...Dear God, I'm worried...

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Arlington, Va.: Sports talk radio in D.C. is a joke. You and the other chatters are correct that the only thing they'll talk about are the Redskins. It doesn't' matter what month of the year it is, radio stations think that all we care about in the sports world are the Redskins. I've lived in five other major metropolitan areas, and have never had to complain that the focus was on football in March until I moved here. Here's hoping both of these stations fail.

Paul Farhi: Well, it really does tell you something about D.C., doesn't it? I can't imagine a sports talk station in my old hometown NOT talking about UCLA and USC sports, Dodgers and Angels, Kings and Lakers (and maybe Clippers), this that and the other thing. Of course, L.A. doesn't have an NFL team so maybe it's not a completely fair comparison. But maybe it is...

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NHL Center Ice (or Centre Ice): is now available on FiOS. They finally got it 4 months after I reupped with DirecTV for 2 more years (with the free equipment & installation in the upgrade to HD)

Paul Farhi: I have to hope that FiOS has as extensive an On Demand menu as Comcast. Many's the night I've hunted up a good, no-extra-cost movie or episode I hadn't seen on the OD....

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NatsTown: The Nationals may be the big winner with WJFK getting into the sports market. Regardless of whether they land on 980 or 106.7, they are bound to do better packaged on a sports station, rather than wedged between the all-bureaucrats, all-the-time format of 1500 AM. (What a waste of a fine signal 1500 is!)

Paul Farhi: Yeah, no one at Bonneville seems to know what to do with 1500. But maybe there's nothing TO do with it. AM is so weak these days; all the action is on FM, where the mighty WTOP does very, very well (and FM is yet another advantage for WJFK over WTEM)...

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McLean, Va.: "Hate to break this to you, but I think the Nationals have about 40,000 solid fans. They can sell out a Sunday game (against the Dodgers or Yankees or Red Sox), but that's only if they attract every single one of their 40,000 fans. They don't seem to have much beyond that. Radio recognizes that -- why talk about them when the multitudes really, really care about the football team?"

Because that's a self-perpetuating feedback loop. People don't follow the Nats, Wiz, or non-playoff Caps because they can't follow them because no one will talk about them. Radio talks about the Skins because that's what people listen to because that's what the radio is talking about.

Paul Farhi: Maybe, but I'm not entirely convinced. Women have complained for years that women's sports get very poor coverage, which is why women's sports have a much lesser fan base than male sports. Yet everyone HAS increased their coverage of women's sports and it hasn't really made them anything but secondary (and tertiary) attractions. Conclusion: It may not be the media's fault.

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Bravo!: In addition to having competition for WTEM, it is pretty good news that WJFK will feature so much local programming -- quite a contrast with other talkers (sports or otherwise) in town. Question: Will they keep the call letters WJFK? (I know they're being nicknamed "the Fan", but WFAN is already taken.)

Paul Farhi: Call letters stay, but you're not going to see/hear them very much...

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Ex-HBO: After more than 20 years, I'm finally getting rid of HBO. Creatively, they've been getting their lunch eaten by Showtime ever since Huff, but last night gave me the reason I've been looking for since the Sopranos ended.

Bill Maher's "comedy" show followed by a 90-minute Teddy Kennedy hagiography?

See ya.

Paul Farhi: I, too, watch HBO much, much less than I used to. The "buzz" is very low for them these days.

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It's a Sad day for Radio...: Paul,

Since I've first been able to drive a car, the #1 preset position on the radio on every car I've ever owned has been set to WJFK. After next monday, that will no longer be the case and it makes me sad.

WJFK was the last radio station in the country of that format, with everything else seemingly going to sports talk, country, or the dreaded "Chick Rock." JFK was the Alamo of "Guy Talk," something uniquely Washington, D.C., and I guess it eventually met the same fate at the hands of something more powerful than Santa Ana's army -- Coporate Radio Suits.

Acknowledging the pure spite that it is, my only hope is that this decision blows up in their face and the station flips again to "El Zol Dos" by the end of the year.

Finally, from a practical front, I hope the person or persons involved in the genesis of the "Big LaVarr and Dukes Show" has updated their resume, because you don't need to be Kreskin to know how that show is going to turn out.

I guess it's Satellite for me exclusively now.

Paul Farhi: I certainly remember with fondness the glory days of WJFK: Stern in the morning, Junkies, Don & Mike, Ron & Fez. It was greatly entertaining, with never a dull moment. But it's gone, baby, gone...

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Paul Farhi: And on that happy nostalgic note, I've got to switch my own personal dial to something else. Thanks to everyone for chiming in today. We'll do it again next week, too, so keep your powder dry for that. Same time, same channel. Until then, as always, regards to all! ....Paul.

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