I’m not usually one to take action on something like this, but for some reason, the 4th of July has me feeling patriotic, so I threw this up as just another place to show support for the WJFK we have all come to know and love. I know we’re all hearing a lot of rumors, and to be honest, if the CBS suits have their mind set on disbanding the last great, live, local talk station in the ole’ Estados Unidos, there’s probably not much we can do about it (though if I thought that heading up to NYC and doing mule kicks through the corporate offices would change their minds, I’m all in).
I started listening to Don and Mike when I was in High School, then left the area and lost touch with WJFK for a few years, until I ended up in Chicago talking to a friend in a bar who got me back into it, listening on the stream and via podcast. I bought my first iPod so I could listen to podcasts on my drive to work, because the reality was that day old WJFK shows were better than anything I could find on terrestrial radio. I moved back to DC 2 years ago and since I got back, I don’t think I’ve changed the dial on my radio…I might as well rip off the knob and just let it sit at 106.7.
Who knows what’s going to happen…maybe July 20th comes and nothing changes, maybe they all move to other stations, or maybe we all meet at the Sonic in Fredericksburg for one last maneuver with some cherry pie for dessert.
So that’s my story on WJFK. Send this to your friends, CBS, WJFK, whoever, and feel free to share your thoughts and comments with everyone. Follow the guys on Twitter, check out their sites, and let us know if you hear anything.
Save WJFK!
Tags: Big O and Dukes, Junkies, Mike O'Meara Show, WJFK
July 7, 2009 at 4:50 pm |
I truly hope that this is all just a bunch of hot air and that nothing happens. If WJFK as I know it leaves, I’ll never listen to the radio again. I hope for the best.
July 7, 2009 at 5:10 pm |
I totally agree with @Burk… if WJFK changes format, I will only listen to XM from then on. Sucks, but it’s true. The only time I turn to terrestrial radio is to listen to WJFK now so if it’s gone, so am I.
July 7, 2009 at 5:16 pm |
All indications point to a big change at JFK. DCRTV seems to be mostly right and other whispers in the wind seem to be saying that a change is coming.
I can’t remember when the original Don & Mike Show contract would be up, but it could be right about now. Don took an early retirement partially to let Mike and crew establish themselves as a “sans Don” outfit and possibly continue past the original contract, but maybe that contract is ending and the fat lady is singing.
I’ve listened to DC area talk radio pretty much all my life. I remember being in elementary school and catching Greaseman or Howard Stern. Later I found Don & Mike, which was great for those long commutes into DC for the job I had. Junkies would come on after D&M and despite not being a sports guy (I’m a computer geek, it’s not expected), their non-sports banter and references to retro stuff from their childhood matched my memories close enough that they were instantly relatable.
Then there’s Big O and Dukes. I seem to remember a 2 hour show on Sunday nights being the first time I heard them. They’ve come a long way since then and have really become solid broadcasters in their own right.
For the last couple years, I’ve been working from home (until I got this new job), so 9/10 days I’d have JFK on from 9am til 7pm (or later if non-reruns were happening).
I guess the Junks are supposedly sticking around, midday’s going to lose one of it’s guys and Mike O crew is out the door.
First, I want to wish everyone (on-air talent and behind the scenes guys alike) all the best during these changes. It’s going to suck for everyone. Please keep posting updates on what you’re doing on Twitter, Facebook, whatever you got.
Second, I think CBS Radio owes me the cost of an upgrade to HD radio for my car. With JFK all but dying, the only thing good on the radio will be HFS2 on 94.7′s HD2 channel, so I’ll be forced to upgrade. I also suppose this means a reacquaintance with ‘music’ in general, so I guess Rhapsody and Amazon MP3 will be getting some of money as I load up on new music to fill the void.
A general note to JFK management and/or CBS Radio… we can get music anywhere. We can get sports updates on our phones or whatever, we can get commentary during games and don’t even mind when shows like Mike O get pre-empted every now and then to cover a game. We don’t need all day sports coverage. Just because it may get good ratings in short bursts doesn’t mean we need all coverage. You’re hurting and abusing your talent and you’re losing the trust of your audience. Your ratings aren’t going to suddenly become golden just because sports do well ‘sometimes’.
I know the wheels are already in motion for something (if they aren’t, that’s great!) and there’s no stopping anything already put in motion, but I hope when it all fails, the on-air talent you’re screwing over tell you where to shove it when you beg them to come back.
RIP stimulating radio
July 7, 2009 at 5:38 pm |
John McClane,
I hope the signs are wrong and that CBS radio is not flipping. No one listens to sports radio and music radio is slowly dying.
My stance on this is more Save the Shows (Mike, Junkies, Big O and Dukes, and RROD radio . . .hell, find Snack and Soda too – where ever they are now . . . if WJFK forgets them, then it might be rough for a while. They can do the Corrola deal and go to net radio/podcasts for a while.
I say, hold a fund drive to buy their own radio station. Hold a big FoodStock/SpringBreak/PokerOpen/Bike Night/T2 Screening party and take donations for an organization ElectricBoogalo 2 style. Sure, it might take a long, long time to get enough for them to buy a Station, but when they all own it, then they can control what is profitable. Eh, maybe I am living in a pipe dream – but beggin to the man who holds you down and then threatens to drop you? I dunno… What do you all think?
July 7, 2009 at 5:45 pm |
Eric, I totally agree. It’s hard separate WJFK the station from 106.7 the frequency, but the reality is that it’s the on air talent that I/we care about! If I knew I could listen to all the guys tomorrow on another CBS station ( 94.7?), or even another network, I’d be all in.
July 7, 2009 at 5:45 pm |
I have been an on and off listener for the last 20 years (school, work, the usual) but came back when my now fiance used to listen to Big O and Dukes in the evenings when we hung out at his place. I listen online at work when I get the chance and download the podcast when I can’t. It seems a damned shame that anyone would want to end what has become an institution to the DC metro area. It was sad enough to listen to Mike’s final broadcast, it would be worse to say goodbye to the guys of the current lineup. Has anyone started a petition?
July 7, 2009 at 6:03 pm |
This not only affects those in the DC market. Many of us outside of DC are disgruntled as well. I am in Rochester, NY and have listened to Don and Mike and then the Mike O’Meara Show for a long time now. In addition, I started to listen to the whole WJFK lineup exclusively via the stream and podcasts for the last 1-2 years because the shows are great and there are just no other stations like WJFK around. There is no place to hear interesting, comedic, multi-interest/topic talk shows anywhere on the dial and I dislike paying for satellite. I am frustrated and disappointed that this flip seems imminent and have given up on radio.
July 7, 2009 at 6:14 pm |
Been listening since the mid 90′s and don’t think I’ve gone a day without tuning in. If this goes though my days will be slower with a lot less laughs. Thanks Suits!
July 7, 2009 at 7:26 pm |
I’ve been listening to WJFK ever since G. Gordon Liddy was on middays. It’s hard to really express the significance of losing this station would be to me. I grew up listening to D&M, and listened to every personality that came on during other transitions from Stern to O&A to Ron and Fez. Talk radio has become so entwined with my daily existence I don’t know what I’ll do without it. I listen to the Junks on the way to work, Big O and Dukes help me through my day, and I get to go home with the Mike O’Meara show.
Now I can expect to hear when Clinton Portis gets a hangnail from each of the mindless talking zombies that will be on throughout the day, each one throwing the same tired regurgitated subjects to the callers who will offer the same boring commentary.
At least I can listen to Ron and Fez on satellite but I hear they’ve changed drastically since their WJFK days.
I guess we’re witnessing the death of talk radio as we know it, I’m certainly not glad to see this part of history being written.
July 8, 2009 at 12:42 pm |
This flip will change the face of DC as much as if they burnt down the Washington Monument. Bad move Hughes!
July 8, 2009 at 5:57 pm |
WJFK is the last of its kind, its a one of a kind. The Junkies, and esp BO&D and TMOS are wonderful entertainment that gets me thru my day and most importantly, thru my long commute. I think CBS Radio will be making a big mistake in switching to sportstalk. The DC area will not support two sportstalk outlets. The one in existance already gets anemic ratings, they will only dilute a small base of sportstalk fans.
CBS Radio would be wiser, in the long run, to invest now in growing what WJFK already does uniquely well. If they would invest in some new local talent to fill up the evening and weekend timeslots, and just a touch of advertising, CBS Radio could grow WJFK back into the ratings monster it was just a few years ago.
July 9, 2009 at 2:09 pm |
Big mistake by CBS Radio. I will miss WJFK. BO&D were rising starts. TMOS is a national treasure. Ditching a dc area institution for more recycled sports yack? Yuck. So long WJFK.
July 15, 2009 at 4:28 pm |
this is truly a sad day. i cant imagine driving home without listening to Mike! i was crying my heart out during those last two segments that Don had but atleast i had something to look forward to. a sports talk show station??? you can’t freakin talkin about sports all day there. the junkies do quite a bit of sports (the big o and dukes show does the same). I’m just mad and i would definitely be goin off to XM to get some interesting radio.
July 21, 2009 at 5:45 pm |
seems like it’s true, notice when you go online and it re-directs the link to the Sports Website—how could they do this.
There are some specially assigned seats in hell awaiting some bastards in the afterlife for this, THE DANIEL SNYDER CONSPIRACY CONTINUES.