Longtime Maryland political commentator Frank DeFilippo will launch a weeknight talk show on WBAL-AM (1090) next month, '' after the end of post-season baseball coverage.
"The Frank DeFilippo Show" will be heard from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. beginning Oct. 30 and is scheduled to air until the beginning of next season's baseball coverage, said Jeff Beauchamp, WBAL vice president and station manager.
The show takes the slot filled for 13 weeks before baseball broadcasts began in the spring by Ellen Sauerbrey, the unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor in 1994.
"Flip is somebody that we know, and we like him. He's worked for us as an analyst for a number of years. . . . He's been around," said Mr. Beauchamp. Mr. DeFilippo, who was press secretary to former Gov. Marvin Mandel, has frequently done election night commentary for WBAL, and is a regular Monday guest (5 p.m. to 6 p.m.) of afternoon talk host Ron Smith. He has also been a contributor to The Sun's op-ed pages and writes political commentary in other local publications.
When Ms. Sauerbrey launched her show last February, Mr. Beauchamp had said the station would consider returning her to the nightly lineup after the World Series. But the station manager said she cannot return regularly because of her new partisan position as Maryland campaign director for presidential candidate Sen. Phil Gramm.
Last edition
In another change on WBAL, "The Dan Rodricks Show," which has been heard from 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays since November 1992, aired its last edition Sept. 23.
Mr. Rodricks, who writes a local column for The Sun and also was host of a WBAL evening show from 1989 to early 1994, said he chose to discontinue the show to follow other pursuits.
The program was a general interest call-in show that included regular guest appearances by Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. It also aired occasional editions highlighting Maryland culture and history, such as "Along the River," a feature about the Gunpowder Falls system that won a silver medal in the New York Festival for Broadcasting Excellence in 1994.
Beginning yesterday, and for the near future, frequent WBAL guest host Bruce Elliott, a former television news figure with a politically moderate viewpoint, will fill the Saturday slot.
Weather watchers
WBAL-TV, Channel 11, is seeking more schools throughout Maryland to serve as weather reporting stations -- and as on-location reporting sites for meteorologist Tony Pann.
