Morning Show

As early morning TV goes, the day is shaping up to be a doozy:It's Elvis' birthday, clam night at Howard Johnson's, and an 85-year-old waitress' TV debut.Horace Holmes, who's in the midst of this pre-dawn mayhem at WMAR-TV, senses the "Morning Show" is working on all cylinders and allows himself a satisfied smile during a break."Anybody who's up this early in the morning I have a bond with," he says. "We're kindred spirits."But how many people have been up since 3:15 a.m.? And how many will make it through the day -- and night -- without caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol or even junk food?

CNN and Soledad O'Brien Thursday announced a new deal that will take her out of the morning weekday anchor chair and make her an independent producer of documentaries for the channel. The move by new CNN chief Jeff Zucker is a smooth one that keeps a talented journalist connected to the CNN brand while paving the way for the one-time executive producer of the "Today" show to launch a weekday morning show of his own design featuring Chris Cuomo and most likely Erin Burnett, who is now struggling in the ratings weeknights at 7 p.m. on CNN. The new deal gives O'Brien, an award-winning correspondent for her work on such CNN productions as "Black in America," a guaranteed income producing non-fiction programs for the channel through a production company she will form.

With Mitt Romney now officially President Obama's opponent, it truly appears to be game on at the Fox News channel -- at least, if this morning's "Fox & Friends" is any indication. Today's version of the morning show featured an anti-Obama video that resembled propaganda films from 1930's Europe more than it did responsible TV politics of today. And the remarkable thing was the witless crew on the couch that serves as hosts for this show had the audacity to present it as journalism and congratulate the producer who put it together.

After news that his partner on the popular Mix 106.5 morning show had been let go, Reagan Warfield posted an emotional tribute to Jojo Girard on Facebook. "The last 24 hours have been and emotional blur," wrote Warfield, who remains at the station. "This is tough. " Girard confirmed to The Sun Thursday that he was told immediately after his show that day that his contract would not be renewed. Girard posted on Facebook: "have joined the ranks of the unemployed at least I'm not alone.

People at WBFF are in an all-out sprint to ready the station's new morning news program in time for its March 12 debut. Yesterday, station officials made a strong step in that direction, naming anchors and correspondents. Harold Fisher, until recently an evening anchor on the NBC affiliate in Kansas City, Mo., will be teamed up with Jennifer DesMarais, a reporter and anchor for a cable news channel in Tampa, Fla. The show will be called "Fox 45 Morning News." Nina Edwards, a reporter who has carried out free-lance assignments for the station for the past several months, has been tapped as a full-time correspondent for the morning program.

Live television can be unpredictable.But even if one half of the two-person anchor team doesn't have PTC a ride to school, the morning show at WOES Channel 12 must go on.The live, five-minute broadcast is Odenton Elementary School's answer to NBC's "Today" show. It includes the Pledge of Allegiance, a weather report, skits, birthday announcements and other brief segments. Odenton is one of several elementary schools in the county, including Severn and Davidsonville, where students produce a morning show.

WERQ-FM (92.3) retained its top spot among Baltimore radio stations for the three-month period ending Sept. 30, but a series of changes at the urban contemporary station, as well as the decreasing margin between it and runner-up WPOC-FM (93.1), suggests the longtime powerhouse may be hearing footsteps.Ratings for the quarter just ended showed WERQ with an overall drop in listenership of nearly 5,000 listeners in an average quarter-hour, from 33,500 to 28,800. That's still enough to keep the station at No. 1, but only 2,200 listeners now separate it from WPOC.

If you have ever spilled a cup of coffee onto your computer keyboard, you need to listen to this recording of 98 Rock's morning team as it reacts to Mickey Cucchiella after he knocked a cup of coffee onto the console in the station's studio Friday morning. The station was off the air for 20 minutes, according to the show hosts. I called Dave Hill, program director for 98 Rock and WBAL-AM, Friday afternoon about 3 p.m. in connection with another story -- WBAL's coverage of two big trials this week.

I have been meaning to write a big piece about CBS News and "This Morning" for two weeks. But other assignments took precedence, so now I'll have to write a much smaller piece a day late after the network has already celebrated 100 days of its revamped and journalistically-amped 'Early Show' with Charlie Rose and Gayle King. For more than a year before Chris Licht was lured away from MSNBC to re-invent the morning show, I had been writing that the CBS morning show was dead in the water as a journalistic enterprise and ought to be taken out in an alley behind West 57th Street and put out of its misery.

Seven weeks ago, a warehouse clerk in Savage was fired after a co-worker complained about his taste in morning radio: the raucous Grego and Mo show on WIYY (98 Rock), where seemingly no racial, ethnic or sexual jokes were out of bounds. Yesterday, Grego and Mo themselves were fired.Greg Onofrio and Maurice Billington, both 29, were fired after they completed their 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. show, exactly 10 months after they took to the local airwaves with an outrageous, Howard Stern-like style that has generated complaints from African-Americans and other minorities.

WBFF Fox 45 is planning to launch weekend morning news programs starting Jan. 20, according to Bill Fanshawe, the station's general manager. The news programs will air from 6 a.m.-8 a.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m.-9 a.m. and 10 a.m.-11 a.m. on Sundays. Fox has a newscast from 9 a.m.-10 a.m. "I'm just working around the network schedule," Fanshawe said in an email, explaining the break in the local broadcast during the 9 o'clock hour. As for anchors, "We haven't named any talent yet," Fanshawe said.

Baltimore will be getting some face time Thursday morning on NBC's "Today" show with Al Roker doing his weather cut-ins from the Inner Harbor. Roker's first live shot will be at 5:45 a.m. on WBAL's morning news show, according to Dan Joerres, the station's general manager.. The station is NBC's Baltimore affiliate. Roker is in Baltimore for Sailabration, which includes the arrival of some 40 ships in connection with the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 this week. The first ships arrived Wednesday morning.

Dave Durian, a fixture on Baltimore radio for more than 22 years, is stepping down as anchor of WBAL's morning drive-time news program effective Aug. 31, he told listeners Wednesday during his show. He has been with the 50,000-watt station since 1988. While he will no longer be a full-time employee after August, Durian will remain "part of the WBAL family," according to General Manager Ed Kiernan. In that capacity, the 66-year-old Durian will serve as a "relief anchor" when Bill Vanko (mornings)

With Mitt Romney now officially President Obama's opponent, it truly appears to be game on at the Fox News channel -- at least, if this morning's "Fox & Friends" is any indication. Today's version of the morning show featured an anti-Obama video that resembled propaganda films from 1930's Europe more than it did responsible TV politics of today. And the remarkable thing was the witless crew on the couch that serves as hosts for this show had the audacity to present it as journalism and congratulate the producer who put it together.

I have been meaning to write a big piece about CBS News and "This Morning" for two weeks. But other assignments took precedence, so now I'll have to write a much smaller piece a day late after the network has already celebrated 100 days of its revamped and journalistically-amped 'Early Show' with Charlie Rose and Gayle King. For more than a year before Chris Licht was lured away from MSNBC to re-invent the morning show, I had been writing that the CBS morning show was dead in the water as a journalistic enterprise and ought to be taken out in an alley behind West 57th Street and put out of its misery.

If you have ever spilled a cup of coffee onto your computer keyboard, you need to listen to this recording of 98 Rock's morning team as it reacts to Mickey Cucchiella after he knocked a cup of coffee onto the console in the station's studio Friday morning. The station was off the air for 20 minutes, according to the show hosts. I called Dave Hill, program director for 98 Rock and WBAL-AM, Friday afternoon about 3 p.m. in connection with another story -- WBAL's coverage of two big trials this week.

When newsman Bob Lopez said goodbye on Friday to Stash, the morning show voice on WIYY-FM (97.9), he quipped it was probably only temporary -- "until next time, 'til this guy flops."L In the background, listeners could hear "this guy" laughing.He's The Byrd, who debuts at 5:30 a.m. today as the new morning personality on 98 Rock, where mornings have been a little rocky."I could say it because clearly we have no expectation of that [a flop] happening," says Mr. Lopez, adding that in his 17 years at 98 Rock he's worked with 10 morning teams.

Baltimore will be getting some face time Thursday morning on NBC's "Today" show with Al Roker doing his weather cut-ins from the Inner Harbor. Roker's first live shot will be at 5:45 a.m. on WBAL's morning news show, according to Dan Joerres, the station's general manager.. The station is NBC's Baltimore affiliate. Roker is in Baltimore for Sailabration, which includes the arrival of some 40 ships in connection with the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 this week. The first ships arrived Wednesday morning.

TV news has mostly been defined by downward trends the past decade. Shrinking audience. Aging audience. Fragmented audience. But there's been one very bright spot amid the economic and ratings gloom for stations in Baltimore and across the country — the morning news. Mirroring the success of network shows like "The Today Show," and "Good Morning America," local morning news programs are steadily expanding airtime, staff and revenue. Now, some local morning news shows are bringing in more money than the late newscasts — once the cash cows for stations.

A familiar voice was heard on WJZ-FM 105.7 The Fan on Tuesday morning when longtime sports anchor Steve Davis joined Ed Norris for the inaugural "Norris and Davis Show," which can be heard weekdays from 5 to 9 a.m. Davis, the former sports anchor for Channel 45/WBFF and WBAL radio, provides a knowledgeable sports voice in teaming with Norris, a former Baltimore City police officer who talks politics and all things Baltimore. "I think what people will be able to expect are the things that I've done for 16 years being in Baltimore -- talking sports," Davis said.