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Herald: DePetro "stunned" by firing/retains attorney

raccoonradio

raccoonradio

"The station also fired DePetro’s board operator, Jimmy Kiesling. DePetro, hired by the Entercom-owned AM station in 2004, has retained an attorney. “I was stunned and very disappointed,” DePetro told the Herald after station brass showed him the door at a meeting this morning."

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=165562

The statement by Jason Wolfe/Entercom is in that article. Actual DePetro quote, from tape of show:
"I could go now a lifetime without Grace Ross. She has nerve. This whole business of you know, ‘Well since we’re being ignored. . . .’ No, you’re irrelevant. Get off the stage. I couldn’t stand her at the end. At one point I was about to yell, ‘Will somebody tell that fat lesbian to shut up!’ ”
 
raccoonradio said:
"The station also fired DePetro’s board operator, Jimmy Kiesling. DePetro, hired by the Entercom-owned AM station in 2004, has retained an attorney. “I was stunned and very disappointed,” DePetro told the Herald after station brass showed him the door at a meeting this morning."

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=165562

The statement by Jason Wolfe/Entercom is in that article. Actual DePetro quote, from tape of show:
"I could go now a lifetime without Grace Ross. She has nerve. This whole business of you know, ‘Well since we’re being ignored. . . .’ No, you’re irrelevant. Get off the stage. I couldn’t stand her at the end. At one point I was about to yell, ‘Will somebody tell that fat lesbian to shut up!’ ”
Click to expand...

ah, who cares...that's typical 'i'll-sue-your-fat-ass!' posturing on trying to use a lawyer bs to get some money out of someone...it's all been done before...whatever.

you think emily rooney will cut depetro some slack on greater boston tonight
now that she's officially greasing severin's palms? doubt it.
 
Who knows. Idea for Air America Boston: a point-counterpoint show with DePetro and Dave Scondras...

>>trying to use a lawyer

(TV AD): "Are you a radio talk show host unfairly fired for what you said on air? Hi! I'm Attorney
James Sokolove..."
 
I hear Sokolove represents Steve "Still looking for my wallet" Lyons...
 
You can only rip white conservatives these days.... Oh well, More liberal schlock on the Radio... If only David Brudnoy were still alive. He could get away with being conservative only because he was dying from AIDS.
 
radiodouble said:
Frasier said:
I hear Sokolove represents Steve "Still looking for my wallet" Lyons...
Click to expand...

the board op has apparently retained dane 'and that's that' schulman... :D
Click to expand...

I don't think tripping over DePetro's carcus is the slip and fall Schulman is talking about...

Question: Will Wolfe have the 'sand' to put something interesting in the time slot, or will it just be more of the same from RKO?
 
Always fun to rub it in! Sent to Wrath of Khan, Jason Wolfeman, etc.

Grace Ross
2 Merrick Street
Suite 3R
Worcester, MA 01609
508-754-3505
[email protected]

WRKO
20 Guest St. 3rd Floor
Boston, Ma. 02135


Dear Grace Ross:

We want to Thank You for eliminating John DePetro.
He was a vicious gay-basher and an awful radio host.

Unfortunately, it seems like WRKO wanted to throw him
overboard due to his horrid ratings. They use the
"David Scondras horn" on the Howie Carr show to
ridicule gay people, Dennis & Callahan are not known
for their pro-gay stance, and Entercom courts the
right-wing whackos. Low-grade, low-rent hateful
people.

Depetro's advertisers on his website are in the CC.
This is a formal protest regarding his abuse of gay
people. We demand that DePetro put a formal apology
on his website.

Thank you, Grace Ross, for fumigating the airwaves!

Three hours of Boston radio time cannot possibly get
any worse. John DePetro is just plain awful!

Thanks!

The Visual Radio Staff
 
Response from the office of Grace Ross

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your support in regards to the offensive nature of Mr.
DePetro's comments. That being said, I'd like to clear up an apparent
mis-understanding regarding Miss Ross' involvement in his firing. Miss
Ross is uninvolved with WRKO and has no say in Mr. DePetro's
employment status with the station. Miss Ross has not been in contact
with WRKO or it's parent companies. No member of Miss Ross' campaign
or legal team has been in touch with WRKO or it's parent companies on
her behalf. Miss Ross has no position on his being fired because she
is not in the broadcast business and as a gubernatorial candidate, it
is not in her power to have a media personality fired or re-hired.
It's our understanding based on media reports, Mr. DePetro's comments
violated WRKO's policies and he had been previously warned for such
actions.

We appreciate your general support for for zero tolerance policies
towards discrimination in all it's forms and offer you mutual support
in the persuance of that goal. Thank You,

Melissa Harrell
Campaign Manager

(and she cc:d Depetro, Jason Wolfe, Julie "Wrath of" Khan, etc.!)
 
Varulven said:
is that a joke or did the board op actually get Dane Schulman? That would be funny.


David Brudnoy considered himself a Libertarian, not a "Conservative"

www.libertarian.org/
Click to expand...

Consider that Jay Severin considers himself a "Libertarian", Bill O'reilly considers himself an "independent" . Bruds was a conservative and not particularly tolerant of some ethnic groups which was curious considering his minority status because of his sexual orientation and being anaids paitient, hypocrisy. That is another topic.

As much of a fool as most will concede that Depetro is, was it a firing offense?. In context; much worse has been spewed by both Dennis and Callahan within that same complex. What Depetro said was inappropriate but then if one is out and so identifies themselves as a lesbian it is somewhat of a slippery slope. If he had made the comment about Deval patrick saying " tell that fat black to shut up" (or worse had he used a slur) it would not have been debated. My guess is given his prior use of the word "f*g" in the minds of the Entercom brass he had committed the same crime twice, had learned nothing form the prior suspension, and he had to go.
 
DePetro was fired for the same reason Oedipus and his cronies were let go. Horrible ratings.

End of story. Mike Savage said much worse. It's the ratings.
 
Varulven said:
DePetro was fired for the same reason Oedipus and his cronies were let go. Horrible ratings.

End of story. Mike Savage said much worse. It's the ratings.
Click to expand...

Actually Joe it is not quite so simple, it is in your mind because you dislike Depetro so. Savage is an entirely different animal, he is syndicated and while I agree with you in he has said much worse, it's not as easy to simply "fire" such a show. The contracts are usually a bit more heavily weighted than a local hosts deal, there are network sales ramifications etc. You are right in that Depetro was not ready for Boston and never became so.
 
The problem with syndicated hosts, local CBS or Entercom hosts, and the ability to fire, could be found in a contract IF it contains that good old "moral turpitude" clause

http://www.praetoriate.com/t_papaj_acts_of_moral_turpitude.htm

The previously mentioned immoral acts as well as several others that occur in the work environment are all unacceptable behavior. These include:

*
Consensual and nonconsensual sexual acts.

*
Sexual intimidation of same-sex or opposite-sex individuals.

*
Extorting sexual or other favors.

*
Bartering benefits such as promotion or pay raise for sexual favors.

*
Threatening or carrying out negative consequences such as demotion, ridicule, or slander against an employee for spurning sexual advances.

An employee’s character may be a deciding factor in the outcome of a case.

Character and words like "F.. Matt" and "F.. Lesbian" (two different "F" words) are unacceptable and fall under that category. For Michael Savage, one would have to see the contract.

========================================================================

Would Mass. Law or a Federal law apply to a national contract? I'm not a lawyer and do not know the answer; nor have I seen Savage's contract

You can do a search of Mass. General Laws for "moral turpitude" here

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/90-32g.htm
 
You're quoting local Mass. law which is geared more toward things like State employees, not so much private sector enterprises like Entercom inc. Generally contracts are written to protect management not talent so they have built in safeguards should they want to get out of the contract. They usually dont have to pull morality clauses if they need to lose a host they can find a way and AFTRA being the paper tiger that ithas become can't help much.
 
The only thing necessary for WRKO to cancel Savage (or for any station to cancel any network or syndicated program) is a letter to the network or syndicator terminating the affiliation contract. Per the terms of the Communications Act, the station owner cannot delegate to any outside party any degree of control over what programming appears on their air. Of course, the network or syndicator has the power to take their program to another station, but the station has the ultimate and only say over what it broadcasts. For a time a few decades back, the TV networks were attempting to enforce affiliation contracts which specified that in order to retain affiliations stations HAD to run certain network programs. The FCC said that under their rules such a contract was unlawful.
 
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