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Honest Opinions on John DePetro

S

ScottBurns

Bob Ryan's recent comments to Theo Epstein, General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, have inspired me to ask the same of members of this board. Earlier this week, Ryan asked Epstein to explain the Red Sox' "fascination" with potential free agent signatory J.D. Drew. Unfortunately, Epstein refused to answer the question.

Thus, as a talk radio listener and social liberal/"true" fiscal conservative, I cannot understand this board's fascination with John DePetro. Can anybody explain the following:
1. What makes DePetro such a great host?
2. What does DePetro offer that others in the market, such as Yorke, Barber, Violet, etc. not offer?
3. Do DePetro's hard right views primarily make him appealing? Dan Yorke is obviously more moderate, albiet still quite conservative.

I mean these queries to be serious, and given that I have not been impressed by DePetro's work, I am asking these questions for my own edification.
 
great host---- You never knew what to expect. He never kissed the Politicans azzs.
differences----- didn't kiss azz while kicking it, is riotously funny
hard right----- is a master at focusing his listeners. Zero Political Correctness in Depetro
Relentless on Cianci and Lynch. rightfully so. Others wouldn't touch it.
John did things other hosts would never. How about the crazy guests he had.
There is NO ONE who comes close to him.
Yorke is guttless compared to JD. Same for the others.
 
must listen to radio. I am waaaay to the left of him, but he is far more interesting than the other host. Not even close.
I like the edge and humor. By far, the funniest person on the radio.
-not afraid of anyone. I like that and it comes across.
-big stories. When a big story would hit, that is who I would want to hear. I disagree with him on politics, but the callers and tone of the show was unmatched.
- I must admit, I am amazed at the amount of attention he creates. I did not like him at first, but he always seemed to be everywhere.
One night flipping around he was on Fox, the next night court TV. Next day he was in the paper.
-you can tell he is from NYC. I like that an outsider is aggressive.
- I bet he shows up somewhere on the radio soon. And when he does, I admit I will be listening.
 
I think he appeals to the non thinking persons who do not want to be mentally challenged. This is not why I listen to talk radio. I like good discussion, divergent opinions and guests. John was a very good friend of Patrick Lynch, till he realized how embarrassing and incompetent he is as Atty. General.

I do not believe John can hold a long good discussion with anyone who has good intellecutal information and background. He snickers, puts down anyone with intellect.

He has a Napoleanic problem
 
JD runs a good show, he knows RI well and is well connected here. but he comes across as a pathetic human being, and he likes to laugh at people for things like being disabled, which makes him unlikeable to me. But he got decent ratings, and he's much more fun then Yorke who has more the ego of a great host than the talent.
 
Tony, this is just how I feel about JD. He was fun at the time cause he had the Mayor to put thru the wringer.
As you said, he couldn't hold an intelligent conversation and would make such remarks about his guests. Do you remember the poor young ladies (from No Kings, I think) who had different ideas than the
rest of us. JD was awful to them as well as all his guests.
He was a friend of Lynch's but made double fun of him too.

He's young, he'll find his way.
 
Depetro destoryed Patrick Lynch about the Cynhia Stern affair. Bill Lynch WAS his chum.
The young girls ( Kellie and Jen) were from South Kingston high. They were Marxist. Followers of Norm Chomski. Green Party crazies Some of the best talk radio in years.
How about the mentally retarded Walter Miller! JD was in a class of his own.
I don't think he wants to come back to R.I.
Dan York is such a smoe compared to Depetro.
 
Depetro's big appeal from my view is that he's "NOT" Politically correct. He's a Radio rebel who's willing to take out anyone he has to. That is the honest type of radio that I've always loved. He is like the Howard Stern of the political world. But it's more than that. Depetro does it in a fun way where when he's busy bringing down some political clown, he also has you laughing at the same time! He's got a certain presence about him which comes across well on the Radio. To sum it up nicely ............


Depetro is "Genuine".

Many hosts will try to be contraversial and will try to act the part of the Rebel. But the radio audience is a smart one. They'll see right through you. There is more than one Phony Baloney in this market. Way to may hosts who try to be shocking just because they think the audience will eat it up. They will yell one second.... and then have a totally calm demeanor the next! What kind of crap is that? Those arn't genuine feelings. That is someone who's just trying to sound over the top to rile up the audience. But in all reality it's just a Bad Acting job.

Depetro doesn't act. What you hear is what he's really thinking and what he is really feeling inside. That's the difference. The Guy is 100 percent Genuine. That's what radio should be. If I want to hear bad acting than I'll go watch a movie. If I want to hear REAL RADIO, I'll tune in Depetro!
 
The real bottom line is that if DePetro was really a host with excellent talent, he would not be unemployed and seeking work. No matter what happened at WRKO, if DePetro was a ratings bonanza or a draw for the station, all would be forgiven. If you want an example, look at Severin. He did everything but thumb his nose at WTKK and there he is. Over the years there are many other examples. DePetro is NOT one of them.

DePetro in all honesty has nothing to offer above any of the hosts within listening distance. If I want to be totally fair when he was in Providence, he was somewhat prepared but never had the chops to deal with anyone who was able to give him a real challenge. When he got to Boston he lost that.

DePetro has a voice and a delivery which is less appealing than any of the hosts he is compared to in Boston. Even Michael Graham who is a snoozer exceeds DePetro in skill, delivery, preparation, and entertainment value. In RI, voice and delivery always seems to be much less of an issue but like Scott's question, I think the only reason he is glorified here is because he is a semi-martyr in the eyes of the people here who are obsessed with conservative radio.

In RI, Arlene is way more knowledgeable but can be way lazy, but when she is on her game, DePetro would never be her intellectual equal. Yorke, Barber, et al are not worth my time typing. In Boston (or anywhere else), I doubt any of the hosts would be on very long....including Arlene. RI is unique in what it accepts as OK. Thats cool.

I would not be a good judge on his hard right views being appealing so I must punt on that question.......I do not find it appealing but thats only an opinion and a light one at that.
 
doc9464 said:
DePetro in all honesty has nothing to offer above any of the hosts within listening distance.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I think Depetro offered more than any hosts here. Unfortunately this could just reflect the fact that Rhode Island radio has a lot to be desired. So maybe by default Depetro seems better than he really is. Maybe that's one reason why Rhode Island digs the guy. In Boston he had some real competition. In Rhode Island he had none locally.

But I still see Depetro as a Genuine talent. Perhaps he's a guy that wouldn't work in the rest of the country. But keep in mind that Salty Brine probably would have failed in the rest of the country as well. It doesn't mean that Depetro is bad. It just means that he has a very local flavor. Howie Carr knows what that feels like... but he seems to be doing Ok.
 
Many successful local radio hosts DON'T transplant.

doc9464 said:
Salty Brine probably would have failed in the rest of the country.
Click to expand...

IMPORTANT POINT!
What Salty did was unbeatable here, because it was SO "here."

Meanwhile, in Hartford, WTIC's Bob Steele was "the Salty Brine of Connecticut."
'Did mornings 50+ years there, unbeatable in the ratings.
And, like Salty, he probably couldn't-have-called-a-cab in other markets.

You'll notice this when you travel.
You've heard of a certain legendary station, or performer, all your life.
Then, when you're there, and hear 'em, you say "Wha?"

If you're ever in The Twin Cities, turn on mighty WCCO.
You'll think it's a comedy bit.
The morning guy is SO Minnesota-nice, he sounds dorky to an outsider.
He's speaking THEIR language.

And this entire effect has been exaggerated in the 10 years since the dreaded Telecom Act of 1996 deregulated radio. As radio cut back so brutally during consolidation, programming became so automated/syndicated/voicetracked and otherwise-homogenized that ANY local touch is all-the-more-conspicuous.

Fundamentally, Arbitron is "a memory test."
Which is why most-of-radio does poor-to-so-so, and a handful of stations stand-out.
And many in that top tier sound just-plain-odd.
That's WHY they win. They're memorable.
Salty sounded unlike anything else on the radio.
It was breakfast with dad.

HC
www.HollandCooke.com
 
Holland Cooke said:
If you're ever in The Twin Cities, turn on mighty WCCO.
You'll think it's a comedy bit.
The morning guy is SO Minnesota-nice, he sounds dorky to an outsider.
He's speaking THEIR language.
Click to expand...

Thanks to Modern Day technology I'll have a Live feed of WCCO pumped into my House on Monday! THEY STREAM! So Thanks for the tip Holland. I'm anxious to hear what their morning show sounds like. It sounds entertaining.
 
The beauty of local radio is just that, it's "local" and has a familiarity to it and thats why we like it.
Rhode Island being the tiny place it is actually has a very vibrant and healthy local talk radio community.
That's why the plans to go syndication at WHJJ during drive times is a bad idea. Their ratings aren't good
now but will drop even further with syndication.
FYI, www.wnri.com streams their audio. They do a very nice job of talking issues starting the in 8 am hour.
You might check them out. Sometimes they're very local (Woonsocket, etc) but many shows they talk statewide issues.

Re: John DePetro remember two things. As a talk host in this state he was THE major player in the fall of Speaker John Harwood and in getting a virtual unknown in Don Carcieri elected governor the 1st time around. (John and the Gov live in the same town and attend the same church)
Talk radio holds a very powerful place in our state and can effect change as we've seen on numerous occasions.
 
Re: Many successful local radio hosts DON'T transplant.

Holland Cooke said:
doc9464 said:
Salty Brine probably would have failed in the rest of the country.
Click to expand...

You'll notice this when you travel.
You've heard of a certain legendary station, or performer, all your life.
Then, when you're there, and hear 'em, you say "Wha?"
Click to expand...


An excellent example was back around 1979 when WRKO, in their waning days as a Top-40 powerhouse, tried bringing in Rick Dees from LA to do morning drive. His humor didn't translate to the Boston market. It was a complete disaster.
 
An excellent example was back around 1979 when WRKO, in their waning days as a Top-40 powerhouse, tried bringing in Rick Dees from LA to do morning drive. His humor didn't translate to the Boston market. It was a complete disaster.
[/quote]


Yep...... just becaue Imus and Stern can do it, doesn't mean that everyone can. Mancow from Chicago tried the national thing too and failed miserably. I think Mark and Brian from LA did as well. Even on a more local level, Matty from Kiss 108 in Boston was syndicated on HOT 106 in Providence for a while. The result must have been bad bad. He wasn't here long.
 
There were funky Chinamen, in funky Chinatown...

...they were chopping men up, they were chopping men down.
It's an ancient Chienese art, and everybody knew their part.
 
Holland:
Are you the same Mr. Cooke that was JD's brother-in-law? Not that it makes much of a diff now. Just testing my memory.......
 
Thank you for your replies regarding Mr. DePetro. Keeping in my what you all said:
1. While DePetro might have a "local" flavor, I do not view his product as being superior to other "local" products. For example, Arlene Violent is the quintessentially Rhode Island. Violet, I believe, is the better host. Many of you disagree with that largely due to Violet's leftward shift in recent years.
2. DePetro has an absolutely terrible presentation style. His voice is not exactly made-for-radio, as it is relatively high. Moreover, DePetro often mumbles and even more often fails to enunciate certain verbs or syllables. Finally, while it is not as bad as Arlene's, DePetro's regional twang leaves much to be desired.
3. DePetro, while in Rhode Island, masqueraded as something he was not. Calling himself the "Independent Man," DePetro wanted listeners to believe that he was neither left nor right of center. He wanted people to think that he was an independent thinker and did not march to the beat of any political party. This could not be more false. DePetro's views are reliably right-wing, as it is hard to think of a single position on which DePetro does not tow the Republican Party line. Even hosts such as Jay Severin and Dan Yorke disagree with the Republicans from time to time; Severin is now vehemently against the Iraq War and has even called for Bush's impeachment. Dan Yorke has spoken against the death penalty and for gay rights.
4. What does DePetro offer that other local hosts do not? His show is formulaically conservative, and like many other right-wing hosts, DePetro engages in put downs and ad hominem attacks against those who disagree with him (rather than engaging them in logical debate). For example, despite his free speech rights, was there any need for his "fat lesbian" comment that cost him his job at WRKO? He does not offer the wit or verbal gymnastics of a Severin; he does not hold the command of the issues of a Yorke. He does not have the objectivity of common sense of Arlene Violet or even Dave Barber.

I have found many of your answers compelling. Thanks!
 
"Are you the same Mr. Cooke that was JD's brother-in-law?"

It depends on what your definition of "is" is.
JUST kidding.
(I've always wanted to say that.)

I'm not sure what the technically correct answer would be.
If you get un-married, does your brother-in-law become your un-bro?

As Andy Smith wrote (http://members.aol.com/cookeh/projo.html) in The Providence Journal:
<< In 1990, he had married Donna DePetro, a WPRO reporter and later press secretary to then-Rep. Ron Machtley. (In one of those small-state coincidences that are so typically Rhode Island, she is John DePetro's sister.) >>

That disclaimed, I was quite the fan of what John did on WHJJ.
He really gave that station a pulse.

He had me -- hook, line, and sinker -- one April 1st.
Like many of us, I woke up that morning not-thinking "It's April Fool's Day."
I turned on Johnny D, and heard his breathless coverage of the Ed DiPrete prison break.
I flipped to WPRO News. Not a word about it! What a scoop!
He HAD me!
It was the funniest bit I'd heard on Providence radio in years.

I thought Rhode Island Jeopardy was fun too.
Talk radio should have more fun, eh?

Happy Holidays from Block Island,
HC
www.HollandCooke.com

PS: Appropos discussion up above RE Salty Brine/Bob Steele: Another ironman hangs up the skates. After 50+ years on-air -- 45 in South Florida -- Majic102.7 Miami/Fort Lauderdale morning host Rick Shaw has announced his retirement. Majic102.7 is a SUPERB oldies station you may have heard if you take-a-break-from-winter down there. Shaw played every song in the library when it was a current! His from-the-heart on-air announcement (http://majic1027.com/listingsentryfeature.asp?ID=471962&PT=Features) reminds us what makes guys like Salty and Steele such icons.
 
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