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"Thanks for putting me on!"

Dave what happened to you is called "the Charlie Huddle " method. Ron did the same thing to this fellow, Huddle, after he bought a house in the area. I suppose any seasoned radio person knows better than to take up roots in any given market...../sigh
 
Hi Dave,
I just saw your post, I had no idea what happened until I heard on the TV news that you were being replaced by John Depetro. I was really surprised to hear you were being replaced. I really enjoyed your show, it was very entertaining and informative. I have been a longtime listener of WPRO and had stayed faithful to the station for years. However, I do not like what commercial radio has become over the last few years. Years ago we had these great little independent radio stations, and then these big networks came along and started taking over. Those stations that the big networks got a hold of would never be the same again. Now there a only a handful of those great little independent stations. On of those great little stations is 1240 WOON in Woonsocket. To the big networks, it's all about ratings and making money. They don't care what the listener thinks. They don't care how many years you have worked in radio. They only care about green pieces of paper with numbers on them. Commercial radio has gone downhill ever since. You had a great program. Maybe you could check out 1240 WOON. Their website is www.on-radio.com They have the local flavor that so many stations lost when the big corporate giants took over. Good luck to you Dave!
 
ah... where else could we hear about Holland whining about being a programmer on the same chat that we're hearing he arranged for Dave to be fired to give a job to the DEEVVVIIIILLLL.

By the way, Barber did pretty well getting 8 weeks sev into his contract. They much prefer a wham bam thank you ma'am goodbye... up the rear and out whiccha.
 
Johnnie B said:
By the way, Barber did pretty well getting 8 weeks sev into his contract. They much prefer a wham bam thank you ma'am goodbye... up the rear and out whiccha.

A-HA! So THAT'S the way they operate over there. Glad to know that. I will never accept a position over there with a contract like that. That's a load of crap what they pull. Two year contract: You pay the person for TWO YEARS. End of story!
 
Skynet74 said:
Johnnie B said:
By the way, Barber did pretty well getting 8 weeks sev into his contract. They much prefer a wham bam thank you ma'am goodbye... up the rear and out whiccha.

A-HA! So THAT'S the way they operate over there. Glad to know that. I will never accept a position over there with a contract like that. That's a load of crap what they pull. Two year contract: You pay the person for TWO YEARS. End of story!

Somehow I don't think you accepting a position there is ever gonna be an issue.
 
Somehow I don't think you accepting a position there is ever gonna be an issue.
[/quote]

Damn right. I would never accept a position in that building. They simply could not get me no matter how hard they wanted to.
 
Skynet74 said:
Somehow I don't think you accepting a position there is ever gonna be an issue.

Damn right. I would never accept a position in that building. They simply could not get me no matter how hard they tried.
 
As The Bee Gees sang, ON WPRO...

Johnnie B said:
where else could we hear about Holland whining about being a programmer on the same chat that we're hearing he arranged for Dave to be fired to give a job to the DEEVVVIIIILLLL.

STOP THE TAPE!
Two points:

1. WHERE BETTER to listen to me -- or anyone else here -- whine.

Recent events are only recent events.
There's plenty to whine about...or to FIX...to make better.
Your call.

2. Let me ASSURE you the "he arranged for Dave to be fired" part got lost-in-translation.
I -- and the army of friendly voices who lit-up Dave's phone each day -- were as shocked as Dave was.

Ironically, this Dave whom many of y'all branded an outsider was doing engaging radio more-in-character-with what-WPRO--has-meant-to-people-of-several-generations -- and more-appropriate-to today's interactive media landscape, than tedious voices still belaboring that 1991-style, Rush Limbaugh-wanna-be, I-talk-you-listen-routine.

For me, personally, this whole thing is an emotional roller-coaster. Having introduced Dave and WPRO, I'm as frustrated as his listeners, and many kind posters here. And if you've lurked here for a while, you also know me to be a John DePetro fan. John and I are BROTHERS-IN-LAW. (Or were. If I'm no longer married to his sister, is he now my ex-bro?) In The Providence Journal, Andy Smith called it "one of those small-state coincidences that are so typically Rhode Island." It was a kick to hear John light-up WHJJ the way he did.

And what Dave and John share is something I applaud WHEREVER I see it in my travels along the long radio road: work ethic. I've heard these guys do hundreds of shows, and never once heard either of 'em wing it. Their prep, their pressing-the-flesh/working-the-room/getting-out-into-the-community, their welcome for caller-after-caller, is, fortunately, a part of WPRO which will survive this awkward episode.

As The Bee Gees sang, ON WPRO:
"Whether you're a mother or whether you're a brother, you're stayin' alive, stayin' alive..."

Good morning from Dallas, and the 2007 Radio Advertising Bureau convention,
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
 
John will do well. The only thing I worry about is that WPRO is so sensitive and so politically correct. Can the station handle John? He may be a little to edgy for them. Only time will tell.
 
Dave had a very entertaining show. I am going to miss his style and humor. Now we are stuck with Dan Yorke Jr., can't wait to hear all about the scandal and corruption in Providence....yipee, like we knew that didn't exist already.

I won't be listening to WPRO any longer.
 
Man I just can't catch a break. . .I've been in Naples, Florida for almost a week and it's cold and rainy. I'm coming back to the Ocean State.
 
Dave Barber said:
Man I just can't catch a break. . .I've been in Naples, Florida for almost a week and it's cold and rainy. I'm coming back to the Ocean State.

Naples? I Love that place! I went down there in 1995 with my exgirlfriend and we stayed in her grandparents Condo for a week. It was my first trip ever to Florida and I had the best time there. That's the tame corner of Florida. People don't usually go there for fun and excitement. But nontheless I still left there with a great impression. We found plenty to do and the Weather was perefect the entire week. Sorry to hear that you wern't so lucky Dave. Cheers!
 
After reading through practically 4 pages of posts...I started askling myself: Is there such a thing as a graceful way of dismissing an air personality ?

Having gone through the I was suddenly let goexperience once in the 70s and once in the 80s, I've often wondered if the judgement call was made based on my ratings or the fact that an employer or employee didn't care for my behavior or personality? ::)

With all due respect to Dave, adjusting to life in Naples, Florida...when you're used to Rhode Island radio climate...is more than a little difficult! Hopefully, he'll find a new 'broadcast opportunity' in the tiniest of our 50 states? :p

argytunes
 
Yeah I Imagine that would be an incredibly difficult adjustment! (smirk). I'll let you when I get my tounge out of my cheek. I'm seriously sitting here with a blank stare trying to come up with a reason why radio life in Naples would be so difficult.

sorry ..... I've got nothing. Maybe you can help.
 
[EDIT]

"Thanks for putting me on"?
Don't you mean:
" Thanks for letting ME put YOU ALL ON"? Walter.


[EDIT-inflammatory]
 
Dave, I have nothing against you, but you're not real. I've talked to people that worked with you. Last minute Dave, is what you were called behind your back. You were refered to as a funny guy, but totally unprepared.
Holand Cooke is now posting youre going to be somewhere around RI, were?

WALE, WHJJ, At this point the 'stay tuned' stuff is beyond stupid. good luck.
 
Tough room...

wc3434 said:
[EDIT]
[EDIT-inflammatory]

I, yes, I?

What's-done-is-done.
Yesterday's news.
Yet, curiously, Dave Dissers are still fighting-the-last-battle, rather than doing cartwheels.
"Like a skipping record," geezers my age would say.

Find "I didn't know" in the following.

Holland Cooke said:
ChattyPatty asked me:
<< Many readers believe you had a role in replacing Matt Allen for Dave Barber. In all candor, would you care to comment? >>

Holland Cooke said:
Matt sure has some fans here, MYSELF INCLUDED, as you'll read about-a-page-back.

Not-to-talk-about-Matt-like-he's-not-in-the-room...but since you were nice enough to ask...here's the dish, a MUCH-misunderstood turn-of-events.

Matt's previous PD, David Bernstein, is a longtime pal of mine.
Several years ago, I congratulated David on FINDING young talent.
Face it, radio's farm team has gone-to-hell since the 1996 Telecom Act.
Consolidation, automation, and syndication have scared-away lots of folks Matt's age.
There are just fewer entry level jobs now.

Fast-forward to about-two-years-ago..

There I was, at the Minneapolis airport, connecting to-or-from I-forget-where, yet-another radio consulting road trip. When my phone rang. MY phone rang. I didn't dial-out.

David told me "Steve Kass is leaving. Any suggestions?"

The rest, as The Providence Journal reported, is history.

In addition to David-and-I going-back, I knew station manager Barbara Haynes.
She and I worked together at WSNE 82-84.

I recommended Dave Barber to WPRO...TWICE.
By the time WPRO hired him, they'd changed PDs.
And all-the-while, Matt kept-on-keeping-on.

Having been on-air as long as I was, I know how being an interim host as long as Matt was can be unsettling. But, to his credit, Matt (as consultants say) "made the show his very own."

Clearly, the-passion-of his-fans-who-post-here speaks volumes.
In some cases, "passion" is the polite word.

But, MY phone rang, that morning in The Twin Cities.
I didn't dial-out.
Honest.

...

WPRO was my third on-air job.
I moved 5 times for radio.
It's an occupational hazard.
A couple of those moves were because I didn't get the job I wanted at-the-station-I-was-at.
Including when I left WPRO, in 1980, after they passed me over for PD...twice.
"We need someone with more experience," they told me.

So I went somewhere else and got the experience.
Nobody could make that decision for me.

Supportive posts here suggest Matt could go to WHJJ.
I'll go ya one better...

I always wince when I hear the term, but it's handy, so I'll use it here:
I could hear Matt do what's been called "FM Talk."
A station that talks to people-younger-than-the-people-local-AMs-talk-to, y'know?
I don't know that there are any of those stations here.
But I know of stations elsewhere that would KILL to find The Next New Voice.

And -- having had to confront the decision to leave a station as special as WPRO will always be, to ANY of us who've worked there -- I wouldn't presume to recommend what Matt should do.

But I do concur with David Bernstein's ear, his vision.
And with what Dave Barber said on his first show, acknowledging Matt's extended interim stint:
"His future in this business is bright."

HC

Were this a legal proceeding in Discovery, we could Request Production of Documents from Verizon Wireless to demonstrate that I took an INCOMING call that fateful morning in Minneapolis.

If any of this remains unclear, please call me: 401-330-6868
Or you can keep tossing lit matches anonymously.

Either way, two things:

1. Matt deserves better than this "long tail" here. I've only met him a couple times and he seems earnest enough. Wouldn't it be fair to him to let what-comes-out-the-speaker do-the-talkin'?

2. For those peeking-in from other-markets' areas @ radio-info.com, please don't construe what you read here as representative of Southeastern New Englanders. Folks here are warm and welcoming. Unlike those who find themselves here by the happy accident of birth, Dave and I and Dan Yorke and Salty Brine ADOPTED this place. Locals find whining about this-and-that recreational, but it's WONDERFUL here. We may not be like Las Vegas, which gets a thousand people moving-in PER WEEK, but there's lots to like here. Stroll Waterfire and you'll never want to leave. Back when all this nutty we-hate-Dave-because-he's-not-FROM-here malarky started, someone posted something here that I'll try not-to-mangle in the retelling: "Many folks in this part of the country come from OTHER countries. Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts are steeped in a rich immigrant tradition."

That big white church at the foot of Waterman Street should remind us that coming-from-somewhere-else to start-anew here is how Rhode Island came to be.

Respectfully,
HC
 
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