poll: YOU DECIDE: DePetro or Gobeil on WPRO-AM
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
It has been a little shy of two months since the big format change at WPRO-AM. You may remember, GoLocalProv.com broke the exclusive story saying that “The WPRO Morning News with John DePetro” was changing and it meant the entire talent line up was changing at the Providence talk station.
DePetro would be moving to the 9am to Noon slot and in his place would go Tara Granahan and Andrew Gobeil as the new co-hosts of the morning drive program. Granahan was no stranger to WPRO-AM. She had been working with DePetro for several years as his executive producer. Prior to that she had spent many years in television as a reporter and anchor and Granahan was part of the 3-person team that really launched Channel 6’s “You Paid For It” into one of the most, if not the most, successful television news franchises this market has ever seen.
Andrew Gobeil, who left a TV gig at Channel 6 to come to WPRO, said in a radio station press release when the show was announced that he was a journalist first. Critics of the new show, some who had appeared on the WPRO’s website to the station’s credit, have expressed that the show is “too vanilla”, not hard edged enough and too much like “feel good radio”.
This new morning show certainly has new feel to it compared to the old one.
DePetro’s style is much more aggressive, and “in your face” meaning the morning show had a certain edge to it every day fueled by DePetro’s ability to really hone in on the “story of the day” and move the moving parts behind the scenes to get newsmakers on the air and to get them on fast. Some observers, including this one, think that kind of edge or feel to the show has been lost now with this new format. Afterall, DePetro scored the infamous Frank Caprio, "shove it" remark.
DePetro’s morning show also had the ability to “make news” locally and nationally and not just report it. We have not seen the same kind of coverage so far from the new WPRO morning show.
While there is still a focus on the news of the day, the approach and tone to the show is much different now. Perhaps people like that more in the morning – something lighter. To me though, morning news has to be done in a certain way that is engaging and constantly moving news stories forward. For a great example of a morning news format packed with news, content, and flow check out WSB radio in Atlanta (you can listen on line at WWW.WSBRADIO.COM). That is one of the best formats in the country in my opinion.
But, right now, is your chance to weigh in with our GoLocal poll on who you think is a better morning man. GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
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