In September of 1998, I was living In New York doing fill in on-air work on 77 WABC while I was also the National Sales manager for WABC and WPLJ. Bud Paras and Bill Hess who ran WHJJ in Providence gave me the opportunity to do a Saturday morning show on 920 WHJJ during the Fall of 1998. I would drive to Rhode Island on Friday nights and drive back to New York after my Saturday show on WHJJ. Some of my first guests on those Saturday shows on WHJJ were Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge, Bob Healey and Jim Bennett. I then made the decision to leave New York and move back to Rhode Island to be a full time Talk show host. Since day one, I have always tried to make my show entertaining and informative with a focus on the news of the day. On January 4, 1999, I did my first show on WHJJ from 9:a.m.-12:noon, and my first guests were Salty Brine, Tony Randall, my parents, and Mayor Buddy Cianci.
During the time of September of 1998 to the present I have:
-interviewed four United States Presidents (Clinton,Bush,Obama and Trump).
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| John DePetro at the White House |
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| John DePetro with President Clinton |
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| John DePetro with President Trump |
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| John DePetro with President Bush |
– Only local talk host to attend a Presidential press briefing in the West Wing of the White House.
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| John DePetro at the White House September 2018 |
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| President Trump and Speaker Ryan (photo taken by John DePetro Sept 2018) |
-Only member of RI media to interview President George W. Bush,(click on audio below)
-Only RI radio person to skype into a White House press briefing with Sean Spicer.
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| John DePetro and Sean Spicer March 2017 |
– I have won Associated Press awards for Best talk show along with Voted Best Talk show by the Readers of Rhode Island Monthly.
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| John DePetro and Mayor Laffey |
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| John DePetro wins award |
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| John DePetro radio |
– I have appeared on National TV many, many times including Fox News Channel, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS this morning, ABC evening news, NBC nightly news, CBS evening news, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, HLN, ESPN and every local television station in New England.
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| John DePetro on Fox News |
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| John DePetro on Fox news |
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| John DePetro on CNN |
– I have appeared on the cover of the NY Post, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, New York Times, Washington Post and Providence Journal.
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| John DePetro front page above the fold Boston Globe |
-I was the first local host to have my own website, www.depetro.com.
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| John DePetro bio on depetro.com |
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| John DePetro with Tom Brady |
-I was the first local radio host to have a daily live TV simulcast.
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| John DePetro and the Plunder Dome trial |
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| John DePetro and Imus |
Some of the most memorable shows I have been part of were the Plunder Dome trial coverage from the trailer outside the courthouse, the aftermath of September 11, the Great White fire, the smoke shop raid, and breaking the story of Speaker John Harwood and Wendy Collins. (click on link below of me on with Imus). I appeared on Imus in the Morning over sixteen times including live on MSNBC. Imus was my first time I was heard by a national audience, and Imus truly appreciated the humor that I use on my show. It is one thing to do a local show, but it is another level when you are on a nationally syndicated program heard by millions around the country.
Other incredible shows involved Chafee and the Holiday tree, the Woonsocket Cross, my Curt Schilling exclusive, my interview with John Foreman, the yoga pants man controversy, and the Zaki murder interviews. I did a live broadcast from Israel for 10 days in 2002, attended 4 Super Bowls, 3 World Series, and covered both Republican and Democrat national conventions. I have also broken many stories and interviewed all kinds of news makers. There are too many local stories to mention plus storm coverage and political debates.
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| john DePetro and Olivia Culpo |
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| John DePetro and the Woonsocket Cross |
I have also for many years filled in for Dr Michael Savage on the Savage Nation which is heard by over ten million listeners, and most recently last month hosted the nationally syndicated Chris Plante show.
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| John DePetro on the Savage Nation |
Other highlights of my twenty years have included being the emcee of the Trump rally in April of 2016 carried live on Fox and CNN.
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| john DePetro CNN |
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| Producer Kool Keith with John DePetro |
Some of the saddest stories I covered involved the death of Cornel Young, Jim Pagano, Jennifer Riveria and personally knowing 5 people who died in the Great White Fire. The best part of being a talk host is the opportunity to speak with so many wonderful people who call in to my show to discuss the news of the day.
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| John DePetro at a rally |
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| John DePetro on Fox with the holiday tree |
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| John DePetro at WPRO in studio with Senators Reed and Whitehouse |
Thank you to all the listeners and sponsors who have been so tremendous to me the past 20 years. Although I did go to Boston for 3 years, I still stayed in touch with Rhode Island stories and had Rhode Island listeners. I am also not counting my days on college radio stations like WRIC, WDOM, WJMF and WXIN.
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| John Cafferty with John DePetro |
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| John DePetro with Black Flag |
Thank you to Barbara Haynes and Paul Giammarco who hired me at WPRO where I spent 10 incredible years and it changed my life raising money each year for the kids at Hasbro.
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| at Hasbro |
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| John DePetro at Hasbro |
I feel very fortunate to have a career in something I have wanted to do since age 10. I will be on the radio for the next 30 years, so although I am not even half-way through my career, I wanted to recognize this important milestone and say thank you. By the way, you can still hear me weekdays from 11:a.m.-2:p.m. on AM 1380 and 99.9 FM WNRI.
John DePetro
Juan
JD
Johnny D
The Independent Man
