The Rural Voice, 1981-10, Page 8r
FARM REPORTERS
by Bev Brown
John DePutter jokingly says that "having a Western Ontario
farm accent and poor grammar" helped him to get the job as farm
editor at CFPL-radio in London. That was three years ago and
DePutter has long since proven he is able to provide accurate and
complete coverage of agricultural news and markets for farmers in
the counties surrounding the city of London.
In many ways, DePutter's experiences since graduating from
the University of Western Ontario in 1976 have contributed to his
success as a radio farm editor. He has travelled throughout
Ontario, worked as a farm hand and for two and a half years he was
the secretary -manager of the Middlesex Federation of Agricul-
ture. In 1978, when he heard that Roy Jewell was retiring from
CFPL, he volunteered to take the job on a part-time basis, even
though he had no jou rnalism experience. He has been there ever
since.
"I was quite nervous when I first went on the air." DePutter
claims, "When you sit behind a mike you work in a vacuum
because you cannot see the reaction of your listeners. It makes the
job more difficult to assess."
DePutter and his wife Nancy (they met while both were
students at U.W.O.) live right right in London, which makes it a
little easier for him to get into the station an hour before his 6:40
a.m. broadcast. They are the proud parents of twin girls who
were born a few days before DePutter was interviewed for Rural
Voice.
DePutter was raised near Appin in Middlesex County on his
father's beef and cash crop farm. His father died ten years ago and
when his mother wanted to sell off some of the property, DePutter
bought 55 acres. He rents another 30 acres and with the help of a
neighbour, who does the planting and harvesting, he raises corn
and soybeans, which keeps him in close touch with the problems
and interests of the cash cropper.
One of DePutter's strong points is his clear conception of what
his job is and what it isn't. "I'm not trying to tell farmers what
they should be doing, because they know better than I do." he
explains. "I'm only trying to provide them with information that
they can use in their daily operations. For instance, when Pat
Lynch (the OMAF soils and crop expert) advises farmers during a
radio interview not to spray their beans for white mold because it
is too late, this is listened to."
Farm broadcasts from CFPL contain a lot of market news
because farmers say they need this in order to make marketing
decisions and they cannot get up-to-date information from any
other medium. Betweem 10 a.m. and 12 noon DePutter personally
telephones a long list of market contacts in order to bring the •. ery
latest information to his listeners on his 12:10 noon broadcast.
Also, because he views southwestern Ontario as the norCiern tip
of the North American corn and bean belt, he believes we have
more In common with the United States than with west'.rn Canada
and he therefore provides farmers with a lot of information from
the U.S.
DePutter gets some of his stories from the CFPL wire service
but most of his leads come from his contacts in farming and
agri-business. "I want to provide news for farmers on topics they
John DePutter
are talking about over morning coffee or lunch," he explained. He
is pleased about the large number of farmers he knows who can
express themselves clearly and are willing to discuss a current
topic for a telephone interview. "I have never had any problem
getting eloquent, clear comments from farmers on any issue," he
says.
According to DePutter, a great deal of news in the world today is
politically oriented. which does not affect farmers economically,
especially political squabbling and bantering. "What I want to do
is provide news for the farmer which affects him in the pocketbook
or affects him in a personal way." says DePutter.
As for consumers. he does not see the need to consumerize the
farm show in London. As DePutter puts it: "True agricultural
news is getting lost because many broadcasters try to orient their
farm reporting to the consumer to too great an extent."
Consumers are served by other sources. he says, and we have a
huge farming community ground the city of London which is
largely overlooked by the urban crowd. CFPL has set aside a
specific time of day (6:40 a m. and 12:10 p.m.) to report pure
agricultural news and at those times DePutter likes to zero in on
the key farm issues of the day.
"My news director recognizes the importance of agriculture."
DePutter says, "and therefore he is willing to give me autonomy
in reporting agricultural news." He feels that (he checks and
balance come from the people he is communicating with in the
PG. 8 THE RURAL VOICE/OCTOBER 1981