By: Mindy Spar Of The Post and Courier
Staff
Originally Published on: 08/18/02
Page: 1
It's hard not to like Rocky D., whether or not you
agree with what he says. The 40-something host of the WTMA-AM 1250 talk show
"Radio Free Rocky D." is loud and opinionated, but beneath that
conservative veneer there seems to be a heart of gold.
With his foghorn voice, he shouts out his views and
instructs his listeners to "tell the truth," even if people wag their
fingers or give dirty looks. He paces around the studio, never sitting down for
the entire three hours of his show, and rages against big business, big
government and what he calls Social Security fraud. But all the while, he has a
smile on his face and lets out an occasional chuckle.
It's not that he doesn't believe strongly in what he
says. It's that he knows the importance of keeping a sense of humor. "I
want to talk about the important issues of the day and have fun with it at the
same time," he says. "This is not a parody show, it's not a joke, but
it's almost like whistling through the graveyard. You can talk about bad news
but have entertainment at the same time."
And entertaining, or aggravating, depending on your
point of view, is what Rocky D. is. Although he started off slow, the
"Radio Free Rocky D." audience is growing fast, according to the
small-time radio and started applying at NBC radio in Chicago. He applied there
21 times before getting hired. "I finally walked in with a Spiderman
lunchbox and said, 'I'm not leaving until you hire me. I've brought my
lunch.'" The program director came out and asked Rocky D. if he'd ever
heard of being in the right place at the right time. He got a job and became
Rocky D., the Rambo of Rock.
It was at NBC that Rocky D. became a conservative.
"The liberal-slanted media and Jimmy Carter made me a conservative,"
he says. He remembers being in the newsroom and remarking that he thought Ronald
Reagan was a pretty cool guy. That, he says, didn't go over well with others
there.
"I got a firsthand education at NBC in Chicago on
how the mainstream media slants things to the left. That's how my talk show got
started. It's the antithesis of the left-wing, mainstream media."
He moved around in the radio business working in
California, New York and Florida before landing here in Charleston. Rocky D.
says he likes a market this size because "in large markets, you have to be
politically correct. I think Rush (Limbaugh) is politically correct."
He's been here for a year, and Rocky D. is one of
the lucky few who loves his work. "I have a job where every day I get to go
in and stand up and scream my feelings as loud as I can," he says. "I
do not have ulcers. I do not need therapy. I get it every day for three
hours."
Mindy Spar covers TV and radio. Contact her at mindys@postandcourier.com.