From Private Eye
To Radio Personality

A private investigator ditches the vagaries of that life for a career in the radio booth—touting a genre from the past.

Name: Bobbie DePew
Age: 50
First Act Career: Private Investigator
Second Act Career: Radio Broadcaster

The switch from private investigator to radio broadcaster turned out to be a natural progression for Bobbie DePew. Music was what she consistently turned to when she needed to decompress from the vagaries of investigating.

Bobbie DePew began her first act career as many in her field do, with a brief stint working with a private investigator, before she established her own agency, All Area Detective Agency in Casselberry, Fla. For 23 years she followed her passion as a field investigator and tracker working with the private sector and law offices. Her twelve hour days were filled with high drama, looking for people that did not want to be found. "I enjoyed a high rate of success," she says, "But the intensity of always being alert, thinking on my feet, began to take its toll. It was a dangerous job when I began and every year the danger increased."

MAKING A CHANGE

 

Ms. DePew offers the following advice for making a change:

Find your happiness. Happiness is finding your passion and acting on it.

Be prepared to go the full mile. Be ready to go the course and to take on the hurdles.

Believe in yourself. Belief gives you the courage to go for it, whatever it might be. Define your own life. Have a well thought out plan, but be flexible.

Ms. DePew turned to things like bike-riding, walking, and most of all, music, to decompress. She wasn't a big fan of television and so she "would come home after a long day and listen to music instead." she says, "It calmed my nerves."

Act two began when a friend and former broadcaster encouraged her to consider radio. The friend egged her on, she says, because of her knowledge of music, her creativity and—key for radio--the timbre of her voice, which her broadcasting friend said was perfect for radio airwaves.

Ms. DePew was ready to walk away from investigative work and dove in. She set to work and created a radio show format and then began knocking on doors. She made call after call to stations throughout Central Florida, hoping to get a contract and get her variety show, full of rarely-heard music--classic country and big band--along with music personality interviews on the air. After two long years of being told there was no market for her show format, she finally got a yes.

With that, she segued into the world of broadcast radio with the Bobbie DePew Show on WLBE in nearby Leesburg, Fla. After a year, the show found a new home at 1190WAMT AM in Orlando, where she just celebrated her one year anniversary. A one woman show, she is responsible for her own advertising, writes the copy, formats each day's theme and selects people she interviews. She's been successful in those interviews "gets": Guests have included Don Cherry, Sha Na Na, Pat Boone, Peter Marshall and Patti Page among others.

And a feather in her cap--Ms. DePew was recently recognized by the County Music Association for her contributions to country music. Her format includes big band and swing, crooners, rock-and-roll, international and classic country. The two hour morning drive-time show is a variety format that focuses on the positive. "A way to start the day right," says Ms. Depew.

MORE SECOND ACTS

 

• Immaculate Receiver Trades Football For Food Business

• Marketing Exec Turns PowerPoint Pro

• Trading Financials For Laughs

• From The Foreign Service To Serving The Church

• Creating a Niche As an Agent For Executives

• Defense Attorney Trades a Briefcase for Running Shoes

• Film Producer Turned Insurance Broker

• From Telecom Executive To Bag-Maker

• Out Of The Radio Booth, Into A Yoga Studio

• Wall Street Trader Turned Fitness Guru

• Banking Executive Turned Executive Chef

Kathleen Kresswell, a friend of Ms. DePew, says that Ms. DePew was the first female investigator that she ever met and was instantly impressed with her level of confidence and the tremendous number of hours she put in. "The strain started to show and out of no where comes this radio show, says Ms. Kresswell. "She is a natural. Her voice resonates with warmth and people love her as much as they do the music she plays."

After two years in the business, Ms. DePew, who has consistently broken even, is starting to show a profit. As the sole proprietor of her detective agency, she still maintains the name but the business is inactive. Not missing anything from her first act, she says has found her niche. "My hopes are to see my show in syndication," she says. "I love what I do and see no end in sight."

Write to Kat Donnell at cjeditor@dowjones.com

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