Monday, April 3, 2017

John Perry

courtesy:  Paul Lowry
John Perry died Friday.  92.

For a long time, John Perry WAS television news in Scranton.  He appeared, every night at 7 and 11 PM.  Looking back, it was so primitive-- but it got the job done.  You had the fires, plus the constant bickering at Scranton Council meetings, the weekly Luzerne County commissioners' controversy and a lot of assorted other government news.  The technology has changed.  The stories haven't.

It was all on film back then.  Field crews had to be done by around 3 PM to allow for enough time to process and edit the film.  People in the business now have to work fast because we have so many newscasts, plus social media and the internet to feed.  TV news pioneers had to work a different kind of fast because of those early deadlines.

If memory serves, John left to work in Binghamton for a while.  He came back to Scranton and WDAU.  Our paths crossed once in a while.  I was a radio pup in the early 80's, just as John was approaching retirement and an eventual move to Florida.    We exchanged some very basic pleasantries when we were both at the same stories.  I think I was too in awe to say anything else.

One of our photographers, Dave Jones, broke in under John Perry.  From the stories Dave tells, John was more than a co-worker.  He was also a teacher.

The man was a legend.  I'm lucky I had a chance to watch him work.

My sympathy to family, friends, and former colleagues.