One of Philadelphia's most popular radio personalities in his prime, John DeBella returns to the morning drive Monday at 5:30 a.m. on WMGK 102.9-FM.

By LAURA NACHMAN
Courier Times

DeBella's de-back. One of Philadelphia's most popular radio personalities in his prime, John DeBella returns to the morning drive Monday at 5:30 a.m. on WMGK 102.9-FM. DeBella ruled Philadelphia radio in the early '80s on WMMR 93.3-FM until Howard Stern came to town. He'll now get a chance for revenge vs. Stern, who can be heard on WYSP (94.1 FM) at the same time.

DeBella joins other old-time disc jockeys hired by WMGK including Michael Tearson, Ed Sciaky and Andre Gardner. In this age of corporate radio, it will be nice to have some disc jockeys who are actually allowed to speak again.

WELCOME, MATT

Here's a coup for "10." Matt Damon (swoon) will be live in the studio on Wednesday promoting his new movie "The Bourne Identity" on WCAU at 10 a.m. Damon's credits include "Good Will Hunting," "Courage Under Fire," "Oceans Eleven," "All the Pretty Horses," "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

GREAT SCOTTS

KYW weekend news anchor Ren Scott's name has been mentioned for the weekday anchor position at WJLA, the ABC affiliate in Washington, D.C. Scott is a six-year veteran of KYW.

Former WPHL news director Rich Scott (no relation to Ren) is said to have bought a campground in Tennessee. Scott, a native of Bucks County who was in the news business for 30 years left the station by "mutual decision" in March.

POWER COUPLES

Bucks county resident Jerry Burke is the new executive producer of Daytime Programming (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) for Fox News Channel (but who do we blame for "Fox and Friends?") Prior to his promotion, Burke was in charge of "The Fox Report with Shepard Smith." Burke is married to former Upper Makefield supervisor Coleen Christian, who currently is an entertainment columnist for various publications.

Cassie and Ord of the No. 1 animated children's PBS series "Dragon Tales" will appear at Sesame Place this weekend.

MAKE DAD'S DAY

With Father's Day approaching, a gift idea is the book "Kids Rule! The Hopes and Dreams of 21st Century Children," which has quotes from nearly 15,000 children around the world. The author is Philadelphia television's Tom Baldrick, who worked as a producer and on-air talent for WCAU and WPHL. The book can be ordered at www.baldrick.com ... Learn the difference between simple sadness and clinical depression on "Seeking Solutions with Suzanne" on CN8 Sunday at 6 p.m. "Suzanne" is a show geared for mature adults.

Reach Laura Nachman at bradyresident@aol.com.

Thursday, June 6, 2002