WDFN
Encyclopedia
WDFN is a sports-talk radio station in the Detroit, Michigan
, market. It broadcasts in the AM radio band
at 1130 kHz. WDFN is owned by Clear Channel Communications
, and until the end of the 2008-09 NBA season, was the flagship station for the Detroit Pistons
.
. For many years the station aired a middle-of-the-road/adult standards
music format best known for its ownership by the quirky Hy Levinson, who insisted that WCAR air only "good music" and refused to allow anything even remotely resembling rock and roll on his station's playlist.
W-Car's Top 40 incarnation featured an airstaff including Detroit radio veterans such as Dave L. Prince and former CKLW and WIXY
(Cleveland) personality Steve Hunter. Hunter recalled on the CKLW tribute Website (http://www.thebig8.net) that although WCAR sounded good, its locally based ownership didn't have the money needed to sustain cash giveaways and other prizes, and the format was changed just before a new ratings book came in showing that the station's ratings were finally beginning to grow. W-Car would trudge through several more failed formats during the remainder of the 1970s, including progressive rock, all-news (using the NBC News and Information service), and another try at adult contemporary with new owners Golden West Broadcasters (who bought the AM and FM in the summer of 1977) switching the station from news and talk back to music in October of 1977.
and adopted the calls WCXI ("Country 11"; the "C" stood for Country, and "XI" is "11" in Roman numerals) in March. General Manager John Risher, who had run WDEE during the early to mid-1970s, brought back popular award winning morning personality Deano Day, Bob Burchett and a few others who had worked at "The Big-D" to the air staff. Program Director Bill Ford was held over from the previous WCAR AM 1130 adult contemporary format as well as new music director Bob "R.T." Griffin. After his success with WCXI, Ford left the station to program WKHK in New York. Dan Dixon (later of XM Radio fame), Larry Patton and Greg Raab were the following Program Directors, with Raab also being the station's Promotions Director from early 1979.
For a time after the former WDEE changed its format from country to easy-listening music as WCZY-AM (eventually becoming religious station WLQV
), "Country Lovin' Country 11" was Detroit's primary country music station, with its only competition being CKLW-FM
in Windsor, Ontario
, which would soon change its format to adult standards as CKJY.
However, WCXI took a hit once WWWW
changed its format from album-oriented rock to country in 1980, becoming (apart from CKLW-FM) Detroit's first live country station on FM since WDEE-FM
a decade earlier (WCAR-FM was automated country in 1977 until it became WTWR - Tower 92 FM in early 1978). To better compete with W4 Country, WCXI/WTWR-FM owner, Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters, again changed Top 40/Oldies-formatted WTWR to WCXI-FM (programmed separately from the AM - but simulcasting Deano Day for a short time when he returned again to the station after a brief run in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s) in early 1982, but WCXI-FM was unable to beat W4 and new owner Fritz Broadcasting changed format in May of 1986 upon ownership change to adult contemporary as WNTM (later becoming WVAE and then Urban as WMXD
). In the meantime, WCXI-AM was sold to Shamrock Broadcasting, owners of W4, on the same date as the FM station and dropped in ratings when Country 92FM went off the air and continued to suffer from low ratings through the 1980s. By the latter part of the decade, the station had adopted the "Real Country" branding and began to focus more on classic country
.
Finally, in 1992, WCXI became WWWW-AM, staying with country music but now simulcasting W4 FM.
's WXYT 97.1 FM for Detroit's sports-talk audience.
Unlike many other sports stations across the country, which choose to air their sports updates three times every hour, WDFN airs its sports updates at the top and bottom of each hour.
WDFN is an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio
. In October 2007, they broke ties with ESPN Radio
.
The WCAR
call signs are now in use at AM 1090 in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan
, which airs a Catholic
religious format. AM 1160 in Fenton, Michigan
now uses the WCXI calls, playing, fittingly, classic country music, and can be heard in much of the metro Detroit area.
In December 2005, fan outrage over the losing ways of the Detroit Lions
led WDFN to organize an "Millen Man March" for the last Lions home game outside Ford Field
.
WDFN's afternoon program, Stoney and Wojo, conducted comedic tournaments similar to the NCAA Tournament
complete with 64 "teams" representing brackets split into geographic regions. Called Stoney and Wojo Invitationals, several times each year. These tournaments have featured such random items as body parts, soft drinks, cartoon characters, even people with the first name of Mike. To determine the result, listeners called in and picked a winner in each game.
On Friday July 13, 2007 Stoney and Wojo were the substitute hosts on the popular nationally syndicated The Jim Rome Show
(for the vacationing Jim Rome).
On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 WDFN's local sports programming was replaced with syndicated programming consisting primarily of Fox Sports Radio. Sean Baligian
signed off at noon, leading into coverage of the presidential inauguration, with no mention of changes at the station. After several weeks with no local programming aside from Pistons broadcasts, Matt Shepard returned on April 6, relaunching his live morning show, Shep, Shower and Shave from 6–9 am weekdays. Longtime sports director and University of Detroit Titans basketball announcer Matt Dery
left the station for competitor WXYT. Rob Pascoe also joined WXYT after being released from WDFN, and on April 28, 2009, Rob Otto was also given his release.
Until the end of the 2008-09 NBA season WDFN was the Detroit Pistons' flagship radio station. On February 5, 2009, WXYT-FM "97.1 The Ticket" acquired the rights to become the Pistons' flagship station starting in the 2009–10 season. The move comes after WDFN laid-off most of its local on-air talent in January 2009, switching to a line-up of nationally syndicated shows like The Dan Patrick Show
and Fox Sports Radio
's Myers and Hartman. The change is also due to the fact that WDFN has a very weak directional signal, and listeners have complained that its hard to receive without interference.
Former midday mainstay Sean Baligian returned to the station and now hosts the morning show from 7-10am. After Baligian's show, Fox 2
sports reporter Ryan Ermanni hosts Ermanni Middays from 10-12. The Jim Rome Show was kept as part of the daily lineup and is heard from 12pm to 3pm. Matt Shepard left the morning slot to take over the afternoon slot of 3-6pm with Detroit Free Press
columnist Drew Sharp for the show Shep and Sharp. Also added to the daily lineup is Booth Newspapers Detroit Lions
reporter and former WDFN contributor Tom Kowalski. Kowalski floats between all three shows as a co-host/insider. He also hosts a weekly hourly Lions show for the station, which he formerly did during the days of The Fan. Tom Kowalski passed away August 29th, 2011, suddenly at the age of 51.
The station remains a Fox Sports Radio
affiliate and carries national programming after 6 p.m. through the night on weekdays and around the clock on weekends. On October 1, 2010, WDFN dropped the "Detroit Sports Talk" branding and returned to being "The Fan."
WDFN also became the local affiliate of the Grand Valley State Lakers
football team. The Lakers are a NCAA Division II program.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, market. It broadcasts in the AM radio band
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
at 1130 kHz. WDFN is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, and until the end of the 2008-09 NBA season, was the flagship station for the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
.
Early history
AM 1130 has been on the air since December 17, 1939 and bore the WCAR calls from its inception until 1979. WCAR was originally licensed to the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, MichiganPontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
. For many years the station aired a middle-of-the-road/adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
music format best known for its ownership by the quirky Hy Levinson, who insisted that WCAR air only "good music" and refused to allow anything even remotely resembling rock and roll on his station's playlist.
1970s: Giant 1130
Levinson would eventually relax his anti-rock stance when it became evident that the conservative "good music" approach wasn't making him enough money. By 1970, "W-Car" had contemporized somewhat and become a personality-oriented Adult Top 40 music station (what would today be called Hot AC), complete with new jingles and a "hipper" image based around the slogan "W-Car Cares About Detroit." In late 1971, the station made the full transition into Top 40 format as "All Hit Music, The Giant 1130," similar in presentation to market leader CKLW but with a more "adult" music mix.W-Car's Top 40 incarnation featured an airstaff including Detroit radio veterans such as Dave L. Prince and former CKLW and WIXY
WWMK
WWMK — branded Radio Disney AM 1260 — is the Cleveland, Ohio affiliate of Radio Disney. Owned by ABC Radio, the station's studios are located at 175 Ken Mar Industrial Parkway in Broadview Heights, and its five-tower transmitter is located about 2.2 miles away on Snowville Road in front of I-77...
(Cleveland) personality Steve Hunter. Hunter recalled on the CKLW tribute Website (http://www.thebig8.net) that although WCAR sounded good, its locally based ownership didn't have the money needed to sustain cash giveaways and other prizes, and the format was changed just before a new ratings book came in showing that the station's ratings were finally beginning to grow. W-Car would trudge through several more failed formats during the remainder of the 1970s, including progressive rock, all-news (using the NBC News and Information service), and another try at adult contemporary with new owners Golden West Broadcasters (who bought the AM and FM in the summer of 1977) switching the station from news and talk back to music in October of 1977.
WCXI
In early 1979, WCAR changed its format to countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and adopted the calls WCXI ("Country 11"; the "C" stood for Country, and "XI" is "11" in Roman numerals) in March. General Manager John Risher, who had run WDEE during the early to mid-1970s, brought back popular award winning morning personality Deano Day, Bob Burchett and a few others who had worked at "The Big-D" to the air staff. Program Director Bill Ford was held over from the previous WCAR AM 1130 adult contemporary format as well as new music director Bob "R.T." Griffin. After his success with WCXI, Ford left the station to program WKHK in New York. Dan Dixon (later of XM Radio fame), Larry Patton and Greg Raab were the following Program Directors, with Raab also being the station's Promotions Director from early 1979.
For a time after the former WDEE changed its format from country to easy-listening music as WCZY-AM (eventually becoming religious station WLQV
WLQV
WLQV is a radio station serving the Detroit, Michigan market. The station's fifty-thousand watt daytime signal enables it to be heard from Michigan's Thumb area down to Northwest Ohio, and from Lansing, Michigan to Chatham, Ontario, Canada. WLQV has a Christian talk format.-WJBK:WLQV first signed...
), "Country Lovin' Country 11" was Detroit's primary country music station, with its only competition being CKLW-FM
CIDR-FM
CIDR-FM is the callsign for a radio station, broadcasting at 93.9 FM in Windsor, Ontario. The station broadcasts a adult album alternative format using the brand name 93-9 The River. It is owned and operated by Bell Media. It is one of the few commercial adult album alternative stations in Canada...
in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, which would soon change its format to adult standards as CKJY.
However, WCXI took a hit once WWWW
WDTW-FM
WDTW-FM is a classic rock formatted radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications. WDTW-FM is licensed for HD Radio operations; its secondary channel carries Clear Channel's "Pride Radio" format, which features music geared toward the LGBT audience...
changed its format from album-oriented rock to country in 1980, becoming (apart from CKLW-FM) Detroit's first live country station on FM since WDEE-FM
WDRQ
WDRQ is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is branded as 93.1 Doug FM. Doug FM broadcasts from the Fisher Building just north of downtown Detroit and transmits its signal from an antenna 669 feet in length located at the intersection of Ten Mile and Greenfield Roads in suburban...
a decade earlier (WCAR-FM was automated country in 1977 until it became WTWR - Tower 92 FM in early 1978). To better compete with W4 Country, WCXI/WTWR-FM owner, Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters, again changed Top 40/Oldies-formatted WTWR to WCXI-FM (programmed separately from the AM - but simulcasting Deano Day for a short time when he returned again to the station after a brief run in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s) in early 1982, but WCXI-FM was unable to beat W4 and new owner Fritz Broadcasting changed format in May of 1986 upon ownership change to adult contemporary as WNTM (later becoming WVAE and then Urban as WMXD
WMXD
WMXD is a Clear Channel-owned Urban AC FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, that broadcasts on the frequency of 92.3 MHz. WMXD, which bills itself as "Today's R&B and the Best Old School Jamz," is consistently a very highly rated station in Detroit's Arbitron ratings reports,...
). In the meantime, WCXI-AM was sold to Shamrock Broadcasting, owners of W4, on the same date as the FM station and dropped in ratings when Country 92FM went off the air and continued to suffer from low ratings through the 1980s. By the latter part of the decade, the station had adopted the "Real Country" branding and began to focus more on classic country
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
.
Finally, in 1992, WCXI became WWWW-AM, staying with country music but now simulcasting W4 FM.
The Fan
WWWW-AM changed its calls to WDFN in May 1994, and on July 11 of that year, the "Fan" sports-talk format was born, and has continued ever since. WDFN now competes with CBS RadioCBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
's WXYT 97.1 FM for Detroit's sports-talk audience.
Unlike many other sports stations across the country, which choose to air their sports updates three times every hour, WDFN airs its sports updates at the top and bottom of each hour.
WDFN is an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
. In October 2007, they broke ties with ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
.
The WCAR
WCAR
WCAR, 1090 AM, in the Detroit market, is a 24-hour talk radio station based out of Livonia, Michigan. The station airs a variety of talk show programs, including the nationally syndicated Imus in the Morning.- History :...
call signs are now in use at AM 1090 in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
, which airs a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
religious format. AM 1160 in Fenton, Michigan
Fenton, Michigan
Fenton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan that lies mostly in Genesee County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,756. The city was incorporated from Fenton Township in Genesee County, and the city and township are administratively autonomous.-History:In the 1970s, the city...
now uses the WCXI calls, playing, fittingly, classic country music, and can be heard in much of the metro Detroit area.
Notable station events
In 1971-1974, George Noory, now host of the highly rated Coast to Coast AM syndicated late night radio show, worked at WCAR.In December 2005, fan outrage over the losing ways of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
led WDFN to organize an "Millen Man March" for the last Lions home game outside Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
.
WDFN's afternoon program, Stoney and Wojo, conducted comedic tournaments similar to the NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
complete with 64 "teams" representing brackets split into geographic regions. Called Stoney and Wojo Invitationals, several times each year. These tournaments have featured such random items as body parts, soft drinks, cartoon characters, even people with the first name of Mike. To determine the result, listeners called in and picked a winner in each game.
On Friday July 13, 2007 Stoney and Wojo were the substitute hosts on the popular nationally syndicated The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. The show is produced in Los Angeles, California, syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the U.S...
(for the vacationing Jim Rome).
On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 WDFN's local sports programming was replaced with syndicated programming consisting primarily of Fox Sports Radio. Sean Baligian
Sean Baligian
Sean Baligian is a sports radio broadcaster who was on the Detroit sports airwaves, for WDFN and WJR. He is a native of Livonia, Michigan and graduated from Livonia Stevenson High School.-Radio career:...
signed off at noon, leading into coverage of the presidential inauguration, with no mention of changes at the station. After several weeks with no local programming aside from Pistons broadcasts, Matt Shepard returned on April 6, relaunching his live morning show, Shep, Shower and Shave from 6–9 am weekdays. Longtime sports director and University of Detroit Titans basketball announcer Matt Dery
Matt Dery
Matt Dery is an American sportscaster and is the former Sports Director at WDFN AM, a sports radio station near Detroit. Dery worked at WDFN from 1996 to 2009, after working for WHK Radio in Cleveland, Ohio...
left the station for competitor WXYT. Rob Pascoe also joined WXYT after being released from WDFN, and on April 28, 2009, Rob Otto was also given his release.
Until the end of the 2008-09 NBA season WDFN was the Detroit Pistons' flagship radio station. On February 5, 2009, WXYT-FM "97.1 The Ticket" acquired the rights to become the Pistons' flagship station starting in the 2009–10 season. The move comes after WDFN laid-off most of its local on-air talent in January 2009, switching to a line-up of nationally syndicated shows like The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show is a syndicated sports talk show hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by DirecTV Sports Group and is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. The three-hour program broadcasts live every day beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern/6 a.m. Pacific time on Fox...
and Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
's Myers and Hartman. The change is also due to the fact that WDFN has a very weak directional signal, and listeners have complained that its hard to receive without interference.
The Fan returns
On September 8, 2009, WDFN was rechristened "1130AM Detroit Sports Talk" with a new local daily lineup and "The Fan" moniker was dropped.Former midday mainstay Sean Baligian returned to the station and now hosts the morning show from 7-10am. After Baligian's show, Fox 2
WJBK
WJBK is the Fox–owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting on digital channel 7...
sports reporter Ryan Ermanni hosts Ermanni Middays from 10-12. The Jim Rome Show was kept as part of the daily lineup and is heard from 12pm to 3pm. Matt Shepard left the morning slot to take over the afternoon slot of 3-6pm with Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
columnist Drew Sharp for the show Shep and Sharp. Also added to the daily lineup is Booth Newspapers Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
reporter and former WDFN contributor Tom Kowalski. Kowalski floats between all three shows as a co-host/insider. He also hosts a weekly hourly Lions show for the station, which he formerly did during the days of The Fan. Tom Kowalski passed away August 29th, 2011, suddenly at the age of 51.
The station remains a Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
affiliate and carries national programming after 6 p.m. through the night on weekdays and around the clock on weekends. On October 1, 2010, WDFN dropped the "Detroit Sports Talk" branding and returned to being "The Fan."
WDFN also became the local affiliate of the Grand Valley State Lakers
Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University is a public liberal arts university located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1960, and its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids...
football team. The Lakers are a NCAA Division II program.