WDFN

Infobox Radio station
name = WDFN


city = Detroit, Michigan
area = [http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WDFN&service=AM&status=L&hours=D] (Daytime)
[http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WDFN&service=AM&status=L&hours=N] (Nighttime)
branding = SportsRadio 1130
slogan = The Fan
airdate = December 17, 1939
frequency = 1130 kHz HD Radio
format = Sports
power = 50,000 watts (Daytime)
10,000 watts (Nighttime)
class = B
facility_id = 59969
coordinates = coord|42|06|39|N|83|11|52|W|type:landmark
callsign_meaning = Detroit's The Fan
former_callsigns = WWWW (9/14/92-5/20/94)
WCXI (3/1/79-9/14/92)
WCAR (12/17/39-3/1/79)
owner = Clear Channel
sister_stations = WDTW, WDTW-FM, WJLB, WKQI, WMXD, WNIC
webcast = [http://www.wdfn.com/pages/stream_us.html Listen Live]
website = [http://www.wdfn.com/ http://www.wdfn.com/]
affiliations =

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 is the flagship station for the Detroit Pistons.

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, Michigan. For many years the station aired a middle-of-the-road 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. Levinson would eventually relax his anti-rock stance when it became evident that the "good music" wasn't making him enough money.

During the 1970s, WCAR went through a multitude of failed formats, including Top 40, all-news (using the NBC "News and Information" service), progressive rock, and adult contemporary. As a Top 40 station ("Giant 1130") from about 1972 to 1975, WCAR's personalities included Steve Hunter, formerly of crosstown competitor CKLW and then Cleveland's WIXY. Hunter recalls on the CKLW tribute Website (http://www.thebig8.net) that although WCAR sounded good, its locally based owner 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 was finally starting to make some upward progress.

In 1978, WCAR changed its format to country and adopted the calls WCXI ("Country 11"; the "C" stood for Country, and "XI" is "11" in Roman numerals) the following March. During the early and mid-1980s, WCXI also had an FM sister, WCXI-FM 92.3, airing a separate country format, creating a two-pronged competition with WWWW-FM 106.7 ("W4 Country"). WCXI-AM/FM were owned at the time by Fritz Broadcasting. FM 92.3 changed its calls to WNTM ("92Music") and its format to Adult Contemporary in 1986 (it is still co-owned with AM 1130 under the Clear Channel umbrella as urban adult contemporary WMXD). AM 1130 continued with the WCXI calls until 1992, when, now owned by Shamrock Broadcasting and co-owned with its country competitor WWWW, the station became WWWW-AM, staying with country music but now chiefly simulcasting "W4" FM.

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 Radio's WXYT 1270 AM for Detroit's sports-talk audience. But WDFN's dominanace in the ratings has forced WXYT to cut back on their local programming. WDFN has the most dominant show in Detroit sports radio with the afternoon pairing of Stoney & Wojo.

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 classic country music.

Notable station events

In December 2005, fan outrage over the losing ways of the Detroit Lions led WDFN to organize an "Angry Fan March" for the last Lions home game outside Ford Field.

WDFN's afternoon program, Stoney and Wojo, conducts tournaments similar to the NCAA Tournament, called Stoney and Wojo Invitationals, several times each year. These tournaments have featured items such as body parts, soft drinks, even people with the first name of Mike. To determine the result, listeners call in.

On Friday July 13, 2007 Stoney and Wojo were the substitute hosts on the largely syndicated "Jim Rome Show" (for the vacationing Jim Rome).

WDFN personalities

Insiders

*Kevin Allen (hockey analyst) (Detroit Red Wings)
*Angelique Chengelis (Michigan Wolverines football; also a reporter on ESPN's NASCAR Now, and Detroit News' motorsports and Michigan football reporter) "The Angel of the Big House"
*Dave Dye (Michigan State Spartans)
*Tom Kowalski (Detroit Lions) "Uncle Killer"
*Tom Gage (Detroit Tigers)
*Tom Markowski (High School football)
*Tim McCormick (College and NBA; also a game analyst for Big Ten Network)
*Chris McCosky (Detroit Pistons)
*Ken Rosenthal (MLB)
*Michael Silver (NFL)
*Bill Romanowski (National Football)
*Mike Ditka (National Football)

Hosts

*Sean Baligian
*Clarence Black
*Jonel Jaksa
*Richard "Dirt" Jordan
*Larry Lee
*"Emperor" Rob Otto
*Rob Pascoe
*Eric Pate
*Art Regner
*Jim Rome
*Matt Shepard
*Mike Stone "Stoney"
*Bob Wojnowski "Wojo"

Reporters

*Tom Balog (Wayne State University Men's Hockey P.A. Announcer and Women's Hockey Play-by-Play, editor of [http://www.michigancollegehockey.com MichiganCollege Hockey.com] )
*Matt Dery (WDFN sports director, University of Detroit Men's Basketball Play-by-Play, Detroit Pistons pregame and postgame host)
*Denny Kapp (Detroit Stringer for Fox Sports Radio, University of Detroit Men's Basketball Fill In Play-by-Play, and Women's Basketball Full Time Play-by-Play)
*Marti Martin
*Russ McNamara
*Rob Otto (Detroit Pistons pregame and postgame host/ Also weekend host of the "Ottoman Sports Empire")
*Rob Pascoe (Notre Dame and NASCAR Slappy / Also hosts a weekend show and a NASCAR show on WDFN)

Producers

*Brad Fortier "Spicoli" (It Is What It Is)
*Marti Martin (Morning Show)
*Dave Riger "Kingpin" (On the Track and Various Weekend Shows)
*Anthony Stalter (The Ottoman Sports Empire and Various Weekend Shows)
*The Sandman (In the Dugout)
*Doug Todd "The Inspector" (Stoney and Wojo)
*Chauncey Williamson (Various Weekend Shows)

Other personalities

*Darrin Brege (Comedic impressionist)
*Jim Cutler (station imaging voice; also heard on ESPN Radio, WGN America, and Versus)
*Johnny Avello (Director of Race and Sports Operations at Wynn Las Vegas Casino Resort)

Past station personalities

*Sabrina Black (died of cancer in 2005)
*Jon Bloom
*Greg Brady (Also makes occasional appearances for BBC Radio Five Live including co-commentating for the Super Bowl and the Saturday Sports Game Show Fighting Talk) (show was canceled for budget cuts on 11/6/2007 [ [http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/SPORTS18/711060398/1048/SPORTS02 THE TICKER: MORNING LINE: WDFN axes morning show pair Jamie and Brady ] ] )
*Pat Caputo (Oakland Press columnist, now a WXYT anchor)
*Jim Cnockaert
*Nanci Donnellan, The Fabulous Sports Babe
*Ryan Field (now at FSN Detroit)
*Terry Foster (Detroit News columnist, now a WXYT anchor)
*Keith Gave
*Ike Griffin
*Glenn Haege (now at WJR)
*Jennifer Hammond (now at WJBK)
*Gregg Henson
*Jason Hillman
*Jeff Katz (teenage radio host, later working for WCW wrestling. Currently a film executive for 20th Century Fox and writer of Booster Gold for DC Comics.)
*Jemele Hill (former Michigan State insider, now with ESPN)
*Tom Millikan "The Gov"
*Jamie Morris
*George Noory
*Rob Parker (Detroit News columnist; also co-host of Parker and the Man on WCHB)
*Dave Pasch (currently the play-by-play voice of the Arizona Cardinals)
*Eric Pate
*Damon W. 'The Dog' Perry
*Jamie Samuelsen
*Lary Sorensen
*Marc Spindler
*Butch Stearns
*Rich Thomaselli
*Brandon Tierney (now an evening host at WEPN in New York City)
*Mike Williams (Now hosting "Classic Country Sunday Morning" on 99.5 WYCD)
*Chauncey Williamson
*Mark Wilson (Co-host of Parker and the Man on WCHB)
*Van Earl Wright (now at Fox Sports)
*Eli Zaret (now a reporter for Detroit Pistons Television Network)

References

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007312070009

Sources

* [http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-d/wdfn.html Michiguide.com - WDFN History]

External links

*AMQ|WDFN
*AML|WDFN