What a shocker! WDFN 1130AM, the leading voice for Detroit sports radio, cut most or all of its local talent including the prolific drive-time standby, the Stoney and Wojo Show.
Obviously, I’m stunned. The show, which features Mike “Stoney” Stone and Detroit News columnist Bob “Wojo” Wojnowski, had been the go-to show in Detroit since its debut in April 1995. Wojo’s paper got the scoop and quotes from the hosts:
“It’s a really sad day because I loved working at that station,” Wojnowski said. “And I know a lot of Detroiters have loved listening to the station for the past 14-15 years. It’s just another sign of the times, a very sad sign.”
Said Stone: “I will miss it terribly. People tell me the show meant something to (them). That’s amazing. Hopefully, somebody will want to pick up ‘Stoney and Wojo.”
This site has (had?) a relationship with WDFN on its Michigan football page and I’ve swapped emails with WDFN program director Rona Danziger in the past. I sent her an email tonight hoping for some reaction.
Included in the cuts was solid mid-morning man Sean Baligian (of ‘It is what it is‘) who apparently didn’t learn of the cuts until after this morning’s broadcast. Said Baligian, “..we’ve all been hearing rumors for a while that something big was going to happen. I didn’t think it would be like this, but I’m not surprised. Radio is a tough business, and we know things can end quickly.”
Update: If all the local staff is let go, that would include relatively new morning host and Michigan basketball radio play-by-play voice Matt Shepard, who’s wonderfully titled morning show ‘Shep, Shave and Shower‘.
So what happens from here? It’s not clear. WDFN’s website says “We’re remodeling..”.
32 Comments
BiggieMunn
Dude, I think they should give the B-Train a national show and then put him back on DFN….”they call me Dr. Dickenstein!”.
Greg (MVictors)
“If you see a guy there, tossing a football, mid-30s, tan, receding hairline….that’s The Express”
Steve L.
I’ve been listening to that group the last couple of years via the net. It was a good way for me keep up with news from back home. They were a fun listen. Wish them all nothing but the best.
Johnny Cakes
This is a huge loss for the Detroit radio scene but I can only assume these personalities will be back on the radio in some capacity. DFN has lost me.
ben
This sucks!
Larry S.
So . . . now that Soney and Wojo are gone, theres absoutley no reason to listen to WDFN anymore. I’m taking 1130 off my radio’s pre-set and replace with 97.1FM (poor substitute)
scott
this has been my 8hr day since i started working for a delivery company 12ys ago. it like my family member has died!! it just another sign im getting old.
Greg (MVictors)
Scott, I think a lot of people feel that way. You have a local hosts talking about the stuff that for better or worse is a huge part of your life, it is like family in a way.
Chris
It’s a real blow to Detroit Sports Talk Radio, can someone post where we can email the clear channel Bozo who made the dumb-ass call, Why do I care about what’s going on in NY,LA,or any other place besides Detroit that Sean, Stoney or Wojo wouldn’t talk about, but keep up on Our local teams.
So now what’s left………………………
Shannon S.
I’m calling on Joe Dumars,Tom Wilson ,and Bill Davidson to pull all pistons games from WDFN…..Surely they are smart enough to know the stations fan base will take a big hit…… There are plenty of stations in Detroit to broadcast the Pistons games. 97.1,1270,wjr just to name a few. Fans of the old WDFN contact the pistons and let them know you will not listen to any games or anything on that station.
Frank Monteleone
From the time I left the house in the morning to the time I got home I had wdfn on, I cannot beleive this, I really feel sick, like I lost a loved one, really, this is horrible, I can’t stand Doug Karsh, Mike Valenti and the rest of them a-holes, I hope they can get another show, all of them.
Evan
I only listened to WDFN because of stoney and wojo, so now I have no reason to listen to the station!
Ed from Moose Jaw
I’ve been listening to DFN for over a decade. Sean is the best broadcaster in Detroit. Stoney & Wojo beat the guys “up the dial” by a wide margin. Clear Channel screwed Detroit sports fans when they pulled the plug on our DFN. No one is going to want “the national perspective” for 24 hours a day. Rome was a nice fit to get that national level coverage. WDFN, you’re dead to me now….
Rob
I’ve spent many afternoons laughing on my way home from work everyday. Stoney and Wojo are going to really be missed. I use to enjoy my 60-90 minute ride home. Now it’s just a long boring ride. You will all be greatly missed.
ken chevrier
I will not be listening to 1130 radio from now on. The national sports cast is not what I want to hear. Where is the local content.
kevin
going national was a huge mistake.stoney & wojo were the best outlet for the local fan base in the detroit area.I personally will no longer listen to wdfn.
A Ray~
I used to look forward to 3:00 everyday..Stoney and Wojo was like sitting down and having a drink with a friend.They were the only reason I turned to WDFN..It was bad enough having to listen to that “banty rooster” Jim Rome and I turned it off until he was over..I hope someone on the local level will pick them up…We miss you guys..
kevin moore
i have been listening to these guys for years. when your on the road 10 hours per day you need local, interesting and entertaining radio. sean,stoney and wojo will be missed. there were a ton of us from flint and saginaw that relied on and loved wdfn. goodbye 1130!
tony m
This a outrage, these two were the best in Detroit drive time radio. What idiot is responsible for this call. I have been with them since they started i will go only to where they end up and never on wdfn again.
Bill Armstrong
Like many, I am shocked. Their show was the one show on radio that I listened to since they started. Now, I will not listen to this station and it comes off my favorites. Put them back on the radio.
Moe Abulhassan
It’s really sad that we lost them, Stoney and Wojo show was my favorite show ,been listening to wdfn since i came to the U.S. in early 1995 when i accidentally found the station and fell in love with , gonna miss them greatly , hope they will find a new home soon wish them all good luck.
Casper
Yes, for weeks, I also “felt like a family member died”. I’m 60, and I’ve seen many immediate family members die! It was the humor & one liners that set Stony & Wojo apart! Of course Wojo often gave incisive analysis too.
If you see either of these guys in any local bar or establishment, please give them a hug and say: “I love you man!”.
It was a beautiful team and let’s hope that it resurfaces. It’s left a little hole in my life!
Casper
Mo (Badgerbuddy)
Unbelievable!! and that word is certainly not strong enough! There obviously was no thought put into this move from Clear Channel for the folks of Detroit! For the past few weeks I’ve been waiting for all to resurface – in particular, Mike, Bob and Sean. Can someone please give me a shout if Big Brother wises up and reinstates these insitutions on DFN? This girl has taken that channel off her dial.
I wish you the best gentlemen!
Robert Gray
I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one that felt like a family member died. I’ve been listening to WDFN since the beginning with the “Odd Couple” and then moving into “Stony and Wojo”.
I’m lost in the afternoons. I can only take so much of the 97.1 the Ticket (although I’ve always like Terry Foster).
Somebody please bring Stony and Wojo back.!!!!!!!!!!!
Eric
I was a steady WDFN Listener till a few weeks ago, , No Sean, Stoney, or Wojo, no need to listen to them anymore, WDFN is a sellout, I will listen to whatever station pick them all up.
Mike P
No Stoney,No Wojo, All locals gone…No reason to listen anymore! I like Chris Meyers on Nascar but he and his sidekick will NEVER fill the void of the local insight. We have enough national already. Besides, WDFN’s signal stinks and I’m only in Wixom, MI.
J-SIN
WOW! This station lost me for sure!
Jeff D
I have been listening to Stony & Wojo for many years. I travel the country and listen to many other sports radio stations and WDFN Detroit had the best I was very saddened and somewhat stunned by the replacement show. The fan has lost another listener. I hope to find S&W on the air somewhere along the dial. They were AWESOME!
jd
Mark R.
Like a lot of folks around here, I usually kept my radios pegged to 1130 WDFN (despite the crappy signal). My presets are changed; I can’t and won’t listen to the boring “national” programming that has replaced a great local institution. From a business standpoint, the truth is in the numbers. My bet is that these “cuts” will prove to be a resounding mistake. Gonna miss you Shawn, Stoney, Wojo and the rest of the staff. Hope to see you back on the dial somewhere real soon.
Moe
Are either of them doing anything at all on the radio these days does anyone know?
Julian Stevenson
I was shocked that Clear Channel wiped out the best of Detroit sports radio. Sean was insightful, funny at times, truly nice, and kept his show relatively rated G. Loved Stoney and Wojo. They both really “got it”, when it came to humor. What may have seemed to some adolescent, their banter and standbys such as the pyramid and the 64 tournaments were actually sophisticated and great fun. Stoney’s geekiness was amusing and I could really relate to that. I saw Wojo on some lame outdoor program on the old PASS maybe 15 years ago. Although all the participants seemed to know it was lame, I was very impressed at how truly kind and gracious Wojo was about the whole thing. My radio listening is down to Shep on WDFN. He still is a remnant of the good days, when we could leave the station on 1130 from 6AM-the end of the soup. Good luck to all, and please resurface soon!
Whatever
WTF… i love the stoney and Wojo show… and i loved my mans show shawn… wtf… EFFF DFN… wish some elese picks them up..