By Jeff Moss
January 6, 2012
DetroitSportsRag@gmail.com 

According to my sources at Clear Channel, WDFN-1130 will announce the hiring of a new Program Director next week and it won’t be former PD Gregg Henson. Instead the person who will be in charge of resurrecting the flatlined sports talker is Eric Chase. A guy who is currently working in Allentown, Pennsylvania as an afternoon drive Top 40 disc jockey.

According to Chase’s bio on B104 he has worked in Saginaw, Detroit, Toledo and of course Allentown. Based on that career trajectory, I would guess his next job will be spinning Nicki Minaj records in Siberia.

B104 is a Clear Channel station as well so the Chase hire is from within.

According to Chase’s website it would appear in recent weeks he has discussed such topics as Ricky Martin appearing on “Glee” and Kelly Clarkson’s endorsement of Ron Paul.

In other words, it doesn’t look like the new PD of WDFN has been doing a lot of sports talk lately.

As I stated in earlier reports, it would appear Cheap Channel wasn’t about to open the coffers to entice a PD with an actual resume to Detroit so it would appear that 1130 will continue to remain on life support while getting thrashed by the other lousy sports channel in town, 97.1 – The Ticket.

According to my sources at WDFN, Chase has a relationship with 100.3 morning man Jay Towers which might have helped him land the gig. It would not be surprising if Towers cock-blocked Henson’s return also as there is no love lost between the two former 97.1 hosts.

Earlier this morning I was offered an opportunity to discuss the future of WDFN with Clear Channel exec Mike McCoy who was in charge of this hiring.

McCoy told me that I could stop by the Clear Channel compound (they don’t validate parking) and listen to his version of events regarding the current state of sports talk radio in Motown.

I responded back to McCoy by saying that I would love that opportunity, but I would want to record the session for a Podcast on the DSR. I still haven’t heard back from McCoy regarding this request. I am guessing that won’t be happening anytime soon.

Anyway, it would appear that the book has now been closed on any potential return to Detroit for Henson who probably will be surfacing in Bozeman, Montana working for KBOX Talk 1090 in the near future.

The bottom line to all of this is the following:

WDFN just hired a pop music DJ to program a supposed All-Sports Station

Clear Channel will never invest financially in WDFN ever again

The Ticket will continue to go unchallenged in this market meaning more awful sports talk

Coupled with the reported Jamie Samuelsen hiring at 97.1 earlier in the week this has been an awfully depressing few days for anyone who loves the sports talk radio genre.

Detroit is such a minor league town when it comes to this stuff.

“And it’s getting very hard to staaaaaaaaaaaaaay.”

And we’re living here in…

A joke of a sports media town.