If you remember in 2006 WJR switched from being affiliated with UM to MSU basing their rationale on MSU bball bringing in more listeners. Around this time Michigan bball was in the dumps and Amaker was enroute to being fired. Fast forward to 2012 and Michigan's football future looks much brighter than MSU's and the bball future looks bright as well. Any chance that WJR switches back to Michigan?
Wasn't there some weird
the underhanded move
was how they announced it. They loaded a bus of WJR people, headed to East Lansing, then stopped the bus, and pulled Beckmann, Steve Courtney, and Paul W. Smith off the bus, and drove on without them.
Was it the fault of the America's Cup?
I thought we dropped the ball due to prior sailing engagements. I thought someone was out sailing.
WJR
not underhanded, MSU paid them to carry the games, taking the risk of selling the ads themselves.
K.O.K.law
MSU needs the press
because without WJR, no one would know about them. This was a business decision plain and simple. We dont need WJR to promote us. We have the brand to pull in independant radio stations across the state for half the cost.
I dont blame WJR for taking the money. However msu forced many listeners to switch stations. WRJs numbers have tanked since they took on moo u. No one cares about moo u.
WJR needs us back to bring back listeners. Their numbers will double if they do.
From the Red Cedar Message Board: "God hates us." Yes He does Lil Bro, yes he does. Everyone hates you.
*
This still irks me to no end. It is a loser for both WJR and Michigan. The only "winner" is MSU because they have a radio power they neither need nor deserve. All the WJR people were big Michigan slappies and they suddenly had to "change allegiances" and act like they meant it because it was, well, their job. My guess is Martin fucked this up. I get so pissed off because every season when the first game starts I have to find out which bullshit Detroit station is carrying the Michigan game. For a couple years it was the FM "oldies" station that didn't even have a postgame. Now it's the 24 hour news station. It is like some greasy douchebag with a pinkie ring is banging your hot former girlfriend. Damn it to hell! Motherscratcher! Foul!
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.
760
Is a mere shadow of its former great self. It used to be a beacon for the tigers, red wings and um that you could hear in much of the country. Now it's just another clear channel mouthpiece.
It's still a better signal
It's still a better signal than most. I can get it at my home in Ionia about as well as I can get 1300 out of GR (an 'M' station). I think it would be great to have Michigan sports back on WJR, though I don't think the recent success of the basketball team will have any direct impact on the radio situation.
Forget that. At night I get
Forget that. At night I get it pretty easily in Duluth. I wish they would carry real sports again--especially in the winter, I would tune in all the time.
Servant. Pastor. Husband. Michigan fan in Duluth.
Especially because with
Especially because with shorter days, you can get the signal by mid-evening already during the winter.
"The straightest line from A to B is straight: From A to B"
"When you have Denard Robinson, you can have everything"
~George Walden
Exactly.
Exactly.
Servant. Pastor. Husband. Michigan fan in Duluth.
I live on the east coast, in
I live on the east coast, in the DC area. I can get WJR at night pretty clearly. It was my lifeline to non-brodcasted Michigan games in the days before the internet and the Big Ten network. I was bummed when they switched. Have not listned to it since.
M'Dog
Yeah, you nailed it. Makes me
Yeah, you nailed it. Makes me sad. I miss WJR carrying UM and the Tigers. Now it's dominated by political blowhards and carries a school that bought it's way in, and fewer people care about.
I do think they are relevant, given their reach. Maybe not as much with the net, etc., but it still matters. I'd love to see them and UM. Tigers, etc, swallow some pride and get it done at some point. But I doubt it happens.
Yeah, you nailed it. Makes me
Yeah, you nailed it. Makes me sad. I miss WJR carrying UM and the Tigers. Now it's dominated by political blowhards and carries a school that bought it's way in, and fewer people care about.
I do think they are relevant, given their reach. Maybe not as much with the net, etc., but it still matters. I'd love to see them and UM. Tigers, etc, swallow some pride and get it done at some point. But I doubt it happens.
Very true. When my Dad used
Very true. When my Dad used to be stationed in Texas he said he could pick up WJR from Detroit on clear nights.
"And if that doesn't wet your appetite, you're watching the wrong channel."
You can usually find me bumping some Reggae, hammered on Higgins Lake with the goon squad. #HALOL
Go Blue!
I wasn't that far away, but...
my Dad and I could get a clear signal in his truck on a stretch of road between our house in Cleveland and our cottage near the Pennsylvania state line. Some of the happiest memories of my childhood involve riding back from a night doing work on the house at the lake, listening to Bruce Martyn call a Wings game.
The funny thing was we couldn't get a signal on the big Cleveland AM station (1100), but we pulled in 760 well enough to hear the Wings.
ALWAYS remember the golden rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules
Como? Brief explanation of
Como? Brief explanation of what WJR is? (Bad feeling I'll come out looking dumb here)
Radio
Station
"Only three things can happen when you pass, and two of them are bad" -Bo Schembechler
im 12 wat is radio? there b
im 12 wat is radio? there b an app 4 it?
It's where you heard Ernie
It's where you heard Ernie Harwell call games. Never watched a game with the TV sound until they fired him.
How many times have you been on the freeway and had someone fly by you at 100 mph then end up 2 cars ahead of you at the off ramp? What's the point? -Mark Harmon
Yeah..... until "they" fired
Yeah..... until "they" fired Ernie.
I will fight 'til I am dead, a winged helmet on my head.
Now I know I've lived in New York too long.
Because I had to ask the same question, trying to figure out what two-sport recruit with the initials WJR was wavering in his commitment to MSU. WJR was our favorite Detroit station when I was a kid, fergodsakes. Didn't it play classical music as well as Ernie Harwell? And now it's Clear Channel? How the classy have fallen.
Thanks for biting the bullet,
Thanks for biting the bullet, I've spent about 60 seconds trying to figure out which recruit WJR is. That was roughly 55 seconds too long.
Given the historical
Given the historical dominance of MSU over Michigan in both Basketball (they trail 75 to 94) as well as football (they trail 32 to 67 with 5 ties) I'm sure WJR views the current state of affairs as nothing more than a temporary and quickly overcome setback. Clearly with MSU dominating as they have in head to head meetings athletically coupled with their national reputation academically it's no wonder a radio station that broadcasts over half the USA at night would want to carry the Spartan torch. And then when you add in the obviously higher per-capita income of State fans over Michigan fans well - you have an advertising trifecta that's tough to beat.
Here in backwards universe the decision makes all the sense in the world.
I'm sure they're getting
I'm sure they're getting soooooo many more listeners for msu games. How long was the contract with msu for?
"Ohio is like a giant turd that Michigan just can't pinch off"
I hate seeing threads like this
1.) They have a contract.. its not like at any time they can just say oh UM looks good this year lets switch.
2.) Yes the basketball and football teams look to be trending upward...but they haven't done squat yet. The bball team hasn't made it to the 2nd weekend in the tourney and the football team hasn't made it to the B1G title game in a terrible down time for the conference.
3.) Why would UM even give them the rights back after they trashed us when they switched..they are a nobody am radio station..The internet has made them irrelevent and UM sure doesn't need the money.
How can you kill that which has no life
To Add To This...
Just to add a little to the first point in particular, it will not be anytime soon either, per this announcement from January 2010, when WJR extended its agreement with the school until 2020.
Feezy also has built this contract into a going thing at WJR, as far as I know, since they broadcast MSU-backed non-sports content sometimes as well now with programming like "The Greening Of The Great Lakes", so I can't imagine that the station could or would even consider backing out at this point.
"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."
Follow the random tweets of a Michigan alum - http://twitter.com/#!/LorneEC3
This was all about money (as
This was all about money (as most things are now) instead of better programs and records.
MSU spent a ton of money to take WJR away from us. And basketball will never be bigger than football, so I have a hard time believing any rationale that MSU basketball was going to bring in more listeners. Especially when you take into account that MSU basketball circa 2006 was nothing compared to their 1998-2001 years.
Go Blue! Always!
In that case
Fuck WJR.
...confidence is the stain they can't wipe off...
Word.
Fuck WJR indeed!
Having said that, radio is far from dead. In addition to covering live events, it's probably the best medium for storytelling. If Michigan is really swimming in money the way that everybody seems to think that Brandon is, then why not just create their own radio station? Could feature most M sports events live with additional pre & post game coverage.
Or, alternatively, this could be an opportunity for an aspiring media entrepreneur. WJR is vulnerable because of their outdated corporate ownership and with something like M sports as an anchor, a new channel could make major headway.
Michigan does have its own radio station
The University does anyway. It's WUOM - 91.7 FM. They used to carry a separate broadcast of the football games; not sure if they still do or not.
Basketball will never be bigger than football
In money terms, unless basketball plays more than twice as many games in a season.
Oh right.
not the same
Basketball is no where near as popular as football. This is not hard to understand.
Wasting away in Ohio, a Wolverine in a sea of red and grey
It Was Also Personal
Bill Martin really, really, really pissed off then WJR GM Mike Feezy with outrageous demands. Martin took WJR for granted and MSU swooped in with big $$ for WJR and Feezy really loved the State people. But Feezy has recently left, so ... This was a major league F**CK UP by one Bill Martin.
I never heard that! Bill
I never heard that! Bill Martin screwed this up too? RABBLE!
"Ohio is like a giant turd that Michigan just can't pinch off"
Martin Really Did
Martin assumed WJR need UM more than UM needed WJR. He expected UM to be WJR's "loss leader." Now WJR makes actual money from MSU and we have no radio station that everyone can hear Michigan football. Feezy HATED Martin and had nothing but contempt for him. And he really loved the attention the State admin gave him and the station. But as I said, Feezy is gone now.
Great voice of the Great Lakes
Great Voice of the Great Lakes....it is on an old fashion AM station on something in the 80s we called radio.
I missed the J in WJR and
I missed the J in WJR and assumed it was a question of if WR Drake Harris would switch to Michigan now that we're better in both.
GAH!
THAT DAMN SNEAKY J
--------------------------------------------
"I cannot think of a better person to guide our university's athletic strategy than the inventor of The Noid."
WJR used to be something of
WJR used to be something of royalty in the broadcast universe when JP McCarthy and Ernie Harwell graced the airwaves. That station used to carry a LOT of clout. All the major Michigan sports were broadcast on "the Flamethrower". Now? No so much.
At this point carrying UofM
At this point carrying UofM sports would be better for WJR than for Michigan. Especially due to the BTN.
How many times have you been on the freeway and had someone fly by you at 100 mph then end up 2 cars ahead of you at the off ramp? What's the point? -Mark Harmon
I can pick up WJR in an hour
I can pick up WJR in an hour and a half east of buffalo. It would be cool to hear some UM on the radio again.
"Wasn't that Michigan drive just great. That's like Patton riding into Berlin." ~Bob Ufer
WJR in Jersey
I can pick up WJR in the Philly suburbs of South Jersey. But when I'm in Metro Detroit, I can never find the right radio station for M football and when I do, it's all static. Sigh. Martin.
We need a better raid deal...
We need a better raid deal... I prefer Frank and Jim to the TV guys but I can never get a non-staticy 950 signal in my house. Going to FM was the right move, we need to sign a long term deal for football and bball on 97.1
When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -- Bo Schembechler
This has to be the most
This has to be the most pining for radio that I've ever seen take place on the Internet. Especially for a site that makes fun of newspapers and bundled cable as much as we do. Radio is dead, it has no money, no audience, and no appeal.
You can't exactly watch a
You can't exactly watch a game while you're driving...
"Ohio is like a giant turd that Michigan just can't pinch off"
or....
listen to the post game on the way home.
Go Blue!
or mute Chris Spielman
and listen to Beckman and Brandstatter call the game.
wolverine 73
Way back before the internet
Radio was as good or even better than the newspaper on getting the latest and greatest sports info. I remember when I was a kid listening to JP McCarthy interviewing Bo often during the 70s. They were pro UM way back then. That station really fell on hard times after JP died and the station became a shell of what it use to be. I would always listen to the Tigers with Harwell and Carrie, Red Wings Hockey with Bruce Martin and Sid Able, and Van Patrick then Reynolds did the Lions games! It use to be a great station years ago.
expect the best
How could I forget to include the Ufe!
Bob Ufer came to WJR back in '74 up until his last days alive!
expect the best
Wasn't there some weird underhanded move that won the contract for MSU?