It is now January. Several weeks have passed since Detroit public radio station WDET, 101.9 FM, replaced all of its daytime music with talk radio. But as of this writing, the anger over the change has not subsided. Instead, it is gaining momentum, with protests planned and a class action lawsuit filed.

At least 100 people gathered in the cold outside of WDET just off Wayne State University's campus on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 27 to protest the format change. After assembling on Woodward outside of the Magic Stick, they marched the four blocks to the WDET station in a long procession, waving protest signs as they went. As the group marched, many cars driving past honked their horns in support.

Once assembled outside the station on Cass between Forest and Canfield, they chanted, "Bring back the music," as Dan Sordyl, the man who has come to lead the uprising against the format change, gave interviews to TV news crews who showed up to film the rally.

"Everybody is dumbfounded; that's why we're doing this," said Sordyl.

Dumbfounded is an apt word. Listeners had no idea the format change was coming.

The station's general manager, Michael Coleman, has said that the change was implemented in order to save WDET from severe money problems. Just after the format change, Sordyl and his group had requested the chance to hold a special fundraiser for the station on their own to see if they could raise enough cash to keep the music going. But Sordyl no longer believes the format change is about money, and they have since withdrawn that offer.

"That was a request we made when we believed their smokescreen," he said. "It's not about money. Mismanagement and a hidden agenda are what's behind this."

Conspiracy theories are swirling about why WDET would kill its music programming.

WDET's annual fall pledge drive just took place in September, and during the fundraising marathon no mention of severe money troubles was ever made.

That is what led to the class action lawsuit that was filed in Wayne County Circuit court the week before Christmas. The lawsuit seeks for either the music programming to be restored on WDET, or for the station to refund the donations made by listeners during the fall pledge drive.

Among others, the lawsuit names the WSU Board of Governors (WDET is owned by WSU), WDET and Coleman as defendants, said Kevin Ernst, an attorney representing Sordyl's group.

"Our claim is that the radio station management decided to fire the daytime people before the pledge drive, and allowed them to go on the air" soliciting donations for programming they knew wouldn't be there, Ernst said. "That's textbook fraud."

Sordyl says he had been in correspondence with WDET and WSU, but communication has since stopped.

"The vice president of Wayne State told me to stop e-mailing him," Sordyl said.

In August, WDET quietly changed general managers, hiring Michael Coleman to replace Caryn Mathes who left for a public radio job in Washington. Could it be Mathes saw the changes coming and jumped ship?

Previously, Coleman had worked for Michigan Public Media, which operates WUOM-FM (91.7 FM), an NPR station out of Ann Arbor. WUOM specializes in news and talk, as do most NPR-affiliated stations. WDET was an anomaly amongst public radio stations around the country. Most NPR affiliates across this great land fill the airwaves with talk and news, putting music on the back burner. And now, so does WDET.

In addition to cutting its music programming, the station fired three longtime program hosts: Judy Adams, Martin Bandyke and Willy Wilson.

"I'm a little disappointed with the new direction the station is taking," said Wilson. "They kind of ripped the heart out of the Detroit music scene. It'll definitely have a lot of repercussions into what acts are booked at venues in the Detroit area. A lot of staples and up and coming bands can no longer depend on that past radio support. Also, a lot of the area records stores will be less willing to stock music by artists that are no longer going to be played in the market."

"I've traveled all over the U.S. There's nothing like it (WDET) anywhere;" said Ann Holdreith of Royal Oak, during the Dec. 27 protest. "It's creative, intelligent. I've been listening for 25 years. This sucks."

"I've been listening to Martin Bandyke and Willie Wilson, Judy Adams, Ed Love and Liz Copeland for 10 plus years," said The Muggs' Tony DeNardo. "It's the only station that gives you variety. OK, sure, I've heard that some people don't like this show or that show, but what's the alternative? Clear Channel/Infinity? No thanks…"

Sordyl says his group's e-mail list is up to about 480 recipients, and their website got over 10,000 hits the last week of December. They plan to protest during the International Auto Show and during the Super Bowl in February.

The group's next protest is scheduled for Jan. 9, when classes resume at WSU.

"We'll be all over the WSU campus," said Sordyl. "We'll be on every street corner letting the new students know that WSU is anti-music. This is not going to die."

For more info go to www.savedetroitradio.com.

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