In Southfield: Deena Centofanti of Fox 2 and Joel Morgan from City of the Week share some couch time on set. Joel thought that since news people are only shown from the waist up, pants were not necessary. Joel was wrong.
Congratulations, Southfield! You are the WCSX City of the Week! Southfield’s roots are pretty amazing. One of the first orders of business: in Southfield 17 day protest! Read on to find out why Southfield immediately went into protest mode. You can also scroll down to check out pictures from several of our visits to Southfield and our hang time with Deena Centofanti from Fox 2!
The Center of It All
The slogan of Southfield is “The Center of It All.” With direct access to I-696, M-10 The Lodge Freeway, 8 Mile Road and Telegraph, it certainly is!
The first Southfield pioneer of note was John Daniels (NOT Jack’s brother..) who settled his land in 1823. Most of the early settlers used the Rouge River to power gristmills, sawmills and flour mills. Farming was still widespread in Southfield until as recently as 1950!
Southfield 17 Day Protest in the Name of Their Name
The history section of cityofsouthfield.com talks about the naming of Southfield. The name of the area “South Fields” was actually made up by settlers in Northern Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Royal Oak. In July of 1830, the area became an independent township that was officially named “Ossewa.” The citizens that lived there preferred the name Southfield – thus the Southfield 17 day protest was over the name of the community. The name was changed from Ossewa to Southfield and the Southfield 17 day protest ended.
City of the Week at Fox2 in Southfield
In 2019, Joel and I went and met with Deena Centofanti at the Fox2 studios in Southfield. I love Deena. Super nice, smart, and down-to-earth. Deena handled Joel in stride and Joel was extra-Joel on this day. lol… Joel was super pumped to be “reporting live from the Fox2 studios.” The video is a bit long, but Deena carries us.
I asked Deena about how it is dealing with the visual medium of TV. I find it very interesting. I can’t imagine having to look put together every day for work. HA! I know that doesn’t sound good for me, but I’m being honest. The level of scrutiny in TV vs radio… it’s not even a comparison. I know I have it way easier. Deena carries herself with grounded grace. She’s good people.
Southfield is also home to Lawrence Tech. Specs Howard School of Media Arts helped a lot of radio and television people throughout the years. Sadly, Specs closed in 2021. Today, Lawrence Tech continues the legacy of Specs Howard offering degrees and certificates in media arts.
J.L. Hudson Company (Hudson’s) opened Northland Center (mall) in 1950, and it was the spark that lit Southfield into what is now a major business center in Michigan.
Source: The Detroit Free Press’ The Detroit Almanac.
City of the Week Southfield Photos
Sign me up for the 94.7 WCSX email newsletter!
Stay connected to all things Classic Rock, join the WCSX Workforce- it’s free and you can win prizes, concert tickets and VIP experiences.
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.