Distinguished Alumnus Dennis Neubacher reflects on a rewarding broadcast and aviation career

Retired Detroit media personality and traffic reporter Dennis Neubacher – best known for his work on WJR, Channel 7, and WWJ – has won many awards and accolades for a career spanning nearly 50 years as a journalist.

He has earned many accolades during his career. One of the most meaningful is being a distinguished alumnus of HFC, an honor bestowed in 1994.

“That’s where it all began,” said Neubacher. “My career as a pilot and reporter had to start somewhere. HFC helped me do that. Being named a distinguished alumnus is something I cherish. It’s one the greatest honors I have ever received.”

“Having enjoyed an amazing career as a helicopter pilot, traffic reporter, teacher, and more, Dennis is as friendly and approachable as his voice suggests,” said Margaret Blohm, past chair of the Henry Ford College Foundation. “Even more special is what a great advocate Dennis is for Henry Ford College.”

Flying is his first love

Born in Dearborn, Neubacher is one of three children. He lives in Plymouth with Karel, his wife of 39 years -- a fellow HFC alumna. They have one daughter and three grandchildren.

Neubacher earned his pilot’s license before graduating from Dearborn High School in 1971. His love for flying began at age 6 when his family flew to Florida to visit relatives. That was Neubacher’s first time on an airplane, and he was mesmerized by the beauty of everything he saw from his window. His father then took him to the Westland National Airport for a $2 airplane ride.

He was hooked.

“I told him, ‘Dad, I’d love to learn how to fly,’” recalled Neubacher. “Teachers would catch me looking out the school window and ask me what I was daydreaming about. ‘I’m looking for airplanes,’ I’d tell them,” he added with a laugh.

Neubacher spent his weekends during high school taking flying lessons. After graduating from DHS, Neubacher enrolled at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College).

“I wanted to be an airline pilot, but the Vietnam War draft was still active,” he recalled. “I applied for draft deferment and enrolled at the College. I was concerned about flying choppers and being shot down in Vietnam.”

Neubacher said that he was philosophically opposed to the war, but would not have dodged the draft if his number had been called. His father, a World War II veteran, believed that dodging the draft would be disrespectful to the country. The younger Neubacher agreed.

In 1972, the draft ended. After completing a semester at HFC, Neubacher worked as an aircraft fueler at Detroit Metro Airport and attended flight school at what is now the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. After six months, he earned his flight instructor certificate.

“I needed to clock more flight hours to be competitive because I wanted to be an airplane pilot. Because I had no military training, being a flight instructor was the best way to go,” he said. “Ironically, my best teachers had flown choppers in Vietnam.”

A great advocate for HFC, where he met his wife

In 1973, Neubacher became a flight instructor at Grosse Ile Municipal Airport and re-enrolled at HFC. Airlines required pilots to have a college education, which prompted his return to the College.

“Back then, it was $5 per credit hour for a Dearborn resident – that’s unbelievable!” he said.

Neubacher called his time at HFC “outstanding.”

“I truly enjoyed my classes. I found some of the classes at HFC more difficult than the ones I took at Western Michigan University, which is a great school,” he said. “I met people beyond the educational experience. These are people who were working and raising families. I struck up wonderful conversations with many wonderful people. I loved the classes and the library. The cafeteria was good. It was an outstanding experience.”

Neubacher – who earned his associate degree in liberal arts in 1975 – was involved in Student Council and eventually became a senator. At Student Council, he met the woman who would become his wife.

First broadcast news story: 1976 presidential election results

Neubacher’s career aspirations changed when he transferred to WMU.

“My friends from HFC told me, ‘Dennis, you have a good speaking voice. People listen. You should use your voice as a broadcaster,’” said Neubacher. “So I got involved in broadcasting and realized that was what I really wanted to do. So I changed direction: I worked to become a newscaster.”

Neubacher was heavily involved in WMU’s student-run radio station 89.1 WIDR-FM. The very first story he covered for the radio station was the results of the 1976 presidential election on Nov. 2, 1976, in which Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford to become the 39th President of the United States.

“It was just a 'rip-and-read,' but that was quite the first story for me to cover,” he recalled.

Breaking into broadcasting

In 1977, Neubacher graduated from WMU. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications and education with a minor in history. He also earned his teaching certificate. He later completed additional coursework in teaching at Madonna University.

Neubacher began his career as a speech and drama teacher at Carson City-Crystal High School, finishing out an academic year for a teacher on maternity leave. He also started searching for broadcasting jobs in Detroit, but it was a tough market to break into. His older brother, Greg, advised him to look for broadcasting jobs in Flint. He dropped off his résumé and demo tape at Flint radio stations. The very last one he applied to – WKMF – hired him on the spot.

“The program director was interested in aviation and saw my background. We talked about flying and had a great conversation. He asked me more questions about flying than he did about broadcasting. He realized he had to be on the air in a few minutes and asked me if I wanted the job, almost as an afterthought. I said, ‘Absolutely!’ And that’s how it started,” said Neubacher.

For a year, Neubacher subbed in Metro Detroit and DJed in Flint. Around that time, he met the late Russ Gibb, owner of the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, DJ, talk show host, teacher, and long-time donor to HFC, who was best known for his role in the “Paul (McCartney) is Dead” phenomenon in 1969. Gibb advised Neubacher to apply to Tower 92 (WTWR-FM) in Detroit and mention his name.

Neubacher worked at WTWR from 1979 to 1982.

“Help people understand”

After a one-year stint at UPI Radio in New York City, Neubacher returned to Detroit and started at WJR, one of his more prominent jobs, in 1983. He worked with legendary radio personality J.P. McCarthy, a.k.a. the Voice of Detroit.

“That’s where I started flying and broadcasting at the same time,” said Neubacher.

At WJR, he also met another Detroit broadcasting legend: Mort Crim, best known for his work on Channel 4. Crim also filled in for syndicated radio host Paul Harvey.

Both McCarthy and Crim gave Neubacher invaluable career advice.

“J.P. once told me, ‘Dennis, fly the helicopter safely, go out, and have fun.’ Then he said, ‘The information I need to relay is always the most important thing,’” recalled Neubacher. “Early in my career, I asked Mort about how he approached broadcast news. He said, ‘I’m a teacher.’ I asked him how much responsibility we had to educate the public. He looked at me and said, ‘None.’ I didn’t understand. He then clarified, ‘Dennis, if you don’t communicate in a way that people understand, you could tell them that the world is going to end in 10 seconds, but it took you 40 seconds to explain that to them. Write with the idea that you want people to understand. Write and speak and read so that people understand what you have to say – basically who, what, when, where, how, and why. They’ll take it from there.’ That made a huge difference in my career!

Reporting the news from Chopper 7 as the “eye in the sky”

Neubacher left WJR not long after McCarthy’s death in 1995. In early 1996, he began flying the helicopter called Chopper 7 for Channel 7, reporting the news as the “eye in the sky.” TV anchor Erik Smith referred to him as “Captain Dennis.” When Channel 7’s helicopter operation began, a video camera was mounted to the chopper. For nearly 14 years, Neubacher worked with videographer Brian Smith, reporting the news from an aerial perspective.

“I remember how you could pan the camera from Windsor to the Renaissance Center to the Ambassador Bridge – it’s so beautiful,” he recalled. “It’s such a big area.”

During his time at Channel 7, Neubacher reported on traffic news, automobile accidents, and road closures, suggesting alternate routes for viewers. He covered Detroit Pistons parades, Detroit Red Wings parades, and Thanksgiving parades. He covered the fire at the Ford Rouge Plant in 1999. His area of coverage extended to not just the Metro Detroit area, but also Jackson, Lansing, and Toledo.

“I covered so many news stories and so many events over the years that they all blur together,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I covered possible Jimmy Hoffa burial sites. I remember the first few days after 9/11. The FAA grounded us. We couldn’t cover stories from the air.”

“When I worked with Dennis, he was mostly in the air covering traffic for the station,” said retired Channel 7 reporter Cheryl Chodun. “He’s a great guy, for sure. He was great at everything he did, guiding drivers and informing viewers for years. He was also a great teacher. Dennis was respected and trusted by both colleagues and competitors. Truly one of the best.”

Flying an air ambulance was "rewarding work"

In 2010, Neubacher switched careers and left broadcasting, but he didn’t leave flying. He flew an air ambulance helicopter for ProMedica, a non-profit healthcare system headquartered in Toledo. Neubacher flew for ProMedica in the southeast Michigan area and northern Ohio.

“That was the opposite of covering news from a helicopter,” he said. “As a news reporter, I was not allowed to land at accident scenes. As an air ambulance pilot, I had to land at accident scenes, so those roles were reversed.”

Neubacher flew for ProMedica for five years and worked as an outreach coordinator for two. In the latter position, he would talk to policemen, firemen, EMTs, and other first responders about partnering with ProMedica.

“The medical crews who flew with me were wonderful professionals. I transported so many people who were badly hurt at an accident scene from one hospital to another,” said Neubacher. “It was very rewarding work. I’ve had so many rewarding jobs – as a teacher, as a flight instructor, as a reporter – but flying for ProMedica was a great honor and very rewarding.”

“An honor and a privilege to be at WWJ”

Neubacher missed broadcasting. So, in 2017, he returned to the field, this time at WWJ.

"Dennis Neubacher is one of the most respected and trusted voices on Metro Detroit airwaves. Always willing to share his knowledge of broadcasting, he has positively impacted and educated my students as a guest speaker over the years with his passion and expertise. His humble nature and desire to inform our new generation of media students really stand out. I'm grateful to call him a colleague and a friend," said HFC Chairperson for the Department of Communication and Media Susan McGraw.

From 2017 to 2022, Neubacher was the traffic reporter for WWJ. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to be at WWJ,” said Neubacher as he retired in October 2022.

In the past year, he has worked occasionally as a substitute teacher at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. Mostly, he has traveled, golfed, visited friends, and spent time with his family. He and his wife plan to move to Mississippi soon, to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren.

There's a part of him that will always be connected to his multi-dimensional career.

“I miss the people I've worked with. I miss covering stories. I miss the privilege of being on air,” he said. “There was so much responsibility I readily accepted. I never knew what the day would bring, what news I would cover. I’d fly in all kinds of weather. I did the best I could to report the news and the best I could to be a good reporter and pilot over the years. It was a great honor.”