2+ Hours of 100.5 The Fox (2002-2004) digitally archived

[TC Talks]

Liggett Broadcasting owned WTCF-FM from October 1998 until February 2000, when Liggett sold most of its stations to Citadel. In turn, due to FCC caps, Citadel divested WTCF-FM to Wilks Broadcasting, who was responsible for the disaster known as Mix 100.

Oh shit, forgot about Wilks. Dad was solid, but the son was a bipolar train wreck. They always made money on the stations they flipped though.

[Realist]

Liggett Broadcasting owned WTCF-FM from October 1998 until February 2000, when Liggett sold most of its stations to Citadel. In turn, due to FCC caps, Citadel divested WTCF-FM to Wilks Broadcasting, who was responsible for the disaster known as Mix 100.

Oh shit, forgot about Wilks. Dad was solid, but the son was a bipolar train wreck. They always made money on the stations they flipped though.

I will never forget when Wilks fired Sue from the Listen to the Mrs show on WSGW. They got so many complaints and the GM also heard a very detailed plea from a listener that caused them to reverse their decision in less than 2 weeks…

[TC Talks]

Wilks would infamously start their first day at a new group they bought by firing all the "dead weight". Usually they would end up in the paper about it.

Once in Norfolk VA a rep from a competitive station was picking up an ad reel and made a snide remark asking if "anyone had been fired today." Their gorilla of a GM duct taped him up and threw him in the fountain outside the office building. That stunt got the cops called, and their lease broken. The thing was, they wanted out of that building.

[CJ]

I LOVED Pirate Radio @ 100.5! I was also a teenager at that time. I would love to hear and Aircheck from that time. Didn’t The Fox used to have their studios in Fashion Square Mall at one time?

[Matt]

I LOVED Pirate Radio @ 100.5! I was also a teenager at that time. I would love to hear and Aircheck from that time. Didn’t The Fox used to have their studios in Fashion Square Mall at one time?

I was initially upset at the loss of the Fox, but quickly grew to love Pirate Radio. The studios were near what used to be the quad movie theatre in a house on Kabobel.

[bmw]

I unfortunately don't think I have anything recorded from the Pirate Radio era. I do, however, have a sampling from the original 1990s Fox:

http://breakingnewsfeeds.com/media/90sfox.mp3

And I got a good chuckle out of Grim referring to N'Sync as being "a lot like the Backdoor Buddies, only prettier"

[Matt]

I unfortunately don't think I have anything recorded from the Pirate Radio era. I do, however, have a sampling from the original 1990s Fox:

http://breakingnewsfeeds.com/media/90sfox.mp3

And I got a good chuckle out of Grim referring to N'Sync as being "a lot like the Backdoor Buddies, only prettier"

Thanks for posting this! Grimm was probably my favorite night guy that I can recall on the station. He got fired for punching a tattletale, unfortunately.

[tvbobn]

Liggett Broadcasting owned WTCF-FM from October 1998 until February 2000, when Liggett sold most of its stations to Citadel. In turn, due to FCC caps, Citadel divested WTCF-FM to Wilks Broadcasting, who was responsible for the disaster known as Mix 100.

Liggett owned the station when the original incarnation of The Fox was dropped in favor of Pirate Radio. Jerry Clifton was the consultant behind Pirate Radio. I do recall Pirate generated quite respectable 12+ share, but it was very heavy in teens and young adults. I never understood why the original iteration of The Fox was scrapped, unless Liggett Broadcasting had inside info that WIOG was planning to return to CHR/Pop and felt 100.5 had to make a preemptive move to remain compelling. Pirate sounded like a "teen" station more so than The Fox.

The second iteration of the Fox was disappointing; station for a while sounded low budget compared to the original iteration and was not as engaging. I don't believe any DJs involved with the original incarnation were part of the second incarnation, but I could be mistaken.

I do agree with bmw that The Fox v2.0 sounded much better here than its first year. The first year the music sounded too much like Mix 100 and the stationality was terribly bland (the David Kaye voiceovers sucked). I'd argue the station at the time sounded every bit as bad as Mix 100.

In stark contrast, in the excellent recording bmw uploaded here, the music sounds excellent. There is a surprising number of dry segues for a CHR, though. Too many of those for my liking. The jingles (albeit used sparingly) sound good. Harry Legg, not David Kaye, was the V/O artist used when bmw's recording was made. Certainly not my favorite choice for CHR, but he was an improvement over Kaye.

Fox v2.0 got started on the wrong foot and arrived right around the time Club 93-7 launched with Rhythmic CHR (they sounded GREAT from launch) and after WIOG had already reestablished itself as a CHR/Pop powerhouse with a monster signal. Had the Mix 100 fiasco never occurred, and if Fox had been brought back in 2000 or 2001 with a sound similar to that featured here, it might've survived!

https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid=41842

Most of the posts about 100.5 are from latter years, not the beginning. The construction permit was granted to well known TriCities broadcast engineer Bob Friedle, who then partnered with Tawas City's broadcaster John Carroll. They built 100.5 and I was employed during at that time for sales. Later Randy Dowd and his father ended up buying out Friedle and Carroll. The format changed a few times during this period including the first "TriCity Fox" format.

When Dowd took over completely he fired me. He had worked for me at WFXZ in the mid 80's and I fired him, so I guess he was just getting even. After that era, I left the area to move forward to build WFGE in Mackinaw City in 1993. I didn't pay much attention what was going on with 100.5 after leaving.

I knew Bob Liggett, but didn't realize that during all of the consolidation and trading of stations that he had owned 100.5 for awhile. Keep in mind, it wasn't until mid-90's that the FCC allowed consolidation of more than one AM and one FM in markets.

[bmw]

I didn't pay much attention what was going on with 100.5 after leaving.

I knew Bob Liggett, but didn't realize that during all of the consolidation and trading of stations that he had owned 100.5 for awhile. Keep in mind, it wasn't until mid-90's that the FCC allowed consolidation of more than one AM and one FM in markets.

Well, if you weren't paying attention at the time and didn't realize that Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox, why did you so smugly, without reference to any sources, tell me that I was wrong on that point?

I get the feeling you were fired for reasons other than retaliation as you, also without reference, assert.

[tvbobn]

I didn't pay much attention what was going on with 100.5 after leaving.

I knew Bob Liggett, but didn't realize that during all of the consolidation and trading of stations that he had owned 100.5 for awhile. Keep in mind, it wasn't until mid-90's that the FCC allowed consolidation of more than one AM and one FM in markets.

Well, if you weren't paying attention at the time and didn't realize that Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox, why did you so smugly, without reference to any sources, tell me that I was wrong on that point?

I get the feeling you were fired for reasons other than retaliation as you, also without reference, assert.

Unless your name is Randy, you don't have a clue what happen back in the early 90's at 100.5. Dowd was a air name and I don't remember his real last name.

Since there was no internet at that time and AM & FM stations were still owned by one owner (before consolidation), why would I realize or even care that Bob Liggett bought out Randy and his dad?

You keep saying "Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox", you don't seem to realize that it was the Fox long before he purchased the station. BMW, can you tell us when it became the Fox?

[Matt]

I didn't pay much attention what was going on with 100.5 after leaving.

I knew Bob Liggett, but didn't realize that during all of the consolidation and trading of stations that he had owned 100.5 for awhile. Keep in mind, it wasn't until mid-90's that the FCC allowed consolidation of more than one AM and one FM in markets.

Well, if you weren't paying attention at the time and didn't realize that Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox, why did you so smugly, without reference to any sources, tell me that I was wrong on that point?

I get the feeling you were fired for reasons other than retaliation as you, also without reference, assert.

Unless your name is Randy, you don't have a clue what happen back in the early 90's at 100.5. Dowd was a air name and I don't remember his real last name.

Since there was no internet at that time and AM & FM stations were still owned by one owner (before consolidation), why would I realize or even care that Bob Liggett bought out Randy and his dad?

You keep saying "Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox", you don't seem to realize that it was the Fox long before he purchased the station. BMW, can you tell us when it became the Fox?

The guy that owned WTCF before the Liggett sale was Rich Doud. I believe his on-air name was Rick Panama. BMW clearly stated that it was still the Fox when Liggett bought the station. He did not suggest in any way that Liggett created the Fox.

[bmw]

Unless your name is Randy, you don't have a clue what happen back in the early 90's at 100.5. Dowd was a air name and I don't remember his real last name.

Since there was no internet at that time and AM & FM stations were still owned by one owner (before consolidation), why would I realize or even care that Bob Liggett bought out Randy and his dad?

You keep saying "Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox", you don't seem to realize that it was the Fox long before he purchased the station. BMW, can you tell us when it became the Fox?

Apparently reading comprehension isn't your strongest suit either. In the quote of mine which you responded to, I was very clearly referencing the specific point in time when WTCF tweaked its format and dumped "The Fox" branding in favor of Pirate Radio. That happened in June of 1999. I wasn't talking about the early or even mid 1990s. And when I specifically referenced Liggett, I had already looked up to verify my information as best I could (an archived version of Michiguide) - specifically, that Liggett had owned WTCF for approximately 8 months at that point in time.

You then pranced in here out of nowhere and told me that the foundation of my question (that Liggett owned the station at the time) was factually wrong, without citing any references. My point is, in your own admission, you have now twice admitted that you did not "realize or even care" that Liggett owned the station at the time. Yet, you insisted otherwise, without doing any research whatsoever. Bottom line - don't go into an internet forum and tell somebody they're wrong when you admittedly don't know what you're talking about.

The guy that owned WTCF before the Liggett sale was Rich Doud. I believe his on-air name was Rick Panama. BMW clearly stated that it was still the Fox when Liggett bought the station. He did not suggest in any way that Liggett created the Fox.

Thanks - this was more concise than my response. I'm always amused at the egos that many people who work in radio have. My irritation came from tvbobn not only telling me I was wrong when I wasn't, but then responding to MW's post instead of mine, making up excuses for why he was wrong instead of just saying directly to me "oops, my bad. I guess Liggett did own the station at the time. Sorry about that." Instead what I got is a doubling down on a red herring.

[tvbobn]

Unless your name is Randy, you don't have a clue what happen back in the early 90's at 100.5. Dowd was a air name and I don't remember his real last name.

Since there was no internet at that time and AM & FM stations were still owned by one owner (before consolidation), why would I realize or even care that Bob Liggett bought out Randy and his dad?

You keep saying "Mr. Liggett owned the station while it was The Fox", you don't seem to realize that it was the Fox long before he purchased the station. BMW, can you tell us when it became the Fox?

Apparently reading comprehension isn't your strongest suit either. In the quote of mine which you responded to, I was very clearly referencing the specific point in time when WTCF tweaked its format and dumped "The Fox" branding in favor of Pirate Radio. That happened in June of 1999. I wasn't talking about the early or even mid 1990s. And when I specifically referenced Liggett, I had already looked up to verify my information as best I could (an archived version of Michiguide) - specifically, that Liggett had owned WTCF for approximately 8 months at that point in time.

You then pranced in here out of nowhere and told me that the foundation of my question (that Liggett owned the station at the time) was factually wrong, without citing any references. My point is, in your own admission, you have now twice admitted that you did not "realize or even care" that Liggett owned the station at the time. Yet, you insisted otherwise, without doing any research whatsoever. Bottom line - don't go into an internet forum and tell somebody they're wrong when you admittedly don't know what you're talking about.

The guy that owned WTCF before the Liggett sale was Rich Doud. I believe his on-air name was Rick Panama. BMW clearly stated that it was still the Fox when Liggett bought the station. He did not suggest in any way that Liggett created the Fox.

Thanks - this was more concise than my response. I'm always amused at the egos that many people who work in radio have. My irritation came from tvbobn not only telling me I was wrong when I wasn't, but then responding to MW's post instead of mine, making up excuses for why he was wrong instead of just saying directly to me "oops, my bad. I guess Liggett did own the station at the time. Sorry about that." Instead what I got is a doubling down on a red herring.

Apparently reading comprehension isn't your strongest suit either BMW. If you read my second post again, you will notice I was responding to MWmetalhead and not you. I copied his quote and responded to it. Why would you think I was responding to you?

You weren't there in the early 1990's and needed to research an archived version of Michiguide. I was there and I knew the people involved. I didn't need to research my information from another source.

I explained who built and owned the station in it's early years before Bob Liggett and you seem to think I was wrong or didn't you actually read what I posted?

Since I didn't respond to "your" posts, where exactly did I say you were wrong?

When did I "smugly" post anything about you?

Why would I need to reference any sources, I was there and part of this story. You were not!

You made this statement: "I get the feeling you were fired for reasons other than retaliation as you, also without reference, assert." I don't really care what your personal feelings are about why Doud fired me. Actually it's none of your business and you might keep your baseless opinions to yourself in the future. That's is unless your other Buzzboard name is "sinklair", then I won't even bother reading your worthless drivel again.

[bmw]

Since I didn't respond to "your" posts, where exactly did I say you were wrong?

Is this a serious statement and question? Come on man, same post, barely 2 weeks ago:

June 1999 definitely sounds right to me as the time when they switched to Pirate Radio since I remember listening to Pirate Radio over the summer of 99. Their second go at the Fox was not as good as the first time around, but recovering from the disaster that was WIlks buying the station and changing it to an automated Hot AC format was no small feat. I thought the Fox was headed in the right direction towards the end right before they pulled the plug and switched formats to Kool FM.

For as successful as the Fox was in the mid-late 90s, why did Liggett dump the Fox moniker and tweak its format in the first place? Were ratings crumbling in the original Fox's final months?

Bob Liggett never had anything to do with the 100.5 The Fox.

I said Liggett dumped the Fox moniker. You said Liggett never had anything to do with 100.5 The Fox. Sure sounds to me like you're telling me I'm wrong. And it turns out I was correct. Your refusal to acknowledge that you incorrectly told me I was wrong is why I've copped an attitude with you, in case you haven't figured that out yet.

You made this statement: "I get the feeling you were fired for reasons other than retaliation as you, also without reference, assert." I don't really care what your personal feelings are about why Doud fired me. Actually it's none of your business and you might keep your baseless opinions to yourself in the future. That's is unless your other Buzzboard name is "sinklair", then I won't even bother reading your worthless drivel again.

None of my business? To be clear I could care less why you were fired, but that's a comical thing to say when YOU were the one who volunteered that information in a public forum along with your own speculation as to why you were fired. If it really is nobody's business but your own, why did you interject such information into this conversation in the first place?

(edit - spelling)

[Matt]

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't appreciate tvbobn shitting on stink...

Somewhat related, I went down a rabbit hole and found out that Rich Stevens passed away last summer. He was the first PD at Pirate Radio: https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/arch ... asses-away