WFXF

WFXF
City Dundee, Illinois
Broadcast area Northwest Suburban Chicago / Fox Valley
Branding 103.9 The Fox
Slogan The Northwest Suburbs Classic Rock
Frequency 103.9 MHz
First air date June 8, 1967 (as WVFV)[1]
Format Classic rock
ERP 2,550 watts
HAAT 98 meters (322 ft)
Class A
Facility ID 3135
Former callsigns WVFV (1967–1980)[2]
WCRM (1980–1989)[3]
WABT (1989–1996)[3]
WZCH (1996–2004)[3]
WWYW (2004–2013)[3]
Owner Peter Handy
(Matrix Broadcasting, LLC)
Webcast Listen Live
Website rockthefox.com

WFXF (103.9 FM, "The Fox") is a radio station licensed to Dundee, Illinois. Its transmitter is located in Gilberts, Illinois and its studios are located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The station serves the northwestern suburbs of Chicago. Its format consists of classic rock, from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

The station is an affiliate of the syndicated Floydian Slip Pink Floyd show.

History

WVFV

The station began broadcasting on June 8, 1967, holding the call sign WVFV,[1][2] as the Voice of the Fox Valley.[4] The new station was the creation of Jim French, who operated out of a space above Cardunal Savings and Loan in West Dundee.[2][4] WVFV's transmitter was built in Gilberts, Illinois.[2] It originally operated from noon to midnight.[4] The station featured a middle-of-the-road format, with a heavy emphasis on big band music, as well as broadcasts of local high school sports and city council meetings.[4][5][6] The station was sold in Spring 1970 to Richard Willrett, for $45,000.[2][7]

In February 1972, WVFV switched to a progressive rock format.[5][8] In 1976, the station was sold to Ralph J. Faucher for $160,000,[2][9] and the station's format was changed to adult contemporary.[10][4]

WCRM

In Spring 1980, the station was sold to CLW Communications, a subsidiary of AMG International, for $315,000.[11][2] On May 27, 1980, the station's call sign was changed to WCRM,[2] standing for "Christian Radio Music".[12] The station adopted a Christian contemporary format, with an evening block of Christian rock.[13] The station also sold airtime to churches and religious organizations, whose programs primarily aired late mornings.[4] The Christian contemporary format lasted through the decade.[14][12]

The Wabbit

In 1989, the station was sold to Atlantic Morris Broadcasting for $1.5 million.[15] On April 10, 1989, the station's call sign was changed to WABT,[3] and the station aired an album-oriented rock/classic rock hybrid format, branded "The Wabbit", with the slogan "The Northwest's Own Rock and Roll".[16][17][18] Among the staff at the station was Cara Carriveau (who went by her maiden name Cara Stern and on air name Cara Simms at the time), who began as overnight DJ in 1989, later moving to nights and middays.[19][20] By 1992, Carriveau had become program director, replacing Randy McCarthy.[19][18] She remained with the station until 1995, when she left to become program director of Shadow Broadcast Services, and was replaced by Dan Forthover.[21][22][23] In 1995, the station was sold to M & M Broadcasting, owned by former Hammond, Indiana mayor Thomas McDermott, Sr., for $975,000.[24][25][26] The station began to be simulcast on 103.9 WWJY in Crown Point, Indiana.[25][27]

Spanish language formats

In 1996, the station was sold to Z-Spanish Network, along with WWJY, for $3.6 million,[28][29] and the station switched to a Spanish language format,[30] airing regional Mexican music.[31][32] On June 7, 1996, the station's call sign was changed to WZCH.[3] In 2000, Z-Spanish Network was acquired by Entravision Communications.[33] On December 29, 2000, the station changed to a Spanish CHR format branded "Super Estrella", which was simulcast on sister station WRZA 99.9 in Park Forest, Illinois.[31][34][35] In May 2004, NextMedia Group purchased the station from Entravision Communications for $5 million.[34][36] By the end of the month, WZCH was stunting with television theme songs.[37]

Y 103.9

Station's logo as Y103.9

On Tuesday June 1, 2004, the station adopted a rhythmic oldies format branded as "Y1039, The Beat of the Bubs", with the new call sign WWYW.[38][39] The following year, the station gradually reformatted as an oldies station branded as "Y103.9, The Greatest Hits of All Time".[40][41][42] This worked to fill the void left by the format flip of WJMK from oldies to Jack-FM.

Y103.9 featured local hosts such as Jim Shea, Jeff James, Jeff Davis, Shawn Powers, Marci Beeks, Carla Coulter, and Ken Cocker.[43][44][45][46] Weekend programing included a Saturday night all 1970s music show with Jeff James.[47]

By 2011, airtime of live and local hosts was greatly reduced, leaving only Marci Beeks at middays, and Jeff James and Carla Coulter's weekend shows as live and local.[45][48][49] The remainder of the schedule was filled with Tom Kent's syndicated programming.[49][45] In January 2013, Marci Beeks left the station, and it's weekday programming was entirely from Tom Kent's network.[49]

The Fox

On February 25, 2013, at 3:00pm the station dropped its oldies and classic hits format for classic rock. The last song as Y103.9 was Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye, while the first song on 103.9 The Fox was Foxy Lady by Jimi Hendrix.[50][51]

The station shares facilities with sister station WZSR in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The studios for both stations are located behind McHenry County College on U.S. Route 14. The transmitter remains at its original Gilberts location. Current on-air staff includes Alex Quigley,[52] formerly of Q101, Pat Capone,[53] formerly of The Loop, and Eddie Volkman, formerly of B96.[54]

References

  1. 1 2 1968 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1968. p. B-52. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 History Cards for WFXF, fcc.gov. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Call Sign History, FCC.gov. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 123-127.
  5. 1 2 "Call Gimmick Stirs Listeners", Billboard, July 8, 1972. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Football", Daily Herald, October 1, 1971. Section 2, Page 6. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ownership Changes", Broadcasting, April 20, 1970. p. 102. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ 1974 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1974. p. B-63. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Ownership Changes", Broadcasting, July 5, 1976. p. 46. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine, March 4, 1979. p. 37. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ownership Changes", Broadcasting, March 31, 1980. p. 82. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  13. ↑ Zorn, Eric. "Deejay`s Fate Was Etched In Concrete", Chicago Tribune, March 04, 1985. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  14. ↑ The M Street Radio Directory. 1989. p. S-97. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Ownership Changes", Broadcasting, February 13, 1989. p. 98. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ Kening, Dan. "Talk O` The Towns", Chicago Tribune, November 03, 1991. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  17. ↑ Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  18. 1 2 "WABT FM 103.9", Radio Chicago, Spring 1991. p. 2. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  19. 1 2 "10 Questions with ... Cara Carriveau", All Access Music Group. December 5, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  20. ↑ Lifelines", Billboard, July 16, 1994. p. 78. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  21. ↑ Nidetz, Steve. "Clown King Heads For The Center Ring At Medinah Temple", Chicago Tribune, February 22, 1995. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  22. ↑ Stark, Phyllis. "Vox Jox", Billboard, May 6, 1995. p. 81. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  23. ↑ Stark, Phyllis. "Vox Jox", Billboard, March 4, 1995. p. 85. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  24. ↑ Mackanos, Adele L. "WWJY: The end of an era", The Times of Northwest Indiana, May 25, 1996. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  25. 1 2 Radio Business Report Source Guide and Directory, 1996. p. 1-44. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Proposed Station Transfers", The M Street Journal. Vol. 12 No. 17. April 26, 1995. p. 6. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol 12 No. 31. August 2, 1995. p. 1. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Elsewhere", The M Street Journal. Vol. 13 No. 12. March 20, 1996. p. 8. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Newsline", Billboard, March 30, 1996. p. 142. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  30. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1997, Broadcasting & Cable, 1997. p. B-134. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  31. 1 2 Obejas, Achy. "All Mexican, All The Time", Chicago Tribune, January 05, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  32. ↑ Unmacht, Robert; McCrummen, Pat (1998). The M-Street Radio Directory. p. 213. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Signs of the Times", Radio & Records, 30th Anniversary Issue. 2003. p. 113. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  34. 1 2 Jacobson, Adam. "Entravision Exits Windy City", Radio & Records, January 23, 2004. p. 4. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  35. ↑ Apel, Steve; Devine, Cathy (2001-2002). The M Street Radio Directory. p. 186. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  36. ↑ "NextMedia Completes Purchase of WZCH-FM, Serving Dundee, Illinois and Suburban Chicago". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  37. ↑ Cox, Ted. "In the air", Daily Herald, May 27, 2004. Section 4, Page 3. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  38. ↑ Garmone, Patrick. "New Fox Valley radio station to hit airwaves", Daily Herald, May 27, 2004. Section 1, Page 4. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  39. ↑ Devine, Cathy (2004-2005). The M Street Radio Directory. p. 194. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  40. ↑ "It's a "Million Dollar Jukebox Weekend" on The New Y103-9!". Y103.9. Archived from the original on September 9, 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  41. ↑ "Y103.9 - The Greatest Hits of All Time". Y103.9. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  42. ↑ Devine, Cathy (2006-2007). The Radio Book. p. 196. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  43. ↑ "Staff". Y103.9. Archived from the original on November 1, 2007. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  44. ↑ "Carla Coulter Sundays 3pm-7pm". Y103.9. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  45. 1 2 3 "Marci - Y1039 Afternoons". Y103.9. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Jim Shea Exits WWYW/Crystal Lake, IL", All Access Music Group. August 31, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  47. ↑ "Jeff James 10a-3pm, Saturdays 7p-Midnight". Y103.9. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  48. ↑ "Weekend Shows on Y103.9". Y103.9. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  49. 1 2 3 "News & Notes: WYCC; Comcast; CSN; WFLD/WPWR; Jason Schaumburg; Chicago Live; Drew Walker; WUSN; WDRV; WKQX; Much More", Chicagoland Radio and Media. February 13, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  50. ↑ WWYW Becomes The Fox, Format Change Archive. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  51. ↑ "Format Changes". Your Midwest Media. February 25, 2013. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  52. ↑ Quigs, 103.9 The Fox. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  53. ↑ Capone, 103.9 The Fox. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  54. ↑ Eddie Volkman, 103.9 The Fox. Retrieved July 28, 2018.

Coordinates: 42°06′22″N 88°22′37″W / 42.106°N 88.377°W / 42.106; -88.377

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