Fox FM (Melbourne) - Station History

Station History

Fox FM started life at 5:00:00 PM on 1 August 1980. The station was put together by radio consultant Rhett H. Walker, who also acted as first General Manager. This followed a successful stint for Walker as a consultant for Radio 3KZ in 1979. One of Fox FM's original advertising lines was 'Catch the Fox' (at one-0-one-point nine).

The first song to be played on air, George Benson's "Breezin'," was played at the wrong speed by the station's first presenter, John Aimes. Aimes suggested this was due to harassment by studio manager Gary Collins, who was allegedly fussing around him in the studio right before the station went on air.

The first station studio equipment was a 16 channel Poul Kirk mixing desk, four cuemaster cart decks, JBL studio pro speakers and (then brand new) Technics turntables. The studio was pleasant to work in with a floor-to-ceiling window giving a view of filming of such Channel Ten programs as Neighbours, Prisoner and the short-lived Holiday Island.

The first two years of the station's life were not easy. Melbourne listeners did not initially flock to the new FM stations, sticking to their regular listening habits with stations such as 3AW, 3MP and 3XY. It was positioned originally as a classy easy listening style format. The format, FM is FOX MUSIC, came later, under the management of former 3XY station manager Graeham Smith.

The first presenter line up for FOX FM was:

• Breakfast: Mike Jeffreys (now overnight presenter 2UE)
• Mornings: Rod McNeil, former ABC national newsreader (now working on Thai radio)
• Afternoons: Graham Braddy, former 3KZ (deceased)
• Afternoons: Richard Coombe, former 3LO drive presenter (with Graeme Kennedy) - ABC (deceased - 1990)
• Drive: John Aimes, former 3LO ABC (unknown at present)
• Overnight: Geoff Harrison, former 3KZ (now foreign correspondent based in Sweden for BBC TV/Radio)

The first newsroom staff were:

• News director: Michael Schildberger (deceased)
• Pamela McKay (now Network Ten USA news chief)
• Charles Slade (former 747 pilot who went on to Network Ten news in the 1980s and early 90s also former National Nine News reporter)

In 1982, the station's owners (which included Sir Donald Trescowthic, major shareholder of the Age Newspaper group) lost confidence in the original format and hired Mr. Smith to implement changes.

All the former announcers, except for Geoff Harrison were let go. Also, the station's instigator and first General Manager, Rhett H. Walker (now Associate Dean at La Trobe University) moved on to greener pastures.

From then on, the station was positioned with a pop rock format, appealing to the widest possible audience. This caused a steady rise in ratings through the mid 1980s, eventually landing the station in top position in Melbourne by 1986. The changes included new presenters, such as Gavin Wood (former TV show Countdown and 3XY announcer) and Barry Bissell, now presenter of the weekly Take 40 Australia network program. Take 40 Australia was a weekly countdown of the current ARIA Top 40 singles chart. During this time, the station also aired American Top 40 with Casey Kasem.

FOX was one of two original FM radio license holders in Melbourne. It aimed to be the first commercial FM station to commence broadcasting in Australia, although it was eventually beaten by 3EON (which is now FOX's sister station, 3MMM). FOX started life playing popular easy listening music whilst its other FM rival had adopted a more rock album orientated format. Throughout the history of the station its logo and marketing have always included a picture of a fox, although this was discontinued in 2005 when the entire Today Network introduced new standardised logos, much to the disappointment of many.

In 1986 FOX was bought by the owners of SAFM to create the Austereo Radio Network, which now - as the Today Network - boasts five additional stations around Australia. It was at this time that announcer Mark Carter was moved from the breakfast shift to the afternoon shift, quickly becoming the most popular announcer in Melbourne over a record 11 surveys conducted and contributing to the rise in popularity of the station.

In 1996 the Today Network, owned by Austereo, merged with the Triple M network to form a single radio company. The merge was unpopular with Fox staff due to the rivalry between the two stations.

During September 2008, Fox FM re-located from studios at 180 St Kilda Road (with sister station Triple M) to brand new studios at 257 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne. The Matt and Jo Show gave away many items from the old studios during their last show at the St Kilda Road studios.