After 20+ years on the air, Maverick Media pulled our only Rock station 101.7 The Fox from the airways. At 12 noon on March 24, 2011, without any prior notice, the rock station we knew as 101.7 The Fox, turned into Hot 101.7. It later came out that staff was notified at 11:00 am, and the format changed one hour later.
Appalled by this decision and lack of being informed of the change in format, many dedicated Rockers united together to protest against Maverick Media. The Facebook page called BringBackTheFOX was created by Daniel Mills, and co-administrated by Rich Gravelle, Ben Hawk and other dedicated fans of 101.7 The Fox. Soon after, an online petition was created and quickly attained over 1,300 signatures within 24 hours. That Facebook page now has over 1,800 members and the online petition has over 2,200 signatures.
A boycott of all Maverick Media radio stations (Hot 101.7, The Mix 104.9, The River 97.7, and KSRO 1350 AM) was implemented and a list of businesses that advertise with the new Hot 101.7 was created. Dedicated Rockers began (and are still) calling these businesses to plead with them to pull their ads from Maverick Media and go with any other broadcast station. Please see the script and list of businesses to get involved.
At first, the Bohemian was the only online newspaper to print anything regarding the change in format. The first protest was scheduled for March 25th at 4:00 pm. With the help of the administrators and members of the Facebook page they were able to recruit 60-80 people to attend the protest.
On Friday March 25, 2011, a blog, written by Beki Berrey, was posted on her Wild Child Gone Good site and posted to the Press Democrat’s Facebook. A writer from Press Democrat contacted Beki Berrey and informed the writer, Chris Smith, about the protest planned for later that evening. Chris Smith attended the protest and wrote a story that was published at 6:25 pm to the Press Democrat Online.
Since the initial protest/rally, a rally has been scheduled each Friday since the change. Please check the calendar for the next scheduled rally. The goal is to get Rock/Metal back on the radio in Sonoma County.
This website, which is a work in progress, was created a few short days after the change in format in order to reach those that were not on Facebook. Two businesses, Cybersyzygy Web Design and David Mercer Monsulting, dedicated to the cause came together to assist with the initial web design and provide the hosting for free. The Website’s logo was designed by Cameron Kennedy.
This website is to be used as a tool to Bring Back The Rock Back To Sonoma County. To the left is an Events Calendar of local shows and the rallies. To the right are the Recent Posts and drop-down menus, one for specific Category of post and one for archived posts. Please browse all the menus to find ways to get involved and be informed about the crusade to get Rock/Metal back on the airways in Sonoma County.
Rock will be on our radios again!
We will forever remember and cherish the memories 101.7 The Fox gave us.
