The Rise & Fall of WVIC (“The New” 95FM), Lansing

WVIC ("The New" 95FM) was once one of top radio stations in the entire United States. It got write-ups in all the important radio and entertainment magazines like Billboard, and statewide newspapers including the Detroit News and Free Press.

Syndicated radio hosts like Casey Kasem and Rick Dees mentioned WVIC in their nationwide weekend programs. With audience numbers far above all other local radio stations combined, nobody else came close to knocking ‘em down.

WVIC debuted in 1963 as an FM station, and later added an AM station in January 1965, playing a soft-rock format.

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In the 1970s, WVIC switched to a Top 40 format and soon became the favorite station for the students on the Michigan State University campus. The FM side also played the Top 40 tunes, and in 1981 the AM station changed call letters to WVGO and began playing the “Music of Your Life” format, mostly Big Band and vocalists from the 1940s-1950s. This left the FM to supply the rock.

The switch made the FM even more popular throughout the 1980s, and the ratings kept rising. The music mix was incredible with artists of the time at their peak: Michael Jackson, Def Leppard, Prince, Journey, Madonna, REO Speedwagon, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis & The News, and the endless stream of Hair Bands and rockers like Van Halen, Quiet Riot, Rush, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Tom Petty, Sammy Hagar, 38 Special, and more-more-more.

These weren’t all, however. Classic stuff was also being sprinkled in with endless 1970s tunes from Aerosmith, the Steve Miller Band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and even more from the 1960s that included the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, CCR, Beach Boys, Kinks, The Who, Rolling Stones, and others. It was an awesome mix that all other radio stations were hesitant to compete with.

With the great mix came the deejays who became more than just a voice – they became unexpected celebrities. When visiting high schools, the station van would be mobbed by throngs of kids who thought of these jocks as – and I quote - ‘rock stars’. According to the jocks who experienced this, the mobbing was like ‘Beatlemania’ of the 1960s.

So what happened?
How did this radio powerhouse go the way of being reduced to absolutely nothing?

As controversial as the morning shows were, it had nothing to do with complaints due to the envelopes being pushed as far as they could; in fact, it all made the station even more popular. The decline began with the hiring of a new radio consultant. He eliminated many of the great 80s rock bands and classic stuff from the 60s and replaced bands like Judas Priest and Sammy Hagar with Bette Midler and Michael Bolton. The wild became the wimpy.

It was an attempt to turn a Mid-Michigan, college town rock radio station into a softer, Detroit-sounding one. It didn’t fly. The loud protests from the audience fell on deaf ears. The house cleaning didn‘t just stop with the change in music: deejays quit and others were let go. A new morning show host was hired who just couldn’t click with the audience as the previous one.

As ratings fell, so did clients. Businesses who were paying more than top dollar for advertising commercials didn't want to pay all that money to a station that was steadily declining and not bringing in the audience it once was. Their business went to other local stations whose commercial rates were MUCH lower.

According to wikipedia, “WVIC-FM's period as Lansing's top Top 40/CHR station came to an end on March 1, 1995, when the station became ‘Wild Country 94-9 The Cat’ in an attempt to take on longtime country music station and market leader WITL-FM. ‘The Cat’ lasted only a few months.”

After a few other minor switches, swaps and changes, WVIC went dark in 1997– completely gone. Nothing but emptiness. It went from the absolute pinnacle of achievement that all U.S. radio stations strive for, down to complete oblivion. Of course, this was much to the delight of the other local radio stations who didn't feel that pressure of competition anymore.

As to why did all this happen?
Nobody I spoke with had a definitive answer. It all could have been caused by greed, bad executive choices, or did it bask in the sun too long and burn TOO bright until it burned itself out?
Speculations, but no answers.