As some local stations struggle to keep the lights on WDET’s Programing Director, Adam Fox has a plan.
“One of our strategies is we need to continue to invest in our community,” Fox said. “I think with the increase in competition for eyeballs and ear holes, we have to do what we can do better than anybody and we have to distinguish ourselves from other media.”
Growing up in Windsor, Canada, (Southwestern Ontario) Fox had the best of both worlds, not only listening to American NPR but also the CBC, Canada’s version of NPR. “It’s south of Detroit and so ironically, it gets called South Detroit sometimes, like that Journey song (Don’t Stop Believin’).” Fox later added, “I grew up with Detroit radio and Detroit media, and the Detroit media landscape really captured my imagination as a kid. I was always a writer, communicator, music lover, and musician, even as a young kid. And I fell into journalism.”
Fox studied journalism at Humber College in Toronto. From there he went on to receive his English Literature from University of Windsor. It’s where Fox’s career really sprung, thanks, in part, to a work-study program. “I was the music director [at CJMF], and then quickly just had accidental competency and, you know, became the program director, and then eventually the station manager.”
From CJMF, Fox worked tirelessly in community radio across the Great White North including in Toronto, Alberta, and the CBC. Before coming home to Detroit, Fox spent eight years at the National Music Center for Canada. Adam Fox landed back in Detroit in 2023.
Of his position now he said, “I thought it’d be a great opportunity to come back to, the area I grew up in, get close to the family. That’s most important. And the biggest attraction for me was to be able to contribute to Detroit through this work. Probably my favorite city in the world. A place that I deeply admire and have a deep affection for and, and deep identification with.”
Growing up with both CBC and NPR stations, Adam Fox said there are a lot of similarities between both country’s public broadcasting. “It was kind of similar because we had a news department. We had a lot of local programming. We didn’t carry as much syndicated programming there as we do here. But we also had a great mix of music hosts. Music hosts and cultural and current affairs programs and political programs.”
Fox later added, “The thing I love about public radio is the stations that are the most successful are the ones that really reflect their communities well and effectively. That’s what I love about it. [Public Radio] has a history of just having really great local programming.”
Fox also noted that nationally syndicated shows are also important, “Because you want to feel connected to your country. You want to feel connected to your state, you want to feel connected to the world.” He added, “But I think the true strength of a community radio station or story of a public radio station is its pursuit of really trying to reflect the community it serves in, in its unique and distinct ways.”
Fox’s Detroit station is doing just that with their reprogramming for WDET’s 75th anniversary. “We literally just announced our programming changes. We are continuing to evolve our local programming to reflect our community. So we’ve got current affairs and news programs like Detroit Today connecting people to things that are happening in the community. We’ve got arts and culture programming that helps keep you connected to the things that are happening in the arts and culture scenes. And we have an amazing roster of locally produced music programs on our weekends and Friday nights that reflect the diverse music community we have in Detroit.”
Another programming change includes one of Fox’s passions: music.
“We’re also adding a bunch of new music programs to the evening that reflect the diversity of Detroit’s music legacy. While also kind of helping push the envelope about, great music traditions happening all over the world, too.”
His public radio listening habits as a kid influenced his passion for music.
“If it wasn’t for public radio, I don’t think that I would be a passionate music fan and music person.”
Adam Fox later added, “It wasn’t just about hearing music you couldn’t hear anywhere else. It was also about the curation. It was about the host leading you through it and guiding you and bringing you along. That’s another way that I think public radio and public media is really still vital.”
Fox made note, while there are other music streaming stations out there, “The algorithm can do a pretty good job. It can lead you in different ways. But it’s really just ones and zeros getting you there. When you have someone that can connect dots for you and show you the connections that you otherwise wouldn’t see, or highlight something about the music that is emotionally resonant, then you have a deeply human exchange and dialog happening.” He went on to say, “I think radio — public radio and human-led radio — has been essential to me in educating me in opening my mind about music and leading me to places that I wouldn’t have been.”
The changes in WDET’s programming come on February 5th, and Adam Fox is “pretty jazzed” about it.
“I think this marks a new stage and a new step in our history and our legacy. And I just want to continue it. Especially in radio. You got to rise and grind. You’ve got to keep going every day. File a program? You get it done, and then it’s like, go out, do it again. We got it. And so I think it’s just about finding new ways for us to get excited about doing that mission, about achieving that mission and, injecting a little bit of freshness and some new folks, and new voices and, new perspectives into the organization.”
Krystina Alarcon Carroll is a news media columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
