Pat Fant, a mainstay of Houston radio for the past four decades, has been dismissed as market manager for Cumulus Media’s three Houston radio stations.
Fant, who helped launch Houston’s heritage album rock station, KLOL (101.1 FM), in the 1970s and launched the Buzz format at KTBZ (now at 94.5 FM), in the mid-90s, was informed of the decision Tuesday. READ THE REST
Now Fant hasn't really had a hit since launching 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ in the mid-90's (a station much better than The Buzz of today by the way). When he tried to relaunch rock radio on 103.7 KIOL it didn't quite work. It probably wasn't his fault though. Many figured it was the corporate folks who were the buzz killers of that party. I'm not sure about the Jack FM reception in Houston at this point. Seems Cumulus has already started tweaking it away from the formula used across the rest of the country.
Fant has clearly known how to build a great personality radio station and create a lot of interest for it. Rock 101 KLOL was after all a powerhouse in this market until the late 90s. Fant is a guy I would love to interview.
But what about 103.7 Jack FM? What is the future? We might be able to read in between the lines of the Houston Chronicle article:
[Fant's] successor is Peter Remington, a radio veteran and former Cumulus executive who has operated Spanish-language stations in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
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