Alan Cox

Alan Cox (born June 23, 1971) is an American radio/TV personality, comedian, and writer. Cox is currently the afternoon host on 100.7 WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio.^[1]

Prior to Cleveland, Cox was on the air at the former WKQX (Q101), in Chicago, Illinois. Before Q101, Cox was heard on stations in Rockford, Illinois and Kalamazoo, Michigan, before his big break at WXDX-FM in Pittsburgh.^[2][3][4][5]

Cox is known for literate stream-of-consciousness, caustic wit, left-leaning political commentary, and controversial comedy routines. Defying conventional wisdom among radio personalities, Cox had been quite successful despite divulging very little about his personal life. Since debuting the show in Cleveland, he has become much more candid, regularly discussing various aspects of his personal life.

Early career

Cox began writing and performing stand-up comedy during college in the early 90's. A classmate in a public speaking class recommended Cox try his hand at radio, and he got on the air for a short time at his college radio station. A chance meeting with an outgoing intern at WLUP-FM ("The Loop") in Chicago led to Cox filling the position for the Jonathon Brandmeier Radio Showgram, one of the most successful shows in Chicago radio history. Cox's intelligence, humor, and willingness to do a variety of on-air stunts for the show led to his hiring as producer. After two years, Cox left The Loop to begin his own radio show. In September 1995, he was hired to do nights at WRKR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI. His irreverent comedy and outspoken style made the show an instant hit in the college town, and he was promoted to afternoon drive a year later.

WXDX-FM Pittsburgh

In December 1998, Cox was hired to fill the afternoon drive slot at WXDX-FM (105.9 The X) in Pittsburgh, one of the country's most prominent and highly-rated alternative stations. The Alan Cox Radio Show debuted to mixed reviews, but after a year, his quick wit, unfiltered opinions, and verbal sparring with listeners on a wide array of topics made Cox one of the most popular personalities in the market. He soon began writing columns for local newspapers and magazines, as well as being hired by the NHL to be the arena host for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

WQED Television

After one year on WXDX, Cox was hired by Pittsburgh's PBS affiliate WQED to provide a young, liberal face and voice for a new weekly panel segment on a newsmagazine show called On Q. The segment, which placed Cox onstage with local conservative host Fred Honsberger, radio host Lynn Cullen, and think-tank advisor Jerry Bowyer became so popular that it was spun off into a separate show called Off Q. The show provided the perfect complement to Cox's radio show, and his visibility in the market grew dramatically as it introduced his intelligence and humor to an older audience unfamiliar with his work on WXDX.

In June 2004, The Alan Cox Radio Show was moved to mornings after WXDX's parent company, Clear Channel, dropped The Howard Stern Show for content issues. While Cox's show took some time to reboot for a new audience, his popularity provided an easier transition than most stations losing Stern. A constant self-promoter, Cox returned to his stand-up comedy roots by hosting open mic nights at area clubs and frequently worked new material for live audiences. In June 2006, Cox was suddenly informed by WXDX management that his contract would not be renewed. Despite solid ratings and an extremely loyal audience, station management said they "wanted to go in a different direction". Speculation was that Clear Channel Communications simply wouldn't justify Cox's increasingly lucrative contract, and dumped the show in a cost-cutting move.

WKQX Chicago

In August 2006, Cox was hired to return to Chicago as the host of The Morning Fix, a new conceptual ensemble show at heritage alternative WKQX-FM (Q101). (Ironically, this put Cox down the hall from his former mentor Brandmeier, who returned to host mornings at sister station WLUP after the station was purchased by Emmis in 2005.) The Morning Fix combined the sensibilities of improv and stand-up comedy with traditional radio elements and replaced the outgoing Mancow Muller, who had been Q101's morning host for nearly a decade. In November 2007, after 14 months of turbulence, the ensemble members of the Morning Fix were let go, citing high cost and insufficient ratings. Cox and sports anchor Jim Lynam were asked to stay and create a more music-intensive show. The new show was a more conversational and caller-intensive incarnation of the former show, and more reminiscent of Cox's solo show. On August 1, 2008, Cox & Lynam's "Morning Fix" was canceled. They were replaced temporarily by Q101 weekend DJ Alex Quigley until August 11, 2008, when Q101's former late afternoon duo Sherman and Tingle took over the WKQX morning duties. Ironically, the ratings at the time of their dismissal placed Cox and Lynam in the top 5 rankings, leading some to speculate that the change was financially motivated, due to Emmis's sagging stock price coinciding with the end of Cox's expensive contract.

Unwilling to leave Chicago, Cox briefly took a job working in the ad sales department of Clear Channel Chicago's smooth jazz station, WNUA 95.5 until January 20, 2009 when he was one of 1,800 employees the media giant laid off nationwide. He still performs standup comedy around Chicago and worked two seasons with the WNBA as the arena host for the Chicago Sky. His blog, The Alan Cox Amateur Hour is at alancox.blogspot.com.

WMMS Cleveland

On December 16, 2009, The Alan Cox Show premiered in the afternoon slot on 100.7 WMMS/Cleveland, replacing Maxwell (Ben Borstein) of The Maxwell Show after contract negotiations fell through between Bornstein and the station. (Coincidentally, Cox and Bornstein nearly worked alongside each other at WXDX-FM in Pittsburgh ten years earlier.) The show airs weekdays from 3-7p EST and is heard live online at www.alancoxshow.com. Cox is joined by comedian Chad Zumock and Erika Lauren, a cast member from The Real World: Washington D.C..^[6]

St. Louis voice-tracking

In April 2010, Cox was added as midday host at 100.3 WSDD St. Louis. The show is recorded live from the WMMS studios and airs weekdays from 10a-4p CST and online at www.soundstl.com. On December 26, 2010, The Sound flipped format to "Gen-X Radio" (and callsign to WSGX) and began playing music only. Cox returned to the station in the same timeslot on February 28, 2011. The station flipped format again in May 2012 to the classic rock format, "100.3 The Brew" and Cox remains on the airstaff.

References

External links

• "Alan Cox Rocks WMMS": Talkers Magazine, May 2012
• "Heavy Mental": Cleveland Magazine, June 2011
• AlanCoxShow.com
• WMMS.com
• GenXStLouis.com
• AlanCox.blogspot.com