Behind The Scenes Of HFS in the 90's With Bill Glasser & Wes Johnson (Ep 24)

On this episode of the DCRTV Podcast, former HFS morning host Wes Johnson and Creative Director Bill Glasser take you inside what was really going on as the station evolved from its free-form roots into a modern rock powerhouse.They describe it as a civil war inside the building, with longtime free-form DJs clashing with a new wave of talent and a very different philosophy about what the station should be.They also talk about the risks they were willing to take. Even something like the HFStival, which now feels legendary, started as a massive gamble that could have easily backfired. Bill walks through how the idea came together and why it wasn’t some obvious win at the time.At the same time, they talk about the signal at 99.1… and why limitations that would become a bigger issue later didn’t seem to hold them back.A big part of the conversation centers on attitude. HFS wasn’t just playing different music, it was positioning itself against everything else on the dial. That anti-establishment mindset didn’t just define the station, it influenced the audience in a way that’s hard to replicate today.Bill also shares the story behind one of the most memorable radio campaigns ever, WTOP's “Your favorite radio station doesn’t play songs.”And then there’s what happened after. Wes talks about his role today as the PA announcer for the Washington Capitals, while Bill gets into a completely different chapter… including how he helped bring Howard Stern to Richmond and Norfolk, the behind-the-scenes dealmaking with Stern’s agent, and the controversy that followed, which ended with a grocery chain spending millions to keep Stern off the air.More from DCRTV:DCRTV.comNewsletter signup: https://dcrtv.com/newsletterFollow DCRTV on FacebookSupport DCRTV on PatreonBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/dcrtv-washington-radio-and-tv-podcast--6152954/support.