Fogg done with WLEC after proposed pay cut

SANDUSKY — Mark Fogg was preparing for his 50th season calling high school sports for WLEC when he attended a meeting that changed his mind. Fogg retired from WLEC in 2020 but remained on the air the past four seasons working under a verbal agreement as an independent contractor. But a cost-cutting move by the station forced Fogg's hand. "I went through a meeting (in early June) with them about football and some of the added duties I would take on and I agreed to all of it," Fogg said this week at his Sandusky home. "They told me as the meeting was coming to an end that they wanted me to take a 50% pay cut per game. I politely stood up and said, 'This meeting is over' and I just left. It was my choice to leave, but that was the reason I left." More than two months later, Fogg is still upset with the way things ended for him at WLEC. "I'd like to think I can put up with a lot of things, but that one just pushed me too far," he said. "I'm mad and disappointed about the way it ended, especially with my 50th year coming up at that radio station. I don't know that I'll ever get over my anger because of the way it happened." Fogg, 70, said that his verbal agreement with BAS Broadcasting founder and president Tom Klein called for him to work 30 regular-season basketball games plus football games. Fogg said the number of basketball games he worked was cut to 20 two years ago. Klein said the proposal to cut Fogg's per-game pay was a business decision. "That's all he does (sports broadcasting) and he was getting paid a nice sum to do that," Klein said. "Other people weren't getting what he was getting. He was retired and we thought it was time to move on. "Bottom line is he wasn't here. We needed to cut some money out. It was just a business decision." Klein lives in Fremont and has been in the radio business since 1970. BAS owns several stations in Ohio. "There's certainly no hard feelings on our end," Klein said. "(Fogg) wanted it all his way and we couldn't offer that anymore." Klein said WLEC will fill Fogg's position. Fogg grew up in Connecticut and move to Ohio in 1968 when his father worked for New Departure. He graduated from Norwalk High School in 1972 and began working games on WLKR while he was still in high school. Fogg's first day at WLEC was Jan. 4, 1975. He was let go shortly after BAS bought the station in 2008, but public backlash caused the station to bring Fogg back. "There was no social media at the time," Fogg said. "The Register blog was one of the things that brought me back because so many people posted supportive messages for me. I guess there were a lot of calls at the station complaining, too. Four days after they let me go they called me back and said they wanted to reconsider." Fogg was about to take a job with the Register but went back to radio — with a written contract. "This town stood by me in 2008 — that's the only reason I went back again," Fogg said. "When I look at it now, I'm just happy I got to serve this community for 49 years." Before he agreed to go back to WLEC 16 years ago, Fogg and his wife, Laurie, decided to get away and go to Cedar Point on a Friday night. Instead, they saw a lot of familiar faces. "At that point in time, Cedar Point on a Friday night was locals night. We saw so many people over there," Fogg said. "I still get emotional about it. So many people said so many nice things. "Ty Roth was the one who put it in perspective for me. He said, 'Mark, you're really pretty lucky.' I said how am I lucky? He said, 'What you've heard this week is like a eulogy and most people have eulogies at their funeral and they don't get to hear them.' I've always remembered what he said and felt like I needed to work for this community." Even though he won't be on WLEC anymore, Fogg will remain a very familiar face in Sandusky. He is an assistant girls soccer at Sandusky High School and an assistant softball coach at Perkins. He also coaches junior high girls basketball at St. Mary Central Catholic. Fogg also works at Mills Creek Golf Course three or four days per week. He also narrates the Northcoast Game of the Week, which has been an online staple for years. This Friday night — on Week 1 of the 2024 high school football season — Fogg will be in press box in Castalia. He'll be calling the Margaretta-Vermilion game for BCSN. "I honestly love doing radio. It's been a passion of mine, but my hand is still in it," he said. "(BCSN) has a great group of people and they're fun to work with." Fogg said everyone he's talked to about his decision agrees that he made the right call in leaving WLEC. "I feel like I've let some people down, but everyone I've talked to has said they'd do the same thing," he said. "They pushed me one step past my limit. I feel bad, but I'm not going to keep getting pushed around like that. It's not fair, in my mind."