[6] The Ron and Fez show debuted on WNEW in New York City on February 21, 2000, and within one month their program was syndicated to Washington, D.C.'s WJFK.
New York's WNEW-FM was converted from a long-respected rock station to all-talk in 1999, with afternoon drive show Opie and Anthony as the focal point.
During this period, several memorable characters joined their on-air team, including taciturn producer Hawk; Dumpy, Tasteless Ginny; and the call-in prankster Joe Poo.
On the evening of September 11, the team stayed on the air taking calls from distressed listeners, some of whom were unsure if loved ones were still alive inside the Twin Towers.
It is said that Hawk walked across the Queensboro Bridge against outpouring hordes of people to get to his job; Billy Staples hid in a Long Island Rail Road bathroom so he could return to work because only medical and rescue personnel were allowed into the city.
Ron and Fez expressed heartfelt sympathy and related the feelings of many New Yorkers, and staged several "bar crawls" and other events under the motto "New York Forever," designed to encourage listeners to patronize businesses in lower Manhattan.
Jeremy Coleman (PD of New York's WNEW in 2000) became aware of Ron and Fez when he was a program director for WJFK-FM, the sister station he nurtured.
One month later, on March 27, 2000, Ron and Fez began tape delay syndication in DC where they found a small but loyal fan base in a late night timeslot.
Although heard only in Washington DC, Ron and Fez chose to remain in New York until June 2003, when they finally relocated to the WJFK studios in Fairfax, Virginia.
In mid-2003, after being on WJFK exclusively for a mere few months, Ron and Fez agreed to host a one-hour midday show entitled The Fastest Hour in Radio, scheduled between Howard Stern and commentator Bill O'Reilly.
But their move to the nation's capital, their experience on The Fastest Hour of Radio, and the 2004 presidential election seemed to make their discussions more political in nature.
Shortly after the 2004 election, Tom Shales from the Washington Post called in to discuss the political ramifications of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) crackdown on terrestrial radio.
The first station casualty, however, was The Hideout, which lost the late night shift and eventually relocated to WTKS 104.1 from Orlando, Florida and were subsequently canned.
[8] On August 2, 2005, three days after Ron and Fez signed off from WJFK-FM, the official announcement was made that they would go to XM Satellite Radio beginning September 12.
[9][10] On August 9, and then again one month later on September 8 and 9, Ron and Fez went on The Opie and Anthony Show to provide behind-the-scenes stories about their time at WNEW-FM and the years since they last worked together.
King's Blues Cafe in Times Square which doubled as a welcome back party to New York City for Ron and Fez.
On January 16, 2009, Executive Producer Earl Douglas announced his resignation live on the air, which was not immediately believed due to his pathological lying.
For many years their closing song was "Vertigogo" by Combustible Edison featured in the movie Four Rooms, which was changed to "Satellite of Love" by Lou Reed.
The theme music in 2005 received a lot of attention from listeners who believed that Ron and Fez might leave WJFK for satellite radio.