KEX (AM)
| City of license | Portland, Oregon |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington |
| Branding | NewsRadio 1190 KEX |
| Frequency | 1190 kHz |
| First air date | December 23, 1926 (on 670 kHz) |
| Format | News/Talk, Weather |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 11271 |
| Transmitter coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Former frequencies | 670 kHz (1926–1927) 1240 kHz (5/1927-6/1927) 1250 kHz (1927–1928) 1080 kHz (3/1928-11/1928) 1180 kHz (1928–1941) |
| Affiliations | ABC News Radio KATU-TV |
| Owner | iHeartMedia, Inc. (Citicasters Licenses, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | KKRZ, KKCW, KFBW, KLTH, KXJM, KPOJ |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 1190kex.com |
KEX (1190 AM, "NewsRadio 1190 KEX") is a class A clear channel AM radio station broadcasting from Portland, Oregon. As of 2005 it is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and runs news/talk programming. Because KEX is a Class A station, KEX reaches most of the densely populated areas of Oregon, providing grade B coverage as far south as Corvallis and as far east as The Dalles. At night, KEX reaches most of the western United States and Canada, at times as far east as Utah. The transmitter is located in Sunnyside, Oregon; the studio is in Tigard, Oregon.
History
KEX is one of America's oldest radio stations currently broadcasting, with an initial license date of December 23, 1926. Some sources show that the station may have originally started broadcasting on 670 kHz. On November 11, 1928, KEX started broadcasting on 1180 kHz under the terms of FCC General Order 40. On March 29, 1941, the station moved from 1180 kHz to 1190 kHz under the terms of NARBA. KEX is an active member of the Portland Area Radio Council.
The Oregonian Publishing Company acquired KEX in 1933,[1] and from 1934 until 1943 the station's studios were located in The Oregonian Building, in space shared with KGW (620 AM), when both stations were affiliated with NBC.[1] Westinghouse Broadcasting expanded to the West Coast in 1944 with its purchase of KEX, then 5,000 watts, which also shared a frequency with WOWO, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Westinghouse increased KEX's power to 50,000 watts, day and night, in 1948. Having reached the FCC's then-limit of seven AM stations, Westinghouse sold KEX to actor, singer Gene Autry and Golden West Broadcasters.
On March 30, 2011 KEX began simulcasting on FM translator K272EL 102.3 FM. The addition of K272EL was in response to rival news/talker KXL's move to the FM band at 101.1, even though KXL-FM has a larger signal advantage over KEX's FM simulcast, although the translator can be heard within the Portland area.
On September 9, 2013 KEX's simulcast on KKRZ-HD2 and K272EL ended with KKRZ-HD2 and K272EL switching to an alternative rock format, branded as "Radio 102.3".
Programming
KEX presently has one local show, the Michael Castner Show in the morning drive hours, hosted by Michael Castner. Nationally syndicated programs are hosted by such people as Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Mike Huckabee, Dave Ramsey, and Michael Berry.
KEX became the flagship station of the Oregon State Beavers for the 2012/2013 season.[2] Until 2013, KEX was the flagship station of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers; in the event of a conflict with the Beavers, Blazers broadcasts were moved to sister station KPOJ. The Blazers were moved to KPOJ entirely in 2013.[3]
KEX was the first station to give Mel Blanc a show. His Cobwebs & Nuts program debuted June 15, 1933, and ran Monday through Saturday from 11 p.m. to midnight.
Past personalities
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Oregonian Acquires Radio Station KEX". (September 1, 1933). The Morning Oregonian, p. 1.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 11.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- 1190 KEX website
- 1190 KEX on FacebookLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 1190 KEX on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Query the FCC's AM station database for KEX
- Radio-Locator Information on KEX
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for KEX
- Portland Area Radio Council
- FCC History Cards for KEX
