KEX Scrapbook Of Sounds

KEX first signed on the air on 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 North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA). KEX was the first station to give the voice of Bugs Bunny Mel Blanc a show. His Cobwebs & Nuts program debuted June 15, 1933, and ran Monday through Saturday from 11 p.m. to midnight. The Oregonian Publishing Company acquired KEX in 1933, and from 1934 until 1943 the station's studios were located in The Oregonian Building, in space shared with 620 KGW, now KPOJ, when both stations were affiliated with NBC. 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 and singer Gene Autry and Golden West Broadcasters. From the 1960s through the 1990s, KEX aired a mix of Middle of the road music, talk and news shows. As music listening switched to FM radio stations, KEX cut back on the songs it played till it became a true talk station by the late '90s. On March 30, 2011 KEX began simulcasting on FM translator K272EL at 102.3 FM. The addition of K272EL was in response to rival news/talker KXL's move from AM 750 to the FM band at 101.1. 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". [wikipedia]