Alan Stock opened his radio show Friday by announcing a closing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have an important update for our listeners. Effective September 1, News Talk 840 KXNT will conclude its broadcast operation,\u201d Stock said, wearing headphones and reading from a prepared statement. \u201cTo put it simply, the station\u2019s transmitter site is shutting down. Our parent company, Audacy, explored a number of alternative transmission options, but ultimately wasn\u2019t able to identify a technically and financially viable long-term solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn\u2019t an easy decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news conveyed on Stock\u2019s \u201cNews at 8\u201d program was a stunner, ending the station\u2019s nearly 40-year run on Vegas AM radio. Yours truly was Stock\u2019s Friday morning guest and seated across from the popular host, learning of the news along with his listening audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know KXNT has been a part of this community for a long time, and it\u2019s been an honor to spend time with you every day,\u201d Stock continued. \u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful to our listeners, our advertisers, and everyone who has made the station such an important part of Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n
As KXNT signs off, Stock\u2019s show will move to KDWN 101.5-FM in its 8 a.m. weekday time slot beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1. His is the lone locally-produced broadcast on KXNT, a conservative platform that is otherwise filled with nationally syndicated programming. Shows hosted by such right-leaning voices Glenn Beck and Mark Levin will end their programming in Las Vegas, but still be available nationwide, as the station signs off.<\/p>\n
Station Senior Vice President\/Marketing Manager Gina Massenzi said the station\u2019s approximately 40 full- and part-time staffers would remain with the company.<\/p>\n
KXNT-AM 840 signed on under the call letters KVEG in 1986, mixing talk and middle-of-the-road music. In 1997, KVEG changed its call sign to KXNT, the \u201cNT\u201d standing for \u201cNews\/Talk\u201d. The station shifted to a traditional talk-radio roster. \u201cThe Rush Limbaugh Show\u201d was its signature national broadcast.<\/p>\n
Stock moved to Las Vegas in KXNT\u2019s early days, in June 1999. He is a member of the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame, inducted in 2003, and a pillar in the city\u2019s news-media community.<\/p>\n
Stock helmed nearly 10 hours of live coverage after the 9\/11 attacks. He employed similar broadcast dedication during the Oct. 1 shootings in 2017, working from 11 p.m. to 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was old-school radio,\u201d Stock said. \u201cThe only break I had was to run down to the bathroom really quick and get back here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The veteran broadcaster said he learned at 9:15 a.m. Thursday that KXNT would be going dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt knocked the crap out of me, at the time,\u201d Stock said. \u201cI heard it and I said, \u2018Wow, I can\u2019t believe it.\u2019 They let me know right away I would be OK, but I was going, \u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 \u2026 I have a lot of mixed emotions. I\u2019ll be staying on the air. I\u2019m grateful for that. But we have built up a great brand with KXNT over the years. It\u2019s been a great ride here, an absolutely great ride<\/p>\n
John Katsilometes\u2019 column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com.<\/a> Follow @johnnykats<\/a> on X, @JohnnyKats1<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n \t\t\t