Three weeks after saying a brief goodbye on air before exiting Audacy modern/alternative rock KROQ (106.7) Los Angeles after nearly 22 years, Nicole Alvarez has shared the story behind her decision to leave, along with her reflections on two decades at the iconic station, in a letter published in The Hollywood Reporter.
The following are excerpts from Alvarez’s letter.
“On September 1, 2003, I walked into The World Famous KROQ for my first day. That moment felt like the start of the dream. I had somehow landed a job at what was arguably the most iconic radio station of all time. This was the place that helped launch The Ramones, U2, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Nirvana, and an impressive roster of others. The soundtrack of your life probably passed through these call letters.”
“On July 30, 2025, I said my final words on air in a moment that was emotional, frenzied, and irreversible. After a heated exchange with my boss, one that crossed a line no one could come back from, the air cracked open. Time stopped. And I heard Iggy Pop’s voice cut through the static like a liberation siren: ‘’Cause I’m a punk rocker, yes I am.’ That was my cue. I did my final break, walked out, and didn’t look back.”
“I was just shy of my 23-year anniversary at KROQ, and that alone is a badge of honor. I outlasted trends, format disorientation, bosses, budget cuts, and even my own rebellious nature. I did it always as myself. I never dumbed it down or dialed it in. I stood for the music, for the misfits, for Los Angeles, and for the station.”
“Leaving KROQ is the hardest thing I have ever done. But staying would have been a slow death. The truth is, I had already outgrown what radio was allowed to be. This was the station that launched iconic musicians and gave a voice to the outcasts and visionaries of Southern California and beyond. Once a tastemaker, a cultural detonator, a lighthouse for the weird and wild, it has now become a spreadsheet. A machine run by research, not instinct. By caretakers who cling to titles, not passion.”
“I gave my whole heart to this brand. Through it all, what mattered to me, was giving the music life. I wanted to make people feel something. That is what radio is supposed to do. I wanted to be a friend, good company. I wanted everyone to remember why it is that we love music.”
“I had the privilege of working with some of the most talented people in the world. I got to be part of legendary events. I talked Los Angeles through championships, earthquakes, wildfires and soul-shaking loss. I got to be part of what many still believe is the greatest radio station of all time.”
“KROQ still has a chance to remember who it is, what made it ‘world famous.’ To take risks again. To matter. But it will require courage, not cowardice. Passion, not corporate approval.”
“I started at KROQ under the greatest radio team that ever was. Kevin Weatherly, Lisa Worden and Gene Sandbloom. The holy trinity. I will always consider myself the luckiest girl in the world to have been there when it was untouchable.”
“Radio will always matter. In the right hands, it will always matter. To the executives suffocating it, it’s never too late to introduce humanity into the corporate narrative. I challenge you to play the game without selling your souls. Radio is not dying. You’re killing it. Just do better.”
“As for my legacy, I hope it has everything to do with music, a girl can dream. KROQ taught me that a long time ago. I hope it remembers.”
Staff and management at Audacy and KROQ have declined to comment on Alvarez’s letter.