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KXEG (1280 AM) is a
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
licensed to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, United States. The station is owned by KXEG AM LLC. The station is
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
on
FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...
96.1 K241CS, also licensed to Phoenix. First put on the air on October 23, 1956, the station has also gone by the
call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...
KHEP and KTKP, and it was said to be Arizona's oldest
Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...
station until it fell silent in February 2019.


History

In 2016, KXEG 1280 AM celebrated its 60th anniversary. The radio station—which has also gone by the call letters KHEP and KTKP—is believed to be the oldest Christian radio station in Arizona and has a very long history. Phoenix's 1280 AM started out as KHEP, the area's first full-time
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
station. Pronounced k-hep (“You ain’t hep if you don't listen to KHEP!” went the tagline), the station was launched on October 23, 1956, by
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
transplant Ray Odom, who went on to own several other stations in the area. “There was no country music in town, and people were just screaming for it,” Odom told ''Phoenix'' magazine in 2014. The licensee was Bam Ray Broadcasting Company, which consisted of Odom and A.V. Bamford. KHEP featured shows like “Hillbilly Hit Parade,” “Cheyenne Kid,” and “Mesa Mack.” Largely because he frequently played
Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...
songs, Odom's station quickly became one of Phoenix's most popular radio stations. A year after its launch, Odom sold the station to Grand Canyon Broadcasters, a trio of
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
businessmen who raised funds by selling stock to almost 500 Valley Christians. At that time, television had forced scores of religious radio programs off the air, and their aim was to start a wholly Christian radio station. John Hoeksema was recruited in 1957 to be the station's first general manager, and his wife Bea served as his executive secretary. The station's call letters were referred to as shorthand for “Keep Heralding Eternal Promises.”Telephone interview with Jan Aul, March 7, 2017. The station featured a mix of music and preaching, and early programs included “Gospel Echoes,” “The Baptist Hour” with preacher Roy O. McClain of Atlanta, and “Streams in the Desert,” as well as broadcasts of services from local churches like Eastside Church of the Nazarene an
First Southern Baptist Church
Bea Hoeksema also hosted a 25-minute women's ministry show called “Studio Bea” that featured music and interviews with local notables and visiting celebrities. “She interviewed the astronauts and vice presidents, anybody that was important that came to Phoenix,” said Bea Hoeksema's daughter, Jan Aul. “She got to be very, very popular.” KHEP kept up with the times, producing programs like a special five-night series on
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
in 1960, and another the next year on “The Christian Answer to Communism.” It also aired shows with well-known preachers like Jerry Owen, healer Leroy Jenkins (“The man with the miracle arm”), and
Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...
. But the early years were tough financially as the station's owners learned the ropes of the radio business. There were only eight staff members, including two energetic salesmen. In 1962, John Hoeksema died, and Jack Willis took over as general manager. Gradually, the station began to earn a profit and pay a small dividend to its shareholders, even as other Christian stations sprang up in the area. New music and talk programs included “The Reformation Hour,” “Haven of Rest,” and “High Noon Bible Class” with Rev. J. Vernon McGee of Los Angeles; the station offered news on the hour, courtesy of
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
’s audio service. As the times changed, KHEP sought to remain relevant. In 1972, it aired a special program on “Solving the Drug Problem”; that year, it also began hosting a daily radio program, “Tips for Teens,” hosted by Rev. Mel Johnson. It also began offering community hymn sings at Encanto Park. In 1977, KHEP celebrated its 20th anniversary. General Manager Jack Willis—who also served as president of th
Arizona Broadcasters’ Association
and vice president of the Western Religious Broadcasters Association—told the ''
Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
,'' “We were one of the first Christian stations in the country to develop a complete range of programming, not just recorded ministries and
gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
. To the best of these, we added news, features and interviews, and blended them together to create a full spectrum of service for our listeners.” Jack Willis left in 1983 and was replaced by Herm Gebert; around that time, Grand Canyon Broadcasters changed its name to Christian Communications. In 1985,
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
ratings showed that the station failed to garner sufficient audience to even appear in the ratings. Soon after, it began to call itself “inspirational” rather than “religious,” and sought to expand its signal in order to reach more people. New shows in the late 1980s included “Topic,” hosted by KHEP
program director In service industries, such as education, a program manager or program director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services. For example, in education, a program director is responsible for developing ...
Will Ray, “People to People,” hosted by Bob George, and "Open Mike with Mike Lish" an Arizona centered interview program with guests such as
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
and
Evan Mecham Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the List of governors of Arizona, 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his Impeachment by state and territorial governments of the United ...
. By the 1990s, the station was struggling to find an audience, and began airing fishing programs, local sports games, a car repair show, and country music. In 1999, the station changed its call letters from KHEP to KTKP; simultaneously, Tom Brown, then the general manager, changed the station's format to include more
conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
. The new programming included a morning show with Austin Hill, who discussed culture from a conservative perspective, and others with
Trent Franks Harold Trent Franks (born June 19, 1957) is an American businessman and former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2017 (numbered as the 2nd district from 2003 to 2013). He is a member of the Republican Party. Du ...
and
Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Sec ...
. By the end of 1999, however, the format had not been particularly successful, and Tom Brown departed as general manager. Six months later, the station was sold by Christian Communications to Mortenson Broadcasting Co., a Christian broadcaster, for $1.7 million; Mortenson quickly sold it to James Crystal Enterprises for $2.3 million. Rex Collins, chairman of Christian Communications’ board, told the ''Arizona Republic'' that Phoenix's media climate was “too competitive, too challenging” for KTKP. By the end of 2001, 1280 AM had become KXEG (previously on
1010 Year 1010 ( MX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Africa * The Nile river in Egypt freezes over. Asia * The Lý dynasty is established in Vietnam (or 1009), and moves the capital to Thăn ...
), with Jess Spurgin as the general manager; religion was once again the core focus. In October 2005, the station was sold to Communicom Broadcasting for roughly $8.5 million. In 2013, a heavy debt load and the lingering effects of the recession pushed Communicom into
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
, and the courts forced a sale. On May 30, 2014, a group led by Jacob J. Barker purchased KXEG in a sale overseen by the court. In 2017, Barker became the sole owner. Under his aegis, the station was rebranded “The Trumpet” to reflect its complete focus on Christian teaching using talk programming, paralleling the prophetic use of this instrument in the Bible. Barker operated the station until February 4, 2019, when the station abruptly shut down. A notification of suspension of operations was filed on March 5, 2019, with Barker citing loss of tower lease as reason for going silent. Sister station KFCS in
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
is still in operation, but previous management has taken over interim operations of that station. On January 7, 2020, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy J. Thomason ordered that the station be placed into
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
of media broker Stephen Sloan and tasked him with preserving the assets of the radio station, returning it to air before the license expired, and preparing it for sale. The station was returned to air under
Special Temporary Authority Special Temporary Authority (STA) in U.S. broadcast law is a type of broadcast license which temporarily allows a broadcast station to operate outside of its normal technical or legal parameters. In the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) st ...
using a long wire antenna from an alternate transmitter site on April 15, 2021, one day before the license was to expire. The STA allowed the station to operate daytime hours only at a power of 625 watts. In 2024, Donald Brown (under the corporate name KXEG AM LLC) purchased KXEG and K241CS out of receivership, and started simulcasting the Spanish-language station KNNR "Radio Xtasis" from
Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno, Nevada, Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the List of citi ...
(co-owned by Brown) over the KXEG airwaves. In September of that year, KXEG soft-launched the MeTV Music format (originating from
WRME-LD WRME-LD (channel 33) is a low-power television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with Jewelry Television. The station's audio channel, transmitting at 87.75 MHz (or VHF channel 6), lies within the FM band; as a result, ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
) on the station. KXEG also started airing ''The TJ Show'' from
United Stations Radio Networks United Stations Radio Networks (United Stations) is a radio network that provides a variety of radio programs and programming services for radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. It is based in New York City. History The comp ...
in morning drive. In October, after only one month, KXEG dropped the MeTV Music affiliation with no official notice or explanation given to its listeners, and temporarily switched back to simulcasting KNNR for a week. The station then started broadcasting a mostly-automated '60s-'80s traditional Oldies format with limited voicetracked personalities, only branding with its call letters. ''The TJ Show'' and John Tesh's ''Intelligence For Your Life'' have been held over from the short-lived MeTV Music format. In November, the station adopted a new brand called "The Time Machine".


References


External links

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FCC History Cards for KXEG
{{Oldies Radio Stations in Arizona XEG Oldies radio stations in the United States