Ken Charles Leaving KNX/Los Angeles
• Veteran News-Talk programmer Ken Charles surprised more than a few people on Tuesday when he announced his impending departure as Brand Manager of Audacy News-Talk KNX (News 97.1)/Los Angeles after a seven-year run.
Charles posted the text of a staff email to Facebook, stating, in part, “This is one of the hardest emails I have ever written. I’ve made the difficult professional and personal decision not to renew my contract and am stepping down as Brand Manager for KNX and Format VP for Audacy. It has been an honor and a privilege to be part of the 102-year history of KNX and to lead this amazing group of professionals.
I am extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished together. We’ve covered every type of story imaginable, fires, earthquakes, a global pandemic, protests in the streets, two of the most intense elections ever, a Dodgers World Series victory, a Lakers NBA championship, the Rams first L.A. Super Bowl title (sorry Kings) and so many more. We celebrated KNX’s 100th anniversary and won the first two national Edward R. Murrow awards in the station’s 54 year all-news history. We’ve evolved the station’s sound, grown our ratings, expanded our digital footprint and become a leader in the company. Finally, we moved KNX to the FM dial and became KNX News 97.1 FM.”
Charles joined KNX on July 5, 2015, coming from iHeartMedia South Florida, where he was Nat’l Brand Manager for News/Talk/Sports. He earlier served as VP of Programming for iHeartMedia Sacramento, Director of AM programming for WIOD & WINZ/Miami and RVP of Programming for Clear Channel Houston, to name a few.
In closing, Charles said, “Thank you all for your dedication, hard work, passion, commitment and support during my time in LA. I can assure you there are more great things ahead for KNX. My last day will be 7/22, so we’re not done yet!!” Looking ahead, Charles can be contacted at ken.charles@hotmail.com.
