[2] Because KEX is a 50,000-watt Class A station, it reaches all of the Portland metropolitan area and beyond, providing grade B coverage as far south as Corvallis and as far east as The Dalles.

A popular Premiere Networks talk program not carried by KEX is The Sean Hannity Show, which airs instead on KUFO 970 AM.

On November 11, 1928, KEX started transmitting on 1180 kHz under the terms of the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40.

On March 29, 1941, the station moved to 1190 kHz under the terms of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA).

KEX was an NBC Blue Network affiliate, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, game shows, soap operas and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio.

[5] From 1934 to 1943, the station's studios were located in The Oregonian Building, in space shared with co-owned KGW, now KPOJ, which was the NBC Red Network affiliate in Portland.

In 1948, Westinghouse got the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to increase KEX's power to 50,000 watts, day and night.

Also in the early 1960s, as network programming shifted from radio to television, KEX began airing a mix of middle of the road music, talk, news and sports.

[7][8][9] Having reached the FCC's then-limit of seven AM stations, Westinghouse sold KEX to actor and singer Gene Autry's media company, Golden West Broadcasters, in 1967.

KEX has not broadcast any local talk programming since April 2023, when midday host Mark Mason departed the station.