Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Two conversations, 20 years apart, represent the tent posts of Denise Valdez’s career in Las Vegas.
The first was on the phone as Valdez drove to Las Vegas from Los Angeles to start her career at KLAS, Channel 8. The second was again on the phone, as Valdez ran errands just after announcing she is ending her broadcast career.
Her decision to walk away was simple.
“I think it’s time for me to step away from an industry that’s changing so quickly, and I’d like to go out on my own terms,” Valdez said Tuesday afternoon. “This was a perfect opportunity to do that.”
Valdez is bowing out after 20 years at KLAS, the past 11 years as evening anchor. Her final newscast will be Oct. 22. Brian Loftus and Kirsten Joyce have joined Valdez as co-host in the nighttime broadcasts.
She is the second prominent, veteran broadcaster to leave KLAS in the past six months. Sherry Swensk, who spent more than 30 years at the station, announced in March she was leaving.
Valdez has worked in the newsgathering and storytelling field for 32 years, moving to Las Vegas in 2006 after working at KNBC in her hometown of L.A. A graduate of Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, Valdez worked in Dallas and San Antonio before moving back to the West Coast.
Read the full article at neon.lvrj.com.
Two conversations, 20 years apart, represent the tent posts of Denise Valdez’s career in Las Vegas.
The first was on the phone as Valdez drove to Las Vegas from Los Angeles to start her career at KLAS, Channel 8. The second was again on the phone, as Valdez ran errands just after announcing she is ending her broadcast career.
Her decision to walk away was simple.
“I think it’s time for me to step away from an industry that’s changing so quickly, and I’d like to go out on my own terms,” Valdez said Tuesday afternoon. “This was a perfect opportunity to do that.”
Valdez is bowing out after 20 years at KLAS, the past 11 years as evening anchor. Her final newscast will be Oct. 22. Brian Loftus and Kirsten Joyce have joined Valdez as co-host in the nighttime broadcasts.
She is the second prominent, veteran broadcaster to leave KLAS in the past six months. Sherry Swensk, who spent more than 30 years at the station, announced in March she was leaving.
Valdez has worked in the newsgathering and storytelling field for 32 years, moving to Las Vegas in 2006 after working at KNBC in her hometown of L.A. A graduate of Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, Valdez worked in Dallas and San Antonio before moving back to the West Coast.
Read the full article at neon.lvrj.com.
