NPR News and Cultural Arts
  for the Central Valley

Valley Public Radio is a leader in providing public radio news, classical music, cultural arts, and innovative local programming to the listeners of the San Joaquin Valley. The station is heard in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Mariposa, Kings and Tulare Counties on 89.3 FM, in Kern County on 89.1 FM and online at kvpr.org.

Our mission is to provide quality communication that is informative, innovative, educational and stimulating. Programming is expected to: increase audiences, expand the listener's awareness of his or her world and present information that the listener may not know exists.

White Ash Broadcasting, Inc. was founded in 1975 as a non-profit organization with the specific purpose of operating the station FM 89.3 FM, KVPR in Fresno. The FCC authorized the station as a community licensee, and KVPR first went on-air in October 1978, broadcast a few hours each day with volunteer staff.

In the early 1980’s the station’s signal was expanded to include greater service to areas of the Valley both north and south of Fresno. In 1987, a full power transmitter was installed, and the station began a simulcast service, bringing public radio programming to Kern County on KPRX 89.1 FM.

Valley Public Radio began its operations in the historic Fresno Bee building in downtown Fresno, and later moved to the Warehouse Row development. In the late 1980’s, as programming expanded, the station relocated to a new facility at 3437 W. Shaw Avenue in Fresno, which remains the station’s home to this day.

The station’s partnership with NPR (formerly known as National Public Radio) began in 1978, and the network’s flagship news program All Things Considered has been heard at the same time every evening for over thirty years. Over the years, the station has experienced significant growth in both listeners and programming, with the addition of programs like Morning Edition, The California Report, The Thomas Jefferson Hour, and Talk of the Nation.

Valley Public Radio’s local programming has also grown over the years. Listeners hear important local news and information on Valley Edition, stories from area authors on Valley Writers Read, and great music on Young Artists Spotlight, The Intersection and In the Mode. The station also routinely broadcasts performances of some of the region’s finest classical music ensembles/series, including the Fresno Philharmonic, the Bakersfield Symphony, and the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts.

Valley Public Radio extends its reach throughout the San Joaquin Valley by partnering with a wide range of community organizations. We help to provide awareness of the many opportunities for cultural enrichment and community involvement through our FM89 Community Calendar. This daily broadcast calendar informs listeners of the numerous cultural arts events, exhibits, lectures and presentations happening in the valley. During the past year, well over 3,000 such messages were read ion-air featuring nearly 400 organizations. In addition to the on-air calendar, the station also maintains an even more comprehensive calendar of local events online at kvpr.org.