The current COVID-19 crisis has disrupted just about every aspect of our lives, and the situation is no different for the staff of Valley Public Radio. We have experienced an unprecedented interruption of our normal operations, yet every day our team members continue to work hard to bring you the national, statewide and local programming you rely on. Our programming remains on-air, and while several station events including our wine tasting will be rescheduled, we remain committed to keeping you informed and inspired during these challenging times. You can find our local COVID-19 coverage, and some highlights from NPR here. We are here for you.
Most station staff members are currently working from home, and we have overcome huge technical hurdles to keep our broadcasts on the air, as close to normal as possible. As a result, we have temporarily suspended our local broadcasts of Clearly Classical and Young Artists Spotlight, and have replaced them with network classical music programming from our friends at Classical 24, which is a national, live-hosted classical music program from American Public Media and PRX. We are now also offering Classical 24 as a free, 24/7 broadcast stream on KVPR.org. It will also be available soon on the KVPR mobile app. We hope this service will help calm your nerves and offer a respite from the headlines of the day during this stressful time. You can listen to this new audio stream by clicking the audio player button on KVPR.org and selecting “KVPR Classical.”
This Friday we will offer two specials, one from Valley Edition, live at 9:00 AM hosted by Kathleen Schock, where we will work to answer your Coronavirus related questions. You can send your comments to the Valley Edition team either as a written question via email, on our social media platforms, or record it as a voice memo and send it to talk@kvpr.org. Then at noon on Friday we will air a statewide call-in special hosted by San Diego-based NPR affiliate KPBS on the current crisis.
Our news department is working hard to cover the local angles of this story and to keep you informed of the latest developments. We are likewise working collaboratively with all of the other NPR stations in California to bring you statewide coverage on The California Report, on our flagship programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and on KVPR.org.
The situation has also impacted our business. Our upcoming membership drive, which was scheduled to begin next week has been postponed. We have also decided to postpone our upcoming 36th annual wine tasting and silent auction, which was scheduled for Sunday, May 3rd. While this is our largest annual fundraising event, the safety of our staff, our guests and the entire community is our top priority. While these actions will cause a significant disruption to our business, we are devoting all of our energy right now to continuing our service to you in this time of crisis. Thanks to all of our members for your continued supportof this vital public service, especially in moments like these.
We wish you and your family the best, and keep listening to Valley Public Radio.
Sincerely,
Joe Moore
President and General Manager
