Inside FM89

Longtime Valley Public Radio host Franz Weinschenk died last week at age 92. From 1992 through 2016 he hosted the popular program Valley Writers Read on Valley Public Radio. The program featured short stories from local writers, both professionals and amateurs, and showcased the valley’s rich literary traditions.

Join the staff of Valley Public Radio for an open house event Wednesday June 13th at Cafe Smitten in Bakersfield. It's a chance to meet the KVPR news staff, as well as fellow public radio listeners in Kern County. And if you have the new KVPR app on your phone, we'll treat you to a Cafe Smitten coffee drink of your choice.

Valley Public Radio’s hosted another Be Public Live community forum March 14, 2018 on the future of our air quality and the efforts to clean up the valley’s polluted skies. Valley Public Radio reporter Kerry Klein moderated the discussion which featured guests including:

Dolores Barajas-Weller - Director, Central Valley Air Quality Coalition
Steve Worthley - Tulare County Supervisor & Vice Chair of the Valley Air District Governing Board
Tom Knox - Executive Director, Valley Clean Air Now

The Association of Health Care Journalists has awarded Valley Public Radio's Kerry Klein first place honors in the group's annual awards competition for her reporting series Struggling For Care. The four-part radio project tells stories about the shortage of physicians in the San Joaquin Valley. The award comes in the category Health Policy Reporting (small outlets).

Valley Public Radio was awarded four prestigious "Golden Mike Awards" at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Saturday January 27. Hosted by the Radio Television News Association of Southern California, the event paid tribute to excellence in broadcast journalism. The station's reporters including Kerry Klein, Ezra David Romero and Jeffrey Hess won honors in categories including best news reporting, best investigative reporting, best hard news series reporting and best business and consumer reporting.  

Mariam Stepanian, president and general manager of Valley Public Radio died Thursday Jan. 18 in Fresno, following complications from an illness. She was surrounded by her family and closest friends.

White Ash Broadcasting Board Chair David Parker issued the following statement on her passing:

The new way to experience Valley Public Radio is here. Now you can unlock with world of NPR and FM89 with Amazon's Alexa service or with Google Home smart speakers. With a few simple commands, you can access the entire world of NPR – all the latest news, newest podcasts, and discussions of the day.

For Amazon Alexa users:

Here are some general commands:

"Alexa, play NPR."
Stream your local public radio station, live.

"Alexa, play the latest news from NPR."
Hear the latest 5-minute newscast, updated every hour.

NPR’s Invisibilia returns to the Valley Public Radio airwaves in 2018 with a new season beginning in March, and a set of re-broadcasts from last summer’s Season 3. The schedule begins Saturday February 3rd with weekly broadcasts of the four episodes from last season, where the program asks the question “How Real Is Reality?” Beginning Saturday March 3rd, the series will continue with three new episodes from Season 4.

Visitors to Valley Public Radio's Clovis broadcast center will notice a new addition to the station. "Listener" is a bronze sculpture commissioned by the station and dedicated in memory of the VPR's longtime board chair, Ed Palacios. Created by local artist Garrett Masterson, the piece was funded through donations from the community in Ed's memory. The bronze was unveiled in a ceremony on October 20, 2017. 

Celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas and the new year with Valley Public Radio's diverse collection of holiday special programming. From classical masterpieces to jazz, pop, and world music - as well as the spoken word - there's something for everyone. Happy holidays from Valley Public Radio!
Note: Programming subject to change.

Hanukkah Lights 2017
Tuesday December 12th 1:06 PM
A perennial NPR favorite with all new Hanukkah stories. Authors TBA. Hosted by Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz.

Whether you're an Apple or Android user, you can now take Valley Public Radio with you wherever you take your smartphone or tablet. The station has launched its first-ever mobile app - known as "KVPR" which is currently available for download in both the iTunes App Store and the Google Play marketplace.

All Things Considered Sunday listeners may noticed a new voice on the FM89 airwaves. Laura Tsutsui is a reporter, on-air announcer and production assistant for Valley Public Radio, and is now heard every Sunday as local host on All Things Considered. She first joined the station as a news intern, and now contributes to both the news and production teams.

Two new reporting projects launched this year by Valley Public Radio's news team are helping to highlight pressing issues facing residents across the San Joaquin Valley, including water pollution and the regional shortage of doctors. 

"We think it's important to take the time to do real in-depth reporting on some of these issues. And while a lot of our coverage is focused on illustrating problems where they exist, we're also looking to focus on possible solutions too," says Valley Public Radio's Director of Program Content Joe Moore. 

Valley Public Radio is pleased to announce that the station will broadcast recorded performances of the Fresno Philharmonic's 2017-2018 Masterworks Concert Series. This season is the first under new Music Director Rei Hotoda, and includes performances from soloists including Awadagin Pratt, Orion Weiss and Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio. The concerts will air on FM89 on the second Tuesday at 8:00 PM following the concert performance. This broadcast schedule is subject to change.

Philosophy Talk has added two new voices to its broadcast team, with co-hosts Debra Satz and Joshua Landy. Both Stanford professors, Satz and Landy will join host Ken Taylor on alternating weeks. John Perry will become host emeritus. 

The program producers write:

Valley Public Radio's podcast that's all about outdoor activities in the Sierra and beyond recently was honored by at the annual Public Radio News Directors Conference in Miami. PRNDI awarded Outdoorsy with the second place award for station-produced podcasts in Division "B" - the second of three divisions, one for medium-sized public radio newsrooms. 

In response to an unprecedented political news cycle, and a seemingly-insatiable appetite for more reliable news analysis, we are excited to announce that KCRW’s "Left, Right and Center" will become a one-hour program starting in July. Listeners can now hear the program from 6:00 – 7:00 PM on Saturdays, following Weekend All Things Considered.