Station News

New programs are coming to Valley Public Radio’s lineup beginning September 14th. The changes make for a consistent news/talk lineup throughout the station’s weekday schedule, and the reintroduction of talk programming to the FM89 schedule. As a part of this change, the station is also moving midday classical music programming that is currently airing on weekdays to the station’s all-new digital channel KVPR Classical, which airs music programming 24/7.

Valley Public Radio, in partnership with the Fresno Philharmonic and the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concert series will air a new special series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest composers of all time. The program will feature archival performances drawn from both institution’s recorded concerts, and will be hosted by Valley Public Radio’s David Aus, with Fresno Philharmonic Music Director Rei Hotoda and special guests providing discussion and commentary.

UPDATE: 9/14/20 1:00 PM - PG&E service has been restored at Meadow Lakes transmitter sites, meaning we are no longer running on our backup generator. While fire conditions could change at any time and threaten the transmitter site, our area is not currently in immediate danger.

COVID-19 has changed daily life for everyone, especially those of us in the workforce. And while many jobs in today’s economy are relatively easy to do remotely, thanks to advanced technology, others are more challenging – including broadcasting.

Booms, busts, bubbles, recessions, inflation – today's financial world is complex, and often overwhelming. Navigating news and numbers is increasingly difficult. That's where Marketplace comes in. And now Valley Public Radio listeners can hear the innovative journalism and interesting voices that have made Marketplace a favorite of nearly 14 million weekly listeners nationwide.

This Memorial Day, Valley Public Radio is proud to broadcast a rare live performance from cellist Yo Yo Ma in memory of those we have lost during the pandemic and as a tribute to those who are on the front lines. 

The broadcast, which is produced by WBGH in Boston and PRX can be heard live on Sunday May 24th from noon till 2:30 p.m. Pacific time. Yo-Yo Ma will treat audiences to the six Bach Suites for unaccompanied cello, live from the WGBH studios in Boston. 

Host station WGBH issued a press release stating more details about the program:

The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has awarded Valley Public Radio with the 2020 Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Writing.

The California Arts Council today announced that it is awarding Valley Public Radio a grant to support the 2021 season of Young Artists Spotlight. The nearly $7,000 grant will support the radio program, and allow the station to expand video and digital components of the project. For over 20 years, Young Artists Spotlight has featured live performances by talented student musicians from the San Joaquin Valley.

In a brand new special series from Valley Public Radio, award-winning journalist and author Mark Arax offers a special perspective on our times, viewed through the lens of writer William Saroyan. 

Each week, Valley writers will read a short story by Saroyan, and we’ll discuss its relevance.

Join Valley Public Radio for "Play On" a special program featuring words and music with Fresno Philharmonic Music Director Rei Hotoda and Valley Public Radio's David Aus. 

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, we have temporarily suspended our local broadcasts of Clearly Classical and Young Artists Spotlight, and have directed nearly all station employees to work from home. As a result, we have temporarily replaced those locally-produced programs 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.

For news reports from NPR and from Valley Public Radio regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, click here. Other resources:

Valley Public Radio’s news department once again walked away with multiple awards at the 70th Annual Golden Mike Awards in Los Angeles. The annual awards gala honors the best in broadcasting in Southern California, and is produced by the Southern California Radio and Television News Association. The February 15th event at the Universal Hilton Hotel featured a keynote address by former Fox News host Shepard Smith.

Valley Public Radio won honors in four categories in division B, including Best Public Affairs program for Valley Edition and Best News Reporting.

Join us for the StoryCorps opening ceremony Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 11:30AM at CMAC in Fresno

StoryCorps, a renowned nonprofit organization celebrating the stories of everyday Americans, will record interviews in the San Joaquin Valley from February 12 to March 20 as part of its cross-country MobileBooth tour. Having collected over 65,000 interviews from Americans in all 50 states, StoryCorps has gathered one of the largest single collections of human voices ever recorded.

UPDATE 3/11/20: Out of an abundance of caution due to the Coronavirus situation, the StoryCorps San Joaquin listening event previously scheduled for March 19, 2020 has been cancelled, and will be rescheduled to a new date later in the year. 

Valley Public Radio is pleased to announce that Kathleen Schock has joined the FM89 team as the new host of the station's news magazine program Valley Edition. The program airs Friday mornings at 9:00 AM with a rebroadcast at 7:00 PM, and is also available as a podcast.

A Fresno native, Kathleen has a bachelor’s in international relations from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Fresno State.