Valley Public Radio

Infobox Radio Station
name = KVPR/KPRX


city = KVPR: Fresno, California
KPRX: Bakersfield, California
area = San Joaquin Valley, CA
branding = Valley Public Radio
slogan = NPR News, Classical Music, and Entertainment for Central California
airdate =
frequency = 89.3 FM KVPR, 89.1 FM KPRX HD Radio
format = NPR/classical music
erp =
class =
owner = White Ash Broadcasting, Inc.
website = [http://www.kvpr.org www.kvpr.org]
callsign_meaning = Valley Public Radio

Valley Public Radio (also known as FM89) is a public radio organization in Fresno, California. It airs programming from National Public Radio (NPR) and other public radio producers and distributors, as well as locally produced news, music, talk, and public affairs programs. It consists of two FM stations--KVPR in Fresno (89.3 mHz) and satellite station KPRX in Bakersfield (89.1 mHz).

Despite having no translators, the two stations' combined signal covers most of California's San Joaquin Valley, including the cities of Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia, Madera, Tulare, Clovis, Merced, and Hanford.

History

In 1975, Richard Mays, Von Johnson and Randall (Jan) van Oosten formed White Ash Broadcasting in order to bring a public radio station to the Central Valley.

Initial operating funds for White Ash Broadcasting came from a 'seed' grant of $25,000 provided through a competitive grant award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In 1976, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare awarded White Ash Broadcasting a "matching grant" of $125,000 to cover the cost of studio and transmission equipment. To earn the full grant award, the program required White Ash to raise $40,000 from local sources.

White Ash Broadcasting successfully petitioned the FCC for a construction permit in the fall of 1976, and received a full license two years later. KVPR's first broadcast plant was located at 1515 Van Ness Avenue at the site of the former KMJ-AM/FM studios. KVPR began regular broadcast services on October 15, 1978 and re-located to its current site on Shaw Avenue in the mid 1980s. The original site has been demolished.

Valley Public Radio's initial programming mix was music, news and public affairs. Nearly 75% of KVPR's original program schedule was locally produced, and included portions of jazz, folk and classical music in addition to select programming from National Public Radio. Over time, KVPR would opt to focus on a combination of mostly NPR programming and classical music.

KPRX signed on in February 1987 as a full satellite of KVPR. Prior to then, Bakersfield was one of the largest cities in the country with no NPR stations whatsoever.

Programs

* [http://www.amomentintime.com/ A Moment In Time] (external link)
*All Things Considered
*Car Talk
* [http://www.whyy.org/91FM/chef/index.html Chef's Table] (external link)
*Clearly Classical (classical music)
*Earth & Sky
* [http://www.fhradio.org Family Health] (external link)
*Footlight Parade
*Fresh Air Weekend
* [http://kvpr.org/inthemode/index.html In The Mode] (external link)
*Jazz at Lincoln Center
*Justice Talking
*Left, Right & Center
*Live! At The Concertgebouw
*Morning Edition
* [http://www.naturewatch.com Nature Watch] (external link)
*New York Philharmonic This Week
* [http://www.ouroceanworld.com/2001/oceanworld.htm Our Ocean World] (external link)
*Overture
* [http://www.kvpr.org/qualityoflife.html Quality Of Life] (external link)
*San Francisco Symphony
*Selected Shorts
* [http://stardate.org Star Date] (external link)
* [http://www.sundaybaroque.org Sunday Baroque] (external link)
*Talk of the Nation
* [http://www.californiareport.org/domains/californiareport The California Report] (external link)
*The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
*The Cleveland Orchestra
*The Infinite Mind
* [http://kvpr.org/theintersection.html The Intersection: Where Jazz Meets The Classics] (external link)
*The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra At 70
*The Moral Is
*The Oasis
*The Thistle & Shamrock
*The Thomas Jefferson Hour
*The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
*Travel With Rick Steves
* [http://kvpr.org/valleywriters.html Valley Writers Read] (external link)
*Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
*Weekend Classics (classical music)
*Weekend Edition
* [http://m-w.com/wftw/about.htm Word For The Wise] (external link)
* [http://kvpr.org/worldmuse.html World Muse] (external link)
* [http://kvpr.org/youngartists.html Young Artists Spotlight] (external link)

External links

* [http://www.kvpr.org/ Valley Public Radio official website]
* [http://kvpr.diaryland.com/ Valley Public Radio on Diaryland]
* [http://myspace.com/kvpr Valley Public Radio on Myspace]

*FMQ|KVPR
*FML|KVPR
*FMQ|KPRX
*FML|KPRX