KVCR first signed on on November 2, 1953.[2] It was the first junior college-owned radio station in southern California.[3] In 1962, it added a public TV station, KVCR-TV 24, which affiliated with PBS.
KVCR became a network affiliate of NPR in the spring of 1970. A year later, KVCR was among the 80 stations in the U.S., five of them in California, to air the first edition of All Things Considered. Prior to July 2005, KVCR was branded as Inland Public Radio airing a mix of news along with classical music syndicated from Classical 24 during midday hours, evenings and weekends. Over time, the classical music programming was dropped as news/talk programming proved to be a bigger draw during fundraisers.[4]
KVCR is the primary affiliate for National Public Radio, Public Radio International and American Public Media in the Riverside/San Bernardino market.
In March 2013, when Talk of the Nation, which KVCR aired on tape-delay, was cancelled by NPR, KVCR made adjustments to its daytime schedule, adding a second hour of Here and Now at 10am, and clearing Day to Day for broadcast in the afternoon. Fresh Air was moved to 3pm, leading into All Things Considered. KVCR's afternoon schedule is now nearly identical to that of KCRW in Santa Monica, the exceptions being local news breaks.
Programming
National programming originating from KVCR includes American Parlor Songbook, hosted by JP Houston. Music show KVCaRts is filmed by sister station First Nations Experience.[5]