Angela Salinas / The Collegian
Long-time station employee gets new job at KVPR
Joe Moore, the KFSR campus radio station manager, is being swept away. By National Public Radio (NPR), that is.
Moore’s switch to local NPR affiliate KVPR raised the question “What’s next?” for the station. Moore, KFSR’s first full-time station manager, ends his 14-year run today.
“Working here has been an incredible opportunity to interact with the staff and volunteers we have at the station,” said Moore. “There’s always something new to put on the air.”
Moore is responsible for airing public service announcements, creating public-oriented programming and establishing relationships with local businesses. He also advocated Fresno State events, like on-campus movie screenings and theater productions.
“One thing we try to do is air content that is community-focused and has to do with local culture,” said Moore. “We’ve aired segments on films being shown here in Fresno and the jazz programs on campus.”
Don Fischer, a KFSR volunteer, is taking over Moore’s position as the interim station manager.
“What I want to do is just continue the good policies and practices that Joe established.” Fischer said. “I’ve been working with the station on and off since 1982, and I’m excited to be back.”
The station airs a wide variety of music, including Jazz, Blues, Indie Rock, and British Punk Rock. It is also home to local Jazz talents, including students from the Jazz Studies program in the music department.
“We’ve had jazz majors do live broadcasts on the program, and some of them come back to volunteer,” said Moore.
KFSR, in its 40-year history, became part of the community and reflected the valley’s culture. Moore, who earned a history degree as an undergraduate student at Fresno State, said majoring in history made him aware of the local cultures that he features on the station.
“There’s no direct tie between my degree and working in radio,” said Moore. “But the programs we feature are focused on local history, and being aware of the world and cultures around us. It was a good background for going into broadcast.”
Moore’s involvement in the off-campus community allowed him to interact with organizations like JazzFresno, an organization that promotes local arts awareness.
“My work with JazzFresno was very demanding,” said Moore. “I was the board President, and I volunteered with them to produce concerts, and I dealt mostly with education and performance issues.”
Don Priest, the station’s general manager, credits the content Moore produced for making KFSR a people-driven radio station that caters to the campus community.
“It is a very community-powered radio station,” said Priest. “That’s what makes it the greatest radio station in Fresno.”
Moore starts his new job at KVPR on Monday.
“It’s been great working at KFSR,” said Moore. “I’ve loved interacting with the listeners, and we have great people here.”