Rep. Jay Obernolte let Inland Empire’s public radio sputter into static by supporting cuts that defunded KVCR by $550,000. KVCR (91.9 FM) in San Bernardino Valley College is a valuable source of local news, local arts, and local accountability. For decades, it has served listeners across Riverside and San Bernardino counties information about events throughout the Inland Empire.
When public radio loses support, it undermines the journalistic independence, kneecaps local reporting, and silences the communities whose stories deserve amplification. But apparently, for Obernolte, silence is cheaper. With these cuts in support Obernolte proudly declares, “I am defunding KVCR!”
Obernolte shouldn’t pretend that this is neutral. It’s a sellout to let listeners go unheard.
Radio is more than static and talk shows. It’s accountability: local governments, school boards, environmental hazards, health disparities — these are the stories KVCR covers because too often no one else will. To let funding dwindle is to say those stories don’t matter.
When a public radio station is weakened, what fills the vacuum? State-sponsored propaganda, Political spin, and voices that don’t care about our county.
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