Kyle Felling named KBIA general manager
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Dec. 2, 2024) — The Missouri School of Journalism today announced that Kyle Felling, a 25-year veteran of NPR-member radio station KBIA-FM, will become the next general manager of the station. He will move into the role beginning Jan. 1.
Felling started as a full-time producer at the station in 1999, eventually becoming program director for both KBIA and its classical music-focused sister station, KMUC, which he helped launch. But his history with KBIA stretches back to 1993, when he first volunteered with the station as a student.
“Kyle has more than a quarter century of experience with KBIA and the passionate community it serves,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “He is the right choice to continue to strengthen the station’s engagement with Columbia and mid-Missouri.”
As general manager, Felling will supervise KBIA’s staff and play a key role in fundraising for the station, which depends on community contributions for the vast majority of its operating budget.
We’re going to be looking for new ways to multiply the effect we can have in terms of creating good, reliable news coverage for our community. To have that kind of connection and relationship with the people we’re serving is very valuable, and I think it bodes well for a sustainable future.
Kyle Felling
“I’m just really excited to be able to be here and work with these folks,” Felling said. “KBIA has a dedicated staff, a committed audience and loyal donors, and all of those combined put the station in a really good position.”
Felling takes on the role at a crucial time. Now in its 52nd year, KBIA regularly ranks among the most listened-to public radio stations in the country, and staff and students regularly win awards for their work. In keeping with the resurgent popularity of podcasts and variations on that medium, the station has leaned into creative audio storytelling, creating the new position of long-form audio producer in 2022 and expanding its roster of podcasts and oral history projects.
He takes the reins from Mike Dunn, who served as general manager for 38 years and was key to preserving an element of KBIA that differentiates it from other public radio stations: its emphasis on delivering local news in addition to national programming. This, in addition to the independence and lack of reliance on traditional advertising that its community funding model affords, is part of a legacy that Felling is keen to maintain and build upon.
“We’re going to be looking for new ways to multiply the effect we can have in terms of creating good, reliable news coverage for our community,” Felling said. “To have that kind of connection and relationship with the people we’re serving is very valuable, and I think it bodes well for a sustainable future.”
Before becoming program director in 2010, Felling was known for other prominent roles, including local host of NPR’s flagship program, “All Things Considered,” and director of the station’s musical programming. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts and Science.
Updated: December 2, 2024