Los Angeles, CA (Thurs., Feb., 17, 2005) - 89.3 KPCC continues its growth by hiring two new reporters for its news team, to add coverage from Sacramento and the Inland Empire. Tamara Keith will be the station's first State Capitol Reporter, and Steven Cuevas will be the station's first reporter in the Inland Empire.

Keith, a California native, began her journalistic career in high school by writing radio essays for NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and a weekly column for the Fresno Bee. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy and a Master's Degree in Journalism, both from UC Berkeley. Keith is known for her work covering Sacramento and the Central Valley on KQED's California Report. More recently, she has been a reporter at WOSU in Ohio, reporting for NPR on various issues, including the presidential campaign. In her spare time, Keith also works as the senior producer of B-Side, a monthly half-hour magazine show on KALX in Berkeley. She has won a number of awards for her work.

San Francisco native Cuevas has worked for several years as a reporter and producer for KQED, including the California Report. He then moved to Austin, Texas to report for public radio station KUT. For the past year, Cuevas' freelance work has appeared on Day to Day, Latino USA, the BBC, and many others.

KPCC is the flagship station of Southern California Public Radio. In the past three years KPCC has won more awards for excellence in journalism than any other radio station in Southern California. KPCC is also the fastest-growing public radio station in the country, airing the signature public radio news and talk programs from NPR, along with Air Talk with Larry Mantle weekdays from 10 a.m.- 12 Noon, and Talk of the City with Kitty Felde weekdays from 2-3 p.m. Visit www.kpcc.org for more information.