KUSC holds record-breaking fundraising drive


KUSC, the Los Angeles radio station with uninterrupted classic music 24 hours a day, achieved two note-worthy accomplishments: topping the national public radio rankings and raising more than $1 million for the station.

“This marks the first time KUSC has been number one in two areas,” said station president Brenda Barnes in a statement.

KUSC 91.5 FM is the top public radio station in the country according to the most recent Arbitron ratings, which are based upon the average number of listeners who tune into the station during the week, LA Observed reported.

For the first time last spring KUSC beat out WNYC and KQED, the top public radio stations in New York City and San Francisco respectively.  The classical music station held its lead in the Arbitron rankings for the fall quarter 2009.

The classical music station was ranked 19th overall in the Los Angeles market for the last holiday season by Arbitron, a media and marketing research firm who measures local-market radio station audiences.  The research period was Dec. 10. 2009 to Jan. 6, 2010.

KUSC reached another record, topping 10,000 pledges during its winter membership drive, which brought in $1,123,869 for the station.

“KUSC is valued so highly by our listeners,” Barnes said in a press release.  “It feels like a great honor in economic times like these.”

The pledges come in from 38 states and 11 countries, reflecting support from Internet radio listeners, according to the station’s membership director, Carrie Banasky, who led the eight-day fundraising drive.

“It shows how far afield our membership has become,” she said in a statement.