Broken record. (Media).

A shaky economy isn't holding KCRWFM (89.9) back.

The public radio station hit a summer fundraising record by bringing in more than $1.6 million during its most recent pledge drive--a figure that surprised even KCRW employees. The station raised $1.4 million on air and online last summer.

"We knew it was going to be a struggle," said Will Lewis, the station's management consultant. "I think we've increased our listenership...(but) we didn't quite believe that it was that large."

KCRW is the topranked public radio station in L.A. The station had a 1.6 rating in spring, up from a 1.3 last year.

It reported raising more than $2 million during its summer campaign, including on-air, online and mail efforts.