Hunger for news propels KCRW subscription drive. (Media).

KCRW-FM (89.9) raised a record $1.8 million during its annual winter subscription drive that ended last week. The tally for the Santa Monica station comes just weeks after Pasadena's KPCC-FM (89.3) set a record by bringing in nearly $1 million.

"Every year you make the line in the air higher and higher," said KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour. "As you recognize that it's a great accomplishment, you always wonder, 'How do you top it?'"

The recession, along with the outpouring of Sept. 11-related donations, have hurt many organizations that depend on public support. But public radio stations that provide news and talk programming, such as KCRW and KPCC, may have done well because of an increased appetite for news.

"When an event happens like 9/11 or when there is a conflict like what happened in Afghanistan then I think people recognize the value and the importance of public radio," said Bill Davis, president and chief executive of Southern California Public Radio, parent of KPCC.

"It usually takes about three years to move somebody from a first-time listener to a core listener to a contributor and I think that what you have during these sorts of times is a compressed cycle," he said.

Seymour also attributed the rise in donations to KCRW's music programming "at a time when most stations are playing the same 40 songs" --- as well as its growing online audience.