Pubradio’s newest classical stations setting records for listenership, fundraising

Since its conversion into a listener-supported public radio station last fall, New York’s classical WQXR has gained more than 127,000 listeners–enough to make it the top-rated public radio station in the country, the New York Times reports. This despite its move to a less powerful frequency last fall under new owner WNYC. The WQXR audience is also responding generously to on-air fundraising appeals. The February pledge drive blew past its $750,000 goal to raise $1.3 million from some 10,000 WQXR listeners, 57 percent of whom had never donated to WNYC before. Likewise, Boston’s classical WCRB–now under the ownership of WGBH–recently set a new record for the most money raised from radio listeners in a single day.