THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1999

KLON fundraising to gain No. 1 jazz title

Campus station collects money

By Michelle Devera

On-Line Forty-Niner

Picking up the phone could ring in one million dollars for KLON 88.1 FM during its first membership drive of the year.

KLON, a non-commercial public radio station located on Upper Campus, plans to go head to head with its sister New York jazz station, WBGO, in a friendly fund-raising challenge.

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"We're trying to invigorate our audiences. We have some fun and trade a few insults on the air."

-Nick Roman, KLON news director

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The first station to reach one million dollars is awarded the title of "America's #1 Jazz Station" until the next fund-raiser competion.

The winning station also sends its most popular disc jockey to the sister station for a special coast-to-coast broadcast.

"We're sending Chuck Niles because he's been a jazz DJ for about 42 years," KLON News Director Nick Roman said. "He's the most famous jazz DJ in America. He's historic and he's been with KLON for nine years."

KLON supports its three and half million dollar budget through fund-raising.

KLON has four types of fund-raising: station sponsored events, underwriting, Corporation for Public Broadcasting grant and on-air membership drives.

"With this membership drive, the number one thing I think in any organization is a payraise for ourselves," Roman said. "Setting that aside, the next thing that I think everyone at the station agrees with is refurbishing the studios with new equipment."

But this is not the first time KLON and WBGO have battled for the title "America's #1 Jazz Station."

WBGO lost the first membership drive competition in 1997, said KLON General Manager Judy Jankowski.

"Our competition is on a fundraiser to fundraiser basis," Jankowski said. "We didn't have a membership drive last year. It's relatively a new thing."

KLON raised its 1997 membership drive goal of $500,000 in nine days, KLON's fastest fund-raising campaign to date.

"It's good for both stations," Roman said. "We're trying to invigorate our audiences. We have some fun and trade a few insults on the air."