KCRW Exceeds $48 Million Fundraising Goal in its
Largest Capital Campaign,

Public Support Brings Total Amount Raised to
$50.4 Million

Funding supports the KCRW Media Center
and new programming, technology investments

KCRW.com/Campaign

Santa Monica, CA (June 12, 2017) – KCRW is pleased to announce the successful completion of its $48 million Capital Campaign, launched in 2013 to build brand new, state-of-the-art broadcast studios and invest in programming and technology. KCRW is a non-profit, multi-platform public media organization which features an eclectic mix of music, NPR news, and cultural programming in Southern California and around the world.

Thanks to the generosity of over 5,800 individual donors and institutional supporters, KCRW marks the end of its largest-ever Capital Campaign by exceeding the $48 million goal and raising $50.4 million. The Campaign includes a $28 million contribution from Santa Monica College, licensee of KCRW, with funding from Bond Measure AA, approved by Santa Monica and Malibu voters in 2008.

Construction of the new 35,000-square-foot KCRW Media Center, located on Santa Monica College’s Center for Media and Design, will be completed in the coming months.

More than 5,800 donors joined Santa Monica College and KCRW’s Board of Directors in contributing to the Capital Campaign through a variety of fundraising initiatives, including two “Above and Beyond” Pledge Drives in 2015 and 2016.  Supporters were invited to place their names on microphones in KCRW’s studios and on bricks lining the courtyard of the new campus.

“Starting as a small campus-based radio station that incubated over thirty years ago in the basement of Santa Monica College’s cafeteria, KCRW steps boldly into the light ‘above ground’ to move into its new home at the SMC Center for Media and Design,” said Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, Santa Monica College Superintendent and President.  “We look forward to KCRW being an active part of creating a vibrant learning environment with hands-on experience for students passionate about journalism, new media, and radio in this new state-of-the-art facility.”

“This support marks our transformation from a radio station housed in a basement into a true community institution. It means so much to have the investment of Santa Monica College, the many foundations, thousands of individuals, the generosity of KCRW Foundation Board Members and public and private entities that supported this campaign,” KCRW President Jennifer Ferro said.

The Campaign, co-chaired by KCRW Board Chair Michael Fleming and KCRW Board Member Deborah Ramo, provided the funds to purchase broadcast and digital equipment for the KCRW Media Center, and to acquire new stations in Santa Barbara (88.7 FM) and San Luis Obispo (101.3 FM).  Donated support also includes more than $11 million to invest in new programming and technology to distribute KCRW’s content throughout Los Angeles and around the world.

Major private sector gifts received for the Capital Campaign included $5 million from the Annenberg Foundation and $1 million from both the David Bohnett Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

“LA has always been a radio town, a community of deeply engaged listeners who expect the very best news and culture throughout their day,” said Wallis Annenberg, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of the Annenberg Foundation, KCRW’s largest private donor. “Even here, KCRW stands out as a rare and shining gem—with smart, cutting-edge programming that informs, inspires, and brings us closer together.  That’s why I’m so pleased that we could do our part to move KCRW out of the basement, and into the kind of world-class facilities it deserves.”

Major donors to the Capital Campaign include The Ahmanson Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, Borzi Family Foundation, Norris and Debra Bishton Foundation, David Bohnett Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Chris A. Hollinger and Elizabeth MacDonald, W.M. Keck Foundation, Kayne Foundation, Ric & Suzanne Kayne and Jenni, Maggie & Saree, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Rosemary Kraemer Raitt Foundation, Roth Family Foundation, Santa Barbara Foundation, Monica J. Shilling, Ellie and Tom Wertheimer, Lucy Wild and Jason Wolff, and Kristin and Jeff Worthe.

To raise support for the Capital Campaign, KCRW also published “From The Basement,” a limited edition book of photography that memorializes the many artists featured on the station’s flagship music show “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Over the past 35 years, KCRW’s staff has grown from 14 to 125 people working in five locations, including extremely cramped offices and studios in the Santa Monica College cafeteria basement. The new KCRW Media Center is designed to preserve the station’s collaborative culture, while creating community gathering spaces, integrating state-of-the-art production facilities, and allowing for future growth. Designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects, a global leader in workplace innovation, the new building will also meet LEED Silver Certification standards, maximizing energy and water efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.

With a history of bringing unique live experiences to Southern California and around the country, KCRW will, for the first time in its history, be able to host the community at its own 1,400 square-foot Annenberg Performance Studio. KCRW will also have the opportunity to program events for up to 1,500 people in the 18,000-square-foot courtyard and outdoor stage and a 180-seat auditorium.

SMC’s Center for Media and Design is located in the middle of Santa Monica’s creative business district, and two-blocks from the Expo Line. The campus will include a newly-remodeled 50,000 square-foot teaching facility, a new 30,000 square-foot addition with TV and production studios, a cafe, and a new 430-space parking garage. Construction is projected for completion by end of 2017, with both the KCRW Media Center and SMC Center for Media and Design operating from the new buildings by late 2017.

To learn more about KCRW’s Capital Campaign, visit KCRW.com/Campaign.

ABOUT KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. KCRW is driven by the spirit of Los Angeles and delivers in innovative ways – on the radio, digitally and in person – to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world.  A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via KCRW-developed smartphone apps and online at KCRW.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw
Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio
Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw
Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw

Matt Kline is Named Chairman of the Board for the
KCRW Foundation

New KCRW Board Officers include
Lee Rierson as Vice Chair and

Emily Gold Mears as Secretary/Treasurer

(Santa Monica, CA—June 6, 2017) Attorney, university lecturer, and public servant Matt Kline will take the helm as Chairman of the Board of the KCRW Foundation effective June 5, 2017. The announcement was made following the organization’s Board meeting by current Chairman Michael Fleming, who will remain on the Board for another three-year term. New KCRW Board Officers include Lee Rierson as Vice Chair and Emily Gold Mears as Secretary/Treasurer. Monday’s meeting also marked the election of two new Board members: Cisco Pinedo, founder of Cisco Home, an L.A.-based home furnishings manufacturing company; and Heather Mingst, philanthropist and community volunteer.

“I am delighted that Matt Kline will lead KCRW into its next chapter,” said Fleming. “KCRW is much more than just a radio station – we are a true community hub for news, music, arts, and culture. The diversity you hear on the air is a reflection of the very conscious ‘behind the scenes’ efforts to make sure that we truly represent our community. On behalf of our Board, KCRW President Jennifer Ferro, and the entire staff, we welcome Matt and look forward to building on the momentum created over the past years.”

“I’ve been a devoted fan of KCRW my whole adult life,” said Kline. “The privilege to chair the KCRW Foundation Board and to work with my talented fellow Board members, the terrific innovators on the KCRW team, and the great leadership of Santa Monica College, is a deep and humbling honor. KCRW and SMC – and the creativity and learning these great institutions inspire – are so vital to California’s future.”

Michael Fleming, Executive Director of the David Bohnett Foundation, has served as chairman of the KCRW Foundation’s Board for eight years. “Michael Fleming is a true gem. Polished, brilliant, and able to make everyone around him look his or her best, Michael has been a tremendous partner,” said Ferro. “He has built a powerful and engaged Board and guided our organization into a new professional realm. The Board has grown from 15 members to 27 who reflect the community we reach, and increased our contributed resources by more than 500 percent. Because of his leadership, KCRW can mark its first significant Capital Campaign as a success, raising more than goal. I’m so glad he will be on hand as we open our brand new, state-of-the-art broadcast studios later this year.”

About KCRW’s Capital Campaign
Thanks to the generosity of more than 5,800 individual donors and institutional supporters, KCRW marked the end of its largest-ever Capital Campaign by exceeding the $48 million goal and raising $50.4 million. The Campaign included a $28 million contribution from Santa Monica College (SMC), licensee of KCRW, with funding from Bond Measure AA, approved by Santa Monica and Malibu voters in 2008. Major private sector gifts received for the Capital Campaign included $5 million from the Annenberg Foundation and $1 million from both the David Bohnett Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Over the past 35 years, KCRW’s staff has grown from five to 125 people working in five locations, including extremely cramped offices and studios in the Santa Monica College cafeteria basement. Through the success of the Capital Campaign, the station was able to purchase broadcast and digital equipment for the KCRW Media Center, and to acquire new stations in Santa Barbara (88.7 FM) and San Luis Obispo (101.3 FM). Donated support also includes more than $11 million to invest in new programming and technology to distribute KCRW’s content throughout Los Angeles and around the world. The new KCRW Media Center is designed to preserve the station’s collaborative culture, while creating community gathering spaces, integrating state-of-the-art production facilities, and allowing for future growth. Designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects, a global leader in workplace innovation, the new building will also meet LEED Silver Certification standards, maximizing energy and water efficiency, and indoor environmental quality.

With a history of bringing unique live experiences to Southern California and around the country, KCRW will, for the first time in its history, be able to host the community at its own 1,400-square-foot Annenberg Performance Studio. KCRW will also have the opportunity to program events for up to 1,500 people in the 18,000-square-foot courtyard and outdoor stage, and a shared 180-seat auditorium. KCRW now produces over 80 live events across southern and central California and has seen a doubling of audience reach with a strong broadcast, digital, and social media audience that numbers in the millions.

SMC’s Center for Media and Design is located in the middle of Santa Monica’s creative business district, two blocks from the Expo Line. The campus will include a newly remodeled 50,000-square-foot teaching facility, a new 30,000-square-foot addition with TV and production studios, a cafe, and a new 430-space parking garage. Construction is projected for completion by the end of 2017, with both the KCRW Media Center and SMC Center for Media and Design operating from the new buildings by late 2017.

About Matt Kline
Matt Kline is a partner in the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. His trial, arbitration, and appellate practice is global in scope – with a focus on intellectual property; contract disputes; international cases; and the water, entertainment, and private-equity industries. Kline attended law school at U.C. Berkeley, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the California Law Review.

Outside the office, Kline regularly lectures at a variety of educational institutions, including Stanford University, where he co-teaches a Business of Water class. He is actively involved in public service, including as counsel on the National War Powers Commission and on the boards of KCRW, the Center for Early Education, and Cancer for College. Kline is Chairman of the Warren Christopher Scholarship program and was an original member of Contemporary Friends at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

About Lee Rierson
Lee Rierson owns and operates Canyon Media Advisory, providing strategic consulting and business development services for media companies and startups. Prior to Canyon Media Advisory, Rierson served as Chief Operating Officer for both FremantleMedia North America and Shine America, both multinational TV and digital production and distribution outfits. Rierson also is an attorney who has practiced in the labor, employment, and entertainment fields, and served for many years earlier in his career as a business affairs negotiator for the ABC Television Network. He is a graduate of UCLA and the UCLA School of Law, a member of Tech Coast Angels’ Los Angeles chapter, and has served on the KCRW Foundation Board for five years, most recently as Secretary/Treasurer and chair of the Finance and Governance committees.

About Emily Gold Mears
Emily Gold Mears currently manages a variety of investments, as well as being committed to philanthropy. Gold Mears was born and raised in Los Angeles and received her B.A. at U.C. Berkeley. She practiced Real Estate Law for a number of years and continues to be active in community organizations. She is a Board member of the UCLA Longevity Center; serves on the Society of Fellows Advisory Committee for the Aspen Institute; is on the policy committee for the Every Child Foundation; is a founding member of the L.A. Women’s Collective; is a member of the Otis College of Art and Design Board of Governors; and is a Board member, governance committee member, and chair of the Development Committee for KCRW.

About KCRW
KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration, and informed public affairs. KCRW is driven by the spirit of Los Angeles and delivers in innovative ways – on the radio, digitally, and in person – to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world. A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via KCRW-developed smartphone apps and online at KCRW.com. KCRW is ranked 27^th in L.A. radio, up from 43^rd in 2009. Since 2009, KCRW has seen a doubling of its audience.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw

Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio

Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw

Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw

Press Contacts:    Carolyn Campbell (KCRW): carolyn@campbellcomm.biz,
(o) 310.659.5427 (m) 310. 995.8721

 Julie Fei (Matt Kline): jfei@omm.com
(o) 213.430.7792, (m) 213. 440.7792

Photo Credit:   Photo by Andrew Zinn

KCRW LAUNCHES FREE VIRTUAL REALITY APP WITH EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS FROM DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, BRANDI CARLILE, THUNDERCAT AND PURITY RING

FIRST-EVER PUBLIC MEDIA COMPANY TO LAUNCH DEDICATED VIRTUAL REALITY APP

http://www.kcrw.com/vr

Santa Monica, CA (Jan. 20, 2016) – Today, Los Angeles-based public radio station KCRW announced the launch of their free Virtual Reality mobile app. Designed to work with KCRW Cardboard (a branded version of Google Cardboard), the KCRW VR app gives fans a unique opportunity to join a live session from the station’s legendary basement studio, by putting viewers inside intimate performances. The KCRW VR app launches with exclusive videos from artists including, Death Cab for Cutie, Brandi Carlile, Thundercat, and Purity Ring. KCRW is the first-ever public media entity and radio station to launch a dedicated VR app, and with its in-house production team, will continue to provide exclusive content throughout the year.

Built by hand in the basement of KCRW’s Santa Monica studio, the custom video rig features eight GoPro cameras that allow each artist’s performance to be captured in stereoscopic 3D (Virtual Reality) to create a 360º panoramic video. Footage is then stitched together to create an immersive, stereoscopic 3D VR experience that puts the user inside the session.

“Now for the first time, you can be in our studio with the artists. It’s a revolutionary change in the way KCRW curated artists and music can be discovered. We are always striving for creative ways to connect with our community and we’re so excited to try out this new technology together,” commented Jennifer Ferro, KCRW president.

Performances are captured during artist’s in-studio sessions for Morning Becomes Eclectic, the station’s flagship music program.

Artists and songs available at launch include:

●               Death Cab for Cutie – “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive”

●               Brandi Carlile – “Murder in the City”

●               Thundercat – “Them Changes”

●               Purity Ring – “Stranger Than Earth”

“VR is undoubtedly the next frontier for blockbuster entertainment. While the biggest studios in Hollywood develop content for the masses, KCRW can amplify the outstanding live sessions that take place on a regular basis at the station, and offer a uniquely immersive experience to the audience,” said KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley. “This exciting initiative matches KCRW curated music and art with exciting new technologies and partnerships for wider distribution.”

Additional performances will be captured throughout the year, with video from Penguin Prison, Mew, Gardens and Villa, Amason, Mr. Pauer, Shana Halligan, Natalia Lafourcade, Korey Dane and Langhorne Slim, slated for release in the upcoming months. All videos, including several exclusive app-only performances, will live on the KCRW app, with select content featured in the KCRW branded room on Samsung’s MilkVR.

To experience KCRW’s exclusive performances in full stereoscopic VR video, fans can download the free app in the iOS and Android stores and can purchase a specially designed KCRW Cardboard, with artwork by Mr. Scruff, for only a $5.00 donation to KCRW.com. Users that do not have KCRW Cardboard can still watch the videos as an interactive 360 degree video on KCRW’s YouTube channel.

For more information on KCRW’s virtual reality experience, including a behind-the-scenes video, visit www.kcrw.com/vr.

About KCRW

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world.  A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via five KCRW-developed smart phone apps and online at kcrw.com.

Twitter | twitter.com/kcrw

Facebook | facebook.com/kcrwradio

Instagram | instagram.com/kcrw

Google+ | plus.google.com/+kcrw

KCRW DJ’s Top 10 Albums of 2014!

See them all here

 KCRW DJs have selected their favorite albums of 2014 and you can see them all here.

The full length debut from Norwegian producer Todd Terje was the top pick among our 23 DJs who have been supporting him since he began his run of celebrated remixes & edits in 2006.

He was followed closely in a 4-way tie between Ray LaMontagne, Beck, the War on Drugs and Ty Segall. See the full list of KCRW DJs’ Top Ranked Albums.

LaMontagne topped Music Director and Morning Becomes Eclectic host Jason Bentley’s list, which also includes three bands who made their U.S. radio debut on the station’s famed morning music show: Hozier, Alt-J (in 2012) and Beck (in 1993).

View his full list below and keep an eye on the KCRW Music Blog over the next few weeks for additional year-end lists, including our top EPs, best LA albums of the year, standout singles, top compilations and remixes, as well as the most anticipated albums of 2015.

Music Director Jason Bentley’s Top 10 Albums of 2014

1. Ray Lamontagne – Supernova (RCA)
2. The War On Drugs – Lost In The Dream (Secretly Canadian)
3. Hozier – Hozier (Rubyworks)
4. Spoon – They Want My Soul (Loma Vista/ Republic)
5. alt-J – This Is All Yours (Atlantic/ Canvasback)
6. Ty Segall – Manipulator (Drag City)
7. Flight Facilities – Down To Earth (Glassnote)
8. Todd Terje – It’s Album Time (Olsen)
9. Beck – Morning Phase (Capitol)
10. First Aid Kit – Stay Gold (Colombia)

(Note: Click on highlighted bands to find their KCRW live sessions from this year!)