Colorado State University-Pueblo’s radio station Rev 89 has been ranked as the No. 9 radio station in the nation based on its Cume rating and No. 25 on the average quarter-hour person scale based on fall 2014 numbers.
“I’m extremely proud of my students. The success of the radio station, locally and nationally, is a direct reflection of the hard work and dedication shown by the Rev 89 DJs every single day,” said Rev 89 instructor and media manager Jenna Mangino.
“They produce daily news briefs, provide local information, including traffic and weather updates, entertain people and provide music suggestions to help us stay relevant with our listeners. Receiving national recognition is an honor and we’re very proud of the work we do at Rev 89,” she said.
Rev 89 is a non-commercial educational radio station ran by mass communication students at CSU-Pueblo. By operating as a lab and radio combination, Rev 89 is able to give students maximum experience and expertise by working in the station. It also provides its services to the community of Pueblo as a whole.
Whether it’s learning the difference in ethics between commercial and non-commercial radio, getting exposure and talking to real people in real world businesses about radio spots and advertisements, or just getting hands on learning by working with Adobe Audition and the Arakis boards, Rev can be used as a tool for mass communication students looking to further themselves in the electronic media field.
Cume, which is short for cumulative audience, measures a stations total number of unique consumers over a specific period of time. According to Nielson Audio, in order to qualify as a unique consumer the listener must be tuned in for at least five minutes before switching channels.
Rev 89 boasted a 14.5 percent listener share of the population in Pueblo, earning them an impressive ninth spot at the national level. The U.S. census estimated Pueblo’s population at around 108,000 members and the Rev 89 consistently reaches more than 20,000 of them every week.
“It’s overwhelming at times to think that we are reaching 20,000 plus people weekly. The Pueblo community, both on and off campus, are the main focus of what we do each day,” Mangino said.
“Rev 89 is a legacy station – generations of Puebloans have grown up listening to the station. KTSC-FM will be celebrating 45 years of continuous operation in October and it’s rewarding to see that our listeners still enjoy tuning into Rev 89 year after year,” she said.
Separate from the Cume rating, AQH stands for average quarter-hour person. This scale measures listeners tuning in for at least five minutes over 15 minute periods throughout their metropolitan area. These listeners also tune into other radio stations when they’re not listening to Rev.
Last year, Rev 89 totaled a 4.8 percent metro share on the AQH scale and a market rank of 237.
Not only is Rev 89 popular around the community, but many students said they are avid listeners. Senior Brittany Vigil is one of these students and claims the Rev is her favorite station.
“It’s the only decent radio station in Pueblo that knows how to play good music. The lack of commercials also helps a lot,” she said.
