WNIU-FM is gaining rapid popularity in the Rockford Metropolitan area, recent Arbitron statistics stated.

The ratings for spring show WNIU’s 6 to 10 a.m. programming to be third in popularity among listeners 35 and older in the Rockford area, WNIU General Manager Mike Lazar said. “And we were the third highest station in the 50-year-old-plus category,” Lazar said.

Studies show 90 percent of WNIU’s listeners are over the age of 35, up 8 percent from last year.

Assistant Manager Dale Spear said the Arbitron ratings indicate WNIU is third in the nation (for its market size of 225,000-299,000) in the area of listening time. WNIU listeners tune in to the station on the average of 10.2 hours a week. The station also ranks 11th among American public radio stations in its market.

Being a public radio station means WNIU is “funded by listeners and heavy on news,” Spear said. It has two special news shows, “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” WNIU features three music programs—classical, jazz and folk. Spear said the classical and news segments are the station’s most popular shows.

Spear said the reason why the station is so popular among middle-adged to older people is “mainly in the education and backgrounds of the listeners.”

e said, “Public radio has the highest education rate of listeners in radio today.” A majority of listeners have attended or graduated from college. Spear said pegging the listening audience of a radio station deals not only with “age groups and demographics, but attitudes and psychographics.”

The jazz show is popular among younger listeners but airs from 10:15 p.m. to 1 a.m., reducing its potential audience. Spear also said a “more dissected station sometimes is a more confusing station.” Younger people who turn the radio dial during the day might label WNIU as solely a classical station without knowing about the jazz or folk shows, he said.

New promotional billboard campaigns were launched in April and May for the “Morning Edition.” As a result, the show’s audience increased by about 300 percent in four months, Spear said.

WNIU is preparing for a fund-raiser to be held Oct. 10-18. During the campaign, listeners can call the station and pledge donations to help in its funding. Being a not-for-profit organization creates reliance on these contributions, Spear said.

e also said the station is anxious to see how many more listeners have been acquired as a result of a new tower WNIU built nine months ago.