Public Radio and TV in Los Angeles: LAist, KCRW, KUSC, KPFK, PBS SoCal and More

Public media in Los Angeles is spread across many stations. The city has two NPR stations, a classical station, a jazz station, a listener-powered progressive station, several college stations and three public TV licenses. Many of them are licensed to colleges and school districts, which you can see in the FCC’s public files.

Public radio

Frequency	Station	FCC licensee	What the station says
88.1	KKJZ	Cal State Long Beach Research Foundation	KJazz 88.1, America’s jazz and blues station
88.5	KCSN	California State University, Northridge	–
88.9	KXLU	Loyola Marymount University	Non-commercial educational station run by students, faculty and volunteers
89.3	KPCC	Pasadena Area Community College District	LAist 89.3, L.A.’s NPR news station
89.9	KCRW	Santa Monica Community College District	An NPR affiliate
90.7	KPFK	Pacifica Foundation	Listener-powered since 1959
91.5	KUSC	University of Southern California	Classical California

Two NPR stations

LAist 89.3 was known for two decades as 89.3 KPCC, L.A.’s NPR station focused on news and talk, before renaming itself in 2023. In announcing the change, LAist said listeners had long mixed the station up with L.A.’s other NPR affiliate, KCRW. LAist is operated by Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported nonprofit, and describes itself as audience-funded nonprofit news. The KPCC call letters are still heard at the top of the hour, because the FCC requires station identification.

KCRW at 89.9 is licensed to the Santa Monica Community College District. Its website blocks automated readers, so we cannot quote its own description here; tune in or visit kcrw.com for its schedule.

Music and independent voices

KUSC, licensed to the University of Southern California, calls itself Classical California. KKJZ, licensed to a Cal State Long Beach foundation, is KJazz 88.1, covering bop, cool, Latin, straight-ahead, swing and big band. KPFK says it has been listener-powered since 1959 and was the first full-time FM station west of the Mississippi powered entirely by listener donations, governed by an elected local board with oversight from the Pacifica Foundation.

KXLU, licensed to Loyola Marymount University, broadcasts from the university’s Westchester campus at 3,000 watts and runs an eclectic schedule that includes rock, classical, opera, world, electronic, jazz, punk and reggae, staffed by students, faculty and volunteers.

Public television

Channel	Station	FCC licensee
28	KCET	Public Media Group of Southern California
50	KOCE-TV, PBS SoCal	Public Media Group of Southern California
58	KLCS	Los Angeles Unified School District

PBS SoCal says it is the home of PBS for Greater Los Angeles and Southern California, offering programs through the free PBS App and PBS KIDS App and over the air on seven channels, including PBS SoCal, PBS SoCal Plus, PBS SoCal Encore, PBS SoCal KIDS, PBS SoCal World and PBS SoCal Create. Members get more of the library through PBS Passport. KLCS is licensed to the Los Angeles Unified School District, and KCET and KLCS share RF channel 28.

Why they are all at the bottom of the dial

The FCC’s rules make 88.1 to 91.9 MHz available for noncommercial educational FM stations, which is why every public radio station on this page sits between 88.1 and 91.5. The commercial dial is covered in Los Angeles Radio Stations by Frequency: FM and AM Dial Guide.

Supporting public media

These stations rely on members and donors. KPFK and LAist both stress that listeners keep them on the air. If one becomes part of your routine, a small contribution is the most direct way to keep it there. For L.A. broadcasting history, including KPFK’s place in it, see A Short History of Los Angeles Broadcasting: KNX, KTLA, KPFK and the Mountain.

Which station for what?

If you want	Try
NPR news and local reporting	LAist 89.3 or KCRW 89.9
Classical music	KUSC 91.5, Classical California
Jazz and blues	KKJZ 88.1
Independent, listener-funded programming	KPFK 90.7
Student radio	KXLU 88.9
PBS programs	PBS SoCal on channel 50, KCET on 28

All of these stream online as well. A radio is still worth keeping for emergencies, when power and internet can fail together.

If you are new to Los Angeles, try a week of public media: LAist 89.3 or KCRW in the morning, KUSC or KKJZ in the afternoon, KPFK or KXLU in the evening, and PBS SoCal on TV. You will quickly learn which voices fit your routine, and which station you want to support.

Each of these stations also lists its official contact in the FCC’s Public Inspection File, which is the place to start if you want to reach a station about its programming or its signal.