SHORT TAKES : KCSN Changes Tune to Classical

Responding to the recent shake-ups among classical music stations in Los Angeles, KCSN-FM, a tiny public radio station licensed to Cal State Northridge, changed from a country music format today to classical music.

“The opportunity in the marketplace obviously is the reason for the change,” said KCSN (88.5) General Manager Ken Mills. “There are very few windows of opportunity such as this for a small public station to take on a major format. The recent demise of KFAC (which changed to a rock format on Sept. 21) and the fine-tuning and fluctuations at (public station) KUSC have made it possible for us to consider and now do a classical format.”

Mills said he plans to hire some former KFAC announcers and possibly some from KUSC for the new format that was scheduled to debut at 1:05 p.m. today with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. KCSN has a relatively weak signal strength (52 watts) and principally serves the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.