Once again, KOCE Channel 50 has broken...

Once again, KOCE Channel 50 has broken the record for its annual winter fund drive. The local public television station raised $168,158 during an 11-day campaign that ended Sunday, bringing its total fund-raising for the year to $579,961. (Last year’s winter drive brought in $127,498; the total for the year was $480,602.) Station manager Robert C. Moffett attributed the increase to popular programming (such as the Barry Manilow and Lawrence Welk specials aired during the winter drive) and to an increased audience, the result of a more powerful transmitter installed in 1991. According to the most recent ratings available, the station reached about 814,000 households during July, 1993, as opposed to 668,000 the previous July. KOCE’s annual operating budget is $4.7 million.