Greetings!
488 days… that’s how long we’ve been without, informative, local, actual-over-the-air talk radio in Portland. 3 days… that’s how long until it returns. In three short days, on March 15, XRAY-FM will bring community-based radio back to the Rose City airwaves and I, for one, am hopeful!
When radio began, it was all local. Radio broadcasting began in garages, but even as these micro-stations evolved into real commercial stations they served a local audience. The local radio station was a source (before TV, often the only source) of music, news, conversation, emergency information, and other features vital to daily community life.
100 years of technological progress, 27 years of political pressure, and 18 years of media consolidation have combined to make local radio an endangered species. ClearChannel, for example, owns over 1200 radio stations across the country. Aside from any other motivations, it costs money to staff a station and provide locally relevant content, but it’s cheaper and easier to fire the staff and run an automated feed from New York. The economics are simple, but information, balanced thought, and the local community all suffer. Of course, they’re the only ones who care.
XRAY.FM’s mission may not be to change all that, but their very existence already makes a difference. As one of the new low-power FM stations created by the FCC in 2000, their power and coverage are small. Compared to stations in excess of 25,000 watts, low power FM stations are capped at 100 watts, giving them an effective broadcast radius of about 3½-5 miles. This means XRAY will cover the core Portland area and not much beyond. For people looking to build a money pump to corporate coffers that’s bad, but for building a resource a community can depend on… it doesn’t get any better. Their small footprint limits their attention and sharpens their focus to the people they serve. It DEMANDS they be a member of OUR COMMUNITY.
It will be up to the people of Portland to make this new station work. XRAY can offer new and exciting content, but it will only prosper with our active participation. Listening won’t be enough; even contributing (critical as that will be) won’t be enough. It will be up to us to spread the word, support the local hosts, and support the local businesses that step forward to support the station.
Portland is famous for our unique view of the world. Perhaps one of the values most representative of that view is the idea of community; that we’re all in this together, and that our bond makes us stronger than we would be alone. XRAY will put that idea to the test, and I hope it will pass with flying colors.
On March 15, my radio dial will be tuned to 91.1 FM. I hope yours will be too, and I hope that XRAY will have an honored spot on the radio presets of our community for many years to come!
Take Care and Make a Great Day!
