Checking in with XRAY

Rumors and reality as Tom Dwyer gets on board

Both of our regular readers will remember our coverage of the fall of Portland’s flagship Progressive station, KPOJ, the efforts of Carl Wolfson to keep Progressive Talk alive via podcast, and the rise of XRAY to (in part) replace KPOJ last year. It turns out there’s some new news in the world of XRAY recently, and we got a chance to talk with JD Stewart, producer of Carl in the Morning, and Tim Marcroft, Development Director of XRAY, about the direction the new station is taking. In our own little world, we have some big news as we return as underwriters of XRAY. And here’s a final good reason to read this article… we’ll tell you how to get on the guest list for XRAY’s First Birthday party in March!

The old and new XRAY broadcast maps

Let’s start by recapping our own support for and the history of rational radio in Portland… We were huge supporters of KPOJ back in the good old days, where our somewhat unusual ads garnered quite a bit of notice. It was a privilege to support the alternative view to the corporate sludge pump that KPOJ offered until it was unceremoniously switched to a sports station in 2012. Carl Wolfson, KPOJ’s morning drive anchor, refused to take this hit lying down and we were there to support him when he started his Carl in the Morning podcast in 2013. We listened intently to the debate about how to rekindle a Progressive station, but it was a legal change involving low power FM (LPFM) stations that made a replacement station possible. In January 2014, XRAY finished a Kickstarter campaign with over $103,000 on their $40,000 goal to become one of the first low-power FM stations in Portland. We were there for their Kickstarter, and we were there as one of the first underwriters. XRAY was on the air, but their signal could only be heard in a small area. XRAY took over programming of the KZME tower in September, expanding their reach to cover most of the downtown Portland area.

XRAY-FM celebrates its first birthday in March with a big bash at Mississippi Studios. You’re invited, so click here for all the details.

Which brings us to last week, and JD’s visit. He had stopped by the shop to sign up for our Carbon Neutral Program and told us what it was like on Carl’s show these days. “Busy!” mostly seemed to sum it up. “XRAY’s really taking off and we’re seeing it in the growth of Carl in the Morning.” Asked what they were particularly proud of, JD immediately answered “Our guests. We’re getting a really strong lineup of state and national level guests who are eager to take advantage of the platform Carl and XRAY provide.”

We had a slightly longer conversation with Tim Marcroft, XRAY’s development director, about some of the changes XRAY is contemplating. He had to be vague in places, but that just made it all the more exciting. “We’re just finishing up construction on our new studio at Falcon Art Community”, said Tim. “The ventilation is going in now, and we’ll be doing training for the engineers and hosts in mid March. This will be the home of all XRAY shows going forward, and we expect to be completely out of our current SE 8^th location very soon. It was a little cramped but served us very well as a launching pad.

Falcon Art Community is a gorgeous space in NE Portland, filled to the brim with the art of the people who work there. Treat yourself to a video tour of this unique space by clicking here.

The new studio at Falcon Art is the home we need to grow into the future.” The signal from their new home may be even stronger as well, as they examine the possibility of HiDef (HD) radio tower that may reach as far as Vancouver or Wilsonville. “Another tower would expand our footprint a little but the main benefit, if it happens, would be a much stronger signal that penetrates obstacles like buildings.”

Programming is another thing that’s changing as XRAY finds its voice. They currently run a mix of talk programs in the morning and afternoon with local music filling out the rest of the schedule. Most of these programs are locally produced; a situation that will continue with the new additions. “It’s hard to pick favorites among our current shows or point to some new feature to look for. We’re excited about a lot of the new content we have in development and airing already. Weston Miller of OSU is doing a great show on urban farming right now, and we’re looking for other material from him soon. Doug Crispin, our “Kick Ass Oregon History” guy, is developing some 3-5 minute shorts for use throughout the day.” Asked specifically about the painful top-and-bottom-of-the-hour breaks in Thom Hartmann, Tim laughed. “We’ve heard a lot of comments on that, and we’re on it. We’re looking at creating some short, locally-produced content to fill those gaps, but nothing I can be specific about just yet”.

XRAY has a pool of the best talent in Portland to draw on as it grows. How good is that pool? Jefferson Smith is one of the driving forces behind XRAY, and you can click here to here his TED Talk on “The Trouble With Thankless Jobs”

Maybe the greatest change at XRAY is the personnel behind the scenes. “We’ve got 8 new interns, mostly in marketing and administration, but some content and technical as well”, Tim said. “It’s a big group of young people with new and creative ideas, so we’re expecting a lot from them”. Tim also mentioned a project that XRAY will unveil later this year, a project in conjunction with Media Institute for Social Change called “XRAY U” that’s designed to introduce novices to the fields of audio production and storytelling.

We at Tom Dwyer Automotive are proud to announce that we’re back with XRAY as underwriters of the station. Though we had to step away for a while, we never stopped caring about the success of this new Portland treasure. Now that we’re back as official supporters we’ll be able to go to more of the station events to meet and thank all the rest of the people who support the station through their interest, time, and money. We look forward to meeting you, and our first opportunity is coming up in March… we hope to see you there!