This week, community radio station KXRY-FM (aka XRAY.fm) announced that it is now the holder of its own FM license in Portland, Oregon. According to XRAY, “We received big news from the FCC: XRAY is now the official license holder of 91.1 FM! Much like renting a house or apartment, XRAY has been operating 91.1 for the past four years while another organization maintained ownership of the license. During that time we’ve worked hard to prove that we’re worthy of owning the license by developing quality programming and building listener support. After months of paperwork, our application was finally approved last week.”
Radio Survivor has close ties with XRAY, as it is an affiliate station and was one of the first radio outlets to carry the Radio Survivor show. Additionally, I visited XRAY as part of my radio station tour series in 2014.
Listeners may not be aware that the KXRY-FM license was originally held by Reed College’s radio station KRRC (see my 2013 tour), which launched over FM nearly 60 years ago on May 14, 1958. In 2011, Reed College turned back the FCC license for KRRC, as the station was having great difficulty with reception in Portland, Oregon, particularly due to large commercial broadcasters that interfered with its signal (97.9 FM at the time). Community radio advocates Common Frequency convinced Reed College to get the license back and donate it to them instead.
Crafty Common Frequency engineers found a better spot on the dial for the former KRRC, moved the frequency, and offered it up to XRAY to use; which they have been for several years. Flash forward to 2018 and Common Frequency has now agreed to sell the license to XRAY’s non-profit entity Cascade Educational Broadcast Service for $16,000.
As far as the college radio part of the story, Reed College applied for and was awarded a construction permit for a new low power FM (LPFM) license in 2015; which it sadly never put on the air, canceling the construction permit in 2016. KRRC Radio is now online-only at Reed.
Although Reed College gave up not one, but two, FM licenses, it’s a happy ending in that Common Frequency was able to figure out a way to keep a non-commercial spot on the dial that otherwise would have been lost. Not to mention, a new community radio station got an FM home.
More College Radio News
Events
WGSU Hosts Music Fest/Food Truck Rodeo to Commemorate 55th Anniversary (The Lamron)
WGSU-FM Has Music on Tap for “Genny Fest” (Livingston County News)
Morningside College Radio Station Takes on 24 Hours of Vinyl (KTIV News 4)
Temple’s WHIP Takes Part in Vinylthon (Temple Update)
UT Arlington DJs Ditch Digital for a Day to Play Vinyl (The CW 33)
College Radio Plans Third Annual Vinylthon (All Access)
Vinyl Week at WUNH (WUNH)
WSOU Celebrates Record Store Day and Vinylthon with Limited Edition T-shirt (New Jersey Stage)
New Stations
RU Community Radio Service Stuck in Clearance Process (Daily Pioneer)
Station and Staff Profiles
Student-run Radio Signaling Cultural Shift in Cache Valley? (The Herald Journal)
RCS Graduate to Manage ASU Radio Station (The Courier Times)
Celebrating 15 Years of College Radio at RadioUTD (The UTD Mercury)
KZSC to Hold Alumni Weekend Events in Honor of its 50th Anniversary (UC Santa Cruz)
Awards and Accolades
Grossmont College Student Honored for Documentary on Injured Veterans (Times of San Diego)
Cleveland State Named “Best College Radio Station” (Cleveland Scene)
History
25 Years Ago: Students Vote to Fund College Radio Station at Chico State (Chico Enterprise-Record)
College Radio Culture
The Future of the Radio Industry Lies in Campus Radio (The Media Online)
Senior Student Media Members Share Final Words (Saint Xavier University Student Media)
York Student Sends Racist Messages to Student Radio Presenter (The Tab)
