Purpose-driven media has never been more important; and I've never been more proud to work for an organization that has met this moment in a way that no other Portland media has been able to do. When I started working at XRAY a little over a year ago, I was fresh off working on political campaigns, passionate about local media and podcasts, and wondering what I possibly could have stumbled into. Having started work just a few weeks before the 2019 Fall Fund Drive, I was just hoping things happened--but it's the power of the community that surrounds this station, that volunteers every single week to make it run, that gives just a little bit every month, that listen passionately and get to know us as people just to gush about their favorite show--it's those people that make XRAY what it is, and it's those who have powered us to 2 fund drives I planned that have been our best ever. 

As someone I know recently put it, we've gone in the past few months from pandemic panic to pandemic malaise. This is a moment where the news is not stopping for anything, no matter how important, and it's difficult to get up in the morning with the motivation and hope for a better tomorrow. But, XRAY's existence makes me feel like that's possible. As we grow, we are able to continue on a mission of highlighting local artists, of making the activist cooler than the consumer, of lifting up BIPOC voices like mine when so many places will shut them out, of keeping this town in-the-know about the candidates and elected officials that impact their everyday lives, of amplifying the missions of hundreds of nonprofits that other media organizations won't air PSAs during prime time for anymore. XRAY is independent media in a moment that feels like it matters more than any other has. These next few weeks will undoubtedly change our lives, no matter the outcome, join me in being on board for building a media organization that is community and purpose-driven and moving away from the media landscape that got us here. 

Radio is all of ours: help us make more. 

The mass consolidation of media has a profound effect on what we see and hear on a local level. It leads to a decline in support for local artists and local venues, promotion of community advocacy, in the ability to engage civically with our government and those who seek to be elected to it. 

XRAY changes that. And this year has made that more important than ever before. 

This year, while the world has been in turmoil, we've been busy

• giving back to local artists who've lost gigs due to COVID-19

• lifting up hundreds of nonprofits and Black-owned businesses with free spots on air

• educating our community about the privileges they have and how to support their neighbors with our Annual Juneteenth & International Women's Day Teach-Ins

• launching Portland's only daily local news podcast to keep our community in-the-know while apart

• supporting the ongoing civic advocacy, education, and functioning of City Club of Portland when no other radio station would

• interviewing 100+ local candidates (more than any other media outlet) to ensure democracy doesn't die in the distance. 

• and bringing joy and connectedness to the people of Portland.

We are proud to be independent and driven by the purpose of amplifying the best and most distinctive of Portland. Our resources are directed toward supporting the people who support us, and that includes you. By becoming a supporting member of XRAY, you are adding to the resources that help amplify Portland, and Portland’s own artists, venues, activists, innovators, educators, and the community members who make this city run. As a listener named John recently said, "I'm really grateful to live in a city with XRAY." And we're really grateful to live in a city with you.