It’s OK to turn on your radio again. WXRY is non-profit, community-supported radio live from South Carolina’s Main Street. Operated by WXRY Incorporated a non-profit art and music organization with a mission of fostering emerging artists, helping discover new music, and building an active, vibrant community. We’re located in the historic Barringer Building.
YOUR COMMUNITY. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
WXRY is in the true sense of the word a community radio. We are owned by a local non-profit foundation and programmed by a small staff of professionals and volunteers that live in the Columbia area and are long time residents. Our programming is specifically focused on the Lexington and Richland communities that are within 15 miles of downtown and on the close-in downtown neighborhoods such as the Vista, Five Points, Forest Acres, Shandon, West Columbia, Cayce and the growing neighborhood centered on South Carolina’s Main Street.
Our volunteers come from a variety of diverse backgrounds with one thing in common: they are young professionals that care about our community and desire to make things happen.
We live here and we want to help make Columbia a better place to live and do business.
OUR MISSION: GREAT RADIO THAT BUILDS AND SERVES YOUR COMMUNITY.
Radio can be magical. However, somewhere along the way, most broadcasting companies forgot that radio is more than just playing well-researched music and more than saying what pollsters say are the right things to say. The Independent Alternative 99.3 WXRY remembers what made radio special in the first place and is leading the way to abandon cookie-cutter corporate programming and to make radio special again. We invite you to come back to listening to the radio and join us and make a difference.
We believe these principles are essential for a great radio station:
Intelligent presentation, passion and respect for the music
- No limits on the number of songs we play
- Support local music
- Treat listeners with respect
- Intense community involvement
- The courage to be different
- Remember that radio and music are fun
Our mission and our dedication to bringing you quality radio programming is why we’re different.
We are the Independent Alternative. Think of us as Rock-n-Roll Public Radio.™
THE “INDEPENDENT” IN THE INDEPENDENT ALTERNATIVE
WXRY is truly independent. We are not owned by a large corporation or affiliated with a university, foundation, or government charted agency. We are an independent foundation that owns one and only one radio station — WXRY. That means we are able to concentrate on doing one thing and only one thing well: providing you the best in quality music, information, and programming and serving Columbia. This financial independence means we stand or fall depending on how well we serve your needs.
THE INDEPENDENT ALTERNATIVE: WHERE THE MUSIC MATTERS
WXRY is programmed to address an underserved audience in the Columbia radio market. For years, Columbia has not had a station specifically programmed for college-educated adults between the ages of 25 to 40. Certainly, there are a lot of very good stations in our area that are crafted to attract adults in this age bracket and do a very good job of doing so. However, we kept hearing people say, “How come no one plays [Artist] on the radio?” Our answer was: You’re right. Why not?