Our Mission: Great Radio that Serves Our 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
• Avoid the trap of playing the same songs 7 or 8 times a day

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®

Chances are that you have at least heard the term “consolidation” used when referring to radio and broadcasting. Over the past couple years, there has been a lot of public discussion over how many radio stations a company can own. Before 1996, a company was limited to owning just over a couple dozen broadcasting stations nationwide, and no more than three or four in a city. With a change in the law by Congress, the ownership limits changed and now some companies own hundreds, if not thousands of stations. The wisdom of this change in the law can and will be debated for awhile. Some say that it has lead to better programming and more choices. We’ll let you be the judge of that.

WXRY is truly independent. We are not owned by a large corporation or affiliated with a university, foundation, or government charted agency. Gamecock Alumni Broadcasters 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 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?

Select Artists from The Independent Alternative® Playlist

John Mayer

Maroon 5

Cake

Coldplay

Train

Peter Gabriel

Lenny Kravitz

Radiohead

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Wallflowers

Melissa Etheridge

Pearl Jam

Indigo Girls

Depeche Mode

The Cure

New Order

Adam Ant

Hootie and the Blowfish

Edwin McCain

Sheryl Crow

Seal

Tori Amos

No Doubt

Ramones

These are just a few of the artists you’ll hear from our music library that spans three decades of quality music that changed the American music scene.
 
   Finally, there’s a radio station in Columbia that plays your CD and mp3 collection.