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Policy & Guidelines
Open Mic on KUAC
Open Mic is a weekly, 3-minute radio opinion piece written and read by a KUAC listener.
KUAC creates thought provoking, trustworthy, and even life-changing programming, which includes offering listeners an on-air place to exchange ideas and information.
Open Mic Broadcast Days and Times
Open Mic airs at 7:35 a.m. Fridays - KUAC also archives Open Mic commentaries on our web site.
How to submit an Open Mic Commentary:
Send a written copy of your commentary, including:
- Your name
- Name of the organization you are representing (if relevant).
- Your address
- Phone number where we can reach you,
- Email address.
- Description of yourself (e.g., Nenana Railroad worker and 15-year Alaska resident) or your organization in 1-3 sentences.
You can submit commentaries three ways:
- Open Mic, c/o KUAC, P.O. Box 755620, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-5620
- by email at: kuacnews@kuac.org
- Via the web form below
Your commentary should be submitted by Monday at 5 p.m. to be considered for broadcast on Friday
Commentaries are limited to three minutes, which roughly runs 300 words or less. Your opinion piece cannot contain personal attacks, use inflammatory language or in any way attack someone's reputation. Also, there can be no endorsements or attacks against political candidates during election season, though you can address policies of sitting lawmakers and administrators outside of election season.
Recording Open Mic
If your commentary is accepted for air, be prepared to record it at either KUAC's studio or over the telephone at 10 a.m. on Thursday. When Thursday is a holiday, other recording arrangements may be made.
Keeping Open Mic Open to Everyone
KUAC encourages a diversity of opinions on Open Mic and the station will air up to 52 original Open Mic commentaries a year -- one each week. Opinions from an organization or individual may appear on Open Mic up to six times a year. Sixty days must pass between commentaries from the same organization or individual. Individuals writing on behalf of an organization will represent both the organization and themselves for the sixty day period.
Criteria for Selecting Open Mic Commentaries for Broadcast:
- Commentaries must be original works by the author. They should be between 200-300 words in length. Remember, the total piece is limited to three minutes, so the total number of words will vary depending on your reading style and speed.
- If your opinion piece uses specific figures and statistics, reports from other media, or statements quoted from other people, you must also briefly mention your source of information.
- Commentaries can not include profane language, or make slanderous or libelous statements that damage a person's reputation. Nor can there be calls to action. (For example "write your lawmakers right now" or "come to our meeting.") We encourage you to raise provocative questions and tackle controversial topics; at the same time, your language ought to be thoughtful and measured.
- Commentaries cannot endorse or attack political candidates during election season.
- You can select from a wide range of topics: from personal stories to social commentary or political opinion: We encourage you to express yourself creatively, to persuade, as well as provoke. We further encourage you to address topics in a way that engages other listeners.
KUAC retains the right to select and edit pieces for broadcast (acceptance of a submission does not guarantee broadcast).
KUAC may ask you to edit your commentary for the following reasons: length, language (see number 2, 3, and 4 above), and how it sounds when read aloud. Topic, style and tone are up to you.
KUAC will make every effort to give authors advance notice of when their commentary will be broadcast. You will retain ownership of your commentary. However, you are granting KUAC the license to duplicate, display, transmit, etc. your essay in all media. We are requesting these rights so that your thoughts can inspire and inform as many people as possible.
There may be times when KUAC receives more commentaries than it can air at any given time. When this happens, KUAC will use the following criteria to select commentaries for the air:
- Are submission guidelines followed?
- Is this a commentary from a person or group we haven't heard from before? We will give more weight to commentaries from people and organizations that are new to KUAC's public commentary opportunity.
- Is the commentary timely? We will give more weight to commentaries that refer to current events or issues.
- Has some other commentary already talked about the opinion or subject? KUAC accepts submissions from more than one listener or organization on the same topic as long as it furthers the discussion.
Commentaries not broadcast based on the above points may be considered for future airtimes.
Finally, you grant KUAC a non-exclusive, assignable, royalty-free, perpetual world-wide permanent license to duplicate, display, distribute, excerpt or transmit the commentary in any format or media known or hereafter known. KUAC shall have the right to own or register copyrights to any works or compilations created by "Open Mic" that contain the essay in whole or in part.
You agree to indemnify and hold KUAC harmless against any claims asserted by any third parties that allege the essay violates their rights, or from any breach by you of your promises in this agreement. You shall be responsible for any costs incurred by KUAC for defense or settlement of third party claims, including but not limited to KUAC's reasonable attorneys' fees.
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