[Peace] Public commentaries on WILL

[Kranich, Kimberlie]

> Hi, all.
> 
> On Friday, October 1, WILL-AM 580 will debut a new 3-minute weekly
> commentary slot for the public called "The Public Square."  
> 
> You will start to hear announcements on AM-580 beginning tomorrow and you
> will (hopefully) read about it in area newspapers.
> 
> This Public Square policy was written, revised and finalized by a team
> consisting of Dave Dickey, Jim Meadows, Jay Pearce, Tom Rogers, Jack
> Brighton and me.   
> 
> 
> The policy was also influenced by an earlier commentary policy written
> last April as well as by numerous conversations with AWARE who submitted
> commentaries when we had no formal policy.  Your insistence on a
> nonrestrictive policy that was listener-driven not WILL-dictated helped
> move us forward to where we are now.   It was a growing process that I
> believe benefits WILL and all of our listeners.  I thank the  WILL team
> for their work on this effort and members of AWARE .
> 
> Please feel free to forward the following policy on to listerves and
> individuals.  We encourage and welcome folks of all stripes to submit a
> commentary.  
> 
> The policy is also on our website under the pull-down menu of the "Find a
> WILL program" section on our homepage.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Kimberlie Kranich
WILL Outreach Coordinator 
> *******************************************************
> The Public Square on WILL
> 
> The Public Square is a weekly, 3-minute opinion piece from any AM-580
> listener on any subject of interest to him/her. 
> 
> WILL is one of very few broadcasters that provides listeners direct access
> to other listeners about issues of importance to them. 
> 
> Part of WILL's mission is to stimulate discussion of public issues by
> providing forums for the exchange of ideas and information. WILL radio
> does this daily with our call-in programs.  
> 
> The Public Square is an extension of this service that allows the listener
> to pick the topic s/he would like other listeners to pay attention to.
> This allowance is consistent with our mission to satisfy the needs of the
> audience we serve rather than our own needs as broadcasters or the needs
> of our licensee. Our stations are operated as a public trust.  
> 
> Similar to the public comment section of city council and school board
> meetings  broadcast on cable stations, The Public Square is both an
> outreach and broadcast program that gives a direct voice to our listeners
> and stimulates discussion.
> 
> The Public Square Broadcast Days and Times
> 
> The Public Square airs at 4:45pm on Fridays with repeats at 6:45pm on
> Fridays and  10:59am on Saturdays.  The Public Square commentaries
> submissions are also archived on WILL's website.
> 
> Procedure for Submitting Public Square Commentaries:
> 
> AM-580 listeners will submit their commentary first in writing.  The
> submission must also include the commentator's and/or organization's name
> that the commentator is representing; the commentator's address, phone
> number, and email; and a one-to-three-sentence self-description of the
> commentator and/or organization submitting the commentary.  
> 
> There are three ways to submit commentaries: 
> 
> 1)	The Public Square, c/oWILL, 300 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
> 2)	publicsquare at will.uiuc.edu
> 3)	Via the WILL website, will.uiuc.edu, look for The Public Square in
> the pull down menu on our home page under "Find a WILL program."
> 
> Commentators should submit their work by 5pm on Monday for consideration
> for broadcast the Friday of the same week.
> 
> All commentaries will be limited in length to 3:00 minutes (roughly 300
> words) and must refrain from ad hominem attacks. Commentaries that exceed
> 300 words will be edited for length.
> 
> Recording The Public Square 
> 
> Commentaries will be recorded at the WILL studio or over the telephone,
> whichever is most convenient for the commentator, at 10am on Thursdays.
> When a Thursday is also a holiday, other recording arrangements may be
> made.
> 
> Keeping the Public Square Open to Everyone
> 
> WILL wants to encourage a diversity of opinions in the Public Square and
> will air up to 52 original Public Square commentaries a year -- one each
> week.   Views of organizations or individuals may appear on the Public
> Square 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 count against both the organization and individual
> annual allotments.
> 
> Criteria for Selecting Public Square Commentaries for Broadcast:
> 
> Our criteria are simple.  The Public Square is open to any individual or
> organization that would like to submit a commentary.  We accept opinions
> of all types except those that contain ad hominem attacks.
> 
> There may be instances when WILL receives more commentaries in a given
> month than the total number of available slots.  When this happens, WILL
> will use the following criteria to select commentaries to air: 
> 
> 1)	Is this a commentary from an individual or an organization we have
> not heard from before?  More weight will be given to submissions from
> people and organizations not previously heard from.
> 2)	Is this commentary time sensitive?  More weight will be given to
> commentaries that contain timely opinions.
> 3)	Is this opinion unique or has the opinion expressed already been
> expressed in another commentary?  WILL accepts submissions from more than
> one listener or organization on the same topic as long as it furthers the
> discussion.
> 4)	Were the submission guidelines followed?
> 
> Commentaries that are not aired based on the above criteria, may be
> considered the following month.  All submissions will be archived on our
> website, except those containing ad hominem attacks.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>