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KEDM Copy Guidelines

KEDM Copy Points for On-air and Web Sponsorships

These guidelines seek to preserve the non-commercial nature of 90.3 KEDM Public Radio. 

We are governed by regulations and policies pertaining to non-commercial broadcasts adopted by the Federal Communications Commission and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  In addition, our listeners value this characteristic as part of what makes our public radio service unique in sound and substance.

It's critical that, in addition to providing exceptional programming, we maintain a non-commercial, uncluttered and intelligent environment, keep listeners engaged during breaks, and air underwriting announcements and serve web sponsorships that are consistent with our programming values, journalistic ethics as a newsgathering organization, and with FCC and other federal requirements. 

Your underwriting support represents a partnership between your organization and KEDM, and demonstrates your commitment to community service and quality programming.

An announcement or web sponsorship must identify the underwriter, but it may not promote the underwriter or its services, facilities or products.  It may not express the underwriter’s views on any matter of public interest or importance.  It may not support or oppose any political candidate.  And, it must be scheduled so as not to interrupt a station’s regular programming. 

In addition to these legal requirements, underwriting announcements and web sponsorships must not undermine the non-commercial nature of our station.  To maintain the consistency of our sound, all messages are prerecorded by a station voice.

KEDM reserves the right to determine that an underwriter and/or the content of a proposed announcement are inconsistent with the station’s mission or would undermine community support for the station.  In such cases, KEDM may decline the underwriting.

The length of the announcement following "Support for KEDM comes from:" may not exceed 65 syllables including the name of the business or organization.  Each syllable in a web address counts as one syllable including “dot”.  A 7-digit telephone number counts as seven syllables.

KEDM Underwriting Announcements and Web Sponsorship may:

  • Describe your business.
  • Identify facilities, services, products or product lines (no more than a total of three mentions per announcement).
  • Describe your organization’s mission.  In some cases, this may be the mission statement.  However, if the language of a mission statement conflicts with the station policies outlined above, we will suggest alternative wording to describe your organization’s mission for purposes of the underwriting announcements and/or web sponsorships.
  • Inform the public of events you sponsor.
  • Include a corporate slogan, as long as is meets guidelines and is not promotional.
  • Include a street address and a web address or telephone number.
  • Indicate the number of years you have been in business.
  • Include the name of a non-profit organization you support, although it must be clear that you are providing the funding for the announcement, and the announcement cannot describe the activities of the sponsored non-profit organization.

Please note, per FCC guidelines and KEDM policy, Underwriting Announcements and Web Sponsorship may NOT include:

  • Qualitative language (e.g., award winning, leading, Pulitzer Prize Winner, etc.) or state facts that cannot be proven ("fun-filled," "enjoyable," "long awaited," "by popular demand").
  • Comparative language (e.g., better, best, oldest, largest, etc.)
  • A call to action (“Visit our store…” “Call xxx…,” "stop by," "email," "visit," etc.)
  • An inducement to buy, sell, rent or lease ("while supplies last," "special gift," "limited offer," etc.)
  • Credentials ("board certified," "award winning," etc.)
  • References to price or value ("just $19.95 a month," "free," "10% off," "no down payment," etc.)
  • Language that would be perceived as controversial to a “reasonable listener.”
  • Endorsements ("recommended by the New York Times," "the Wall Street Journal Says," "U.S. News & World Report's Top 10," etc.)
  • Personal pronouns (you, yours, we, ours, etc.).
  • Contain language advocating political, religious or social causes.
  • Contain language related to lotteries, casinos or gambling.
  • Contain dramatic, shocking or disturbing language.

Underwriting Entities: Political Organizations, Advocacy Groups, Etc.

Political Organizations: To respect the FCC prohibition against accepting payment for the expression of any “views,” KEDM does not accept underwriting from political organizations, nor will it accept a message advocating a position with respect to a controversial issue, a political party or a candidate for office. 

Advocacy Groups: Underwriting by organizations that, as a significant function or mission, seek to influence matters of public concern, either through public outreach on a matter or through affecting the legislative process, is permitted under appropriate circumstances and under appropriate conditions.  Underwriting by such groups will be taken on a case-by-case basis, applying a “reasonable” listener standard.  While there is no prohibition in these rules against underwriting by advocacy groups, in no circumstances will the language of an underwriting announcement express an opinion on matters of public concern or otherwise advocate positions on controversial matters.  All announcements and web sponsorship are subject to approval by KEDM’s management.

Religiously Affiliated Organizations: Underwriting by churches or other religiously affiliated groups is acceptable.  However, given that KEDM Public Radio’s listeners’ religious affiliations and views vary, care must be given to ensure that underwriting messages are appropriate to the context of public radio, consistent with our publicly-supported mission and funding profile, and not unacceptable to those listeners who may not share an underwriter’s religious perspective.  A reasonable listener test will be applied under these circumstances.  The guidelines set forth above concerning advocacy groups would are equally applicable to religiously affiliated organizations. In addition, proselytizing language or other language intended to draw distinctions between different religions is unacceptable for underwriting announcements on KEDM Public Radio.

Editorial Control

As a publicly funded, noncommercial station and as a news organization, KEDM exercises absolute editorial control over underwriting announcement copy and reserves the right to edit copy to conform to station and FCC guidelines and to take into account real or perceived conflicts of interest.  KEDM Public Radio reserves the right of full editorial control over the content of underwriting announcements in order to ensure that they adhere to the standards set forth above and the standards that KEDM Public Radio’s listeners and supporters expect from all our broadcast material. 

KEDM Public Radio reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate any underwriting campaign (or to require a change in the copy for underwriting announcements) for reasons relating to journalistic integrity; real or perceived conflicts of interest; conclusions that a reasonable listener might draw about the relationship between an underwriter and any KEDM personnel, news coverage, or program; or serving the public interest.

Wording for underwriting message acknowledgments is worked out by the contributing entity or their representative agency and the Development staff of KEDM Public Radio. This wording is also subject to approval by KEDM Public Radio’s management.

Conflicts of Interest

Underwriters and sponsors, and the content of underwriting announcements and web sponsorships, deemed by KEDM Public Radio to present a potential, actual, or perceived conflict of interest will be considered by KEDM Public Radio on a case-by-case basis.  In considering whether a potential, actual, or perceived conflict of interest exists, KEDM Public Radio will exercise its good faith judgment as a news organization and as guided by how a reasonable listener might view the relationship between, on the one hand, the underwriter/sponsor or underwriting announcement/web sponsorship content and, on the other hand, the KEDM Public Radio personnel, news coverage, program, journalist sources, on-air guests, etc. 

Web Sponsorships

KEDM offers business sponsors the opportunity to reach KEDM listeners directly through web sponsorships. Web sponsorships are accepted with the same restrictions as on air sponsorships.

For more information, contact Cindy Wolff Barnes at 318.372.6075.

kedm_copy_guidelines.pdf