Editorial Guidelines and Operations Manual THIS MANUAL BELONGS TO _________________________________ Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air. – Henry Anatole Grunwald WBER ‘S PROGRAMMING AND OPINIONS ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF BEREA COLLEGE Adopted July 15, 2015 Dr. Billy Wooten Communication & Broadcast Journalism Program CONTACT US PREFACE STUDIO PHONE NUMBERS WELCOME TO WBER (All are area code 859) WBER – Berea College Broadcast Journalism and Radio WBER Radio Request Line 985-4206 Program operates under the auspices of Berea’s You are not required to play every, or even any, listener Communication Program and should NOT be considered requests. Your primary responsibility is to keep the radio station on the air. Answering the telephone is a student-run endeavor by the College. It should be always secondary. Never be abusive, inflammatory or understood that WBER is a co-curricular laboratory tied insulting in any way to a caller. directly to the Communication Program’s academic curriculum. The learning laboratory offers students the WBER Control Room 985-4212 opportunities afforded to industry professionals, This line is located in the Production Studio Control Room including journalistic reporting, video and audio and should be used to contact the WBER News Division production, lighting design, audio design, etc.; however, creative control and oversight rests with the faculty in Dr. Wooten’s office 985-3762 Never give this number on the air. the program. It should also be noted that the faculty intentionally chose to maintain WBER as an academic Fax line 985-3906 laboratory so that it remains under the protection This is our fax line. If someone calls and wants to send a fax, afforded by academic freedom, to ensure that the press give them this number. The fax machine is in the Draper is free of censorship, as long as the guidelines and ethics Building business office, so please keep in mind you will of journalistic integrity explained later in this manual only be able to access it during regular business hours. are maintained. All parties are aware that editorial Dr. Wooten’s cell phone 404-402-4117 freedom entails a corollary obligation under the canons Call in case of emergency and NEVER give this number out of responsible journalism and applicable regulations of on the air. the Federal Communications Commission. MAILING ADDRESS All WBER communications and their hosting sites shall WBER explicitly state that the opinions expressed are not c/o Dr. Billy Wooten necessarily those of Berea College. 101 Chestnut Street CPO 2073 This manual is designed as: Berea, KY 40404 STUDIO LOCATION 1. A training manual for best journalism practices 110 Stephenson Building (between Stephenson and Edwards) 2. A guide on journalism ethics and values 3. A guide about what good broadcasting is and MANUAL PRODUCED BY how to do good radio Dr. Billy Wooten 4. A guide to studio policies and procedures Prof. of Communication & Broadcast Journalism 5. A guide to Federal Communications Division Chair of Communication, English, Foreign Commission (FCC) regulations. Languages, Music, and Theatre [email protected] Each studio member is responsible for being familiar Draper 208 with all information contained in this manual. 985-3762 2 | WBER OPERATIONS MANUAL INTRODUCTION Classroom lectures and in-studio training, along with this manual, are designed to provide maximum free choice and self-responsibility in accomplishing your goals at WBER and preparing for post- Berea. The goal of the WBER training program is to prepare students to be DJs, reporters, production Berea BJR Student Caroline Arthur reporting the news at WKYT in specialists, and anchors at WBER Lexington, KY during her Summer 2014 Internship and beyond. Your faculty (Dr. Billy Wooten and Dr. Jacob Dickerson) will provide in-class direction and exercises meant to prepare you for your work at WBER, but you will also be trained by current WBER student workers in a one-on- one Contents in-studio capacity. While this manual contains a Intro History of WBER ............................................................. 4 wealth of information, there is no way the training program can cover 1 Mission and Organization ............................................. 5 everything you need to know. If at any point you have a question or 2 WBER Staff Positions…………………………………………………. 5 need clarification, just ask. We’re happy to help. 3 WBER Student Positions……………………………………………. 6 4 WBER Programming………………………………………………... 7 5 PSA Submissions & Guidelines…………………………………… 8 6 WBER’s Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics……………. 9 7 The FCC and its Regulations ....................................... 11 8 WBER’s Best Practices in Broadcasting………………………. 13 9 WBER Student Code of Conduct ................................ 16 10 How To Be A Good DJ .................................................... 19 11 Links to Archived WBER Work……………………………….. 21 12 On-Air Studio Checklist .............................................. 22 WBER OPERATIONS MANUAL | 3 INTRODUCTION THE HISTORY OF WBER – Berea College News & Radio Berea College digital news has come a long way in a very short period of time. Since 2002, Communication students have requested Berea increase its media production offerings, particularly in the area of journalism and radio. Summer 2011 brought a perfect storm for making this drea m a reality. Reflecting on the rise of digital media in American education and pop culture, Berea College President Larry Shinn announced support for faculty to go through a visioning process and brainstorm ways that we could enhance our digital media footprint. Once the call was issued, Communication and Theatre faculty met with President Shinn the next day to ask for support and funding for enhancing a budding film program and constructing a video production studio to house a new broadcast journalism program and future radio program. With overwhelming support, the President pledged the financial and logistical support to fulfill our vision. We originally had a five year timeframe, but, due to the enthusiasm and support of staff across campus, including Ber ea’s IS&S Division, we were able to construct the facility, pilot new courses, and attract an overwhelming number of interested students all within one year. Berea’s first course in broadcast journalism and entertainment was offered in spring 2012. We now offer beginning and advanced courses in broad news, radio production, graphic design, audio and lighting design, and video editing. In addition to the production studio, we have also worked closely with the College administration and IS&S to construct and offer student editing stations across campus. In fall 2015, Berea College will begin streaming not only broadcast news, radio entertainment (talk and music formats), but we will also make available all student work created since the inception of our program. The website will be launched August 2015. Dr. Billy Wooten and Dr. Deborah Martin, faculty co-founders of Berea’s Video Production Studio 4 | WBER OPERATIONS MANUAL MISSION AND ORGANIZATION WBER MISSION STATEMENT The mission of WBER is to create a more informed community by presenting our audiences with a deeper understanding and appreciation of news and culture. STATEMENT OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ACCESS TO LABOR POSITIONS berea.edu/com Discrimination based upon race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or Visit the Berea sexual orientation is in violation of federal and state law and Berea College policy and will not be tolerated. Communication WBER will follow all College, state and federal procedures, policies and laws regarding equal opportunity Program’s website for employment. information about academic offerings, WBER STAFF POSITIONS including WBER and all media production FACULTY ADVISOR possibilities. You may also link to As WBER is housed under the academic area, our studio does not have a full-time studio an archive of manager staff position; rather the faculty advisor is responsible for the overall operation student work of WBER as a media outlet and as an organization. The faculty advisor is responsible for hosted on editorial justification when needed, oversees programming content, ensures that all WBER’s Vimeo Pro and guidelines and policies are in place and followed, ensures quality programming, oversees Broadwave student labor in the studio laboratory, ensures that quality student learning outcomes are servers. tied to the studio laboratory, and ensures that the academic curriculum is in line with and servicing the student studio laboratory. In addition, other duties are to: • Coordinate and manage all aspects of the studio in compliance with FCC regulations, the WBER training manual and all College policies • Schedule and conduct regular meetings for all student staff • Establish and evaluate semester and/or annual goals • Be available for assistance regarding any aspect of studio operation • Serve as the final authority on any decision internal to studio operations • Approve all expenditures associated with the studio’s day-to-day operations and equipment purchases and upkeep • Retain the right to alter or retract any rule, regulation, or procedure involving the studio • Supervise and hire student labor positions and take disciplinary action as needed • Coordinate all WBER recruitment and