Are you interested in helping BrokenFM financially? There are a few ways to do that and one of them is to become and Underwriter. What is an Underwriter? That is a person who donates a some money to us and we thank them my mentioning their name on the air. The name we mention can be their business or their personal name, all up to the person who donates.
We have a set of rules that the FCC wants us to follow and we do our best to stay in that rule set because we don’t want to get in trouble. The rules we follow are:
RULES FOR UNDERWRITING SPOTS
Broken FM is prohibited from broadcasting any promotional announcements on behalf of for-profit entities at any time in exchange (in whole or in part) for any consideration of any kind. Broken FM may broadcast announcements which identify and acknowledge non-profit and/or for-profit entities (“underwriters”, to the cognoscenti) who contribute to the station’s operations, monetarily or otherwise.Underwriter announcements may identify the for-profit contributor and the goods or services which it offers, but those announcements may not “promote” those goods or services.
A prohibited “promotion” usually involves one or more of the following elements:
1) NO PRICE INFORMATION
Underwriter announcements may not contain any information about pricing. Particular prices of any goods or services, indications of savings or monetary value associated with the goods or service, special discount offers that might be available – they’re all to be avoided.2) NO COMPARISON
Underwriter announcements may not contain any information about pricing. Particular prices of any goods or services, indications of savings or monetary value associated with the goods or service, special discount offers that might be available – they’re all to be avoided.3) NO CALLS TO ACTION
Language which encourages the audience to patronize the underwriter is also verboten. “Stop by our showroom” or “Try our product the next time you’re in the market” or “Call us today for more information” – steer clear of them all.4) NO SPECIAL INDUCEMENTS
This tends to bridge the first two elements, above. Think things like “We’re giving a special bonus to customers who sign up this week” or “Free samples to the first 50 callers” or “Preholiday discounts now in effect”.5) NO QUALITATIVE OR PROMOTIONAL LANGUAGE
This is where things tend to get fuzzy. You’re supposed to avoid language which appears to promote the qualitative desirability of the underwriter’s goods or services – for instance, “comparative” references stating or implying that the underwriter’s goods/services are somehow preferable (“the best plumbers in town” or “cheaper than everybody else” or “largest service department”). The prohibition also extends to language which goes beyond the mere identification of the underwriter’s goods or services. For example, you could say that an underwriter “provides a full line of widget products”, but not that that underwriter “provides a full line of widget products in a rainbow of beautiful colors and wonderful textures guaranteed to delight the eye and stay within your budget”.
We understand the rules are long and boring but they are the only way we can put your spot on the air. Based off of those rules we have a formula for creating spots the fits the guidelines very well:
Broken FM is sponsored by <Name of business>, specializing in <everything you specialize in>.
<Name of business> is located at <location> and can be contacted at <e-mail or web address>.
or at <telephone number or e-mail address>.
We can tweak it a little bit but we are limited on what we can say. As for pricing, please download this info packet and be sure to talk to us if you have any issues or questions!
CONTACT INFORMATION
korb@broken.fm
707-526-2765
PAYMENT ADDRESS
Broken FM
P.O. Box 1118
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
