Program Underwriting For Public Radio KTXK-FM

(Effective 9-21-17)

 

This Schedule is intended for businesses who wish to underwrite a news, music, and information programming on Texarkana Public Radio KTXK FM. KTXK has two forms of underwriting available to businesses interested in underwriting. Remember that your underwriting dollars is what keeps this facility on the air and your dollars are tax deductible because we are nonprofit organization. Recent surveys have also shown that  listeners have a more favorable attitude toward a business that underwrites Public Radio.

 

 

Underwriting Within NPR

 

Underwriting within NPR news  6 A.M. - 11 A.M.  AND 1 P.M. - 7 P. M. (All Things Considered and Morning Edition, etc.) for your business on an semi exclusive basis is $3.25 per spot which run during the times of Morning Edition 6 - 9 A.M. and 1A With Joshua Johnson  9 - 11 A.M. and All Things Considered 4 - 7 P.M. Monday thru Friday.

 

Spots running during Think With Krys Boyd, Texas Standard, and On Point from 1 - 4 P.M. Monday Thru Thursday and Science Friday and On Point from 1 - 4 P.M. Friday are $3.25 per spot

 

Spots during the local news at 7:00 and 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. are $5.00 each when available.

 

STARDATE - 2 TIMES DAILY (11:04 A.M. & 7:00 P.M.) SEVEN DAYS A WEEK $150 PER MONTH.

 

ALL RATES ARE NET TO KTXK.

 

YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO ANY CONTRACT WITH KTXK FOR UNDERWRITING PURCHASED.

 

 

Underwriting Opportunities: No, it's not a commercial - it's an Underwriting Acknowledgment!

 

 

Information on becoming an Underwriter

 

 

KTXK-FM is a non-commercial, 100,000 watt, Non-profit radio station licensed to Texarkana College. Unlike commercial stations, we may not sell commercial time to cover operating expenses. We rely on the support of the community we serve to stay on the air. This support may come in many forms. People can volunteer to help out at the station. You could help by organizing or attending fundraisers or buying t-shirts. Maybe you'd even be willing to organize some of these activities. Most of the station's financial support, however, will come from individuals, groups and businesses in the form of underwriting the daily operations of KTXK.

 

Non-commercial radio stations traditionally say "thank you" for this support in the form of underwriting acknowledgements. While the FCC prohibits public service stations from selling commercial time, the commission endorses the use of these acknowledgements as a means for stations to thank those who support them.

 

Most of you are familiar with the underwriting messages that open and close most PBS programs. These non-commercial commercials are known as "enhanced underwriting." Sometimes, they are "very enhanced." They look like commercials, they sound like commercials ... but legally, they aren't commercials. Why? Watch carefully the next time you see one of these messages on PBS. They tell you about a product or a company, but they don't tell you to buy anything the company makes or offers.

 

An underwriting message must stop short of telling the viewer or listener to take some form of action. It may also not be overtly promotional.

 

An Example ...

 

To better understand how underwriting works, let's invent a business: Big Fish Real Estate, Inc. The nice folks at Big Fish wish to support their community radio station. They would also like to let the residents on the lake know that they are good neighbors, a company that cares about the community. They would like to have their underwriting support acknowledged. It's a reasonable request.

 

Every now and then during our broadcast day, we will take time out to acknowledge those who are making public service community radio possible in our area. Acknowledgements will sound something like this:

 

"Portions of KTXK's broadcast day are underwritten by ..." This will be the standard lead-in. A brief series of acknowledgments will follow. This might be Big Fish's message : " ... "Big Fish Real Estate, Inc., has served the real estate needs of Lake Cherokee since 1492. Big Fish realty is a full service realty and brokerage firm for residential, business, and industrial real estate sales. Big Fish is located at 120 East Main Street, somewhere in East Texas and is proud to support community broadcasting. Their phone number is 904 555-4444."

 

The message is a proper underwriting acknowledgment in that it doesn't tell you to do anything. It doesn't suggest you "stop by" 120 East Main Street, it doesn't tell you to call them if you wish to buy a home. It doesn't tell you to "be the first on your block..." In short, there is no "call to action."

 

The FCC frowns on non-commercial radio stations that air commercials. And the FCC's frowns often come with hefty fines attached. Stations can also lose their licenses or have them suspended. KTXK will strictly follow the letter and the spirit of the law when it comes to underwriting messages.

 

Underwriting messages, however, do more than simply acknowledge the support of a business or organization, they provide information many listeners will likely find useful. It's helpful to listeners, for instance, for a restaurant to include its hours of operation and location or the type of food served.

 

A business may also wish to underwrite a specific program airing on KTXK. This will be calculated at the actual cost of airing the program.

 

How to help! If you are interested in helping to support public radio in this community especially the vital job of underwriting the work needed to keep the station on the air - Please contact us now.

 

You can reach us by phone at 903-823-3269 or 903-748-4541. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Privacy Statement: All donations, contributions and other help are kept confidential, unless you desire otherwise. With your permission, we would like to acknowledge you on the air, but we will not make public the amount of your contribution, be it large or small. Most importantly, we will never sell or share your name, address or any other vital information. We respect your privacy. That's a promise.

 

What is not allowed on KTXK-FM Texarkana Public Radio:

  • No comparative statements (e.g. the best, bigger, faster)
  • No qualitative statements which involve subjective evaluation of quality (e.g. fine, great, rich, superb)
  • No price information (including “free”)
  • No call to action statements which direct the audience: to call, to visit, to try, to compare
  • No inducement to buy statements which direct the audience to purchase the product (e.g. free trial period, 2 for 1)
  • No first or second person pronouns (e.g. I, me, you)

 

Announcements may not: interrupt programming, or contain any of the following:

  • comparative language: “best”, “greatest”, “leading”, “award winning”
  • non-identifying verbosity • price information: “free performance”, “as low as $99.00”
  • calls to action: : “visit”, “call”, “read” • inducements to buy, sell or lease: “discounted”, “on sale”, “free”, “special price”, “reduced” • promotional or value laden adjectives: “special,” “wonderful,” “most efficient”
  • first-person words which imply endorsement by announcer: “my”, “our”

 

Non-Profit Entities:

 

If you are a non-profit entity the FCC does allow some relaxation of the rules. They allow us to do more promotion than what is allowed for a for-profit organization. We do need proof of your non-profit status before we can even produce your underwriting announcement.

 

 

If you would like more information on KTXK underwriting package and rates, send e-mail to Steve Mitchell at steve@ktxk.org