Y’all Talk: Submission Guidelines for Commentary
Interested in submitting a commentary to WBHM? Email Gigi Douban at gigi@wbhm.org or Michael Krall at michael@wbhm.org for more information.
Through our new occasional commentary series, “Y’all Talk,” WBHM seeks to broaden our listeners’ perspectives on news and the arts by including voices of the community.
What makes for a good Y’all Talk commentary? For WBHM’s purposes, a commentary is defined as the presentation of personal experience or opinion. Commentary may be connected to the news, but is not to be confused with reporting the news.
Commentators should be expressive and original. Good commentators will have the same qualities as good writers. They should be keen observers, able to describe and read meaning into the small details of life. They should be well-informed and be able to communicate their points clearly and plainly.
Submission Guidelines: WBHM’s News Director and Program Director will consider proposals for “Y’all Talk” commentaries and have the authority to choose which ideas should be developed into commentaries. Where commentaries are directly related to news or public affairs, they should provide illumination or food for thought rather than ax-grinding for a particular cause or group. Commentators must be able to support all statements. Commentators work with the Program Director to edit and refine commentaries for best effectiveness on the radio.
To submit a commentary proposal, send a 3-5 sentence description of your idea to Gigi Douban at gigi@wbhm.org and/or Michael Krall at michael@wbhm.org with the subject “Y’all Talk Commentary Proposal.”
Commentaries and essays should be two to three minute long. Commentators are urged to time their scripts before hand to make sure they fit the time constraints. The reading of the commentary must meet WBHM’s standards.
The General Manager, Program Director and/or News Director have full authority to edit the piece before airing and/or to reject it for broadcast, based on their judgement of what is in the best interest of the station.
Commentaries may be published on our website, broadcast on air, shared through social media, or any combination of the three.
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