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YOUR POCONO ALTERNATIVE

September 8, 1998

Hello! Welcome to 90.3 WESS-FM located in the McGarry Communications Building at East Stroudsburg University. Our staff looks forward to working with you in what will be a very promising year in local college radio.

College radio offers a wealth of benefits for the dedicated students that contribute to the cause. There is often a misconception as to what defines college radio. Put quite simply, its definition is in its lack of definition.

Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, local freeform programming has become increasingly scarce in favor of micromarketing strategies by large radio conglomerates. This has made college radio an evermore crucial medium as the only true "alternative." Without the need to pander to specific demographic groups in order to sell albums and commercials for corporate giants, college radio offers deejays the only true freedom to play anything and everything -- from rock to hip-hop to jazz to spoken word to noise.

As Station Manager and loyal college radio listener, I encourage you to play anything and everything that moves you with no further expectations. Just spread the word and share your knowledge with the rest of the world. Our possibilities of being heard around the world is literally just around the comer via the worldwide we).

Please take some time to get familiar with our constitution and come to me if you have any questions (or if you want to chat about music!!!). I wish you all great success in this sojourn and promise it to be one of the most fulfilling experiences in your life as a student at E. S.U. Together, we can help usher in the- new millennium a little early.

Rock on, Kids!

W. Fulford
Station Manager
WESS Radio. McGarry Communications Center. Fast Stroudsburg. PA 18301 717-422-3Sl2

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                          Page
PREAMBLE                                                    1
ARTICLE I -      Name and Purpose                           1
ARTICLE 11 -     Membership                                 1
ARTICLE III -    Organizational Structure                   1
ARTICLE IV -     Personnel and Duties                       2
ARTICLE V -      Elections                                  4
ARTICLE VI -     Disciplinary Actions                       5
ARTICLE VII -    Contract Engineer                          6
ARTICLE VIII -   University Advisor                         6
ARTICLE IX -     Guidelines, Procedures, Policies           6
ARTICLE X -      Funding Sources 9 ARTICLE XI - Amendments  10
APPENDIX I -     Letter of Commitment                       11

 

GENERAL Information

WESS is a student-run, non-commercial, radio station (90.3 FM) co-licensed to the East Stroudsburg University Council of Trustees and the Student Activity Association. The format of WESS is "diversified" and ranges from modern rock to classical. This station manual is the official WESS constitution.

PREAMBLE

We, the members of East Stroudsburg University (ESU) radio station WESS, do unite to establish and maintain this radio station as a student-run organization and to adopt for its government this constitution.

ARTICLE I - Name and Purpose

Section 1 - Name: The name of the organization shall be the East Stroudsburg University FM radio station with the call letters WESS.

section 2 - Purpose: The purpose of WESS shall be to provide a means of student training and experience in radio broadcasting, and to provide East Stroudsburg University and the surrounding communities with alternative entertainment and educational programming.

ARTICLE II - Membership

Section I Requirements: All current university members (ESU students, faculty, faculty emeritus, staff, and administrators)are eligible to become on-air personnel at the station.

Undergraduate and graduate students of ESU who wish to join the station must maintain a minimum G.P.A. of 2.0 and must not be on academic probation. All on-air personnel are required to be certified by the Training Director according to guidelines set by the Program Director.

Section 2 - Definition: A voting member of WESS is defined as a student enrolled at ESU who fulfills the following qualifications: maintains status as an enrolled ESU student; regularly attends staff meetings, completes scheduled work assignments, and performs duties in accordance with station operations. Any disagreement as to whether a general staff member is a voting member will be decided by an Executive Board plurality vote.

ARTICLE III - Organizational Structure

Section 1 - Chain of Command: The organizational structure and management of WESS will comply with all relevant FCC regulations. The Station Council reports to the Executive Board, which reports to the Administrative Council, which reports to the ESU Council of Trustees and the Student Activity Association.

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section 2 - The Administrative Council shall consist of five officers: Vice President of Student Development or designate (chair), University Advisor, FCC Compliance Officer or designate, WESS Station Manager, and Trustee-At-Large. The Administrative council is responsible for overseeing general operation of the station, ensuring compliance with FCC laws and regulations, assisting in emergency situations, and electing the Station Manager and Program Director.

section 3 - The Executive Board shall consist of the University Advisor and four student officers: Station Manager (chair), Program Director, Music Director, and Promotions Director. The Executive Board is responsible for supervising daily operations of the station. In order to conduct official station business, an Executive Board meeting must be attended by a quorum of at least three Executive Board members. Minutes from Executive Board meetings must be made accessible to all station members.

Section 4 - The Station Council shall consist of the following department heads: Education Director, Public Service Announcement (PSA) Director, News Director, Sports Director, Music Librarian, Student Engineer, Log Director, Business Manager, Training Director, Secretary, and Production Director.

ARTICLE IV - Personnel and Duties

Station Manager - The Station Manager of WESS serves as the chief administrative officer of the radio station and is responsible to the University Advisor and the Administrative Council for all matters relating to operation of the radio station. The Station Manager develops and maintains policies to encourage a smooth operation of the station, recruits new station members, exclusively distributes regular postal mail to station officers' mail boxes, signs out equipment to staff for mobile disc jockeying, disciplines members violating station or FCC regulations, and provides PIN numbers to members for access to the station.

Program Director - The Program Director is responsible for all aspects of program development and direction, including broadcast hours, on-air personnel, and program slots. The Program Director determines what content is suitable for on-air programming. The Program Director oversees the work of the Music Director, Education Director, Production Director, News Director and Sports Director as it relates to on-air programming.

Music Director - The Music Director is responsible for compiling playlists and communicating with recording and distribution companies for promotional albums. The Music Director is entitled to appoint assistant music directors if he/she so desires to survey the music needs of the WESS staff, create music rotation policy, and ensure that the station is reporting to College Music Journal on a consistent basis. The Music Director works in close contact with the Music Librarian.

 

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Promotions Director - The Promotions Director is responsible for flyers, t-shirts, bumper stickers, remotes and other materials or events that present a positive image of the station to the campus and community. The Promotions Director is also responsible for securing sponsorships.

Education Director - The Education Director is responsible for developing and scheduling programs including talk shows, interview shows, documentaries, syndicated shows, and other educational programs.

News Director - The News Director is responsible for developing and administrating all aspects of news coverage. The News Director is responsible in training news writers and announcers in the station's news format. The News Director works in close contact with the Sports Director.

Sports Director - The Sports Director is responsible for organizing and coordinating all sports programming, including sports news, sports talk shows, and play-by-play broadcasts.

PSA Director - The Public Service Announcement Director is responsible for soliciting campus and off-campus public service announcement material, ensuring that incoming material is formatted to radio style, and stocking the PSA basket in the on-air studio with current announcements.

Log Director - The Log Director is responsible for photocopying log sheets and playlist sheets from the masters when needed, stapling and labeling these sheets ahead of time for on-air programming, and collecting, compiling, and filing these sheets in the main office for compliance with FCC regulations.

Student Engineer - The Student Engineer aids the Contracting Engineers when appropriate in the maintenance and installation of equipment necessary to ensure a smooth technical operation of the station. The Student Engineer is responsible for cleaning tape heads on cart machines, reel-to-reel machines and cassette decks.

Training Director - The Training Director is responsible for training new members in the station manual, the operation of equipment, and performance of duties related to FCC and station regulations. The Training Director is responsible for accepting demo tapes and approving or denying certification of a deejay to go on the air. The certification guidelines are set by the Program Director.

Production Director - The Production Director is responsible for approving and producing cart tapes containing PSAS, promos, station ids, sign on sign off messages, and sponsorships before they can be placed in the on-air cart rack.

 

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Music Librarian - The Music Librarian is responsible for organizing and keeping an inventory of the station's collection of music, sound effects and other material useful to on-air programming.

Business Manager - The Business Manager (or Treasurer) is responsible for monitoring financial records for the station, including sponsorship contracts, purchase requisitions and line-item totals. The Business Manager works closely with the Promotions Director and Station Manager.

ARTICLE V - Elections

section 1 - Qualifications: All Station Council positions, as well as the Executive Board positions of Music Director and Promotions Director, are elected by the voting members. The Station Manager and Program Director are interviewed and selected by the Administrative Council. In order to qualify for an Executive Board position, a candidate must have completed two semesters with WESS prior to the day on which he or she takes office. This requirement may be waived through a plurality vote by the Executive Board. In the case where a present member of the Administrative Council is running also for an Executive Board position, an alternative station member will take the place on the Executive Board interviews to avert a conflict of interest. The next eligible member from the following list will be selected as the alternative member: Music Director, Promotions Director, Secretary.

section 2 - Procedures: An candidate sign-up sheet must be posted at the station at least three weeks in advance of the election. Elections are held the fourth Thursday in April, and officers officially begin their duties on the last day of the Spring semester. Preceding the election, the University Advisor will preside over a staff meeting where candidates can state their plans for the position they would like to hold. Voting then takes place by private ballot from 9:00am to 5:00pm on election day. Voters in the election are comprised of student staff members who have attended at least two meetings per semester; exceptions to the two-meeting rule must be approved by the Station Manager. Votes are counted by the Station Manager and University Advisor on election-day evening. Position holders will be determined by a simple plurality of all members voting in the election. The Station Manager posts a list of new position holders at the station the following day. In the case of a tie, Executive Board positions will be decided by a run-off election to be held before the end of spring semester, and Station Council positions will be decided by an Executive Board vote.

 

Section 3 - Resignation: Any station member may resign at any time by submitting a letter of resignation to the Executive Board. Vacated Station Council positions are appointed by the Station Manager. Vacated Executive Board positions will be filled by an Executive Board vote once interested candidates have submitted their names to the Board. If either the Station Manager or Program Director resigns, an interim replacement will be appointed by the University Advisor until the next Administrative Council interview and selection meeting can be held.

Section 4 - Removal: As decided by an Executive Board plurality vote, any member can be removed from a Station Council position or elected Executive Board position for failing to carry out the position's respective duties described in this manual. Upon the recommendation of the Executive Board, the Station Manager or Program Director may be removed by an Administrative Council plurality vote for failing to carry out respective duties.

ARTICLE VI Disciplinary Actions

Section I Station members who violate this constitution, station procedures, FCC regulations, or policies governing use of the building will be disciplined. The Station Manager will implement all disciplinary actions. The level of discipline will consist of one of three actions, depending on the nature of the offense.

Section 2 - Warnings: The person will be warned as to the infraction, with the implication that repeating the infraction will result in a more severe disciplinary action. A letter of warning will be sent to the person with an explanation of why the warning was issued, and a copy of the letter will be retained for station records. Appeals may be made to the Executive Board.

Section 3 - Suspensions: The person will be suspended from membership at the station and from entering the station for a time period in accordance with the severity of the offense. A letter of suspension will be sent to the person with an explanation of why the suspension was made, and a copy of the letter will be retained for station records. Appeals may be made to the Executive Board.

Section 4 - Expulsions: The person in question will be permanently barred from membership in the station and from entering the station. A letter of expulsion will be sent to the person with an explanation of why the expulsion was made., while a second copy of the letter will be retained for station records, and a third copy of the letter forwarded to the Vice President for Student Development. Appeals may be made to the Executive Board.

 

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ARTICLE VII - Contract Engineer

The duties of the Contract Engineer shall be agreed to by the Contract Engineer(s) and the Administrative Council, and shall be signed by the Director of the Student Activities Association on behalf of WESS radio. The contract engineer is responsible for repairing and maintaining equipment, and, in concert with the FCC Compliance Officer, for making sure the station adheres to all relevant FCC laws and regulations.

ARTICLE VIII - University Advisor

The University Advisor is approved by the Vice President for Student Development and serves as the primary link between the university administration and the station. The University Advisor reports directly to the Vice President for Student Development. The University Advisor works in close contact with the Station Manager and Program Director on all matters that have a direct bearing upon the station and the university. The University Advisor acquires resources for the station and student staff, helps to mediate disputes when necessary, assists in the fiscal operation of the station, and gives guidance on personnel matters that impact the functioning of the station.

ARTICLE IX Guidelines, Procedures and Policies

Section I Access to Facilities: All station members will be provided access to the on-air studio, lounge area, conference room, production studio, and music library, through a personal identification number (PIN) provided by the Station Manager. Only Executive Board members will be provided access to the station offices area through a key available to be signed out from campus police or issued directly to the member. Non-

Executive Board members must be accompanied by an Executive Board member in the station offices area.

Section 2 - Getting a Show: The procedure for getting a show is to (1) receive training from the Training Director, (2) practice a show on your own in the training/production studio, (3) record a demo tape and submit it to the Training Director's mail box, (4) if approval of the demo tape is received, contact the Program Director for a time slot, (5) read, sign and turn in the Letter of Commitment at the end of this manual, and (6) contact the Station Manager for a PIN number to gain access to the station.

Section 3 - Operating Hours: The station is required by the FCC to operate at least 36 hours per week, consisting of at least 5 hours of operation per day and must always operate when the university is officially in session.

Section 4 - EBS/EAS Test: Ail on-air station members are required by the FCC to know how to conduct an Emergency Broadcast Test (soon to be renamed Emergency Alert System), and how to operate the EBS/EAS equipment in an actual emergency. The FCC

 

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requires WESS to conduct one EBS/EAS test per week.

Section 5 - General Program Policy: The overriding principle of the station's program format is "good taste." The microphone is not to be used as a personal mouthpiece but as means of informing or entertaining the general listening audience. FCC regulations stipulate that no material be broadcast that is judged by the listening audience to be indecent, obscene or profane be broadcast. These restrictions apply both to what the broadcaster says and plays. Any WESS staff member who violates these regulations risks the station's license to operate and may serve as the recipient of a fine in an amount determined by the FCC. There is also the possibility, depending on the severity of the offense, that the staff member would be prosecuted in court.

Section 6 - Scheduling of Shows: The Program Director will give priority for scheduling on-air shows to university members (current ESU students, faculty, faculty emeritus, staff, administrators) based on their seniority with the station.

Section 7 - Obscenity Policy: Any member found to be broadcasting vulgarities will be suspended or expelled, depending on the severity of the offense. Vulgarities include, but are not limited to, "shit, piss, fuck, cunt, motherfucker, cocksucker, bitch, asshole, bastard, son-of-a-bitch and goddamnit." Vulgarities also include medical terms such as "penis" and "rectum" used in a non-medical context. The Station Manager will decide whether or not remarks are deemed to be potentially obscene.

Section 8 - Sexism Policy: Any member found to be broadcasting sexist remarks will be suspended or expelled, depending on the severity of the offense. Sexism is defined as "discrimination or bias because of gender." Examples include "She's a woman so she belongs in the kitchen," and "He's a pig, like all men." The Executive Board will decide by a plurality vote whether or not remarks are deemed to be potentially sexist.

Section 9 - Racism Policy: Any member found to be broadcasting racist remarks will be suspended or expelled, depending on the severity of the offense. Racism is defined as "discrimination or bias because of race." Examples include words like "nigger" or "spic," phrases like "slanty-eyed gook," and other more subtle racist terminology. The Executive Board will decide by a plurality vote whether or not remarks are deemed to be potentially racist.

Section 10 - Libel Policy: Any member found to be libeling someone over the air will be suspended or expelled, depending on the severity of the offense. Libel is defined as "broadcasting false or undocumented information about someone's character, the effect of which is to damage that person's livelihood." Examples include "Smith's Shoe Store sells the crappiest shoes in town," and "Doctor Jones has affairs with all his patients." The

 

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Executive Board will decide by a plurality vote whether or not remarks are deemed to be potentially libelous.

Section 11 - Callers on the Air: Show hosts who wish to put non-member phone callers on the air must receive prior approval from the Program Director. All non-member phone callers put on the air must be run through the 6.8 second delay unit, activated on the control board. WESS staff members may be put on the air through phone calls without prior approval or without the delay unit. FCC regulations state that all callers must be notified that they will be put on the air, before they are put on the air.

Section 12 - Miscellaneous Rules:

Committee Service: Each member is expected to perform 1 hour of community service per week, in a department of his or her choice (e.g. programming, music, promotions, education, news).

Satellite Downlink: All on-air operators (deejays) are expected to follow the correct procedures for establishing the satellite downlink when they sign off the air. The directions for establishing the downlink are posted in the on-air studio. The satellite downlink ensures that WESS broadcasts 24 hours a day. In the event that there is an equipment failure preventing the satellite downlink from being established, deejays must power down the transmitter (directions are on the transmitter remote control in the on-air studio) and notify the station manager immediately.

station Equipment: No station property, including albums, CDs, cassette tapes and reel-to-reels, may be taken from the station, with the exception of sign-outs for remotes and other events approved beforehand by the Station Manager. The remote equipment must be brought back to the station immediately after the remote event. If a member is found to be taking property from the station, the member may be suspended and/or prosecuted, procedures may be initiated for dismissal from the university, and the member may be billed for replacement.

Equipment Repair: Members are not authorized to repair equipment at any time. Members are asked to recognize that most radio equipment is extremely sensitive and should be maintained only by the contracting engineers. Routine studio equipment failures (cart machines, turntables, etc.) are to be reported immediately to the Station Manager and Student Engineer. The Station Manager must then report the failures to the University Advisor. Major equipment failures (transmitter outages, electrical failure, etc.) must be reported to the FCC Compliance Officer.

Fire, Safety, and Security: Smoking of any kind is not permitted in the building where WESS is housed. The placement of any material in the fire stairwell or hallways is not allowed. If a fire alarm goes off, members should exit the building immediately; the disc jockey on the air should shut down the

 

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transmitter, check all areas of WESS, close all station doors in a quick manner, and report the alarm immediately to the campus police.

Cleanliness: Members are expected to keep the station facilities clean, neat, and in an orderly fashion. Any member found to be defacing station property and/or station facilities will be prosecuted or billed for the damage.

Food and Drink: No food or drink is allowed in the on-air or production studios. Food and non-alcoholic beverages only are allowed in the WESS offices and lounge area. Members eating or drinking in these areas must dispose of the trash immediately when they are finished.

Visitors: The on-air operator may have no more than two non-member visitors in the station. Exceptions to this rule in the case of band interviews and similar situations must be approved beforehand by the Program Director or Station Manager. The on-air operator is responsible for anything the visitors might say over the air or do while in the studio, and for any items that go missing during the operator's show while visitors are on the premises.

Missed Shows: On-air operators who have to miss a show must first find their own replacement from the WESS staff list. Only if the on-air operator cannot find a replacement, should the operator solicit the help of the Program Director at least 48 hours in advance of the show to find a replacement. An on-air operator may find a replacement for his or her show who is a certified deejay (including alumnus), after clearing that person with the program director, and as long as the replacement does not substitute for more than two shows in a row.

Lockers:  Lockers are to be assigned by the Station Manager to Executive Board and Station Council members on an as-needs basis.

ARTICLE X- Funding Sources

Section 1- Student Activities Association (SAA): The chief source of the station's funding for Fall and Spring semesters is the Student Activities Association. The station's budget proposals are submitted annually by the University Advisor with the Executive Board's consent on the date specified by SAA.

Section 2 - Student Development: The source of the station's funding for the Summer months is the Summer's Activity Budget distributed by the Office of Student Development. The station's budget proposals are due annually on the date specified by the Vice President for Student Development.

 

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Section 3 - Sponsorships: The station may raise funds or acquire goods and services in exchange for sponsored on-air programs as long as the arrangement meets FCC regulations for non-commercial radio. The number of sponsorships as well as the dollar value of goods and services required are determined by an Executive Board plurality vote. Sponsorships must not promote products or services, must not give prices, must not urge listeners to do anything, and must not run more than 30 seconds. In essence, sponsorships can only provide basic information on a sponsoring product or service.

Section 4 - Other Fundraising: The station may raise funds or acquire goods and services through other means such as hired disc jockeying or donation solicitation. The requirements for such arrangements will be decided by an Executive Board plurality vote.

ARTICLE XI - Amendments

Proposed amendments to this constitution must be submitted to the Executive Board for discussion and a plurality vote. Amendments to the constitution must be ratified by the Student Senate.

 

Appendix I

WESS 90.3 FM DEEJAY COMMITMENT

This letter of commitment must be signed and turned in to the Station Manager before operating the on-air control board or conducting a radio show.

I, ______________ , have read the preceding

Station Manual for WESS 90.3 FM and understand all of the provisions set forth. I understand that I take full responsibility for the comprehension and fulfillment of the procedures and rules described in the manual. I understand that i f I do not comply with the policies set forth in this manual, I may be warned, suspended, or expelled from the station.

I understand that it is also my responsibility to approach any the members of the Executive Board to clarify any points of the Station Manual that are unclear to me; failure to do will result in the assumption that I fully understand all aspects of the policies and procedures of WESS 90.3 FM, the FCC regulations that apply to the station, and the policies that govern the use of the building where WESS 90.3 FM is housed.

Date:

Printed Name:

Signed Name:
 
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