PSA Guidelines

• Don't include Calls to Action
  As a public radio station, KZSC cannot directly command or urge listeners to carry out an action. Instead of "Come on Down", "Stop By", or "Check out", try "You are invited to.." or other neutral wording.

• Don't mention Price or Cost
  As a public radio station, KZSC cannot mention prices. "Ticket information is available at 420-4334" is preferable to "Tickets are Available for $5" or "Parking is $42" or even "Seniors are Half Price".

• State only Facts
  PSA's can only contain value-neutral wording. Words such as Best, Interesting, Fun, Entertaining, and High Quality are all statements of opinion, and can only be used in quotations such as "The Examiner-Chronicle-Times has called the Bonny Doon Bi-annual Llama Rodeo and Wine Tasting the Best Entertainment on a Tuesday Night!", assuming it has been published.

• Keep it Short and Fluid!
  PSAs should be thirty to sixty seconds long (about 60-100 words). Long PSA's are less likely to be chosen by on-air staff due to time constraints and incompatibility to show format.  Also, please keep your wording easy to follow: short sentences, no long clauses, et cetera.  PSA's  are generally read by on-air staff directly off the original submission, leaving no time for impromptu sentence composition.

• Provide pronunciation (pro-NUN-see-A-shun) of difficult words and names.
  Field-specific, foreign, or technical words can be difficult to figure out on the fly.

• Include all dates, times, and contact information
  People need to know, right?

• Don't submit Press Releases, Brochures, etc.
  Due to the volume of PSA's received by KZSC, we lack the resources necessary to convert press releases, brochures, calendars, and posters into ready-to-air Public Service Announcements.  Please convert these into PSAs before submittal.

To learn how to submit your perfected PSA, go to our PSA page.