Tell us in 60 seconds: What makes your community unique?
Nobody knows your community like you do. KUOW wants to share your voice.
We're looking for new voices and surprising stories. The catch? You only have one minute.
Is there a hip hop crew in your neighborhood that's reinventing the electric slide? Are your teammates on your football team grappling with the #MeToo movement in unexpected ways? Is your Nextdoor app buzzing with a spectacular disagreement about raccoons?
Community can mean a lot of things. Maybe it means the neighborhood where you live. Or maybe it's the LGBTQ community. Or Seattle's startup community. The Vietnamese community. The Muslim community. The service industry community. Your school community. Your neighborhood’s public garden community. Community can mean whatever it means to you.
Community Commentaries are like op ed articles for radio.
Here's some tips for sharing a one-minute glimpse into your community with us.
• Start your commentary by saying your name, where you live, and the sentence: “In my community…” (This is Jane Doe from First Hill in Seattle. In my community…)
• The segment must be truthful and accurate
• The segment must be original
• Emphasize local and regional issues (rather than national or international)
• To start out, ask yourself the following questions: Why is this important to me right now? What do people not understand about this? Why should people care about this? Does it challenge or surprise us? Is it introducing a new, seldom heard voice to the airwaves?
• Please do not include any personal attacks
• Your commentary should not be promotional in nature
• It should be 75 seconds or less (60 seconds is ideal)
• After you save your audio piece, email the audio and the written script to engage@kuow.org
Here's how to submit your clip for Community Commentaries.
- Record your one-minute clip about what makes your community unique. For tips on recording quality audio on your phone, check out this NPR guide.
- Email the audio clip and the text of your commentary to engage@kuow.org. Please paste the text into the body of the email. Use Community Commentaries as the subject.
FAQs
What's the deadline?
Thursday, August 1, 2019, 5:00 PM
What should I do if I'm not able to record audio on my phone?
Email the script of your commentary to engage@kuow.org. One minute of audio is about 110--150 words. If we are interested in considering your commentary to be shared on air, we will reply to your email and invite you to the Studio to record it. Please use Community Commentaries as your email subject.
Can I submit a Community Commentary if I'm under 18 years old?
Absolutely. Please let us know in your email that you are under 18. If your submission is selected to be aired, we will send you a release form for your parent or guardian to sign.
Will my submission be shared on air on KUOW?
Not all submissions will be selected to be aired on KUOW. If your Community Commentary is selected for air, we will send you a heads up (and a big high five) before it is aired.
If my Community Commentary is selected, will my submission be shared on KUOW exactly as I recorded it?
Just like any story that airs on KUOW, your audio piece will go through our editorial process, which means it may be edited.
Do I get something cool if my Community Commentary is selected to be aired on KUOW?
Definitely. If your submission is selected, we'll make your nerdy public radio dreams come true by sending you a sweet KUOW T-shirt.
What should I do if I have a question that wasn't answered here?
Don't hesitate to email us at engage@kuow.org. Please use Community Commentaries as the subject.
