Submission policy
Submission policy
GLOW RADIO Submission of Broadcast material Clarification
• As we broadcast radio services in Berkshire and Hampshire, our services receive hundreds of unsolicited items of information for potential broadcast each year.
• We consider all items submitted as speculative and we do not generally contact the contributor unless we require more information or to conduct a broadcast interview. Our obligations
• All of the services we operate are commercial radio stations regulated by OFCOM. We have certain obligations to OFCOM in relation to our broadcast services which are laid out in our Format which is available in the public file section of our website or at www.ofcom.org.uk
• With the sole exception of commercial paid-for advertising where we enter a contract with an advertiser to deliver a schedule of advertising, we are under no obligation whatsoever to broadcast any material submitted to us.
• We do not therefore consider ourselves under any contractual obligation with the contributor of unsolicited material. News
• Our News Editor is responsible for the decision as to whether items submitted to our Newsdesk will be followed up. Programming
• Our Programme Manager is responsible for the decision as to whether items submitted to the programme / content team will be followed up. Events
• Our services have a history of supporting local community events and have received much feedback from groups on the value of this service. Indeed events listings are a cornerstone of our local service.
• We generally make every effort to consider and broadcast material but we do not track items submitted to us, nor provide schedules of whether and when they will be broadcast or the frequency of broadcast.
• On certain occasions we are presented with material which we do not consider suitable for broadcast in our local events listings as we consider that they are commercial or part-commercial messages which should be paid-for or might detract from our own brand / core-business of building local audiences for our services and generating revenue.
• This non-exhaustive list includes:
• Items containing outright commercial content (eg our new shop opens today)
• Events taking place in commercial premises (eg cinema, theatre, pubs)
• Charity events which require significant purchase (eg 20% of profits will go to xxx)
• Major Events / events organised by commercial organisations / Councils / large charities where marketing budget is likely to be available. Events involving competitor media – especially competitor radio stations – or competitor media staff
• Events taking place outside the transmission area Complaints / queries
• We are contacted by a small number of contributors with queries that generally fall into the following categories:-
Q Have you received and considered our information?
A As we receive so much information often for immediate or short term broadcast, and as it could be potentially considered by up to four different departments, we do not have a tracking system in place – we will normally try our best to track information and if we cannot readily confirm its receipt ask for it to be resent.
Q When / how many times will the information be broadcast?
A As we are under no obligation whatsoever to broadcast the information, we leave the scheduling to individual broadcasters / journalists. The frequency of editorial information is not tracked (unlike our paid-for advertising) and cannot be provided.
Q Why is my event not being broadcast – why didn’t you tell me?
A If we have taken a decision not to broadcast material we will usually ask a member of the sales team to contact the contributor to offer a commercial airtime package which we consider more appropriate but as we consider all broadcast material as speculative, we do not feel obliged, nor do we have the resources to contact all contributors.
Q Why won’t you list my event when your competitors will?
A For the reasons outlined above, we are free to make editorial decisions without reference to guidelines in place at the BBC or our commercial competitors
Q I wish to take my complaint further.
A The complaint will usually be referred up the line management chain within the radio station and ultimately to the Group Managing Director.
A The complainant will be provided with the contact information for our regulator, OFCOM.