(Or, how not to get fired from WKNC)

Following The Logs

Now that you know what all the logs are for, you must follow/keep up with all the logs all the time.

The Hotline

This secret special phone line is reserved exclusively for WKNC staff members who need to contact the on duty announcer. The number is NEVER to be given out over the air and should not be given to anyone unaffiliated with WKNC. Additionally, the hotline should not be used to call out on and should never be answered “WKNC” or in any way that identifies the radio station. We do get wrong numbers calling the hotline and we don’t want those people to think they have stumbled upon their personal request number.

As a WKNC operator you are required to answer the hotline. If you are on the air when the hotline rings, cut to music as quickly as possible without sounding alarmed. When the hotline “rings,” a strobe light flashes in the studio. If you fail to answer the line, whoever is calling may assume something is wrong and may call Campus Police. Additionally, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, failure to answer the hotline may result in suspension. Failure to answer the hotline a second time may result in dismissal. Keep in mind that when calling in to the hotline, it is common courtesy to identify yourself to the on-air announcer.

Decrying Station Equipment, Programing Or Policy

DJs may never speak negatively about station equipment, promotions, programming, sponsors, staff or policy on the air or in public. DJs are required to discuss any concerns they may have with the proper board of directors member or the general manager.

The reason we do not talk about equipment failures or inadequacies on the air is because we want our listeners to believe that the broadcasts we create for them are as effortless as imaginable and we never clue them in to behind the scenes terminology like AudioVault, rotation, log, computer, etc.

Also, never speak negatively about things you may do. For example, don’t ever say anything bad about an artist you have to play or someone’s request. If you don’t like a song that is requested, don’t play it. If you don’t like a song in rotation, tell the program director or music director. In the meantime, pretend that you love it.

Guests

Each DJ on duty is permitted to have one guest. A guest is someone who has nothing to gain from being on air with you, like your little sister or your roommate. If your “guest” is a musician, promoter, business owner or anyone else who uses our airwaves to talk about the product or service he or she represents, that is an interview. If you need to have more than one guest, you need to get prior permission from the program director. Remember that even though a guest is permitted, only have a guest when you are experienced enough to handle having someone else around. A guest rarely enhances the quality of work produced on a shift.

Food In The Studios

WKNC prohibits food or drinks in the on-air and production studios. It doesn’t matter if you are not eating the food or if your water bottle is empty. This is a zero tolerance policy. WKNC has thousands of dollars worth of equipment in these studios that we cannot afford to replace. Please keep all food and drinks on the bench outside the studio and instruct any guests or interviewees to do the same.

Being On Time

Being on time for your shift means arriving at least 15 minutes early. If you are not present at the time of your shift, you will be considered late. For example, if you have a 5 p.m. shift and you arrive at 5:07 p.m., you are late. It is impossible to do a good job on the air without any preparation. Plan ahead.

Missing A Shift/Finding A Substitute Announcer

As an announcer, it is important that you are responsible and reliable regarding coming to your shift punctually and regularly. WKNC will not tolerate consistently missed shifts or chronic tardiness. It makes the station look bad and gives the wrong idea to listeners, guests and trainees. If you anticipate this being a problem for a certain shift, don’t sign up for it! However, there will be a few occasions when you won’t be able to cover the shift for which you are regularly scheduled for a valid reason such as having an exam at that time, sickness, or a death in the family.

When you sign up for a shift you are agreeing to show up and do that shift every week. In the event you cannot make a shift, it is your responsibility to follow these steps:

1. Notify the program director at least one week in advance that you are trying to find a sub for your show at (time) on (date). This does not mean the shift is no longer your responsibility.
2. Notify the staff via the e-mail list about your shift being open at (time) on (date). This does not mean the shift is no longer your responsibility.
3. If you still need a sub, use the Intranet phone list to call other DJs to see if they are available. This does not mean the shift is no longer your responsibility.
4. If you do find a sub, notify the program director who will be filling in for you at least 24 hours in advance of your show. Only now is the shift no longer your responsibility.
5. If you absolutely can’t find anyone, you will need to voice track your show. This means pre-recording your air breaks so it sounds as though you are live. This fulfills your responsibility – but you have to notify the personnel director that you voice tracked so he or she does not mark you absent.

It is unacceptable for a DJ to miss their shift without finding a substitute or voice tracking beforehand. The purpose of Audio Vault is not to cover for you when you can not make your shift, therefore you should not rely on it to do so. Responsibility and reliability are behaviors every staff member is expected to maintain while at WKNC. DJs are accountable for their shifts and chronic absenteeism will not be tolerated.

Drugs and Alcohol

Alcohol cannot be possessed or consumed in nonresidential buildings on university property except with the direct permission of the Chancellor. This means that under no circumstances is anyone to ever have any alcohol at WKNC. This applies equally to DJs and station guests – and remember that you are responsible for your guests. Station policy prohibits any DJ from operating the station while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. If a DJ is found violating this policy they will be terminated immediately, no exceptions. Offending DJs will also be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.

Broadcast Of Phone Conversations

It is against WKNC policy to air live phone conversations. At WKNC, the only time we will EVER broadcast a live phone call is if we have a designated news/talk or sports/talk show in which we are soliciting listeners to call in. A DJ cannot suddenly decide in the middle of his or her shift that it’s a talk show. Any show that requests live phone calls to be broadcast must be approved in advance by the program director will be closely monitored by both the general manager and program director.

According to the FCC, “before recording a telephone conversation for broadcast, or broadcasting such a conversation simultaneously with its occurrence, a licensee shall inform any party to the call of the licensee’s intention to broadcast the conversation, except where such party is aware, or may be presumed to be aware from the circumstances of the conversation that it is being or likely will be broadcast.” If a listener calls in during a designated talk show, he or she is presumed to be aware the call may be aired live or pre-recorded for future broadcast. When a listener calls in to the request lines during a music program, there is also the presumption the call may be pre-recorded for future broadcast.  Only calls made to the station on the request lines can be recorded for broadcast. You may never record an outgoing call without first notifying the other party of your intentions. If there is any doubt the caller is unaware the call is being recorded for future broadcast, notify the caller and ask permission to broadcast.

Interview Approvals

All interviews must be approved by the program director, preferably a week in advance. This helps ensures all interviews are relevant to the station’s audience and the same artist or band is not being interviewed multiple times. This also allows the DJ plenty of time to compose thoughtful interview questions. WKNC does not grant “on-the-spot” interviews. The program director may specify that an interview be handled by a DJ other than the DJ who is scheduled at that time. Also, any DJ who feels uncomfortable handling an interview may request a replacement.

Personal Information

DJs are strongly encouraged not to tell too much about themselves on the air. Radio stations tend to attract strange people. There have been cases where thieves have broken into apartments when they’ve figured out who announcers are in real life. It is for this reason many announcers prefer to use a DJ name or only their first name. You must also never give out personal information about another staff member. If an e-mail address is posted on someone’s DJ page on wknc.org, he or she has chosen to make that information public and you may provide it if requested. Names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses on the Intranet are private and you must never give them to someone not affiliated with the station.

Use of Music Library And Production Studios

No food or drinks of any kind are allowed in any studio or the music library. Smoking is prohibited inside all university buildings. Outside smoking must be in accordance with N.C. State University regulations.  Use of the library and production facilities are limited exclusively to staff members of WKNC.  The open production room can be reserved in advance, but keep in mind the production staff always has priority. WKNC can rent out the use of its production facilities with staff supervision. Contact the general manger for details. WKNC reserves the right to deny access to the library or production studios to any individual not on staff.

Use of Station Equipment

North Carolina law prohibits state employees (and in our case, state volunteers) from the misuse of state property and use of state property for personal gain (N.C.G.S. 14-91). Any state property that is taken away from campus, to your home or other locations is governed by the rules on capital assets. This includes expressed written pre-approval by the student media coordinator. At the end of your term of employment with WKNC, you are required to return all state property.

Staff may not alter or operate equipment without the authorization of the engineering department.  Do not switch equipment around. Do not attempt to “fix” equipment. Any equipment, including but not limited to telephones, speakers, CD players and tools, not found in their regular or assigned location may be considered stolen. The removal of equipment from the station without the permission of the student media coordinator will be considered theft and reported to Campus Police.

Personal Safety

Keep the front door locked between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. (all day on weekends). Anyone who needs access to the station will  have a key. Never prop open the front door after hours and never ever prop open the stairwell door. This is for your protection and the protection of others in the building.  You can order a non-employee off the premises at any time. If you need assistance, call Campus Police (919-515-3000 for non-emergency and 911 for emergency).  You can also call Campus Police for an after hours safety escort to any point on campus. This is a free service and you should not hesitate to use it.

Computers

Only staff members are allowed to use the computers at WKNC. Use of the computers by board of directors members will take precedence over other staff. Installation of software on any computer without the approval of the Student Media systems administrator will be considered vandalism. The use of computing resources is subject to the N.C. State Computer Usage Policy.

Telephones

Staff who need to make long distance calls for station purposes will be given a security code. You will need to dial 7, then the number, then the code.  Keep the security code private.

Misrepresentation

Staff are not permitted to represent WKNC in ways not consistent with their job descriptions. For example, a DJ may not contact a record company on behalf of the station to request a CD. Similarly, the music director cannot negotiate a sales contract without the consent of the student media business manager. Staff are also not allowed to request press/media passes without prior authorization by the general manager.

Suspensions/Dismissals: How to get Fired

Penalties consist of warnings, suspensions and dismissals. You do not need to receive a warning before being suspended or dismissed. A warning means beware. It can be as simple as “don’t let it happen again” or as severe as “one more screw up and you’re out.” A suspension means you are temporarily removed from all duties at WKNC, for one or two weeks or longer. Suspension does not mean dismissal. It’s more like a time out to consider the behavior that led to your suspension and take corrective action. Suspensions will come from the general manager and/or program director. The next step of disciplinary action is dismissal. A dismissal relieves you of all duties at WKNC with no possibility of return. The general manager is responsible for all dismissals.

The general manager reserves the right to handle discipline the way he or she believes is in the best interest of WKNC. Remember that you are also responsible for the actions of your guest. Suspensions or dismissals may result from any of the following:

• Reporting to work under the influence or being in possession of any illegal drug or any alcoholic beverage (regardless of age)
• Vandalism or theft of station property or removal of any station property from the premises without permission
• Blatantly promoting any business on the air or taking consideration (money, memberships, coupons, or anything of value) from any business with which WKNC has business connections; or using WKNC to promote your own, a friend’s or an employer’s business interests, even if you don’t receive consideration
• Doing improper donor announcements or giveaways, or selling air time on WKNC without authorization
• Decrying station equipment, programming or policy
• Misuse of station property
• Insubordination of WKNC board members
• Consistently missing or being late for scheduled air shifts
• Having guests on-air or in the studio without authorization
• Conducting interviews on the air without authorization
• Failure to complete required logs while on duty as an announcer
• Failure to follow rotation, including Must Plays
• Forging signatures of any kind on logs, time sheets or other station documents
• Physically or verbally threatening any staff member of WKNC
• Sexual, racial or other harassment
• Smoking on the premises of WKNC
• Knowingly broadcasting obscene or indecent material
• Representing WKNC at public or professional functions or traveling to such without authorization
• Disregard of WKNC, University and FCC rules, regulations, policies and procedures

Grievances

If you have a complaint concerning station policies or operations, or if you feel that you have been suspended or dismissed unfairly, you may file a grievance. All complaints must be submitted in writing to the general manager within two weeks of the related incident. The general manager will then discuss your concerns with you. If you still have a complaint after meeting with the general manager you may request to have your case heard by the WKNC board of directors.