General Policy for Announcements / Classifieds / Calendar

KTNA is a non-profit community radio station with a mission “to provide a broad base of educational, cultural and informative programming to challenge, broaden and enrich the listening audience” and “to foster a sense of community within the Upper Susitna Valley.” As a public radio station, we receive federal funding to support the availability of non-commercial radio, in a media world dominated by commercial interests.

KTNA airs announcements and classifieds from non-profit and not-for-profit organizations and individuals to serve the community as the primary source of information for upcoming events. Suitable events for announcements include meetings, public workshops and classes, cultural events, school functions, memorials, medical clinics, and musical performances. KTNA does not announce private events.

KTNA reserves editorial rights over all posted events and classifieds.

Dos and Don’t’s

Because KTNA follows FCC regulations for public radio stations, there are some important limitations in language. We will adjust your submission as needed, but it is helpful for us to receive submissions that do not require a lot of editing.

Do

  • Include event date, time, and location.
  • Limit your announcement to the most relevant information.
  • Include contact information such as a phone number or email, for people seeking more information or who have questions.

Don’t

  • Calls to action (come see, go to, join, etc.) are not allowed. You can invite or welcome people.
  • When wording announcements and classifieds, steer clear of subjective language (including adjectives and adverbs).
  • Do not use first person (we, our, us, etc.). Use “they”, the name of your organization, etc.
  • KTNA cannot announce prices or gambling activities (Free, split the pot, etc.).

Announcement Policy

All submissions for announced events posted on KTNA’s Community Calendar.

Announced events are read for the 3 days leading up to the event. If your event is weeks away, we will announce it for a few days and then again closer to the event. More than that is at staff discretion.

KTNA may only air fundraising announcements for non-profit organizations with IRS 501(c)3 status. We may ask for proof of your status.

On rare occasions, KTNA may decide to air announcements from any source, if the event announced is deemed to be in the public’s particular best interest.

If you have weekly or monthly recurring events, we can set your event to repeat in the Community Calendar. Events that occur weekly will not be announced regularly during the local news.  Weekly recurring events will be announced when they are new and as space allows.

KTNA Classifieds Policy

KTNA broadcasts classifieds for nonprofit organizations and individuals as a public service. Under no circumstance will KTNA run classifieds for businesses or for individuals routinely using classifieds as a business activity. KTNA runs classifieds for three days, unless asked to run for fewer days.  Airing a classified ad for longer than 3 days is at staff discretion.

Community Calendar Policy

The Community Calendar includes events that KTNA can air as announcements (nonprofits, government). The calendar also includes events of cultural, health, and community interest that happen at local businesses. Examples of events at businesses that we will include on the calendar but cannot air on announcements are art shows, author readings, free concerts, and visiting health care providers.

Community calendar events will not include commercial endeavors that either cost to participate (e.g. baking classes) or are intended to attract business (e.g. sales). While KTNA has more latitude on website content, we must still to adhere to FCC regulations for public radio stations.

KTNA Denali Echoes Policy

KTNA provides Denali Echoes as a service to our listeners without regular phone service.

  • Echoes are for personal messages, not general messages to the public.
  • Echoes may not be used to slander others, call for public action, or include profanity.
  • Echoes are not for personal grievances, threats, or to embarrass other persons, or discredit a business or organization.
  • Echoes are not to be used to urge people to political action, or to urge people to demonstrate or sign petitions.
  • Echoes are not to exceed 50 words in length.
  • Echoes are not used to promote events or businesses.

Passing of a Community Member

KTNA will announce a celebration of life or memorial service for a local resident who has passed. Family members can submit an obituary for KTNA’s Memorial Page located on our website. We will not announce someone’s passing in Announcements.

Businesses

Our mission and our “sound” differ significantly from commercial radio stations. In keeping with its non-commercial mission, and recognizing that KTNA values the support of its underwriters, (who receive on-air announcements in exchange for payment), announcements about or relating to a business’s regular goods and services will not be aired. New business openings or changes in business practices may be covered in KTNA local news, but they will not air as announcements.

For-profit businesses and individuals are encouraged to consider underwriting KTNA, a means of providing tangible support for community radio, while also educating the community about their services.

Political Events

For political events, KTNA will air meet-the-candidate event notices if the event is open to the public, free of charge, and not a fundraiser.  If the event includes a fundraising function, but does not require the public to contribute funds, and as long as it includes an opportunity to meet the candidate, KTNA will announce the gathering, but not the fundraising part of the event. All candidates will be treated equally under this policy.