WBOR Rules/Guidelines
Please copy this page and take it with you for reference! Digitally! You will be quizzed on the following information during your DJ training, which is a required step to begin your show.
Station Responsibility
You are responsible for the station during your show by agreeing to these rules and guidelines. If any prohibited activity occurs in the station during your show's time slot (consumption of alcohol, unauthorized guests, etc.), it will lead to disciplinary action on behalf of the WBOR management and may result in the suspension of your radio show. If you don’t show up to your show, you are still responsible for whatever happens in the station during your time slot. If caught breaking WBOR or FCC rules and regulations, DJs may be found financially responsible as compliant with the policies and procedures of Bowdoin College.
Alcohol and Drugs
At no time are alcohol or illegal drugs allowed in the facility. Any violation of this rule will result in the immediate termination of the person in question. DJs SUSPECTED to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs will be immediately dismissed and subjected to disciplinary action up to and including termination. (There is a camera in the studio connected to Bowdoin Security, the video will be occasionally reviewed by College Administrators). Violators of this rule will also face disciplinary action from the school and local authorities.
Fill out the log book online!
Sign in (wbor.org) when you arrive at the station and record your station IDs and PSAs, so we stay out of trouble with the FCC!
Top-of-the-Hour Station ID
Each hour MUST include a Top of the Hour Identification between at least five minutes before or five minutes after the top of the hour as close to the top of the hour as possible. The station ID must be said in the official order of “WBOR, Brunswick”
Public Service Announcements
PSAs allow the DJs to give both information and entertainment to listeners while helping to support the community. You must play at least two Public Service Announcements (PSAs) per show.
Find a sub
If you can’t get a sub, please post on the WBOR Campus Groups feed to find a replacement.
Please note that failure to attend your show frequently can result in your suspension from WBOR at the discretion of management.
Chart your music on the website!
Failure to do so can result in FCC fines!
Please note that failure to chart can result in your suspension from WBOR at the discretion of management.
Overnight playlist
If your show is the last show of the day, or if the DJ after you hasn’t shown up, please put on an overnight playlist from the station computer. Don’t forget to leave iTunes on both “Continuous” AND “Repeat.”
Keep the station clean!
Don’t bring any food or drink into the studio itself (other than water); if you have any food or trash in the station, please make sure to throw it away. Wipe down with sanitary wipes after every usage.
Please note that failure to maintain a reasonable level of cleanliness frequently can result in your suspension from WBOR at the discretion of management.
Physical Media
Please put back all CDs, records, etc., onto the shelves after you use them. Also, don’t take any music out of the station for any reason! You’re more than welcome to burn CDs using your laptop or the studio computer, but be sure you put them back when you’re done.
Show Behavior
DJs are not to use obscene, indecent, and profane language on the air, in the songs they play, or on the phone with callers (if you’re unsure, be safe and don’t say or play it!). If any of these types of language find their way to the airwaves in any way, the DJ/Announcer is terminated effective immediately and will not be asked back. If severe enough, WBOR and Bowdoin College reserve the right to take legal action by any means necessary to rectify any situation related to the above inappropriate speech for WBOR airwaves. Let it be known that WBOR is a strong supporter of First Amendment Rights but will also hold their DJ/Announcers to a chosen standard that is both legal according to the FCC and representative of the ideas and mission of Bowdoin College as a whole. To clarify what is included under this type of language,
you may choose to read the following, from the FCC. We expect that all DJs, as representatives of WBOR and Bowdoin College, remain courteous and respectful when in the station. If, during your show, you receive a phone call from someone looking for a member of management, please take down their information and email the appropriate person (see below).
Defamation and Slander
Defamation is the term used to cover the concepts and collective definitions of slander and libel. Someone or something is "defamed" when a false accusation/statement is presented as factual information and intentionally damages the person or place's reputation and character. Libel does this in print. Slander does this when it is spoken. DO NOT at any time slander someone or create a false light on a person, place, or thing on WBOR. DO NOT report on rumor. DO NOT sarcastically pick on your friends or callers on the air. Be absolutely sure that if you chose to say something about an individual, particularly a private figure, that it is absolutely true without a question of doubt, and reference your source of information. Often this becomes an issue when DJs/Announcers might say something in jest that comes out as accusing. It does not matter the way in which it is intended; if it is said and untrue, it is slander. This may result in dismissal from WBOR.
Hoax Broadcasts
The most famous example is Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds.” While this broadcast sounded true, that broadcast was intended to be a fictional story. At no time should any DJ/Announcer provide or discuss information over the air that is based on fictional or is false. The FCC does not have patience for pranks and events such as April Fool’s jokes. Broadcasting of such events may result in dismissal from WBOR.
Political Conversation/Promotion
Political conversation is allowed, but promotion or reverse promotion is not allowed. There is a grey area in some instances where DJs/Announcers must use their best judgment. For example, it is probably clear that each DJ/Announcer may have an opinion on the actions and policies of each political candidate (called an editorial); however, promotion for or against policies and your opinions of such are as far as one is allowed to go. Discussion of each candidate – your likes/dislikes may inherently cross the line, and your opinion can become confused with slander, even if non‐malicious. WBOR will only be allowed to run political advertising after it has been cleared through the station’s management.
No Calls to Action / No Advertising
The FCC is adamantly against a non‐commercial station issuing a "call to action." If a DJ/Announcer asks, urges, or suggests that a listener or caller do anything that may result in a commercial organization making money, it will be considered advertising.
This does not apply to Public Service Announcements that urge the promotion of non‐profit organizations (e.g., The Red Cross ‐ Go to the Blood Drive!). Calls to action you may not do include such things as suggesting a listener buy a recording, go to a concert, mentioning ticket prices, saying something or someone is a great business, encouraging participation in a political event, etc. It is also illegal to urge anyone to disrupt public officials (e.g., police, maintenance, citing a reason to riot, etc.)
Contests
AT NO TIME is any DJ/Announcer allowed to run any contest on their show without express consent and appropriately filed paperwork by the Director of Student Activities.
Not all contests include "winning" something tangible. Trivia without a prize is an example that is allowed. Any hoax broadcasts for comical purposes such as “win a 100 Grand” (candy bar, not the money) are also not allowed at any time. WBOR and Bowdoin College will not be held legally responsible for rogue contests.
In the event that WBOR is given the approval to host a contest or lottery, then all relevant rules and regulations must be aired alongside the first announcement of the contest/lottery or posted on the WBOR website. Relevant rules generally include:
- How to enter or participate
- Eligibility requirements
- Entry deadline dates
- When the prizes can be won
- The nature and value of the prizes
- The time and means of selection of the winner
- The relevant rules must be broadcast periodically afterward, however, they do not need to be announced every time a reference is made to the contest.
Telephone/Recorded Calls
The Federal Communication Commission's rule regarding the broadcast of telephone conversations is set forth in Section 73.1206 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.1206. Pursuant to this rule, before recording a telephone conversation for broadcast, or broadcasting such a conversation simultaneously with its occurrence, the station shall inform any party to the call of the station'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. Broadcasting a cellphone greeting message is also prohibited without the consent of the phone’s owner. Such awareness is presumed to exist only when the other party to the call is associated with the station (such as an employee or part‐time reporter) or where the other party originates the call, and it is evident that it is in connection with a program in which the station customarily broadcasts telephone conversations.
The FCC fine for this is currently $4,000.
The station does not have a delay, so you MUST warn all callers to avoid profanity before putting them on the air. Also, as a rule, do not beg for phone calls. You can invite calls, but do not beg—it sounds very unprofessional.
See the Director of Student Activities on what is otherwise acceptable for phone calls.
ALSO, REMEMBER! – Apologies DO NOT help. If something does happen to slip over the air – DO NOT APOLOGIZE FOR IT OR DRAW ATTENTION TO IT!
Station Management reserves the right to preempt the broadcast of your show at any point during the semester for other specialty programming. This includes but is not limited to interviews, lectures, sporting events, etc.
