News Holes & KUOW

Jeff Hansen weighs in

PD Jeff Hansen at KUOW

KUOW in Seattle is one of the biggest licensors of radio pieces from PRX. So, when the station announces a change in its approach to acquired programs all of us sit up and listen.

PD Jeff Hansen says all half-hour and hour-long programs must be produced to accommodate the NPR news hole, starting now.

A number of factors have converged to make this an imperative now:

> The increasing, relentless and unpredictable nature of breaking news.
> The increasing demand by our listeners to be kept infomed and up to date on breaking news.
> Our growth as the #1 news station in our market.
> The increase in the amount of programming available from the system that is newscast compatible - I'd say 90%.
> The decrease in the amount of time on the schedule available for specials and docs.

This policy puts the listener first because regular newscasts are of equal value to listeners.

The modern public radio listener wants to know what is going on, 24/7/365.

A side benefit for those producers: listeners tuning in for the newscast might stay to hear your doc!

What specifically does KUOW recommend?

For a reversioned hour and half-hour show:

Billboard: 59 seconds
Newscast hole: 3:00 minutes minimum - 5:00 is even better
End: 29:00 and 59:00 maximum - 28:30 and 58:30 is even better

For new shows:

Use the standard NPR clock. Note that there are several items on the standard clock that are optional:

The Floating Cutaways. These floating cutaways make any show easily pitchable during an on-air fund-drive. This feature is mostly for daily shows that can not produce special fund-raising versions.

The Funding Credit. These holes are designed to put national required funding credits that rotate within the network. For most non-network programs these holes are part of the program's content hole.

The Promo holes. These are at 38:30 and 58:30 are again for network promos often related to the program. KUOW usually uses this time for local promos and other local break content.

The Fixed Length Breaks. These and fixed times as shown on the clock are extremely desirable. The minimum would be one :59 second break in the middle and one :59 second break at the end.

This is a very big deal. If you want longer form work to air on KUOW, you?ll need to go back into your programs and edit them for these new standards. KUOW thinks you should take this into consideration.

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