The Public Square Policy & Guidelines

The Public Square on WILL

The Public Square is a weekly, 3-minute opinion piece from any AM-580 listener on any subject of interest to him/her.

WILL is one of very few broadcasters that provides listeners direct access to other listeners about issues of importance to them.

Part of WILL’s mission is to stimulate discussion of public issues by providing forums for the exchange of ideas and information. WILL radio does this daily with our call-in programs.

The Public Square is an extension of this service that allows the listener to pick the topic s/he would like other listeners to pay attention to. This allowance is consistent with our mission to satisfy the needs of the audience we serve rather than our own needs as broadcasters or the needs of our licensee. Our stations are operated as a public trust.

Similar to the public comment section of city council and school board meetings broadcast on cable stations, The Public Square is both an outreach and broadcast program that gives a direct voice to our listeners and stimulates discussion.

The Public Square Broadcast Days and Times

The Public Square airs at 4:45 pm on Fridays with repeats at 6:45 pm on Fridays. The Public Square commentaries submissions are also archived on WILL’s website.

Procedure for Submitting Public Square Commentaries:

AM-580 listeners will submit their commentary first in writing. The submission must also include the commentator’s and/or organization’s name that the commentator is representing; the commentator’s address, phone number, and email; and a one-to-three-sentence self-description of the commentator and/or organization submitting the commentary.

There are three ways to submit commentaries:

1. The Public Square, c/o WILL, 300 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
2. by email at: publicsquare@will.uiuc.edu
3. Via this web form

Commentators should submit their work by 5pm on Monday for consideration for broadcast the Friday of the same week.

All commentaries will be limited in length to 3:00 minutes (roughly 300 words) and must refrain from ad hominem attacks. Commentaries that exceed 300 words will be edited for length.

Recording The Public Square

Commentaries will be recorded at the WILL studio or over the telephone, whichever is most convenient for the commentator, at 10am on Thursdays. When a Thursday is also a holiday, other recording arrangements may be made.

Keeping the Public Square Open to Everyone

WILL wants to encourage a diversity of opinions in the Public Square and will air up to 52 original Public Square commentaries a year -- one each week. Views of organizations or individuals may appear on the Public Square up to six times a year. Sixty days must pass between commentaries from the same organization or individual. Individuals writing on behalf of an organization count against both the organization and individual annual allotments.

Criteria for Selecting Public Square Commentaries for Broadcast:

Our criteria are simple. The Public Square is open to any individual or organization that would like to submit a commentary. We accept opinions of all types except those that contain ad hominem attacks.

There may be instances when WILL receives more commentaries in a given month than the total number of available slots. When this happens, WILL will use the following criteria to select commentaries to air:

1. Is this a commentary from an individual or an organization we have not heard from before? More weight will be given to submissions from people and organizations not previously heard from.
2. Is this commentary time sensitive? More weight will be given to commentaries that contain timely opinions.
3. Is this opinion unique or has the opinion expressed already been expressed in another commentary? WILL accepts submissions from more than one listener or organization on the same topic as long as it furthers the discussion.
4. Were the submission guidelines followed?

Commentaries that are not aired based on the above criteria, may be considered the following month. All submissions will be archived on our website, except those containing ad hominem attacks.