Presenters' Contract

I, the undersigned, agree to abide by University Radio York's (URY's) station rules and regulations as set out below, and the Ofcom Programming Code (accessible at www.ofcom.org.uk). I have fully read and understood these rules and regulations, and I understand that if I break any of the rules or regulations stated by Ofcom or its successor, I will be solely liable for any resulting fines or actions that may be levied against URY.

I also understand that should I break any of URY’s rules or regulations, I am liable to be subject to disciplinary action as decided by URY’s Programme Controller. I will also abide by the YUSU Media Charter (available from the Student Centre). I have never been convicted of any criminal offence related to radio broadcasting.

In the event that I cease to be a member or honorary member of URY, this contract will expire four months following the membership's expiry (or earlier at the discretion of the Programme Controller).

Definitions

"Training" refers to either Studio Training or WebStudio Training. Both cover broadcasting rules and regulations.

URY Rules And Regulations

You must have passed a URY training session, be a URY Member, and have permission to broadcast from the Programme Controller in order to be allowed to operate broadcast equipment. You must have received training appropriate for the broadcast equipment in question.
If you operate broadcast equipment, you are responsible for its correct usage and for upholding URY’s stated rules and regulations at all times.
1. You are responsible for the content of all broadcasts in which you operate the broadcast equipment, including all technical and audible contributions that you, co-presenters or guests make.
2. An individual may appear as a guest presenter on air twice in an academic year without being a URY member. After those two appearances the individual must pay membership, register on MyRadio and become trained before they may appear on another URY show. This may be waived at the discretion of the Programme Controller.
You must do all shows that you have signed-up for, unless the Programme Controller states otherwise.
If you are going to be late for your show, you must contact the Programme Controller as soon as possible. If you believe that you will be unable to do your show, you must cancel on MyRadio. If there are less than 48 hours until your show, you must inform the Programme Controller at the earliest opportunity.
If you have to cancel your show suddenly due to unforeseen circumstances, you must contact the Programme Controller as soon as possible.
Anyone who runs broadcast equipment on-air must sign in using SIS (Studio Information System). This person must also log in any guests present on the broadcast.
You must broadcast the station name and frequency at least once an hour during your show (e.g. play the News-in Jingle) unless the Programme Controller states otherwise.
You must broadcast the news every hour. In the event that there is a technical fault, you must inform the Programme Controller as soon as possible.
You must play all copyrighted music content on your show through URY Playout Software (i.e. you may not use digital music players, including MP3 players, laptops and mobile phones, streaming services such as Spotify or YouTube, or any physical media such as compact discs), except with special permission from the Programme Controller.
All copyrighted music content that is not played through URY Playout Software (subject to the previous clause) must be logged manually, as instructed by the Programme Controller. URY Playout Software will do this automatically.
You must follow our PPL music licence laws at all times. The laws are outlined as follows:
1. During any 3 hour period:
  1. You must play no more than 3 tracks from any album (and no more than 2 consecutively).
  2. You must play no more than 4 tracks from any particular artist or compilation (and no more than 3 consecutively).
  3. You must only play a track once in any 1-hour period.
  4. You must not use tracks as beds at any time.
2. For a single hour show, you can ensure you do not infringe on PPL laws by abiding by these guidelines:
  1. Play no more than 1 track from any album by a single artist.
  2. Play no more than 2 tracks from any particular artist or compilation (and no more than 2 consecutively).
  3. A Track may only be played once in any 1-hour period.
  4. You must not use tracks as beds at any time
You must show impartiality on all political, sectarian, or otherwise contentious issues. If you intend to or predict that you might broadcast potentially controversial output, consult the Programme Controller.
1. You must not swear on-air, nor express racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive opinions in any broadcast. Use of gratuitous swearing is particularly unacceptable.
2. If you, or any other participant in a broadcast, swear inadvertently, you must immediately issue an on-air apology.
3. Songs that contain swearing or other potentially offensive language may only be played on shows between the hours of 9pm and 5am. A standard or otherwise pre-agreed disclaimer is to be played at the beginning of each hour of the show. It is unacceptable for presenters and their guests to swear at any time.
You must not claim that we can be heard off campus on 1350AM.
You must not broadcast under the influence of drugs or alcohol, nor allow anyone on the show to do so.
If using the URY studios, you must leave the studio clean and tidy. You may not remove any URY property without following the relevant constitutional protocols. You may not remove or copy any URY music. Such activities are illegal and will be dealt with accordingly.
If you are the last person to leave the station building, you must pull down all blinds (where applicable), close all windows, ensure the studios are switched off, and ensure the front door closes fully. Station key cards must be returned to the porter. Should there be any problem with station key cards or any aspect of URY security, please contact the Programme Controller. In an emergency, contact Security Services on (01904) 32 3333.
You must abide by the Ofcom Programming Code at all times.

Recording

All broadcast output is automatically recorded by our systems, and these recordings are retained for a minimum of 42 days. This is a legal requirement for URY. In addition, recordings are maintained for archival purposes.

You can opt-in on MyRadio for every episode of a show to be automatically published to Mixcloud and the URY website. You can later opt-out of this for a show on MyRadio. URY Computing Team may remove old episodes from Mixcloud and the URY website upon request.

Disciplinary Actions

Warnings

There are 2 kinds of warnings that the Programme Controller can issue on any occasion, should they see fit. Inappropriate behaviour, misuse of URY property, breach of URY rules and breach of Ofcom rules are the most sensitive occasions in which warnings will be considered.

Informal Warning: Any member of URY may be issued with an informal warning in the event that they commit an offence that the Programme Controller considers noteworthy, relatively minor, inappropriate or unacceptable. If you receive an informal warning and repeat the infraction warned against, you will receive a formal warning.
Formal Warning: Any member of URY may be issued with a formal warning at the discretion of the Programme Controller. The person in question need not have received any informal warnings nor committed previous offences. In the event that they breach URY rules, Ofcom rules or behaves otherwise inappropriately, the Programme Controller may decide to contact the member in question and/or issue a formal warning. If you receive a formal warning and repeat the infraction warned against, your show can be suspended or taken permanently off-air.

Suspension

The Programme Controller can suspend a presenter on any occasion for as long as they see fit.

Expulsion

The Programme Controller can decide to cancel a show or ban a presenter from doing a show on any occasion. Presenters may be banned from using URY facilities and equipment, or from URY as a whole.

Appeals Procedure

If your show is suspended it will be retained virtually on the system for one week, though you will be unable to present this show. Any appeals against the decision can be made to the Station Management within this time. If no appeal is made, the show will be removed permanently from the schedule. If an appeal is made, the presenter will be invited to meet with the Station Manager, Assistant Station Manager, Programme Controller and Training Coordinator to make their case. All decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Updates to the Contract

The URY Committee reserves the right to update this contract at any time following the procedures laid out in the Constitution.