What is Perspectives?
Perspectives is KQED Public Radio's public affairs commentary series and an important part of KQED's commitment to keeping the "public" in public radio. Perspectives are commentaries from KQED listeners and other individuals. KQED seeks fresh and insightful commentaries from voices representing a broad spectrum of opinion, experience, age, location and interest. All material must be original to Perspectives. We do not accept submissions from organizations or public officials, and we do not air more than one commentary per month from any individual.
Airtimes
Perspectives air weekdays, after local newscasts, at 6:07 and 7:37am, and are repeated at 11:33pm. They are rebroadcast Saturdays and Sundays at 7:37 and 8:37am.
Subject Matter
The potential subject matter for Perspectives is very broad, but we emphasize topics of interest to KQED's regional audience. We accept commentary on national and even international topics if the point of view emphasizes regional or personal concerns. However, the National Public Radio programs we air tend to focus on these subjects, so Perspectives are often geared to Northern California issues; state and regional topics are best. Essays on local issues work well if they illustrate larger concerns with which other communities are struggling. Observations on everyday life are frequent topics at Perspectives, especially if they make a broader point about who we are and how we live. We encourage submissions from KQEI listeners in the Sacramento area.
Style
There are exceptions, but most Perspectives are opinion pieces that say what is wrong or right with something, offer a better idea, an insight or an unusual angle on a matter of common interest or concern to our listeners. They are strongest if they draw from your personal experience. Perspectives are not public service announcements, notices of community events, official positions of organizations or promotional material for books or other profit-making ventures. We put a premium on well-argued, fact-based opinion and personal commentary that is meaningful and well-told. We welcome humor but discourage wit without content. In short, the best Perspectives are a good idea, well-expressed. If you are unclear what topics might qualify, please feel free to contact Perspectives editor Mark Trautwein.
Length and Editing
The time limit for all pieces is two minutes. For most people, two minutes works out to about 375 words, more or less, depending on your rate of speech. When timing yourself, read your script aloud, clearly and with feeling, as you would on the air. The Perspectives editor is happy to work editorially with authors to make scripts suitable for broadcast and all material is subject to editing for style and content.
Honorarium
KQED Public Radio pays an honorarium of $65.00 per Perspective, after the commentary is broadcast.
To Submit a Perspectives Script
If you wish, you may run your ideas past us before writing the script. However, because the potential for Perspectives material is so broad, it is usually more productive to have a draft to respond to. Email is the much-preferred method to submit material. Send all submissions to Perspectives editor Mark Trautwein at
mtrautwein@kqed.org. Please feel free to contact the editor by phone with all questions and comments at (415)553-2108. Please leave a brief voicemail message if necessary. You may also fax material to Perspectives at: (415)553-2241. Whether you call, fax or email, we will attempt to respond as soon as possible. Please be aware, however, that it may not be possible to respond to all submissions immediately. Be sure to include your name and phone number on all correspondence and on the script itself.
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