Guidelines for RadioLabour Reporters

RadioLabour welcomes audio reports from anybody who supports working people and their organizations. Please read the following guidelines in order to consider and produce your audio reports.

1. RadioLabour reports on issues and events concerning working people and their organizations around the world. It does not audiocast opinion pieces. Your report must be tied to a specific event (such as a strike or campaign) or the published view of an issue by a labour organization. Because we are a global service, we cannot report on events or issues that are purely local. Your report should involve an issue or event of national importance which would be of interest to a global audience. If you have any doubts about the acceptability of your report please contact us first. Send us an email via our Contact page.

Also, while it is true that labour activists are interested in many issues, such as the environment, the specific mandate of RadioLabour is to report on unions or other labour organizations.

2. All reports must verifiable as coming from a labour source. People who do not have a position in a union or other labour organization must include a source for their report which can be verified. That means either a web site or a document from the labour organization. People working for a labour organization such as a union or labour central must be authorized to speak on behalf of their organization. No report will be audiocasted without a verifiable source.

3. RadioLabour's political orientation and stand on issues are in line with the International Trade Union Confedertation (ITUC), the Global Unions, national trade union federations affiliated to the ITUC, and the Workers Group of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

4. Reports must be in English. We hope to produce progammes in other languages in the future, but at the moment RadioLabour reports are English language only.

5. An email with your name, country and organization (if you are with an organization) must be sent to RadioLabour along with the report. If you are using our Skype voicemail service please send the email after you have put your report on Skype.

6. All audio reports must be accompanied by a written script. No report will be audiocasted without a script.

7. Reports should be about two minutes. Longer reports will be considered, but most probably not accepted because of the time restrictions of the news programme.

8. Begin your report directly. Do not start with: Hello or your name.
Wrong: Hello, I am First Lastname reporting on the situation in (country)
Correct: The situation in (country) is . . .

9. End your report with a signature line:
This is First Lastname reporting for RadioLabour.

10. Speak more slowly than you normally would. Emphasize the important words in the sentences. Speak more loudly. Remember: people cannot see you. They have only your spoken words to listen to in order to understand you.

11. Do not worry if you do not sound like the professionals on the radio do. None of us who report for RadioLabour are professionals. We are activists who want to report on the issues of working people.

12. If you are sending us an audiofile please send it as an MP3, OGG or WAV file.

13. Questions about these guidelines can be sent via our Contact section.