Re: UMass football

[Dan Strassberg <dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

At 12:57 AM 10/27/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>I always thought it strange that WMUA has always had its own coverage of
>UMass sports, separate from any commercial stations.  What I thought even
>stranger was the large number of commercials -- oops, I mean "underwriting
>announcements."  Just what are the rules that distinguish a commercial
>from an underwriting announcement?  I couldn't discern any difference
>between the announcements on WMUA and commercials.
>
My understanding is that underwriting announcements must not contain
exhortations to buy a product or use a service. Other than that, I don't
know whether there are any differences. I suspect that the FCC's intent when
it formulated the rule was that underwriting announcements would be
short--probably no longer than :15, but I doubt whether that restriction is
actually part of the rule. I've certainly heard some underwriting
announcements that must have been :30, and I wouldn't be surprised if some
are :60.

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Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205

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