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Writer's Guidelines/Submissions
The Weather Notebook began as a modest idea in 1993 at the Mount Washington Observatory. Nearly ten years later, the two-minute radio program is carried every weekday by 300 radio stations around the country, primarily public radio stations, a few commercial outlets and Armed Forces Radio worldwide. The program is beamed from locations as different as snow crystals are from each other, from an Alaskan island in the Bering Sea to the epicenter of the post-Presidential 2000 melee, West Palm Beach, Florida. What ties them together? Listeners who are fascinated by the weather and love a good story.
Supported by the National Science Foundation and Subaru of America, the program is a production of the Mount Washington Observatory (MWO), a research and educational institution located on the summit of the mountain and in offices located in North Conway, New Hampshire.
The Weather Notebook (TWN) is committed to the highest standards of quality, educational merit and interesting science, reflecting the work and mission of the Mount Washington Observatory. TWN is also committed to fair, accurate and well-presented material. The contributors with whom TWN works follow these same standards. They are creative in their reporting and presentation; they write well and are able to provide high quality audio for their stories.
Send all proposals to Bryan Yeaton or call him at 603-356-2137, ext. 214. Define your ideas, with news value, relevance to weather, sound, production elements and structure. Remember to ask yourself, has this story been told this way before? Would listeners living 1000 miles away be interested in it? Is it quirky? Does it have larger meaning?
Stories are considered "accepted" if the TWN producer approves the final script, contingent on view and approval of the air-worthiness of all elements.
We encourage our correspondents to send their final materials in digital form both mixed and as separate elements. This gives TWN flexibility in the final mixing of stories. TWN reserves the right to judge the acceptability of all elements and mixes.
In general, TWN does not reimburse expenses for materials and transportation related to stories, unless there is a prior agreement with the TWN producer.
Rates for stories are determined by the Producer at the time the assignment is made and will vary depending on the complexity of the assignment. Payment is made 30 days after receipt of an invoice from a correspondent which is accepted once the TWN producer okays the final script and audio elements.
The usual deadline for receipt of all elements is two weeks before the end of each month. Specific deadlines for each piece will be determined by the TWN producer.
Unless given prior approval from the TWN producer, all tape must be recorded live and on-location. Phone sound is acceptable with prior approval from the TWN producer. Correspondents are responsible for delivering high quality tape. TWN reserves the right to reject a story or require that new tape be gathered or new tracks recorded if the tape is determined to be unacceptable on arrival.
TWN prefers material in a digital format and asks that correspondents send their material either by email or posted on the TWN FTP site. Alternative arrangements can be made with the TWN producer. Scripts may be sent by email to the TWN producer.
Before working on any story, correspondents and the TWN producer sign a non-exclusive rights agreement which allows both the correspondent and the MWO to re-use material in print, broadcast and electronic media that is sold originally by the correspondent to TWN. Other agreements with correspondents must be negotiated separately with the TWN producer.
TWN reserves the right to first broadcast of the material, guaranteed for 60 days following submission, unless otherwise arranged.
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