Do you know how many ways there are to spell “Drive-thru”? I didn’t, until I started trying to build some print collateral for our stations’ Drive-thru Difference promotions.
- Drive thru
- Drive-thru
- Drive through
- Drive-Thru
And the list continued.
As more and more voices speak into our station websites, emails, social media posts, and printed projects it became difficult to be consistent. But consistent treatment of terms and grammar can help us provide a better user experience for our digital users.
Your station may have a style guide for the big things. Logos, fonts, and colors are probably well spelled out with the right rules of use. But you may find some value in creating some rules for even the most basic elements of your written communication.
Here are a few first-steps
1 – Start with a master style guide
There isn’t a need to start from scratch. We start with the AP Stylebook (https://www.apstylebook.com/). From there we clarify items that are specific to our brand, items where we’ve decided to differ from AP, and items of frequent use. AP also has a great Twitter account for their stylebook that can help you address current events. https://twitter.com/APStylebook
2 – Think through the terms that are specific to your brand
For our Drive-thru Difference promotions (encouraging someone to pay for the car behind them at the drive-thru), we settled on that specific capitalization, spelling, and punctuation. It isn’t more right or wrong than any other treatment of the title. It’s just one that we settled on as “our” way. Think through each of your station’s initiatives and consider ways you can be consistent in how they are presented.
3 – Think about the time
Dates and times are some of the easiest places to be inconsistent.
- 7pm, 7:00PM, 7 pm
- November 8, Nov 8, November 8th, 11/8
This is a place where we diverged from the AP stylebook, and just went for quick readability. Again, there isn’t a wrong treatment… just a consistent one.
4 – Assign ownership of the style guide
Give someone in your organization ownership of the style guide. This person doesn’t need to be an enforcer. In our organization we never want fear of breaking style to prevent a content creator from… well… creating. On occasion we help coach. But we have one individual who (often silently) will follow our on-air team and edit their posts to bring them into alignment with our style guide. This person can also identify elements that need clarification or editing in the style guide.
5 – Keep your style guide fluid
Things change. We keep our style guide in a “wiki” format to allow it to be edited often. Sometimes we need to address specific confusing issues. Other times, we need to address trends in written communication. Don’t be afraid to change your guide often (but in a way that is accessible, and trackable for those who need to use it).
In our style guide, we address:
- Brand specific terms
- Times and dates
- Punctuation
- Use of photos and images (licensing)
- Capitalization of titles and headlines
- Image quality and resolution
If you are looking for a place to start, you are welcome to use ours as a template.
Many of the references are very specific to our systems and terms. But perhaps it can give you an idea of items you can address in your style guide.
I’d love to know what your station uses. Feel free to reach out to me.
Carl E Bliss
Director of Interactive Media
Northwestern Media
Carl serves as Director of Interactive Media at Northwestern Media’s network of radio stations. You can keep up with his adventures at carlbliss.com, and twitter.com/ckbliss.
Life 102.5 has a heart for Madison! For the 4
Spirit 92.9 continued its commitment of blessing the central Minnesota community through intentional service projects. As the pandemic affected another year, station listeners rose to the challenge of uplifting and encouraging those feeling loss, loneliness, or burnout. Thanks to the help of generous listeners and business partners, Spirit 92.9 raised more than $8,000 in an online tip jar that blessed the staff at 19 local restaurants returning to work full time with huge tips during the Big Tip promotion. The restaurant workers were grateful for the visibility and appreciation. Numerous area teachers nominated by their students and families received special honor at the end of the school year with flowers and $500 VISA gift cards as part of “Thank A Teacher” organized by Spirit 92.9. In the fall, Spirit 92.9 partnered with two local ministries and provided free holiday meals to the community. During the ‘More Than A Meal’ event, the station worked with community members who donated enough to provide 6,000 meals and give help to people in need. Station team members also prepared and served meals together at the local homeless mission. At Christmastime, 11 community members wrote Spirit 92.9 and shared the story of someone they believed deserved some extra joy due to personal hardships. The individuals received $1000 to bless that person during Spirit 92.9’s Share The Joy promotion. Phone calls were made to hundreds of listeners to offer prayer and encouragement. Prayer support and a personal response is offered all year long.
Jim Campbell, Founder & Network President of Radio Training Network, Inc. began his radio career in commercial radio in Tennessee in 1964. In 1966 he moved his family to Lakeland, Florida to attend college, and upon graduation he joined the staff at First Assembly of God Church where he and the church launched in the mid 1970s the first Contemporary Christian Radio Station in the nation, WCIE-FM. The station grew in both market impression and influence not just in Lakeland, but around the country inspiring others to follow Jim’s lead. In 1989 Jim left the church and founded Radio Training Network, Inc. (RTN) and over the next 30+ years, he oversaw the acquisition and development of 40+ stations plus translators. With 130 team members, RTN stations serve the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri. These stations are well recognized in their respective markets thanks to the servant leadership of the staff, aggressive marketing, and a commitment to a strong emphasis on Jesus first. At present RTN has some two million listeners each week on air and approximately the same number online.
Andrea Kleid is a 24-year veteran of radio and records. She began her career working in Christian radio at WNLT in Cincinnati, and then moved onto WAY-FM in West Palm Beach working in programming and promotions. Her next stop took her to JOY-FM in Tampa where she served as the Promotions Director. In 2004, Andrea moved to Nashville to begin her music industry career in radio promotion under Grant Hubbard at Capitol CMG. In 2008, Andrea became the Vice President of Promotion at Word Label Group where she led one of the most successful and influential radio promotion teams in the Christian music industry. Through her signature brand of honesty, passion for Christian music, and focus on relationships, Andrea developed a reputation for successfully launching new artists’ careers including for KING and COUNTRY, NEEDTOBREATHE and Francesca Battistelli. This year, Andrea celebrates her fifth year as the President of her own company, Boxer Poet. An advocate for both radio and artists, Andrea continues to zealously host conversations around further representation for women and people of color on Christian radio.
Jason Sharp has a rich history with CCM radio and leadership. His early years at WONU/Chicagoland and The Bridge/Delaware gave flight to his passion for great programming and innovative promotions. As Program Director of WCQR/Johnson City and eventually the network PD for Positive Alternative Radio, Jason’s influence grew across the industry. In 2007, Jason joined the team at Northwestern Media as Program Director and then Station Manager of KTIS, Minneapolis/St Paul. In 2015, Jason furthered his formal education and earned his master’s degree in organizational leadership. Applying his leadership knowledge and skills to work, he now serves as Senior Vice President of Broadcasting at Northwestern Media’s 23 stations in 14 markets across ten states that service 1.5 million listeners each week. Jason also served Christian Music Broadcasters, first as a charter member and eventually as the lead of CMB’s educational track at Momentum for more than ten years. He then served as the organization’s board chairman from 2017-2020. Jason continues to inspire others within Christian media toward excellence and compassion through a Christ-centered attitude, education, and practical application.
In 1972, while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Orlando, Johnny Stone dreamt of a second kind of “air force,” that of radio. He took an overnight position at WDIZ-FM, the station where Z88.3 now stands. In the past 50 years of his career, Johnny’s work and personality raised the bar for other programmers in markets ranging from New York City, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Diego, Tampa, Atlanta, Tucson, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. During his stint as Program Director and Morning Show host at Star 99.1 New York, his team won the NAB Crystal Radio Award and CMB Station of the Year. Presently, Johnny serves as afternoon host with his wife, Stacey, at 91.9 WGTS in Washington D.C. winner of the 2021 NAB Marconi Award for Religious Station of the Year. Owner of StoneStudios, LLC. and as a 22-year veteran in Christian media, Johnny mentored several on-air talents. Today, along with his on-air role at WGTS, he mentors college students at CMBU, teaching and modeling the belief that “you have to win in the hallways to win on the airwaves.”
Lisa Williams was called to Christian radio while praying in 1990. She walked into KCVO in Camdenton, Missouri and started on the air that same week. Over the past 32 years, Lisa served in various roles in on-air, programming, fundraising, and station management at radio stations and networks including K-LOVE, Z88.3, Star 99.1, KCVO, and KCWN. As an on-air personality, Lisa earned several number one ratings in several markets and was the recipient of three industry awards. Lisa now serves as the Network Talent Coach for Northwestern Media, owner of 23 stations in 14 markets across ten states that service 1.5 million listeners each week. While at Northwestern, Lisa hosted the nationally syndicated show Life with Lisa Williams from 2016-2021. She stepped away from the show to focus on coaching more than 90 on-air talents, encouraging and nurturing them to shine the light of Christ through excellent radio. When she’s not coaching talent, Lisa helps stations raise money for their operations. She also hosts a Facebook group for women on-air in Christian radio called GodsRadioGirls and helps facilitate their annual retreat.