THE OROMO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION (OCO)
RADIO PROGRAM GUIDELINE AND POLICY
1. MISSION, OBJECTIVES, AND RESOURCES
1.1. Mission
The mission of the Oromo Community Radio Program is to provide the community with information, news, political, economic, social, cultural history and processes pertaining to the Oromo nation in Oromia and in Diaspora.
1.2. Objectives
The Oromo Community Radio Program strives to: (i) Provide news and educational services to raise the social, cultural, historical, economic, and political awareness of the Oromo people in the Washington, D.C. area as well as beyond (through the medium of Internet); (ii) Build a strong national solidarity among the Oromo society locally and globally.
1.3. Functions
The Radio Program is the media of the Oromo Community in the Washington D.C. Area. As such, the Program: (i) Gathers and broadcasts, mainly, Oromo news and information regularly; (ii) Transmits health education news to strengthen health awareness; (iii) Compiles data on human rights abuses in Oromia and broadcasts for the information of the audience; (iv) Beams articles, essays, and reports on Oromo political, economic, social, and cultural phenomena in order to build awareness among the community; (v) Broadcasts interviews and debates that are educational, informative, and useful for the achievement of the aspirations of the Oromo Nation; (vi) Builds and strengthens awareness among the Oromo women and youth of their rights and nation's rights.
1.4. Resources
The Radio Program depends on the community members for funding, technical, and managerial services. Volunteerism is the hallmark of the Program. The Program needs finance for program preparation, recording, airtime fees for broadcasting, and other logistics. Sponsors of the Program are the main sources of finance, and the duration of the airtime depends on the financial capability, technical capacity and spectrum of the program to be broadcast. In addition to financing, volunteer members of the community undertake tasks of technical, managerial, and support activities.
2. PROGRAM STRUCTURE, ORGANIZATION. AND SUB-COMMITTEES
The Oromo Community Radio Program is managed by the Oromo Community Organization in Washington DC Metropolitan Area, to facilitate participation of the members of the community from all walks of life for efficient operations and effective outcome. The organization structure reflects the Oromo Community Organization, Assembly of Sponsors, Program Executive Committee, Sub-committees, an Auditor, and an Editorial Board. The functions of each organ are outlined as follows:
2.1. Assembly of Sponsors
The Assembly of Sponsors is constituted by the financial donors. The Assembly delegates its executive power to the Board of Directors of the Oromo Community Organization. Its responsibilities are outlined below:
1. A member of the Assembly pledges permanent financial support on an ongoing basis;
2. Ratifies Operational budget of the Program;
3. Reviews the Guidelines and policies of the Program and recommends amendments when needed;
4. Gathers and deliberates when convened by the Chairperson;
5. Initiates resource mobilizing strategies and actions.
2.2. OCO Board of Directors
The OCO Board of Directors assumes full responsibility for the management of the Program on behalf the Assembly of Sponsors and delegates the day-to-day operational matters to the Program Executive Committee. Among other things, the OCO Board of Directors shall:
1. Convene the Assembly of Sponsors regularly and extraordinarily, and Chairs the meetings of the Assembly of Sponsors;
2. Table issues and initiatives for the deliberation of the Assembly of Sponsors, and keep record of the minutes of the meetings of the Assembly of Sponsors;
3. Initiate policies and ensure the implementation of policies, guidelines, plans and operations of the Radio Program;
4. Sign contract and purchase airtime and other materials for the purpose of Program operations;
5. Prepare and submit budget of the Radio Program for the deliberation and ratification to the Assembly of Sponsors;
6. Approve the work plans of the sub-committees, initiates and conducts fundraising activities as needed in cooperation with the sub-committees;
7. Submit annual performance report as well financial report of the Program to the Assembly of Sponsors and the General Assembly of the OCO at large; and,
8. Make effort to resolve misunderstandings and conflicts arising within the organization of the Radio Program
9. Appoints Members of the Editorial Board.
2.3. Program Executive Committee
A Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons, Secretary, and Treasurer constitute the Executive Committee. The Executive Director of the OCO Board shall be the Chairperson of the Committee; the Team leaders of the Technical and the Finance Sub-committees shall be Vice Chairpersons; and the Team leader of the Production/ Broadcasting Sub-committee shall be the Secretary. The Committee shall meet once in a month and shall hold extraordinary meetings as required.
The Program Executive Committee shall:
1. Be fully responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Program
2. Plan and execute Program activities in line with set schedules to avoid any program interruption
3. Edit news, information, and analysis for broadcast
4. Organize fundraising events and programs, ensure that pledges are collected timely; and ensure availability of funds in a timely manner
5. Solicit advertisements on the program to raise funds
6. Ensure that financial transactions are conducted in a sound manner according to this Guidelines and operational policy
7. Provide feedback to the OCO Board of Directors in a timely manner on matters that need the latter’s attention.
2.4. Sub-Committees and Their Functions
The Program shall have three sub-committees operating in tandem:
1. Technical Sub-Committee;
2. Production/ Broadcasting Sub-Committee; and,
3. Finance Sub-Committee
2.5. The Technical Sub-committee
The Technical Sub-committee shall be responsible for:
1. Obtaining edited news and information before beaming;
2. Working within the policy, rules, and procedures of the Program;
3. Broadcasting of news and information following the set schedules.
2.6. The Production/ Broadcasting Sub-committee
The Production/ Broadcasting Sub-committee shall be responsible for:
1. Reaching a consensus/ and or seeking clearance from the Editorial Board (especially on controversial matters) as to what should be broadcasted or information to be aired through the Radio Program;
2. News and information gathering and analysis;
3. Thematic program developments (on social, economic, and political issues)
4. Conducting interviews
5. Broadcasting of programs
2.7. The Finance Sub-committee:
The Finance Sub-committee shall be responsible for:
1. Soliciting and collecting donations;
2. Organizing fundraising events and programs, ensuring that pledges are collected timely; and ensuring availability of funds in a timely manner
3. Solicit advertisements on the program to raise funds
4. Ensure that financial transactions are conducted in a sound manner according to this Guidelines and operational policy
5. Preparing draft budget of the Radio Program and submitting to the Executive Committee;
6. Depositing money received in the appropriate bank account in a timely manner;
7. Keeping accounts of receipts and outlays and providing official receipts for donors;
8. Reporting to the Executive Committee on the financial operations of the Program;
9. Getting the financial records audited in a timely manner
3. AUDITOR
The Auditor shall:
1. Check up the appropriateness of operations and financial management of the Program;
2. Perform audits of financial accounts and program management in accordance with the Program rules and regulations;
3. Provide regular reports on operations to the Board that require timely action;
4. Submit yearly audit reports to the OCO Board of Directors and the Assembly of Sponsors.
4. EDITORIAL BOARD
The Oromo Community Radio Program is established to operate institutionally, following some basic principles of media objectivity and ethics. To that effect, the Program operation follows certain rules and norms that are acceptable to the Sponsors, the Oromo community and listeners at large. To coordinate and guide the operation the OCO Board shall establish an Editorial Board. The Editorial Board shall be accountable to the OCO Board. The Editorial Board is organized to regulate and ensure that the operation of the Radio Program meet the highest ethical standards, objectivity.
To fulfill their objectives the Editorial Committee shall:
1. Closely monitor the public receptivity of the Radio Program;
2. Provide editorial clearance to all broadcasts which the Executive Committee may think controversial or feels uncertain about;
3. Monitor the contents of the Radio Program to identify potential unethical issues and to make corrections in consultation with the OCO Board, and Executive and Sub-committees of the Radio Program.
4. Consult on the soundness of the Program with the Assembly of Sponsors and OCO Board for suggestions and changes
5. Provide reports to the assembly of Sponsors on ethical standard and general performance of the Program.
5. GENERAL OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES AND CODES OF CONDUCT
The following principles and codes of conduct shall guide all involved in the operation of the Radio Program:
1. The OCO radio shall strive to serve all sectors of our community fairly and equally.
2. The Program operation shall follow rules and norms that are acceptable to the Sponsors, the Oromo community, and the listeners at large. If community members have concerns over the material broadcasted by the Program, member/members shall bring the matter to the attention of the Editorial Board. Personal confrontation is unethical/ unproductive and shall be avoided at all times.
3. Members of the Executive Committee, Sub-committees, and all involved in the day-to-day operations of the Radio Program shall as much as possible avoid controversial issues that have the potential of polarizing our community.
4. Members of the Executive Committee, Sub-committees, and all involved in the day-to-day operations of the Radio Program shall adhere to the principles of objective journalism and social responsibility. Accordingly, they shall report facts free of subjectivity; endeavor to establish the reliability of information to be broadcast; avoid opinions and views that adversely impact our community; and, adhere to the established policy, rules, regulations and procedures.
5. Members of the Executive Committee, Sub-committees, and all involved in the day-to-day operations of the Radio Program shall honor and respect ethical standards laid out in this Guideline and policy.
6. RADIO USE POLICY AND FEES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENT
The OCO Radio is established with the support of our community members to serve our community. Many of our supporters are also members of different political, civic, and faith-based organizations in the Washington, DC area. Accordingly, as much as possible, the Radio Program strives to serve as a convenient outlet for all sectors of our community—political, civic, and faith-based organizations in the Washington DC area—to announce their public events and activities with minimum additional cost. Accordingly, for all Oromo political, civic, and faith-based organizations in the Washington DC area, the following minimum user fees and charges shall apply:
1. A fee of $20.00 will be charged for a single Announcement. If prepared and read by radio staff, the fee will be $40.00
2. A fee of $30.00 will be charged for two announcements and $40.00 for triple announcement of the same message; and an additional$20.00 if prepared and read by radio staff
For use in regards to advertisement of private businesses, goods and services, the Radio Program shall recuperate some reasonable income, including for covering the airtime fee that the Community is paying to the radio station. Accordingly, the following user fees and charges shall apply:
1. For private business advertisements, if the person supports the Radio program, the fee shall be $50.00 for ads of no longer than 2 minutes for 2 consecutive weeks and an additional charge of $30.00 if prepared and read by the radio staff. If the same ads is for 3 weeks the charge shall be $60.00, and an additional charge of $30.00 if prepared and read by the radio staff
2. For private business advertisements, if the person is NOT an active supporter of the Radio program, the fee shall be $100.00 for ads of no longer than 2 minutes for 2 consecutive weeks, and additional $50.00 if prepared and read by radio staff. If the same ad is for 3 weeks the charge shall be $125.00, and an additional charge of $50.00 if prepared and read by radio staff.
For both public announcement and private business advertisements, the following shall apply:
1. Payment shall first be made to the Head of the Finance Sub-committee before the announcement is authorized.
2. The content of the announcement shall be acceptable to the Executive Committee and the Editorial Board of the Radio Program.
7. AMENDMENTS
This Guideline and Policy can be amended from time to time as needed by a majority vote of the OCO Board of Directors.
8. EFFECTIVENESS
This Guideline and policy will be operational effective October 1, 2006.
9. DISSOLUTION
The Program can be dissolved if a two-third majority of sponsors agrees to do so. Any asset after settlement of liability will be donated to a charity selected by the Sponsors.
September 2006,
Washington, D.C
OCO Board of Directors