Project Yellow Light Contest
The Project Yellow Light website (projectyellowlight.com) explains: “Hunter Garner had a dry wit, a wicked sense of humor and a creative mind. He loved music, running, and had many friends from all walks of life.”
On June 10, 2007, Garner died in a car crash that killed both him and the driver of the car, his good friend. The cause of the accident? Distracted driving, or driving while using a cell phone.
The Project Yellow Light/Hunter Garner Scholarship was founded as a legacy to Garner by his parents. The goal of the organization is to encourage safe driving habits, and one of the ways it does so is an annual competition open to high school juniors and seniors who plan to attend college as well as college and university undergraduates; high school and college level submissions will be judged and winners selected separately. Entries can be done by teams.
This year Project Yellow Light has added a new category – Radio. There will be one first place prize to be awarded in the High School Contest and the College Contest for a total of two prizes. The winning entrants from each level will each receive a $2,000 scholarship and have the opportunity to be considered for use as the basis for a public service message by the Ad Council, which means the winning entry has the potential to be aired on iHeart radio stations across the nation (iHeart is one of the sponsors of Project Yellow Light).
Interested? Here’s how it works: Create a radio recording that lasts exactly 20 seconds to be heard by young drivers who are new to the road. You have full creative license, though the recording must be in good taste. The website has links for inspiration (invalid as of this writing; hopefully fixed soon) as well as tips for effective radio advertising. The clearer the audio the better … this is intended for broadcast, after all. Professional grade recording equipment and processing is recommended.
You can also submit entries in the video and billboard divisions as well. Winning entries in those divisions will be featured on billboards and television stations nationwide as well. In addition, all first place winners will receive moving expense gifts valid for 12 months courtesy of U-Haul.
Check out the PYL website for more information and official rules. Entries for the radio contest are due on or before April 1st, finalists will be notified in May, and winners will be chosen by June.
Rams Ratings
Was it due to just being a bad team, was it due to my theory of most fans bypassing radio and just watching games on television, or was it both?
Probably both, as it seems ratings for the Rams were dismal on radio as well as being down on television, One source told me that Sunday game-time ratings on The Sound (KSWD, 100.3 FM) were down as much as 25 percent compared with pre-Rams ratings; on television ratings were down to an average of 8.0 from 8.3 in 2015. Yes, that means ratings were lower with a local team. Reportedly ratings were up on KSPN (710 AM), though that’s not hard to do when you start so low.
For at least twenty years I’ve been told that professional sports on radio (and all-sports formats) garner ratings. I’m still waiting for proof.
Levine Debut
Known as Beaver Cleaver during the 1970s on Ten-Q as well as a premiere television writer, producer and director, Ken Levine made his podcast debut on January 6th. Go to kenlevine.blogspot.com and scroll down to Podcast Episode 1: Hollywood & Levine’s Maiden Voyage.
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