Commentaries

WKMS welcomes community members to self-voice self-authored compositions that express opinion, introspection or humor on topics of interest and importance to our audience. If you have an opinion, interest or review you'd like to share with WKMS listeners, please see the guidelines below. The views expressed in commentaries are the opinion of the commentator and don't necessarily reflect the views of WKMS.

The station will review every script before it is recorded with respect to:
1. Libel or slander.
2. Content that is more promotional than provocative.
3. Accuracy.
4. Personal attacks and ad hominem attacks.
5. Political or religious content that promotes rather than informs.
6. Appropriate usage, language and form for civil discourse.

The station will assist authors with:
1. Making appropriate edits.
2. Bringing the communication to proper time length, generally about 600 words or 3 to 4 minutes of spoken word.
3. Recording the communication in the WKMS studio (unless other arrangements that yield equally acceptable audio are agreed to).
4. Editing the communication and placing it in the WKMS schedule.

WKMS will require authors to provide the station a final script that will be filed in the news department and will be placed on the station's web site.

WKMS will need authors to provide a suggested introduction for each communication as well as a standard announcer outro script that includes author name, general place of residence, and whatever other personal information might lend authority or authenticity to the communication.

WKMS will schedule produced communications and inform the author of time(s). Generally these are aired three times each, but the rotation is solely at the discretion of the station.

WKMS will refuse to air communications that violate rules of the Federal Communications Commission for non-commercial, educational stations. Further, WKMS will refuse to air communications that would, for any reason, undermine its goodwill with the audience it serves.

If you find these terms agreeable, please email msu.wkmsnews@murraystate.edu to schedule a time in a studio to record.

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Commentary
11:32 am
Fri January 28, 2011

Commentary: Memory is Sufficient

Duane Bolin

Murray, KY – Sometimes your fondest reflections on the past cannot be aided by photographs or video, but are subject, rather, to the power of your own memories. Commentator Duane Bolin has a new lease on life after a near-death experience. Shortly after the traumatic events, he found himself yearning for the familiar. In this reflection, he recalls an excerpt from an essay by writer E.B. White about the sufficiency of memory in recording life's precious moments.

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Commentary
11:58 am
Fri January 21, 2011

Commentary: "Potential Evangelicals" need not apply at UK

Richard Nelson

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Commentary
10:49 am
Fri January 7, 2011

Commentary: The Lantern Bearers

Dr. Duane Bolin

Murray, KY – Maybe you know someone with a tough exterior and a hidden heart of gold, someone with an internal kindness only revealed to those closest to them. Author Robert Louis Stevenson called this kind of person a "lantern bearer." Commentator Duane Bolin examines this trait in Stevenson's essay and in his own life.

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Commentary
10:24 am
Mon December 27, 2010

Commentary: After Christmas

Dr. Duane Bolin

Murray, KY – Christmas time, for many, is a time to slow down, to cherish traditions with families and loved ones. But what about the day after Christmas? Or the week after Christmas? Commentator Duane Bolin reflects on the spirit of the holiday season and the period of transition before returning to regular routine.

Dr. Duane Bolin teaches in the Department of History at Murray State University.

 

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Commentary
3:55 pm
Tue December 21, 2010

Web-exclusive commentary: Keeping Christmas

Dr. Duane Bolin

Murray, KY – In a time of on-the-go iPhone apps, celebratory Facebook wishes and "music best enjoyed by earbud" - the holiday season means, for many, a time to slow down and appreciate the family. Commentator Duane Bolin and his family make an effort every Christmas to keep the spirit of the season alive in his household. In this piece called "Keeping Christmas" he talks about what it takes and the rewards enjoyed as a result.

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Commentary
3:45 pm
Fri December 17, 2010

Holiday Story - "The Guardian"

Robert Valentine

Murray, KY – A Christmas Carol, Frosty the Snowman and the Nativity of Jesus, the winter holiday season is filled with stories classic and new, festive and religious. Commentator and storyteller Robert Valentine shares a holiday story titled "The Guardian" about a shepherd named Adonikam, who is greeted in the night by a mysterious stranger, long ago.

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Commentary
2:56 pm
Fri December 10, 2010

Commentary: Christmas Lights

Dr. Duane Bolin

Murray, KY – The winter is a season full of festivities, diverse across cultural and spiritual traditions, but one festivity that may be most outwardly expressed and shared is the celebration of lights that adorn our houses and town squares. Commentator and History professor Dr. Duane Bolin talks about the importance of lights across faiths - and what it means to his own faith in the celebration of Christmas.

(Commentary Script Coming Soon)

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Commentary
11:21 am
Wed November 24, 2010

Commentary: Is Marriage's Turkey Cooked?

Richard Nelson

Murray, KY – For many, Thanksgiving has become a tradition of gathering around a turkey with the family, sharing stories and giving thanks. Commentator Richard Nelson recently found some statistics on opinions about marriage and the traditional family, which suggest that the idea of family has changed in people's minds. Nelson found, however that most Americans still believe children fare best in two-parent families.

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Commentary
11:27 am
Fri November 12, 2010

Commentary - Beware the Jabberwock: Tea Party and Small Government

Constance Alexander

Murray, KY – On November 2nd, Kentucky Republican and Tea Party flag-bearer Rand Paul won the Commonwealth's vacant U.S. Senate seat. The first-time candidate and Washington outsider championed small government in his campaign and emphasized businesses and entrepreneurs take a stronger role in job creation. Commentator Constance Alexander takes issue with this stance, citing herself as an example of the success of Government assistance.

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Commentary
5:14 pm
Thu November 11, 2010

True Eloquence, One Veterans Story

Retired U.S. Air Force Major Charley Buntin

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