broadcast
disseminate over the airwaves, as in radio or television
Broadcast media--radio and television--are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve "in the public interest."
requirement
necessary activity
Most stations use PSAs as one of the ways they meet this
requirement.
percentage
a proportion in relation to a whole
While they aren't required to donate a fixed
percentage of air time per day to PSAs, stations do have to state in their licensing and renewal applications how much air time they plan to devote to PSAs.
commercial
connected with or engaged in the exchange of goods
Most stations donate about a third of their
commercial spots to non-commercial causes
devote
set aside or apart for a specific purpose or use
in other words, if a station has 18 minutes of commercials in a given hour, six minutes of that will probably be
devoted to PSAs.
service
an act of help or assistance
Public
service announcements, or PSAs, are short messages produced on film, videotape, DVD, CD, audiotape, or as a computer file and given to radio and television stations.
script
a written version of a play or other dramatic composition
PSAs are sent as ready-to-air audio or video tapes, although radio stations sometimes prefer a
script that their announcers can read live on the air.
persuade
cause somebody to adopt a certain position or belief
Since World War II, public service announcements (PSAs) have informed and attempted to
persuade the public about a variety of issues.
entertain
provide amusement for
If people find an ad or PSA
entertaining enough, they might talk about it with a friend or share it online.
message
a communication that is written or spoken or signaled
When this happens, many more people will receive the intended
message.