Public service announcements are an excellent way to reach target audiences cost-effectively. PSAs are short messages of community interest for non-profit organizations that are aired during the broadcast day. Commercials tell you about a product, then try to get you to buy it. PSAs tell you about a cause or event with the goal of raising community awareness.

PSAs are inexpensive to produce and free to air. However, stations are under no obligation to grant specific air times to any group or organization. Stations have varying requirements for how they want PSAs delivered. Some accept produced audio or videotapes, while others want only typed copy. Check with your broadcast stations for their requirements.

FORMAT
PSAs should be typed or printed out on 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Double space the copy and leave ample margins on either side of the page. In the upper left corner, list the name of your organization, appropriate address, telephone number with area code and the name of a contact person.

In the upper right corner type the release dates. "Start" with the date to begin airing, and "Kill" with the date to stop. Do not hyphenate words at the end of a line. Instead, put the entire word on the next line. Copy for a PSA usually is more informal than copy for a news release.

At the bottom of each PSA, the word count should appear at the left margin, with the time in seconds. For example: 45 words - 20 seconds. If the station accepts PSAs produced in advance, check to see what format they require.