Opportunities From: KBOO Community Radio

In broadcasting an “Evergreen,” refers to a prerecorded audio piece that is always good for broadcast, because there are no references to dates, times, current events, weather, seasonal membership drive pitches, etc. Nothing that could make the piece sound like a rebroadcast.

One big way you can help out in the programming department is to produce Evergreen AudioPilots or Radiozines!
AudioPilots/Radiozines are one-off pieces of programming or even limited series that are plugged in during open timeslots on the air schedule. AudioPilots encompass DJ sets, radio theater, comedy, sonic art, poetry, and all things music, arts, and culture. Radiozines are public affairs centered, meaning the format is talk radio. This might look like interviews and panel discussions.

AudioPilots and Radiozines don't have to be evergreen or prerecorded, but when they are, it adds to our library of back-up programming. We can then rely on them in an emergency. If you're only interested in producing timely content, that's great too! Every bit of programming makes a difference. You can learn more about AudioPilots and Radiozines here and keep an eye out for "On-Air Shift" needs here on Galaxy. In many ways, these two volunteer needs overlap. In fact, you can edit an evergreen version of most on-air shifts you produce or even shows produced by others.

File Specifications for Evergreens:

Accepted File Types: WAV, FLAC, MP3

Include a Legal ID in the opening remarks, as well as at the top of every hour "K-B-O-O Portland"

Longer files should be broken into 1-hour segments (this allows more flexibility when scheduling)

Resets and back announcing should occur at minimum every 15 - 30 minutes

File Duration:

Radiozines should either be 28 minutes or 58 minutes

AudioPilots can be multiple hours long and rounded to the hour (60 minute segments)

The last 5 minutes of music/culture programming should be music only. All closing remarks should be completed by the 55-minute mark in the file. This is to account for the file potentially being cut off at the end of the timeslot by the announcements at the top of the hour.

Submit the audio to thisgoogle form, with the following naming convention:

YYYY_MM_DD EVERGREEN Audiopilot/radiozine description (clean/explicit) - Your Name

i.e. 2024_07_28 EVERGREEN AudioPilot Hip Hop Soul Music (Explicit) - DJ Jazzy Jeff

i.e. 2024_11_01 EVERGREEN Radiozine Interview with Jane Doe (Clean) - Joe Schmoe

We appreciate all genres and topics!

At this time we have a high need for: poetry, radio theater, comedy, hiphop, reggae, world music, literature, and music and/or public affairs in spanish.

When your evergreen is scheduled for broadcast, program staff will notify you!

Prerequisites: FCC Legal Training

*Basic audio editing knowledge is required.
*You are welcome to edit from home or by checking out a production studio at the station.

Volunteers needed to help host in-person donation events and serve as a KBOO ambassador. Duties are light and social. Welcome people into the station, share a story or two, ask others what they enjoy listening to most, maybe give a tour.

This is for our KBOO Fights Back! end-of-year fundraising campaign. Here's more on the campaign and events:

KBOO knows the importance of community media when we need it most. Help us reach our goal of $75,000 by December 31st. KBOO’s Board of Directors is hosting in-person meet-and-greets at the station at 20 SE 8th Avenue in Portland.

Stop by KBOO on Saturday, December 6th or Sunday, December 7th from 10am until 4pm. Serve as KBOO ambassador, meet members of the Board of Directors, and greet KBOO community members. Enjoy coffee or tea and light refreshments and share why KBOO is important to YOU.

For more information about KBOO Fights Back in-person events, visit kboo.fm. Email jillboard@kboo.org for a pre-printed name tag. Thank you for supporting KBOO Community Radio!

Let's Talk! is live every 1st Friday of the month, from 11 am to 12 pm.
Please arrive at 10:30 am to prep the studios and touch base with the program hosts about the run-of-show.

This program does not take callers on the air, so you can focus on monitoring the microphone levels, listening for FCC violations, and transitioning to and from the automation system at the beginning and end of the program.

Let’s Talk! is a show created by and for students at PCC. The program explores culture and social justice issues from the lens of people experiencing disabilities

Prerequisite: Board Operator Training

If you are new to board operating and are interested in shadowing this shift or having a staff member with you while you get comfortable board oping. Please contact program@kboo.org

We are looking for interested volunteers to participate in KBOO's event planning workgroup and events team. Meetings will be held 1-2 times a month to build on and collaborate on an events strategy for the station, and to execute events over the calendar year. Sign up is on an ongoing basis and folks are able to join at any time!

No experience necessary! Please reach out to Arty Wall at Membership@kboo.org or Kate Chase at Engagement@kboo.org for any questions! 

When an episode of a show uses certain characters in its title, it can cause the show not to load properly in the KBOO app and other podcasting platforms. Help update episode titles to make sure all KBOO programs are available as RSS podcasts.

No skills or experience are required. You'll be using kboo.fm to edit episode pages and replace certain characters in the titles. If you are familiar with creating and editing content on kboo.fm, you are perfect for this! If not, this is a great way to learn.

The Membership Department is seeking a regular weekly/bi-weekly volunteer to assist with various tasks such as: data entry, phone calls, project tasks, etc. You will be working with either the Membership Director, Data Coordinator, or both. These times and days are flexible. We are ultimately looking for someone who is willing to learn some of the ins and outs and to become a regular face in the Membership Department, joining us for 2-4 hours once a week.

KBOO's Radical Romance, an advice show for people in or thinking about non-traditional relationships, and the host, Dr. Tony Zimbardi is looking for a board operator and collaborator.

The show is on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 10am to 11am. Show up by 9:30 am to get set up. You will work the board, monitor levels, answer the phones, and potentially get on the air with Dr. Tony.

Prerequisite: Board Operator Training

If you are new to board operating and are interested in shadowing this shift or having a staff member with you while you get comfortable board oping. Please contact program@kboo.org / Volunteer@kboo.org

The episodes that appear on the front page of the KBOO website are manually curated.
Can you help us keep it looking fresh and up to date?

Here's a 5-minute tutorial describing the process.
(Sorry for the low resolution!)

Upon signing up, we'll get you a website login and/or update your user credentials so you have access to edit the front page.
If you could help with even just one shift, it would be a massive help!

Welcome visitors to KBOO. Answer the phone, forward calls, and check messages. Keep the lobby tidy. And more!

No experience necessary. Nate, the Volunteer Coordinator, will train you on your first shift. There is a Reception Manual you can review, though it is being updated as not everything is applicable anymore.

While the shifts are scheduled from 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm, you don't have to work the full shift. Whatever works for you in that time frame is fine. Just leave a note when responding to the Opportunity.

Welcome visitors to KBOO. Answer the phone, forward calls, and check messages. Keep the lobby tidy. And more!

No experience necessary. Nate, the Volunteer Coordinator, will train you on your first shift. There is a Reception Manual you can review, though it is being updated as not everything is applicable anymore.

While the shifts are scheduled from 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm, you don't have to work the full shift. Whatever works for you in that time frame is fine. Just leave a note when responding to the Opportunity.

This opportunity is on-going. The Program Director will reach out to you by email when there is a promo that needs to be mixed.

Recording Details

Where and how to record your promo:

If you have taken Introduction to Studio Production, you can checkout a production studio (by email volunteer@kboo.org) and mix the promo at the station in a production studio!

You may also edit from home! If you don't have editing software at home, we recommend using Audacity! It is free and open-source.
If you want to help with opportunity but don't know how to edit audio, not a problem! Please contact Program@kboo.org to schedule an Introduction to Audio Editing Training (We'll be using Audacity in the training).

If you wish to voice AND mix your own promos, please also sign up for "Voice On-Air Announcements" opportunity.

Please email Program@kboo.org with any questions.

Producers are experienced news reporters who are tasked with organizing the news production process and the newscast itself. They edit the writing of other reporters, pull syndicated audio clips and organize the runsheet for the show so the newscast is cohesive. Their work can be done virtually, or at the station.

News producers build their writing and editing skills as well as critical thinking and organization.

Classes required: Producing the KBOO News

We need your help to create  "evergreen" versions of past KBOO broadcasts!

“Evergreen,” means a broadcast piece that is always good for broadcast, because there are no references to dates, times, current events, weather, seasonal membership drive pitches, etc. Nothing that would indicate that the audio is a rebroadcast. We need your help to edit out these untimely references, so the audio can be played at any time, especially in the event of an emergency!

Here are the details!

(we'll provide access to the folders linked in this document after you sign up)

This volunteer opportunity is a huge help!

If you would like to help create fresh evergreen content, we appreciate that as well! More Info here.

*Basic audio editing knowledge is required.
*You are welcome to edit from home or by checking out a production studio at the station.

Reporters at KBOO News volunteer to create content for the KBOO Evening News. They research and write up stories for anchors to read on air. They conduct interviews and edit audio for the newscast. They also go out into the field to report on events and collect audio. Their work can be done virtually, however in-person opportunities are also available.

News volunteers build their writing, interviewing, critical thinking, investigation and audio editing skills.

Classes required: Newsroom Orientation, Writing for Radio, Voicing and Audio Editing

Classes recommended: Interviewing Techniques, News Editing in Audacity

This opportunity exists so you can log volunteer hours under this opportunity.

If you are interested in becoming a program host, please join us for Programmer Orientation to learn more about the programming department and what it takes to have a show at KBOO!

When you're ready you can apply for a program here.