Institutional policies on extracurricular faculty broadcasting performances

Abstract

The continual need for variety in broadcast programming, together with a need in public affairs programming for experts in many fields, has increased the number of college and university faculty members appearing on commercial radio and television from a trickle to a flood. Some programs present the professor as featured talent, others are more interested in his work, others want to see what makes a great teacher or researcher “tick” while still others need an explanation of a complex topic at a moment's notice. Few of these professor‐performers spend an appreciable amount of their time at such activities, but in the aggregate, a substantial number of commercial stations use a substantial number of people from academic life on their programs. (An additional broadcasting activity of faculty members is, of course, their appearance on educational or instructional radio or television outlets.) The relationship between commercial broadcasting and the campus has led many colleges and universities to establish formal or informal policies, and most academic institutions to consider the trouble potential of these broadcast activities. This article is a report of a national survey to determine such institutional policies and attitudes toward the appearance of faculty members on radio and television programs.