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Crystal Radio Awards

Entry Rules

The NAB Crystal Radio Awards (the “Crystals”) hosted and administered by the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”) is seeking entries:

The Crystals honor 10 NAB member radio stations for excellence in year-round community service.

AGREEMENT: In order to participate in the Crystals, the radio station wishing to participate (“Entrant”) must agree to these Crystal Radio Awards Rules (“Rules”). Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entering. Entrant’s entering constitutes Entrant’s agreement to and acceptance of these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between Entrant and NAB with respect to the Crystals. This Agreement governs, among other things, any materials, information, works of authorship, audiovisual works, visual assets, video, voice-overs, data, and deliverables that a Entrant submits or provides to NAB, or that a winning Entrant agrees or proposes to create or develop, with respect to the Crystals (“Submissions”).

ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open to NAB radio member stations of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia and U.S. territories except where prohibited. Crystals judges and employees of NAB, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, agents and their immediate families and people living in their households, are not eligible to participate in the Submissions and all Submissions that include these individuals will be excluded. NAB, at its sole discretion, shall determine eligibility of any station, and may disqualify any Entrant at any time for any reason. In the event of a conflict or potential conflict between Submissions, NAB, in its sole discretion, may choose to reject or disqualify one or more Submissions.

All Submissions must follow the Submissions Requirements listed herein in order to be eligible to compete in the Crystals.

SUBMISSIONS: Entrant must submit its Submission between January 1, 2024  and 5 p.m. ET January 31, 2024 at https://my.nab.org/addcrystalradioaward  (the “Crystals Website”) to be eligible. Submissions will be accepted only via the Crystals Website. All Submissions must be made available in English. You must provide a valid email address and phone number which will be the means to communicate with you. All sections of the Submission forms must be completed and submitted to create a valid Submission into the Crystals.

There is a $60 entry fee per submission.

Submission Form Requirements: All Crystals Entrants must clearly and concisely complete all four (4) sections of the Submission requirements:

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Recipients of a 2023 NAB Crystal Radio Award are not eligible to enter the Crystals again until Crystals Awards year 2025.

  • ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE AND AS PART OF ONE DOCUMENT.
  • Call letters must appear on all pages.
  • All sections must be clearly identified.
  • Any section containing photos or entry information will be included in the page count for that section.
  • Entries must meet all entry requirements in order to be considered.
  • Entrant gives NAB the right to use all video from the awards ceremony, station name, and entry content – in whole or in part for promotional and other purposes without additional consideration.
  • In submitting this entry, entrant certifies that it holds all legal rights to the material submitted and hereby irrevocably grants to NAB the nonexclusive right to use said material in whatever manner NAB deems proper, including the production of books, audio tapes and other media and pursuant to as otherwise described herein.

Section 1:  Summary

All entries must be accompanied by a summary of no more than 200 words, describing Entrant station's community service efforts during the 2023 calendar year. This section should be a summation of Sections two through four (described below). Should Entrant’s station be a finalist, this description will be used by the NAB to publicize Entrant’s achievement as submitted, so please double check your spelling and grammar.

  • This section must be in paragraph form with complete sentences; no bullet points.
  • No quotes may be included within the summary.
  • NAB reserves the right to edit summaries published online or in the Crystal Finalist booklet.

NOTE: It is recommended that Entrants have someone who did not write the summary review it before submission.

Section 2:  Consistent Local Programming and Coverage

Three pages maximum
Read instructions carefully

This section should contain all public service efforts that were not in conjunction with a community event in which Entrant’s station participated. The following information should be included in this section:

  • Regularly scheduled community affairs programs. List the length of the programs, when they air, and a general overview of the topics covered. Also note if the programs were produced by Entrant’s station.
  • News and weather coverage that is part of Entrant’s regularly scheduled programming. List length and frequency of broadcasts.
  • Special News and weather coverage that is not part of regularly scheduled programming.
  • Special features. Any documentaries or special coverage that is not part of a regular community affairs program.
  • Election coverage that is not part of regularly-scheduled news broadcasts.
  • Radiothons that were conducted from Entrant’s station studio, rather than from somewhere in the community. (Radiothons conducted in the community - hospitals, malls, etc. - should be noted in Section 3.)
  • Public Service Announcements - Must be listed in total minutes.
  • Entrant must indicate the number of PAID minutes vs. the number of UNPAID minutes.
  • Do not include PSAs and promos for community events in which the station was involved (this should be included in Section 3).

Section 3:  Station-involved Community Service Events

Seven pages maximum
Read instructions carefully

This section is for community service events that Entrant’s station either conducted or sponsored.

  • All events should be listed in chronological order.
  • Use the following template in organizing your information for each event and include:

     

Event Name/Date(s):
Benefiting Group:
Entrant’s station is: Primary Organizer or Support Sponsor

Please note:

Any event not labeled as either Primary Organizer or Support Sponsor will be disqualified.

Primary Organizer is defined as Entrant’s station was the originator of the event, developed the event from conception to execution, and had an onsite presence.

Support Sponsor is defined as Entrant’s station served as a media sponsor and/or a secondary event promoter. This includes events that were held in conjunction with one or more sister stations where Entrant was not the Primary Organizer, Please include call letters of all participating station(s).

Description:

On-air support prior to the event (interviews, PSAs, promo spots):
On-air support during/after event (remotes, live reports):
Online support (streaming, web page presence, emails, social media):
Total staff hours contributed:

Event result (:30 elevator speech; if an annual event, please indicate year-over- year results)

Section 4:  Other

Two pages maximum
Read instructions carefully

In this section, list contributions Entrant station made to the community that do not fall within the previous sections. Examples of contributions that would fit into this section would be:

  • Staff appearances not mentioned in Section 3 (school visits, volunteer emcee duties, etc.). This does not include appearances where the staff member received compensation from the sponsoring group.
  • Monetary and in-kind donations. List amount and group receiving donation.
  • Online or social media support of groups/organizations.
  • Station-sponsored volunteer work. List total overall hours contributed and benefiting groups.

CRYSTALS PERIOD/JUDGING:

These dates are subject to change:

Judging will take place approximately from February 1, 2024 through March 18, 2024.

Judging will be based on the following criteria:

Section 2 (described above) – The length and degree of their service (1/3)

Section 3 (described above) – The degree to which Entrant station’s services/actions have made a lasting or meaningful contribution or impact on their community and/or colleagues (1/3)

Section 4 (described above) - The extent to which Entrant station’s service or actions might be considered above and beyond the call of duty (1/3)

The winner(s) will be selected and announced at NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on or about Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The decisions of the judges will be final in all instances. NAB accepts no responsibility for Submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused.

PRIZES

Each finalist will receive a commemorative plaque.  Each winner will receive a NAB Crysal Radio Award (trophy) and if present at the event, will have the opportunity to provide acceptance remarks.

LEGAL RIGHTS IN ENTRANT’S SUBMISSION

Entrant Certification of Rights in Submission:

By entering a Submission, Entrant represents and warrants that: (i) Entrant will comply with these terms and conditions and bind Entrant’s station to the agreements and obligations contained herein and Entrant’s Submission is not subject to any conflicting obligations that would prevent or interfere with Entrant’s compliance with these terms and conditions; (ii) Entrant’s Submission is Entrant’s original work and does not make unauthorized use of or violate in any way any rights of any third party, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or rights of publicity or privacy; and (iii) no one else’s permission is required for Entrant to make Entrant’s Submission in the Crystals. Without limiting the foregoing, Entrant represents and warrants that Entrant has complied with any requirements of Entrant’s employer, if any, to allow Entrant’s participation in the Crystals, including but not limited to making Entrant’s Submission and accepting the Prize.

GENERAL CONDITIONS: Except as otherwise required by law, Entrant agrees that the Crystals and its operation is to be construed under the laws of the District of Columbia. Notwithstanding the jurisdiction of any other court, Entrant expressly submits and consents in advance that any disputes arising out of these Rules, the Submission, or the Crystals shall be construed under the laws of the District of Columbia, except for its choice of laws rules, regardless of the place of execution or performance, and shall be binding upon Entrant and NAB hereto, their heirs, successors, assigns, and personal representatives, and references to Entrant and NAB shall include their heirs, successors, assigns, and personal representatives. All instruments executed pursuant to these Rules shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, except for its choice of laws rules. Any disputes or claims between Entrant and NAB arising out of or related to these rules, the Submission, or the Crystals which cannot be amicably resolved shall be resolved through binding arbitration before one arbitrator and conducted under the rules of the American Arbitration Association in the District of Columbia. The laws of the District of Columbia shall govern. The arbitration award will be enforceable in any state or federal court. In any arbitration or litigation arising out of or relating to these Rules, the Submission, the Crystals, or the enforcement of any arbitration award, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, including expert witness and arbitration fees and pre-and post-judgment interest. Entrant and NAB will be responsible for the reasonable for their own attorneys’ fees, costs and interest associated with these rules, the Submission, the Crystals, and/or the enforcement of these rules

PRIVACY: Entrant agrees that personal data submitted with the Submission, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be collected, processed, stored, and otherwise used by NAB and its affiliates only for the purposes of conducting and administering the Crystals. By entering the Crystals, Entrant agrees to the transmission, processing, disclosing, and storage of this personal data by NAB and its affiliates.

PUBLICITY: By entering the Crystals, Entrant agrees to participate in any media or promotional activity resulting from the Crystals as reasonably requested by NAB at NAB’s expense and agrees and consents to use of their name, image, voice, appearance, persona, and/or likeness by NAB. NAB shall contact Entrant in advance of any NAB request for interviews. The Submission may also be used for press and media purposes (including events and activities related to this Crystals). NAB reserve the right to publish the name, image, voice, appearance, persona, and likeness of Entrant on the Crystals Website or through other media for publicity purposes.

WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY: Entrant warrants that its Submissions are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Submission and that they have the right to submit the Submission in the Crystals and grant all rights thereto. Entrant agrees not to submit any Submission that: (a) infringes any third-party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade names, industrial designs, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity, or confidentiality obligations; or (b) otherwise violates applicable state, federal, or local law.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Entrant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless NAB from and against any and all claims, actions, suits, or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or accruing from: (i) any claim or suit alleging that any Submission or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by Entrant infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent, or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) breach of any warranty set forth herein; (iii) any misrepresentation made by Entrant in connection with the Crystals; (iv) any non-compliance by Entrant with these Rules; (v) claims brought by persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to Entrant’s involvement with the Crystals; (vi) acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of any prize or participation in any Crystals-related activity or participation in the Crystals; (vii) any malfunction or other problem with the Crystals Website in relation to the Submission and participation in the Crystals by Entrant; (ix) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of Submission or voting information in relation to the Submission and participation in the Crystals by Entrant and in the voting process; or (x) any typographical or other error in the printing, offering, or announcement of any prize or winners in relation to the Submission and participation in the Crystals.

INTERNET AND DISCLAIMER: NAB is not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Crystals Website or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed Submission or votes due to system errors, failed, incomplete, or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware, or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors, and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Crystals Website, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital, or satellite malfunctions which may limit the ability to participate. NAB is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others, which might prevent anyone from entering, participating, and/or claiming a prize in this Crystals. NAB’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. NAB reserves the right to disqualify those who violate the rules or interfere with this Crystals in any manner.

RIGHT TO CANCEL OR MODIFY: If for any reason the Crystals is not capable of running as planned, including but not limited to, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, force majeure event, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, occurrence, or proper conduct of the Crystals, NAB reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Crystals.








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