Local Church-sponsored events can qualify for free public-service air time on some local radio stations. Announcements of these events should be 10, 15, 30, or 60 seconds long and should focus on local events that serve the public, such as a family history conference or an earthquake preparedness seminar. Stations sometimes are willing to record such spots from a script prepared by the Church. Contact the station's public service director or senior manager.

Note: These local announcements should not be confused with programs produced by Church headquarters or other Church production entities.

• Directors of public affairs (DPAs) should not pay for advertising of any kind, including direct gospel message advertisements for missionary work. Local public affairs councils also should not try to place news or feature stories with national media organizations such as ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Time, Newsweek, or U.S. News & World Report. National media relations for the United States are handled by the Church Public Affairs Department. Internationally, they are handled by the appropriate area public affairs office. Local councils should concentrate on developing strategic stories and features about local events and personalities to be placed with local media organizations.

As a general rule, programming produced and distributed by most Church production entities is not available for local council placement on any commercial broadcasting station or network, due to copyright complexities. Such programs include:

• Music and the Spoken Word Tabernacle Choir radio and television programs.
• General conference broadcasts.
• National public service campaigns, including "Homefront" spots.
• Church-produced television or radio programs, including seasonal specials.

The Public Affairs Department strongly counsels DPAs to NOT place programs on local public access radio and television stations or local cable systems. Such stations have small audiences and the programs have very limited impact. Councils should focus, rather, on carrying out their local public affairs plans, which generally include developing strategic relationships with local influencers.