South Florida, January 12, 2009–SFL’s two time Emmy-Award winning Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign, “Free to be Heard” is back! On January 16 from 1p.m. to 8p.m. at Nova Southeastern University, SFL will host an open audition for talented spoken-word artists. Selected performers will be taped on audition day in front of a live audience.

Created in 2007, “Free to be Heard” is designed to highlight the cultural and political contributions of history’s most influential African-American leaders. The campaign won the 2007 and 2008 Emmy in the “Community/Public Service” category. View last year’s winners at: southflorida.com

Auditioners should plan to: 1) Have a 20-second performance – no more, no less, no exceptions! 2) Use the power of the spoken word to shine a spotlight on an individual who has played an influential role in shaping African-American history (no profanity due to FCC regulations). 3) Bring your photo ID to the audition.

Auditions will be held at Nova’s University Center in the second floor Performance Theater. Hopefuls will have a brief rehearsal session backstage, followed by their theater performance in front of a live audience, which will be taped for television. SFL will select 12 performances to be used in this year’s PSA campaign.

The 2009 PSA’s will air in February 2009 during Black History Month on SFL and on SouthFlordia.com.