WiS Lesson Five -- On-campus Source Practice

Here are a couple of pretty good (short) school angle news stories. Your teacher will provide you with the imaginary interview. You'll write the copy and select the actuality. Remember: you still have to follow the same steps you used for your simple announcement reader. Your first sentence gives the source credit and adds the soft lede information. Then you're giving us the titled-source-says. In a school angle on-campus source piece, this is where we introduce the campus credible source. In an off-campus school angle piece, the source is someone closer to the original story, if not the newspaper reporter's original source. After the Titled Source says you'll either generally describe what we're about to hear or you'll lead us into the actuality with the first remarks the source makes. At this point, you'll insert the word, "actuality" into your copy. That tells the board operator or sound editor that this is where the actuality will be played or inserted. Then you'll identify the beginning of the actuality with "In Cue" and the first few words. On the next line write "Out Cue" and the last few words heard from the source. Sometimes we may have reason to include two or more actualities, perhaps comments on more than one topic or disagreement from a different source. We lead into any other actualities just the same way we did the first. Then close with a "Where-do-we-go-from-here?" kind of wrap-up. You'll want to take a look at the information revealed toward the end of the news story. Decide if the news story offers a contradictory, maybe more credible view than does your school source. Don't feel the school source must have the last word. Give the news item the last word if it offers balance to the story. Here are our practice examples:

2 Shoe Shopping Days to help TUSD students The Educational Enrichment Foundation will host its Shoe Shopping Days for needy students in the Tucson Unified School District. The program has been offered for the last 16 years. During the 2009-10 school year, the foundation provided 930 pairs of new shoes and 2,790 pairs of new socks to students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The effort is made possible through a partnership with local Payless ShoeSource stores. The next Shoe Shopping Days are Sept. 22 (sponsored by the Rincon Optimists) and Sept. 24 (sponsored by Citigroup Tucson), according to the foundation's website. Students must be referred by school representatives.

University High sets 3 admission forums University High School will soon be holding three informational meetings on how students can qualify for admission. The college-preparatory high school offers an Advanced Placement curriculum, as well as fine and performing arts, and athletic opportunities. The meetings will be held:

• Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Magee Middle School, 8300 E. Speedway.
• Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pistor Middle School, 5455 S. Cardinal Ave.
• Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at University High School, 421 N. Arcadia Ave.

For more information, call Assistant Principal Tammy Janik at 232-5905.

Teaching suggestion: Record a somewhat rambling commentary by "School Counselor Loving Fist," in which you give specific information best added by the reporter and the more general opinion of the importance of the issue best used as an actuality. Students should identify the first few words as In Cue and the last as Out Cue.