This is a 20 minute radio script written for my Broadcast Writing class in Spring 2019.
STATION ID: WPPU
TIME AND DATE OF NEWSCAST: FEBURARY 2ND , 2019 5PM
STUDIO HOST: JOHN SMITH
STUDIO HOST COPY/TEASE/ OPEN
DURATION: (0:30)
STUDIO HOST OPENING COPY LIVE/ AMBER ALERT FOUND/ ACTUALITY (JONES)
JAN 16TH, 2019- 11PM
DURATION: 1:30
STUDIO HOST COPY
The Amber Alert for the missing Penn Hills teen has been cancelled. Allegheny County Police found 16-year-old Marjani Aquil ((mar- Je-NEE A-Quill)) in McKeesport early Thursday morning. The suspect in the abduction is Jermaine Laquay Rogers. Rogers was taken into custody by a police SWAT team after a two-hour standoff. Auqil was taken from her home and forced into a red sedan Wednesday night. The Amber Alert was issued from about eight o’clock Wednesday night to about one-thirty Thursday morning.
This is not the first time Jones has been accused of abducting Aquil. Last March Jones was arrested for holding Aquil against her will in an event that happened in Wilkinsburg last January. As a result of the last kidnapping, Jones was sentenced to a year’s probation, a mental health evaluation, a batterer’s intervention program, and he was not allowed to have contact with Aquil.
Aquil is the niece of Kurt Angle. The former Olympic gold-medalist and WWE superstar took to social media in hopes of finding his niece.
START: Kurt..
OUTQUE: … with her family. (0:42)
STUDIO HOST COPY
It’s good to know she’s home safe and sound XXX
LIVE WRAP (ANDREWS)/ 82- YEAR-OLD DIES IN CAR CRASH/ ACTUALITY (MATHEWS)
JAN 17TH, 12PM
DURATION: 1:00
LIVE WRAP
An 82-year-old Glen Cambell woman has died in a car accident in Indiana County. The Indiana County coroner’s office says Leatha Grace Smith was pronounced dead at around eight-thirty Thursday morning. Smith suffered a medical emergency while on Route 286 Highway East and crashed her car. While the cause of death has not been determined, the coroner’s office says Smith showed no signs of injury from the crash itself. Luckily Smith was an organ and tissue donor, and anywhere from 50 to 80 people will be helped from her donation. Here’s Matt Mathews live from the crash site.
START: Leatha…
OUTQUE: …funeral home XXX(0:32)
LIVE WRAP (JACKSON)/ $50 MILLION FOR NEW PIPES/
FEB 1OTH, 12PM
DURATION: 0:30
LIVE WRAP
A week after the state attorney general’s office filed charges against Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, the utility company has settled to spend fifty million dollars on new pipes while also providing low-income residents water filters. The criminal charges filed by the Pennsylvania attorney general included the mishandling of the company’s lead pipe replacement program that put more than 150 Pittsburgh households at risk. Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will swap almost 4 thousand of their own lines and approximately 3 thousand privately owned lines over the next two years. The projects will come at no cost to residents, and the money will come from grants and loans from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority. XXX
STUDIO HOST
Now a word from our sponsors
COMMERCIAL #1 (1:30)
STUDIO HOST COPY LIVE (SMITH) / DEAD BABY @ AMAZON/ LIVE REPORT
JAN 17TH 5:30 PM
DURATION: 1:30
A dead newborn was found in a Phoenix Amazon distribution center. At about eight-thirty Wednesday night, officers were called when the baby was found in the women’s restroom of the center. Jack Jones is live in Phoenix with more information on this tragedy.
LIVE REPORT (1:18)
START: Late Wednesday…
OUTQUE: …Pittsburgh XXX
STUDIO HOST COPY/ DEM PREZ. CANDIDATES/ ACTUALITY (ARTHURS)
JAN 19TH 6:00 PM
DURATION: 1:30
Even though it feels like the 2020 election is far away, many democrats have put their name in the hat for a chance to run against President Trump. As of now, there are currently 10 people who have officially announced their candidacy, and six major prospects. Those officially running are New Jersey Senator, Cory Booker; Mayor of South Bend Indiana, Pete Buttigieg; Former secretary of housing and urban development, Julian Castro; Former Maryland Representative John Delaney; Representative Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii; New York Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand; California Senator, Kamala Harris; Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren; Entrepreneur, Marianne Williamson; and Venture for America Founder, Andrew Yang. Even though there are a lot of people running already, some people are expected to announce their candidacy or are facing public pressure to run, including: Former Vice President, Joe Biden; Former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg; Current Mayor of New York, Bill De Blasio; Former U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder; Former Secretary of State, John Kerry; and Former Virginia Governor, Terry McAuliffe.
ACTUALITY (0:30)
START: With…
OUTQUE: …November
To put it in perspective, in December of 2015, just before the primaries for the 2016 Presidential election, there were only five democrats running. Right now, at almost a year out from the 2020 primaries, there are 10 official candidates with more to come. XXX
STUDIO HOST COPY/ AMAZON PULLS OUT OF NEW YORK/
FEB 14TH 6:00 PM
DURATION: 0:40
Three months after announcing the locations of their new headquarters, Amazon has cancelled their plans to build their new campus in New York. Amazon announced that the company would be building new sites in Queens and in Virginia, adding thousands of jobs to both economies. However, the megacompany faced unexpected backlash from activists, unions, and lawmakers, who all believed the tech giant failed to deserve the government incentives, approximately three billion dollars, it was promised. Many in the Long Island city also feared possible gentrification and a loss of city identity if the Amazon headquarters was built. XXX
STUDIO HOST COPY/ BLACKFACE SCANDALS/
FEB 10TH 6:00 PM
DURATION: 0:40
Ralph Northam, the governor of Virgina says he’s “not going anywhere” after pictures of him dressed in blackface have surfaced. In his nineteen eighty-four medical school yearbook, the governor is pictured in blackface next to someone in a Ku Klux Klan robe. He has also admitted to another occasion of blackface by dressing up like the late singer, Michael Jackson, that same year. The state is facing more scandals, including the Attorney General, Mark Herring, admitting to wearing blackface in a costume in the past, and the Lieutenant Governor, Justin Fairfax, is facing multiple sexual assault and rape allegations. If all three democrats were to resign, the state could be led by Speaker of the House of Delegates, republican Kirk Cox. As of now, Governor Northam has promised to enact racial sensitivity training for state employees, and has no plans of stepping down. XXX
STUDIO HOST
Now a word from our sponsors
COMMERCIAL #2 (1:30)
STUDIO HOST COPY/ WEATHER/ ACTUALITY (JONES)
FEB 2ND 6:00 PM
DURATION: 1:30
The Northwest experienced record-breaking temperatures thanks to the Polar Vortex. From North Dakota to Illinois, temperatures stayed in the negative 20s and negative 40s. With reports of sustained winds at 20 miles per hour combined with the below zero temperatures, wind chills were dangerously low. While Pittsburgh’s windchill only reached negative 25, Park Rapids, Minnesota hit negative 64 and Grand Forks, North Dakota hit negative 61. Schools and businesses across the country were closed, and local and state governments are doing their best to repair roads before the next cold snap.
START: Here…
OUTCUE: … staying warm. XXX
COPY STUDIO/ SPORTS/ DALE LOLLEY CALL-IN INTERVIEW
FEB 5TH 1PM
DURATION: 4:00
Today we have NFL beat writer from D.K. Pittsburgh Sports, Dale Lolley here on the phone to talk about the Saints/Ram’s game, the disappointment that was the Superbowl, and current Steelers drama.
INTERVIEW (3:50) XXX
COMMERICAL #3 (1:30)
COPY STUDIO/ GUS KENWORTHY AMERICAN HORROR STORY
FEB 6TH 4PM
DURATION: 0:30
Former Olympian, Gus Kenworthy will be joining the cast of season nine of American Horror Story. Creator of the show, Ryan Murphy used Instagram to let fans know that Kenworthy will be playing Emma Robert’s boyfriend in the newest season of the show. While more details of what is to come have not been released, many fans are speculating that season nine will involve plot points from American Horror Story: Coven. This will not be the athlete’s Hollywood debut. Kenworthy has also appeared in “Sharknado 5: Global Swarming” and in “Olympic Dreams”. XXX
COPY STUDIO/ JUSSIE SMOLLETT UPDATE/ LIVE ACTUALITY (PENNMANN)
FEB 19TH 12PM
DURATION: 0:50
“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has come under fire after speculation that his January twenty-ninth attack was staged. Late last month, the alleged attack on Smollett went viral after he claimed two men yelled racist and homophobic slurs while they tied a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him. Jannette Pennmann is live from Chicago with more information.
START: I’m at the…
OUTCUE:… hopefully more answers. XXX
COPY STUDIO/ RYAN ADAMS ACCUSATION/ ACTUALITY (SMITHERS)
FEB 14TH 3PM
DURATION: 0:40
Grammy winning singer-Songwriter, Ryan Adams, is facing allegations of abuse and harassment. The claims stem from his ex-wife, Mandy Moore, his ex-fiancée, and a woman claiming to have exchanged explicit text messages with Adams when she was fourteen. All women claim to have been offered career opportunities by Adams only to have them retracted if they refused his advances. Here’s Grace Smithers with more on the story.
START: Ryan Adams is….
OUTCUE: … more information XXX
COPY STUDIO/ DONALD TRUMP SNL
FEB 18TH 1PM
DURATION: 0:30
Alec Baldwin has expressed his concern resulting from a tweet from President Trump on the actor’s portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live. President Trump tweeted “how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution?” Baldwin, however, tweeted back saying “I wonder if a sitting president exhorting his followers that my role in a TV comedy qualifies me as an enemy of the people constitutes a threat to my safety and that of my family?”
HOST COPY/ SIGN OFF
That’s all we have for today. Make sure to tune in to WPPU every night at 5 o’clock. I’m John Smith. Have a good night.
Meghan Zaffuta 