WEDU

Article summary

WEDU (channel 3) is a PBS member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting alongside WEDQ (channel 3.4). The two stations share studios at the Berkman Family Broadcast Center on North Boulevard in Tampa and transmitter facilities in Riverview, Florida. WEDU began broadcasting on October 27, 1958, as a service to regional schools. During the day, it aired local and national educational programs for telecast in schools, while programs for adults from National Educational Television were telecast in the evenings. The station flourished over the course of the 1960s as schools' use of its programming grew rapidly; in the early 1970s, it suffered as some of that support was reduced. In early 1980, WEDU moved to its present, purpose-built facility on North Boulevard, abandoning its original studios, a surplus United States Navy power plant in dilapidated condition. In 1984, WEDU proposed to switch channels with WTOG-TV (channel 44), a commercial independent station. The proposed deal with WTOG-TV's owner, Hubbard Broadcasting, would have moved WEDU to channel 44 and given it nearly $50 million in cash and incentives; Hubbard sought channel 3 for WTOG-TV so it could shed the stigma of being a UHF station and achieve parity with the region's three VHF network affiliates.…

Key claims

1. date of death: 2018 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of formation: 1957 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. employees: 43 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. employees: 62 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. members: 47,427 members — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. students: 75,000 students — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. students: 38,000 students — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of death is "2018". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of formation is "1957". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the employees is "43 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the employees is "62 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the members is "47,427 members". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the students is "75,000 students". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the students is "38,000 students". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
10. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371864560