Video’s Role in News Production
The truly remarkable development to video technology which have eliminated geographic limitations in news production is the usage of satellites to transport video and audio signals instantaneously between virtually any two points on the globe. Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) makes all but a few remote spots in the world geographically accessible to live video coverage from any given point. "A basic satellite system consists of three parts: a ground station that gathers the programming and transmits the signals to an orbiting satellite which then retransmits the signals back to individual stations equipped with down link receivers." They are "particularly useful for transmitting live television signals from overseas as well as for coast to coast transmission of news and sporting events," (Kindem and Musburger 405). Equally as important is the recent development of "uplinks," which are mobile satellite ground stations small enough to be packaged in a few boxes and taken into the field (Yorke 170). Thecoverage of the Gulf War in early 1991 in Iraq was the first war to take advantage of this technology, and the result was amazing in accomplishment if not in content: the first war ever to be televised live. The cable news network CNN saw its fortunes improve dramatically after they devoted virtually all their air time during the crisis to live reporting on the war. The same technology has been employed in more recent crisis in Bosnia and Rwanda with similar, although less surprising results.
In general, the introduction of video into the realm of news production changed forever the procedures and attitudes of the industry. The most basic, and arguably most significant improvement made by video technology was the elimination of the need to develop film. By eliminating the delay while film is being processed, deadlines were able to be pushed back, which necessarily improved the quality of news productions as reporters and editors alike had more time to cover more news more efficiently (Yorke 87).
Sources:
--Kindem, Gorham and Robert B. Musburger. Media Production: From Analog to Digital. Newton, MA: Butterworth-Heinman, 1997.
--Schihl, Robert J. TV Newscast: Processes and Procedures. Stoneham, MA: Butterworth-Heinman, 1992.
--Yorke, Ivor. Television News. 3rd Ed. Oxford, UK: Ivor Yorke, 1995.
