Satellite Newsgathering WRN Broadcast Media Centre, courtesy WRN. Broadcast anywhere Satellite newsgathering is light years away from where it began. The process behind it is something that, as viewers, we take for granted. However, the use of satellite in the broadcasting sector has revolutionised the whole news experience. Satellite Evolution focuses on just a few of the developments. The UK has just emerged from a marathon election campaign, the minutiae of which was played out during blanket news coverage. For me, this has epitomised the power of satellite newsgathering. I felt, at times, that I was there. I missed nothing due to the fact that every piece of information, whether I was interested or not, was delivered to my home in real time. The throngs of trucks parked in the back of TV pictures highlighted, for me, the sheer importance of satellite communications in the delivery of news to the world. Without Digital Satellite Newsgathering and the technological advancements that have been made, we could not share in such historic moments. SNG can trace its roots back to the War in the Falklands but it became much more prominent during the 1990s Gulf War, where people across the world could watch events unfold on their televisions. It created huge interest in global political events and conflicts that had never been seen before. It changed the way people consumed the news, by actually giving them visual commentary on what was happening. Intelsat had broadcast the pictures of man's first steps on the moon in 1969, and the public had come to realise the power of the technology and embraced it ­ and by the end of first Gulf War, it was becoming the norm to be fed the news in this way. Newsgathering is not what it was. It has changed, perhaps beyond recognition. Reporting the news from outdoor, far away locations is something that we take for granted today, as sophisticated satellite and IP technology allows broadcasters to deploy reporters and cameramen almost anywhere on earth, without any prior infrastructure. Reports can be filed from these locations over IP, with just a laptop. In days gone by, a report, on videotape, would literally have to be transported on a plane back to the TV station where it could be edited and prepared for broadcast. Today, editing often happens at the location and is carried out by the reporter on his or her computer. It is a far cry from the experience of twenty or thirty years ago. Realtime broadcast is also made possible through the use of small, highly portable antennas and through videophones. SNG gives broadcasters and journalists total freedom to cover news events anywhere in the world. It facilitates this with minimal staffing as fully automated systems can be operated by unskilled personnel, reducing the amount of staff members required on-site. Not only does this reduce costs ­ something that all broadcasters 14 www.satellite-evolution.com | May/June 2010 sng.pmd 14 6/10/2010, 12:46 AM