In the last few years local television news has seen some
major changes. Technology now allows crews to go live quicker and in places
they never went before. New cellular based devices that allow video to be sent
back over mobile phone networks really have been a game changer. We can now go
live on trains, roofs, cars and boats. When news breaks we can bring live video
to the viewer’s home or smart phone faster than we ever could before. Coupling
this new technology with old school news tools like police scanners means
almost instant coverage. For years news crews have monitored Police, Fire and EMS communication systems to find out where the news is
happening. Now they can rush crews to a scene and be live on TV before the
patients are loaded in the ambulances.
I have been covering breaking news events since the late
1980’s. I got into the TV game with little more than a camcorder, still camera
and a single police scanner. I love this business. In my younger years I needed
something to keep me on the straight and narrow. Chasing TV news excited me,
then in my 20’s as much as now in my 40’s. I love the chase. I love the adrenalin
that comes with rushing to the scene of breaking news. When a call crackles
across the scanner about a shooting, accident or fire, it winds me up. It
reminds me how short life really is. It keeps me out of myself and distances me
from the selfishness that consumes many people today. I am constantly reminded
that other people are going through things that are very difficult, tragic in
nature and that my world is so small.
These last few years we have seen a huge increase in the use
of smart phones. The cameras inside those phones are getting better and better.
They will never replace the skills of a trained videographer, even in a You
Tube world were people are much less concerned with the quality of video. They
will however fill a void that is expected to become larger over the next few
years. Things are changing in the world of local TV news.
As many emergency departments switch to the next generation
of radio communication systems, the ability for media to monitor those systems
will be reduced or eliminated. New systems will be digitally encrypted and
scanner users will no longer be able to listen in. Many people are saying,
“Don’t worry some new type of scanner will become available. Just like they always
have over the years as various systems were rolled out.” That probably isn’t
going to happen this time around. Unless police, fire and ambulance are willing
to allow access to media, these systems will not be monitored and chasing
breaking news with information from scanners will become a thing of the past.
Perhaps it’s the Yin and Yang, the natural progression of
events. Many may think that news was becoming a little too instant. Don’t get
me wrong, the live coverage of charity events and weekend festivals will
continue, but the near instant broadcast of tragic events may end. It will be a
game changer. It will change the type of stories you see on the news. No
station will commit precious resources to cover a shooting that happened 12
hours ago. The scene is gone, the witnesses have wandered away and it’s not
nearly as exciting as it was when it happened.
Many young people don’t even tune into local news the way
their parents do. When they want to be entertained by moving pictures they turn
to the latest viral puppy video or music video on YouTube. The ratings have
been on the decline for a long time. They call it fragmentation. Most outlets
are now pushing news coverage out to many different platforms in order to reach
as many people as possible.
I’m not sure where all this is going. I’m not an expert and
have never been able to see the future. If I could do that I would have bought
stock in AOL back when I first connected to the Internet. They had a few
hundred thousand subscribers. We used modems to connect at 2400 Baud and
watching video online was a fantasy. Today billions of people are connected and
that still only represents about 20% of the world population.
I got an email this morning from a freelance cameraman in
the Hamilton
area. He seemed worried by the fact that the City of Hamilton is about to switch on a new
digitally encrypted radio system. He pointed out that the Fleetnet radio
systems used by Regional EMS and OPP are all up for discussion, as contracts
come up for renewal in 2012. He may have good reason to worry. The game rules
are definitely changing. The rush to encryption may come even sooner after many
media outlets broadcasted radio transmissions by a fallen officer recently in
York Region. Just to be clear, media had the ability to do that for years,
although to many a line in the sand has been crossed. It takes us back to that
rush to get all and any news on the air. If it were up to me that tragic audio
would never have been broadcast. I listened to it unfold as it happened. We
should have had more respect for those involved.
I would love to hear from some of you first responders out
there. How do you see the future of television news? Do you worry about out of
sight out of mind? Will less coverage of breaking news events be a good or bad
thing? Will the public be willing to blindly sign off on ever increasing
operating budgets without ever seeing why they are needed? Is it important for
people to see what really happens on the mean streets?
Please post your comments and thoughts.
( Note: I am currently a videographer for CBC Television. I
cover breaking news on the overnight shift by choice. I love what I do. I have
worked for or sold video to just about every media outlet in the GTA.
http://latenightcam.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html)
I have been covering breaking news events since the late
1980’s. I got into the TV game with little more than a camcorder, still camera
and a single police scanner. I love this business. In my younger years I needed
something to keep me on the straight and narrow. Chasing TV news excited me,
then in my 20’s as much as now in my 40’s. I love the chase. I love the adrenalin
that comes with rushing to the scene of breaking news. When a call crackles
across the scanner about a shooting, accident or fire, it winds me up. It
reminds me how short life really is. It keeps me out of myself and distances me
from the selfishness that consumes many people today. I am constantly reminded
that other people are going through things that are very difficult, tragic in
nature and that my world is so small.
As many emergency departments switch to the next generation
of radio communication systems, the ability for media to monitor those systems
will be reduced or eliminated. New systems will be digitally encrypted and
scanner users will no longer be able to listen in. Many people are saying,
“Don’t worry some new type of scanner will become available. Just like they always
have over the years as various systems were rolled out.” That probably isn’t
going to happen this time around. Unless police, fire and ambulance are willing
to allow access to media, these systems will not be monitored and chasing
breaking news with information from scanners will become a thing of the past.
