Small Scale Video Conveyance and Television News Content

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Small Scale Video Conveyance and Television
News Content

• Michael Murrie
• michael.murrie_at_pepperdine.edu

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Larger Questions

• What is the impact of technology on television
  news content?
• Have digital technologies changed the impact?
• How?
• Any different than ENG and SNG?
• What are ways to test these questions?

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Early scholarship noted tech limits

• Epstein 73 free stories on the loop
• Ostroff Sandell 88 ENG no substantive
  difference
• SNG impact mixed in 80s and 90s
• Now digital impact?

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Digital Differences

• DV camcorders
• Laptop nonlinear editing
• Store and forward
• Videophones

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Telecommunication Options

• POTS
• Conventional computer network
• Ku Satellite - time charge 3Mb/sec
• GAN - time charge 64 kb/s
• BGAN - time charge 128 kb/s (432 kb/s)
• RBGAN - data charge 144 kb/s

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Operational Implications

• Ubiquity
• Off the shelf (not telecom)
• Less expensive
• Portability
• Lighter
• Smaller
• Deploy quickly
• Telecommunications
• Multiple means of access
• Less regulation
• Poorer quality (narrow bandwidth)

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Videophone Impact on content

• Method
• Content analysis census
• Search videophone
• Unique search term
• Clearly indicates technology
• Exploring descriptive data

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Findings

• First uses
• CNN (100 pre 9/11)
• Post 9/11 all networks
• Heaviest uses
• Afghanistan 2001
• Iraq war 2003

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Findings

• Overwhelming use by CNN (900)
• Nearly always remote or moving locations (Iraq,
  Afghanistan, ships, Mt.Everest, Antarctica)
• Often fluid situations
• Sometimes backup or first on scene

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Frequencies of Videophone Reports(CNN x 5)
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Use of Videophone Reports
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Types of Stories
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Videophone Locations
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Discussion

• How much videophone use a function of nature of
  news about war on terror vs. function of
  technology availability?
• How define technology impact on content?
• How operationalize and measure technology impact
  on content?