HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: et@ocf.berkeley.edu (Eric Thompson)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media,ba.general,biz.misc,ca.general,alt.dcom.catv,rec.arts.tv,rec.video,rec.video.cable-tv,rec.video.satellite,rec.video.production
Subject: Effect of Technology on TV NEWS  --  please read
Date: 8 Apr 1992 20:27:48 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: sandstorm.berkeley.edu
Summary: tv news tech request
Keywords: tv news tech request

Hi.  I'm trying to gather information on the effect new technology has
had on the collection and broadcast of television news.  If you or anyone
you know can respond to this request, or if you can direct me to books or
publications on the topic, I will GREATLY appreciate it.  I'm especially
interested in hearing from people who work in the tv news business, however
anyone with this type of knowledge should participate.

Please e-mail me at "et@ocf.berkeley.edu".  If you know people NOT on the
net with whom I should speak with, you can send me their names/phones.. (my
phone # is 510/549-2203).

Following is an outline of the type of information I'm seeking (RELEVANT
ADDITIONS WELCOME!).  Please specify whether you're referring to local,
network, or cable news, since I'm sure there are differences between them.
Feel free to respond to all or part of the following.  Thank you.


The Effect of Technology on Television News
-------------------------------------------

NEWS SOURCES
------------
* how has new technology affected the way news is collected?
  - reporters in the field
    - what new equipment are they using?  how?
      - cellphones?  8mm cameras?  DAT recorders?  other?
	- do 8mm cams negate the need for a cameraman?
    - how has their mobility improved?
      - news vans?  what new things do they contain?  satellite dishes?
	- does new equipment make it easier/quicker to go "live"?

* viewer input?
  - home/amateur video: how is it procured?  policies on using it?
  - local/900 phone #'s for polling, collecting info?
  - viewer respons systems?  (Interactive TV?)

* computer networks?
* other news networks?


ON-AIR PRODUCT
--------------
* new technology to get news on-air?  what is it?
  - does it improve speed?  accuracy?  picture quality?  audio?  (what?)

* graphics 
  - developments to make them easier, better?
  - do some stories make air without video because graphics can be used?
  - how do they affect viewers?

* home/amatuer video footage
  - what is the policy for using amateur video?
  - how does it affect viewers?  does it make story more credible?
    - (to have a non-produced video sequence?)


FUTURE TECH
-----------
* what technology looks promising today that will impact TV NEWS soon?
  - digital everything?  (audio, video, studios, etc.?)
  - miniaturization?  allows reporters to take more with them?
  - how will new technology affect what viewers see/how they see it?
    - HDTV?  new satellites?  more international news a la CNN?


Thank you VERY much.  Please send your response ASAP.  Anyone who wants
a copy of the info I collect or the paper written up on this topic may
request one.

Eric Thompson
510/549-2203
et@ocf.berkeley.edu  or  ..!ucbvax!ocf!et
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Subject: Re: Army reveals strength of Patriots
Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 23:23:13 GMT

frazier@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Greg Frazier) writes:
>rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) writes:
>>Come on, the only people who are really going to be surprised by this
>>are simps who think the government wouldn't lie to them at the drop of
>>a hat, and the only ones outraged are the dopes who think that any
>>government isn't going to make deception a policy.

>The only ones not outraged are the weenies who are willing to
>roll over and play dead rather than fight for a more just
>government.  Mind you, the fight might be futile, and I myself
>haven't taken to the streets yet (call me a weenie), but being
>outraged seems like the least one could do.

I'm already outraged at our government in general, as I'm sure many
can tell you.  This is just another in a long string.  Yet I'll bet
you almost anything that most of those who express outrage on the net
about this incident are those who have been calling for more and more
government.
-- 
Custom will often blind one to the good as well as to the evil effects of any
long established system.       -- Bishop Richard Whately
From: harelb@MATH.CORNELL.EDU (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
Subject: About LARRY AGRAN -- "Fact Sheet"
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Date: 11 Apr 92 07:40:09 GMT
Organization: misc.activism.progressive on UseNet ; ACTIV-L@UMCVMB

Agran for President 92
P.O. Box 159
Irvine, CA 92650
(800) 727-9425
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

                             FACT SHEET

Larry Agran on why he is running for President:

*       "We must use this election year to create a national
dialogue, not another schoolyard shouting match; exploring ways
to ensure that political change abroad transforms not only the
face of the globe, but also the fabric of our towns and cities."

Larry Agran on the "New American Security":

*       "National security comes not only from weapons but from
strong families in economically vibrant communities."

Goals of Larry Agran's "New American Security":

*       Reduce military spending by half -- $150 billion.

*       Redirect those funds to critical domestic problems.

How Larry Agran would reduce military spending by half:

*       Require the Western Europeans and Japanese to assume full
responsibility and full cost for their own defense by December
31, 1994.

*       Cut $10 billion from the foreign military aid budget.

*       Cancel outrageously expensive strategic weapons programs
(such as Star Wars, the B-2, the MX missile) and further nuclear
weapons testing.

How Larry Agran would rebuild America:

*       Return $25 billion a year to America's cities and towns.

*       Earmark $15 billion a year in federal assistance to school
districts.

*       Invest $40 billion a year in an updated social security
system, including major gains in health security, housing
security, and nutrition security.

*       Spend $20 billion a year in stepped-up environmental
protection.

*       Use the remaining $50 billion to reduce the annual federal
budget deficit and underwrite a "Defense Workers' Bill of
Rights."


##################################################################

More details are in Agran's _Announcement Speech_

Also to be posted: Agran on Middle East (and in so responding to
questions, on foreign policy)

Also: "Why progressives should vote for Agran" (rather than Jerry Brown)

Previously posted: Agran "bio", "track record," and "fact-sheet"
From: harelb@igc.org (Harel Barzilai)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
Subject: Re: MEDIA BLACK-OUT of LARRY AGRAN '92
Date: 11 Apr 92 07:21:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: igc.1638300003
Nf-ID: #R:9204080747.AA07784@tba.msi.corne:-1866072073:cdp:1638300003:000:887
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!harelb    Apr 11 00:21:00 1992


Wayne (faustus@ygdrasil.CS.Berkeley.EDU) writes:

"based on a recent exchange between Agran's staff and a journalist
for the Nation..." which he does not give _any_ details about,
concluding that Agran has "no particular credentials that suggest he would
make a good candidate and has no especially impressive ideas"

Perhaps this is why the Village Voice noted that


	"On every issue, Agran is more specific, more consistent, and
	more progressive than Jerry Brown..."
		-- _Village Voice_


Perhaps this is why so many people who, like Wayne, knew next
to nothing about Agran, have, after seeing my posts on misc.activisim.
progressive and the more organized posts to PeaceNet's  elections.usa
have been, on average, extremely impressed -- these people, like
Wayne, new next to nothing about Agran, BUT, unlike him, did not
make sweeping statements about Agran until they knew more.
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: donald@sq.sq.com (Donald Teed)
Subject: Re: lies of our times
Organization: SoftQuad Inc.
Distribution: alt.news-media
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 92 23:33:38 GMT

feldman@cs.tulane.edu (Damon Feldman) writes:

>In <SLEATOR.92Mar27172946@SPADE.PC.CS.CMU.EDU> sleator@CS.CMU.EDU (Daniel Sleator) writes:

>>P.S. What words besides "total failure" would you use to describe the
>>fact that not a single scud was stopped by a Patriot Missile during
>>the gulf war?

>This is the kind of thing that we have to watch out for in the media!
>Patriots struck and damaged many incoming missiles during the war.
>What is probably being refered to (though I can only guess) is that
>the debris caused damage similar to a scud missile.

>This would not be the case if the missiles contained chemical warheads,
>or the target was armored against shrapnel but not against an explosive 
>missile warhead, or the scuds weren't so primitive in the first place.

There seems to be mounting evidence that the Patriot missiles were
designed to strike an incoming ICBM, not a SCUD, and often struck
the jettisoned body of the SCUD rather than the smaller warhead,
as both are present on the air when the SCUD is making its final
approach.  The point being made is not whether the missiles are useful,
but whether a media circus was created around the activities of
missiles attacking missiles, since the other parts of the war were
not being seen uncensored and live.

--Donald Teed
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: krotenko@unixg.ubc.ca (Lana Krotenko)
Subject: Penn & Teller in NY
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 19:59:09 GMT

With all this talk about Penn and Teller, it's made me wonder...
 
I'm going to be in New York next month, and the latest I heard
they have an off-Broadway show. Is this still playing? Has anyone
seen this current show? Is it worth seeing?
 
Thanks for your help,
 
Lana
 
Xref: sparky alt.news-media:192 ba.general:1687 biz.misc:31 ca.general:466 alt.dcom.catv:87 rec.arts.tv:9374 rec.video:6073 rec.video.cable-tv:764 rec.video.satellite:2104 rec.video.production:400
From: jbuck@forney.berkeley.edu (Joe Buck)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media,ba.general,biz.misc,ca.general,alt.dcom.catv,rec.arts.tv,rec.video,rec.video.cable-tv,rec.video.satellite,rec.video.production
Subject: Re: Effect of Technology on TV NEWS  --  please read
Date: 9 Apr 92 18:25:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: agate.s226sINN29s
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: forney.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Apr9.014206.12194@news.cs.brandeis.edu> ttaylor@binah.cc.brandeis.edu writes:
>article <rvl04INNm6j@agate.berkeley.edu>, et@ocf.berkeley.edu (Eric Thompson) writes:
>>* how has new technology affected the way news is collected?
>
>I'm not quite sure if you'll find this interesting but I know I did. Last year
>I worked for a company that made and distributed surgical products. As part of
>a publicity campaign, they got an advertising company to produce a very
>authentic looking "news video". The video included the voice over of an 
>official sounding anchorperson (she even said something to the effect of
>"reporting from...") and various interviews with doctor's (all of which had 
>close ties to the company).

What's worse, a significant fraction of the local "news" put on the air by
lower-budget TV stations actually comes from these things, which are
called "Video News Releases" or VNR's for short.  They are even often
used by networks.  No indication is given in most cases that the maker of the
"news" footage is biased.

For example, you've probably seen video of Patriot missles destroying
targets that was provided by Ratheon, the maker of the Patriot missle.

>Without sounding too 
>alarmist, I found the whole thing a bit unsettling. The video had very high
>production values and really came off as an official bit of journalism. Just
>seeing a company be able to do this really made me think a little differently
>about these sort of segments on the news. 

Be alarmed.  Be very alarmed.  If you live in a small town, almost all
the video you see on your local news is produced this way.  Even the
very conservative TV Guide (whose publisher is a close friend of Ronald
Reagan) has raised warnings about "VNR abuse".

It also affects politics.  Political candidates have been paying for
satellite costs to allow local news-anchors exclusive interviews.  Since
this is a big ego-stroke for the local anchor and since the campaign,
rather than the local station, is paying the bill, these interviews
are usually puff pieces with lots of softball questions.  After all,
the anchor would like to get another interview with the candidate who
might go to the competition instead.

What's changed is that video used to be controlled by the news stations.
Now the news stations are cutting their budgets to the bone, so video
is now controlled by commercial and political interests instead.



--
Joe Buck	jbuck@ohm.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: alt.news-media,ba.general,biz.misc,ca.general,alt.dcom.catv,rec.arts.tv,rec.video,rec.video.cable-tv,rec.video.satellite,rec.video.production
From: long-morrow@CS.YALE.EDU (H. Morrow Long)
Subject: Re: Effect of Technology on TV NEWS  --  please read
Organization: Yale University, Department of Computer Science
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 17:27:04 GMT


In article <1992Apr9.014206.12194@news.cs.brandeis.edu>, ttaylor@binah.cc.brandeis.edu writes:
|> I'm not quite sure if you'll find this interesting but I know I did. Last year
|> I worked for a company that made and distributed surgical products. As part of
|> a publicity campaign, they got an advertising company to produce a very
|> authentic looking "news video". The video included the voice over of an 
|> official sounding anchorperson (she even said something to the effect of
|> "reporting from...") and various interviews with doctor's (all of which had 
|> close ties to the company). There was an extended and shorter running version
|> of this. I think the thing that most disconcerted me about this whole thing 
|> was that the video was then transmitted via sattelite to stations all over the
|> country. Sort of like an AP wire story, this video could be picked up and 
|> rebroadcast on local news, usually in a health or medical segment. Needless to
|> say it was picked up all over and we got flooded with calls on the product
|> (people could call the station to get an 800 number). Without sounding too 
|> alarmist, I found the whole thing a bit unsettling. The video had very high
|> production values and really came off as an official bit of journalism. Just
|> seeing a company be able to do this really made me think a little differently
|> about these sort of segments on the news. 
|> 
|> Tina Taylor

This wouldn't have happened to have been the US Surgical Corporation
(USSC) advertisements that defended experimentation for medical research 
and doctor training on surgical stapling techniques using live animals
was it?

USSC had had bad PR as a result of animal rights groups demonstrating
against their use of animals for demonstrating surgical procedures
(the groups claimed that the company often did it needlessly and for such
things as sales demonstrations for doctors, etc.).

USSC fought back with a slick campaign of print and broadcast ads,
some of which seemed somewhat alarmist and melodramatic - I think one
had what looked liked news shots of lunatic appearing animal rights
protestors and a shot of a little girl who "could die because this
experimental procedure had never been tested on animals first
because of a ban on testing on animals".

Extremists of both sides of any issue tend to take things to an
extreme.

					- Morrow
-- 
                   _  _    __  _                           __ 
                  (/_ /   (/ \/ \   _   __  __  ____ _ __ (/   _  __   _)
                  /  / .  /      )_(_)_/ (_/ (_(_) (_(_(  /___(_)_/ )_(_)
                 (       (                               (             _)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: klf@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Brian Mark Bishop)
Subject: What a waste of space
Originator: klf@csd4.csd.uwm.edu
Organization: Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 15:42:11 GMT

A few months back some of us were having a discussion about the media on
alt.fan.dan-quayle.  It was a very good discussion, until it ended when we
were told that we were discussing the wrong topic for that newsgroup.

So some people then wanted to form a strictly "media" newsgroup, just to
discuss the media, and NOT politics.

Then a few weeks ago when I discovered that alt.news-media was available
to me, I was excited.  I thought "Finally, a place where we can talk
about the media themselves, NOT politics."

Well, as most of you are aware, this newsgroup has turned into nothing
more than a political discussion.

It kind of frustrates me, because instead of getting involved in a meaningful
discussion about the media, I instead continuously hit my "N" key to skip
all of your messages that talk about politics, and quite frankly, I don't
think that 90% of the messages here belong in this newsgroup.

Maybe someday there will be a place to talk about the media without discussing
politics of the Middle East or George Bush.  If that day comes, I will be
ready to begin a discussion.

klf@csd4.csd.uwm.edu
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: goddard+@cs.cmu.edu (Nigel Goddard)
Subject: Re: Army reveals strength of Patriots
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 92 02:30:45 GMT
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

In article <rdippold.702685261@cancun> rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold) writes:
>Come on, the only people who are really going to be surprised by this
>are simps who think the government wouldn't lie to them at the drop of
>a hat, and the only ones outraged are the dopes who think that any
>government isn't going to make deception a policy.

You missed the point of the posting which was that the Army 
spokesperson was being very candid about the criteria by which
Patriot success was judged - not including actually destroying
Scud warheads.  The only interesting thing about this is that
they usually aren't that upfront about the extent to which the
war in general and the Patriot deployment in particular was a
media exercise.

Nigel


-- 
Nigel Goddard
goddard@b.gp.cs.cmu.edu
From: carp@brahms.udel.edu (Joanna S Carpenter)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
Subject: classifieds...
Date: 16 Apr 92 22:04:14 GMT
Organization: University of Delaware


I never thought about coming up with a new method of writing classifieds--
that's a good idea!

Along similar lines (well maybe not really), my journalism prof wanted to
know how many people feel that personal ads are necessary, and how many
people are offended by them....any takers on that one?

         ^^^^^^^
      /          \     /         Jodi Carpenter        837-6407   
    /  C   >        \ /  |       carp@brahms.udel.edu 
  {         >         \  |       Tech House Social Activities Coordinator 
    \      >       /    \  |------------------------------------------------- 
    wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww  |  "O flesh, flesh, for thou art fishified."
                           -------          --romeo & juliet            
    "In the words of the immortal|------------------------------------- 
     Socrates, 'I drank what?'"  |  DRAGONRIDERS DO IT WYREVER! 
            --Real Genius        |-----------------------------              
---------------------------------    
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: goddard+@cs.cmu.edu (Nigel Goddard)
Subject: Monitor News shut down
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 15:28:07 GMT
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

Last night was the last broadcast of Monitor News.  It was the only
US TV news program that I found worth watching regularly.  Does anyone
have any idea why it failed?

Nigel


-- 
Nigel Goddard
goddard@b.gp.cs.cmu.edu
From: M19249@mwvm.mitre.org
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
Subject: Re: Fu-hee-mori ( Was  'What a waste of space')
Date: 16 Apr 92 12:09:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: mwvm.167CB72A2.M19249
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean VA 22102

In article <1992Apr16.032007.5183@uwm.edu>
klf@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Brian Mark Bishop) writes:
>>In article <167CAB21D.M19249@mwvm.mitre.org> M19249@mwvm.mitre.org writes:
>>>In short (probably too late for that ;) ) I have been amused at the attempts
>>>former soon after arriving in Peru.  So, it is probably an issue of who's is
>>>the correct pronounciation either the family or the traditional version.  I
 
>>Hmmm.  Every day, AP sends out a "pronouncers" file for TV and radio types
>>who actually have to try to pronounce the names of people they report on
>>(one advantage of being in print, I guess :-) ).  Alas, I must not have
>>been paying attention the day after the coup, and now ol' Alberto has
>>dropped from the news (or rather, AP's English-language feed), so they
>>aren't telling us how to pronounce the name anymore. Sigh.  If he does
>>pop up in the file, though, I'll post the proper AP pronunciation.
>>
I did not know this. How do they decide what is correct? Is the family always
right?  What about all the seriously mispronouned eastern European/FSU names
we have been hearing?
>
>One of my all-time favorites is still the pronunciation and spelling of
>Ghadafi...  There are so many damn ways to spell that name, it amazes me.
>
>The funniest part is that the networks and local stations [at least the
>ones here in Milwaukee] were constantly trying to outdo each other and
>come up with another way to spell and say his name during the period
>when tensions between Libya and the U.S. were very high.
 
I remember Sat Nite Live on their 'Weekend Update' scrolling through the 50 or
so spellings that they had gleaned from the press accounts. Weren't there also
some extra 'comic' spellings thrown in?
-DW
"Standard disclaimer applies"
From: feldman@cs.tulane.edu (Damon Feldman)
Newsgroups: alt.news-media,alt.activism
Subject: Re: MEDIA: NBC Axes GE Critic
Date: 10 Apr 92 16:57:47 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Dept., Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

(Eber Lambert) writes:

>If Caldicott believes in what she says (GE is evil...) then
>if she continued to work for NBC (aka GE) then shes a 
>hypocrite plain and simple. Is she mad because they fired
>her before she could resign?

You misunderstand (and were meant to).
In true yellow journalism style, the thread is titled, "NBC Axes GE
Critic".  Nobody was fired, as the title indicates, but rather
someone's talk show appearence was cancelled.

Let's try to discuss misleading information rather than generate it.

Damon
-- 
Damon Feldman                  feldman@rex.cs.tulane.edu
Computer Science Dept.         Tulane University, New Orleans LA, USA
Newsgroups: alt.news-media
From: dedek@meaddata.com (Mike Dedek)
Subject: Re: Knee-jerk local news
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 17:30:59 GMT

In article <1992Apr05.044030.20574@NeoSoft.com>, rperkins@NeoSoft.com (Rodney Perkins) writes:
|> 	I wanted to get an impression (however vauge) of what people thought
|> of their local area news programs. Do you think, as I do, that local
|> news media have little or no idea of what they are doing?  Do you think
|> as I do that many of these people put little or no thought into how
|> much influence that their reporting has on many people? These are
|> obviously biased questions but they seem to be a reflection of news
|> media in many cities.
|> 
|> -- 
|> Rodney Perkins (RPERKINS@Sugar.NeoSoft.com)
|> "Post-Logic defies all logic"

I think the quality of local tv news varies.  Some reporters, particularly
those who've been around a while, seem to have an idea of what's going on.
Many of the younger ones, particularly sports and weather people, but in
general reporters who appear to be there due more to an attractive appearance
then journalistic ability are no good, IMO.  I generally think local tv news
is better than our local newspaper, because there are 3 independently owned
tv stations and only one newspaper.  BTW, my community is Dayton, OH.  

-Mike