Beat advocates say the systems free their newsrooms from depending on the wires, scanners and incoming faxes for stories to cover. His solution is to have general assignment reporters develop a sub-specialty, an issue they regularly track, like law enforcement or the environment. Other news managers employ a beat system to distinguish their coverage from the competition-print, broadcast, and cable. The motive is similar in some smaller markets, too. We're on top of cases.
Beat systems are rare in radio newsrooms, even at large market all-news stations.
One exception is KYW in Philadelphia where most of the station's 11 reporters are assigned to beats, either geographic or topical, including South Jersey, city hall, and criminal justice. But most radio stations simply lack the staff to specialize. Television stations with small staffs face the same dilemma. Staff size isn't the only obstacle to setting up a topical beat system. Reporters in the suburban bureaus tend to cover education stories there, because it's so difficult to get around the sprawling New York metropolitan area.