They simply do it as a part of their cognitive thinking capability. One difficulty for the journalist is knowing what proceedings are scheduled when. There are as many methods for handling dockets as there are court systems. Most have evolved over many years, but are at the same time subject to modification by the administrative judge within the system. Some are much more formal than others.
Some judges are happy to answer a question about a procedural or scheduling question.
Some see it as one more headache. Still others maintain it treads too close to committing an ethical violation. A recurring problem has been created by electronic wizardry. They are time and cost effective. A court reporter is added easily with a speaker phone.