What is in this article?:
- The evolution of news
- Scale
- Platform independence
- More tentacles
More tentacles
The modern NRCS is connected in more ways than its predecessors; those tentacles have multiplied. The rise of new forms of communication means there are new ways to report the news and to receive it.
For example, a smart phone has many media capabilities and is connected via the mobile network. Adding a mobile client facility to the NRCS means it can integrate smart phones into the newsgathering workflow. This allows journalists anywhere to browse wires, create content and attach media such as video, images or sound. When finished, the story is sent to the NRCS.
Integration with social networking enables services such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to connect with the NRCS. The flow of information is bilateral. Reporters can publish posts outside the NRCS, as well as use online data as sources for their stories. A story-orientated workflow can enable journalists to work on a story, creating news scripts and posting onto social networks, all on one screen. The news also needs to go to the Web. So providing an easy way to deliver stories directly from the NRCS in pictures, text, video and audio to the TV channels’ website as a live update is now on the list of essentials.
What’s next?
We have just benefited from a torrent of new technology with mobile devices, tablets and more powerful COTS IT equipment. So it would be easy to think the pace of change in the newsroom will now slow. However, NRCS history indicates that advances never stop, and it seems likely that, in the short term, prime movers will continue to be the Internet and mobile devices. Further down the line, who knows? Whatever the future requirements are, a flexible, cost-effective and innovative NRCS will be well-placed to provide new requirements.
—Gabriel Jankó is sales director at OCTOPUS Newsroom.
