Using state-of-the-art automation, we were able to create one of the nation’s first mobile local news channel with 11 hours of live and recorded newscasts.
We had pretty lofty goals when we started. We had to shift thinking to automate as much as possible and allow newsroom staff to operate the channel, including live breaking news, independent of a staffed control room. In other words, one guy can get on the air and switch to live sources all by himself. In this case, it was centered at our Assignment Desk and our Assignment Manager could anchor the breaking news by pushing a button and then route various sources into the feed to the news channel.
A stand-alone 24 hour news channel that can:
- Run unattended with no human involvement if needed
- Provide continuously updated, automated live news content
- Be interrupted at anytime for Breaking News – by one person without tying up any Studio, Control room, or DOC/Master Control personnel or equipment
- Provide multiple live program streams for different applications
- Provide multiple – unique – revenue opportunities
Here’s how we did it.
This allowed us to run a separate commercial stream during program breaks if we wanted to do so. The channel could run unattended with minimal intervention from Digital Operations Center (aka Master Control) operators. Over time, we added other stations into the mix to provide a diversity of regional news coverage. At the same time, the program stream could be interrupted at any time by a single button from our Newsroom Content Center (aka Assignment Desk).
By using in-house servers, we were able to serve the stream up in various formats for over-the-air, mobile, and websites… each with their own unique revenue sources.
It was just part of our Next Gen Newsroom development that changed the workflow and the way news was gathered and distributed.
Paul Dughi.com 