The integration of a newsroom computer system with a server-centred news production system

The key to the success of any new product or technology is how well it works with the rest of the plant, how well it integrates into the operational work flow, how well it can meet the broad needs of the producers, directors, reporters, engineers, editors and managers who must work with it every day. This same test will be applied to servers, particularly production servers in news applications. And, because news production requires an integrated system, the success of the server will depend on the record/edit/playback clients as much as it will depend on the server itself. In news production the success of the server-centred production system will depend greatly on how well it integrates with the journalist's newsroom computer system which lies at the heart of contemporary news programme production. This paper is intended to be an exploration of that specific aspect of integration, the linkage between the journalists newsroom computer system and the server-centered video production system. It is a look at what might be rather than a statement of what already is. Much of the technology required to achieve the functions described is already in use producing news programmes every day for broadcasters like Hawaii's KHNL, NorthWest Cable News in Seattle, and New York's CNN Financial News Network. The remainder of the necessary technological developments are already under development.