Satellite Feeds

Another job the assignment editor typically does -- but is rarely in any job description -- is to act as the station's satellite coordinator.

Let's say you are a station in Baltimore. And a suspect wanted for a murder is captured in Lexington, KY. Generally, it will be up to the desk in Baltimore to call up an affiliate in Lexington, KY to try and bring in any scene video they might have as well as any relevant sound bites.

This can be tedious work. I think assignment editors like talking to other assignment editors marginally more than a viewer calling to complain about something airing at the network level.

To facilitate a satellite feed, the receiving station has to initiate a phone call to the affiliate. Then they have to find someone nice enough to help out. Then they have to find out when they can get the video (if it is being edited at that moment for the originating station's newscast, then the receiving end is going to have to wait). Once a time is established, the receiving station has to call a satellite provider to book time on a transponder.

Sometimes this is done through the network (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX... they all have satellites where affiliates can cheaply and easily access space) or third-party (like CNN). Other times, stations are actually connected through a fiber line (Vyvx is one of the dominant ones). Still others stations may be so small that the only way to transmit video is over an FTP connection or through a dial-up phone connection.

Once the time is booked, the receiving station has to get in touch with the originating station's receive room (the place where all satellite feeds come and go from) when the window opens. And since the windows are booked in 5-minute increments, there is pressure to get everything within those 300 seconds.

When all those steps go well, there usually aren't any problems. But it can be tricky. Any miscommunication along the way can trip up the whole process.

But I often stop to marvel how *easy* it really is to beam video across the country. I can just dial up a satellite booking service and have video feeding into my station from Boise, Idaho if I want. And while the costs can add up quickly, I can get that video from Idaho for around $50 which is pretty darn cheap when you think about it. And with the Internet's growing connection speeds, I am sure it is only a matter of time before I can just email and entire television news story to a station that requests it.