Current practices of stringer video : a telephone survey of TV news departments

There are some 14 million camcorder owners in the United States, which translates into the possibility of 14 million home video stringers for television news. Many television stations already realize the potential for expanded news coverage with this new technology. These stringers can provide exclusive video at a low cost and cover stories that might otherwise be missed. These videos can also serve as a promotional tool. Research has not kept up with the rapid increase in using home video in newscasts. This study has added information to the void of research in this area. A telephone survey was administered to a random sample of ten network affiliated stations from the top 30 markets, ten from markets 31-60, ten from 61-90, 91-120, and 121-150. Only news managers answered the questionnaire which was designed to find out the current practices of stringer video in television news departments. The information gathered showed 47 out of 50 have used stringer home video and continue to use it. The majority of the respondents do not have a written policy concerning home video nor do they solicit viewers for the video. Most of the stations use videos of breaking news and fires over other types of events. The average use of home video during the previous month averaged at least once. Ninety-six of the respondents said that was typical. Compensation was most often money and usually averaged $1-$25. None of the stations reported having any legal problems using home video. The majority of the stations used home video for exclusives or because the station had missed a story. This study showed that larger market stations are making more use of home videos to expand their news coverage. It also demonstrated that all market stations can make better use of this relatively easy and inexpensive way to enhance their newscasts.