Journal Title: Journal

Journal Issue: Vol. 43, no. 6 (1976)

Article Title: 17 May 1976: World Telecommunication Day: Telecommunication and Mass

Page number(s): pp. 409- 411

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© International Telecommunication Union

17 May 1976 World Telecommunication Day "Telecommunication and "

On 17 May World Telecommunication Day was celebrated by the 148 Member countries of ITU. This year the theme was "Telecommunication and mass media". Last month we published two articles on this theme and two others are published below.

News agencies with world-wide operations and messages are automatically routed to today make use of global telecommunication their destinations. Gone are the ancient networks comprising terrestrial , satel- days when editors shouted, messenger The importance lite and cable , ranging from boys ran breathlessly and operators feverishly half-speed 50- telegraph channels to tore tape. Telecommunication of today of telecommunication medium-speed data links. The changed all that into the cool and controlled transmitted over these networks is news, environment not unlike data processing in the operation photo, data, sound and facsimile. Very centres. A change which took place without of a press agency often the networks are -controlled regrets. transmission network Editors at work with VDUs on line to a computer system editing news. The photograph is taken in the main editorial room at dpa headquarters in Flamburg

The dpa, Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH, is one of the biggest and leading inter- national news agencies of the Federal Republic of Germany. Fiaving some 800 employees and a total staff of about 3200, it is a world-wide operating agency, dpa by its constitution is completely independent of political parties, religious opinions or commercial interests. According to a survey in the British magazine dpa ranks number 5 in the western inde- pendent news agencies.

* * *

One comment on the title would be very simple: without telecommunication there is virtually no transmission network as no press agency can exist without telecom- munication. Of course, there is much more to say about this, in particular because the technical achievements in telecommuni- cations of the recent years have brought about facilities which in the past were only dreamt of by journalists.

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Of the developments of the past decade news agency subscribers in over 100 coun- we appreciate the communications tries and territories. The UPI news bureaux providing reliable transmission paths to and its subscribers are tied together by a almost every point in the world, usually global network of over at more favourable costs than the old facilities. 1 600 000 km of satellite, cable and tele- The is only one graph circuits, and a series of intercontinental example of the revolutionary new develop- radio- channels totalling more ments of communication systems meeting than 177 000 km. It is a two-way complex the requirements of press agencies. There that speeds news to and from every part are two further technical achievements a Linking the news of the world in a matter of seconds. press agency has to mention which have had an enormous impact on the use of to the people The agency's first involvement with tele- telecommunication facilities, i.e. the computer communications began back in 1907, when and the visual display unit (VDU). These United Press was organized by the late developments indeed made it possible for E. W. Scripps. The new service's the journalist's report, written on the spot, news dispatches were transmitted by Morse to be instantaneously transmitted to a world code. One legacy of this era is the fact that, audience—thus enabling the press agencies even today, the person responsible for to fulfil their task more efficiently. handling news agency copy on a North American newspaper is known as the Text composition and transmission was, " telegraph editor ". However, UPI operations conventionally, a two-level process. There in the 1970s, utilizing division was the journalist or typing his There is a two-stage process in what is multiplex circuits (FDM) tied to a computer story and later an operator punching the commonly called a "news event". First, storage and retrieval (IS&R) system with information onto tape and transmitting it there is a certain development that is of lightning-fast input and output capability along a telegraph channel. and interest or importance. Then, a response to (some North American subscribers receive VDUs have changed this scene drastically. that development. The second stage of the UPl's service at 1200 words a minute), Reporters of today and tomorrow have at process takes place when those who were bear about the same relationship to the their command tools which are more not present in the initial stage read or hear Morse of the organization's efficient, easier to operate and faster than about what has taken place—and react. beginning that a Concorde bears to a those of their colleagues a couple of years child's kite. The United Press International (UPI) is ago. The story typed on the keyboard and deeply involved in the process of linking To perform its overall mission of covering appearing on the screen of a VDU is checked news events and human response to those the world today, UPI processes an estimated and edited by the originating reporter or events. It is one of a relative handful of 4 to 4.5 million words each day. This journalist and virtually every station in the private and independent organizations pro- wordage, along with several hundred tele- press agency transmission network is at viding a " connection" between the two photo (newspicture) transmissions, and his fingertips. He simply instructs the com- elements of the news process. On the one 125 to 150 audio reports (for use on broad- puter where to route the message and by hand are the correspondents, photographers casting stations) must be handled by one keystroke transmits his message. Com- and editors at UPl's 200 news bureaux on UPl's international telecommunication - puters check, relay and route the copy, six continents, and on the other, the 6740 work. There are over 30 outgoing circuits, adhering to the priorities allocated and newspaper, radio, and national including general, business and the sports deliver the news to the public in the fastest fashion. United Press International communicates extensively by use of video display units, similar Developments in telecommunication equip- to the one shown here. This particular model is a Siemens connected to the line ment and transmission facilities are only through the 60011200A, on the right the technical means of telecommunication —there is more to it. Telecommunication is also rules, regulations and tariffs which can support or hinder the of press inform- ation. It is obvious that it became more and more difficult to keep the regulatory aspects of modern telecommunications in line with the technical achievements. The efficient use of all available communications facilities, as made possible for instance by VDUs and computers, does not always meet the ap- proval of post offices despite the fact that theequipment is, technically, perfectly accept- able. There exists, on some occasions, a gap between rule and reality which the press agencies have to live with. However, it is more and more appreciated by the inter- national bodies like the ITU, the CCITT, etc. concerned with regulations and the administration of telecommunications that the press has a role to play in the public interest, whether or not press agencies are privately owned and operated.

Telecommunication is not only essential to any press agency, to its life, success, public service; it is also the most facinating world, unmatched by any other.—dpa.

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, newspaper and broadcast wires, terminals at the major European bureaux for UPI to operate as though it were one and international circuits in four languages. (except London, where labour has not yet huge global newsroom. Nearly any UPI At some point, most of this traffic flows accepted the innovation). The VDUs in bureau can send news directly to any through New York , where the heart are connected to the New York other UPI bureau or subscriber, and the of UPl's information handling system is computer through an ITT ADX switching information in the computer database is located. computer located at UPl's editing instantaneously and randomly retrievable centre and leased transatlantic FDM circuits. from almost anywhere. In fact, UPI is There, on the 11th floor of a There is a similar ADX located in Hongkong, currently experimenting with a system called skyscraper a few blocks from the United connecting Asian, Australian and Pacific " demandnews " that will give its subscribers Nations, a trio of Univac Spectra 70/45 UPI bureaux to New York. direct access to the computer, allowing computers are " on line " with over 400 video them to interrogate it and retrieve only display units (VDUs) for story origination, The computers, the terminals, and world- that portion of the overall database that editing and distribution. These include wide telecommunications make it possible they require—news on demand.—UPL

radio amateurs

has been subject to the greatest amount Two projects concerning the study of of study. This is partly due to the large the sporadic-E layer in the VHF bands number of ionospheric observatories lo- were submitted by France to the 1975 cated in the northern hemisphere, most International Union of whom have concentrated their work (IARU) Region 1 Conference. First of in the region below 30 MHz. Little work these is the southern Europe project has been done concerning the appearance which envisages the setting up of 144 MHz of sporadic-E phenomena in the VHF in the south of Europe, an area band (30-200 MHz), possibly due to the where few such stations now exist. These lower percentage of appearance in relation beacons will greatly add to the possibility to the lower . of obtaining valuable scientific data. The second, the North Atlantic project, covers Scientific observation of the E layer may the study of VHF propagation above this Propagation be made by means of: area, particularly in the amateurs' bands research a) vertical soundings, 28 and 50 MHz. Observations would be b) backscatter soundings, made by amateurs in those countries not able to transmit on 50 MHz and c) incoherent scatter radars, and beacons would be located along the eastern d) radioelectrical measurements. coast of North America. Little work has been done concerning the study of spor- The latter appears to be the only method adic-E propagation in the North Atlantic able to bring rapidly usable results by area and for several reasons the 50 MHz permitting the detection of the clouds, to band seems to be a most suitable one track them during their lifetime and to to use. determine their point of disappearance. Radio amateurs can supplement the work Both these projects could have an import- of the observatories as they are always ant effect on the knowledge of highly present on the air and their equipement, ionized media. Therefore the resources of which often has a high performance, the amateur service will be used to obtain URING the past fifteen years or so a costs much less than the equipment used a large number of operational reports of D great deal of work has been done in by the observatories. Measurements may sporadic-E activity. In order that these the investigation of the abnormal ioniz- be made by either: reports shall have a common basis suitable ation of the E region of the ionosphere. report sheets have been prepared and During this time various theories have a) recordings of received fields on a distributed throughout Region 1. It is been put forward and partly verified fixed frequency, i.e. television or FM hoped that the results, when analysed concerning the nature and formation of stations and aeronautical or amateur and published, will once again show the the sporadic-E layer. The differing behav- beacons, and value of the amateur service to the iour and evolution following the latitude b) observation of the drift of the spor- community. of the observation point has meant that adic-E clouds by listing the traffic The work involved in supervising these these theories, although having a common using this medium for communication projects is being undertaken by Mr. S. basis, often differ in detail. The mid- or hearing long-distance television or Canivenc, F8SH, the IARU Region 1 spor- latitude sporadic-E layer is the type which FM broadcasts. adic-E co-ordinator.—IARU Region 1.

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