Broadcasting & Cable‘s George Winslow has more information on the “ABC World News” upgrade to an automated control room (subscription required). Winslow writes that not only is “World news” the first evening newscast to get automated, but it did so without costing any jobs in the process:
The upgrade is notable not only because ABC was the first national broadcast network to automate its nightly newscast. The project also illustrates how the rationale for automation is shifting from the concept of reducing staff, to one where the technology itself can be seen as a way to improve the quality of news programming and gathering.
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“It allows for much stronger news teams and better communications as they are putting the program together throughout the day,” she notes. “It is not so much a technology change as a culture change.”