News agent: news production workflow continues to be impacted by the technological advances afforded by workstations and other delivery systems. Richard Dean reviews the recent developments in newsroom automation.(technology update)

The fury and frenzy of a television newsroom, where teams grapple with competing stories, breaking news, and just-in-time guest bookings right up to the adrenalin rush of the on-air red light, is about as far from the culture of automation as you're likely to find in broadcasting.

But the term has stuck as shorthand for the whole business of using computer systems for news production.

Actually there are two distinct parts of the equation, although the boundaries are blurring. The oldest bit is the newsroom computer system (NRCS) first pioneered by Basys of San Francisco as a ...

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