If the teleprinters used to transmit news at the rate of around 80 words per minute some years ago, today transmission speeds of the order of 56 kilobits per second (about 70000 words per minute) are at hand. It is now possible for a reporter to work at home with a computer and file his report over telephone lines. This has not, however, become common though the technology is here. One of the reasons is the absence of qualified and confident engineers in many newspaper organizations who can tackle virus, security and other problems. Secondly, we are not yet ready to dismantle our offices and turn our homes into workplaces. Such a change obviously has its advantages and disadvantages.
Tomorrow, reporters may be dictating their stories on the field to computers capable of recognizing voice and transmitting them instantaneously to their offices. While the electronic media is sure to embrace such a technology, it is doubtful whether print journalists would welcome it. There are limitations in composing long and detailed stories using voice. (I am not forgetting that there were writers who used to dictate long articles to their assistants). However, the technology will be ideal for radio. The reporter's voice could be directly broadcast or converted into print outs and read by the news reader, according to the requirements of the newsroom. Voice recognition is already here. However, the technology would take some more time to mature. There is also the possibility of blurring of the distinction between various media in the near future. The same newsroom would be producing the print and online editions of the newspaper and news broadcasts over radio, cable and television. This process has already begun. At least one newspaper in the United States has an integrated newsroom. In India, the print and online editions of newspapers share resources.
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