keywords: long distance communication, tom toms, heliographs, smoke signals, town crier, mail service, newspapers, radio
Synopsis: Methods of communicating news on a large scale from beating drums and Heliograph signal mirrors to modern newspapers and radio... (read more plus shot list)
Stock Footage Scenes:
Clock pendulum swinging back and forth, pan up to clock face, fade radio clock. Enter Broadcast Studio, two news commentator at work. African natives beat tom-toms to send news. Dramatized sequences show ancient Greeks sending messages by flashing sunlight from a polished shield, Indian smoke signals, a "Town Crier" in colonial America calls out news, Mission Father in the Southwest use carrier pigeon, dog sleds carrying mail in the Arctic, and ladies at tea gossiping.
Briefly describes modern communications methods such as the telegraph, wireless telegraph, telephone, and teletype machine. Discusses how the organization of reporters around the world became a necessity.
Newspapers joined forces and large news gathering agencies were formed. Footage of men working in major newspaper newsrooms. Uses the sinking of the United States gunboat Panay in the Yangtze River of China to illustrate the rapid dissemination of news of the event through the United Press system. A United News reporter was on-board during the attack, jumped overboard, swam to safety and reached a telephone. The world knew of the incident within hours of the incident rather than weeks.
Shot List of Stock Footage (start web movie at time code shown for each clip)
01:01:06:12 Clock pendulum swings slowly back and forth with a ticking sound, pan up to clock face.
01:03:29:10 African Natives beating jungle drums.
01:04:05:02 Heliograph used to communicate.
01:04:29:07 Indians sending smoke signals.
01:04:42:00 Town Crier rang bell and called out news of the day.
01:05:02:01 A Mission Father attaches a message and releases a carrier homing pigeon.
01:05:21:04. Three ladies having tea and gossiping.
01:05:57:05. Images of hand operating telegraph key, sounds of dots and dashes.
01:07:10:10. Family sitting in living room, husband, wife, daughter, fire burning in fireplace.
01:08:19:14. World globe rotating.
01:08:55:02. Main Editorial office, dozens of newsmen at work.
01:19:12:14. Newspaper headlines "U.S. Gunboat Panay Bombed and Sunk".