As one commentator put it, [s]uppose The New York Times were The reasons for preserving and analyzing broadcast programming are many and varied. They include: review for educational and historical purposes research and analysis 1. requirements regarding the right to reply and equal opportunities for candidates in political campaigns ensuring that advertisements and video news releases are in fact broadcast as agreed as a safeguard against, or to provide Anne Rawley-Saldich, "Access to Television," Columbia Without broadcast monitoring services, none of these functions could be carried out as easily or with as much assurance. Broadcasters themselves do not provide immediate, nationwide clipping services. In fact, most broadcasters refuse to provide segments of their programming, are unable to do so, or do so only arbitrarily. Certainly, clients of monitoring services cannot watch all broadcasts, in all relevant viewing areas, on their own. In fact, the public generally has little, if any, advance warning of when and where a particular issue will be the subject of a news broadcast. For many corporations, government departments and individuals, broadcast monitoring services are the only way of keeping track of programming of importance to them. Who Uses Broadcast Monitoring Services? Broadcast monitoring services serve a broad range of clients and satisfy a great variety of needs: the Internal Revenue Service Congressional offices. Broadcast monitoring services assist the federal government in carrying out many essential functions, from criminal investigations to disaster relief efforts. Members of Congress use monitoring services to keep abreast of issues of importance to their evaluate their performance and corporate image, as well as the effectiveness of their news releases. o Charitable institutions Charitable institutions, such as the American Cancer Society, the United Way, UNICEF, and the American Red Cross, use monitoring services to evaluate the scope and nature of community needs and to follow broadcast coverage of fundraising events. o State and local governments At the state and local level, broadcast monitoring services are used regularly by government officials, school boards, hospitals and police departments. o Political candidates. Both national and local candidates for political office use broadcast monitoring services to assess public opinion ensure compliance with FCC regulations keep informed about issues and current events in their communities or nationwide. o Universities Educational and research institutions are among the most important users of broadcast monitoring services. Some services donate programs of the most newsworthy events to universities and libraries for archival purposes. Universities also use programs that are donated or purchased for research, including the study of journalism. Monitoring services are especially invaluable for educators and researchers because most broadcasters destroy their programming soon after it is broadcast. o Video news release companies Producers of video news releases, which are used by news stations across the country, need monitoring services to learn how, and in what context, |