How APC News Happens
APC News is Melbourne's weekly amateur news service. The first news bulletin went to air in January 1999 on one frequency. Now, two years later, it goes to air on six frequencies, and is broadcast live on the internet. News text is available on packet radio and the internet. Over 120 people in Australia and overseas get APC News via e-mail each Thursday. The service continues to expand - just introduced is a service where those who missed the live broadcast can hear it on the internet
APC News is now respected as one of Australia's leading amateur news services. We have often been the first to provide detailed reporting on important issues affecting VK amateurs. The coverage of the new electromagnetic requirements is a prime example of this. Our success can also be measured by how much material (first broadcast on APC News) is used on WIA broadcasts in other states. No other Australian news source (apart from Queensland's QNEWS) is as widely quoted as APC News. We are very much in favour of this exchange, and maintain friendly links with WIA broadcasts around Australia. Sometimes our items appear in club newsletters and in international amateur news bulletins. All this boosts the profile of your MDRC as one of Australia's most active and progressive amateur radio clubs.
I think APC News can even claim a small amount of credit in changing the amateur regulations. When we started, two years ago, the legal status of amateur news broadcasts was somewhat grey. This was tested when a complaint was lodged against APC News. We were told by the ACA to cease transmitting. We complied. Then after a gap of some months, we returned under a different format. 'Broadcast' became a dirty word, and we learned to refer to our transmissions as 'bulletins'. Fortunately common sense prevailed, and the ACA changed the amateur regulations to give firm legal backing to services such as APC News. Maybe you missed last year's change – it came in the same time J and K calls got full HF privileges. Since then, with our legal status clear, we have been able to expand the service to include extra HF, VHF and UHF frequencies. For this, we must thank our dedicated group of relay stations, such as Roscoe VK3TPJ, Chris VK3JEG, Graeme VK3GRL, Tony VK3CAT, Tony VK3JED and Gordon VK3XX (who looks after the packet edition).
The first time most people think about APC News is 8pm Wednesday, when they rush into the shack, hoping that they have not missed any part of the news. Yes, the bulletin can be fast-moving at times, with up to 25 items per bulletin.
Each week's APC News starts life as a word document on VK3YE's computer about 3 to 5 days before the day of transmission. It's pretty empty at first – it may only include those coming events from the previous week that have not yet come.
The few days before the news are a busy time for both VK3JNB and VK3YE. Anything that is heard on the bands, seen in a local newspaper or read on the internet is scrutinised for possible news value. For example, one may read about a dispute over mobile phone towers in the local paper. The item may have some relevance to amateurs. One might read about an achievement of a VK3 amateur on an intenet mailing list. Maybe a foxhunt win or a VHF record. Or someone might have developed a new digital mode and is making software available. All good newsworthy stuff.
An interstate or overseas club might be doing something innovative that we could try here. Again it might be worth a paragraph. Club webpages and interent newsgroups are monitored for items of value. Isn't cut and paste great!
'You have Mail!' suddenly pops up on the computer screen - What’s this – someone has actually sent in a contribution for the news! Doesn't happen often, but it's good when it does. Of course it may have typos, and commas in the wrong place, but it's the story that counts, and we can easily fix the grammar. As an aside, nearly all of what you hear on APC News has been heavily edited. If it wasn't, the news would be twice as long with half the content.
Of course, the internet isn't our only tool for gathering news. A chance comment heard on air may be the germ of an idea for a 'Ham Sandwich', or provide a valuable lead for a breaking story.
The weekend is a big news time at the APC Newsroom, with us receiving news from around Australia and around the world. The first news to come in is usually the weekend's QNEWS. We normally get it on Friday afternoon. It usually contains something of interest. Whether we use it depends on its local interest, newsworthiness and whether we have space. The VK2 news e-mail may then come in. Mostly it's local club news, but occasionally there's something relevant. By Sunday, it's a torrent – news from VK7, ARRL, RSGB and SARL is available for reading on the internet. By the afternoon, audio from the VK5 and VK6 weekly broadcasts has also been put on the web. We only occasionally listen – though from a news editor's point of view, reading is much faster and more convenient than listening.
Keith and Peter may sometimes (over the phone to avoid spilling the beans) kick around ideas for stories. Ham Sandwich and other items are e-mailed to be incorporated into the script alongside the news tidbits gathered throughout the week as described above.
Everything done so far is to generate a script. The production of the script is the most important activity at APC News. That's why I've spent so much time talking about it. Anyway, when it gets to about 3000 words, and/or we're sick and tired of the whole thing, we call the script finished, and secretly hope there's no late-breaking news. This normally happens on the Tuesday. This is why it is of great assistance to us if news items are sent to reach us by Monday evening.
After work on the basic script has ended, it is saved as several different documents. Yes, APC News is truly a multi-media service, possibly rivalling the big newspapers or the ABC in the various forms that news is distributed (six at last count).
The new readers' script comprises the main script, with opening and closing announcements added. This is broken into three parts, with two station identifications forming the separations. VK3YE e-mails this crucial script to VK3GK and VK3JNB, normally on the Wednesday morning. Keith then somehow manages to snatch some time to print off the script. Tea is hurriedly consumed, and Keith travels to VK3GK's place – the station from which the news originates.
About 7:15pm Wednesday evening, Keith arrives at Lee's shack with the script. Keith marks the script, so both know who talks when. After this is done, the announcements are put on various frequencies to advise listeners of the news.
Relay stations are then called and a pre-broadcast callback is held at about five minutes to eight. Then at 8pm, Lee and Keith read out the news. You all know about this as you listen every week (DON'T YOU?), so we won't need to say much more, except to mention the elaborate network of relay stations, which is shown in the diagram below.
After the bulletin, relay stations (both RF and internet) conduct callbacks. Numbers are then fed to Lee and Keith. A listener feedback telephone line also operates. It's been a bit quiet lately – where's Preston?
A further version of the script is made and saved as a text file.
A copy of the text file is sent to David VK3JDA. David converts it to html format, so it can be put onto the webpage, which is updated to incorporate the latest bulletin.
A copy of the text file is e-mailed to E-groups – the company that provides free mailing list services. Within seconds, the 120 plus people who now subscribe to the e-mail version of APC News have got their bulletins.
A copy of the text file is sent to Gordon VK3XX. Gordon splits the document into several pieces to allow rapid transmission via packet radio and uploads it to the packet system.
So that's how APC News – one of Australia's leading amateur news services – is produced. Whether you hear it on air, listen on the web, read it on-line, or get it with your email, APC News keeps you up to date with what's doing on the amateur scene.
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