A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
or
commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
, or
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
or
television news
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tel ...
, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign country. The term "correspondent" refers to the original practice of filing news reports via postal letter. The largest networks of correspondents belong to
ARD (Germany) and
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
(UK).
Vs. reporter
In Britain, the term 'correspondent' usually refers to someone with a specific specialist area, such as health correspondent. A 'reporter' is usually someone without such expertise who is allocated stories by the newsdesk on any story in the news. A 'correspondent' can sometimes have direct executive powers, for example a 'Local Correspondent' (voluntary) of the Open Spaces Society (founded 1865) has some delegated powers to speak for the Society on path and commons matters in their area including representing the Society at Public Inquiries.
Common types of correspondents
Capitol correspondent
A capitol correspondent is a correspondent who reports from headquarters of government.
Legal/justice correspondent
A legal or justice correspondent reports on issues involving legal or criminal justice topics, and may often report from the vicinity of a courthouse.
Red carpet correspondent
A red carpet correspondent is an entertainment reporter who reports from the
red carpet of an entertainment or media event, such as a
premiere
A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work.
History
Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
,
award ceremony
An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a m ...
or
festival
A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
.
Foreign correspondent
A foreign correspondent is any individual who reports from primarily foreign locations.
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a foreign correspondent who covers stories first-hand from a war zone.
Foreign bureau
A foreign bureau is a
news bureau
A news bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate a geographic location or scope of coverage: a 'Tokyo bureau' refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; 'fo ...
set up to support a news gathering operation in a foreign country.
Cost of living correspondent
Cost of living correspondents have been employed by several news agencies in the light of
the "cost of living" crisis in the United Kingdom from 2021 onwards.
On-the-scene TV news
In TV news, a "live on-the-scene" reporter reports from the field during a "live shot". This has become an extremely popular format with the advent of
Eyewitness News.
A recent cost-saving measure is for local TV news to dispense with out-of-town reporters and replace them with syndicated correspondents, usually supplied by a centralized news reporting agency. The producers of the show schedule time with the correspondent, who then appears "live" to file a report and chat with the hosts. The reporter will go and do a number of similar reports for other stations. Many viewers may be unaware that the reporter does not work directly for the news show. This is also a popular way to report the weather. For example,
AccuWeather
AccuWeather, Inc. is a private-sector American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services. AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers. The company adopted the name 'AccuWeather' in 1971.
AccuWeather is headquar ...
does not just supply data, they also supply on-air meteorologists from
television studio
A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...
s at their headquarters.
See also
*''
From Our Own Correspondent''
*''
Letter from America''
*
John Pory
*
List of foreign correspondents in the Spanish Civil War
*
Parachute journalism
*
People's correspondent
*
Press pool
*
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
*
Stringer (journalism)
In journalism, a stringer is a freelance journalist, photographer, or videographer who contributes reports, photos, or videos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work.
As f ...
References
External links
{{Authority control
Journalism occupations
Journalism
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