ABSTRACT
An obsession with live two-ways has definitely crossed the Atlantic, even if UK television news is rarely so tabloid. Technology is making it easier to report and present from live locations. Live location mixing of television pictures is available on some satellite trucks and in self-contained, fully portable systems. Radio reporters are often required to report live. It might be from mobile phone, from a remote studio, from a radio car, a portable OB unit or even a microwave link on a backpack. The modern obsession with live reporting that, when resources are not available to go live, news editors may want 'as-live' reports instead—recorded inserts that look or sound live. Live reporting and presenting are core broadcast journalism skills. Nobody can work on air for a network outlet without a fluent live presence. 'As-lives' can be effective, and are sometimes the best way to tell the story.
