From the beat of the distant drum ... 25 1.12 Conclusion Satellite newsgathering has evolved from the technological seed of the electric telegraph in just over a century and a half and there are several interesting parallels between the telegraph and digital SNG in particular. Both involve a compressed method of coding, both revolutionized newsgathering, and both have had a lasting effect on the impact of news. If television bulletins of only 30 or 40 years ago are viewed today, the difference is startling, and one is left marveling at what we are served today. From the stiff and visually boring bulletins of the 1950s, we have progressed to the visually and aurally stimulating style of the twenty-first century, which on some digital channels even feature viewer interactivity. Over this period, an increasing amount of national and international news has been customized down to local station level. Live interaction between news anchors and on-the-scene correspondents has become an everyday occurrence ­ the norm rather than unusual ­ and is achieved with ease by the fluid interconnectivity that SNG allows, whether from the end of your street or the other side of the world. Such was the impact of the 1991 Persian Gulf War coverage that virtually no major international crisis or conflict since has escaped being covered by the use of SNG uplinks in some form, either by an SNG fly- away or a `videophone'. Whether in conflicts in Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and Sudan; or natural disasters in Iran, Indonesia, Thailand, the December 2004 Indonesian tsunami, and even Hurricane Katrina in the First World country of the United States in 2005; they have all featured on news agendas around the world, and it is unimaginable that they would have received such prominence if there had not been such instant availability of live or `near-live' reports. 10,11