Apple iPads are flying off the shelves faster than the company can manufacture them. Among the early adopters is one enterprising broadcaster that has discovered an immediate and practical application.
Last week, news anchors and producers at Barrington Broadcasting Group’s WFXL Albany, Ga., replaced their paper scripts with electronic versions displayed on the iPad.
“By using the iPad, we’re saving hundreds of thousands of sheets of paper annually,” says News Director Terry Graham, who also anchors the news at 6:30 and 10 p.m. at the Fox affiliate. “Our projected savings per month are $800, or about $9,600 per year.”
That easily covers the cost of the initial six entry-level iPads, which retail for $499. (Apple offers versions with more onboard flash memory and optional 3G reception for up to $829.)
Newscast scripts are composed as usual. But rather than printing to paper, the final version is formatted as a PDF file and transmitted to each iPad via e-mail. The PDF translation is handled by iAnnotate by Aji.LLC, a $7 program sold and downloaded via Apple’s App Store.
Read more: TvNewsCheck.com
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