How would press coverage of an incident like apollo 13 be different if happened today?

Answer 1

The Apollo 13 mission launched on April 11, 1970. Back then, there was no internet, no cable TV, no social media (no Twitter or Facebook, for example), and the public still relied on newspapers or magazines as well as radio in addition to the big TV networks like ABC, NBC and CBS; PBS was getting started as well. There was thus no expectation of instantaneous access to information. People waited for the networks to break in with bulletins, or they waited for an extra edition of the newspaper (newspapers published print editions a few times a day).

Today, the news would be transmitted instantly-- and not just via ABC, NBC and CBS, but also via cable networks like CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and Al Jazeera America as well as satellite radio networks. People on social media would be Tweeting the latest information, Facebook and other social media sites would be commenting as the news unfolded, and every major newspaper, radio station and TV station would have up-to-the-minute updates on their websites. Networks would undoubtedly go with wall-to-wall coverage, especially as news spread that the crew might be in trouble and in danger of not landing safely. Experts would be called in to comment, and after the astronauts did in fact land safely, the public would continue to weigh in, on Talk Shows or online, in addition to receiving the latest information via the web, smartphones, iPads and Notebooks. There would also be print coverage in newspapers and magazines, so that the public could reflect upon what had happened and read opinions from experts.

As for reporting, today it is much easier for reporters to fly to distant locations and get the story, plus videotape is easier to edit than the film used many years ago. People could get photos on their smartphones or upload photos to radio or TV station websites, and both audio and video would be transmitted from the location of the events in a much more up-to-the-minute way. Of course, there would be limitations to what information was known at the time, but the reporters would certainly be better able to use modern technology to get the story out more quickly than they would have in 1970.