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Multiple realities
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Federation news service

News reporters at the launch of the USS Enterprise-B

For the latest Star Trek news, please see Portal:Main/Panels/News.

News was the reporting of current events and was transmitted to the public via a number of different mediums as technology progressed, such as newspapers, radio, and television programs. Live streaming and holos were also used. News was often reported on by journalists and reporters.

Early publication[]

For main article, see: newspaper.

On the planet Earth, one of the earliest forms of getting news to the general public was newspapers.

News broadcasts[]

White Sands zero hour

A news broadcast regarding an early atomic weapons test in 1952

In 1957, news footage of several atomic weapons tests in White Sands, New Mexico was broadcast in black-and-white on Earth. Mestral watched the footage in the Pine Tree bar, in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. (ENT: "Carbon Creek")

When Gary Seven arrived on Earth in 1968, he had the Beta 5 computer search news broadcasts to find Agent 347 and Agent 201. It soon found that they had been killed in an automobile accident several days prior. (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")

When the USS Voyager was pulled back to 1996 by a temporal rift created by Captain Braxton, Ensign Kim assigned Kes and Neelix to watch the various news channels for anything that could help them, including information that might help locate Braxton. At one point, Voyager had to enter a very low orbit to transport Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay aboard. Unfortunately, the starship was caught on tape by a man with a video camera in his backyard having a barbeque, and the clip aired on the national news, which called the craft an "unidentified flying object." (VOY: "Future's End")

In 2000, Marci Collins – a reporter for 3 Action News (a local station in Portage Creek, Indiana) – interviewed Gerald Moss and Henry Janeway, during a battle over whether Janeway would sell his store in order to build the Millennium Gate by their deadline – specifically, midnight of December 31st, 2000. (VOY: "11:59")

In 2004, a man in Detroit, Michigan named Loomis was assisting a then-unknown employer kidnap people for money (believing them to be terrorists). He informed his employer (who was actually Damron, a Xindi-Reptilian who had traveled back in time) that, after having abducted several people, he thought he heard the mysterious disappearances mentioned on the news. (ENT: "Carpenter Street")

In 2022, the Greater Toronto Newscast was broadcast in Toronto, Canada, both to television sets and outdoor billboards. It presented current events, weather, stock prices, and traffic. Its reports on budget overruns on the Lake Ontario Bridge and unseasonably warm weather in Quebec and Vermont were seen by La'an Noonien-Singh and an alternate James T. Kirk when they travelled to this time period. (SNW: "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow")

In 2024, Channel 90 reported about the Bell Riots that occurred at Sanctuary District A. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part II")

Jupiter 8 television

News from 892-IV

On the planet 892-IV, in a culture that resembled a 20th century version of a Roman Empire that never fell, Empire TV televised news programs in black-and-white (color was reserved for prime-time programming). These featured events of the day, such as barbarians and Son worshipers being arrested, as well as coverage of gladiatorial games. According to Communications Officer Uhura, these broadcasts also contained news commentary of questionable effectiveness. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")

In 2151, Captain Jonathan Archer told Ensign Travis Mayweather to put together the report for Starfleet about their mission involving the Terra Nova colony. He was sure this would be headline news on Earth. (ENT: "Terra Nova")

During the Gorkon assassination crisis in 2293, Valeris reported to Captains Spock and Scott that Azetbur had been named Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, citing that "it was on the news." (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Several prominent Federation news stations sent reporters to report on the launch of the USS Enterprise-B, some of which included the Federation News Network and the Federation News Service. (Star Trek Generations)

In 2381, Vice Admiral Les Buenamigo sent news reporter Victoria Nuzé to the USS Cerritos without adequate warning to report on Project Swing By, knowing Captain Carol Freeman would panic and hoping for a "perfect disaster" that would enable him to unveil the Texas-class automated starships. Nuzé interviewed several crew members, including Ensign Beckett Mariner, to gain insight on how the ship functioned. The result was a damning exposé painting the crew as unprofessional, especially in light of Freeman ordering them to shun Mariner, her own daughter, for talking to Nuzé without bothering to become aware that she had spoken positively of her life on the ship. FNN reports also made a Breen occupation of Brekka and the existence of the USS Aledo public knowledge. (LD: "Trusted Sources", "The Stars At Night")

Shortly afterwards, multiple news sources reported that the Texas-class vessels had become unhinged and were attacking Douglas Station. Petra Aberdeen showed Mariner, who had resigned from Starfleet as a result of her poor treatment after the interview but was beginning to second-guess civilian life, an FNN report on the rampage to demonstrate that Starfleet had caused yet another deadly fiasco, only for a horrified Mariner to decide to intervene. (LD: "The Stars At Night")

In 2385, FNN reported on the Attack on Mars. (ST: "Children of Mars")

USS Voyager over Golden Gate Bridge

Voyager's return airs on the news for its ten-year anniversary

In 2404 of an alternate timeline, a news program showed a video clip of the USS Voyager's flyby over the Golden Gate Bridge after returning to Earth, in honor of its ten-year anniversary. A commentator on that news program stated:

"These should be familiar images to everyone who remembers USS Voyager's triumphant return to Earth after twenty-three years in the Delta Quadrant. Voyager captivated the hearts and minds of the people throughout the Federation, so it seems fitting that on this, the tenth anniversary of their return, we take a moment to recall the sacrifices made by the crew."

Also on that day, the same news program reported that corruption charges had been brought against the Ferengi Gaming Commission. (VOY: "Endgame")

Appendices[]

Apocrypha[]

In the novelization of "The Survivor", the news is indirectly mentioned by Captain Kirk, while talking to a Vendorian disguised as the famed but long-thought-dead philanthropist Carter Winston. As Kirk is not yet aware of the Vendorian's true identity when the reference is made, he says that, once Starfleet makes the details of Winston's rescue known, "the news people will go crazy." Kirk goes on to reckon that Winston is likely to be "faxed to death," immediately upon returning to a Federation planet.

External links[]

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