News 9 Adds StreetScope Technology To Cover Breaking News

News 9 takes breaking news and storm tracking to an all new level. We are the first television station in the nation to bring to you exact location tracking as news and weather unfold live on the screen.

When breaking news comes into the newsroom here at News 9, it sets in motion a chain of events beginning with Jim Gardner and his photographer Ben Smith out the door and into the chopper.

"It's really going to bring the viewer into our world," said Jim Gardner, News 9 Pilot.

Now, armed with our StreetScope mapping, we can pinpoint more accurately where news is located while Gardner is in the air.

"The camera will swing and point right to that location as we fly," Gardner said. "So we don't have to get there and start hunting for addresses, the camera is going to take us there."

Especially during scenes that move, like wildfires and car chases.

"I'm really not sure what street he is turning on unless we can get a visual look of that street with this Ben can zoom in on that car and it will show the street he's driving on," said Gardner.

The technology overlays addresses, street names, businesses and building names on top of real-time video, allowing Gardner to stay focused on the target, especially if that target is a tornado.

"You're looking at a Google map with the actual tornado moving across it," said News 9 Chief Meteorologist David Payne. "Everybody at home there will be no mistake where that tornado is, where it's been and where it is right now."

With staff back here in the control room, they will make sure that information from the field gets to you.