'Star Car' puts newsroom on wheels in Shelby, N.C.

Inside an ordinary looking SUV, The Shelby (N.C.) Star has created a state-of-the-art mobile newsroom that allows reporters to connect to the Internet wherever it goes. Called the Star Car, right, it is a joint project of The Star, Ifra (an international newspaper trade association) and the University of South Carolina Newsplex, reports the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association.

Some of features of the Star Car:

• A GPS tracking system that lets readers see where the car is right now.
• Dash-mounted video camera that can transmit live video and still pictures.
• Wireless laptop, wireless camera and a high-definition video camera.
• Ability to create a rolling Wi-fi hotspot for reporters to go online.
  

Ifra and Newsplex chose The Star as the test site for the project. The Star Car will be sent to schools, businesses and events to teach people about the technology and its role for journalism. To take a tour of the Star Car, go here. (When we posted this item, the top Star Car story was the coverage of the return of the Gardner-Webb men's basketball to campus after its upset win at the University of Kentucky on Wednesday night.)