Fleet News Service
The Fleet News Service is the official name of the makeshift news service created by the handful of media reporters that survive the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
The news service is comprised primarily of the large group of journalists that traveled aboard Colonial Heavy 798 for Galactica's decommissioning ceremony (TRS: "Miniseries").
The news service attends press conferences held by President Laura Roslin aboard Colonial One or with Commander William Adama and his command staff aboard Galactica in the pilots' ready room. While President Roslin tends to utilize them to her benefit at times and has a good relationship with the press corps ("Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", "Home, Part I"), neither Commander Adama, nor Colonel Tigh are particularly good at managing the deep and candid questions that the press throws at them (TRS: "Home, Part I").
The news service has been used for spreading information about known Cylon models throughout the Fleet (TRS: "Litmus"). The political commentary group, the "Colonial Gang," probably airs on Fleet News Service's Talk Wireless broadcasts (TRS: "Colonial Day").
D'Anna Biers is a Fleet News Service reporter, and creates a documentary sanctioned by the Fleet's leadership in the aftermath of the Gideon massacre (TRS: "Final Cut").
The News-Review is a print publication, that collects current news (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"). Journalists and politicians in the Fleet also use a wire service called the Colonial Dispatch (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I").
Following the resumption of their journey post-Second Exodus, the Fleet News Service continues onward with reporting; an interview of Vice President Tom Zarek is conducted by McManus via Talk Wireless (TRS: "Sine Qua Non") and various journalists later cover the trial of Gaius Baltar (TRS: "Crossroads, Part I", "Crossroads, Part II").
Colonial Dispatch
The Colonial Dispatch is a wire service used by journalists and politicians in the Fleet.
Following the first presidential debate, Tory Foster reads a news report to Laura Roslin from the Colonial Dispatch:
- Last night's debate only solidified the perception that Doctor Baltar, for all his charm, is essentially an empty suit when it comes to matters of substantial policy. (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I")
Members
Fringe Journalism
Other publications like the Colonial Report, Colonial Military Report, Colonial Update, and Cylon Watch—most containing speculation about the Cylons' nature and their infiltration of the Fleet—were acquired by Sesha Abinell following her husband's death. The widespread legitimacy of these publications, distributed by the Colonial Media Coop, is in question, as they verge into deleterious conspiracy theories. In one particular instance, the fixation of partial facts relating to the presence of a second Sharon Valerii in the Fleet drives Abinell and a handful of conspirators to a terminal terrorist act aboard Cloud 9 (TRS: "Sacrifice").
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A copy of the Colonial Update at Sesha Abinell's desk (TRS: "Sacrifice").
