News ticker

In the United States, tickers were long used on a special event basis by broadcast television stations to disseminate weather warnings, school closings, and election results.

In one such example, News 14 Carolina allowed viewers to submit relevant information such as school closings or traffic delays via telephone or the Internet that would be incorporated into the ticker; the system was exploited in February 2004 to display humorous and crude messages, including the infamous "All your base are belong to us".

The ticker can be set to reappear, stay on screen, or be put into a retractable mode (where a small tab is left visible on-screen).

[5] At first simple chalkboard signs were used for bulletins, but limelight illumination, electric lights, magic lantern projections, and other novel techniques were later employed.

Placed at the juncture of the first and second floors, the ticker is visible to spectators in Rockefeller Plaza and passersby on West 49th Street and updates continuously, even at times when Today is not being produced and broadcast.

As of 2015, the ticker strip is only a small part of a large two-floor LCD video display that is placed within the window of the studio showing promotional information.

The use of news tickers has also been parodied on a number of films and television programs, including a 2003 episode of The Simpsons ("Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington"), as well as a sketch featured on Saturday Night Live.

The music video for the Chamillionaire rap single "Hip Hop Police" incorporated a parodical news ticker announcing the arrests of famous musicians.