Any corner of the world can become the stage for a news event. A bomb, tragically, can be planted in an international airport. An environmental protest can fill the main square of a European capital. A marathon can weave through the back streets of a US city.

No TV channel or news website – not even the best-funded – can afford to hire a satellite every time to film these locations from above. But there is a free tool that allows journalists to start in space and swoop down to the precise location of the story in a single, compelling zoom: Google Earth.

Type in an address or the coordinates of almost any spot on the planet and Google Earth simulates an approach with striking clarity. Broadcasters and leading news sites use it to create short sequences, especially in coverage of major or breaking events.

The tool also allows users to capture an image – a kind of digital postcard – once they reach the final frame. Google Earth is available for both PC and Mac (as in the example below: a “flight” from space to Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Belgium).