United States cable news
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United States cable news formed in the early 1980s with the advent of cable television. Early networks include CNN (1980), Financial News Network (FNN; 1981), and CNN2 (now HLN; 1982). CNBC was created in 1989, taking control of FNN in 1991. By 1997, the cable news industry grew to incorporate several major networks, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and specialty news channels Bloomberg Television and ESPNews.
News channels that failed include America's Talking (defunct in 1996), which is viewed as a predecessor to MSNBC, and All News Channel which went defunct in 2002. However, the 2000s saw the creation of ABC News Now (2004) and Fox Business Network (2007). Earlier channels include Satellite News Channel which was launched by ABC in 1982 as a competitor to CNN but went out of business just over a year later.
Out of this are the "big 3" cable networks, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, competing for news coverage. CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and Fox Business Network compete for business competition. ESPNews saw competition from a CNNSI (see below), which ultimately failed.
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[edit] "Big 3" news channels
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[edit] CNN
The first Gulf War in 1991 gave CNN a higher reputation and catapulted the network past American networks for the first time in its history, largely due to an unprecedented historical scoop: CNN was the only news outlet with the ability to communicate from inside Iraq during the initial hours of the American bombing campaign, with live reports from the al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad by reporters Bernard Shaw, John Holliman, and Peter Arnett. Throughout the 1990s, CNN became very influential, an influence later coined as the CNN effect.
Today, CNN's leading personalities are Wolf Blitzer, Lou Dobbs, Campbell Brown, Larry King, and Anderson Cooper.
During the 1990s, CNN was criticized by former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and among other conservatives of liberal bias and have referred to CNN as the "Clinton News Network."[1] Crossfire was created in 1982. It was dedicated to proving the liberal and conservative side of the news. But in 2005, the show took harsh criticism from Jon Stewart, leading to the cancellation of one of the few bipartisan news television series. Also during 2005, conservative CNN contributor Robert Novak cursed and walked off the set because of his frustrations over CNN's opposing commentary. He later signed with Fox News that year. Today, CNN is considered neutral compared to Fox News and MSNBC, but critics argue they are still leaning liberal. [2][3] and catering to a more liberal audience,[4]
CNN has always been first in terms of technology among the Big 3. CNN was the first to launch in HD, doing so in September 2007. [5] As a comparison, Fox News Channel didn't launch in HD until May 1, 2008, [6] and MSNBC HD won't launch until June 29, 2009. [7] CNN was also the first channel to use hologram technology on television, it did so during the 2008 United States Presidential Election on November 4, 2008. [8]
[edit] CNN spinoffs
In 1982, Time Warner created a spin-off called CNN2. Every thirty minutes it showed the top stories of the day. CNN2 was renamed CNN Headline News, and most recently, HLN. Time Warner created CNN International in 1985. CNN launched a special version on January 20, 1992 named CNN Airport Network which is available exclusively in United States airports, which simulcasts CNN and HLN, but with inserts of information of interest to air travelers such as travel conditions, weather reports, air traffic reports and flight cancellations and delays. CNN also runs a Spanish language version named CNN en Español.
Time Warner started two networks which failed. One, as a competitor to the upstart ESPNews, the other a competitor to CNBC. CNNSI, a combination of CNN and Sports Illustrated launched in 1996 and was shut down in 2002. CNN and Sports Illustrated continue to maintain their partnership, Sports Illustrated runs the sports section of CNN's website. CNNfn launched at the end of 1995, and was shut down after nine years on the air in December 2004.
[edit] Fox News
Since the network's start, it has been harshly criticized for conservative bias, especially by liberal media watch groups such as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)[9] and Media Matters for America[10] The founder, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, is a self-described libertarian. Murdoch hired Republican strategist Roger Ailes to be CEO of Fox News in 1996. From launch, Bill O'Reilly hosted his own show The O'Reilly Factor which has been very controversial. After the documentary film Outfoxed which showed many conservative bias in their broadcasting, Fox News used the logo Fair and Balanced to try and convince viewers Fox News presents both sides, such as one of their other primetime shows Hannity & Colmes. In the 2008 Democratic Party presidential debates, all the democratic debates on Fox News were canceled.
[edit] MSNBC
In the start of the network in 1996, the leading hosts were from NBC Universal such as Jodi Applegate, John Gibson, Tim Russert, and Brian Williams. After years of experimenting, ratings were still dead last. Phil Griffin became president of MSNBC in mid-2008 and MSNBC has become increasingly politically liberal ever since, particularly in its prime-time lineup.[11][12][13]
Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann have harshly criticised Former President George W. Bush over the years. Both of the conservative commentaters on MSNBC: Pat Buchanan, Joe Scarborough are paleoconservatives and Bush critics themselves. In September 2008, liberal radio host Rachel Maddow was given her own show adding to the primetime lineup. There has also been speculation that the 10 PM slot may be filled in the future. Liberal radio host Ed Schultz got his own show named the The Ed Show, which debuted on April 7, 2009.
MSNBC is currently the only Big 3 news channel that does not have a high definition channel. However, MSNBC plans to launch their HD version on June 29, 2009. [7]
[edit] Ratings
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Until the start of 2002, CNN was number one is ratings[14]. Fox News has been number one by far in audience since [15]. In terms of number of unique viewers Fox News is also number one[16]. MSNBC in recent years has had significant growth.[17] CNN lead the Big 3 for the 2009 United States Presidential Inauguration Day coverage with 8.5 million viewers. [18]
In March 2009, MSNBC finished in 2nd place in prime-time, ahead of CNN for the first time in its existence. However, both MSNBC and CNN were still far behind Fox News. Phil Griffin, MSNBC chief executive, attributed this to the network's decision to go liberal with Olbermann and Maddow along with problems at CNN. [19]
Average Viewership During Election Events:[20]
| Compaign Event | CNN | MSNBC | Fox News |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Tuesday | 3,640,000 | 2,110,000 | 3,890,000 |
| Democratic Convention | 3,152,000 | 1,586,000 | 3,836,000 |
| Republican Convention | 2,413,000 | 1,111,000 | 6,186,000 |
| Election Day | 12,292,000 | 5,888,000 | 15,027,000 |
[edit] Other cable news channels
[edit] General news
Television network ABC launched a 24 hour news channel named ABC News Now on July 26, 2004. It is available through some digital television providers, broadband and streaming video, though the online live broadcasting has been eliminated. Because it is only offered by some providers on their digital television packages, they have a far less audience than CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.
[edit] Financial news
In 1989, CNBC was launched by NBC Universal. It was followed by Bloomberg Television in 1994, created by Bloomberg L.P., which is lead by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg TV is currently the only business network that isn't in High Definition. In October 2007, Murdoch launched his own financial network called Fox Business Network saying CNBC is too "negative towards business" and promised to make Fox Business more "business friendly".
The Big 3:[21]
| CNBC | Bloomberg TV | Fox Business Network | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Englewood Cliffs, N.J. | New York City | New York City |
| Number of Households in 2008 | 97 million | 47 million | 44 million |
| Profits in 2008 | $350 million | $15.6 million | $48.2 million loss |
| Management | Mark Hoffman (President) | Michael Clancy (Executive Editor) | Roger Ailes (CEO) |
[edit] Ratings
Nielson doesn't track Fox Business ratings[22], but peaked at 81,000 viewers.[21] Bloomberg also doesn't subscribe to Nielson and ratings are assumed to be very small.[23]. Currently, CNBC usually has between 200,000-400,000 viewers during the day.[24] In 2000, CNBC had higher ratings then CNN during market hours. [25]
[edit] Sports News
ESPN launched a 24 hour sports news channel named ESPNews on November 1, 1996, which is carried by most cable and satellite providers. It airs news, highlights, press conferences, and commentary by analysts all in relation to sports.
[edit] Prime Time Lineups
| Network | 7 PM | 8 PM | 9 PM | 10 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| News | |||||
| CNN | Lou Dobbs Tonight | Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull | Larry King Live | Anderson Cooper 360 | |
| Fox News Channel | The Fox Report | The O'Reilly Factor | Hannity | On the Record with Greta Van Susteren | |
| MSNBC | Hardball with Chris Matthews | Countdown with Keith Olbermann | The Rachel Maddow Show | Countdown with Keith Olbermann | |
| HLN | Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell | Nancy Grace | Lou Dobbs Tonight | Nancy Grace | |
| Financial | |||||
| Bloomberg Television | Bloomberg Live | Bloomberg Now | Money & Politics | Night Talk | |
| CNBC | The Kudlow Report | CNBC Reports | CNBC special show | On the Money | |
| Fox Business Network | America's Nightly Scoreboard | The Dave Ramsey Show | Cavuto | America's Nightly Scoreboard | |
| Sports | |||||
| ESPNews | ESPNEWS | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Media Research Center Press Release February 21, 2003
- ^ Jeffrey N. Weatherly, et al, “Perceptions of Political Bias in the Headlines of Two Major News Organizations,” The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics (2007) (12), 91 at p. 97
- ^ 2007 State of the News Media
- ^ "PEJ Press Release (PEJ)". Pew Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. 2007-03-12. http://www.journalism.org/node/7045. Retrieved on 2009-02-27.
- ^ TV Week September 6, 2007 CNN HD launches.
- ^ Multichannel News April 29, 2008 FOX News to make HD bow with Time Warner
- ^ a b MSNBC To Go HD in June
- ^ Multichannel News November 5, 2008 CNN goes holographic
- ^ The Most Biased Name in News - Fox News Channel's extraordinary right-wing tilt, FAIR, July/August 2001
- ^ 33 internal FOX editorial memos reviewed by MMFA reveal FOX News Channel's inner workings, Media Matters, July 14, 2004
- ^ Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left. New York Times. Published November 6, 2007. Accessed August 24, 2008.
- ^ Kurtz, Howard (2008-09-08). "MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090800008_pf.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (2008-09-07). "MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/business/media/08msnbc.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. Retrieved on 2008-09-30.
- ^ "State of the News Media 2004". Journalism.org. 2004. http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.com/2004/narrative_cabletv_audience.asp?cat=3&media=5. Retrieved on 28 January 2009.
- ^ "State of the News Media 2008". Journalism.org. 2008. http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.com/2008/narrative_cabletv_audience.php?cat=2&media=7. Retrieved on 28 January 2009.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "MSNBC Grows Up, With Younger Crowd". TVNewser. 28 August, (no year given). http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc/msnbc_grows_up_with_younger_crowd_65945.asp?c=rss. Retrieved on 28 January 2009.
- ^ Multichannel News January 21, 2009 CNN Tops Cable With Inauguration Ratings
- ^ Associated Press March 28, 2009 CNN in third place in prime time for first time
- ^ State of the News Media 2009
- ^ a b State of the Media 2009 Ratings Chart
- ^ Fox Business Network Flop
- ^ New York Times September 3, 2007 Picking Up the Pace in Business TV
- ^ TV By the Numbers O’Reilly vs. Olbermann Through Thursday, March 19
- ^ Fastcompany.com December 17, 2007 The Revolution Will Be Televised (on CNBC)
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