Government Research Assignment

Government Research Assignment

Introduction

Information is the power that all people across the globe are struggling to get. Since it is often impossible to move from one place to another to be informed, technology has made it easier for people to receive broadcast information from their residents. This achieved through local TV and radio channels and other media news sources. There are many TV channels present in America, but the most common ones include MSNBS, CNN, and Fox News Channel. Understanding their histories is vital if one needs to aware of why these channels are broadcasting using different formats and why either of them has more considerable popularity over the other.

Origin and History of CNN

CNN is considered as the world’s first twenty-four-hour cable television news channel. It was founded around the 1970s by Ted Turner, who was a Georgia businessman. CNN establishment came about due to Turner’s desire to begin broadcasting his independent UHF station, Atlanta’s channel 17, which he had acquired around the 1970s. This was in an attempt to take advantage of the increasing availability of communications satellites. It is believed that Turner’s Communications Group, WTCG, the mother of CNN, began broadcasting to cable systems in the nation in 1976. This name later transitioned to Turner Broadcasting System, WTBS.

Later on, Turner sought to develop an all-news network in response to the continuous expansion in cable television across the nation and new ventures like Home Box Office, HBO. Turner used the assistance of a former manager for UPI television news and founder of the Independent Television News Association, Reese Schonfeld, to make plans for the launching of CNN in 1978. The plans bore fruit around May 1979 when his ideas were publicly announced. The leadership in this channel was marked by the owner, Turner, who was the overall sponsor of the channel. He availed all the resources required to push the channel forward. He appointed Reese Schonfeld to serve as the network’s first president, and Daniel Schorr offered to be the new channel’s most visible correspondent of the primetime. With all this support, Turner was confident to set an ambitious goal of beginning CNN’s broadcast on 1^st June the following year.

There were several critics from its competitors such as CBS, NBC, and ABC and formidable organizational. Technical barriers, such as the loss of SATCOM III, the satellite that was initially programmed to carry the network signal, also arose. But CNN still managed to beat its dateline of launching its channel in June. About 1.7 million subscribers of cable television received the channel after its launch. Live coverage of President Jimmy Carter’s visit of leader Vernon Jordan, who had suffered injuries following an assassination attempt on him, marked the channel’s first scoop. The channel chose to focus all its energy on bringing all-news, including news that was captured in radios. It ensured that it cyclically repeated essential stories throughout the day, often with slight modifications.

Novel news was supplemented in the significant stories periodically with breaking news always arising and dominating the channel’s program. This format of all-news allowed the channel to create time for exclusive shows that focused on medical news, sports, and other topics. Most of the report included live coverage, much of it from cameras that were planted on the scene. For instance, CNN became the first TV to break the news about the shooting of the U.S. president Ronald Reagan in 1981. CNN was the only channel that gave live coverage of the event. This gave CNN’s broadcast a unique sense of urgency, making the channel gain respectability throughout the 1980s hence a good reputation. As the channel entered into its second decade, its prominence was growing into an international presence. The event that improved the channels’ importance during its second decade was the Persian Gulf War, which occurred between the 1990s and 1991s.

It involved an international coalition that was led by the U.S. in an attempt to remove Iraq’s Saddam Hussein forces from the nation of Kuwait. During this event, only CNN was allowed to broadcast. The airing of reports that had been censored by Iraqi officials made CNN, and Arnett in particular, to be singled out by many for criticism. This signified the existence of a controversy between CNN and the Iraq officials. The focus of CNN on international issues and its expanded television news coverage has created diverse effects on political-military and diplomatic decision making on a global level. This has been the reason behind the experienced media critics over the years that made CNN to face stiff competition from other cable news channels, including MSNBC and Fox News Channel, both of which were launched in the late 1990s. But Turner still believes that the channel has been instrumental in changing the way many viewers have been receiving the news. Turner promises that despite the many technical and competition barriers that CNN may encounter, the channel will remain on and will cover to the end of the world.

The Origin and History of MSNBC

MSNBC emerged when National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, and Microsoft decided to come together to form a new news broadcasting entity. Following this partnership desire, the MSNBC channel was launched on 15^th July 1996. During this time, Microsoft was considered the most influential company in the world terms of technology, while NBC was the number TV station in the world for all purposes and intents. This partnership enabled MSNBC.com to become a juggernaut of online news. At the same time, NBCNews.com, which was previously owned by NBC, was redirected to MSNBC.com. Tom Rogers, the NBC executive, played a significant role in the development of this partnership.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s executive, James Kinsella, played a role as the president of MSNBC.com, the online component, and he represented the technology company in the joint coalition. Microsoft invested about 2.2 million dollars for a share of 50%. Despite the sharing of the same name MSNBC.com and MSNBC maintained separate corporate frameworks and news operations, but the cost of the newsroom for msnbc.com was shared equally between MSNBC and Microsoft. Success of joint website for years kept both corporates happy. However, there were a few disagreements between the two entities around the year 2000, whereby Microsoft felt wary of being in business content that was focused by its partner.

Likewise, NBC was displeased by the continuous ratings that MSNBC languished. They also felt that the agreement that made with Microsoft denied them the flexibility to experiment and twist their broadcasting format. This transpired to the acquisition of Microsoft’s stake in the network of MSNBC TV in 2005. The idea about either of the two entities acquiring sole proprietorship of MSNBC.com was also breached during this time. The plan never succeeded as the two entities never agreed on which one of them to own the website. Thus they maintained the duo ownership of the website. Between the years 2007 to 2008, MSNBC the cable channel started to change their news broadcast approaches and began focusing on politics and opinion in primetime. This seemed to earn the channel great credit, but then it led to the termination of the NBC-Microsoft online partnership whereby Microsoft divested itself of its stakes in msnbc.com in 2012 July.

Therefore, NBCNews.com was rebranded as the general site for news, and a new msnbc.com was developed as the cable channel’s online home. Later around 2015, MSNBC decided to change the reputation of its news image by entering into a duo editorial relationship with its organizational guardian NBC News. During this time, it transitioned from the programming of left-leaning, opinionated news to hard news.  During this period, generic news programs replaced opinionated news programs. This made MSNBC to be rated the highest American cable news channel since then up to now.

The number of viewership increased. An important significant that occurred in the MSNBC channel in recent days is its decision to remove the news sticker at the bottom of the screen on every program. The reason they cited is that they wanted their viewers to have a good experience by having a more unobstructed view of their reports that were now more front and centered. The only bias that the channel ever portrayed was during the period 2007 and 2008 when its news leaned towards politics and the Democratic Party.

Origin and History Fox News channel

Fox News Channel is an American cable television political commentary and News Channel. It was launched in 19996s by Rupert Murdoch, media magnate, the owner of Fox Broadcasting Company. The channel operated under the management of the Fox Entertainment Group, the film, and television division of the Fox News Corporation during the beginning of the 21^st century. Following Murdoch’s successful leadership experience that he acquired from running the Fox Broadcasting Company, he decided to extend his presence in the American television market. He first attempted to purchase the 24-hour cable news network, which failed, making him to opt to create his own cable news channel, thus the emergence of Fox News Channel. Murdoch appointed Roger Ailes, television producer, and former Republican political consultant, to be the overall CEO of the channel.

The owner first sought to distribute numerous local and regional cable systems making the number of viewers to be about 17 million during its first broadcast. The channel operated under a liberal bias. It billed itself as a fair and balanced channel whereby it allowed its viewers to decide what was best on the reports that they broadcasted. The channel enjoyed good leadership from the owner, who already had many tactics on how to entertain his clients considering his first experience.   The wake of the 11th September attacks marked the most significant history of the Fox News Channel.

During this time, the cable television viewership surged, making the channel to build its gains, thus surpassing CNN for the first time in 2002 January. This is the lead that Fox News Channel would hold all over the decade. Around the year 2005, the channel launched a Fox Reality Channel whose prime goal was to air only reality-based programming. Unfortunately, the channel was shuttered in 2010. Later the Fox News channel was transferred Murdoch’s media holding company in 2013 following the splitting of his conglomerate news Company into television/film and publishing entities. Statistics done around 2015 revealed that around 81.4% of television subscribers received Fox news. Murdoch remains the executive chairman of the channel Suzanne Scott is the current CEO. In recent days, there have been critics about the company’s involvement in bias reporting.

Argument

People have described existence if biasness in the way as they view that Fox news’ reports are usually in favor of the Republican Party. The critics cite the channel as damaging to the honesty of news overall.  However, the channel’s employers have always denied this claim citing that news reporting operates independently of its program of opinion and commentary. Murdoch remains the executive chairman of the channel Suzanne Scott is the current CEO. MSNBC is a more palatable news source as Americans seek to be more informed about current news because of several reasons. One MSNBC has always been seen to consider the feelings of its viewers. As Americans try to know the truth about the most trending issues in their nation, they must receive honesty and unbiased news. Since biased news has diverse effects on the viewers’ judgmental perspectives.

As for MSNBC’s case, the channel initially reported news that only leaned the politics of the Democratic Party. But, upon the realization of the effect that biasness imposed on its viewers, the channel changed its reporting format. It began replacing its opinionated news programs with general news. Unlike Fox News and CNN, which are struggling with media critics of biasness and political contrivances, MSNBC seems to have moved passed the critics. Moreover, the channel focuses on relevant news, and it gives a broader view of the news to its subscribers.

Conclusion

Generally, it has become difficult these days to identify biased TV channels. The biasness has often been related to one’s political position, thus difficult to tell the accuracy of information laid on TVs. Because of the ambiguity surrounding biasness, it is always advisable for the viewers to avoid reacting to any news without proper research and evidence.

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