The conventional wisdom on the main network news
broadcasts is that they lose money significantly. That may be incorrect (I'm not a media expert) but my
impression is that they are treated as loss-leaders. The demographics of their audience are _extremely_
old, and advertisers generally pay much lower rates
for elderly eyeballs.
That was true in the 60s, but ever since "60 Minutes" showed that news can be profitable, news has become a very important profit center. The network news organizations had far more freedom when they were a fixed necessary (to meet FCC regs) expense than the present situation, in which they are expected to match or exceed the profitability of the rest of Disney, GE, etc.
You might find the classic "The Media Monopoly," by Ben Bagdikian, to be a real eye-opener, given the misconception above. He saw where things were headed, and the forces driving them, a long time ago.
Nick
-- Nick Arnett Director, Business Intelligence Services LiveWorld Inc. Phone/fax: (408) 551-0427 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
