We should make money on our news

The problem of profitability in network broadcast journalism history

Bibliographic Data

ID7478071
AuthorsMichael J Socolow (0000-0001-6365-2821, University of Maine, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume11
Issue6
Pages675-691
Publication date2010-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884910379707
OpenAlexW2008810080
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited17

The US broadcast networks have traditionally argued that their news divisions were unprofitable. The networks used their news divisions to secure regulatory advantages by claiming that losses incurred in producing broadcast journalism proved a commitment to operating in the public interest. Network broadcast journalism was promoted as a singular genre, resistant to the economic imperative found elsewhere in American broadcasting. This article explores the history of profitability in network broadcast journalism, and, by doing so, it challenges the traditional economic and regulatory narrative. Countering the myth of the unprofitable network news division raises important questions concerning journalistic independence and autonomy within American broadcasting

Advertising · Art · Autonomy · Broadcast journalism · Broadcasting (networking · Business · Computer security · Independence (probability theory · Journalism · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Political science · Profitability index · Public broadcasting · Public relations · Sociology · Computer Science · European history and politics · Media Studies and Communication · Media, Journalism, and Communication History · Finance · Law

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