The American news media industry fulfills two key roles in American society: (a) it provides information that helps the people of the United States act as informed citizens, and (b) it functions as a watchdog that provides an important set of checks on the power of the American government. The news media industry consists mainly of profit-oriented businesses that continually must make judgments about what they report as news, what is truly public service, and what will sell. Several trends have emerged within the industry in recent years: consolidation of news organizations, government deregulation, digital delivery and continued emergence of new media, news as entertainment, decline in international coverage, declining circulation and viewership of the oldest media institutions (metropolitan dailies and networks), increased skepticism of the credibility of mainstream media, and embedded war reporters. Increasingly, the fragmentation of viewership combined with the financial pressures of turning a profit has challenged the mainstream media as they struggle to retain their core viewers.
Source: Industrial College of the Armed Forces (via DTIC and DocuTicker.com)
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