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Abstract
In an integrated media environment where news networks seek synergistic opportunities for their parent companies, news content is increasingly susceptible to promotional influence. A comparative content analysis of new and traditional news spaces on U.S. cable television news networks Cable News Network, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel examined the video screen space and the news crawl, or “ticker,” space. Findings reveal that, proportionally, more promotional content occurs within the traditional video content space when compared to the ticker space. However, it was also shown that the ticker acts as a general branding agent for 2 of the 3 networks. Content dispersion also suggests a unique “content identity” for each news brand. The study found no evidence of “covert” promotion for synergistic gain—a positive result for news consumers.
Notes
1. In January 2011, Comcast became 51% owner of NBCUniversal, with General Electric retaining a 49% stake (CitationCNNMoney, 2011).
2. MSNBC practiced overt self-promotion in this study of video content, but did not practice any overt promotion in the ticker study.