Television is at the heart of American culture: its power and influence are unparalleled. Approximately two-thirds of Americans report that they get most of their information about the world from TV. Though influential, this phenomenon is relatively new. In 1956, only 4.6 million homes in the United States had television sets and no programming was available during many hours every day. By 1990, there were 92.1 million homes with TVs and the average viewer could select from approximately 30 channels. The number of homes with TVs keeps rising. Majority of these homes have television sets on for more than seven hours each day.
The impact of television has been an issue discussed and debated by psychologists, sociologists, media networks and the viewing public in general. As some maintain that exposure to television violence results in violent actions in real life, others believe that the opposite is true. Questions and doubts still pervade the validity of the studies and findings that have been conducted on the effects of television violence, although all seems to agree that television plays a major role in shaping the cultural and mental state of its viewers.
Television news stories are typically covered in the order that the news producers deem most important to least important. The producers feel that some stories need to be highlighted more than the others. The CNN (Cable News Network) news last July 5, 2008 at 3pm dwelt mostly on trivial news that registered high priority for the producers.
The CNN is a major news cable television network and was the first station to provide 24-hour television news coverage. According to Nielsen Ratings, CNN rates as America’s number one cable news network and rates as number two in total audience. CNN Newsroom airs 7 days a week, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and weekends between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. E. T. The news headlines are always aired in the order of importance and as a...