Taken from State of the News Media's 2004 breakdown of cable news:
"If people had watched one of these cable channels for the entire 16 hours, they would have in the course of the full day seen:
* Two minutes about education
* One minute about the environment
* One minute about healthcare
* Four minutes about the arts and culture
* Two and a half minutes about science
* Half a minute on medical research
* Just under four minutes on transportation
* Six minutes on family and parenting issues
Given that most people do not watch a cable channel for 16 hours a day, in practical terms they saw virtually nothing about these areas.
In contrast, on a given day, watching for 16 hours, they would have seen:
* More than an hour of crime news
* One hour of accidents and disasters
* 53 minutes of lifestyle coverage
* 41 minutes of celebrity/entertainment news
* An hour and 35 minutes about politics
* Two hours and 17 minutes about Iraq"
Very reassuring that our country is headed in the right direction. I know I need about an hour and 34 minutes of lifestyle and entertainment news and not more on education or healthcare. Blah, education and healthcare ... so boring!
