Its audience tends to be highly educated. There is a similar picture in the newspaper sector. Whilst there are more than 1,500 daily papers, most have a local or, at best, regional readership. Newspapers rely on advertising for a substantial part of their revenue, but this is under threat from other commercial outlets, such as cable TV or the internet. The US is the home of the internet, but analysts say that the number of new online connections is slowing down.
Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the constitution.
Serious news providers in the US suffered a severe blow to their credibility during the presidential elections in 2000, when they wrongly predicted and reported the result of the crucial vote in Florida.