The city was emerging at the great metropolis of the American West and a competitor to New York as media capital. And the event took place at a time when Americans still had great faith in government, and when the presidential conventions were still major national happenings. As the Democratic Party returns to Los Angeles this year for its quadrennial event, the cameras will again be there. The gap is being filled, though, by 24-hour cable news channels and Internet sites, which believe they can at least sell convention coverage to an audience of committed political junkies. The main reason anything is on prime-time is because it makes money.
TV is supported by advertising - it's a business decision, pure and simple.
Into the Breach Even as the traditional networks scale back, cable news channels and Internet sites will offer more convention coverage than ever before available. C-SPAN cameras will also be focused on the convention from beginning to end. In 1996, the still-nascent Internet had only a minor presence at the conventions. This year, the new medium is providing more extensive and in-depth coverage than the networks and cable news channels combined. In addition to dedicated Web sites, cable news channels, networks and print organizations are also supplementing their coverage via the Web.