What the hell has happened to CBS news?

[alc]

39. we don't have news, we have entertainment

This bit of entertainment is built around current events/interests, and based on facts, but it's still focused on marketshare/viewership. If they aren't getting the viewers, they will change to what they think viewers want. As much as any producer or owner may want to push an agenda, they want viewers more. It's best when the 2 goals intersect.

They still build the story around facts (IMO) but they have lots of flexibility on choice of stories, which parts of the stories they focus on, who they interview for opinion (introduction of non-facts while feeling they are still providing a factual story).

Some news is build around news that focuses on a specific agenda (fox and many msnbc shows). No so much because they want to push the agenda, but because they have a certain marketshare locked up as long as they do the shows those viewers want to see.

This isn't anything new, it's just that they have some many more ways to judge what viewers want and measure the results and they can change their direction pretty quickly.

It seems that many on DU like the news shows that say what they want to hear and hate ones that say what they don't want to hear - the truth is secondary to reinforcing beliefs. That's the kind of loyal viewership these shows are going for - a smaller loyal marketshare is better then sometimes pulling big ratings and sometimes not. If you don't agree with that, look at how many people are saying it's a lie when anyone gets screwed by the ACA. It may be getting over-hyped, and many of the examples may be exaggerations or misunderstandings, but it isn't a lie that some people are getting screwed by the ACA. It would be better to want to hear the truth (as many others on DU do), then if it's significant to work on getting it fixed rather than avoiding anything that contradicts beliefs (e.g. that the ACA is good for everyone). The OP is a perfect example by saying "fake ACA stories". Maybe over-hyped, maybe other words can be used, but there is almost certainly a factual basis for them and not simply made up.