broadcasting

The Qatar-based network is getting international kudos for its coverage of the growing Middle East crisis. But acclaim and a growing audience don't yet equal profits and market share for Al Jazeera, which has almost certainly been losing money since its launch in 1996.

British newspapers and the BBC wrote a letter to the U.K. government asking it to examine Rupert Murdoch's bid to take over British Sky Broadcasting Group, saying the deal could harm the public interest.

TV station political revenues may hit $2.5 billion in 2010, a 25% increase above 2006, SNL Kagan says. Among the biggest beneficiaries: conservative broadcaster Sinclair, which has the largest footprint of all independent station owners in areas with contested elections.

CNN has cut ties with the Associated Press, a wire service that has been a backbone of American news media for more than a century. The move exemplifies how the news industry and its traditional business models are changing in the ever-accelerating information age.

We've probably all had the experience of relaxing while quietly watching a movie, only to be blasted off the couch when a commercial message for life insurance or a male enhancement product came on at three times the decibel level of the movie we were watching. It's absolutely maddening, and it's...