CNN

Founded by the dynamic but eccentric entrepreneur Ted Turner, CNN (or Cable News Network) pioneered the concept of 24-hours news programming when it launched in 1980 and was the first cable news network to begin broadcasting in high definition in 2007. CNN came into the spotlight in 1986 during their coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and more prominently in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War, because the channel was the only outlet which reported from inside Iraq during the initial hours of the American bombing campaign, with live reports by Bernard Shaw, John Holliman and Peter Arnett. Throughout the 1990s, CNN became very infuential as the only major cable news channel. Today, CNN's television personalities include Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper. The presidency of Donald Trump has led to many prominent controversies involving CNN. The network was accused of bias during its coverage of the 2016 campaign; current CNN president Jeff Zucker defended its extensive coverage of Trump, noting among the Republican candidates, he was the most willing to give on-air interviews. Likewise, there were accusations by both Trump and supporters of Bernie Sanders, that CNN focused too much on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton; during his speech at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump referred to CNN as the "Clinton News Network". CNN’s work surrounding the 2016 elections has also led some critics to assert that Jeff Zucker is transforming political coverage into the sensational format of sports and entertainment programming.

CBS News

CBS, founded in 1927, first found its footing in news when William S. Paley became President in 1928, marking the beginning of one of the most influential newsman in history. During his tenure, CBS came to be known as the so-called “Tiffany Network", because of its dedication to high-quality programming. CBS News, or CBSN, is the news division of CBS and broadcasts news programs like the CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, magazine programs like 60 Minutes and political affairs programs like Face the Nation. Over the years CBS News has had iconic anchors like Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer at the helm of their flagship evening television news program, CBS Evening News. In recent times however CBS has been the subject of much controversy especially due to the firing of "CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose and Chairman and CEO Les Moonves following allegations of sexual misconduct.

MSNBC

MSNBC (Microsoft News Broadcasting Company) is an American news cable and satellite television network that provides news coverage and political commentary from NBC News on current events. Phil Griffin is the president and director of day-to-day operations at MSNBC. Pat Burkey, Janelle Rodriguez, and Jonathan Wald oversee programming and news operations, with Brian Williams serving as the channel's chief anchor of breaking news coverage. As of February 2015, approximately 94,531,000 households in the United States (81.2 percent of those with television) were receiving MSNBC. Commentators have described MSNBC as having a bias towards left-leaning politics and the Democratic Party. In November 2007, a New York Times article stated that MSNBC's prime-time lineup is tilting more to the left. Washington Post media analyst Howard Kurtz has stated that the channel's evening lineup "has clearly gravitated to the left in recent years and often seems to regard itself as the antithesis of Fox News". In 2011, Salon.com noted that "MSNBC’s prime-time lineup is now awash in progressive politics." MSNBC debuted in 1996, as a partnership between NBC News and Microsoft (Microsoft's stake in the channel was gradually bought out by NBC until the latter's parent NBCUniversal bought out the remaining minority stake held by Microsoft in 2011). When the network was launched, its leading hosts included Jodi Applegate, John Gibson, Tim Russert and Brian Williams. For over a decade, the network's ratings were consistently in last place among the cable news channels. After Phil Griffin became president of MSNBC in mid-2008, the channel began shifting towards an increasingly politically liberal ideology in its analysis programming, particularly in its prime-time lineup. MSNBC launched a high definition simulcast feed on June 29, 2009. Notable personalities on the network include Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, daytime anchors Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell, and evening commentators Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow. The network was noted in the mid-2000s for its harsh criticism of then-President George W. Bush, most notably the 'special comment' segment of former anchor Keith Olbermann's show, Countdown. This, combined with accusations of support for then-President Barack Obama, have led to MSNBC being criticized for a liberal bias, a reputation it has increasingly embraced with its "Lean Forward" slogan (which it adopted in 2011) and open promotion of progressive and liberal ideas. The channel had a spin-off called Shift. Established in 2014, it was an online-only channel through its website MSNBC.com. The programming schedule was less focused on politics than the main channel, built to be a divergence from it and is more tailored to a younger audience. The channel ceased operations without notice some time before 2018.

ABC

ABC is the youngest of the “Big Three” commercial television broadcasting networks. Created from a radio spinoff of NBC in 1945, ABC News sought to compete with CBS and NBC through a balance of entertainment programming and news, including early content from the likes of Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, and The Flintstones. ABC was purchased by the Disney Company in 1995. ABC’s Barbara Walters became the first female anchor of a major network in 1976 and would go on to a career of groundbreaking industry achievements, including an unprecedented primetime interview with Fidel Castro. ABC News is the news division of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), owned by the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ABC World News Tonight; other programs include morning news-talk show Good Morning America, newsmagazine series Nightline, Primetime and 20/20, and Sunday morning political affairs program This Week with George Stephanopolous.

NBC News

NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States, founded as a radio network by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1926. Famous NBC Nightly News anchors like John Chancellor, David Brinkley, Tom Brokaw, and Brian Williams dominated primetime ratings for decades, although Williams’ tenure came to an end after revelations of embellishment of first-hand accounts from the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. Lester Holt took over the top spot at the Nightly News in 2015. In a continuation of the troubling trend regarding network news stars, Matt Lauer, the 20-year co-host of the "Today" show, was fired after multiple allegations of sexual harassment. NBC News is a division of the American broadcast television network NBC, formerly known as the National Broadcasting Company when it was founded on radio. The division operates under NBCUniversal News Group, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, in turn a subsidiary of Comcast. The group's various operations report to the president of NBC News, Noah Oppenheim. NBC News aired the first, regularly scheduled news program in American broadcast television history on February 21, 1940. The group's broadcasts are produced and aired from 30 Rockefeller Center, NBC's headquarters in New York City. The division presides over America's number-one-rated newscast, NBC Nightly News, and the longest-running television series in American history, Meet The Press, the Sunday morning program of newsmakers interviews. NBC News also offers 70 years of rare historic footage from the NBCUniversal Archives online. NBC News operates a 24-hour cable news network known as MSNBC, which includes the organization's flagship daytime news operation, MSNBC Live. The cable network shares staff and editorial control with NBC News.

BBC World News