National news is news pertaining to the nation and its people. There are a number of different cable news channels that focus on national events and stories, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel and CNBC. There are also a number of more niche news channels, such as Bloomberg Television, Fox Business Network and RFD-TV.
The first nationwide cable news channel, CNN, debuted in 1980. The network became a major player during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, being the only news channel to broadcast live video footage from inside Iraq as American forces began bombing the country. CNN’s dramatic and sometimes controversial coverage helped to propel the channel into the mainstream, an influence that came to be known as the CNN effect.
In 1982, CNN spun off a channel called CNN2, which was formatted to feature a rotating wheel of top stories in 30-minute increments and became HLN in 2008. HLN switched away from traditional news programming towards mix of discussion programs and documentary series in the evenings starting in 2021. In addition to HLN, CNN operates a spin-off channel for business and financial news called FBN in 2007 and a celebrity reality series outlet called Lifetime in 2011.
The Fox News Channel was launched in 1996 and is the most popular cable news network. The channel is available on many cable systems and offers multiple news shows throughout the day. It also hosts a variety of political talk shows and provides live coverage of national events. Fox also has a number of specialty channels, such as the sports channel Fox Sports GO and the two-hour town hall show NewsNation. The latter features a panel of political powerhouses during an hour-long discussion about current events.