Nationalization of the news refers to the modern phenomenon of the decline of local news networks and the increase in power of national news networks. A few factors are contributing to this trend, including the pressure in generating new and fresh content and the increasing power of conglomerates.
The internet age, digital cable and satellite broadcast have prservices, comes on-demand news programming. News operations have begun to feel the burden of needing to generate news content on a 24-hour news cycle, while keeping material fresh on their regularly scheduled newscasts. This means around-the-clock coverage. Rather than having a certain deadline for scheduled newscasts to meet, reporters have to file stories as fast as they can. Producers, on the other hand, have to find more ways to keep news stories "fresh" to viewers. The larger networks like ABC News , NBC News, and CBS News are able to afford these technologies and are beginning to buy out the smaller, local networks.
ABC News
ABC News is an example of a large networks "buying out" smaller ones.
In the early days, local newscasts were seen more as a public service. The style was straightforward. For instance, a newscast was divided into three blocks: news, sports, and weather. The news block was divided into local, national and international stories. Modern day news is now seen as a competition, and the stations must compete for relevance in the local market.