Cable News

June 1, 2009

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Profile America — Monday, June 1st. What is now routine for many Americans each day — checking an all-news cable television channel for the latest events around the world — began on this day 29 years ago. That’s when CNN — the Cable News Network — started its service. At the time, many critics questioned whether the public would be interested in a channel that carried nothing but news, 24 hours a day. Now, there are not only a number of such news channels, but others dedicated fully to weather, golf, automobiles and cooking, among other special interests. When CNN began operations, one-in-fivez American households were hooked up to cable. Today, cable television reaches nearly three-out-of-four homes across the U.S. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 293
www.cnn.com
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1090
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html