Many news outlets are often focused on reporting about the same subject at the same time.  At the moment swine flu has taken the spotlight.  The more time spent on one topic, the less time there is to devote to an examination of other subjects.  Though this convergence of focus may to some extent be the result of an efficient allocation of resources to topics the public finds interesting, there are likely other effects at work.  The relationship between news providers should be approached as a network, and the influence of these providers on each other should be considered.

In a March, 2009 New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/business/media/01cable.html?partner=rss&emc=rss) the changing terrain of cable news is discussed.  According to the article, Fox News, a conservative-minded news network, maintains the highest prime time ratings for cable news.  Recently, left-leaning MSNBC has for the first time overtaken CNN for the second highest.  The rise of ratings-dependent politicized news may serve as one factor leading to the seemingly synchronized focus on news stories.

Consider a payoff matrix of the game played between MSNBC and Fox News in regards to a decision to cover a particular story.  If both networks cover a story, then they are able to do so from their political stance, and both receive a positive payoff in ratings from their like-minded viewers.  If neither network covers a story, then the payoff is zero.  However, if one network addresses a topic and the other fails to, then they are able to set the tone for coverage of the issue.  If the subject is important, then the network that covers it will receive a positive payoff while the one that doesn’t receives a negative payoff.  If the story is not important, each network will receive a payoff of zero.

In this situation, the strategy that makes the most sense is to cover the same stories as the other news channel.  As there is a limited amount of time for news, clearly not all topics can be addressed.  However, there is a greater risk from not covering a story that the other channel is than from both ignoring the same stories.