Fox, CNN, MSNBC and the future of cable news – In an age of YouTube and TikTok, cable
news remains an information source for tens of millions of Americans. It has survived because
outlets such as Fox, MSNBC and CNN have targeted narrow partisan audiences and benefited
from creaky but lucrative cable contracts. But their survival comes with a cost: It has polarized
our discourse and made us a nation of red or blue. This course will explore the history and
impact of cable news, the characters behind it and what’s ahead for the cable news outlets in the
future.