• Cable television

Further information: United States cable news

24-hour news channels are devoted to current events 24-hours per day. They are often referred to ascable newschannels. The originator of this format from which the name derives isCNN(as well asCNN International,CNN en EspañolandCNN-IBN), which originally stood forCableNewsNetwork in reference to the then-new phenomenon ofcable television. As satellite and other forms have evolved, the termcable newshas become something of ananachronismbut is still in common use; many other television channels have since been established, such asBBC World News,BBC News,Sky News,Al Jazeera,ABC News 24,France 24,STAR News,Fox News Channel,MSNBCandABC News Now. Some news channels specialize even further, such asESPNews(sports fromESPN);The Weather Channel(weather);CNBC,Bloomberg TelevisionandFox Business Network(financial).

Conversely, several cable news channels exist that carry news information specifically geared toward a particular metropolitan area, state or region such as New York City'sNY1(which focuses on the entireNew York metropolitan area) andNews 12 Networks(which serves portions of the area outside ofManhattan),Orlando'sCentral Florida News 13(which is also carried throughout most ofGreater Orlandoand surrounding areas),Tampa, Florida'sBay News 9andWashington, D.C.'sNewsChannel 8. These channels are usually owned by a local cable operator and are distributed solely through cable television and IPTV system operators. Some broadcast television stations also operate cable channels (some of which are repeated throughdigital multicasting) that air the station's local newscasts in the form of live simulcasts from the television station, with rebroadcasts of the newscasts airing in the time period between live broadcasts.

A term which has entered common parlance to differentiate cable news from traditional news broadcasts is network news, in reference to the traditional television networks on which such broadcasts air. A classic example is the cable news channelMSNBC, which overlaps with (and, in the case of breaking world-changing events, pre-empts) its network counterpartNBC News. Most U.S. cable news networks do not air news programming 24 hours a day, often filling late afternoon, primetime and late night hours with news-based talk programs, documentaries and other specialty programming.

• Radio

More often, AMstations will air a 6½ minute newscast on the top of the hour, which can be either a local report, a national report from aradio networksuch asCBS Radio,CNN Radio,NPR,Fox News RadioorABC Radio, or a mix of both local and national content, including weather and traffic reports. Some stations also air a two minute report at the bottom of the hour.

FMstations, unless they feature atalk radioformat, usually only air minute-long news capsules featuring a quick review of events and an abbreviated weather forecast, and usually only indrive timeperiods or in critical emergencies, since FM stations usually focus more on playing music. Traffic reports also air on FM stations, depending on the market.