1. Providing quick and extensive coverage of local, national, and international news has been part of the avowed mission of television from the beginning. In 1963 Lee Harvey Oswald, the captured suspect in the assassination of President Kennedy, was gunned down while police were escorting him to a prison. It happened in front of countless television news cameras and reporters and an audience of millions. A media event of such magnitude did not occur that often, but since that time, as broadcast technology has grown more sophisticated and on-scene reporters are whisked to far distant locales in a matter of hours, attentive viewers now have a more in-depth knowledge of world happenings than did earlier generations. A dramatic example was the coverage of the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, when the United Nations air attacks on Baghdad were shown as they were taking place, not once, but day after day. After a devastating storm, earthquake, fire, or flood, the field crew is there almost immediately, often accompanying survivors as they see their ruined homes for the first time.
2. It can be—and indeed has been—argued that there is more to the popularity of such broadcasts than the desire for instant knowledge of world events. Television has been accused of pandering to audience enjoyment of the disastrous and the violent. The morning and evening local coverage is likely, especially in metropolitan areas, to focus on appalling crimes as well as accidents with multiple fatalities. When asked why his station allotted so much time in violence, one executive in charge answered: "Because it’s news." Yet are we to define news largely in terms of disaster?
3. One theory may be that, in the morning, people busily preparing for a stressful day, become less apprehensive or depressed when they watch how much better off they are than the unfortunate victims who made the news. In the evening many are willing to watch violent happenings after the stressful day happened anyway. Sunday morning news programming tends to cover much of the same material, but usually in a more reflective, analytical manner, suitable for a day specifically designed to be free of stress.
4. Some of the commercials accompanying news and serious discussion programs are aimed at retirees and older professionals, likely to want to feel better about the problems of personal health that come with age; thus, interspersed with the news, are segments with titles like "Keeping Young after Fifty" and "You and Your Health." Much time is spent assuring the target audience that cures are on the way for ailments they now have or surely will have in the future. Sponsors for these segments sell the latest diets, exercise equipment, vitamin supplements, remedies for everything from depression to impotence, and insurance policies that do not require medical examinations. These commercials also ensure continuing employment for older, healthy-appearing actors.
5. Other news-time commercials such as those that advertise stockbrokers, are directed toward a similar audience, but one that also includes younger professionals concerned about future financial security. These tend to keep a low profile, employ soft-spoken actors, and generally more slowly paced than those aimed at a general audience.

Source: Janaro, R.P. & Altshuler, T.C. (2000). The Art of Being Human, © by R.P. Janaro & T.C. Altshuler, An imprint of Addison Wesley Longman, New York, pp. 101-103.