Yahoo and ABC News announced today that they are forming a partnership in which news content, reporting sources, and video production will be mutually shared. The newly-formed axis highlights the need for independent news outlets in an era during which large mainstream media conglomerates are becoming larger and more pervasive, the consequence of which is greater domination of a single editorial point of view, which many say is biased toward Leftwing politics.
Part of the rationale for moving toward more of these mammoth conglomerates is money. It is no secret that the traditional news business in America is in deep trouble. Newspaper subscriptions continue to plummet. The evening news broadcasts by 'the big three'--ABC, CBS, and NBC--continue to lose viewers year to year. And in cable news, Fox is the only outlet that has managed to maintain its gains over the last decade, while CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC have experienced a dreadful decline.
Thus, part of the motivation for forming alliances is sheer survival. ABC News will benefit from Yahoo's money. And Yahoo will benefit, in its view, by positioning itself to produce a world-class news division on the strength of ABC News' long history in the business, as well as its seasoned, veteran reporters.
But the consequence of these alliances is that the bias of the mainstream media spreads to younger Internet companies such as Yahoo. And the trend is growing.
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