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All these cable networks have a maximum of air time and minimum of quality talent. They try to get away with cheap filler and easy, manufactured stories that they hope will draw eyeballs and cost little to do. CNN just loves when someone goes goofy around Atlanta...or can load that pantload Rick Sanchez and send him into a hurricane or get a video feed from an affiliate that will fill hours of airtime and cost next to nothing to cover.
Real journalism cost real money. American networks used to maintain news bureaus around the world, but now either pool coverage or have closed bureaus altogether. It's easier to do a scripted show that scams creeps on the internet than send a team of reporters into a war zone or fund an investigative team to plow through complicated documents and subjects.
I remember the early days of CNN when they really did have around-the-clock reporting...someone always at the news desk. Today, they pre-record their evening shows and re-run them two or three times...and the weekend is filled with all sorts of pre-recorded filler. MSNBC just scams footage from NBC stuff.
I remember a News Director saying his job was like a gas station attendant. Either there are no one at the pumps or 5 cars pull up at once.
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