I think its part of the "infotainment" phenomenon.Thom Hartmann explained it really well. It used to be that the news side of a TV station was considered a money loser, but fulfilled a regulation that required stations to broadcast a certain amount in the public's interest as a requirement for being allowed a certain amount of the public radio bandwidth. Some law removed or weakened that regulation and allowed the entertainment and news organizations to be combined. That in turn made the news side required to turn a profit. Just like anytime the profit motive rears its ugly head, things go south.