Corporations often shape the news as well. When I was in college, studying public relations, several of my professors estimated (based on industry experience wo

Corporations often shape the news as well. When I was in college, studying public relations, several of my professors estimated (based on industry experience working with major networks like CNN) that 40% of news stories originate from PR offices. In other words, PR people provide the newscasters with detailed pitches or even entire segments. I don't think this is always a bad thing, but it's something to be aware of as a consumer of media.