Broadcast news campaigns against cable outlets in the race for election viewers

As the 2008 presidential campaign moves into its final, frenzied push, the race has never been more competitive. In this case, the rivals are the broadcast television news divisions and their cable news challengers jockeying to win viewers for their political coverage. The cable channels showed clout during the party conventions, but ABC, CBS and NBC are hoping that their evenhanded style and high-profile exclusives will keep people watching this fall. Even with less air time, broadcasters argue that they deliver weightier and more substantial coverage. Still, four years after Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather were the dominant television figures covering the presidential race, there's no question that the authority traditionally wielded by network anchors is eroding.