Free market. That’s what draws viewers.
I think that's debateable. Look at Katie Couric -- she is who she is, and the network put her in her current time slot. Has it drawn viewers? Look at MSNBC, the NYT, or the Boston Globe -- they spout leftwing trash all the time -- does it draw viewers? No? Well, are these media outlets switching gears and trying something new? No? Huh. Don't they want to draw viewers???
And look at Hollywood -- Mel Gibson makes a movie about Christ -- makes about a billion dollars. How does Hollywood respond? They make movies about homosexual cowboys, or movies about the innumberable atrocities carried out by the US military in Iraq. Do those flicks make a billion dollars? No? Well, is Hollywood going to change??
I maintain that the news media does not exist. The thing we call the news media is just a branch of the entertainment industry. And the entertainment industry is driven by a political agenda far more than any urge to entertain or to make money.
In short: I don't think this has much to do with the free market.