Apparently responding to growing public criticism of the broadcast networks' coverage of the upcoming national elections, CBS said Thursday that its owned-and-operated stations in 17 markets will begin devoting at least five minutes a day to political news starting Oct. 2 -- and continuing through election day on Nov. 7.

In a statement, Martin Franks, a CBS senior vice president, said: "We've done a lot of coverage that we're very proud of. This is an attempt on our part to not only enhance that coverage but also give it a bit more focus and attention in hopes that the audience will be attracted to it."

The other major networks are likely to follow similarly with expanded political coverage, analysts indicated. Ironically, the CBS announcement occurred on the same day that the Washington-based Center for Media and Public Affairs released results of a study indicating that the average length of a news "sound bite" featuring a presidential candidate has dropped to 7.3 seconds -- down 26 percent since 1988 and 83 percent since 1968.

Source: Studio Briefing