CNN Pitches a Cheaper Wire Service to Newspapers

CNN, in the afterglow of an election season of record ratings for cable news, is elbowing in on a new line of business: catering to financially strained newspapers looking for an alternative to The Associated Press. For nearly a month, a trial version of CNN's wire service has been on display in some newspapers. But this week editors from about 30 papers will visit Atlanta to hear CNN's plans to broaden a service to provide coverage of big national and international events — and maybe local ones — on a smaller scale and at a lower cost than The AP.