Fox News Channel

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The Fox News Channel is a United States cable and satellite news channel. It is part of the Fox Television Stations Group, a subsidiary of Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Roger Ailes was named Chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group on August 15, 2005.

Founding

Fox News was started in 1996 by Murdoch and Roger Ailes. The two of them perceived a need for a news organization that offered more balanced reporting, one where the facts from all sides would be presented. Main-stream media "Political Correctness" was banished, with the news anchors calling terrorists what they were, (terrorists), instead of referring to them as "militants." As of February, 2007, polls show that over 20% of Americans say their main source of news is the Fox News Channel.

Fox News uses the slogan "Fair & Balanced" and has daily guest pundits from all sides of the political spectrum. Fox News also is non-hostile to conservative and Christian values, viewpoints, spokesmen, and ideas. Fox News has gained the reputation for reporting the news in an unbiased manner and then allowing the viewer to decide; "We Report, You Decide" is another of their on-air slogans.

Fox News has dominated the ratings of other cable news outlets.[1] Launched by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and former political consultant Roger Ailes as a refuge for viewers fed up with real or perceived liberal bias everywhere in the so-called "mainstream media", Fox is the undisputed ratings champion of cable news. It's been trouncing CNN, MSNBC and CNBC for years, and draws a much larger audience share than all competitors, including the three major broadcast news shows, combined. It is by far the most profitable news network in the world, on track to earn more than $700 Million in 2010. [2]

Fair and Balanced

Fair And Balanced Logo

Critics have been known to complain about the "Fair & Balanced" slogan. Former President Bill Clinton exploded at Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace in September of 2006, accusing him of "a nice little conservative hit job" after being lightly pressed by Wallace about his record on fighting Al Qaeda. Democratic politicians and advocates have relentlessly attacked the cable network, sometimes accusing it of being a Republican propaganda mill. Former Vice-President and environmentalist Al Gore has likened Fox to a right-wing "fifth column." Groups, such as MoveOn.org, funded a classic schlockumentary entitled Outfoxed, which purports to expose the channel's 'nefarious Republican agenda'. Some have referred to FOX News as "the propaganda arm of the Republican Party" or "Faux News." In a grandstanding gesture of political theater the group unsuccessfully petitioned the Federal Trade Commission to stop Fox's from using its slogan as "deceptive advertising". It was unanimously rejected. [3] Fox News spokesman Rob Zimmerman told today's (Tuesday) Wall Street Journal: "If they can attack Fox News to this extreme, then all news organizations are at risk to be targeted by similar attacks. ... It's best to ignore nuts."

A recent comprehensive study by UCLA political scientist Tim Groseclose and University of Missouri-Columbia economics professor Jeffrey Milyo found Brit Hume's Special Report — Fox's most straightforward news show — more centrist than any of the three major networks' evening newscasts, all of which are liberal. [4] The program is a model of smart news television.

Although it is true that the Fox's opinion shows (as opposed to its news shows) are, as they're supposed to be, frequently bombastic and opinionated; it is equally true that Fox's biggest super-star, Bill O'Reilly is not a mainstream Republican, but a registered Independent who sides with conservatives. He regularly charges the oil companies with price-gouging and attacks big business for quashing the little guy. Greta Van Susteren's politics are unclear, as she mostly covers the crime-of-the-day stories. Geraldo Rivera is traditionally liberal on most issues, with the exception of being a strong supporter of the military and stiff penalties for sex offenders.

Some liberal commentators, such as news analyst Marvin Kalb, and Eleanor Clift, are affiliated with the channel. In general, Fox News is closer to mainstream America than CBS, ABC, NBC or CNN, its founding mission.

Conservatives have criticism for Fox. Their 'Fair and Balanced' motto allows liberal propaganda, lies, deceit, and half-truths to gain an audience. In reality, Fox was judged to actually provide a more "fair and balanced" coverage in the 2008 Presidential race than all three MSM networks, who had a decidedly pro-Obama tilt, a study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs. [5]

Ratings Dominance

Fox News Channel was the 2nd highest rated cable channel on all of television during the first quarter of 2009 in prime time Total Viewers. CNN was 17th and MSNBC 24th for the first three months of the year. FNC beat CNN and MSNBC combined and gained the most compared to the first quarter of 2008, up 24%. 2009's first quarter was FNC's 3rd highest rated quarter in prime time in the network's history — just behind Q4 '08 and Q3 '05. In prime time, ages 25-54 demo, and in total day in both categories, FNC grew more year-to-year than CNN and MSNBC combined. FNC had nine of the top 10 programs on cable news in Total Viewers.

The O'Reilly Factor has now been #1 on cable news for 100 consecutive months, up 27% in Total Viewers year-over-year.

Glenn Beck has increased the 5pmET time period 90% in Total Viewers and 115% in the demo vs. Q1 '08, and is the fastest growing program in cable news for March. Special Report with Bret Baier is up 39% in Total Viewers and 41% in the demo. "Hannity" is up 36% in Total Viewers and up 35% in the demo since going solo for the hour.

Those three new programs beat CNN and MSNBC combined in total viewers during their respective time slots.

On the Record with Greta Van Susteren is up 55% in total viewers and 75% in the demo. Your World with Neil Cavuto is up 60% in Total Viewers and 102% in the demo. Glenn Beck, is up 212% in the demo and up 128% in total viewers. [6]

Anti-elitist

Conservatives argue that Fox's real ethos is not Republican or conservative, but anti-elitist — a major reason it connects with so many Americans and annoys so many coastal elites. "There's a whole country that elitists will never acknowledge," Ailes once observed. "What people resent deeply out there are those in the 'blue states' thinking they're smarter." This anti-elitism shows itself in Fox's pro-U.S. stance in covering the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and its broadcasters' use of terms such as "terrorist" instead of the politically correct "militant" to refer to terrorists. Since the Vietnam War era, mainstream journalists have tended to see such blunt language and side-taking as unsophisticated, a betrayal of journalistic objectivity, or perhaps their own ingrained biases against government in general.

Another aspect of Fox's anti-elitism is the treatment of evangelical and fundamentalist Christians with respect, far from the normal liberal media's depiction as lunatics or extremists. "We regularly have on the Rev. Franklin Graham, Dr. James Dobson and other religious leaders, just as we put on Pat Ireland and Eleanor Clift," Ailes said, continuing, "Most Americans believe in God and have that as their foundation in life. So why shouldn't we have as guests people that they like, respect and want to hear from?" Ailes said he didn't get "too worked up" by a Pew Foundation study that showed that Fox has more Republican viewers than CNN, CNBC or MSNBC and that his reporters and anchors insert their opinions into stories far more than competitors do. Numbers might have something to do with it: Fox is beating the combined audience of the other three. But Ailes dismissed Pew as a "liberal lobbying organization." He said, "Most polls today are not taken to provide information to the public but to get press for the organization taking the polls. I took a poll of Pew, and 98% of my organization found that they were biased", Ailes said with a wink. [7]

In response, Project director Tom Rosenstiel said the study "was not a poll. It was a content analysis designed by a four-university research team and executed at the University of Alabama." One plus for Fox, he said, was that researchers found Fox News stories were more forthcoming about sourcing than their cable rivals. [8]

Fox Versus Fringe Views

"What really frustrates liberals about Fox, though, is simply that, along with talk radio and the conservative blogosphere, it has helped shatter the left's near-monopoly on news and information. Fox's opinion-driven programming gives conservatives and liberals a chance to get a fair hearing for their ideas. But Democratic politicians and activists who go on Fox also must defend their views, often against tough questioning, something that happens less often on the networks, where most journalists are left-of-center, survey after survey has shown", said columnist Brian Anderson. "Even more significant, Fox came on the scene a decade ago as a professional news organization that could define and report news as something different from what the elite consensus says it is. To take one of many examples, the corruption of the United Nations' oil-for-food initiative in Iraq, initially downplayed by the mainstream media because of their sympathy for internationalism, was uncovered — deemed newsworthy — on Fox."

All this wouldn't matter if Fox News wasn't so influential. But it is. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 20% of Americans now claim to get news from it, and lots of them (37%) are Democrats or independents. The network's success has also sparked a "Fox effect," leading some competitors to become more open to right-of-center opinions: MSNBC's "Scarborough Country," hosted by former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough, is a prime example. Until a few years ago, Democrats never had to deal with all these conservatives in the media. [9]

Ailes said Fox News has no agenda. His charge to his reporters and anchors is simple: "If you make a mistake, get on the air as fast as you can and admit it. ... Do your homework. Make sure you reach out to a point of view you don't agree with to be sure you have some balance in your piece, because journalists, despite the public perception, are not empty-headed fools. They actually come to the job with some ideas and biases." When asked whether the media have a "conscious bias," Ailes said: "I don't know whether it's conscious or not. I think people who are biased to the left and right are by and large honest people who bring their life experience to whatever their beliefs are. I don't think there's some conspiracy of bias to the left, but I do think that New York and Los Angeles have different views than many people that I know from other parts of the country." [10]

Fox Versus Obama

Barack Hussein Obama has thin skin when it comes to criticism of his policies. The entire mainstream media has thrown its support to Obama and refuses to questions his policies. Fox News is the lone station that will criticize Obama fairly. Obama said, [11]

“I’ve got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration…That’s a pretty big megaphone. You’d be hard pressed if you watched the entire day to find a positive story about me on that front.”

Media critic David Zurawik said “Thank goodness at least one TV outlet, Fox, is questioning Team Obama as it pushes for the kind of massive change in American life not seen since the era of Franklin Roosevelt,” and "...ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and the others allow their news operations to be used by the White House for partisan political reasons."

Roger Ailes

Roger Ailes, Fox News CEO

This is a transcript of Ailes speaking to the Television Critics Association, which will be enlightening to readers digging into the Fox take on reporting and its reaction to controversy about its mission.

On November 20, 2008, Roger Ailes, who now holds the titles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, FOX News and Chairman of FOX Television Stations, signed a new five year contract with News Corporation, it was announced by Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The contract will pay him over 23 million dollars in 2009. [12]

During Ailes' time with News Corp, FNC passed CNN in ratings in all day parts in 2002 to become the number one news network in the country, nearing full distribution with more than 90 million subscribers. In 2007, he launched the Fox Business Channel which currently reaches more than 40 million homes and served as the biggest launch in cable television history. Throughout Mr. Ailes' tenure, FOX Television Stations has increased its market share each of the last three years with all time record shares in the last two years. In addition, Fox Television Stations has expanded its local news presence by nearly 100 hours a week in a challenging economic climate.

At a time when the broadcast networks are struggling with diminishing audiences and profits in news, he has built Fox News into the profit engine of the News Corporation. Fox News is believed to make more money than CNN, MSNBC and the evening newscasts of NBC, ABC and CBS combined. The division is on track to achieve $700 million in operating profit this year, according to analyst estimates. --- The New York Times, 1/9/2010 [13]

Tony Snow

In April, 2006 the White House selected Tony Snow, Fox News Anchorman, to be the new White House Press Secretary. "Snow, who in his roles as a pundit on Fox News and elsewhere has rapped Bush on several occasions, joined the White House only after extracting a promise that he would become an adviser to the president on day-to-day strategy...the former columnist will be the first outsider to become part of Bush's revamped inner circle.", said the Washington Post. [14]

Snow, 50, worked most recently as host for Fox News Sunday, with Tony Snow and as host of his own radio talk show. He was a director of speech-writing for President George H.W. Bush and has worked as a USA Today columnist, Editorial Page Editor of the Washington Times, deputy editorial page editor of the Detroit News and frequent substitute for radio host Rush Limbaugh. [15] Snow died July 12, 2008, after an unsuccessful battle with colon cancer.

Bill O'Reilly

The O'Reilly Factor has been the most watched cable news segment for eight years. Bill O'Reilly has interviewed Barack Obama and other high profile guests on his show.

"FOX News destroys NBC and CNN on cable every night. We cover the news. We don't ignore it. And we don't denigrate it." - Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly is a registered independent, but sides with Republicans on most issues, excluding several Christian causes. Bill O'Reilly wrote the best seller "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity." Like Sean Hannity and other commentators on Fox, O'Reilly's role is that of an independent contractor, expressing his own opinions, not those of Fox News, as opposed to the networks news anchors, like Sheppard Smith.

Sarah Palin

The network confirmed in January of 2010 that the former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin had signed a multiyear contract to appear on the news station periodically. Potentially in a format similar to LtCol (ret) Oliver L. North's "War stories" documentary series. [16]

Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld

Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld is a hybrid news / comedic satire show hosted by Greg Gutfeld. The show appears on Fox News at 3:00 a.m. on weekdays. Their ratings are remarkable for the time slot. [17]

The ratings came out for September and Red Eye is up over 30% in total viewers and up 50% in the key demo (25-54) since July. They have more overall viewers than every CNBC show, every MSNBC show that is on before Hardball, most of HLN, and American Morning on CNN.

Fox News Channel and Homosexuality

The Traditional Values Coalition states the following regarding the Fox News Channel and the issue of homosexuality:

The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association has hundreds of members and is heavily funded by Hearst newspapers, Knight-Ridder, CBS News, CNN, Gannett, NBC, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, and more. Major newspapers throughout the U.S. have homosexual activists on their staffs who filter what you read about homosexuality.[18]

Accuracy in Media stated the following regarding the Fox News Channel:

Media organizations which underwrote the convention included NBC News, Times Inc., Turner Broadcasting, Knight-Ridder, the Washington Post and Fox News Network. That’s right - Fox News. This is supposed to be a conservative network. ABC, NBC, CBS, the New York Times, and USA Today all sent recruiters to the event, to hire open gays as journalists. Fitzpatrick comments, "By treating the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association as a legitimate counterpart to black and Hispanic journalists’ associations, these media organizations showed that they agree with the notion that homosexuals, a group defined by behavior rather than immutable characteristics, constitute a bona fide minority."[19]

External Links

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