Fox News Is Not About The News
For Fox news, ratings is its business and the Dominion filings show the depths it was willing to go to protect that.
Fox News Is Not About The News
The narrative that Fox News should be treated as a news channel came into sharper focus this week as new filings released from Dominion Voter System's $1.6 billion lawsuit revealed the network’s internal chaos that took place during the 2020 election period.
The filings showed that Fox News was not happy with the actualities of the election, as relaying that to its audience would cause them to turn from the network.
Fox News was more concerned about its ratings than actual factual news reporting.
This was evident by how its primetime hosts operated, asking for one of their colleagues to be fired because she checked former president Donald Trump.
This was evident by its Fox News executives, who were upset that its political desk correctly called Arizona for Biden.
Most importantly, this was evident by Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corp's chairman, who, according to the filings, acknowledged that the driving force behind how Fox News operates is money.
Fox News operates as a business first and a news operation last. It recognized very early in its existence that the conservative viewpoint was underserved and galvanized it with its polarizing coverage.
When the GOP had the presidency, it was the biggest cheerleader for the president and served as a defacto state news organization. When the GOP was not in power, it negatively covered the administration running the country, critical of its every move.
It brought opinionated conservative talk radio to TV and has greatly succeeded in this format, forcing its competitors to emulate it. All this was done with news reporting sprinkled in here and there.
This is what Fox News has been for its entire existence. It has not deviated from this winning formula. It has used this to generate huge profits for its parent company.
But its success has made it a prisoner to its own formula, any deviation from that would cause the network to lose its dominant standing, ceding it to the likes of Newsmax and OANN, who are willing and ready to claim that spot.
The Dominion filings now prove to a lot of people that when it comes to the news business, Fox News is more interested in the business than the news.
(New York Times)
RECAP
Today Loses Savannah And Finally Explains Hoda Kotb’s Absence
It was quite a week for NBC News’ Today as the morning show had to make an emergency audible during its Tuesday broadcast. Anchor Savannah Guthrie tested positive for Covid while on the air and was immediately sent home, leaving Sheinelle Jones to handle anchoring duties by herself for some time until Sunday Today anchor Willie Geist joined her. Jones was filling in for Guthrie’s co-anchor Kotb, who had been off the air for nearly two weeks. NBC News initially didn’t reveal why she was not on air, but on Wednesday, the news division said that Kotb is dealing with a family health matter. No word on when the two of them will be back on the air. (Today, TVNewser, )
So Long CNN Newsroom, Hello CNN News Central
After 16 years, CNN is saying so long to its daytime news program CNN Newsroom and is welcoming CNN News Central in its place beginning in April. No exact date has been given, but CNN News Central will operate out of two blocks, with the 9 am - 12 pm ET block being anchored out of New York by John Berman, Sara Sidner, and Kate Bolduan. The 1 - 4 pm ET block is anchored out of Washington DC by Brianna Keilar, Jim Sciutto, and Boris Sanchez. Both blocks will be produced out of Atlanta. Inside Politics remains in its noon slot. The overhaul of CNN’s program lineup by CNN CEO and chairman, Chris Licht, continues to take place, and the soon-to-be-launched news show will look significantly different from its predecessor. For one, the news show will emphasize updates from its reporters on location, feature heavy use of graphics, and the anchors will anchor out of newly redesigned studios. (Deadline)
Could ION Be The Answer For RSN’s Demise?
Much has been discussed about the fragile state of RSNs, with the one seeming profitable and reliable sports networks losing favor with their owners and pay distributors. Sports leagues are working fast to find a solution to ensure games are still available for fans to consume and, most importantly, make sure the media dollars are still coming in. Enter Scripps, which is set to launch its Scripps Sports later this year. Using ION, the general entertainment network which Scripps acquired in 2020, Scripps Sports could be the safe haven for the sporting leagues. The head of the Scripps Sports Division, Brian Lawlor, said that teams have reached out to them and are already discussing airing their games with some of them. “There are teams in the NBA that are currently in the last year of their RSN deal and don’t have a solution for next season. So we’re in conversations with some of them,” he said. (Front Office Sports)
QUICK RECAP
Irv Cross, a former CBS Sports anchor, has been diagnosed with severe CTE. (Awful Announcing)
Somara Theodore joins ABC News as a meteorologist. (ABC News Public Relations)
Former CBS News executive David Rhodes named new executive chairman of Sky News. (TVNewser)
Tina Shah of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports/Turner Sports is leaving the company after 21-plus years of service. (Sports Business Journal)
Jay O’Brien joins ABC News as a mulitplatform reporter. (ABC News Public Relations)
ESPN elevates Rosalyn Durant and Burke Magnus to key executive positions. (Sports Business Journal)
BBC News is confident that it will re-sign news presenter Huw Edwards. (Deadline)
Awards: CNN International wins the 2023 Royal Television Society Television Journalism Award for breaking news story of the year for its coverage of the war in Ukraine. (CNN Press Room)
Awards: Al Jazeera, Sky News, and BBC News are also RTS Award winners. (Royal Television Society)
Awards: MSNBC's Rashida Jones defends the network’s opinionated programming while accepting First Amendment Award from Radio Television Digital News Foundation. (TVNewser)
February Ratings: CNN hits lows not seen in a decade. (Mediaite)
February Ratings: MSNBC beats CNN in weekday viewership for the adults 25-54 demo. (NBCUniversal Media Village)
February Ratings: Fox News dominates once again. (Forbes)
Is streaming golden’s era over? (Vanity)
Sports docuseries are working for Netflix right now. (Front Office Sports)
A look at Overtime's broadcast production facility. (SVG Europe)
ESPN's Troy Aikman talks about his first year on Monday Night Football. (Front Office Sports)
Fox News’ Emily Compagno debuts new true crime podcast. (TVNewser)
A look at the broadcast plans for the latest season of F1. (Sports Video Group)
DirecTV sends another letter to Senate Republicans about its dispute with Newsmax. (Cablefax)
ESPN's SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt starts the year on a strong note. (ESPN Press Room)
On-air personalities like Jonathan Capehart propel MSNBC's Black viewership. (The Wrap)
Fox Nation's new five-part docuseries will focus on the Jussie Smollett saga. (TVNewser)
Could the NBA's Adam Silver be the next CEO of Disney? (Front Office Sports)
Donald Trump reportedly has a “soft ban” on Fox News. (The Guardian)
ESPN wants to build a feature linking fans to live sports games. (CNBC)
Netflix was the most canceled streamer in late 2022. (The Streamable)
NewsNation adds another hour to NewsNation Live. (TVNewser)
WBD Sports really wants to keep the NBA. (Sports Business Journal)
Bloomberg TV announces news programming schedule. (TVNewser)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #115 - 2023