The Good vs. Bad Of Fox News At 25 Years
This past week marked Fox News’ 25th year of existence and the network, and its fans are in a celebratory mood. To mark this occasion, they unveiled their remodeled DC bureau while on the air they have modified their news bug, making it glittery, and are showcasing promos featuring on-air staff celebrating this achievement.
Fox News has been dominant for the majority of its lifespan — it overtook CNN as the number one news network in late 2001 and has not looked back since. It has wielded considerable influence in this time, which was plain to see during the Trump presidency.
This influence has led many to see Fox News’ anniversary not as a joyous occasion but more so as something to be concerned about.
The network may be known as a news organization, and it used to claim that it was the network of “fair and balanced” reporting, but that rarely existed. It has relied more on opinionated and analytical-type programming, which has been beneficial from a programming and financial perspective, but it has come at a cost.
The cost has been American democracy, which has been severely tested by those who work for Fox News and its viewers. Fox News has viewed itself as the conservative answer to the broadcast and cable news networks, but in reality, it has operated more like the unofficial GOP media channel.
It has peddled Republican talking points very freely and loosely. That has made the Republican base believe what they see from them, making Republican politicians believe to be almost like its gospel truth what they see on Fox News.
Fox News has radicalized its viewers, and in turn, it has been radicalized by its viewers.
The echo chamber has become so loud that it has dictated policy and governance from the federal level down to the local level. Whatever the issue, be it the economy, abortion rights, race and social issues, COVID-19, immigration, crime and policing, and even education, if the Republicans want to make it a problem, all they have to do is say something about it and, Fox News will make sure it becomes the main talking point.
Fox News is a safe base for the Republicans as they know they will not be questioned as thoroughly as they would have been if they had made an appearance on the other news networks. Softball questions are lobbed their way with little to no follow-up.
The Trump presidency empowered Fox News as they knew the president was watching the network at all times and took his governing cues from what he saw on the network. If they needed to speak or send a message to the president, politicians would appear on the network.
In a way, Fox News was ruling and running America.
Management seems to be okay with how Fox News is operating because it’s making them very profitable. One would have thought the events of January 6th would have caused some soul searching and a shift in strategy to tone down the poisoning, but it seems the events from that day have only strengthened their resolve to be who they are.
It will be interesting to see what America looks like in another 25 years when Fox News celebrates its 50th anniversary.
(NewscastStudio, The Daily Beast, The Hollywood Reporter)
QUICK RECAP - ESPN EDITION
ESPN Removes Sage Steele From Its Air
Sage Steele has been temporarily relieved from her anchoring duties on ESPN following her controversial remarks made on a podcast and also because she tested positive for COVID-19. Steele appeared as a guest on former NFL quarterback Uncut with Jay Cutler's podcast, where she was critical of Disney’s vaccine mandate saying that it was “sick” and “scary.” She also made comments towards former President Barack Obama, questioning why he considers himself Black despite his father not being around. Steele apologized for her remarks, and ESPN released a statement saying they embrace different viewpoints, but they “expect that those points of view be expressed respectfully, in a manner consistent with our values, and in line with our internal policies.” (Front Office Sports and TVNewser)
ESPN Announces It’s New NBA Studio Team
The NBA offseason was more tumultuous for ESPN than the actual NBA teams it covers. Gone from its studio shows are Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols, and in are Mike Greenburg and Stephen A. Smith. Greenburg has been named the new host of ESPN’s pregame show NBA Countdown. He will be joined by Smith, who will serve as an analyst, alongside Michael Wilbon, Jalen Smith, and Magic Johnson. This announcement means Greenburg will be on hand during the NBA Finals, one of ESPN’s marquee events. (New York Post)
What Does The Future Hold For ESPN’s Linear Business?
Cord cutters have been the bane of every cable network’s existence, notably ESPN’s, which earns a lot of money from cable as it charges $10 per subscriber — the highest rate of any network. It may be forced to plan for a time when the number of cable subscribers may dip to below 50 million, which will be a significant hit on its finances. If such a scenario happens, ESPN may have to move much of its programming from its linear channel to ESPN Plus. Such a move may infuriate cable operators, but they may have little or no leverage to do anything at that point. ESPN has been slowly adding key sporting content to its streaming service, creating additional value for it. By bundling it with Disney Plus and Hulu, they want to ensure a comfortable headstart if more cable subscribers flee and Disney is forced to switch from its cable channels to its streaming services for continued earnings. (CNBC)
QUICK RECAP
Former CNN Southeast Asia Bureau chief Maria Ressa wins the Nobel Peace Prize. (TVNewser)
PBS’ NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardins receives the 37th annual Joan S. Barone Award for her reporting during and after the Jan. 6th Capitol insurrection. (TVNewser)
CNN’s fine line between terrorism and sensational coverage. (Columbia Journalism Review)
Al Jazeera and CNN Digital see gains in web traffic during the month of August. (PressGazette)
AT&T helped launch and has been supporting OANN. (Reuters)
Elwyn Lopez has been named Atlanta-based correspondent for ABC News. (ABC News Public Relations)
Local TV station groups are launching news networks to challenge the big three cable news nets. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Bob Costas joins Turner Sports for its MLB playoffs coverage. (TVNewser)
ESPN overhauls its Studio F for its college football and NHL coverage. (NewscastStudio)
Bomani Jones to host weekly late-night sports show on HBO in 2022. (Awful Announcing)
NHL.TV is now part of ESPN Plus. (The Streamable)
Stephen Labaton has been named Executive Vice President of Communications at NBC News Group. (Claire Atkinson/Twitter)
NBC News and CNBC combine their e-commerce sites. (AdWeek)
Kelly Campbell jumps from Hulu to Peacock. (Reuters)
Katie Couric was banned from promoting her book on CBS. (Page Six)
CNBC’s Sue Herera receives the SABEW Distinguished Achievement Award. (Courtney Reagan/Twitter)
Bill Weir and CNN win a Covering Climate Now Journalism Award. (Covering Climate Now/Twitter)
Matt Vasgersian is leaving ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. (New York Post)
Amy Freeze joins Fox Weather, which launches on October 25th. (Fox News Media Public Relations)
Talia Parkinson-Jones and Meredith Reis named Executive Producer and Senior Broadcast Producer of NBC News’ Today with Hoda and Jenna. (NBC News Public Relations)
Turner Sports debuts a new studio for its MLB playoffs coverage. (Sports Video Group)
ESPN names Cecile Cross-Plummer Vice President of Corporate Communications. (James Andrew Miller/Twitter)
Disney’s Bob Igers long trek towards the exit door. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Lisa Ling goes personal on CNN’s This Is Life. (Los Angeles Times)
Newsy launched this past week. (Associated Press)
How ESPN and TNT are promoting their NHL package. (NewscastStudio)
ESPN’s Monday Night Football “Manning-cast” has proven to be a success. (The Streamable)
The NHL moves to Disney and Turner Sports this week — what do they have in store? (Variety)
CBS Sports hires Grant Wahl as an analyst and editorial consultant on Paramount Plus soccer documentaries. (Mark J. Burns/Twitter)
HBO Max announces launch dates for Europe. (The Streamable)
The Sunday Night Football matchup between Brady and Belichick scores big for NBC Sports. (Variety)
The Squid Game has Netflix smiling from cheek to cheek. (The Streamable)
Erin Burnett marks ten years at CNN. (TVNewser)
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow revealed that she had skin cancer surgery. (TVNewser)
Elena Nachmanoff announces that she is leaving NBC News. (A. J. Katz/Twitter)
Paolo Uggetti joins ESPN to cover college football. (ESPN PR/Twitter)
Former CBS News exec Ryan Kadro joins The Recount. (Variety)
Netflix establishes the Chadwick A. Boseman Scholarship at Howard University. (Variety)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #65 - 2021