SkinsHokieFan Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Another Rolling Stone master piece in the last 2 years http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-20110525 By TIM DICKINSONMAY 25, 2011 8:00 AM ET At the Fox News holiday party the year the network overtook archrival CNN in the cable ratings, tipsy employees were herded down to the basement of a Midtown bar in New York. As they gathered around a television mounted high on the wall, an image flashed to life, glowing bright in the darkened tavern: the MSNBC logo. A chorus of boos erupted among the Fox faithful. The CNN logo followed, and the catcalls multiplied. Then a third slide appeared, with a telling twist. In place of the logo for Fox News was a beneficent visage: the face of the network’s founder. The man known to his fiercest loyalists simply as "the Chairman" – Roger Ailes. “It was as though we were looking at Mao,” recalls Charlie Reina, a former Fox News producer. The Foxistas went wild. They let the dogs out. Woof! Woof! Woof! Even those who disliked the way Ailes runs his network joined in the display of fealty, given the culture of intimidation at Fox News. “It’s like the Soviet Union or China: People are always looking over their shoulders,” says a former executive with the network’s parent, News Corp. “There are people who turn people in.” This article appears in the June 9, 2011 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue will be available on newsstands and in the online archive May 27. The key to decoding Fox News isn’t Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity. It isn’t even News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch. To understand what drives Fox News, and what its true purpose is, you must first understand Chairman Ailes. “He is Fox News,” says Jane Hall, a decade-long Fox commentator who defected over Ailes’ embrace of the fear-mongering Glenn Beck. “It’s his vision. It’s a reflection of him.” Photo Gallery: Roger Ailes, GOP Mastermind Ailes runs the most profitable – and therefore least accountable – head of the News Corp. hydra. Fox News reaped an estimated profit of $816 million last year – nearly a fifth of Murdoch’s global haul. The cable channel’s earnings rivaled those of News Corp.’s entire film division, which includes 20th Century Fox, and helped offset a slump at Murdoch’s beloved newspapers unit, which took a $3 billion write-down after acquiring The Wall Street Journal. With its bare-bones news*gathering operation – Fox News has one-third the staff and 30 fewer bureaus than CNN – Ailes generates profit margins above 50 percent. Nearly half comes from advertising, and the rest is dues from cable companies. Fox News now reaches 100 million households, attracting more viewers than all other cable-news outlets combined, and Ailes aims for his network to “throw off a billion in profits.” Slideshow: An hour-by-hour look at how Fox disguises GOP talking points as journalism The outsize success of Fox News gives Ailes a free hand to shape the network in his own image. "Murdoch has almost no involvement with it at all," says Michael Wolff, who spent nine months embedded at News Corp. researching a biography of the Australian media giant. "People are afraid of Roger. Murdoch is, himself, afraid of Roger. He has amassed enormous power within the company – and within the country – from the success of Fox News." Read about the GOP's dirty war against Obama Fear, in fact, is precisely what Ailes is selling: His network has relentlessly hyped phantom menaces like the planned “terror mosque” near Ground Zero, inspiring Florida pastor Terry Jones to torch the Koran. Privately, Murdoch is as impressed by Ailes’ business savvy as he is dismissive of his extremist politics. "You know Roger is crazy," Murdoch recently told a colleague, shaking his head in disbelief. "He really believes that stuff." Click link for rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 In before this gets dismissed out of hand for being a Rolling Stone piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 In before this gets dismissed out of hand for being a Rolling Stone piece. Thrown up by a liberal pansy poster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I love it when outlets/publications with obvious biases point out the opponents obvious biases. Rolling Stone coming out with an anti Fox/anti GOP piece? Who would have ever guessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 And it only took two more posts. Yay me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 And it only took two more posts. Yay me! I didn't quite dismiss it, you commie pinko bedwetter. There's some good stuff in here. I just think it's funny that Rolling Stone wants to appear like they're not biased or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Thrown up by a liberal pansy poster. Yep. Poor SHF. People don't know what to think about that radical Muslim commie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unforgiven Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 That's some real cutting edge reporting Rolling Stone. Fox News is a bias fear factory ran by a nut job? I'M SHOCKED! This is the first I've heard about the most 'Fair and Balanced' network in the history of the world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Yep. Poor SHF. People don't know what to think about that radical Muslim commie. Obviously, I know you're joking, but I think dude is our Burgold. Nothing but respect, on either side I think, for SHF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONAWARPATH Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 To balance an obligatory "Negro" on a panel in Philadelphia, Ailes dreamed of adding a "good, mean Wallacite cab driver. Wouldn’t that be great? Some guy to sit there and say, 'Awright, Mac, what about these ******s?'" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.A.C.O.L.B. Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I wonder how many people will actually read the article before posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Obviously, I know you're joking, but I think dude is our Burgold. Nothing but respect, on either side I think, for SHF. Wait, don't you meant that dude is "your Predicto." :kickcan: I totally agree with you - SHF is a total mensch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Echoes some of the stuff I've heard off the record from FOX folks I've met at the Press Club. I think the part which won't get a lot of airplay, but is really damning is Fox News has one-third the staff and 30 fewer bureaus than CNN Without the researchers, without the feet on the street they are so reliant on second hand reporting and analysis done by second source guys that the quality has to suffer. If they had more diggers and detectives and researchers, then even with their shortcomings the product would be superior or at least more comprehensive/complete. Now, I don't like biased news (I don't like news with a bias either, but biased news is worse), but a strong, honest Conservative voice isn't a bad thing. A strong, honest, fair conservative newsroom should add a perspective or locate stories that other newsroom miss. A Conservative newsroom should have more meaty stories about... I don't know, religion, education, small business. They should illuminate those small stories that capture that philosophy's interest. FOX fails at this as near as I can tell and it's Allies' fault. You can't do interesting reporting if you don't have reporters. You can't really understand as well from a distance. Relying on second sources is sloppy, lazy, and cheap. FOX's viewers deserve better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffylookin Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 You know, everyone knows this stuff about Faux. So my interest in reading this article is small. Not because I won't find it both fascinating and infuriating but rather because nothing will change. The moment news became for profit, it was over. Faux brings in tons of money so it's not changing a thing. The morons who watch it will continue to watch it because it reflects their warped agenda. And so the dance down the toilet continues. News+Bottom line profit=Not news but rather stuff to attract consumers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Is Rolling Stone trying to insinuate that the great Steve Doocy is not a credible source for news of the world?!? Shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRSmith Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 The fact that the 3 networks CNN and MSBC will actually discipline, fire and have their own air talent apologize for their actions when do wrong to me says alot more about how they take actual responsibility and don't just talk about it. I will respect them for that and have little respect for Fox because of their actions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistertim Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Reading that article, Ailes really does sound like a dictator as far as a lot of the psychological traits they tend to exhibit. Megalomaniacal, power hungry, extremely controlling, highly paranoid, very black and white world view (you are either with me or you're my enemy). A lot of the stuff in the article I already had a general knowledge of, but reading some of the details really just puts it over the top. I had no clue that Fox News was essentially shot from a bunker . Now, obviously Rolling Stone is going to have a slant on this story and they obviously don't like Fox News. However, they never claimed that it was some unbiased piece or anything and I doubt most people who read RS really think they're exactly a conservative bastion. That being said, when they do big articles like this, they do tend to research it very well and this piece doesn't look to be an exception to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Obviously, I know you're joking, but I think dude is our Burgold. Nothing but respect, on either side I think, for SHF. Wait, don't you meant that dude is "your Predicto." :kickcan: I totally agree with you - SHF is a total mensch. Thanks guys! Coming from you all it means a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHOPSkins Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 The Secrets of Fox's Success What Ailes created was a channel with a clear identity and plenty of attitude, aimed directly at viewers fed up with what he calls the liberal slant of the mainstream media. While his competitors stuck to a broadcast model and tried to appeal to the widest possible audience, Fox found its niche by narrowcasting to viewers who wanted news from a particular perspective. http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4236 Its not about fear...its about service...as in the Liberal Media was NOT serving thier full audience...only half You can agree or disagree....really doesn't matter...The belief is reality....include me in that list Conservatives had "HOPE" for the future and we got "CHANGE" in Fox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 And it only took two more posts. Yay me! Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back there buddy. The stone deserves it's reputation for good reason but even without it, anyone with half a brain can see that they found a disgruntled ex employee and built a fear mongering story of their own around his opinions. The story is garbage and it earns that title on it's own merits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 The Secrets of Fox's Success What Ailes created was a channel with a clear identity and plenty of attitude, aimed directly at viewers fed up with what he calls the liberal slant of the mainstream media. While his competitors stuck to a broadcast model and tried to appeal to the widest possible audience, Fox found its niche by narrowcasting to viewers who wanted news from a particular perspective. http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4236 OK, so "Fox found its niche by narrowcasting to viewers who wanted news from a particular perspective." What this basically means is they created a news channel to cater to the right wing. While other channels were reporting news to the widest possible audience, Fox was only reporting news to the right. Fox news is, according to the above quote, a right wing niche news channel created to combat other news channels that tried to cater to everyone. Therefore Fox News is an agenda pushing news channel of the republican party. There never was a "vast left wing media machine", this is a lie made up to validate the trash that Fox tries to push as news. The whole "playing the underdog" really works well for the republican party though. Their supporters eat it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistertim Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back there buddy. The stone deserves it's reputation for good reason but even without it, anyone with half a brain can see that they found a disgruntled ex employee and built a fear mongering story of their own around his opinions. The story is garbage and it earns that title on it's own merits. Did you read the article (not just the title and first page)? It was far from "a disgruntled ex employee". They talked to a lot of former Fox News employees as well as a lot of people who used to work with Ailes before Fox and they were far from a bunch of anonymous quotes. They gave the peoples' names and the positions they had when they were there. You can dismiss it because it is the Rolling Stone, or because you want to think it was just one disgruntled person who got fired, but that is being a bit naive because this is NOT exactly breaking news. This is stuff that is pretty well known as a general concept; this article just gives more detail about how things are run and how Ailes operates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 See, this is why I wanted to focus on the size of the newsroom. That speaks to the reporting on a very practical level. The smaller the newsroom, the less feet you have to send out, investigate, and actually cover the news. The fewer people you have who know the beat and can bring their experience to the fore when speaking to scientists, health care officials, Disaster relief experts, or even politicos. In the old days, the Washington Post was really great because every section had real experts in many areas. You could name a subject and find a person who covered that beat and knew it intimitately. If all you have a generalists, the analysis and coverage can't be as deep because the reporter doesn't have the background to ask the right questions or more importantly how to follow them up. The bias and agenda is an old stomping ground. We know some will defend FOX's right to be the Kings of Propaganda by saying all the other broadcasters are kings of their own respective Left Wing fiefdoms, but intentionally buildng such a small newsroom with so few bureaus means that they are less prepared and less able to truly cover the news fairly, objectively, or comprehensively. They lack the reporters with expertise. They lack the resources in the field. Their stuck regurgitating the broadest material and then using analysts to fill in. What this means is that as a practical matter their news must be shallower and lacking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Did you read the article (not just the title and first page)? It was far from "a disgruntled ex employee". They talked to a lot of former Fox News employees as well as a lot of people who used to work with Ailes before Fox and they were far from a bunch of anonymous quotes. They gave the peoples' names and the positions they had when they were there. You can dismiss it because it is the Rolling Stone, or because you want to think it was just one disgruntled person who got fired, but that is being a bit naive because this is NOT exactly breaking news. This stuff that is pretty well known as a general concept; this article just gives more detail about how things are run and how Ailes operates. Sorry, but if I want to know how someone operates for real, I send someone without bias to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Sorry, but if I want to know how someone operates for real, I send someone without bias to find out. I hear where you're coming from but the fact is that anyone who bashes Fox News will be seen as biased. And Burgold, that is a very un-biased opinion as it pertains to Fox News and I think you are spot on when it comes to the lack of size and number of departments in their agency. Murdock must love it though because they are the largest grossing news agency by far and have such a small overhead. Even when it comes to their business model they are "conservative"... unfortunately I agree that this likely hurts the final product. The only one I regularly see on the beat is Shep. He's easily the most respectable one on the team and it's probably his ability to tell the news without a slant. That has to kill Ailes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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