FNC’s 10th: An overview…
The AP’s David Bauder writes about FNC’s 10 years on the air…
Loved by some, loathed by others, Fox News Channel has been the biggest success in the cable industry and profoundly changed television news since its signal turned on Oct. 7, 1996.
Ailes can still remember a reporter’s laughter during the news conference to introduce the network. He had the last laugh: Fox News beat by a year his plan for overtaking CNN and grew to more than double its rivals in viewership. It made stars of Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity and put “fair and balanced” into news history textbooks.
Opinionated talk is now a staple on the TV dial, with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, Lou Dobbs on CNN and Nancy Grace on CNN Headline News. Fox was first.
“I watched CNN for a week before I went on and I kept trying to wake myself up,” Ailes said. “I kept nodding off and I realized they are biased, they are boring, they looked like a network that has never had any competition.”
Roger Ailes and his Fox friends have all the reasons to celebrate. It must have been daunting, at the time, to launch another channel knowing that CNN rules the air at the time, with no competition. Now it’s all history. Those guys deserve all the plaudits for making FNC the premier TV cable channel outlet today. Here’s a toast for their continued success the next 10 years!
Comment by RGL — September 30, 2006 @ 7:51 am
Making NEWS exciting…yea that’s what I want. Forget informing me just entertain…yep that’s what FNC gives ya.
Comment by Stud — September 30, 2006 @ 8:51 am
To #2- Fox does inform the viewers but does it in a way that is compelling and interesting; they have great reporters (Major Garrett, Jennifer Griffin, Molly Henneburg, Carl Cameron, Wendell Goler, etc.) But, they also have prime-time hosts and commentators that spark lively debate and discussion. They deserve a great deal of credit.
Comment by Scott — September 30, 2006 @ 9:18 am
Why not both? Make news exciting enough so you will listen to it, and be informative at the same time.
If the anchor is boring, robotic and monotone in his/her presentation of the news, I’m not listening.
Comment by Barb — September 30, 2006 @ 9:25 am
Poor Stud. I’d be whining all the time too if a network I hated was wildly successful.
Try to have a nice day!
Comment by Missy — September 30, 2006 @ 9:35 am
Congrats to Fox News Channel on its 10th anniversary.
Comment by Bob — September 30, 2006 @ 10:32 am
When FOX gets dumped by cable operators and all the viewers go over to CNN, we will see who has the last laugh then!
8 days and counting until the plug gets pulled!!!
Comment by Nobody — September 30, 2006 @ 11:20 am
Nobody: It will never happen, but if Comcast, with 23 million customers, pulls the plug on FNC, I order a dish the next day!
Comment by Ira — September 30, 2006 @ 1:17 pm
The more choices the better. Congratulations to Fox. And a big thank you to them for making the cable news world so exciting. I love reading all their quotes!
Comment by Peter — September 30, 2006 @ 1:42 pm
If Fox is in a slump, what are the rest of the news networks considered — dead?
Comment by Koty — September 30, 2006 @ 4:17 pm
Did this guy look at the whole 10 years of ratings at Fox? Kind of unfair to single them out for being down over events like Katrina and the death of the Pope.
Comment by clara — September 30, 2006 @ 4:20 pm
Did I miss something here? Is there even one hour CNN is winning? Jeez, Dave Bauder’s taking the ratings to an extreme.
Comment by craig — September 30, 2006 @ 4:21 pm
I think you have to give Roger Ailes credit - love Fox or hate it, he is a visionary much in the same way that Ted Turner was when he created CNN. Who would’ve ever anticipated 10 years ago that this time of programming would be popular?
Comment by Enquiring Minds Want to Know — September 30, 2006 @ 4:51 pm
#8 I am right there with you!
I don’t think there is a single thing wrong with presenting the news in a more interesting format than just someone sitting there reading from a teleprompter. FNC got viewers who never cared about what was going on in the world to tune in and take notice, congrats to them and here’s to another wonderful 10 years! (Of course they were destined for greatness from the start, being that they launched on my birthday :) )
Comment by OverHere — September 30, 2006 @ 5:37 pm
Since this thread is about FNC….I was wondering if anyone could tell me why Julie Banderas just called Donald Rumsfeld, “The Secretary of State” ??
Comment by Terance — September 30, 2006 @ 5:53 pm
I’m in sick today, and have seen this Rumsfeld special on Fox advertised CONSTANTLY, all day. I would have watched, but I’ve seen enough already.
But I’m in agreement with the rest of you - if Fox is eliminated by my cable provider, it’s time for a dish!
Comment by Missy — September 30, 2006 @ 6:31 pm
Andrew Heyward? AP couldn’t find anyone better to talk to about Fox? Isn’t he out of a job for the Rather debacle and he’s out there criticizing Fox!? Was Michael Gardner not available??
Comment by ASHA — September 30, 2006 @ 10:17 pm
I think Bauder misses the larger point of the impact FNC has had after 10 years in existence and wastes time dissecting cyclical news ratings.
Comment by Mel — September 30, 2006 @ 10:19 pm
I haven’t seen a post about CNN’s Rumsfeld Special, and FNC’s rerunning of their Rumsfeld Special,but since Missy brought it up…
The FNC one was great, but pretty tacky of them to suddenly decide to rerun it only after finding out about the CNN Special.
I did watch the CNN one expecting a hit piece, but it was actually pretty fair and balanced. And I did learn some new things. Good job CNN.
Comment by erljr — October 2, 2006 @ 1:03 am