Posted on 10/27/2003 4:38:41 PM PST by Pikamax
Roger's Balancing Act Fox's Ailes shakes up the news status quo By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/27/2003
No one in the TV news business is more controversial than Roger Ailes. Every time he chants his "fair and balanced" mantra, the Fox News chairman sends news executives at both broadcast and cable network executives squirming or screaming. Squirming because the slogan essentially accuses rivals of slanting their coverage; screaming because many of them believe that Fox News and Ailes are slanted as far to the right as, say, Al Franken is to the left.
But Fox News works. The seven-year-old network has displaced CNN as the No. 1 cable news network. On an average, non-crisis night, Fox News attracts more viewers than CNN ever did. Initially driven by the combative style of The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News this year started beating CNN in every daypart, be it talk or straight news. And in recent months, Fox News has even started beating CNN's rating for major, breaking news.
Well, I think I know what the interviewers mean. I think they mean the recent left-wing mantra that you show your love of country by criticizing it. They see "patriotism" as a form of ignorant fanatacism. To them it is moronic, "emotional", flag waving. Indeed, I am not sure they understand the difference between citizenship and patriotism. Do they get goose bumps when the National Anthem is played? Does the American flag stir their hearts? Do they feel a sense of kinship to the great American patriots from the Revolution? To they see America as a special nation? Does liberty have any special meaning to them?
Of course not. They are communist filth.
Between patriotism and citizenship? I didn't get that. I thought he was quite dismissive of the question. Look at his answer again:
The American people are very, very smart. The journalists are narrow-minded, think they're avant-garde, think they're on some holy quest that they're not. The American people know that. If they're offended by the flag, they're watching somebody else. It's okay. We're not going around to homes, putting guns on people, making them watch Fox News. That's where CNN will end up, if they don't start getting better ratings."some holy quest that they're not." I think he denies the validity of the question. He says Americans are smart, journalists are the idiots. That was my take, anyway.
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