Cavuto: How Fox News Became a Giant

NewsMax.com ^ | 6/24/04 | Wes Vernon

[kattracks]

Fox News Channel’s vice president and business anchorman Neil Cavuto argues in his new best selling book, “More Than Money,” that you can overcome tremendous personal or financial obstacles to make a difference in your life and the lives of others.

One chapter focuses on Cavuto’s boss, Roger Ailes, the man who built Fox News and its “fair and balanced” concept into the cable giant it is today. Ailes at first had to build his news organization with people who shared his vision. It wasn't easy.

Some media personalities and executives followed Ailes from his old haunt at CNBC, owned by NBC.

Cavuto says though the NBC leaders were unimpressed with the Fox effort, they did try to intimidate him.

“You realize there are legal remedies to recruiting our people,” an NBC operative told him.

“You don’t know the difference between recruiting and a jailbreak,” Ailes replied. “People are throwing out bed sheets over there. They are dying to get out of there.”

Cavuto says it's not easy breaking with the media establishment.

“There’s no doubt how vicious it is,” Cavuto (who has “seen it up close”) told NewsMax.

Still, Cavuto believes more journalists than you can imagine at liberal establishment media yearn to be free of the shacles of political correctness.

“More journalists than you know, when given the opportunity to join a news organization that allows free speech and free thought, will at least have a chance to be themselves,” he explains.

Though Fox regularly trounces the other cable news channels - CNN and MSNBC — in ratings, there are journalists and journalism professors who scoff at Fox as an upstart.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about the journalism professors,” says Ailes (as quoted by Cavuto in his book). As for elite journalists, Ailes notes that “America gives them the freedom to do what they want, but they don’t mind attacking it every day. And yet, if somebody attacks journalism, they get their nose out of joint.”

With Fox having found the key to success, we wondered if will there be Fox imitators. Not likely, Cavuto tells us. “It just isn’t in their bones.”

Or as Ailes tells him, “CNN had 4,000 people and Bob Novak, and they thought that was balanced.”

Cavuto adds that for a would-be Fox imitator to work, “you’ve got to want to give the other side and not lip service” to such issues as letting people keep more of what they earn.

Cavuto notes that in journalism school, students are taught that the very basis of covering the news is to challenge the government at every step, including our brave military men and women in harm's way, which may explain the over-emphasis on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, while making al-Qaida’s far more horrendous beheading of an American a mere one-day story.

Cavuto cites some other examples of bias for NewsMax:

When President Bush rejected the job-killing Kyoto “global warming” treaty, TV viewers not tuned to Fox would have had to go on a deep, time-consuming search to learn the main reason he did so.

The treaty held the U.S. to the highest and most exacting air quality standards based on questionable science. Meanwhile, China and India got a “free pass,” with the U.S. paying 90% of the bill.

But as far as most big media coverage was concerned, the president had not signed on to the holy grail of “environmentalism,” and that was that.

In late 1995, there was a special congressional election in California. Going into it, the media portrayed the contest as a test of public reaction to the “Gingrich revolution” which had put the GOP in control of Congress.

When the Republican candidate won the House seat, that race suddenly diminished to zero importance. There was hardly a word of it, almost a complete news blackout.

Instead, the focus of the journalistic “lemmings,” as Cavuto calls them, was on the fact that on the same day, Jesse Jackson, Jr. won a special congressional election in Illinois, although there was never any question that the namesake son of the civil rights activist would win his Chicagoland district.

More recently, Cavuto notes, one newspaper was “shocked” at the national outpouring of emotion following the death of Ronald Reagan more than 15 years after he left office. “How stupid can you be?” was the popular business reporter’s rhetorical question. “This man registered with Americans on many levels. But they [newspaper editors] were shocked. The common man and the common woman proved them wrong.”

Here again, Cavuto’s point to NewsMax is borne out: The pack journalists are not intrinsically evil. It is just that many of them approach news with certain conventional wisdoms; complete with an attitude of “Doesn’t everybody think so?” that ignores anything “to the contrary of the consensus view.”

“People have a real problem hearing both sides,” Ailes observes. “I don’t and I don’t think our viewers do.”

Neil Cavuto's bestselling book "More Than Money" is available on Amazon and Bookstores everywhere

Next: Cavuto and the battles against the odds.

[what's up]

It's a revelation to many that news people are often not very smart people; they don't know how to think.

And they know very, very little about history.

[Conservative4Ever]

Thanks for the post. Always liked Cavuto, especially his opinion segment at the end of his program.

Red

[Ciexyz]

The pack journalists are not intrinsically evil.

They're just intrinsically mentally ill.

Actually they ARE evil, because they sell their careers for a paycheck, they report what their employer wants them to report, because they want to stay on the journalistic gravy train.

[rwfromkansas]

bump

[Bernard Marx]

If you're talking about news content, there shouldn't be "sides" at all.

Fascinating comment; please explain. Maybe "all sides" would satisfy you? What I had in mind was both labor and management, not labor alone; or both Democrat and Republican talking points, not merely the Democrat, etc.

I would say Fox's news reportage -- again, because they're largely dependent on AP -- is slightly left of center.

I don't agree. Concrete examples please. Yes, there's too much 'pack journalism,' as there always has been. But Fox has many sources of information apart from AP: its own field correspondents and consultants, Sky News, and every other wire service available, Reuters, UPI, Dow Jones, etc.

Re: Abu Ghraib, didn't I see the images of Saddam's thugs beating and torturing their own people on Fox? Yes, I did -- and not anyplace else. Of course I've given up watching much of anything else. Did you see it on CNN or ABC or CBS or MSNBC or...? I doubt it.

Yes, to a large extent the Left controls the debate. That's the Right's fault, not Fox's. Are you suggesting that Fox should just ignore and not report and respond to the Left's political theater staged through its puppets like AP, NYT, LAT, etc.? The job of the media is to report and hopefully interpret and place perspective on news events, not create them. When Frist & Co. become as creative at "news" management as Teddy Kennedy, Michael Moore and the rest of the Democrat Flying Monkeys, the Right can begin to control the debate.

[prion]

What I had in mind was both labor and management, not labor alone; or both Democrat and Republican talking points, not merely the Democrat, etc.

Well, we were talking about lefty versus righty news reportage, you said you wanted to see both. I took that to mean you'd like to hear both partisan views, rather than that you'd like to hear the views of all the principals in the news story. The latter should be de rigeur for any respectable news source.

But Fox has many sources of information apart from AP: its own field correspondents and consultants, Sky News, and every other wire service available, Reuters, UPI, Dow Jones, etc.

All of those sources, excluding their own correspondents (mostly), Dow Jones and possibly Sky, tilt way left. If I'm scouring the news sites for more information on a particular story, it often happens that the same piece appears in them all nearly verbatim, because they've all slapped an original headline on the same AP or Reuters wire story.

Are you suggesting that Fox should just ignore and not report and respond to the Left's political theater staged through its puppets like AP, NYT, LAT, etc.?

I'm suggesting they don't have to let the NYT tell them what to talk about and how long to talk about it.

The job of the media is to report and hopefully interpret and place perspective on news events, not create them.

Yipe! No interpretations or perspective for me, thanks -- in the news section, anyway. Not beyond what a reporter simply cannot avoid because he has to decide what to report about.

[maxwellp]

"...a total conservative news channel." We're ready for one. We watch Fox News only. Never watch CNN, ABC, etc. But a purely conservative news channel would be marvelous after so many, many years of liberal crap.

[Angry Republican]

Still, Cavuto believes more journalists than you can imagine at liberal establishment media yearn to be free of the shacles of political correctness.

I suppose that makes sense.

[reformedliberal]

Wonderful post. I couldn't agree more.

[Badeye]

Thanks.

[nutmeg]

FoxFan ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.

[SevenofNine]

Rackkk Neil

You know what I got one beef too much Entertainment news COME ON Rupert I want interntaioal news more often come on sweetie work that SKy news sources

Work it honey

I know you are Media mogul of 21th cenutury dude lay Scott Peterson and Jacko

PLEASEEE

[lainde]

bttt

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Gracey]

I do not know, I think I am ready for a total conservative news channel because I am absolutely sick of liberals.

You have it, right here at FReeRepublic. This is the conservative BIASED news outlet. FoxNews should NOT be biased. It reports the news fairly evenly and that's how it should be. But then, that's my opinion.

P.S. I LOVE Right Wing, American Loving Conservatives. We're the Bestest and the RIGHTest. GO USA and Conservatism :-)

[Doc On The Bay]

YOU are an example of WHY AMERICA WORKS.

I Have Lived your Financial Problems on a Much Smaller Scale.

The UTTER MORONS attempting to destroy "Small Business" in America have "Redefined Evil."

I Thought we "Came to Grips With" "Fasciism/Communism" 30 years ago!!

APPARENTLY, we are STILL forced to "Fight" the IDIOTS who believe that "STATE CONTROL OF the ECONOMY" works!!

LIKE the "UNDEAD,"--HOW MANY TIMES must we Kill the Thoroughly Discredited Concept of a "State-Run Monopoly," BEFORE it is FINALLY, "DEAD!!??"

Doc

[Ichneumon]

Thanks. The sucess we have realized is the primary reason I dislike liberals. Let me explain. I fought, clawed, scratched to get to where I am right now, personally and professionally, and financially. The hard work of myself and the biz partner, not to mention the staff has paid off. Since 1999, we've literally "had it made", cash flow is great, sales are great, long term debt has been paid off in full. Salaries are six figures now, as opposed the the $11 per hour the biz partner and I paid ourselves that first 18 months, putting all our money made on the debts incurred during the start up. Then along comes Al Gore, railing against the "evil one percent". I busted my ass to get where I am today. I'm not "evil", I pay my taxes on time, actually "early" against the advice of our financial advisors. I didn't ask for the governments help. I didn't take a student loan thats never repaid. I didn't apply for any special status based on being a vet, or race, or anything else. We did it on our own. And the Democratic Party in effect hates me, hates my biz partner for it. How dare we become sucessful without attaching ourselves to the government teat is basically what comes across loud and clear. So when I hear a sissyboy like Gore, or now the laughable John Kerry talk about tax breaks for the rich, I want to beat the living hell out of both of them....ram one of their oh so trendy ski boots right up their ass. Wrap that $2,000 dollar mountain bike Kerry's wife's money bought him around his neck. These POS have no idea what it takes to create a company, to create high paying jobs. They were both born with silver freakin spoons in their mouths, both understood the term "trust fund" at about the age I learned about sex. And yet they feel the urge to beat up "the rich" as they describe anyone that makes more than $100,000 per year? I grew up around money, even though my father was a Teamster. I know trust fund babies, most of whom are now grownup leftwingnuts. I can't help detesting them, the Democratic Party in general. But, its fair and balanced. They really hate me too...as every DNC commercial reminds me, day after day after day.

Damn, that was good. So good that I'm going to quote it in full so that it goes into my post archives...

Is that too long to make Quote of the Day?

[Badeye]

"YOU are an example of WHY AMERICA WORKS. "

Just one example out of millions.....

[Badeye]

"Damn, that was good. So good that I'm going to quote it in full so that it goes into my post archives...

Is that too long to make Quote of the Day?"


He he he....rereading it, I'd say its more appropriate to nominate that post for "Rant of the Day".

Thanks...

[Doc On The Bay]

"America Works" DESPITE the "Propaganda & Active Opposition" of "The 'Left!!'"

One can STILL create a "Business" in America which MIGHT," "Turn a Profit;" Providing the "LEFT" doesn't Notice you!

"Success" in America is Now "Measured By" how well one "Dodges the 'Regulators!'"

We "Succeed by" avoiding the "Attention of" our own Government!

This IS NOT the "Nation" our Forefathers Created!!

"AMERICA" has succeeded because we are a TRULY FREE SOCIETY; There can be NO "Government Control" of Commerce in our Nation.

After watching "Centrally Controlled Economies" CRASH, our "Leaders" have Come to Realize that a "Free Economy" is the ONLY "Economic Model" compatible with "Human Psychology!!"

SO,--Here We Are,--embroiled in an "Economy" our "Putative Leaders" are Trying to Control!

I can ONLY Believe that our Economy is, Now, FAR STRONGER THAN the "Pitiful Attempts" of Those Who would attempt to Control It.