Just avoid Fox News like you do CNN and MSNBC.
Posted on 06/14/2017 4:43:21 PM PDT by bimboeruption
Fox News is “Fair and Balanced” no more.
In the latest sign of change at the cable news network, the “Fair and Balanced” motto that has long been a rallying cry for Fox News fans — and a finger in the eye of critics — is gone. The channel confirmed on Wednesday that slogan and network have parted ways.
“The shift has nothing to do with programming or editorial decisions,” the network said in a statement. Instead, the slogan was dropped in part because of its close association with Roger Ailes, network’s co-founder, former chairman and the originator of the phrase, who was fired in August in a sexual harassment scandal.
The network said that “Fair and Balanced” was shelved as a marketing tool after Mr. Ailes’s departure. In its place is a new motto: “Most Watched, Most Trusted.”
Another Fox slogan, “We Report, You Decide,” also has been retired, although the network said that it returns occasionally.
Some viewers may be surprised. Several Fox News personalities still toss the phrase “fair and balanced” into on-air conversation, though it no longer appears in onscreen graphics. Gabriel Sherman, the longtime Fox News chronicler, reported on New York magazine’s website that the motto was gone for good.
The new motto, “Most Watched, Most Trusted,” mimics the firm cadence of the previous slogans, but lacks their Ailes-tinged tone of defiance.
For conservative-leaning viewers, “Fair and Balanced” was a blunt signal that Fox News planned to counteract what Mr. Ailes and many others viewed as a liberal bias ingrained in television coverage by establishment news networks.
But the slogan also caused conniptions among liberal critics of Fox News, who viewed it as an intentional needling of anyone who might question the network’s view of the news.
Mr. Ailes, who died in May, created the slogan with both of those purposes in mind. He coined the phrase when he and Rupert Murdoch founded Fox News in 1996, and it stuck.
Executives at Fox News acknowledge that it is rebuilding.
This year, Fox News has continued its yearslong streak as the top-rated cable news station over all, beating rivals MSNBC and CNN in total viewership.
But the loss of the anchors Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly has taken a toll in prime time. In May, MSNBC was the highest-rated network in a key industry category, weeknight viewers 25 through 54, for the first time in nearly 17 years.
On Wednesday, executives at Fox News sought to play down the shedding of “Fair and Balanced,” saying the move was strictly a marketing decision and that the network’s approach to news coverage had not changed.
One senior network official emphasized that the slogan was officially dropped last August and virtually no one had noticed.
Some viewers may be surprised. Several Fox News personalities still toss the phrase “fair and balanced” into on-air conversation, though it no longer appears in onscreen graphics. Gabriel Sherman, the longtime Fox News chronicler, reported on New York magazine’s website that the motto was gone for good.
The new motto, “Most Watched, Most Trusted,” mimics the firm cadence of the previous slogans, but lacks their Ailes-tinged tone of defiance.
For conservative-leaning viewers, “Fair and Balanced” was a blunt signal that Fox News planned to counteract what Mr. Ailes and many others viewed as a liberal bias ingrained in television coverage by establishment news networks.
Over the years it morphed into a mouthpiece for the Establishment (Right and Left).
The Murdoch boys, and their wives, are starting to kill daddy’s network!
RINO TV
FOX got rid of Ailes and O’Reilly and went liberal. Now they’re on a slow slide down the ratings and hopefully someone will come along to fill the void they left for conservatives who like actual news.
Well I’m glad to see they’re being honest. They are neither fair nor balanced. Haven’t been for years
FOX news needs Roger Ailes baaaaad.
EXACTLY, my Friend.
The Death of Fox began with their coverage of Katrina, IMHO.
Just avoid Fox News like you do CNN and MSNBC.
The void has been filled.
I liked FNC better when their motto was “We Report. You Decide.”
Ha! 23 seconds apart. How about that?
New motto: “cut yer own **** off”
Maybe Bill Clinton will start using it soon ...
Too bad! liberal ideology trumps good business decisions and common sense conservative viewpoints. They could have stood out and lead with good conservative commentators who represent a very significant segment of the population. Instead of finding strong new conservative talent, they fill their ranks with left wing hacks.
“The Murdoch boys, and their wives, are starting to kill daddy’s network!”
Yep.
5.56mm
It’s CNN lite.
OAN anchors can wear Spandex unlike Fox News that wears Spanx...
Why is any Conservative watching FOX now?
I thought they were “fair and balanced” enough when they had that goof, Allan Colmes on with Hannity and they gave poofter Shep his own show.
Then came openly liberal Gerry Rivers, Bob Beckel, Chris Wallace, Gigot, Kurtz, and Juan Williams and the closet libs, O’Reilly, Greta, Pirino, Newsom, Megyn...I could go on.
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