5 Reasons Why Trust in Fox News Has Eroded Over the Past Year

Christian Headline News ^ | 4/24/17 | Josh M. Shepherd

[OneVike]

How the mighty have fallen!”

The biblical lament has particular relevance this week, as Bill O’Reilly—trusted by millions of Americans every weeknight since 1996 on his “spin-stopping” Fox News program The O’Reilly Factor—will not return to the network following an exposé of alleged sexual harassment incidents over the past decade.

The announcement follows other high-profile departures from the nation’s top cable news network in recent months. Notably, prime-time anchor Megyn Kelly will soon debut as a news commentator for NBC News—following her lead role in last summer’s resignation by Fox News president and founder Roger Ailes, who was forced out by sexual misconduct charges similar to those facing O’Reilly.

It’s a confusing moment for many Americans. Without doubt, loyal viewers of Fox News played an outsized role in the historic election of President Donald Trump. Many are now evaluating his administration’s first 100 days, enumerating what accomplishments to trumpet in defense of their electoral choice while grappling with the former reality TV star’s limitations as a statesman.

Without O’Reilly to “look out for the folks” (as he often stated was his driving factor), the 24/7 fair and balanced coverage suddenly seems less reliable to help cable TV viewers in this evaluative process. What will the network’s future hold? The answer will surely take cues from its past, including the unprecedented events of 2016.

The easy route for conservatives would be to dismiss the upheaval at Fox News—long anchored by O’Reilly, perched atop the ratings behemoth—as another mainstream media plot, a coordinated effort to take down what many on the right consider the only “truth serum” in news media. That perspective has factual elements, but it’s not the entire story.

Those who welcome even some of how Fox News has changed the national media landscape should think critically about recent events and what knowledgeable critics are saying. In the Unresolved Problem segment tonight, here are five reasons why trust in Fox News has eroded over the past year.

1. Cozy Relationship with Trump Campaign Bordering on Promotion

Back in 2011, Fox and Friends began an unusual feature for a morning variety show— every week, New York real estate mogul Donald Trump would call-in and banter with hosts regarding the news of the day. As reported by New York magazine, this segment came about as a favor from Roger Ailes to Trump.

Fast forward to spring 2016, when the Republican field was still large. Coverage of Senators Cruz and Rubio was drowned out on Fox News and its competition, while unpredictable yet camera-ready candidate Trump seemed to get wall-to-wall attention.

During frequent on-air interviews, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity offered Trump friendly deference delivered with a collegial tone. “Why are we successful? What’s the reason? Part of the reason is people like me,” Hannity said in an interview last October with the New York Times, questioned about his support of Trump. “This is the spice! We’re getting back to the spicy part of the network, the one that pays the bills.”

The eventful, at times bumpy, relationship between Fox News and Donald Trump in recent years is too lengthy to fully recount here. But its climax is unmistakable, when President Trump became leader of the free world roughly 100 days ago.

[Bryanw92]

The key to an article like this is to find the word “centrism” and find out how the author defines it. He places Juan Williams near the Centrist line, so he must be writing from the Left. Once you know a person’s “centrist line”, you know everything about their ideology.

[central_va]

I agree with you and it is affecting my personality. Not that I had a good personality to begin with.

The Establishment™ has found a way, loopholes if you will, to maintain control without the consent of the masses. They use the MSM, the judiciary and the threat of a government shutdown as a foil for any meaningful change(unless it is a change THEY want). They are winning and the people are losing.

There are no peaceful solutions anymore. Doesn't anyone else see that?

Affluence seems to deaden the political senses.

[jjotto]

The website christianheadlines.com is owned by Salem, an empire of fake conservatism and NeverTrumpers.

[MNJohnnie]

Glad you got that in. I tried to comment but the comment section seems to be turned off now.

Fact is 1st question of the 1st GOP debate was designed by Fox to derail Trump by Having Megan Kelly ask an utterly absurd “gotcha” question designed to enmesh Trump in the Dems primary campaign meme of “GOP War on Women”. It was a question that might as well been written by the DNC. It was an absurd shameful joke of a question. Millions of Americans saw it for what it was and it was the start of the end for Kelly at Fox. Prior to that she was starting to beat BOR as top watched show on Fox, after that she faded into obscurity.

[MNJohnnie]

BOR specifically referred to Free Republic as a “hate site” in one of his shows. I shed no tears that blowhard pinhead behavior finally caught up with him.

Hannity shows how you deal with these smear jobs. If there was not some truth to the attacks on BOR, he would of fought, not quit.

[LS]

Bravo. Thank you for saving me the time of writing this douchenozzle.

[manc]

The Five is an awful show.
I only have Hannity, sometimes Tucker, and Fox and Friends.

All the other shows can take a flying leap, though Bill Hemmer is watched in my house by others in the family.
It is mainly One America News now.

[manc]

I make sure my TV is not on Smith, and yet there are people on here who watch him, and then post on here moaning how Shep Smith is reporting. Well frigging don;t watch the drama queen then , and stop adding to his ratings.

[PGalt]

Thanks OneVike. Well-stated.

[Helen]

"...although I think it belongs in the earlier afternoon not prime time."

Agreed. I listen to people talk and scream over each other all day. Squirrely chatter just doesn't sit right when the day is winding down.

[Tammy8]

You comment was very good. He is not a conservative, he may think he is, but RINO at best. Distorts much of what happened during the election. Another who thinks he gets it, but absolutely does not.

[Democratic-Republican]

Fact is 1st question of the 1st GOP debate was designed by Fox to derail Trump by Having Megan Kelly ask an utterly absurd “gotcha” question designed to enmesh Trump in the Dems primary campaign meme of “GOP War on Women”. It was a question that might as well been written by the DNC. It was an absurd shameful joke of a question. Millions of Americans saw it for what it was and it was the start of the end for Kelly at Fox. Prior to that she was starting to beat BOR as top watched show on Fox, after that she faded into obscurity.

Very true. And remember what happened almost a week prior to that. After being warned in back channels, she breathlessly opened her show with the recycled "Raped his wife" slander, interviewing the Daily Beast smut peddler, using BREAKING! graphics and chyron scroll, going for the decapitation strike.

If you look for the concurrent threads here, you will see that some of us were watching live and noticed she got kinda cold feet towards the end realizing she really stepped in it ( she's a lawyer, she's been divorced, she knows what this was all about, but went forward anyway ). But it was too late for her, as Michael Cohen contacted them and was on the next night ( IIRC ).

So ironically, what she did that night with her tactical smear was make a huge strategic mistake in firing before she saw the whites of his eyes. Trump got pissed, went on offense and by the time the debate rolled around he walked into that arena loaded for bear and she never stood a chance. She shot herself in the foot and very few folks to this very day realize that it was a fait accompli before that loaded debate question was ever asked.

She may very well have knocked him badly at the debate had she not prematurely spent her ammo. We'll never know. The truth is this, inside of five days, she changed the course of history for Fox News going forward as well as taking herself out in the process. What a career move, she joined the Dixie Chicks knowing full well what that meant.

[stephenjohnbanker]

VERY good job, One Vike

[itsahoot]

I REALLY like Watters, and think he will influence the commentary of the others on this program, to the positive.

He is there to look befuddled and keep his comments t minimum like Bolling did when the producers would shut him down for picking on Juan.

We will see if they hold him down like they did Bolling.

[Terry L Smith]

Dear OneVike,
Thanks for the ping.
Some folks, who could be pigeonholed as “C and E Christians”, think they can claim full labeled Christianity. I’ve seen it in my lifetime, as i think some other folks have, too. Yet, they vote (D), are ‘socially aware’ with their ‘snowflaky’ kids, and other social ills that they propogate willy-nilly.

Whatever happened to those ‘preachers/pastors’ that admonished the congregants in acting to feed the envy of the world, and the resultant thirst, ‘for what they got’?

American society is going into two camps:
government is God, and all that is demanded to feed it;
God deigns government, and is subject to Him.

[Eagles6]

The first three I would agree with.

That being said, I gave up on Fox being "Conservative" 5 yes ago.

Yes they have Conservatives but they have about as many Libs.

OAN is about the only truly "Conservative voice out there.

[citizen]

1) Lefty/Democrat Rupert son James Murdoch is now in full control of FNC.

Beyond that sad fact, little else needs to be said.

[Albion Wilde]

This article reeks of NeverTrumpism.

[longfellow]

Orielly talked tough about bj and the klintons but, then he met him at a party he folded like a cheap camera. Same thing about hitlary, how he would make sure she didn’t get elected then nothing.

[Sam Gamgee]

Is Shepard another left wing nutty Christian? What a pile of steaming crap. If anything FNC was entirely hostile to Trump, posted fake polls showing him 5 points behind, and never, not once tried to promote him. Shepard is just another never trumper.