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Fox News Channel
Type Cable television network
Country United States
Availability United States and others; see "International transmission"
section below for other availability
Slogan "We Report, You Decide";
"Fair and balanced";
"The Most Powerful Name in News"
Key people Roger Ailes, Chairman & CEO
John Moody, Senior Vice President, News Editorial
Launch date October 7, 1996
Website www.foxnews.com
The Fox News Channel (FNC) is a United States-based cable and satellite news
channel. It is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, and is a subsidiary of
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. As of January 2005, it is available to 85
million households in the U.S. and further to viewers internationally,
broadcasting primarily out of its New York City studios.
The network was launched on October 7, 1996[1] to 17 million cable
subscribers. The network slowly rose to prominence in the late 1990s. In the
United States, Fox News Channel is rated as the cable news network with the
largest number of regular viewers, although CNN retains a larger number of
unique viewers.[2]
The channel was created by Australian-American media magnate Rupert Murdoch,
who hired Roger Ailes as its founding CEO. Critics and some observers of the
channel see Fox News as advocating conservative political
positions;[3][4][5][6] the channel denies allegations of bias in its news
reporting.[7]
History
Rupert Murdoch established Fox News to fill what he saw as a niche in the
market for news that, according to Murdoch, was "fair and balanced." In the
opinion of Ken Auletta of The New Yorker, it was to counter a news media
that Murdoch believed was predominantly liberal.[8] Murdoch's company, News
Corp, had gained significant experience in the 24-hour news business when
its BSkyB subsidiary started Europe's first 24 hour news channel, Sky News,
in the United Kingdom back in 1989.
In February 1996, after Roger Ailes left America's Talking (now MSNBC),
Murdoch called Ailes to start the Fox News Channel. A group of Ailes
loyalists who followed him throughout the NBC empire joined him at Fox. From
there, the CNBC expatriates, who joined a team already in place at Fox News,
created the programming concept and proceeded to select space in New York.
Ailes worked individuals through five months of grueling 14-hour workdays
and several weeks of rehearsal shows before launch, on October 6, 1996.
At launch, only ten million households were able to watch Fox News, with
none in the major media markets of New York City and Los Angeles. According
to published reports, many media reviewers had to watch the first day's
programming at Fox News studios because it was not readily available. The
rolling news coverage during the day consisted of 20-minute single topic
shows like Fox on Crime or Fox on Politics surrounded by news headlines.
Interviews had various facts at the bottom of the screen about the topic or
the guest. The flagship newscast at the time was called The Schneider
Report, with Mike Schneider giving a fast paced delivery of the news. During
the evening, Fox had opinion shows: The O'Reilly Factor (then called The
O'Reilly Report), The Crier Report hosted by Catherine Crier, and Hannity &
Colmes.
From the beginning, Fox News has had a heavy emphasis on the visual
presentation of news. Graphics were designed to be colorful and attention
grabbing, and to allow people to get the main points of what was being said
even if they couldn't hear the host, through the use of on-screen text
summarizing the position of the interviewer or speaker, and "bullet points"
when a host was giving commentary.
Fox News also created the "Fox News Alert," which interrupted regular
programming when a breaking news story occurred. Each News Alert was
designed to be attention-catching with a swooshing graphic filling the
screen and a piercing chime instead of the regular news music. At the
beginning of FNC, the Fox News Alert was used fairly rarely, giving the
chime more cachet, but currently it is used regularly to announce scheduled
events or repeat existing news instead of only breaking news stories, with
Fox News Alerts sometimes several times each hour instead of just a few
times a day. Former Fox Music Supervisor David Hnatiuk created the Alert in
1999 and has since expressed his disappointment in the network's use of the
sounds and visuals in association with "news" about Bennifer and Martha
Stewart.[9]
To accelerate its adoption by cable companies, Fox News paid systems up to
$11 per subscriber to distribute the network. This
contrasted with the normal practice, in which cable operators paid stations
carriage fees for the programming of channels. When Time Warner bought out
Ted Turner's Turner Broadcasting, a federal antitrust consent decree
required Time Warner to carry a second all-news channel in addition to Time
Warner's own CNN. Time Warner selected MSNBC as the secondary news network,
instead of Fox News. Fox News claimed that this violated an agreement to
carry Fox News, and Ailes used his connections to persuade Mayor Giuliani to
carry Fox News and Bloomberg Television on two underutilized city-owned
cable channels, which he did.
New York City also threatened to revoke Time Warner's cable franchise for
not carrying Fox News.
A lawsuit was filed by Time Warner against the City of New York claiming
undue interference and for inappropriate use of the city's educational
channels for commercial programming. News Corporation countered with an
antitrust lawsuit against Time Warner for unfairly protecting CNN. This led
to an acrimonious battle between Murdoch and Turner, with Turner publicly
comparing Murdoch to Adolf Hitler while Murdoch's New York Post ran an
editorial questioning Turner's sanity. Giuliani's motives were also
questioned, as his then-wife was a producer at Murdoch-owned WNYW-TV. In the
end, Time Warner and News Corporation signed a settlement agreement to
permit Fox News to be carried on New York City cable system beginning in
October 1997, and to all of Time Warner's cable systems by 2001, though Time
Warner still does not carry Fox News in all areas.[10] In return, Time
Warner was given some rights to News Corporation's satellites in Asia and
Europe to distribute Time Warner programming, would receive the normal
compensation per subscriber paid to cable operators, and News Corporation
would not object to Atlanta Braves baseball games being carried on TBS
(which normally would not happen because of the Fox television network's
contract with Major League Baseball).
Outlets
Television
Fox News Channel presents a variety of programming with up to 15 hours of
live programming per day, in addition to programming and content for the Fox
Broadcasting Company. Most of the programs are broadcast from Fox News
headquarters in New York City in their street-side studio on Sixth Avenue in
the west extension of Rockefeller Center. Audio simulcasts of the channel
are aired on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Online
Like other news networks, Fox News Channel produces a news website featuring
the latest coverage of news stories, including video clips from the
network's television division, audio clips from Fox News Radio, in addition
to columns from the network's assorted television, radio, and online
personalities. Introduced in December 1995, the network's website ranks
below many other news websites, ranking in the lower teens in the list of
top news websites.
Radio
Main article: Fox News Radio
With the growth of the Fox News Channel, the network introduced a radio
division entitled Fox News Radio in 2003. Syndicated throughout the United
States, the division provides short newscasts and talk radio programs,
featuring personalities from both the television and radio divisions. In
addition, the network has also introduced Fox News Talk in 2006, a satellite
radio station which features programs syndicated by and featuring Fox News
personalities.
Personalities
Producing a variety of different programming, Fox News Channel has a number
of different program hosts, news anchors, correspondents, and contributors
which appear throughout daily programing on the network. The network has a
number of different signature hosts, including Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity,
Alan Colmes, Greta Van Susteren, Shepard Smith, and Brit Hume, all of which
host programs which are on the list of the top ten most watched programs on
cable news.[11]
Ratings
Fox News currently leads the cable news market in the United States, earning
higher points ratings than its chief competitors CNN and MSNBC combined by
average viewership.[12][13][14] While more people are actively watching Fox
News Channel at any given time, CNN still remains the leader in unique
viewers.[15]
The BBC reported that Fox News saw its profits double during the Iraq
conflict. By some reports, at the height of the conflict they enjoyed as
much as a 300% increase in viewership, averaging 3.3 million viewers
daily.[16]
In 2004, the gain in ratings became more apparent. In September, Fox News
Channel's ratings for its broadcast of the Republican National Convention
beat those of all three broadcast networks. During President Bush's address,
Fox News notched 7.3 million viewers nationally, while NBC, CBS, and ABC
scored ratings of 5.9, 5.0, and 5.1, respectively.
However, starting in late 2005, Fox began to see a slight decline in the
ratings. One of the most notable decline in ratings came in the second
quarter of 2006, when compared to the previous quarter, Fox News had a loss
in viewership for every single primetime program but retained their lead in
the market. One of the most noteworthy losses of viewership was that of
Special Report with Brit Hume. The show's total viewership was down 19%
compared to the previous quarter. However, several weeks later, in the wake
of the North Korean Missile Crisis and the 2006 Lebanon War, Fox saw a surge
in viewership and managed to easily remain the #1 rated cable news
channel.[17][18] Fox still held eight of the ten most-watched nightly cable
news shows, with The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes coming in first
and second places, respectively.[19]
In August 2006 figures were released showing that in the period August 2005
- August 2006, Fox news lost 28% of its prime-time viewers and 7% of its
total day viewers. This loss in viewers occurred during a time where rival
networks CNN and MSNBC gained 35% and 26% respectively in their total day
viewers.[20]
Controversies
Accusations of bias
Fox News has been accused of promoting a conservative, right-wing, or
Republican point of view at the expense of neutrality.[21] Fox News,
Murdoch, Ailes, and other personalities have denied allegations of bias,
Murdoch saying that Fox has "given room to both sides, whereas only one side
had it before.".[22][23]
Internal memos
As with many news sources, Fox News executives exert a degree of editorial
control over the content of their daily reporting. In the case of Fox News,
some of this control comes in the form of daily memos issued by Fox News'
Vice President of News, John Moody. Critics of Fox News cite these memos as
evidence of a conservative bias in Fox News reporting, and claim that
information in these memos duplicates Republican talking points.[24]
Trademark disputes
In 2003, Penguin Books published Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A
Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, by comedian and Democratic writer Al
Franken. The book criticized a number of persons and institutions, but
singled out Fox with allegations of conservative bias. Before the book was
released, Fox brought a lawsuit, alleging that the book's subtitle violated
Fox's trademark on the promotional phrase "Fair and Balanced." On that
basis, Fox moved for a preliminary injunction to block the publication of
the book. The United States District Court Judge hearing the case denied the
motion, causing Fox to withdraw the suit.
In December 2003, the Independent Media Institute brought a petition before
the United States Patent and Trademark Office seeking the cancellation of
Fox's trademark of the phrase "Fair & Balanced," on the grounds that is is
"notoriously misdescriptive."[25] After losing early motions, the IMI
withdrew its petition and the USPTO dismissed the case.[26]
International transmission
The channel is available internationally, though its world programming is
identical to its American programming (with the exception of Fox News Extra
breakfillers), unlike CNN International, which airs regional programming
that is almost entirely independent of its U.S. broadcasts.
Fox News Extra
Until early 2002, Fox News replaced US advertisements with e-mails from
viewers around the world who liked Fox News, as well as profiles of Fox News
anchors, set to music. These were never updated and consisted of a small
number of such segments. They, in turn, were replaced with international
weather forecasts. In 2006, they replaced the weather segments with 'Fox
News Extra' segments, various narrated reports from FOX Reports on a variety
of topics. These reports are generally on lighter issues not related to
current news events, and the segments are repeated. The segments are
introduced by various Fox News anchors (mostly headline segment anchors),
who in addition to introducing the segment, thank viewers from a chosen
international location for watching Fox News.
When Fox News Extra segments run short, international weather forecasts are
shown for the remaining duration of the break.
The Fox News feed in the United Kingdom does not feature Fox News Extra, and
instead features break fillers from sister channel Sky News's International
Variant. For a short period in 2001, a still of the Fox News logo replaced
this other content.
Australia
In Australia Fox News Channel is broadcast on the three major Pay-TV
providers, Austar, Optus Television and Foxtel. Foxtel is 25% owned by News
Corporation, and the other two are just rebroadcasters of Foxtel content.
The Australian syndication previously featured some local programming,
including a John Laws current affairs program in place of "Fox & Friends".
Local advertisements are aired in place of every second 'Fox News Extra'
segment.
Brazil
Since 2002 Fox News has been broadcast to Brazil, but the commercials are
replaced with weather forecasts and their own Brazilian ads. It is broadcast
by Sky (satellite operator, a joint-venture between News Corporation and
Globosat) and in the digital packages of NET.
Canada
On December 14, 2000, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) approved Fox News Canada on behalf of the Global
Television Network, for broadcast in Canada. Fox News Canada was to be a
domestic Canadian version of Fox News.[27] The channel, or specialty
television service, was never implemented by Fox, and the deadline for
commencement of the service expired on November 24, 2004. That same day, a
similar license was granted to Rogers Communications for "MSNBC Canada,"
which went to air in September, 2001. During this period, it was speculated
by some, and repeated by Fox News personalities, that the station was being
"banned in Canada." The CRTC's previous refusal to grant Fox News an
outright license had been contested by some Canadians, as well as American
fans of the channel, who believed the decision to be politically motivated.
However, it is rare for any American cable network to be licensed in Canada
outright.
On November 18, 2004 the CRTC announced that a digital license would be
granted to Fox News.[28] In its proposal, Fox News stated, with reference to
Fox News Canada, that "Fox News does not intend to implement this service
and therefore will not meet the extended deadline to commence
operations."[29] On December 16, 2004, Rogers Communications became the
first Canadian cable or satellite provider to broadcast Fox News, with other
companies following suit within the next several weeks.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, Fox News is broadcast on Channel 92 of pay satellite
operator Sky TV's digital platform. It is also broadcast overnight on New
Zealand TV channel Prime, owned by Sky. Fox News parent corporation News
Corp has a stake in both Sky and Prime.
Scandinavia
In Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries, Fox News is broadcast on TV8
for some 16 hours a day, since 2003. Fox News Extra segments replace U.S.
advertising. However, in September 2006, Fox News was replaced by German
news channel Deutsche Welle. This change resulted in Fox News losing all of
its coverage in Sweden.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Fox News is also carried in the United Kingdom and Ireland by the British
Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) satellite television network (Sky Digital), in
which News Corporation (the largest shareholder) holds a 38 percent stake.
It is a sister channel to BSkyB's Sky News, which is more popular in the
region and does not carry any such controversy. Fox News is usually
broadcast as a VideoGuard encrypted channel but during major news stories it
may be simulcast on Sky Active, which is free to air. A fault in certain
Pace Micro Sky Digibox receivers, notably the DS-430N which was Sky's
default issue for some years, has left them able to decrypt the channel with
no active subscription card since March 1, 2006; although no reason is known
as to why. As of September 2006 the channel has carried UK specific
advertising, along with headlines and weather provided by Sky News between
its breaks. These run under the brand of Fox News International.
Other countries
Fox News Channel is also carried in more than 40 countries. Although service
to Japan stopped in the summer of 2003, it can still be seen on Americable
(distributor for American bases),[30] Mediatti (Kadena Air Base),[31] and
Pan Global TV Japan.[32]
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bermuda
* Cambodia
* Cayman Islands
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Denmark
* Dominican Republic
* Finland
* Grenada
* Guam
* Guatemala
* Hong Kong
* Iceland
* Indonesia
* Israel
* Italy
* Jamaica
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Nigeria
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Palau
* Panama
* Peru
* Papua New Guinea
* Philippines
* Portugal
* Russia
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Saint Kitts
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Spain
* Slovenia
* Thailand
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Tonga
* United Arab Emirates
* Venezuela
Archive and licensing
Fox News Channel maintains an archive of most of its programs. This archive
also handles the Fox Movietone newsreels. Licensing of the Fox News archive
is handled by ITN Source, the archiving division of Independent Television
News.
References
1. ^ American Public Media: News Archive for October 7, 1996
2. ^ State of the news media.
3. ^ Project for Excellence in Journalism, Press Going Too Easy on Bush.
4. ^ CBC is split over quitting debate on Fox. The Hill (April 2007).
Retrieved on 2007-04-29. “Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.), "Fox News brings the
right-wing side of the news, and there’s no sense in participating in that
kind of game-playing.”
5. ^ Like Edwards, Obama to skip Fox-hosted debate. Associated Press (April
2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-29. “Democratic critics complain that the
network displays a conservative bias in its news broadcasts.”
6. ^ Groseclose, Tim and Jeff Milyo (2004). "A Measure of Media Bias".
Department of Political Science (UCLA) and Department of Economics
(University of Missouri). Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
7. ^ Interview transcript: Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes. Financial Times.
Retrieved on 2007-03-27. “People think we’re conservative but we’re not
conservative.”
8. ^ Amy Tübke-Davidson (2003-05-26). "Broadcast News". The New Yorker.
Retrieved on May 10, 2007.
9. ^ David Hnatiuk: Statement in the 2004 documentary Outfoxed (page 20-21
of transcript)
10. ^ "Time-Warner Cable channel list in Mt. Vernon, NY". Time Warner.
Retrieved on March, 2006.
11. ^ April 2007 Weekday Ranker (PDF). TV Newser.
12. ^ Deborah Potter (01-01-2007). The Secrets of Fox's Success. American
Journalism Review. Retrieved on February 06, 2007.
13. ^ Kelly Heyboer (01-06-2000). Cable Clash. American Journalism Review.
Retrieved on February 06, 2007.
14. ^ http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2006/narrative_cabletv_audience.asp?cat=3&media=6
15. ^ http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2006/narrative_cabletv_audience.asp?cat=3&media=6
16. ^ "War coverage lifts News Corp". The British Broadcasting Corporation.
Retrieved on November 29, 2005.
17. ^ FNC's 25-54 Prime "Downward Spiral", TV Newser
18. ^ Cable TV : Content Analysis, The State of the News Media 2005
19. ^ April 2005 Competitive Program Ranker (M-F 6a-11p programs), TV Newser
20. ^ http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/aug_s_total_viewers_vs_aug_2005_42895.asp
21. ^ Timothy Noah, Fox News admits bias!, Slate, 31 May 2005, accessed 26
September 2006
22. ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/26/1098667750250.html
23. ^ Interview transcript: Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, the Financial
Times, October 6, 2006
24. ^ 33 internal FOX editorial memos reviewed by MMFA reveal FOX News
Channel's inner workings. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
25. ^ Independent Media Institute vs. Fox News Channel on Cancellation of
"Fair & Balanced" trademark phrase, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Inquiry
System
26. ^ Official Documentation of Petitioned Cancellation of "Fair & Balanced"
trademark phrase, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Inquiry System
27. ^ Decision CRTC 2000-565 - Registration with CRTC for Fox News Canada.
Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
28. ^ Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-88 - Requests to add Fox News and
NFL Network from the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association.
Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
29. ^ Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-45 - Call for comments on
proposals for the addition of Fox News and NFL Network]. Retrieved on
2007-01-25.
30. ^ Americable.
31. ^ Mediatti.
32. ^ Pan Global TV Japan.
* Collins, Scott. Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat
CNN. ISBN 1-59184-029-5.
* FNC Ratings Soar as War in Lebanon Rages. MediaWeek.
* "Fox's Smith tops cable news ranks in ratings", Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel.
* "Fox Factor", USA Today.
* Q2 '06: FNC #9 On All Of Cable TV. Media Bistro.
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