[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by bmcgowan13

“Mainstream media” will never catch up!

In (another) stroke of brilliance, when Ailes created FOX NEWS he made sure it was on cable-only (not to be confused with FOX Entertainment which airs locally and has the Simpsons, etc.) so FOX NEWS is NOT constrained by the FCC and the Frankfurter (SCOTUS 1943) ruling that allow the federal government to meddle in on-air stations operations.

Frankfurter--“This ruling cleared the way for the FCC to regulate networks indirectly by banning licenses to individual stations that contract with networks engaged in practices considered detrimental to the public interest.“

FOX NEWS is free of the FCC public interest requirements that apply to NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. – the on-air entities. He knew (even back then) that cable was the future. He was a visionary. If you notice on-air talent reports “others are saying” and quote/echo “other” sources. Ailes freed them from the burden to investigate on his dime. Smart man. He was a businessman to the core.

There are five major recognized journalism awards. FOX NEWS has never won an Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, DuPont/Columbia, Peabody or Pulitzer. MTV and Nickelodeon have one each. Roger did not care on bit. He didn’t need them. Why fight for viewers with three other networks (forget CNN—they were newcomers) when you can groom your own loyal audience?

He is comparable to Elon Musk who had the vision, the courage and the money to step up while NASA and Boeing were failing to fill the need.

FOX is commentary/opinion—they do not purport to report news (see Dominion Voting defense) . He packed the programming/commentary with Glen Beck, Megan Kelly, Bill O’Reilly, Gretchen Carlson, Chris Wallace, Jeanine Pirro, Ed Henry, Tucker Carlson, Eric Bolling, and Sean Hannity. All talented audience builders. Ailes never needed it to be a “news” station. He saw a lucrative future while mainstream media was blind During its startup FOX PAID $11 per month to get cable companies to carry the station. (Most providers are compensated for carrying their content) FOX used Rudi Guiliani to step in as the mayor to make Time Warner carry the FOX NEWS channel in NYC. He played hardball and was genius-what companies PAY cable providers to carry THEIR channel. FOX NEWS has exceeded his expectations.

FOX NEWS had revenues exceeding $3B (with a “B”) in the last quarter of 2023. What other venue can come even close to this measure of success?

The so-called main-stream entities are lost in space—they can’t compete with Roger’s genius.

Good thing that neither CNN nor MSNBC did the exact same thing... Wait, what?

As to your "Emmy" comment, take two seconds and ponder who exactly runs and selects the Emmy nomination and votes for the winners...