The gray New York Times marvels at the wartime success of Fox News, ponders something called "the Fox effect," worries about the future of "objective" TV journalism, and profiles MSNBC's attempts to imitate Fox. They just don't get it, and probably never will.
This was supposed to be CNN's war, a chance for the network, which is owned by AOL Time Warner, to reassert its ratings lead using its international perspective and straightforward approach. Instead, it has been the Fox News Channel, owned by the News Corporation, that has emerged as the most-watched source of cable news by far, with anchors and commentators who skewer the mainstream media, disparage the French and flay anybody else who questions President Bush's war effort.
Fox's formula had already proved there were huge ratings in opinionated news with an America-first flair. But with 46 of the top 50 cable shows last week alone, Fox has brought prominence to a new sort of TV journalism that casts aside traditional notions of objectivity, holds contempt for dissent and eschews the skepticism of government at mainstream journalism's core. News executives at other networks are keeping a wary eye on Fox News, trying to figure out what, if anything, its progress will mean to them.
Posted by Alan at April 16, 2003 11:23 PM