Fox’s desperate push to preserve viewers exposes the hollowness of its “news” side
mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-…
mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-…
Fox has a two-track business model: It attracts viewers with right-wing, pro-Trump propaganda from "opinion" hosts, but monetizes them by telling advertisers wary of hurting their brands that they also have a normal "news" side like any other news outlet.
This is largely nonsense -- right-wing narratives and lies common to Fox’s prime-time programming also infect its news hours -- but Fox has been using this PR strategy for years.
But Trump implodes that strategy, because he has a better relationship with Fox viewers than the network, and is constantly watching and hammering Fox for signs of less than total subservience during its “news” hours.
Post-election, he's been going after Fox and urging its viewers to switch to its far-right rivals, OANN and Newsmax, which are even more sycophantic. It seems to be working; Newsmax ratings have soared.
Fox is responding by emphasizing the primacy of its right-wing hosts at the expense of its purported “straight news” side. Over the last week, Fox “news” shows have been featuring on-screen promos, advertisements, and the equivalent of live ad reads for prime-time “opinion” shows
This exposes the hollowness of its claims of an impermeable divide between its “news” and “opinion” sides. When advertisers support the network’s “news” programs, they are implicitly sponsoring its bigoted pro-Trump propagandists.
After Trump’s election, Fox protected its right flank by turning its prime-time hours into Breitbart TV. A competition for viewers with the likes of OAN and Newsmax triggered by Trump’s defeat could pit the entire network in a race to the bottom of the fever swamp.
Read the whole thing here: mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-…
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