As Fox News marks ten years as the cable news ratings leader, we’re learning more about the inner workings of the network. Politico‘s Mike Allen (who finds that Rep. Dennis Kucinich, “one of the most liberal members of Congress,” is an unlikely fan of the network) writes about the occasional meetings of about 20 executives in Roger Ailes‘ office to watch eight straight hours of programming:
“Anybody can say anything about what’s on the air,” said Bill Shine, Fox’s executive vice president of programming, “from ‘We don’t like the color of the graphics’ to ‘We don’t like the clothing that the anchors are wearing’ to ‘Why did we pick that story?’ ‘Who stacked that show?’”
Reuters examines how a little help from the outside set the stage for success:
The early embrace from advertisers also helped Fox News, said Roger Domal, the network’s vice president of east coast sales. “The advertisers always need a hedge against the market leader; at that time it was CNN, and they could also see the TV news market place was changing.”
And, all politics aside, Shepard Smith tells The Hollywood Reporter that even his own mother doesn’t know who he votes for:
THR: You Serious? Your own mother doesn’t know?
Smith: She has no idea. No one in my family knows who I voted for – ever! You can’t be in a place like this and talk about your own politics publicly. People will say, ‘oh, he’s a left-wing nut,’ or, ‘oh, he’s a right-wing crazy.’ Let ’em say it. They’re much more interested in this left and right thing than I am.