Extremely rare and overly ambitious transformations are happening at Fox News Channel today.
In addition to the programming changes in primetime, the entire newsgathering and TV news delivery process is evolving at the 17-year-old network. Fox News Channel went on the air, Oct. 7, 1997, when the technologies being implemented on-air today were just an engineer’s dream. Internally, it’s known as “the Ailes system,” conceived by FNC co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes.
The Fox News Deck includes 55-inch touchscreen computer monitors — called BATS (big area touchscreens) — which will be staffed by “information specialists.” At the center of it all is Shepard Smith who will anchor “Shepard Smith Reporting” at 3pmET from the Deck as well as cover breaking news into the night. At the ready, is a remote control device that will allow Smith to operate multiple feeds coming in on a 38-foot video wall. He calls the process “a seamless effort throughout the day and night, all the time on Fox News Channel, between the programs and news.”
After the jump, Smith gives a tour: