TVNewser will be stopping by the TV news networks on this Election Day 2016 to give you a look at what’s going on behind the scenes. Next stop: Fox Business Network
TVNewser headed to 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan for a behind-the-scenes look at Fox Business Network’s election night coverage. The place was buzzing this evening. We were able to check out the end of Varney & Co. and see Stuart Varney discussing the election with panelists Liz McDonald, Ashley Webster and Laura Ingraham. Lou Dobbs was in the midst of his Lou Dobbs Tonight, Neil Cavuto was gearing up for his election night coverage, and the network’s control room was packed to the gills.
We headed into a green room filled with trays of Chicken marsala, steak medallions with peppers and onions, rice pilaf and string bean almondine before sitting down for a chat with Fox Business Network head of programming Gary Schreier.
FBN is significantly up year-over-year in viewers and is coming off a total-viewer victory over CNBC in the month of October, a first for the network. “What we have done in 2016 and what we will continue to do in 2017 is cover the news through the prism of business news,” said Schreier. “No matter who wins the election tonight, the No. 1 issue in this election in almost every survey has been the economy. The next president is going to have many major economic issues to tackle, and this goes into our wheelhouse, along with the core business news.”
The use of pundits has become a hot topic this election season. Schreier had some notable thoughts on the subject. “All pundits are not created equal. I have watched shows on our networks, and I have heard pundits on both sides who offer nothing,” said Schreier. “They give talking points, and you could have asked them about their shoes or the weather—they’re going to say x, y or z bad about the other side. This could be the case for left-leaning pundits or right-leaning pundits. Sometimes, I’ll call those shows’ producers and I’ll tell them, ‘Listen to that segment after the show, and you tell me what they gave the viewer.’ I’ll have a conversation with that producer, and if they like that person as a guest, I’ll tell them that they better bring it next time, or we’re not going to have them back.”
Behind the scenes in the Fox Business Network control room
A look at the set for Varney & Co.