One Year Later, & The Fox Business Channel Still Isn’t “Imminent”

One year ago today, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Fox Business Channel launch was “imminent” and that the channel was “slated to launch in the first half of 2006.” The first half of 2006 is almost over, and there are no deals in place and no network launch scheduled.

Reporter Julia Angwin quoted “people familiar with the situation,” but they must not have been that familiar. A few weeks ago, Ad Age’s Claire Atkinson suggested the network was “close to birth,” leading Roger Ailes to say “if it’s imminent, it’s imminent without me.” Were they both led astray by the same source?

An e-mailer has a couple questions: “Why is someone in the company purposely putting out misinformation about the business channel, and why do reporters continue to print it? And finally, what exactly is the statute of limitations on ‘imminent,’ and is it time for Angwin to put her name to a correction?”