A day after celebrating the 11th anniversary of Fox News Channel, Roger Ailes is looking toward the launch of the Fox Business Network a week from today. The Wall Street Journal‘s Rebecca Dana sat down with Ailes last week:
What viewers will see on FBN:
We intend to cover the markets and cover Wall Street as effectively as [CNBC does], maybe more, and add additional value. Beyond that, there’s no sense in me talking about it because this is a launch, and it’s a competitive launch….I will call a lot of audibles at the line once the play starts. I’ll change many things in the first year, I’m sure.
On CNBC’s Erin Burnett:
Erin Burnett is a good talent. But she’s gonna age. She’ll only last another year, the way they’re working her….So, I hope, at some point she steps up and says, “I need water; I need a little break here.”
On CNBC’s Jim Cramer:
That show would be better if someone just ran in from off camera sometimes and whacked him on the butt and said, “Let’s get back to business here.”
How CNBC has competed in preparation for FBN:
The first thing they did was to say, “Well, Ailes seems to be patriotic, so we’ll name it ‘America’s Business Network’ and take that away from Ailes.” If they can’t kill us in the crib now, it’s only going to get worse for them day to day.
How will FBN surmount CNBC’s 17-year head start and 90 million homes?:
They’re winning — because they’re a monopoly. They’re winning the same way CNN was winning when we came on the scene with Fox News….Once you have competition, it’s a different kind of fight.
On his relationship with Rupert Murdoch:
He gave me this office, right next door, so it must be good. If he throws me out, I guess it’s not so good.