Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Fox News, the New RINO

One of the hallmarks of revolution-seeking mobs is that they often turn on their own (see Revolution, French).

I have been reading whispers of Fox News ever-so-slightly turning "squishy." I can't confirm this since I don't watch Fox. Nevertheless, today Politico had a long story on how some True Patriots are taking a stand against Fox News. As Dave Barry so famously said, "No, I am not making this up."

There are a lot of sweet quotes from True Patriots in the story that will leave you breathless. Nevertheless, the real meat was on the fourth page toward the end of the piece.
But Fox may have some demographic reasons for wanting to broaden its reach. Although it has been completely dominant in the cable sphere for years, last year, its ratings in primetime slipped 9 percent in total viewers and 15 percent in the target 24-54 demographic, while CNN and MSNBC gained viewers in primetime.
Yes, the cruel tide of demographics. Fox News, no doubt, employs a really smart marketing staff. I am sure they understand that the Tea Party is going out of style (if it ever was in style). Sure, there will be some old, white farts that will hang on to glory for dear life, but the end game is being played out. A movement built on cultural resentment and dog whistling will not appeal to the young, non-white, and educated. There is a lot of money at stake. Maybe Rush Limbaugh's audience will not go away before Limbaugh retires, but Fox News has an media complex to run. They are very aware of the Tea Party's expiration date.

Now, raise your hand if you think the GOP has that same awareness.

14 comments:

Publius Nemo said...

It's crazy over there at Fox lately. Barring MSNBC they have the worst election coverage of the cable news networks. I think it's all about money. They encourage the horse race and sensationalism to keep the viewership growing. Just like these endless debates and the questions they put to the candidates to goad them into bombastic verbal fisticuffs. It's turning our election process into a reality show and the wide swings in the polls reflect the nonsense. FoxNews is a joke!

Publius Nemo said...

I should have said FoxEntertainmentNews is a joke!

Publius Nemo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Terrye said...

I used to watch Fox every day...but no more..and yeah I think it is about the money. It is not even really politics anymore, it is just marketing.

Anonymous said...

Palin is surely part of the reason for loss of viewership over the last 2 years. Her interviews leave me feeling like I lost some brain cells just for listening.

She doesn't say much, except to repeat what she hears from Rush and Levin. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, she needs a translator to make any sense at all of what she says.

This can't be helping FOX.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

FoxNews is becoming irrelavent as are their broadcasters/commentators. They have become very one sided, promoting some republican candidates ofer others, and it is quite obvious. they're not even trying to hide the fact. I dont know if its "orders" from above or just what the deal is, but they have turned off their loyal watchers in droves and it is apparent in their slide in the ratings. I know Romney supporters, for one group and totally disenchanted with Fox, and have started not to watch nearly as much. It's like everyone on Fox has made an aboutface all together and they will not regain their viewers until they go back to their roots.

Machtyn said...

http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2012/02/14/has-fox-news-veered-left/

Even The Blaze has noticed. It's hard to ignore. Just in the past week I've seen 3 anti-Fox, get it right with Romney, protest groups and petitions.

Unknown said...

Never thought I'd prefer--gulp--CNN.

Anonymous said...

dg,

I agree. Atleast their horse is Obama. unlike Fox who's horse is ABR.

At CNN, they at least treat all the GOP candidates equally shity.

Anonymous said...

When I read the following Newsweek article (about Roger Ailes) back in September I was somewhat suspicious. Now that I've seen things change before my eyes at Foxnews I'm forced to confront the reality of the situation.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/09/25/roger-ailes-repositions-fox-news.html

-Phil

Anonymous said...

Pablo,

There you go again!...... another condescending post about the Tea Party.

The Tea Party was not "old white farts who respond to dog whistles." I believe that the Tea Party started out very diverse, although I think it has degenerated into something else altogether. The Tea Party is very different in different areas of the country. I think you should change your rhetoric about the Tea Party and not overgeneralize. How I hate it when I am accused of behavior that some Romney supporters indulge in, when I know that I am innocent. You should not do this to the Tea Party or to other religions, or to other races. Maybe you shouldn't do it to OWS, although most of those I have heard speak from OWS cannot form complete sentences.

AZ

Anonymous said...

Too much complaining going on about Fox News among Romney supporters.

Fox isn't perfect - but they will be the last one standing to support who ever gets the GOP nomination once the battle is with Obama and coverage turns over to the general election match up.

Anonymous said...

Fox may never support Romney. They are traitors to this country. They push candates that work for them. Think how powerful they would be if one of their employees gets the nomination... think of the ratings!

Fox pushing it's own employees for President is a new level of media malpractice and they should all go to jail for it.

They are traitors to this country.

Anonymous said...

"Should all go to jail for it"

That's simply preposterous. If you don't like them, don't watch. But suggesting they should be jailed is the kind of non-sense that the left pushes, not the right.