How Fox News works

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

[atomheartbevo 90058]

They are doing a shitty job.  Seemed like a lot of major retailers had a fuck-ton of Christmas stuff ready to go before and immediately after Halloween, without even waiting for Thanksgiving.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13549]

12 hours ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

I assume this is a recent clip, if not last night. I assume that Fox News is running scared right now. They know Trump has lost but for the most part, they don't want to be the channel that praises conspiracy theories but they also don't want to lose viewers to OAN or Newsmax. Therefore they have to dip into other topics that engage conservatives while staying away from anything Trump-Biden related. 

[Francisco 2.0 32435]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/hannitys-crony-porter-berry-has-taken-over-fox-news-digital-and-its-a-disaster-staffers-say?ref=home

 

Quote

Sean Hannity is already one of Fox News’ loudest voices, and has put his Trumpist stamp on the network’s broadcasts. Now, his influence has spread to the once-independent digital news operation, staffers say, and it’s largely thanks to a little-known former Hannity producer named Porter Berry.

Over the past several years, the conservative tenor of Fox News’ opinion coverage has seeped more and more into the company’s popular digital brands. Few at the network deserve more credit for this transformation than Berry, who moved from television to the digital side in 2018 after stints with Hannity, midday talk show The Five, and Bill O’Reilly, and who staff say has helped mold the websites more in the image of the network’s right-wing opinion programming.

 

Quote

According to multiple staffers, Berry’s editorial vision and management style has resulted in the departure of key digital news employees like Jason Ehrich, the former executive vice president of audience development and strategic partnerships, and Greg Wilson, the former managing editor of the Fox News website, among others.

Berry has also been the subject of a number of HR complaints from staffers, multiple people familiar with the matter say. Berry declined to comment for this story but a Fox News spokesperson said, “We do not comment on confidential personnel matters,” adding: “Since taking over FOX News Digital in 2018, Porter Berry has not only innovated the platform, but ushered in extraordinary growth by cultivating one of the most engaged and loyal audiences in news. We are incredibly proud of his accomplishments and look forward to continued success thanks to his unrivaled digital strategy.”

 

Quote

Officially, Berry oversees the Fox News and Fox Business Network websites, along with the network’s other digital properties; and he reports to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace. But unofficially, multiple people familiar with the situation said Berry has continued to play an active role in Hannity’s primetime show, acting as a “shadow executive producer,” offering advice and suggesting ideas.

Berry’s editorial influence over one of the network’s highest-rated programs and its massively popular online properties has raised eyebrows among staff, and raised questions about the increasingly ill-defined border between the network’s on-air conservative opinion commentary and its news operation.

 

Spoiler

The Hannity relationship has influenced both operations, with Berry playing a role in shaping his former show, and the primetime, pro-Trump host gaining more allies and influence in the digital operation.

According to multiple network insiders, Berry remains informally involved with Hannity, keeping in regular contact with the eponymous host, talking on the phone and texting multiple times daily and even putting him on speakerphone in his office (during the pandemic, Berry has worked from Fox’s HQ in midtown Manhattan). He’s also regularly fed ideas to Hannity’s current executive producer, Tiffany Fazio, largely after he’s already spoken to the Fox News star earlier in the day, per multiple people familiar with the situation.

Through his close ties with Berry, according to insiders, Hannity and the network’s right-wing opinion side have managed, as if by proxy, to influence the content of FoxNews.com, the channel’s website.

At the same time, Hannity’s sphere of influence has become all-encompassing and his nominal bosses are reluctant to rein him in, former Fox News executive John Huddy, a close confidant of the channel’s late, disgraced founder Roger Ailes, told The Daily Beast.

“The fact is that Sean Hannity is untouchable, on the one hand, and they’re terrified that he’s going to do something that is so offensive that it’s going to bring everybody down,” Huddy said. “He’s come really close a few times. He’s the devil in the deep blue sea. They’re terrified of him but they can’t lose him. If they lose him, they know they’re fucked. And they don’t have a Roger Ailes to call him in and kick his ass.”

Berry has also plucked employees from the opinion side of Fox News to staff the news website. He’s brought in a former producer for Hannity, as well as multiple former Fox & Friends producers to edit the site. Berry’s deputy, Stefanie Wheeler Choi, is a fellow former staffer on The Five who followed him over to the digital side as a managing editor and executive producer. The elevation of Choi, who is seen as Berry’s right-hand person, on the digital news side has apparently rankled other staffers as she had no previous digital experience.

“She carries out whatever task he needs done like a good soldier,” a recently departed Fox online staffer said.

But the lower-ranking troops, especially those working for the website, haven’t exactly fallen in line. Some digital staff have expressed discomfort at the increasingly rightward tilt of the site. Multiple network insiders told The Daily Beast that staffers have felt uncomfortable putting bylines on thinly sourced stories, including several pre-election pieces aggregating the New York Post’s questionable reporting on Hunter Biden. “Staffers did not want their byline on Hunter Biden because it didn’t stand up,” a current employee said. “It could be a career-killer.”

“The digital staff has no respect for Porter,” said a current Fox News employee. “They see him as someone who is driven by everything that is antithetical to real journalism—snubbing truth for distortion that furthers an ideological agenda, prioritizing factory-scale productivity over quality that you get only through taking the time to confirm, to check, to challenge information and then writing and rewriting it to ensure a balanced and fair presentation of that news, and echoing the cable channel’s Republicans-are-always-right mantra.”

In an interview with the blog TV News Check, Berry dismissed concerns about web readers conflating the site’s news and commentary, saying that the opinion pieces from colleagues including Hannity are “clearly labeled,” though he did not mention that he himself continues to play an informal role in shaping Hannity’s show.

“I think the audience is really smart. If they see something from Sean Hannity, they know he is an opinion guy. And if they see a news piece, they read it as a news piece,” he said. “The audience is really savvy and able to read a lot of news, information and analysis and make an informed decision because we are giving them every angle, comprehensively, on every story both from the news side of it and the analysis side.”

Close observers of Fox News’ digital properties note that the main site has skewed even further to the right under Berry’s leadership. Under its previous leader, former Today show producer and Daily Mail editor-in-chief Noah Kotch, the site more closely resembled a right-leaning tabloid, mixing breaking news with politics, salacious crime stories, and celebrity news.

But in recent months, the website—ostensibly part of the network’s “straight news” division—has leaned more into aggregation of conservative culture-war stories and straight write-ups of commentary delivered on opinion shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and Hannity.

At the same time, the site has been called out for burying or wildly spinning news that is unflattering or negative for Trump. For instance, when the coronavirus pandemic first exploded in the United States at the end of February, most news outlets focused their top headlines on the market panic amid the growing crisis. The main story on the Fox News website, however, was about Joe Biden walking back his story about being arrested while visiting Nelson Mandela in South Africa. The site’s top story that day on the coronavirus, meanwhile, focused on Trump attacking Democrats for their reaction to the pandemic.

“For many years, there was a distinction between the channel and the website, where the focus of digital was primarily news with a smattering of opinion articles that focused on both sides of any issue,” another current staffer told The Daily Beast. “Now, the website has slowly become another outlet for the channel’s right-wing opinion on-air talent. Their divisive commentaries now take center stage on the website’s homepage while the articles around them target anything Democrat and boost anything GOP, regardless of what is right or wrong.”

Fox News digital has boasted a record year of traffic under Porter with October said to be its top performing month with “multiplatform views” of close to 2.2 billion. The site has also broken a series of stories including the news that Scott Atlas resigned from his post as President Trump’s special advisor on coronavirus and Rep. Mark Walker announcing his 2022 candidacy for Senate in North Carolina.

Fox staffers also believe Berry’s abrasive management style and editorial vision has played a role in the exit of several high-level staffers, including Ehrich, the former executive and social media boss.

One recently departed Fox staffer described Berry’s leadership style as wanting to “toe the company line regardless of the fact gathering or editorial importance of a story.” The source, who spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation, said Berry seemingly wants to “up the opinion portions of the website over the straight news or creative aspects” resulting in staffers feeling as though “he didn’t care about the people who worked hard every day to make [Fox’s website] what it was.” People familiar with the situation said, for example, Berry has changed the timings and size of editorial meetings to shut out dissenters.

According to multiple insiders, Ehrich was forced out after Berry marginalized him over a series of months, gradually seeing more and more of his duties and responsibilities taken away and assumed by Berry himself. The exit of the former executive, who is said to have run the site’s social-media platforms in a non-partisan fashion—something insiders fear may now change under Berry’s direction—was described as essentially a slo-mo firing by one person familiar with the situation.

“[Berry] terrorizes digital staff with capricious firings and moves people with families to the night shift as he does not have a family,” a person with knowledge of the situation told The Daily Beast. “Everything is done in a black hole of fear.”

Ehrich did not respond to a request for comment. And he is far from the only person who has departed Fox News Digital due to Berry’s leadership. According to eight network insiders and current staffers, at least five top editors and writers have either fled or been pushed out over the past few months.

Greg Wilson, formerly the website’s managing editor and the person who reportedly made the call to publish the debunked Seth Rich story, left in October to take on a similar role with the Washington Examiner. According to a person familiar with the situation, Wilson left because he couldn’t work under Berry—and Berry did not like him.

“It felt like Wilson was shown the door rather than shoved through it. He was sidelined for sure, that was obvious by the moves Porter did,” a current Fox staffer told The Daily Beast. “[Wilson’s] departure was a blow to the team’s morale. The team’s morale was already low, with all of the changes, and not just from this year.”

Besides Ehrich and Wilson, other recent departures have included Fox News Digital executive producer Justin Craig along with a digital editor/producer, a senior news editor, a managing politics editor, and a senior features writer.

Despite the turmoil within Berry’s ranks, his reputation inside Fox remains mixed. For example, people familiar with the matter said, he remains a popular figure among many of the network’s on-air personalities. And some staffers on the digital side have felt that he has tried harder than his predecessors to get increased on-air exposure for their work.

But other staffers wonder at what cost. “He is driving everyone out. He is not a journalist and never worked in news a day in his life,” one current Fox employee said. “He only knows opinion.”

 

[Neonmoon 38130]

They hired a bigot with a background in dry wall. What did they expect?

[4th&Five 41704]

 

[yoladu 4168]

On 12/1/2020 at 7:22 AM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Is that one of the dudes from the MmmBop song from the 90s?

[yoladu 4168]

15 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

 

Our President really has a pulse on the issues our nation is struggling with.

Edited December 6, 2020 by yoladu

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13597]

12 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

 

Imagine thousands of Americans dying per day from a global pandemic while the president of The United States publicly whines about what's on tv.

[Brisketexan 105586]

27 minutes ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

Imagine thousands of Americans dying per day from a global pandemic while the president of The United States publicly whines about what's on tv.

We are seeing almost a 9/11 death toll -- EVERY DAY -- and he does nothing, provides no leadership, and when he does pop his head up, it's to call it all a hoax and shit on any public health measures.

It's bonafide motherfucking insanity.....and around half our country thinks it's fine.  We deserve everything that's happening to us, and more.

Half of us scream "don't shoot the country in the head!", while the other half gleefully does this, repeatedly:

[Underdog 28875]

38 minutes ago, Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand said:

Imagine thousands of Americans dying per day from a global pandemic while the president of The United States publicly whines about what's on tv.

aMErica First. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13549]

One of the top stories on Fox News.com this morning was about bar openings in NYC specifically Staten Island. As one of the sources for comments they used Pete Davidson from SNL. From a skit on SNL weekend update.  SNL comedy routines are now sources for quotes? Why not just start using quotes from movies and reference the actor that said it.  

[Underdog 28875]

Might be the only way James Woods gets work these days. 

[Eskimohorn 5655]

Might be the only way James Woods gets work these days. 

James Woods portrayed the piece of shit Roy Cohn in an HBO movie. He was awesome in it. Woods researched all the bullshit this guy did, memorized lines, and saw that the bastard died alone of AIDS. He then acted scenes out. Imagine doing all that then years later going, “Yep, give me that dude’s protege as POTUS!”

[GhostOfTomJoad 9436]

James Woods' best performance was getting his ass kicked by De Niro's squad in Casino. Actually, the scene in the diner when Ace calls him out as a slimey pimp & he has to just sit there & take it while his balls suck up tight inside his own asshole.

[Tom 2960]

I enjoyed "Cat's Eye" as a kid.   

That's all I've got.

[HenryJames 66285]

7 minutes ago, Tom said:

I enjoyed "Cat's Eye" as a kid.   

That's all I've got.

[JimmyJames 12271]

29 minutes ago, Tom said:

I enjoyed "Cat's Eye" as a kid.   

That's all I've got.

Damn. I must have seen that movie 15-20 times as a kid and haven’t seen it once since then. 

[Tom 2960]

2 hours ago, JimmyJames said:

Damn. I must have seen that movie 15-20 times as a kid and haven’t seen it once since then. 

 

Same.  I wonder how it holds up.  I'm hesitant to watch movies I loved as a kid now because they often disappoint and spoil the nostalgia.  

[Jive Turkey 12723]

 

[Neonmoon 38130]

Loved the response “Fox was just a gateway drug” 

very true 

[aggie08 21588]

We're legit going to be begging these people to return to the still-incredibly-warped-but-not-in-such-an-openly-dangerous-way "safe" confines of Fox News. I hate this simulation.

[staboner 5015]

there's something to be said for going "offline" a bit more. they can eat each other more easily that way. and quicker. 

at least that's the hope.

[Born to Run 6583]

 
Same.  I wonder how it holds up.  I'm hesitant to watch movies I loved as a kid now because they often disappoint and spoil the nostalgia.  

I suggest avoiding Big Trouble in Little China.

[SydneyCarton 48315]

13 minutes ago, Born to Run said:

17 hours ago, Tom said:

 
Same.  I wonder how it holds up.  I'm hesitant to watch movies I loved as a kid now because they often disappoint and spoil the nostalgia.  

I suggest avoiding Big Trouble in Little China.

Fuck you, that movie is still awesome. You should be sent to the hell where you’re skinned alive. 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6568]

Not sure if this is already on here but I turned on the news this morning and CNN, ABC, MSNBC were all talking about Covid, the vaccines, how the restaurant workers and such are really struggling, etc... Thought I would check out Fox News and all they are discussing is that Eric Swalwell has been working with a Chinese spy and how many other Dems were also involved in this.  Nancy Pelosi put him onto the intelligence committee so what does she know and is she involved in working with spies from China.  Of course this was being put forth by their guest Devin Nunes or Jason Chaffetz.  Not sure which one it was.  They then showed Kevin McCarthy making a bid deal about this.  Anyone aware of this story?  Is this the new Benghazi for the Republicans?  

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

1 minute ago, Beantown Express 2.0 said:

Not sure if this is already on here but I turned on the news this morning and CNN, ABC, MSNBC were all talking about Covid, the vaccines, how the restaurant workers and such are really struggling, etc... Thought I would check out Fox News and all they are discussing is that Eric Swalwell has been working with a Chinese spy and how many other Dems were also involved in this.  Nancy Pelosi put him onto the intelligence committee so what does she know and is she involved in working with spies from China.  Of course this was being put forth by their guest Devin Nunes or Jason Chaffetz.  Not sure which one it was.  They then showed Kevin McCarthy making a bid deal about this.  Anyone aware of this story?  Is this the new Benghazi for the Republicans?  

Yes, sort of. It's also on the ag site and other right leaning forums. Funny they don't do any research into Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao's relationships or even bring it up. Someone pointed out that Swalwell was informed by the FBI and he immediately severed any relationships but that was glossed over because it didn't fit the narrative of Chi-na.

We do need to believe that China and Russia are not necessarily promoting neighborly positive relations, however, the GOP and the propaganda arm, Fox,  are intent on destruction of America to benefit the corporate upper class regardless.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

Ok, Fox. Can I get a rival network to begin an oligarchy or kleptocracy or fascism watch?  Or if we could overturn the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. 1987 and the year prior to that Ailes began A Current Affair in NYC. We've been screwed up ever since.

[Neonmoon 38130]

I love flipping over to Fox to see what the propaganda arm of the Republican Party is pushing out 

They are full bore on the Hunter Biden narrative. It’s hilarious and sad. (Full disclosure: if he did anything wrong he should be charged. Anyone who breaks the law should face the consequences)

But they push this narrative while at the same time ignoring the ongoing tax fraud cases against Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump. 
 

the Chefs kiss is their big conclusion is Joe Biden might have lied about saying he knew nothing of his sons dealings. They have no proof he did. EVEN if they had proof he knew, they have no proof he did anything wrong. 

but he LIED

hahhhahaahhhah. Every statement made by Trump is a lie. 
 

this attempt at going back to pre-Trump political outage is hilarious 

 

 

[aggie08 21588]

Fox is thirsty to get its audience back.

"Guys, we still like conspiracy theories and stuff. Don't leave. You don't want to hear about the left's socialist agenda? No, don't walk away. We can talk, guys. Guys, c'mon. Hunter Biden!"

[956 Worldwide 34939]

Fox News Fox Newsed itself.  They created an audience that expected to be fed propaganda that conformed exactly to its biases.  Then the news desk attempted to actually report a factual story and the collective rejected it because they’ve built up antibodies to the truth.  
 

The schadenfreude is delicious. 

[mdmost 43310]

Yeah Fox screwed themselves by even entertaining the idea that Trump didn't win. They've spent over 10 years fomenting this zealotry and it's finally bit them in the ass. They'll get back the moderately insane Trump fan but the hardcores are gone. You hate to see it. 

[atomheartbevo 90058]

32 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Yeah Fox screwed themselves by even entertaining the idea that Trump didn't win. They've spent over 10 years fomenting this zealotry and it's finally bit them in the ass. They'll get back the moderately insane Trump fan but the hardcores are gone. You hate to see it. 

It will be interesting to see if Tucker, Hannity, and Laura hang around.  My guess is that they will.    They are too comfortable at FNC, and probably think OAN/Newsmax are below them.

I'm honestly surprised Bill O'Reilly hasn't been picked up by OAN or Newsmax.

[mdmost 43310]

Those little shitbreather alt-right networks can't pay what Fox pays. 

[Brisketexan 105586]

Those little shitbreather alt-right networks can't pay what Fox pays. 

This. And that matters. Because for these big mouthpieces, it was never about ideology. They found a con they could get in on....so they did.

It’s always all about the grift.

[956 Worldwide 34939]

4 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

It will be interesting to see if Tucker, Hannity, and Laura hang around.  My guess is that they will.    They are too comfortable at FNC, and probably think OAN/Newsmax are below them.

I'm honestly surprised Bill O'Reilly hasn't been picked up by OAN or Newsmax.

They’ll jump to a DJT network if he starts one. Trumpinformburuo

[atomheartbevo 90058]

Just now, 956 Worldwide said:

They’ll jump to a DJT network if he starts one. Trumpinformburuo

Not Tucker, and not Laura - those two need the FNC money more than Hannity (he has a sweet radio gig that brings in plenty).

But let's not kid ourselves, there's no way Trump would be willing to pay any of those three the kind of money they get at FNC.  He's going to be cheap as fuck when it comes to Trump News Network.  And Fox News will still be going strong years from now, but will a Trump News Network?

[Brisketexan 105586]

Not Tucker, and not Laura - those two need the FNC money more than Hannity (he has a sweet radio gig that brings in plenty).
But let's not kid ourselves, there's no way Trump would be willing to pay any of those three the kind of money they get at FNC.  He's going to be cheap as fuck when it comes to Trump News Network.  And Fox News will still be going strong years from now, but will a Trump News Network?

Yes. As will it’s sponsors: Trump life insurance, Trump adult diapers, Trump tactical wear, Trump home decor, Trump tea cozies, etc etc. Again, it’s all about the grift. Always. And all of it.

[JimmyJames 12271]

24 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

They’ll jump to a DJT network if he starts one. Trumpinformburuo

If trump starts a network it will fail just like everything else he does. The Murdoch’s know this. 

[aggie08 21588]

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yes. As will it’s sponsors: Trump life insurance, Trump adult diapers, Trump tactical wear, Trump home decor, Trump tea cozies, etc etc. Again, it’s all about the grift. Always. And all of it.

Oh my god. Damn you, now I need Trump tactical wear in my life.

[JimmyJames 12271]

The only thing trump ever did right in his entire life was to listen to putin and the Russians on their birther idea which made him a hero to the racist and nihilistic Republican Party voters. That, along with a little help from Manafort and the Russians along with Hillary bring an incredibly shitty candidate got him the presidency temporarily.

Of course like everything else he does trump fucked that up and lost because he’s a loser. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by JimmyJames

[Underdog 28875]

40 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

It will be interesting to see if Tucker, Hannity, and Laura hang around.  My guess is that they will.    They are too comfortable at FNC, and probably think OAN/Newsmax are below them.

I'm honestly surprised Bill O'Reilly hasn't been picked up by OAN or Newsmax.

Laura be sold at Auction during the Keeneland sales, be put out to breed at Claiborne Farms in Lexington.   She'll be fine.  

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

1 hour ago, aggie08 said:

Fox is thirsty to get its audience back.

"Guys, we still like conspiracy theories and stuff. Don't leave. You don't want to hear about the left's socialist agenda? No, don't walk away. We can talk, guys. Guys, c'mon. Hunter Biden!"

They're also trying to get the buzz around Swalwell and China going because they want to have the simplest of links between China and the Democratic party. A straight line from Xi to the Oval Office, Congress, etc.

4 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Oh my god. Damn you, now I need Trump tactical wear in my life.

Oh? Eric thinks that's swell!

[956 Worldwide 34939]

50 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

They're also trying to get the buzz around Swalwell and China going because they want to have the simplest of links between China and the Democratic party. A straight line from Xi to the Oval Office, Congress, etc.

Oh? Eric thinks that's swell!

Kind of a diversion but these chuckleheads are doing real damage by politicizing China.  Chinese assertiveness, malign influence, and its weaponization of economic and technical tools poses the greatest long term threat not just to the U.S. but to a stable, rules based international order.  They are ignoring the real problems and leading people to associate the threat with moonbattery.

This is kind of like how QAnon turned child abuse and human trafficking (which are real and horrible) into a topic for cranks and racists. 

[Neonmoon 38130]

Watched a nice segment by Mark Levin tonight. I couldn’t stop laughing. The mental gymnastics he used were so impressive with a large helping of factual omission to conclude that Congress legally has to decide the election. They are really trying to keep that MAGA base. 

[Gil Bang 26100]

5 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Yes. As will it’s sponsors: Trump life insurance, Trump adult diapers, Trump tactical wear, Trump home decor, Trump tea cozies, etc etc. Again, it’s all about the grift. Always. And all of it.

"Trump Tactical adult diapers"sounds like a winner

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

5 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

This is kind of like how QAnon turned child abuse and human trafficking (which are real and horrible) into a topic for cranks and racists. 

QAnon is propaganda so perhaps that outcome by the perpetrators was intentional.

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

He's right you know...

 

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13597]

11 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

He's right you know...

 

This would jibe with the MAGA Viking that had to be informed by the interviewer that the SC had rejected the Texas case.