What led to The Fox New Channel’s success?
Success didn’t come from a “Fair and Balanced” slogan but rather from millions of proud-to-be-Americans who simply wanted core conservative values presented on television. With personalities like Bill O’Reilly, Fox News satisfied this unfulfilled need and these millions thought it only fair that they lend their undivided attention and loyalty to this fledgling network.
Until The Fox News Channel launched in 1996, conservatives had ZERO television outlets that represented their values. The fact that they finally had an outlet that reflected their values meant that they had a slice of fairness and balance. They knew that Fox would be the only news channel they would have on indefinitely for the rest of their lives.
O’Reilly was FNC’s #1 firebrand. He laid into liberals and their ideology and we loved him for it. The Fox News Network would be nothing if not for true conservatives watching it, and Bill’s message and daily programming reflected our ideals perfectly.
As time passed, however, the “fair and balanced” slogan crept into the programming. They started putting on obnoxious liberals with crazy ideas just for the sake of balance, thus wasting half of the airtime in shouting matches that nobody could even make out.
In an attempt to triangulate and put himself in the middle of the fair and balanced prism, Bill O’Reilly began criticizing other “far right conservatives” without actually mentioning any specifically. Such triangulation was meant to shield Bill from liberal scorn, but this was a huge blunder, because liberal scorn is exactly what we had for years on the other networks.
What made Fox News successful was they didn’t care about liberal scorn. They simply aired conservative thought and crushed the competition. I call this weird tendency to shy away from that which makes conservative media people successful “liberal creep.” Bill O’Reilly in hopelessly infected with this creep and the people that put him in the #1 spot are not happy.
Ask yourself why Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Factor show failed? Answer: he tried to triangulate the same way he did on television, making true conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin the bad guys. But, he made a fatal error.
Since the conservative base still had other radio outlets that they could listen to, they left O’Reilly high and dry for true conservatives and his ratings plummeted. Bill can triangulate on his television show because conservatives don’t have any other channel to watch. It’s different on radio though and he paid the price for his disloyalty. When given a choice, conservatives will choose true conservatives over fair and balanced conservatives any day.
This is what many conservatives throughout the conservative movement today fail to realize. Senator John McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, ripped into Ann Coulter for being too conservative. She can say this because it will get her on more liberal programming, but in the end when votes count, she’ll fail like her fair and balanced maverick father did. Michael Steele is another prime example of triangulation backfiring on those that try to preach “outreach” to non-conservatives over simply reiterating the conservative message.
Conservatives need to wake up. Triangulation doesn’t work and it makes them look like the liberals we spent decades cursing our televisions trying to get away from.
This is an exclusive article for The Terry Anderson Radio Show.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
best damn analyses I’ve heard yet.
Well done. You’re spot on with your analysis of Fox News and especially Bill O’Reilly. He’s changed his tune a bit and seems to have moved from the core values he touts in his book “Bold Fresh.” Those of us brought up with parents that preached the “Golden Rule,” and doing the right thing feel left out and non-rewarded for working hard. We need common sense media types like Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, and Laura Ingram to keep our sanity in a gone wild….liberal do whatever you want society. Freedoms have responsibility. We should respect our freedoms and not abuse them with whatever feels right. The facts need to be shown so intelligent debate prevails. Miss the “old” Fox News!
Thanks Norman,
The O-Reilly Radio factor slithered away with little attention.
Let this failure be a lesson for Bill.