The Fox Effect is an insider’s explanation of how Roger Ailes effectively captured the Republican Party and controlled its messaging and its messengers.
But first, the background of the lead author, David Brock is important. David was hired by a mega donor of the Republican Party in 1993 to dig up dirt on the newly elected president, Bill Clinton. He went to Little Rock and hung out at the Capital Bar and met folks that knew Clinton. He was instrumental in writing misleading stories which painted the Clinton’s as corrupt and then marketed the fiction to overseas media outlets that specialized in ‘gotcha’ stories.
As the stories got legs overseas, the pitch to America’s media was that “British media claims…” In time, the slander campaign took hold in the U.S.
Thereafter, Brock went through a long period of soul searching. Finally, after Clinton had left office, he called the Clinton’s and asked to meet them. He was invited to their home where they welcomed him and his ideas to make amends and rectify the wrongs he had done. Thus, was the start of Media Matters (MM) which has become the ‘Go-To’ organization for debunking and exposing the distortions which are presented as truth. When I met with him recently, he was proud of the extensive library that they have developed and which exceeds, in volume, The Library of Congress.
Brock explains how the current climate actually started when President Nixon was frustrated with the media and discussed with one of his media aides how they needed to start programming which had ‘presenters’ rather than journalists. That formula took hold, as Nixon’s Aide was Roger Ailes, the late kingpin of Fox News, or as the authors point out, Fox Propaganda.
This new style of newscasters grew out of the Nixon world (you can read the memo released by the Nixon Presidential Library). Ailes moved around the media world with different organizations including CNBC and even programmed Politics with Chris Mathews in 1993 which evolved into Hardball with Chris Mathews when NBC acquired the show. Then, the big change came in 2008 while Ailes was at the helm of Fox.
It’s a rich history of how Fox, in effect, developed the Tea Party movement singlehandedly. The authors show how Fox distorted stories about Al Gore, Acorn, Van Jones, and Shirley Sherrod – the employee of the Department of Agriculture of which MM was able to locate a video of the correct story from 10 years previous.
You’ll also read how Fox funds presidential wannabes and, in the case of Huckabee, the valuation of his airtime of over $30 Million. Plus, you will get to know more about Palin, Beck, Bachman, Rove, Hannity, Breitbart, Murdoch, Ingraham, O’Reilly, Gingrich, and many more.
On we go, as the legacy of Nixon lives on after 50 years. Yet, we can all help the cause by boycotting Fox and other hate related broadcasts that masquerade as news. Since the book has been written, many corporate sponsors no longer advertise on Fox; and Beck, O’Reilly, and others have been deleted from the Fox menu.
Rich Meyer – Author, Blogger
