Behind the face of the news outlets are people and stories that have turned the news outlet into the giant we all know of today. The news outlet is technically classified as a conservative cable television news channel. But the history of the news outlet and the stories they tend to tell us are what define Fox News in the news industry. Whatever the reason drives you to choose them as your source of news, there are background forces that allow them to continue to deliver the content that their audience is looking for.
Australian publisher Rupert Murdoch and American philanthropist and businessman Marvin Davis decided to found an independent news station in May of 1985. They eventually purchased 50% of Fox Filmed Entertainment and used Murdoch’s experience at Sky News. To guide the 24-hour news cycle that was coming to fruition in the U.S. The two founded the FNC to accommodate the new 24-hour news cycle that had become a standard practice for news outlets in 1996. Roger Ailes was a U.S. Republican Party political strategist and NBC exec who had just left America’s Talking. Murdoch asked if he would help launch Fox News Channel. Accordingly, from its inception, the Channel has had conservative leanings.
The station was available to 17 million households when it first came out, but it wasn’t available in New York City and Los Angeles at the time. They focused on visual representations to help their viewers understand the main points of the stories in case they weren’t able to listen to the story directly. They also created the Fox News Alert, which would interrupt the regular programs to let their viewers know about breaking news. On September 11, 2001, This Station was the first news outlet to use a ticker at the bottom of the screen to keep up with all of the information as it became available. They still use the ticker to inform their viewers about current news that isn’t currently being talked about.

The Political Views of Fox News

Fox News has been classified as a conservative news outlet since it began, and the demographics of their viewers tend to reflect that. Based on 2013 Gallup polls, 94% of its viewers identify as Republican or tend to have beliefs similar to republicans.
During the Trump administration, there have been accusations that Fox News has delivered biased versions of stories and been widely complimentary of Trump with minimal criticism of the president’s actions. This is to be somewhat expected, as this station has been a Republican news outlet since it was founded. Of course, this has led to criticism from other outlets, including this commentary from The Guardian.
Generally, people tend to ask whether or not the news outlet can be impartial about a candidate when they are declared as a member of his political party. And this is, perhaps, a fair question to ask. Particularly during the Obama administration, there were significant questions asked about the sources of stories claiming that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. However, as Fox News focuses on its audience, it’s not surprising that they are focused on providing their viewers with additional content that they will want to see more of.

Fox News has had its share of scandals over the years, but they recently made the news through Hollywood. One recent scandal was associated with the movie Bombshell, which tells the story of the sexual harassment scandal that was brought against Richard Ailes. This led to the exposure of multiple sexual harassment cases in a consistently sexist culture and major questions from those leading the #MeToo movement. Since the scandal broke, Ailes was forced to step down, and he later passed away at the age of 77.
This News outlet has also been accused of being a significant player in the Climate Change Denial movement. Sean Hannity specifically was accused of misrepresenting scientific research in a news story, saying that it was being used to spread alarm and conspiracy. He stated that climate change was bad science that should not be taken seriously. The author of the study he used to make these claims later stated that Hannity had completely contaminated the data.
Journalism as an industry is struggling to feed the voracious appetite of the public for content, and Fox is not immune to the changing industry. As time goes on, Fox will need to continue to change their approach. Their demographic might evolve or their more outspoken political leanings might become problematic as their viability as a source is considered. Regardless, Fox News has withstood the test of time to this point and will, in all likelihood, continue to do so.