Deborah Potter on "The Fox News Effect"

Remember Deborah Potter? She was a reporter for CBS in the 70s and 80s, and then for CNN in the 90s. Now she runs the non-profit "Newslab," which describes itself as "an online resource center for television and radio newsrooms, focused on improving journalism." Actually, that's pretty much the way that The Cable Game thinks of itself, too! So the more the merrier!

Anyhoo, Potter has now published an article in The American Journalism Review entitled, "The Fox Effect." One would think that such a piece, written by a former MSM reporter, who now works at a DC-area think tank, would be mostly an opportunity for the journo to vent on Fox. But interestingly, the piece is sort of positive and admiring. Consider this graf which shows that Potter has the number of one her ex-CNN colleagues:

"Fox News Channel's impact on TV news has been so pervasive and profound that it's hard to believe the network is only 10 years old. FNC's flashy graphics, frenetic pace and opinionated hosts have spawned imitators across the spectrum. Compare CNN's Lou Dobbs today — with his on-camera rants about immigration and outsourcing — to the staid Dobbs who anchored the old 'Moneyline,' and it's obvious he's been 'Foxified.' Check out MSNBC's multilayered graphics, complete with scrolling text and whooshing sound effects, and the Fox imprint is clear."

And she concludes with this:

"Fox's critics would like to believe that its days of dominance are numbered, pointing to an aging audience and the lagging performance of Fox News online. But that's wishful thinking, at least in the short term. Fox has a leg up in the cable TV news game because it rewrote the rules. The other channels have stolen parts of its playbook, but they lack the coherent game plan that keeps Fox in front."

Now how 'bout them apples?

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