So now it's Fox by itself in the Cable Game, and it's pretty much by itself in the non-blogger, non-radio-talk-show media world. That was the gist of a New York Times story this morning, headlined "Fox News Primes Itself for a Shift," written by ace Cable Gamer Brian Stelter.
The piece includes an interesting quote from Bill Shine, SVP for programming (pictured above), answering the question, what is the fate of Fox in the new era? “That’s kind of the million-dollar question,” Shine answered, “I get asked it a lot. All I know is that over the course of the next four years, we’re going to do what we do really well — cover the news in a fair and balanced way and put on a very good product.”
That's brave talk, and nobody ever accused Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, the visionaries who created Fox News, of lacking bravery.
But right now, things look great for Barack Obama and his many supporters, in and out of the media. Obama is being sworn in as the new president, at a time when most Americans think that George W. Bush has made such a hash of things that there's nowhere for the country to go but up. According to new polls, Obama's approval ratings are up in the 80s, while Bush's ratings are mostly in the 20s. Thus plenty of slack for 44, plenty of time for him to keep saying, "Well, at least I am not Bush."
As we see right now, Democrats and MSMers are celebrating. They are the ones holding the fancy parties in Georgetown, and it's mostly the "friendlies," of course, who are getting invited. So there are some pretty carrots out there for those who are willing to play ball--"hard" or soft--with the Obamans over the next few years.
And of course, the Obamans have sticks, as well as carrots. And they have obvious ambitions to consolidate power, as part of their plan for "change" and "hope." The President-elect went on YouTube the other day to announce Organize for America, his effort to institutionalize his election-politics machine into a presidential-policy support machine. ("You're a Congressman and you oppose the O Plan? Fine. We'll put you down for 10,000 phone calls and 100,000 e-mails, and then see how you feel.")
And in the media world, too, Obama has taken steps to seize the commanding heights of power. He has named a longtime friend, Julius Genachowski, a pal from Harvard Law School and a top adviser ever since, to head the Federal Communications Commission. Which is to say, Obama will be able to pick up the phone anytime and talk to a trusted colleague about anything that's bothering him in the media world, with an eye toward regulations, licenses, and so on.
In addition, Washington now controls the pursestrings for Wall Street, thanks to the various bailout programs. And so it might be possible for Democrat bigs in New York City to use their financial muscle--bolstered, of course, by Uncle Sam--to seek to influence Fox, or The News Corporation, or its shareholders, advertisers, and cable carriers. There are a lot of pressure points in a big company, and the Obamans and their allies know all of them.
And whatever the Obama forces might do to crush opposition, they will likely have the presumed tacit support of their boss, who has never been shy about revealing his true feelings toward Fox: During the campaign, Obama said that Fox's coverage was costing him "two or three points" in the polls. And Obama might well have been right. Who else was willing to say that Obama had the most liberal voting record in the Senate, according to the blue-chip National Journal? Or to delve into the details of Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, and Bill Ayers? Of course, Fox's coverage was vastly outnumbered by the other Cable Gamers, to say nothing of the rest of the media. And furthermore, the American people factored in all the information available to them, and voted Obama in by a landslide--we must respect that choice.
But that means, all the more, that we need a Loyal Opposition. If Obama is a great man destined to be a great president, then all the criticism that comes from Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, and now, Glenn Beck won't amount to much. (And viewers know that while Hannity is pretty orthodox conservative in his politics, O'Reilly, Beck, and also Mike Huckabee are mavericks. And the politics of other big FNC stars, including Shepard Smith, Greta Van Susteren, and Chris Wallace, are completely opaque.)
But all of them will likely ask perfectly legitimate questions about, say, Hillary & Bill Clinton or Eric Holder. And it's fair to say that the nation missed a bullet when brewing wariness about sleazeball Bill Richardson removed him from the next Cabinet. And do the Democrats really want the corner-cutting Tim Geithner as their Treasury Secretary?
Of course, if Obama has the right plan for the economy, or for foreign policy, he can go on TV any time, taking his case directly to the American people. And Fox will cover it, live and unedited.
But then, in the after-analysis, we will see the difference. It's a safe prediction that MSNBC will be totally in the tank for Obama--whatever he says and does, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, et al. will be slavishly for it. And as for CNN, well, they will likely wring their hands a bit, and then support the Obamagenda. People have a right to such opinions, of course, but it's not particularly healthy for democracy--checks and balances and all that--and it's certainly not good television. After all, who doubts that the White House/Democratic National Committee/Organize for America will have endless live streams of Obama speeches, plus praise from various aides and pseudo-pundits. So if you want the straight party line, you will be able to watch it direct from the source--without commercials.
My guess is that many Americans--even those who voted for "change"--are eventually going to want to hear an opposing point of view or two. And that'll be good for Fox.
If, of course, Fox survives the coming Obama Onslaught.
