Book Review: The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine by David Brock
Lately I've been shying away from books about mainstream media. I'm particularly leery of books written by media figures about other media figures. At best, these works tend to read like playground arguments between kindergarteners; at worst, they're closer to food fights around the family dinner table. Given author David Brock's reputation as an honest fact checker, I had hoped that "The Fox Effect" would transcend the "he said, she said," "nyah, nyah, nyah" exchanges that usually result when media covers media. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
On its web site, Media Matters for America defines itself as a "not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Founded by David Brock in 2004, Media Matters has gained a solid reputation as a go-to site for those seeking to check out the facts surrounding the ever-present and often preposterous claims and accusations that seem to dominate conservative radio and television talk shows.
In "The Fox Effect," Brock and company focus their lens squarely on Fox News and its crew of obstreperous and often odious commentators. By tracing the history of The Fox News channel and its powerful president, Roger Ailes, the authors contend that the recent noticeable increase in partisan political activity by Fox is hardly accidental. "In a confessional interview with Howard Kurtz, Ailes himself ... even went so far as to acknowledge Fox's strategy, telling Kurtz, 'Every other network has given all their shows to liberals. We are the balance.'" As the authors note, this represents a significant change from Fox's earlier claim of impartiality. "Fox's version of 'balance'