Fox in the alt game

Eureka CA

Description

Interview with Joe Peyronnin former head of Fox News 2/9/21 Question. Fox News going through an identity crisis? Answer. Yes, I think Fox News is going through an identity crisis. They have played very effectively in the last four years thanks to Trump's bases. Now that the same grassroots have been divided between Trump supporters and traditional Republicans, the channel must find its ground among conservatives. For the first time in its history, Fox News has competition around this kind of conservative movement. Newsmax and others are trying to steal the audience out of it and that's a challenge, although Fox News is still the number one news channel. Q. What do you think the channel will do to not lose its audience reign? A. You are trying to find your way to bring back the hearing you are losing. They are rotating people, they put in a new presenter at 7:00 pm [The Story news program will become Fox News Primetime, a table of right-wing opinion leaders]. And I assume they are going to take an anti-Biden stance and criticize his Administration. People like [political commentators] Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity are going to continue to do what they always do. But audiences are dropping overall because Trump dominated the news cycle, he was attractive. Now relative quiet returned to the White House. Q. Are small channels like Newsmax and One America News really a threat? A. It will take a long time to know if these channels can be serious competitors to Fox News. But even if they draw a few thousand viewers, that already means that the sponsors are going to go elsewhere, and that worries them. When Fox News appeared it was the only conservative channel. Point. Roger [Ailes] was very meticulous in choosing which stories to cover and what could be said to appeal to the right and to Christians. But now Fox has gone from being a conservative alternative to the Trump channel. The commentators are Trump cheerleaders. He managed their schedule, Hannity got advice from the president all the time... and it worked. They captured the public many times through lies during prime time. Now, four years later, some of those lies have become the alternate reality that people firmly believe. Q. How much of that has contributed to the polarization of the country? A. In the evening opinion programs many times they say things that are not true. It is not fair to say that people know that they are opinions, because the presenters speak of concrete facts. They discuss whether masks are useful or whether the vaccine is of any use, which confuses people who end up believing that covering their mouths violates the Constitution. Or the same with the immigration issue. The problem is that some want to be afraid, the whites, it is part of the plan. Trump wants to scare people into believing that they want to take the country away from them. Fox News has promoted a lot of alternative news and a group of people, millions, believe in alternative facts and not traditional journalism. That divide has helped Trump grow and increase the division in our country. Q. Should the media be more careful when giving a voice to incendiary spokespersons? A. Television networks like CBS consider this in their practices and policies. The media have to be careful with inflammatory language, respect freedom of expression with common sense. You do not have to enter to regulate. Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, is one of the most important pillars in our country. The audience has the right to see what they want, but I regret when some people tell lies or misinform on the air. That said, there are well-informed options out there, older networks like CBS or NBC haven't been confused. https://newsrnd.com/news/2021-02-09-%0A---joe-peyronnin--former-president-of-fox-news--%22the-channel-is-going-through-an-identity-crisis-without-trump%22%0A--.rye76h5x-d.html