The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine

by David Brock

  As Coakley then pointed out, “Scott Brown filed an amendment to a bill in Massachusetts that would say that hospital and emergency room personnel could deny emergency contraception to a woman who came in who had been raped.” This led to the following exchange:

  PITTMAN: Right, if you are a Catholic, and you believe what the Pope teaches, you know, that any form of birth control is a sin. And you don’t want to do that, that—

  COAKLEY: No, but we have a separation of church and state here, Ken, let’s be clear.

  PITTMAN: Yeah, but in the emergency room, you still have your religious freedom.

  COAKLEY: The law says that people are allowed to have that. And so, then, if you—you can have religious freedom, you probably shouldn’t work in the emergency room.

  PITTMAN: Wow. Okay, so if you have religious conviction, stay out of the emergency room.

  COAKLEY: Well, no, I’m not—look, you’re—you’re the one who brought the question up. I don’t believe that the law allows for that, and I know that we accommodate all kinds of differences all the time. I think Roe vs. Wade has made it clear that women have a right to choose, and in Massachusetts, particularly if someone has been the victim of a rape, an assault, and she goes to an emergency room to get contraception, someone else should say, “Oh, no, I don’t believe in this, so I’m going to affect your constitutional rights”?17

  The dishonest attacks on Coakley did not occur in a bubble. Each distortion spread through blogs and talk radio, creating an endless loop of misinformation. While Brown made unforced errors, his gaffes were mostly overlooked or forgiven, while Coakley’s were blown up, exaggerated, or just lied about to the point that she was unable to recover.

  Beyond its aggressive campaigning, Fox News overhyped the significance of a possible Brown victory, even suggesting that viewers would profit from a Republican triumph. On the January 19 edition of Fox & Friends, Fox Business host Stuart Varney said that “investors would love” Brown’s election and that “your 401(k) could do well” as a result.18 In the same interview, Fox aired the following on-screen graphic:

  Moreover, FoxNation.com proclaimed in a headline: “Brown Win Could Cause Huge Stock Rally”:19

  On the day before the election, Fox dropped the pretense of being fair or balanced. The top headline at FoxNation.com read “Massachusetts Miracle” and linked to a video proclaiming that “our liberty is threatened by another tyrannical government” and a “vote for Scott Brown is a vote for liberty.”20

  By Election Day, it was hard to tell the difference between Scott Brown and Fox News staffers. At a campaign rally on January 19, ThinkProgress blogger Lee Fang witnessed Fox News reporter Carl Cameron “relaxing after the speech with Brown campaign volunteers, hugging staffers, and autographing Brown for Senate campaign materials.” Fang reported that “when Think Progress approached Cameron to question him about Fox News’s journalism ethics, he ducked the question and ran away from the event, saying ‘Dude, I’m on a deadline. I can’t.’ ”21

  It was no surprise that Cameron wouldn’t address Fox News’s unethical role in the campaign. His network had spent the previous three weeks airing Scott Brown infomercials, unapologetically soliciting donations, and unfairly attacking his opponent.

  When all was said and done, Brown defeated Coakley by just under four percentage points, and the Democrats’ supermajority was gone.

  One week before Scott Brown’s election, Fox News scored another victory when Sarah Palin signed on to the network as a contributor. The multiyear deal would reportedly pay the half-term governor more than one million dollars. Six months earlier, on July 3, 2009, Palin had resigned as governor of Alaska. In a rambling speech outside her home, Palin told the assembled media, “I love my job and I love Alaska, and it hurts to make this choice, but I’m doing what’s best for them.”22

  Palin continued, “As I thought about this announcement that I would not seek reelection, I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks. They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions … I’m not going to put Alaskans through that. I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That’s not how I’m wired. I’m not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.”23

  While only Palin knew the truth, there was plenty of speculation about the real reasons she was stepping down. Palin’s life changed forever when John McCain chose her as his running mate, instantly catapulting her from obscurity into the national spotlight. She went from being a relatively unknown governor with no national platform to one of the most recognizable faces in the country. And that came with perks: a bevy of staff, security, and tens of thousands of dollars of designer clothing for her and her family.

  When the campaign ended in defeat, it all disappeared. In a Cinderella moment, Palin’s carriage turned back into a pumpkin and life returned to normal, with no adoring crowds or throngs of press following her every move. She was even forced to return her expensive new wardrobe to the Republican National Committee. Trapped in Alaska, Palin lost most of the perks of stardom.

  Palin was also in a position to earn significant fees for speaking engagements, playing pundit, and putting her name on books. But every day she spent in the world of Alaska politics was a lost opportunity to promote conservative issues, and herself, on a national stage. Plus, governing was boring; being a media star was exciting.

  On the campaign trail, Palin had learned an important lesson: the press could be her greatest friend and her worst enemy—often at the same time. This was a major difference between Palin and McCain, who was so close with D.C. journalists that he at one time called the media his “base.” The stories of McCain’s “straight talk” on the back of the campaign bus were legendary. Unlike Palin, McCain was a creature of the world the press inhabited. He had spent thirty years in Washington, D.C., advancing his political career alongside many of the nation’s top reporters.

  Palin came from a different world and quickly cast the press as her enemy. Early on, the media were impressed by Palin’s poise during her announcement speech, her gleeful hostility toward Obama at the Republican National Convention, and her ability to weather the media firestorm created by her seventeen-year-old daughter, who was pregnant out of wedlock. But soon the sheen wore off, and the campaign was unable to hide Palin’s inexperience and ignorance. An interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric was particularly embarrassing, because of Palin’s remarkable response to a softball question about what magazines and newspapers she read:

  COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your worldview, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this—to stay informed and to understand the world?

  PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media—

  COURIC: But, like, what ones specifically? I’m curious, that you—

  PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

  COURIC: Can you name a few?

  PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where, it’s kind of suggested and it seems like, ‘Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking and doing when you live up there in Alaska?’ Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.24

  Rich Lowry, writing in the conservative National Review, called Palin’s performance “dreadful.”25 However, many conservatives disagreed. To them, Couric’s ordinary question was another example of the media’s “liberal bias.” A few weeks later, Palin lashed out at Couric in an interview with Fox News’s Carl Cameron:

  It’s like, man, no matter what you say, you’re going to get clobbered. If you choose to answer a question, you’re going to get clobbered on the answer. If you choose to try to pivot and go on to another subject that you believe that Americans want to hear about, you get clobbered for that, too … But, in t
hose Katie Couric interviews, I did feel that there were a lot of things that she was missing, in terms of an opportunity to ask what a V.P. candidate stands for. What the values are represented in our ticket … So, I guess I have to apologize for being a bit annoyed. But, that’s also an indication of being outside of that Washington elite, outside of the media elite, also. And just wanting to talk to Americans without the filter and let them know what we stand for.

  Most conservatives agreed with Palin: it wasn’t her fault; the media were just out to get her. Now that she was back in Alaska, it was more of the same—reporters out to get her and political operatives launching “frivolous” investigations—but there was a whole nation of conservatives eagerly waiting to hear her voice.

  Stepping down as governor allowed Palin to share her message with the nation. After a summer of Twitter and Facebook posts, Palin released her memoir, Going Rogue, in November 2009. The book was filled with enough falsehoods and distortions to make a Fox News fact-checker blush.

  Going Rogue strayed so far from the truth that the Associated Press took the step of fact-checking it, writing:

  Sarah Palin’s new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven’t become any truer over time. Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer’s dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition. Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. She criticizes President Barack Obama for pushing through a bailout package that actually was achieved by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush—

  a package she seemed to support at the time.26

  After receiving the dubious honor of creating PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year,” Palin was ready for the logical next step: signing a contract with Fox News. There had always been a certain synergy between Palin and Fox. During the campaign, the network had been a safe place for Palin to voice her opinions without the threat of difficult questions that could trip her up. And in January 2009 she was the first guest to appear on Glenn Beck’s Fox show. After another interview in January 2010, Beck commented on his radio program, “The one thing I learned about Sarah Palin is we’re very similar in our experiences.”27

  Beck wasn’t the only Fox News host with a Palin connection. Greta Van Susteren’s husband, John Coale, had, in his own words, “started the PAC” (SarahPAC) and “helped start a legal defense fund for her.”28 While most news organizations would prohibit reporters from covering subjects that represented such conflicts of interest, Fox News executive Bill Shine had a different philosophy. “There are always some sort of, let’s just say, unique relationships that happen when you live in Washington,” he said. “It’s the culture of that town.”29 Now Sarah Palin herself became a Fox employee.

  The factually challenged governor and the factually challenged network were a perfect match. Palin could use her perch at Fox News to address the issues of the day and speak to the conservative voters who would be crucial to any future political ambitions. Additionally, Palin could take advantage of the power of Fox’s platform. Eric Deggans, the St. Petersburg Times media critic, states, “[Fox] gave a platform to the Tea Party it might not have had otherwise, it gave a platform to extremely conservative voices. Sarah Palin is considered credible in part because she has a voice on all of these platforms, and Fox is the biggest one.”30

  In return, Fox got the premier voice of the conservative movement on its payroll and ready to attack—exclusively on Fox—at any moment.

  Fox’s relationship with Palin and other potential presidential candidates without a doubt would affect its coverage of the upcoming presidential election. George Washington University’s Michael Shanahan points out, “Having people who are going to run for president, or who are seriously likely to run for president, as commentators on your television network certainly skews politics and political outcomes.”31

  The Washington press corps still hung on Palin’s every word, but for Roger Ailes, the acquisition meant something more. With Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, and Mike Huckabee already on the payroll, Ailes had locked up almost every prominent political figure on the right (not serving in government), except Mitt Romney. With Palin on the roster, the Republican faithful would be forced to turn to his network if they wanted to hear from their heroes.

  In her first appearance as a Fox News contributor, Palin told Bill O’Reilly that Americans were “tuning in to Fox News” because they were tired of “biased journalism.”32

  Palin’s first interview with O’Reilly attracted a huge audience, but the ratings success did not last. Her show, Real American Stories, generated controversy because it recycled an old interview Fox News had conducted with rapper/actor LL Cool J and promoted it as Palin’s work. The controversy didn’t compel viewers to tune in. In its debut, 2.073 million people watched the show, 10 percent fewer than the number who watched Van Susteren’s show in the same time slot one week earlier.33

  Palin’s ratings were irrelevant. With few exceptions, Palin wouldn’t talk to other outlets. Therefore, reporters who wanted to cover Palin were often forced to promote Fox—another victory for Roger Ailes.

  Chapter 10

  One Million Dollars

  News Corporation believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy.

  —News Corp. spokesperson Jack Horner

  Although Fox’s transition was readily apparent to anyone who was paying attention, other media outlets still treated the network like a journalistic enterprise. Since January 2009, Fox News had not only supported the Tea Party movement and relentlessly attacked President Obama and his agenda, but it campaigned for Republicans every chance it got. Over the course of the 2010 election cycle, more than thirty Fox News employees endorsed, raised funds, or campaigned for over three hundred Republican candidates and organizations.

  West Virginia congressional candidate David McKinley explained the importance of a Fox News endorsement after Dick Morris visited his district and announced support for his candidacy. “I think people that have followed Fox News and get a lot of their news that way, maybe this is something that they can relate to,” McKinley said. “But this man has a national voice that understands this economy.”1

  Other networks prohibited the use of their brand for partisan activities, but Fox News had no such rules. Around the country, Republicans touted their support from Fox personalities. In a promotional video, the Republican Party of Pinellas County in Florida highlighted Morris’s network affiliation. Similarly, an invitation to a fund-raising dinner for the Republican Party of Allen County in Indiana described Mike Huckabee as the “Host of ‘Huckabee’ on FOX News” above a line noting that he was the “Former Governor of Arkansas and Republican Presidential Candidate.”2

  In a press release, Tennessee congressional candidate Chuck Fleischmann boasted that “conservative leader, and Fox News host, Mike Huckabee will be coming to the 3rd District to campaign for Chuck.”3

  Republican Congressman Ron Paul of Texas hyped a barbecue to kick off his reelection, writing on his campaign website: “I am pleased to announce that we will be joined by a good friend of mine, and someone that you will recognize from his regular appearances on Fox News Channel—Judge Andrew Napolitano!”4

  Florida attorney general candidate Pam Bondi made no secret of the fact that she was flaunting the Fox News brand to win over conservative voters. The Palm Beach Post wrote, “Bondi’s not shy about dropping the names of her FOX friends. She touts her connections with Hannity and Palin’s endorsement at each of her stump speeches and in Ocala delighted the audience with her praise of the network.”5

  The power of these endorsements to help candidates raise funds and establish themselves as serious contenders would not have been missed by Ailes. Decades earlier, candidates sought to use his name to demonstrate the seriousness of their campai
gns. “Among my team is Roger Ailes, who, in addition to working on President Reagan’s media, successfully handled Westchester County Executive Andrew O’Rourke’s media in 1983,”6 wrote Congressional candidate Joe DioGuardi to potential supporters in the summer of 1984.

  That same year, the Bill Hendon for Congress Committee wrote to its supporters, “Our excellent TV and radio ads, done by Ailes Communications, Inc., started airing last week.”7

  Fox News employees worked tirelessly to elect Republicans and sometimes even offered to help them on the air. In October 2009, Glenn Beck was eager to assist Representative Michele Bachmann, asking, “How can I help you raise money?” After Bachmann plugged her campaign website, Beck said, “We should have a fund-raiser for you, Michele.”8

  Newt Gingrich aided the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, raising $14.5 million for the party apparatuses during a joint fund-raiser. Gingrich’s own political organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, raised approximately $25 million to fund its attacks on Democratic candidates.

  Mike Huckabee’s PAC, which he promoted aggressively on Fox News, raised more than $1.6 million in 2009–10. Sarah Palin’s PAC raised more than $4 million, and nobody’s endorsement was in higher demand in Republican primaries than the former Alaska governor’s. Rick Santorum, who was using his gig as a Fox contributor to revive his political career, raised close to $2.5 million for Republican candidates through his America’s Foundation PAC.