Via Instapundit: Roger Ailes is likely to go down in history as a political genius whose mastery of the news media reshaped the partisan landscape of America. But for all the superlatives about the power and influence of Ailes’ creation, Fox News, the encomiums will do him a fundamental disservice.
What made the 77-year-old New Yorker unique were not the dark arts of a Karl Rove or a Dick Morris. His genius didn’t hinge on the intricacies of cable news or a deep understanding of American culture as the sun set on the 20th century.
Ailes, who died Thursday, was a bard, a master storyteller. His power to unite an audience came from the same primal place as a fireside teller of tales in mankind’s cave-dwelling days. He built a network where the regular American working man was the good guy and all the smarty-pants and do-gooders of the world were the bad guys. Fox News commentators and reporters alike targeted their tribe and told it the stories it wanted to hear. The audience cheered and came back for more.
The New York Times’ obituary of Ailes says he shaped “the images that helped elect three Republican presidents and then became a dominant, often-intimidating force in American conservative politics at the helm of Fox News.”
What made the 77-year-old New Yorker unique were not the dark arts of a Karl Rove or a Dick Morris. His genius didn’t hinge on the intricacies of cable news or a deep understanding of American culture as the sun set on the 20th century.
Ailes, who died Thursday, was a bard, a master storyteller. His power to unite an audience came from the same primal place as a fireside teller of tales in mankind’s cave-dwelling days. He built a network where the regular American working man was the good guy and all the smarty-pants and do-gooders of the world were the bad guys. Fox News commentators and reporters alike targeted their tribe and told it the stories it wanted to hear. The audience cheered and came back for more.
The New York Times’ obituary of Ailes says he shaped “the images that helped elect three Republican presidents and then became a dominant, often-intimidating force in American conservative politics at the helm of Fox News.”
(Link to more)
12 comments:
He succeeded on his own considerable merits, he made a huge difference, and he will be missed.
None of the muppets at the other tv stations can say that.
The way he was taken down is now the Lefties' go-to mode of attack.
Small wonder Mike Pence refuses to be alone in a room with a woman if his wife isn't there.
Ailes' "crime" was introducing the millions of Americans, who, either for lack of time or lack of inclination would never go searching for news in out of the way places, who just wanted to turn on the TV to get the news, he introduced them to something other than the pure liberal line. In short, Ailes broke the monopoly.
I have no idea who he was or what he did, other than the things I have read today. All I saw was a picture of a man who looked deathly ill. I guess he had some other medical issues besides being grossly fat, but come on, dude, slow your rolls.
He actually fell and because he was taking blood thinners threw a clot that ended up killing him. A big danger for those of us who take these horrible drugs. You can't take a punch because it could kill you two weeks later.
The thing about him is that unlike so many of the other political types he remember where he came from. The same way Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly and even Geraldo Rivera do. Just the way a Queens business man does. The elites hate that. They attack that. They try to kill that.
Right now they are celebrating his death.
What I still don't understand is why all the former FOX viewers jumped ship to Rachel Maddow, making her numero uno. This totally makes me lose respect for my TV-watching brethren.
Murdoch's no account sons are pissing away everything Ailes built.
Did FOX viewers jump? It's hard to imagine.
I can see them becoming disgusted with FOX but I cannot see them tolerating Rachael Maddow.
Another too perfectly named protagonist. She's well mad. Fond as a besom, mad as a brush.
Just listening to her is grating on the ears and we protect our sensory organs not expose them to reckless hazard. Their improved ratings are indicative of generalized madness eager to seize upon the meanest daft garbage and she's it. Conversely FOX is abandoning their viewers by their shift away from what made them great. The viewers left and are leaving, but I do not think they went to MSNBC.
Murdoch's no account sons are pissing away everything Ailes built.
Hey, at least they'll be invited to the right Manhattan parties which all they wanted.
Ya got me, Chip - I had never heard those expressions so I looked them up. Noice.
Fox News, like other cable companies, is going to have to deal with cord cutting too. I haven't cut the cord myself, but I have cut out TV news of all sorts for nearly a decade now. To the extent I see it at all, is the ubiquitous TV at work, at airports, and at restaurants that will show TV news or the highly specialized TV news, MSESPN.
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