The Moment When Fox News Surged to Power

How a cable news channel became a political and cultural force.

How Fox News went from bumbling to seemingly invincible. Choose your preferred player: For questions about subscriptions or your Slate Plus feed, check our FAQ. Please enable javascript to get your Slate Plus feeds. If you can’t access your feeds, please contact customer support. Thanks! Check your phone for a link to finish setting up your feed. Please enter a 10-digit phone number. Listen on your phone:RECOMMENDED Enter your phone number and we’ll text you a link to set up the
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Loading… We’re sorry, but something went wrong while fetching your podcast feeds. Please contact us at plus@slate.com for help. When the Fox News Channel launched in 1996, critics called it disorganized, incompetent, and laughably inept. But it wouldn’t be a joke for long. During the 2000 election, Fox News would captivate the nation – and just maybe change the fate of American democracy. Want more from Slow Burn? Join Slate Plus to unlock full access to all seasons, including members-only bonus episodes from The Rise of Fox News. You’ll also enjoy ad-free listening to all of your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen. Season 10 of Slow Burn was written and reported by Josh Levin. It was executive produced by Lizzie Jacobs. Slow Burn is produced by Sophie Summergrad, Joel Meyer, and Rosie Belson with help from Patrick Fort, Jacob Fenston, and Julia Russo. Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. This season was edited by Susan Matthews and Hillary Frey. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. Mix and sound design by Joe Plourde. Our theme music was composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Derreck Johnson created the artwork for this season. Episode artwork by Ivylise Simones. Sources for This Episode: Books Collins, Scott. Crazy Like a FOX: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN, Portfolio, 2004. Folkenflik, David. Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires, PublicAffairs, 2013. Moore, David W. How to Steal an Election: The Inside Story of How George Bush’s Brother and FOX Network Miscalled the 2000 Election and Changed the Course of History, Nation Books, 2006. Sherman, Gabriel. The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News-and Divided a Country, Random House, 2014. Articles “Antitrust Group Targets Voter News Service,” Forbes, Nov. 29, 2000. Auletta, Ken. “Vox Fox,” the New Yorker, May 26, 2003. Balz, Dan. “Bush Acknowledges 1976 DUI Arrest,” Washington Post, Nov. 2, 2000. Boehlert, Eric. “Rewriting history,” Salon, July 23, 2004. “Bush confirms arrest for drunken driving in 1976,” Associated Press, Nov. 3, 2000. Carter, Bill. “Calling the Presidential Race, and Cousin George W.,” New York Times, Nov. 14, 2000. Cohen, Adam. “Fallout From a Midnight Ride: An old arrest for driving under the influence revives the issue of Bush’s ‘irresponsible youth,’” Time, Nov. 6, 2000. “Comedy Central Yule Spoof: It’s A ‘Wonderful’ Fight,” New York Daily News, Nov. 8, 1996. Diamon, Al. “Frankly, this guy is peculiar,” Biddeford Journal Tribune, July 15, 2000. Ellis, John. “A Hard Day’s Night: John Ellis’ Firsthand Account of Election Night,” Inside, Dec. 11, 2000. Ellis, John. “Why I won’t write anymore about the 2000 campaign,” Boston Globe, July 3, 1999. Folkenflik, David. “I Covered Media’s 2000 Election Night Fiasco. Please, Let’s Not Do That Again,” NPR, Nov. 3, 2020. Folkenflik, David. “Network reviews report of leaks,” Baltimore Sun, Nov. 15, 2000. Fund, John. “‘Pearl Harbor Politics’: Who’s behind the Bush DUI story?,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 3, 2000. Gegax, T. Trent. “The Inside Story,” Newsweek, Nov. 19, 2000. Goldberg, Carey. “The Tipster; Maine Lawyer Delights in Leaking Bush’s Arrest,” New York Times, Nov. 4, 2000. Graff, Garrett M. “Gore Minutes From Conceding,” Harvard Crimson, Nov. 9, 2000. Harkavy, Jerry. “Maine Lawyer Discovered Bush DUI,” AP, Nov. 3, 2000. Johnson, Allan. “The Recount Battle Gave Cable News A Wild Rating Ride, But Now It Needs An Encore,” Chicago Tribune, Dec. 18, 2000. Johnson, Peter. “Voting for ‘Beethoven’ paid off for Fox Nov. 5,” USA Today, Nov. 14, 1996. Kaplan, Don. “Dubya’s Cousin Under the Gun; Did Fox Exec Share Polling Info With Kin?,” New York Post, Nov. 15, 2000. Kennedy, Dan. “Bush League,” Boston Phoenix, Jan. 28-Feb. 4, 1999. King, Angela G. “Fox Hunts TV News Niche with Channel Debut Today,” New York Daily News, Oct. 7, 1996. Knowlton, Brian. “Disclosure of His 1976 Arrest for Drunken Driving Shakes Campaign, but Voter Reaction Is Uncertain: A November Surprise for Bush,” International Herald Tribune, Nov. 4, 2000. Kurtz, Howard. “Bush Cousin Made Florida Vote Call for Fox News,” Washington Post, Nov. 13, 2000. Leeds, Jeff. “Bush’s Cousin Monitored Vote for Fox News,” Los Angeles Times, Nov. 14, 2000. Mayer, Jane. “George W.’s Cousin,” the New Yorker, Nov. 20, 2000. Mifflin, Lawrie. “At the New Fox News Channel, the Buzzword is Fairness, Separating News from Bias,” New York Times,  Oct. 7, 1996. Mifflin, Lawrie. “Send-Ups on Election Night,” New York Times, Oct. 30, 1996. Mnookin, Seth. “It Happened One Night,” Brill’s Content, Dec. 18, 2000. Moore, David W. “Election Night From Hell,” the Nation, Oct. 25, 2006. “Nets Jumped on Bush ‘Deception’,” Media Research Center, Nov. 3, 2000. Pennington, Gail. “High-Tech TV; ‘Virtual Set,’ Instant Results Highlight Coverage,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 6, 1996. “Ratings Ploy By Fox Irks News Staffers,” Chicago Tribune, Nov. 12, 1996. Rokus, Brian. “The fight to keep Al Gore off stage on election night,” CNN, Nov. 2, 2015. Rosenwein, Rifka. “The News That Dare Not Speak Its Name,” Brill’s Content, October 1999. Rutenberg, Jim. “The Right Strategy for Fox; Conservative Cable Channel Gains in Ratings War,” New York Times, Sept. 18, 2000. Seper, Jerry. “Source of Bush DUI document has history of making crude attacks on the governor,” Washington Times, Nov. 4, 2000. Shepard, Alicia C. “A Late-Breaking Campaign Skeleton,” AJR, December 2000. Tirrell-Wysocki, David. “Maine delegate: Gore may be a bore, but W’s a wiener,” Associated Press, Aug. 15, 2000. Zurawik, David. “Fox’s efforts are laughable, while CNN and NBC serve viewers best with a tried-and-true approach,” Baltimore Sun, Nov. 6, 1996. NPR’s media correspondent looks back at a fateful night for the cable news channel. In Slow Burn’s 10th season, host Josh Levin takes you back to a crucial inflection point in American history: the moment between 2000 and 2004 when Fox News first surged to power and a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it. You’ll hear from the hosts, reporters, and producers who built Fox News, many of whom have never spoken publicly. You’ll also hear from Fox’s biggest antagonists—the political operatives, journalists, and comedians who attacked it, investigated it, and tried to mock it into submission. And you’ll hear from Fox’s victims, who are still coming to terms with how a cable news channel upended their lives. Josh Levin is the editorial director of the Slow Burn podcast. He is the host of the Slow Burn seasons on David Duke and Fox News and co-hosts the sports podcast Hang Up and Listen. He is the author of The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth. 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