
For each show, O'Reilly, with the assistance of his staff, produced a script with the words for the "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item of the Day" segments, and points of discussion and questions for the guests that appeared on the program. The producers would often "pre-interview" the guest so that they know what potential points he or she might make. A producer researched the story and booked guests for O'Reilly, and an information packet was produced with possible angles for O'Reilly to explore. O'Reilly and his producers discussed potential topics twice a week. O'Reilly's producers said that video editing took place only when an interview exceeded the available length in a program, of which the total was 43 minutes (for an hour-long slot, once commercials and news breaks are added), though some critics suggested that interviews were sometimes edited after taping to suit O'Reilly's agenda. Some guests were interviewed before the "live-to-tape" period and were slotted in the program as appropriate. The O'Reilly Factor, unlike many other Fox News programs, was pre-recorded, or " live-to- tape," except when covering breaking news or special events. It was later renamed because of a suggestion by a friend. On October 7, 1996, The O'Reilly Report aired its first episode, hosted by Bill O'Reilly. During the program's later years, John Gibson became host when the network discovered Zahn was in the midst of contract negotiations with CNN. Hosted by Paula Zahn, The Edge was one of the original programs on the network, focusing on talk between the host and newsmakers, like other programs on the network at the time. In August 2021, Fox required compulsory reporting of COVID-19 vaccination status from employees, despite prominent Fox personalities Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity being opposed to mandatory reporting of COVID-19 vaccination status. Capitol attack, it was less watched than CNN and MSNBC for three straight days, which had not happened since September 2000. 2020s įox News ended 2020 as the most-watched network in cable news history. In the 2000 presidential election, Fox News, which was available in 56 million homes nationwide, saw a staggering 440% increase in viewers, the biggest gain among the three cable news television networks. Interviews had various facts at the bottom of the screen about the topic or the guest. The rolling news coverage during the day consisted of 20-minute single topic shows like Fox on Crime or Fox on Politics surrounded by news headlines. According to published reports, many media reviewers had to watch the first day's programming at Fox News' studios because it was not readily available.

Īt launch, only 10 million households were able to watch Fox News, with none in the major media markets of New York City and Los Angeles. Ailes worked individuals through five months of 14-hour workdays and several weeks of rehearsal shows before launch, on October 7, 1996. In February 1996, after former NBC executive and Republican Party political strategist Roger Ailes left America's Talking (now MSNBC), Murdoch called him to start the Fox News Channel. "worldwide platform" for Fox programming, reasoning that "The appetite for news – particularly news that explains to people how it affects them – is expanding enormously." Įxterior of the Fox News Channel studios in New York City With the success of his fourth network efforts in the United States, experience gained from Sky News, and turnaround of 20th Century Fox, Murdoch announced on January 31, 1996, that his company would be launching a 24-hour news channel to air on both cable and satellite systems as part of a News Corp. Prior to founding Fox News, Murdoch had gained significant experience in the 24-hour news business when News Corporation's British Sky Broadcasting subsidiary started Europe's first 24-hour news channel, Sky News, in the United Kingdom in 1989.

The channel was launched on Octo to 17 million cable subscribers. The channel was created by Australian-born American media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who hired Roger Ailes as its founding CEO.
