Description
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owned by the Fox Corporation. It is the most-watched cable news network in the U.S., and as of 2023 generates approximately 70% of its parent company's pre-tax profit. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. Fox News provides a service to 86 countries and territories, with international broadcasts featuring Fox Extra segments during advertising breaks.
The channel was created by Australian-born American media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996 to appeal to a conservative audience, hiring former Republican media consultant and CNBC executive Roger Ailes as its founding CEO. It launched on October 7, 1996, to 17 million cable subscribers. Fox News grew during the late 1990s and 2000s to become the dominant United States cable news subscription network. By September 2018, 87 million U.S. households (91 percent of television subscribers) could receive Fox News. In 2019, it was the top-rated cable network, averaging 2.5 million viewers in prime time. Murdoch, the executive chairman since 2016, said in 2023 that he would step down and hand responsibilities to his son, Lachlan. Suzanne Scott has been the CEO since 2018.
Vox, The New Yorker, ABC News Australia and The New York Times have characterized Fox News as a propaganda outlet. Its coverage has included biased reporting in favor of the Republican Party, its politicians, and conservative causes, while portraying the Democratic Party in a negative light. Critics have argued that the channel is damaging to the integrity of news overall. In 2009, Fox News denied bias in its news reporting. The channel's official position was that its reporting operates independently of its opinion journalism. Media analyst Brian Stelter, who has written extensively about the network, observed in 2021 that in more recent years it had adjusted its programming to present "less news on the air and more opinions-about-the-news" throughout the day, on concerns it was losing viewers to more conservative competitors that were presenting such content.
After Dominion Voting Systems initiated a defamation lawsuit against Fox regarding their reporting on the 2020 U.S. election, Fox's internal communications were released, showing that its presenters and senior executives privately doubted claims of a stolen election, while Fox continued to broadcast such claims. Other communications showed Fox CEO Suzanne Scott stating that fact-checking such claims would alienate Fox viewers. Fox settled the lawsuit in 2023 by agreeing to pay Dominion $787.5 million and acknowledging the court ruling that Fox had broadcast false statements about Dominion.
According to Pew Research Center, in 2019, 65 percent of Republicans and people who lean Republican trusted Fox News.
