The Fox Effect

How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine

De: David Brock, Ari Rabin-Havt, Media Matters for America

Narrado por: Bob Dunsworth

Here is comprehensive overview of the tumultuous career of former Fox News president Roger Ailes and a must-read for anyone looking to understand his legacy and impact on news media.

Based on the meticulous research of the news watchdog organization Media Matters for America, David Brock and Ari Rabin-Havt show how Fox News, under its president Roger Ailes, changed from a right-leaning news network into a partisan advocate for the Republican Party.

The Fox Effect follows the career of Ailes from his early work as a television producer and media consultant for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. Consequently, when he was hired in 1996 as the president of Rupert Murdoch’s flagship conservative cable news network, Ailes had little journalism experience, but brought to the job the mindset of a political operative. As Brock and Rabin-Havt demonstrate through numerous examples, Ailes used his extraordinary power and influence to spread a partisan political agenda that is at odds with long-established, widely held standards of fairness and objectivity in news reporting.

Featuring transcripts of leaked audio and memos from Fox News reporters and executives, The Fox Effect is a damning indictment of how the network’s news coverage and commentators have biased reporting, drummed up marginal stories, and even consciously manipulated established facts in their efforts to attack the Obama administration.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"It's the truth, stupid. That's Brock, Rabin-Havt and Media Matters' message and it's a pretty darn good one."
—James Carville

“Media Matters tells the truth–and then spreads the truth far and wide. They are a leading and effective voice in combating misinformation. This latest book, by founder David Brock, makes clear the threat that incendiary journalism poses to our democracy.”
—Nancy Pelosi

“This pointed study of modern politics is both a must-read and a cautionary tale."
—Senator John F. Kerry

“Think of any conservative-media scandal of the past few years. . . and it’s a good bet that a Media Matters researcher flagged the offending clip, uploaded it to the group’s website, and got the party started.”
—New York Magazine

“Fox News has created a generation of woefully (and objectively) misinformed ideological sycophants to pursue its radical agenda. It's no accident. Now David Brock and Ari Rabin-Havt show that no matter how unethical and dishonest you think Fox News is, the reality is that they're much, much worse.”
—Markos Moulitsas, publisher, Daily Kos

Pretty good - just a liberal confirmation bias boo

Any additional comments?

If you're listening to this book, you're probably already a Fox News loathing liberal. This book satisfies the craving for confirmation bias, but isn't much more than that. Worth a read. I picked up some "golden nuggets."

A solid expose hampered by a poor narrator

Any additional comments?

Overall a lot of people probably see this as muckraking or merely there to preach to the choir, but on some level the latter is almost all Media Matters can ever do. That isn't their fault- people tend to insulate themselves from opposing views- it's a problem on both ends of the ideological spectrum- but it does mean that this book may only provide some additional nuggets to the already convinced. It's still a pretty interesting piece and given that Fox is still certainly incredibly relevant, still worth reading for anybody interested in a progressive take on Fox, though there is certainly some things that have come up that might warrant a new, updated edition. The only issue is that the performance really drags it down a bit- I haven't listened to any other performances by the narrator so I don't know if this is just Bob's style or if it was an affectation specifically for this book, but the frequent at times almost random-seeming pauses really grated on me since it felt like it made the book lose punch at times. Still a very interesting listen, but it could have been "great" instead of "good" if there had been a different narrator.

Preaching to the Choir

Would you listen to The Fox Effect again? Why?

Yes I would listen again to make a list of the names of some of the players to do additional research on their previous political dealings.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

the appalling arrogance of Ailes, and the horror that his behavior is seen as appropriate to a certain sector of society in these perilous times.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I found the narration clear and effective but slight slower paced than I would have preferred

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

You won't believe what you're hearing, no, seriously, you won't believe it; because you've already made up your mind!

Any additional comments?

The people who most need to read this book will never buy it, Tea Partiers, ignore your confirmation bias and buy this book!

Fox news lack of journalistic integrity clarified

An excellent review of Fox "News'" bias for one political party, with many examples of archived dishonesties and their unfortunate effects regarding political discourse by feeding a susceptible portion of the general public material tailored to satisfy the confirmation bias and cynicism with spin and blatent lies.

A Look Behind the Scenes at Fox

If you've ever wondered how Fox became a podium for the right wing in the U.S. then this is the book that explains it. This a well researched, interesting book that examines the history of Roger Ailes, and how and why he crossed the line from journalism, to right wing Republican advocacy.