How Roger Ailes revolutionized cable news

The "infotainment" approach Fox News pioneered is now the dominant framework across cable news

Roger Aisles.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Fred Prouser)

Roger Ailes, the man who remade cable news — and American politics in the process — died Thursday at the age of 77.

Ailes founded Fox News in 1996. For the next two decades, he ran the company as CEO. The scandals of the Bill Clinton presidency helped Fox News roar toward cable domination, and the network later rode (and fueled) the Tea Party wave to enormous profits and influence during the Obama years. Today, Fox News still trounces competitors like MSNBC and CNN in the ratings, and finished out 2016 as — once again — the most-watched cable news network. It boasts around $1 billion a year in profits, making it the most lucrative single piece of its parent company, 21st Century Fox.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.