Television: The NASCAR Of News

(2 of 2)

The implicit, populist message to viewers: Fox News doesn't think it's better than you (unless you're the competition). It is not handing down news on tablets; it is not ashamed to look like Access Hollywood. Its on-air talent is colloquial--"Slammed on the floor!" said a reporter describing Janet Reno's public fainting spell last week, as if she had been upended by The Rock--with less patrician polish than traditional newscasts. It's a far cry from William F. Buckley--a conservative haven that appeals to social-class resentment. O'Reilly, the highest-rated host in cable news, plays the class card explicitly, inveighing against limousine liberals in one breath and oil-company lobbyists in another.

It's still not known whether more viewers will translate into more money for Fox News. CNN continues to draw ad rates about a third higher than Fox's because, say advertising executives, it has an established cable-news brand and has maintained a more upscale audience. But in January, Fox led CNN among viewers in the advertiser-friendly 25-54 age range (all the networks' viewer ages skew toward older viewers--CNN's median age is 59, to Fox's 56 and MSNBC's 55). News events can change the business again in an instant, of course, but Fox's gains mean one thing: whether the shooting war heats up or cools down, this battle will rage on.