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Did You See the Fox News Prequel? It Wasn’t Very Good.

Before he ran Fox News, Roger Ailes launched a very different kind of channel. America’s Talking was his vision of the future of television: a strange, slapdash, mostly apolitical cable network. When that dream got snatched away from him, Ailes went on a revenge mission—and made a connection with Rupert Murdoch.

Want more from Slow Burn? Join Slate Plus to unlock full access to all seasons, including members-only bonus episodes from The Rise of Fox News. You’ll also enjoy ad-free listening to all of your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen.

Season 10 of Slow Burn was written and reported by Josh Levin. It was executive produced by Lizzie Jacobs.

Slow Burn is produced by Sophie Summergrad, Joel Meyer, and Rosie Belson with help from Patrick Fort, Jacob Fenston, and Julia Russo.

Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts.

This season was edited by Susan Matthews and Hillary Frey.

Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. Mix and sound design by Joe Plourde.

Our theme music was composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Derreck Johnson created the artwork for this season. Episode artwork by Ivylise Simones.

Sources for This Episode:

Books

Collins, Scott. Crazy Like a FOX: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN, Portfolio, 2004.

Folkenflik, David. Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires, PublicAffairs, 2013.

Hemmer, Nicole. Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.

Hemmer, Nicole. Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s, Basic Books, 2022.

McGinnis, Joe. The Selling of the President 1968, Trident Press, 1969.

Sherman, Gabriel. The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News-and Divided a Country, Random House, 2014.

Swint, Kerwin. Dark Genius: The Influential Career of Legendary Political Operative and Fox News Founder Roger Ailes, Union Square Press, 2008.

Young, Dannagal. Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States, Oxford University Press, 2019.

Articles

Anzur, Terry. “Roger Ailes and Me,” LinkedIn, May 18, 2017.

Auletta, Ken. “Vox Fox,” the New Yorker, May 26, 2003.

Bash, Alan. “America’s Talking gab grabbing cable viewers,” USA Today, July 6, 1995.

Bash, Alan. “McCuddy: One more mouth to heed,” USA Today, June 17, 1994.

Battaglio, Stephen. “Roger Ailes: The One-Two Punch Behind George Bush; President-Elect’s Media Guru Took No Prisoners on Road to Victory,” Adweek, Nov. 14, 1988.

Boyer, Peter J. “Rather Walked Off Set of CBS News,” New York Times, Sept. 13, 1987.

Brinkley, David. “The Voice of God on TV: Walter Cronkite’s 1960s,” Newsweek, March 19, 2012.

Brock, David. “Roger Ailes is Mad as Hell,” New York Magazine, Nov. 17, 1997.

Carter, Bill. “Murdoch Joins a Cable-TV Rush Into the Crowded All-News Field,” New York Times, Jan. 31, 1996.

Crosby, Joan. “Fourth Network Hasn’t Worked Yet,” Raleigh Register, Feb. 26, 1969.

Cook, John. “Roger Ailes’ Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint for Fox News,” Gawker, June 30, 2011.

Curtis, Bryan. “The Great NFL Heist: How Fox Paid for and Changed Football Forever,” the Ringer, Dec. 13, 2018.

Dempsey, John. “(Your name here) talker,” Variety, Jan. 11, 1994.

Drushel, Bruce. “Rupert Murdoch’s empire was built on a shrewd understanding of how media and power work,” the Conversation, Nov. 1, 2023.

Endrst, James. “Fox News Pursues Balance, Boldness; Nervy Network Elbows Way Into Crowded Cable Lineup,” Hartford Courant, Aug. 5, 1998.

Fallows, James. “The Age of Murdoch,” the Atlantic, September 2003.

“Fox news renames morning show,” Scranton Tribune, Aug. 28, 1998.

Goodman, Walter. “Fox’s 24-Hour News Is Oddly Familiar,” New York Times, Oct. 10, 1996.

Graham, Jefferson. “Fox lines up new fall shows / Network adds news show, sitcoms with urban appeal,” USA Today, May 25, 1993.

Haas, Nancy. “Embracing the Enemy; Roger Ailes,” New York Times, Jan. 8, 1995.

Hall, Jane. “CNBC Chief No Stranger To The Tube,” Los Angeles Times, Oct. 18, 1993.

Johnson, Peter. “Fox wakes up morning TV,” USA Today, Aug. 18, 2003.

Kaltenbach, Chris. “Baltimore’s Bill McCuddy wins contest to be the host of a new cable talk show,” Baltimore Sun, June 16, 1994.

Kaltenbach, Chris. “Bill McCuddy’s big ‘Break’ begins today,” Baltimore Sun, July 4, 1994.

Kaltenbach, Chris. “McCuddy’s fling with the big time looks permanent,” Baltimore Sun, July 10, 1995.

Konigsberg, Eric. “Roger Ailes’s Pork Roast,” the New Yorker, Aug. 22, 1994.

Lafayette, John. “Fox News Rethinks Crier ‘Bulletin,’ Sources Say,” Television Week, Feb. 3, 1997.

Ledbetter, James. “FNC equals GOP?,” the Village Voice, Oct. 15, 1996.

Mifflin, Lawrie. “At the New Fox News Channel, the Buzzword is Fairness, Separating News from Bias,” New York Times, Oct. 7, 1996.

Mink, Eric. “Fox News Bull-etin Shticks In Our Craw: Crier & Co. Lose Credibility With Super Bowl Cut-In,” New York Daily News, Jan. 28, 1997.

Moore, Frazier. “Trying To Cure What Ailes You,” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 6, 1995.

Pierce, Scott D. “Some TV Questions Are Unanswerable,” Deseret News, Feb. 7, 1997.

Robins, J. Max. “Getting Rogered: My Not So Fond Memories of The Late Roger Ailes,” Medium, June 1, 2017.

Rosenwein, Rifka. “The News That Dare Not Speak Its Name,” Brill’s Content, October 1999.

Rutenberg, Jim. “The Right Strategy for Fox; Conservative Cable Channel Gains in Ratings War,” New York Times, Sept. 18, 2000.

Stengel, Richard. “The Man Behind the Message: If anyone can build a better candidate, it is Roger Ailes,” Time, Aug. 22, 1988.

Summergrad, Sophie. “Can we talk? A discussion of gender politics in the late-night comedy career of Joan Rivers,” Boston University Theses & Dissertations, 2016.

The Super Blitz,” Chicago Tribune, Jan. 29. 1997.

’Today’ Show Commentator To Head CNBC Channel,” Los Angeles Times, Aug. 31, 1993.

Zezima, Jerry. “A Day in the Chatty Life of America’s Talking Network,” Stamford Advocate, Jan. 15, 1995.

Audiovisual

Bloom, Alexis. Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes, 2018.

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