Sticking Up for Fox News PR
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FTVLive is going to do something that many of you that read this site might find unexpected.
We are going to stick up for Fox News. Well, not all of Fox News, but the Fox News PR department.
The Fox News PR department has been getting a bad rap and if you believe what you read, you might think that they are a cross between, the KGB, the CIA and WWE.
We can assure you and so could Fox News PR, FTVLive has done battles with Fox News and their PR department countless times. They have yelled at me over the phone and I have done the same to them. We have gone months without talking to each other.
But, we never felt threatened by them or lied to by them.
Sure, they sent Jenna Lee to our house late one night, but that was because Jenna liked us....right? Oh wait, no that was Brian Stelter's house.
There is no doubt that the way Fox News does their PR is different than others. It is certainly run very much like a political campaign. But, you also have to understand that Fox News (well before the Roger Ailes sexual harassment allegations) has always been a target.
Forget what is going on now with Ailes. If he is guilty of what is being accused, the guy deserves every negative thing being said about him.
But, before that, people always tee'd off on Fox News. They are the number one cable news station and people will always do what they can to tear down the leader.
Fox came in for a right wing approach and been blasted for it since day one.
FTVLive has taken many shots at Fox News and their is no doubt, we felt network deserved it. No one would accuse us of being a FNC fan. But we are not a hater either. When Fox News screws up, we blast them. When they do good, we praise them.
This is how we try and treat every story. It's always about the story, never about the company.
When you have idiots like Sean Hannity and Brian Killmeade and others on your air, you're going to take hits.
Fox PR has to be different, because they spend 90% of their time in defense mode.
But, in all my dealings with the Fox News PR people, I always thought they were mostly fair. When I didn't think they were being fair, I told them flat out.
Roger Ailes has always come off to us as a creepy guy. The idea that he spied on people, including his own does not surprise us.
But, this happens even at local stations. The Sinclair station in San Antonio is a prefect example. They are still holding meetings and trying to figure out who leaked a story to FTVLive. A Tegna station is currently involved in the same thing.
But, those stations are run by weak GM's that think the best way to lead is through intimidation. In the end, that is a bit like Roger Ailes.
Because of Ailes, the FNC PR people are being painted with a broad brush. These are people that come in work hard and do their job. They are not spies, monsters or anything other than decent people working at a network.
Before long, every media reporter will claimed that they were spied on by Fox News. It stokes their ego to say so.
As we said, Roger Ailes is creepy and their was no doubt he was paranoid of just about everything.
But, the people at Fox News and their PR department are not Roger Ailes, they do not deserved to be lumped in with him.
Paint Roger Ailes as the horrible person all you want, but don't spill the paint on PR people just doing their job.
We can tell you, when FTVLive slams Fox News and the PR people think our story was unfair against them. Guess what? They still take our calls and still continue to do their jobs as professionals.
We can assure you, the same can not be said for a number of other networks, and stations including Fox's own O&O PR group (you know, The Firm).
FTVLive does our best to bypass the PR people when it comes to us digging up stories, but sometimes you have to call them. And when we have called Fox News, they have been nothing but professional.
That's all you really can ask for.
Now, in the next story, let's slam that idiot Sean Hannity.
