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BUSINESS 8/13/2015 @ 9:05AM
Fox News Backs Trump Against Megyn Kelly In Perfect Ratings Victory
In the world of political entertainment, all publicity is good publicity, all advertising dollars are good advertising dollars, and all control provides a way to hone your message and income. Trump knows this. So does Fox News Chief, Roger Ailes.
The Fox News gender demographic breakdown is 56% male and 44% female. By coddling Trump, Ailes is hedging his audience bets, keeping current viewers and maximizing the revenue stream associated with new ones. That’s because Trump equals ratings and ratings equal money; a record 24 million people tuned in to the first GOP debate last week, compared to about 2.3 million on average for The Kelly File.
Now, Trump has every right to manipulate Fox News, and the media as a whole, in the exposure stakes. And Fox has power too. The network could have called his bluff. Instead, it capitulated to his demands and his audience. That is a blow to journalism. And as Kelly said, “I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism.”
Trump’s proven strategy is to stir controversy and maintain the maverick image of the man that won’t be filtered, that is too rich to be bought. Yet in a way, he was bought by Ailes’ promise that he be treated with kid gloves by the network. Ailes in turn gets ratings now and maybe Celebrity President hosted by Trump in the future.
Ailes is also focused on the advertising revenue that follows audience numbers. The network wants to keep existing customers, or the loudest ones anyway, happy. More than that, it wants to access fresh faces; those non-Fox News regulars that tuned in to the Trump show debate—and will again.
The extra viewers last week meant that advertisers who had previously bought debate slots got more bang for their buck. For Fox, this leads to higher fees next time, which requires not just keeping Trump in the mix, but keeping Trump happy. The Kelly File may have stellar ratings normally, but a larger, more diverse audience of millennials to seniors, Democrats to Republicans, yields more advertising categories.
Fox can also gain advertisers that don’t think Trump is worth the risk of a long term partnership (like Macy’s), but might bank on him on a one-off show basis.
The GOP debate was cable’s most watched non sports telecast ever. It was more than twice as viewed as the prior most-watched Fox News debate in the lead-up to the 2012 election (with 11.8 million viewers.) The debate was Fox News Channel’s most-watched show in its 19-year history. Between the GOP debate, and the follow-up that night on The Kelly File, (which received 10.93 million viewers), from August 3rd-9th Fox News Channel attained its largest weekly audience since coverage of the Iraq War in 2003.
The Kelly File went on to be the highest rated cable news show on the Monday following the debate as well, in both the 25-54 demographic (568,000) and number of viewers (2.915 million.)
Meanwhile, Trump has elevated himself over the medium of broadcasting. Even after Trump told CNN Friday that Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever” during the debate, Ailes demurred from defending his star host. According to New York Magazine, after Trump told Sean Hannity he was “never doing Fox again,” he marked his words with four non-Fox public-affairs show appearances on Sunday, plus interviews with The Today Show and Morning Joe on Monday.
Ailes offered Trump the chance to feature on Kelly’s show as an olive branch, but Trump refused. He finally consented to appearances on Fox and Friends and Hannity. Mission accomplished, on August 11th, 72 hours after his “Fox hiatus”, Trump appeared on Fox and Friends. “I’m glad we’re friends again,” co-host Steve Doocy told him. On Hannity, Trump’s interview propelled the show to a four month rating high.
Thus, Trump exerted control over Fox News not just for now, but with respect to any future interviews and debates. One can only wonder: if he can “trump” Fox, keeper of his core voter audience, what would he do to the country’s population if it turned against him—excommunicate them? Send them to Mexico?
Trump may have won a battle with Ailes, but Republican female votes might prove harder to coerce. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken between August 7th and 11th showed Trump’s female support falling to 20 percent from 26 percent on August 3rd.
According to the Boston Globe, two of New Hampshire’s top female Republicans criticized Trump for his debate remarks. “I don’t think women in New Hampshire will appreciate them,” said US Senator Kelly Ayotte. Donna Sytek, the first woman speaker of the New Hampshire House, said, “I think that anyone watching the debate wouldn’t confuse him as a standard bearer of the Republican Party.”
Carly Fiorina, the GOP’s only female presidential candidate rallied for Kelly after Trump’s CNN insult, tweeting, “There. Is. No. Excuse.”
This latest, of what will be many more, Trump-centered squabbles is far more than a heated exchange between Kelly and Trump on debate night or since. It also goes beyond gender politics or civil treatment. It serves as a lens into the temperament necessary to be president. Trump’s base is enthused by his anti-political aura, his brash call-it-like-he-sees-it posture. Global leaders could be another matter.
His supporters consider all this maneuvering against “political correctness” as good for Trump’s business of becoming president, but in the world of international politics, it could cause wars. If President Kennedy had decided not to engage in conversation with Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it could have resulted in a superpower nuclear war.
Recent history (remember Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women”?) shows that if Trump can’t hold onto women’s votes, he can’t win the presidency. Perhaps Ailes sees this Trump partnership as a hedge for that, too. Any of Trump’s shows would assure him of top ratings on Fox News or any other Fox affiliates in the future, regardless of whether or not he becomes president.
Update: Fox News CEO Roger Ailes released the following statement earlier this week:
“Donald Trump and I spoke today. We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100 percent. I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness & balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared.”
Fox News Backs Trump Against Megyn Kelly In Perfect Ratings Victory
In the world of political entertainment, all publicity is good publicity, all advertising dollars are good advertising dollars, and all control provides a way to hone your message and income. Trump knows this. So does Fox News Chief, Roger Ailes.
The Fox News gender demographic breakdown is 56% male and 44% female. By coddling Trump, Ailes is hedging his audience bets, keeping current viewers and maximizing the revenue stream associated with new ones. That’s because Trump equals ratings and ratings equal money; a record 24 million people tuned in to the first GOP debate last week, compared to about 2.3 million on average for The Kelly File.
Now, Trump has every right to manipulate Fox News, and the media as a whole, in the exposure stakes. And Fox has power too. The network could have called his bluff. Instead, it capitulated to his demands and his audience. That is a blow to journalism. And as Kelly said, “I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism.”
Trump’s proven strategy is to stir controversy and maintain the maverick image of the man that won’t be filtered, that is too rich to be bought. Yet in a way, he was bought by Ailes’ promise that he be treated with kid gloves by the network. Ailes in turn gets ratings now and maybe Celebrity President hosted by Trump in the future.
Ailes is also focused on the advertising revenue that follows audience numbers. The network wants to keep existing customers, or the loudest ones anyway, happy. More than that, it wants to access fresh faces; those non-Fox News regulars that tuned in to the Trump show debate—and will again.
The extra viewers last week meant that advertisers who had previously bought debate slots got more bang for their buck. For Fox, this leads to higher fees next time, which requires not just keeping Trump in the mix, but keeping Trump happy. The Kelly File may have stellar ratings normally, but a larger, more diverse audience of millennials to seniors, Democrats to Republicans, yields more advertising categories.
Fox can also gain advertisers that don’t think Trump is worth the risk of a long term partnership (like Macy’s), but might bank on him on a one-off show basis.
The GOP debate was cable’s most watched non sports telecast ever. It was more than twice as viewed as the prior most-watched Fox News debate in the lead-up to the 2012 election (with 11.8 million viewers.) The debate was Fox News Channel’s most-watched show in its 19-year history. Between the GOP debate, and the follow-up that night on The Kelly File, (which received 10.93 million viewers), from August 3rd-9th Fox News Channel attained its largest weekly audience since coverage of the Iraq War in 2003.
The Kelly File went on to be the highest rated cable news show on the Monday following the debate as well, in both the 25-54 demographic (568,000) and number of viewers (2.915 million.)
Meanwhile, Trump has elevated himself over the medium of broadcasting. Even after Trump told CNN Friday that Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever” during the debate, Ailes demurred from defending his star host. According to New York Magazine, after Trump told Sean Hannity he was “never doing Fox again,” he marked his words with four non-Fox public-affairs show appearances on Sunday, plus interviews with The Today Show and Morning Joe on Monday.
Ailes offered Trump the chance to feature on Kelly’s show as an olive branch, but Trump refused. He finally consented to appearances on Fox and Friends and Hannity. Mission accomplished, on August 11th, 72 hours after his “Fox hiatus”, Trump appeared on Fox and Friends. “I’m glad we’re friends again,” co-host Steve Doocy told him. On Hannity, Trump’s interview propelled the show to a four month rating high.
Thus, Trump exerted control over Fox News not just for now, but with respect to any future interviews and debates. One can only wonder: if he can “trump” Fox, keeper of his core voter audience, what would he do to the country’s population if it turned against him—excommunicate them? Send them to Mexico?
Trump may have won a battle with Ailes, but Republican female votes might prove harder to coerce. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken between August 7th and 11th showed Trump’s female support falling to 20 percent from 26 percent on August 3rd.
According to the Boston Globe, two of New Hampshire’s top female Republicans criticized Trump for his debate remarks. “I don’t think women in New Hampshire will appreciate them,” said US Senator Kelly Ayotte. Donna Sytek, the first woman speaker of the New Hampshire House, said, “I think that anyone watching the debate wouldn’t confuse him as a standard bearer of the Republican Party.”
Carly Fiorina, the GOP’s only female presidential candidate rallied for Kelly after Trump’s CNN insult, tweeting, “There. Is. No. Excuse.”
This latest, of what will be many more, Trump-centered squabbles is far more than a heated exchange between Kelly and Trump on debate night or since. It also goes beyond gender politics or civil treatment. It serves as a lens into the temperament necessary to be president. Trump’s base is enthused by his anti-political aura, his brash call-it-like-he-sees-it posture. Global leaders could be another matter.
His supporters consider all this maneuvering against “political correctness” as good for Trump’s business of becoming president, but in the world of international politics, it could cause wars. If President Kennedy had decided not to engage in conversation with Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it could have resulted in a superpower nuclear war.
Recent history (remember Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women”?) shows that if Trump can’t hold onto women’s votes, he can’t win the presidency. Perhaps Ailes sees this Trump partnership as a hedge for that, too. Any of Trump’s shows would assure him of top ratings on Fox News or any other Fox affiliates in the future, regardless of whether or not he becomes president.
Update: Fox News CEO Roger Ailes released the following statement earlier this week:
“Donald Trump and I spoke today. We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100 percent. I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness & balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared.”
To this date, I am still in disbelief over the spin that was made on his comment to Kelly. Seriously, it was all perceived assumptions. I just took his 'whatever' comment as to mean he lost his thought train and just wanted to move on into the debate! I still don't like Trump, but my goodness most of the republicans are insulting to women even in their politically correct speech! Trump is just an ego tripping @ss who is enjoying all of the attention.
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