Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: news staffers, dead raccoon, Time Warner, New York, Ted Turner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Basing the story on interviews with many of the principals mentioned (including news types like Paula Zahn, Connie Chung, Bill O'Reilly and Brian Williams and other media types like Ted Turner and Roger Ailes), Collins, himself an experienced journalist currently working for the L.A. Times, paints a picture of how competition, ratings, personality and simply being in the right place at the right time can mean the difference between great success and second place. Showing how the news became a major player in the cable world, Collins traces history from the early days of CNN and founder Turner through the major news events and behind-the-scenes wrangling, sniping and celebrating that have created today's three-horse (CNN, Fox and MSNBC) cable news race. By being the most unconventional, the most hungry and, yes, in some instances the most crafty, Fox, from Rupert Murdoch on down, has managed to become (at least for now) the most talked about player in cable news. Collins presents a story that will be palatable to media insiders and casual observers alike. While its title is slightly misleading (this is really more a story of how all three major cable news channels got to where they are today), there is so much in this juicy tell-all that satisfies both a journalistic sensibility and a human enjoyment of "dish" that no matter how the author has titled the book, it's an entertaining read.
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Product Description

How brutal is the cable news business? When Fox News CEO Roger Ailes learned that Paula Zahn was negotiating with archrival CNN, Ailes fired Zahn immediately. When a reporter pointed out that Zahn had boosted ratings for Fox, Ailes replied, "I could have put a dead raccoon on the air this year and gotten a better rating than last year."

Crazy Like A Fox tells one of the most dramatic business stories of the past decade—the war over cable news. In 1991, with its coverage of the first Gulf War, Ted Turner’s CNN reinvented the television news business and became a global brand name. In 1995, NBC and Microsoft pooled their enormous resources to create MSNBC. But by 2003, both had been dwarfed in the ratings by Rupert Murdoch’s seven-year-old Fox News Channel. How did Fox News pull off this amazing victory and how is its success— and its alleged right-wing slant—changing the entire media world?

Scott Collins provides a shocking account of corporate arrogance and intrigue, with all the brash personalities and back-room dealings involved in the war for ratings. He offers inside tales about a virtual Who’s Who of American television: not just corporate players like Turner, Murdoch, Ailes, Walter Isaacson, and Bob Wright, but also on-air talent like Paula Zahn, Bill O’Reilly, Connie Chung, Phil Donahue, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, and Larry King. Collins also shows what happened behind the camera during the biggest news stories of our time, including the 2000 election, September 11, and Gulf War II.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591840295
• ISBN-13: 978-1591840299
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #411,953 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars News Junkies won't be able to out it down., July 4, 2004

By A Customer

I am not an avid reader. I read books here and there. But never, never, have I bought a book and read it ALL in one day. I received this book today from Amazon at around 6pm. By 12:30 that night I read the last page. What a fantastic story. While Roger Ailes is the main focus of this boo, the author has a difficult time staying on track. He'll bring up a interesting story and then seem to go on a tangent before wrapping it up nicely at the end. While the cover of the book toutes this as how Fox beat CNN, it's more of how CNN lost it's crown. Interesting stories include Paula Zahn's exit and Greta Van Sustren's arrival. Over all quite a read for any cable news junkie. I admit I am a loyal Fox Fan, but it's still quite a take on the corporate news world's cutthroat business.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A breezy book about the cable TV media wars, April 17, 2004

By A Customer

This is the story of how Roger Ailes outsmarted lots of folks to take Fox News to the top of the cable TV news business. It is also the story of how MSNBC never has been able to gain traction as a result of poor leadership and many mistakes (such as spending millions to set up a Dononhue show that was doomed to fail from the start). This book also tells the story of how Rick Kaplan badly damaged both ABC (Food Lion Special) and CNN (Valley of Death Special). The sad news of late is Kaplan is now president of MSNBC--like Peter Arnett he keeps showing up like a bad penny. I gave the book four stars because too many issues are covered superficially, because the author is too critical of Tom Johnson (a thoroughly decent person and a fine print and TV journalist) and because he fails to give proper credit to three individuals who were largely responsible for CNN's excellent coverage of the Gulf War of 1991, Ed Turner, Bob Furnad and Judy Milestone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dishonost Name, But An Interesting Read, November 26, 2006

By	H. J. Rossi (Shawnee Mission, KS USA) - See all my reviews

In "Crazy Like A FOX" author Scott Collins apparently was capitalizing on the popularity of the Fox New Channel to sell a book about the collapse of the network newscasts, along with the rise and fall of CNN and MSNBC.

Along the way, Collins throws in some tidbits about FOX News' techniques in overpowering these news giants. But like most liberal writers, he fails to grasp the real reason for FOX's popularity: The majority of American citizens, regardless of party affiliation, are conservative and have an innate sense of fairness. These values have bled over into their news-watching habits after the FNC simply offered them an alternative.

With all that said however, I rated this book a 4-star. Mr. Collins guides the reader, in a logical and well-paced narrative, through the back alleys of the cable news business, the powerful characters involved, and the steps and missteps of the players on this world stage. Well worth your reading time.