Fox News CEO Roger Ailes stopped by the D.C. bureau for an impromptu visit as he was in town for tonight's Radio Television Correspondents Association Dinner. Sources tell Mediaite he talked about the success of the bureau and the network as a whole - but also addressed the recent Washington Post Glenn Beck profile. (more...)

Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post (and CNN, it should be noted) writes a column today quoting various anonymous staffers who are "worried" about the rise of Glenn Beck within Fox News. It shouldn't surprise anyone that some are voicing their concerns (and doubting his emotional sincerity) about Beck, albeit anonymously, but there's a very simple reason why it doesn't matter. (more...)

Former New York Times executive editor Howell Raines takes to the Washington Post op-ed page today to blast Fox News - and the rest of the media. His main quibble boils down to the fact that Fox News isn't news at all, and everyone is afraid to call out Fox CEO Roger Ailes and the network as a whole. (more...)

Did Fox News try to hire Keith Olbermann in the late 90s? That's what the MSNBC host is saying in a Daily Kos comment left last night. He's hinted at it before, but this time, he gets specific. (more...)

"Let the record show that I also had a really pleasant conversation with Roger Ailes at a Christmas party once, that I shook Bill O'Reilly's hand at Terry McAuliffe's book party, and that I'm 99 percent sure Glenn Beck passed me in a green Bentley once on the Merritt Parkway."

video On last night's O'Reilly Factor, the "Talking Points Memo" was all about socialism in America today, which was followed by an interview between host Bill O'Reilly and conservative radio host Laura Ingraham. During the back in forth, O'Reilly revealed that he himself did not "think President Obama was a socialist"; a comment which rang hollow given the previous five minutes of his program were dedicated to "socialism" in America under this administration. Turns out that no other cable news channel discusses socialism more than Fox News, and its not really close. (more...)

your moment of glenn Glenn Beck may want to consider some sort of future career as a professor...he's very good with the pointer stick. Beck set aside a segment of tonight's show to specifically address the remarks Arianna Huffington made to Roger Ailes on this Sunday's This Week. (Actually he began with a fun lesson ratings: "how can you kill something that's already dead?" SNAP). During the panel segment of This Week Huffington decried the language Beck uses on his show and asked Ailes whether he isn't “concerned about the language that Glenn Beck is using, which is, after all, inciting the American people?” (Short answer: no.) One of the phrases that particularly bothered Huffington -- "slaughtered" which she seems to understand as the slaughtering of actual people -- came from this quote from Beck from a show that aired back in November. (more...)

video It was a news-making This Week on ABC today, as Barbara Walters took the helm for not just Scott Brown's first big sit-down but an epic roundtable from around the political spectrum. The two stand-out guests - CEO and President of Fox News Roger Ailes making his first appearance ever on This Week and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington. (more...)

A recent Newsweek column makes a bold, if slightly counter-intuitive pronouncement that pairs media and politics: "Roger Ailes is the real head of the GOP" argues Howard Fineman in "Life of the Party." But it just sounds so familiar... Ah, yes! Mediaite has been making a similar case since September, when a column by Managing Editor Colby Hall called Ailes "The Most Powerful Political Figure In America," supported again last month when we named Ailes the #1 Media Innovator of 2009. Glad we can agree, Newsweek, but let's run down the evidence. (more...)

Ever since the New York Times' positive profile of Roger Ailes in Sunday's paper, the focus has drifted to the hyperbolic anti-Ailes quote from Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law Matthew Freud. Now Ailes himself is responding, as is News Corp. President Chase Carey. And it further proves there is no validity to Freud's claims of Ailes being on the outs at the company. (more...)

The New York Times lengthy, largely-positive Sunday profile of Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes has gotten a lot of attention from around the media (including here). But the one major element that was negative - a quote from Rupert Murdoch son-in-law Matthew Freud - has been the focal point of two Daily Beast columns in the past three days. There may be a reason. (more...)

Last month we named Roger Ailes as #1 on our Mediaite 50, ranking the top innovators and influencers in media And now it looks like the New York Times agrees. David Carr and Tim Arango give the Fox News Chairman the full Sunday profile treatment today, looking at all aspects of the man who has built the most successful news channel of the last decade. (more...)

The year 2009 had many media bright spots, break-out stars, dominating networks and game-changing technologies.  The Mediaite 50 collects the finest, most exemplary innovators and influencers of the year, defining a media moment in time and setting the agenda as we move forward. (more...)

caption contest The White House held its annual Christmas party for the press last night, and the press came out in full force to celebrate themselves. FishbowlDC tweeted a lengthy list of names of who were there, and other journalists put their personal reports up late last night. But one image won the night. (more...)

It's no secret that grown-ups love the Harry Potter series almost as much as kids - maybe even more, based on certain grown-up references that the average 12-year-old can't quite yet appreciate. More to the point, by this time a whole bunch of Harry Potter fans who were once kids, back when the book came out, are now all grown up. Either way, that means a whole lot of us at Mediaite are unashamed, unabashed Harry Potter fans. After its worldwide record-breaking weekend (which a few of us contributed to), we got to talking about certain parallels between the magical land of Hogwarts and the equally magical land of headlines, bylines, cutlines, chyrons, blog pickup and declining ad pages. Turns out, the two have a lot in common! Before we knew it, we were shouting out names of media muggles like Hermione answering a pop quiz. After careful (and nerdily meticulous) consideration, we've come up with a few examples for you. (We like to think of the Power Grid as our own little version of the Marauder's Map.) Here below, for your edification and enjoyment, is our own version - let's call it "Harry Potter and the Media Muggles." Mischief managed!

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Fox News' new big star Glenn Beck appeared on the cover of Time magazine last month, in a story about his and Fox News' influence, and now FNC is getting a focus from Time's competitor. Newsweek's editor Jon Meacham takes on the White House feud with Fox News, and provides a historical context to the battle. (more...)

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The rapper-turned-actor Ludacris, aka Chris Bridges, might want to 'l-l-l-lick you' but, rest assured, he doesn't want to run for President. (more...)

In a move not dissimilar from the New York Post trying to will Eliot Spitzer back into office with a series of scantily sourced front page stories, Politico reported earlier that friends of Fox News president Roger Ailes are encouraging the businessman to consider a run for President of the United States in 2012. Politico Click -- the new, gossipy wing of the highly influential D.C. site and local newspaper -- originally had the chatter in a piece entitled "Friends Push Ailes for President." Then, Ailes laughed it off with a quote through an aide: “This country needs fair and balanced news more now than ever before, so I’m going to decline a run for the presidency. Besides, I can’t take the pay cut.” (more...)

"But ignorance is epidemic on Capitol Hill and in the capital's newsrooms, so let's say this very simply: Nothing that Obama or any of his aides has done or said remotely resembles the war on the press waged by the Nixon White House until Watergate ended that administration's assaults on the Constitution. Nobody has sent Joe Biden out to question the patriotism of reporters and columnists who criticize the president, as Agnew did repeatedly. And nobody has tried to intimidate the media with obscene threats and tax audits, in the Mafia style of Nixon's aides." (more...)

video President Obama was asked if it is appropriate to be "working the umps" in regards to White House officials repeatedly calling Fox News "not a news organization." The President appeared neither aggrieved nor apologetic in accessing the contentious relationship between Fox News and his administration, though he did claim that it was "not something that I'm losing a lot of sleep over." (more...)

VIDEO Yesterday President George H.W. Bush expressed distaste with the lack of civility and "intellectual honesty" running through criticism of President Obama during a radio interview with CBS News. Then again, he also jumped headlong into the White House-Fox News scrum, calling out MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann as "sick puppies." (more...)

At the risk of playing the "first" card so reviled on the Internet, Mediaite called the showdown between Fox News and the Obama administration back in mid-August. Now that it's officially here, heralded by an attack-dog performance by White House Communications Director Anita Dunn on Reliable Sources and unhindered by a secret coffee date between Roger Ailes and David Axelrod, what does it mean? And which side, if either, will ultimately come out on top? A roundup of pundit reactions from the blogosphere and beyond: (more...)

The White House has gone on the offensive against Fox News in the past week, speaking to Time magazine and CNN's Reliable Sources. But in a follow-up to all the White House chatter about FNC, Brian Stelter of the New York Times writes about the fight that's shaping up. It's important to note, Fox News loves to fight! (more...)

Buried in Brian Stelter's story about the battle between Fox News and the Obama Administration is a little nugget: Last month, Lou Dobbs met with Roger Ailes. (more...)

VIDEO The gloves are off. Anita Dunn went on Howard Kurtz's Reliable Sources on CNN this morning to air some of her specific grievances with mainstream media practices, spending most of her time criticizing Fox News. Dunn — officially the White House communications director and unofficially the field marshall of Obama's Call 'Em Out Patrol — really cut to the chase when it came time to talk talking about FNC, which has continuously chafed the current administration. (more...)

It was a sign that things were bad: David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Obama, sat down with Fox News founder and chairman Roger Ailes for coffee while the whole White House crew was in New York City two weeks ago for the United Nations General Assembly. (more...)

Looks like the Obama administration is serious about dealing with Fox News. Politico reported yesterday that during President Obama's visit to the UN two weeks ago senior adviser David Axelrod met privately with Fox News head Roger Ailes...for coffee, according to Michael Scherer at Swampland. (more...)

Earlier this week BusinessWeek reported that Roger Ailes earned almost $24 million last year in total compensation. The reason? Fox News' complete and total dominance in the ratings (a story we've covered extensively). But while that's certainly an impressive figure, it takes focus from the much larger and underreported story: Roger Ailes is the most powerful political figure in America today. (more...)

Who: Brian Stelter and Steve Rendall What: Gelf Magazine’s Media Circus “The Corporate Influence on Cable News” Where: JLA Studios Art Gallery When August 13, 2009 Thumbs: Up When people talk about bias on cable news, they are usually referring to the political leanings of the networks’ hosts, pundits and reporters. But recently discussion has centered more on the bias imposed by corporate influence and interests. (more...)

It has been a full week since news of a deal between News Corp. and GE (or, more specifically, between Fox News and MSNBC) broke, and the story continues to evolve. Today, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reveals some behind-the-scenes insight about the "war" - and the revelations continue to hurt MSNBC host Keith Olbermann far more than his FNC foil, Bill O'Reilly. (more...)

EXCLUSIVE: We've had some fun with Fox News' new community site, FoxNation.com, and probably will in the future, but if you've visited the site recently you'll notice a new tagline on the logo, and in promos on the site: "America's Talking." In fact, the tagline has been used in ads on Fox News' air as well, and in a regular segment during the afternoon program, The Live Desk. For those familiar with the history of television news, you may recognize what's happening here: FNC Chairman Roger Ailes is adding an element of a former cable channel he ran into his current ratings behemoth, Fox News. (more...)