Today’s episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast takes a long look back at 30 years since the launch of Fox News Channel.
Love it or hate it, Fox News has been an influential force in media and politics in the U.S. since its debut on Oct. 7, 1996.
Jason Klarman, chief digital officer for Fox News Media, who was part of the channel’s launch marketing team way back in the early Clinton era, discusses the milestone anniversary and the era of media in which Fox News Channel was born.
Klarman expands on how the Fox News brand built on Fox’s historical “challenger” mentality in the marketplace to eventually rise like a Phoenix to become the TV powerhouse and cultural influencer that it is today. The executive, who was named chief digital officer in 2023, details Fox News’ push over the past decade to try to expand the brand to younger audiences via the Fox Nation streaming platform and a big new podcast slate, among other efforts.
Klarman addresses the issue of Fox News evolving into a polarizing brand in the U.S. at a time of heightened partisan tensions in the body politic and ever-increasing fragmentation in TV viewing. He weighs in on how Fox is embracing the world of TikTok and other social media platforms in the quest to stay relevant and create a funnel for future viewers.
“There is a consistency to Fox that hasn’t changed from 1996 to 30 years later,” Klarman says. “A lot of channels that chased audiences and moved away from what was core to their brand and their ethos — Fox has never done that.”
Jason Klarman, chief digital officer for Fox News Media
Klarman remembers the channel’s humble beginnings, when it launched on just 10 million subscribers on John Malone’s Tele-Communications Inc. systems.
“It was a slow burn. We used to joke that we were fourth in a three-horse race. We were scrappy. And we did a lot of fun things to bring attention to ourselves,” Klarman says.
“I remember when we launched in Atlanta, we went down there, I took the two billboards opposite CNN, and I hired a high school marching band. We unveiled the billboards when we launched on Cox [cable system] in Atlanta.”
In the early years, there were a few explosive moments in culture that helped create what would become the Fox News demo were, in Klarman’s view.
“There were points along the way that we just started to see, incrementally, the distinction between us and the other news organizations. It really began to crystallize. One of those moments was certainly around Monica Lewinsky and the coverage of that. And then the election of 2000 — that was a big one. I think it was an accelerant for us. It was a very hard-fought race right down to the wire,” Klarman says. “And ultimately, it really galvanized the need for a channel called Fox News.”
(Pictured top: Fox News photos circa 1996; original on-air personalities Sean Hannity and Steve Doocy)
“Strictly Business” is Variety’s podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. (Please click here to subscribe to our free newsletter.) New episodes can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, SoundCloud and more.