Is Fox News Really All That Powerful?

Matter of Opinion

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Ross Douthat, News, New York Times, Journalism

4.2 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 30 June 2021

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sometimes, it takes just one tweet to spark a debate. This month, the journalist Matt Taibbi suggested that the “financial/educational/political elite” hold real influence in America — not Fox and its viewers. According to Taibbi, America is controlled by the sensibilities of the few — especially those who run tech companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter. But where does that leave politicians, or the media, in the struggle for power in America? This week, Jane Coaston debates who’s really wielding power in America right now and to what ends, with Matt Taibbi, author of several books, including “Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another,” and writer of the newsletter “TK News”; and Michelle Cottle, a member of the Times editorial board.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jane Kostin, and this is the argument.
0:10.7	Earlier this month, I was scrolling Twitter, as you do.
0:14.7	M.I. came across this tweet by the writer Matt Taiibi.
0:18.4	It read, Fox's one channel that no longer represents real institutional political influence
0:23.4	in the country anymore.
0:24.9	The financial educational political elite with all the powers on the other side, and I think
0:28.8	there are the people to be worrying about.
0:30.9	I've noticed Matt's work for a long time.
0:33.2	He's a longtime political and financial journalist who covered the Bush, Obama, and Trump
0:37.4	administrations.
0:38.7	He famously argued that Goldman Sachs was a, quote, great vampire squid wrapped around
0:43.0	the face of humanity.
0:44.0	He's a lightning rod, often because he criticized his mainstream media, like The New York Times.
0:49.4	And he's writing a lot of big issues, but I think he's wrong on this.
0:53.2	However, his tweet offered what I thought was a really interesting frame to think about
0:57.6	where power actually lies in America.
0:59.6	It's a held by the people who watch Fox News, including your neighbors, and Republican
1:03.8	representatives, senators, judges, and you know.
1:06.2	The former president of the United States, or the financial educational political elite,
1:10.6	like Wall Street, academia, big tech.
1:13.5	Could the answer beat both?
1:15.8	So I invited Matt in the show, along with Michelle Cattle.
	...

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