Howell Raines in the Washington Post:
"Under the pretense of correcting a Democratic bias in news reporting, Fox has accomplished something that seemed impossible before Ailes imported to the news studio the tricks he learned in Richard Nixon's campaign think tank: He and his video ferrets have intimidated center-right and center-left journalists into suppressing conclusions -- whether on health-care reform or other issues -- they once would have stated as demonstrably proven by their reporting.
I try not to believe that this kid-gloves handling amounts to self-censorship, but it's hard to ignore the evidence. News Corp., with 64,000 employees worldwide, receives the tender treatment accorded a future employer."
Reminds me of the old Upton Sinclair quote: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Raines is one of the few in the media who can take on Ailes and not fear retribution. I'm in the middle of Nixonland, and Ailes is the guy who used TV to such great effect (hence the iconic Esquire cover). It's clear his modern work is an extension of what he learned in those days.
I don't mean to excuse those who would be the anti-FOX (e.g. MSNBC and the like) but it worsens the problem rather than solving it. To wit, Jon Stewart's constant interruptions during his interview with Marc Thiessen -- everyone gets infected by this new tone.
The problem is not FOX alone... Ailes is a master of television, and he just figure out how to use it this effectively before anyone else did. The question is how the media responds. Interesting how no one connects the demise of media to what Fox is doing. Instead, everyone wants to imitate its success.