Fox News Ad Ignites Chicago Cable War

Fox News Ad Ignites Chicago Cable War

Fox News took out a full page ad in Monday's Chicago Tribune to jab rival CNN over its plans to shutter its Chicago bureau.

Playing off of the iconic New York Daily News headline Ford To City: Drop Dead, the Fox ad, on page five of the Tribune's front section, declares, "CNN TO CHICAGO: DROP DEAD" above a black and white image of the city's skyline.

Evidence for the claim comes from an article in last week's Tribune:

"What CNN is calling expansion will mean reducing the number of staffers assigned to its bureau in Chicago by 25 percent, to nine from a dozen," wrote Phil Rosenthal.

[...]

"CNN's expansion plan also calls for elimination of its Chicago-based position of Midwest bureau chief. Reporters here will answer to Pete Janos, the Los Angeles-based Western region chief.

Christian "Fuzz" Hogan, an 11-year CNN veteran named Midwest chief almost two years ago to coordinate coverage from not only here but also bureaus in Dallas and Denver, is among those in the Chicago office displaced."

At the bottom of the ad, in red type, Fox adds a local twist to its oft-derided slogan:

"Fair, Balanced and from Chicago."

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