Fox News' Strategy Room: "The View" Meets Rush Limbaugh Meets "Wayne's World"

New York Times:

Fox is a latecomer to producing live news programming for the Web. CNN and ABC News have had video channels streaming online for a few years. Those webcasts mimic the format of traditional cable news channels, with a mix of anchored newscasts and specialized programs.

"The Strategy Room," by contrast, resembles ABC's "The View" mixed with a dash of Rush Limbaugh and a generous helping of "Wayne's World." The program began as a series of special webcasts on the evenings of some of the major presidential primaries and then during the political conventions. Then Fox turned it into a five-day-a-week, 9-to-5 session in September, produced on a budget hardly more than pocket change.

It tries to make its rough edges a virtue, defining it as a news channel for the YouTube world. Hosts, Fox correspondents and guests of all sorts wander on and off camera, drinking coffee and soda, tapping at their BlackBerrys and laptops, reading news and responding to comments from viewers.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[solarian]

12:13 PM on 02/17/2009

cnn the 2nd worst network

[AndThenOneDay]

11:12 PM on 02/16/2009

A train wreck posing as diverse perspectives. The selection of Sharpton is perfect for Fox. He serves both to provide 'balance' on the left and to satisfy Fox's loathing of the left. It would kill them to put a real player on. Don't want someone who will make their addled flock start to wonder whether there is anything remotely relevant about Hannity, O'Reilly, and Rove.

[CapitalistRebel]

07:53 PM on 02/16/2009

I was invited on the Strategy Room last month after complaining about the one-sided coverage about the Israeli assault on Gaza. It was myself, a rabbi, Andrea Tantaros, and liberal columnist Elis Henican. It was a good experience and I look forward to going on again in the near future. I think it is an interesting concept and am dissappointed that MSNBC won't be pursuing something similar.

That being said, I find that the quality of the "show" largely depends on who is hosting and who they book as guests. Some of the hosts have absolutely no business discussing politics and it shows. One cool thing about it is that it is completely live and unscripted. So, when they invited HuffPo blogger Max Blumenthal, they didn't know what to do when he verbally pimp smacked them over the Gaza issue. The childish host, Heather Nauert, dismissed him as a left wing loon and went on to make fun of him the next day, when he wasn't there to defend himself.

Bottom line, it's Fox, so don't expect any ground breaking content. However, I do reccomend checking it out now and again just on the off chance they have a good group of panelists on.

[Palemoon]

04:13 PM on 02/16/2009

Fox can never come up with something worthwhile on their own. They always have to rip off other peoples shows. Such as the farce american idol show.

[contemporarymom]

06:33 PM on 02/16/2009

Uh, they both, fox and cnn copy each other. No difference whether its the "situation room" with Blitzer or now the "strategy room"

Take a look at Campbell Brown, Cnn threw her on there with her No Bull to shoot her mouth off just like those on Fox.

Its all a game, they copy each other hoping you'll watch.

[TKDMike]

04:08 PM on 02/16/2009

OMG - how friggen BAD is this going to be?? I will never know because I will NEVER watch it.

[MurrayAbraham]

03:30 PM on 02/16/2009

"So a television producer walks into a bar. He hears a singer crooning. Before long, the producer books the singer to talk about the mortgage market on his daytime talk show."

Exactly :-))

In all fairness, FOX Noise is not the only one. all networks have been abysmal in their coverage of the financial crisis. Thank god to Bill Moyers and the team of the Baseline Scenario (http://baselinescenario.com/) for their coverage.

Frontline has one coming up soon also.

[dnddays]

02:58 PM on 02/16/2009

They left out "Meets 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'".

[KansasWrangler]

01:19 PM on 02/16/2009

I went to their site to check it out since I am a too curious for my own good. Basically, it is FOX with even poorer production quality. The most interesting part is the period between shows when everyone is leaving or setting up. You learn a lot about these people in that few minutes. I had a bit of a problem finding it. The full address is http://www.foxnews.com/strategyroom/ for those with a strong stomach.

[ebanks84]

01:32 PM on 02/16/2009

Yuck. A lot of talk about nothing! Do we need more of these programs?

[greatlardini]

02:10 PM on 02/16/2009

Thanks for the tip, and I don't have a strong stomach.

[Bushwillresign]

12:34 PM on 02/16/2009

How come Elizabeth of the "View" has to "read" all of her views via the republican party? She has no views until she reads what her views are for that particular day. If she wasn't told what the discussions would be about, she wouldn't have a clue, or pardon me, a view.

[johnnynyc]

12:00 PM on 02/16/2009

I learned women over 20 should lose the bangs, women over 40 should grow them.

Not bad for a 2 minute investment.

I can't see myself going in for much more than those 2 minutes though.

[justoverit333]

11:45 AM on 02/16/2009

LMAO. that's all I have to say about that.

[Cogs]

11:32 AM on 02/16/2009

Sounds like a meeting of the mindless.

[NCRDIBULL]

11:28 AM on 02/16/2009

Hmmmm...Wonder how long it will take for FOX to be as superior in this venture as they are on cable

[IllinoisTexan43]

11:42 PM on 02/16/2009

Well if they have a multi-billionaire sponser willing to buy up all the other outlets leaving the consumer with only a few choices, yeah, they'll do good. Works for cable...

[truthyguy]

10:49 AM on 02/16/2009

The only place left to go for Fox is having all the people on their phony news shows appear naked. They are already mentally naked, so clothes off is the next logical step.

[solarian]

12:15 PM on 02/17/2009

there is a show like that called naked news

[quindy]

10:42 AM on 02/16/2009

What are they 'strategizing' about? How to bring Obama's government down?

[garbacue09]

01:58 PM on 02/16/2009

Wouldn't that be "Treason Room"? It's pretty obvious they want validation by abuse: if people start joking about "strategery" they think notoriety brings relevance. This is all so 1983 of Murdoch, everything he does is totally not new again.

[IllinoisTexan43]

11:44 PM on 02/16/2009

"The Treason Room". LOL!