Fox News is celebrating an important milestone on Wednesday as it turns 30.
The network is marking the occasion with continued ratings success: During the just-concluded quarter, Fox News remained the most-watched cable network in total viewers and the advertiser-coveted Adults 25-54 demo during primetime and total day.
It has been the No. 1 network in total viewers during primetime for the past three quarters and has remained the most-watched network in total viewers during total day for 22 consecutive quarters.
Two of the network’s executives behind its long-running success, Meade Cooper, executive vice president of primetime programming, and Kim Rosenberg, executive vice president of news programming, are Fox News originals and have been there since its launch in 1996.
In honor of the network’s 30th anniversary, the duo looked back on Fox News’ early days, sharing stories of how far it’s come since then.
TVNewser: What was your first day like?
Cooper: I started a month before the network launched. We all gathered at a nearby Hilton for a welcome presentation and then walked down 6th Avenue to headquarters. I learned I would be working as a production assistant on Hannity & Colmes (then known as Hannity & Liberal to be determined). I met a group of smart, hardworking people who were ready to tackle this incredible, unpredictable job.
Rosenberg: It was my first job out of college—here I was, a 21-year-old theatre major, walking into a newsroom under construction, at a network getting ready for launch. It was chaotic and overwhelming in the best possible way. I was excited and a little nervous about how it would all unfold. And whether I could get through the first day without accidentally crossing in front of the studio camera.
Tell us about a pain point that existed in the early days that no longer exists.
Cooper: The news moved at the same pace as it does today, but the tools we had to work with were not quite as quick. Editing video and creating graphics were much more time-consuming. It was more challenging to get guests in the field. We had to send a satellite truck (which was expensive and had limited availability) to get guests and reporters outside of our bureaus and a few other studios. All of this made it more difficult to change things around to react to breaking news.
