Rosenberg: When I first became an associate producer, the network was recording all incoming feeds on videotape. We would have to get that video, find an available screener cart, and scroll through until we found what we wanted to run. We would then write down our timecodes on a sticky note and attach them to the boxes to give to the production assistants and editors. It was a very time-consuming process, and it also meant that if another team needed the same video, you had to negotiate for it. If you weren’t a successful negotiator, your show was in trouble. Now, all our incoming video is digital, different producers can screen it simultaneously, and we can edit with the click of a button. It was a complete game-changer for producers.
How has Fox News changed operationally in the past 30 years?
Cooper: We have grown by leaps and bounds from where we were operationally 30 years ago. We could not produce all of our elements from a computer. We used physical videotapes, which we would run from the edit room to playback. To book guests, we flipped through our paper Rolodexes and made calls from our desk phones since we didn’t have cell phones.
Rosenberg: We’ve grown far beyond the original channel. Fox News Media now encompasses platforms including digital, podcasts, Fox Nation, Fox Books, Fox Weather, and Fox Business. So, operationally, we’re no longer producing for a single screen; we’re meeting our audience wherever and whenever they want to find out what’s going on in the world. That said, our fundamental job has not changed one bit: Get people to the story, get the facts of the story right, and get the news to our viewers. The tools and platform are different. But our mission is the same as it was on that first day 30 years ago.
What has been a memorable moment for you from the past 30 years?
Cooper: There are too many memorable moments to pick just one. I was in the control room for the beginning of the bombing of Baghdad in 2003 and for coverage of the Bin Laden raid in 2011. I have been in the newsroom for elections, inaugurations, and conclaves to select a new Pope. I have traveled across the country and around the world.
Rosenberg: One of my most memorable moments is also deeply personal. Earlier this year, I received a devastating medical diagnosis. Months later, I would learn that the initial indication of stage 4 ovarian cancer was incorrect. But I still required major surgery to remove multiple organs. From the first moment, this company supported my family and me in every possible way, from Suzanne Scott and Jay Wallace to the executive assistants and everyone in between. At a time when I was so scared, I felt completely supported. The day of the surgery, my husband and I had decided he would pick up our daughter after school. We wanted to keep things normal for her. So, when I woke up in the ICU, I opened my eyes to see my sister smiling at the side of my bed. On the other side was my best friend, Jon Glenn; we met at Fox and have worked together for decades. He’d insisted on skipping work that day to sit in the hospital waiting room and make sure I was okay. It’s a cliché that “we’re all family here.” But it’s also true. And it’s part of the reason I love this company. We show up for each other, no matter what.
