Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN
Basing the story on interviews with many of the principals mentioned (including news types like Paula Zahn, Connie Chung, Bill O'Reilly and Brian Williams and other media types like Ted Turner and Roger Ailes), Collins, himself an experienced journalist currently working for theL.A. Times, paints a picture of how competition, ratings, personality and simply being in the right place at the right time can mean the difference between great success and second place. Showing how the news became a major player in the cable world, Collins traces history from the early days of CNN and founder Turner through the major news events and behind-the-scenes wrangling, sniping and celebrating that have created today's three-horse (CNN, Fox and MSNBC) cable news race. By being the most unconventional, the most hungry and, yes, in some instances the most crafty, Fox, from Rupert Murdoch on down, has managed to become (at least for now) the most talked about player in cable news. Collins presents a story that will be palatable to media insiders and casual observers alike. While its title is slightly misleading (this is really more a story of how all three major cable news channels got to where they are today), there is so much in this juicy tell-all that satisfies both a journalistic sensibility and a human enjoyment of "dish" that no matter how the author has titled the book, it's an entertaining read.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.