112. Hannity played the victim Steve Rendall, “An Aggressive Conservative vs. a ‘Liberal to Be Determined,’ ” Extra!, Nov. 1, 2003.
113. After applying for Sterling, Biographical Encyclopedia of American Radio, 164.
114. His bio Rendall, “An Aggressive Conservative vs. a ‘Liberal to Be Determined.’ ”
115. In an interview Peter Goodman, “Radio Waves: Out of Nowhere to No. 5 on the Charts,” Newsday, July 12, 1999.
116. Each morning, a producer Author interview with a former Fox producer.
117. “There was a real” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
118. “I had higher-ups” Author interview with former Fox producer Rachel Katzman.
119. “John Moody would call” Author interview with former Fox producer Jordan Kurzweil.
120. “What is the crime” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
121. “If you come out” James Endrst, “Fox News Pursues Balance, Boldness; Nervy Network Elbows Way into Crowded Cable Lineup,” Hartford Courant, Aug. 5, 1998.
122. “There’d been four failures” Marshall Sella, “The Red-State Network,” New York Times, June 24, 2001.
123. Two decades later Alex Chadwick, Morning Edition, NPR, Feb. 7, 1995.
124. Brian Lewis and the PR operation Author interview with sources familiar with the matter.
125. By the winter of 1999 Paula Bernstein, “Fox, MSNBC, CNN Score for Iowa Coverage,” Daily Variety, Jan. 27, 2000.
126. nine million more homes Felicity Barringer, “Networks to Cover Primaries in Force,” New York Times, March 7, 2000.
127. But in February Alison Mitchell, “The President’s Acquittaclass="underline" The Overview; Clinton Acquitted Decisively: No Majority for Either Charge,” New York Times, Feb. 13, 1999.
128. The news cycle was favoring Author interview with a former Fox producer.
129. During the conflict’s opening days Gary Levin, “War Is a Ratings Boost, to Second, for MSNBC,” USA Today, April 6, 1999.
130. One afternoon Author interview with a Fox producer.
131. In January 1999, Ailes poached John Dempsey, “Fox Steals Zahn for News,” Daily Variety, Jan. 22, 1999.
132. He moved Zahn to 10:00 Jon Lafayette, “Shepard Smith’s No Talking Head; ‘Fox Report’ Anchor Brings His Own Set of Rules to the Chair,” Electronic Media, Oct. 25, 1999.
133. “Put Shep in front” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
134. began dating Julia Rolle Author interview with Julia Rolle’s father, Gene Rolle.
135. He was known to explode Author interview with a former Fox producer.
136. To produce his show Author interviews with current and former Fox employees.
137. On one of his early shows Author interview with a Fox producer.
138. In November 1999 “All TV,” Newark Star-Ledger, Nov. 17, 1999.
139. Drudge wanted “This Morning,” The Hotline, Nov. 17, 1999.
140. The messy episode Howard Kurtz, “The Going Gets Tough, and Matt Drudge Gets Going,” Washington Post, Nov. 15, 1999; Gail Shister, “War of Words Continues Between Matt Drudge and Fox News Channel,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 18, 1999.
141. Drudge agreed to cancel Paula Bernstein, “Fox News, Drudge Reach Accord as ’Net Wag Exits,” Daily Variety, Nov. 19, 1999.
142. “The network cannot live” Shister, “War of Words Continues Between Matt Drudge and Fox News Channel.”
FIFTEEN: THE CALL
1. As Americans made John Ellis, “A Hard Day’s Night,” Inside, Dec. 26, 2000.
2. A confidant of Bill Carter, “Counting the Vote: The Fox Executive; Calling the Presidential Race, and Cousin George W.,” New York Times, Nov. 14, 2000.
3. In an hour Ed Bark, “Fox Prepares for First Foray into Covering Election Night; Network’s News Channel Will Conduct Bulk of Reporting,” Dallas Morning News, June 30, 2000.
4. For the conservatives Ellis, “A Hard Day’s Night.”
5. Democratic presidential candidate Ibid.
6. For weeks, the consensus Marjorie Menzel, “Candidates Target Florida,” Florida Today, Aug. 7, 2000.
7. The electoral math was such Ellis, “A Hard Day’s Night.”
8. After the briefing Ibid.
9. In 1978, as his uncle John Ellis, LinkedIn profile, www.linkedin.com/pub/john-ellis/5/ba2/5a7, accessed July 29, 2013.
10. In 1993 John Ellis, “Thank You for Reading,” Boston Globe, July 29, 1999.
11. “Looking back over” John Ellis, “Dangerous Lies,” Boston Globe, May 27, 1999.
12. “Loyalty supersedes candor” John Ellis, “Why I Won’t Write Any More About the 2000 Campaign,” Boston Globe, July 3, 1999.
13. Three weeks later Ellis, “Thank You for Reading.”
14. “We at Fox News” Roger Ailes, House of Representatives, Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 107th Congress, statement of Roger Ailes (Feb. 14, 2001).
15. “I wouldn’t worry about early numbers” Ellis, “A Hard Day’s Night.”
16. “I have no idea” Ibid.
17. Ailes was waiting Ibid.
18. before venturing over Author interviews with former Fox executives and producers.
19. “What’s your gut say?” Jane Mayer, “George W.’s Cousin,” New Yorker, Nov. 20, 2000.
20. While Ellis certainly possessed Author interview with a former Ailes Communications staffer.
21. “From what Ellis says” David W. Moore, How to Steal an Election (New York: Nation Books, 2006), 58.
22. They included Patricia Sullivan, “Fox News Pollster John Gorman; Did Research for Carter, McGovern,” Washington Post, Feb. 18, 2008; Arnon Mishkin, LinkedIn.com profile, http://www.linkedin.com/pub/arnon-mishkin/1/359/515; author interview with statistician Cynthia Talkov.
23. Fox News received Alicia C. Shepard, “How They Blew It,” American Journalism Review, Jan./Feb. 2001. See also Moore, How to Steal an Election, 31; Murray Dubin, “The Group Behind the Numbers: Voter News Service Does Exit Polls and Provides the Data to News Operations,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 9, 2000.
24. Although the networks Moore, How to Steal an Election, 32.
25. Cynthia Talkov Ellis, “A Hard Day’s Night”; author interview with Cynthia Talkov. See also Adam Clymer, “Warren J. Mitofsky, 71, Innovator Who Devised Exit Poll, Dies,” New York Times, Sept. 4, 2006.