In case you’ve missed it, things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly of late for President Trump’s favorite news network. Cable’s Fox & Friends holding pen is currently navigating a number of PR nightmares, including sexual harassment claims against Bill O’Reilly that has the face of the network in vacation exile. An affiliate in Boston has decided that the association just isn’t worth the headache for their local news department. At least for now, anyway.
The Boston Globe reports that Boston’s Fox affiliate WFXT is rebranding their news department to distance themselves from Fox News. Of course , Boston isn’t traditionally considered “Fox News Country,” but station research found that 41% of Boston area viewers believed the affiliate’s newscast leaned conservative and lagging ratings have been a trend for the station. The plan in play here? Rebrand Fox 25 News as the more basic Boston 25 News.
“The perception of what our TV news station does is not what we do,” said WFXT general manager Tom Raponi. “They perceive us to be part of the Fox News family.”
The elimination of the Fox branding during news is only major change the affiliate’s making. They won’t be chucking Empire or The Simpsons or their identity as a Fox affiliate. Going from Fox 25 News to Boston 25 might not have a major impact, but it’s a fascinating experiment in tailoring your local news to be reflective of the regional viewpoint. If things pan out we could be on the cusp of a movement.
(Via Boston Globe)