The Rise of Fox News | Plus: David Folkenflik on Fox News and the 2000 Election: “We Write Our Own Rules.”

All this year, the Slow Burn team has been interviewing people who worked at Fox News or intersected with it in some meaningful way. Throughout this season, we’ll share extended cuts of some of those conversations exclusively for Slate Plus members, with brand-new storylines that will deepen your understanding of where Fox came from and what it became. Our kickoff Slate Plus episode features host Josh Levin’s conversation with David Folkenflik, NPR’s media correspondent and the author of the book Murdoch’s World. You’ll hear more from Folkenflik about Fox’s decision to have George W. Bush’s cousin John Ellis run its decision desk during the 2000 election. Plus, you’ll learn about Folkenflik’s own experience that election night, trying to get his newspaper the Baltimore Sun to stop the presses. This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock exclusive Slow Burn episodes, but you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Visit slate.com/slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen. Season 10 of Slow Burn was written and reported by Josh Levin. It was executive produced by Lizzie Jacobs. This episode was produced by Rosie Belson. Slow Burn is produced by Sophie Summergrad, Joel Meyer, and Rosie Belson with help from Patrick Fort, Jacob Fenston, and Julia Russo. Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. This season was edited by Susan Matthews and Hillary Frey. Merritt Jacob is our senior technical director. Mixing help from Kevin Bendis. Our theme music was composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Derreck Johnson created the artwork for this season.