Quote Of the Day

Roger Ailes, chairman of Fox Business Network (set to launch next Monday), in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required):

WSJ: The Fox New Channel reported a 41% rise in operating income in the fourth quarter from higher affiliate fees and advertising growth. How did you accomplish that at a time when viewership is off and ratings are waning for cable news?

Mr. Ailes: Well, the ratings aren't off much....You'd be surprised. I get hundreds of emails a day from American people saying, "God, you're the only thing we watch." So, we feel a real responsibility to get the story straight and balance the story in some ways....

When I see something [in the news] particularly horrible about America that I think is a little out of proportion to what is actually going on, I call up the desk and say, "Do you have any pictures of people lined up at the border trying to get out?" They say, "What do you mean?" I say, "I just watched that, and hell, we've got to get out of here, America's a terrible place. We need to get out fast. There must be guys stacked up at the airport trying to get out of here." No. It turns out everybody's trying to get in, and nobody's trying to get out. We've got to keep that perspective in mind when you cover the news. It doesn't mean you don't cover the bad news about America. You do. It means you don't get up in the morning hating your country.