General Discussion

As the 2000 presidential race began to heat up, Fox found its niche. The network's average daily audience was still barely half of CNN's, but there were times -- during the Republican National Convention, for example -- when Fox News actually surpassed CNN in the ratings.1

To aid that year's election-night coverage, Fox hired journalist and media consultant John Ellis to help analyze the results. It was Ellis who determined that Fox News should call the state of Florida -- and the election -- for George W. Bush, leaving the rest of the networks playing catch-up. They would retract this prediction hours later, but the projection, while not carrying any official weight, set in motion the dynamic that Bush had already won and created the perception that Gore's attempts to get a recount made him a sore loser. Ellis was not an impartial observer; he was a Bush cousin who had been communicating with the campaign's headquarters all night.