Fox News

After regreting some of the things he said the other night during a speech at Ohio University, (like saying The New York Times was a “cesspool of bias” and calling Times reporters a “lying bunch of scum”), Fox News co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes has been proven right on one of his claims: that Jon Stewart is a self-described “socialist.”

Newsbusters dug up the video from “Larry King Live” in 2000:

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Sean Hannity has re-upped with Fox News Channel, signing a multi-year contract that keeps him in his current role through at least 2016.

“Hannity’s years of experience and thought-provoking commentary will continue to engage and excite loyal viewers,” Fox News chairman Roger Ailes said in a statement. “He is a remarkable asset to the network and we are happy that he’ll remain in his current role.”

Hannity has been with Fox News since the network launched in 1996. His 9pmET program, “Hannity,” is the second most-watched cable news show, averaging 2.1 million viewers a night.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work alongside the incredible team at Fox News, whose talent is unparalleled. In true Roger Ailes form, he saw something in me that no one else did and afforded me the opportunity to achieve incredible success,” Hannity said in a statement. “I look forward to many more years to come.”

Remember this study from Fairleigh Dickinson University yesterday? The one that said that viewers of Fox News and MSNBC were less likely to be versed in world affairs than people who watches no TV news at all? Well FNC has responded to the study in The Hollywood Reporter.

FNC responded to the study by referencing a Forbes ranker that trashed the school’s academic reputation:

“Considering FDU’s undergraduate school is ranked as one of the worst in the country,” said the FNC spokesperson, “we suggest the school invest in improving its weak academic program instead of spending money on frivolous polling – their student body does not deserve to be so ill-informed.”

The professor behind the study noted that it was not just FNC viewers that ranked low on the survey, other outlets, including MSNBC viewers, had problems as well.

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes is consistent. There are a few points he has made in interviews for years, and one of the most consistent drumbeats has been about media bias.

In a talk at Ohio University last night, Ailes hit those points again, while also adding a few new twists, according to people in attendance (via Romenesko). Yesterday, we linked to an interview in which Ailes talked about his career, and negotiating with the AP.

With regards to comedian and “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, Ailes said:

Ailes: Jon Stewart is a comedian. He wouldn’t do well without Fox. And he basically has admitted to me, in a bar, that he’s a socialist.

— Jonathan Peters (@jonathanwpeters) May 22, 2012

With regards to the AP and New York Times:

Ailes: The New York Times is a cesspool of bias.

— Jonathan Peters (@jonathanwpeters) May 22, 2012

Ailes: I would love for the AP to go back to being a neural news source. But it slants stories, slants headlines. It tips to the left.

— Jonathan Peters (@jonathanwpeters) May 22, 2012

And, of course, his cable news competitors:
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Fox News CEO Roger Ailes gave a very candid interview to WOUB, a public radio station in Athens, Ohio, where he was in town to speak at his alma mater, Ohio University.

Among other topics (many of them Ohio-centric, not surprisingly), Ailes talked about his career, of which he said: “A good friend of mine who later became a mentor said that if I ever write a book about my career I should call it ‘fluke’ because there was no grand plan.”

He also talked about the AP, breaking some news in the process. Ailes recalled his time working at the school’s radio station and paper, and relying heavily on AP headlines: “They used to put up AP headlines back when the AP was a neutral news source, it isn’t as neutral today, but it is still a news source,” Ailes quipped.

He also revealed that he is negotiating a new deal with the AP for (presumably) Fox News, FBN and the O&Os, throwing out a number that as far as I can tell, hasn’t been reported before.

“$24 million is what News Corp. pays them for non-neutral news,” Ailes said.

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The Tough Mudder Challenge is one of the world’s most extreme obstacle and endurance courses. On “Fox & Friends,” hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade tackled an abbreviated version of the course, to see if they had what it takes.

Kilmeade seemed to breeze on through:

Doocy had to take it a little slower:
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What a week for anomalous ratings days! Earlier this week, we noted that CNN’s Piers Morgan saw only 39,000 demo viewers on Tuesday night, way down from his average, and a record-low for CNN. Last night, Morgan was back up to a more typical 175,000 demo viewers, but the drama was on MSNBC and Fox News.

At 10 PM, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell topped FNC’s Greta Van Susteren in the demo. It wasn’t by that much, but it was a clean win for O’Donnell, and clean ratings wins over Fox News (when there aren’t any big news events or specials) are an unusual thing.

O’Donnell averaged 327,000 demo viewers, to Van Susteren’s 309,000. In total viewers, Van Susteren still handily topped O’Donnell by around 500,000 viewers, but a demo win is still a win. CNN’s Anderson Cooper averaged 143,000 demo viewers, about average for him.

Fox News Channel’s James Rosen secured an EXCLUSIVE! interview with Fox News host Bret Baier for the FoxNews.com series “Power Play.”

“Are you, in fact, nervous right now?” Rosen asked Baier. He wasn’t. Rosen then asked about the ratings for Baier’s “Special Report.” “Number 3 in all of cable news, behind those giants O’Reilly and Hannity.”

“We like to say that we are the number 1 news show. Don’t tell O’Reilly that he’s not a news show.”

Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly will appear on the “Rachael Ray Show” tomorrow morning.

During the interview, which was taped earlier this month, O’Reilly weighed in on the current state of the Republican party, as well as whether he would ever run for President (no) or participate on “Dancing with the Stars” (maybe).

“Somebody actually asked me that,” he said. “And I said to them, ‘Only if you have a Twist show.’ The Twist, remember the Twist? I can do the Twist.”

Fox News Channel “The Five” co-host Dana Perino is prepping for her turn on Jeopardy! “Power Players” week by getting some help from “Red Eye’s” Bill Schulz. The former GW Bush administration Press Secretary has a tough act to follow: her Obama administration counterpart Robert Gibbs who eeked out a win last night. Watch Perino tonight take on CNBC’s David Faber and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.