NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A plywood board resting on two sawhorses was the anchor desk. There was a single camera, no prompter, and a small office tucked away from the construction zone. When I think of the early days of Fox News Channel, I remember the pre-launch days when Fox was still a dream and a wish. I was the first on-air person hired for Fox News Channel. My official start date was August 5, 1996, which was nearly two months before the first broadcast. But a few weeks earlier, I came to New York City to look for an apartment with my mother, and we were given a tour of the newsroom on C-1 (aka the basement). It was huge. Down to the studs, it was being transformed into the nerve center of the newest cable news channel.
During those first weeks, a ragtag crew of producers and writers and I were tasked with churning out practice newscasts to see how it would feel to do seven minutes of news at the top and bottom of every hour. It was a daunting task, as we were also creating a format and learning what worked and what didn’t. Pretty soon, we moved off-site to a rented studio to have greater access to cameras and equipment before the launch.
MARTHA MACCALLUM: AFTER 22 YEARS, HERE’S WHY I’M GRATEFUL TO CALL FOX HOME
In the summer of 1996, for those who are old enough to remember, the blockbuster movie “Independence Day” was released. It was a 20th Century Fox product, part of the Fox family. It made more than $100 million during its opening week. And I thought, “Wow! This cable network is bound for success if this is the kind of quality handiwork it puts out.”
That prediction proved truer than I could have imagined. Today, Fox News is the number one cable news outlet. It is a juggernaut that others are chasing and seeking to emulate, if only in style, if not substance.
JUAN WILLIAMS: MY WIFE THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY TO JOIN FOX NEWS. I’M GLAD I DID
Studio space has expanded exponentially as Fox has taken over the entire ground level and several floors of 1211 Avenue of the Americas. The newsroom is a new, state-of-the-art facility on the second floor (the C-1 space is now a company fitness center).
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
I’ve got a new office, which I continually fill to the gills with books about religion and theology. And many of the producers with whom I work today were not born yet or were still in diapers or pre-K when Fox launched in 1996.
Reflecting on 30 years, there’s so much to be thankful for. So much of what looked precarious became a blessing. That’s what life teaches us. I think that during three decades of change, ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs, joys and hopes, there has been one constant in my life: Fox News Channel. And I am forever grateful!
LAUREN GREEN
Read the full article here