Business and Politics

Rail as they will about ‘discrimination,’ women are simply not endowed by nature with the same measures of single-minded ambition and the will to succeed in the fiercely competitive world of Western capitalism
- Pat Buchanon

In 1994 in Central California, radio was dominated by Country Music and right wing talk shows. During campaign season I kept myself awake during long drives through the state by tuning into shows like Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura. Back then a favorite subject was disparaging the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which Clinton signed after a decade-long campaign for its passage during the Reagan and Bush years. The National Organization for Women (for whom I worked at the time) said that VAWA was “the greatest breakthrough in civil rights for women in nearly two decades”.

I was thinking about VAWA and talk radio as I listened to this week’s news about Fox’s ambitious plans to take over the business news market. The VAWA chatter in 1994 on talk radio had two central themes: VAWA would hurt families financially, and VAWA was a program designed to create jobs for feminists. The NOW message framework was about civil rights; opponents have consistently pushed a message framework about business (jobs and pork barrel). In fact despite major gains made by VAWA, Phyllis Schafley wrote in 2005, “there is no evidence that VAWA has benefited anyone except the radical feminists on its payroll”. And an influential lobbying group called RADAR claims that “VAWA stands in the way of a prosperous America”.

Although most political advocates focus their attention on the news and editorial pages, the business chatter also matter a great deal. Fox is launching its major effort to lure viewers from CNBC, a dominant business channel. That means the Fox Business Network will be pouring significant resources into its business stories. On the heels of the Wall Street Journal purchase by Murdoch, many have worried about the prospect of business news becoming strikingly more politicized. When Fox News took on CNN (and won a major market share), the “news” on Fox carried a heavy social and political perspective. As Fox Business takes on MSNBC, advocates need to make sure they have a business media strategy ready.