Fox News has abandoned the slogan “Fair & Balanced,” a mainstay of the network for nearly 20 years, to distance itself from founding CEO Roger Ailes.
A Fox News spokesperson confirmed to TheWrap that the network dropped the slogan in August, but said the branding change won’t affect programming or editorial decisions.
Network insiders tell TheWrap that the move was taken in part to distance the network from the controversial tenure of Ailes, who died in May and was forced to resign from the network in 2016 after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.
“Fair & Balanced” hasn’t been used in any external marketing or on-air promos since late August 2016. The insider says it is simply a marketing decision and anchor Bret Baier tweeted a similar message.
It's a Promo move- "Most Watched-Most Trusted" will drive the day in ads-My show will stay "Fair-Balanced-& Unafraid" & content won't change https://t.co/726zrl8F9q
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) June 14, 2017
Fox News has had multiple slogans during its history, including “We Report. You Decide” and “The Most Powerful Name in News.”
Coined by Ailes, the slogan “Fair & Balanced” was a marketing masterstroke that strongly defined the network, giving employees and on-air personalities a catchy way to distinguish Fox News from its competitors. It was also instrumental in obfuscating the network’s right-leaning agenda, a goal Ailes admitted to in multiple interviews during his life.