• Broadcasting & Cable, Tuesday, June 27, 2006 11:15 AM

Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes is on the warpath following a recent ratings slump, reports Broadcasting & Cable, and he won't hesitate to clean house to turn things around. So far this quarter, the No. 1 cable news outlet is down 22 percent in prime time for its core 25-54 demographic--and 8 percent in total viewers. And the first quarter was even worse. Rival CNN is also off, by 18 percent in the same demo and 2 percent in total. Ailes is fuming over what he sees as "complacency" among his staff, the trade magazine says. Production values are slipping, and bookers are relying too heavily on the same pool of pundits--or settling for authors and actors after they have already been on CNN or MSNBC. A full-page "Now Hiring" ad that ran recently asked, "Can you make the cut?" According to one Fox staffer, that query was not addressed to job-seekers, but "was aimed inside."

Read the whole story at Broadcasting & Cable »