https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAnJJHrq0Ws
The Loudest Voice is the story of Roger Ailes (Russell Crowe), but it could just as easily be Donald Trump’s story too. If you swap out Fox News Channel for his real estate business. Now that we got that out of the way, here is more about the series that debuts on Showtime tonight at 10p.
The series starts off with Ailes getting fired from CNBC and eventually getting hired by Rupert Murdoch to run his new news channel. Ailes needs to build up his network and get it ready to launch. He does not want it to be like CNN or the just-launched MSNBC. The latter was supposed to be groundbreaking because it was incorporating the internet into its broadcast.
When they went left, he went right. He was going to do what he wants with the channel no matter what anyone else says. He was going to scream, yell and fire anyone he wants. Even when the network wasn’t ready to launch, he was going to launch it anyway. And that is where the first episode ends.
Then they skip ahead five years to 9/11 for episode two. Ailes fed into everyone’s fear. He wanted to make sure everyone knew this was a terrorist attack, whether it was or wasn’t. He was going to do all he could to scare his viewers. He knew that would make them watch. He was even going to try to influence President Bush to say what he wanted. When the anthrax scare hit close to FNC, he was going to make it a bigger deal than it really was. More of the fear mongering we know his network for being. When 9/11 was not dominating as much, he like, everyone else moves on.
For episode three, Barack Hussein Obama is running for president. Ailes is doing everything he can to make the future president seems like a Muslim terrorist. As in using his middle name as possible. He is asked to calm it down, but he is not going to do. Eventually, Washington tries to step in, but he is not going to listen. Not even to his boss. Eventually, he loses when Obama wins. But for how long?
Since we only got three episodes to review, we don’t know how much further they go into the sexual harassment aspect of his life. We see glimpses of it but not a whole lot of it to know how big a part of it. I am sure as the series goes on, we will know much much more.
As someone, who worked in network news, I was expecting another Newsroom. This is not a show about news. It is a show about a newsman. Therefore, I had to separate myself from expecting accuracy in news, which is not even close to reality. That I can forgive because it is not the story they are telling. However, I cannot forgive them for what they did to two of my former co-workers from my Miami day. Louis Aguirre was the first anchor to talk on Fox News, yet you do not hear him mention his name. In the second episode, we see Shepard Smith, but they cast some ugly guy (no offense) to play him. I mean Shep has been there before day one and he is still there today. I think we all know what he looks like. They should have just used him because he has not aged a day since 1996.
Now that I have vented about that, Crowe is phenomenal as Ailes. He is unrecognizable as the “fake news”man. He should win the Emmy next year. Although, I wish he would have channeled some of his past anger when he portrayed Ailes in some scenes. Not all network news bosses are screamers, but the ones that are, leave a mark on you that never goes away. Thankfully, I was not subject to their abuse, but I witnessed it a few times in the newsroom and I will never forget it. It is that shocking and terrifying.
When it comes to Trump and Ailes, there so many similarities in their playbooks that they could be the same person. Playing on people’s fear and focusing only on that. It is for that reason I highly suggest watching. There is a method to their madness. A madness I hope that died with Ailes and will die with Trump.
In short, this is not the story of Fox News, it is the story of the man behind it. A very scary man who thought his sh!t didn’t stink. We all know it does. Worse than anything else, you have ever smelled before. Something the series does not.
