Happy 10th Anniversary, Fox News Channel

When I moved to my current apartment in 1995, I was delighted with the choices available to me via MediaOne cable television. For about $18 per month, I received basic TV channels and an assortment of news and enterainment channels. CNN was one of the news channels. (MediaOne was later succeeded by AT&T, then by Comcast, and recently by TimeWarner Cable).

In 1996, I began receiving a new network, the Fox News Channel. Fox intrigued me from the start. I have voted as a Democrat all of my adult life and even worked in the Mayor's Office of Chicago during the Byrne Administration (1979-1983). So, why was I intrigued by Fox?

Because in the mid 1970s I studied for my M.B.A. at the University of Chicago and received it in June 1976. I had the privilege of specializing in finance, studying with some of the best professors in the world. It came as no surprise to me in later years when, at different times, five of my professors were awarded the Nobel Prize for economics.

The Chicago School of Economics is considered conservative. Let free markets, not the government, run an economy. That is their view in a nutshell.

Were my professors political conservatives? Some were, some were not. Did my professors always agree with one another? Definitely not! Did they respect and enjoy each other's company. Yes, they did. They were great friends.

On the day I started working in the Byrne Administration, I received a phone call from Sydney Davidson congratulating me on my appointment. Sydney was one of the most respected accounting professors in the nation. I never studied with Sydney, but I came to know him after I graduated. I felt both honored and humbled when he phoned me.

Throughout the University of Chicago's history, it has fostered a wonderful exchange of ideas. In fact, the University's motto is, "One in spirit, diversity in opinion."

The Fox News Channel, like the University of Chicago, is not monolithic in the ideas expressed by it anchors, correspondents, and guests. Fox News personalities such as Bill O'Reilly, who earned his graduate business degree at Harvard University, admits he is a conservative, but he invites other members of the Fox News team and his guests to offer different viewpoints. His colleague, Greta Van Susteren, is my favorite Fox News anchor. Greta is intelligent, sharp as a tack, witty, and, at a moment's notice, goes to where the news is breaking. Greta is also very easy on the eyes.

For these past 10 years, I have spent far more time watching Fox News than CNN. In fairness, I admit I have a good friend working at CNN, and I watch CNN every day to catch a glimpse of her. But from early morning through midday and into the late afternoon and evening, I turn to the Fox News Channel.

Congratulations, Fox News! The best is yet to come....

George Spink
Los Angeles
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