New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani on Monday published a scathing review of Zev Chafets’ biography of Fox News chief Roger Ailes, writing that it reads like a “long, soft-focus, poorly edited magazine article.”
From the review:
For the most part Mr. Chafets serves as little more than a plastic funnel for Mr. Ailes’s observations — much as he did for Rush Limbaugh in his 2010 book “Rush Limbaugh: Army of One.” Although Mr. Chafets supplies a tiny bit of context here and there, he doesn’t ask his subject many tough questions about Fox News’s incestuous relationship with the Republican Party, its role in accelerating partisanship in our increasingly polarized society or the consequences of its often tabloidy blurring of the lines between news and entertainment.
As Kakutani pointed out, Chafets gained intimate access to Ailes and Fox News for the book. New York magazine scribe Gabriel Sherman is scheduled to publish another book on Ailes and Fox in May. Sherman, who has published his share of Fox News scoops, is expected to take a more critical look at the conservative news network.
