You're The Clowns, He's The Ringmaster

Via Digby, this Esquire mag profile of FOX News boss Roger Ailes is a definite must-read.  Tom Junod has him nailed:

See, what Roger Ailes has done at Fox is find a way to mainstream extremity for fun and, of course, for profit. He's found out that people need the validating experience of extremity in the same way that he does. And he takes extreme positions and says extreme things because he needs to, because they allow him to make the choice that's at the heart of his power.

And that's the best definition of FOX's news operation that I've ever heard.  It exists solely to validate the extreme reality of the Tea Party right, period.  And he's made billions doing it.

Now combine that with news today that the FCC has approved the NBC Universal/Comcast merger, and you have in sum total a very bad day for non-corporate media.