Fox News Channel is so popular because it tells stories in a similar way as Lost and Stranger Things

Vox

"What’s always been interesting to me about Fox News (and the many other conservative media operations that travel along in its wake) is how successful it is compared to similar news organizations on the left — both in viewership, where it’s routinely the number one cable news network, and in framing political narratives," says Emily VanDerWerff. "Surely partisan news should be popular with people on the other side of the aisle, too, right? And it definitely can be. MSNBC has had some success playing to mainstream liberalism, while leftist podcasts are a booming market. But there’s no left-of-center equivalent to Fox News. And one under-considered reason for Fox News’s dominance only becomes clear if you watch a bunch of it over time, as I have off and on for the past decade: It’s structured a lot like a serialized puzzle box drama, like Lost or Stranger Things. If you spend a whole week watching five consecutive nights of a given Fox News program, especially in the network’s primetime lineup, you may notice something unusual: It’s structured like a soap opera. 'Storylines' — the president’s strength in battling Covid-19, say — are layered throughout the week in a way where they can temporarily pause with a 'payoff' on Thursday or Friday that will carry viewers forward into the next week. This serialization keeps viewers hooked, which is good for the network’s ratings. But it also creates an irresponsible view of how the world operates."