An Atheist in the FOXhole: A Liberal's Eight-Year Odyssey Inside the Heart of the Right-Wing Media

Somehow I missed Joe Muto's fifteen minutes of fame last year when he was publicly coming to the end of his time at Fox News. However, I saw some excerpts from this book on a website recently and enjoyed what I read. So, when the book came out, I decided to check it out. Once I read it, I debated whether it was worthwhile reviewing it. Reviewing books even remotely connected to politics is often a waste of time. No conservative is going to give this book the time of day. And, once I read it, I realized that most liberals aren't going to like it either. Since they are the ones most likely to peruse these reviews and comment, I came to the conclusion that posting this is likely an exercise in self-flagellation; however, I've never let that stand in my way before. So, to my fellow moderates out there, this review is for you. The fact is, I enjoyed this book a heck of a lot. The reason I think this book is so successful is that it really isn't a takedown of Fox News. It's a young man's memoir about his first foray into work. The first half of the book is only peripherally about Fox News anyway. It's about how Mr. Muto graduated from college and worried about finding a job. When he lucked into work with Fox News, he packed up and left Cincinnati for NYC, a place that almost becomes a character in his story. There were some qualms about being a liberal working in a bastion of conservatism but a job's a job when you're starting out. And, he discovered pretty quickly that Fox News, though unsurprisingly staffed by a number of conservatives, had plenty of space for moderates (an even liberals), if they do a good job and don't try to sabotage the message. In fact, the most interesting aspects of the early parts of the book have to do with an insiders look at how TV news gets produced, regardless of content. About the worst thing he has to say about Fox at this point is that they trying to maximize profit by being as cheap as possible. The stories of ancient video tape recorders and editing machines used until parts can no longer be found for them resonate. It isn't until he starts working for Bill O'Reilly that things get a bit more critical but not unreasonably so. O'Reilly gets the most of the heat, such as it is. He's a screamer, he's a slave to ratings, he works his staff hard, he's cheap--nothing really surprising when it comes to a driven, over-achiever like O'Reilly. And Muto always balances his criticism with good things about O'Reilly: he's smart, he's a good father, he's basically conservative but he follows his own views even when it conflicts with the Fox suits. In fact, all of the people he comments on--even people like Karl Rove and Ann Coulter--have their good points according to Muto. (The only exceptions may be Palin and Beck.) O'Reilly is the only one that gets much page time here. He's the one Muto worked for and the only person he knows well. All of his stories are well-told and some of the stories are quite funny. He describes the tension when O'Reilly is sued for sexual harassment. He talks about being sent out on ambush interviews. But he also praises O'Reilly for his hard work. Honestly, the person who comes off worst here is Muto himself and it's hard to dislike him because he comes across as basically naïve in his own story. In between his losses of girlfriends and moving up the corporate ladder, he tells about his work as a "mole" well (he leaks some video to an outside website), leaving pieces of his last day at Fox when he is "found out" and dismissed as little addendums to each chapter. Normally I don't like this technique but here it works well, ratcheting up the tension and driving the reader from chapter to chapter. In the end, this feels like a light-hearted memoir by a man who, despite his protests to the contrary, enjoyed his work and realizes on some level that he screwed up by burning bridges at a place that basically treated him well. From that mistake which pitched him into unemployment, he has written this book in an attempt to raise some funds and, perhaps, open the door to a new career. I wish him luck. He clearly has some talent and it sounds like he's learned some lessons. I'm glad I was able to contribute a few dollars to his upkeep.

I'm not a regular viewer of Fox News, but I'm familiar with their main stars -- O'Reilly, Hannity, several others. Let's face it -- they've been in the news a lot lately, and not always in a positive light. Even having read the book cover to cover, I"m not sure why Muto styles himself an "atheist in the Fox Hole," unless it's to make clear that he doesn't identify with the "religion" of Fox believers. The book is not an anti-Fox screed, but rather a thoughtful and entertaining account of the author's several years in their employ in various news production roles. It doesn't even touch on the supposedly misogynist behaviour of various Fox celebrities. I don't know whether he didn't notice it, or he didn't consider it worthy of comment, or what. But the stories he did include, together with the insightful analysis of many Fox worthies, make very entertaining reading. Some other commentators have mentioned that they thought Muto included too much of his (uninteresting to them) personal life, but I disagree -- there's just enough of that to keep the narrative grounded and moving along in time. The writing is lighthearted and entertaining throughout.

Warning: Do not read this book if Fox News is you primary source of current events; or if you think Bill O'Reilly is really in "the no-spin zone;" or that Glen Beck is some visionary as to where we're headed. The same warning for those who believe Roger Ailes has bodies hidden in the basement and you label Fox as "faux news...." Do read the book for some entertaining, sometime profane, accounts of how a cable news station operates and a behind-the-scene look at some of their personalities. Joe Muto, a Notre Dame graduate, with little to recommend him except writing talent gets a job--at $12/hour--at Fox News, despite his liberal leanings. He takes it in that it's his only offer of a job in New York. What follows is 8 years of toil in various jobs, finally culminating in the last three years as one of the assistant producers for Bill O'Reilly's radio, then TV program. Interspersed are interludes of his personal life--drinking, girl friends, and sharing living space with others on his meager salary--with the often funny nuts-and-bolts stories of the usually young, low-paid talent backing up on-air stars. It comes as little surprise that Bill O'Reilly is cranky, demanding, set in his ways, and cheap--though the author has some kind words for O'Reilly as a father and his considerable insights into what makes a news story. Nor will it surprise news junkies that Sarah Palin is all talking points and cheer-leading talent, but no substance, or that Glen Beck is, gasp, really flaky, and not putting on an act. Nor that good looking blondes with often no experience are often sitting on the set with slight knowledge of what they are talking about. Perhaps surprising is that despite being numero uno in cable news, Fox is stingy with money, equipment, and space to work. An underlying story is the gradual maturing of young Mr. Muto, slow and fitful, but in the end self-revaltory as to experiences, and particularly his very brief and inept "mole" role for Gawker--and his equally quick dismissal from Fox. His analysis of his own behavior and the fact that he is in love and about to be married suggests growth. But the book is funny, relatively short, and ideal as a beach read.

Joe Muto gives a personal, in-depth look at his time at Fox News: how a liberal wound up working for the enemy, his daily experiences there, encounters with various personalities, how he eventually cracked and became the infamous Fox Mole, and how he got caught so quickly. His book sheds light on everything that happens behind the camera and how the famous personalities act when the cameras aren't rolling. I thought Glenn Beck only acted the way he did to garner big ratings, but Muto's eavesdropping indicate the guy is even more crazy and paranoid in real life than he seems on-screen. Ann Coulter, on the other hand, really is playing it up for the cameras, and it looks like The Boondocks' depiction of her wasn't too far off. Sarah Palin comes across every bit as empty-headed and difficult to deal with in this book as she did in HBO's Game Change. Megyn Kelly comes across as career-driven and hardworking, and Shep Smith appears to be the most likable anchor at Fox News. If Muto had ended up working for him rather than O'Reilly, he probably would have stayed and enjoyed a long career with Fox. And then there's O'Reilly, who's loud, abrasive, hard-working, smart, and socially awkward. O'Reilly often struggles to be fair and balanced, but just can't help giving into his true conservative colors. Surprisingly enough, Muto writes that he actually likes Bill O'Reilly, despite how difficult he is to work with. And I like that while he dishes on the bigwigs at Fox, he also writes about the working guys and girls behind the scenes. He likens Fox News to high school, writing that if the production crews were cliques, Shep Smith's crew were the cool kids, O'Reilly's crew the stuck-up rich kids, Geraldo's staff the stoners, Greta's the honor's students, and Hannity's were the Young Republicans and debate teams. The people who work there tend to get more conservative the further up the corporate ladder they go. Despite all the money Fox makes, they have a very regressive pay system, with people at the bottom making pennies and working in squalor while people at the top make millions and enjoy lavish offices and luxuries. Overall, a great, captivating read from start to finish. I devoured the book in just a few days. Highly recommended.

Muto's writing is both breezily humorous and self-deprecating in a lot of places, and it's an enticing read. I devoured it in about 3 hours. Those hoping for a big payoff of how evil FOX is will be disappointed - although it's not like we really needed *more* proof, but at Muto's level at Fox, there was only so much he could see and learn so there are no transcripts of meetings of Ailes, Murdoch, O'Reilly, and Hannity where they dress in robes, worship a three headed statue of Reagan situated on a large pentagram, break for a light lunch, and then finish up by clubbing baby-seals. The book is informative but not surprising in its info - O'Reilly is a gasbag; Palin is intellectually lazy, and Ann Coulter... Well, it turns out that the animated, "Boondocks," series by Aaron McGruder more or less nailed her - she's a nice person off camera who then says outrageous things and acts like a harpy on camera to sell books. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't hate her liberal opponents but sees them as fellow actors, necessary for the con so they won't have to get real jobs or "start stripping." And not to give too much away (if I haven't already), but the ending is refreshing - no real lesson to be learned; mistakes were made, and things could have been handled better, and it's time to pick up and move on. I wish Joe all the luck in the world and look forward to his next book.