Matt Singerman (LA '88), now the executive producer of the Fox News morning program "Fox & Friends," is a poster child for success in the entertainment industry.
Since his graduation from Tufts 15 years ago, Singerman has risen from serving as a production assistant on Maury Povich's former gossip program "A Current Affair" to executive producing the most-watched morning cable news program in the nation.
The summer between his junior and senior years at Tufts, Singerman participated in an internship at "A Current Affair" that led to a subsequent job offer and eventual promotion.
"I had never thought about TV before, but I loved it," Singerman said. Eight years later, he was offered a job at Fox News.
According to Singerman, in a business as tough as television, the way to better ratings is originality. Instead of following in the footsteps of the ever popular NBC morning program, "The Today Show" - which the political science major says targets stereotypical "housewives" - Singerman produces "Fox & Friends" for the "politically-minded."
"We're the anti-Today Show,'" Singerman said. "Our audience is interested in hard news and politics." As cable news viewership has risen, "Fox & Friends'" viewership has as well. Having been on the air for six years, the show is winning the ratings race against its competition, CNN's "American Morning" and MSNBC's "Imus in The Morning."
The way Singerman triumphs - by throwing together three opinionated anchors and giving them free range to express their views - has drawn a loyal following of 1.2 million viewers at any given time during the three-hour show (and three to four million viewers total per day). In contrast, CNN draws about 753,000 at any given time during the day, and MSNBC about 364,000.
In a typical Fox News style, the "Fox & Friends" anchors are candid and honest with their opinions. Rather than the "light" and "friendly" talk of "The Today Show," the three "Fox & Friends" co-hosts express what they think, no matter the consequences.
But when Singerman is asked whether the ever-popular notion that Fox leans to the political right extends to his show, he is quick to skirt the issue. "We [at Fox News] are targeting an audience that is interested in politics," he said. "So sure, part of it is what our viewership is interested in, and part of it is to be different. We keep the show focused on the news."
This nontraditional approach to morning news is what Singerman feels makes "Fox & Friends" distinctly different from its competitors - which, for the most part, follow the more conventional model of remaining impartial and detached from the news their hosts are reporting.
"I've covered everything from the presidential deadlock to 9/11 to the war in Iraq to Michael Jackson," Singerman added. "When a story breaks, you've just got to run with it. You have to say, this is a life-changing event for the American people, so how are we going to convey that?"
The show has attracted many distinguished guests over the years, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, First Lady Laura Bush, Representative Richard Gephardt, and Senator Trent Lott.
On "Fox & Friends," discussions with such political heavyweights are coupled with candid banter among the anchors as well as straight news reports from Fox correspondents around the globe.
By giving the anchors free range to express their opinions, Singerman said that he has created a show to which Fox's viewers can really relate. "People have to want to let you into their bedrooms in the morning, when they're still in bed and getting dressed, and that's a tough thing to get them to do," he said.
But through hard work and his innovative approach to TV news, Singerman and the whole "Fox & Friends" team has managed to do just that. "TV is a tough business, especially TV news," he said. "You have to be ready to work 24/7. You can't have a nine-to-five mentality in TV."
"If you don't like hard work, TV news is not for you," he added.
This mentality has come in handy for Singerman over the past few months: he just became a father for the first time. "This job doesn't allow you a lot of sleep, but neither does a new baby," he said.
A former writer for the Tufts Observer and a Theta Chi fraternity brother, Singerman knows it wasn't just long hours that helped him succeed.
"A Tufts education is great for whatever business you get into," he said. "It didn't teach me anything about television, but it taught me how to write and think and just gave me a great education in general."
"Fox & Friends" airs on Fox News every day from 6-9 a.m.
