A Media Memoir of Faith, Fracture, and the Fight for Truth
Chapter 2: The FOX Counterbalance
In 2014, I took the opportunity to start Next Step Media Productions, LLC as an independent contractor, helping others with video for social media.
In 2015 and 2016, I served as the New Mexico Concerned Veterans for America Media Manager — not realizing I was working under Pete Hegseth, who would later join FOX and eventually become the United States Secretary of War. After the election, my position was no longer required. We had done our job getting out the veteran vote.
I had always considered myself moderate — a Republican Conservative Christian by Arizona standards. I voted for John McCain every chance I got. In my own defense, I didn’t know any better, and the Senator had helped someone I was close to.
Over time, I began to separate my respect for his military service in Vietnam from my disgust with his congressional record once I learned more about it. Right before his death, McCain became the deciding vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act, denying Trump the satisfaction of trying to replace it.
Trump’s independent run in the Republican primary and eventual win against career politicians and mainstream narratives came as a breath of fresh air for FOX — and for me, it marked a shift in my political evolution. I moved from observer to inquisitor, reviewing my own beliefs about politics and media, and becoming more of an analyst.
Fox & Friends had become an easy landing for a new morning routine. Peter Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade, and Janice Dean handled weather and community‑driven outdoor audiences, often with patriotic and Christian themes I was drawn to. Outnumbered with Harris Faulkner, Sandra Smith, Emily Compagno, and Kennedy followed in 2017.
The Five offered multiple perspectives on stories like Russiagate and the YouTube Adpocalypse, and you always knew the angle by the chair they were sitting in. Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, Eric Bolling until Jesse Watters, Bob Beckel losing the Democratic seat and being replaced by Juan Williams, and Kimberley Guilfoyle in the last seat, later filled by Judge Jeanine Pirro — the rotation itself became part of the show’s identity.
Once‑a‑week Gutfeld on Saturday wasn’t enough, and audiences couldn’t get enough of him on The Five, as we’d later see. He introduced Kat Timpf and Tyrus as wrecking balls of commentary insight, along with comedians like Tom Shillue.
Bill O’Reilly brought the “No Spin” news with the fervor only he could bring until his #MeToo-related departure in 2017. His infamous “I’ll do it live” moment was hilarious. He brought Jesse Watters on for man‑on‑the‑street segments that eventually led to Watters’ own primetime shows after Tucker Carlson’s departure.
Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson stood out as FOX’s sharpest interviewers — polished, direct, and unafraid to challenge candidates, including Trump. Their eventual departures became signs that FOX, among others, would struggle to retain strong, independent voices willing to call out identity politics, cancel culture, and purity tests.
They covered Trump like he was the bull in the China shop that America needed. He had been stating his policy positions since before I was born, with a foreshadowing interview on Oprah in the 1980s, supporting the Clintons in the 90s, and a halfhearted third‑party run in 2000. He would call into news networks like he was the guest they were waiting for. The economy started to look bright, and FOX leaned into the spectacle.
FOX’s guest lineup introduced me to new voices and perspectives — Ron and Rand Paul’s libertarian flavor, Mark Levin’s constitutional insight, and Dennis Prager’s moral grounding. Herman Cain taught me to look out for S.I.N. in debates: people who Switch the subject, Ignore the facts, and resort to Name‑calling. Business voices like Art Laffer, Steve Forbes, and Kevin O’Leary added a layer of authenticity and authority. These weren’t just guests — they were among the commonsense voices shaping the debates I was absorbing.
I began learning about cryptocurrencies, blockchains, and investing in options contracts. I found FOX Business more entertaining than Fox & Friends and made the switch. Maria Bartiromo with Dagan McDowell, Stuart Varney and Friends, Neil Cavuto, and Charles Payne became my new morning lineup. Maria went to Davos to interview elites. Varney’s English accent and witty openings set the tone. Neil offered a slightly left‑but‑sometimes‑right perspective. Charles’ laughter and investor encouragement gave me something to learn and enjoy.
A couple of bad investments — which I now call learning experiences — made me nervous about my career outlook after graduating in May 2017. Already having started a YouTube channel for client video distribution, I released my first nine episodes of Quinn’s Next Step in 2018 and began consuming more shows online and on apps like FOX Nation. Although that subscription didn’t stick, I still have a FOX Nation Founder coin.
By then, FOX clips were everywhere on YouTube, and I found myself watching segments outside the cable schedule. That transition — from FOX broadcast to FOX clips online — overlapped with my growing interest in independent voices they’d introduced me to.
I was beginning to trust what I considered “independent” voices over the institutions. FOX had been my counterbalance, but YouTube was becoming my gateway. The shift from FOX set the stage for my Next Step, where independent creators would take center stage.
Quinn's Next Step 