War With the White House Is Healthy for Fox News and Other Spinning Things

The White House and Fox News weren't always at war.

In 2006, The Smoking Gun unearthed a "Downtime Requirements" memo from the office then-Vice President Dick Cheney, which requested, among other things, "All televisions [be] tuned to Fox News," with the further stipulation, "please let Advance Office know if it is satellite or cable television." (Cheney also required the temperature set at 68 degrees and four cans of Diet Caffeine-Free Sprite, in case you were planning on inviting him over anytime soon.)

With the change of administration, these once-friendly organizations have become bitter enemies. Sadly, we have seen this before.

White House communications director Anita Dunn has said of Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, "Let's not pretend they're a news network. Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican party." Fox News has responded repeatedly, most recently wondering (via On the Record with Greta Van Susteren), Is Fox Part of a Larger White House Enemies List? (In a word: Yes. Also on that list: Santa Claus and Musca domestica Linnaeus.)

Now that we're seeing daily headlines barking at each other like Picking a Fight: Obama vs. Fox News and Fox vs. Obama; Is Obama the New Nixon? and So Now He's Nixon? Please.

The battle has even reached out into the cosmos with Is President Obama an Alien—a Real Alien?!, which may or may not have been in response to this year-old headline, Barack Obama is Not An Alien. (OK, those last two were a joke—maybe.)

Amid all this back-and-forth between Fox and the White House, how's the network doing ratings-wise?

Awfully, according to various reports. And by awfully, I mean awfully well.

As far back as February, Broadcasting & Cable was reporting Fox News Still Tops. But that couldn't last, could it?

Then came March: Fox News Thrives in the Age of Obama.

And April: April Ratings: FNC Beats CNN and MSNBC Combined.

Oh, and May: May Ratings Mayhem! Fox News Tops; MSNBC Beats CNN; Cooper, Olbermann Down; HLN Way Up.

Then June: May Ratings Mayhem! Fox News Tops; MSNBC Beats CNN; Cooper, Olbermann Down; HLN Way Up.

Followed by July: July Ratings: Fox News Beats MSNBC & CNN Combined in Total Day and Prime.

Rounding out August: Fox News Posts Across-the-Board August Increases.

Kicking off fall in September: Fox News Dominates 3Q 2009 Cable News Ratings.

Bringing us to October: Fox News Ratings Undamaged by White House War.

If this war with the White House continues, how will Fox News survive? Terribly. And by terribly, I mean terribly profitable.

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Matt Haber is the media blogger for Portfolio.com.