Leader Follower Relations within Fox Nation

     Unlike the Sales and Marketing Industries that I have previously discussed, The Media Industry has had a unique transition within this pandemic. As we all know, people have relied on the news now more than ever before. In this time of uncertainty people turn to their tvs (or radios, or phones etc.) to hear the latest updates on vaccines, travel guidelines, the economy and more. With an increase in news consumption comes an increase in production within major corporations such as Fox News. While this sounds like a simple task, it is actually quite difficult to produce news when you can’t leave the walls of your home. This being said, Fox took the time to set up home studios in big time Newscasters homes so that they could still produce content while following social distancing guidelines. Both Jennings Grant and Abby Hornack disclosed to me in separate interviews that their day to day lives have changed immensely. Abby Hornacek is a host on Fox News and is used to being on the other side of the camera. Jennings Grant, on the other hand, works on the production team. The difference in positions between these two women has resulted in a different work from home experience.

     Jennings Grant was able to quickly adjust to her work from home lifestyle and her day to day consisted of multiple zoom meetings with her team. She can work from virtually anywhere with wifi and good cellular service. She has used this to her advantage as she is currently living and working from Montana. According to Jennings, Fox News has been very open with their employees and have made sure to keep them updated about any plans to relocate back into the office. Jennings believes that as a member of the production team, she will be the last to go back to the office as they will need to get Hosts (like Abby Hornacek) back first. 

     Abby Hornacek has had a different adjustment to work from home life as she is an on air host. This means that she has less flexibility in terms of where she can work from, but she said this did not bother her as she was just happy to be employed throughout this crazy time. Abby has just recently joined the Fox Nation team as a host so it will be interesting to see where that takes her. Abby expects to be back in the office as soon as things are safe in the city, but is totally comfortable working from home for now. Overall it was very interesting to hear about both Jennings and Abby’s adjustment to work from home lifestyle and I got the impression that Fox News is doing the best they can to make sure their employees are adjusting well to their new work environments.