Watch Shepard Smith tour the crazily futuristic Fox News Deck
Big news deserves really, really big tablets
Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.foxnews.com">video.foxnews.com</a>
And you thought CNN's Election Night holograms were excessive. Meet the new Fox News Deck, which has been described as "the Starship Enterprise, but with giant iPads." In a video tour, anchor Shepard Smith shows off the "revolutionary" new studio in New York City that he says will appeal to today's "non-linear" viewers.
Yes, those are 55-inch touch-screen computers, which can be displayed on the network's main feed at any time — ideally not catching Fox News employees wasting time on Facebook. Twitter has, predictably, reacted with jokes.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Aside from the giant computers (which Fox News has dubbed BATs, or big area touch-screens), the studio also features a 38-foot video wall, which Smith manipulates with a wand that looks something like a modified Nintendo Wii controller.
"It probably won't be perfect at first," says Kim Rosenberg, a senior executive producer at Fox News, "but eventually this concept will be copied and become the norm."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
-
Comey grand jury never saw final indictmentSpeed Read This ‘drove home just how slapdash’ the case is, said The New York Times
-
Political cartoons for November 20Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include impending Epstein Files release, Marjorie Taylor Greene embraced by Dems, Saudi Arabia's human rights record, and more
-
Trump pushes new Ukraine peace planSpeed Read It involves a 28-point plan to end the war
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardonTalking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are US billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration