FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott participates in fireside chat

FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott participated in a fireside chat with University of South Carolina students on Thursday to discuss media operations and the journalism profession, focusing on culture, collaboration, creativity and change.

Scott was joined by “FOX & Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones, who moderated the event, which was part of the Baldwin Lecture series for College of Information and Communications students. Students were shown a video chronicling Fox News Channel’s rise from cable option in 1996 to today’s multi-platform juggernaut.

Scott explained that when Fox Corporation Chairman Emeritus Rupert Murdoch announced the launch date for the network shortly after he was hired, they had only five months to get the network up and running. While many viewed this as an impossible task, Scott saw it as a chance to make an impact.

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FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and “FOX & Friends” Host Lawrence Jones at the University of South Carolina’s Baldwin Business and Financial Journalism Lecture Series. (FOX News Media)

“I started as an entry-level programming assistant, I had a great boss at the time who was also my mentor, and we were short staffed, so I kept putting my hand up and asking for opportunities to contribute,” Scott said.

“Those five months, seven days a week, were a lot of long days, but we built the network and my career took off in those years,” he continued. “I am a results-oriented person and that is why I have received many opportunities and promotions.”

Jones then asked Scott to explain the key lessons he’s learned on his journey from entry-level staffer to chief executive officer.

“One thing about my style is that I always operate as a startup, I never take my position for granted,” Scott said.

“I embrace change, I strive for excellence every day and I put great emphasis on every aspect, but I always work in this startup mode. There are four words that I always have in my head for how to work as a CEO, and they all start with C,” he continued. “One is culture, one is creativity, embracing change, the word ‘change’ is very important to me, the other is collaboration.”

Scott said the combination of culture, collaboration, creativity and change has helped FOX News Media thrive as an organization.

“I’ve been through quite a journey being here for 30 years and the No. 1 most important thing is the culture you create within the organization, despite everything that’s been said about Fox News, it’s the happiest place to work and we have a great team,” Scott said. “I am a person who puts people first, I try to think of our organization as a big family.”

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FOX News Media CEO said it’s critical to have “the best people in every position” across the company.

“I believe you should surround yourself with the best people,” Scott said. “We have the best people in the industry, and that’s really important.”

Scott said he always enjoys working with people of different types and ages. Among his favorites was TV pioneer Chet Collier, who died in 2007 after a storied career that included helping develop the Fox News Channel in 1996.

“He was an old-school TV producer and executive. He taught me everything I know about talent and working with talent and producing and creating shows and how to engage and engage audiences,” Scott told the students.

FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott addresses students and educators at the University of South Carolina’s Baldwin Business and Financial Journalism Lecture Series. (FOX News Media)

He explained that he was “really lucky” to have worked with Collier so early in his career. Even though he was decades more experienced than Scott at the time, he brought him into meetings, providing critical opportunities.

“I look back on the years I worked for him as a master class program, because it truly was a gift,” Scott said.

“I knew how lucky I was. He was imparting all his wisdom to me. And you know one of the greatest lessons he taught me is that a very simple philosophy is ‘people follow people,'” Scott explained.

Collier taught him that people watch people they love, people they trust, people who don’t belittle them, and people who know how to connect through a screen.

“One of my skills is identifying people who I believe have the skills to do this, developing them and expanding their toolkit so they can become an even greater asset to themselves and to the work we do,” Scott said.

Scott said he has high expectations for the Fox News family, with many goals and objectives, but understands that everyone is human and must work together to be successful.

“I care about people, I care about their lives and what they’re going through, and I understand that it can impact their work at times, but the culture of having each other’s backs… it’s the collaboration, teamwork mentality that we all have together. We couldn’t do the work that we do if we didn’t have a strong culture and really collaborate as a team,” he said.

Scott thinks regularly coming up with new ideas and embracing the changes that come with those new ideas is critical to Fox News’ success. Podcasts, social media and other new technologies have transformed the way Americans get news, and Scott sees this as a path to promising new careers.

“You have to be on the cutting edge of technology, learn it, and transfer that to the internship or opportunity you get outside of it,” he said.

Since the early stages of his career, Scott has been looking for candidates who “love to win and hate to lose” because it’s important to bring a “competitive spirit” to Fox News.

Scott told students they should always accept potential opportunities to improve their skills. He strongly advised students to embrace AI, which he sees as another opportunity, not something that will eliminate jobs.

“I actually believe there’s a lot of disaster in AI storytelling. I actually think that AI tools are growing rapidly and that anyone who is young should be educated on the different AI tools in different industries and how to use them,” Scott said.

Scott said that he had the opportunity to meet the heavyweights of artificial intelligence, was impressed by the technology and had high hopes for the future.

“In my opinion, AI is not something that will eliminate jobs,” Scott said, noting that skeptics have a lot of negative things to say about the subject.

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“Again, the C word is change. You have to embrace change. Here are the tools to help you do your job more efficiently, more strategically,” Scott said.

“Easy adapting early, especially as a college student, gives you a huge advantage so that you have the opportunity to bring that experience and knowledge to wherever you work,” he added. “The younger generation should be really excited about learning this, understanding this and having more knowledge so that when you get into this job, you will be way ahead of your bosses.”

Embracing AI was easy for Scott, who considers himself a “change person.”

“I’m always thinking about what the next thing is going to be. That’s my style,” he said, telling a story about when he started using a Blackberry nearly 20 years ago.

“I was on the train home that night, getting emails, and being able to do my work. This was before the iPhone, and I thought, ‘This is a game changer,'” Scott told the students.

“I wrote a note to my boss at the time saying, ‘Anywhere, anytime, anywhere.’ I knew we were on the cusp of change in media consumption.”

Twenty years from now, people will truly be able to consume media anytime, anywhere, and Scott said the industry will continue to evolve.

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“The game is changing; there are agents of change in the newsroom. As producers and camera operators, the job is changing and growing,” Scott said.

Another example of embracing change is the drone program launched by Fox News in 2012, which has grown significantly under his leadership.

“We now have 200 drone pilots. Not just for Fox News, but for Fox TV stations as well,” Scott said. “You have to embrace all the different things and new things.”