Twenty-nine years ago next month, I came on board with a fledgling cable channel. The start-up’s novel idea was to appeal directly to conservatives, people who voted for Presidents Reagan and Bush 41 — or what Richard Nixon famously called his “silent majority.”

The conservatives who started Fox News knew exactly what they were getting with me. I had worked at the Washington Post and CNN. In popular books, I had called out politicians, right and left. As a Black writer, I was known to trade punches with Black politicians.

Fox’s founders wanted me to debate star right-wing media personalities. I was happy to bring my credentials and counter their arguments. It made me sharper. And at Fox, it made for good television. Ratings climbed as viewers welcomed furious, right-leaning debates among

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