The ½ Hour News Hour

Originally pitched as This Just In, the show was turned down by the Fox Broadcasting Company's late-night division before being picked up by Fox News' chief Roger Ailes for a trial run.

This was the first comedy show created by Joel Surnow, a producer best known for his success with the serialized action show 24. His description of the show initially was, "The Daily Show for conservatives", later expanding upon that description by stating, "You can turn on any show and see Bush being bashed. There really is nothing out there for those who want satire that tilts right."{{cite news|last=Learmonth|first=Michael|url=https://variety.com/2007/scene/markets-festivals/fnc-takes-satire-out-for-spin-1117959328/|title=FNC takes satire out for spin|date=2007-02-12|publisher=Variety}}

• Conspiracy Corner – segments where a guest presents generally accepted information about a topic, and that information is treated as far-fetched by the host, who holds stereotypical left-wing views.
• Guy White: Closet Conservative — a cartoon featuring a conservative man working in an office in which everyone else is a liberal caricature.
• Hollywood Helping Humanity — satirical public service announcements featuring actors endorsing dubious causes, such as recycling breast implants. Actors appearing in this sketch include Leyla Milani, Ken Davitian, Ian Ziering, and Lorenzo Lamas.
• I'm the ACLU — satirical advertisements "boasting" of controversial causes supported by the ACLU.
• Presidential Addresses — Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh had a recurring cameo role as the President, with conservative pundit Ann Coulter as his Vice President.

The broadcast of the pilot episode, which aired on Sunday, February 18, 2007, at 10 p.m., was watched by 1,478,000 viewers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediabistro.com/jobs/landingpage/369599/tv-newser/|title=TVNewser | Jobs in TV News|website=www.mediabistro.com}} The rebroadcast of the same episode one week later was watched by 971,000 people.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mediabistro.com/jobs/landingpage/369599/tv-newser/?c=rss.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930211058/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/12_hour_news_hour_most_watched_program_on_cable_news_sunday_night_54015.asp?c=rss.|url-status=dead|title=TVNewser | Jobs in TV News|archivedate=September 30, 2007|website=www.mediabistro.com}} The second episode on Sunday, March 4, received similar ratings with 1,384,000 viewers.{{cite news|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/the_scoreboard_sunday_march_4_54424.asp#more|title=The Scoreboard: Sunday, March 4|date=2007-03-04|publisher=mediabistro.com}}

Publications gave the show's initial two episodes historically poor reviews.{{Cite web|url=https://11points.com/11-disappointing-tv-shows-2000s/|title=11 Most Disappointing TV Shows of the 2000s|website=11points.com|date=15 December 2009 }}

The Chicago Tribune said, "The humor is so predictable and so stale that it fails to produce any laughs",{{cite news|last=Ryan|first=Maureen|url=http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/02/24_producer_str.html|title='24' producer strikes out with 'Daily Show' copy|date=2007-02-16|publisher=Chicago Tribune}} while The Philadelphia Inquirer commented that "The 1/2 Hour News Hour is slow torture all by itself."{{cite news|last=Storm|first=Jonathan|url=http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//16718773.htm|title=Fox News' fake news funny? You decide|date=2007-02-16|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=2007-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307112404/http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/television//16718773.htm|archive-date=2007-03-07|url-status=dead}} Metacritic's television division, which produces composite scores based on prominent reviewers' opinions of television pilots, other episodes, and/or DVD releases,[https://www.metacritic.com/about/scoring.shtml#tv About Metascores] Metacritic. gave The Half Hour News Hour pilots a score of 12 out of 100,[https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/halfhournewshour 1/2 Hour News Hour, The.] Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-06-02. making it the lowest-rated television production ever reviewed on the site.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfbg.com/disambiguation/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116160416/http://www.sfbg.com/disambiguation/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 16, 2016|title=San Francisco Bay Guardian | Looking for a Guardian article?}} Despite the pilots' poor reviews, the show continued to lead its time slot in the ratings among cable news networks. The show's lead over its competition shrank considerably, however, with its August 5, 2007, airing.

The show's cancellation was announced on August 14, 2007, and its last episode aired on September 23, 2007. At the time, Bill Shine, the Senior Vice President of programming at Fox News, stated that "we are considering ways to retool the show for future scheduling needs."

• The Greg Gutfeld Show/Gutfeld!
• Red Eye

• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show
• This Hour Has 22 Minutes

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/halfhournewshour Reviews at MetaCritic]
• [https://www.theguardian.com/usa/story/0,,2014734,00.html Fox launches rightwing satire show] Dan Glaister in Los Angeles for The Guardian, February 16, 2007
• {{IMDb title|title=The 1/2 Hour News Hour}}

{{FoxNewsChannelPrograms}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1/2 Hour News Hour, The}}

Category:2000s American satirical television series

Category:2000s American sketch comedy television series

Category:2000s American television news shows

Category:2007 American television series debuts

Category:2007 American television series endings

Category:American news parodies

Category:Conservative television in the United States

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Fox News original programming

Category:Television series about television

Category:Television series by 20th Century Fox Television