The WSJ has excerpts from an interview they did with Roger Ailes in today’s paper. Some excerpts of their excerpts:

WSJ: It seems like the sensibility you’re striving for with the network is embodied by CNBC’s Jim Cramer. Would you like to have him on your air? Mr. Ailes: He used to work for me. I like Jim. Jim’s like driving down the highway and watching the wreck across the guardrail. You never know what he’s going to do, which makes him interesting. . . . It’s entertaining at times. At times, it’s annoying, you know. . . . That show would be better if someone just ran in from off camera sometimes and whacked him on the butt and said, “Let’s get back to business here.”

And…

WSJ: The Fox New Channel reported a 41% rise in operating income in the fourth quarter from higher affiliate fees and advertising growth. How did you accomplish that at a time when viewership is off and ratings are waning for cable news?Mr. Ailes: Well, the ratings aren’t off much….You’d be surprised. I get hundreds of emails a day from American people saying, “God, you’re the only thing we watch.” So, we feel a real responsibility to get the story straight and balance the story in some ways….When I see something [in the news] particularly horrible about America that I think is a little out of proportion to what is actually going on, I call up the desk and say, “Do you have any pictures of people lined up at the border trying to get out?” They say, “What do you mean?” I say, “I just watched that, and hell, we’ve got to get out of here, America’s a terrible place. We need to get out fast. There must be guys stacked up at the airport trying to get out of here.” No. It turns out everybody’s trying to get in, and nobody’s trying to get out. We’ve got to keep that perspective in mind when you cover the news. It doesn’t mean you don’t cover the bad news about America. You do. It means you don’t get up in the morning hating your country.