You've no doubt read a lot of stories about the Fox News Channel over the past couple of weeks. How they're feuding with the White House. Stories dissecting claims that the network is more a news arm of the Republican Party than a news channel. Reporting about the network's continued ratings growth despite the criticism. Commentary spouting suggestions that a network perceived by many as an opposition political outlet might suffer when the "other" guys are in power.

But despite all the criticism, recent ratings number show the network more popular than ever with viewers.

So why is the Fox News Channel so popular?

It's a complex question, and I don't think anyone can give you a completely accurate answer. But given all the facts and figures I've seen in the past couple of days, I have some theories.

1) Fox News Channel Viewers Are More Engaged Than Those Who Watch CNN
As the latest ratings numbers show, CNN has taken the big ratings beatdown over the past year, and conventional wisdom is that it's because viewers are rejecting their centrist approach to news reporting.

But I think it's more complex than that. A perception of being a partisan network is a great branding tool and it's used well by both Fox and MSNBC. You know what you're going to get when you turn on either channel, and that's not meant as a criticism. Having a point of view defines the network easily for the viewer, and that reinforces both FNC and MSNBC as destinations for their viewers. CNN's branding is less sure-footed and that has hurt their ratings in this hyper-partisan environment.

Fox is riding that wave in several ways. For those who feel the Obama Administration is a mistake, there is no other clear choice. And while the President was elected with a majority, that still leaves millions of disaffected and angry potential viewers for Fox to attract. The current battle with the White House is only the most public of the tussles between liberals and FNC. Inevitably, each series of complaints brings new viewers, who check in to see what the fuss is all about.

2) FNC Has Some Good Journalists On The Air
Like it or not, there is some solid journalism taking place at the Fox News Channel. Yes, you may have to wade through a lot to find it during some parts of the day, but reporters and anchors like Shepard Smith and Major Garrett are as good as anyone on television. FNC can draw upon a wide range of international sister outlets of needed, and the network has shown many times before that they can handle breaking news as handily as their competition.

3) FNC's Viewers Feel They Have No Other Option
Fox News Channel promos routinely trumpet the claim that no other network is as fair and balanced. Without getting into the validity of the claim, it's an argument that resonates with the disaffected conservative viewer that already has a distrust of most government agencies and big media outlets. I haven't seen any attempt to measure this statistic, but my hunch is that if you asked viewers of the various cable news outlets whether they would regularly watch a rival network if their favorite was off the air, few FNC viewers would switch to CNN or MSNBC. But I suspect many more viewers of the latter two networks would be open to another viewing choice. That feeling of "us against them" is a powerful tool for building a dedicated and loyal viewing audience.

4) Hosts Such As Glenn Beck And Bill O'Reilly Are Pretty Damn Funny
Even the most die-hard liberal will admit that when it comes to entertainment value, it's hard to imagine a funnier cable news channel host than Glenn Beck. His surreal, often nonsensical rants are filled with this mix of paranoia and disinformation that is tough to resist. Yes, shows on ACORN are dry and predictable enough to be instant channel-changing events. But there is something about Beck which is as funny and odd as anything on television. If Jon Stewart were a paranoid schizophrenic, he would be Glenn Beck.

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has referred to Bill O'Reilly as the "Frank Burns of cable news," and in this case I have to agree with Olbermann. Part of O'Reilly's charm is that he is both arrogant and thin-skinned. So his commentaries and interactions with guests always straddle this weird line between "You really like me" and "Why are you looking at me that way!" It's a bit tough to watch at times, and when he tries to take on some crusade he can be tiresome. But for pure entertainment value, O'Reilly is a keeper.

5) Never Underestimate The 'What The F#$% Was That' Factor
Part of the attraction of FNC for me is that you never know when you'll see some surreal and unbelievable piece of political theater. It's those "What the hell was that?" moments that keep me coming back for more. Hearing Karl Rove argue with a straight face that President Obama's White House should be "transparent and open" is like hearing Bruce Springsteen argue that rockers shouldn't write their own tunes. Given his background, it's an insanely disingenuous argument, but it's typical of what commentators and guests such as Rove bring to the table.

I know it's wrong, but there's something delightfully bizarre about hearing claims that are so detached from reality that they're past unbelievable. Hearing Sean Hannity's attempts at political humor or watching the often clueless political discussions on "Fox And Friends" is damn entertaining. Frustrating if you believe in facts, but entertaining nonetheless.

The downside for FNC in all of this is that while this surreal commentary is entertaining, it tends to bury the channel's strengths as a news organization. The network often tries to draw a line between their hard news offerings and the rest of the channel's programming. But that's like trying to draw a distinction between Lindsay Lohan's acting and her public struggles with alcohol and partying. In a perfect world, only the real work would matter. But it's difficult to separate the accomplishments from the ranting.

But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter why it all works so well. It just does.

While MSNBC's ratings improvements have been impressive over the past couple of years, the network is generally still a distant second to FNC. While that fact might be frustrating to liberals, it makes perfect sense to a lot of dedicated fans of Fox News.

Why is The Fox News Channel still so popular?

While it may sound like an excuse, the truth is that in cable news--like in nearly any other business--it all comes down to the fact that the best execution of an idea usually wins the battle. FNC does what they do better than anyone else. And that's reflected once again in the latest ratings numbers.