Things seemed hopeless for those wondering if Tucker Carlson of Fox News—who used his show to promote white supremacist hoaxes (Independent, 7/20/22) and degrading statements about immigrants (The Hill, 9/23/21)—would ever be held accountable for spewing hate on air. An advertiser exodus (New York Times, 6/18/20) and calls for his deplatforming from mainstream organizations (Anti-Defamation League, 5/25/22) seemed only to solidify the frozen-dinner heir’s position as cable news’ top-rated host. Last year, Carlson’s show “averaged 3.32 million viewers, nabbing the biggest audience in cable news among viewers ages 25 to 54,” according to the New York Post (4/24/23).
“He’s the tent pole of the entire prime time line-up,” said Reece Peck, author of Fox Populism: Branding Conservatism as Working Class. “He helps the other shows, people stay to watch after Tucker and before Tucker.”
And in a flash, he was gone (NBC, 4/24/23). After Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems for nearly $800 million over the network’s repeated lies about the company fixing the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, I noted (FAIR.org, 4/20/23) that the last-minute agreement was still a form of accountability for the network, even if the settlement sum was half of what Dominion sought. (Carlson’s departure took $700 million from Fox‘s stock value in the 30 minutes after it was announced. The stock recovered somewhat, but was still down half a billion dollars at the closing bell.)
Done in by Dominion?
The Washington Post (4/24/23) reported that Tucker Carlson was out because he seemed to refer to Fox management as “incompetent liberals” and “those fuckers.”
Indeed, the damaging discovery process preceding the trial date might have done Carlson in. The Washington Post (4/24/23) reported that “it was Carlson’s comments about Fox management, as revealed in the Dominion case, that played a role in his departure from Fox, a person familiar with the company’s thinking told the Post.”
Dominion said Carlson’s departure was not a condition of the settlement, according to the LA Times (4/24/23), but the paper did say that Carlson’s comments “that turned up in the discovery process for the case may have also played a role in” his departure.
The LA Times also said that sources within Fox said that Carlson’s departure is related to a separate, hostile work environment lawsuit brought by his former head of booking, Abby Grossberg, who alleges “that male producers regularly used vulgarities to describe women and frequently made antisemitic jokes” (New York Times, 4/24/23).
The discovery process of the Dominion case revealed numerous texts from Carlson—whose entire persona at Fox News rests on the wave of the Make America Great Again movement—showing his intense dislike of Donald Trump (New York Times, 3/8/23). “What [Trump is] good at is destroying things” was among one of the key texts, but everyone’s favorite, of course, is Carlson saying of Trump, “I hate him passionately.”
No, Carlson’s on-air racism (Independent, 4/13/21; ADL, 4/22/21), transphobia (New York Post, 12/28/22), xenophobia (Washington Post, 12/15/18), admiration for authoritarians (FAIR.org, 8/3/21, 10/20/21) and flirtations with antisemitism (Daily Beast, 10/11/22, 12/23/22) were never the problem for Fox News. If the Washington Post’s report that the Dominion texts were definitive is true, it’s poetic justice: The texts exposed Carlson for who he is, a pompous, rich media elitist who gives not one single damn about MAGA voters and hates their king, only cynically using Trump’s political popularity for his own media grift. That lifting of the veil, the end of the conceit for a corporation whose entire modus operandi is disguising its ruling-class politics to sell faux populism to its viewers, is a major outcome of the Dominion settlement.
Off to the gold mine
OAN‘s report (4/24/23) on Carlson’s departure ended with an invite: “One America News founder and CEO Robert Herring would like to extend an invitation to Carlson to meet for negotiation to become a part of the OAN team.”
But what is to become of Carlson? Surely he won’t drift quietly off into obscurity. The right-wing media machine, with its growing community of news sites, podcasts and Substack newsletters, is a gold mine for anyone who can draft a sentence linking any conservative grievance to the word “wokeness.” Carlson sold his stake in the Daily Caller (New York Times, 6/10/20), the news site he helped found, but the possibilities for rehabilitation are seemingly endless.
Bill O’Reilly once reigned as the star of Fox News until his ouster due to sexual harassment accusations (New York Times, 4/19/17), and today he is but a mere afterthought. But he was an aging relic before an explosion in Trump-fueled media. Today, a fresh-faced Carlson, still an emblem of MAGA rage, has the world as his oyster where he could perform untethered by corporate restraints, although without as much reach as cable news.
“It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that he could reinvent himself, but I think Fox is center stage, everything flows from its framing, from its agenda-setting, and it has the most influence over Republican politicians,” Peck said. “Even with Newsmax and [One America News Network], it’s really hard to match the respectability you get from being on a cable dial.”
“His star will never shine as bright as it did at Fox,” he said.
Fox is going to survive, valuing the audience that made the network what it is today, even if a little less hate is going to be pumped onto the mainstream American airwaves at primetime. “Fox has survived the loss of its biggest stars before,” Peck said.
But Carlson’s departure is a reminder that while the fight against Fox’s worst hatemonger often seemed fruitless, the Goliaths are, in fact, vulnerable.
Hey, Tucker Carlson defends Julian Assange, and had his family on his show. Tucker Carlson speaks out against the war in the Ukraine and how our government lies to us about it. Tucker Carlson has always shown what a fraud this Russiagate scam was. Tucker Carlson has people on his show like Jimmy Dore and Glenn Greenwald. Tucker Carlson is a hater, you say? You sound like CNN. Fairness and accuracy in reporting please!
I think it is FAIR to say Carlson is a hater. But the political examples Stan cites illuminate the weird poly-dimensional twisting of the left-right axis. That there’s more room on the so-called Rite for anti-war voices (MTG!) and defenders of National Security whistleblowers speaks volumes about the so-called Lepht …
Thanks Ari
Two points, first, even though Tucker is an often deceitful and malign person, he actually covered stories and debates that the MSM would never cover. He had on left wing voices that no one in the MSM would ever allow air time (of course he did not do it for noble reasons, he did it to hurt Democrats, but he did it nonetheless). Second, the idea that we want to silence other opinions shows how far backwards the discourse in the US has gone. Free speech means you have to listen to the people who you can’t stand. That’s what free speech is. As soon as you say “our audience needs to be protected from this awful talk” you have basically said you are in favor of government and corporate censorship of free speech. You have no regard for the First Amendment. You also are showing that your own argument is weak, and may not stand up to counterargument. I never watched Tucker except on excerpts that others used in their shows, but I strongly support his right to say what he wants, and interview who he wants, on TV. And if he does come back, I still won’t watch him.
So you don’t accept libel law? Cuz that’s what this article is about – not silencing political opinions.
If I understand your opinion, you think Mr. Carlson should be able to broadcast that “John R Moffett is a serial rapist!” because it’s his opinion?
BS
Wow, the depths to which FAIR has fallen. The world has turned upside down inside of ten years.
Ari Paul seems like the only one spewing hatred “ to Me . He’s not an objective reporter at all
We now have 12 -14 MILLION illegal aliens in this Country . plus who know how many criminals hurting our border States especially Horrible traffic , schools crowded to the max , Billions of dollars cost or free services for illegals we cannot afford ! Believe me the Latinos who already live here (California ) don’t like the open borders one bit . She’s is
R Paul concern for their jobs, their wages , their safety?
San Diego is the # 1 port of entry for fentanyl , now and is a total mess traffic wise . We have a Country and we have a border that needs to be respected just the way Mexico respects its borders and gives NOTHING to any one trying to violate that border. Don’t notice Mr Paul chastizing them , calling them “xenophobic “ etc . He is an idiot and Tucker is right
Ari Paul seems like the only one spewing hatred “ to Me . He’s not an objective reporter at all
We now have 12 -14 MILLION illegal aliens in this Country . plus who know how many criminals hurting our border States especially Horrible traffic , schools crowded to the max , Billions of dollars cost or free services for illegals we cannot afford ! Believe me the Latinos who already live here (California ) don’t like the open borders one bit . Where is
Mr Pauls concern for their jobs, their wages , their safety?
San Diego is the # 1 port of entry for fentanyl , now and is a total mess traffic wise . We have a Country and we have a border that needs to be respected just the way Mexico respects its borders and gives NOTHING to any one trying to violate that border. Don’t notice Mr Paul chastizing them , calling them “xenophobic “ etc . He is an idiot and Tucker is right
“Burnt Carrot 2024”
Trump would never attack a persons appearance. Neither would Tucker.
What will Tucker do without the hateful burnt carrot?
Probably be invited to join a Freemasonic Lodge with Thomas and Ginni the Co-Overthrow efficient while helping out the new Q for president campaign while be invited to murdoch’s new channel.
Why not?
I am not a bot.
Fun fact: If my words seem abstract — Nixon was DeMolay. They had a “degree” called the degree of Anon. That’s the true story nobody wants to cover.
And the Gini Co-effiecient, important research. This: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gini-coefficient-by-country