Yesterday’s big news was that Tucker Carlson had left or been removed from Fox News while Don Lemon was removed from CNN. I don’t watch cable news or pay any attention to it so neither move means a great deal to me.
Various explanations have been proffered for Carlson’s departure but what seems the most likely to me is that following the settlement of the Dominion suit Fox is looking to change its highly partisan stance and Carlson was seen as an impediment to that. Similarly with CNN and Lemon.
The two situations aren’t completely parallel. Mr. Carlson was by far the most popular figure on Fox News. Clearly, he was giving his audience what they wanted. There are a number of onscreen personalities as or more popular than Don Lemon on CNN.
In my view there needs to be a sharp line of demarcation, what used to be called a “Chinese wall”, between the news and opinion segments in news media. That pertains to cable news, broadcast news, print news, and online. Such lines have eroded over the last couple of decades and the decline in confidence in journalists more generally can be related to that erosion. It will not be easy to restore the credibility that has been lost.
An alternative solution would be explicitly partisan news outlets as they have in the UK. I believe those can only work with libel laws like those in the UK which are not nearly as rigorous as ours have been. I suspect with the increasing visual orientation of the media we will see an attendant increasingly agonistic tone. That’s completely consistent with the “point of view” approach to journalism that has replaced the “5Ws” style.
Dave Schuler: In my view there needs to be a sharp line of demarcation, what used to be called a “Chinese wallâ€, between the news and opinion segments in news media.
Even opinion hosts should be held to the journalistic standard of truth and accuracy. Gee whiz.
For a guy who is fairly bright, what was he doing putting the stuff he said into emails or texts? I am but a humble country doctor and I know stuff is discoverable. Was this even smart people do dumb things or arrogance? Makes me wonder what he had said the was discoverable that might come up in the Smartmatic suit, the suit by his producer and the probably suit accusing an ex-Marine of being an FBI plant.
Lemon, OTOH, was doing some moderately controversial stuff that you get away with if you are a star, but he wasn’t.
Wonder if Carlson decides to go into politics? Maybe start with Senator.
Steve
The way I put it 20 years ago was that you shouldn’t put anything in an email that you wouldn’t want posted in the town square. That’s even more true now.
“The way I put it 20 years ago was that you shouldn’t put anything in an email that you wouldn’t want posted in the town square. That’s even more true now.”
Applies in a lot of areas. For example, when I send an email asking specific questions to sales people, and they call me back to give me answers, I know their game. If you won’t answer my questions about the wording of your contract in an email, that tells me all I need to know.
As for Fox and Carlson, I couldn’t care less. Cable news is mostly mind cancer, especially the opinion shows. Why anyone would watch them except for academic media criticism purposes is beyond me.
Fortunately, not that many people watch. Carlson – who had the highest ratings – usually got 3-4 million viewers, the vast majority of whom are old. That’s a subset of ~1% of the population. The other networks, CNN and MSNBC, have the same demographics but even lower viewership. So perhaps 2 or maybe 3% of the population on a good day watches at least part of these programs. Cable news is a dying industry, literally, as its core demographic is dying out.
So most of America doesn’t watch these shows, and for good reason. Yet their influence on the political culture of the media generally and in terms of driving narratives among political elites can’t be denied.
And the irony is that almost everything I read about Fox comes from people on the left side of the political aisle and critics of Fox, and vice-versa for MSNBC and CNN. I have to wonder how much of Fox’s audience are liberals feeding a need to be outraged.
The other irony is that comparative normies like me would never hear much about Fox if it weren’t for their incessant complaints. It’s the same thing on the right with CNN, MSNBC, and, for some strange reason, that show called “The View” which conservatives seem obsessed about.
I don’t understand the motivation to endlessly signal boost ideas and speakers that one hates.
https://mises.org/wire/why-fox-fired-tucker-blackrock-replacement-theory-and-adl
Tucker crossed significant establishment redlines and has finally suffered the consequences. He consistently argued that that the ruling elite hates the majority and consistently attacks it, that national sovereignty is being eroded, and that the electorate is being replaced. The redlines included his criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky and the U.S. involvement in the Ukrainian war, his criticism of the covid responses that destroyed the economy, his questioning of the vaccines, and his targeting by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for various “offenses.â€
In February, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Fox Corporation (FOXA). BlackRock now owns 15.1 percent of the company. BlackRock’s enhanced position in Fox Corporation explains, in part, the Tucker dismissal, and it was a dismissal, not Tucker’s choice.
Why would BlackRock, headed by CEO Larry Fink, pressure Fox News to axe Tucker? For one, Tucker was known for his scathing criticism of Ukraine’s corruption, which put him at odds with the investment giant. In January, Carlson reacted derisively to a video of Ukrainian President Zelensky thanking BlackRock, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs for “rebuilding†the country. Tucker referred to Zelensky, not as a hero, as the establishment would have it, but as a dictator. Carlson has also been critical of BlackRock’s push for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, claiming, rightly, that ESG is a means of circumventing legislation and thus subverting democratic processes. ESG thwarts the will of the people and installs a “climate change†dictatorship in its place.
Really, really dont understand this stuff about ESG. Its an investing philosophy. If you think companies doing it arent properly trying increase shareholder value dont buy their stock. Multiple sites list companies by their adherence to ESG principles. Invest in their competitors. Free money.
Steve
What was in the water yesterday? Nate Silver out at 538 too.
Were media companies coordinating in some way — labeled end of April as “do things that would cause a stir”?
I suspect it’s related to expenses and quarterly earnings reports.