It seems Rupert treats his television hosts the same he does his wives, texting them when their time is over. Tucker Carlson went home Friday not thinking for one moment that it was his last day at Fox. For the past six years he has cultivated his celebrity in the MAGA world, considered second only to the big man himself.
You really have to wonder what anyone ever saw in him. He failed to distinguish himself at CNN and MSNBC. He was memorably schooled by Jon Stewart on Crossfire. He has cultivated the image of a collegiate debater for 17 years, as if trying to emulate George Will, but as Jon rightly pointed out Tucker didn't have the chops. In the Age of Trump it no longer mattered what his credentials were as long as he swore allegiance to the Trump brand.
It's pretty funny to read the speculation surrounding Tucker's sudden dismissal. It was obvious that Rupert had enough of all this horseshit after settling a defamation lawsuit with Dominion voting systems for $800 million. It sends a clear message to the other faux news hosts that he isn't tolerating any more talk of a "stolen election" or that the insurrection was anything less than what it was. Hannity, Bartiromo, Dobbs and the others mentioned in the Dominion lawsuit had forgotten that they answer to Rupert, not Trump.
The amazing thing is that so many persons seem to think Tucker was so important, virtually "unfirable," given the size of his viewing audience. Even if Rupert made Tucker put his salary toward the settlement, it would have taken the White Supremacist poster boy 40 years to cover his debt. Tucker was the most vocal promoter of the "Big Lie," other than Donald himself, which Rupert had enough of as well.
It was pretty amazing to hear Rupert be so honest of the situation at Fox during his deposition. He hardly put up a fight when confronted with the many allegations of false and misleading narratives presented by his so-called news hosts and guests. Rupert even admitted he should have taken matters into his own hands sooner, but the ratings were so good it was hard not to let these hacks run with the contrived stories. The overwhelming majority of the Fox audience believed that the 2020 election had been stolen from Trump, so it was either feed into this narrative or lose their audience. The big mistake was pinning the blame on Dominion voting systems. Rupert had to know they would bite back but figured he could cover the cost.
While Tucker is a massive liability for television, he will be right at home on social media, provided he doesn't go after school children like his buddy Alex Jones did. In his first statement since his firing, Tucker seems almost conciliatory.
I'm sure he will land on his feet. Media is so fluid now. There really is no way to contain it anymore. You've got ludicrously right-wing outlets like OAN, or One America News Network, which I'm sure would love to have Tucker bring his audience to their network. There's Sirius XM and other streaming services which would pay him big money to set up a podcast, like they did Rush Limbaugh. Then there is RT, which has already given Tucker an offer. He is very popular among the Russian media elite, who were bemoaning his dismissal on Monday.
As for the other hosts at Fox, it is shape up or ship out. Who knows, Rupert may even sell Fox News. It was never meant as anything more than a propaganda arm for the Republican Party, set up by Roger Ailes back in 1996 in an effort to give conservatives a free space to promote their agendas and launch their political campaigns. What the hell does Rupert care now that Roger is gone. The network has become an albatross around his neck with all the pending lawsuits. At least now he won't have to worry about Carlson, who has lawsuits to contend with as well.
So long Tucker. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Comments
Post a Comment