![]() ![]() The “Horse’s Head” Theory: It feels like ancient history now, but scour your memory of the Before Times (back when Bill O’Reilly was on prime time) and recall the phone-hacking scandal at Murdoch’s News of the World. And firing Tucker was a way of communicating a very clear message: the network is bigger than the host. And to that, Rupert said: fuck you.” In other words, Tucker got too big and perhaps too powerful to control. So, by proxy, they believed they controlled the network. The Too-Big-For-Fox Theory: If the average Fox viewer is an elder in a La-Z-Boy with the Fox logo screen-burned into the corner of their sets, Tucker’s reach stretched well beyond that set: He is the most online host by a long shot-and some say that was the problem.Īs one source close to the network told me: “The online people thought they controlled Fox because they believed that Tucker controlled Fox and that they controlled Tucker. This week, Sherman reported that this runs right along the lines of what Tucker himself thinks about his ouster: “Carlson has told people he believes his controversial show is being taken off the air because the Murdoch children intend to sell Fox News at some point.” Some think “James would opt to sell Fox News to a private equity firm just so he could be rid of a toxic asset,” he wrote of what might happen if the more liberal brother takes over the empire. Gabriel Sherman, longtime chronicler of the real-life Roys, floated this idea in his recent Vanity Fair piece about the Murdoch succession plan. It’s about making Fox brand-safe for a potential buyer. This theory becomes stronger when you look at who else was ousted recently: Dan Bongino and Lara Trump.īut according to this view of the situation, it’s not just about making Fox brand-safe for advertisers. Fox without Tucker will become far more advertiser-friendly. Tucker’s beloved by his audience, but ad-wise he’s in MyPillow Guy territory. ![]() The Sell Theory: Yes, Fox Corp stock dropped upon news of Tucker’s exit, but the network stands to make more money without him on prime time. Here are the three additional theories that emerged. It’s definitely what Fox brass wants the public to think.īut on behalf of our beloved TGIFers, who need the dish, I called around to several NewsCorp insiders and conservative machers close to the network. The simplest explanation is usually the right one, so maybe that’s all there is to it. And all week the stories about Tucker’s private messages-according to WSJ, Carlson “called a senior Fox News executive the c-word”-have dribbled out. ![]() She too is suing Fox, claiming Carlson’s show was a hostile and discriminatory work environment, and is currently doing the rounds on MSNBC. Then there is Abby Grossberg, who until recently was the head booker on Tucker’s show. Smartmatic’s $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox (they’ve said they expect more than Dominion received) is around the bend. As one insider put it to me earlier this week: “They looked at Tucker after Dominion”-Fox settled with the voting company for $787.5 million days ahead of canning Carlson-“and they saw legal liabilities till the end of time.” The story the press is running with is simple: he was too big of a liability. There are more, but you get the drift.īut the story that will be remembered from this week is that Tucker Carlson, by many measures the most successful cable anchor on TV and maybe ever, was fired from Fox News. Dawn Davis, the Bon Appétit editor, who took over for Adam Rapoport, who had stepped down in the summer of 2020, has resigned. Superstar pollster Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight, is out at ABC News, now owned by Disney. Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, is out after a sexual relationship with anchor Haley Gamble. Succession just came to you.ĬNN’s Don Lemon-a guy we had fun watching get soaked on New Year’s Eve but apparently wasn’t such a blast to work with-announced his departure after 17 years at the network via Twitter screenshot. → Tucker Carlson meets Logan Roy: For those who have somehow never tuned in to Succession, don’t bother. So bear with me as I try to do my best imitation of my inimitable wife. . . I know you come for that pure, grade-A, straight-to-your-veins hit and I am but a low-energy, ersatz placebo. And I’ve gotta tell you guys: I feel a little bit like little Marco or Jeb! showing up to a Trump rally. I said, “It’s time to get back in the muck with us.” Yes, TGIF brought to you by Bari Weiss. . . I’m on a reporting trip in Texas, so I searched long and hard for a replacement this week and settled on someone special, someone who spends her days above the fray. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |