Current:Home > StocksElection skeptics may follow Tucker Carlson out of Fox News-LoTradeCoin
Election skeptics may follow Tucker Carlson out of Fox News
View Date:2024-12-24 10:57:09
During his tenure at Fox News, Tucker Carlson was known for pushing far right fringe views onto a mainstream conservative audience, in his top-rated prime-time show, Tucker Carlson Tonight. Fox deciding to part ways with one of the biggest stars in cable news history leaves the network in a "particularly precarious place" with the Fox audience.
That's according to political historian Nicole Hemmer, a director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University. She tells Morning Edition that Carlson's exit may magnify a "level of distrust" between Fox News and audience members who are skeptical of the network's call of the 2020 presidential election.
The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
On whether Carlson's rhetoric became too extreme for Fox
Carlson's rhetoric has been one of the most important drivers of audience to Fox News. He has been the most popular show on Fox and back to the most watched show in cable news history since 2020. And that makes him pretty powerful. And it makes his messaging pretty important to the direction that Fox News has been going over the past six or seven years. So his rhetoric maybe got him in trouble. But it's actually been one of the most defining features, not just of his show, but of Fox News during the Trump era.
On the Fox News relationship with its audience
Fox News is in a particularly precarious place with its audience since the 2020 election, when they called the election for Joe Biden. There was a real rush of the audience away to other sources like Newsmax. Tucker Carlson was really instrumental in bringing that audience back. But there's a level of distrust between parts of the Fox audience and Fox News. And this is just another piece of evidence for that part of the audience that perhaps Fox News isn't entirely on their side.
On the media landscape and Fox's need to "shore up" Carlson viewership
You would anticipate they might put someone in that timeslot who tries to keep Carlson's audience attached to Fox News. But if it was his rhetoric that got him in trouble, that really does wedge Fox when they're trying to figure out, "how do we reach out to this Trump base, especially in advance of the 2024 election."
On support for journalism and journalists at Fox News
I think they've lost quite a lot of credibility with other news organizations. You know, back in 2009 when the Obama administration sort of went to war with Fox, it was other journalists who defended the network. I don't think that there's that same kind of relationship between Fox News and other outlets these days. So there may be people at Fox who present themselves as journalists. I'm not sure that other outlets have their back anymore.
Ziad Buchh produced the audio version of this interview.
veryGood! (4635)
Related
- Investigation into Chinese hacking reveals ‘broad and significant’ spying effort, FBI says
- Kesha tweaks 'Tik Tok' lyrics to blast Diddy at Coachella
- Morgan Price on her path to making history as first national gymnastics champion from an HBCU
- Feds say Nebraska man defrauded cloud service providers over $3.5 million to mine crypto
- 'I was in total shock': Woman wins $1 million after forgetting lotto ticket in her purse
- WNBA commissioner sidesteps question on All-Star Game in Arizona - an anti-abortion state
- Caitlin Clark is best thing to happen to WNBA. Why are some players so frosty toward her?
- Olivia Culpo Reveals All the Cosmetic Procedures She's Done on Her Face
- Joey Logano wins Phoenix finale for 3rd NASCAR Cup championship in 1-2 finish for Team Penske
- Why this WNBA draft is a landmark moment (not just because of Caitlin Clark)
Ranking
- Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
- What to know about the prison sentence for a movie armorer in a fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin
- Feds say Nebraska man defrauded cloud service providers over $3.5 million to mine crypto
- Trump's hush money trial gets underway today. Here's what to know.
- Messi breaks silence on Inter Miami's playoff exit. What's next for his time in the US?
- Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, WNBA draft prospects visit Empire State Building
- Wealth Forge Institute: The WFI Token Meets Education
- Sisay Lemma stuns Evans Chebet in men's Boston Marathon; Hellen Obiri win women's title
Recommendation
-
25 monkeys caught but more still missing after escape from research facility in SC
-
Wealth Forge Institute: The Forge of Wealth, Where Investment Dreams Begin
-
Why is tax day on April 15? Here's what to know about the history of the day
-
Rust Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for 2021 Fatal Shooting
-
Can I take on 2 separate jobs in the same company? Ask HR
-
Rangers clinch NHL's top record, Islanders get berth, last playoff spot still up for grabs
-
Kesha Switches TikTok Lyric About Sean Diddy Combs During Coachella 2024 Duet
-
3 children, 1 adult injured in drive-by shooting outside of Kentucky health department