News programs have been a part of Americans’ everyday life for decades, from FDR’s fireside
chats to the nightly programs of today.
It’s easy to develop a personal connection with the figures who deliver it.
If you’ve ever ventured over to the Fox Network, you’ve likely seen the face of
Tucker Carlson.
He was one of their most famous and controversial figures.
Recent issues have taken him off the air.
Legal woes and other problems have left many viewers without a man they thought they could
trust.
Keep watching to learn why Tucker Carlson is saying goodbye to Fox News.
Who Is Tucker Carlson?
Tucker McNeal Carlson was born on May 16, 1969.
He was the oldest son of Lisa McNear and Dick Carlson.
Media was in his blood.
His father was the director of Voice of America and the president of the Corporation of Public
Broadcasting.
His parents divorced in 1976, and his father gained custody of him and his brother Buckley.
His father also had political ambitions and unsuccessfully ran for San Diego mayor in
1984.
Tucker was enrolled for a time at the Swedish boarding school Collège du Léman, but he
was kicked out.
He went to St. George’s school in Middletown, Rhode Island instead.
He then graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1991 with a BA in
history.
After that, he applied to the CIA but was denied.
His father recommended he pursue journalism instead because “they’ll take anybody.”
Tucker began his career as a fact-checker for policy review and eventually a writer
for the magazine Weekly Standard.
He also contributed to other journals such as Esquire and Talk.
He first entered TV on CNN.
He co-hosted The Spin Room and then became the host of CNN’s public affairs show Crossfire
in 2001.
He then hosted other shows on MSNBC and co-founded the Daily Caller site.
His contract with CNN was canceled in 2004.
His show on MSNBC, The Situation With Tucker Carlson, premiered on MBSNC.
It was canceled on March 10, 2008.
Tucker went to prime time on Fox after the 2016 election.
After Tucker Carlson Tonight began airing, he overcame Sean Hannity as the network’s
most-watched host.
By 2022, his show averaged 3.32 million viewers and had the largest audience in cable news
within the 25-54 age demographic.
The Lawsuit Defamation is a legal term for when any individual
or group unfairly damages the reputation of another individual or group.
It’s also known as slander or libel.
It’s a common type of lawsuit, but it doesn’t always hold water in court.
Having your feelings hurt won’t get you a settlement.
The intention of bringing this issue to court is to prove intention.
Did the accused purposefully make false and ruinous claims?
That was the question posed against Fox News.
The Initial Claim Dominion Voting Systems sued the network for
defamation in the amount of $1.6 billion.
They claimed that the network had harmed its business and reputation.
Its news programs spread multiple false claims that their machines had rigged the 2020 election
against Donald Trump.
They also alleged that these claims were an attempt to win over viewers.
The network’s conservative audience wasn’t pleased when they aired on election night
that his challenger, Joe Biden, had won the state of Arizona in the polls.
Two Fox executives responsible for airing the decision were fired two months later.
Several instances of Fox began spreading false claims about the election being rigged by
Dominion’s voting systems were found.
They included 20 episodes, including one of Tucker Carlson Tonight was among them.
Other Fox personalities involved in the suit included Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, Sean
Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and former host Lou Dobbs.
Tucker’s Role Tucker repeatedly questioned Trump’s attorney
Sidney Powell.
He attempted to write him but, when that wasn’t enough, he brought it on air.
He told viewers on November 19, 2020, that she stopped contacting him when he kept asking.
When the controversial claim that Joe Biden had won Arizona came out, Tucker worried that
it would erode trust with Fox viewers and that they’d go to other conservative news
outlets.
There were messages between him and his colleagues that suggested he didn’t believe Dominion’s
voting systems were at fault.
It’s unsure what he believed.
The issue was that he continued to tell everyone who watched him about the voter rigging.
He was also one of only a few Fox figures to dislike the president and called him a
“demonic force” after the assault on the Capitol.
Fox Fights Back?
Fox’s attorneys objected to the amount of the lawsuit.
They thought it was absurd.
Fox also claimed that the real cost of the trial would be cherished first amendment rights
of freedom of speech and the press.
Neither of these claims, however true they may be, helped their case.
They didn’t have any supporting evidence proving that their employees or management
didn’t make any defamatory claims about Dominion Voting Services.
The Settlement The case was one of the most anticipated defamation
trials in recent history.
Opening arguments were prepared and jury selection had already been completed.
Fox made a last-minute settlement before the trial could begin.
They agreed to pay $787.5 million, half of the $1.6 billion that Dominion wanted.
The payout was a massive blow to the network, but certain professionals consider it a net
positive.
Professor and first amendment expert Roy Gutterman says that a guilty verdict could have been
more costly for Fox in terms of money and reputation.
It could even affect future rulings on the actual malice standard and the First Amendment
itself.
Further litigation is also pending.
Fox faces a second $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from the election technology firm
Smartmatic.
It led to the cancellation of Lou Dobbs’s program on the network.
Dominion is also suing news networks OAN and Newsmax as well as Trump allies Rudy Giuliani,
Sidney Powell, and Mike Lindell.
Like and subscribe for more behind-the-scenes news network information.
Keep watching to learn about why and how Tucker Carlson is saying goodbye to Fox News
Tucker Carlson Is Leaving Fox Tucker Carlson Tonight was one of the only
shows not to drop viewership after the announcement of Biden’s Arkansas win.
It was the most bankable of all Fox’s programs.
They needed a cash cow after the Dominion lawsuit, but he was not the one they chose.
Fox announced Tucker Carlson’s departure from the network on April 24, 2023.
They said in a statement that they thank him for his service as a host and contributor.
Tucker had given no prior indication that he was leaving the Friday before.
The network was even running promos for his show the following Monday.
Everything seemed to be going as normal until the sudden announcement.
Why?
Tucker was filed a week before the Dominion lawsuit was settled.
Tucker was one of the many of the network’s personalities expected to testify.
If they had gotten out, it could have been a major blow to both him and the network.
His private messages were part of the internal communications that would have been used as
evidence if the case went to trial.
He also claimed to passionately hate the former president despite Fox cheering his rise to
power.
He even called him a demonic force during the January 6 march on the Capital.
Tucker was also wrapped up in another lawsuit at the same time.
Abby Grossberg alleged sexist and anti-Semitic behavior while working on his show.
That lawsuit has yet to be settled but would also impact his and Fox’s reputation.
It wasn’t just what Tucker said but who he said it to that mattered.
His communications about Fox management also had sway in the decision to let him go.
He said that the network’s drop in viewer trust was their fault and referred to them
with expletives in private correspondence.
Tucker had always been a controversial figure.
His views on women, race, and immigration had gotten him in hot water and nearly fired
before.
It took a combination of lawsuits, and secret correspondence to get rid of his show.
What Now?
Tucker works from a remote studio in Maine.
He didn’t immediately respond to comments on the request for his departure and hasn’t
yet.
He also wasn’t able to say a proper goodbye to his massive audience.
His colleagues were also stunned.
One of his colleagues said that it was a total surprise.
Another said that it sends a message that having the highest ratings on the network
can’t save you from a disaster like the Dominion Lawsuit.
Even Donald Trump himself was shocked by the news of Tucker’s departure, They never saw
eye to eye, but he called him a talented man and noted his high ratings.
The 8 pm time slot that Tucker has held on the network since April 2017 will be filled
with “rotating Fox News personalities” until they can find a permanent host.
Eroding Trust Tucker was right about one thing.
The worst part of the entire charade, from the claims about voter fraud to the lawsuit,
is that it did erode viewers’ trust.
50% of Fox viewers said the revelations that came from the lawsuit did not affect their
belief that the election was stolen.
13% said they no longer believe that it was.
Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch said in a deposition that even many at the network didn’t believe
the claims.
65% of Americans said Fox should be held accountable for spreading false information in A March
Quinnipiac University poll.
93% were Democrats, 67% were independents, and 41% were Republicans.
50% of Republicans watch Fox at least a few times a week, and 80-82% say they never get
their news from CNN or MSNBC.
They were the network’s primary audience but also the most likely to say that they
encountered misinformation while watching.
The lawsuit is part of a long line of events that have eroded trust in the media.
A survey from the Knight Foundation found that 53% of Americans have an unfavorable
view of US news media, up from 43% in 2017.
News networks attempt to counter misinformation and speak the truth, but the public no longer
believes they can be trustworthy.
It’s a difficult balance, and the media needs to learn from the Fox lawsuit and Tucker’s
departure to help maintain it better.
Do you watch any news programs?
Let us know in the comments.