The month of May was the first full month without cable news’ top primetime host, Tucker Carlson, and it showed.
17.05.2023 - 15:53 / variety.com
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor On his Fox News program, Tucker Carlson would often declare himself “the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and group think.” So now he wants to launch a show on Twitter? The social-media platform has given millions of people the ability to express themselves and communicate in ways they never could before, but it has also become a haven for bullying, tribalism and disinformation. Carlson may become part of the venue’s latest effort to keep traffic flowing even as many advertisers keep more than an arm’s length away. Figuring out how to handle Carlson could be one of the first challenges for Linda Yaccarino, who has been named Twitter’s new CEO. The former NBCUniversal ad-sales chief knows what it takes to line up blue-chip sponsorships at scale. But doing that on behalf of Carlson may be a mission impossible. HisFox News show suffered from a dearth of mainstream national advertisers, despite the show’s high ratings. After recent revelations about the host’s use of racist and misogynist language, disclosed in documents tied to Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation litigation against Fox News, Twitter’s new bosswould have to hunt far and wide for any traditional sponsors willing to associate Carlson with their brands.
Carlson proclaimed last week that he was launching a new program on Twitter, though whether doing so abides by the restrictions of a contract he has with Fox News remains to be seen. Carlson’s last pact with Fox News is said to last until at least late 2024. And he is likely subject to non-compete and non-disparagement clauses, according to two people familiar with newsroom contracts, if he wants to collect the millions he is likely to be owed. Much may hinge on the
The month of May was the first full month without cable news’ top primetime host, Tucker Carlson, and it showed.
A federal prosecutor reportedly is investigating the alleged hack of internal Fox News video footage of Tucker Carlson, as clips have surfaced on Vice and watchdog group Media Matters for America.
TheWrap reported Wednesday, DeSantis’ anticipated campaign launch with an assist from Musk went from stuttering along to going completely offline before the politician even had a chance to speak. At its height, the Space held 650,000 listeners who were left in the dark while moderator David Sacks could be heard saying, “It just keeps crashing, huh?” in the background.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Andrew Ross Sorkin is the co-creator of the Showtime series “Billions,” but he isn’t really known for drama in his professional life, just financial reporting. So it came as something of a surprise on Monday, when the CNBC and New York Times journalist got up on stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to tout some of the dramatic fare that NBCUniversal was able to cobble together for the advertisers and media buyers assembled in the audience. It was all part of the industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S. media companies try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory before the release of their next cycle of programming.
Fox News said that it is considering changes to its primetime lineup following the exit of Tucker Carlson, but it suggested that a report that Sean Hannity would fill the slot was premature.
Tatiana Siegel The mystery surrounding Tucker Carlson’s ouster from the airwaves at Fox News — and his future plans in media — are coming into sharper focus. On April 26, Carlson spoke by phone with one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members, who told the host that his recent benching was a condition of Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversation. The unnamed board member told Carlson that the condition does not appear in any of the settlement’s documents, and instead was a verbal agreement. If Fox didn’t comply, the settlement was off, Carlson was told. Dominion had plenty of leverage given that the $787.5 million deal to settle Dominion’s defamation suit against the network wouldn’t officially close until late-May.
Fox News Media waved its banner during the Fox upfront Monday afternoon in New York, plugging a wide array of platforms but notably gliding past its main profit center in prime time.
Maren Morris was honored at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards New York with the Excellence in Media Award. The singer-songwriter took the stage to accept the award and recalled her feud with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson.
Donald Trump’s town hall was the hot topic across Sunday political talk shows, including on ABC’s “This Week,” where former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said the audience of Trump supporters looked awfully similar to the ones he saw when he was running for president in 2016.“I don’t care how they introduced them. I know a lot of those people in that audience.
Elizabeth Taylor Maren Morris made history Saturday night in New York City when she became the first country music artist to receive GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award. During the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards, the Grammy-winning performer was presented with the honor by Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Alyssa Edwards. “I felt a little badass taking on Tucker Carlson for calling me a lunatic for standing up to transphobia,” Morris told the crowd while holding her trophy. “Maybe I did feel a little cool. But I don’t want to gloat. I would never insult the recently unemployed.”
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor ABC News is betting on a new duo to keep shining daylight at “GMA3.” Eva Pilgrim and DeMarco Morgan will officially take over as co-anchors of the program, a news-and-lifestyle hour in the early afternoon that is seen as an extension of the Disney network’s flagship “Good Morning America.” They will join Dr. Jen Ashton. Meanwhile, Gio Benitez has been assigned to the team at the weekend version of “GMA.” Staffers at ABC News were informed of the decision Thursday morning by Kim Godwin, president of the division. “I know these programs – and our viewers at home – will be well-served by all of their collective talents,” said Godwin in a memo.
Tucker Carlson is bringing a new version of his defunct TV show to Twitter, after being unexpectedly fired from Fox News last month.Carlson, 53, took to Twitter on Tuesday to share the news in a lengthy video, in which he claims that mainstream media outlets are all «thinly disguised propaganda outlets.»«Starting soon, we'll be bringing a new version of the show we've been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter. We'll be bringing some other things too, which we'll tell you about,» Carlson announced in the clip.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Tucker Carlson announced that he will bring a version of his Fox News show — which he lost after getting fired last month — on Twitter, the social platform owned by Elon Musk. “Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter,” Carlson said in a video shared Tuesday on the platform. “Free speech is the main right you have. Without it, you have no others.” It’s not immediately clear if Carlson has a deal with Musk to launch the show on Twitter or if he’s doing it independently. Carlson will forgo at least $25 million to break his noncompete clause with Fox News, according to Puck News’ Dylan Byers. Prior to Carlson’s announcement of the forthcoming Twitter show, a lawyer for the former Fox News host sent a letter to the cable network accusing Fox News of “fraud and breach of contract,” Axios reported. That is presumably intended to set the stage for Carlson to claim he’s not bound by a noncompete provision of his contract with Fox News.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Hadley Gamble, a CNBC reporter who ended up as part of the headlines involving the business-news outlet’s corporate parent and the ouster of its most recent CEO, is departing the company herself. “CNBC today announced that Hadley Gamble, Anchor and Senior International Correspondent, is leaving the company,” the network said in a statement. “Gamble has been a distinguished journalist for more than a decade for CNBC, undertaking highly visible and challenging assignments, and developing deep expertise in the Middle East and beyond. Her initiative and drive have secured valuable interviews with several world political leaders. We wish her every success in her future endeavors.”
Confider reported that text messages between Carlson and the network’s then-chief political anchor Bret Baier revealed that they were worried that Fox would be “destroyed” by its early but accurate call of Arizona for Biden.“I’ve got four more years here. I’m stuck with Fox. Got to do whatever I can to keep our numbers up and our viewers happy,” Carlson tweeted.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Getting to Carnegie Hall requires, as the old joke goes, practice, practice practice. Walking away, it would seem, is significantly easier. Paramount Global, a media company that has over the past decades come to emblematize the entertainment industry’s annual “upfront” sales session in no small part because of its presentations at the New York landmark, this year surprised many by walking away from holding one. Chances are the company won’t be returning in the near future. “We are not going to go back to the old way of doing things,” says John Halley, Paramount’s president of advertising, in an interview.
now-infamous Tucker Carlson text message suggesting that a mob attack is “not how white men fight,” calling for the Denver company to investigate the leak and warning that they’re in danger of breaching their $787.5 million settlement agreement they forged just last month.Those warnings came in a letter from Fox lawyers to counsel for Dominion, dated Friday and demanding an answer by Monday regarding stories published this week in the New York Times and Daily Beast. Dominion, which has already cashed the check from its settlement victory, declined to comment Friday.“Fox has become aware that documents Fox produced to your clients in discovery in this litigation have been shared with members of the media,” the letter opens.
said on his Thursday program on his Infowars site that he believes the prank call was illegal.“Tucker Carlson’s lawyers are involved, and what you did, we believe is a crime, so even though you think you are safe up in Canada, you are going to get arrested for what you did yesterday,” Jones said on his Thursday show. “So keep laughing, you little arrogant person.”“You messed with the wrong people, son!” Jones said.
McEnany tweeted, “I am honored to share that I will be hosting Fox News Tonight on @FoxNews at 8pm ET all next week (5/8-5/12)! Set your DVR. Please join me next week as we dig into the state of politics, media, culture, and faith in America!”McEnany is the third Fox News personality to fill in as a temporary replacement for Carlson, who was fired on April 24. First it was Brian Kilmeade, who stepped in the day Carlson got the axe.