For those of us who hoped that Fox would maybe take a turn back to the center and back to news, this should be a sign that we were all very wrong. At least in the near-term. Tucker isn't much more than a bowtie wearing conservative hack who doubles down on the horrible policies put forward by the orange man running on the Republican ticket for president this year. Greta was center-right, of course, but at least she had some semblance of a journalism background and could occasionally be a tough interview. If anything, Tucker's show will just be a mirror of Hannity's show.
Meanwhile, Megyn Kelly's contract is still in the air. It doesn't look good if Rupert Murdoch is talking about her negotiations to the press. Parts of her book have been recently leaked alleging Roger Ailes tried repeatedly to kiss her, among other things. Reports are also saying that Bill O'Reilly could step down next year when his contract ends.
When O'Reilly goes, it's basically the end of that era of populist right wing news. Your Hannity types are really just a bargain basement version of that format of TV. Ironically, FNC will be praying that Trump doesn't get in. The channel thrives when it is able to present itself as a voice of the people standing up to the President and establishment. If it becomes a platform to simply excuse Trump's madness, it will die in a matter of months.
When O'Reilly goes, it's basically the end of that era of populist right wing news. Your Hannity types are really just a bargain basement version of that format of TV. Ironically, FNC will be praying that Trump doesn't get in. The channel thrives when it is able to present itself as a voice of the people standing up to the President and establishment. If it becomes a platform to simply excuse Trump's madness, it will die in a matter of months.
I think you're forgetting what FNC was like during the Bush administration. Yes, they do very well when there's a Democrat in the White House, but FNC became the #1 cable news channel in the early years of Bush 43. They essentially sold the American people a war. It was the populist sentiment at the time that by God, Saddam Hussein was harboring bin Laden and had WMD. O'Reilly seemed very feisty and fresh then, though his show now feels pretty stodgy after Glenn Beck, Hannity sans Colmes, and the growing world of Breitbart. I think Hannity's show has evolved into something that resonates with the populist/alt-right/angry white American demographic more than O'Reilly does today.
The question is – is that a demographic that's growing, let alone one that's still worth pursuing? I think that depends on wherever the conservative movement and the Republican party are headed, and Fox will need to adjust accordingly. I doubt very much will change as long as Bill Shine, Ailes' right hand man, is still running FNC, but here's one interesting data point: O'Reilly had the #1 most watched show in cable news for 15 years in a row until last month, when he was overtaken by the Kelly File.
Fox News putting Tucker Carlson in PrimeTime? They might as well admit that they're blowing up the whole schedule with that move. Tucker didn't work in PrimeTime for CNN, nor did it work at MSNBC in PrimeTime either. There's good reasons why Tucker has been nowhere near PrimeTime since.
Heck, even Geraldo Rivera would have been better there.
Tucker is going to tank the lead-ins to Bill O'Reilly, and the ratings self-destruction is going to proceed from there.
Quote:
Meanwhile, Megyn Kelly's contract is still in the air. It doesn't look good if Rupert Murdoch is talking about her negotiations to the press. Parts of her book have been recently leaked alleging Roger Ailes tried repeatedly to kiss her, among other things. Reports are also saying that Bill O'Reilly could step down next year when his contract ends.
Exciting, turbulent times ahead at Fox!
I am thinking that if CNN & MSNBC can get their act together, Fox's time on top will soon be over.
Just a thought. With the Alt-Right, Breitbart-esque stuff becoming more popular. Is the Tucker appointment FNC's move to the center right? Just a thought. But with FNC and its ratings it just proves they could throw cow poo at a wall and point a camera at it, their viewers would watch in droves.
Just a thought. With the Alt-Right, Breitbart-esque stuff becoming more popular. Is the Tucker appointment FNC's move to the center right? Just a thought. But with FNC and its ratings it just proves they could throw cow poo at a wall and point a camera at it, their viewers would watch in droves.
That's laughable.
Just in case it's been forgotten why Tucker Carlson is a primetime failure, exhibit A...
Didnt say he was a good host or defending him in anyway. But would you put him in the same category as the conspiracy theorist stuff you see on FNC lately. Could FNC try to distance itself from all that. And Im not saying he's is the saviour of FNC. I just find it an odd choice. He did seem as nutty when he was on the other channels. I dont watch FNC normally. Who knows what they are doing, what with all the turmoil going on behind the cameras.
Didnt say he was a good host or defending him in anyway. But would you put him in the same category as the conspiracy theorist stuff you see on FNC lately.
Yes, I would, because he's been part of it, as one of the hosts of the weekend edition of Fox & Friends. He's as **** crazy as the rest of them.
He practically destroyed Crossfire's original run. His show on MSNBC went through two different itiretations, first as The Situation With Tucker Carlson, a pretty obvious take-off of CNN's The Situation Room, which it aired against at 6pm ET. Later it became just Tucker, but never did anything ratings wise and was cancelled less than 3 years after he started at MSNBC.
Quote:
Could FNC try to distance itself from all that.
The best way to do that would have been to bring back The Fox Report with Shepard Smith in that 7pm ET timeslot. Shep's 3pm show is now FNC's only show where actual news gets reported and even then, it's alongside the usual CNS crap, that is propaganda made up to look like a newswire.
Also, going back to Fox News Live in daytime between 9am and 3pm would be good.
Quote:
And Im not saying he's is the saviour of FNC. I just find it an odd choice. He did seem as nutty when he was on the other channels.
No, I knew you weren't, but his pedigree is nothing to write home about. In all seriousness, if I were Rupert Murdoch or Bill Shine, I would have thought about putting him in at 5pm ET. The Five's not a bad show, but it is a large team for an FNC hour, and giving Tucker that slot would be more efficient.
Quote:
I dont watch FNC normally. Who knows what they are doing, what with all the turmoil going on behind the cameras.
I don't watch a lot of FNC, but I have to pay attention to it. At the moment, the turmoil behind the cameras doesn't seem to have changed anything on screen yet. If anything, I wouldn't expect serious change unless James or Lachlan Murdoch take over, then I might expect some serious change, but otherwise, it will probably be business as usual.
I've noticed that the Fox News cube in the bottom left no longer spins. It's just standing there still. I think this is the first time since the feature was introduced that it hasn't spun.