‘We are lost:’ Fox News suffers from downgrade while staff worry about future after Trump

“We are lost,” a Fox News insider recently remarked to me, and there are many data points to support the claim.

Nielsen numbers for January were announced Tuesday and Fox is, for the first time since 2001. third place in the cable horse cable car for three horses. On top of that, CNN was the number 1 channel in the entire cable.

Think of it this way: January was one of the biggest months of political news in a generation, but Fox could not make money out of the coin. Instead of competing by promoting correspondents and prioritizing news coverage, the network prioritized increasingly outrageous, more extreme opinions. “Tucker Carlson Tonight” essentially expanded to “Tucker Carlson Day and Night.”

This could very well be the best option of Fox from a business pov. “Gaining back a base audience that despises the news by ignoring the news and affirming their opinion 24/7” makes sense from an economic, if not ethical, point of view. But for now, Fox is plodding into third place, and it’s shocking to see. The lack of editorial leadership is palpable, according to numerous sources at the network. And even in its weakened rating status, Fox reflects and drives the radicalization of the IDP …

Report on pontification

Here’s how The Daily Beast’s team on Tuesday described Fox’s ‘nosedive’: “The signal of a seismic shift in the media landscape as the defeated former president Donald Trump in a strange silent exile in Mar-a-Lago, the Fox News’ two-decade-long victory sleep The series abruptly came to an end on Tuesday as rivals CNN and MSNBC lost the No. 1 and No. 1 leasing outlet to CNN in the fourth quarter of 2020, respectively, and Trump supporters loyal viewers alienated by Arizona earlier calling Joe Biden during his election night coverage. “

There are certainly many reasons for these trend lines. The Fox base’s frustration with the outcome of the election is one. The availability of Newsmax as a Fox alternative is yet another. The confusing politics of this moment, with President Biden visibly trying to work with Republicans, is yet another.

The public’s demand for news is another big reason. Between the pandemic, the transition of power and the uprising, many people want to report before they continent, and CNN was built for that. Fox is not. (Just count the number of CNN agencies compared to Fox.) Fox actively avoids the news when producers believe shock will sound better – On Tuesday night, for example, CNN and MSNBC showed the US Capitol ceremony to police officer Brian Sicknick while Fox held has. with Sean Hannity’s screaming festival. Laura Ingraham only briefly showed the ceremony when Biden visited the Capitol to pay their respects …

Is it Trump’s fault?

President Trump helped the network in the short term – but in the end, the network hurt Trump and he wounded them as well. “Never before has a network been so closely connected to a commander – in – chief,” Sarah Ellison and Jeremy Barr, WaPo, wrote on Tuesday. Now Fox is experiencing ‘something of an identity crisis’.

According to many Fox sources, Rupert Murdoch is re-introducing himself to the network and is determined to reverse the ratings. Ellison and Barr reported that Rupert “set up a steady stream of callers with advice on how to deal with Trump’s political stance, which separates the Republican Party.”

“A work in progress”

Rupert Murdoch has become accustomed to responding to reporters’ emails. It’s a habit I strongly support.

In response to WaPo, specifically the report that Fox Wall President Jay Wallace is being scrutinized, Rupert wrote that “Lachlan, Suzanne Scott and I have complete confidence in Jay Wallace.” His other quotes:

“Chris Stirewalt’s departure has nothing to do with the correct call in Arizona by the Fox ruling counter.”

– “The new executive committee is the work of Ms Scott and [new managing editor for news] Tom Lowell, and to some extent still working. ‘

The great strangers

– Bill Keveney’s headline for USA Today begs the big question: “CNN moves to number 1, Fox drops in shakes after election: will it last?”

– What schedule changes are there at CNN? What about MSNBC?

– Will the start of the Biden presidency cause a greater decline in interest and viewers in the news?

– Fox’s scheme overhaul in January was just the beginning. What’s next?

– What do the Fox rating trends, including a strong preference for sinister talks over straight news, say about the right-wing audience?

– Certain Fox stories (think Benghazi and ‘Obamagate’) make viewers feel like they’re part of a campaign; what will be the next campaign?

Newsmax came down from its highs after the election, but is still a painful thorn in Fox’s side. Will the rebellious network find ways to grow?

Newsmax segment flies off track

Oliver Darcy writes: “Have you seen this viral video train? This is what happens when a network faces major legal exposure. Newsmax invited MyPillow honcho Mike Lindell on Tuesday for a discussion on cancellation culture and Big Tech’s ‘censorship’ – and ironically it ended with the hosts effectively ‘canceling’ and ‘censoring’ Lindell. The discussion off the rails when Lindell began promoting discredited conspiracy theories about voice machines. Host Bob Sellers, who was clearly prepared for this possibility, jumped in and rejected the fraud allegations. But Lindell constantly insisted on the allegations, so Sellers asked producers if they could move on: “Can we please get out of here?” I thought it was weird; at CNN, anchors are empowered to end segments rather than plead for help from the control room. A moment later, Sellers gave up and stepped outside the camera range, while co-anchor Heather Childers continued with Lindell … ‘

>> The context: Newsmax has not yet been sued by Smartmatic or Dominion. But the legal threats of the companies clearly frightened the network …

>> Of course, some Newsmax fans took Lindell’s side above the network’s side …

This is not a problem with ‘all channels’

Oliver Darcy writes: “Nicolle Wallace asked former Senator Bob Corker on Tuesday whether Fox deserves responsibility for all the disillusionment that has risen through the Republican Party. That was a good question (and the answer is, of course, yes), but Corker escapes by blaming ‘all the channels’ for opinion programming. However, it must be emphasized: opinion programming based on a shared set of facts and spreading perfect propaganda to millions every night are two different things and should not be put together … ‘

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