OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Insiders have revealed some interesting details about Tucker Carlson’s ousting from Fox News in late April.
Tucker Carlson was told by network brass he was being let go as part of Fox News’ massive $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
“In the latest development to come three weeks after Carlson was removed from his role at the network on April 24, it has been reported that one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members was the one to tell the fired host that his ‘recent benching’ was the result of the secret condition in the Dominion settlement,” the outlet reported.
The report continued: “According to Variety, the conversation between Carlson and the board member took place on April 26 – two days after the network announced Carlson’s involuntary departure from the company. The board member also reportedly told Carlson that the secret condition ensuring Carlson’s canning would not be found in any of the $787.5 million defamation settlement documents because it was a verbal agreement.”
Officials with Dominion Voting Systems denied any secret arrangement had been made.
Beyond Carlson, Fox News has made a slew of major announcements lately.
Over the weekend, it was revealed that Fox News laid off its entire investigative unit.
But according to a report from the New York Daily News, the investigative unit was not eliminated but merely reorganized.
“There were three employees in the seven-person unit impacted, while four employees were offered different positions within the company,” a Fox News source told the Daily News, which noted further: “Employees on the team had already been working in other areas of the company, and had not been on major investigative programming initiatives in a long time, they added.”
Rumors and speculation are rife following reports that Fox News is about to make its “boldest and most fearless line-up ever.”
The Drudge Report broke major news on Wednesday that Sean Hannity will take over Tucker Carlson’s old 8 PM ET timeslot. Jesse Watters, host of “Jesse Watters Primetime” will move from 7 PM ET to 9 PM ET. Greg Gutfeld’s “The Greg Gutfeld Show” will be moved from 11 PM to 10 PM.
“If that new plan were to take place, that means Laura Ingraham’s “The Ingraham Angle” would lose its 10 PM time slot to Gutfeld. So where does she go? 11 PM ET? Maybe 7 PM ET?
Fox News released a statement that ran counter to the reports spreading online, saying, “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration.”
Interestingly enough, Fox News issued another statement on the rumors of Ingraham, adding, “Reports based on various tweets by left-wing activists are wildly inaccurate — Laura Ingraham, the top-rated woman in cable news, is now and will continue to be a prominent host and integral part of the Fox News lineup.”
The statement from Fox News only denies the rumors that Ingraham will be leaving the network. It did not actually address whether or not she will keep her 10 PM timeslot.
The rumors about Ingraham began after news aggregator Matt Drudge shared a scoop detailing how Fox News will make a big shake-up following Tucker Carlson’s departure from the network.
“WORLD EXCLUSIVE: FOXNEWS SETS NEW SCHEDULE” read the headline from Drudge.
“Watters currently hosts one of Fox’s top-rated shows at 7 p.m. while Gutfeld hosts a highly-rated late-night show at 11 p.m. — both co-host Fox’s top-rated program The Five at 5 p.m. Hannity, meanwhile, broke the record for longest-running cable news prime time host in April of 2022, eclipsing Larry King at 25 years, six months, and 15 days,” Mediaite reported.
“FOXNEWS is preparing to announce an ambitious new schedule, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, a schedule where every hour of primetime will change!” Drudge reported. “TOP SOURCE TELLS DRUDGE: ‘IT’S OUR BOLDEST AND MOST FEARLESS LINE-UP EVER’…”
All of this began in late April when Fox News announced that it had parted ways with Carlson.
