The Tucker Carlson Firing May Have Longer Legs Than It Seems

I might be wrong, who would know, but I smell a larger story.

Tucker is the biggest earner by far in the cable news world

Last year, Tucker Carlson Tonight contributed to $77.5 million to FOX revenue, higher than Hannity's and Ingraham's ad sales, according to Variety magazine. He is the highest earner by far in the entire cable news business.

FOX News and the Rupert Murdoch conglomerate organization just dodged a bullet by settling their lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787 million, the largest defamation case ever settled. Settled means the check is in the mail, no drawn out appeals, no more dough for the lawyers.

Large as it was, the shot that rang out across the internet was far from fatal to FOX, in that FOX needed not even issue an apology to their audience for years of outrageous lies. But certainly a wake-up call for libel actions yet to be adjudicated.

One would think they’d crank up the old Tucker Money Machine and get on with re-establishing the brand, but they’re not, or at least so it seems. Tucker got fired on Friday, without any personal notice, after he cheerfully signed off with his audience with a smiling “have a good weekend, see you again on Monday.” He was unaware until his agent called on Monday morning.

So, what’s going on?

Among the many possible scenarios, it might just be that Rupert is pissed. He has a history of firing top executives without notice when they piss him off. The man who owns FOX News is ninety-two, with a limited number of years left to do as he damned well pleases and he damned well pleased himself by firing Tucker. Good enough. That’s what total control looks like. But there’s more.

It may be that Carlson was too great a liability in the upcoming $2.7 billion suit filed by another election technology company, Smartmatic. Their lawsuit (almost twice the Dominion settlement) accuses FOX of falsely implicating the company in a bogus narrative about vote rigging in the 2020 election. Same basic charge, but yet another voting machine company rubbing their hands in eager anticipation.

How does firing Tucker play into that? It doesn’t. Carlson will have to testify no matter his firing and so will Murdoch.

Even wealth and pride understands a time to simply fold your tent and go home

In addition to naming Fox and its parent company as defendants, Smartmatic also names Giuliani and Fox hosts Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo individually. They’re seeking punitive damages that could lead to an even bigger judgment against FOX than in the Dominion case. So, given the current settlement and considering the extended period of additional litigation, including a recently filed shareholder suit, is it even possible to operate a news site?

Good question.

If there is no credible future, and the Murdoch reputation is likely to be dragged through the mud for years, why not follow the Carlson firing by bleeding FOX dry, bankrupting the whole organization and letting the litigants fight over what is left? Simply close it down and walk away. Mmm, yeah well, there remain the shareholder suits and who knows what else. It seems like Rupert is connected at the hip to this entire debacle and the worm that Fox News has become simply refuses to die.

Beyond FOX

If that were to happen (and that’s a very big if) we might actually see some good come out of an otherwise very shady and destructive media event. Should it be shown that there are consequences to knowingly and purposefully lying to the American public, how might Rupert mitigate those consequences?

He might provide severance for those anchors and their staffs who more ardently flew the Fox flag (Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, etc.), then strip the company down to its underwear and pull the plug. Let the litigants fight over what’s left of the carcass. I’m not lawyer enough to know if that would bring Rupert any personal peace, or deliverance from the witness chair, but it’s hard to believe that FOX can be provided sufficient fluids and oxygen to bring it back to life.

And then, what now for Tucker?

For one thing, Carlson’s a very rich man, which always counts for something. Not Murdoch rich, but rich enough so that one supposes he has options. His silence most likely means he’s pouring over those options, drinking orange juice and pacing up and down the kitchen. Run for president? Why not? DeSantis and Trump are both vulnerable and what’s left of Tucker’s giggling public face still presents pretty well.

Or simply move to Europe, where his countenance and reputation are not so well known and he might quietly retire, sail boats, buy a sports car and send his kids to posh Swiss schools. There's something of his ego that makes me doubt that, but it will be interesting to watch and even more interesting to see how he manages it.

And, bottom line, what does all this mean for American politics?

That’s certainly the most burning of questions, whether this is all simply another stage of the great-American-psychodrama, or if it’s a turning point toward the understanding that conservatives, liberals, gun-nuts and tree-huggers are all one family, with points-of-view, hopes and dreams that need not cancel one another out.

Wouldn’t that be something?

America, so often told that its time is past, is not yet finished with itself.