1. Fox News has math on its side
With the firing of Tucker Carlson, and a few other issues that have gotten them bad press from outspoken conservatives in the last few months, there’s been talk among those same conservatives that Fox News isn’t what it once was. When it comes to Tucker’s firing, I even agree with them.
It doesn’t matter, though. Fox News doesn’t have to be terribly competent at this point to continue winning the cable news game.
They were in a ratings slump that directly stemmed from getting rid of Tucker. MSNBC beat them for the first time. But as I mentioned yesterday, they’re back on top in primetime, and even before that they were beating CNN across the board and steadily trouncing MSNBC. Even Fox’s midnight shows did better than CNN’s best show.
I liken it to a town that serves only hotdogs and hamburgers. If you don’t like burgers, you’re getting a hotdog. Maybe that dog could be a little better, but you’re not completely switching your tastes.
Fox News is still the only conservative option. Unless NewsMax becomes watchable, no one’s going to quit watching Fox and head to CNN or MSNBC instead. Fox is also still hugely profitable. Most of their money comes from deals with the companies that carry them, so even if they lost all their advertising tonight they’d have plenty of money for the next five years.
Challenges ahead
Fox has challenges ahead, though. Right now, Newsmax ratings are well below Fox’s. But the channel did get a boost after Tucker left and if Newsmax improves, they could present a challenge down the road.
The other threat is that younger people just don’t watch cable news. They stream and get information online. As people of my generation and older die off, we won’t be replaced by new cable news watchers and those ratings will plummet.
Fox isn’t finished right now … not by a long shot. But there are some warning signs on the horizon to watch.
2. Brazilian journalist convicted of misgendering trans influencer
Brazilian journalist Madeleine Lacsko was convicted of "moral damage" for misgendering trans influencer, Rebecca Gaia. Lacsko used the term "cara," which can mean both "dear" and "guy" in Portuguese, leading to accusations of transphobia. She was ordered to delete her tweets and pay a fine of over $500 to Gaia.
3. At the risk of being classified as a UFO nutter …
Senator Marco Rubio says that multiple people with “very high clearances and high positions within our government” “have come forward to share” UFO-related claims “beyond the realm of what [the Senate Intelligence Committee] has ever dealt with.”
A Congressional investigation was prompted by public claims made by Air Force veteran, David Grusch, about non-human origin technical vehicles and deceased pilots. Rubio says the stigma surrounding UFOs should not deter serious investigation into encounters that have been reported by trusted individuals. A government report on UFOs is expected to be released soon.
4. Well, that oughta help
A New York City Pride event sparked outrage as videos emerged showing participants chanting, "We're here, we're queer, we're coming for your children." Some people saw it as a joke and a clap back at drag show crackdowns while others took the chant very literally.
Maybe I'm just a masochist but I watch Newsmax quite a bit. With your background at Fox, what do you think Newsmax is doing wrong and how can they do better? Is it intellectual dishonesty or more a matter of style, presentation and polish?
My husband and I are in our 50s and haven’t watched cable news for at least 5 years. In fact, we don’t watch live TV at all, and there are many like us that we know. It’s not just the kids.