No one has any idea what Fox News was thinking when they fired Tucker Carlson. But now they are trying to move on.
Because Fox News has announced Tucker Carlson’s replacement and it will shock you.
On Monday, Fox News revealed its new primetime lineup, just in time for the next 2024 election season and the first GOP primary debate, which will be presented by Fox News, Young America’s Foundation (YAF), and Rumble in Milwaukee this coming August.
On July 17, the new primetime schedule will debut, with some of the present time slots being moved around. At 7:00 p.m. ET, Laura Ingraham will begin the primetime block. Jesse Watters will then take over Tucker Carlson Tonight’s 8:00 p.m. slot.
Sean Hannity will continue to air at his present time of 9:00 p.m., but Greg Gutfeld’s legendary late-night powerhouse will shift to 10:00 p.m. “Fox News @ Night” with Trace Gallagher will move up to 11:00 p.m. ET from 12:00 a.m.
Changes 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZvnZ2HnrIM
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 26, 2023
In a statement, Suzanne Scott, CEO of FOX News Media, stressed that “FOX News Channel has been America’s destination for news and analysis for more than 21 years and we are thrilled to debut a new lineup,” and praised the channel’s hosts.
“The unique perspectives of Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld will ensure our viewers have access to unrivaled coverage from our best-in-class team for years to come.”
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch responded to inquiries regarding the network’s primetime lineup on Fox News Channel earlier this year, saying, “there’s no change to our programming strategy at Fox News…It’s obviously a successful strategy.”
With “Gutfeld!” becoming the first program to surpass late-night mainstays Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon, Hannity’s status as the longest-running primetime host in TV history, Watters’ new show becoming the fastest-growing in cable news when it debuted last year, and Ingraham’s more than five-decade dominance of her time slot, Fox News Channel has held the top spot for cable news for 21 years in a row.
But many are concerned that Fox News is reshaping the network into something else other than the alternative news source that it has become famous for.
Millions of Americans tuned into Fox News expecting to hear unfiltered opinions from the likes of Tucker Carlson and Dan Bongino. With Tucker Carlson now gone, how much longer can they remain at the top?
Plenty of viewers have left in recent weeks simply because Tucker Carlson is gone. So Fox News definitely has some bleeding to take care of.
Here's a chart showing Fox News' ratings decline in the 8pm hour since Tucker Carlson's firing. More in @ReliableSources: https://t.co/VvIpYVbwJg pic.twitter.com/l8UPaPKaZ9
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 28, 2023
The concerns that viewers have that that Fox News is moving closer to the “center” of political opinion and commentary are extremely valid.
Just consider how Fox News is literally attacking Tucker Carlson with legal threats if he doesn’t shutdown his Tucker on Twitter operations, accusing Carlson of violating his contract with Fox News.
That doesn’t sound very pro First Amendment, now does it?
Fox News has never been perfect. But for many years, they’ve at least been the one unafraid to go against the grain and the established narrative from the likes of CNN, MSNBC, and ABC. That might be going away.
But maybe Jesse Walters will surprise us and learn a thing or two from Tucker Carlson’s success and be unafraid to speak his mind in the new primetime slot.
Stay tuned to the Federalist Wire.
