Tucker Carlson Tonight
Tucker Carlson Tonight is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monologues, interviews, and analysis, similar to Fox News' On the Record.
| Tucker Carlson Tonight | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tucker |
| Genre | Current affairs program |
| Presented by | Tucker Carlson (2016—present) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Washington, D.C. (primary) Bryant Pond, Maine (primary) Florida (on location) Los Angeles, California (specials) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes (with commercials) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox News |
| Picture format | 720p (16:9 HDTV) |
| Original release | November 14, 2016 – present |
Guest hosts for the program include Will Cain, Sean Duffy, Tulsi Gabbard and Brian Kilmeade.
Created to replace On the Record hosted by Brit Hume on an interim basis after Greta Van Susteren's departure from Fox News,[1] the show premiered as a 7:00 PM ET program in Fox News Channel's lineup.[2] The series currently airs at 8:00 PM ET, while reruns of each night's episode air at 1:00 AM ET the following morning.
History
Following Megyn Kelly's departure from Fox News, the network announced on January 5, 2017, that Tucker Carlson Tonight would take over the 9:00 PM ET time slot vacated by The Kelly File beginning on January 9, 2017.[3] Martha MacCallum was named as his replacement in the 7:00 PM timeslot, with her show carrying the title The First 100 Days.[4] On April 24, 2017, Tucker Carlson Tonight took over The O'Reilly Factor's 8:00 PM time slot, following its cancellation.[5]
In December 2019, Playboy model Karen McDougal sued Fox News after Carlson accused her of extorting President Donald Trump in a 2018 episode of his show. In September 2020, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, citing her acceptance of Fox News' defense that Carlson's extortion claims were opinion-based and not "statements of fact". The judge also agreed with Fox News' defense that reasonable viewers would have "skepticism" over statements Carlson makes on its show, as he often engages in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary'".[6][7][8]
In July 2020, the show's head writer, Blake Neff, resigned after Oliver Darcy of CNN learned via an anonymous tip that he had authored a series of online comments that were widely regarded as racist and sexist. Neff posted these remarks over the span of several years under a pseudonym on AutoAdmit, a legal message board known for its lack of moderation.[9] Neff, who previously worked at The Daily Caller, had joined the staff of the television show shortly after its launch in November 2016.[10][11]
Format
Carlson, who co-founded The Daily Caller with Neil Patel,[12] typically devotes his show to two or three current events and brings on speakers to debate or discuss such topics. Carlson uses a loose format in which he interviews persons from varied political perspectives and asks them probing questions. The show is broadcast live at 8:00 PM ET on weeknights, with a repeat airing at 1:00 AM the following morning.
The show is typically begun with the introduction "Good evening, and welcome to Tucker Carlson Tonight." Carlson describes the program as "the show that is the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink," a catchphrase which he often uses as a closing.[12]
Ratings
The program's premiere episode garnered 3.7 million viewers[12] and was rated higher than previous editions of On the Record hosted by Greta Van Susteren and later Brit Hume. Tucker Carlson Tonight currently maintains the network's time-slot dominance over CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° and MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes.[13]
In October 2018, Tucker Carlson Tonight was the second-highest rated news show in all of prime time, after Hannity, with 3.2 million nightly viewers.[14] In April 2020, Carlson's program surpassed Hannity as the highest-rated primetime cable news show, with an average audience of 4.56 million viewers.[15] During the second quarter of 2020, Tucker Carlson Tonight garnered an average audience of 4.33 million viewers, the largest for any program in the history of cable news.[16][17]
In July 2020, Tucker Carlson Tonight broke the record for highest-rated program in U.S. cable news history, garnering an average nightly audience of 4.33 million viewers.[18]
In February 2022, Mediaite reported that "in the month of October, Tucker Carlson [was] the number-one watched host among Democrats in the key 25-54 age demographic – across all networks."[19]
Reactions
In 2018, neoconservative pundit Bill Kristol (former editor-at-large of The Weekly Standard and current editor-at-large of The Bulwark) described the views Carlson expressed on his show as "ethno-nationalism of some kind."[20] Carlson responded that Kristol "discredited himself years ago."[21]
Throughout 2018 and 2019, the show was the target of an advertiser boycott. Advertisers began leaving the show after complaints following Carlson saying that U.S. immigration made the country "poorer, dirtier and more divided." According to Fox News, the advertisers only moved their ad buys to other segments.[22] By early 2019, it was reported the show had lost at least 26 advertisers,[23][24] and by August 2019, Media Matters calculated that the show had lost more than 70 advertisers since December 2018.[25][26] By late September 2019, almost 50 advertisers had released statements announcing the discontinuation of advertising on the show; according to The Guardian, "dozens more cut ties without saying anything publicly."[27] Despite these boycotts, the average cost for a 30-second spot on Tucker Carlson Tonight nearly doubled from 2018 to 2019, according to the advertising analytics company SQAD.[28]
In a September 2018 episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, Carlson coined the nickname "creepy porn lawyer" to refer to Michael Avenatti, ostensibly in reference to the latter's representing Stormy Daniels,[29] which Avenatti objected to and reportedly found infuriating.[30] Following on and off-air sparring between Tucker Carlson and Michael Avenatti, Avenatti announced that he was investigating an alleged bar altercation involving Tucker Carlson and a patron.[31] This culminated in the revelation that Carlson had thrown a glass of wine at a man who had insulted his daughter.[31] A July 2019 book by author Peter D'Abrosca made reference to the incident.[32]
In opposition to many Fox colleagues, in January 2020, Carlson criticized the assassination of Qasem Soleimani by the Trump administration.[33][34][35][36]
In June 2020, Carlson's on-air criticisms of the Black Lives Matter movement led corporations such as The Walt Disney Company, T-Mobile, Papa John's, and Poshmark to pull advertising from his program. A data firm estimated that nearly 38% of Carlson's 2020 advertising revenue had come from My Pillow at half-year. Carlson remained the most-watched cable news host, garnering 680,000 viewers among audience members 25-54.[37] These advertisers had not entirely pulled away from Fox News, according to the television network, but only from Carlson's show.[38]
In July 2020, after combat veteran Senator Tammy Duckworth called for a "national dialogue" about the removal of monuments to founding fathers such as George Washington who owned slaves, Carlson received backlash after referring to her as a "moron" and, after she refused to appear on his show absent an apology, a "coward." Carlson's comment that "she was once injured while serving in the Illinois National Guard" was criticized, and he was accused of trivializing her military service; Duckworth in fact lost both her legs while serving in Iraq.[39]
On November 12, 2020, the show broadcast a segment about alleged voter fraud in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election.[40][41] The piece featured the story of a World War II veteran named James Blalock of Covington, Georgia, who died in 2006; Carlson stated on air that "James Blalock cast a ballot in last week's election."[40][41] Reporting by local news outlets in Georgia later confirmed that Mr. Blalock did not vote in the 2020 election, but that his widow had cast a legal vote under the name "Mrs. James E. Blalock, Jr"; this was confirmed by interviews with Blalock's widow herself.[42][40] A day later, Carlson issued an on-air correction, stating that "we're always going to correct when we're wrong."[40][41]
Later that month, Carlson criticized unfounded claims made by former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, who alleged that Venezuela, Cuba and unidentified communist interests had used a secret algorithm to hack into voting machines and commit electoral fraud in the 2020 election.[43] Carlson noted that "what Powell was describing would amount to the single greatest crime in American history", and claimed Powell became "angry and told us to stop contacting her" when he asked for evidence of such fraud.[43] In response, James Golden, producer of The Rush Limbaugh Show, tweeted: "How quickly we turn on our own... Where is the 'evidence' the election was fair?".[43]
In March 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Los Angeles Times opinion columnist Jackie Calmes criticized Carlson for his coverage of the invasion which she considered to be biased in favor of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.[44]
References
- ^ News Hound Ellen (September 7, 2016). "Greta Van Susteren Abruptly Leaves Fox News". Crooks and Liars. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ R. Thomas Umstead (November 15, 2016). "Fox News' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' Has Strong Debut". Multichannel News. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ "Fox News Channel Names Tucker Carlson as New 9pm Host". Fox News Insider. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ Staff (January 5, 2017). "Tucker Carlson takes over Megyn Kelly's slot, Martha MacCallum gets new show". Fox News Channel. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ Rousselle, Christine (April 19, 2017). "Here's The New Fox News Channel Primetime Lineup". Townhall. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- ^ Folkenflik, David (September 29, 2020). "You Literally Can't Believe The Facts Tucker Carlson Tells You. So Say Fox's Lawyers". NPR. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Voytko, Lisette (September 24, 2020). "Judge Tosses Playboy Model Karen McDougal's Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News". Forbes. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Sheth, Sonam (September 24, 2020). "Fox News won a court case by 'persuasively' arguing that no 'reasonable viewer' takes Tucker Carlson seriously". Business Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Darcy, Oliver (July 10, 2020). "Tucker Carlson's top writer resigns after secretly posting racist and sexist remarks in online forum". CNN Business. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (July 10, 2020). "Writer For Tucker Carlson's Fox News Show Resigns After Reports Of Racist, Offensive Posts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (July 11, 2020). "Writer for Tucker Carlson Resigns After 'Abhorrent' Online Posts Are Revealed". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ a b c Darcy, Oliver (December 5, 2016). "Fox News host Tucker Carlson's on-air war with elitism". Business Insider. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- ^ R. Thomas Umstead (November 15, 2016). "Fox News' 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' Has Strong Debut". Multichannel News. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- ^ Rowland, Geoffrey (October 31, 2018). "Fox News tops CNN and MSNBC combined in October cable news ratings". The Hill.
- ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (April 28, 2020). "Tucker Carlson Beats Sean Hannity as Trump Briefings Give Fox News a Boost". The New York Times. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ "Fox News Q2 2020 Ratings: Tucker Carlson Averaged 4.33 Million Viewers at 8 p.m., the Largest Audience in Cable News History". www.adweek.com.
- ^ "Tucker Carlson breaks cable news viewership record as networks' ratings skyrocket". Washington Examiner. June 30, 2020.
- ^ Concha, Joe (July 1, 2020). "Trump Dings CNN, 'Morning Joe' Ratings As Tucker Carlson Sets Record". The Hill. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ "Tucker Carlson Most-Watched Host Among Democrats in the Demo". Mediaite. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
- ^ Harwood, John (January 25, 2018). "Bill Kristol hits Fox News, Tucker Carlson for 'dumbing down' coverage, pushing 'ethno-nationalism'". CNBC. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ "Tucker Fires Back at Bill Kristol: 'Former Intellectual Who Now Exists Primarily on Twitter'". mediaite.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ Katz, A.J. (December 20, 2018). "20-Plus Brands Have Stopped Advertising on Tucker Carlson Tonight After Immigration Comments". Adweek. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ Brunley, Gabrielle (March 22, 2019). "If Tucker Carlson Keeps Hemorrhaging Advertisers He Might Soon Be Down to Just 'My Pillow'". Esquire. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ Barr, Jeremy (March 22, 2019). "Without Major Sponsors, Tucker Carlson's Show Leans on Ads for Fox Programming". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ Uhl, Jordan. "Tucker Carlson returns to Fox News – but advertisers are staying away". Media Matters for America.
- ^ Darby, Luke (August 20, 2019). "Tucker Carlson's Show Bled 70 Advertisers in Less Than a Year". GQ. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
- ^ Helmore, Edward (September 28, 2019). "Trump impeachment inquiry sparks 'bedlam' at Fox News". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ Katz, A.J. (August 21, 2019). "Despite Controversy and Boycotts, Ad Costs For Tucker Carlson Tonight Are Nearly Double What They Were Last Year". Adweek. from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- ^ Relman, Eliza (May 22, 2019). . Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019 – via The Beaumont Enterprise.
- ^ Bever, Lindsey (September 14, 2018). "Michael Avenatti furious over 'CREEPY PORN LAWYER' chyron on Fox News". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Natasha Korecki; Quint Forgey (November 10, 2018). "Avenatti takes on Tucker Carlson after bar incident involving Fox News host's children". Politico. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ D'Abrosca, Peter (July 16, 2019). Enemies: The Press vs. The American People. Simon & Schuster. pp. 1–256. ISBN 9781642931990. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ Politi, Daniel (January 4, 2020). "Watch Tucker Carlson Criticize Soleimani Killing: "Who's Actually Benefiting From This?"". Slate Magazine.
- ^ Mindock, Clark (January 5, 2020). "Fox News' Tucker Carlson challenges Trump decision to assassinate Iran leader". The Independent.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (January 5, 2020). "Fox's Tucker Carlson breaks with colleagues and criticizes Trump's strike on Iranian general". CNN.
- ^ Epstein, Kayla (January 7, 2020). "One of Trump's most vocal critics on Iran? Fox News's Tucker Carlson". The Washington Post.
- ^ Joyella, Mark (June 16, 2020). "Tucker Carlson Is Most-Watched Host In Cable News For Last Week". Forbes. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ Mazza, Ed (July 7, 2020). "Tucker Carlson Accused Of Echoing White Supremacist Talking Points On Fox News". HuffPost. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ Proctor, Stephen. "Tucker Carlson continues attack on 'moron' and 'coward' Sen. Tammy Duckworth". Yahoo. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Castronuovo, Celine (November 14, 2020). "Tucker Carlson issues on-air apology over Georgia voter claims". TheHill. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c Beer, Tommy. "Fox News Host Tucker Carlson Apologizes After Falsely Claiming A Dead Man Voted In Georgia". Forbes. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Two accused 'dead' Georgia voters very much alive despite claims - and they voted legally". 11Alive.com. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c Peters, Jeremy W. (November 20, 2020). "Tucker Carlson Dared Question a Trump Lawyer. The Backlash Was Quick". The New York Times.
- ^ Calmes, Jackie (March 18, 2022). "Column: Tucker Carlson shills for Putin while his colleagues are killed in Ukraine". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
External links
- Official website