Why Fox News won't rein in Tucker Carlson

CNN

"Carlson is the right-wing equivalent of must-see-TV. As a result, he has the backing of Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch and a huge amount of autonomy," says CNN Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter, who documents life at Fox News during the Trump presidency in his new book Hoax. "This is why it is important to follow the millions. During my research for Hoax, which is subtitled Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth, I interviewed numerous correspondents and producers who said they wished management would rein Carlson in. They cited examples like his December 2018 comment that mass immigration "makes our country poorer, and dirtier, and more divided" and his August 2019 assertion that white supremacy is a 'hoax.' But Carlson has an alliance of sorts with Murdoch, eldest son of Rupert, the Fox patriarch. It was Rupert who picked Carlson to succeed Bill O'Reilly in 2017, sources at the company said. And it was Lachlan who backed Carlson amid controversy after controversy in the Trump era, they said. The sources said there are a couple of factors at play: Lachlan shares his father's contempt for being bullied by the 'liberal media.' He never wants to appear to give in to left-wing ad boycotts. And he thinks Carlson's overarching messages are worth protecting. Both men fancy themselves to be contrarians and enjoy philosophical conversations. They are only two years apart in age. And, pre-pandemic, they dined together when they happened to be in the same city. Lachlan Murdoch's priority, according to sources and his own public statements, is the company's profits. Murdoch is not especially engaged in the editorial side of Fox News. His interest is in growing the business, which is on a path to $2 billion in annual profits." ALSO: Five revelations from Brian Stelter's Fox News Hoax book.