The executive producer of Fox News star Jeanine Pirro, according to a new book by former CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, referred to her as a “reckless maniac.”
A pre-publication release of a segment from Stelter’s forthcoming book, “Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy,” occurred via the Confider email service of the Daily Beast. It elaborated on Pirro’s association with administrators at Fox News.
As per the book, Pirro’s demotion to regular co-host on “The Five” was orchestrated by Fox News management in response to the cancellation of her weekend show, “Justice with Judge Jeanine,” which primarily circulated the false narrative linking Dominion Voting Systems to the alleged manipulation of the 2020 election. After that, Dominion and Fox News reached a settlement of $787.5 million.
“Pirro was a problem,” two anonymous sources told Stelter, “because of her stubborn, slavish Trumpiness and because she had clashed with Fox executives who had grown tired of her histrionic shenanigans.”
Furthermore, it was disclosed that Pirro had accused the administration of “censorship” for offering suggestions regarding the introductory monologues of her weekend program, Justice with Judge Jeanine.
Based on an earlier document submitted in the Dominion litigation, it is stated that Pirro’s executive producer labeled her a “reckless maniac” due to her erratic conduct. Stelter asserts that Fox ultimately canceled her program due to her negligence.
Pirro was demoted to The Five, where she was unable to select her interview guests or compose her monologues, citing “nobody wanted to deal with her,” according to an insider.
Strangely enough, Pirro’s “demotion” to “The Five” brought her a far higher audience.
Demotion is “completely inaccurate,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke with Mediaite. The source said, “You don’t get demoted to the number one show in cable news that’s on five nights a week.”
Compared to the previous year, viewership increased only for CNN and MSNBC; Fox News remained the frontrunner among cable news networks in October.
The number of prime-time viewers for Fox News decreased by 7% since October 2022, to 2.12 million. MSNBC’s viewership increased by 12% to 1.33 million, while CNN’s increased by 16% to 722,000. In the 25-54 market, Fox News averaged 256,000, a 13% decrease from the previous year; CNN averaged 167,000, an increase of 25%; and MSNBC averaged 132,000, a 16% increase.
Overall, Fox News’ 1.36 million viewers decreased by 8% year-over-year, while MSNBC and CNN each gained 19% and 12%, respectively, with 895,000 and 600,000 viewers increasing. The mean number of individuals aged 25–54 who watched Fox News programming decreased by 15%, whereas MSNBC and CNN saw respective increases of 23% and 17%.
The Five, a cable news program owned by Fox News, maintained its position as the most viewed with 3 million viewers. Hannity secured the second position with 2.58 million viewers, surpassing Special Report (2.21 million), The Ingraham Angle (2.17 million), and Jesse Watters Primetime (2.58 million).
According to Deadline, the subsequent four programs attracted an average of 316,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 54: Hannity (300,000), Gutfeld! (292,00), Jesse Watters Primetime (270,000), and The Ingraham Angle (244,000).
MSNBC reports that an average of 2.5 million individuals tune in to Rachel Maddow’s Monday night program.
As new developments transpired, the networks proclaimed themselves victorious. According to Fox News, its primetime viewership exceeded the combined viewership of CNN and MSNBC. Both MSNBC and CNN reported increases in their overall daytime audiences; CNN stated that their growth was the most substantial since March 2022 and constituted the largest proportion of the growth observed across all of their competitors.
Meanwhile, weeknight primetime programming on NewsNation experienced a surge of 23% in overall viewers and a 38% increase in the 25-54 demographic. The network achieved its highest-rated week of the month overall, with an average of 67,000 viewers, including 13,000 viewers in the 25–54 demographic.