On Monday, Fox News made the startling announcement that it had terminated the employment of popular personality Tucker Carlson. There are presently rumors about Carlson’s potential replacement on the network.
Who Will Take Tucker Carlson’s Place at Fox News? The subject of a Mediaite article. Here Are Mediaite’s Top Picks” included a list of potential presenters who could replace Carlson in the coveted 8 PM time slot. Before reaching a definitive determination regarding Carlson’s replacement, Fox News announced that it will rotate its hosts.
Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham currently occupy the 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., and 10:00 p.m. ET time slots, respectively.
Mediaite reports that Fox News could give Watters, Ingraham, or Hannity the 8 p.m. time slot by simply swapping them around and auditioning a new presenter in a later time period. Thus, a broadcaster with greater experience would simply replace Carlson on the network.
Here are the top six candidates suggested by Mediaite to replace Tucker Carlson if Fox News decides to maintain the primetime presenters in their current time slots.
Greg Gutfeld — who hosts “The Five” and his late-night comedy show “Gutfeld!”
Tulsi Gabbard — a former Democratic lawmaker and 2020 presidential candidate
Kayleigh McEnany — former press secretary in the Trump administration
Brian Kilmeade — a longtime host and figure at Fox News
Pete Hegseth — a co-host and contributor at Fox News
Jesse Watters — who hosts “The Five” and his own primetime show
What Fox ultimately decides to do will likely take some time, but the firing of Tucker Carlson ignited a social media tempest this week.
According to reports, Carlson felt “blindsided” when CEO Suzanne Scott called him on Monday to inform him of his dismissal.
According to a report in the Independent, a new contract that would have kept Carlson employed by the network through 2029 was being negotiated when he was dismissed.
A former prominent Fox News host believes he currently understands why Carlson was dismissed.
During an interview with Chris Cuomo of News Nation, Bill O’Reilly, a former Fox News host who previously held the coveted 8 PM primetime schedule, stated that he believes Tucker Carlson was fired because the network is grappling with a number of lawsuits related to the 2020 election.
Recent litigation between Fox News and Dominion resulted in a $787 million settlement. Former Fox News booker Abby Grossberg has also lodged a lawsuit against the network.
“Because the pending litigation was harpooned this morning. Carlson didn’t know. It just happened. And that’s the nature of television news, the most wicked industry in the United States of America,” O’Reilly said.
“Tucker Carlson took over from me. For the first three years, his ratings were soft. He lost about a million, maybe a little bit more of my audience, and then in 2020 he took a hard right turn,” O’Reilly said. “Carlson basically programmed for a very hard right audience and his numbers came up.”
Reports that surfaced shortly after the dismissal of Carlson clarified who had the final say in severing ties with the leading host.
Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corporation, and Suzanne Scott, the CEO of Fox News Media, decided to fire Tucker Carlson on Friday night, according to a recent report.
Scott subsequently informed Carlson of his decision on Monday morning.
Fox News made headlines last week when it announced that host Dan Bongino had severed ties with the news organization, startling both his fans and the most popular cable company.
According to a report published earlier this week, Carlson believes that the Murdoch family’s intention to sell the network was the reason for his dismissal.
“Carlson has told people he doesn’t know why he was terminated. According to the source, Scott refused to tell him how the decision was made; she only said that it was made ‘from above.’ Carlson has told people he believes his controversial show is being taken off the air because the Murdoch children intend to sell Fox News at some point,” according to the report.