This week, “Fox News Tonight” will be hosted by Fox News presenter Will Cain, as the network begins its fourth week without former anchor Tucker Carlson.
TheWrap reported on Friday that Cain, a “Fox & Friends Weekend” presenter, will replace Carlson from May 15 to May 19.
Kayleigh McEnany, a former White House press secretary, hosted the hour last week.
She was unable to assist the network in regaining relevance for the time slot, just as Lawrence Jones was unable to make the hour significant the week prior.
Brian Kilmeade filled in for Carlson during the first week after his program was canceled and he was terminated without explanation.
Fox News announced on April 24 that it had severed ways with the most popular presenter on cable television.
Neither party has explicitly addressed the decision, but audiences have expressed their opinions.
Last week, “Fox News Tonight” with McEnany at the podium attracted approximately 1.4 million viewers, a fraction of the more than 3 million viewers who watched an average episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Carlson has announced that a version of his program will shortly be available on Twitter.
However, it remains to be seen whether Fox News will be able to surmount the loss of such a powerful advocate in prime time as it once did.
Fox arguably surmounted the losses of Megyn Kelly and Bill O’Reilly in large part due to Tucker Carlson’s prominence.
Two years ago, when Fox News viewers fled in droves after the network eerily decided to predict Arizona for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, he stabilized a ship in uncharted waters.
Now, the network has a credibility issue with conservatives and lacks a trusted voice that provides unfiltered truth and criticism of elected officials from both parties.
The absence of Tucker Carlson has created opportunities for Fox News’ competitors and exposed the network to criticism from every angle.
The widow of former longtime network CEO Roger Ailes, who helped establish the channel in 1996, assailed Fox News while celebrating what would have been the media executive’s birthday on Monday morning.
“Happy Heavenly Birthday Roger Ailes,” Elizabeth Ailes tweeted.
She concluded, “It took you 20 years to build Fox News into the powerhouse that it was and only 6 years for the Murdochs to wreak havoc. Rupert thought he could do your job. What a joke. He has the checkbook but could never come close to your genius. RIP.”
Happy Heavenly Birthday Roger Ailes. It took you 20 years to build Fox News into the powerhouse that it was and only 6 years for the Murdochs to wreak havoc. Rupert thought he could do your job. What a joke. He has the checkbook but could never come close to your genius. RIP. pic.twitter.com/UqQHhS5Uvz
— ELIZABETH AILES (@ELIZABETH_AILES) May 15, 2023
In 2017, Ailes passed away three days after his 77th birthday.