The Moral Bankruptcy of Cable News

A lawsuit against Fox News shows that cable TV news is completely morally bankrupt.

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Fox News hosts and executives knew President Donald J. Trump Senior’s (R-Florida) election fraud claims were false, lawsuit discovery reveals. Yet they reported the claims as “news.” Top Fox stars, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, called Trump spokespeople insane and liars in private emails.

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However, the Fox stars refuse to tell the tell truth on air. Instead, the self-styled television journalists lie and spread conspiracy theories to keep their audience.

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“Sidney Powell is lying, by the way ,” Carlson wrote to Ingraham in an 18 November 2020 email. “I caught her. It’s insane.”

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“Sidney is a complete nut,” Ingraham responded. “No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.” To elaborate, Rudy is former New York Mayor and Trump advisor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Giuliani was one of the most prominent stolen election conspirators in 2020.

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Powell, an attorney, was a leader of the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. New York Times?reporters found Carlson’s email in discovery for Dominion Voting Systems Corporation vs. Fox News Network LLC .

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Tucker Carlson wanted to fire Reporter for Doing her Job

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Frighteningly, two of Fox’s biggest stars, Carlson and Hannity, tried to get White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich fired for doing her job , The Hill alleges. To explain, Heinrich “fact checked” a Trump Tweet spreading false claims about Dominion Voting Systems.

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“Please get her fired,” Carlson wrote to Hannity. “Serious. What the fuck? I’m actually shocked. It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”

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Hence Carlson thinks pandering to Trump-worshiping voters is more important than reporting the facts. Thus, Fox News no longer practices journalism.

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Disgustingly, Fox’s biggest star Carlson believes the company’s profitability is more important than truth or reporting the news. Carlson would rather report any fairy tale that viewers believe than the Truth.

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Hence, there is a total lack of ethics, honesty, and accuracy at Fox. All that matters is making money by churning out propaganda.

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I have to wonder if Carlson believes the conservative ideology he promotes. Instead, skeptics will wonder if the whole thing is a scam.

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CNN Made Tucker Carlson

Predictably, news reports portray the moral rot as a Fox News, or conservative media, problem,?but I think extends through the entire cable news business. For example, the most prestigious cable news network, CNN, spent years promoting another questionable election theory that panders to its audience’s prejudices, Russiagate .

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Notably, Carlson worked at CNN before going to Fox. Until 2005, Carlson hosted CNN’s flagship commentary show Crossfire . Hence, Carlson is not an outlier. Instead, Carlson is a veteran who’s been working at the top of the industry for over 20 years.

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Therefore, I think what Dominion’s lawsuit expose is how most cable-news personalities think. These people believe they have a moral right to suppress the truth and lie to the public in the name of ratings. Cable news pundits, such as Carlson, and Rachel Maddow, see viewers as marks to scam rather than an audience to serve.

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Cable TV News’ Fake Business Model

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So why do cable pundits think this way? My answer is that they work in a fake business.

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To explain, channels like Fox News and CNN do not make money by attracting viewers who pay subscriptions. Nor do they make money by selling advertising.

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Instead, Fox News generates most of its revenues from the “carriage fees” cable TV operators and satellite services such as Dish, pay for the privilege of offering its channels. Vice?estimates Fox News made $1.8 billion in carriage fees ?in 2021.

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Disgustingly, cable operators pass the carriage fees onto subscribers.?Popular Information?estimates Fox News made more money ($1.6 billion) from Carriage Fees than advertising ($1.2 billion) ?in 2020.

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The average cable subscriber paid $1.72 per month for Fox News in 2020 , Variety estimates. Hence tens of millions of Americans who hate Fox news pay for it.

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Carriage fees explain why Carlson, Don Lemon,?Hannity, and Ingraham act as they do. They treat the audience like crap because the audience has no choice but to pay their bills.

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Cable TV is Dying

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Unless, of course, the audience cuts the cord and dumps Cable TV. Interestingly, more Americans are cutting the cord.

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TechJury estimates 95.1 million Americans, 35.9% of the population, have cut the cord. That number could rise to 80.7 million US households containing 112.9 million people ?(41.6% of the population) by 2026.

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In a hopeful sign, TechJury?claims 61% of people between 18 and 29 have cut the cord. In contrast, 81% of people over 65 have a cable TV subscriptions. Hence, cable’s audience is dying. Notably, TechJury?claims less than 50% of US households will have a cable or satellite TV subscription in 2026.

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Consequently, cable TV news personalities are behaving like a group of gangsters fighting for control of a shrinking racket. These people are sociopaths who will do anything to keep their share of a diminishing pie.

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Cable TV News is a Lie

Carriage fees are only part of the fraud in cable news. The true fraud in cable news is the lie that it reaches a massive audience.

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The most-watched cable TV news show, Fox News’ The Five,?had an average rating of 3.5 million viewers in 2022 , Nielsen estimates. Worldometer estimates the US population was 336.192 million in 2023 . Hence, less than 1% of the nation’s population watches the most popular cable TV news show.

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Moreover, Fox News’ average rating was 1.49 million viewers, or less than half of 1% of America’s population. Fox’s ratings were better than its competitors. CNN’s average rating in 2022 was 568,000 and MSNBC’s average rating was 733,000 in 2022, Nielsen estimates.

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Hence, cable news is a fake business. It claims to reach a mass audience but the ratings show it does not.

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Thus, Tucker Carlson’s ethics are those of the entire business. If the business is a lie, it is easy to see why its biggest star is a liar.?

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My suspicion is that more Americans are watching?Murder She Wrote?reruns than Fox News. Yet, our media portrays Fox News as a powerful?and sinister force.

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The Lawsuit that could Destroy Fox News

Strangely, one manufacturer, Dominion Voting,?could bring down Fox News. Dominion Voting ?is a maker of voting machines.

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Dominion bases its business on the reliability, security, and accuracy of its technology. However, Fox News threatened Dominion’s business by repeating allegations they rigged its machines to help Democrats win elections.

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Consequently, Dominion sued Fox News in November 2021 . Dominion’s suit is producing the discovery that The New York Times?and other media outlets are reporting.

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Dominion’s lawyers are asking for $1.6 billion in the suit, The New York Times reports. Fox News’ parent, the?Fox Corporation (FOX),?had $4.058 billion in cash and short-term investments on 31 December 2022. Hence, Fox can settle the suit, but the settlement will hurt.

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How WWE could destroy Fox News

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However, the suit could force painful budget cuts at Fox. It also comes at a terrible time because Fox will negotiate with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for a new contract to keep the popular Friday Night Smackdown?on its broadcast network in 2023.

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WWE’s new TV deals could be worth $7.05 billion , Wrestlenomics’?Brandon Thruston estimates. Smackdown is expensive because many networks and streaming services want WWE and its millions of loyal fans. Thus, Fox will need enormous amounts of cash to keep one of its most popular shows this year.

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An enormous lawsuit payout could make keeping?Smackdown?on Fox difficult. In particular, Fox could have trouble borrowing money to pay Vince McMahon for Smackdown. Hence, Fox could lose a program that attracted 2.383 million viewers ?on 17 February 2023 because of Carlson and company’s shenanigans.

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Perhaps, that loss will convince Rupert P. Murdoch, or whoever is in charge at Fox, to end the morally bankrupt charade known as Fox News. Hopefully, the rest of the cable news channels will follow Fox News into extinction.