By Staff
A comprehensive investigation into the Dominion settlement, the talent purge, and what it reveals about the Murdoch empire
The $787.5 million check. On April 18, 2023, in a Wilmington, Delaware courtroom, a jury had just been sworn in. Opening statements were expected within hours. Then, without warning, Judge Eric Davis announced from the bench that the parties had reached a deal.
Fox Corporation would pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million roughly half of the $1.6 billion Dominion initially sought, but still one of the largest defamation settlements in American history. There would be no trial. No cross examination of Rupert Murdoch. No sworn testimony from Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, or Laura Ingraham. No jury verdict.
The settlement statement from Fox was carefully calibrated, "We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false." Not an apology. Not an admission of wrongdoing. A lawyerly nod to a procedural ruling that had never actually been tested at trial.
Dominion's CEO John Poulos called it vindication. Fox called it moving the country forward. Both were lying.
The truth is that Fox wrote the check to make the bleeding stop and the bleeding wasn't just financial. It was existential.
The private words behind the public lies. The real story of the Dominion case wasn't the settlement. It was what spilled out during discovery, hundreds of pages of internal emails, text messages, and deposition transcripts that exposed the gaping chasm between what Fox hosts said on air and what they believed in private.
The documents, unsealed by the court in March 2023, paint a portrait of a network in panic after accurately calling Arizona for Biden on election night and then deliberately feeding its audience a diet of claims its own stars knew were garbage.
Tucker Carlson on the election fraud narrative, in private texts to his producer Alex Pfeiffer, "The software shit is absurd." He called Sidney Powell's claims "shockingly reckless" and said of Powell herself, in a text to a colleague: "She's lying. Fucking bitch."
On November 8, 2020, Pfeiffer texted Carlson: "I don't think there is evidence of voter fraud that swung the election." Carlson responded: "Half our viewers have seen the Maria clip." Translation: the audience already believed it, so there was no walking it back.
On January 4, 2021, Carlson texted an unidentified person: "We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait." And then: "I hate him passionately."
Yet night after night, Carlson's show gave platform to election fraud claims. Mike Lindell appeared on his program in January 2021 and repeated the Dominion rigging narrative without challenge. Carlson privately knew it was nonsense. He let it air anyway.
Sean Hannity was equally damning in private. In a deposition, he admitted under oath that he "did not believe it for one second" referring to the election fraud claims being pushed by Powell and Giuliani. He privately called Giuliani "acting like an insane person." Yet on his show, Hannity told millions of viewers that "hundreds of sworn affidavits are being filed, lawsuits are being filed, alleging serious election misconduct" and specifically named Dominion as the software that "wrongfully awarded Joe Biden thousands of ballots."
Laura Ingraham privately called the fraud claims nutty and unhinged in texts with colleagues. She complained about the news division's accurate reporting, fuming in a group chat with Carlson and Hannity about Chris Wallace and the Arizona call: "My anger at the news channel is pronounced."
Maria Bartiromo received an email from Sidney Powell forwarding supposed evidence of fraud and privately dismissed it as kooky and pretty wackadoodle. She testified in her deposition that she did not consider it evidence and did not report on it. Yet she continued to host Powell and Giuliani and to amplify the broader fraud narrative.
Rupert Murdoch himself acknowledged in his deposition that hosts endorsed false claims. In an email to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott on January 21, 2021, Murdoch wrote: "Still getting mud thrown at us! Maybe Sean and Laura went too far." He asked Scott whether it was "unarguable that high profile Fox voices fed the story that the election was stolen."
Murdoch also privately called Trump's voter fraud claims bullshit and damaging and admitted under oath that he did nothing to rein in the hosts promoting them.
The motive wasn't ideology, it was ratings. The internal communications reveal the business logic with brutal clarity. After Fox called Arizona for Biden on election night accurately Trump viewers revolted. They fled to Newsmax and OAN. Fox's ratings cratered.
In a group text on November 5, 2020, Carlson raged: "We devote our lives to building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland fucking Vittert wreck it. Too much."
The network pivoted hard into fraud coverage not because anyone believed it, but because the audience demanded it. The business model required it. As one Fox executive testified, they had received so many of Dominion's fact check communications more than 3,600 separate messages that he joked I have it tattooed on my body at this point.
They knew. They aired it anyway.
Glenn Beck was the canary in the coal mine the first major Fox News star to learn that no amount of ratings can protect you once you become more trouble than you're worth. By 2011, Beck's 5 PM show was pulling nearly 2 million viewers and his brand of apocalyptic populism complete with chalkboard conspiracy flowcharts and tearful monologues about the republic's demise had made him one of the most talked about figures in American media. But he'd also become a liability. Advertisers began fleeing after Beck called Obama a racist with a deep seated hatred for white people. The network's leadership, including Roger Ailes, grew tired of managing the blowback. Beck's ratings were still strong, but the ad revenue was tanking and the headaches were mounting. In April 2011, Fox announced Beck would transition off his show, and by June he was gone officially a mutual parting, but in reality a shove. He walked away and built his own media empire with TheBlaze, proving the Fox model of talent disposal had a flip side. The people they discarded often took their audiences with them. The pattern Beck established star gets too big, too independent, too radioactive for advertisers, then gets purged with a polite press release would repeat with O'Reilly, then Carlson, each time with the network betting the brand was bigger than the personality. Sometimes it was. Sometimes it wasn't.
Bill O'Reilly was the undisputed king of cable news for 16 years The O'Reilly Factor dominated the 8 PM slot so thoroughly that competitors didn't even bother trying to compete. He built the Fox News primetime lineup into a juggernaut and wrote multiple bestsellers mythologizing himself as a straight talking defender of the folks. Then the New York Times reported in April 2017 that Fox and O'Reilly had secretly paid roughly $13 million to settle sexual harassment claims from five women including former producer Andrea Mackris, whose 2004 lawsuit alleged O'Reilly had masturbated while on the phone with her and described sexual fantasies involving loofahs and falafel. The details were lurid enough to break through even O'Reilly's teflon. Within days, more than 50 advertisers pulled their spots from his show. O'Reilly was on vacation in Italy when the ax fell Murdoch and the Fox board decided the ad revenue hemorrhage wasn't worth it. On April 19, 2017, Fox announced O'Reilly was out, effective immediately, with a severance package estimated at $25 million. He never got a farewell show either. The network issued the usual bloodless statement thanking him for his contributions, and Tucker Carlson slid into the 8 PM chair within days instantly proving the Murdoch thesis that the brand outlasts the talent. O'Reilly has spent every year since insisting he did nothing wrong and that he was the victim of a coordinated hit by left wing activists. Maybe some of that is true. What's undeniably true is that Fox paid tens of millions to make the women go away, then paid O'Reilly tens of millions to go away, and the whole thing was memory holed within a month. Same playbook, different decade.
The purge every conservative voice that got the ax. The Dominion settlement wasn't the end. It was the lever. Within days, the bodies started dropping.
Tucker Carlson fired, April 24, 2023. Six days after the settlement, Fox announced in a terse four sentence statement that it had agreed to part ways with the highest rated host in cable news history. Carlson had signed off the previous Friday telling viewers he'd be back Monday. He was not given a farewell show. He was not allowed to say goodbye.
The official reason was never stated. Multiple sources with knowledge confirmed to NPR that the decision was made by Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch on Friday, April 21.
Carlson's show Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged more than 3 million viewers nightly. He was the face of the network. But he had also become uncontrollable questioning the Ukraine war, airing January 6 footage that contradicted the establishment narrative, and building a personal brand that was larger than Fox itself.
The Dominion discovery had also surfaced deeply embarrassing texts, including vulgar language about colleagues and the infamous I hate him passionately text about Trump. A separate lawsuit from former producer Abby Grossberg alleging a sexist and misogynistic workplace on Carlson's show added legal exposure. The Murdochs decided he was more liability than asset.
Fox's 8 PM ratings collapsed almost immediately dropping roughly 50% in the weeks after his firing, with the key 25-54 demographic plunging by nearly two thirds. Newsmax's Eric Bolling saw his 8 PM audience nearly quintuple overnight as displaced viewers searched for a new home.
Lou Dobbs cancelled, February 5, 2021. The day after Smartmatic filed its $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, Dobbs' show was cancelled. Fox claimed the decision had been in the works since October 2020 as part of a post-election revamp. Nobody inside or outside the network believed it.
Dobbs, 75, had been one of Trump's most vocal boosters and one of the most aggressive voices on election fraud. His show Lou Dobbs Tonight ran twice nightly on Fox Business Network. He was named personally as a defendant in the Smartmatic suit. Within 24 hours, he was gone.
Dobbs remained under contract but was effectively blacklisted from appearing on Fox channels again. Trump issued a statement calling Dobbs great and saying his large and loyal following would be watching for his next move. That next move never came on Fox.
Dan Bongino out, April 20, 2023. Two days after the Dominion settlement, Bongino announced on his podcast that his Saturday night show Unfiltered with Dan Bongino was done. He framed it as a contract dispute We just couldn't come to terms on an extension and insisted there was no acrimony.
But the timing was impossible to ignore. Bongino had been a Fox contributor for a decade and had built one of the most uncompromising conservative brands on the network. He was known for sharp defenses of Trump and for amplifying controversial claims about COVID vaccines and the 2020 election. While he wasn't a central figure in the Dominion litigation, he represented exactly the kind of firebrand the post settlement Fox was looking to shed.
His radio show on Fox Nation was also terminated. His Saturday slot was handed to Lawrence Jones.
Lara Logan pushed out, early 2022. The former 60 Minutes correspondent turned heterodox firebrand had become a frequent Fox guest until she compared Dr. Anthony Fauci to Nazi doctor Josef Mengele on air in late 2021. After that appearance, she was quietly benched.
In an April 2022 interview with radio host Eric Metaxas, Logan didn't mince words: "I was definitely pushed out. I mean, there is no doubt about that. They don't want independent thinkers. They don't want people who follow the facts regardless of the politics."
She added: "I always don't belong to any party; I don't belong to any one side. And while people want to cast me as the darling of the right side..."
Logan had committed the cardinal sin at Fox: she became too independent, too unwilling to color within the lines, too willing to question the establishment on everything from COVID to Ukraine to intelligence community narratives. Fox doesn't fire people for being conservative. It fires them for being uncontrollable.
Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro diminished and muzzled. Neither was fired outright, but both saw their roles significantly curtailed. Bartiromo went from being the face of Fox Business to a diminished footprint. Pirro had her time slot shuffled and was moved to a co-host role on The Five technically a promotion, but one that diluted her solo platform.
In Dominion's filings, Murdoch acknowledged that Bartiromo, Pirro, and Dobbs had elevated the election lies. The network's solution wasn't to fire them all it was to neutralize them without creating new martyrs.
The Murdoch playbook, settle, seal, never admit. The Dominion payout was not an anomaly. It was the latest entry in a decades long pattern. The Murdoch empire writes enormous checks to make legal problems disappear before the ugliest facts reach a jury.
The Murdoch Settlement Ledger
Scandal Amount Year
News America Marketing $930 million+ 2010–2016
(antitrust/fraud)
UK Phone Hacking $1.4 billion+ (£1 billion) 2011–present
(News of the World)
Fox News Sexual Harassment $200 million+ 2016–2017
(Ailes, O'Reilly, et al.)
Seth Rich family settlement Undisclosed millions 2020
Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million 2023
Total documented settlements $3.3 billion+
The News America Marketing case is particularly instructive. Between 2010 and 2016, News Corp paid more than $900 million to settle claims of fraud and anticompetitive practices by its in store marketing division. The allegations included computer hacking employees allegedly accessed a competitor's internal servers to steal contracts and business plans. The case echoed the UK phone hacking scandal that would soon explode, and Murdoch handled it the same way, pay, seal, admit nothing.
The UK phone hacking scandal forced the closure of the News of the World, triggered a parliamentary inquiry, led to criminal convictions of Murdoch journalists including an editor in chief, and has cost the company more than £1 billion in settlements, legal fees, and associated costs. The scandal also forced News Corp to abandon its proposed takeover of BSkyB, costing a $63 million breakup fee.
The Fox News sexual harassment scandals which brought down Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly cost roughly $200 million in settlements. The network also secretly paid longtime employee Laurie Luhn more than $3 million to keep quiet about allegations that Ailes had coerced sex from her for more than 20 years.
The Seth Rich settlement remains shrouded in secrecy. Fox paid the family of the slain Democratic Party aide an undisclosed sum reportedly in the millions just before Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs were set to be questioned under oath by the Riches' attorneys.
In every case, the pattern holds, settle before the worst evidence reaches a jury, seal the discovery, issue a statement that admits nothing, and move on. The Murdochs have elevated this to an art form.
The ratings collapse and the viewers walked. The audience noticed. In the immediate aftermath of Carlson's firing, Fox's 8 PM hour lost roughly 50% of its total viewers and nearly two thirds of its 25-54 demographic audience. Carlson's final Wednesday show had drawn 3 million viewers; the replacement Fox News Tonight hosted by Brian Kilmeade drew 1.33 million.
By May 5, 2023, the numbers had gotten worse. Carlson's former slot attracted just 90,000 viewers in the key 25-54 demo while MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes pulled 145,000 in the same hour. For the first time in memory, MSNBC was beating Fox in primetime among the demographic advertisers actually pay for.
Meanwhile, Newsmax's Eric Bolling saw his 8 PM audience explode from 146,000 to 531,000 viewers a nearly fivefold increase as displaced Fox viewers searched for a new home.
Fox's response was corporate boilerplate: a spokesperson insisted the network continues as the highest-rated cable news network in primetime and total day. Technically true in raw totals, but the trend line was unmistakable. The audience that had sustained Fox for two decades was fragmenting, and the network's response to a defamation settlement was to fire the very people those viewers trusted most.
The irony was almost too perfect. The same panic over losing viewers to Newsmax that had driven Fox to platform the election fraud claims in the first place was now repeating itself except this time, the viewers were fleeing because Fox had purged the talent that gave them what they wanted.
The Dominion case and its aftermath clarified something that had been visible for years to anyone paying attention. Fox News is not a news organization. It is an audience-retention vehicle attached to a publicly traded corporation.
The network's internal communications proved that editorial decisions were driven almost entirely by ratings and revenue, not by any journalistic principle or even genuine ideological conviction. Carlson hated Trump privately and platformed his allies publicly. Hannity thought Giuliani was insane and gave him primetime interviews. Ingraham called the fraud claims nutty and then attacked the journalists who debunked them.
This is not ideology. This is business. And when the business required sacrificing the talent that had made it billions, the Murdochs didn't hesitate. They never do. Glenn Beck got too big and was dumped. Bill O'Reilly was a star from the beginning and was forced out in 2017. Tucker Carlson was the highest rated host in cable news history and was fired with a four sentence press release and no goodbye show.
The Murdochs are with you until they're not. The only principle is power. The only loyalty is to the balance sheet.
Did Dominion Prove Its Machines Were Clean? No. The settlement meant no trial, no evidence examined, no expert testimony cross-examined, no jury findings. Dominion took the money an amount multiple times the company's entire valuation and Fox got the case sealed. Both sides got to claim victory without ever having to prove anything.
Dominion's voting machines have documented vulnerabilities demonstrated at DEF CON's Voting Village by independent security researchers. The company's corporate genealogy includes assets acquired from Smartmatic, a Venezuelan founded firm with documented ties to the Chávez regime. These facts remain, regardless of what Fox did or didn't say about them.
The settlement was about defamation law whether Fox knowingly aired false claims not about whether electronic voting machines are trustworthy. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Will the Smartmatic Case Force More Reckoning? Smartmatic's $2.7 billion lawsuit remains pending. It names Fox Corporation, Fox News, Dobbs, Bartiromo, Pirro, Giuliani, and Powell as defendants. If it reaches trial, it could expose even more internal communications and force testimony from figures who escaped the Dominion case.
Fox has already demonstrated its strategy: settle, pay, seal. Whether Smartmatic will accept a check or push for a public trial remains to be seen.
The Murdoch empire has survived worse. Beck's departure didn't kill the network. O'Reilly's ouster didn't kill it. Carlson's firing won't either at least not in the short term. Fox still has the largest cable news audience, the most lucrative carriage fees, and a core demographic that has few alternatives.
But the long term trajectory is less certain. The audience is aging. Cord-cutting is accelerating. The replacement hosts Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Lawrence Jones are safer, more predictable, less likely to generate billion-dollar lawsuits. They are also less compelling. The network is betting it can retain viewers without the firebrands who built the brand. History suggests that bet may pay off in the short term. It almost never pays off in the long term.
Fox News cannot be trusted to give you the truth not because it's uniquely corrupt, but because no advertising supported, publicly traded media conglomerate can be. The structural incentives make it impossible.
The same network that privately mocked election fraud claims aired them for profit. The same executives who knew the claims were false greenlit the coverage to stop viewers from fleeing to Newsmax. The same controlling family that cashed the checks from that coverage then fired the talent who delivered the ratings.
The lesson of the Dominion case is not that Fox is worse than its competitors. It's that the entire model corporate media funded by advertising, run by billionaires, staffed by careerists who cycle between networks and administrations is inherently corrupt. CNN suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story because it might hurt Biden. Fox amplified the Dominion fraud story because it might help Trump.
Different tribes, same playbook.
The solution is not to find a better cable news channel. It's to recognize that the medium itself is the problem and to build an information diet that doesn't depend on any single institution's benevolence.
Fox took the $787.5 million hit and kept moving. The hosts who made them that money are gone or muzzled. The audience is fragmenting. The Murdochs are still rich. And the fundamental question, can you trust what you see on television? You’ve never had a clearer answer.
No. You never could.
Sources:
The $787.5 Million Settlement
SEC Form 8-K filing — Fox Corporation's official disclosure of the $787.5 million settlement, filed April 18, 2023. Confirms the amount, the parties, and Fox's official statement. [SEC.gov]
NPR — "Fox News settles Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit" — David Folkenflik, April 18, 2023. Covers the courtroom scene, the last-minute nature of the settlement, and the statement from Judge Eric Davis.
NBC News — "Fox News and Dominion reach $787.5 million settlement in defamation lawsuit" — April 18, 2023. Details the pretrial rulings against Fox, including sanctions for withholding evidence, and the judge barring the "newsworthiness" defense.
BBC News — "Fox News lawsuit: Can it afford the $787.5m Dominion settlement?" — Peter Hoskins and Michelle Fleury, April 19, 2023. Covers Fox's cash reserves (
$4 billion), Murdoch family net worth ($17.6 billion), and the pending Smartmatic suit.Deadline — "Fox Settlement Takes Wall Street By Surprise, But It's Tax Deductible" — Jill Goldsmith and Ted Johnson, April 19, 2023. Confirms the settlement is tax-deductible and details Dominion's valuation at acquisition ($80 million) versus the settlement amount.
Fox News Press Release — April 18, 2023. Official statement: "We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false."
Internal Communications and Discovery
NBC News — "Private Fox News text messages, emails released in Dominion suit" — March 7, 2023. The comprehensive dump of unsealed documents. Contains:
Carlson's "I hate him passionately" text (Jan 4, 2021)
Carlson calling Powell a "fucking bitch" and saying she's "lying"
Murdoch's email to Suzanne Scott: "Maybe Sean and Laura went too far"
Murdoch calling Trump's fraud claims "bullshit and damaging"
The group text chain with Carlson, Hannity, and Ingraham complaining about the Arizona call
Hannity: "Why would anyone defend that call"
Carlson: "We devote our lives to building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland fucking Vittert wreck it"
ABC News — "What Fox News hosts allegedly said privately versus on-air about false election fraud claims" — April 24, 2023. Catalogs the public vs. private statements with direct quotes:
Carlson to Pfeiffer: "The software shit is absurd"
Pfeiffer: "I don't think there is evidence of voter fraud that swung the election"
Carlson: "Half our viewers have seen the Maria clip"
Hannity: "Rudy is acting like an insane person"
Bartiromo calling Powell's evidence "kooky" and "wackadoodle"
Hannity deposition: "I did not believe it for one second"
Deadline — "Fox News Internal Texts And Emails Show Scramble In Aftermath Of 2020 Election And January 6th" — Ted Johnson and Dominic Patten, March 8, 2023. Additional details on the internal panic, the Irena Briganti allegations, and the full context of Hannity's deposition testimony.
The Talent Purge
Glenn Beck — Sources
NPR — "Glenn Beck's Show On Fox News To End" — David Folkenflik, April 6, 2011. Details the advertiser boycott led by Color of Change, the loss of hundreds of advertisers, Beck's ratings dropping 40% from their peak, and the polite press release announcing the "transition." Quotes Color of Change executive director James Rucker on the strategy of pressuring brands. Notes that by the end, Beck's remaining ads were for gold hoarding and survivalist seed companies.
Adweek / TVNewser — "Glenn Beck to Leave Fox News Program" — Alex Weprin, April 6, 2011. Covers the economics: Beck's show was filled with house ads and low-CPM sponsors like Goldline rather than major national advertisers. Notes Murdoch's earlier defense of Beck on a shareholder call — calling him a "terrific kickoff" — but confirms the ad revenue collapse made the show unsustainable long-term. Confirms Beck's show averaged 2.2 million total viewers over 27 months and was the third-highest rated program on cable news.
TheWrap — "Glenn Beck Agrees to End Fox News Show" — Dylan Stableford, April 6, 2011. Detailed ratings data: Beck down 35% in total viewers and 44% in the 25-54 demo year-over-year through March 2011, with nine consecutive months of month-over-month total viewer declines. Confirms the official Fox News press release language and the development deal that kept Beck loosely tied to the network.
Bill O'Reilly — Sources
NBC News — "Fox News Cuts Ties With Bill O'Reilly, Closing Latest Chapter on Tumultuous TV Career" — April 20, 2017. Comprehensive account of the firing. Details:
The Paul Weiss law firm investigation commissioned by the Murdochs that found the allegations "far more damaging than expected"
O'Reilly's $25 million annual salary and remaining contract
The Andrea Mackris 2004 lawsuit alleging phone-sex harassment involving loofahs and falafel
Mackris's $9 million settlement specifically
The total of $13 million paid to five women
The protester scene outside Fox's New York offices
21st Century Fox's official statement: "After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the Company and Bill O'Reilly have agreed that Bill O'Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel"
The additional "hot chocolate" racial harassment allegation from a clerical worker represented by Lisa Bloom
TIME — "Bill O'Reilly Is Out at Fox News Amid Sexual Harassment Accusations" — Katie Reilly, April 19, 2017. Confirms the New York Times report that triggered the advertiser exodus (dozens of companies pulling spots), O'Reilly's denial and his attorney's "character assassination" defense, and the immediate replacement with Tucker Carlson Tonight at 8 PM. Confirms O'Reilly was on vacation during the decision and had been expected to return April 24.
Variety — "Fox News Fires Bill O'Reilly Amid Sexual Harassment Storm" — Brian Steinberg, April 19, 2017. Contains the full Murdoch family internal memo to staff: "We want to underscore our consistent commitment to fostering a work environment built on the values of trust and respect." Confirms the decision was made by Rupert, James, and Lachlan Murdoch jointly in consultation with outside counsel. Notes O'Reilly had been off the air since the previous Wednesday on what was billed as a pre-planned Easter vacation, and that the Murdochs concluded the company "could no longer afford to back the star who helped bring Fox News to prominence nearly 20 years ago."
Tucker Carlson:
NPR — "Tucker Carlson ousted at Fox News amid lawsuit alleging sexism" — David Folkenflik, April 24, 2023. Confirms Carlson was fired (not mutual parting), the decision made by Scott and Lachlan Murdoch on April 21, the four-sentence statement, and the Abby Grossberg lawsuit details.
CNBC — "Tucker Carlson leaves Fox News in wake of Dominion settlement" — Lillian Rizzo, April 24, 2023. Covers Carlson's text about viewers being "good people" who "believe it" and the "Those fuckers are destroying our credibility" message.
Lou Dobbs:
NPR — "Amid Lawsuit From Election Tech Company, Fox News Media Cancels 'Lou Dobbs Tonight'" — David Folkenflik, February 7, 2021. Confirms cancellation came one day after Smartmatic's $2.7 billion suit, names Dobbs personally as defendant, and notes Fox's implausible claim that the decision predated the lawsuit.
CNBC — "Fox News cancels Lou Dobbs' weekday business show" — February 5, 2021. Confirms Dobbs was named in the Smartmatic suit and that Fox claimed the move was part of "planned changes."
BBC News — "Lou Dobbs: Fox cancels vocal Trump supporter's programme" — February 6, 2021. Includes Trump's statement: "Lou Dobbs is and was great... He had a large and loyal following."
Dan Bongino:
Variety — "Fox News Parts Ways With Weekend Host Dan Bongino" — Brian Steinberg, April 20, 2023. Confirms departure two days after Dominion settlement, Bongino's own statement on his podcast, and the replacement with Lawrence Jones.
The Hill — "Dan Bongino parts ways with Fox News" — Dominick Mastrangelo, April 20, 2023. Confirms last show was April 15.
Lara Logan:
The Epoch Times — "Lara Logan Says She Was 'Pushed Out' at Fox Nation" — Jack Phillips, April 8, 2022. Direct quotes: "I was definitely pushed out... They don't want independent thinkers. They don't want people who follow the facts regardless of the politics."
Mediaite — "Lara Logan: Fox News Doesn't Like 'Independent Thinkers'" — Sarah Rumpf, April 7, 2022. Covers the Fauci-Mengele comparison that ended her Fox appearances and the Metaxas interview.
The broader purge narrative:
The Independent — "Will other Fox News stars face Tucker Carlson's fate?" — April 28, 2023. Quotes Megyn Kelly asking why Bartiromo and Pirro survived when Carlson didn't, and confirms Pirro was removed from air after the election because leadership "did not believe she could be honest about the outcome."
NPR (Dominion settlement article) — Confirms Dobbs was fired the day after Smartmatic suit, that news programming was pushed to fringe slots, and that Shepard Smith and Chris Wallace had previously departed over Carlson's conduct.
The Murdoch Settlement History
NPR — "Sexual Harassment Isn't Only Concern For Murdochs — Lesser Known Scandal Could Affect $14B Deal" — David Folkenflik, April 24, 2017. Details the News America Marketing scandal: more than $900 million in settlements, computer hacking allegations, the Floorgraphics case ($29.5 million), and the Valassis settlement ($500 million). Also covers the Laurie Luhn payout, the UK phone hacking fallout, and the pattern of settling without admitting wrongdoing.
Press Gazette — "Phone-hacking scandal cost Murdoch media £1bn" — William Turvill, July 8, 2021. Comprehensive accounting of the UK hacking scandal costs: £1 billion+ including News of the World closure costs, claimant damages, Management and Standards Committee expenses, and the abandoned BSkyB deal breakup fee ($63 million).
SEC Filing (News Corp) — February 29, 2016. Official announcement of the $250 million class action settlement plus $30 million in related claims, with the standard denial of wrongdoing.
The Ratings Collapse
NPR — "Since the firing of Tucker Carlson, viewers have deserted Fox" — David Folkenflik, April 28, 2023. Reports ratings "fall off a cliff" with ~50% decline, Newsmax's Eric Bolling seeing nearly fivefold increase, and the irony that this dynamic mirrors what caused the Dominion lawsuit in the first place.
Newsweek — "Fox News Ratings Fall Off a Cliff After Tucker Carlson's Departure" — May 9, 2023. Detailed numbers: May 5, Carlson's former 8 PM slot drew 90,000 in the 25-54 demo vs. MSNBC's 145,000. Fox's demo audience had shrunk by two-thirds.
TVLine — "Fox News 8 PM Viewership Down Sharply Since Tucker Carlson's Ouster" — Matt Webb Mitovich, April 28, 2023. Week-to-week comps: Carlson's final Wednesday (3 million) vs. Kilmeade's first Wednesday (1.33 million). Demo decline of 65%. Newsmax's Bolling growing from 146,000 to 531,000.
Unanswered Questions
NPR (Dominion settlement article) — Confirms Smartmatic's $2.7 billion suit remains pending, that Smartmatic was only active in Los Angeles County in 2020, and that Fox still faces exposure from that litigation.
Deadline (settlement article) — Dominion's valuation at $80 million (2018 acquisition) vs. $250 million (pre-2020 election) vs. $787.5 million settlement — illustrating the settlement was multiple times the company's worth.
No comments:
Post a Comment