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SUBSCRIBE FOR €0.50/WEEKLog in
Sunday, May 7, 2023
Today’s Paper
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Media|Tucker Carlson Wants to Return to TV Before 2025. Will Fox Let Him?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/05/business/media/tucker-carlson-tv-fox-news.html
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TUCKER CARLSON OUT AT FOX NEWS

 * What Led to the Dismissal?
 * The Text That Alarmed Fox
 * Carlson’s Code of Whiteness
 * Timeline: Carlson’s Rise

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TUCKER CARLSON WANTS TO RETURN TO TV BEFORE 2025. WILL FOX LET HIM?

In conversations with his associates, Mr. Carlson has expressed interest in
getting back to work before the agreement expires.

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It may be in the interests of Fox and Mr. Carlson to resolve the
situation.Credit...Leigh Vogel for The New York Times


By Jeremy W. Peters and Benjamin Mullin

May 5, 2023

Tucker Carlson is making it clear to people close to him that he would like to
be back on the air somewhere soon. But he first needs Fox News to agree to a
deal that would allow him to work elsewhere, according to three people with
knowledge of the discussions, leaving it unclear whether he will be able to
start a new chapter in his media career before his current contract expires in
January 2025.

Since Mr. Carlson was taken off the air by Fox News last week, his lawyers have
been in touch with Fox to negotiate an agreement to set the terms of his
departure. And he has been the subject of unofficial courting by right-wing
media outlets who’ve let it be known they would hire him if they could.

But a swirl of embarrassing disclosures about the prime time host’s private
remarks have cast a shadow over those discussions.

Some of Mr. Carlson’s allies have accused the network of being behind the
disclosures. Fox insists that it doesn’t like the leaks any more than Mr.
Carlson does and is considering taking legal action to stop them.



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On early Friday, lawyers for Fox sent a cease-and-desist letter to Media Matters
for America, a longtime Fox critic that recently published leaked,
behind-the-scenes video from Mr. Carlson’s set. That footage has shown Mr.
Carlson making sexist and boorish statements and fuming with hatred toward the
lawyer who questioned him in a 10-hour deposition that was part of the
billion-dollar defamation suit filed against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems.

In its letter, Fox lawyers said that the videos had been “unlawfully obtained.”

“That unaired footage is Fox’s confidential intellectual property,” the letter
said. “Fox did not consent to its distribution or publication; and Fox does not
consent to its further distribution or publication.”

Those leaks, and a New York Times report that a previously undisclosed text from
Mr. Carlson expressing racist views caused high-level alarm inside the company
ahead of the Dominion trial — where it threatened to inflame a jury — have
complicated the efforts of both Fox and Mr. Carlson to put this messy episode
behind them.


TUCKER CARLSON’S DEPARTURE FROM FOX NEWS

 * Parting Ways: Shortly after Fox News agreed to settle a defamation lawsuit
   over election misinformation, the network abruptly fired Tucker Carlson, its
   biggest star. The Daily explains why.
 * Chapter Closed: Carlson’s exit and Don Lemon’s synchronous ousting from CNN,
   signal at least a temporary move away from the excesses that characterized
   media coverage since 2016.
 * Reaping the Benefits: The conservative news channel Newsmax seized on
   Carlson’s dismissal to declare itself the true TV home for right-wing
   Americans. The strategy is showing promise and viewership is growing.
 * Looking Back: We charted Tucker Carlson’s career as he built one of the most
   successful, and racist, show in the history of cable news. Here are the main
   takeaways.

So far, Mr. Carlson has said nothing publicly since last week, except for a
short video statement he posted on Twitter. Through a representative, he
declined to comment for this article.

But some of his allies in conservative media have — without offering proof —
blamed Fox for trying to tarnish the reputation of its former star host, saying
the network is looking to hamstring his career prospects.

“Fox News teaming up with Media Matters to smear Tucker Carlson is one of the
slimiest betrayals I’ve ever seen,” Matt Walsh, a podcaster for the conservative
Daily Wire, wrote this week.



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Others found the accusations a bit of a stretch. “The idea that Fox is (somehow)
colluding with its mortal enemy,” wrote Mike Davis, a conservative legal
strategist, “to trash Tucker is truly a tin-foil hat, utterly stupid conspiracy
theory.”



A spokesman for Fox said the network had no further comment beyond its statement
last week announcing that the network and Mr. Carlson had parted ways.

Getting back to work before his contract expires is not a certainty for Mr.
Carlson. Like many other television hosts, he has a contract that contains
language — known in the media industry as “pay or play” — that allows networks
to keep their biggest stars from working for their rivals as long as they are
under contract, according to a person with knowledge of his deal.

Anchors like Mr. Carlson usually also have terms in their contracts that prevent
them from making unsanctioned media appearances, said Andy Lee, an entertainment
lawyer with Foley & Lardner, which is not involved in the negotiations. If Mr.
Carlson’s contract has those provisions, they could hamper any efforts he might
make to play a role as a commentator in the 2024 presidential election.

“There are circumstances where pay-or-play provisions can be challenged, but
networks and studios certainly view them as being relatively ironclad,” Mr. Lee
said.



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It is possible that Fox would continue to pay out Mr. Carlson’s contract in full
to keep him away as a competitor. Or Mr. Carlson and Fox News could work out a
separation agreement that allowed the former Fox host to get back on the air
before his contract expires. That could require him to forfeit millions of
dollars he is owed by the network.

Yet it may be in the interests of both parties to resolve the situation
amicably. Mr. Carlson would be able to build a business outside Fox. And Fox
would be spared the threat of what a disgruntled Mr. Carlson might do to drive a
wedge between his loyal followers and Fox News. Already, the ratings for Mr.
Carlson’s old 8 p.m. time slot have dropped significantly. And some of his fans
have raised the possibility of a boycott of the network.

Mr. Carlson has turned to the lawyer Bryan Freedman to help negotiate a
settlement. Mr. Freedman has handled departure deals for numerous TV stars and
is well known for his aggressive negotiation tactics.

An agreement that allows Mr. Carlson to appear on a rival news network like
Newsmax would be a considerable concession from Fox. In any agreement, Fox would
most likely insist on prohibiting Mr. Carlson from joining a cable news
competitor, said a person familiar with how negotiations with big Fox stars have
unfolded in the past.

Any number of opportunities are available to Mr. Carlson if he and Fox News
agree to terms releasing him from his contract early. Some former Fox News
hosts, such as Megyn Kelly, have taken an entrepreneurial path, starting their
own companies to produce radio shows and podcasts. Others, like the former
“O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly, have appeared on smaller networks like The
First TV, an upstart founded by Red Seat Ventures.



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News of Mr. Carlson’s breakup with Fox immediately stoked speculation in
right-wing media circles about his next steps. Mr. Carlson’s nightly perch on
Fox News has made him a power broker and an opinion-shaper in the Republican
Party. That would make him a serious get for the conservative media companies
that have pitched themselves as alternatives to the mainstream press — and to
Fox News, the right-wing media behemoth.

One associate of Mr. Carlson’s said that Rumble, a right-wing media company
based in Canada, would be a likely suitor. The Daily Wire, a media start-up
co-founded by the conservative commenter Ben Shapiro, is interested in exploring
a deal with Mr. Carlson, as are the conservative TV networks Newsmax and One
America News, according to three people familiar with their interest.

Fox News, for its part, is rotating hosts in Mr. Carlson’s old time-slot under
the “Fox News Tonight” banner for the foreseeable future. So far, hosts have
included Brian Kilmeade, who usually co-hosts the network’s popular “Fox and
Friends” morning show, and Lawrence Jones, another host at the network.

Fox News, the longtime king of cable news ratings, has suffered an audience dip
in Mr. Carlson’s hour after his abrupt departure. Fox’s audience in that time
slot on some nights fell behind both CNN’s and MSNBC’s over the last week among
adults ages 25-54, a rare loss in that demographic, which is coveted by
advertisers.

For Mr. Carlson, there’s more at stake than a paycheck, Mr. Lee said. Many TV
personalities become less relevant the longer they stay off the air, hurting
their earning potential.

“It’s not always just a question of money, because being off the air for an
extended period can have an adverse effect on a career,” Mr. Lee said.

Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting.







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