Ep. 98: Tucker Carlson and the Death of Cable News

In this solo episode, Eric gives his take on Larry Elder's decision to enter the 2024 presidential race, as well as why he thinks conventional political "scandals" simply don't matter anymore. For the main topic, he talks about Tucker Carlson's departure from Fox News, and how his show's transition to a Twitter exclusive could very well mark the symbolic death of traditional cable TV news.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro: Larry Elder running for President?
16:19 - Do political scandals even matter anymore?
29:41 - Main Topic: Tucker Carlson and the Death of Cable News

SHOWNOTES

Larry Elder announces his candidacy for president on one of the last episodes of Tucker Carlson’s show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1HRrI3mnas 

Larry Elder previously attacked President Trump and defended Ron DeSantis (timestamp 1:28:44): https://rumble.com/v1ufq3a-jennifer-horn-live-did-a-silent-civil-war-cost-the-gop-the-senate-majority.html

Eric’s article at American Greatness on how conventional “scandals” simply don’t matter in American politics anymore: https://amgreatness.com/2023/05/06/beyond-scandal/ 

One of the first reports on Tucker’s firing, from Disclose TV: https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1650523028915200000

Don Lemon announces his own “firing:” https://twitter.com/donlemon/status/1650533617636966400 

CNN’s official PR account tweets that Lemon’s version of events is false: https://twitter.com/cnnpr/status/1650545115897769985

Both Tucker and Lemon have hired the same lawyer in preparation for lawsuits against their former employers: https://people.com/politics/tucker-carlson-don-lemon-hire-same-lawyer-who-represented-chris-cuomo-and-megyn-kelly-after-their-firings/ 

Tucker’s departure results in a massive drop in Fox Nation subscribers: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/25/angry-fox-nation-subscribers-follow-tucker-carlson-out-the-door/ 

Tucker’s exit results in a massive ratings drop for all other Fox News shows: https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2023/05/03/fox-news-ratings-drop-tucker-carlson-departure/

Tucker’s first post-firing Twitter video got more views than his old Fox News show: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12020745/More-people-watched-Tuckers-Twitter-video-hour-watched-old-time-slot-8pm.html 

Tucker announces that his show will continue as a Twitter exclusive: https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1656037032538390530 

Excellent thread by John Doyle on the immediate future of right-wing cable TV news: https://twitter.com/comradedoyie/status/1650579169514774594