More than 4,000 Christian broadcasters are in Orlando this week attending the 79th annual National Religious Broadcasters conference. Among those in attendance are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, evangelist Franklin Graham, and authors like FOX News personality Raymond Arroyo (above, left) being interviewed by Salem Radio Network news correspondent Lori Tradup (right.)
FOX News Channel’s firing of Tucker Carlson was the most-talked-about story in news/talk media this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s spending cuts in exchange for expanding the U.S. debt ceiling deal, followed by the legal battles facing former President Donald Trump at #3. The Talkers TenTMis a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed in news/talk media during the week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s complete chart here.
President Joe Biden declares candidacy in ’24 and the related questions about his age; the aftermath of the firing of FOX News’ Tucker Carlson and CNN’s Don Lemon; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s strategy to tie $4 trillion in spending cuts to raising the debt ceiling; criticism of the Biden administration’s FHFA mortgage subsidization plan; the legal battles facing former President Donald Trump; Montana transgender state rep faces expulsion; and actor-singer-activist Harry Belafonte dies at 96 were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
The news/talk media industry spent Monday afternoon digesting the one-two punch that FOX News and Tucker Carlson had parted ways and that CNN had fired longtime anchor and host Don Lemon. While
conservatives were likely to cheer the news of Lemon’s dismissal, the Carlson departure was far more nuanced as it came a week after FOX agreed to a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems and after discovery in the case revealed 
texts that offered a behind-the-scenes look at FOX News personalities’ frank opinions about the 2020 election, January 6, and their co-workers and bosses. The breaking news even prompted the vacationing Mike Gallagher to find a studio in London from which to do a special edition of his Salem Radio Network program today (4/25). Salem VP/news & talk programming Tom Tradup says, “Mike Gallagher’s programming instincts are second to none. Despite being on vacation overseas, he recognized the importance of the Tucker Carlson departure and insisted on parachuting back into his talk show to give listeners the chance to sound off of what likely will be one of the biggest political stories on 2023.”
FOX News Channel’s Tucker Carlson and CNN’s Don Lemon exit their roles with their respective media organizations; the 2024 presidential race and Joe Biden’s official announcement he’s running for reelection; former President Donald Trump’s legal battles; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ battle against Disney; North Dakota passes law banning almost all abortions; the violence in Sudan and the exit of diplomatic personnel; and the trial of Proud Boys leaders for seditious conspiracy relative to January 6 were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media this week, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
As reported by the AP, FOX News and talk media personality Dan Bongino have parted ways. Bongino’s relationship with FOX News goes back almost 10 years. The former cop and Secret Service agent has been a
commentator on FOX and has hosted the Saturday night show “Unfiltered” since 2021, as well as the “Canceled in the USA” program on FOX Nation. Bongino said on his radio show and podcast that they just couldn’t agree on a new deal. “It’s not some big conspiracy. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t like some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension.” The report indicates Bongino may even make guest appearances on FOX in the future. Read the full story here.
The settlement of the defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against FOX News was the most-talked-about story in news/talk media this week, landing atop the Talkers TenTM. At #2 this week was the Supreme Court’s hearing of arguments in the mifepristone abortion drug lower court ruling, followed by the various legal battles facing former President Donald Trump at #3. The Talkers TenTM is a weekly chart of the top stories and people discussed in news/talk media this week and is the result of ongoing research from TALKERS magazine. It is published every Friday at Talkers.com. See this week’s complete chart here.
The Supreme Court pauses recent court rulings stopping the sale of the abortion drug mifepristone while it considers the case; the Democrats’ Dianne Feinstein problem; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis battle against Disney and criticism of the move by fellow Republicans; the aftermath of the FOX News-Dominion settlement; the shootings of people approaching the wrong house or car and the controversy over self-defense laws; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s strategy in dealing with the debt ceiling; an IRS agent requests whistleblower protection in connection with the Hunter Biden investigation; China’s saber-rattling and its designs on Taiwan; and the Russia-Ukraine war and Russia’s efforts to keep Ukraine out of NATO were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
FOX News and Dominion reach at $787.5 million settlement in the 2020 election defamation case; the Supreme Court to review the 5th Circuit Court’s ruling ordering the FDA to reverse its approval of the abortion drug mifepristone; the Kansas City and Upstate New York cases of homeowners shooting strangers on their property; the legal battle between House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan and Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg over the prosecution of former President Donald Trump; Ron DeSantis versus Disney; the controversy over AI and concerns that it could spin out of control; and Republicans stop Democrats’ efforts to replace Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
The House Judiciary Committee’s field hearing in New York City to address crime attributed to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution policies; after a one-day delay, the Dominion vs FOX News defamation trial begins today in Delaware; the FBI arrests two men charged with operating an “undeclared police station” in New York’s Chinatown and conspiring with the Chinese government to silence dissidents in the U.S.; the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl by 84-year-old Andrew Lester in Kansas City and the protests that stemmed from it; 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis is killed by un upstate New York man after the car she was riding in turned into his driveway; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s plan to tie raising the debt ceiling to tax cuts; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ ongoing battle with Disney over the company’s control of the special tax district; and WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich makes an appearance in a Russian court after being arrested and charged with espionage were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
By Holland Cooke
Consultant
In Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit, testimony and internal communications demonstrate that FOX News management and talent privately doubted election fraud claims they were broadcasting. Tucker Carlson messaged Laura Ingraham: “Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane.”
Several FOX News Radio affiliates have asked what impact these disclosures have on station credibility.
My advice: Your affiliation remains a franchise.
— 21% percent of FOX News viewers do say they trust the network less following the release of evidence in the Dominion case, per Maru Group poll commissioned by Variety. This is notable because FOX is not reporting the story, citing that it is the defendant; and because few minds change, generally, in divided America. We choose to believe what we choose to believe, and FOX simply got caught pandering.
— Trump loyalists are especially dug-in. His legal problems galvanize supporters’ view that he’s persecuted. At CPAC he proclaimed, “I am your retribution.”
— Affiliates: The FOX brand is your asset. To my ear, FOX Radio on-hour/half-hour newscasts report the same facts as ABC or CBS Radio newscasts. I haven’t tested this, but I’d bet a Martini at the Palm that reading transcripts – side-by-side with ABC or CBS Radio copy – the target demo’ couldn’t tell which-is-whose. But listener complaints – rooted in distrust that ABC and CBS are the proverbial “Mainstream Media” – caused several of my client stations to switch to FOX. Reaction was positive.
— Think car radio and assure listeners that they can “get a quick FOX News update” on-hour/half-hour “throughout your busy day.” “Because news that matters to you is changing fast,” listeners will want to “stay close to the news.”
— Bottom line: Unless the financial consequence of these legal actions drives FOX News out of business, hang in there.
Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author “Spot-On: Commercial Copy Points That Earned The Benjamins,” a FREE download; and the E-book and FREE on-air radio features “Inflation Hacks: Save Those Benjamins;” and “Multiply Your Podcast Subscribers, Without Buying Clicks,” available from Talkers books. Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke
The legal team representing the former Arizona couple Ray and Robyn Epps sent a cease-and-desist letter to FOX News and FOX News Channel personality Tucker Carlson, demanding they “stop making up lies about Ray Epps and that they offer an on-air retraction.” Ray Epps (a now former supporter of Donald Trump) was at the Capitol on January 6 has been a focal point of Carlson’s January 6 show content in which Carlson has labeled Epps an undercover federal agent and a provocateur of the riots. Epps’ attorney Michael Teter says,
“For years, Tucker Carlson and FOX News have targeted Ray Epps with malicious lies about his involvement in the events of January 6th. FOX News has chosen to promote fantasy over fact, exposing Ray and Robyn Epps to harassment, intimidation, and abuse. It is clear that Mr. Carlson and FOX News are uninterested in speaking the truth to their viewers… Recent revelations from the Dominion Voting lawsuit make clear that FOX News has zero qualms about lying to its viewers. The fictional story that Mr. Carlson and FOX News have told, and continue to tell, about Ray Epps is just one more example of this. It is time for Mr. Carlson and Fox News to stop the lies and to make amends.” The Epps are demanding “that Mr. Carlson and FOX News retract the claim that Mr. Epps was working for the FBI or any governmental entity when he attended the January 6th events and the claim that Mr. Epps acted as an instigator or provocateur of the insurrection. We expect that you will give the same airtime in retracting these falsehoods as you spent amplifying them. Further, Mr. Carlson and FOX News must issue a formal on-air apology for the lies you have spread about Mr. Epps.” The Epps’ are also providing notice of potential litigation regarding what they call FOX’s “defamatory conduct.”
FOX News host Tucker Carlson’s airing January 6 video attempting to prove what happened at the Capitol was “mostly peaceful”; a House committee begins hearings in which it suggests an investigation into the lab leak theory of COVID-19’s origins should be investigated; U.S.-China relations as China accuses the U.S. of trying to “encircle and suppress” China’s progress; Russia’s intensifying fighting to take the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut; President Joe Biden’s plan to present his budget proposal including tax hikes that would cut the federal deficit by $3 trillion; two Americans are killed in Mexico traveling for a medical procedure; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is hospitalized after falling; and Central and Northern California prepare for another powerful snow and rain storm were some of the most-talked-about stories on news/talk radio yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC; the race for the GOP nomination in ’24; U.S.-China relations and warnings from the West that China should not assist Russia in its invasion of Ukraine; President Joe Biden visits Selma, Alabama and promotes voting rights legislation; a second Norfolk Southern train derailment happens this time in Springfield, Ohio; Russia’s battle to take control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut; the U.S. Energy Department’s conclusion that COVID-19 was the result of a Chinese lab leak; the testimony from FOX News executives and personalities in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit; and Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington dies were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media over the weekend, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
By Michael Harrison
Publisher
TALKERS
The embarrassing situation and accompanying financial vulnerability being faced by our colleagues at FOX News is a high-profile example of the consequences of audience “targeting” that has become the common positioning strategy in today’s competitive media marketplace. The process is simple: You give the specifically targeted audience what it wants, not necessarily what it needs, even if what it wants is of dubious quality or unhealthy and – in the case of political talk media – untrue. It is a problematic, unsavory practice that has been brewing in our industry for years and, in the case of FOX, the proverbial toxicity has just hit the fan.
However, those in both the talk and print media, who are sanctimoniously gloating over FOX’s self-imposed misfortune, had better take a real hard look at themselves in the mirror. The strategy of serving up red meat to highly defined core audiences is practiced almost religiously by both the left and the right (not to mention purveyors of sports talk, specialty subjects and even music) – and the tolerance for talent deviation from this course by management has dwindled to almost zero. Today’s overworked and fear-driven managers have no stomach for audience complaints or ratings dips resulting from hosts saying things that do not resonate with the almighty “core.”
Smart programmers over the decades (and I’ve known some) understand that doggedly super-serving the low-hanging fruit of the core eventually yields diminishing returns. You wind up with a happier-but-shrinking audience of increasingly off-kilter zealots who eventually viciously turn on you when you stop feeding them the red meat they crave in what I call the daily dance of affirmation. It is that philosophical gray area between flat out lying or simply being wrong. What it comes down to is this inconvenient truth: programming for ratings, sponsorship support and audience approval isn’t simple.
Heaven help the progressive host who finds fault with Saint Biden or the conservative host who goes against the insidiously pervasive Trump factor. Or the sports talk show host who complains about the downside of betting. Or the music jock who actually engages in music criticism. This is the industry’s elephant in the room.
It’s time to acknowledge the beast.
Michael Harrison is the publisher of TALKERS. He can be reached by email at michael@talkers.com.
The U.S. Energy Department’s conclusion that the cause of COVID was likely a lab leak and renewed speculation the Chinese government knew about it; Ron DeSantis’ takeover of the Disney district; the Supreme Court hears arguments over President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program; the intensifying fighting in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s issuing January 6 footage to FOX News Channel’s Tucker Carlson; the legal battles facing former President Donald Trump; the aftermath of the toxic train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio; the record snowfall in California and the tornadoes that swept through Oklahoma; the released testimony from the Dominion-FOX News lawsuit; and this week’s CPAC taking place in Maryland were some of the most-talked-about stories in news/talk media yesterday, according to ongoing research from TALKERS magazine.
