Where things stand: Democrats compare Fox to Russian TV for not showing Jan. 6 hearings live
Eusebio R. Sheffield
3 min read
Fox News couldn’t cut its star attraction.
Tucker Carlson’s show airs from 8-9 p.m. ET. The start of the January 6 committee hearing on Thursday also begins at 8 a.m. It’s no surprise the network announced yesterday that it won’t be airing at least the first live audience – Tucker has amassed a cult following, consistently coming out on top with the highest ratings of any show on the networks cable information.
The network probably doesn’t want to have to cater to a large number of religiously loyal viewers if they cut Carlson’s show to air the panel hearings — but even putting that aside, it would be surprising if it did. After all, Carlson has spent the last year spreading conspiracy theories and convincing viewers that not only was the Capitol insurgency not that bad, but also that the committee’s work is entirely illegitimate.
As a consolation prize, the network will cover ratings “as news warrants” and Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will take to Fox Business Network to cover the live ratings for the 100,000 paltry FBN viewers (compare that Fox News’ average of three million).
Part of the math to keep the hearings live in prime time was to attract as many viewers as possible as the panel tries to paint a broad and compelling narrative about the efforts of Trump and his allies to quash the 2020 elections and incite the violent attack on the Capitol – seeking to disrupt or completely halt the democratic process of certifying President Biden’s victory.
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Among the Americans that congressional investigators would like to reach are those who watch Fox News — those who don’t know much about what happened on January 6 and before, but also those to whom the network’s hosts directly lied. on the seriousness of the whole election theft scheme.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called Fox’s decision “cowardly.”
“After all the false facts that Fox News has allowed its commentators and everyone else to broadcast, they have an obligation to show the real facts by allowing their listeners to see the audience,” he said during from a press conference on Tuesday, nodding to Carlson and his three-part, fact-free documentary, “Patriot Purge,” which portrays the insurgency as an inside job of the government.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) expressed similar frustration, saying it might be easier to get straight to Russian state media than to get the truth out of Fox.
“I know CNN and the new management are looking at going more in the middle and getting a bigger audience, but Fox has the dominance of Trump supporters and Republicans,” Cohen said in an interview on CNN. . “And getting the news through Fox is harder than getting it into Russia through Russian TV.”
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