OPINION:
Fox News announced its top ranked, ratings’ star host Tucker Carlson has left the cable channel in what was initially described as an agreeable parting of the ways.
Later reports suggested Carlson may not have been so agreeable in the parting.
And then shares of Fox Corp. sank by more than 5% — by more than $690 million in values.
Fox News — the next Bud Light? When man-dressed-as-woman Dylan Mulvaney scored a sweet partnership deal with Anheuser-Busch that led to a feminized version of his face being planted right on the blue can, blue cans started turning up with bullet holes in them. Kid Rock cut a video of himself firing away at the beer can, while country star John Rich cut ties with Bud Light and pulled the brand from his Nashville bar. Yep. It was a Rednecks uprising — and it quickly led to a fake apology followed by a real leave of absence for the marketing genius, Alissa Heinerscheid, who came up with transgender beer — you know, the kind that beckons to what, barely 1% of the population. Shortly after, Heinerscheid’s boss, Daniel Blake, took a similar leave of absence from Anheuser-Busch,
Or, as Fox News might call it, both Heinerscheid and Black “have agreed to part ways.”
And now goes Tucker.
And there goes Carlson.
“Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” Fox said in a statement.
OK.
That’s bland. And utterly devoid of details.
But in the meanwhile, there’s this: “Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has lost more than $6 BILLION in market cap in just six days after Dylan Mulvaney partnership sparked backlash,” The Daily Mail wrote on April 13.
This is day one of the announced Carlson departure.
Time will tell if Fox is the new Bud Light.
But initial signs say — hmm.
“Shares of Fox Corp. sank as much as 5.4 percent Monday, the most since October, after the company said Carlson had left,” the Financial Post wrote.
Carlson was one of the only lasting steadfast sources of conservativism and maybe more importantly, critical questioning at the cable outlet, which has seen viewers in recent times wondering about the more mainstream slant that was marking most of the shows and segments. Now he’s out.
Eyes on social media.
If you start seeing videos of Fox banners being blown to bits by angry Carlson fans — well then. There’s the clue of Fox’s future.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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