Nobody is indispensable to Rupert Murdoch

There are some useful nuggets in this story about Father Coughlin’s defenestration from Fox News. I enjoyed this bit about how Tucker, a completely in-the-tank Trump hack and election denialist, wanted credit for stray private comments about other election denialists who were making everybody look bad:

Mr. Carlson was livid that Fox News didn’t do more to protect him from the negative press coverage around the Dominion case that he was expected to testify in, given that the primary actors responsible for the false election-fraud claims at the heart of the suit were other Fox hosts and commentators, according to people familiar with the matter.

In the messages released in the legal proceedings, Mr. Carlson voiced skepticism about Sidney Powell, the primary purveyor of the conspiracy theory that Dominion’s technology helped steal the election from Mr. Trump. Given that, Mr. Carlson felt the narrative in press coverage should have been different, and let Fox executives know of his displeasure, the people said.

The Dominion court filings are filled with examples of him disparaging colleagues, from calling for the firing of Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich for fact-checking Mr. Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election to complaining about the network’s news coverage, including the decision to call Arizona for Mr. Biden on election night.

[…]

Besides his nightly presence on Fox News, Mr. Carlson was also prominent on Fox Nation, the news channel’s direct-to-streaming service, on which his content was essentially an unplugged version of his daily show. In November, he aired a three-part special called “Patriot Purge” that inaccurately suggested the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol was a plot of extreme left-wing groups and that even the FBI played a part.

That program set the stage for a March broadcast on his Fox News show, suggesting—using video provided to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.)—that the attack wasn’t nearly as violent as the media had suggested. It was heavily criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

A true man of principle, with the principle being “conspiracy theorists who are opponents of Trump peacefully transferring power should sound marginally less stupid than Sidney Powell.”

The other question about Tucker being fired in large measure for his misogyny and horrible treatment of staff is…why now, given that this is what he’s always been. And I think this is the answer:

While Mr. Carlson’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was popular, it was also repellent to blue-chip advertisers. Top-tier marketers tend to steer clear of content they deem too controversial, and the show was sometimes the target of advertiser boycotts. As advertisers have fled prime time, some have shifted to airing commercials on Fox at other times.

Mr. Carlson’s show has filled the void mostly with ads from direct-response advertisers and MyPillow Inc. The pillow manufacturer’s commercials star CEO Mike Lindell, who has also appeared as a guest on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and was one of the most prominent people spreading the false election-fraud narrative. Direct-response advertisers typically are smaller businesses whose ads encourage people to take actions such as calling a toll-free number.

The lack of advertiser demand meant the commercials in many cases weren’t being sold at a premium or at a rate commensurate with its audience size, which meant it wasn’t providing a financial windfall to the network, people familiar with the network’s operations said.

As of late, Mr. Carlson’s ratings popularity on the network were surpassed by the afternoon panel show “The Five.”

Tucker’s constant racism means that his ratings translate into less money for Fox than otherwise would be the case. And as Paul observed, when he came to Fox he was a replacement-level commentator who had been fired by everyone else after very heavily-promoted programs failed. He’s now getting lower ratings than a low-budget afternoon panel show staffed with randos who can serve angry grandpas their red meat without alienating major advertisers. He didn’t have the leverage to treat the Murdochs as if he was indispensable, and that’s what happened. Fox will be able to find some other hack who will work cheaper, and may well come out financially ahead on the deal. I wouldn’t say it’s strictly business, but that it wouldn’t hurt the business made it possible.