Former Fox News correspondent and current Sirius XM podcast star Megyn Kelly has accused Fox News administrators of leaking information to liberal news outlets to smear Tucker Carlson.
Network executives fired the former No. 1 Fox News host on April 23 — Kelly charges that Network leaders want to sideline and silence Carlson through the coming 2024 election cycle.
Kelly also suggested the smear campaign was designed to discredit Carlson after it was disclosed his private text and email messages included unflattering comments about network executives.
On Thursday, the Epoch Times reported that a Fox News executive revealed that “ad sales” were a “key reason for Tucker Carlson’s sudden departure.”
Jeff Collins, vice president for advertising sales for Fox News, told Variety magazine that large corporate advertisers were avoiding Tucker’s prime time slot and that several corporations have returned to Fox since Carlson’s departure.
“We have had over 40 new advertisers come into the hour since we launched the new program [to replace Tucker],” Collins said. This includes “some of the largest in the country and, really, across all major categories.
Collins added: “We have seen new advertisers come in, and new demand.”
The return of large corporate advertisers includes Procter & Gamble, Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and Scotts Lawn Care.
Fox executive Marianne Gambelli states that the network plans to lure many advertisers back. “That’s our intent,” Gambelli said.
In 2019, The Hollywood Reporter claimed notable advertisers were refusing to advertise on Carlson’s show due to his conservative views and comments. A 2020 New York Times article agreed, claiming the Walt Disney Company, Sandals, T-Mobile, NordicTrack and others were boycotting Carlson’s time slot.
In 2020, Kara Alaimo, a public relations expert at Hofstra University, told the New York Times: “[Carlson’s] show has almost no big-name advertisers left right now.”
Though the conjecture is interesting, neither Fox News nor Tucker Carlson have disclosed specific details about the abrupt parting of ways.
On the day Carlson was dismissed, Fox News simply stated that Carlson would be departing the network and thanked him for his time at the company.
On Tuesday, Carlson said he would be bringing his show to Twitter. His announcement has garnered more than 120 million impressions in two days.
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