AHalfway through the ongoing qualifying battle, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace are fighting for their jobs as their boss Rupert Murdoch has come into play a more practical role in the network in recent years. days, as reported by The Daily Beast to several network users.
In fact, according to six people familiar with the situation, Scott’s days on Fox News could end soon after, after tumultuous months in which ratings of the cable news conservative giant have fallen after the November election. A significant portion of the network’s conservative viewer has left Fox for Newsmax, a pro-Trump rival channel that openly ignores reports made. To make matters worse, Fox has also suffered historic rating losses for CNN and MSNBC, despite an intensely dramatic news cycle.
In response to a request for comment on the story, a Fox Corporation spokesman said: “Your premise is incorrect. It is an illusion on the part of our competitors ”. But when pressured to get a statement of support for Scott from Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch, none was released.
Scott may take the blame, insiders said, for the network’s rating problems. In addition, last month, more than a dozen current and former Fox News women – behind and in front of the camera – told The Daily Beast that the CEO has not yet been responsible for his role as a prominent facilitator. of the late founder Roger Ailes’ alleged serial sexual misconduct; and that it helped foster a misogynistic workplace culture that supposedly targeted women on staff and ignored or silenced their complaints of misconduct. The New York City Human Rights Commission also confirmed last month that it is currently investigating Fox’s corporate culture. (Prior to the publication of this Daily Beast article, Fox News tried to obtain a statement of support for Scott from Lachlan Murdoch, but it was not available even after the story was published, according to people he knew. the question).
““Rupert [Murdoch] regaining control is a sign of mismanagement so far. “”
– A member of Fox News
Rupert Murdoch, who turns 90 in March, returns to the United States after spending most of last year in the UK and reversing the decline in Fox ratings is his main concern, according to a person familiar with his thought. He had been waiting to receive the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine – which he has received in recent days – before reaching the state.
The media mogul is playing a more active role in networking decision-making with his son Lachlan. Part of her increased involvement, according to sources, included the review of Fox’s daytime programming, which was announced Monday and included the news anchor Martha MacCallum outside the 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. hour in favor of more opinion-based programming at that hour, which is obvious. try to appeal to an intense conservative base.
The Murdoch couple are said to be “disenchanted” with Scott and Wallace, with bad ratings being the main topic of conversation. “I mean Rupert was involved in the training mix, so it’s never a good sign for someone at the helm,” a current Fox member told The Daily Beast. “What’s the point of having a manager run your business if you have to run it yourself?”
“Fox News has been absent from a leader with the exception of [Fox Corporation’s Chief Legal and Policy Officer] Viet Dinh was leading the operation between the network and the White House, “another insider told The Daily Beast.” Rupert is taking over again as a sign of mismanagement so far. “
Knowing his work is underway, Scott has further remarked to a Fox executive that “he doesn’t care if they get rid of me because I now have enough money to never work again,” according to a person who has spoken she. A Fox News spokesman vehemently denied Scott making that observation.
According to several experts, it is speculated that David Rhodes, former vice president of Fox News, could replace Scott. Two people familiar with the matter said Rhodes, who has also directed Bloomberg and CBS News, is often cited as Lachlan’s best option for taking on the role of network CEO. According to a current Fox News employee, the Murdochs “really like Rhodes,” adding that they considered Scott to be “always a temporary solution.”
Rhodes has noted in private that his personal, libertarian-leaning policies are significantly more conservative than the beliefs of his brother Ben, a major aide to former President Barack Obama’s national security policy. He is currently based in London and runs a new opinion-focused TV channel for Murdochs’ News UK.
Wallace, meanwhile, has been in the hot water since Fox’s decision-making service called Arizona exactly for Joe Biden on election night, a matter of much internal dismay, often seen as a key reason for which a chunk of Trump-loyal viewers left the network for Newsmax.
Chris Stirewalt, the network’s political editor overseeing the team that made the screening, has been missing from Fox’s airwaves since mid-November. And the network has tried, in recent weeks, to push back fleeing viewers, leaning where it can, often using news broadcasts to amplify Trump experts in charge of Fox hosts and commentators.
The aforementioned remodeling of the network line is also an attempt to attract an audience more interested in the warriors ’criminals of right-wing culture than in the actual news. Beyond moving MacCallum to a less-watched daytime space to make room for more evening programming, Fox moved news presenters Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer from their solo hosted programs and to a rebooted version of the show of late morning. America’s Newsroom.
“This powerful new training ensures that FOX News Media will continue to offer exceptional coverage to our viewers who depend on the most reliable names in the business,” Scott said in the network’s press release.
MacCallum, in particular, has been seen as the face of Fox’s rankings struggles, especially after his impressive Dec. 9 loss in the key demographic rankings of Newsmax host Greg Kelly, an unshakably pro personality. Trump’s television.
After election day and through mid-December, MacCallum saw its ratings drop by 44% compared to pre-election, while Kelly’s program at the same time experienced an astronomical 486% increase.
“From Roger [Ailes’] march, the network has had no real leadership or organizational principle, and it is noticeable, “Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
But the MacCallum program was not the only Fox program to suffer a marked decline in ratings after the election. In fact, every hour of the week they experienced double-digit declines from the election until mid-December. The precipitous drop was also staggering as it ended 2020 which made the network once again end up as the most watched basic cable network while setting a cable news viewing record.
And the new year hasn’t brought positive news to Fox News either. Adding insult to injury, Newsmax again won the net in face-to-face rankings on Tuesday, this time beating Fox in key demographics (25-54 year olds) for two different hours.
And after the Capitol’s deadly insurrectionary revolt – instigated by the network’s most loyal viewer, President Donald Trump himself – Fox News has been truncated in ratings by both CNN and MSNBC, marking the first time that Fox has finished third in all parts of the day on these networks since September 2000.
In fact, since Dec. 28, despite the historic news cycle, the total number of Fox News viewers has dropped 15 percent compared to a year ago, according to Nielsen data. In comparison, CNN is up a staggering 150 percent and MSNBC has increased its audience by 89 percent over the previous year.
“They’re reaping the whirlwind of having hooked their audience into the heroin of outrage so that as soon as someone arrives and is more outraged, these addicts will move there,” said Jon Klein, former president of CNN / US and current president of TAPP Media told The Daily Beast.
“They don’t care where they get the solution from,” he added. “So whoever ends up directing Fox News will have to fight this puzzle.”
–Diana Falzone she was a digital and camera reporter for FoxNews.com from 2012 to 2018. In May 2017 she filed a lawsuit against the network for gender discrimination and disability and established and left the company in March 2018.