Boy, oh boy, Rush Limbaugh was a riot! He really knew how to turn those frowns upside down. Don’t worry about those accusations that he gave “marching orders” to “mind-numbed robots.” He just listened to his audience and spouted off their views to get those sweet, sweet ratings. “This is a business!” he said. And boy was he right!
Speaking of businesses, Fox News is another one that knows how to cater to its audience. They brought Limbaugh’s right-wing, populist shtick to TV and they are now hoping to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over their election coverage. The trial was postponed by 24 hours and is set to begin on April 18th. If it goes ahead, we can expect a verdict in five to six weeks. Good luck to those involved!
This lawsuit has let the cat out of the bag over at Fox News. It turns out that they just tell their viewers what they want to hear and what their competitors are up to. And don’t get us started on their love-hate relationship with Donald Trump. On election night, Fox was the first to call Arizona for Joe Biden, infuriating Trump. Fox reporters rightfully challenged Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, and next thing you know, viewers were switching channels faster than you can say “alternative facts.” As the network’s boss put it, they had to “plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.”
Enter Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s crackpot lawyers who came on Fox and spouted some truly insane claims about Dominion. The folks at Fox knew they were full of it, but the audience just lapped it up. Ratings, baby! The court filings show just how quickly the network tried to appease their Trumpy fans and push off rivals like Newsmax. And to think, at least a couple of bigwigs at Fox can’t stand the guy. Ruh-roh!
But when Trump needs a little love, Fox is there to rally behind him. They can’t move until their audience moves, as one historian of conservative media rightly notes. And don’t think Fox isn’t above trying to mold the audience a bit too. Instead of granting Trump an interview, they tried to push Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, on their viewers.
So, there you have it, folks. Tune in to Fox News to hear what you want to hear and what they want you to hear. And if you want some good laughs, just read the court filings from Dominion v Fox. It’s almost as funny as Limbaugh himself. Almost.
Serious News: economist