Carlson and Lemon firings: A positive change

BETTING À DAY

News of the two dismissals on Monday came like a thunderclap. If the notoriety of Don Lemon is not comparable to that of Tucker Carlson, the fact remains that the departure of the two men could constitute the beginning of a new era . 

Carlson has pushed things too far

A few hours after the announcement of Carlson's departure, we could already measure the impact of his departure on the value of the Fox News stock. 

A drop of $5 compared to the price at the close of trading last Friday. The cost of separation is very high, around 690 million dollars.

If light has not been shed on all the reasons for this sudden break, it is safe to say that the links between the star and Rupert Murdoch were broken. 

That the lies of Carlson cost a fortune is one thing, but that leaking the contents of his text messages revealed what he thinks of Fox News executives is another.

It is also claimed that Carlson's name appears in two lawsuits filed by the former producer of his show. Abby Grossberg recently revealed that the host put her through real hell, denouncing misogynistic practices and a discriminatory work environment. 

Carlson's departure is good news for the treatment of the information. Propagandist, conspirator, exploiting his popularity with the extreme right, this talented communicator shamelessly exploited a dangerous vein.

•  Listen to Luc's column Laliberté at the microphone of Yasmine Abdelfadel, available as a podcast on QUB radio:  

Many now imagine him as a candidate for the 2024 presidency, alone or in the company of Donald Trump. Otherwise, we guess that Newsmax and AON would welcome it, the two networks dreaming of chipping away at Fox News' market share with a very conservative audience.

Don Lemon didn't didn't understand the message

As long as we step back in time, we take the full measure of Don Lemon's dizzying fall. At the start of the pandemic, he and Chris Cuomo led the way, sharing the best hours of the grid in the evening.

Cuomo got trapped due to more than questionable ethics, while Lemon never took the turn of the new direction.

Singled out due to coverage deemed partisan and centered on opinion, the network turned in May 2022 to Chris Licht to make a major shift.

The latter carried out a significant reshuffling of the workforce. The new boss is not laughing and he now wants more factual coverage of the news.

Too committed, polarizing, Lemon first lost his evening show before joining the morning show crew. The transplant failed, and Lemon stumbled a few times.

I suddenly find myself hoping that the fate of the two hosts marks the beginning of deeper changes in American media. Opinion and provocation are profitable, but we may go less to extremes.