How losing viewers to other right-wing outlets might force Fox News to feature less Trumpian reporting

20 November 2020

The future of Murdoch's Fox News hangs in the balance as Trump's chances fade -- and viewers revolt

President Donald Trump has been furious with Fox News, slamming the right-wing cable news outlet for calling Arizona for Joe Biden on Election Night and urging his supporters to watch Newsmax TV or One America News instead. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, a Never Trump conservative who supported President-elect Joe Biden, discussed the evolution of Fox News during a Friday, November 20 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." And as Steele sees it, losing viewers to other right-wing outlets might force Fox News to feature more "center-right" reporting and less commentary from the extreme right.

On November 19, Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, held a press conference in which he reiterated nonsense claims that the election was stolen from Trump and that former Vice President Biden isn't really the United States' president-elect — and some of the most aggressive debunking of Giuliani's claims came from a Fox News reporter: Kristin Fisher. According to Steele, that type of fact-based reporting from Fisher or Chris Wallace shows that Fox News is "looking at the bottom line" and the need to "fill that gap" if many Trump supporters are turning to other right-wing outlets.

Those outlets, Steele told "Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, could range from Newsmax TV to a media company that Trump might start after he leaves the White House. And the former RNC chairman said he expects to see more "center-right" reporting at Fox News, which he predicted will still have a conservative slant but be less Trumpian.

There were signs of trouble in paradise when Fox News' Rupert Murdoch predicted that Biden would win the election. But when Fox News' decision desk called Arizona for Biden, Trump's campaign was especially angry and demanded a retraction. Nonetheless, Fox News stuck by its reporting.

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