Breaking: Tucker Carlson's Permanent Replacement Revealed - But That's Not All
Fox News was always headed for a tumultuous shake-up after the unceremonious ouster of beloved host Tucker Carlson.
Now, it appears that the shake-up won’t just involve who replaces Carlson in the critical prime-time block of programming — it also involves shake-ups across the network as well.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Fox News has tapped funnyman and “The Five” co-host Jesse Watters to replace Carlson in the all-important 8 p.m. ET time slot.
And unlike the cast of revolving hosts that Fox had been implementing prior, Watters’ appointment appears to be a permanent one.
Watters, who also hosts the popular “Jesse Watters Primetime,” has long been seen as a rising star at the suddenly beleaguered news network.
His sharp wit has differentiated him (in largely positive ways) from the hoi polloi of cable news.
And now it appears that wit and popularity have lent themselves to something of a promotion for Watters.
For many media observers, it will be fascinating to see if Watters’ general popularity can come close to offsetting the precipitous viewership decline that came with Carlson’s firing.
For traditional Fox News viewers, however, it remains to be seen if Watters is the salve that the network so desperately needs.
Perhaps acknowledging the fact that Carlson’s departure would not be a simple fix, Watter’s promotion isn’t the only change coming to Fox News’ vaunted primetime block, according to the Journal.
Conservative firebrand Laura Ingraham, who hosts “The Ingraham Angle,” will be shifting to an earlier timeslot.
Ingraham’s talk show will now be on at 7 p.m. ET., the report said.
Additionally, late-night host Greg Gutfeld, another Fox News host who uses his wit and humor to great effect, will be moving up an hour as well.
Gutfeld’s show will now air at 10 p.m. ET, the Journal reported.
Earlier this month, Fox News also announced sweeping changes to its weekend lineup as the network continued its reorganization post-Carlson.
Those weekend changes included finding replacements for Dan Bongino (who left the network due to scheduling issues) and Steve Hilton (who left the network to focus on politics).
For Fox News, it remains to be seen if all of these changes will correct a largely downward trend for the network.
Apart from the raw viewership loss that came with Carlson’s departure, Fox News has also found itself in the eye of the cultural hurricane as of late.
Fox News has come under intense scrutiny, particularly from conservatives, as revelation after revelation showed the ostensibly conservative news network fully complying with and supporting far-left LGBT causes.
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