Reaching a settlement with Dominion saved Fox Information from the embarrassment of Rupert Murdoch having to take the stand to confess that he knew his applications had been spreading lies about election fraud. It additionally signifies that Tucker Carlson doesn’t get grilled over texts expressing his hatred for Trump. The settlement doesn’t even require that Fox ship any sort of on-screen apology to its viewers, or the nation, for his or her function in selling Trump’s “massive lie.”
And that assertion—the one which boils all the way down to “we’re not saying we lied, simply that the court docket discovered some issues we mentioned to be false”—is correct up there with a serial racist who steps on stage to declare that he’s sorry if somebody discovered his phrases offensive. It’s not an apology. It’s not even an request for forgiveness.
In line with the Media Issues report, not one hair on the pale heads of Fox Information viewers has been disturbed by any of the broadcaster’s dealings with Dominion. As revealed by one in every of their PR emails:
Fox Information Channel’s viewership has not been impacted by the Dominion case, based on information from Nielsen Media Analysis. I’ve been eyeballing Fox’s day by day rankings ever since Dominion began to launch embarrassing texts and emails from the community’s largest stars, and the rankings haven’t wobbled one bit.
With their viewership intact and the Dominion case within the rearview, Fox goes to cable and satellite tv for pc suppliers not a lot hat in hand as hammer on the prepared, demanding a stiff improve in subscription charges—one which exceeds previous trade ranges. In an ongoing spherical of negotiations, Fox is demanding that they get greater than $3 per subscriber from suppliers. That’s $3 not only for each one who tunes in to look at Carlson rant, however everybody on the service, whether or not they watch a minute of Fox Information or not.
These subscription charges are precisely why Fox has been capable of hold raking in money at the same time as name-brand advertisers have fled reveals like Carlson’s nightly conspiracy fest. In reality, as reported at MSNB, Fox doesn’t actually need advertisers so long as it could faucet the financial institution accounts of everybody who watches tv on cable or satellite tv for pc.
The soiled secret about Fox Information is that it is among the solely industrial TV channels that doesn’t want a single commercial to be worthwhile, if not the one one. In reality, Fox might have zero {dollars} in advert income and nonetheless have at the least a 35% revenue margin. That is the results of carriage charges and the assured income they supply Fox.
Within the subsequent 12 months, 70% of Fox Information’ contracts with suppliers are up for renegotiation, and so they’re taking this chance to press for will increase that can dwarf the Dominion settlement.
However wait! That’s not the one means Fox Information is attempting to make the settlement meaningless. Everybody will get the possibility to chip in to assist pay Carlson’s wage and for Rupert’s newest jet as a result of, as The Lever reviews, Fox is planning to jot down the entire thing off on its taxes.
… federal legislation permits taxpayers to jot down off many authorized prices, offering that they’re “extraordinary and vital” enterprise bills. The IRS has repeatedly affirmed that for main companies, paying out settlements is simply a part of the price of doing enterprise.
Which means that Fox might flip their settlement with Dominion into as a lot as a $213 million tax break.
No apology. No request for forgiveness. Payments lined by individuals who don’t watch Fox. Huge tax break.
Yeah. That’ll train ‘em. Fox Information won’t ever do this once more.
