Tucker Carlson Out at Fox News

Tucker Carlson and Fox News (Right bias) "agreed to part ways," the major conservative news network said in a statement Monday morning.

Key Quote: The statement said: "FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor. Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named."

Surprise Decision?: An anonymous source told Vanity Fair (Lean Left bias) that Carlson was not aware he would be fired until Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott called him Monday morning; if true, this could dispute Fox's claim that Carlson had "agreed" to part ways. Scott reportedly refused to give Carlson a reason for the decision.

For Context: The news came less than a week after Fox News parent company Fox Corp agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems. Carlson’s statements had been featured in the lawsuit, but it was unclear whether this had any impact on his parting ways with Fox News. 

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was widespread in news outlets across the spectrum Monday morning, including at Fox News. Coverage differed sharply in its descriptions of Carlson. CNN Business (Lean Left bias) called him a "right-wing extremist," HuffPost (Left bias) said he was "known for his strident racism, misogyny and xenophobia," NBC News (Lean Left bias) called him a "firebrand anchor," New York Post (Lean Right bias) called him a "popular primetime anchor," The Daily Wire (Right bias) called him "Fox News Channel's biggest prime time star," and National Review (Right bias) called him a "top-performing host."

Update 4/24/23 1:10 ET: Previous version incorrectly said $787.5 billion instead of $787.5 million.