As Carlson and Lemon Exit, a Chapter Closes on Cable’s Trump War

NYT TECHNOLOGY: As Carlson and Lemon Exit, a Chapter Closes on Cable’s Trump War
By Jim Rutenberg
Section: Technology
Source: New York Times
Published Date: April 25, 2023 at 03:00AM

The two hosts took very different approaches, but the decisions by Fox News and CNN to shed the stars mark at least a temporary shift in the excesses of Trump-era coverage.

They were on very different networks and did very different things to draw very different ratings.

But the synchronous exits of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon from the cable news landscape on Monday represented the end of an era for their industry — the most combative and partisan since Ted Turner introduced the concept of 24-hour news to television more than 40 years ago.

No equivalence can be drawn between the two hosts. Mr. Carlson often led in the ratings by running wild at Fox News with white nationalist and false conspiracy stories that put him in a class by himself. Mr. Lemon became known for his anti-Trump broadsides that were tame in comparison — and drew much smaller ratings — yet could come off as plenty hot by the standards of CNN.

But in their most recent incarnations, Mr. Carlson and Mr. Lemon were both products of the Trump years — set-top-box combatants who often made headlines themselves by giving their audiences generous helpings of indignation and outrage.

Now, in different ways, their ousters represent at least a temporary pulling back from the excesses of the media coverage that the Trump election, presidency and post-presidency spawned.

Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/technology/tucker-carlson-don-lemon.html