Posted on 05/04/2023 11:01:18 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
The former president and Republican primary frontrunner recently floated the idea of skipping the forums moderated by Fox News after the “hostile” network failed to seek his advice on the issue. According to the Washington Post, Carlson has spoken with Trump about displacing Fox News as the hosting moderator to “take a jab at his former employer”:
Carlson and his team have discussed the possibility of moderating a candidate forum outside of the traditional protocols surrounding the GOP primary debate system, according to two people familiar with the considerations. These people said the setup — as well as Carlson’s availability to take on that kind of role, given the noncompete constraints of his contract with Fox — remain unclear. But Carlson has personally expressed enthusiasm about the idea, according to people familiar with his comments. At least one major candidate — Trump — has told Carlson he’s interested, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
The former Fox host’s interest in a debate is said to stem in part from its potential to loosen the Republican National Committee’s grip on the process, as well as to challenge the role traditionally played by the major television networks. “He could go straight to the candidates, stream it live, invite the networks but maintain control over the process,” said one person familiar with the discussions.
Tucker and Trump are already trying to hatch a plan to hold an alternate candidate forum for Republicans for 2024… scoop with @isaacstanbecker and @jeremymbarr https://t.co/kicfpYvb0K
— Sarah Ellison (@sarahellison) May 4, 2023
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Carlson’s interest in hosting the candidate forums coincides with reports that he is taking calls from networks interested in employing his services. Those networks include Trinity Broadcast Network, One America News Network, and Newsmax. “A stronger pitch has come from Newsmax, the conservative media company that has seen a prime-time ratings surge this past week at the same time Fox was losing viewers from Carlson’s old time slot,” the Post reported.
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy told the paper he would be open to “rebranding Newsmax under Tucker’s name,” an idea that has reportedly peaked Carlson’s interest.
I’m pretty sure that the GOP will insist that a Democrat moderate the Republican debates.
Oh please, please, please make this happen!
Actual journalist with a command of facts and logic questioning candidates! Wouldn’t that be refreshing!
bttt
Newsmax should join forces with Tucker and Elon Musk and start TwitterTV. Besides their current distribution platforms, they would have Starlink to distribute content worldwide. Starlink is now being distributed via Home Depot.
Using Tuckers name is short sighted as Musk has a platform to distribute content internationally in numerous languages.
Sounds excellent, however, how will Tucker bypass the issue of still being "employed" contractually by foxSnooze? My understanding is the 'Snooze didn't actually cancel the contract, still paying the $20M/year, just cancelled his show, thus in theory preventing Tucker from doing much...
What about his First Amendment rights?
This would be outside the control of the GOP. That’s the beauty of it.
If Tucker can pull this off, it is a major step to ended corporate news media.
Musk isn't going to "join forces" with anyone. If he wanted Newsmax, he would have purchased it. He has already dissolved Twitter into his X-Corp as a part of his plan to make X the "everything app". No doubt, X will include media, but I suspect Elon is looking at a "post TV world", and it will be something more innovative. He might well offer Tucker a job, but Tucker won't be part of his branding, nor will conservatism.
I’m down with that
Well, clearly the penalty of breaking the contract is not capital punishment, neither would there be jail time. However, breaking such a contract is grounds for a lawsuit Tucker could likely lose. Without us being able to read the contract, there would be only speculation as to what it specifies for a breech.
I wonder if it would be okay if he moderates without compensation.
The GOPE will want Chris Wallace.
“The Chris Farley Show” *was* awesome.
Musk is certainly of funding TwitterTV.
This is silly. Fox owns Tucker. He cannot do anything without their approval.
Depends on the contract. I haven't seen it, and even if I did, I'm not a lawyer. I have had employment contracts. They generally involved the job that I was supposed to be doing for the employer.
I dunno if any of them would have prevented me from flipping burgers in my spare time.
Or writing a book, or running for political office, or from volunteering as some candidate's press secretary.
We will see in the fullness of time. I'm confident that both Tucker and Fox have better lawyers than I could ever afford.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.