Brian Stelter Plots Book ‘Network of Lies,’ a Sequel to Fox News Probe ‘Hoax’

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor TV’s late-night shows are going to bed early for the foreseeable future. ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” CBS’ “The Late Show,” and NBC’s “Tonight” and “Late Night” are all going on’ hiatus as a result of the start of the Hollywood writers’ strike — and the shows could be off the air for at least a few weeks. In place of new programs, NBC, CBS and ABC will air repeats of those shows. HBO will also cease live production of “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “This Week Tonight” with John Oliver. Immediate word on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” was not available. Writers play an integral role in TV’s late-night schedule, bashing out multiple jokes, one-liners and sketches each day that play off current events and trending popular culture. The contract between the Writers’ Guild of American an the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents about 350 TV and film production companies, ended on May 1.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor After an enviable career working for traditional TV outlets, Charlie Collier surprised many a media executive late last year by leaving a senior job running entertainment programming for the Fox broadcast network to join Roku, the company that gives millions of Americans their access to the world of streaming. He hopes advertisers will follow. On Tuesday, Collier, 53, now heading Roku’s ad sales and development of content on its own platforms, will be pressed to show potential sponsors why. Roku, which boasts 71.6 million active accounts, will make a big pitch to Madison Avenue as part of a group of industry “newfront” sessions. Even though NBCUniversal, Disney and their rivals won’t make similar outreach until May, presentations this week from digital players such as Amazon and Roku are seen as an aggressive bid to win ad dollars that might previously have gone to the TV companies. After all, the networks, one secure in their ability to deliver media’s biggest audience, are losing viewers to streaming, and Roku is one of the biggest facilitators of that activity.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Comedian Roy Wood Jr. did something many guests at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner forget to do: celebrate journalism. In a series of funny remarks that took on everything from Don Lemon to Fox News Channel’s massive $787.5 million settlement to Dominion Voting to President Biden’s age, Wood devoted significant time to calling for support for local journalism, noting that reporters working for regional and local media outlets are often the first to spot malfeasance or something wrong. He also mentioned his father’s work in local radio and his mother’s career in education. The comments added a personal touch to the proceedings, which are organized each year by the White House Correspondents Association and meant to call attention to the mission of holding government officials accountable in reporting meant to be consumed by the American public.

Fired CNN anchor Brian Stelter says now-fellow fired CNN anchor Don Lemon and fired Fox anchor Tucker Carlson have kicked off a texting relationship because, well, they were fired within minutes of each other this week.Lemon and Tucker are “far from” a friendship, but their respective sackings had so many similarities, that it got them talking, Stelter wrote Friday for Vanity Fair. Carlson’s exit was announced late Monday morning, and not even an hour later, Lemon announced his own ouster on Twitter.Beyond just timing, Stelter writes that “the similarities between the two situations are stacking up.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tucker Carlson hasn’t left Fox Corporation quite yet. The company’s Fox News Media unit has hours and hours of various specials and original programming the controversial anchor developed for the subscription-based streaming service Fox Nation, and doesn’t appear poised to take any of that content down. The Carlson-created options currently available on the service are manifold. There is a program called “Let Them Eat Bugs!” that examines how “global leaders, movie stars and social media influencers are making a concerted push to force bugs into your diet, whether you like it or not.” A “Tucker Carlson Originals Christmas Special” is available for those interested. And Carlson’s last broadcast on Fox News Channel — from Friday, April 21 — is ready to for binge-viewing. There are also classic Carlson interviews to be found in “Tucker Carlson Tonight: The Vault.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner will draw loads of attention for the celebrities who show, the jokes that Joe Biden tells and the shtick that Roy Wood Jr. uses in his routine.

MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes topped the 8 p.m. ET time slot on Wednesday night, a ratings win for a Fox News rival following the departure of Tucker Carlson.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNBC has lost some of its avarice for the long-running primetime series “American Greed.” The documentary program, which examines white-collar crime, scams and embezzlement, among other business-focused wrongdoing, has been running on the NBCUniversal business-news channel since 2007, completing 15 seasons and 222 episodes, along with three spin-offs. In 2023, however, the series order was significantly smaller than those in the past, according to two people familiar with the matter, and production of original episodes has ceased for the moment. “CNBC has not canceled ‘American Greed,'” the network said in a statement. Six new episodes ran between January 24 and March 7 of this year. Past seasons have included 12 episodes or more, according to one of the people familiar with the program

surprise firing of the channel’s controversial opinion host Tucker Carlson.“Conservative media and the conservative movement are very effective. They’re rich, effective, successful, thriving enterprises,” Maddow said during her show as she addressed what Carlson’s shocking departure means for conservative media.

Ellise Shafer Brian Kilmeade took over Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour on Monday night following news of Tucker Carlson’s exit from the network. The “Fox & Friends” anchor briefly addressed Carlson’s departure at the top of the program, which was renamed “Fox News Tonight” instead of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “As you probably have heard, Fox News and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” Kilmeade said. “I wish Tucker the best. I’m great friends with Tucker and always will be. But right now, it’s time for ‘Fox News Tonight,’ so let’s get started.” In a surprise move, Fox News announced on Monday morning that its most-watched primetime host would leave the network. “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” 

settling with Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million.Following his abrupt exit, the Los Angeles Times reported that Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch made the decision to terminate Carlson and that it was related to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, which accused the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” anchor and his staff of making sexist and antisemitic jokes.

Brian Kilmeade will host Fox News Tonight on Monday and is expected to address the exit of Tucker Carlson from the network.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Sean Hannity was blindsided by Fox News’ announcement that Tucker Carlson is parting ways with the network. Carlson was Fox News’ most-watched primetime host with his 8 p.m. ET news hour “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which Hannity then followed in the 9 p.m. hour with his own eponymous series. Carlson’s show launched in November 2016, while “Hannity” has been a Fox News flagship series since 2009. “It’s very hard,” Hannity said at the start of his radio show, “The Sean Hannity Show,” regarding Carlson’s Fox News departure (via The Wrap). “My phone has been blowing up all day. The hard part for me is I don’t have a clue… I have no idea. Was it Tucker’s decision? Was it Fox’s? Was it a mutual agreement that they had? I don’t know.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The View” hosts rejoiced during the April 24 episode of the ABC talk show as it was announced during the taping that Tucker Carlson was leaving Fox News. The audience cheered when “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg broke the news on air, saying, “Word has just come down that Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways.” “Can I ask the audience if they’ll help me do something?” Ana Navarro said as she threw her hands in the air and started singing Steam’s 1969 hit “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” “Come on folks! Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey, hey, hey. Goodbye! Sayonara,” Navarro said, leading “The View” audience in a sing-along to celebrate Carlson’s departure.

Tucker Carlson and Fox News have agreed to part ways, the media company said in a statement on Monday, less than a week after Fox News and parent company Fox Corp FOXA.O settled a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tucker Carlson will no longer be able to carry on his self-generated battle against lying, pomposity, smugness, and groupthink at Fox News Channel. Carlson, Fox News Channel’s most-watched primetime host, will leave the network in an abrupt and surprise exit, leaving the network without a fill-in for one of its most popular hours and with dozens of questions hanging over it as it grapples with pressures resulting from a $787 million settlement it will have to pay to Dominion Voting Systems “Fox News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways,” the company said in a statement Monday. “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” A spokeswoman for Fox News declined to elaborate.

Fox News and Dan Bongino have parted ways after they couldn’t agree on the terms for a new contract for the host.“Folks, regretfully, last week was my last show on Fox News on the Fox News Channel,”  the former Secret Service agent and New York City police officer said Thursday on his podcast “Unfiltered with Dan Bongino.” Bongino continued: “I want you to it’s not some big conspiracy. I promise you. There’s not there’s no acrimony.

Dan Bongino is departing Fox News, as the conservative host announced that his program last weekend was his last.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dan Bongino, one of the most right-leaning hosts in the Fox News stable, is leaving the network after the Fox Corp.-backed outlet and he could not come to terms on a new contract. “Folks, regretfully, last week was my last show on Fox News on the Fox News Channel,” Bongino said on his podcast Thursday. “It’s tough. It’s tough to say that. You know, I’ve been there doing hits and working there for ten years…so the show ending was tough. And I want you to know it’s not some big conspiracy. I promise you. There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension. Bongino, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2019, began hosting the Saturday-night program “Unfiltered With Dan Bongino” on Fox News in 2021.

Sophia Scorziello editor Fox settled its Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit for $787.5 million, but the network’s litigators submitted several clips from “The Simpsons” to be shown in court, had the case gone to trial. Each of these scenes show Homer Simpson voting in a presidential election, as NBC reported: — Season 20’s “Treehouse of Horror XIX” shows Homer attempting to cast a ballot for Barack Obama.— The promotional short “Homer Votes 2012” shows him voting for Mitt Romney.— The YouTube short “Homer Votes 2016” features Russian President Vladimir Putin disguising himself as an American voter and trying to convince Homer to vote for Trump.— Season 32’s “Treehouse of Horror XXXI” finds Homer unsure whether to vote for Trump or Biden.