So now let’s go to Jonah —
because he left Fox News after
12 years.
When tucker Carlson suggested
the January 6th could’ve been a
false flag operation.
Now, I also want to know, Jonah,
you were of course subpoena and
opposed by even in this case.
And you can’t speak about that.
Also with me, Jim Ruttenberg
who is reporting extensively on
Rupert Murdoch for more than
two decades.
And your reporting was the
basis for CNN’s the Murdoch
empire of influence series.
Okay so between the two of you
you can write the series on
this.
Jonah, the new court documents
get to the heart of why you
left fox.
When you were there for 12
years, right?
Was any of this I surprise to
you?
That you see, when you see the
reporting, you see the test
messages, you see Rupert
Murdoch admitted?
>> Surprised, there is a
difference between surprised.
I am not that surprised, but
there is the shock of actually
seeing it in black and white on
the page.
I am still willing to defend a
lot of people on the news side.
At fox.
I think we just got drowned out
by the much larger and more
privileged megaphone of the
opinion side.
>> And I think one of the
things that’s the perception of
the new side is just the tail
wagging the dog at this point
for the opinion side.
And that is because what is
important and what screams
they’ve done all of these
filings as they care more about
the brand and, quote unquote,
respecting the audience.
And what respecting the
audience means, telling them
what they want to hear rather
than what they need to hear.
And in this case it means in
effect lying or at least
allowing lies to propagate
without rebutting them in a
coherent and responsible way.
Jim, we see, this is not red
and blue it is green.
From Rupert Murdoch.
He admits that in a position
that he put ratings and profits
over telling the truth.
Now I have to, say when I read
that, I was thinking to myself,
this is the guy who owns the
whole thing.
Basically giving it to them on
a silver platter, it is not
necessarily what you would
expect in such a decision.
You know, I had someone else in
charge, I don’t recall.
It wasn’t.
It was all there.
What do you think is happening
here?
>> Well, first of all, I would
expect fox’s lawyers to say
that that is Rupert Murdoch,
there is some distance here
between Rupert Murdoch and the
running of the fox network.
The Fox News channel.
And so this is, you, know they
are trying to, the argument on
the fox side as they are trying
to pull Rupert Murdoch into
this.
The issue is that what these
emails show is that Rupert
Murdoch was very much along
with Loughlin Murdoch involved
in conversations about how they
were going to repair.
And here is the great paradox
and all of this.
The broken trust with our
audience, the broken trust, we
see that come up in the Saudi
emails. Antitrust was broken by
declaring Arizona for Biden by
calling Biden President-Elect
after everybody kind of
together made the call the
following weekend after the
election.
So fascinating again, I would
be with John that not
surprising.
But fascinating to see that
this line we all sense they
were balancing, it was there.
>> It is interesting, trust was
broken by telling the truth.
Right, it is, you are right,
incredible sort of thing, just
to ponder it for a moment.
Now, Jonah, when you hear polls
reporting, Murdaugh admits it
was wrong to let Lindell appear
on tucker Carlson weeks after
January 6th, right?
After January six that will
pushing election lies all of
which had been debunked.
So tucker Carlson has him on,
Murdaugh then admitting in this
deposition, right, that that
was not should’ve happened.
But I want to just play a
little more of what Lindell
said that night on top of the
show.
>> I have been all in trying to
find the machine front.
And we found.
It we have all the evidence.
Either dominion tissue me.
Because then it would get it
faster.
Why would anybody want to know
the truth in this country?
Just let the truth be told.
And he was on as Rupert Murdoch
says because he spends a lot of
money on ads for my fellow on
Fox News.
Does any of this matter.
Now that this is all out there.
Does any of this matter, Joe,
not to the people who watch fox
News?
>> Well sort of that remains to
be seen.
One point about the money
quotes, right, tucker talking
about the stock price crashing
and this red, it is not read,
it is not blue, is green thing.
I think that could be very
effective for a jury.
Assuming all of this turns out
to be as dominion presents it.
Because this is the last stock
to provide accountability to
say you can’t lie for profit.
Right?
You can’t whip up paranoid
doubts about election integrity
for profit and if the profit
motive is what is going on, it
sure will say, well, you know,
let’s find them for doing this
and maybe send a message.
Whether this changes things for
fox? I really don’t know.
Fox is not reporting on this
and they have made it as a
matter of policy, they are not
going to reporter foment on a
gentle. It is not going a lot of play
in the sort of broader
ecosystem of conservative
media.
I mean, the dispatch where, you,
know Chris stonewall who was
the one guy, one of the only
people who was fired for
telling the truth.
His a colleague of mine.
But for the most, part of a
don’t hear about it, they
probably aren’t going to change
their opinion because.
>> It is the tree falling in
the forest.
Now, Jim on that, separate from
that point of how it may affect
viewers, how do you think the
lawsuit poses a threat to fox
News?
And or Rupert Murdoch himself?
>> Well, first of all I would
say, let’s see what the damage
is.
Should talks lose, let’s see
what the damages will be.
If Fox News is trying to argue
about the evaluation of
dominion and they will make
that case in court.
Should go that far.
So financially if dominion were
to get what it wants here, it
is a significant portion of
foxes annual revenues.
So that would be a huge hit.
It would survive that hit.
I agree with Joe that its
viewers are likely to stick
around.
