According to a recent report, Tucker Carlson has been raising venture capital funds for a potential new conservative media company that aligns with his controversial views after leaving Fox News. If successful, this venture could pose a significant challenge for his former employer.
Puck News reported on Wednesday that Carlson’s supporters are aware of his fundraising efforts to start a venture that would allow conservative personalities to establish their own independent brands, rather than relying on formerly conservative media companies like Fox. It was also revealed that Fox had terminated the remaining members of Carlson’s old staff this week and that a majority of them would be joining Carlson for his new venture.
Puck News’ Dylan Byers reported:
“I am told he is raising capital to launch a new company that may yet prove more influential. He’ll certainly benefit from an incongruous number of ultra wealthy conservative media investors and a scant (though growing) number of opportunities, as Glenn Beck and the tandem of Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing have demonstrated. A decade ago, the Mercers seemed like lone wolves in their patronage of Breitbart. These days, conservative mediacos are popping up more rampantly, as capital finds opportunities and the conversation moves further and further to the fringes.
Tucker, the movement’s biggest star in a generation, may be able to test the boundaries. It will certainly represent the latest iteration, for better or worse, in the creator economy. And while it might sound slightly insane, given the differences in their politics and audiences, Tucker’s new media play might—if executed adroitly—serve as a paradigm for a generation of TV news personalities with huge followings and fandoms who remain marooned to their desks amid shrinking audiences. Fox will obviously be paying breathless attention to his developments, despite protestations to the contrary, but so will executives and CNN and MSNBC.”
After leaving Fox, Carlson has been active on social media, including a “Tucker on Twitter” series that has been viewed by millions. Since Twitter alone is not providing a reliable way to make money, it is understandable that Carlson is exploring other options similar to those used by conservative figures like Glenn Beck and Ben Shapiro, but with a much larger audience. On his Fox show at its peak, Carlson drew three million viewers each night at 8 p.m.
It is anticipated that Fox News will engage in a lengthy legal dispute with their former star to enforce their contract with him until the end of the 2024 election. Negotiations between Carlson’s attorneys and the network have ceased, and his supporters are now engaging in a smear campaign against the network resulting in negative media coverage for Fox News, which was previously known for its conservative views. Last month, there was a leaked employee handbook that revealed Fox’s encouragement of its employees to pursue gender transition, which seems contradictory to the network’s criticism of liberals regarding transgender accommodations in schools and women’s sports.
However, Fox also has its own means of control. It is rumored that the network’s publicist, Irena Briganti, keeps a file of negative information on Carlson and other network personalities, so they don’t speak out of turn. Additionally, the network’s lawyers recently sent Carlson and his team a cease-and-desist letter to stop them from using Twitter and launching new projects.