Brian Stelter has spent the last year writing his new book, Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth. The CNN correspondent wrote about his personal experience inside media circles observing Fox News Channel hosts and correspondents. He also spoke to hundreds of the network’s staffers, most of whom chose to remain anonymous.
One theme in the book is clear: Fox News has the ears and eyes of President Donald Trump.
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Stelter writes that Fox News’ weeknight anchor Tucker Carlson, along with opinion show host Sean Hannity, are among the highest-paid personalities in media.
Carlson, who averages four million nightly viewers on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” is the highest-rated news personality in the country and makes at least $10 million a year. Stelter wrote that he’s a large part of why the network is on the path to $2 billion in annual profits.
The controversial Carlson commented Wednesday on the shooting of three protesters by 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, opining, “Are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?”
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According to Stelter, despite the controversy, Carlson keeps his position because Fox News Channel sees itself as a bastion of right-wing truth. Also, he wrote, “Earlier this summer, the analytics firm iSpot.tv estimated that Carlson “accounts for 16 percent of Fox News ad revenue.”
The network does not make most of its money from advertising, which is why boycotts don’t affect change in programming. Fox News makes money from subscriber programs like “Fox Nation,” where content is behind a paywall.
The biggest advertiser by far on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” is MyPillow, the manufacturing company founded by Mike Lindell, who is closely aligned with President Trump.
According to iSpot.tv, nearly half of MyPillow’s annual spending is spent on advertising on Carlson’s show to the tune of more than $30 million a year.
Hannity makes more than $30 million a year from the network, all while working from a state-of-the-art studio in his Long Island, NY mansion.
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