Tucker Carlson's firing shows networks like Fox News are 'the real owners' of ratings: Reporter

Vanity Fair Special Correspondent Brian Stelter joins the Yahoo Finance Live show to discuss the decline of Fox shares and the impact the departure of Tucker Carlson will have on the media company. Stelter also shares his thoughts on the firing of Don Lemon from CNN.

Video transcript

- All right, well, let's dive deep into this. And for that, we want to bring in Brian Stelter, Vanity Fair special correspondent. Brian, it's good to see you here. So lots to get into, let's start with Tucker Carlson, the firing that we just took place today from Fox. It was enough to worry investors. We saw the reaction in Fox shares today. What do you make of this decision, and what his exit essentially means for Fox?

BRIAN STELTER: Well it's the craziest day in cable news history between these two deals. And I'm glad I got a huge coffee at Dunkin Donut this morning. I needed every sip of it. I think Tucker Carlson, that part is truly shocking. He was the biggest star on Fox. You just heard the ratings. The ratings speak for themselves. The ratings gave Carlson tremendous power. But at the end of the day, this is a reminder that all those stars on TV, they are just renting. The real owners are the networks.

And today, Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch made that incredibly clear by firing Tucker.

- Yeah, and we've gone through this before with Fox. Everyone said they were done when Bill O'Reilly was fired. Everyone said they were done when Glenn Beck was fired. Neither built much of a destination elsewhere, and the network has been just fine. I presume they will be as well. They're down 5% initially on this news, have since recovered the stock, so is it an overreaction? I know you're not a stock guy, but do you think Fox will be hurt long term by his departure? And if I can ask, what happened here?

Does that have something to do with that Dominion settlement?

BRIAN STELTER: I believe it does with Dominion, and here's why. We all saw the messages that came out in the pre-trial, well, legal filings. Tucker Carlson calling Trump a demonic force, calling him a destroyer, Tucker insulting Fox's journalists. But here's the thing, Dave, there's a lot we don't know from those filings. There were hundreds of pages that were redacted. Now here's my theory, and right now it's only a theory.

I believe whatever came out in that process of discovery, Dominion's lawyers have the emails, Fox's bosses have the emails and texts. I think Tucker Carlson must have been saying some things that led him to be fired. We don't know for sure, and Tucker is not commenting yet, but that's why I think this is related to Dominion. Because Dominion unearthed all of Tucker's deepest, darkest secrets, all the things he was saying in private, and Fox's bosses were able to read his messages. So that's my theory of the case.

We will see if Fox ever admits it or not. But I think the reason why the stock is reacting the way it is, because Tucker was the closest thing to someone who's bigger than Fox, bigger than the network. I agree with you that we've tested this theory before, Dave, but this is the ultimate test of the theory, that the network is bigger than the star, that even Tucker is not bigger than Fox. And look, you were at Fox for four years. How are you reacting to this?

- (LAUGHS) Well, look, I have-- sometimes I react as not someone who worked there because it was a dramatically different network in 2008. I should say Tucker Carlson replaced me on the weekend bench, so it's not as if he came--

BRIAN STELTER: We forgot about that.

- Yeah. it's not as if he came in as a big star, and that's my point. They make stars. They'll find another one. I'm not sure if it's Jesse Watters or if it's Will Cain who-- I would keep my eye on Will Cain there. So my reaction is just shocked initially because he makes so much money. Fox Nation might be the biggest impact because people are canceling subscriptions right away. He owns his content there. That will really hurt. But in the long run, they will make another star. So that would be my initial reaction, Seana.

- Yeah, exactly. All great points all around. It would be very interesting to see who Fox News does decide to replace in Tucker Carlson's time slot because it is such a coveted slot. Brian, we also got to ask you about another big headline of the day, and that, of course, was Don Lemon. The parting of the ways is how CNN phrased it between those two. You worked at CNN for over a decade. Don Lemon, obviously, a former colleague of yours, what's your reaction to this and why you think CNN came to this decision today?

BRIAN STELTER: Well, David and I are both former CNN anchors. I think neither of us are surprised by this one. This was signaled a while ago when new management came into CNN last year. My show was canceled last summer, and it seemed like Don Lemon might also be on thin ice. He was moved from primetime to the morning, given a chance in the morning. That show did not seem to be going very well, although I loved watching it. I love all three hosts, but it had a hard heart. It was a difficult launch for that morning show.

Look, why now? Why Monday? I have no idea. The timing makes no sense to me. Why did they have them anchor this morning and then terminate him at 11:00 AM? I don't know. I do know it seems to be a coincidence that Tucker Carlson was also fired. It's the weirdest coincidence I've ever seen in television, but it seems to be a coincidence. I think Don's going to have a lot of options. He's a talented broadcaster, but CNN seems to want to lower the temperature. Don Lemon is a guy who raises the temperature, so that was going to be in conflict.

- Yeah. I was definitely not stunned by this one at all. The ratings stunk and the women had essentially walked away given what Don Lemon said about them being past their prime. Any names that you've heard that might replace either Tucker Carlson or Don Lemon, my assumption is they'll try and back a truck of money up to Scarborough, but I don't think Comcast is going to let that happen in this environment.

BRIAN STELTER: Now it's very interesting. I don't have a thought on the CNN part. On Fox, I believe Brian Kilmeade is probably going to fill in all this week. His ratings were pretty strong when he filled in for Tucker in the past. But, you know, the sound you hear out there, it's dozens of television hosts calling their agents, wondering if they can get in line for one of these two jobs. You know what it shows more than anything else? That this medium, that video, is still so important for storytelling and news.

Even in a TikTok age, even in a Twitter age, even in an AI age, people like to watch people. They want to trust the person on the other side of the screen. And that's important going forward, even as computers try to replace most of us.

- Good call. That's a great, great point.

- That is an excellent point there Brian. And then while we have you, we also want to get your thoughts on the other headline that initially broke yesterday. NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell, he was out at the network following an inappropriate relationship, following a probe into that relationship. What do you think this means just in terms of NBC'S strategy? He was so prominent. He was really steering the ship when it comes to their push into streaming, what that means for Peacock, what it really means for the network down the line?

BRIAN STELTER: I think NBC has a strong bench of talent so I don't think viewers or even necessarily shareholders will feel a big impact from this. But I just, on a personal level, I am baffled about how this keeps happening. We are almost six years into the MeToo movement, into this era, and yet, it seems that older white men keep relearning the same lesson over and over and over again. And it's just-- it's a baffling thing.

- Baffling, and it also makes you furious when you start thinking about it a little too much, right? Brian Stelter, always great to have you. Thanks so much for making the time.

BRIAN STELTER: Thank you.