Thoughts on Cheesy Media Luckily things did not back up too much on No Agenda since the ouster of Tucker Carlson chewed up a lot of the newscycles and is slowly devolving into “where he should go” and will he become a podcaster? You know like podcasters Megyn Kelly and Bill O'Reilly. Oh, and pretty much everyone else out of work. There is a strong rumnor that “a hefty package” is being put together to have Tucker switch to Newsmax. This network considers itself to be a rival to Fox with maybe 1/10 the viewership, if that. While Newsmax means well with a lineup of Fox and other retreads (see lineup here), the slick element of presentation found at Fox, CNN, CNBC and MSNBC is missing and it has a “cheap” look. There are video podcasts that are slicker.
This stems from a complete mix of people from lighting directors, booth directors, cameramen, cheap gear, poor audio. There is a lot of equipment and broadcasting pros that make something look slick. Does Newsmax use them? Just watch and figure it out. The newer entry into the field, NewsNation, which has more experienced broadcasting people at all levels, may not have the reach yet, but has the production values that make it look competitive. But it is still a work in progress, but much closer to FOX or MSNBC without the cheap look. Then there are the more baffling outlets like Cheddar and Scripps. It's currently hard to position these operations, but they are not personality driven like the big boys. While they have their respective hosts, none are brand name and the competition seems to be local morning shows. Tucker should have plenty of money and not need to work. But if someone at CNN was smart they'd hire Tucker to do the exact same show at the exact same time and get some numbers. Firing Don Lemon may be an indication that they are thinking along these lines. Doing it within the time-frame of the Tucker firing may have been a signal, in fact. After all CNN is doing a massive shake-up. First they need to get rid of the likes of Don Lemon and other ideologues, may of which are gone already. The move to hire Tucker would get a lot of attention and you can be sure that major shareholder, John Malone, would approve. | 
