美国国家公共电台 NPR--Since the firing of Tucker Carlson, viewers have deserted Fox

Since the firing of Tucker Carlson, viewers have deserted¹ Fox

Transcript²

Since Monday when Fox News fired its biggest star, Tucker Carlson, its ratings have slumped³. But Carlson's fate is much more uncertain.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You know, this week started with a divorce at Fox News. The network fired its biggest star, Tucker Carlson.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And the rest of the week has not gone any better. Viewers have deserted Fox, at least for now. And reporters have posted stories that the discovery of offensive private messages Carlson sent about colleagues may have been what pushed Fox to settle a major lawsuit⁴.

INSKEEP: NPR's David Folkenflik joins us now.

David, good morning.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: So what's it been like over there? I know you have many sources. What's it like over there now that Tucker Carlson is out?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, you don't even have to talk to sources to notice the biggest fallout. You've seen ratings basically fall off a cliff this week for those who have been substituting for him. It was down, you know, significant chunk⁶. It's down almost 50% in the days since his departure. And you've seen the rise concomitantly of this much smaller right-wing rival, Newsmax. They are playing up the idea that Fox has fired Tucker Carlson because it's gone lib. It's gone woke. It's gone Democrat⁷. And in some ways, you've seen - you know, former Fox host Eric Bolling on Newsmax has seen his ratings go up almost fivefold. All of this is, in a way, weirdly⁸ ironic⁹ because that dynamic is what led to the panic at Fox News after the 2020 elections that led to Fox being sued for defamation¹⁰.

INSKEEP: That's true. And they were saying things like, we've got to respect the audience, meaning we have to listen to people who believe false claims of election fraud. I want to figure out how this story has evolved over the last several days. We knew at the beginning that Fox had lost this huge defamation suit. Then we knew that Carlson was ousted¹¹. It wasn't exactly clear what the connection was between the two or why. So what have you learned in the days since?

FOLKENFLIK: Sure. Well, I would say litigation focuses the mind. And first thing to remember is that Tucker Carlson has been and Fox have been sued for creating a sexist, misogynist¹² and bigoted¹³ workplace. In the defamation lawsuit that was settled last week for three-quarters of a billion bucks¹⁴, there are - messages emerged from Carlson to colleagues showing contempt for other colleagues and showing a sexist and bigoted outlook, according to three people I spoke¹⁵ with with some knowledge of his departure from Fox.

In addition, he had lost standing¹⁶ at the network. He had not only been contemptuous of colleagues but lost advertisers - so huge ratings but losing revenue because of the kinds of conspiracy¹⁷ theories he was wrapping his show with. And he - you know, Fox had publicly stood by him by things including a special he did called "Patriot¹⁸ Purge," standing up for people who had been part of the bloody¹⁹ siege of Congress on January 6. But at a certain point, it all was too much.

INSKEEP: Well, what does that tell you about the way that Fox operates?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, I think it tells you both about how Fox operates and how their controlling owners, the Murdochs, operate. They're with you until they're not, and that's true from the outset. You know, if you think of Glenn Beck, a figure who kind of got bigger than the network in his own mind, they ultimately dumped him and did fine. The ratings got better. Bill O'Reilly, a star from the outset, primetime at 8 o'clock, this same slot, you know, he was forced out in 2017 because of sexual harassment²⁰ accusations²¹ that I must say he denies. Nonetheless, Fox paid a lot of money. He paid a lot of money to get out of it. They did great. They put in Tucker Carlson, even better ratings. So, you know, their belief is they'll regroup and come out fine, if not stronger.

INSKEEP: What's Carlson do next?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, we've seen this recent video that he posted a day or two ago in which he said only the truth tellers²² survived and said it's really a one-party state in America. The media won't post dissenting²³ views. Of course, we live in one of the most divisive times you could imagine. I think Carlson is signaling he intends to be on his own platform, and we'll be hearing more from him soon.

INSKEEP: David, thanks so much.

FOLKENFLIK: You bet.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's David Folkenflik.

1 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

4 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 weirdly   

古怪地

参考例句：

• Another special characteristic of Kweilin is its weirdly-shaped mountain grottoes. 桂林的另一特点是其形态怪异的岩洞。
• The country was weirdly transformed. 地势古怪地变了样。

9 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

10 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

11 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

12 misogynist   

n.厌恶女人的人

参考例句：

• He quickly gained the reputation of being a misogynist.他很快地赢得了“厌恶女性者”的这一名声。
• Nice try,but you're a misanthrope,not a misogynist.不错了，你讨厌的是世界，不是女人。

13 bigoted   

adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
• I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。

14 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

18 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

19 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

20 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

21 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

22 tellers   

n.（银行）出纳员( teller的名词复数 )；（投票时的）计票员；讲故事等的人；讲述者

参考例句：

• The tellers were calculating the votes. 计票员正在统计票数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The use of automatic tellers is particularly used in large cities. 在大城市里，还特别投入了自动出纳机。 来自辞典例句

23 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。