Fox News goes all in on MAGA by adding a Trump to the payroll

No one should be under any illusion as to what Fox News is.

It is, and has been for quite some time, simply an extension of the Republican Party and, in particular, a megaphone for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

While there are legitimate news reporters at Fox News — foreign correspondent Trey Yingst and national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin, for example — the most prominent programs are so heavily opinion-driven that the word “News” really doesn’t belong in the network’s name.

From the morning show, “Fox & Friends,” to the afternoon staple, “The Five,” to the popular prime-time lineup of shows hosted by Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, Fox News clearly supports Trump, the Republican Party and conservative ideals. And, at the same time, the network just as clearly detests all things Democratic and liberal.

And now, with a surprising-even-for-Fox announcement on Wednesday, the network isn’t even trying to hide its favoritism. Fox News hired Lara Trump — daughter-in-law of Donald Trump and the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee — to host a weekly show.

“My View with Lara Trump” will air Saturday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern starting later this month.

The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr wrote, “Her hiring — and placement on the network’s weekend schedule — is even more evidence of the close relationship between the network and Donald Trump.”

As Axios’ Sara Fischer wrote, “The news underscores Trump's cozy relationship with the network and foreshadows a mutually beneficial partnership for his second term.”

Close, cozy and mutually beneficial, for sure. 

Lara Trump has been married to Trump’s son, Eric, for more than a decade. And now Fox News is handing her an hourlong show. Even Fox News’ description of the show in a press release is loaded with a noticeable slant: “‘My View with Lara Trump’ will focus on the return of common sense to all corners of American life as the country ushers in a new era of practicality.”

A return of common sense? A new era of practicality? The show hasn’t even started yet and it’s pumping up Trump while clearly bashing the past administration.

Now, let’s be clear. If this is what Fox News wants to do, that is its right. Owner Rupert Murdoch and his family can hire whoever they want to give whatever opinions they want. This isn’t just about Lara Trump, but about most of the on-air personalities at Fox News. And, to be just as clear, it is good business for the Murdochs as there is a sizable audience for the echo chamber of right-wing talking points.

The issue one should have is that Fox News continues to peddle itself as a legitimate news organization, not only by having “news” in its title, but by convincing its viewers that it is a fair, balanced and independent news outlet. That might be the most dangerous part of all. Viewers, of course, carry some responsibility for blindly accepting Fox News as a legitimate news organization, but the network itself does its best to push those viewers to that false conclusion.

If Fox News really does see itself as a legitimate news outlet, then the hire of Lara Trump is just baffling. Why risk whatever reputation you think you have by giving someone like this her own show, on a Saturday night, no less? Don’t they see the obvious conflict of interest? Don’t they realize that from now on, whenever they try to take a moral high ground about news coverage, one can always return their lob by saying: “You hired the president’s daughter-in-law!”

That comeback is an absolute, pardon the pun, trump card.

In a statement, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said, “A gifted communicator who knows how to connect to the viewers, successful entrepreneur and working mother, Lara’s innate understanding of the American public and today’s political landscape will be a compelling addition to our weekend lineup.”

That might all be true. It’s also true that she is a former Fox News contributor. And that she has a background in TV. But … she’s the president’s daughter-in-law! 

Other news networks have hired family members of politicians. Jenna Bush was hired for NBC’s “Today” show, but that was after her father, George W. Bush, had left office. Chelsea Clinton briefly worked at NBC News while her mother, Hillary, was secretary of state. Meghan McCain was on ABC’s “The View” while her father, John, was a U.S. senator in Arizona.

But this is believed to be the first hire of a family member this close to a sitting U.S. president.

Media Matters’ Matt Gertz tweeted, “… you really can't think of the network as independent from the White House in any way right now.” He added in another tweet, “Rupert Murdoch finds a way to put money directly into the pockets of the sitting president's relative.”

There has been quite a revolving door between Trump’s White House and Fox News, with the most notable example being former Fox News host Pete Hegseth becoming secretary of defense. So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this.

Then again, this felt like a line that even Fox News wouldn’t cross.

But it has. And evidently it is fine with that.

By the way, Lara Trump moves into a spot currently hosted by Brian Kilmeade. His show will now move to Sundays at 10 p.m. Eastern — at least until maybe one of Donald Trump’s other kids wants a TV show.

 

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Tweet of the day

Following the news that Lara Trump had been hired to do a show for Fox News, journalist Mehdi Hasan put out this brutal, but not unfair tweet:

We live in a world where the white daughter-in-law of the president (Lara Trump) and the white son of a Fox anchor (Peter Doocy) regularly appear on that network to attack ‘DEI hires’ while pretending they’re the beneficiaries of a meritocracy.

‘60 Minutes’ releases transcript

Facing scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission and a lawsuit from President Donald Trump, CBS News’ “60 Minutes” released all the transcripts and videos from its preelection interview with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Trump had accused the program of editing Harris’ answers in a journalistically unethical way.

Along with the materials, “60 Minutes” said in a statement, “They show — consistent with 60 Minutes' repeated assurances to the public — that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.”

“60 Minutes” said in the release what it has said all along — that interviews often are edited for time, space and clarity. But it also maintained that Harris’ answers were not manipulated to alter the meaning.

As The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr noted after watching the unedited clip, “At the beginning of the unedited video of the Kamala Harris ‘60 Minutes’ interview, you can see her wiping her nose and talking about her mold allergy and the pollen count. This is why this stuff isn't published.”

“60 Minutes” statement said, “The issue here concerns one question from 60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris: whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is listening to the Biden-Harris Administration. We broadcast a longer portion of the vice president’s answer on Face the Nation and broadcast a shorter excerpt from the same answer on 60 Minutes the next day. Each excerpt reflects the substance of the vice president's answer. As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as much of the vice president’s answers to 60 Minutes’ many questions were included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those answers. 60 Minutes’ hard-hitting questions of the vice president speak for themselves.”

The different answers on the different programs are what set off this controversy.

Speaking on CNN, media reporter Brian Stelter said, “I think it is fair to say that someone as CBS screwed up back in October. This was a poor editing decision because it stirred up lots of doubts about what Harris said. One part aired on Sunday. Another part aired on Monday. This was a mess.”

“But,” Stelter continued, “that’s all it was. It was editing. It wasn’t a conspiracy to help Harris and hurt Trump. And that’s what it has been turned into by Trump’s team.”

New York Times posts quarterly profit, adds 350,000 subscribers

For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague, Angela Fu.

The New York Times grew its adjusted operating profit 10.7% year-over-year to $170.5 million last quarter, the company announced Wednesday.

Much of that growth came from increasing digital subscription revenue. The Times added 350,000 digital-only subscribers during the quarter ending Dec. 31, bringing its total number of subscribers to 11.43 million. The company aims to hit its next milestone of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027.

Increases in digital subscription revenue and digital advertising revenue helped offset declines in print. The Times also grew licensing revenue and affiliate revenue from its product recommendations site Wirecutter, which had its best-ever Cyber Week sales period last quarter. In total, the Times brought in $726.6 million in revenue last quarter, up 7.5% compared to the same period last year.

Total operating costs last quarter amounted to $580 million, up 6% compared to the same period last year. Those costs included $3.2 million spent on the Times’ ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft alleging copyright infringement. 

President and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien called 2024 a “standout year” during an earnings call Wednesday. The company ended the fiscal year with an adjusted operating profit of $455.4 million, up 19.1% from 2023, and had $911.9 million in cash and marketable securities.

In 2025, the company plans to continue investing in video and audio, Kopit Levien said. Last year, a third of visitors to the Times homepage watched video, and more than half of the company’s news report was listenable via automated voice recordings powered by artificial intelligence. The Times will also focus on growing products like its Games section and its sports news site The Athletic, which posted a profit for the second quarter in a row.

During the first quarter of 2025, the Times is expecting total subscription revenues to increase by 7 to 10% while total advertising revenues largely stagnate.  

In response to an investor’s question about post-election trends, Kopit Levien said the Times is “bullish that there is persistent demand” for the company’s products.

“I feel very confident that the investments we've continued to make in our coverage engine and in format innovation are really enabling us to meet the moment journalistically on all the big storylines right now, including a new administration in Washington,” Kopit Levien said.

Mitchell’s last day as anchor

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell will step away from the anchor desk on Friday after 17 years. Mitchell, who hosts a daily show on MSNBC, announced last October that she would step away from anchoring shortly after the inauguration.

Mitchell is not retiring. She will remain NBC News' chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent.

Brady’s Super Bowl

As we move closer to Sunday’s Super Bowl, two big questions linger.

Who’s going to win, the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles? And, how will Tom Brady do?

Brady isn’t playing, of course. The greatest quarterback in NFL history will be calling the game for Fox Sports as he wraps up his first season in the booth.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out this week’s special edition of “The Poynter Report Podcast.” My guest is Richard Deitsch, sports media writer for The Athletic and host of his own podcast, “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch.” We talk plenty about Brady — what kind of season he has had, why the Super Bowl is so important to his season, and whether he will be in the booth for the entirety of his 10-year deal with Fox Sports.

And speaking of Brady and Deitsch, I wanted to point you to two more pieces.

First, Deitsch listened in on Brady’s conference call with the media on Wednesday: “Tom Brady reflects on Fox work, Raiders role ahead of Super Bowl: ‘It’s been an awesome journey.’”

Brady said about his first season, “I think the mistakes that I have made — and I have made plenty — I have learned from all of them. You are not happy they have happened but at the same time I understand that when they do happen and I mispronounce words or forget a certain statistic or the preparation was a little off in terms of my thoughts on something and I screw up the analysis, I go back and I want to get it right the next time.”

Also, check out Deitsch’s story from earlier in the week: “Advice for Tom Brady, from previous Super Bowl TV first-timers: ‘Just chill.’”

Media tidbits

• CNN’s Liam Reilly with “Small news outlets focused on federal staffers are landing big scoops, and traffic is surging.”
• CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo with “Fox reveals plans to launch subscription streaming service this year.”
• The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand with “Colin Cowherd signs Nick Wright’s podcast away from Fox Sports.”

Hot type

• Compelling work from Helmuth Rosales, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Mika Grondahl and John Ismay as The New York Times created a 3D model of the deadly plane crash in Washington last week: “What the Black Hawk Pilots Could See, Just Before the Crash.”
• Anybody out there remember the 2004 music documentary, “Dig!”, about the friendship/rivalry between two indie bands — The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre? Well, you’ll enjoy this piece from GQ’s Joe Gross: “A Cult-Classic Doc About Indie Rock's Greatest Feud Returns — as a Meditation on a Revolution That Never Happened.”

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