Well, here’s a shocker. (Yeah, that’s sarcasm.) Piers Morgan is going to work for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Media.
I’ll give you a second to recover.
Morgan, who walked away from ITV’s “Good Morning Britain” earlier this year after he was criticized for his awful commentary about Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will host a nightly show for Murdoch. It will air on soon-to-be-launched talkTV in the U.K., as well as the streaming service Fox Nation in the U.S. and Sky News Australia. It will debut in early 2022.
Morgan is someone I call a “pots-and-pans banger.” He bangs pots and pans together — not to make an intelligent or meaningful point, but just to make the loudest noise possible. And if you watch Fox News during prime time or read some of the stories in the New York Post, you know that fits right in with Murdoch’s brand.
Anyway, Morgan joining Murdoch after huffing, puffing and stomping his way off “Good Morning Britain” comes as a surprise to absolutely no one.
Morgan tweeted a photo of him sitting next to Murdoch and wrote, “I’ve gone home. Great to be rejoining Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation after 28 years. The place I started my media career, with the boss who gave me my first big break. We’re going to have a lot of fun…”
In addition to hosting a show, Morgan also will write two columns a week for the New York Post and U.K.’s The Sun — both also owned by Murdoch. Also, look for Morgan to show up on Fox News now and then.
In a statement, Morgan said, “I want my global show to be a fearless forum for lively debate and agenda-setting interviews, and a place that celebrates the right of everyone to have an opinion, and for those opinions to be vigorously examined and challenged.”
Translation: I’m going to bang my pots and pans and if you don’t like it, go pound salt.
I’ve never found Morgan to be as open to other opinions as much as he simply wants to get his opinion out there — and the more controversial the better, in his mind. Just go look at some of his comments about tennis player Naomi Osaka.
After Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, Morgan was critical of their comments and said he didn’t “believe a word” of what Meghan said. Those comments drew more than 57,000 viewer complaints. When a co-host on “Good Morning Britain,” Alex Beresford, pushed back against Morgan, Morgan stormed off the set — hardly a celebration of everyone’s right to have an opinion.
In a statement, Murdoch said, “Piers is the broadcaster every channel wants but is too afraid to hire. Piers is a brilliant presenter, a talented journalist and says what people are thinking and feeling.”
Not sure every channel wants Morgan, but his bombastic and trolling style should fit right in with Murdoch’s outfit and will likely have lots of followers.
Abrams takes a poke at cable news
Dan Abrams’ new nightly newscast on NewsNation — called “Dan Abrams Live” — debuts Sept. 27 and he has a new promo out that explains what his show is and what it isn’t. And he had a little fun explaining it at the expense of other cable news shows.
In the spot, Abrams walks in front of three actors who resemble anchors sitting at their anchor desks. One is even wearing a bowtie, a la Tucker Carlson of Fox News.
Abrams then says, “So many cable news hosts are playing a part, like you guys are. I get it. You feel the heat to pick a side, pick a party. Too much riding on this for you to be honest about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Well, I’m not going to cheer for a team. I’m also not going to fake objectivity. I’m gonna be honest with our viewers about what I think and let them decide.”
Abrams gave a statement to Ken Meyer of Mediaite, which was founded by Abrams. Abrams said, “We had written this promo to be a broad critique of cable news hosts today and not targeting specific anchors. But when I arrived at the shoot, I was surprised to see that three actors had been hired who looked exactly like Don Lemon, Rachel Maddow and Tucker Carlson. Now Don is a friend, I’ve known and liked Tucker for years and Rachel and I used to work together, but my relationships with them weren’t the issue. I said to the folks producing it that when I offer critiques of named hosts, which I will do regularly, I want it to be on specific issues or comments, not broad criticism. So as you can see they put them in the shadows so it was more me talking to the cable news industry. But I have to say, the promo team did a great job and I give them credit because it was pretty hilarious seeing these three actors being referred to as Don, Tucker and Rachel!”
