According to the Washington Free Beacon, a deal is all but in place that will restructure Fox News’ prime time line up once again. The shake-up was prompted by the firing of Eric Bolling, a long term Fox personality who was accused of sexting several female coworkers, a charge that he denies. Bolling is also dealing with the sudden death of his college age son.
Laura Ingraham to 10 p.m.?
The shakeup will apparently involve Laura Ingraham, a Fox News analyst who is popular with audiences, getting her own show at 10 p.m. Ingraham is a radio talk show host who, unlike Megyn Kelly and even Greta Van Susteren, women hosts who have previously had Fox prime time slots, has unassailable conservative credentials.
She is also the editor of a webzine called Lifezette and the author of several books. As of this writing, the Ingraham show is not a done deal.
The rest of Fox’s schedule reshuffled
Moving Laura Ingraham will push Sean Hannity to the 9 p.m. shot where he used to occupy several years ago. The Hannity move, in turn, will push the panel discussion show “The Five” to the late afternoon 5 p.m. slot, replacing the Bolling vehicle “The Specialists” which would be canceled. Tucker Carlson would remain at 8 p.m.
Will this be the last change in the schedule for a while?
The Fox News prime schedule has been in turmoil ever since long term host Bill O’Reilly was fired for alleged sexual harassment and Megyn Kelly left to take a job at NBC.
The show schedule changes in part have led to an erosion of the news network’s former dominance in the ratings and a surge for the left leaning MSNBC host Rachel Maddow in prime time. The ascension of Donald Trump as president of the United States has also scrambled viewing habits to some extent, with Fox News taking a pro-Trump stance and networks such as CNN and MSNBC hewing to the opposition and even outright hostility to the president.
Fox News needs above all some stability in its prime time lineup. Tucker Carlson, who has proven to be popular with his caustic style of interviewing and commentary, is starting to build an audience. Sean Hannity, a combative conservative who has been with FNC from the beginning, has proven to be a favorite with his fan base.
The addition of Laura Ingraham to the lineup has the potential to attract more female viewers to Fox News and thus rebuild the prime time audience for the Cable News Network and reestablish its previous dominance.
