Reporters at Fox News are frustrated by recent court documents highlighting the hypocrisy and bias of their colleagues in the network's prime-time opinion programming, according to a recent report.
Dominion Voting Systems' defamation suit against Fox News has provided an unfiltered look into the private communications and decisions of the conservative news network's top names in the wake of the 2020 election. Those exchanges have left current journalists at the network reportedly feeling embarrassed over their association.
Several current reporters at Fox News spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity to share their frustrations.
"We are not happy," one told the outlet.
While Fox News is best known for opinion programming — including shows like "The Five," or the programmes of Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity — the company also employs a huge staff of news reporters.
Those journalists have reportedly been left in the dark about the lawsuit's filings, according to several employees who spoke to The Daily Beast. They further claimed that Fox's corporate management and human resources departments have offered no guidance at a time when the network and its employees are taking significant blows to their already controversial reputations.
“Not a word to us,” a correspondent said. “It’s like it’s not even a thing. There’s been no guidance – nothing internal, not even hush-hush in the hallways. But of course, we all see the reporting, and every day it’s more and more damning.”
Fox News defended its actions in a statement.
“Under the leadership of FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, the network has increased its investment in journalism by more than 50%, further expanding our newsgathering footprint both domestically and abroad while providing state-of-the-art resources to enhance our coverage,” a Fox News spokesperson said. “We are incredibly proud of our team of journalists who continue to deliver breaking news from around the world and will continue to fight for the preservation of the First Amendment as Dominion attempts to suppress basic rights protected by our Constitution.”
The Dominion records show that the network’s top stars were growing increasingly frustrated with the company's journalists pushing back against Donald Trump.
Laura Ingraham complained that she, Carlson, and Hannity "devote our lives” to “building an audience and they let Chris Wallace and Leland f****** Vittert wreck it,” referencing a pair of the network's former journalists who criticised Mr Trump.
Carlson even reportedly pushed to have a reporter fired for fact checking one of Donald Trump's tweets on air.
“Please get her fired. Seriously….What the f***?” Carlson texted Hannity, according to filings in the Dominion lawsuit. “It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”
She was not fired.
Carlson's apparent contempt is apparent reciprocated from the news division, with a source telling The Daily Beast that "Tucker is a joke," and that he "makes our jobs harder and way more dangerous," noting that they did not "know many in the news division that likes or respects him."
The Independent has reached out for comment.
