(trendingpoliticsnews) – Since his departure from Fox News, Tucker Carlson has been testing the waters for launching a new conservative media company geared toward his brand of brash contrarianism. A new report says the pugnacious populist voice has successfully been raising venture capital funds to do so in what could be a massive headache for his former employer.
On Wednesday Puck News confirmed that allies of Carlson are aware that the former primetime Fox host has begun fundraising for a venture that could push the boundaries for conservative personalities to launch their own brands independent of the formerly conservative media empires like Fox that stabled talent pools. Earlier this week, Fox fired the remaining members of Carlson’s old staff, and insiders confirmed that a “vast majority” would be joining Carlson for the next chapter of his career.
Puck News’ Dylan Byers reports:
“I am told he is raising capital to launch a new company that may yet prove more influential. He’ll certainly benefit from an incongruous number of ultra wealthy conservative media investors and a scant (though growing) number of opportunities, as Glenn Beck and the tandem of Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing have demonstrated. A decade ago, the Mercers seemed like lone wolves in their patronage of Breitbart. These days, conservative mediacos are popping up more rampantly, as capital finds opportunities and the conversation moves further and further to the fringes.
Tucker, the movement’s biggest star in a generation, may be able to test the boundaries. It will certainly represent the latest iteration, for better or worse, in the creator economy. And while it might sound slightly insane, given the differences in their politics and audiences, Tucker’s new media play might—if executed adroitly—serve as a paradigm for a generation of TV news personalities with huge followings and fandoms who remain marooned to their desks amid shrinking audiences. Fox will obviously be paying breathless attention to his developments, despite protestations to the contrary, but so will executives and CNN and MSNBC.”Carlson has been a regular presence online since leaving Fox, launching a “Tucker on Twitter” series of mini-episodes that continue to generate tens of millions of views each. Without a serious or stable monetization strategy from Twitter alone, it makes sense that Carlson would be pursuing a new avenue similar to those charted by conservative personalities like Glenn Beck or Ben Shapiro, but with a much bigger audience. At the height of his popularity on Fox Carlson regularly drew three million nightly viewers for his 8 p.m. show.
Fox News is expected to wage a protracted legal battle with his former star in an attempt to keep him under contract and on the sidelines through the 2024 election cycle. Talks between attorneys for Carlson and the network have recently broken down, and allies of the provocateur have begun to wage a campaign of mudslinging that has led to embarrassing headlines for the once-conservative network. Last month a leaked employee handbook showed Fox encouraged its employees to pursue gender transition, an ironic contradiction to the network’s lambasting of liberals on transgender accommodations in schools and women’s sports.
Fox is not without its own ammunition, however. Irena Briganti, the network’s publicist, is rumored to maintain an “oppo file” on Carlson and all network talent to keep them from going rogue. More recently the network’s team of powerhouse attorneys sent Carlson and his staff a cease-and-desist letter to stanch his Twitter show as well as the development of any new venture.
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