Back in 2011, Rupert Murdoch visited my office at The Wall Street Journal, where I worked as a columnist and editor. He had just returned from London, where he had given testimony to a parliamentary committee investigating the phone-hacking scandal involving his British tabloids. Though I can’t remember many specifics, I recall the essence of his message: never put anything in writing. It seemed that Murdoch wasn’t focused on enforcing high ethical standards in his companies; he was merely trying to eliminate any evidence that investigators could use against him, his family, or his loyal subordinates.
Fast-forward to the present day, and it seems that not much has changed. Fox News has recently parted ways with Tucker Carlson, its former chief disinformation officer, who was fired for sending emails and text messages proving that he knew he was sharing lies, yet continued to spread them. Murdoch (and others at the network) also knew about the false information, according to evidence collected by Dominion Voting Systems. Additionally, the company is facing a lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting-technology company, for $2.7 billion. This situation could result in Fox’s downfall.
But I am not gleeful about this potential outcome. While some hosts may set up their own shops elsewhere, the business challenges faced by Fox News are similar to those of surfers in Nazare, Portugal: either catch the wave, miss the wave, or be crushed by it. Unfortunately for Fox, riding the wave will no longer be easy, as angry populism cannot be easily assuaged.
Though some believe that Fox News could have a bright future as a genuinely conservative alternative to the liberal slant of most major news media, it seems that Murdoch missed this opportunity. Instead, he could have created a center-right platform that elevated conservatism in a way that honored Burke, Hamilton, and Lincoln rather than Andrew Jackson, Joe McCarthy, and Pat Buchanan. Such a platform would remain conservative, but it would also defend the core principles of intelligent conservatism such as the belief that immigrants are valuable assets, that freedoms of speech and conscience must be extended to all, that democracy and the rule of law must be protected, and that patriotism entails the right to criticize one’s country while still loving it.
In conclusion, it is possible that the forces unleashed by Murdoch may eclipse everything in their path, including establishment Republicans and Fox News itself. Nevertheless, in the future, a channel that embodies this kind of intelligent conservatism, while still remaining conservative, will be desperately needed. While Murdoch missed his chance to create it, there is still hope that someone will rise to the occasion.
