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Is he the traitor he is known to be?
How Tucker Carlson ‘Plays Both Sides,’ Ripping Media on TV While Being a ‘Super-Secret Source’ Off Camera
Samson Amore
Sun, June 20, 2021, 10:56 PM
Tucker Carlson may say he hates the “liberal media” with a passion when he’s in front of the camera on Fox News, but a new column from New York Times media reporter Tucker spends much of his time off-camera gossiping with the same people he claims to detest.
Media writer Michael Wolff is quoted in as describing Tucker as being “a primary supersecret source” inside “Trump’s Washington.” Wolff told the New York Times, “I know this because I know what he has told me, and I can track his exquisite, too-good-not-to-be-true gossip through unsourced reports and as it often emerges into accepted wisdom.”
Tucker and Fox News did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the column.
Smith called Tucker’s relationship with liberal media an “open secret” in Washington.
“Mr. Carlson, a proud traitor to the elite political class, spends his time when he’s not denouncing the liberal media trading gossip with them,” Smith said. “He’s the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump and for coverage of the internal politics of Fox News (not to mention stories about Mr. Carlson himself).”
Samson Amore
Sun, June 20, 2021, 10:56 PM
Tucker Carlson may say he hates the “liberal media” with a passion when he’s in front of the camera on Fox News, but a new column from New York Times media reporter Tucker spends much of his time off-camera gossiping with the same people he claims to detest.
Media writer Michael Wolff is quoted in as describing Tucker as being “a primary supersecret source” inside “Trump’s Washington.” Wolff told the New York Times, “I know this because I know what he has told me, and I can track his exquisite, too-good-not-to-be-true gossip through unsourced reports and as it often emerges into accepted wisdom.”
Tucker and Fox News did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the column.
Smith called Tucker’s relationship with liberal media an “open secret” in Washington.
“Mr. Carlson, a proud traitor to the elite political class, spends his time when he’s not denouncing the liberal media trading gossip with them,” Smith said. “He’s the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump and for coverage of the internal politics of Fox News (not to mention stories about Mr. Carlson himself).”
Besides Smith at the Times, who said in the column he texts with Tucker regularly, Tucker has maneuvered his way into the source networks of several prominent media columnists. That list includes CNN’s Brian Stelter, who hosts “Reliable Sources” and told Smith “you can see Tucker’s fingerprints all over the hardcover” edition of his book “Hoax” — which came out last year and is an investigation into how Fox News allowed Trump to spread misinformation all throughout his presidency.
Stelter told Smith that he “couldn’t stomach” talking to Tucker for the recently updated version of the book, though.
The fact that Tucker Carlson spends time fraternizing with the reporters on the other side of the political aisle — and ones he openly shreds on television night after night — isn’t that unusual. Irina Briganti, the head of public relations for Fox News, told the New York Times it’s “not really surprising for anyone who works in media to talk to the press.”
Tucker routinely criticizes the media, especially left-wing or liberal-adjacent outlets. Recently, his favorite targets include and even , who he once .
He’s previously said he’s “disgusted” with his fellow media figures, and (a sports site owned by Fox) recently, “The media is basically Praetorian Guard for the ruling class, the bodyguards for Jeff Bezos. That’s the opposite of what we should have. I really hate them for it, I’ll be honest.”
The tactic of identifying someone as a political operative (even if they’re not) and attacking them on live TV is an effective way to deflect or shut down their criticism, and that’s something Smith noted Tucker does with increasing frequency. Sometimes, arguing that he’s the one under attack helps shift events , Smith noted. In one case, Tucker mentioned on-air and all but shut down a story they were reporting about him, claiming they were “following” him and caused protestors to show up at his home in Maine.
But while Tucker is delighted to go after left-wing media figures, he will also eagerly turn the tables when it suits him, Smith’s column notes.
“It’s so unknown in the general public how much he plays both sides,” an anonymous “reporter for a prominent publication who speaks to Mr. Carlson regularly” told the New York Times.
Smith’s column implied that Tucker Carlson seeks out these double-sided relationships because they insulate him from critical coverage — which, while it certainly exists, could also be more prevalent. An unnamed “Washington journalist” told the New York Times, “if you open yourself up as a resource to mainstream media reporters, you don’t even have to ask them to go soft on you.”
How Tucker Carlson ‘Plays Both Sides,’ Ripping Media on TV While Being a ‘Super-Secret Source’ Off Camera
Samson Amore
Sun, June 20, 2021, 10:56 PM
Tucker Carlson may say he hates the “liberal media” with a passion when he’s in front of the camera on Fox News, but a new column from New York Times media reporter Tucker spends much of his time off-camera gossiping with the same people he claims to detest.
Media writer Michael Wolff is quoted in as describing Tucker as being “a primary supersecret source” inside “Trump’s Washington.” Wolff told the New York Times, “I know this because I know what he has told me, and I can track his exquisite, too-good-not-to-be-true gossip through unsourced reports and as it often emerges into accepted wisdom.”
Tucker and Fox News did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the column.
Smith called Tucker’s relationship with liberal media an “open secret” in Washington.
“Mr. Carlson, a proud traitor to the elite political class, spends his time when he’s not denouncing the liberal media trading gossip with them,” Smith said. “He’s the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump and for coverage of the internal politics of Fox News (not to mention stories about Mr. Carlson himself).”
Samson Amore
Sun, June 20, 2021, 10:56 PM
Tucker Carlson may say he hates the “liberal media” with a passion when he’s in front of the camera on Fox News, but a new column from New York Times media reporter Tucker spends much of his time off-camera gossiping with the same people he claims to detest.
Media writer Michael Wolff is quoted in as describing Tucker as being “a primary supersecret source” inside “Trump’s Washington.” Wolff told the New York Times, “I know this because I know what he has told me, and I can track his exquisite, too-good-not-to-be-true gossip through unsourced reports and as it often emerges into accepted wisdom.”
Tucker and Fox News did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on the column.
Smith called Tucker’s relationship with liberal media an “open secret” in Washington.
“Mr. Carlson, a proud traitor to the elite political class, spends his time when he’s not denouncing the liberal media trading gossip with them,” Smith said. “He’s the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump and for coverage of the internal politics of Fox News (not to mention stories about Mr. Carlson himself).”
Besides Smith at the Times, who said in the column he texts with Tucker regularly, Tucker has maneuvered his way into the source networks of several prominent media columnists. That list includes CNN’s Brian Stelter, who hosts “Reliable Sources” and told Smith “you can see Tucker’s fingerprints all over the hardcover” edition of his book “Hoax” — which came out last year and is an investigation into how Fox News allowed Trump to spread misinformation all throughout his presidency.
Stelter told Smith that he “couldn’t stomach” talking to Tucker for the recently updated version of the book, though.
The fact that Tucker Carlson spends time fraternizing with the reporters on the other side of the political aisle — and ones he openly shreds on television night after night — isn’t that unusual. Irina Briganti, the head of public relations for Fox News, told the New York Times it’s “not really surprising for anyone who works in media to talk to the press.”
Tucker routinely criticizes the media, especially left-wing or liberal-adjacent outlets. Recently, his favorite targets include and even , who he once .
He’s previously said he’s “disgusted” with his fellow media figures, and (a sports site owned by Fox) recently, “The media is basically Praetorian Guard for the ruling class, the bodyguards for Jeff Bezos. That’s the opposite of what we should have. I really hate them for it, I’ll be honest.”
The tactic of identifying someone as a political operative (even if they’re not) and attacking them on live TV is an effective way to deflect or shut down their criticism, and that’s something Smith noted Tucker does with increasing frequency. Sometimes, arguing that he’s the one under attack helps shift events , Smith noted. In one case, Tucker mentioned on-air and all but shut down a story they were reporting about him, claiming they were “following” him and caused protestors to show up at his home in Maine.
But while Tucker is delighted to go after left-wing media figures, he will also eagerly turn the tables when it suits him, Smith’s column notes.
“It’s so unknown in the general public how much he plays both sides,” an anonymous “reporter for a prominent publication who speaks to Mr. Carlson regularly” told the New York Times.
Smith’s column implied that Tucker Carlson seeks out these double-sided relationships because they insulate him from critical coverage — which, while it certainly exists, could also be more prevalent. An unnamed “Washington journalist” told the New York Times, “if you open yourself up as a resource to mainstream media reporters, you don’t even have to ask them to go soft on you.”
