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Donald Trump and Fox News: Until now it was almost a kind of symbiosis. The US president reportedly consumed the conservative television station with great intensity and called at any time of the day or night to be interviewed live, often with uncritical questions. Political scientist Curd Knüpfer says this will no longer be enough to design a breakfast program in the future. But this does not mean the ruin of the station.
Curd knotter
Researcher at the John F. Kennedy Institute, Berlin
SRF News: Donald Trump missed re-election. What does that mean for conservative media outlets like Fox News in America?
Curd Knüpfer: This symbiosis will disappear. On Fox News, it will no longer be enough to have the president on the line when you watch breakfast television in the morning. So the announcer now has an important role to play – it’s about finding a new direction, for you and for the Republican Party.
Fox News aired on October 7, 1996 and is part of the News Corporation media group owned by Australian-American businessman Rupert Murdoch.
Reuters
The reports on Fox News have changed since Election Day, and in some cases, they have also become more critical of Trump. What happened?
The reality has manifested. And the reality is that Trump did not win the election. Fox News now reports how he is doing. In other words, the president did not get enough votes and, without any proof, he assumed it was a fraud. Saying there is no evidence for this may seem critical to the president. But it is only a factual report at first. And Fox News couldn’t deny that.
Fox News cut a press conference for Trump’s spokeswoman. Does that mean Fox News is parting ways with Trump?
Over the past four years, we’ve seen the media, not just Fox News, but the more traditional leading outlets, continue to fall for Trump’s trap. Because even if you tell a falsehood, you are still the president. It does not necessarily depend on the media not to report on it. Reporters were frustrated by this, but they didn’t really come off the paper.
The reality has manifested. And the reality is that Trump did not win the election.
In fact, that has changed in the past week. With the change in institutions, these journalists are no longer so reluctant to “fact-check” the president.
71 million people voted for Trump, including many Fox News viewers. Do you stay true to the station?
About 40 percent of those who identify as strongly Republican use Fox News as a medium. At prime time, the numbers are a bit lower, as the station reaches between three and four million viewers. These will definitely be preserved, I have no doubt about that. For example, during the presidency of George W. Bush, when Fox News boomed, the station became the Republican bull market station with the Bush administration’s “war and terror” narrative.
Hopefully the station will become a party platform for Republicans.
At the time, people were also wondering what was happening to Fox News under Barack Obama? And it turned out that the station was doing well. He was able to maintain his leadership in the market by positioning himself as an opponent of the Obama administration. Even now it is hoped that the station will be critical of Joe Biden, that it will become a small party platform for Republicans where they can reposition themselves and possibly new players also emerge.
Interview by Raphaël Günther.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany reiterated Trump’s allegations of voter fraud. Fox News decided to cancel the broadcast of the press conference.
Keystone
