Musk moves in on Murdoch

[Valin]

Axios

Sara Fischer, Mike Allen

May  24 2023

Elon Musk has displaced Rupert Murdoch and Fox News as the king of conservative media in recent weeks.

Why it matters: Fox News used to be the place where conservatives went to break news. But the right-wing ecosystem has turned on the network, leaving Twitter as the center of media gravity for the Republican Party just as the 2024 election heats up.

Consider that it's been exactly one month since Fox fired Tucker Carlson and in that short period of time:

• Fox's ratings have sunk in the 8 p.m. hour as viewers flock to rival Newsmax.
• Tucker Carlson announced plans to bring a "new version" of his old Fox News show to Twitter, while arguing, " the news you consume is a lie."
• Ben Shapiro's conservative media company The Daily Wire told Axios it plans to put its entire slate of podcasts, which are almost all recorded as videos, on Twitter beginning May 30.

The biggest blow to Fox is coming Wednesday night, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign during a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk.

• Yes, but: What Fox will conduct what it says will be DeSantis' "first national TV interview following the announcement" with Trey Gowdy (the former Republican congressman from South Carolina, who's now a Fox host) in Carlson's old slot of 8 p.m. ET, now branded "Fox News Tonight."

Be smart: In choosing to bypass Fox News for Twitter, DeSantis is sending a signal to conservatives that Fox News is just as much a part of the mainstream media as CNN or any other news network.

(Snip)

[Valin]

Will Elon Musk Break the Legacy Media Stranglehold?
Ben Shapiro

May 24, 2023

This week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to announce his 2024 presidential candidacy on Twitter Spaces, the newest feature on Elon Musk's Twitter. Musk himself would be co-hosting the event, giving DeSantis access to Musk's 141 million Twitter followers. Only after the Twitter launch will DeSantis begin the more typical campaigning, embarking on a series of campaign events across the nation.

DeSantis' decision represents yet another blow to the power of the legacy media. Legacy media outlets have been fighting mad that DeSantis sees no purpose in granting them long-form interviews; while he's happy to answer their questions — and to aggressively confront them — at press conferences, he simply does not trust that legacy media will ask decent questions or edit him fairly. Instead, DeSantis has merely ignored them.

(Snip)

In any case, the legacy media — instead of re-examining their own biases and asking just why candidates of the Right refuse to appear on their air — have decided to target Musk and Twitter. They suggest that Musk is the newest threat to the republic — after all, if he weren't, would DeSantis be using Twitter for his launch?

Conservatives no longer need the approval of reporters at The New York Times. They no longer need to suffer the indignities of skewed grilling at the hands of partisan hacks who work for the alphabet networks. Times have changed. And DeSantis' Twitter launch is just the latest evidence.

[Valin]

May 24, 2023
Megyn Kelly is joined by Victor Davis Hanson, author of "The Dying Citizen," to talk about Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring for president on Twitter on Twitter with Elon Musk, DeSantis' messaging and whether he has a shot to beat Trump, and more.