ZWF: Forget the Twitter files, here are the Fox files
Zander's Weekend Facts #54: Sunday, February 19, 2023
Thanks to newly unveiled court documents, we now know what Fox News’ biggest on-air talent actually thought of 2020 election fraud claims.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a dive into the latest news surrounding Fox News, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 94 features an update on the NBA season with Zander’s Facts NBA analyst Hill Billy. Zander and Hill Billy discuss the league’s top contenders at the All-Star break, LeBron James becoming basketball’s all-time leading score, and more hot topics around the association. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, February 19, 2023:
“It’s insane,” says person relaying the insanity
If you are someone who believes that those who are on Fox News don’t actually believe the stuff coming out of their mouths, congratulations! Your conspiracy was actually reality all along.
This past week, new court documents were unveiled to the public as part of Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News. Dominion is arguing that the network broadcast information about its software knowing that it was false because of competitive and political pressure.
On Friday, a court filing of a redacted version of Dominion’s brief in the case was released publicly, featuring messages between Fox on-air talent and network executives.
Among the 192 pages, here are some of the more fascinating communications:
An online conversation between Fox on-air talent Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham regarding Trump lawyer Sydney Powell. Carlson wrote, “Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane.” Ingraham responded, “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.” Carlson answered, “Our viewers are good people and they believe it.”
On the subject of Rudy Giuliani, another lawyer of former President Donald Trump’s, on-air talent Sean Hannity said of Giuliani, “Rudy is acting like an insane person.” Ingraham also noted, “Rudy such an idiot.” Fox Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch wrote, “Watching Giuliani! Really crazy stuff. And damaging.”
Dominion alleging that the network was not pleased with then-White House correspondent Kristin Fisher (now with CNN) after Fisher fact checked claims that Powell and Giuliani made during a press conference. Fox’s Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton allegedly told Fisher to do a better job of “respecting our audience.”
On-air talent Carlson and Hannity complaining after the network’s White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich fact checked a Trump tweet promoting the fraud claims. Carlson wrote, “Please get her fired. Seriously….What the fuck? I’m actually shocked…It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.” Hannity responded, “I’m 3 strikes. Wallace shit debate[.] Election night a disaster[.] Now this BS? Nope. Not gonna fly. Did I mention Cavuto?” Heinrich’s fact checking tweet was deleted by the next morning.
Fox News executives also had some things to say about their own talent, including Lou Dobbs, who was fired the day after Dominion first filed their suit. Fox News President Jay Wallace wrote of Dobbs’ show, “the North Koreans do a more nuanced show.” According to the brief, Fox producer Jeff Field wrote, “Dobbs “turned a blind eye” because he was “so committed” to Donald Trump.” Of Jeanine Pirro, Justin Andrews, the executive producer of Justice with Judge Jeanine, wrote, “Jeanine is just as nuts.”
Fox on-air talent and executives saw right-wing network Newsmax as a threat. Wallace wrote, “The Newsmax surge is a bit troubling—truly is an alternative universe when you watch, but it can’t be ignored.” Carlson also wrote, “Do the executives understand how much credibility and trust we’ve lost with our audience? We’re playing with fire, for real….an alternative like newsmax could be devastating to us.”
In its defense, Fox is arguing that by covering the claims of election fraud by Trump and his allies, the network was reporting and commenting on the news just like any other news organization would. The network is also stating that many of its programs did not endorse the election fraud claims.
Whether or not Dominion actually succeeds in this case, and they certainly face an uphill battle, it’s truly remarkable how truly far Fox is away from being an actual news organization. If you actually needed any other evidence, this is it.
Fox talent and executives clearly know that this is not a news organization as the name would suggest, but simply a funnel for right-wing propaganda. But no fear for poor old Fox, their viewers will eat it up anyway.
For more information on this week’s top story, check out this article from The New York Times - Fox Stars Privately Expressed Disbelief About Election Fraud Claims. ‘Crazy Stuff.’
What Zander’s been reading this week
Perhaps the most talked about portion of Super Bowl Sunday the day after is the halftime show. Ok, maybe it’s the actual game itself. But the halftime show is routinely the most watched portion of the telecast, with Rihanna’s performance this year averaging over 118 million viewers. However, it may surprise you to find out how much (or little) the halftime performer is actually paid for their services.
Check out this week’s featured article on The Sporting News - How much money are Super Bowl halftime show performers paid? - (Link for article on Apple News)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
NBA All-Star 2023: The 2023 NBA All-Star weekend is taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Last night, All-Star Saturday Night took place with the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, and Slam Dunk Contest. In the Skills Challenge, Team Jazz comprised of Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler, and Collin Sexton took home the trophy. Damian Lillard, who went to college at Weber State in Utah, scored 26 in the final round to clinch the 3-Point Contest. Finally, in the Slam Dunk Contest, Mac McClung, who was just signed to the 79ers on a two-way contract last week, wowed the judges with three perfectly-scored dunks to take home the trophy in the Slam Dunk Contest. Tonight, the All-Star Game will take place, with captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo drafting their teams just one hour before tipoff. The game will start at 8:30 pm et and air on TNT.
Super Bowl LVII: The Kansas City Chiefs won last Sunday’s Super Bowl over the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named MVP after he threw for three touchdowns and led the Chiefs back from a double-digit deficit. The Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in franchise history, and second with Andy Reid as head coach and Patrick Mahomes as starting quarterback. The game, which aired on Fox, averaged 113 million viewers, becoming the third most watched program ever on U.S. television. After the game, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy took the same position with the Commanders, while Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon took the head coaching jobs with the Colts and Cardinals, respectively.
College Basketball: The NCAA Tournament selection committee released the teams they would have as top four seeds if the NCAA Tournament began now on Saturday. The committee selected Alabama as their overall #1 seed, with Houston, Purdue, and Kansas joining the Crimson Tide as top seeds. Texas, Arizona, UCLA, and Baylor made up the four teams taking the #2 seeds. Out of the 16 teams released by the committee, the Big 12 conference had five named, the most of any conference. The official seedings for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be revealed in three weeks on Sunday, February 12.
MLS Season Begins: The next season of Major League Soccer is set to begin this coming weekend. This season will mark the beginning of a 10-year media rights deal for the league with Apple. All matches during the regular season and MLS Cup Playoffs will air on Apple TV, with most matches only being available through the MLS Season Pass subscription service. LAFC will attempt to defend MLS Cup, which they won for the first time last season.
Mikaela Shiffrin: Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin became the most successful skier in the modern era last week, winning her 14th career world championship medal. While partaking in the Alpine World Ski Championships in France, the American took gold in the giant slalom and silver in the slalom among four total medals. Earlier in the week, Shiffrin announced she had parted ways with her coach Mike Day after seven years.
Rapid-Fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Georgia Grand Jury: Portions of the final report from a Georgia grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election were released last week. According to the sections of the report made public, the panel believes that “one or more witnesses” committed perjury and recommended prosecutors to charge those accused. The identities of those being accused is not known publicly. The panel cannot indict, but it can recommend charges be brought by District Attorney Fani Willis.
2024 Election: Two major announcements were made last week regarding the U.S. elections that will take place in 2024. On Tuesday, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced she would not seek reelection to the seat she has held since 1992. Multiple California Democrats, including Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter have announced their candidacies to replace the 89-year-old. On the Republican side, former South Carolina Governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for president on Tuesday. Haley joins former President Donald Trump as the Republicans who have announced their bids for 2024 so far.
Debt Ceiling: The Congressional Budget Office announced last week that the U.S. will default on its debt this summer unless the debt ceiling is raised by congress. The CBO says that sometime between July and September, the Treasury Department will no longer be able to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt unless the debt limit is increased. Any increase to the debt ceiling must be approved by Congress and the White House, with congressional Republicans, Democrats, and President Biden currently negotiating to prevent a default on the country’s debt.
Architect of the Capitol: The Architect of the Capitol, Brett Blanton, was fired by President Biden last week. Blanton, who was appointed by former President Trump in January 2020, was accused last year of offering private tours of the U.S. Capitol while it was closed because of the Coronavirus pandemic in September 2020. Since the inspector general report was released last year, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have requested that Blanton leave his position.
Aerial Objects: The search for remnants of two aerial objects that were shot down last week has ended, according to the U.S. military. An object was shot down over Alaskan airspace on February 10, and another was shot down over Lake Huron near Michigan on February 12. Another object that was shot down last week was over Canada. President Biden announced last week that the government doesn’t believe the objects were related to surveillance efforts.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment. That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, February 26, 2023.
