People of all political affiliations have seen firsthand just how divided this nation can be on issues that arise
in the Trump era. Activism, online and in-person, has turned comments, innocuous and malicious, into large-scale events and threats.
The media personalities on both sides of the equation are popular targets, given their platforms and their willingness to say
shocking things to stir up controversy and ratings. Few targets are more notable than conservative Fox News personalities in that regard.
Currently, Fox News host Laura Ingraham is sitting out a week for “vacation” after an uproar and sponsor boycott surfaced following an attack she made on
David Hogg, one of the Parkland school shooting survivors who has been a visible presence in the groundswell for reformed gun laws in the United States.
This makes him a popular target, so when Ingraham saw a tweet he made about not getting into certain colleges, she didn’t hesitate to
attack the 17-year-old, despite his near-perfect grades and activism efforts. Many found that targeting a high school kid’s (impressive) grades was way out of bounds.
So as the sponsors began to fall from her show in response to this innocuous tweet from David Hogg, the network took action in pulling Ingraham, hoping the controversy
would die down. It hasn’t, as advertisers continue to bail on the show to distance themselves from the attack she made, and hopefully maintain some public goodwill in the process.
Now, for the first time since her disappearance from the airwaves, Fox News has made a statement regarding the future of Ingraham’s
role in the short and long-term at the conservative news network. As expected, they’re not wavering in their support of the divisive personality.
Many feel the statement, in its entirety below, is consistent with the network’s values of partisanship above reason and fair-mindedness, but the
show enjoys a large viewership, almost all of which subscribe to the type of statements Fox’s anchors make on a daily basis.
The statement from Fox News co-president Jack Abernathy reads:
We cannot and will not allow voices to be censored by agenda-driven intimidation
efforts. We look forward to having Laura Ingraham back hosting her program next Monday when she returns from spring vacation with her children.
So not only is the network allowing her back on the air, but they’re not even acknowledging the real reason behind the “vacation”
that Ingraham took. It comes as no surprise, and may be welcome news to those whose values are in line with the network’s platform.
Meanwhile, David Hogg hasn’t relented, calling Ingraham a bully for her remarks, and the only way he would ever appear on her
show for a discussion was if she apologized to every person she hurt “”throughout her professional career because of her immaturity and unprofessionalism.”
Ouch!