Controversy Appears to Be Too Hot for Ingraham

Janice Friedman

March 31, 2018

Controversy Appears to Be Too Hot for Ingraham

Laura Ingraham is taking a vacation next week…

But many are wondering whether a controversy swirling around the host will go on hiatus as well.

The Fox News host, who’s “Ingraham Angle” was the fourth most-watched cable-news program in February, told viewers on Friday night that she would not be on air next week. She said she plans to take what she described as a pre-planned break around the Easter holiday with her children.

Substitute hosts will most likely fill in for her on the program.

Ingraham is leaving amidst scrutiny. On Wednesday, Ingraham set off an altercation with a Twitter post, mocking Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg.

Hogg is a student who has spoken out about gun control prominently since the February 14th shooting incident at the Parkland. Ingraham’s tweet linked to a report saying Hogg had been rejected from four California colleges. Her tweet also said Hogg “whines about” the rejections.

In response, Hogg tweeted a list of recent advertisers in her program that was gathered by Media Matters, a left-leaning watchdog group. He urged followers to pressure them to remove their commercials from Ingraham’s show.

Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, TripAdvisor, Nutrish, Expedia, and Hulu – a video-streaming company partly owned by Fox News parent 21st Century Fox – are among the advertisers who have said they would no longer advertise in her program.

On Thursday, however, Ingraham apologized via Twitter. She said that she was sorry “for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland.”

Twitter screen shot

She then invited Hogg to appear on her program. Hogg declined her offer.

On Friday, many advertisers kept their distance from the program. The only blue-chip advertiser to appear over the course of the hour-long broadcast was IBM.

Many of the sponsors, however, were direct-response advertisers like MyPillow.com, or lesser-known entities such as the American Petroleum Institute, Interstate Batteries, and KT Tape.

Fox News filled various commercial breaks with promos for hosts like Bret Baier, or the mid-morning team of Bill Hemmer and Sandra Smith.

Her announcement on Friday drew comparisons to another Fox News host who came under the microscope. Last April, Bill O’Reilly announced a pre-planned vacation just before Easter weekend during an even greater controversy. Advertisers were moving commercials elsewhere on the network after a New York Times report detailed accusations of sexual harassment against O’Reilly, who was at the time the linchpin of the Fox News primetime lineup.

He never returned to the air. He was fired eight days later in a letter signed by the three members of the Murdoch family most active in running Fox News’ parent company, 21st Century Fox: Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and James Murdoch.

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At this point, there is no indication that Fox News executives want Ingraham to remain off air.

Fox News is working with advertisers and says a person familiar with the network’s ad sales strategy. They are accommodating sponsors who wish to move commercials elsewhere, but also maintaining a long-term view about the program and its connection with Madison Avenue.

What are your thoughts?

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Credit: Variety

Controversy Appears to Be Too Hot for Ingraham

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