Tucker Carlson Named Most Popular Individual Americans Follow for News in Survey

Fox News host Tucker Carlson discusses "Populism and the Right" during the National Review Institute's Ideas Summit at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, on March 29, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Tucker Carlson was named the most popular individual that Americans follow for the news in a recent survey, potentially delivering a warning to Fox News after he exited the network last month.

In a Gallup survey, Americans were asked about who they watch or follow the most to obtain their information. Carlson was ranked No. 1 with 113 mentions, while current MSNBC host Rachael Maddow was No. 2 with 107 mentions, it found.

Tie for No. 3 was Fox News host Sean Hannity, who currently hosts a 9 p.m. ET show on Fox News, and Trevor Noah, a comedian who formerly hosted Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” Both had 57 mentions. Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro was tied for No. 4 with late show Stephen Colbert with 56 mentions each, according to Gallup.

“Americans follow their favorite public individual for news and information because they like their personality (80 percent) and trust the individual (79 percent),” according to Gallup. “More than seven in 10 Americans also say they turn to their top public individual for ‘a perspective I can’t find in traditional news outlets.’ Being entertained also tops the list.”

Individuals who are also named frequently in the poll include Joe Rogan, Anderson Cooper, Lester Holt, Bill Maher, John Oliver, David Muir, former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and several others.

Gallup’s analysis also stated that individual influencers—instead of mainstream media institutions—were becoming a news source for most of the public. “In an era of widespread institutional distrust, the power of individuals with wide-reaching platforms and loyal audiences is more potent than ever,” it said.

Since Carlson’s departure, neither Fox nor Carlson have offered many public details about why he exited the channel. But on Twitter, Carlson released several videos, including one earlier this month in which he announced he would be taking his show to Twitter in a clip that generated more than 120 million impressions and millions of views.

In the 8 p.m. timeslot that Carlson formerly hosted, Fox created a temporary program called “Fox News Tonight,” which hasn’t drawn even close to the ratings that the former host consistently drew on a nightly basis. For Monday, May 22, the replacement program drew 1.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen data, whereas Carlson drew well over 3 million on average for the month of March. For the night, Maddow drew the most viewers during her 9 p.m. ET timeslot with a 2.3 million audience.

Former Fox host Megyn Kelly, in an interview with rival channel Newsmax, signaled that Carlson’s audience will follow him wherever he goes. That could be a bad omen for Fox News if he decides to keep his 8 p.m. ET timeslot.

“What if Tucker went someplace and actually launched a live broadcast at 8:00 [p.m. ET]? They'd get seriously hurt even worse than they have,” Kelly said. “We are four weeks post-Tucker’s termination in the anchor desk role at 8:00 p.m., and they are down 64 percent in the key advertising demo[graphic] ... they’ve lost two-thirds of their younger audience and more than half of their older audience in the 8:00 p.m.”

The ratings are “not sustainable,” she continued. “Fox cannot allow that to go on, and ... I don’t know what the solution is other than hiring Tucker back, which they’re definitely not going to do, but the next best move would be to free him up.”

However, a Fox executive told Variety earlier this month that advertising may have been the reason for Carlson’s sudden departure. Over the years, a number of large corporate brands have pulled ads from his show over what they said were controversial statements that he made on his program over the years.

That executive, Jeff Collins, said that dozens of new advertisers want to launch campaigns for the new 8 p.m. program.

An advertisement features Fox News personalities, including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, in New York City, on March 13, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“We have had over 40 new advertisers come into the hour since we launched the new program, including some of the largest in the country and, really, across all major categories,” he said. “We have seen new advertisers come in, and new demand.”

Another Poll

In another favorability survey, Carlson also performed well.  Earlier this month, consulting agency Change Research found that Carlson’s net favorability rating among Republicans stands at +59.

That figure is 63 points higher than his former employer, according to the survey. Fox News’ rating among the same demographic was at -4, it found.

When asked for comment about the numbers, Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

There have been reports this week that Carlson is working on rebuilding his studio in Maine after Fox reportedly took its equipment back from the former broadcaster. A Carlson builder, Patrick Feeney, told the Daily Mail Wednesday that the network “got all their [expletive] out of there,” referring to the Maine barn. “They took the set and everything, all the equipment, the chairs, the desk, the fake walls, everything.”

The Mail also posted photos of Carlson unloading equipment at the location in Maine. “He just got back late last night after meeting with lawyers and all that stuff,” Feeney said. “As you can imagine, he’s very, very busy right now.”