Brian Stelter

When I watch Tucker's show, I hear - you're going to think I'm crazy - I hear 2024 campaign monologues. That's what I sometimes hear him doing, thinking about what is the post-Trump GOP.

The more I watched cable, the more I realized the value of newspapers.

The Internet creates more space for extremism, and the echo chamber effect accelerates the process.

The Trump White House has employed several different strategies for sidestepping uncomfortable questions. There has been a rightward tilt at press conferences and briefings. At Q&A sessions with foreign heads of state, Trump has bypassed the country's biggest newsrooms and called on reporters from conservative outlets instead.

I was learning this from numerous sources, friends of Hannity, associates of Hannity, who say that off the record, Hannity is complaining about Trump, saying he's a crazy person... But Sean and these other stars of Fox, they're so committed to the business model, to their ratings, they want to make sure their viewers stay tuned.

You shouldn't fear your audience, you should serve your audience, serve them the truth.

The leaders of Fox News will never say this out loud, but they believe that their media empire is bigger than President Trump.

Trump granted pardons because of Fox... He raged against migrant 'caravans' because of Fox. He accused public servants of treason because of Fox. And he got the facts wrong again and again because of mistakes and misreporting by the network.

I want the Times to give tough reviews. That's partially why I read the Times.

Donald Trump has shouted 'hoax' hundreds of times, about everything from climate change to Supreme Court rulings to impeachment.

What Fox News has become in 2020 is a conclusion of decades of right wing media and rhetoric against the rest of the media. In the '90s it was about media bias. In the 2000s it was about media bias. Now, the rhetoric is so much more extreme. It's about enemies of the people.

Interviewers, even the ones that support the person they're interviewing, have an obligation to probe further and push back when a candidate says something dangerous.

Frankly, many Fox shows are running away from the news rather than reporting on it.

Well I think I'm of the view that Fox has a monopoly position... I think Fox has tremendous power from that point of view, but there's also the sense of fearing their audience.

Of course, 'Fox & Friends' is more of an entertainment product than a newscast. The show's viewers know that the morning show promotes Trump and his agenda. Most of Trump's interviews are with boosterish shows like this.

Looking back, Mr. Trump's exploitation of the term 'fake news' to smear journalists was the single most consequential thing he did during the transition period. He built the scaffolding for his supporters to reject any and all information that wasn't Trump-approved.

We ask how did ISIS members become radicalized? How did the shooters in El Paso or Orlando or Las Vegas become radicalized? Well, the answer very often is the Internet. The digital land of make-believe. The same pipeline that helps my children learn, helps you connect with your loved ones also poisons some adults and distorts their reality.

Some journalists are schmucks, in it for themselves, willing to cut corners. But in my experience the vast majority of journalists are trying to contribute to their communities, honestly and reliably.

For Fox, it's extremely discomfiting not to be No. 1 all day, every day.

Journalism is a messy business. For every prize-winning story there's plenty of gossip and garbage.