Chris Wallace raises the IQ level of two networks
It looks as though the CNN plan to make itself less of a joke by replacing its circus clowns is moving into action. The network has new owners and has signaled that it intends to return to a straight news organization as it once was, back when it was popular. Here's their first affirmation of it.
According to Fox News:
"Fox News Sunday" anchor Chris Wallace announced his resignation from Fox News after 18 years on Sunday and teased "a new adventure."
"After 18 years — this is my final Fox News Sunday," Wallace said on his final airing Sunday. "It is the last time — and I say this with real sadness — we will meet like this."
"Eighteen years ago, the bosses here at Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they kept that promise. I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our country's leaders to account. It's been a great ride."
"We've covered five presidential elections, interviewed every president since George H.W. Bush, traveled the world — sitting down with France's Emmanuel Macron and Russia's Vladimir Putin," he added. "And I've gotten to spend Sunday mornings with you."
"It may sound corny, but I feel we've built a community here," he continued. "There's a lot you can do on Sundays. The fact you've chosen to spend this hour with us is something I cherish. But after 18 years, I have decided to leave Fox. I want to try something new, to go beyond politics to all the things I'm interested in. I'm ready for a new adventure. And I hope you'll check it out. And so — for the last time, dear friends — that's it for today. Have a great week. And I hope you'll keep watching Fox News Sunday."
It was a gracious, classy exit. The Fox News report noted that big names in news, such as Bill Melugin, the Fox correspondent who does the border surge scoops; Howie Kurtz; Guy Benson; and (on Twitter I saw) Brit Hume, congratulated him, said they'd miss him, and wished him the best. He was probably a good guy to work with, which is unusual in that prima donna industry (I've definitely heard stories).
Right after that, CNN announced that it was hiring him to work on their shows on CNN, its streaming service.
For Wallace, this is kind of a step downward, given the caliber and high ratings of Fox News compared to the place he's going. CNN, remember, is at the bottom of the barrel in news ratings. Its network hosts are all hopeless partisans given to saying embarrassingly stupid things and tweeting tweets that don't age well. Many of them are complete buffoons. The network's record of reporting false stories, partisanship, sitting on serious news stories, and acting as a public relations agency for the Democrat party has driven its ratings to something below that of the slew of cable shows called Shark Week.
Its personnel are an issue, too. Its star network host, Chris Cuomo, got fired for collusion and corruption, using his news contacts to dig up dirt on opponents of embattled brother Governor Andrew, which included a plotted smear of respected newswoman Janice Dean, who had rightly criticized Andrew Cuomo following the death of her mother-in-law and father-in-law* in a New York nursing home that came as a result of Cuomo's policies. Chris Cuomo also had sex harassment issues, same as his gelid, lizard-like bro. His producer has since been arrested for pervert activity — grooming and luring little girls into "sexual subservience" training. In another ring of the CNN circus, host Don Lemon was caught colluding with fraudster Jussie Smollett, who faked his own racial attack and was in hot water for his "narrative"-inspired lies. This is far from all of them in the CNN clown car, who are still rolling out at this point. That's some network they have over there at CNN that Wallace is going to.
But Wallace is going in, kind of like how the Ghostbusters of old went into haunted houses, undoubtedly for a beefy salary, given the career sacrifice he's making.
He's likely going to help clean up the place and install actual news standards. Although he's better than anyone at CNN, he's kind of a lesser light at Fox News, given that he tends to follow the media narrative and was colossally obnoxious to President Trump in the past. He's not the worst of them, but he has been annoying. While I'd gladly listen to him over some freak at CNN, give me someone like Brit Hume for a really objective news picture.
Can he hose CNN out? Not without a lot of additional firings and hirings. Whether he can do that, or his bosses can, isn't quite certain at this point. But it is telling that with Wallace's exit, Fox News is suddenly an improved network, given that it has one less leftist or RINO type biasing the coverage, while CNN is improved immensely in quality of coverage with the entry of Wallace. Wallace seems to be raising the collective I.Q. of both networks.
Well, let's wish him well and continue to watch the Fox Sunday shows, as Wallace recommends.
*Correction: An earlier version of this piece misidentified Dean's kin.
Image: DonkeyHotey via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
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