pjmedia.com By Scott Pinsker
In American media, there are two kinds of on-air talent. The first group is the most obvious: the charismatic newsmen with a swagger. You can’t always put your finger on it, but these folks were blessed with a God-given gravitas that makes ‘em so compelling. Sure, on a local news level, their “swagger” may vanish the moment they open their mouths and unveil the vapidness of their minds, but for the most part, they have a natural charm — an undefinable twinkle in their eye — that got ‘em in the door. When they walk in a room, heads will turn.
During his prime, Bill O’Reilly was absolutely in this category. Same goes for Megyn Kelly.
The second category are the worker bees. They weren’t blessed with natural charisma; most of ‘em were actually quite dreadful when they first got on the air. But they worked at it. Day in, day out. And they refused to be denied.
If you’re a Gladwellian, they put in their 10,000 hours.
Ben Shapiro and Jesse Watters, for example, aren’t naturally charismatic. Nobody looked at their faces (or listened to their voices) and thought, “Dammit, we’ve gotta get these guys on the air ASAP!” But they’re smart, hardworking, disciplined people, and they figured out how to be successful.
Incredibly successful, too: Jesse Watters now has the #1 show on cable news, and Ben Shapiro has the #1 political podcast. It shows you the power of dogged determination.
Then there’s Tucker Carlson.
Previously known as “the most influential voice in right-ring media, without a close second,” Carlson’s path to fame and fortune was unlike any of his contemporaries. He was more akin to a pro wrestler in the 1970s, hopping from one territory to another, making a momentary splash — and then packing his bags with his tail between his legs after overstaying his welcome: He was still rockin’ the bowtie gimmick on CNN with “Crossfire” (and then his show was cancelled). He pivoted to “Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered” on government-funded PBS (and then his show was cancelled). Next was “Tucker” on MSNBC (and then his show was cancelled).
You detecting a trend?
But with Fox News, Carlson struck paydirt: “Tucker Carlson Tonight” became the network’s flagship program and legit “must see TV” for political news junkies. Long gone was the bowtie gimmick; this version of Tucker Carlson was a serious-minded, populist voice who called balls and strikes as he saw ‘em. Inquisitive and probing, he even out-O’Reilly’d Bill O’Reilly: Tucker’s writing was sharper, his insights deeper, his agenda far more ambitious.
And then… he was gone. Once again, his show was cancelled…
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