Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon have more in common than being fired| Expert

Shane Tilton is a fellow for the University’s Institute for Civics and Public Policy.

One of the oldest axioms I teach my student reporters at Ohio Northern University is that journalists should avoid becoming the news they are reporting.

There must be a clear separation line between the two. However, the firing of Don Lemon from CNN and Tucker Carlson leaving Fox News has become a central focus of media coverage this week.

One of the key takeaways from scanning the thousands upon thousands of news stories covering both media figures is that they have become an inkblot test for journalistic literacy in the United States.

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The most vital theme is how news organizations distinguish between traditional news coverage/journalism and the role of the commentator on their network.

Neither Lemon nor Carlson were news reporters.

Instead, they served the commentator position and therefore had a free range to express their vantage points of the meaningfulness of the news that the reporters in their respective channels conveyed.

Their form of expression and dynamic personalities allowed them to be more emotionally driven as on-air anchors than their journalist counterparts. But there are limits. Some argued that the combination of the two led to the loss of their shows.

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For Lemon, calling Nikki Haley "past her prime" seemed more than the CNN leadership could take.

His move to morning show host countered the strength that he showed during his nighttime series. Working in the panel format meant that Lemon's interactions would be more "off-the-cuff" and more prone to gaffes.

His history of past remarks, plus the low ratings of the morning show, marked the end of Lemon's time at CNN.

Carlson was a central focus of the Dominion lawsuit settlement and the upcoming Smartmatic court case, as it seems from the discovery phase that Carlson was more concerned with Fox's ratings and opposed to a truthful presentation of the election result with the quote, "We worked really hard to build what we have. Those (expletive) are destroying our credibility. It enrages me."

Carlson's position is fair, considering he is less focused on the grounded representation of reality and more driven to provide a good show for his audience.

This statement was supported during his slander case in 2020 when U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil noted the "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that [Carlson] is not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.'"

It is important to note that Carlson's legal exposure in the Abby Grossberg lawsuit most likely also played a role in the Murdochs deciding to let Carlson go.

Both anchors depend on their dynamic voices and connections with their audience to maintain long-term employment in their networks.

The networks, in turn, are calculating the long-term damage to their brands by keeping them on the payroll. Commentators live with the support of their audience and are gone when the societal, psychological, and financial cost to keep them becomes too much.

Shane Tilton is a fellow for the University’s Institute for Civics and Public Policy. He earned the 2018 Young Stationers’ Prize for his work advancing journalism and communication scholarship and education in U.S. higher education for nearly two decades; and the 2013 Harwood Dissertation Award from the Broadcast Education Association for his research on social media and its connection to university life. He recently published "Meme Life: The social, cultural, and psychological aspects of memetic communication." His website: www.shanetilton.com.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What do Don Lemon, Tucker Carlson have in common| Opinion