美国国家公共电台 NPR--Fox warns Tucker Carlson to stop posting videos on Twitter

Fox warns Tucker Carlson to stop posting videos on Twitter

Transcript¹

Conservative provocateur Tucker Carlson posted his third video to Twitter this week, ignoring warnings from his former employer, Fox News, to cease and desist amid an alleged² contract battle.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox News, but he's still sharing his opinions.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Yeah, he's got a new show on Twitter named Tucker on Twitter.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TUCKER CARLSON: But what about voters? What are they learning from this spectacle? Well, mostly they're learning that they have no power at all because nobody cares about them.

MART?NEZ: His latest video has more than 80 million views. Fox is warning Carlson, though, to knock it off because he's still under contract with them until 2025.

FADEL: NPR's David Folkenflik joins us to talk about the battle brewing³ between these two conservative media powerhouses. Good morning, David.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE⁴: Morning, Leila.

FADEL: So what are these videos that Carlson's posting on Twitter?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, they're awfully⁵ similar to the monologues⁶ that used to kick off his prime time show on Fox News itself. On Tuesday, he did sort of this scattershot attack. But really, he was focusing mostly on the arraignment⁷ of former President Donald Trump⁸ over possession of classified materials. Carlson presented it not just as a prosecution⁹ but a persecution¹⁰, saying President Joe Biden and the Washington establishment had it in for him because of his stance against the Iraq war during the Republican presidential primaries in 2016. I think it's worth pointing out Trump really didn't come out against the invasion of Iraq until it started to turn pretty unpopular.

FADEL: OK. So like you said, it sounds a lot like his show on Fox. And he's still under contract with Fox. So how does he get to do this?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, according to Fox, he doesn't. The specter of litigation hangs over all of this. Fox had basically fired Carlson, which is to say it canceled his show after settling this huge defamation¹¹ suit for nearly $800 million over bogus claims of election fraud in the 2020 race. Carlson has also been sued, along with Fox News, for a hostile work environment by a former senior producer who alleged his show was rife¹² with bigotry¹³ and sexism and apparently¹⁴ has dozens of audio recordings¹⁵ to make her case. And Fox News itself has gone pretty quiet about those allegations at the moment. The real question is, does Fox want to go to war with a figure who's so popular among its audience? Fox says, look; he's still under contract until the beginning of 2025, which puts him after the 2024 race. And we're paying him, so he's got to shut up. Fox has had real consequences by firing him, however. It's lost about a third of its viewers in prime time. MSNBC for the first time in almost two years beat Fox in prime-time viewers last week. And that's a real blow to Fox.

FADEL: OK, so that's Fox's perspective. But clearly, Carlson doesn't see what he's doing as wrong since he's posting the videos. How does he justify¹⁶ it?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, lawyers claim that Fox has sought to hurt his reputation by leaking damaging things publicly and have claimed that they've already violated his contract. They also say he has the First Amendment¹⁷ right to speak. Let's not forget, Elon Musk¹⁸, the controlling owner of Twitter, says Carlson's videos are a model for people on the right and left. It's not compensated¹⁹ directly by Twitter. And it's not exclusive to Twitter. In the meantime, it's fascinating to see Carlson not only take shots at the establishment and others among conservatives, but at former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan twice in his video last night. Ryan, of course, a corporate²⁰ director of parent company Fox Corp.

FADEL: OK, so where does this fight between Fox and Carlson go from here?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, if you take literally²¹ what's playing out, it looks like it's headed to court. Neither side should want that. They've both been damaged by all these revelations in that earlier defamation suit I mentioned. But Carlson really wants a voice in this upcoming presidential cycle and to keep the influence he's built over the years. And Fox really wants to sideline him and to get their viewers back onside. The question is, who gives up first? Or who gives up enough to come to terms before this actually goes to court?

FADEL: NPR's David Folkenflik. Thank you.

FOLKENFLIK: You bet.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

6 monologues   

n.（戏剧）长篇独白( monologue的名词复数 )；滔滔不绝的讲话；独角戏

参考例句：

• That film combines real testimonials with monologues read by actors. 电影中既有真人讲的真事，也有演员的独白。 来自互联网
• Her monologues may help her make sense of her day. 她的独白可以帮助她让她一天的感觉。 来自互联网

7 arraignment   

n.提问，传讯，责难

参考例句：

• She was remanded to juvenile detention at her arraignment yesterday. 她昨天被送回了对少年拘留在她的传讯。 来自互联网
• Wyatt asks the desk clerk which courthouse he is being transferred to for arraignment. 他向接待警员询问了马宏将在哪个法庭接受传讯。 来自互联网

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

11 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

12 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

13 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

15 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

16 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

17 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

18 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

19 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

20 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

21 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。