I'll try to refrain from speaking ill of the dead - as much as possible.
Here are the facts: Lou Dobbs, whose show was canceled by Fox News in 2021, died today at age 78. The cause of his death is not known.
The exact cause of Dobbs’ ouster from Fox has never been known, either. What is known is that he was one of the big proponents of the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. So much so that he was named, personally, as one of the defendants in the Smartmatic $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News. That case is still working its way through the court system, with a trial possible in 2025.
Dobbs was apparently let go from Fox because, basically, the network was tired of dealing with him. Brian Stelter reported for CNN at the time:
Dobbs was once “respected as a business journalist,” former Fox News executive John Huddy said in an email message. But in recent years he had been “out of control, reckless and bad tempered,” Huddy said, articulating some of the factors that may have weighed on management’s decision.
Indeed, sources currently at the network said that tensions between Dobbs and management flared several times in 2019 and 2020.
...
As one insider put it, Dobbs’ ratings didn’t justify the headaches. While he was the highest-rated host on Fox Business, the network is relatively low-rated across the board.
The Los Angeles Times reported that “people familiar with discussions say the decision to end Dobbs’ program was under consideration before the legal issues with Smartmatic arose.”
Dobbs’ rhetoric should have gotten him canned long before he actually was. To give a few examples of his vituperation: He was a birther who called for federal marshals to arrest former President Obama for criticizing Donald Trump, the current White House occupant, abroad. He called Democratic senators who opposed Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, “enemies of the people” who “are threatening the American people … our government and our way of life.” He also doxed on Twitter a woman who had accused Trump of sexual abuse (Dobbs later apologized and deleted the tweet).
You probably get the picture. But I’m not sure Fox News' spokesperson did. Or, at least, he or she greatly touched it up. From CNN’s Oliver Darcy:
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lou Dobbs. An incredible business mind with a gift for broadcasting, Lou helped pioneer cable news into a successful and influential industry,” a Fox News Media spokesperson said. “We are immensely grateful for his many contributions and send our heartfelt condolences to his family.”
Of course, “heartfelt condolences” to the family are warranted and appropriate. But Fox could have briefly eulogized Dobbs without saying they were “immensely grateful” for the guy whose “contributions” and “gift for broadcasting” they wanted to be rid of.
Still, I believe he probably suffered enough when he lost his TV platform. I offer my own condolences to the family, hope Dobbs died peacefully and without suffering.
(Dobbs caricature by DonkeyHotey, via Flickr and Creative Commons license)
