Nicole Hemmer, a historian at Columbia University and the author of “Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics,” said the Fox News decision to put the Jan. 6 committee hearing on its smaller platforms fit into a larger conservative argument that the insurrection was “not that big of a deal.”
“To air it on their tiny sister network, they are reinforcing that argument: This isn’t important,” she said.
Fox News disputed that claim on Tuesday, saying the hearing will be available to its audience in several ways. The coverage on Fox Business will be led by Bret Baier, Fox News’s most prominent host who is not overtly partisan, along with Martha MacCallum. That programming will also run on the Fox News website as well as on Fox’s streaming service, Fox Nation. Mr. Baier and Ms. MacCallum will appear on Fox News after prime time with an 11 p.m. posthearing special.
The network…
