(NewsInsights.org) – Russian state media covered former Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson’s movements like a visiting dignitary after his February 1 arrival in Moscow. His sudden appearance prompted speculation that the independent journalist planned to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. Late Wednesday, February 7, Carlson confirmed his interview with Putin the day before and announced his plan to broadcast the conversation on his web channel, tuckercarlson.com, at 6 p.m. on Thursday. In response, Carlson has come under fire from a hail of criticism from media colleagues.
On X, formerly Twitter, Carlson listed his reasons in his nearly four-and-a-half-minute promo and explanation of why he’s interviewing Putin. Claiming journalism was his job, the former Fox host said people in the West were wholly unaware of what was going on in Ukraine or Russia because media outlets have skewed what little news they transmit. He argued he wanted to inform Americans because they’ve invested so much into the conflict without understanding the human cost.
Why I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 6, 2024
Carlson continued, claiming that Western sanctions are upending longstanding economic stability and realigning economic relationships. He said media outlets are omitting important financial information that will impact nations long-term. For example, he pointed out that Western media outlets have interviewed Ukrainians, particularly President Volodymyr Zalenskyy, scores of times. Yet, the controversial figure charged, “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview” Putin.
However, Western journalists and a handful of exiled Russian journalists pushed back on Carlson’s statements on X and in op/ed pieces. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour called his assertion “absurd” in her post, adding, “we’ll continue to ask for an interview, just as we have for years now.” The BBC’s Steve Rosenberg also noted that Carlson’s statement was “interesting” given that he and his organization had “lodged several requests” for interviews with the Kremlin only to be turned away every time.
In fact, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov told inquiring reporters that Carlson was wrong about Western journalists not attempting to interview Putin, according to The New York Times. However, he added that the pundit “couldn’t have known that.”
While Carlson waxed poetic on how journalists should be doing their jobs, exiled Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats had some specific criticisms to lay at his feet. On X, she wrote she and hundreds of Russian reporters just like herself had to go into hiding and eventually leave the country to continue reporting truthfully about the Russo-Ukraine war or face prison. She called Carlson an “SoB” for purporting to teach “good journalism” while filming from a $1000 per night Ritz Carlton Moscow suite.
Meanwhile, reporter Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal remained jailed on 10-month-old charges of espionage, caught in Putin’s clamp down on media and information.
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