Boycott call for Fox’s Hannity fizzles, at least publicly
NEW YORK — More than a month after a liberal advocacy group publicly called on advertisers to boycott Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News Channel, luxury carmaker Cadillac has been the only new company to publicly back away from the program.
While Hannity has appeared largely impervious to the efforts against him, opponents say they’re not giving up.
Meanwhile, Hannity is ascendant at Fox. His show, which averaged nearly 2.7 million viewers in August, was the second mostpopular program in cable news behind MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, according to the Nielsen company. Starting Monday, Hannity moves back to the 9 p.m. Eastern time slot he previously occupied, taking Maddow on directly.
Fox wouldn’t discuss his advertising.
Cadillac pulled its commercials after becoming aware of commentary on Hannity’s program after violence at a rally held by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“In the strongest possible terms, we at Cadillac condemn any form of racism or discrimination,” company spokesman Andrew Lipman said. “We have a zero-tolerance policy as it pertains to any of our employees and business partners.”
Angelo Carusone, president of the media watchdog that called for the boycott, Media Matters for America, said other luxury carmakers Land Rover and Mercedes Benz have also abandoned Hannity. A Land Rover spokesman, Stuart Schorr, said that while the car is currently not being advertised on Hannity, it is not participating in a boycott and that its advertising strategy “evolves and changes.” Mercedes representatives did not return queries about the company’s plans.
Media Matters said some dozen advertisers have told the organization they will not purchase commercials in Hannity’s show in the future; some have current contracts and are staying put until those commitments are completed.
Efforts against Hannity were partly triggered by his promotion of a story suggesting that a Democratic National Committee staffer who was killed last year might have been involved in a leak of Wikileaks documents. Hannity is the most visible and vehement supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump on the most influential media outlet for conservatives.
Carusone said Hannity had gone beyond mere commentary, pointing to the frequent appearance of Trump attorney Jay Sekulow on the program. He said he wouldn’t attack a media figure’s commercial viability because of just one or two comments.
“It’s one thing to have political perspective,” he said. “It’s another thing to see it as a political campaign.”
Boycott efforts frequently go nowhere, but Carusone’s track record made this one worth watching. He was involved in trying to get advertisers to back away from Bill O’Reilly this past spring, following reports of settlements made in sexual harassment cases against him. Advertisers, and Fox, quickly abandoned him.