BRET BAIER

Former President Donald Trump's decision to back out of Fox News Channel's first GOP primary debate this week likely costs the network a chance at a very large audience for the end of summer.

Fox News brought cake, balloons and fake mustaches to the set of “Fox & ”Friends" to pay tribute to Geraldo Rivera on Friday.

The two leading GOP presidential contenders had very different interview experiences with Fox News this past week.

Democracy issues were once an afterthought in election night coverage, with an occasional report on broken voting machines in a polling place or two.

Television viewers will find nearly blanket prime-time coverage of a Congressional hearing Thursday on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Two Fox News Channel contributors have quit, saying “irresponsible” voices have drowned out the responsible on the network.

The U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan and fearsome Hurricane Ida drew viewers to cable channels that focused on the unfolding events.

The first day of the House investigation into the Jan. 6 uprising at the U.S. Capitol exposed daytime television viewers to profane language and racial slurs.

Skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccination is a common theme in media appealing to conservatives, despite assurances from doctors and scientists that the vaccine is safe and effective.

“As conservative media proliferated, it put a lot more pressure on the hosts to move to the right and embrace warfare politics,” Rosenwald said. This is a business.”Hemmer said she expects the Electoral College vote will begin to shift the narrative from “the election is undecided" to “the election was stolen.”The difficulty of that transition was evident in coverage of the Electoral College voting. With Congress meeting Jan. 6 to formally count the Electoral College vote, Kelly said, “the way I read it, we won't have a president-elect until then.”CNN treated it like a second election night, keeping a running tally of Electoral College votes on the screen. The Electoral College vote led Bret Baier's newscast, which was not a given considering COVID-19 vaccinations began Monday. Meanwhile, daytime anchor Bill Hemmer's hourlong newscast didn't even mention the Electoral College.

FILE- People pass the News Corporation headquarters building and Fox News studios in New York on Aug. 1, 2017. Several Fox News Channel executives and on-air personalities were exposed last week to a person on a private plane who later tested positive for COVID-19. It has led to some restrictions at the network. Anchor Bret Baier said Monday that he's tested negative three times in the wake of the flight and will be doing his nightly news show from home this week. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

FILE- People pass the News Corporation headquarters building and Fox News studios in New York on Aug. 1, 2017. Despite intense pressure from Trump's team, Fox's decision team has stood fast with its election night call of Arizona for Biden. Fox has Biden with 264 electoral votes, and if Fox calls either Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada or North Carolina for the Democrat, that would give him enough to win the presidency. Trump’s campaign has legal observers watching the vote count in Philadelphia and several key Pennsylvania counties. Bill Hemmer, who has been closely monitoring the vote count on Fox, told viewers that “we'll see” if that call needed to be adjusted.

FILE- People pass the News Corporation headquarters building and Fox News studios in New York on Aug. 1, 2017. Several Fox News Channel executives and on-air personalities were exposed last week to a person on a private plane who later tested positive for COVID-19. Fox cited privacy concerns in not identifying who had tested positive or was exposed. Fox News Media President Jay Wallace was also on the flight, the Times said. Only people critical to the broadcast will be allowed in at Fox headquarters on election night, the memo said.

LOS ANGELES The Democratic and Republican conventions will lack for crowds but not television coverage. The Democratic meeting will be virtual, with Biden planning to make his acceptance speech from Wilmington, Delaware. Broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC plan an hour of nightly coverage of the conventions at 10 p.m. EDT. CNN's commentators for the Democratic meeting include Van Jones, Jennifer Granholm, Andrew Yang, and Scott Jennings. Commentary for the Republican convention will be handled by Rick Santorum, David Urban, Amanda Carpenter and Granholm.

NEW YORK Weeks before political conventions, television networks would typically be confirming hotel reservations, booking experts and pounding the last nails in temporary studios for their top anchors. Networks expect Democrats to host a mega video wall event, with feeds of speakers from across the country. Fox News' Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, who are booked for the Democrats' convention site in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are currently the only network anchors expected to travel. Despite the mystery of what the conventions are going to be, news executives anticipate a high level of interest among viewers. Either way, that challenge puts an enormous amount of pressure on Ricky Kirshner, who's producing the convention for Democrats, and the Trump campaign.