Tucker Carlson is the "go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories" about Fox News and Donald Trump

The New York Times

The New York Times' Ben Smith reports that while Carlson constantly bashes the media on his Fox News show, he's a source for many reporters behind the scenes. Brian Stelter, the host of CNN's Reliable Sources, told Smith “you can see Tucker’s fingerprints all over the hardcover” edition of his 2020 book Hoax, which excoriates Fox News for amplifying Trump’s falsehoods. Stelter said that he “couldn’t stomach” talking to Carlson, who has grown ever more hard-line, for the updated paperback version that was just released. “It’s so unknown in the general public how much he plays both sides,” adds a reporter for a “prominent” outlet. As Smith points out, "Carlson was born to a world of insiders and story shapers, and makes no secret of it. His father was a reporter in Los Angeles and San Diego before Ronald Reagan appointed him director of the Voice of America, and the son grew up with a generation of elite Washington journalists."