Civil War At 21st Century Fox

The Murdoch family-controlled media conglomerate that has long thrived as a big tent that includes subversive entertainment shows such as “Family Guy” and conservative viewpoints of news commentators such as Sean Hannity is being pulled apart by partisan politics in the age of President Trump.

“Modern Family” co-creator Steve Levitan shook the entertainment industry Tuesday with an announcement on Twitter that he would leave Fox’s TV studio, citing his personal disgust with Fox News as the reason. However, the L-A Times reports he quickly revised his statement, saying he would make his decision after 21st Century Fox completes the pending sale of its movie and TV studio assets to either Walt Disney Co. or Comcast, which are now in a bidding war for them.

But Levitan’s decision to toss a social media grenade at his longtime employer demonstrates how anger over the rightward tilt of Fox News has been bubbling over among liberals on the studio side.

I have no problem with fact-based conservatism (such as WSJ), but @FoxNew’s 23-hour-a-day support of the NRA, conspiracy theories and Trump’s lies gets harder to swallow every day as I drive onto that lot to make a show about inclusion.

— Steve Levitan (@SteveLevitan) June 19, 2018

Levitan joined other Fox studio talent — director Paul Feig and “Family Guy” creator and star Seth MacFarlane — in openly expressing disdain for Fox News, an extraordinary rebuke. Though shows such as “The Simpsons” occasionally lampoon Fox News, high-profile creative producers within the company have rarely publicly criticized the news operation so harshly.

Levitan and others were responding to how the channel’s hosts and commentators defended the Trump administration’s decision to separate and detain children who cross the border illegally with their parents — a policy widely deplored by both Republicans and Democrats. Fox News host Laura Ingraham has described the detention centers for children along the Mexican border as summer camps.

MacFarlane was disturbed in particular by Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s assertions that viewers should ignore what they hear from other news sources. MacFarlane, whose programs have earned hundreds of millions of dollars for 21st Century Fox, said he was embarrassed to work for the company.

He backed up his response to Carlson with a $2-million donation to NPR and gave an additional $500,000 to its Los Angeles member station, KPCC 89.3 FM.