© Copyright 2020 Yunkang Yang The Political Logic of the Radical Right Media Sphere in the United States Yunkang Yang A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2020 Reading Committee: W. Lance Bennett, Chair Matthew J. Powers Kirsten A. Foot Adrienne Russell Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Communication University of Washington Abstract The Political Logic of the Radical Right Media Sphere in the United States Yunkang Yang Chair of the Supervisory Committee: W. Lance Bennett Department of Communication Democracy in America is threatened by an increased level of false information circulating through online media networks. Previous research has found that radical right media such as Fox News and Breitbart are the principal incubators and distributors of online disinformation. In this dissertation, I draw attention to their political mobilizing logic and propose a new theoretical framework to analyze major radical right media in the U.S. Contrasted with the old partisan media literature that regarded radical right media as partisan news organizations, I argue that media outlets such as Fox News and Breitbart are better understood as hybrid network organizations. This means that many radical right media can function as partisan journalism producers, disinformation distributors, and in many cases political organizations at the same time. They not only provide partisan news reporting but also engage in a variety of political activities such as spreading disinformation, conducting opposition research, contacting voters, and campaigning and fundraising for politicians. In addition, many radical right media are also capable of forming emerging political organization networks that can mobilize resources, coordinate actions, and pursue tangible political goals at strategic moments in response to the changing political environment. By tracking how major radical right media in the U.S. responded to various political threats during the Trump administration, I show that these political organization networks can emerge from different lines of internal media cueing, external politician cueing, and ideological alignments and divisions among various radical right groups. I also demonstrate that radical right media are more than just a propaganda arm operating in the interests of the GOP or the Trump administration. Funded by right-wing activist donors such as the Mercer Family and the Koch brothers, many radical right media have tried to influence the agendas of the GOP and its leaders. I argue that radical right media can erode and weaken American democracy by diminishing the role of facts in self-governance, breaking the democratic norm of mutual tolerance, and undermining democratic institutions. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1. Radical Right Media and Organizational Hybridity ..................................................... 1 1.1 Beyond Partisan Media ................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Hybrid Organizations .................................................................................................... 17 1.3 Radical Right Media as Hybrid Organizations ............................................................. 19 1.4 How Breitbart Functioned as a Political Organization ................................................. 21 1.5 Networked Organization and Organizational Hybridity ............................................... 26 1.6 Radical Right Media as Hybrid Political Organization Networks ................................ 30 1.7 Structure of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... 32 Chapter 2. The Political Roots of Major Radical Right Media in the U.S. .................................. 38 2.1 Right-wing Media as a Profitable Business .................................................................. 40 2.2 Major Radical Right Media’s Partisan Funding ........................................................... 44 2.3 The Partisan Agendas of Radical Right Media’s Funders ............................................ 47 2.4 Activist Donors’ Political Organizing Activities .......................................................... 50 2.5 The Role of Radical Right Media in Political Organizing ............................................ 53 2.6 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 3. Media Cued Political Organizing: How Fox News Mobilized the Radical Right Media Sphere to Protect President Trump ............................................................................................... 59 i 3.1 The Pre-WikiLeaks Period ............................................................................................ 64 3.2 WikiLeaks’ August 9th Disinformation Campaign ....................................................... 68 3.3 Fox News’ Seth Rich Disinformation Campaign ......................................................... 71 3.3.1 Fox News’ disinformation stories ............................................................................. 74 3.3.2 Reactions in the Radical Right Media Sphere .......................................................... 75 3.4 Media Cued Political Organizing.................................................................................. 77 3.5 Networked Properties of Media Cued Political Organizing in the Seth Rich Case ...... 79 3.6 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 82 Chapter 4. Politician Cued Political Organizing: How GOP Politicians Cued Radical Right Media to Save a U.S. Supreme Court Nominee............................................................................ 86 4.1 To Attack or Not to Attack: Two Diverging Responses ............................................... 89 4.2 Radical Right Media’s Stance on Ford ......................................................................... 93 4.3 GOP Politicians as the Most Prominent Source ........................................................... 96 4.4 Stance on Ford as a Result of GOP Politicians’ Cueing ............................................... 99 4.5 How Republicans’ Cueing Worked ............................................................................ 103 4.6 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 106 Chapter 5. Ideologically Contested Political Organizing: How Radical Right Media Pressured President Trump to Fire His National Security Advisor ............................................................. 108 5.1 The Assumption of Ideological Coherence................................................................. 110 5.2 The Campaign to Oust H.R. McMaster ...................................................................... 114 5.2.1 Ideological Dispute in Foreign Policies .................................................................. 116 5.2.2 Three Major Organizing Themes against McMaster .............................................. 118 ii 5.2.3 The Two-tier Pattern of Political Organizing ......................................................... 120 5.2.4 Coordinating Leaks from Within the White House ................................................ 124 5.2.5 Mobilizing Outside Political Groups ...................................................................... 126 5.2.6 Increasing the Reach of Message ............................................................................ 128 5.3 Reacting to President Trump’s Intervention ............................................................... 129 5.4 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 130 Chapter 6. Conclusion: Radical Right Media and Democracy in America ................................ 132 6.1 View 1: Radical Right Media are News Organizations .............................................. 134 6.2 View 2: Radical Right Media Advocate a Conservative View ................................... 137 6.3 View 3: Radical Right Media are Ideologically homogenous or Seamlessly Coordinated ............................................................................................................................. 138 6.4 View 4: Radical Right Media are President Trump’s Propaganda Arm ..................... 140 6.5 Diminishing the Role of Facts in Democracy ............................................................. 143 6.6 Undermining Democratic Institutions......................................................................... 145 6.7 Violating the Democratic Norm of Mutual Tolerance ................................................ 149 6.8 What Can be Done? .................................................................................................... 151 6.9 Conclusion and Implications....................................................................................... 155 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................