Gretchen Carlson

Gretchen Carlson was born in 1966 works as a political commentator on American television. She is the proud host of her own daytime Fox News program called The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson. There is a negative stereotype about Fox News employees like Bill O’Reilly. The general public usually sees them as conservative and irrational. Some speculate that the network intentionally targets the values of middle America in order to increase their ratings. Carlson having her own self-titled show on Fox News makes her an easy target for people who disagree with the views of right wingers.

Before Carlson got the helm for her own show, she was the co-host of a morning show called Fox and Friends. Her fellow costs were Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy. The chemistry between the three hosts was good enough to make Carlson stand out. The views and personality she expressed on the show were enough to catch the attention of the producers at Fox. They found someone that they could build a successful show around.

Carlson was raised in religious Lutheran family that resided in Anoka, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Karen and Lee Carlson. Her father, Lee owned a car dealership which gave the Swedish family a nice middle class upbringing. Carlson has one sister and two brothers.  One of Carlson’s nannies, Michele Bachmann who actually became a Republican congresswoman. Carlson became a violinist when she was very young and won many competitions both on the local and national levels.

Carlson still plays the violin in her spare time and shares some life experiences that many of the women on Fox News share. There is a narrative in the media that Fox News prefers to employ beautiful women for their hosting spots. The practice wouldn’t be something new in broadcast media. The difference with Fox is how blatant it is. The average woman hosting for Fox News is almost always a blue eye blonde that wears a skirt to show off their assets. Carlson came from the traditional cloth of a female Fox News host, as she was the winner of the Miss America pageant in 1989 when she was representing Minnesota.

Carlson wasn’t just a pretty face, she received a sociology degree from a prestigious college, Stanford University. Even though it wasn’t a journalism degree, her background in sociology would come in handy for her future career in political commentary. Carlson started career from the ground level. She got experience in the industry by working for many stations as an anchor and reporter. The stations wanted to see if the sociology major actually had the talent and insight to make in the profession. Carlson received her big break when she was hired by CBS News.

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The Early Show aired on Saturdays and was a great opportunity for Carlson to get in her first spotlight. The show was light hearted and a way to prepare viewers for the weekend. Carlson did not have to deal with tough issues that would come later in her career. In 2005, Carlson was hired by Fox News. Within just one year, she climbed the ranks and became a regular co-host for Fox and Friends. She continued the job for eight years before announcing her departure in 2013.

One of Carlson’s biggest career moments happened when she was hosting Fox and Friends. She was put under the microscope when she was interviewing Dan Bartlett. During the interview, she took a huge risk and declared that the US senator of the Democratic Party, Ted Kennedy was a hostile enemy of the country. Fox News takes shots at the Democratic Party all the time. They have to whatever they can to serve their target audience. People tune in to watch them bash the left side and Carlson thought she was giving them what they wanted. She may have been praised for her comments by the right wing but the rest of the media went after her. Keith Olbermann named her as the Worst Person in the World for during one of his segments on Countdown. Some people came to her defense, stating that the constitution allowed her free speech and the right to say anything even if it was a negative remark about a US politician. Most political commentators saw it as a tactic by Fox News to further divide the country into two teams that hated each other.

Carlson’s fans love to praise how beautiful she is. Sometimes it seems like she is more appreciated for being eye candy than she is for her political commentary. People in the media like to claim that she has the perfect body and does a great job at staying fit. Her friends like to point out that she is more than a sex symbol, she is a tough and hardworking lady.  Even though she won a beauty pageant, that should not discredit her work. Being beautiful is just an extra trait of hers, it is not the main focus of who she is as a person. She may have beautiful legs that catches people’s attention but she prefers that people listen with their ears instead of their eyes.  There is no question that she looks very good for her age.

Carlson has been married to her husband, Casey Close since 1997. The two have enjoyed a long lasting and loving marriage. Casey Close is a former baseball player that currently works as a sport agent. Carlson and Close gave birth to two children, Christian Close and Kala Close. Casey and Gretchen met through a blind date but they had a great connection and chemistry that led to a long romance. There has been a few rumors about problems in their marriage but those rumors have never been confirmed. Carlson only had one public relationship before she married Casey. She was involved with an actor named Kevin Mcgraw. Their relationship did not last long, especially in comparison to Carlson’s next relationship that would turn into a twenty year marriage. No matter who tough her job becomes, Carlson can always rely on her family.

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