"Join us here tomorrow," he said at the end of the show. "See you then."

But that, it turned out, was his final broadcast. Fox pulled the plug on Friday in a cancellation so swift that it surprised even Dobb's detractors. A day later, TV insiders are still abuzz about why it happened and what the decision augurs about Fox.

Fox isn't answering. But it seems to be an isolated incident, not a signal of a broader editorial change of direction by the company. It is certainly not the start of a shift to the center.

Instead, Fox may have soured on Dobbs long ago and used the post-election period to make a change. Thursday's $2.7 billion lawsuit by Smartmatic may have been the final straw.

Employees at Fox are privately wondering if Dobbs had some sort of falling out with Rupert or Lachlan Murdoch, the father and son pair who control Fox Corporation.