Chris Wallace Leaves Fox News For CNN Plus
Issue #71
LEAD STORY
Chris Wallace Leaves Fox News For CNN Plus
After being in the news for all the wrong reasons last weekend, CNN is now in the news because of a major talent swoop. The network announced that it had signed Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace who will helm a weekday show on the soon-to-be-launched streaming service CNN Plus.
This is a significant get for the network as it looks to beef up its streaming service with key talent ahead of its first-quarter 2022 launch. Earlier in the year, it landed Kasie Hunt, who was with MSNBC, and Jenn Suzzo, the former executive producer of NBC News’ Nightly News with Lester Holt.
CNN, in a statement, says Wallace's new show will “feature interviews with newsmakers across politics, business, sports, and culture.” CNN president, Jeff Zucker, praised the hiring by saying, “He is as fine a journalist as there is in our business. This speaks volumes about our commitment to journalism and CNN+, and we are thrilled to have Chris on the ground floor of helping us build the next generation of CNN and news.”
Wallace’s departure is a big blow for Fox News as it loses a news anchor the network would use to show that it was a serious news operation despite its schedule being filled with a lot of opinion programming. The network still has Bret Baier and Neil Cavuto in its roster, but these anchors do not carry the same gravitas as Wallace did.
Fox News, for its part, said, in a statement, that “we are extremely proud of their journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years.” The network said that Fox News Sunday will continue to air and be filled by a rotating group of news anchors, including Baier, Cavuto, John Roberts, Shannon Breem, Martha MacCallum, Bill Hemmer, Dana Perino, Jennifer Griffin, and Harris Faulkner.
Fox News losing Wallace to a competing network will have some impact, but if history is any indicator, the effect will be minimal. The shift to more extreme right-wing programming seems to be working better for the network in the post-Trump era.
Also to be determined is the kind of success Wallace will have at CNN. Personalities that leave Fox News for other networks don’t seem to have the same sort of success and exposure with their new employers. Shep Smith and Megyn Kelly moved to NBC News and lost their shine, as did Paula Zahn and Kieran Chetry, who moved to CNN.
The only one to see some success post-Fox News has been Alisyn Camerota, who anchored CNN’s flagship morning show New Day for some years before deciding to move to the daytime show CNN Newsroom.
(Justin Baragona/Twitter, Variety, CNN Press Room, Poytner, David Folkenflik/Twitter)
QUICK RECAP
Brian Williams Signs Off From MSNBC
After a nearly 30 year career with NBC News, five years anchoring MSNBC’s 11th Hour, Brian Williams dimmed the lights on an illustrious career. Williams, who is taking some time off before deciding his next career move, ended his cable news show on a very somber note. Williams said that his biggest worry is for his country, the USA, which he feels is moving away from the democratic ideals it has shaped and fashioned. He said, “Grown men and women, who swore an oath to our Constitution, elected by their constituents, possessing the kind of college degrees I could only dream of, have decided to join the mob and become something they are not while hoping we somehow forget who they were. They’ve decided to burn it all down with us inside.” (Deadline)
Amazon Prime Video Wants To Invest In Sports Programming
Amazon is not satisfied with just having Thursday Night Football, which debuts next year, on its Prime Video streaming service. They want to compete with ESPN and FS1 in the studio programming space by creating daily shows. Amazon Prime Video has been in talks with famed production company Embassy Row, which has produced shows such as Good Morning Football for the NFL Network and Men in Blazers for NBC Sports, about creating daily sports content for the streamer. By the look of things, they are interested in creating a live sports channel on its platform, and the foundation of that would be establishing a marquee morning sports show. (New York Post)
Fox News’ Christmas Tree Set On Fire
Fox News must have thought that the so-called “War on Christmas” had been brought to its home turf as the 50-foot tall Christmas tree outside its headquarters in New York City was set on fire. The act, which did not seem to have any political motives, happened early Wednesday morning when what appears to be a homeless man, Craig Tamanaha, was observed climbing the tree before it became engulfed with flames. He was arrested and charged with seven counts, including criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, and arson. “We will not let this deliberate and brazen act of cowardice deter us,” said Fox News Media’s CEO, Suzanna Scott, as the network managed to get another tree set up and lit by Thursday evening. (The New York Times)
QUICK RECAP
Cuomo Fallout: Why news shouldn’t be treated as entertainment. (The Guardian)
Cuomo Fallout: Cuomo’s former producer at CNN charged with luring underage girls for sex. (New York Post)
Cuomo Fallout: HarperCollins pulls upcoming Chris Cuomo book. (The Guardian)
Cuomo Fallout: Chris Cuomo ends his Sirius/XM show. (Vanity Fair)
Cuomo Fallout: Chris Cuomo and CNN lawyer up for potential legal battles. (New York Post)
Cuomo Fallout: CNN president Jeff Zucker wished Cuomo had taken a leave of abscess. (Jeremy Barr/Twitter)
Cuomo Fallout: CNN Tonight replaces Cuomo Primetime. (NewscastStudio)
Yamiche Alcindor joins NBC News as a Washington correspondent. (Yamiche Alcindor/Twitter)
James Rosen, a former Fox News correspondent, joins NewsMax as chief White House correspondent. (Jeremy Barr/Twitter)
Disney hires Geoff Morrell to head its communications and lobbying group. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Devan Joseph joins NBC News as executive producer of Original Social Video. (Shalini Sharma/Twitter)
Jason Farkas leaves CNN Business. (Jason Farkas/Twitter)
Netflix’s original shows suffer a drop in viewership after the initial surge. (Fierce Video)
Globi, a free streaming service, launches with over 500 hours of international titles. (The Streamable)
Paramount Plus adds live, linear channels. (Vulture)
Feature: Disney’s Bob Chapek on Disney Plus and taking on Netflix. (Financial Times)
Netflix enters the publishing realm by launching Tudum, a website about its shows. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Fox News probed by New York state over retaliation claims. (The Daily Beast)
AT&T’s John Stanley defends the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger. (Front Office Sports)
UK’s GB News looks to expand internationally. (Press Gazette/Twitter)
Does Discovery’s David Zaslav want to keep HBO Max and Discovery Plus? (Variety)
Streaming services could face a 30% churn rate by next year. (NextTV)
PlutoTV is finally profitable. (AdWeek)
CNN employees to return to the office on January 24. (Jeremy Barr/Twitter)
Netflix’s Squid Game is the most-watched show on TV in 2021. (Variety)
FX on Hulu will simply be known as FX. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Amazon Prime Video wants to steal the Manning Cast with Peyton and Eli from ESPN. (Front Office Sports)
Netflix wants to shift from quantity to quality when it comes to movies. (Bloomberg)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #71 - 2021