Howard Kurtz’s ‘MediaBuzz’ To Debut Sunday September 8

By Alex Weprin 

Fox News has announced that Howard Kurtz’s new program will be called “MediaBuzz,” and will debut Sunday, September 8 at 11 AM ET.

At 11 AM, “MediaBuzz” will be up directly against Kurtz’s old CNN program “Reliable Sources.” Fox News says it is scheduling the show in that timeslot for logistical purposes, rather than for competitive ones. Kurtz wants to do the show live and from Washington, D.C. The show it’s replacing, “Fox News Watch” tapes on Friday and airs on Saturday.

The one-hour show will also feature Lauren Ashburn–a regular on Kurtz’s “Reliable Sources”–as well as “Bing Pulse,” which will monitor social chatter surrounding the program, based on technology from the Microsoft unit.

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Kurtz left CNN for Fox News in June, and has appeared frequently on FNC as a media analyst, while preparing his new program.

“Fox News Watch,” hosted by Jon Scott, began its run in 1997. Scott will move to the FNC specials unit.

Details after the jump.

FOX NEWS CHANNEL TO DEBUT MEDIABUZZ HOSTED BY HOWARD KURTZ ON SEPTEMBER 8TH

FOX News Channel will debut MediaBuzz, a new live weekend program hosted by Howard Kurtz, on Sunday, September 8th at 11:00AM ET, announced Michael Clemente, Executive Vice President for the network. The one-hour show will focus on the state of the news media in addition to the media’s shaping of current events and their role in politics while also featuring interviews with leading journalists and commentators.

A veteran journalist and renowned media reporter for over two decades, Kurtz will examine media bias while dissecting news events of the current and previous weeks. He will also analyze how social media has evolved and the effect it has had throughout the industry, including the stories that are most popular over the various social networks and how pundits use those mediums to deliver their specific narrative. Additionally, the program will feature Bing Pulse, provided by Bing technology, which will display real-time reactions to the different segments throughout the show. Kurtz will be joined by Lauren Ashburn, Daily Download editor in chief, as a contributor to the program.

Until this past June, Kurtz had been the host of CNN’s weekly media criticism program, Reliable Sources, since 1998. He had also served as the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for The Daily Beast and Newsweek writing on the intersection of politics and media. Prior to that role, Kurtz spent 29 years at The Washington Post in various capacities. He became the media reporter for the paper in 1990 and wrote the weekly Media Notes column, one of the most widely read media columns. Kurtz joined The Washington Post in 1981, after being hired by Bob Woodward, and went on to serve as a Justice Department and congressional reporter, New York bureau chief and deputy national editor before covering the media beat as a reporter, columnist and blogger.

Kurtz is the author of five books, including Media Circus, Reality Show and the New York Times bestseller Spin Cycle. A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he also contributed to a number of magazines ranging from Vanity Fair to New York.

FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. A top five cable network, FNC has been the most watched news channel in the country for more than eleven years and according to Public Policy Polling, is the most trusted television news source in the country. Owned by 21st Century Fox, FNC is available in more than 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.

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