As part of the programming shuffle next week on Fox News Channel, there will be some changes to the overnight hours. The one original production, “Red Eye” which airs at 3amET, will continue to air at that hour. Megyn Kelly’s 9pm show will re-air at Midnight, followed by “Hannity” at 1am. “The Five” had a lock on the 2am slot, but will now be moving to 4am. At 2am, “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” gets a re-air. This means there will be no overnight re-air of “The O’Reilly Factor” which had been at 4am. O’Reilly, cable news’s most watched host, will still be re-run at 11pmET.
Here’s the new schedule which takes effect Tuesday morning:
12M – “The Kelly File with Megyn Kelly”
1am – “Hannity with Sean Hannity”
2am – “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren”
3am – “Red Eye”
4am – “The Five”
Monday also marks the return of Shepard Smith following shoulder surgery. Smith’s new role includes anchoring at 3pm and breaking news anchoring from the Fox News Deck in primetime. Here’s how it was described by Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes today in a memo to staff, obtained by Business Insider:
The talent will be more like an NFL quarterback with the ability to call audibles when he sees openings. We will move seamlessly between the teleprompter and storytelling, and the public will have an opportunity to see how the news is being put together and how the programs are built. This will be more organic in terms of the feed sources including video, all digital, and even social media.
Full memo after the jump…
As we approach our 17th anniversary at FOX News, we are beginning to dramatically change the way news is presented to the public. This has been a vision of mine for several years. I always felt that the most powerful means of communications (video) was restricted to a tape mark, a teleprompter, a talent reading and a control room. That should not be true today.
The NEWS DECK STUDIO which I envisioned has been pretty much completed and Monday starting with Shep’s 3pm program, news will be integrated throughout the evening. Shep and I are both excited about this new approach. Control of the program will be split between the studio and an off-camera control room. The producer’s function and director’s function will change somewhat.
The talent will be more like an NFL quarterback with the ability to call audibles when he sees openings. We will move seamlessly between the teleprompter and storytelling, and the public will have an opportunity to see how the news is being put together and how the programs are built. This will be more organic in terms of the feed sources including video, all digital, and even social media.
I expect there to be a few mistakes along the way because this is a high wire act without a net going live to the public. Any mistakes, however, will not justify changing the need for a special talent presenting the news and using the most updated technology to inform our public.
I know everyone has worked hard to get ready for the October 7th launch. I expect the innovations I’ve envisioned to be a cutting edge news presentation and I have confidence in all of you to deliver it. If something goes wrong, don’t be afraid to let the audience in on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Don’t apologize for trying to speed up how, when, and where people get their news. Do your best. Thank you for everything you’ve done so far.