Howard Kurtz is jumping from CNN to Fox News where he will host a new version of “Fox News Watch” starting in July.
Kurtz will host CNN’s “Reliable Sources” for two more weeks and join Fox News July 1. Jon Scott, who currently hosts “Fox News Watch” will move to FNC’s specials unit.
Kurtz had been host of CNN’s media affairs show since 1998. His CNN contract had been up for several weeks, insiders tell us. In May he parted ways with Daily Beast and Newsweek where he was a media reporter and columnist. He’d joined the Beast in 2010, from the Washington Post where he’d covered media since 1990.
“I’m excited to be bringing my independent brand of media criticism to Fox News,” said Kurtz in a statement. “I want to thank CNN for giving me such a prime opportunity over the years and was tempted to continue, but the chance to create a revamped program and establish a strong online presence was too good to pass up.”
“Howie Kurtz has served as host of Reliable Sources for 15 years, developing it into a leading source for commentary and critique on the media,” says a CNN spokesperson. ” We thank him for all his contributions to CNN, and wish him all the best in this new opportunity.”
CNN’s “Reliable Sources” debuted in 1992 as an outgrowth of the media coverage of the Persian Gulf War. It will continue on CNN, and will be hosted by a variety of people in the coming months.
FNC’s press release after the jump…
FOX News Channel (FNC) has hired veteran media reporter Howard Kurtz, announced Michael Clemente, Executive Vice President of News for the network. He will begin in this new role on July 1st.
Kurtz will anchor a version of what is now called Fox News Watch, which focuses on the media, with a new format during the weekends. Additionally, he will serve as an on-air analyst for a variety of programs throughout the week, while also writing a regular column on FoxNews.com, commenting on social media news, industry trends and breakthroughs, in addition to looking at how media are used in politics. Meanwhile, Jon Scott, current anchor of FOX News Watch, who won an Emmy for his writing at NBC’s Dateline, will move to the specials unit where he will serve as anchor.
In making the announcement, Clemente said, “Howie is the most accomplished media reporter in the country. He’s also a master of social media trends, information good and bad, and a veteran political reporter. Altogether, he will add even greater depth to a very accomplished team of reporters and anchors.”
Kurtz added, “I’m excited to be bringing my independent brand of media criticism to Fox News. I want to thank CNN for giving me such a prime opportunity over the years and was tempted to continue, but the chance to create a revamped program and establish a strong online presence was too good to pass up. I hope to add a new dimension to Fox’s coverage and have some fun while diving into the passionate debates about the press and politics.”
Since 1998, Kurtz has been the host of CNN’s weekly media criticism program, Reliable Sources, where he has scrutinized the performance and biases of the media. Until recently, he served as the Washington, D.C. bureau chief writing on the intersection of politics and media for The Daily Beast and Newsweek. 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, which was widely read throughout the industry. 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.
A graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the author of five books, including Media Circus, Reality Show and the New York Times bestseller Spin Cycle, Kurtz has 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 News Corp., FNC is available in more than 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.