Update (Tuesday 9:30 a.m. ET): Newsmax tells TVNewser that Clemente is still CEO of Newsmax TV, but for a number of reasons unrelated to the company, he is in the process of moving to a consultancy role.
“I remain strongly committed to the company and its prospects,” Clemente said in a statement.
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After just 15 months on the job, Newsmax TV chief executive officer Michael Clemente will step down from his current role, and will become a consultant for the network.
Clemente joined the conservative TV outlet in April 2018, where he was tasked with overseeing Newsmax’s programming and daily operations.
The network was launched by Florida-based media executive (and friend of President Trump’s) Chris Ruddy in 1998, and reportedly reaches 70 million homes. The network has noted in recent press releases that it expects to reach as many as 80 million homes by the end of 2019.
The gig at Newsmax represented Clemente’s notable return to television news after he had been let go from Fox News in July 2016.
Clemente arrived at FNC in 2009, and served evp of news editorial, overseeing all news programming.
He was moved to a Fox News specials/longform unit role in April 2016, and departed the network three months later.
Before joining Fox News, Clemente built a solid 27-year career at ABC News. He was senior producer for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, senior broadcast producer for 20/20 and ep of This Week with David Brinkley. Clemente also launched ABC News Now, the streaming 24/7 live news channel.
Additionally, Clemente had a brief run at CNN, where he was executive producer of live and breaking news and oversaw CNN talk shows, including Inside Politics, Crossfire, Reliable Sources, and Late Edition.
Mediaite’s Aidan McLaughlin first reported the news of Clemente’s move.