NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Suzanne Scott has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FOX News and FOX Business Network (FBN), announced Lachlan Murdoch, Chairman of 21st Century Fox and the Chairman and CEO of the proposed New Fox. Ms. Scott will report jointly to Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch, 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman, Executive Chairman of FOX News and Co-Chairman of the proposed New Fox.
Additionally, Jay Wallace has been appointed President of FOX News and Executive Editor, while Jack Abernethy will continue as CEO of the newly expanded FOX Television Stations Group, an essential component of New Fox. Abernethy will relocate to Los Angeles to work closely with FOX Broadcasting Company and FOX Sports.
In making the announcement, Lachlan Murdoch said, “Suzanne has been instrumental in the success of FOX News and she has now made history as its first female CEO. Her vision and innovation have helped create some of the most popular and lucrative primetime programs on cable and as we embark on the era of the proposed New Fox, I am confident that Suzanne’s leadership will ensure the dominance of both FOX News & FBN for years to come.”
Murdoch added, "As the stations group becomes a pivotal part of the planned New Fox, Jack will now lead this division from Los Angeles and continue as its CEO. He has been a steadying force at FOX News during the last 21 months, establishing extensive policies and procedures while streamlining management and installing respected industry executives in key roles, all of which achieved our goal of a creating more transparent work environment. We are grateful for his leadership during this extraordinary period."
In his role as co-president of FOX News since August of 2016, Abernethy led the network through a major transformation both on and off the air which included: recruiting a new general counsel; executing key talent deals; establishing new HR leadership; overhauling the finance structure, and installing a new advertising sales chief. He is also responsible for appointing two women to C-suite roles in both finance and advertising sales for the first time in the history of the network.
Murdoch further commented, “With more than two decades of experience in newsgathering and production where he helped build and transform the news division, Jay Wallace’s editorial leadership and passion for journalism will serve FOX News well into the future.”
Scott added, “I am incredibly honored and humbled to take on this new role and very thankful to Rupert and Lachlan for their leadership and confidence in me to run FOX News. I am beyond proud of our incredible team and the success we have built as a network.”
Most recently, Scott served as the president of programming for both FOX News Channel (FNC) & FBN and has been with FOX News since its inception nearly 22 years ago. In this role, Scott oversaw all network programming and talent management, which included significantly altering FNC’s primetime lineup in 2017. Among the highly successful changes were replacing Bill O’Reilly with Tucker Carlson Tonight at 8 p.m., moving Hannity back to the 9 p.m. timeslot and launching The Ingraham Angle at 10 p.m.
She also co-created Outnumbered Overtime w/ Harris Faulkner, The Story w/ Martha MacCallum and The Daily Briefing w/ Dana Perino. In the fall of 2017, Scott expanded the network’s schedule to provide 20 hours of live programming and is responsible for having more women anchoring and hosting shows on FNC’s lineup than any other cable news network.
Throughout her tenure, Scott has risen through the ranks in a number of programming, production and creative positions including: executive vice president of programming (2016); senior vice president of programming and development (2009); vice president of programming (2007); network executive producer (2005); as well as associate producer, producer and senior producer of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (2002-2005). In addition, she was responsible for the launch of numerous on-air and digital initiatives, including the 2002 primetime debut of On the Record. She began her career at FNC as a programming assistant and previously served in the same capacity at CNBC.
Wallace joined FNC at its inception in 1996 and most recently served as the President of News and Editorial. In this role, he oversaw the network’s news division, managing all aspects of news programming, newsgathering, political coverage and election season debates and town halls. Additionally, both FoxNews.com and FOX News Radio, which includes Fox News Headlines 24/7 on Sirius/XM were under his purview. Notably, in October 2017, Wallace led the launch of FNC’s first-ever live 11 p.m. news show, Fox News @ Night w/ Shannon Bream and with Scott, co-created new news programming including Outnumbered Overtime w/ Harris Faulkner and The Daily Briefing w/ Dana Perino.
Previously, Wallace served as the executive vice president of news and editorial, handling day-to-day management of weekday and weekend news programming for the network. During his time at FNC, Wallace has held a number of positions including: senior vice president of news and politics; New York bureau chief; executive producer of news, and executive producer of the original FOX Report with Shepard Smith.
About FOX News
FOX News operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Radio, FOX News Headlines 24/7, FOXNews.com and the soon to launch OTT platform, Fox Nation. FOX News also produces FOX News Sunday on FOX Broadcasting Company and FOX News Edge. A top five cable network, FNC has been the most watched news channel in the country for more than 16 years and according to a Gallup/Knight Foundation Survey, is the most objective information source in the country. FNC is available in 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape while routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.
