Kurtz said it was “a major loss for Fox News,no question about it”.
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Wallace generally co-existed with Fox’s opinion side and infrequently took them on publicly,although in 2017 he said it was “bad form” when opinion hosts bashed the media.
But he had grown privately frustrated with the overall tenor at Fox,where conservative opinion hosts have been elevated and amplified,particularly after the network’s ratings took a brief hit following the 2020 election. The network ousted two news executives involved in the controversial – but correct – election night declaration that Biden had won in Arizona,a call that infuriated Republican Trump.
Wallace had expressed his concern about the strident opinion programming to Fox executives multiple times,including recently after Tucker Carlson’s documentary on the January 6 Capitol insurrection,Patriot Purge,aired on Fox’s streaming service. Two Fox News contributors,Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes,cited that program in choosing to quit the network.
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Wallace was one of a prominent triumvirate of straight news anchors at Fox who offered a contrast to popular opinion hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. Shepard Smith left in 2019 and is now doing a news show at CNBC. Bret Baier remains at Fox as host of a Washington-based evening news program.
His track record had given Wallace a large measure of independence at Fox,despite the network’s overall tilt. “I have been free to report to the best of my ability,to cover the stories I think are important,to hold our country’s leaders to account,” he said on Sunday. “It’s been a great ride.”
His announcement came as a surprise;even guests on his show Sunday hadn’t been tipped off they were seeing his finale.
In contrast to when Smith left,Wallace was coming to the end of his contract with Fox. But he turned down an offer for a multiyear extension and pay raise to leave for CNN.
“We are extremely proud of our journalism and the stellar team that Chris Wallace was a part of for 18 years,” Fox said on Sunday. “The legacy ofFox News Sunday will continue.”
Until a successor is named,Fox said Wallace will be replaced by a rotating series of guest anchors,including Baier,John Roberts,Shannon Bream,Martha MacCallum,Neil Cavuto,Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer.
Wallace said that he wanted to “try something new,to go beyond politics to all the things I’m interested in.”
In CNN’s announcement,he said,“I look forward to the new freedom and flexibility streaming affords in interviewing major figures across the news landscape — and finding new ways to tell stories.”
CNN said more details about Wallace’s new role will be forthcoming. He’s the biggest name among the hires at CNN+,which has also brought on former NBC News anchor Kasie Hunt and business journalist Scott Galloway.