Longtime journalist Chris Wallace announced that after 18 years with the Fox News network, he would be taking leave of the news organization immediately as of Sunday.
Wallace ended his final show with the surprise announcement, telling the audience that he was appreciative and thankful for his time at FOX but wanted to try something different.
Wallace praised the network for giving him total freedom over the years to report the facts as he saw them without pressuring him to emphasize or hide certain information.
Wallace said that 18 year earlier, he was promised by FOX news higher ups that they would “never interfere with a guest… or a question I asked… they kept that promise.” Wallace continued to state that he had total flexibility to look at stories he thought were important and “hold our country’s leaders to account.” He mentioned some of the highlights of his time at FOX, such as interviewing every of the last five presidents as well as meeting and interviewing Russia’s Vladimir Putin and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
Wallace thanked his audience for tuning in to his show every Sunday, saying that “there’s a lot you can do on Sunday mornings… you’ve chosen to spend this hour with us… [that’s] something I cherish.” Wallace went on to say that he was leaving the network because he wanted to focus on issues “beyond politics.”
Wallace said that he hopes people will still tune in to ‘Fox News Sunday,’ and bid that people check out his “new adventure” as well.
Chris Wallace just announced this is his last Fox News Sunday, wants to try other things after 18 years. He has been a stellar journalist and superb colleague. A real loss for us
— HowardKurtz (@HowardKurtz) December 12, 2021
Regular guest Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) confessed that the news surprised him, saying of Wallace that he “challenged everyone fairly… tried to give… viewers the best information.”
It’s been reported that Wallace is eyeing a position at CNN+, a premier streaming service that is set for launch in the upcoming year. What issues Wallace plans on covering that fall under “beyond politics” is anyone’s guess, but its clear given the flurry of public response on social media that Wallace’s presence on FOX will be dearly missed.
Author: Tara Schmidt
