Maria Bartiromo, Trey Gowdy Among Hosts Trying Out in Fox News’ 7PM Opinion Hour

Fox News has canceled Lou Dobbs’ Fox Business show, Lou Dobbs Tonight, and will replace him with a rotating group of hosts.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Business Network is poised to cancel Lou Dobbs’ long-running program, the latest in a series of programming changes taking place at Fox News Media, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.A spokesperson for Fox News Media could not be reached for immediate comment.Dobbs is one of three Fox News personalities who has been sued along with the Fox Corporation unit by Smartmatic, the voting technology company that has levied a $2.7 billion defamation

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSmartmatic, a maker of voting technology whose name has been the subject of disparaging commentary from a handful of conservative-news outlets, on Thursday said it had sued Fox News and three of its popular on-air personalities — Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro — for more than $2.7 billion, citing efforts made on Fox News programs to disparage the company’s business.Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, two attorneys who had been working for President

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeRemember when Fox News Channel launched in 1996 with the slogan “Fair and balanced”? Believe it or not, early on, the channel at least pretended to follow that idealistic goal, providing straight news during the day and balancing conservative voices with liberal ones on primetime opinion shows.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis is helping to tie things together at ABC News.You might not see the string during one of her recent hours on the Disney unit’s ABC News Live. On Tuesday evening, Davis’ “ABC News Live Prime” took viewers to Russia to examine how the government was cracking down on citizen protests and spent time looking at Congress’ effort to devise pandemic relief and hold an impeachment trial.

The three news networks carried tribute ceremonies on Wednesday for Brian Sicknick, the police officer killed in the siege on the Capitol last month.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPresident Joe Biden’s first formal interview as the Commander-in-Chief will take place during a uniquely American event: the Super Bowl.that has the occupant of the Oval Office take a few minutes to speak with the news division of the network airing the Big Game.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLinsey Davis and Whit Johnson have been named co-anchors of the weekend broadcasts of ABC News “World News Tonight,” filling roles in the wake of the departure of anchor Tom Llanas.In a memo sent to ABC News staffers Monday, James Goldston, the unit’s outgoing president, said Johnson will anchor Saturdays, while Davis will anchor Sundays. They will commence their new duties this weekend.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJames Goldston, the president of ABC News, will leave the Walt Disney-backed unit at the end of March, the latest in a recent series of changes among top national news executives.“It’s a really tough decision,” Goldston said in a memo to staffers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTom Llamas, the ABC News anchor who leads the unit’s weekend “World News Tonight” broadcast and is its chief national affairs correspondent, is jumping from the Disney operation to NBC News.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLarry Kudlow, the former CNBC host turned Trump economic advisor, has found a new media job after his time at the White House — and it’s not with his former employer.Kudlow, who took on the unenviable job of predicting a quick V-shaped recovery for the nation in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and also tried to make the case the contagion was contained before it took full root in the U.S,, will launch a new weekday program for Fox Business Network.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News Channel held talks with Kayleigh McEnany, the former White House Press Secretary whose performance in the role earned sharp criticism, about a possible position at the cable-news outlet, according to a person familiar with the matter.Those conversations have yet to bear fruit.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAs NBC News’ newly minted chief White House correspondents, Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander have the sort of job that rarely ends neatly for the week on Friday at 5 p.m.

Mass Effect is known for being pretty progressive when it comes to romance options, but its sequel Mass Effect 2 could’ve been more inclusive, if not for one infamous Fox News segment.The intergalactic RPG was meant to include an option for players playing as a female version of protagonist Shepard to romance the character Jack.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTom Brokaw, the NBC News anchor who rose from an early stint at a station in Sioux City, Iowa to anchor three of the nation’s best-known TV-news programs – “Today,” “NBC Nightly News” and, for a short time, “Meet the Press,” is set to step down formally from NBC News, where he has worked since 1966.Brokaw’s time on air has dwindled in recent years, while he has served as a special correspondent for the NBCUniversal-owned outlet.More to come….

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News is laying off some employees who work for its digital operations, part of an ongoing examination of its overall business that has been in place since the fall.“As we conclude the 2020 election cycle, Fox News Digital has realigned its business and reporting structure to meet the demands of this new era,” the company said in a statement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorABC News named Cecilia Vega and Jonathan Karl to new senior roles in its Washington operations, naming Vega the Disney news unit’s chief White House correspondent and Karl its chief Washington correspondent, as well as a co-anchor of the Sunday public-affairs program “This Week.”In a memo to staffers Tuesday, ABC News President James Goldston also named Mary Bruce a senior White House correspondent and MaryAlice Parks a weekend White House correspondent.

Maria Bartiromo, Brian Kilmeade and Trey Gowdy are among the list of rotating hosts who will anchor Fox News Primetime, set for its debut in the 7 PM hour as part of a plan to fill the slot with opinion programming.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNancy Cordes has been the indefatigable Capitol Hill beat reporter at CBS News for more than a decade. Now she will start a new role for the ViacomCBS news unit – at the White House.CBS News named Cordes its chief White House correspondent, part of a reshuffling of news resources that usually takes place around the industry whenever a new occupant takes over the Oval Office.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox News Channel said Peter Doocy, a Washington-based correspondent at the cable-news network, would move to the White House beat, working alongside Kristin Fisher and filling a spot left vacant by John Roberts’ coming move to the anchor desk.Doocy, whose father, Steve Doocy, is the co-anchor of the network’s “Fox & Friends” morning program, spent the 2020 election cycle covering President-elect Joe Biden, on occasion eliciting criticism from the man slated to