Fox News extends contract of its CEO, despite recent troubles at the network
Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News whose future at the network had been questioned both internally and externally amid ratings woes and in the wake of a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit tied to the channel’s election coverage, has signed a new multi-year deal with the company.
Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of Fox Corporation, made the announcement Tuesday morning in an earnings call, telling investors that he was pleased with Scott’s performance.
In a statement, Scott said she was “grateful” to continue leading the conservative cable channel.
Murdoch said he was “happy” with some of the recent programming changes made under Scott.
Fox News has made dramatic changes to its schedule in recent weeks as it struggles with its ratings, in part because some of the channel’s right-wing base has flocked to competitors such as Newsmax. The network most notably replaced its 7 p.m. conservative newscast with outright right-wing opinion.
Murdoch, however, denied that Fox News felt it needed to “go further” to the right, telling investors, “We believe the center-right is where America’s politics are.”
Murdoch also dismissed Fox News’ ratings woes as “a cycle” the channel had seen before after an election.
“We look forward to the news normalizing,” he said.
Scott, a longtime Fox News executive, ascended to the role of chief executive in 2018. Internally at Fox, staffers have described a power vacuum at the network with her at the helm, especially in contrast with the domineering leadership of Roger Ailes, questioning for years if she was able to properly manage talent and lead the channel.
Most recently, her future at the network had been questioned, given the channel’s slip from first to third in the ratings.
Those questions were compounded last week when voting technology company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox and three of its star hosts, alleging they participated in a “disinformation” campaign against it. Fox News said it would aggressively defend itself in court and filed a motion to dismiss the case on Monday.
