Fox News Makes Senior Leadership Moves

FOX News announced a new senior leadership team and management structure today, naming Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy and Senior Executive Vice President Bill Shine to serve as Co-Presidents effective immediately.

The announcement was made by the network’s founder, Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman of 21st Century Fox and Executive Chairman of FOX News Channel & FOX Business Network, to whom Mr. Abernethy and Mr. Shine will report.

In their new roles as Co-Presidents of FOX News Channel (FNC) and FOX Business Network (FBN), Mr. Abernethy and Mr. Shine will divide responsibilities for all facets of the networks. While continuing to run FOX Television Stations (FTS), Mr. Abernethy will oversee all business components of FNC and FBN including finance, advertising sales and distribution units. Mr. Shine will run all programming and news functions of each network, including production, technical operations and talent management. Shine will continue to oversee all strategic planning throughout the current election season, including election night.

In addition, Suzanne Scott has been named Executive Vice President of Programming and Development for FNC and will continue reporting to Mr. Shine. In this position, Scott will supervise FNC’s daytime and primetime opinion shows and lead development of new programming.

Jack Abernethy

Jay Wallace, Executive Vice President of News Editorial, will continue to manage the news division, also reporting to Mr. Shine. He was promoted to this role in April of 2016 and has been with the network in a variety of roles within the hard news unit since its inception.

In making the announcement, Mr. Murdoch said, “Jack was integral to the launch and success of FOX News nearly 20 years ago and we’re delighted he’s returning to take on this additional role. As we continue to benefit from his strong leadership of Fox Television Stations, his strategic vision and deep knowledge of the cable news business will ensure continued growth of FOX News and FOX Business Network for generations to come.”

He added, “Bill Shine has developed and produced a signature primetime that has dominated the cable news landscape for 14 of his 20 years with FOX News. His leadership and keen eye for programming has played a fundamental role in the success of both FOX News and FOX Business Network.”

Bill Shine

FOX News also announced that Chief Financial Officer Mark Kranz will be retiring. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Kranz was promoted from Director to Vice President of Finance, eventually assuming the role of CFO for both FNC and FBN. He joined the network from Viacom in 1997.

In commenting on the announcement, Mr. Murdoch said, “Over his 19 years with FOX News, Mark Kranz was instrumental in increasing profitability across all of our key properties. We are grateful for his many contributions to the company and we extend our best wishes to him as he embarks on a new chapter.”

Mr. Murdoch continued, “While this has been a time of great transition, there has never been a greater opportunity for FOX News and FOX Business to better serve and expand their audiences. Together with our worldwide team of dedicated professionals, we are the most influential and powerful brand in television.”