Maria Bartiromo has left Fox News Media after 12½ years, with her programs being rebranded and temporary hosts named as the network remains silent on the reasons.
WEBDESK - NAYADAUR - Imran Malik
Fox News Media has parted ways with longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo, effective immediately, ending a more than 12-year run for one of the network’s best-known business and political personalities.
Fox announced the departure Thursday without giving a specific reason. In a brief statement, the company thanked Bartiromo for her “12 ½ years” of work and wished her well in her next chapter.
The decision came as Bartiromo’s final episode of “Mornings with Maria” aired on Fox Business Network. Starting Friday, the program will be renamed “Mornings with FOX Business” and will feature rotating anchors, according to Fox News Media.
Her other programs will also continue without her name. “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street” is being rebranded as “FBN’s Wall Street,” with Cheryl Casone hosting this week before rotating anchors take over. On Fox News Channel, Jason Chaffetz will host “Sunday Morning Futures” on Sunday, with a permanent replacement to be announced later.
The abrupt announcement follows several weeks in which Bartiromo had been absent from Fox programming. Reuters reported that her last appearance was Aug. 9, and she had not publicly addressed her absence or departure.
Fox has characterized the separation as a business decision, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the Los Angeles Times. The network has not publicly detailed circumstances surrounding the decision.
Bartiromo's departure is particularly notable given her prominent role in Fox's political coverage. She frequently interviewed President Donald Trump and became one of the network's most visible supporters of his political agenda.
Her name has also featured prominently in legal disputes involving Fox’s coverage of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Bartiromo was among the network personalities whose programs carried false claims about election fraud. Fox later agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle a defamation lawsuit. A separate lawsuit filed by Smartmatic remains unresolved.
The circumstances of Bartiromo’s exit have fueled speculation because of her reported sharing of internal Fox communications with the White House. The Los Angeles Times reported that people familiar with the matter said the disclosure may have contributed to the decision, although Fox has not confirmed that account.
Bartiromo joined Fox after two decades at CNBC, where she became a prominent financial journalist and was the first to regularly report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. She moved to Fox in 2013 and subsequently became a central figure on both Fox Business and Fox News.
Her exit leaves Fox with several programming decisions to make. The network said it will introduce a new weekday schedule on Fox Business in the coming weeks, while permanent replacements for some of Bartiromo’s programs remain undecided.
For a network known for maintaining a relatively stable lineup, the sudden removal of a veteran personality with Bartiromo’s profile marks a significant change — and one whose full implications may become clearer as Fox reshapes its schedule.