Catherine Herridge has announced she is leaving the Fox News newsroom to join CBS News as a senior investigative correspondent.
Herridge, Fox’s chief intelligence correspondent, was a founding employee of Fox News in 1996 and a leader in the network’s Washington bureau. She was in talks to join CBS before Shep Smith, also a founding Fox employee, resigned on Oct. 11 in the middle of a multi-year contract, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
Herridge’s Fox contract expired over the summer. Fox wanted her to renew, but knew her exit was a possibility, one of the sources said. Friday will be her last day.
Herridge said, “CBS News has always placed a premium on enterprise journalism and powerful investigations. I feel privileged to join a team where facts and storytelling will always matter.”
She has covered stories in Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, Ireland, and the former Yugoslavia.
CBS said she will begin her new role in November.
“She will report original investigations and cover national security and intelligence matters that impact the country,” the network said.
Jay Wallace, president of Fox News Media, also praised Herridge in a statement.
“We are grateful for Catherine’s many contributions to the network, wish her continued success and were proud to honor her as she received the Tex McCrary Award for Journalism last week from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for her enterprise reporting at Fox News,” Wallace said, according to Variety.
Herridge’s intel beat will similarly be filled by a rotation of DC-based correspondents, according to Fox.
Smith’s Departure
Since Smith’s departure, his 3 p.m. time slot is being filled by a rotating cast of Fox’s news anchors. Wallace told Variety magazine that a new anchor will likely be named next year.
“This is my last newscast here,” Smith said before adding that he was “eternally grateful” to Fox.
Smith, 55, said that he asked Fox to allow him to leave.
“The opportunities afforded this guy from a small town in Mississippi have been many,” he added. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to report the news each day to our loyal audience in context and with perspective.”
He added: “I’ve worked with the most talented, dedicated and focused professionals I know and I’m proud to have anchored their work each day—I will deeply miss them.”
Fox News chief Jay Wallace, who was once Smith’s producer, also gave a statement: “Shep is one of the premier newscasters of his generation and his extraordinary body of work is among the finest journalism in the industry. His integrity and outstanding reporting from the field helped put Fox News on the map and there is simply no better breaking news anchor who has the ability to transport a viewer to a place of conflict, tragedy, despair or elation through his masterful delivery.”
Wallace continued: “We are proud of the signature reporting and anchoring style he honed at Fox News, along with everything he accomplished here during his monumental 23-year tenure. While this day is especially difficult as his former producer, we respect his decision and are deeply grateful for his immense contributions to the entire network.”
Epoch Times Reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
