TV News Review

Having spent time watching the weekend version of ‘Fox & friends’ I have come to the conclusion the show has promise but is in need of help.

The show is hosted by Dave Briggs, Ainsley Earhardt, and Clayton Morris. Courtney Friel does headline updates and Rick Reichmuth does the weather. All of them are likable people and seem to be trying hard to put on a good show.

The format is more laid back, relaxed and enjoyable than the weekday version. They don’t take themselves as seriously and make more room for fun and laughs. (Something the weekday show needs more of.)

The show has seen many show host shuffles. Juliet Huddy, Mike Jerrick, Julian Phillips, Page Hopkins, Kelly Wright, Greg Kelly, Alisyn Camerota and Kiran Chetry have all done weekend duty over the last few years before the current set of hosts took over. Many feel that the combos of ‘Huddy, Jerrick, & Phillips’ or of ‘Camerota, Chetry and Wright’ were the best and strongest set of hosts.  

Huddy & Jerrick now have their own syndicated talk show. Phillips is no longer with Fox News.  Camerota is the host of the 6am hour  and does news headline updates on the weekday version of F&F. Chetry is now the weekday morning news co-anchor on CNN’s ‘American Morning’. Wright is a reporter out of D.C. and anchors on midday on weekends.

Ratings have been a problem for the entire weekend line up on Fox News and ‘Fox & friends’ has been no exception in the slump.  Interestingly the Saturday after Tim Russert’s death weekday hosts Doocy, Camerota and Kilmeade were brought in for a special show. The ratings for that morning were way up. In the same range of the weekday show, with a high demo number also.  This certainly demonstrates given the right set of circumstances that viewers will tune in to the weekend version as well as they do the weekday.

The main problem I have seen with the weekend F&F is that all three hosts are fairly new to the format and lack seasoning. They need someone that has more experience and can be the true anchor for the show. Also that person needs to have a strong background in journalism and capable of handling hard news when it happens. Currently none of the hosts have that or have the credibility with the viewers.

Courtney Friel would be better suited to doing celebrity reporting than being the news headlines anchor for the show. Friel is very pretty and a nice, friendly girl but lacks any credibility when it comes to hard news. The management should have never put her in this role.

If management were to bring in a seasoned, capable host that could help bring the others along the show would be greatly helped. ‘Who to bring in?’ is the question. There have been strong rumors that Megan Henderson from Dallas is going to be joining the show as the female host. I saw no reason to think she would be the answer to the problem. She would be a new face to the viewers and lacks the gravitas that the show needs.

Fox would do better to go to their deep bench of anchors that are already established with the viewers and give the show over to them. Any two of the three current hosts would be acceptable to stay and work with the new person brought in to shore up the show. But the show does need a lead personality and a star. Currently none of the ones on the show are up to the challenge. Every franchise needs that one star that takes the ball and makes something happen in the clutch. F&FW doesn’t have that person yet, but given that person the show, and all involved would improve.

One Eyed Man