Fox News announced on Wednesday that it was making changes to its weekend lineup, including ending the long-running show hosted by Howard Kurtz, MediaBuzz.
Replacing the show in the 11 AM to Noon ET window will be The Sunday Briefing, a new show hosted by senior White House correspondents Peter Doocy and Jacqui Heinrich on a rotating basis.
A show like that makes a ton of sense for Fox News. With an audience that can’t get enough coverage of President Donald Trump, highlighting the two reporters who do the lion’s share of the work at the White House for the network is a natural fit. I can only imagine it will be a very good show, and is certain to be a ratings juggernaut for the network that has dominated that category not only for decades, but has routinely eclipsed broadcast networks this summer.
A show focused on the media and the way news items are covered, however, also makes a ton of sense for Fox News to feature on the weekends, due to how often the phrase “the media,” and its shortcomings, are invoked on the network.
Media criticism isn’t just an occasional talking point; it’s practically a recurring segment built into every hour of programming. So, Howard Kurtz hosting a weekly, media-focused program lined up perfectly with Fox’s brand. His show gave the network a built-in mechanism to point at journalistic failures elsewhere and say, “See, we told you the media was rigged.”
Still, the value of a program like Kurtz’s has always been tied to credibility. Even if Fox’s audience largely believes that mainstream media operates with bias, you can’t anchor a program like that with someone viewed as an unapologetic partisan cheerleader. That’s where Kurtz, a longtime media reporter at outlets like CNN and The Washington Post, had a unique lane.
He wasn’t shouting on Twitter every 20 minutes or serving as the attack dog that certain corners of the audience may have preferred. Instead, he approached the role as a journalist, examining how news gets covered. That approach may not have lit up the ratings scoreboard, but it did provide something rare on Fox’s weekend lineup: analysis rooted in experience rather than outrage.
But here’s the wrinkle. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump argued that Kurtz needed to be removed from the network.
“It is time for Howie Kurtz to retire! Every Woke Anchor in the Business, people that no one watched from CNN, MSDNC, and others, are plastered all over his show, with all really negative and fake statements, and then I am weakly ‘defended’ by Howie and his group (although Ben Domenech has been strong!),” Trump wrote in a post on social media. “The case Howie makes for me is so pathetic that it would be a lot better if he didn’t say anything. Anyway, that’s the way it is!”
Trump didn’t say he disliked the show’s format or that the topics weren’t relevant. He made it personal: Kurtz wasn’t supportive enough. And now, several months later, Fox News has pulled the plug.
To be clear, Fox would never make a programming decision because Donald Trump didn’t like one of their on-air personalities. No, of course not. This is a network that prides itself on independence, not one that allows political figures to dictate who stays and who goes. The idea that Trump’s open criticism of Kurtz could have played any role in this move is, obviously, laughable. Surely it was the ratings, or maybe a focus group, that drove the decision. Definitely not the most influential figure in Republican politics applying public pressure.
Sarcasm aside, the optics are terrible. A network that dedicates so much airtime to criticizing “mainstream media” bias now looks like it’s bending to the wishes of the very politician it covers most closely. If CNN canned a host after President Biden said he didn’t like them, Fox News would be devoting segments every day to hammering the hypocrisy, and labeling the Democratic President a tyrant. The narrative would be that “liberal media can’t tolerate dissent” or “the White House is controlling coverage.” And the thing is, that narrative would stick.
The bigger loss here isn’t just for Kurtz, but for the audience. Media literacy is low, trust in journalism is even lower, and the very people who consume Fox News are the ones most likely to claim that “the media” lies to them. A weekly program breaking down coverage, showing how narratives are built, and questioning editorial choices should be invaluable to that audience. Even if viewers disagreed with Kurtz’s conclusions, the framework he provided was useful. Pulling the plug only further insulates the audience in a bubble of reinforcement rather than challenge.
Howard Kurtz has been a steady, if understated, figure in the media landscape for decades. He didn’t lean into performative outrage, and he didn’t seem interested in becoming a button-pushing, a primetime conservative firebrand or star. His show may not have been the crown jewel of Fox’s lineup, but it filled a role that, frankly, few others in cable news want to play, as evidenced by CNN canceling Reliable Sources a few years ago. He provided reasonable commentary in an often unreasonable world.
Hopefully, Howard Kurtz comes on his show on Sunday — the final edition of the program — and say that it was completely his decision to step away from the program. That he felt as if the show had run its course, and that it was time to try something new. And that the comments from Trump happening just months before he’s taken off the air is all just one giant coincidence, right? That all of his is happenstance and definitely not linked.
Because if the choice wasn’t his, a cynic could say that Fox News acted at the behest of the President of the United States. That person could question if the network made programming changes at the beck-and-call of the most powerful man in the world. The argument — one could make — that instead of “Fair and Balanced” or “We Report, You Decide”, the network’s new mantra could be “Yes sir, Mr. President” or “Right away, Mr. President.”
But an independent, unbiased news organization would never do that, right?
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
I don’t watch Fox, but I appreciated Howard Kurtz and his show. I enjoy listening to members of the media talk about the media regardless of outlet.
Unfortunately our current president doesn’t think much of the first amendment. Just look at his words,”…people that no one watched…from CNN, MSDNC, and others,…with all really negative and fake statements, and then I am weakly ‘defended’ by Howie and his group…”
Another example of how Trump thinks fox is his network and should be endorsing him. And if you think Fox didn’t cancel the show because of Trump, then you’re not really paying attention to our world.
You are so right. I am a Canadian 88 year old grandmother and the only show I watched on Fox was Media BUZ. That was because of Howard Kurtz. The rest of your news coverage is so slanted towards hatred of the Dems. You got rid of the only show that offered honest and unbiased information. Shame, shame on you,
Liz McBain
Charlie Kirk said it best. We need to have conversation, we need to talk to each other, we need debate. That’s what I thought Kurtz was doing, he typically had lefties and righties and let them go at it. He would intervene if someone blatantly told a lie or if his guests were talking over each other. We need more shows like this not less. I will miss this show.
silencing the left