Fox News co-host Steve Doocy is the latest high-profile news anchor to shift to a new role.
The Fox & Friends co-host said Thursday that he is moving to Florida, and will work three days per week as the “coast-to-coast co-host” for the morning show, anchoring from the south, midwest, and other parts of the country.
Or as Doocy put it: “It’s going to make it easier for me to report from Florida and other parts of America that don’t get a lot of network airtime. I’ll be going from the Carolinas to the Keys. From Middle America to Mar-a-Lago”
Thursday was his last day on the red curvy couch in the Fox & Friends studio. He has been a co-host of the show since its launch in 1998, and his son Peter Doocy is now a Fox White House correspondent.
“I am not retiring. I’m not leaving the show. I’m still a host, but it’s time for a change. Suzanne Scott, the CEO of Fox News Media, and a friend for over 30 years, and I have been trying to figure out what a guy who’s been getting up at 3:30 for two generations should do next,” Doocy said. “And Suzanne gave me a great option—to keep working on this show… just not every day. So, from now on… I’m working three days a week. Essentially, it’s the Johnny Carson show deal. Remember Johnny worked his three days in Burbank, and I will be based in Florida which means you may never see me in a necktie again.”
“For nearly 30 years, Steve has been a force on the curvy couch with his signature smile and wit,” added Fox News Media’s executive VP of morning programming & program development Megan Albano. “His relationship with our audience is unmatched and we are looking forward to him taking his trademark style from the couch to cities across America’s heartland where he will co-host from diners to pickleball courts and more and finally not have to drive across the George Washington Bridge at 3:30am every morning.”
Doocy is the latest high-profile news anchor to seek a new role with his parent company. At NBC, Lester Holt will exit NBC Nightly News for a role at Dateline later this month, while Today co-host Hoda Kotb left the show for a new role at the network. At CBS, Norah O’Donnell exited the Evening News for a long-form interview role.
And on cable, both MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes are among the hosts who shifted from hosting five days per week to a lighter workload.