Ed Henry, Fox News’ chief national correspondent, is replacing Bill Hemmer as co-anchor of “America’s Newsroom,” Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of Fox News Media, announced Thursday.
“Ed is one of the best all-around journalists in the field and his ability to transition from breaking news to anchor has made him a valuable addition to the team. I have no doubt he’ll excel alongside Sandra Smith as co-anchor of America’s Newsroom,” Wallace said in a statement.
Henry, who has been with Fox News since 2011, will begin his new role alongside co-anchor Sandra Smith on Jan. 20, 2020. “Bill Hemmer Reports” will debut that same afternoon. Hemmer was named as the replacement for Shepard Smith in the 3 p.m. ET hour last week. In addition to taking over the hour of hard news, Hemmer, a 14-year veteran of the network, will lead all breaking news coverage.
“America’s Newsroom” airs at 9 a.m. ET, just after “Fox & Friends,” ending the opinion programming for a few hours and focusing on straight news.
In a 2017 interview with TheWrap, Hemmer reflected on the challenge he and Sandra Smith faced on “America’s Newsroom,” driving news coverage on a network with opinion-driven primetime commentary.
“We have to stay as nimble as humanly possible,” he told TheWrap. “What I’ve always said about Fox, you have to hit the door in the morning at 110 miles an hour and if you don’t, your colleagues are going to run right by you.”
In a statement on Thursday, Henry said, “It has been an incredible honor to cover major breaking news here at home and all around the world as chief national correspondent and chief White House correspondent before that. Now I am grateful to take that experience to the anchor desk, and help kick off our news coverage every single morning.”