Maria Bartiromo Ends Fox Tenure
Maria Bartiromo is no longer an employee at Fox News or Fox Business Network. The news organization confirmed her departure on Thursday following a twelve and a half year run. Her final broadcast of the business program Mornings with Maria aired that same morning. The company stated it thanked the long-time anchor for her contributions and offered well wishes for her future work.
Changes to the network schedule start immediately. Mornings with Fox Business will replace her morning slot with a rotation of different hosts. Similarly, the weekly program Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street will transition to FBN’s Wall Street. Cheryl Casone takes the lead for the first episode, after which the show will rely on rotating anchors. A full revision of daytime programming is expected within the coming weeks.
Shifting Schedules and Hosting Duties
Sunday Morning Futures, a signature show led by Bartiromo, will have Jason Chaffetz in the host chair this coming Sunday. Management indicated they will name a permanent replacement at a later date. These staffing moves represent a major shift for the business division, which has seen periods of significant turnover in its high-profile roles over the last decade.
Specific reasons for the exit remain undisclosed. Fox has a history of parting ways with prominent talent for various reasons. Tucker Carlson left the network in 2023. Bill O’Reilly was dismissed in 2017 after facing allegations of sexual harassment, which he denied. Others, like former Governor Mike Huckabee, moved into political campaigns. The network rarely offers granular detail regarding these employment changes.
Strategic Evolution and Historical Context
Bartiromo moved to Fox in 2014 from CNBC to anchor the company's expansion into deeper market coverage. At the time of her hiring, the network sought to attract high-level dealmakers and avoid the fast-paced, fragmented style common in other business news blocks. She expressed a desire to move away from the sound-bite culture of daytime television to provide more substance for a specialized audience.
During her tenure, however, her editorial focus shifted noticeably. Bartiromo became increasingly involved in political commentary, a transition that often drew criticism. Her reporting on the 2020 presidential election eventually became a focal point in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox settled that dispute for $787.5 million in 2023. Critics pointed to her on-air segments as evidence of a drive to appease a specific political base at the expense of traditional journalism standards. The departure leaves a void in the network’s weekend lineup and signals a possible pivot in how Fox handles its business-focused programming moving forward.