Maria Bartiromo was brought to Fox to cover the ins and outs of Wall Street, and make the company a bigger presence in the world of business-news cable. But her growing interest in punditry and opinion left Fox increasingly uncovered before the law. And that constant back-and-forth likely caused something of which a financial reporter is very aware: Her stock at Fox began to drop.
She has not been on the air since August 9. In June, Bartiromo read an apology on air after entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary appeared on one of her shows a month earlier and made the false accusation that detractors of a data center he wanted to build in Utah were being funded by China. For executives at Fox News Media, it may have been the second-to-last straw.
Bartiromo is believed to have passed along a directive issued to executive producers at Fox Business Network to the White House, according to a person familiar with the matter, and those instructions may have cautioned Fox Business staffers against support to outlandish claims made by President Donald Trump in public remarks. Divulging confidential company information to an outside party would likely be seen as a violation of terms of employment. An attorney for Bartiromo, Bryan Freedman, railed against those details.
Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth. Fox News Media announced it had parted ways with Bartiromo Thursday, in a terse note that offered little explanation for cutting ties with one of the company’s best-known and most vociferous on-air personalities. A Fox News spokesperson called Bartiromo’s departure “a business decision.” Some details of Bartiromo’s actions were previously reported by Status, a newsletter focused on the media industry.
Fox News declined to make executives available for comment. While Bartiromo had a regular Sunday-morning show, “Sunday Morning Futures,” on Fox News Channel, where she often interviewed members of Trump’s Cabinet, her main job remained covering the ins-and-outs of Wall Street. She anchored hours and hours of markets and business coverage on Fox Business Network, both on her early-morning program “Mornings With Maria” as well as the Friday program “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.” President Trump predicted backlash for Fox News following its decision.
Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy. God bless you, Maria!” Her main business program, however, was not generating top dollar for Fox News, or its parent, Fox Corporation.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
