New Programming Team Named at Fox News Channel

Changes continue at Fox News Channel, which named a new senior programming team reporting to Suzanne Scott, president of programming at FNC.

A number of Fox News executives have left the network amid charges that a climate of sexual harassment pervaded at the network under the late Roger Ailes, who was forced out as chairman last year. Also departing was the network’s top-rated host, Bill O’Reilly.

Related: Fox News Fires Back in Andrea Tantaros Suit

Recently, Fox News has put a number of female execs in senior posts including CFO Amy Listerman and president of ad sales Marianne Gambelli.

The new top programming executives are Meade Cooper, promoted to senior VP of programming, who had been VP of primetime live/programming. She will oversee primetime and opinion shows on the network.

John Finley was promoted to senior VP of development and production, who replaces Jeff Hark who recently retired after overseeing the network’s production unit for 21 years.

Lauren Petterson was named senior VP, morning programming and talent development, from VP morning programming.

Related: Fox News Channel Host Bolling Signs Long-Term Contract

Ron Mitchell, former senior producer of The O’Reilly Factor, has been named VP of story development, primetime programming.

Amy Sohnen was named VP of talent development in charge of managing and developing on-air talent and contributors. She had been executive producer of The O’Reilly Factor.

Jill Van Why was promoted to VP of programming operations. She had been senior director of programming and production at FNC.

“We’re excited to announce a new programming leadership team that will provide a more efficient and cohesive partnership across all aspects of programming and production,” said Scott. “These executives are responsible for many of the network’s innovations and achievements over the years, and under their guidance, we’re ensuring FNC's continued success as the leader in cable news.”

(Photo via Vincent Desjardins's Flickr. Image taken on April 25, 2017 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.