Laura Ingraham Will Host 10 O’Clock Show as Part of Fox News Shuffle

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/business/media/laura-ingraham-fox-news-sean-hannity.html

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Laura Ingraham, the conservative radio host who has been a steady supporter of President Trump, will host a Fox News show at 10 p.m. Eastern, as part of a prime-time shake-up that moves Sean Hannity to 9 p.m.

Ms. Ingraham will host “The Ingraham Angle” weeknights starting Oct. 30, Fox News said on Monday, confirming earlier reports that a deal was imminent. “The Five,” an ensemble show currently in the 9 p.m. slot, will move back to 5 p.m.

Mr. Hannity and “The Five” will begin in their new time slots on Sept. 25, while rotating hosts will handle the 10 p.m. hour until Ms. Ingraham takes over.

The reshuffling of Fox’s prime-time schedule is the network’s latest attempt to find its footing after its longtime hosts Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly left the network earlier this year, leaving the once sturdy lineup in flux. Fox News now turns to Ms. Ingraham, a longtime contributor to the network who had recently been courted for a White House communications job. She joined the network in 2007.

“Over the last decade, Laura’s extraordinary insight, expertise and strong voice have connected with our viewers across the network’s programming,” Suzanne Scott, Fox’s president of programming, said in a statement.

Tucker Carlson will remain at 8 p.m., a post he assumed when Mr. O’Reilly departed — after more than a decade — in the face of sexual harassment accusations. The changes will pit Mr. Hannity squarely against MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, the current cable news ratings leader, in the coveted 9 p.m. hour. (Fox News is still the full-day leader over all.)

Together, Mr. Carlson, Mr. Hannity and Ms. Ingraham form a three-hour bloc of mostly consistent Trump defenders.

A willing critic of the news media and Republican leaders, Ms. Ingraham has at times conflicted with the president, notably scolding Mr. Trump for working with Democrats on DACA last week, but has largely spared him from the sharp-tongued punditry that has made her a favorite of Fox News viewers. She partly defended him after a widely panned news conference about protesters in Charlottesville, Va., saying that “he made some points that were factually right.”

She will continue to host her popular radio program, “The Laura Ingraham Show.” Fox said in a statement that she would also continue to serve as editor of LifeZette, a website she founded two years ago, but would not maintain a day-to-day role.

Fox presented her as a populist voice, pledging that she would speak directly with “the actual people who are impacted by the news of the day.”

“Ingraham will challenge the decision makers to focus on everyday, hard-working Americans who serve as the backbone of the nation,” the network said in a statement.