Bill Hemmer will be taking over afternoon anchor Shepard Smith’s former 3 p.m. ET time slot, Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of Fox News Media, announced Monday. Along with taking over the hour of hard news, Hemmer, a 14-year veteran of the network, will lead all breaking news coverage.
“Bill Hemmer Reports” will debut on Jan. 20, 2020. Hemmer will be leaving “America’s Newsroom,” Fox News’ 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET news program. A rotating journalist will join Sandra Smith until a permanent co-anchor is announced.
“Bill is an incredible newsman and his ability to cut to the heart of the story while humanizing major events has made him a standout talent in news. As we start gearing up for the 2020 election, we are thrilled to have him lead our news division through what will sure to be an eventful year,” Wallace said in a statement Monday.
“As a journalist, l am extremely grateful for this opportunity. 2020 will undoubtedly be a year of great significance. Leading our breaking news division with a signature hour has enormous value to me, personally, and to our audience. We’ve got a fantastic team here and I am excited to get to work,” said Hemmer, the founding anchor of “America’s Newsroom.”
Hemmer was one of the journalists chosen to fill Smith’s slot in rotation after his abrupt departure from Fox News in October.
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 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.”