Howard Kurtz of Fox News Channel's 'Media Buzz'
“It's not easy to keep a television program at number one for 10 years,” said Howard Kurtz, whose show Media Buzz marked its 10th anniversary on Fox News last weekend. “You have to be able to rock and roll.”
Over the last ten years, Kurtz has hosted his show from a rooftop—and from his own basement for a year and a half during the depths of the pandemic. It was “a great commute,” Kurtz said, but he’s glad to be back in the studio. “We have managed to build up a loyal audience that cares about fairness and journalism,” Kurtz told me. “I love journalism. But I hate when it's becoming, which is a combat sport, in which more extreme views are rewarded.”
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: CNN Anchor John King and guest Howard Kurtz discuss the inauguration ... [+]
In an era of hyper-partisanship, where working for CNN or MSNBC or Fox News is seen by some as an indication of a person’s politics, Kurtz says he remains a straight shooter—and that’s been key to his success. “People get that I’m not pushing an agenda,” he said. “I’m trying my best every week, to be fair, to all guests at all points of view. And I guess in some quarters, that's still a valued commodity.”
When Kurtz left CNN for Fox in 2013, he walked away from Reliable Sources, which was something of an institution at CNN, for the relative unknown of launching a new show on Fox. Last year, after years of struggling to compete with Kurtz’s Media Buzz, Reliable Sources was canceled after 30 years. “I was a little sad to see that franchise disappear,” Kurtz said. “I devoted a good chunk of my life to it.”
Media Reporter for The Washington Post and Host of CNN Reliable Sources Howard Kurtz speaks during ... [+]
“You know, a lot of partisans have a hard time grasping this, but I'm the same guy, you know, an ink-stained wretch who came up through newspapers, whether I'm working at CNN, or Fox,” Kurtz said.
“Things weren't quite so polarized when I made the switch in 2013, but a lot of people who dislike Fox don't watch it, or don't watch my show because I am taking the same approach to media and political issues which includes, at times, you know, having to report about negative developments at first CNN and Fox so the idea that I changed teams is is just flat wrong.”
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - APRIL 17: Journalists set up in the plaza in front of the Leonard Williams ... [+]
In April, when reporters crowded outside a courthouse in Delaware to cover the sensational defamation trial against Fox News for its coverage of the 2020 presidential election, Kurtz told viewers on Media Buzz that he wanted to cover one of the biggest journalism stories in ages, but couldn’t. “I believe I should be covering it. It’s a major media story, given my role here at Fox, but the company has decided that as part of the organization being sued, I can’t talk about it or write about.”
In the end, Kurtz did cover the Dominion lawsuit—and Fox’s $787 million settlement that ended the lawsuit before some of Fox News’ highest-profile hosts and executives were set to take the stand. “I went to Delaware and I did my job,” Kurtz told me. “I was very proud of our coverage.”
“I actually have more freedom at Fox than I had at CNN,” Kurtz said. “Because CNN has a bigger bureaucracy. I pick topics and the guests and I don’t necessarily tell top executives what I’m doing.”