Second Fox News reporter leaves network this month

A second Fox News reporter has reportedly left the network over the direction and “tone” of the news channel.

On-air senior correspondent Adam Housley has decided to leave because he disapproved of on-air discussions, former Fox News employees with knowledge of his situation told Politico on Friday.

Housley, who joined Fox in 2001 out of Los Angeles, disputed the story. 

According to Politico, he told other former employees that it is difficult to get “hard reporting” on air because of the network’s focus on President Trump and its number of political commentators.

{mosads}

“He’s not doing the type of journalism he wants to be doing,” the former employee said. “And he is unhappy with the tone of the conversation of the channel.”

Housley declined to comment to Politico but shared a statement through a Fox News spokesperson saying he was leaving the network to spend more time with his two young children.

“I could not be more proud of the journalism I did at the network, from war zones, to tsunamis, to watching miners pulled from the ground in Chile, I am grateful for the extraordinary opportunities to have a front seat to history and cover news all over the world,” Housley said in a statement. “A huge thank you to the many Fox employees, especially behind the scenes, who have supported me every step of the way. We are friends for life.”

Housley said on Twitter he wants to dedicate more time to his family-owned winery in the Lodi, Calif., which was recently featured in the July edition of Wine Spectator.

“Shocking. My leaving Fox News quickly gets political on Twitter. Yep..the sad world we live in,” Housley wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “I’m sure gonna enjoy that glass of wine while the polarized in this country duke it out. Maybe one day…one day we can find common ground first rather than just call names.”

Shocking. My leaving Fox News quickly gets political on Twitter. Yep..the sad world we live in. I’m sure gonna enjoy that glass of wine while the polarized in this country duke it out. Maybe one day…one day we can find common ground first rather than just call names

— Adam Housley (@adamhousley) August 24, 2018

“We thank Adam for his many years of service — his passion for storytelling, professionalism and dedication to journalism made our reporting stand out on countless stories throughout his tenure. We wish him and his family the very best,” Jay Wallace, Fox News president and executive editor, said in a statement on Thursday.

Housley is the second Fox News reporter to leave in recent weeks.

Jerusalem-based correspondent Conor Powell announced earlier this month that he is resigning after 9 years with the news network.

“Conor was growing increasingly embarrassed by the channel, by the positions, by the relentless blind defense of Trump,” a friend of Powell told Politico. “If you’re overseas and doing important work like Conor was, you can certainly focus on the work and tell yourself, ‘Hey I’m doing important things and I’m just going to focus on this and ignore all the rest.’ But it just became impossible to ignore.”

Former staffers told the outlet that crews are becoming increasingly frustrated with the dwindling amount of hard news material on air.

“All the reporters were very frustrated,” the former producer said. “They were restless and tired of working overtime to not get any air time.”

Fox News employs thousands at hundreds of local affiliates and bureaus around the world. 

Joe Concha contributed to this story which was updated at 8:16 a.m.