Van Susteren takes $1 mil leap to Fox
News Corp. meets anchor's price
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Van Susteren will host a one-hour live primetime show during the 10 p.m. ET time period that had previously belonged to Paula Zahn, who left Fox News for CNN in September. At the time, Fox News cried foul play, saying CNN had poached its talent.
Van Susteren's contract was set to expire shortly, and she had been in negotiations with CNN. "We made her a serious offer," a CNN spokeswoman said. In a statement, Fox News said they had signed Van Susteren to a "long-term deal." Sources said the new pact would keep her in primetime at Fox News for three years.
Fox News declined comment.
Until recently, Van Susteren, who made a name for herself as CNN's legal affairs expert during the O.J. Simpson trials, hosted two shows for CNN -- the daytime legal affairs show "Burden of Proof" and the primetime show "The Point," which featured newsmakers. Last month, CNN cancelled "Burden of Proof" and laid off Van Susteren's co-host on the show, Roger Cossack.
"Greta has been an asset to CNN since we first hired her as a legal analyst 10 years ago," CNN U.S. exec VP and general manager Sid Bedingfield said in an internal memo to staffers. "Greta has decided that the time is right to pursue opportunities elsewhere. We respect her decision and -- although she'll be working for a competitor -- we wish her well."
A CNN spokeswoman said "The Point," which had been pre-empted frequently for news since Sept. 11, will continue to air at 8 p.m. ET, with rotating guest hosts from inside and outside of CNN. CNN's congressional correspondent Kate Snow is substituting for Van Susteren this week.
Separately on Wednesday, CNN announced that NBC News correspondent Fredricka Whitfield had been hired as an anchor. She will be based in CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta and will initially anchor on weekends. While at NBC News, Whitfield served as an Atlanta-based correspondent for "NBC Nightly News" and other programs for the network.
