Fox News announces new programming team

Fox News announced a new senior programming team that includes four women reporting up to the president of programming, Suzanne Scott.

The announcement comes as Fox has undergone major changes over the past year, starting with the resignation of late former Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes amid sexual harassment allegations. 

The top-rated cable news host for the past 15 years, Bill O’Reilly, was ousted from the network in April while also under a cloud of sexual harassment claims. 

{mosads}Fox has placed several women in senior positions at the network, including Scott as president of programming in May, Amy Listerman as CFO and Marianne Gambelli as president of ad sales earlier in the spring. 

“We’re excited to announce a new programming leadership team that will provide a more efficient and cohesive partnership across all aspects of programming and production,” said Scott. “These executives are responsible for many of the network’s innovations and achievements over the years, and under their guidance, we’re ensuring FNC’s continued success as the leader in cable news.”

Meade Cooper has been promoted to senior VP of programming and will oversee primetime and opinion shows on the network. Cooper was previously a vice president of primetime programming. 

Lauren Petterson was named senior vice president, morning programming and talent development. Petterson was formerly vice president of morning programming.

Amy Sohnen was named vice president of talent development in charge of managing and developing on-air talent and contributors. Sohnen was formerly an executive producer of “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Jill Van Why was promoted to VP of programming operations. Van Why served previously as senior director of programming and production. 

John Finley was promoted to senior VP of development and production, replacing the recently-retired Jeff Hark, who had been with the network since its inception in 1996. 

Ron Mitchell was named vice president of story development, primetime programming. He is a former senior producer of “The O’Reilly Factor.” 

Fox finished May as the top-rated cable news network in both total viewers and the key 25- to 54-year-old demographic, but has faced stiffer competition from MSNBC in recent months.