Vester…
Following up on this morning’s item, ICN has learned that Linda Vester is going to continue being a stay at home mom . . . Fox executives said there are no plans for her to rejoin the network at this time.
July 5, 2006
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ahhh… She gets pushed out by the M&J show. I guess staying at home is better than getting little or no air time.
Comment by Terance — July 5, 2006 @ 2:41 pm
Maybe Dan Abrams will hire her to host “MSNBC Investigates”!!!!
But seriously, it’s too bad. I hardly watch Dayside, but I’ve read on other sites that people really liked Linda more than M & J, and that the ratings reflected that as well. I hope it was her choice and not the Fox’s.
Comment by Missy — July 5, 2006 @ 3:59 pm
I apparently can’t “multi task”. “I hope it was her choice and not Fox’s” (the “the” was an error).
Comment by Missy — July 5, 2006 @ 4:01 pm
Darn, She was my favorite FNC babe. So a Fox executive let you in on this?
Comment by Lurker — July 5, 2006 @ 4:12 pm
TV Newser has the item up at his site. And he had to add a dig, stating that Dayside was/is one of FNC’s lowest rated programs. Maybe that’s true, but it still beat the pants off of every program shown on MSNBC, every program shown on CNN (except for Larry King) and every program on CNBC. And it’s on during the day! Does he want people to sit at their desks at work and watch Linda and Mike/Juliet?
Anderson Cooper, Olbermann and Matthews would kill for the ratings of this “lowly rated” program.
Comment by Missy — July 5, 2006 @ 4:18 pm
I will miss Linda. She was the best and brightest of all the Fox anchors. But I understand her wanting to devote all of her time to her children and husband. Linda has had a wonderful and fulfilling career over the years and deserves the same now with her family.Watching her conducting interviews last year discussing Moms and careers, you could almost sense that she was ready to stay home with her three year old and now eight month old.
Comment by Marsha — July 5, 2006 @ 4:47 pm
I could be wrong, but I would think Linda Vester was forced out of FNC or has decided not to come back to it for business reasons. Maybe she didn’t like what she was going to get or maybe Dayside gets cancelled or maybe they wanted Mike and Juliet to remain. I don’t think she was wanting to remain a stay at home mom, not without having at some point made that statement public. Maybe it is coming. But that was long overdue. Linda should have said that say a few months ago. I really doubt that’s the case. Linda was telling everyone her plans on her website and then abruptly quit. Maybe her priorities have changed, but it would be nice not to have her last statement on her website be I am coming back in a year when she is not. I am sure her leaving is part of the reason ratings have tumbled further. FNC is drunk to keep a show going that loses ratings.
Comment by Brettfan — July 5, 2006 @ 5:29 pm
Ahh….ya’ll hate TV Newser because he disses FNC and, according to ya’ll, he’s pro- MSNBC. That’s the typical attitude of FNC watchers…always hating anyone ‘against us’. How bout this blog, so pro FNC and sucks up to the FNC PR people. BUT I guess if Spud dissed FNC, FNC would get pissed off at him like they did TVN. Ya’ll people have issues.
Comment by Cable News Watcher — July 5, 2006 @ 5:41 pm
^
= oxymoron
Comment by Lurker — July 5, 2006 @ 5:53 pm
That means more of the tired nonsense with Mike Jerk–uh–Jerrick and Juliet Huddy. They should have given the show to Uma Pemmaraju and/or Donna Fiducia when Linda left.
Comment by Bob — July 5, 2006 @ 6:24 pm
Ahh….ya’ll hate TV Newser because he disses FNC and, according to ya’ll, he’s pro- MSNBC. That’s the typical attitude of FNC watchers…always hating anyone ‘against us’. How bout this blog, so pro FNC and sucks up to the FNC PR people. BUT I guess if Spud dissed FNC, FNC would get pissed off at him like they did TVN. Ya’ll people have issues.
TVN isn’t any more pro MSNBC than I am pro FNC. Or course I don’t expect any of you partisans to believe that since you’ve already made up your closed minds.
Comment by Spud — July 5, 2006 @ 7:05 pm
Spud: First off, congratulations on the Vester scoop.
I think that Brettfan has the best analysis. Still I would like to see Vester return, perhaps to the weekend slot that has suffered a ratings decline since it was vacated by Geraldo.
CableNewsWatcher: I don’t know how long you have been reading both TVNewser and ICN but I have noticed a definite change in Stetler’s website from when he was only doing cbale news in 2003 and early 2004.
About 18 months ago, again as he always does by relying on unchecked “tipsters,” Stetler ran what proved to be a phony story about an asbestos scare and scandal in the Fox News Channel building. Roger Ailes was perturbed commented that the TVNewser website is run by “someone who thinks he is a journalist” or something close.
Since then, IMO, Brian has shown a bias against FNC. And his recent change of only publishing the 25-54 ratings on the front page (requiring a mouse click to see the overall numbers which usually shows an even more pronounced Fox domination) seems to be another indication of his bias.
Spud has been much, much fairer in his coverage of the cable news scene.
Comment by Ira — July 5, 2006 @ 7:49 pm
Spud reports on all the channels which is good enough for THIS independent viewer. I’ll bet not too many posters around here are independent, eh?
Comment by Terance — July 5, 2006 @ 7:52 pm
I work in the news and all I have to say to #8 is, don’t you think you should get back to your own blog?
Comment by Chris — July 5, 2006 @ 8:02 pm
Cable News Viewer,
Must I really spell everything out in detail? It’s no secret that TVNewser is a huge fan of the 8 p.m. MSNBC program and its host. He makes an incredible deal out of any of the program’s modest ratings increases, even though said program only averages about 400K viewers on any given night.
And for Newser to point out that Dayside, which averages about 700K viewers, was the lowest rated program on Fox was just hilarious, albeit mean. Even though that statement was true, calling a program with an audience of 700K “lowly rated” while lauding another program with an audience of 400K makes no sense whatsoever.
Comment by Missy — July 5, 2006 @ 9:15 pm
With Roger Ailes on the warpath about ratings and threatening to replace people FNC might have told Linda Vester thanks but no thanks at this transition time. Then again MS Vester is the most intelligent person that FNC has or had on the air and she might have calculated that this is not the right time to return to FNC during a shakeout turmoil. She will wait until the rating for Dayside sink some more causing Juliet Huddy to want to leave FNC to marry her boyfriend and Mike Jerrick to go to a position elsewhere in the Fox/News Corp broadcast empire. When that happens Linda Vester will return.
Comment by Mike — July 5, 2006 @ 10:47 pm
Linda was one of only two people FNC VP Kevin Magee hired or promoted who actually deserved the air time she got. Granted, she is, or at least was, a personal friend of Kevin’s from when both worked for NBC, but unlike Martha MacCallum (another friend of Kevin’s who was given her own hour for the same reason), Linda actually has talent and intelligence. A shame, but at least Linda’s children will appreciate her even if Fox doesn’t.
As for the show, Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy certainly are good at what they do, and F&F Weekend’s loss - and even someone as good as Alisyn Camerota can’t cover for Chetry’s narcissism and idiocy, never mind Phillips’s reflexive leftism - is Dayside’s gain. In fact, the other Magee hire who deserved his air time was Mike, though even that hiring wasn’t really Kevin’s idea. It was the brainchild of Roger Ailes, who’d originally hired Mike for the long-defunct America’s Talking network.
Comment by Former Fox Fan — July 5, 2006 @ 10:57 pm
Linda just can’t compete against the current “babe quotient” that is very strong at FNC. Maybe a “Greta-like” make-over will do the trick…..or not.
Comment by Roger — July 6, 2006 @ 9:59 am
^
What drugs are you on? Linda is like one of the top babes over at FNC. All you have to do is check out those groups or message board babe sites and she’s always on the top of everyones list.
Comment by Lurker — July 7, 2006 @ 8:15 am
If Linda’s not comming back, I will have to find something else to watch instead of Daytime. She was head and shoulders above the two wannabes that are on now. Oh well
Comment by Frank — August 10, 2006 @ 11:17 pm
as long as that left wing idiot phillips is out, it is ok.
Comment by tom — August 13, 2006 @ 5:38 pm
Let’s face it…SEX SELLS….Linda was the best, but lost her sex appeal to the suits at Fox. Soon as “Julie baby” gets married and comes to work with a swelled pregnant belly she’ll be bounced…but for right now she’s got men thinking she’s available just for them…she’s a self-centered flirt that’s got nice legs…and that’s it….
Comment by Pete — September 3, 2006 @ 10:48 am
Man,Linda has class, wit, knowledge,beauty,etc. Why not bring her back. Fox without Linda Vester is like eating a hot dog without the dog only the roll.
Comment by william J. Toler — September 15, 2006 @ 1:31 pm
I have wondered for a long time how long it would take for Fox to discover that Phillips was a jerk. He kept bragging about being a strong Christian without displaying any of the vitues of such.
Comment by vernon kimbrough — September 25, 2006 @ 3:52 pm
Linda Vester is one of the sharpest personalities on Fox News: she is bright, pretty, confident, excellent communication skills and listen well. I believe Fox should use her in the evening hours in place of slap stick, no mind Hannity and up from the grave Combs. Larry King is vunerable right now…to old, to soft and is living on the laurals of greatness………Linda would kick his butt with a good male compliment. We need bright women at FOX. Why not team up Linda Vester and Laurie Due[sp.0
Cheers,
Stan
Comment by Stan — September 28, 2006 @ 12:09 pm
Hello all,
I came across this website today and thought I ought to set the record straight on why I haven’t returned to Fox News Channel. Sorry to disappoint conspiracy theorists, but I really did choose to walk away from my television career to be a stay-at-home mom. You see, I started working in TV when I was 17 and worked my tail off for many years. I loved every minute of it — but never settled down. Then in 2000 I met my husband and we started a family. I thought I could work and be a mom at the same time, but truthfully I felt like I was not getting enough of that precious time at home with my little ones. Friends thought I was nuts to walk away from a TV career, but I knew in my heart it was right. My bosses at FNC were very supportive of my decision, and we still stay in touch. I didn’t make a big public announcement about all this at the time because it didn’t seem important compared to the other pressing issues our country faces. Anyway, someday when my kids are older I’ll probably resume my career, but in the meantime I’m here at home and loving it. I’ve also just produced a movie with (and about) my adopted son from Rwanda. (Yes, I adopted a Rwandan teenager after I covered the genocide there in 1994). If you’re curious, the movie is called “Back Home” and you can learn more at the website, www.backhomemovie.com
Hope you are all well and feel free to email me through the website!
–Linda
Comment by Linda Vester — April 16, 2007 @ 1:33 pm
Linda:
I admire you for deciding to raise your children at home and putting your career on hold. So many women today do not see that this is the most important thing a mother can do to ensure their children are well rounded citizens instead of dumping them into the nightmare of daycare.
Our family sorely misses you on FoxNews as you were the best host they have ever had when it came to straight news reporting.
I do not like the recent entertainment hosts that they have hired with the new direction that FoxNews is heading down with entertainment “journalism”.
I really enjoyed your coverage of Illegal Immigration and the Iraq War.
I look forward to seeing your return when your children are old enough to get on their own.
Until then, we all will miss your intelligent approach to reporting the news with facts not gossip.
Sincerely,
Scott
Comment by ScottyDog — April 16, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
Wow, Linda, thanks for making a post here! I really miss you on FNC but like Scott, I admire your desire to be a “stay at home mom.” I don’t even like that description because it sounds as if a mother is merely sitting in the house all day doing nothing - hardly the same. It’s nearly insulting. Regardless, I wish you the best and hope to see you on TV again some day. You were/are an intelligent, caring and lovely reporter. Thank you again for your comments.
Sincerely,
Edward
Comment by Edward Schatz — April 16, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
BTW, Spud, I disagree with your suggestion TVnewser is not pro-MSNBC. Stelter puts adds on his website for them, for crying out loud.
Comment by Edward Schatz — April 16, 2007 @ 4:51 pm
Wow, I didn’t notice how old this post was until a second ago. No need to rehash old arguments about TVnewser on an old post like this….
Comment by Edward Schatz — April 16, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
Linda, so great to hear from you. When you left Dayside it was to be a year off, we all wondered what happened to you. Thank you for setting the record straight, and setting the conspiracy crowd straight.
Have a wonderful time with your children and come back when YOU feel it is the right time.
Comment by Paul Knight — April 16, 2007 @ 7:37 pm
LINDA I RESPECT YOUR CHOICE AND I CAN ONLY WISH YOU THE BEST WITH EVERYTHING. NOW TELL THOSE KIDS TO HURRY-UP AND GROW UP SO YOU CAN COME BACK!! WISH YOU AND YOURS ALL THE BEST AND GOOD HEALTH!!
Comment by dennis — April 16, 2007 @ 11:00 pm
Your journalist skills are sorely missed at FNC because lately they appear rudderless and drifting aimlessly. That aside it is very reasonable and understandable that given a choice between working hard and doing TV News or working even harder to be a mother who is taking care of a young family that you would choose the harder and more important job of being a full time mother. You will always have time to work and never feel a regret but the time that you spend with your family makes every minute precious and time that you will always cherish.
At the right time for you when you feel the need to return to journalism the world will be waiting for you. I still say that no matter what you ever do “There is no one bester than Linda Vester!!” Selfishly on my part you are missed!
A Huge Fan
Mike Toback
Comment by mbtbear — April 17, 2007 @ 2:13 am
We need more FNC personalities who can speak Arabic like Linda can. I’m betting the Saudi family was no fan of hers when she was on Fox.
Comment by JT — April 26, 2007 @ 12:14 pm
I really miss seeing Linda Vester on Fox News. It was obvious that she was so much more than physically attractive. You could tell, by her questions, etc., that she was an incredibly intelligent woman. When I read her bio, it didn’t surprise me at all because an interview is always so much better when the interviewer is well-read, well-traveled and well-educated, as she is. She is the type of anchor that we need. I certainly hope FOX hires her back because she was a definite advantage for them.
Comment by SherryAnn — April 26, 2008 @ 1:37 pm