Leland Vittert
Leland Vittert, a former weekend anchor, reporter and foreign correspondent for Fox News, has landed at NewsNation, Nexstar Media Group's Chicago-based cable news network, as an anchor/correspondent.
He is expected be part of the anchor lineup for a morning news show to launch later this year. According to insiders, he is likely to team with Adrienne Bankert, who recently was hired from ABC News.
Vittert, 38, grew up in St. Louis and graduated from Northwestern University with a double major in journalism and economics. He also studied at the London School of Economics.
In 2010 Vittert joined Fox News as a foreign correspondent covering the Middle East. Before that he worked for local stations in Denver; Orlando; Little Rock, Arkansas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and Madison, Wisconsin.
NewsNation
Vittert has not been seen on Fox News since January. Only last week Fox News officially confirmed his departure, saying they "mutually and amicably parted ways."
On more than one occasion Vittert drew the ire of Fox News viewers for what they perceived as critical coverage of President Donald Trump. Trump himself once tweeted that Vittert “should be working” at CNN.
Vittert also stood out for challenging lies about election fraud, including an interview with Erin Perrine, director of press communications for Trump's 2020 campaign, that descended into a shouting match.
In one of his last appearances on Fox News, Vittert faced down Trump supporters in Washington during his reporting on the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
“I was confronted by protesters demanding to know if I was a patriot, in their words, who supported the president," he told Fox News anchor Shannon Bream. "At the time, they had no idea I was a journalist. They would come up to people in the street, all over the city, and ask if you were a patriot and then demand some type of oath of allegiance to the president. And it wasn’t just me.”
Tuesday's comment of the day: Ed Gilliland: Bob Wallace was a Chicago icon, an everyman whose ability to touch the viewer with his talent, skill and heart is rarely seen in today’s media landscape. Blessings, Bob, and thanks.