Legacy media made several changes this year as it scrambled to keep its audiences interested.
Here’s a look back at how the media has changed as longtime hosts retire, new shows are created, and networks are shuffled.
Show hosts who quit or retired in 2024
Syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt quit his longtime columnist position for the Washington Post after walking off its First Look program in November. Hewitt got into an on-air disagreement with MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart about the election interference case in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
“We are newspeople even though we have opinions, and we have to report the whole story if we bring up part of the story,” Hewitt told Capehart.
“I don’t appreciate being lectured about reporting when Hugh, many times, you’ve come here saying lots of things that aren’t based in fact,” Capehart said.
“I won’t come back, Jonathan,” Hewitt said before walking out of frame. “I’m done.”
The Hugh Hewitt radio show will change time slots in 2025, airing from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Eastern, according to an announcement from Salem Media Group. Hewitt’s show currently airs in the morning.
Anchor Chris Wallace quit CNN this year and has yet to announce his next venture, which will likely be an independent outlet. Wallace, 77, worked with CNN for three years after an 18-year career at Fox News.
“Chris Wallace is one of the most respected political journalists in the news business with a unique track record across radio, print, broadcast television, cable television, and streaming,” CNN CEO and Chairman Mark Thompson said in a statement the network provided to the Washington Examiner. “We want to thank him for the dedication and wisdom he’s brought to all his work at CNN and to wish him the very best for the future.”
CNN confirmed to the Washington Examiner that The Chris Wallace Show will continue to air for the next several weeks on Saturdays as scheduled. Wallace’s other show, Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, aired its final episode in November.
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak appeared in his final game show episode in June. Sajak, 77, announced he would retire last year after seeing the show’s 41st season through. The final episode was taped in April.
“Well, the time has come to say goodbye,” Sajak said. “I have a few thanks and acknowledgments before I go, and I want to start with all watching out there. It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade. I always felt that the privilege came with the responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family fun. No social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing, I hope, just a game.”
Former NBA player Charles Barkley announced he intended to retire next year while live on-air earlier this summer. Barkley, 61, has worked as a sports commentator for over 20 years with the TNT network but decided to stay on as a commentator weeks after his on-air outburst. In 2022, Barkley signed a 10-year contract with TNT. In April, the short-lived CNN show he co-hosted with CBS’s Gayle King, King Charles, was canceled by the cable network. The show was intended to be a limited series.
The shortest-lived shows of 2024
The Don Lemon Show premiered on X. It was announced in January, several months after host Don Lemon was fired by CNN after a 17-year career there. The show’s first and last episode debuted in March. Lemon interviewed X owner Elon Musk in a testy premiere episode.
While X’s deal to hire Lemon ended, Musk welcomed Lemon to continue posting episodes on the program and receiving ad revenue. Since then, the show has continued on YouTube to over 294,000 subscribers and is no longer available on X.
Former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel only had a single segment on MSNBC after she was hired as an analyst and almost immediately fired. McDaniel’s total time with NBC News lasted four days. She sat for a 20-minute appearance on a single episode of Meet the Press in March. The network had agreed to a $300,000-a-year contract for two years.
At the time, NBC Chairman Cesar Conde called for the newsrooms to be “cohesive and aligned,” which seemingly stoked the fears that those who were not politically aligned could expect to be ousted as well.
Shows that changed networks in 2024
In November, Comcast announced it will spin off a large chunk of NBCUniversal cable channels, including MSNBC. Comcast is likely considering the spinoff due to the overall decline in cable subscriptions. A projected 70 million households will keep their cable by the end of this year, while in 2010, shortly before Comcast bought NBCUniversal and its networks, 105 million households had cable. Meanwhile, Fox News has about 75% of the cable news prime-time viewership.
Musk has often joked online about how MSNBC would change if he bought it from Comcast. Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough made a lighthearted comment that “you never know what’s going to happen,” and the whole show’s cast could be fired.
In July, the NBA struck an 11-year contract with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video after decades with TNT. Starting the 2025-2026 season, games will be streamed on the various platforms. However, the decision not to renew with TNT prompted a lawsuit from its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. WBD is alleging that its $1.8 billion per year offer was equivalent to that of the streaming platforms.
Hosts hired for new shows
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Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is taking on an anchor role with One America News Network. The Matt Gaetz Show will air during prime time beginning in 2025, according to the network’s website.
This came after Gaetz resigned from the House last month when President-elect Donald Trump named Gaetz as his first choice to be the next attorney general. The congressman withdrew himself from consideration eight days later when it became clear he wouldn’t have support from at least 51 senators to be confirmed in the role.