FOX News laid off Chris Stirewalt, one of the network's political editors and decision desk staffers, on Tuesday.
BREAKING --> Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt was laid off today alongside just under 20 Fox News staffers. Stirewalt sat on the Fox News decision desk, which has come under fire for its early call on Arizona election night. Story forthcoming...
— Sarah Ellison (@sarahellison) January 19, 2021
Stirewalt became a controversial figure at FOX News after the network's decision desk, headed by Arnon Mishkin, called the state of Arizona for Joe Biden before any other networks on election night on Nov 3.
While many supporters of President Donald Trump criticized the network's call as premature, Biden ended up carrying the state by less than 11,000 votes, the first Democrat to do so since 1996 and the second since 1948. Aside from the Associated Press, which called Arizona early in the morning on Nov 4, it took over a week for any other major network to call Arizona for Biden.
The news comes amid collapsing ratings for the network as it struggles to maintain a core audience while the Trump era comes to a close. When the US Capitol was stormed by pro-Trump rioters on Jan 6, FOX News was outpaced in ratings by rivals MSNBC and CNN.
Meanwhile, the traditionally right-wing network faces upcoming competition from other conservative-leaning media outlets such as Newsmax and One America News Network. Many supporters of Donald Trump see FOX News as having abandoned the President, migrating to the other two networks known for their loyalty to Trump.
It is unclear what the exact reason was for Stirewalt's dismissal.
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