Fox News Channel will not air prime time January 6 hearing coverage

Fox News Channel announced this week it will not air continuous prime time coverage of the January 6 Committee hearings in Congress.

Fox announced that its prime time anchors will relay any pertinent hearing news as it happens, but will not provide live coverage of the proceedings, which begin Thursday night at 8pm EST. At 11pm, Fox News chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream will host a live special on the hearings that will end at 1am. Uninterrupted live coverage of the hearings can be viewed on Fox Business Channel, Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio and Fox Nation.

During the prime time hearings, Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson will host their regularly scheduled shows, which may prove interesting as Republican committee member Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) has previously lambasted Carlson for his January 6 documentary that featured some individuals who claimed the Capitol riot may have been a “false flag” operation.

The announcement drew some backlash from prominent Democrats including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Fox News won’t air the January 6 hearings because they prefer their sedition made fresh on-site,” Clinton Tweeted on Monday.

Democratic political communications expert Sawyer Hackett pointed out the difference in Fox News’ approach to the January 6 hearings and the Benghazi hearings. “Fox News ran 1,098 primetime segments on Benghazi from the day of the attack until the committee hearings, which they carried live for more than 7 hours,” Hackett Tweeted. “Today they announced they won’t cover the hearings on the January 6th insurrection.”

Conservative political commentator Kurt Bardella also disagreed with Fox News’ decision not to air the hearings. “If Fox News doesn’t broadcast the #January6thCommittee hearing, then they shouldn’t be allowed back in the WH Briefing Room as a legitimate news organization,” he said on Twitter.