Steve Doocy announcement: Is he leaving Fox News?

What is “Fox and Friends” without Steve Doocy?

Luckily, viewers won’t have to find out anytime soon. Despite a slight, and seemingly intentional, scare for audiences, Doocy announced during an May 1 broadcast that he would pare back his time as host rather than retire from the show outright.

Joking about the agony of the 3 a.m. wakeup call he has to abide by to make it to air by 6 a.m., Doocy said he would instead be helming the morning political commentary show three days a week, and broadcast from a new home in Florida rather than New York.

All the TV news anchors exiting their roles, including Lester Holt and Joy Reid

“It is a great job, but the hours suck,” he joked, describing driving into the city in the dark and missing breakfast every morning with his children.

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“I’m not retiring, I’m not leaving the show. I’m still a host, but it’s time for a change,” said Doocy, who has been delivering hot takes from the “Fox and Friends” couch for 30 years.
“I will be based in Florida,” he continued, “which means you may never see me in a necktie again.

“Call me the coast-to-coast host,” he joked, revealing his new home base would allow him to cover middle America, the Carolinas and Florida, an especially important state given President Donald Trump’s frequent visits to Mar-A-Lago.

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“I will continue to join the couch crew for commentary,” he said. “You’ve trusted me for all these years, and don’t worry, you will still hear my voice and my opinions loud and clear, despite whatever seasonal pollen is killing me.”

Doocy got choked up as he bid an emotional farewell to the New York-based “Fox and Friends” crew, after revealing how excited he was to spend more time with his grandchildren.

“Any transition, I don’t know what to expect,” he told co-hosts, but affirmed how excited he was to have a scaled-back schedule and to report live from Florida.

His soft exit adds to a growing shake-up in the cable news space, which has seen the exodus of several high-profile hosts from MSNBC to CNN to the “Today” show.

Morning and night, as viewers turn in for their lifestyle news, political commentary or local happenings, they’ll be met with a fresh set of faces across the networks.