Heather Childers
Heather Childers | |
|---|---|
 Childers in 2012 | |
| Born | Heather Star Childers January 7, 1969[1] |
| Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Television news anchor and correspondent |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Heather Star Childers[2] is an American television news anchor. She was a former anchor of the first hour of Fox & Friends First for Fox News Channel, and worked for the organization from 2010 until 2020.
Early life and education
Childers was born in Hartsville, South Carolina, and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina.[3] She graduated from Myers Park High School[3][4] in 1987.[1] Childers attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, then graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree in English.[1]
Television news career
Childers began her professional career at WCNC-TV in Charlotte as a producer and reporter in the early 1990s.[3] She worked for television news stations in Albany, Georgia[3] and then Asheville, North Carolina,[3] at WLOS, the ABC affiliate there.[4] She moved to News 14 Carolina in 2002 as an anchor.[3]
Childers came to Fox News Channel in November 2010 as a reporter, and became an anchor for America's News Headquarters in August 2011.[4] She later became an early-morning host at Fox;[5] beginning in 2017, she was the host of the first installment of Fox & Friends First, from 4-5 a.m.[3]
In April 2012, Childers posted a Twitter message linking to an article from a fringe website promoting "birther" conspiracy theories; the article suggested that the Barack Obama campaign had threatened the life of Chelsea Clinton if the Clintons spoke of "Obama's birth certificate or lack thereof." In response to criticism of the tweet, Childers said that she was "asking for opinion."[6] Like other Fox News hosts, Childers has questioned the scientific consensus on climate change, suggesting on air in 2016 that "the science is still in question."[7]
In March 2020, Fox News took Childers off the air after she came to work and appeared on air while ill during the COVID-19 pandemic. The network confirmed the termination of her contract in July 2020, after several months where she did not appear on the network. Childers had tested negative for COVID-19, and tweeted at the network several times to ask to return to her position.[5][8] In November 2020, she began co-anchoring American Agenda alongside Bob Sellers on Newsmax TV.[9]
Awards
- Miss North Carolina Preliminary Winner[2]
References
- ^ a b c Sandford, Jason (October 23, 2010). "Former WLOSer Heather Childers lands job at Fox News Channel as NYC reporter and fill-in anchor". Ashvegas.
- ^ a b "Miss Mecklenburg County". Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Théoden Janes, You'd have to wake up pretty early to compete with Fox News' Heather Childers, Charlotte Observer (October 10, 2017).
- ^ a b c "Childers named weekend anchor on Fox News". Charlotte Observer. August 22, 2011.
- ^ a b Ryu, Jenny (July 23, 2020). "Fox News parts ways with 'Fox & Friends First' host Heather Childers after COVID-19 scare". USA Today.
- ^ "Fox News' Heather Childers Tweets Link To Article: 'Did Obama Campaign Threaten Chelsea Clinton's Life?'". Huffington Post. April 3, 2012.
- ^ Rutenberg, Jim (August 1, 2016). "What's Next at Fox News, With Ailes Out and Murdoch In?". The New York Times.
- ^ Feldman, Kate (July 23, 2020). "Fox News host Heather Childers, who went to work sick during coronavirus pandemic, has 'parted ways' with network". New York Daily News.
- ^ @HeatherChilders (November 15, 2020). "I'm back Join me tomorrow on @Newsmax from 2-4pm with @BobSellersTV! Watch live, set your DVR or watch online! Can't wait to see you" (Tweet). Retrieved November 19, 2020 – via Twitter.