“She’s such a boss and the DNA of the company.” 

— Lawrence Jones, co-host, Fox & Friends  

By R. Thomas Umstead

Suzanne Scott has spent nearly three decades helping build Fox News Media into a multiplatform powerhouse, developing a leadership style in which she focuses as intently on the smallest details as on the company’s biggest strategic business decisions.
Under Scott’s leadership, Fox News Channel has remained cable’s most-watched network and often eclipses broadcast audiences. Fox News Media has also expanded its reach to include nine linear, digital, streaming and podcast platforms that generated more than $500 million in non-linear revenue last year.
At the same time, Scott transformed FOX News' look and culture, increasing communication to employees through town halls while modernizing studios and control rooms.

Change Agent
“She’s such a boss and the DNA of the company,” Fox & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones said. “You have executives that look at just the big picture and expect the staff just to manage the small details, but she has her hand in everything, including making sure the flowers that are on the set are appealing to the audience.”
That’s high praise for a New Jersey native who grew up with three siblings and relatively little television.
“When we got home from school, it was always go play outside until you heard the dinner bell, which I used to be embarrassed about,” Scott said. “There really was not TV time until the 1980s when I did become an MTV kid.”
The media business also played little role in her college plans. Scott graduated from American University with a degree in political science and initially appeared headed toward a legal career. “My mom really wanted me to go to law school, so after college I worked at a couple of law firms and found it boring and uninteresting,” she said.
Instead, Scott found her calling in television. She began her media career at CNBC in the mid-1990s as an executive assistant to veteran media executive Chet Collier, who became a trusted mentor.
“The news business at the time was still forming and emerging, and cable was about to explode,” she said.
Scott joined the then-fledgling FNC in 1996 as a programming assistant and was quickly immersed in some of the biggest news stories of the era, including Princess Diana’s death in 1997, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s airplane accident in 1999 and the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.
As Fox News grew, so did Scott’s responsibilities. By 2009, she had been named senior vice president of programming and development. In 2016, she became executive vice president of programming, overseeing some of the network’s most recognizable and successful shows, including Hannity and Fox & Friends.
Her rise culminated in 2018 when Scott was named Fox News’ first female CEO, putting her in charge of the company’s linear and digital businesses.
Scott quickly began broadening the Fox News brand beyond its traditional cable roots. The company launched subscription streaming service Fox Nation in 2018, followed by such ventures as Fox News International, Fox Weather and Fox News Books. At the same time, its flagship linear network continued its ratings dominance. In 2025, Fox News posted its highest-rated non-election year ever, even surpassing NBC in total-day viewership.
“Some people don’t embrace change and like to keep the status quo,” Scott said. “I am always looking at what’s next, what should we be doing, and I’m not afraid to mix things up.”
That willingness to make changes extends to programming and talent, where Scott has developed a lineup of signature personalities and franchises that continue to drive the network’s ratings. They range from morning show Fox & Friends to Greg Gutfeld’s Gutfeld!, which frequently draws a larger overall audience than its broadcast late-night comedy rivals.
Scott built her record of success while navigating the intense scrutiny and criticism that come with running one of the country’s most prominent news organizations. She said she learned early not to allow the surrounding noise to distract her from running the business.

“I am always looking at what’s next, what should we be doing, and I’m not afraid to mix things up.”

— Suzanne Scott

Tuning Out the Noise
“I have a naturally thick skin, and I know what’s important to me,” she said. “I spoke with Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch, and they both said just ignore the noise. The media business is always going to be noisy, so I just focus on the work.”
Fox News Media president and executive editor Jay Wallace believes that focus has Scott well-positioned to steer the company through an increasingly fragmented television news landscape.
“I’m bullish on Suzanne,” Wallace said. “She surrounds herself with great producers and great leaders, and she has a great executive and talent bench that she can call on when needed.” Scott’s ability to adapt extends beyond the executive suite. For years, she was a swimming official so she “could stand on the pool deck” while her daughter competed in high school swim meets. With her daughter now in college, Scott has found new ways to remain active, including playing pickleball and working out.
It’s another transition for an executive whose career has been defined by anticipating change, helping position FOX News Media for whatever breaks next in an ever-changing TV news business.