Fox News Channel has named Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson the co-host of the weekend edition of “Fox & Friends,” the network says. He will make his “Fox & Friends” debut Saturday April 6

“We’ve been impressed with Tucker’s lively and thought-provoking appearances on our air and are pleased that he is joining the FOX & Friends Weekend team where his vibrant personality will be a great addition to the show,” says FNC executive  VP of programming Bill Shine in a statement.

In his new role Carlson will serve alongside current co-hosts Alisyn Camerota and Clayton Morris, and will also remain a Fox News contributor, appearing on various programs for the channel. He has been a regular fill-in host on the program since the departure of Dave Briggs.

Carlson is a cable news veteran, having served as a host on both CNN and MSNBC.

Carlson told MediabistroTV in 2011 that “live TV is like crack”:
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Dave Briggs said his final, final farewell on “Fox & Friends” this morning. When weekend co-anchor Clayton Morris asked Briggs whether he could say where he was going, Briggs said, “I am going to do sports in 2013, I will reveal that on Thursday.” Odds are Briggs will be joining the NBC Sports Network. Prior to joining Fox News in 2008, Briggs was a sports anchor and host for Comcast SportsNet New England

Dave Briggs, a co-anchor of “Fox and Friends” weekend is leaving the network. Briggs, who will be leaving Fox later this week, said his goodbyes on the air this morning. “I’m not going away! Just going somewhere else in the New Year,” said Briggs, who joined Fox News in 2008 as weekend co-anchor.

“I will miss the two of you more than I can speak,” said Briggs to co-anchors Alisyn Camerota and Clayton Morris. You’ve made me better and you made the show better. You’ve been my work family!”

“It’s been the best show, best job of my life. I will never have a job I enjoy more, no matter where I go.”

TVNewser has learned Briggs’ contract came to an end by mutual consent. Prior to joining Fox, Briggs was a sports anchor and host for Comcast SportsNet New England and before that anchored at WHDH in Boston and KOKI in Tulsa. Briggs’ first job in TV was at KEVN in Rapid City.

The annual “New York’s Funniest Reporter” stand-up comedy contest (to benefit the Humane Society) was held Thursday night, and the victor’s trophy returned to Fox News.

“Fox & Friends” weekend anchor and FNC tech guru Clayton Morris was the winner, as he noted on his Twitter account:

Really can’t believe I won. (at @comicstriplive) [pic] — path.com/p/3453k1

— Clayton Morris (@ClaytonMorris) September 28, 2012

Morris is the second FNCer to take home the title in the last three years. Lauren Sivan won the title in 2010, while last year’s champ was “Nancy Grace” producer Marlaina Schiavo.

Morris faced some stiff competition last night, with In Touch Weekly’s Marianne Garvey placing second and WNYW’s Greg Kelly placing third. The other participants were Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Manny Alvarez, RT America’s Lauren Lyster and ESPN anchor and correspondent Michele Steele.

Fox News host and correspondent Clayton Morris and wife Natali Morris welcomed a mini-Morris into their family yesterday. Natali gave birth to a baby girl yesterday afternoon. “Fox & Friends First” host Ainsley Earhardt talked about the news on the program this morning.

Fox News campaign embed Joy Lin spoke to Allure magazine about life on the campaign trail. it ain’t pretty or glamorous: “You’re just this traveling entity. The call time for an event could be as early as 6:30 AM and we might not get back to the hotel until 2AM. If I was lucky, I’d get six hours of sleep.”

The NBC “Today” anchors, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, Al Roker and Natalie Morales, learned how to perform in a very…unusual…off-Broadway show called “Fuerza Bruta.” It made for a revealing segment.

WATCH:

The news of Steve Jobs‘ death broke around 7:35pmET.

ABC News produced a special reported anchored by Terry Moran in New York at 7:45pmET. CBS News produced a special report at 7:46pmET anchored by Scott Pelley in CBS’s London bureau. NBC News produced a network special at 8:12pmET anchored by George Lewis in the Los Angeles bureau.

On cable, Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs was first to report the news at 7:38pmET. Dobbs is hosting a special report during the 9pmET hour in place of “America’s Nightly Scoreboard.” Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith reported the news at 7:39pm, Erin Burnett on CNN reported the story at 7:41 as did Bloomberg and CNBC. MSNBC reported the news at 7:43. Fox News anchor Clayton Morris may have said it best, about the impact of Jobs’s creations on our daily lives, telling Dobbs, “I learned about Steve Jobs’ death on my iPhone. I am talking to you right now using a Macintosh computer, using software that’s allowing me to speak with you.”

CNBC and Bloomberg are also going overtime. CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen hosted a live special which ran until 10pmET when the network then aired its “Titans: Steve Jobs” program. Bloomberg is staying live until MidnightET and will air a live Charlie Rose hour at 10pmET which will include an interview with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.

CNN continued live all night with Wolf Blitzer in for Piers Morgan and 9pm, a new hour of AC360 at 10pm and a re-air of that hour preempting “Erin Burnett: OutFront,” at 11pmET.

….And the problem with that? E.D. Hill hasn’t been anchoring “Fox & Friends” for almost 5 years. In fact, she’s been on CNN most of this year. Also, Brian Kilmeade wasn’t in today, Clayton Morris was.

(h/t J$P)

When will television news anchors ever learn? Just because it is on the TelePrompTer does not mean you should say it. Read the words first.

HuffPost’s Danny Shea has the video of Fox News’ Clayton Morris calling himself Steve Doocy… twice. Morris was taping the Fox Flash web feature for “Fox & Friends” when he made the rather serious error of calling himself the wrong name.

The worst part? After the embarrassment of actually saying what he said, Shea reports that Fox News execs “didn’t find it amusing.”

And why would they, there is absolutely nothing funny about this story. For TVNewser, this is Steve Doocy…

Update: Apparently Morris was not reading from a TelePrompTer but was making a “hilarious” joke. What a laugh riot.

Greta Van Susteren threw out the first pitch last night at the Mets game at Citi Field. It was also Fox Fan Night at the new ballpark. Several other Fox Newsers were in attendance including the Fox & Friends lineups of Gretchen Carlson, Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy, along with his son, new Fox News hire Peter Doocy. And the weekend F&F team of Alisyn Camerota, Clayton Morris and Dave Briggs. The Mets lost 3-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays during a rainy night at Citi Field. They lost a day game today, too.

Many more pictures at GretaWire…

NBC’s Ann Curry, CNN’s Rick Sanchez, FNC’s Clayton Morris and Today show producer Ryan Osborn talked social media and foreign reporting yesterday at the 140 Characters Conference in New York.

“Here’s what’s pissing me off,” said Curry. “The reason I have to fight every time to do these stories is because the truth is that it’s hard to get the majority of Americans or even a significant number of Americans in NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS’s world, to care. I think journalism is a battle and I feel the scars and I see the blood on my sword on a daily basis for fights for foreign coverage to be more present in our broadcasting.”

The New York Observer reports the panel had some contentious moments. After Sanchez described Iran coverage and reports from people who aren’t “happy faced, really pretty anchors,” Curry interrupted: “I’m not sure I’m a happy faced, pretty anchor.”

Later, Sanchez defended his network’s coverage, and correspondent Christiane Amanpour. “I think it could be a little insulting to someone like her to say that we weren’t on the story just because…we weren’t rolling coverage of the protest of every moment of the day on Saturday, the second Saturday of the summer,” he said.

(image via Transracial.net)