It looks like this will be the last political campaign Brit Hume will be covering on his "Special Report" for Fox News (NWS-A). Reports are he'll be leaving the political news program sometime near the end of the year.
Fox News hired Hume not too long after launching in 1996, and he has propelled the popular political show into the top cable news show in its time slot. Hume is also the managing editor of the Washington bureau for the network, which he will probably step down from.
Hume, who is 65, has talked about cutting back his involvement at the network for quite some time, and it looks like this time he'll probably go through with it, according to some people close to the negotiations.
These same people said Hume and Fox News are close to a new deal which would dramatically cut back on his participation in the network, and he would take on more of a part time and fill-in role; possibly anchoring unique events that take place, taking on the role of senior political analyst and participate as a panelist on Fox News Sunday.
It's not clear if Special Report would continue, or if Hume would be replaced. Chairman of Fox News, Roger Ailes, reportedly hasn't started to deal with those issues yet.
This will be one of the major challenges for Fox or its cable lineup for some time, as it's remained relatively the same for about a decade, helping make it the top cable news channel.
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