Below The Beltway

One of the few libertarian voices in the mainstream media is headed to cable:

John Stossel, the ABC anchor known for his libertarian bent, is moving to the Fox Business Network to host a weekly prime-time program. He will also make regular appearances on the Fox News Channel.

A fierce and sometimes controversial contrarian, Mr. Stossel is perhaps best known for his watchdog reports, “Give Me a Break.” He has been a correspondent for the ABC newsmagazine “20/20” for almost 30 years, and a co-anchor of it for six years.

Mr. Stossel’s hiring is an important one for the two-year-old Fox Business, which is seeking more viewers and wider cable distribution. Last week the network, a unit of News Corporation, said it would start to simulcast Don Imus’s radio show in October.

Mr. Stossel will start work in October, and his weekly program, named “Stossel,” will begin sometime in the fourth quarter. Fox said “Stossel” would include news segments and conversations about “libertarian issues in the United States and abroad,” including free-market economics and civil liberties.

Stossel had this to say on his blog:

In my new job, I want to dig into the meaning of the words “liberty” and “limited government”. ABC enabled me to do some of that, but Fox offers me more airtime and a new challenge.

I’m still considering what I will do with my own show, one hour each week. Economics certainly. Exercises in understanding libertarianism. My “take” on the issues of the day. Kind of like this blog. In fact, maybe we’ll call it, Stossel’s Take?

I’m looking forward to it.