Edith Ann "E.D." Hill (née Tarbox; born July 27, 1961), known professionally as E.D. Donahey during her second marriage, is an American journalist. She has been a news anchor and radio host and formerly worked for the Fox News Channel.[1][2]

E.D. Hill
Born
Edith Ann Tarbox

(1961-07-27) July 27, 1961 (age 62)
United States
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
Occupation(s)Journalist and VJ
Spouse(s)
Marc Philip Weill
(m. 1989⁠–⁠1995)

J. David Donahey (divorced)
Joe Hill
(m. 2002)
RelativesSanford Weill, ex-father-in-law

Early life and education edit

Hill earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, located in Austin, Texas, where she was a member of Delta Gamma Sorority.

Career edit

She was a VJ for VH1 from September 1986 to August 1987. She landed roles as a reporter and spent time at WPXI-TV,[3] WHDH-TV, and WABC-TV where she was brought in to co-anchor the station's morning newscast as well as its just launched midday broadcast. During this time Hill was still using her maiden name, Edye Tarbox.

In 1998, Hill joined the Fox News, where she served as an anchor for Fox & Friends from 1998 to 2006. She later moved to the 2:00 p.m. hour after serving as host of the 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. block of Fox News Live from 2006 until her show America's Pulse was canceled in 2008. She also co-hosted Bill O'Reilly's The Radio Factor for five years. She had also substituted for Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor.

In 2007, the television-industry blog TV Newser reported that it had been given a copy of an internal Fox News Channel memorandum that gave the following description of America's Pulse: "During this hour, E. D. will present the news in a fair & balanced way with her own passionate style and sense of humor."[4]

"Terrorist fist jab" incident edit

On the June 6, 2008, episode of America's Pulse, Hill asked whether a fist bump between then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle, after the final 2008 Presidential Democratic primaries was a "terrorist fist jab". Hill, introducing an upcoming discussion before a commercial break, posited that the gesture was either "A fist bump? A pound? [or] A terrorist fist jab?," but never explained the term when the segment continued after the break.[5] The incident set off a controversy among bloggers and television commentators.[6][7][8][9] Hill apologized for her comments the next day.[10] The next week, the Fox News Channel announced that Hill's show America's Pulse had been canceled. Martha McCallum's show The Live Desk would become two hours (1–3 p.m.), and Trace Gallagher would become a co-host with McCallum.[11]

In November 2008, after the general election, it was announced that Hill's contract with Fox would not be renewed. She would continue with the network until her contract expired. Senior Vice President of Programming at Fox Bill Shine says that he "chose not to renew E.D.'s latest contract" but noted that "Hill has been a valued contributor to the success of FNC over the years, and we wish her all the best".[12]

On October 14, 2008, Hill was a guest co-host of the ABC daytime show The View, then returned to co-host again on September 23, 2009 and September 25, 2009, while Elisabeth Hasselbeck was on maternity leave;[13] she also hosted on July 28, 2010, while Barbara Walters was on leave.

In February 2011, it was announced that she would be joining the staff of In the Arena with Eliot Spitzer on CNN,[1] but just five months later CNN elected to cancel the show instead.[2]

Glenn Beck announced on his GBTV Show August 20, 2012 that E.D. Hill would be part of GBTV's on-site coverage of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL.

On October 6, 2012, Hill moderated The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium, a debate between Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart.[14]

Awards edit

Hill won a local Emmy Award for Outstanding News Special while working for WHDH-TV in Boston (1990–91), and has also received a Golden Quill Award for live spot news reporting.

Books edit

In November 2005, William Morrow published Hill's first book, a collection of personal profiles entitled Going Places: How America's Best and Brightest Got Started Down the Road of Life. Her next book, I'm Not Your Friend, I'm Your Parent, was published in the United States 2007 and published in China in 2010.

Employment history edit

Year Employer American location Position Notes
1984–1985 KDLH-TV Duluth, Minnesota anchor and reporter
1985–1986 KXXV Waco, Texas anchor and reporter [15]
1987 VH-1 national VJ
1987 WCBS-TV New York City, New York news writer and producer
1987–1989 WPXI-TV Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania anchor
1989–1990 CBS News national business anchor, CBS Morning News and CBS Radio
1990–1992 WHDH-TV Boston, Massachusetts anchor
1992–1995 WABC-TV New York City, New York anchor and reporter
1998–1999 Fox News national anchor, Fox News Live
1999–2006 Fox News national co-host, Fox & Friends
2006–2007 Fox News national anchor, Fox News Live
2007–2008 Fox News national anchor, America's Pulse
2000–2005 Fox News Radio national co-host, The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly
2008–2009 Fox News national anchor
2010–2011 CNN national anchor, In the Arena with Eliot Spitzer
2011–2012 CNN national anchor, CNN Newsroom

Personal life edit

On April 29, 1989, while a news anchor at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, she married Marc Philip Weill (the son of financier Sanford Weill), at the time a vice president of Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Company in New York City, New York.[16] They had two children and divorced in 1995.[17][18]

Her second marriage was to J. David Donahey, with whom she has one son.

In February 2002, she announced her engagement to her boyfriend of two years venture capitalist Joe Hill. They married June 1, 2002. He has three children from a previous marriage, and together they have a daughter and a son.[17]

In February 2010, she underwent a preventive double mastectomy.[17][18]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Farhi, Paul (February 25, 2011). "Kathleen Parker Leaves CNN's 'ParkerSpitzer'". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ a b Shea, Danny (July 6, 2011). "Eliot Spitzer Show Canceled on CNN". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  3. ^ Vancheri, Barbara (August 8, 1987). "WPXI anchor Tarbox loves digging for news". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 7, 2016 – via Google News.
  4. ^ Ariens, Chris (November 2, 2007). "FNC Changes Up Daytime". TV Newser. Archived from the original on May 2, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  5. ^ "Fox News Asks If Michelle and Barack Did a 'Terrorist Fist Jab'". ABC News. June 9, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  6. ^ Politico: Fist-jabbing with the enemy. June 9, 2008.
  7. ^ Morning Joe, NBC News, June 10, 2008.
  8. ^ Countdown with Keith Olbermann, NBC News, June 9, 2008.
  9. ^ Verdict with Dan Abrams, NBC News, June 9, 2008.
  10. ^ SteveK (June 10, 2008). "Hill Apologizes For "Terrorist" Tease". TV Newser.
  11. ^ Shea, Danny (June 10, 2008). "Fox News Changes: "Terrorist Fist Jab" Anchor E.D. Hill Loses Her Show, Laura Ingraham In at 5PM". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
  12. ^ Graham, Nicholas (November 18, 2008). "E.D. Hill To Leave Fox News Channel". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  13. ^ Shea, Danny (August 20, 2009). "Meghan McCain, E.D. Hill to Guest Host The View During Elisabeth Hasselbeck Maternity Leave". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  14. ^ Memmott and Deutsch, Carol and Lindsay (October 6, 2012). "O'Reilly, Stewart 'rumble' debate brings the humor". USA Today. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  15. ^ Nelson, Alan (December 17, 1989). "A weekend to forget remembered". Waco Tribune-Herald. p. 1C. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Edith A. Tarbox, a News Anchor, Weds Executive". The New York Times. April 30, 1989. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  17. ^ a b c Triggs, Charlotte; Hamm, Lisa (March 8, 2010). "An Agonizing Choice". People Magazine. Vol. 73, no. 9.
  18. ^ a b Gasparino, Charles; Joann S. Lublin (November 22, 2000). "Citigroup's Marc Weill Left Firm to Battle Drug Habit". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2012.

External links edit