Fox News anchor-reporter Matt Napolitano and the company’s longtime Chicago director of operations Adam Petlin both passed away just before Christmas, the network and family announced.
Fox News has lost two of its family members.
Anchor-reporter Matt Napolitano and the network’s longtime Chicago director of operations Adam Petlin both passed away just before Christmas.
Napolitano’s husband Ricky Whitcomb confirmed the media personality, 33, died on Dec. 23.
“With a heavy heart I have to share that my husband @MattNapolitano passed away yesterday morning,” Whitcomb wrote Dec. 24 on X (formerly known at Twitter). “He loved his job and he loved bringing the news to your radios and televisions.”
Whitcomb added that Napolitano “had an auto immune disease that he was diagnosed with almost 20 years ago and died as the result of an infection.”
Following the tragic news, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott praised Napolitano’s contributions to the network, according to a statement obtained by USA Today.
“Matt did everything from anchoring to writing and producing for our audio platforms,” Scott shared, “and loved being able to work in the journalism field that he trained for his entire life.”
“He was an integral part of the field and production team and a gifted still and television photographer,” Scott wrote in a statement released to the company. “Adam was also highly regarded by numerous correspondents and anchors that were fortunate enough to have been on location with him on nearly every major news story of the last 27 years.”
Petlin is survived by his wife, Lauren, his 18-year-old daughter, Ava, and his 14-year-old son, Luca.
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