Fox watchers know Hall as one of the regular liberal panelists on Saturday's "Fox News Watch" as well a frequent guest on "The O'Reilly Factor" where she was typically paired opposite former CBSer Bernard Goldberg.
On Sunday's "Reliable Sources," with the discussion centering on the White House's battle with Fox, Hall disclosed the decision behind her departure (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, relevant section at 8:20):
JANE HALL, FORMER FOX CONTRIBUTOR: The reason I left was in part because I think they have had less debate than they used to. But, you know, it is a fair point to say how much debate is there on MSNBC? I mean, how many Republican strategists? We have a bifurcation of the media that I think is going on.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Wait a second. Wait a second. The reason you left is you feel they have less debate than they used to. In other words, it used to be "Hannity and Colmes," now it's just "Hannity."
HALL: Right, and I was on...
KURTZ: It used to be Bernie and Jane, now it's just Bernie.
HALL: Yeah, I think there's less debate than there was, and I'm also frankly uncomfortable with Beck who I think should be called out as somebody whose language is way over the top and scary.
KURTZ: And was that a factor in your deciding to leave Fox?
HALL: Yeah, it was.
KURTZ: Alright.
Fascinating.
For the record, Hall earlier in the segment contested her liberalness claiming she's actually a moderate.
I doubt highly those that have watched her on Fox the past eleven years would agree with her assessment.
Exit question: Might Beck really have entered into Hall's decision to leave Fox, or is that just a convenient excuse that will likely get Hall a lot of favorable press from media members who don't like him?
