# Martha MacCallum
**Martha MacCallum** (born 1964) is an American television news anchor who serves as anchor and executive editor of *The Story with Martha MacCallum* on the Fox News Channel, co-anchor of the network's election coverage, and host of the podcast *The Untold Story with Martha MacCallum*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current role | Anchor and executive editor of *The Story* (weekdays, 3 PM/ET) on Fox News Channel; co-anchor of election coverage with Bret Baier[1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) |
| Born | 1964[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) |
| Education | Bachelor's degree in political science, St. Lawrence University[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) |
| Before Fox | Dow Jones & Company; Wall Street Journal Television correspondent and anchor 1991 to 1996; NBC/CNBC reporter and anchor[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) |
| Fox shows | *The Live Desk* (2006–2010), *America's Newsroom* (2010–2017), *The First 100 Days* (from January 9, 2017), later *The Story*[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) |
| Election work | Co-moderated the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 cycle (August 2023) and three January 2024 Iowa town halls with Bret Baier[3](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/23/republican-debate-live-updates-trump-desantis-vivek) • [1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) |
| Book | *Unknown Valor: A Story of Family, Courage and Sacrifice from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima*, a #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller[4](https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/martha-maccallum/) |
| Awards | Two-time Gracie Award recipient; SoldierSocks Commitment To Serve award[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) |
## Early career
MacCallum studied political science in college and also trained as an actor, studying theater in New York at Circle in the Square and appearing in small off-Broadway productions. She later described playing a babysitter on the soap opera *All My Children* before turning to journalism.[5](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/anchor-martha-maccallum-talks-her-123206405.html) • [6](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/fox-news-martha-maccallum-was-on-all-my-children/)
Her first newsroom job was as a fact checker and researcher for a financial magazine, work she has said set her path toward CNBC.[5](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/anchor-martha-maccallum-talks-her-123206405.html) She worked as an associate in corporate relations at [Dow Jones & Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/dow-jones-and-company), then from 1991 to 1996 served as a business news correspondent and anchor for the Wall Street Journal, beginning as a producer at Wall Street Journal Television.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) • [7](https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/alumni-council/martha-maccallum-gregory-86-p23) She then worked as a reporter and anchor for NBC/CNBC, where she was co-anchor of *Morning Call with Martha MacCallum and Ted David* and anchor of *Checkpoint*, an evening news program focused on the War on Terror and the Iraq war.[1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) • [8](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-115hhrg30324/pdf/CHRG-115hhrg30324.pdf)
## Fox News
MacCallum joined the Fox News Channel in 2004 and is based in New York.[1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) She hosted *The Live Desk* from 2006 to 2010 and *America's Newsroom* from 2010 to 2017.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) In January 2017 she launched *The First 100 Days*, a program documenting the opening of the Trump administration, which culminated in a White House interview with the president on his 100th day in office.[4](https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/martha-maccallum/) The program was renamed *The Story with Martha MacCallum* to reflect the end of the administration's first hundred days in May 2017, moving to a broader news format with analysis and interviews.[9](https://disputeindex.com/people/martha-maccallum)
The show's time slot has shifted with the network's lineup. In January 2022 Fox named [Jesse Watters](https://www.edgepedia.org/jesse-watters) the host of the 7 PM hour, replacing MacCallum, who was moved to the network's dayside lineup shortly after [Joe Biden](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-biden) was elected; *The Story* now airs weekdays at 3 PM/ET.[10](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/11/cable-news-networks-chart-divergent-paths-in-post-trump-era) • [1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3)
**Election coverage.** MacCallum has played a role in every major political event since the 2004 presidential election, co-anchoring election coverage of the 2024 presidential election alongside [Bret Baier](https://www.edgepedia.org/bret-baier) and serving as lead reporter on exit poll data and key voting trends earlier in her career.[1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) During the 2020 election season, her coverage of the first presidential debate with Baier was, per [Fox News](https://www.edgepedia.org/fox-news), the most-watched in cable news history with nearly 18 million viewers.[1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) In August 2023 the pair moderated the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 cycle at the [Fiserv Forum](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiserv-forum) in Milwaukee, and in January 2024 they co-moderated three back-to-back town halls with Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis ahead of the Iowa caucuses.[3](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/23/republican-debate-live-updates-trump-desantis-vivek) • [1](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3) The Trump town hall received criticism for treating its subject gently, and Media Matters for America reported that the two moderators did not fact-check false statements made during the August debate.[11](https://apnews.com/article/993875557c33990b2d61cd627cf17cfd) • [12](https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-anchors-bret-baier-and-martha-maccallum-failed-fact-check-first-gop-debate)
## Writing and other work
In 2021 MacCallum published *Unknown Valor: A Story of Family, Courage and Sacrifice from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima*, a #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book about a period of the Second World War. She traveled to [Iwo Jima](https://www.edgepedia.org/iwo-jima) in 2019 and covered the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy the same year.[4](https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/martha-maccallum/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/) She hosts the twice-weekly podcast *The Untold Story with Martha MacCallum*, in which she interviews a major newsmaker each week.[4](https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/martha-maccallum/) • [13](https://radio.foxnews.com/podcast/the-untold-story/) In a 2017 Time essay responding to sexist remarks about Fox hosts, she wrote that she had covered four presidential election cycles from beginning to end as a reporter, anchor, and debate moderator.[14](https://time.com/5019538/martha-maccallum-sexism-fox-news/)
## Reception and criticism
Fox positions MacCallum on its news side rather than its opinion lineup; the *Columbia Journalism Review* has described her 7 PM show's replacement in January 2021 by a rotating opinion program as part of a schedule reshuffle reportedly linked to competition from Newsmax, with MacCallum taking over the 3 PM hour previously held by Shep Smith.[15](https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/fox_news_trump_insurrection.php) Fox's designation of her as a "news" host has been contested by [Media Matters for America](https://www.edgepedia.org/media-matters-for-america), a progressive watchdog group, which has accused her of pushing right-wing talking points and of regularly advocating Republican positions.[15](https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/fox_news_trump_insurrection.php) • [16](https://www.mediamatters.org/martha-maccallum) The media rating service Ad Fontes Media rates *The Story with Martha MacCallum* as "Strong Right" in bias and "Generally Reliable/Analysis OR Other Issues" in reliability, with an overall bias score of 15.11 on a scale of −42 to +42 and a reliability score of 35.12 on a scale of 0 to 64.[17](https://adfontesmedia.com/the-story-with-martha-maccallum-bias-and-reliability/) Public reactions to her work span a wide range, from criticism of individual interviews to praise from viewers and from Trump, who in 2026 complained on [Truth Social](https://www.edgepedia.org/truth-social) that a Democratic Senate candidate had received a "softball interview" from her while he was interviewed more harshly.[18](https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-goes-nuclear-on-fox-news-in-seething-morning-meltdown)
## References
1. [Martha MacCallum, Anchor and Executive Editor of The Story, Fox News biography](https://www.foxnews.com/person/m/martha-maccallum?msockid=2ea70b5fa54861cc29321da1a46c60e3)
2. [Martha MacCallum, Journalist, Host, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/martha-maccallum/)
3. [Ramaswamy emerges as lightning rod at GOP debate, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/23/republican-debate-live-updates-trump-desantis-vivek)
4. [Martha MacCallum, Aspen Security Forum](https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/martha-maccallum/)
5. [Anchor Martha MacCallum Talks Her 20-Year Journey With FOX News, Woman's World via Yahoo](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/anchor-martha-maccallum-talks-her-123206405.html)
6. [Fox News' Martha MacCallum Was on 'All My Children', Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/fox-news-martha-maccallum-was-on-all-my-children/)
7. [Martha MacCallum Gregory '86, St. Lawrence University Alumni Council](https://www.stlawu.edu/offices/alumni-council/martha-maccallum-gregory-86-p23)
8. [Congressional hearing record citing Martha MacCallum's CNBC career, govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-115hhrg30324/pdf/CHRG-115hhrg30324.pdf)
9. [Martha MacCallum, The Dispute Index](https://disputeindex.com/people/martha-maccallum)
10. [Cable news networks chart divergent paths in post-Trump era, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2022/01/11/cable-news-networks-chart-divergent-paths-in-post-trump-era)
11. [Inside Donald Trump's curious relationship with Fox News, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/993875557c33990b2d61cd627cf17cfd)
12. [Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum failed to fact-check first GOP debate, Media Matters for America](https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-anchors-bret-baier-and-martha-maccallum-failed-fact-check-first-gop-debate)
13. [The Untold Story With Martha MacCallum, FOX News Radio](https://radio.foxnews.com/podcast/the-untold-story/)
14. [Martha MacCallum: Fox Hosts Aren't 'Blonde Barbies', Time](https://time.com/5019538/martha-maccallum-sexism-fox-news/)
15. [Fox News and the real insurrection, Columbia Journalism Review](https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/fox_news_trump_insurrection.php)
16. [Martha MacCallum, Media Matters for America](https://www.mediamatters.org/martha-maccallum)
17. [The Story with Martha MacCallum Bias and Reliability, Ad Fontes Media](https://adfontesmedia.com/the-story-with-martha-maccallum-bias-and-reliability/)
18. [Trump Goes Nuclear on Fox News in Seething Morning Meltdown, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-goes-nuclear-on-fox-news-in-seething-morning-meltdown)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Broadcast journalists and news presenters › American broadcast journalists and news presenters › Fox News journalists and anchors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license