UPDATE, 03/15/22, 4:36 p.m. Eastern: Hours after announcing the death of Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, the network confirmed Tuesday afternoon that local journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova was killed in the same attack that also injured State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall, saying they delayed the announcement “out of respect for her family.”
Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a company memo that “[s]he was helping our crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources...around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening[.]”
On-air, The Story host Martha MacCallum broke the news in an emotional segment, noting from Scott’s memo that her traits of having been “hard working, funny, kind, and brave,” were necessary “to do this kind of work.”
MacCallum added before saying a few words about Hall and Zakrzewski:
We offer them the “deepest condolences” and gratitude for her work. And we ask you to think of them, to keep them in your prayers as they struggle with the loss of their young daughter. Just 24 years old doing courageous, courageous work.
The original post can be found below.
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Fox News announced Tuesday morning that longtime cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed Monday outside of Kyiv while covering Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war against a sovereign Ukraine in an incident that also killed Ukrainian reporter Oleksandra Kuvshynova (who was working as a Fox News producer) and gravely injured Fox State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall.
Coinciding with a memo from Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott, America’s Newsroom co-host Bill Hemmer broke the news about Zakrzewski to viewers, saying he had “some very difficult news to share with you now” as “Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has died in Ukraine” while “working with our Benjamin Hall when incoming fire hit their vehicle outside of Kyiv.”
Hemmer called him “an absolute legend at this network” who’s “been with us for years covering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria” and described his passing as “devastating.”
He then read excerpts from the memo, quoting Scott as having said Zakrzewski’s reputation was one that played “all sorts of roles ‘in the field — photographer and engineer and editor and producer — and he did it all under immense pressure and with tremendous skill.’”
As for Fox News president Jay Wallace, he said in the memo that his fellow journalists “‘always felt an extra sense of reassurance when they arrived on the scene,’ and they saw that Pierre was there.”
Before the screen faded to black, Hemmer concluded:
He was a professional, he was a journalist, and he was a friend. We here at the Fox News Channel want to offer our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife, Michelle, and his entire family. Pierre Zakrzewski was only 55 years old, and we miss him already.
Faulkner Focus host Harris Faulkner opened her show with a coda to Hemmer’s tribute: “Our prayers with Pierre’s family.”
Later in the hour, foreign correspondent Alex Hogan wrapped a story from border of Slovakia and Ukraine with an emotional tribute to her fallen colleague, saying this death is a source of “heartbreak” as she and her team have seen “a lot of heartbreak” from refugees.
“Pierre Zak was an incredible photojournalist and he was an incredible friend. And he is missed and we are all dealing with that grief and that loss right now. And he is just an incredible person that will not be able to be replaced,” she said.
She closed by reiterating that, “like the heartbreak we are hearing from so many people who are making this difficult journey out of war torn Ukraine, he was an incredible photojournalist covering those stories and bringing that to us.”
Faulkner replied that “we are all hurting” and “griev[ing] together” for those in the conflict, ranging from Ukrainians fighting to Russians standing up to Putin to journalists as they “play a role in all of that.”
“Alex Hogan, stay strong, stay safe,” Faulkner added.
To see the relevant Fox transcript from March 15, click “expand.”
FNC’s America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer & Dana Perino + The Faulkner Focus
March 15, 2022
10:59 a.m. EasternBILL HEMMER: Alright, it is about a minute before the 11:00 hour here on East Coast time and we’ve got some very difficult news to share with you now. Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski has died in Ukraine. He was working with our Benjamin Hall when incoming fire hit their vehicle outside of Kyiv. The picture you see right here was taken just a short time ago with Steve Harrigan and others in the capital city. Pierre Zakrzewski was an absolute legend at this network and his loss is devastating. He has been with us for years covering wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria. Our CEO, Suzanne Scott, noted a few moments ago that Pierre “jump[ed] in to help” out with all sorts of roles “in the field — photographer and engineer and editor and producer — and he did it all under immense pressure and with tremendous skill.” The president of FOX, Jay Wallace, says that everyone “always felt an extra sense of reassurance when they arrived on the scene,” and they saw that Pierre was there. He was a professional, he was a journalist, and he was a friend. We here at the Fox News Channel want to offer our deepest condolences to Pierre’s wife, Michelle, and his entire family. Pierre Zakrzewski was only 55 years old, and we miss him already.
[FADE TO BLACK]
[FOX NEWS ALERT]
HARRIS: Our prayers with Pierre’s family.
(....)
11:52 a.m. Eastern
ALEX HOGAN: A lot of heartbreak that we've continued to see. And, Harris, if I may, we as a Fox team have been covering this on the ground and our heartbreak is not only for the people here, but, of course, for also our colleagues that we have lost. Pierre Zak was an incredible photojournalist and he was an incredible friend. And he is missed and we are all dealing with that grief and that loss right now. And he is just an incredible person that will not be able to be replaced. Again, like, the heartbreak we are hearing from so many people who are making this difficult journey out of war torn Ukraine, he was an incredible photojournalist covering those stories and bringing that to us.
HARRIS FAULKNER: Alex, all of this hits us — all. When those leaders come from Poland and other countries today into a war zone, what I am calling right now and have said this hour, hell and one of the most dangerous places on the planet right now into Kyiv, that is because we are all hurting. And we’re all seeing this. And, you know, our leaders are telling us in both parties outside of the White House that there’s so much more that we can do. And we grieve together. We grieve for the people of Ukraine. We grieve too for those citizens in Russia who are willing to risk their own lives to fight against their own president/dictator, Putin. They’re putting themselves lives on the line to try to get the truth out as well. Journalists play a role in all of that. Alex Hogan, stay strong, stay safe.
HOGAN: Thanks, Harris.
