Fox Donates $1 Million to Red Cross as Suzanne Scott Addresses Network on One Year Anniversary of Attack on Reporting Team

Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, donated an additional $1 million to the American Red Cross on the date marking exactly one year since the horrific attack on Fox News journalists in Ukraine, which killed photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova.

Fox News’s veteran foreign correspondent Benjamin Hall was left seriously injured in the attack. Hall spoke with anchors Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer on Tuesday to reflect on the somber day.

“You ask about what this day means to me – I’ll be very honest, today was harder this morning than I thought it would be,” Hall replied, adding:

And I had to wake myself up this morning and I had realize what day it was and what I learned all year is address it – you realize the hurt that has happened and you find that strength to put it to one side and move on. I have been talking all week about how to do that and what you can do and this morning I told myself this is one of those moments when you have to do it – you have to find that extra piece of strength you have to walk out that door and make the most of that day. And so I did it this morning.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch released a statement on the donation, saying, “In honor of our fallen colleagues and the many lives impacted by this terrible conflict, we are making another $1 million donation to the American Red Cross to support the global Red Cross network’s ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian relief including food, water and other supplies to people in Ukraine and neighboring countries affected by this crisis.”

Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott also weighed in on the effort to get Hall out of Ukraine and the emotions of welcoming him back into the newsroom:

The immediate moments, and months that followed, have been nothing short of extraordinary – filled with triumph, perseverance, and incredible humanity. From Jennifer Griffin engineering a team that included Sarah Verardo’s Save Our Allies, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Polish and Ukrainian government officials – to the incredible care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center – to London Bureau Chief Dragan Petrovic’s coordination throughout, along with countless others — a miraculous rescue and recovery ensued.

And today, on the one-year anniversary, we are overjoyed to welcome Ben back home to FOX News Media headquarters.

Scott’s full letter to the network, written with Fox News President Jay Wallace, is below:

Dear colleagues,

One year ago today, our colleagues Benjamin Hall, Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova were hit by three Russian projectiles while covering the war in Ukraine. The horrific attack took the life of Pierre and Sasha, but miraculously, Ben survived against all odds.

The immediate moments, and months that followed, have been nothing short of extraordinary – filled with triumph, perseverance, and incredible humanity. From Jennifer Griffin engineering a team that included Sarah Verardo’s Save Our Allies, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Polish and Ukrainian government officials – to the incredible care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center – to London Bureau Chief Dragan Petrovic’s coordination throughout, along with countless others — a miraculous rescue and recovery ensued.

And today, on the one-year anniversary, we are overjoyed to welcome Ben back home to FOX News Media headquarters. Having Ben here has been nothing short of awe-inspiring as you will see when he appears on air throughout the week to discuss his book, Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make It Home. We encourage you to stop by the 2nd floor to say hello while he is here for the following week – his message of gratitude and optimism is truly heartwarming.

We’d also like to take a moment to say thank you to everyone here at FOX News Media. Your thoughts and small acts of kindness for Ben, his wife Alicia and his three beautiful daughters over the last year have been instrumental in his recovery, and beyond meaningful.

And while we are thrilled to welcome Ben home, we are also still mourning the profound loss of Pierre and Sasha. I think Dragan put it best in the documentary debuting on FNC this Sunday, March 19th that “Pierre was the person people strive to be.” A brilliant photojournalist, he was also an incredible friend and colleague. His smile lit up the room, his sense of humor could disarm the most contentious situation, and his care for his colleagues knew no bounds. But most of all, his dedication to telling the story was unparalleled, as was Sasha’s whose help with our crews was pivotal throughout the early days of our coverage in Ukraine.

The commitment to shining a spotlight on the issues that matter is critical so the world can see, and more importantly understand, how these events impact people’s lives. As Ben has said, the best way to honor and pay tribute to Pierre and Sasha is for our journalists to continue to report these stories.

Fondly,
Suzanne & Jay