Chris Wallace departure shows 'you're being hunted' if you try to do real journalism at Fox: CNN's Avlon

On Fox News Sunday, longtime anchor Chris Wallace — one of the few hosts on the network who frequently fact-checked former President Donald Trump — announced his departure to move to CNN's new streaming service.

On CNN Monday, John Avlon discussed the political shifts at Fox that made this jump all but inevitable.

"Here's what he did say when he was announcing this about the editorial oversight and why he is leaving," said anchor Kaitlan Collins, playing a clip of Wallace saying, "18 years ago, the bosses in Fox promised me they would never interfere with a guest I booked and a question I asked. And they kept that promise. I have been free to report to the best of my ability, to cover the stories I think are important, to hold our countries leaders to account."

"What do you think of that?" she asked.

READ MORE: Fox News trashed after Chris Wallace abruptly announces he is out

"He is reflecting on the original conditions," said Avlon. "And the environment changed around him. The news changed around him. He was always sort of a slight arm's length because of the nature of his show, being broadcast even beyond the cable network. But the fact is that if you try to do real journalism down the line at a place like Fox News, you're an endangered species. Not only that, you're being hunted. It's an equivalent of RINO hunting in the Republican Party. This is what we've seen from the Republican Party. The moderates get purged and they decide if they will jump or are pushed. That happened to Chris Wallace."

Watch below:

John Avlon on Chris Wallace's departure from Fox Newswww.youtube.com