Local reporter goes rogue in weather broadcast and says Fox Corp is muzzling her
Hecker says she is sharing her secret recordings with right-wing activist group Project Veritas
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A reporter of Houston Fox 26 went off-script during a live broadcast to allege that she is being “muzzled” by her organisation.
Ivory Hecker dropped the bombshell as the studio went to her for a live update on the heatwave scorching Texas.
Before diving into the news, Ms Hecker took a moment to tell the audience how the network, owned by Fox Broadcasting Company, is pressurising her into keeping “certain information” from the viewers, adding that she is not the only one and that she will soon release “some recordings about what goes behind the scenes.”
“Before we get to that story, I want to let you the viewers know that Fox Corp has been muzzling me to keep certain information from you the viewers. And from what I’m gathering, I am not the only reporter being subjected to this,” she said.
“I am going to be releasing some recordings about what goes on behind the scenes at Fox because it applies to you the viewers,” she said.
She further announced that she is sharing these secret recordings with Project Veritas, a right-wing group infamous for producing controversial videos of its undercover operations against mainstream media and political organisations.
“I found a non-profit journalism group called Project Veritas who’s going to help put that out tomorrow,” she added. “So, tune into them.”
In a statement to Newsweek, Ms Hecker said that her relationship with Fox took a “dark turn last August” after her interview with an unspecified person.
“They decided they didn’t like what the interview subject had said, and they went on to internally harass and defame me,” she told Newsweek. “I knew I was not working for a journalistic organisation when I was called into an HR meeting in December and was told to keep my support for free speech and opposition to censorship to myself — that those were not matters to be publicly spoken about.”
“True journalism can’t exist in an environment of censorship,” she added. “True journalism needs an environment of free speech.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments