Fox News says Elisabeth Hasselbeck of 'The View' will join morning show

NEW YORK — Elisabeth Hasselbeck is leaving the desk at "The View" for the couch on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends."

The news network said Tuesday that Hasselbeck will join co-anchors Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade on the three-hour morning show "Fox & Friends" in September. Wednesday will be her last day after a decade on "The View."

Hasselbeck parlayed her popularity as a contestant on "Survivor" into a job on Barbara Walters' ABC daytime show in 2003. During her decade on the show, she authored two cookbooks. She's politically more conservative than her co-hosts on "The View," which often led to some contentious moments.

Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes said that Hasselbeck's "warm and engaging personality made her a star" and an "excellent conversationalist." She replaces Gretchen Carlson, who will be given her own daytime show on Fox, Ailes said.

"When Elisabeth survived 'Survivor,' we wanted to make sure she would stay afloat," Walters said. "We have had 10 wonderful years with her and she will now be swimming in new waters. We will miss her and wish her everything good."

Rumors that Hasselbeck was leaving first surfaced in March, drawing a heated denial from Walters at the time. She also said it was not true that Hasselbeck's political views made her unpopular in the executive suites at "The View."

Her views won't be a problem on "Fox & Friends," which is popular with a conservative audience. The talk show is the most popular cable news program in the morning.

Hasselbeck's departure is part of a year of turnover at "The View." Joy Behar, one of the show's original panelists, is also leaving. Walters, who developed the show, is retiring from television next spring. That leaves Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd as the remaining panelists. Jenny McCarthy, the former Playboy playmate who currently hosts a show on VH1, has been mentioned as a possible new panelist.