Ed Henry

Edward Henry was born July 20, 1971 in Queens, New York. He graduated from St. John the Baptist DHS in West Islip before attending Siena College in Loudonville, New York where he obtained his bachelor's degree in English. He began his career in 2003 for two local radio shows, WMAL Morning News and The Chris Core Show, providing political analysis for the Washington, D.C. area. 

In August of 2005, Henry was CNN's chosen moderator for an Inside Politics broadcast with James Carville and Robert Novak. During a live discussion concerning Florida Republican Representative Katherine Harris' newly announced bid the U.S. Senate, Robert Novak stormed off set with the words "I think that's bullshit. And I hate that. Just let it go." Henry simply carried on the interview with James Carville, unphased.

The National Press Foundation awarded Henry with the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress in 2005. The judges stated: "Ed submitted five clips that took the story out of the committee room and into the living room. When reporting about Senator Frist's support of stem cell research, he studied the Senator’s motivations not only from a political standpoint, but also as a scientist. It was a great piece of journalism that may have given us our first glimpse of Frist as his own man running for President." 

Henry's "cool under pressure" persona was favored by CNN. He was chosen to be a White House Correspondent from March of 2006 through December 2008, when he was promoted to a senior position. He became the only senior correspondent, alongside other White House correspondents Dan Lothian and Brianna Keilar. 

Henry was awarded the Merriman Smith Award for his presidential reporting under deadline pressure in 2008 by the White House Correspondents' Association. He was nominated for his Valentine's Day 2007 coverage of "the Bush administration's irreconcilable assertions that Iranian officials were behind the authorization to send improvised explosive devices to Iraq." The judges stated that Henry's reports "got better with each ensuing update throughout the day”.

In December of 2009, Henry was covering President Barack Obama and Rush Limbaugh's Hawaiian vacations. He decided to fly home to Las Vegas on an overnight red-eye flight, and haphazardly placed himself in the center of a breaking news story: the 2010 Downtown Las Vegas courthouse shooting. This shooting left two dead, including Stanley Cooper, and US Marshal deputy injured.

"I was coming to get a little rest and relaxation, obviously", he tells Larry King Live later that January 4. "And the bottom line is that it was anything but. There was such a dramatic scene. I was driving near this federal building right behind me. And all of the sudden I heard a man in plainclothes, who I saw had what looked like a .9 millimeter gun shouting, "Get down! Everybody get down!" I didn't know who he was. I stopped the car. And all of a sudden I realized he was a plain-clothes police officer who had something on his radio saying that there was a shooter loose in -- in this federal building and that there was a shootout going on. And suddenly, right after he said that, there were helicopters descending. There were police cruisers coming from every direction."

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CNN confirmed that the suspect was Johnny Wicks, and that his motive was likely anger with the government. He had also burned down his residence before heading downtown that evening. He was eventually killed by the numerous federal officers who responded on scene. Henry covered the story live for CNN as it unfolded.

Henry married a CNN senior producer, Shirley Hung, in June 2010 after a February engagement. The wedding reception featured a 22-layer chocolate wedding cake with whipped cream frosting that was an elaborate replica of the White House and weighed 70 pounds. The Las Vegas Review Journal published "There was so much left over that, when the Henrys returned Sunday to pick up the traditional top tier that goes into a freezer for the first anniversary, the Society staff had saved the entire West Wing."

Fox News offered Henry the Chief White House Correspondent job title and Henry announced his departure from CNN on June 20, 2011. CNN had reportedly already decided not to renew Henry's contract. Henry accepted the role previously held by Wendell Goler and Mike Emanuel, who both also received promotions.

Covering the 2012 Democractic National Convention, Henry said that he had no regrets about leaving CNN. "It is my first convention with Fox, and I am excited, the move has been great. I feel like I have so much freedom here, it is exciting and the numbers don't lie. We are no longer competing with other cable networks, we are competing with big three and beating them." Fox consistently drew more viewers than fellow cable competitors MSNBC and CNN.

CNN and Fox News have a history of competition, and shortly after Henry's departure he was criticized for his questions towards White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. In response, Henry stated "Look, when I was at CNN I asked tough questions of the Bush White House, then I asked tough questions of this White House. And I never heard anyone say, ‘Oh my God, he’s out to get the Obama White House.’ First week at Fox, asked some tough questions of Jay Carney, people are screaming ‘Oh my God he’s got an agenda.'" He further explained that he and Carney have a good relationship, with one slight difference: “My only problem with Jay is that he’s a Red Sox fan, other than that he’s a pretty good guy,” Henry, a long-time New York Yankee fan, explained.

Henry lost his position as Chief White House Correspondent in May 2016 after news of an extramarital affair with a Las Vegas stripper, Natalia Lima. Although he took a temporary leave of absence to help maintain privacy, the woman gave an interview with InTouch that described the 10-month relationship in explicit detail. Although initially supportive, stating "We are aware of Ed's personal issues and he's taking some time off to work things out", Fox News was eventually forced to demote Henry. "This raises serious questions about Ed's lack of judgment, especially given his position as a journalist", Fox News chairman Roger Ailes reported.  Henry returned in late August as chief national correspondent, instead, assigned to general reporting instead of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. He was succeeded by Kevin Corke. Henry's wife, Shirley Hung, remained by his side through the allegations.

Today Henry continues to report on Fox News Channel under the title of Chief National Correspondent.

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