Lou Dobbs, the godfather of television financial news who took a sharp turn toward right-wing populist politics, has died. He was 78.
The veteran broadcaster's death was confirmed Thursday in posts on his social media accounts.
“Lou was a fighter to the very end, fighting for what mattered most to him: God, his family and country. Lou’s legacy will live on forever as a patriot and a great American. We ask for your prayers for Lou’s wonderful wife, Deb, his children and his grandchildren.”
His death was first announced on Truth Social by former President Trump.
“The great Lou Dobbs has just passed away,” Trump said Thursday. “A friend and a truly incredible journalist, reporter and talent. He understood the world and what was going on better than others. Lou was unique in so many ways and loved our country. Our deepest condolences to his wonderful wife, Debi, and his family. He will be greatly missed!”
In a statement to The Times on Thursday, Fox News Media said it was “deeply saddened by the passing of Lou Dobbs.”
“A terrific businessman with a knack for broadcasting, Lou helped make cable news a successful and influential industry,” the statement said. “We are immensely grateful for his many contributions and send our deepest condolences to his family.”
No details were immediately available about the cause of Dobbs’ death, and a spokesman for Dobbs did not respond to The Times’ requests for comment Thursday.
Dobbs joined CNN as chief economics correspondent and host of “Moneyline” in 1980, when the network was born. He later became host and editor-in-chief of “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” which brought CNN good ratings but lower than those generated by another cable news pioneer, Larry King.
After some clashes with CNN management, he abruptly left the air in 2009 and moved to Fox Business Network, which relaunched “Lou Dobbs Tonight” in 2011.
Former Fox CEO Roger Ailes hired the news anchor for the cable network, where he became a mainstay. Dobbs was the company’s most outspoken supporter of Trump’s economic and immigration policies. In the weeks after the 2020 election, he also expressed anger at his show because the Republican Party didn’t do more to act on the former president’s claims that the election was rigged in President Biden’s favor.
In 2021, Fox News Media canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight” over his allegations of election fraud.
Dobbs’ show was canceled a month after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol, when Fox News’ coverage of Trump’s “stolen election” claims faced intense scrutiny. Critics have long argued that Fox legitimized lies about the election.
The lawsuits, including one filed by Dominion Voting Systems, alleged that Dobbs’ Fox Business Network show had given Trump supporters, including attorney Sidney Powell, a megaphone to spread false claims of voter fraud that undermined public confidence in elections.
Dobbs’ show was shelved almost immediately after another voting software company, Smartmatic, filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, Dobbs and hosts Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. That case is still pending.
Smartmatic and Dominion separately alleged that the network’s hosts had perpetuated lies and misinformation about its voting machines, even though Fox executives and the hosts acknowledged those theories were false. Fox has settled at least two cases targeting its coverage of election fraud, including last year’s agreement to pay $787 million to Dominion.
Dobbs was not fired outright, but instead kept on the network’s payroll. But without a stable platform, his influence soon faded. He recently hosted iHeartRadio’s podcast “The Great America Show” and was absent for several weeks.
Dobbs was born in Texas in 1945, but his family moved to Rupert, Idaho, when he was young. He once told the Horatio Alger Association that he remembered his father, who ran a propane company for the farming town, reading the newspaper every morning.
Reading and keeping up with the news were an integral part of the family's daily life.
Even before he was a teenager, Dobbs worked summers in the potato fields of Idaho. While attending high school, he was student body president and captain of the debate team. A high school teacher recommended that he apply for a scholarship to Harvard University, which he received. While at Cambridge, he attended a debate that greatly influenced him, including the participation of famed economist Milton Friedman.
“That night I understood the relationship between capitalism and democracy in terms that I carry with me to this day,” Dobbs told the Horatio Alger Association.
Dobbs was in college when his father died, devastating him. After graduating, he worked with the National Alliance of Entrepreneurs and on government projects dealing with urban unemployment. His first job in business was in Los Angeles, at Union Bank. He eventually found his way into journalism.
His first news job was as a police and fire reporter, earning $75 a week (a significant reduction from his bank job) in Yuma, Arizona. He eventually became an anchor at Channel 8 in Phoenix and then at a station in Seattle, where he worked as a news anchor and business reporter.
Dobbs is survived by his wife, Debi, and their four children.
Times Staff Writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.
