The Fox News family is mourning the loss of two staffers who died over Christmas weekend. Matt Napolitano, a Fox News Radio anchor and sports reporter, was 33. Adam Petlin, the director of Chicago Bureau Operations and one of the network’s very first hires, was 58.
Napolitano is survived by his husband, Ricky Whitcomb, who shared the news of his death on X (formerly known as Twitter). The couple married just this past May.
“With a heavy heart I have to share that my husband @MattNapolitano passed away yesterday morning,” Whitcomb wrote on Christmas Eve. “He loved his job and he loved bringing the news to your radios and televisions. An honest journalist who truly cared about facts. You can thank him for the last minute Jets win today.”
Whitcomb added that Napolitano’s death came as the result of a longstanding auto immune disease.
“He had an auto immune disease that he was diagnosed with almost 20 years ago and died as the result of an infection,” he posted. “Do not use my husband’s death to spread disinformation and blatant mistruths.”
According to Variety, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott issued a memo to Fox News employees praising Napolitano for his journalist skills.
“Matt did everything from anchoring to writing and producing for our audio platforms and loved being able to work in the journalism field that he trained for his entire life,” Scott wrote.
Napolitano was a lifelong game show fan, appearing on Jeopardy in 2020 and on Wheel of Fortune in 2016.
Scott also paid tribute to Petlin in a memo to employees, highlighting his lengthy tenure with the company.
“He was an integral part of the field and production team and a gifted still and television photographer,” she wrote, via Fox News. “Adam was also highly regarded by numerous correspondents and anchors that were fortunate enough to have been on location with him on nearly every major news story of the last 27 years.”
Petlin is survived his wife, Lauren, his 18-year-old daughter, Ava, and his 14-year-old son, Luca.
His career with Fox began in August 1996 as one of the network’s first six field photographers hired. As he climbed the corporate ladder, Petlin’s assignments included coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in downtown Manhattan, New York, as well as trips around the world including visits to Antarctica and the South Pole. His death reportedly came as the result of a long illness.
“As many of us gather with family and friends today,” Scott wrote in her Dec. 24 statement, “hug your loved ones with even more gratitude.”
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