NEW YORK >> Fox News Channel has lost the second prominent member of its news team in a month, with today’s announcement that Washington reporter Catherine Herridge is leaving for a job at CBS News.

Like anchor Shepard Smith, who abruptly quit on Oct. 11, Herridge had been working at Fox News since the network began in 1996. She covered the criminal justice system and national security.

CBS News said Herridge will join the network in November as a senior investigative correspondent, covering national security, intelligence and consumer issues.

Fox says Herridge’s departure had been in the works before Smith left, pushing back against the idea that he would lead an exodus of news people. Fox has pointed to its news people to counter the idea that it is primarily an opinion network.