The Washington Post
Shepard Smith had barely started his program when a Fox News producer told him that their reporter had snagged an interview with Chris Christie, the challenger locked in a tight race with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.
“Here I am, the face of the network, it’s a week before the election, and our station is about to put a Republican on live and have nothing from the Democrat,” Smith recalls now. He reacted viscerally at the time, telling viewers: “Wow… My apologies for the lack of balance. If I had control, it wouldn’t have happened.”
Seated in his Sixth Avenue office with an erect posture that matches his caffeinated style, Smith says he was unaware that correspondent Shannon Bream had grabbed Christie on the fly. “I came off looking condescending,” he says. “I handled it poorly.”
But the on-air rebuke underscored Smith’s status as an outspoken newsman at the network defined by high-decibel conservatives, a stance that has earned him respect even from some Fox-hating liberals.
When he offers hints of his personal views — usually on the 3 p.m. “Studio B,” which Smith describes as a “completely different monster” from his evening newscast — they often challenge right-wing orthodoxy. But the 45-year-old anchor with the brash style and booming voice betrays no discomfort over sharing the stage with the likes of Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck. More…