TVSpy
Since veteran anchor Brit Hume appeared as a panelist on “Fox News Sunday” last weekend and stated that he believed Tiger Woods‘ Buddhist faith didn’t offer “the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith,” viewers and media critics everywhere have offered varying opinions on the matter. Now a new NPR poll shows that people are almost evenly split on the subject, with a slight majority of respondents saying that it was not wrong for Hume to say what he did.
In the poll, conducted through NPR’s news blog, The Two-Way, 49% of respondents said it was wrong for Hume to say what he did while 51% said it was not wrong for Hume to say what he did.
Over the last week, Hume has found himself in the middle of a polarized media debate over whether or not it was appropriate for the Fox News anchor cum pundit to champion the redemptive offerings of his faith on national television. Hume received the now-requisite Jon Stewart skewering as media columnists both defended and criticized him.
“Hume has the right to yak,” John A. Farrell of U.S News & World Report wrote, “But, jeez, what a stupid thing to think.” Stuart Roy of The Hill defended Hume, citing how his son’s suicide in 1998 invigorated the anchor’s belief in Christianity.
Chris Wallace, the moderator of “Fox News Sunday,” appeared on Thursday’s broadcast of “Imus in the Morning” and also mentioned the death of Hume’s son as a factor in the conversation. “Whether you agree with him or not,” Wallace said, “you have to give him the courage of his convictions.”