Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith to Step Down as Chief News Anchor and Managing Editor of Breaking News Unit
October 11 2019 - 4:07PM
Business Wire
FOX NEWS Channel’s (FNC) Shepard Smith will step down from his
role as Chief News Anchor and Managing Editor of the network’s
breaking news unit and Anchor of Shepard Smith Reporting, announced
Jay Wallace, President & Executive Editor of FOX News Media.
This afternoon’s edition of Shepard Smith Reporting was Mr. Smith’s
final show, during which he addressed his decision. A series of
rotating anchors will host the 3PM/ET time slot until a new dayside
news program is announced.
In making the announcement, Mr. Wallace said, “Shep is one of
the premier newscasters of his generation and his extraordinary
body of work is among the finest journalism in the industry. His
integrity and outstanding reporting from the field helped put FOX
News on the map and there is simply no better breaking news anchor
who has the ability to transport a viewer to a place of conflict,
tragedy, despair or elation through his masterful delivery. We are
proud of the signature reporting and anchoring style he honed at
FOX News, along with everything he accomplished here during his
monumental 23-year tenure. While this day is especially difficult
as his former producer, we respect his decision and are deeply
grateful for his immense contributions to the entire network.”
Mr. Smith added, “Recently I asked the company to allow me to
leave FOX News and begin a new chapter. After requesting that I
stay, they graciously obliged. The opportunities afforded this guy
from small town Mississippi have been many. It’s been an honor and
a privilege to report the news each day to our loyal audience in
context and with perspective, without fear or favor. I’ve worked
with the most talented, dedicated and focused professionals I know
and I’m proud to have anchored their work each day — I will deeply
miss them.”
One of FNC’s original hires in 1996, Mr. Smith has covered
virtually every major news story over the course of his career as
both a correspondent and an anchor, playing a fundamental role in
the network’s innovation of the way news is presented.
As the anchor of Shepard Smith Reporting (weekdays 3-4PM/ET),
Mr. Smith utilized state-of-the-art news gathering techniques
enhanced with advanced technologies, as well as digital and social
media, to bring viewers the latest hard news from the signature
studio known as The FOX News Deck.
Throughout the most recent portion of his tenure, Mr. Smith
anchored numerous breaking news stories, including: the El Paso
shooting; the Parkland school shooting; Hurricanes Dorian &
Irma; the Las Vegas massacre; the 2016 terrorist attacks in Nice,
France and Belgium; the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris in
2015; the 2014 riots following the shooting of civilian Michael
Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, MO; and the search for
missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, among many others.
Before taking the helm of the breaking news division with the
advent of Shepard Smith Reporting, Mr. Smith anchored The FOX
Report and Studio B, both of which ranked number one in their
respective timeslots. In this role, among the stories he notably
anchored were: the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013 along with the
subsequent manhunt and ultimate capture of the Tsarnaev brothers;
the financial crisis of 2008; the War in Iraq (2003); the War in
Afghanistan (2001), as well as the murderous terrorist attacks and
devastating aftermath of 9/11.
Additionally, Mr. Smith has traveled to Ukraine to report on the
unrest in Kiev and Crimea, and reported live from Rome during the
election of Pope Francis, as well as on the retirement of Pope
Benedict XVI. In 2011, he was on location from Japan following the
destructive earthquake and tsunami amid nuclear threats. During
that same year, he provided significant news coverage of the
anti-government protests and civil unrest in Egypt and Libya. Mr.
Smith also reported extensively on the Middle East conflict between
Israel and Hezbollah forces from Beirut, Lebanon in 2006.
Prior to joining FNC, Mr. Smith was a Los Angeles-based FOX News
Edge correspondent, reporting on a wide range of stories for the
FOX affiliate news service, including the crash of TWA Flight 800,
the Montana Freeman standoff, and the Oklahoma City bombing. Before
this, he gained extensive local news experience throughout the
state of Florida serving as a reporter for WSVN-TV (FOX) in Miami,
the former WCPX-TV (CBS) in Orlando, WBBH-TV (NBC) in Fort Myers,
FL and WJHG-TV (NBC) in Panama City, FL where he began his
television career.
FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news
service delivering breaking news as well as political and business
news. The number one network in cable, FNC is a unit of FOX News
Media and has been the most watched television news channel for
more than 17 consecutive years. According to a 2019 Suffolk
University poll, FOX News is the most trusted source for television
news or commentary in the country, while a 2019 Brand Keys Emotion
Engagement Brand Analysis survey found that FOX News was the most
trusted cable news brand. Owned by FOX Corporation, FNC is
available in nearly 90 million homes and dominates the cable news
landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the
genre.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191011005542/en/
FOX News Media: Irena
Briganti 212-301-3608 or irena.briganti@foxnews.com
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