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Shep Smith Leaves Fox News

FYI: Leaving viewers and the media world shell shocked, anchor Shep Smith signed off from his last show, announcing he was stepping down from the network. In his last goodbye, Smith claimed ‘the facts will win the day’ reassuring his audience ‘journalism and journalist will thrive.’ This comes as President Trump has raised recent criticism of the network, long known for their support of President Trump and his political messages, as anchors and experts on the network have called for his impeachment.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/shocking-anchor-shep-smith-leaves-fox-news-in-surprise-announcement-71113797862

Comments

  • edited October 2019
    @Ted. I know you don’t intend this post to be political in nature. Big changes in media / journalism are noteworthy for a variety of reasons - especially from the standpoint of one who seems to link day and night from publicly available sources.

    I watch some Fox, though my views are quite different as I think you know. I think Howard Kurtz does a decent job with his Media Buzz on Sundays and have really grown to like Mike Wallace. CBS should land the guy for a spot on 60-Minutes, which I suspect they will do some day.

    There are a few at Fox who to me appear to spew venom (Maria B for example). But in fairness, I suppose the same could be said of CNBC. A lot depends on your vantage point.
  • A shame. He provided a reason to watch Fox News.

    Does anyone still use the term "shell shocked"? Apropos to both this question and Shepard, here's a bit from George Carlin:


  • Why is barr-meeting-with-murdoch you ask? To spin the dialog the way they want it to go just like the do in Russia, China, North Korea et.al.. The hell with facts, evidence and all that other fake nonsense.

    You know I somewhat expect this to happen these days but the fact that there are folks out there that suck it up and believe that's how it is constantly baffles me.
  • @Mark. Yes, but also to get Smith and Wallace out.
  • edited October 2019
    If they do, Wallace will get his revenge. (I can already smell the book deal - just for starters.)

    From today’s NYT: “But the president has rarely been satisfied with the adulation he receives from the network’s prime-time and morning opinion shows. Instead, he often fixates on any hint of criticism, deeming the network ungrateful for the high ratings that he attributes to himself.” https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/13/business/media/trump-fox-news.html

    Sound familiar?:)
  • Yes, but also to get Smith and Wallace out.

    He's just shooting the messenger. Wrong block, though.

    Fox News studios are not on 5th Avenue but on 6th, or as suspect Trump would like to call it, Avenue of the United States of America.
    https://www.ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2018/10/15/how-nyc-s-avenue-of-the-americas-got-its-name-

  • The underreported Barr anti-secularism speech is as troubling as any meeting.

    A little over 20% of Americans report being unaffiliated with any religion. About the same consider themselves Catholic. Imagine if the AG of the friggin USA said Catholicism was weakening society.

    Not only did Barr state that secularism is evil, he said its effects are intended: “This is not decay. It is organized destruction.”

    JFC
  • Howdy,

    We've known for years how campaign contributions distort the political process. Now we're seeing it firsthand in the media. We talk about FOX and MSNBC each being biased in their own way.

    How about local stations? I've been noticing this sort of thing happening on my local TV station with 'news feed' segments. On my one local, most recently, one segment on lawn weeds and now's the time to fertilize. Another on Lansing's homeless sleeping in a downtown park and leaving trash. Reporter kept trying to up the 'trash' to defecating, etc. and the official kept denying. Lot's of recent segments stirring up fear.

    My question is where are they getting this feed and why and for how much?

    Start watching folks. All channels and outlets.

    And keep in mind that each of us is entitled to our own set of beliefs but we are NOT entitled to our own set of facts.

    and so it goes,

    peace,

    rono
  • Kelleyanne begs to differ
  • Facts have now been made fungible.
  • edited October 2019
    What PBS mostly neutral..
    Both sides cnbc fox have standards.. Think most medias are biased toward potus and that a shame...

    Wonder what happens if clinton or bush or Obama in trump's shoes presently - nothing would happen I think and it's water flow under bridge...just another day at the office...

    Democrats been trying same game for 2.8 yrs now nothing is new here since day one... I was not surprise at all w impeachment just lots noise and distractions from obvious

    Think the real winners are lawyers for both sides, their pockets and cash mountain swells up extremely fast. The looses are american people again since not will get done until Nov 2020, no work being done at all in house and congress

    Vegas odds show trump impeach during first term 40 cents on dollar (one dollar to win 40 cents... Don't think it will happen)

    A. Smith will prob be hired by cnbc or CNN in a hearbeat..
  • edited October 2019
    I’ll vote for whoever promises to make English great again.

    Sounds like @Rono might have a Sinclair owned station in his area. Both our local ABC and NBC affiliates up north are. Last night one cut-out part of its weather coverage to air an anti-CNN clip.
    (You have to wonder if they were trying to reduce the audience for the debate later that night.)

    Lansing station - http://www.michiguide.com/dials/owners/sinclair.html - While this source shows a Lansing station, rest assured they own a lot more than 3 in the state and have been expanding.

    Impact on local news nationally - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/04/10/yes-sinclair-broadcast-group-does-cut-local-news-increase-national-news-and-tilt-its-stations-rightward/
  • edited October 2019
    @hank
    Thinking the same thing when I read @rono and his observations. I've watched this with a Sinclair station to which we have access.

    Required local station promo about fake news and related from August, 2018. Scroll down the linked page a bit to read what the local staff had to say on live tv. Two on air personalities from the station were chosen for this task.

    Sadly, whatever the marketing plans may be for local stations in smaller metro areas (meaning not Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, etc.); I'm not always sure of what they are really trying to do to provide real "local" reporting. These stations have their good days, but wander way off the track too often.
    I'm a "victim" of years of what was decent local programming. 'Course, I'm fully aware the way back days didn't include the technology and channels available today.
    About 30 years ago, I called a local station to express my opinion about a poorly presented and reported story about local government...........yes, not just me; but very bad data gathering.
    Keep in mind, this was a time when one actually made a phone call and spoke with an employee who lived in the same community. I expressed my opinion to her, she noted same; and then I asked based upon their market share, what is the numerical impact of voicing my opinion in the market area. She had this data from Nielsen Ratings and told me that my opinion was worth the same as 1,256 others in the viewing area.

    @hank I've watched some channel 9/10 more to your area. I suppose, that not unlike my local programming; reporters are not always given the green light or time to do a story they feel is important. I'm not in a position to be critical; as I'm not familiar with how a local tv station operates from internal business pressures, budgets, etc.
  • edited October 2019
    The Sink station in DC (ABS's WJLA) also superimposes a CGI American flag on their chyron regardless of the story. It's either in full color or just hinted at behind the channel bug ... very reminiscent of the cable networks doing the same thing in a sign of forced patriotism in the days after 9/11 .. or how CBS makes all their NFL anchors/hosts wear flag lapel pins. (I don't watch Sink stations - or much commercial TV news generally - but every now and then I pop over to see what their coverage/presentation is like.)
  • Geez, how out of touch am I. When @hank mentioned a Sinclair station I thought he was referring to Dino.
  • @Mark That's okay.
    These type of of wide ranging pieces of memory will cause you to move to the winner's circle in some versions of the Trivial Pursuit game.
    So many things we have learned, seen and experienced, eh?
    All of this knowledge can be most valuable in the scheme of live going forward.
    Yes, I can still see the gas station sign in my mind's eye, too.
  • It's often been noted that so-called "liberal elites" tend to cluster in larger cities, and their largely right-wing opposite numbers tend to be found in more rural areas. The larger city areas of course have a much more varied spectrum of news and information sources.

    From reading over the past few years I'm under the impression that there are ever-increasing numbers of local television stations which are being purchased by right-wing owner groups such as Sinclair.

    It would be interesting to know if there is a cause/effect correlation here, and if stations of the Sinclair variety are merely pandering to an already established right-leaning community, or if the community tends to be more right-leaning because of the limited local news sources.

  • @Mark beat me to it. I was wondering who or what the dinosaur is in this case.
  • edited October 2019
    @BenWP Sinclair Oil Corporation used to have lots of gas stations, which had the Sinclair logo and a drawing of a dinosaur. I haven't seen a Sinclair gas station in ages, but Wickipedia says that they're still around, as a privately owned corporation.

    image

    image
  • Sometimes when I would drive around in my Lark passing the 15¢ / gal places in search of the 12¢ Sohio places, I would turn into the Sinclair place, which was 11¢.
  • @OJ - you may (or may not) appreciate this

    Land Doesn't Vote
  • @Mark Yes, but land gets you two senators no matter how people live on it. It also unfairly tilts the electoral college.
  • edited October 2019
    From the Sinclair Broadcasting Style Sheet : Authoritative “Ted Knight” voice mid-way through the story intones, “... One reason might be (insert unsubstantiated slander here).”

    I see shades of Joseph Goebbels all over this.

    (Mark probably thinks Knight‘s a line of sports wear and Goebbels a beer.)

    - https://www.azquotes.com/author/5626-Joseph_Goebbels
    - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Goebbels
  • Thanks, @Old_Joe. My comment was a little opaque for a person who well remembers having to wait for an attendant to fill the tank. @davidmoran's reminiscence reminds me that my VW barely took $2 worth. Maybe I'm the dinosaur. FWIIW, my father was a Gulf marine dealer.
  • edited October 2019
    I was the attendant. Most locals bought a dollar’s worth usually. Maybe two-dollars worth on a Friday night if they just got paid and were feeling rich. I worked at a Citgo. But there was a Sinclair nearby. Zephyr was another area brand.

    My Pa bought a ‘62 Ford Galaxy (a few years old) with a small 6 and the darned thing got better than 20 mph on the highway. That was fantastic for a full sized car in those days.
  • Not a Sinclair ad (it's for Chevron), but it could have been:

  • @Mark- That's certainly unnerving and vexing. The minority leading the majority around by their noses. And then having the absolute insolence and arrogance to claim that they are "the silent majority".
  • Sinclair dinosaur is Dino the brontosaurus.
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