:Shepard Smith

Smith was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, the son of Dora Ellen Anderson, an English teacher, and David Shepard Smith Sr., a cotton merchant. He attended Marshall Academy in Holly Springs. After high school, his parents separated and he moved to Florida with his mother.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/28/style/news-reports-for-ultra-short-attentions.html |title=News Reports For Ultra-Short Attentions |work=The New York Times |first=Warren |last=St. John |date=March 28, 2004 |access-date=July 18, 2018}} He studied journalism at the University of Mississippi, where he left two credits shy of a degree to take a reporter job in Panama City, Florida.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20139878,00.html |title=Cable King |magazine=People |first=Jason |last=Lynch |volume=59 |issue=16 |date=April 28, 2003 |access-date=July 22, 2009 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043803/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20139878,00.html |url-status=dead }} Smith delivered the university's 155th commencement address on May 10, 2008.{{cite news |url=http://news.olemiss.edu/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=580 |title=Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith to Deliver Commencement Address May 10 |work=University of Mississippi Newsdesk |first=Mitchell |last=Diggs |date=May 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5XkJskU6z?url=http://news.olemiss.edu/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=580 |archive-date=May 11, 2008 |url-status=dead}}

Smith began his career in television with WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida,{{Cite news |url=https://jnm.olemiss.edu/2017/05/03/fox-news-anchor-shepard-smith-speaks-about-his-school-of-journalism-and-new-media-roots-and-life/ |title=Fox News anchor Shepard Smith speaks about his School of Journalism and New Media roots and life - School of Journalism and New Media |publisher=University of Mississippi |date=May 3, 2017 |access-date=July 16, 2022}} and then with WJHG-TV in Panama City Beach, Florida.{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/shep-smith-bio-pictures-life-rise-of-fox-news-anchor-2019-10 |title=How Shep Smith went from local reporter to a controversial Fox News anchor and outspoken critic |work=Business Insider |last=Cranley |first=Ellen |date=October 13, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2020}} After reporting jobs at WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, WSVN in Miami and WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando,{{Cite news |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191011005542/en/Fox-News-Channel%E2%80%99s-Shepard-Smith-Step-Chief |title=Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith to Step Down as Chief News Anchor and Managing Editor of Breaking News Unit |work=Business Wire |last=Briganti |first=Irena |date=October 11, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2019}} Smith became a correspondent for A Current Affair.{{Cite news |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/magnolia/entertainment/2017/05/02/shepard-smiths-journey-ole-miss-fox/101048830/ |title=Shepard Smith's journey from Ole Miss to Fox News |work=The Clarion-Ledger |first=LaReeca |last=Rucker |date=May 2, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2020}}

After working as a correspondent for Fox affiliate service News Edge, Smith joined Fox News Channel at its inception in 1996.{{cite news |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2006-10-15-0610111045-story.html |title=Shepard Smith Plays It Straight on Fox News |work=Los Angeles Times |via=South Florida Sun-Sentinel |first=Matea |last=Gold |date=October 15, 2006 |access-date=March 13, 2020}} At Fox News, Smith reported on the death of Princess Diana in 1997, President Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment trial, the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, the 2001 execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh,{{Cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90542&page=1 |title=Eyewitness Accounts of McVeigh's Execution |publisher=ABC News |date=January 7, 2006 |access-date=March 13, 2020}} Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the death of Michael Jackson in 2009.

In 2003, The Fox Report with Shepard Smith was ranked third among the top five U.S. cable news programs,{{Cite web |url=http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelbio.xmc?ch=121 |title=Meet the Hosts of FOX News |publisher=XMRadio.com |access-date=November 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061110045209/http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelbio.xmc?ch=121 |archive-date=November 10, 2006}} and Smith tied for second with Dan Rather and Peter Jennings as the most-trusted news anchor on both network and cable news.{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2003-04-02-trusted-anchors_x.htm |title=Poll ranks NBC's Brokaw most trusted news anchor |work=USA Today |date=April 2, 2003 |access-date=April 10, 2008}} On November 19, 2007, Smith signed a three-year contract for $7–$8 million per year.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/business/media/19cable.html |title=Fox Cable Guy Edges Into the Big Pay Leagues |work=The New York Times |first=Bill |last=Carter |date=November 19, 2007 |access-date=May 30, 2008}} He renewed his contract with Fox on October 26, 2010, for another three years.{{Cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2010/10/shepard-smith-inks-new-deal-with-fox-news-78883/ |title=Shepard Smith Inks New Fox News Deal |website=Deadline Hollywood |first=Nellie |last=Andreeva |date=October 26, 2010 |access-date=February 27, 2011}} On September 12, 2013, he became managing editor of Fox News breaking news division and the host of Shepard Smith Reporting.{{Cite news |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/09/12/fox-news-channels-shepard-smith-to-lead-new-breaking-news-division-as-managing-editor-and-chief-news-anchor/202458/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915091828/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/09/12/fox-news-channels-shepard-smith-to-lead-new-breaking-news-division-as-managing-editor-and-chief-news-anchor/202458/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 15, 2013 |title=FOX News Channel's Shepard Smith to Lead New Breaking News Division as Managing Editor and Chief News Anchor |work=TV by the Numbers |first=Amanda |last=Kondolojy |date=September 12, 2013 |access-date=September 12, 2013}}

In September 2012, while covering live helicopter footage of an Arizona police chase of a man after a carjacking, the man shot himself live while Smith was narrating. After a commercial break Smith apologized and told the audience that it was "due to human error". Fox would later be sued for the incident by the man's wife after her children saw the video.{{Cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/fox-news-sued-broadcasting-suicide-live-tv/story?id=19421413 |title=Fox News Sued for Broadcasting Suicide on Live TV |work=ABC News |last=Goldman |first=Russell |date=September 28, 2012 |access-date=October 25, 2021}}

In November 2017, Smith infuriated some Fox viewers when he countered the Uranium One conspiracy theory, which claims that the Obama administration intervened corruptly in a deal allowing a Russian company to buy Uranium One, a Canadian company with uranium mining interests in the US in exchange for donations to the Clinton Foundation.{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-shep-smith-hillary-clinton-scandal-the-uranium-one-deal-2017-11 |title=Fox News anchor Shep Smith annihilates his network's favorite Hillary Clinton 'scandal,' the Uranium One deal |last=Relman |first=Eliza |work=Business Insider |date=November 15, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2020}} Smith's reporting put him at odds with colleague and Fox prime time host Sean Hannity, who had supported the claim against Hillary Clinton.{{Cite news |url=https://observer.com/2017/11/fox-news-shepard-smith-sean-hannity-dont-agree-on-facts/ |title=Fact and Fiction Showdown: Shepard Smith Versus Sean Hannity |work=Observer |last=Lapointe |first=Joe |date=November 17, 2017 |access-date=March 13, 2020}}

On March 15, 2018, Fox News signed Smith to a multi-year contract.{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/longform/shepard-smith-fox-news/ |title=Shep Smith Has the Hardest Job on Fox News |magazine=Time |first=Daniel |last=D'Addario |date=March 15, 2018 |access-date=March 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325045148/http://time.com/longform/shepard-smith-fox-news/ |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |url-status=live}} On October 11, 2019, he announced on Shepard Smith Reporting that he was leaving the network.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AtmlozSpm0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/1AtmlozSpm0| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Shepard Smith says goodbye to Fox News |series=Shepard Smith Reporting |publisher=Fox News |via=YouTube |first=Shepard |last=Smith |date=October 11, 2019}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web |author=Darcy |first=Oliver |last2=Stelter |first2=Brian |date=2019-10-11 |title=Shepard Smith makes shocking announcement that he is leaving Fox News |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/media/shepard-smith-leaving-fox-news/index.html |access-date=2021-06-25 |publisher=CNN |language=en}}

In a 2021 interview with Christiane Amanpour on her eponymous show on CNN, he stated that his presence on Fox had become "untenable" due to the "falsehoods" and "lies" intentionally spread on the network's shows.{{cite news|date=20 January 2021|last=Benveniste|first=Alexis|title=Shep Smith breaks his silence about why he left Fox News|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/media/shep-smith-fox-amanpour/index.html|access-date=21 April 2021|publisher=CNN}}{{Cite web|last=Lonas|first=Lexi|date=2021-01-19|title=Shep Smith on former employment at Fox News: 'I stuck with it for as long as I could'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/534903-shep-smith-on-former-employer-fox-news-i-stuck-with-it-as-long-as-i-could|access-date=2021-06-25|website=The Hill|language=en}}

On July 8, 2020, the business and economic news network CNBC announced Smith would join the network as chief general news anchor and chief general breaking news anchor. Smith served as the host of The News with Shepard Smith, a primetime general news program that aired weekdays at 7:00 pm. ET and launched on September 30, 2020. According to a CNBC press release, the program "[aims] to go beyond financial markets, 'to tell rich, deeply reported stories across the entire landscape of global news.'"{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/former-fox-news-anchor-shepard-smith-joins-cnbc-with-new-evening-show.html |title=Former Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith Joins CNBC as chief general news anchor with new evening show |publisher=CNBC |last=Boorstin |first=Julia |date=July 8, 2020 |access-date=July 8, 2020}} CNBC had previously aired a similarly named program in the same time slot, hosted by Brian Williams and later John Seigenthaler, from 2002 to 2004.{{cite web|url=https://www.newscaststudio.com/2020/07/08/the-news-shepard-smith-branding/|title=CNBC returns to definitive 'The News' branding for Shepard Smith|first=Michael P.|last=Hill|date=July 8, 2020|access-date=September 27, 2020|work=NewscastStudio}} His program was canceled in November 2022 and he left CNBC that month.{{cite news |author1=DAVID BAUDER |title=CNBC axes Shepard Smith's nightly newscast after two years |url=https://www.chron.com/news/article/CNBC-axes-Shepard-Smith-s-nightly-newscast-after-17556155.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104011427if_/https://www.chron.com/news/article/CNBC-axes-Shepard-Smith-s-nightly-newscast-after-17556155.php |archive-date=4 November 2022 |access-date=10 June 2023 |work=Houston Chronicle |date=4 November 2022 |language=en |quote=Smith, who is leaving the network, will have his last telecast sometime later this month}}

In a speech to the International Press Freedom Awards on November 21, 2019, Smith warned of authoritarian governments that make it dangerous and difficult for journalists to do their jobs, saying autocrats have learned to use online tools and social media to shore up their power.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/11/21/fox-news-anchor-shepard-smith-speech-decries-press-vilification/4267884002/ |title=Shepard Smith decries 'press vilification' in first speech since leaving Fox News |work=USA Today |last=Alexander |first=Bryan |date=November 22, 2019 |access-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191122154149/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/11/21/fox-news-anchor-shepard-smith-speech-decries-press-vilification/4267884002/ |archive-date=November 22, 2019 |url-status=live}} At the event, Smith gave $500,000 to the host organization, the Committee to Protect Journalists.{{cite news |last=Stelter |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Stelter |date=November 22, 2019 |title=Shepard Smith slams vilification of the press in first remarks since leaving Fox News |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/22/media/shepard-smith-committee-to-project-journalists/index.html |access-date=November 22, 2019 |publisher=CNN}}

Smith appeared as himself in the 1997 film Volcano.

Video of Smith anchoring on Fox during the opening moments of the March 2003 Iraq War was used in the film Fahrenheit 9/11. Additionally, archive footage of Smith anchoring Shepard Smith Reporting covering the 2016 US presidential election was used in the 2019 docudrama Bombshell.

Smith married Virginia Donald, a University of Mississippi classmate, in 1987. They divorced in 1993 with no children.{{cite news |url=http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4841 |title=The Anti-Anchor |work=American Journalism Review |first=Sherry |last=Ricchiardi |date=January 2010 |access-date=December 8, 2009}}

In 2017, Smith publicly announced he is gay and has a long-time boyfriend.{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/fox-news-shepard-smith-opens-sexuality-article-1.3148321 |title=Fox News' Shepard Smith opens up about his sexuality, says he never thought he 'was in' the closet |work=Daily News|location=New York |first=Rachel |last=Desantis |date=May 8, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2017}} In a speech at the University of Mississippi, Smith would say, "...it wasn’t until seven, or eight, or nine years ago, I started living my truth ... And when I told the truth, I guess it was considered that I outed myself. I didn’t even think about it because I didn’t think I was in."{{cite news |last1=Deerwester |first1=Jayme |title=Fox News' Shepard Smith: I didn't out myself; I was never in |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2017/05/09/fox-news-shepard-smith-addresses-his-sexuality/101461102/ |access-date=31 August 2024 |publisher=USA Today |date=9 May 2017}}

• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City
• New Yorkers in journalism
• NYC Pride March

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{{sister project links|d=Q1654116|c=Category:Shepard Smith|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20191003064000/https://www.foxnews.com/person/s/shepard-smith.html Shepard Smith's Bio on FoxNews.com] (archived October 3, 2019)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20191011075330/https://www.foxnews.com/shows/shepard-smith Shepard Smith Reporting on FoxNews.com] (archived October 11, 2019)
• {{IMDb name|0809952}}

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Category:1964 births

Category:20th-century American journalists

Category:American male journalists

Category:21st-century American journalists

Category:American television news anchors

Category:American television reporters and correspondents

Category:Fox News people

Category:Gay journalists

Category:Journalists from Mississippi

Category:LGBTQ people from Mississippi

Category:American LGBTQ broadcasters

Category:American LGBTQ journalists

Category:American gay writers

Category:Living people

Category:People from Holly Springs, Mississippi

Category:University of Mississippi alumni

Category:Managing editors