Shepard Smith’s CONTROVERSIAL EXIT: The Price of Honesty? or Was he a Trait0r in the Disguise of a Fox News Anchor?

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When Shepard Smith abruptly quit Fox News in October, it left a void in the middle of the network’s daytime schedule.

Smith was one of the best in the industry at navigating breaking news. He spoke plainly and told it like it is, even if it meant calling out President Tr::mp to the network’s Republican-leaning audience. His departure was lamented by media watchers, even if it was welcomed by a segment of Fox News viewers which included Tr::mp himself.

In short, he had big shoes to fill.

In December, Fox News chose Bill Hemmer, the anchor of the network’s three-hour morning newscast “America’s Newsroom” since 2009 and a veteran reporter who has covered everything from Hurricane Katrina to the Boston Marathon bombing, to take over the 3 p.m. hour. “Bill Hemmer Reports” debuts Monday, January 20.

“Bill is an incredible newsman and his ability to cut to the heart of the story while humanizing major events has made him a standout talent in news,” Jay Wallace, Fox News president and executive editor, said in a release. “As we start gearing up for the 2020 election, we are thrilled to have him lead our news division through what will sure to be an eventful year.”

cleveland.com recently spoke with Hemmer, a Cincinnati native and Miami University grad, about his new role.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Morona: Your show debuts Monday. How excited are you?

Hemmer: I’m really excited. I started the morning show 12 years ago and I really felt it was time for a new change and a new chapter. My feeling is with the new decade of 2020 and all the events that we know that are already on the calendar and who’s to say what happens in between those moments, I think it shapes up to be a great year.

Q: Besides you, is the 3 p.m. hour going to look or feel different in any other way?

A: I don’t think there are a lot of secrets to how you succeed in cable today. You have to be on the breaking news, number one, and you have to find newsmakers to bring you information, number two. That is where I am focused.

Q: Your predecessor Shepard Smith earned a reputation for being critical of the President and the White House. What did you think of his approach? I suspect some viewers at that hour might perhaps expect some of that from of you.

A: Shepard and I have known each other for a long time going back to my days at CNN… I think he is one of the most gifted breaking news anchors that television has ever had. But my feeling is the world can be complex and often times for us to understand the complexities of a story, it takes time. I’m not going to suggest that we can figure it all out in one hour in an afternoon… Look, if someone’s wrong, we’ll call them on it. But my attitude has been, before and will be going forward, to find the whole picture. Sometimes that’s not obvious.

Q: We often hear about the news side versus the opinion side at Fox News. How does that dynamic work? Some people might say that line sometimes is blurrier than it ought to be.

A: Our opinion makers in the evening are the best you can find. For me personally, that’s not my lane, I’m not interested in it, I have not pursued it and will not pursue it. My comfort zone is the news of the day. I plan on staying there in that lane.

Q: President Tr::mp is pretty harsh on the media. He’s called them “the enemy of the people,” and he’s even called out Fox News for some of its polling. What is your reaction when you hear that type of stuff from the president?

A: Fair question. I’m not into the business of mind reading, but what I am into is if someone says it, I’ll report it. I think viewers are smart enough on the other side to understand and interpret for themselves. But as far as me getting into his head, I can’t do that.

Q: The 3 p.m. hour has a lot of challenges. Breaking news always seems to happen in the middle of the afternoon, and, under this president, your whole rundown can change with a tweet.

A: You’re exactly right. I look at the three-hour program that Sandra [Smith] and I do right now. So few times we’ve stuck to the script or the rundown. There’s a benefit to that in that it adds a certain level of intrigue to the day and excitement when things are changing in real time. It’s another reason why so many people have been driven to cable news over the past 3 1/2 to 4 years. Because at any given moment something can go 180 the other way. If the audience finds that interesting, can you imagine how we find it? You have to be prepared for everything.

Q: There’s a lot of big stories already this year with Iran, impeachment, and the election. What is going to be the biggest storyline of 2020?

A: Your guess is as good as mine. Here’s what I’ll say about cable news anchors: they have to be ready. You have to know this much [stretches arms] about that much [pinches fingers] in order to cover everything. One of the things that I have tried to do over my 14 years at Fox and 10 years at CNN prior to that, I do not want to be caught unprepared. The only way for me [to do that] is to have a broad base of knowledge that starts early in the morning that takes me through that mid-afternoon broadcast.

Q: Has there been a breaking news situation you covered in the past that helped you the most prepare for this type of role?

A: I think being a sportscaster [in Cincinnati in the late 1980s] taught me how to see an image interpreted in your mind and then spit out the words that are appropriate at that time. I think that has been a critical aspect of being successful at the job.

Q: You’re from Ohio. Has your Midwestern background helped inform or shape your career?

A: 100%. I feel very fortunate to be from the Midwest– that you can have a sensibility that’s rooted in the minds of all those who grew up in places like Ohio. You bring a certain common sense to the job. When people refer to Ohio and other parts of the Midwest as “flyover country,” it’s because they haven’t taken the time to put the plane down and walk around and talk to people. I feel very fortunate that I am from there to bring that sensibility to a job that has national and international exposure. I think it’s a tremendous asset.

Q: You’ve been manning the big board on election night at Fox News for years. Ohio has been called a purple state. Can we definitively call it a red state now?

A: Good question. Based on 2016, I think you’re probably closer to red than blue now. But whether or not [Tr::mp] can win again, I can’t go that far. I think he won by 8 points in 2016. Let’s see what happens in 2020 before we make that characterization.

Q: Last one: what would you say to a viewer of CNN or MSNBC who may not normally turn the channel to Fox News at 3 p.m.?

A: Give us a chance.

“Bill Hemmer Reports” airs on Fox News weekdays at 3 p.m. starting Jan. 20.