Former ******** news anc**r and talk s**w **st Shepard Smith has broken his silence on his decision to quit the network n October 2019 while in the middle of a three-year contract.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Smith w** now **sts the nightly s**w “The News with Shepard Smith” on CNBC revealed that he quit after becoming d****lusioned with news coverage at the Rupert Murdoch owned network which has been faulted by observers and media experts for being too pro- Republican Party and reporting false information to paint the now Former US President ************’s leadership in positive light.
D****g the interview, he told CNN presenter Christiane Amanpour that he stuck with the broadcaster at first believing that he could counter lies told by ******** p***e time news anc**rs Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham through his daytime s**w that was the complete opposite of what his colleagues were doing on various opinion s**ws on the network.
“Opine all you like, but if you’re going to opine, begin with the truth and opine from there,” Smith said. “When people begin with a false premise and lead people astray, that’s injurious to society and it’s the an***hesis of what we s**uld be doing: T**se of us w** are so **nored and grateful to have a platform of public in***ence have to use it for the public good,”
Smith, w** joined ******** at its inception in 1996, said he was **wever proud of the work he did at the network.
“I t**ught it was important that I stay there,” he said. “If you feel like the Fox viewers were getting mis- or disinformation, I was there to make sure that they got it straight,” he said. Smith t**ught depriving viewers of news and replacing it with opinions “felt a little selfish,” he added. But in the end, staying felt impossible.”
The breaking point for Smith came as tensions with the opinion s**ws were getting to be too much.For example, in late September 2019, 8 pm ET **st Tucker Carlson mocked Smith for standing up for his friend and colleague Judge Andrew Napolitano after the judge was called a “fool” by one of Carlson’s guests.
The network’s lack of a vocal defense for Smith and the w**le episode fast tracked his decision to leave.
Executives at the network leaned on him to stay, but they were unsuccessful. Smith announced his departure on air, then exited the building immediately.
“I stuck with it for as long as I could,” Smith said. “At some point, I realized I’ve reached a point of diminishing returns, and I left.”Smith told Amanpour that he continues to be disturbed by what is reported on Fox.”I don’t know **w some people sleep at night,” Smith said of the ******** employees w** knowingly spread false**ods. “I know that there are a lot of people w** have propagated the lies and w** have pushed them for***d over and over again w** are smart enough and educated enough to know better.
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