Washington Post Profiles Fox News' Shepard Smith

On a channel that has recently garnered a reputation for broadcasting opinion, Shepard Smith keeps his broadcasts on Fox News very much about the news.  His two weekday shows are hard, fast paced newscasts which break up the primetime line-up of talk radio-esque opinion makers and commentators.  Smith has gathered quite a following in this regard, and his show continue to gain in popularity, not only in the United States, but around the world.  Indeed, with the departure of Lou Dobbs from CNN, his show at 7pm ET, the Fox Report, should grow even more, with former CNN'ers looking for a new source of news whilst John King prepares to fill Dobbs' shoes next year.

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has profiled Smith, and started by writing;

Shepard Smith had barely started his program when a Fox News producer told him that their reporter had snagged an interview with Chris Christie, the challenger locked in a tight race with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.

Seated in his Sixth Avenue office with an erect posture that matches his caffeinated style, Smith says he was unaware that correspondent Shannon Bream had grabbed Christie on the fly. "I came off looking condescending," he says. "I handled it poorly."

But the on-air rebuke underscored Smith's status as an outspoken newsman at the network defined by high-decibel conservatives, a stance that has earned him respect even from some Fox-hating liberals.

When he offers hints of his personal views -- usually on the 3 p.m. "Studio B," which Smith describes as a "completely different monster" from his evening newscast -- they often challenge right-wing orthodoxy. But the 45-year-old anchor with the brash style and booming voice betrays no discomfort over sharing the stage with the likes of Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.

Read the full profile here.