Smith, now host of the nightly “The News with Shepard Smith” program at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC, told Amanpour that his presence on Fox became unsustainable as online opinion programs spread falsehoods. that the hosts knew they were lies.
“Opinion all you want, but if you opine, start with the truth and opine from there,” Smith said. “When people start with a false premise and divert people, this is detrimental to society and is the antithesis of what we should do: those of us who are so honored and grateful to have a platform of public influence have to use for the public good “.
Smith, who joined Fox News since its inception in 1996, said he was proud of the work he did on the network, organizing a daily news program increasingly at odds with what was aired on television programs. Fox’s opinion. Smith felt that by staying with Fox News, he could counter the falsehoods spread by Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and other early-stage hosts.
“I thought it was important for me to stay there,” he said. “If you get the feeling that Fox viewers were getting misinformation or error, I was there to make sure they made it clear,” he said.
Smith thought depriving viewers of news and replacing it with opinions “felt a little selfish,” he added.
For example, in late September 2019, host Tucker Carlson at eight in the afternoon mocked Smith for defending his friend and colleague Judge Andrew Napolitano after one of Carlson’s guests said the judge was “stupid.” Smith’s lack of vocal defense by the chain after the incident bothered him and the whole episode took into account his decision to leave, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Network executives relied on him to stay, but were unsuccessful. Smith announced his departure on the air, and immediately left the building.
“I stayed with him for as long as I could,” Smith said. “At one point, I realized I had reached a point of declining returns and I left.”
Smith told Amanpour that he continues to be disturbed by what Fox reports.