October 8, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "You have a reputation for playing it down the middle, and you've been out there defending the network's journalistic integrity to people like Jon Stewart," TV Guide tells Fox News Channel anchor Bret Baier in a new interview. "How do you feel about having to do that?" Baier, a 1992 graduate of DePauw University, replies, "I believe in the place I work. I think Roger Ailes created an amazing network."
Baier adds, "I focus on my show every day. I know what we do in Washington and how we try to cover things. I'm comfortable talking about this network and this show every day. I think people acknowledge that there is a difference between opinion programming and news shows. The biggest critics of Fox are usually people who haven't watched it. And I say, watch my show for three days. Watch Shepard Smith's show, The Fox Report, for three days. And then come back to me and tell me what you think of it. And the loudest critics would come back and say, well I think that was covered pretty fairly."
The piece is timed to coincide with Fox's 15th anniversary. The network signed on on October 7, 1996. Baier has been anchoring Special Report since 2009.
The anchor points out, "I set aside about an hour a day to do social media. But it happens throughout the day. My wife wishes it didn't happen as much as it does." He adds, "It is the new reality. People feel more connected if they know the guy who's sitting there with them in the living room every night can occasionally answer their tweet."
You'll find the complete interview at the magazine's website.
At DePauw, Bret Baier majored in political science and English (composition) and was captain of the Tiger golf team. He began his career as a production assistant at CNN and joined FOX News Channel in 1998.
Learn more in this previous story.