Shepard Smith is renowned as an American television news anchor. Smith formerly hosted the program Fox Report with Shepard Smith and the show dubbed as Studio B aired on weekdays on Fox News Channel. He has been the host of Shepard Smith Reporting since October 2013 and is the managing editor of Breaking News Division at Fox News Channel.
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Early life
Shepard Smith was born January 14, 1964 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He is son of David Shepard Smith, Sr. who was a cotton merchant and his mother is Dora Ellen Anderson, an English teacher. Smith attended a K–12 private school in Holly Springs known as Marshall Academy before completing his high school senior year in Florida where his mother had moved after the parents separated.
He further attended University of Mississippi where he majored in journalism. However, he left some two credits away before graduating. Smith could frequently return to University of Mississippi during college football season.
Career rise
Smith had his first TV contract in Panama City Beach, Florida with WJHG-TV. In 1985, he reported for WCJB-TV in Gainesville. From his reporting, he gained extensive experience in local news throughout Florida. He was with WSVN-TV (FOX) in Miami and reported for former WCPX-TV (CBS) in Orlando.
Smith also worked with WBBH-TV (NBC) in Fort Myers. Prior to joining Fox News Channel, he was FOX News Edge correspondent based in Los Angeles where he reported on a broad array of stories for the channel, a FOX affiliate news service. During this time, he covered major events such as the crash of TWA Flight 800, Oklahoma bombing, and Montana Freeman Standoff.
In Los Angeles, Smith was correspondent for the program A Current Affair. Smith joined Fox News Channel in 1996, when it was started. He has since been assigned to report on major news events including the 1997 reporting on death and funeral of Princess Diana of Wales. In 2000, he was in Florida covering the controversial ballot counting in that year’s presidential election. He traveled to Terre Haute in Indiana in 2001 as a media witness during the execution of Timothy McVeigh.
Sometimes late in August 2005, Smith was in New Orleans, Louisiana where he spent close to a week providing news reports about the Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. The newscast The Fox Report with Shepard Smith was top rated and ranked third position in the top cable news programs in U.S.
In the 2003 TV Guide poll, Smith scooped the second position along with Peter Jennings and Dan Rather in the category of most trusted news anchor for both cable news and network TV news. Smith anchors a majority of prime time news presentation aired by Fox News for the Fox television network besides anchoring the flagship news program for Fox News Channel.
In September 12, 2013, he had multi year renewal of his contract with Fox News, which also saw him become the managing editor of breaking news division of the Fox News Channel.
Personal life
Smith was husband to Virginia Donald, who was a classmate when at University of Mississippi sometimes in 1987. However, they divorced in 1993 and by that time, they had no children.
Shepard Smith – Net Worth and Salary
Shepard Smith has an estimated net worth of $20 million and an annual salary of about $10 million.