On Tuesday's Amanpour & Co. on PBS and CNN International, host Christiane Amanpour lauded Shepard Smith's negativity toward right-wing voices on Fox News Channel as the former Fox News host discussed his decision to leave the network.
When Smith -- currently a CNBC anchor -- admitted that he does not monitor the work of the more conservative parts of Fox, Amanpour praised his "wise decision," bur she bristled when he sounded like he was throwing shade at her colleague, CNN's Don Lemon, leading Smith to backtrack and praise the liberal CNN host.
At one point, Smith recalled that he does not listen to sources that he finds dishonest or spread misinformation, and seemed to include Lemon on that list:
If I read a byline or I watch a program where the author or the speaker has repeatedly misinformed me, led me astray or lied to my face, I shut that source off. If a program that I watch, CNN domestic, if I watch it each night and Don Lemon starts going off on tangents about things that are demonstrably false, I'll stop watching him, and I won't let that be part of my news diet every day. And we as consumers of the news have to be better at it because there's a lot of crap out there.
Amanpour soon jumped to Lemon's defense: "Well, I don't think Don Lemon is, you know, engaged in lies, but I can see that you probably have a different view of the politics."
Smith then clarified that he did not actually mean to literally accuse the CNN host of lying, and hinted that Fox management should not allow some of his former colleagues to work there:
No, no, no, I think Don is great. I used Don because he's a friend. You know, I'm just saying anybody who's sitting on the air and giving their opinion, you know -- you know, if the opinion is based in fact, you're certainly entitled to it. And I don't have any problem -- I have friends at MSNBC and CNN and, yes, friends at Fox. They can opine all they want, but when they start lying to us, they're off my diet. And their managers shouldn't let them be there. They shouldn't, but they do.
Amanpour then brought up the Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan and her incessant criticism of Fox News. Here's Amanpour: "I had her on the show the other day, and she really went after, and rightly so, the names that I have mentioned -- Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham. But she also went after the head, you know, the head of this enterprise."
Then came a clip of Sullivan from Friday's Amanpour & Co. in which Sullivan claimed Fox News had "radicalized" some of its viewers:
Also call out the names of Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch and Suzanne Scott, who is in charge of Fox News. And, you know, these are people who have fomented this kind of outrage that has -- and allowed very misleading and very toxic kind of information to circulate... And it's been a very destructive force in our society, and it has radicalized many people. Maybe not to the point where they're going to go to the Capitol and participate in a riot, but certainly in undermining the truth.
Amanpour then asked Smith his reaction to reports that Fox News Channel has lost audience to other more right-wing outlets, leading Smith to admit he does not consume right-wing media:
So, traditionally, you know, either a conservative or a liberal channel, when their guy's in office, their guy or gal is in office, you're cheerleading, and then otherwise you're fighting. My guess is they'll turn to fighting, but I'll tell you, I haven't been watching and I don't plan to.
The PBS host approvingly wrapped up the interview: "And on that note, Shepard Smith, thank you very much for joining us. You made a wise decision there."
This episode of Amanpour & Co. was sponsored by the Anderson Family Fund and the Straus Family Foundation. You can fight back by letting advertisers know how you feel about them sponsoring such content.
Transcript follows:
PBS and CNN International
Amanpour & Co.
January 19, 2021
SHEPARD SMITH: Personally, if I read a byline or I watch a program where the author or the speaker has repeatedly misinformed me, led me astray or lied to my face, I shut that source off. If a program that I watch, CNN domestic, if I watch it each night and Don Lemon starts going off on tangents about things that are demonstrably false, I'll stop watching him, and I won't let that be part of my news diet every day. And we as consumers of the news have to be better at it because there's a lot of crap out there. And if you're going to get into a worm hole of fulfilling your own desires about how the world should be, you're not helping anybody, least of all yourself.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Well, I don't think Don Lemon is, you know, engaged in lies, but I can see that you probably --
SMITH: Nor do I.
AMANPOUR: -- have a different view of the politics. Exactly.
SMITH: No, no, no, I think Don is great. I used Don because he's a friend. You know, I'm just saying anybody who's sitting on the air and giving their opinion, you know -- you know, if the opinion is based in fact, you're certainly entitled to it. And I don't have any problem -- I have friends at MSNBC and CNN and, yes, friends at Fox. They can opine all they want, but when they start lying to us, they're off my diet. And their managers shouldn't let them be there. They shouldn't, but they do.
AMANPOUR: And, frankly, that's very important what you say because, as you say, it doesn't just affect a business. It's not, you know, a pageant show. It actually affects the world, and people who actually, for their, you know, as their job are critics, like Margaret Sullivan at the Washington Post, who is, you know, the media writer, and has been an ombudsman in the past. I had her on the show the other day, and she really went after, and rightly so, the names that I have mentioned -- Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham. But she also went after the head, you know, the head of this enterprise. Just listen to what she said.
MARGARET SULLIVAN, WASHINGTON POST (from the January 15 show): Also call out the names of Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch and Suzanne Scott, who is in charge of Fox News. And, you know, these are people who have fomented this kind of outrage that has -- and allowed very misleading and very toxic kind of information to circulate, and they've done so under a very misleading banner. As you may recall, when Fox was first on the air, the idea was, and the motto or the slogan was, "fair and balanced." Well, that has been misleading from the start. And it's been a very destructive force in our society, and it has radicalized many people. Maybe not to the point where they're going to go to the Capitol and participate in a riot, but certainly in undermining the truth.
AMANPOUR: So, Shepard, I want to know what you make of that commentary because many obviously agree with her. Furthermore, what do you think about the media in the post-Trump -- particularly the right-wing, the conservative media because Fox is losing viewers after this election, and it did call the election. It was the first to actually call Arizona and really, really angered Trump over that. So it performed its duty there accurately. But now they are hemorrhaging viewers apparently to even farther right, like Newsmax and OAN and the rest. Where do you think this is headed in a country which is divided over what is real and what is truthful?
SMITH: I think it depends on what consumers want. If a consumer looks at a channel and says, "Oh, that person's lied to me over and over, that's been proved, but I'm going to stay right here," well, we have one thing. But you just said that some people have been going away. I don't know what the future of that is, but -- but to say that, "Well, they're not going to stay with their patterns," would be surprising because usually the one you're promoting, you're cheerleading, and when it changes over to the other side, you begin a fight. So, traditionally, you know, either a conservative or a liberal channel, when their guy's in office, their guy or gal is in office, you're cheerleading, and then otherwise you're fighting. My guess is they'll turn to fighting, but I'll tell you, I haven't been watching and I don't plan to.
AMANPOUR: And on that note, Shepard Smith, thank you very much for joining us. You made a wise decision there.
