Shepard Smith Signs New Deal with Fox News Channel
Smith Anchors The Fox Report , Studio B with Shepard Smith
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/19/2007 11:47:00 AM
Shepard Smith reupped with Fox News Channel via a new three-year deal that will reportedly pay him up to $8 million per year.
The deal capped a lengthy negotiation, Smith said, accompanied by the usual smattering of blogisphere rumors.
“I like to concentrate on the news,” he added. “I don’t like to troll the blogs. And I don’t want to worry about things that lawyers worry about. I’m just so glad it’s done.”
Smith has been with Fox News since the channel’s inception 11 years ago, forging a close relationship with network head Roger Ailes along the way.
“He treats me like a son,” Smith said. “The amount of time he gives me in his office to discuss anything from my shoes being too tight to world affairs is so generous. That’s the thing that I didn’t want to leave.”
Smith anchors the network’s flagship newscast, The Fox Report, which has been the top-rated cable-news show at 7 p.m. for 73 consecutive months. CNN moved Lou Dobbs Tonight into the 7 p.m. slot, but Dobbs has yet to make a dent in Smith’s audience, which averages 1.5 million viewers per night.
Smith also anchors 3 p.m. news program Studio B with Shepard Smith.
