Talk:Shepard Smith

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This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Shepard Smith article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

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In this section, it states that a man replied by saying, "that's none of your fucking business". How exactly is this controversial for Smith? Is it Smith who said this line; or was it controversial for him to provoke the resident, and ask him those questions? I just don't see how this is controversial for Shepard Smith -- because he wasn't the one who said it.

Added some references to this section. Not sure how to reference the links, but here they are below. The Tallahassee Democrat article is now just a summary in an archive, but hope it suffices.

1. St Petersburg Times http://www.sptimes.com/News/111800/State/National_TV_anchor_is.shtml

2. Tallahassee Democrat, Archived Summary

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?s_site=tallahassee&p_multi=TD%7C&p_product=TD&p_theme=gannett&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=shepard%20smith%20AND%20date()&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=("shepard%20smith")&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no

Sorry, this link doesn't seem to work right from here. Can also see the summary by going to http://tallahasseedemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage and search Archive for "Shepard Smith"

I understand the user Huntster trying to make his point of view be the only significant, calling me a "POV pusher", but I believe he also must prove why the link to another article with an additional information about this person should not be mentioned.

The Russian internet news service Gazeta.ru reported that the Fox News channel cut off an American-Ossetian girl, Amanda Kokoeva, after stating that she was attacked by Georgian forces and saved by the Russians,[261] although this is not the case in the interview uploaded to FOXNews.com on August 13. The New York Times published an article about the interview discrediting the claims of biased treatment. Fox News was also accused of censorship by the television channel Russia Today TV which showed its own interview with Amanda and earlier by several internet blogs and forums.

This is all about that interview of Shepard Smith with an Ossetian girl and her aunt, which has made him famous in many countries. This is therefore an important part of his career history. You can find this text in the article about the South Ossetia war. Yes, the wiki article about her has been deleted and removed to a bigger one, but it doesn't deny its existence. --David.s.kats (talk) 00:36, 3 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Use of the word "scandalous" to describe a 4 minute interview shows that you are pushing a point of view. It was a very short interview. The girl described her experience. The aunt gave her thoughts. Smith took a commercial break and came back to the aunt and let her speak until his show ended. The girl was not cut off. This is not an important part of Smith's biography or career history.Misstory (talk) 02:26, 5 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ok, I agree. --David.s.kats (talk) 10:18, 5 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I came upon this article today when I wanted to look up the bio of Mr. Smith. The flow of the article seemed a little disjointed to me, so I attempted to fix it. I haven't removed any content, except for condensing his news anchor accomplishments slightly, but I did so without changing the overall point of what was there earlier (I hope anyway). Mostly I added a couple of section headings, namely one titled "Subject of the News", to which I moved the information about his arrest in Florida. I just didn't think it fit in the career section, just made it kind of an awkward section in my opinion. I think the article reads better now, but if you disagree, feel free to make further changes. I'll keep an eye on the talk page here if there's anything anyone wants to discuss. Thanks, Raven1977 (talk) 04:30, 28 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Overall the changes look quite good. However, bear in mind that section headers should not be capitalised except for proper nouns. I also removed a redundant mention about Princess Diana and fixed some date formatting. See this diff to see the fixes I made (ignore the delinking of dates, that's another issue). — Huntster (t • @ • c) 06:35, 28 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm still familiarizing myself with the manual of style for Wikipedia, and I guess I missed that part about titling section headers. I appreciate the info as well as the fixes. Thanks! Raven1977 (talk) 20:23, 28 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Just wondering when his radio show "Fox Report" is... I listen to said radio station all the time and have never heard of it. I think that saying about when his radio show is, is inaccurate... because if he has one, then it needs to have the correct time, and I think it needs to be verified also. In-Correct (talk) 15:54, 20 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Certainly odd...I tried to find some info on the foxnewsradio.com site, and there's no mention of Smith anywhere. No mention on the official bio on foxnews.com. Two news articles, [1] and [2], explicitly state he took over the 5pm broadcast in 2005, however, the Sirius website programming schedule makes no mention of a "Fox Report" airing. I'll continue to look into it, and remove the mention if I can find nothing else. — Huntster (t • @ • c) 19:07, 20 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I found it. =] It is barely 5 minutes. The rest of the hour switches over (and is Scheduled for) to Tom Sullivan. In-Correct (talk) 22:29, 23 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Huh, so it is just a new update segment, rather than an actual show. Ah well, guess we can leave it in. — Huntster (t • @ • c) 22:50, 23 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The article covering Anderson Cooper states (and sources): "Independent news media have reported that Cooper is gay". If such independent reports exist for Smith, (does this count?, it may (?) be appropriate under a "Personal life" section to include. I have to think about it. No reason to out someone for no reason, and such information may be totally irrelevant. Then again, this is a public figure and one who works for a highly conservative news network that advocates for public policy including gay rights and so forth. So it may be notable after all. It's way too late for me to think clearly on this. --Replysixty (talk) 09:06, 25 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

As is commonly said on Wikipedia, just because it is present in one article, doesn't make it right. So far, the only sources I've seen are from a gay-oriented magazine editorial, and from Shankbone's blog, which you link above. Neither are appropriate sources, especially the blog, since they represent personal opinions and observations, and not objective reporting. Smith has, thus far, been almost completely mum on his own personal life, though we know he was once married. Dunno, there just isn't enough information one way or another. — Huntster (t @ c) 00:53, 26 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The standard for a living person shouldn't be anything less than that person declaring "I'm gay." I never read the Shankbone blog post before,but it is odd that he posted in 2009 something he says happened in 2002. He says Smith was with a woman, yet he claims Smith told him he was gay and just coming to terms with it. Doesn't really add up, certainly not for wiki purposes. In late 2005, Smith had a serious enough girlfriend his co-anchor Jane Skinner pressed him on the air to learn if he had received an "engagement watch". For all we know, he's bi. I don't understand the urge to out him when all we really know is he's 46 years old and single. Misstory (talk) 18:16, 5 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"The standard for a living person" includes whether the person's sexuality has become a notable subject in the media, irrespective of what the person says. Smith was discussed in the documentary Outrage as being a gay journalist who is hostile to gays. His homophobia was said to be so hypocritical that he was included even though the film was primarily about closeted gay politicians who vote against gay rights. No other closeted journalist was outed—just Smith—because the others are not so hypocritical. Being mentioned in the film makes Smith's sexuality more notable than otherwise. Certainly, we cannot put him in any gay categories, as that requires him to declare, but we can bring to the article the allegations in the film. Binksternet (talk) 13:56, 25 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It seems that care/BLP should be used when deciding how notable gossip is and if it rises to the level of inclusion worthyness. I don't think this gossip/coverage/whateveryoucallit is as notable/widley mentioned as a gerbil being removed from an actor's azz, and we don't include that in a bio. How widely/big a deal is this "really" and according to whom exactly? --Threeafterthree (talk) 15:35, 25 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

It's only widely known in the gay media, but there it is widely known. Other media have shown the story but it did not get great coverage. Our best bet at this point is to examine sources and determine notability. Binksternet (talk) 17:50, 25 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Again, until it is confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt, or sources don't consist solely of rumours and gossip, this remains a BLP violation. To be perfectly blunt, I halfway suspect he's being targeted for "outing" (whether true or false) like this because he works for Fox, and that Naff and Shankbone are pushing some kind of agenda. As for the sources below, you can immediately discount any blogs or editorials as unreliable and unproveably fact-checked. Everything else seems to be simple commentary about the Naff and Shankbone blogs anyway, besides the movie, which I understand (as I've not seen it and have no plans to do so) simply outs him without any proof. — Huntster (t @ c) 06:12, 26 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Of course Shep is being targeted for outing, just like Woodward and Bernstein were targeting Nixon, to hang the Watergate scandal on him. Nobody thinks Woodward and Bernstein finding a check which incriminated Nixon is any less significant because they were looking very hard for something like it. You appear to be confusing these two concepts: "he is gay" and "some media sources say he is gay". I agree we cannot put the first in, but the second is true "beyond a shadow of a doubt". Though Kevin Naff may not have been telling the truth, other media sources such as the Houston Post thought he was and they elaborated on it. Blogs which are picked up in print news gain notability. Though the film Outrage may not have been telling the truth, it is still a documentary film seen at notable film festivals, and commented on widely by major news sources. Binksternet (talk) 14:16, 26 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

• Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade (October 21, 2005, archived on October 23, 2005) Editorial: "Out, out damn celebs!" Naff said that Smith was "hiding his sexual orientation", that he "chatted me up in a New York City gay piano bar, bought me drinks, and invited me back to his place. When I declined, he asked me to dinner the next night, another invitation I politely refused." He said that Smith was not the biggest star in the closet; that others such as Jodie Foster were bigger. He outs Anderson Cooper of CNN.
• Motor City Blue at the Daily Kos (October 22, 2005) Gay Paper "Outs" Anderson Cooper and Shephard Smith" This writer comments on Naff's outing of Smith.
• Pam Spaulding blog (October 23, 2005) "Fox News anchor Shepard Smith outed; will people of note ever willingly come out?" Spaulding comments on Kevin Naff outing Smith.
• Kevin Naff (October 27, 2005) The Houston Voice runs Naff's editorial which outs Shepard Smith and Anderson Cooper.
• Richard Connelly in the Houston Press (November 3, 2005) "Rookie of the Year". Connelly relays salient points of the Houston Voice piece by Naff.
• David Shankbone's blog (March 24, 2009) "Shepard Smith told me he is gay – so why is he a Fox News shill?" Shankbone says he met Smith in 2002 at a gay bar in New York, and that they talked about what it means for Smith to be gay.
• Outrage (2009 film) is shown April 24, 2009 at the Tribeca Film Festival.
• Steve Rothaus in his blog Gay South Florida (May 3, 2009) "Debate: Why Fox News’ Shepard Smith in ‘Outrage?’ and not CNN’s Anderson Cooper?" Rothaus discusses a conversation between Outrage director Kirby Dick and gay activist Larry Kramer in which it is explained that Smith is by far the more hypocritical of the two closeted gay journalists: Shepard Smith of Fox and Anderson Cooper of CNN. The conversation was one that occurred during a public question and answer session following the April 24 showing of the documentary at Tribeca and reported on in the New York Daily News. The Q&A session itself is offered as an extra on the Outrage DVD (with horrible sound quality until near the end).
• Outrage (2009 film) is released theatrically May 8, 2009.
• David Shankbone's blog (May 14, 2009) "Governor Charlie Crist is gay; will this hurt his Senate run in Florida?" Shankbone says his earlier outing of Smith is his most-read blog post. He comments on the Outrage film.
• John de Nugent's blog (June 29, 2009) "FOX’s Shepard Smith — yet another homosexual Republican?" De Nugent comments on Shankbone's blog, and on the documentary Outrage.

What about his hair? There is no mention of his hair. He was blond years ago and now he is just plain brown. I want to know why he stopped bleaching his hair! He looked great blond. That is all I have to say. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.37.85.10 (talk) 00:52, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I don't think we'll be covering his change of hair colour :/ — Huntster (t @ c) 00:55, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I know it is not Wikipedia's job to play the roll of Mythbuster. (That's more of a Snopes thing), but this article is so homogenized it is not telling me anything. I seriously doubt Shepard Smith is gay. (If he is, he's what I like to call "nerd gay" like Anderson Cooper, where you show no qualities of being gay, your just so shy about being with someone of the opposite sex that you are willing to claim your are a homosexual. (That one is going in the Urban Dictionary!)) With that out of the way, issue number two which is far more serious: How is Shep doing? He's been looking terrible the past few months. (And to everyone who claims he is gay: NO! IT'S NOT AIDS! Stop being ignorant!) His gaunt appearance has me concerned for him, and the Internet is not being very clear about his health status. So there needs to be some way to clear the air right now. --Bushido Hacks (talk) 02:36, 28 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]