Special Report (TV program)

Special Report with Bret Baier (formerly Special Report with Brit Hume) is an American television news and political commentary program, hosted by Bret Baier since 2009, that airs on Fox News Channel. It is broadcast live each Monday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET. The program focuses on both reporting and analysis of the day's events, with a primary focus on national American political news. The show has been a part of the Fox News program lineup since 1998 and is the number one cable news broadcast in its time slot.[1]

Special Report
Also known asSpecial Report with Bret Baier
GenrePolitical news and talk
Presented by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons25
Production
Production locationsWashington, D.C.
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time60 minutes
Release
Original networkFox News Channel
Original releaseJanuary 26, 1998 (1998-01-26) –
present

Format

The program reports on the day's events, usually focusing on political stories out of the nation's capitol, particularly on the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court.

A typical show begins with news stories featuring various Fox News correspondents, followed by an interview conducted by Baier with political newsmakers or pundits. After the halfway point in the program, and after a short break for current headlines, Baier presents a segment referred to as "the Political Grapevine" — a collection of short items, sometimes humorous, about minor political happenings. Baier sometimes uses this segment to point out oddities in coverage of a story by competing news media. (In the early days of the Iraq War, this segment was referred to by Brit Hume as "the Wartime Grapevine.")

The best-known part of Special Report is Baier's discussion with "The Fox All-Stars", a two-segment roundtable with a panel of three political reporters and columnists.

The program ends with a comedic clip, known as "the kicker", usually taken from the preceding night's shows by David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, or sometimes Saturday Night Live. Brit Hume would usually sign off with, "That's Special Report for this time, please tune us in next time, and in the meantime, more news is on the way — fair, balanced and unafraid." When Bret Baier became host, he signed off with, "Your source for news, tonight and every night,"[2] which he later changed to, "Straightforward news in uncertain times." As of September 2020, Baier uses Hume's classic "fair, balanced and unafraid" sign-off.

Fill in hosts for Baier include Mike Emanuel, Shannon Bream, Trace Gallagher, John Roberts, Gillian Turner and Bill Hemmer.

"Fox All-Star" Panel members

Program origins & changes/announcements

The show originated in 1996 and was originally hosted by Brit Hume, who was, at the time, Washington, D.C. managing editor for the network. Hume hosted the program through December 23, 2008, when he hosted his final show before officially stepping down as anchor. The last fifteen minutes of Hume's final program served as a tribute to Hume, including kind words from former President George H. W. Bush, then-President George W. Bush, then-Vice President Dick Cheney, and then-ABC News anchor Charles Gibson, as well as several Fox News reporters, and allowed him some final thoughts. Hume announced Bret Baier, who substituted for Hume on Fridays beginning in fall 2007,[2] would become the full-time host after the holidays,[3] while Hume moved to a new role as senior political analyst for the network. Chris Wallace and Shannon Bream are occasional substitute anchors.

Brit Hume hosted the show from its debut in 1996 until his retirement in December 2008. He has since appeared on the program as a panelist commentator.

On June 15, 2009, the show launched in high definition with new music and graphics.[4]

From its inception, Special Report has broadcast live from the network's Capitol Hill studio in Washington. However, on some occasions, such as the night of a significant election, the program will broadcast from the network's New York studios.

The program is among the top five of all ad-supported news shows on cable, and draws more than two million viewers per evening.[5]

On January 13, 2020, the show launched new graphics and a new logo.

References
  1. Fox News pays tribute to Brit Hume on YouTube
  2. Kurtz, Howard (January 6, 2009). "Bret Baier, the Successor to Brit Hume on Fox's 'Special Report'". The Washington Post.
  3. "Bret Baier to be Named Host of "Special Report"". TVNewser. December 23, 2008. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  4. "Taxes, reform, protests and…freedom". Fox News. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on August 19, 2009.
  5. "Fox News' Audience Doubles Down on MSNBC, CNN in August". Multichannel. August 29, 2012. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
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