Shepard Smith Profile

The Boston Globe’s Joanna Weiss profiles FNC’s Shepard Smith…

Smith describes himself as a newscaster. “All we’re really supposed to do is find out what’s happening and tell people about it. You can make that as complicated as you want, but it’s really not,’’ he says in a recent interview.

Still, Smith does more on the air than deliver straight-up headlines. His newscasts are fast-paced, full of motion, and peppered with asides like “Let me say that again,’’ and “Listen to this.’’ He anchors as if he wants to reach through the TV screen, grab you by the lapels, and give you a little shake.

From time to time, Smith seems also to want to shake his guests – albeit a little more roughly. Hence, the viral moments that spread through YouTube after big news events. During last year’s presidential race, Smith confronted the accidental pundit known as “Joe the Plumber’’ on his contention that a vote for Barack Obama would mean “the death of Israel’’; Smith closed out the segment by shaking his head incredulously and saying, “It just gets frightening sometimes.’’ He called out Ralph Nader for saying Obama might become an “Uncle Tom for the giant corporations,’’ asking Nader coldly, “What was that?’’