Shepard Smith made his first public appearance since his brusque departure from Fox News Channel last month. He used his appearance at a benefit dinner and awards show for the Committee to Protect Journalists to lambaste President Trump, though not by name, and, by extension, those who support him.

Here is how the New York Times reported the event:

The dinner, formally known as the International Press Freedom Awards, recognized journalists who had persevered through hardship and government oppression in Brazil, India, Nicaragua and Tanzania. Mr. Smith served as M.C., and while he did not mention Mr. Trump by name, his remarks brought knowing nods from the crowd at the Grand Hyatt hotel ballroom.

Ah, those knowing nods. Or, you could say that Smith was just preaching to the choir. By the way, if you have never seen the Grand Central Hyatt Ball, it is spectacular.

Shepard said that a “free press is the underpinning of democracy”. I would say a free and unbiased press is the underpinning of free people, which is why the Founding Fathers made it part of the First Amendment. The search for the truth no matter where it may lead exposes fraud and corruption and keeps its audience informed and educated.

Smith continued:

“Our belief a decade ago that the online revolution would liberate us now seems a bit premature, doesn’t it?” Mr. Smith said in his customary Mississippi lilt. “Autocrats have learned how to use those same online tools to shore up their power. They flood the world of information with garbage and lies, masquerading as news. There’s a phrase for that.”

Wink, wink, nod, nod. We got it, Shep, fake news. Yes, autocrats, not Trump, have used the internet to enforce power. Russia used bot farms to try to wreak havoc on our 2016 election. Iran is slowly turning the internet back on after five days. And, that is an important point. Can you imagine not being able to get the word out or find independent sources to determine what is going on in your country?

“Our” belief a decade ago,that the the online revolution would liberate us, came true. And maybe, that is what upsets Shepard Smith the most. We, the people, are no longer sitting in front of our television sets at 6:00 p.m. waiting for the solemn-voiced network news anchor to tell us what happened. WE can find out for ourselves thanks to the cell phone videos and pajama-clad bloggers. Nick Sandmann of Covington Catholic might still be considered a smirking racist, if not for citizen journalists. It certainly wasn’t the legacy media that discovered the provenance behind the Steele Dossier. The major media networks and print papers were all in that rubbish.

Two decades ago, when I first saw Shepard Smith, he made jokes about “pretty prancing ponies”, covered epic car chases, and delivered the news straight up. Since the bad, orange man came down the escalator, Smith has sneered his way through all the news. He came off bitter and angry. He was practically foaming at the mouth for President Trump to be impeached.

Shepard Smith, personally, donated $500,000.00 to the Committee to Protect Journalists. That is always a good thing, when someone puts his money where his mouth is.

Some of us wish that journalists would go back to reporting the news. Although, to be honest, my late, Marine Dad never trusted Walter Cronkite or anyone who ever reported on 60 Minutes. It could be that we should never trust the people doing the news and always educate and inform ourselves.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Spud/Inside Cable News/Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)