Mommy Megyn: Baby Thatcher ‘Totally Awesome’

Kelly’s blue-eyed baby boy arrives! Today, America Live anchor Megyn Kelly‘s stand-in Shannon Bream joyfully announced the birth of the third child of Megyn and her hubby Doug Brunt as the show concluded.* When the final America Live segment opened with a photo of Megyn and Doug’s sleeping, swaddled newborn, Shannon proclaimed, “Here is the picture! Say hello to Thatcher Bray Brunt….[He] was born at…eight pounds two ounces. He has brown hair [and] blue eyes. He is gorgeous!” And, if there were any doubt, Shannon added, “Mom said the best description of him–and this is the quote–‘Totally awesome!'”

As Shannon segued to Studio B host Shepard Smith, Shep exclaimed, “And, everyone in Studio B: this is the best news of the day! How is she?” In answer, Shannon declared, “[Megyn] is doing great. We’re told she is doing fabulous. Everyone is well.”

The “Iron Baby” joins his three-year-old big brother Edward Yates and their two-year-old sis Yardley Evans in the burgeoning Kelly/ Brunt brood.

Congratulations, Megyn and Doug!

* Vid via J$P.

FNC’s New Future: Megyn In for Greta?

Van Susteren: “I’ve been been bucking to get an earlier hour for years….”* Apparently, her boss Roger Ailes was listening: Only five days after FNC On the Record anchor Greta van Susteren uttered those very words to her old friend Larry King on his 06/27/13 eponymous online show, Fox News issued a release which read, “[America Live anchor] Megyn Kelly will move to Fox News Channel’s (FNC) primetime lineup upon her return, announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO, FOX News.” However, FNC took pains to highlight the fact that Greta had been signed to a long-term contract (as well as FNC’s other prime time hosts Bret Baier, Shepard Smith, Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity).

In King’s interview of Greta, the former CNN anchor discussed the possible personnel changes of new CNN honcho Jeff Zucker: In so doing, she referenced FNC and her long-time chief, saying, “Look at Fox News….Roger Ailes has been there the whole time I’ve been there. We haven’t had a change in eleven and half years.” Nonchalantly or not, she continued, “I’ve been bucking to get an earlier hour for years but that ain’t happening….If anyone ever left, I would put in a pitch.”

Now that Ailes has decided to change his storied FNC schedule, it seems that Greta will get her wish of an earlier hour. But, whom will she replace or with whom will she pair? If Greta replaces anyone, it will probably be Fox Report host Shepard Smith who could continue to work in his “long-term contract” as anchor of Studio B. But, if Greta were to co-host instead, a likely pairing would be with fellow conservative Sean Hannity who sorely needs fresh blood to reinvigorate his recently ratings-challenged show.

And, if Greta does vacate her 10 p.m. ET throne, it seems that Fox’s long-suffering “rising star” has finally achieved her rightful place in the FNC ether. In December of 2008, Carpe Diem warned Greta to watch out for Megyn. Six months later, the New York Times eyed Megyn as a “potential heir to Ms. Van Susteren.”

Now, Megyn’s time has come: Prime time!

*Larry King Now – 06/27/13 (@ 11:29/28:19

Shepard Smith: “He Doesn’t Really Eat Puppies”

“[T]he one way to make viewers hate you is to say anything bad about an animal.” Studio B anchor Shepard Smith seems to have heightened his animal rights sensitivities somewhat since the bad old days of his “Trampoline Bear.”

Friday, Shepard aired a segment entitled “Lab-Grown Hamburger Patty: Animal Rights Activists Support New Meat.”* During his interview of Dr. Nina Radcliff, he turned to his second banana Jonathan Hunt for his input on this bizarre petri dish meat. Replying with his trademark British macabre wit, Hunt quipped, “All I say is ‘If we’re running out of cows to eat, then let’s just start grilling small puppies.”

Subsequently, as the segment ended, Shep bemusedly looked to Hunt again, querying, “Smeat?” When Hunt unequivocally exclaimed, “No!,” Shep mischievously remarked, “Puppies but not….” Taking the bait injudiciously, a grinning Hunt replied, “Small pups, small puppies anytime: never ‘smeat’!”

Perhaps, explaining the apt end of his infamous Trampoline Bear video airings, Shep responded, “You do know that the one way to make viewers hate you is to say anything bad about an animal.”

When Hunt riposted, “I think they’ve hated me for a very long time,” Shep jested, “This is true! Thank you, Jonathan. The stage manager says, ‘Yes!'”

In an aside to his audience, Shep added, “He doesn’t really eat puppies.”

And, thankfully, Shep doesn’t really exploit Trampoline Bear–any more.

*Studio B – 06/14/13 (@ 3:51 p.m. ET)

Shep: “Forget the National Day of Intolerance!”

Today Studio B anchor Shepard Smith threw a rather sharp elbow at fellow FNC anchor Mike Huckabee today. During his 3 p.m. ET show, Shep dubbed today the “National Day of Intolerance.” Not lost on his round-table Fox News co-workers nor his viewers was the fact that today is the day that the eponymous host of Huckabee called for a “Chick fil-A Appreciation Day.”

Eight days ago (July 31), Mike Huckabee declared that he was “incensed at the vitriolic assaults on the Chick fil-A company” because of the CEO’s recent remarks that the “Biblical view of marriage should be upheld. Consequently, he exhorted his fans to counter the “vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left” by celebrating August 1 as “Chick fil-A Appreciation Day” by patronizing the restaurant or signalling support via Twitter or Facebook.

Apparently, Shep was not quite on board with the whilom Arkansas governor’s request. After a story on the eight expelled badminton Olympians (with FoxSports.com national senior writer Peter Schrager), Shep acerbically added, “It’s National Badminton Day”: forget the “National Day of Intolerance.” Meanwhile, Schrager and FNC chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt, both sitting with Shep, simply could not contain their snickers.

Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day or National Day of Intolerance? They report. You decide.

[Author’s aside – Chick-Fil-A is written “Chick Fil-A,” supra, when Huckabee is quoted for textual accuracy: An insertion of sic, supra, was forgone to facilitate the natural flow of the story.]

Studio B with Shepard Smith – 08/01/12 (@ 3:24 p.m. ET)

Update: Vid via Mediaite.

Shep: JD, “Don’t You Miss the Anchor Chair?”

Canned CNN American Morning co-anchor John Roberts got a rude reminder of his new status from Fox News’ Shepard Smith yesterday on Studio B. Doing his duty as FNC senior national correspondent, Roberts updated Studio B viewers on the Gulf Coast post-BP spill recovery in his buttery baritone “voice of God.”  Approvingly, Shep replied, “John Roberts, it’s great to see you, man”: Regrettably, he did not stop there.*

Segueing to the next story, Shep read, “Charlie Sheen.” Suddenly stopping, Shep looked over at Roberts (off-camera) with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Grinning mischievously, Shep queried, “Don’t you miss the anchor chair with Charlie Sheen around?” Comfortably or not, Roberts chuckled but said nothing. Unfortunately.

Shep had asked the very question that many Roberts fans want to know. To wit, does the erstwhile silver-maned alpha anchor of CNN miss his old show and wish that he had a new one? Or, is he happy in his new role for now as a brown-haired FNC beta boy simply delivering the news at whatever hour that his bosses dictate?

If not, maybe the old CNN dog needs to learn a few new FNC tricks.

Studio B with Shepard Smith – 03/02/11 (@ 3:42 p.m. ET)

Ole Miss’ Colonel Shep

Trampoline Bear Abuse or Cool Critter Celebration? As Shepard Smith‘s beloved Ole Miss progresses forward with its mascot pick of the Rebel Black Bear to replace Colonel Reb, the Studio B and Fox Report anchor continues to be conflicted about moving forward from his signature segment “Bear Alert” to a more animal-friendly “Cool Critters.” As a case in point, last Thursday, Shep reported the very same story (about a newborn Atlanta panda cub) under the respective rubrics differently on his two daily FNC programs: To wit, on Studio B, Shep narrated the tale as the “Bear Alert,” accompanying it as usual with the cruel Trampoline Bear video (showing a tranquilized bear falling from a tree onto a trampoline, being hurled high into the air, and then crashing headfirst into the unyielding ground) whereas on the Fox Report, Shep retold it as a “Cool Critters” story without the repugnant Trampoline Bear clip.

Unfortunately, Shep’s recent setback occurred just a mere week to the day that he showed significant promise on Studio B during his “Bear Report.” On that show, he aired the Trampoline Bear clip but he elided the offensive frames of the black bear crashing into the concrete-like earth albeit jesting about “bear trampoline safety.” Optimistic that Shep may have turned a proverbial corner, the author penned, Carpe Diem‘s “Hope Springs Eternal” that he would not “return to his vomit.”

Unfortunately, Shep did just that as he returned to his folly Thursday on Studio B‘s “Bear Alert.” But, did he repent a mere three hours later on Fox Report‘s “Cool Critters”? Hope may spring eternal, but its flame is dimmed with each passing day.

Colonel Shep, walk into the light!

Update: Eight days later (last Friday), Fox Report producers took a different tack. Instead of choosing between the rubric “Bear Alert” or “Cool Critters,” they did both basically. As guest host Jon Scott previewed the FR‘s final segment entitled “Bear Buddies” (about an older female polar bear at Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie, Scotland, being introduced to a twenty-three-month-old male as a companion), Jon commented, “Now, Bear Alert and Cute [sic?] Critter Alert, Britain’s only polar bear getting a new friend but don’t expect cubbies anytime soon.” The odious Trampoline Bear video did not run after this conflated alert. More progress?

*Fox Report with Shepard Smith – 11/12/10 (@ 7:54 a.m. ET)

Hope Springs Eternal

Trampoline Bear suspended in mid-air. Perhaps, Studio B (and Fox Report) anchor Shepard Smith was toying with the author and the black bear yesterday as Charles Shulz’ Peanuts character Lucy continuously did with Charlie Brown and the football. However, hopefully, he is simply beginning to realize that repeatedly and gleefully showing an animal (albeit anesthetized) being pummeled into the ground by its own weight is rather cruel.

As Studio B drew to a close, Shep did a “Bear Alert” about the proliferation of black bears at Yellowstone National Park. Then he aired a photo of Fox Report chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt and a field producer Lisa Kaplan posing with a black bear statue at the Black Bear Diner in Reno, Nevada. Segueing to his Trampoline Bear video, Shep stated, “Jonathan Hunt on the road compiling stories…[about]…issues that matter to ordinary Americans which includes bears obviously.”*

Then, as the vid began of the Trampoline Bear falling from the tree and being propelled high into the air, Shep continued, “Word is they were discussing.” When the producer stopped the video with the bear mid-air (and showing the last frame for approximately five full seconds), Shep chuckled, “Bear trampoline safety!” Laughing with him, tellingly, was, apparently, the producer and a floor crew member.

Bear trampoline safety: a worthy Shepard “Bear Alert.”

Studio B – 10/28/10 (@3:56 p.m. ET)

Shep’s Trampoline Bear: Ole Miss Mascot?

“The Bear Alert to end all Bear Alerts.” Hoddy Toddy! Yesterday Ole Miss alum Shepard Smith gleefully celebrated the fall of his beloved Ole Miss’ new mascot yesterday on his show Studio B. Before doing so in his final segment, Shep announced,  “Now the mother of all ‘Bear Alerts.’ Get used to the bear. It’s the granddaddy of all ‘Bear Alerts.'”* He added, “The ‘Bear Alert’ to end all ‘Bear Alerts.” [Hopefully, it was.]

Proudly, Shep reported, “You see, a certain university in a certain Southern state has now chosen a new mascot [with] 62% of the vote. And, with that we present the Ole Miss Rebel Black Bear.” Subsequently, he showed depictions of the new mascot in a basketball uniform, football jersey, and frat-boy coat and tie. As he devilishly intoned, “As we all know, our bear will be most comfortable,” the Trampoline Bear video began to run. Perhaps, in poetic justice, just before the black bear plunged head-first into the ground and crumpled under its own weight, Shep began, “That’s the Rebel Bear bouncing on the trampoline: then he exclaimed, “Hotty Toddy! Beat Alabama!”

If that is indeed the Rebel Bear, Bama head coach Nick Saban may want to borrow Shep’s Trampoline Bear video. It might do wonders to fire up his players and the fans before the big game Saturday. In fact, all of Ole Miss’ future opponents make want to take note. Bear alert!

*Studio B with Shepard Smith – 10/14/10 (@3:58 p.m.)

Related stories (in chronological order) are as follow:
Shep’s Trampoline Bear: PETA MIA” (June 7, 2010);”
Banderas’ “Teachable Moment’?” (July 25, 2010); ”
Banderas Responds: Bars Bear Vid” (June 27, 2010);
“Banderas Recants Apology” (June 27, 2010);
“Shep de Sade” (July 28, 2010);
“Banderas: ‘Not My Fault’” (August 3, 2010);
“Shep de Sade’s Bad Boys” (August 7, 2010);
“Shep de Sade: Kubrick’s Clare Quilty” (August 12, 2010);
“Shep Defends Trampoline Bear Video” (August 13, 2010);
“The Good Shepard?” (August 20, 2010; and
“The Good Shepard Hydes” (August 26, 2010).

The Good Shepard Hydes

FNC’s genteel Dr. Jeckyll, the good Shepard Smith, transmogrified into the hideous Mr. Hyde on Studio B but later returned to his saner self on the Fox Report. On Studio B, Shep reveled anew in the cruel Trampoline Bear video as he inserted it twice into his “Bear Alert” on an unrelated Lake Tahoe bear burglar report. However, later, when he ran the same story again on Fox Report, Shep found the decency to cut the offending frames (of the black bear crumpling under its own weight as it plunged headfirst into the hard ground) from the clip.** Just who the hell is Fox News’ Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde? Flim Flam, Bim Bam, Ole Miss, by Damn!

*Studio B – 08/25/10 (@3:55 p.m. ET)

**Fox Report – 08/25/10 (@7:28 p.m. ET)

The Good Shepard?

News of great joy? Fox News’ Shepard Smith appears to have crossed over from the dark side when it comes to the Trampoline Bear video. Last Friday, the weekday Fox Report (and Studio B) anchor defended his use of the exploitative tape (of a tranquilized black bear falling from a tree onto a trampoline, being propelled high into the air, and then crashing face-first into the hard ground), saying, “You know that, that bear there didn’t get hurt.” Happily, however, this week, Shep took the higher ground, eschewing his painful “Bear Alerts” (with the “requisite” Trampoline Bear clips) in favor of more animal-friendly “Cool Critters” segments. Specifically, on Monday, he featured two newborn Taiwanese liger cubs, and, on Thursday, he showed three Aussie-adopted pet crocodiles.

Well done, Shep! “Cool Critters” indeed.

Shep Defends Trampoline Bear Video

“You know that, that bear there didn’t get hurt.” Today, on Fox Report, Shepard Smith finally seemed to get it, i.e., that his Trampoline Bear video can be seen as animal cruelty. After earlier playing the exploitative clip on his Studio B,* receiving flak from the author for doing so, and seemingly suspending his Twitter account, Shep ran the Trampoline Bear footage during the Fox Report** but with the aforementioned explanatory coda.**

During Studio B, Shep Tweeted the upcoming “Bear Alert” to his followers shortly before showing it to his audience. Then, when he aired the footage of a young black bear who had had his head removed from a jar, he gleefully ran the Trampoline Bear clip (of the black bear falling from a tree, being propelled high into the ground, and crashing head-first into the ground) as usual. After the exploitative video had run, the author Tweeted, “Shep de Sade, er, Sad strikes again with his “Studio B Trampoline” bear vid.”

Shortly thereafter (and before Shep’s Fox Report aired) Shep’s Twitter page (including his Tweet, supra), strangely disappeared (“suspended”). Nevertheless, when the Fox Report ran, Shep still replayed the “Bear Alert” with the offensive Trampoline Bear footage appended thereto. However, in a later segment at the very end of the show, Shep defended his use of the clip. To wit, after a story about Disney film Bambi, Shep deadpanned, “I wonder how Bambi would like the trampoline”: then, he added, “You know that, that bear there didn’t get hurt.”***

Shep, please quit airing this exploitative video of Trampoline Bear. As your good friend and weekend counterpart, Julie Banderas, has acknowledged, it contains an element of animal cruelty and should be barred from her weekend Fox Report. Shep, just can it for good from your weekday Fox Report and your Studio B. At the very least, cut the repulsive frames of Trampoline Bear crashing face-first into the hard ground.

And, come back to Twitter!

*Studio B with Shepard Smith – 08/12/10 (@3:59 p.m. ET)
**Fox Report with Shepard Smith – 08/12/10 (@7:54 p.m. ET)
***Fox Report with Shepard Smith – 08/12/10 (@7:59 p.m. ET)

Shep de Sade: Kubrick’s Clare Quilty?

The Marquis is back! However, Studio B‘s Shepard Smith de Sade reappeared as the spent, jaded Clare Quilty as he reran his evil tired tripe, i.e., the Trampoline Bear video today. He seemed almost desperate to find anew that thrill that now eluded him and that Viagra could not even bring back. With a stone face and a monotone delivery, he announced, “Bear Alert.”*

Before polluting Fox News’ airwaves again with his favorite animal cruelty cine, he showed an adorable black bear cub chowing down on garbage in a Georgia driveway. After doing so, he cautioned, “While cute, the local sheriff is warning residents ‘do not leave food out for the bears.'” Then, as he aired once again the Trampoline Bear clip (of a black bear falling from a tree onto a trampoline, being propelled high into the air, and then crashing headfirst into the ground), Shep cackled, “And, of course, trampolines are always–ha, ha, ha, ha, ha–trampolines are always a great deterrent.”

Poor Shepard Smith was more of a sad spectacle today than even his Trampoline Bear.

Update: Perhaps, Shep changed his prescription to Cialis or Levitra after Studio B. For his Fox Report, he tried again to find his thrill and prematurely injected his “Bear Alert” at mid-show.** However, this time he seemed to, at least, fake a bit more enthusiasm as the video climaxed, as almost verbatim he repeated, “And, of course, trampolines are always an excellent deterrent.”

*Studio B with Shepard Smith – 08/12/10 (@3:59 p.m. ET)

**Fox Report with Shepard Smith – 08/12/10 (@7:29 p.m. ET)

Shep de Sade’s Bad Boys

When the Marquis is away, the servant boys will play. And so they did yesterday. With their master away Friday, stand-ins Trace Gallagher (Studio B) and Jon Scott (Fox Report) looked like naughty school boys who had just discovered a stag film hidden in their dad’s sock drawer.

On Studio B, guest anchor Trace practically giggled with glee after he got his peek at the Trampoline Bear. After airing a “Bear Alert” about a pizza-pilfering black bear in Montana, he exclaimed, “Montana’s own bare-foot bandit is still on the loose: And, someone set a trap with pizza and a trampoline.”*  As he did, of course, the predictable Trampoline Bear clip ran (with a tranquilized black bear falling from a tree, bouncing high into the air, and crashing face first into the ground). Post-climatically, Trace beamed, “I’ve always wanted to see the video again. I love it!”

Almost four hours later, on Fox Report, a generally gentle John Scott got his guilty pleasure after he echoed Trace’s “Bear Alert.” As the pizza-pilfering bear segment concluded, Scott aired the Trampoline Bear footage. Smiling, Scott joked, “The bear is still on the run. Next time, try setting a trap with a pizza and a trampoline. Bears love trampolines, don’t you know?”**

Do they now, Jon? What a truly bad boy you are. Your master Shep will be proud but your mistress Julie surely will not.

*Studio B – 08/06/10 (3:59 p.m.)

**Fox Report – 08/06/10 (7:46 p.m.)

Banderas Recants Apology

And, deletes other related Tweets! After asserting her “passion for animal rights” and her decision not to run the Trampoline Bear video again on her weekend Fox Report last evening to her Twitter followers, Julie Banderas has taken it all back. I.e., she scrubbed her Twitter page of that particular Tweet, a follow-up one, and related reTweets. However, as Julie should know, the omitted Tweets and RT’s in chronological order can be found elsewhere, e.g., Muckrack.com, and are as follow:

JulieBanderas I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never (cont) http://tl.gd/2ou3ct

JulieBanderas I decided to kill the video long before any writeups and PETA had nothing to do with it

JulieBanderas its the same video replayed RT @Nate592 : @JulieBanderas Is the bear alert always the same video or is it different ones?

JulieBanderas Thx! was on last wknd RT @Russell_Hansen :How could any1 ever believe u wouldn’t have only the deepest love 4 animals? I miss u being on fox!

Unfortunately, Julie has done a similar scrubbing to her Twitter page before when she caught flack from followers for support of Alan Colmes (after Red Eye‘s Andy Levy quit following Alan for his use of the derogatory term “teabaggers” for Tea Party members. After Carpe Diem’s “Julie: ‘I’m Following You Now, Alan’” article about her deletions, did Julie think that she could pull it off this time without detection? Or, perhaps, did she gave in to pressure from her Fox News superiors or her weekday counterpart Shepard Smith?

Regardless, Julie made the wrong decision. She was right when she initially said, “I’d like to go on the record by saying all who know me are aware of my passion for animal rights. I would never condone animal cruelty and have informed my producers not to air the bear on a trampoline video on my show ever again. http://bit.ly/bVNExX”“

Since Julie has deleted her statement from the record, Julie’s Fox News fans and Twitter followers deserve to know where she now stands: I.e., did she really mean what she said about animal rights and the offensive bear video or not?

Update: A hopeful omen today from Julie’s colleague, Shepard Smith. In his first “Bear Alert” (07/27/10 with Jack Hanna on Studio B) since Julie’s Tweets, supra, and their erasure, he did not follow it up with the offensive Trampoline Bear footage.

Update2: A second propitious sign today from Shep. On Fox Report this evening (07/27/10), Shep recounted the earlier “Bear Alert” on Studio B (albeit abbreviated) sans Trampoline Bear video.

Stay tuned.

Shep’s Trampoline Bear: PETA MIA

The exploitation of the “trampoline bear” by Studio B‘s Shepard Smith must come to an end. [Unfortunately, this almost seven-year-old video is shown periodically on not only Studio B but also other programs on both FNC (and CNN) ad nauseum–literally.] At the end of today’s broadcast, Shep aired a story about a Monrovia, CA, bear that had been tranquilized: subsequently, he joyfully ran the 2003 video of the Missoula, MT, black bear that was similarly tranquilized, fell from its tree, hit the trampoline underneath, and sprung back high into the air, and then crashed face first into the ground. Thereafter, Shep laughed uproariously and remarked, “Trampoline bear makes Monday even palatable.”*

Really, Shep? Running this story once as news on September 10, 2003 by news organizations is understandable but to air it continually thereafter seems inexplicable. It is almost as if you have a cross-species schadenfraude or perverse pleasure derived from the obvious pain of this black bear (albeit upon its awakening). Even if you and other TV news personalities have no subjective ill intent, you should reconsider your actions and remember the messages that you are sending to the children and to the general public.

Unfortunately, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), apparently, has not yet uttered a word. It should. And, now.

Studio B – 06/07/10 (@3:57 p.m.)

FNC’s Musical Chairs?

For Martha MacCallum, Juliet Huddy, and Megyn Kelly, it sounds as if the music has begun. Strangely, Fox News seems to have anchor Martha MacCallum in every chair but her own on Live Desk this week. Monday it was Fox & Friends: Tuesday, Wednesday, and today, it’s America’s Newsroom.

Perhaps, FNC Senior Veep of Programming Bill Shine is taking advantage of the remainder of Megyn Kelly’s maternity leave this year (from America’s Newsroom) to see if he can adjust the roster to accommodate his returning star Juliet Huddy. Evidence of such a move may be Shine’s moving Martha this week to Fox & Friends Monday and then to America’s Newsroom Tuesday-today even though she is currently the Live Desk co-anchor. Filling in for Martha on LD Monday-Wednesday and returning Friday, has been re-signed Juliet Huddy. (Ailes’ new Energizer bunny Alisyn Camerota is scheduled to fill in on LD today.)

If Martha settles in well with co-anchor Bill Hemmer on AN and Juliet with co-host Trace Gallagher on LD, Shine would be able to free up his rising star Megyn Kelly to host her own show. As has been rumored, she could replace Greta van Susteren in the evenings if Greta does not re-up. On the other hand, Megyn could allow Shepard Smith to concentrate on just one show instead of the two that he hosts each week day (Studio B and the Fox Report): if she did that, she would be give women greater representation on a male-dominated afternoon and evening schedule. (Of eight shows, all of the anchors are men save one, Greta van Susteren, who hosts On the Record.)

When the music stops in January, look around and see if everyone has a chair, and, if so, where exactly they are seated.

Shep: Iranians “Protesting Against Their Own Creator”?

Shepard Smith, host of Studio B, navigated somewhere between the lazy and the loony in his final analysis of the Iranian protesters this afternoon. First, Shep reported that the Iranian opposition was marching in the streets in Tehran and across the country against both Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and it’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. After doing so, he interviewed Penn State professor Fariborz Ghaddar, a former vice-minister of the Shah of Iran who is currently with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

As Ghaddar began his segment, he confirmed Shep’s account that the government had “shut down all communications for three days,” “slowed down the Internet,” and “telling reporters [that] if you see something, you can’t say something.” He added that the government had put the paramilitary Basij into the streets; that “massive demonstrations” were still continuing; and that “more importantly,” thousands remained detained from the election protests and that “there actually have been killings and rapings in the prison.” In closing, Ghaddar pointed out that the protesters were not only questioning whether Ahmadinejad should be President but whether Iran should remain an Islamic republic. (He noted that it was “very telling” that some of the flags being flown had the red, white, and green without the Islamic Republic seal.)

As Shep finished the segment, he asserted, “The reason it’s so telling is that those people, the Supreme Leaders, the Ayatollah Khamenei, is supposed to be, under the Islamic Revolution terms, sent by God to do that job. So, in protesting, they’re protesting against their own Creator.”*

Somehow, it is highly doubtful that the Iranian opposition would concur with Smith’s conclusion. Rather, more likely, they believe in the justness and rightness of their cause and are not “protesting against their own Creator.” Surely, Shep knows or should know that.

*Studio B with Shepard Smith – 12/07/09 (@3:38 p.m. ET)

Shep: “Mile-High Club” Pilots?

For the second day in a row, Studio B‘s Shepard Smith has intimated that the errant Northwest pilots may not have been on their laptops in the cockpit. However, he seemed to suggest that their “laptops” may have been otherwise occupied. I.e., they may have busy joining the V.I.P. section of the Mile High Club.

As Live Desk co-anchors Martha MacCallum and Trace Gallagher segued to Shep for his show this afternoon, Shep asked, “Trace, what do you think they were doing in that cockpit?”* Chuckling, Martha interjected, “I’ll tell you later!” Trace then replied, “I have my own theories: I just can’t say on national television.”

Suggestively, Shep responded, “I bet everybody’s thinking them.” Persuaded to share, Trace answered, “Yeah. They were saying the flight attendants were banging on the door. And, you’re like, were they trying to get in or trying to get [out]?” Racily, Martha added, “They were busy!” With a mischievous smile and a goatish gleam in his eye, Shep remarked, “They were a mile high!”

Grinning, Trace echoed, “They were a mile high, my man.” Looking down, Martha agreed, “They were!” Shep wantonly concluded, “Not that there’s a club but they were a mile high. More even.”

Live Desk – 10/27/09 (@2:59 p.m.)

Juliet: Not a Good Day

Another very sad parting for Juliet Huddy! Just this last Tuesday, the comely co-host of the Morning Show with Mike & Juliet, Tweeted that she was “getting really sad about last week of MandJ. [S]tarting to cry for no reason.”* On the very same day she also revealed on KiddShow.com that her five-month-old marriage to Doug Barrett was over.** And, today, the coup de grace: she ended her long-time, on-air partnership with with Mike Jerrick in their last show together.

As Juliet’s dear friend Julie Roginsky aptly observed, “So sad.”*** However, Juliet’s FNC fans have been heartened by her recent guest appearances on Fox & Friends and Red Eye: It appears that Bill Shine, FNC programming veep, is reintroducing her to the cable news network’s audience. Perhaps, she will return as a presence on F&F or F&FW in some capacity; team up with Bill Hemmer on America’s Newsroom (if Megyn Kelly replaces Greta van Susteren)****; or even join the lonely Shepard Smith in Studio B.

Cheer up, Juliet! Remember, “tomorrow is another day.” See you in the mornings?

*http://twitter.com/juliethuddy
**http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillygossip/Foxs_Juliet_Huddy_reveals_shes_divorcing_on_Kidd_Chris_show.html
***http://twitter.com/julieroginsky
****http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/business/media/25greta.html?_r=3&hpw

Shep: “Party Unity My Ass”

Roger Ailes “Go-To Guy” Shepard Smith eschewed the Victorian verbiage of his more “highbrow” FNC colleagues, e.g., Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, etc., today on Studio B today. In a political panel discussing whether Hillary Clinton’s supporters were warming to Barack Obama after Hill’s speech last night, one of the panelists mentioned that yesterday PUMA leaders’ said that she still had a chance. Shep cheekily interrupted, “I have to let people know what acronyms mean: PUMA is Party Unity My Ass.”

No New York hoity-toity euphemism for the hoi polloi from that Southern Rebel.

* 2:20 p.m. ET