As Glenn Beck Departs, Bret Baier Leads ‘Next Generation’ At Fox News

Quietly, without chalkboards or bluster, Bret Baier has cemented his position as one of the top talents at Fox News, often eclipsing the ratings of some of the network’s more high profile stars, like Sean Hannity and yes, Glenn Beck. With Beck’s future now taking him away from the 5 p.m. slot he’s held, Baier represents a part of the Fox News story that usually gets overshadowed by the drama and excess that surrounds stars like Beck. For the most part, Baier does news.

As Jamie McIntyre, a former CNN correspondent, told NPR’s David Folkenflik, Baier’s reputation is one of an “inordinately fair” reporter:

“I remember thinking that if you took the average Bret Baier report at the end of the day and you took mine — and you stripped the names out so you didn’t know who was producing them — I’m not sure you could tell which report was generated by CNN and which was generated by the Fox News Channel,” McIntyre says.

But according to McIntyre, the focus of story assignments was different at Fox, which he says is closely attuned to the conservative sensibilities of its core audience. Baier has done well at Fox News by paying attention, McIntyre says.

Listen to the story here, from NPR:

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