Fox News Makes Me Laugh

Last night I found out that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are expecting. Not only that, I realized that Shephard Smith might very well be the funniest man in newscasting. (Jon Stewart is on an entirely different stratosphere. I worship him. And not just because he is funny. "Straight man in a funny coat." Comedy Central will rue the day he leaves for CBS.) During Smith's end of the hour's news, along came the recent baby news. Now while I only catch the first 20 minutes or so of his socalled G-Block to get a decent catch-up on the day's news (at times the least annoying news station, at times the most), last night I was cemented in place feeling much too exhausted to move. Then I heard it:

"Katies Holmes is very excited."
"Tom Cruise is very excited."
"America, are you excited?"
(faint but very clear, off camera) "wahoooooooooo!"
"We thought so."

Damn near the funniest thing I hear yesterday, and it came from Smith! I was amazed and simply delighted.

By the by, Fox News broadcasts a show which I consider to be one of the best on TV right now...within broadcast/political interpretation circles, I know, such a broad category. News Watch is a panel discussion consisting of journalists discussing how their fellow journalists have handled the news in the past week. (George Stephanopoulos is also similarly cool. Even if Sunday mornings are rushed I try and set aside some time to catch Meet the Press.) I really enjoy the format and composition of the show -- I don't know of any comparable show on right now. If anyone knows of one, I'd love to hear about it! I like that everyone is upfront about what Fox News is -- candor is forever appreciated. There is no doubt that Fox has a Right or Conservative bias. (No shit there, Sherlock.) And while I ignore shows that only serve to underline such a bias, News Watch, I believe, manages to break the mold of that bias. Maybe not all the way, but I greatly appreciate what it tries to do.

While I could never suffer doing the grunt work to become a journalist, the appeal of commentary and anaylsis is fundamental and strong. So, I am delighted by any opportunity to get a glimpse of a world so influential in our society.

Reminder: Smith, the snarky, pretentious bastard from Fox, is funny! But still a bastard. And pretentious. Don't forget snarky. But I like snarky. How conflicting.