'' Special Report with Bret Baier'' (formerly ''Special Report with Brit Hume'') is an American television

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

and political commentary program, hosted by

Bret Baier William Bret Baier ( ; born August 4, 1970) is the host of ''Special Report with Bret Baier'' on the Fox News Channel and the chief political correspondent for Fox. He previously worked as the network's Chief White House Correspondent and Penta ...

since 2009, that airs on

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

. It is broadcast live each Monday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET. The program focuses on both reporting and analysis of the day's events, with a primary focus on national American political news. The show has been a part of the Fox News program lineup since 1998 and is the number one cable news broadcast in its time slot.

Format

The program reports on the day's events, usually focusing on political stories out of the nation's capitol, particularly on the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, and the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. A typical show begins with news stories featuring various Fox News correspondents, followed by an interview conducted by Baier with political newsmakers or pundits. After the halfway point in the program, and after a short break for current headlines, Baier presents a segment referred to as "the Political Grapevine" — a collection of short items, sometimes humorous, about minor political happenings. Baier sometimes uses this segment to point out oddities in coverage of a story by competing news media. (In the early days of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, this segment was referred to by Brit Hume as "the Wartime Grapevine.") The best-known part of ''Special Report'' is Baier's discussion with "The Fox All-Stars", a two-segment roundtable with a panel of three political reporters and columnists. The program ends with a comedic clip, known as "the kicker", usually taken from the preceding night's shows by

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

, or sometimes ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

.'' Brit Hume would usually sign off with, "That's ''Special Report'' for this time, please tune us in next time, and in the meantime, more news is on the way — fair, balanced and unafraid." When Bret Baier became host, he signed off with, "Your source for news, tonight and every night," which he later changed to, "Straightforward news in uncertain times." As of September 2020, Baier uses Hume's classic "fair, balanced and unafraid" sign-off. Fill in hosts for Baier include

Mike Emanuel Mike Emanuel (born December 10, 1967) is the Chief Washington Correspondent and a former White House Correspondents' Association for Fox News. He has worked for the network since July 1997. Emanuel has been based in the Fox News bureaus in Los Ange ...

Shannon Bream Shannon Noelle Bream ( DePuy; born December 23, 1970) is an American journalist and attorney who appears on Fox News Channel. In 2022 she became the host of the program ''Fox News Sunday''. Prior to hosting Fox News Sunday she was the host of ...

, Trace Gallagher, John Roberts, Gillian Turner and Bill Hemmer.

"Fox All-Star" Panel members

Brit Hume Alexander Britton Hume (born June 22, 1943), known professionally as Brit Hume, is an American journalist and political commentator. Hume had a 23-year career with ABC News, where he contributed to ''World News Tonight with Peter Jennings'', ''N ...

- Fox News senior political analyst * Susan Page - Washington bureau chief for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' *

Ben Domenech Ben Domenech (born January 1, 1982) is an American writer, blogger, editor, and television commentator. He is the co-founder and publisher of '' The Federalist'' and host of ''The Federalist Radio Hour'', and writes ''The Transom'', a daily sub ...

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is o ...

contributor, editor at large of ''The Spectator'' *

Mara Liasson Mara Liasson (; born June 13, 1955) is an American journalist and political pundit. She is the national political correspondent for NPR

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

national political correspondent *

Juan Williams Juan Antonio Williams (born April 10, 1954) is a Panamanian-born American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel. He writes for several newspapers, including ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The Wall Street ...

senior political analyst * Charles Lane - ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' Staff Writer *

Trey Gowdy Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is an American television news personality, former politician, and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. His district included much of the Ups ...

- Former South Carolina Congressman, host of ''Sunday Night in America w/Trey Gowdy'' *

Katie Pavlich Catherine Merri "Katie" Pavlich (born July 10, 1988) is an American conservative commentator, author, blogger, and podcaster. Early life and education Pavlich was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to a family of Croat and German descent. She grew up i ...

- Fox News contributor, editor at ''Townhall'' *

Harold Ford Jr. Harold Eugene Ford Jr. (born May 11, 1970) is an American financial managing director, pundit, author, and former U.S. Congressman who served from 1997–2007 in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party f ...

- Former Tennessee Congressman, co-host of '' The Five'' *

- Host of ''

Fox News Sunday ''Fox News Sunday'' is a Sunday morning talk show that has aired on the broadcast Fox network since 1996, as a presentation of Fox News Channel. It is the only regularly scheduled Fox News program carried on the main Fox broadcast network. Ho ...

'' *

Howard Kurtz Howard Alan Kurtz (; born August 1, 1953) is an American journalist and author best known for his coverage of the media. Kurtz is the host of Fox News's '' Media Buzz'' program, the successor to ''Fox News Watch''. He is the former media writer f ...

- Host of ''

Media Buzz ''Media Buzz'' (stylized #media''buzz'') is an hour-long news media criticism program hosted by Howard Kurtz. The show airs live on Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM and generally discusses politics and pop culture issues from a moderate perspective. Th ...

'' * Kimberly Strassel - ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' columnist * Jason L. Riley - ''

'' writer *

Morgan Ortagus Morgan Deann Ortagus (born July 10, 1982) is an American television commentator, financial analyst, and political advisor who served as spokesperson for the United States Department of State from 2019 to 2021. She previously held government posi ...

- Former

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

spokesperson * Guy Benson - host of ''The Guy Benson Radio Show'' * Mollie Hemingway - Senior editor of ''

The Federalist ''The Federalist Papers'' is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym "Publius" to promote the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. The co ...

'' *

Byron York Byron York (born December 5, 1955) is an American conservative correspondent, pundit, columnist, and author. Education York holds a B.A. from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Career York ...

- chief political correspondent for the ''

Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American conservative news outlet which consists principally of an online/digital website with a weekly magazine, based in Washington, D.C. It is owned by MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, which is ...

'' * Gillian Turner - Fox News Washington correspondent *

Charles Hurt Charles Hurt (born 1971) is an American journalist and political commentator. He is currently the opinion editor of ''The Washington Times'', Fox News contributor, Breitbart News contributor, and a Drudge Report editor. Hurt's views have been con ...

- ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' writer *

Jennifer Griffin Jennifer Griffin is an American journalist who works as national security correspondent at the Pentagon for Fox News. She joined Fox News in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent. Prior to the posting, she reported for three years from ...

- Fox News Chief national security correspondent * Jessica Tarlov - Democratic strategist, co-host of '' The Five'' *

Hugh Hewitt Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network and an attorney, academic, and author. A conservative, he writes about law, society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is ...

- Radio talk show host * Leslie Marshall - Fox News contributor, radio talk show host * Josh Kraushaar - senior political correspondent for

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

Charles Krauthammer Charles Krauthammer (; March 13, 1950 – June 21, 2018) was an American political columnist. A moderate liberal who turned independent conservative as a political pundit, Krauthammer won the Pulitzer Prize for his columns in '' The Washingt ...

- (In Memoriam) ''

'' political columnist (1998—2018)

Program origins & changes/announcements

The show originated in 1996 and was originally hosted by Brit Hume, who was, at the time, Washington, D.C.

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edit ...

for the network. Hume hosted the program through December 23, 2008, when he hosted his final show before officially stepping down as anchor. The last fifteen minutes of Hume's final program served as a tribute to Hume, including kind words from former President George H. W. Bush, then-President George W. Bush, then-

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...

, and then-

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

anchor

Charles Gibson Charles deWolf Gibson (born March 9, 1943) is an American broadcast television anchor, journalist and podcaster. Gibson was a host of ''Good Morning America'' from 1987 to 1998 and again from 1999 to 2006, and the anchor of ''World News with Char ...

, as well as several Fox News reporters, and allowed him some final thoughts. Hume announced Bret Baier, who substituted for Hume on Fridays beginning in fall 2007, would become the full-time host after the holidays, while Hume moved to a new role as senior political analyst for the network.

Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...

and

are occasional substitute anchors.

hosted the show from its debut in 1996 until his retirement in December 2008. He has since appeared on the program as a panelist commentator. On June 15, 2009, the show launched in high definition with new music and graphics. From its inception, ''Special Report'' has broadcast live from the network's

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

studio in Washington. However, on some occasions, such as the night of a significant election, the program will broadcast from the network's

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

studios. The program is among the top five of all ad-supported news shows on cable, and draws more than two million viewers per evening. On January 13, 2020, the show launched new graphics and a new logo.

References

External links

*
The Daily Bret on FoxNews.com
*
Fox News Live Stream
{{FoxNewsChannelPrograms Fox News original programming 1998 American television series debuts 1990s American television talk shows 2000s American television talk shows 2010s American television talk shows 2020s American television talk shows 1990s American television news shows 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows 2020s American television news shows English-language television shows