Fox News Anchor Bret Baier '92 Connects with His Viewers Via Social Media

June 4, 2016

"What would happen if the Twitterverse set the news agenda?," asks the Washington Post. "Fox News Channel chief political anchor Bret Baier is finding out." The piece by Callum Borchers notes that Baier "spends 1½ to two hours per day reading and responding to viewers' messages on social media and email," responding to comments and even their ideas about which stories should be covered.

Baier, a 1992 graduate of DePauw University, tells the Post, "I think people like the interaction. I think it's the future of our business -- to be more interactive. And I think people are a little bit, I don't know, surprised when they get a response -- and that I'm actually doing it myself. I kind of enjoy doing it. I especially enjoy when there's somebody that has a real problem, and I thank them for watching and say, 'Here's what we meant to do in a fair way.' And then they come back and say, 'Wow, I didn't know you were gonna respond. You're right.' Or, 'I'll give you another shot.' These are the people who say, 'I'm never watching again' or 'I'm boycotting.' And then you engage them, and it turns out they're not boycotting after all."

You'll find the complete article at the newspaper's website.

An English (composition) and political science double major at DePauw, Baier captained the Tiger golf team and was among the first students to work in the then-new Center for Contemporary Media. While a DePauw student, he interned with Bernard Shaw at CNN and landed his first professional job at WJWJ-TV (PBS) in Beaufort, South Carolina. He also worked at WREX (NBC) in Rockford, Illinois, and WRAL (CBS) in Raleigh, North Carolina, before joining Fox.

He anchors the nightly Special Report with Bret Baier and has interviewed Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and has anchored more than two dozen political specials on FNC, filing reports from 74 countries.

Bret Baier returned to DePauw for Old Gold Weekend in 2013 and spoke as part of the Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture Series and received the University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. (at right: Baier displays his Tiger Pride during a campus visit)

The talk is summarized here; video is embedded below.