Legendary sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith did not hold back against American politicians during his recent interview with Sean Hannity.
“I don’t like it when somebody acts like they’re neutral. You’re not. You know that you feel something, tell us! It’s okay,” Stephen A. Smith expressed during an intense interview on the new two-part Fox Nation special, “Sean.”
Hannity weighed Smith’s resentment towards cable news hosts, asking him: “Are most of the hosts on cable news and network news journalists?”
Before giving his response, Smith assured Hannity that he is “not running” from this conversation, and that he has “a lot to say.”
“They are pundits, they can be journalists. They pick and choose when they want to and when they don’t want to,” he explained.
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“They are in a game where they are trying to win. Now anybody that watches cable news knows that Fox News is number one, MSNBC is number two, and CNN is number three. That’s just the fact.”
“When you are trying to win, and there’s an audience that is already on lock on the right and there’s an audience that might be on lock that’s on the left, and you’re trying to find your way… In an effort to find your way, you may deviate from the norm in order to discover a winning formula.” he argued.
Smith went on to challenge his long-time friend, Hannity, saying that he “get[s] bothered” when he calls other media outlets “fake news.”
“You know what it is, it’s swinging down. You don’t have to do that,” he added. “You don’t have to do that, Sean Hannity, because of what you’ve done – first with Colmes, God rest his soul – and what you’ve done on your own over the years. Ratings, in terms of the success of your show. Radio, television, everything you pretty much touched, you’re here,” Smith said as he motioned his hand above his brow.
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Hannity went on to share the moment his broadcasting career went from “0 to 100.” In 1989, Hannity quit his construction job to pursue a career in broadcasting.
“I was doing construction. I listened to talk radio all day. One day, I’m in Santa Barbara, California, and I find out that the local college has a radio station. And I can’t explain it,” Hannity shared. “I go, they have to let members of the community on the air, right? They let me on. That light went on, and it was game, set, match. It was over, right? There’s nothing else I was going to do. Wanted to do. I never thought I’d be successful.”
Seven years later, he was hired in 1996 by Fox News, where he stepped in as the co-host of “Hannity & Colmes.” Hannity has remained with Fox News ever since, and continues to maintain his role as a primetime host and one of the most prominent faces in all of cable news.
Likewise, Smith is one of the most famous faces in all of sports media.
As one of the most outspoken sports broadcasters, Smith is all too familiar with receiving backlash on and offline. However, he told Hannity that he avoids attacking “contemporaries or colleagues.”
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