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.[1] He previously worked as the network's Chief White House Correspondent and Pentagon correspondent.

Not to be confused with Brett Baer.

Bret Baier
Baier in January 2016
Born
William Bret Baier

(1970-08-04) August 4, 1970
Rumson, New Jersey, U.S.
EducationDePauw University
OccupationNews anchor
Notable credit(s)
Host of Fox News Channel's Special Report with Bret Baier
Spouse(s)
Amy Baier (m. 2004)
Children2

Early life

Baier was born in Rumson, New Jersey.[2] Raised Catholic, he attended Marist School, a private Roman Catholic high school in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating in 1988. Baier then attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, graduating in 1992 with a BA degree in political science and English.[3] At DePauw, he became a member of the Xi Chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.[4]

Career
Baier (right) with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2020

Baier began his television career with a local station in Rockford, Illinois, before joining WRAL-TV, then CBS now NBC affiliate (As of February 29, 2016) in Raleigh, North Carolina. He sent an audition tape to Fox News in 1998, and was hired as the network's Atlanta bureau chief. On September 11, 2001, he drove from Georgia to Arlington, Virginia, to cover the attack on the Pentagon. He never returned to the Atlanta bureau and was instead tapped as the network's Pentagon correspondent, remaining at the post for five years and taking 11 trips to Afghanistan and 13 trips to Iraq.

He was named Fox News's White House correspondent in 2007, covering the administration of George W. Bush. In the fall of 2007, he began substituting for Brit Hume, then the anchor of Special Report, on Fridays.[1]

On December 23, 2008, Brit Hume anchored his final show and announced Baier would replace him as anchor of Special Report.[5] He hosted his first show as permanent anchor on January 5, 2009.[1]

A Freedom of Information Act request filed to investigate anti-Fox News bias in the Barack Obama administration revealed an internal email written by Deputy White House Communications Director, Jen Psaki, dated October 23, 2009, that referred to Baier as a "lunatic." Psaki, who sent the email, later apologized to Baier.[6]

Personal life

Baier, who served as an altar boy in his youth, is a practicing Roman Catholic and attends Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown.[7][8]

Baier and his wife Amy have two sons, Daniel and Paul.[9] One of their sons was born with cardiac problems and before the child's open-heart surgery in 2008, President George W. Bush invited Baier and his wife and son to the Oval Office for a visit and had the White House physician update him on Paul's progress.[1] In 2009, Baier was named a "Significant Sig" by the Sigma Chi Fraternity.[10]

Recognition
  • 2016 Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Journalism, Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program[11]
  • 2017 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, National Press Foundation[12]
  • 2018 Urbino Press Award, Municipality of Urbino[13]

References
  1. "Bret Baier, the Successor to Brit Hume on Fox's 'Special Report'". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. January 6, 2009. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  2. Koncius, Jura (June 25, 2009). "For a Fox Newsman and His Family, A Retreat Inspired by Ralph Lauren". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  3. Bret Baier|Biography|Fox News Archived April 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine; accessed July 25, 2015.
  4. Significant Sigs | Sigma Chi Fraternity; accessed April 19, 2015.
  5. Ariens, Chris (December 23, 2008). "Bret Baier to be Named Host of "Special Report"". TV Newser. mediabistro.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  6. "White House Aide Who Called Bret Baier a 'Lunatic' Apologized 'Profusely'". TV Newser. mediabistro.com. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  7. Rothstein, Betsy (June 10, 2008). "A father's first Father's Day". The Hill. Capitol Hill Publishing Corporation. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  8. Rothstein, Betsy (February 17, 2011). "How Catholic Is Bret Baier?". fishbowldc. mediabistro.com. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  9. Roberts, Roxanne; Argetsinger, Amy (July 8, 2010). "The Reliable Source: Love, etc.: Bret Baier, Rachel Dratch, Ed Swiderski and Jillian Harris". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  10. Significant Sigs | Sigma Chi Fraternity; accessed October 12, 2014.
  11. "Bret Baier Wins Kenneth Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Journalism". Adweek. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  12. "Bret Baier Selected for Taishoff Award". National Press Association. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  13. "It is Bret Baier of Fox News the winner of the Urbino Press Award 2018". Vivere Urbino. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
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