Fox News denies report Shepard Smith demoted for asking to come out

[steve2470]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/la-et-st-fox-news-denies-shepard-smith-demoted-at-fox-news-coming-out-20140430,0,4761851.story

Fox News is denying allegations that anchor Shepard Smith was demoted after approaching network chief Roger Ailes about the possibility of publicly coming out as gay.

In a story published Wednesday by Gawker, the New York-based news and gossip site, the anchor attended Ailes' annual Fourth of July picnic with a colleague said to be his boyfriend. According to Gawker, around the same time Smith was also renegotiating his contract with the network and had asked Ailes for the OK to publicly acknowledge his sexuality.

Concerned that their audience was "not ready for a gay anchor," Bill Shine, executive vice president of programming, allegedly convened a meeting of top-level executives and orchestrated Smith's move from "The Fox Report" at 7 p.m. to "Shepard Smith Reporting" at 3 p.m., according to the Gawker story.

On Wednesday afternoon, Fox News strenuously denounced the Gawker account.

[lame54]

1. To get this scoop on Fox...

they are outing him

Is that fair?

[Estrella Fugaz]

2. Gawker is backtracking

Updates in the article.

[AlinPA]

3. Why hasn't Fox 'news' fired Smith by now?

[tammywammy]

4. Gawker has a weird obsession with Shepard Smith

I read Gawker almost daily and overall like the website. But they have targeted Smith before which I don't agree with. I'ts like Gawker is trying to force Smith to come out on air at Fox, and I believe Smith has the right to determine that himself.

[Lex]

5. Of course Fox denounced it.

But they have no credibility anyway.