No, it's not quite the format of their political agenda they're changing, but Fox made a big announcement today that may bolster its legitimacy among critics. Shepard Smith, long the anchor of the 7 o'clock hour and the only true hard-newsman at the station, is taking on an expanded role.
It's a strange-sounding arrangement, but it may give Smith a greater degree of editorial freedom (not that he's ever seemed concerned with being on message), essentially letting him run a news channel within Fox's network. His title is Managing Editor of a new "breaking news division." He'll keep his 3pm hour, abandon the anchor desk of the 7pm, but have the ability to break into regular programming at any time throughout the day to report any story he wants.
Mediate reported the announcement earlier today, and then published a short interview with Smith later in the afternoon. The first report emphasized the creation of the breaking news division and the newly constructed studio that comes with it. Smith talked about how he's going to "stop pretending people don’t exist in the social media world," alluding to some sort of new software that will allow producers to turn the chaos of Twitter into television news.
Hopefully that process isn't as magical and new-age-techy as it sounds. Part of the reason Smith is the only one worth watching on Fox is his respect for the traditional role of nightly news. I'm a former member of Smith's staff and I remember his insistence that the 7 o'clock hour is something to be "marveled" at - a display of journalistic force where someone could come for one hour and get all the facts (and only the facts) they needed to have. Twitter is a powerful news tool, to be sure, but it's a lot messier than a shiny and contained one-hour nightly show.
That being said, more Shepard can only be a good thing at Fox and the new format might actually complement his on-air personality. "Studio B," his current 3 o'clock show, isn't as journalistically formidable as "The Fox Report" at night, but Smith loosens his own reigns there. He explores topics more deeply, asks his guests important, sometimes caustic questions and has a weird sense of humor.
Last week he asked a guest if a unilateral strike on Syria would make the US an international war criminal. During the DOMA debates he told Republicans they were on the wrong side of history. And back during election season he interrupted his field reporter to inform everyone that Mitt Romney was wearing "mom jeans" on stage at a rally.
If the new format allows Fox to showcase more Shepard and more real news, then it could be a turning point for the network.