Things We Like: Special Report with Brit Hume

With their pyrotechnics, Fox News stalwarts Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity may garner more attention, but Brit Hume’s nightly show, Special Report, is a must-watch for political junkies, professional and amateur. Other news shows are spliced with short news items, combative banter, and flashy graphics. Hume takes a sober and analytical approach, and still stacks up viewers. In the second quarter of 2004, Special Report ranked 5 for all news programs on cable.

The show is roughly equal parts reporting, in-depth analysis, and punditry. “Campaign Carl,” aka Carl Cameron, provides dispatches from the trail that are respected by both sides. Hume usually has a lengthy interview with an expert on a big issue of the day. He belongs to that minority of interviewers who think that an interview should be about answers, not canned or loaded questions. Finally, Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard and Mort Kondracke of Roll Call anchor an end-of-show pundit roundtable that is civil and well informed.

MK

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Meghan Keane

With their pyrotechnics, Fox News stalwarts Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity may garner more attention, but Brit Hume’s nightly show, Special Report, is a must-watch for political junkies, professional and amateur. Other news shows are spliced with short news items, combative banter, and flashy graphics. Hume takes a sober and analytical approach, and still stacks up viewers. In the second quarter of 2004, Special Report ranked 5 for all news programs on cable.

The show is roughly equal parts reporting, in-depth analysis, and punditry. “Campaign Carl,” aka Carl Cameron, provides dispatches from the trail that are respected by both sides. Hume usually has a lengthy interview with an expert on a big issue of the day. He belongs to that minority of interviewers who think that an interview should be about answers, not canned or loaded questions. Finally, Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard and Mort Kondracke of Roll Call anchor an end-of-show pundit roundtable that is civil and well informed.