Former Fox News host Shepard Smith hosted an awards banquet for oppressed and endangered members of the press in his first appearance since leaving the network.
Smith hosted the 2019 International Press Freedom Awards on Thursday night. The awards event is held to celebrate journalists targeted by authoritarian and oppressive governments. The event is held by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Autocrats “flood the world of information with garbage and lies masquerading as news…They dispatch troll armies after critical reporters who are vilified and harassed, [and publish their personal info] as an invitation for even more attacks” Shep Smith https://t.co/0xsnIURy9c
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) November 22, 2019
“The winners of CPJ’s 2019 International Press Freedom Awards represent the very best of journalism, people who have put their lives and liberty on the line to bring us the news. While we celebrate their courage, we lament that it is required,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said in a statement. “The sad reality is that around the world independent journalism is threatened by populist authoritarians who disdain and disparage the work of the independent press. This is true in the countries represented by our honorees and many others.”
The award winners for 2019 are Brazilian journalist and columnist Patricia Campos Mello, Indian journalist Neha Dixit, Nicaraguan journalists Lucia Pineda Ubau and Miguel Mora, and Tanzanian activist Maxence Melo Mubyazi. CPJ is also honoring Zaffar Abbas, editor of Pakistan’s daily newspaper, Dawn, with the 2019 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award.
Smith resigned as the chief anchor and editor of breaking news at Fox News in October. Weeks before he stepped down, Smith condemned fellow Fox host Tucker Carlson for his treatment of Fox legal analyst Andrew Napolitano.
