Axios interview: New "Fox News Sunday" anchor Shannon Bream
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Shannon Bream, who takes over tomorrow as the first woman anchor in 26 years of "Fox News Sunday," said she plans to widen the program's aperture to include education, entertainment, sports and faith.
- "I hope what people will see on Sunday morning is not just folks inside the Beltway that they are frustrated with," Bream told me, "but also people around the country that are doing meaningful things, that are bettering their community, that are entertaining Americans in a way that maybe gives them a break from the stresses of their day."
"There's always going to be a part of the Sunday show that is going to be about pressing for accountability, for answers," added Bream, who has lived in the Washington area for the past 17 years.
- "But I like to have fun, too." She said she'll try to get newsmakers to talk also "about things that are personal and dear to their hearts."
Bream, 51, who will continue as Fox News' chief legal correspondent, graduated from Florida State University's law school after getting her B.S. in business management from Liberty University.
- "My late father used to say to me: You're going to medical school or law school, and I don't want to hear anything until you get one of those things done," she said. "I'm so thankful for him every day that I have this legal background, in large part due to his pushing me."
Bream — who practiced corporate law, specializing in race discrimination and sexual harassment cases, before becoming a journalist — said what the two fields have in common is research.
- "I love the homework — digging for the story, looking for all sides, trying to get past talking points," she said. "The hours are longer now, but I would say I love the work so much more."
Asked how her Christian faith informs her work, she said: "My faith tells me that God has created every single human being, and [each] has enormous value and worth assigned to ... them."
- "My commands are to treat my neighbor as I would myself, which means respect and deference," she said. "And I think that's an important thing to do in Washington. It's difficult, sometimes."
"I'm reassured by the bigger picture that it's not about me — I'm not in charge, and that God has a great plan for all of us in this universe," Bream added. "And if living out respect and kindness to people in the midst of heated, nasty disagreements is my role, then I'm happy to take it."
