Oh for...
How can FReepers not get Shep?
Is he gay?
Most likely.
Does he do news?
Yup...BUT...
His claim to fame is that HE WAS THE FIRST NEWS “JOCK!”
His “style” is more DJ than news reporter. Of course he reads a prompter and listens to an IFR but he also says what he wants. Many news junkies don’t like that.
Personally I kinda like it. “kinda” instead of “kind of” is an example of traditional speech as opposed to how Shep delivers.
More conversational.
You don’t like it...don’t listen.
Here’s an example from when I did radio news more than I do now.
Not always but often if there was a story about the Pennsylvania legislature giving themselves a pay raise I’d frame it like this: “Well, the boys in Harrisburg are at it again. Yup, gave themselves another pay raise. When? Middle of the night last night of course!”
The traditional broomstick in the butt version would be more like this: “The Pennsylvania legislature last night passed a bill giving themselves a pay raise.”
Am I editorializing? Yup. But one of my jobs was to hold an audience. My version did that more than the stiff version.
That’s what Shep does and he does it well. I really don’t care about his private life as long as he keeps details private.
It’s kinda like David Venable on QVC. Not someone I would want next to me in a foxhole but even though he presents a gayish persona, I watch his In The Kitchen With David and his recipes are pretty durn good.
OK, I get what you’re saying, but I consider it an insult to me as a serious news consumer. I neither need nor want my news “cutesied up.” I always thought the “Planet Blago” intro was Shep’s way of making the news cutesy. Instead, it was distracting to me in the same manner a needle skipping on a record (remember vinyl?) would ruin the song for me.
I don’t care about his sexual orientation. It’s his delivery that keeps me from watching. BTW, I love David Venable’s QVC program. Watch it every Sunday. I love to cook and have spent plenty of $ on his show. He’s personable, kind to his guests and funny. So you can see, sexual orientation has nothing to do with how I assess how people do their jobs.