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A landmass is a contiguous area of land surrounded by ocean. Although it may be most often written as one word to distinguish it from the usage "land mass"—the measure of land area—it is also used as two words.

Landmasses include:

• supercontinents
• continents
• islands

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Shepard Smith
Shepard Smith hosting Studio B
Born	David Shepard Smith Jr. (1964-01-14) January 14, 1964 (age 48) Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States
Other names	Shep
Occupation	News anchor for Fox News Channel
Notable credit(s)	• Studio B anchor • The Fox Report anchor
Salary	US$7 to 8 million
Website
foxnews.com/on-air/shepard-smith

David Shepard Smith, Jr. (born January 14, 1964), known better as Shepard Smith, is an American television news anchor. He is host of Fox Report with Shepard Smith and Studio B weekdays on Fox News Channel. In addition, he anchors the 5:00 p.m. ET weekday news update on Fox News Radio, also titled Fox Report.

Early life[link]

Smith was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, the son of Dora Ellen Anderson, an English teacher, and David Shepard Smith, Sr., a cotton merchant. He attended Marshall Academy, a K–12 private school in Holly Springs, but completed his senior year of high school in Florida, where he, his mother, and brother moved after his parents separated.^[1][2][3] Smith went on to attend the University of Mississippi. He majored in journalism, but left two credits away from graduation. He frequently returns to the university during college football season and delivered the university's annual commencement address on May 10, 2008.^[1][4]

Journalism career[link]

Smith signed his first television contract with WJHG-TV in Panama City Beach, Florida. He worked as a reporter for WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida (1985), a reporter for WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, reporter/anchor in Miami with WSVN and as a reporter at WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando. In Los Angeles, California he was a correspondent for A Current Affair. He joined the Fox News Channel at its inception in 1996.

Smith has been assigned to cover many major news stories during his career. In 1997, he reported on the death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. In November 2000, he was sent to Florida to cover the Florida ballot counting controversy during the United States Presidential election. In 2001, he traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana, to be one of the media witnesses to the execution of Timothy McVeigh. In late August 2005, he spent a little over a week in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, to provide news reports on the events and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Fox Report with Shepard Smith remains the top-rated newscast in cable news and is ranked third in the top programs in U.S. cable news.^[5] Shepard Smith tied for second (along with Dan Rather and Peter Jennings) as the most trusted news anchor on both network and cable news in a 2003 TV Guide poll.^[6] In addition to anchoring Fox News Channel's flagship news program, Smith also anchors most prime time news presentations provided by Fox News for the Fox television network.^[7]

On November 19, 2007, The New York Times reported that Smith had signed a three-year contract giving him between US$7 and 8 million per year. This contract places Smith into the same pay league as anchor Brian Williams of NBC and former anchor Charles Gibson of ABC.^[8] Smith renewed his contract with Fox on October 26, 2010, for another three years.^[9]

Appearances in film[link]

Smith has appeared as himself in the film Volcano. Video of Smith anchoring on Fox News Channel during the opening moments of the March 2003 Iraq War was also used in the film Fahrenheit 9/11.

Personal life[link]

Smith married Virginia Donald, a University of Mississippi classmate, in 1987. They divorced in 1993 with no children.^[1][2]

In November 2000, Smith found himself the subject of the news, while he was in Florida covering the Florida ballot counting controversy. The St. Petersburg Times reported that he had been arrested on November 17 for aggravated battery with a motor vehicle after he allegedly hit a woman with his car during an argument over a parking space.^[10] According to the Tallahassee Democrat, on July 20, 2001, the charge "was reduced to misdemeanor battery" and dismissed after an out-of-court settlement in June 2001.^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biography at FoxNews.com
• Shepard Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Studio B official website
• Fox Report official website