In Media Debate, Fox News' Baier Says Viewers Can Discern News, Opinion

Bret Baier, the host of Special Report on the Fox News cable channel in the U.S., said on Thursday that his program has strong journalists and defended his network from charges of bias, saying viewers can easily distinguish between news and opinion.

The shows are different, Baier said. There are news shows and there's opinion shows. And we respect the viewers' ability to discern the difference between the two. I'm a news guy. I do news.

He was appearing on the Jon Stewart Show, a program where comedy and news are often mixed.

On Thursday, Stewart criticized Fox News for being skewed toward conservative views, saying hosts of opinion shows such as Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck sometimes make their way into the news programs.

Baier said Beck hasn't appeared on his program.

Stewart also remarked that it seems like you're the guy they use whenever you start criticizing them about their programming.

Later, Baier listed a number of journalists that appear on his program, which he called a great stable of correspondents, including James Rosen, Jennifer Griffin, Wendell Goler and Katherine Harris.

People say they're the best in the business, Baier said.

Stewart, agreed with the list, saying absolutely midway through it.

There is a great passion and there is great emphasis on that 15 minutes a day that I have seen. And I love that 15 minutes. That 15 minutes is what sustains us. You know what I'm saying? Steart said

I don't, Baier replied.