Fox News’ Shannon Bream Says Faith Is Her Daily Compass

Author of ‘Women of the Bible Speak’ Delighted To Share Their Stories

Jeff Walker, Entertainment Writer

For the past four years she has been the ‘late night-light’ on the Fox News Channel. Since 2017 Shannon Bream has closed out their daily broadcast as the solo anchor of Fox News @ Night, airing at 11pm ET. With the ever popular, larger than life Greg Gutfeld set to take over that time slot beginning April 5th, Bream’s one hour program will be pushed back to midnight, making it the first Fox News show of the day, starting April 6th.

‘Greg has an infectious and very cheeky personality. He has such a gift, and I know our Fox audience will welcome him every night.” Bream agrees Greg’s new time slot will offer an alternative to the late night comedy driven talk shows. “That would be nice.”

A well respected and versatile journalist, Bream’s second book ‘The Women of the Bible Speak’ : The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today’ is set for release at the end of March. Among the 200 plus pages in her latest book, are back stories of eight pairs of women, and how they were chosen by God, to carry out His will for the Israelite nation and the early Christian church.

With all that was unfolding in 2020 how did Bream come up with the concept for her new book. “Honestly it was Fox’ idea. They were launching their own book label and they came to me, and asked if I like to do a book about women of the Bible. It sounded like a good idea right from the start, sharing their stories. It was an immediate yes from me, although I told them let me talk it over with my husband and pray about it.”

Still with her busy life, Bream had to adjust her schedule to write. “The main thing for me was finding time. Last year was very busy and filled with uncertainties. There was a lot happening in the news. Of course there was the evolving pandemic, and we were in the middle of a presidential election year, and appointing a new Supreme Court justice after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was a busy news cycle. It took all my free time, days and weekends. But ultimately it was a labor of love, and thankfully God gave me the ability to see it through.”

With so many men often profiled in the Holy Word, Bream embraced showcasing how women have made an impact over the same Biblical time period. And what does Bream anticipate women will take away from reading her new book.

“I hope women will take a lot of good things from the book. First of all that the Bible isn’t just a dusty book full of old guys from the OT and NT who have great stories, but that there are equally inspirational stories about women, that God placed in the Bible to encourage women today. The women I wrote about, some were widows, some had illnesses, they were scorned and had to overcome obstacles, yet they were all called by God to fulfill His will.”

She adds, the Creator values women and their respective roles. “God is very encouraging to women, and considers women equal to men. I hope women and men who read my book, especially those not familiar with the Bible will say, I never knew those stories were in there.”

Bream thought it pertinent to include a section in ‘The Women of the Bible Speak’, covering how Jesus interacted with women. While the women Bream profiled in the Old Testament did not encounter Jesus in human form, there are many instances in the New Testament where Jesus connected with women, several whose names we don’t even know.

“Jesus related with women, and I believe their stories were and are essential to His ministry.” Bream includes the stories of an adulterous women accused by the Pharisees, as well as the Samaritan women he encountered at the well, and the widow whose son was brought back to life by Jesus.

While societal views are different today, Bream admits it was not the same during Jesus’ earthly ministry. “It seems normal in the western world, in business and in sports, because women compete against each other, and have similar roles in the workplace, but during Jesus time it was forbidden. Jesus went against the norm in many ways.” Bream agrees Jesus came to bring male and female, Jew and Gentile to His saving grace, and offered up forgiveness to everyone, no matter their background.

Happily married and content in her career, Bream says promoting Christianity is crucial for her. “I feel like professing God in my life and living out my Christian faith is inseparable from me. There’s a lot going on around us, and we’re all tethered to the world. For me, I need a daily compass, so faith and reading the Bible is part of my routine. It’s has to be the first thing I do when I start my day.”

Bream feels blessed to be employed in an environment where she can openly express her belief in God. “Thankfully I work in a place where they support my faith, and hopefully I’m not shy about professing that faith. I love when co-workers come up to me and say, ‘please pray for me’, or if they say please add this request to your prayer list.”

Like many Bream grew up in the church. “I’ve been surrounded by the church my whole life. My parents divorced when I was very young, and that somehow lead me to go to several different churches. Basically I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church, but oftentimes went to my grandparents Presbyterian Church, and there were times I went to a more independent Baptist church. On top of all that my mom taught at a Christian school, so church became a big part of my life.”

A Florida native Bream received a Business Management degree from Liberty University in 1993, returning to her home state to earn her law degree at Florida State University. While attending both schools, Bream earned the title of Miss Virginia in 1990, and won Miss Florida USA in 1995, going on to become fourth runner-up in the national competition.

Bream admits competing in pageants was pivotal in her personal development. “I actually suffered from terrible stage fright, and I had to go out on stage and play piano. Pageantry helped me break out of my shell. After winning titles part of what you’re expected to do is go out and speak to at schools, businesses, and in front of large groups. And often I travelled alone, so it definitely helped me become more independent, and gain confidence talking in front of people.”

Winning pageants did come with additional benefits. “The scholarship money I won helped pay for college, and I was able to graduate debt free. That was a huge help.”

Just four years into practicing law, Bream opted for a career change, making the move to television news. A three year stay in Charlotte, lead to an opening with an NBC affiliate in Washington DC as a weekend anchor and general assignments reporter. However her first taste of news reporting came while moonlighting at a local station in Tampa.

“Basically I was interning at a news station in Florida while practicing law during the day. I was writing scripts and getting a little on air time. The firm knew I was doing nights and weekends at the station. I just felt God was leading me into broadcasting.”

Ironically when a new boss took over at the local affiliate he told Bream she wasn’t a good fit for television. “I was a little shocked. Here I was considering a career change, and this guy is telling me I’m not cut out for this line of work. But it didn’t deter me. What it did was make me more determined.” A combination of her God given talents, including perseverance and a sweet spirit made the transition to television news reporting an easy segue way for Bream.

Bream would eventually wind up starting her TV career in Charlotte which prepared her for DC, where she became a weekend anchor while covering general assignments. Her time at the local DC affiliate and support from Brit Hume, the managing editor of the Fox News Channel’s Washington bureau lead to her current job with Fox News.

She says, joining Fox News in 2007 has been the ultimate blessing. “It’s been 14 wonderful and amazing years.” Bream admits she senses she is where God has called her to be. “I know a career is not supposed to define a person, but I feel very privileged to work at Fox News. It’s become a second home to me, and I know God has lead me here.”

While she is sometimes called on to add commentary on the morning and afternoon shows, what is a day in the life of Shannon Bream. “It’s definitely fast paced during the work week. I’m off the air at midnight, make my way home and usually go to bed around 2pm. I do my best to get a sufficient amount of sleep, maybe a little more on the weekends. When I wake up, I pray and read the Bible. After getting my spiritual setting I might delve into my emails, I get a boatload of emails.”

She continues, “Then I’ll write some notes and read current news stories. Usually by noon I’ve talked with members of my team. We have our first meeting around 3:45pm and another at 4:30pm. I might pre-tape a few segments for guests that don’t want to stay up as late as we air. Hopefully during the midday I’ll get in some kind of workout.” And now that she’s moving to the midnight time slot. “I guess my schedule will have to adjust an hour.”

Rather than turning off the light at the end of the day for the Fox News Channel, Bream will kickstarting the day. “For several years I’ve been ending the Fox News day, and now I’ll be beginning their 24 hours news cycle. The good thing about what we do, is there is always breaking news, so there will be things to talk about. I’ve become accustomed to my schedule and love being there late.”

While her sophomore release ‘The Women of the Bible Speak’ covers the roles of specific roles of women in the Good Book, it has similarities to her 2019 debut, ‘Finding the Bright Side: The Art of Chasing What Matters’, with both centered around her devout Christian faith, which Bream admits has kept her well balanced covering topical, political, and judicial news.

The main difference between the two books is her first outing is more lighthearted, offering up inspirational stories with a humorous twist. Looking for uplifting words from a woman who walks the walk, and talks the talk, than either of Bream’s books make good reading, and great Christian gifts. For more on Fox News book division visit https://www.foxnews.com/books

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