Hemmer's at Home on Fox
Bill Hemmer
Seeing
Bill Hemmer in the anchor chair during Fox News Channel's coverage of Hurricane Katrina might have been a jarring experience for viewers who watched him on CNN for the last 10 years.
Hemmer left CNN earlier this year after a stint as anchor of American Morning, and because he wanted to stay in New York City, he joined Fox News instead of taking a reassignment as CNN White House correspondent. The Biz caught up with him to talk about how Mother Nature forced him to hit the ground running on his first week at Fox and his other activities since leaving the morning grind at CNN.
TVGuide.com: You weren't supposed to show up on Fox News Channel until Monday, but you were on Sunday night. When did you find out that you were going on?
Bill Hemmer: I got a call early Sunday morning to move up the debut by a day. I was more than happy to. Stories like these are what we do.
TVGuide.com: When you were working at CNN, what did you think of Fox News?
Hemmer: I always felt Fox was trying to push the product forward.... The graphics, the production, the presentation, have always been things they've wanted to improve, to make different. I've already found that out in the short time I've been here. They are still pushing. They encourage new ideas. The attitude is, "All right, we'll give that a shot. We'll try that." We have to be adults here, too, and if it's not working, we back away from it. The approach I've found is the first answer is yes and not no.
TVGuide.com: During the course of your first couple of days at Fox, did you say to yourself: "Well, that's different; that's not how we did it at the old place"?
Hemmer: The tricky aspect of how we produce here is we have more graphics and music. It takes a couple of turns to pick up the pace and the pattern. The rhythm is different, and I think when the rhythm is done right, it's very effective.
TVGuide.com: You weren't wearing glasses.
Hemmer: I had LASIK surgery.
TVGuide.com: Really? The glasses are gone for good?
Hemmer: The glasses are gone. I can see again. Are you going to be OK with that?
TVGuide.com: Didn't your previous bosses give you glasses because they thought it would make you look older and more authoritative?
Hemmer: I was 30 back then, and I probably looked 19. Now I'm 40, and I might look 29. I've been blessed with very good genes, and I thank my parents for it. But my eyes were getting progressively worse every year. It was an issue in TV because I couldn't see the prompter and then adjust my eye focus to the notes in front of me on the desk. That was one of the reasons I wanted to get it done. Also, every year my eyes get weaker and weaker. I just felt the time was right.
TVGuide.com: What else did you do during your time off before you arrived at Fox?
Hemmer: Fly-fishing in Idaho with some good friends. Went to the beach in North Carolina for the annual "Hemmer Haj" — it's a pilgrimage to the beach that we do every year.
TVGuide.com: The Hemmer what?
Hemmer: The Hemmer Haj. That's the religious ceremony that Muslims perform when they migrate to Mecca.
TVGuide.com: I thought you were a Catholic.
Hemmer: I am. I'm ecumenical. I like 'em all.
TVGuide.com: Why was it so important for you to stay in New York?
Hemmer: I think New York is just the greatest city in the world. The people who live here and the people who emigrated here are loaded with enthusiasm and a zest for life and that appeals to me. I've traveled to more than 50 countries in the past few years and a lot of that travel has taken me to Third World locations. I feel a certain connection with the immigrant population because I've been to a lot of the places that they come from. [I respect them] for leaving their lives and families to try to make a better life for themselves and their families and the people around them.
TVGuide.com: While you were off, there was a lot of debate about how much time cable networks spent on the covering the missing girl in Aruba, Natalee Holloway. Do you ever see yourself in a situation, as Bob Costas did at CNN, where you'd say no, I'm not going to do that story?
Hemmer: I've accepted this job and I will do what our team decides. I've often thought that newsrooms are some of the best democracies in the world. You get in there and you argue your point and argue the stories that you think need covering, and democracy rules.
