[5] He studied journalism at the University of Mississippi, where he left two credits shy of a degree to take a reporter job in Panama City, Florida.

[9] After reporting jobs at WBBH-TV in Fort Myers, WSVN in Miami and WCPX-TV (now WKMG-TV) in Orlando,[10] Smith became a correspondent for A Current Affair.

[12] At Fox News, Smith reported on the death of Princess Diana in 1997, President Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment trial, the 1999 Columbine High School massacre,[9] the 2001 execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh,[13] Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the death of Michael Jackson in 2009.

[20] Smith's reporting put him at odds with colleague and Fox prime time host Sean Hannity, who had supported the claim against Hillary Clinton.

According to a CNBC press release, the program "[aims] to go beyond financial markets, 'to tell rich, deeply reported stories across the entire landscape of global news.

'"[27] CNBC had previously aired a similarly named program in the same time slot, hosted by Brian Williams and later John Seigenthaler, from 2002 to 2004.

[29] In a speech to the International Press Freedom Awards on November 21, 2019, Smith warned of authoritarian governments that make it dangerous and difficult for journalists to do their jobs, saying autocrats have learned to use online tools and social media to shore up their power.

Video of Smith anchoring on Fox during the opening moments of the March 2003 Iraq War was used in the film Fahrenheit 9/11.