Fox’s Bret Baier Opens Up About the ‘Lowest of Lows’ His Family Experienced in Emotional Acceptance Video for Major Award

BAIER: “I was born in Red Bank, New Jersey. I remember a house full of love. I started a lawnmowing business early on because I was determined to save money for a moped. I knew I wanted to do something public. I was kind of a ham. In high school, I was a sports editor of the paper. I went on to intern at a local television station, I went to college at DePaul University. I was the first anchor for the college station. My career started in small-market TV and it bounced around. My first stop was Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for a station in Buford called WJWJ, from there to Rockford, Illinois, WRXTV, and then I went to Raleigh, North Carolina, a CBS affiliate. And finally, I had a possibility of a job with Fox News Channel, the start-up. The media who covered media said this is never going to work. And it did. Today, I’m the chief political anchor at Fox News Channel, I’m the anchor and executive editor of ‘Special Report with Bret Baier,’ and my success is really a blessing. But we went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. When my son Paul was born, it was our first child and the cardiologist came and talked to us and said that he had five serious congenital heart defects, and if he didn’t have open heart surgery in the next few days, he would die. And that moment changes your life. The small bickering up on Capitol Hill that you cover day to day goes away because there are much bigger things that people have to deal with. Everybody has something. This was our something. And getting through that, over that open heart surgery and three others, 10 angioplasties — it was a big, big challenge. Today, his heart is pumping just like anybody else’s, so we’re really blessed. You know, I’m really happiest walking with my wife, talking about our life, and playing golf with my sons. Becoming a member of the Horatio Alger Association is a true, true honor, and Linda Rabbitt exudes this wonderful spirit and I’m really honored that she nominated me. If you think about how you can affect someone’s life from the beginning, sometimes it’s just one little thing that changes everything. Horatio Alger has changed a lot of lives in four years.”