When I started writing news articles for The Town Crier at Los Angeles’ Paul Revere Junior High School in 1978, our journalism teacher stressed the importance of getting sources on the record — if not all, at least a couple of them. This is especially true, we were told, when stories brush with defamation. NBC News no longer meets this ninth-grade standard of journalism. Exhibit One is Tuesday’s execrable article by Chloe Melas, Courtney Kube, and Sarah Fitzpatrick headlined “Pete Hegseth’s drinking worried colleagues at Fox News, sources tell NBC News.” The Peacock Network’s flamboyant tale claims that former Fox News colleagues of President reelect Trump’s nominee for defense secretary “felt like they needed to ‘babysit’ Hegseth because of his drinking and late nights.” Other Fox staffers, the article alleges, “smelled alcohol on him before he went on air.” The invisibility of Hegseth’s accusers spoils the iridescent portrait that NBC’s three writers tried to paint. Indeed, they concede: “This account of Hegseth’s time at Fox News is based on NBC News interviews with three current and seven former Fox employees, all of whom asked not to be named because of fear of retaliation.” So, 10 sources say that Hegseth has a drinking problem that he could not control even while broadcasting from Fox’s Rockefeller Center headquarters. And yet not one of them stood up to be counted by name? Fear of retaliation? Current Fox employees might be concerned that attacking a just-departed colleague could blunt their prospects at the cable news leader. But what do the seven Fox alumni have to fear? They cannot get fired from jobs they no longer hold. Since NBC News seems unfamiliar with the concept of named sources, this handy tutorial should help these struggling scribes learn to write such stories. These 15 current or former Fox News colleagues of Hegseth say they never saw him intoxicated on air or on set. All 15 stood with Hegseth on X, did so publicly, and identified themselves by name. Kyle Becker: “I sae [sic] @PeteHegseth numerous times while working at Fox News. Never got the impression he was ever drunk. No bloodshot eyes. No slurred speech. No disheveled appearance. No wobbly gait. Nothing.” Guy Benson: “I’ve co-hosted with Pete and have never experienced anything like what was claimed in this anonymously-sourced report.” Dan Bongino: “Worked with Pete for years. This is absolute BULLSHIT.” Lisa Boothe: “I’ve guest co-hosted with him numerous times before. Not once did this happen. Not once have I heard this from others. This is such a disgusting and false smear. It is wrong and malicious.” Will Cain: “Your story is horseshit @NBCNews,” Hegseth’s Fox & Friends Weekend co-host declared Tuesday. “Put my name on it. On the record. It’ll be your only on the record source. Signed, The guy who sat next to him for 8 hours every week for five years starting at 6am.” Cain added: “Bullshit. 100 percent bullshit. Actually … horseshit.” Rachel Campos-Duffy: “The losers at @NBCNews never reached out to me either,” Hegseth’s other regular co-host stated. “@willcain is right – your story IS horseshit. You now have 2 people who sat next to him 8+ hours a week on the record. Will you retract or correct your story?” Sara Carter: “I have known @PeteHegseth since we were both at The Blaze way back when and as a contributor for Fox since 2017, I have never once seen this type of reported lies or behavior. He’s always been a gentleman and great guy!” William Case: “I worked with @PeteHegseth for YEARS — on set, in the control room, in the newsroom, in taxis, on boats, on location. This is all LOLOL. The F&F staff all LOVED Pete, and women of every rank thought he was just the greatest thing (oh the stories).” Corey DeAngelis: “I’ve been interviewed by @PeteHegseth and have chatted with him before/after segments. He never smelled or acted like he was under the influence.” Mollie Hemingway: “I can’t stand the propaganda practice of using anonymous sources to smear political opponents, as NBC does here. FWIW, I have nothing but good things to say about Pete and the anonymously sourced stories don’t match my personal experience in any way. Quite the contrary, in fact.” Joey Jones: “I don’t drink. I’m disgusted by the smell of alcohol on someone’s breath. I’ve never EVER seen Pete drink like that, and have never smelled alcohol on his breath at work. These hit pieces are getting laughable.” Breanna Morello: “As a former Fox producer, I’ve never heard this in my life. Everyone spoke highly of him and still does til this day.” Piers Morgan: “This relentless onslaught against @PeteHegseth is getting pathetic. Done @foxandfriends many times with him and never known Pete [to] be anything but utterly professional on camera and a nice, respectful guy off it.” Nicole Saphier: “I have routinely sat on the couch with @PeteHegseth for 8 years. Not once did I suspect he had consumed anything other than an egg sandwich and coffee before going on air.” Rob Smith: “Generally when Pete Hegseth was helping book me on Fox segments, counseling me on career moves, or making crucial introductions for me in the political and media world, I didn’t smell alcohol on him.” Journalism connoisseur John Nicosia perfectly understands this fake news. “I have covered the media for 15 years,” he wrote on X late last night. “If @PeteHegseth was as drunk on set, etc., as people are saying, it would’ve been gossip everywhere. I was Managing Editor at @Mediaite when the Roger Ailes stuff went down. That place (Fox) talks/leaks a LOT. Until tonight. Not a word or post on the current media gossip sites about the smell of booze, nothing. The media business is brutal. Getting rid of him if he was drinking opens up another prime spot for the next star in line to take a seat on the couch. It’s just that simple. Someone would’ve leaked it far sooner. This is a hit piece and garbage, nothing more.” Meanwhile, Hegseth has interviewed me on multiple occasions on Fox & Friends over the years. I never sensed that he was drunk or even tipsy in our studios. Rather, he was invariably crisp, sharp, quick-witted, alert, and professional. I have known Pete since he worked at the Manhattan Institute around 2007. He is reliably smart, affable, and in full control of his faculties. NBC’s Not Ready for Ninth Grade Newspaper “article” must have been penned about Pete Smith, Pete Jones, or Pete Gomez. It bears no resemblance to the Pete Hegseth whom I know and admire. Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor. READ MORE: Dear Kamala, Please Stick Around At MSNBC, Rising Tensions Fuel Fears of Collapse The post Hegseth’s On-Record Defenders Crush Baseless Drinking Claims by Nameless Sources appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.