Member Since: 3/18/2008
Posts: 40,057
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Roger Ailes Out at Fox News
Quote:
Roger Ailes, who transformed Fox News Channel from a start-up into one of the nation’s most influential news organizations in under two decades, is leaving the 21st Century Fox-owned cable outlet in the wake of a bevy of sexual-harassment allegations leveled at him, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Spokespeople for both the network and the parent company were not available for immediate comment. “Roger is at work. The review is ongoing. And the only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement,” the company said in a statement released on Twitter.
Ailes departs under a cloud. Gretchen Carlson, the former “Fox & Friends” anchor who left the network in June, filed a lawsuit in New Jersey earlier this month alleging Ailes had harassed her and derailed her career. Ailes had in a previous statement denied the charges. More women came forward alleging similar treatment by Ailes during his time as a producer in the decades before he set up shop at Fox News.
The final blow seemed to come on Tuesday: a report in New York magazine alleging that Megyn Kelly, one of the network’s primetime stars, had been the victim of unwanted sexual advances in her earlier days at the network. Those claims have not been independently verified, but the report seems to have played a role in determining the viability of Ailes’ tenure.
A posting on Drudge Report suggested Ailes could receive as much as $40 million as part of a settlement. Ailes was believed to be working under a contract with a term that expired in 2018.
The parent company faces a risk: Fox News has in its time become an influence on everything from the daily news cycle to the U.S. presidential election. Donald Trump’s willingness to spar verbally with veteran politicians first became evident at a Republican debate broadcast by Fox News last year. Anchor Bill O’Reilly continues to snare some of the biggest audiences in cable, even though it has been on the air in one form or another since 1996.
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Bye pig