Story out of Manhattan, New York:
In the dark for days, Fox News staffers finally got word on Thursday about the future of their network.
The news was delivered in person by Rupert Murdoch, the 85-year-old media mogul who started Fox News with Roger Ailes 20 years ago.
It was an unexpected visit, and with stunned employees listening in Fox’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters, Mr. Murdoch announced that Mr. Ailes was out as chairman and chief executive. Mr. Murdoch himself would be taking over Fox News in the interim.
Mr. Ailes was not there. Mr. Murdoch had barred him from the building starting on Wednesday, according to one person briefed on the matter. The person said Fox News’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, had learned Mr. Ailes was trying to get some of his on-air stars to criticize those who cooperated with investigators looking into accusations of sexual harassment against him.
The announcement was the culmination of an unsettling 15-day stretch for the network that began on July 6, when Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox anchor, filed a lawsuit accusing Mr. Ailes of sexual harassment. That led to an internal investigation by 21st Century Fox.
Among those who cooperated with investigators looking into the allegations against Mr. Ailes was one of his on-air stars, Megyn Kelly. She had been among a small group of employees who resisted a campaign to rally support for Mr. Ailes, which came to be viewed as a “loyalty test,” according to several staff members, who declined to be identified.
Ms. Kelly told investigators that she received repeated, unwanted advances from Mr. Ailes, which she rejected, according to two people briefed on her account. The entreaties, which happened in the early part of her career at Fox, bothered Ms. Kelly to the point that she retained a lawyer because she worried that her rejections would jeopardize her job, though they ultimately did not.
The lawyer for Ms. Carlson, Nancy Erika Smith, released a statement that her client’s “extraordinary courage has caused a seismic shift in the media world.”
She added, “We hope that all businesses now understand that women will no longer tolerate sexual harassment, and reputable companies will no longer shield those who abuse women.” Cont.
Story from - New York Times
Image from - T.J. Hawk - Hawk
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