Bill O’Reilly, the right-wing political commentator who propelled Fox News
to the cable juggernaut it is today, will not be returning to his
primetime show or the network, New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman reported
on Wednesday. The Murdoch family, which owns 21st Century Fox, decided
to let O’Reilly go after the cable news host was rocked with allegations
of sexual harassment.
Fox
News executives met Wednesday morning to discuss how they can cut ties
with the nation’s highest-rated news host, Sherman reported. The board
of 21st Century Fox is expected to meet Thursday to further discuss the
matter. Fox News has not yet determined who will fill O’Reilly’s 9:00
p.m. time slot.
According
to sources who spoke with New York magazine, senior executives who work
at other companies within the Murdoch’s business empire put pressure on
Fox News to make the difficult move. The source said that many
executives complained that if any other 21st Century Fox employee had
been accused of O’Reilly’s allegations, they would have been fired
already.
Sources
briefed on the exit told Sherman that O’Reilly hopes to host one last
show so that he can say goodbye to his loyal viewers. As of right now,
it appears as if Fox executives will deny O’Reilly this request, Sherman
reported.
Earlier this month, Fox News announced that O’Reilly re-upped his contract
with the network for $20 million per year. Former and current Fox News
employees have alleged sexual misconduct against O’Reilly and have told
harrowing tales of the greater misogynistic culture at Fox News. The
subsequent outrage encouraged a mass exodus of advertisers from O’Reilly’s show, which forced the news host to take a vacation.
That vacation just turned into an early retirement.
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