Bill O’Reilly, who lost his primetime Fox News show after it was revealed that many women had been paid tens of millions of dollars to settle sexual harassment claims, has scored a legal victory. On Thursday, a New York federal judge ruled that Laurie Dhue must first go to arbitration to pursue claims that O’Reilly defamed her.
Two additional former Fox News employees are suing Bill O’Reilly and the cable news network for defamation, joining the legal battle that was brought earlier this month by former Fox News producer Rachel Witlieb Bernstein.
Exclusives
Fox News and Bill O’Reilly have been hit with a lawsuit over press statements made in the wake of a New York Times story revealing the former television star had paid $13 million to five women to settle sexual harassment claims.
21st Century Fox has reached a $90 million settlement of shareholder claims arising from the sexual harassment scandal at its Fox News Channel, which cost the jobs of longtime news chief Roger Ailes and anchor Bill O’Reilly.
Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy is scheduled to meet with the ex-Fox News host next week to discuss a new TV gig.
Fox has devoted more than 12½ hours of airtime to the Harvey Weinstein story since Oct. 5, when The New York Times broke the story about his misconduct, according to the liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America. By contrast, Fox has spent 20 minutes, 46 seconds, on the accusations against Bill O’Reilly since the Times revealed many of them in April, the group said. A news organization’s instinct to downplay a story that reflects poorly on itself isn’t unusual. But in this case, some are attributing the disparity to politics.
Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News anchor, has been negotiating for a position with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation’s largest television-station owner, according to two sources familiar with the talks.
James Murdcoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox, said the amount of the $32 million sexual harassment settlement paid by former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was “news to me.”
In the days leading up to the New York Times story about his secret $32 million settlement, Bill O’Reilly had high hopes about a deal with Sinclair. He saw a path back to a nightly television broadcast — a perch he lost in April when Fox ousted him amid a sexual harassment scandal. Now, however, there are fresh doubts about his future.
Revelations that U.S.-based Fox News renewed O’Reilly’s contract after he settled a sexual harassment lawsuit for $32 million came just a month after Britain’s culture secretary asked competition regulators to review the takeover. Karen Bradley said one of the reasons for her decision was that Fox News’ handling of a broader sexual harassment scandal raised concerns about corporate governance at Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.
With Glenn Beck at his side, the former Fox News personality says, “I never had any problem with Megyn Kelly.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Fox News Channel anchor Megyn Kelly says she complained to her bosses about Bill O’Reilly’s behavior after she had accused former Fox chief Roger Ailes […]
O’Reilly, Ailes Loom Over Fox’s Business
Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes haven’t worked for 21st Century Fox in months. Indeed, Ailes, who built and led the company’s financial engine, Fox News, passed away earlier this year. But their shadows continue to hover over some of the corporation’s most critical business efforts.
Bill O’Reilly, the longtime Fox News anchor, has been booked as a guest on Sean Hannity’s 9 p.m. program. Fox News confirmed late Monday the lineup of Hannity guests for the rest of the week.
Bill O’Reilly said his ouster from Fox News in April was “a political and financial hit job” and that the sexual misconduct allegations against him are untrue in his first TV interview since the event. O’Reilly joined Matt Lauer on the “Today” show Tuesday to say there was “no smoking gun” to give credence to the complaints made against him.
The former king of cable news discusses his exit amid harassment claims, the president’s Charlottesville remarks, Megyn Kelly’s Putin sit-down and his latest Killing book.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ousted Fox News Channel star Bill O’Reilly has launched an experimental video comeback with a daily online show. The initial half-hour was posted on his website […]
There are whisperings in the media world suggesting that Bill O’Reilly wants to team up with his former Fox News colleague, Sean Hannity, and launch a new joint venture. New York Magazine‘s Gabriel Sherman joined Joy Reid on her Sunday show, and he claimed that Sinclair Broadcasting wants to hire the media heavyweights as part of their effort to become the premiere right-leaning news platform of the post-Roger Ailes world.
Two months after a sexual harassment scandal led to his ouster from Fox, O’Reilly is considering competing against his former employer.
On his No Spin News podcast Tuesday, Bill O’Reilly announced he’ll be joining Glenn Beck this Friday and “every Friday until Beck gets tired of me,” on Beck’s radio show.
Although he has been widely depicted as a domestic abuser and serial sex harasser, Bill O’Reilly remains a hot TV property. Conservative media outlets are circling the former Fox News Channel ratings king in the hope of creating a potent competitor to Fox News Channel.
The continued presence of other executives implicated in stories about harassment, discrimination and intimidation complicate Fox’s ability to change its culture, both in practice and public perception. One of those executives was promoted with Fox’s announcement Monday that Bill Shine, Fox’s co-president since founding CEO Roger Ailes was ousted last summer, had resigned.
“I am sad that I’m not on television anymore,” Bill O’Reilly said in an episode Monday of his personal website’s No Spin News podcast, available only to subscribers after this week’s free window. “I was very surprised how it all turned out.” O’Reilly, who exited Fox News amid sexual harassment allegations that he has denied, said he couldn’t add much more “because there’s much stuff going on right now.”
His personal website says the former Fox News host will air a new episode of his No Spin News podcast Monday evening at 7 ET.
With Bill O’Reilly’s ouster from Fox News Channel, the hard part may be over for the scandal-scarred network. Now the harder part begins. Fox’s abrupt termination of O’Reilly’s contract on Wednesday puts the leading cable-news network in rebuilding mode, beset by uncertainty.
That is equivalent to one year of a rich new four-year deal that O’Reilly finalized earlier this year.
Bill O’Reilly will be paid tens of millions of dollars on his way out of Fox News. “It is a staggering amount,” said a source personally involved in the exit maneuverings. 21st Century Fox and O’Reilly’s representatives will not acknowledge the existence of a payout. A confidentiality agreement limits what the two sides can say. But two well-placed sources confirmed to CNNMoney that O’Reilly does have a parachute. That’s because O’Reilly signed a new contract right before being ousted.
The network’s parent company, entertainment giant 21st Century Fox, insisted that Fox News will weather the current storm, noting in a statement the “strength of its talent bench” and expressing “full confidence that the network will continue to be a powerhouse in cable news.” That certainly could happen, though it probably won’t be easy. Here’s why.
21st Century Fox issued a statement Wednesday that “after a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel.” He had been scheduled to return from a vacation next Monday. It marks a stunning end to a near-perfect marriage between a pugnacious personality and network.
A well-placed source said Tuesday afternoon that representatives for Fox News Channel and Bill O’Reilly have begun talking about an exit. But this prompted a denial from sources in O’Reilly’s camp. Even one person close to O’Reilly, however, said he will probably not be back on The O’Reilly Factor. The original well-placed source said an announcement about O’Reilly’s fate was likely by the end of the week.
The future of Bill O’Reilly’s long career as a Fox News host may hinge on the accusation raised by Wendy Walsh, who alleged he retaliated against her when she rebuffed his advances.
Comments Bill O’Reilly made following publication of Megyn Kelly’s book set off a media firestorm and frustrated Kelly, who sent an email to Fox News executives complaining about his behavior and the chilling effect it could have on women at the company and beyond, according to four people with knowledge of the email who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.
Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly is slotted to return from his vacation on April 24, but given advertiser defections and the swirl of stories about payouts totaling $13 million to five women to keep harassment allegations quiet, it’s impossible to dismiss the idea that O’Reilly may lose his television home. Replacing the host who came to define the network would be no easy task.Here’s a look at who’s on Fox’s bench.
Rupert Murdoch and his sons, Lachlan and James, are reckoning with the fallout of a sexual harassment scandal that has once again engulfed Fox News and its parent company, 21st Century Fox. The Murdochs are awaiting the results of an investigation into Bill O’Reilly’s conduct before making a decision about whether he will stay or go, two people briefed on the plan said Wednesday.
