Two settlements had come after Mr. Ailes’s dismissal, when the company had said it would not tolerate behavior
that “disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment.”
After a groundswell of anger, fueled by social media, over the revelation of the harassment suits against
Mr. O’Reilly, more than 50 companies pull their ads from his top-rated program, “The O’Reilly Factor.”
In a one-sentence statement, 21st Century Fox announces
that Mr. O’Reilly, who had been away on vacation, will not return to Fox News, bringing an end to his two-decade reign as one of the most influential commentators in television.
Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul who started Fox News with Mr. Ailes, tells stunned employees in Fox’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters
that Mr. Ailes is out as chairman and chief executive and that Mr. Murdoch himself will take over Fox News in the interim.
The Nine and a Half Months That Shook Fox News -
Compiled by KELLY COUTURIERAPRIL 19, 2017
The ouster of Bill O’Reilly, the top-rated cable news host, from Fox News capped an extraordinary period of upheaval at the company, marked by a series of sexual harassment allegations
that resulted in the downfall of Roger E. Ailes, the powerful chairman of the network, as well as a damaging exodus of advertisers.
It is later revealed that comments by Mr. O’Reilly about the sexual harassment allegations at the network, along with her deep skepticism about whether the network was truly
committed to changing its culture, were factors in Ms. Kelly’s decision to leave Fox News for a new role at NBC News, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Despite Mr. Murdoch’s pledges of a fresh start at the network, two veteran executives with deep ties to Mr. Ailes are named co-presidents of Fox News.