According to New York’s Gabriel Sherman, Bill O’Reilly’s tenure at Fox News is finished. It’s only a matter of figuring out the money, the mechanics and who will replace him.
Today, Sherman reported that executives are in “emergency meetings” negotiating O’Reilly’s exit. Still to be decided is whether or not O’Reilly should announce his departure on the air and say good-bye to his very loyal audience.
So who will replace O’Reilly? Sherman writes that Eric Bolling, Dana Perino and Tucker Carlson are being “discussed.” Sherman noted, “One source said Sean Hannity is happy at 10 p.m. and would not want to move.” To me, that translates as, "Hannity is not appropriate in such a spot." Because let's not forget Hannity was in the 9 PM spot until he was displaced by Megyn Kelly. When the prime time shakeup came in 2013, Hannity said he was happy to be bumped to a taped show at 10 PM (his 9 PM show had been live) because "The ability to be live or on tape greatly increases the flexibility of the show and offers me, after 17 years, the opportunity to be home at night with my family.” Presumably, the 8 PM slot, which is also pre-recorded would have given him the same, if not more, "flexibility" and "opportunity."
Sherman also has an interesting tidbit about the Murdochs’ decision-making:
The Murdochs’ decision to dump O’Reilly shocked many Fox News staffers I’ve spoken to in recent days. Late last week, the feeling inside the company was that Rupert Murdoch would prevail over his son James, who lobbied to jettison the embattled host. It’s still unclear exactly how the tide turned. According to one source, Lachlan Murdoch’s wife helped convince her husband that O’Reilly needed to go, which moved Lachlan into James’s corner. The source added that senior executives at other divisions within the Murdoch empire have complained that if O’Reilly’s allegations had happened to anyone else at their companies, that person would be gone already.
Wow, just wow.
(Bill O'Reilly graphic by Nina Brodsky)
I actually don’t care whether O’Reilly got fired or not over sexual harassment. While his behavior toward women was horrible, I would have much preferred he had been fired for what he did on the air: the lying, race baiting, sexism, hate mongering and vicious scapegoating of people like Dr. Tiller and Ward Churchill. That poison has done far more damage to America than his personal predations, as terrible as they have been.
On top of all that, he’s being replaced by a racist, sexist host, Tucker Carlson, who just happens not to be O’Reilly and, presumably, is not a personal predator. He just badgers and abuses guests instead of coworkers.
Special Report and The Factor (the new name for the show) reported on O’Reilly’s departure. I hope to post video of Perino on The Factor tomorrow.
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Statement from 21st Century Fox:
“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.”
Bye, bye, BOR! Maybe you can have Martin Dugard start researching your next book titled “Killing the O’Reilly Factor” now? Bwaaah!
Woohoo! Being that I have been wanting BOR off the FOX “news” airwaves for several years now, a bottle of champagne will be opened tonight to celebrate this occasion. Cheers!
http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/bill-oreilly-fired-fox-news-sexual-harassment-murdoch-1202044514/
Rupert got too old to afford O’Reilly any more slack. I was wondering what the other executive officers within Rupert Murdoch’s empire thought of O’Reilly getting away with murder.