Advertisers Turn on O’Reilly as New Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface
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Fox News is making headlines yet again for its contentious workplace climate.
The New York Times reports that the top-rated cable news network and its popular host Bill O'Reilly have made payouts to five women amounting to $13 million to settle claims of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior. O'Reilly denies these claims.
On Monday, less than a year after he lost his job, new allegations were also made against Roger Ailes. Julie Roginsky, a former Fox News contributor, filed a lawsuit against the network's former CEO. Roginsky claims that she was denied the chance of securing a permanent role at Fox after turning down Ailes' sexual advances.
In many of these cases, the accusers allege that Fox executives were aware of the harassment allegations, but they attempted to cover them up in order to protect their stars.
Fox News advertisers have shared their opinion of these allegations. In the past few days, 21 companies have withdrawn ads from "The O'Reilly Factor," including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW of North America, Mitsubishi Motors, Lexus, Constant Contact, Bayer, Allstate, Esurance, among several others.
Does the culture at Fox enable this behavior, and what will be the long-term consequences, if any?
Gabriel Sherman, National Affairs editor for New York Magazine and author of "The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News - and Divided A Country," discusses the latest slew of sexual harassment allegations against Fox and its big names, and the culture of the network.
