Update 2:34 p.m. ET: Fox News' parent company, 21st Century Fox, has confirmed O'Reilly will not be returning to the network. "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," 21st Century Fox wrote in a brief statement. An internal memo to employees said: "By rating standards, Bill O'Reilly is one of the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news. In fact, his success by any measure is indisputable. Fox News has demonstrated again and again the strength of its talent bench. We have full confidence that the network will continue to be a powerhouse in cable news." Our original post appears below.
The Murdoch family, which runs Fox News, has reportedly decided to fire Bill O'Reilly from the network, New York's Gabriel Sherman has learned.
O'Reilly is Fox's biggest ratings draw, but he has been on "vacation" since reports broke that Fox News and O'Reilly paid around $13 million to settle sexual harassment and verbal abuse accusations made by five women since 2002. Since the initial reports, Fox News has been plagued by advertisers yanking money from spots airing during O'Reilly's show, The O'Reilly Factor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fox executives are reportedly debating whether O'Reilly should be allowed to give a good-bye address to his audience. According to a new poll by Politico/Morning Consult, just 23 percent of people who watch O'Reilly's show think it should be canceled.
The Murdochs removed former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes last summer in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.
-
August 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include no age limit on ICE joiners, GOP paving over democracy, and the return of the QAnon Shaman
-
Aimee Betro: the Wisconsin woman who came to Birmingham to killIn the Spotlight US hitwoman wore a niqab in online lover's revenge plot
-
Facial recognition vans and policingThe Explainer The government is rolling out more live facial recognition technology across England
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
