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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: BayGBM on July 06, 2016, 12:23:48 PM
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Gretchen Carlson of Fox News Files Suit Against Roger Ailes
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM and JOHN KOBLIN
Gretchen Carlson, the longtime Fox anchor, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday saying that Roger Ailes, the powerful chairman of Fox News, fired her from the network last month after she refused his sexual advances and complained to him about discriminatory treatment in the newsroom.
The startling accusations immediately transfixed the world of television news, where Mr. Ailes is a hugely influential figure known for demanding absolute loyalty from his employees.
A spokeswoman for Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit — filed in Superior Court in New Jersey, where Mr. Ailes maintains a residence — portrays the Fox chairman as a loutish and serial sexual harasser, acusing him of ogling Ms. Carlson in his office, calling her “sexy” and making sexually charged comments about her physical appearance.
Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”
When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month.
The suit arrives at a complex moment for Mr. Ailes, a towering figure in television and Republican politics who has overseen virtually every aspect of Fox News Channel over the cable network’s hugely successful two-decade run.
While he retains the loyalty of his corporate boss, Rupert Murdoch, Mr. Ailes has sometimes clashed with Mr. Murdoch’s sons, James and Lachlan, who have ascended to the most senior leadership roles in Fox News’s parent company, 21st Century Fox. And Fox News, despite high ratings and big profits, has been less of a dominant political force in this year’s presidential election, with the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, publicly clashing with the network and some of its anchors.
Ms. Carlson’s suit, filed by the law firm Smith Mullinof Montclair, N.J., names Mr. Ailes as the sole defendant and seeks a variety of compensatory damages. Her lead attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, said in an interview that Ms. Carlson’s grievance was with Mr. Ailes personally, not the Fox network.
Mr. Ailes is known as a fierce public-relations warrior who can be ruthless with enemies, and it is rare for him to be taken on so directly by a prominent person in his industry. Ms. Carlson can be self-deprecating on-air, but she is working with a formidable team: Ms. Smith once brought a sexual harassment suit against a former acting governor of New Jersey, and Ms. Carlson’s husband, Casey Close, is a powerful sports agent known for tenacious negotiating on behalf of clients like Derek Jeter.
Ms. Smith, the lawyer, said that other women who said they had similar experiences with Mr. Ailes had contacted her, although she declined to name them. A 2014 biography of Mr. Ailes, by the journalist Gabriel Sherman, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,’’ recounted an episode in 1980s, when Mr. Ailes was at NBC, involving a woman named Randi Harrison who said he offered her an extra $100 a week in salary in exchange for having sex with him “whenever I want.” (Fox News denied the claim at the time.)
The allegations by Ms. Carlson are sure to roil the ranks of Fox News, with Ms. Carlson describing a boys’ club environment that extends beyond Mr. Ailes.
In her suit, Ms. Carlson contends that, in 2009, she complained to the network about her co-host on the popular “Fox & Friends” morning show, Steve Doocy, saying he belittled her on the set, openly mocked her among colleagues and once tried to shush her during a live broadcast by pulling down her arm.
Mr. Ailes, the lawsuit states, responded by calling Ms. Carlson a “man hater” and saying “she needed to learn to ‘get along with the boys.’” Ms. Carlson claims that because of her complaints, Mr. Ailes eventually reassigned her from “Fox & Friends,” in 2013, to a less prestigious slot in the afternoon.
Until last month, Ms. Carlson was still hosting that program, “The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson,” which airs at 2 p.m. on the network. The show consistently won its time slot, averaging 1.1 million viewers in recent months.
Over the years, Mr. Ailes has established Fox News as a powerful force in Republican politics and a major profit center for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. He has minted stars like Bill O’Reilly and Megyn Kelly, who now host the two top-rated shows in cable news. Buoyed by the enormous interest in this year’s election, Fox News is having its highest rated year in terms of total viewership and primetime audiences.
Still, the network is facing renewed competition from CNN, which has been closing what was long an enormous gap in ratings between the networks. And Mr. Trump has at times seemed to take glee in challenging the network’s authority, something unheard of for a Republican nominee in previous election cycles.
Ms. Carlson’s announcement of her lawsuit on Wednesday was carefully coordinated. A public-relations firm distributed copies of the complaint to reporters across a variety of disciplines. Shortly afterward, on Twitter, Ms. Carlson offered thanks for an “outpouring of support” and introduced a hashtag: #StandWithGretchen. By the afternoon, a link to her lawsuit was prominently posted on her personal website.
Hours later, Fox News, which is famously quick to counter even slight criticisms, still had not issued a response.
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wasn't she in the new last month for taking some big liberal position? Then she gets fired right afterwards?
Maybe I'm mistaken... one of those fox hosts made a big anti-gun or other liberal throwdown.
IF this is the case - she says some pro-obama shit, gets fired, and comes right back with sex claims... well...
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'Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”
When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month."
Ailes has been in the media game for half a century. I doubt he'd use these words/threats. But who knows.
Weird that she was okay with all the sexual threats and jokes and belittling for years - then waits until she's let go, to be outraged with it.
I'm not defending these windbags for a minute - just that she knew she was on a network that shits the bed daily on so many social issues, and she pushed their agenda for years... then when the pay dries up, suddenly she's morally outraged by what goes on there.
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"he offered her an extra $100 a week in salary in exchange for having sex with him “whenever I want.”"
Cheap! Thats not even a tier 5 rate. ;D
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'Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month."
Ailes has been in the media game for half a century. I doubt he'd use these words/threats. But who knows.
Weird that she was okay with all the sexual threats and jokes and belittling for years - then waits until she's let go, to be outraged with it.
I'm not defending these windbags for a minute - just that she knew she was on a network that shits the bed daily on so many social issues, and she pushed their agenda for years... then when the pay dries up, suddenly she's morally outraged by what goes on there.
I gotta try to use this line on women I want to have sex with....do you think it will work ???
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now this is must see TV!!!
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I gotta try to use this line on women I want to have sex with....do you think it will work ???
Do you look like Roger Ailes? :-X
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Lesson from Gretchen Carlson’s sexual harassment suit: Roger Ailes is very, very powerful
by Erik Wemple
In a stunning lawsuit filed on Wednesday, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson accused her ex-boss, inimitable Fox News chief Roger Ailes, of the vilest things. Like hitting on her in the office; asking her to turn around, the better to check out her “posterior”; and retaliating against her for refusing to play along. Carlson was terminated on June 23.
Everyone saw the response from Ailes, which Fox News distributed Wednesday evening:
Gretchen Carlson’s allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for the network’s decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, FOX News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.
Yes, Carlson had thanked Ailes in her book. And yes, Ailes & Co. reviewed and approved that book prior to publication.
A second wave of refutation is now making the rounds. The New York Times’s Jim Rutenberg quotes Washington-based Greta Van Susteren, host of the nightly program “On the Record”: “She’s disgruntled she didn’t get her contract renewed and the timing is very suspicious.” On the question of Ailes’s alleged behavior, the host commented, “I’ve been here 15 years I haven’t seen it and frankly I’m rather outspoken and I don’t think I’d stick around for it.” Van Susteren declared that she’d decided on her own to speak out, without prodding from Fox News HQ.
Jeanine Pirro, who hosts a weekend show at Fox News and has known Ailes for decades, told Rutenberg, “This is something that is totally inconsistent with the man I’ve known probably longer than most people who work in that building.”
That Van Susteren and Pirro would speak up for Ailes is helpful, though scarcely dispositive. The corner-office creep depicted in Carlson’s complaint needn’t have harassed every woman in the joint to establish his bona fides as a corner-office creep.
More pushback: Fox News shared with Rutenberg “handwritten thank-you notes” that Carlson sent to Ailes after a fateful meeting cited in her lawsuit. “I’d love to stay at Fox,” said one of the notes, in Rutenberg’s telling. That meeting occurred in September 2015 and was punctuated by this alleged statement by Ailes, according to the suit: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”
The back-and-forth between Carlson and Fox News proves something that we already knew: Roger Ailes is a very, very powerful man. He sits atop a network estimated to rake in $1.5 billion in profits in 2015. He can decide that they’ll anchor specials, or have a role in the primary debates. He can bump their pay. He can put them in advertisements and promos. He can help them corral high-profile interviews. A remarkably involved executive and plugged-in mogul, Ailes can flick his wrist and make life miserable or wonderful for his people. Make or break.
In light of all that, is there any wonder that Carlson may have decided to grit her teeth over the alleged conduct of her boss and stick around for a high-paying, high-profile job? Nancy Erika Smith, Carlson’s lawyer, stressed to the Erik Wemple Blog the other day that there are few jobs available in cable-news hosting. She is right — the cohort is tiny. Tinier still is the number of comparable jobs available to Carlson upon leaving Fox News. Remember: Carlson for eight years co-hosted the Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends,” which is far and away the very worst program in all of televised news. It’s part of the network’s opinion lineup, though incoherent muttering is a better descriptor. Time and again, the three hosts — during and after Carlson’s stint on the show — on that semi-circular couch say patently ridiculous things, skew the news in outrageous ways and destroy their competitors in the ratings.
For just a little taste of the stupidity that Carlson brought to “Fox & Friends,” please sample this January 2013 interview with none other than Donald Trump, a regular guest on the program. In the midst of negotiations between President Obama and Congress over the budget, Carlson asked Trump, “I wonder if John Boehner, other members of Congress have reached out to expert negotiators like yourself and others to see if they could get any advice. I mean, did you ever get any phone calls about anything?” With that bit of praise, and many others from the “Fox & Friends” crew, Trump worked his way toward his 2016 presidential bid.
The awful work of “Fox & Friends” makes the rounds. Other folks in the news industry spot the clown show, which will follow its hosts wherever they go. As for Carlson, she left “Fox & Friends” in 2013 for her own weekday afternoon slot on Fox News, “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson.” Though the move may have looked like something of a promotion, Carlson’s complaint paints it as the opposite. Her pay went down, and there was no promotional support from the network.
There’s your context for Carlson’s mind-set as she negotiates with Ailes over her future at Fox News. By any industry standard, she has a great job hosting a one-hour program on the leading cable news network. Yet her marketability for a similar job outside of Fox News is minimal — Alisyn Camerota notwithstanding — in large part because of all those doofus conversations in which she’d participated on “Fox & Friends.” She was at once a beneficiary and a prisoner of the cable-news programming that Ailes had pioneered. The existence of thank-you notes, accordingly, challenges not one line of Carlson’s complaint.
And just a parting shot at Van Susteren’s judgment that Carlson was “disgruntled she didn’t get her contract renewed and the timing is very suspicious.” What is being alleged here? That Carlson should be viewed with suspicion for filing a complaint only after losing her job? Like many other victims of sexual harassment, perhaps Carlson wanted to continue doing a job that she loved while hoping that the behavior alleged in her complaint would just go away. For that, she deserves support, not criticism or suspicion, if her claims bear out.
“There is nothing in those notes that is inconsistent with Gretchen’s claims of harassment and retaliation,” write Carlson’s lawyers in a statement to the Erik Wemple Blog. “They show that Gretchen was devoted to her career and confident in her abilities. She wanted the retaliation to stop so she could continue to do her job and return to higher profile assignments like the ones she had before she complained of harassment.”
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Do you look like Roger Ailes? :-X
:D
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Roger Ailes opts for secrecy, cowardice in face of Gretchen Carlson suit
by Erik Wemple
After Gretchen Carlson filed her stunning sexual harassment/retaliation lawsuit against Fox News chief Roger Ailes, the cable-news giant responded, in part, by affirming that the complaint was “wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.” An outside observer might just have concluded that Ailes was girding for a showdown in which his side of the story could get a full hearing. A fair fight within the confines of the civil justice system.
Nope, wrong impression: Ailes wants this thing to recede into the shadows, where the particulars of his dispute with Carlson won’t reach the media. This, from one of the titans of American media.
A filing Friday by attorneys David W. Garland and Barry Asen in a New Jersey federal court signaled Ailes’s intent to pluck the case out of the court system and into an arbitration proceeding, pursuant to Carlson’s now-expired contract with Fox News, from which she was terminated on June 23. She served as an afternoon news host after spending eight years as a co-host of the inimitably awful morning show “Fox & Friends.” The filing cites the following arbitration clause in Carlson’s contract:
Any controversy, claim or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement or Performer’s [Plaintiff’s] employment shall be brought before a mutually selected three-member arbitration panel and held in New York City in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association [“AAA”] then in effect. … Such arbitration, all filings, evidence and testimony connected with the arbitration, and all relevant allegations and events leading up to the arbitration, shall be held in strict confidence.
Now why would Ailes be looking to pull off such a maneuver? Well, the filing itself provides a hint or two. Indulge in the following language: “Plaintiff improperly filed her public Complaint with the Superior Court, as opposed to filing it with the AAA and adhering to her contractually-required confidentiality obligation, so that her counsel could tar Mr. Ailes’s reputation publicly, try this case in the media press, and coerce him to settle. Plaintiff’s counsel has been on a non-stop tour of major media outlets ever since, making one false and defamatory statement after another,” reads the filing, in part.
Oh, Roger Ailes! Where to even start? You are a towering public figure, a big shot in broadcasting, in politics, in New York, everywhere — and you run a network that has specialized in dragging the political opponents of Fox News through the dirt every day via innuendo, grave-sounding anchor voices and occasional falsehoods — especially on Carlson’s miserable former haunt “Fox & Friends.” The Erik Wemple Blog thanks you for this frenzy of self-unawareness; we promise to reference it many, many times in the future.
Back to the merits. From the start, Carlson’s complaint contained one peculiarity, aside from all the allegations that Ailes had propositioned her, had asked her to turn around so he could observer her “posterior,” had instructed her to “get along with the boys” who were allegedly harassing her and had retaliated against her after complaints. That one peculiarity is that the suit was lodged solely against Ailes and did not go after Fox News Channel. The filing by Ailes’s attorneys, with the firm Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., tilts at this ploy:
In a transparent attempt to evade the Agreement and her contractual commitment to arbitrate, Plaintiff named only Mr. Ailes as a defendant in this action, rather than naming Fox News as a defendant as well. At the same time, however, she could not avoid identifying Mr. Ailes by his corporate title, “the Chairman and CEO of Fox News.” (Asen Cet. Ex. B. at ¶ 3) Such gamesmanship does not permit Plaintiff to file in the Superior Court and publicly engage in a “tar and feather” campaign against Mr. Ailes.
Again, Ailes appears so hurt by negative attention in the media. Does he know not what he does?
All this legal-eagling set off a war of statements Friday night between the two sides. Nancy Erika Smith and Martin Hyman, who are representing Carlson, said, “Roger Ailes is trying to force this case into a secret arbitration proceeding. Gretchen never agreed to arbitrate anything with Mr. Ailes and the contract on which he relies does not mention him and is not signed by him. Gretchen intends to fight for her right to a public jury trial, a right protected by the discrimination laws and our Constitution. It is disturbing that the head of a large media company would try to silence the press and hide from the public a matter of such importance.”
And Ailes’s attorney Asen said, “Gretchen Carlson had an arbitration clause in her contract, stating that any employment dispute regarding her employment at Fox News must be done via confidential arbitration. Because Ms. Carlson’s lawsuit violated the arbitration clause, a motion was filed in federal court to have the case arbitrated. The federal court is the proper court to decide the motion because Ms. Carlson’s primary residence is in Connecticut and Mr. Ailes’ primary residence is in New York.”
That mandatory arbitration clauses have invaded TV news isn’t at all surprising. These things are like crabgrass — and even if you are unfamiliar with them, you’ve probably signed one. They’re common in all manner of contracts, from auto purchases to home improvements to employment. They generally stipulate that if you have a dispute, you have to submit to binding arbitration and waive your right to resolve the matter in the civil justice system. According to the National Employment Lawyers Association, a 2010 study found that 36 million employees — or about a third of the non-union workforce — were subject to mandatory arbitration of workplace disputes.
Fox News management made a sound decision in choosing the American Arbitration Association (AAA) as its agent of choice. According to a 2011 study by Cornell University’s Alexander Colvin, employees prevail less frequently and recover less money in cases arbitrated by the AAA — the study examined nearly 4,000 cases between 2003 and 2007 — than they do in trials. And in any case, job-discrimination complaints have a poor success rate in federal courts.
Paul Bland, an expert on arbitration clauses and executive director of Public Justice, tells the Erik Wemple Blog that as a general rule, only the parties to an arbitration clause can invoke it. After reading the court documents filed by Carlson’s lawyers, Bland noted that the agreement is between Fox News and Carlson. “Ailes is not named in it. Their argument is that FOX means Ailes. They should have written more broadly, most arbitration clauses name others who work for or with, are associated with, etc. I consider him a non-party under this language. Poor drafting,” writes Bland in an email.
“There are some limited exceptions to the general rule that non-parties can’t enforce arbitration clauses,” he continues, “so Ailes’ team will have some arguments, but there’s not enough yet in the public record for anyone to handicap the chances of success. If he is not named in the clause, though, he is swimming upstream.”
He’s also drowning in a tide of hypocrisy. “It is repulsive that Ailes is trying to force this extremely serious matter into a secretive, rigged system where Ms. Carlson’s chances of getting justice are far lower even if everything she alleges is true,” notes Bland. “The problems of secrecy in arbitration are really highlighted in this case — you look at all of the women who have come forward with very similar stories, and you can see why Ailes would prefer to keep a lid on all of this by avoiding the public court system where the evidence becomes a matter of public record.” That’s something to keep in mind the next time Chris Wallace or Bret Baier gripes about breakdowns in government transparency.
Another thing to consider is that Carlson worked at Fox News for 11 years, presiding in some way over thousands of hours of programming. Over all those hours, Carlson was adjudged reliable and honest enough such that Ailes and his lieutenants placed their precious Fox News audience in her hands. Now, all of the sudden, she has become the source for her lawyers’ dissemination of “one false and defamatory statement after another.” Even you, Roger Ailes, can’t have it both ways.
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of course he does.
and if anyone thinks HC deleted msgs and emails, it ain't nothing to the internal house cleaning that Fox will do.
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Internal Inquiry Sealed the Fate of Roger Ailes at Fox
By JIM RUTENBERG, BEN PROTESS and EMILY STEEL
Executives at 21st Century Fox decided to end the tenure of Roger Ailes after lawyers they hired to investigate an allegation of sexual harassment against him took statements from at least six other women who described inappropriate behavior from Mr. Ailes, two people briefed on the inquiry said Wednesday.
One of the people said that the details of the allegations, while unverified, were troubling enough that they left 21st Century Fox little choice but to force an end to Mr. Ailes’s reign as chairman and chief executive of Fox News, given the potential liability they presented to the company both legally and in terms of its own corporate culture.
The people with knowledge of the state of discussions over Mr. Ailes’s exit agreement said both sides were working toward an accommodation that would recognize Mr. Ailes’s service to the company as the founder and leader of Fox News, which sits atop the cable news ratings and is a major profit engine for 21st Century Fox. The agreement could also include a provision for him to continue with Fox as a consultant.
But given the personalities and complications involved, the situation was fluid enough that no accommodation had been reached by Wednesday night.
Fox News did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the discussions or on the investigation, which is being conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Lawyers for Mr. Ailes did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Ailes has denied the allegations of sexual harassment and more than a dozen Fox News staff members, including some top stars, have publicly supported him.
The people briefed on the investigation, who would not speak for attribution because of the sensitivity of the investigation, stressed that it was narrowly focused on the allegations against Mr. Ailes, and not the broader climate at the network.
But Mr. Ailes’s departure will have much wider implications.
Given Fox News’s place as a central hub for conservative opinion — not to mention as a primary outlet for the Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump — the shape of its post-Ailes operation goes beyond corporate intrigue at 21st Century Fox, and could have consequences for the national political dialogue.
In the two weeks since Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox anchor, filed suit against Mr. Ailes, the Murdoch family, which runs 21st Century Fox, has made it clear that its decision to take the allegations seriously was in keeping with its desire to follow modern standards for office conduct, and that these needed to extend to Fox News, as well.
The question in the post-Ailes environment is to what extent the Murdochs decide to continue on with Mr. Ailes’s current management team. That, in turn, could determine the future approach and look of the network, which is the outlet of choice for conservative-leaning viewers seeking an alternative to the mainstream media.
Speculation about who Mr. Ailes’s successor would be transfixed the media world on Wednesday, with focus on outsiders such as the CBS News president, David Rhodes, who had worked at Fox News for several years; one of Mr. Ailes’s current lieutenants, like Bill Shine or Michael Clemente; the New York Post chief executive Jesse Angelo or someone from conservative media like Christopher Ruddy, the founder and chief executive of Newsmax Media Inc.
At least for the day, fears that some of Fox News’s prime-time stars, like Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren, would exercise contract clauses to leave with Mr. Ailes’s loss of his chairmanship, appeared to abate. Network staff members were acutely focused on Megyn Kelly, who had hinted in recent months she wanted to leave the network. She was one of the women who told Paul, Weiss investigators that Mr. Ailes had acted improperly with her, one of the people briefed on the inquiry said Tuesday.
Ms. Kelly maintained her silence on Wednesday. But as the end of Mr. Ailes’s chairmanship approached, it appeared to embolden other women to discuss their own experiences at the network. Several spoke with reporters on condition that they not be named.
In interviews, several current and former Fox News employees said inappropriate comments about a woman’s appearance and her sex life were frequent in the newsroom.
The newsroom has been on edge in the weeks since Ms. Carlson filed her suit, one person said. Everybody wants to talk about the drama but nobody wants to talk in the open, the person said.
As of Wednesday evening, staff members had not received an email from 21st Century Fox, Fox News or Mr. Ailes informing them about the events that have transpired, the investigation or the future of the network.
The swift pace of events at Fox News — only two weeks passed between Ms. Carlson’s filing of her lawsuit and the negotiations to end Mr. Ailes’s leadership — were especially surprising for a network that has made its name by embracing “politically incorrect” themes, something in keeping with the brash personalities of both Mr. Ailes and the 21st Century Fox patriarch, Rupert Murdoch. Female hosts in skirts, sitting behind translucent desks that can highlight their legs, have always been a network trademark.
To completely move away from that ethos would be to fundamentally change the network. And 21st Century Fox’s leadership will have to be mindful of maintaining its special relationship with viewers that Mr. Ailes has so carefully cultivated, and which is central to the financial and ratings success of the network.
Mr. Murdoch will ultimately determine that direction in close consultation — and perhaps even some deference — to the two sons he is grooming to succeed him, Lachlan and James Murdoch. The latter, at least, is known to have different politics from his father.
So far, none of the three has made any public statement about the network, its future or, for that matter, Mr. Ailes.
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(http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=612998.0;attach=682524;image)
I'd hit it. Did Ailes hit it?
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Internal Inquiry Sealed the Fate of Roger Ailes at Fox
By JIM RUTENBERG, BEN PROTESS and EMILY STEEL
Mr. Murdoch will ultimately determine that direction in close consultation — and perhaps even some deference — to the two sons he is grooming to succeed him, Lachlan and James Murdoch. The latter, at least, is known to have different politics from his father.
So far, none of the three has made any public statement about the network, its future or, for that matter, Mr. Ailes.
They have now ;)
Roger Ailes Resigns as Fox News Chief
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/roger-ailes-resigns-as-fox-news-chief-after-sexual-202228213.html
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They have now ;)
Roger Ailes Resigns as Fox News Chief
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/roger-ailes-resigns-as-fox-news-chief-after-sexual-202228213.html
Megyn Kelly said he sexually harrassed her as well...you gotta admit Roger Ailes has good taste in the women he harasses :D
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Megyn Kelly said he sexually harrassed her as well...you gotta admit Roger Ailes has good taste in the women he harasses :D
Gretta Van Susteren initially stood by Ailes and said that he never harassed her.
Why do women do this? Just because it didn't happen to YOU doesn't mean it didn't happen to another woman. If I were interested in harassing a woman it certainly would not be Greta VS. She is simply not attractive. :-X
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Who cares? Seriously? The only ones that care are the Killary supporters getting their asses handed to them and still can't give a reason why they'll vote for her.
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Who cares? Seriously? The only ones that care are the Killary supporters getting their asses handed to them and still can't give a reason why they'll vote for her.
who cares when women are being abused and sexually harassed at their job by the boss?
Hello, 1850 called, they want their treatment of women back.
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who cares when women are being abused and sexually harassed at their job by the boss?
Hello, 1850 called, they want their treatment of women back.
Yes, you're about as concerned about this as you about a high school kid with a concussion.
Sexual harassment could mean anything from "I like your shoes" to "let me see your tits"
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Sexual harassment could mean anything from "I like your shoes" to "let me see your tits"
yeah, when a bunch of women accuse him of the same thing, they're all probably full of shit, right?
I think I remember a certain herman cain with a dozen accusers lol... some getbiggers still say he was framed, even after the sexting records and payoffs came out from the lesbian side dish... ;)
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Who cares? Seriously? The only ones that care are the Killary supporters getting their asses handed to them and still can't give a reason why they'll vote for her.
you sure seemed to care when it was Bill Clinton who was accused........does your hypocrisy EVER end????????????????????????????
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yeah, when a bunch of women accuse him of the same thing, they're all probably full of shit, right?
I think I remember a certain herman cain with a dozen accusers lol... some getbiggers still say he was framed, even after the sexting records and payoffs came out from the lesbian side dish... ;)
The Herman Cain thing...that went away the day he dropped out. Funny how that worked. His family in complete disarray, wife divorced him....oh wait. No she didn't. More dem lies.
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you sure seemed to care when it was Bill Clinton who was accused........does your hypocrisy EVER end????????????????????????????
UE still at "4.8%" lolololol
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UE still at "4.8%" lolololol
you'll suddenly respect the UE number again once Trump is elected......mark my words..you're so predictable
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Old Man Ailes on the 87th floor playing patty cake in his executive style office.
(http://www.thefocuspull.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rr-pattycake.jpg)
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The Herman Cain thing...that went away the day he dropped out. Funny how that worked. His family in complete disarray, wife divorced him....oh wait. No she didn't. More dem lies.
he admitted wrongdoing.
you're delusional if you think he was innocent. we read the texts. we saw the $ he gave her. we stopped hearing about it because he was no longer a prez candidate vulnerable to blackmail. you never thought of that, huh?
you aren't here to learn anything. you're here to re-tweet the flawed beliefs you possess. I get it.
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who cares when women are being abused and sexually harassed at their job by the boss?
Hello, 1850 called, they want their treatment of women back.
??? ???
wasn't she in the new last month for taking some big liberal position? Then she gets fired right afterwards?
Maybe I'm mistaken... one of those fox hosts made a big anti-gun or other liberal throwdown.
IF this is the case - she says some pro-obama shit, gets fired, and comes right back with sex claims... well...
'Ms. Carlson, who joined Fox in 2005, contends that during a meeting last fall to discuss her concerns that she was not being treated fairly, Mr. Ailes told her: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.”
When she rebuffed him, the lawsuit claims, Mr. Ailes retaliated by reducing Ms. Carlson’s salary, curtailing her on-air appearances and, ultimately, declining to renew her contract last month."
Ailes has been in the media game for half a century. I doubt he'd use these words/threats. But who knows.
Weird that she was okay with all the sexual threats and jokes and belittling for years - then waits until she's let go, to be outraged with it.
I'm not defending these windbags for a minute - just that she knew she was on a network that shits the bed daily on so many social issues, and she pushed their agenda for years... then when the pay dries up, suddenly she's morally outraged by what goes on there.
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Andrea Tantaros of Fox News Claims Retaliation for Harassment Complaints
By JIM DWYER
Andrea Tantaros, a former Fox News host, charged in a lawsuit filed Monday that top executives at the network, including the man who replaced Roger Ailes, punished her for complaining about sexual harassment by Mr. Ailes.
The suit by Ms. Tantaros, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, is the latest round in a contentious volley that began in late winter, when Fox claimed she had breached her employment contract by writing a book without receiving network approval.
“Fox News masquerades as a defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fueled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency and misogyny,” Ms. Tantaros’s suit says.
Fox News said it would not comment on pending litigation.
Mr. Ailes, the network’s founding chairman and guiding force for two decades, resigned last month after a former anchor, Gretchen Carlson, said in a suit that she was fired for refusing his sexual advances. Mr. Ailes has denied all allegations of harassment.
In April, the chief lawyer for Fox charged that Ms. Tantaros had concocted sexual harassment claims to gain leverage in the contract dispute; her lawyer, Judd Burstein, said the book dispute was a pretext that Fox was using to silence her.
During arbitration, Mr. Burstein said, Fox News offered to pay her a sum “in the seven figures” if she renounced claims against Mr. Ailes and others at the network, including the host Bill O’Reilly. According to the lawsuit, Ms. Tantaros said she had been subjected to unwelcome advances from Mr. O’Reilly, whom she had regarded as a friend and adviser.
“Ailes did not act alone,” the lawsuit states. “He may have been the primary culprit, but his actions were condoned by his most senior lieutenants, who engaged in a concerted effort to silence Tantaros by threats, humiliation and retaliation.”
Ms. Tantaros also claimed in the lawsuit that she was the subject of humiliating posts by pseudonymous accounts on Twitter known as “sock puppets” that she says were instigated by the Fox News publicity department.
Ms. Tantaros joined Fox as a contributor in 2010, and a year later was named co-host of “The Five,” which aired at 5 p.m. She said in the suit that she was repeatedly told by Fox executives that she could not wear pants on the air because “Roger wants to see your legs.”
The lawsuit goes on to say that on Aug. 12, 2014, Mr. Ailes called her into his office and asked if she was planning to marry and have children. “Ailes then started complaining about marriage in general, and also made off-color jokes about being married,” the lawsuit states. It describes Mr. Ailes as speculating on the sexual habits and preferences of 10 Fox News personalities.
He asked Ms. Tantaros to turn around “so I can get a good look at you,” the lawsuit charges, adding that Ms. Tantaros refused. Soon after, she was moved from “The Five” to a lower-rated show, “Outnumbered,” that aired at midday.
Mr. Ailes called her back for similar sessions in December 2014 and February 2015, the lawsuit charges, and when she continued to rebuff him, she encountered hostility from the Fox News publicity department. In the February meeting, she said, Mr. Ailes talked about how she would look in a bikini, and accused her of ending a long-term relationship because she had been merely using the man. The episode brought her to tears, the lawsuit states. She said the sole interview arranged by the publicity department during that period was with a writer for a blog controlled by Fox, who asked about her breasts and if she was difficult to work with.
In April 2015, the lawsuit states, Ms. Tantaros met with Bill Shine, then a senior news executive and close aide to Mr. Ailes. She said that she told him about the meetings with Mr. Ailes and asked if he had told the head of publicity for Fox News, Irena Briganti, to go after her. The lawsuit claims that Mr. Shine “told Tantaros that Briganti is like a rabid dog on a chain that we can’t control. Sometimes that dog gets off the chain.” Then, pointing to a picture of Mr. Ailes on a magazine cover, the lawsuit charges, Mr. Shine told her that “this powerful man has faith in Irena Briganti” and that Ms. Tantaros “needs to let this one go.”
Mr. Shine, through a spokeswoman, has said that Ms. Tantaros never approached him about Mr. Ailes harassing her.
Mr. Shine was named co-president of Fox News after Mr. Ailes departed.
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Yes, the "tradtional family values network" run by globalists. Who would've ever guessed they were full of it?
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You go, girl! Andrea rocks!
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Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson settles sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes for $20 million
By Paul Farhi
Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson has settled sexual harassment allegations against the network’s ousted chairman, Roger Ailes, and has received a $20 million payment and a public apology from its parent company, 21st Century Fox.
The settlement brings a swift and expensive end to a claim that set in motion Ailes’s downfall from Fox, the cable news network he co-founded in 1996 and guided to dominance in the ensuing two decades.
The announcement Tuesday came on what shaped up as a tumultuous day for Fox News, which also saw the surprise departure of anchor Greta Van Susteren, one of their marquee talents and an Ailes loyalist.
Carlson, the former host of “Fox and Friends,” sued Ailes on July 6, claiming that she was demoted and eventually let go from Fox after she refused his sexual advances. Ailes has repeatedly denied the allegations.
But 21st Century effectively surrendered after two months of withering publicity about the suit and an alleged culture of harrassment at Fox fostered by Ailes. In addition to its massive payment to Carlson, it issued a statement Tuesday apologizing to her.
The statement, attributed to “21st Century Fox,” read: “During her tenure at Fox News, Gretchen exhibited the highest standards of journalism and professionalism. She developed a loyal audience and was a daily source of information for many Americans. We are proud that she was part of the Fox News team. We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of her colleagues deserve. We know Gretchen will be successful in whatever endeavors she chooses in the future.”
Carlson’s suit brought forth at least 20 other women who said, usually anonymously, that Ailes had harassed them during his long career in television. Another former Fox host, Andrea Tantaros, filed a lawsuit against Ailes last month, saying that she, too, was harassed and demoted by Ailes when she rebuffed him.
“I am gratified that 21st Century Fox took decisive action after I filed my complaint,” Carlson said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m ready to move on the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace. I want to thank all of the brave women who came forward to tell their own stories and the many people across the country who embraced and supported me. . . . All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace.”
Although Carlson didn’t name Fox or 21st Century Fox as defendants in her suit against Ailes, 21st Century Fox will bear the entire cost of the $20 million settlement, both sides said.
Ailes, who received a $40 million severance package and a continuing consulting role at Fox News when he resigned in July, will not contribute to the settlement.
The willingness of 21st Century Fox to settle Carlson’s lawsuit just weeks after it was filed appears to reflect the influence of Lachlan and James Murdoch, the sons of 21st Century Fox executive chairman Rupert Murdoch. While Ailes has long enjoyed the loyalty of Rupert Murdoch, the younger Murdochs — who are chairman and chief executive, respectively, of 21st Century Fox — have long clashed with the Fox News founder.
Van Susteren announced Tuesday she is leaving the cable news channel, effective immediately, after more than a decade hosting an evening public-affairs discussion program.
Van Susteren, who had publicly defended Ailes after Carlson made her accusations, said in a Facebook post that she decided to leave on Thursday.
“Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years and I took advantage of the clause in my contract which allows me to leave now. The clause had a time limitation, meaning I could not wait,” she wrote. She added: “I hope to continue my career in broadcasting.”
Fox said Brit Hume will replace Van Susteren in her 7 p.m. time slot, starting Tuesday night.
The settlement with Carlson may be one of the largest in a case involving a single plaintiff in a sexual harassment action, according to a person close to Carlson, although class-action settlements and verdicts have been larger.
The extraordinary sum paid to Carlson reflects her high annual earnings as a TV personality; Carlson’s lawyers, Martin Hyman and Nancy Erika Smith, argued that Ailes’ actions caused her to lose millions of dollars in future earnings at Fox, triggering talks of an eight-figure payment.
Negotiations between Carlson’s representatives and 21st Century Fox’s attorneys at the Paul, Weiss law firm began about three weeks ago, people involved in the process said.
The company also has settled “several” other sexual-harassment claims against Ailes, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. He did not identify the womeninvolved, but said their complaints arose during an internal investigation conducted by the Paul, Weiss law firm amid Carlson’s allegations.
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Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson settles sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes for $20 million
By Paul Farhi
Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson has settled sexual harassment allegations against the network’s ousted chairman, Roger Ailes, and has received a $20 million payment and a public apology from its parent company, 21st Century Fox.
The settlement brings a swift and expensive end to a claim that set in motion Ailes’s downfall from Fox, the cable news network he co-founded in 1996 and guided to dominance in the ensuing two decades.
The announcement Tuesday came on what shaped up as a tumultuous day for Fox News, which also saw the surprise departure of anchor Greta Van Susteren, one of their marquee talents and an Ailes loyalist.
Carlson, the former host of “Fox and Friends,” sued Ailes on July 6, claiming that she was demoted and eventually let go from Fox after she refused his sexual advances. Ailes has repeatedly denied the allegations.
But 21st Century effectively surrendered after two months of withering publicity about the suit and an alleged culture of harrassment at Fox fostered by Ailes. In addition to its massive payment to Carlson, it issued a statement Tuesday apologizing to her.
The statement, attributed to “21st Century Fox,” read: “During her tenure at Fox News, Gretchen exhibited the highest standards of journalism and professionalism. She developed a loyal audience and was a daily source of information for many Americans. We are proud that she was part of the Fox News team. We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of her colleagues deserve. We know Gretchen will be successful in whatever endeavors she chooses in the future.”
Carlson’s suit brought forth at least 20 other women who said, usually anonymously, that Ailes had harassed them during his long career in television. Another former Fox host, Andrea Tantaros, filed a lawsuit against Ailes last month, saying that she, too, was harassed and demoted by Ailes when she rebuffed him.
“I am gratified that 21st Century Fox took decisive action after I filed my complaint,” Carlson said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m ready to move on the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace. I want to thank all of the brave women who came forward to tell their own stories and the many people across the country who embraced and supported me. . . . All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace.”
Although Carlson didn’t name Fox or 21st Century Fox as defendants in her suit against Ailes, 21st Century Fox will bear the entire cost of the $20 million settlement, both sides said.
Ailes, who received a $40 million severance package and a continuing consulting role at Fox News when he resigned in July, will not contribute to the settlement.
The willingness of 21st Century Fox to settle Carlson’s lawsuit just weeks after it was filed appears to reflect the influence of Lachlan and James Murdoch, the sons of 21st Century Fox executive chairman Rupert Murdoch. While Ailes has long enjoyed the loyalty of Rupert Murdoch, the younger Murdochs — who are chairman and chief executive, respectively, of 21st Century Fox — have long clashed with the Fox News founder.
Van Susteren announced Tuesday she is leaving the cable news channel, effective immediately, after more than a decade hosting an evening public-affairs discussion program.
Van Susteren, who had publicly defended Ailes after Carlson made her accusations, said in a Facebook post that she decided to leave on Thursday.
“Fox has not felt like home to me for a few years and I took advantage of the clause in my contract which allows me to leave now. The clause had a time limitation, meaning I could not wait,” she wrote. She added: “I hope to continue my career in broadcasting.”
Fox said Brit Hume will replace Van Susteren in her 7 p.m. time slot, starting Tuesday night.
The settlement with Carlson may be one of the largest in a case involving a single plaintiff in a sexual harassment action, according to a person close to Carlson, although class-action settlements and verdicts have been larger.
The extraordinary sum paid to Carlson reflects her high annual earnings as a TV personality; Carlson’s lawyers, Martin Hyman and Nancy Erika Smith, argued that Ailes’ actions caused her to lose millions of dollars in future earnings at Fox, triggering talks of an eight-figure payment.
Negotiations between Carlson’s representatives and 21st Century Fox’s attorneys at the Paul, Weiss law firm began about three weeks ago, people involved in the process said.
The company also has settled “several” other sexual-harassment claims against Ailes, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. He did not identify the womeninvolved, but said their complaints arose during an internal investigation conducted by the Paul, Weiss law firm amid Carlson’s allegations.
What a load of crap
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Old Man Ailes on the 87th floor playing patty cake in his executive style office.
(http://www.thefocuspull.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rr-pattycake.jpg)
Hilarious!!!!!
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What a load of crap
No kidding, compliment a woman and get slapped with a $20M lawsuit. No piece of ass is ever worth that much, judge should have given her cab money to get the hell out of his court room.
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What a load of crap
Can you be more specific? What exactly do you find objectionable?
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Can you be more specific? What exactly do you find objectionable?
Although Carlson didn’t name Fox or 21st Century Fox as defendants in her suit against Ailes, 21st Century Fox will bear the entire cost of the $20 million settlement, both sides said.
Ailes was personally named in the lawsuit and should've been held accountable for HIS actions.
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Ailes was personally named in the lawsuit and should've been held accountable for HIS actions.
I think your reaction may be premature; the story is not over. I expect that her action against Ailes will continue despite the settlement with FOX.