Wednesday, July 22, 2020

The dark side of Fox News---why it needs to be cleaned up NOW!

The firing of Ed Henry by Fox Shmooze the other day was just a band-aid on an even bigger problem, one that dates back to the former network president, Roger Ailes.

Ailes was, for all intents & purposes, forced out the door in the wake of allegations of sexual harrassment & misconduct a few years ago. Not long after, primetime host Bill O'Reilly (ex-Inside Edition) followed Ailes out the door, if but because sponsors abandoned The O'Reilly Factor like rats off a sinking ship.

Now comes a lawsuit claiming Henry and current tabloid hosts Tucker "Used" Carlson and Sean Hannity both allegedly harrassed and demeaned female co-workers. Ring of Fire's Farron Cousins breaks it all down:



That there is misogynistic behavior at Fox Shmooze can't be just dismissed with a jaunty wave and a sigh, oh no. You have to wonder if this is what attracted that other known misogynist, President Donald Trump, to the network, although there is a growing disconnect, even in the wake of Trump getting verbally spanked by Chris Wallace on Sunday. This could make the Matt Lauer mess at NBC seem tame by comparison if there is more to this than what's already been reported.

Unfortunately, Fox Shmooze wasn't part of the package when the rest of the Fox networks were sold to the Walt Disney Company. Fox News & Business Channels are on their own. However, it's way past time for the networks to finally wake up and join the 21st century. The "old boy network" is dying a slow, painful death, and it's increasingly clear that the suits value the ratings generated by Hannity & Carlson, despite the latter losing sponsors over some racist remarks made by a since dismissed writer for his show a few days ago, over allegations of sexual harrassment and misconduct. Screw the ratings, and take these two clowns off the air until the case is settled. How hard can that be?

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