It is being reported that at least one member of the Murdoch family wants to take Bill O’Reilly off the air permanently, and if he gets his way, O’Reilly could be dumped during his April vacation.
Gabriel Sherman reported, “But according to four network sources, there’s talk inside Fox News that tonight’s show could be his last. Lawyers for the law firm Paul, Weiss, hired last summer by 21st Century Fox to investigate Roger Ailes, are currently doing a “deep dive†investigation into O’Reilly’s behavior. They’re focused now on sexual harassment claims by O’Reilly guest Wendy Walsh after she reported her claims via the company’s anonymous hotline.”
James Murdoch is pushing for fast action to permanently remove O’Reilly. However, his father Rupert Murdoch and brother Lachlan are leaning towards keeping a sexual predator in Fox News’s 8 PM ET time slot.
The family divide on what to do about him may be the only thing that is keeping Bill O’Reilly employed. However, the advertiser boycott may make the decision for the Murdochs. Fox News is not a charity. If advertisers don’t come back to The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News will eventually take him off the air. It is all a matter of how much financial pain the Murdochs are willing to take before they pull the plug on O’Reilly.
If the advertisers stay gone, O’Reilly will be quietly pushed into retirement at some point.
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The departure of O’Reilly would send shockwaves through the cable news landscape and could be the final move that would open the door for MSNBC to overtake Fox News.
It might all be coming down to when not if, the Murdochs are forced to get rid of Bill O’Reilly.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
