In the aftermath of ousting cable news king Bill O’Reilly over extensive allegations of sexual harassment and hush money payouts to keep alleged abuse quiet, Fox News has big challenges ahead, according to a recent analysis by The Associated Press.
The difficulties are multi-pronged: Not only does the company have to show that it can retain a large audience of conservative viewers — it also needs to improve its working culture while continuing to rake in ratings and cash for its corporate parent, 21st Century Fox.
O’Reilly’s departure comes after a string of blows for the company in a relatively short period. In just nine months, Fox saw similar allegations of sexual harassment that led to the abrupt resignation of its longtime CEO Roger Ailes; the company lost its leading female star, Megyn Kelly, to NBC in January.
Parent company 21st Century Fox says the network is more than capable of traversing the delicate rope that will return the cable news powerhouse to equilibrium, noting in a statement that it had “full confidence” in the “strength of its talent bench.”
Read the full Associated Press analysis here.
—RealClearLife
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