Roger Ailes founded Fox News in 1996 with the core mission to fiercely oppose identity politics and political correctness. But two years after Ailes was fired for numerous allegations of sexual harassment, it seems like the network might be heading a different, slightly more progressive direction. On Friday, Lachlan Murdoch announced that Suzanne Scott, a longtime Fox News programming executive, was being promoted to chief executive of the news organization, making her the first woman to hold the job. Her promotion comes just two days after the network announced it had settled the remaining gender and racial discrimination lawsuits from the Ailes era for about $10 million.
Other changes have some Fox News staffers on edge as well, Vanity Fair reports. According to insider sources, Fox News recently installed a “meditation room” that included Muslim prayer rugs in Ollie North’s office—he recently left Fox to become the president of the National Rifle Association. Staffers are now also required to attend sexual harassment training and the employee handbook includes a section for gender-transition policies and guidelines.
“People are terrified. They kicked Ollie North out and put in a prayer room. We’ve got a new trans policy. You’re not allowed to be transphobic,” one source said. Another source said, “People’s heads are blowing up,” according to Vanity Fair.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.