NEW YORK: Fox News Channel’s parent company fired Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday following an investigation into harassment allegations, bringing a stunning end to cable news’ most popular program and one that came to define the bravado of his network over 20 years.
O’Reilly lost his job on the same day he was photographed in Rome shaking the hand of Pope Francis. By the evening, “The O’Reilly Factor” no longer bore his name, simply titled “The Factor.”
The downfall of Fox’s most popular — and most lucrative — personality began with an April 1 report in The New York Times that five women had been paid a total of $13 million to keep quiet about disturbing encounters with O’Reilly, who continued to deny any wrongdoing in a statement hours after he was fired. Dozens of his show’s advertisers fled within days, even though O’Reilly’s viewership increased.
O’Reilly’s exit came nine months after his former boss, Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, was ousted following allegations of sexual harassment.
Following the Times story, 21st Century Fox said it had asked the same law firm that investigated Ailes to look into O’Reilly’s behavior. 21st Century Fox leaders Rupert Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James said in a memo to Fox staff that their decision to ax O’Reilly came following an “extensive review” into the charges.
“I understand how difficult this has been for many of you,” Rupert Murdoch said in a memo to Fox staff.
O’Reilly, denied a chance to say goodbye to his Fox viewers, did so via a statement.
“It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims,” he said. “But that is the unfortunate reality that many of us in the public eye must live with today. I will always look back on my time at Fox with great pride in the unprecedented success we achieved and with my deepest gratitude to all my dedicated viewers.”
O’Reilly’s dismissal doesn’t signal any change of direction for the network: Fox said conservative pundit Tucker Carlson would move into O’Reilly’s time slot — the second time in three months he’s replaced an exiting prime-time personality. Carlson, a veteran who has hosted shows on CNN, MSNBC and PBS, had taken over for Megyn Kelly in January when she announced she was moving to NBC News. “The Five,” a talk show with five rotating hosts that regularly airs at 5 p.m. ET, will move into the 9 p.m. time slot. Eric Bolling will host a new show that airs at 5 p.m. starting next month, the company said.
Dana Perino, who had been subbing for O’Reilly who had been on vacation for the past few days, acknowledged his departure at the top of “The Factor.” At the end of the show, she paid him a warm tribute.
Noting the “dramatic changes,” Perino said: “It is the end of the era . Bill has been the undisputed king of cable news, and for good reason.”
She also noted his devoted fans and their loyalty to the show.
O’Reilly, 67, had ruled the “no spin zone” on television with a quick smile and an even quicker temper. He pushed a populist, conservative-leaning point of view born from growing up on Long Island, and was quick to shout down those who disagreed with him. Fans loved his willingness to talk back to power or point out hypocrisy among liberal politicians or media members.
O’Reilly and President Donald Trump are both “crowd-pleasing showmen who know how to signal to loyalists in their audience that they are not taking themselves quite as seriously as their detractors are,” said news consultant Andrew Tyndall. “Half of the fun that they have with their audiences comes from watching the outrage that they manage to provoke.”
“What Rush Limbaugh was to talk radio, Bill O’Reilly has been to conservative television,” said Mark Feldstein, communication professor at the University of Maryland. “You can’t underestimate the influence and the profits that he brought into Fox News for all these years and that’s why they hesitated so long in doing the right thing.”
His show generated $178 million in advertising revenue in 2015, according to Kantar Media. Before the advertising boycott, there was the prospect of even more: his audience was larger in the first three months of 2017 than it has ever been. With a profit center gone, 21st Century Fox stock fell almost 1 percent Wednesday in heavy trading.
O’Reilly’s pugnacious personality wasn’t just an onscreen affectation, with one of the settlements going to a woman who complained about being shouted at in the newsroom. O’Reilly was alleged to have slowed the careers of women who spurned his advances. One former Fox personality, Juliet Huddy, said she pulled away and fell to the ground when he tried to kiss her, and he didn’t help her up, the Times reported.
One harassment case, from a former producer who said O’Reilly called her and described sexual fantasies and appeared to be masturbating, dated back more than a decade and was widely reported then. While O’Reilly survived then, the accumulation of cases outlined in the Times damaged him much more extensively. For Fox executives, it wasn’t clear when it would end: a campaign to target advertisers was continuing, a group of women demonstrated in front of Fox’s headquarters Tuesday and another woman, a former clerical worker at Fox, called a harassment hotline and accusing the host of boorish behavior.
Some of O’Reilly’s critics were happy with the news.
Author Stephen King tweeted: “New book by Fox News: Killing Bill O’Reilly.” It referred to O’Reilly’s series of best-selling books on the deaths of major historical figures.
“Mission accomplished,” said Keith Olbermann, who frequently tweaked O’Reilly on an MSNBC show that competed in the same time slot for several years. Olbermann said that when he was working at Fox Sports in 1999, he helped a friend get a job at Fox News. She quit the job — and the business — due to her treatment by O’Reilly, he said.
“This has been going on for decades and I hope his having to go out in shame and disgrace makes things just a little bit better for her and all his victims right now,” he said. “Certainly they make things better for America.”
But many of O’Reilly’s fans took to social media to express their unhappiness at losing their hero. Several suggested that Fox had essentially caved to a left wing campaign. It didn’t help that the controversy was set in motion by the Times, a publication hated in conservative circles.
O’Reilly’s lawyers said he was the victim of an orchestrated campaign by liberal organizations like Media Matters for America, which contacted his advertisers to pressure them to leave the show. Conservative personality Glenn Beck — who once lost a job at Fox because a similar campaign choked his program of paying advertisers — came to O’Reilly’s defense on his radio show.
“You need to write and call Fox News Channel today and tell them, you can lose your advertisers or you can lose your viewers,” Beck said on his radio show hours before the firing. “But you have to put some spine back into the Murdoch family and the Fox News Channel board because you are about to lose Bill O’Reilly.”
He was too late.
O’Reilly is also one of the country’s most popular nonfiction authors. The books in his “Killing” historical series, including “Killing Lincoln” and “Killing Reagan,” have consistently sold 1 million or more copies in hardcover, a rare achievement in publishing, and his platform on Fox enabled him to promote his work. He has also had best-sellers with everything from the memoir “A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity” to his most recent work, “Old School,” which includes passages urging the respectful treatment of women.
O’Reilly and co-author Martin Dugard are due to release another book in the “Killing” series in September, and a spokeswoman for publisher Henry Holt and Co. said that plans had not changed.
Vatican spokesman Greg Burke confirmed O’Reilly was in the VIP section for the pope’s Wednesday appearance. Burke, a former Fox News correspondent in Rome, denied having facilitated the tickets. Such tickets can be obtained via special request to the papal household from embassies, high-ranking churchmen or Vatican officials.
Francis always swings by the VIP seats at the end of his audience for a quick round of handshakes. A photographer from the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano snapped a photo of Francis reaching out to shake his hand.
Fox News Channel dismisses Bill O’Reilly, its biggest star
Fox News Channel dismisses Bill O’Reilly, its biggest star
Fearless Saudi 13-year-old launches Vision 2030 podcast
- Teenager aims to educate the public about Kingdom’s vision
- Overcame public speaking fears to become podcaster
RIYADH: Saudi Linda Al-Faisal, who is only 13, aims to make an impact through her podcast, Linda Vision 2030, with each episode featuring a guest trailblazer.
Through her podcast, she connects with thousands of local and international subscribers, engaging in conversations about the Kingdom’s vision.
In her first episode, titled “How Saudi Arabia Became a Global Hub,” she discusses the projects being driven by the Kingdom, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, claiming “Saudi Arabia is no longer the land you once knew.”
In her third episode, Al-Faisal interviewed Tamim Turki, a teenage Saudi sports presenter.
Then, in her fourth episode, Al-Faisal sat down Hassan Yusuf, program director for Saudi Arabia’s Real Madrid foundation, where the pair discussed the role of youth in achieving the goals of Vision 2030.
When she was five years old, Al-Faisal was interested in becoming a ballerina, and after being enrolled in classes she later fulfilled her childhood dream. Today, she is a ballerina as well as a podcast host.
Influenced by her friends, who have their own podcast, Al-Faisal decided to create her own platform.
“Why I chose (the topic of) Vision 2030 is because many people don’t know what it talks about or what is going to happen. So, I decided to search and learn more about Vision 2030 so I can teach the people.
“The biggest goal that I want to achieve from my podcast is that I want to make every listener feel proud with all the developments and changes happening in Saudi Arabia.”
After years of presenting at school, facing her fears, Al-Faisal became a natural public speaker, learning communication techniques through observation and practice to become an effective presenter.
“I used to be nervous while presenting during my first time in school. We all learn from our mistakes, and I learned from mine and became stronger. The speeches I used to present in school made me more powerful.”
Al-Faisal’s ballet talent earned her third place in the “Creative Journey Around the Kingdom,” a program launched by the General Entertainment Authority in collaboration with MBC Academy, which sets out to identify local talent.
Al-Faisal’s message to teenagers is to keep dreaming and always stay positive.
“Do not let negative thinking destroy you. Always focus on yourself because you are the main character of your life.”
Sky News Arabia opens new headquarters, announces fresh programming
DUBAI: Sky News Arabia, part of media group IMI, has opened its new headquarters in the same building as the IMI HQ on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
The new HQ features advanced broadcasting studios fitted with the latest AI technologies, the company said.
Sky News Arabia has also launched a new programming grid covering politics, lifestyle, sports, business and entertainment.
The announcements come 12 years after the channel’s launch.
They mark a new chapter that “embodies our forward-thinking strategy to anticipate and exceed audience expectations by embracing cutting-edge technologies and delivering diverse, engaging programming that transcends borders, setting new benchmarks for excellence,” said Rani Raad, CEO of IMI and president and operating partner of Redbird IMI.
The company has been working over the past year to elevate “the way each of the media companies within our network engage with audiences, to ensure we continue to deliver content that truly resonates,” he added.
The new programming will include shows such as “Studio One” hosted by Fadila Souissi, which will highlight political and societal issues, and the “Emad Eldin Adib” show, which will focus on politics in the Arab world.
Sky News Arabia is also expanding its lineup of non-political shows. The “Al Sabah Show” will return, featuring segments on health, fashion, law, and celebrities. It will be hosted by Maha Abdullah, Ahmed Qassem, Hani Ziadeh, Christine Dagher and Lubna Mansour.
The show will extend to digital channels and social media platforms through 12 specifically tailored mini-segments.
“In an era of rapid change and information overload, we are committed to empowering our audience with the tools to navigate and discern credible news,” said Nadim Koteich, general manager of Sky News Arabia.
He added: “By providing transparent, engaging and diverse content across politics, economics, lifestyle and technology, we ensure that Sky News Arabia remains a credible source of information that meets the dynamic needs of our viewers.”
Benefits of AI economy must be equitably distributed, says UN tech envoy in Davos
- Amandeep Singh Gill seeks ‘global’ efforts to tackle digital divide
- ‘We need to have a more collaborative and respectful approach’
DAVOS:The power of artificial intelligence and quantum computing must be harnessed to benefit nations across the world, not only developed economies, said Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN’s envoy on technology, on Thursday.
Speaking during a panel titled “From High-Performance Computing to High- Performance Problem Solving,” Gill said that countries in Africa, for example, hold less than 0.5 percent of graphic processing units worldwide.
Also participating in the discussion were Georges-Olivier Reymond, co-founder and CEO of PASQAL; Ana Paula Assis, senior vice president and chair IBM EMEA and Growth Markets; and Paul Alivisatos, president of the University of Chicago.
“My challenge is to convince policymakers who have limited resources to invest in the digital divide, data and AI and quantum development as well,” explained the envoy.
“There is a backlash against the neo-colonial situation, where the tech is developed in just a few geographies, and the rest of the world is takers of this tech. You can call it the sovereignty backlash … we need to have a more collaborative and respectful approach,” he added.
When asked by panel moderator Azeem Azhar, CEO of Exponential View, about the risk of uncertainty in the field of quantum computing, Gill said he sees an opportunity more than a risk.
“We are at an early stage in terms of the science and technology of developing things so different technologies might be used. A degree of uncertainty and diversity is important,” he added.
But the envoy emphasized the need to have a unified global force that would ensure everyone can participate in this area of technology.
“When we look at the global majority, not everyone will be able to use quantum computing, the cryptographic effort has to be global, it can’t be isolated,” he said.
Gill said the world is shifting toward quantum infrastructure in order to reduce energy consumption. According to the envoy, today’s AI systems consume a great deal of energy.
The UN deemed 2025 as the “International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.” This initiative aims to celebrate quantum mechanics and educate people on its impacts on technology, culture, and understanding of the world.
Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters
- The Qatar-based news network reported that its reporter Mohammed Al-Atrash was arrested from his home
The Al Jazeera news network says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters after preventing him from covering an Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank.
The Qatar-based news network reported Thursday that its reporter, Mohammed Al-Atrash, was arrested from his home.
It said Palestinian security forces had earlier prevented him from reporting on a large Israeli military operation in Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. The Palestinian Authority launched its own crackdown on militants in the city late last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
Both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera last year. Israel accuses it of being a mouthpiece of Hamas over its coverage of the war in the Gaza Strip and says some of its reporters are also militants.
The pan-Arab broadcaster has rejected the allegations and accused both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of trying to silence critical coverage.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. It is unpopular among Palestinians, with critics portraying it as a corrupt and authoritarian ally of Israel.
South Sudan orders temporary ban on social media over violence in neighboring Sudan
- Many South Sudanese have been angered by footage from Sudan that purports to show killings by militia groups of South Sudanese in Gezira state
JUBA, South Sudan: South Sudanese authorities on Wednesday ordered telecoms to block access to social media for at least 30 days, citing concerns over the dissemination of graphic content relating to the ongoing violence against South Sudanese in neighboring Sudan.
The temporary ban, which could be extended to up to 90 days, will come into force at midnight Thursday, according to a directive from the National Communication Authority, NCA, to telecom companies stressing that the measure was necessary to protect the public.
“This directive may be lifted as soon as the situation is contained,” the NCA said. “The contents depicted violate our local laws and pose a significant threat to public safety and mental health.”
Many South Sudanese have been angered by footage from Sudan that purports to show killings by militia groups of South Sudanese in Gezira state. South Sudanese authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Jan. 17 after a night of retaliatory violence during which shops owned by Sudanese traders were looted.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, condemned “the brutal killings of South Sudanese nationals” in Sudan and urged restraint.
Civil war in Sudan has created a widening famine and the world’s largest displacement crisis. Fighting between forces loyal to rival military leaders exploded in the capital, Khartoum, in April 2023 and has since spread to other areas.
The conflict has been marked by atrocities, including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the UN and rights groups.
