And another shoe drops. Fox News co-president Bill Shine has resigned, according to a statement put out by the network. Jack Abernethy remains co-president of Fox News and CEO of Fox Television Stations. Suzanne Scott becomes president, programming at Fox News. Jay Wallace becomes president, news at Fox News. Brian Jones becomes president of Fox Business Network, reporting to Scott and Wallace. (TVNewser)
The resignation is another seismic shake-up at a network that remains in crisis mode as its owner, Rupert Murdoch, moves to steer it past the sexual harassment scandal that first engulfed it last summer. Shine, a network co-president and a longtime lieutenant to its disgraced former chairman, Roger Ailes, was viewed by some employees as a symbol of Fox News’s old-guard leadership even as its parent, 21st Century Fox, pledged reforms to the company culture and a new era of civility in the newsroom. (NYT)
Shine was promoted to co-president just weeks after Ailes’s downfall over widespread sexual harassment claims, and his departure comes two weeks after top-rated host Bill O’Reilly left the network due to a similar scandal. Shine’s resignation followed intense scrutiny about his stewardship of the network, and he was accused in several lawsuits of covering up or downplaying allegations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination. (HuffPost)
Sean Hannity isn’t following Ailes, O’Reilly and Shine out the door at Fox News yet, but he is “contemplating” it. “Sean feels very betrayed by what happened to Bill, he really didn’t think it would go down like this,” a source close to the situation says of the last remaining member of Fox News’ May 2016 prime-time lineup. (Deadline)
Fox News also faced a fresh legal challenge on Monday after Diana Falzone, a reporter at the network, accused it of discriminating against her on the basis of her gender and her fight against a chronic disease. (NYT)