Bill O'Reilly is out at Fox News. O'Reilly has had the number one rated news show in cable news for more than a decade, but Fox dumped him over allegations of sexual harassment. I read the allegations; they were shaky at best. In fact, given things that the woman making the charges admitted, I doubt that her claim could have survived a summary judgment motion in court. But, in the end, it did not matter. Fox News caved to the pressure from the politically correct; O'Reilly was guilty even though the proof was nearly non-existent.
I don't care whether or not O'Reilly is on the TV. I never watched the show, and I always thought that Bill was something of a pompous and obnoxious know-it-all. It doesn't matter, however. It is insane that Fox is caving in to charges brought many years after the events in question by a woman who claims that O'Reilly took revenge on her for failing to accept his advances but who also admits that O'Reilly kept her on his show for four or five months after the event in question and who also set her up with appearances on The View that made her book tour a success. That hardly sounds like retribution (even if some of those ladies on The View are hard to take -- yes, I mean you Joy Behar).
It's worth contrasting what happened to Brian Williams at NBC News when he was caught making up lies and announcing them on the air as facts. He was suspended for six months and is back on the air. What is more important to a news organization than honest reporting? The proper and only answer to that question is "Nothing!" It can't be that unproven and unlikely claims of sexual harassment by a woman outweigh the abandonment of all journalistic standards by an anchor. That, however, is what happened.
This is nothing more or less than a total victory for the forces of political correctness. It's sad.
I don't care whether or not O'Reilly is on the TV. I never watched the show, and I always thought that Bill was something of a pompous and obnoxious know-it-all. It doesn't matter, however. It is insane that Fox is caving in to charges brought many years after the events in question by a woman who claims that O'Reilly took revenge on her for failing to accept his advances but who also admits that O'Reilly kept her on his show for four or five months after the event in question and who also set her up with appearances on The View that made her book tour a success. That hardly sounds like retribution (even if some of those ladies on The View are hard to take -- yes, I mean you Joy Behar).
It's worth contrasting what happened to Brian Williams at NBC News when he was caught making up lies and announcing them on the air as facts. He was suspended for six months and is back on the air. What is more important to a news organization than honest reporting? The proper and only answer to that question is "Nothing!" It can't be that unproven and unlikely claims of sexual harassment by a woman outweigh the abandonment of all journalistic standards by an anchor. That, however, is what happened.
This is nothing more or less than a total victory for the forces of political correctness. It's sad.
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