The facts of life for Bill O’Reilly
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The brutal but foreseeable banishment of Bill O'Reilly pushes aside all other global events and gets a two-column lead splash from the N.Y. Times, "Fox News Ousts O'Reilly, A Host Central to Its Rise." It's partly a victory lap by the paper that lit the fuse with rat-tat revelations of cascading harassment allegations, triggering an advertiser exodus. But it's also a reflection of the change as a signal moment in the converging worlds of business, media, culture and politics. Your quick read on the aftermath:
See our amazing timeline, by Stef Kight and Laz Gamio.
Sentence of the day, from an emailer to CNN's Brian Stelter: "Have you ever stopped to consider how the world would have been different if Roger Ailes had just given Gretchen Carlson the new contract she wanted? All of this over a deal for his 2pm anchor."
Crucial context: "21st Century Fox is much bigger than O'Reilly, Fox News and its aging, conservative audience. It's home to movie and TV studios; a slew of sports and other cable channels; and the Fox broadcast network ... It's also home to ambitions that the O'Reilly crisis may have hindered."
Vanity Fair's Sarah Ellison: "The most unsettling feeling among some at Fox News ... is that Wednesday's events are only the beginning. 'There's more to come,' one Fox News insider told me, suggesting that there are more women with stories of harassment who have not come forward publicly. ... Others are equally concerned about the attention that is being drawn to 21st Century Fox's handling of the allegations."
The new lineup: O'Reilly's show, with Dana Perino filling in, was renamed "The Factor" last night. Tucker Carlson replaces O'Reilly at 8 p.m. starting Monday. "The Five" moves to Carlson's 9 o'clock slot. Martha MacCallum stays at 7 p.m. with the renamed "The Story." Eric Bolling gets a 5 p.m. show starting May 1.
Mikey Facts of Life: Life is more fair than unfair. If you do the right things for the right reasons, the arc of life bends toward goodness — with good results. But if you do the wrong thing for the wrong reason, the arc of life bends toward justice — almost always with bad results. Who cares if you make millions, and earn fame and power, if you end in public or private humiliation?
