Media

Via Mediaite: Sarah Palin used to work at Fox News, and when CNN’s Jake Tapper spoke with her this afternoon, he naturally brought up the big news about Fox and Bill O’Reilly‘s ousting this week. Palin said that the corporate culture at Fox “obviously has to change” because women shouldn’t have to put up with an “intimidating workspace.” Tapper asked …

CNN reports: Bill O’Reilly will be paid tens of millions of dollars on his way out of Fox News. “It is a staggering amount,” said a source personally involved in the exit maneuverings. 21st Century Fox and O’Reilly’s representatives will not acknowledge the existence of a payout. A confidentiality agreement limits what the two sides can say. But two well-placed …

Via Yahoo TV: In the wake of Fox News cutting ties with Bill O’Reilly after multiple sexual harassment allegations, Stephen Colbert shared a statement from Fox on The Late Show regarding the former leader in cable news. The statement read, “By ratings standards, Bill O’Reilly is one of the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news.” To …

The New York Times reports: Bill O’Reilly has been forced out of his position as a prime-time host on Fox News, the company said on Wednesday, after the disclosure of settlements involving sexual harassment allegations against him. His abrupt and embarrassing ouster ends his two-decade reign as one of the most popular and influential commentators in television. “After a thorough …

The New York Times reports: Bill O’Reilly, the embattled Fox News host facing a barrage of sexual harassment accusations, briefly met Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday morning during the pontiff’s weekly general audience, shaking hands with a religious leader he once lectured over immigration. Mr. O’Reilly, on vacation in Italy for the past week, sat in a …

New York Magazine reports: The Murdochs have decided Bill O’Reilly’s 21-year run at Fox News will come to an end. According to sources briefed on the discussions, network executives are preparing to announce O’Reilly’s departure before he returns from an Italian vacation on April 24. Now the big questions are how the exit will look and who will replace him. …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Another woman is telling Fox News her story of harassment at the hands of O’Reilly, according to attorney Lisa Bloom. Bill O’Reilly used to leer at an African-American Fox News clerical worker and called her “hot chocolate,” according to attorney Lisa Bloom, who helped the woman report the harassment to the network’s hotline. The woman worked …

New York Magazine reports: With only six days remaining in Bill O’Reilly’s vacation, the pressure on the Murdoch family to decide the embattled commentator’s fate is intensifying. Three sources with knowledge of the discussions said that, while no final decision has been made, the Murdochs are leaning toward announcing that O’Reilly will not return to the air. Sons James and …

Raving Trump surrogate Jeffrey Lord has long been the craziest person on CNN and yesterday he really stepped up his game by repeatedly comparing Trump to Martin Luther King. The Washington Post reports: In appearances on three shows and in an column for CNN’s website, Lord dug in his heels to defend the Trump-King comparison, twisting himself into a rhetorical …

Reuters reports: Britain’s Daily Mail agreed on Wednesday to pay Melania Trump an undisclosed sum and issue an apology after it published an article saying the U.S. First Lady had offered “services beyond simply modeling” in her former job. President Donald Trump’s wife, 46, had sued the publisher of the Daily Mail in Britain and also filed a $150 million …

Variety reports: Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News Channel presence in recent days has sparked social-media outrage and advertiser defections. If he goes off the air for a while, will calm return? The popular Fox News Channel host raised that very question when he told viewers during the last few minutes of his “O’Reilly Factor” broadcast on Tuesday night that he would …

The Washington Post reports: Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold remembers being struck by Donald Trump’s pledge to donate $6 million, including $1 million of his personal funds, to veteran groups during a televised fundraiser before the Iowa caucuses early last year. Did Trump follow through, he wondered? So, weeks after the event, Fahrenthold started asking questions. For several months, he …

Raw Story recaps: On Sunday’s edition of “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver wrecked the Trump administration’s attack on Syria this week, but reserved particular scorn for the media figures who suddenly reversed course and became uncritical supporters of the administration. Brian Williams’ decision to quote a Leonard Cohen song was particularly awful, Oliver said. “This is not a song, …

Via Mediaite: On CNN’s Reliable Sources this morning, The Intercept’s Jeremy Scahill went off on the “atrocious” media coverage of the Syria missile strikes, even calling out CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in particular. Last week Zakaria said that after that strike, Trump “became President of the United States.” This morning, an hour before Scahill was on CNN, Zakaria said that he …

Deadline raves: Is it too much to suspect he’s been dreaming of this for a long, long while? Alec Baldwin skewered Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly on NBC’s Saturday Night Live last night, and he did it with Donald Trump’s help. Playing both roles in a split-screen O’Reilly Factor interview parody, Baldwin had smarm, arrogance and pomposity oozing from both …

From the Hollywood Reporter: For the past few months, 21st Century Fox has been using the infamous Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape during company seminars to give Fox staffers an example of bad behavior in the workplace — a fact that became especially awkward this week as President Trump defended one of Fox’s biggest stars, Bill O’Reilly, who is facing …

The San Jose Mercury News reports: Twitter dropped its legal fight with the federal government Friday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection reversed course and withdrew a summons seeking to unmask the users of an account critical of the Trump administration. “Because the summons has now been withdrawn, Twitter voluntarily dismissed without prejudice all claims against defendant,” said to a …

The BBC reports: Facebook is launching an educational tool as part of measures it is taking to counter fake news. For three days, an ad will appear at the top of users’ news feeds linking to advice on “how to spot fake news” and report it. The campaign, which will be promoted in 14 countries, is “designed to help people …

The Hill reports: A former Breitbart News reporter who quit the alt-right publication in protest plans to launch a radio show for Sputnik, a Russian propaganda network. “I’m on the Russian payroll now, when you work at Sputnik you’re being paid by the Russians,” Lee Stranahan, who served as a Breitbart investigative reporter, told The Atlantic. “That’s what it is. …

Via Breitbart: Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s broadcast of “Hannity,” host Sean Hannity suggested in what he called a “mini-monologue” that perhaps it was Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, that he should recuse himself from the committee’s investigation into alleged ties the 2016 Trump campaign had with the Russian government. Hannity based his …