A month ago, Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox News CEO Roger Ailes after he reportedly fired her when she refused his sexual demands. After weeks of mounting allegations from several other women, Ailes stepped down and retained the $40 million left on his contract. Still, further allegations from other women continue to flow forth, including claims from Andrea Tantaros, who says she was taken off the air after reporting harassment by Ailes. And there are also stories involving a reported “black room” where Fox News funds were allegedly used to finance Ailes’ attacks against his enemies.
The plot thickens as Vanity Fair has released an extensive report, which details the high-pressure environment in the Fox News “bunker,” so-called because it’s a subterranean newsroom. The reported vibe is one of paranoia, but the most intriguing part of the report involves alleged audio tapes that are fueling a possible settlement in Carlson’s lawsuit. Sources close to the negotiations tell Vanity Fair that an eight-figure settlement is entirely possible, that Fox News wants Ailes to contribute part of the money, and that his lawyers fear a public trial because the audio tapes could become public. Ailes has reportedly denied all of these details, including the existence of audio tapes.
These reports are also accompanied by a CNN Money story that reveals claims from six anonymous ex-employees of Fox News. During their tenure at the cable news network, they worried that their phones were tapped because of strange clicking noises (“people definitely felt that the clicks on the line were coming from the inside”) or that their communication was otherwise monitored. This feeling, they claim, is why Fox News employees are often reluctant to talk to the press. The reporter noted how, over many years, her interactions with Fox News employees were always done via personal email accounts or cell phones, and that a “pervasive” fear ran through the workplace, which seems in tune with the Vanity Fair account as well.
(Via Vanity Fair & CNN Money)