Post-Ailes Fox News to have two presidents
Following last month's abrupt departure of Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, the network on Friday announced that senior executives Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy would serve as network co-presidents.
Shine, a senior executive vice president and former Ailes deputy, and Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations, have assumed their new roles with immediate effect, the network said in a statement.
Ailes stepped down as chairman of Fox News and the Fox Business Network on July 21 in a chain of events touched off when Gretchen Carlson, a former host, filed a lawsuit accusing Ailes of firing her because she resisted his sexual advances.
Ailes denied the allegations but was reportedly forced to resign under pressure.
According to media reports other women then came forward with similar accusations. The law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is reportedly conducting an internal investigation.
The developments rocked the network, the highly profitable preferred cable news provider of the American right, as its coverage of this year's raucous presidential elections kicked into high gear.
In a statement, 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who replaced Ailes as chairman of Fox, said the network was experiencing a time of "great transition" and lauded Abernethy and Shine, crediting them with the network's longstanding popularity.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that another former host, Andrea Tantaros, had accused Shine and other Ailes deputies of ignoring her claims that Ailes engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior.
Shine told the paper that Tantaros's claims were untrue and Fox News representatives said she had in fact been removed for breach of contract.