By its fans, Fox News is considered "fair and balanced". By its critics, its seeming lack of balance has resulted in the nickname "Faux News". On any normal occasion, we take Fox News for what it is: a network serving an audience. July has not been a normal month for the network by any means.

On July 6, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment suit against the network's CEO Roger Ailes. The days since the suit was filed have been filled with various accounts, taking sides, and ultimately a backlash resulting in Roger Ailes' being forced out of the company.

Carlson's law suit is based on numerous allegations of workplace harassment. Among them, Ailes described Carlson as a "man hater." Apparently he found her "sexy" but "too much hard work" for his taste. He mocked her in the workplace and in front of her coworkers for not being more receptive to his inappropriate flirtations. When he took Carlson into his office and told her that Fox News was on the verge of terminating her from the network, he allegedly said that a sexual relationship would save her job. Moreover, Carlson's description of Ailes' behavior and his general attitude toward women at the network can be corroborated by at least six other female Fox News employees. Even Megyn Kelly, Fox News superstar, is reported to have been treated in a similar manner described in Carlson's suit by Ailes.

Carlson's lawsuit gave rise to the #IStandWithGretchen social media movement, which first and foremost called for Ailes' removal from his position as CEO from Fox News. Allegations of sexual harassment against Ailes date back to the 1960s and are well-documented in his own biography, The Loudest Voice in the Room. In fact, the dresses-only dress code and glass desk policy can be traced back to comments Ailes has made during his tenure at Fox News.

"He had admiration for her legs," a senior executive said. In one meeting, Ailes barked, "Tell Catherine I did not spend x-number of dollars on a glass desk for her to wear pant suits." [The Loudest Voice in the Room, pg 238]

Implicit in #IStandWithGretchen is a desire for the Ailes era of Fox News culture to change. It does not take a genius to see that the network has a certain skew that never fails to marginalize its female anchors and viewers. It shouldn't take a supercut of all the sexist remarks made toward Carlson on Fox & Friendsto see the problem. In fact, it may very well be this culture that has ostracized younger viewers who hold their entertainment to a higher standard than the one that Fox holds itself to. Perhaps the network's exact standard when it comes to gender equality can be summarized by Rush Limbaugh, talk show host and Fox Frequent Flier when he said on Fox & Friends:

"I'm a huge supporter of women. ... Feminism is what I oppose. Feminism has led women astray. I love women. I don't know how this all got started. I love the women's movement, especially when walking behind it." [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/3/10]

If a network-wide negative attitude toward women cannot or should not be encapsulated by the quality of Fox's reporting or guests, then it ought to be judged by the character of its own employees. Ailes is not the only one with a sex scandal; The O'Reilly Factor host Bill O'Reilly has his scandal well in his rear-view mirror. In 2004, O'Reilly settled a lawsuit that was filed against him by Fox producer Andrea Mackris for north of $2 million. The settlement came with the condition that there was no wrongdoing, but the details cited in the suit are nonetheless disturbing. Allegedly O'Reilly would frequently call Mackris, soliciting explicit phone sex that was ultimately one-sided and unwanted. He threatened her not to tell anyone unless she wanted to be "raked through the mud."

It should be no surprise that O'Reilly is one of Ailes' strongest defenders. The difference is that O'Reilly was able to make his scandal go away quickly and quietly with enough money. With the advent of Twitter and Carlson's popularity, Ailes is not out of dodge despite his quick and hasty exit from Fox News. Carlson continues to move forward with her suit.

At this turn, Fox News has an opportunity. It can retrace the conservative, faith-based roots it always purported to promote. It can weed out the reporters and anchors and executives who have been tainted by Ailes' influence. It can combat the negative press and extremely poor history of gender equality and become a network that young, savvy Republicans can relate to. It can accept that feminism, Godliness, and conservatism are not mutually exclusive. When it does all of this, maybe it can truly carry the banner of "fair and balanced."