Every morning begins the same, with a hot cup of coffee out of a collectable Starbuck's mug and indulging in the most trusted name in news. As I watched, CNN reported the breaking news that Bill O'Reilly and FOX news agreed that O'Reilly will not be returning. I burst out laughing in honest disbelief that FOX news would dismiss their beloved (not to mention racist) journalist who is the face of FOX news and had the highest rating show on their channel.
The New York Times released an article which revealed, "Fox News and its parent company, 21st Century Fox, had repeatedly stood by him even as he and the company reached settlements with five women who had complained about sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior by him." The settlements cost them about $13 million.
Following the publishing of the article, over 50 advertisers pulled funding and women's rights groups called for his firing. O'Reilly's fate was left in the hand of the Murdoch family, who after an investigation, decided to dismiss O'Reilly.
While the firing of O'Reilly for sexual harassment may seem like a step in the right direction, it is not time to pop open a bottle of champagne and clink our glasses. The reality of the situation is O'Reilly was not fired for moral reasons but for image reasons.
Honestly, I would like to offer my congratulations to the Fox Public Relations department. You have done a stellar job of keeping O'Reilly in the lime light for over two decades, despite racist, sexist and downright wrong actions. I am truly impressed a scandal didn't get him fired years ago.
However, his firing wasn't because a sexual harassment was filed and investigated, it was because he was caught and ultimately that made FOX look bad. If O'Reilly was being ousted for a woman's right to be comfortable in a work place and feeling like their job is not in jeopardy for reporting sexual harassment, O'Reilly would have been fired years ago.
FOX fired O'Reilly because it was the easiest clean up for them. We cannot celebrate this particular event.
We can, however, recognize that it is progress that sexual harassment is considered a scandal instead of just the norm. We can celebrate the fact that the outcry was so loud, it was better for a rich white male to get fired than to try to sweep it under the rug. We can celebrate the backlash from the public and the demonstration of progress of the public. We are getting there, but women need to feel as though they can report sexual harassment without repercussions. More importantly, sexual harassment should not be happening in the work place at all.
Bon voyage, O'Reilly! As a tribute to the embarrassing end of your career, here is the video that I will always remember you by.
