The bar has to be set pretty high for me to write about TV news that has no particular Atlanta connection but there were two big Fox News items that came out today back to back:
Gretchen Carlson, who rocked the cable news world two months ago when she sued former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes for sexual harassment, is reportedly settling for a whopping $20 million. (Ailes is not paying any of it and has vehemently denied the charges.)
The network also issued an unusual apology, something companies rarely do in settlement agreements.
We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve."
Ailes left the network two weeks after she filed the suit in July. (This detailed New York magazine chronicles his downfall.)
And in another shocker, evening host Greta Van Susteren has left Fox News after 14 years and consistently high ratings for her 7 p.m. show.
According to TVNewser, the move happened quickly and happened over financial issues.
Fox News' Howard Kurtz cites "a source familiar with the process" who says "Van Susteren asked to renegotiate her contract after Roger Ailes resigned…when those negotiations deadlocked, Van Susteren chose to invoke the departure option, the sources said. Her last show was Thursday, and the swiftness of events did not allow her to deliver an on-air farewell."
In a Facebook post after the announcement, she wrote:
Before Fox News, Van Susteren worked several years at CNN.
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