Attempting to put to rest a drama that has plagued Fox News since the summer of 2016, the networks parent company has reached a roughly $10 million settlement to resolve a group of racial and gender discrimination lawsuits involving 18 current and former employees, according to a document viewed by The New York Times and three people briefed on the deal.
The settlements reached by 21st Century Fox include the class action racial discrimination lawsuit filed last year by the anchor Kelly Wright and several employees in the Fox News accounting department. Their lawsuit said that they had repeatedly complained about abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination to network executives but that no action was taken and that the inappropriate behavior continued.
Also included in the settlement were the race, gender and pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought in 2016 by a former reporter for Fox 5, the networks New York affiliate, and a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a Fox News Radio reporter.
According to the document viewed by The Times, terms of the deal included that the employees would agree to drop their claims, leave the network and not seek future employment at Fox News or other 21st Century Fox companies. The settlement specifically included a buyout of Mr. Wrights contract with Fox News, where he was the only black male anchor. Fox News has denied the allegations made in the various suits.
In a joint statement, a Fox News spokeswoman and Douglas H. Wigdor, a lawyer for the employees involved, said, The parties have reached mutual agreements that resolve various cases involving former Fox News employees.
Mr. Wright informed Fox News on Tuesday of his desire to pursue new opportunities, the network and Mr. Wigdor said in statements. In the statements, the network thanked Mr. Wright for his contributions over the years; and Mr. Wright thanked Fox News and wishes it well as he moves forward to the next phase of his career.
The agreement represents a push by Fox News and 21st Century Fox to move past the negative attention drawn by scandals including sexual harassment claims that led to sweeping changes at the top of the network: the ousting of the networks founding chairman, Roger Ailes; Bill OReilly, the top-rated host on cable news; and several other employees. The controversy also prompted a criminal investigation into Fox Newss handling of sexual harassment complaints.
The drama burst into public view in July 2016, when the former anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Mr. Ailes for sexual harassment. After Mr. Ailes was forced out of the network and Ms. Carlson received a $20 million settlement, several other employees came forward with sexual harassment and gender and racial discrimination claims. Some disputes were settled confidentially, while others became public lawsuits, leading to a steady drumbeat of negative headlines and mounting legal costs. By the end of last June, 21st Century Fox had incurred about $50 million in costs in the previous year that were tied to the settlement of sexual harassment and discrimination allegations at Fox News.
Several of the lawsuits were handled by Mr. Wigdor, a self-described conservative Republican who has said that he was at war with Fox News. Mr. Wigdor has been a vocal critic of what he described as a systemic culture of discrimination at Fox News, frequently speaking to the media and even testifying before the British regulators reviewing 21st Century Foxs $15 billion bid for Sky, the European satellite giant. (Mr. Wigdors firm also represented clients in a racial discrimination suit against The New York Times.)
i think discrimination is the exact opposite of fair and balanced. ---
i think discrimination is the exact opposite of fair and balanced.
Fun fact: Roger Aisles, former campaign manager for Richard Nixon, openly commented at how it wasn't a news organization but instead a propaganda factory while he was running the show. In many cases, what was said was personally mandated by Aisles based on his personal preference.