The New York Times reportedly interviewed a dozen Fox News Channel employees, on the condition of anonymity, and concluded the atmosphere at the network since Roger Ailes’ resignation is chilly and eerily silent in between on-air tapings.
The Times wrote, “Megyn Kelly and her co-hosts, including Bret Baier and Brit Hume, have not been speaking during commercial breaks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the anchors’ interactions, who described the on-set atmosphere at Fox News as icy.”
Going further, The Times described the anchors as being “absorbed with their cell phones” instead of the often-seen routine of hosts chatting it up with one another. Pointing to reports of an uneasy division within the company, the newspaper went further, reporting that “employees show an organization grappling with internal division.”
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The Times reported that a two-party system is at work within Fox News, with loyalists who “owe their careers to Mr. Ailes” and are reportedly upset with his departure on one side, and on the other those who were reportedly “dismayed” by the loyalists who were so quick to defend Ailes against accusations by Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly and others.
According to The Times, Hume said the reports of tension between him and Kelly are “exaggerated,” but he admitted, “Yes, I am upset about Roger’s departure. I love the guy.” He also voiced support for Kelly’s decision to confirm Carlson’s allegations. In an email, Hume wrote, “And I think Megyn Kelly did what she felt she had to do, and I am not upset with her.”
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