September 14, 2016

Roger Ailes And The Rampant Misogyny That Fuels Fox News

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/08/01/roger-ailes-and-rampant-misogyny-fuels-fox-news/212059
"The claims first made by former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who detailed the harassing office culture in her sexual harassment lawsuit filed July 6 (Ailes: “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better”), have now been joined by the increasingly disturbing and chilling claims being made by additional women against Ailes. As outside attorneys finish up their investigation into claims of harassment inside Fox News, the picture being painted of the cable news channel is one where oversight was nonexistent; in fact, senior executives appear to have helped Ailes cover up his routine acts of lechery.  During July, we learned that women claimed men who worked in positions of power at Fox News (namely Ailes, but not exclusively) groped women, kissed women against their will, made wildly inappropriate sexual comments (“Are you wearing any panties? I wish you weren't”), asked about female employees’ sex lives, pressured younger women to date older men in the office, made “jokes” about liking having women on their knees, promised promotions in exchange for sex, and cut short careers of women who took offense. And no, it’s not plausible that Fox News executives didn’t know about this kind of rampant, illegal, workplace behavior. Fox News general counsel Dianne Brandi and Ailes’ deputy Bill Shine have been accused of trying to cover up their former boss’ behavior. But surprise! That demeaning view of women has also been a cornerstone of Fox News’ programming for many, many years. The sexist themes relentlessly promulgated by Fox didn’t spring from a vacuum. They sprang from inside Roger Ailes’ corner office. Meaning, Fox News’ signature Neanderthal view of women came from the top, just like Fox News’ ugly race-baiting and Islamophobia came from the top. For decades, Ailes has helped engineer hateful programming by setting the tone himself."