Letters to the Editor: Bill O’Reilly and the Culture at Fox News

Re “Fox News Ousts O’Reilly, a Host Central to Its Rise” (front page, April 20):

So Bill O’Reilly’s departure is supposed to show a company changing its culture? The letter that Fox sent to its staff announcing that Mr. O’Reilly would step down in the face of mounting sexual harassment charges sure spent a lot of time praising him. It declared him “one of the most accomplished TV personalities in the history of cable news,” and if that weren’t enough went on to say that “his success by any measure is indisputable.”

How in the world does heaping praise on this departing sexual harasser honor the women whose careers he damaged? How does it begin to foster “a work environment built on the values of trust and respect”? How does it stand up for women in the workplace?

Far from showing a change for the better, the letter Fox sent to its staff confirms that the sickness at Fox starts with those at the top. These same people covered up Mr. O’Reilly’s behavior — and so put countless other women at risk — by paying out hush money to those who came forward, while doing nothing to solve the problem itself. Business. As. Usual.

KATH JONES, NEW YORK

.. To the Editor:

What is sad about this news is that allegations of sexual harassment can get a television host fired in America, yet it cannot stop the election of a president! Have the standards for the office of the president fallen lower than those for a television host?

GURMEET S. KANWAL
DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.