Viewership of ‘O’Reilly Factor’ drops without Bill O’Reilly
NEW YORK — Through four days of Bill O’Reilly’s vacation, his show’s viewership declined by 23 per cent in the hands of substitutes Dana Perino, Eric Bolling and Greg Gutfeld.
O’Reilly is on a nearly two-week vacation at the same time Fox News Channel’s parent company looks into a woman’s accusation that her career was slowed when she spurned his advances. Dozens of his show’s advertisers have fled following reports of harassment settlements paid to other women. O’Reilly has denied any wrongdoing.
Despite the vacation, the pressure is staying on O’Reilly and 21st Century Fox, which is looking into at least one complaint about his behaviour. The Wall Street Journal — a newspaper owned by the same Murdoch family that owns Fox News Channel — reported late Tuesday that Fox executives were “preparing to cut ties” with O’Reilly. A spokesman for 21st Century Fox declined to comment to the AP.
Earlier, attorney Lisa Bloom said she was representing a former clerical worker at Fox who complained that day to a hotline established at Fox about O’Reilly’s behaviour during her six months working there in 2008.