Two months after leaving Fox News, conservative commentator Bill O’Reilly is unveiling his plans to continue his punditry career, and they could bring him head-to-head against his former employer.
According to Newsday, O’Reilly talked about his next move during a Q&A session on his speaking tour. He said his immediate goal is to increase the content on his website, including a half-hour newscast similar to “The O’Reilly Factor.”
“It’s basically an experiment to see how many people are going to want this service,” O’Reilly said. “That’s coming and will be here before September in a robust form. But I suspect there will be another network maybe merging with us. There will be a network that rises up because the numbers for Fox are going down.”
Though O’Reilly acknowledged that his former network’s recent struggles have opened the possibility to create a conservative media rival, O’Reilly didn’t blame Fox News for parting ways with him in the wake of sexual harassment allegations from former female network staffers.
“They had a shift in management that coincided with a very well thought-out and financed effort to destroy me,” he said. “It worked — temporarily. It all had to do with President Trump. In the weeks to come, I’m going to lay all that out in a very public way.”
11 Women Who Have Left Fox News Shows, From Megyn Kelly to Laurie Dhue (Photos)
Fox News has enhanced the careers of numerous women who have served as hosts. All were hired by Roger Ailes, the former network boss who exited in August 2016 amid a sexual harassment scandal.
Greta Van Susteren -- who had been one of Ailes' most stalwart defenders -- left in early September 2016 after saying that Fox had "not felt like a home" for years.
Laurie Dhue was a familiar presence on Fox in the early 2000s but left the network in 2008. She has reportedly been shopping a tell-all book this year.
Outspoken host Elisabeth Hasselbeck left "The View" to join "Fox & Friends" in 2013, which she exited at the end of 2015.
Andrea Tantaros, former co-host of "The Five," filed a lawsuit saying that Fox News operated like a "sex-fueled, Playboy-Mansion-like cult."
Alisyn Camerota hosted a number of Fox News programs during a 16-year run that ended in 2014. She now hosts "New Day" on CNN.
Rudi Bakhtiar jumped from CNN to Fox News in 2006. She claimed she was sexually harassed by correspondent Brian Wilson and later spoke out against Fox News' culture after the Ailes scandal broke. She now works at Reuters.
Kiran Chetry was a Fox News host from 2001 to 2007. She was reportedly also an aspirant for a role on "Fox & Friends," the network's morning show.
Libertarian commentator Jedediah Bila appeared on Fox's "Outnumbered" and later turned up on ABC's "The View."
Her lawsuit started it all: Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson claims Ailes repeatedly sexually harassed her. Her suit was later settled for a reported $20 million.
Megyn Kelly ended her 12-year run with Fox News in early 2017 in exchange for a weekday show at NBC. She turned down a four-year, $100 million offer to stay with Fox News saying that one of the reasons for her departure was to spend more time with her kids. Kelly said she was among those at Fox News sexually harassed by Ailes.
"Happening Now" anchor Jenna Lee announced that she was leaving the Fox News after working there for 10 years. Lee said she still loves being a journalist and that she has "some really big ideas on how to better serve you in that particular arena" without Fox News.
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The Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly scandals have cast even some old departures in a new light
Fox News has enhanced the careers of numerous women who have served as hosts. All were hired by Roger Ailes, the former network boss who exited in August 2016 amid a sexual harassment scandal.
