When word surfaced on Wednesday that longtime Fox News stalwart Bill O’Reilly was out at the network, speculation as to his replacement began almost immediately. Everyone, it seemed, had an opinion on who should take O’Reilly’s place following multiple allegations of the host sexually harassing women in the workplace.
Fellow host Stephanie Ruhle rightly said no — the network didn’t have a responsibility to do so. However, Ruhle then began a ramble that seemed to imply the network — known for its center-right take on the news — should give a prime slot to a progressive.
Clearly, the powers that be at Fox News don’t watch MSNBC. The coveted 9:00 p.m. slot went to Tucker Carlson, who has been a ratings juggernaut since his return to television.
Carlson’s former slot was then given to The Five, which hopefully silences MSNBC’s diversity police. Co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle is half-Puerto Rican, Dana Perino is also female, and joining them is Juan Williams, who is not a white guy.
Fox News’s actions are indicative of their true responsibility. Hire the people they believe are best for the job. Only a bigot would believe that hiring based on ability would always put white men in the job, and only a bigot would assume an all-white male lineup must be due to racism. Guilfoyle, Perino, and Williams got their spot in prime time the old-fashioned way. They earned it.
Tur herself is the only one dabbling in racism here by implying Fox News needed to use race-based hiring in order to be fair, and that the old lineup of white male hosts was due to bigotry.
Meanwhile, Katy Tur has offered no comment on MSNBC’s prime time lineup remaining entirely white.
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