LOS ANGELES ¨C Lachlan Murdoch, chairman of 21st Century Fox Inc., has no plans to rehire Megyn Kelly following her departure from NBC¡¯s ¡°Today¡± show over racially insensitive remarks.
¡°I¡¯m a big fan of Megyn¡¯s, we didn¡¯t want her to leave Fox,¡± Murdoch said Thursday at the New York Times¡¯ DealBook conference in New York. ¡°Having said that, I¡¯m very happy with our current lineup.¡±
Kelly, who made a name for herself at Fox News, is negotiating her exit from NBC after defending wearing blackface at Halloween.
Murdoch is set to lead a spinoff that will operate Fox News Channel, the Fox broadcast network and a string of local television stations after the $71 billion sale of his company¡¯s entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. next year. In response to a question, he defended Fox News¡¯ often stridently conservative coverage.
¡°I¡¯m not embarrassed by what they do at all,¡± Murdoch said. ¡°Fox News is the only mass media company in America with conservative opinions. It¡¯s the only one. Frankly, I feel in this country we all have to be more tolerant of each other¡¯s views. We¡¯ve come to this point where we are more and more intolerant of each other and frankly that has to change.¡±
The executive said his family¡¯s decision to sell its entertainment assets, including the 20th Century Fox film studio and cable channels such as FX and National Geographic, was based in part on the recognition that ¡°the amount of entertainment that¡¯s watched live is declining at an incredible rate.¡±
Murdoch said the new Fox will have earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $2.5 billion in its first year.
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