Ex-Fox News Employee Says She Was Blocked From Investigating Trump-Russia Ties – By Joe Mayes (bloomberg.com) / Nov 20 2017
A former Fox News employee said the network blocked her from going to Moscow to investigate President Donald Trump’s links with Russia, one of several claims of news bias at 21st Century Fox Inc. made by former and current workers opposing its takeover of Sky Plc.
“You can’t do in-depth reporting if you’re not there,” said Jessica Golloher, a former Fox Radio correspondent who is suing the division for gender discrimination, at a gathering with U.K. lawmakers and citizens in Parliament on Monday. “Fox didn’t let me go to Moscow to dig into Trump’s Russian connections, even when I offered to pay my own way.”
“Fox is just buying what the White House is selling,” she said.
Golloher’s claim follows allegations earlier this year that Trump colluded with Fox on a story to divert attention from his ties with Russia. She made the remarks shortly after meeting the Competition & Markets Authority, which is investigating the 11.7 billion-pound ($15.5 billion) Sky merger on grounds of media plurality and whether Fox has a genuine commitment to broadcasting standards.
When reached for comment, a Fox representative cited a Fox News statement from May without reference to Monday’s hearing. In May, the company said, “Jessica Golloher’s claims are without merit. Her allegations of discrimination and retaliation are baseless. We will vigorously defend the matter.”
Fox fell 0.3 percent to $31.07 at 2:13 p.m. in New York. The stock has gained about 11 percent this year.
Witnesses Speak
Golloher provided testimony to the CMA along with her attorney Douglas Wigdor, who is representing 27 current and former Fox employees in a range of harassment and discrimination lawsuits against the company. Fox News anchor Kelly Wright also spoke at the meeting.
The trio were joined in Parliament by former Roger Ailes protege Joe Lindsley, campaigners from online advocacy group Avaaz, and former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has been a vocal critic of the Sky deal
Golloher also told the gathering that she was marginalized at Fox News because of her gender and was fired earlier this year shortly after reporting her concerns to human resources
“This shocking first-hand testimony shows what it’s like to work at Fox,” said Alaphia Zoyab, senior campaigner at Avaaz. “Fox’s takeover is deeply threatening to U.K. news and democratic values, and should be stopped.”
PB/TK – Wait there’s another FOX harassment and discrimination lawsuit that includes 27 current and former employees?!
