What’s behind all the US media firings this week? Hint: it’s not equality

theguardian.com:

I t’s been a wild week for network news. Tucker Carlson, who hosted one of the most popular news shows on television, was suddenly ousted from Fox News, on the heels of both a hostile workplace complaint against him and the network’s settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that began to expose just how brazenly and knowingly Fox News anchors lied on the air. At CNN, long-time anchor Don Lemon was also let go in a move that he said left him “stunned”, and came after public blowback over Lemon’s on-air comments about women. NBC Universal fired CEO Jeff Shell after corroborating a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Much remains unknown about all three terminations, and particularly Carlson’s and Lemon’s. And Lemon, unlike the other two men, is not accused of sexual harassment. But the ouster of all three does suggest something may have shifted in television newsrooms. The question is whether it’s an elevated commitment to gender equality, or simply more self-interested decisions taking on the veil of morality.

I’m going to spoil this column for you now: it is almost surely network self-interest.

The good news is that, if NBCUniversal is any example, reputable networks have far less tolerance than they once did for truly egregious behavior that has been investigated and corroborated. In a statement, Shell said, “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret.” The decision to remove him from his role comes several years after the peak of the #MeToo movement, which shined light on harassment and abuse at the hands of powerful men, often over women who worked for them. While #MeToo and the feminist movement that undergirded it has seen a backlash in recent years, it unquestionably