Sean Hannity is reportedly eyeing the exit after the abrupt resignation of Fox co-President Bill Shine.
Having been previously quoted saying that if Shine left, that would signal the end of the Fox News channel for good, it is unsurprising that Hannity may now be leaving. Still, his exit would signal a new low for the floundering network that has seen its biggest stars fired, resigned, or embroiled in scandal.
According to the Daily Beast, Hannity was already panicking about the editorial angle the network might soon take, but with Shine gone, Hannity sees no reason to remain at Fox.
“But to some Fox News conservative vets like Hannity, Shine was the remaining bulwark against the Murdoch sons, who are seen as “liberals” trying to radically reinvent the network in the model of a mainstream cable-news rival like CNN.”
While Fox officially denies rumors of Hannity’s impending exit, calling the rumors “completely untrue,” several sources speaking to the Daily Beast say that Hannity may end his show as soon as this week.
Amid the Hannity rumors are others about the fate of the network as a whole. As Fox appears to be transitioning to the hands of the Murdoch’s less conservative sons, there is concern that the programming might head in more centrist territory. If so, “true” conservatives may seek to start their own news network to counter Fox and the rest of the mainstream media.
Whether such a network would open sexual harassers like O’Reilly with open arms is still unknown – my guess is that they would.
