Fox News fires executive for ‘violating company’s conduct standards’

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Fox News has fired a 24-year veteran executive after an external review found he had violated the company’s employment policies.

John Finley, an executive vice president of development who oversaw the launch of the Fox Nation streaming service, was dismissed on Friday after being placed on leave while a law firm investigated his actions, according to the Washington Post.

“Fox News Media and John Finley have parted ways after an independent investigation concluded that he had violated certain standards of business conduct,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent.

The right-wing news company did not provide any further information about Mr Finley’s dismissal.

But the Post, citing an anonymous source, reported that Mr Finley used his position to benefit someone over whom he had influence.

Mr Finley could not be reached for comment.

According to a 2019 release announcing his appointment as an executive vice president, Mr Finley helped create several primetime shows including Hannity and The Greg Gutfeld Show.

He later oversaw the development of Life Liberty & Levin and The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton, and planned the network’s 2016 presidential election coverage, according to the release.

Fox chief executive Suzanne Scott said the veteran executive “played a fundamental part in the development of some of our most successful and signature programmes”.

In 2011, Mr Finley was the subject of a misconduct investigation after a complaint by a female colleague when he was executive producer of Sean Hannity’s primetime show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The network’s human resources department reportedly found one “problematic email” during the investigation, but ultimately decided there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing and he was cleared to return to work.

Fox News confirmed the investigation at the time, and said that changes had been made to the show’s reporting structure to “comfort” the staff member, who later left the company.