Bill O'Reilly, a prominent right-wing commentator on Fox News, the Rupert Murdoch-owned US TV station that wears its conservative ideology on its sleeve, is suing one of his associate producers and her lawyer. O'Reilly alleges they threatened him with a high-profile sexual harassment case unless he and Fox paid $60 million in "hush money".
O'Reilly, who is seeking unspecified damages, states his reputation has been damaged and that the scheme has caused him to suffer "great mental strain, anguish and severe emotional distress".
Fox was forced to apologise recently when a fake script by its political correspondent, Carl Cameron, was posted on the station's website implying that Senator Kerry was homosexual.
The station, which is robust in reporting and analysing failings by journalists elsewhere, but especially in newspapers or broadcasting stations it sees as liberal, said it had reprimanded Cameron but is taking no further action.