Fox News mounts "assault" on GE

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Bill O'Reilly, who hosts a show on U.S. news channel Fox News, is mounting an "extraordinary televised assault" on Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive of General Electric, the Washington Post reported on its Web site.

On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's history of doing business with Iran, the newspaper reported.

But the attacks grow out of "an increasingly bitter feud between O'Reilly and the company's high-profile subsidiary, NBC," it said.

A spokeswoman for Fox News, a unit of News Corp, declined comment.

GE said it put out a statement on its Web site in April saying that GE and its board decided in 2005 that it would no longer do business in Iran because of developing conditions in that country and concerns expressed by shareholders.

"The exceptions were to run down existing contracts and humanitarian activity authorized by U.S. Government licenses," GE said. "Since then, GE has done everything it said it would do in 2005. Today, GE has very little business left in Iran and will have completed all business in Iran by the end of June."

The statement said at all times GE's policy was "fully compliant with U.S. and all applicable laws".

"Recently, a Fox News personality in the U.S. has been attacking GE for this work and has been misleading viewers about our company," the GE statement said. "GE employees should know the facts - GE has met every pledge it made about this issue. These attacks from Fox arise from its ratings battle with MSNBC."

O'Reilly and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann have engaged in an increasingly nasty battle in the past few years, with O'Reilly often appearing in Olbermann's nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment.

While O'Reilly continues to have higher ratings than Olbermann, the MSNBC host has started to cut into his lead during the Presidential campaign.

Related News

firefighter

California faces huge power cuts as wildfires rage

LOS ANGELES - Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) already faces an investigation by regulators after cutting supplies to 970,000 homes and businesses.

It announced that another 650,000 properties would face precautionary shut-offs.

Wildfires fanned by the strong winds are raging in two parts of the state.

Thousands of residents near the wealthy Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles have been told to evacuate because of a wildfire that began early on Monday.

Further north in Sonoma County, a larger fire has forced 180,000 people from their homes.

California's governor has declared a state-wide emergency.

 

What about the power cuts?

On Monday regulators announced a formal inquiry into whether…

READ MORE
power plant operations

IAEA - COVID-19 and Low Carbon Electricity Lessons for the Future

READ MORE

duke solar customer

Duke Energy seeks changes in how solar owners are paid for electricity

READ MORE

chart

Electricity Payouts on Biggest U.S. Grid Fall 64 Per Cent in Auction

READ MORE

Quebec and other provinces heading toward electricity shortage: report

READ MORE