Ex-Fox Chief Bill Shine to Join Trump Communication Team, Sources Say
Ex-Fox Chief Bill Shine to Join Trump Communication Team, Sources Say
(Bloomberg) -- Bill Shine, the former co-president of Fox News, is set to join President Donald Trump’s White House in a senior communications role, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Shine would become the latest in a string of people to cycle through the top ranks of Trump’s press operation since his inauguration last year. There have been five White House communication directors in the past 18 months.
“If Bill Shine comes in, I think it’s great,” said White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. “The president wants someone who’s built the most successful cable network in history to help oversee press and comms.”
Communications Director Hope Hicks resigned in March, part of an exodus of White House staff that has featured several departures from the press shop.
Shine’s addition is particularly significant because there have been few new hires lately as the Trump administration has struggled to recruit talent.
During Shine’s two-decade tenure at Fox, the channel grew into the most watched cable news network, outpacing CNN and MSNBC.
But Shine’s tenure also included drama. He resigned after a sexual-harassment scandal that led to the ousters of Fox News co-founder Roger Ailes in 2016 and host Bill O’Reilly last year. Andrea Tantaros, a former Fox host, claimed in a lawsuit that Shine knew of misconduct allegations against Ailes, the network’s chairman, and ignored them. Shine has denied her accusation and the lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in May.
Shine is not expected to do press briefings while at the White House.
“I think it’s great to have somebody who’s on the other side of the camera, who doesn’t go in front of the camera, which is a luxury,” Conway said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Toluse Olorunnipa in Washington at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net;Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, John Harney
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