BRIAN STELTER (HOST): But first today, the toxic culture inside the country's highest-rated cable news network. This weekend, there's a new report about the women who say Fox News star Bill O'Reilly harassed them and a new report about the secret settlement payments that are now being revealed. It's all included in this front page New York Times story, saying that five women were paid by either O'Reilly or by Fox after accusing him of either sexual harassment or other sorts of verbal harassment. The Times says the payouts totaled a staggering $13 million. The first settlement was back in 2002, as you can see here. But two of the payments happened just last year after the sudden departure of Fox News founder and CEO Roger Ailes. Remember, Ailes was sued for sexual harassment by ex-anchor Gretchen Carlson. And then many other women came forward as well, including Megyn Kelly. Ailes was pressured to resign, but the problems at Fox go deeper. There's now a federal grand jury investigation, other unrelated lawsuits are pending, and O'Reilly is sort of the center of the Fox universe -- the biggest star with the biggest ratings on cable news, responsible over the course of his 20 years on Fox for hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. O'Reilly says that makes him a big target. He is denying the claims against him. But all of this begs the question: if Ailes was dismissed because of numerous harassment claims against him, and Fox said this behavior would not be tolerated anymore, then why does O'Reilly still have a job, the biggest job on cable news?

Related:

NY Times: Bill O’Reilly Thrives At Fox News, Even As Harassment Settlements Add Up

Previously:

What Would It Take For Bill O’Reilly To Get Fired?

Bill O’Reilly: “I’m Not Interested In” Allegations Of Sexual Harassment At Fox Because It “Makes My Network Look Bad”

Gretchen Carlson Isn’t Alone: A History Of Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Roger Ailes And Fox News