ASHINGTON - Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox News Channel, is defending the network's hiring of George W. Bush's first cousin for its election-night decision desk. But the cousin, John Ellis, already has offered his resignation to Fox News president Roger Ailes.
Ailes has turned down the resignation for now, insiders say, but Ellis will likely be let go next month for his role in embarrassing the network by talking about exit-poll information that night with Bush and his brother, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, even while playing a critical role in projecting Bush the winner of the election at 2:16 a.m.
''I very much appreciate what Rupert Murdoch said about me,'' Ellis told The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz Wednesday. But he declined further comment.
Fox has launched an internal investigation of Ellis's role, which has been criticized even by Fox talk show host Bill O'Reilly. ''We are trying to figure out if John Ellis violated any of the rules I set forth in a memo before Election Day - not to share proprietary information with anyone outside the organization,'' said Fox News vice president John Moody. ''John has denied to me and others that he did that, but we are looking at it.''
Some staffers say the flap over Ellis, a former NBC News producer, has reinforced Fox's image as a network that leans to the right.
At a Fox shareholders' meeting Wednesday, Murdoch, the chairman and CEO of Fox parent News Corp. and a major Republican Party donor, expressed no concern about having a presidential candidate's cousin as head of the network's decision desk. ''Every journalist on every channel was trying to get in touch with the candidates,'' Murdoch said, adding that there was ''no partisanship at all'' in Fox's election coverage.
Murdoch also invoked a letter supporting Ellis from Susan Estrich, a Fox contributor who managed Democrat Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign.
Estrich says she wrote to Ailes because she finds the controversy ''ridiculous.'' ''It's like gambling in Casablanca,'' she says. ''Everyone talks to campaigns and gives them information. I talked to [Ellis] all the time when [Dukakis] was running against his uncle. I never thought he displayed anything but professionalism.''
Ellis's recommendation to call Florida - and the election - for Bush was important because NBC, CBS, CNN, and ABC followed suit within minutes. But, like the projection that Vice President Al Gore would win Florida, it was retracted by the networks less than two hours later.
Fox insiders say Ailes did not accept Ellis's resignation because he wants to keep his team in place pending a House investigation by Representative Billy Tauzin (R-La.) of the networks' use of exit polls.
Ellis, who had been brought on board to work on the cable news networks' election coverage, probably would have left FNC soon anyway. A resignation would prevent him from returning to analyze future elections.
Bates bids 'BZ goodbye
In an unexpected move, early-morning anchor Suzanne Bates announced her resignation from WBZ-TV (Channel 4) yesterday after 13 years at the station.
''I have decided it's time to return to the world where people sleep past 3 a.m.,'' said Bates, in a statement. ''The past nine years on the morning program have been professionally rewarding. But it's exhilarating to look for new challenges and opportunities.''
Channel 4 general manager Ed Goldman lauded Bates's ''many contributions to WBZ-TV over the past 13 years. She has had a major role in shaping the station's personality both on and off camera. I fully respect her decision to put her personal and family needs first.''
When star anchor Liz Walker stepped down from the station's 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts earlier this year, Bates was considered a possible candidate to succeed her, but newcomer Lisa Hughes ultimately won that job. In its statement yesterday, the station said Bates will leave on Dec. 2. Her ''immediate plans'' include consulting and working on a book.
MARK JURKOWITZ
ABC looks at world of the Web
ABC is logging on to ''Dot Comedy,'' a half-hour reality show from the Carsey-Werner Co. and Oxygen that aims to shine a spotlight on the wackier side of the World Wide Web.
''Dot Comedy'' is set to premiere Dec. 8 in the 8:30 p.m. time slot. ABC has ordered 13 episodes of the show, which will be rerun outside of prime time on Carsey-Werner's Oxygen cable network eight days or more after the initial airing on ABC.
The show, based on a British TV property of the same name, will be hosted by Jason and Randy Sklar, hosts of Comedy Central's ''Battle Bots,'' and Annabelle Gurwitch, known for her stint on HBO's ''Not Necessarily the News'' and as host of TBS's ''Dinner and a Movie.'' Katie Puckrick, host of the Oxygen series ''Pajama Party,'' will serve as a field reporter.
ABC Entertainment Television Group co-chairman Stu Bloomberg described the show as ''the next-generation version of `America's Funniest Home Videos.''' ''Dot Comedy'' will showcase a wide range of Web sites.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
CBS commits to `Welcome,' `Life'
CBS is going seven for seven with its new fall series. The network has ordered four additional episodes of the comedy ''Welcome to New York'' and the drama ''That's Life'' - which were the last of the seven new series on CBS's fall schedule awaiting a renewed lifeline from the network.
While the four-episode orders are short of full-season commitments, they nonetheless reflect CBS's faith in the creative merits of the series, which have struggled with declining Nielsen numbers since their premieres last month.
''These are two shows that deserve to hang in there,'' CBS Television president and CEO Leslie Moonves said. ''We're proud to be able to say that we put seven new shows on the air [this fall], and seven out of seven are going to have life'' beyond their initial 13-episode orders.
''Welcome to New York,'' from CBS Productions, Studios USA, and Worldwide Pants, has averaged 9.8 million viewers and a 3.8 rating/10 share in the key demographic of adults 18-49 in the 8:30 p.m. berth behind ''Bette.'' Even with its week-to-week drop-off, the comedy, starring Jim Gaffigan and Christine Baranski, has improved on CBS's track record in the time slot by more than 50 percent in adults 18-49 and 25-54, and by 60 percent in women 18-49 and 25-54.
''That's Life,'' a family-oriented drama from Paramount, has averaged 7.8 million viewers in the Saturday 8 p.m. slot. The show has drawn strong reviews for its cast, led by Heather Paige Kent, Paul Sorvino, and Ellen Burstyn.
As for the rest of CBS's new schedule, the big surprise continues to be the softness of ''The Fugitive'' in the Friday 8 p.m. slot. Moonves said he is not considering any time-slot switches for ''Fugitive,'' ''That's Life'' or ''Welcome to New York,'' and he noted that ''Fugitive'' has improved on the network's track record in the time slot with young adults and young men in particular.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
