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Fox News communications chief fired after internal investigation into “financial irregularities”

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

August 21, 2013 | 1 min read

Fox News has confirmed that it fired Brian Lewis, Fox News executive VP, communications chief and top strategist, following an internal investigation last month. He was reportedly escorted from his office.

A spokesman for 21st Century Fox told the Hollywood Reporter: “After an extensive internal investigation of Brian Lewis' conduct by Fox News, it was determined that he should be terminated for cause, specifically for issues relating to financial irregularities, as well as for multiple, material and significant breaches of his employment contract."

Lewis was notoriously close to Fox News CEO Roger Ailes. The pair met when Lewis was heading up communications for CNBC and Ailes was building the cable channel America's Talking, which later became MSNBC.

Ailes then brought in Lewis as he launched Fox News in the mid-1990s and quickly became one of the most powerful executives at Fox News.

No replacement for Lewis has been named but Irena Briganti, a senior vice president of media relations in the Fox News Group, and Erica Keane, vice president of media relations for Fox Televison Stations, are high on the list of successors.

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