At 7:40 A.M. on Thursday morning, a day after receiving the shocking news that Bill O’Reilly would be departing Fox News, a large contingent of staffers assembled in the network’s subterranean, rat-infested news bunker for their daily morning meeting. Fox News has always been a competitive place, as one insider told me, but it was particularly on edge this morning. Not only were staffers divided between those who were supportive of O’Reilly, and others who hoped that his ouster promised a more civil professional environment, but many were also simply worried about themselves. After all, O’Reilly’s departure had triggered so many changes in the lineup (Tucker Carlson to eight P.M.; The Five, perhaps in a show of solidarity with the network’s babes-and-geriatrics formula, to nine P.M.) that, according to one executive at the network, many feared where they would end up in the shuffle. Then into the room walked Fox News co-presidents Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy. (A spokesperson for Fox News noted that employees are supportive of various executives, and that multiple staffers expressed thanks that Shine and Abernethy attended the morning news meeting.)

Abernethy and Shine had ascended to their roles atop the network in the wake of the prolonged and agonizing Roger Ailes sexual-harassment saga, and some in the room saw a similarity in how they handled the meeting. (O’Reilly has called accusations against him “unfounded.” Ailes has steadfastly denied all allegations.) Shine commenced the session with a brief announcement, this executive familiar with the meeting told me, noting, “O.K., obviously most people have heard Bill is gone,” before adding that the company was strong and that the staff could move on from the events of the past few weeks. Abernethy jumped in with his memories of the early days of Fox News, when it was still an “underdog,“ an unspoken reminder to those assembled that even if the bunker was under fire by liberal forces, they were going to fight back.

Perhaps to lighten the mood, Abernethy and Shine went on to joke about the new newsroom that the network is constructing on the second floor of its Midtown headquarters, which will supposedly replace, at least in part, the threadbare office where most Fox staffers currently toil. (“There hasn’t been a rat sighting in six months,” clarified the executive. “But they have been seen with regularity.”) Then, seemingly as soon as Shine and Abernethy started, they were finished. “Any questions?” Shine asked the group. “Really? You guys are all journalists, you don’t have any questions?” There were plenty of questions left unanswered, but hardly anyone raised a hand. “That is classic Roger,” said the executive familiar with the meeting, suggesting a lack of curiosity among executives. (One person familiar with the Fox News bunker noted that the atmosphere inside the organization is so divided right now that if the co-presidents hadn’t come to the meeting, they would have been criticized for that, too. This person also noted that 96 percent of employees have been through sensitivity training, which has also been offered to contributors. The company has also added human-resources staff members.)

As I reported earlier this week, some executives within Fox News are fearful of what might come next. One main reason that O’Reilly was forced out, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the recognition among executives that there was no way to stop more women from coming forward with stories. “There’s more to come,” one Fox News insider told me, suggesting that there are more women with stories of harassment who have not come forward publicly. This estimation was affirmed by two people who heard such stories directly. In the meantime, O’Reilly’s shocking departure has had one immediate change: staffers are now beginning to feel they can finally speak to one another about their hellish experiences at the network. “People are talking about this more freely,” this executive told me. During the Ailes scandal, staffers were afraid to have a television tuned to a rival network, this person told me. “What a difference nine months makes,” this person continued. This sentiment was backed up by another Fox insider who has spoken with many women at the company.

That kind of free conversation is likely terrifying for Fox News executives, who, as numerous sources have told me, had relied on a culture of fear to keep staffers in line. Now, with O’Reilly and Ailes gone, attention is turning to the executives at Fox News who did Ailes’s bidding. In a recent lawsuit filed against the company, anchor Julie Roginsky claims Shine “aided and abetted Ailes’s acts of retaliation and harassment.” Roginsky also says she held a meeting with Shine on July 29, 2016, during which Shine allegedly told Roginsky that “everything they are saying about Roger is true.” Roginsky’s suit also outlines another meeting with Shine on November 29, 2016, during which she says she told Shine of Ailes’s advances. “They were not surprised to hear this: they already knew it.” Roginsky’s suit says that after that meeting, Shine did not take any action to investigate the claims, nor encourage her to approach Paul, Weiss, the law firm conducting an internal investigation. Other executives who are increasingly being discussed, according to this executive, are Dianne Brandi, the longtime general counsel of Fox News, and Suzanne Scott, ‎executive vice president of programming and development. (Shine denies all allegations in the Roginsky case.)

If morale were not low enough already, there are other slights. While Fox News has been engaged in high-priced settlements, the newsroom continues to suffer small cutbacks, with staff reductions in affiliated sales and marketing; among cameramen, as at any network, who are being replaced by robotic cameras; and others in the hair and makeup department. Some staff are also grumbling that Carlson, O’Reilly’s replacement at eight P.M., is unfairly being lauded for his high ratings. “Of course his ratings are going to go up!” said one Fox News insider. “He loves Trump!”