Roger Ailes is out as chief executive at Fox News Channel, his career at the network he built from scratch and ran with an iron hand for almost 20 years over with stunning swiftness following allegations that he forced out a former anchor after she spurned his sexual advances.
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Rupert Murdoch, who will assume the role of Chairman and acting CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, according to a press release, issued a statement confirming Ailes’ departure.
But even Mr. Ailes’s detractors and rivals acknowledge he created a cash cow for parent company 21st Century Fox, which has said Fox News generated around 20% of its operating profit. “Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years”, Murdoch said.
Murdoch and 21st Century Fox did not address the widening scandal in the statement on the resignation but lauded Ailes for his contributions. The New York Magazine reported that Kelly was harassed by Ailes during her earlier days as a legal correspondent in Fox’s Washington bureau.
21st Century Fox and Wall Street Journal-owner News Corp were part of the same company until mid-2013.
Two weeks after former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment, Roger Ailes is stepping down at Fox News.
Despite the accusations against Ailes, sources described feeling sadness at the loss of the man who had shaped so many of their careers.
Murdoch, who cut short a vacation on the French Riviera to return to NY, according to the Guardian newspaper, said he was taking the reins at Fox “to ensure continuity of all that is best about Fox News and what it stands for”.
Will Fox News Channel continue to carry this financial heft and brand identity in future years?
Murdoch’s sons, Lachlan and James, 21CF’s co-Executive Chairman, and CEO, respectively, said that following the oust of Ailes, they will “continue [their] commitment to maintaining a work environment based on trust and respect”. “We take seriously our responsibility to uphold these traditional, long-standing values of our company”. But she chose to write a non-fiction account-which will also include her experiences as a producer and on-air personality at CNN and MSNBC, as well as her struggle with and recovery from alcoholism-after Carlson’s lawsuit and other women began to speak out about their treatment by Ailes. Many other women have reportedly joined in, and the company has launched investigation into Ailes’ conduct. She also claimed that Ailes cut down her television appearances and slashed her salary over the matter, as well.
“I am proud of our accomplishments and look forward to continuing to work with you as an adviser in building 21st Century Fox”, he added.
“When I hear people, and I hear them all the time, say things like Barack Obama ruined this country and did it on goal, that’s Fox News”, Maher said. Ailes, 76, reshaped American television news and Republican politics simultaneously.
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But just what did Ailes in is not entirely clear.
