Ailes’ downfall began with the July 6 lawsuit filing by Carlson, who charged that he sabotaged her career because she refused his suggestions for sex and had complained about a pervasive atmosphere of sexual harassment at Fox. He will run Fox News and its sister Fox Business Network, which Ailes had also led, until a successor is found.
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“As much as we can commend the Murdochs for dealing with this situation quickly once it came to public light, we have to ask – how come this was not dealt with long ago, since Ailes’s behavior was an open secret at Fox News?” says Andrew Faas, an expert on sexual harassment in the workplace and the author of “The Bully’s Trap: Bullying in the Workplace”, via email.
Fox, for its part, has been enormously successful and profitable under Ailes, with higher revenues and margins than other network.
In the past month, more than 20 women, including multiple Fox News presenters, have accused Ailes of sexual harassment – claims that he denies.
Many Fox broadcasters expressed shock and dismay on Thursday, and Chris Wallace, host of “Fox News Sunday”, described a newsroom in tears at Ailes’s announced departure. And while other Fox News anchors such as Brit Hume or Greta van Sustern have leaped to defend Ailes and praise him for making Fox News the large cable network it is, Kelly has been noticeably quiet on the lawsuit.
Several Fox employees jumped to Ailes’ defense, but notably not Megyn Kelly, one of Fox’s top personalities.
For reasons apparently relating to the non-disparagement agreement between Ailes and the Murdochs, Fox can not specify the number of women who leveled sexual harassment allegations.
Before the claims, Fox’s sheer success had insulated Ailes despite some previous scrapes with the Murdoch sons over who he would report to.
Ailes, who had served as a media consultant for GOP presidents such as Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, efficiently “fused” politics and media together at the network, Stewart explained. “The question is, how do we, as a ship, hold steady right now and deliver for the audience?”
A 21st Century Fox spokesman declined to comment.
He was also a showman.
In 2011, Ailes told The Associated Press that he hired Sarah Palin as an analyst – a decision that later gave him headaches – “because she was hot and got ratings”.
For the time being, advertisers are not panicking and Fox viewers are not fleeing.
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The Murdoch family’s view is that they were obligated to pay Ailes the amount he is owned through his contract.
