Roger Ailes, the main architect of the network, has stepped down and 21st Century Fox executive chairman Rupert Murdoch has assumed the role of chairman and acting CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
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Ailes “has resigned from his role effective immediately”, according to a statement from parent company 21st Century Fox.
In a statement, Murdoch said Ailes “has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country”, and that Ailes shared Murdoch’s “vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly”.
The departure of Ailes comes less than three weeks after former Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit alleging that Ailes retaliated against her and sabotaged her career because she complained about a hostile work environment at the network and rebuffed his advances.
Since the allegations by Carlson became public – she filed a suit in a New Jersey Superior Court on July 6 – reports have emerged of other women who have worked with Ailes in the past also saying that he sought sexual favors in return for employment. “I admire him professionally”, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said in an email.
The lawsuit set off a series of events, including an investigation of his conduct by an outside law firm, which lead to other Fox employees claiming sexual harassment. Having Murdoch, widely respected in the organization, should quell concerns over the departure of Ailes, who was in charge of Fox News since its launch in 1996.
The takedown of Ailes is being driven by Lachlan Murdoch – Rupert’s son – who was pushed out of the News Corp team by Ailes 11 years ago.
Ailes is reported to be in line for a $40m (£30.2m) settlement for walking away from the post, according to two people briefed on the matter, reported The New York Times.
Murdoch, who built his father’s Australian newspaper business into one of the world’s most powerful news and entertainment conglomerates, has always been fiercely loyal to Ailes and cut his vacation short in the French Riviera with his wife Jerry Hall to handle the resignation. Fox News Channel is the parent company’s single most important property, said Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser, with some estimates that it accounted for almost a quarter of the company’s profits.
Ailes is credited with bringing opinion back to news coverage, starting with America’s Talking, an NBC-owned network that eventually became MSNBC.
“I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice”, Murdoch said. James and his brother, Lachlan, are top executives who run 21st Century Fox.
Born and raised in Ohio, Roger Ailes attended Ohio University as a young man, majoring in radio and television. But let’s be clear on something: Even here, Fox News is proclaiming their fake populist message in the downfall of their corporate honcho.
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A former consultant to Republican presidents, Ailes, 76, had been a key figure in the media empire and a longtime Murdoch ally.
