Murdoch’s sons have taken a larger role in Fox’s operations since the 85-year-old tycoon announced that he would gradually relinquish control of his corporate empire.
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The timing and terms of Ailes’ departure are not yet finalised, according to New York Magazine.
According to The Drudge Report, Ailes will be kept on a consultancy basis until June 30, 2017, during which time he will be paid his current $6.25 million salary in addition to bonuses for 2016 and 2017 – a sum of almost $40 million by the time it’s all said and done. “Roger Ailes has never sexually harassed Megyn Kelly”, Estrich, a partner at the Quinn Emanuel law firm, said in a prepared statement.
“There’s lots of cross-talk, but no agreement has been reached”, she said. She added, “There is no agreement, there is no deal, and the review is ongoing”.
Ailes said in a statement then: “Gretchen Carlson’s allegations are false”.
Ailes has denied the claims and called the lawsuit “wholly without merit”.
Let’s hope that Fox News will be a safe place to work going forward, if not actually fair and balanced.
In the weeks since Carlson leveled allegations against Ailes, media reporters have tried to imagine the network’s future without its founding CEO. Doocy is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Ailes’ ability to transform personalities worked on Fox News as well.
Carlson most recently hosted “The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson”.
The suit by Ms. Carlson doesn’t name Fox News-parent 21st Century Fox as a defendant but has become a distraction for the company.
Although the news right now is that Roger Ailes and FOX News are currently in negotiations regarding his position with the company, it does not mean that he will be completely out of work.
So far, Kelly has officially declined to comment, but her lawyer told the New York Times on Tuesday that “she has cooperated with the inquiry fully and truthfully”.
There is no obvious successor to Mr. Ailes. He was seen as untouchable, given his longstanding relationship with Murdoch and his continued business success: Fox News dominates the ratings and brings in more than $1 billion in revenue. But that appeared to be contradicted by another Drudge “bulletin” claiming the Ailes’ ouster reports were at most premature.
Several of his longtime employees, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expected Ailes would depart within days – a stunning and ignoble end to a twenty year career creating and leading the Fox News Channel. The review led to reports that others gave accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Ailes.
Mr Ailes, 76, is a former Republican operative who worked as an adviser to president Richard Nixon.
“I’ve heard Roger say, ‘I want you to tell everybody to be professional about this, ‘” Estrich said.
Roger Ailes has denied all claims of assault since they’ve come out.
That former Fox female anchor had allegedly told Kelly previously about being kissed by Ailes during a private meeting.
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Bartiromo was quoted in Variety as saying Ailes has been nothing but professional.
