“While Roger Ailes ultimately went down as a result of his heinous behavior, twelve years of Media Matters calling out his network for outrageous right-wing propaganda and ensuring that millions of people were aware of it in real-time certainly didn’t hurt”.
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Roger Ailes has resigned with immediate effect as the chairman and chief executive officer of Fox News, just weeks after one of the company’s former anchors filed a sexual harassment suit against the businessman.
However, Murdoch’s sons stressed the need for “maintaining a work environment based on trust and respect” in a separate statement that also praised Ailes’ contributions to the company. He will assume the role of chairman and acting chief executive of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.
Ailes, who built Fox into one of the most influential forces in the news media over the last two decades, has been under fire since Carlson alleged that her contract was not renewed after she spurned sexual advances by him.
In addition to Carlson’s complaint, on 12 July another Fox News channel anchor Megyn Kelly, said she had also been the victim of “unwanted sexual advances” by Ailes approximately 10 years ago.
Despite a vehement denial of Carlson’s claims by Ailes, 21st Century Fox announced on Thursday that he has stepped down from his post. Rupert Murdoch, the 85-year-old patriarch of parent company 21st Century Fox, is now the channel’s chairman and acting CEO. “Fox News has given voice to those who were ignored by the traditional networks and has been one of the great commercial success stories of modern media”.
In a letter to Murdoch, he initially said “I am proud of our accomplishments and look forward to continuing to work with you as a consultant in building 21st Century Fox”.
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Ailes was a prominent Republican media consultant who later ran CNBC before Murdoch asked him to create a cable news network to compete with CNN at the same time MSNBC was starting.
“Change is always tough, but I think Rupert Murdoch coming back is a big deal for all of us”, she said. Progressive media watchdog Media Matters released a statement from founder David Brock that read, “Media Matters has successfully branded Fox News as a network not to be trusted”. Ailes blew apart the notion that public affairs programming should target a broad audience with civil debates, he said.
Ailes groomed no obvious successors, and has been so identified with the brand that many have a hard time envisioning the network without him. Ailes denied the accusations, but 21st Century Fox began an internal review and ultimately determined that he could no longer remain in the job.
Roger Ailes speaks in July 2006 in Pasadena, California. Kelly is a rising star at Fox News and her contract expires in the middle of next year.
“Whoever invented the Coca-Cola formula has long since passed this Earth, but the brand keeps selling because people like the taste”, said Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland.
Documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who made 2004’s “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism”, said he hopes the younger Murdochs will take this moment to change the network’s philosophy.
Rupert Murdoch, the company’s patriarch, was on vacation, but flew back to NY early to participate in the talks.
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For Ailes, the departure is a stunning and ignominious ending of a remarkable career. It has dominated all other cable news channels for 14 years.
