Roger Ailes, who built Fox News into a popular and politically powerful cable network that help redefine U.S. television news, resigned Thursday under the cloud of a sexual harassment lawsuit.
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21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, announced Ailes’ resignation in a statement on Thursday (21 July) while also announcing that Murdoch – who launched Fox News with Ailes in 1996 -will take over the helm at the TV channel.
The Murdoch family has given Fox News chairman Roger Ailes a deadline of August 1 to resign, or be fired.
Carlson, whose contract with Fox News expired in late June, alleges that Ailes “unlawfully retaliated against [her] and sabotaged her career because she refused his sexual advances”, according to a legal filing. Ailes denied the accusations, but 21st Century Fox began an internal review and ultimately determined that he could no longer remain in the job.
Ailes once seemed untouchable due to the incredible success of Fox News, which also spawned a business news spin-off, Fox Business, and multiple radio networks. She’s being represented by Montclair, NJ-based litigator Nancy Erika Smith and NY co-counsel Martin Hyman.
Roger Ailes, the CEO and chairman of Fox News, is stepping down from his role.
He was formerly a media consultant for Rudy Giuliani’s mayoral campaign, and also worked with Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Her lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith of Smith Mullin in Montclair, New Jersey, hailed the news of Ailes’ departure. O’Reilly has recently mused about retirement, and he and Sean Hannity reportedly have contract provisions that would allow them to leave if Ailes does. 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”.
Murdoch continued: “I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice”.
At 21st Century Fox, which also includes a major Hollywood studio and television network, Rupert Murdoch had taken the role of executive chairman with his son Lachlan, and with James Murdoch as CEO.
“We hope that all businesses now understand that women will no longer tolerate sexual harassment and reputable companies will no longer shield those who abuse women”, she said in a statement.
The shakeup has prompted a number of Fox News hosts and analysts to weigh in, including Bret Baier, who told Politico, “It feels bad”.
It added: “It is always hard to create a channel or a publication from the ground up and against seemingly entrenched monopolies”.
Despite the warm words, however, Ailes was not at the network’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters on Thursday, and one person briefed on the matter said that Murdoch had barred him from the building. His grasp of policy and his ability to make profoundly important issues accessible to a broader audience stand in stark contrast to the self-serving elitism that characterizes far too much of the media.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. “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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Murdoch said Fox managers Bill Shine, Jay Wallace and Mark Kranz will assist in day-to-day management of the network.
