He nearly certainly won’t go to work for CNN or MSNBC.
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“Megyn Kelly’s halter is not appropriate dress for a professional lady at the convention, especially an anchor”, said one Twitter user.
Murdoch’s decision to take on oversight of Fox News Channel will provide a measure of stability at the No. 1 cable news network as Ailes, its only chief in 20 years, is pushed to the sidelines by accusations of harassment leveled by former anchor Gretchen Carlson. “The only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement”. “Gretchen Carlson should be commended for having the courage to stand”.
There’s a chance that Ailes’s removal could make the channel more politically moderate, Caryl Rivers, a professor of journalism at Boston University, tells the Monitor.
One of the people said that the details of the allegations, while unverified, were troubling enough that they left 21st Century Fox little choice but to force an end to Ailes’ reign as chairman and chief executive of Fox News, given the potential liability they presented to the company both legally and in terms of its own corporate culture.
Ailes brought lessons from his days as a TV producer for “The Mike Douglas Show”. His hackles up, Ailes called a news conference.
“He would stage certain kinds of televised specials where [Nixon] could be seen taking questions from voters”, Folkenflik said. They saw him as responsible for infecting political discourse with rancor and negativity.
A handful of other women have come forward alleging that Ailes had pressured them for sex, their stories all predating the start of Fox News Channel in 1996.
If he leaves the network, the departure of its guiding intelligence, a man who has led the company for nearly two decades, will undoubtedly change Fox News significantly.
In the past, research suggests, Fox News exposure may have encouraged voters to vote for Republican candidates.
But to some observers, Fox News’ success was built on the back of division.
Ailes has created a business that contributes nearly 25 percent to the bottom line of 21st Century Fox, the single most profitable asset in the company’s portfolio.
“It’s easier to chase people away than attract them”, he said.
That’s why it will be important for Fox to quickly right the ship at its namesake news channel.
Even some of Ailes’ deputies have accepted that. Doocy doesn’t respond. Parent company 21st Century Fox, while stating that “we have full confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy”, it is launching an internal review. “This represents the 6th consecutive weekly win for FNC, which was up 56.5 percent in total prime time viewers and up 56 percent in total day viewers compared to the same week in 2015”. “It is a fantastically successful media business”. Ailes’ attorney Susan Estrich told CNN that there is no deal and that the report published on Drudge was inaccurate. Because of this, the network has historically operated as an independent fief, and numerous network’s highest profile on-air commentators evidently prioritize loyalty to its current leader rather than to the parent company.
“There is no clear successor to run the network once Ailes leaves”. They went as far as to suggest that her top “resembled a bikini” while on the air.
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But what is certain is the politics-as-entertainment legacy that Ailes instituted won’t soon be forgotten.
